ll'
CAititstiß; sa.,
I'lmraday Morning, Feb. 1.1 S««.
J. B. BIMTTON «fc W. UEJISEUY
EDITORS AND PIIOPHIKTOUS.
A WORD FOR OURSELVES
We this week present the Amkiucan
Voi-untebk to Its patrons in an enlar
ged form and in a new dress, which wo
think will compare favorably, in taste
and beauty, with any paper in the State.
The type now used upon it are of the
most modern and tnstv stylos, just is
sued from the Jputrtlry bf Messrs. L.
Johnson & Co., of Philadelphia and; the
paper is /printed upon due of Campbell’s
Improved power presses, which for neat
ness and pccuracy of execution has no
equal. In addition to the labors of the
editors, the services of a reliable corres
pondent have been secured at Washing
ton city, and we hope to secure the ser
vices of a similar correspondent at the
State Capital. With these advantages
at our hand, we hope to be able to pub
lish such a paper as the Democracy of
Cumberland County will have cause to
be proud of.
To do this, however, wo need the cor
dial and united support of our political
friends. As a general rule, Democrats
do not properly sustain their party or
gans, and if their local papers are some
times not all that they should be,'the
fault is with the party and not with the
poorly paid editor. In a large Demo
cratic county, such ns this is, our sub
scription list ought to be twice as largo
as it now is. There never was a time
- T hen it was more vitally important to
scatter Democratic truth broad cast
among the people, in order to combat
the heresies of the fanatics who are tear
ing up the very foundations of our sys
tem of government . The decision of the
questions now before the country de
pends, in a great measure upon their
discussion in the-public journals; and
unless all men have suitable reading
matter placed within their reach how
can It be expected that they shall act
intelligently upon public issues. We
trust our friends will see this important
subject in its true light, and lend their
influence to swell our subscription list
in every town and township in the coun
ty. Let one and all do their duty, and
in return we will try to give them the
best Democratic paper ever published in
Southern Pennsylvania.
ABOLITION INCONSISTENCY.
Abolitionism is daily involving its
followers in worse and more perplex
ing inconsistencies. Bnt a few years
since they opposed the admission of Kan
sas, under the Lecompton constitution,
because, ns they alleged, that constitu
tion was not ratified by the voice of the
people. Now they pass a bHallowing
negroes to vote, in the District of Colum
bia, when the people of the District, at
a public election, decided almost unani
mously against negro suffrage. Are the
people of the District of Columbia less
able to take care of themselves than
were the outlaws and murderers of the
Kansas border ? If they are not, then
are not their wishes in regard to their
own local government entitled to some
slight respect at the hands of the aboli
tion fanatics in Congress ? The truth of
the matter is, this action of Congress in
regard to the District is but the entering
wedge to prepare the way for universal
negro suffrage and equality; and these
same radicals are already declaring that
as liberty to the slave was first secured
in the District, followed by his libera
tion throughout the whole country; so
will his enfranchisement in the District
be followed by congressional legislation
compelling all the States to confer upon
him the right of suffrage. In securing
this end, they will pay no regard to con
sistency, law, justice or decency ; their
main object being to secure every possi
ble advantage for the negro and to cur
tail and destroy the rights of the white
man. Already, in the District, this law
conferring the right of,suffrage upon ev
ery ignorant and tliriftless negro, has
been followed by another law disfran
chising certain white citizens'. It is high
time white men began thinking of this
matter earnestly. We assort our sol
emn conviction, when we say it is the
purpose of these abolition fanatics to
confer the right of suffrage upon the ne
gro everywhere and to take the same
right away from the poorer class of white
men.
OUK TERMS.
We refer subscribers to the terms of
tliis paper, to be found at the head of
the first column of the first page. We
intend to adhere to these terms strictly
and, ns near as possible, conduct oi r
business on the cash principle. We have
to pay as wo go for everything- we use
m our business, and it is therefore abso
lutely necessary that we adopt the same
cash rule. We therefore hope to be able
t« dispense with ledgers and day-books,
and at the end 'of each week have in our
drawer the amount the office has earned.
Wo again request those who were in
debted to the Volunteer at the time it
was united with the Democrat {Decem
ber Ist, 1865,) to come forward at once
and makejiettlement. We must square
up our old books, and we hope those
knowing themselves indebted will call
on us .very soon.
OUR JOB DEPARTMENT.
The jobbing department of our office is
now complete, and equal to any outside
ot Philadelphia. We have added to it an
immense assortment of new' material, at
a very heavy expense, and are now pre
pared to execute all kinds of job work,
from the largest poster to the smallest fan
cy card, at short notice and at reason
able rates. An experienced job printer
will have charge of this department of
our office, and he feels confident of his
ability to execute his w'ork In a manner
that cannot foil to render full satisfaction.
H3T Ashland, the homestead of Henry
fllay, was sold on the 12th instant to the
Regent of the ICentucky University for
the sum of ?90,000.
DEili.itiOOUES IN melt PLACES.
When our country was in its infancy
the people were jealous of their rights*
and particular in the selection of men
for high positions. Washington, John
Adams, Jici’ruiisox, Munich:, Mam
sox, Jonx (y A dams —these wore the
first six Presidents of the United States.
Great, glorious names—men of giant
minds, statesmen and patriots. Jay,
Ellsworth, Marshall, Ta xf.v—
these groat lawyers succeeded each oth
er as Chief Justices of the United States
Supremo Court. Their talents; learning,
and purity of character attracted the at
tention of the civilized world. In the
United States Senate, in the House of
Representatives, in the State Legisla
tures of the several states, could be found
only the pure, the talented and the hon
est; demagogues and rogues were not
then to bo found occupying these honor
able positions. No, no—the people them
selves were pure, and their public ser
vants, State and National, were selected
because of their integrity and greatness.
But, wo are speaking of our country
in its infancy. Let us come down to a
later date—to a date some thirty years
ago, when “old Hickory” occupied the
Presidential chair. How did the United
States Senate of that day compare with
the present Senate? Who now occupies
the seat of the great Daniel Webster?
Thepoordemagoguc, Sumner —the man
with oho idea, and that idea the negro.
Who is in the seat once occupied by the
learned and powerful debater, Silas
Wkigiit of New York? Morgan, a
man noted for his demagoguoism and
knavery. Who in the seat of that man
of power, Levi Woodbury, of N.
Hampshire? Ci.auk, the negro-wor
shipper. Who in the seat of the great
Benton, of Missouri? Brown, a little
man of little mind, who considers the
negro “the coming man,” Who in the
seat of the great statesman, and patriot,
William Allen of Ohio? Ben Wade,
a man of vulgar mind, who, a few days
ago, thanked God that “the black man
had brought the late rebellion to a close. ’ 1
Who are found in the seats formerly oc
cupied by Southern statesmen ? Alas 1
nobody. They are empty—empty be
cause such creatures as Sumner, Wade,
Wilson and other disunionists, prefer
anarchy and desolation to peace and un
ion.
Look over the House of Representa
tives and we see the same melancholy
change. That little, dishonest, creeping
thing, Banks, occupies the chair once
occupied by John Quincy Adams; and
Stevens— old Thad, the revolutionist,
and whose cold heart never felt a patri
otic emotion, squats like a toad in the
chair of the great Ingeiisodl. Heav
ens! what a change.
In the Supreme Court how is it? Who
occupies the post of Chief Justice, so long
filled by the pure, the noble and great
Taney? Chase, the man who puts in
most of his time in delivering revolu
tionary speeches to ignorant negroes,
telling them that they are entitled to
the lands of their former masters, and
that they must have the right of suf
frage. This pretty politician, and third
rate lawyer, who when in the Senate
voted three times for a dissolution of
the Union, now soils the judicial robes
of the lamented Taney! “Oh, what a
fall, my countrymen!”
Are wo retrogading' as a people, or
why is it that knaves and demagogues
occupy the places that but. a few years
ago could only ho reached by the learned
and the pure? This question is often
asked, hut some appear puzzled
when they attempt to answer it.—
But to the observing man the
cause of this melancholy change
must bo apparent. The fault is with
the people themselves, for it is by their
votes that men are elevated to high and
responsible positions. The Know-noth
ing and Abolition parties, wo contend,
are responsible for having foisted into
place and power men devoid of honor,
or patriotism. These factions advoca
ted each one idea. The first opposei}
foreign residents; thesecond contends for
negro-equality. No man of enlarged
views, no statesman, could, without
dwarfing his mind, belong to a party
having but one single idea to govern it.
But such a party is the fit place for the
venal, the corrupt and the persecuting
demagogue. And these are the kind of
men we now find in power. Hence it
is that the very air stinks with corrup
tion; defalcations, thefts and robberies
are daily and hourly perpetrated, but
yet the people appear listless and care
less, and many are willing to cover up
the doings of scoundrels because they
fear an exposure might injure their par
ty. In the name of sense, how long is
this nightmare to last? Will not the
people—the mechanic, fanner, and la
borer-join hands, and swear by the God
that made him that this fanaticism, and
ignorance, dishonesty and scoundrel ism,
shall cease? Let the yeomanry reflect,
and then lot them act.
The Radicals have thrown their
banner to the breeze, and declared their
purpose to go before the country, on tile
great and final issue of universal negro
suffrage. But they will realize the over
whelming, truth that “whom the Gods
wish to destroy they first make mad.” It
is one thing to punish the South, and
quite another tiling to use the same scour
ges upon the backs of their own constitu
ents. All this arbitrary legislation—-this
party tyrrany, tending to the destruction
of tile rights of the states at the North as
well as tlie South—all these daily outra
ges which the radicals really imagine are
helping to preserve theirorganization, are
only hastening its destruction; and no one
can be more anxious to see the radical par
ty stand upon this universal negro-suf
frage basis than those who are anxious to
see the party and its loaders politically
destroyed and swept from off' the face of
the earth, them bring the issue be
fore the people in the coming campaign in
Pennsylvania. We are prepared to meet
it, whether they are or not.
-Disunion' State Convention.-Tlic
disunionists of this State have resolved to
hold a Convention at Harrisburg, on tlxe
tth of March to nominate a candidate for
Governor.
A MAMMOTH NEGRO BOARBISO
EBOIJSE,
A bill has passed the U. S. Senate
(the disunionists voting for and the
Demoerats against it,) which provides
for the onlaigement of the powers of the
mammoth national negro boarding
house, called by some the “ Frecdmen’s
Bureau.” By the provisions of this bill
the creatures entrusted with the man
agement of the concern are clothed with
almost unlimited powers, and are au
thorized to draWon the Treasury for as
many millions of dollars, as, in their
wise opinion, may be necessary for the
comfort of the tens of thousands of
worthless blacks who are to bo protected
by the Bureau. 11 provides for an agent
in every county where freedmen are
found—and in what county are they not
found!—making 1,078 agents, for thfy is
the number of counties embraced in the
United States. Each agent is to re
ceive a salary (independent of stealings)
of $1,500 a year. Seventy-two assistant
agents, and three thousand two hun
dred clerks are also to be appointed,
whose salaries arc to be fixed by the
head superintendent or boss cook of the
boarding house. The salaries of the
officers of the concern alone (to say
nothing of the sealings,) will amount to
some three millions of dollars a year 1
Three millions of acres of “ good
laud” are to be purchased and set apart
for the negroes, who are to bo instructed
how to work by white hirelings; in
plain English, white men are to be hired
to work for the negroes, wdio are to re
ceive all the proceeds of the lands.—
Every “pet lamb” found running at
large is to bo politely invited to the
boardinghouse, where he will bo clothed,
fed, and educated for a time, and then a
farm of “good land” will be presented
to him, which he can move upon if he
pleases, or if he don’t please, he can re
main as a permanent boarder. Ain’t it
something to bcP-a “ pet lamb” nowa
days ?
Truly this is an enlargement of the
powers of the “ Preedmen’s Bureau.”—
It is the most extensive boarding house
over heard of since the days of old
Noah. What a blessing to be a negro
now! What think our white soldiers
of this? We believe no land is to be
given to them, nor is any boarding
house fitted up for their iffkommodation.
These favors are reserved for the “sweet
scented negro,” and his posterity, and
the white men of this once favored land
have to toe the mark in the way of
taxes.
Another Abolition Ontrngc.
At the late election in the Franklin
and Adams district, C. M. Duncan, the
Democratic candidate for State Senator,
was elected over a Republican named
McConaughy, by a small majority. This
was too much for the aboiitionsts to
stand and as their party had a majority
in the Senate, they felt sure that any
kind of a charge would do to oust the
duly elected Democrat, and so it has
proved. At first they intended to put in a
bogus soldiers’ vote, but the soldiers
came home too soon and declared they
did not cast any votes. Then they re
sorted to the deserters’ vote —the votes
cast by men who were said to be desert
ers from the army and under law of
Congress disfranchised. Well, on this
ground McConaughy wont to Harris
burg and had his petition presented to
the Senate, contesting Mr. Duncan’s right
to a seat and a committee was drawn.
This committee consisted of six Repub
licans and one Democrat. First, this
committee announced that they would
submit the constitutionality of this law
of Congress to the Attorney General of
the State—also a Republican—and as the
gentlemen composing the committee
were presumed to ho honorable men,
who could rise above partisanship, it was
hoped that justice would be done Mr.
Duncan. But unfortunately it was ascer
tained that the Attorney General did not
consider that Congress had the right to
interfere with State election laws, and
the committo changed their minds and
concluded to make themselves judges,
although a majority of them were not
even lawyers, and resolved that Congress
had a right to say who shall vote and
who shall not, in Pennsylvania, and as
they found that SW such votes had boon
cast for Mr. Duncan—more than his ma
jority—they threw him out of the Sen
ate and gave the seat to McConaughy, a
man whom the district had repudiated.
Could party prejudice go further? Tru
ly, elections arc a farce when the will
of the people can thus he set aside by
unconscionable demagogues.
li®“ A committe of the State Senate,
appointed last winter to investigate into
alledged fraudulent transactions by cer
tain Philadelphia “ borers made report
a few daysago. By their report itappears
that three men, viz—Wm. H. Witte,
George Northrop, and Alberts. Scofield,
all of Philadelphia, had received some
830,000 from a western rail-road compa
ny, for the ostensible purpose of bribing
members of Assembly to vote for a bill
in which said railroad was interested, —
The transaction, by some means, leaked
out, and Mr. Hopkins, the Democratic
Senator from Washington, exposed it
before the Senate, and at his suggestion
a committee of investigation was ap
pointed. After the committee had been
appointed, 825,000 was returned to the
rail-road officer who had advanced it,
the three “ borers” retaining 85,000. it
seems that no portion of tins money was
ever paid to any member of Assembly
for his vote, and that money was not
necessary to secure the passage of the
bill in which'the rail-road was interest
ed.
Wo hope to see the men who were en
gaged in tliis fraudulent transaction pun
ished to the full extent of the law. Their
conduct was most infamous, and wo arc
glad they have been exposed. The fact
that they are Democrais, will not induce
us to attempt a palliation of their con
duct. Wo lavor the exposure of till
fraudulent transactions, and we repeat
Hint these men deserve punishment.
It is said the claims of Hon.' .John ,M
Botta, for wood taken by the Union ar
mies, will not be paid.
In our last we published the proceed
ings of the U. H. Senate for one week.
We now:.give the proceedings of the
House of Representatives for the same
week. Wocompilotrom the Washington
Globe, the official paper, viz:
Ho usk.—Prayer by the Chaplain in
behalf of “ our colored brethren.”
Mr. Broomall, (disunion, Pa.) offeree
the following resolution:
Jtemlved, That the Committee on the
District of Columbia be instructed to in
quire into the expediency of ordering
an election, at winch the blacks of' the
District shall decide by ballot whether,
in their opinion, the white men of the
District should ho allowed the right of
suffrage.
A vote was taken and the resolution
tabled.
The House resumed the consideration
of the bill proposing to extend suffrage
in the District of Columbia," by striking
out the word “ white” wherever it ap
pears in the laws and ordinances.
■ Mr. Kasson, (Union, lowa,) spoke
against the bill, and Mr. Kelley, (dis
union, Pa.) in favor of it.
Mr. Johnson, of Pennsylvania, rose to
a point of order, saying the hall was
very dark, especially in the galleries,
and it ought to be lit up. [The galleries
were filled with grinning negroes.]
Pour or five short speeches wore made
by disunion members in lavor of negro
suffrage, when the House adjourned.
The morning following. House met.
Prayer by the Chaplain for the freed
men.
Mr. Conklin (disunion, New York,)
offered the following:
Resolved, That in re-establishing the
Federal relationships of the communi
ties lately in rebellion, so as to permit
them again to participate in adminis
tering the General Government, the fol
lowing arc necessary and proper re
quirements on the part of the United
States and ought to be secured by such
measures as will render them, as far as
possible, inevitable:
First, The absolute renunciation of all
the pretensions and evasions of secession
as, a doctrine and as a practice.
Second, The repudiation, both by the
State and by the National Governments,
of all public debts and obligations, in
cluding State and municipal liabilities,
contracted or as in aid of the late rebel-,
lion, and including also all claims by or
on behalf of those who were in the mil
itary or naval service of the insurgents
for bounty, pay or pensions, and all
claims by persons not loyal to the United
States for damages or losses suffered by
reason of the rebellion, or for advances
made in its aid.
Third, The assurance of human rights
to all persons within their borders, re
gardless of race, creed, or color and the
adoption of such provisions against bar
barism, disorder and oppression, as will
relieve the General Government from
the necessity of standing guard over any
portion of our country to protect the
people from domestic violence and out
rage.
Fourth, The impartial distribution of
political power among all sections of the
country, so that four millions of people
shall no longer be represented in Con
gress in the interests of aggrandizement
and at the same time be excluded from
political privileges and rights.
Fifth, The election of Senators and
Ueprgsentatives in truth loyal to the
United States, and never ringleaders in
the late revolt, nor guilty of dastardly
betraying their trusts which preceded
the war, or of atrocities Which war can
not extenuate.
The above resolutions led to a debate,
in which Mr. Conklin, their author,
took strong ground in favor of negroes
holding office. No vote taken.
Tlie House resumed the consideration
of tlie bill to extend suffrage in the Dis
trict of Columbia.
Mr. Julian (disunion, Ind.) made a
set speech in favor of the bill. He
agreed with Mr. Stevens of Pa., that if
the negro is not permitted to vote the
Republican party will bo defeated and
go down. Give the colored man the
ballot, he said, and we (theßepublicans)
will carry two-thirds of the Southern
States, and canthcn feel secure and laugh
to scorn all efforts the copperheads may
make to regain power. He spoke severe
ly against President Johnson, and de
nounced ins policy.
(Several Democratic members replied
to Julian's speech. The galleries were
again filled witii negroes. The House
adjourned.
Next morning. Prayer by the Chap
lain for Sambo.
Mr. Wilson, (disunion, lowa,) moved
that the House proceed to the consider
ation of the hill to extend the right of
suffrage to colored men in the District
of Columbia. The bill was taken up
and debated for some four hours—the
Democrats opposing, and the disunion
ists supporting it. The -House adjourn
ed.
Next morning. House met at the
usual hour, when a prayer was offered
for the “pot iambs.”
Mr. Elliot, (disuniouist, Mass.) offered
a resolution, giving more power to the
Prcedmen’s Bureau.
The House resumed the consideration
of the hill to give the blacks of the Dis
trict of Columbia the right to vote.
Mr, C lark, (disuniouist, Kansas,) was
the first speaker. He denied that this
is a white man’s government. The ne
gro had more rights here, he said, than
tlie white man. He confessed that he
loved tlie negro character, and ho warn
ed Republicans to adhere to the colored
man, and make him a brother, or defeat
to the Republican party would follow.
( Ml '- Johnson, ( Dem. of Pa.) replied to
( lark, denouncing his sentiments as
monstrous and absurd. Mr. J. said that
now, for the first time, it was sought to
confer upon tlie negroes a part in the
management, direction and control of
this Government, For this there was
no foundation in right and justice.—
Never yet on the face of the earth lias a
popular CowTiiment been organized
and maintained by the African race.—
When a black man becomes a voter ho
becomes a part of the Government.
Tlie right of suffrage belongs only to
those to whom the Government belongs,
ami he maintained that we can haven
reimhiie without" conceding to all the
privilege of the elective franchise. The
man who votes is eligible to he voted
for, and this is the very foundation of
I mii Jui- government. Machine voting
was to he introduced here, suelras pre
vailed in ff.dtinioro in “Kmey-Noth
ing” limes, when a certain amount of
THE RUMP CONGRESS.
money was placed in a precinct to pro
cure a certain amount of votes, and if
votes enough were not furnished they
were supplied by return day. The con
ferring of suffrage on the negroes here
lookoll very much like the continuation
of the substitute system—not, however,
under the conscription law.
There was a largo floating population
here, having no permanent residence,
being clerks in the public departments,
who go home once a year to renew their
allegiance to the candidates of their dis
trict, in order that the candidates, if
elected, shall keep them in office all the
time. Therefore, they seek negro voters
as substitutes, just as they used negroes
for substitutes during the war.
Several Republican members followed
in answer to Mr. Johnson, all taking
strong ground in favor of the bill.
Finally, amotionwasmade'.by aDciu
ocratic member to lay the whole subject
on the table. Voted down—yeas 46,
nays 123.
Several amendments were proposed
—one requiring a property qualification.,
another requiring the voter to be able
to read, and another giving the right to
vote to those only who served in the
army. They were all voted down by a
party vote.
The previous question was then called
and the bill giving the negroes the con
trol of the Capital of the Nation, passed
the House—yeas 116, nays 54.
When the result of the vote was an
nounced, the negroes in the galleries
gave yell after yell, and clapped their
hands and danced like monkeys. Hun
dreds of them rushed from the galleries
to the floor of the House to shake hands
with Stevens and other prominent ne
gro-worshippers. Business could not
go on, and the House adjourned.
Next morning. The Chaplain, during
the prayer, thanked the Almighty for
the result of yesterday’s proceedings.
Mr. Deming, (disunion,. Conn.) ad
dressed the House, taking ground that
the Union was dissolved, and that the
President was wrong in his views, &c.
Mr. Green Clay Smith, of Ky., pro
ceeded to address the House at length
on the assumption that the States were
within the Union, declaring that he
held position with the President, that
the Southern States were not now and
never had been without the Union. He
alluded to finding but one man in the
Congress of the summer of 1861 who de
clared that the States were not in the
Union, and that was the gentleman from
Pennsylvania. (Mr. Thad. Stevens.)
Mr. Kelley, (disunionlst, Pn.) present
ed the petition of citizens of the District
of Columbia, asking for the abolition
of all laws making distinction on ac
count of color. Deferred to the Com
mittee on the District.
The bill to enlarge the powers of the
Freedmen’s Bureau, so as to make it
independent of the President or any
other authority, was taken up and dis
cussed for two hours.
During the speeches the most fulsome
flattery was bestowed upon the negroes,
and one member declared that to the,
black man we are indebted for the vic
tory we gained over the South in the
into Rebellion. The white soldiers, in
ins opinion, did not amount to much.—
Adjourned.
Johnny Looming up.— Little Johnny
Cessna, of Bedford county, who has been
a leech upon the Democratic party for
years, and who left that party two years
ago because they would not give him the
nomination for Governor—a place after
which he has hankered for years—is now
asking his new made friends to confer that
honor upon him for tlie dirty work he has
performed in .the Abolition camp during
the past year. We see that he has beaten
Prank Jordon for the delegates in Bedford
county and that the delegates in Franklin
are instructed for him. Johnny is a slip
pery politician and the old stagers in the
abolition party who want to be governor,
will have to keep their top eye open to
keep up with him. What an incorrupti
ble executive he would make!
Time 'Works Wonders. —One year ago
the men of the South were in arms to de
stroy the Union. Now the same men are
doing all in their power to restore the Un
ion. One year ago the Republican party
held Union meetings, made Union speech
es, and,were willing that their neighbors
should die for the Union. To-day the
Republican party sneers at the Union,
and all measures looking to its restoration.
They insist that the States lately in Re
bellion, shall not bo considered States, but
shall stay out of the Union and hold only
a sort of territorial relation to the govern
ment.. If this position bo the correct one,
then tire war for the Union was a failure.
A Hard .Hit.—A gentlemen recently
returned from the South called on the
President and told him that at Richmond
there were in a single school Iwo or three
hundred white children as poor and ig
norant as any blacks to bo found in the
whole of the South, and urged that they
needed the aid of the philanthropic every
where. President Johnson replied that
he was very glad one Northern man had
discovered there were any white people
at tlie South.
In the debate in the Rump House on
the 23d, upon the question of suffrage,
Thad. Stevens interrupted Mr. Brooks, of
New York, by asking him if he was in
favor of granting the right of suffrage to
women. Brooks replied that ho preferred
his own color and white women above
the negroes. The whites in the galleries
applauded this retort vociferously. It is
not stated whether the old negro lover
took tlie reply as personal.
The IfREEn.MEN in South Caiiomna.*
—Ex-Gov. Aiken, of South Carolina, ar
rived at Washington a few days ago, and
gives an unfavorable report of the condi
tion of the negroes in Unit State. He
says that large number* of them refuse to
work, and the next cotton and rice crons
are likely to prove a decided failure. He
has been requested to confer with Gen.
Grant and the President oii the subject.
liH’iTiix of Gov, CeitTix.— Gov. Cur
tin and family' reached home on Friday
usd from Claim. T)io Governor's health
has been greatly improved by his trip.
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
Kegi-o Suffrage in the District—Cully
and Dinah iu the Galleries—A
Grand African Jubilee—Another
Constitutional Amendment— I The
“ Lords of the Lash”—Hooutz and
Coffroth.
Washington', D. I
Jan. 27, IStitl. ('
Mnssits Editors Volunteku :-*Su “ we
arc to have the new paper out next week"
are wo, and I must fulfill my promise of
furnishing you with a. weekly letter. —
Hero goes for number one, but where In
the world shall I begin? What point of
the mountains of iniquity of the present
Congress shall I attempt to scale? I could
not think of recording the one hundredth
part of their villianies in the limits of a
weekly letter. Such hair-brained mad
ness was never before presented to the
gaze of the American people, as seems to
rule the hour in both halls of Congress
during the present session. Over seventy
amendments to the Constitution of the
UnitedStatoshave already been presented,
and the wildest fancy cannot estimate how
many more are to follow. But more of
these hereafter.
I was up on the hill, one day last week,
and it may interest your readers to know
what I saw there. The bill centering the
right of suffrage upon the negroes of the
District was under consideration, and of
course “Sambo” and “Dinah” and all the
little “nigs” were on hand, or rather in
the galleries. This was their grand gala
day, and they were determined to make
the most of it. “Dinah” nodded approv
ingly to “Ctesar Augustus Hannibal,” as
she passed him in the rotunda and inform
ed him that “ Dis chile is gwino to git in
de front seat.” To the front seat she was
shown by a polite usher from Massachu
setts. “Cuffy” was pointing to the in
comprehensicle painting on the dome,
representing the “Spirit of America,” and
informing his gaping and astonished hear
ers that it represented “ Maasa Linkumin
Heaven,” and that the eagle therein por
trayed was “tie bird of Paradise" ; while
the aforesaid “Hannibal Augustus Ciesar”
was informing his “Melinda Jane” that
the large painting on the right of the door
leading from the rotunda to the Senate
wing was “de landing of Massa Sumner
and de pillegrine fathers.” They [crowd
ed to the hill in thousands—they thronged
all the corridors and stairways—and be
fore the hour of noon arrived the galler
ies of the House were a compact mass of
ebony, interspersed with a few white lad
ies and gentlemen, who had been admit
ted, as an especial favor, by the ushers.—
The “ darks” occupied no particular por
tion of the galleries, but were scattered
promiscuously around the entire “ gilded
amphitheatre,” as Sumner calls it; and
so greatly did they preponderate that they
cast a sombre hue over the entire audience.
Infactone of the members suggested that
the gas be lighted—stating that it was al
ready growing dark in the galleries—
though it was but little more than four o’-
clock in the afternoon. There they sat—
these thriftless, lazy creatures, mostof them
maintained by the Freedmen’s Bureau
beneficiaries of the public—drawing their
means of livelihood from the treasury ofthe
nation, while the whitepeople of thecoun
try are taxed to pay the expense. How
many honest, thrifty, hardworking white
men are there who can afford to come to
W ashington, and sit day after day, week af
ter week, listening to the deliberations of
Congress? They cannot afford todoit, but
under the protection of the Freedmen ’ s Bu
reau the galleries are crowded with those
negroes who do nothing to earn an honest
living, but are supported out of the taxes
levied upon thewhole people ofthe country.
The suffrage bill came up in its order,
and then the radicals became frightened
and wanted to postpone; but the Demo
crats were determined to force the issue
upon them, and to place them fairly and
squarely upon the record. Those who
had their written but unspoken pieces in
their pockets, were in hopes that further
delay would afford opportunity for debate.
But the issue was pressed, and the bill
passed. Such a scene as followed was
never before witnessed In the Congress of
the United States. Male and female
“nigs" rose to their feet, clapping their
hands, and waving their rimless hats and
soiled pocket handkerchiefs. Little
“nigs” threw their arms around their
“daddies’” necks and kicked up their
ebony heels in a perfect ecstacy of joy.—
“Melinda Jane” rushed into “Dinahs”
embrace, with a “Bress de Lord,” and
wept whole pails full of tears. Old Sambo,
in a perspiration of excitement, rushed at
once for the floor of the House, to press
Stevens and Kelly and Williams and
Ashley to his heart of hearts; while little
Sambo danced a jig on the front steps, or
walked on his hands through the vesti
bules. Oh, you cannot imagine what a
disgraceful scene it was! It beggared de
scription. The whole .spectacle would
have made a splendid picture representing
fanaticism gone mad. What evil days
we have fallen upon, when judgment has
fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost
their reason!
Distiiet negro suffrage in the House is
dead to debate j but there has never been
a time, in the lost four years, when the
negro, in some shape, could not he used
as a “substitute.” He shouldered the
musket in the late war for more than one
third of the patriots of Massachusetts. And
now that the House lias disposed of the
suffrage question in the District, the uni
versal and irrepressible negro comes up in
a new shape. Old Thad. Stevens rose
one morning and pulled out a amendment
to the Constitution, which readily came
to hand in his breeches pocket—where he
has two or three dozen more in reserve
which proved to bo a provision limiting
the representation of States to their actual
voting population. Of course it means a
constitutional amendment which will
force the extension 'of the elective fran
chise, without qualification, to the negroes
in every State, North and South, and it
menaces the refusing States by threaten
ing to limit their representation.
How anxious these Radicals must be for
“universal suffrage,” when they cannot
present their favorite plan of enfranchis
ing the blacks without at the same time
dvfranehisinff whites, ns in tile District
or doliarring them from representation!
Hs the .Stevens amendment proposes to do
in the Stales.
Most singular, of all the doings in this
extraordinary session, surpassing in cool
ness even the gag, no-debnto, general
basketing business, was Old Thad’s at
tempt to press this amendment to an im
mediate passage. It hud not been printed.
Not half tlie members heard it distinctly
when it Was read. It was n
change the whole organic law onf bj, '<itk
with regard to the dearest nonm,. .
the right of representation— aniJ tlBl !'fffirp4.
ed, nnconsidered, Old Thad. Steyro?*-
he said, to bring It to a po*** 3.
the sun went down!” The 7, .iWSk
had decided upon it, and altlmaa'H
mittec is not unite so supremo • li
House as caucus, yet Stevens n,.n f
thought thatno debate was nece* a , ''Pr = :
a matterwliichho and hiscommuttn 1
decided.. But the House, even the C
side, thought otherwise, and the Mi'.uoiimtJ
ordered to be printed.
■ A few years back, when the
party wore m power, we heard
from the abolitionists about “ tht
tl r e mf i rl l ' iVel ' ,S W1 1 IP ’” butthe
of Thad. fetevens m forcing hi B j oil)t ' Recite.
lution through the House on thefiJWMil, B
of the session, and in trvimr tn „„ "thelr repe
v0.,0„,1U.» Tr e„t i io!
tion, before anybody knew fairly E
was, gave the country a taste of the hours
insolence, more imperious than that
bred on any Southern plantation. Sri' of
gang ever had the whip cracked s i,an4theK
their ears so haughtily as this w'thm.lto <
“the party of great moral ideas”
the “Radical whip” about the c
House of Representatives on Tu s itovi#hljE
morning. It is these abolition f aris 'to''imigf
who are now “the lords of the
The ficticious insolence of Mrs. Sw. conduct!
slave drivers blushes to find how n* except $
is beside the imperious insolence of ti
Congressional Legreos. Aye, the ‘ TaE o
of tills country are to-day groaning * '•*
a slavery far worse than that whieluj ‘‘•t? l ™
ed the slave on the plains of the soml
A majority and minority report /'l™*#
winade yesterday, from the
committee on elections in the conit- a®d r (3lml
case of the Franklin and Adams d|.V Keretpfi
The majority report favors Cofftoth’ife
to the seat, and the minority reim
dares Mr. Koontz entitled to it, I toa i"
House has not yet acted on theimuic me ®^ B
The Senate passed the bill enlargim;'
jurisdiction of the Freedmen’s Buret 1 '
It is to bo no longer confined in k< , *
tionsto the Southern States,
groes all over the country are to bet
clothed, educated and “ elevated," #(
annual expense of severalhundrcdnti BgSßg
dollars. What a rare chance for picW
and stealings this new project opcnii ““Sf
for the faithfhl! By the way doe* frorridl
seem a little strange that if the n tf
are intelligent and “ elevated” enouri SpY
vote beside their white brethren, ani’i I”?. ”
capable of taking care of themselves,!! M
should be such a large expenditure-,,' o® na >
treasure of the nation to provide [or r “w *
necessities? Cauc.uii
SEWS ITEMS.
A bill is pending before the Lrgi of this
to make eight hours a legal day's wo: home )
The citizens of Allentown props ucnnth
erect a wire bridge over the Lehigh:
Ten men charged with murdoi;
awiting trial in the Cincinnati jail,
The receipts of the city railways ini Cell'll
cago last year were $656,000; mimic
passengers, 13,000,000. Met
It cost the Federal Government i
year, $2,783,010,78 to do the public p “W*
ing. naf Si
The now sensus of Illinois shorn';
tal population of 2,126,000; an in:: . ■ A®;
of 414,000 inflvo years. ■
The work of constructing a rat mged
between Titusville and Union law' he aft
commenced. W oodi
Kev. G. F. Stelling was on Sunt He wi
installed pastor of the First English b ing, '
eran Church in Harrisburg. ‘ show
Wm. Richardson, one of thecarli Unot.
develops the coal trade of Pennsylt <on w
died in Philadelphia last week. 8
Brigham Young proposes to pm
two of the Sandwich Islands and end' • ■ ,
thither with his flock.
tug
Albert L. Starkweather is on to hired
Hartford, Con., for the murder ofhin Gold
er and sister. leave
The vote in sexes for delegates , ,Vr
State convention was quite small, i ' ■
of the delegates chosen are consent
The grand jury of Mercer' county,,
Jersey, has “presented” the stude
Princeton College for their hides;
duct.
Marriage op Mrs. Dot'iv».-V
Stephan A. Douglas, was marrlcW^
ington, last week, to Brig. Gen. I.
Williams.
Marriage op Miss. Lasf-
Lane, niece of ex-President fluent
was married at 11 Wheatland,” rest
a Mr. Johnson, merchant of Balt'®"
Deceased.— Mr. W. D. Hays,i®
Superintendant of the Northerner
railway, died at Philadelphia, re®
typhoid fever
It is stated that an appropriation
-000 will be required “to replace th.
the 'White House which have 1# PUt
moved by somebody.” ced
Beauregard is in New Orle®; ,
Delta contains an appeal from hind,,
delivery of fifty thousand cross-tiey.,,
a Louisiana railroad of which he
al superintendent and chief engine
At Columbus, Mississippi, wf age
mining company has been orgw*
operate in that State and Alabama
have made important discovert, '
have bought 9,000 acres of land. .-.'ittii
Edward B. Ketchum, who
convictedof forgery, andsentenccdt'.
a term of four yerrs and six m®.
Bing Sing, has been placed in 1 ,
shop of the prison.
Dissolved.— The bloody
that has existed between
Baker, at Washington, for the
years, was partly dissolved
inst., by the Rresident musteriM t
out of the concern. 1 an
Hon. Oswald Tuosirsos,
Judge of the Court of Common ,
Philadelphia, died at his residency
mantown, on Tuesday, from the*,
a stroke of paralysis, received 011 -. m
day lust. i <ll
The Property of the late
Douglas, In Chicago, which at' ‘ J&'M
his death was considered hio r
beyond its value, increased
value during the war as to
and leave a large surplus forlß* &*|||
Disease Asioko
some parts of Vermont have m
a mysterious disease, from igSB
cover. The disease appeal
and by many is so considerfl / ,
hly lljs.an epidemical disease ■-
j
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