=E=Msi=3;=!!=Z3 :' ancnottf- , itttthen.it4 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1884. ...The printing presses shall be free to every person. who undertakes to examine the pro ceeduigs of the legislature, or any branch of government; and .no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The freacommu nioation of tlusught, and opinions Is one of the invaluable rights. of men •. and every citizen may, freely speak; write and print on any sub. jeutt being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. In prosecutions for the publication of paper s investigating the official conduct of offi ma's. or men in .public capacities, or where the Innuor published is proper for imblio informa tion, the truth. thereof may be given In evi dence.''—austffirtion of .Penneyivania. The Fall of Savannah. Christmaa this year has been made ever memorable by the completion of :the grand march of Sherman, and his entry into the city of Savannah. The news which first reached us through the Philadelphia papers of yesterday was received with testimonials of re joicing, and the bells rang merrily. It is really a great and important success, and must be seriously felt by the rebels. It, opens up one of the best and most -important harbors of the South, and gives us a new base which can be used most advantageously for further offen sive operations. • Whether this and our other great re cent successes shall be the means of bringing about a speedy end of the war depends upon the use which shall be made of them by the Administration. A really magnanimous offer of terms to the South at the present time, whether it would be accepted by the rebel lead ers or not, could not fail to produce the most gratifying results. If it should be rejected by the leaders of the rebellion, their rejection of it would greatly weak en them with the Southern people, and thus aid the Union cause. If the bar baric theory of universal devastation is to prevail, as - the chosen means of sub jugation, we shall yet find that all our conquests are:of no avail, and that our costly victories bring us no advantages. It will cost us more to keep the South in subjection than it is worth, and in the end we shall be foiled, baffled and defeated by our own folly. Jubilant as the Abolition press natur ally is over the fall of Savannah, they do not run into that excess of ovef-con fidence which once distinguished them. Even the Prem. speaks in measured terms. The following extract is omin ous: " The capture of Savannah is proba bly the most valuable of all our vie,- " tories. Others have had far greater "immediate results, as Gettysburg " which saved Pennsylvania, and Nash " ville which crushed a whole army at "a blow; but from Savannah we shall "make another war. We do not see " how the military power of the rebel "lion can survive this terrible defeat " one year." The sixty day theory seems to have been abandoned. One year is the esti mate made by the Press of the tine needed to overthrow the military power of the rebellion. It would not take that long if there was good sense enough in the Administration property to use aright the victories we have gained.— We fear there is not, and believe the one year of thePicss will be repeatedly multiplied unless wiser counsels shall prevail. The Governor and his Attorney General. We call attention to the opinion of Attorney General Meredith, in the case of Hon. John L. MINN - son. We gladly give place to this document, because it puts our State authorities in enviable contrast with the authorities at Wash ington. Mr. Meredith has not allowed his party predilections to influence his sense of right, or to interfere with his clear appreciation of the law as appli cable to the case on hand. And in this, as in other cases of the kind, Governor Curtin has conscientiously discharged his duty by following the safe counsels of his Constitutional adviser. This is the more honorable to them in consid eration of the nefarious examples of interference in the right of elections which have been set by . the President and executed by those under him in authority. The Democrats of Maryland had a fairly elected majority in the Senate of that State. This triumph was achieved, despite the most outrageous frauds, and the most direct military interference at the polls. . But, arbitrary power is not to be thus thwarted, and the military despotism at Washington does not hesi tate as to the means to be employed. By threatening to arrest one member they have frightened him into resigning, while another, for refusing to do so un der similar threats, has been thrust into prison. We are glad to know that our public officials are yet obedient to the law of the State, careful in their con struction of it, and willing to be bound by its provisions. "Fighting Joe" Makes a Speech A short time since Major General Hooker and staff visited Wood's Thea tre in Cincinnati to witness the rendi tion of Camille, by Miss Olive Logan, the beautiful and accomplished sister of Eliza Logan, who has recently made her successful debut upon tke American stage. Between the acts 'Aorne of the enthusiastic admirers of-the General cheered and applauded him to such an extent that he was obliged to respond, which he did in a manner worthy the gallantry of a knight of the olden time. He said : "Ladies and Gentlemen assure you I am not insensible to the compli ment you show me. lam greatly hon ored by it, but pressing as are your importunities, it is only admissible to interrupt the performance of the even ing in the briefest manner possible.— We are here for another purpose. We are here to show our respect for the genius, loyalty and accomplishments of the lady whose benefit we attend. Al lo . C . cr me to add that she is our 'star' to night, and to request that you will not allow yourselves to be diverted from it by- other influences. Again thanking you for your kindness, I will return to my. seat." A Remarkable Confession of the Secre tary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury makes the remarkable confession that, if the people had only foreseen the vast ex penditure of this war, they would never have engaged in it. He says, in speak ing of the war in its commencement : " Had it been then foreseen that what was believed to be a contest for months was to be continued for years, and that hundreds of millions of public debt would be swollen into thousands of millions before the close of that contest, it may well be doubted whether, igno rant as they were of their own immense resources, the people might not have shrunk appalled froth. an undertaking which contemplated a sacrifice so far exceeding all former experience." This draws from him the remark that it was fortunate the people were so ignorant. Hear him: "Unaccustomed for a long course of years to great national efforts, it was fortunate that their power of endurance should be tested only by degree, as the struggle which Providence had pre pared for them developed its vast pro portions, and the necessity of great and long continued effort became apparent." We never before heard of national shortsightedness and ignorance being made a subject of congratulation. We would add to the above com mentary of the Cincinnati Enquirer, that the same corrupt or ignorant lead erg, who caused this ignorance of the masses whom they led, by their own false teachings, are equally laboring now• M perpetuate a like ignorance as to other vital matters ME!l=l=E=! The Coming Draft. On the third of last September, Secre tary Stanton senithefollowingdesPatch to General Dix, while WO last • draft was pending: -• ' 'The naval and other creditsrequired by the act of Congress will amount to abobt two hundred thousand, including New York, which has not been, report ed yet to the department ; so that the President's call of July 19 is practically reduced to three hundred thousand men. One hundred thousand new troops, promptly furnished, are all that Gen. Grant asks for the capture of Richmond, and to give a ilnishingblow to the rebel armies in the Held. The residue of the call would be adequate for garrisons in forts, and to guard all the lines of com munication, and supply, and free the country from guerillas, give security to trade, protect commerce and travel, and establish peace, order and tranquility in every State. EDWIN M. STANTON, " Secretary of War." Just before the Presidential election Mr. Solicitor Whiting deliberately, and to all appearance authoritatively, an nounced that there were " Men enough in the army," and that . " 716 more drafts would be made." At the time when all these electioneer ing lies were being circulated we de nounced them as utterly false and un worthy of credit, and warned the people that the re-election of Lincoln would be the signal for more drafts. Multi tudes allowed themselves to act the part of children or fools, and gave credence to the falsehoods which are regularly got up to suit each recurring necessity of the fanatics now in power. The world must wonder at the gullibility of the populace of the United States. Mr. Lincoln has constantly deceived them. Each new call for men has, been pre faced by assurances that no more men were needed, and accompanied, when it came, by the most positive announce ment that this was the last draft that would be made. Each new increase of the army was declared amply sufficient to finish up the rebellion, whose unfor tunate backbone was now at least un doubtedly broken. How much longer do the people intend to be pilled by these same threadbare falsehoods? The coining draft is an ugly reality. The grim fact is staring us in the face. There is no escape from it that we can see. Men will be demanded, and it is not improbable that men who have been heretofore credited will be disal lowed as nothing but " figures," which are fast getting into disrepute. The old saying, "figures can't lie," is not as im plicitedly trusted as it once was. A gentleman, given to getting up statisti cal tables, recently made a computation from the records official, and from Abo lition newspapers, of rebels that have been slain (luring the war, and found that the sum total of those killed out right exceeded five millions. We can not be at all sure that the figures em ployed in making out quotas will be any more skilfully handled. Old pack horse Pennsylvania will be sure to have a good round number of solidithousands saddled upon her back, and the esti mates of the department at: Washing ton will never be examined. .Our loyal Governor will not interfere in the mat ter. Whatever the allotment be they must be forthcoming by the 15th day of February, or the wheel of fate will be turned. Wo to the poor devils who draw prizes in this lottery of death. No important election is immediately be fore us, and few considerations will be allowed to mitigate its severity. There are no considerations now to induce the administration to consult much with the people or to listen to suggestions from them. The coming conscription will be enforced with relentless vigor, such as has not attended any of those which preceded it. The Policy of Destruction We still persist in calling the war raging in this country a war for the Union. To restore or reconstruct the Union of the now dissevpre.d States, we are taught to regard as ai object of importance sufficient to jyistify any sacrifice we can be called ul36nto make. We are constantly told that the object of our desires will be accomplished very speedily after the armies of the South are defeated. But how this' 'most de sirable consummation is to be. achieved no one of the impracticable radicals of the day, - in or out of Congre l s, has as yet been good enough to infOrm us.— They cry havoc, and justify the most destructive warfare, on the plan of weakening the enemy, but no one of them attempts to solve the seemingly impossible problem of our liing again in peace and union with a peeple whom we are daily exasperating and driving to the most intense hatred, by the man ner in which we are conducting our campaigns. The policy of destruction is the one now in favor. The beautiful valleys of Virginia have been made deserts, and wherever our armies march the inhabitants of the country are made to feel all the woes thatcan beiattendant upon the rudest possible war of con quest. Our cry is vac viCos, and, whether so intended or net, every movement we make but adds intensity to the hatred with which we are even now regarded. Sherman's treatment of the people of Georgia, on march through that State, will not !be likely to beget any love for the Unibn. The time will yet come, even if tae should succeed in subduing the armies now arrayed against us, when we. shall be convinced of thefolly and caminaLity of our present course of prBCedure. When we become thoroughly aware of the fact that our policy Bias -rendered perpetual war, or ultimate separation inevitable, the real friends of the Union, those who have deprecated the barbar ism displayed, and denounced. the mad schemes of the fanatics who now lead, will be regarded in their true light, and recognized as the best friends of the nation. We are inflicting great miseries upon thosAvhom we once., regarded as brethren ; we are maddening every man and woman in the Soutt; we are insuring the perpetual exis(ence of a hatred which never can and never will be appeased ; we are, even by:What we call our efforts to restore the Union, rendering any restorationii thereof under a form of free goveruMent an utter impossibility. We may again have a united- territory, but it must and will be at the sacrifice of our republican institutions; A mili tary despotism may for a While hold the dissevered sections together, by Pinning them fast to each other with bayonets, but so surely as the devilish designs and the infernal policy now in vogue is to prevail, so surely shall we never again see the people ofthe States now dissevered—living together in peace undenu freeform of government. There must be a complete change of policy before we shall begin to reap any profit from the vast expenditure of blood and treasure we are making. In the end, the policy of destruction will prove more disastrous to us•than to those who are now suffering from it. General Bosecrans. Tnis officer publishes a card in refer ence to some alleged aspersions of his *character. He says whatever may have been the cause of his removal from the Department of Missouo, it was not that his campaign against Price was a fail ure, He asserts that it was successfUl, and fruitful of 'good tto the Federal cause. Nor has the President ever in timated dissatisfaction with his manage-. pant pf civil affairs in The charge thaf hie 113'41 opium eater ? CIOn, Rosecrans likewise says is unfounded. PoliticaP Proscription in 1199,1 Scrap oY History. In the year 1799 politics ran high in this g:Attte„..'anti i in thikcounty. „.she !'Candidate of the' FediUidiettt was Jaines • Ross, . , that of-( opponents,, who: ealledthemsel Republicans, but who Were nick-narnM Detnocrats by the FederaliSts, was Thomas Mo - Kean Then, as now, the oPponents of Democ racy attempted'to prescribe such as did not agree with them in political senti ment. They went so far as to make distinctions in toeial life, and refused to deal in a business way with such tradeS men as were opposed to them in Politics. Even at this early day the same pro scriptive spirit . which has since mani fested itself in the Know-Nothing_ - Sibthing or ganization, and'in the bitter vindictive ness of our OW4 times, was a marked feature of that party, Which, sprung from Federalism, has never lost the distractive featfires of its anti-Repub lican origin. ' This spirit of pro scription having been offensively dis played iu the canvas in this State in 1799, the fri6ndsof republican insti tutions in thiS city, then called the Borough of Lancaster, held a meeting, at which the following series of resolu tions were paASed, which will be read with interest by every person in our community. They are not only a com mentary on pblitical intolerance, but will be found interesting as a picture of the habits anal customs of the earlier days, when tradesmen publicly wore their " Apron.o and other badges to distinguish theni in their business. The meeting was held at the house of Mr. Leonard Eichholtz, October 7, 1797. The followingare the resolutions as adopted : WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the Co nstitution has declared "That elections shall be free a:nd equal," in order to maintain inviolate the important right of suffrage, it N stated that many of the partisans of :fables Ross, of Pittsburg, have withdraWn, and threatened to withdraw, their support, custom, or employment from such tradesmen, me chanics and others, as are known or supposed to favor the election of Thos. M'Ketin for the office of Governor: Therefore, _Resolved, unc%itirnuu IJ, Tliatalthough we reprobate, =as unconstitutional and illiberal, a conduct so directly tending to subvert thel rights of the people as freemen and republicans, we conceive it to be a duty 'which we owe to our selves and ourfcllow-citizens to counter act the eflects of such a procedure: and, therefore, thaCWe will, ourselves, and by our example and recommendation, give a decidedireference and support to all those upon Whom the unjustifiable conduct of one, opponents in this par ticular is inteml;al to operate. That we recommend it td the tradesmen of this borough to come forward boldly, and give in their votes with the dignity of freemen; and, if they shall think it proper, wearing their "..I . 2»•uns." Resolved, unanimously, That it will be proper for the mechanics and trades men of this borough, who are the friends of freedom and the Constitu tion, to meet together immediately after the election, and make known what threats or undue influence have been used, awl by whsle. And that such measures be adopted as may seem most effectual for the support of their inde pendence, by agreement to deal with and employ each other in their respec tive occupations; and especially those from whom our political adversaries may withdraw their employment. liesotred, unanimously, That the late election for Inspector for the borough of Lancaster having evinced that the friends of Mr. M' Kean constitute a great majority of the electors within the bo rough, they have it completely in their power to frustrate any measures of our opponents, of the kind above mention ed, so as to secure themselves, hence forward, from an indignity of the like kind. Ilesolred, nnonimowdy, That, in our opinion, the proportion of property be longing to the friends of Mr. M'Kean, in this borough, is not less than the proportion of their numbers; and that the conduct of our opponents has ren dered it necessary and proper thus pub licly to declare that opinion. Reso/vcc/, rootbnorody, That, al though it has become necessary to de clare this opinion with regard to pro perty, we, nevertheless, recognize the indubitable privilege which every qual ified citizen enjoys, under the Constitu tion, to the right of suffrage whether he be rich or poor ; a right in the en joyment of which (as well as all others granted by the 'Constitution) every elector ought to be protected and pre served. JACOB CARPENTER, ATTEST : Chairman. T. I\ EATL.A.cw., Secretary. • A District Without a Congressman The contest between Hon. A. H. Coff roth, the present member of Congress from the Sixteenth District, and his op ponent, Mr. Koontz, has not been de cided by the Governor. After full hearing in the case, each party being represented before the Governor and the Attorney General, these officials have decided that no certificate of elec tion can be issued by the Governor to either of the claimants. It will be re membered that on the day appointed for the meeting of the return judges at Chambersburg, Mr. Koontz appeared in that town with a set of return judges, all bogus, except the one from Somer set, and that he and a tricky lawyer from Philadelphia managed to inveigle the regularly appointed return judge from Fulton county into meeting with their bogus hoard, where he signed the fraudulent return in favor of Koontz ; but no sooner had he ascertained what was going on, which was before the proceeding closed, than he repudiated the whole albur, denounced it, and de manded that his name be erased, and his papers rut urne(i to him. This was not done, the returns which he had taken to Chambersburg being pwketed by Mr. Koontz, or one of his partners in this dirty piece of rascality. In the afterntion of the same day four out of the five regular return judges met, and counting the returns before them, there being no return on hand from Somerset, returned Gen. Coffroth as the regularly elected member of Con gress for the district. Had the Whole vote of Somerset been counted it would still have left Coffroth a' fair majority. The Attorney General now gives it as his opinion that General Coffroth can not be declared by the Governor to be entitled to his seat, because the judges who certify to his election failed to take into the account the vote of Somerset county, and that Mr. Kountz cannot be included in the Governor's proclama tion for the reason that three of the judges who signed his certificate were not legally chosen to act as such. Thus the matter is left for the present. It now remains for the parties to appeal to the next House of Representatives. If General Coffroth has justice done him he will secure his seat, as there is no doubt about the legality of his election, he having received a clear majority of all the legal votes cast in the district. ger The Emperor Maximilian, by a proclamation, published in the official gazette of Merida, declares the peninsu la of Yucatan, with the entire territory of the colony of Honduras, and its bays and islands, incorporated with his em pire,.from the Ist of October last. He orders its government by three prefects, the seat of government being at Merida. A few Englishmen engaged in cutting mahogany in the eastern portion of the Peninsula of Yucatan are permitted to remain, as . wood cutters only, under the sole right granted by Spain. England's treaty claims to Honduras seem to be entirely ignbred—a fact which will lead to.trouble between.the Queen and Em peror. Cotton planting and sugar cul tivation gave profitable enaployment to: the colonists in British Hqaduras. The Destructionists. N•Wiere lathe work of destructionin astaylind that of reconstruction and re-; , *oration so diffieM(4* in the political World: It takes fiii* of tAti*antl. taxes to the utmost the 'best skill of wise statesmen to construct any properforna; Of free government. - An hour of popu lar folly and madness May- lay the proudest political fabric in the dust, and so mar all its fair proportions that long years cannot renovate its shattered splendors. We are living now amid the ruins of our former greatness, groping about blindly among the broken frag ments of what we once boastingly de clared to be the best Government the world ever saw. The demon of destruc tion, the sorest scourge of nations, blind '1 fanaticism, has been holding high revel in the halls of our nationality. In vain shall the nation call upon his followers to reconstruct the once proud fabric ' they have destroyed. They cannot re build. Their whole theory and all their practices are fruitful only of evil, of use only as implements of destruction. Every day that passes, every move they make, every proposition which comes from their leaders, either in or out of Congress, abundantly proves that from them this torn and bleeding nation has nothing of good to expect. They can cry war, but they know hot how to make the slightest use even of victories. They spend the treasure of the nation with lavish profuseness, but fail to purchase anything which can be regarded as an equivalent for their wastefulness. They sing songs of re joicing over negroes set free, but fail to show how either the negroes or the whites are to be benefitted by the change; and, if they are asked to tell what they propose to do with them or for them when they are all emancipated, they are dumb. They denounce the old Union of our fathers, and curse the Constitution as framed by them, but having rent in twain the one and almost destroyed the other, they have nothing else of value to offer us in their stead. Their theories of reconstruction are either so vague as to be entirely im practicable, or of such a character as to be incompatible with any form of free government. Their financial follies have made us the laughing stock of the world; their management of campaigns has cost us the loss of multitudes of lives uselessly slaughtered ; their eman cipation schemes hate destroyed the commerce of the country, and the ag riculture of the richest portion of it, only to insure tenfold greater misery to the negro than ever he suffered in slavery. And now, after almost four years of wasteful war, the people sigh in vain to see the end, or any indication thereof. They may just as well make up their minds to suffer on, until the time shall come, when men of enlarged views and statesman-like sagacity shall be called to take the place of the destruc tives who are now in power. These fanatics are only powerful to tear down; they can never rebuild the glorious fabric which they have laid prostrate in ruin. That is a task reserved for other men, holding widely different political views. Unexampled Political Corruption Judge Pierrepont, one of the advocates of Mr. Lincoln's re-election, used the following language in the opening speech in the Opdyke-Weed libel suit : " In 1848 there was a great revolution, as you well remember, in France. The king was driven from his realm. His government was forever overthrown, and not one of Louis Phillippe's chil dren have ever been able to return to it. The greater political philosopher, in my judgment, that has lived at any time, was then a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and arising in his place, aml in his solemn voice he uttered these few words: `Do you know what is the general, efficient, deeply-seated cause, why private morals are degraded? It is because public morals have first be come depraved! It is because pure morality does not govern the principal actions of life, that it does not descend to the smaller ones. It is because pri vate interest has taken the place of dis interested sentiment in public action, that selfishness has become the law in private life. It has been said that there are two sorts of morality, the one for politics, and the other for private life. Certainly if what is passing around us really is what I see it to be, never was the falsity of such an assertion proved in a more striking and unhappy man ner. Yes, I believe that a change is taking place in our private morals, of such a nature as to trouble and alarm all good citizens, and this change pro ceeds in great part from what is coming to pass in our public morals.' I speak without bitterness, or even, as I believe, party spirit. I am attacking men against whom I have no party animos ity. But lam obliged to tell the coun try what is my profound and settled convictions, and it is that the public morals are becoming, and that this pub lic corruption will ing us a new, in a short time perhaps, at an hour that is already near, a new revolution. De Tocqueville was hissed by every man that heard him, and in thirty days from the utterance of that speech the king was driven from his throne, and France expiated for her crimes and corruptions by the blood of more than ten thousand of her sons; and not a vestige of that throne remains, and the children of Louis Phillippe are exiles and wander ers on the face of the earth. Gentlemen, we shall exhibit here to-day a state of corruption in our public affairs in this country worse than that of France." This same suit was pending previous to the late election, and Mr. Pierrepont was as well acquainted with the "cor rupt" state of affairs as he is now, and he also knew that these corrupt acts were winked at (aye, worse,) by those in power ; and yet, he had the assur ance to advocate, and the American people the blindness to secure, the rein stalment in power of those who have brought us to this state of affairs. The people may shudder to think of the prediction of Mr. Pierrepont, but that the government is in the hands of those who are now in power, is something more to be dreaded. The Congressional Mail The Postmaster General has issued orders that all postmasters shall make up letters, papers, and other mail mat ter intended for Congress and its em ployees in separate bags, which are to be delivered to the Congres sional messengers at the Washing ton railroad station. If newspaper pub lishers will make up their papers in bundles labelled " Congress," and if route agents and postmasters strictly obey orders, the mail matter for the Capitol will be delivered several hours earlier than at present. Where is the Second Corps? The following significant remark was recently made by the gallant General Hancock : I have left the Second corps dead on the field between the Rapidan and Petersburg. Could there be a more crushing com mentary on the overland route policy ? The Second corps numbered 29,000 men on the Ist of May last. A few weeks ago it had lostover thirty brigade commanders, over 2,000 commissioned officers, and within a fraction of 29,000 men ! What survive of this gallant corps are but a few hundred more than the recruits which, from time to time, joined it while on its bloody march. When General Hancock said, " I have left the Second corps on the fields be tween the Rapidan and Petersburg," he didn't exaggerate. It was extin guished in that dreadful campaign, and is no more? It was sacrificed to the Moloch of fanatic egotism that presides over the:White House. It is dead and gone, and the men who are now called uponto fill up the Vacant ranks will not recruit, but replace its vacant soldiers. Chrishnas as It Was. difficult to realize the change lif s idch tour short years- have wrought. e:,irivoluntarily think of things, as. they Were before the felldereftnk ofA)3O - stirred up the fierce strife that bee desolated arid rendered-nrastemany of the fairest and richest sections of our Jahff., -How different were the Christ mas holidays of four years ago. True, there were mutterings of the coming storm, and the air was full of ominous rumors, but few believed that our diffi culties would not find some peaceful so lution. - Had any man, even atthatlate hour s predicted one tithe of the horrors through which we have passed he would have been hooted at. Some who more thoroughly understood the character of the Southern people hada proper dread of what was to-come., But the masses bOth sections eat Weil' Christmas din ners undisturbed, andenjoyedthe pleas ures of the holidays without being con cerned about the future. In the South there.;,was considerable excitement and much apprehension. But Christmas was kept with the same joy it always had been. There it has, ever been more generally observed than in the North. From the day be fore Christmas until the day after New Year was a holiday season. Masters and servants alike give themselves up to unrestrained festivity. No negro did an hour's work unless he was paid for it. There was music and dancing in the Lan and the hut, and good feel ing everywhere. The slaves were a joyous, thoughtless crowd. Decked in their holiday suits, fully as well clad as the same number of the laboring class anywhere ; with all their material wants amply supplied; without care for the future ; happy in being relieved from the task of providing for them selves or their families; sure of a living with one half the labor it takes any poor man in the North to obtain it; fitted by nature to enjoy the present, but entirely improvident for the future, as they have always shown themselves to be, they were happy in their subor dinate position. True, they were not free. They had not yet begun to ex perience all the delights of emancipa tion. The able-bodied men had not been run off to be bought up and put into the ranks as substitutes for the carcases of cowardly Yankees, and the women and children had not been crowded into contraband camps, to be sustained at the expense of the Government until they died off like rotten sheep, They hoed corn, picked cotton, ground sugar cane, threshed rice, added many mil lions yearly to the national wealth, and were happy and contented in occupying a subordinate position. They eat and drank, and kept Christmas in merry mood. Four years ago no soldiers stood on embattled fields, no blood had been shed, no endless civil war inaugurated. It was a glad festive occasion, celebrated with proper mirth by many thousands now mouldering in rude graves hastily hollowed out on battle-fields. It was then a holiday for 4 whole nation of united, prosperous and happy people. When shall it become such again. We fear it will be long, very long before it shall be so. CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH OFFICIAL DESPATCHES Secretary Stanton to Major General Dia WAR I) EPA RTM ENT, WASRINOTON, Dec. 25-8 P. M. j To Mirjor-General Dix, New York: A despatch has been received this evening by the President from General Sherman.— It is dated at Savannah, on Thursday, the 22d inst., and announces his occupation of the City of Savannah, and the capture of one hundred and fifty gulls, plenty of am munition and about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. No other particulars are An official despatch from Gen. Foster to General Grant, dated on the '..?2d inst., at seven P. M. states that thecity of Savannah was occupied by Gen. Sherman on the morn ing of the 21st, and that on the pre: ceding afternoon and:night Hardee escaped with the main body of his infantry and light artillery, blowing up the iron-clads and the navy yard. He enumerates as captured eight hundred prisoners, one hundred and fifty guns, thirteen locomotives, in good or der, one hundred and ninety cars, a large lot of ammunition adil materials of war, three steamers and thirty-three thousand bales of cotton. No mention is made of the present position of ,Hardee's force, which had been estimated at about fifteen thous and. The despatches of General Sherman and General Foster are as follows : SAVANNAH, GA., Dee. 22, 18(14 E.reelicncY President Lincoln: . I beg to presentyoU as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-tive thousand bales of cotton. W. T. SITERMAN, Major General STEA MER GOLDEN GATE, I . SAVANNAH RIVER, Dee. 22-7 P. M. ) To Lieutenant General Grant and Major General [IL TT: Haller*: I have the honor to report that I have just returned from General Sherman's headquarters in Savannah. I send Major Gray, of my staff, as bearer of despatches from General Sherman to you, and also a message to the President. The city of Savannah was occupied on the morning of the 21st. General Hardee, an ticipating the contemplated assault, escaped with the main body of his infantry and light artillery on the morning of the 20th, by crossing the river to Union Causeway, opposite the city. The rebel iron-clads were blown up and the navy yard was burned. All the rest of the city is intact, and contains twenty thousand citizens quiet and well disposed. The captures include eight hundred pris oners, one hundred and fifty guns, thirteen locomotives, in good order; one hundred and ninety cars, a large supply of ammu nition and materials of war, three steamers and thirty-three thousand bales of cotton, safely stored in warehouses. Ally, these valuable fruits of an almost bloodless victory have been, like Atlanta, fairly won. I opened communication with the city witli my steamers to-day, taking up what torpedoes we could see and passing safely over others. Arrangements are made to clear the channel of all obstructions. Yours, Cc., J. G. FOSTER, Major General. EDWIN M. STANTON,Secretary of War. The Government Printing The Western Press Asssociation has petitioned Congress to take the duty off of paper, and no doubt IL general effort will be made in this direction by per sons interested in the publication of newspapers and books. The revenue derives not a cent of advantage from the duty, but the cost of the articles is nearly trebled by throwing the monop oly into the hands of home-manufad turers. Yet we have-been informed by judicious owners of paper-mills that it would be much more for their real ad vantage, if former prices were resumed. In the meantime the Government itself is a great sufferer by the duty, since the amount of printing performed for it is immense, and it has to pay at least as much as the private consumer for the article. The Washington correspond ent of the New York Expiess says in re gard to the public printing : This is running up to be frightful. The Superintendent, Mr. Defrees, asks for as deficiencies the last year— Public Printing $lBO,OOO Deficiency in paper 450,000 Binding 90,000 $730,000 His estimates of expenses for the next fiscal year are $1,448,929, about a million and a half of dollars 1 What a costly pub lication office ! THE MARCH THROUGH GEORGIA. The_ Routes taken by our Forces—What Opposition they Bet—The - Character :load Wealth of the Country—. The Battle 7 Ildrßoproach SaSsimal; saillOre of FortlrAllisto*- .;..CsodltloU of the Army—Proillieets the flaptUre of Savannah. TheN'ew York - Herald has along and :coinplete account.. of Sherman's march through Georgia, including all 'the -in cidents from his departure from Atlan ta, on November 14th, to his arrival at Savannah, 11th inst. The correspond ent says that on the 11th the army was located as follows : The 20th corps at Atlanta, the 15th and 17th Corps at Powder Spring road, on the Chatta hoochie river, and the 14th Corps. at Kingston, Ga. Sherman's headquarters were at the latter place. On the morn ing of the 12th the army commenced concentrating around Atlanta. The 14th Corps, Brevet Major General Davis commanding, remained at Kingston to cover the shipment north of the Gov ernment property and rolling stock of the railway, and at noon of that day the 3d Brigade of the Ist Diiiision, Colonel H. A. Hambright, 79th Pennsylvania, commanding, who, by the way, was the first commandant at . Kingston, moved out, and the place was evacuated. Next day the corps reached the Chatta hoochie, and on the 15th Atlanta. On the same day the railroad to Chattanoo ga was destroyed. On the 14th and 15th the 15th and 17th Corps marched one mile south of Atlanta, where they were joined by Gen. Slocum. On the night of the 14th detached parties from the 20th Corps burned Atlanta. The con flagration was a grand sight. As the flames spread from the public buildings and the depot that had been fired, the whole heavens betame illuminated by lurid glare, while the unexploded shells in the dwellings andstorehouses became heated, and as they exploded in rapid succession one almost imagined thatthe scenes of August last, when one hun dred thousand heroes confronted the rebel stronghold, were being reenacted. Standingupon an eminenceoverlooking the doomy city, I bad an excellent view of the conflagration, and never had I beheld so grand a sight. As night waned, the gentle breezes carried• the destroying element from house to house, an block to block, until one-half of the rebel city was in flames, the glare of which was so bright that the soldiers a mile distant read their last letters from home by the light. Next morning I rode over the city among the ruins, where nothing remained to tell the tale but tottering walls and blackened chim neys, that, like grave-stones, stood there as monuments of departed glory. On the morning of the 16th, the army took up its line of march through a country teeming with supplies and stock, and full of evidences of the wealth and prosperity of the State. Passing through Conyers, a neat little town, the afternoon of the 17th was spent in destroying the Atlanta and Augusta Railroad from Conyers to Yel low river. Here the rebels for the first time appeared in our front, but in no force. On the 18th, the first place of im portance encountered was Covington, where the ladies, who have the reputa tion of being the most beautiful of the South, crowded out to see our passing soldiers. The bands were playing Dixie's Land as we passed through, 'and the ladies were deceived into the belief that the soldiery were rebels ; but when Yankee Doodle was struck up, lie piazzas were cleared , of their beaut4l inhabitants, •vindows came down with a slam, and , !oors closed very abruptly, until not a fair face was visible. On the 18th, the right wing was encamped at Jackson, and Slocum (the left) was near by. Neither of them had met any rebels in force. On the 19th the column moved at daylight. At night the com mand encamped near Eatonton. Up to this time the army had beautiful weather, but rain fell in the night, making the roads almost impassable.— On the 20th, however, the command still moved on, the roads in a horrible condition, and encamped at Shady Dale. On the night of the 20th (Sunday) Mil ledgeville was captured by scouts. The method of capture is thus indignantly detailed by one of the lady residents of the town : "Early in the afternoon five Yankee scouts came dashing pell moll into the town, when the men—the mean, craven hearted wretches, fully two hundred strong—skedaddled, leaving our baby Mayor to go out and surrender the place unconditionally to five greasy Yankees, ten miles in advance of their army. Oh, the men are mean, chicken-heated wretches, and the Mayor a puffed-up old fool. Had I been in town I'd have col lected all the women, and driven the skunks out with mop handles and broom-sticks !" The town, which our troops found to be a very handsome one, full of the ha provements suggested by wealth and re fined taste, was soon occupied. Those of our men the town could not accomo date were encamped in the woods around the city. The penitentiary was burned by the 20th The rebels on evacuating the piace re leased all the Union men confthed iu the prison, and conscripted them into the rebel army. The State House, when I visited it, presented an appearance of devastation and chaos. The troops had entered the Senate and Representative chambers, and the office attached, and torn up the furniture, scattering the contents of drawers about the floor, de-' stroyed the library and State papers left behind by Gov. Brown and his associ ates, in hurried flight, appropriated to their own use everything they could carry, cut the trimmings from the win dows, and revelled in broad sheets of unsigned, State bonds and currency, several millions of which were found piled up in one of the rooms, as well as the plates from which they had'been struck. As I strolled leisurely through the chambers and committee rooms, and gazed upon the hundreds of negroes who filled the Capitol and revelled in its halls, I could not but feel that it was no descration—that it was fitting that a council hall where the treasonable or dinance of secession was hatched and given form should be spit upon and insulted by conquering troops and dis enthralled darkies, under the very shadows of the life-like portraits of Georgia's chivalrous sons that adorned the walls of both chambers. ft is only a matter of surprise that General Sher man, on evacuating that city, did not lay the building in ashes. 4, On the day that the 14th Corps tri umphantly marched into the capital to the music of the Union, the officers of the 20th Corps, to the number of about one hundred, assembled at the Senate Chamber, called the roll of the House, appointed a Speaker and clerks, and opened^the Legislature with prayer, the facetious chaplain praying for the over throw of the rebel Government ; the return" of Georgia to the old Union ; fine weather and little fighting on our march to the coast, concluding with the remark, " All of which is respectfully submitted." A lobby member very gravely arose. in the gallery, and asked if this honor able body would hear from the gallery. Half an hour's discussion followed, and, on a division, it was decided that the gallery should be heard. Rising with all the dignityand polish of a Chesterfield, he quietly put his hand in a side pocket, drew out a flask, placed it to his lips, replaced it in his pocket, and resumed his seat. The Speaker. I must raise a point of order. I believe it is always customary to treat the Speaker. Lobby Member. I beg the pardon of the honorable House for my thought lessness. I believe it is customary to treat the Speaker.' Here he produced the flash, and pro ceeded : " Yes, I beg to inform the House that I shall treat the-Speaker— respectfully." The flask dropped into his pocket, and he into his seat, amid cheers from the gallery and smiles from the honorable Speaker's colleagues. After the organization of the Legisla ture the question of reconstructing the State was taken up and discussed for some hours, with all the gravity con ceivable, by the Yankee representatives from the various counties. The result of the deliberatiobs was that the State was led back like a conquered child into the Union, and a committee ap pointed to kick Governor Brown, and President Davis' mites, which commit tee retired, and soon after returned and reported that they were animated by a progressive spirit, but that the articles upon which they were to exercise their " pedal extremities " were non est. The Legislature adjourned after the style of Governor Brown's Legislature of the previous .Eriday—by taking a squaredrink and Mndful of " hognuts." The march towards Savannah on the 23d and 24th was marked by much skirmikhingon the 26th at Sandersville, some miles from the Ogeechee. Whee ler was stampeded by &foraging party. , On the 28th the left wing arrived at the Ogeechee river, and Sherman reached Milton on the .%t.li.;_part of the men of th,e latter passed-thiOugkr and several divisions of tha'Other corps marched to Waynesbato..:Gn Decem beild theleftwing reached . here. On the 7th` Davis' corps advanced, skir rdishing with Ferguson's brigade of rebel cavalry-'::lowards, the Ogeechee. Here FerguSOn:attacked Kilpatrick in a sWamp;'but only afew volleya were ex changed, and Kilpatrick and Howard sat down that night forty-six Miles from Savannah. Slocum reached Sringfield, the county seat of Effing ham. Kilpatrick, during the whole march, was very serviceable on the flanks. On the 22d, near Gordon, some of the enemy showed fight, but were repulsed in utter confusion by. the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, who charged and routed them. While this cavalry battle was progressing the rebels brought up three brigades of infantry, under Gen. Phillips, when Horward orderedup Gen. Walcott's brigade of the 15th Corps to support the cavalry,and the engagement at once assumed the form of a battle.— Walcott came down on the rebel militia like a hurricane, dealing death and de struction into the enemy,. yet they gal lantly stood the terrific 6e of infantry and artillery, until fifteen minutes slipped by, and hundreds of rebel dead and wounded went down. Walcott was quick to see the advantages gained by him, improved them, and fell upon them with irresistible ferocity. He swept the hillsides, pickets, breast works, and road before him. In dis order rushed the horror-stricken men. Gen. Phillips tried to rally his troops, but it was in vain. They still ran mad ly to the rear. Phillips saw the day was lost unless the men were rallied, and throwing himself in front, he called wildly upon them to follow. A few turned back, and, hurriedly forming then, he moved forward ; but our dead ly shells and bullets struck his column while it was being dressed. Walcott rushed forward at the moment on the double-quick ; the enemy broke in dis order, and away they cut across field and forest, throwing their arms away, and leaving Philips and many of his command prisoners in our hands. The yells of triumph of our men only heightened their terror, mingling, as they did, with the whistling of Enfield balls, . the deep-toned tramp of horses and men, and the rolling of gun carriages in the storm that follows war. The battle lasted four hours, and Walcott—the brave leader of the vic torious hosts—was carried out wounded at night, and all was still. Next morn ing the sun rose upon the bloody field, and the enemy were gone, leaving near ly four hundred dead and wounded on the field. Walcott lost but thirty-seven. On the 11th and 12th, most of our army had arrived near Savannah, and by the 9th Sherman had made prepara tions to open communication with the fleet. The 11th and 12th were spent in putting troops in position, locating ar tillery, erecting breastworks, repairing roads, and all the et eetcras preliminary to a thorough investment of the city. Baird's division, left in the rear of Slocum to keep Wheeler back, placed batteries on the river to check the gun boats that the rebels patrolled the river with, and employed themsel4s in tear ing up the railway and burning the bridge across the Savannah river. On the evening of the 12th they moved up and took position in reserve of Carlin. The line on the 12th was about ten miles long, extending from the Savannah, where Slocum's left rested, three miles from the city, to beyond the Gulf Rail way, where Howard's right rested, eleven miles from the city. Howard had previously torn up many miles of this last link in the railways centering in Savannah. In front of some divisions of our lines were impenetrable marshes and swamps, where we could not ap proach within rifle range of the enemy. On the evening of the 12th Howard re lieved Hazen's 2cl Division of the 15th Corps by a part of the 17th Corps, and threw it across the Little Ogeechee, to wards the Great Ogeechee, with the view of crossing it to Ossabaw Island, and reducing Fort McAllister, which held the river. The enemy had destroyed King's bridge across the Great Ogeechee, and this had to be repaired. Capt. Reese, topographi cal engineer of Howard's staff, with the Missouri engineers, prepared the timber and bridged the one thousand feet of river during the night, and the morn ing of the 13th, Hazen crossed and mov ed towards the point where Fort Mc- Allister obstructed the river. The fort was soon invested in a half circle, and at a given signal our men charged over the ground and soon planted their bat tle-flags on the parapets. The rebels had buried torpedoes in the ground charged over by our men ; our entire loss, however, was but twenty-three killed. The rebels were forced after wards to remove them. After the capture communication was opened between Dahlgren and Sherman. It seems that at about three o'clock, on the morning of the 13th, the day of the capture of the fort, after a rocket had been discharged from one of the block ade vessels, the Flag, a little stream of light was observed to shoot up in direc tion of *re Ogeechee, and qucikly die away. Another rocket was immediate ly sent up from the flag-ship, and a second stream of light was seen in the same position as the first. It then be came a question whether or not they were rebel signals to delude our officers. At about 7 o'clock the.navy tug Dande lion, Acting Master Williams, took Lieutenant Fisher and his party, and Capt. 'Williamson, of the flag-ship, and proceeded up the Ogeechee to a point Within sight of Fort McAllister and the batteries on the Little Ogeechee. Here Lieut. Fisher took a small boat and pro ceeded up as far as possible without drawing the enemy's fire. A careful reconnoissance was mule of the fort and the surrounding woods from which proceeded the reports of musketry, and the attention of the garrison seemeed to be directed inland entirely. A flag, which seemed to be our own, was seen flying from a house four miles off, and, on more careful examination, the stars were plainly visible, and all doubts of the character of the flag were at once removed. It was the flag that had floated over General Howard's head quarters at Atlanta, and' now flamed out on the sea coast, within eight miles of the city of Savannah. Lieutenant Fisher at once returned to the tug, and moved up to au opening out of range of Fort M'Allister, when, from the top of the pilot-house of the Dandelion, the American flag could be distintly seen. A white signal was at once raised, and a signhl conversation ensued, which re sulted in the glorious information that Sherman had reached the coast, and the two warriors met where the fort was captured. On the following Thurs day Foster paid the General visit. He passed the obstructions below Fort Mc- Allister, and proceeded some distance up the river, when darkness and the dense fog which arises nightly over the rice marshes, made it impossible to ven ture further, the channel being un known and exceedingly tortuous. As soon as the fog was dissipated on the following morning, General Foster or dered the steamer to go on. The river through an immense fields of rice, thous ands of acres in extent, on either side, and here and there we passed large steam rice mills surrounded by negro huts,— On the, banks, in front of their quarters, were assembled groups of negroes of both sexes and of all ages and sizes,who watched our passage with wonder, not unmingled with joy, which they mani fested by tossing up their hats, waving bandanna handkerchiefs, making low courtsies, and dancing plantation jigs to the great amusement of all. Some of the rice mills were observed to be run ning at a high rate, and we afterwards ascertained that General Sherman'ssol diers were in possessioi, and were en gaged in grinding riceTh.nd laying in a nice supply of that popular edible. On the next day a couple of rebel gun boats ascended the river from the city, and attempted to annoy our forces by a vigorous shelling. They did not occa sion any damage, and only elicited a' number of shots from our twenty-poun der Parrotts on the city, which was easily reached by our projectiles. Find ing that the city was suffering from our fire, the rebel gunboats desisted from their annoyance and .withdrew to the defences of their batteries. Our position is now secure. Hardee holds the city, and has but one avenue of escape. Whether General Sherman proposes to cut that line of retreat or not, I am not in a position to say. It is not improbable that other points may be found to cut that line ; and, meanwhile, Hardee, by extending his lines, has weakened his front around the city proper. His force is variously estimated at from fifteen to twenty thousand men, of whom only five thouiand are old soldiers, the balance being Georgia militia, consisting of old men and boys. General Sherman can (run over his works and carry them by storm at any time, if he did notTfeel conlidentxof heik= • in g the:o*n Witlitiutilie iresit.effesion of blood that an assault would necessarily produce.- He desires to save his men in every way, and he will do it by not be- ing ins hurry. , The - question of sup- - plies is one that Hardee cannot control. Our forces were • not looked for under two weeks from this, and the supplies necessary to maintain a siege were not collected and stored away in the city ; nor were inhabitants—non combatants —sent to other locations. On the con trary, thousands resorted to the city as a place of refuge, from all portions of the country in front of Sherman, and drove many of their negitoes before them. At least eight or ten thousand beings were added to the non-combatants, which Hardee had to feed, and Hardee had not the time to make the necessary arrange ments for this army of hungry mouths ; so they must starve if he holds out. An intelligent and frank rebel officer taken prisoner at Fort McAllister, who was familiar with the condition of the commissariat in Savannah, acknow ledged, a day or two since, that there were not more than ten days' supplies in Savannah, and with his communica tions closed, as they are now, he cannot hold out a fortnight. This is corrobor ated by the best information our gene rals have. It is generally believed that Hardee will attempt to slide out with his forces before the last door is closed against him, and leave to the municipal authorities the duty of surrendering the city to General Sherman. Opinion of Attorney General Meredith Defining the Power of the Governor In Declaring the Election of Members of Congress. The 21st Congressional District is composed of the counties of Indiana, Fayette and Westmoreland. The dis trict return judges of that district have sent to the Secretary of the Common wealth their return of the election held in October last, in which they state the number of votes cast for each candi date; and further, that John L. Daw son, having the highest number of votes, is therefore duly elected member or Congress from the said district. A number of returns of soldiers' votes for member of Congress for said district have been sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, some of which may probably not have been received by the proper officers in time to be counted and estimated before issuing the certifi cate of election. On this state of facts my opinion is re quested by the Governor on the follow ing questions, viz : 1. Can he go behind the return of the district return judges, and if satisfied by proof that they have not correctly counted and estimated_the returns sub mitted to them, can he correct their er rors, and proclaim as elected Mr. Fuller the opponent of Mr. Dawson ? 2. Can he receive proof on the question whether any of the returns of soldiers' votes were 'not received in time to be counted and estimated by the district return judges, and if satisfied that there are returns of soldiers' votes not so re ceived in time, can he count and esti mate such votes in addition to the votes returned by the district return judges, and proclaim as elected the candidate who may thus appear to be elected ? 3. Is he bound to proclaim as elected the candidate whom the district return judges have returned as elected ? The 20th section of the act of 25th August, 1804, requires the county re turn judges to include in their enumer ation the soldiers' votes returned. The 82d section of the general elec tion act of 1839 provides that the dis trict return judges shall cast up the several county returns, and wake du plicate returns of all the votes given for any office in the district, and of the name of the person or persons elected, and shall send one of these returns to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The 83d section of the same act re quires the district return judges to transmit to each of the persons elected to serve in Congress, a certificate of his election, within five days after the day of making up their return. The 25th section of the same act pro vides that it shall be the duty of the Governor, on the receipt of the returns by the Secretaryof the Commonwealth, to declare, by proclamation, the names of the persons so returned as elected in the respective districts, and that he shall also transmit the returns so made, to the House of Representatives of the United States. The 22nd section of the act of 25th of August, 1864, provides that in all cases of contested elections, all legal returns of soldiers' votes which shall have been bona fide forwarded, shall be counted, although the same may not have been received by the proper officers, to be counted before issuing the certificates of election. The above, I think, are all the statu tory provisions that are material to the decision of the questions now submitted to me. 1. It is obvious from this recital that the law has given the Governor no au thority to go behind the return of the district return judges, or to receive proofs of any kind tending to contradict the return, or toshow that it is incorrect. I am, therefore, of opinion that the first question ought to be answered in the negative. 2. In the case of soldiers votes not re turned in time to be counted by the re turn judges, it is only in the ease of a contested election that the law has pro vided that they shall be counted, and the election of a member of Congress cannot be contested before the Gover nor. I am, therefore, of the opinion that the second question ought to lie answered in the negative. 3. The district judges are required to return the names of the persons elected and it is expressly made the duty of the. Governor to declare, by proclamation, the names of the persons so returned as elected, and to transmit the returns themselves to the House of Represents ' tives of the United States. Tam, there fore of opinion that the third question ought to be answered in the affirmative. There is no connection between the Governor, as the Executive officer of the State, and the election of members of Congress. He has nothing to do with the election or the returns of it, except so far as the Legislature has expressly imposed certain duties Upon him. Un der the acts of Assembly on the subject his functions in this regard are strictly ministerial and of the nar rowest kind. He is' not a judge of the election or a returnh ' r officer. He is simply the channel through which the returns are to be transmitted to Congress, and the names of the per sons returned declared to the people by his proclamation. Congress must of course act on the returns. His procla mation is not communicated to them, and if it were, it purports merely to declare:the names of the persons stated in the returns to be elected. If he were to issue a proclamation stating that he had received satisfactory evidence of the incorrectness of the returns, and that a person not named therein as elected, was duly elected, such a proclamation would be a mere nullity—it would af ford no legal proof anywhere in favor of a person so proclaimed to be elected. If, on the other hand, he should, by proclamation, declare that a cer tein person had been returned as elected, when the returns themselves showed that be had not been so re turned, then he would have proclaimed what the production of the returns would prove to be wilfully untrue. He has, in my opinion, no more right to misstate the contents of the returns in his proclamation, than he has to alter the returns themselves. One prolific source of the practical difficulties which exist in ascertaining the results of popu lar elections, is to be found in the ap parently increasing tendency of officers intrusted with ministerial functions, to usurp discretionary or judicial powers. This evil is becoming alarming; if it be not checked, it may possibly at last be more important to have a majority of the return judges, than of the voters. It would be indeed an untoward spec tacle to see the chief Executive Magis trate of such a State as Pennsylvania, encouraging,. by his example, a mal practice of which every good citizen must earnestly desire the rigoroua sup pression.. W. M. MEREDITH, Attorney ATTORNEY GENERAVS OFFICE, General. HARRISBURG, Dec. 8,186.1. j Since writing the foregoing opinion, my attention has been called to the fact that the counties of Indiana, Fayette and Westmoreland compose the .20th CongressleiWistrict, and not fhe 21st, as stated inAhe return. . I am of opinion that this a Mere cleri cal error, and, eIo.CS not ; vitiate the re , tarp, and It dees:.not idtek the results at which /- have arrived ' 3341:0F4401 1, . .
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