410.4kowtr.
ESDAY' VZTE 5, 1567.
• • Old Thall's,Pprnaeo,
El s ewhere ,'we pnbliSh anotheriletter
on conilicaticin froth the maliCiouti old
pan who, we' believe; misrepresents
this district in Congress. It will be
seen that this letter is less sweeping
in its demands than the one which pre
ceded it; Ile has abandoned the seldier
bounty part of his , scheme, and now
proposes to confine his attention . prin
cipally to such " mild confiscation" as
will enable him to secure payment for
property along the border destroyed by
rebel raids and invasions, and 'ensure
"small homesteads for the freedmen,
to be furnished by the rebel masters,
whom they conquered at our request."
Perhaps the assertion that the negro
freedmen conquered their rebel mas
ters may sound a little strange to
the million and a half of white sol
diers who were disbanded at the end
of the rebellion, to the many thou
sands of maimed l white veterans
who wear about do their persons the
evidence of their gallant bravery and
self-devotion, and to the white friends
of the vast multitude of dead heroes
who sealed their devotion to the Union
with their blood. It may seem a little
ungrateful, too, In Mr. Stevens to aban
don his idea LC giving to the soldiers the
largest slice of the moneys proposed to
be raised by confiscation, But white
soldiers must remember that just now
the Radical leaders all feel that the
very existence of their party depends
upon securing the votes of negroes.
Without that aid Thud. Stevens and his
followers know that they are irrecover
ably lost. Hence their disposition to
make most liberal promises to that
class, Their 'Tressed love for the sol
dier has always been the veriest chain.
Thaddeus Stevens showed his appreci
ation of their cervices by securing the
rejection by the radical Senate of two of
the most worthy soldiers of this city,
when they were nominated for Assessor
and Collector of his district.
But there is one other point in this
last confiscation letter of the vindictive
old erentUre to which we wish to cull
attention. He says:
"I demiro a lair valuation to be placed on
all the property, whether pormonal property
abstracted, or real property destroyed, ex
cept Caledonia Iron Works In the County
()I' Franklin, which will not bo appraised,
Ito I o remuneration is claimed tar
That at first game° looks like a dis
play of generous self-denial. One would
suppose Thaddeus Stevens would be the
lust man to forgive the rebels a farthing
of any damage they might have none
him. We are sorry to spoil the
high moral effect of such an exhi
bition of magnanimous disinterest
edness. The secret of . Mr. Stevens'
refusal to put In a claim for loss sustain
ed by himself, is readily accounted for.
f report lie true, lie has found in the
ruins of his old, tumble down furnace,
a greater source of profit than ever it
was when in full blast. We have it, on
the authority of his party friends in his
own home, that lie has rented the
charred remains at an ex horbitan I price
to certain very wealthy parties, whom
he helped to get out of a tight place in
the whiskey business. If the figures
have been correctly reported to us,
he receives the snug little sum
of (ii thousand dollars a year ren
tal; with the further stipulation that
the aforesaid rich distillers are to rebuild
the concern in a substantial and work
manlike manner, at their own proper
cost. What per centage of the amount
supposed to be due the Ciovernment will
remain in the pockets of the cl ients of Mr.
Stevens, after they have thus compen
sated him, we have not learned. That he
has been a shrewd lawyer all who know
him admit; and we are assured that he
always demanded all I received liberal
fees. In the instance to which we refer
he has shown that he still puts a very
fair valuation upon his professional ser
vices. We are informed, however, that
his clients are not only well satisfied,
but delighted with their bargain. In
asmuch as his furnace was not worth
ten thousand dollars as it stood at the
time of the burning, Mr. Stevens can
very well aflbrd to except it from prop.
erty to be paid for out of the fund he
p.roposes to rake by " mild confisca
tion."
The Military Reconstruction 11111
We publish elsewhere a synopsis of
the opinion of the Attorney General of
the United States in regard to the inter
pretation of the bill providing a method
of reconstruction for the States recently
in rebellion. The act was so loose in its
structure and so illy framed as to be al
most unintelligible in some of its parts
and peculiarly liable to misinterpreta
tion, especially in the hands of men un
accustomed to coustruirtg laws, as are
l the Generals who have been placed
in command of the territory which
composed the Southern States. The
opinion of the Attorney General is of
immense importance to the people
immediately affected by the act of
Congress, and scarcely less so to us of
the North. We are all alike interested
in securing a speedy and permanent ad
justment of the difficulties which are
retarding the growth of the nation and
crippling all our material interests. The
various points raised by the Attorney
General are discussed with clearness.
and ability. 'He takes the law as he
finds It, not touching the question of
its unconstitutionality, but reviewing
its provisions and laying down explicit
instructions for the guidance of those
whose duty it is to administer it, and of
those who are to be affected by its ad
ministration. His opinion specifies
clearly who are to be regarded as qual
ified under the law to take part in the
reconstruction of the Southern States,
and who are disabled either as voters or
holders of office.
By the terms of the act, as interpreted
by the Attorney General, very many of
the best and most intelligent of the
whites of the States recently in rebel
lion are disfranchised. They are plainly
specified and cannot participate In the
political affairs of their section. Still the
mass of the whites can vote and bold
office under the law. If they should
accept the situation and use the influ
ence they possess they may be able to
control the coming elections in spite of
the at tempt of the Radicals to succeed
by inflamatory appeals to the uegroes.
The functions and powers of the
Military Governors and the various
subordinates created by this anomalous
bill, will be defined in another opinion
which will be made public in a few
days.
The State Convention
The Democratic State Convention to
nominate a candidate for Judge of the
Supreme Court will assemble at Harris
burg on next Tuesday, the 11th day of
June.
AMONG the many good things said
by the Louisville Courier is the sub
joined :
When a mob of Northern Radicals in
sulted and tired upon the President at
Indianapolis last year and would not let
him speak, it was considered a good
But when a little disturbance occurs at
Mobile, caused by the intolerable insolence
of a Congressional 'Jacobin, it is a matter
worthy 01 investigation by a Congressional
committee, backed by an army. It makes
a difference whose os is being gored.
BEN Bum En. says that the diamond
pin that Booth wore wnen captured
cannot be found. We are astonished.
It could net be that Baker or anybody
connected with the party that hunted
him down could have stolen it. We
should as Boon suspect Butler himself.
The Cause of 'our Financial ;Troubles.
;. _The3etterwf : P .. t3eoebsryo,rsilongb=
to the Beaton eapittilista - has given
`radical riwspapersmuchtrouble. Their
efforts to counteract the effeuits , ' , of its
:plain unvarnished statenietits are
diversified bt t prec4„___KY;*... and
unsatisfaetOry. ,43:"Lallg , fliboi#Jher
high prices whOt
work of hard Ittitaited sPaCtilatorki,atry
to makelikht k otthit ugi3i::*it,tbak all
the heavi!' taiatlon efidtitia..W the'
people is utterly insufficient to meet the
current expenses of the government
under their wasteful and extravagant
management; assert that it is not de
tiirable . that the ..present generation
should pay any partof the:princlpal of
the. enormous public debt which .has
been created; and inddlge in any
amount of loose and Oily twaddle to
blind their credulous readers. 'They
dare not speak the truth, dare not 'ad
mit that the one great cause of'our
financial troubles is the impoverished
condition of the South. To dO so Would
be to set the seal of condemnation on
the course which Congress has pursued,
and to furnish to every, voter in the
in the Northern States the strongest
inducements to repudiate the Republi
can party.
In the meantime the people are quiet
ly reading and thinking. They know
hat the South produced the great bulk
of all that we exported before the war;
that it consumed the bulk of our
manufactures, and a very large per
centuge of our agricultural surplus;
they see that under the present state of
affairs the industry of the South is
crushed to the earth, and must continue
prostrate until the people of that section
are left free to manage their local and
domestic institutions us a wise policy
shall dictate to them.- The masses of
the North know, or If they do not,
must soon learn that the establishment
of a military despotism over the South
and the encouragement of the negroes
to desert the labors of the field and to
devote themselves to political excite
ment Is fatal to the industry of the most
productive section of our country. He
is very stupid indeed who cannot see
that we must go on from bad to worse
until the Southern States are perma
nently restored to their places in the
Union, the negro population induced to
engage quietly in labor, and the fields
laid waste by war made to yield their
rich return for labor.
Generosity, magnanimity, Christi
anity and statesmanship all demanded
that we should pursue a humane and
conciliatory course toward the South
upon the termination of the rebel
lion. We refused to listen to the
teachings of wisdom, and disdained
to follow the dictates of kind
ness. We demanded the pound of
flesh, forgetting that by the inexora
ble laws of political economy, we should
be compelled to pay a most enormous
price for the gratification of our revenge
ful feelings. We are just beginning to
suffer for our folly. We must and will
retrace our steps, but it willtake years to
repair the disasters which have resulted
from the unwise course pursued by the
fanatics in Congress since the war end
ed. The people of the North refused to
listen to the voice of wisdom, and they
are now being taught by rude experi
ence. They declined to heed the dic
tates of a generous humanity, and
they are now being appealed - to by
the most selfish motives. They
see and feel that they can not
longer afd in oppressing and impov
erishing the South without suffering
for it in their pockets. That is a pre
veiling argument. Few men are proof
against It, and in this case none should
be. Self-Interest now combines with
all higher motives to induce the masses
to repudiate the corrupt leaders of the
Republican party. Can any one doubt
what must be the result? The late
elections are only straws which show
how the wind blows. The Republican
party has had its day, and it must go
down ; neither negro suffrage nor any
other device can save it.
Greeley's "Mlle Creatures."
Horace Greeley hit It exactly when
he styled the mass of those who conduct
radical newspapers, "the little creatures
whom God, for 80711 C MS CrUtablepurpose,
permits to edit a majority of our
journals." He caught their likeness at
once and painted their portraits with
photographic accuracy and rapidity.
They, are the most infinitessimal
"little creatures" now living. Greeley
knows them well. As an editor of a
Radical journal he is doomed to read
much of their silly and stupid vaporing
as he glances over his exchanges. We
do not wonder that he burst out In one
sharp utterance as full of truth as it is of
bitterness.
We know something of the character
of Radical newspaper editors in Penn
sylvania. Some of them are clever men,
and a few are men of ability, but their
editorial columns are a disgrace to the
profession. For years past they have
constantly and persistently indulged in
the perversion of all political truth.—
They have not dared to discuss in a fair
and impartial manner any of the great
questions before the people, and upon
a right settlement of which the best in
terests of the nation depend.
.They
have all the time acted as if they fear
ed-to allow any appeal to be made to
the reason of the masses. Their columns
have been constantly filled, to the ex
clusion of everything better, with ap
peals to the baser passions of their
readers. While the war progressed,
and since it ended, their sole aim has
been to kindle and keep allyeanimosity
between the two sections of the country.
They have preached nothing but hatred
from day to day, and from week to
week. On the continuanl of such an
unnatural condition of public senti•
ment, and on that alone, they have
shown that they regarded the very
existence of their party as entirely de
pendent. They have vied with each
other in the invention of terms of abuse
and in the application of harsh epithets
to all who have differed with them in
opinion. Take away from the Radi
cal newspapers of the North their stock
of foul slang and their editorial columns
would be left blank. Never was their
such an exhibition of combined weak
ness, stupidity and malignity as they
constantly present.
We do not wonder that Greeley was
forced to cry out against them. In their
eagerness to seize upon the present ad
vantages of power they have not only
shown au utter disregard of all the best
interests of the nation, but even of the
more enduring interests of the party
they have
. been prgfeesink, to serve.
They. have cared only, for the advance
ment of their immediate selfish ends,
and have been utterly reckless of the
great future. The people are beginning
to estimate them as they deserve, and
the Masses will agree that they have
beeri rightly characterized as, "the little
creatures whom. God, fororne inscruta
ble Purpose; Permits to edit our jtadi
cal) journals..."
THE New York Evening Gazette is
responsible fOr' the following:
Rev. Joel T. Headley, author of the sky
rocketty "Napoleon and his Marshals," and
other extravagantly florid books, is declared
to be the writer of Detee4ve ,Baker's sensa
tional assumed-to-be Autobiographic vol
ume.
Portions of the volume look as if
they might have been prepared by the
Rev. Serenck Howe, late . of the Mima
ohusetts Legislature.
Laws Made alacalneri;
AgbP.4O4IIMOMIXEMINCIOE:Ai
late Legislature of this State was so
marked, notorious and open that, Red
publican newspapers have beetl.:Com-, 6 1
Riled:to denounce it„, in the plidneett
f ms. .E3pih.a. iietitt*encl44llsti
$ liar bigh ;adduced'
which may be : ,addefi
!gardedascumnlittive:Watave become',
weacief publishing therecord ofeliame,
been niadeittity theltadicid
majority of the late &Mite and House
of Representatives, but almost daily
there are new developments of their
iniquity requiring to be chronicleft.
A Harrisburg reporter, whose factiltiee
•for observing;
,the condition„cif Wafts.
during tlmeesslon, were equal to those
of any one, writes, to a Radical news
paper,' the; Philadelphia Inquirer; a
lengthy accoun't . of themanner in which
laws vim ma,nufaettved.
Forgetting the Sehatoriatharvest, the
writer says that the iarospeots at the
opening of the session looked gloomy for
a return to the membere of the money
they had expended. in securing their
election, and their only recourse was—
" If the people would not seek the law
makers, the law.inakera could seek the
people." Forthwith atiyitemof making
business was devised, which resulted in
the appointment of committees with
varied powers, known as "smelling
committees," These perambulated the
State, investigating a variety ofsubjeots,
"To prominent railroad managers they
came like hawks upon a brood of
chickens." Says the writer:
"If they were really appointed for any
legitimate purpose, they never once achieved
it. If they found any evil IL stlll exists, for
in no single case did they ever remedy it. If
they were designed to secure good legisla
tion on any subject, they never succeeded in
the effort. They wore of no possible use to
the people, whatever benefit may have
accrued to the committees,"
Another equally bad form of lesiola-
Om was the enactment of special bills
of incorporation, for mining and rail
road purposes, with the names of friends
and relatives of the members Inserted
as corporators, which measures not un
frequently interfered with the vested
rights of other parties.
Passing from the above illustrations
of "how to raise the wind," the writer
gives the manner in which the laws
were made :
"The legislators of 1807 actually passed
laws at the rate of thirty to the hour, without
reading theta except by their titles. To ap
preciate the enormity of this transaction it
must be remembered that these laws were
to govern the widow and the orphan, the
beggar and the capitalist, men of all re•
ligious creeds, business interests and con
nections. A solemn duty, that of protect•
ing the citizens in every right that human
ity holds dear, thus degenerated into a
farce. Day after day, whole pages of print
ed titles were enacted_into laws, without
the contents of the bills being read I But
this farce was rendered even more ridicu
lous. To give a color of deliberation to the
transaction, it was required in some cases
that the person representing the Legislative
District to which the bill (by its title) was
supposed to refer, should say 'All right l'
Whereupon it passed. An immense ma
jority thus delegated to some one man the
exercise of all their own duty, ability and
judgment.
"This system produced its unavoidable
results. Members, officers and reporters,
became entangled in the maze. Nobody
knew exactly what bills had passed, or
what ones had fallen.. The duty of the
speakers and officers was merely executive,
and they had neither the power or ability
to resist the wishes of a majority which
seemed determined to transform a deliber
ative body into a machine lor turning out
laws with lightning rapidity.
"Not unfrequently after some apparent
ly trifling bill had been printed for weeks,
it would be modified two or three minutes
before its passage by the substitution of an
entirely new bill, with new provisions. It
was quite common for a measure which
had passed one House in a harmless shape,
to have some objectionable amendment
quietly attached to it in the other branch.
'the English language was tortured to sup
ply apparently harmless phrases which
could afterwards be construed so as to con
for immense powers. In one case a local
corporation, nominally to operate in a little
township, came very near being trans
formed into a mammoth organization, by
adding the words, "and elsewhere." In
another case, under cover of a city railroad
in a Western village, was concealed a pro
ject to Willi a steam railroad anywhere in
the State. The members of the Legislature
of 1867 unquestionably knew that such
practices wore common at the very time
they allowed bills to be passed by their
title, under the 'all right' system ; yet they
took no warning.
" This is the way that laws were made at
Harrisburg, and this is the reason why
many bills escaped the attention, not only
of interested parties, but of the newspaper
press at the dine of their passage. Does
any man wonder at It?"
We ask the honest voters of Pennsyl
vania to reflect seriously upon the facts
as set forth above. Let them remember
at the same time that such abuses have
only been known since the advent of
the Radicals to power. Never were any
such charges made against a Democratic
legislature ; and it is admitted to-day,
even by Radical journals, that the cor
ruption and razioulity of recent legisla
tures has been almost entirely confined
to the Radical majority.
Relief for the South.
As an effort is about to be made in
Lancaster to raise funds for the relief of
the starving people in certain districts
of the South, we have thought this to
be an appropriate occasion-to publish
the beautiful speech delivered by Rev
Dr. Boardman, at the meeting in Phila
delphia on the 15th of March. We will
not undertake to add anything to this
eloquent appeal, which covers the whole
ground and leaves no one who reads it
in doubt about his duty.
The needs of the suffering people of
the South are perhaps greater now than
they were in March. Their scanty sup
plies have been di min ishedNy consump
tion, and their harvest, though earlier
than ours, will not be cut till late in
June. This is a critical time with them
—the most critical, in all probability,
that they have had to pass through—
and relief now will be most opportune
and serviceable. Other sections of
Pennsylvania have contributed liberal
ly, and we trust the " Garden of the
State" will not be found wanting in this
emergency, but that her contribution
will be in proportion to the botinties
with which a kind Providence has
blessed her.
Farewell to Cheap Goods
The editor of the financial and coln•
mercial column of the Philadelphia
Ledger thinks we may bid a long fare
well to cheap cotton goods. This will
be bad news. to poor people, who will
sigh, but sigh in vain, for a return of
the good old Democratic times when
gold and silver were plenty, when taxes
were low and almost unfelt, when mus
lins and calicoes of good quality could
be bought for eight and ten centsa yard,
and when a coupie of dollars would till
a large basket with marketing. The
Ledger says :
Cheap cottons will probably never be
known again in this country. The high
price of labor, as compared with prices be.
fore the war, forbid it. In the days of
slavery, tlfe negro women of the South con
stituted fully one-half the field force in the
light labor of cotton culture. Even last
year they worked in the field to a'consider
able extent; but a Southern correspondent
writes that this year they have'alniogt en-''
tirely withdrawn Flom' They declare
that" the white women never work out; but
are supported by their men'; thatit ought
to be so, and 'that they (the blacks) will
not submit anymore to out door work."
We have no doubt that they Will adhere to •
this.determlnation. So the cotton planters
must give up all hope of seeing thiim again
in the field. The increase of wages in' ,the
South may, and'probably *ill' be, in .some
*mum soinpeisated:for, in'extending , tlie
cultivation of cotton to new fields of opldia
dons. In California' much interest isfeltin
the attempts' making there to cultivate this
great staple on a large Scale, and it is be
lieved a considerable breadth of land- will
'be devoted twit the current .3; , ear. Mean
predation lathe price slimethe 'prostration
'of 'Southern industry, and the establish
dient•of cotter' mills nearer • to' the -seat of•
o posumption of-manufactures, haVe created
•indlitements to wow the raw Material not'
previously' existing, While this will tend
somewhat •tioheapen the product of cotton;'
thereierlittle probability of ever iieblng;bB-.'
Ore-thelwar•prioes current here,
Secretary jinhanclal
We publish elsewhere the material
4 point k pf a letter from Secretary lifcCpl7
flouglfl to a number of distinguish'. C
'.t) 3 0 8 0, 11 m,erchallif- : beisisto th
Rhe ikidoiOge! sei-h4eftil 6tok4littare,,
{offal s itu ssw.he fle He, 11$d'
Aveiy, eagadoile Of theslaybeglitsf
to see plainly t* l troubles •- • whiiill )
',threaten to come npiarns right speedily::
That the National debt will be increased
instead of being diminifilied during the
present year Mr. McCul ough candidly
confesses.- Enormous and burtheftsfe •
as is the taxation now. pressing Su n
the' people, it will- fail to meet the 'our:-
rent_expenditOreit'.atithorlied vby a cor
-rypt ,and reckless . Congress. This is
not a,pleitilant.picture and ; its contem
plation is well calculated to oast a gloom
over all financial circles. We are be
'ginning to reap the fruit of Radical
folly. The exercise of ordinary politi
cal sagacity since the conclusion of the
war , would have saved us from disasters
and diflicultlea" which now seem to be
inevitable. • When tae fanatics in Con
gress deliberately chose to "Pursue a line
of policy calculated to impoverish the
South and to throw all the burthens of
the government upon the toiling masses
of the North, they deliberately paved
the way for financial disasters of the
most formidable °Wader. Had the
people of the North been wise they
would have repudiated the Insane policy
of the Radical loaders at the last elec
tion for Congressmen. They did not
see clearly what would be the result of
their action, and instead of followlpg
the dictates of reason allowed thefh-•
selves to be influenced by passion and
blind prejudice. The day is coming
however when the masses will rise up
against those who &mei ved them. Then
they who have brought the Republic to
its present unfortunate condition will
be called to "a strict account. The hour
of retribution draws nigh.
In the meantime there can be nQ
contraction of our inflated paper cur
rency, no return or approach to specie
payments, no lowering of prices and no
diminution of taxes. Trade must con
tinue to be dull, production must be
checked, mechanics must be thrown
out of employment and distress must
ensue. Our troubles can only have an
end when the Republican party is
driven from power, the South restored
to the Union and the present reign of
extravagance which now distinguishes
our legislation replaced by a rigid
economy in the management of the
finances of the Nation.
Row the Radicals Make Laws.
We publish elsewhere an account of
the manner in which the Sunday Liquor
Law and the Gettysburg Lottery Swin
dle were pushed through the Legisla
ture. The people will read this expose
of the manner in which laws are made
by the Radicals with astonishment.—
Such an exhibition of reckless careless
ness on the part of legislators was never
before known. I.' he truth is, it has come
to pass that a majority of the members
of both branches of our legislature are
chiefly employed in looking after pay
ing jobs. If there is a private corpora- i
tion seeking legislation the eyes of every
member• of " the ring" are wide open,
and each one takes especial good care to
secure his " divy." Business of a pub
lic character is left to the care of a few
honest men in each branch ; such men
for instance as Wallace, and a few
others in the Senate, and Boyle, Jen
kins and a select dozen or so in the
House. The rest give all their time
and attention to the manipulation of
remunerative private bills. It is no
torious that during the last session the
few public bills of a proper character
which were passed were put thokugh
the exertions of the Democratic minor
ity. If they had been left to the care of
'• the rings," which were made up from
the dominant party, they would in all
probability have been left to sleep in the
several committees.
We ask every one to read carefully
the account to which we refer. It is
high time the people should seriously
reflect upon the conduct of the legisla
tures which have assembled at Harris
burg for several years past. The State
is being annually disgraced by the cor
ruption and venality which prevails,
and the interests of the people are utterly
disregarded by those who are selected to
make our laws. Let all honest voters
resolve to effect a speedy and perma
nent reform of the gross abuses which
have been introduced by the Radicals
now in power.
Radical Assertion of State Rights.
The Radicals have assailed the doc
trine of State Rights most bitterly.—
From the very beginning of the rebel
lion they have made persistent and un
ceasing warfare upon all who have
dared to stand up for the reserved
rights of the States in the Union. By
dint of the most unscrupulous misrep
resentation, they have managed to in
duce many simple-minded people in
the North to believe that the preserva
tion of the reserved rights of the sev
eral States was incompatible with the
maintenance of the power and sov
ereignty of the general government.
They have time and again asserted the
right of Congress to exercise supreme
control over the affairs of the several
States. When it was proposed to foist
negro suffrage upon the Northern
States, the friends of the bill, Sumner,
Wilson, Thad. Stevens and their fol
lowers, pretended to derive the power
from that clause of the Constitution
which 'relates to a Republican form of
government, and from the amendment
Nl2tvery. Then the power of
Congress was :yokel' of
,13.t3 supreme,
and the right of the several States to
regulate the election franchise was com
pletely ignored.
But they have already shown how
inconsistent they can b e on this, as on
other questions. In I,lissouri, a Radi
cal State court has decided that neither
the Supreme Court of the United States
nor any other bran( di of the General
Government can pr event a sovereign
State from determining the qualifica
tions of voters therein. In deciding the
case of General F. T. Blair, a decision
has been rendered by the Supreme
Court of Missouri which deprives him
and a large class of white men from
voting. Such a decision was necessary
to insure a continuance of the Radical
rule with which the people of that State
have been cursed; and it was forth
coming, all the (apposition of the party
to State Rights to the contrary not
withstanding. lEn rendering' its deci
sion the Court said:
prior to the adoption of the Federal Con
stitution, the respective States possessed
unlimited and 'unrestricted sovereignty,
and retained the .same, ever afterwards, ex
, oept so far as they granted' certain powers
to .the General G overnMent or prohibited
themselves from doing certain acts.. Every
State reserved to itself the exclusive right
of regulating its !own -internal , govermpent
and police. „ , ,
That is as une.q,uivocal an announce
' rhenfrof the doctrine of State rights as
was,ever made sit any.. political' aSasni
blage in the crown:try. 'We Pkit it uPori
record "as4he boldest and broadest asser
t:ion of State rights made by, any court
since the war begun. It serves to mark
the inconsistency of the Radical leaderis;
' and, the disposition to resort to any
pedient
,to: maintain their hold on.
Power.
•
' The, Gtoverrunent a vices from New Or
' feanashows that the Government is fully.
`secured in its account' with the• First Na
,tinnal Bank of that city, and private
.Rositeus vOrt get a large Blare , of that',
money:" '
To the PaKot-lioughto!.!,_
.4. eyed at a euggelition which we
e - on Thursday that you should .
an account of your ateirardship,
s u tiPlans of some,slB,oo4„whl4L
04irstood had beenvair#ll4,o26 Vfle
ligaln this city in Febru(o, 1884,japd
ilia you should pay over,Ahe balatice
which mizht be in
~yodr: hands , sb
We managers of the Hbikiktilop
less Children, an institution which we
believe to be exceedingly worthy of all
the pecuniary aid that it can obtain.—
We yeaterday, ladles, by
theiff wI lusitinied to, Spealt."l6r , yoii,
`-'11:11t you had priblishidanchtui account'
_
all we desired, in one of the newspapers"
.
of•thls city, about a year ago. Ai you
never furnished this account
,to.us,for
publication pia can hardly be surprised:
that it had not come under our obserfli-
tion, or that of the class of this Vona
naunity, among whom our paper alone
circulates. We find the account referrefii
to in the Express of May 6th, 1866, (a
newspaper published daily in this city
for the edification of a small circle of
admiring friends.)
The only portion of this 80-called re•
port, ladies, which at all refers to the
moneys received and expended by you,
is the following:
To fair for Soldiers' Home, $300; groceries
for soldlors' families, and others in need,
$7OO 02 ; coal for soldiers' families, $107.80 ;
shoes for soldiers, $87,55; clothing for sol
diers and families, 1.381010; moat for sol
diers' families ,$ 87.01 ; room runt for one
year, $B5 ; sowing and knitting, $105.10 ; to
disabled soldiers and funeral expenses, 01,
$303,04 ; total amount of expenses in mak
ing the hospital clothing and other stores,
in paying their freight, in buying provision,
and in paying the expenses of nurses, eta.,
$12,103,88 ; total amount of receipts of the
Society, $14,500.00 ; total amount of ex
penses, Including the above bills, $14,482.30;
balanco on hand, $18,30.
You yvill pardon us, ladies, for Baying
that such a loose lump statement as the
above must necessarily fall to satisfy
the public. It is not such an account
as should be rendered of auy business
transaction. You were obviously aware
that this was not an "account " at all,
for you yourselves style it simply a
"report." You will observe that it is
not very specific in its statements. You
state your total amount of cash receipts
to have been $14,800.60; but do not give
a single one of the items making up
that amount. Your Society was organ
ized, as you say, April 22, 1861. On
February 22, 1864, and the ensuing
week, you held a Fair, which we be
lieve realized nearly $lB,OOO ; so that, if
this amount is included in your state
ment of total receipts, you received in
the first two years and ten months of
your existence, less than $2,000. If you
say the receipts of this Fair are included
in your statement, we shall have no
hesitation in believing such to be the
fact; although we had not heretofore
fully understood you to state that this
was so. As you remember, about the
time the Fair was held, the Sanitary
Commission was holding Fairs all over
the country, and there was talk of your
Fair being somehow under their au
spices; so that we thought there might
have been a separate account opened by
you for the large receipts of this Sol
diers' Fair.
Again, in your Report, you specify
the special purposes for which you ap
propriated $2,288.42 of your fund; but,
you simply state that the balance of the
fund paid out, $12,163.88, was expended
" in making the hospital clothing and
other stores, in paying their freight, in
buying provision and paying the ex
penses of nurses, &c ;" this was a lump
ing charge, which only your very
natural ignorance of book-keeping,
would Justify you in expecting would
be entirely satisfactory to the contribu
tors to the funds of your association.
We believe, however, that we now
Understand your friends to say that you
have embraced in your Report, all the
moneys you ever received from any
source, and can readily satisfy any
doubting mind that they were all ex
pended for legitimate purposes. Have
we understood your friends aright ? If
so, we regret that our hopes that the
"Home for Friendless Children" or
some other equally worthy charity,
would be benefltted by the reception
of a handsome sum from you, are
doomed to disappointment.
We have endeavored to talk to you
frankly ladies, yet courteously; we
would deem it base indeed, to take ad
vantage of our position as Editors and
as men to treat you otherwise. We
know it would be utterly impossible for
you as women, to respond roughly to
rough treatment, and that you are
therefore practically defenceless ; we
respect too much that one of your sex,
for whom we have the least respect, to
take advantage of her helplessness. We
know it is disagreeable to you even to
be alluded to in public prints ; yet you
are often called upon to occupy public
positions as patrons of public charities,
and you, very properly, often assume
the disagreeable responsibilities which
are thus cast upon you. The most re
sponsible of these offices,lis that of the
proper, disposition of the moneys en
trusted you, for the public will require
an account to be exhibited to them of
their disposition and . amount, even
when they have been placed in the
hands of "angelic woman." You were
not angelic during the war, dear friends;
but now that Peace has unfurled her
snow-white banner, we trust that you
read your bibles more attentively, and
have attained a heavenly frame of mind.
Thus as the public did not seem to
understand the state of the fund in your
h.ands, Patriot Daughters, we have
been compelled to call upon you for an
explanation, and we think we, have
done you a real service in so doing, be
cause we have given you an opportu
nity for explanation, which you, may
still further improve through our col
umns, should such be your inclination.
In suggesting that you publish a de
tailed statement of your receipts and
expehditures, we have only given ex
pression to the wish of the community,
which it might be as well that you
should heed.
We regret, ladies, that a scurvy fel
low who edits :a scurvy sheet in our
town, should have assumed to be your
chainipion in this matter, and we feel,
qudte sure that he has made this assump
tion with Out your authority. To be
championed in such a way, is worse
than not to be championed at all; for
even you ladies, we fear, cannot touch
pitch without being defiled.
Two Currencies.
''Phe Cincinnati Enquirer says
We have two currencies—one for the peo
ple and one for the bondholder% The peo
ple aret obliged! to :take legal, tenders for
their debts, while the bondholders have
gold. The legal tenders are good enough
for the masses but the bondholders must
have something, better The money of the
people is anbjected to, State and local taxa
tion, while that 'of the bondholders, de
rived fromitheir bonds, is exempted from
it. The bondholders theiefore, have the
gold currency and no taxtitlon; 'and the
people have a paper 'Currency ' with 'heavy
taxation.
We have 'a computabry''papef Wttr.
reney for the people andagOld eArrency
for the owners of ,the _Government
bonds—the latter, eurreney.is at pan and
the former is now thirty-eight , percenti
beloW par. The people
.are taxed and
the capital in hOnds!is not taxed. It is
thus that we have .a , method, provided
by which the aa - pitalistoin escape bear
ing any share of theTublio' bitrtheina
h
but there .no such', provision for the
laboring Min. •
. . .
The New -York Constitutional COuveu
tion has began itauengOus ffi Albany: I
to
' The diaQUoir - OT n of
Henry Clay in the oitg of Louisville
haadrihere ,Ottintio'nwto: l thiki gre at
, and
alider./Wejlublish
•114krewith, as opr9priat4i, ,t 2 "!he time,
memorable;the AM* o f Mr. cia'Ye as
fo the, nj4ilotu3! .. Oote of the 4)::ollibin
rtiOeliveto in the
Senate ofthe United ijitates 4 1n18891a
saViifuran'd
melancholyl a realization. Looking
down the Vista of the future with the
glance of the sun, the statesman of
Kentucky predicted what would be the
'cOrisEquences if Abolitionism organized
a tiectiobal.N . orthernparty.. How truly
it bielal Oipvto pass, and .how unfor
tunate that 'his Warning was not re
garded, any man can perceive, at a
glince. Aare it is in hie speech.iipon
the Abolition question, made, as we
have
.befOrc said, in 1839. We quote
from golton's life of Clay, page 157,
volume 6. He said:
!'Sir: I um not in the habit of speaking '
I lightly of the poSsfbility of dissolving this
• happy, Union. The Senate knows that I
have doprocated allusions, ou ordinary oc
casions, to that direful event. The country
will te stify that if there be any thing In the
1 histdry of my public 'areer worthy of rec
ollection, it is the truth and'sincerity of my
ardent devotion to its lasting preservation.
But wo •should be• false to our allegiance
to it, if we do not discriminate between
the imaginary and real dangers by which it
may bo assailed, Abolition should no
longer be regarded aeon imaginary danger.
The Abolitionists let mo suppose, succeed
in their present aim of uniting the inhab
itants of the tree,States, as one man, against
the inhabitants of the slave States; union on
the one side will beget union on the other,
and the process of reciprocal consolidation
will be attended with all the violent preju
dices, embittered passions, nod implacable
animosities which ever degraded or do
formed human nature. A virtual (111480111.
tion of the Union will have taken place,
while the forms of its existence remain. The
inoSt valuable element of Union, mutual
kindness, the feelings of sympathy, the
fraternal bonds which now happily, unite
us will have been extinguished forever—
one section will stand in menacing and
hostile array against the other. Tho col
lision of opinion will be quickly followed
by the clash of arms. I will not now at
tempt to describe scenes which now happily
lie concealed from our view. Abolitionists
themselves would shrink back in dismay
' and horror at the contemplation of desolated
Holds, contiagrated cities, murdered inhab
itants, and the overthrow of the fairest fabric
of human government that ever rose to
animate the hopes of civilized man. Nor
should those Abolitionists flatter themselves
that, if they succeed in their object of uniting
the people of the States, they will enter the
Contest with a numerical superiority
that must insure victory. All history
and experience proves the hazard and
uncertainty of war. And we are admon
ished by Iloly Writ that ' the race is not to
the swift, nor the battle to the strong.' But
tf they wore to conquer, whom should they
conquer? A foreign foe, one who has in
sulted our flag, invaded our shores, and
laid our country waste? No, sir; no, sir!
It would lie a conquest without laurels,
without glory ; a self, a suicidal conquest;
a conquest of brothers over brothers,
achieved by one over another portion of the
descendants of common ancestors, who
nobly pledged their lives, their fortunes, and
their sacred honor; and fought and nled,
side by side, in many a hard battle on land
and ocean—severed our country from the
British Crown, and established our inde
pendence."
Relying U; yin the Negro Vote.
We find the l .flowing item occupying
a prominent place in all the Radical
newspapers of the country :
The Republican State Central Committee
of Maryland has issued a call for a Border ,
State Convention, to be held on the 12th of
September next, in this city. The States of
Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ten
nessee, and Missouri are invited to co-ope
rate in the movement with Maryland, and
to send to the proposed convention as many
delegates, without regard to race or color,
as each State may deem expedient or find
convenient. The object of the convention
is to organize and make an influential ap
peal to Congress on the part of the Border
States for the passage of the Sumner-Wil
son bill, or other efficient legislation which
may lead to the establishment throughout
the Union of the grand principle of man
hood suffrage.
1 1 The Radical leaders frankly admit
that they can not maintain their hold
on the power they have so flagrantly
abused without the aid of negro votes.
Unless they can summon to their assist
' ance that class in the North and the
South they very well know that they
have no hope of succeeding at the com
ing Presidential election. Every elec
tion which has been held for months
past proves that the mass of white
1 voters in the North are falling off from
the corrupt and fanatical party now in
power. Another despatch from Wash
: ington says that, Senator Sumner and
others of his class are busy at the Na
tional capital writing letters to Rad
ical Congressmen, urging them to be
present in July, In order to pass a
law conferring the right of negro
suffrage upon the negroes in the dif
ferent ;Northern States and territories.
The work they say pill not admit of
delay. They have abandoned all hope
of being able to succeed without the
passage of some such sweeping enact
ment. What a condition for a political
party Is:that ! How can white men with
a sense of proper self-respect continue to
support it? It is confessedly left without
hope of success unless it can succeed In
defeating the will of a vastmajority of
the white men of the country, by stuff
ing the ballot boxes ivith negro votes.
Previous Pardons.
When Gegry was inaugurated Gov
ernor he endeavored to attract attention
by making a grand flourish about the
pardoning, power. With much parade
he announced certain rules by which he
said .he intended to be governed in all
cases of the kind. Whether this was
done to deceive the public as to his real
intentions is not definitely known, but
his conduct would lead to the supposi
tion that it was. Since he has been
governor he has made most reckless use
of the pardoning power, not refusing in
any instance to pardon numerous ap
plicants of the Radical persuasion. In
a number of counties Radical offenders
arraigned for crimes and misdemeanors
have produced previous pardons and
been discharged upon them. At the
last criminal sessions for York county
no less than four such pardons were ex
hibited and the accused thus sheltered
from the punishment they deserved.
One of the rules voluntarily laid down
for himself by Geary, if observed. would
have prevented nis granting any previ
ous pardons. We agree with the Age
in expressing a hope that a tall history
of all of that character will be given to
the public, to show how Geary's preach
ing and practice differ.
Booth's - Diary.
Grave doubts are expressed as to the
authenticity of the diary which. has
been published as' that of J. Wilkes
Booth. Gross inaccuracies of statement
are detected in it for which Booth could
have hadmO possible motive. It does
not tell the story of the assassination
correctly, for Booth exclaimed" sic Bern
per t,yrannis" after he leaped on the
stage And not as he fired at the Presi
dent. Baker repeated several circum
stances as being mentioned in it which
do not appear in what was pUblished.
As a whole it is thought to be unlike
Booth's habitual style of expression.—
It is getting_to be generally believed
that for some purpose Stanton and his
tool Baker have palmed off a forgery on
the public.
Ohio Politics.
The Republicans of Ohio have been
htinting all over .the State for a candi
date:for Governor, and haVe had no
little trouble ,to find a man willing to.
run on their. negro suffrage and negro!
equality`platform. They- have at last
incoteded in inducing, General R. 13;
Mayes, of Cincinnati; to, consent to be
.beaten. The,Demotrats .of that. gtate-,
arein high hcipes, and. are organizing,
for agrand , ,?truggle. 'They, expect to
rode* tlie:•B,4okey.St4ite•
41ialliumh Wasti on. I
• Waitticgr
ton i litta resulted in a triumph of the
negroei over the it'hite•tipst;ekths cap
ital of the nation. ft. "0001111 telegraph
to,Forney,'s PRESS inntruilees the re-'
,11(ilb#3 follows '
131 ) /. W.sailii*Zei:lnneil; 1867: *
ekectidithere to-dkyjiassed off very
,and, althoughlhere was some ex
arfrement, ,no. , disturbanhe , :clocurred. The
&Noe
%o perfect
for cpreserving order
Wire So perrect that any attempt at dis
turbance was hopless. The Copperheads
used every effort to deceive find mislead
the colored voters. They had prepared five
different kinds of bogus tickets, andso com
pletely counterfeited the regular Repub
lican ticket that the cheat could only
be discovered by the closest scrutiny
of the names -of the candidates.—
The wrilie Repulloans and the more
intelligent of the colored men were every
where active and vigilant. They hadivig-
Rance committees at every precinct, and
each colored man's ticket was carefully
examined by members of these committees
before he voted it.. The Copperhead judges
of elections, in several precincts, endeavor
ed to defeat the' 'Republicans by delaying ,
votes. In this way hundreds were prevent
ed from'voting, and this has had the effect
of lessening the Radical majority. It did
not, however prevent the Republicans from
carrying the city. They have elected the
general ticket, consisting of collector, regis
ter, and surveyor, by about two thousand
majori,y: They will have a majority in the
City. Councils. The fact that only a portion
of time Board of Alderman were elected this
time, will leave that body still in the hands
of the Copperheads. It is a groat triumph
of freedom and universal suffrage. Next
year the Republicans will elect ovary city
official from the Mayor down; and thus re
deem the national capital from Copperhead
rule.
The Prom has au editorial glorying
over the result, in which it says:
The news from Washington this morning
proves conclusively which way the colored
matt will vote. livery effort was made by
the Democracy, that to prevent their regis
tration, and, then to delude and deceive
thorn, but they wore not to be defrauded
out of their votes or ticket, They catno to
the polls fu early morning, In large bodies,
and patiently camped there until it canto
thole turn to vote, when almost to a men
they threw their ballots for the party and
the thug that made thorn free.
Being now confessedly dependent
upon the negroes for future success the
leaders of the Republican party all hail
the result of the election at Washington
as a grand triumph for their party. IL
is the only place they have carried for
months. Wherever white men voto
they are badly beaten.
Letter from Thad. Stevens
The following letter from Thad.
Stevens appears in all the city papers
this morning. It is addressed to Hon.
Ed. McPherson, of Gettysburg. It will ,
be seen that the sickness of the old man
has not lessened his malignity :
LANCASTER, Pa., May 28, 1867,
DEAR SIR: Short its your letter is, I fear
I cannot answer it without violating an in
junction of toy medical adviser not to be
come excited. You live in a region which
was two or three times invaded by the
armies of Jefferson Davis. In the counties
of Bedford, Fulton, Franklin, Cumberland,
Adams and York they visited almost every
farmer and other inhabitant, and plunder
ed them of their horses, cattle, provisions,
wagons, and money, when found, beside
some detached cases. They laid in ashes
one thriving village of 6,000 people, and
turned the inhabitants houseless into the
streets to seek shelter in fence corners.
No provision has ever been made, or is
now making, to reimburse tho plundered
citizens. By the law of nations a govern
ment makes no compensation f6r damages
done by an invading army, unless such
government be victorious, when it always
provides by treaty for the payment by the
vanquished enemy. A government which
neglects to make such provisions on be
half of its plundered citizens is basely neg
ligent of its duty. A quasi peace exists
between the late belligerents, the terms of
which are dictated wholly by Congress,
which is under the control of the Republi
can party. Nothing but the proceeds of the
confiscation of a small portion of the prop
erty of wealthy Rebels can be applicd to
pay the damages inflicted by the marauders,
unless it be paid out of the Treasury of the
United States.
A few Republican meteors, always erratic
in their course, are flitting through and ex
ploding in the Republican atmosphere.
They attract sufficient public attention to
enable them to assure the amiable Rebels
who inflicted this injury that they need fear
no confiscation ; that nobody of any note in
the North is in favor of imposing such pun
ishment for the sake of remuneration, or of
Justice. They assure them that nothing
shall be taken from Aiken's estate of mil
lions, from Hampton, Davis, Orr, Faulkner,
or from a thousand others who are still
worth their hundreds of thousands, to re
imburse the loyal men, North and South,
who were plundered of their estates, and to
aid your poor neighbors to rebuild their
humble tenements.
Itis scarcely to bo endured that Congress
for two sessions should sit indifferent to
these sufferings, and take no steps to inforce
these rights. These remarks apply to large
portions of Maryland, of West Virginia,
Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri, as well as to
the Slave States. He who can patiently
listen to that patent humanity which we
now see propagated, has more command of
himself than I have. Indeed it looks as if
we were still to add to the burden of our
taxation to defray the expenses of transpor
tation, and the ovation of triumphant
traitors. But I must stop, or I shall com
mit the fault against which I have been
warned. With great respect, your obedient
servant, THADDEUS STEVENS.
Amither Letter from 'Thaddeus Stevens.
LANCASTER, Thursday. May 23, 1867.
To the Chairman of the County Committee
and the Assessors of the Townships of the
Counties of Adams, Franklin, Fulton,
Bedford, Somerset, Perry, Cumberland and
York:
GENTLEMEN :—As I am about to prose
cute the claims for confiscation at the next
session of Congress, if I should be permitted
to appear there, I esire to ascertain certain
facts. Will you aid me in procuring them
in a small part of our own State? Invite
returns from all the people in each township
of the amount of property which the Rebel
raiders, or the armies of the so-Called "Con
federate States," destroyed or appropriated
to their own use during their several incur
sions Into Pennsylvania and hand the same
to the Assessors of the different townships,
who are requested to return the aggregate
for each township to the Chairmen of the
respective parties of the different counties.
May I here ask that the various newspa
pers of the counties above named pub
lish this notice for a few weeks
in aid of the object specified,
as I intend to press the payment of the
damages done to loyal men out of the con
fiscated property of the conquered belliger
ents; I desire each and every persorOwho
resided in the above-named counties to
make out a list of the amount of all prop
erty of which he was despoiled by the Rebel
raiders or the Rebel Government ' and re
turn the same to the assessors of his town
ship, who, I hope, will forward the same to
the Chairmen of the County Committees et
each party, who, I hope, will take the trouble
to aggregate the same and return it to me. '
I desire a fair valuation to be placed on all
the property, whether personal property
abstracted, or real property destroyed,
except Caledonia Iron Works in the County
of Franklin, which will not be appraised,
as no remuneration is claimed for it. This
may seem to bo asking our friends to take
considerable trouble, but as a small part of
the labor only falls to each person, it will
be found light. I hope It may finally prove
profitable to the injured people.
Yours, TRADDEUS STEVENS.
P. S.—Were it not presumptuous in me,
I would invite all the loyal men of all the
States who have been plundered by Rebel
radicals or confiscated by the Confederate
States, or either of them, to form associa
tions and furnish statistics, such us are
above solicited. ' Claims so Imperatively
just must be finally allowed and paid, but
the funds to pay the same will certainly be
raised nowhere except out of the fines and
confiscation of the richer and more atrocious
malefactors. Feeble as my powers are, if
I had five years more added to my We, I
should not.doubt but that this would be
come an accomplished fact. Such justice
urged by a determined will, though feeble
intellect, cannot fail. If I should be denied
that extension of life, Providence will raise
up to the work some younger and abler
man to whom these facts would be of great
assistance. I trust it will not be supposed
that I have abondoned the determination to
procure small homesteads for the freedmen,
to be furnished by theßebel masters whom
they conquered at our request—homesteads
earned by the the late slaves and annexed
to their master's estates. Let them now be
severed by partition.
All the newspapers in the several coun
ties named are respectfully requested to
publish this article.
Plamitlus
Commercial advice's received in Liverpool
from Mauritius give a mostalarming account
of the mortality from fever. Upward of
6,000 persons died in March, and from the
lstto the 15th of April more than 5,000 deaths
had been registered. Of this number one•
half died in Fort Louis. The population of
Port 'Louis. is 80,000, and according to the
circular of Messrs. A. Duff& Co., the deaths
have averaged over 200 per day. It was
. hoped that the approach of cooler weather
, woald have the eftect of causing the epidemic
• to subside.
'The 'lndhins afong' the Platte river are
Bald :c9 matte, hiPlide, a general and ahhul
tapers:Sr. atta,Fl apeal the whites early this
month.' • • ;
Theililtmwes....irineortaii4Ut s. a.
miAAiersue
4000 kotbtibehi'litt iiplY to an in
vitation frOm a ntimber,,of prominent Boa
toniaMl, / 1 1441Pg.h0n , to ' IP ?at rhas
fi t
writteut a letter d:,.1 . c'l be' nvi on on
accutint of, etgsi : ,_F , ' , .170y.'' . . - 1 , . zuts. ,'bu ving
at soniejlen • . VAT,: : 7 f. T.' relptitm the
. es:lntim , : '' a quote the ~I , . .ftt f - 1,4t ...,"
kris/ante AWN 'you ''....• ' l'r man;lthtli. it:
shall be my earneet,pn 0.4 . omitinne to
so administer my officei asetci itistlfy the
confidence you have so, geperomily given
me. You must nbt expectt;._hOWeYett th at
~
our monthly statements ibr thEi rest of t he '
present and early part of the next fiscal
year will be as satisfactory as they: have
been for many Months past Thedonatione
or bounties to soldiers, preparations for a
threatening Indian war, even if the war
itself should be avoided, and very liberal
appropriations Of a miscellaneous charac
ter will cadse unusually heavy drafts
to be made upon the Treasury; while on
the other , hand, the general failure of
the wheat crop and the partial fail
ure of the corn crop last year, slow
progress in the restoration of the Southern
States to their proper relations with the
Federal Government, the dullness of trade
throughout the country—partly tho result
of a decrease of production, and partly of
tho'natural reaction which always follows
periods of excitement and speculation—to
gothdr with reduced taxes, will very con
siderably affect our revenues. This combi
nation of adverse circumstances may retard
a return to specie payments, and with
large issues of bonds to be Lunde to the
Pacific Railroad and its branches or divis
ions, will prevent for a brief season a reduc
tion of the public debt, and may oven
render it temporary increase of it unavoid
able, but it will not weaken my faith In our
ability to move on again In the right direc
tion at an early day. On the contrary I
believe that this chock to our progress will
lead to improvements In our revenue laws
and to an increase of-efficiency in their exe
cution, hasten the representation In Con
gress of the Southern States, and secure
greater economy in all branches of the pub
lic service.
Some surprise may exist that I have not
for mom months past reduced the circuln-
Unit of United States notes according to the
authority conferred upon me by Congress,
and an inference may be drawn from it
that my opinion upon the eubJect of con
traction ham undergone it chauge. Permit
we to say, therefore, that I 11111 as much
persuaded as ever of the importance of an
early return to specie payments, and of a
reduction of the currently, as it moans of
chocking extravagance and speculation,
anti of increasing production, without
which all efforts to restore permitnentlntile
specie standard will be ineffectual. What
the country needs, in order that spools pay
monte may be resumed and maintained,
and reel prosperity secured, is an Increase
of industry and a restoration of our former
habits of economy, As a people, itinong
ourselves, we must earn more and spend
less. In our trade with foreign nations we
must sell more or buy leas. Any different
proscription for existing financial evils is,
in my judgment, quackery. That contrac
tion will tend to bring at out this desirable
condition of things I have never doubted,
but I have nevertheless suspended the re
duction of the circulation of United States
notes, and for the following reasons either
of which' would perhaps have justified my
course, and all of which have had more or
less influence in determining it:
First. The views of a majority of the
members of Congress as indicated by it
nuinbor, of votes last winter, wore adverse
to immediate contraction, and I halve not
folt at liberty to place myself in practical
opposition to the law-making brfinch of the
Government, without whose support I must
be powerless.
Second. There have existed for Nome
months past anxiouttforebodinge of financial
troubles, and while they continue I have
been apprehensive that a contraction of the
currency, the object and effect of it being
misunderstood or misinterpreted, might
produce a panic in the commercial cities,
which, extending over tile eountry and
beyond the speculative interests, would
injuriously affect legitimate business and
the revenue dependent upon it.
Third. Large amounts of interest-bearing
notes are to be paid or converted within the
present and next fiscal year, to which It
seetned prudent for me first to direct my
attention, leaving the question of a curtail
ment of notes to be determined, front month
to month, by the condition of the country
and of the Treasury.
Fourth. Anticipating that the failure of
the crops and the other circumstances allu
ded to would seriously affect business, I
have considered it important that the public
mind should not be diverted, by the criti
cisms and complaints of those who aro op
posed to contraction, from the real cause of
trouble; that a sound policy should not be
put in peril by being made the "scapegoat"
for evils resulting from different causes.
You will not infer from what I have
written that I am not hopeful in regard to
our financial future. It has heen my con
stant aim so to manage the national finances
as to aid in bringing the country to a healthy
financial condition without being subjected
to thesevere disasters which many judicious
persons hove supposed it large debt and the
derangement of business, and the diminu
tion of industry occasioned by the war, and
a redundant currency would render Inevita
ble. My faith that this con be accomplished is
unshaken. The causes which are now oper
ating against us are exceptional and tempo
rary. The prospect of a good crop of winter
wheat was never better. More spring wheat
has been sowed and more corn has or will be
planted title season titan ever before. The
people are beginning to comprehend again
this important truth, which seems to have
been disregarded for some years past, that
prosperity is the result of labor, that indus
try and economy are as indispensable to
national as well as to individual wealth. I
shall be grievously disappointed If another
year does not witness a largo increase of
industry, of enterprise and of revenue, de
cided progress towards a resumption of
specie payments, and a steady reduction of
the public debt.
Please pardon me for writing so long a
letter, and believe mo to be, with senti
ments of the highest regard, your obedient
servant, 11. McCur,Locit.
Hon. 'William Gray and others.
Heavy Damairea AgaAnat the Penusyl
Cl2:l==t2l!B
The tipurt of Common Pleas, of Snyder
County, has been ornfaged for the last four
days in the case of the heirs of Wm. But
ler, against the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company, in which suit was brought for
damages for the killing of Col. Wm. But
ler, of Lewistown, on the occasion of the
great acccident on the Pennsylvania Cen
tral Railroad, on October 14, 1865, near
Landisville, about four miles west of Lan
caster, by which nine persons lost their
lives and a number of others were wound
ed. The accident, it will be remembered,
was caused by the giving way of ono of the
wheels of the front-truck of the third pas
senger car, and the broken axle tearing out
the bottom of the car, throwing to the ground
the persons occupying three seats on each
side. The wheels of the roar truck
passed over them and mangled
them in a shocking manner. The
car was dragged some distance, and the
dead bodies strewn all along that part of
the traok. Among those killed wero Col
onel and Mrs. Wm. Butler of Lewistown ;
Mrs. A. D. Barr, wife of lon. James P.
Barr, of Pittsburgh, then Surveyor-General
of Pennsylvania ; William 11. Butler, of
Williamsport ; Mrs. Willer, of Cumheriand
County ; Mrs. Gette, of Wisconsin, and
three unknown females. Col. Butler nt the
time of his death was Whisky Inspector at
Philadelphia.
The suit for dam RCM by the heirs of Col.
Butler was first brought in Mifflin county,
but the venue wee changed to Snyder. The
case excited great interest and was hotly
contested on both sides, and was given to the
jury on Satuday. After due consideration,
the jury returnell a verdict for the plaintiffs
of eighteen thousand dollars. Another suit
will be brought by the same parties to
recover for the killing of Mrs. Butler.
Withdrawal of the Nickels
The Secretary of the Treasury has au
thorized the Director of the Mint, with a
view of reducing the quantity of cents In
circulation and obtaining a supply of nickel
in convenient form, to purchase the nickel
cents, paying their nominal value In three
and fi.vo-cent pieces, which will be com
menced on the lfith of June under the fol
lowing rules:
First. Persons sending or bringing the
nickel cents will receive a certificate of the
weight thereof, and the amount payable in
three or five cent pieces, or both, as they
may desire, and with the indorsement
thereon ; such certificates will be paid us
soon as the coins aro ready.
Second. They must be careful not to send
any but the kind mentioned, which are
readily known by the color and size, and
by the dates of 1857 to 18414.
Third. The pieces will be taken, not by
count, but by avoirdupois or grocer's
weight. No lot will be received under 10
pounds, and no spoiled, illegible, or doubtful
pieces will be taken.
Fourth. The reasonable expense of the
transportation of three cent pieces in sums
of $3O, and the five cent coins in sums of $5O
or upward, to any point accessible by rail
road or steamboat, will be paid by the Mint.
Fifth. This arrangement will be revoked
as soon as it is found the issue of three and
five cents is likely to become too large, or
that the abatement of cents is sufficient.
The sole object of this operation's to confer
it public benefit, and none of the cents herein
mentioned have any special value.
Shocking' Accident.
On Friday, the 10th inst., while Mr. An
tonio Ponce and his two eons were hunt
ing, Just north of the city, they started up
a deer. One of the sons fired at the ani
mal, which then crossed the road. Think
ing that his father was behind him, be fired
again ;• on advancing to see the effect of his
shot, he was surprised to discover his ilither
in front of him. The old gentleman was
standing perfectly erect, and on being asked
by his son why he did not shoot at the deer,
he merely said: " My son, I unwounded,"
and then laid down and died. A single
buck-shot bad penetrated his breast, Just
ahov i tlie heart.- , IZ ANNUM° `Fla.!
amin