'Start# fttteMigtttttf. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 3,1869. Libeling a Member or tbe Legislature! I! . We have been accused of doing what we supposed to be an impossibility, and have actually been held to answer to the charge of libeling a member of the ring which controls the present Legisla : ture. We hardly know whether to re gard this as a bit of fun of as a matter 'of serious earnest. But that Mr. Boyer, thegentlemanly Chief of the Harrisburg Police, actually called upon us in our sanctum on Thursday, and exhibited a warrant given under the hand and seal of the Mayor of that city, in which “H. G. Smith and A. J. Steinman, Esqa., publishers of the Lancaster Daily and Weekly Intelligencer ” are accused, on the oath of one Charles Kleckner, a Radical member of the Legislature from Philadelphia, of'libeling him, the said Charles Kleckner, sometimes dubbed Col., in au article published in our Daily of Friday,,the 22d inst. —but for all thi9 formality, we say, we should regard the whole thingas a huge joke. Thedoughty Col. evidently feels himself aggrieved by something we said of him. He has sworn he does, and we suppose we must believe him on his oath, in this matter at least. "We have entered into bail with good aud suillcient security, to be and appear before the Court of Quarter Sessions of Dauphin county, which meets on the fourth Monday of April next, AM) \VK \VJ LI. UK TIJKKK. No live newspaper can expect to es cape. libel suits. We have had our share of them ; but no one lias ever yet made anything oil’ us in this way. in every instance our prosecutors have got the worst of the bargain. Whether the Hon. Col. Charles Kleckner, member of the HoUvse of Representatives, of Pennsylvania, will ho more successful remains t.o be seen. W e are always ready to retract when we may have been betrayed in to saving any thing against any man which facts will not are equally ready to staud by tbe truih, without fear, fa,vor, uffeclion or partiality. in the very article in which Col. Kleckner’s'namo appeared we charged three or four Democratic members of the Legislature with being corrupt, if they have any idea of bringing li lie 1 suits against us we hope they will make it suit to have them come up at the same time with Col. Kleekner's. Hueli an arrangement would save us valuable time, and time with newspaper men is money, who have not the same facili ties for enriching themselves which are eagerly embraced by many members of the Legislature, if reports do not. belie them. The item which gave offense to Col. Kleckner was a paragraph in which we denounced what we understood to he an attempt to levy Mack mail upon the North Pennsylvania I tail road. The resolution introduced by Kleckner was regarded as a regular “ pincher,” anil the aggrieved “member of the ring” seems to think we have grievously sin ned by “ holding him up to ridicule and contempt,” us a sumplespccimen of the genus ‘'pincher.” .So lie seeks redress iu tlio Criminal Courts. Amtslng lack Other The Radical newspapers of this county are just now engaged in u sort of general battle with each other. The E.miniiu rami Jntf itlrer defend the paste* slinger swindle, while the J'.'.rjin ■-» and Fatlu'r Ahniham denounce it as it de serves. Thu !in//ii‘rr has made some pertinent inquiries in relation to the Hackman whiskey frauds, while the I'.xumiH' r seeks to cover up this piece of rascality. Thu F.xpm does not seem to have any very definite opinion in regard to ihe transaction. The Jn •ji/irir cl larges the f'.xpn with bribery, aud insinuates, awful things jjbout its editor; the Ixgnss replies by denounc ing the ./ iK/i/iri r as a Thug organ, full of ahominations and given up to all sorts of disreputable practises. The Colum bia .S/g/intimates ilia! tin* last < 1 rand .Jury was packed for the express pur pose of doing injustice to its editor, and shielding tin* chief si-ribe of the Jp (juirt r from merited punishment. Al together the scrimmage i> a tierce one. We have no doubt there is much truth iu the accusations which these Uudiea! organs bring agaiiis: eaHi other. We are prepared to believe anything bad which they may say of one another. It is a family quarrel, and like all such very bitter. J The truth is Ilia' the Republican leaders of thi.. county are, with very few i‘Xiu*]ilii)j).- f cmLragouuMy corrupt. They care nuihiiig for the puldic good, and exhaust all their energies in devis ing means for enriching themsolv.cs by thes|)oi].sofolliee. 'J’liey are divided into cliques anil laclion, which generally manage to compose their quarrels in time to make a ring to dictate nomina tions. .Then they all blow in concert u util lifter l he elections, when the masses 11 liU that they have been deceived into voting for unlit, candidates. The Craw ford'County System has not proved to be capable of ensuring the selection of honest and competent nmn for office. The assaults which are being made niton the successor of Mr. Stevens, the present members, of the Legislature, anil the Comity Com miss ion ers prove this. I tow the masses of the Republican party in Lancaster county will ever be able to relieve themselves of the load of corrup tion and raseality which they are forced to carry is more than we can tell. They are to lie pitied. The Auditors’ Report The Auditors have made their annu al report in regard to the financial af fairs of the county. They do not con firm all tlic acts of the Commissioners, and speak out boldly against some im proper transactions which have oc curred. They refuse to sanction the donation of county funds to lift* , com panies in Columbia ami Marietta, wliich were currently reported at the time to have been made with I he’design of in fluencing votes in favor of the person who succeeded in securing the nomina tion for' District Attorney. They also denounce the system of letting out job.- of printing to favori es, and propose that all such work shall hereafter be given to tile lowest bidder. They more than intimate that money has been recklessly squandered in bridge build ing, all contracts for such work having been given to one favored party. They dennand that another system shall he adopted, and that when bridges are to be erected hereafter, the system of pub lishing specifications and inviting coin petition shall, be employed. J J\.s wo shall have occasion to return to this matter again, we forbear making any extending comments at present. When the Auditors find it necessary thus gravely to accuse the County Com missioners, there is good reason to be lieve that tlu-re issomething very rotten Denmark. “ Sot For Joe." Qli! no! The writer of this popular song would change its title, if he.should chance to read the statement of the fi nances of Lancaster county for the past year, and knew the ex tent of the services of “Joseph (not. Simon) the Cellarer.” The Court House was built for “ Joe.” It is,rumored that the County is build-' ingalarge building which vs “not-for Joe.” “ High-Priced fi- Tradition has it that the regular tipple in the office of the County Commission ers has heretofore been whiskey, but rumor says that on the organization of the Board Jast week nothing cheaper than champagne was tolerated, and Amos Lee was coigipelled to employ a Dime fashionable caterer than his ac comnlished lady. Who paid the bill? Our’members* of the Legislature can hardly have made enough money at Harrisburg as yet. THE LiA-ISTCASTER WEEKLY ES'TELEiaEiSrCEH, "WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1869. Increasing the Number of Thieves. Mr. Adair, of Philadelphia, has offer-’ ed a proposition in the Lower House of our State Legislature, to the effect that the State be ao amended as to increase the number of members of the Houseof Representatives to three hundred. Coi. McClure made the same proposition just after Simon Cameron was last elected United States Senator. The Colonel argued the propriety of och an amendment at length iu the Franklin Repository , which he then owned and edited. The principal reason assigned by him for the proposed change was the greater difficulty that would be encountered in buying up so large a body. He calculated that it would take -fully three times as much money to get an’improper bill through as it does now, with a House of one hundred members, and that “snakes” and “ roosters” and “ pinchers” ■would be thus killed off. The Colonel *' has been there” repeatedly and he ought to know what the effect of trebling tbe cost of buying up the Legislature would be. But is it not strange that such argu ments should be gravely used to con,- vince the people of Pennsylvania that tbe Legislature should be trebled in numbers. To what a depth of degra» dation have we descended, when Radi cal leaders and leading Radical news papers are compelled to confess that there is do hope of securing an honest legislature on the present basis of rep resentation. It is in fact admitted on on all hands, notonly thataset of thieves have had control of former Legislatures under Radical rule, not only that, the present one is composed of corrupt and mercenary rascals,’but that tligre is no hope of future Radical Legislatures being any more decent or virtuous than those which have preceded them. We do uot believe that the proposed change would produce the desired re sult. Tf reports be true, members of a former Legislature have been bought at the very cheap rateof live dollars ahead. What the lowest ligures of the present “ring” may be we can not say ; but probably it ranges from live dollars up to any sum which can be squeezed out of those wlio apply for legislation. With smaller districts even smaller and meaner men than those who now con stitute Xhe Radical majority would he likely to he elected. The great fault is in the present in iquitous apportionment of representa tives, whereby a Radical majority is assured. Radical Lancaster county, with a smaller list of taxable inhabi tants and a smaller voting population than Democratic Luzerne, has two Senators to the latter's one and four Assemblymen to its three. By such infamous means is the Legislature of Pennsylvania been kept Radical and corrupt. The members are not re strained by fear of. party defeat. They feel assured that they can go on in their rascalities with impunity while the present apportionment stands. — Experience has taught them that the Republican party are willing to endorse any amount of rascality and corruption rather than vote against the settled ticket. Believing this, the members of the present Legislature have been guilty of the most reckless extravagance, anil they brazen it out with an impudence that is unsurpassable. An increase in the number of 'the legislators would only add to the number of thieves, with out-producing the slightest reform. What is needed is a fair aud equable apportionment of the .State, according to population and the relative strength of the two political parties. As mat ters now stand, the Democrats might carry their State Ticket by twenty-live thousand majority and the Legislature still be Republican. Willi an honest apportionment nothing of the kind would occur, and tkepeople could easily punish any party for corruption and rascality by depriving it of its majority iu the Legislature. They have the right to do that; it is their duty to do it; and they would do it if they were not pre vented by the iniquitous and infamous gerrymandering of the legislative dis tricts. Let such RepuM icau newspapers as are really desirous of reform strikfc at. this, the very root and source of corrup tion. As new apportionments will be made in ISTi, and, if it be fuir and honest, the strongest possible check will be put upon the bribery and corruption which disgraces the State. It is the as surance of a continuance of their ma jority in the Legislature which lias made members in the present body so shameless in their rascalities. Does any one suppose the House would have forced through the paster swindle if the present iniquitous apportionment had not existed.’ Not they. Each member would have felt that the future success of his party would be affected by his vote, and that he would be held to the strictest accountability. Let there he an honest and equable appor tionment in IS7I, and weshallseeanew order of affairs in our Stale Legislature. That is the true remedy—the only one. An Indignant *• Booster;" The members of “ the ring,” which has been established iu the lower House of our State Legislature, arc becoming decidedly sensitive. Having voluntarily sacrificed their reputation for honesty they seeui to desire to do something to retrieve their characters. They have been very properly assailed by all hon est journals of both political parties. Being thus left naked to the scorn of the people, and entirely defenceless, the disreputable scamps are looking around for some place of refuge from the sting ing attacks of their assailants. So we find them appealing to the Courts for protection. It is passing strange that any of them should resort to such a renn dy, a Court of Justice being the la-q place one would 'suppose they would think of entering on such a mis sion. But they are no doubt encouraged to hope tlrey may succeed in concealing the truth through the unfairness of our law relating to libels. Not only have we been prosecuted for libel, but on Saturday morning Elisha W. Davis, the pet;sdn who was made Speaker of the House last year after a very warm contest, rose in his seat ami took occasion to respond to an attack made upon him by that Radical sheet, the Pittsburg Dispatch, ami two other papers in the State. It seems, from the remarks of Mr, Davis, that the Dispatch charged him with being at the head'of the extrava gance of the past session, aud with aid ing iu securing the appointment of useles ollicials about the Housb. We think this sensitiveness of Mr. Davis is exhibited at a very late date. Ifhewill search through the files of some of the Republican papers of this county he will find it charged, that lie had at least a guilty knowledge of the little arrange ment by which one Iliyus of Mt. Joy drew over seven hundred dollars from (he State Treasury. It was charged that Iliyus was not preseut' at the Capitol during the session, aud did no work, but thathenevertheless drew full pay under the order of Speaker Davis. We can direct Mr. Davis to the party who made these accusations, and would suggest to him that imperatively they demand au explanation from him. In his speech Mr. Davis said he in tended to make the Dispatch and the other papers alluded to “acknowledge the law or their ignorance of it.” Let him include the .Radical papers of this county to which wejefer. And, when he has done that, let him extend his operations to all the newspapers of the State which have assailed him. If he does so he will have to prosecute almost every editor of any prominence in the Commonwealth. We advise him to go iu fearlessly, if he thinks the profits of oil speculations and legislating will enable him to stand the expense. Personal Explanations of Congressmen* Almost every day some Radical mem ber of Congress rises in his seat to make a personal explanation, and to defend himself against charges which have been made in tbe newspapers. As this is a privileged question the aggrieved. individuals are always heard. We have noticed a large number of such cases, and in every instance the attacks have been made upon these Radical gentle men by papers belonging to their own party. The charges have generally been that those assailed have engaged in some scheme for defrauding the Gov ernment by procuring the passage of iniquitous bills, in which they have been more than suspected of having a direct pecuniary interest. We have read the lame defences of the men who have thus exhibited their tarnished re putations to tbe public gaze, and we could have pitied them, had not their halting manner convinced us that they were guilty, and deserving of the con tempt of all decent men. The truth Is that many Radical Sen ators aud Congressmen have amassed vast fortunes within the last few years ! by sharing with the thieves who havebccn | engaged in. plundering the public treas ury. One scheme after another has been started under tbe guise of public im provements, whereby the nation has been fleeced of many milliousof money. The public lands have been lavishly given away to railroad companies, those who voted for thus robbing the people j of their homesteads and heritage receiv ing large donations for their influence and their votes. Senators who went to Washington poor, a few short years ago, now live in magnificent palaces, which they have built out of their share of the spoil, and revel in the most unbounded luxury. No man needs to be told that'this sort of thing cannot be done on a salary of five thousand dollars a year. That would not pay for the suppers which these courtly gentleman give every winter; would not keep up their stud of line horses ; would not buy the dia monds and silks in which their wives and daughters are arrayed; would not fee the immense retinue of servants which wait iu obsequiousness about their palatial residences. Where do Radical Congressmen get the money which enables them to live like the lords and dukes of aristocratic England? Does any one need to be told? Do not all men know that the public treasury has been draiued into tlio private coffers of Radical Senators anil Congressmen? Is it uot distinctly understood that their votes are daily bought and sold, just as those of mem bers of the Pennsylvania Legislature are reputed to be? Who denies that these solons receive big slices out of every grant which is made to railroads, and to the companies which engage iu the impruveineiitsof riversand harbors, and other devices ofJike character? If the stock accounts of members of Congress could be examined, and their bank books be submitted to public inspection, a revelation of rascality would be made that would startle even the dull ear of this generation ? Never was there so corrupt a govern ment as ours on the face of the earth. Bribery controls the votes of Congress and of our State Legislatures; corrup tion has fastened upon public officials iu every capacity ; fraud i 3 the order of the day, and the most outrageous in iquity seems not to be sufficient to stamp public men with the infamy so many of them richly deserve. Tbe public mind lias been de bauched, all sense of honor seems to have departed, and the success ful rascal is often the pet of society and tile fluttered representative of the dom inant political party. Will this people' ever go bark to the virtue of their fathers? Will the time come again when no man ,can be choseu to oilier who is suspected of being dishonest? We fear not. But one thing we do know—that unless there is a change, and that a speedy one, our Republican form of government will have proven itself to be a failure, and the Republic itself tvuso to be worth preserving. Expensive Bridge Building. This morning tlie viewers appointed to view the new bridge over the Cones toga, near the Printers’ Paper Mill, asketl the Court for instructions as to the manner of making their report. They stated to the Court that they had examined the structure, anti found it too light for the location anti the uses to which it would be subjected.. They also alleged that the sum contracted to be paid for its erection was five or six thousand dollars in excess of what it should have cost. It appears that the contractor made the specifications him self, and was paid for doiug the same. If lie is now paid five or six thousand dollars more than the work is worth, he will make a nice little pileof money out of the taxpayers. This furnishes a nice commentary upon the report of the County Auditors, and subjects the County Commissioners to grave suspi cions. Tlie Court instructed the viewers to return all tlie fads, and it would af terwards be determined what action they would take iu the premises. We will publish the report when made. The “Roosters’”and “Pinchers*” Mutnal Aid Society. Tlic “Roosters” and “Pinchers” who infest the Lower House of our State Legislature have formed'A. Mutual Aid Society. One evening last week a secret meeting was held to devise ways aud means for silencing the newspaper press, wliich lias been exposing their •disreputable schemes. Various plans Vere suggested ami a deal of discussion ensued. At last a regular society was organized, with a corps of officers, and ; a committee was appointed toprepare a i Constitution and By-Laws for the gov | eminent of the organization. The fun* i damental object of the association is the prosecution for libel of every news paper editor iu the State, who may as sail the honesty or speak lightly of the virtue of “any member of the ring.” The pasters and folders are to tie taxed fifty dollars (ach, aud two and a half per cent, of all uioueys paid forthe votes of members of the ring is to besetapart to fee lawyers aud pay costs. Our reporter occupied an unfavorable position during the progress of the meet ing, but he is ready to be qualified that a proposition made to devote an addition al two and a half per cent, for the pur pose of bribing juries to convict all edi tors who might be indicted, was only lost by a few votes. It would have car ried, our reporter thinks, if it had not been'for a few remarks made by the chair, to the effect that bribing juries would not be found so easy or so safe an operation as bribing the Pennsyl vania Legislature. We are puzzled to tell precisely what action ought to be taken by the press in regard to this important matter. Per haps it would be as well to await further developments of the plot before doing anything. We shall be glad to hear a free expression of opinion in regard to the atFairfrom all editors who may feel interested in it. Our reporter thinks he can manage to secure a full report of the proceed iugs of the next meeting, aud a copy of the Constitution of the Society. If he should be successful our readers may expect some rich developments Another Chance for Kleckner. Our exposure of the virtuous Colonel Kleckner seems to have drawn public attention to him, aud various newspa pers are paying attention to him. The Philadelphia Daily Sews says : It is stated that Councils have appropria ted some five hundred dollars to pay the expenses of a committee to visit the “Boud inot Lauds,” which are locuted somewhere between here and the setting sun. Can’t Mr. Kleckner, the distinguished member of the Legislature from the Sixth ward, offer u resolution tor a committee to inquire into the matter? If such a motion were made at once, the “Boudinot” committee might invite Kleckner and his friends to take part in their excursion. We hear it stated that the.Nortii,Pennsylvania Railroad Company will be sure to remember Mr. K. when the managers make another trip to Niagra, The Proposed Gerrymander of Lancaster CJUy. We notice that the bill providing for a new-gerrymander of this city bos been reported favorably from the Local Ju diciary Committee, under tho auspices of Senator Fisher. We have been as sured that he does not believe it ought to pass. If ho bolds to that opinion why did he permit the bill to be favorably reported? The best way of disposing of it, it strikes us, would have been to have killed it in the Committee. Had he done so he would have received the thanks of a large majority of his own party in this city. We have yet to meet the first intelligent Republican who favors the passage of this crude bill with its multitude of outrageous provisions. A main proposition contained in the bill is that which directs that the citi zens of the First Ward shall hereafter elect two members of Select Council, while the other Wards are only entitled to a single representative in that body. Why the First Ward should be thus favorednoonecantell. Itcastonlyabout a dozen more votes than the Democratic Eighth Ward, and has a smaller resident voting population than either the Sec ond, Third, or Eighth. The Second Ward pays a much larger amount of taxes than the First. On what ground then it is proposed to justify givingtwo members of Select Council to a Ward having fewer residue t voters and paying less tax than some others is mote than we can conjecture. There is serious opposition to this iniquitous and unjust proposition among the more intelligent and influential 1 ’"'ublicans of the city. General Fisher .nows that, and it is said he does not intend to press the passage of tho bill. Why then did he not permit it to die a natural death in the Committee to which it was referred, and of which we believe he is Chairman? The bill is full of monstrosities. The clause depriving the Mayor and Police of all control over vagrants, drunken persons, and parties guilty of riotous or disorderly conduct, is a blow aimed di rectly at the peace and order of tho city. It is au attempt to legislate fees into the pockets of an alderman aud a constable who refused to act as a member of the regular police force. The passage of this-bill is neither asked lor nor desired by a majority of the Republicans of this city. It was gotten up by au impecunious political shyster, who expects to make something out of it, if the Legislature should be foolish enough to pass It. That it will be defeated in the Senate we believe. It ought never to have been reported from the Committee. Passage of the Negro Suffrage Amend On Saturday the following resolution passed the lower bouse of Congress by a vote of yeas lot), nays 12.• Speaker Colfax voting in the affirmative: lie. it resolved, etc, Two-third s * of both Houses ooucurring, the following article be proposed to ihe Legislatures of tbe several States usun amendment to tbe Constitution of tho United Slates which when ratified by thrce-lourths of said Legislatures, shall be belli u.-> part of said Constitution : Article Ist, ■Section Ist. The right of any citizen of the United States, to'vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, ur any State, by reason of race , color or ■previous eomlition of sloven/,,0f any citizen or class of citizens of the United States. 'ld. The Congress shall have power to en force by apjiropriatc legislation the provis ions of this article. The above is iu the form of a joint ■resolution, ami it passed the House by the necessary two-thirds. Should it receive a similar endorsement in the Senate, as it no doubt will, it will then gn before the country for approval or disapproval by the different State Leg islatures. Cun three-fourths*of the State Ltgislalures be induced to endorse it? By tbe admission of little rotten borough States in the far West, by military control of the South, and by a reckless and iniquitous gerrymandering of St.ales in the North, tbe Radicals bavesccured a majority in three-fourths of tbe State Legislatures. Should they decide to do so they can force the pro posed amendment through. It will speedily come up before the Legislature of this State for considera tion. What will be its fate there? Will the present Legislature dare to force Negro Suffrage upon Pennsylvania? They know it would be defeated by an immense majority if submitted to a popular vote ; they know they were elected without any reference to this question ; they know tbe people of this grand old commonwealth are tenacious of their rights ; that they are not pre pared to surrender the most valuable of all their privileges to tbe arbitrary con trol of Congress. Will the members of the present Legislature deliberately commit so great an outrage ? We know not. We shall wait patiently to see, watching tbe course of events, and chronicling them as they transpire. If the present Legislature is wise, if tbe members are honest, if they would deal justly with tue people, they must decliue to pass upon this proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It is a question for the people of Pennsylvania to determine for themselves. They should be consulted. Tbe question should be submitted in the coming canvass, and the next Legisla ture be elected with direct reference to the adoption or rejection of negro suf frage. ft need not be made a party question. Individual candidates of either party can take their staud for or against it. That is the only honest course to pursue. We shall wait with solicitude to see whether it will be adopted. Another Mind Suit Properly Decided, P. Gray Meek, Esq., of the Jicllcfontc Watchman, is one of the boldesteditors in Pennsylvania. He calls things by their right names, and assails corrup tion aud rascality wherever it exists. We like him for that. Of course he has to pay the usual penalty, and is pes tered with libel suits occasionally. He has just come through an important trial triumphantly. Finding it proper to tell some plain truths about Dickin son Seminary, he offended the trustees of that institution, and they prosecuted him. The case was ably contested on both sides, and the result was an ac quittal of Mr. Meek. The time has gone by in this State when the freedom of the press can be abridged by threats of prosecution for libel. Editors can speak out freely and fearlessly, being sure that juries will stand by them and prevent them from being muzzled in - their honest efforts to expose rascality. This is as it should be in a free country. Retributive Justice. The ejection of Senator Stockton, of New’ Jersey, from his seat was one of the most iuiquitous arnoDg the many arbitrary outrages perpetrated by the Radicals in their reckless exercise of the wantonness of power. It will be remembered by ojr readers that the subject was debated a long time. Before the vote was taken, Mr. Wright, then a Senator from New Jersey, was obliged, on account of ill health to go home; but, before doing so, he “paired off” in the Stockton case with Mr. Morrill, of Maiue. When the roll was called the Senate was found to be evenly divided, and it required a majority to deprive Mr. Stockton of his seat. Then, in violation of his plighted word ; of honor, the Yankee Morrill rose in his seat and voted against Stockton. Mr. Wright never dreamed when he “ paired off” with him that he could be induced to commit so dishonorable an act for so base a purpose. Time, which is said to set all thiDgseven, has brought its revenge. Morrill is repudiated by the Radicals of Maine, and deprived of his seat in the Senate, while Mr. Stock ton is returned by the Democracy of New Jersey. This is a piece of retribu tive justice over which all honorable men must rejoice. Bepndlatlon. Repudiation has become a topic of tlie hoar. Up to this time, although many persons and parties have been charged in the heat of political strife by their opponents with being in favor of the re pudiation of the National war debt, yet in fact few, if any, responsible persons have ever actually and publicly an nounced their belief in the doctrine in its full length and breadth; many have favored a reduction of the interest on the debt or its payment in greenbacks, or have advocated some other means of lightening its burthen upon the people which has caused them to be stigma tized for political effect as repudiators. But now a prominent gentleman, Mr. Butts, for many years editor of the Rochester (N.Y.) Union, has published a lengthy pamphlet in which he de mands the absolute renndiation of the government indebtedness incurred dur ing the war. Of course we do not coincide in his views and he will probably find few, at present, who will agree with him; but the sub ject has been broached and other advo cates may rise up in its favor, who will strive to corrupt the honesty of the tax payers. If a time of great public distress shall come upon us, a great temptation will be presented to the people to adopt the doctrine to save themselves from the oppressive demands of the tax-gatherer. Its advocacy may become popular and it will then become the doctrine of a political party, adopted to obtain or re tain power. It will be well therefore for those who are interested in the govern ment debt, it will be advisable for the bondholders to seriously consider now whether it is not their better policy to abate something of what may be their just claims upon the government, iatiier than run the risk, by insisting upon tho very letter of their bond, of losing the wholeofit; whether mother words they had not better take a half a loaf than incur the danger of getting no bread at all. The New York World quotes the language of Hamilton upon a like situ ation of affairs in past times. It speaks as follows: The fact of a contract is one thiug; the equity of thut contract is quite another. In a court of luw, a hurd bargain can be en forced, because tho complainaut is not al lowed to judge in his own cause, and the whole power of society will execute tho de cision of the court. But ihe public contracts of an elective government are construed by the [people who have covenanted to pay, and there is no superior force to compel them to keep a contract which revolts against their sen&e of justice. . Public creditors, therefore, stand on firm ground only so far as their claims are supported by the judgment and conscience of tho innjority of the people. . In resneet to our present public debt, ittho amounted* tbe principal and the rate of interest are lair and equitable—that is, if the principal re present the amount of money which was actually borrowed, and the interest is at such a rate ns governments of equal credit and resources are accustomed to pay—noth ing needs to be feared from repudiation; for, in that case, the publiccou.-eience will support tbe claims of the creditors. But if the contract violates substantial equity, the public creditors are safe only so Jong as the country does not suffer any severe distress. It is accordingly of very little use to meet the reasoning of Mr. Butts with a detailed refutation, 'ihe public creditors ought, iu their own deprive it of its power of mischief by 4 giving their voluntary con sent to a rectification of the ex istiug contract, .accepting Jess that they may be more se cure. In giving this advice to the public credit ors, wo stand on precisely tbe same ground that was occupied by Alexander Hamilton, in that famous report of his on the public oredit which is the chief pillar of his great reputation as a statesman. The most solid and convincing arguments anywhere to be found in favor of maintaining publiccredit inviolate are contained in that document;but Hamilton w*as a man of sense and wisdom, and did fiot deliver prudish financial cant,in place of robust, wholesorno equity. He told the publid creditors plainly mat they had better abate their claims as u meaDS of estab lishing them on a firmer foundation. “Though it may not be safely affirmed,” he said, that occasions |iave never existed, or may not exist, in which violations of the public faith, m this respect, are inevitable, yet there is reason to believe that they ex ist far less.frequently than precedents indi cate. 3 3 3 Expedients might often have been devised; to effect, consistently with good faith, what bus been done iu contra vention of it. Those who are most com monly creditors of a naliou are, generally speaking, enlightened men ; and there are signal examples to warrant a conclusion, that when a candid and fair ajtpcal is made to them, they will understand their true in terest too well to refuse then • in such modifications of their claims as an y real necessity may demand.” In the plan which Hamilton proposed, and which was adopted by the first Con gress, the whole pubfic debt, was not funded at its face value, but at only two-thirds of that value ; iu other words, the public cred itors relinquished one-third of their claim to make the residue more secure. We quote again from the report: "Tho interesting problem now occurs. Is it in the power of tbe United S tales, consistently with those pru dential considerations that ought not to be overlooked, to mako a provision equal to the purpose of funding the whole debt, at the ratys of interest which it now bears, in addi tion to the sum which will bo necessary for tlie current service J fi* the government ? " The Secretary will not say that such a provision will exceed the abilities of the country; but he is clearly of opinion that to make it would require tho extension of taxation to a degree which the true interest of the public creditors forbids. It is there fore to be hoped, and even to be expected, that they will cheerfully concur in such modifications of their claims on fair and equitable principles os will facilitate to the government an arrangement, substantial, durable, and satisfactory to the community. Tbe importance of tbe last consideration will strikeevery discerning mind. No plan, however llattoring in oppeuntnee, to which it did not belong,‘could be truly entitled to confidence ” “It will not bo forgotten that exigencies may ere long u’-iso, which would call for re sources greatly beyond what is now deemed sufficient for the current service ; and that should the facilities of the country bo ex hausted, or even strained, to provide for tho public debt, there could be less reliance on tho sacred ness of tho provision.” In the Wrong Pew This morning a seedy looking old chap with a whiskey-burnt face dropped into our sauctum with a manuscript book iu his baud, which he presented for inspection. Ou looking at it we found that he was neitherthecanvnsser for a Hash publication nor the agent for a patent churn. His “brief” stated that he was “an orator during the Jast Pres idential campaign, and that he had done Yeoman’s service in the Repub lican rauks for a very inadequate com pensation.” Appended thereto we no ticed the names of several Radical poli ticians of this btate with subscriptions ranging from one to five dollars. When we informed the gentleman of our po litical status he grabbed his book and speedily vamosed without giving ua a chance to contribute. We commend him to the tender sympathies of the Radicals of Lancaster. Whiskey Thieves Convicted. We record it as a most note-worthy fact that two whiskey thieves were sen tenced to imprisonment in New York the other day. They bore a very bad previous character, however, having been tried for murder and been cleared with difficulty. Thb rich aud reputable members of the whiskey ring, from Commissioner Rollins down through Congressmen to country distillers escape by some means. The initiated know how the thing is done, and Radical rev enue officers might tell if they could be got to speak out, but, then, they would commit themselves, and thatis contrary to certain well known principles of law so the stealing goes on and the Govern ment is defrauded of many millions of dollars, which has to be made up by the toiling masses. Witness the Hackman case, and others which have occurred in this county. Increased Cost or the Army What is all this trash about reducing the army? Away with it. Does this look like reduction? §300,000 for re cruiting this year to $lOO,OOO on the •ame account last; $500,000 for clothing commutation this year to $290,000 last; i $8,500,000 for horses and mules to last year's $5,000,000; subsistence $5,500,- 000 in excess; and, finally, $43,195,500, ! total, called for this year against $33,- j 082,093 la9t—an increase of $10,113,407. Reduction, indeed! Why, here are ten i millions increase at the first blush, and i nobody knows howmany more millions to come, like thieves in the night, in • the shape of deficiency bills, “to cor rect an error,” and so on, and so on.— And yet these impudent michers dare to prate about reduction!; A Few Questions. , As we observe that onr Congressman Col. Dickey is in town we consider this a favorable opportunity to ask him a question or two. For instance: Did your position as. Congressmen aid you in your other capacity as Attorney for the Hackman Estate, in getting that Estate relieved from the payment of over forty thousand' dollars charged against it for non-payment of tax bn whiskey? and if so, do you consider this a legitimate advantage of the position conferred upon you by your fellow-citi zens. bditobiai,botes, XIV. In tho morning Mr; Frank Sloan, a Dem ocratic member of the Legislature from this District, drove na out five miles to tho residence of Mr. A. F. Lewis, whoso plan- 1 tali on adjoins Fort Hill, over which he kindly consented to guids ns. As we stood i upon tho hill back of his house, wo had a magnificent view of the surrounding coun try. The gigantic range of tho Blue Ridge 1 loomed up before us, twenty or thirty miles away but apparently much nearer; there were “ Wbito Side” and “ Chimney Top,” two towering mountains,. wo believe the highest in the whole range. They are named after their charaeteristic resem blances; “ White Side ” falling perpendicu larly for several hundred feet of its height, without giving opportunity for the growth of a tree to vary the whiteness of the bar ren rock. A. half mile to oui* right was the former residence of John C. Calhoun, while a short distance in front of u-', arose the rounded mound which was the she of old Fort Hill; it ends a nock of high hind that stretches across the low ground of the valley of the Seneca and abuts imme diately upon the riyer, forming a miniature, Vicksburg. It was an Indian stronghold long before white men got possession of the country, and was an important out-post in the early history of our country. Corn wa§ grown upon the fruitful valley at its feet by the red man before the white man seized upon it, and corn has been grown upon it every year since. Its inexhaustible soil has had no, iranure except what it {gains from tho backing of tho waters upon it in the periodical overflows of the river. Finer corn than is raised upon these bottoms can not bo found unywhere; the stalks were left standing on tho ground and they seem ed almost largo enough to bo denominated timber. Tho Fort Hill estate contains about u thousand acres of which we believe some huudred and fifty acres are bottom land ; a couple of hundred acres of upland aro cultivated and tho balance is in wood. Wesuw as fine cotton grown on tho up lauds in this neighborhood as we had seen anywhere; although this is about *ho limit of the cotton country in this direc tion ; much nearer the mountains it is not cultivated. It is not planted on the bot toms because of tho damage ft would incur from freshets. The Calhoun Mansion is finely situated on a bluff, and is a comfortable though net very pretentious house. It is a frame build ing two stories high, with a portico sup ported on wooden pillars at the front door, which opens into an entry running through the middle of the house, intersected ut tho rear b}' another entry and portico, leading out at the side of the house; a few yards from which stands a small one story frame office that contained Mr. Calhoun’s library and in which ho read, studied and transuded the busino.ss of his plantation. At tho other side of the house and joining it, was a long row of one-story buildings used for out houses and quarters of domestic servants > in the rear is the garden. A grove of native forest trees lies between the lions** and tho public road, concealing it from view. Mrs. Andrew Calhoun, who is a daughter of Duff Green, was occupying tho mausiou. She has a number of children, one of whom a bright young boy of about fourteen invited us to enter. Mrs. Calhoun received tis particularly when she un derstood Mr. Clarke was from Maryland, her native .State, There were threo por traits of John C. Calhoun hanging on the walls; one taken when he was Secretary of War, and about :k> years of age. It, shows a small and shapely head with well cut features and coal black hair, the font now tlic Radicals Annul Elections. ! < *** , f te b ? ar i n s a ,lecidpdl r martial air. . Another painting was taken when he was The Examiner published a lot of tea- an oI(1 niau and <lepicts one -., klca of tbe timony taken iu a contested election grey-haired old grandfather, its lines leav case iu the lower House of our State ing no impression of the statesman or the Legislature, but it takes good care not j warrior; Mrs. C. called itthefamily picture to give the pedigree of the perjured .of the great man, and said that both these scouDdrels who swore to the lies which portraits, although we could trace no re were put into their mouths by the man semblance between them, were accurate who desires to turn a Democrat out of P icturcs of- r - Calhoun at tho two the seat to which he was duly elected. P erio< l a of his life. Neither of them The Harrisburg Patriot tells us who ? v:ls auylhin S 15ko our preconception of these convenient witnesses are. It , 13 n PP I -' !irauce » which was realized by q g . the third painting executed by a -ilol " Daniel Redding, a fugitive from justice, lanJ and > iesi Portray Him as under indictment for the crime of MURDiiR, n statesman. The artist, however, threw j Harry Mitchell, the man who made tho re- ton much fancy into his work, and while] turn of the Ft. Deluware fraud. Rowan, a ho has produced a striking picture, ho has professional Radical repeater,” now being ! „,,, looked after by the Philadelphia «»* <.l>..i.ntd an accurate likeness. Tt et Siavin, another of tho same kidney, C. 8. 11 ls tau or lgir.al, of the engravings of 1 Williams alia# Christopher , Lumb, who Mr. Calhoun, with which wo are familiar served a term iu the Ilauphin county jail, j portraying a massive forehead, deep, pene and for whom tho officers of the law are I , . , < now looking— these aro the men upon whose ! ‘ 1 = and abundant long Iron-gray testimony a committee of tho House of I “ a,r * P art( -*d near tho middle and sweeping Representatives are about to oust ono of j U 9 a frame around the face. Furthermore: Why is not the inven tory filed in the estate of Thaddeus Ste vens, of which you are one of the Exe cutors. The law requires it to be filed within thirty days after the estate came into your hands, whereas nearly six months have now expired, and no in ventory was, a few days ago, on record. We should like to know, dear sir, the nature of the assets and the valuation of Pacific Railroad 'stock reported to be included among them. We observe also that the Revenue officers in this District have not as yet explained their connection with the Hackman matter, nor have they an swered our question as to whether they had recommended the release of the estate from its boDds. "We think they had better let us hear from them. Peo will talk, you know, and it is as well to explain, if explanation is possible. Letter of Hod, W. a. Wallace. By the subjoined letter of Hon. W. A. Wallace, to the Chairman of the Democratic Committee of Clearfield county, the public will learn that that gentleman is not a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the office of Governor. His name was brought for ward iu the Clearfield meeting without his knowledge or consent. We com mend the spirit of Mr. Wallace’s letter' to every Democrat who has at heart the good of the party : Senate Chamber, > Harrisburg. Jan. 20, ISM. j J. Blake Walters, Esq., Chairman Count;/ Committee of Clearfield County i. Dear’ Sir:—l learn that at the meeting held at Clearfield, on the evening of the 12th inst., to provide for tho selection of dele gates to tho Democratic State Convention, a preference was expressed by those present lor myself ns the Democratic candidate for Governor, in the coming election. At the time that meeting was held I was confined to my room by illness, or I would have beeu present and declined the honor that my fel low citizens thus seek to confer. I write you now, to say that I am not a candidate. Whilst I am gratified by this mark of confidence, I am convinced that my nom ination is not the best that enu be made. I recognize the vital importance of the se lection of tho strongest Candidate that can be found, to make this contest. lam one of those who believe that everything but principle should boubordinated tosuccess, and that preferences for individuals and the desire to reward party services should bo made to yield to the imperious necessity to win. It seems to be the universal desire of tho press of the State that the convention shall be held at a late day, and if the best men of the party bo selected as delegates, and authorized to carry out the will of tho party as shown by the light that shall! then surround them, the selection of the strong est candidate will follow and our success will be assured. I desire through you to express to my constituents who have invariably given me a cordial support, my earnest thanks for this renewed mark of their confidence. Very respect fuiJy yours, William A. Wallace their fellow members from the seat to wliich | The estate is in litigation: according to the he washonestly elected by a majority of tho ! ~m,i r, n . , ” ~ . lawful voters of the district. The men who : ng the war Andrew Cal dare to deprive Mr. Daniel 'Witham of his houn, who was the eldest son ol John C. seat, upon the testimony of these infamous Calhoun, sold a fine estate ho had in Goor witnesses, are robbers themselves. They gin and purchased Fort Hill from his j mav perpetrate the contemplated outrage, . ... theS" may hope to shield themselves from ' dow of the statesman, giving public scorn by pleading lidolity in their ker therefore a mortgage lor somo fifty party, but tho ’Radical organization itself, thousand dollars, fourteen thousand dollars as well as its representatives upon this being the appraised value of the land, committee, must and will be held re- , ~ , f sponsible for this atrocious act. So far. k-dance " aa lor slaves. 3bis as the Democratic press, the Demo- mortgage the willed to her daughter at cratic rostrum, the Democratic canvass, her death about two years ago and can publish the hideousness of this infer- it is now being pressed to execution.' The nal trick, it shall be dinned in the ears of • -.. . , w , an insulted people until the crime shall be P orl,on l ke indebtedness for slaves we expiated by the popular coudemnation of j presume, under recent judicial decision, is all concerned in it. It is but another club i worthless, but the balanco is more than handed us by our political opponents with j equal 10 [bo present market Tnlue of lhe I which to beat out their brains. We shall I ‘ .. . , _ , , , , 7 : see that it be properly used. j P ro P erl i • Andrew Calhoun died suddenly i about t he close of the war insolvent, as all Kow a Radical Senator Got Rich. ■ hismca " 3 " ror(iin ™sted in slaves and other Bonn Piatt, the Radical C OQ .; P-P«'y <l-t at onco had become dent of that Radical sheet, the Cincin-; Xd /r .“T ? _ . , ' sire, expressed a few days before his death. natl Commercial will sometimes tell upohtheverysumraitofahighwooded hill some ugly truths iu reference to Radi- . that rises up precipitously between his cal officials. Pie thus speaks of a cer-; residence and tho river; Lhere holies alone, tain well-known Senator : i After u pleasant interview with Mrs. Cal- I look across the street and see in front of \ koun, wo rode on up the river a milo or a Sonator’s house the carriage of another : two, to the fine plantation now owned bv Senator. The pair of blooded horses cost FHwnn? p n , . / some thousand dollars. The gilded harness : , d Cal koun, a young man who is the isin keeping. The close, handsomeshiuing ; OI "3’ surviving child of John E. Calhoun, coueh is ouo of Brenton’s best, lined with i a cousin of the Senator. This estate also silk vdvet, and graced with the choicest j is iu litigation and has been divided into man's Leat sktwVof^God'screamres,called ‘ hr °° CqUa ‘ I ' ortiona ’ ‘wo of which areliened men; one a bright/mulatto, the other n °y creditors of the estatos of two deceased whiteman, and both in livery. They sit brothers of Edward Calhoun ; one of whom in solemn silence, under their gay robo ..1 ■ was killed in a duel at Charleston during furs and white gloves. Directly tue door of ! tlv* w.r h-o- ono nr ik« n\^ t ,, 4 t the house opens, and two ladies carrying a , ’ T . e l^e ietts > ( ko cause ol poor man’s fortuneon their backs, descend- ! lDe f l Uarr(?l being a point of military eti the steps. The footman swings down i Col. Calhoun held a commission in and opens the door, with an easy grace the the Stato forces of .South Carolina which master cannot imitate. The door’closes wer«. im.-iiv,. i,„ , with a bang, the footman mounts, and the ~ ‘ kc accepted a more no coach rolls away. Well, it seems but yes- * iye P oi,t ion m the Confederate army with terday that the owner of all this catne here out resigning his State commission. This apdorman. did not suit his subordinate, Major Kbctt " e remember the fairy tale whore the . sn thnf ha , . old witch touched the pumpkin and turned i , P- - * e( l a piarrel with him and it into a coach, nnd touched the rats and j saol him to gain promotion, turned them into horses. And so the ugly j Tkis estate is a very lino one, and has a witch of the lobby touched the poor man, ; lurge amount of fertile bottom land lying and out of fraud came the coach, and out I ..in,,,, t ,. ft . , y of theftcame the horses, and swindle drives, irp , ODLLa aud on both Bides ol and stealings oil and burnish. Like that . twelve Mile creek. The residence pro witch, I could touch that man with this sents a very elegant and imposin'* appear delicato little pen oi mine, and carriage and ance, crowning the summit of a high bluff horses, coachman and footmaD, would all j nn n ’ rivor n „ rl . 11 , , bluU disappear. Forhonorand honestv would ° , river, and is approached by a steep claim their own, and the very clothes would ! arid winding roadway. It is a magnificent fall from the backs of wife and daughters. ! ancestral inheritance, and we trust that DONN PIATT. | young Calhoun may bo able to retain it. I At Pendleton Squire Mackey, who ■ knows and has surveyed nearly all this country, gave us glowing accounts of tho beauty and fertility of the valleys that nes tle in at lhe baso of the Blue Itidge. One might have a fine farm in tho vulley, a residence at its edge overlooking tho whole country,and thousands of acres ofsheep pas tured the green sides of tbomountain.from which mutton could be furnished in unlim ited quantities, and wool raised that might be woyvn by the abundant water power of the estate itself. The amount of % power which may be obtained from tb6numerous and rapid streams of all this section is truly wonderful,and some day it must be utilized. The country is full ofgamoand the moun tain streams abound in trout, which Wudo Hampton, who has a summer residence iu a valley of the Blue Hidge near here, intro duced into them a few years ago, as his an cestors long before bad introduced into Carolina the red fox of Virginia, whose chase now forms tho main sport of the plauter. Mrs. l.incola's Pension. Mrs. Lincoln’s application for a pension, and the manner in -which the Radicals have treated it, has been the subject of no little comment. The humorous correspondent j of the New Yoik Mercury thus alludes to it: The egjrsemplary widder of my late la mented l'rend Lincoln, who, as the kentry is awar, was left in destitoot suckemstauces, with only a misabul hundred thousand dol lars to her name, and hed to sell her dry goods to keep outer the poor house, has ben treated by the Sennit Committee in a style that rings my hart when I think of it. She writ a beggin'letter to ’em that mought hev drorn tears from a castiron crockadile. But these radicals hey no bowels. They report that all they ken allow her is thirty dollars a munth —a sum’ onsutfeshent to pervide the poor forlorn critter with lace pocket-handkerchers. All she axes for is five thousand dollarsprannum, jest tosave her from the sharp pangs of actual star washin, and keep her feet from blisterin for want of a privet carriage. I never heerd of setch meanness! Wot will be cum of her Heaven oney knows, but I hope it will temper the wind to the shorn lam that bleats so pitifully for a cumfortable golden fleece in this inclement wether It hes been subjested that she mought stand at the entrance of the capitol with her bun net In her hand, solissitin pennies from her late husband’s frends ; but I trust for the honor of the nashin that she will not be : obliged to resort to this humiliation eggs pedient to obtain spenden-money. Besides, it wouldn’t pay. She couldn’t make day’s laborer’s wages outer Radical charity. It allera begins and allers eends to hum.— ; When Sumner oflerd his five-thousand-a- I year resolooshins, he knew very well that I it was the resolooshin of the mean whites in Congress not to fork over. Wot do the nest-fetherlng-plundermungers of the Radi cal rings keer for the unheerd-of sufferins of a martyed President’s widder? Not a continental cuss. Delegates to the State ConYentiou. Westmoreland county sends her dele gates to the next Democratic State Con vention, with instructions to support Gen. Geo. W. Cass for Governor. A IMP'TO THE SOUTH, The climate hero Is delightful. Cool in Summer and moderately cold in Winter, the labors and the pleasures of ®ut-door life are never interrupted by extremities of temperature, and as seldom as may be, by ! sickness of body. The most productive land in the South is the rich loam of the river and creek bot toms. On the uplands the soil is sandy or is a red cloy, that of the deepest color, we believe, being the best quality. Although limestone outcrops here and there near the mountains, there is no limestone soil be tween the Blue Ridge and the Ocean. • We would have liked to bavo staid longer in this country, and to bavo gone farther towards the mountains, but as only one train a day ran on the railroad, so that each stoppage involved the loss of a whole day we could not afford the time to do so. Next morning, therefore, we chartered a pair of horses, a wagon and a negro driver, and drove across the country twenty-fivo miles to Greenville, passing through nearly n continuous stretch of forest. Wood is so abundant here and in tho South generally that it is worth little or nothing. Tho rail road pays two dollars a cord, delivered along side or tho road, and then will tako nothing but pine, which Is deemed tho best wood for locomotive use. The largo amouot of woodland explains to some extent tho small price per acre at which these valuable plantations can be purchased. Thero is sel dom more than u third or a fourth of tho choicest portions of the farm in cultivation, tbo balance being in wood and of very littlo present value; it is truo tho negroes will ■clear it if you give them the wood and tho privilege of cultivating tho land for the first one or two seasons, but the planters gener ally have already more ground under cul tivation than they can properly attend to, and these forests will therefore continue to cover tho country uutil the immigration of a white population produces their grad ual extinction. Greenville is quite a largo town and is tho third city in size in South Carolina. Being the terminus of tbo Railroad it seems doing a flourishing business. It is connected with toe fine town of Asheville, over the mouqtains, in North Carolina, and with other points by lines of stages. Colonel Hammett kindly conducted us , through tho place, in which wo suw a large number of very handsome residences* It is a gay town during the summer season, being a favorite resort of the plauters of the low country, and we can personally testily that it is blessed with at least one largo and well kept Hotel. Kx-(«ov. Perry resides here engaged in the practice of the law, but wo did not see him and others whom we would have been glad to meet, as wo wore compelled to decline a cordial invitation to remain a day or two aud make the ac quaintance of the people, because—shall we confess it—wo had run out of money and had to seek Columbia to replenish. timOHIAI. NOTE*, XV We stopped a duy m Columbia to see that wonderful production of .Southern soil —a Negro Legislature. We saw but one branch of it, for tho Assembly ou the day previous, Friday, alter an animated, ilobale as to the propriety of voting a Christmas dinner to its employees, hud adjourned over until Monday for the purpose of at tending a circus that was to exhibit on Sat urday alternoun. The members thought that there would be no u-*e holding a ses sion ou Saturday morning, as there minds would be so lull of joyful anticipations of tho pleasures which the afternoon bad in store for them, they would bo so intently dwelling upon Ihe prospective mule race, tho mad gallop of tin* bare-legged, painted equestrienne, the perilous bap of the acro bat, and the wonderful jpkes of the down, that they would be entirely uuliUed for tho grave business of law-making. One hun dred aud eightoen of the one hundred and thirty-two members of this body are Radi cals, of whom sixty-seven are negroes and the balance white carpet-baggers. 1 here are thirty-two Senators, eighteen ol them being white Radicals, nine black ditto, aud five Democrats. Tin* proportion of blacks in this body being le-s, it was more sedato than the lower House, and had a session on Saturday morning, taking very good cu&e, however, to adjourn in ex celleut time fur the circus. Tbo Senate Chamber occupies the first door of a build ing in tho busiuess part of the town, the room having been apparently intended for a store or a drinking saloon. The chair man’s desk stands about the middle of the side wal],' and the august Senators have desk* in front of him, fenced oil' from the common people that come in to see the menagerie, by a railing that curves ellipli caily around to the wall. Tho words that fell from the thick lips in that ellipse, San ford nor Christy could eclipse, in their pecu liar style of utterance. Beverly Nash was there occupj’ing Wade Hampton's former place as representative of Columbia; a tall slim darkey, who for many years was tho porter in ono of the principal Hotels of the Cupitul. Two stolid looking colored gen tlemen sat in a corner, whose appointed business seemed to be, to second ail the mo tions made by their dusky fellow Senators ; they seconded the motion to adjourn for the circus, with groat apparent cheerfulness Mr. Haney was a portly black man, who looked as if ho had in his time placed a great deal ot hog and hominy under his jacket, 110 was Chairman, • we be lieve, of the Judiciary Committee, and his lurnmr profession was that of a barber. Hu had had the custom of ull lawyers of tho town, um\ wn» supposed to have acquired an ample legal knowl edge iroin his numboriess manipulations of* the legal heud ; hence ho was made tho legal luminary of the .Senate. Mr. Wright is accounted the orator of the body and is its leafier; he is a mulatto, and a native of Pennsylvania, but is said to have been ad mitted to the bar in one of the Northwcst- em States. During tho war lie got down to II i I to ti Head .j, which district he now rep resents. He tMstinguished himself while wo were listening with wrapt attention to his soul-stirring eloquence and earnestly striving to find out what ho was talking about, by moving that “ de bill be laid on de Sheli-' wo were somewhat startled and involuntarily looked for that article of fur niture, but failed to see it. Ou tho next sub ject that ho handled, Mr. Wright made him self more clearly understood ; he wanted to bo paid for his services as a law maker, and Buspeeted that a clause in a bill which had been introduced for that purposo, might operate to delay tho replenishment of his pocket book. Tho bill was entitled, “A bill to make appropriations'for the pay ment of tho per diem and mileage nf the members of the General Assembl}*, and the salaries of tho .subordinate officers and other expenses incidental thereto." The first section road thus : “Be it enacted, Ac. That the stun of swu, ooo, if so much be ne cessary, be, and tlio siuno isjieroby appro priated out of any funds in (he Treasury not otherwise appropriated , for the purpose aforesaid.’’ Mr. Wright objected to the words “not otherwise; appropriated," and moved that llio bill be sent back to the Judiciary Committee, and Unit they bo instructed to report it with those words omitted. In a few eloquent sen tences he portrayed tho great value of the services which he and his colleagues were rendering to tho State, to the Nation audio the world at large, ami he insisted upon the eminent justice of their being paid lor tboir services without any ifs or huts, and re gardless of whether they had or had not previously voted away all tho money that was in tho Treasury; if tboro was any money thero, they should first get their pay and other creditors could take what was left, A darkey on the opposite aide of the room got up and said that ho had listened with groat interest to the.thrilling remarks of his brother Wright, and tho amendment he proposed would be most agreeable to his feelings, but ho was afraid tho Treasurer -couldn’t pay them anyhow, if they hud previously voted uwa}’ all tho money that was iu tho Treasury. “About dis ’ere pint,” says he, “I’se doubtful an I’d ax for inl’maahun from de cheer man ob de ’Disbery ’milty.” Tho chair man of tho " Dishery mitty,” Mr. Raney, mildly remarked that the clauso com plained of was put in every appropriation bill and he could not get it through his wool, how they could, let them bo uovor so willing, appropriate the same money to two different objects. Ho wanted Brother Wright to explain, which that accomplished darkey did so much to the satisfaction of thechamber,tbat they voted by a largo ma jority to refer the bill. Tho sum appropri ated, §llO,OOO, was just SLOO,OOO more than white legislatures used to cost the Btate, and what additioual legitimate expense tho black sort has, except for perfume wo were not able to ascertain. If the scene we looked upon in that Senate chamber had not been so very farcical it would have been terribly exasperating. Our feelings were very much mixed, liko tho company; at one time we folt like tukiog the negroes by the neck and applying our boot a pos tcriorc to hoist them out of the nearest window, and the next momeut we would bo convulsed at the surpassing humor of the situation. But wo did wonder that the resident white men, whom the joke affects seriously, forbore to hang the black rascals to the nearest , treo for tbeir unparalleled impudence in presuming to legislate for them. We wondered whether such a scene would ever bo presented to us in the State Capitol at Harrisburg; we thought it would not, but who can tell? The Constitutional amendment lately proposed for adoption by the House of Representatives at Wash ington, makes it possible that the experi ment may bo tried upon us at an early day. In tho South the negro is held in power only by the military force of the govern ment, which permits every black man to vote, and has hitherto excluded the mass of the white citizens from the polls.. This holding up of tho negro cannot bo main tained forever, and when it is discontinued, ho will fall limp and helpless to the ground and pass under his ancient control. Tho Freedman's Bureau peoplo down here, admit that it is fightibg against futo to strive to muko tho black man a freo agent. One of them, who was nn officer in tho regular array and whom wo had known at College, Beemed to be greatly annoyed at the negro's want of stamina, and expressed a great desiro that ho ahoukl bo enabled to cast an untraimneled vote. lie proposed to secure this lor him, by declaring martial law, puttiug a company of Boldlers at every poll and summarily hanging every white man who should attempt in any way to influence a black man's vote , and every black man who should strive to itijlucncc the vote of a white vtan . Wo suggested that this would bo rather an odd way of securing a fair election, aud ono rather antagonistic to the “genius of our institutions to which lie agreed, but nevertheless wished to try the experiment to settle the vexed question, whether tho black fellows hnd any opinion.** which they would stand by, if they were carefully protected from every adverse cur rent ot lutluenco that might be opposed to their real feelings. The truth is, the Republican party made a very grave mistake when it attempted to control tho political power of the Mouth by conferring it upon the negro, " bom it vain ly booed to have nhvaj's with it, when its true policy wus to conciliate the white peo ple .with whtnn it should have known the real power must ultimately rot. Its lead ers feated that tho .Southern people wore too greatly embittered against them to en able such a policy to enure to llutr benefit, mid that a generous treatment of the con quered people would strengthen the Demne lacy. In this they manifestly erred. When the war ended the Southern people cared nothing lor the politics of the North; thev were conquered, they were destitute, and they bad no other desire than to be allowed peacefully to resuscitate their fallen fortunes. The war had been brought to a close under a Republican ad ministration, ami that party therefore ob tained tin* credit of its smvess; it was m power, and -so was in a piHilion to render needed assistance to the South, the grati tude *il whoso people it would Imvu earned by a generous and magnanimous enur-e. Tilt* Democracy would then have been nothing but'tin* tail end of Its kite, ami would have let'll utterly swamped as an opposition ’party. Politicians are always anxious t> be on the •vinning side, ami many <•!' those of tin’ South would lia\r joined hands with the Republican pailv, if they and their people had Isin freely restored to their pnhtlc.il privileges ; tin v fult no attachment to tin- Noriln-m Demo cracy, as was evidenced win n. alter our d-- font m l'' l ' l ’, they selh-hly Lit ns to i<> main in a hopeless nimorm, while ih.-v attempted to up a government of their own. ibit the Republican parly's opportunity baa.passed; ii toliod upon the black man to perpetuate its pouer :illl ) nas proved a broken reed ; it has iilu-uamd fiom it tho masses of lie Southern people by its brutality and lolly, and thrown them bodily into I'nr arm-, ol the | Vnmeraev, with tin-exception of a lew politieians who, nn abiu to withstand the smell ol the kileluci to whirli alley li.ive nl 1 their ,uri l«vii nc etlslomrd, may Iry !• i g,■; ,>, in;,:,-, |he win oft 1 rant. And tin- Smith in ; tif I'ulujv hi s:,n. d [>> h» a pawn* in tin- land than il In been in Liii' pu-'L It has timh.-r aml pnwur which t)m Went has not. Il lias In - lilo liidds to HrL oil against N«*\v Knylaiid's barren rock l *, and faniiiii-s which stu> nm n<>t rival. Tim loom will move Southward to tin* c.iiion going now. Smialor Sprague has seen the handwriting on the wall, ami hnsju-t pur chased from the Slant of South Carolina I lie lino water-power in Columbia known an the Columbia Canal, and proposes erectinglargo manufactories to utilize it. Tha canal is eight thousand six hundred and tifiy four yards long, and tbo average lull lor llm lirst threo miles is fourteen loot, iHuiiiueneitig at ten feet, at l.'pper street, m Columbia, ami attaining nineteen feel one inch at Bridge street; the remaining two miles, from Bridge street to its immth, romruenre at nineteen feet ten ineliesand attain a fall o| twenty* live feet. Kino building' sites exist between the canal and river, giving com plolo protection to buildings and machinery from freshets. The State eonve}-* iheeanal, and all its appurtenances, together with tlm right of way for one hundred feet on em-b aldo of the eon Ire of the canal, to the pin chaser. It is a great mistake to suppose that the South is poor, Iy is true that; many fami lies have been brought from wealth to poverty. The immense capital invested in negrooshas vanished, as also that in < 'on federate bonds and notes and in bank stocks; buifihe land remains, and that has been a busy and productive matrix of value since tln> war. Cotton is now bringing ’J7 cents l>> on tin* plantation ;it can Be raised for locenis. It has advanced in price Christmas o cents per in., as it was rating when wo wore in the country at 'll cents the rise is caused by the f,mi that the cot ton of tho small farmers has all gone into the market and that which remains h in tho hands oflurgo planters, who can afford to hold for larger prices and for investment, llioir cotton is the same to them as rash, and they would have no use for the money, if they sold it. Formerl}’. they used to lie in debt to their factors for large? advances made on their crops before it was gathered, to en hie them to buy slaves and go to watering places in the North and to Europe. But now they are independent, and tuu of debt They do not need to put a heavy capital into slaves; they get their labor for the interest of the capital formerly Invostrd in it or loss, ami run no risk of loss l>v death or sickness. They do not care to bu}* more lund, for the}’ have already as much a-; the} - can attend to, under their prudent views of the greater profit of cultivating well Hinull tracts, instead of diffusing thoir \ lubor oyer larger ones. Heady mom*}' i-> becoming then-loreplentiful in thesoSlatcs ; , «nd what do, they do with it 7 They will not invest iu'C. S. Bonds, for they do not trust them. An oliieerot'tbo N&tioual Bank in Charlotte told us when we were there, that he hail ju.st made the first sale of gov eminent bonds that had ever b**on made through his Bank, and that only amounted to s].‘>oo. Taught by their experience oi Confederate notes, the pyiple are also very chary of greenbacks and very Iriquently demand payment in gold, which they hoard. This same gentleman told us Unit a couple of years ago ho hud placed a keg of gold, received for cotton, on tho wagon of a ter mor, who had hauled it out to lbs planta tion, and must still hold it, a.-, it had never since been ln-ard of. There is an old Slat" btyikul Green wood, in South Carol mu, which wont down in the general crush, in whose vaults,wo were told,there is now lying kouic §7(X),000 in gold, deposited thero liy neigh boring-planters for safekeeping. The cot ton States are in an eluant position lor the resumption of specie payment; they com mand the situation, and can shakeout more* gold any day than we cun, while their cotton is tis good as gold. So that wo are not able to perceive that tho South is poor ; when confidence is re established, when negro government!! art* abolished, and tho guidance id their own affair* is once more placed in the hands of tho while citizens, gold will come out of Its hiding plnces and capital, unlocked from Us chains, will flow Into tho nu merous channels that are open to It, wherein it may bo mod with great profit to itself and great advantage to tho country. 'I he whito population will ultimately govern the.Soutb, aud the sooner tho fact is recognized, the better will it bo for the Nation. It is useless oven for Republican statesmen any longer to kick against the pricks, und en deavor to stem the natural lido of events. Tho river wifi flow to tho sea, no matter how tortuous its course may bo made or how greut obstructions may bo thrown in it 4 ? A light snow had fallen at Columbia, re minding us of the presence of winter, and of the necessity for our speeding homeward, ff we purposed spending there the Christ mas time. We loft the South with regret, and would gladly have travelled yet longer within Us hospitable borders, had circum stances permitted. We left it, satisfied tjiat it has a bright future beloro it. Its climate, its rivers, its soil and its minerals, offer such tempting inducements to settlement, that it cannot be long before it obtains that which alone it needs to dovolop its re sources,—an abundant white population. Go.reador, to the mild and healthful climate of Virginia,the Western Carolinaß or North ern Georgia, and you will not fail to find a farm, the development of which will yield you ample compenaation,.ancfahome|which will be a pleasant tarrying place for you and your descendants. Y ; '• ’. So we close our superficial; and hasty
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