North Branch democrat. (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, December 20, 1865, Image 1
HARVEY aiCTCLER, Proprietor.] NEW SERIES, A weekly Democratic devoted to Poli psf ySt oe, the Arts ft - I md sconces to. Pub- " isheJ every Wedne.i vVyoming County, Pa -- ! * V ffcjra f[ _J 8Y HAfIYEY SICKLER Tcrm9—l copy 1 v<nr, (in advance) *2 00 act pxid witbin six months, a"2.SO will be i-harged , NO paper will be DISCONTINUFP, until ll ar rearages are paid; unless at the option of publisher. ADVERTISirffG. ilO line* or " j \ j Um, makeyhreel four two /'iree si.r ; one mat square iretks,iceeks mo'thmu'th mo'th year 1 Suare~ 1,00 1,25 2,25! 2,ST 3 Op' 5.'( 2 do. 2,00, 2.5(0 3,25! 350 450 6,00 3 do. i Column. 4,00, *.50, 6,50 8,00 10,00 15.(0 i dot 600 9 50; 10.00 12,00 17.C(f 23.00 | do ROOi ',O 14,00 18,00 25,00 35X0 1 do. 10,00 l'Aoo|i 7,00 22.00 28,0010, < 0 EXECUTORS, ADMINISTR ATOKS and AUDI TOR'S NOTICES, of the usual length, 82,50 OBITUARIES,- exceeding tea iin s, each ; RELI GIOU3 and LITERARY NOTICES, not of genera interest, one half tne regular rutes. Business Cards of one squire, with piper, *5 JOB WOBK f alt kinds neatly executed, and at prices to suit tlhe tiic.ee. All TRANSIENT ADVERTISEMENTS and JOB WORK trust be paid fer, when ordered m j——a——n— glitsinrss HS. COOPER. PIIYSK'IAN * SURGEON • Newton Centre, Luxenie County Pa. R.R. LITTLE, ATTORNEY AT LAW Office on Tioga street, Tunkhannock Ka. Geo s.tiitton, attcney at law Tunkhonnock, Pa. Office n Sturk's Dm ock, Ttoga street. WM. M. PIATT, ATTORNEY AT LAW, 0 Bee in Stark's Crick Blocs Tioga St., Tunk bannock. Fa &jjf ghifjilfr iKuisf. HARRISRURO, L'KNNA. The undersigned having lately purchased the 41 BUEHLER HOUSE " property, has already com menced such alterations ana improvements as will render this old and popular House equal, ii' not supe rior, to any Hotel in the City of Ilarrisimrr. A continuance of the public patronage is refpect fnlly solicited. GEO. J. BOLTON WALL'S HOTEL, LATE AMERICA!* HOUSE. TUN KHAN NOCK, WYOMING CO., 1' \ rHIS establishment lias recently been reGrt.d an furnished in the latest style Kverv attention will he given to the comfort aud convenience ot those *j© patronise the House. T B. WALL, Owner and Proprietor . luukhannock, September 11, 1561. NORTH BRANCH HOTEL, MESIIOPPEN, WYOMING COUNTY. 1A Win. H. CORTKIGHT, Frop'r TT A VINO resumed ihe proprietorship of the above fx Hotel, ihe umlersigned will spare no effort to the house an agreeable place of sojourn tor A:! who may favor it with their custom. Win II CORTKIGHT. Jans, 3rd, 1663 ! T . .T. C B K€K IbTTT Fit Y Slt'lAN tk SURGEON. Would respectfully announce to the citirenso' Wy uaing. that ho has located at Tuiikhatmock where he will prouij-tly attcnl to all calls in the Lr - ot hi* profession. Will be found at home on t-atumlaya <>f eaeh week Joints JMfl, TOWANTDA. BA. D. B. BARTI.ET, I Late ot the BBRAINARH IIOCSE, ELMIRA, N Y. PROPRIETOR. The MEANS HOTEL, i-one of the LARGEST and BEST ARRANGED Houses in the country—lt is fitted up in the most modern and improved style, and no pains are spared to make it a pleasant and agreeable stopping-place for all, v 3, n2l, CLARKE, KEEfiEY.&rfh, ■ AXCF ACTUHEKS AND WHOLESALE HEALERS IN LADIES', MISSES' & GENTS' filk unto CassimfiT flats AND JOBBERS IN PATS. CAPS, FUKS, STRAW GOODS, PARASOLS AND IIMRKELI.AS. BUFFALO AND FANCY ROBES, 848 BROADWAY, CORNER OK LEONARD STREET, w&m ft. T- CLARK, 1 A. C KEENK.Y, \ 8. LHKENEV. 5 M. OILMAN, DENTIST. \f" OILMAN, hag permaneni ly located in Tunk l* Le hantß'ck Borough, and respectfully tendersda pi ■ 'essional services to the cititens of this place h n a ounding country. / LL WORK WARRANTED, TO GIVE SATIS FA TION. LF*Offlee Tutton's Law Office, near the Po •ee . • .11, mi FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. (CONTINUED.) But while 1 lmve no doubt that now, af ter the close of the war, it is nut competent for the Genera! Government to extend the elective franchise in the several States, i. equally clear that good faith requires the security of the freedmen in their liberty and their property, their right to labor.and their right to claim the just return of their labor. I cannot to strongly urge a dispas sionate treatment of this subject, which should he carefully kept aloof from all par ty strife. VVe must equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural impossibility for the two races to live side by side in a state of mutual benefit and good will. The experiment involves us in no inconsistency let us. then, go on and make that experi ment in good faith, and not he too easily disheartened. The country is ill need of labor, and tlm freedmen are in need,of em ployment, culture, aid protection. While their right of voluntaiy migration and ex pat! ia ion is not to be questioned, 1 would not advise their forced removal and colon iza'ioti Let us rather encourage tin in to honorable and useful industry, where it may beneficial to then selves and to the country ; and,instead of hastv antic : pation of the certainty of failure, let there be lutlung wanting to the fair trial of the ex- pfiirnent. 1 lie cliangn in their condition i> the substitution of l.tbor by contract for the status of slavery The freed men can not fairl) be accused of unwillingness to work, so long as a doubt remains about bis freedom of choice in his pursuits, and the certainty of his recovering his stipulated wages. In this Ihe interest of the employer an J the employed coinci io. The emplover desires in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and these can be permanently secured in no ther way. And if the one ought to bo able to enforce the contract, so ought tiie other. The public interest will lie best promoted if the several States will provide adequate proteetion and the remedies for the fieedmen I ntil ih;s is in ome way ac complished, there is no chance fur the ad vantageous use of their Iqjxir ; arid the blame of ill-success will not rest on them I know that sincere philanthropy is ear nest for the immediate realization of its r.e* IIU tot a ms; but time i-. always an element in ivfoim. It is one of liie greatest acts on record to have brought four millions <f people into freedom. The career of free industry u ust he fairly op -tied to them ; afl then their future prosperity and con dition, must, after all. rest mainlv on them selves. If they fail, and so perish awav, let us be careful that the failure shall riot V ittrihutablc to any denial of justice. In ail that relates to the destiny of the freed mui, we need not he to anxious to read the future; many incidents which, from a specu'ative point of view,might raise alarm, ■will quietly settle themselves. Now that slavery is at an end, or near its end. the greatness of its evil, i.i the point o? viewlof public economy, becomes more and more apparent. Slavery was essen tially a monopoly of labcr. and as such looked the States where it prevailed agamst tlr* incoming of free industry. Where la bor, was the property of capitalists, the, white man was excluded from employment or had but the second best chance of find ing it ; and the foreign emigrant turned away fiom the region where his condition would he precarious With the destruc tion of the monopoly, free labor will hasten from all parts of the civil zed world to as sist in developing various and immeasura ble resources which have hitherto lain dor mant. Tlte eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of Mexic<> have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate friendly to long life, and can sustain a denser population than is found as yet in any part of our country And the future influx of population to them will be mainly from the North, or from the most cultivated nations in Kurope. From suflf'rings that have attended them during j our late struggle, let me lo >k awav to the J future, which is sure to he laden for them | with greater prosperity than has ever be-I fore been known. The removal ofth" mo nopoly of slave labor is a pledge that those regions will lie peopled by a numerous and enterprising population, which will vie with any in the Union in compactness, in ventive genius, wealth and industry. Our Government springs from and was made for the people—not the people for the Government. To them it owes allegi ance, from them it must derive its courage, "TO SPEAK HIS THOUGHTS IS EVERY FREEMAN'S RIGHT. "—Thomas Jefl'ersou. TUNKHANNOCK, PA., WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20, 1865. strength ar.d wisdom. But while the gov ernment is thus -bound to defer to the peo ple, from whom it derives its existence, it should, from the very consideratio of its origin, be strong in its power of resistance to the establishment of inequalities. Mo nopolies, perpetuities and class legislation arc: contrary to the genius of free govern ment, and ought not to be allowed. Here, there is no room for favored classes or mo nopolies , the principle of our government is that of equal lajvs and freedom ol indus try. Wherever monopoly attains a foot hold, it is sure to he a source of danger, discord and trouble. We shall but fulfill ; our duties as legislators by according "equal and exact justice to all men," special privi leges to none. The government is subor dinate to the people ; hut, as the agent and representative of the people, it must be he'd superior to monopolies, which,in them selves, ought never to he granted, and which, wlifge they exist, mu-t be subordi nate and yield to the government. Ihe constitution confers on Congress the right to regulate commerce among the sev eral Mates. It is of the first necessity, for the maintenance of the Union, that com merce should be fr-e and unobstructed.. No State can be justified in*any device to tax the transit of travel ami commerce between States. The position of many States is such that, it they were allowed to take ad vantage of it for purposes of local revenue the commerce between States might be in juriously burdened, or even virtually pro hibited. It is bes', while the country is still young, and while the tendency to danger* us monopolies of this kind is still feeble, to use the power o! Congress so as to prevent any selfish impediment to the tree circulation of men and merchandise.— A tax on travel and merchandise, in their transit, constitutes one of the worst forms of monopoly, and the evil is increased if coupled with a denial of the choice of rout e. When the vast extent of our country is con sidered, it is plain that every obstacle to the free circulation of commerce between the States ought to be sternly guarded against by appiopriatc legislation, within the limits of the constitution. The report of the Secretary of the Inte rior explains the condition of the public lands, the tiansactions of the Patent Office ai.d the Pension Bureau, the management of our Indian affairs, the progress made in the construction of the Pacific Railroad and furnishes information in r-fere nee to matters of local interest in the District of Columbia It also presents evidence of the successful ope rations of ihe Homestead Act, under the provisions of which 1,160,- 533 acres of the public lands were entered during the fiscal year—more than one fourth of the whole number of acres sold or otherwise di>pos< d of during that period.— It is estimated that the receipts derived from this source are sufficient to cover the expenses incident to the survey and dis posal of lands entered under this act, and ' that payments in cash to the extent of from J forty to fifty percent, w-11 be made by set tlers, who may thus at any time acquire title before the expiration of the period at which it would otherwise vest. The home stead policy was established only after long and earnest resistance ; experience proves its wisdom. The lands,in the hands of industrious settlers, whose labor creates wealth ar.d contributes to the public re sources, are worth m<re to the United States than if tliey had been reserved as a solitude for future purchasers. The lamentable events of the lat four years, and the sacrifices made by the gal lant men of our army and navy, have swel-1 led the records of the I'ensfon Bureau to an j unprecedented extent. On the 30th dav of June last, the total number of pensioners was 85,986, requiring for their annual pay, exclusive of expenses, the sum of &q,023,- 445. The number of applications that have bvn allowed since that date will require a| a large increase >f this amrmnt for the next i fi-ctl year. The means for the payment of the stipends due. under existing laws, to our disabled soldiers and sailors, and to the families of such as have perished in the service of the countrv, will no doubt be cheerfullv and promptly granted. A grate ful people will not hesitate to sanction any measures having for their object the relief of soldiers mutilated and families made fa therless in the i fT<uts to preserve our na tional cxi-tence. The report of the Postmaster General presents an encouraging exhibit of the op perations of the Post-office Department durinc the year. The revenue of the past year from the loyal Slates alone exceed the maximum annual receipts from all the States previous to the rebellion,in the sum of $6,038,091 ; and the uoul average Increase of revenue during the last four years, compared jrith the revenues of the four years immediately preceding the re bellion, was $3,533;845. The revenue of the last fiscal to $14,546,158 and the expenditures to $12,694,728, leav ing a surplus of receipts over expenditures of *801,480. Progress has been made in restoring the postal service in the Southern States The views presented by the Post master-General against the policy of grant ing subsides to ocean mail steamship lines upon established routes, and in favor of continuing the present system, which limits the compensation for ocean service to the postage earnings, arc recommended to the careful consideiation of Congress It appears, from the report of the Secre tary ot the Navy, that while, at the com mencement of the present year, there were in commiss on 530 vessels of ail classes and descriptions, armed with 3,000 guns and manned by 51,000 men, the number of vessels at present in commission is 117, with 830 guns and 12,118 men. By this prompt reduction of the naval forces the expenses .of the government have been largely diminished, and a number of ves sels purchased for naval purposes from tin' merchant marine, have been returned to the peaceful pursuits of commerce. Since the suppression of active hostilities our for eign squadrons have been re-established, and consist of vessels much more efficient than those employed on similar service previous to the rebellion. The segg.'stson for the enlargement of the navy-yards; and especially f*.: 1 the establishment of one in fresh water fin* iron-clad vessels, is deserv ing of consideration, as is also the recom inendatiou for a different location and more ample grounds for the Naval Academy. In the report of the Secretary of War, a general summary is given of the military campaigns of 1864 and 1865, ending to tHe suppression of arm d resistance in the national authority in the insurgent States. 'Hie operations of the general administra tive bureaus of the War Dcpattmcnt dur ing the past year are detailed, and an esti mate made ofttie appropriations that will be required for military purposes in the fiscal vear commencing the 30th dav of e • June, 1866. The national military force, on the Ist of May 1865, numbered I,QuO, 516 men. It is proposed to reduce the militaiy establishment to a peace footing, comprehending 50,000 troops ot all aims, organized so as to admit of an enlarge ment by filling up the ranks to 82,000 il Lite circumstances of the country should require an augmentation of the ariny.— The volunteer force lias already been re duced by the discharge from service of over 800,000 troops, and the department is proceeding rapidly in the work ot fur ther reduction. The war estimates are reduced from $5,16,200,131' to $33,814, 461, Which amount, in the opinion of the department, is adequate for a peace estab lishment. The measures of retrenchment in each bureau and branch of the service exhibit a diligent encoriomy worthy ofcom m* ndntioii. Reference is also made in the report to the necessity of providing for a tinif rm mi.ilia system, and to the propri ety of making suitable provision lor wound ed and disabled officers ami soldiers. The revenue system of the country is a subject of vital iutercst to its honor and prosperity, and should command the ear uest consideration of Congress. The Sec retary of the Treasury will lay before you a full and detailed report of the receipts and disbursements of the last fiscal veat, of the first quarter of the present fiscal year, of the probable receipts and expenditures for the oti.fr three quarters, and the estimates for the year following the 30th of June,lß - I might content myselt with a refer ence to that report, in which yot! will find all the information required for your delib erations and decision. But the paramount importance of the subject so presses itself on my niiod. that I cannot but lay before y<iu my views of the measures which are re quired for the good character, and, I might almost say, for the existence of this people. The life of a republic lies certainly in the energy, virtue and intelligence of its citi zens ; bub it is equally true that a good rev enue system is the life ofan organized gov ernincnt. I meet you at a time wmii the. nation hat- voluntarily burden ed itself with ! a debt unprecedented in our unuais. Vast as its amount, it fades away into nothing when compared with the countless blessings that will he conferred upon our country and upon man by the preservation of the nation's life. . Now, on the first occasion of the meeting of Congress since the return of peace, it is of the utmost importance to ; inaugurate a just policy, which shall corn | mend itself to those who oome after us for TERMS, $2,00 PER. AXNX3M its continuance. We must aim at nothing less than the eoniplete effacement of the financial evils that neeessarily follow a state of civil war. We must endeavor to apply the earliest remedy to the deranged state of the currency, and not shrink from devising a policy which, without being op pressive to the people, shall immediately begin to effect a reduction of the debt, and if persisted in, discharge it fully within a definitely fixed number of years. It is our first duty to prepare in earnest for our recovery from the ever-increasing evils of a ii redeemable currency, without a sudden revulsion, and yet without untime ly prociastination. For the end we must, each in his respective positions, prepare the i way. I hold it the duty of the executive fo insist upon frugality in the expenditures; and a sparing economy is itself a great na tional resource. ()(' the baks to which au thority has been given to issue notes se cured by bonds of the United States we may require the greatest moderation and prudence, and the law must be rigidly en forced when its limits are exceeded. We may, each one of us, counsel our active and enterprising countrymen to be constantly on their guard, to liquidate debts contract ed in a paper currency, ai d by conducting business as nearly as possible on a system of cash payment ir short credits, to hold themselves prepared to return to the stand ard of gold and silver. To aid our fellow citizens in the prudent management of their momentary affairs, the duty devolves on us to diminish by law the amount of pa per money now in circulation. Five years ago the bank-note circulation cf the coun try amounte 1 to not much more than two hundred millions; now the circulation, bank and national,exceeds seven hundred mil'io- * The simple statement of the fact ri'ccomioends more strongly than any words of mine could do, the necessity of our restraining that expansion. The grad ually reduction of the currency is the only measure that can save the business of the country from disastrous calamities , and this can be almost imperceptibly accom plished bv gradually funding the national circulation nsecuri ies that may be made redeemable at the pleasure of the govern ment. The Department of Agriculture, under its present direction, is accomplishing mneh in developing and utilizing tiie vast agricultural capabilities of the country and for information respecting the details of its management reference is made to theanu al repoit of the Commissioner. 1 have dwelt thus fully on our domestic I affairs because of their transcendent impor j tance. Under any circumstances, our great extent of territory and variety of cli mate, producing almost everything that is necessary for the wants, and even the Com forts of man. making us singularity inde pendent of Ihe varying policy of foreign powers, and protect us against every temp tation to entangle alliances, while at the present moment the rccstablishment of har mony, and the strength that comes from harmony, will be our best security against "nations who feel power and forget right." For myself, it has been and will be my ! constant aim to promote peace and amity with all foreign nations and powers ; and I have every reason to believe that they all without exception, are animated by the same 1 disposition. Our relations with the Em -1 peror of China, so recent in their origin, j are most friendly. —Our commerce with his dominions is receiving new develop mcqts, and it is very pleasing to find that j the government of that great empire man ifests satisfaction with our policy, and re poses just confidence in the fairness, which marks our intercourse. The unbroken harmony between the United States and the Empire of Russia is receiviug a new support from an enterprise designed to car ry telegraphic lines across the continent of •Asia, through his dominions, and so to con nect us with all Europe by a new channel of inierc u'se. Our commerce with South America is about to receive encouragement by a direct line of mail steamships to the rising Empire of Brazil. The distinguish ed partv of men of science who have recent ly left our country to make a scientific ex ploration of thenatnral history and rivers and mountain ranges of that region, have received from the Emperor that generous welcome winch was to have been expected from his constant friendship for the United State*, and his well-known zeal in promo ting the advancement of knowledge. A hop is entertained that our commerce with '.ho rich and populous counties that border the Mediterranean sea may be largely increased. Nothing will be want ihg on the part of this government, to ex i : ' ? r. ■ ' VOL. 5 NO. 20 tend the protection of our flag over the enterprise of our fellow-citizens. We re ceive from tbe Powers in that region assu rances of good will; and it is worthy of note that a special cnroy has brought us messages of condolence on the death of our late Chief Magistrate from the Bey of Tunis, whose rule includes tbo old domin ions of Carthage, on the African coast Our debt is doubly secure—first in the actual wealth and still greater undeveloped resources of tbe country; and next ifl tbe character of our institutions. The most intelligent observers among political econ omists have not failed to remark that the public debt of a country is safe in propor tion as its people aro fiee; that the debt of a republic is the safest of all. Our his tory confirm* and establishes the theory, and is, I firmly believe, destined to give it a still more signal illustration. The se cret of this superiority springs not merely from the fact that in a republic tbe nation al obligations are distributed more widely through countless numbers in allclasses of society ; it has its root in the character of our law s, llere all men contribute to the public welfare, and bear their fair share of the public burdens. During the war, un der the impulses of patriotism, the men of the great body of the people, without re gard to their own comparitive want of wealth, thronged to our armies and fillet! our fleets of war, and held themselves ready to offer their lires for the public good.— Now, in their turn, the property and in come of tbe country should bear their just proportion of the burden of taxation, while in our impost system, through means of which increased vitality is incideotly im parted to all the industrial interests of the nation, the duties should be so adjusted as to fall most beavily otTarticles of luxury, leaving the necessaries of life as free from taxation as the absolute wants of the gov ernment, economically administered, will justify. No favored class should demand freedom from assessment, and the taxes should be so distributed as not to fall un duly on the poor, but lather on the accumu lated wealth of the country. We should look at the national debt just as it is—not as a national blessing, but as a heavv bur den on the industry of the country, to be discharged without unnecessary delay. It is estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury that the expenditures for the fis cal year ending the 30th of June, 1866, will exceed the receipts $112,194, 947. It is gratifying, however, to state that it is also estimated that the revenue for the year ending the 30ih of June, 1867, will ex ceed the expenditures in the sum of slll, 682,818. This amount, or so much as may be deemed sufficient for the purpose, may be applied to the reduction of the public debt which, on the 31st day of October, 1865, was $2,740,854, 750. Every reduction will diminish the total amount of interest to be paid, and so en large the means ot still further reductions, until the whole shall be liquidated, and this, as will be seen from the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury, may be ac complished by annual payments even with in a period not exceeding thirty years. I have faith that we shall do all this within a reasonable time; that, as we have amaz ed the world by the suppressiori of a civil war which was thought to be beyond the control of any government, so we shall equally show the superiority of our insti tutions by the prompt and faithful dis charge ofotlr national obligations. Our domestic contest, now happily end ed, lias left Sione traces in our relations with one at least of the great maritime Powers. The formal accordance of bel lig erent rights to the insurgent States was unprecedented, and has not been justified by the issue, liut in the systems of neu trality pursued by the powers that made that concession, there was a marked differ ence. The materials of war for the insur gent States were furnished, in a great measure, from the workshops of Great Britain ; and Britis-h ships, manned by British subjects, and prepared for receiving British armaments, sailed from the ports of Great Britain to make war on American (jßinmerce. under the shelter of a commis sion from the insurgent States. These ships having once escaped from British ports, ev er afterward entered them in every part of the world to refit, and so to renew their depredations. The consequences of this conduct were disastrous to the States then in rebellion, increasing their desolation and misery by the prolongation of our civil con test. It had,moreover,the effect, tb a great extent to drive the American flag from the sea, and to transfer much of onr shipping and oar commerce to the very Power wheat