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An Independent Family Journal---Devoted to Politics, Literature and General Intelligence. VOL. 2. ANDERSON, S. C, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 1867 NO. 38. BY HOYT & WAITERS. TERMS': TWO DOLLARS AND A HALF T23 ANNUM, ix united states ccbbesct. RATES OF ADVERTISING. Advertisements inserted :it the rates of One Dol? lar per square of twelve lines for the first insertion and Fifty Cents, for each subsequent insertion. Liberal, deductions :nadc to those who advertise by the year. jjgjp? For anr.our.cing a candidate, Five Dollars in advance. A Talk with the President. The Principles, Motives and Objects ??that Control Him?His Views op the Sherman Iniquity, &c. ?i Tbe editor of the Xcw York Citizen, Col-Halpine, publishes in the last issue 'of his paper the outlines of a conversa? tion he had with the President on the 20th ultimo. We quote Col. Halpino's 'latter; "''Tuctronble" is," said the President, Vtbat instead of inquiring what wo arc and our present powers, wo insist on raa kingoursclvcs something else, and inven? ting new powers which it cannot be for our benefit to wield. Wo make tho mis? take of becoming inventors 'instead Of ?applying ourselves to become discoverers. - ''There are now a score of plans of re? constructing the Southern States before the-couhtry, and the public mind is undu? ly agitated as to which shall bo adopted. ?Amendments are proposed to "the Consti? tution, amendments of every possible character; whereas, if people, instead of inventing new tilings, would seek to dis 'Covcr 'what already exist, they would find all the powers they need to accomplish their legitimate wishes in the Constitu tionas it stands. "The Constitution guarantee's a repub? lican form of government to every State, and says that no State shall bo deprived 'of its representation in Congress without its own consent. "Well, on the other htind, somo of our people say that they will not allow men who participated in the rebel? lion'to be their peers, and to have voices in the great council of the nation. They, therefore,-demand a constitutional amend? ment on this head ; and so likewise lor 'every other evil that they can find or ?fancy to be existing. "B?f does not tho Constitution itself provide a remedy forthis very evil, where it says, that each House of Congrcssshall ?be absolute judge of tho elections, returns and qualifications of its own members ? May not each House, under this, while ?rejecting any prominent ex-rebel or man obnoxious for disloyalty who shall bo sent from auy of the so-called Confederate States, at the same time not deprive the ? State of representation, but merely say: 'This man wo reject under our constitu? tional prerogative. Wo do not, however, deny the right of your State to represen? tation, whenever you shall send us a proper man.' "SeOyfor a moment, what would be tire effect of t his course. We at once divide the public opinion of the State so treat? ed? afpresent made a unit under the ban of indiscriminate exclusion. Wo hold out a greut reward for the election of loyal men, and attach a penalty, which the people'of the Stato must themselves im? pose, for- the restraint of- active -partici? pants iu tho late rebellion. There arc scores and hundreds of ambitious men of loyal record in every State who would then be naturally forced to the surface, ;but under, the present system of indis "criminate exclusion it can make no differ? ence whether loyal or disloyal Senators and Representatives shall be sent. AEven ! let us take an extreme case. Supp?se'{ho Stale oi Georgia should send Alexander H. Stephens to the Senate, and that the Senate should say : 'Wo ac? knowledge'the right of Gooigia to repre? sentation ; "we acknowledge that tho cre? dentials of Mr. Stephens are made out in tlXft proper form; but, in view of his con? nection with the rebellion, and former conncctiou with the United Stakes, we? ill the exercise of our constitutional priv? ilege?do not choo.se to accept Mr. Ste? phens as our peer; and must insist that some man of loj'al record shall be sent in bis place.* '- "?"Would not tho Georgians at once com? mence looking around lor some one who could 'satisfy theso conditions? And would not an im mediale impetus be given toward building up a loyal sentiment in that State? The wounds our country has suffered arc not vital, though the deple? tion of blood was great. Thero were none of" the great bones broken, for the framework Of the Constitution still re? gains, and is efficient, if we Could only abstain from further irrilatiug surgery. The best healing in surgery is that which tho doctors describe as by 'the first inten fion/ ?r force of nature; but our violent doctors fh Congress?and this is spoken With no disrespect to that body, but as a fact of observation?will still insist on tearing open the wounds afresh, in order to force a faster healing by caustic appli? cations and the actual cautery. , "What wo need?what wc vitally need, both for payment of the national debt and to enable us to assumo a proper for? eign poiicy, too long. 1 confess, delayed? is harmony, internal peace, and a condi? tion of restored confidence that will draw capital to develop the industrial re?oiirocs of the South, and to assist the Southern I planters in reorganizing*tho shattered re-1 Intions of labor. Wo need all this to ] make tho national burden.-; endurable. \ livery bale of cotton, every barrel of su-! rrnr, every ti<.-!-c^ of rice, every hogshead of tobacco raised in the ex-rebel States must furnish a proportionate reduction to tho taxation of tho Xorth; and must so, so far as it may he worth, toward re? storing an equilibrium iu our foreign cx CDTtP^esr. which mu/?t be tho first funda? mental step towards a return to the hard money basis instead of paper currency. '.?Aa Ibr myself, my convictions in pol? itics are things that J cannot change to suit the expediencies of this or any other moment. They have grown with my growth, they have strengthened with my Strength", and they arc to mo only Ichs sacred, and as much to bo preserved, as my religious faith. Attempts arc made to make it appear that my words at dif? ferent times have been inconsistent; but werftdiot tho circumstances inconsistent under which tho apparently contradictory wprda were spoken or opinions given. During the high storm of rebellion, or in the first hent of its subsidence, words were proper to be said which would be utterly improper in time of peace. "We put a broken limb in splints'to hold it quiet, whether the patient will or no; but to insist on holding the splints there when the limb is restored, or when a further examination shall h'av.e <proved that the wounds, though deep were only flesh wounds leaving the bones uninjured?this would not be wise surgery, but cruelty ; not statesmanship, but barbarous usurpa? tion. "I am accused of usurping power, when my whole lifo has "been one continual bat? tle against the tendency of bureaucracy or aristocracy?the concentration of pow? er in the hands of the few. X was accu? sed of usurping power for my veto of the first Frecdman's Bureau bill, although that veto was a voluntary putting,away from me of a patronage:and power mere unlimited than was ever jjreviouslv offer? ed to. any President! I am for holding all possible power in the bauds of the people permanently; I am in favor of ?1 wuys finding the minimum of power ne? cessary to be delegated to any officials, or to the General Government, and only al? lowing that minimum to b-3 given. "But look, even at this bra of Sen'f.tor ?Sherman's, and see what it does, or pro? poses doing? It is'only loss objectiona? ble than the House bill, in that it does not openly supersede the President, rep? resenting tho civil power, in 'favor of the (funeral commanding the armies of the United States. ? lint it violates the con? stitutional provision guaranteeing a re? publican form of government, and sub? stitutes u military despotism over the lately revolted States. It disfranchises nearly all the intelligent whites, and gives Universal suffrage to the iguorant blades, thus overriding the provision that each State shah1 determine who shall be ohti w?d to its suffrage. It also nullities the constitutional amendments-, by practically declaring the existing governments of the Southern States illegal, so that theiradop tion of the amendments must be without validity. "Everywhere there is a tendency to substitute the 'government' as the source of power, instead Of the 'people;' and it is against this tendency I am at issue. The Sherman bill denies tho writ of habe? as corpu?, whenever such ^shall be the pleasure of an arbitrary military com? mander, in whoso power to rule over them the people of the subjugated district shall have no voice. It also strikes down the right of early trial by i civil court, and by a jury of the peers of the accused. In fact, lb :'andamentafiy fcpro?lBatl those, popular and constitutional guarantees of freedom, which were extorted from King John hy tjli? Barons of England in the. signature of Jlaana U/iarto.? lhul basis of our common law. '?It is for the principles of our common law and common justice, and for the rights of tho whule people as against what is called the 'government,' tfiat I am to-day contending, it 5s for this I am called a 'usurper,' while the fact is. it is because I will not usurp power, nor have excessive power thrust upon me, if' I can help it. that this war has been made upon me. I challenge the production ol a single act in my whole administration which has aimed to increase my authority1 as President. Even in constructing pro? visional governments for the Southern States?also denounced as one of my 'flagrant usurpations'?the object evident? ly was to divest tho national government' of its centralizing powor, and restore that power as aearly and promptly as circum? stances would permit, to the people of the various ox-rebel States. "The South is to-day in our hands, a beaten, helpless, well nigh hopeless couu-J t?y, and the power we wield should be held as a sacred trust. We should not use it vindictively. I will not arguo be? cause we profess to bo. Christians, and these men are our brothers; but, if on no higher.ground,.then upon the ground of self-interest. All the legislation proposed for the South, proposes to multiply offices at.the expense p? ih$ Genera). Govern? ment, while not adding tho productions of Southern industry to tho general 6tock lor the redemption of - our rational debt and the support of our annual burdens. My object is to reduce the i^sumcd and really usurpational powers forced on the General Government during the war, powers that were then essential to meet a desperate emergency.; but which can? not much longer bo contin icd without vitiation to tho whole fabric and theory of our representative and popular system. "What Congress in its wisdom may see fit to do, I cannot say; but my own course is clear. T shall exercise every function of my olh'ce in defence of tho people and their rights, according to the I best judgment that Heaven has endowed I me wit h. I shall exercise all laws scru? pulously, and perhaps most scrupulously those which have been passed against my judgment and ovor my veto. Mut for all such legislationj Congress must bear the undivided rcVponsibiltyj and the day can? not bo far distant in which the terrible logic of events will force tue people to ask themselves seriously, and not in pas? sion, 'On which side lay the tendency to usurpation V " ?-0.-_ ? A down-east contemporary advo? cates the establishment-of seminaries for j young ladies where spinology, knitology, I weaveuiogy, eookology, <kc, can bo taught?Hie graduates to receive tho dc gree of V. F. W., or Fit for Wives. ? A voting Judy " whose bosom was torn wti conflicting passions" has had j it hiciubd. ? Way is a prudent man like a pin ? Because his head prevents him from going I too far. ( The Anderson Prisoners. RErOItT OF TIIE MAJOhlTy OP THE COMMITTEE. Mr. Pike, from the Special Committee; ?made a report to the 'Iidiise of Represen? tatives 011 Thursday, on the circumstances attending the murder of the Union sol? diers in Anderson. District, the details of which our readers are familiar with.? The report is substantially as follows: j$o special cause was assigned at the trial for this cold blooded murder. The young men assassinated had been sta? tioned at Anderson about two months, and the resolutious*of a public meeting held at Anderson two days after the raur ?der certify to their good conduct while there. Their only orferice seems "to-lave been wearing the uniform of the Republic and obeying the orders of their superior officers. Of those committing the murder the Keys family seems to have been one 'of the rffos't prominent in Anderson, and. Stowers was a man of sufficient considera? tion to have "been at one time a member of the Georgia Senate. This assassination was committed while Gen. Gill more was" in cofnrnand of Charleston; and Gen. Sick? les states that when he took command Gen. Gillmorc called his attention to this case as one of great atrocity, and one which the interests of the service, in his opinion, required to be thoroughly inves? tigated.. A military commission was con? vened by Gen. Sickles, which proceeded to try those charged with the murder, who were all arrested except Peter Keys and the person who was not. recognized by Brown and flowell. A long and thor? ough examination of the witnesses was made, occupying some thirty days. The defence was skilfully managed; an alibi was attempted to be proved on the part of Stowers by negroes, who first testified to the fact-, but subsequently changed their testimony and swore that they had been trained by Stowers to make their previous statements. It was "attempted to shake'the testimony of Iloweli and Krown in various ways- "but after a pa? tient and diligent comparison of state meats, the counsel found the racts as we have already detailed them. The evi? dence is spread over many hundred pages of recoi l, and it amply sustains the con? clusions at which the court arrived. The commission found the two Keys, Stowers and By;:um guilty, and sentenced them to be hanged, The sentence was approved by Gcu. Sickles as to the elder Keys and Stowers, but, on account of their age, and being under the influence of lheir asso eiates, I he sentence was commuted in the cases of the younger Keys and Byrum to imprisonment for life. The case was im? mediately presented to the President, and applications were made for pardons or for transfer to the civil tribunals. Letters from several leading men of the South, snob as Alexander II. Stephens, Gov. Orr and If. V. Johnson, appear among the papers laid before the President; and, with others, we notice a petition insisting upon it that tho President s avowed policy led the petitioners to ask with confidence his interposition in behalf of the culprits. Hon. H. O. Brownings now Secretary of the Interior, for a fee of 81000; made an argument to the President in behalf of the person/?, and urged that they he brought within the Range.of a writ of habeas corpus in a Northern Court. Numerous petit ions and letters urge the President to direct ?the officers having the prisoners in charge to respond to a writ of habeas corpus, upon, the expectation that the courts, after the decision in the MiUigan 'case, would de? clare the trial without authority of law. These papers were all referred by the President to the Judge Advocate General, who reviewed the case at length, and af? firmed the decision of the military tribunal. Subsequently a writ of habeas cormis was issued from the United States District Court W South Carolina, oy Judge Bryan; but Gen. Sickles declined to respond. An attachment for contempt followed, but Gen. Sickles declined to obey it, and his Conduct was approved by the Secretary of War on the 23d oi July. Subsequent to all the occurrences just recapitulated, the President ordered that the sentences to be hanged be commuted in all four cases to imprisonment for life at the Torgugas.? This order was immediately executed; but on the 31st of July-the President directed the Prisoners to be transferred to Fort Delaware. The Secretary ot War in his testimony, gives the reasons for this trans? fer. Considerable delay occurred in the transfer to Fort Delaware'; but when the prisoners did arrive there, Col. Howard, who was in command of the fort; was served with a writ of .habeas corpus from the United States District of Delaware, Judge HalL Colonel Howard was di? rected by the War Department to respond to tho writ. A hearing was had before Judge Hall, and the prisoners were dis? charged. The reasons for this extraordi? nary procedure upoh the part of the ven? erable Judge, are set forth in bis opinion, which is hen- submitted. Ho claims to; have had judicial knowledge that the re? bellion was surpressed and peace restored ! in June, 1805, and further that (lie civil courts of South Carolina were open lor the administration of justice :it the time of the arrest and trial of these murderers; but Gen. Sickles states that at the time there were no civil courts in South Carolina that could have tried them?neither the Uni? ted States District or Circuit Court or State courts were open; steps were in progress to that end, but thty had not been consummated. It is not within the scope or this report to review the legal grounds upon which the opinion is based. Its assumptions are still more offensive, if possible, than those ot the court in tho MilMgan Case. It is quite clear that it does (tot tend to the furtherance of the ends of justice to have the fruits of a trial so elaborately and fairly conducted as this appears to have been frittered away by I the Whim of a single Judge in a distant section of the country. The committee call attention to the report of Gen. Sickles in the Egan case, and to the statement in his testimony of the ground of his action. It is not difficult to decide between tim and Judge Hal!. The vigorous comments of the Secretary of War upon the decision in the Milligan case apply with full force to the decision of Judge Hall. The as? sassins then discharged returned to their homes, where they are still at large, and no attempt has been made to bring them to trial by the civil courts. It is a striking 'commentary on the state of society there, that while, according to the testimony of Surgeon Pillsbury, no doubt appears to have been entertained in the minds of that community of the guilt of at least two of the persons discharged, they were all re? ceived by the inhabitants of the town with an ovation and congratulation which ter? minated in a ''general drunk." For the purpose of complying with the latter portion of the resolution appointing the committee, and intelligently recom? mending to the House some action reme? dying the evils exhibited iu the history Of this case, it was deemed advisable to ex? tend the inquiries of the committee aud seek the testimony of the officers in charge of tho departments into which the South? ern Slates arc divided. Any law passed by Congress would necessarily be general in its character, and it was thought worth while to learn whether the acts calling for legislation were merely local, or whether they were co-extensive with the commands of department commanders. Tlio testi? mony of (-Jens. Scdtield" Thomas, Sickles, Band and Wood was taken by the com? mittee, and is herein submitted. They have had the best opportunity for obtain? ing, both personally, and also through the reports of their subordinates, and tlrey have been constantly on the alert, as the government'o'i the country has been sub? stantially under their supervision during the irrealer portion of the time they have had command- The result of their expe? rience and observation is given in brief aud .forcible terms, and the. committee call the attention of the House to their testi? mony, :us they believe it can salely be made tho basis of legislation. It would have been easy to have fortified their statement by statistics from the Frcedmeifs Bureau, but as the House is already in possession of the valuable information tobe obtained from that source, it was not deemed worth while to duplicate it here. The testimony of these well known wit nesses exhibits the following propositions : First:, that for the punishment of crime in their departments the courts cannot be relied upon; where soldiers, Union men or frocdmen are con? cerned, justice h practically denied, and Offences of grave character against them go unpunished, neither magistrate nor jurors being disposed to discharge their duties in this respect; second, that up to this time there has been no change for the better, but rather for the worse; third, that unless substantial justice is done to the laboring classes hereafter, and to the Union men and Northern men who desire to go there to engage in business enter? prises, no improvement in the state of af f'airs can reasonably be expected. Under such circumstances it -would seem to be conclusively established that the best ma? terial interests of the country, as well as the highest considerations of humanity, call for the intervention of the authority of the General Government as the only prac? tical mode in which it can be executed? and that through the military forces. It is of the -first importance that ordinary justice should be administered. The whole superstructure of government must rest on that. The violent political and social convulsions through which the country has passed can be composed in time, and parties and races live together in peace and prosperity, if iu the meantime there is wisdom and strength sufficient in the Government to take can.- that all arc fairly dealt by and crime punished with reasona? ble certainty and impartiality. In order to compass this desirable end tho military forces should be auxilary and supervisory. In the language of Gen. Thomas, there should be established seuue supervisory authority in these States, with power to advise and insist on the impartial admin? istration of justice, accompanied by suffi? cient force, if necessary, to induce tho peo? ple to feel that the authority is sufficient to enforce its advice and instructions. The government of the country should in this way be placed temporarily in tho hands of the men whose eminent services during the war are sufficient guarantee that it will not be abused. Such government should, of course, only be continued so long as it is absolutely necessary. Wher? ever the life and the rights of properly can be salely trusted to the local govern? ments; all ext ernal coercions should cease, and meantime it cannot be reasonably supposed that there will be much need of forcible intervention. It will ordinarily be enough to know that such power exists and will beexorciseel it necessary. As tbo House has so recently passed npon a measure of the kind indicated, it is not worth while to enter into further details, but only to say that, in the judgment ol the committee, the testimony herewith presented fully sustains the necessity lor a resort to sc.-h extraordinary measures, and that without the adoption of some such legislation the day of restoration, of peace and prosperity in these unhappy States, is greatly, if not indefinitely post-1 ? "ITouM aisy, 3!ike/' said one e>r two Irish pedestrians, as he reverently ap? proached a mile-stone. ' Thread lightly,"1 saitl he, ''for here lies' a very ould man.'" I'at carefully spelled out the inscription: "JJaltiuiore, one ?hundred and Oily-four miles," and then continued: "He was one hundred and lifty-tbur years ould, and his name was Miles, from Baltimore." The Inevitable Drift of Events. When, will) tho assistance of the so called "Democratic minority" in the House of Representatives, Thaddcus Ste? vens succeeded in adding new features of outrage to the ''Sherman amendment," and when it was then pressed through both Jlouses of Congress, we hoped lor some indications . ot commiseration and justice in the..Northern States. We trust? ed that the frightful wounds inflicted on the "Constitution by this most iniquitous hill would have produced some revolution in Northern sentiment 'which vre raight have hailed as evidence cf the subsidence of that radical flood which now menaces speedy confiscation and the almost total disfranchisemcnt of tTfo Southern whites, if there is not some immediate settlement of the question of reconstruction. But for tins change wo have looked in vain, and nothing has alarmed us 'more than tho acceptance of tho " Sherman amendment" by the whole Republican party as a most humane, mild.and merci? ful concession of the extreme Radicals to the conservative portion of that party, and if the declarations of tho leading or? gans of the less cruel portion of the dom? inant party mean anything, the Sherman bill will bo passed over the veto of the President by an overwhelming majority; and, if such is the case, and the recent conversation of President Johnson with General Hal pine has been .truthfully re? ported, the Sherman bill, if it becomes a law in spite of his veto, will bo most strictly enforced. The monstrous defection of Eeverdy Johnson, and tho repeated alliliatioii of the so-called " Democratic minority" in the House of Representatives with Thad? dens Stevens, while it has united the Re? publican party, seems to have hopelessly demoralized our Northern fiiends. We lind fearful evidences of this in the last number of tho New York World, a paper heretofore consistent in its exhortations to the South to oppose a firm, unyielding and stubborn resistance to all "Radical outrages and insults, which are hurled at us in the form of unconstitutional laws. In along and carefully weighed leader, in view of the present condition of affairs, that paper earnestly urges the Southern people^ if they have any reason to dis? trust their own firmness, to yield in rather than at some future time." . To show how rapidly the werk of de? moralization is going on among our f riends at the North, wc make the lollow tng extracts from the leading organ of. the Northern Democracy: " The interest involved arc of such mo? mentous magnitude, that it would bo a fatal blunder for the Southern people to mistake u transient wilfulncss for im? movable determination. If the South is ever to accept of negro suffrage; if it is ever to reorganize its State Governments under Federal dictation; if it is ever to ratify the pending1 constitutional amend meat as a condition of restoration, there aro manifest advantages in not postpon? ing until another year wh'at they may be brought to do at last. Wc aro far enough from a'dvising that tho South should vol-j r?tarily submit to lea grant injustice and humiliating subjugation. On the "qnes lion whether they will give in or stand out, we will at present say nothing. Rut as between submission now and sudwis sion at some future time (supposing fu? ture submission to be possible) our views are so clear, and rest upon grounds that seem to us so solid, that wo should fail in ; our duty if we withheld them. :- Whatever niay be the ultimate basis on which this great controversy is set? tled, there must be advantages in the ear? ly adoption ot that basis. The crippled business interests of the South ought to be lifted out of the stagnation caused by the existing uncertainty. To postpone reconstruction under Sherman's hill for the sake of restoration under tho simple, unamended constitution, would bo a wise and reasonable delay. Rut to postpone reconstruction on the new plan ; to adopt ti e same or some similar plan three or fivo 3'ears hence, would be short-sighted, passionate folly. Every yoar of military government puts back the recuperation of tho South, and (what is worse) accus? toms tho Federal govern mont and the Northern people to the dangerous prac? tice of domination. Tho losses and dan? gers thus entailed may be reasonably ac? cepted in the persistent pursuit of com? pensating ends; but not gratuitously? not as a halting place at winch the South only losos time, property and quiet, to enter at last on the same repudiated path. As between the Sherman bill pure and simple, and the Sherman bill plus several additioua!years of distraction, a reasona? ble people should not hesitate. ;; If the Southern States aro ever to re? organize under the Sherman bill, they should do so this year and thereby gain the advantage of participating in the Presidential election. If they form new State constitutions during the summer and autumn, and present them to Con? gress for acceptance at next winter's ses? sion, their sixty or seventy votes may determine the result. But postponement till next year will shut them out com? pletely, and might bo Iho means Of subjec? ting them to four years more of Radical tyranny. 11' they should reorganize next year, their constitutions could not ho sub? mitted lo Congress for approval until af? ter the Presidential election is past Tho South has a far deeper stako than any of us at tho North in rescuing the govern? ment from Radical control, and their electoral vote would in all probability turn tho scale."?liichmond Times. ? Our sweetest experience of affection and love uro meant to bo suggestions of that realm which isthjjhomc of the heart. ? How long did Cain hate his brother ? As long as ho was Abel. The ?Intelligencer Job Office Having recently made considerable additions to this department, we are prepared to exceute JDS Wmk i)7 M& ISEOTS In llie neatest style and on the most reasonable terns. Legal Blanks^Bill Heads, fosters, Cards, Handbills. Pamphlets, Labels, and in fact every style of work usually done in a country Pikitiug Office. JOS?" In all c.tses, the money will be required upon delivery of the work. Orders, accompanied with the cash, ivill receive prompt atlcnti'ih. Washington News and Gossip. Washington, February 24. - Mr. Cooper's minority report of the South Carolina murder case says: "It is true, that Generals Thomas, Sickles, Wood and Baird in their testimony, state that 'the court's do not administer full and impartial justice where Union men, soldiers and frccdmen 'are litigants, and that they are not sate;' but they, in answer to direct questions], furnish but one case in Tennessee, one in Mississippi, (at Grenada,) one in Louisiana, none in Virginia, except the Watson case, none in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia or Alabama." All testify explicitly that there has been no fault with the Governors of the respec? tive States, or high'officials, judges of the Supreme Court, or intelligent and well informed citizens. . Gen. Schofieid testifies that the ncgroeS arraigned lor crime are dealt with lenient? ly rather than harshly. The general feel? ing of the respectable people of Virgins}*, he say's, is 'that of pity for the frccdmen. The report takes strong grounds against the policy and constitutionality of the pro? posed military governments. Washington, February 25. In the House, a resolution rather con? demuatory of Wcntworth's charges of 'corruption of the members involving tho honor of the House, ordering ins commit? tee to-morrow, was passed. A resolution that the House concur iri Secretary McCulloch's views of contrac? tion and an early resumption of specie pay? ments, encountered loud objections t'vtfm all sides. The bond required of inspectors of dis? tilleries is 65,000. The amendment abolishing the cotton, tax was rejected by 05 to 05. Patterson announced his intention to disregard the joint resolution of the Ten? nessee Legislature requesting his resigna? tion. A half million Las been appropriated for improvement of the Mississippi River at Des Monies. W?stiington, February 2G.?In the Senate, John D. Defrees, of Indiana, was elected Congressional printer. The Educational Bureau bill, providing for a commissioner, at a salary of $4,000, and three clerks, at the respective salaried of ?2,000, $1,800 and $1,000, was favora? bly considered. In connection therewith'. Sunnier said he was anxious that this gen? eration should be dignified as muchas'pos sible. The Senate considered the army appro priation bill, and passed it, with a provi? sion disbanding and disarming the inilitid in the unrepresented States, lie-organi? zation is forbidden,- until Congressionally authorized. It goes to the House for con? currence. 5'J5(),000 was appropriated to construct a bridge at Hock Island. In the House, Wcntworth's Committee reported that the testimony did not effect the integrity of the President, nor call in question the integrity of any member of the House. The report was received with shouts oflangliter. The report was tabled and the Committee discharged. It was universally regarded as a farce. Benjamin m'tved that a salute of one hundred guns be fired in honor of the Georgetown victory, which the Speaker ruled out of order. The fortification appropriation bill was" passed. The joint resolution removing the Naval Academy from Annapolis was defeated. Senator Wilson authorizes, on Wilson's authority, a denial that Grant is opposed to the pending reconstruction measures.. The radicals elect seven out of eleven Georgetown Couucihncn. The President has been petitioned to appoint Fred. Douglass Bureau Couiriiis-j sioner. The Georgetown vote was 1,010; radi? cals 9^0. The conservative negroes voted solely for Welsh. The election was very orderly. A Snake in a Stove.?WcJearn that a gentleman residing in our town some few days ago purchased a lot of old con? demned sleepers from the railroad compa? ny, for the purpose of using them as fire? wood. They were accordingly conveyed; to his residence, and sawed into suitable lengths for the stove and wero used as1 fuel, and as such gave great satisfaction: until one evening the good wife placed one of tho pieces in the stove, when a very strange and remarkable occurrence' happened. Shortly after placing the wood in the stove her attention was attracted by a singular noise in the room.' not urn like the crying of a child or the moaning of a person in distress, andoti searching for the cause of it ascertained that the noise proceeded from the stove, and be? coming somewhat alarmed, called in her husband and acquainted hint of the mat? ter. The gentleman at once advanced td the stove, ami on opening the door a strange and fearful sight met his aston-. ished gaze?right in the very midst of the blazing flames was a large blade snake writhing in agony, and uttering the pite? ous noise which had attracted the atten? tion of the lady. The snake slowly crawl? ed out of the stove and dropped on tho I floor a veritable k- fiery serpent." and in a few seconds expired. The snake had doubtlesn entered a?cavity in the sleeper, in the fall, and relapsing into a torpid state, ras only aroused when encompass j ed by the flames.?Jlauovcr Pa. Spectator: ? Esteem not the man who beasts of his universal and impartial love. lid m ho has no special fondness for country has seldom much for cither. Jn other words, the man who likes every pcrsori and every place, the same loves no person! at all. ? 2>o man can avcid his own company ?so he had best make it as good aspoi-* bible;