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HOYT &* CO., Proprietors.
ANDERSON O. H., S. C, THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 25, 1875.
VOLUME X.?NO. 36.
The Veto of the Heating Debt B?1.
Bon. R. B. Elliott, Speaker of the Bouse of
Representatives :
Sir?I return herewith, without approval, to
the House of Representatives, in which it orig?
inated, an act entitled "An act to provide for
the settlement and redemption of certain
claims against the State."
In refusing to approve this act it is proper
cad necessary that I should state certain facts
connected with.the history of the act. When
I entered upon my present office it was my pur
, pose to oppose any and all plans for the pres?
ent settlement of any of the various classes of
claims which constitute the so-called floating
Indebtedness of the State, except the bills of
the Bank of the State. This latter class of
claims having been judicially declared by the
supreme court of the United States to consti?
tute a valid contract with the State, capable of
enforcement by the courts, and actually en?
forced in the cases before that court, I regarded
it as dishonest and scandalous to delay longer
to provide for meeting those obligations. This
class of claims was likewise pressing by legal
means upon the State, and seemed certain in !
the near future to produce disaster unless time-1
ly provision was made for their gradual pay?
ment. With reference to all other classes of
daisas, I was persuaded that the State had the
right, and that her condition justly warranted
her in postponing settlement until she could
recover in some degree from the effects of a
long course of extravagance and profligacy in
the expenditure of public funds and the con?
tracting of public obligations?at least until
we should be able again to pay our current ex?
penses during the year in which they arose. I
was convinced that the people should not be
taxed for the present year to an amount beyond
the actual requirements of the public service,
conducted on an honest and economical scale.
My efforts were, therefore, mainly directed to
the work and duty of stopping all unnecessary
expenses, and restoring our government to a
cash basis in its transactions, leaving the past
unsettled claims against the State to await the
better times which the course indicated would
surely hasten.1
Especially did I regard this act aj the only
admissible policy to be pursued towards those
classes of indebtedness which are covered by
the present act, because they were believed to
' be largely tainted with illegality and frauds.
I was, however, strongly pressed to consent
to some measure looking to the adjustment of
the last named classes of claims. Finally, be?
ing convinced by my own observation that
some plan would be adopted, I turned my at?
tention and efforts towards securing the adop?
tion of a plan which would afford the best pro?
tection to the State and be least burdensome to
the people. In modifying my policy in this
respect I had the counsel and advice of the
best men of both political parties, who agreed
with me that, under all the circumstances, it
was wise to endeavor to secure the best possiblo
measure.
Acting with these aims and views, I gave my
Consent to a pian which embraced, first, the ap?
pointment by the Governor of a commission of
three, with power to audit all claims of the
classes referred to, rejecting in whole or in part
any claim presented upon any grounds satisfac?
tory to them; second, the reduction of all
claims thus approved by the commission to
one-half of their nominal value; and, third,
the payment of the claims when thus reduced
in four equal annual instalments.
Persuaded, as I was, that these claims were
largely fraudulent, I regarded that feature of
' the measure which provided for the appoint?
ment of the commission as by far the most
vital one. Without a commission whose char?
acter and ability would make the examination
of the claims a work of searching vigilance
and unquestionable honesty, the measure would
be an atrocious and patent fraud. With a
proper commission the other features of the
tieasdrefseemed to me to be rensonnhlo. ?
. Such a measure was introduced in the House
of Representatives, and was passed by that
House. In the Senate, for reasons which
have not been explicitly stated, the measure
was changed by naming the three members of
the commission. The names inserted by the
Senate were changed by the House of Repre?
sentatives, the changes were concurred in by
the Senate, and the act as thus modified is sub?
stantially the act which is now before me.
Recurring now to the circumstances and mo?
tives which led. me to consent to the measure
in its original form, I am compelled to say that
changes of circumstances have taken place
since I was consulted concerning this measure,
sufficient of themselves to warrant an entire
change of attitude on my part, apart from the
complete change made by the most essential
feature of the measure. The response given by
the General Assembly to my efforts to enforce
?a policy of rigid retrenchment and the reform
in onr public expenditures hps not met my ex?
pectations. The passage of the Legislative ap?
propriation act, the failure to cut down appro?
priations to their lowest reasonable limit in the
general appropriation act, the defeat of the bill
reducing the salaries of public officers, and the
Eassage of a multitude of miscellaneous claims,
ave rendered it impossible for me to consent
to add another dollar to the weight of taxation
which will now oppress the people of the State.
' In- addition to what has been specified, the pas?
sage already of acts for the levy of special taxes
in no less than fourteen of the counties of the
State?these special taxes ranging from one
?and one-half mills to three mills on the dollar
^-and the prospect of the passage of many more
similar acts, is sufficient of itself to make my
approval of the present measure an act, in my
jjudgment, of unpardonable injustice to all those
whose interests I am sworn to protect.
The supply bill for the present fiscal year has
not yet reached me, but as it passed the House
cf Representatives it provided for taxes amount?
ing to eleven and seven-tenths mills en the dol?
lar for general State purposes. Adding to this
;in most of the counties six mills for regular and
special county taxes, and from one to three
mills for local school taxes, we have an aggre
' ?ate of taxation wholly without precedent, as
it is without justification. To all this are yet
to be added the taxes for town, villsgeand mu?
nicipal purposes?in some instances amount?
ing to more than all the taxes for all other pur?
poses.
Nothing will induce me to contribute to swell
ibis already intolerable burden of taxation.
Sat if you look at the character of the claims
covered by this act, there is nothing in general
to commend to favor and scarcely to toleration.
Included in the vast mass, there are, doubtless,
honest and just claims. There is no donbt,
moreover, that many of the present holders of
, these claims are suffering by the delay in their
payment. For all such I have profound sym?
pathy, and would gladly do anything reasona?
ble to relieve them. But speaking generally of
the vast majority of these claims, what are they,
and what do they represent ? They are, for the
most part, the unpaid balance of the certificates
issued during the last four years, under the
fuise of legislative expenses of various kinds,
hat certificates for legislative expenses have
heen made the cover for vast frauds no man
will dispute. They are universally regarded as
the last culminating evidences of a prevailing
system of corruption which has disgraced our
State and offended the nation. The State has
already paid on account of such claims an ag?
gregate amount which, if we were not familiar
with the facts, would pass the bounds of be?
lief.
Since the regular session of the General As?
sembly for 1870-71, the State had paid prior to
the presents session, on account of legislative
expenses, the vast sum of $1,661,000. Accord?
ing to the registry already made by the clerks
of the two houses, under a recent resolution of
the General Assembly, there are still outstand?
ing claims of the classes embraced by the pres?
ent act to the amount of $883,000, of which
amount $500,000 consists of claims for legisla?
tive expenses. Is there never to be an end to
the payment of such expenses ? Is the fact
that such claims are outstanding to be success?
fully pleaded in justification for their payment
without regard to present ability of our peo?
ple?
j I speak, therefore, with accuracy as well as
with justice when I say that these claims, as a
whole, do not constitute an obligation which
the State is bound to recognize or liquidate
until her honest and valid indebtedness and
the annual expenses of her government have
been fully met. Certainly they cannot, with
my consent, be made the occasion of a levy of
taxes in addition to the unprecedented amount
already levied for the present year.
But, if I could overlook all other objections
to the act, there remains one objection which
would, under any circumstances, forbid my
approval of the act. I mean the character, as
a whole, of the commission named in the act.
Upon this point I speak with a reluctance
which all just men will appreciate, but I am
a public officer, bound to discharge an impera?
tive public duty, and while I spoak with re?
luctance, I must speak with perfect plainness.
The commission named does not, as a whole,
command my confidence for the work assigned
to it. I am equally confident it does not, as a
whole, command the confidence of the public
for that work. The duties required of the
commission demand the highest character for
intelligence, honor and incorruptibility which
the State can furnish. By no fault or agency
of mine I am forced to declare that, in my
judgment, the commission named in the act
does not meet that demand. The amounts in?
volved are too great, the frauds believed to be
involved in the claims to be examined are too
widespread and pervading, the temptations to
collusion and bribery are too powerful, to al?
low me to consent to placing these duties in the
hands of any man whose circumstances and
associations excite the faintest doubt of his
inflexible determination to stand as and insur?
mountable barrier to the further advances
of corruption and fraud.
The views now expressed compel me to with?
hold my approval of the present act. I should
be blind if I had not become fully aware that
my action will give deep offense to many mem?
bers of the General Assembly. I regret this,
but I trust the lesson is nearly learned by all
that public duty is my only master. It is not
my nature to seek or enjoy conflicts, especially
with those with whom I have had pleasant
f>ersonal or political relations, but there is no
oss or failure which I seriously dread, except
the failure to see my duty and the loss of cour?
age to do it. Very respectfully,
D. H. Chamberlain,
Governor South Carolina.
Commercial Fertilizers.
Correspondents in various parts of the State
write to know if commercial fertilizers pay.
The question is much easier asked than an?
swered. We should want to know first who is
to use the fertilizer, and secondly what fertili?
zer is to be used.
In regard to the first point, we remark that
any good standard fertilizer in the hand of a
good farmer will pay a reasonable profit, and
no fertilizer in the hands of a poor farmer
J-Melds much profit. We had rather risk the
and without any' fertilizer under the manage?
ment of a poor tenant than to furnish him the
very best fertilizer. We should expect iu auy
event to lose money, and the less the expendi?
ture the smaller the loss.
To fertilize heavily with anything necessarily
implies a diminution of the acreage in order
that the cultivation may be thorough, and the
farmer who risks his money upon broad fields
half cultivated may expect to lose, whether cot?
ton is high or low or his fertilizer good or bad.
It is a question of first importance to decide as
to how the farm is to be cultivated, and upon
the decision of this question depends the an?
swer to the other.
Let every farmer before he decides to buy a
fertilizer, decide how many acres his stock and
hands can manage properly, and in no event
would we advise more than twenty-five acres to
the mule in corn and cotton where money in
the purchase of fertilizers is at stake. Mr.
Dixon may manage fifty with his broad sweeps,
but in our experience we would expect more
bales from twenty-five well cultivated, than fifty
cultivated as one mule could do it. As cotton
is cultivated by the majority of negro tenants,
we are inclined to the opinion that to purchase
fertilizers involves a loss. On the oti?er hand,
to cultivate cotton as it should be cultivated,
there is no expenditure that yields as great a
percentage as the money invested in good fer?
tilizers.
In reference to the second point. We have
not so many complaints to make about fertili?
zers as some others. It is true that we have
found some better tnan others, and in our com?
parative experiments we could mention at least
two fertilizers whose standard in our judgment
has not been rigidly maintained.
We have no doubt that heavy losses have oc?
curred by the use of bogus articles under high
sounding names, and farmers should be careful
what fertilizers they buy.
The say-so of an agent is not a sufficient
guarantee for the character of a fertilizer, and
every farmer should test yearly at least several
standard fertilizers by absolute experiment, and
buy only those which prove to be good, and
discard at once any fertilizer which does not
maintain year by year its character.?Oor. Bib?
lical Recorder.
? Rev. Mr. Frothingham has decided that
there is no such country as hell, and much
satisfaction is expressed in certain circles that
the vexed problem has been so settled. We
are B?rry for Frothingham and all others who
have taken to this sweet morsel, for they will
discover their error when it is too late. If
there be no such place, where will the ungodly
and the delinquent subscribers go ? ^
? When a girl crops her front hair and pulls
it down over her forehead like a Mexican mus?
tang, and then ties a piece of red velvet around
her neck, who can wonder at the number of
pale-faced young men that throw away their
ambition and pass sleepless nights trying to
raise down on their upper lips ?
? A dry goods clerk in an Iowa city, lately
dropped senseless behind the counter while
waiting on customers. The female customer,
for whom he had pulled down every bolt of
calico on the shelves, quietly requested the
proprietor to remove the incumbrauce and
send on a fresh clerk.
Mortality of the Races.
Some time ago mention was made of the re?
markable mortality among the colored people
of Charleston, South Carolina, as compared
with the mortality among the whites, the basis
used for the comparison being weekly returns
covering less than a month. Still more strik?
ing results are presented by the health officer
of Charleston in the returns for the year. The
death of whites during the year numbered
718; colored 1,230. The estimated white pop?
ulation is 24,0u0. That of the colored is 26,
000. Thus the ratio of deaths is one for every
23 whites, and one for every 21 colored. The
health officer says in his report that, "Previous
to the war consumption among the blacks was
of rare occurrence, and then only among the
well marked scrofulous diathesis of the African
descendant." The increase of the disease is
ascribed to exposure, dissipation, want of
proper nutrition, clothing and beddijig, and
the health officer says that the only hope of
saving the race from the fate of the American
Indians is in securing to them moral, religious
and industrial education. That this fear of
their dying out in that locality is not an idle
one is shown not only by the general death
rate of the race, but particularly by the death
' rate among children under five years of age.
The proportion of colored still born to whites
was last year as 6 to 1; the proportion of deaths
under five years was as 2 to 1, and this in a
community almost equally divided by two ra?
ces. Carpetbagism and Congressional lcgisla
tiou of the sort fashionable with the dominant
party for the South will never better, but add
to this deplorable condition of the colored peo?
ple.
The above we find in the Savannah Adver?
tiser.
It was predicted by all thinking, unpreju?
diced men who were familiar with the negro
race, that freedom to them sealed the fate of
the negroes in this couutry. Under the most
favorable circumstances the negro, as a freeman
in this country, would have stood a poor
chance of surviving?indeed, it would have
been only a question of time at last, as to the
existence of the race here. A race inferior in
every respects cannot flourish and increase in
the same country with one superior. This is
pened and it never will, because it is contrary
to nature. The strenger race must and will
inevitably survine the weaker. It takes time
to settle the problem as to which will survive
and to shew that both cannot, but it is only a
question of years. The statistics in Charleston
aro probably far more favorable for the negro
than they would be any where else on the
contiuent. There is everything there in his
favor. The climate suits him admirably, and
there is no disease to which he is liable. On
the contrary, there are many diseases there and
in that locality very unfavorable to the exis?
tence of the white man. Yellow fever, which
is peculiarly fatal to the white race, prevails
occasionally, and the negro is blessed with a
peculiarity of constitution which gives him
almost complete immunity from the disease.
The country fever, which is fatal to the white
man of the city who dares to spend a single
night in the rural districts in the vicinity,
rarely or never attacks the negro. So with all
the levers and malarial diseases to which the
white man is peculiarly liable. Then he has
been not only free in Charleston, but has ruled
the city since the war. All the legislation of
the State has been favorable to the negro and
against the white man. Yet, in despite of all
these and many other favorable circumstances,
the negro does not thrive even in Charleston.
Then there is another point on which the
above article does not touch?that is, the ratio
of births in the two races. The statistics
would prove much more startling if there could
be obtained a proper record of the births which
occur in the two races.
In the rural districts we have no doubt that
there is a heavier percentage of deaths amongst
the blacks than in Charleston. Although there
are no records kept of deaths or births in this
State, we know positively, and every intelligent
man in this section of the country knows, that
the death rate amongst the negroes is simply
fearful, while the births amongst them are very
few as compared to the whites or as to the
black race when in a state of slavery. It was
a well established fact that the negro race, in
a state of slavery in this country, was wonder?
fully prolific, and increased in a much greater
ratio than the whites.
A visit to the cemeteries of the two races
anywhere in this section will tell a fearful but
true story at a glance. Make inquiry amongst
the intelligent people through the rural dis?
tricts all over this land, and they will all tell
the same tale, and state the same facts as to
the fearful mortality amongst the negroes;
This is peculiarly the case amongst the child?
ren. All who are conversant with the facts
will say that few children are born, and a very
large number of those born die in infancy.
This fearful death rate amongst the children is
due to several causes. There is a great want
of proper care of the children, and a most
shameful and revolting neglect of them on the
part of the parents, while infanticide is well
kuown to be of the most frequent occurrence.
It would shock and appall a civilized being to
know the actual number of children destroyed
by mothers amongst the negroes of the South.
? Washington (Ga.) Gazette.
An Echo from the Past.?The following
remarks made by the girted Sargent S. Prentiss,
when representing Mississippi in Congress, ap?
ply with equal force and strength to the abused
and prostrate States of the South to-day :
"Upon alt the States I do most solemnly
call for the justice to another which they would
expect for themselves. Let this cup pass from
Mississippi. Compel her not to drink its bit?
ter ingredients, lest some day even handed jus?
tice should command the poisoned chalice to
your own lips. You sit here in judgment upon
the most sacred right of a sister State; that
which is to a State what chattily is to a woman
or honor to a man. Should vou decide against
her, you tear from her brow che richest jewel
which sparkles there, and foi ever bow her head
in shame and dishonor. But if your determi?
nation is taken ; if the blow must fall ; if the
violated Constitution must bleed, I have but
one request to make. When you decide that
she cannot choose her own representation, at
the self-same moment blot from the star-span?
gled banner of the Union the bright star that
glitters to the name of Mississippi, but leave
the stripe behind, a fit emblem of hor degra?
dation."
? The Troy Times says : "A pretty good
story is told of one Go v. Tilden \s staff. It is
said that when the individual referred to first
presented himself en militaire to his wife and
little daughter, the latter, after gazing at him
in wonder for a few minutes, tnrncd to her
mother and exclaimed, 'Why, ma, that's not a
real soldier; it's pa!'"
? Twelve persons stopped at a hotel over
night. On asking their bill the next morning,
they found it to be $12. The old men paid $4
each, the old women $2 each, the young men
50 ceuts each, and the young women 2-^ cents
each. How maDy of each-was in this crowd?
a fact Ion;
settled. It never has hap
Sefintor Norwood on the Louisiana Question.
Senator Norwood's speech on the Louisiana
question has been printed in pamphlet form,
and merits a wide circulation. We quote the
i concluding paragraphs, which indicate theabil
ity and eloquence of the effort:
The President tells the people of Louisiana,
"You must obey the law." Kellogg, with
"damnable iteration," like a prating narrot, re?
peats, "obey the law," and Senators rise and
say the people of Louisiana must "obey the
law." What law, Mr. President, are the peo?
ple of Louisiana to obey? In 1872 they held
an election, and by the report of your commit?
tee, the candidate of the Conservatives had the
majority, and yet, through the order of a drunk?
en judge, the government of that State was
overthrown, and the President said, "You must
obey the law." Kellogg usurped the governor?
ship of that State, anoTthe President held him
by force of arms, and said to the people of
Louisiana, "You must obey the law." I have
shown you to-night that they have never resis?
ted a law of the United States; that they
have raised no arm ; they have not even raised
their voice except against the usurpation of
Kellogg. Their submission has been more
sublime than any heroism that was ever dis?
played upon the field of battle. They have
obeyed the law. They were encouraged and
told last year that they should have a fair and
honest election. They obeyed the law and
held their election peaceably and without in?
timidation, and it is conceded that the Con?
servatives carried the State by an overwhelm?
ing majority. Kellogg organized his returning
board. A majority of twenty-nine was over?
turned by that board; the Legislature was
literally stolen from the Democrats, and Re?
publicans defeated in the election were seated
by Federal troops, and yet the President says,
"You must obey the law."
The Senator from New York advises them
to go to work. They were at work; but, says
Bishop Wilmer, without contradiction, "theft
of the products of the soil became so general
that production had to be abandoned." They
worked and filled their coffers with money to
educate whites and blacks, and the State offi?
cials, guardians of these wards, stole the fund.
The devotees of Bel, the heathen god, were re?
quired by their king to make offerings by day
to satisfy the appetite of his idol by night, and
his high priests entered by night and stole
their offerings from the temple. So the people
of Louisiana have been plundered and robbed
by the guardians of law and order for six years
past, and they are now mocked in their calam?
ity by the advice to make more money for the
thieves to fatten on.
Were I called on to counsel that stricken
and deserted people, I would appeal to them in
behalf of themselves and their children to bear
for a brief time longer the ills they have; I
would appeal to them in the name of liberty,
and of forty million souls, to abide in patience
the verdict of the people in the centennial year
of our Republic. Their destiny is our own.
If their thraldom shall not be broken, the
prison wall must expand and embrace us all.
We cannot live half free, half bondmen. The
advice to them may seem cruel, it may be sel?
fish, because they hold the d-.stiny of us all in
their hands, for the flame of revolution kindled
there will spread t.o the confines of the Repub?
lic. I would beg them to believe that even
their
Existence may be home, and the deep root
Of life and suffrnnce find ita firm abode
In bare and desolated homes. Mute
The camel bears its heaviest load,
And the wolf dies in silence. Not bestowed
In rain should such example be. If they,
Things of savage and ignoble mood,
Can suffer and endure, we of noble clay
Can temper it to bear?it is but for a day.
Yes, sir; I believe as strongly as I believe
in the progressive destiny of mankind that the
justice of the great American heart, like an
angel of mercy, will go to the rescue of Loui?
siana on the morning of our centennial day,
and will roll away the stone which now en?
tombs her. and that she will rise and come
forth to walk the earth again in full commun?
ion with her glorious sisterhood.
Thurlow Weed on Civil Rights.?The
New York Herald contains a letler i'rom Hon.
Thurlow Weed, the sagacious politician ard
veteran journalist, who predicts that the civil
rights law will prove as egregious a failure as
the civil service reform, which for the time
being was a plausible and popular experiment.
Mr. Weed says:
I made an earnest but ineffectual effort to ar?
rest the progress through Congress of a like
plausible and popular, but most pernicious at?
tempt to constrain "social equality" between
two radically and unchangeably distinct and
different races. Most of the Republican jour?
nals admit that the civil rights bill, as intro?
duced by the late Senator Sumner, contained
this obnoxious feature, but that it had been
stricken out, and the bill as it passed the House
of Representatives was free from such objec?
tions. This is partly true and partly erroneous.
The hotel, restaurant and theatre provisions in
the bill, to which I objected before it passed
either house, relate distinctly to the social as
well as the civil rights of the parties interested.
And this will everywhere be the judicial con?
struction and the practical effect of the provis?
ions referred to.
Mr. Sumner was a monomaniac on the sub?
jects to which his civil rights bill referred. If
his extreme views and measures on all ques?
tions connected with slavery before, during and
after the rebellion had not been met and modi?
fied by his calmer colleagues, the Union would
have been imperrilled if not lost. So far did
the ultra teachings of Senators Sumner, Wado,
Chandler, &c., alarm the Northern people in
LSG2 that the Union party lost the State of
New York and was almost beaten in several
other States. Nothing .then saved Maine but
the good sense of her Republican State Com
mitte in muzzling radical speakers.
But while it is true that the worst features of
Mr. Sumner's civil rights bill were stricken
out, enough remains to occasion widespread
popular annoyance and mischief. And in all
the collisions, complications and litigations re?
sulting from it, those whom the law was de?
signed to benefit will be the sufferers. The
civil rights law will bring nothing but disap?
pointment and vexation to the colored men.
After a few abortive attempts to enforce it
things will settle down in the old way, leaving
questions of social equality to rcgulatethem
sclves. The best that can be hoped for is that
the law will become a dead letter. Meantime,
what is most to be regretted is that the Repub?
lican party will be held responsible for what?
ever of obloquy impractical legislation has or
may provoke.
? Dr. Barnes, when ninety-five years of age,
slept during a sermon, and on being joked
about it by a friend, insisted that he had been
awake all the time. "Well, then," said his
friend, "can you tell me what the sermon was
about?" "Yes, I can," he answered; "it was
about half an hour long."
? The cocoanut tree has been successfully
planted in Florida, atid, ns it begins to produce
its fruit in seven years from its planting, its
products may soon be sent from that State to
the northern markets.
A Philadelphia Mystery.
Somebody or something has carried terror
into the hearts of a number of Philadelphia
housekeepers by means of mysterious marks
put upon the houses by an unknown agency.
The Bulletin of last Friday contains the follow?
ing account of it:
The marking still goes on, notwithstanding
fhe police have been instructed to look out for
the markers, and are supposed to have been
doing so. The mystery is very deep. One
policeman up town says that he examined the
front of the houses on his beat about 11 o'clock
p. m., and saw no marks. In half an hour af?
terward nearly every house was marked, but
by whom that policeman didn't know.
The marks comprise crosses, lines, death
heads, figures, strokes, numbers, etc. In some
instances rows of houses have been marked
without a single omission. In others single
houses have been skipped as if by de?
sign. The general place of marking is under
the bell-pull, or the bricks under the window
sill. The article used is principally chalk,
but sometimes paint or tar has been rubbed
in.
Various theories are advanced in regard to
the object of the marking. The first marks
seem to have been discerned in Kensington,
and they were attributed to men who were go?
ing about selling shoe blacking. The idea was
that one man marked the house he had visited,
so that the others would not go there. Huck?
sters next came in for the blame, but on some
streets where they always went to back doors
the fronts of the houses were marked, and, of
course, somebody else had to do that. Then
the beggars were thought of. It is known that
these fellows are in league, and generally notify
each other of the treatment they receive at
different houses. What had heretofore been
done by words was now put into more practical
shape, and by means of the signs on the houses,
a "tramp" could see at a glance what he might
expect. The latest theory is that newspaper
carriers have caused the mischief by placing
the marks on the houses. The explanation is
i that by the marks trouble will be avoided by
assistants, and when change of carriers take
place, the difference in the character of the? I
marks representing different papers. An up?
town lieutenant of police asserted positively,
this morning, that the carrier for the Public
Record has sold his route and then marked the
houses along it so that his successor could see
where to leave the paper. Mayor Stokely re?
ceived some letters about the matter this morn?
ing, but they do not throw any light upon the
mysterious subject. He didn't seem to be
much troubled about the mysterious "upris?
ing," but he would like his policeman to get
hold of some of the markers, and thus allay
the excitement.
A few days will probably bring out the full
explanation of the whole affair.
The same paper thus editorially comments
upon the mystery:
The fright existing in this city in conse?
quence of the presence of mysterious marks
upon many dwelling-houses is even more gen?
eral and wide-spread than was indicated in our
mention of the matter. The marking contin?
ues, and in all parts of the city nervous old
ladies, superstitious servant girls and children
look at the cabalistic signs and shudder to
think that the day of doom is rapidly approach?
ing. Meantime, with an apathetic disregard
of the gravity of the impending crisis,
the Governor has manifested no inten?
tion to place the military under arms; the
mayor has not distributed extra catridges
among the policemen, and the ringleaders of
this conspiracy have not been arrested. But
we are not so much surprised at this as at the
fact, disclosed by this panic, that there are a
good many thousand grown people in this city
who have not as much common sense as might
be looked for in babies that have just learned
to talk.
The Perils of Elopement.?The folly of
what may be called the Kentucky matrimonial
system is just being exemplified in the Louis?
ville Chancery Court. Mrs. Belle Oldham
wants a divorce from her husband, to whom
3he was clandestinely married in February,
1874. She was then eighteen, old enough to
have common sense, if she was ever to acquire
that important endowment, and was living com?
fortably, almost luxuriously, with her widowed
mother. Yet she was persuaded to leave mo?
ther and home, and go to Indiana, where, by
his false representations, a license was pro?
cured. His engagements were not kept, for he
has provided her only with a mean abode, in a
disreputable locality; has treated her brutally,
and has not furnished her with the necessities
of life. She has been compelled to apply to
her mother for protection and support; hence,
this petition. As the evidence is not before us
in detail, we cannot say how deep are the
grievances which the unhappy woman has been
called upon to endure. Yet, she alleges no
criminal acts on his part, except in getting a
license fraudulently, and to this she must have
been privy in some degree. No doubt she has
found herself the loser by her rash step, yet
marriage is too solemn a compact to be nullified
except for the gravest causes, and such are not
specified. Had they existed they probably
would have been mentioned. As the case now
appears, few tribunals would accord a release
from the nuptial bond. One may sympathize
deeply with woes, even if they are the result
of folly, still, no woman of thought or judg?
ment 'could anticipate any other result than
has occurred, where disobedience and trickery
were the means adopted to evade parental cau?
tion and the wise mandates of the law.
A Severe Winter.?The winter of 1874-5
will certainly long be remembered by "the
oldest inhabitant" as one of the most severe
in the century. One who has not noticed in
the newspaper reports of the world how gener?
al the cold has been diffused, is apt to think
that our own experience has been an excep?
tional one. But this is not true. Within a
few days, says an exchange, we have published
reports from nearly every part of the North
American continent, showing a low thermome?
ter and heavy storms. In New Mexico, the
other day. a stage-driver, holding his reins, was
stone dead with cold. In Arizona, semi-tropi?
cal heats have given way to uncomfortable
colds, and snow falls in unaccustomed places.
California plains are flooded by freshets and
the mountains are buried in snow. Although
the overland trains have not been delayed, the
cold on the Pacific railroad has been great. In
Wyoming, spirits congealed in the open air, |
and snow has caused much loss of life in Utah. [
The same is true of Canada. Sandwich Island J
papers complain that the natives, accustomed
to airy garb, are shivering in the breezes, and \
Australian newspapers make a similar com- \
plaint of their country. It has been a winter
of cold in Europe, and of storms and disasters
at sea. We should hope never to see its like
again.
? The ghost of Noah Webster came to a i
spiritual medium in Alabama, not long since,
and wrote on a slip of paper. "Itistite times." j
Noah was right, but we are sorry to see he has
gone back ou his dictionary.
About the Grangers.
It has been asserted that the Grange move
men is in its decadence, and that the interest
which was formerly so generally felt in the
Order is rapidly dying out. The facts scarcely
justify the assertion. The monthly bulletin of
the National Grange, dated the 1st instant,
shows the total number of Subordinate Granges
in operation as 22,547, the aggregate member?
ship of which might be estimated all the way
from 1,250,000 to 2,000,000. The number of
Subordinate Granges organized in 1874 was
11,941, or about 2,000 more than were organ?
ized during the six years' existence of the
Order prior to the year named. The amount
received during the year 1874, by the National
Grange from Subordinate Granges, in theshape
of charter fees, &c, was $179,005, against
$161,615.43 received prior to that year. Du?
ring the existence of the Order 93 Granges
have consolidated, 31 have become defunct,
and 111 have had their charters revoked. The
cost of materials sent out to Subordinate
Granges by the National Granges, in 1874,
was- ?70,451.90. This data, which is obtained
from a trustworthy source, is pretty conclusive
evidence that the Grangers are neither dead
nor sleeping, and that the accessions to this
Order last year were larger than those of all
previous years combined. The time must
come, of course, when there will be a falling
off in the number of new Granges organized,
since in many of the States such organizations
exist in every county, and there is no room for
more. Iowa, which for years led all other
States in the number of Granges, now stands
No. 3 on the list, with 2,003; Missouri with
2,016, and Indiana with 2,017, preceding her.
Illinois follows with 1,557, and next comes
Kentucky with 1,517, and Ohio with 1,149.
The Order still seems to flourish most in the
Southern and Western Stales. The great State
of New York has but 300 Granges, and Penn?
sylvania only 482; ^ew Jersey, 86; Connecti?
cut, 8, and Massachusetts but 86.? News and
Courier.
Good Commercial Paper.?A good story
is told of a Chicago dry goods salesman, who
has the reputation of being somewhat of a wag.
lie recently sold a bill of goods to a country
customer, who was believed to be a little shaky,
and was expected to commit justifiable insol?
vency as soon as he had disposed of his stock.
As it was the customer's intention to pay a part
of his acconnt with notes, which might prove
worthless, the salesman?so the story goes?
added here a little and there a little to the price
of the goods, so that when the purchase of some
two thousand dollars' worth had been made, of
which all but two or three hundred dollars
were paid in cash, there was no possibility of
the firm losing sympathy, even should the notes
go to protest. The tansaction concluded, the
customer besought the salesman to give him a
present of some sort, and the generous salesman
accordingly presented him a valuable red silk
pocket haudkerchif.
"That won't do," said the customer; "give
me a nice silk dress for my wife, or something
of that sort."
"Can't do it," responded the salesman; "but
I'll tell you what I'll do?I'll give you back
your notes."
"No," replied the customer, "hold on, I'll
take the handkerchief."
Insurance Policies.?The New York
Journal of Commerce urges upon parties who
suppose themselves securely insured to exam?
ine the "fine type" conditions of their fire
policies. It add&:
We were reminded of this necessity by a
recent case in which property was destroyed
and only part of the insurance could be collec?
ted because, in the other policy it was stipulated
that no other insurance should be made without
written consent endorsed. Another case within,
our acquaintance is that of an experienced and
generally trust-worthy agent insuring a piece
of property in two companies, and neglecting
this condition, so that one of the policies was
void from the beginning, and both would have
been if both had contained the condition. A
little extra vigilance on the part of the assured
in this case enabled him to give a statisfactory
auswer to the question, "are you insured?" but
how many of our readers would have answered
it, relying merely upon the payment of pre?
mium and possession of the policy, and not
have found out until burnt out that they were
not insured. Or, if not a sufferer by fire, that
they bad been paying a premium for the mere
possession of the worthless?no matter how
ornate?signatures of an insurance president
and secretary?
A Murderer Declines a Respite.?Maj.
W. W. Thornton, of Brenntsville Va., received
a letter from Gov. Kemper a few days ago
stating that application had been made to him
to respite Jessee Fouks, sentenced to be hung
next Friday, the 19th instant, for the murder
of the Herndon family, and requesting him to
seethe condemned man and ascertain if he
could, if such respite would be advisable.
Maj. Thornton visited Fouks and held a con?
versation with him, in which he reiterated his
guilt, and said he thought he ought to be hung.
On being informed that an effort was being
made to put off his execution for a short time,
Fouks said that he "did not desire it to be put
off, but wished the time was nearer at hand."
He prays almost continually in his waking
hours, night and day, but still says that he
has no evidence of his forgiveness from God
for the crime he has committed. Fouks was
visited on Tuesday last by a physician of
Fauquier County, who requested the prisoner
to give him his body after the execution, to
which the condemned man readily consented,
stating that it would be taken up by some
doctor anyhow. He said lie cared nothing for
the dody so he could save his soul.
Scotch View of the Beecher Case.?The
Fifeshire (Scotland) Journal, in noticing the
Tilton-Bcccher trial, indulges in the following
comments: "However it may end, it is almost
certain that the famed minister of Plymouth
Church, Brooklyn, has finished his professional
career. Casting aside all Moulton's and Til
ton's evidence as worthless, there is documen?
tary testimony enough to show that, if Mr.
Beecher were in any village in Fife he would bo
soused in a water-butt. We have not seen
Tilton's evidence ; we have, though, read that
of Moulton, who leaves the impression of being
a singularly clever man. All things are possi?
ble in America, and we should not wonder at
the report of his bearing in the witness box?
and it is lo be remarked that when he blows
his nose iic is reported?will cause him to run
for the J residencv. TO? are also bound to add
that there is nothing like tortuousness in his
very long statement and prodigious cross-ex?
amination. His attitude is straightforward,
and ne does not bend by a sentence."
? A man went into a drugstore and says he :
"I wish you would give me some Nancy Soda."
"Don't you mean Sal-soda?" said the clerk.
"Wall now, I don't know but you are right; I
knew 'twas a girl's name," said the searcher for
Sal.