The Representative. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 21, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 27, 1872 Page: 1 of 4
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"EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW."
VOL. 1.
GALVESTON, TEXAS, SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1872.
NO. 21
CJk ^egnsentatik
RIOHAIRZD JJELSON,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
Office: Twenty-fourth Street,
Between Market and Postoffice Sts
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Gen. Grant and Public Opinion.
The unanimous declaration in
favor of the nomination of Gen.
Grant by the Republican Con-
ventions of two such States as
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania,
is an event .which no amount of
misrepresentation can belittle.
It is all very well to sneer at it
as the result of office-holders'
manipulations, and to speak of
the members of the Conventions
as servile followers of interested
leaders, but the fact remains that
the ordinary representatives of
the Republican party in these
great States, speak for the Presi-
dent without a dissenting voice.
Is it to be presumed that, if any
considerable variance from the
expression was to be found in
the party, it could not make it-
self felt in the conventions? Is
it reasonable to suppose that in
bodies made up of delegates
from a large number of limited
districts, any serious opposition
to Gen. Grant could not secure
a single one of those district de-
legates $ Is it not evident, from
the fact that not one of such
delegate made his appearance,
that the great majority of the
party approved of the action
taken by the conventions"? It
must be remembered that the
machinery of party organization
is in the hands of the people;
that the people are accustomed
to its use ; that it has been the
only means—and a very effective
means, too, upon the whole—by
which they have carried into
effect their views and wishes
during the last twelve eventful,
chaDgeful years. Of course, it
is not perfect, and works some
injustice to minorities, but it has
been sufficiently elastic to ac-
complish, without material in-
terruption, the development of
the most progressive policy ever
adopted by a free nation.
Throughout the war, and during
the vexed period of reconstruc-
tion, the machinery of the party
was successively adapted to the
enforcement of the people's ad
vancing ideas on slavery, on the
relations of the State Govern-
ments to the National Govern-
ment, on the relative powers of
Congress and the Executive,
and later on the delicate subjects
of the national bonds and the
treatment of the revenue. Has
it suddenly lost all its virtue ?
Has this instrument, which
served so well in such a variety
of ways, all at once become in-
capable of performing the com-
paratively simple duty of selec-
ting a Presidential candidate ?
We do not believe it, and it is
plain that the Republicans of the
States which have spoken for
Gen. Grant do not believe it
either. It is only those who—
with consciousness of weakness,
and a sullen aversion to being
bound by an organization they
cannot control—have abandoned
the party methods in advance,
who profess to find those methods
suddenly inadequate to the task
of expressing the views of the
party. People who declare that
it is in the hands of the office-
holders, and that the party pre-
sents only a deceptive appear-
ance of strength, which will be
dissipated by the rude struggle
before it, talk as if a great party
were a motionless hulk, capable
of being honey-combed by hidden
rottenness, to be revealed only
when it is sought to take it into
action. But a great party is
nothing of the kind. It is a
practical organization of freedom
and depends for its vitality on
their constant concurrence in
action continually brought into
question. When actual distur-
bance occurs in such an organi-
zation, it shows itself in the ope-
ration of the ordinary machinery
—in caucuses, conventions, com-
mittees, and no pressure of
patronage can prevent it. Did
the Whig Party, or the Demo-
cratic Party of the ante-war
times, go to pieces silently and
secretly ? And are the records
of their fate so obsolete that men
can hope to persuade the people
of to-day that the Republican
Party has become fatally dis-
rupted, and no sign has been
shown in any of its Conventions?
Eleven States have now ex-
pressed their preference for Gen.
Grant. These include Massa-
chusetts, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Rhode Island, Penn-
sylvania, Indiana, Maine, Ore-
gon, Florida, and Wisconsin.
The Connecticut, South Carolina
and Missouri delegations are
favorable to his nomination,
though without instructions.
What is the meaning of this re-
markable unanimity ? Is it
possible that it* is all artificial
and insincere? Or is it there-
suit of the same universal con-
viction of the fitness of the can-
didate for the place which gave
Mr. Lincoln his second term, and
Gen. Grant his first, and which
made so light of the schemes to
thwart the popular desire?—N.
Y. Times.
1865-1872.
If the Republicans who are at
present in league with the Cop-
perheads do not think it imper-
tinent, we will remind our read-
ers that seven years ago this
week, occurred an event which
will forever stand prominent in
history. On the 9th day of
April, 1865, the City of New
York, and the whole land, was
electrified by the publication of
the following telegram:
War Department, >
Washington, April 9—9 o'clock, A. M. $
To May. Gen. Dix, New York :
This Department has received
the official report of the surren-
der, this day, of Gen. Lee and
his army to Lieut. Gen. Grant,
on the terms proposed by Gen.
Graat. Details will be given as
speedily as possible.
Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War.
In a dispatch sent a half hour
later to the victorious General,
by Mr. Stanton, these words oc-
cur : " The thanks of this De-
partment and of the Government
and of the people of the United
States—their reverence and
honor have been deserved—will
be rendered to you and the brave
and gallant officers and soldiers
of your army for all time." Nor
did Mr. Stanton say more than
the truth. Yet, seven years
later, we find a busy and ob-
structive crowd of malcontents,
disappointed egotists and auda-
cious Presidency-seekers, resor-
ting to every trick and subtle
practice to blacken the great
fame of the victor of that day
which sealed the perpetuity of
the Republic, and established it
firm in its place aft one of the
greatest Powers of the world.
But the people are *ot so forget-
ful or ungrateful as the schem-
ing politician imagine. They
know the debt they owe the
modest soldier who crowned
their cause with victory, and
who not even turning aside to
enter in triumph the city he had
captured, forthwith proceeded to
reap the fruits of his victory, and
lend, his aid in relieving the
country of the heavy burden of
war expenses. Appomattox
courthouse has not 4 so entirely
faded from the memory of the
country as Mr. Greeley and Mr.
Schurtz may suppose, nor do the
people forget that one of the
greatest names in the history of
the American Union is that of
Grant.—JT. Y.
Railroad Progress,
Poor's Railroad* Manual for
1872 gives the number of utiles
of railroad ih operation in the
United States on , the 1st of
January last at 60,382, whereof
6,983 were constructed in 1871.
This is 738 more than were con-
structed in the year preceding,
and far exceeds the satire length
of all the Railroads built by our
people up to the cIom of 1848,
when 5,996 miles haa been con-
structed since the first one in
182V-30. The additional miles
of railway constructed iu 1871
were located as follows :
New England 560 Northern Central.992
Middle States 872 Southern Central. 179
Southern Atlantic.422 Northwestern....3,115
Pacfiic States 170 Territories. 395
The several States and Terri-
tories present the following ag-
gregates :
Miles constructed,
States, <f-c. in '71 Total Jan 1 '72
Maine 106 892
New Hampshire 64 800
Vermont 83 699
Massachusetts 117 1,597
Rhode Island 136
Connecticut 190 932
New York 348 4,276
New Jersey 160 1,285
Pennsylvania 364 5,020
Delaware - 224
Maryland 115 786
Columbia District of
West Virginia 98 485
Virginia ... 19 1,504
North Carolina 15 1,193
South Carolina 80 1,219
Georgia 95 1,940
Florida 12 458
Alabama 173 1,602
Mississippi 990
Louisiana 57 536
Texas 209 916
Arkansas 37 293
Tennessee 1,492
Kentucky 142 1,159
Ohio 174 3,712
Michigan 478 2,116
Indiana 340 3,517
Illinois 902 5,725
Wisconsin 314 1,839
Minnesota 451 1,523
Iowa 461 3,144
Nebraska 210 798
Missouri 508 7,508
Kansas 270 1,771
California 99 1,024
Nevada 16 600
Oregon 55 214
Arizona Territory
Colorado Territory... 76 444
Dakota Territory
Idaho Territory
Montana Territory...
New Mexico Territory
Utah Territory 364
Washington Territory 25 25 '
Wyoming Territory
Indian Territory 124 -
Total 6,983 60,382
It is calculated that 400,000
tuns of rails are annually re-
quired merely to keep in fair
condition the present railroads
of our country j but, as the old
rails are re-rolled into new ones,
perhaps 100,000 tuns of new iron
will suffice to keep up the present
tracks; but we want nearly
1,000,000 tuns more for the con-
struction of new and the exten-
sion of our present railroads.
We say, then, to Protectionists,
Free-Traders, and all others (if
others there be,) construct more
furnaces and more rolling-mills
at once! The world is short of
iron; consumption has outrun
production, carrying up the
price, not alone in the country,
but everywhere; and there is no
probability of a glut for two or.
three years to come. So pile up
the stone and timber and run out
more and more iron.—JV. Y.
Tribune.
Departure of Fred Doug
lass and Party.—Mr. Doug-
lass, and the party accompany-
ing him, consisting of Messrs.
Downing, Gibbs, Etters, and
George T. Douglass, were on
Friday escorted to the depot by
a. guard of honor, detailed from
the State militia.
General A. E. Barber, of the
third division, and staff, followed
by a detachment of the Second
Infantry, commanded by Lieut.
Colonel Peter Joseph, led the
column, followed by Lieutenant
Governor Pinchback, with Mr.
Douglass in a private carriage of
the former.; The other members
of the party came next, and Col.
James Lewis and a party of
friends accompanied them.
This was a deserved mark of
respect to the great abilities and
signal services of Mr. Douglass
by his political and personal
Mends in this State. After see-
ing the distinguished guests
safely on the train and on the
way to their Northern homes,
the escort marched into the city
in soldierly order, passing by the
Republican office, to which they
paid their respects.—N. O. Re-
publican.
The Audreeselies Murderer.
Joseph Lemettre expiated his
crimes on Tuesday morning on
the Place of Marquise, a small
town situated half way between
Boulogne and Calais. On Mon
day at ten o'clock p. m. the Abbe
Fennel, Aumonier of the Prison
of St. Omer, proceeded to Lemet-
tre's cell and informed him that
his several petitions had been
rejected and that he was to die
the next morning. Up to this
period Lemettre had always ex-
hibited, at his arrest, in prison,
during and since his trial, a
self-possession and calmness al-
most amounting to hardihood,
but on learning that all hopes of
escape were past all his bravado
forsook him, his teeth chattered
against each other, and he sank
on to his pallet, where he had to
be supported for a considerable
time. He eventually recovered
himself, and his great self-pos-
sossion never after forsook him.
The dismal procession reached
Marquise at half-past five o'clock,
and Lemettre, who had passed
the whole time in saying pray-
ers and connting his " chaplet,"
was temporarily lodged in a
private house, with the Aumo-
nier and Brethren of St. Leonard
who prayed with him and exhor-
ted him to die calmly. He ap-
peared perfectly resigned and
answered all questions put to
him. The Abbe Fennel,address-
ing those present, said that
Lemettre died as a Christian,
that he had confessed his crimes
and sought pardon of God and
man, and more especially did he
hope that his father would for-
give him. The persons present
were turned out, when the exe-
cutioner and his aids appeared
on the scene to proceed with
what the French term la toilette,
which consists in cutting the
hair short at the back of the head
and cutting oft the upper part of
the shirt, so that the chest and
shoulders are exposed; the arms
are next strapped alongside the
body, the legs also being strap-
ped. Lemettre underwent this
trying operation without moving
a muscle; and he was then im-
mediately put into the excution-
er's van, in which he was accom-
panied by the Aumonier and
Brethren of St. Leonard, to be
conveyed to the place of execu-
tion, close at hand. On arriving
at the guillotine Lemettre was
helped out of the van, and an
overcoat was removed, exhibi-
ting shoulders immensely broad
in proportion to his stature;
which bore witness to the great
strength he had so greatly
abused. The Aumonier, holding
up a crucifix, embracing Lemet-
tre, who was turning to deliver
himself to the executioner, when
an old priest came forward, to
whom Lemettre again expressed
his repentance, and begged of
him to obtain his father's for-
giveness for all the grief he had
caused him; the old priest bid
him farewell, two of the assist-
ants fastened him to the table,
another adjusted his head, and
like a flash of lightning the
knife fell, and with a dull thud
the criminal's head fell into a
basket, the time from his parting
with the old priest to the falling
of the head, being hardly three
seconds, to such perfection has
the guillotine been brought.
The trunk was immediately put,
into an oblong basket^ lined with
zinc, and the head removed from
the basket into which it had
fallen, the oblong basket was put
into the van which had brought
the criminal to execution, his
coffin, previously near the guilo-
tine, was put in with it, the five
Brethren of St. Leonard mounted
afterwards, and the closed van
started for the cemetery. Du-
ring the transit the brethren
placed the body in the coffin, and
on arrival at the cemetery all
was ready for the immediate
burial. Formerly there was an
executeur des liautes aeuvres, with
a salary of 1200f. a year, attach-
ed to each Cour d'Appel in
France, which were 26 in num-
ber, but as many of the men of
the 4th of September were ad-
vocates for the abolition of capi-
tal punishment, they availed
themselves of their being in
power to get rid of the guillotine
either by destroying the iron
work and selling the timber tor
fire woed, or by burning them, a.s
was the case in Paris. The va-
rious executioners having been
dismissed, only one, M. Hein-
derech, sometimes called by the
old name, Monsieur Paris, has
been re-appointed, and he will in
the future have to execute all
sentences of death throughout
France. A new guillotine has
been made under his personal
directions. The old style of
guillotine was a very cumbrous
affair, mounted on a scaffold to
which 13 steps, a fatal number,
gave access. The new one
stands on the ground, and is
much smaller than the old; when
taken to pieces it packs in the
van already referred to, together
with the baskets and other ap-
paratus ; there is a seat in front
for three persons, and with two
horses the executioner can go to
any part of the country; though
when the railway is available the
van travels on a truck.—London
Times.
A justice of the peace of Bell
county, rode ten miles to join a
loving couple, and for his service
was tendered a mess of turnip
greens. All they thought the
thing teas worth !
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Nelson, Richard. The Representative. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 21, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 27, 1872, newspaper, April 27, 1872; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth203081/m1/1/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .