The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-03-19

visions Of the amnesty. proclamation.
hof1esteads on ell forfeited estates in
ihsnrrectionary districts, all lands or
other real property, not included within
the limits Of any town or city, against
which proceedings q rem shall be in
stituted, and which shall be forfeited
under the confiscation acts heretofore
passed, to theamount of eighty acres
for each person 50 entitled, the occu-
patton to be in conformity to the home
stead act Of 1862
This is very important addition to
lie homestead act Of Tie last Congress,
and if it should pass, and the hopes of
the government are realized, it VIII
greatly aid in the. renovation and pop
ulation Of the Southern States. And
by. the way, the history of this home
stead measure is a. good example of
what persistence in an idea will accom-
plish. When Andrew Johnson brought
the measure before Congress in 1919, it
found one supporter besides himself
and that one was Geo. ". Julian. lie
did not despair, however, but urged it
upon every session Of the House while
there, and upon the Senate while there,
until he had the pleasure Of witness
ing its success before retiring from the
Senate in 1862 to again give his voice
and energies to the direction of affairs
in Tennessee.
Gen Scbencl1, chairman Of the Mill
tary Committee Of the House, has intro
duced a bill to. dismiss from the regular
and volunteer service. of the United
States all officers. who, by . certain pc
.riod, shall not be employed in positions
suitable. to their rank 1t is made the
special order for Tuesday next, when it
is expected that it will meet with bitter
opposition from the minority, as it is
believed by them to have been cOncOe-
ted with special reference to General
Mcclellan, upon whom they think it
exceedingly unfair that the majority
should heap so much Of what they
term persecution and calumny.
The bill gives a certain number Of
days grace, during which, it. is alleged
.such officers as are designed to be re-
tanned may be assigned to duty, while
those. not in favor. with the political
majority will be allowed to fall under
the bill Mcclellan is now, I believe,
senior Major General both of the regu-
-lar.and volunteer. fsrces.
Freedom has had. another triumph,
the Constitutional Convention of Yir-
ginia, now in. session at Alexandria,
having adopted, onaThursday last the
following propositions, VIZ.
]. Slavery and involuntary servitude,
except for crime, is hereby abolished
and prohibited in this State forever
,. Courts of competent jurisdiction
may apprentice miners Of African de
scent on like conditions provided by
the law spprenticing white children.
3. The General Assembly shall make
no law rs-estabHshing slavery or recog
niziHg property in human beings.
The adoption of these propositions
was announced by the ringing Of bells
and the,fring of a hundred guns, and
/ thus another State IS made theoretical
ly free, and will be practically free as
soon as 4repossessed2 by the national
forces. Virginia win no longer be the
great Aslave-breeding pasture" for the
cotton fields of the South
There is no local or personal gossip
worth communicating, for which your
readers may possibly feel thankful, as
IL shortens my letter The weather is
balmy and spriinglil1e, and the city and
its surroundings look more eslm and
peace-like than one would imagine, in
the presence of so much war element.
TENNESSEE.