The Republican journal., 1874-05-28
The Civil RIGHTS Bill.

in direction in which it was supposed
the utmost limit had been reached. Prac
tically it can never be enforced, because
all the feelings, prejudices if you will, re
volt against it. If we could get at the
real feelings and desires of the majority
by whose vote this extraordinary bill
passed. it would be found that desire tc
secure and control the negro vote was tho
main spring and moving power They
know it can never be enforced, and doubt
less they have secret hope that no at
tempt in that direction will be made
Their object is accomplished whether the
law is practicable or not The vote was
nearly strict party one, and the republi-
cans, along with the vote Of the negro
gained by kissing his long heel, must axe
the eNecration of the white races every
where.
1t is believed by many of the clcirest
legal minds Of the country that this bill
if it shall become law, will not stan. the
test of the Supreme Court, in the question
of its constitutionality 1t is sometimes
difficult to draw the line sharply between
the sovereign powers Of the state AMI OF
the United States; but nothing is clearer
than that to the state belong all those
matters which pertain to the control ing
and regulating of hotels, public convey
ance5 by land, theatres, schools, colleges,
asylums, &c But this act at one sWOOp
oveitJrns the practice of all the past. and
asserts the control of Congress over the
functions of the State, County and even
municipality. Still worse, if assumes con-
troll OF the jury box in the states, and pro-
vides penalties for the local officials who
shall exclude negroes from the draft OF
Jurors. The warrant for tlis interference
is protesScdlv found in a clause of the
fourteenth amenament-''C Congress shall
have power to enforce br appropriate
Legislation the provisions oi this article. .
But this cannot be held to utility the re-
mainder Of the instrument, nor authorize
an assumption Of the funct ons Of state
and municipality. There is | wide differ
ence between the authoritr to compel
another person to do a thing, and the
right to do it ones self.
If this ill-adyiscd measure shall become
a law, it can only tend to promote embit-
tered feelings, jealousy, conflict and riots
in the border states, where the colored
people abound, and a depopulation of
those states in which the negroes predom-
mate or nearly equal-provided its folly
and unreasonableness do not make it a
dead letter And in any event it will prove
another nail in the coffin OF radicaism
We transfer to our columns this week
from Harper's Monthly, a very interesting
article upon the subject of pisciculture, or
the artificial Matching of fish, by Charles
G. Atkins The author, who was formerly
fish commissioner for Maine, has devoted
many years to the subject, and is one of
the best informed men in the country up
on the habits Of fishes The salmon hatch
ing establishment at Bucksport is one of
the results of Mr.. AS careful study, and
is probably the most successful fish propo-
eating place in the world. MIR. Atkins
estimates that salmon gains pound a
month, after it is turned out to care for it.
self; and when we remember that this is
ocean. without care or cost, and that the
instinct OF the fish carries it back
TO the river in which it was spawned. it
must be confessed that no economy devised
by man is capable of such returns as this.
There can be but little doubt that all the
rivers in Maine will in time be restored by
this system to their old time productive-
ness in the migratory fishes, Of which the
salmon stands at the head, and is decided
ly the most delicious of the finnv tribes
that comes to our tables.
Murders are so very abundant in Blaine
that We last week overlooked the fact That
Thomas A. Pike had been convicted in
Portland OF numbering his wife by throw
ing on a sofa, with the ann of which her
head came violently in contact But the
verdict has been set aside by Judge
Symonds, on account of the extraordinary
manner in which the result was got at.
1t appears that when the Jury retired a
ballot was taken, and it was found that
eleven were 10: conviction on q charge of
manslaughter and one for conviction on
a charge Of assault and battery. After a
long session it was agreed that all the
ballots should be put into hat, and the
juror in favor of conviction for assault and
battery was to draw one. If he drew the
ballot mot guilty" then the verdict was
to stand as it was, but ii he drew guilty
the verdict Of conviction for manslaughter
was to be rendered He drew the latter,
and the verdict was so rendered.
All the students at Btwdoin College,
with the exceptions of two or three, are
in open revolt against the military drill
which has been for few sars past a part
of the regular exercises. When first in
troduced, the drill was very much liked,
but Of late it has became irksome and I'M
popular. At the latest accounts the faculty
were considering the question of expeIling
all the students. Amid all the excitement
and pro and con explanations, one fact is
apparent-the drill was part of the course
when the students entered, they accepted
it as a portion of their instruction, and in
all justice are bound to abide by it, unless
there is something to make it distastefu
more than their personal inclinations.
The present high price of potatoes is
said to be owing to the destruction Of the
l,x,4 4 al do,