Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-04-09

Alter five years experience at leasing
its convicts TO the highest bidder Georgia
has just renewed the system for twenty
years longer. These companies are to
pay the state twenty five thousand dollars
, = year for the use of its twelve hundred
penitentiary inmates. two of the compa-
mics employing them in farming and the
third in mining. The convicts are located
in camps, and considerable scandal was
caused at the last session of the legislature
/ by the exposure of the cruellies and neg.
lect of their keepers. There was some
talk at the time of doing away with the
lease system altogether, but when the
subject comes up again before the adj
journed summer session it seems probable
that the revenue at stake will induce the
legislature to merely attempt remedy of
the evils cOmplaine of. Senator Gordon
the lessees, but for all that the system
seems to have its serious blemishes.
The ZULU WAR.-Capetown advices of
March 18th say that Ohaur, Cetewayo's
brother, with his eldest son and three
hundred warriors, surrendered uncondi.
tionally the second of March and are now
in Col. Woods camp. Ohaur is supposed
TO be IN aspirant for Cetewayo's throne
There has been no important military
movement against the Zulus. Ekowe
is still surrounded. the road leading there
being defended by 4 large force of Zuu u.s.
The relieving force under Col. SHAW is still
on the lower rugela river. 1t consists of
three companies. each of the third and
eighty eighth regiments, and Il portion of
the naval brigade of the iron-cad Shah.
The fifty-seventh regiment landed ut Dur
ban, from Ceylon, and is now marching
to join Law. The latest intelligence from
Ekowe is that the garrison are well, but
the provisions are running short. More
British troops arrived on 10Th, 10th and
18th of March. Two forts on the border
of Chief Secocoscin's country have been
evacuated by the British.
Secretary Sherman was asked why there
had been such a sudden large subscription
in one day to the government bonds, the
amount reported at the treasury up to the
close of business being in the neighbour
hood of S59,OO0,000. a The chief reason,
he answered, "was scramble among
the New York banks to get all that was
left of the four per cents exchangeablc for
the remaining 5-20's. There were about
$5S,OO0,0J0 of the 5-20's running up into
and inclusive of all the years 1867 and
1868 which were rs yet uncalled for for
redemption. AS soon as the banks saw
there was to be no more trouble in the
money market from the April statements,
they made rush TO secure the bonds and
the commissions and subscriptions poured
in so fast we had to call in every unre-
deemed 52O. The subscriptions began TO
outrun the total of these unredeemed
bonds, so we had to telegraph right and
left all over the country to stop subscrip.
tons. The bulk Of them came from New
York banks"
Neal Dow is ever ready to claim great
and good practical results for the prohib.
tory law in Maine. Mr.. Ingraham, Il
member of the legislature, recently said,
in an official report, that drunkenness had
increased and business interests declined.
Mr.. Dow replies that there is not Il dis
tillery or brewery in the state, and that
the importation of liquor is exceedingly
small He thinks that S50O,0OO Il wear
would cover the value of all the liquor
Struggled in. "Our vast West India
trade" he says, used TO be little else
than sending lumber of many kinds to the
islands, and taking home rum for our own
consumption, and molasses to be convert
ed into New England rum in our dstiler-
les, also for home use. In those old rum
days the people were poor and unthrifty;
now, everything in the state, in that re-
spect is reversed, us the result of the vast
saving, direct and indirect, coming from
the law which has driven the rum trade
out. Portland, in 1865, lost $4,000 900 in
IL contiagration, but its valuation is now
greater than ever, having gained $3.50 900
last year under prohibition, while b rston,
with fre1 rum (icense) lost $1,000 900,
and New York and Brooklyn. with rum
enough, have not gained, | Think
The supreme court has just decided
pauper case of considerable interest. The
Massachusetts board of state charities
found in the asylum ut Northampton IN
insane pauper woman named Phelps, who
had no settlement in Massachusetts, but
did have Il settlement in Dover, Vt.
Thereupon the board sent a clerk named
Wheeler with the woman to Vermont,
who left her at the house of the overseer
of the poor ut Dover. But before he re
turned to Massachusetts he was arrested
for violating a statute of Vermont, which |
prohibits the bringing of any pauper from
II foreign State into any town of this state,
with the intent to make the town charge
able with his support. and Wheeler was
also sued for the prospective expenses of
supporting the pauper. The case has |
been sharply contested by the state board
of charities. 1t was first heard by the
four judges sitting in Windham county in
February, 1878, but the gravity of the
questions involved induced the court to
order argument before the full bench |
at the general term ut Montpelier, last
November. The court now finally decides |
that the statute is valid and constitutional, |
and that the defendant violated it and is |
responsible for the expenses of the pau
per's support. The indictment for the
statute is still pending
In 1876, in the first and second congress
ional districts of Ohio. into which the city
of Cincinnati is divided, two democrats,
Sayler and Banning, were declared elected
to congress. 1t was soon made apparent
that the result was secured by system of
fraudulent voting, organized by democratic
politicians and executed by gamblers and |
rutlians, some Of whom were sentenced to
the penitentiary for their share in these
frauds. In the election of last year the
national election law was invoked. SUI
pervsors were appointed, in equal mum
beers from each party as the law requires
and the registration and voting were
carefully scrutinized. The result was
noticeably smaller vote than two years
before, the falling off being chiefly on the
democratic side, and the election of two
republicans, one of whom, Butterworlh,
was elected by II majority of ,l46, though
Sayler, the democratic candidate in 1876, |
had an apparent majority of nearly five
hundred. There was some buster of
course, about the infamous federal cleo
ton laws" on the part of the democrats,
but the emptiness of that kind of talk was
made apparent by the fact that neither of
the democratic candidates took any steps
to contest the election, though the demo-