Year: 1869

there is now scarcely enough for the
use of the growers themselves.


The general business Of New Eng
land may be said to be tair, though
tbose manufacturing interests that
are most largely called upon for the
Fall and Winter trade are above this,
and this they owe TO the demands of
The West. The local and retail trade
is below the average for the season of
the year.


AS the telegraph has informed you,
Gov. Clahin has been renominated by
the State Convention, which met at
Worcester last week, Wednesday, and
also the entire present State officers,
except Auditor, Mr.. Briggs, present in
cumbent, making room for Mr.. Endi-
colt, the nominee. 1t Is understood
that Mr.. Briggs bread and butter is
Insured by a District Judgeship,
which fact his friends will be glad to
know.


We have had oue year OF prohibit
ton, and after that a year of Il
cense," or free-rum In this State, and
the question which has threat
ened the disruption of the Republi-
can party, is again to be tested this
Fall. The friends of prohibition, after
the license law had been In force a
year, were clamorous for its repeal and
the enactment of another prohibitOry
statute, and they were successful in
the last legislature in placing such
law in force. 1t was affected by the
aid of Democratic votes, or properly
by anti prohibition votes, the Opposl
tion believing that by insisting on
clean sweep, and a law making it
penal offense to sell any liquors,
spirituous or malt, and making cider
the only exception, the law would be-
come odious, and that they could then
trust to the entire army of lager and
ale drinkers, and all suckers" in gen
eral, to help them to elect free rum
legislature this fall, and thus gain them
the victory This is the programme, but
the mastery shreWdness of the leaders
in the Republican ranks have check
mated this little dodge. and the Repub-
licans are united and will now, as afore-
time place the State right on the rec
ords. The Convention wisely left the
temperance question to the people, and
it viii be settled by them through their
representa- tiVes next Winter.





right, that we have no right to legis-
late as to what people shall eat or
drink; and on general principle, l
believe that trying to leglslate
morality into people is frultless
task, and an unconstitutional act.
Politics in Massachusetts are so one
sided on national issues, that it seems
decidedly refreshing to have a bit of a
scrimmage. The labor reform move
ment which eliminated in a State
Convention at Worcester, on Tuesday
of this week, and on the strength of
which the Democrats hoped for a par
tial victory by coalition, threatened
for a time to divide the Republican
vote, but that body killed the whole
thing by the adoption of q resolution
looking to reputation, and which
viii etfectually drive every Republi-
can working man out of the move
ment. That labor demands the atten-
ton of our Legislature, and that it
is entitled to its rights as opposed to
capital, cannot be denied, but in my
humble opinion, the thing can not be
brought about by such steps as were
initiated at Worcester, controlled by
few demagogues of the Radical
Democratic stripe, and engineered in
the interests of that party, it is no
wonder they failed to accomplish any
thing except the nomination of a
ticket of nobodies, and the promul-
CATION of set OF resolutions which
will receive no support except from
those whose affiliations have always
been with the Democracy. The polit
ical horizon is on the whole clear
from clouds, and if we mistake not
the National Republican party will
repeat its former triumphs iR the COM
ing election.


I cannot close this letter without
allusion to the address of Hon Chas.
Sumner, before the Republican State
Convention, of which he was Chair
man. l listened TO that speech, and,
with hundreds Of others, thought
him more grand than ever, and It
seems to me that. l obtained better
estimate of his great genius than ever
before, towering as he did above the
sectional questions with which he has
always been identified, and dealing
with nationalities. 1t was simply
magnificent! -


Retrenchment as practie6d by the
present administration, has curtailed
the manufacture of arms at the
Arsenal at this point, and the present
rate is about four hundred per day.
The arm now being constructed is an
improved breech-loader, and will, it is
believed, sUpercede all others now in
use in our service.


Morals in New England are some
what better, or appear. so on the sur
face, than In your section. Why is it
that in old Massachusetts, the home
of the Puritans, the birthplace of the
Blue Laws. witch burners and ortho-
doxy-why is it, ask, the stronghold |
Of Unitarianism and soepticis


Mass ASOIT.