and after the unexpectedly large yield of 1870, which footed up 4,400,000 bales, it was not unreasonable to think that a very light crop would be raised; during those two months the reports were extremely unfavorable, and it was thought improbable that more than from 2,800,000 to 3,000,000 bales would be produced.

But the continuous mild and fair weather of November and December was so favorable to late picking that it was generally conceded that the crop would reach 3,400,000 bales, and possibly 3,500,000. This is a great falling off from the crop of 1870, but it is a result which is so much better than was feared that it is a cause for congratulation.

The attempts to introduce tea-culture into California are likely to prove successful, the climate and conditions of the western slope of the Sierras and of the Coast Range being favorable to it. Large importations of the teanuts have been made during the past year, and the tea-plantations, under the care of the Japanese and Americans, are doing well. It requires about five years of growth before the shrubs become sufficiently matured to yield the best quality of leaves for tea. From a letter of Hon. W. G. Howard, now of San Antonio, Texas, but for many years engaged in the tea-culture in Assam and elsewhere, in British India, and who is now engaged in introducing it into Texas, it would seem that the cultivation of the tea-plant is not so difficult a process as has generally been supposed. He says, in a communication to the United States Agricultural Department:

The culture of the plant and the manufacture of the tea are much simpler and easier processes than most persons think. Of the hardy nature of the plant you have abundant evidence in those planted out in the gardens at Washington. And from my own experience in many climates of India, from Arracan to the Himalaya Mountains, neither frost nor snow, drought nor rain, sunshine nor shadow, materially injures the "tea-plant." Nor is it subject to the visitation of any worm, bug, or disease.

When I first went to India, all knowledge with respect to tea was very scant and limited, and every thing had to be done by hand; but afterward, when the capital invested in tea had increased to enormous proportions-indeed, many millions of pounds sterfing-the cost of manufacture was much reduced. When I left India the only manual labor was the picking of the leaves, which was best done by women and children. It is true that a man here would cost $20 or $25 per month, against $2.50 per month there; but, when you take into consideration the great lack of economy in the management there, the difference would not amount to so much. In India all tools and lead have to be brought from England, and transported on men's backs for many miles; the constant rebuilding of houses, rendered necessary by the white ant and fire, every year or two; the enormous cost of management, which amounts to more than one-half the actual amount spent in the year; the physical inability of the Bengalee coglies to do much labor; the difficulty of procuring labor, and the unhealthy climate, all combine to bring the cost per acre to as much as it would be in America.

The tea, once planted, only requires to be kept free from weeds, which can be done here with the plough, the same as with Indian-corn, and at the same cost. In India they have neither horses nor ploughs, and all

weeding must be done with the hoe in the hands of a lazy and weak coolie. After the tea is pretty well grown, say four or five years old, its own shade pretty much keeps the ground clean. ject, and demonstrate that tea can be grown, and to a profit, the demand for seed alone would soon pay all cost. The yield of seed is, on an average, four maunds (a maund is 80 pounds) to the acre, and I sold in one year from my garden 4,000 maunds, at 200 rupees per maund, and could have sold 40,000 maunds at the same figure.

Should our Government once take hold of the sub

The chemist of the Agricultural Department at Washington recently made an analysis of the yaupon, or Carolina tea (Ilex cassine), with a view to ascertain whether it possessed, in any considerable degree, the properties which are characteristic of the Asiatic tea, which belongs to the Ilex or Holly family, and also of comparing it with its congener, the Iler Paraguayensis (maté, or Paraguay tea), so extensively used in South America. The specimen analyzed by the chemist seems not to have been in its best condition, and thus is hardly conclusive of the real value of the yaupon. It is well known that the practically valuable chemical principles of both tea and coffee are tannin, caffeine or theine, and a volatile aromatic oil which, though present in small quantity, yet gives the characteristic odor or aroma to both. Of tannin, black tea contains an average of 2.04 per cent., green tea from 14 to 17.68, and coffee about 10 per cent., while the yaupon has 2.41 per cent. Of caffeine or theine, black tea and the ordinary grades of green tea contain about 0.56 per cent.; the best qualities of green tea as high as 6 per cent., and coffee 1 per cent. ; while the yaupon has but 0.12 per cent., and maté only 0.13 per cent. Of the volatile oil, yaupon has hardly a trace, only 0.01 per cent.; while black tea has 0.63, and green tea 0.88. The coffee aroma is so volatile that it escapes in the analyzing process. The conclusions to which the chemist comes are, that the yaupon is about equal to the Paraguay tea, and far below the Asiatic teas, in valuable properties. He proposes to analyze some of the other species of Ilex, and also, perhaps the Ledum, or Labrador tea, and other shrubs which have been used as substitutes for tea, though it is doubtful whether any theine will be found in them. In California, and in Texas, the culture of the olive and the almond has been introduced, and both are found hardy in those climates. The olive will probably become one of the staple fruits of Southern California, as its fruit there is equal if not superior to that grown in Southern Italy, Greece, and Syria. The culture of the fig in the same section has already become important, and drums of native figs of the best quality are found in the San Francisco market in larger quantity each successive year. The cultivation of the pomegranate has also commenced there.

The statistics in regard to crops, domestic animals, etc., in each State, in 1870, will be found under the head of the several States.

ALABAMA. The political affairs of Alabama during the year have been comparatively quiet. The excitement attending the inauguration of Governor Lindsay, and the practical transfer of authority from Republican to Democratic hands, had subsided before the close of 1870. The Legislature, which adjourned on the 14th of December, assembled again on the 18th of January, 1871, and proceeded with the business of the session. Meantime, an event had occurred seriously affecting the credit of the State. In 1867 the Legislature had passed an act authorizing the Governor to indorse the bonds of certain railroads which were in course of construction, to the amount of $12,000 for each mile of road completed. Among the lines benefited by this act was the Alabama & Chattanooga, which extended from Chattanooga, in Tennessee, to Meridian, Mississippi, a distance of 295 miles. This road had passed into the hands of a company made up of Northern men, and at the session of 1869'70 they induced the Legislature to pass new acts, not only raising the amount of bonds subject to the indorsement of the State to $16,000 per mile, but authorizing an issue of $2,000,000 in State bonds for the benefit of the road. Bonds had been issued by the company and indorsed by Governor Smith, in 1870, to the amount of $4,000,000, and the $2,000,000 of State bonds had also been issued. According to the terms of the various acts granting this aid, it was provided that the company should "deposit with the Auditor of the State of Alabama, at least fifteen days before the interest is due, from time to time, upon the bonds indorsed as aforesaid, an amount sufficient to pay such interest, including exchange and necessary commissions, or satisfactory evidence that such interest has been paid or provided for; and if said company fail to deposit said interest as aforesaid, or to furnish evidence as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Auditor to report that fact to the Governor." The law goes on to declare that "the Anditor is authorized, and it is made his duty, to draw from the Treasury any sum of money necessary to meet the interest on any bonds indorsed by the State, whenever said interest is not provided for by the company, and to pay such interest when due;" and "the Auditor shall report thereon to the General Assembly from time to time, and, in case the exigency requires, the Governor is hereby authorized and directed to negotiate temporary loans for said purpose. The interest on these bonds was due on the 1st of January and the 1st of July. On the 31st of December Governor Lindsay was notified that the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad Company had failed to provide for the interest accruing on the 1st of January. Mr. Stanton, the superintendent of the road, claimed that, owing to injudicious suggestions in some of the public prints that these obligations ought to be repudiated by the State on account of alleged corruption in securing the

passage of the laws incurring them, he was not able to raise money to pay the interest, and he therefore called upon the Governor to make the payment. This Governor Lindsay refused to do, unless authorized and required to do so by special act of the Legislature. Meantime the coupons of the bonds went to protest, and much alarm was created in financial circles lest the State of Alabama should refuse to meet her obligations altogether. Soon after the reassembling_of_the Legislature in January, Governor Lindsay transmitted a message to that body, setting forth the facts in the case, and recommending that a joint committee of the two Houses be formed "to inquire into this whole matter before any final action is taken thereon." "I do not desire the State of Alabama," he said, "to manifest even a reluctance to meet her just and honest liabilities, but I do insist upon her right and her duty, both to herself and those who claim to be her creditors, to institute this investigation before she pledges her future. There is one course which can be adopted with safety and justice alike to the State and bondholder: that is, the enactment of a law providing for the transfer, to the holders of the indorsed and the two million bonds, of all the rights, liens, securities, mortgages, assets, and property secured by statute or in any other way vested in the State of Alabama by said road, and to pass such laws as will enable said bondholders to prosecute the rights to which they are subrogated under such transfer, provided they will release the State of Alabama from all liability on said bonds."

The Legislature took the matter up at once, and the final result of their action was, the passage of a law providing that "the Governor be authorized and required to inquire into and ascertain the amount of bonds issued_and loaned to the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad Company, and of the bonds of said company indorsed by the State; and, when such amount is ascertained, the Governor shall make provision by temporary loan, or from money in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay the interest upon said bonds, whenever the coupons attached thereto shall be presented to him, or to any agent he may appoint for that purpose: Provided, however, That no interest shall be paid upon any of said bonds not proved to have been held on January 1, 1871, by innocent and bona-fide purchasers: And, provided further, That no interest shall be paid upon any of said bonds in the hands of the said railroad company, any incorporator or agent thereof, or merely hypothecated by them, it being the object and intent of this enactment to pay interest only to innocent and bona-fide purchasers of valid claims against the State." And also, "That, whenever the Governor shall have paid any of said interest, he may proceed under any of the statutes providing a summary remedy in such case, or according to any forms of law which he may

deem best and safest for the interest of the State, to recover the amount so paid from the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad Company." The Governor immediately went to New York, where the bonds had been negotiated, and made the required investigations. He found that 4,000 bonds, of $1,000 each, indorsed by the State, were "regular, legal and valid," and provided for the payment of the interest thereon, as well as that on the $2,000,000 of State bonds. He ascertained, how ever, that a large number of bonds had been prematurely issued and indorsed by his predecessor, Governor Smith, and the interest on such he refused to pay. This was soon provided for by the officers of the railroad company themselves. This prompt action restored confidence in the credit of the State, but it remained for the Commonwealth to indemnify herself for the expense which she had incurred.

The total cost of the construction of the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad had been $9,274,557, while it was mortgaged to the extent of $13,000,000, the State holding a first mortgage on the entire road and all its rollingstock, fixtures, etc. On the 31st of May the company was declared an involuntary bankrupt by the United States District Court sitting at Montgomery, on the petition of one of its creditors, the State not appearing as a party to the action. The decree was, however, reversed by the Circuit Court in June, on the ground that the adjudication was made "in default of the debtor and upon a fatally defective petition." While the bankrupt suit was pending, the Governor made strenuous efforts to induce the company to convey the road to the State, believing, as he said, that, "by such a voluntary conveyance, prolonged and complicated litigation would be avoided, and the interest of the State and that of all other creditors better subserved." In the hope of carrying out an arrangement of this kind, Governor Lindsay and his counsel, General J. H. Clanton, went to New York, where the officers of the company were then located. Failing, however, in their mission, they returned to Alabama, and the Governor proceeded to seize the road and its property, authorizing his private secretary, Colonel Gindrat, to take possession as the agent of the State. Every possible obstacle and embarrassment was interposed by the officers of the company and it was necessary to institute legal proceedings in the States of Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi, in order to get possession of the portion of the road located in those States. In Tennessee and Mississippi the desired decrees were readily granted, and Colonel Gindrat was appointed receiver of the property; but Georgia had also indorsed bonds for the company, and Governor Bullock seized the portion of the line running through that State, and refused to give it up, although the Supreme Court granted an injunction against the company, and ap

pointed a receiver on behalf of Alabama, instructing the receiver "to negotiate with the Governor of Georgia in regard to the possession and running of said road through this State, as well as with other parties in charge of and controlling other portions of said road situated in other States," for the running of said road through its entire length, from Meridian to Chattanooga; "it being the true intent and meaning of the judgment of this court not to interfere with the possession of said road by the Governor of this State under the provisions of the act of 1869 and 1870, without his consent, but that the receiver appointed by the court may negotiate with the Governor for such consent, so as to enable him, as such receiver, to secure the running of said road through its entire length from Meridian to Chattanooga for the benefit of all the creditors of said insolvent railroad company."

After the resignation of Bullock, Governor Conley acceded to the demands of Alabama, and the entire road was run by Colonel Gindrat on behalf of the State. Meantime the bankruptcy proceedings had been renewed on a new petition, and on the 10th of November the company was declared bankrupt by Judge Busteed, and the 27th of the same month was appointed for the meeting of creditors to elect an assignee.

The Legislature of 1870-'71 continued in session until the 10th of March, but none of its acts are of general importance, and nothing was done possessing any political significance. Resolutions were introduced favoring a removal of the national capital to a more central location, but was never acted upon. A resolution directing an investigation into alleged outrages in certain counties was tabled.

On the whole, the condition of society throughout the State has been peaceful. There were occasional reports of violence and outrages attributed to what is known as the "Kuklux Klan." In his charge to the grand-jury in May, Judge Busteed, of the United States District Court, said: "I am informed by the attorney for the United States that he has reason to believe and does believe that in the middle district of this State there have been several gross violations of the law of Congress commonly known as the 'Enforcement Act,' and that it is his intention to submit these alleged infractions to your body for consideration and action. It is to be hoped that the representations made to the District Attorney are either not founded in fact, or so exaggerated, as that, when you hear the evidence in the cases, they may wear a less criminal aspect than is supposed. If, however, the truth of the matters shall appear as alleged, your duty is as plain as your oath of office is solemnly imperative. That oath, taken in the hearing of your fellow-men, and containing an appeal to God, requires you not to 'leave any one unpresented for fear, favor, affection, hope of reward or gain, but to present all things

truly as they shall come to your knowledge, to the best of your understanding.' The good name and fame of the State of Alabama are inseparably connected with the fidelity of her people to the laws. No man, whoever he be, whatever his pretensions, is honest or patriotic, who, in the remotest degree, by look, word, or deed, aids, countenances, or encourages the ill-behavior which is declared against. It is a high crime, at this delicate juncture in our political circumstances, to bring about a necessity for applying to these communities the stringent correctives contained in the act of May, 1870, and in other recent legislation of Congress. The true, the peaceable, the only constitutional means of getting rid of an obnoxious law is to procure its legislative repeal. This, under a republican form of government, is sure to occur whenever the majority of the people are persuaded that it should be repealed. Until that time, the minority must content itself with the use of moral suasion, and instructing the public mind, with the view of producing the desired change in the public sentiment."

There appears no record of any indictments for these alleged violations of the act of Congress. A sub-committee of the congressional "Ku-klux committee " visited the State, and spent some time, during the summer and fall, in making investigations. A large number of witnesses were examined, and gave very conflicting testimony. Many persons, represented to be gentleman of high character and undoubted veracity, testified that the condition of the State was in general very peaceable, and the citizens were inclined to obey the laws. Colonel Lowe, formerly a Confederate officer, on being asked about the Ku-klux Klan and the Loyal League, said the former was the offset of the latter. He never was a member of either, but thought one the cause, and the other the effect. The League arrayed bad whites and negroes against the best elements of society. The country was disturbed, and civil law feebly executed; and the Ku-klux proposed to repress crime and preserve law and order in the interest of society. He believed neither organization now existed in North Alabama. The country never was in a quieter or more peaceable condition than since the last election, when the people had regained, in a great degree, the control of their State government.

Captain L. W. Day, who had been an officer in the Federal army, and was at the time a United States Commissioner and clerk of the District Court, bore testimony to the generally peaceable and law-abiding character of the people, and expressed his belief that leading Democrats in the State were opposed to all lawless proceedings. Another gentleman testified that he was a Republican and in favor of law and order, that he had been three times foreman of the grand-jury in Colbert County, and had had the amplest opportunity and the

fullest cooperation of his conjurors in the investigation of crime, that he believed that the general sentiment of the people is opposed to lawlessness, that he was satisfied no Ku-klux organization now existed, and that the occasional outrages were perpetrated by a few men banded together to gratify their private malice or for mere personal objects, and not for political purposes.

Captain Daniel Coleman, Solicitor of Limestone County, was examined particularly with reference to the condition of affairs in his county. He said that there had been a good deal of crime in that county, but that it had not a political aspect; that men had banded together and operated in disguise to gratify their personal malice, to achieve private objects, or for horse-stealing, or other purposes of plunder, but that the balance-sheet showed a decided balance in favor of a conservative, law-abiding, peaceful public sentiment; that the most vigorous efforts had been made by the civil authorities of the county, supported by public sentiment, to bring offenders to justice; that a number of offenders had been arrested and indicted, and would be prosecuted with energy; and a mass meeting of citizens had been held at Athens, and had denounced lawlessness, and pledged its support to the civil authorities.

Evidence of a contrary purport to this was given mainly by negroes, and related to individual cases of violence, having no obvious connection with political affairs. Governor Lindsay and Judge Busteed, while at Washington, declared emphatically that there was no more disorder or opposition to law there than in any one of the New-England States. The people, they said, were peaceably employed in developing their material interests, and simply desire to be allowed to pursue them without interference. There is no political agitation of any kind. The colored population is contented, and labor has resumed its natural order, with entire harmony between the employers and the employed.'

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The finances of the State, notwithstanding the trouble growing out of its somewhat extravagant indorsement of railroad bonds, are in a promising condition. The public debt is stated by the Auditor as $8,761,917.37, which indicates an increase of $283,906.62. The Governor, however, declares that it is only $5,442,300, "the University and other funds, what is known as the Patton certificates, and accounts unsettled, or Auditor's warrants unpaid," not constituting, "in any accepted signification of the term, public debt." The receipts of the Treasury during the year amounted to $1,422,494.67, which is $229,359.24 in excess of the estimate of disbursements made at the beginning of the year. The actual disbursements, however, amounted to $1,640,116.99. discrepancy between the estimates and the actual payments is explained as owing to the protracted session of the Legislature, special

The