gancaottic Oldelligenta.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1865
"The printing presses shall be free to every
person who undertakes to examine the pro
ceedings of the legislature, or any branch of
government; and no law shall ever be made
to restrain the right thereof. The free commu
nication of thought and opinions is one of the
invaluable rights of Men; and every citizen
may freely speak, write and print on any sub
ject; being responsible for the , abuse of that
liberty. In prosecutions for the publication of
papers investigating the official conduct of offi
cers, or men In public capacities, or where the
matter published is proper for public informa
tion, the truth thereof may be given in evi
dence."—Clinstitntion of Pennsylvania.
The Example We are Setting.
No thoughtful American can reflect
seriously for a moment upon the spec
tacle presented to the world by our
country without feeling sad. For many
years much of the spread-eagle boasting
of our Fourth of July orators was justi
fied by existing facts., We really were
the freest and the happiest nation on
the earth. Nowhere did the burthens
of the Government press so lightly; no
where were the rights of individual citi
zens so much extended at the same time
that they were seemingly well secured ;
nowhere were all the comforts and even
the luxuries of life so easily obtained as
the legitimate reward of honest labor;
nowhere was a people to be found so
peaceful, so prosperous, and so happy.
Every right of the citizen seemed to be
most carefully guarded. Our Federal
Constitution, and the Constitution of
every one of the States hadincorporated
into them such strong guarantees of all
the great fundamental rights of the in ,
dividual man, that they were regarded
as being placed completely beyond the
reach of any and every assault. Little
did any one dream what inroads might
be made upon all our cherished rights
and privileges by a four-years' reign of
fanaticism, in the midst of a great social
and political revolution. It has been
proven that all the barriers set up by
our fathers as a restraint against execu
tions, encroachnaents, strong as they
seemed to be, were but as chaff before
the whirlwind of popular passion.
To-day we are held up as a warning
to the subjects of Kings. The despots
who once feared the influence of our
example now laugh us to scorn. In
stead of being in a position where we
command the respect and admiration of
the world we have become an object of
pity and contempt. ,We have exhibited
the immense power of mere brute force,
but d'e have done so at the expense of
all the better and higher qualities which
should distinguish a civilized nation.
For four years past our national life has
resembled that of an infuriated mad
man, with physical strength rendered
almost superhuman by passion, but
utterly destitute of the more important
power of self control. We have wielded
all our vast energies, and employed all
the resources of the whole nation, in
the work of destruction, apparently
without caring how great and how last
ing might be the ruin wrought. Consti
tutions, both federal and State, have been
ruthlessly trampled under foot; the
rights of the States, which were sup
posed to be well secured, have been
utterly disregarded; the rights of the
citizen, even those the most sacred and
invaluable, have been rudely assailed
and remorselessly stricken down ; the
sense even of personal security has been
lost; laws have ceased to be any protec
tion against the encroachments of arbi
trary power; courts of justice have
been deprived of their legitimate juris
diction, and military tribunals and
drum-head courts-.:uartial have usurped
their functions.
While all this has been going on
among us, kings have pressed their
criwns more firmly upon their brows,
and grasped their sceptres proudly in
the full assurance that the failure of re
publican institutions had been abun
dantly exemplified and proven. The
follies and the crimes of our rulers have
set back the dial on the clock of time,
and indefinitely delayed the progress
of mankind in self-government. We
are held up to the world as aterrible ex
aud the advocates of republican
institutions, wherever they are to be
found, have had their mouths shut. It
will be very long before the elective
franchise will be extended even in Eng
land. is the influence of the wrong
acts of our rulers made to extend beyond
our own country, and the masses of the
old world must continue to suffer with
us in consequmee of our folly. Fortu
nately for them they only feel the re
flex influence of our misfortunes. In
so far they are happier than we are. We
suffer, while they learn wisdom from
our example.
The Uncertainty of Law in these Days.
It is barely possible, if the war goes
on as it has been doing for five or ten
years longer, that, at some remote
period of its existence, the conscription
law may be reduced to the condition of
an established and well understood
statutory enactment. It may be that,
after some half dozen more Congresses
have expended all their wisdom in
patching it up, it will be made so
plain that not even the bungling and
blundering of the Provost Marshal Gen
eral can produce such utter confusion
as has prevailed in its past application.
Heretofore it has had none of the cer
tainty which should attach to so im
portant a law. What was the order and
the law of to-day was reversed by the
enactment or the decision of to-morrow.
The people have had good and sufficient
reason to complain of the manner in
which the whole business has been
managed. Some of the late amend
ments are correct in principle,
but by reason of the absurdity
of the former rendering of the law
many districts are just now involved
In serious difficulties. It is right in
principle that every man enlisted shall
be credited to the district in which he
resides. Had this been the rule front
the beginning, much difficulty and
great injustice to poorer sections of the
country would have been avoided. The
adoption of the rule at the present period
has, however, been productive of no
little inconvenience. In this county,
some of the districts have filled their
quota, under the present draft, from
other districts of the county. Now that
all which are still deficient are required
to furnish the men from their own lim
its, many find it impossible to do so.
Men are still plenty, but many of those
who are offering come from districts
which have already filled their quotas.
They cannot receive the liberal local
bounties offered by those districts still
deficient, and so they are lost to the ser
vice; while such districts are compelled
to suffer the rigors of a draft because
their own men, who were willing to en
ter the service, have already accepted
the bounty from other sub-districts and
been credited on their quota. This is
creating no little excitement and giving
rise to much disgust. Not a few of the
very loyal are tempted to swear vocifer
ously, as they contemplate the prospect
of their names being drawn from the
fatal wheel. Let them possess their
souls in patience, and prepare to face
the music. They voted for a continu
ance of the war : why, then, should
they not be willing to fight as they
voted? When wiser men ruled the na
tion, laws had some reasonable degree
of certainty and stability. We shall
have complete confusion and most glo
rious uncertainty, so long as the miser
able legislative quacks now in power
continue to tinker at law-making.
That is a business for which they are
utterly unfit.
Public Opinion.
When this Goverment was founded
those who framed our political structure
were alive to the dangers which were
likely to beset it in the future. They
knew it could not long endure, unless
the people remained virtuous, and con
tinued tfi4ercise the rights of citizen
ship with intelligence and moderation.
The fathers of the Republic repeatedly
lifted up their voices to warn their
countrymen against the dangers of party
spirit, and especially against that most
dreaded form of the evil, which dis
guised itself in the form of sectional
animosity. So long as public opinion
continued -to be perfectly healthy ; so
long as the people decided calmly and
intelligently upon their duties ; so long
as a regard for the general good was the
predominant sentiment of all parties ; so
long were we free, prosperous, happy;
and so long did our Government chal
lenge the admiration and the envy of
the world.
Our present misfortunes are, to a very
great extent, the result of a want of in
telligence and moderation on the part
of the people. Public opinion is om
nipotent among us. The history of the
past four years shows plainly that a
reckless majority may become the most
intolerable tyrant. It may, as it has
done, encourage our rulers to violate
even those fundamental rights which
have ever been regarded as sacred and
inalienable. Had public opinion among
us been as'intelligent as it should have
been ; had public virtue been as pure as
it once was; had the men of this day
been as wise and cautious as were the
founders of the republic ; had the spirit
of liberty among us been as sensitive as
it should have been, the people would
never have allowed themselves to be
carried away by a torrent of popular
excitement. They would have scruti
nized every act of those in power with
the jealous watchfulness of men who
were mindful of their rights, and re
solved to defend them from every as
sault. Had the people been true
to themselves, and to the best interests
of the nation, they would so have conj.
trolled and moulded events as to have
warded off , •much of the misery
which has come upon us. When the
excitement of these days shall have
passed away, when the frenzy of the
hour shall hall have subsided, when
reason returns to the people of the
North, they will see how utterly mad
and foolish their acts have been. It may
be the desired change will come too late;
but the time will surely come when the
people will curse themselves for having
given heed to the insane teachings of
the fanatics who are now in power.
Unless the causes which are now in
operation shoultiresult in the complete
destruction of one there must and will
come a complete change in the opinion
of multitudes of the very men who now
sustain the administration of Mr. Lin
coln, add defends the many encroach
ments made by it on the rights of the
States and the people. The only hope
for the struggling nation is a complete
and fundamental change of public opin
ion. May it come right speedily.
Watching the Weather
Hackneyed as the theme is, the weath
er is just now a subject of much inter
est. Vast hostile armies watch the float
ing clouds and note the variations of the
wind, as they keep vigilant eyes fixed
on each other. If the sun shines bright
ly, it brings not thoughts of pleasant
spring labor in the fields, but of the
fierce death grapple that must speedily
follow. A storm, or a long dreary rain
that soaks the earth, is welcomed by
many a poor fellow as granting a brief
respite from the terrible ordeal of bloody
battle. While those in arms thus watch
the changing skies of early spring with
variable emotions, there are millions 'at
home who are almost equally anxious.
A few bright days are sufficient to draw
the attention of the whole people of both
sections to the two or three points
where it is expected great battles will
soon be fought. An interval of genial
sunshine, which should make every
heart glad after the long and dreary win
ter through which we have passed,
brings sad forebodings to many a moth
er's mind; and suggests the horrors of
ensanguined battle-fields instead of
pleasant thoughts of babbling brooks,
and banks of flowers, and hills and
meadows dressed in living green. How
anxiously do the hearts of millions turn
instinctively toward the dread centres
of attraction. Because life seems to
move smoothly about us, because laugh
ter is heard, and sounds of revelry and
merriment meet the ear, we must not
conclude that the people do not feel the
miseries that are ever pressing home up
on them. There is scarcely a single one
in all the many thousands that make
up the embattled legions, over whom
anxious eyes do not watch, . and for
whose welfare some woman does not
pray. As the , weather vatles from
spring-like sunshine to the rude stormi
ness that is appropriate to this month,
it is thought of, not as bringing flowers
and fruits, seed time and harvest; but
as hastening or retarding scenes in
which horrid death shall be the reaper,
and his full harvest the mangled forms
of thousands of the country's bravest
and best. Is it strange that the weather
should now be regarded as a theme of
much more than ordinary interest,
since millions are anxiously noting
every change?
Buying Rim Off!
A few days before the close of the late
session of Congress, Senator Hale, of
New Hampshire, made a speech, in
which he depicted, in glowing colors,
the corruptions of the Administration,
and especially that branch of it repre
resented by the Navy Department. The
speech in question ereated a great sen
sation in Washington, and, indeed,
throughout the country, coming as it
did from a man who was the very head
and front of the Republican party for
long years, and who had labored with
might and main for the election of Mr.
Lincoln. I t was a most scathing review
of the imbecility and outrageous fraud
perpetrated within sight of the White
House, and shows up the character of
the men in power in its true light. This
was the last speech of Mr. Hale in the
United States Senate. It alarmed Mr.
Lincoln and the Cabinet, and therefore
it was necessary to buy him off in some
way so as to prevent any farther expose
of the corrupt and swindling transac
tions of the party in power. Accord
ingly, Mr. Hale was nominated, imme
mediately after the inauguration, as
Minister to Spain, and the nomination
was, without delay, confirmed by the
Senate. He is thus sent out of the
country, arid we shall hear no more
about the peculations of Cabinet officers
and shoddy contractors. There is no
other Abolitionist left in the Senate who
has the manliness and honesty to speak
the truth, and Mr. Welles and his subor
dinates can now go on and plunder with
impunity.
Order by the Provost Marshal General
The Provost Marshal General has
issued a circular, in conformity with
the recent proclamation of the President,
pardoning desertes on certain conditions
instructing all officers and employees of
his bureau to give prompt attention to
the receiving and forwarding of such
deserters as may present themselves in
accordance with its provisions. The
Secretary of War has directed that no
reward be paid for the arrest of deserters
who may be arrested Nbsequent to the
receipt of this order by the astriet
provost marshal.
The Message of Jefferson Davis.
No intelligent man can read the mes
sage of Jefferson Davis, which we pub
lish to-day, without having forced upon
his mind the convictien that it is possi
ble to end the war without further
bloodshed. For the first time he can
didly admits the growing weakness of
the power of 'the Confederacy. This
message must increase the feeling of
despondency that already prevails
throughout the South ; and under the
influence of a wise policy on our part
would do much to lead the people of the
revolted States to take counsel from
their fears. A magnanimous proclama
tion from Mr. Lincoln, offering terms
of reconciliation which could be accept
ed without shame or a sense of degra
dation, would work a complete revolu
tion in Southern sentiment. Men of
property would be glad to save some
thing from the impending wreck, and
the poorer classes who make up the
bulk of the rebel armies would joyfully
exchange their places in the ranks for
such comforts as their homes afford.—
A proclamation to the people of the
revolted States, declaring that they
would be admitted to the Union on
terms of equality as States and as indi
viduals, would remove from the leaders
of the rebellion the strongest agency
which they wield for the control of
public sentiment.
Now is the very time when such ac
tion on our part could be properly
taken. Our position in a military point
of view would abundantly justify the
most generous concessions. We could
be indulgent without danger, and with
out abating one jot or tittle of honor. It
is to be hoped Mr. Lincoln will not
persist in a prolongation of the War
beyond a point when a safe and honor
able end of it might be readily obtained.
If he stands out upon mere impractica
ble theories, all the blood hereafter to
be Shed will rest upon his head. Were
he fit for the position he occupies we
should hope for a speedy and an honor
able •peace. Tire chief difficulties in the
way of an proper adjustment of affairs
have been removed. Has Mr. Lin
coln the wisdom and the patriotism de
manded by the occasion? We fear not.
A very short time will, however, be
sufficient to determine the question.
The Maryland Legislature
The Legislature of Maryland is prin
cipally made up of a set of miserable
adventurers, hooked up on the points of
bayonets from low positions. In ordi
nary times they would have been left to
rot in obscurity. A majority of them
never could have been elected to any
office, however insignificant, had the
ballot box_ been left free. They are the
meanest and most contemptible tools
and toadies of the present Administra
tion. To them the honor of the State
is nothing, and its welfare a matter of
little importance. Having little or
nothing to lose, they are most reek
lessas legislators. They are ever ready to
register any decree which they think
will please their masters at Washing
ton. To do this, and to put money in
their own pockets, they regard Its their
sole duty. Only the other day Ihey
voted to pay their own salaries in gold,
instead of " greenbacks." The bill still
hangs fire in the Senate, and it may be
defeated as that body is nearly equally
divided. Maryland will have abundant
reason to rejoice when the day comes in
which she shall be really free once more.
Bennett and the French Mission
When the N. V. Tribune announced,
a few days since, that the Mission to
France had been tendered to James
Gordon Bennet, of the Herald, and de
clined by that worthy, we could not
help but look upon the whole statement
as a joke, only the more ludicrous be
cause of the serious tone of the article
in which the announcement was made.
We expected to see a scathing reply in
the Herald of the next day. But none
came. It seemed to us a piece of folly
too great even for Mr. Lincoln to be
guilty of. But the ways of our jocose
President are literally past finding out.
There is no doubt that he did offer the
second position abroad to a man as com
pletely unfit for it as any man could
well be. The idea of Bennett's becom
ing the accredited Minister of this Gov
ernment to the Court of France is
enough to make any decent American
blush. No one but Mr. Lincoln could
have been guilty of tendering it to such
a man. If it was only offered for the
sake of giving Bennett a chance to de
cline it was none the less a disgraceful
procedure. Whether Mr. Lincoln was
sincere in making the offer, or was
merely paying court to the New York
Herald by a deceitful piece of flattery to
its editor, the proceeding was none the
less discreditable to the man who should,
as the chief magistrate of a great nation,
be governed by a sense of honor. It
realy seems that no means likely to
humiliate and degrade us in the eyes of
the world is to be left untried.
Stand from rndei
The rapid decline of gold for the last
few weeks is beginning to make its mark
on business men, and especially on the
mercantile community. A general
crash is imminent, and those who can
had better take in all sails without de
lay, so as to be prepared for the storm
which is rapidly approaching. Already
the price of dry goods has declined from
ten to fifty per cent., and it will not be
long, if gold continues to tumble, until
a much greater reduction will have to
be submitted to. To those who are out
of debt it will make but little difference
(although their loss may be heavy)
whether the crash comes at once, or is
postponed, by fictitious appliances, for
a few months longer; but all such as
have purchased on credit, at high prices,
and have not the means to pay, will
have to go under if the revulsion comes
now. Again, we advise all who can to
stand from under, for the storm will
most assuredly come, and cannot be
much longer delayed. The war, so far,
has given a seeming prosperity to busi
ness; but pay day is at hand, and this
hot-house, unnatural inflation will
wither and die under the fierce blasts
of adversity, which are already looming
up in the horizon. We shall soon begin
to realize a few of the grievous evils in
flicted on the community by the present
Administration ; but the people willed
it so in the election of Mr. Lincoln, and
.we have no right to find fault with the
VOX populi. •
Defrauding the Government
The other night Charles Cooke, for
merly the ticket agent at the Baltimore
depot, Charles Williams, the ticket
agent at the sanitary rooms,
and James Thompson, agent at this
depot, were arrested by the military
authorities and committed to the Old
Capitol on the charge of defrauding the
government of about $30,000 worth of
transportation tickets. Thompson is
charged with abstracting the tickets
from the office, and giving them to
Cooke and Williams, who disposed of
them through agents. The first sus
picion of the affair was created by many
of the certificates found afloat in the
city, and the detectives in hunting up
the matter found qnite a number of
agents who stated that they at first had
received fifty per cent. for disposing of
them, but latterly twenty-five per cent.
A SCEJBLER from Charleston has sent
some relies, from what he calls a slave
pen in that locality, to Boston. It ought
to be placed side by side with a relic of
a slave-ship, in which the Yankees car
ried the negroes they stole from Africa
and sold South.
Sherman's Grand March.
The New York papers have full ac
counts of the march of Sherman through
South Carolina. We make a few ex
tracts :
SUMMARY OF WHAT WAS ACCOM-
PLISFIED.
Never before has an army accom
pi' -bed so much with such little sacri
fice of either life or property.
We had been but about forty-five days
shut out, as it were, from the outer
world.
Our march has been one continued
success. Shermau's capital manceuvres
completely split up the rebel army,
breaking them into isolated bodies, thus
destroying their power.
Our march has been somewhat retard
ed by the. heavy falls of rain, which
flooded the creeks and swamps and cut
up the roads so that we had to corduroy
over a hundred miles of road, and build
several miles of the trestle work and
bridges.
Besides compelling them to evcaute
Charleston, we destroyed Columbia,
Orangeburg and several other places.
Also over fifty miles of their chief lines
of railroad, and thousands of bales of
cotton.
At Columbia we captured forty-three
cannon, two hundred thousand catridges
ten tons of powder, nine thousand rounds
of fixed ammunition, about ten thous
and muskets, over one hundred govern
ment presses, besides an immense
amount of public stores, locomotive,
rolling stock, and other kinds of govern
ment stores too numerous to mention.
At Cheraw we took twenty-five can
non, eight caissons and two traveling
forges, besides a large quantity of gov
ernment stores of various kinds in the
arsenal and elsewhere.
At Fayetteville we took seventeen
cannon, besides a large quantity of gov
ernment stores of various kinds in the
arsenal and elsewhere.
This makes eighty-five cannon, one
third of which were field pieces—with
carriages, caissons and all complete. W e
captured about twenty-five thousand
animals on our line of march. We gave
food and transportation to about fifteen
thousand colored refugees, thus depriv
ing the confederacy of colored soldiers
and slaves. We also had about four
thousand white refugees, all of whom
were well cared for, and will be sent
North to whatever destination they
choose.
We operated over the following dis
tricts or counties : In South Carolina—
Beaufort, Barnwell, Orangeburg, Lex
ington, Richland, Kershaw, Fairfield,
Chester, Lancaster, Sumter, Darlington,
Chesterfield, Malbourg. In North
Carolina—Mecklenburg, Anson, Rich
land, Union, Robeson, Cumberland and
Moore.
We marched on an average four hun
dred and fifty miles. This would give
an area of over fifteen thousand square
miles which we operated over, all the
time supporting men and animals
on the country. Indeed, the loss we
have inflicted on the enemy is incalcul
able, and all at a trifling sacrifice of life.
I think one thousand - killed, wounded
and missing will cover our casualties.
Several of these were owing to acciden
tal explosions at Columbia and Cheraw.
The enemy's loss must be, in killed,
wounded and missing, about twelve
hundred, while we have captured and
on hand over three thousand prisoners.
The army is just resting a few days at
Fayetteville, and will then March to
Goldsboro Or Kinsto . n, to join Schotield's
gallant army. The army is in the best
of spirits flushed with victory, self-reli
ant and defiant. With such an army
and such generals it needs no prophet
to see the result of the next campaign.
KILPATRICK'S FIUIIT
On the morning of the Pith of March
Gen. Kilpatrick was encamped about
fifteen miles from Fayetteville, and was
attacked by the whole of Wade Hamp
ton's cavalry. Hampton commanded
in person. The attack was very sudden
and fell entirely upon oue brigade,
which was surprised, and for the time
could offer little resistance. Near the
portion of the camp which it guarded
were Kilpatrick's headquarters, and
Kilpatrick himself narrowly escaped
capture. He fled, from the house in
which he was sleeping with his panta
loons and slippers on, two officers fol
lowing his example. One of his Colo
nels commanding a brigade and the rest
of his officers were in the house, and
having no time to escape, secreted them
selves. The lady who was in the house
on being asked, when Hampton rode
up, whether there were any Yankees
concealed inside, answered that there
were a couple of wounded soldiers. Be
neath these wounded men she had hid
den Kilpatrick's flag, sword and coat,
and thus saved his personal effects.
Hampton at once put a guard over the
house, and thus rendered it impossible
for the soldiers who were inside to
escape.
Kilpatrick was driven back to a swamp
in rear of his IMes. There he re-formed
his men, charged the enemy in turn,
got possession of his guns again, turned
them at once on the headquarters, and
drove out the rebels. As they were
leaving one end of the town, Kilpatrick
entered by the other, got his flag and
tied it on a staff, charged again, and
completely routed the enemy, leaving
68 of them dead on the field, killing
Gen. Aiken and taking a number of
prisoners.
Kilpatrick's loss in this affair, killed,
wounded and missing, was less than
200, according to his official report.
The fight and the successful stand
made by Kilpatrick after he had been
surprised are regarded as among the
most gallant deeds of the campaign.
Two other cavalry fights of moment
took place, the first February Bth, when
the Ist Alabama and sth Kentucky of
Col. Spenser's brigade, Kilpatrick's
command, attacked Gen. Hugam's Al
abama brigade, composed of the 3d, 9th,
12th and 51st Alabama, captured the
general headquarter flag and five other
colors, scattering the rebel brigade all
over the country. The other action was
in the attempt to gain a crossing of the
Broad river, some distance above Col
umbia. ajor Estes and Capt. Hayes,
of Kilpatrick's staff, with a small force,
charged through the railroad bridge
which the enemy had set on fire, and
succeeded in saving it.
The Exchange of Prisoners,
A special correspondent of the N. Y
Tribune, writing from Wilmington
says :
The whole number of our prisoners
received here under the late exchange
was 8,648, of these there were on the
rolls : officers, 992 ; enlisted men, 7,692.
Three reasons are given for the detici
ency to make up the ten thousand pri
soners promised by the officers of ex
change : First, many deserted and ex
changed themselves before they could
be delivered. Secondly, some died and
were left by the wayside, where no
mark, save a small mound, marks their
last resting place. Others, and not a
few, were put offthe train in a moribund
state, being encumbrances, and were
afterward found and died in our hands.
Quite a number, according to the con
fession of the rebel officers, died after
the rolls were made out, and before they
could be exchanged.
There were two thousand stretcher
patients, who were unable to sit up. Of
this class about fifteen have died daily
upon an average since coming into our
hands ; about half the number who died
daily while in rebel hands. A large
number of these are unable to give their
names or the command to which they
have been attached, in consequence of
physical and mental debility. Some
have become entirely demented'hyttheir
dreadful sufferings from exposure and
starvation. For these reasons many
who have passed from their dreadful
captivity merely to die under the folds
of the old flag will foreverremain among
the "unknown." All others have their
graves properly marked. But a few had
clothes on, or anything in the shape of
papers, letters or memoranda,about their
persons, by which they could be identi
fied. Many had on merely a pair of
ragged drawers ; some, Dr. Barnes
states, were entirely naked.
Dr. Barnes has related to us many
most affecting scenes which have come
under his personal notice since the work
of exchange began, which could only
serve to wring the heart of the humane
reader. Enough has already appeared
to give some faint idea of the almost in
credible sufferings of these men. The
day of judgment only will fully reveal
the hcirrible record. For the credit of
our common humanity, for the sake of
the civilization of the Nineteenth cen
tury, let a vail be drawn over the rest,
and may a merciful God spare the na
tion a repetition of such scenes while
the world stands.
THE 'public printing of Illinois for
1864 amounted to $140,000, or one-fifth
of the entire cost of the stupendous es
tablishment at Washington, which does
the printing of the whole nation of
thirty-six States. So much for the
economy of the Abolition party.
The Sugar Trade of the United States.
From the New York Shipping List:
The total receipts of foreign raw Sugar
into the United States (not including
the States on the Pacific coast) for the
year ending December 31, 1862, were
214,000 tons, against receipts in 1863 of
243,127 tons, in 1862, 247,015 tons ; in
1861, 212,908 tons ; and in 1860, 341,533
,
.
tons ; and that the consumption of
foreign in 1864 was 192,000 tons; against
a cosumption of foreign in 1864 of 231,-
308" tons ; in 1862, 241,811 tons ; in 1861,
241,420 tons; and in 1860, 296,950 tons ;
while the total consumption of foreign
and domestic cane sugar in 1864 was
220,600 tons, against a total consumption
in 1863 of 284,308 tons • in 186:4 . 432,411
tons • in 1861,363,819 Vine, and an 1860,
415,251 tons, being a decrease in the
total consumption of 1864, as compared
with that of 1863, of 63,648 tons, or over
221 "e cent.
The consumption of raw Sugar in
California and Oregon we estimate the
past year at 10,500 tons.
Cheap sugars are now in favor, and
hence sugars made from molasses have
met with more ready sale than in any
previous year. There are refineries for
this purposeln eight cities of the Union,
that have consumed the past year, it is
estimated, about 100,000 hhds. of mo
lasses, being an increase of 5,000 hhds.
over the previous year, which have
yielded, say 22,321 tons of clarified sugar
The manufacture of maple sugar was
prosecuted the last season with unre
mitting energy, and though it is ex
tremely difficult to arrive at ,any satis
factory conclusion with regard to the
extent of this important crop, owing to
the numerous small plantations on
which the syrup is gathered being scat
tered throughout th entire Northern,
Eastern and Western States, yet we
have no doubt that the estimates that
are generally made of 26,000 to 28,000
tons, are rather within than in excess of
the actual quantity.
The expectations that have been in
dulged in respecting the sorgho as a su
gar-producer, have not, as yet, been re
alized to any considerable extent, owing,
perhaps, to the crude methods adopted
by the cultivators of this plant in treat
ing the juice of the cane; but as regards
its molasses properties, it is to the West
ern. farmer of inestimable value, and is
getting to be fully appreciated.
The present extraordinary prices that
sugar commands stimulate the economic
and scientific minds of the country in
endeavors to discover some substitute
for cane sugar ; hence, there are many
devicas to extract saccharine matter
from various plants hitherto neglected,
at least on this side of the Atlantic. A
company wielding a large capital, it is
said, will embark during the ensuing
season, in the manufacture of beet-root
sugar, on an extended scale, and this
article, which for these many years has
formed so large a portion of the con
sumption of Continental Europe, may
become as important an American pro
duct. Another company is also in pro
cess of formation, for the extraction of
sugar from the Indian corn, which, itis
claimed, can be made to yield a large
per tentage of sugar, at a low cost-at
least in the extreme Western States,
where this grain can be cultivated in
immense quantities, at an insignificant
expense.
'l'o sum up, it will be seen that the
consumption of the country, of all kinds
of raw sugar, the past year, may be
stated at 280,500 tons, against a consump
tion of all kinds, in 1863, of 340,500 tons,
being a decrease of 60,000 tons, or 17g
per cent.
Under the influence of the very high
prices that have prevailed throughout
the year, the consumption of the
country continues to shrink; consumers
have been dependent almost entirely
upon the foreign article, by reason of
the meagre crop of domestic, and as
sugars of foreign growth now pay a
heavy duty, and that in gold, the cost'
has been so high that the most severe
economy has been practiced among all
classes, and it may be said that this food
article has at length become so much of
a luxury, that many hitherto large cone
sumers can now indulge in it but very
sparingly. The large demand that pre
o ailed in former years for the preserving
of fruits, &c., when prices were within
the reach of all, is now partially no more,
and buyers, as a class, are content if
they can command sufficient to suppty
their most urgent wants.
It is impossible, in the present state
of political and financial affairs, to fore
cast the future. The crop of Louisiana,
that in some form years yielded from
200,000 to 220,000 - tons, and supplied a
large portion of our wants, is for the
present annihilated-the crop now
coming forward is so small that it is
scarcely worth mentioning ; the esti
mates range from 5,000 to 8,000 hhds.,
and our dpendences, for the present
year at least, must be entirely upon su
gars of foreign production.
Consumption of Foreign and Domestic Cane
Sugar for the year ending December 31.
Foreign. Domestic. Total.
102,550 28,000 220,000
'31,308 53,500 20-1,308
"41,411 184,0101 432,411
"41,420 122,399 363,810
"90,9:10 118,331 415,201
.....210,03 I 192,150 431,104
..244,758 143,634 388,192
Ton
1 ,t;-1
I,t
1,61
1, 0
1. I
IS4,
Bold Robbery
On Wednesday night, Sth instant, be
tween 9 and 10 o'clock, four men came
to the house of Mr. Frederick Witman,
in Tulpehoccon township, and knocked
at the door. The son of Mr. Witman
inquired what was wanted, to which
they replied that their wagon had
broken down, their horse run away,
and that they feared one of their party
had broken his leg. The young man
then came to the window, and said he
' would not open unless they told who
they were. In reply to this they begged
that he would at least hand them a
quilt and a candle out of the window.
As he raised the window to comply with
their request, and asked whether he
should light the candle, one of the men
seized him violently by the throat, an
.,other pointed a revolver at his breast,
'and the two others jumped in through
the window.
The whole party then entered by the
same way, when all the family, consist
ing of Mr. Witman, his wife, son and
daughter, were tied with their hands
upon their backs, and all four thrust
into an adjoining room, where two of
the scoundrels, armed with revolvers,
kept watch over theth, while the others
searched the house. Finding no one to
resist them, they returned and demand
ed money, or the keys to the place where
the valuables were kept. Mrs. Witman
exhibited the most courage, and refused,
until her husband and children be
sought her, to tell where the keys were
concealed. She at last yielded, and
pointed to a spot under the carpet,
where the thieves found the key to the
money chest. They at once unlocked
the chest, and took from it $4OO in gold
and silver, and $2OO in notes (some of
the Farmers' Bank of Reading, and
others of the Lebanon Bank.) Having
accomplished their object, the robbers
made their exite through the window,
after warning their prisoners, whom
they left bound, not to stir from the
house before 2 o'clock, as one of them
would remain to watch, and would shoot
the first person he saw come out. It
was also said that the one left on guard
would take the black mare out of the
stable at 2 o'clock, and ride after his
companions.
Mrs. \Vitman, being tied only with a
hankerchief, while the others were
bound with halter-ropes, was the first
to free herself, and between 1 and 2
o'clock, she ventured out into the stable.
Finding all right there, she went back
and loosened the others. No trace of
the robbers could then be discovered,
although it was evident that they must
have been persons who had some ac
quaintance with the place. They were all
dressed in dark clothing, and apparent
ly between 25 and 35 years of age. One
of them was an uncommonly stout,
large man, with dark hair and beard.
His three accomplices were about 5A
feet high, two with beards and one with
shaven face. Mr. Witthan offers a re
ward of $lOO fOr the detection of the
perpetrators of this daring robbery, and
SMO for the recovery of the money.—
Reading Gazette.
What Does It Mean?
The Washington correspondent of the
N. Y. Tribune writes as follows:
The regular Rebel mail-carrier between
Washington and Richmond, of the
dentist persuasion, who has for eighteen
months rejoiced in cotton permits and
an enriching trade in Mississippi Valley,
arrived here yesterday direct from Rich
mond, in the regular course of his busi
ness, with a well-founded contempt for
the Old Capitol Prison, and a just scorn
of courts-martial. Breckinridge passed
him through the Rebellines. His open
sesame of our lines can be guessed.—
Cotton is king; and cotton will be king
until the fortieth Congress makes and
tries an impeachment for treasonable
trade in cotton.
A large emigration of Chinese is flow
ing into British Columbia.
Message of Jefferson Davis.
The following is the message of Jef
ferson Davis, to receive which he deem
ed it worth while to request the Con
gress to postpone its adjournment :
To 'the Senate and House of Representatives
of the Confederate States of America:
When informed on Thursday lastthat
it was the intention of Congress to ad
journ sine die on the ensuing Saturday,
I deemed it my duty to request a post
ponement of the adjournment, in order
that I might submit for your considera
tion certain matters of public interest
which are now laid before you. When
that request was made the most import
ant measures that had occupied your
attention during the session had not
been so far advanced as to be submitted
for executive action, and the state of the
country had been so materially affected
by the events of the last four months as
to evince the necessity of further and
more energetic legislation than was con
templated in November last.
Our country is now environed with
perils which it is our duty calmly to
contemplate. Thus alone can the meas
ures necessary to avert threatened ca
lamities be wisely divised and efficiently
enforced.
Recent military operations of the
enemy have been successful in the cap
ture of some of our seaports; - in inter
rupting some of our lines of communi
cation and in devastating large districts
of our country. These events have had
the natural effect of encouraging our
foes and dispiriting many of our people.
The capital of the Confederate States is
now threatened, and is in greater danger
than it has heretofore been during the
war: The fact is stated without reserve
or concealment as due to the people
whose servants we are, and in whose
courage and constancy entire trust is
reposed ; as due to you iu whosewisdom
and resolute spirit the people have con
fided, for the adoption of the measures
required to guard them from threatened
perils.
While stating to you that our country
is in danger, I desire also to state my
deliberate conviction that it is
our power to avert the calamftie s
which menace us, and to secur e
the triumph of the sacred caul
for which so much sacrifice has
been made, so much suffering endured,
so many precious lives been lost. Thi s
result is to be obtained by fortitude, by
courage, by constancy in enduring the
sacrifice still needed ; in a word, by the
prompt and resolute devotion of the
whole resources of men and money iii
the Confederacy to the achievement of
our liberties and independence.
The measures now required, to be suc -
cessful, should be prompt. Long delib -
eration and protracted debate over im -
portant measures are not only natural
but laudable in representativeassemble
under ordinary circumstances, but it
moments of danger, when action be
comes urgent, the delay thus caused ;
itself a new source of peril. Thus it ha:;
unfortunately happened that some o
the measures passed by you in pursuance
of the recommendations contained
my message of November last have:
been so retarded as to lose much of their
value, or have for the same reason, been.
abandoned after being matured, because
no longer applicable to our altered con
dition, and others have not been brought,
under examination. In making these:
remarks, it is far from my intention to
attribute the loss of time to any other
cause than those inherent in delibera-.
tive assembles, but only urgently to re
commend prompt action upon the
measures now submitted.
We need for carrying on the war suc
cessfully men and supplies for the
army. We have both withinour country
sufficient to attain success.
To obtain the supplies, it is necessary
to protect productive districts, guard
our lines of communications by an in
crease in the number of our forces; and
hence it results that with a large aug
mentation in the number of men in the
army, the facility of supplying the
troops would be greater, than with our
recent reduced strength.
For the purchase of supplies now re
quired, especially for the armies in Vir
ginia and North Carolina, the treasury
must be provided with means, and a
modification in the impressment law is
required. It has been ascertained by
examination that we have within our
reach a sufficiency of what is most
needed for the army, and without hav
ing recourse to the ample provision ex
isting
in those parts of the Confederacy
with which our communication has
been partially interrupted by hostile
operations. But in some districts flora
which supplies are to be drawn, the in
habitants being either within the
enemy's lines or in very close proximity,
are unable to make use of Confederate
treasury notes for the purchase of arti
cles of prime necessity, and it is neces
sary that, to some extent, coin be paid
in order to obtain supplies. It is there
fore recommended that Congress devise
the means for making available the coin
within the Confederacy for the purpose
of supplying the army. The officers of
the supply dpartments report that with
two millions of dollars in coin the
armies in Virginia and North Carolina
can be amply supplied for the remainder
of the year, and the knowledge of this
fact should suffice to insure the adoption
of the measures necessary to obtain this
moderate sum.
The impressment law, as it now ex
ists, prohibits the public officers from
impressing supplies without making
payment of the valuation at the time of
impressment. The limit fixed for the
issue of Treasury notes has been nearly
reached, and the Treasury cannot al
ways furnish the funds necessary for
prompt payment, while the law for
raising revenue which would have af
forded means for diminishing, if not re
moving this difficulty, was, unfortu
nately, delayed for several months, and
has just been signed. In this condition
of things it is impossible to supply the
army, although ample stores may exist
in the country, whenever the owners
refuse to give credit to the public officer.
It is necessary that this restriction on
the power of impressment be removed.
The power is admitted to be objection
able, liable to abuse, and unequal in its
operation on individuals: yet all these
objections must yield to absolute neces
sity. It is also suggested that the sys
tem of valuation now established ought
to be radically changed.
The legislation requires in such cases
of impressment, that the market price
be paid, but there is really no market
price in many cases, and then valuation
is Made arbitrarily and in a depreciated
currency. The result is that the most
extravagant prices are fixed, such as no
one expects ever to be paid in coin.—
None believe that the Government can
ever redeem in coin the obligation to
pay S:5O a bushel for corn, or S7O a barrel
for flour. It would seem to be more
just and appropriate to estimate the sup
plies impressed at their value in coin ;
to give the obligation of the Government
for the payment of the price in coin with
reasonable interest, or at the option of
the creditor to return in kind the wheat
or corn impresed, with a reasonable in
terest also payable in kind ; and to make
the obligations thus issued receivable
for all payments due in coin to the Gov
ernment. Whatever be the value at
tached by Congress to these suggestions,
it is hoped that there will be no hesita
tion in so changing the law as to render
it possible to supply the army in case of
necessity by the impressment of pro
visions for that purpose.
The measure adopted to raise revenue,
though liberal in its provisions, being
clearly inadequate to meet the arrear of
debt and the current expenditures, some
degree of embarrassment in the man
agement of the finances must continue
to be felt. It is to be regretted, I think,
that the recommendation of the Secre
tary of the Treasury, of a:tax on agricul
tural income, equal to the augmented
tax on other incomes, payable in Treas
ury notes, was rejected by Congress.
This tax would have contributed mate
rially to facilitate the purchase of
provisions, and diminish the necessity
that is now felt for a supply of coin.
The measures passed by Congress
during the session for recruiting the
army and supplying the additional
force needed for the public defense have
been, in my judgement, insufficient, and
I am impelled by a profound conviction
of duty, and stimulated by a sense of
the perils which surround our country,
to urge upon you additional legislation
on this subject.
The bill for employing negroes as
soldiers has not yet reached me, though
the printed journals of your proceed
ings inform me of its passage. Much
benefit is anticipated from this measure
though far less than would have result
' ed from its adoption at an earlier date,
so as to afford time for their organization
and instruction during the winter
months.
The bill for diminishing the number
of exempts has just been made the sub
ject of a special message, and its pro
visions are such as would add no
strength to the army. The recommen
dation to abolish all class exemptions
has met with your favor, although still
deemed by me a valuable and important
measure; and the number of men ex
empted by a new clause in the act just
passed, is believed to be quite equal to
that of those whose exemption is re
voked. A law of a few lines repealing
all class exemptions would not only
strengthen the forces in the field, but
be still more beneficial by abating the
natural discontent and jealousy created
In the army by the existence of classes
privileged by law to remain in places of
safety, while their fellow-citizens are
exposed in the trenches and the field.
The measure most needed, however,
at the present time, for affording an
effective increase to our military
strength is a general militia law, such
as the Constitution authorizes Congress
to pass by granting to it power " to pro
vide for organizing, arming and disci
plining the militia, and for governing
such part of them as may be employed
in the service of the Confederate States"
L--and the further,power " to provide for
calling forth the militia to execute the
laws of the Confederate States, suppress
insurrections and repel invasions." The
necessity for the exercise of this power
can never exist, if not in the circum
stances which now surround us. The
security of the States against any in
croachment by the Confeerate Govern
ment, is amply provided by the Consti
tution, by "reserving to the States, re
spectively, the appointment of the offi
cers, and the authority of training the
militia,
according to the discipline pre
scribed by Congress."
A law is needed to prescribe not only
how and of what persons the militia
are to be organized, but to provide the
mode of calling them out. If instances
be required to show the necessity for
such a general law, it is sufficient to
mention that in one case I have been
informed by the Governor of a State
that the law does not permit him to call
the militia from one county for service
in another, so that a single brigade of
the enemy could traverse the State and
devastate each county in turn, without
any power on the part of the Executive
to use the militia for elective defense ;
while in another State, the Executive
refused to allow the militia " to be em
ployed in the service of the Confeder
ate States," in the absence of a law for
that purpose.
I have heretofore, in a confidential
message to the two Houses, stated the
facts which induce me to consider it
necessary that the privilege of the writ
of habeas corpus should be suspended.
The conviction of the necessity of this
measure bas become deeper as the events
of the struggle have been developed.
Congress has not concurred with me in
opinion. It is my duty to say that the
time has arrived when the suspension
of the writ is not simply advisable and
expedient, but almost indispensable to
the successful conduct of the war. On
Congress must rest the responsibility of
declining to exercise a power conferred
by the Constitution as a means of public
safety to be used in periods of national
peril resulting from foreign invasion.
If our present circumstances are not
such as were contemplated when this
power was conferred, I confess myself
at a loss to imagine any contingency in
which this clause of the Constitution
will not remain a dead letter.
With the prompt adoption of the
measures above recommended, and the
united and hearty co-operation of Con
gress and the people in the execution of
the laws and the defense of the country,
we may enter upon the present campaign
with cheerful confidence ip the result.
And who can doubt the cdhtinued exis
tance of that spirit and fortitude in the
people, and of that constancy under
reverses which alone are needed to
render our success seoure ? What other
resource remains available but the
undying, unconquerable resolve to be
free? It has become certain beyond all
doubt or question, that we must continue
this struggle to a successful issue, or
must make abject and unconditional
submission to such terms as it shall
please the conqueror to impose on us
after our surrender. If a possible doubt
could exist after the con ference between
our Commissioners and Mr. Lincoln as
recently reported to you, it would be
dispelled by a recent occurrence, of
which it is proper that you should be
informed.
Congress will remember that in the
conference above referred to our com
missioners were informed that the Gov
ernment of the United States would not
enter into any agreement or treaty what
ever with the Confederate States, nor
with any single State; and that the only
possible mode of obtaining peace was
by laying down our arms, disbanding
our forces, and yielding unconditional
obedience to the laws of the United
States, including those passed for the
confiscation of our property, and the
Constitutional Amendment for the abo
lition of Slavery. It will further be re
membered that Mr. Lincoln deelared
that the only terms on which hostilities
could cease, were those stated in his
message of December last, in which we
were informed that in the event of our
penitent submission, he would temper
Justice with mercy ; and that the ques
tion whether we would be governed as
dependent territories, or permitted to
have a representation in their Congress,
was one on which he could promise
nothing, but which would be decided
by their Congress, after our submission
had been accepted.
It has not, however, been hitherto
stated to you, that in the course of the
conference at Fortress Monroe, a sug
gestion was made by one of our Commis
sioners that the objections entertained
by Mr. Lincoln to treating with the
Government of the Con federcy, or with
any separate State might be avoided, by
substituting for the usual mode of ne
gotiating through Commissioners or
other diplomatic agents, the method
sometimes employed of a military con
vention to be entered into by the Com
manding Generals of the two belliger
ents. This, he admitted, was a power
possessed by him, though it was not
thought commensurate with all the
questions involved. As he did not ac
cept the suggestion when made, he was
afterward requested to reconsider his
conclusion, upon thesubject of a suspen
sion of hostilities, which he agreed to
do, but said that he had maturely con
sidered of the plan, and had determined
that it could not be done.
Subsequently, however, an interview
with Gen. Longstreet was asked for by
Gen. Ord, commanding the enemy's
Army of the James, during which Gen.
Longstreet was informed by him that
there was a possibility of arriving at a
satisfactory adjustment of the present
unhappy difficulties, by means of a
military convention, and that if Gen.
Lee desired an interview on the subject,
it would not be declined, provided (:en.
Lee had authority to act. This com
munication was supposed to be the con
sequence of the suggestion above re
ferred to, and Gen. Lee, according to
instructions, wrote to Gen. Grant, on
the 2d of this month, proposing to meet
him for conference on the subject, and
stating that he was vested with the
requisite authority. Gen. Grant's reply
stated that he had no authority to ac
cede to the proposed conference, that
his powers extended only to making a
convention on subjects purely of a mili
tary character, and that Gen. Ord could
only have meant that an interview
would not be refused on any subject on
which he, Gen. Grant, had the right to
act.
It thus appears that neither with the
Confederate authoi ities, nor the author
ities of any State, nor through the com
manding generals, will the Government
of the United States treat or make any
terms or agreement whatever for the.
cessation of hostilities. There remains
then for us no choice but to continue
this contest to a final issue ; for the
people of the Confederacy can be but
little known to him who supposes it
possible they would ever consent to pur
chase, at the cost of degradation and
slavery, permission to live in a country
garrisoned by :their own negroes, and
governed by officers sent by the con
queror to rule over them.
Having thus fully placed before you
the information requisite to enable you
to judge of the state of the country, the
dangers to which we are exposed, and
measures of legislation needed for avert
ing them, it remains for me but to in
voke your attention to the consideration
of those means by which above all others
we may hope to escape the calamities
that would result from our failure.
Prominent, above all others, is the ne
cessity for earnest and cordial co-opor
ation between all departments of Gov
ernment, State and Confederate,: and all
eminent citizens throughout the Cou
federacy. To you, especially, as Sena
tors and Representatives, do the people
look for encouragement and counsel.
To your action, not only in the legisla
tive halls, but in your homes, will their
eyes be turned for the example of what
is befitting men, who by willing sacri
fices on the altar of freedom, show that
they are worthy to enjoy its blessings.
I feel full confidence that you will
concur with me in the conviction that
your public duties will •not be ended
when you shall have closed the legisla
tive labors of the session, but that your
voice will be heard cheering and en
couraging the people to that presistent
fortitude which they have hitherto dis
played, and animating them by the
manifestation of that serene confidence
which intmoments of public danger is
the distintive characteristic of the pa
triot, who derives courage from his
devotion to his country's destiny, and is
thus enabled to inspire the like courage
in others.
Thus united in a common and holy
cause, rising above all selfish considera
tions, rendering all our means and facul
ties tributary to the country's welfare,
let us bow submissively to the Divine
will, and reverently invoke the blessing
of our Heavenly Father, that as He pro
tected and guided our sires when strug
gling in a similar cause, so he will enable
us to guard safely our altars and our fire
sides, and maintain inviolate the politi
cal rights which we inherited.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Richmond, Mara/ 18, 1865.
Vandalism of Our Troops In Columbia.
The special correspondent of the New
York ficraid gives the following ac
count of the disgraceful conduct of a
portion of our troops on the occupation
of Columbia:
I spent the evening in the Capitol
looking
over the archives and libraries.
Part ofColonel Stone's brigade—l think
the Thirteenth lowa, Colonel Kenne
dy's regiment—were on duty there.
Col. :gone and Col. Kennedy had
earned an enviable fame in being the
first to hoist the flag of freedom over
Columbia.
Coming on night,crowds of our escaped
prisoners, soldiers and negroes, intoxi
cated w ah their new born liberty, which
they looked upon as license to do as they
pleased, were parading the streets in
groups
As. soon as night set in there ensued a
sad scene indeed. The suburbs were
first set on fire, some assert by the burn
ing cotton which the rebels had piled
along the streets. Pillaging gangs soon
fired heart of the town, then entered
the houses, in many instances carrying
off articles of value. The flame soon
burst out in all parts of the city, and the
streets were quickly crowded with help
less women and children—some in their
night-clothes. Agonized mothers, seek
ing their children, all afrighted and ter
rified, were rushing on all sides from
the raging flames and falling houses.
Invalids had to be dragged from their
beds, and lay exposed to the flames and
smoke that swept the streets, or to the
cold of the open air in back yards.
The scene at the Convent was a sad
one indeed. The flames were fast en
compassing the Convent, and the Sis
ters and about sixty terrified young la
dies huddled together on the streets.
Some of these had come from the North,
previous to the war, for their education,
and were not able to return. The Su
perioress of the Convent had educated
General Sherman's daughter, Minnie.
He had assigned them a special guard
of six men, so they felt secure, and were
totally unprepared for the dreadful
scene that ensued. Some Christian,
people formed a guard around this icron
ized group of ladies and conducted then
to the park.
Toward morning General Hazen, who
lay encamped, outside the town, hearing
of the sad state of aflitirs, ordered Col.
011iner and his brigade to clear out the
city and restore order at the point of the
bayonet. This they did, taking aeouple
of hundred of prisoners, bayoneting
some and killing one. Though Hazen
has proved himself a true and tried sol
on many a battle field, such an act does
more credit to his heart than a victory
over the enemy. Several officers, too,
ventured their lives in this charitable
attempt to restore order. Colonel York,
of General Logan's staff was fired at
while thus engaged. It is to be regret
ted that the burning of the city was ac
companied by many riotous scenes.—
Sherman and his generals are very much
hurt about it, as it was quite against
their orders.
The negroes and escaped prisoners
were infuriated, and easily incited the
inebriated soldiers to join them in their
work of vandalism. Governor Mc-
Grath and Gen. Wade Hampton are
partly accountable for the destruction
of their city. General Beauregard, the
Mayor, Mr. Goodwin and others wanted
to send a deputation as far as Orange
burg to surrender the city, and when
evacuating to destroy all the liquors.
In both of these wise views they were
overruled by the Governor and Wade
Hampton—the latter stating that he
would defend the town from house to
house.
The houses of the Prestons, Honystons
and other wealthy seeesh were occupied
as official quarter, and were preserved.
During the fire it was melancholy to
witness the agonized torture of the sick
and wounded in the rebel hospital,
which contained over three hundred.
The streets and buildings around it were
on fire, but fortunately it escaped.
Several soldiers and citizens must have
been buried in the ruins of falling houses
or caught by the devouring flames.
Next morning I saw a lady, a crazy in
mate of the asylum, whose child had
been burned during the night.
The Pith of February dawned upon a
city of ruins. All the business portions
—the main streets, the old Capitol, two
churches and several publicand private
buildings were one pile of rubbish and
bricks. Nothing remained but the tall
spectre looking chimneys. The noble
looking trees that shaded the streets,
the flower gardens that graced them,
were blasted and withered by fire. The
streets were full of rubbish, broken fur
niture and groups of crouching, despond
ing, weeping, helpless women and chil
dren.
The park and lunatic asylum, as af
fording the greatest chance of safety,
were crowded with these miserable out
casts. In one place I saw a lady richly
dressed, with three pretty little chil
dren clinging to her. She was sitting
on a mattrass, while round her were
strewn some rich paintings, works of
art and virtu. It was a picture of hope
less misery surrounded by the trappings
of refined taste and wealth. General
Sherman ordered six hundred head of
cattle and some stores to be left for the
nuns and the destitute.
The New Postal Act.
The new act relating to the postal
laws provides that, all domestic letters,
except letters lawfully franked, and
duly certified letters of soldiers and
marines in the service of the United
States, which are deposited for mailing
in any post office of the United States,
on which postage is unpaid, shall be
sent by postmasters to the Dead Letter
Office in Washington, and all letters
deposited for mailing, paid only in part,
forwarded to the destination, charged
with the unpaid rate, to be collected on
delivery.
The provisions of the act for the relief
of postmasters who have been robbed
by Confederate forces or rebel guerrillas,
approved April, Until, are extended to
cases of loyal postmasters, whe're by
reason of the presence of armed forces,
a post office is destroyed, and the post
master loses the fixture, and furniture,
or postage stamps, or stained envelopes,
and to cases where such losses are oc
casioned by armed forces other than
those of the so-called Confederate States.
The Postmaster General is authorized
to allow for publication in newspapers
of the list of non delivered letters at any
post office, the compensation not to ex
ceed two cents for each letter so adver
tised, and is also authorized to cause the
mails to be transported between the
United States and any foreign port or
ports, or between ports of the United
States touching at a foreign port by
steamship, allowing and paying there
for, if by any American vessel, any sum
not exceeding the sea and United States
inland postage, and if by a foreign vessel
any sum not exceeding the sea postage
on the mails so conveyed.
The system of free delivery is to be
established in every place containing a
population of 50,000 within the delivery
of the office thereof, and at such other
places as the Postmaster General in his
judgment shall direct: Provided that
the pre payment postage on drop letters
in all places where free delivery is not
established shall be one cent only. Per
sons depositing obscene books, pam
phlets, &c., in the mails are to be pun
ished by fine and imprisonment.
Defe4ted
The bill appointing Commissioners
to assess the damages from rebel raids
in the border counties of the State has
been defeated in the House by a vote of
52 noes to 43 ayes. It was discussed at
length by Messrs. Barr, Purdy, Bow
man, McClure and Sharpe in favor, and
by Messrs. Brown, Manley, Denvers,
Wells, Koontz, McKinley, Rill, Bemus,
Ruddimau and Cochran, Erie, against.