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rnwaastcarai m 11 - n i-^-<B*-IIW?T> COLUMBIA. Saturday Morning, May. 20, 1865. Morals of the Highway. The morals of the highway seem to he thc only morals left in the country. The wort of demoralization seems complete. We hear of nothing but robbery and j lunder on every baud. Our .stables aro insecure. "We hear of nightly stealing; horses and mules being the chief objects ct" the thieves, at ],r(scnt. Provisions, stored, bacon, bread, cloth aird medicines, thciC were stolen as long ns any remained to steal within these precincts. The offi? cials of thc Confederate Government arc chnrced numerously with inaugurating this reign of plunder. Wc arc told of numbers departing for their own homes with thc supplies and public stores left, in their possession for the bon cfit of the sol? diers. These arc everywhere left, desti. tuto, to droop and even die along the way | side; or, following the < samples set cqcallv by the people and the officials, to become highway robbers, as it were, in self-de? fence and for tho maint enan cc of life. Band?, to thc number of sixty or seventy, are understood to be haunting the imme? diate precincts of this exhausted city, preyiug upon what miserable debris of property has been left-to thc citizens from " the conflagration. These outlaws arc all armed. In many instances, their names arc given. Yet we hear of no prosecu? tions. Ordinances of God and men are violated with impunity, and the ofTenders scorn equally to feel, the distress which pleads to their pity and sympathy and the laws which threaten punishment. And this seems to be the case in all quarters. On thc road between this, place and Orangchnrg, there is reported to bc a for? midable gang of plunderers, numberiug at least two hundred, who live by plunder? ing the traveller. Parties who have gone forth, seeking their own or other homes for bread for their wives and little ones, have been stripped of everything and been sent hack hero, ia ?,lie?r-nakedness. *:o starve! "And so it must continue lo be so long as authority sleeps ia its easy chair, and the law forbears to resent the outrage which boldly plucks her by the heard, and tears thc robe from her hack and the mace of power from her grasp. We have magis? trates who hear all these things-to whom the names of offenders have been given easy to arrest, who walk the streets daily; nay, divide their spoils-(,is wc are told) in the very streets and in the open face u? day; and yet authority sleeps; power, in its hands, becomes but a cl?ld's bauble, and thc fool's cap supersedes the sable cap of judgment on her head. There is no authority, because there is no people Thc people are, in too many cases, linked too closely with the offenders, to goad-justice into the exercise of power. Shall we wonder that God decrees our humiliation -that iie forces us down upon our knees, with our nioifths in the dust, and makes our shame a grinning and a spectacle in t!i'.- eyes of all the nations, lt is a great error-nay, a crime-to charge these sins upon our soldiers. Many of these, no doubt, are guilty, and, in the wretched condition in which they have, so long lived-in the pitiahlo condition in which they have- been Lit-abandoned to their late hy the people for whom they have so long bled and fought-abandoned by thc Government, which has wasted their strength and left them -without the means of returning to their homes-sacrificing them to the last-for these, there would be some excuse; and while we should lamcnt.'it would not sui prise us to behold . the brave soldier cf Lee's or Johnston's army occasionally subsiding into the out? law and tho highway robber. Put the greater number of those who now ravuge the country are not soldiers-they have skulked the war-have never lifted wea? pon in the cause, and are - imply thieves, incendiaries, rullians, robbers-having enormous appetites, which they have nou? rished in idleness, and without a ;finglc virtue of manhood to redeem the thousand vices in their mond constitutions. That, with such a people, wc should fail ns a people, should occasion no surprise. How ?an God save such a people? Whnt mad? ness to think that, with a cause never so noble and virtu >::\ li? should niaise it to prosper, when sieh a people are its sup pi i t . rs; and how, if successful, should they realize any good result from inde ji LiiC? Independence rs properly thu bestowal upon virtue, and the several virtues which ma'ce nnnh >od- industry, thrift, intelligence, resolve-'humanity nn<l courage. "We must deserve Goa's favor to secure it We must prove our adequacy to self-government before TC cnn acquire its privileges or assert itsu<=es; and failing in this capacity, tre lire delivered over to Yankee masters, even as thc Israelites, thc favorite people of the Lord, wore subject ed to thc stern domination of Egyptian, Assyrian. Philistine, Chaldean,Babylonian, and finally deprived of all niitionalit}' under thc iron yoke of the Roman. That God has not wholly abandoned us, is shown by his chastisements. It is by these that he would humble in order to reform, and reform in order that he might save. Let us learn the lesson. .Let us drink of our cup of bitterness, and accept the humiliation, with all its ashes in our mouths, that wo may savo the children of our loins from that f ile from which we were not able to save ourselves. Last Humors. There is a report along thc street"", that Gen. Forrest bas captured Vicksburg, with all the United Stales stores in that place; .taken several steamers, and, with them, crossed his own and Gen. Lick Tay? lor's army. If this he so, there ??then no organized forces in arms for the Confed? erate States on this sj de tue Mississippi. The several army commands are all dis? banded, under thc terms of Convention a* agreed upon hy Sherman and Johnston; the soldiers have mostly gone quietly to their homes, and a calm, wonderfully con? trasting the late storm, overspreads the cis-Mississippi region. The calm is apathy and temporary stagnation. It is thc peace of death. Never did armies so suddenly collapse-nevei was wreck of a Govern? ment more complete-and never before did a people subside more thoroughly before the arms of a conqueror. If wc are not a subjugated people, wc should be a greatly humbled one. Assassination. Everybody at the North seems to be apprehensive of assassination now-even as a large number of our soi disant di tingun fancied themselves ia danger ul short shrift and sudden cord when th? Yankees were iii Carolina. The guilt\ dee when no "man pursueth! SelfeSteerr always fancies itself a conspicuous-mail for the usurper or the assassin. Here now, i; Senator Charles Sumner, beginning to alarm his friends and the publie will new dangers to his head and throat. Reai the following, and see upon what slende grounds the presses and the people atv thrown into a peck of troublous apprehen, sious. Verily, the time was ''that, whei the brains were out, the man was dead; but take the brains out as'you will, yoi have done but little to quiet vanity, unies you lake the tongue out also. At tin rate, assassination will soon run itself int the ground. Parley telegraphs from Wash ington to the Boston Journal: A report telegraphed hence that. Sc nator Sumner was shot atone night la^ week was untrue, but was doubtles founded on information now iu the posse: sion of the authorities that two attempt have been made to assassinate thc S en a tot One of these att.-mpts was made a nigh or two ago, and the other made iu .Jam' ary last, lt was a knowledge of thea attempts, and of threatening letters r< eeived by Senator Sumner, that prompte some of his friends tn request that a sentr he posted at thc door of thc house i which ho resides. When the Senato questioned the sentry as to who had hit stationed there, tho reply was, '"The Coi poral ordered me to remain until relieve? and not to leave this post should you sen me away, that being his instructions On the evening in which President L^ucol was assassinated, Senator Sumner w; absent from his rooms. A number of pe sons called,, but no attempt has been ma?] to ascertain who they were; neither di the occurrence of that night prompt tl posting a guard at Senator Sum net's doo which is still kept there. A report is is ia circulation, that Se gea'it Corbett, who shot Booth, ha? be? assassinated himself. Holden, the editor cf the Raleigh Sta dard, is suggested as the Governor North Carolina, ile takes ground again the restoration of Gov. Vance and the e ?sting legislature, and is for a new de: He advocates the adoption of tho cons tutionr.l amendments. abolishing slaver and recognizes the Constitution ot t United Staus as paramount to any Sta Constitution. Chief Justice Chase'-' mission is at said to be for the re-orgaaizatiou of t r'eikral Courts in the South. His niissi will carry hint as far as Galveston, .1 vu New Orleans up the Mississippi. tami HIM i iiiMi ?ii.?!? ni ij? irim-?HM New York Central Park. In thc'tenth year of the reij^n of the "Board of Commissioners of thc Centra! Tai k.1' in the fourthTnontb.'ou the twenty eighth day o"f the month, there came one to view the place and the improvements effected therein. The buckwheat cake was not in his mouth, nor did tho tear stand in lib eye. In place thereof, iie held : in hand a note-book, and Iiis head was occupied hy recollections of the Phoenix Park, in pleasant Dublin; of Wimbledon Common and Sherwood-Forest, of Hyde Park and the Oreen Park, of the Pois de Boulogne of Paris, and the Prator of Vienna. And these arc some of the things he saw and noted and ascertained : A wide sweep of hill and ?late, of rocky knolls and pleasant valleys, extending far? ther than the eye can reach, intended by nature lo be beautiful, and rendered doubly KO by art, combining many r>f the features of chi parks ami forests of the Ohl World, wi.h others never contemplat? ed hy thc European mind, and blending ail into one harmonious and perfect whole. J On the extensive lakes, wild tow! from tho I sunny tropic-- and from frozen Labrador swim, dive and disport themselves. Swans, uubeuding from their stateliness, indulge in the matter of fact duties of incubation . like mete ordinary fowl. Fountains splash their silver spray into Ute air, and? quaint lillie cascades trickle musically over tho rocks. Winding paths lead up to rustic chalets and down into quiet, mossy nooks, where al! -Is sweet nu;sie, that softer falls Than petals from blown roses, on the grass, Or night'dews on still waters, between walls Of shadowy granite, in a streaming pass Nooks so calm and so secluded that even the fibled lotos eaters might pray here to be left alone to cease their wanderings and to "steep their brows in slumbers holy alni." Bathed in the sunlight, the new born foliage of the trees looks brighter and fresher now than nt any oilier period of t!ie year; and at night, Beneath a moon, that just At crescent, dimly rains about the leaves T,Wtlights of airy silver; when the Pleiades, Rising from the mellow shade. Glitter like a swarm of fire flies tangled in a silver nmz", no scene can be fairer or more enchanting. The red maple and the gorgeous "buck? eye," the Alpine laburnums, and tlie wild cherry and plu:n trees, make the air fra? grant with'th?ir blossom. White and red blueberries, scarlet fruited thorns, hollow leaved .berries, and tho sweet scented Honeysuckle, tend their charms to the landscape. Over the parter; es, the spireas in their snowy whiteness, ihe yellow flowered forsythias, purple azuleas and magnolias, und the deep crimsoned Japan? ese quinces, east their resplendent hues; and tendrilled bignonias and other creep? ing pdants climb over thc great brown boulders like rooks. Hut all is riot ?-ill life within thc park. On a fine atternoon, the carriage drives bristle with animation. The beauty and fashion of the metropolis are lhere, and the drives encircling the "Mall" rival those of its European prototype in tho elegance and variety of the equipages displayed. From the dashing and costly barouche, with its doulile patented springs and em? blazoned panels, ?own to the unpretend? ing buggy, there arc many gradations in the carriage maker's art; bul in the fore? most rank must be placed those excruciat? ing little pony chariots, with tho nattiest of steeds and the fairest of drivers, in which the ladies of >>Cv York have lat? terly taken to outshine the meaner sex. In such a chariot, Ph ehus himself might wish to drive, and Thetis could hardly blame him. Here, however, let us halt and cool our enthusiasm, as many others do, with an ice and a glass of refreshing Catawba at thc pretty little salon over whio.h Messrs- Radford ?fe Sieison so e!li cicntly preside. Having done so, we ivens ready to proceed- In variety and extent, tlie drives nt present aro almost unequaled. The extension of the East Drive, which N now being pushed forward rapidly to com? pletion, will give one continuous earriaire road over eitjht miles lon^. If tlie farther proposed extension t.- Washington Heights be carried into effect, as there is every reason to hope and expect, it will be, this will legthen the route eight or ten nub s more, and with the wideudening of iii?; drive to Macotnbs' Dam, will form the li nest boulevard in the world. Though tbe Park itself, thanks to the unremitting efforts of the Commissioner?, lias . been saved from tlie desecration of becoming a giant advertising medium, its approaches have not escaped a similar fate. Thc spirit of sordid utilitarianism which would daub the Pyramids of Egypt with recom inendotioiis to try "Harper Twelvetrees Soap Powders," or ..Holloway's Pills," lias been at work here, and the grand oh: rocks all around the Park ara besmeared with.advertisements of "Wahoo Bitters,' (which ought to be read "Yahpo,") "Dys? pepsia Cures," and "Vermin Extractors.' Th? zoological collection, for want o better accommodations, lias been retaine?. in a:-.d about the old arsenal, lt need: sonic fortitude to approach tho hui ld j iii from tho rear, for, lied toa willow tree three surly looking African bullaloo: ^recentadditions) aro munching the newly i mown grass. Tho bull has a kind of ?ata ra ct over one eye, which seat eely conceal il J vicious glamour; bis better half stand by his side, watching his movements, an< t. : v.- i r calf-a plump little fellow, about tb ?11 ir nw II uni - rr*"" ' "' '"" size ot a Welsh bullock, and as } et uncon? scious of Iiis .?trenci.il-Ibofes about him in undisguised amazement. 1 or all th?-y swallow tbe foo.l offered tbeni with appa? rent relish; a handful of dry rice straw is | found to be more to their taste than the j succulent herbage; and, doubtless, it '.hi ir j own views were;consulted, n little more liberty nr.d a little less care wouhJ pleas? them heiter. Such a coors-, hoxvevi .-, is not consistent with tho public safety, r.s, . though seemingly quiet enough, they have proved themselves treacherous and in- , cliued tn do mischief when Gie opportu ai tv presents. At night, they ure fastened up inside the building Their treachery is equalled by that of tho fine prairie wolf farther on. fihaegy as a Newfoundland dog, he seejns almost as playful. Lying down on bis side, he will loy with any object which visitors, when the keepers aro oui.of sight, thrust into his cage, and then suddenly start up and di: play ail his native ferocity. He and his wives, with the black boar close to them, are kent ont 'of doors nicht an* day. Odd is their nativcelement; they only shiver with heat. Watch the raccoon yonder, whose cage di? vides the -wolvi-s. from the bear. What depths pf cunning and smartness lurk in his restless-bead like eye. Do \"ow longer doubt the cunning of the 'cen?, who, when "treed," phonied to the sportsman, "Don't shoot, captain, Pl: come down; 'taint no matter o' use?" We do not; but. we firmly believe that, if the captain granted the armistice, he found himself, Lbe Sherman, very considerably outwitted. You may stroke with impunity that patient/looking she camel, with her interesting offspring standing just the ol her side ot the (once. They have spent the winter with Yan Atiiburgh, and are pretty well used to the v.*ays"oi' men. They hardly se?-m happy, though. Tears are streaming down the. ( old one's face. She evidently is sighing for her native desert und u. drink of water once^i month. "Walk inside, ladies and gentleman, nr.d you shall see what yon shall see-a live lion." Stay! There is not a live lion, nor yet a tiger, but lhere are representatives of many other classes of ferae nature:. A magnificent bittern, some line tortoises, quite a number of ant bears, as?playful as kittens and as harmless; monkeys more playful but not so innocent, and a fine collection of birds. Tue English lady who landed-at Calais, and was astonished to rind tlrat even the little children spoke french, would have more food for amaze? ment here. There aro parrots which speak Spanish. Out in thc grounds, tiiere is a handsome dove cote, containing some hWndreds ol beautiful pigeo'is, pouters, tumbler-, Car? riers, fantails, Sc., Some ono lately de? scribed the dove-cote as containing "one hundred and "twenty-five different- varie? ties," and, truth to say, the institutions of that colony seem to he framed on the Groat Salt Lake model, and Darwin him? self would bepuzzled to decide tho origin ot some of the species. Near the Casino, in an enclosed space, with a somewhat scanty supply of herb? age and ol' room, are tho dcer,Jfcmrteen in number. Enclosed with them are two Cape of Good Hope sheep, with tails weighing thirty pounds each, and fleshy enough to allow of '?sheep-tail .steaks." There is al-o a fine female elk. A Flores bull, from Hartford, Conn.-.1 tawny huh fellow, hardly bigger than a e<>od sized I dog-has lately beenVpresented to the Park. He has been turned out with the 1 sheep, and apparently has persuaded him- 1 self that he is "one of the family.'' Nearly the whole of the second floor of the arsenal has hi en devoted to the forra alio? of a statuary room to hold the casis presented to the nation by Mrs. Crawford? the widow o? the distinguished American sculptor. Among the best known ami finest of these casts are the "Indian Hunter," "Indian Girl," and "I adi.in Chief," the "Dying Indian Girl," the "Peri," "America," and the ..Woodsman." Boating on the lakes has already com? menced. The band will begin tu play on Saturday afternoons in a week or two. Planting is being carried o:i .-.-..Mg--1 ?eal! ., and the daily number of visitors is rapidly augmenting.-Y-ic York Herald. TAKIXG THE ?ATI! OK ALLKCIAXCK.--Most <>f the prominent official.-, and citizens of Richmond have taken the oath of alle? giance to the United States Government, and there is a very general disposition purnong tho masses of citizens, to follow their example. Among those who have subscribed to tho oath arc Joseph Mayo, ? Mayor of Richmond; Judge William H. Lyons, Judge of thc Hustings Court; Lit? tleton Tazewell, Prosecuting Attorney in the same Court; Thomas C. Dudley, City Sergeant; Judge Meredith, of the Circuit Court of Richmond; P. II. Aylett, late Prosecuting Attorney bf the Confederate States District Court; Joseph lt. Anderson. Proprietor of the Tredegar Iron Woiks; Wm. II. MacfarlanJ, President of the Farm.TS' Bank, ami others le>s prominent. Physicians, lawyers and professional men generally, with some fow exceptions, bawd tfikeu the oath and resumed the practice of their professions. We have rio data upon which to calculate thc number of oaths administered; but tho aggregate em? braces a large per centage ot the male resident population. [Richmond Whiff, Maj 2. Tho signers to the call for a public meet? ing in Charleston, on the lUth inst., were Jarnos Lynch, John F. Ponpeuheim, M. I)., W. h. Houston, Samuel Hart, Sr., Mm Van Winkle and John Ferguson. liOcal -ST "tc-rms FIAT Les.-The ci.ic: owes his r.ic fouudest tow to thc .'.ir ???ty who .-o rr:n ciously anticipated ^"-e oi Ids r.iosi serious wan:-, end sent h itu a gnp) ly of . scellent candies. He w iii now, b\ her lights, be enabled co borrow from lue dreary hours of the night, and it may be that light thus bestowed will bring wilt! it !.. -p.ration. Who knows but that he will sm^ ;i ne'w fong, which shall gladden her ears, ar.': not prove unpleasing in tho ears of ont pleasant public. Ile trusts, at all events-, to be Sble to prove himself grateful for this and all other gifts, by puning them religiously to their proper i;s- s, rind-pro bono ftnblt o. ESTTKSSOXAL.-All subscribers to the Plucni.x .whose subscriptions have ex? pired,' will please como forward and renew, in specie or provisions; otherwise their papers will be stopped. trS* We wish it distinctly understood that our tern.s are c .?'.. ?Co adveitise tnents will, therefore, be inserted unless paid for in advance. We present the following schedule of rates, rn the ca: c of the most obvious com? modities. I''vi" one mont h's subscription to the PhtOu.c, we will receive either of the following, viz: 1 bushel corn. 1^-bnsh. peas or potatoes 5 pvunds butter. 25 IVs. flour, 7 lard. 4 Ihr. candles. 7 " bacon, Jfqis, rice. S dozen eggs. 4 bead of chickens. Wood, vegetables and provisions <;one rallv received at fair market rates ap? proaching the specie standards. A meeting of Ibo colored population i:". Charleston was held at -/.ion Church, on the 9th, with thc view tothc'eslahli-htiieut of a public press in that city to advocate the peculiar interests of that class. Maj. Delaney, Mr. Henley, Sergt, Barclay and others addressed thc meeting. A stock company was to be formed, with share* at ?10. About, sixty .shares were take:: among the audience, and a collection taken to the amount of ?.~?()0. .Subscriptions rc ceived at the Redpath Institute, '??1 King street. The arrests of persons suppose.! to b connected with the conspiracy for the as? sassination ol Lincoln and Seward, already numbers three hundred. Tho magnitud.?? of the affair is said to he such as will cs tonish the country. There is p. quarrel muong tlic captors.of Booth is to the di vision of tho reward. Blood money is precious lei detectives. Tlic Savannah Uiver is to fce relieved ni its obstructions,, and communication*. Ly river, aro expected in a few days between Savannali and Augusta. / 1 ENTLF.MEN wishing to be SHAVED VT or to h?ve their ll Al Ii CUT or SHAMPOON ED, can . be accommodated, next door to the present Post Onie.-. M ay 20 3 * - For Sale, AFINE LE ATI! ER-TOP BUGGY made of best materials-and nearly ns good as new. Also, one sejt SILVER, PLATH) HAR? NESS, nearly as gool as now. Apply soon to JOHN C. DIAL. .3 may 20 ?' Jixst ?cccivcd. LARI), LACON. FLOU Ik MOLASSES, SMOKING and CHEWING TOBA li I CO, SPERM and TALLOW CANDLES, For sale by II. SOLOMON. In tho basement of L. Levy's house, Conloi- ol Plain and Assembly sts. may 20 1* Drugs, Medicines sud Sundries, Al" FISHER ? llEIXirSH S. pUM OPIUM, MORPHIA, SALTS. \ X CHLOROFORM, CALOMEL, BLUE MASS, PAREGORIC, DOVER'S POW DER, Ipecac. Quinine, Hvd. C. Creta. Sul? phur, Rhubarb. Castor Oil, Ergot, Oxid" Bismuth, Nux V?mica, Spirits Nitro. Wil? son's Pills, Cook's Pills, .-Ether. McLan*'s Vennifuire, Dnlby's Crrminativ-. :I . i'. tnnn's Ano.lyne. Gum Aloes, Kre - te. Champion Pilis, Carle Iron, Tar:, Enietie, Bal. Copaiva, Chi. Potassa, H a rt.- h o rr,, Holloway's Pills, Mercurial Chitin :.!. AI.'", Creen Tea, Mason s Blacking. English Pins. Canton Flannel, 2 Calf Skins, Solo Leather, ?> pair Shoes, Matches, Alspice, Cayenne Pepper, Machinery OF, Sb o ? Brushes. Prescriptions prepare ', ns u?j il. Corner of Plain and Henderson Btree's Entrance in the rear, on Henderson stree* may 20 1 X-*?\^j\r j\Totice. TWILL b.i found in the South Carolin 1 (>l!e',''" buildings, in the Library, fn?m 10 a. nr. to 12 m. M ay 4 -I AM ES 1 >. TRA ? ?EWELL. 120 Wrapping Paper. 40 OLD NEWSPAPERS for sale al tl.:' o:VU-e. Pr:.- . 20 and 10 cer.:? 1 !?.?