The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, October 05, 1866, Image 1
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VOLUME XXV. CAMDEN, S. C., FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 5, 1866. - XUMBER^R
;? ! . in " ' iIn ' 1 i-ia'" " N.
; PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY
BLAIR & PEG-RES.
^mSCELLANEOUS.
From the Anderson Intelligencer.
TO DEBrORS AND CREDITORS.
t ? We have been so highly pleased
with the annexed address of Judge
Reese to1 the grand jury of Baldwin
county, Georgia, that we transfer it to
our columns, since the advice is equally
applicable to this section. The re.
lations that exi3t in law between the
two classes of the community arc clearly
set forth, while the relations that
should exist in these" peculiar and trying
times are most forcibly presented
, in the address, xvhicli wc copy from
the Atlanta Intelligencer:
" Haviiig gone through with my instruction
in reference to your statutory
duties^ I beg leave to call your attention
to a subject which, though not
among your prescribed duties, in mv
judgment deeply concerns the morals
and prosperity of our people. I allude
to the relation of debtor aud
creditor as it now exists in this State.
And that I may not be misunderstood,
nor misrepresented, I give you what
I have to sa^upon this subject.in wri+
in ft
It requires no prophetic eye to see
that the feeling now being engendered
between the debtor and creditor class
(unlessjt course of"conduct different
from that now being pursued by both
parties be adopted) will culminate in
deadly hostility, in lawlessness, md in
serious injury to the agricultuial interests
of the country.
On one hand, the debtor, those
property consisted principally in saves
and who by reason of emancipation is
not now possessed of property iufficient
to discharge his pecuniary liabilities,
feels that the action of .<7ovrn
merit has relieved him from all mral
obligation, and is, therefore, indferent
as to the payment of his debts,
On the other hand, the creditor eoing
this indifference, is, in.most cacs,
proceeding to obtain judgment, seas
to be ready to enforce 'the colldcfpn
of his debt to the extent of the det
or's assets,, whenever the law shall ilow
liira do so.
This course of conduct by the r$
spective parties brings about niutua
charges of dishonesty and unfair dealings,
and must, if persisted in, eventually
lead to a state of things, easily
imagined, bard to be depicted, and
greatly to be deplored.
I propose, briefly, to establish the
proposition, that in all cases of debts
contracted prior to the first day of
June, 1865, There the debtor Las not
a sufficiency of property to discharge
all his liabilities, without leaving his
family comparatively destitute, it will
he to the interest of the debtor, to the
\ interest of the creditor, and fyh tVI
+l,o+ ft, V 7i
I \ ^v/vv, VJ mc WJJ1UJ, 1/uvre SllOUl '*
be a compiraMn^be^'^ tb? ^*.??ie?
1^^^ X'"Ai1 ffr ny* fTHrr^ for their guide
l^^^rtile of conduct prescribed by Him
w^m j spake as never man spake, viz:
/As ye would that men should do
W iinto' you, do you also unto them like*.
- wise."
First, then: Will it be to thcinter.
" ;est of the debtor ? It is clear to my
mind that the planter who finds himself
without a sufficiency of property
at a fair valuation, "to pay off his. indebtedness
now, cannot reasonably
expect, under the present labor system,
and with heavy pecuniary liabil1
ities hanging over him, to better his
condition in the pursuit of his former
vocation, and without capital he cannot
"embark in any other busimss.?
* It is not human nature for a man to be
industrious and energetic with judgment
liens against him beyond the
value of his property. He is cons;antIv
exnectinsf the officer of the law tc
take the last luxury, if net the last
comfort, from his family. He becomes
unmanned, useless to'his family in a
to society. It requires no lengthened
.argument to prove that a debtor thus
circumstanced will have mole left bj
/"compounding with his creditor nov
than he will have by waiting for the enc
of the'law;forI am fully pnrsuaded
that there are but few creditors who.
when properly.approached by the hon
=est debtor, will not be willing to com
pound upon liberal terms taking infe
^consideration, if you please, the losse
of himself and the debtor by the a<3
tion of government in abolishing sla
very, and the ratio which the debt b ear
to such losses compared with the prop
erty to ca^h. .you may, amopg cred
itors^ndw and then, find a "pound o
i. 'flesh creat^^''/wft> will be .uhwillinj
,to compound' ujion iriiy terms,' but h
I ' - \
will be the exception, unless I am
much mistaken in the spirit pervading
the creditor class, as also their intelligence
in understanding their own interest.
2d. Will it be to the interest of the
creditor ? "Every lien obtained diminishes
the assets of the debtor to the extent
of costs, at least, and takes from
the creditor the collecting commissions.
A 1+1*^-1-k +1* A CJ+n+A l^oo r?A
-CXltUUU^U. UlC Uta-lVy ilUO iiV/ WWiiivi
law, and may not have constitutional
power to pass one affecting contracts
made prior to its enactment, it is almost
certain that Congvess will very
soon pass a general bankrupt law, in
which they may, as they have the power
to do, in the distribution of the assets
of.the bankrupt, put all debts on
the same footing, in entire disregard
of local liens; but if such law to be
passed should give priority to liens,
the expenses ^of the proceedings in
bankruntcv must necessarily take pre
cedcncc of everything else, and judging
from the experience of those who
are familiar with the operation of the
bankrupt acts heretofore passed by
Congress, there will be precious little
left for distribution among creditors,
leaving the creditor not by many de
11 .CC 1 1 J T 1i._
gl ees as wen on as ne ttuuiu aave ween
by compounding now, without costs
and without judgment. Besides, if
the creditor compounds now and discluirgesthe
debt, leaving to the debt.orjnnt
only-what is exempt by our insolvent
laws, but a sufficiency of property
to enable him to live and hope,
ray wdrd for it, if he be a man imbued
with proper sensibilities, he will be a
hundred fold more anxious to discharge
the moral obligation of a debt from
which he has been released by the voluntary
action of his creditor, than he
ever will be if released by operation of
the law. In the one case he will feel
that he is relieved from his legal obligation
merely?in the other case he
will feel that he has been relieved from
his moral as well as legal obligation.
Such is the nature of man. So, that
in every respect of the subject, it seems
to me, it is to the interest of the creditor
to compound now". Let the debtor
and creditor alike, remember the proverb,
" A prudent man foreseeth the
evil and hideth himself, but the simple
pass on and are punished."
3d. Will it be for the good of the
country ? It is undeniable that the
largest number of persons who have
not a sufficiency of property left to discharge
their indebtedness, belong to
the agricultural class of our citizens,
and have been brought to their pres
i mt condition oy tne action 01 government
in abolishing the institution of
suvery; and, unless these persons can,
iisoinc way, berelievcd from the incu5i&
of indebtedness incurred prior to
tli* 1st of June, 18U5V the. country
mat lose the benefit of a large portion
of is agricultural Jaleat and entcripw?.-'
"TIfe last Legislature of the
Stae, seeing the difficulties in the
preiises, attempted a remedy in the
pasage of what is called "The Stay
Las^'' but with the meagre crops of
this ;ear, amounting in many districts
of tin State, almost to a failure, taken
in concction with the construction
put uj>n said act by the Chairman of
+ Tlll/liAHtr r^ATVlTVll wll A
I V1I.V/ V W.HJIttfl J V/UiilUlA ttcu n I1V I L'|JUi Itu
the biL that a failure to pay one-fourth
of a de'tt by the first of January of any
year, nxkes the -whole collectable, it
is novr fasonably certain that said act
will not sfiard the relief intended.
What hen is to b c done i n the premises?
, I ;tn think of no better plan
; than fkc.ong suggested in these remarks.
Jjt is worse than idle to look
for energy, industry or a high staDd.
ard of uorslity in a citizen, without a
. failure, lo make him a good citizen,
. a blesshg h his family and society,
> man must le able in his devotions,
. truthfully to say in reference to tem-?
) poral as veil \s spiritn al matters,'' Wc
; thank thee, Q Lord, that we are still
i prisoners^h(oe." Without this he
I sinks below tlurank of a drone in the
I hive of society-?with it he may be
5 come weahhy a\d useful,
r Having thus, as we think, shown
r that it will be t? the interest of the
I creditor, aril for 'he good of the coun[
try, that all deb% contracted before
( the first daj of Jute, 1865, in case the
. debtor had not a sufficiency of prop.
erty to discharge his liabilities without
> leaving nis many ?omparatively desg
titute, shouh be compounded at once
1 upon liberal fermy without incurring
4 costs, the inqury arises, why may it
s notbectone:
4 When a me'ehant fails in business
- from error in jidgment iu conducting
f it,' or from reck^ss speculation outside
g .of his regular cosiness, if there be no
e charge of fraudulent conduct on his
i \> .?
part, the general rule between merchant
and merchant is, to compound
immediately, the creditors allowing
the debtor, to retain, not only, such
property as is exempt under the insolvent
law, but also, a sufficiency of
property besides to put him on his feet
again and makehim a prisoner of hope;
Why, I earnestly ask, should not the
like rule of conduct obtain toward and
among those who have been engaged
in agricultural pursuits, and who owe
their present circumstances to the action
of frovernment and not to any
fault of their's ?
Is it true that the vocation of a merchant
is more important to the country
than that of the farmer or planter; or
is it true that theye is anything in the
vocation of a merchant better calculated
to liberalize its follower than there
is in. the noble and independent business
of studying and developing the
productiveness of mother earth? I
trow not.
In what I have said to you I do not
mean to be understood as having intimated,
in the remotest degree, any
opinion as to what extent, if at all,
contracts based in whole or part, upon
slave property, have been affected in
law by the action of Government in
abolishing the institution. Nor do I
mean to be understood as intimating
that there are not many debts, where
the debtor is amply able .to respond,
looking to* the origin of the credit given,
which may not be compounded
upon principles of " natural equity,"
I do however desire it to be understood
that, in my judgment, " a uni
versa! repudiation of debts," even if
allowable under the Constitution of
the United States and the Constitution
of the State of Georgia, would be both
unwise and unjust. Repudiation is
one thing?the compounding of a debt
upon fair and equitable principles by
the parties, upon the data given you
in the foregoing remarks, is another,
and a very different thing.
My sole object, gentlemen, in presenting
these views to you, I say to you
in all sincerity, has been, that they
may go to your people with your endorsement,
(if you accord,), ahd be adoptcd
by them as their rule of conduct
in this perilous crisis. If your
body can suggest any better plan of
relief you will have put the country
under a lasting debt of gratitude.
General I>ee1s Application for Pardon?
Interesting Correspondence.
Headquarters Armies U. S.
Washington, June 20, 3865.
Gen. R. E. Lee, Richmond, Va :
Genet:^ : Your communication of
date the l-3th instant, stating the.steps
you had takcn'aftcr reading the President's
proclamation of the 29th ult.,
with the view of complying with its
provision0 " " T"" v.-itli
others, you were to be indicted for
treason by the grand jury at Norfolk;
that you had supposed that the officers
and inen of the army of Northcrn
Yirgftiia were, by the terms of
their surrender, protected by -'' the
United States Government from mo
testation, so long as they conformed
to its conditions; that you were ready
to meet any charges that might be
preferred against you, and did not
wish to avoid trial, but that if you
were correct as to the protection granted
by your parole, and were not to be
prosecuted, you desired to avail yourself
of the President's amnesty and
proclamation, and" enclosing an application
therefor, with the request that
in that event it b e acted on, has been
received and forwarded to the Secretary
of War, with the following opinion
endorsed thereon:
" In my opinion, the officers and
men paroled: at Appomattox Court
House, and since, upon the same
terms given to Lee, cannot be tried
for treason so long as they observe
the terms of their- parole. This is
my understanding, liood taitn, as
well as true policy, dictates that we
should observe the condition of that
convention. Bad faith on the part
of the Government, or as a construction
of that convention subjecting the
officers to trial for treason, would produce
a feeling of insecurity in the
minds of all the officers and men. If
so disposed they might even regard
such an infraction of terms by the
Government as an entire release from
all obligations on their part: I ;wi!l
state further that the terms granted
by me met with the hearty approval
of the President at the time, and of
the country generally. The action
of Judge Underwood in Norfolk has
already had an injurious effect, and I
would ask that he be ordered to quash
all indictments found against paroled
prisoners of war, and to desist from
the further prosecution of them.
U. S. Grant, Lieut. General.
Headquarters, Armies U. S. June
16th, 1865.
This opinion, I am informed, is
substantially the same as that entertained
. by the Government. I have
forwarded your application for amnesty
and pardon to the President, with
the following endorsement thereon:
"Respectfully forwarded through
the Secretary of War to the President,
with tne earnest recommnedation
that this application of General
R..-E. Lee for amnesty and pardon
may be granted him. The oath of
aflbgience required by recent order of
the President does not accompany
this, for the reason, I am informed
by General Ord, the order requiring
it had not reached Richmond when
this was forwarded.
" U. J3. Grant, Lt. Gen.
Headquarters, Armies United States,
June, 16,1866.
* tt aw
T W JT IVO^UUUlUUTj
U. S. Grant, Lieut. General.
Our Women.?The women of the
South proved, during' the war, that
they.were not made merely for ornament,
and by their devotion and patriotic
zeal evinced in the cause in which
their fathers and brothers were engaged
for independence, have won for
themselves a crown of laurels which
acclaims them the equals at least, if
not the superiors, of the Spartan women,
whose patriotism and nerve has
been made the theme of song and story
. ?
The influence which they exerted
was as powerful for good as the influence
of a great many cowardly men at
home was potent for evil.. They animated
the desponding; they inspired
the ambitious with a higher and nobler
aspiratio^/ihey ministered tenderly
to the wants of suffering; and they let
out their sympathies to encourage and
console^||heart-brokpn and distress
eci. -^vn?j wneu ueieat uiwiic aiiu uieii
saw that all they had toiled for long
yeareSd'^athec-about them dissipated, _
they whispered "be of good cheer"kd
their cars, and nobly gave an example
of fortitude and courage, from which
was derived the spirit of determination
and endurance and energetic purpose
to restore that which had been destroyed,
which has characterized our people.
Yet with all this, they have.
kept within the limits of propriety, and
have uot cut loose, as has been done
elsewhere, from old customs of feminine
reserve and modesty. There is
none of that brazen masculine boldness
for which, since the demoralization
produced by the war, the women of the
other section of the country are ac_rm.LiMr)fr
nn wil Here,
there is littleoFlffiaIaoim?tic^
or and social corruption which exists
there to so great an extent; and instead,
the war has evoked, if any change, a
loftier respect for duty ^ has awakened
a higher degree usefulness, and displayed
a lovelier worthiness and a truer!
devotion than ever.
These reflections have been induced
from a perusal, of the speech of Anna
Dickinson, a Yankee wtfman, who has
forgotten all her modesty, and unsexed
herself by devoting her time for a few
years past to lecturing at different
points in the country.
We never read of that brazen women
without thanking God that the
customs of our people sanction no
such immodest pranks, and that our
women are kept pure and undefiled,
?7 +1, niv onncn /*vF r\rnr\rinttr I
ailU bliail liUUl OVUOU VI |/1VJ^1 AVVJ *V*bids
an imitation of so disgusting example.?
Wilmington Dispatch.
In one of the obituary notices of Dean
Richmond it is said that his handwriting
was so bad that he discharged an
official on the Central Road by briefly
informing him that "his services could
be dispensed with after this date," and
signed "D. Richmond," in his usual
vigorous style. The card was used by
the discharged individual as a family
pass over the road for a twelve month,
the conductor recognizing the signature
without attempting to decipher the
body of the document.
>
The number of divorces in Connecticut
increased from 129 in 1850, to
484 in 1864; and in 15 years the divorces
have equalled onetwentieth the
number of families in the State.
Gen. Beauregard was to leave Paris
on the 13th, on his return home.
The anti-rent disturbances at Albany
have been renewed, and serious,
rouble is apprehended.
I WHAT IS ONE HORSE POWER ?"
The use of the term " horse-power"is
very common;-yet few except good
mechanics and engineers, attach a do-,
finitevjneaning to.it,- but /egard it as
indicating, loosely, about the power
| which one horse would exert. It is,
However, wnen used in tne sense unaer
consideration, as definite as possible,
and means the power required to lift
33'000 pounds avoirdupois one foot
high in one minute.
A horse hitched to the end of a rope
over a pulley one foot in diameter placed
over a deep well, traveling at the
rate of about 2? miles per hour, or
220 feet per minute, will draw up 150
pounds the same distance he travels.
The force thus exerted is called in mechanics,
a " horse-power," it being an
approximation to the average amount
of continuous power it is fair to demand'of
a strong horse. If we multinlv
the weight raised (150 pounds! bv
* 1 O \ J. . / IT
the number of feet it was moved per
minute, (220,) the product will be the
number of pounds which the samepower
would raise one foot high in the
same length of time?(33,000 pounds.)
The dynamometer is an instrument
made for measuring pdwer^ particularly
that exerted in drawing. Those
used for testing the draft of agricultural
implements are simply very strong
spring-balances, or spring steelyards,
graduateO^to indicate the power required
t<>i-aiise any weight, within reasonable
limit, at the rate of 2 ? miles
per'hour. When we apply the dynai
mometer, ^'ascertaining the draught
{ of mechanics, if 'the index indicates
1150 pounds, it is shown that the horse
ia jrequired to draw just as hard as he
would do if raising 150 pounds out of
a well with a rope over a pulley one
foot in diameter at the rate of 2? miles
per h?ur, and so for other-weights.
The velocity at which a team moves
is to be considered, as well as the weight"
1 J ? xl. _ !__ ?] -L- 1. - J
tone raised,* or me iuaa to ue urttwu.
K a horse travels faster than 2? miles
per hour, while raising 150 pounds out
of a well, he exerts more than one
horse-power. If he walks slower than
this, he does not exert a force equal
to one horse-power. ?
In ascertaining the draught of a
plow, or reaper or mower, by drawing
faster than 2J miles per horn*, the
dynamometer would indicate more
than the correct draught, and by driving
slower, the draught would appear
to be less than it really is. In testing
the draught of machines a team should
always move at the rate of 2| miles
per hour, or 220 feet per minute,
which is the universally accepted rate
with reference to which dynamometers
are graduated, and an easy, one to
which to approximate in driving with
any kind of team..-, v. :
Many people have supposed that
300 pounds?two horse-power?repre-?uited_the
same force that a team
would exert;?wlmn__dragging 300
pounds along on the grohnin^^ztirorsr
catf haul 600 . pounds on the hard
ground, -frith ease; but he could not
draw enough on the dynamometer to
make more thao 250 or 300 pounds,
except for a few minutes. The power
of a man is estimated at one-fifth of a
liorse power._ ,.
[American Agriculturist.^
^ i ?
A Romantic Affair.?The-Montgomery
and Atlanta papers hate had
accounts of rather a romantic- elopement
case, which occurred fromSelma ;
a few days ago. The pair, consisting
of a gay and festive Yankee Sergeant,
and a very young girl?daughter of a >.
highly respectable family in Selma
went to Montgomery for the purpose
of realizing the consummation of their 1
hopes, but were so closely pursued as i
to render it impracticable to be mar
ried there, and theyjoushed on to find 1
their Gretna Green on the soil of
Georgia. Reaching Atlanta, the vil- (
lainous telegraph had been, too fast .
for them, and instead of falling into i
the tender embraces of hymen, they i
became victims to the rough meshes of
the law. They were taken to the
Planter's Hotel, and held in durance
for three or four days, until the yonug
lady's father arrived, when she consented
to return to her home and the
bould soger boy' was turned over to
the military to answer the charge of
desertion. Verily 'the course of true
love does not run smooth.'
?-j 4 t ? ?
Gen. Robinson,' commanding in
North Carolina, has ordered that all ,
judicial cases wherein freedmen ?*e f
interested are to be hereafter tried by
State courts instead of tho Bureau .
courts, except in the adjudication of J
contracts. . . -i
i i
y
/ .....
Short items:
Brownlow,-,in his speech atTrentony
boasted that 40,000 -Radicals in Tennessee
^&anchi&ed. the other 80,000 voters,
and Ijiy^so doing acquired, and- '*
meant* to keep, power.,; "What, signifk
cantly asks the' St. Louis . Time^ if
tbav80^00 should turn round and jdisfranchjse
the disfranchisers. ^W^uld
they,' thank them for teaching them that
word? V.
Civil Hights at the North.?
We see a negro himg by a,mob at
Delhi, in the State , of Michigan, r It <
is curious to observe how" ealm our
Radical cotemporaries are over," this
outrage. If it had .only happened
South of Mason, [and Dixon's line, we
should have heard an eitensive howl
on the subject. - r '?
Rev. Peter Cartwrighti D. D., ih a ;
letter to the Central Christian Advocate,
says: "I have spent sixty-two .
years as a regular itinerant preacher,
and have never lost six months of that
time by sickness, and have "never received
the small sum or salary allowed
but two years olit of that Sixty-two
years. When I entered the travel
ling ranks in 1804, there were but
seven annual conference, now there v
are sixty. What a commentary!
During August, 17,488 immigrants
arrived at N6w Tork frorh', Europeon
fifty-three different .vessels. 3,488,
came from Eivefpbol whilst Hamburg
sent 3,675, Bremen,'1,916 Glasgow, .> '*
1,164, Havre,. 1,074, * *
Antwerp; 106,"' (SenbiL ^Oi 'dlia Rotterdam,
26; ' Mofe^^two-third'd of
these came ori'steatn&fe, "' V
Gen, Gran,t has npt,;only&igp/?il
arms,to ,the cadets ?? tji? Virginia Military'Institute,
but has 'also restored
to, them the old " CadetBattery:" He
remarked in so doing- that^.the rising
generation must Reeducated, ;an&ijhe
means for this purpose must jttofche
withheld."' k,. i:;, *A
young lady, now employed as a
compositor on the Montgomery Advertiser,
had'800 bales of cotton.
burned during the war5.' Instfeadof i. . ^
r<mirnncr nv*?r-hf?r miRfnrhnfyiA. ?K?tirtW . J
goes to work at a business most.. Congenial
to her intellectual taste/ vv <
An experiment was recently made
at Glen HaVeh, New York, on nitronglycerine
as a blasting" compound.?
Four different trials were made, with
the greatest success. Sixteen ounces
of the oil detached fifty tons of lime1
stone rock from'its bed and piled it in
fragments all around.
'n1
. Mr. Wm. Cameron, of Petersburg,
just returned from abroad, brought
home, a pair of ostriches, which he
turned loose upon the luwn. The ^Index
says "two interesting colored
uiuiui cu ium suveiiu fugo are iiuaaiug
since/.and adds: '"The! inference. is
f"'"fn1, hut as public iourhalists,.,,we
are bouncP to sfatelacts as they q<jcur,
or at least as they seem."
Private letters from prominent
North Carolinians state that.ther e are
forty thousand voters in .that State in
favor r.of the ..constitutional amendment,;
and that an effort will be made
by the Union members of the Legislature
to secure its ratification.
-V If-J I,
The Kingston (Jamaica) .Invoice in
a review of the situation of affairs
on the island says: "At present, pubK
^ wt^ I4-Avn oi*a /JorniArl o7/\r* *tro
liu juioibbcio oau \;uaiitu aivjug,uixctrajulo
by the torrent, and the community
live under a cloud, scarcely daring to
look the future in the face. We have
had some heavy failures, throwing
confusion and embarrassment in commercial
circles throughout the country, / *
Altogether?Jfcrags have indeed cotne r
to a crisis.** / "
A lady made her husband a pres- p 6
ent of a silver cup with an angel at the
bottom; and when she filled it, for
him he nsed to drink it to the bottom,
when she asked him why he drank eveery
drop? Because,' ducky, he,-Said
'I long to see the dear little angel.
Upon which she had the devil engraved
at the bottom, and he drank off the
same, and she again- asked. him the
question. 'Why -he replied, because
I won't leave the devil a drop.
Texas^Rejects the Amendment.
The Texas Legislature, through the
action of the Committee on Federal
Relations, has respectfully returned
to the Government the constitutional
amendment, declining its further consideration.
There are nearly 4,000 oyster cellars
in New York, which give employ- ^
ment to 2,000 persons.. .
.. ^ "
IT