The Fairfield news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1881-1900, August 16, 1899, Image 4

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inrliiMi ?n ' 11 i i n m ^ w GLORIOUS DELUSION Dr. Talmage Satirizes the Antagonists of Christianity. THE CEEAT PREACHER Depicts in a Very Unusual Way ? r * * the 1 riumpns ot xnc A Delusion Which Overpowers the'iStrong . _ M o._ est inieneci.s. * The antagonists of the Christian religion are in this sermon of Dr. Talmage met in a very ucusual way, and the triumphs of the gospel are depicted. The text is Ezekiel xxxi, 21, "He made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver." Two modes of r.iviniation by which the king of B?.bylon proposed to find out the will of God. He took a bundle ?farrows, put them together,, mixed them up, then pulled forth one and by the inscription on it decided what city he should first assault. Then an animal was slain, and by the lighter "r darker color of the liver the brighter or darker prospect of success was inferred. That is the meaning of the text, '"He made his arrows bright; he consulted ?: ? v.A in the liver." Wl'jii Jiuagca, a\ ? Stupid delusions. And yet all the ages have been filled with delusions. feeufs as if the world loves to be hoodwinked, the delusion of the text only a specimen of a vast number of deceits practiced upon the human race. In the ~ ' T^T ^ latter part of tJae last cemury uuuauua Southcote came forth pretending to have divine power, made prophecies, had chapels built in her honor, and lOO, 000 diciples came forward to f&llow her. Abeut five years before the birth oi Christ Apollonius was born, and he came forth, and after five years being speechless, according to the tradition, he healed the sick and raised the dead and preached viitue and, according tc the myth, having deceased, was brought to resurrection. vast J.JUC A/C lyuv V1M1V ? ~ multitudes of people; the Pythoness, seated in the temple of Apollo, uttering a crazy jargon from which the people guessed their individual or national fortunes or misfortunes. The utterances were of such a nature that you could read them any way you wanted to read them. A general coming forth to battle consulted the Delphic oracle, and he wanted to find out whether he was going to be safe in the battle*or killed in battle, and the answer came forth from the Delphic oracle in such words that if you put the comma before the word "never" it means cne tiling and if you put the comma after the word "never" it means another thing just opposite. The messages from the Delphic oracle to the general was, "Go forth, return never in battle shalt thou perish." If he was killed, that was according to the Delphic oracle; if he came home safely, that was according to the Delphic oracle. So the ancient auguries deceived the people. The priests of those aucuries, -i ? V? ;?+rtT,o. Dy tne mgnt ox Dixus ur uy liio xjawMM tion of thunder or by the inside appearance of slain animals, told the fortunes or misfortunes of individuals or nations. The sibyls deceived the people. The sibyls were supposed to be inspired women who lived in caves and who wrote the sibylline books afterwards purchased by Tarquin the Proud, So late as the year 1829 a man arose in New York, pretending to be a divine being, and played his . part so well that wealthy merchants became his diciples and threw their fortunes into his keeping. And so in all ages there have been necromancies, incantations, witchcrafts, sorceries, magical arts, enchantments, di ' ? ? ? J J ATlfl A"p vmauuus auu uciusiuu^ auv ^j-h* the text was only a specimen of that which has been occurring in all ages of the world. None of these delusions accomplished any good. They deceived, they pauperized the people, they were as cruel as they were absurd. They opened no hospitals, they healed no wounds, they wiped awsy no tears, they emancipated no serfdom. But there are those who say that all these delusions combined are as noth mg compared with tne ceiusicz cow . abroad in the world, the delusion 01 cl.c Cliristian religion. That delusion has today 400,000,000 dupes. Ic proposes to encircle the earth with its girdle. That which has been called a delusion has already overshadowed the Appalachain range on this side the sea, and it has overshadowed the Balkan and Cau casion ranges, on the other side the sea. It has conquered England and the United States. This champion delusion, ? * .1 xi :i tins noax, tms swmaie 01 tne ages, as iihas been called, has gone forth to con quer the islands of the Pacific, and Melanesia and Micronesia and Walayan Polynesia have already surrendered to the delusion. ^Tea, it has conquered the Indian archipelago and Borneo, and Sumatra and Celebes and Java have fallen under its wiles. In the Fiji islands, where there arc 120,000 jeople, 102,000 have already becomc the dupes of this Christian religion, and if things go on as they are now going on and if the influence of this great hallucination of the ages cannot be stopped, it will swallow the globe. Supposing then that Christianity is the delusion of the centuries, as some have pronounced it, I propose to show you what has been accomplished by this chimera, this fallacy, this hoax, this swindle of ages. Admiral Farragut, one of the most admired men of the American navy, early became a victim of this Christian delusion, and, seated not long before his death at Long Branch, he was giving some friends an account of his early life. He said: "My father "went down in behalf of the United Statss government to put an end to Aaron Burr's rebellion. I was a cabin boy and went along with him. I could swear like an old salt. I could gamble in every style - i 11 * r . . 1 _. j 01 gamDUL0. i Knew an me Tvisseaness there was at that time abroad. One day my father cleared everybody out of the cabin except myself and locked the door. He said: 'David, what are yon geing to do? What are you going to be?' 'Well,' I said, father, I am going to follow the sea.' 'Follow the sea and be a poor miserable, drunken sailor, kicked and cuf ed about the world and die of a fever in a foreign hospital! 'Oh, no!" I said. 'Father, I will not be that. I will tread the quarter deck and command as you do." *No, David/ my father said. 'Xo. David. A person that has your principles and your bad habits will never tiead the quarter deck or command.' My father went out and shut the door after him, and I said to him: 'I will changc. I will never swear again. I will never drink again. I will never gamble again, and, gentlemen, by the help of God, I have kept those three vows to this time. I soon after that became a Christian, and that decided my fate for time and for eternity." j Another captive of this gre^i. Chri?j tian delusion. There goes 5^til of m -- of fnll Gallon. ; JL2ir$US UU liyiocwava. V.V 0 sr_ I Where Is he going? To destroy Chris| tians. lie wants no better p?ay spell j than to stand and watch the hats and j coats of the murderers who are massacring God"s children. There goes I the same man. This time he is afoot. ! Where is he going now? Going on the j road to Ostia to die for Christ. They tried to whip it out of him, they tried | to scare it out of him, they thought i they ^ould give him enough of it by putj tin-^ him into a windowless dungeon, | and keeping him on small diet, and ; denying him a cloak and condemning j him as a criminal, and howling at him ! tnrnifrli the street but they could not j sweat it out of him, and they could not i pound it out of him. so they tried the ; surgery of the sword, and one summer | day in <J6 he was decapitated?perhaps '1 c.f tlip 000 | me xiiigitucsw luiciitvfc ?uV -? ! years of the world's existence hoodwicked. cheated, cajoled, duped by the Christian religion. Ah, that is the remarkable thing about this delusion of Christianity; it overpowers the strongest intellects. Gather the critics, secular and religious, of this century together and put a vote to them as to which is the greatest book ever written, and by large majority they will say "Paradise Lost." Who wrote t;Paradise Lost?" One of the fcols who believed in this Bible, .John Milton. Benjamin Franklin suriondered to this delusion, if you may judge from the letter that he wrote to Thomas Paine begging him to destrov the '"Age of lleason" in manuscript and ' never let it go into type and writing afterward in his old days, "Of this Jesus of Xazareth I have to say that the sys' tem of morals he left and the religion 1 he has given us are the best things the ^ s\-rr/\y pflATl Ar 1Q llkp.lv tO ' wuuu Lias tn,i pv^ii vj. ?^ f Patrick Henry, the electric 'champion : of iberty. enslaved by this delusion, so iltat he say?, "The hook worth all other books put together is the Bible." , Benjamin liush, the leading physiologist and anatomist of his day, the great 1 medical scientist, what did he say? "The only true and perfect religion is Christianity." Isaac Newton, the lead L-1 ^ nt kio firno wViat 1 fl lHg punu&upuui U1 IXU nmv, * he say? That man, surrendering to this delusion of the Christian religion, crying out, "The sublimest philosophy i on earth i^ the philosophy of the gospel." David Brewster, at the pronunciation of whose name every scientist the world over uncovers his head, Da. vid Brewster saying, ''Oh, this religion has. been a great light to me, a very . great light all my days." President 1 ' r> i. Tillers, tne great rrencn siawiuau, . knowledging that lie prayed when he said, "I invoke the Lord God, in whom I am glad to believe." David Livings tone, able to conquer the lion, able to conquer the -panther, able to conquer . the savage, yet conquered by this delusion, this hallucination, this great swin; die of of the ages, so when they find him dead thev find him on his knees. William E. Gladstone, the strongest intellect in England, unable to resist this chimera, this fallacy, this delusion of the Christian religion, went to the house of God every Sabbath and often at the Cavitation of the rector read the prayers to the people. If those mighty intellects are ovorborne by this delusion, what chance is there for you and for me? Besides that, I have noticed that first rate infidels cannot be depended nn frw cfAadfa<?+Tip<?s in the Droclamation of their sentiments. Goethe, a leading sceptic, "was so wrought upon by this Christianity that in a weak moment he cried out. "My belief in the Biple has saved me in my literary and moral life." Rousseau, one of tlie most eloquent champions of infidelity, spending nis whole life warring against Christianitycries out, ''The majesty of the Scriptures amazes me." Altemont, the notorious infidel, one would think he would have been safe against this delusion of tha Christian religion. Oh, no! After talking against Christianity all his days, in his last hours he cried out, "Oh, thou blasphemed but most indulgent Lord God, hell itself is a refuge if it hide me from thy frown." Voltaire. the most talented infidel the world ever saw, writing 250 publications, and * ? . * . P 1 * j. tne most 01 tnem spitenu agamst Christianity, himself the most notorious libertine of the century, one would have thought he could have been depended upon for steadfastness in the advocacy of infidelity and in the war against this terrible chimera, this dej lusion of the Gospel. But no. In his I last hour he asks for Christian burial and asks that they give him the sacrament of the Lord Jesua Christ. Why, you cannot depend upon these *rst rate infidels: you cannot depend upon their power to resist this great delusion of Christianity. Thomas Pain, the god of modern skeptics, his birthday celebrated in New York and Boston with great enthusiasm?Thomss Paine, the paragon of Bible haters; Thomas Pain, about whom his brother infidel, William Carver, wrote in a letter which I have at my h;use, saying that he drank a quart of rum a day and was too mean aad too dishonest tc pay for it; Thomas Paine, the adored of modern infidelity: Thomas Paine, who stole another man's wife in Kngland and brought her to this country: Thomas Paine, who was so squalid and so loathesorae and so drunken, and so profligate, and so beastly in his habits, sometimes picked out of the ditch, sometimes too filthy to be picked out: Thomas Paine, one would have thought that he conld have been depended on fnr aorninst-. this jrrrwt f?f> iusion. But no. In his dying hour he begs the Lord Jesus Christ for merc7 Yes, this chimera of the gospel is not satislied until it goes :>n and builds itself into the most permanent architecture, so it seems as if the world is never to get rid of it. What are some of the finest buildings in the world? St. Paul's, St. Peter's, churches, cathedrals of all Christendom. Yes, this impertinence of the gospel, this vast delusion, is not satisfied until it projects itself and in one year gives, contributes, $0,250,000 to foreign missions, the work of which is to make dunces and fools on the othe. side of the world? people we have never seen. Deluded doctors?220 physicians meeting week by week in Lonaonin the union ALiaical Prayer circle to worship God. Deluded lawyers?Lord Cairns, the highest legal authority in England, the ex-adviser of the throne spending his j vacation in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor people of Scotland. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, once secretary of state, an old fashioned Evangelical Christian, on elder in the Reformed j church: John Bright, a deluded Quaker; Henry Wilson, ?the vice president of the United States, dying a deluded Methodist or Congregationalism Earl of Kintore dying a < deluded Presbyterian. And to show the immensity of this delusion, this awful swindler of the gosi pel of Jesus Chrsst., I open a hospital j and I bring into that hospital the i death beds of a great many Christian j people, and I take you by the h?nd and i I walk' up iL"l dotfn tlic'.vraras of Jhat I ! hospital an?, i ask a .?sw questions. j f I ask. ' Dying Stephen. Trhat have you j i to say?'1 "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." "Dying John Wesley, what! I have you to say?'' "The best of all is ! J God is with us." "Dying Edward Pay- j | son, what have you to say?" "Ifioat i in a sea of dory." Dying John Brad- j ford, what have you to say?" "If there be any way of going to heaven on horseback or in a liery chariot, it is this." "Dying Xeander, what have you to say?'. "I am going to sleep now, good night." "Dying Mrs. Florence Foster, what have you to say?'' "A pilgrim in the valley, but ! tne mountain tops are <tn agxeaui nuui ! peak to peak." "Dying Alexander Mathew, what have to say?" "The Lord who has taken care or me 50 years will Dot cast me off now; glory he to God and 10 the Lamb: Amen. amen, aiucn, amen!" "Dying Jonn Powsoa, after preaching the gospel so many years, what have you to eov*>" ';Mv rtant-h is a bed of roses.' Dying Dr. Thomas Scott, what have you to say? This is heaven begun. Dying soldier in the last war, what have you to say? Boys, I am going to the front. '"Dying telegraph operator on a battlefield of Virginia, what have you to say? The wires are all laid and the poles are up from Stony Point to headquarters. Dying Paul, vrhat have you to say? *'I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at i hand; I have fought th^ good fight, I have finished my course, 1 have kept the faith, 0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory? Thanks nntn ftnd who siveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Oruy Lord, my God, what a delusion, what a glorious delusion! Sub* "* ' J merge Die witn it, nil my eyes ami ears with it. put it under my head for a pillow, this delusion; spread it over me for a canopy, put it underneath me for an outspreading wing, roll U over me in ocean surges 10,000 fathoms deep. If infidelity and if atheism and if annihilation are a reality and the Christian religion is a delusion, give me the delusion. The strong confirmation of every reasonable man and woman is that Christianity producing such grand results cannot be a delusion. A lie, a cheat, a swindle, a hallucination, cannot launch such a glory of the centuries. Your logic and your common sense convince you that a bad cause cannot produce nn illustrious result, Out of the womb o ( such a monster no such angel can 1~. born. There are many who began wi a thinking that the Christian religi .1 was a stupid farce who have come to the conclusion that it is a reality. Why are you in the Lord's house toda;. ? I Why did you sing this song? Why did you bow your neaas in tne opening prayer? Why did you bring your family with you? Why, when I tell you of the ending of all trials in the bosom of God, do there stand tears in -your eyes, not tears of grief, but tears of joy, such as stand in the eyes of homesick children faraway at school when some one talks to them about going home? Why is it that you can be so calmly submissive to the death of your loved one ab^ut whose departure vou once were so angry and so rebellious? There is something the matter with you. All your friends have found out there is a great change, and if some of you would give it in scholarly style, and others, giving their experience, would give it in broken style, but the one experience would be just as good as the other. Some of you have read everything. You are scientific and you are scholarly and yet if 1 should osk you, "what is the most sensible thing you ever did?" you ? * Lt-i ' *1-1. .*.1.: T wotuci say, " tne most seosioie tuiug j. ever did was to give my heart to God." But there may be others who have not had early advantages, and if they were asked to give their experience thev might rise and give such testimo ny as the mac gave in a prayer meeting when he said: ' 'On my way here tonight I met a man who asked me where I was going. I said, 'I am going to prayer meeting.' He said, 'there are a good many religions, and I think the most of them are delnsions. As to the Christian religion, that is only a notion, that is a mere notion, the Christian religion." I said to him, 'Stranger, you see that tavern over there?' 'Yes,' he said, 'I see it.' 'Don't you see me?' Yes, of course I see you.' 'Xow, the time was when everybody in this town knows if I had a quarter of a dollar in my pocket I could not pass that tavern without going in and getting a drink, all the people of Jefferson could not keep me out of that place. But God has chang ed my heart, and the Lord Jesus Uhnst has destroyed my thirst for strong drink, and there is my whole week's wages and I have no temptation to go in there. And stranger, if this is a notion I want to tell you it is a mighty i nowerful notion. It is a notion that has put clothes on my children's back and it it a notion that has put good food on our table, and it is a notion that has filled my mouth with thanksgiving to God. And, stranger, you had better go along wich me; you might get religion, too; lots of people are getting religion now." Well, we will soon understand it all. Your life and mine will soon be over. "VVe will soon come to the last bar of the music, to the last act of the tragedy, to the last page of the book?yea, to the last line and to the last word?and to you and to me it will either be midnoon or mid night. A Murderer Wanted. A reward of 1,000 marks is offered for the capture of a murderer named Gocnezi. who murdered a widow and her stepdaughter two years ago. He is wanted not merely for punishment, but in order that he may give information as to which woman he killed first. Each had made a will leaving everything she owned to the other, and it turns out that the property amounts to more than a million marks and should go to one of the two unrelated sets of heirs. The German courts have been unwilling to solve the puzzle by any presumption of law when the real facts may be ascertained at any time by the capture of the murderer, and are holding the money, a proceeding whose legality seems to be considered doubt p.,1 1 Ul. May Ask to be Annexed. A mail dispatch from Santo Domingo, dated August 3d, via Haiti, c^nfinus the cable intelligence telling of the speed and significance of the revolution throughout the Dominican republic. Prominent men in civil and military circles, (it appears, are taking the field with the understanding that Jiminez is the prime mover and that ho will shortly arrive. Undoubtedly the popularity of the revolution is due to the use of the name of Gomez, and should he decline the presidency of oppose Jiminez, prominent leaders are already considering the alternative of calling a plebescite in order to ascertain whether the- country would not prefer to renew the vote of 1ST1 for American annexation or an American protectorate rather than elect another dictator. THE PENITENTIARY^! [CoTTtiuucd from First Page.] being generous with the State's assets and especially to himself. We hold that both W. A. Neal and J. B. "Wat son are liable for the convict hire for convicts to be worked on Meal's planta- ] tionfor the years 1S96. 1897 and 1898, i for the reason that Watson contracted J to pay for them and Neai got the bene- < fit of the labor and violated his duty ia procuring them to be worked for his 1 benefit and deceiving the board of directors. Their labor was an asset of the penitentiary as much as the pro- c ducts of the labor on t he State farm, i and Kf cannot tase either und refuse c to pay for it. A conversion of one is c the same as a conversation of the other t We also condemD the practice of the I bupcriULUUUCut a cjjuuiaiu& payor ?superintendent and thereby pledging I the credit of the penitentiary without t express authority from the board of di- v rectors in each instance. "We especially 1 condemn Mr. Neal's action in endors- I ing the $850 note for J. B. Watson and r thus making the penitentiary borrow * that amount of money merely for Wat- ? son's accommodation. We also con- t demn its use in the Ragsdale notes and a W. W. Russell note. The following are the amounts now t admitted by Mr. Neal to be due from him to the penitentiary, it being ac- ? knowledged that there is a shortage to f that extent ( Amount collected of J S Fo>v ler, Dec 1SD5 $ 500 00 Amount collected of W Q Hammond. Nov 1S95 500 00 1 Amount collected Fowler Hammond & Kent Feb'97. 539 95 I W. W. Russell note GOO 00 Collected from W. T. Magill t for hrif.lr snld at D^Sassurfi 1 farm 4000 J 5 book cases at $12.00 each.. 60 00 s 1 hat rack 10 00 1 (i small tables, at $2 each... 12 00 J 1 bedstead 10 00 ^ Painting furniture at home.. 10 00 E 700 bushels cotton seed at 15 cents 105 00 e Commissary account (5 years.. 638 29 e Check unpaid and [carried by a Burriss 172 00 f Collected of J J Fretwell for 1 Oats. April 1898 387 17 s r $3,5S4 41 o We fiad that he is liable in addition t the following amounts, which are 1 ill- o oOQtestea Dy mm: Convict hire on the Watson t contract for the years 189G, ' 1897 and 1898 $ 7,400 00 P We think he should refund $ stable rent which should never have been paid 740 00 I s $11,724 41 1 There appears to be due the reniten- J tiary the following items which have not been properly charged on the books or collected, being found on an old J brickyard book and commissary book f and which the parties are no doubt 1 ready to settb on presentation of bills: E Hon "W H Ellerbe, commissary c account $154 11 a Hon John Gary Evans, commissary accoant 1S1 14 f Hon B 11 Tlilman, commissary 11 account 57 06 s Hon B R Tillman, carload of * 72 00 d Hon B B Tillman, oats, no v amount giyen; he simply informs us that he owes for a them and we do not lind any 0 record of it. We append as Exhibit A a statement * ocod lmrirAtTP UA ti-LC yi> Upti VJ I/U1VUAOVU) W T ^ ments made and labor furnished to public institutions by the penitentiary during Mr. Neal's administration, aggregating in all $175,845 17, being the value placed upon the sane in the re- s ports of the board for the six ye^r3. * The evidence taken is herewith subon,? wAncr cfono < <-> Hp fn Vpn I ? as a result of this report and the evi- ? dence will be determined no doubt by ? yourself and the attorney general. Respectfully submitted, s, "W F Stevenson, J T Hay, \ Knox Livingstone, Thos F McDow, , H Cowper Patton. exhibit a. 1, Report 1893. r p. 7. Clemson College con- * victs, for guards, etc..* 3,115 } p. 6. 2 electric motors, etc. 2.000 00 ? p. 7. Convicts Clemson col- * lege and guard hire... 14,580 00 * p. 7. Convicts, guard hire, etc.. for Winthrop... 10.9S0 00 ? >0,(578 40 Report 1804. p, 6. Old hosiery mill (over a hauling) S 4,000 00 a p. G. New hosiery mill re- j built io,uuu uu i a p. G. Improvements in the o yard. inclusive of d above items 30,000 00 a p. 7. 7 head mules and n horses .* 700 00 ? I?. 7. Labor and cash to col- i lfgi s 22,852 32 a fi ?53.552 32 > lieport 1895. a p. 7. OS mules for ^tatc f farm, engines, gins, h wagons, tools, farm- t ing implements $12,000 00 o p. 8. To colleges, labor, n cash, etc 17,114 3(> o 829,114 3d Keport 1S!?U. p. 17. Improvements peni- } tentiary proper, barns 1< stables, sheds, etc ...$ 5,000 00 g Prison building and ^ other improvements 0 inside yard 1,000 00 p Buildings at lleeds t farm 2.500 00 t' Ueijaussure piace quar t. ters for guards, dining e room, smoke house, I hay sheds, grist mill, n engine boilers, guano house on railroad, etc. 2,100 00 h li SlO.liuU UO t Report 1S97. . y p. 19. New laundry com- t: rl.-te $ S00 00 h Reed farm, new barn s for mules, hospital e building, lot fencing, p fencing 400 acres pasture land 5,000 00 8 5.800 00 r< Report 189S. o Report of board of directors on pages 1 5 and G. k Paid purchase real estate o with interest accruing on n rmrnhasft monev S36.000 00 t: Buildiog dykes, clearing c land, etc 10,000 00 t: Is $4(1,000 00 n n A dispatch from Santo Domingo says 1 two of the assassins of President Hen- 1< reaux have been captured and shot. a 'tiliman and 2vans. i . i write Letters to the Penitentiary In-1 yestigating Committee. Senator Tillman and Ex-Governor Evans never did appear before the pententiary investigating committee. Sat each of them wrote a letter to the :ommittee. Senator Tillman's letter was as folows: Trenton, S. C., Aug. 1. Dear Sir: Your letter of juue 24 en:losing copy of the account on the comnissary book at the penitentiary re"? 1 11 i- * O iexved. i nave no recouecuon 01 aay if these matters, and an morally ceiain that I paid everything I owed the >enitentiary when I left Columbia at he expiration of my term as governor. Besides, I left all the corn and hay I lad on hand at the executive mansion rith the understanding that Governor Svans would take it and pay for it, but te told me that Col. Neal used it." The - t t* l oansion was unoccupied ior several reeks after I left, undergoing some reittingand overhauldin^r, and Xeal protably do not feel that I owe the State .aything on that score. The brick I am willing to pay for at he price I could have bought them in Augusta at the time, $4 at the kiln, or delivered at Trenton. I paid the reight on the carload of brick which hi Xeal shipped me. .Respectfully. B. R. Tillman. Ex-Governor Evans writes as folows: Waterbury, Conn., July 30, 1899. t? iir i? Ci G n 1ULI. >V . X. orvuusuu, VllCiiXVY, o. \j. My Dear Sir: Your letter iu reference o the penitentiary investigation was landed me by my brother while in Sdgelield, and the reason I had not anwered before is that I fully intended o be with you at the next session of 'our committee. Circumstances over rhich I have no control will prevent ay being with you as anticipated. So far as the statement that "I workid convicts upon my farm" is concernid, I am satisfied that you have had .mole proof of its absurdity. I Had no arm upon my occupancy of the govertor's mansion. I was informed by the uperintendent of the penitentiary that oy predecessor had rented a small plat if ground, about five acres, in or near he city limits, and that he (the superntendent) had sown for the governor .ndmade rough forage for his horse and hat he would make the same terms fitn me if I desired. I did so, and aid the owner, Mr. Geo. H. Newman, i30 rent and have his receipt. So far s the harvest was concerned, it was >retty expensive, as my share was not ufficient to reimburse mc for the rent, ["he property being city lots, however, . suppose we got out- as light as most 'Belgian block farmers." As to the account I owe the managenent of the penitentiary, I will state or the information of your committee hat the articles I purchased were at i * r . _ j: aarKet prices, sucn as any ordinary itizen could buy, and it was no especi.1 favor to me. The account will be paid when a corect bill is rendered, and not before. It s no fault of mine that it has not been ettled before. I am sorry that I cantot be with you, as I would gladly renLer you any assistance in my power. I rould respectfully call your attention o my message to the general assembly ,nd their references to the management f the penitentiary. With assarance of my high esteem orjrou and your committee, 1 am Respectfully yours, John Gary Evans. Like American Tobacco. Minister Buck has reported to the tate department that the Japanese govrnment has concluded arrangements or the purchase of tobacco through gents and will obtain supplies generaly from the United States. This result ollows inquiries set on foot after conerences between Secretary Hay and ome of the members of the Virginia delegation in congress, including Senaor Martin and Representative Swanson ?he latter were desirous of having the obacco interests protected aeainst any .iscnminations which might follow the r^anization of a government monoDQ ~ O - rj- - - ^ 7 of the tobacco business. Japan has ecently established this monopoly, as . means of increasing her revenues, and he American tobacco interests have eared this might cut off the trade they lave heretofore enjoyed with that counry. But Minister Buck's report seems o a?sure the continuance of the trade,' s the government agents will purchase upplies as heretofore in this country. "Touched" the Ex-Slaves. An order forbidding the delivery of ii mail matter was Friday issued gainst Isaac L, "Walton, the cx-slaye >etitioners assembly and the ex-slave sscmbly, Madison, Ark., on the charge P /%v\ay*o f i n cr fVirAnorh fho mftllfi n .evised for obtaining money under false ,nd fraudulent pretenses.. The departaent states that "Walton is an ex-slave >ho is at the head of an alleged imagnary organization having for its pass law granting ex-slaves pensions. The !rst remittance required of the memicrs of this organization was 25 cents, nd it appears that 12.331 Negroes, rom the southern States principally, ia?e remitted that amountr Although his money was to start a fund for the bject above noted, not one cent can ow be accounted for by the managers f the scheme." Exhibiting the Bakers. A Miss Jewett, a sharp Boston .'ankce, who has made herself ridicuinc nvor flif* cn-r>nllf>r5 Trrnncs fif thft outhern negro, went to Charleston last reek and carried the wife and children f .Baker. who was assassinated while ostmaster of Lake City, S. C., to Boson. On arriving at that city she put he Baker family on exhibition and hree thousand people paid ten cents ach to see them. A dispatch from Boston says the Baker woman furished the sensation of the evening. \Thile J. W. Hutchinson, the whiteairod abolitionist singer, was singing is soag, "The Fatherhood of God and lie Brotherhood of Man," the Baker roman experienced religious exhilaraion. Shs dropped her little son, who ad been sleeping in her arms, and troie around the platform, rolling her yes and waving her arms. A dozen eople conducted her to a seat. One by One They Come. Arrangements are being made for the emoval of the Springvale cotton mills f Springvale, Me., to Fort Valley, Ga. 'he removal will be the second of the ind from York county. Me. About ne year ago the Portsmouth cotton lill of South Berwick, a small corporaion went South. The Springvale conem has been running only part of the i:ne during the past year owing to a ick of orders. High taxes and too luch competition are among the chief easons given for the change in location, 'he plant has 10,500 spindles and 300 )oms and manufactures light twills nd sateens. THE CONVICT'S STORY. Strange Connection .? a White Cat With a Uurglar's Life, "It's no secret that I've been in the penitential-}-," said the old man. "It : was a white cat that took me there, and a white cat that saved me and made me a better man. "One winter, a good many years ago, I was In Houston, sick and dead broke. An old pal of mine meeting me on the street took pity on me and soon helped me out of my troubles. But not for nothing. As soon as I recovered he wanted me to join him in some burglaries that he had planned. At first I refused indignantly, for I had some rough notions ot honesty; but a little talking?he was a fine talker?and a few drinks did the work and I agreed to go in with him. "Conscience makes cowards of us all, and I guess that was why Ed trembled like a leaf when he saw a white cat flash past us as we stood shivering in the garden of a house on Harris street that night. It was an easy matter to break in, and we soon had all there was worth taking. In a little room at the end of the hall a child was sleeping. The dim light of a lamp showed the pretty cot, the fair iiuaucu idle Ul ct UILIC s^lii, iici ?UiUCil hair streaming over tue snowy pillow, and crouching by her side a white cat, whose pink eyes glittered like stars. We had to pass through this room, and I could not for the life of me help bending down and touching that beautiful hair with my lips?it looked so like the hair of my darling who died only the year before. It was her death that drove me to drink and trouble," and the old man wiped away a tear. "Well, I don't know exactly how it happened, but the cat gave a terrific squall, and I had only just time to seize it and stuff it in my bag when a bullet came whistling by my head. I got out of the house somehow, still cunning xij> uug oi piunaer, anu rau dawn the road, out of town, finally taking refuge in an old barn. I was badly wounded, and, to make a long story short, they arrested me and took me to jail. My partner was dead. "They told me afterwards that in my delirium I cried continually for the white cat, and when they brought the animal into my cell?for they found it unhurt in my bag?I nursed it and was quiet. It was a strange fancy of a sick man, but it led me back to health. The story was told at the house which we had robbed, and the little girl and her father came to see me. He was a good man, and she was an angel?God bless her for her innocent prattle and sweet eyes of pity. "The penitentiary was a rough place in those days, and I believe I would have died in a few months if the child had not sent me a tiny white kitten, which I was allowed to keep, on/1 c rr> Ck f rorvi A rtmo J ?-> -?iA Uio iWUi Vl^OpctlJL aiiu death. Every time I looked at it I thought of the little angel that gave it, and of that other little angel?my dead child?and made a new resolve to be a better man. "Two frail atoms of life?a kitten and a child?"but they were strong enough to raise me out of the very depths of hell." An Unfortunate Linguist. John was an ambitious Chinaman. He had made money in Chinatown, San Francisco, but had devoted himself to business so thoroughly that he remained totally ignorant of English. He came to New York determined to avoid his fellow-Chinamen, so that he might learn to speak English during his six months' stay in the metropolis. He took a room in an East Side house, paid promptly, made himself agreeable to his landlord, who allowed him to wait on customers in his little grocery store, and he never went near Pell or Mott street. After several months' residence in N7ew York and many hours of study, the Chinaman ventured forth among his people, where he proceeded to give an exhibition of his proficiency in the English language. What he said sounded ctrGnco in tlin ntVior ^ ^ wi,iv4^0v wy vv,iiv.i VJLiAUUlugU, O.JJLU CUC ambitious one nearly swooned when be discovered that he had learned German by mistake. His New York home was in the German part of the city where English is an unknown tongue, and the poor fellow had to begin his linguistic work over again. Taper Floors in Germany. Pinpr flnnrc <irs nri-frct-inf* o ~ ?jr? ? ^ a, otcu.unj increasing popularity in Germany, which is readily explained by the many advantages they possess over wooden flooring. An important advantage consists in the absence of joints, whereby accumulations of dust, vermin, and fungi, dangerous to health, are done away with. The new paper floors are bad conductors of heat and sound, and in spite of their hardness have a linoleum-like, soft feel to the foot. The costs are con siderably lower than those of floors made of hard wood. The paper mass receives a small addition of cement as binder, and is shipped In bags, in powder form. The mass is stirred Into a stiff paste, spread out on the floor, pressed down by means of rollers, and painted with oakwood, nutwood, or mahogany color, after drying. Notable Centennial.*! of the Year, The following centennial celebrations will be lield this year: The 4G0th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's discovery of the way to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope, at Lisbon, in May; the burning of Savonarola, at Florence, in May; the birth of Holbein, at Basle, in June; Montpelier will celebrate the 100th birthday of Auguste Comte; Ancona that of Leopardi, and Paris that of Michelet, the historian. Keep Up the Pace. The Anderson Intelligencer remarks: . '"IPcotton mill c wupanics continue to be organized in Sj'utb Carolina, as at the rate during tin past six months, . this Stare will not only soon distance all her sister States in cotton manufacturing, but will soon compctc with Massachusetts. Let the good work go on. We have room for many more. Anderson must have another big mill." We showed sis mouths ago that South Carolina was sec 'nd t*> Massachusetts in looms and was only exceeded in spindles by that State and Rhode Island. Th;; pending additions will give her second place in spindles as well as looias. We u :11 : rougmy estimate mat cue \ win luuiuaoc the present totals 33 per cent, at least. Let every totq work for a new mill. We must keep up the pace. In Boston it is regarded as almost a crime to lie down on the sacred gras3 of the Common and twenty-one unfortunates who slept there on a recent liot night were wakened early in the morning by a squad of vigilant policemen and marched off to a magistrate. Each of the victims was fined S3?the price of a night's lodging in a first class hotel. * ( I I - .! ! -1 I. I j UP PER REGIONS OF THE AIR. I' Unexplored Space More Interesting Tlian the Xorth Pole. ^ Above there extends a vast unex- ; plored space far more interesting from a scientific point of view than the icy regions around tho north pole. No one ( can reach the limit of the upper regions of the air and live, unless he carries with him air to breathe and fuel to warm him, for at the paltry distance , of ten miles above the earth the air ] Is too thill to support respiration, and I ( the thermometer "would register far ' below zero. It would be a region of I perpetual snow on a peak of the earth if it should rise to such a height. A person in a balloon could not bear a friend in a neighboring balloon, even if tbey were near enough to shake ' hands. There would be no medium for the propagation of sound waves. There would, however, still be a medium for the conduction of electricity ?a medium in fact of great conducti- '< bility?almost as good as a metal, and it is this medium at even a less height which Tesla proposes to use in his , methods of transmitting power hundreds of miles through the air without wires. We live under a blanket of air which protects us from the extreme cold of outer space. This low temperature be- . comes evident fourteen or fifteen . thousand feet above the surface of the earth, and would, as I have said, reach j a point far below zero at a height of ten miles. At this height we should no longer observe the twinkling of | the stars, for this scintillation is due to the movements of our atmosphere, "which at the height I have mentioned would be extremely rarified. If one could photograph the sun's spectrum at this altitude we could greatly extend our knowledge of the shortest I wave lengths of light; for the atmos- I phere completely absorbs such wave lengths as are concerned in the X-ray phenomena. That this absorption really takes place can be proved in a 1 laboratory. 1 The heat and light which ye receive i from the sun are greatly modified by i this blanketing layer of air. The long < waves of the energy from the sun are , called heat waves. The intermediate ( waves are termed light waves, and we receive these in full measure. The very short waves, however, are stopped by our atmosphere and are transformed into?what? ( The Worth of a Match. How much may depend on a seeming trifle is shown in the incident on the lumber schooner, Johanna Swan, which was abandoned in a gale off Hatteras. The cabins -were flooded* and the water supply had given out. In four days the sailors had not tasted ' water." To drink the brine of the sea was to induce tortures and endure a more deadly thirst than ever. There was a tank holding three gallons that could be fashioned into a condenser and the mate and a sailor so converted it. A piece of the schooner's rail, dry and full of resin, was chopped off for fuel, and now all that was necessary was a match. A' search revealed just one matcn, tnax me captain na.u stowed in a dry pocket. If that went ont, woe be to them. But after sputtering for a moment, it blazed up, the shavings caught, the fire was set, the water boiled and the drip from the steam was enough to provide a drink for every man?pretty smoky water, but as welcome as cocktails, under the circumstances. A German bark heard their bell and took off the crew before its perils and sufferings became more serious. A condensing apparatus of a simple sort would not be a bad thing to take on all craft, considering the possibilities of ill fortune that follow the toilers of the sea. Ears Beat Eyes. Most people would no doubt be in- I dined to fancy that the eye was the gateway of quite the most delicate of ' all our senses. But this is not so. The sense of hearing has been proved to be far the most delicate of all the senses. And the sense of touch appears to be perhaps the keenest of all. The tests are very simple. For testing sight a disc half black, half white is revolved quickly before T. the eyes. When it reaches a speed of twenty-four revolutions a second the colors cease to appear distinctly any . longer to the eye, and the result is gray. For sound a revolving toothed wheel makes a series of clicks, and these to the average man appear distinct sounds up to sixty a second. Af ter that they cannot be distinguished ] apart. The sense of touch is tried by ^ rapid blows of a tiny electric hammer on the skin. Up to 1,000 a second these blows have been felt separate ^ and distinct. ? c How a Gold Field Was Discovered. A novel way of discovering a gold field was recounted by the agent general for western Australia. In 188$ the Mallina gold field was discovered by a lad in this wise: The boy, in picking up a stone to throw at a crow, observed a speck of gold in it, and re- ported it to the nearest resident magis trate. The magistrate was so excited at the news that he telegraphed to the then governor, and 6tated that a lad picked up a stone to throw at a crow, in his excitement omitting to say "and saw gold in it." So the governor wired tack these words, "What happened to the crow?" I Odorless Flowers. Most people will be surprised to learn that the majority of flowers have no perfume whatever. An Austrian chemist, who has been making researches into the subject, declared that out of 4,110 varieties known and cultivated in Europe, scarcely 400 have any odor; and of these nearly fifty have an odor which is, if anything, disagreeable. ^ Maefeafs School of SHORTHAND ?AND? TYPEWRITING b COLUMBIA, S. C. Tate School has tbe reputation of being the best business institution in tbe State. Graduates are hoidinsr remunerative po?i?ioas io mercantile house*. banking, icsuranc^, real estate, railroad offices. &c., in this and other etfttes. Write to W H. Macfeat. Court fjtenoerapber Cotnulbia, S C for terms, etc I To get strong s and healthy use one bottle Mur- * bay s Iron Mix- s ture. Price 50c s IH MURRAY OflUB GO-, l~r. - 1 _ . '% r111 v =Kesley j L26 S3I.TH STREET, A ' llllVA Cob. Vanderhoest, ||1|| tCHARLESTON, S. C. ^ ; ' . :?A ALCOHOL ^ ^ MORPHINE opium TOBACCO CIGARETTE USING 1 Produce each a disease having defin Lte pathology. The disease yield* -j Dasily to the Double Chloride of Gold A rrcatment as administered at the above Keeley Institute. N. B.?The Keeley Treatment is administered in South Carolina ?SY CHARLESTON. Ill Hiii B Custom^ Bat i very poor one, to wait until the ginning season is on before locking to see what fix the gin is in fl Now is the time to .HURRY M YOUR GIN TO TIE IIIAAirA V ELLIOT GIN HtFAIH WUHKS. H Do not delay and then ask as to let yer iave it at once, for thorough work can-oi >e done in a hurry. The attention giver his matter now will more than repay you . fhen the cotton is white in the fields ind the gin house crowded. Tbe work is :oming in already, so ship at once to the wdersigned, located at the old electric light mgine house y* 11r? i cJ3 by parji'muj:?T. K r fe Co , V. C. Badham, Jno. A.. Willis. figfM^rk your name and shipping paint ra -work sent and prepay the freight. *i Ml'.ii ? _ fl ?.. me tiiiiii gib nipsir norss, W. J. EUilOTr, Proprietor, ? No. 1314 Gates Street, COLUMBIA, S. 0. - i LL &K| NOTHING LIKE IT J FOR i Sonstipation, , 1 Indigestion, 4 Regulator & Kidneys. 1 wholesale by? a THE MURRAY DRUG CO., M Columbia, S. C. Dk. H. BAER, ^ M Charleston, S. C: Binning J Machinery, 1 o rhe Smith Pneumatic Suction Elevating, Ginning and Packing Systerc !s the simplest and most efficient on the market. Forty-eight complete outfits in South Carolina; each one giving absolute satisfaction. Boilers and Engines;- Slide 7alye, Automatic and Corliss. My Light and Heavy Log Boam Saw Jills cannot be equalled in det-ign, ef- A iciency or price by any dealer or manu 1 ajturer in the South. Write for prices and catalogues. U ft Daiihom I* VI WHVIWHWi 1326 Main Street, | COLUMBIA, S. C. | All We Ask of | YOU I 25T5?ANYTHING n the Machinery J Mill Supply Line M Is that you give us an opportunity to submit our prices and make conaparisons. We ask this be- fl cause we believe we can make it to YOUR advantage. TRY US. 7e make a specialty of equipping M IMPROVED MODERN GIN- M NERIES OF ANY CAPACITY WITH THE SIMPLE3T AND $ MOST, EFFICIENT COTTON" HANDLING {APPARATUS IN EXISTENCE?THE MURRAY jt SYSTEM. : jM Correspondence with intending pur? casers solicited. W. H. Gibtes & Co.. COLUMBIA, S. C. SOUTH CAROLINA AGENCY Liddell Co., Charlotte, N. C. A. B. FarquharCo., Ltd., York, Pa. lagle Cotton Gin Co., Bridgewater, Mass. traub Machinery Co., Cincinnati, 0. ?LIFE? 1 l vegetable for Mild, ore forLiv- the Pleasant, r, Kidney & LIYEK Sure. x>mach troubles. and , 25, 50, $1. -KIDNEYS- p old wholesale by? The Murray Drug Co. Columbia Dr. H. Baer, Charleston, S C, :S'.M