The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, January 09, 1864, Image 4
%
mm NFW ENGLAND LETTER.
THE NEW SOUTH?THE MALDEN BANK TRAGEDY
?ABUSES IN A ' REFORMATORY" INSTITUTION
RECRUITING?NEW ENGLAND SANITARY FAIR?
THE HEENAN AND KING MILL?THE WEATHER?
VARIOUS NEW ENGLAND ITEMS.
From Our Regular Correfq>onileiit.
Boston, Mass., December 2^, 18C3.
The arrival of the Fallen at New York yestr r lay
(without a prize, for a wonder), admonishes me to
prepare my hebdomadal contribution to TiieNiw
Soith, else my paper may be stopped, and thus
I be brought to grief, for I assure you Tiie New
South is always a welcome visitor to me, and to
all New Englanders who have friends in the Department
of the South. I hear many compliments
to yourself, Mr. Editor, upon the spicy, newsy
character of your little charge, which is just what
is needed in such a Department, for entertainment
afcd for convenience. But I don't know that I
t a ?u wnr from Boston. and
llCCtl IU Willi' bUIO IU1 IUV w
so, having briefly shown that I am sensible at
least on one point, I will go on to other topics.
The groat event of the past month in all New
England, has been the Maiden bank mnrder and
robbery, which I have before merely alluded to.
"The latest previous event in tho whole word, that
I am aware, of. which had any parallel to it, was
the murder and robbery of the porter to the British
Linnen Company's Bank, in Edinburgh, 57
years ago, described by Henry Cockburn in the
"Memorials of his Time," and the perpetrator of
that bloody crime never was discovered. In that
instanee the murder and robbery "were effected in
the street, after dark, but within a few rods of
sentinels on their beats and the murderer got
some four or five thousand pounds. The Maiden
crime was committed in the middle of the day, in
a bank building which is directly in the heart of
the village, and young Converse, the President's
son, was shot through the head, without anything
unusual being seen or heard by the neighbors' or
passers-by. Only $5000 was obtained. There
is as yet no clue to the murderer. Skilful detectives
are at work on tho affair, with no results
whatever. Several parties have been under suspicion,
and one. an ex-convict, whose wife resides
in Maiden, was kept Under strict surveillance for
' 1 oAnl.1 nnf 1 to
ft time, till it was oeciueu iua? jic wu,u
the guilty man. Rumor has been busy al>ont the
matter, and has made the Detectives almost omnipresent.
announcing the arrest of the murderer
by the same man in as many as ft dozen different
places all over New England at the same time.
"The Maiden people think the gnilty man is still
in their midst, and that the truth may be developed
; but the proverb that "murder will out "
is not always supported bv the facts, as witness
the Edinburgh affair above alluded to, and, to
come nearer home, the Parker Murder, at Manchester,
N. II., nearly twejity years ago, the perpetrator
of which has never been discovered.
Another exciting topic, emanating from hereabouts,
which is talked and written of all over the
country, is a recent exposure of abuses at the
House of Reformation for juvenile offenders, a
1,, inrntnd nt Deer Island.
7>unc?lji L'UUlln iunuiu?.w..,
in Boston harbor, of which one Peyson, formerly
Sheriff of Essex comity, and who recently replaced
another man in his present position, is
Superintendent. The judges of the Boston
Police Court and the Judge of Probate are by law
the Inspectors of Prisons for the county of Suffolk,
and it is their duty to visit all places of confinement
therin, at least twice a year, and report
thereon to the Board of Aldennen. They are all
gentlemen eminent for their personal integrity.
It appears that they presented one of their halfyearly
reports to the Board of Aldermen in July
last, and in it made some severe strictures upon
the House of Beformation. caused by the death
of one boy and the crippling ol two others for
life, the result, as they alleged, of gross carelessness,
or extreme cruelty on the part of officers of
the institution. Strange to say; the report never
was noticed publicly, and although ordered to be
printed as a document, but few copies ever got
out. In fact, not to put too nuc ji po:m ujwh i?,
if was suppressed, evidently, 1 v somebody's
friends. About two mouths since tbev made
another report, containing still severer strictures,
including some on an acknowledged custom at the
institution of chastising small boys wifch cartwhips.
and others on a girl-beating arrangement
of a disgusting character. It appears the inspectors
visited the institution on tlic 2Stli of last
July, and found the girl, who was about seventeen
years of age, in a solitary cell, with livid
marks, as large as one's hand, on her bark, where
?hp had been flocked with a rattan. The offence
had been?making a rode reply to an accusation
of tbe matron, The Superintendent coolly remarked
that he very seldom had to flog a girl as
severely as he did this one. but that he was deter
mined to conquer her, and that when he couldn't
break hor down with a rattan twenty inches long, |
(and I have forgotton how thick,) lie scut ont for
a larger one. The girl remained in solitary seven
: days, and the Inspectors found her there, the
: scars of the llogging still plainly visible, at the 1
i end of that time?and released her. It is doubtful
if this Haynauism would ever have come to
light, had not the Boston Daily llcrahl got hold
of the report and published an abstract with lite"
? rm _
ral extracts of the most important portions, ine
article was copied and indignantly commented
on all over tlie country, from the Border States
into Canada. Then followed a publication of the
July report, wliich then first fully saw the liglit,
and on Saturday the last report was published in
; full. It is generally believed that an investigation,
I full and searching, without any whitewash, will
be unavoidable.
Recruiting progresses but slowly. I doubt if
any New England States, except perhaps New
; Hampshire, will be able to avoid a* draft. The
quota of Boston is 3,330, and up to this she has
only, by the most laborious efforts, succeeded in
! obtaining 138 of them. Charlcstown has got less
than a third of her quota, but is gaining fast of
1 late. Some of the country towns are recruiting
from the freedmen within our army linos. The
city of Bangor in Maine, has completed its quota
of 300, and some of toe largf towns have got all
they need. At Concord, N. If., about -10 recruits
j come in daily; recruiting has been stopped for '
I the 2d, 3d," 8tii, 10th, *3th and 14th Regiments, !
, and is now going on /or the Cth, 9th and 11th i
Regiments.
The Fair in Music Hall, for the benefit of the
New England Sanitary Commission was a most
successful thing. About $150,000 was raised ;
xt.. ?iVo .an ,rn?n of fVio lidnd nf it
j lilt; im?iui-niuj vi mj ?p*v. < <. ...
and to their credit be tt said, their efforts were no
, half-horded oncafjf-tbey made valuable contrilm1
tions?pnrchaatdEarticles at exorbitant prices,
and went in dee^in raffles and other games of
chance where "the bank" had an immense percentage.
Contributions also oarao in largely, and
visitors numerously from all New England. New
Hampshire ranking next to Massachusetts. Many
a young man was made involuntarily generous
to this noble Commission, by the appeals, bewitching
words and looks of fair sellers of chance
and waiters at tables.
I uo not consider the above a sporting item or t
that the Heenan and King fight is appropriate in
connexion, but that in the topic which comes to
mind next, and it is a lively one here just now.
; You have heard, all of you, how Heenan was laid
low in 2.) rounds, though he went into the fight 2
to 1 strong, and even rallied to 20 to 7. There 1
was a good deal of betting in all our large cities,
and I regret to say that even staid, sober citizens
were foolish enough to bet on a contest in the P.
R. Rut the Heenanites got taken in and theie is
weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in their ,
land. Tom Grew, who keeps in Portland street j
n rpsnrt frecmentecl hv Englishmen, laid some j
$10,000 on king in odds averaging the rate of 1 j
to 2. and wins thereby about $20,000, the result j
making a difference to him of $30,000. Mr. Dan. j
Dobbins, late proprietor of the Franklin Trotting '
Park, lost several thousand dollars on Heenan. i
Hilly Morris, of the minstrels, who returned from
England just before the fight, and was sura Hee- j
nan was the best man in the world, is reputed to ;
have lost some $5,000. Johnny Pell, his partner, !
i and F.ph Horn, of the same establishment, are \
i also reported to Lave lost heavily, and there is no j
| end of victims. So much for those who bet on j
prize-fights.
The weather is finer tlmh is usual for the season. j
In this vicinity we have had one or two small falls ;
I of snow, but they were speedily dissipated by j
rain or thaws. Now the ground is barely white, j
* 1 1 * ~ 1 X- 3 r.f '
I OUT Iue streets mm nunu-wi.nt. vmj x- ,*x.,
| and frozen mnd as evidences of winter, so there
is no sleighing here, or any where ou the sea coast j
; fn Xortben Bhode Island and Connecticut, tliere
' is fair sleighing: and excellent in Western Massa!
chnsetts, all Xew-IIampshire, all Vermont and ;
: most of Maine.
j My letter is already too long, so^f will close
. with a hodge-}>odge of items There have been
several arrests in Boston of persons who have enlisted
men without authority of the Governor, and j
taken then to other tonus and States Hon.
Henry Wilson opposes the abolition of the com-:
; mutation clause in the Conscription Act The !
lumbermen of Maine are making extensive arrangements
for the winter campaign, which will l;e a
brisk one In Tamworth, N. H., avo five persons
w ho have entered on the tenth dcc*ule of life !
i ?Johanna Monlton. aged 9:1; Stephen Pliilbriek,
03; Ilenrv Wiggin, W; and Sally Mason, relict of
Deacon Tnfton Mason, 91. In Windham there is
a widow aged S3, who can read, knit or sew with-1
out glasses; she has 10 children, and 57 grand- i
children, of which latter 30 arc males, and 15 have :
' been in the armv and 9 are there now An j
Arostook (Me.) paper has an article headed?,
"Hel!?its influences on man." Rev. Dr. .
j Tappa^, of An<nj:U; died on the 22nd instant.
' 11 OBSERVER.
Morris Isi.vxd.?The Correspondent of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, writes as follows of Moms
Island, which has become so famous in the history
of the siege of Charleston. The subject is bv no
means exhausted?will some body else give that
dreary island "a first .rate notice?"
"Coopir, in "The Pioneers," makes Leather',
stocking say "that the best work God ever did was,
building the Catskill Mountains." But what shall
we sav of the " building" of Morris Island?this
waste of sand, this desert of barrenness, this sterile
drift of the ocean, upon which no vegetation
(except the lowest type), dare grow, and over
which the buzzard flaps his wings with disgust ?
And yet the siege operations of this army will
make it famous in all lands: its camp-fire talcs be
told to generations yet unborn, and its deeds of
blood and conquest be emblazoned on the annals
of the great Rebellion. And to-day, in countless
Northern homes, hotf many tearful eyes are looking
down ncross the "mourning waste of waters"
to this dreary isle; looking, in imagination,
through trench and parallel, over bastion and parapet,
where a brother, husband or father, fought
and fell. Alas! looking also aleng the beach,^in
the marshes, over the headlands for that one grace
where the heroic dead reposes.
I have seen miles of soldier-cemeteries in Virginia.
where the Army of the Potomac had buried
its fallen heroes, but I have never seen or imagined
a more desolate place to sleep "after life's fitful
fever" than Morris Island. The sun docs not
shine here, it blears or scorches. The breeze does
-1 v _ / T 11
not kiss, hut blinus you wun ciouus ci sanu ; me
flora of the marshes brings no fragrance, but malaria
; the birds do not sing, bnt pipe notes oj
ceaseless sadness. There is no forest to afford you
shelter, no green valley to ramble over, no mountains
with blue peaks to cheer the vision, and oven
the sky and clouds appear mean and cheap as you
gaza upon them day after day, and night after
night. The ocean oighs with a dirge-like monotone
as it chafes the bsach, or howls with rage
when the storm drives it headlong and tumultuous
against the head-lands and sand-drifts. Physically
speaking, this island belongs to the Plentonie, if
not the infernal, type ; was began nt the last end
of creation, and was left for this besieging army
to finish. Professor Agjlbhz might write its physical
history?your correspondent cannot.
Geographically considered it is a curiosity. Its
first stratified deposits w*i e accumulated centuries
before Secession was dreamed of, and yet its organic
sand is excellent for building redans and
fortifications; also good for trench work, as Gen.
Giixmoue demonstrated months ago. Insular as
it now is, there is a probability that it once belonged
to the adjacent land* : but the tides encir-1
- 1 if nfftmm nnrl EV?llv T-jljinfle
C'R'll 11, L'UIUH^ Ik VU l< vua vuuvw .?.u . ,
and from which it is now separated by Light
Hons* Inlet. The two lost mentioned islands dissolved
partnership with it in absolute disgust, and
such is pride in South Carolina to-day that plover,
marsh-hens and sand-snipe from Morris are considered
vulgar, and rarely if ever associate with
the respectable wild fowl of other sea islands In
length Morris is about three statute miles: in
width mysteriously uncertain, and in shape like a
bologna sausage in Southward market."
Thk Richmond papers are endeavoring to dense
the cruelties practiced upon the helpless Union
prisoners, and at the same time to incite the rebels
to lurthcr atrocities, by publishing frightful stories
of a plot which it i> sdleged has been detected
among them to burn the city of Richmond! The
idea that a handful of men, not only unarmed, but
reduced to death's door by sickness and starvation,
would attempt such a folly as the captur* or destruction
of a garrisoned city like Richmond, is
rather too large an imposition upon even the most
oinplaisant credulity.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
A. L. STIMSON,
AUCTIONEER FOR THE DEPARTMENT,
Address Adams Express Office, Hilton Iliad.
Metallic coffixs, for sale by
C. W. Denxis Sc CO.,
2Co. 4, butler's How
DK. W. M. WALSH, Office No. 13, Sutler's How. A full
supply of Drills,. Chemicals and Patent Medicines.
August 29, lSCo.-tf
... ir'nr r"T T iv TrFiTiniTARTEHS.?
J? UJiA, J1 k/UUUUUI ^
No. 3, East Houston St, (one ?loor East of Broadway) X. Y.
(Above the St. Nicholas Hotel.)
ITetdff'iatiers in AVw York, or the <tiHcer.- of Hilton Mead.
Ale, Wines. Brandies, Whisky and Segars, of the choicest
character. The current army intelligence, Ac. Near ail
the places of public amusements, and the most popular
place in the city of military resort
cor* .IAS. I* FllAZEB, (late 47th Rrgt.)
tag. 22-tf . Manager.