Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Sci-jilcd to ^jgrLiquliurfi, Dortiqitlture, gomi|stiq (L'qonomu, polite literature, fjolitiqs," and thq Current flea's of the Dan. VOL. X.?New Series. UNION C. II., SOUTH CAROLINA, FEBRUARY 21, 1S70. Mmmm ? ONE HUNDRED MILLIONS ! i -v > - The 1 rue Juwiirihtcss oj the I *cnsioi Arrears liill. Washington, D. C., Feb, 3, 1S79. Jo (he Jjifitors (J (he Aries ami Oourier . Oil tho 35th of January, Mr. Hayes ap proved the "Arrears of Pension Hill," thu; making it the law. Jjvery mail since lias brought me one or more letters from friends in boutli (Carolina expressing gratilieation at this fact, and impiiring how the writer should proceed to secure his far G w.tp>y, ror no or she} pensioner, had nnnn in the Seminole, lilack Hawk, Mexicau or souio other war, with which the "Arrear bill" h id nothiug to do. JJefora this reaches you their hopes will have been blasted; but it may not be amiss to publish a few thoughts upon the subject of pensions, as our people at the South are morbidly sanguine that the present Congress will give uiauy of them material relief by passing peusion laws, which will apply to Southern as well as Northern soldiers who were iu wars anterior to 1801. In 1878 (1 think) a pension law was cnaeted granting a pension to every soldier who had been disabled, (or his representative if ho had been killed) in the "war waged for the suppression of the robolliou." Of course this meant only Federal soldiers. The day of payment of the pension was to date from the passage of'the law, and all soldiers who did not within live years lroui that date apply for a pension were to be debarred. The "Arrears of Pension Bill" amends that law so as to date the day of payment back to the day of the death or wounding of the soldier, and removes the live years' restriction. So, if a soldier was wounded at the iirsl battle of Manassas and is drawing but 88 s mouth, this bill gives him additional pay of nearly 81,001) in the aggregate. There are over 800,000 of these pensioners, and their uumbcr will now be greatly iucreasod by the removal of the live years restriction and this lumping oil' to them of ten years' pay at one piymout No one estimates that it will require less than 8dl),0U0,lK>0 to pay these arrearages, and some say it will require all of 8100,000,000. The only obstruction now in the way, is the passage of a bill to appropriate money to meet the demands of this arrears bill.? Whether this will de an impediment of any consequence, you may judge when I tell you a wooden-legged Federal general framed and introduced the bill in a Democratic House which passed it j it then passed a Republican Senate, and was approved by a Republican President who, convinced at least of its impropriety, hesitated several days before he would sign it but had not the nerve to veto it. The appropr; dim committee will doubtloss recomm. ml the necessary appropriation, the Southern members will nut oppose it, from that delicate sense ol honor peculiar to them, the two parties, North and South, will vie with each other in approving the appropriation, the money will be required to come forth, and the man who chows tobacco or takes an occasional glass of grog will have to pay that much more for hi* quid and his toddy. The surviving volunteer soldiers of the ????. i<rti 1 I ?? ?i iv.Mirnt* in I li.t ]?nt?l n n.l tint >YUl ?l W icailjl ll lit VltV> IIIIIUj UUU VltVi two parties North arc vicing with each other to secure their votes, so that this arrears pension matter is not., and cannot be considered, a just claim upon the treasury ot* the United States, but is virtually, if not really, a political measure, advocated by either party to defeat the other. Neither will gain or deserve special credit, and so honors will be easy.'' A lew more words upon the general jucstion of pensions: On the'Jth March a law was enacted to pension the surviving soldiers, or widows of soldiers of the war ol 1812. Would yon believe .v it, there arc on lilo now in the pension ollieo more than lib,<>!)(> applications for pensions under that hill'! 1 did not think this could possibly be the case, but so it is. Human longevity lias been admirably illustrated since the passage of that bill. As 1 have received what appeared to me to be a fair proportion of these pension claims from the vctoruus of the warof 1812, 1 have multiplied that number by 2'J2, the number of representatives upon the floor yf the House, and find that the product is a little more than one-third the reported number of applicants. 1 have wondered where these Litl.tMjo veterans or surviving widows came from. The clfo'-'t ?>f this unanticipated number, T fear, has killed the possibility of the pas sage of ;i law pensioning the surviving soldiers of tlie Seminole or Mexican wars. These wars were fought principally by Southern soldiers, and this will be another reason why pensions will never be ]> ii<I t?. ijc their veterans. When the pension bill re biting to these wars was recently under consideration in the House, sonic one moved to amend by adding a clause granting ?i pension to every volunteer soldier w ho wasin the Fcdra! army from l*t;| to IStil inclusive. Would you believe it. it passer by acclamation, which really hilled tin pension bill ; therefore I can hut say to tin Southern survivors of the Florida, iliacl Hawk or Mexican wars, possess your soul: in patience, lb|' 1 do not believe (lie Forty lif'it t'opgre'i will award you one dollar foi ; iiic duties you performed or the exposure i | uud risk you suffered for "our couiuioii country." There is another pension bill yet to be reported to the House, which restores to the pension roll those men and their widows ol the South who were once on the roll, hut ? were stricken from it by an act passed in i February, ISGli. Whether it will be rci ported this Congrass 1 aui unable to say.? And il' reported, whether it will become law, no one now can toll. You have heard of tlni uiau who said no one but a Creator of a jury, foil Ur 1 could diagnose the hidden verdict ul a half dozen juries, even South Carolina post bolluui juries, easier than we could anticipate the late ol a bill in the forty fifth Congress, unless it were a Minn 11 u uu iUl UIO UCUCUl. 01 IU0 CUtiro North. I ilo not believe the bill restoring the Southerners to their rights will pass; first, because She Republican party do not think we have any rights that they are bound to respect; aud secondly, because the Northern Democracy are so nearly of the saure opinion that they will not oppose the Republicans ia order to favor us of the South. The National Democracy to day are practically divided by the Potomac and the ()hio, and unless something is done to remove this line of division before 1880, I can see no reason why (irant or souic other nominee of the Repudlicau party may not walk without molcstatiou from private life straight into the White House. Your obedient servant, 1). WYATT AIKEN. Tka Culture in tiie South.?Savannah, February 1.?Leaving Savannah Friday morning I arrived at Mcintosh, a small hamlet about fifty miles southwest of Savannah. llere 1 secured the only buggy and best horse of the place, aud after a drive of twelve miles through a swamp that the darkey jehu, Abraham Lincoln by name, (^thoro are no more George Washington* now.) assured me was full of alligators, 1 arrived at my destination, Mr. Sereveu's tea garden, which is on slightly elevated ground and well adapted to the successful growth of tea. Here I was delighted to find laa uluuta irrowintr as fine, as anv I ever saw in CImiiA or Japan. 'J he hushes wore very vigorous, hut the owner did not know the necessity of trimming the plants, con seque.ntly they are only producing one-half of what they otherwise would if properly pruned. I tasted tea made on this plantation bv the ladies of the family, who had used the crudest modes both of picking aud curing; and to my surprise the tea was very fair indeed 1 am quite convinced that with a moderate amount of care, with no ^t ;ii ..~ i ii isii; o iv in tn tin 10 iti|uut,vi t <) jiiit ii I; huii. itoes or preserves, an article of tea equal in every respect to that we get from China could be produced from these leaves. It will be about a month or six weeks before the young leaves will he ready for picking, ind there are on lhis plantation and one about ten miles distant 100 large and d.000 smaller tea plants. To give some substantial encouragement to their proper care 1 told .Mr. Sereven that if he would pick the leaves according to directions, and send them to Jkiltiuiore by express, I would give him one dollar a pound for all the tea that could be made out of the leaves, aud, as it takes about live pounds of lrcsh leaves to make one pound of tea lie would receive ab nit twenty cents a pound for fresh leaves. 1 believe that the intelligent fanners have been greatly interested in the success of (Jen. he' Due's experiment, and the editors of the Southern press also, and that tea culture will receive an impetus that it could not otherwise have received.?31 r. (Jill in Jin ft. Sun. ? Xiit11.)st Industry.?The ingenuity of the Russian Nihilists is amazing. They have succeeded in smuggling regular liles of their revolutionary papers into the political prison at Odessa where three hundred of their friends arc coiilincd, and the officials have been forced to forbid the reading of literature of all kinds in the cells. A goverineiit oilicial was recently traveling from St. Petersburg to Odessa, where lie was to lake part in a criminal process instituted against certain Nihilists, lie received a warning from the revolutionary tribunal not to meddle in the affair, but. not heeding this advice, proceeded on his journey. Arrived at Odessa, lie could not liud his trunk, which was somehow missing from the b.agiragj wagon. Aftersonie delay, however, it was 1'ound. It had been opened and although none ol its marketable eontents had been abstracted, the papers relating to the pending trial had all disappeared. In their place the procurer found a letter from the secret government, blaming him i for having neglected their well meant can* ti >11, and informing him that as his eon' duet had not been in any olbcr respect 1 reprehensible, the executive committee i contented its If with depriving him of the 4 papers connected with the trial in which , h> wis engaged. The now chief of the I | gendarme, (leiieral Ihvntein, has entered j upon his duties at St. Petersburg, but his ) j head cannot rest easy oil his shoulders.? ; f II lias already received notices from the s I N.hilists that it will he well for him to pro1p:re lor d illi. When lie appears in the street the tVssack patrols are doubled. SOUTHERN FIELD AND FOREST RESOURCES. We append a tew interesting extract8 j from Dr. I'orchcr's valuable book, with ? | h<?j>e that they may bo interesting and iu- i struetivc to our readers, ind that they may bo utilized by them:?Charleston Weekly 1 Xew.i. Wild Cukhhy.?One of the most valuable of our indigenous plants. The bark from any part of the tree makes a very powerful tunic, but that from the root better than from the body of the tree. It is peculiarly suited to tho hcotio lew.*? ble iu dyspepsia, attended with neuralgic symptoms. 1 he bark should uevcr be boiled, but have its virtues extracted by cold water, llalf an ounce of the bruised bark macerated iu one piut of cold water for twenty four hours, and taken three or fuur times d:lilv ill doses of two to tLv.m oiirionu J ... ? v WMlJVVO> is a good touic. Five ounces of powdered bark, two pounds of sugar, and enough water to moisten the bark through, kept in a close vessel for twenty-four hours, and then mixed with enough water to get a pint of liquor by filtering, will make a tonic that may be taken imJialf ounce doses. This liquor contains elements that will kill a eat in five minutes, if administered iu small doses. Cherry cordial is made by filling a vessel with cherries and covering with whiskey ; let it stand lor several weeks, pour oil' the clear liquor, press the juice out of the cherries, add five pints of brown sugar and five pin's of water, and boil to desired consistency. Sumach.?The bark of the root boiled , in equal parts of milk and wa'.er, and with , Hour made into a poultice and applied to , burns, will euro without leaving a scar.? ( The excrescences on the leaves arc some- ( times as large as a persimmon, and arc ] powerfully astringent, and a perfect sub- j stitute for tannin. An infusion from the . inner bark of the root is, when used as a gargle, a specific iu the sore throat attending mercurial salivation. The bark is con sidorcd a febrifuge. The berries make one of the handsomest black dyes for woollen fabrics, if boiled iu layers with the wool or . fabrics, without copperas. When ground they are often used for flavoring tobacco, and the powdered leaves are sometimes Ull.XCU wan loonccti, 10 urunnisa rcrsrvrn^rn. V i ni,iv. ?o itkj IIJWII; o 11 | leather than the leaves of the Suuiach.? c They should he gathered in the fall as one j gathers fodder, dried in the shade, and . frequently turned while drying to prevent , heating. They are sold by the pound and , are worth in England from ?75 to ?100 j per ton. Thousands of pounds arc shipped , annually from Virginia. Srax isii Oak.?This and many other < oaks produce an excrescence called gall nuts or oak galls, which contain tauniu and are used for making ink. The fresh oak gall rubbed up with mercurial ointment will give relief if applied in hemorrhoids. A deeoetion is administered with great success in dysentary, pulmonary and uterine i hemorrhage, and souic physicians have ; used it successfully iu intermittent lovers. All the oak family are astringent, and ( make valuable dyes. Ited oak decoction, ( with sulphate of copper, will make green ] or black color, and is everywhere used for ; tanning leatter. Other woods dye different i colors. Hickory bark with copperas will ( make an olive color; maple gives a purple ( dye; the tea loaf a yellow and the white 1 oak a brown color. Walnut leaves wifhoiif , copperas and repeatedly boiled will make a i black dye. lilacksmith's dust is a g>od substitute in dying for copperas. Acorns from the Spanish and while oaks are almost us valuable as corn or'food lor hogs. ALDKlt.?The bark is astringent, and a decoction is valuable as an alterative in scrofula and cutaneous diseases. .Poultices made of the leaves are used asa local application to tumors, sprains, swelling, Ac.? The leaves arc a. i bed externally to wounds and ulcers. The inner bark of the root is emetic and has been given iu intcrmittcnts. The shoot-, cut in .March will impart a cin ! .. . 1 . \ 1 il ? 1 ? 1 iiam? ii cuiin t<i ?-i iu.s ami 11 iniici.s. i>oii the balk, skim ami .-train wet the c*l??th in strong lye : n 1 d:p in I he :?!?lor ibpior ami lot it remain until c.mi enough to wring the I'olnr will l.o in lolliblo. 1'he alder is used by tunnels and dyers. Sl.ll'i'KKV lil.M.?'Ibis live is perhaps too woll known mi nee unit <>! its bark to be introduce hero, but we give a i'c\v condensed sentences IVotn Dr. Porehcr's book. The bark is an excellent demulcent employed as a softening application, is recoinineuded to be used internally in suppression of the urine, iullamution ol the bladder, dysentery or diarrheal. A d coction of this bark, combined with the root of the sassafras and gu iiae, is valuable as a drink to increase cutaneous transpiration, and to improve the tone of the digestive organs. Waiioo.?A hard, tough, fine grained wood ; the hark is used in making rope, and is strong enough to cord a bag of cotton. The bark will slip in the fall as well as in the spring, and hence may be used at any season for making rope. The process ol manufacturing is the same as that in ordinary use. Ill,a''k Wai.m t?The leaves of this tree are us d in scrofula. The infusion is made hy cutting up the leaves and infusing a good pinch between the thumb and fore i finger i-i half a pint of boiling water ; I jwoeten with sugar : to a grown person two ot tlneo tcacupsful should bo given daily. Dry leaves may be used tliroughout tho winter. A salve made from the extract of the leaves, clean lard and oil of bcrgamot, is excellent for sores A strong decoction of these leaves is excellent lor washing sores. Sw'KET G I'M.? A soft wood but not durable. A decoction of the bark in milk or a tea made with boilimr water is one of Ittiu uu' uo euijooytru nr>,v..?j eases of diarrhoea aud dysentery. A syrup may be prepared from the bark as lroui the bark of the w ild cherry. Tho leaves of the sweet gum contain much tannin, and are recommended to be used in tanning leather instead of oak bark. Sweet gum, sumach, myrtle and blackberry leaves, and green persimmons contain tho largest amnuut of tannin and arc very valuable in tanning leather. Pokkwkkd.?The juice of tho leaves or berries, thickened to the consistency of an extract and applied to a hard tumor, will dissipate it. One ounce of the dried root, infused in a pint of wine, acts kindly as an emcticin doses of two tablespoonfuls. A ! 5pirit distilled from the berries will kill a Jog. It is narcotic, acts slowly as an erneLie, and sometimes as a purgative ; produces vomiting without pain ; in overdoses is a dangerous medicine. An ointment prepared from the powdered root or leaves and lard(onc drachm of the powdered root and >no ouuee of lard) c..u be applied with advantage in diseases of the scalp. The her- ! ries, steeped in whiskey, is considered an efficient remedy in rheumatism. A decoc:ion of the root will cure the muugc ou dogs. Dig the root iu the iali and winter, and lowder. and keep in closely stopped bottles, is it deteriorates. Dock?A decoction is astringent, alter- ] lative and tonic, and resembles rhubarb < n its mode of operation. The powdered i "lot, with lit 11L or !1? fill owiliiwit.t .... ---...J v. ..V? viiivuawiiv, \Jk UJU j expressed juice may be applied externally i n ring worms, itch and eruptive diseases. j ( Examine The Comiis.?It is the casi- ( iSl tlliatr ill tliiuiv-ovlil wluin vmi. l;uuw limit J i.a Joiio, To Toll w 11 on join fowls WiViff TTl . icaltli, even in the incipint stages of any ( lisottse or ailment, if you but examine your j lock carefully. Tho comb of teaeh fowl is ] i true index to the workings of their sys- ; cms. if they be iu ill health, the comb | vill lose color and will become lar less firtu . n texture; as the malady increases tho colir decreases, till a very sick bird will show a comb almost devoid of scarlet colur, being of a livid dull crimson, or else pale or ashy iu appearance. If the cholera or any disease should come iuto the flock, carefully examine the combs of each bird, moruiug a.id night, and all those which are wanting in that bright, rich color which denotes perfect health, remove at once from the (lock to a place remote, where they should it once bo put under medical treatment. The comb of the fowl is an honest index af the true inwardness, and should daily be consulted by the fancier who values the health and well being of his flock. Look it the comb of a laying hen or pullet! She is iu the height ot health and strength and carries her unfailing sign of health fulness jr. her head, in the shape of a blood-red, bright and full couib. A vigorous cock or cockerel will carry the same sign, though mi, in mi i uiiiiLiit u ur^iuu. Aemrican Poultry Yard. ?? - : A Model Farmer.?Mr. John ft. llrazel who farms about twelve miles below Columbia, in Richland County, has set an example to all who arc in the habit of thinking and teaching that farming does not pay. Last year lie ran three ploughs, tending about eighty-five acres, and he made sufiieient provisions to keep his family a year, and a considerable quantity to sell, both of grain aud bacon. 11 is farm yielded liiui ten bales of cotton, about seven hundred bushels of corn and -peas, and any quantity <>!' rough food for stock, such as fodder, peavines, Ac., besides a good many chufas, not measured, also, about 150 bushels of potatoes. 11 is wife raised GO turkeys, and a great many chickens, of which latter she sold $25 or SI10 worth, lie attributes his slice ss to the fact that he nod his two sons did their own ploughing; worked early iinu jtiil, ur it* 1115 iiiis uxprcsKca ii uiey were :it work when the whippoorwills hollered in tlie morning and wlien the whippoorwills hollered in the evening," and finally, they abstained from intoxicating liquor. The county newspaper is always prepared to protect the cit izens against every imposition and to defend every worthy person from an unjust attack It docs not prosecute or defend for fees, but always defends the peoples' interests. To build up your home paper advertise your industries and secure a power to execute your short comings. The County paper is as indispensable as a cook stove and as handy as a boot jack. Young housewife: "What miserable little eggs again!?You really must tell them. Jane, to let the hens ?et on thorn a little longrr " XlVJiUJLUVIV o. ! Passaok of Edmunds' Kksolutions. ?Washington, February 5.?Senator Morgan s substitute and all other auicudmeuts were voted down, aud the original Edmunds' resolutions liually passed without amendment, aud the Senate, at 11 1*. M., adjourned. The resolutions wero submitted by Senator Edmuuds on January 7, and urc as follows : llcsolvcd, As nt* >1"t **""*' that ?oou?Utgliny and aro as valid aud of the same paramount authority as any other part of tho constitution ; that the people of each State havo a common interest iu the enforcement of the whole constitution in every State in tho Union, and that it is alike tho right ami duty of Congress to cuforco said amendments, aud to protect overy citizen iu tho cxerciso of the rights thereby secured by jaws of the general character already passed for the purpose, and by further appropriato legislation, so far as such enforcement and protection are not secured by cxistiuglaws ; and that it is the duty of the executive dcuartliicnt ?f the rmvornmont fi.Whfiilltr I _ -- D- ? ??j and with diligence to curry all bucU laws into impartial execution, and of Congress to appropriate all moneys needful to that end. Resolved, further, That it is the duty of Congress to provide by law for the full and impartial protection ofall citizens of the United States, legally qualihed, in tho right to vote for Representatives iu Congress, nud to this end the Committee on the Judiciary be, and it hereby is, instructed toprepareand report, as soon as may be, a bill for tho protection of such rights, and tho punishment of infractions thereof. - ? The Decline In The Price Of Cotton.?A report from the agricultural department just issued among other items j;ives tho prices of the cotton crop, concerning which it is said : We are guided by tho prices received by the planter, which havo ruled excessively low this winter, the averlge for the whole country being about 81 :ents per pound. The groat valuo ot this ;rop is founded ou the demand for export. lA-i??.ji. lUTkU Mtd , 184iO. the 'mount imports ? . .^?-vno he United States was lour-Wfi.ilVJM.l0 77XQTO asportation. During the war it fell off toless than 2 uer cent. Starting in 1 B(VG at 17 per cent, wo fiud that in 1878 we had regained the position we held prior to 18G1, and that four tilths of tlio cotton used aud manufactured in Great liritaiu came from the United States. The proportion of our total crop exported to foreign ports was 3,340,000 bales out of a crop of 4,750,000 bales during year ending September 1,, 1878. The productiou of this great staple seems to be too large, and the result is shown in glutted markets and low prices, tho larger crop of 1878 being worth less than that of the preceding year. Basing the caloulation of prices on that received by the producer, we find the value of tho crop of 1878 to be 8104,700,000, and for 18778240,, (100,000, while tho number of bales was 1,750,000 in 1877 and 5,200,000 lor 1878. Democratic Caucus.?Washington, February 0.?An adjourned caucus of Democratic members of Congress was held last night in the hall of tho House of Representatives, M. Blackburn presiding. There were present about ninety Representatives and eight or ten Senators. At the former meeting the general sentiment was in favor of attaching to one of the appropriation bills an amendment repealing the test oath now required of jurors, that tbey have not taken up arms against the United States, nor engaged in insurrection against the samo nor given aid and comfort to the enemy.? Tl?r? mihippt \v*in now Curmnllv nntixl on J _ _? V ~ " *?' and a couuniltco appointed to put such amendment in proper form to be attached to the sundry civil appropriation bill, which, among other provisions, includes the pay of persons connected with the judiciary. The caucus also decided upon an amendment repealing the clauses of the revised statutes which provido for the Federal supervisors of elections. Thocommittee are also required to put this amendment in proper form. There was entire unanimity on the above measures. The only point of difference was as to conclusive action at the present meeting.? Hut it was agreed that there should be an adjourned meeting on Monday night next, when there may be a larger attendance of members. The exact form of tho amendments will then be laid before ;the caucus for adoption. Some of those who attended tho caucus say tho Democrats will insist on the amendments being incorporated in the bill, even at tho risk of an extra sossion of Congress. ? A quaint writer says: "I have seen women so delicate that they were afraid to ride for fear of the horso running away, afraid to sail, tor fear tho boat might upset, afraid to walk, for fear they might fall, but 1 never saw one afraid to get married, which is far more riskful than all the othors put together." ? ? . "(), Lord!" a Kentucky miuistcr prayed, i "thou has' seen by the morning papers hew the Sabbath was desecrated yesterday."