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wspst ' c&JT r^> . rear. \JjOMB8P?2?SI^ - Jfty# * tat- ' .--* ii* -^K.fj** * <^9Ht . * *' 7/ ,, AK . V^L" ^'"-^ ^/^Ipl THE V/EEKLY^JpDIIOfi fUES " ' "" fc~" ; "t 1 *"' ~~~~"?~ < -t.. . . .. . . , i _ ? ..I i i??. ^.aiaflidtoi D~udteAr~at*r^ iRlllPllllHIll *m***ANr " ~r~ ,. '^Ij&MEl " , .. ?^M tf^TiM~ItMTMiBTTTTrrTTltf^ftB^^IMl I id li in in i l X -' ?^JHStIiI^WfWaBiOKK. U^IIDW U. Hm SOUxjHCARUxAffiS, jTRIIJAY? DECEMBER 25, 1891. * ?i?? ???? ?? i ? The Supreme Court of North Carolina holds that a railroad company becomes liable for punitive damages in wilfully failing to stop for passengers at a regular station and cannot eseape liability on the ground that there was not sufllcieat room in the train if it appealed that by reasonable diligeuco it might have provided oaten cars. W . 1 The northwest provinces of Canada have made bountiful provision for the education of the multitudes of people who are expected to some day occupy this now somewhat lonesome expanse of territory. Sackotchewan has set apart 3,648,000 acres of land for the maintonanoe of ptblic schools, Aminlbota 8,040,000, and Alberta 3,200,000. j Says the Atlanta Constitution: "Humor has its fashions. The funny men of the past generation do not please the read^ (era of to-3ay. Mark Twain realizes this, * and he is trying to strike a new vein. The Danbury Netot man. Bill Nye, Eli Perkins and a ho3t of others have found their popularity waning, and tSby.are working hard to adapt themselves to the change in public tasto. Taeir failure is inevitable. Toe average humsrist has only one cireer. When the public drop him ho is at the end of his row.'* ' The Chicago News says: "The reign of terror inaugurated by bandits known as train-robbers is increasing in extent and flagranoy. These outlaws invariably 1 ^ select some lonely spot in the country for their depredations. It does not follow .that a rural police force could always present train robberies, but there can be no idoubt that its effect would be to lessen the boldness of American banditti. A .rural police patrol, especially in sparsely eettled districts, would seem to bo a necessity of the times. It is not often that jtraio robbers become so bold as to select a point near a large city for their tiendish work. That an express train only an hour out of Chicago on the St. Paul road lhas been held up by bandits pro763 how dsriug this class of criminals is becoming. They must be checked in the interest of ?i --1 y ^ 4'ae trailing public. If a system of mounted rural police should be y' generally adopted we would also soon 'Hear tKo last of outrages by" wHIlemaps and their allied outlaws." In au address lately delivered in Albuquerque, Governor Prince says that iu New Mexico the improved systems of irrigation, on which they have to depend for the multiplication of thoir area of useful land, are advancing rapidly. In the northeast the Springer system, with fifty miles of ditches and five reservoirs, covers 22,000 acres; and the Vcrmejo system, with lifty-sevcu miles of ditches and ten reservoirs, supplies 30,000 acres. In the northwest there are 290 miles of ditch completed and forty in process of construction, giving fertility to 24,000 acres. In the southeast the Pecos Valley Bjstcin, already largely completed, about fifty miles of main ditch and 120 of later* als being in operation, with its great dam 1140 feet long and 270 feet wide at the nnd its lake -even miles in length, will soon supply almost 200,000 acres of land with the necessary ivrigation. And in the southwest the works along the Miinbres are solving a new problem, aud will supply a section of wonderful fertil' ity with water repiisite for successful cultivation. Pittsburg, Penn., is stirred up over revelations of the depravity of the Chinese secret society T'ian ti, which has been persecutiug a Christianized Chinaman nftmcd Ye Tang. In theethic9 of the society the conversion of aChiuaman " | to Christianity is a heinous'sin, and he i9 thereafter a marked man, especiulfy if he should proselytize in the cause of his new creed. The Ilev. E. It. Donehoo, a missionary among the Chinese in Pittsburg, says that for a long time the T'ianti Society has been trying to drive tho convert Ye Tang out of tho city or plot him into pp?ou. The bitter thay have now sticcce.de 1 m doing. The unfortunate Ye Tang was charge I with obtain. ing money uuder the false pretence of securing licenses to conduct "business" for his Cuicesc friends. These friends filled the court room on the day of the trial, and, according to tho Kov. Mr. Donehoo, they lied with such apt consistency that there was nothing more for the magistrate to do but sentence Ye Tang to four months* imprisonment. A previous charge inado against Ye Tang, which fell through, was that he conspired to kill several of his wealthy countrymen and decamp with their property. "Heathen Cbinainen," says Mr. Donehoo, commenting on the woes of Ye \ Tang, " have no reg ird for theii oaths before civil courts. They observe only those of their own societies and religions. I nave worke 1 long among them, and can safe y say I would not believe them under oath. ]VVe Americans cannot reai'Z" the intense hatred felt against 6urh men as Ye Tang, and the extent to which their enemies will go to secure reyen#*."' i&Wk THF. KEY OF CHRISTMAS LANE W bo has ih? key of the Christmas Land? Where the bonfire sninea, And the holly twines; Carollers sing?a merry band? And stars are bright o'er that fair strand? Wbo has the key of Christmas Land? Light are the hearts in Christmas Land; In each group you meet There are faces sweet. Bosoms young and guileless are there, And brows not yet wrinkled with care? Who has the key of Christmas Land? Dear baby hearts in Christmas Land, We want to be near. And join in yoor cheer When the tree with its strange fruit bends. And yon wait for what Santa aaada? Who has the key of Christmas Land? Lore baa the key of Christmas Land, Oh * come, Cherub Love; With wings like the dove, Spread over hearts thy light of peace, cww i or ii&rvoat lull Of increase? Open the gates of Christmas Land. Open the gates of Christmas Land; There is mpch to do And the days are few. Bid all men set Charity free; By thy grace, let us see there be None of God's poor in Christinas Land. ? William Lule. A MAlf CHRISTMAS BY E. PniLLIP8 OPPENHEIM. If there is one thing more than another when a bachelor commences to doubt whether his state of single blessedness is the most desirable form of existence it is it Christmas time. The joys of the seasou are essentially domestic joys; and every one i9 either looking forward to convivial meetings with a circle of relations and friends or a happy reunion with his own family. At such a time a middle-aged bachelor with no relations (eels rather out of it. Now, although I must plead guilty to ten years of bachelorhood, I never was one of the misanthropical type. I was single (observe the post tense) not from principle, but merely from force of circumstances, and I was never addicted to shutting myself up with my books and a cat, and growling cynical remarks at the pleasure seeking world. On the contrary, I am of a somewhat jovial dUposition, and was always fond of society. Christmas time I liknd on?r./S ?? ? country house, and could turn my uiind to charades, dancing, romping with the villagers or children, conjuring and many other accomplishments. In fact, I may say with tine modesty that I once hfnt -iuj aitt OWtilMa Vjr * ujub Lrj | hostess as an "extremely useful sort of man." 3? 711 Am 1 ? 'WITH MY BACK TOWARD THE ENGINE.' The idea of spending Christmas in any olitary rooms, with only my landlady and her domestic to talk to was a contingency which I had cever contemplated for a moment; but last year I was very nearly brought faco to face with it. I generally had at least two or three invitations to select from, and chore the one where I should be likely to uieet the most interesting set of people; but on this occasion ray usual invitations did not arrive. The Ilarwooda, with whom I had spent the Christmas before, had lost a child, and were in mourning; the Houldens were wintering at Nice (Mrs. Houlden was delicate) and at lIouglitoD Orange both the girls were married, and the Christmas house parties were things of the past. These were my stock invitation; and as I recollected others among my circle of acquaintances to whom something or other had happened siuce last i year it slowly dawned upon me that if I desired to avoid a Christmas in London I had better make arrangements to remove myselt eitner to a nonnera uydropnthic establishment which I had occasionally honored with my presence, o to a Brighton hotel, where I was sure of falling in with some pleasant company. Just as I had arrived at this melancholy decision, however, a letter arrived which afforded me the greatest satisfaction. It was an invitation to spend a week or two with my old friend, Fred Halleton, at his place in Leicestershire; and with the vivid recollection before me of a pleasant Christmas spent at Gaulby Hall some three years ago, 1 loat no time in penning a cordial assent to the welcome invitation. A few days later beheld me, followed by a porter carrying my various impediments, on the platform of Bt. P^ncras, prepared to make my journey down to Leicester by the half-past three Manchester and Livtx^ool express. The Pullman wa< crowded with a pack of noisy selioo!I ooys, so I eschewed it an l selected an empty first-claw carriage. I took possession of my favorite corner seat, with my back to the engine, and wrapping my leg round my knees and unfolding i newspaper glided away from tbe city of smoke in a remarkably good humor, partly inspired, no doubt, by a capital lunch, and partly by pleasurable antici pations of my forthcoming visit. Fred met me at Leicester station, and I saw with regret that he was looking ale and ill and much thinner than when [had seen him laat. Hs teemed pleased to tee me, however, end greeted me warmly. Daring our drive to Gaul by I hasarded e few remarks, with a view to ascertaining what sort of a party there was collected at the Hall, but 1 got nothing definite out of him. He was quite unlike his old self, and I came to the conclusion that be must be ill. As we drove up tho avenue I leaned out the window -c gaze at the fine old intrusion, atul !t struck me at once as lookiug cold aud uninviting, while the grounds were certainly very much neglected. Something seemed wrotg all round, and I began to feel almost sorry I had come. We overtook Mrs. Hallston at the hall door, just returned from a walk. Sho war as gracious and as pleasant as she had ever been to me, but I fancied that I could detect la | 01 ine 111 being which scorned to era* | | around her. We all three entered together, and the moment we passed through the door I felt conviuced that my expectations of a jolly Christmas party were doomed to disappointment. There a ere no decorations about, only one doleful looking servant and apparently nothing stirring. I felt sure something was wrong, but at ar\y rate I cousoled myself with the reflection that I had lost little by coming, as it had been a cboico between here and the hotel. But, all tho same, I did not feel particularly cheerful as I followed the i doleful looking servant upstairs, along wide corridors, across passages, upstairs i again, and then down a long corridor, until at last wo reached my room in tho i west wing. My surmises were correct. When I descended, after prolonged and careful toilette, my host was lounging about in ! a shooting jacket and he and bis wife < were the only occupants of the room. I i was the only guest. "I've something very Berious to say to jou, Neillson," he iaid slowly (Neillson ib my name). "I'm going to make a confidant of you, if I inay, old inau." i I bowed my head and listened. "You haven't noticed anything particular about my wife, I don't suppose, have you?" he asked, with a searching i giance. I admitted I had thought her strangely silent, and apparently having some anxiety weighing upon her mind. lie laughed, a phort unpleasant laugh, and leaned over to ine confidentially. "I rely upon your discretion, you know, Neillson. I wouldn't have it known for the world; but my wife is mad." "Mad!'' I stared at him iucralulously. "Yes, mad," he repented impatiently. herself to it. The doctor whom I have consulted advised me to send her to i private asylum, but I haven't the heart to do it. She's perfectly harmless, you know; but, of course, it's au awful trial to me." I stammered out an expression of sympathy. To tell the truth,I scarcely kue.v what to suy. I was bewildered at this paiuful explanation of the gloom which reigned over the house. Presently Fred closed his eyes and left rao to digest this strange Him unwe.eome piece 01 news. j I am naturally somewhat selfish, ami be- i fore very long my sympathy was diverted i iu some measure from my host to tny- i self. It occurred to me tha; it was by i no means a pleasant prospect to he a t guest in a house the mistress ol which i was mad. It was not altogether kind o'. i Fred to invite me, I thought, under the i circumstances, without some explana j tion of his wife's 6tate. I began to fee! i quite ar injured man. I was quite tire I of my own company, ami Fred was fast ] asleep. So I opened the door softly ?t?i , made my way down to the hall. As 1 ( passed au opeu door Mrs. llailaton up ] pcared and beckoned me in. 1 had no ; alteruativc but to obey her invitutiou. "I'M POINC, TO CIICCK HER DOWN'." "Mr. Nfcillsin," she said, in an agi tated tone, "as you are going to stop here for a day or two, there is something connected with this household which you ought to know. Has my ausbanU tola you anytmngf f bowed and toltl her gravely that I knew all, and that she had my profouodest sympathy. She sighed. "Perhaps you are surprise! that I should ask whether Fred ha1 told vou," she said, turning a little away from me. "It seems arrange, doesn't it, that one should be mad and be conscious of it? It only comes on in fits, and they are terrible. 9he shuddered, and so, to tell the truth, did I. "Such a phase of madness is probably not incurable," I ventured to suggest timidlv. 'Incurable! of course it is not incurable," she answered, vehemently. I edged a little toward the door. 1 had no experience in talking with lunatics, and felt anything but comfortable in my present position. Mrs. Hallaton was beginning to look very excited and dangerous. "Of course if you are frightens!, Mr. Xeillsou," sh:- said a little contemptuously, "you guu iea7$ u? whenever you pi?ee. The? flu do no* one on often, bat they are anything tat pi?nt thing* to witness when tfcy do com* on." / "I should imagine a?,** I Leented, deToatiy hoping a ft was not Jthen pending. Soon I managed u make my adieu, and with a aigh oflrtlief found myself onoe more in the nil. I mide my way to Burdett's room, but he had gone to bed, and ?eing it las nearly 11 o'clock, I decided to go tj bed, and, preceded by a (I ]could nerer hare found the fa**** * mounted again the widc^** the threaded the numerous pa, \ **?e ^ Ned to my room. It wWPf y^widt corridor, on ait >ere six "That is the mamsr'i room, sir," he re| lied; sod the onf at the bottom end is KVc. Hallaton's. j Ho one else sleeps in this part of the npues. The servants' rooms are all in thejaorth W'ng-M I am generally abb to sleep at whatever hour I retire; but it was early, and the fire looked tempting; so, instead of immediately undressing, I changed my coat for a smoking jacket, and, lighting a pipe, made myself comfortable in an easy chair. Soon I heard Mrs. Hallaton's light footsteps ascend tho stairs, and the door of her room open and close, and a little while afterward Frod halted outaide my door to bid me a cheery good* uight, and thon entered the room opposite. How long I sat there I cannot tell, for I fell into a heavy doze, and when I woko up with a sudden start it was with the unesy consciousnessJhat something unusual had awakedbd me. 1 sprang tc my feet and looked fearfully around. The flickering flames of my tire, almost burned out, wero still sufficient to show ik.i I * ? '? uo win, uu one naa eniereu cne room.; but while I stood there with strained senses I heard a sound which niudo my blood run cold within me; aud, although I am no coward, I shivered with fear. It was the half-muftlcd shriek of a womao in a?ony,&ud it came from Mrs. Hallaton's room. For a moment I was powerless to move; then I hastily unlocked my ioor, and, hurrying down the corridor, knocked at hers. There was no answor. [ tried the handle; it was locked; but, listcniug for a moment, I could hear the icuud of a woman gasping for breath. [ rushed back along tho corridor to Fred's room. The door was closed, bu' iolocked, and I threw it open. "Fred!" I cried; but Fred was not :hcre, nor had the JMdbeen slopt on he room was wbafr^^R^d to bo a lole in the wall, bnt when I stood >eforo it I saw at once that it was a lecrct passage running parallel with the :orroidor. Looking down it, I could ;ee a light at the other end, and knowng it must lead iuto Mrs. Hallaton's oom, I caught up the candle aud bondng almost double half rau, half crept dong it, until I reached its othci extremity and foun 1 myself in Mrs. Halaton's room. I stood upright and glanced half eagerly, half fearfully sround. The rooun was empty, but the window directly opposite to me was open, ind as my eyes fell upon it I stood pet ified with a dull sickening horror, and the candle dropped with a crash from ny nerveless fingers. There was a miniature balcony outside the window, ind on this stood Fred Hailaton, hold! I U.L injj in nu cmurnuu, wuiua was uurtaiuijr aot of love, the fainting form of hia wife. The inoon Vas eHiningfull on hia face, ghostly and demoniacal, with the 'aging fire of the madman iu hia eyes and the imbecile grin of the lunatic on hia thin lips. In a moment the truth tlashed upon me, and as I stood there gaping and horror struck he saw me and burst into a fit of wild laughter. "Ha, ha, ha! You Neillson? Whata joke! See what a glorious view of the grounds! Come and bend over, man; don't be afraid. Does the height make you dizzy? It's made her;" and ho motioned to the insensible figure of his wife, whom he still held clasped in his arms. "Do you know what I am going to do with her? I'm going to chuck her down there," and he pointed to the garden below. "A mad woman is of no use to anyone. Come and lend me a hand." Mechanically I rushed to the balcony and strove to wrench from his encircling gi??n the fainting ~ifo. Like a flash his imbecila^rin vanished and his eye3 filled with a malignant fury as he let go his grasp of his wife and sprang at me like a tiger cat. It was in vain that I wrestled with" him. His long arms were around mo and held me as if I were in a vice. I tried to shout for help, but my toDgue cleaved to the roof of mv mouth, and a faint gurgling was all the sound I could command. Nearer and nearer we drew to the parapet's edge, until at last I could see the lawn below, studded with flowerbeds like the pattern of some fancy work; for Qaulby Hall was built high, and we were on the th'.rrt story. I felt bis hot breath in my $JS& "WITH HER MTTI.K e*ST? IN JafK*." face, aqcl caught -Jris diabolic#I look of . , , .. ?* J triumph ?u ho slowly forced me backward against the outside rail, which creaked and swerved with uiy weight, and then my struggling feet scorned to |?art with the earth, as with a wild yell of: "Leicester! Leicester!** I opened my eves and snt up with a start. The paper had slipped from my tiugers, and the traiu was slowly steaming into Leicester station, and there, standing upon the platform, smiling and robust, looking the very picture of health, was Fred Haltaton. That Christmas party at Oaulby Hall was the most eujoyablo I was evor at, and the people (the house was crammed full of visitors) the most entertaining and agreeable I ever met. There was one visit so much in my life as I "did that one, nor a ride so much as one afternoon when Miss l'ratison and I, aftor a capital run, rodo home together with her little hand in iniue and our horses very close together. Next Christmas, if Alice doesn't object, 1 mean to havo a jolly little house party of my own. THE~ BROADENING OUT Of Southern Development.-vBigna of Improvement Everywhere. The Manufacturers' Record, of Haitimore, of December 19, in reviewing tho industrial progress of the South, save: "The signs of a general improvement in industrial development and in large investment operations throughout the South noted in the Inst issue of the Manufacturers1 Record are eveu more noticeable this week, notwithstanding the near approach of tho holiday reasou, when business mcufgonerally wait for the next year before going into new enterprises. There is a decided revival in the projection ??f new mining, manufacturing and railroad enterpises, and, despite the very low price of ? otton, the general outlook in the South is daily growing better, though collections in mercantile lines may for a while continue slow. A general survey of the field shows that good progress is being made towards securing the full $800,001) required for the proposed steel works near Birmingham, while oue or two other steel enterprises arc in a fair way to secure the requistto capital. Important coal-mining enterprises arc coming to the front in Texas, and, while one company reported last week is putting in a plant to mine 1,000 tous per day, another company with a capital stock of $100,000 is preparing for active work. The opcuing up of coal mines in Texas will uivc a great impetus n... u.,.. .. " n-1 ?? -* Uic ?nun; Dlltll". I'i.XUJIIMVl!. IHIirOHH work is being poshed, amf the opening the Ohio river marks the beginning of another era in the Mouth's foreign commerce and domestic trade as will bring into operation another through line to the West and open the way for pushing Virginia and West Virginia coal into territory now controlled by Pennsylvania coal. At Norfolk this road will at once commence the construction of very lurgc machine shops, and additional piers and warehouses for the shipping trade. The building of a road from Itoauokc through Pincastle to Clifton Forge, which is to he pushed, w ill connect the two great systems, the Norfolk ?fc Western and the Che pcukviV Ohio, and open, in couneclicet ion with other lines, a direct route between Pittsburg and the South. In cvciy direction such signs as these tell of the rapid advance which the South is in iking. The fac t is also emphasized by the report of industiial enterprises mentioned in this week's is?ue of the Manufacturers Record. Among some of the in rc important ones are the near com pletion of large tinplate works at llalti ".iOS'fc to make i,oou boxes a weeK. anct ot the cotton-tie and rolling mill at Denison, I'exns, giving that State cotton-tie mills; the organization of a bridgc-huihling company at Anniston, Ala. ; a $250,000 coal mining company at Parish, Ala ; a $15,000 lumber cotnpiny at Perdue Hill, Ala.; a 000,000 phosphate company a $5 to,000 phosphate company and a $10, U00 phosphate company in Florida, large phosphate works in the same State to be tiilt by a Georgia company; a $10,000 elevator-building company. Atlanta, and the removal from the west to Chattanooga of a similar company; a $12,000 lime a id fertilizer company, Augusta, Oa.; a c uial coal company, Maysville, Ky.; a $500,000 fuel-gas company at Newport, Ky.; a $25 000 tool-manufacturing company at Baltimore, Md.; a $100,000 mining company a*, Chattanooga, Tenn.; a $50,000 coal-mining company at Dallas, Texas; a $535,000 contract for extension oi vvaier works at Fort Woitb, Texas.; a $50,000 lumber company at Leggett. Texas; the sale of 80,000 r.cres of timber lan 1 in Texas; a $50,000 ice-fuctory company at San Antonio, Texas; a $25,000 lumber company at Newsoms, Va.; a $35,000 woodworking company at Had ford, Va. : a $50,000 shoe-factory company at Charleston, W. Va. ; a $10,000 ron-manufacturing company at Huntington, W Va ; a $50,000 glass-works company at Kanawha City, W. Vu.; a $200,t OO cod-iuiuiug company at Fort Smith, Ark. ; removal of hardware works from New Jersey to Martinsburg, W. Va , eic." ' V Peculiar Chatham County Case. U.'.LKion, N. C , [Special.J?Several years ago in Chatham county M It. Weathers, a prominent citizen, fell dead in his yard on the day appointed for his second marriage. Dr. Stone, the family physician, WoS iu love with Vallie, Weathers' pretty daughter. Nei^hbois suspected that the doctor poisoned Weathers and charged criminal intimacy l? tween the physician and Mies Vallie. A year alter the fathers oeath the doctor and Misa Vallie were convicted of idu'itery, and the man wa9 sentenced to the penitentiary. He was pardoned on a plea of ill health after three month's incarceration and left the 8tate. Last week he returned to Chatham, an 1 on ieuviog carried Miss Weathers with him to parts unknown. He leaves a family of thirteen in destitution. A new naptha spring of immense capacity was recently opened in Bikort, Russia, if it continues with the sams powers as at present, it will tie the richest naptha fountain in the world. DECEMBER DOINGS. The Latest News From a Trio * States. Interesting News Item* From Man Points in Our Own and Neighboring States. VIRGINIA. A girl died in Chesterfield who hi eaten nothing for five weeks. A deputy United States marshal chared with murder in Smith county. The Piedmont Hotel in Louisa wi *PlaI'll {ngton county, putin jail, but escaped. Two hundred sod fifteen people at tl shone of the Richmond & Danville Kai roan in Mauchcater were discharged la week. Congressman Win. B. Wilson has hoc elected president of Richmond Co'leg A convention of the postmasters < Chsrlnll. n?in*? V.-1.1 ~* u ?111 1,1 - - ? no i.iuvi nw Plllll II V 111 tlw object being to secure increased pi for fourth-class postmasters. Tho first annual session of the otn Temperanco Convention met at Rich mot; last Tuesday. The Hon. John B Ms sey was elected chairman. Mayor Klysi addressed tho body. City Councilman M. T. Page, of R?cl inond, was arrested Tliursday for er gaging in a turkey rafile. Ho was tr ing his luck in a crowd win n a polic nrau ordered the crowd to desist. P?( declined and was arrested. Never Ircfore was there such an Od Felloas' lodge as that instituted iu No folk last week. The now nrganizatio hus a charter membership of 310 au promises to grow even larger. A special from Roanoke says: T1 Norfolk & Western has nrd' red 13,0( tons of steel rails to be used in the cm struct ion of tho Ohio division. Tc thousand tons arc to be furnished by t! Pittsburg steel works nud 3,000 tons 1 Sparrow Point, Md. Tho Roanoke an Southern have driven the last spike the completion ot their road. At the session of the (irnnd Lndj in Richmond Grand Master J llowai Wayt, of Staunton, declining to serve second term, Win. II. Pleasants, of II< litis Institute, was elected grand mast of Masons of Virginia; Mann Page, i Prince George, was elected deputy grni master; J 1'. Fitzgerald, of Farmvil grand senior warden; A. R. Courtne ( grand junior warden;_ W. T. Alle grtuiu treasurer; W. B. Isaacs, grai secretary; F. A. Heed, Alexandria, grai MWfVo. i "grant? jtftnW dVK&r T' NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Holt gave h:s first reception the Governor's Mansion, Thursday. A company Itus been organised to buil a $75,000 hotel In Winston. Forly-flvo of the employers of the Hu eigh A Gaston shops, at Italcigli, wci dropped last week. A N. Y. company has purchased tl bed of the Uwharrie river and will died; it for gold with the latest improved tn ehincry. The Mecklenburg county commiasio: eis have decided ?g>inst nil nppliihd for whiskey license nnd Chailotte will 1 ' dry" next year. The Wilniiugton, Chadhourne ar Conway Kuilroad has hecn purchased I the Atlantic Coast Line. Warren G. I liott becomes president and J. K. Ken general manager. The various orders of King's Daughtc of IUIcigh have inaugurated a moveme C c. tuhlinh a home toi nguu and intir ladies there. Hev. H. O Burton, I) I)., for ov fifty years a member of the Noith Car linn Conference, died at his home nc Littleton, Thursday morning, in his 71)1 year. He leaves several sons, anioi whom arc Hob it (). Burton, a distin liulwwl I .ivuor ill Wnl<.i.rl. ........... ........ ......... .fS,,) ...... .......... Burton, a member of tlie Ashcville bar. Advance notes of the returns of pro ci ty in the State for the current year sn that the total of all property, includir valua'-on of railw ys, is |2.:??,0"?2,':0 This shows an increase in the valuntii of railways alone this year over last ye of nine millions. Shelby has a mechanical prodigy in tl person of young Lector Eskridge, t torn teen-ycarolct son of Webb Kskridg tlie well-known machinest Youug Es ridge can unlock any safe in town in tt minutes without knowing the combin tioo He was subjected to several t vere tests this week and was victorio in every instance He is also nn eip< telegraph operator. Wilmington is greatly excited over tl arrest of Jno. Davis, prominent in chur affairs and principal promoter of the e gant new Fifth fttreet .Methodist chur< on the charge of false pretense to amount approximating 1100,000. Mil of the in >ney was church funds. W ows, orphans and laborers have suffer at his hands. Claims of $00,000 are ready in the lawyers' hands for colli tion, and Davis is in custody of the sb iff. SOUTH CAROLINA. The new County Government biil fni to pass the Legislature. A national Imuk has been organized Anderson, capital stock $100,010. The massive stone wharf and pie> the Custom House in Charleston hi been completed. Barrooms are not profitable in Ab vine. That, of F. C. Perry was clo last week under mortgage of $1100. A new social club has been ?rgani in Charleston known as the Button CI They have handsome quarters on K street. The executive committee of the bo of trustees of Clemson College at a m ing in Greenville informally agreed t they will not attempt to open the Coll at the time fixed if the Legislature d not pass the apprnpri <tion of $05,000 the institution Hie Legislative commi'tee repoi fnvorabjy on jojpt r??olutio;i to j?;oi \J iUDfift Oi. for the erection of marble headstones over the nr?ni of Dm South Caroline dead at Franklin, Va. Of Rom A Smith, president of the Charleston Poultry and Pet Stock Association, ia enthusiastic over tho prospects of the succcm of tho exhibition to bo given by the Association next month. The Legislative committee on Federal relations reported favorably joint resoluto permit the French Cable Company to land ita lines at some point on the coast of this Stato. Tho Duke de Litta is in Charleston and will remain two or three months. He ia one of tho direct defendants of the ' seven distinguiched Dukes of Milan, and arrived in Now York from Italy in Octo*s ber, sinco which time he has been trav"^ar^MTtobacco?"^^^Il^man^e^tF*" ie of the Tobacco Journal aaya: 'The 1^9 i. tie tobacco colony around Florence hasy .4 irrAwn ?nlill? 1 nt .. . .,jmx. .J . ? no* v owu VUO luimwu T grown there come In direct competition on the wnre house floora with the tobacco grown in North Carolina and Virginia, ' and I Iihvo pioudly aeon the Palmetto " State pioduct lead all othoia in high pru rv ' T I ho South Carolina Legislature has boon a>k< d for a eht'ter for the Norfolk, t? Wilmington anil Charleston llailroad l(* This compuny has been acting under a " North Carolina char er, and now needa >n another to further ita plana. It is reported that his road ia to he built from h- Norfolk to Kinst.n, N. C , from which l- place the main division will continue y- down the coast to Charleston, while ane other will be built to Camden and Colum ;e bin. llnth Capitular and Cryptie Masonry d are making rapid progress, and covertl r- now councils llavo ncontly hssn instllii. ?... 11 ted hi the Stato The Grand Royal Arch d Chsptor and Gr.iud , Council both meet in Charleston on tho aecond Tuesday its l0 February. )0 Sloan Ogleaby, colored, and Belle a- llugdins, white, convicted of arso t and a sentenced to 15 years imprison met, in ic 1HH5, were pardoned by the Qovernor ?y Tho pardon of llelle Iludgins was mainly d oh ained through a lady of Columbia; in OTHER STATES. A bill has been introduced in Concrete ^ pioviding for tho appropriation of #10,1 000,i 0 i for tho improvement of the Mis,K s ssippi river. cr The planter* <>r Decatur and other ,f counties of Southern Georgia have found l(j that they can raise tobacco of fine quality e of the Cuba cigar-leaf variety, and are ' preparing to add that to their uaual n, crop*. X id ? Jg -?nr BUUAB ItlOH!. ?>The House, After a Short Session, 1,1 Adjourns Until Saturday. , Washington, I). C., |Special.]?In his opening prayer the chaplain of the house invoked divine protection of the 1- Mouse against the assaults of the insidure oils disease now p rvading the laud. The speaker announced the appoint?e i"^* tha coiuniittee on rulea as fob lows: h The speaker fchnirman), Messrs. Millin, Catchiugs, Reed, and Rnrrowa. Mr. borrows, of Michigan, presented ,'s tlie report of the board of visitors to the )C military "academy. Referred to ^the comniittce on military affairs when appointed. Mr. Gates, of Alabama, offered a resolotion providing for the apooiutmeut of >y n standing committee ou oroer of bus!' ncss, to consist of fifteen members, of y which the speaker a' all be ex-officio chairman rs Mr Burtiuc, of Nevada, who has beeo ut absent < n account of illness, appeared et | the liar of the House aud took* the oath J of ofiic \ ^ _ cr Mr Taylor, of Tennessee, rising, Mid o- that it was his mournful duty to announce nr the death of his fr>n?l and r.illeague, lh Hon. Leonids* C. Hook, who died sad iff denl v from accidents! poisoning at Ma g- home in Knoxville in May last He paid J. a tribute to his collcacue. Tlie House then, hi n mark of resyoct p. to the memoiy of the deceased, adjourned until Saturday. " As nothing ran ho done in the House ,, until after Holidays the major number of Southein Congressmen left for their ar homes. Iteprosentative McCh llan, of Indiana, gays Governor Gary will he a candidate I10 for vice president in the Democratic conhe vent ion, with a solid delegation at his c, back. k- 8euat t Call, of Florida, wants Cube vn to 1 >0f ome a tepuhlic. He hsa introduce^ lft 1 a resolution in the Senate to that effect. ,e The President sent to the Senafe Tne us nomination ? f Stephen B. Elkins, of ?it West Virginia, tr? he Secretary of War, vice Hedtild Proctoi resigned. fie ch TELEGRAPH BREVITIES. 'e* ?_? h. Reports of the ravages of influenza in an various parts of Europe are constantly ich received. An order has been issued ordering all e<' telegraphers on the Pacific system of the ft'" Southern Pacific road to strike. ?C* er John P. Richardson, one of the largest nud best known cotton planters in in the South, died at Dallas, La. The new tariff bill introduced in the lod chamber of deputies in Lisbon is strongly protectionist in character. at Tho Portsca Island Building Society, of London, has suspended. The estiuisted at securities hel l by the society amount in ?ve value to ?700,000. m . The Russian minister of war has cum* be- moncd nil the chiefs of the general staff sed to attend a council to make a new disposition of Russian forces. The amount of silver offered for sals ub. to the treasury department Tuesday was iDg 726,000 ounces, and the amount pur* \ chafed 250,000 ounces at 95 cents l(ird The steamer Advance, which has areet rived in New York from 8outh Amo lea, hat repot ts tha* on November 29th C. 11. Nelson, quartermaster, died of yellow oos fever and was buried at sea. for The steamer Herbert, of Chattanooga, from St. T.ouis, was sunk at Florence, .tefl Ala , after having successfully pa se4 ,}d? through Muscle &ho*Js jaoa). -gfl ^SmSt