Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Scraps and partis, j The only fruit which grows in every climate <! is the strawberry. It is the only fruit which somewhere or; the earth is picked up every day the the year round. ? The Supreme Court of the State of Missou- $ ri has iust rendered an important decision, to the E effect that the famous test path, so far as it applies t to voters and office-holders, is unconstitutional. $ General Clingman, of North Carolina, while I riding in a hack in New York, the other day, was 1 struck in the eye by tbe driver's whip, and it is ' expected that the accident will result in the total ? loss of the wounded member. c It is said that txeorge W. Childs, proprietor ? of the Philadelphia Ledger, has offered James Gordon Bennett $1,250,000 for the New York f Herald. Bennett has the matter under considers- i tion. The Tribu-ue states that the Democratic ma- t jority in New York will be 48,000. The Albany g Eveiiing Journal (Republican) estimates it at 49,- g 024. The Buffalo Courier (Democratic) estimates r it at 40,339 \ Senator Morgan intends to take a Conserva- a tive stand in the Senate with a view of being ] placed with Grant on the Conservative Republican t ticket for Vioe-PresidenL This is asserted by f prominent men who ought to know.- t A mamtont in Sntmnnftli has received a let- ? ter from a friend at Jacksonville, Florida; which asserts that Florida will not ship five .thousand S bales of cotton this year. There will not be a third " of an average crop. A bOl before the Tennessee Legislature, to "Encourage and Protect Loyalty," provides that J it shall hereafter be an offence for any person or : family to have a picture of Jefferson Davis or General R. E. Lee in their possession. Rev. Thomas Westonholme, who lately died 1 at his house in Columbus, Miss., at the age of . seventy-three, is said to have been the oldest Odd " Fellow in America, having been a member for fifty c * years. v The Alabama Convention ordered the Secretary to procure for each delegate fifteen daily 1 newspapers, "loyal and favorable to reconstruc- t tion under the Acts of Cangress," but the motion a was reconsidered and lost, probably because so few of the delegates could read. Since January 1st, over 3,500,000 sacks of wheat, valued at $6,250,000, and 435,547 barrels of flour, valued at over $2,500,000, have been shipped from San Francisco, and 24 vessels are now char- a tered and loading with wheat, 14 of them for Eng- I land. e The sorghum crop of 1867 is a failure, com- ' jxared with the best of former years. The Sorgo a Journal says mat irum must ui iuc utuc-giuniug u regions in the West, the reports upon the condition of the crop are gloomy enough. Excepting a few i favored localities, heavy rains have prevented the f canes from maturing in season to escape the frostJl It is said that Louis Napoleon proposes tp affiance the Prince Imperial of France to Gisellft ? the youngest daughter of the Emperor of AustA. -1 It has already twice happened that an alliancwof 1' this kind between France and Austria has bleu 1 followed by the downfall of the French reigjing e dynasty. I; jj The Roman Catholics of London are ?out a to erect the finest cathedral in Europe, saves per- ^ haps, St Peter's at Rome. One feature isfco be that priests of every nation and language arefto be e constantly stationed at this cathedral, for thi purpose of hearing confessions and of preachpg to foreigners in their native tongues. I The rapid progress of the National (\pital 't in wealth and influence as a city, is justly attracting * attention. Before the war, it contained a popula- a tion of 65,000 souls; but to-day it is said to have a ii population of 130,000, counting in the suburb of ^ Georgetown. The buildings erected during the j present year number not less than 1,500, and yet .. rents continue exorbitantly high. ^ Thad Stevens has written a five column letter on the currency. His conclusions are : 1st That neither principal nor interest of the five- a twenties is payable in coin. 2d. That a paper le- w ?*>1 anSWPrB> rmrr?jcn<j nf Hip enlM metal. 3d. lhat the national debt should be paid n in legal tender notes, and that the coin in the Trcas- ^ ury should be used in liquidating the debt & "Mack," the Washington correspondent of ^ a Cincinnati paper, says that Wade characterized Thad Steven s pending confiscation bill as d?d foolery. The time for confiscation bills, he said, was during the war, when they could be of use in preventing men from going into the rebellion, but to think of passing such a measure now was sheer n folly and nonsense. If the negroes of the South b wanted land, let them work for it 0 The Nashville Press and Times, says the G past year has been the most successful in the his- t< tory of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this country. Official returns show the increase of ' members in the various Conferences, during the past year, to have been one hundred and ten thousand. There is a large increase of scholars in the a: Sunday Schools, the total of scholars being over ci one million. The increase in the value of Church 0| property is about seven millions ot dollars. j A band of Indians made a sudden attack on tl a detachment of our soldiers in the mountains. t The soldiers had a mountain howitzer mounted on a mule. Not having time to take it off and put it K in position, they backed up the mule and let drive at the Indians. The load was so heavy that mule b and all went tumbling down the hill toward the fi savages, who, not understanding that kind of warfare, fled like deers. Afterward one of them was captured, and being asked why he run so, replied: "Me big Ipjin, not afraid of little guns or big guns, but when white man load up and fire a whole jack- P ass at Ipjin, me don't know what to do." p s An autioneer was selling a library at auction. He was not very well read in books, but he scanned c. the titles, trusted to luck, and went ahead. "Here c you have," he said, "Bunyun's Pilgrim's Pro- h gress; how much 'm I offered for it? How much t do I hear for the Pilgrim's Progress by John Bun- a yan? 'Tis a first rate book, gentlemen, with six ^ superior illustrations; how much do I hear? All about the Pilgrims, by Jno. Bunyan! Tells where 0 they came from, an' where they landed, an' what a they done after they landed! Here's a picter of tl one of'em goin' about Plymouth peddlin', with a rI pack on his back!" ??Forney announces, as if by authority, that fl the impeachment Committee is divided as follows: v "Five against and four for impeachment; three of ? the five are Radicals, and two are Democrats; o while all four of the impeachers are Radicals. The b House will thus be compelled to choose between a 1< majority report against impeachment and a minor- r ity report in favor of it. The charges include one a of misappropriation of public funds, and one of using his official influence to enhance the value of Railroad stocks, in which the President is interested. The fight, Forney admits, will probably re- y, suit in the defeat of the impeachment movement. Very likely, wc should think, in view of the recent elections. The monthly report of the Commissioner of 1 Agriculture states tnat a larger wneat crop never u has been raised in this country than during the t present season, though it is not as large as the v Dreadth sown might nave led us to expect. The fc most noticeable increase has been in the Southern States, with the exception of Texas. Oats and J rye are estimated above the yield of last year, barly slightly, beans and peas are an average. In c corn, the cash value, ana the fattening and sus- c taiuing qualities, are greater than last year. Sor- s gho cudtivation generally is reducedj buckwheat is j an average crop, potatoes a poor one, and in tobacco a decline is indicated. To turn the world upside down has always been considered a fine thing by some folks. The " Communist8at Oneida, New York, have done this h pretty effectually so far as the relations of the sex- o es are concerned. Not to speak of the revolution v they have effected in the matters of marriage, love p ana increase, they have earned out the most grotesque changes in regard to the minor duties and .. relations to the sexes. The last number of the ' organ which they publish tells us that^ "Oneida women keep the accounts, manage an important h part of the manufactures, and sell goods at the tl store; while men make bread, wash dishes and g| hang out clothes." We should think this sort of I. things would suit the feminine males and the mas- , culine female, exactly. A Peruvian letter-writer gives an account of . affairs in that region, and among other things des- " cribes the method of horse-back riding in vogue C( among the Peruvian women. Ho says that the st "women do all the work, and the men are a good- ai for-nothing set of gamblers and thieves." The ^ women ride on thenind quarters of their horses, ^ without a saddle, cross-legged, with the load on the . horse in front They mount the animal by taking a hold of his tail, making a loop by doubling it up, a and clasping with one hand the upper and lower tl >arts the tail, then putting one foot on the joint o he horse's leg, they ascend as if going up stairs i'hey usually stand erect on the horse before sittini [own. The horses never kick or stir while thi urious process is going on. It seems that Senator Wade, of Ohio, wa n a committee of the two Houses appointed t nvestigate the pecuniary condition in wnich Presi lent Lincoln's family was left, and report a bill, i lecessary, for their relief. In conversation durin, he present week, Mr. Wade emphatically contra licted the statement of Mrs. Lincoln that Mr jincoln had left little or no property behind him 'We looked into the matter, says Senator Wade 'very carefully. The Illinois men wanted us t jive her one thousand dollars, and we agreed t lo so, if it appeared that she really needed it. W ent for the administrator of the estate, and h estified that Mr. Lincoln left seventy-five thou and dollars in Government bonds, or somethm, ike that, besides some little productive propert; n Springfield, HI.,?in all, about one hundrei housaud dollars. We thought, then, that twen y-five thousand dollars would be enough?th ame as was paid to the widow of General Harri on. Mrs. Lincoln was very well off, and didn' leed even what she got She took a hundrei toxes of something or other?I don't know wha waywith her, and the Commissioner of Publi buildings swore there were fifteen other boxe hat she wanted to carry off, and he had to inter ere to prevent her. At any rate, she cleaned ou he White House. I don't know but what she wa ping to run a big hotel with all she carried off' m fwMlf (??pw editors : AS. E. WILSON JAS. F. HART YOKKVILLE, S. C.: THURSDAY MORNING, NOV. 21,1867. Cash.?It must be distinctly understood tlu >ur terms for subscription, advertising andjol vork, are cash, in advance. X.?The paper will be discontinued on theexpi ation of the time for which payment has bee nade. A Subsf riber finding a (?) cross-mark o: he wrapper or margin of his paper, will under tand that the time paid for has expired. TILE CHESTER STANDARD. Our neighbor?the Chester Standard? reachei is last week much improved in mechanical appear nee, and with the name of our old friend, Rob :rt W. Murray, at the mast-head, as one of th ditors. We welcome you back, Bob, to you 'first love" after your long and weary pilgrimage nd greet you as one risen from the dead! Lonj any you live to remember the days of ZiON, ant pay your sight never grow dim I ^ CORRECTION OF AN ERROR. We see it sta ed by the Columbia Phoenix, tha he man McClain who was arrested in Knoxville "ennessee, with General Hampton's jewelry ii tis possession, claims to have been a soldier in th 7th S. C. Regiment. We are informed by th x-captain of the Company in which McClain en sted, that he deserted shortly after the Regimen rrivedat Charleston; and thatduringthe remain er of the war the Conscript Bureau was not smar nough to catch him. THE ALABAMA CONVENTION. The sable darkies and the few white men win onstitute that delectable assembly?the Alabarai reconstruction Convention, have found theraselve ta sqaure stand-still. Thequestion of disfranchis ig all the whites who in any way engaged in the lati rar, was the first under consideration, and th? isfranchising clause was about to receive the sane ion of a colored majority; when one of the woolb eads wanted to know whether or not 'Congres; rould let 'era' c.o such a thing. The question wai n embarrassing one, and to solve it, a membe: as posted off forthwith to Washington to confe: rith thft "he" radicals upon the matter. In th< leantime the Alabama .Reconstruction L'onventioi npatiently awaits the return of. its messenge: * . i . t n s also the instructions he is expected to Dear iron *11 ad. Stevens and others upon this all import nt matter. ? ? another new paper. Gen. John A. WAOENEiithe indefatigable Com lissioner of Emigration for this State, proposes t( ecouie the Editor of a new weekly under the titl< f the Cliarlestoner Zeitung, in the interests of th< rerman population of the Shite, and to be devotee > the encouragement of emigration. C. G. Erck ian & Co., are the proprietors, and the subscrip on price is $3.00 per annum. General Wagkner has evinced a rare ability ad industry in the labor to which the State ha; died him, and deserves the hearty encouragemeni f her people. All who can offer inducements to em grants by the sale of cheap lands, or by providing lem with employment, would do well to make theii :rms known to Gen. W. who will herald the iufor lation at once throughout the old world: We be leak for the Zeitung a kindly greeting from oui rothers of the quill, and a substantial supporl om our people. the meteoric display. Our readers will remember that Astronomer; redicted that on the 14th of November, 1866 rould occur a repetition of the grand ineteori< hower, that so startled the world in 1833. Thcii alculations were somewhat at fault, for the star id not shoot, as was expected. Nothing daunted lowever, the philosophers of the stars, asscrtct hat they had found an error in their calculations nd that the grand display of pyrotechnics woult iappen at 2 o'clock on the morning of the 14tl f Novemoer 1867. This time they were correct nd those who were fortunate enough to witnes; he spectacle, say that it was grandiu the extreme Tie Charleston Courier says: "At one time the heavens seemed to be all a ame with the brilliant meteors, of the number o rhich sonic concept'on may be derived from tin (ict that, although occupying a location in whicl ur survey was restricted to a part only of tin leavens, we counted more than three hundred ii jss than an hour. Last night there was a recur ence of the phenomenon, but not so striking ii ppearance. GRANT AND TDK l'K?SIU?fltl. Never perhaps, in the history of this countiy as a man accomplished so much out of nothing s Grant, by his silence on political matters >uly this is an age in which marvellous things an he order of the day; but that a man who has sail lolhing, and done little, should be transformed in o a silent oracle, whose mutterings are sought fo: nth as much earnestness as were those of Delphi >y the Greeks, and whose most casual whisper o: est, is telegraphed the next morning, from Maim o Texas, is something rather beyond the ordinar irder of things even with these wonderful Ameri an people. And when these meaningless expres ions were capable of being tortured into some hing like a definition of political position, the prea n one side or the other of the two great parties iave taken up the cue, and heralded in four col imn leaders, the glad news to their readers. Thesi iave as often been found to be mistakes, and th< racle retracts or disavows these interpretations rhile it no doubt enjoys the cackling they hav< -reduced among the geese. Grant is considered by each of the great par ies in the country, as their available candidate fo: be Presidency in 1808. It fs an easy matter fo: im to secure a nomination front either, wheneve: be time arrives for that event; and, like a tru< trategist, he appears to stand on the alert, rcadj > suffer his name to be used by whichever stand; ic better chance of success. But the phrenzy of disappointment and vcxa on, this reticent attitude has excited, is really be tming amusing. And yet the knowing ones an ill indefatigable in chalking out a policy for him. ad endeavoring to pit him against some Presidenal opponent. A few of these president-makers, ave entirely lost their discretion and temper un er his reticence, and are beginning to rave frantiilly, about a want of manliness, &c.; but neithei treats nor ravings seem to disturb the equanimi f ty of a man whose thoughts the whole country is ? engaged in guessing at. ^ From all this, it is highly probable that Grant will be a candidate forthe Presidency in 1&68; but under what banner he will enter the contest is still 3 a mystery to the uninitiated. The South, not be-. . ing engaged in such pleasantries as President-maf king now-a-days, we can only look on and laugh at ? the peculiarities of those who follow it as a special occupation. If we cannot have a hand in the af* fair, we ought surely to be allowed some fun at its j expense. THE GREAT DANGER. e The indications are that the Congressional plan e of reconstruction will prove a monstrous failure. - Not, indeed, through a want of conventions in the S excluded States; for it is certain that all of these | will have their reconstruction conventions in full blast, manufacturing constitutions as mechanically e as if they were so many undertakers, making cofi fins for the liberties of their respective States, t And right there is the weak point of the Congressional plan. These new-fledged statesmen, fresh ? from the cotton-patch, the Union League, the grog s shop, and in some cases, the jail, have at. least one - idea in common. They think they have been elects ted for the purpose of being as Radical as they can f be, and the one end which they all have in view, is to "elevate the negro." This is a very good end, if properly understood, and no class of people ^ in the country will more cheerfully aid in accomplishing it, than the whites of the South. But - these legislators understand the meaning of the ^ phrase to be the setting of the blacks over the - whites. They believe the whites have no rights and are the enemies of the blacks. These teachings have been drilled into the negroes for nearly three years, and they have natu rally produced an antagonism of interest and feelit ing between the two races. We are scon to learn the practical working of this antagonism, in the l_ constitutions hatched out for the disorganized n States. The conventions, relying upon the omn nipotence of Congress, too ignorant to understand the dangers of such conduct, are more than likely - to frame constitutions that will trample the rights of the whites into the dust The Alabama conven j tion is already considering the overthrow of the .. present State government, the wholesale disfranchisement of all "rebels" and the punishment by e exjwxt facto laws, of alleged-crimes which have r been tried by the courts. Such "constitutions," if they are allowed to go ? into operation, so far from accomplishing a reconj struction, can only result in a war of races. The Northern people, in the late elections, show a rapidly growing dislike of the threatened negro supre"urncy. If such constitutions are approved by Cont grefca the North, as well as the South, will resist 1 them.* a But the necessity for desperate measures, on the e part of the Radical leaders, threatens the country s with the danger of their trying to rush the excluded . States into the Union as negro States. They see t that they are losing ground at the North, and their . only hope is the negro. It i9 greatly to be feared t that riiey will accept any constitutions c2L>k1 by the^e States, provided they will ensure the election - or Radical delegations to Congress. This is the danger to which our country is now exposed. The 3 whites and blacks of the South could easily make a equitable laws for themselves, if let alone. But it s is to the interest of Northern Radicals that they - shall not be friends. 2 g THE LIGHT AHEAD. We are beginning to look forward with hope and / confidence, to a time when this long night of pos litical sorrow and despair shall break into glorious s day. But if we ask ourselves where we find aught r to foster such predictions, we are at a loss for an r answer. Every white man, woman and child in 2 the South, to-day feels that its bondage is lighter i tnan it was a row wwKb ay,., "bccauao r press him to the earth, there is somewhere whls7 l pering in his ear, a promise of relief and liberty in - the future. This newborn hope is drawn from the recent elections in the States North and West, where extreme radicalism has been in some places rebuked and shorn of some of its strength. This hope?if ) we examine it closely?is of a very fragile texture, ; and something more must be done than has heen; J some great awakening of the American people, to 1 their danger, must occur-, before such hopes can bear the semblance of realization. We are under the dominion of a party whose only hope of perpetuation, is in the present system of reconstruction in the South; and that party controls the Congress 5 through which if deliverance come at all, we are t to expect it. That party is fully alive to the dan? - i?A gers that threaten it; dui wnmever may uc iuc ? election results, it feels tolerably secure of another r long stretch of power. A new Congress will not sit until long after the negro governments in the ' South have gone into operation, and these ten r States will give all the "reinforcements" perhaps. t that may bo necessary to control the presidential election and maintain a standing majority in both houses of Congress. This will give the radicals 1 the spoils of office in all the States, whether they are rejected by the people or not; and with this [ they will be content. The South once "recon^ structcd" on the negro basis, with radical Congress3 men, she will be a great lever to uphold the sinking fortunes of the party, and will enable it to control j the country, perhaps for several years to come. In the meantime the Conservatism of the North j may make rapid strides toward the rescue of the j government; but it will not only have the present radical majority at the North, to overcome, but also 3 the additional strength given it by the twenty Senators, and fifty-six representatives sent from the Southern cotton fields. The Conservative party can defeat radicalism at home perhaps; but can f it wield a weapon powerful enough to crush this 2 Southern monster likewise? 1 Thus while we hope for deliverance, we must 2 confess that the chances for it arc not promising. 1 The light that is discerned glimmering ahead of us, " may prove only a jack o'lantern at last; and this people be left to staggar through a. long night of political anarchy and misrule. "Thy Will, not ours, Oh Lord be done." GREENBACKS AND GOLD. One of the greatest errors com mi tued by the pco% pie of this District at the close of the late war, was 1 to ignore, in their business transactions, the use of . the lawful money of the county. The error lias r cost them a heavy price, and notwithstanding, it still continues to a great extent uncorrected, r Our farmers at the close of the war sold their 2 cotton and other produce for gold, for the natural / reason that their confidence in all paper currencies - was lost Their purchases had to be made in gold - and silver, for they had no other money to offer, - and the merchant was compelled to mark his goods s at gold prices in order to meet the convenience of , his customers. The merchant theroby became a - money broker, and a goods dealer at the same 2 time, and in many instances the profits realized 2 from buying and selling specie falls little short of , his profits on merchandise. But why a broker? 2 Because he buys goods in currency, gives notes payable in currency, which he must meet in cur rcncy when due. His customers furnish him with r gold which he must sell or exchange in order to r procure the proper medium in which he was to r pay. But in taking the specie of the purchaser, 2 the merchant takes at from two to five per cent t less than market rates, thus realizing a profit to i this extent over and above the profits on sales of ~ goods. Thus when gold rules at $1.40 in New . York, it is rated at $1.35-in the rural districts, . giving a wide margin of profit to the speculator. i This is an error so easy of correction that we are , surprised it is still permitted to exist The origin of it is with the producer, and he alone is the loser. , Let him sell his produce in the currency of the country?the same used in every town and hamlet in the Union (the military districts excepted), and ' buy with the same medium, and thus save the enormous premiums that he pays a money dealer to convert greenbacks into gold and vice versa for him. If the farmers will begin the reform, the change can easily be effected, and as before asserted, they are the principal losers tinder the present system. AGRICUtTtJKAL NEWS. The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for October, has appeared. It is more than usually interesting, as it contains a summing up of the proceeds of this year's crops, as compared with those of last year. The following is a synopsis of the report, prepared in Washington: Wheat.?The returns indicate an increase of 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 bushels, over the crop of last year, the estimate for this year being 225,000,000 bushels. This represents the increase in the whole country, and covers the deficiencies in Texas, - ** ?L.VV / _ 11 Kansas and some ot tbe mstern oiaies, wmcn xeii short of last year's crop. The Southern States show a material enlargement in the area of wheat, from an evident intention to become more nearly self-supporting and independent than formerly. This is particularly noticeable in Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The great decline in Texas results from several causes, one of which is the neglected and weedy condition of the lands which formerly yielded good crops. The quality of wheat is greatly superior to that of last year; it is almost universally sound and dry, but in many localities there may be found from a third to a half deficient in weight, lacking in plumpness, or slightly shriveled, apd passing as No. 2, being less than fifty-eight pounds to the bushel. There is also a greater tendency to cleanliness and care in prepairing the grain for the market. High prices and the marked discrimination of buyers are doing good service in this direction. Oats.?The aggregate estimate will exceed 280,000,000 of bushels, about three per cent above that 1866. Rye.?The estimates for all the States, excepting those on the Pacific coast, is 21,000,000 bushels. This is an increase of four per cent over the product of last year. Barley.?The barley crop is slightly deficient; about half a million bushels, or four per cent as compared with last year. Ueans and TEAS.?mere 18 more inau au average crop. Corn.?The quality in uniformly good, leaving no doubt that -the value of the entire crop, after deducting the deficiency in the Ohio valley, and allowing for an increase in almost all other States, will be greater, not only in cash but in the intrinsic, life-sustaining, and pork-producing power than that of last year. v -. Sorghum.?The Sorghum interest has greatly declined. Frost has injured the crop. In many places the average is much reduced, and despondency is evident in the feelings of many growers. Buckwheat.?Thiscrop will scarcely be equal to that of last year. Potatoes.?The crop is a poor one this year. Tobacco.?A decline in the tobacco product is indicated in the principal tobacco-growing sections. Sugar.?Louisiana, the only State producing cane sugar to any extent, reports au increase of 20 per cent over the same yield of last year. Cotton.?Complete estimates will be made on the receipt of November returns. The returns of October indicate a considerable increase in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama; about the same yield as last year in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, and a marked diminution in Texas and Louisiana. All the estimates below 2,000,000 of bales of five hundred pounds each are decidedly fallacious, while present indications favor an approximate to 2,500,000 bales. Fattening Cattle.?There appears to bo a small deficiency of fattening cattle in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the center of Eastern supplies. Further West and Northwest, the supply is generally quite as good as last year. In thuDo ?ri'ijnp^l wupply there la also a reduction in condition, in all of the others, the reports upon the condition are quite favorable. Old Wheat.?A glance at the table will show a reduction, as compared with last year, when the old stock was also small. The stock of old wheat has not been reduced so low for many years, if ever. . * EDITORIAL INKLINGS. Conservative Convention. A call has been made in Virginia for a Conservative Convention, to assemble in Richmond on the 11th December, for the purpose of effecting a better organization of the party of self preservation, and to confer upon subjects vital to the people of the State. Those who desire to contrast republicanism with decency, will then have the opportunity, as the Hunnicutt nigger Convention assembles at the same time and place. Where is Forney ? Thanksgiving in Georgia. Gov. Jenkins, of Georgia, has issued a proclamation, appointing the 28th instant, a day of thanksgiving and prayer. The reasons assigned are; the relief of last year's destitution, through an abundant harvest; exemption from the pestilence which has desolated other States; and freedom from that turbulence, violence and social disorder, which were apprehended by the people when subjected to a form of government obnoxious to them. These are centainly great blessings, and it is eminently proper that a christian people should give thanks for the enjoyment of them in the past, and pray for their continuance in the future. Ship Channel. The people of Houston, Texas, are making a powerful effort to dig a ship channel from Galveston up the Buffalo bayou to the former place, so as to put Houston in direct communication by steamer with the sea-ports of the world * The undertaking is a stupendous one, and Southern energy directed towards such enterprises is so rare now-a-days, that we take pleasure in chronicling this to the credit of the people of Texas. The distance from Galveston to Houston by rail is sixty miles, and the contemplated ship channel will have to be dug a considerable distance, from the upper point of Galveston Bay. Success attend the enterprise. The Columbia and Augusta Railroad. In his recent annual report to the stockholders, the jProsident of this road gives a favorable account of its progress towards completion.? The grading and bridges will be finished for forty miles west from Columbia, by the first of next January. Nine miles are graded from Graniteville, East. Rails sufficient for thirty-five miles are on hand or in Charleston, the balance necessary is engaged, to be imported directly from England to Charleston. The Directors hope to have seventy miles of the road in operation by next July. They have had many obstacles to encounter, in their enterprise, the chief of which are the opposition of tho Smith flnivilina Railroad and the unfortunate . political condition of the country, which haa greatly depressed the credit of Southern stocks. But ! they have overcome these obstacles with so much success as to render the completion of their road a . moral certainty. The Bnrean. General Howard. Commissioner of the Freed- j men's Bureau, in a late report, estimated the de- ( crease of the negro population at 1,308,000, since i the close of the war. This report was, perhaps, i intended to convey to the world some idea of the 1 cruel outrages by the Southern people, who were j crushing the negro out of existence; and hence, to j vindicate the necessity of the Bureau to protect i them. But lo! the registration returns in the j Southern States, put the Commissioners figures 1 sadly at fault, by showing a decided increase of the negro population. The Bureau finding itself in a dilemma had either to denounce the registration , returns, or retract its own figures; and it has ac- i complished the latter. But really the world is not t to know at present?-General Howard and the ne- 1 groes excepted?whether there has been an in- s crease or a decrease in the negro population, South. ( The subject has some interest for lis, and we would ( like to know how the matter really does stand. It 1 is probable that many of the registered negroes can explain the discrepancy in the figures. Texas Politics. ' The Houston Telegraph says: . The Convention is now favored in Texas by the Austin Rcmiblican, San Antonio Express, Flake's Bulletin, McKinney Messenger, and Tyler Index : the last a new paper which we had not seen until lately. With these exceptions, the whole press of the State, so far as we have learned, are cither decidedly opposed to the Convention, or have declined to give it any support We have about forty journals against the Convention and four for it The JRight of Petition. The National lntetigencer, in an able article on the condition of the Southern States, advises them to resort to the practices of '76, and to petition Congress to afford them relief from the curse of negro reconstruction. It says: "The people have distinctly protested at the ballot-boxes of the North against the excesses and oppressions which abound in the legislation of the past year touching the South. Everybody knows it, and most of the Radical press are ashamed to deny, and bluntly admit it Then, may not the people of the South lift up their manacled arms and show their chains ? May they not ask the repeal of the anomalous, tyrannical, and revolutionary programme of reconstruction ? They would be addressing themselves to representatives wlio are to be re-elected next year, and who dare not turn a deaf ear to petitioners, for whom their constituents have so clearly manifested sympathy and remorse. Let the case be made on the flooivdf Congress. Let no scrap-book tattlings deform again the consultations of a National Legislature; but let the solemn appeal be made as becomes a noble people, and let it be heard as befits a high deliberative body, and let its prayers be granted, ai commanded' by the magnanimous masses oj the North at the recent elections." MERE-MENTION. Gen. Swayne, Military Governor of Alabama, has issued an order giving freed men a lien on crops for their wages. This lien to be subordinate to prior liens. Sixteeiv hundred executions for State taxes are in the hands of the Sheriff" ol Fairfield District, An exchange says that nine hundred and ninety millions of men use tobacco.-" Bennett offers to contribute $100,000 in Government bonds toward a general bonfire ol those sccurieties in City Hall Park. Chase is reported to have said that he is more radical in name than in fact, aud complains that he has indiscreet friends. "Three thousand ro^nhave got up a revolution in Venezuela, and the GoVerm ment, with four thousand, has thus far been beaten. Pope intends sending a list to Congress of the rebels fit to be enfranchised. In Jamaica coolies are sold for seventy-fivo dollars a apiece. Ex-President Buchanau is not expected to live through the Winter. ""Miere, the famous Jewish banker of Paris, has become a Roman Catholic. "Two tons of prepared sponge for upholstering are manufactured daily ir Lebanon, N. H. The N. Y. Herald claims that its daily receipts average $6,000, or over $2,000,000 per annum. "The proprietor of the Cincinnati Tones refused $250,000 cash for his newspaper establishment LIFE INSURANCE. One of the happiest suggestions, that science has offered to the world in this enlightened age, is that of life insurance. Long ago the design of insuring property against loss by fire or the sea, came into general use in commercial communities; and at this time the fire insurance company is ai necessary to the safety of business communities as locks or bolts. There is no reason why life insurance should not, at an early day occupy a similai place in the public estimation. A man's life is his capital?and in many instances his death leaves de pendent upon the world, those for whom its energies were devoted. To insure life, is a safe business transaction, founded upon precisely the samt principles as fire insurance, and designed to meel the same ends?an equalization of losses, and prolociivu *0 tpliuoo wko would Looouio ouflfcToro. The following extract is so appropriate to the subject, that we subjoin it for the benefit of our readers: uLjfe Insurance iB rapidly growing up into the great business of the age in whioh we live., Within the recollection of almost every one, time wrn when the man who took out a policy of insuranct on his own life, or the life of any one else, formec the exception ; the time is coming, and is not nou remote, when the man who has not a policy of insurance on his life will form the exception. Especially will this be the case in the Southern States. Fortunes, almost without number, have been scattered and wasted by the late war. Thousands upon thousands of families have been reduced from affluence to poverty. The large expectations ol the children of the landholders, the capitalists, and the successful business men of the South, have been disappointed. A mere handful is all that is left to men, who,in the days before the war, were worth handsome fortunes, with the prospect ol steady increse till the end of life. The times do not admit of a reasonable prospect of a speedy reconstruction of these fallen fortunes. With the large majority, nothing beyond a competent support for life can be accumulated. It is altogether possible, however, out of the yearly income, from various sources, with a little economy, to spare a sufficient sum to pay the annual premium on a policy of Life Insurance for five, _ ten, fifteen or twenty thousand dollars. By keeping this up, as may be done by forecast, industry and economy, the provident man who can do but little more while living than barely support his family, may,' in the event of his death, at any time leave his wife ana children in more independent circumstances than it was possible for him to place them while living." If any persons desire to avail themselves of the benefits of Life Insurance, they can be accommodated upon application at Yorkville, to Maj. J. F. Hart, agent for the "Arlington," Col. Jos. A. McLean, agent for the "Piedmont," or Capt T. S. Jefperys, representing the "Equitable." THE ALABAMA CONVENTION AGAIN.. The Raleigh Sentinel says of the reconstructionist of Alabama: In the Alabama Convention, on Monday. Caraway, negro delegate from Mobile, submitted a motion that the Sergeant-at-arms (negro) be requested to provide accommodation for the "colored ladies" in the galleries and lobbies. On being asked to reduce his motion to writing, he sent up to the Clerk's desk the following effort: Resolved that the sergeant at arms be instructed to appropriate a portion of the Galery and Loby for the Ladys. On the same day{ one "Mr, Garrison" offered the following i csolution, which was referred: Resolved, That the Committee on Finance be requested to report that no citizen of the State of Alabama shall hereafter Day poll tax, and that the revenue of the State shall be raised off the property of the State, according to value. This, if adopted,-as it probably will be, will have the effect of relieving the negroes of the State from the only taxation to which they are now subject, for the support of a government, under which they enjoy almost unrestricted power, and in the administration of which, in spite of their ignorance and incapacity, they are permitted to take the most prominent part. On Thursday, as we learn by telegraph, a resolution was offered, and referred, requiring the former owners of slaves to pay to freedmcn the full value of their services from the date of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (say Jan. 1, 1863) to May 20,_ 1865. This is an indirect attempt at confiscation. 4 Sagacity of a Horse.?A well-known citizen nf this city is owner of a very spirited horse, which j is mettlesome to a very high degree. Monday he drove up to the door of his brother's residence, ind telling a negro girl to watch the horse, went into the house. While he was gone, a little daughter of the brother came out, and by some means got hold of the reins, and when the gentleman caine to the door, the child was holding them in one hand, while with the other she had the whip raised and about to strike the animal. It is not snown but that she did strike him before she was noticed. The family were paralyzed upon seeing he position of the child. Her peril will at once be seen when we remark that the horse is one up>n which the owner never dares use a whip, and is noted for its extreme spirit But instead of resentng the child's treatment of it, and of dashing off, rod perhaps ending the life of the little one, it stood quietly, with its head turned, looking at her, seemingly aware of the feeble hand which held it, rod unwilling to injure the child. When the ownsr resumed his place in the carriage, the horse larted off instantly, not giving him time to take he child in the carriage as hehad intended to do. 4$ 1 LOCALITEMS. i FEW ADVEBTI8EKEFT8.F. W. Robertson?House and Lot for Sale. F. C. Harris, O. Y. D.?Citation?J. S. Bratton and R. S. Hope, Applicants?Samuel Bai- . ney, Deceased. T. J. Cureton?Notice to the Debtors of W. T. Gilmore, deceased. sT. J. Cureton, Administrator?Estate Sale. Thomas J. Cureton, Administrator?Fine Plants- 1 tiontoRent. . Divine Service at Union Baptist Church. Miles Johnson?Read This. ,. W. B. "Williams, Deputy Collector?Cotton Tax Notice. 00F8IGHEES BY ma's MOUHTAIF RAH ROAD. The following are the consignees by the King's Mountain Rail Road, from the 12th to the 19th of November, inclusive: T. M. Dobson & Co., J. & R B. Stowe, Dr. John May, Allison & Bratton, P. B. Darwin, H. 1 F. Adickes, Carroll, Clark & Co., John McGill, Rev. T. R. Gaines, J. W. Secrest, W. R Rose, J. J. W. Tomlinson, J. F. Hart, Homesley & McCants, W. H. McCorkle, W. W. McElwee, Rev. R. B. Anderson, Rev. H. R. Dickson, Dr. J. F. Lindsay, R. S. Moore, Broad River Gold Mine r*/\m?NAn?T Tlnvnrin Sr Wollrov T\r W M. Wflllfftf. VVUI|JUiJjr j jL/tti ttiu uv K ?uav?) . x, W. B. Williams, B. T. Wheeler, Mrs. A. C. Wilkie, J. R.-Schorb, S. Sadler. (THE ELEOTIOH. On Tuesday the solemn farce of an election for members of a state Convention, began in this District The affair was conducted quietly, very few whites voting at this place. The Conservatives i have no ticket in the District, consequently the i Radical ticket of two whites and two negroes nominated by-the League in Columbia, have things all their own way. It is no doubt better to give this party plenty of halter, and let them do what they will. Opposition would be fruitless, so far as this ( State is concerned, and might tend to tunl this , clever piece of nonsense into something more seri? ous. The intelligent people of York have wisely, we think, determined, each man for himself, not to touch or handle this fbul thing. The negroes have i refused to listen to reason, but seem determined .* to rush headlong into self destruction. They have , been warued, and our duty to them is accomplish, ed. We give the results at this box on Tuesday, as , follows: whites 24; blacks 270. GOLD MIXE8 IS TOKL -'nl ^ Some months ago, we adverted to the fact, that 1 a few valuable gold prospects had been discovered in this District, and a sale or two effected with k Northern companies. Since that time, satisfactory progress has been made in the development of this rich source of mineral wealth, and with the 1 most gratifying results. In the Western sectidh 1 of this District, embracing a belt of country bound1 ed West by Broad River, and extending from ' King's Mountain and the North Carolina line, down Broad to where Bollock^ Creek enters into ! it, depositee have been fonnd in sufficient quantities 1 and of a quality, to warrant the highest expectations as to the future importance of this section. Veins have been opened at various places, which i readily yield by the ordinary panning process, at i rates of from twenty-five cents to three dollars per . bushel, of ore. We have heaird of a few that are , confidently expected, from the surface indications, ; to far surpass the latter estimates. Congressman j Bill Kelly, after his summer tour in the South, s had the effrontery to assert that every man and . boy in 'the South could earn his three dollars per day by panning gold; and that the whole country i contained a substratum of gold'ore. This grand . flourish of the Congressman is not so preposterous . after all, when applied to particular localities in the . South. In this District there are a considerable ? number of poor people, who find it more profitable ; to sift the gold dust directly from the soil, than to . seek it by tillage ; and they obtain fair wages by > the operation. , If we mistake not, the lamented Oscar M. Lieber, State Geologist, in his reports of 1859 ; and 60, mapped out this section as one worthy the attention of miners; but no active operations were J undertaken until the present year. I " A company of Northern men have recently , broken ground at the Moore mine, a recent disoov. ery on Broad River, near Smith's Ford, and are erecting improved machinery, and apparatus for carrying on the work. The specimens obtained 1 are very rich, and the managers express them' selves as fully satisfied with the results. This ? mine was opened under the practical energy of I John J. Wylie, Esq., and sold by him for about i $14,000, to the company now at work. Other pur1 chases have been made, and the parties are pre1 paring to commence operations, in the same section. Pmm thfl dfivftlonments now beincr made, it is evident that York possesses a source of untold wealth in her mineral deposites, and one which the blessings of peace and stability, and a judicious ' application of capital, will shortly bring to the notice of the world. COOLIES. \ There is much discussion as to the value of this new class of laborers for Southern agricultural work?some regarding the experiment of their introduction as a failure, while others who have them at work, pronounce them a complete success. Among the latter is Dr. Kittriage, of Louisiana. He obtained his laborers in Cuba, and the agent furnishing them stated the planters would not permit the best of these coolies to leave the island, paying them from $15 to $25 per month in gold, rather than part with them. Dr. K. allows them $14 per month. They don't mind the sun while at work, but, when walking out on Sunday, use j red unberellas and fans. Tneircoloris a light copper, hair straight and black, like the Indians, some shaving the heads on the sides and top, leav- ' ing a cue behind. .They bathe often, and wear a 1 white blouse. Dr. & gives the following about ' their characteristics as laborers: ' They are neat cooks, good gardeners, and in- , genious, and whatever they do is done well, but not quickly. Those on the plantation speak Span- j ish, and a Creole manages them, acting as inter- j preter. They are always quiet, working steadihr , the whole day long, and peaceable ana satisfied, without murmuring to do whatever is required, , working as fteely in knee-deep ditch mud as in the field. "They cut up every weed with great care, fdif-' ferent from any gardners,) not permitting a blade to escape their notice; and with this caution, of course, they do not go ahead as fast as Sambo, who is much more careless in his task. Although it became necessaiw to work rapidly on account of the grass injuring the crop, the coolies could not be induced to slight their work. They worked among the sugar with their fingers, pulling nut all the grass and heaping the hills handsomely with their ( hoes." - ' * As regards the alleged stealing disposition or malicious propensities of this new class of laborers, j Dr. Kittndge believes they will give their em- ' ployers no more trouble than the whites or blacks. ' Such are his views after a fair trial; arid thinks , they will be the best laborers for Louisiana. j How the South is to be Saved.?In an able J editorial upon the meaning of the late elections t the New York World says: 1 "The fact that negro governments are in process i o ?i* -1 .1-1 r%? j ,'i t oi organization, ana mat congress may aamit uieir j representatives, does not vary the case except to render a degrading farce more contemptible. # Certain it is that these bastard governments will not have the slightest-validity. Within four months after the Presidential election a heavv battering ram will tumble them into shapeless rubbish. The Southern people will immediately re-organize, hold new elections, oust the negroes, send their own representatives to Washington, and the Home will at once admit them. The Southern Senators phis the Conservative Senators from the North will form a majority of that body, organize as such, and neither the House nor the President will recognize any other Senate. This course is entirely feasible, will be perfectly constitutional, and beyond question adopted if the Radicals are insane or wayward enough to recognize the negro governments after this great rebuke. The only thing that could prevent it wouki be acquiescence bySouthem whites in the Radical scheme. Whoever expects that is better entitled to a straight-jacket than a refutation." , . If the Northern Democrats will stand up to this programme the South is safe. CHESTER CONTRIBUTORIAL. BY WM. H. BRAWLKY. CHESTER, 8. C., NOVEMBER 19, 1867. B1PBBT 18800IAHDHH1 VV Pit J. The colored Baptists have had a large meeting it Gethsemane Church, daring the past week.-? We have heard that the whole State was represented, bat know notbirig of their proceedings. PERSOIAL . ' t Maj. D. D. Lynn, of the 6th Infiuitry, Commanding the Post at Chester, left last week on furlough. Lieut Boob, the next in command, succeeds him as Commandant His first order, dosing all the bar-rooms daring the days of election, gives as the assurance that the interests of the Town and District, are in good hands. 8BBI0TJB AITBAY. A difficulty occurred ou Monday about eight miles from town, between Joehua Carter aod Wes- ' ley Davis, in which the latter was stabbed, it is feared mortally, in.the breast Carter was arrested yesterday afternoon, and lodged in JaiL Mr. Davis at last accounts was still alive, with but little chance of recovery. The difficulty grew out of a quarrel in which * ** ^ a . ? *ii . otner parties were mvoivea, ana as it win prooamy undergo judicial investigation, we forbear comments. ; I THE LAW OF GRA7ITT. Some sensation has recently been caused in England, by the pretended discovery of some letters of Blaise Pascal, (author of the Provincial letters)' in which it was said that the laws of gravitation were announced, some years before.the discovery by Sir Isaac Newton, in his famous apple orchard. These letters have since been pronounced, to be forgeries, and Newton's laurels are left undisturbed. Whoever may have, discovered the principle, Shakespeare, in his "Vast Omniscience,'' define^ it very; distinctly in ''Ttoilus and Cressida," long before either Newton or Pascal ^ere born. , "Time, fowc ?nd dptih. / Do to this body what extreme*yon en; _ Bat the etrooc bue and beiJdios of my love . tJ Ie.ee the rery centreof theeerth,' - 1 Drawing ell tblnp to It." x: ^ . 8EIZUKB OP WH1HJLET. ' Onfsbarp-soented officers of Internal Bevenne discovered a mares nest full of frauds in a whiskey wagon from Davie County N. C. , last week.' The owner of the waftmiunconsciobs of his terrible sboi t comings was g^dfootjisposing of his whiskey, when "the assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold," and seized whiskey, brandy, wagon, horses, papers * and all. TheDavie County man himself, barely escaping, made his way to North Carolina, and returned yesterday with his principal, bringing with him a letter from the Inspector of whiskey in Davie County, saying that the whiskey was all right and the irregularities in the fraud permits Ac., were the fault of the ofEoers of the BevenUe in Noith Carolina. 'Meantime the bortes are eating their heads off in a Every stable, the Davie County man mournina as those without hone, the whiskey in the hands of tho PhJKathws and the thirsty waiting at the door all' 'wishing sugar in therm* A sweet scented system is the Internal Revenue. \ . . . . r X .' i ' w ;.,IHE BLBOTIOI. The streets are full, to day (Tuesday) of negroes, who have eome in to iVOte. n They will have it all their own way. No white Jacket has been nominated, and very few. white men will vote; of those who do, the majority will vote againsta Convention. In this way will beconsumated the fonlest wrong and most shameless act of despotism which has ever been imposed upon a white race since .the world began. v. . ? %A Radical malignity, with bayonets at its beck, has bound and handed over the white people of the South, to the African race, the one above all Others, by its origin, traditions habits and capacities the most unfitted for self-government. It remains to be seen whether the present Congress with its brief lease of power will dare to recognize negro governments, pure and simple, in the South. The new government organised in South Carolina, under the military bills, will be the sotawwk of the negroes.. The present Congress, composed as it is, is capable of every thing that is bad, but the sense of justice and the common sense of the Northern people will rebuke such despotic insolence. If there is any sense of fairness: left in the North, it willrevolt against thrusting upon the South a measure odious and repulsive to the North and repudiated by them. It would be not only the most glaring inmnsiRtencv. font, the most, wanton tvrnnnv Fortunately far the South and for the coon try, it is not believed the politicians, with their schemes and huts and hate, is the sound patriotism andootnmon sense of the Northern people. . In thia^ and in the instincts of a common humanity we can tyust for our salvation. For the present, stubborn inaction is our policy and our duty. >'): ': WASHINGTON NEWS. Speaker Colfax will arrive here Saturday night and commence housekeeping; It is not exported that the committees will be announced before a week from Monday next, though the list is arranged. Rumor savs that the speaker baa been troubled to decide what to do with Thad. Stevens. His health is so poor that he cannot perform his duties as Chairman of any Committee, yet it will not answer for the Speaker to withhold from him any honor which he has fairly earned, so he will nnSestionably be the Honorary Chairman of the first mmittee of tho House. He is expected hero in three or four days, hut his most intimate friends have little hope that he will able to take his seat, ot that he will survive the winter.. There is considerable-speculation in reference to the Chairmanship of the Ways ancl Means. Mr. Hooper is en- 4f titled to it by position, but the West will urge Gar field and Allison for it strongly. It has been suggested that the Speaker will- solve the difficulty by putting Thad. Stevens back into his opposition as Chairman of the Ways and Means. Thia would leave Hooper acting Chairman. From the views of members of Congress who liave been here recently, and others now in the :ity, it appears that there is a strong probability that the tax on cotton will be repealed shortly after Congress convenes. The pressure iq favor of this repeal in all directions of the North from influential citizens is almost irresistible. ; From the same source it is learned that there is llso a powerfulinfluenoe in favor of a general funding scheme covering the whole national debt, thus jxtending the time of payment of oar liabilities, rod in the meantime providing for its gradual liquidation by a judicious system of taxation. The quarrel oyer General Grant's political status jontinues. It is generally agreed among men of dl parties that Forney'B nomination oftrrant far he" Presidency, in his "two newspapers, both | iaily," Sunday's exoepted, together with the Radial record filtered through other men^ on which Forney placed his candidate, was without the knowledge or authority of General Grant. The jrincipals in the Grant movement are now refer iug anxious inquirers as to Grant's political J coord, to his forthcoming evidence before the ^ Souse Judiciary Committee; but as that evidence vas also very satisfactory, when it was given, to he Demomtio members on that Committee, the V Radicals will have to pick their flints and try again. \ Among the political on dits here to day is 0De hat Senator Morgan intends to take aConservaive stand in the Senate, with a view of being )laced with Grant on the Conservative Repubhsan ticket for Vice-President. This is asserted by prominent men who ought to know. The Secretary of the Treasury yesterday received t letter from a party proposing to furnish "genune counterfeit" Sbven-tnirty Bonds if theSecreary would give him in exchange Bonds issued by he Department; but of ooose the Secretary delined. . I It will be remembeted that a short time since he officers of the Tresmy Department expressed i desire to secure some or tho counterfeit sevenhirty Bonds, as those held by the Department had he signatures and numbers punched out, hence he letter from the party proposing to exchange lis, j j I^A woman in France has sold her hair fifteen J I imes since her chDdhood. It grows twelve inches ivery year, and has yielded a profit to her of two J housand francs. . iJ