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and darts. Kinston, N C. has a brass band composed of young ladies. The smallest salary to a postmaster in this country is $2, and a large number receive sums rangiug from that amount to $12. The prices of iron and coal in England are reported to be gradually descending to their old level. A Chinese resident of San Francisco is studying law, with the intention of getting admitted to the bar. In Florida they are buying butter by the quart; in Maine they are selling milk by the pound. The New York Medical Journal says the l c i.u ~ o: A. autopsy 01 ine oiamese twins was u gross pieoe of charlatanry. A bill is pending in Congress to pay 83,000,000 to Frederick City, Md., for money forced from them by General Early. The population of Richmond has increased fifteen per cent, in three years, and at present numbers 60,000. Gen. LaFayette McLaws, who commanded a Division in the Confederate army, has been appointed by President Grant, Collector of Customs in Georgia. A meeting of the stockholders of the North Carolina Railroad Company has been called for the 16th of April to consider the question of consolidation. In the last twenty-seven years, z4,oUz convicts have been sent to the penitentiary at Albany, N. Y. Of these 21,057 have acknowledged that previous to their conviction they were addicted to drunkenness. A notable feature of the immense procession in Baltimore on St. Patrick's Day was the presence in the line of several large German societies, and also of a number of colored organizations, the latter headed by a colored band. One marriage has taken place in the White House; two Presidents have died there; one has lain in state in the East room. Several childreu have passed away in the executive mansion, but only one baby, a grand-son of Jefferson, has been born there. ' An East Bridgeport, Ct., landlady, thinking to pleasantly surprise one of her boarders, embodied a gold ring, which he had lost and she had found, in a pancake, and placed the production on his plate at breakfast. His teeth did not happen to get entangled in the ornament, and now it is lost again. Considering the few women who have yet attained unto the dignity of office holding, it sounds bad to hear that Miss Belle Murray, who has been acting as deputy clerk of the Circuit Court of McLean county, Illinois, is charged with embezzlement, and her trial is in progress at Bloomington. The island of Ceylon has had its first census taken trom which it appears that the population is 2,500,000. A very curious effect of the census was to cause a large number of marriages, a report having been spread that it was intended to ship all the unmarried people to France. A saloon-keeper in one of the towns where the woman's whisky war is raging, made a centre shot when he replied to a lady who asked why he kept his window glazed and a screen in front of the door, that it was to "hide the temperance men when they came in for a drink." Tennessee boasts that in four years of freedom from carpet-bag rule she has fixed her debt so that the State can and will pay it, has organized a thorough system of public education, while business is thriving, trade brisk, and money plenty. Four years ago the State was almost as badly off as Louisiana. Robert E. McDonald has been appointed postmaster at Charlotte,N. C., in place of Charles A. Frazier, removed. Mr. Frazier has been the postmaster at Charlotte ever ? since the closo of the war, and the Democrat takes occasion to bear witues3 to the faithful and efficient manner in which he has discharged the duties of the office. ?? The Charlotte Democrat says that woik has never stopped on the Carolina Central Railway since it went into the hands of the present management, a year ago. It is thought the road will be completed between Charlotte and Wilmington by the 1st of September. As soon as the road is finishad to Charlotte a line of steamers will be put on between New York and Wilmington to run in connection with the road. Nearly all the distinguished men, says the Cincinnati Enquirer, who took part in the violent political contest of 1850-'51, twentyfive years ago, are now dead. They were r\\ .__ iir.i .i... n_n n t>.__i ^iay, >> eosier, v^ainoun, v>ass, .Ducnauan, Douglas, BeDton, Fillmore, Seward, Chase, Sumner, Clayton, Corwiu, Bell, Everett and Dickinson. This den\onstrates what an immense and fatal span in human existence is composed in two decades of years. We see hardly a uame now that figured in the great coutests we had before the war. The suplementary Civil Rights Bill, which Mr. Sumner left as a legacy to Congress, proposes to abolish all distinctions on account of color in all places to which the public have the right of access. Mr. Eldridge, of Wisconsin, proposes to the House bill of the same character an amendment, providing that nothing in the Act shall be so construed as to prevent any person or corporation from making any separate arrangements or provis _ /V _ xl_ - ion iur uie accoramoaauon, conveoience or comfort of the white citizens of the United States. A Great Barrington (Mass.) merchant found a box of parlor matches on the store floor the other morning, which had been knocked off the shelf by a rat or mouse during the night. On opening the box, the discovery was made that, by the concussion, every match in the box had been lighted, and the wood of which they were made was charred and turned brown. Fortunately, the box was so tight as to smother the Are, and no harm resulted. It was a narrow escape ; and if a fire had taken place, its cause would have been a perpetual mystery. A Washington letter says: "A number of Congressmen of both political parties have addressed letters to Gov. Kemper, of Virginia, congratulating him upon the veto of the Petersburg charter bill, and thanking him for sustaining the great principle of local self-government. Some of the Republicans, especially, say in their letters that his action cannot fail to result in great good to the State. It will invite emigration from the North, because people who would like to go there now have no assurance that they would be protected in all their rights." Judge Brown, of Baltimore, has given a decision in a sewing machine suit that may be interesting to thousands who are laboring to pay for their machines by installments. A Miss Barker bought a sewing machine on the installment plan, signing a contract by which she agreed to pay a certain sum per month for the use of the machine, and the company ? 1 *n / 1 1 iL. agreed to execute a Dm 01 saie wnca me whole price had beeu received. The installments were promptly handed over by Miss Barker until only five dollars remained due. She was prevented from paying this by sickness, and the company sued out a writ of replevin. A justice of the peace decided in favor the defendant, but Judge Brown, of the City Court, reversed the judgment, and ruled that the company was entitled to the machine and to all the money paid on it. There is a rather remarkable bill before the New York legislature for securing pure liquors to consumers in the city of New York. It prohibits, under severe penalty, the counterfeiting of any liquor, wine or beer; and thesellerofany such counterfeit shall be held to possess guilty knowledge thereof. It provides for a board of liquor examiners, consisting of twenty-seven'chemists, with twenty-four assistants, who shall be assigned to duty in the various wards, and who, after preparing a schedule of the exact composition of all pure liquors, shall he empowered to compel all dealers to conform to the standard, undei penalty of fine, imprisonment, seizure of liquoi and revocation of license. The examiners J may enter any liquor shop at any time, and j begin the work of inspection and analysis, J and they shall investigate any liquor or liquor ; shop upon being asked to do so by three com i plainants. ;ihe fotfeuiUc (?mjuiw. YORKVILEE, S. C.: j THURSDAY MORNING, MAR. 26, 1874. now 10 uraer me Eiuquirer.? w rite tiie iimiiti of the subscriber very plainly, give post-ollice, county and State in full, and send the amount oi the subscription by draft or post-otlico money order, or enclose the money in a registered letter. Postage.?The postage on the Enquirer, to any part of the United States, is five cents per quarter, or twenty cents pervear, and is payable in advance at the post office where the paper is received. Watch the Figures.?The datenn the "addresslabel" shows the time to which the subscription is paid. If subscribers do not wish their papers discontinued, the date mu.it be kept in advance. Cash.?It must be distinctly understood that our terms for subscription, advertising and jobwork, are cash in advance . JOB PRINTING. Having determined to devote more attention hereafter to job printing than we have done in the past, we would inform the public that our office is now well supplied .with new type of the latest styles, and the best machinery in use; and with a choice stock of inks, cards, papers, &c., we are prepared to execute as good work as can be done anywhere in the United States. Orders for Ball Tickets, (Freight Billheads, Bank Notices, 1 Labels, Bonds and Coupons, Law Blanks, Bill Heads, 'Law Briefs, Business Cards, ! Letter Circulars, Certificates of Deposit, i Letter Headings, Certificates of Stock, Memorandum Billheads Checks, i Note Circulars, Deposit Tickets, j Note Headings, Drafts and Notes, Programmes, Envelopes, Policies, Fire it Life Ins., Election Tickets, Shinplastcrs, Festival Tickets, i Wedding Cards, will receive prompt attention, and satisfaction as to aualitv of work, guaranteed in every JL V ' w instance. Particular attention given to fine work in colors. ANOTHER LOST ACT. At the recent session of the legislature, a resolution was passed by both houses of the General Assembly, and duly ratified on Tuesday of last week?the day of adjournment? which authorized and required the AttorneyGeneral to commence legal proceedings against ex-Treasurer Niles G. Parker for the illegal issueof bonds of the State of South Carolina. Before the act could become a law, it was necessary for it to be signed by the Governor. Since the adjournment of the legislature, it has been asserted that the bill did not reach the Governor, but was spirited away. A similar thing happened at the close of the previous session, in the loss of the act to repeal the "Blue Ridge Act," which resulted in giviug some vitality to the Morton-Bliss decision, and rendered necessary the extra session of the legislature. In the present instance, when the loss of the joint resolution was discovered, another copy was engrossed, signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, which was handed to the Governor's private secretary by Mr. Maxwell, chairman of the committee on enrolled bills, and a receipt taken therefor ; but the legislature having adjourned, the Governor refused to sign it. The joint resolution, of course, fails to be of any force; another wrong is perpetrated on a iong-suttenng people, ana ex-Treasurer Parker and others, for the present, at least, escape the punishment, which, no doubt, they so richly deserve. The only persons who should handle an act or a joint resolution after ratification, are the presiding officers of the two houses, the reading clerks, the clerk, the chairman of the committee on enrolled bills or any member of the committee who may be acting at the time in the Senate, the Governor and his private secretary. A fine opportunity is here presented for the persons concerned in this matter to "unload." THE NORTH CAROLINA VOLCANO. For several weeks past, there has existed much alarm in the immediate vicinity at premonitions of an earthquake or volcanic erup' ? - - mi 1_ I tioD in iJaid mountain, inis is a peua uetween Crooked creek and Broad river, and the mountain, which is usually known as Stone mountain, is in the counties of McDowell and Rutherford. A late despatch from Knoxville, Tennessee, says that the people within twenty-five miles of the mountain have been alarmed for twenty days at the quivering of the earth and sounds resembling the detonations of artillery. Some fifty dwellers on the slopes of the mountain say it seems as the mountain is "giving way" or sinking ; and the cattle, alarmed at the unusual occurrences, have left their habitual ranges. It is also stated that an acre of the peak has sunk, and that smoke has issued from the depressed part. Whatever may be the true cause of these phenomena, the affair is attracting considerable attention, and already a number of scientific men and newspaper correspondents have repaired to the scene. A letter from Salisbury, describing the situation, says: "The vicinity of Bald mountain has for several days past been greatly agitated over mysterious noises and rumblings in the bowels of that mountain. One report from a scientific source states that these internal noises resemble those heard in Mount yKtna prepar 1 : T>I if aiory 10 a voicuuiu erupuun. mc peujuc m that section have become so much alarmed, that families residing immediately around the base of the rumbling mountain have takeu up their necessary domestic articles and fled precipitately from the threatened impending eruption. Throughout the entire country, and for a distance of sixteen miles from the mountain, extending into the adjoining counties, these sounds are not only heard, but the trembling and reverberation of the earth is perceptibly felt. Iu numerous iustauces, for several miles from the mountains, the glasses have rattled in the windows, and the dishes have been shakeu from the shelves to such an extent as to create the most widespread consternation among the inhabitants. This has again caused a still greater stampede among the citizens." A correspondent of the Asheville Pioneer ! writes as follows: j "In relation to the phenomenon that is now | terrifying the people in the neighborhood of i Bald mountain, candor compels me to admit ' that I do not believe their fears altogether ' groundless. I was on the mountain on the 1 night of the 1st instant. The noise seemed to be under the ground in a small valley between ! what is called the Round and the Stone j mountains, though I could not exactly deter; mine the locality. Sometimes the shocks arc very heavy, accompanied by sounds similar tc the detonations of artillery, and the earth is shaken for miles around. A very perceptible movement is seen among the trees when the vibrations take place, and the houses are J ^ sufficiently jarred to arouse children from 1 i their nightly slumber, when they manifest L 1 their fright by cries and screams. The sound I , is more distinctly heaid in the valley than j any other place. The people who live in the j ? vicinity are very much alarmed and many of j t them are preparing to emigrate." j ( ? So great has been the alarm among the j r people that all earthly cares were forgotten j k by them, and, as with a spontaneous feeling, t : all assembled at a vacant house for the purpose of holding religious devotions. For not t less than sixteen days these exercises were f continued, the people all living in common, ( and giving no attention to labor or secular t pursuits. All past differences among neigh- c bors were forgotten, and mutual amnesty pre- h vailed. Over a hundred persons made a pro- ii : fession of religion, and the closing scenes of the meeting are represented as peculiar and I wonderful. The excitement has subsided to t some extent, it having been brought to the y minds of the dwellers in that section that sim- 1 1 ilar throes of the mountain occurred in 1812, I which are represented as having been more J oairorn Mian tVin ohnpko nf thfi OflSt month. J OV,VlV * ? *? I PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. V ' In the Senate, on the 17th, a memorial was presented, signed by business men of New York, asking an increase in the volume of i a currency. A number of similar memorials, from various sections of the country were also presented hy different Senators. Mr. t Frelinghuysen announced that the civil rights : bill was ready to be reported from the judiciary committee, and would be reported in a ? few days. The Senate then took up the bill to equalize the distribution of national currency, which was discussed until the hour of adjournment. In the House, a number of ? bills were introduced, after which the legisla- . tive, executive and judicial appropriation 11 bill was discussed at length. The evening session was devoted to debate on the railroad transportation question. li In the Senate, on the 18th, at the hour of 1 opening, a communication in the form of a petition, was received, announcing that a baud I of praying women would soon visit the Cap- li itol, and requesting that a committee consisting of Messrs. Carpeuter, Chandler and a kn n r.rwitntn/1 tn Kimiigg flioin t.llfi n upift^uo ug a|^/utuvuu wv ?vw?iv w.v*~ ..? ...v bar of the Senate. The selection of gentlemen p as designated to constitute the committee was the occassion of much laughter in the Senate 1; chamber. The petition was referred to the fi committee on finance. The House amend- c ment reducing to $3000 the appropriation for the improvemement of the Capitol grounds f was concurred in. A number of bills of no t! general iutercst were introduced, and after d considering the bills on the private calendar, and the passing of a number of relief bills, t the army appropriation bill was discussed I until the hour of adjournment. The House o met for debate only. The cheap transporta- I -l 1? _ tion question was uiscusseu vy u uumuci ui members. In the evening, the session was d consumed in adopting amendments to the b bill to revise, consolidate and amend the r statutes of the United States. a In the Senate, on the 19th, Mr. Pratt, from the committee on pensions, in reporting ad- b versely on a private bill to pay arrears of 8 pensions, spoke of the fact that it was the h practice of the Senate to refuse to sanction fi such bills. It should be done, he thought, by a general bill. Mr. Buckingham submit- v ted a resolution directing the Secretary of the v Interior to furnish a list of all Indians taken s< captive or killed during the year 1873 and t thus far of 1874. A number of House bills were passed without amendment. The army 3 appropriation bill was taken -up and several p amendments proposed by the Senate commit- li tee were discussed. In the House, the bill fl ' supplementary to the act to provide for the ii development of the mining resources of the United States was considered until the expi- t ration of the morning hour. In committee e of the whole the legislative appropriation bill a was discussed, and after a lengthy debate on s the amendment looking to the reiinactment ii of the mileage fee law, that paragraph, as reported from the committee on appropriations, e was passed. v In the Senate, on the 20th, Mr. Hagan, of '\ California, submitted a resolution instructing r the committee on foreign relations to advise t with the President to procure such modifications of the Burlingame treaty as will pre- C vent the importations of Chinese females for t\ immoral purposes. The army appropriation n bill was taken up, and after several amend- r ments were proposed and adopted, it passed, t The fortification bill, appropriating $1,407,500, was also taken up and passed. The pro- a ceedings of the House were unimportant. b On the 21st, the Senate was not in session, ii In the House, the day was devoted to the ii consideration of bills affecting the District of p Columbia. a In the Senate, on the 23rd, a memorial was n presented from the New York Cotton Exchange against inflation of the currency, and J i in favor of resumption of specie payment, f Several letters urged Congress to say whether r it would inflate, contract, or do nothing, say- r ing the present uncertainty paralyzed the ( spring business. The Committee on Finance ? i reported a new bill, as a suoscitute ior me p one pending for a redistribution of currency, j It provides for free banking, and limits the legal tender circulation. It is a compromise j, measure. Sherman, who reported the bill, a said he gave adhesion to some of its provisions 0 i with great reluctance. The House passed, by n more than a two-thirds majority, a bill repor- a ted from the Committee of Ways and Means, 0 > fixing the limit of legal tender notes at 8400,- J. 000,000. Amendments by two members of t 1 the committee, to fix the amount at 8346,000,- c 000, the present legal limit, and at 8382,000,' 000, the amount actually in circulation, were defeated by majorities considerably over two- ' thirds. The representatives from the New i England States and New York voted, for the '' i most part, against the bill. Those from Penu- 3* sylvania, the West and South generally for j ' it. Also, presented a bill for the removal of ^ | the Kickapoo and other Indian tribes from i the borders of Texas and New Mexico to the J . Indian Territory. 1 ? ... _ i I SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS. 1 , ? Strawberries are selling in Charleston at i two dollars a quart. c ? Samuel T. Norris has been appointed a s Trial Justice for Spartanburg county, vice r 1 R. R. Gates removed. r i ?The Supreme Court has decided that the c i town of Barnwell, instead of Blaekville, shall I j hereafter be the county-seat of Barnwell : county. 1 J ? A Chapter of colored Royal Arch Ma- t ! sons has been established in Charleston?M. ], ! j R. Delany, High Priest; George E. John- l: , ston, King; William H. Birney, Scribe. ! p (I ? On Monday morning of last week the c i' poor-house buildings of Abbeville county, t ! | consisting of twelve detached cabins, were c accidentally destroyed by fire. The loss is 11 estimated at six thousand dollars. ! r , ?The Southern Railroad Security Corapa-1 a 5 ny, which controls a number of Southern i railroads, has removed its office from New c fork to Columbia. Colonel John B. Palmer j ins been appointed President and R. B. Brid- j jers Vice-President and General Manager. ? The Uniou Times has been informed that l number of rifles with ammunition have : >een sent to a station on the Greenville and { Columbia railroad, consigned to a captain of ! nilitia. We hope, for the best interest of! )oth races and the country generally, that he Tones has been misinformed. ? Captain George Tupper, who was senenced to five years' imprisonment in the >enitentiary, at the Mayr 1873, terra of the Jourt of General Sessions for Richland couny, for manslaughter, and who has been inarcerated in the county jail since that time, ias had his sentence commuted to five years' I mprisonment in the county jail. ? Mr. George Reid, who resided at Rock j ? " ' * ? .t ? II _ 1 1 !_ I dill, was tounci dead near tne oan aney in hat town, and within ten steps of his own ard gate, on Tuesday morning of last week, ^he Grange says: "It appears that Mr. leid, who is very feeble, left the store of lay, Rawlinson & May, about eight o'clock rlonday night for his home, and as the night ?as very black, he probably fell over a stump iear which his cloak and stick were found, ml being unable to raise himself (being iartly paralyzed) he remained there, within , stone's throw of his own home, struggling aebly, but unavailingly, to raise himself, unil finally the cold and rain, which poured in orrents for the better part of the night, exinguished the feeble spark of life that supiorted his frail body. Mr. Reid was a naive of Charleston, from which place he refueed during the war, and ever since has been iving at Rock Hill." An inquest was held ver his remains by Trial Justice Pride, actng as Coroner. The jury rendered a verdict n accordance with the above facts. NEWS OF^THE DAY. ? A. B. Ilart, Governor of Flor'da, after a iugering illness, died at Jacksonville on the 8th instant. . ? The machine shops of the Atlantic and pacific railroad, at St. Louis, were burned ist Saturday. Loss 8100,000. ? The Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, has issued nmollnii arm!nof Hianrrlnr]T7 aaqpmhlnorpq piUVlttlUUUVU ..6M?..WW?.WW.?V.#J O > rhich has for its object the suppression of raying on the streets by females. ? A bill is before the Massachusetts Legisiture to establish a separate State prison for eraales, with room for five hundred. The ost is not to exceed $300,000. ? The Alabama river is flooded. The reshet is equal to the disastrous overflow of hat river in 1872, which inflicted heavy am age to property. ? The work-shops of the Tucker Manufacuring Company, at the penitentiary near Joston were burned last Saturday. The fire ccurred while the prisoners were at diuner. joss $200,000. ? The steeple, 180 feet high, of the Methoist church at Danville, Va., was blown down y a heavy wind on the 9th instant. The oof of the church building was crushed in, nd the loss is estimated at $5000. ? A colored mail carrier in Virginia has een detected in robbing the mails. Over 150,000 in checks and drafts was found on is person, which he had purloined since the rst of February. ? The filibuster steamer Edgar Stewart, diich has made more than one successful oyage from American ports to Cuba, was eized at Baltimore last Friday, by order of he government authorities at Washington. ? James Sylvester, a trapeze performer, at 4th street opera house, New York, while erforming on the trapeze, missed his calcu ition, and not catching the rope, fell to the loor, receiving injuries from which he died a a few moments. ? Two sons of the Siamese twins have gone o Philadelphia for the bodies of their parnts. They disavow any intention to make , speculation by exhibiting the remains, and tate further that no money considerations aduced them to consent to the autopsy. ? The number of totally disabled pensionrs on the rolls of the pension office is 691, dio are receiving $31.25 per month each. ?he committee on pensions of the House ecommend that the pension shall be increaso 850 per mouth. ? The negro exodus from Alabama and Georgia continues. The Montgomery Adveriser learns that fifteen thousand tickets for legro emigrants have been taken up on the oads leading southward aud westward from hat city. ? In the case of the Grant parish, (Loui^j,na) prisoners, recently on trial for alleged :u-klux offenses, the jury failed to agree. It 3 said that all of the jury, except one, were u favor of acquittal. Bail was refused the irisoners?nine in number. Eighty or more, gainst whom charges had been preferred, aade their escape before being arrested. ? The democratic convention of Oregon, at 'ortland, has nominated Governor Grover or reelection, Chadwick for reelection as secetary of State, and G. A. Ladow for Repesentative in Congress. The platform favors )regon river and harbor improvements, the ialt Lake and Portland railroad, and excesses smypathy with the movement of the 'atrons of Husbandry. ? The people of the Territory of New Mexco are anxious to be admitted into the Union n /> Ctnto Torritnrv tina a nnnnlatinn a t* KJtUlVMl JLUU AW* WW* J MMM M f 140,000. The bulk of the population are lativo Mexicans and their descendants, only ,bout 40,000 of the people being of American r European descent. The Spanish language 3 principally spoken and the proceedings in he Territorial legislature are recorded in Spanish. EDITORIAL INKLINGS. 'he Tax Levy for 1874. The following is a summary of the tax evy in the bill to raise supplies for the fiscal ear commencing November 1st, 1874 : ^or salaries 11 mills. 'or penal,charitable and educational institutions 11 'or the public schools, 2 ''or school deficiencies i 'or legislative expenses, 1 'or public printing, 1 'or interest on the public debt, 2 'or unpaid appropriations, 1 'or County purposes, 3 The aggregate foots up 12 7-12 mills. In1 u - --Ml 1 ^ 4/% nn?* fUn nAlinftr lutnug one miu.Huu-tt-uau iu ytuj mo oouuuj ubscription to the Chester and Lenoir Narow Gauge Railroad Company, and half-anill "ku-klux tax," the aggregate in York ounty will be 14 7-12 mills, ndepemlcnt Character. Mr. Thurlow Weed, the venerable New fork politician, addresses a communication o the New York Tribune in regard to the ate Millard Fillmore, between whom and limself there had been an estrangement from lolitical causes, which was afterward reconiled. Mr. Weed sends to the Tribune a leter from Mr. Fillmore to himself, dated Deember 6,1838, in reply to one asking him to ake the office of State comptroller. Refering to the desire manifested that he should iccept the position, Mr. Fillmore says: "But I cannot bring my mind to the idea if abandoning my profession and subjecting myself to the caprice of popular favor or official patronage for a support. In other words, I cannot well afford to make the pecuniary sacrifice which is required. I made up . my mind when I entered political life never ; to go so far as to feel for a moment that I depended upon any office or any popular favor 1 for a livelihood. That moment I should lose ray independence?I fear, my integrity. 'He is miserable whose happiness hangs on princes' 1 favors.' Bat he is not only wretched, but infinitely degraded, whose means of support depend upon the wild caprice of the ever-chauging multitude. I cannot become a slave to r such a master." Mr. Weed remarks upon the letter that it contains a lesson which might be usefully t learned by those who fall into the too common ] error of seeking or depeudiug upon political offices, instead of relying upon some per- 1 manent occupation for a livelihood. Nothing is more pitiable than to see, as we do, a , creneration of vounc men growing ud denen- < dent upou temporary and precarious means of support. The Liquor Traffic. The liquor traffic seems to have become an evil of such magnitude that Congressional 1 legislation has been deemed necessary, to which j end the following bill has passed the Senate, r providing for the appointment of a commission to investigate the evils complained of: Be it enacted, &c., That there shall be appointed by the President, by and with the ad- 1 vice and consent of the Senate, a commission 1 of five persons, neither of whom shall be the < holder of any office of profit or trust in i the general or a State government. The said ^ commissioners shall be selected solely with reference to personal fitness and capacity for an honest, impartial, and thorough investigation, and shall hold office until their duties shall be accomplished, but not to exceed one 1 year. It shall be their duty to investigate , the alcoholic and fermented liquor traffic and ( manufacture, having special reference to rev- . enue and taxation, in distinguishing as fur as possible in the conclusions they arrive at be- s tween the effects produced by the use of dis- t tilled or spirituous as distinguished from the use of fermented or malt liquors, their economic, criminal, moral and scientific aspects, in connection with pauperism, crime, social vice, 1 the public health, and general welfare of the 1 1- . __j _i? : :? 1 4_i._ peupie ; auu aiao iiiijuire ttuu mac leaninuujr v as to the practical results of license and restrictive legislation for the prevention of intemperance in the several States, and the effect produced by such legislation upon the consumption of distilled or spirituous, and of fermented or malt liquors, and also ascertain whether the evil of drunkenness has been increased or decreased thereby; whether the use of opium as a stimulant and substitute for alcoholic drinks has become more general in consequence of such legislation, and wheth- ( er public morals have been improved thereby. 1 It shall also be the duty of said commissioners 1 to gather information and take testimony as \ to whether the evils of druukenness exist to , the same extent or more so iu other civilized countries, and whether those foreign nations that are onsidered the most temperate in the ( use of stimulants are so through prohibitory j laws;and also as to what degree prohibitory ] legislation has affected the consumption and j manufacture of malt and spirituous liquors in } this country. Sec. 2. That the said commissioners, all of whom shall not be advocates of prohibito- ( ry legislation or total abstinence, in relation t to alcoholic or fermented liquors, shall serve without salary; shall be authorized to employ a secretary at a reasonable compensation, net to exceed two thousand dollars per year, which, with the necessary expenses, incidental to said investigation, not exceeding ten thousand dollars, of both the secretary and commissioners, shall be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, upon vouchers to be approved by the Secretary of the-Treasury, and for this purpose the sura of 810,000 is hereby appropriated. It shall be the further duty of said commissioners to report the result of their investigation, and the expenses attending the same, to the President, to be by him transmitted to Congress. Almost a Murder. Mr. J. Patrick Palmer, who is a uative of Yorkville, but has beeu residing in Columbia for several years past, narrowly escaped death in the latter city, on Tuesday night of last week, at the hands of a white woman named Jane Smith, who cut him severely with a knife. The deed was committed iu an old house on Bull Street, just above Biauding. ] The Columbia Union furnishes the following i particulars of the affair : j "The building is old and somewhat dilapi- \ dated, having a piazza running the whole ( lenorth. and stands with the side to the street. In this house live, it is stated, several families. , Among them is Mr. J. P. Palmer, the victim of this tragedy. Mr. Palmer is a white man, ^ about thirty-five or forty year9 old, has a wife 1 and children, and is a machinist, working in , the shops of Major Alexander. , In one of the rooms of the same house has lived, up to this time, a white woman by the name of Jane Smith. This woman had re- ( ported, or repeated, something unpleasant k about Mr. Palmer. Last evening, he went 1 home, and meeting the woman in the passage J or one of the rooms, demanded her authority ] for what she had said. As she gave him no f satisfaction, he told her he should hold her ^ responsible for having started the story, and probably used pretty severe language?as, she says, calling her "a lying bitch," or something of the kind. Upon this she sprang upon him { with a concealed jack-knife, striking him under the left ear, and completely severing the 1 exterior jugular vein. With the blood streaming from his wound, Palmer took a seat in 1 the hall, and the alarm being at once given, i Dr. Hydrick, happening to be near at hand, was called in, and held the vein until Drs. t Trezevant and Gibbes arrived. They then t tn *ntA r\lQ/1Q3 on/1 wKnn tea aazxr L1CU LUC VCIU IU L?T VJ piabu, uuu nuvu II w UM .1 the man he was not bleeding at all. He became very weak from loss of blood, and for - some seconds did not seem to breathe at all. He had, however, rallied considerably when 1 we saw him, and could talk quite freely. He t was lying ou a couple of tables in one of the front rooms. Although his case is quite crit- ^ ical, the fact that he has rallied has led to some hope that he may possibly recover. 8 Not much could he learned of Jane Smith, the almost murderess, except that she is a wo- c man of violent temper, and sometimes indul- ( ges in ardent spirits. Rumors were afloat that she had made threats against the life of c Palmer, but they could not be traced to any reliable source. Judge Melton, who lives e near,, hearing the alarm, rushed up the street to the house; and met her quietlv standing c on the sidewalk. He asked her what was the t matter. She replied that she had cut Palmer's throat. That he had insulted her by j nollin/v Viar a Iwinor nr snmpfhincr tn f.hat ta"'"b ** 'J '"b o ? effect, and that she would allow no man to use such language toward her. She made no effort to escape, aud was afterward arrest- \ ed by the police and taken to the station c house." , The Union of Wednesday, in its report of the proceedings at the police court, says: f "Jane Oweus, alias Jane Smith, the would- s be murderess, who so severely stabbed Mr. J Palmer on Tuesday last, was brought forth, e This virago is of very small stature, with a black, snakish-looking eyes, low forehead, and t generally repulsive appearance. She confess- t ed her guilt, and seemed to have no concep- e tion of the magnitude of her crime, but spoke i of it in rather a boastful mauner. She was ] remanded to her cell to await the result of the ? injury inflicted upon Mr. Palmer." \ The Columbia Herald, of Thursday, says: 1 "Mr. J. P. Palmer, who was so terribly cut J by Jane Smith on Tuesday night, is getting along as well as can be expected, taking into consideration the severity of his wound. He was quite comfortable yesterday." t LOCAL AFFAIRS. ' NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. I. II. Zeilin A Co., Macon, (la., and Philadelphia? I Take Simmon's Liver Regulator. fcl. K. Roberts, Chairman?Bridge to let by the County Commissioners. Money lost. T. C. Dunlap, Agent?Yorkville Furniture Store? j Walnut Bedroom Suit?Chairs?Bureaus, I Ac.?Bedsteads ?Suits?Repairing. IV. H. A J. P. Herndon?Sea Powl Guano? Pot and Tin Ware?Flour?Hard Subjects? Dipuers. rosepn A. McLean, Judge of Probate?CitationMrs. Minerva Morton, Applicant?Williain Horton, deceased. r. K. Bates, Administrator?Application for Discharge. Andrew Jackson, Administrator?Application for Discharge. r. M. Dobson A Co.?Spring Goods. Kennedy, Latimer A Hemphill?Hoes, Ac.?Stationery?Linen Towels? Hats?Boots and Shoes?Dress Goods?Groceries. Doty A Walker?"Here's your Mules." retrerys A Metts, Agents?The Diamond Cotton Chopper and Cultivator, with Planter At tachment. W. L. Grist?The Courier-Journal. Carroll, Clark <fe Co.?Right thi.s Way?New Calico?Blankets?Cotton Yarn?&hoes?For the Farmer?Flour?Bacon?A Friendly Warning. TOWN ELECTION. At an election held on Tuesday last, Col. W. H. McCorkle was elected Intendant of ;he town of Yorkville, in place of J. S. R. Thomson, Esq., resigned. DOCTOR JACKSON. We are pleased to state that Dr. Jackson, vho received severe injuries several weeks lg?> by being thrown from Jiis sulky, is re:overing. He has so far recovered as to be ible to quit his bed, and hopes, in a short vhile, to be able to resume his professional luties. COMMITTED FOR BURGLARY. On Thursday last, Bill Edwards, colored, lading from Mecklenburg county, was comnitted to jail by trial justice W. B. Williams, sharged with burglariously entering the dweling of Elias Jackson, of this county, and itealing a coat, a razor, and other articles herefrom. DUNLAP'S FURNITURE STORE. We direct the reader's attention to the advertisement of T. C. Dunlap, who, as agent, ias a full and complete stock of furniture at he stand lately opened by J. B. Withers & ?f_ TV ?i. iL.i L - L ^0. iYir. uuump staiea mm ue is uin&iug irrangeraenta to employ skilled workmen in lis establishment, and we hope his enterprise vill meet with due encouragement at the lauds of our people. COTTON STEALING. On Sunday last, it was ascertained in Ches,er that a number of negroes, bad, on the pre;eeding afternoon, thrown four bales of cotton torn a freight train on the Charlotte, Columjia and Augusta railroad, when the train was n the vicinity of Chester. Attempting to ,ake the cotton to a place of concealment, by mining it up the King's Mountain railroad in a hand-car, led to detection of the theft. Anderson Reiuhardt and a negro named Lewis, hands on the King's Mountain rail oad, aud Adam Carooth and several of the legro train hands on the Charlotte, Columbia md Augusta railroad, all of whom are implicated in the transaction, were committed to he Chester jail to answer for the theft. UU.Iiai 1 1LLI 1 U JAIlii On Saturday last, Hal Johnson, a freednan, was arraigned before United States Dommissioner McManus, charged with projuring, or attempting to procure from the jost-office without authority, the mail matter iddressed to Mr. J. U. Zurcher. During the examination the accused, after making several :onflicting statements, admitted that he had called for Mr. Zurcher's mail. It was proven ;hat he had called for it not less than three iifferent times ou consecutive nights; but it eould not be substantiated positively that he lad received any letters or other mail matter, ifter a full hearing of the case, the Coramislioner decided to bind the accused over for ;rial at the next term of the United States Circuit Court, and in default of bail he was committed to jail. CIRCUIT COURT. The spring term of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions for York county rill convene on the first Monday, 6th day, of kpril next. The petit jury drawn for this :erm consists of nineteen whites and seventeen jolored, as follows: White.?J. H. Abernathy, R. A. Black, T. D. Horn, S. E. Jackson, C. B. Byers, A. E. Hutchinson, J. C. Hoke, T. W. Sturgis, M. H. Currence, M. A. Biggers, W. L. Robertson, lames McCrae, Robert Black, R. T. Gillespie, I. L. Davis, G. H. O'Leary, W". M. Kennedy, John Hammell, James W. Harris. Colored.?Curry Adams, Robert Jackson, 3*i? n:n a A 11 wo.t em. JlltU) VJIUCSpiCf AIUU9 X/UIIU) AliVU A&(*4 V| x^u vard Black, Win. McDill, Carlisle White, Ben. Ratchford, Martin Massey, Richard Barry, Samuel Campbell, John Stewart, Lawion Cathcart, Augustus Bryant, Jackson Mc3arter, Jesse Hamilton. TRANSFERS OF REAL ESTATE. Since our last report, the following trans'ers of real estate in this county have been ecorded by the County Auditor: J. F. Carothers to J. I. Faris. One-third nterest in Carothers Mill property, situated n Ebenezer township. Consideration $1509. T. M. Carothers to W. A. Barron. Onehird interest in same property. Consideraion $1500. R. M. Simms to J. J. Warren. Lot near clock Hill. Consideration $500. Jane and John D. McConnell to Joseph ?. Moore. Tract of 20 acres in Bethesda ownahiD. Consideration $400. Hilariah McCall to Mrs. C. A. McLure. Tract of 277 acres in York township. Conideration $500. i Wra. Lynn to Wm. C. Whitesides. Tract if 34 acres in Bullock's Creek township. Consideration $272. i F. H. Brown to I. D. Witherspoon. Tract i if,290 acres in Ebenezer township. Considiration $882. W. L. Sandifer to R. M. Lindsay. Tract i if 31 acres in Bethesda township. Considera- i ion $155. i James P. Aycock to John L. "Watson. Lot ! n Rock Hill. Consideration $1000. TUf DAniT UTI T PTRF. A UU JUAJUJU A +mmm0w The Rock Hill Orange furnishes the fol-1 owing particulars in regard to the fire which j occurred in that place on Tuesday night of ast week: "The cause of the fire is unknown. When i irst discovered, it had already made consider- ; ibly headway, and the rear portion of Mr. I Jaer's store was wrapped in flames. At first, : ifforts were made to subdue it, but all soon i aw the folly of the attempt to save either i hat building or the two adjoining ones, the ! hree being all wooden structures and forming I ilraost one house, and at once directed their 1 inited efforts upon the building occupied by Mr. Friedheim, which was not more than j i sight yards from the fire; and though the vails smoked and every moment seemed ready '. o blaze, the men stood gallantly between it I ind the fire and by keeping the walls satura-1 ed with water at length saved it, and in so ^ loing the entire business portion of the town. < rhe escape was miraculous. i "The loss of the fire will probably amount j n ten or twelve thousand dollars, covered by ' i an insurance of only three thousand. Capt. \V. L. Roddey's stock of goods was damaged to the amount of twenty-one hundred dollars, but was fully insured. Mr. Dufflost near one thousand dollars from loss and damage to stock in removing it; other merchants suffered smaller losses in the way of blankets and buckets. Two of the buildings were owned by Mr. Russell and the other by the estate of R. M. Kerr, deceased, and at the time were occupied by Williamson A Barber, druggists, Jacob Baer, dry goods merchant, and 8. K. Marks, furniture dealer." Correspondence of the Yorkville Enquirer. LETTER FROM TENNESSEE. Nashville, March 19, 1874. charles 8umner. The second day of December last was the last time I ever spoke to Charles Sumner. I saw 1 " ft?.?.J m V>io oaat in (tio Sflnotd hilt did Ill III UllCinoiu iti mo ovuv ?<v , ? ot get to speak to him or feel the warm pressure of his hand. I always had a liking for Mr. Sumner, although by no means agreeing with him in all his political notions. But I regarded him as a sincere, earnest man, and the most learned statesman in the councils of the nation. The night of the second of December I was at his residence in Washington, accompanied by a mutual friend. The negroes had made preparations to serenade him that night, and I wanted to see the performance. "I tried to persuade them from doing it," said Mr. Sumner to us, "telling them that they had better spend their money to a better purpose than hiring a band to serenade me, but they would do it, and of course," he added, laughing, "I could not rudely decline." It happened the band made a mistake and went to the Baltimore depot, a full mile away, under the impression that he was to be there. I did not regret this on ray own account, as it gave me an opportunity to talk with Mr. Sumner and see something of the manner of his life. ne liveu 1 u u tuicc obuijr uuumi, tnu unii, immediately adjoining the Arlington hotel. His house was tilled with all that was rare and choice?pictures, books, statuary, and precious gems, brought down from the olden time. I never saw so fine a collection of pictures of all descriptions. Many of these were given him by admirers, at home and abroad. His great parlor was so full of statuary and art gems that one could hardly move about without running against some of them. His study was up stairs, immediately over the parlor. Here was a great table in the centre of the room, loaded down with books, documents and papers. All around, the walls were so thickly covered with pictures that you could hardly see a square inch . of the original surface. The chairs and sofas were filled with books, so much so that when visitors came the books would often have to be emptied onto the floor to give them seats. There he lived and there he died. He had three or four iiervants, took his meals at home, and entertained his few iutimate friends ele - - ? t gantly. He kept no carriage, but rode oacK and forth, to and from the Senate in the street cars. We remained with him until the band commenced playing, when we went down to hear the speech. A slight rain was falling, and he did not speak long. He counseled the colored people to be sober, industrious, earn their own living and strive to educate themselves and their children. While Mr. Sumner has frequently given the negroes bad advice, we must admit that he has often given them good advice also. I am by no means an admirer of Mr. Sumner's political course, taken as a whole. But he has performed many noble actions. I was in the gallery of the Senate a year and a half ago, when he introduced his famous "battle flag resolution." That was one of the good deeds of his life. The substance of tne resolution was that the name of none of the battles of the late war should be inscribed on the regimental flags, because we are now one nation, and the memory of the civil war should not be cherished in a manner to wound the feelings of the southern people. We could not, Mr. Sumner said, invite the southern people to swear faithful allegiance to a flag that bears the insignia of their defeat He wanted all reference to the civil war stricken from the flags of the army and the country. For this noble act of magnanimity the skillet-headed, shallow-brained, short-sighted legislature of Massachusetts passed resolutions severely censuring Mr. Sumner. This wounded him very much, but did not change his opinions. A more liberal legislature, stimulated by an enlightened public sentiment, expunged the "censure" a short time ago, and the same was presented to the Senate a few days before the Senator's death. As is well known, Mr. Sumner called upon his bead the vials of wrath from the Radical party by his support of Greeley against Grant at the last Presidential election. He was, in truth, for reconciliation with the South. The great fault we have to find with him, was his advocacy of the odious civil rights bill, with its numerous objectionable features. But let his memory be revered for his noble traits, and let bis faults be buried with him. The grave is at the end of the road which each of us travel, and we should extend the same charity to the memory of those who have gone before that we ourselves desire at the last day. "After life's fitful fever, He sleeps well." AN OPEN WINTER. The winter opened about three months ago? and has not closed yet. The fact is, there has been no winter, to speak of, the country over. Here in this latitude the people are concerned about ice, and well they may be, for the ice crop of the Iforth is "thin" indeed. You in Yotkville, and the country nearer the coast, are better off in that particular than the people here. You can get ice from the North by way of the sea, and in any quantity. If the "crop" in New York and Boston is 3hort, you can go to Greenland and tow down an ice berg. The people here cannot do that, unless they brought the "berg" around by New Orleans, ana by the time they get it here it would be melted away to a puddle of salt water. Nemo. LAWS or THE STATE. . An Act to Establish Certain State Scholarships in the University of South Carolina. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same: Section 1. That for the purpose of extending the benefit of a higher education to the ^ citizens of this State there shall be, and there ? are hereby established, in the University of ] South Carolina, permanent Quadrennial State Scholarships, which shall be appointed among I the several counties of this State according to the number of representatives from the said counties iu the General Assembly, each scholar to receive two hundred dollars per annum : Provided, That each County shall send but one scholar for the first year after the passage of Ibis aot, and annually thereafter, on the first Monday in June. The State board of examiners shall so apportion the number of scholarships to each county as will, at the expiration of four years, complete the number to which each county may be entitled, and i