The free South. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864, April 18, 1863, Image 2
v ' *
&
I ( *
X
THE FREE SOUTH.1
_ 1
BEAUFOUT, S. C., APRIL 18, 1863. 1
Agents for tlie Free South. (
Ta.yi.ob & Co. Hilton llcad, and St. Helena Island.
C. C. Leic.il, No. 1 Mercer street, New York.
Abolition?How will it Affeet the | ,
North.
In days gone by, wlien the abolition of i (
" slavery was urged upon the attention of i
the jjeople, one of the commonest expedients
resorted to by the pro-slavery party, 1
X to resist the influence of the growing anti\
slavery sentiment of the north, was the
J assertion that the pecuniary interest of
the north was so dependent upon the slave
system, that the abolition of the latter
' *1 -?-?n AAn,mA.niQl I
would mevitaoiy result JLI1 WllUlva viut :
ruin and bankruptcy. In spite of the
millions of dollars that have slipped
through the fingers of northern men in
consequence of the rebellion, which, to a 1
great extent, was a consequence of the
bankruptcy of the south, there are still to ;
be found men who tliink that with the j
destruction of slavery must come serious
loss to the manufactures and trade of the
north. With people who believe in God
f and in the equal justice of the laws which
he has established for the government of
the world, no argument is needed to show
that the perpetration of wrong toward one
class of men, must result in loss to all
others; and that the doing of justice, how- !
ever much it may seem to interfere with
the accustomed avenues of trade, must
really, by restoring things to their natural
and true relations, increase the prosperity
and happiness of all concerned.
The natural and sufficient answer to
those persons who anticipated ruined trade
as the result of freedom, was, that by
making the four million slaves free and
independent laborers, with all the wants 1
- *
and desires that go wiui mai couiuuuu, ,
the demand for all those articles the man- I
ufacture and sale of which have increased
the wealth of the north to so great an ex- '
tent, would be increased tenfold. The
owner of three hundred slaves, bought,
we will say, one hundred pairs of shoes in
the course of a year, (and this, be it remembered,
is rather above than under the
^ y average,) ?ow in a state of freedom, in- j
stead of one, there will be three hundred
pairs of shoes needed. And so it will be
p with all the necessaries of life, while there
t^T be a corresponding demand for the
j^j^ents aijd luxuries on life also. Any j
of this department spend their mOSPP?^Q
the comforts and necessaries of life, can
have no doubt of the really immense opportunities
which will be opened to northern
enterprise by the abolition of slavery.
as rapidly as they acquire the means,
they will desire to possess themselves of
those tliiifgs that are supposed to mark in
a peculiar manner the condition ofjx superior
and a free people.
With all the talk about southern hospitality,
it is evident to us that a large proportion
of the planters of the south lived j
in a style which would have been scarcely I
tolerable to a fourth-rate Pennsylvania
farmer. Now let these planters be freed
from the incubus of slavery, or let north- '
""" 4 n# fliA nlnntatinno.
C1JLA 1UCU WUV VMV ,
and tlien with the spirit of enterprise
which freedom will infuse into all departments
oi labor, a new and entirely satisfactory
state of things will soon appear.
Where there is one decent and habitable
liouse, a dozen will be needed, with the
furniture and other things that belong to
a decent house. In fact, there is scarcely
a single article manufactured at the north ;
which will not find a ready and profitable
market at the south ; ahd in addition to
this, the wealth of the south being founded
upon something real, the labor of a
free and intelligent people, commercial .
reverses, bankruptcy and repudiation may |
be considered among the things of the
past.
??????? ?
Elections*
The most vehement and intensely excited
political canvass that ever agitated a i
state, closed in Connecticut on the 6th
inst., and the result is a substantial and
gratifying triumph. Gov. Buckingham I
and the whole republican-union state tick- j
et are re-elected by handsome majorities,
three of the four members of congress, I
(one gain,) and a legislature overwhelm- i
ingly right. Connecticut stands by the ,
government and the union. The state of- ,
ficers elected are as follows: William A. ;
Buckingham, of Norwich, governor; Roger
Averill, of Danbury, lieut.-governor; J. !
H. Trumbull, of Hartford, secretary of
state; Gabriel W. Coite, of Middletown,
treasurer; Leman W. Cutler, of Watertown,
Comptroller. Members of next
congress: Col Henry C. Deming, of Hartford,
district I; *Hon. James E. English, I
of New Haven, district II; Augustus
Brandeger, of New London, district III; i
John H. Hubbard, (gain,) of Litchfield,
district IV. The senate is 15 to 21, and i
the house at least two-thirds republicanunion.
ECHOES FROM THE WEST.
8t. Louis, the great free heart of Missouri,
held her charter election on the 6th,
and the result is a glorious radical unionist
(or charcoal) triumph, Cliauncey J. 1
Filley, their candidate for mayor having
I,500 majority oyer his uncle, Oliver P. j
Filley, moderate emancipationist (clayDank),
and 3,000 majority over Joseph
O'Neil, copperhead. tl
Jefferson City also elected a radical I
emancipationist mayor on the same day. g
And to this magnificent record, we J
must add that in Indiana, where township t
elections were held, we have 011 every e
hand most gratifying gains for the uncon- j t
ditional union cause. ' e
i a
Member of the late House.
I C
Lord Lyons listened to the plans of ,
these conspirators to break up the Union,
and not exactly liking the prospective
result of an attempt on the part of England
to interfere in favor of the south, gave his
own opinion on the subject as follows:
"All things considered, my own opinion certainly
is that the present moment is not a favor- !
able one for making an offer of mediation. It
might embarrass the ]>cace party, and even oblige
them, in order to maintain their popularity, to
make some public declarations against it, and
this might make it difficult for them to accept a
similar offer at a more propitious time."
Throughout his letter Lord Lyons manifests
a thorough sympathy for the rebels
?as most English aristocrats naturally do
?and yet he is shrewd enongh to see that
the "conservative lenders," as he calls
them, could never induce their followers
to act hand in hand with their old enemy
England, for the purpose of breaking up
this glorious republic. He therefore most j
firmly advises his government to keep out
of a bad scrape, and defer their intervention
to a more promising occasion.
This letter of the English minister is a
most valuable document in this crisis, as
showing the disunion tendencies of the
copperhead leaders.
Cromwell ox Destructive Coxserva- i
tism.?In a speech to Parliament in 1056, j
the Great Protector, defending his admin- !
istratiou, touched upon a doctrine which
is popular just now with the friends of se- j
cession and the enemies of the national
life, and exposed its fallacy, almost as if by
anticipation :
" If nothing should ever be done,"said i
he, "but what is 'according to law* the
throat of the nation may bo cut while we 1
send for some to make a law ! Therefore,
certainly it is a pitiful beastly notion to
think, though it be for ordinary government,
to live by law and rule, yet if a government
in extraordinary circumstances go
beyond the law, even for self preservation,
it is to be clamored at and blattered at. ;
When matters of necessity come then,
without guilt, extraordinary remedies may j
be applied. And I must say I do not know
one action of this government, no, not one, j
but it hath been in order to the peace and
safety of this nation," j
I
The Copperheads Seeking the Inter* 1 {
vention of England.
A remarkable letter, written bv Lortl ?
J
Lyons, English minister at "Washington,
to Earl Russeli, has just been published. 1
It throws no little light upon the schemes C
and plottings of the copperhead leaders, 1
and ought to convince every patriot that 1
these men are the worst enemies of their
country. The letter was written in No- v
vember last, and gives some account of
the consultations held by Lord Lyons with
sundry democrats of New York, whom he 1
styles the " conservative leaders." It appears
that these copperheads were anxious
to put an end to the war by means of the j
intervention of European nations, and it
was with reference to this matter that they
sought an interview with the English min- ^
ister. They were only embarrassed in their
scheme by a knowledge of the feelings of ^
the American people toward England, and
a fear that attempted intervention on the ,
part of the English government would j
only kindle to fury the patriotic enthusiasm
of the loyal people. Hear Lord ^
Lyons on tliis point. Jie says:
44 Several of the leaders of the democratic party I
sought interviews with me, both before and after j *
the arrival of the intelligence of Gen. McClellau's \
dismissal. The subject uppermost in their minds ^
while they were speaking to me was naturally
that of foreign mediation between the North and <
South. Maay of them seemed to think that this j
mediation must come at last; but they appeared .
to be very much afraid of its coming too soon, j
It was evident that they apprehended that a 1
premature proposal of foreign intervention would 1
afford the radical party a means of reviving the
violent war spirit, and of thus defeating tho
peaceful plans of the conservatives. They appeared
to regard the present moment as peculiarly ' 3
unfavorable for such an offer, and, indeed, to
hold that it would be essential to the success of
any proposal from abroad that it should be dc- j 1
ferred until the control of the executive govern- .
ment should be in the hands of the conservative j ,
party.
441 gave no opinion on the subject. I did not | 1
say whether or not I myself thought foreign in- '
tervention probable or advisable+T>ut I listen^L
with attention to the ncooants given ine of the
plans and hoj>es of the conservative party. At j
the bottom I thought I perceived a desire to put^r
an end to war, eveu at the risk of losing tlm
southern states altogether; but it was plain thalj
not A^^fl^^n^enMoawiwthif^gjircH j
aiJ i/Prc!so ill-jeceive!nmt^trongdeehdi
rmMpn in the contrary sense was deemed ueceswy
by the democratic leaders."
Lord Lyons goes on to state that tlie
desire of the "conservatives" was, bj;
j means of this foreign mediation, to secure
j an armistice, and if possible have a couI
vention of all the states, for the purpose
j of setthng all our difficulties. He adds,
| however, that these men were well aware
that 44 the more probable consequence of
such an armistice would be the estab- j
lishment of southern independence." And
it is noticeable in this connection that
these 4' conservatives" desired to put it
out of the power of the nation to avoid
granting the rebel states their independ- !
ence, in case they utterly refused to return
to the Union, for they proposed to have
this refusal backed by the whole power of
Tvr, nrlnnrl on/I ofljor fmvnom nnfinns
TS
4
V
*
V
- . ssi1Heroes
and IHartyr*.
111 April, 18G2, an expedition to destroy
lie communications on the Georgia State j 1
tailroad between Atlanta and Chattanoo- o
a was undeilaken at the suggestion ot f<
. J. Andrews, a Kentuckian, and under j s
he authority and direction of Gen. Mitch- ' p
1. It was proposed, says the Tribune. < a
o reach a point on the road where tiny j u
ould seize a locomotive and train of cars j c
nd^fchen dash back toward Chattanooga, ' f
utting the telegraph wires and burning j c
ho liriMrrpwi behind them as tliev wocee'd- ci
O v A
J until they reached their own lines, > <3
Che expedition consisted of twenty-fonr j 1
nen, selected for their courage and dis- \
retion. They succeeded in reaching Ma- ! t
ietta in small parties, wearing citizens' t
Iress and carrying only side arms. ; s
Next morning they took the refclrn \
rain to accomplish their plan. At Big j 1
Shanty, while the engineer and passen^rs j c
vere breakfasting, they detached the loco- j ?
notive and three cars from the train, and ?
started at full speed for Chattanooga. "By 1
he time schedule which Mr. Andre wahad t
)btained they ought to have met only one j t
;rain, but they were encountered by-iwo ' 1
ixtra trains which delayed them an Lour ' (
uid brought their pursuers close upon i
hem. They were unable to shake them J i
}ff, and after running a hundred miles, j <
heir wood, water, and oil were exhausted <
ind the rebels in sight behind them. '
They had no alteraative but to abandon ; <
he train and fly to the woods, and they ;
vere soon afterward hunted down by ]
bloodhounds and every one captured. ]
The narrative of Judge-Advocate?Gen- j
;ral Holt and the depositions of fhre of i
the party who escaped, describe tl?a tor- ]
tures and murders with wliich rebej bar- i
barity punished the heroic attempt of i
these noble soldiers. The details art hor- :
rible in the extreme, but they deserve to j
be read by whoever cares to understand :
the spirit of this rebellion and the charac- .
ters of its leaders. The enterprise which i
was undertaken was perfectly justified by <
military law, and those who attempted it,
were entitled when captured, to the ordinary
treatment of prisoners of war. In- ,
stead of which, seven were murdered out-1
right, merciless flogging was employed to )
extort a confessior^Jrom one, an<Lall of j
them were the victims of more than sav- .
age cruelties. Six escaped, and six were '
finally exchanged. All the rest are sup- '
(j*?spa foTiavg
This?pedition.waa ?, JjSf6""!
conception and iutl.epi(j ^ i^'* tl0Tnj
'W ^.Vcffory hicU tin, nnr w3D' 1
sneee.^tjrrT-1-~>j^ ^ y^plKoen ^>?.:
immense importance, probably uelhoying
the possibility of prolonged resistance by ;
the rebels in the south west. If failed j
from no want of foresight or courage, but
from an accident impossible to be anticipated.
Letctiie nation generally honor
and reward ^ie heroes who survive, and
gratefully remember the martyrs yho died
in its service.
The New Postal Lavrj
The new bill passed by congress makes
many important changes in the rates of
postage, rules, and regulations which gov- j
em the post office department. HWe make
a brief summary of some of the most im- i
porta lit. t
The new law goes into effect yn the 1st
of July next.
Letter carriers are to receivf salaries,
and no charge will be made fox the delivery
or collection of letters. "t
Postage on local or 4' drop letters " is
raised to two cents, to be invrtiably paid
in advance, and by postage stamps. The
postage is two cents when the weight does
not exceed half an ounce, and an additional
rate is to be charged for every additional
half ounce or fraction of an ounce.
The regulations respecting jobbers' letters
remain the same as heretofore.
On all mail matter required by law to
be prepaid, and which shall reach its des- j
tination unpaid, double the usual rates
must be collected on delivery, and insufficient
payment is to be disregarded.
r,1L - ' th* 1 lO '
iiie let lor ixie reyjsuivuuu ui icvwio u> .
left optional with the postma|fer general; ;
but it is not to exceed twenty cents per '
letter.
Unsealed circulars, not exceeding tliree !
to one address, are to be tharged with
two cents postage, and in that proportion
for a greater number. { '
Newspaper postage will uShlergo considerable
change. No papers will be permitted
to go free in the mails, except in ;
the county where published, as hereto- \
fore.
Weekly papers five cents per quarter,
semi-weekly ten cents, ti>weekly fifteen
cents, six tin^s per week thirty-five cents.
At those rates the weight must not exceed I
four ounces?in each casejmyable in advance
per quarter of year, either at the
mailing or delivery office.
No extra charge is to be made for a card
printed or impressed up^i a circular or i
letter, envelope or wrappMfct Circulars to
be prepaid by stamps. jM
Postmasters will not be allowed to exercise
the franking privilege as heretofore.
Postmasters can only frank official letters
to other officials?the former license
to the smaller class of offices heretofore
enjoyed, of franking on their own private
lincirtocci liuvinff fllmlisllpd.
All foreign postage is to be paid in coin, i
Your wife cannot have been too dearly
avqii, if you and she m dearly one, '
m v
b
*
NEWS. <
We liave seen Savannah papers of the ]
4th, which contain hut meagre accounts <
f the operations of our fleet and land j <
orces before Charleston. From the ah- i (
ence of boasting with regard to the im- ]
regn ability of the defences of the city, |
nd from the reticent tone of the articles J
ipon the subject, wc infer that the results .
fi xi 4-Ka offoof nf iViP i
n me recouuunsmiue, mm uic UA1V.VV VTA. VMW | ,
ew shot thrown by the iron-cla<ls by way j
?f feelers, have not increased the confi- ,
!
lence of the rebels. The little that they | lo
give us is in the main correct. They :
lave, however, fallen into a trifling error (
nth regard to the Keokuk. They infer
hat as she disappeared from view beneath (
he waters, she was sunk by one of their ,
hot. Nothing but the fact that "the
rish is father to the thought" could have
)lindcd the eyes of sane men to the ex;eeding
improbability of the sinking of a
ihip by a single shot, making a hole that
in old hat would stop.
It will at this time do no harm to reveal
tome peculiarities in the construction of
;he "Keokuk," that have not heretofore
seen made public. Lest some of the officers
of the navy should be snspected of an
ndiscretion in communicating to us these
mportant facts, we premise that no officer
jonneoted with the army or navy in this
lepartment gave us this information, but
sve have received it from an altogether inlependent
source.
It has, of course, been evident to the
least observant of our readers, who have
had an opportunity of seeing tliis vessel
as she lay in the harbor of Port Royal,
that she was altogether different in plan j
from the well-known "Monitors." In- |
stead of the revolving turrets, her anna- j
ment is placed in stationary towers ; and I
instead of a flat deck, she presents to the j
view a rounded top, which is most correctly
described by the term "turtle-back."
In truth, we may say that this animal suggested
the principle upon which she was
constructed in other and more important
particulars than mere outward resem*
? '1 I 1 3
blance. In our youmiui nays we uu*o
trod the shore of a quiet lake, in the
drowsy summer afternoon, and in th*^*'sence
of other game, ourself by
shooting at the jp* quietly sunuing
themselves u?^ floating log; and
though- they oftentimes, we might say al?*,tcys,
slipped into the water, and unconcernedly
paddled off, just beneath the surface,
to some safer haunt, we never really
believed that wo. had sunk a turtle. In
truth we ever laid a dim suspicion that
the turtle hud hden too much for lis./' So
in the case off the I^eokuk. 'No rfoubt
most of our readers, as well as our enemies,
will be surprised to learn that by a
simple yet ingenious contrivance, receiving
into her compartments a suflicient
amount of water to diminish her buoyancy,
she quietly crept off, near the bottom,
making the explorations with which
wliich she was charged, and actually bringing
away, when she crawled out of the
harbor, quite a number of torpedoes and
infernal machines.
We may be allowed to add that the
reconnoisance toward Charleston was
mainly, we suspect, undertaken for the
express purpose of obtaining the informa- j
tion about the torpedoes and other obstructions
which has been so successfully
procured by the "Turtle."
a/1 ^ a r\t ovinf
UC HXtJ lUlUIlUCU buub uuo vi vuv ouvv
from the iron-clads walked into Fort
Sumter just merely to pass the time of ,
day, and not finding the door open,
knocked a little hole for its passage about i
as big as the side of a house. Our own
preparations are nearly completed for re- i
moving our office to Charleston. Our
readers at Port Royal will not, however,
suffer on that account, as constant com- !
munication will enable us to continue to 1
furnish our subscribers with the latest and
most reliable intelligence.
The steamer James F. Freeborn arrived
on Thursday last, forty-eight hours from
Hampton Roads, bringing very important
despatches from Washington to Coinmo- !
dore Dupont and General Hunter. She
brought papers to the 11th. The news j
contained in them was unimportant, with j
the exception of the rebel accounts of the
fight at Charleston. The withdrawal of
our forces from the harbor produced no
perceptible effect on the money market
and but little excitement. The Freeborn
sailed 011 Thursday afternoon with a mail !
for Washington and the north.
Four deserters came down 011 WednesTi'nrf
Pnlnaki niwl dplivprod tlipm
selves up. They brought papers to the 1
14th. The most important news in them
is a report from the army in Tennessee,
that Van Dom had been attacked by a .
portion of the federal army under Rose- i
crans, and completely routed, with great
losses in killed and wounded. Two batteries,
army stores, camp equipage, etc.,
were captured, and a Brigadier Geifcral
was killed.
The precise locality of the battle is not
stated, but we presume it was in the vicinity
of Duck river, where Van Doru has
t
had a corps for some time, watcliing an
opportunity to flank Rosecrans and come ,
in behind him, to attack Nashville. It is
probable that by a sudden movement this
design has been frustrated and Van Dora
surprised and beaten.
From Vicksbnrg we have nothing very
definite, It seems that all attempts to .
?
:ake the place by strategic movements are
ikely to prove failures. The numerous
cut-offs are always on the point of being
completely successful, but there they stop.
[)ur forces seem to be about as far as ever
1
from flanking the rebel position. The old
"Father of Waters" is not to be turned j
from his course by Yankee ingenuity. }
Full of twists and turns as the crankiest 1
of old gentleman of property and stand- ,
ing, lie has more than a large share of
stubbornness when he finds you taking ad- j
vantage of his peculiarities.
On Monday afternoon last, two rebels i
came in a small boat to a point near Barn- i
well's plantation, where they hid them- i
selves in the marsh. About 5 o'clock a !
colored man left the shore in a dug-out, j
intending to fish in Broad river. As soon ]
as he was anchored the rebels left their
hiding-place and went toward him. When !
quite near they fired upon, probably !
wounding him, as he was heard to cry I
out. He was then transferred to the rebel I
boat and carried off to Dixie. The whole j
movement was -witnessed from the shore
by our pickets, but the tide was so low
that a boat could not be sent to his rescue.
The unfortunate man formerly belonged
to the Boland estate, situated nearly opposite
the Campbell place, where lie has
lived since his escape last November from
the main. It is thought that Tom Boland.
his former master, was one of the
captors, if so, God help poor Absalom.
The negroes who witnessed the capture
were anxious to go to his assistance but
were destitute of cartridges.
About 12 o'clock on Monday night two
boat-loads of men attempted to land near
the same place, but were driven off by the
negro pickets. The enemy seem to have
been unusually active during the past
week, and our pickets are consequently
on the qui rive.
It has been reported that the Patapseo
monitor, which returned to the harbor,
was seriously injured by the fire of the
rebel batteries. We learn that such is
not the case. The Patapseo is im.ej>K^r
lent condition, and wilL-pr6bably ere long
give the r^n ls a taste of he^ quality. Hei
' gftllant commander is anxious to convince
the most skeptical rebel of the power and
i endurance of his craft.
i * i v vrr i ,
me wrecK 01 tne uoorge ?asmngton
has been a bone of contention during the
last ten days between the rebels and oiu
forces. On Saturday it was evident that
an attempt was being made by the rebels
to obtain lier guns. The wreck was visited
by parties from the opposite shore,
who probabfli obtained thaclothingof the
er<f\fr and so&lierq formerly on boaiti. A
batten* was lent out on Saturday vfelflfig
which threw shell upon the wreck and
soon made her deck too hot for comfort.
From the position of the boat it will he a
matter of some difficulty for either party
to work at her, as she lies within range of
! both batteries. ^ * - r- -'
The circumstances of her loss are being
. investigated by a court of inquiry.
From a friend in Key West, we learn
i that the clerk of the United States Prize
Court has skedaddled with about $90,000
of government funds. He obtained permission
to visit Havana for the alledged
purpose of procuring a sword, which was
to be presented to Col. Good by certain
parties in Key West who were allowed to
remain after the arrival of that officer to
take command. The clerk himself was a
noted copperhead, and has been retained
in office by Judge Marvin in spite of the
, protests of loyal men. The whole civil
administration of Key West is rotton to
the core, and ought to be purified. /
Members of the recent Kentucky Convention,
who have lately arrived in Washington say thata
large majority of its members were as heartily
and unconditionally loyal as those of any political
convention that has assembled in any State
this vmt Thpt* wore no fulniination* ntrniutt
Alwlition ; 110 denunciations of the Administration
; no talk about -'nigger." During the session,
Messrs. Wicklifte, Mai lory. Wads worth,
and Yeardon, so noisy in the House of Representatives
last winter, were silent at home.
And when Mr. Cravens of Indiana sought to
express his Coppi^ead sentiments in unusually
mild phraseology, he was hooted down. Their
colleague, Mr. Casey, 011 the other hand, the
only meml>cr from Kentucky that voted for evenwar
measure, who was told by Garrett Davis,
shortly before the adjournment,, that he would
be hung by the loyal citizens if he dared to come
home, found almost every county represented by
men in thorough sympathy with him, seme of
them among the largest slaveholders in the
State.
Fred. A. Mitchel. son of the late lamented
Gen. Mitchell, recently enlisted as a private in
the regular army, which fact coming to the
knowledge of the president and secretary of war,
he was at once prompted to a second lieutenancy
in the 16th United States Infantry. Lieutenant
Mitchell served eighteen months as a captain
and aid-de-camp 011 his father's staff. 011 whose
death lie was mustered out of service w hen lying
at death's door with the yellow fever at l'ort
Jloral. 8. C'. Being a chip of the okl block, and
inheriting his father's nervous activity and restless
energy, he determined to enlist, as there is
now no provision of law by which he conld receive
a commission.
Ptirties at a (lead-lock should extricate
themselves with a skeleton key.
"Why is the letter U a most uncertain
one? Because it is always in doubt.
Ibon-ical Mem.?An "old tile" is preferable
to an "old screw,'1
* f *
4 if
\ r
' #
.i
i
. <
A PROCLAMATION. ,
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. <
Whew*, the Senate of the United, r
States, devoutly recognizing the supreme
authority and just government of Almighty ? f
God in all the affairs of meu and nations,
has, by a resolution, requested the President
to designate and set apart a day for
National prayer and humiliation; *
And whereas, it is the duty of nations
as well as of men to own their dependence
upon the overruling power of God, to
confess their sins and transgressions in
humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that
genuine repentance will lead to mercy and
pardon, and to recognize the sublime
truths announced in the Holy Scriptures
and proven by all history, that those nations
only are blessed whose God is the
Lord;
And, insomuch as we know that, by his
divine law, nations, like individuals, are
subjected to punishments and chastisement*
in tliis world, may we not justly
fear that the awful calamity of civil war, #
which now desolates the bind, may be but
! a punishment indicted upon us for our
presumptuous sins, to the needful end of >
! our national reformation as a whole people?
We have been the recipients of the
; choicest bounties of heaven. We have
' been preserved these many years in peace
i and prosperity. We have grown in numbers,
wealth ,*and power, as 110 other nation .
has ever grown* But we have" forgotten
God. We have forgotten the gracious
hand which preserved us in peace, and
multiplied and enriched and strengthened
"? ?? . * liava vniltlv inmrniHvl in fVlA
lift, illlll M ^ lUIHgiMVU) ?w
deceitfulness of orfr hearts, that all these
| blessings were produc ed by some superior
j wisdom aud virtue of our own. Intoxiea- ^
I ted with unbroken success, we have be- *
come too self-sufficient to feel the necessity
of redeeming and presefviug grace, too
proud to pray to the God that mack us!
It behooves us, then,
selves before thej^ffij^nfledPower, to coni
is? ows^^national sins, and to pray for
f! clemency and forgiveness.
' Now, therefore, in compliance with the ^
1 request, and fully concurring with the
^ , views of the Senat^^ do, by> this my
r proclamation, designate apd set apart
1 Thursday, the 30th day of fApril, I8G3, as
a day of national humiliation, fasting and
prayer. And I do hereby request all the
people to abstain frbin their ordinary sec'
ular pursuits ancl to unite, at their several
phices of public worship and their respect(
ive homes, in keeping the day holy to the
. Lord, and devoted to the humble disi
oLuir#o j>f the riiyidus duties ])roi>er to
| that sqfcnin ocfasfcu. , i
.ill this being idone in s%oerttv ?
truth, let us then jest humbly in the hope, '
| authorized by the divine teacliings, that
! the united cry of the nation will be heard j
on highland answered with blessings, n6 \
less than the pardon of opr national sins,
and restoration of our now divided and
suffering country to its former happy condition
of unity and i>eace.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set
j my hand, and caused the seal of the Unij
ted States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this
thirtieth day of March, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight
; [l. ] hundred and sixty-three, and of the
tlin T'nitn/I Qfofna
lUUC|;i'UUCULC vi vuv vuiwu Mvawu
the eighty-seventh.
A BRA II AM LINCOLN. J
tBy the President: H*
William H. Seward, Sec'v of State. y
t ^ " J
The Yankee.?No other man is like 4 ?
him. It has been said of him, .that he
was made for all stations, and manages to
work his may in all places. Place him upon
a rock in the middle of the ocean, with
a penknife and a bunch of shingles, he
! would work his way 011 shore. He sells
i salmon, from Keunebeck, to the people of I
Charleston; haddock, fresh from Cape ^
I Cod, to the planters of Matanzas; raises
i coffee in Cuba; swaps mules and horses
i for molasses, in Porto Pico; retails ice
from Fresh Pond in Cambridge, in the
! East Indies; takes mutton from Brighton,
j to New Orleans and to South America;
manufactures mucalis for the governor of j
Jamocia; becomes an admiral in a foreign ( y
nation; starts in a cockle-shell craft of fif- j1 (
J teen tons, loaded with onions, mackerel, 1
and "notions,'' for Valparaiso; baits his II
| trap on the Columbia; catches wild beasts M
in Africa, for Macomber's caravan; seU^^mf
granite on contract, to rebuild St. Juan <Ie
! Ulloa; crosses the Rio Grande, and daI
guerreotvpes dead Mexicans; he is ready,
like Ledyard, to start for Timbuctoo, to- ij
morrow morning?exile himself for years
from homo, to sketch 111 their wilderness
i the wild men of the woods, and astonishes
refined Europe with the presence of the ,
untutored savage. Introduced to Mettcr- | /
nich, he asks, "what's the news?" Says ; F
"how do you do, marin?" to Queen Vic- ( %/\
toria. Prescribes Thompson's eye water /'
to the mandarins of China, and if he I J
pleases, makes the scouting southerns /
rich with cotton inventions. He is found /
foremost among those 'who sway the ele- J
meiits of society?is the schoolmaster of j
his country, and missionary for the hea-*
then world. He is unequaled, in fact,/
and instead of going round-about wayatf
starts across lots for any desired point.-f. i
If perpetual motion is ever discovered, j
he will be sure to be the lucky contriver
?for he is the faeotum for the whole