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COLUMBIA. S?Tuesday Morning, July 30, 1867. That Re-act Ion-Will lt Cornel There are few of our readers who do not know, by reputation, at least, tho ability with which the New York Journal of Commerce is conducted, and has been conducted for years. In a recent able article, that journal predicts tbero either will bo a groat re-action in this country, or an ad? vance in the revolutionary legislation now going on; for it very justly says, ?wo have not yet reached a.. abiding place, whero the country can rest. It holds that the men who are re? sponsible for the hazardous experi? ment now making must finish their work, or they will be ignominiously hurled from power, and. crushed in the undoing of that which they at? tempted. They understand this, and here hes the danger; and the Journal adds, that it is really difficult to de? termine the strength of the hold which the revolution bas on the pub? lic mind, and it remains to be seen how much further tho country will go with them without fear of re-ac? tion. It is plain that tho 'right which they claim-to do whatever they de? termine shall bo done, without re? straint or limit-cannot be perma aent, and can only bo adopted as a means to an end; and when this is reached, who shall guard tho actors themselves from the spirit which ?hey havo invoked? In tho out? working of this principle, the Journal says, is tho grand hope of those who look for an early restoration of tho supremacy of tho Constitution, for when thoso who have substituted their own will for tho fundamental . law aro brought to face the exercise of this authority by nuother hand, their eyes will bo opened to tho error they have committed, nud they will be tho first to clamor for present freedom and future safety in a resto? ration of the checks they despised in tho wantonness of their power. This may be, and probably is, all true, but what incalculable mischief, uotonly to tho South, but to tho wholo country, may bo done in the meantime. The Journal does not look for what many apprehend-a series of wrongs and cruelties towards thoso whose legal rights are held in abey? ance-but nevertheless, it truly says that, if tho re action anticipated does not come, the organic changes in our system still to bo made will leave no ve?tige of theinstitutionsoncodeenied so essential to tho very existenco of tho republic. We do not know, and tho wisest men in the country do not know, the courso of procedure to be adopted in this crisis of our country's fate. The people of our own State, and of the other Southern States, have but littlo choico of action, further than to do all thoy can towards reconstruction. With tho people of the Northern States, it ia different-they can, by their expressed opinion, in mass meet? ings or in conventions, sway public opinion to such au extent as to pro? duce a re-action in national legisla? tion; but the re-action must hist com? mence with the people themselves, whoso voice will bo all-potent and powerful in bringing us pence and restoration. -? ? ? ? The Winston (X. C.) Sentinel states that the body of a negro who hud boen missing for several days lias been found in the river. Tho head was completely severed from the trunk. Suspicion was attached to his wife, who was arrested and con? fessed hor complicity with two whito mon in tho murder. One of the white men had promised to many her as soon as her husband was out of tho way, and with the assistance of tho white mon she cut off lier hus? band's head. IVorli I Work!! "In the sweat of thy face shalt thoa eat bread," was the decree of his Creator, in sending man adrift upon the world, and every effort to thwart this decree on the part of mau, has almost universally resulted disas? trously to the raco of Adam. In this degenerate-so-called civilized-age, tho rebellion to this decree is most prominent. "Work" is esteemed dis? honorable to tho position of a gentle? man, especially that which apper? tains to tilling tho soil. Young men will seek employment behind tho counters of dry-goods sellers or grocery stores, or even behind those of bar-rooms, rather than go behind tho plow, qr take up tho spado or the hoe, to cultivate the lauds, which in this country at the present time cry aloud for laborers. Tho Now York Tribune, in au arti? cle urging tho idle young men in tho Northern towns and cities to go to tho West as farmers, whero a compe? tency is sure to follow industry, says: "From many, the reply is, 'O yes; this is very fine; but I was not brought up to work, or if I had been, I nm not going to be a clod-hopper. ' Wo will tell you another secret. Within ten years, a great change has taken place regarding labor. The majority of mechanics make more money than the majority of prof e ?ional men ; and common laborers gee more money 1 than clerks. In ten years more, the difference will bo still greater. Wo look to seo labor rise to tho dignity of the professions, when, perhaps, as much will be paid for splitting a hundred rails as for preaching a ser? mon. Every age differs; but iu every age, work is tho key tr) Success. " Tho Tribune is right; but whether tho progress of tho great chango to which it refers, as to tho dignity of labor, enfo- d ns it has been, for many years, >y thc energetic appeals and logical arguments of the press, will produco the natural result, re? mains to .JC seen. In the South, it would appear there is 6ome slight im? provement in this respect, yet it is so very slight as scarcely to deserve note or comment. Her people, thrown on their own resources, tberr-rands de? spoiled, their labor"demoralized, and they themselves steeped in poverty, have not, notwithstanding ali this pressure, gone to work with that ear? nestness and alacrity which their situation demands. There are still too many drones, and oven after making allowauce for tho sad reverses which have come over their former social condition as a people, either through utter prostration of energy, or what we fear to be the greater hin? drance-false pride-the work of re? cuperation proceeds but slowly. Wo may talk about military rule, Congressional usurpations, unconsti? tutional legislation, aud descant upon theses theme (eloquently, as we may think,) from sun-rise to sun-down, yet wo do not find, in nay of the po? litical movements, or in tho laws en? acted by Congress, any principle or any enactment that prohibits any man from going to work in tho field, manufactory or work-shop. "Wo won't register," "wo won't vote," "we will not bo accessory to our own degradation," "honor forbids it," and all that sort of flippant political gab, sounds very patriotic to some ears, and especially to the spouters themselves; but tho species of pa? triotism that tho South now requires is that of tho willing and working hands of her sons, in every depart? ment of industry, to raise !:^r from her poverty and misfortunes. As the Tribune says above, every agc may differ, but in every ago work is the key to success. One of Brownlow's judges fined a "loyal" man live cents for trying to shoot a "rebel," giving the excellent legal reason that tho rebels had tried to gain their independence in tho field and had failed, and that now they could not be allowed to avail themselves of the courts to prosecute Union men. bettor from Colonel On ld. The following letter has boen pub? lished from Colonel Robert Ould, late Confederate commissioner of exchange of prisoners of war, to Hon. Charles A. Eldridge, sustaining the statement of the latter, lately made in the House of Representatives, controverted by General Butler, rela? tive to the offer of tho Confederates to return sick and wounded Federal soldiers without equivalent. The let? ter says: I have seen your remarks as pub lished. They aro substautially cor? rect. Every word that I said to you in Richmond is not only true, but eau bo proved by Federal officers. I did offer in August to deliver the Federal sick and wounded, without requiring equivalents, and urged tho necessity of haste in sending for them, as the mortality was terrible. I did offer to deliver from ten to fifteen thousand at Savannah without delay. Although this offer was made in August, transportation was not sent for them until December, and during the interval tho mortality was perhaps at its greatest height. If I had not made the offer, why did the Federal authorities send transporta? tion to Savannah for ten or fifteen thousand men? If I mnde the offer, based only on equivalents, why did tho same transportation carry down for delivery only 3,000 men? Butler says tho offer was made in the fall, (according to tho newspaper report.) and that 7,000 were de? livered. The offer was made in Au? gust, ami they wero sent for in December. I then delivered more than 13,000, and would have gone to 15,000 if tho Federal transpor ution had been sufficient. My in? structions to my agents were to de? liver 15,000 sick and wounded, and if that number of that class were not on hand, to make up tho number by well nicD- The offer was made by me in pursuance of instructions from the Confederate Secretary of War. I was ready to keep up the arrange? ment until every sick and wounded mau had been returned. The 3,000 men sent to Savannah by the Federals were in as wretched condition as any detachment of prisoners ever sent from a Confederate prison. All these things are susceptible of proof, and I am much mistaken if I cannot prove them by Federal authori? ty. J am quite sure that Genera! Mulford will sustain every allega? tion hero made. General Butler's correspondence is all on one side, as I was instructed nt the dato of hii letters to hold no correspondence with him. I corresponded with Mul ford or General Hitchcock. Yours truly, _ R. OULD. Thc President'! Duty. The National Intelligencer has t long and ably written article on "Th< Crisis," from which we extract t)n following paragraph: "What, then, is thc President'! duty? Ho has solemnly sworn tc execute faithfully tho office of Presi dent of tho United States, and to th< best of his ability preserve, proteo and defend the Constitution. Then are fourteen volumes of statutes o the United States. He is bound t< execute every one of them when oe casion calls. But if enactments exis which forbid him to execute thei provisions, by direction or by impli cation, it is impossible that they cai be laws, and if not laws, thej' cunno repeal, modify, hinder, obstruct o embarrass laws, much less constitu fions, State or Federal. If enact ments purporting to be in force ii the United States as lawsof tho lund yet which caunot be, because no executable by the only executiv which can execute a law, are put int practical operation by persons pre tending to bo their executives, am the operations of those persons con travene or hinder in any degree otho laws really in force, nobody can pre tend to doubt what the case is, whn tho President's duty is, and what an tho consequences of any hesitatioi or faltering on his part. When sue] a collision between tho laws and th unwarranted authority of insurgents or revolutionists, (or, what are th same things, executive officers, no agents of the only executive,) ac tually arises, bo the abstract merit of the controversy what they may and be the motives of tho partie good or evil, it is certain that publi order is brought to the fearful ex tremity of a dependence for the tim< on the courage, prudence and fidelit; of ono man-the general Magistrat' of the Union." Registration In Atlant?. Mr. Swinton, correspondent of the New York Ttwies, gi- es a graphic picture of a scene around the "regis? tration board" in Atlanta. He says: Meantime, however, the work of registration is going on throughout the Whole State, and to-day I had an opportunity of seeing the process in practical operation at tho Atlanta Court House. Tho board is com? posed of two white mou aud ono black, and during my stay I saw se? veral scores of both races made into voters. After several white meu had been sworn individually, a batch of seveu blacks was called np, and Pom? pey, Cn?snr and Crassus were made citizens in the lump. It was a curi? ous spectacle, aud one calculated to stir many reflections. Standing iu a row, they listened very attentively to the rending of the oath, some bend? ing forward and other's with hand to the ear, tho better to catch each word. The reader threw in for their benefit a running exgesis of tho oath, caus? ing them to guffaw by a droll look when ho recited that part of it which makes them swear that they had never held "executive or judicial office in any State." while, when he came to read the prohibition against registering by those who had been disfranchised for felony, and ex? plained "felony" hythe gloss, "such as cow-stcaling," they were so struck by the drollery of the interpretation that their bodies bent and swayed in uncontrollable merriment. Through? out all tho recital, their countenances showed a desperate mental effort to keep their "holt" of tho menning, and during the reading of the maiu body of the oath, the effort was mea? surably successful; but when the re? gistering officer carno to where tho formula speaks of "au Act supple? mentary to nu Act," tho poor felldws became perfectly flabbergasted; like Twemlow, they found their intellects giving way under the severe strain, and they lapsed into mero outer darkness and collapse. When I after? wards talked with them, on tho conrt house steps, I could not find oue who had the. faintest idea of the meaning or purpose of tho thing, and the brightest of them all only knew that it was something-ho knew uot what -that was "debes forde country." WHAT WE MIST Do.-Pollard's Southern Opinion says: We tell the people of the South, aud especially of Virginia, that they canuot help themselves by plunging into fits of melancholy and despond? ency. That pluok which hurls de? fiance in tho face of misfortune and despair is what we now need, and what will save us. It will not do to listen to those whoso acts and voices proclaim a belief that God mid justice have abandoned us forever. Wo aro unworthy of our ancestry-unworthy of that grand old Anglo-Saxon blood, whose laws, languages, customs and traditions live imperishable in Eng? land to-day, despite tho efforts of William the Conqueror and his Nor? mans to crush them-wo repeat, wo are unworthy of that sturdy island race if we succumb in baso and igno? ble weakness to tho cohorts of mis? fortune, though ten-fold greater than they are. The same sun shines over us now that shed his rays upon our joyous land iu the days of our prosperity. Not a star is missing from tho glitter? ing dome of henveu. Tho bosom of our beloved Virginia, although scar? red aud rugged with tho tracks of de? solating war, is still as rich as ever iu all the elements of wealth and greatness. The physical and material world in which we move is unchanged. Tho wheel of time still revolves-let us wisely and prudently seo to it that we sink not so deep from apathy, in? difference and despair, that no future revolution of thc wheel shall bring us up. Let our people keep their heads and hearts in good repair. Let not corroding cares and bitter memo? ries unman the people of tho South, or it will bo said they deserved all tho calamities which developed them. MORE MISSIONARIES.-The Wash? ington correspondent of tho New York Times says, in that paper of Friday: Fifteen agents have been sent South during tho past week by the Republi? can Congressional Executive Commit? tee, for the purpose of making.speech? es and assisting in ?he organization of the Union party in that section. They have boen sent chiefly to tho Carolinas and Mississippi. Fundi have also been sent to the several State Committees in tho South. Xiooal T.tems. CHOICE ?FBUIT.-Dr. Heinitsh will please accept our thunk s for a basket of very large and ripe peaches-in fact, tho finest wo have seen this sea? son. Ono of them, taken in connec? tion with a bottle of the Doctor's celebrated Queen's Delight, will, we have no doubt, effect a complete cure of a number of complaints that flesh is heir to. Lusus NATURE.-A twenty-headed monster of tho cabbage tribe has made its appearance; tho heads being as large as a twelve-pound shot, which has frightened Mr. Brown's eight headed fellow out of town. "This monster of such hideous mien, to be appreciated must be seen," at Fisher it Heinitsh's. It is from a Columbia garden, and exhibits the fertility and productiveness of our soil. APPROPRIATE TRIBUTE.-The eu? gine **E. G. Palmer," which convey? ed tho passenger train, yesterday afternoon, up to Charlotte, was beau? tifully and appropriately decorated in mourning habiliments, tho "tend? er" and every available space being draped with black and ornamented with white rosettes. This suggestion was fi om tho master machinist, and whenever the "E. G. Palmer" stopped at tho stations on the r te, the peo? ple could appreciate the high respect and esteem in which the first Presi? dent is held by all the officers and employees of the Charlotte Railroad Company. POST OFFICE Houns.-The office i.s open from 8 a. m. until Z% p. m.. and from 0 until 7 p. m. Thc North? ern mail closes at o*.J p. m., and all other mails close at S p. m. Jon PR?STINO.-The Job Office of thc Phoenix is as complete as any in the South. It is furnished with new fonts of type of all descriptions and of the most modern styles. All work executed promptly, with taste and skill, and at reasonable rates. NEW ADVEKTISKHKNTS.-Attention is call? ed to the following advertisements, which aro published this morning for tho first time: D. C. Pcixotto A Son-Auction Sale. Walter C. Fisher-Building to Bent. J. Ketchum. jr., A- Co.-Sewing Machines W. J. Armstrong-Appointments. Copeland ft Bearden-Bacon, Corn. etc. Mcoting of King's Mountain Iron Co. A fine lot of Desirable Goods have just been opened by Mr. B. C. Shiver, who still adheres to his popular principle of good articles for little money. Bead his adver? tisement, and then examino tho goods. SELF-ACTING SWITCH.-The Savan? nah N'eus and Herald notices a valua? ble invention, of great importance to railroads, made by Mr. J. P. White, a mechanic of that city. It is a self acting railroad switch, of which that paper says: The invention, for which ho has secured a patent, was conceived and perfected by him while guarding a railroad during the war. The main feature of tho switch is, that the en? gineer ba3 in his own hands tho ma? chinery by which he can switch the train from tho main to tho outside track, while the train is in motion. It is adjusted by levers attached to the locomotive, in front of tho for? ward wheels, and so arranged as to bo easily managed while the cars are in full motion. Theso levers, coming in contact with others attached'to the switch itself, produces tho desired change immediately. Caro, however, must bo taken that the lover opposite tho desired course is used. Vs soon as tho switch is moved from one side to tho other, it locks by means of levers, and remains so until another change is effected. -. -? 0- -- THE COLORED POPOTIATION OF NEW YORK.-The number of colored peo? ple in New York city, rvhich, seven? teen years ago, was 1(5,000, is now only 10,000. Two papers are pub? lished by colored persons. One claims to bo a professional poet, and thirteen posses.! a fortune abovo $?0, 000. There aro seven colored school*, and thirty-two mixed marriages, viz: of a white person with a colored one.