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forfine Mill Fbnd oyatcrfc P?raee^SlWk-ef purrWiH?n^ tbW. Wtalre #?u)d ^beir ofdoife With Mm. CM who ??ryp'owit|,the lux<PS|j delicacies of Che season. TSrVlnt and Fourtli Pagci. vJUuM^urst aiKl totirtn pages win oo Jounu scv^55S22S interesting articles, amongst which is a letter from "ouroccasiqjial correspondent alrofSPttSAtaent of the present condition of Caj8?"1Wffc*s,#^ompftttyJ in Virginia ; also, a cbusmAaycftl record of great events during the ; also, an interesting account of the intrepidity of; a "-horo'on crutches," with tho Jfflgyihflf w AH qufet along the Potomac 1563S* -?" "? Ifouto and Lot for Sale or Rent. Perseus desirous of purchasing a commodious and well-finished dwelling house?situated in ranwabd ?with nil necessary ont-buildings, via rj^rnilgie-housc, good stable, servants quarters, <fcc., can do so by immediate application at tho Confederate office. The above is on a lot containing three acres, with good fence. Tp an approved tennant, the house may be rented for the present year. To Our Representative Body. There, is* a* number of deeply interesting measures to come before the Legislature at its sitting in the preseut month, among th6 most important of which are the tnx-bill, and the bill lor (lie regalaion of the distillation of whiskoy. As to the Tax-Bill, it is hardly necessary for us to remind our Legislators that the only certain and really honest way to secure, on a firm basis, the credit of tho State, is to tA tho property of the Stato in proportion to its actual wants; and as this is a time Xvlicn the public wants and real necessities tire large beyond all former precedent, the taxos must be adequate to these necessities. It is unwiso and dangerous to rely solely orraain1}* upon borrowing, for excessive debt is far more depressing and discouraging to a people thau excessive taxation ; as the former tends to the demoralization of a people, while the latter, though there may be sonic apparent discontent, Sttcournges to virtuous and patriotic feel? ^ 1 '? mi .... * -- mgsjMiu actions. 1 ne people, we tlnnk, fully cxp<|o^ heavy taxes, aad arc prepared to pay tberi?;*tto&y arc not ignorant of the magnitude and importance of the crisis in which we arc involved, nor of the imuicnso pecuniary sacrifices required tAustain us in it, and hence cannot, nor will not complaiu at heavy and unusual taxation. The. contracts for the distillation of whiskey cannot be too carefully guarded. We suppose these contracts are a public necessity, and 1. ? ?-?' . ucuvc vitM iw uuuipiHiiiis ro cneir oeing givou oilt, but the temptation to sell to outsiders must be very grcat-*-the government price being one dollar and fifty cents, while to outsiders it is worth any amount asked for it, from fifteen to twenty dollars per gallon. We have no charges to prefer against any contractor of our acquaintance, but it docs seeui a little strange that the contracts of last summer should be so vejy tardy in being filled. It seems to us that the Legislature ' should limit the filling of these contraqU to the shortest time pos oiutv, ivi ii< ? uiiiw in me extreme to subject the virtue aim integrity of any set of men to so severe a test for any lengthened period of time. We hope the tirust reposed in these contractors has not, in any instance, been violated, and we make the suggestions wet have, for the future guidance of all concerned. We apprehend that4'poor months" will bo made by parties seeking new contracts, and that the Legislature will be asked to increase the price for distillatioii. <<, ... We deem it hardly necessary to say in this connection, what every one knows, that when comwsi sold at fifty cents per bushel thai whiskey waa a drug at thirty-five to forty centi per gallon. The calculation Was, that one bushel df cojn would make two gallons of good proof whiskey, and we suppoee it wonld do the same now. Tbese with many Other considerstions whtob will no doubt suggest theniselvet to the henorablb Legislature, will show the necessity of careful legislation on this matter ^ I ^ .. - * __ . ... _... persuo tho subject ?no the recronnU arty furthur. Bat the matter of late has assumed each A Vl'tnllv anar*f tu/> Or"-"* ? - T~rrpyV^M^V* withhold our mite of condemnation of the extortioner without feeling that tyr so doing we mast, to some extent, bo a participant in this enormous sin against'God and' against society* Toe two principles at the head Of this article are in irreconcilable opposition the one to the other, and no Yankee sophistry can change or alter their relationship. And when one's country is invaded by a powerful, relent* less and unscrupulous foe, and threatened with subjugation, confiscation and utter ruin, as ours now is, there can bo uo line of neutrality for any citizen to stand upon. Every man (yea, overy woman) must array himself on one side or the other; he must either be a patriot, or he must be an extortioner. We will hero stop to define these two principles, when made active by the conduct of men. The patriot, then, is one who makes pecuniery sacrifices for. the good of hi9 country. Thc%xtortioncr is ono who increases his pecuniary gains while his country and his countrymen are suffering loss and threatened witli 1*111 11 This definition is short, simple and plain, and easily to be understood ; and is also just and truthful, and we think connot be gainsaid. Wo have been thus concise and explicit that each and every individual may, without doubt or difficulty, place himself in his true position, and thatiach may not bo in ignorance as to tho true position of his neighbor. Tho truthfulness of this definition can hardly admit of doubt, for it is too obvious for argument, that he who augments his private fortune during our present most exhausting and painful struggle can not bo a patriot, and must therefore be an extortioner. It matters not how many dollars he may have given to the cause?such contributions are not his own, for he first extofted them from the blood and tears of a suffering people, and then makes a display, and very often a boastful one through the public journals, of his liberality. Such men have drawn tho drapery of the god of mammon nvcr limit* r>ivn nitM on<l ? V. ...... w VJW) KUU aic UMLlUIlUg themselves that because they have wilfully and pitifully blinded themselves that they are hid from the scrutinizing gaze of a watchful and discerning public; but the people know better; their eye is upon them, and it matters not how self-secure they may fell in their ill-gotten gains, a just retribution surely awaits them? if their own brazen faco can, without cowering, withstand the finger of scorn that is pointing at thein?the tenderer hearts of their off spring will nave to sutler the mortification and shame of being told by their play-mates and school-fellows, that their fathers got rich oft* the necessities of the people during the great war of independence. These men are certainly right in one thing, and that is the estimate they put upon themselves?they know they would neither have character nor respectability without tortune, and hence are reckless of everything else that they may get gain. That there are such characters as extortioners among us, the various apologies and excuses wo daily hear made, is sufficient evidence. A says, 1 have imported at great hazard many articles essential to the defence of the country ; B says, 1 have been a benefactor to the people of my vicinity* for I brought articles from a distance which they much needed ; C says, I have served such a length of time in the army ; D has sons now in the army ; E has a substitute ; ? has traded in nothing but. cotton, tar, pitch or turpentine, and so on down to Z, who says Dr. Bachman is the sole cause of all the evils complained of. Now why make excuses if they were not conscious of guilt? Such men are not ignorant as to i the side of the line on which they stand. , They know that tkey have sacrificed nothing . for a suffering country, and hence are not pa} triots. They know that they have increased ; their pecuniary gains at a time when the woj men of the land are weeping rivers of tears for the slain of husband*, sons and brothers? ' _t .1 1 ^ - > / woeii \*m or?r? pairioi soldier is "befcfing his , breast to tbe foul invader of their aoi)t and by > tens of thousands are watering in their blood upon the ensanguine field?when their conn thing* are found weaving tho hoa?n Ibro^ wbo are devoted to money-making: who am piling up fortunes, and refuse cren to toon their bloody gains to their goveroioeni?the only possible way by which they oan at all palliate or modify the rule 1 Aid down ahpre. If they would say, and act accordingly; I bate done this solely for the benefit of the' government, then their excuses might. K* listened to, if sot in heaven, yet by their country. But as long as extortion was confined to the merchant, the trafficer, the manufacturer and the roving speculator, we were disposed to let thorn pass without serious notice, believing the thing wonld ere long work out its own cure; indeed wo rather inclined to excuse them to some extent, or at all events we had no fears of its reaching the vitals of society? for these classes of men at all times live by their wits, and are, during the most prosperous time of peace, only saved from the open commission of the sin of extortion by the mere force of competition; for their breadgrtepehds upon the success they may have in convincing the man on their right hand thai his doiiar is only worth ninety cents ; and after they have obtained it, then to convince the man on thoir left hand that it is worth one dollar and ten cents, and induce him to take it. It is therefore not so strange that the moment this pressure of competition was removed by the blockade, that their wares and merchandise should be at once held at almost fabulous prices. But now that this fell monster, this god of mammon, this dark spirit of extortion, seems to have lain its pale icy hands upon the great agricultural class,' our profoundest fears are aroused for the fafety of our cause and country. That this class of our people, who, by a kind Providence, have become possessed of the soil, and the best system of labor known to the world for its cultivation, and by a beneficent government have had a superintendant exempt from military service to look after their interest, should so far forget themselves as to prostitute the nobility of their high calling, and become the pitiful imitaters of the trafficer, the merchant, the manufacturer and the roving speculator, and at a time like the present, is bewilderingly strange to us. Wo sometimes* in contemplating the melancholy fact, are made to wonder, if the Almighty has indeed given us over to the god of mammon! That this class of our people, whose very pursuit canRes them to look upward to the God of heavon for the early and the latter rain, for change of seasons, without which they know their labor would be in vain; they know, too, that they cannot make a single blade of grass or grain of wheat, without the immediate and direct aid of the creative Hand of the Almighty, and yet these men gather in bountiful harvests and hoard it up in their harns and call it money, and refuse to give or sell, except of nnncuol ond Ti * ? ,?v t.Muour*I nuu kAviuitnuv IbUS. IV IS I Li IS aspects of this great question that chills our soul and alarms our fears. Yet we would fain hope that the great mass of our agriculturalists are comparatively free from this enormous sin, *and that the great clamor we hear is for the most part without foundation or much exaggerated. These men should remember that the (Jon/ federate States is not composed of a band of rtrafficers, that our present and future is higher and far more noble. They should remember, also, that our holy cause rests upon them, that it is with them to save or ruin the eountrv. * 7 that the honor and dignity of the Confederacy is upon their shoulders, that the eyes of the world are intently watching them ; they must I by their acts demonstrate that their calling is the normal one. of all civilized nations, and that to be safe it must be independent and above the mere mercenary persuits of life; that they are the law-givers of the country, the possessors of the soil, the only real and Btftble property of any people; that the benevolent institution of labor, now called in question by the civilized world, can only be sustained and preserved by yonr generosity and patriotism; that yon, above all other classes, mnst be patriots, and make sacrifices for yonr country; you innst not be carried away with the delusion that a time of war is a time of prosperity; you must not deoeive i yourselves as regards who is to bear the burden of this war; your country is accumulating a mighty debt, and your land and negroe have ? cd supplies at the loweet pricce?not at t$?<ef feigheat; iuppr?M at once amorg yoaraptgqf^ the growing e?d th?*atcnipgy WrtA# tortion, and leave that demon to cailiitge ana pemits not yonr owp^ Aflfotra in Richmond, January 19.-rA report fcbltt another battle Was imminent at Frederifeksbufg" was received to-day and enlarged: THfe one* my was reported to be crossing the Rappahannock at two point?* at the right and left flanks,, but latest advices bring no confirmation. Both Houses have gone into secret MSsHrtf, about 1 o'clock to-day* it was immediately rumored on the streets that France and England had re.cognized the Confederacy, and that an. announcement would be made by a comnaaication to Congress; but the day hae passed without anything appearing to give color to ^ the story. * Mp 't & * * H ft I <?? : JJ \$ Si I J Richmond, Va^ January 20.?There, is ho^' . truth in' the report of the recogniiion of tbo Confederate States, th OUgnsbufeWci 1 InrorMea^ persons assert the contrary. ^ Aii quiet at Fredericksburg. It is reported tbat Gen. Foster succeeds Burnside. ~ Yankee Account^ from the West. Pktkrbburo, Va., January 20.?The Baltimore American of Saturday evening haa been received. Fighting commenced at Arkansas Post on the evening of the 10th. On the 11th thegarrison, 7000 strong, surrendered unconditionally. The rebels were cut off from retreat on both sides of the river. ' The Alabama Sinks a Federal Gunboat. Jackson, January 20.?Tho Special Crisis publishes the following despatch: Tangipahoa, 20th: The New Orleans Picayune contains the offioial report of an engagement between the Confederate steamer Alabama and the United States gun-boat Hatteras, 20 miles from Oalveston. The Hatteras was sunk, with all on board, except one officer and five men, who were picked up by tho Brooklyn. The Hatteras was an iron-clad, carrying three rifled 32-pounders. The Brooklyn pursued tlie Ala- / battia but could not overhaul her. from North Carolina. Goldsboro, January 21.?All quiet. The Yankees are reported as having fallen back from Trenton, and are said to be at Jacksonville, 10,000 strong. OBITUARY. It is with sad leelinge that we* have to chroniclo the death of another of the brave youths of Camden. WM. K. AKHANTS, son of Nathan B. and Mary Arrants, joined the command of Gen. Benj. McCulloch, in Arkansas, fought under that brave commander until he tell, was then transferred to the command of Gen Price, where he served until the 14th of Noveml)er lust, when on detached service at, Cumberland Gap, Tenn., he fell nobly contending for his countrys rights. His Captain boars testimony "that he was obedient to orders, always ready and williMr to do his duty, was kind to his comrades, by winch he had secured the friendship of many who sinoerely mourn his ioas." no was ouru in uamaen reorunry 4tn, 1839, united himself with the Camden Baptist Church in April 1856, was a consistent christian, and we doubt not has been taken to the rest prepared for the people of God. Weep not parents and friends, "he is not dead but steepeth," and when the Saviour shall "send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet to gather his elect from one end of Heaven to the other," he though far away from home, will hear that sound and joint you to meet the Saviour and his angels in the air. h. For Hire Three young negro men, on the first of February, for the balance of the yew; j.m. gayle. Janury 23 * r , 2 School Notice. The Exercises of my school commenoed on the 6th January. All pupil* will be charged from the time of entrauoe to the class of the scholastic year of ten months, whether they complete the term or not. Exception will only be made in ease of a withdrawal beoause of sickness, or in favor of refugees who may leave the town before the expiration of the year. 0. H. PKOK. January 23 House for Bale. The dwelling house belonging to the estate of Mrs. H. B. ENGLISH, north west corner of DeKalb street, for particulars apply to R. If. Kennedy. T. W.BRIGGB, Bx*r. January 28 1ST 4*4* jnuuuoi A LL PERSON^ INDEBTED TO THE - LATE Jt% Mrs. EL B. ENGLISH, either by note or open ' ooouot are reqnosted to make an early settlement of > the same, and all thoee to whom she waa indebted wttt present their claims property attested to. T. W. BBIGGS, KxV, Bright's Bluff, P. O. January ^