The Camden confederate. (Camden, S.C.) 1861-1865, January 23, 1863, Image 2
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 ^