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ESTABLISHED IX 18( COST OF RAISING COTTON. CHEAP MONEY NEEDED TO MAKE ? CHEAP COTTON. Capt. Paul F. Hammond Gives some In structive FaCta abo ut the Cost of Grow inj; Cotton?Debt ami Extravagant Liv ing the CauM of the Fanner's Porerty. Columbia, S. C, November 22.?Capt. Paul F. Hammond, of Beech Island, Aiken county, has contributed a most interesting and valuable article to the annual report of the commissioners of agriculture of this State, regarding the cost of producing cotton in South Caro lina. Capt. Hammond says that 4 cents a pound seems a very low figure at which to place the actual cost of making cotton, and yet while it costs many planters 8 cents, some 10 cents, and not a very few even 12 cents, the fact stands us a fact within his own .knowledge, that it has been made tor less than four cents, and he claims that it can be demonstrated by figures that on finer land, with judicious and econo mical methods, industriously pursued, j it can be made, and should be made, at four cents, three cents, and even less than three cents pe r pound. "Even then." Capt. Hammond continues, "selling his crop at an average of seven and a half cents net, there is no-great income left to the prodneer of thirty, fifty, or even a hundred bales of cotton." He then submits a detailed estimate of the cost of making cotton per acre, showing the net cash expenses to be about $7. If the product was 540 pounds of seed cotton, or 180 pounds of lint, the cost would be 3.88 cents per pound; where it was 2<R) pounds lint, 3>o cents, and where it was 250 pounds. 2.4~-? cents a pound. Capt. Hammond continues: "The planter who makes cotton at a cost of three cents and sells it for eight cents, ought not certainly to complain of the percentage of profit upon his expenses. So, too, as a rule, the per cent, of pro fit, 'on the total investment in land, mules, machinery, implements, &c, will be found one which business men are accustomed to regard us large. Property is so extremely low that a planter "making an average crop of 100 bales will not need to havi* invested more than $12,000 to ?13,000?810,000 in land and buildings, and $3,000 in stock, supplies, machinery, tV.c. "If, then, he be a good planter, on moderately fair land, for none is really good land which will not bring 300 pounds of lint cotton, when manured, he will make from $20 to 825 a bale, and his income will be from 82,000 to $2,500?a very fair return from his ?apital." "What, then," he asks, "is the matter?" Why is there so much com plaint? Are hot the cotton planters .fast sinking into a condition of almost ' hopelesspovertyr" "1 might answer,'' he says, "that tfie whole world is grow ing poorer. The business depression everywhere is marvellous, unpreceden ted, and agriculture among the worst sufferers, as she always is. The great Northwest cannot .stand wheat at 80 ?cents. Three-fourths of the farms are mortgaged to their full value, and their nominal owners and tenants can only endure their miserable lives because they were reared in the poverty of the Old* World. For some years it has been known that in every county in England scores of rich farms are lying tenantless and unworked; and now we have the statement on good authority that rent on the average is not more than 15s. an acre, and, of this 15s., 10s. is required to pay interest on the in vestment in buildings which the land lord has made, leaving the mere pit tance of 5s. ($1.25) to represent the rental of land which makes from twen ty to fifty bushels of wheat. Why, in the cotton-growing section of the .South, where it is healthy for a white family to live, land rents for from two dollars to ten dollars per acre." Capt. Hammond then discussed the different modes of living in the North and West and in the South, and thinks that one of the causes of poverty in the South is extravagant living, mit the real cause is debt and an outrageous rate of interest. "If," says he, "the manufacturers want cheap cotton they must give us cheap money. "But there can be no interest without debt, and the South is deeply in debt. Neither for this is her agriculture or her planters so much to blame. What people or what business, except on the bear side of Wall street, ever prospered ?or could prosper with a market falling, falling, falling through twenty years? At the close of the war cotton was worth forty :-onts, and it fell, little by little, steadily for twenty years, until it has come dotvn to eight cents and the cotton planters are impoverished. If at that time cotton had been eight cents the difficulties to be encountered would for a time have; been terrific; hut if it had then risen steadily, year by year, through twenty years, until the price reached forty tents, the Southern plan ters would have been rich- rich, pros persons and as happy as money could make them. In l*n cotton was six cents; negroes sold for $250. and the planters were poor. By 18*50 cotton sold for 12 cents per pound and negroes for $1.000. and therein lay the secret of the great wealth of the cotton planters. It was not the money they made; the percentage upon capital invested is greater how. It was not money saved out of incomes which were larger than they could spend. By no means. It was by the gradual, and in the end very great, increase in the value of their investments?about the only way men in numbers ever get rich honestly." ("apt. Hammond then says: "While I have contended that the profits of cotton planting arc in one sense large, and that agriculture is a mon lucra tive business at the South than either In the North or Wt .-t. or in Civat Bri tain, i am very far from saying that the planter can grow rich, or even hohl his own. at present prices. lie may grow cotton for 3 cents and sell it for 8 cents, thus realizing over 100 per cent, on the cost of making, and not far from'Jit per cent, on the value of his entire investment, yet even $25 a hale is too small a profit cither to make him rich >r the country prosperous. Let n.s take the case of a planter who makes >9. OEi! one hundred bales and see- what be comes of his iueonie. Cotton cannot now be grown in large quanties by one man, lor the all-sufficient reason that few men have the ability to manage the large amount of labor and numer ous other operations required. What i one man can see after is usually the! limit of what lie can produce profitably, j I shall not exceed the truth when 1 say that the planter with 815,000. invested, | including his dwelling and all the ap-; purtenances thereto, owes 85,000 and ?. pays 8500 interest on it. He will need ! advances of $1,500. at an average of six , months, to make his crop, and the in-j terest on that is $75. He will also need I 81.500 to live upon, supposing a family of five, the usual number. Five years' ago his familv expenses would have beert 83,000. That must be got from his factor, or, worse, by keeping open accounts with merchants. This adds 875 and taxes 8100 more. Thus we have: Interest on debts.$ 500 875) Interest on advances.... .<?... 150 75) Taxes.,. 100 Expense of living. 1,500 Overseer or headman. 250 Total.$2,500 I have put in overseer or foreman, because such a character really exists on nine places out of ten where as much cotton as one hundred bales is made, and I did not estimate in the cost of cotton, because he need not be, and ought not to be, where the proprietor is able to attend to his business. Although I have, made this estimate in a way very favorable to the planter, it will be seen that there is nothing left out of an income of 82,500, and a pro fit of 825 a bale. Who will give us any remedies? Who will pay our debts? or lend us money at 5 per cent, instead of 10? or teach econ omy any faster than necessity? We are all looking for better things when trade revives; but when will that be? Our revival will never come until we can get a profit of 810 a bale instead of 825 out of cotton. I have mentioned three great evils under which we labor. They are incontrovertible. But most certainly I have not mentioned the. greatest of all, and that is we make loo much cotton. So long as we make a million bales more than the world wants at 10 cents, we will get 10 emits for none. We live by cotton; it is our life-blood. The control of the market is to us of the very greatest value; fin ancially worth everything else besides. But how reduce the crop ? By a combi nation of cotton-growers? That is im ; possible. Providence has protected us [ in some measure." Capt. Haunnrid thinks there is but one remedy for the trouble, and this he thinks no politician living will dare propose, and those thai are dead would tremble in their graves at the thought. It is concurrent legislation among the larger Cotton States, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama. Mississippi, Louisi ana, Arkansas and Texas, limiting the i planting of ootton so as to bring the crop within 4^500,000 bales for three years at least. He admits that legisla tion of this character in England has been disastrous, almost without an ex ception, but three years trial here, at tended with little or no risk, would de monstrate its wisdom. In conclusion, ''apt. Hammond shows that if the Mason Cotton Harvester is a success the great West will Hood the markets of tlie world with cotton, which cost to make less than one-half cent per pound, or 82.40 a bale, and says : "This is no chimera or picture of the fancy, but its day may be so near that men now old will live to see it. Then poor old South Carolina, robbed of the profits of her rice culture by Louisiana, and of her sea island cotton by Florida and other {States along {with her, may have written over the ruins of their [ once brilliant systems of agriculture, finis."- -"ltichland" in the Augusta Chronicle._ An Ingenious Invention. [ An automatic box is being put upon the lamp posts in Brooklyn to supply [ the public with postage stamps, postal cards, a pencil and postal-letter envel opes. At any hour of the day or night a citizen may go to one of these boxes and drop a penny into it at which there will appear a postal card and a pen cil with which to write a letter. If he has a letU r already written and merely wants a postage stamp to mail it he may drop two pennies in the box at which, presto, a two cent postage stamp will COinu out of the box. These convenient, boxes are already in use in London and .are much liked* there. The boxes in ; Brooklyn are an improvement on those in London. They look like writing desks and arc 75 inches high bv 17 in ches deep. Each box is divided into several drawers one for stamps, one for postal cards, one fur stamped en velopes and one for letter paper. There is a slit for dropping a coin over each drawer. When the proper coin drops in it sets in motion a bit of machinery which pushes out the article wanted. At Last. There is a little romance connected with the marriage of Or. C. M. Jones and Mrs. .Mary Moore, which is ;m noiinced this week. They had a court ship in their younger days long before the war. but afterwards drifted apart and each one married. Alter they both became widowed the old Ihunc was revived und culminated in mar riage last Sunday. A similar romance was connected with Or. .Jones* sister, Mrs. Magill, and Mr. O. L. Brown, w ho were married at this place two weeks ago. The young folks arc la'coming so practical in this utilitari an age that it falls to the lot of the old folks to re kindle and keep up ibe I ires of ro mance.?Anderson Journal. A Foolish sttirv. Some of the colored people in Ibis city are excited by the story that a gang of white men is prowling around throwing bags over the heads of color ed citizens, killing them out of hand and shipping their remains to Atlanta to be used for the advancement of medical .science.- -Green*? illc .News. This paper only 81.50 per annum. ?SGEBTJBG, S. C, THU1 HOLLING CLOUDS OF FIRE. NARROW ESCAPE OF EARLY BRANCH AND FLORENCE. The Dry GriiS? .Spread Fire all over tho Wood* in a lilnze from Sumter to the Five-Mile Curve? Brave Conduct of Men, "Women and Children. A correspondent from Eitrly branch writing: to the News and Courier under ?date December 1, gives the following account of the forest fires in that sec tion : At 11 o'clock yesterday morning our village was fiercely assailed by for est fires from the adjoining woods. "We then thought that nothing but a Provi I dential veering of the wind could save ; the town from entire and speedy de ; struction. The wind did not change, ; as we eagerly hoped it might; the fire swept down'upon us with savage fury. I closed in upon every home, surged j around us everywhere, from several i directions at once, in desperate efforts ! to accomplish our destruction. We are i surrounded here, for several miles in every direction, by almost unbroken pine forests. The ground is covered I almost everywhere to the height of ' several feet with a thick-set coat of j sedge, wire grass and other lowland ! growths. After frosts this growth dies, becomes dry and is very combus tible, so that in times of drought at this season of the year it is a constant j and well-recognized source of danger. Yesterday, in addition to the drought, j a gale of wind was blowing from the J j southwest, fortunately, however, with j j an occassional brief lull. Ominous I clouds of smoke were seen in the early i morning, but at lirst it appeared that [ ; the track of the conflagration would be j [to the west of the town, hence there I was little apprehension. It seemed,] I however, that far into the backwoods ! i the fire was steadily obliquely beating I against the wind, widening its track as I 'it went until it acquired compass en ; ough to envelope us mils dreadful pro i gress. The scene as the. lire bore down ? on the Methodist parsonage across an I abandoned field two hundred yards wide, covered with tall weeds, was-sui i passingly grand, but dreadful enough i tostrike dismay to the stoutest hearts, j The llames rolled swiftly on in un ! broken waves, leaping,' curling and ' dancing in the air to the height of ? eight or ten feet. Its incessant crackle was like the firing of infantry in bat tle, and its deafening roar was like that of the cyclone in its fury. Yet brave men stood in its front, massed their small force directly in line of approach to the buildings and sought to arrest the awful tide at a narrow intervening roadway. They succeeded .for a moment, but in the instant of local success a column of flames makes for the heart of the town in, another directing:-. Forces already too small must be divid ed. We are speedily Hanked on both I sides, and now it is evident that the i whole, town is to be enveloped in flames. How we were saved at last God only knows. It would require a volume al most to narrate the exciting situations, heroic achievements and fortunate es capes witnessed at every homestead. The women behaved with most ex emplary courage and zeal, several aris ing from beds of sickness to aid in the great work. The children caught the spirit of their elders and worked with boldness and ardor. Too much paise cannot be given to the colored people for their prompt and most hearty aid. The only losses sustained besides fenc ing are an unused sawmill shed, two unoccupied cabins, several Hat-cars on the side track and a lot of cord wood. The railroad roadbed was so injured as to delay trains for several hours. From the News and Courier, of last Thursday, we clip the following : The passengers on the Columbia special train of the Atlantic Coast Line which reached Charleston at 9.10 last night, had an opportunity of witnessing for est tire of rare extent and brilliancy. The woods were on lire almost continu ously from Sumter to within five miles of Charleston, a distance of ninety miles. The grandest display of the ac cidental fireworks was in the section of country lying along the Northeastern Pailroad between St. Stephen's depot and the Five-mile curve near Charles ton. In many places on both sides of the track, the line of fire was unbroken for miles, and in other places the fire ' approached so near the track on either j side that the train literally ran be | tween walls of llame and through clouds of blinding and asphyxiating smoke. At such places the effect of the super-heated and lire-laden atmos phere was sensibly felt by the passen-1 sengcrs through the thick plate-glass of the car windows. The lire was lierce I ly swept on by a stitr breeze from the Northwest, and at some points leaped across the roadway and caught the! crossties. The whole heavens were Ilighted up with the reflection from the ; lurid blaze from the dry. combustible . foliage and from the trunks of tile ! fon st giants that had been "boxed" for turpentine. Some of these trees re-1 seinbled pillars of llamein motion as j the train rushed by with the speed of a lightning express. The woods on lire in South Carolina is a serious occur rence. At Monck's Corner it was re ported that several plantation houses had been burned down with all their farm attachments. At Stoney Land ing it was only by the utmost exertion that the works were saved, the loss at that place having been confined to the destruction of about one hundred cords of wood. Several wood piles and wood racks along the track were in a blaze last night, and the loss in this respect may be still more serious. Tin- pimple all along the line of mad wen out en deavoring to check the hurricane of llame ami protect their fences and dwelling houses. The m eiden;a! land scape was Dautesque to u realistic de gree, and furnished the passengers with sights and seem s equally dilmmb to describe or forget. A concspondeut writing from Flor ence under date of December 1 to Urn same pnpt-r --ays : Considerable excite incut prevailed here yesterday, caused by what seemed for a while the chances of losing a large portion of our tow:, [>\ lire. During the prevalence of half a gale of wind, that blew neavlv the en rlS&?Y, DECEMBER 9, tin- lay. lire broke out in the woods on the'Vestern side of the town, und thej wins, which was blowing fiercely from thatfdirection, soon brought the flames roaK'ug down on the town. The woods | on late other side, of the town approach very, close to the dwellings, and the j maffY vacant Jots on the edge had grown up in'broom-grass, offering the inostj inflammable fuel. The lire department j weflt promptly summoned out, and, will the aid of the many willing hands around, managed to subdue the flames, though not before they had penetrated farjinto the town. Providentially, the town escaped without any damage, ex cegBSuch as weak nerves sustained. Killed Himself Tor Love. uisville, Ky., December !. je White shot himself through the J to-day. He had been in love with ^Minnie Lyons for some time and aeen engaged to her. Several > ago shediscarded him, giving as son that she loved and would a rival by the name of Charles Since her declaration White tup all work and devoted his time fing to woo back his fickle sweet t, but in this he failed. lie passed lay with the girl, repeatedly tell ?her that unless she consented to pry him he would kill himself, but as b.e had made these threats before, she prd?TJO attention to them. Shortly be ftJBFjB o'clock this morning he asked hf&"foTa final answer, and when she again declined he left the house and wtjnt to an alley in the rear. The girl, fearing he was' about to do something rajra followed him. "You won't marry me?" he asked, "fcan't, George; 1 don't love you." sb^'replied. White whipped out his phrfol, and as the girl rushed toward hrffi he pushed her back, placed the weapon to his heart and pulled trigger. Without a word he fell back into a poifof water. lie was picked up and carfied into the house, but before a ph"flsieiau could reach him he was dead. Meet ini; of Three Brothers. |'e Lenoir (N. C.) Topic says: "At jattle. of Gettysburg, in 1863, three brothers, named Avery Kirby, Milas Kirby and Nelson Kirbv, parted on the battle field. All of the brothers left C?ldwell County as volunteers in Com pany A, Twenty-Second North Carolina Regiment, and all fought through the war.on the'Confederate side, receiving many wounds on the battlefield. On Saturday the three bothers met in Le noir for the first tilrte since their "part ing amid the smoke and roar of battle on the field of Gettysburg. Avery now live! in Indiana, Miras in Bristol, TeniK arid,Nelson ofi'King's Creek, ('aidwell County, at whicftjplaee his brothers are now visiting him. The brothers came oat-of the war wittfout a cent of money oxa foot of land, but are now all pro ?^J^Jiolders a/id, excellent citizens." A Colored ltcformer. t We have received a communication from a respectable colored man of Bethel, in this county, making an argu ment in favor of reestablishing the whipping post as a punishment for petty offences, instead of the present mode of punishment in the county jail or the penitentiary. The communica tion is lengthy and presents no new arguments,"for which reason we do not print it; though emanating from a colored citizen it is an indication of a growing change in the sentiment of the very people for whose "protection" the Federal authorities, in the recon struction period, demanded the obliter ation of the "relic of barbarism:"?York vilie Enquirer. Charleston Filled with Smoke. Charleston, December2?Charles ton is filled with smoke frr>m the forest tires in the surrounding country. The telegraph wires are down on the line of the Northeasting road, and the full extent of the damage is not known. The village of Pineopolis, in Berkeley county, narrowly escaped destruction. Mrs. Kate Porcher's dwelling house and a number of barns and farm houses were burned. The lires are said to be generally under control, having burned out their fuel. Large bodies of turpen tine woods have been destroyed, and the loss will necessarily be heavy. A Neat Swindle. The neatest swindle of the day has just been executed in the city of Mexi co. A nran named Mayer appeared there claiming to be the agent of Mana ger Abbey, of New York, and present ing credentials which seemed to be all right. He proceeded to arrange for a five nights season for Patti, advertised it freely and put tickets on sale at three times the usual prices?850 for boxes and SO for seats each night. The Mexicans went wild over it and 82."),(HXJ worth of tickets were sold. Mayer took 820,000, leaving 85,000 in silver which he could not conveniently carry, and skipped by the light of the moon." A Cond Keiison. A man named hick Townsend. an alleged murderer, was wanted in Flori da, and Governor Perry, understanding that he was in Georgia, demanded his surrender from Gov. McDaniel. His demand not having been complied with because Townsend could not be found, the demand was renewed when General Gordon became governor. The matter was inquired into by the new governor, and a reply was received from the sheriff of L?wndes county that he did not know where Townsend was. but In* recalled the fact that he had hanged him some mouths before the governor's inquiry was received. Too SiicrrliuioiiH. We see it announced that there is shortly to be given a grand ball in Charleston, s. ('.. to be called "The Earthquake. Hop." It will strike many people that, while it is well enough for the young people to fiance, it is a mani festation of :i want of reverence for and fear ??! the Almighty to call their dance an "Earthquake Hop." Let them ii nee if they want to, Init let I hem not forget their i in potency when God is present in the earthquake, Uahigh Chronicle. In an affray in Pitt County, X.C.,be tween Thomas Smith and .lohn Dennis, the later shot and killed the former. 1886. PRICJ A WIDE-EXTENDED SNOW. It Spreads Itself Over the Entire Country, South ns Well as >"ort!i. Ninety-Six. December ?.~Snow six inches deep and it is stilJ snowing. The j largest snow we have had in years. Mount Holj.y, December rt.?Th* signal service observer at this place re- j ports live inches of snow on the ground ' at 2 P. M., with indications of another fall. Kateway, N. J., December 13.?Peter Laing, colored, was found frozen to death in his house next to the Milton mills, in tins city, on Saturday morning. He was GO years old and a cousin to Thomas Kelly, a wealthy colored citizen of this city. New YORK, December 6.?Snow be gan falling in this city this morning j and continued with few'breaks all day. The storm was accompanied by severe winds. The street car lines have been forced to double up. No serious delay iB reported from the railways. Walhalla, December 6"?After the snow storm of Saturday morning a j light rain and sleet set in, and continu- i ed until late Sunday night, when it j terminated in a fall of light, Uaky snow, j nine inches deep on the top of the) frozen snow of the day before. This afternoon it is thawing slowly. RlCAUOXD, Va., December C?Al- [ most continuous snow, hail and rain since Saturday morning have made the present storm one of the severest ex-! perienced for years. To-night at ? o'clock the snow took a fresh start, fall- j j ing thick and fast, and appearances are favorable for several inches more. Abbeville, December (J.?It has I been snowing and sleeting with slight! i intermission since Friday night, and it is now four to live inches deep. The sun seem to be coming out. This is salesday, but so lew people are here that but few if any sales will take place. It has been bitter cold, but is moderating now. Society Hill, December 0.?We are having regular Arctic weather here. Snow commenced to fail on Saturday at 7 A. M. and has continued to fall at intervals since. Business is seriously interfered with. The county roads are almost impassable. Trains on the Cherawand Darlington Railroad, how ever, are making fair time. Midway, December 7.?We are cover ed with a beautiful white mantle of snow this morning, ami at this writing it continues to snow. The most that falls on the ground melts, but that on houses, railroad platform, &c, remains, as it is cold^ enough to freeze. Some little amusement in the art of snow balling is practiced by the lovers of the sport. ASIIEVILLE, X. ('.. December (>.? Snow has fallen to the" depth of twenty six, inches and is still falling. Trallic and travel of all kinds is suspended. The weight of snow crushed in the roof of the Asheville Tobacco Works and a large stock of smoking tobacco was ruined. The loss is heavy. The old Shelton Factory, with a large stock of tobacco stored in It, was crushed to the ground, also the wholesale provision house of Dickson & Watson. CniCAOO, December 8.?A special from Chattanooga, Tenn., says : The roof of the stockhouse of the Dayton Coal and Furnace Company caved in late on Saturday night on account of the heavy fall of snow. The building is near two hundred feet square, ami more than half of the roof caved in. Usually there are about one hundred men in the house, but at the time of the collapse only the foreman, named Kerner, and half a dozen negroes were at work. They were all badly injured and two of the negroes will die. Ker ner was also fatally injured. Spartanbubo, December 6.?Since mid-night Friday it has been snowing, sleeting or raining, and to-day at 12 o'clock the snow is falling with no sign of clearing off. The depth of the compact mass in the open tields is b" to 8 inches. First we had four inches of snow. This was followed by frozen rain and sleet, which was driven into the snow and made a pretty compact mass. Then yesterday evening we had rain that made it more compact. Dur ing the night it snowed about three or ' four inches over this and here we are, i early in December, about as much snow I bound as we have been since the fam ! Otis snows of January. Ih5*?. Bamberg, December 6.?We have 1 had very severe weather since Friday ; night, at which time it commenced ; sleeting. Since then it has sleeted. ; snowed and rained at intervals, and (this morning we are having a heavy snow storm, such as is rarely seen m i this country. The trees are loaded to i their utmost rapacity with icy burdens, land many are giving way under their tremendous strain and came crashing to the ground. Many valuable shade ! trees and forests will lie injured, as ' well as the few vegetables still in gar dens. It is thought that, the oat crop : is as yet but little injured, as the earth I has not been frozen to auvconsiderable depth. Eiubezxler Jackson Pardoned. Atlanta. Ca., December 4. Major 1 (Icorge II. Jackson has been pardoned ; at last. Jackson was I'resident of the : Enterprise Cotton Factory in Augusta, where he S toot I at the head of .society as well as commerce. The discovery of a big default led to an examination of ? his books, which developed the fact ; that they had been doctored for years. The amount of the defalcation was ! placed by some as high as $2007 but 'he was convicted of the embezzlement I of sums to the amount of about.SI 17.UU0. I Numerous petitions from those who had been associated with him in bust : ness and society induced the (iovernor ' to pardon him. New I'ntilie ItuildiiiK for CIuirieslnn. Washington. December 7. The lull introduced by Senator Untier for the '? erection of a public building at ( liarles ton, S. C. provides that it shall be for the accommodation of the poslollice I and the I'nited Stales Courts and that the cost of the site shall not exceed ($100.000 and the cost of the building ; $400,000. "The Beautiful Snow" be blamed is i what we say, after this week's expert* I encc. 3 $1.50 PEB. ANNUM. CL?YEPJ?S WILL HANG. GOV. LEE REFUSES TO EXERCISE EXE CUTIVE CLEMENCY. The .Sentence Pronounced by the Court of Hustings ami Affirmed by Virginia*** Higltent Court Mast not toe Set A?i?t? or Commuted. Richmond. Dec. 7.?Gov. Lee to-day sent a letter to the counsel of Cluveri us, who is now under sentence of death for the murder of Fannie L. Madison, in which he says that he has given to the statements, and to all papers and petitions peescnted for Executive clem ency in behalf of the prisoner, the care ful consideration which their import ance demanded. The (iovernor then adds : "The prisoner came from the judicial to the executive department of the government, marked guilty by the judges and jury. Starting at that point therefore, I have been diligently studying the re cord, while industriously seeking in formation and evidence from all other sources, which might conclusively prove to my mind that the verdict of the court was an error and that, there fore the sentence pronounced by the Court of Hustings, and atlirmed by Virginia's highest court, must not be set aside or commuted. With an earnest desire to faithfully execute without fear or favor the laws of the State, impartially to all, with the most profound sympathy for those up ' on whose hearts this blow must fall, I with H clear conscience that 1 am dis ; charging my duty to the people of my ' State as Cod has given me strength to ! see it. I now write you to inform you : that I have not been able to reach a I dfferent conclusion from thecourts,and ?therefore, the case of Thomas .J.Clu verius is not one in my opinion to call : for executive interference, either by the exercise of pardoning power or by ' commutation of sentence." The Governor's decision was convey ed to the jail by Judge W. VV. Crump, I senior counsel, and his son. Reverly T. j Crump, who acquainted the prisoner 1 with it. Cluvenus stood the ordeal j with the same fortitude which has I generally characterized his conduct since his arrest, and during his trial. After his counsel left him, however, it was plainly apparent that the awful news he had heard had a marked effect, and that it was as much as he could do to maintain his wonted composure. Shortly after the counsel left the cell several "reporter- visited the jail and made an effort li see the prisoner, but when informed of their object by the "death watch" Cluverius said, "1 do not want .to see anybody." He was seated in an arm chair with his elbows on his knees and his chin buried iu his hands. Seeing the reporters at the door of his cell he-changed hisiposition and endeavored to appear (watri ana collected, but it was evident that the blow had struck home. Th? counsel presented a petition for respite to the Governor this evening. No ti^ne was named, as that is left to the Governor's discretion. It is the general impression that a respite of thirty days wiiNbe granted. " " \ A New Kurland Mystery. New England has been excited over the Wilson-Moen mystery, a suit re vealing the fact that Levi Wilson, au illiterate and uncouth hostler, had for years exercised some mysterious power over Moen and bled him to the extent of more than ?200,000. The suit was on a note given by Moen to Wilson for :?4(>,0UU. Roth parlies went on the wit ness stand but neither revealed the se cret. A few days ago Wilson gratified public curiosity with a revelation that he was Moen's son, born two or three i months after his marriage and that to J conceal the disgrace of his wife and j himself Moen had given him to a black I smith namad Wilson to adopt and raise j as his child. Since the statement was I made the records have been examined j and they prove that Wilson was born eleven months after Mrs. Moen?(who j he claims w;us his mother and who j seems to have been a woman of the highest character) died. New Eng ! land is, therefore, all adrift again, but opinion is settling on the theory that Wilson acquired his power by pretend ing to have evidence to prove a son of Moen's guilty of a dreadful crime. Fell Sixty Keel. A young man by the name of Far mer was killed at Thicketty Trestle, live miles below Caffney City, S. C. on Thursday night. Mr. Farmer, who lived at Clifton, had gone to Grover during the early morning and purchas ed two jugs of liquor. It is supposed that he became intoxicated. On his return, when the train was passing Thicketty Trestle, he mistook the slacking of Urn train, while crossing the trestle, fur the slacking lor the sta tion, and stepped off the trestle, falling a distance of sixty feet. His body was found Friday morning when the hands went t<> their work on the trestle, which is being replaced by a new iron one. His remains were scut to lloek ingham, as wo learn he was from that place. Charlotte Chronicle. Murder In York County. One of the most brutal murders in that part of the country was commit ted at Iloodtown, York county. S. C. about IU miles from Rlack's on Tues day. Three negroes had stolen some cotton, and were discovered by a tell year old son of Mr. William Hood, a respected farmer of I he vtemitv. The Wretches at once set UpOsI till! hoy, stoned and beat him until he was tin* conscious, ami then partly eoncea'ed the body. The boy's mother, becoming alarmed at his absence, went oul to look for him. In a short time he was dis covered, and a physician summoned, bill he died in a short time. Three negroes were arrested on suspicion, on Wednesday, and carried to jail at Vork ville. Creat indignation is expressed in the neighbor!;.I. and it is thought the negroes will be lynched. The paragraphic slurs alHiut boarding house chickens should cease. (Ullage should always command respect. Ridi culing spring chickens is akin to mak ing fun of your grandmother.