The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, April 25, 1888, Image 1
VOL. III. MANNING, CLARENDON COUNTY, S. C., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1888. NO.15
THE REAL SLAVE DEALERS.
HOW THE NORTH TRIES TO SHIRK
THE BURDEN OF ITS SINS.
A Plain Statement of the Facts, as Derived
from Public Records and Judicial De
cisions.
To the Editor of the News and Courier:
I was glad to see your editorial on March
9 last on the Emancipation Proclama
tion. It is surprising how much igno
rance exists upon the subject of emanci
pation in some of the usually best in
formed circles. I desire to call your atten
tion to two instances of this in that
usually accurate journal, the Nation. In
a recent number there appeared the re
view of a letter written from Washington
to a paper in Frankfort:
"The condition of our negro popula
tion is the subject of a Washington let
ter in the Frankfort Zeitung of Dsee
ber 24, 1887. The writer's view of their
social status is correct enough, but he is
rather at sea in his historical retrospect,
as when he says that the South was at'
one time more opposed to slavery than
was the North, and that the civil war
was a struggle between 'the sons of the
slave-owners and the planters to whom
their fathers had sold their dark com
modities.' There is a corollary to the
misleading statement that 'in 1790 the
negroes were distributed throughout this
country, and were almost exclusively
slaves,' but that, 'during the first quar
ter of a century, the inhabitants of the1
Northern States gradually sold their
slaves to the South, where climate and
the nature of the agricultural products ~
increase the value of negro labor,' all of s
which sounds as if the countryman of
Von Hoist had drawn his inspiration
from the pro-slavery pamphlets of Bu-r
chanan's Administration."
Wehave not seen this letter, nor do v
we know who is the writer, but if you'
will allow me space I think I can con
vince even the Nation, and its readers
who shall happen to see the communica- t
tion, that the statements quoted are notu
so wide of the mark as the Nation seems
to think.
If such as the Nation suggests was in-'
deed the source of the writer's informa
tion, can the following facts and figures,
which are taken mostly from a work of
that time, be disputed? The author from!
whom I take the figures, as I cannot at
this moment put my hand upon the cen
sus of -1790, was, it is true, a Bebel
brigadier, the heroic defender of Marye's I
Heights at Fredericksburg, where he was
killed; but all the same can the state
ments be denied? (Cobb on Slavery, C
Philadelphia, T. & L W. Johnson& Co.,
1858.)
By the census of 1790 there were
40,370 slaves in the States north of Vir
ginia. Now how were those 40,000
slaves emancipated? Can any one point
to a single act by any Northern State by
which any negro was actually and im-Z
mediately emancipated? We ask this
because it is clear that all the gradual
emancipation schemes had just the effect
which which the Frankfort writer states,
to wit: it caused the inhabitants of the
Northern States generally to sell their
slaves to the South. Laws prohibiting
slavery after some future date were but
warnings to the owners of slaves to send
them out of the State before the Act
should go into effect. The inevitable
working of such Acts was to send the'
slaves South for sale.
Vermont, we know, claims the honor
of having been the first to exclude
slavery. She clis that this was done
by herbill of rights in 1777. But the
.census of 1790 shows seventeen slaves. '
.It required, it is true, no great philan-'
-thropy to sacrifice the value of seven
teen slaves; but her bill of rights could1
miot have done a very perfect work sincea
it allowed seventeen slaves to remain in I
bonds thirteen years after its adoption.
Slavery, which had been introduced into
Masachusetts soon after its first settlIe- '
ment, was "tolerated," as Chief Justice
utlte adptin ofteConstitu o o
1780. Nor, indeed, did the Constitution I
of 1780, by any expres provision or'
declaration, prohibit slavery. But a.
very few days ago a letter of Mr. Thomas'
Sillway, of Boston, appeared in the
Charleston Sun, giving instances of bills
of sale and disposition by will of Indian
and negro slaves in Masachusetts as
late as 1771. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes
makae Old Sohthe nurse of Ebien
Venner, the dau herof a slave mother.
So granal was edecadence of slavery
in Masachusetts that as late as 1833 her
Supreme Court could not say by wa
specific Act the institution had b
abolished. Winchendon vs.
Mass., 123; Commonwealth vs. Ave', 18
Pick., 209.
In Belknap's New Hampshire, Vol,
III., 280, published 1792, the matter is
thus explained:
"Slavery is not prohibited by any ex
press law. Negroes were never very
numerous in New Hampshire. Some of1
them purchased their freedom during
the late war by serving three years in
the army. Others have been made free
by the justice and humanity of their
masters. In Masachusetts they are all
accounted free by the firet article in the
declaration of rights, 'All muen are born!
free and equal.' In the bill of rightseof:
New Hampshire the first article is ex-:
pressed in these words: 'All men are:
born equally free and independent,'
which, in the opinion of most persons,
will bear the same construction. But
others have deduced from it this infer
ence, that all who are born since the
Constitution was made are free; and that
those who were in slavery before remain
so still. For this reason, in the late
census, the blacks in New Hampshire
are distinguished into free and slaves. It
is not in my power to apologize for this
inconsistency."
The author then goes on to explain, as
-we Southerners afterwards continued to
do, how much better off those who were
.slaves were than those who were free in
other States. By the census of 1790
there were 158 slaves in New Hampshire,
.and in 1840) there was still one remain
ing.
In the plantations of Rhode Island
slaves were more numerous than in the
.other New England States, as, indeed,
they necessarily were, considering that
-the merchants and sailors of that little
8tajte were the greatest slave traders of
scouunnty. But as the negroes oouldJ
not thrive in her latitude her Legislature
provided a gradual scheme of emancipa
tion, which took a lifetime to work out, I
leaving as late as 1840 five slaves in that
State. Connecticut was too much inter
ested to indulge her philanthropy at the 4
expense of an immediate emancipation. E
In 1790 she had 2,750 slaves. So she, i
too, adopted a plan of gradual emanci
pation, bthe slow and prudent work- 3
ings of seventeen of her slaves re- i
mamed as such in 1840. f
As Mr. Bancroft observes, that New E
York is not a slave State like Carolina,is 1
Sue to her climate and not to the supe- 1
ior humanity of its founders, (2 vol., ]
303.) When South Carolina prohibited i
the importation of slaves from Africa in 1
L789, New York imported them and I
dhipped the savages to this State as 1
.erican slaves. As late as 1858 the s
London Times charged that New York
ad become the greatest slave trading i
art in the world, a charge which Wil- i
on in the "Rise and Fall of the Slave t
Power" fully corroborates. In 1790 New z
Eork had 21,324 slaves. She, too. I
dopted an Act of gradual emancipation, t
y the operation of which in 1840 all but t
our slaves had been gotten rid of. New t
Fersey, though adopting the same a
cheme, was slower in getting rid of her I
laves, 674 still remaining in 1840. N
Adam Smith observed: "The late a
esolution of the Quakers in Pennsyl
vania to set set at liberty all their negro
laves may satisfy us that their number E
annot be very great. Had they made i
ny considerable part of their property r
uch a resolution could never have been t
aken." (Wealth of Nations.) There t
were 3,737 slaves in Pennsylvania in
790, and, as Adam Smith predicted, she c
rould not sacrifice so much property. 1
to she, too, provided for gradual eman- 11
ipation. The census of 1840 showed C
'ty five negroes still in slavery. in E
8 a negro woman was put up on the a
uction block along with some machine
y, Smith's tools and one cow, and sold o
Dr debt by the sheriff of Fayette county. c
a the State of Brotherly Love. They 9
rere still discussitg this case in the Su
>reme Court of Pennsylvania as late as t
837, but it was about the inadequacy of I
he price the poor wretch brought, and iv
ot the iniquity of the transaction about a
rhich they were contending. (Lynch d
s. Commonwealth, 6 Watts 495.) It a
ras the frosts and snows which put an a
nd to slavery at the North, iot philan
bropy. t
It is familiar history that the slave n
rade by which slavery was established '
a this country was carried on by Old t)
ngland and New England, and not by I
he South. As Mr. Leaky points out, d
he New England trade, just prior to the u
tevolution, consisted in sending her
amber to the French Islands, where Ehe ti
btained in return an abundant supply ii
f molasses. The molasses she distilled ti
ato rum, and the rum she sent to Africa m
or negro slaves-(XVIL, Cen. 334.) i
)r, as Mr. McMaster puts it: "Scarce a S
,ear passed by but numbers of slavers h
rent out from Boston, from Medford, e
rom Salem, from Providence, from ti
fewport, from Bristol, Rhode Island. if
.he trade was a threefold kind. Mo
asses brought from Jamaica was turned
ato rum; the rum dispatched to Africa
>rought negroes; the negroes carried to
amaica or the Southern States were ex- A
hanged for molasses, which in turn,
aken back to New England, was quick
made into rum." (History of the
.eople of United States, Vol. 2-15.) C
South Carolina and Georgia, two at o
east of the Southern States, protested b
gainst the trade, not from any senti- b
aentality, but as overrunning the coun- s
ry with barharians and interfering with c
he immigrtion of the white race. The |p
tatute books of South Carolina, from :
698 to the Revolution, are filled with if
Lcts endeavoring to check by taxation n
ad otherwise the importation of slaves. 2
See A. A. 1698, 1712, 1714, 1716, 1717, a
744, 1751, 1764.) These taxes, with the d
,vowed purpose expressed in their li
areambles of checking this importation, a
were raised year by~yar from ?2 in 1714 v
o 100 in 1764. We cannot at this mo
ent refer to the authority, but we are u
inder a very strong impression that the a
olonial Council of South Carolina at il
ne time actually prohibited the im- ri
portation of slaves and that their Act
was suspended by the board of trade in a
.ondon as prejudicial to the commercial t<
cterests of England. As soon as South li
arolina was freed from this foreign a
ontrol, in 1787, before any action was p
ken by Congress, the State prohibited s
he importation all together. In the c
olony of Gergia savery wa abslutelf
798 the State prohibited the slave trade. I
:t is true that the prohibition by South I
arolina was removed from 1804 to tl
807, but this was owing to the impos- I
ibilit of preventing evasion of our ti
aws trugh the want of a State navy, tl
cud it was thought better to bring the ti
iegroes directly from Africa than re- a
eive them through New York as pre- i
ended Americans. See report of J. b
[ohnson Pettigrew (another ebel briga t
ier) to the Legislature of South Caroli- z
ia, against the reopening of the slave a
rade, 1856. Year Book, City of
harleston, 1883.
Of the 202 vessels that arrived in
iharleton habo yith slaves, during the
ive years ao. ports of the State
>pened for th Aave trade, 61 claimedt
o belong to Charleston and exactly the i
ame number avowedly belonged to New
England, (i e, Rhode Island 59, Boston
L. Connecticut 1;) 70 belonged to Great
Britain. Of the other 10, 3 belonged to
Baltimore, 4 to Norfolk, 2 to Sweden, 1
to France. If we look at the list of con
ignees we will see that it is not probablei
that the 61 which claimed to belong to
Charleston actually did so. For of the
02 vessels which brought in slaves but
13 consignees were natives of Charles
ton, while 88 were natives of Rhode Is
land, 91 of Boston and 10 of France. It
is most probable, therefore, that the 61
vessels claiming to belong to Charleston
in fact belonged to New Englanders re-I
siding in Charleston. For these statis
tics see Judge Smith's speech in the !
United States Senate, in which he ar
rayed Mr. D)eWolf, the Senator from
Khode Island, for his participation in
the slave trade.
Sometime since in its notes, in this
same paper, reviewing a work, "Brazil
and Slavery," the editor wrote as fol
lows:
"We can recommend it for its own
sake, but we have read it with the deep
est interest for its reflected light on that
irrepressible conflict which ended some|
nnAhnrinAnprl., 1865- and others in
[arch, 1876. First and above all it in
ipires a sense of profound thakfulness
that there never existed in this country
i party or a policy or a measure of
gradual emancipation. We mean of
course against that purely Southern
slave power which dictated the compro
nises of the Federal Constitution."
In this, the editor of the Nation could
iot have meant that there never existed
n this country a policy or a measure of
gradual emancipation, for, as we have
een, just such a policy was adopted
hroughout the Northern States-that it
vas by just such measures that the
Sorthern people rid themselves of the
nstitutions which they had so large a
and in imposing upon the South. But
vas this statement correct even if limited
>y his last sentence, "We mean of course
gainst the Southern slave power," &c?
Mr. Lincoln having declared in his
naugural that the Republican party had
to intention to interfere with the insti
ion of slavery; and Congress, by a joint
esolution, approved July 22, 1861,
laving repeated Mr. Lincoln's declara
ion and announced to the South that
he war was only for the preservation of
he Union, and not for the abolition of
lavery; and Congress having actually
passed in Mar3h, 1861, by two-thirds
-ote a proposed amendment to the Con
titution that:
"No amendment shall be made to the
,onstitution which will authorize or
:ive Congress the power to abolish or
aterfere within any State with the do
sestic institutions thereof, including
at of persons held to labor or service
> the laws of the said State."
Upon the recommendation of Mr. Lin
oln, made in a special message in April,
812, Congress passed another joint reso
tion offering pecuniary aid from the
eneral Government to induce the
tates to adopt "general abolishment of
Lavery."
Mr. Lincoln expressed the sentiment
f the North, which enabled him to carry
n the war successfully, when, on 22d
ngust, 1862, he said:
"My paramount object is to save the
nion, and not to save or destroy slavery.
f I could save the Union without free
ig any slave I would do it. If I could
ve it by freeing all the slaves I would
o it, and if I could do it by freeing
>me and leaving others alone, I would
[so do that."
The slaves in the States at war with
ae Federal Government were freed as a
ilitary and not as a political measure.
'he Federal Government did not free
de slaves in Delaware, Maryland and.
:entucky. The results of the war ren
ered slavery impracticable, but that
-as all.
The truth is, the South could at any
me during the war have secured the
istitution of slavery at the sacrifice of
ie right of secession. That sacrifice she
ould not voluntarily make, and she
>st both her sovereignty and her slaves.
he was the unfortunate, innocent, last
older of a dishonored bill, and the
itters of it turned upon her and called
the world to see how they would pun
th her for holding it.
EDWARD McCRADY, JR.
WITH SIX WHITE BEaRS.
u Animal Tamer Has Weird Suspicions
Regarding One of Them.
(Liverpool Courier.)
A singular occurrence took place at
ross' trading menagerie, in Earle street,
a Wednesday. A group of six white
ears from the Arctic regions that have
een starring the country and causing a
nation have just returned from a two
eeks' engagement at Hull. The daring
erformer who had traveled with them
ad been ailing for some time, and a
w days ago had to give up his engage
Lent and go back to his native country.
he dificulty then was to find a man
ho had the courage to enter the large
en with these bloodthirsty creatures.
ichard Reiffenstuhl, a celebrated lion
ad tiger tamer in Mr. Cross' employ,
lunteered to undertake the task, and
ith the late attendant, y. Trotman,
iade all ready. He entered the den,
d soon found himself surrounded by
ie six bears making for him in all di
actions.
After the usual set to there is with the
aimals, resulting in a coatsleeve being
>rn completely out of the coat and a
ttle blood spilt, Richard considered he
'as the master of beasts, laughed and
ut his hat on one side. Then came the
scond part of the performance, in which
ne of the brutes mounts a stool and
res a pistol. The pistol was got ready
id the bear mounted the stooL While
ichard was talking to the rest of the
eepers outside the den the bear pulled
ae cord, bang went the pistol and shot
ichard in the hand. The blood began
fiow freely and it was soon discovered
at the nail of one finger was blown en
rely. Dr. William Pugh was immedi
tely on the spot and attended to the
jured man, who, although he must
ave suffered intensely, made -light of
e injury. He caunot make up his
mid whether the shooting was wilful or
ccidental.
"I (AVE UP TO DIE.'
K~oxvrnE, TENN., yuly 2, 1S87.
I have had catarrh of the head for six
'ears. I went to a noted doctor and he
ated me for it, but could not cure me,
e said. I was over fifty years old and I
:ave up to die. I had a distressing
ough; my eyes were swollen and I am
ontident I could not have lived without
change. I sent and got one bottle of
pour B. B. B., used it, and felt better.
Chen I got four more, and thank God!
t cured me. Use this any way you may
vish for the good of sufferers.
Mns. M&wLA NIrOLos.
27 Florida Street.
Mr. Conkliisg' ree.
There is a story of two Rochester men
ho lately were in New York on legal
usiness. It occurred to them to con
slt Mr Conkling, and they did 5) at
some length and very much to their sat
sfaction. As they rose to go the spokes
nan said: "Mr. Conkling, we thank you
:or your advice, which is very valuable
o us. When we get home we will send
you a check for $300." "Oh no, gentle
en," said the ex-Senator, "don't do
that. I am only too happy to be of ser
ice to you anid make no charge. You
are qulte welcome, but when I do charge
my fee is $5,000."-Rochester Union.
Adam was not as good as he might have
been, but he never reeled off lies by the
ynAd aount the pranks of his schooldays.
THE COLOR LINE IN THE CHURCHES
Disturbing the Presbyterians this Time
The Chicago Presbytery Struggles With
It.
Cmocio, April 17.-The annual meet
ing of the Chicago Presbytery began
yesterday. The most important feature
of the proceedings of the day was the
preamble and resolutions introduced by
the Rev. Mr. Johnson, of the Theologi
cal Seminary, on the reunion of the
Northern and Southern t'resbyterian
churches.
After setting out that they heartily
favor the reunion of the Northern and
Southern Presbyterian churches, solely
on the basis of a common standard, they
assure the committee of the Southern
church that there is no change in views
concerning the spirituality of the church
as connected with its political deliver
ances. The resolution then says:
"We cannot consent to the establish
ment of a separate African Presbyterian
Church or to any provisional arrange
ment looking forward to the organiza
tion of a separate African Presbyterian
Church.
"We are willing to consent to an ar
rangement in the interests solely of prac
tical efficiency, by which present boun
daries and constituencies of presbyters
and synods in the South shall remain in
statue quo, provided this shall be the
unconstrained preference of both parties
interested, explicitly expressed according
to Presbyterian preferences, subject al
ways, as heretofore, to Acts of the Gen
eral Assembly."
"If there are a sufficient number of
ministers and churches to form a colored
presbytery in any locality already cov
ered by the synod, such presbytery may
be formed if those on the ground desire,
but such presbytery shall remain in such
synod unless there be a synod of other
Presbyterians near enough, to which the
presbytery asks to be attached."
The reading of the preamble and reso
lution created a profound sensation. Dr.
Gray protested that if such an utterance
as that went forth as the deliberate ex
pression of opinion of a body of Chris
tian ministers a quarter of a century
after the closing of the war it wo ald be
most infamous and disgraceful. He said:
"It means that we shall go down there
with arms and resuscitate all the old
issues of a bloody and nearly forgotten
war. The presbyteries of Florida, Mis
souri, Kentucky and Tennessee, have
already signified a desire to come over to
reunion, but not a man of them would
come in the face of such an insult, as'
this effort can only result in the disin
tegration of the church."
"The Rev. Dr. Witherow said:
"A powerful body will come to the
General Assembly asking for reunion.
We cannot stand on this proposition. It
would sweep us from off our feet. But
then again, if we say we will consent to
and coalesce all synods and all presby
teries, I doubt if we would succeed. If
we fail, it would be to the everlasting
shame of the Presbyterian church. I
don't believe in ecclesiastical utterances
and I am unmistakably convinced that
the introduction of the colored line in
religion is abhorrent to the Christian
sentiment of the day."
The matter will come up again.
The matter was finally disposed of by
the adoption of the first portion of Dr.
Worcester's amendment to Dr. Gray's
substitute, reading as follows:
"Resolved, That this Presbytery is
heartily in favor of reunion with the
Southern Church, on the basis of our
common standards, pure and simple."
The concluding portion, "and the
equal right of all disciples of Christ in
every court of Christ's church," was!
voted on separately, and on motion, was
laid upon the table.
A Sympathetic Oleander Bush.
A strange story comes from Sterling,
. Some time ago Miss Anna Leonard.
died at her home in that place. During
Miss Leonard's girlhood she was greatly
attached to an oleander bush, the gift of
a friend when she was but 6 years old.
When in bloom the bush was covered1
with bright scarlet flowers, and Miss Leo
nard was always a patient watcher to see
the flowers bust from the buds. Shortly
before she was taken ill Miss Leonard
had given away the bush to an intimate
friend. Last D)ecember, when the yonng I
lady began to grow worse. the oleander
bush began putting forth buds-a strange.
thing at that time of year. The buds'
developed as the young lady failed, and!
when her death occurred the village of
Sterling was searched for white flowers.
to put in her coffin, but non had been
found. The day the remains were to be
removed to Bellefontaine for interment
the budding oleander bush, which its
owner, Mrs.Goodyear, had been patiently
watching for ten weeks to bloom, burstI
into flower, and, instead of the customary
red flowers.the entire bush was covered
with snow-white ones. A bunch of the'
white flowers were culled and placed on'
Miss Leonard's coffin just as the remains
were being removed for shipment to
Bellefontaine.
The Columbia Libel Suit.
The Court for Richland county was
engaged all last week in the trial of the
case of Edward McCrady, Jr., vs. Tho..
C. Robertson, for $10,000 damages for
libel. The ground of the suit is a letter,
already published, which was written byI
Dr. Robertson to Gen. McCrsay in No
vember last, charging him with false
hood, treachery, knavery and bad faith
in a certain case to which Dr. Robertson
was a party and in which Gen. Mcrady
was the attorney for certain parties on
the other side. Col L. F. Youmans, of
Columbia, and Messrs. C. RI. Miles and
H. A. M. Smith, of Charleston, appeared
for the plaintif, while the defendant is!
represented by Messrs. Win. H. Lyles
and John T. Sloan, Jr., of Columbia.
A mass of testimony has been introducedi,
and at last accounts it seemed as if the
trial would consume not only all of last
week but most of this.
Wife (returned from church)-You
should have heard Mr. Goodman's ser
mon this morning, my dear. I don't know
when anything has made such a pro
found impression upon me.
Hasbad-Did you walk home?
Wife-No, I took a street car; and do
you know John, that the conductor never
asked me for ny fair. Wasn't I lucky?
A little boyf our acquaintance had
had his use of hall and will so often cor
rected that c'~ night in saying the Lord's
Prayer he id "Thy shall be done" in
place of 'y will be done."
THE FARMERS' TRUST.
How It Differs from the Grange in I1
Objects.
(Walter N. Allen, President Kansas Farmer
Trust, in St Louis Globe-Democrat.)
I have received letters from gentleme
of the Northwestern States asking th
question: "In what respect does th
Farmers' Trust differ from the Grange?
I can answer without prejudice, as
have been a member of the Grange fc
the past seventeen years. The Grang
tried to regulate prices on what th
farmers had to buy. The Farmer
Trust undertakes to control the prices o:
what the farmers have to sell. The one
appoints agents to buy cheap; the othe
will appoint agents to sell to the bes
advantage. The Grange is a secret socia
society; its members are bound togethe
by moral obligations; it sought to affec
legislation and to accomplish politics
ends. It excludes from membership al
persons who are not actual farmer
The Farmers' Trust has no secrets, signs
passwords nor black balls, and its mem
bers are bound together by pecuniar;
obligations-has a pocket interest and ,
business end. It seeks for the best busi
ness talent and invites the co-operatiol
of all men of brains, experience any
business integrity.
A distinguished gentleman from Bili
nois writes me, suggesting "Farmers
Protective Union" as a substitute for th
name Farmers' Trust. I am aware ther
is a prejudice against anything that ha
the name of "trust," but this is owing ti
the fact that the object of a trust is a
ittle understood. A trust is a union o
business institutions, and its object is ti
prevent ruinous competition in trade
sxpecienee having demonstrated tha
3ompetition is not the safe and hones
method of doing business. To conipeti
ion may be traced 80 per cent. of al
business failures, and the survival of the
ttest or strongest becomes an oppressivi
nonopoly. A trust is a compact betwee
,wo or mora independent business firm
greeing to do or not to do a certail
thing in the line of their business, ani
mplies a trustee to execute the true
;ho is restricted or limited to the specifi
>bject of the trust. By these modern
stitutions uniform grades of prices ar
stablishe3, thus protecting the weal
tgainst the strong and reserving to eacl
member of the union all the rights ani
powers not delegated to the trust.
A trust, therefore, is decentralizing ii
Is influence and a check upon monopo
,y, the latter being a consolidation o:
apital or a centralization of business
)wer, acting under one supreme head
eriving its nourishment and growtl
rom the failure and ruin of competitor
u trade. When a combination in busi.
ess assumes this character it ceases t
e a trust, and becomes a monopoly.
The manufacturing and commercia
1asses are organized, but the agricultur
d-tbe fundamental industrial class-is
morganized and at the mercy of the
>ther two. The Farmers' Trust move
nent, therefore, has become a necessit
n order to secure an equitable exchang
)f products, and to restore the norma
sondition of trade or an equilibrium of
>roduction and consumption.
INTENSIVE GARDENING.
rhe Trench System of Growing Vegetables
Explained.
At Lake City, Fla., Dr. J. F. Appels
ias produced some extremely fine gard
;n lands by trenching the border of s
ake; one principal object accomplished
>eing the elevation of the surface abov
)verflow. Of the usual method and
bject the Times Democrat says:
In Europe what is known as the tren
~hing system is practiced for growing
egetables, and is well adaped on smal
arms where space is scarce, and the Jar
~est amount must be Eecured in order tC
et as much as possible from the soil,
he Rural Home thus alludes to the
nethod:
"A farmer in Yolo county, Cal., has
nade a great success in growing vege
;ables by following the system. He d2gl
ranches about two feet and then fills ii
nanure one foot, covering it over with
he top soil. His theory is that thi
nanure so warnms the earth that you car
~row vegetables all winter and that i1
raws moisture in the dry season"
We do not believe in this theory thai
he benefit is due to the warmth only
rogh the warmth and moisture art
.ncreasing by such mode of growing.
The plan is to dig trenches two fee1
leep and two feet wide. The trenchei
ire then filled to within nine inches o:
he top with manure. Over this the tol
;oil is thrown, and the plants placed
pon the soil. If the subsoil is throwr
)ek, it must be first mixed with the
anure and a small quanity of line
prikled over it occasionally during the
rocess, so as to hasten chemical action
vhich not only disintegrates and renderi
oluble the subsoil, but also causel
3hemical action on the subsoil by -the
nanure. 'The manure being coverei
with the top :oil, or mixed with the sub
oil, cannot sufler loss by unison wit]
tie.
The trenching system requires labor
but if any one will give it atrial he wil
b convinced that it pays. The planti
will at no time suffer for want of food
by will endure drought and cold bet
:er,"and toe ground will grow two o:
bree crops, each crop being large and o
m perior quality. We recommend it t<
ill interested.
A Wail F'rom Ohio.
The following is an extract from the
platform of the Republican party in Ohio
rcently in co'.vention.
Secton 4. The people of Ohio unqual
iied condemn the refusal of the Demo
ratic majority of the house of Repre
setatives to permit the passage of th
irect tax ref unding bill, passed by th<
Repubican Senate, which was a proposi
tion to repay to the loyal States, withou
intersts, the money paid by them at the
begining of the war to ald in suppressini
the rebellion, and to cancel- the unpaii
balance, principal and intrest, due fron
Rebel States upon said taxes, and w.
denounce as treacherous and cowardl:
the surrender of Northern Democrats il
Congress to a small minority of Er
Confederates and their allies, and the
abandonment of a bill which, if passed
would have contributed nearly a millioz
and a half dollars to the relief of the tax
payers of Ohio.
A good mny supposed educated peopi
must ha:ve lbeen very much surprised o
late to think how little they knew of th
roal hisory of Germany.
MR. CLEMSON'S BEQUEST.
A STATEMENT OF THE PROBABLE
EX tINT OF THE GIFT.
n
e A Large Quantity of Land are Some Per
e sonal Property Given for a College where
" Agriculture and Other Branches Shall
I Be Taught.
r (From the Greenville Daily News, April 14.)
e No even: of recent years has aroused
e more interest among the farmers, and
the people generally, than the death, last
B Saturday, of Thomas G. Clemson, the
r venerable son-in-law and heir of John C.
1 Calhoun, and his bequest of "Fort Hill,"
r Mr. Calhoun's home during the latter
t days of his life, to the State of South
1 Carolina for use as an agricultural col
lege.
A reporter. for the Greenville Daily
- News went to Fort Hill on yesterday to
obtain particulars in confirmation of and
- addition to the few facts heretofore given
1 the public. He was fortunate enough to
meet there the Hon. R. W. Simpson,
. Mr. Clemson's trusted friend and agent
' and executor, who had gone from Pen
a dieton to Fort Hill with Mr. Lee, of
3 New York, who married Mr. Clemson's
daughter, and Miss Lee, a very young
lady, the dead ma:i's only grand child
and the great-grand-daughter of Mr.
Calhoun.
t Miss Lee has not been to Fort Hill be
t fore since she was a small child and
- there was a very picturesque scene soon
1 after her arrival when the old family
3 servants, some of them with snow white
3 hair and beard, gathered in the old fash
1 ioned, moss covered porch of the home
3 stead to see and pay their loyal respects
I to the youngest representative of the
family with which they have been iden
tified so long.
I Mr. Simpson is the only living person
l who hat seen and read Mr. Clemson's
3 will, and as he has not yet probated it
he was evidently reluctant to talk of its
contents in detail. As so much has been
published, however, most of it based on
statements made by Mr. Clems 1n before
his death and some of it incorrect, Mr.
Simpson communicated the most im
Eortant facts.
- Mr. Clemson's will was drawn several
years ago by the late Col. Jas. H. Rion,
but several amendments and additions
I more recently made were drawn by Mr.
Simpson. He bequeaths to his grand
daughter, Miss Lee, $15,000 in money
and securities and 330 acres of the Fort
I Hill place, with the provision that that
- tract may be bought in and added to the
remainder of the estate at a fixed price.
Other legacies amount to $10,000, of
- which $7,000 was paid before his death.
All the remainder of the Fort Hill estate,
with the buildings and the magnificent
collection of rare pictures, except the
family pictures, which go to Miss Lee,
Mr. Calhoun's furniture and books re
maining in the house and the stocks,
bonds, money and other securities of
Mr. Clemson, go to the State for the
establishment and maintenance of an
agricultural college.
The Fort Hill place contains 1,150
acres. Of this 330 acres, as already
stated, go to Miss Lee, but can be pur- l
chased to keep the estate intact at a
fixed reasonable price. Those intimate- l
ly acquainted with Mr. Clemson's affairs
estimate that the securities and cash re
maining after the payment of all encum-i
brances and expenses will be between
l$50,000 and $60,000, available for de
-veloping and endowing the college.
The magnificence of the bequest can
noD well be appreciated without an
understanding of what and where Fort
It is in Oconee county just at the point*
where Oconee, Pickens and Anderson
Iunite. It runs for some distance along
the Seneca river and thence back into
rolling uplands and heavi y timbered3
woodland. The house stands on the,
crest of a gently rising hill in the midst
of a wide park, an avenue of old and
beautiful cedars leading to it. From the
front there is a glorious view directly to
the mountains until their purple lines
mingle with the horizon; on another
side the view over looks the Seneca,
wending its way among the hills, and
the old British fort, from which the place
takes its name and which is on the Fort
Hill plantation.
The residence is in eight of the Rich
mond & D~anville railroad track, at a
distance of half a mile, and is four miles
from Pendleton, on the Blue Ridge rail
road, four miles from Central, on the
Richmond & Danville road, and seven
miles from Seneca City, the meeting
point of the two railroads mentioned.
Iani hr to imagine a requisite for
aagricultumal college which Fort Hill
does not possess. It has nearly 200 acres
of the finest bottom land, creek and
river bottom, cleared upland, pasture
land in wide stretches and a great belt
of first growth timber, and its upland
soil is partly gray and partly red land.
It is abundantly watered with springs,
wells and creeks and has all possible
natural convenience for dairy, bathing
houee ond itaundrye purposes. Where a
crek o itempiesinto the Seneca river
there is a good water power which has
been used for a mill which did the neigh
borhood grinding.
A fair estimate of the value of the real
and personal property included in the
bequest makes it exceed $109,000, with
omi, of course, including the pictures and
furniture, which are priceless. Contrary
to general expectation, the library is a
very ordinary one, most of the more
valuable books having been borrowed,
stolen or otherwise lost during Mr.
Clemson's long period of retirement and
partial illness.
The property is given to the State to
be used as an institution for instruction
in agriculture, but the will directs that
the college shall not be exclusively agri
cultural and that proper attention be
given to other studies and to a general
collegiate course for students. -If the
State accepts the gift, the college is to
be under the management of seven trus
. tees, named in the will, Messrs. R. W.
Simpson, D. K. Norris, B. B. Tillman,
M. L. Donaldson, Rt. Ei. Bowen, J. E.
e Bradley and J. E. Wannamaker. In
f case the State refuses to accept the gift
e these trustees are authorized and directed
to proceed with the establishment of the
college, using an amount specified in
in the will for buildings and making
tuition as nearly free as they may find
possible or advisable.
It was no sudden freak that inspired
Mr. Clemson's action. As long ago as
1866 he was interested in the establish
ment of such an institution as his will
provides for and he was then active in
forwarding a scheme to procure private
gifts and subscriptions for the purpose.
After the tragic death of his only son,
killed by a railroad accident in 1871, be
became more than ever before interested
and evolved and publicly anno'unced his
purpose to devote the Calhoun property
to the glorious purpose of promoting
practical agriculturai education. Since
then he has thought and talked much of
the subject and his will was no surprise
to those who knew him best or to Mr.
Lee, his son-in-law, who knew long ago
the destination intended for the prop
erty.
On returning from Fort HiDl, the
Greenville News representative met at
Central D. K. Norris, now the foremost
leader of the "farmers' movement," and
since Mr. Tillman's formal retirement,
the most prominent and persistent advo
cate for a separate farmers' college. Mr.
Norris was quiet on the subject of the
Clemson bequest, but evidently deeply
enthused and very much in earnest.
He said the gift put the whole matter
of the college in the hands of the farm
ers, and they could secure a magnificent
institution for agricultural education if
they will use the opportunity. With the
amount from the land scrip now given
the South Carolina College and the,
money from the fertilizer tax. now di
verted to the college annex and other
purposes-every cent of which, he said,
was legally and morally for the use of
the farmers for educating farmers-an
income of $10,000 a year would be se
cured for the new college, with its
grounds and buildings all provided and
some income from the surplus endow
ment. That was m6re than the- State
Military Academy and the State College
have together, he said, and would give a
splendid, thoroughly efcient agricul
tural college capable of accommodatig
undreds of students, without -the addi
tion of one cent to the taxes. He did
ot believe, he said, in free tuition.
That question had been, settled in the
ease of the State College. But he
thought it probable a system would be
idopted by which students would be
abled to pay the whole or a large part
Af their own expenses by extra work and,
service in the institution.
One valuable feature of the Fort Hill
library will probably puzzle the executor
md the trustees to dispose of it. It is
the manuscript of the completed first
volume of the life of John C. Calhoun,
prepared by the late Pinckney Starke,
with the aid of Mr. Clemson. It is,
owever, all in a peculiar short hand
invented by Mr. Starke himself, and
appears to defy all efforts to translate it.
afany of the documents, reports and
2ther manuscript used by Mr. Starke.
md collected by him and B. M. T.
Eunter, of Virginia, who undertook jo
prepare a life of Mr. Calhoun, but was
3ompelled by poverty to relinquish it,
ere in an oldtrunk in the library build
ng and may be found valuable by some
ater biographer.
After the talk with Col. Simpson and
Jo1 Norris and after seeing the intense
)arnestness with which they appear to
)e inspired in the execution of the, work
eft with them to do, the News represen
ative had no difficalty in bringing to
is mind's eye the picture that was
loubtless presented to Mr. Clemson's
magination many times-the picture of
she homely house, hallowed by the name
>f the grim old statesman whose face
with its Celtic cheek bones and blazing
~yes looks with life-like gaze from the
zner walls, the centre of a group of
tatlier buildings-of the rounded slopes
>f velvet green, made deep and dark be
eath the interlacing branches of the
iturdy cedaas and of lighter and more
elicate shifting tints where they fall
iway in the sunlight to the silver river
>n one side and the murmuring, spark
ing stream and bending willows on the
>ther, peopled with the young and
sturdy bone and sinew of the State
alhoun loved so well and represented
,o grandly, learnmng how to make her
icher, grander and happier-the glori
>us, fruitful home of a people as pros.
erous and strong as they have ever-been
rave, generous anid free.
A Pet Alligator.
Two little daughters of Mrs. George
rabler, of Longview, Tex., have a cute
ittle pet alligator about four feet in
Length whose name is Jim. Jim knows
is little mistresses, recognizes his name
when called, and submits or enjoys an
nlimitedamount or petting, particularly
snjoyed the scratching of his back, and,
surprisingly, seems to be sensitive to the
scratching through his thick skin. A dog
sxcites his anger, and when one intrudes
spon his 'gatorship he issues forth a
musky oder that is disagreeable to any
well -regulated human olfactories. Jim's~
winter diet, so far as the family can
notice, consists of mud, and whenever
the weither is mild the 'gator is permit.
bed to wallow in its mudhole, whence it
uomes back puffed up until it looks like
in Alderman, or a prairie pony after
irinking and ending a two days' thirst.
'The little girls sometimes dress Jim up
m a doll, and the reptile has quite sup
planted pet clucking raccoozns and squir
eels in the affection of the girls, owing, is
s supposed, to its odd ugliness.
A Prodigal Cat.
"It was a white cat," said a townsman
ast night, "and every one in the family
thought a great deal of it. It was
considered a very knowing cat-one of
those felines quite capable of taking care
of No. 1. One day it was missing. Great
was the grief, especially of the children,
Just five years afterwards that cat
same back to the house. It was first seen
walking on a stone wall, as it had often
been seen walking there before it so
mysteriously disappeared. It recognized
members of the family and purred witn
great satisfaction. Some one suggested
that, after all, is might be another cat,
and a test was made which proved it was
he same one. The original cat had
been taught to open ene of the doors
by jumping up and strikig the latch
wiun its paws. Puss was put in the room
and the door closed. In a few minuted
it was heard to strike the latch. Thei
door opened and the cat walked out.
Kintn (N Y.) Freeman,