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m ? um SUB?T KR WATCHMAN, XatmbUohed April, 1850. "Be Just and Fear not?Let all the Ends thon Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. SUMTER, S. C, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1895. TBK TRUE SOUTHRON, Established Jnne, 1366 New Series-Tol. XT. No 12. IST. Gr. Osteen, s?mteb, s. c. TSRns * Two Dollars per ano am?in advance. a dt s an s s m s ht: One Square first insertion.............$1 00 Every subsequent insertion_?..... . 50 Contraete for three months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. AH communications which subserve private interests will be charged foras advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respect will be charged for. LOOKS LIKE TEN CENTS COTTON. The Phenomenal Else in the Pnce of the Fleecy Staple. TL? strength displayed by the boli side of the cotton market just now is simply phenomenal. Again and again the bears bave attacked the figures with a determination, which during any other season would have sent them toppling, and they have not only been met, but vanquished, on each occasion. These facts can only mean that the bulls have a supreme confidence in the shortness of the crop* and consequently in ten* cent cotton before the new year. One of the biggest bear raids of the season was expected yesterday, and it was made, but with very lim ited success. Nearly everything favored the shorts, and for an hour they carried everything their own way, but at the end of that time the wonderful endurance and recupera tive power of the bulls made them selves manifest. The recovery was not rapid, but it was slow and sore. Liverpool broke badly in the morn ing, decling 5 points before the close, thus giving a cue to the short inter ests on this side, which they were not slow to take and improve The receipts, too, were not so bullish as they bave been for several days, though they still fell 10,000 bales be low last year's figures. Later in the day the New Orleans correspondent of Messrs. Adams & Co.? wired the exchange that he was authorized to state that Ne ill's estimate of the crop was 6,300,000 at a maximum. He added, however, that in this calculation Neiil had 4>laeed the Texas crop at 1,870,000 bales-, and that he was willing to ad mit that the latest reports from that region would seem to make those figures too large. Taken altogether the Neill estimate was larger than many people had supposed it would be, a~ 1 this fact helped the bearish movement Possibly the greatest point in favor of the shorts, however, was the fact that the rise in prices during the last three days bad been too great and too sudden. During last Saturday January cotton was as low as 8.9S, while Wednesday it touched 9,44. 46 points gain in three working days. The strain was too great, and few people thought that euch prices could possibly hold if the bears made a eudden and determined rush. January begun to show some weakness towards the close Wednes day, going down finally to 9 25. The opening yesterday was 8 points high er, and the next call added another, but there the stampede begun. Every quotation from Liverpool showed a drop and New York responded promptly *This weut^ on util, just after noon, 9.16 was reached, but there the recovery begun, and it did not end until the market closed, with' January quoted at 9.28, 3 points above Wednesday's close A striking feature of the day was the fact that half the time New Or leans was higher than New York, when under normal conditions it should be 30 points lower. This con dition was attributable to the well known fact that New Orleans is not only very bullish, bot that she is try ing to maintain a corner in ail the months up to January She has un questionably made barrels of money so fur. bat she is engaged in a mighty dangerous game just now. Charleston's receipts were a thou sand bales short of the figures in 1S94. The total receipts at all the ports to-day last year were 76,000 balee, and consequently a good big shortage in the comparative figures is expected The feeling at the Exchange to wards the close was decidedly more b?llish than in the morning Cau tious buyers fear another slump, but the more inveterate bulls expect to realize to-day on yesterday's pur chases with good profits. Liverpool quotations will doubtless have even more than usual effect With no change there a few points one way or the other will cover the fluctua tions in New York, but if an advance is reported from England the bullish fever will try to duplicate Wednee day's figures One of the "tips" yesterday said that baying cotton at 21 was like finding money, and even some of the most reliable houses acknowledged to feeling bullish at the same figures, but few old opera tors feel that buying cotton is the cinch it was six weeks ago By judicious "scalping" the bulls expect to ma?2 a good deal yet, but they are decidedly inore on the defensive than they were ten days ago.?News and Courier, Oct. 18. Education in the South. Even in this era of good feeling, when sectional animosity is nowhere popular, it is not uncommon for cer tain influential journals in the North to make censorious comments on edu cation in the South. The Southern people are accused of making too little effort for the support of public schools If those who make this ac cusation really believe it and are willing to test that belief by com par ing it with the facts of the situation, they now have an opportunity to do so. President Dreher, of Koanoke college, in a recent address, points out "some difficulties and encourage ments" in educational work iu the Southern States. The first difficulty is lack of money The South came out of the war impoverished Most of her people are engaged in agri culture, in which money is accumu lated slowly. Dr Dreher cites the census of 1890 to show that the six New England States, with an area of 66,465 square miles, and a popula tion of 4,700,745, had an assessed valuation of $3,667.947.695, and the six Middle States, including Mary land and the District of Colombia, with an area of 116 530 square miles and a population of 14,142,075, had an assessed vsluation of $7,813,052, 992; while the thirteen Southern States, not including Missouri, with an area of 818,065 square miles, and a population of 17,914,290, had an assessed valuation of only ?3,731, 097,264 The New England and Middle States combined, with an area only two-ninths of that of the Southern States, and a population greater by only 928,530, have an as sessed valuation of real and personal property more than three times as large as that of the South By the application of a little arith m e tic the president of Roa ok e shows from this comparative statement that the rate of taxation which will pro vide public schools for 10 months of the year at the North will be suffi cient to maintain such schools at the South for only three and a third months in the year. The assessed valuation in Massachusetts was three fifths of that of the thirteen Southern States. The assessed valuation of New York was greater than that of the thirteen Southern States. Penn sylvania bas an assessed valuation, seven times that of Kentucky. In view of these contrasts it may be well doubted if ihe people of the North have made a greater effort than the Southern people to maintain the public schools Another difficulty which confronts the Southerners is the sparseness of population. New England has 71 people to the square mile; the Middle States, 121 ; the Southern States, 22; Massachu setts, 278, and Virginia only 41 ; Con necticut, 154, and Georgia only 31 ; Pennsylvania, 117, and Alabama only 29 Dr. Dreher states that, as it is neces3ary to maintain throughout the vast territory of the South separate schools for the two races, the forego ing comparisons, which are based on the total population, do not fairly rep res?nt the serious obstacle encount ered iu maintaining good schools by reason of the sparseness of popula tion in the South For instance, Alabama, with a total population of 1,513,017, has, as we have said, an average of 25 people to the square mile; but Alabama has $33,718 white people, or 16 to the equate mile ; and 679,299 colored people, or 13 to the square mile, making it prac tically two States, so far as the main tenance of schools is concerned, with the exception of the cost of superintendence. We do not believe that there is any people in this or any other country that has ever made such sacrifices for education as the men and women of the South have made and are making in the support of free schools. Let their censorious critics study the facts collected by Presi dent Dreher and their sense of jus tice will compel them to bestow praise where they have been bestow ing condemnation. ? Washington Post. Britisii Missions Destroyed. London, Oct. 18 ?A dispatch from Shanghai to a news agency pays that riots bave broken out i:j C'hangpu in the southeast part of the Island of Acioy and the English missioos there have beer, destroyed. The missionaries appealed to the mandarines for protec tion, but those officials refused to inter fere Law of the Lawless. The Mob is the Last Resort in Hampton County. Hampton. Oat 17 ? Wm. Blake, Sr., Jason Blake. Prioce Graves aod William Frasier were convicted this evening of the morder of Mr. Raymond Meares on the 9th of August last. Wm. Blake. Sr , was recommended to the mercv of the court, and his sentence was life imprisonment. The other three were sentenced to be hanged on the 6fb of December next. After the prisoners were sentenced it was evident that there was dissatisfac tion '? the jury'a recommendation to tuerof of Wm. Blake, Sr . and some persoos were heard to say that Blake would never reach the penitentiary. The convicted persons, as soon as court adjourned, about half-past 7 p. roM were handcuffed and takeu out of the court room. On their way to the jail, within a few fee? of the jail, the sheriff and his constables were overpowered by a number of men, and Wm. Blake, Sr., and William Frasier, who were hand cuffed together, were forced from the custody of the constables aod taken off into the woods. The handcuffs were unlocked in some way and Frasier was returned Ls the custody of the jailer. The crowd, numbering about fifty men, proceeded to a dense piece of woods abvjt one-half mile from the court house and hung Wm. Blake, Sr., with a plow line, to the limb of a large pine tree. Several shots were fired into bis body and the crowd dispersed. The coroner's jury returned a verdiot that Wm. Blake, Sr., came to his death at the hands of parties unknown to the jury ? The State. The S. C &Tg Holding Out. New York, Ost 17.?There was an other meeting of the representatives of the aouthero lines at the Hotel Waldorf to-day for the purpose of making a supreme and 6nal effort to form the proposed Southern States freight as sociation. The sessi od began shortly before 11 o'clock, and although the special conference committee had re ported that it had failed in its efforts to induce the South Carolina and Geor gia road as well as the Clyde line to sign the agreement, the intimation was made that opposing lines would change their attitude on certain conditions. When the representatives assembled to-day a general sentiment prevailed that ao association would be formed before the close of the day . The first evidftuce of this long desired turn of affairs was furnished when General Menacer Scott of the South Carolina and Georgia railroad addressed the meeting He delivered a very em phatic address, in which he outlined the objections of his company with re gard to becoming a member of the as sociation. He caused quite a stir by announcing that, provided reasonable guarantees were assured his company as well as the other companies, would change their position and join the as sociation. Mr. Thomas specified the guarantees he wanted, and the meet ing proceeded to discuss the proposi tion. The Great Memphis Swindle. Memphis, e , October 19.?De velopments to-day in the shortage of A. K. Ward show that his forgeries will amount to about $300 000. Of this ?75,000 is held by the local banks, $40,000 are in New York city, $12,000 in Chicago and the re mainder by firms and individuals in Memphis. Ward enjoyed unlimited confidence in business and social cir cles and he secured money on forged notes from at least a dozen widows in amounts running from one to fifty thousand dollars. He also borrowed the savings of the employees of the firm of which he was general mana ger and gave them spurious notes for it. No one knows what he did with the money, but there are no traces of his gambling, speculating or dissipat ing. The best information to be had shows that half of this money was secured within the last six months. Ward and his wife are en ronte for British Honduras on the 6teamer Breakwater. Roasted Rice. New Orleans, Oct. 18.?A disas trous fire occurred here about 6 o'clock this afternoon. All the build ings fronting the river on the square between Elysian Fields street and Esplanade avenue, including Rice Mill B, formerly known as Persever ance Rice Mill, was entirely destroy ed This was one of the finest and b^st equipped rice mills in the coun try, having been thoroughly equip ped with the newest and most im proved machinery only 18 months ago. It is said that there was at least ?10,000 worth of clean rico in the mill The amount of loss could not | be stated to-night, but it is possibly | ?300,000, partially covered by in sarance. Wrecked Two Homes. Special to The State. Gbeenvillk, Oct. 18 ?For a wee* or more minors bave been io circula tion that D. F. Bacot, a prominent citi zen of Greenville, having the confidence aod respect of the community, had lelt his family aod gooe away with a young woman of Colombia, said to be relate ! to him. A careful investigation aod consultation with close friends of the family of Bacot proves the truth of thu rumor. About three weeks ago be left the city and at Greenwood, it is stated, he was joined by a youDg womao?a girl of only about 16 years of age?who went north with him over the Seaboor?: Air Line. Nothing was knowo of bis movements untii the news reached Greenville that he was io New York about to take a steamer for Furope or Sooth America. After leaviog Greenwood the story is shrouded in mystery, as those who know the facts decline to make them koown. Dr. Bacot has beeo a successful druggist, doing a large wholesale and retail business, aod has always com manded the respect of the people of this city. There is a strong feeling of in dignation against him which is publicly expressed as he has brought great sor row to two homes. Immigration. The constitutional convention should make some provision for a department of immigration, or should require the legislature to promote immigratioo. No better service can be done for the cause of white supremacy?so freely de clared by the "dominant element"lo be in danger?than to secure additional white popolatioo. We once bad a department of the State goveromeot which was charged with the promotion of immigratioo aod made some progress io that direc tion although the times were not aus picious for bringing settlers into Sooth Carolina?bat Tillman had that depart ment abolished, aod since theo we have had no State agency by which to fos ter immigratioo. The cooditioos have changed. Ten years ago there was felt throughout the north a profound dis;rust of the sooth, aod sectional feeling was the handmaiden of a great political party. The great wes? was io the flush of its highest prosperity aod to it streamed not ooly the foreign immigrants, by hundreds of thousands yearly, but the adventurous and the dissatisfied of the east. In the face of such a migration it was almost impossible, strive as we might, to attract my coosiderable im migration to the south. Since that time, however, the west has been peopled by millioos aod its best publio lands have been exhausted, its development has been pushed to a point in advance of its resources ; it do longer offers homesteads for the taking and its demand for labor has beeo glutted; iofiated values have been punc tured and drought aod panic have set it backward; tens of thousands of its people are anxious to get away aod make a Dew start uDder better coodi tioos. Sentiment oorth aod west io regard to the south has cbaoged The Republican party has practically aband oned sectionalism as an isisue. The feeling of amity between the sectioos is growing apace. Instead of being de nounced as the citadel of barbarism the south is gaining respect aod praise aod its great resources are being exploited by a formely hostie prese. A move ment of populatioo from the west to the south has already set in, and nearly all the southern States are receiving immigrants, singly and in colonies, of the best class. South Carolina is perhaps the mosj backward of all the Southern States in tak?Dg advantage of this tendency, yet even South Carolina has made a begin oing, as witness Col. Mike Brown's western colony in Barn well couoty. If we cao bot secure election reform, break through the isolating Chinese wall which is sought to be built around us for political ends, and promote a , broader spirit of toleration, there is no reasco why this State should not rival any of hjer southern sisters in attract ing a large and wholesome immigra tion. The convention should provide for thin contingency. It should put ihe State in position to take the fullest ad vantage 'if this new migration south ward. We do not need to emphasize the value of an increase of our white population on. political, industrial, financial and social grounds. Immigra tion of the right sort meaos increased wealth, new industries, more economic methods, a greater leavening of intelli gence and education, a fortified white majority, higher values for land.-, larger consumption of agricultural pro ducts and a dozen other blessings. But it is not going to come to this Stato without our seeking it, and we should make up our minds to seek it and se cure it. Wc earnestly urge the convention to make provision of some sort for this great aod beneficent work ?The State' THE CONVENTION. Working to Protect the Home and the Sheepfold. The following summary of Thurs day and Friday's work of the Con vention is taken from the special tele graphic reports of the News and Courier : THURSDAY. The Convention spent practically the entire day in discussing the homestead law. The question is still unsettled, and the promise of de bate on this important matter is un limited The fight of the day was on this clause of the proposed sec tion : "But after a homestead has been claimed, set aside and recorded it shall not be mortgaged, sold or conveyed except by order of a Court of record, and the proceeds shall be invested in another homestead." Senator Tillman fought hard for an iron-clad homestead, with no way of mortgaging when a party was .in debt without first setting aside a homestead. Mr. Ho well moved to strike out the quoted provision, and he and his allies carried the day by a vote of 82 to 44. At the night ses sion amendments proposed by Judge Fraser and Mr. Ragsdale, further ex plaining the homestead law and making it more forcible, were adopt ed. The all-absorbing homestead as it now stands, and as it seems would be adopted, is as follows : Section 29. The Genera! Assembly ehall enact such laws as will exempt from attachment and sale under any mesne or final process issued from any Court, to the head of any family residing in this State a homestead in land?, whether held in fee or any lesser estate; not to exceed in value one thousand dollars, with the yearly products thereof ; and every head of a family residing in this State, whether having a homestead exemp tion in lands or not, personal propetty not to exceed in value the sum of five hundred dollars. The title to the homestead to be set off and assigned shall be held absolutely and be for ever discharged from all debts of said debtor, then existing or thereafter contracted, as hereinafter provided : Provided, that in case any woman having a separate estate shall be jmaried to the head of a family who has not of his own sufficient property to constitute a homestead, as herein before provided, said married woman shall be entitled to a Hl?e exemption as provided for the head of a family : Provided, further, there shall not be an allowance of more than one thou sand dollars worth of real estate and more than five hundred dollars worth of personal property to the husband and wifp jointly: Provided, that no property shall be exempted from attachment, levy or sale for taxes, or for payment of obligations contracted jfothe pur chase of said homestead or the erection of improvements there on: Provided, further, that the yearly products of said homestead shall not be exempt from attachment, levy or sale for the payment of obligations contracted in the production of the same: Provided, further, that no waiver shall defeat the right of home stead, except it be by deed or mort gage and against the mortgage debt, and no judgement creditor or other creditor, whose lien does not bind the homestead, shall have any right or equity to require a lien which em braces the homestead and other prop erty to first exhaust the homestead." FRIDAY. The Convention did another day's hard work. With ?he exception of six paragraphs the article on finance and taxation was adopted. Prelimi nary to undertaking the report of the committee on finance and taxation the report on penal and charitable in stitutions was considered and ordered engrossed, with the exception of the clause providing for a board of chari ties and corrections, which was eli minated, as the Convention did not seem disposed to create the new ?ni ces. Provision was made that the Gen eral Assembly might provide for a graduated tax on incomes. The greater part of the morning was con sumed by the dog issue, and the vote showed conclusively that the dogs still have their friends Repeated motions to provide for a tax on dogs were voted down, and as far as the i delegates seemed disposed to go was ! to say "the General Assembly may ; impose a capitation tax upon such domestic aminals as from their nature > and habit are destructive of other! property" The Contention would not say that this was specially direct- j Highest cf ail in Leavening Pow ed agai net dogs. The fight, as dog fights generally are, was intensely interesting. An iron clad section against the increase of debt was made, and the Convention cut off any further bonded indebtedness by counties or townships in aid of railroads or other enterprises. The door to all legisla tive authority to counties and town ships to issue bonds, except for edu cational purposes, has been closed and barred. The fiscal year was made to com mence on the 1st of January without any discussion or division. State bonds hereafter to be issued were made to be "payable within not less than twenty years nor more than forty." The old clause ignoring debts contracted for the civil war was struck out. The Convention first passed the Wharton resolution limiting debate to ten miuutes, but it was loaded down with amendments and finally killed. The corporation report was made the special order for Thursday, but will hardly be reached by that time. Ordered a Mistrial. The Jury Was Kept Locked up Without Avail. At 2:15 yesterday the jury in the Aughtry murder case ba?i failed to reach a verdict, as announced in The State The boars roiled on ; daylight 'came ; then came noon and still there was no agreement. And there never was any. The predicted mistrial was tbe result of the second trial of T. C. An jhtrv About noon yesterday tbe jury came into tbe courtroom aDd announced that it was a matter of impossibility for them to agree oo averdict. Judge Witberspoon sent them back asking tbem to see ooce more if they could not reach aD agreement. Tbe jury then remained out till 2:15 m., when they came in again* Tbe formeman informed Judge Witberspoon that there was no hope whatever of an agreement being reached. There being nothing else to do Judge Witberspoon ended tbe trial by ordering a mistrial to be entered and discharged the jury. So Aughtry waits till the next term of court to stand bis trial. Aogbtry's whole demeanor seemed changed when the mistrial was ordered, and tbe careworn contraction of his brow disappeared. Re seemed to be much relieved From what can be ascertained the jury stood from first to last 5 for cod viction and 7 for acquittal. This morning Mrs. Oliver, the wife of the murdered man. will be arraigned upon the charge of being au "acces sory" before the fact to the murder of her husband. Her trial will not be pro ceeded with at this term of tbe court,, however?The State. The Dispensary Exhibit. The exhibit of the State dispensary, which has been in course of prepara tion for some time, was yesterday after noon shipped to Atlanta ; it occupied ooe box car. In the exhibit there is a case of every class of goods that the dispensary bottles. There will be no exhibition of tbe method of bottling, etc. State Liquor Commissioner Mixson will leave for Atlanta oo Moaday to supervise the placing of the exhibit in position?The Slate. Some Hope For Charleston. New York, Oct. 15.?The new agree ment fixing the freight rates on tbe Southern railroads was effected at the meetiog of to-day of representatives of all tbe railroads of tbe South aod the connectiog branches. The meeting was held at the Hotel Waldorf bthiud closed doors, and the debate on tbe new agree ment was continued until late in the afternoon. Messrs. Scott, of the Geor gia Railroad ; Clyde, of the Clyde Steamship Line, and Parsone, of the South Carolina aod Georgia Railroad, refused to sign tbe agreement. In tbe interests of harmony a committee was appointed to meet the three objectors, but after a session lasting two hours the committee had to adjourn, having accomplished little or noth ing The committee was com posed of Samuel Spencer. Hcnrv Fink. E. St. John, R. G. Irving and T. IVI. Emerson The committee reported to the Convention that it would hold another session to-morrow morn ing, and the Convention adjourned un til to morrow at IS a. m er.?Latest U. S. Gov't Report EEV PURE