Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Case Firing Cane Fields! Inperative Command of Cu ba's Patriot Leader. But if Grinding is Attempted the Mills Will be Burnt. HABANA, Jan. 15, via Tampa, Fla., Jan., 17.-With the commander-in chief of the rebel forces only 15 miles away, and the entire island overrun with roving bands of insur? gents, the people of this city pursue their usual vocations with a serenity and lack of outward sign of unea? siness ar alarm that is remarkable. Merchants and business men general? ly discuss the situation as though it j were nothing more them a speii of! hard times. It certainly is that, for all the railroads out of here have noti? fied the authorities that they can run no more tiains. There is little ship? ping is port, for there remain only stored goods for export. Several American tobacco houses have ship? ped their goods to the States, closed their warehouses, and business gen? erally is stagnant. The future of Cuba is not bright and the rebellion has reached the magnitude cf a civil war, although Spain will not admit that anything but brigandage and some disorder exists. American newspapers have arrived here with long and starling accounts of the condition of affairs in this city and immediate vicinity. Most of these accounts are headed "By Asso? ciated Press," and are dated from Habana on the day preceding pub? lication. That fact alone proves that they were never written in Cuba, for the press censorship of cablegrams is 60 strict that such matter could not be cabled from here even if it were j true. The announcement that Ha- ! bana had fallen and only Morre castle held out, which was given a Boston date and claimed to have been sent from Batabano, was a palpable fake, for Batabano which is a small town on the south coast, had been cut off from communication from Habana by^ rail or wire for three days. During the interval that these alleged cable dispatches stated this city to be in a condition bordering on a reign of terror, the opera was weli attended, there was the usual throng promenad ing the Central park evenings, and people assembled in the clubs and cafes without the least apprehension of an attack upon this city. It was not until the arrival of the American papers whieh are served by the Chi cage Associated Press that the resi? dents of Habana learned of the alarm and dread which some at a dis? tance imagined they were passing through. The city is protected from approach by the land as well as from the sea by modern fortifications and field artillery Capture by an army like that of Gomez without cannon "does not come within the range of probability, and he is too shrewd a leader te make the foolhardly attempt, even though recognition as belliger? ents by the United States hangs in the balance. The press censorship is more rigid than at any time since the insurrec? tion was begun. Senor Casanas, the . political secretary of the governor ' general, has recently replaced the chief of staff, the former censor. He j does not speak English aud all cable? grams in that language must be ac? companied by a literal copy in Span? ish. Senor Casar?as is extremely j courteous and kind in his manner, j and only pauses in his protestations j of regard to draw his pen through a I few sentences in your cablegram which do not meet his approval. An illustration of the close watch kept upon telegrams occured on Sunday when the insurgent leader Cepero was captured by the authorities travel? ling incognito ou a south coast steam? er. The Diario de la Marma issued an extra describing the arrest which was giving an exaggerated import? ance when it is considered that only one man was taken without arms and he was of indifferent fame. I at? tempted to cable it to The States Sun? day night. The censor stopped it, telling me that while it was permit? ted to be published in Habana it could not go to New York until the next day. On Monday I again men? tioned the arrest in my cablegram but it was cut out. although I was per? mitted to tell of the attack and burn? ing of two towns by the rebels. Only what is known as official sews is permitted to be published in the Habana papers and Secretary Casana8 has a tedious task each day reading the proofs of all news and editorial matter which has any con? nection whatever with the war. After reading the Spanish translation of a cablegram, the secretary signs his name to it and places his official stamp upon it. Both copies may be then taken to the cable office and the English version is transmitted. General Campos bas drawn all available troops from thc provinces of Santiago, Santa Clara and Puerto Principe and thrown them into the narrow portion of the island around Habana and Matanzas. It is a coun? try withont mountains or forests ; it is rich in sugar cane and has more towns, more people, more railroads and more improvements generally than any other part of the islsud. Campos is supposed to have 120,000 regulars and 80,000 volunteers at his disposal. The latter are kept in the cities and towns for home defense, ! except a few regiments which have been seut out with tiie regulars, It : is supposed, though no figures are I given out, that Campos has about I 50,000 regulars in the provinces of I Habana and Matanzas extending to i the Pinar del Rio line. This force ; has attempted to pen Gomez and Maceo in the west end of the isiand and has repeatedly attempted to sur- 1 round and crush the wily leader of; tiie rebels ; but Gomez is like a fox- : he avoids all traps and dodges : through some narrow placer. Ile openly announces his intention to invade the western provinces and stop the grinding of cane in order to cut off Spain's revenue. Ile has apparently accomplished hie purpose, and in doing so has wrought vast de- ! struction upon crops and property ! generally He has turned his atten- ; tion to the railroads, giving as his ! reason that they were being used '< by Spaniards for military purposes. His men have set fire to freight trains 1 and started them running across the ! country. They have moved locomo? tives two miles apart and started them running toward each other at j full speed. They have burned trest- j les, stations, coaches and freight sheds. After destroying about one- I third of the cane in the field and causing most of the planters to stop grinding, Gomez issued tbs following : proclamation: General Headquartt rs of the Lib?r?t ing Army ol' Cuba.-Sugar Estate ! .'Mi Rosa," January IO, 1896. In consideration that the crop has been suspended in the western dis tricts ; and whereas, it is not neces- j sary that the burning of the cane- j fields should continue ; I dispose the ! : following. Article 1. The burning of cane- | I fields is now prohibited j Article 2 Those that centravene j I this disposition, whatsoever be their I ! category or rank in the army, will be i treated with the utmost severity of ! military discipline in behalf of the ; ' moral order of the revolution. Article 3. The buildings and ma chinery of the sugar estates will be destroyed, if in spite of this dsposi- j I tion they should intend to renew their works. Article 4. The pacific inhabitants of the island of Cuba, whatsoever be their nationality, will be respected and agricultural laborers be not inter? fered with. (Signed) The General in Chief, M. GOMEZ The war is costing Spain $6,000, 000 a month for the maintenance of the army alone From the outbreak, Feb. 24, 1895, until Jan. 1, 1896, the cost amounted to ?85,000,000 ac? cording to figures published by La Discassion here. The financial loss, owing to the burning of crops, towns and destruction of railroad property, cannot be calculated until the smoke clears away. The Cubans, without recognition as belligerents, are yet a long way from obtaining freedom for Cuba, but Spiin on the other iiand seems to be a long way from crush- j ing out the trouble. F.J. CLARK. i ; Campos Called From Cuba. _ j Now, "War to the Knife and ? the Knife to the Hilt." WASHINGTON, Jan, IT.-Minister Dupuy de Lome, Spanish minister, late this afternoon received a cable- ; gram from the DuKe of Tetuan, min- ' ister of foreign affairs at Madrid, saying that "the official news from j j Cuba and the state of the insurrec-1 j tion are as satisfactory as I tele? graphed you this morning Inde ! pendently of the military action, the government has authorized Marshal Martinez Campos to resign his com? mand to General Marin and return to Spain in consequence of the conduct of the political parties of Cuba con? trary to the policy of the commander in-chief, asking a change of system of conducting the war." Senor Dupuy de Lome does not think that the change in command at this juncture will have any injurious effect upon the campaign or that any political change in the conduct of operations will take place Spain has shown a readiness to agree to the retirement of General Campos on the request of leading loyal citizens of Cuba who found, as has been stated when General Campos was first sent to Cuba, that he was dis? posed to be ienient with the insur? gents. He was frequently criticized, however justly, for being too con? ciliatory. As shown by its dispatch, the government is perfectly satisfied with the state of the campaign gen? erally and does not borrow any trouble as long as the rebeis are con? trolled within a small territory. A MERCILESS POLICY. HABANA, Jan. 13.-A meeting of generals was held last evening at the palace of the captain general, at which Marshal Campos announced that he had cabled to the govern? ment at Madrid stating the result of his conference with the leaders of the political parties and signifying his intention to abide loyally by any decision the cabinet might make in the matter. To this dispatch he said he had received a reply advising bira, in view of the conditions exist- j ing, to turn over the civil and mili? tary government of the island to Generals Marin and Pando. This he had done so far as was possible, General Pando being in Santiago de Cuba General Marin had taken charge of the government temporarily and his responsibility would be shared by General Pando shortly. The news that Marshal Campos had practically been lelieved of his command caused little excitement in the city The matter was discussed in the cafes, restaurants and hotel lobbies where the people gather at night, but there was no sign of alarm displayed There are many Spaniards who believe that General Campos has been altogether too lenient in his treatment of the rebels and they clamor for a more vigorous policy. Thc men who will have temporary charge of the civil and ; military branches of the government j are known to believe in a policy that ! will give no mercy to those who are in arms against the king and it is ex? pected that vigorous measures will ? be taken to suppress the insurrection. The people here are confident in the ability of the government to main? tain order here. Little news, and that of no im? portance, has been received from the front to-day. The rebels have suc? ceeded in rutting off nearly all means of communication with the interior. Many rumors are in circulation, but when they are investigated they turn out to be baseless. One thing is certain, and that is that Habana is not threatened by the rebels from outside They know fall well that the ' Gibraltar o? the West'' could not be captured by them, and that even were it possible for them to capture, they could not hold it, for 24 hours against the warships which would speedily bombard it and drive them out. The only danger is a rising on the part of the Cuban sym? pathizers in the city and that is a danger that perhaps is hardly apre ciable in view of the strong force of regular troops and volunteers in the city and vicing. Every precaution has beeu taken to prevent such a ris? ing were an attempt made. REAFFIRMED AND CON? FIRMED. Washington, Jan 17.-The Seoate committee on foreign relations die cussed for two hours this morning the Monroe doctrine, and finally by a vote, ordered a report on the resolution sub? mitted by Mr. Davis ol Minnesota, chairman of the sub-committee. Mr, Turpie, at whose request the matter was laid over uoti! to-day, made an argu? ment against the affirmation by con? gress of the doctrine as a general principle. He believed it was suffi? cient for the doctrine to be applied when speci fie cases arose. He favored its application to the pending difficulty between Venc. ela and Great Britain but thought that it should rest there for the present. Mr. Gray of Delaware was opposed to any motion whatever that bad for its object the affirmation of the doctrine by legislative action. Ile believed the whole subject was one in which the legislative department of the govern? ment alone should act. and that upon that branch of the governtient and nor congress rested tbe responsibility of enforcing or Dot the doctrine laid dowu by Monroe. Neither of these argumoDts had any weight with the commu?e. They were combat ted by Senators Sherman, Lodge, Morgan aod others. Mr. Mills oue of the new members of the committee, au ardent admirer of Jefferson, was one of thc most enthusi? astic supporters of the affirmation of the doctrine. The vote to adopt the Davis resolution was agreed to after one or two alterations in tbe verbiage had been made. Tbe committee also decid? ed to vote upon the motion ot Mr. SbermaD, that the action of the com? mittee and the text of the resolution should not be given out until that was reported to the senate Monday next. Davis was requested to sive notice when he reported the resolution that he should call it up at the earliest possible ! moment. This resolution goes even farther than did the President in his message to Congress on the Venezue? lan question. It will, if passed, com? mit the congress to a policy from which there can be no back down, and there appears to be DO doubt as to the ulti? mate result oo the resolution. Omitting the two whereases, which simply form a prelude to the more se? rious utterances of the resolution itself, it ?8 said that it will be found, when the text ia made public, that ft reaffirms and confirms the Monroe doctrine and declares that the United States will assert and maintain it. It states spe? cifically that this government will re? gard as an infringement of this doc? trine, any attempt on the part of any European power to acquire new or additional territory on this continent or the islands adjacent there;o, as dan? gerous to the safety and peace of the United States. Tho United States also denies the right of any European power to acquire any territory either by force, purchase, cession, occupation, pledge, colooizatioD or protection, whether under unfounded pretensions of right, under the guise of boundary disputes, or otherwise, and declare? unmistakably that any sucii attempt will be regarded as a manifestation of an unfriendly disposition upon which this government cannot look with in? difference -^mm~+ . i ? -? For a pain in the chest a piece of flanne dampened with Chamberlain's Pain Balm und bound on over the seat of the pain, and another on the back between the shoulders, will afford prompt relief. This is especially valuable in cases where the pain is caused by a cold and there is a tendency toward pneu? monia. For sale by Dr. A. J. China. The Week's Work. CONSIDERABLE WORK DONE BY THE LEGISLATURE Nearly all the Leading Meas? ures Provided For in the Convention Introduced. A Disposition to Hustle Which May Shorten the Session. The first week of the session of the general assembly of South Carolina J of 189G has now passed into history, ; and the body is going ahead in pretty ! good working shape. The work so j far has covered five working days, and they have resulted in a consider? able amount of work being done. The body has shown a disposition at ; the outset to work with as little loss of time as possible, and some are of the opinion th?t the session will not be as long as all have seemed to think Considerable time has been sa. i by the introduction at the very out? set of the leading measures provided ! for in the new constitution, which j were prepared in advance by Assist j ant Attorney General Townsend and I Senator ?fird. With these impor ! tant bills the public are alreadj. ia j miliar. They were sent in promptly so that they could get before the committees and several of them have been reported. One, the bill pro? viding for the reorganization of the State Supreme Court, has passed the Senate and been sent to the House, while its mate in the j House is ready for a second reading. ! Both houses by tb J energetic work ! of the committees have gotten their calendars, which were pretty well cleaned up the first two days, quite full, and henceforth there wid be no occasion for a lack of material to work upon. The educational bill, which is one of the more important measures, has not yet made its ap? pearance. There are plenty of other bills also that have not yet been heard from, and there is likely to be a considerable fight over certain features of the appropriation bil! when it comes in. Both houses have shown a desire to dispose of the bills provided for in the new constitution before deal? ing with any of the smaller matters. The leading event of the past week *;i the body was the fight over the bill to abolish the Citadel academy, which was killed on Saturday. The debate over this bill led to the dis? cussion of certain factional matters, which the members of the constitu? tional convention seemed to think, and very reasonably too, were buried forever. These matters will doubt? less make their reappearance when the Citadel's appropriation comes up. Of all the bills introduced thus far ! the "yaller dog" scalp bill seems to i be the most unique it) its require j ments, though there have been some j others of quite an interesting ehar j acter. j Resolutions have already made I their appearance looking to investi gratincr committees on three interest ing subjects. First there is the iu j vestigation of the charges of Direct j or Willoughby against Superintend j ent Neal, of the penitentiary, the ! committee beginning work thereon at noon to day. Then there is the in? vestigation of the charges and ru? mors in regard to the troubles at Clemson College, and lastly lhere ia the proposed investigation of the railroad situation in this State. Speaking of railroads, the legislature has thus far shown a disposition to deal with them in accordance with what Governor Evans said in his message. The bills proposing to fix a new fertilizer rate in the statute law, and to reduce passenger rates are among the measures affecting railroads. Thus far nothing has appeared in either house bearing on the dispen? sary system in any notable manner, j Governor Evans has not yet sent in ? his promised special message on this j branch of the State government This week the commissioner's report I of the last quarter will be issued and the governor expects to transmit this message about the end of this or the first of next week. Of course the subject is an interesting one. The election of the Associate Jus? tices of the Supreme Court, which created so much general interest prior to the assembling of the Legis? lature is doing so no longer. To day the election takes place and by to-night there wiil likely be much talk about the speakership. Associ? ate Justice Pope will be re-elected without opposition it is thought. It is now pretty well conceded that Speaker Jones is to get the other justiceship. Attorney General Bar? ber has announced that he will not enter the race, and it is understood that Colonel Aldrich will pursue a similar course. Whether this is true or not is not positively known, how? ever. If it is true, Speaker Jones will have a walkover. This will cause a vacancy in thc speakership and make a vacant seat from Lancaster county in the house. Messrs. Breazeale and Frank B. Gary are mentioned as Speaker Jones' successor. The former is chairman of the judiciary and the latter is chairman of the ways and means committee. These are the two most important committees, and if either; is elected speaker, there will be an ? important chairmanship for some one. ; A bili is to go in which will in- j crease the number of judicial circuits | in the State from eight to ten, and do [ away with many magistrates The rearrangement of the districts has been practically agreed upon This will make it necessary to elect two new judges at this session, and two j nev/ solicitors will have to be elected by the people. Solicitor Bellinger is spoken of as one of the possible new judges. Making Laws. The House of Representatives Hard at Work. NEW BILLS IN THE SENATE. ; COLUMBIA, Jan. 20.-The General j I Assembly is disposing ol' the busi- j . ness before that body at a rate that j i will complete all the necessary work ? j at a much earlier day than was at:- j j tieipated aud the session will prove a j ! comparatively short one. ! The House agreed to the amend ! ment to ttie rules offered by Mr. j Bacot which provides that bills are j ; to be read by title on the third reading. 1 I The more important bills ordered ; ? to a third reading: were : To proviiie for county treasurers : i visiting accessible points for the col- j j lection of taxes. i For the election of a Code com ? missioner at ?400 per annum. For the changes of venue in cer ? tain criminal cases. To make the Statutes and Constitu I tion comply as to the law as to mar I ried women. To permit surety companies to go on bonds for estates, etc. I ... . i To require court stenographers to j supply free copies of testimony where ? wanted for appeals. To provide for the pay of defend I ant's witnesses. To provide for the new county jail in Spartanbnrg. To carry out the Constitutional provisions against lynching. An effort to repeal the law in reference to foreclosure of mortgages passed last year failed. When the anti lynching bill came up there was a disposition to provide punishment only in cases where death ensued, but it was found the Constitution provided for cases of injury to prisoners. The section providing for the trial of violators of the Statute as to lynching was stricken out on the recommendation of the committee. The biil was then verbally amended and passed iu its third reading as follows : Section 1. That in the case of any prisoner lawfully in charge, custody or control ot any officer, State or County or municipal being seized and taken from said officer through the negligence, permission I or connivance of such officer by a ] mob or other unlawful assemblage of ! persons and at their hands suffering ! bodily violence or death, the said j , officer shall be deemed guilty7 of a ! j misdemeanor, and upon true bill ! found shall be deposed from office I pending his trial, and upon convic ! tion shall forfeit his office, and shall, i \ unless pardoned by the Governor, be I ? ineligible to hold any office of trust I or profit within this State. It shall j be the duty cf the prosecuting at I torney within whose circuit or coun I ty the offence may be committed to j forthwith institute a prosecution ! against said officer, who shall be i tried in such county in the same ; circuit other than the one in which ? the offence was committed as the Attorney General may elect. The fees of mileage of ali material wit? nesses, both for the State and the defence, shall be paid by the State treasurer on a certificate issued by the clerk and signed by the presiding Judge, showing the amount of said fee due the witness. Section 2. In all cases of lynch? ing, when death ensues the county where such lynching takes place shall, without regard to the conduct of the officers, be liable in exem? plary damages of not less than two j thousand dollars, to be recovered by action instituted in any Court of competent jurisdiction by the legal representatives of the person lynch? ed, and they are hereby authorized tc institute such action for the recovery of such exemplary damages. A county against which a judgement has been obtained for damages in aDy case of lynching shall have the right to recover the amount of said judg? ment from the parties engaged in said lynching in any Court of compe? tent jurisdiction, and is hereby au? thorized to institute such action. TUE SENATE. The Senate met at 8 o'clock p. m., io accordance with the resolution adopt? ed at adjournment on Friday night. When on the third bills, the oue pro? viding for the appointment of magis? trates and to provide for their jursdic tion was reached, Mr. Mower, in the ab? sence of Mr. Barnwell, renewed the ob? jection made by the junior senator from Charleston on the second readiog, by offering a resolution striking out the provision giving the governor authority to remove from office magistrates for incapacity, misconduct or neglect of duty. When this bill came up for a second reading, Mr Barnwell made the point that the Constitution provided that these officers should be removed by impeachment and that any authority given the governor to do so would be in conflict with such constitutional provision, and thus null and void. Mr. Efird bad questioned the sound? ness of Mr. BarnwelTs position and asked that the bill be passed over until he could look more thoroughly into the matter. This was done, and last night, on Mr. Mower's amendment being read, Mr. Efired stated thnt he was now satis? fied that Mr Bran well's point was a valid joostttutional objection. Tne amendment, was adopted An amendment ofr^rr'i by Mr. Moses, providing that if th-: renate should re? fuse to confirm a nomination made by the governor it shall be unlawful for O m the governor to reappoint his nominee for that term, was adopted' Mr. Brice offered an amendment pro? viding that magistrates have power to commit convicts in their courts direct to the county chain gang. An amendment by Mr. Sloan, em? powering town councils to en force the collection of fices by issuing executions direct to the sheriff, was passed. The followiog new bills were intro duod : By Mr. Moses-A bili to amend sec? tion 510 of the Revised Statutes of 1393, being section 476 of tho general statutes relating to offices to be filled by the governor. By Mr. Moses-To amend section 115 of the Revised Statutes of 1893, vol. 2, being sectiuo 2460 of the gene? ral statutes relating to the age of con? sent. By Mr. Moses-To amend section 333 of the Revised Statutes of 1893, being section 276 of the general stat? utes of this State relating to peoalty for non-payment of taxes By Mr. Mower-A bill relating to building and loan association. By Mr. Mayfield-To declare the free school law of this State. Joint resolution providing for ap poitmeot of a committee to fix the sala? ries of county officers io the several counties of the State. By Mr. Kirkland-To apportion the net income derived from the sale of li? quors under the dispensary law. mm -?-??- mi - RUFUS HATCH'S GIFT. Uncle Rufus Hatch was noted for the vigor of his language and bis apparent unconcern for things touching the im? mortality of the soul, says the New York Press. Ele was of the world, worldly. One day it got abroad in the street that he had given $40,000 to a church and the thousand and one friends of the old man were delighted that he had at last seen the error of his ways. At last he blurted out to half a dozen intimates : "Boys, I haven't got any more religion than usual, and I didn't give up $40.000 because I repented my sins. The church owed that amount and my wife had been running her legs off as one of the committee to raise sub? scriptions. She was out morning, afternoon and evening. I never saw her I got tired of thc whole business and gave the $40,U00 to make her stay at home " THE SULTAN AND THE RED CROSS. Washington, Jan. 19.-Secretary Oiuey stated to-night that he had no reply as yet to his telegrams of inquiry to Minister Terrell at Constantinople, asking whether or not the sultan bas directed that the Red Cross officials should not enter his dominions for the purpose of distributing relief among the Armenians. In the meantime, Miss Clara Barton, president, is en? gaged in perfecting preparations for the voyage to Turkey, which she and her associates will undertake despite the re? port that they will not be permitted to discharge their charitable trusts. She will leave Washington Tuesday and go to New York, sailing from that port a day or two later. The "Flying Squadron." LONDON, Jan. 20.-It is stated upon absolutely trustworthy authority that the chief commandijg officers of the new flying squadron of British warships have been supplied with special charts of North American waters. West In? dians seas and the Mediterranean. The imformant bas seen the charts. STATEMENT FROM HEADQUARTERS. LONDON, Jan. 20.-The United Press has the authority of the admiralty for the statement that no information what? ever regarding where the squadron is going or where it is not going has been given to anybody. The London news? paper tomorrow will print the following communication, which bas been issued to them by the foreign office. "With reference to a report from Washington of alleged telegraphic cor? respondence between United States Secretary of State Olney and Lord Salisbury, respecting the movements of tbs British fleet we are officially in? formed that, no communication bas pass? ed between her majesty's government aod the government of the United States upon any naval question." The Stearn Racer holds nearly all tbe world's records. The Stearns Special is the finest combination track and ro^d wheej built. And :he Stearns Model A is the road wheel par excellence. The Stearns Ladies' Wheel and Tandem are perfect models of their kind. H. G. Osteeo & Co , Agents or Sumter and Clarendon.