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u 'fo (hine oxen self be true, and it must follow, '?s the night thc day, thou can1 st not then bc false to any man."
BY lt. A. THOMPSON & CO.]
PIOKENS C. H., S. C., SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, I860.
[VOL/ I-NO. 17
One .Year Ago.
What stars ^ave-faded from our sky,
What hopes unfolded but to die,?
What dreams so fondly pondered o'er,
Forever lost the hues they wore ;
0 How like a death knell, sad and slow.
Tolls through tho soul "ono year ago."
Whore is the face wc loved to greet,
Tho form that graced thc fireside scat,
Tho gentle smilo, thc winning way,
That blessed our pathway day by day?
Where tied thoso accents soft and low,
That thrilled our hearts "one year ago?"
Ah, vacant is thc fireside chair,
The smilo that won no longer there;
From door and hall, from porch and lawn,
Tho echo of the voice is gono;
And we who linger only know
How much was lost "ono year ago."
liosrde her grave thc marble white
Keeps silent guard by day and night !
. Serene she sleeps, nor heeds tho tread
Of footsteps o'er her lowly bcd !
Her pulseless breast no more may know
Tho pangs of life "ono year ago!"
But why repino? A few more.years, ?
A few more broken sighs and tears.
And we, enlisted with the dead,
Shall follow where her steps have fled;
To that far world rejoicing go,
To which she passed " one year ago."
, ? ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE.
An / Act Preliminary to tho Legislation in
;, duced by tho Emancipation of Slaves.
? ,,Kc^Yhcrea? the .Oot?v.e.n?.jo^
the Constitution lately ratified, did recognize
the emancipation of slaves, and declare thal
tl.neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime, shall ever
be re-established tn this State," and did di reel
that, for eacli District in the State, there
should bc-establish ed an Inferior Court, to bc
styled " the District Court, which Courtshall
have jurisdiction of all civil causes wherein
one or both of the parties are persons of color,
and of all criminal causes wherein thc accused
is a person of color." Therefore,
Bo it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives, now met Mid sitting in Gen
eral Assembly, and by the authority of the
?ame, That this Act shall be preliminary to
44 An Act to establish abd regulate the domes
tic relations of persons of color, and to amend
the law in relation to paupers, vagrancy and
bastardy ;" and "An Act to establish District
.Courts," and "Ari Act to amend the criminal
law," which Acts have been induced by thc
Constitution aforesaid ; and that in reference
tosthese Acts the following provisions shall
obtain :
See. il Words importing tho singular num
ber only shall be construed to apply to sever
al persons or things as well as one person or
thing, and every word?importing the mascu
line gender only, shall be construed to extend
to a female *as well as a male, where the con
text does not forbid such construction.
Sec. Iii. A|| free negroes, mulattoes and
mestizoes, all freedmen and freed women, and
all descendants through cither sex of any of
these persons, shall bc known as pwtorin of
?iudof, except that every such descendant, who?
may have of Caucasian blood seven-eighths or
. more, shall be deemed a white person. .
. Seo. IV. Tito statutes and regulations con
cerning slavos arc now inapplicable to persons
of color ; and although such persons aro not
entitled to social or political equality with
white persons, they shall have the right to ac
quire, own arid disposo of property ; lo make
contracts; to enjoy thc fruits of their labor;
to sue and be ?nod ; and to receive protec
., tion under thc law in their persons and prop
erty.
Sec. V. All rights and remedies-respecting
persons and property, and all duties and lia
bilities under laws, civil and criminal, which
apply to white persons, are extended to per
sons of color, subject, to the modifications made
by this Act and tho other Acts hereinbefore
mentioned.
An A ot to amend an Act entitled " An Act
to alter tho law in relation to Last .Wills
and Testaments, and for other purposes,*'
1 ratified the 21st December, 1858.
ti Re it onacted by tho'Senate and Houso
, of Representatives, now met and sitting in
General Assembly, and by the authority of
the same. That no subscribing witness to any
will, testament or codicil, shall hereafter be
held incompetent to attest or prove thc same
by reason ot' any device, legacy, or bequest
therein in favor of such witness, or the hus
band or wife of such witness, or by reason of
any appointment therein of such witness, or
the husband or wife ot' such witness, to any
office, trust, or duty, and such device, legacy,
or bequest^ shall be and thc sanie is hereby
declared valid and effectual, if otherwise so,
oxoept so far ns the property, estate or interest
so devised or bequeated shall exceed in value,
any property, estate or interest to which such
witness, or thc husband or wife of such wit
ness would be entitled, upon the failure to es
tablish such will, testament or codicil, but to
the extent of such excess, the said device, leg
acy or bequest, shall be null and void ; and
such appointment shall be valid, if otherwise
so; but the person or persons so appointed
shall not, in such case, be entitled bylaw to
toke or receive any commissions, or other com
pensation, on account thereof.
II. That the second section of an act enti
tled " An act to alter the law in relation to
last wills and testaments, and for other pur
poses," ratified the 21st December, 1858, be
and the same is hereby repealed.
III. That thc third section of thc said act
be amended so as to read as follows, viz : That
hereafter the probate, in due form of law, by
and before tho proper Ordinary, of,any last
will and testament, whether the same be of
real property exclusively, or of real and per
sonal property mixed, shall bo good, sufficient
and effectual in law, in the same nmnnor. and
to the same extent as if the said last will and
testament were, exclusively of personal estate;
ns ovide?ce in any cause until after probate
before the Ordinary, either in common form,
or if? due form of law.
IV. That all acts and parts of acts incon
sistent herewith, be and the same are hereby
repealed. (
* THE GOVERNMENT CENSOR-A MYSTE-^
RY.--Thc late war left us many ingenious and
useful -curiosities, which belong as much to
our literature and history as the curled darling
o?" thc time of Charles, or the yellow-skinned
nabob of the early reign of George III. We
had our Shoddy-Prince, whose career showed
how much splendor could bc gathered from
rags ; our Copperhead ; our Cotton Shark ;
our Reliable Gentleman ; our Intelligent Con
traband. They were creations of the war, and
passed away with thc return of peace. Our
Gun-Contractor is now in tho Pardon*Broker*
ago business, and, wo understand, makes a
goodly sum of moifoy by thc dispensation of
executive clemency. Our Cotton Shark is a
claim agent, and malees from twenty to five
hundred per cent, on Soldiers' pay and boun
ties-? business created and facilitated by the
tardiness and injustice of the War Depart
ment. The Copperhead, when last seen, was
wriggling through thc Jersey sands, near
Long Branch, pursued by a lineal descendant
of St". Patrick) and, from the result of the
election piesswr?, found no refuge hut thc
ocean. The Reliable Gentleman left the
North some time ago, and went down to the
Rio Grande, whence he keeps us fully informed
about Mexico, while the intelligent Contra
band has been employed by thc Fenians, and
sent into Canada. We had presumed that not
one of the rare curir ities remained. We woro
mistaken. A Western paper announces that
tho Government censor still resides in Wash
ington, and, a few nights since, " consorissed "
a correspon dent for attempting to send a dis
patch toa Cincinnati paper..^V. Y. Tri?un?.
THE PROFITS OE AnvwrrisiNO.- Some
of our readers may think that even our very
cheap charges 'for advertising are large. Were
they many times lnrger, it would bo still
greatly to their advantage to advertise. For
instance: A gentleman wrote to Horace Grce
ly to know if it was true that a certain adver
tiser paid him ten thousand dollars per annum?
The editor replied that ho did, and that thc
advertiser had paid fifteen hundred dollars for
one insertion .of ono page in tho "Weekly
Tribune." Ronner once paid tho "Tribune"
three thousand dollars for ono insertion of an
advertisement of the "Ledger." Theso facts
show plain enough tho profits of advertising.
A i< A ROE number of new buildings are go
ing up in Snvaunah.
Destitution and Suffering in South Carolina.
Correspondence of the Baltimore Transcrijrt.
PENDLETON, S; C. Dec. 15, 1865.
I doubt if you have thc smallest idea of the
poverty of fchc;peopleof South Carolina; De
siring neither commisscration npr alms, they
say nothing about it. Indeed the struggle for
thc necessaries of life is too pressing to allow
them to brood over losses of any kind ; losses
compared with which that of property seems
trilling. It is on the refugee from the coast
that poverty has laid her iron hand most heav
ily. Thc planters of the interior find their
capital reduced by emancipation to about one
fifth its former amount, but if the negro will
work under the new system, their incomes
will not bc much diminished. Dut the poor
refugee has lost everything. Driven from his
home and cut off from all his resources, hoi
finds it difficult td procure ordinary food for
his household. His" plantation on the coast
has probably nota building of any kind stand
ing, not even a negro hut, and the recovery
of the land is, in some cases, doubtful. Those
on Port Royal are advertised to be sold to-day,
and " none but negroes are allowed to bid,"
Even where the laud is restored, where can
its ruined owner procure money to pay taxes,
erect buildings and hire freedmen.
Some refugees have returned to Charleston,
in tho hope of procuring business there, but
many still remain iu the interior, being unable
to bear the expense of retnoval, and earn a
spailty subsistence by personal, efforts, Our
young men have gone to work in earnest. Wc
are proud to see them engaged in teaching,
plowing, wagoning, keeping grocery stores, in
sh?ft,,doing anything, and doing it cheerfully.
A'general, who. bore no mean part in tho war,
wis^beon living in a huton the const, support
irf^ nts family by fishing. Another gbnerat
has been cutting wood on shares.
Our's is a poverty of which no one is
ashamed, and of which very few complain.
We are willing to bear Lt, and its universality
makes it more tolerable. When I, know that
the most refined and intelligent women in thc
State, deserted by their deluded servants, arc
doing all kinds of housework--sweeping, dust
ing, making ?e.c|s, and even k some cases
cooking and washing-it is much easier for
me to iron thc towels my little son has washed,
while I turn occasionally a laughing eye to
wal ds thc fireplace, where an invalid gentle
man (son of a former governor) is engaged in
churning !- ? must confess that his attempt
furnished us with more amusement than but?
ter. For, believing this state of things to be
only temporary, we make merry over it, com
pare notes with our friends, and boast of our
success in these untried fields. .
Many refugee ladies feed their families hy
exchanging thc contents of their wardrobes
for articles of food. " If ow are your sisters ?V
said I last summer to a young man who had
left home to become a tutor. "Their com
plexion looks badly," was the reply, "but
that is not surprising when you consider how
long they have been eating old frocks." "Have
they any lights ?" was my next query. With
perfect gravity he replied, " No ; when the
moon does not shine, they go to bed by light
ning." Dut matters are mending. In this
very family lightwood has superseded light
ning in the chambers, and in the parlor a
small petroleum lamp (price $1) diffuses light
and happiness around.
Rut there aro cases over which no one can
laugh. I know of a family whoso property
was counted by hundreds of thousands, who
have not tasted.meat for months. A-?gentle
man of high scientific attainments, formerly
professor in a college, is literally trying to keep
the wdf from the door by touching a few schol
ars, ono of whom, a girl of sixteen, pays a
quart of . milk per diem for her tuition ! In
numerable widows, orphans and single women,
whose property was in Confederate bonds, ?re
penniless and seeking employment of some
kind for bread.
On the whole, our people are bearing their .
trials bravely and cheerfully; but so wide
spread is the ruin that, even if tho new sys
tem works well, it will take nt least half a cen
tury to put us whoro we were. Georgia will
recover much sooner.
THE collector of Internal Revenue for Mon
tana Territory, in a letter received by the Sec
retary of thc Treasury, states that the product
of the gold and silver 'mines of that territory
for tho year 1805 will be-upward of $16,000,
000. In 1862 the territory Was-a wilderness,
uninhabited except by savages.
The Contest
Tn the contest which is soon to'convulse the '.
nation, Andrew Johnson and General Grant
are confronted by those valorous knights and
mighty warriors, Charles Sumner and Thad
deus Stevens. Sumner's wrongs are of a pure
ly personal character, hud he still treasures up
a vast amount of venom against an entire'sec- *
tion for the chastisement which was inflicted
upon him by a man who now slumbers in hi?
grave. Among the many resolutions (says the
Richmond "Times,") which have been intro
duced into Congress by Thaddeus Stevens,
th.ere is one which explains his voracious ap
petite for-the property of" Southern rebels."
It provides for the confiscation of our property,
and the application of the proceeds of thc
sales of such property teethe compensation of
>" loyal persons who have sustained losses by
'reason of the rebellion." This resolution is ' '
the key to Stevens', ferocious radicalism. Ile
is a " loyal person " who has " lost property
by reason of the rebellion." When the Con
federate army invaded Pennsylvania, it stum
bled upon certain huge iron-works, the prop
erty of the aforesaid Stevens, and fired them.
The conflagration was a perfect success, and
the owuer has never been remunerated for his
losses. His hideous person having doomed
him to celibacy, he wishes to get his pay out
of thc widows and orphans of thc men who
fired his mills. * It is barely possible that tho
heroes of the broken head and the burnt mills
will be eventually worsted in their contest :
with General Grant. Both Stevens and Sum- .
,ncr have a most profound horror of gunpowder.
Stevens came near breaking his neck in jump
ing 6ut of a back window to escape the niuzzle
of a musket during tho now almost forgotten
"buck-shot war" in Pennsylvania, and of
Smp.ncv's,vni;<.r WP nrefVsay .nn^^,: A. >
GEN. SICKLES, copimandcr of the depart
ment of South Carolina, writes as follows to
Gov. Perry i
"With reference to the withdrawal of United
States troops from South Carolina, that, also,
is a question for the consideration of the com
mander-in-chief. I am responsible only for
the disposition of the forces within the Depart
ment. "The pr?senecof a military force is not
less needed, in my judgment, in thc interior,
and Western Districts, than on the seaboard
and islands. And I regret to be compelled to
represent, that so many nets of violence hayo
recently occurred in thc interior and Western
districts, indicating the disaffected temper'of
a considerable portion of the population, that
additional forces are in readiness to be sent
there, to prevent the repetition of thc gravest
crimes. So serious and frequent have these
disorders become that ] earnestly solicit your
co-operation, with the General commanding at
Columbia, in establishing tranquility nnd or
der in the territory embraced within his com
mand."
MURDER AND SUDDEN RETRIRUTTON.-A
cold-blooded and diabolical murder was perpe
trated on Thursday night last, we learn, near "P
Stoney Battery in this District, thc victim an
old lady hy the name of Mrs. White, harmless
and inoffensive in disposition.* Mrs. White
lived entirely ?lone in a cabin in th? woods.
She was found tho next nioruing with her.
head broken in two or three places. The deed
was supposed to have been clone by a notorious
renegade freedman,'formerly the skive pf Mr.
H. Stuckmnn, and who hnd just previously .
broken into her cabin and stolen some articled.
On Sunday morning the body of ?he murderer*
and thief was found dend^ somewhere in tho
neighborhood, his head perforated by a pistol
ball. A just retribution.-Newberry Herald. 1
COTTON /TAX.-The revenuo derived by
the Government at Macon, Georgia, from tho
duty of two.oents per pound on cotton, for the.
six weeks preceding tho first of November,
amounted to 3450,000, and it is estimatedstha*
thc ditties derived from the sh mc source at
that placo will reach moro than $500,000 ad
ditional during tho months of November and
December. . 0 n
TRIAL rou TREASON.-Tho first' treason * ?
ease consequent upon the Into rebellion is now *
Ving tried in .tho'United States District Courk
of Tennessee, before Judge Trigg. Tho caset .
is the United States vs. John S. Gamble,.w.ho ...
was an enrolling officer under the Confeder?te . ,
government in Mount County, East Tonnes,
see. This is thc first treason trial since tho
memorable Aaron Burr case.
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