Newspaper Page Text
|7 rp ?J 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. ?