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BY ll. A. THOMPSON & CO.] . PICKKNS C. H., S. C., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY ?7, 1800. [VOL. I-NO. 22.
s Tho Gening of Death
What is doath ? 'Tiatfto be froe !
No moro to love, or hope or fear ;
To join tho great equality
All, all alike are humbled there !
v The mighty grave
Wraps lord and slave;
Nor pride nor poverty dave ob in ?
Withiu that refuge-house-thc tomb!
Spirit with thc drooping wing,
And tho ever weeping eye,
<Tho"u of all earth's kings art King!
Empires at thy footstool Ho,
Beneath thee strew'd !
* Their multitude
to'mk like waves upon the shore j
Storms shall never rouse them inoro I
What's the grandeur of the earth
.V To thc grandeur round thy throne ?
Hiches, glory, beauty, birth, ,
t\ J'fo thy kingdom all have gone!
Before theo stand.
The wondrous band,
Bards, hevoes, sages, side by side,
Who darken'd nations when they diod !
Earth has hosts, but thou canst shoW
Many a million for her one-;
Through thy gates the mortal flow
Has for countless years" roll'd on ;
/ Back from the tomb
No step luiB come ;
There"fix'd till the last thunder's sound
Shall bid thy pris'ners be unbound!
AN ORDINANCE
To Declare in force thc Constitution and Laws
heretofore in force in this State, ,aud the
?ots, official, public and private done, and
appointments und elections made under au
thority of the same.
We, tho-Peoplo of the State of South Caroli
na, by our Delegates in Convention met, do
ordain : 4
IV That t?ie Constitution bf thia Stdtdf'M'
ordained and established by the People in
Convention at Charleston, on the eigth day of
April, in the year of Qjir Lord one thousand,
eight hundred and sixty-one, ut in force, ex
cept as amended or altered by this Constitua
tion,
2. That all lawss orders, regulations and
rules, ascertaining the rights of persons, natu
ral or artificial; or regulating the proceedings
in the Courts of .Law or of Equity^which were
of force.in this State on the nineteenth Jay of
December, in the year of our Lord one thous
and eight hundred and sixty, ore now in force,
anti shall se continue until altered, modified,
repealed or avoided by proper State authority,
except in sb far as ' the same or any of them
Uavc been or has been, sinoe that time, so al
tered, modified, repealed or avoided.
3. That all Acts and ^Resolutions ftf thc
General Assembly of this State, which have
been passed, adopted or ratified since the nine
teenth day of December, in tho year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty
aforesaid, are now in force and shall so contin
ue until altered, modified, repealed or avoided
by proper Stato authority, e'xeept such as have
expired by their own limitation, or by reason
of the cessation of the causes which occasioned
their enactment ; not however, including with
in this exception the Act of Assembly prohib
iting the collection of debts usually known as
\thO*Stay-Law.: Provided however, That all
Jaws, resolutions, orders or rules embraced
within the terms of this and the preceding
Section, which recognise the existence of
slavery, and regulate tho relations of master
and slave, and define and enforce ?he rights
and duties gro\%ng thereout, or create and
- punish offences against such rights or against
the publie policy of tire Stat? in reference to
Hlavory, have beconio of no further or future
force or effect, by reason of thc extinction of
slavery.
4. That all officia^ Acts in the Executivo
and other Departments of the Government of
this State, judicial proceedings, rules of Court,
sales, conveyrtnoes, contracts, obligations, in
struments h\ writing and transactions affecting
rights of persons or property hfyd, made, exe
cuted or incurred, sinoe tho nineteenth day of
December, in tho year of our Lord ono thous
and eight hundred and sixty, have, and shall
. ? continuo to have, in all respects the Game forco,
effect and validity as if tho saino bar'1 boen
had, made, executed or incurred during a timo
of peace, and as if tho Ordinance of Secession
haa not been passed : Provided, That, in ev
ery aotion arising in contract, whether under
seal or parole, writton or oral, made betweon
tho first day of January, in tho year of our
Lord 1862, jmd tho fifteenth day of May iu
*' . . fr ; /. *''? V * ? ' ' ?
the year of our Lord, 1865, it shall bo lawful
for either party to tho^xotion to introduce tes
timony showing thc true val?o and real char
acter of the consideration Cf such contract at
Uto timo it was made, so that regard being had
to the particular circumstances of each case,
s\ich verdict or decree ?uij bo rendered as will
effect substantial justice between thc parties :
And, Provided further, That all prosecutions
now pouding uudor any Act or Acts of thc
Geuoral Assembly passed to*uid or assist iu
the war against the United States shall bc dis
continued.
5. Tho General Assembly of this State is
forever prohibited from passing any law im
posing civil disabilities, forfeiture of property
.or of other rights, or punishment of any kind,
or any citizen orjesidcut of this State, or per
son owning property herein, for thc relation
of such citizen, resident, or person to, or his
or her conduct in reference to thc late seces
sion of this State from the Federal Uuiou or
the war which grew out of the same, or for
any participation, aid, council or assistance
therein. r
6. The Judges of tho several Courts in this
State artd other Judicial Officers, thc Attor
ney Geneinl and Solicitors, President aud Di
rectors of the Dauk of the State of South
Carolina, the Secretary of State, Commission
ers of the Treasury, Surveyor-General aud all
District and other officers who derive their
nuthority from or under the Executive, Leg
islative or Judicial* Departments, who were
holding and exercising office before and on thc
twenty-sixth day of April last, or had before
that day been elected .thereto, are in thc re
gard of the State, (except where vacancies
have since occurred or may occur, by reason
of death, expiration of term or otherwise un
der thc laws of the State) still holding their
respective offices, and arc entitled to hold and
^oxeroiso -th?taamo by tho original tenure there
of, for the residue of thc terms for which they
were severally elected or appointed : Provi
ded, however, that every person so holding
office has heretofore taken and subscribed, or
shall before the first day of December next,
take and subscribe before some officer proper
ly authorized to administer thc same, thc oath
.irescribed and required in thc Proclamation
of His Excellency Andrew Johnson, Presi
dent of the United States, of thc twenty-ninth
day of May last, commonly called thc "Am
nesty Proclamation," and upon failure to cbm
ply with the requirements of this proviso, the
ufheeof such person shall bc thereupon-vacant,
and shall bc filled in the manner provided by
law .in cases of vacancy otherwise occurring.
Done in Convention at Columbia, in thc
State of South Carolina, thc twenty-scv
' cnth day of September, in the year of our
Lord, ono thousand eight hundred and
sixty-five.
D. L. W ASIDLA W,
President of thc Convention.
JOHN T. SLOAN,
Clerk of the Convention.
fro?? Washington
WASHINGTON, January 28.-The Presi
dent said to-day to' distinguished Senators,
that thc agitation -of the negro franchise
question in tho District of Columbia at
this time was a mere entering wedge to the
agitation of tho question throughout the States
lt was ill-timed, uncalled for ariel calculated to
do great harm. Ile believed it would cause
great trouble, and engender contention and
strife between thc two races-a war which
would result in the injury, to both, and cause
tho certain destruction of the nogro^popula
tion. Precedence, ho thought, should bc
given to more important and urgeut mattera
legislation upon whioh was cssontial for thc
restoration of tho ?nion, to secure penco to
tho country nnd prosperity to thc people
WASHINGTON, February 2.-Tho Senate
to-day discussed thc Bill providing protection
to all porsons in their civil rights, and, ofter
a long debate, it yr m passed by a vote of 33
to 12.
Tho House was ongaged in discussing the
Bill to oniargo tho powers of thc Freedmen's
Bureau. >
Maj or-G en erais Meado and Thomas ap
peared on thc floor, and a recess was taken,
when Speaker Colfax, in a few complimentary
'remarks, introduced thom to the body. Thoy
returned their thanks in short spoechos, ond
on motion of ono of tho members^ throe cheers
wcro given by the House, which wcro partici
pated in by the galleries. ,
Thc reference of tho constitutional amcud
nvuit to the lleconstriictiou Committee dis
posed of that whole matter for some time to
c?mc. It was evident that neither thc orig
inal amendment nor nono of those submitted
could command a two-third vote in the House.
If there should ever be any report from the
Committee on the subject it will be thc plain
proposition suggested by President Johnson'
j^p his conversation with Senator Dixon, that
representation should be apportioned in refer*
euee to the number of qualified voters, abet
taxation in reference to, tho value of property.
S Jib an amendment will probably t>e adopted
by Congress.
The rumor that the Convention here of dis
tinguished Major-Generals has reference to
the trial of Jefferson Davis by a military com
mission is without foundation. It is known
that President Johnson disapproves of trials
by military commissions for offences triable in
thc c\vil courts.
Tho Senate Committee have concluded to
report iu favor of qualified negro suffrage in
this District. It is becoming every day more
doubtful if any ?Bill on tho subject will be
passed.
PR?SIDENT JOHNSON transmitted a mes
sage to the Senate to-day, nominating a Min
ister to thc llc^tblic of St. Domingo, as he
believod that the commercial interests of this
country would be beuefitted by its rccoguition,
which would also accord with thc settled poli
cy of'the United States.
An Englishman Exploring the South.
Tho last letter of the correspondent of the
London " Times," who is traveling in the
South, is dated at Columbia, S. C., and gives
a vivid account of the track of Sherman's ar
my, tho ruins of Columbia, and the suffering
of" thc jicoplc. >Ve make the following ex
tract : .. gftjj
" r tift^Ifflt??rCc? 'studiously ahotainea.from
dwelling?unnecessarily on thc ruin which Shcr
mau spread in his track, and have not repeated
?ne of the countless stories which have been
told to me, of/tho personal violence and out
rages committed by desperadoes of the army.
But such reticence isj impossible here, for
there is literally nothing to speak of buj, ruin,
more utter and complete, probably, tham was
ever before worked in a civilized community
by a civilized army. Columbia had the repute
of being- one o? the most beautiful cities on the
continent, nnd even amid its broken frails, I
.should go further and say that it must have
been the most beautiful. It is as startling,
therefore, to come upon the ruins of a fine city
in America, ns it is to see, on a sudden, thc
outlines of a beautiful templo in the desert
which surrounds the old capital of the Moguls.
Columbia asserts her supremacy still, amid all
her unequalled desolation. Her streets are
broad and long, and planted with a row of fair
trees on each side', ana oftep another row down
the middle. She stands' on a hill, so that a
commanding view of a picturesque country
around may easily bo gained from any part of
it. But now, turn where one Will i there is
.absolutely nothing to strike thc eye but shut
tered walls and pillars of churches, schools,
and private dwellings. People who go to
Pompeii to sec thc fragments of a destroyed
city, should cometo Columbia, and sec one
still standing stark and unburied in thc sun
light. If any one eau imagine n good Eng
lish town of ?8,000 inhabitants left with not
a third of its houses standing in it, he may
form some idea of t;ho appearance of this un
fortunate city. You walk down streets, be
tween groves of trees, and see nothing but
ruins of houses and large buildings on cither
side. Nor were these houses, frail wooden
structures, easily burnt down. . They were
built of stout red brick, or granite, with mar
ble steps leading into many of thom, which
thc flames left black and shivered.
At the highest part of thc town there was
n handsome edifice known ns the State Capitol,
of which not ono stone stands upon another.
Near this was a new capitol, nearly finished,
. built of marble, tho pillars and cornices of
which were torn down and hammered into
fragments that now strew the ground. Three
or four splondid churches and as many chap
els, a spacious convent in which ninny poor
ladies fled for shcltor till they were driven
forth by tho soldiery, a Stnto library, tunny
schools-all wero burned to thc ground. There
wcro nearly 1400 houses thus destroyed, tho
rich and the poor sharing in the common
wreck. Tho miserable work was accomplished
ou thc day .and night of thc 17th of February
last, and the horrors of that night can never
bc forgotten by those who witnessed them.
More than 14,000 persons, mostly women and
children, many of them sick, took to tho out
skirts, with hardly a tag to cover them, and
with not a mouthful of food to cat. General
Sherman promised to leave behind him cattle
enough to sustain them, but the cattle he left
died at the rate of twenty head each Aiy, from
sheer exhaustion, and those that were killed
were fleshless and bloodless.
It should he understood that the city had
offered no resistance to Sherman's approach,
but that, on the contrary, the small Confeder
ate force within it all withdrew the (Hy before,
and the Mayor drove out some miles with a
white flag to meet tho Invaders. Ile carried
with him a letter to Gen. Sherman surrender
ing thc city, and asking for its citizens " tho
usages of civilized warfare." That same night
Sherman said to thc Mayor, '" not a finger's
breadth, Mr. Mayor, of your city shall bo
harnwd. Yo? may lie down tdi sleep, Satisfied
that your town shall bc as.?un3 in my hands,
as if wholly in your owii
Some cotton had beert.?jet on fire in the
streets during the day, b?t it was.extinguishcd
by the firemen of the city, until the soldiers
cut their hose and broke their engine to pieces.
Then the reign of terror bedail. Houses wero
first pillaged, and 'then set on ure. /The sold
iers, writes an old inhabitant, " could be seen
Staggering off with huge waiters, vastes, can-,
delebra, to Say nothing of cups, goblets, and
smaller vessels. Ladies were hustled from
their chamb?r?, their ornaments plucked from
their persons, their bandies from their hands."
The eldest clergyman in the oity was subject
ed to gross ill Usage, while vainly endeavoring
to save thc communion plate of his church.
In other instances, men were hung up till
the}' were nearly choking, and made to tell
j where their property was .hid. .Tho soldiers
were by this time skillful tn finding buried
treasure, and thcy.weflp busy with probing
rods in thc gardens of all the nou?es.
It moy bo well supposed that, with all their
property sunk in Confederate paper, and their
houses razed to the ground, the people in this
part of. the country aro in deep distress. I
am told of families who have always been in
affluent circumstances now working foran un
certain livelihood, and th??e ure" mote fortu
nato than many others who' are not fit for
work, or cannot get it to do. The state of tho
poorer classes is wretched beyond description,
for they have nothing left, and they have no
friends capable of helping them. It is not
too much to day that thousands of families in
j this part of the country will be in a state of
I absolute,want, this winter, unless something
\ is done for them. They have not the means
j to buy the barest necessaries of life. Tho
? horses and cattle Were killed and burnt for
i many miles around, and, indoed, all along tho
1 traclalof Sherman's march, so that the wholo
country is bare and destitute. It is quito
certain that timely aid would save hundred*
from a fate little short of .starvation.
-'-- -!
IMPORTATIONS.-A communication appears
in thc Washington "Intelligencer," setting
forth that at thc port of ??ew York alone, in
one week, the importations amounted to over
?6,000,000, and during five months to $127,
000,000 in gold ligures. Taking this basis, it
is estimated that the importations for thc fiscal
year ending June next will amount to $250,
000,000. To this array of figures are to bo
added the amount of importations at Boston,
Philadelphia, Baltimore and other cities, in
order to enable us to form a correct idoa of
what we have before us in the way of cancel
ling thc National Debt. The writer pertinent
ly puts tho, question, f Can wo afford this
extravagance of importation ?" and suggests
that Congress should devote a portion of it?
time to the study Of some measure to avert tho
dreadful finnncial revulsion whioh stares the
country in tho face, insteod of discussing
problems which in themselves lead to bitter
animosities and a waste of valuable timo.-.
Thore is much wisdom in tho remarks of tho
oorresppndont. ' > ?
THE remains of a "fossil man " have been
discovered in Nevcda Territory, and dootors
estimate the height of thc bipod at from ton
and a*half to twelve feet. '
WHAT is thc difference botwoen an accepted
and a rejected lover? Ono kisses his miss
and the other misses his kiss.
- . ?fi i*- .
TRCK friends show themselves in adversity.
