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About Weekly chronicle & sentinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 183?-1864 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1864)
Th , annual report was road and adopted.— Tb/<SipS*iwry i* “ lil1 at iUcdn - The c , irc . ulv n .-oar! in bible*, testaments. religioua books. -fati >nery, *e.. ha:, been $24,163, of which $725 was by donation. The total as sets of the Society, April Ist, was $9,411.20; liabilities $56; Italanee in favor of Society, 5. 25. Under the head of army colport u«e. $1,369 15 in cash has been received dur ing the year; $691 worth iftiacts and books donated. Amount on hand for army use, sl,- 390. a series of tracts, in all about 130,000 pages, have been issued. Rev. F. M. Haygood, the Depositary Agent, gives a very satisfactory report of the condition of the Society. • * ’ Addr<-*?-4$ « ; • made by several of the cler gymen prt-flit. At the conclusion of the services, $1,906 wan collected for the Society. third day. Atlanta, April 25, 1861. A letter was read to the Convention, from Rev. A. H. WorreH, Chaplain in the army, urg ing ministers to come to the army and preach to the soldiers. Marshal Wellborn, Esq., read the Report on Education, which was adopted. Rev. A. D. Cohen read the the Report on Missions, which was adopted. Rev. YViliiam C. Wilkes read the Report of the special committee on the Board of Trustees, which was adopted. By the action on the report of the Board of Trustees of Mercer University, disabled soldiers are now permitted to pursue their studies at that Institution free of charge. On motion of Rev. J. H. DeVotie, It was re solved that seven hundred and five dollars sent up to the convention for army missions with out special designation, he appropriated to the support of Rev. .1. UtCatnbpell, Army Mission aiy to the soldiers. il«v. Dr. Cruwford introduced a resolution that application bejnade to the President that ministers now serving in the array he permitted to serve as Chaplains, if their services should be required. After considerable discussion, the resolution was adopted, ami Rev. Mr. Dt>- V'otie, John I. JVhitakerandStedman were ap pointed a committee to make the application. Rev. Mr. Devotie made a very interesting ad dress on the subject of Foreign Missions, and took up a collection of * 1 000 for the purpose. Rev. A. E. Dickinson, of Virginia, addressed t’re Convention on the subject oi the Sunday School and Pul lication Society. He made in teresting statements in relation to the state oi religion in the army. • Rev. Dr. Brantley, chairman of the commit tee appointed to report on a letter from Gen. Cordon urging that more ministers be sent to the tinny of Northern Virginia, submitted the following resolution, which was adopted ; unsolved, That the Secretary of the Conven tion be requested to address to Gen. Gordon a communication expressive of their deep sympa thy with the woik to which they have been in vited and to pledge to him their earnest efforts to supply the deficiency of ministers in the ar my of Northern Virginia'. Addresses were made to the Convention on the subject of supplying the army with a suffi ciency of ministers. , AFTERNOON SESSION. Rev. Dr. Holmes read a report on the state of the country— adopted. Resolutions were adopted, offering the thanks of the conven,ion to the citizens of Atlanta for their porpitality ; to the Churches of At lanta who ii.ive tendered their houses ot wor ship for tlie use of the Convention ; and to the reporters. , ~ On motion of Rev. Mr. Teague the Conven tion reconsidered the resolution to appoint a committee to memorialize the President of_ the Confederate States oil the subject of religious Ministers of the Gospel in the army on condi tion that their services asked for by regiments us Chaplain, or by Churches at home. Gov. Brown offered the following as a sub stitute for the resolution ou the subject before the Convention: Whereas, there is k creat need of Missionaries in the army, and of Ministers to supply desti tute Churches at home, and whereas, there are liliitiy ordained Ministers of the Gospel now in the Confederate army whose services are de sired by iTgimeuts, battalions or churches, therefore be it* „ Resolved by this Convention, That a com mittee ot three be appointed to open pondence with Ids Excellency the President of Ihe Confederate .States and request him to pass an order !or the discharge from the service of all ordained Ministers whose services are de sired by regiments or separate battalions in ..i.hii service, or by any,Church at home.. Resolvtm, farther, Tout this Convention does not approve or the principle of appointing chaplains in t.huwu'iny, to be of the public treasury, uml we pledge ourselves, as a and. nomination, to do all in our power for the support of all ministers or missionaries of regi ments for their services. A veiv interesting discussion arose ou these resolutions. _Kev, 1!. F. Tliarpe made the report on de ceased JPtttifcteni. r l his report mentions the de cease during the past >< ar of liev. John fj. tVeet, ami Ucv. James Ferryman. The report was adopted. . Ker. (J. N. Irwin offered the following, which was adopted : Revolved, That the Southern Sunday School Foil'd, located at Greenville, S. C is entitled to our hearty co-operation, and that wo recom nreud its objects to the liberal patronage of our brethren. The report of the Committee on Finance was read and adopted. The report shows the most liberal subscriptions to various religious and benevolent institutions under the control of the < ouveution. The resident announced as tho Committee to memorialize the President of tho Couteder nte States on tln» subject of releasing from the ui my ordained'ministers, under the resolution of Gov. Frown, the brethren Vason, Whitaker and Stedman. _ After the reading of tbo minutes, tho Con vention, on motion of Rev. J. H. Campbell, adjourned without day. association for ORPHIXB. \ meeting so! raising fends for tiiis Associa tion was held in the Second liaptist Church, Atlanta, on Sunday eyeuiug. . A sermon was preached pn the occasion by Dr. Tucker. Alter tl* an address was delivered by 1 is Fxcolleney Oov. Brown, who closed his remarks by subscribing to the institution the amount of his salary for the present year. . About $200,000 have virtually been raised for the Association. The society met again on Monday and effect ed a permanent organization. lie n John W. Lewis was elected 1 resident; Or X M Crawford, *'ice President ; Sidney 'Root, Esq., Secretary. Tun Supsix Maximilian Affair. It has al • ready been stated in advices from Europe that Mr, Slidell asked au audience of the Archduke Maximilian, to which assent was given, with the proviso that it meet the approval of the Napoleon. That approval, however, being distinctly refused, the audience was re fused Mr. Slidell. The London correspondent of the New York Commercial Advertiser re peats ibis story, and then adds the explanation dven in P., r is hi justification of the Emperor’s action: , lu explanation of the course adopted by the Emperor Napoleon, his organs m the Court h“l reasoned with the Confederate partisans to the following effect- lon have seen how Prance has been hampered for two or three years past by her commitments in Mexico.— It has occupied the resources aiike of her army and navy and treasury. . The consequence has been that she has felt compelled to shape her course with regard to Poland. Italy, and elsewhere, so as not to add to existing difficulties. The prospect now ex ists of terminating this condition of affairs, and she will not risk it by attempting any step that might plunge her into war with the United States. • jf England had consented or would now con c 'tit to her proposals for recognition, the case vv( nld be different, but as it is, a policy of Strict neutrality must be one for Prance, and *,i seoueußv for the new empire of Mexico.— Pr vme has undertaken to suppe rt the Arch duke on his throne, but it must be contingent bis not at the outset dragging her into new com plications. It the United States had gone against Mex ico the Emperor Napoleon would at once have ,co ’ ni ,/ed the Confederates. All danger of living pM~d. Lability of I€> lt f s fm°the^r 'reported, in harmony with the foregoing, that Mr- Preston-formerly United at Madrid—now on his way to Meijeo on a mission from the Confederate 1 ,; ra Almonte, will not be re- ra \j uke Maximilian on his arrival to assume the throne. .. _ VorkWorld savs Chase has sold all The . au( j jt is evident to every bus bis tuvp’us goh - k , be troU ble to examine ines, man who w«U take ]M t 0 KSdSlLeyearisoutin order to pay she interest ou the public deLt ISHEKGH OK MR. MAHHI«. OF MARYLAND. IN THE YANKEE HOUSE OF REPRESENT ATIVES, APRIL 9, 1864. The following is the celebrated speech in foil of Mr. Harris, of Maryland, in the United States House of Representatives, upon which Mr. Washbume, of Illinois, predicated his res olution to expel him. We regret that Mr. H. was prevented from extending his remarks.— But it has always been one of ihe gauges of the advocates of freedom and free speech, while they exercise the most unconstitutional rights themselves to prevent others, if posable, from dofng what they have a perfect right to do.— Here is what Mr. Harrisfaid, and the discuss.cn which occurred during the time he occupied the floor : Mr. Harris, of Md.-Mr. Speaker, I shall not detain the House very long. But, Sir, I could not sit here and see an attempt made to tyrannize over one who entertains sentiments which I did not kn#w he entertained until yes terdiy, but sentiments which I have long; en tertained, and entertaining I intend to stand by his side for weal or for woe. Sir, when the honorable gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Garfield) replied to his colleague from Ohio, who first spoke (Mr. Long), be said t lat he had (ne courage of a lion, that he had the courage to lace the cannon and the rifle. It was a com pliment to my friend, but no compliment to this House, the intolerance of which has made it a necessity for my friend in speaking his hon est sentiment in debate to have the courage to face these nnplements of war. Another thing which the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Garfield) avowed led me .to suppose that he wtmld not be found in support of such a resolution as ihia was, that he believed his colleague (Mr. Long) sincerely and honestly entertained these sentiments. * Now, I would like to know what the season is, when a man gets up here and avows his sentiments upon a question of public policy, upon a measure which would, in his mode of thinking, lead to a termination of this disas trous war, one of the only modes by which it can terminate, and does it in sincerity, that he is to he denounced as having spoken treason, that he designed treason, and at the same time avow the belief that he was sincere and hon est in his statement? Sir, I.am willing to go with my friend anywhere you choose to send him upon such «i issue. If there is gmy hon esty in any party in this country they will de fend us, they will protect us, they will rise like a hurricane and sweep away the vermin race of politicians that are preying upon the very vitals of American liberty. But speaking ujjon the iss«es before the country. What is the issue? Is not peace an issue ? Cannot a man protest against carrying on or favoring a war to the exter mination of a whole race of people ? Can not a man get up and say, we do not ad mire your tactics; we would rather have peace than such a war ; we think it is better peace should come ; it will save tl\e lives of men who are now oppressed with heavy bur dens of taxation to carry on this war ? Cannot a man say it is better to have peace than war, and especially when he brings authority to show that the position he takes is sustained by the'ablest man; by men who advocat?d your own principles, by men, Sir, who- governed this country ? When the gentleman from Ohio brings here the opinions of such men to back him up, you say that he must discard all such opinious. Why, not one of you, yes, Sir, not one of you can be called a fifth rate man com pared with those from whom the honorable gentleman quoted yesterday. Mr.Garfield rose. Mr. Harris, of Md.—No, sir, I cannot yield to the gentleman at this time. Mr. Speaker when I came here at this session of Congress I was solitary and alone. I could not say for some time whether anybody sym pathized with me ; I felt myself solitary and alone. Those who wero here* around me were War Democrats They never invited me to their caucus. Those 1 knew would never let me go into their caucus, and I never intended to apply. 1 would starve arnoDg them. lam a peace man, radical peace man, and I am lor peace by a recognition of the South, for the recognition of the Southern Confederacy ; and I am for acqniesence ki the doctrine of seces sion. Laugh as you rnay, you have got to come to it. I thought I was alone. I began to take the advice of Cato to his son— “ When vice prevails and impious men bear sway, The post of honor is a private station.” I felt like giving up my seat ana leaving this place. I stood solitary and alone oil this floor; but now. thank God, there is another soul saved. I feel that we can baptise my honora ble triend from Ohio (Mr. Long,) and Jam glad to have such able aid. I shall not go home now. When Cato gave that advice he had fought his last battle, and had yielded to the fortunes anil ambition of Julius Cicsar, great as ho was, He was about to take a vic tory over himsell by a Roman's death because he saw his cause was hopeless, Not so ours. 1 feel yet there is a bops in (his house. 1 feel yet through the rustlings of the winds tb'ere is a tornado coming that will sweep the present majority lrom power and give it into the hands of men who will settle the affairs of this country —men who have something like humanity —men who have regard lor the principles of our forefathers. Ay, I recollect how my blood curdled when I heard the discussion on the Confiscation bill. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Garfield) said, let them be expatriated like tiie toriea of the revolution. The tories of the revolution had the mother country to run to, and were protected there. Rut where would the gentle man send those whom he would expatriate from the South, as gallant and noble a race as ever walked upon the earth ; noble in every thing that constitutes men of honor and men of principle—gentleman t Sir, you would expa triate those people, their wives and children, and among strangers to starve.— Another member -from Ohio, (Mr. Spalding, ) was not only for confiscating their property in fee, he, sir, was for confiscation, he was for ex patriation, and he was for extermination. He emphasized every syllable of that word and when he did so, I looked at his countenance, and 1 felt as if 1 were in a den of hyenas. 1 am not here for war, and will not be here for war, so long as I have a heart humane and Christian, when war is carried on upon sucli principles. No, sir, war never did and never will bring your Union together in such a man ner as to be worth one cent. I am for peace and lam for Union too. lam as good a Un iou man as any of you, lam a better Union man. than any of you. 1 am a Union man, aud have thrown up my head; no, I have not lost that yet, I have thrown up my hat for the cause of the Union and cheered at its suc cess. 1 felt as anxious for its success as any man upon this floor. I look upon \v%r as dis union. 1 looiv upon continued war as actualy keeping off the Union to a still later period, •and 1 scarcely believe a peace would accom plish a Union. And surely if anything will it is that sweet angel of peace. She may unite the cords which have been severed by the hand of war, and may tie them more tightly together than ever before; but if we are to have dissolution, in the name of God let us have it. Let us have it, and instead ot having one great consolidated Government, one imperious Gov eminent, one spleudfd Government, let us have on this continent two happy Governments. But. as 1 said before, I look to peace as the harbinger of the Union if there is any harbin- ger for it. But, Sir, lam a slaveholder. That is to say I was until Ben. Butler stole my slaves ail away. As an old Democrat I used to admire him" very much ; but, of course, I have not much admiration for him now. His course only shows wtiat he always was. lam a slave holder, and I have sat here patiently hearing you insult me every day with your assertions I hat slavery was a sin and the sum of all villa ges ; for 1 do not considert hat a man can par ticipate in the stun of all villainies without himself being a* illaiu. I have borne all these things, and I have looked upon •you as fanatic upon the subject. 1 hive really compassiona ted you. Now, sir, if slavery is a sin. lam willing to bear the reproach. But as you refer me to God Almighty for my title. I can show that it is sanctioned by llis word. You de clare this institution to be a crime; you de c’aie it to be the sum of all villainies, but I tell you that whoever says my lather was a villain because he held slaves—and he had slaves and died a Christian ; whoever says that my constitutents whom I represent are villains because they held slaves—l know them to be honest and upright meu, doing their duty as Christians as much so as anybody ; whoever says these tilings is a liar. I will let no man write such au epitaph upon the tomb of my father. I will let no man say such a thiDg to me here in my presence without calling him to responsibility. You may -consider it a sin as between you and your God. but you shall ng; use insulting language upon sucli a subject as that without being called to account. Sir. the Union is dissolved, and there is a gulf of blood lying between the two sections: but upon my honor, upon my soul, I repeat that “every drop in that gulf is on the souls of the Northern people. Ido not think that anv candid man who looks at the history of this affair can come to any other conclusion. From the beginning of the Government, from the time of the adoption of the Constitution down to the' time of the election of Abraham Lincoln, you have been using terms of insult and terms oi irritation, and you have been doing everything you could to bring about the repy result which is now upon you. Look at the history of this matter. I shall not repeat it; it is too familiar and has been too often repeated. At first you only cultivated the ground, but when that old scold and wiangler, the worst man that ever lived in this country, even not excepting Aaron Burr; when that old sco’d and wrangler John Quincy Adams, declared that by the war pow er you could emancipate aH the slaves and sell the States which had slaves to a foreign power, that was the day when you commenced to ex ert all your powers to excite this people to re bellion. Then it was you said you would not live with , them, that the Government was a compact with hell, and that one of the most agreeable things in the world would be to part with the South and slavery. That was the announcement of your public men everywhere, that they could not live with you in peace. Well, theydleparated from you, and asked to live on terms of peace with you What did you do ? You immediately hotvled out, “They are traitors; we will hang them all; and when we have hung them we will take all their property aud divide it among us.” And, sir, all this was to be done, according to your great “higher law” apostle, William 11. Se ward, in the course of sixty days! No doubt the facility with which he thought it could be done was a great incentive to'begin the work, es pecially as there were lands in the South and many other benefits that they expected to get hold of very easily down there* Well, a great many of the Republican lead ers went out to Ball Run in July, 1861, to wit ness the perfect overthrow of the poor South erners. The lamented gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lovejoy) I think, went out there, and one member of this House from Massachusetts went out, I think, and one from New York. They carried their picnic with them—spring chick ens and champagne. They thought they were going to have a very happy time of it, popping off their champagne corks amid the blood and gore of the slaughter of the Southerners. One of them I think went to Richmond rather fas ter than he expected. One of them came back howling for mercy, having offered, 1 have heard, SSOO to be driven out of the reach of the “black horse” of Virginia. You see, Sir, (feat these things were all to have been done in a very short time, but in stead of that they have Dot been done yet. In stead of seventy-five thousand men doing the work, you have had to get a million and a half, and a million and a half will not do it. Those you have sent South have been “welcomed with bloody hands to hospitable grqves!” You had an idea that the “poor white trash” of the South, as you called them, were the mere dregs of the people, and could easily be conquered. Why, sir, you (io not know them as well as I do. A bolder, braver, or more honorable set of men do not live on the face of God’s earth. Aud when you atteinpt*to elevate the negro to an equality with these Southern white men, or even say that he is nolhetter than the negro, he will strike though he may die immediately. All the attempts to put the negro on an equal ity with the white mau, to give him au equal suffuse at the ballot box; to give him a place upon the witness stand to testify against the life or the honor of the white man, or to give him any office tlpit will inflict dishonor upon the white mau, or run any risk of not keeping up the inequality that now exists between the races, will be rtisisted to the death by every Southern white man. Now, Mr Speaker, who was it, after all, that brought this institution of slavery here and established it among us? The Puritans were first rate men. J'hey had some peculiarities, they were honorable, brave, patriotic men.— They approved of slavery. They looked in every corner of the Old Testament, and in every line of the New Testament, aud they could find nothing against it, and they ap proved of slavery. Why, it is said that the very schooner which brought the Pilgrim Fath ers to this continent aud landed them at Ply mouth, returned to Africa for a cargo of slaves. 1 do not blame them for it. But, sir, they brought them here and they Ijept them here as long as they could use them profitably.— Then they sold them to the South. And many a man who looks me now in the face is the son or the descendant of one who made his fortune on the deck or in the cabin of a slaver, by the importation of those very Africans whose descendants’ they are now so anxious to ad vance in life. They took these slaves to the South and sold them to my ancestors and the ancestors of men i.liere. They got Southern gold for their mer chandise, and guaranteed the title to it. And now their descendants turn round and say that they will deprive the people of the South of this property. I do not believe the Puritans would sanction any such doctrine as that They were honest and straightforward, and 1 am sorry to see that their sons are so thorough ly degenerated. *lf I were guilty of siich an act, socially, personally or morally, I should consider myself degraded and disgraced. Yes, sir, there is not one of you who pretends to hold up his hand and say that he rill vote to pay back the money paid for these Africans.— They consider that it would be bad policy. The politicians are against it. Against what? Against honor and honesty. Sir, are we a dis graced people? Are we a people who have no sense of honor ? "You should not so slander the American people. I shall wait for that returning good sense that will be able to judge of the merits of the case. Now, Mr. Speaker, what were the views ex pressed by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Long ?) J hat the war must not be continued forever; that it must stop some time; that it is a horrid war, and that it ought to stop. Who is to say when it shall stop ? Have we not that power ? Or is that right donfined entirely to the party represented on the other side of the House ? X say that if you attempt to carry out the prinftple of this resolution it will open the eyes of the people, and although my friend (Mr. Long) would be a martyr, he would be a martyr in a glorious cause. The people would rally around him, aud would come trp and ex terminate the politicians who dared to raise their luthless hands against the great right which lie yesterday asserted. Mr. Speaker, in the early part of this secession movement there was a resolution of fered pledging men and money to carry on the war. My principles were then and are now against the war. I stood solitary and alone in voting against that resolution, and whenever a similar proposition is brought here it will meet with my opposition. Not one dollar nor one man, I sWear bythe Eternal, will 1 vote for this infernal, this stupendous folly, more stupendous than ever disgrrced any ci\ H ized people on the face of Goff's earth. If that be treason make the most of it. It is the light of the commoner of England to say that he will not intrust the money to carry on a war to the king, who has the entire war power. Ido not know that a commoner of the American House of Representatives ever lost that right. That proposition meets Svith my approval. If you will not make peace in any other way, and if I have the listing vote here against furnishing the sinews of war, you shall not have them. i The South asked you to let her go in peace. But no; you said you would bring them into subjugation. That is not done yet, and God Almighty grant that it never may be. I hope that you will never sut jugate the South.' If she is to be ever again in the Union, I hope jt will be with her own consent; and 1 hope that that consent will be obtained by some other mode than by the sword. “It this be treason, make the most of it." lam as good a Union man as you are, but we differ as to the best means of preserving the Union. And now, after giving an expression of my sentiments to you of the Republican party, I will turn to ihe representatives of the North ern Democracy. Abraham Lincoln has proved himself unfit to be trusted an iiouri a [H.:i e Mr. Harris was rudely interrupted by Mr. Tracy, of Fa., who raised a point of order, which the Speaker decided not well taken, and requested him to take his seat.] Mr. Wasbburne, of 111.—I rise to a question of order. 1 ask that the language of the gen tleman from Maryland, referred to by the gen tleman from Pennsylvania, shall be taken down at ike Clerk’s desk. The Speaker pro tem.—The language will be reduced to writing. Mr. Johnson.—l rise to a question of order upon that. The Speaker pro tem.—No other point of order can be entertained until that before the House has been disposed of. Mr. Washburne, of 111. —I ask that the lan guage of the gentleman from Maryland, which has-been taken down by the Cierk, may be read. The Clerk read the language, as follows : * “The South asked yon to let them live In peace. But, no, you said you would bring them into subjugation. That is not done yet. Gc*s Almighty grant that it never may be. 1 hope that you will never subjugate the South." Mr. Harris, of Md.—That is all right. I en dorse every word of that. o e • a e- The Speaker pro tem. —The Chair under stands the gentleman from Illinois calls the gentleman from Maryland to order for the words that have been read. Mr. Wasbburne, of Illinois.—Yes sir, and I am preparing a resolution to offer in connec tion with it. Speaker pro tear.—la the opinion of the Chair the words spoken by the gentleman are not in order. Mr. Harris, of Maryland.—Well, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Waßfibunie. cl Illinois.—The Chair has decided the gentleman out of order ; and un der the rules he cannot go on without the per mission of the House, if any member objects. And for one I protest against any member ut tering such language ou this Poor. Mr. Harris, of Mariana—l ou mean that vou are afraid of it. Mr. Washburne, of Illinois—l ask that the rule may be again read, and that it may be en forced: Aud thus was Mr. Harris, by a former advo cate of free speech, deprived of Lis right to finish his remarks or to make any explanation. NE V* 8 SUMMARY. The controller of North Carolina having had submitted to him the question of the liability of four per cent, funded currency to taxation, has decided the revenue laws of the State. Confederate bands of any kind are not taxable for either State or countv purposes. The opinion has been concurred in "by the pub lic treasurer and attorney general. Master Joe Flourney, a youth thirteen years of age, left Columbus, Ga. recently with seven dollars in his pocket, to join the Nelson Ram gers, at Columbus. Miss., anil arrived there safely, making forty miles per day ou horse back. He left contrary to the wishes oi his mother. v J. Ennis, of Columbus, Ga., has opened a list for one hundred subscribers pledging five bush els of meal monthly for distribution in anu near that city. The names have been reported. This is a good movement, and one which we hope will succeed. Two blockade steamers have arrived safe at Mobile. v A hat and blanket manufactory will soon be commenced in Mountgomery, .Aal. The Bibb iron works, fifteen miles from Ox ford, Ala., are being run by the government. A railroad is being built to the mountain sup plying the ore ten milis distant from the place where the works are located. Nearly SIOO,OOO has been subscribed in Montgomery, Ala., to provide education for the children of soldiers killed in the war. A revival is progressing in the Baptist churc h at Macon. Fifty poisons have been added to the church in the past few weeks. Sterling Exchange is selling in Charleston at seventeen. This looks as if things were coming down a little. Five million of the new six per cent, bonds will be sold at auction in Richmond 011 the 12th May. The bouds*offered are as attractive as any such security can be. From all quarters of the Confederacy, we learn that but little damage has been done to the fruit trees. It is believed there will.be an abundant crop of fruit this season. Prices have fallen in Mobile from twenty-five to fifty per cent. The fine family residence of jthe Hon. John McQueen, at the Mineral Spring near Bennfttts ville, Marlboro’ District, S C., was burned on Sunday, the 17th inst. Besides the dwelling; the chamber furniture aqd some valuable clothing was consumed, up stairs, and bis li brary, consisting of Borne 2500 volumes, many of thfnr rare and choieijAvorks, wh'cli it will be imposible to replace. The fire is said to have been accidental, and the loss is variously estimated at from $20,000 to $30,000. By older of Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb, all com panies and brigadis of men between the ages -of 17 and 18, and 45 and 50, which are organized and tendered within thirty days al ter the prescribed notice by the District en rolling Officer, will he received into service, and allowed to elect their company officers. Elections may be held by a Justice of the Peace anil two free holders, or three com missioned Confederate army offjeers. The muster rolls must be immediately forwarded to headquarters at Macon. A Yankee raiding party has done greal dam age to the salt works on Masonboro Sound, N. C. It is reported that the white Yankee troops in Florida are to be sent to Virginia. Ilie negroes will be left to look after Lincoln's in terests. Our loss in the Plymouth enterprise is con sidered small compared with the magnitude of the enterprise. The Y'ankee troops in East North Carolina are said to be much demoralized. Mr. T. Lampkins, of Huntsville, Ala , is con fined in the Nashville penitentiary, for uttering his dissent to the views of a lnfacegenalionist who was holding that for Huntsville. The First Baptist Church in Charleston was entered a few nights since, and robbed. Tho courthouse at Columbus, Ga,, Jias been converted into a hospital. A gentleman who was on board the Confed erate ram Albermarle, says tliht she struck the Southtields amidships, cutting into )#r about ten feet, the Yankee vessel Sinking rapidly, anil being fastened so tightly .to the Albermarle as to bear her bow under till the water ran into her port holes. In endeavoring to clear her of the wreck, the crew had a hand to hand light with* the Yankees, using pistols and cutlasses, in which we lost but one man, although the Miama was pouring shot after shot into them. When the Southlields sunk, the boats of the Albermarle picked up eight men, one of whom has since died, which are all that were saved out of a crew of one hundred and seventeen* — The Albermarle did not succeed in striking the Miama with her ram, but-damaged her so much with her guns that siie afterwards sunk. It is said that one shot from the Albermarle killed and wounded twenty of the crew of the Miama. % The Yankee prisoners in the ColnrnW i. ft. C. jail have made another attempt to dig out. * The salt works on the South Carolina coast have been destroyed, and several of the ope rators carried off. FROM the FRONT. Dr. C. A. Wheeler of Summerville, was ar rested,by the Federals a few days since, and beaten until be delivered up his money to his persecutors. _ The Rome Courier says, we learn shat a con siderable umnber of Federal soldiers weie in La Fayette hut Tuesday-also a few in Sum* merville last Wednesday. They are repented to be in force in the Cove. It is said that they have lemoved the obstructions from' Blue Bird Gap. This was probably the object of the force iu the CoVe. X. B Reynolds, Quartermaster of Fiist Geor gia Cavalry has been promoted to Major it* QuartermastW's Department, and ordered to report to Major Gen. Wheeler. It is currently" reporfed, and .generally be lieved here, that Grant has arrived at Chatta nooga, and taken command of the army ot the Cumberland. Everything looks decidedly warlike here, and nothing but the impending engagement is tnlk tsiof. The weather is delightful, and every thing augurs well for the result Findley, hung-a few days since was not a chaplain, as reported. The interior affairs of the army are pro foundly encouraging Reviews are the order of the day. * This army never was in better spirits and you may depend on it the Yankees will find no Missionary Ridge if they advance this time. Capt Brown s Company have recently had an exciting time with tories and bushwhackers in Gilmer county, Ga. A gentleman from Elijay on the 20th imd says at least one a day had been killed fT I week belore he left. for % The tories with their sqn'rrel rifDs: ,i, our men from behind Zd thus a number oi our soldiers had been kil ed About the loth, four of theSS were kill ed on a charge by our cavalry. Others no less notorious, were killed at different tim.’j u of them were desperafe characters. One of them, a Captain of a tory com-,anv had just returned from the enemy’shueTwiffi power SdnstTeVb e , torieS oym toC -nL e,S ’ . and hastcn to come the Confederacy W ouirsoo\i C “gi a up."‘ aDCe ’ “ through Chattooga county sYce^ at DMton and £? arpSEte battle. V\ e may expect stirring news from cue orperhaps both of these localities at any'mo- Army letter writers state that our troops are ‘S.'iS’SSrf: FROM Hmnie- \ ~~ The Savannah Republican learns bvm gen tleman just from 1 lorida that a negro who escaped irom the Y ankees near Gainesville and came wuhin our lines, reports that the Yan kee transport Hunter was destroved a few davs ago by a torpedo in the S«. John's River be tween Picalata and Jacksonville. He stated also that there were a number of Yankee offi cers on board, some of whom shared the fate of the vessel. NOR HERN NEW A. Gov. Y’ates, of Illinois, has been on a visit to No>v Orleans. The Vermont Abolition State Committee have memorialized the National Committee to post pone the time for holding the Baltimore Con vention. A letter from Provost Marshal General Fry to tie Senate shows that Kansas has put into the field 11,635 white troops, 3075 Indians, fend 1450 negroes. • Tunnel railroads under the streets of New Y ork having been determined upon, it is now proposed to use stationary engines, with end less wire cables, to haul the cars. The plan is to place an engine on one or bata ends of the line, as may be required by the length, having sufficient power to haul a wire cable running the whole length of the lino and back, and also aii the cars at the same time. The Yankees are pretty blue over their dis aster at Fort Pillow. They take it much to heart. Ihe Yankees seem apprehensive of an attack on San Francisco, California, from the Auglo- Chinese fleet, supposed to have been secured by out Government. Works have been lately thrown up at Fort Point and Alcatrez Island, and the following • vessels are kept close at hand, Sharbritk. 5 guns ; Narragansctt, 11 ; Saranac, 9; Monitor. 1; Cyane,' lß ; Lancasier, 22; St Maty’s, 22, and Warren, 2. The papers are urging upon the authorities the necessity of addiog to these offensive and defensive means, by at once raising the guns of the sunk en Monitor Comanche, from the hold of the Aqiiiila, and mounting them in square batte ries, or on some steamer, for temporary service, till the apprehended peril is past. Whether their dangers are leal or imaginary remains to be seen. The Yankee naval school is to be moved from Newport, R 1., back to Annapolis, Md. The late burning of the Masonic hall in Bos ton involved au irreparable loss in the destruc tion of the archives, portraits, valuable relics and regalia belonging to the Masonic order.— Hardly anything was saved. The insurance on the building was about SOI,OOO. The Louisville Journal is less sanguine of Grant's success in Virginia than any Yankee journal we have yet seen. It professes the ut most. confidence in the military genius of Gen. Giant, but at the same time has some unpleas ant misgivings as to the capture of Richmond. A fine steafner from St. Louis with a large number of horses, mules, sheep, &e., and sevi-n nundred bales of cotton took fire just as sbe arrived at La., and was a total loss. The New Y T ork correspondent of the Cincin nati, Commercial says : “As an evidence of die ultra insanity of the New York Black Re publicans on the. subject of 'Miscegenhtion,' or commingling of races, it is stated that Horace Greeley, Esq , of the Tribune, has filed a bill of divorce, asking a separation-a vinculo matri monii from his .wife, on the ground that she had been discovered flagrante delictu with a sable brother of Africau who was well known in Mobile a few years ago, an the driver of a fi.ncy and fashionable hack !’’ ft will be see* fiom’the follo-’dng list of Yankee military Smiths, the Smith fraternity is a martial family in Lineoldom, and goes in for big offices. Mafor Gen. Charles L. Smith, Major Gen. W. F. Smith, Brig. Gen. W. Leroy Smith, Brig. Gen. Giles A. Smith, Brig. Gen. A. J. Smith, Brig. Gen. M. E. Smith, Brig. Gen. G. Clay emith, Brig. Gen. John E. Smith. Washington dispatches state that Lincoln’s health does not improve. The Missouri trbpps % liave been ordered to rendezvous at Louisville. .The Y ankee Congress appear 1.0 be more in sane than ever 011 the negro question. Burnside has announced that his organization is nearly completed. The Y'aukee papers threaten .a cowardly and atrocious revenge for their disaster at Fort Pillow. Finding that they cannot, like an honorable adversary, meet our men in bat! le, face to face, they now threaten to gratify their brutal passion of vengeance by putting our helpless anil innocent men in their hands to death. Northern papers say their army in Louisiana will have to re-organize before advancing on Shreveport. We think ifrwill also. Northern papers say that Confederate Gen. Oil aimers said after the capture of Fort- Pillw that although lie was against the policy of his Government to spare negro soldiers or their officers, he had done ajl in his power to stop tiie carnage. At the same time ho be lieved it was right. Another account says that General Cliamers stated to a Federal of ficer that it was their intention “to show, no meicy to home-made Yankees’ ’ —thereby mean ing Southerners serving in the Union army aud negroes—“but that genuine Yankees would be treated as prisoners of war.’’ General Sher man reports officially that the Union loss was fifty-three white troops killed and one hundred wounded, besides three hundred colored troops murdered after the surrender. • Yankee correspondents in East Tennessee write tiiat the main force of Longstreet’s army had fallen back into Virginia, as early us the first week in April; but an independent body of his troops, about 2,000 strong, had wheeled by Warm Springs, apparently with the inten tion of joining Joe Johnston’s forces in North western Georgia. * ■ In a miner’s fight in California recently, one of the party had two hundred and fifty shots fired at him, and escaped with life ai.d so /er ty-five wounds. A man named Phelps, who died at Salem, Loudon county, Connecticut, recently, by bis own agreement, sold his body to a surgeon in Boston for one thousand dollars, the money to be appropriated to the use of his widowed mo ther, and his body to purposes of scientific in vestigation. His death was produced by an enormous tumor growing upon his back, larger than a bushel basket, and apparently nArly one hundred pounds in weight. It had been growing for eight years. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, there is an immense feeling in favor of placing Val landiglmm ns a'delegate to the Democratic Na tional Convention, and if he consents, it will doubtless be done. The Enquirer further de clare a that, if the martyr is chosen a delegate, the Democracy of Ohio will see that heattends the Chicago convention. We learn from the London Index, that the Southern prisoners’ relief fluid, under the con trol of a committee of merchants, have col dectedin Europe, in (he last twelvemonths, 515,000, which sum has lie A expendaa in re lieving Confederate soldiers confined in Yankee prisons. The managers of the fund are assist ed in their efforts by lades in the Northern cities, who visit tiie sulfererg, and give them such aid as the means at their disposal admit of. Banks last order is that planters are ordered to plant cotton, if not their property is confis cated. The tax is one-half to be given to the U. S., one-fourth lobe sold "then payable after the war. and one-fourth cash, or in plan English (he Yankee government takes all the cotton and pays for one-fourth.. Six thousand negroes have been sent from Rhode Island and arrived at New Orleans a few weeks since, six hundred were sent to Pla quemine, La., the remainder at the» former city. It is said that I'remont is to be sent to Cali fornia. Chili and Bolivia have broken ofT’diplomatic relations, and an intervention has been offered by Peru and the United States minister. In the House, of Representatives a bill has been reported authorizing the construction of two bridges across the Ohio, to enable the railroads of Indiana and Illinois to'connect with railroads on the opposite banks of the river, in Kentucky. The railroad companies are ready to build the bridges without cost to the Government. , Toe era of reckless, senseless extravagance is at its zenith in New York. A New York paper tells of a man building a marble stab’e on the rear of his lot, at a cost of eighty thou sand dollars, and fitting up a private theatre over it. Troops have been ordered from Missouri to look after Forrest, The militia of Pennsylvania are to bo or ganized to resist Invasion. The U. S. Court at Alexandria, Va., is busy confiscating property. The Insurgents have been defeated again at San Domingo. The Yankee'govern ment has received offi cial dispatches of their defeat in Louisiana. Grant was reviewing troops in the Yankee Potomac army April 19. Confederate Guerillas have become very an noying-to the Federals in Virginia, interfering much with their supply trains. Active preparations indicating a fight ar« still going on in the Yankee Potomac army. Confederate deserters say Lee’s army num bers CO.OOO men. They also state tnat Lee in tends making a forward movement soou. The Federals claim success in the second battle in Louisiana. They also say Confede rate Gens. Morton and Parson are killed. Northern newspapers state that the Confede rates in the late battles in Louisiana were com manded by Gens. M igruder, Holmes and Tay lor, all under Gen. Kirby Smith. Fi*om Kentucky. I [special OORRESPONDEXCB CHRONICLE 4 SENTINEL] ■Reflections — Hodge’s Brigade on ihe smrc'\ — tight at Paintville—*The Losses—Our men again in Camp—A surprise—Gallant charge cf % Gur Troops—Col. Chip wounded and in the Enemy's lines—lncidents ot the Light at Pa.int vitle—Xtw orders Jor the Brigade — Weather, See. Hodge's Brigade, ) Li taker county, Ky., April 16th, 1864. ) This Brigade had been foraging on Beaver Creek up to the 13th inst., when marching or ders were issued by Lieut E. F. Clay, who wps then in command, and we mounted our horses about two o’clock that day, and traveled all night long, aud came t* a halt about eight o’clock the next morning near a smalltown known as Paiutvilla, a few miles above Louisa, on the Big Sandy River. The road was the hardest and roughest that I have ever passed over in so short a time.— We expepteu to have reached Paintvilio by daylight, but disappointment overtook us at this point, anil therefore we did not surprise the Yankees. As the brigade neared the town, Capt. Fowls was sent ahead ns the advance guard, and coming up to the enemy’s pickets, demanded a surrender; two of them acquiesced, but the third was not so yielding, whereupon Lieut. I'rank 1 arks sent a bullet through his wizzen. and of course ho surrendered to his maker. Quick as horses couid carry them, the guard dashed into Paiutville, where ail army of Yan kee soldiery was seen, which did not warrant Wynn- part a call on them. But nothing daunt ed, Col. Clay sent his bdttajion under Major Holliday up a ridge near to another which the Yankees had taken possession of, and lie open eil out upon them with several rounds of nuis ’ketry, and then charged. In the meantime, Maj. Lawsoli McAfee, with his battalion, and Col. C. J. Prentice’s Batta lion, under the com mann ol Capt: Robert Bates, was sent to the assistance of Holliday; and after an hour and’a half of hiss and fighting, without any visible effect on the enemy, they were all called off. The Y’ankoes lost some ten or twelve killed and three prisoners. Our loss was'two killed and one wounded, and six prisoners.. In this tight Col. Thomas Johnson’s men were held in reserve. Col. Clay felt perfectly able to take the town, anil whip the Yankees, but iy thought it was net worth the men it would eogt him. The names of the young men that were killed were Alex Lail, of Harrison Go., Ky., and Geo. My rs, from Nicholas county, two of the bravest men in the Confederate service. The Brigade moved that evening in good order, in the direction of SAinersviHe, and camped about two miles north of that [flace. The next day we moved over on Main Licking, and camped about ten o’clock, ou one of its tributaries, known as P nncHen, ou the planta lion <>[ Lawrence Howard. \vere tired and weary, and the day.being warm and pleas ant. they were manyMf them inclined to sleep, and as soon as the forage, commissary and scouting details were mude out, and their horses turned out to graze, they" did give then® selves up to Morpheus. * Col. Prentice’s Battalion, under cOihmand of Capt. Bates, and a company from Col. John son’s Battalion, were detailed for scouts. The pickets being stationed, every bßilv hjt safe, and so they were, until about one o'clock, ■when suddenly a volley of musketry was poured into our camp by the enemy. We had called' on them and lett our card the day before, and they were polite enough to cornu and see im the next day. They tc.cn fell in cn May. McAfee’s Battalion, who gave them a welcome equal, to that which Tom Corwin, of Ohio, hoped the Mexicans would give the United States troops in that memorable war—"’with bioody hands to hospitable graves.” This battalion in one volley unsaddled twelve Yankees. * A general fight then commenced. Col. Clay rallied his men, and after an hour’s hard fight ing, ordered them to charge the Y'ankees, and giving one shout of triumph tor tiffiir God and country, pitched into them pell-melnatid drove them back. In this charge Col. Clay was wounded across the nose and right cheek just under tire eye. The eye was said to be shot* out. IJe remained inside the Yankee lines, feeling unable to bear a removal. His gallant bearing 011 this occasion saved us from ruin. Major John Holliday lock command, of the Battalion after Clay was wounded, one Col. Thomas Johnson, took command of the Brig - ade, and Gapl. Lalorge commanded his Bat talion. After three hours severe fighting, when night closed in upon us, our forces were drqwa off— tho Yankees feeling too sore from mi nt they received, to follow us. The Y ankee force amoffnted to abffui sixteen hundred men, while our force amounted to not mo#-, than five hundred men. Dr. C. H. Benton, Brigade Surgeon, informs me that we lost about six men as prisoners, who were too badly wounded to be removed, and several killed. Thomas Sanford, of Cov ington, Ky., was mortally wounded. The Fede ral lost in killed and wounded. There are many incidents connected with the fighting which we may not have noticed. For gallantry and brave acts abiffit headquarters we might mention th names of Lieut. It. Scott, Capt. J. J. McAfee, Cant. Hall, and Cant. H. Clay. . * At the fight at Paintsville, about seven of jCapt. Fowl’s men ran into) be Yankees, fighting as they went, aud shortly aftoewaids Maj. Hol liday was brought in from the front, and these men could not escape without being ex posed to the fire of all the Yankees. They hoped to escape, for if they remained where they ijpre, they would fall into the hands of Die enemy. — Capt. Henry Vauhook started first and alone, and over one hundred m*ekets were fired at him, but lie escaped. The%lhers were cnpturdl ■by the Federals. In this campaign our men behaved very gal lantly, but 1 must con less thjt we needed Gen. Hodge with us to ensure'success. The Yankees behaved very cowardly at the Puncken Crpiek fight, for if they bud pitched into su as we did into them, we would all have come to grief, most assuredly, for they tiie number to bring us to it. Maj. McAfee’s men fought desperately ahd successfully. The mftst of the men lost in kill ed and wounded were from this battalion. Col. Johnson’s men ware »ot so closelj' en gaged with the enemy as the oth.ws, but acted finely their part in the tight. Most of this Brigade is ordered to report to Gen. Giltner, and Capts. McAfee and H. Clay will report back to Gen. Cooper. We leave this State no*w lor Virginia, but it is hoped we will be in here again soon, it is just three weeks since we came here, and we havp been very busy witii the enemy. The peo ple generally were.gled to see us, and gave us a hearty welcome. The weather has been very bad for many days. A change would guit. The Y ankee General .Sturgis, with his force, has been sent alter Geu. Forrest from Ster ling, Ky. . Sots Lieutenant. From North Georgia. [SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE CHRONICLE 4 SENTINEL.] The Federal Army—Negro droops — Vice t Presi dent Stephens’ Speech. Blairsvixle, Ga., April 27.1864. ■We are told that the Yankee army at Chat tanooga is composed in part of many thou sands of negroes. What a spectacle! Negroes stolen or enticed from their homes and then armed and ordered to cut the throats of their masters. This is done, too, by a people woo have five fighting white men to our one ; and yet they have the sympathies of the so-called Christian and enlightened Europe. This, how ever. is only one of their many features of merciless cruelty, which, when the passions and prejudices of the age shall have passed away, will-consign them to eternal infamy. We have just read the masterly speech of Vice President Stephens* lately delivered at Milledgeville. Would that every friend of the Confederacy may read it. 'ihe warning voice of such a man should not pass unheeded. Pos segsing a patriotism Ihe most disinterested, a mind at once clear and far-seeing, and the most extensive experience of men and measures, his counsel at ail times, more especially in times like the present, is worthy of the most calm re flection and serious consideration. Troup. It is alleged that, out of fifty thousand bales of cotton which have been seized in the neigh borhood of Vicksburg since its capture, less than one hundred bales have been turned over to the Federal Government, the rest having been made the personal spoil of its treasury and militifry agents. The elections in Nashville a few days ago were the veriest mockery that could be im agined. Hardly any voting at all was done ex cept by soldiers. And the Louisville Journal sets thus it will it be at every election in Ten nessee while Andrew Johnson’s oath shall continue to l,e obtruded upon men presenting themselves at the polls. The deficiency in Massachusetts’ quota of troops is twenty thousand. , The Incomb Tax Act for 1864. —The follow ’n ° an official copy of the Income Tax Act, aieh is published for the benefit of Tax pay tT3; * 7 10 levy and collect a tax on the net iu profits of a 1 persons and corporate to ’ a - a< i not profits of all persons making .i,.ne9, by purchase or sale of any proper > , ieal or personal; upon the net income ol all Lx press Companies, Railroad companies not exempt by their chatters tiom taxation. Insurance Companies, Brokers, Auctioneers, ah persons engaged in the manufacture of iron and salt, rnd cotton dealers, and upon nil profits arising from the sale of goods, wares and merchandise, groceries and provi sions: also on the income protbs ot all pier sons and corporate bodies engaged in the manufacture of cotton aud woolen goods: iu the tanning and sale cf leather, anil the man ufacture aud sale of any articles made there of; and iu tli« distillation and sale of alcohol or spirituous liquors from grain ol' any kind, or from any other article; and to appropriate the same, and to punish all persons as may fail tu give ii their income or net profits, and lor other purposes. Bec. 1. The General Assembly of Georgia do enact. That all persons and bodies corporate iu inis State, ail persons making income by pur chase or sale ot any property, real 01 personal, all keepers of hotels, inns and livery stables, express companies, railroad companies, not ex empt by their charter from taxation, insurance companies, brokers, auctioneers, all persons engaged in the manufacture of salt, all persons engaged in the sale of goods, wares and mer chandise, groceries and provisions, all persons and bodies corporate engaged in the manufac ture and sale of cotton and woolen goods, in the tanning and sale of leather, anil in the man ufacture and sale of any article made thereof, anil all persons engaged in the distillation or sale ol' alcohol of spirituous liquors from grain of qny kind, or from any other article, when they make a return of their taxable property shall make a return under oath of the net in’ come 01 profits which*he, she or they, may have made respectively in the sale or manufacture and sale of any of the articles,.above enumera ted, and in the conducting of any other b’usi ness aforesaid, from the Ist day of April, 4863, to the Ist day of April, 1864, over aud above 8 per cent. 011 thmeapital employed in his busi ness. Bec. 2. Be it further enacted, That in all ca ses when the net incomes and profits over and above the eight per cent on tile capital stock so excepted as aforesaid arc ten thousand dollars or less, tiie tax shall be five dollars for every hundred dollars, upon all Sums not less than SIO,OOO nor more than $15,000, 7.1 dollars upon every $100; upon all sums not less ilian $15,000 nor more than $20,000, $lO upon every $100; upon all sums no* less than $20,000 nor more than $30,000, $12,50 upon every $100; upon all sums not less thap $30,000 nor more than $50,- 01% sls upon every 100; upon all sums not less than sso,opt) nor more than $75,000, $17,50; upon ari sums nut-less than 75,000 nor more than SIOO,OOO, S2O upon every $100; upon all sums of SIOO,OOO and over, $25 upon every SIOO. Bec. 3. That if any person, (or bodies cor porated,) embraced in the first section of this Act, shall fail or refuse to make a return of his, or her, or their profits, made or realised as aforesaid, he, pshe or they shall he held to he guilty of a high misdemeanor aud on conviction thereof shall be confined at hard labor in the Penelentiavy for any time not less than one year, nor more than five years; an 1 UlisKe ceiver of Tax Returns shall -assess a double lax ou all taxable income of Such delinquent as far as he may be able to ascertain upon diligent enquiry. Bec. 4. That if the officers of any body corpo rate, whose duty it is to make tiie proper re turns required by the provisions ot this Act, shall fail or refuse to make just and proper re turns of all profits or net incomes made by said corporation, or shall enter and change the pro fits in the extension of stock and not as profits or otherwise, so as to defeat the object of this Act, such oiliser or officer!) so offending shall be guilty of a high misdemeanor, and upon con viction thereof, shall be confined at hard labor lithe Penitential y for any time not lees than two or more than six years, and that the said Receiver of Tax Returns shall assess a double tax all taxable income of such delinquent, as far as he may be able to ascertain the amount, upon dil gent enquiry. S!c. 5. That it shall bo the duty <sl the sev eral lax Receivers of this State, to prosecute a!) parties who shall faiß refuse or neglect to give in their tax as inquired by the provisions of this Act, or who they may have reason to believe have not done tile - same iu good faith. , Sec. (i. All conflicting laws are hereby re pealed. Assented to Dec. 11, 18G3. AdiutioxXi, Particulars of the Pi.YMoiyrir Ficht.—We have already given some particu lars ofthe fight at Plymouth, *N. C." The an nexccn>articutars in regard to the matter we find in the Richmond Dispatch : Our forces arrived in front of Plymouth on Sunday auernoon about 4 o’clock, and succeed ed in capturing most of the enemy’s pickets, which were stationed a, few miles f»m town, and felt their works, and finding them much stronger than was anticipated, the men being exhausted by a long day’s march, the attack waif postponed until next day. During the whole day -Monday (lie artillery and sharp shooters were engaged with their gunboats and forts, which resuFcd in one of the former being sunk. At about dusk on tlm same evening Fort Sanderson, a very strong earthwork, was assaulled and carried by storm, after a spirited resistance. During this assault a number of our men were killed by hand grenades in the ditch.* After carrying the above named fort our forces advanced close up to the main works of tho enemy, on the west side of the town. On Tuesday morning at two o’clock the Al bermaiTe, one of our iroh-elud boats, command ed by Capt. Cook, came down the river and en gaged fbe enemy’s batteries ami gunboats which were lying in front of tba town. The enemy’s boats attempted to board her, which .attack was handsomely repulsed. They also attempted to trap her, having stretched a chain under water across the space that intervened between their boats; but instead of running be tween them Capt. Cook made direct for the largest, striking her ainidship, aud sunk in a few minutes, together witn most ofthe officers and crew, only a few of whom were picked up. He immediately engaged the other, and pur sued her some distance down the river, but not deeming it prudent to venture too far down the liver, be returned to his former po sition iu front of Plymouth. After daylight on the tame morning General Hoke demanded a surrender of the place and its defences, which demand the enemy declined to accede to. During the day their works were reconnoitered and felt at different points.— Tuesday night the position of our troops was moved around through a very difficult route to the cast or opposite side of the town. At day light Wednesday morning they charged and carried the entire line of fortifications on the east aide, driving (ho enemy at the point of the bayonet completely through the town to the opposite tide, where some of our troops were left, who succeeded in capturing a large num ber of prison°rs. During all day ’lkiesday and Wednesday morning the Albemarle, with the gallant Cook ill command, engaged the enemy’s batteries, taking theifl in reverse. The town now being entirely in our possession, together with all the enemy’s works, with the exception of the main fort, a demand was made for its surren der, which was refused, but as soon as our ’sharpshooters commenced to advance, the ene my began to desert by twos, threes and twen ties, coming into our fines aud throwing down their arms. The flag of the fort was then soon hauled down, which resulted in the surrender by Brig. Gen. W< ssels of four regiments of infantry, one squadron of cavalry, a batlarion of artillery, and two or three companies of N. C. "Buffa loes,’’ together with the large amount of stores, provisions, siege guns, etc., previously report ed in tins paper. Our loss in killed and wounded in the land fight was much larger than that of the enemy, owing to the fact that our troops were expose ! to a raking fire, without protection of any kind while the enemy were covert*! by their works! Our total loss was three hundred killed and wounded, while the loss of the enemy in this respect only amounted to one hundred. The number of prisoners captured was as follows: 2.000 whites and 300 negroes, a portion of the latter being women and children. a large num ber of negroes and ‘ buffaloes” escaped by means of boats and canoes, while quite a num ber plunged into the river, a portion of whon never reach'd the opposite shore. The beha vior of our troops throughout the whole affair was everything that could be desired, and where all did so well it would be next to injus tice to discriminate. The gallant Col. Mercer was killed while leading a charge and thus sealed with his life blood his devotion to his country. He was a native of Georgia, and the only field ofiicr lost by us during the siege of Plymouth. Memphis dispatches state that Forrest is re treating into Mississippi. Chalmers and Mc- Culloch were passing Tallahatchie, and Gene ral Grierson is reported to bo pressing For rest’s columns. litO.y NORTH CAROLINA. Messrs. Metcalf & Kelly, of Raleigh, N.C., aro ' manufacturing knives and forks*. Weston, North Carolina has for some time bt en invested with a band of lawless char acters, who. knowing the fate that will befall them it captured, set tbept laws defiance ami commit depredations upon the people It Is hoped that energetic measures will be taken to rid the country of th.eir presence. Further information received at Ashville. states that Col. Palmer attacked the enemv at Burnsville, and captured fitteen of the miscre ants. Ibe rest “skedaddled,’’ including the leader of the band. A detachment of the Sixty-seventh North Carolina Regiment, under the gallant YVhit ford, several days ago, went down to the coast of that State on a scout. They avoided the vigilance of the Yankees and penetrated to Lookout Lighthouse, a hundred miles below our lines, crossing rivers and creeks, swamps and bogs, the weather being very inclement. 1 hey arrested the keeper of the new Light house ascended ihe steps, destroyed the lamps ' i J co, nbustitdes in the oil houses, " am ' e.i up the building, which was very ”1 red and sixty-five feet high. Al. piamo to \\ hitford and his •■bovs.” Crops and fruits of all kinds in Central North Carolina promise well. Ihe small pox has assumed the sfcar.o of an epidemic in parts of Forsyth county, N. C. ~1 L e lretlei'nls liuvc been driven from Burns lured ' ° stt m ai] d seveial of them cap , dhe F oderal army of East Tennessee has all oeen brought down to Cleveland except small gains,ous at l*hoxville, Loudon, Athens,and a . tew other points on ■ the East Tennessee and Georgia rai.road. This force is said to amount to twenty-live thousand. The lalance of the 1 urikee army, under Thomas, is at Ringgold and vicinity. FROM VSUtJiNfA. I lie Richmond papers say* that the report, that the seat of Government is to be removed further South is an absurd one. The board of officers dcteimined to adjudi cate claims for the losses of slaves in the ser vice has been organized, and lias already be gun its regular sessions in Richmond, Va* They aro required to examine into and report on the justice and amonunt of claims for loss of slaves which have been impressed by the Confede rate authorities, or under State laws, for the use of the Conleilerate government, and while ■engage 1 in laboring on the public defenses, have escaped to the enemy or.dicd, or contrac ted diseases which have, after their discharge, resulted fatally. Ihe Richmond Examiner states that the French tobacco in that city consists of between seven and eight thousand hogsheads, of fine quality, and worth several millions ot dollars, it will freight seven or eight ships. The quiet manner in which the Yankee Government backed down from its refusal to permit this tobacco to pass the blockade, shows the stamina ot Y aukee p'uck before the express demands of France, end testifies with equal force to the cav '-in-poiicy of that same nation upon any emergency wherever the opposing power has pluck enough itself to pursue its demands with even decent peisistency. David L. Mark, ot Abingdon, Va., has com menced the manufacture of nitrate of silver. 111. B. &C. Fisher, of Lynchburg, Va., are making percussion caps. McNeil’s Rangers recently visited Moore field, Va., and dioYe out the Y'anke ‘s there. From ignorance or other causes, says the Richmond Examiner, a number of letters have recently been put in the Post-ofl'me boxes with halves of the twenty cent stamps attached to them for postage. These, letters go to the dead-letter office. The stamps, of course, can not be divided to represent different denomf nations, anil the public are requested to take notice of this to save their mail matter from the deail-jetter office. It is reported iu Richmond that the Admin istration is going to take military control of all the Railroads between Richmond and Wilming ton, Railroad men predict that the result will he the ruin of the roads in less that) six months. It is said that President Owen, of the Virginia and Tennessee Road*has declined the office of Military Superintendent of the roads in ques tion. I he Richmond correspondent of the Colum bus Sun learns that Gen. Thomas Jordan, Gen, Beauregtiard’s Chief of staff, is lying dangerous ly ill 1 f brain fever. The amount of tobacco in Richmond and Pe tersburg owned by the French fa seven thous and hogsheads. The issiw of new notes, it is said, will be de layed by the removal of the signing bureau to Columbia, 8. C. J Several reg’ment of Y’ankee tunops have been landed at Y'ork Town, Va. The most inhuman outrages were committed by'the Yankee negro troops iu their late raid in Nansenrond county and Isle of YVigkt, Va. A letter receive 1 by Gov. Smith from |Hoti. James M. Mason, announces thSt the requisite funds have been raised by the gentlemen of England, who have proposed to prepenQa stat ue of the lamented Jackson to hip fellow, citi zens in this country, and inquires whether their solicitude for a becoming disposition of the statue when sent here, will be gratified. Gen. llsnscm of N. C., Jias been assigned to the command in anil around Richmond. The Yankee army of the Potomac Ims made some movements They are now filteen miles nearer Fredericksburg. . * Affairs on the Kapidan are assuming very in teresting features The reports represent Grant as preparing for veiy speedy demonstrations. Our wounded in the Plymouth fight are at Lynchburg, Va., doing well. There has been some heavy skirmishing al ready between the two armies in Virginia. Lincoln’s negro troops in Virginia are com •mitting outrages on white women. Some of the Richmond papers think that Grant will endeavor to flank Lee in his on ly ml “move to Richmond.’’ The impressing agents are clearing out the surplus horses iu Richmond. The Yankees at Suffolk on hen ring of th* Plymouth disiisler bnirnpd tlieir camps at Sus folk, evacuated the place, and retired to their fortifications near Portsmouth. In tiie t wenty dollar bill of the new issue an error has been discovered, which is attributed to the engraver On Ihe left (upper corner)of the plate the little seal reads thus: "Six months after the ratification ol a treaty of peace be tween”—then opposite, on the right: “Two years after the ratification of a treaty of peace between,” etc. The first vessel of ihe Virginia YYilunteer Navy Company will bo sent out in a few days. Ninety percent, of the prizes belong to the company and ten per cent, so (he government. It is thought in Richmond that Congress will amend Ihe currency bill so as to relieve fives from flic thirty-three and discount.— No new lives will be issued until June. Adjutant General Cooper states, in general orders number eighteen, (h it applications from the officers of the nitre and mining corps for field service cannot be considered. Woi'kmen employed by them may be organized and arm ed for loeal defense, but their military orders must he subordinate to work, as the leading aim and consideration, aad second in impor tance to no other mi’itary order. House rents in Richmond are enormous. A little dwelling on a retired street, wbicli was rented during the last twelve months, at the rate of S9OO per annum, has lately been rented for the next twelve monlhs, at the rate of $3,000. General .Morgan now has bis headquarters at Ww-hville, in WeStern Virginia, where he is getting hi command ready for active s«vice. A cavalry scouting expedition reports that not a Yankee is to be seen ahore Fredericks burg or around Falmouth. Grant has evident ly been making feints, for the purpose of feel ing our lines, or is endeavoring to divert at tention by bis manoeuvres, but we opine that lie will find his match when be comes to join the final is ue with the redoubtable Lee. Molasses is sold at $5 per pound in Rich mond. A man named Dr. James Macon has been arrested on charge of being a spy at Dublin Depot, Va. Major Turner has delivered over to Captain Richardson, commandant at Castle Thunder, George Lindsay, a private of the Ninety-sev enth New York regiment, recently captnred, who jrijjjied to be ir deserter from the Fortieth Regiment Georgia infantry. FROM NORTH ALABAMA. The Yankees are still in possession of De catur, Alabama, and have ordered eveiy family but one, in the place, to leave. Their cavalry occasionally ven'ure out on raids, but are al ways met by our v igilant cavalrymen and driven back. Geu. Clanton, with a portion of the Sixth Alabama, caught a party of these plunderers, recently, some sixteen miles in tho country, and drove them back to town, after killing several and capturing fifteen. Preparations, making on the North side of the Tennessee indicate the design of the enemy to holdt hat part of the-country .permanently All the important ferries have been fortified and farms have been taken for cultivation! All able-bodi n d negro men. unwilling to vol unteer, are conscribed and forced into the ser vice. "’e are gratified to learn that the great mass of the people, especially the ladies, are true to our cause, aud are as firm and unyielding as the broad bates of their own native ajoun-. tains.
