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MOENINO EDITION. J4MES W WARREM, Editor. Columbis, Wednesday February 24, 1863. The M*w» From the West we get nothing except con- Ihcting speculations as jo Sherman’s movements and intentions. It is pretty well settled that he has abandoned (if he ever entertained) the intention of marching upon Mobile, but whether he will direct his steps towards Selma, Ala., or move Northward to form a junction with the column coming from Memphis or retire, over the route by which became, to \ lcnaburg, is not yet developed. Our forces under Gen. I oik arc in * position to observe and act upon any move ment he may make, and aro iu sufficient numbers, we believe, to bring his daring expedition to a close. The intelligence from Florida is highly eccour* aging. The enemy has been severely chastised for bis insolent invasion of the “land of tl iwerr,” and from his distance from his gunboats (some fifty or more miles) wo may hope that all the fruits of the victory have not yet been gathered. We notice with pride that Gen, Colquitt, with his fine brigade of Georgians, and the 64th Ga.» Col. Evans, togeiher with other troops from this State, had a plaoe in the picture and with their gallantry avid prowess sustained the traditional fame of their glorious old mother. From every other quarter comes the report of inactivity and quiet. Charleston and Savannah Kail Hoad- Change of Schedule * The traveling public is greatly interested in the change of schedule, on the above noticed in our advertising columns this morning. Passengers Irom.East and South of Macon for Charleston will, under (he new programme, not only pass through Savan uab without detention, but they will avoid, what is tar more unpleas ant —tha everlasting jam and squeeze to which they are tuhjected on the upper route. Besides, they will pass over a comparatively even aud delightful road und receive every attention which polite Conductors and train managers can offer. the. military bill-tiik cur rency HILL—THE TAX ACT No act or acts of the Conlederate Congress, passed since the organization of the Government, says the Richmond Enquirer, are so well quali« fied to attest the determination of Congress to successfully achieve the independence of the country, as tho three great laws which have re* cently been euactcd tho Aliliiary, Currency and Tax acts. The Military Bill devotes to the army, directly or indirectly, the whole physical power and energy of the country. Providing, first, recruits for the ranks by an extended oousciiption, it then organizes the remaining labor of the coun try, for the sole use and benefit of the army and the country’s cause. The great pervading prin ciple of this military bill is that every man owes to bis country the duty of defending it, either in or out of the ranks, and the law provides fur the discharge of this paramount duty by putting in the ranks all men capable of bearing arms, except oertain persons who can be of more ser vice to the cause out of, than in tho army. Ex emptions and details are permitted upon the great and important principle of promoting the publio service, and not upon any right or favor to individuals. Recognizing the absolute depen dence of the country’s cause upon the grea . agricultural interest, the Congress, while protect ing this great interest, has trade it contribute to the support of the army, for tho privilege of its exemption—thus protecting tho production of ihe country, without depriving the army of the re cruits necessary to its reinforcement. This bill organizes an army of exempts to co-opeiate with the army of conscripts—thus devoting to the cause the whole labor uud energy of tho country. Such an act, earnestly support ted by the people, cannot fail to exert a happy influence upon the country, as well as certify to our enemies, by unmistakable evidence, the pur pose and determination ot the country to be free The Currency Bdl is another circumstance in this evidence of our purpose to accomplish independence. It is tha sacrifice of tho avarice of ihe people upon the altar of patriotism—a sacrifice, with some persons, harder to make than that even of sons and brothers. But it, never theless, will be cheerfully made. The currency was the greatest danger that beset our cause. Its insidious influence was undermining public virtue; its ruinous effects were destroying the power of the Government; its redundancy was an exhorbitant tax upon the public energy, more destructive to production than all tbo acts of the enemy combined. This danger is met and removed. Tho k nife has been put in deep, arid all parts of this corroding dis ease cut away. Tho wound will heal and the patient take anew lease ot' life, with energy un impaired. The Tax Act, providing for ihe future support of the Government, is not without its importance, even when separately considered ; bu r , when taken in connection with the Military and Cur rency bills, it becomes an important part in the system of public defence which this Congress has provided lor the country. It is the machinery to provide tho ways and means of supporting the army: of promoting the cause; of effecting and accomplishing our liberty and independence. (If equal importance with the other two great acts, it attests tbs purpose of tbo Congress to do its duty, and to provide for tha fu ure. Such lias beeti tbe work of ibe last days of the Ct'i'gress. It has intrao ed during its t*s fiiuus severe aeirnad versions; aud, wlule de serving much o i‘>' harsh er111»*lh, voi candor and truth demand that tha o.iuniry render it tbe meed of its grateful thanks. Congress has Wffl perfotuird its duty ; it has recruited tho army, it i»»s reduced iho currency, it has pr- vided against ndundam-y iu tbe future. The demand of the country was for each of these measures. Congress has complied with tbe expressed popular will. The duty ot tbe people now begins. To cordially support aud earnestly labor to enforce these laws is tho duty of every good cidzen. Let every man ascertain what tbe laws require of him and speedily perform that duty. If bis duty i* to go to the held, let him take up bis knapsack and walk ; it to fund his treasury notes, let him render unto Mr. Meiumin ger H e things that are bis ; if to pay taxes, let him cheerfully do so; for it is easier tor a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to escape this tax law. Important Kaii.roau Branch.—ThaCeulre ville (Aia ) Enquirer a.tys a branch railroad is being budt, commencing at Ashby, (formerly known as Centreville Depot,) and is designed to run to the Bibb Iron Worns and from thoDce to tbe rich coal aud iron reg.o..s on (he Cahaba river, and ultimately county. The route has bean surveyed, grading has been commenced, and the iion will Boon be laid to the Iron Works, if not the whole distance. We look upon this work as a most im portant one, aa it wifi develope the resources of a section of country, which in mineral value is not surpassed by any in the Confederacy. It will give Bibb a prominence which no other eouuty has yet or ever will attain in inanutac lectures and ooal aud iron. Asa friend of pr - grass we are glad to soe this enterprise going on, and pieiici i.s early completion, it is in ihe hands of three partus—private individuals, th. Government, and th e Alabama ± Teauc- Mo Railroad. Come up to tike Work. Citizens of the Confederacy, you have called lor legislation to save tbe'country. Your Representatives have responded. You haw hteii eager; tney have been de liberate—more so than you thought proper. Bui they have done their best to meet your wielies. You have demanded to be taxed ami taxed heavily. The tax bill is before you, ample in extent, heavy but not too heavy in weight. You have cried out against the redundancy of the currency. If the currency bill presented for your in spection yesterday does not, in your opin ion, diminish sufficiently the volume of circulation, remember that Congress meets again in May. You have insisted that the army should be tilled up. Your Repre sentatives have complied by putting every man and boy from 17 to 50 in .the military service. Now it will rot be for the want of effi cient laws that you will become bankrupt or be beaten in the field. The question is, will you obey the laws made at \ our request and obey them cheerfully, or will you begin to find fault and evade them? Will you pay your debt—for it is your debt, not the debt of your Agent here in Richmond — and will you win your independence by fighting for it, or will you not ? That’s the whole question. Nothing human is perfect; there is no law without a flaw. You can find faults in e'very one of these bills, if you hunt lor them. No difficulty about that. You can tell lies about your incomes and make false returns of your sales. In this way, you can ensure the failure ot the best currency bill in the world. In like manner, yon can defeat the military bill. You ean get sick, dodge, skulk, or in some way escape milita ry duty at home and so compel your Gov ernment not to put all its veteran trained troops in the field, bat io keep them out for indispensable guard and post duty—per haps io keep enough of them out to pre vent us from winning victories. People of the Confederacy! think of these things. After all, it rests with you to redeem your credit 3nd make good your independence. Corrie up to the work like man, and the thing is done. Shirk it, and you and your children are forever done for.—[Richmond Whig. Utilizing the Retiring Currency. Go this subject the Richmond Examiner makes the following humorous suggestions: While the currency bill yet Ungers sus* pended between the Senate and House of Representatives, and we are not informed what measures of relief will be adopted for the redemption of (he Confederate money, it would, perhaps, bo superfluous to sub mit any remaiks on the probable effect of these measures, and we are unwilling to disturb tbe peace of mind of the Secretary of the Treasury by suggesting a doubt with regard to the future ol our finances. But there is one matter upon which u serious question will arise as soon as the funding system has been put in lively operation.— “What becomes ol the pins?” is an inter-' rogatory of trifling interest compared with “What shall be done with our Treasury notes? ’ We mean, of course, the material fabric, the paper that has been wasted in the preparation of Hie promises to pay, the residuary rags which will soon begin, in a dirty snow, to come down upon ami over whelm, Miserrimus Memminger. At this moment they are scattered over ever so many hundreds of thousands of square miles, the representatives of a most uncer tain value; six mouths hence they will be massed togetlier in this city, a vast bulk ol Utterly worthless matter; we saj worthless, unless, indeed, there sh ill occur lo i! o tor* tile mind of the political economist some happy method of unhziti.m. We have heard of eccentric people who• papered the walls of their rooms with cancelled postage stamps, and the cancelled Treasury notes might possibly be useful iu this kind of up* holstery, but for the fear that- madness would supervene upon the wretched occu pants of apartments so ornamented, and thus the country be filled with Bedlamites. To see the faces which adorn these bills looking down onorie forever with (hat un changing expression of ineffable melancholy which the engraver has given to all of them (for on the best specimens of the Confeder ate currency Davis is doleful, and Stephens saturnine, Hunter is heavy, and Clay clouded with care, Memminger is mourn ful, and even Benjamin the bouyant is bien trisle,) and to have constantly m sight Ihe evidences of the country’s travil aud iiu* pecuniosity, were enough to dme even a well regulated mind to lunacy. To make a burnt sacrifice of them after cancellation, would, perhaps, oe thought the proper tiling, it men enough could be soared from the army to superintend the combustion.— Bui ibis work would have tobedoue with great care, and would require many months to complete it. To set lire to the immense, mass at once would imperil the sat-iy of the city. Nor does such flimsy Joel an swer well tor the furnace and the forge, however convenient it might prove for heat ing the baths of a modern Omar. We have to suggest a disposition o! these notes which commends, itself to the attention of both the Conlederate and Riaie Governments; a twofold disposition, looking to ornament and defence, which will give a stimulus at once to mnnnluetures and the fine arts in the Confederacy. The impenetrable nature of paper, when closely packed together in layers of leave-, is Well knovyn. It is uoi easy to vend a pistol-bail through a book of live hundred pages. A testament in the breast-pocket of a pious soldier has often saved a life up on the battle field. S ill less ea-y is it. to pierce a Mioceasiun of laminar pasteboards. The reader catches at our proposition now before it is announced. We are hopelessly anticipated. J,et two-thirds of the waste paper of tha Conlederate circulation be con verted into pasteboard, and this substance aubiiituted for iron io the sheathing of eur ships of war. Tne superior lightness >.f the annum wool.t dispel ail fears of sinking ilo-! vessel. We congratulate Mr. Mallory upon having the means at his command lor the speedy completion of his gunboats, uow hull,iin. in Confederate waters, li it be said that the power of resi.-taiiee iu pasteboard to bombardment is an untried experiment, we can only reply that as alt our guiib nt s are designed for destruction by ttieir own commanders, it is really of v ry little importance whether the carton would resst a cannon-nail or not. So much lor two-thirds of the paper money. As for the other third, let it be re* duced to pull or papier mache , and let this be moulded into statues lor the completion ot the Washington Monument, i'he heioie figure ol the Secretary ol ihe Treasury might be placed upon one of the vacant pedestals, that which was designed for the Finance ot ihe Revolution in the person o' Thomas Neleou, Jr. There wouid be a beantilul fitness in this apotheosis. Noth ing would then be wau’iugto give a crown ing grace to the Monument but a motto appropriate to the tacts, and this we beg to supply iu a couplet from Wordsworth: “ 1 h us strives a grateful country to display, aue mighty debt which nothing can ro pay !’ The stock in irade of must of our merchant abuut this time is composed of three plugs of tobacco ami k quart of “goobers.’ The English Court of Exchequer on tlic Alexandra. The London Index, of the 14th January, just to hand by a recent arrival at this port, devotes a long editorial aiticle to the above case, upon which it sheds some light not already given to the Confederate public. Our space will not permit us to copy the whole article. We, therefore, confine our« selves to a statement ol such new facts as it may contain. It will be remembered that the British Government, at the instigation of C. F. Ad ams, Lincoln’s Minister at London, and up on information furnished by Lincoln’s spies at Liverpool, siezed the steamship Alexan dra, then hi the river Mersey, on the allega gation that she had been built aud was to be filled out as a ship-01-war for the service ol the Confederate Etates, in contravention of the provisions of the Foreign Enlistment Act. The case was tried before the chief Baron and a jury. The jury, under the di rection ot the chief Baron, found lor the claimants ot the vessel aud against the Government. The Government took an appeal to the Court of Exchequer from this ruling of one of its Judges. This appeal came before the Court during the last term, and it was supposed that the decision would be given in November. The argu ments in the case were heard then on a mo tion for anew triad. Trie Court took time to consider its judgment, which was pro nounced on Monday, January 11th, the first day of the present session. Tne Chief Baron adhered to his lormer ruling. Mr Baron Braimvell, the senior of the puisne judges, agreed with him. Mr Baron Chan nel! dissented, holding that the direction of the Chief Baron to the jury had not been satisfactory, slid that on tnis account a new trial ought to be granted. The junior of the Court is Mr Baron Pigott. Mr Baron Pigott was, when this case commenced at Liverpool, member of Parliament for the borough of Reading, and known to entertain opinions favorable to the government and opposed to the parties claiming the ship, lie was appointed, pendente lite, by the government, one of the parties to the suit. 11 is opinion was given in favor ot anew trial; but as the Court was thus evenly di vided, he being the junior, according to eus tom withdrew his judgment, and the rule tor anew trial was refused. The effect of this decision will be to leave the govern ment at liberty to.appeal to what is called the Court ol Exchiquer Chamber, where, in this cause, the Judges of the two other courts (Queen’s Bench and Common Pieas) will review the decision of the Court of Exchequer; and from them there lies a further appeal to the House oi Lords. It is pretty certain that, whatever the decision, the Government will not give up the vessel until it has exhausted all the resources of chicanery, and interposed eyerv vexation, difficulty, and delay that the ingenuity ol its legal advisers can suggest. It is not supposed that the English Government has any hopes of condemning; the Alexandra, but, by detaining her, they equally serve the purposes of Sewaai, They know that her release at this time would bring them insolent dispatches from Washington, and they fancy that il might lead to a declara tion of war ; and therefore it is their policy to postpone that event as long as possible. In this point ol view, the division oi opinion io the. Court of Exchequer is just what they wanted, and planned to bring about, when tin y appointed Mr Pigott to the fourtii seat on the Exchequer bench. It gives them good cause fora further appeal, and it does not give them anew trial, which would be final, and would, in all pr terminate in lavoi of the defendan's the claimants of the vessel, and against tbe Govt^nnisnl. The Index does not charge or even hint that Air Baron Pigott was influenced in his opinion iii any way by political feeling But it plainly intimates that a knowledge of his opinion on this case, then pending before the Court of Exchequer, was mainly influ ential with ihe ministry in causing his nomination to the vacant place in that court. No English paper that we have seen ap pears to entertain the same opinion express ed by the Richmond Wnig, which charges that Earl Russell has been bribed by the | Lincoln Government. Considerable dissat- I isfaction no doubt exists in England, caused by the mean, pettifogging course of the Ad ministration, which is more consonant to the dealings of the lowest sort of attorneys than to the usage ol great nations in im portant causes ot this character. Still to any questions propounded in Parliament, Russell or Palmerston or any of their strik ers will have the all-sufficient answer that the question is before the courts on its legal merits. Those who know nothing of the resources ot l-egai chicanery aud delay may hirin some idea of how long it will stay there.— [Wilmington Journal, 19th. N*S»« Iltot in Mew Orleans. A correspondent of the New York World, writing from New Orleans--, furnishes that paper with the following: I would advise all recruits who may. here after join the army with the expectation of coining out here to get their faces blacked and join a negro regiment. On Saturday last a battalion of negroes, which had been sent out to represent the white men of Rhode Island in the duty and privilege ol upholding the Uniou, ami who were yet on the sb-amship Cahawha in which ihey came out, went ashore in the upper part of the city and commenced destroying the shops and tneir contents in that part of the neigh borhood. One ot them entered a grocery, and when the proprietor refused to give him liquor, which is contrary to military, made a blow at him with a hatchet, and cut his face. open, making a dangerous wound, disfiguring him, at least, for life.— The police made an effort to arrest him, when the rest came to his assistance, and two policemen are so dangerously wouiu ded that their lives are despaned of. The police reserves from the whole city were then called in, hut the negroes with then side arms were too strong fur them. At Usl a company of white soldiers were sent lor, and ai last the negroes retired io their ship. Their officers hugged and patted them in vain to coax them into order bui a sight of lire muskets and fixed bayo» nets oi the regulars soon quieted them. On Monday they were tried ; the tetiow with the hatchet was sentenced to lose two montns' pay, and the others one month each. On the same day a white soldier, who got on a spree aml wandered off from his regt ment, was sentenced to lose 4 months’ pay. The like sentence was imposed on another white soldier who went into a res taur.Mti to get something to eat, and was unable to pay for if; and six months hard labor in the Dry Tortugas was the lot o! two others who did the same at an oyster saloon, and assaulted the keeper with a dull knife. When you undertake to vol untoer do so as a negro, if you wish for light punishment and nothing to do. A Raid that Did not Pat. —There was a report a tew days since tint a‘ considerable Vankee force was moving up on Ashville, m North Carolina. The News, of that place, of the 11th, says of the raid limit had been known lor some days that a Yankee raid > from Tennessee, in she direction of Franklin, Macon countv, was made last week From the information in our possession, it was not a paying expo* dition. It Beams a Yankee force estimated at 600 invaded North Carolina by way of the Tennessee river, and got within about twenty miles of Franklin. But Col. Thom as’s Indians bushwhacked them so uumer* cifully that they turned at that point and hnrriedly retreated, having had one captain two lieutenants, and a number of prtvates killed aud a considerable number wounded. The dead they left lying where they fell, but curried off the wounded. Good for the red skins. Additional from lit* North. From Now York papers of the 11th inst. we take some additional intelligence : O Ktf BOTLEPja BLUNDER—THE LATE ATTACK ON RICHMOND —SOME ONE HAS BLUNDERED AGAIN. The late movement on Richmond is acknowl edged to have been a failure, and old Butler is in a worse humor than when be run against Ma* grudor at Bethel. The following telegrams tail the tale: Washington, Fed. 10. The civilli&ns and political critics of the army are indignaut that the late nash in the direc tion of Richmond should be attended with such signal failure. Their plans were all perfect, and they cannot sea how (he error occurred. A number of excited individuals have been impor tuning the committee on the conduct of the war to report to-morrow that somebody has blun dered, so that the shortcomings ot the military officials may be ventilated and another sacrifice be made. Washington, Feb. 10. Rumors prevail of the arrest of prominent of ficers who had the late raid on Riohmond in charge. Foriress Monroe, Feb 10. The following special order is published by order of the commanding General : W. W. Shore, being by his own confession the correspondent of ihe Now York Daily World and Daily Times, the articles aod letters from which papers are copied with approbation into many of the rebel papers to ihe injury of the Govern ment and the causa ot the country, is ordered to leave the department forthwith, And nut to return under pain of being put to hard, but honest, labor. By order of Maj. Gen. Butler. R. T. Davis, Major and A. A. G. THE CAMPAIGN IN TUB SOUTHWEST —THE ADVANCE OP HUKLBUHT AND M'pHBRSON. The Federal force which is now advancing into East Mississippi, and before which in re. tiring General Polk has evacuated Meridian, is under the command of Gen. Sherman, and con sists of two aruy corps—the lthb aud 17th, under Duriburt aud McPherson. The cavalry to attend the expedition leu Memphis for Cor' iath on the 3d inst. The St. Louis Republican, commenting upon the movements in that quar ter, says : Promising activity is observable to General Shariuan’s and Gen. Banks department. Quite a number of troops have been concentrated in the. vicinity of Vicksburg, and already our Hues have bstm advanced towards Jackson, as far as the nig Black. 4 Posts on the Memphis and Charles ton Raihoad have been abandoned, and the garrisons, including those at Corinth and Inks, brought in. The 15th army corps, Major Gen. Hurlburt, has been organized for field duty into four divisions, commanded respectively % by Gen erals Tuttle, Dodge, J. 5* mith and Veatch. Be sides the Ifith, preparations for the campaign have been m ida in the 12th and 13th corps. A great cavalry expedition has also been ar> ranged, under Gen. W. L. Smith, General Grant’s Chief of Cavalry, for a raid into the in terior of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and has, we learn, already moved npon Holly Springs, going down the lino ot the Mississippi Central Railroad. Troops from Cairo, Columbus, Moscow, Graud Junction, Memphis, and other points, have reached Vicksburg. They are ex« pected to go eastward and southward, and form a junction with tho cavalry column and with a force setitng out j from Natchez. Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, will probably be aban doned by the enemy without a fight Some for midable resistance might be made to our occu paton of the city, as the works are- said to have been considerably strengthened since the cap ture ol Vicksburg, but the rebels will scarcely permit themselves to be invested, particularly when they mi st know by this time that their presence is wanted in another quarter. It must be borne ia mind, however, that the progress of Gen. Sherman’s command will be necessarily slow for two or three weeks yet. Nor, though appearances seem now to point to Mobile as the ultimate destination, is it altogether certain that tho movement is in reality designed for aervioe so far away. Iu the existing uncertainty with regard to the plans of the Confederates, and while there is at least a possibility that the whole available strength of the enemy at present in Virginia may be thrown into Georgia and East Tennessee, Gen. Sherman will be cautious in going southward from that line which intersects Jackson, Meridian Selina, aud Montgomery. It seems plain that Gen. Sh-rman's troops in tbe field Bhould, after securing Jackson, prooeed due east to Meiilian, the junction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad with th3 Southern Mississippi. From Vicksburg to Meridian the distnnoe is one. hundred and forty miles, which is about equal to the distance from Meridian to Mobile We suppose that the railroad connecting Me ridian vviih the base of supplies at Vicksburg cau be rapidly placed in running order, and there is sufficient rolling stock, locomotives, Ac., at hand to make it available for transportation; By the time the road is opened events will prob« ably have so shaped themselves as to determine the now doubtful question whether Sherman should go on down to Mobile or proceed to Selma and Montgomery in order to co-operate with Ge». Thomas in a dank movement with Atlanta in view. Our own belief, which may go for what it is worth, is that with the indirect assistance of Gen. Sherman in occupying the attention of the rebels in Mississippi, Gen. Banks will find himself amply strong enough, aided by the fleet in the gulf, to contend against the enemy at Mo bile and capture that city. Should he do so, and our vessels secure the passage of the Alaba ma and rombigbee river, a chain of communica tion can be evabl'nhed >f the greatest impor tance in cutting off the States of Mississippi and Alabama from the Confederacy, and affording moans for a grand concentration and combina tion against the remaining parts of the rebel do main. Tbe campaign is opening very handsome ly, and we are likely to witness a magnificent exhibition of military strategy on both sides. 'l'lie Lat« Raid on I lie Btlilmore nnd Olilo lloßii Ijoss over One Million of Hollers. A dispatch dated the 7th inst., from Cum* berlanil, Maryland, to the New York World, pays : Od the 29th ult., a large wagon train was captured between new Creek and Petersburg ; but this disaster caused very little excitement in town; but onj the 2d iust., this raid eulminas ted. About 'i p. m., uuurries arrived aoaouuc ing that the North Branch and Patterson Creek bridges situated respectively six and eight miles east ot this place, had been burned by tbe rebels. The long roll summoned the soldiers to arms, who soon took position about two miles south east of our town. Soon the supports arrived, but the “rets” didn't come. They having accwmplUhed their work, retired without molestation. The forces at the bridges which made the cap* ture have been variously estimated at from sixty to two thousand five hundred men. They cap tured one company of tbe 54'h Pennsylvania troops that was guarding the bridges. Casual ties—one ki'ied, one mortally andp-everal slightly wounded of the Federals C nfederates none.— Our forces bivouaeed on th-s chosen field, await mg the approach of the rebels ; but Rosser bav ing accomplished his work, fast skedaddle g to a place of safely. Pursuit then commenced, buttour forces managed to keep just far enough in the rear of the rebels not to provoke a col* lision. W e lost about oue hundred and seven wagons heavdy laden with rations, clothing and monitions of war; also, the motive power of this immense train,'consisting of live hundred or six hundred horses and mul«is. Also, several can non and quite a number of prisoners “gobbled” up on the route, and especially on the field where the train was captured. For the last three months the Confederates have drawn large supplies from this department.* On the 16 h of November, 1862, they captur and a valuable train and stores. On the 31 of January 1864, another train was “shoved” off on tbe bine road; ihe.last that was taken was the most valuable of all. One million of dollars would not replace the last raid. The excitement baa subsided, but the disgrace remains. We have aga-n relapsed into fancied security, but we know not wbat ( minute the “raid ders” may be upon us. General Kelley has done all that could bo done to avert these calamities, but his force is insuffi - dent to protect three hundred miles of railway, accessible at all points to these dating raiders. Abolitionists denounce him as incompetent, and are doing all they can to thwart his pur poses, and yet they are unwilling to fight for their homes and firesides, but ever ready to flee at the first approach of danger. Gloomy State of Affairs in East Tennessee . —The New Yoik World of the 7th, says; Our Nashville correspondence represents that aflairs are in a sad condition in East Tennessee. Longetreet has had his own way in that section, and lias succeeded in foraging npon the mnst productive portion of the State, and this too, while the troops at Knoxville have been compelled to en dure the privations ol limited rations. Gen. Schofield has taken command, and hopes are entertained that a change for the better will bo the immediate result. m • m The Yankee Army at Chattanooga.— A correspondent of the Louisville Journal, writing from Nashville, gives quite a som bre account of the condition of the Yau* kees at Chattanooga. He saes that the ar my there is shivering in torpor, and that fuel is ae scarce in the camps tiiat all the stumps in the valley have been chipped to the ground. This correspondent adds ; A scythe would not shave the grain from the field more closely thun the axes of the soldiers the vast forests in Chattanooga Valley. Wood could be procured near Missionary Ridge, but we have actually no animals to draw it to camp. There is no forage at Chattanooga, and horses and mules are dying by scores. Lean and fra gile frames are stalking over the fields and through the streets of the city as though a famine were abroad in the land. Dead horses and mules cumber the streets and alleys of the city, and their bodies are rotting in the plains around. Hundreds of animals, turned out to pick subsistence in the field, have wandered outside our lines, and are now tottering over the old battle field of Chickamauga, the neutral ground between the two armies. Until the railroad is completed to Chattanooga, forage and supplies for the troops will be scarce. 'The river is running with the ice that will some* what impede the boats. The Federal Rio Grande Expedition. —Letter writers to the New York papers do not think much of the success ol Banks, Rio Grand Expedition. They are of the opiniouthat he has accomplished nothing— that’s all. The New Orleans correspou** dent of the New York World comments thus. You must abandon any great expecta tions from the Rio Giaude expedition. It has accomplished ail it can do as against the rebellion aud, until the arrival of troopd i at Matamoras nothing new wiffoccur in that region. After some little time, a Fetich Mexican force will appear in the rear ol Matamoras, and ail the interior of the State oiTamaulipas wilUdeclare for the in tervention. Matamoras may hold out for monfhs; but the ttftons up the river will go for traid aud intervention with Texas, and the wagons and carts (will take the direc tion of Tampico or Sotoda Marina, under convoy, if necessary. The business then done will be altogether in neutral Foil and under neutral flags; safer lhan any ever yet done at Brownsville; nearly as expeditious and in these times of expence about as profitable. If you talk ol sending troops up the river to prevent it, you will please them hugely, because you put yourself on a par with the rebels in difficulty as to sup. plies and distance from of opera tions. Take it all in all, we have won an elephant in the Rio Grande. F*or I'hattaboochee. The C. S, Steamer, Marianna, li. W. Van Veghten Master, willjeave for the above and intermediate landings WEDNESDAY at 10 o’clock precisely. Notice to Travellers and Shippers! Office Muscogee Railroad Company, > Columbus, Ga., Feb. 22, 18b4. j On and alter this date persons purchasing lickeis and Receiving and shipping freights over this road will be rtqired to furnish the exact change. fea&i W. L. OLAR*', feb 24 lm superintendent. Change ol Schedule. Office Engineer and Superintendent, I .Charleston and Savannah Railroad, > Cliarle.'t >u, Feb. 18,1801. ) ON and .after SUNDAY, Feb. 21st, Passenger Trains.wtll Leave Oharleiton 7 15 A. M. Arrive Savannah ..4 25 p. M. Leave ;Savoii>iah.... ~7 CO A. M. Arrive Charleiton.. 4 30 P, M. Passengers by this route .from Columbus, Moni gomery, Albany, Euftu'a, Sc c , pa.-s through Sav annah without detention. 11. S. HAINES,. feb.24 1 w eod3w Eng’r and Supt. Piano for Sale. AVEtIY superior instrument just arrived ,irom the front, wuti rt quest to sell. Drigg’s patent— sevjw octave—carve and rosewood finish, and in p> ifect older. Apply to ti D. COTHRAN, lcb *24 3STOTIOJB. lain ready and prepared to tereivt all HURSIS* TENCE Til TIES due the Covciiimt'iil atllns Post, and earnestly beg that all parties will send forward their dues; without delay to the Tithe Agents or my self. slacks are always ready at my office A. M. ALLEN, feb 23 2w Maj. d[- C. t». Notice to Stockholders in the Bank of COLUMBUS. Columbia, Feb. 4il>, 1664. On the first MONDAY in A mil next, an election will be held.ii the Rank ng Hjuse tor nine Directors ot said Dank, h.r the ensuing year DANIEL GRIFFIN, leb 18 tdr President. Office Ga., Impoutimo an■> Expobtinu Company - , ) Columbus, Ga , 17th Feb. ifcrH. \ Tbe Board of Directors have detlned a Dwid.nl of sixtfeit and two thirds, irf, percent/ on i,,e Capi tal si u«k of the company, payable ai ii.e riecroiar, s office oil and alter ihe 19ih inst. M. L. PATTERSON, feb IS 6t Secretary. MUSCOGEE RAIL ROAD COMPANY, ) Colunt us, Ga , Feb 13tn, tool. \ DIN ID END No. S6. The Board ot Directors have dcclaied a Dividend of $5 per Share on the General Stock of this Company, payable on demand. J. M. MVLV-, itb. 15 fw Sec’y. and Tieaeuur Beaver Skins Wanted, fTIHE highest price will be l aid o? Plow S eel given X in eichaiige for Beaver Skins, a Urge number wanted. Enquire at L 11 AIMaN & BRO. feb M 4w Albany, Eufaula, Cuthbert, Biinuridge and B ake y paper, copy 4w and send bit s. For Currency. •B /H llftlk ClGAßS—prime article. IT kegs eNI'FF. For sa'e cheap, to c:o8« consignment. M. P. ELLIS A CO. feb 20 St* Tel EGRAPHIO Entered according to art of r . iiv J H. Tinusnci, i.. hJ < i "•« vear I^3, met (Joint of the Co'iOWLf'dil lt,e ~ia ‘ District of Georgia. * dim*. r..rtiMs Northern # Dkmop.ilis, 23J. The enemy’s forces along the line of the Mobile A Oh o RailrouJ are niak ng a relirin movement in the direction of the Mississippi river. Their mounted infantry in North Mis sissippi ate also retiring, being closely pur sued t.y Gen.". Forrest and L”e. Orangy C. H,, 22j. A detachment ot Gregg’s cavahy, of the Yankee force at Warreiuon, dashed into Fa, quir county fV emietd »y night and captured 4o men—2o ol Mosby’s command aud ihe rt ; i from jlteOih Va. Cavalry. Ten ol Mosby’s men had a fight with a largo body ol ihe enemy’s cavahy at Upper, vtlle on Thursday, repulsiug ihem, ami losing one man. It is reported that the enemy are concentra ting a force at Culpeper C. U. for au advance. Charleston, Feb. 2.1. 123 shells has been fired at the city in the last twenty-four hours, ending at half past 5 in the evening. Several Yankee prisoners, captured on White Marsh Island, arrived here this evening. Richmond, Feb. 23. Baker’s Confederate Coffee Factory was de stroyed by fire last night. Loss estimated at SB,OOO including the building. Baltimore American of the 18th received. A telegram from San Francisco states that the nows received by arrival from Japan staiu that the privateer Alabama w hemmed in at Pori Amery, China, by the Wyoming and James town. The Police of Tycon was burnt on Christmas day, and on New Year’s day about five hun dred houses of the better class of tho oily of Yed do, was destroyed by fire. On tho ISth a fire ocourred at Glouohcster* Mass., destroying 75 buildings. At last account! the tiro was stiil raging unabated. The steamer Oriental was recently sunk in tho Mississippi. Twenty Svo lives lost. The boat was loaded with Government stores. Proceedings of Congress unimportant. Gold dull, closing 160 v i, Richmond, Feb. 23. This day being the second anniversary of the inauguration of the Confederate Government was observed by tho suspension of business in the various public offices. Northern dates of tho 17th received. Nothing important except the further advance pt gold. Last quotations 161 %. Tho Banks in this city have given notice that deposits not withdrawn before the Ist of April will be paid iu tour per cent Confederate bond?. No deposits will bo received from the 28th of March to the Ist of April. Pho President received a dispatch to-day from Gov. Milton, of Florida, stating that Gen. Fin egan reports that ho met tho enemy in full foroe on the 20th, and defeated him with great los3 captured five pieces of artillery and now holds possession ot the battle field with the killed and wounded of the enemy. A large uumbor of pris oners captured. Confederate loss, 250 in killed and wounded. i'riiiUng, Binding, Panel*, etc. HAYING construe tea a large; building in Columbia IS. C., and removed our machinery from Charles’- ton, vve w’ould mfoim Quartermasters, Hank and Rauroad Officers and the public, that we are as well picpaied as before ihe war to execute all orders in our line. We have been importing from Europe largely ol articles used in our misincss. and now have on tides a Et ° Ck co,wi -' ti “£ in P art the following ar -200 Reams English Double Cap Writing. 200 Reams English Royal—white, blue and buff. 200 Reams English Bank Note Paper. 500 Reams White and Blue French and English Folio Post. 500 Reams White and Blue Eng lish Cap. LOOO Reams White and Blue Eng lish and French better. 1,000 Reams English Bath (small \ Letter. 2,000 Reams Whited and Blue Note. Also, Blotting, Copying and Do mestic Papers. 7,000,000 Assorted Envelopes. 7,000 Gross Gillott’s and other makers* Steel Pens, Pen Holders, Pencil?, Sealing Wax. »nk, and almost all articles of Stationary. ALSO, A SMALL STOCK OF Rest ENGLISH BLANK BOOK PAPER (Super Royal and tmperiil not yet arrivedj, which we are prepared to iiiamiiaelure into any kind of BLANK BOOKS. We are now opening the above valuable stock and advise our old customers, and all others in want, to send in their orders at once, or the stock may be su much broken as to prevent us from fifing them prop eriy. r NEW PUBLICATIONS. NOW BEADY. “ANDREWS’ MOUNTED AND FIELD ARTIL LERY DRILL, ’ by Lieut. Col. R. S. Andrews, Army ot Northern Vucinia, illustrated with nearly IDO fine lithographed cuts, printed on line white paper, and lull brown cambric This book is pubii-hei under iiistruciioiis ol the Ordn in e Department, C. and. A , aml t <!i olid be in the hands of every Atiillery officer. Prict *l, one thud off to the trade. list PRESS, 'and soon to be published: GENERAL ORDERS, from tile Adjutant and In sp dor General’s office, up to January I, 1864, with copi us index and oilier valuable matter. Edited by Gen. Iti lilies .lonian, Chief oi Gen. Beauregard’s »Si it t*ii e i55, one third ofTio the trade. < tiLSUL.M’ef oURGEHY, being a third editiun of thin valuable work revised and enlarged by the au Ho r, .(. .1. Chisolm, eurgemr G. ti, A supttbly illus trated. r 3 ,M a RAD tiNT'rt WORK ON MILITARY' SCIENCE (rarisluied mini the Fiench, by Col. Frank HiilP-i t * 8. A , with notes by the ed.tor. Illustrated " ‘ I’llil.lP, anew Novel,by Wm II Thacktry i ate’y deceuM and), s,. endid.y lilustratad with portrait ot the author and other engravings. OLENDORFF’a new Method ol Learning French, "**■» a reprint nl this Viiuabie work, now nearly out ol pr. id, and much needed by the youth of our coup tty. Ai o, 100,hi0 copies t.I the New Testament and I’Sriiiun /. i u-f Cons derate States Bible Society, wttu seveial v. orks lor ouier Societies and Publishers. Having arrangements for securing full supplies of ail kinds of Ptimitig Papers, we are prepared to undertake the priming and puh.iahiog of any bock of value to ibeiountry, and expert io continue the pub Hcation oi Military, school and other useful books. EVANS & COGSWELL, Near So. Oa. R R. Depot. teb 15 13t Columbia, S. C. 1,000 Pair Cotton Cards at S&ffafX ter Pair, to consumers only. One hun dred pair wi i be given to medy soldieis’ lamiLes of ;his ar.dadjmuUig counties of Georgia, and Alabama. e atisfacturv relerences lor such idtiulies wi Ibe rt quired. ApplF to Cj- yo(JN& feb 19 4t « M. OUNBV! Pleasant. Hour, rjnilS old and well known SALOON we have re A fitted and opened for business. We have three Bowling Alleys and necessary fixtures, and shall by conducting our jbusintss in an oideriy mauuer, hope to merit a liberal share of patronage OGLETBEE fc.BARRINGER, Feb 16 ts