Newspaper Page Text
u:arln fantn Ijcfos.
—3 <-9 ' —'
E. H. GROUBY,
Editor, Proprietor & Publisher.
BLAK T£ 17 Y: ”
-• ♦ »
’ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1864.
We arc now having some tioc weather,
tut almost too much rain for the season
The best tbinp; that ,r Joe. Drown ” has
dutie in twelve months is the issuing of
liis alien proclamation, which wc publish
this week We sincerely hope that the
last infernal thieving foreigner in the Oou
ledcracy who claims foreign protection
will at once be made to “skedaddle.” The
lact is, it these trifliDg scamps had never
been allowed to come here, we would to
day be living in peace and quietude.
♦ ♦"!»
Washburnc issued on the 6th ult., a
special order lbr the arrest of forty promi
nent citizens in and between Memphis and
LuG range, twenty of whom are to be placed
on the trains each day as a guard to pro
vent guerrillas firing on them. No trains
will be permitted to leave Memphis with
out a “scecsh” guard, to he continued till
firing on the train ceases. Brigadier Gen
eral Hatch, commanding cavalry division,
is charged with the execution of this or
der.
In consequence of our having been ab
scut the most of the past week, wc unable
(o furnish our usual quantity and variety
of editorial iu this issue, but will try and
make up lbr lost, time in our next. We
have been to Macon and Columbus, where
we saw the. Monkey,” and wo will here
after remember the “ patriotism ” display
ed %y the citizens of the former place dur
ing the late Yankee raid on that city !
There are some men in Macon who are too
mean and trifling to protect their own fire
sides, and ought, to have their throats cut.
This is getting to be the greatest time
to “ cut men down ” about the knees we
ever,heard of. The Militia officers were
recently cut down td privates, and now we
have oven been cut..from n Uaptniu of the
Patrol to that of a Lieutenant! We have
frequently heard of people “ getting up in
the pictures,’' but we think the thing has
now changed. But as there ain’t much
“ pay ” about any of these positions, we
won't fall out with anybody in consequence
of our tumble.” The. only reason that
we don’t like our “ tumble ” is that it took
place during our absence.
We have not time nor space this week
(o notice onr correspondent “ Beef Eater,”
and if we had, wc don't know that wo
could now, with our present feelings on
the “beef” subject, say anything in fa
vor of feeding this four-legged stock, for
we’ve eat nothing else for the past four or
five dqys, while in Macon, Columbus and
Fort Valley, where we devoured so much
ol the ‘ stufl ” that we have become per
fectly disgusted with it, aod almost wish
there never had been such a tlirng as beef
in the world Wc don’t know how loner it
O
will be befote our <l horns ” will como out,
but, from our present feelings, wc don’t
think it will be over a week until wc turn
to a c6w or an ox T
Col B. S. Stafford, Aid-de-Camp of this,
the 9th, Military District, has, under in
ctructions from the Commander ln-Chicf,
organized all of the Exempts and Reserve
Militia between filly-five and sixty years of
age into Companies lbr Police and Patrol
duly Ho requires every man to keep his
gun in good order, and subject at a mo
ment s warning to move iu any direction
the emergency may require. These Com-,
panics are divided into squads, and they
me required to patio! the county once a
■week, and report tlie couditiou of things,
llic officers of the different squads in the
county, we learn, arc J. W Hightower and
R O Dunlap, in the Oth District; John
Boatright and A Barksdale, between the
Greeks; dolin Gilbert and M. T. Alexan
der, on the River; ,J. L Porter and W,
II Goooher, in the L’Oth District; ,J If
M ide,\\ W ,l h min ; aud K H. Grouby,
in the ”Bth District. Wc hope these or
ders will be carried out, and every man
letnaining at home be required to do hu
duty Gur county lir.% long needed a bet
ter jtohr-: regulation than it inn ever had
Peace Frosnccts. f
When shall we have peace ? is a ques
tion of the most profound interest to the !
' people of these Confederate States. Prom
many an anxious heart goes up the cry,
Watchman! what of the night?” and
so far tlie only respion.se has been, “ dark
i ness still broods over the land.” Yet these
profound anxieties aod eager longings for
peace arc not the result of a craven spirit
which would purchase safety and repose
at any price. Our people are not fight
ing for conquest or for glory. Os the last,
we have enough to place us beside the no
blest races of the earth, but they arc strug
gling for national existence, and for every
thing else which makes life of any value.
Peace, therefore, with our independence se
cured, would be deemed flic greatest boou
which a bcneficicut Providence could at
this time bestow. But a peace which is
the result of submission or subjugation,
would be spurned by every true hearted
Confederate. Better far let the win rage
and the land be still further desolated,
better any sacrifice than sink to imotr au
abyss of infamy. Earnestly, therefore,
as our people long for the time when the
sword shall give place 4> the ploughshare,
they most assuredly will continue the strug
gle until the Confederacy shall take its
place among the nations of she earth. But
when will this auspicious event occur ?
No human sagacity 'can clearly foretell
the time, though it may foresee that it is
not far off, and there are many circumstan
ces which encourage the belief that the
end draweth nigh- Among the most hope
ful of these indications of a speedy termin
ation of the war, we would place the rapid
rise and wild fluctuation of the price of
gold. Gold is king. In the enemy’s coun
try, it reigns as a God. See what rapid
strides it lias made since. Grant crossed the
Kapidau. t Reports of military successes,
though put forth by their highest authori
ties, have not retarded .its upward course
—up, up, up, it continues to go, day after
day—all the statutes of the Legislators, all
tho schemes of the financiers, cannot keep
it down. Nothing short of some great
military success can retard the advance,
and even that would only delay it for a
time. The causes lie far beyond the reach
of hutuau uunfol. Bankruptcy, at no dis
tant day, is the inevitable destiny of our
enemy, and with bankruptcy comes a ces
sation of hostilities. Ali history teaches,
that no nation ever yet carried on an ag
gressive war with an exhausted treasury
and a ruined credit. The only seeming
contradiction to this principle is found in
the wars of the French, immediately after
the revolution of 1793. The Freuth Gov
ernment was bankrupt—its paper currency
was almost valueless, and yet they carried
the war into the enemy’s country with suc
cess. But upon looking into the character
of their war, we find that France, like our
Confederacy, wa3 fighting for existence.
All Europe had combined against her—it
mattered not if her assignants were value
less, and that of gold she had none, except
what she could wrest from her enemy. She
was compelled to fight on, looking alone
for success to the brave hearts and strong
arms of her children Rich in these re
sources, she carried the war beyond her
own boundaries, and secured her honor and
safety So it is with the Uonfederate
States —they tight for existence, and all
that gives it value. Their financial re
sources, at present, may be small, but their
land is filled with heroic men and women,
unsurpassed for all thatcnobles human na
ture, by any people earth has ever produc
ed. Not so with our enemies ; they fight
for conquest and for plunder j and to car
ry out their plans successfully requires
raotiey —not greenbacks, but gold. So long
as greenbacks can buy gold at a reasonable
they will answer the desired end, but
no longer Our enemies are perfectly
aware of the part gold plays in this war,
and they deuounee all men who seek to cn
hauce its price as Copperheads aud Fcces
sionists.
We think, therefore, that tlie financial
earthquake, whose rumblings are already
heard, will soon overthrow the whole fi
nancial system of the North, aud with it
will go down its capacity to carry on the
gigantic, aggresive war in which it is en
gaged When this rapidly approaching
event occurs, it will be found that none
will be more eager for peace thau (be cor
morant'. who have fattened un the blood of
i then people They will -do this to
I*.* ‘ j
; save the fortunes v hieh they have ama«s
--j eH, and the same greed of gold which cuus- .
ed them to urge on the war, will prompt
them to cry lustily for peace, frothing is
now wanting but the defeat of Grant aud
Sherman to hasten on the inevitable day
of financial doom. That both these events
will occur, wc fervently hope, and confi
dently believe. With our Generals, Lee
and Hood, at the head of our heroic armies,
and, as wc trust, with the smiles of an
overruling Providence, we may calmly,
patiently and trustingly await the issue.
_4 — #
Good News from Above.
A cavalry force of the enemy, between
seven aud eight hundred strong, were met
by .Roddy and bis cavalry at Ncwnan.
About ninety of the enemy were reported
kiliedjand the rest, with all their baggage,
ammunition, wagons, prisoners, Ac., were
captured. This is supposed to be the
same party that cut the M. <fc W. R. 11,
last Friday. It is said they had taken
Gen * Loring’s wagons, which numbered
about one hundred ; Roddy and his com
mand recaptured them. Wheeler’s caval
ry met the raiders, who attacked Macon,
at Munticellu, drove them hack to Clinton,
and, with a force of infantry, surround
ed them at a point on the liver. .The la
test accounts report these also captured.
There has been a severe battle at Atlan
ta. Our army lost heavily, but is reported
to have taken five lines of entrenchments,
and a very important position.
• ♦ ♦ i
From the beginning, (here have been
three chances of. peace only for the South,
says the IJxaniincr, namely, the'volunt.ary
. abandonment of hostilities by the enemy ;
armed interference by foreign powers ; and
compulsory peace extorted by the vigor of
• Southern arms. For a long time our peo
ple beguilded themselves with the delusion
that the North would soon desist from this
unhappy war, under the influence of the
better instincts which govern enlightened*
i * communities deriving their principles of
action from the Gospels of Christianity.
It is creditable to the Christian character
of the Southern people to reflect bow long
they cherished this fond hallucination.
They ascribed the brutalities of the Yan
kee forces to the base passions which must
actuate all common soldiers enlisted in the
streets of cities from the lowest classes of
foreigners aud natives; and they were even
so weak as to expect that these very bar
barities would hasten- the hour of peace by
the shock they would give to the mortal
sense of the Northern community. It has
only been during the latter stages of tli«
war that the Southern people have aban
doned these charitable ideas and have re
luctantly, embraced the well founded con
clusion that enmity, bitterness and hatred
towards them are the all controlling senti
ments of the North, and that there can be
peace with that people except by compul
sion iu some cogent form. This, now, is
the universal belief of the South, and the
conviction has been the salvation of our
cause uniting the whole Southern commu
nity, as it docs, in unauimous and cordial
support of all the stringent measures nec
essary to the public safety.
Government Agents.
Mr. Grouby : You frequently take ac
casion to rap Government Agents over the
knuckles when they do wrong, and some
times when they don’t. I will mention a
case that I think needs more severe treat
ment —a crack over the head or a pull at
the neck would not be amiss. Being at
Fort Gaines some days ago, 1 found the
Government Agent had collected there for
shipment to Auiericus about four hundred
head of beef cattle. lie had them penned
in a lot of some six or seven aeres, near
the Rail Road Depot, and when I saw them
they were wandering from side to side of
this enclosure, in the vain search for some
thing to eat, of which their gaunt appear
auce and piteous lowing indicated they
were much iu need. It was nearly dark
when I was there, and the Rah Road Agent
informed me that they had had nothing to eat
during the whole day. Just as I was leaving,
six bales of fodder, much of which was
perfectly rotten, was hauled in to be scat
tered amongst them—some of them to get
a taste, and others to get none. This, from
what we heard, was probably all they would
get for two or three days. These beeves (?)
had been here, and thus treated, for some
i thing like two week-, but from their ap- '
t , pearancc when I saw them, they would
hi iuhi in
j
not last IW<> week- longer. unch*r such treat
ment. In fact, !. was told the next morn
ing, that one of them was stretched, and
the buzzards had taken their stand upon
him, although life was not extinct. A
want of provender cannot be pleaded jn
deiensc-ot this starvation system of taking
care of Government beeves, for I was in
formed that it was both plentiful and con
venient. But why were these cattle nos
shipped off as they arrived by boat ? The
Rail Road Agent informed me that he
could have shipped* them nearly, if notr
quite'as fast as they arrived, had he been
notified in time by the Commissary Agent
that cars were wanted lor the purpose.
But were facilities tor shipping wanting,
why not drive the cattle to their destina
tion or obtain pastures for tlictnin the neigh
borhood, or herd them in the woods, or in
deed, do any way rather than let them
. starve to death. 1 have no way of account
ing for such management, hut a want of
interest iu government affairs by the agent,,
or a total incapacity on his part to attend
to the duties of his position. ‘ What is-your
opinion* Mr. G. Beef Rater.
A PROCLAMATION.
It is reported to me that » considerable
number of persons iu this .State, claiming
to be aliens, refuse to take up arms and go
to Atlanta for the defence of the State.
In a great emergency, like the present,
I consider it the duty of all who claim pro
tection of person ami property to defend
the .State which affords such protection.
I, therefore, hereby proclaim and make
known, that all aliens in this State, who
refuse to volunteer for her defence, are re
quired to leave the State, within ten days
from this date, and no moro to return, on
pain of being dealt with as the laws and
the usages of nations justify in such cases.
Passports will he granted to all’such aliens,
on application to the Adjutant and Inspec
tor General of this State, upon the certifi
cate ot a J udge of the Superior Courts,
that he lias examined the evideucein such
case and finds such person to he an alien.
Given under my hand and the great
seal of the State, this ‘dSth day of July >
18(54. J <>sfth E. iluo w.x. *
Head-Quarters, Macon, Ga., |
July 28th, 1864 )
To the Aids-de-Camp and other State
Officers :
I am informed that the inferior Courts,
of some of the Counties have abused the
privilege of exemption to millers which was
allowed by my Proclamation, and have cer
tified for exemption owners of'mills who
have not been employed regularly as mil
ler? previous to my call. The exemption,
applies only t<> those who are, and wore at.
the time of the tail actually employed as
millers a Liu uot. to owners oi mills who were
not so employed. As it can be known at
head-quarters who are the arfual miller?,
only, by the certificate of the court#., .-.otiio
may have obtained, from the Adjutant and
Inspector General’s office, exemptions as
millers who are only the owners of mills,
all such exemptions arc hereby revoked,
and all such persons will be sent forward
to the frontummediatcly.
All civil and military officers of the
State will enforce strictly aud rigidly the
orders contained in my proclamation, and
send forward under arrest, when necessary,
all who arc embraced in it and refuse to
report.
The orders of Confederate officers inter
fering with the execution of the military
laws of the State, or attempting to protect
from active service their favorites in civil
pursuits, when the State is iu imminent
peril and needs the services of all able to
bear arms in front of the enemy, can neith
er be respected nor obeyed by State officers.
If State officers are met by armed resistance
which they cannot overcome, while in the
discharge of their duties in attempting to
« carry to the front skulkers who are unwil
ling to defend their own home and prop
erty, they will report the facts instantly,
and troops will be sent to enforce the ex
ecution of the laws of the State, and to
compel all such men to discharge their
part of the duty aud meet their part of the
danger.
Upon the application of the chief officer
in charge of the collection of the tithe tax
of the State which is necessary for the sup
port of the army, and upon a similar appli
cation of the Confederate ordinance officer,
1 have exempted from my call the agents
certified by them to be constantly employ
ed and indispensably necessary to the ef
ficient management of their respective de
partments. The same rule will he applied
on application of the proper officer to each
of the other departments of the Confeder
ate Government in this State.
While it is my fixed purpose to execute
the laws of the State, and to compel all fa
vorites of power or of persons iu position
who have details as a shield from danger,
whilst speuding their time in the manage
ment of their ordinary business, to obey the
laws and aid iu repeling the enemy ; it is
not my intention to cripple or throw obsta
| eles in the way of the Confederate Oovern
k ment in providing all necessary support fer
1 the army. It is a fact known to the whole