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4 EEV. A. J. RYAN, Editor- AUGUSTA, GA„ APRIL 25, 1808. ADHERENCE TO PRINCIPLE, Principles may cease to be practical in their application—may become obsolete in effect—but can never die. Those which lived in the past —good or bad— live also in the present, and will continue to live in the future. They arc not dead —they but slumber, quiescent and in operative. Anew occasion for their re x + * suscitatiou and application may arise, and so warm them into life again. And good principles should never be permitted to die. They should ever be kept alive, at least in the hearts of the good and true, even though the heavy heel of tyranny should, for the time being, trample them in the dust. Was the American principle of political self-government right ? If it was right, have the fortunes of war made it wrong ? Was the American principle that the peo ple had a right to choose their own gov ernment, correct ? If it was correct, have the fortunes of war made it incor rect ? If the American principles, “freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of the press, freedom to worship God according to the dictates of one’s own conscience, freedom of the ballot box,” were good and true principles, have the fortunes of war made them bad and evil principles ? No. They arc good, true, and living principles to day, as they were yesterday, and all the yester-* days that have witnessed the birth, life, and death of the great American lie public. It was to save the life of these princi ples that the South struggled through four years of bloody and vengeful war It was to maintain these grand principles —principles which our forefathers had established by their own blood and wo— that they gave their blood and their lives so freely. It was to preserve in the new nation all that was grand and good in the old, and to still give to the world a beacon light of freedom and principle. And shall we now be ashamed of that struggle and that effort because strength and power have made them failures ? Shall we, to-day, be ashamed of the gallant men in grey who upheld that cause ? Shall we be ashamed of the gallant dead who went down in the shock of battle, at the outposts, or in the quiet hospitals ? And shall we be so ashamed of all the glorious memories of that glorious struggle as to say that the principles which actuated it are wrong to-day, because tyranny and oppression have overpowered us and trampled them down ? No, a thousand times, no !AArc\ r c must lie proud of them, wo must preserve them in our hearts, we must cherish the memories of the war and of the heroes in grey who fought and bled in it, and we must bring bright flowers, and wreaths, and garlands, to strew and deck the graves of our gallant dead, and songs must be written in honor of their heroism, and histories must be written to preserve all the glorious deeds of that war. And so our children must be taught to revere these principles, and to cherish these memories ; and so some bright day in the future will come when the American people will free themselves from the prejudices of tyranny and oppression, of wrong and injustice, and they, too, will do justice to our cause, and give credit to our motives, and join with us, heart and hand, in reannuuciatiim these pv nciples, in giving vitality and effect to them once more. Then will “ the lost cause’' be no longer a lost cause, but a triumph for the South, a triumph for the right, and a triumph for principle. MEMORIAL CELEBRATIONS, The anniversary of the impressive ceremony of decorating the graves of our dead falls on Sunday, April 26, this year, but we believe it has been generally agreed here to postpone it until Mon day, 27th, on which occasion our people will repair to our beautiful cemetery and there pay homage to the virtues of the dead who died for us, by strewing their graves with garlands and flowers. Our fair ladies will sec to it that this custom, now so generally inaugurated throughout the South, will be religiously observed. There is, however, a want of uniformity as to time, which should be remedied. In some sections, the ceremony takes place during April, while in others it is observed in May and June. This differ ence is owing to the absence of flowers in some parts of the South so early in the Spring. We suggest as a suitable time for the animal observance of these solemn but beautiful ceremonies, the 15th of May, which day should be forever sacred to revering the memories and decorating the graves of the Confederate dead. ABUSING OUR DEAD, We sec it stated that a creature, called Colonel C. Hawkins, in a speech at the New York Union League Rooms, made a violent attack upon a member who had expressed himself in favor of the common burial of the Federal and Confederate dead. The Springfield (Mass.) Republi can, in commenting upon that speech, uses the following language : “Out upon the thought that the rank and file of the Southern army were trait ors and criminals ! They fought honestly and earnestly in a bad cause, enduring in many cases privation of which our own troops knew little. They marched bare foot, when our boys were well shod. They went hungry when ours were filled. They disputed every inch of ground with desperate valor, and yielded only to destiny at last. They proved themselves in life foemen worthy of our steel, and their mouldering bones may well rest in peace by the side of our bravest and dear est. Their differences with us were all settled when they fell together with ours on the field of honor. All that is left of them now is only human. Vengeance need not follow them into the grave. Pity may weep over them. Patriotism may cover their failings, remembering that they were children of one mother, and their valor sprang out of the same heroic stock. Beauty may strew flowers upon the green mounds that hide such courage and high resolve.” Now, we have respect for the views ex pressed by the Springfield Republican. They appear to be candid, and honest, and as liberal, perhaps, as could be expected from such a source. But for such a poor, miserable creature as Hawkins, who takes advantage of his position to insult our martyred dead, we cau have nothing but supreme contempt. Our cause was not a bad but a good one, and we of the South, dead and living, are neither rebels nor traitors ; and the day will come when the people of this whole country will unite in proclaiming the justice and righteous ness of the struggle for Southern inde pendence —when our Davises and Lees, Jacksons and Johnsons, Beauregards and Hamptons, will be honored and revered for their virtues and greatness, as Wash ington and his compatriots have been honored for their successful Rebellion ol ’76, * SOUTHERN LITERATURE. We have in our own sunny South authors and writers, poets and essayists, pen painters, and word painters, and his torians, of the highest order —of equal talent with those of any section of the Union, and yet we have not built up a pure Southern literature. Our literature has crone to the North to enrich Northern journals and buildup Northern periodicals, to the detriment of those of our own sec tion. And why ? Because the policy of Southern journalistic proprietors and Southern newspaper readers has driven it there. The few Southern publishers who had the means were too parsimonious to pay for contributions, and the Southern MifflSl ©J SIS B©TOH. readers were too little patriotic to give a liberal support to those who would pay if they had the means. And surely it would be asking too much to require the labor of a man’s or woman’s hand and mind for nothing. Authors could not afford to give away their productions. Hence they were compelled to seek in a hostile section what they could not get at home; hence they were compelled to give their works to the Harpers, and Leslies, and Putnams, and other Northern publishers, who had the means and the liberality to pay for what they got; hence, they helped to build up Northern litera ture at the expense of their own, and to give vitality and interest to publications hostile to the South, hostile even to decency and morality. We believe that this policy is now to be changed. AVe hope that it is. AVe hope that Southern publishers will be more libera!—that Southern authors will meet these Southern publishers half way, as it were, and 'give them the preference, and so build up here, at home, a pure, sound, healthy, moral, Southern literature. For our part, we are too young and too poor to set the good example yet; but if the Southern people will only stand by us, we shall stand by them ; if they will only give us the encouragement which we have the right to expect from them, it cannot be long before the Banner of the South .will be enabled to offer liberal encourage ment to such a literature It is our earnest desire to do so; and we shall labor faithfully and earnestly to this end —striving, in all fair and honorable ways, to restore the shattered fortunes of our once sunny land, to preserve its glorious past, and to secure for it a glorious future. Let us all, press and people, work to this great end, and, with God’s grace, we must and will succeed. THE LIFE OF PRESIDENT DAVIS. AA r e have already noticed the publica tion of the life of our noble President, Jefferson Davis, and we feel assured the following extracts from the work of Mr. Alfriend will be read with interest by all tbe friends of the “Lost Cause.” Jefferson Davis is, to-day, more endeared to the people of the South than at any former period of his life. His sacrifices and suf ferings since the overthrow of the Confed erate Government have only intensified the love and veneration of our people for this great and good man: “During his journey homeward from Mexico there occurred a most impressive illustration of the strict devotion to prin ciple which, above all other considerations, is the real solution of every act of his life, public and private. AVhile in New Orleans, Colonel Davis was offered, by President Polk, a commission as Brigadier General of Amlunteers, an honor which he unhesitatingly declined, on the ground that no such commission could be con ferred by Federal authority, cither by ap pointment of the President or by act of Congress. As an advocate oi States Rights, he .could not countenance, even for the gratification of his own ambition, a plain infraction of the rights of the States, to which respectively the Consti tution reserves the appointment of officers of the militia. The soldier’s pride in de served promotion for distinguished ser vices, could not induce the statesman to forego his convictions of constitutional right. The declination of this high dis tinction was entirely consistent with his opinions previously entertained and ex pressed Before he resigned his seat in the House of Representatives, the bill au thorizing such appointments by the Pre sident was introduced and rapidly pressed to its passage. Air. Davis detected the Constitutianal infraction which it involved, and opposed it.” As Air. Davis' brief but brilliant Con. federate career, from the fact that every incident connected therewith is of world wide interest and historic importance, has a tendency to overshadow the services he rendered the United States while a mem ber of President Pierce’s Cabinet, it is well to extract the passages enumerating them : “Under his control the Department of AVar was greatly advanced in dignity and importance, receiving a character far more distinctive and independent of other branches of the Government than it had previously claimed. He infused into all •ts operations an energy till then un- known, introducing improvements so ex sensive and comprehensive as to occasion apprehension of an almost too powerful and independent system of military or ganization. It is a fact universally con ceded that his administration of the War Office was incomparably superior to that of any official who has filled that position, contributing more to the promotion of efficiency in the army, to the advancement of those great national establishments so vital to the security of the nation, and to the systematic, practical management of the details of the office. In reviewing Mr. Davis’ conduct of this important de partment of the Government, the splendid improvements which he inaugurated, his earnest and unceasing labors in behalf of the efficiency of the army, it is impossible to overestimate his eminent services to the Union, which even at that time his traducers and those of the South would pretend he was plotting to destroy. In the Cabinet, as in the Senate, there was no measure of national advantage to which he did not give his cordial support, no great national institution which he would not have fostered with generous and timely sympathy; nothing to which he was not zealously committed, promising to redound to the glory, prosperity and perpetuity of that Union, in whose service he had been trained, whose uniform he had proudly worn, and beneath whose banner he had braved a soldier’s death. Secretary Davis made many recom mendations contemplating radical altera tions in the military system of the Union. One of the first measures was a recom mendation for the thorough revision of the army regulations. He opposed the placing of officers, at an early period of service, permanently upon the staff, and advocated a system which, he contended, would improve the discipline and efficiency of officers, “whereby the right of command should follow rank by one certain rule.” The increase of the medical corps ; the introduction of the light infantry or rifle system of tactics, rifled muskets, and the Minie ball were all measures advocated by Secretary Davis, and discussed in his official papers with a force and intelli gence that make them highly valu able to the military student. He urged a thorough exploration of the AA r estcrn frontier, and important changes in the arrangement of defences against the In dians, demonstrating the inefficiency of the system of small forts for the purposes of war with savages. To obviate, in a measure, the expense, and almost useless trouble, of locating military posts in ad vance of settlements, he suggested the plan of maintaining large garrisons at certain points, situated favorably for ob taining supplies, and accessible by steam boat or railway. From these posts strong detachments could be supplied and equipped for service in the Indian country. His efforts were most strenuous to obtain an increase of pay to officers of the army, and pensions to the widows and orphans of officers and men, upon a basis similar to that of the navy. During the Crimean war, Secretary Davis sent a commission, of which Major General McClellan, then a captain of cav alry, was a member, to study and report upon the science of war and the condition of European armies, as illustrated in the operations incident to that struggle. At his suggestion, four new regiments—two of cavalry—were added to the army, and numerous appropriations made for the construction of new forts, improvements in small arms, and the accumulations of munitions of war ” t A great deal has been said and written on the failure to obtain results from the victory of Mauassas, and the author of the present volume could scarcely, in justice to Mr. Davis, pass over that controverted question. The reader will find it thorough ly discussed, and also full details of the steps taken by the Confederate authorities to mitigate the horrors of war by facili tating the exchange of prisoners, and the manner in which their advances were met by the Federal Government. Speaking of Air. Davis’ persistent belief in the ultimate triumph of the Confede racy, the author says: “That he did not fully comprehend the wide-spread demoralization of the South in the last months of the war is hardly to be questioned. Judging men by his own exalted nature, he conceived it im nossible that the South could ever abandon its hope of independence. He did not realize how men could cherish an aspira tion for the future, which did not embrace the liberty of their country. No sacrifice of personal interests or hopes were, in his view, too great to be demanded of the country in behalf of a cause, for which he was at all times ready to surrender his life. Os such devotion and self-abnega- C tion, a sanguine and resolute spirit was the natural product, and it is a paltry view of such qualities to characterize them as the proof of defective intellect Just such qualities have won the battles of liberty in all ages. Washington, at A"al ley Forge, with a wretched remnant of an army, which was yet the last hope of the country, and with even a more gloomy future immediately before him, declared that in the last emergency he would re treat to the mountains of AUrginia, and there continue the struggle in the hope that he would “yet lift the flag of his bleeding country from tbe dust.” In tiie same spirit Jefferson Davis would never have abandoned tbe Confederate cause so long as it had even a semblance of popular support. Almost to the last moment of the Confederacy, he continued to cherish the hope of a reaction in the public mind, which he believed would be immediately'kindled to its old enthusiasm by a decided success. It was in recognition of this qualify, of in flexible purpose, as much as of any r other trait of bis character, that the South or iginally intrusted Davis with leadership. Fit leaders of revolutions are not usually found in men of half-hearted purpose, wanting in resolution themselves, and doubting th£ fidelity of those whom they govern. Desperate trial is the occasion which calls forth the courage of those truly great men, who, while ordinary men despair, confront itself with sublime reso lution. If ingenuity and malignity have com bined to exaggerate the faults of Mr. Davis, the love of his countrymen, the candor of honorable enemies, and the intelligence of mankind have recognized his intellectual and moral greatness. The world, to-day, does not afford such an ex ample of those blended qualities which constitute the title to universal excel lence. For one in his position, the leader of a bold, warlike, intelligent, and dis cerning people, there was demanded that union of ardor and deliberation which he so peculiarly illustrated. Revolutionary periods imperatively demand this union of capacities for thought and action. The peculiar charm of Mr. Davis is the . perfect poise of his faculties ; an almost exact adjustment of qualities ; of indom itable energy and winning grace ; heroic courage and tender affection ; strength of character, and almost excessive com passion ; of calculating judgment and knightly sentiment; acute penetration and analysis ; comprehensive perception ; laborious habits, and almost universal knawledge. Os him it may be said, as of Hamilton : “He wore the blended wreath of arms, or law, of statesmanship, of or atory, of letters, of scholarship, of prac tical affairs and in most of these fields of distinction Mr.Davis has few rivals among the public men of America. But it is altogether a fallacious sup position that the military situation of the Confederacy, in the last winter ot the war, was beyond reclamation. The most hasty glance at the situation revealed the feasibility of destroying Sherman, when he turned northward from Savannah, with a proper concentration of the forces yet available, President Davis anxiously sought to secure this concentration, but was disappointed by causes which need not here be related. Coe. St. Leger Grenfell. —There is a report that this unfortunate and perse cuted gentlemen has escaped from the Dry T ortugas. AVe sincerely hope the report is true. His conviction was by no lawful court, and the charges made against him were never proved. If he needs money, to carry him to some safer country, he can have it in New York, if he chances to see this paragraph. An exchange says : “Theae appears to be little doubt of the successful escape of Col. Grenfell and two of his prison companions from Dry Tortugas. Col. Grenfell, it will be recollected, was for a longtime with Gen. Morgan, in Kentucky. He left the South in the autumn of 1864, went to Nassau, and from thence t > New York and Can ada. He was afterwards arrested on a charge of attempting to libei ate Southern piisoners from a Northern Fort, and was confined in McLean Barracks, Chicago. He wrote from there in January, 1865, to a British Consul: “They have tried hard to kill me. I have suffered much from long confienement in a cell 6 feet by ill ventilation, and bad food. Yester day my manacles were knocked off for the first time.” “Col. Grenfel was afterwards tried by Military Commission and sentenced to confinement in the Dry Tortugas. Hi treatment there is said to have been very cruel.”— K. Y. Freeman's Journal. <%. The orchestra of the Paris Theatre Italien, had a singular revenge upon Monsieur Bagier the other day, for re fusing them pay for an extra performance. Instead of making an open strike, they conspired together secretly, and played pianissimo during an entire evening, to the great discomfiture of the singers and 1 at the risk of entirely spoiling the piece.