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Savannah Wtrklu iltuts HYTI’RPAY, PKCKBBBrr7t.~ ' SITBUCBIPTIORS. jIW-Uly News, One Year 92 OO Weekly Newt, Hl* Month* 1 (X) Weekly Ni*w, Thrro Months 50 Itaily New*, one year, |lO 00; iz month*, J 5 00; three month*, |J 80. Trl-Weekly New*, one year, * 00; six month*, t'i 0; three month*, $1 80. All xuhscription* payable in advance. Paper* by mail are stojtpod at the expiration of the time paid for without further notice. Subscriber* will please observe the dates on their wrappers. I anVBRTISKMKNTS. IA sqi AHB i* ttui measured lines of Nonpareil Of Th* W KRKI.T N*w. a' b i n „ rtion. |1 00 per square. Liberal rates made with contract advertiser*. OORRBSroNOKNCK. Correspondence solicited; but to receive atten tion, letter* must lie accompanied by a respousi ble name, not for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. AH letters should be addressed to J. 11. KSTILL, Savannah, Oa. Was Babcock In tlie kin?? _ The card of Col. Megrue, one of the ' Icouis whisky ringsters, published in the dispatches, exonerates (as far as the writer's knowledge extends) Col. Han cock from complicity in the whisky ring frauds. The President’s private secro iary may or may not have been mixed up in the disgraceful business, but Megrue’s ignorance of such complicity on Babcock's part does not at all prove the innocence of the latter. The attentive reader of the Kt. Louis dispatches for the last few days must have noticed that more than one witness testified to seeing letters from Babcock which unmistakably Lmiacked of the “crooked.” The We*t /‘o*t, Carl Hchurz's paper, had the significant paragraph a few Kays ago : K’ The Washington telegrams, written in Hypher, which are before the grand jury, warning the distillers of this city of their imminent danger, are based upon and derived from a knowledge whioh at that time but two single persons possessed. Only Uristow and Grant knew of the steps that were to be taken, and as we know that those signals of warning were not given by Bristow, they could only hnvo come from Grant, or one in his con fidence. The whole country, therefore, points to the notorious Babcock, Grant’s body-villain, false measurer and swindler in general. J One of the witnesses who implicated Babcock was Mr. Alfred Bevis, of the firm of Bevis & Frazer, and his testimony was as follows: T saw letters from Avery and Babcock, giving assurance of prduiction. Joyce gaVo them to me himself; I had one in my possession about five hours; there was some question about whothcr we had protection or not, and I wanted to show the letter to Mr. Frazor, and I went to Joyce and got it from him; I have not the letter now; it was about Special Agents Brookes and lloge coming here; that was in the fall of 1874; I think the letter was signed “Bab;” we were shown from time to tirao letters anti dispatches from Bab cock and Avery; I have seen five or six letters; they purported to give informa tion the letters were generally signed with initials or the first or last names, I kfould not tell which; I think wo paid from ”h7I to 1876 as much os one hundred thousand dollars. f Other witnesses testified the same in bstanoe, and while their testimony was giver, under oath, Megrue’s statement is simply a card, and of merely a negative eharacier at that. Evidently there is ■omethiug more substantial than that needeo to exonerate an official who had already acquired no very envious noto riety in connection with Boss Shepherd’s W ashiugton ring. Ramie ami Jute Production in the South. The opinion in gaining ground that botli ramie and jute can be extensively and successfully cultivated in tho South ern States. Tho drawback to this indus try in past years has been the trouble and expense attending the separation of tho 'libre from the gummy substance and green covering of the plant. What little work of this kind has been done has been by hand, and as well as being a very slow process it is quite expensive. We loam Aiow tlint this obstacle is soon to bo over come l>y the introduction of a machine, which, through the action of certain acids, separates the fibre in a very neat manner, and at a comparatively light ex pense. In India and China, to which countries thoso plants aro indigenous, we are told the process of separation is done entirely by hand, and at a cost of not less than $l5O per ton. Tho patentee of the machine states .that by the now process the oost of sepa rating will be reduced to thirty dollars per ton. Ramie is extensively used in the manufacture of a fabric, said to be a lustrous staple, and excelled only by flue silks, either in strength or durability. It is said to be used considerably in dry goods made to imitate silk, on aocount of its resemblance to that fabric in many fcrespocts. In California about one thou sand two hundred pounds of fibre have been produced to the acre, and it is thought that it ean be turned out in equal abundance in many portions of the | South. Callfou an Investigation ok Moli.et. —Tho Washington Gazette publishes a long bill of iudictment against Mullett, late Supervising Architect. The charges are that Mullett, Raboock, Shepherd and Grant form a White House ring, and have made the thing mutually profitable; that Mullett gave Shepherd the plumb ing, gas-fitting and roofing of public at rates thirty per cent, higher than better work could have been done for hail competition been invited ; that Mullett had an iuterest in the Vaux {latent roof which Shepherd put on public buildings; that through Mullett the stone taken from the Seneca quarry was used in the construction of the new jail, and that it was sold by weight, whereby the government finds itself with a quantity of refuse stone equal to the quantity used in the building, on its Gbauds, and that the profits of the job virere shared by Mullett, Henry D. Cooke and others. Finally, that Mullett en rJffcttihimself by all sorts of jobbery and corrup4<\ n - The Gazette demands an in vestigation and asserts that it has the proofs to substantiate all its charges. Tallahassee Floridian remarks that Governor Stearns is said to be on the ragged edge of anxiety. He has suddenly woke up to the enormity of the sin of stealing, and has actually become a convert to the legal principle that the receiver of stolen goods, commonly called in polioe reports a "fence,” is a? bad as the thief. He is heartily sick of "the Conover letter," and we are expec.ing a communication from him every day com mencing "Dear Captain,” and promis ing, if any more stolen documents come to hia hands, to act like a gentleman and return them, instead of procuring their publication in a paper whose editors he does not hesitate to say are non eompot mentis. There are divers people knowing to a thing or two who are in possession of data which might be captured if the war lasts long enough. We are not sure but that something of the kind disap peared about the time “ the Conover let ter ” was stolen, and if some newspaper whioh holds its reputation cheap should publish it there would be a sensation in the Stearns camp to whioh this other theftvwould be only as a ripple. J. H. ESTILL, PROPRIETOR, The Freed men’s Savings Bank. The New York Nation, in a recent article entitled “The Winding Up of the Freedmen’s Savings Bank,” urges upon Congress, at its next session, the duty of a thorough investigation into the manner in which the affairs of the bank were conducted while in operation and are being wound up, now that it is defunct. The subject, the Nation pertinently ob serves, is not a savory one for Republi can newspapers, and exposure of it is not now to be expected at Republican hands. Therefore, it says, “we earnestly commend it to the notice of the honest men of the Democratic party when next winter in Congress they begin the great work of investigating the dark places in Republican history,” The pitiful story, as the nation epitoniizes it, is not new. For all that, it is worth tailing again, where ever and whenever the politicians of the dominant party in national politics asserts a paramount or exclusive claim to the undivided confidence and support of the Worr-i voters, as the eapecial protege* and wards of the Republican piurty. In a matter that concerned a helpless and ignorant class more than anything else besides—the care and safety of their scanty and hard-earned savings—it is well worth while to consider how the dominant party, in the full possession of political power and responsibility, dealt with ita trust. The Freadmen’s Sav ings Bank in Washington city was char tered in Congress in 1865, for the pur pose of encouraging habits of frugality among the newly enfranchised blacks, and as the charter recites, for the exclu sive use “of persons heretofore held in slavery and their descendants.” 'The trustees were charged with the duty simply of receiving the deposits of per sons of this class, and of investing them in “the stocks, bonds, Treasury notes and other securities of the United States.” The institution was not de signed to be money making, but charita ble; it was a “savings bank," and so the poor, ignorant, credulous colore 1 people understood it. Tbe subsequent establish ment of more than thirty branches of the parent institution in various portions of the South, for tho purpose of extending its business and enlarging the line of its operations, does not appear to have been authorized or contemplated by the original plan or act of incorporation, but might have been pardoned if tho business itself had been confined within legitimate channels, and the operations had been honestly conducted. In April, 1870, however, an amendment of the original charter was procured which enabled the trustees to lend upon mortgage, and to hold and im prove real estato in Washington city. Then began the work of wasting the funds of the bank, the savings of its de positors, by loaning them upon every sort of wild-cat security. Everybody within ths favored "ring” of speculators and adventurers in Washington city got loans upon such security os they pleased to offer—upon; stock of the "Seneca Stone Company,” of the “Metropolitan Pav ing Company,” the "Capital Publish ing Company,” upon furniture, upon pictures, upon Southern plantations, &c., &o. Then came the inevitable and dismal denouement—the failure of the bank and its branches, and the ruin of the poor, ignorant, confiding and de ceived depositors. All this is bad enough and shameful enough, as the facte show. But the shame does not stop here. In stead of leaving the affairs of the insol vent concern to be wound up and admin istered under the general bankrupt law, applicable to other similar and ordinary cases, Congress, by special act of June 25, 1874, devised a special machinery for winding up the affairs of this particular institution, by means of commissioners nominated by the very trustees who are accused of having proved thus unfaithful to their trusts. The legality, as well as fairness of this mode of "winding up,” the Nation vigorously calls in question. It asks where does Congress, under the authority given by the constitution “to pass a uniform bankrupt law,” get the power, in the face of and in derogation of tho provision of that law, to create such a "special agency for settling the affairs of one bankrupt?” It submits this question, along with all others suggested by the history and failure of the bank, to the consideration of a Democratic House of Representatives. Despairing of getting justice for the depositors of the bank at the hands of the party which established the concern as a great boon to the freedmen and their descendants, it almost supplioates the Democratic party not to pass by or treat lightly "as a passing joke” "the cheating of tho emancipated blacks by their liber ators aud protectors.” The most im portant lesson of all, however, the Nation does not improve for the benefit of the freedmen. and that is. not to mix their politics v>.th their business or to im agine that those who seek to control their votes have therefore the most solicitnde or the most scrupulous regard for their interest Every colored man in this city who has been a loser by the failure of the F’ ?edinen’s Bank has only to reflect upon what would be the difference to himself personally if he had deposited his earn ings in one of the old, well-managed sav ings banks of this city, instead of with the political creation at Washington in order to perceive and appreciate the point The outlook for the Democracy in New Hampshire is hopeful enough to give them renewed strength aud confidence in working up the State campaign for 1876. In a State which has been so evenly- di vided in political sentiment as New Hampshire, it is not easy to forecast the result, but the Democratic party there seems to be united and reasonably sure of victory. It is probable that it will deserve to win at least. In questions of local importance as well as those which reflect the broader national issues, there must be no step backward by the party that has pledged . itself to reform. The patriotic and pro gressive men among the New Hampshire Democrats are coming to the front, and they will make their cause worthy the confidence of the voters of the State in spite of the slanderous tactics of the op position. The Democrats of that State know that they cannot afford next year to put forth any uncertain sound. They are preparing for the canvass early, earn estly, honestly and ably, and they deserve suocess. The maddest man in Wisconsin is John Leigh, of Oconto. He was a candidate for member of Assembly, and being a conscientious man voted for his oppo nent, who was elected by just one ma jority. gwmqjli llMili pews, Conflicting Cotlon Reports. The New York World contains the fol lowing editorial comments on the con flicting cotton crop reports of the Na tional Cotton Exchange and those of the Agricultural Bureau at Washington: “The importance of the cotton crop of the United States is too apparent to need illustration. It is recognized throughout the mercantile world. Its influence is felt at the remotest points. All efforts to procure correct information of its progress and prospects are therefore to be commended and aided. The Na tional Cotton Exchange, having its head quarters at New Orleans, and the Ag ricultural Bureau at Washington, have recently issued reports upon the current cotton crop which are so incon sistent, not only with each other but with themselves, as to demonstrate that much is yet to be done before the general public can feel any reliance upon what may emanate from either of these sources. The annexed table, comprising the estimates of the cotton crop of the United States, based on the October and November reports from the National Cotton Exchange and Agricultural Bu reau, will make clear the inconsistencies and contradictions complained of : Cotton Agricultural Exchange, Bureau, Average, bale*. bales. bales. Oetober 3,878,000 4,*22,000 4,049,000 November 4,197,000 3,853,000 4,025,000 Averages 4,030,500 4,037,600 4,037,000 “Perhaps we have reached by this process as fair an estimate of the current crop as can be had by any other means. But the authors of the two reports are placed in an awkward position. Very little doubt is felt on our Cotton Ex change that the report of the National Board for October was manipulated in the interest of the bull party to the specula tion which was then in progress; and it is also bolieved that the construction which has been put upon the November report of the Bureau is forced and unnatural—ignoring, perhaps, the in creased acreage and the fact that the increased percentages of yield take place in sections where the greater proportion of the crop is usually grown, and the de creased percentages in sections where the growth of cotton is at the best not large. Should the November estimate of the Agricultural Bureau prove correct, the receipts at the ports must henceforth show a falling off. They were on the 16th, 128,637 bales in excess of the cor responding period last year; and, there fore, if the crop is to be only 20,000 bales larger, the excess of 108,637 bales must be lost in the remainder of the crop year.” A Southern Pacific Railroad. We find the following editorial in the Richmond, Va., Whig, of the 17th: “We print to-day a communication signed ‘Richmond’ which will be read with in terest by Southern men who appreciate the importance of a truly Southern road to the Pacific, and who aro properly ad vised as to the necessity for the most earn est and active efforts, on the part of the representative,* oi the Goutn in Gongiuat?, to baffle the designs of the cunning schemers who are seeking to secure Southern support for a Northern road pretendedly in Southern interests. ‘Richmond’ writes with an obvious fa miliarity with the subject he has in hand. He knows what he is talking about, and his reasoning is sound. “There is great power among the po litical and moneyed magnates of the North, and in a contest for favorable legislation at Washington looking to the trade to flow along this contemplated road, either into that section or this, it will be no easy matter to master them. But difficult as it may be, the Southern Senators and Representatives in Congress can do it if they will. They have only to be united in their action, to be watoh ful and cautious, to be bold and deter mined in asserting the claims of the South, and to listen to no proposal or promise that is not backed by an infallible guar antee that the trade which should be tributary to their markets and ports must and will be so. That guarantee can be nothing less than such a route for the road as will preclude the possibility of its diversion from the South to the North. “We are drawing very near now to the pivot-pomt on which the great commer cial interests of the South must turn, at least for a long time to come. A Pacific railroad can neither be built in a year, nor at the cost of any small sum of money. And if the pseudo-Southern road to whioh ‘Richmond’ refers shall be adopted by Congress as the road for the South, several generations must come and go before the Southern people can again nave a hope for a recognition of their rights of trade. Now is the time for our Representatives to take their stand, and to hold it against all the agencies, all the influences, all the arts, and all the en ginery of the men of the North, and for the North who are striving to strangle the South as they embrace her to betray her. "A Southern Pacific Railroad is the great desideratum in the commerce of the country, but better, far better, for the South to have no road than a road to her own rum.” Mr. A. J. Beresford Hope, the English gentleman who presented the statue of Stonewall Jackson to the State of Vir ginia, writes as follows accepting memo rials of his "much honored and greatly regretted friend,” Gen. JohnC. Breckin ridge: "His name has been for years to us a household word, and upon his arrival in England Lady Mildred Beresford Hope and myself sought his acquaintance and had the pleasure of receiving him as our guest, both here and in the country. Personal acquaintance produced a warm esteem and respect, and a vivid impres sion of his eminent abilities. I have often since then remarked that out of the persons of distinction with whom, in the course of my life, I have in various ways been thrown, Gen. Breckinridge was among those who had most irresistably struck me with a feeling of ability and ready power. I had looked forward to the probability of his again, in better times, coming to the front and devoting his great talents to the public welfare.” It is said that Tom Scott proposes to soon commence running a fast passenger train at the same high rate of speed as his fast mail train. This train will be run from New York to Pittsburg, 453 miles, without a single stop, carrying an extra car loaded with coal and taking in water as it moves, from pipes underneath the track. It seems like a fearful ex periment for our American roads, but we are a daring people, and the traveling public are generally ready to ride as fast as anybody is willing to drive. • SAVANNAH, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1875. Affairs in Georgia. Mr, Alexander Taylor, the oldest inhabit ant of Dougherty county, is dead. He was born in 1791. Tbe editor of the Albany Newt has been munching roasting-tars raised by Dr. Ar nold. Leaves have their time to fall, but ro&s ting-ears in Dougherty county don’t seem to have any particular time to ripen. The Geneva Lamp calls the attention of the public to five specimens of home-made pork in that village that will weigh three hundred pounds apiece, being only one year old. This fact makes it possible to bring forward another candidate for Governor. Albany wants to be written up. We were under the impression that that feat was accomplished every week in the News. Ham, of the Warrenton Clipper, turns out to be a Good Templar. We suspected some thing of the sort when he refused to mix hi* urinkb (with water) daring the Macon Fair. The Sunny South is going to have its por traits of distinguished men labeled here after. Even the editor can’t tell them apart. Tbe gin-honse of Mr. William Spence, of Mitchell county, was burned by an in cendiary last week, together with seven bade* of cotton. If this is not the twenty fifth this aeasoD, Dr. Janes will please cor rect ns. Jfhe barn of Mr. Joseph, Pearce in the •hr.., county, was also burned by an in oeudiary together with quite a quantity of forage. The editor of the Genera Lamp refuses to work in the same room with carpenters. This is what we call class distinction. Where is Colonel Dugas Trammell—he of the tawny mane ? A negro is in jail at Albany for shooting at the engineer of the Arlington train. This is all very well, but why can’t some colored man be found brave enough to bring down a milkman ? Geneva—even the little Geneva—has shipped fifteen thousand bales of cotton this season. Mhat will Barnesville say to this? The very day that Sawyer promises to make new developments, the Atlanta Com monwealth ceases to come to hand. This is very funny. Has Kimball got anything to do with the Post Office ? We hope Henry Grady hasn’t got enough stuck-upedness about him to refuse to send us a copy of his forthcoming Atlanta ro mance. It seems that Whidby didn’t accompany the Okefenokee expedition. This is evi dently providential. The alligators would have had a fearful time in dividing him aroun i. Colonel Sawyer proposes to once more take charge of the Rome Courier. This will give him the opportunity to curry down his Atlanta friends at leisure. We look tor several Bevere skinning matches. It doesn’t mane any difference in Georgia whether a man is bald-headed or not. The newspapers attack him all the same. Brinkley, of Newnan, having had the pleasure of killing his wife will probably be swung for it. The doctors say his insanity is not too serious to prevent his neck Irom breaking, providing the proper arrange ments are made. A young lady in Johnson county is about to sue the editor of the Darien Gazette for breach of promise. A dejected Marietta parent writes us that he has been boarding three Atlanta editors every Satui day night for four months. The kerosene bills which he forwards are alarm ing. We suggest that ho purchase an infe rior brand—the kind that explodes when the wick is lowered. By this means be will ef fectually rid himself of several unprofitable embryo sons-in-law. Troup county is full of good items. Only last week one negro killed another, and the murderer had to be killed before he would be arrested. The Middle Georgia Medical Society will meet in Barnesville on the third of next January. Camden county has produced a sweet potato weighing twelve pounds. This is carrying the cultivation of the wind colic to a degree of excellence never before reached in this county. tir. U—-1 tho hwit ductors on the Central Railroad, ha* been ill for several days. Wilkinson county is about to contribute several worthy citizens to Texas ceme teries. The horse disease has reached Wilkinson county. A Baptist Institute for colored ministers will bo held in Macon for one month, begin ning on tho 30th inst. Wilkinson county is burying a large crop of grain this season. A band of gypsies are boarding on the suburbs of Irwinton. A band of colored serenaders were ar rested in Irwinton the other day and bound over to keep the peace. This is a step in the right direction. Now let the white sere naders be brought to justice. The planing mill of Messrs. Rockhill & Cos., near Macon, was burned tho other day. Atlanta is chock full of burglars. Thus the Thomasville Enterprise: Captain Miller B. Grant, an abl? engineer, well known in this section, will enrich the col umns of the Savannah News with accounts from the Okefenokee expedition, while Ma jor Sidney Herbort ornaments and perfumes them with bouquets from the Land of Flow ers. It will be a good season for Northern and Western people to read the News. Irwinton Southerner: Between eight and nine o’clock on last Wednesday morning as Henry, son of Mr. William Etheridge, aged about eighteen, was on his way to Pleasant Plains Church, when near Sandbed bridge, a negro stepped from the bushes into the road, seized tho bridle of the mule which he was driring and ordered the young man to leave the buggy, as ho wanted the mule. Mr. Etheridge was fortunately armed and he drew his pistol, and the negro let loose the mule and plunged into the thick bushes halloing “don’t shoot.” He is described as a large muscular negro, clothed in rags and having a desperate, starving look. Our citi zens will do Well to look out for him. A bloody affray occurred last Wednesday night at Williamsville, in Pike county, be tween two farmers, John Rogers and James S nth, in which the latter lost his life. From a gentleman who was present, the Griffin Nexcs gets the following particulars of the tragedy: Rogers and Smith and others were congregated at a grocery in the village, when some difficulty arose between these two men, which soon led to blows, whereupon Rogers drew a pocket-knife and inflicted a ghastly wound on his opponent’s neck, severing some of the arteries. Rog ers then ran and was pursued by Bmith for quite one hundred yards, when Smith fell and died from the effects of the wound and before assistance could reach him. Rogers escaped to a kinsman’s house in the neighborhood, from which place he dis patched a messenger back to the village to learn Smith’s condition. The messenger arrived, and made inquiries, but was ar rested and divulged the whereabouts of Rogers, whereupon a posse was summoned, and went and arrested him, but on their return with him he managed to make his escape, since which time nothing has been heard of him. Both men are reported to have been in liquor at the time. Macon Telegraph: A most brutal assault was made upon a young lady, near Fort Valley, Sunday afternoon, by a negro named John Brown, the circumstances of which are detailed to ns as follows: Between three and four o’clock in the afternoon the young lady, accompanied by her father and mother aDd a younger sister, went out for a walk. The young laay and her little sister were soon some distance ahead of their parents. On their way they came to a pond where there were some sweetgum trees, and stopped, and were picking gum from a tree when a negro came up and brutally assaulted the young lady by knocking her down, evidently with the intention of outraging her person. The little sister be came frightened and ran back to meet her father, and told him that the negro was kill ing her sister. The father ran as rapidly as possible toward the place designated by the little girl, and when he came in view of it he saw the negro sitting on his prostrate daughter and cramming mud in her mouth to stifle her cries. Hearing the irate father approaching, the negro released his victim and fled; but too late. Neighbors and friends joined in the pursuit, and the villain was never lost sight of until captured. He was taken to Fort Valley and lodged in the guard house. Dur ing the afternoon negroes began to assem ble in Fort Valley, and it was apprehended that they premeditated the release of the prisoner. In order to have him the more secure he was started to Perry, accompanied by a marshal and a deputy sheriff. About a mile out from Fort Valley a band of men surrounded the buggy, led the guard away and hung the negro to the limb of a tree which stood near, where he remained hang ing till about noon yesterday, when he was cut down by the Coroner,’ and an in quest held. So far as we are able to learn, white and colored people of Honston county approve the sentence. Some colored men wno assisted in his capture were anxious to hang him on the spot, but were opposed by the white men. But only a little later he paid the full penalty of the outrage he had committed. The young lady, we are happy to state, received no injury further than the loss of one of her teeth from the blow struck by the fiend when he first assailed her. The Augusta Constitutionalist alludes to the Monyixo News as “the Savannah pa tter.” And this in spite of the fact that we have a man specially employed to credit items from our Northern and’ Western ex changes to tnat journal. A deaf and dumb negro was killed on the Air-Line Railroad the other day. The Constitution states that “Carters ville’s blonde belie is in tbe city.” She is evidently trying to shake the Atlanta edi tors. The Thomasville Enterprise remarks: Our young friend, Mr. S. G. McLendon, who has just returned from Savannah, where he has been assisting his father in constructing the Atlantic and Gulf and Charleston Railroad connection, informs ns that the road-b and is complete, the iron is being put down, and that the cars will be running in a few days. Henry Grady, of the Atlanta Herald, is a husband and a father, and yet be talks about a young lady’s hand fluttering in.hts. “ Fluttering” is good. If there are not enough bands for the “ flutterers” np that way, ship ’em down here. Mr. Joshua Moore, of Tattnall county, was killed by a falling tree recently. Mrs. Dnkes, of Macon county, was killed the other day by trusting too much to the mercy of a gin. Her arm was terribly man gled, and she died in a few hours. Fort Valley is gloating over a sixteen-inch radish. The colored incendiaries who were on trial iu Stewart county have been committed for trial. *? - t Mr. Iverson L. Hunter has transferred the Milledgeville Spirit of the South to Mr. J. C. McClendon. Stewart county is clamoring for a chain gang. Mr. Willingham has retired from the Rome Courier. Grady admits that he has “prominent ears.” Of course we can’t attack a man when he makes admissions like that. The Hinesville Gazette says that Mr. J. E. Stafford, an honest, industrious young mao, living near Taylor’s s reek, in Liberty coun ty, has come to the conclusion from his own experience that there is a living in this country. He married and began life three years ago without a dollar. With a yearling ox the first year he made corn enough to support his family and a bale and a half of cotton. Last year he bought a mule, but finding tbe mule too expensive, he traded him off for a yoke of oxen. With those oxen, notwith standing the bad seasons this year, he made two and a half bales of cotton, sixty bushels of rice, and corn, cane and potatoes enough for his own use. There is wisdom in his remark, “There’s a living in this country,” and especially in the concluding portion, “if you will ’only work for it.” But not without. . A young man named McLeod was killed on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, near Dixie, recently. The Count Johannes B’Gormanne writes to the Macon Telegraph that ho is on his way to “Deern’s Lake.” We’ll be “Deemed” if we believe it. If that is profanity, turn loose tho dogs of war. The Thomasville Enterprise warns the granges in that section to avoid jealousy. The same paper has heard rumors of the strange disappearance of Mrs. Barbara Cau thorn, the wife of William Canthorn, a well to-do farmer, who lives just over the line in Pike county, near Orchard Hill. From Mr. Wiley Cooper the News gleans the following particulars in reference to the sad event, which may be considered reliable: Mrß. Barbara Canthorn is an eiderly lady, some fifty years of age, and for some years has been an invalid and confined to her bed, and suffering at times from mental derangement, superinduced it was supposed by her other afflictions. Last Saturday, a week ago, she was sitting up and wag cheerful and remarked that she had not felt so well for months, and her family wer. ied to hope that she might soon recover her wonted health and strength. Soon,however,she was missed from the house and after a time the fears of the family be coming aroused, search for her was made without success, and tho family by this time becoming thoroughly alarmed, neighbors were called in and a gen eral search of the neighboring woods and fields commenced, still with out avail. Sineo that ii.ua during last week, up to Sunday night last, the neighborhood has been in a restless state of excitement, and all the streams and wells ha ve been dragged, and still no clue of the missing lady has been found. It is needless to say that the warst fears are entertained that she has come to a tragic end by some means not known and not surmised. Atlanta Constitution : As Si was coming up town from the Atlanta and Richmond Air- Line depot yesterday, he indulged in a little song all to himself. Two other negroes passed by, and one of them shouted back : “Pin up yer onder lip, old man, an’ stop dat racket!” “Who yer talkin’ ter?” said Si, stopping short and turning around. “Talkin’ to you; who yer tink I’m talkin’ to, you ole Guinea rooster, you?” “Yer don’t know me, do yer?” said Si. “I don’t keer who you is; you ain’t !no grand army ob de ’pub ic, no how!” “Look hyar, I’m de most discourageous nigger in dis Atlanty city, and I’ll jis take dis hyar head and butt yer inter de forepart of Chris mus week, 1 will.” “You’se a da—” Just then Si took a run with head bent down, and two seconds after there was a sick nigger in the mud, wanting-nothing under heaven but a doctor. And as Si went on, he re marked over his shoulder : “I’m a bad nig ger ; alius wus; wus bad ’fore de war; bad all in der war; bad arter de war, and I’m de loudes’ buttin’ mgger you eber read ’bout in books wid de leabes all out and de kiver lost.” The same paper says : The West Point passenger train yesterday evening brought in a beautiful girl, four or five years old, who knew nothing about her destination. She was placed under the charge of a lady at Montgomery, Ala., by a man. He came on board and asked if there was any one going to Augusta. Upon a lady responding that she was, he asked her if she would take charge of the little girl to Augusta, and then put her under charge of the con ductor of the train there. She said she would if he would see the conductor about it. The man was a stranger to the lady, and left the train without giving her any money to pay the child’s fare or supply her with food. The child had a slip of paper upon which was written “Place Emmie Douglass in charge of the conductor ot the sleeping car to Augusta, and tell him to put her under the care of the conductor on the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad to Pine House, where sbe will be met by Mrs. Lucy R. Strother.” Conductor Jag. ty. Bell upon his arrival here, took the child home with him until he could find out more about her. It is somewhat singular that a child of her tender years should be put on a train with out money to travel a long distance, It is true that no conductor would put her off the tram or see her suffer for want of food, but it is something unusual to ship the little cherub alone. Macon Telegraph: There is a colored man in Wilkinson county named Rack Bell, who is regarded by his race as too friendly with the whites, and they therefore look upon him with suspicion. On several occasions, when they havo been discovered in thieving or other rascality, they have accused him of playing the spy and informing against them. Whether Rack did the things of which he is accused we are not advised, but it is certain that he incurred the enmity of the other negroes, and at last they seem to have determined that the bet ter plan would be to put him out of the way. About three o’clock yesterday morn ing a party of eleven, consisting of ten negroes and one whiteman, went to Rack’s house for the purpose of making a sum mary disposition of him. They got pos session of him, gagged him, bound his hands behind him, tied a wheelbarrow wheel and some plow-irons, weighing altogether about thirty pounds, around his neck, and then took him to a bridge over a neighboring creek. When they ar rived upon the bridge one of the negroes drew a pistol and attempted to shoot him through the head. Fortunately for Rack, the ball missed him. He had the presence of mind, however, to drop as if he had been shot, and his assailants, imagining him to be dead, rolled him off the bridge into the water, which was about ten feet deep. By a miracle almost, bound, gagged and loaded down as he was, Rack managed to get astride of a sleeper, which saved him from being drowned. The gang of ruffians fled as soon as they tumbled him into the water, as they be lieved him to have been murdered by the shot which was aimed at him-. Gagged as he was, Rack could give no alarm, and his hands being securely bound behind him, he was unable to relieve his neck of the load they had fastened there; but by a slow and steady endeavor he man aged to work his way to the bank of the stream, and then made his way to the nearest house, which he reached about five o’clock yesterday morning, and was released from’ the uncomfortable situation in which the outlaws had left him. Rack identified all the parties who were engaged in this outrage. He went to Irwinton and reported the names of the ten negroes, but steadfastly refused to reveal the name of 'he white man who took part in the Ku-Klux outrage. Up to noon yesterday eight of the ten negroes had been arrested and lodged in jail at Irwinton, and there was every rea son to believe that the other two would be arrested before night. We hope the white man will share the same, or even a worse fate than the negroes. He certainly- de serves worse at the hands of the law. Colonel Crocker, of Fort Valley, is dead. Colonel H. D. Capers is now residing in Columbia, S. C. Mr. R. R. Goetchins, of Columbus, is dead. Fitch calls a colored battle a “hickory stick tournament.” Mr. Millsaps, of Rome, was robbed of live hundred dollars the other night. What business has a man with live hundred dol lars anyhow ? The Fort Valley Mirror remarks: A singu lar oase of somnabualism occurred in this town on Friday night. Tittle Bobbie Wallis, the grandson of Mr. Bland Wallis, Sr., re tired for the night feeling a little feverish. During his sleep he dreamed that someone was after him with a sharp stick. He got up and fled from the house in his night clothes, and shaped his course directly to the swamp. He ran far into the swamp, scratching him self with briars and wading through the water and getting completely wet, before he awoke. Asa matter of course, he was very much bewildered, and wandered about for some time before he found the road and reached home. The editor of theJMilledgeville Spirit of the South has been in Savannah recently, and here is what he says of the News office, especially of the young man who run s the city department: “This model of newspa pers—this neplus ultra of Georgia journals— the Savannah Morning News—is all pros perity. It is the best—not one of the best— newspapers in Georgia. In Mr. Estill it has an able manager. He is a progressive gen tleman, with plenty of brain, and fine execu tive ability. He is now building—or rather has nearly completed—the handsomest newspaper building South of Baltimore. It has five stories, and is complete in every ap pointment. Besides being very substantial, it is exceedingly ornamental. He ex pects to remove to it during next month. Mr. B. H. Richardson is the übiquitous city editor of the News. He is indefatigable in his labors, and writes the city up from one end to the other every day. He is not sensational, as are a great many others we wot of, but is made of sterner stuff. He is a capital companion everywhere, but we especially admire him as an excursionist. He is not well adapted for a seacoast editor, as he has a great aversion to oysters, fish, etc., besides being such a strong temper ance advocate as to refuse to take even enough of the “native wine” to keep the salt water miasma from permeating his constitu tion. Mr. Richardson has recently “builded” an elegant “Pleasure Guide” for the conven ience of tourists aud others visiting Savan nah. It is full and complete in the descrip tion of the city and the pleasant resorts near by. It is also replete with his orical recollections and incidents of the olden time, and of the late army operations in that sec tion. It is invaluable to the tourist on ac count of the amount and usefulness of the .information it contains. The work was written for tne Savannah, Seaboard and Skidaway Railway, and was so highly appre ciated by the managers of the road that they presented Mr. Richardson with an ele gant gold-headed cane. Athens Watchman : Col; John W. Wof ford has resigned his seat in the Senate, iii consequence of the courts in his Circuit coming on during the session of the Legis lature. In his address to his constituents, he has this to say regar ding annual ses sions : “ Aside from all this, the approach ing session of the Legislature is wholly un important, so far as I know or believe. Several years experience in that body has convinced me that there is no public demand for annual sessions of the Legislature, and that yearly sessions of the General Assembly is a yearly waste of the public money. In a time of peace and quiet, when there is nothing but ‘hard times’ to break the mo notony of current events, an annual ex pense of a SIOO,OOO for legislation is too much to pay for it. For a year or so after Gov. Bullock absconded a good deal of law making and investigation was necessary in order to readjust the disjointed affairs of the State government. But all that has been done, and for the future a session every two years is quite as often as there will be any call for legislation. A little examination of the class of work with which the last few sessions have been engaged will satisfy any one I am right in this. I do hope to see a move made at the next session to change the Con stitution in conformity to the suggestion here made.” Cel. Woti'ord is eminently cor rect There is no earthly use for annual ses sions. The Constitution needs changing in this and many other respects. Tho opponents of a convention pretend to think it would involve a tremondous expense. The late Convention of North Carolina cost the State thirty thousand dollars. Suppose ours should cost as much—what of it? In this one item of biennial instead of annual ses sions of tho Legislature, it would have the State in twenty years at least two million dollars—as it costs from one hundred thou sand to one hundred and twenty thousand for each session of the Legislature. Let the sticklers for economy put this in then pipes and smoke it. THE OKEFENOKEE —WITHIN AND WITHOUT. Sketches of Incident and Adventures BT M. B. OB ANT (PATTXi TRANSIT), CIVIL EN GINEER. PART IV. It was a clear, cold day, the sun was just rising as we left camp on our first exploration into the Swamp. The whole party, with the exception of A dam. and Brahma,' were on this expedition. The former was too old for such hardships and we did not require it of him. The latter on this occasion, as previously hinted, preferred keeping watch over the dead Indians in the mound rather than risk the possibility of encountering live ones in the Swamp. After proceeding two hundred yards we come to the edge of the Swamp—that is, in the thick wood, which on the east ern side invariably intervenes between the high pine lands on the outside, and the prairies on the inside. This belt of wood averages about one mile in width, though the width varies at different points owing to the irregular contour of the Swamp on the outside. The larger growth in this belt consists generally of pine, bay, laurel, ash, gum, and occasionally water-oaks, with the prevailing undergrowth of cane, hem leaf, bamboo briars and titi, which to a greater or less extent are to be found everywhere in the wooden por tions of the swamp, the prairies alone being free from them. This wooded belt on the outside of the swamp, which at first we considered thick and hard to get through, with our after experience dwindled into insignificance and was hardly dignified with the name of thicket. We found no difficulty in penetrating this belt, and having walked about three-fourths of a mile, we suddenly emerged from the wood and found ourselves in the prairies, which presented a beautiful view, partially cov ered as they then were with water. To wards the west, in the direction in which we were going, glimpses could be had be tween the islands for several miles, and towards the southeast the eye could fol low the prairies for many miles. These prairies extend the entire length of the swamp on the eastern side, averaging in width from two to four miles, and are invariably interspersed with islands, varying in size from one-fourth of an acre to four or five acres in area. These islands are generally somewhat more elevated than the surrounding swamps, and are usually covered with a growth similar to that previously de scribed, except that we here find the Loblolly bay in addition to the trees pre viously mentioned. Besides, the under growth is much more dense on these islands, and I have frequently seen it al most impenetrable. This vigorous growth is no doubt owing to the rich soil and abundant moisture. The spaces or intervals of prairie between these islands of course vary in shape and extent as do the islands them selves. They are almost always con nected, thus forming continuous strips of prairie, sometimes wide, and again narrow. The effect of prairie and islands is very pleasing to the eye, and the numerous water fowls then frequenting them gave life and animation to the scene. In times of high water, when the grass is covered, these prairies have the appearance of lakes, and no doubt gave rise to the impression that there were extensive lakes on the east side of the swamp. But such is not the case. There are no lakes except one or two very insignificant ones, scarcely more than ponds. There is a growth of tall grass generally to be found on these prairies, of which the cattle in the vicin- ity seem very fond, and after which they sometimes venture in for a little way. Open spaces are to be found in these prairies, varying from five to twenty-five feet in diameter, frequently very deep, and always covered with a growth of water lilies. Treacherous holes these, and woe unto the luckless cow, hog or other quad ruped that falls therein, for there is no es cape from the soft, oozy mud that underlies and surrounds them, and which furnishes no foothold to the struggling animal. By Mr. Short’s timely warning we soon learned to avoid these places. Not so, however, with our unfortunate Boots, as you shall soon discover. We were about to have a practical demonstration of the truth of the adage “that distance lends enchantment to the view.” We had no sooner waded into the mud and water up to our waists, and com - menced our struggle forward, than every vestige of romance and admiration van ished. The ohange was magical, and the effect ludicrous in the extreme. Can you imagine ten men, struggling for dear life up to their waists in mud, water and ice—men of all proportions, dispositions and inclinations—not strug gling for one hour, but for hours, with no place to sit, stand or lean, breaking the ice at every step—one falling head over heels into the water, another leaving a boot or shoe in the mud, a third getting over his head, and every step increasing the distance from camp and comforts? If you can draw the picture, then yon have a correct photograph of our party in the prairies on this first exploration. Can you wonder at our joint soliloquy ? “To bog or not to bog? That’s the question— Whether ’tis nobler in the mind To stand such weary tramps as these, Or take arms against this sea of mud, And by returning, end them.” “Hallo, Mass Beau!” said Stepney; “ how you fine yourself? Dis ya de Okee fenokee for true; dis ya beats hoein’ cot ton and diggin’ taters all hollow. Neber spec for see such work as dis. De blessed Lord, and how much fudder we goin ?” “ I think we have come about a mile and a half or two miles; but Mr. Short knows best; he can tell you. How far, Mr. Short?” “Well, I reckon hits about a mile or a leetle the big end of it that we’s been a boggin about? Why, boy, you haint seen nothin’ yet. Just wait till we gits to the Double Branches. Maybe we mout como across a bar, and if we do, nigger, we’ll have some fun.” “Well, boss, how far is it to the Double Branches ? I’m fit to gin out now.” “Well, hit’s about a short sight and a horn blow, or tharabouts I haint partic lar; but you’ll know when you gitthar.” r “A sight and a horn-blow,” ejaculated Stipney. “How fur is dat, Mr. Short ?”• “Well, hit’s just fur enough to blow the head off of any nigger that comes a projectin about me, and ef you is sorter hankerin’ like I'll show you how far ’hit is now.” Stepney here changed the subject to— “ Well, Boss, suppose we come across a bar, what mus Ido ? I can’t run in dis yar place.” “What do? Why, shoot him, of course!” “But, Boss, ’spose I miss him! What den ?” “Well, look yer, nigger, don’t bother yourself. Ef you do shoot and miss him, and you a-standin’ in this loblolly, he’ll chaw you wusteran honey comb arter the honey’s gone. You’ll be nigh unto bees wax. Hit won’t do to fool with bars in yar. And, strangers, take my word for it, and the next time you come in the swamp leave them ar pop-guns behind. They wouldn’t raise the har on a bar’s back. Bring double-barrels like mine— twenty-four buckshot to a load. That’s the way to tell it.’" Stepney, though to a certain extent incredulous, evidently thought it best to acquiesce in what Mr. Short said, which he did. “Where is Mass Transit ?” said Orange. “Ebery now and den I don’t see him at all, and as for Mass Longhorn, he hab a berry mournful spression ob face, and eben Mass Ned look down in de mout. I tink we all better eat some dinner. *I know I hungry.” Whereupon we all made for the nearest island, and after a severe struggle with the bushes succeeded in reaching a fallen log, upon which we took our seats and eagerly devoured our cold dinners —mid- dling, biscuits and sweet potatoes —not bad, reader, to a hungry set of men, after such exercise as we had taken. “Where’s Boots,” cried Jeff. “I want to give him the scraps.” No Boots! • Where was he ? “Orange,” said the Colonel, “go and look for Boots ;he can’t be far off.” In about fifteen minutes Orange returned, bringing Boots in his arms, who, poor fellow, was almost frozen, having, all un known to any of us, taken a bath among the water-lilies, and not being able to get out alone, had paid pretty dearly for the fun. But we soon had him warmed up, and I doubt not he was ready and willing to pitch in again. After dinner we continued our course until the Double Branches were reached, very much to our delight and gratifica tion. We found this stream to be about fifty feet wide and the current very slug gish. The water was from five to six feet deep and very dark in color, which is generaily the case where the water passes through heavy deposits of vegita ble matter. This stream enters the Swamp at its northern extremity and continues its course about midway of the Swamp, and is evidently the channel for the waters of Alligator and Gum Swamp creeks and other streams that enter into the northern part of the Swamp. As we crossed no such stream in our route across the Swamp through Floyd’s Island, it must necessarily pass to the westward of the latter and become one of the principal tributaries of the Suwanee. We also crossed this stream on our exploration fiom the Hickory Hammock east, where it is wider and deeper. Besides wanting to see and examine this extreme northern part of the Swamp, we were particularly anxious to get to the Double Branches, hoping that, by means of this stream and others that might unite with it, we could be able to explore the Swamp in boats; but our examination and ac quaintance with the Double Branches soon set this scheme at rest, and de monstrated its impracticability. In the first place, the stream was tortu ous in its course, and so filled with logs and brush of every de scription that no boat could navigate it. Besides, even if it had been navigable, there was no possible means by which to get a boat into the stream through the intervening Swamp, and there was no material on this end of the Swamp fit to make a boat from. So we had to abandon this pet scheme at the start, and fall back on the less agreeable mode of walking through, or rather “bogging through,” as Mr. Short termed it. Having rested a while at the Double Branches and having made a satisfactory examination of this part of the Swamp, at four o’clock we started to retrace our steps, all of us being thoroughly worn out and fatigued. This bogging and struggling with mud and water con tinuously for hours, brings into play almost every muscle in the body, and when kept up for any length of time becomes a pretty severe punishment—at least we thought so. Very little was said on our return trip, though I think ail were satisfied with this first exploration, and each member of the party was con vinced that there was more in it than the name. We did not reach camp until after night, where we found our glorious fire and hot supper ready, both of which, it is hardly necessary to say, we enjoyed hugely. Mr. Short took supper with us, and expressed his unqualified apprecia tion of the same by the emphatic an nouncement that it was “bully,” and I think it was. I have a distinct recollection of spread ing down my ■. lanket before the fire and making a deposit of my weary flesh and bones thereon; also of having filled and lit my pipe. What transpired after wards—that is, on the succeeding day— will be related in my next. ESTABLISHED 1850. LETTER FROM SOUTH FLORIDA. Covr-Huntinii In the St. I.uele Settlements The Pine-Knot—Hunting Conspicuous Deer In Florida—Gleason and His Name sake. [Special Correspondence of the Morning NeVs.] \ Y South Flobida, October 29, 1875. \ The best beef that the Savannah market gets from Florida comes from a beautiful and interesting region known as the “Kissimmee Range.” Its inhabitants are a brave, hardy race, generally of Carolina or Georgia stock, and of that good old kind who keep an open house without charge. It lies between the mysterious Lake Ochuchobee and the St. John’s country, aud belongs, it may be said, to the cow-kings, who chiefly supply the Cuban cattle vessels and the stock cars of tho Atlantic and Gulf Rail road. I suppose you were never on a “cow-hunt,” and I hardly think you would understand its practical features if I wrote them down with every sort of explanation, for it belongs to that class of things to be learned only by experi ence. COW-HUNTING smacks of hard, dangerous riding and monotonous whip cracking, but there are episodes nnd scenes, characters and ad ventures belonging to a South Florida cow-hunt that would make an editor for get for a time the inky odor of his sanc tum and the disorderly piles of exchanges that hem him in on all sides. His heart would swell with emotions surpassing all other rapture as he contemplated the loveliness of semi-tropical nature, and his perturbed mind would secure such serenity as no other influence can give. The very novelty of his feelings would be relishable as he rode on and on over a far-reaching prairie, cut into fancy shapes by strips of hammock and pine woods; now through seas of yellow and blue flowers up to his horse’s ears ; now up to his stirrups in tho shin ing water of a crystal lake, and anon penetrating the mossy labyrinths of a gloomy hammock, where luxuriant vines roof in the trees, while parasites of gaudy colors adorn their trunks. Hardly a minute would pass without its diversion. Now a “bunoh” of cattle are sighted and “held up” after an exciting chase; here a big, old buck, with tow ering antlers, springs up from the moist grass, end hies away with a quivering snort; ghostly birds are flapping lazily up out of the stretches of saw grass, and making off on every side. Further on a flock of wild tur keys trot leisurely along the cow path ahead, or the Whirring warning of a rattle snake is sounded and the reptile shot to death with pistol balls, ringing bis defi ance and striking out in all directions to the last. Excitement after excitement and scene after scene, such as these, would beguile him till the sun sets. Then comes THE PINE-KNOT FIBE, the matchless appetite and the supper, after which he would lie down on his blanket in the mild night air, too en chanted to feel the fatigue of his day’s ride. A stranger traversing this section would be astounded at the great abundance of game. The fineness and number of its deer are especially noteworthy. They are hunted but little, and consequently a fine opportunity to study their habits is given. Of the wild animals that abound in South Florida they are the Possessed, as they are, of perfect sym metry, with their extremities all bone and sinew, they make a fine appearance in the woods, whether moving cautiously and nervously about as they feed, or bounding away in wild alarm when some thing has startled them. The young are generally “dropped” in April, and the does are grown at two years old. The bucks, however, are not fully developed before the sixth year. By a strange provision of nature they shed their antlers yearly, losing them in February and March. The now ant lers appear at once, and are covered with a velvet-like substance in all their stages of development to full growth, when it disappears and leaves the horns smooth and formidable. DEER HUNTING. Ordinarily the most timid of brutes, they fly at the first suspicion of danger. Yet, I have seen bucks turn upon hounds and hunters with a lofty fearlessness that entirely eclipsed the crafty fierceness of the panther, or the grim ferocity of the bear, which only fights when all chance of flight is cut off. Now and then, a buck of conspicuous size, courage and sagacity will acquire a wide and lasting reputation, as year after year he esoapes by outswimming, misleading or annihilating in open combat the various packs of hounds that are put in pursuit of him. As examples, I may mention the “Fillis buck,” on the Suwannee river, and one known as “Gleason,” on the Halpatta hatchee. The former of these defied several generations of dogs, and died, I believe, of old age, after having had bags of buckshot discharged at him. The other was a bullet-scarred old veteran of great size and shrewdness, so named by the Seminoles, whose simple minds con ceived that there was something in the acuteness of the deer and the “too much dam rascal” of the Dade county manipulator, as exhibited by his attempt to honey-fuggle them into adopt ing him into the tribe and sending him to represent them in the State Senate at Tallahassee. “GLEASON.” Now, of all men this Gleason deserves less to live, for of all scoundrels he is the most unscrupulous—of all liars and cowards the most infamous and pusil lanimous, and the very name the Indians had given the buck made me burn to bring him down. Time after time I still hunted through his “range,” and although I saw him frequently, he invariably outwitted me. In the end, however, perseverance overcame all obstacles, and one day after shooting with both barrels of my gun, and fighting him desperately all over a quarter of an acre of ground with a pine pole, I bore off his horns in triumph. When written about, an encounter with a wounded buck is tame enough, but the reality is anything else. After tne vic tory was won, and I stood with a foot on the neck of my powerful antagonist, my elation was only marred by a sneaking wish that the dying beast were the land grabbing founder of Eau Gallie himself. * S. The Use of Paper.—Of the 1,300,- 000,000 of human beings inhabiting the globe, 370,000,000 have no writing mate rial of any kind; 500,000,000 of the Mongolian race use a paper made from the stalks and leaves of plants; 10,000,000 use for graphic purposes tablets of wood; 130,000,000 —the Per sians, Hindoos, Armenians and Syrians —have paper made from cotton, while the remaining 300,000,000 use the ordi nary staple. The annual consumption by the latter number is estimated at 1,800,000,600 pounds, an average of six pounds to the person, which has in creased from two and a half pounds dur ing the last fifty years. To produce this amount of paper 200,000,000 pounds of woolen rags, 800,000,000 pounds of cotton rags, besides great quantities of linen rags, straw, wood and other mate rials are yearly consumed. The paper is manufactured ip 3,900 mills, employing 90,000 male and 180,000 female laborers. The proportionate amounts manufac tured of the different kinds of paper are stated to be —of writing paper, 300,000,- 000 pounds; of printing paper, 900,000,- 000 pounds; wall paper, 400,000,000 pounds and 200,000,000 pounds of cartoons, blotting paper, etc. A Parisian has sued for a separation because his wife, though they are wealthy, compels him to live almost wholly on kidney beans and cabbage soup. LETTER FROM ST. MART’S. St. Dfary’a aa a Winter Residence—New Steam Kerry Boat to Fernandlna, and Other Itema. [Special Correspondence of the Morning News.] St. Maby’s, November 22. We have had a long continuation of dry weather here. On Saturday, 20th inst., the thermometer went up to 82 degrees, and the first rain for several weeks fell here yesterday (Sunday) afternoon; and to-day, November 22, dark, windy, and some prospect of a northeaster, with a gentle rain now falling. The need of a safe, speedy and regular iuter-oommunication between this city aud Fernandina has long been felt, and all efforts heretofore made to carry out such an arrangement have been unavailing. The prospect now, however, is |filter ing that we are to have a steam ferry boat to ply regularly between these two places. A neat little craft, known among seamen as a steam launoh, has already arrived here, and from her appearance giyes promise that she will perform the det red service in a most acceptable manner. TSa name of the little new steam launches Eugene, and her gentlemanly Captain, Van Valen, will, without doubt, do nil he can to ensure comfort and safety and satisfaction to his passengers. It is announced by printed hand-bills that the Eugene will aIBO touch at Dungeness, on Cumberland Island, whyn necessary, for the convenience and ac commodation of the guests of the hotel, and other visitors to this place. The gradual increase of Northern visitors to St. Mary’s is very perceptible on the return of each succeeding season. So many invalids have been benefited by a winter’s sojourn here that they, as well as others, hearing of the healthful influ - enco of our geuial climate, show their faith by their works, and come again to draw fresh inspiration from our in vigorating sea bree-es. St. Mary’s is particularly fortunate in its wonderfully eligible natural position, and iu its almost entire freedom from climatic diseases. The health statistics of this quiet little city will compare favorably with any other place in the wide, wide world. Your correspondout is well acquainted with tho medical topography of the South. He has been a practicing physician in one or more of the Southern States for nearly fifty yoars. He received his diploma from the University of Penn sylvania, in Philadelphia, in the days of Doctors Chapman and Physic and their associates, and his opinion in favor of St. Mary’s as a winter residence for invalids seeking a mild and genial climate, will, he thinks, have its proper influence, especially when given most disinterest edly, as he can truthfully say that he has no axe to grind, through any prospective speculation. I do indeed take great pleasure in in viting visitors coming South to give St. Mary’s a trial as a winter residence, and even tho year round with the most per fect safety, if so desired. St. Mary’s is situated on a peninsula. Cumberland Island intervenes between this city aud the Atlantic Ocean only ten miles distant, and is a protection against the violent gales of wind that sometimes prevail. But even the heat of summer hero is generally temperod by tho pre vailing sea breeze. I know of no place in the South that approximates St. Mary’s so nearly as Beaufort, iu South Carolina. Asa sea side residence both of these places com bine much beauty iu their respective lo calities, aud I claim no originality for tho expression of the opinion that the salu brity of tho air and the general health fulness of oach place is in some degree aided and increased by the exhalation of iodine from the surrounding marshes. Although, as a general rule, my own ex perience is hostile to the propriety of sending confirmed phthisical patients uway from home in search of health, still I am ready and willing to adopt the opinion of Dr. John Hughes Bennett, than whom there is no higher authority, that if such per sons will seek a change of residence let them “select places of quietude, of fering no temptations to gayety, and possessing only natural advantages of scenery and the gentle stimulus of a clear and cheer ful society.” Such advantages invitings, in an eminent degree, does St. Mary’s hold out to the large number of visitors annually coming South. The usual quiet of St. Mary’s is almost proverbial. There is no danger here of foot passengers being run over by car riages or drays or omnibuses, and our grass-carpeted streets are very inviting for tho exercise of walking, as well as for the out-door exercise of croquet and base ball. The siillness of our lovely nights is now and then broken in upon by the sweet sounds of vocal and instrumental music in the way of a serenade, or the more stirring and martial music of the brass band from Fernandina. Another inducement held out to visit-v. ors to come to St. Mary’s is her well ap pointed and well kept hotel. No more home like or comfortable hotel accom - modations can be found in these regions than those offered by mine host of the Spencer House, Mr. Stock well. Its quiet ness, its neatness and order, and its well supplied table, afford assurance of com fort and satisfaction. Peteb the Hebmit. Dipllieria in the Thumbs—A Strange Case. Among the various freaks of this terri ble disease, diptheria, which has made such ravages among children in this eity within the past few months, is one lately developed in the case of a little daughter of Mr. James Scull, of West Side avenue. The child is about five years of age, and was taken sick with diptheria about five weeks ago. A day or two previous to the attack she had broken the skin on the back of both her thumbs. Dr. E. W. Pyle, the attending physioian, found the child had all the symptoms of diptheria with the exception of the formation of a membrane in the throat. But this mem brane was formed on the back of each thumb over the plaoes where the skin had been abraded. The doctor, becoming interested in this strange freak of the disease, re moved the diseased membranes from the thumbs, when others immediately succeeded in the same places. He then examined the membrane as it appeared on the child’s thumbs under the micros cope, and found it to be in every parti cular like that which in this disease usually forms in the throat or in some of the air passages. He took a membrane from the throat of another little daughter of Mr. Scull, who was then sick, and has since died with diphtheria, and com paring it with that taken from her sister’s thumb found them precisely alike. The little girl who had been the subject of this singular development, as the disease advanced from one stage to another, still continued to show symp toms of diphtheria, having paralysis of the soft palate and lower extremities, being unable to either move or speak for several days. She at length began to grow convalescent, however, and is now nearly recovered, being again able to walk about and talk the same as before her sickness, while the sores on the back of her thumbs are entirely healed up. Dr. Pyle is of the opinion the! “ eon. taken by the disease in this case is a strong argument in favor of theopin which many medical men hold: that diphtheria is not wholly, if indeed it chiefly, a disease of the throat and organs of respiration. —Jersey City Everarvg Journal. Five years have now rolled over the battlefield of Gravelotte; each season the trees leaved out and amid their foliage the uproarious birds built their nests and sang out joyful songs, quite oblivious of the misfortunes of the land. Amid all their troubles the French people’s busi ness has still jogged along. They jumped out of Waterloo and they jumped out of Sedan in a twinkling. Two days after ward those battles belonged to the past century in the French mind. Kerosene Explosion—Six.Persons In jured. --Trenton, N. J., r November 2\. — A kerosene oil lamp exploded in a shoe maker’s shop kept by Conrad Zeigler, in this city, last evening, and injured six persons. One of them, named George Ashmose, will probably die. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where he now lies in a precarious condition. Don’t let this mild spell deceive you. If you have got jewelry to fix, have it done now. It will be a severe winter.