BY STOCKTON & CO,
OUR TERMS.
The following are the rate* of Subscription:
Daily, one year $lO 00
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[From November Number of Land Wo Love.
The Devil's Delight.
To breakfast one morning the Devil cime down,
By (lemons and vassals attended ;
A h adache had darkened ids row with a frown,
From ids org , last night, or the weight of his crown,
But his presence infernal was splendid.
In a roho of red flame was Diavolo drest,
Without smutch of a cinder to soil it;
Blue blaz s envoi tie I ids tiir .at and his chest,
While the tail, tied wi h ribbons as blue as the vest,
Completed his Majesty’s toilet.
No masquerade devil of earth could l>egin,
W ili Ids counterfeit horns and his mock tail,*
To look tike ids mo lei, Original Bin,
As ol 1 .va and liglitn ng and bitters and gin,
lie sat and compounded a cocktail
But to give, in all conscience, the devil his due,
He eerned sorrowful rather than iiate;
And ins Majesty moped all the dejeuner through,
W ith a twitch, now and then, of the ribbons of blue.
And the look of a penitent pirate.
Then a amilc, such ,n follows some capital joke
Ola I Mekong, a Hood or a Jerrold,
Sweet, playful and tender, all suddenly broke
O’er liie f c of Bathnnas as, turning, he spoke,
'* flo, I liring the lile of the Herald /”
The paper was brought, and Old Nick ran h s eye
(In default of debates in the Senate,)
Over crimes—there were plenty —of terrible dye,
Over letter and telegram, slander and lie,
And the blatherskite leaders of Bennett.
There were frauds in high places, official dceeif,
There were sins (we’il not name them) of ladies;
There were Mex can murders, and murders in Crete,
By the thousand—all manm rof villainies sweet
To the Herald's subscribers in Hades.
But the numberless horrors of every degree
Did not wholly dispel his dejection ;
“ The Herald's a bore—l m aweary,” say lie ;
Then upiising, he added, What’s tr is f Tennessee I
Bj jingo I here’s Brownlow’s election I
“ Ho, varlet I fill up till the beaker runs o’er I”
Cried the Deli, growing joyous ad trii-ky;
A white hot feruginous goblet ne bore,
And the iiquoi was vitriol “straight,’ wnich he
swore
Was less hurtful than tangle-foot whisky.
“ Fill up I let usdrink,” said the Father of Lies,
“To the mortal whose claims are most
weighty! ’
And alight diabolic shone out of his eyes
That made the thermometer instantly rise
To fully five thousand and eighty.
I have knights of the garter anj knights of the
lance,
Who shall surely hereafter for sin burn ;
I have writers of history, ethics, romance,
In England, America, Germany, France,
And a gay little poet in Swinburne.
“ Reformers, who go "n for infinite smash ;
The widows’ and orphans’ oppressor;
I>. D.’s by the dozen, whose titles are trash,
To bo written with two little d’s and a dash :
And many a Father Confessor.
And besides, all the hypocrites,” chuckled theDiel,
“ Who have served me with Ave and Credo,
I have t\ rani s that murder, commanders that steal,
Dahomey, Mauravielß Butler, O’Neill,
Tliad Stevens, Joe Holt, Escobedo.
But the man of all others the most to my mind,
The dearest terrestrial creature,
Is the blaspheming priest and the tyrant combined,
In the garb of a Methodist preacher.
“ And so long as of D irktiess I’m absolute Prince,
From hit praise there shall be not deduction,
"Whoso acts a most exquisite malice evince,
And whose government furnishes excellent hints
Opportunely for Hull's Ukconstuuotion.”
Then the Fiend, with a laughter no language may
tell,
Drained nis oup, and, abasing his crown low,
Ciied, “ Hin, hip, hurrah 1” and a boisterous yell
Went round till the nethermost confines of Hell
Disheartened.
BT MISS CIRRIS a(AALPI!iO
- Wore it not better*! into Egypt 1”
Num. 14, 3. ,6tru
The desev£°a'*i U^Starching,
And * *'* K^ot;
No vint'isel tv
Our looegro i[ j^pireet;
Yet in our visiont- tempt,"*ijJuits and flowers
Luxuriant hang, »Lp on GAn bowers.
Our lips art*8 u £feed and thirsting,
We sign for cooling streams —
Amid tUe gushing waters
Flow mockingly in dreams;
Our heated brows how gladly would we lave,
With crystal drops, from the Egyptian wave.
Still onward through the desert,
Whil fears tie-et our way,
“ Giants ” of towering stature
Bring terror and dismay.
Wer> it not better, even now, to turn
Back to the peaceful lands tor which we yearn ?
Repining o’er the “ matin a ”
With wicked, vain regi et.
Wo, in our stra g de.usion,
Tiie “ angel food " orgei ;
t'elestial ir.a If .ID at our feet in vain,
We t-igb for ig>pt s- g.irii ” once again.
Now dark r trow the winding—
We wdd ot true our Guide,
But m our coward shrinking,
Bac . in the shadows hide.
Here in th< w ldemess must t>e ouv grave,
While oVt ns Egypt’s palms shall never wave !
till fooiish, earthly blindness I
saving, “ It once was well,’’
:- oi eUi. g Egypt's “ furnace,”
Burdens that crushing Y 11 ;
S .utt tv: out eyes to Kscho’s clustering vine,
While over '• leeks and onions ” we repine.
Father, forgive our so ly t
1L lp us to flx Our eyes
Upon that “ land ot promise”
Eternal in the ski-s
And while Its jo>« our hearts with rapture thrill,
Ld each repining murmuring thought be still.
Somebody’ll Come To-Night.
I must bind my hair with the myrtle bough,
An gem it with buds of white,
And drive this blush tront uiy burning brow,
For Somehody’il come to night;
And while his eye shall discern a grace
In the braid and loidt and flower,
He must not tiud in ihv leii-ta e face,
The spell of his wondrous power.
I must don the robe which be fondly calls
A c ud ol enchanting light
And sit where the yellow moon ighl falis,
Fo- soruebody’il come to-night;
And while t ie robe an t the place shall seem
But the veriest Leak of chance,
’ i is sweet to know that his e»e will beam
With a tenderer, happier grace.
"f was thus 1 sung when the years were few
ha lay on my girlish head,
And alt the flowers that in ancy grew
Were tied with a golden thread.
Ana somebody came, and the whispers there—
i cannot repeat them quite ;
But 1 knew uiy soul went up iu prayer,
And somebody’s here to-night.
I blush no more at the whispered vow,
N r sigh iu the soft moonlight;
My r> b has .»tint of amber now,
And 1 sit by the anthracite;
Atid tbe looks that view with glossy wren,
Have passed to the silver gray :
But tin love that decked them with flowers then
Is the holier love to day.
[From the London Times (city article,) October 23.
The Financial Situation.
THE ROYAL BANK OF LIVERPOOL—ITS MAN
AGEMENT AND FAILURE.
The failure of the Royal Bank has created
much less agitation on the Liverpool
Exchange to-day than might have been ap
prehended, and there seems reason to hope
that the liabilities, instead of reaching
£4,000,000, as at first reported, may not
much exceed £1,500,000, of which more
than £1,000,000 is to depositors and about
£300,000 or £400,000 on acceptances. A
meeting is to be held to-morrow, and the
exact amount will then probably be stated.
The history of this bank is remarkable. It
was established iu May, 1830, with shares
of £I,OOO each, and a paid up capital of
£600,000, which was at that time larger
than the capital of any analogous establish
ment in Liverpool. In the following year
the great panic occurred from the suspen
sion of the three American houses of Wildes,
Wilson and Wiggin ; and although this was
a period of extreme trial, the shares a few
years afterwards attainded a premium equal
to about seventy per cent, on the amount
paid up. The railway panic of 184? fol
lowed, and on the 18th of October in that
year the Royal Bank stopped, among a
number of banks and firms that were fail
ing on every side. The difficulty on that
occasion was reported to have been caused
by advances of reckless amounts to a few
individuals, an uncovered total of nearly
half a million having, it was stated, been
granted to a single firm. At that date the
number of shareholders was about two hun
dred and sixty, and extraordinary efforts
were at once made for a resuscitation.
These were successful, and within six weeks
a meeting was held, at which it was an
nounced tiiat the bank would reopen on the
following day, the Ist of December. To in
sj>ire perfect confidence for the future an
entire reorganization had been adopted, and
it will now be an important question
whether the peculiar conditions then framed
with the view of completely prevent
ing a recurrence of mismanagement,
have from that time to the present been
faithfully fulfilled. The new deed of set
tlement stipulated that the £I,OOO shares
should be converted into smaller ones in
order to enlarge the constituency, and that
new capital should be raised, by preference
shares of £IOO each, fully paid up, bearing
seven per cent, interest, with right to half
profits beyond. Meanwhile only live per
cent, was to be paid to original shareholders
until a reserve fund should have been creat
ed to the amount of £IOO,OOO, and it was
further provided that the paid-up capital
only, and not the deposits or other funds,
should he employed in advances on open
account; also that no advance should be
made beyond £20,000 without security, and
that the highest advance on any security
whatever should be £50,000. The shares
of the bank were not to be accepted as se
curity, the directors were to have no voice
on advances to parties connected with them
either by relationship or business, and the
paid directors and managers were pot to
have any advances whatever. The two
paid directors were to receive £I,OOO per
annum each, and were to constitute along
with the manager a permanent committee,
two being a quorum, to determine upon ad
vances or the opening of accounts, and no
advances were to be made against the veto
of any one of them. The contemplated
reserve fund of £IOO,OOO has for some time
been attaiued. The nominal quotations of
the shares shortly before the present stop
page were 9% a 10 for the ordinary, with
£lO paid, and lOOVg a 101 for the prefer
ence. Last year they stood at a much
higher point. The existing paid up-capital
is £650,000, and the number of shareholders
is about 150, of which about one-fifth are
widows or unmarried ladies; but as the
general list contains names of wealthy
merchants and others and the liability is
unlimited, there can be no doubt that all
the creditors will be paid in full.
It has been reported that the assets are
of a favorable character, but in any case
the fact of the suspension having become
unavoidable in the face of the manifold
restrictions in the deed of arrangement,
furnishes another illustration of the folly
of expecting that security can be imparted
to any business by a multitude of written
rules.
The German Army.
COUNT BISMARCK ON TIIE MILITARY SITUA
TION.
In the North German Parliament on the
18th a debate took place upon the bill re
specting liability to military service.
Paragraph one was amended so as to
provide that every citizen of the confedera
tion is liable to serve without the option of
finding a substitute, excepting in the case
of members of reigning families as well as
of the houses of mediation princes and of
those who formerly' possessed the preroga
tives of the States of the empire, or who
are freed by special treaties or special
rights, from liability to the military ser
vice. Paragraphs two, three, four and five
were then adopted iu accordance with the
committee's report.
On the discussion of paragraph six,
Count Bismarck declared that, in introdu
cing this bill, the Federal Governments had
no intention of enlarging the powers of the
federal commander-in-chief, but rather of
limiting the discretion of the execution as
much as was compatible with the welfare
and interests of the Northern Confedera
tfou. The House would be extending that
limit by substituting for the right or plac
ing the army upon a war footing that of
increasing the military forces as much as
necessary, and would thereby increase the
danger of war. as such a right would give
rise to justifiable questions from foreign
Powers when the reserves of any single
regiment might be called out; for calling
out the reserves uuder those circumstances
would be equivalent to a notification of pre
paration for war. The public interests,
therefore, demanded that the proposed
modifiration of the paragraph should not
be agreed to.
Count Bismarck reminded the House of
the period when war appeared imminent this
year, and recalled the efforts the Government
had then made tor the preservation of peace,
declaring, at the same time, that on future
occasions it would pursue a similar course.
Paragraph six was, nevertheless, adopt
ed by a large majority, with the modifica
tion conferring the right upon the com
mander-in-chief to increase the army as far
as necessary.
AUGUsTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 20, 1867,
[From the N. O. Times.
Asa Hartz on Oysters.
An oyster is something good to eat,
register and vote. He grows in out-of-fhtvway
places, where the tide ebbs and flows as often
as it wants to in twenty-four hours, and he
seems to like it.
lie lias a curious and at the same time play
: ful habit, at certain times, Os opening bis sbeli
| and attracting to his presence the hungry rac
| coon. On such occasions the cuss of a raccoon
! surreptitiously inserts his paw into the open
! shell, to haul the oyster out ; whereupon the
j latter clamps down on him like the devil, and
I holds him there till the tide rises and drowns
him.
I don’t know what he does it for, but I have
the authority of several editions of natural his
tory—with colored plates—for saying that sncli
is the fact, and also that no raccoon has ever
been known to survive this hydropathic treat
ment.
Tbe oyster must be of an extremely social
disposition. They sleep numerously in one
bed, and uobody ever heard of one kicking
another out. They are a quiet set, and, though
they often open their mouths, have nothing to
say. A great many self-important politicians of
the present day are suffering with the same
complaint.
Their religious principles are strikingly evi
dent in the fact that they all belong to the Hard
shell persuasion, and although strictly addicted
to cold water, as a general thing, the principles
of that creed are often seen when a dozen of
them are found clustered around the neck oi
an old empty bottle which some mean white
man lias emptied and thrown overboard.
In his normal state the oj-ster is quiet and
anything but fussy, but when brought into
towns and cities he often gets into a broil or a
ste.w, and although McCool himself would be
unable to close bis “ eye,” the poor thing suf
fers muchly from this getting into hot water.
His temperance proclivities will make him
take even salt water when he can’t get fresh,
and his diet, outside of that raccoon foible men
tioned above, is exceeding light.
People eat oysters. Some are preferred in the
live state and some in the cooked. They are
dog-on’d good both ways. The most approved
and highly satisfactory way of eatinglin oyster
is to do it after the shell has been opened. I
have known people to fail signally who tried it
the other way.
There are two ways of making an oj’ster open
unto you. One is to knock him like the mis
chief with a brick until he can’t help it, and the
other is to tickle him with a thing like a bowie
knife. Tbe first named plan will always suc
ceed, but the oyster dosen’t like it, and the
result is not satisfactory to the man who does it.
1 tried the other process once, and succeeded
in taking off one half my left thumb with the
bowie-kniferous instrument used for tickling.
I have not tried it since. Not many people
know how to do it expertly.
iou then put peppcr-sauce on him, if lemons
are ten cents apiece. They are both good if you
like it. * J
I don’t know how many oysters I can eat in
a given time ; but am willing, after due notifi
cation, to try it for the benefit of any unpreju
diced individual who has a barrel or two on
hand and an expert to use the opening instru
ment.
In conclusion, the oyster is like a clam, only
a little more that way. He can hold on tighter,
is more hefty in his general build, and there is
more diversity in liis style of architecture.
I think I shall go out and get some.
Asa Hartz.
P. B.—l should have stated that some people
eat oysters in August but they are principally
illiterate persons who spell that month
O-r-gust.” a. 11.
[From the New York Herald.
Den of Thieves in a Church.
A Singular Discovery—The Loft of a Church a
Hiding Place for Robbers— sls,ooo Haul of
Stolen Property.
Iu the village of Little Neck is a neat little
edifice, an Episcopal Church, and in
the garret ol it nestled a gang of burglars and
thieves, about live iu number, and who, it is
conceded, have been the ones that committed
the many deprivations iu their community of
late. In this garret the proceeds of many a
night’s labor has been concealed. Here the
gaug actually lived, did their cooking and the
like, without the slightest interruption from
anybody. In this attic were found articles of
almost e /ery denomination—solid silver ware,
plated tea sets, coffee urns, tea pots, silver
pitchers, carpets, guns, pistols, swords, pots,
hardware, and even groceries. It will be re
membered that a short time since the public
schools were broken into throughout the whole
county, and books, inkstands, etc., were carried
off ; these same things have here been found ;
the churches were robbed of their carpets and
cushions, and these, too, have here been fouud,
together with the carpets and cushions stolen
from thaxhurch in which they chose to make
their headquarters. They have lived here a
long time, and have many a Sunday sat looking
down upon the congregation as the Rev. Mr.
Beare was explaining the Bible and while he
was composing his sermons during the week.
It is still more remarkable how they succeeded
in entering the church so often during
wet and stormy nights without leaving
some tracks which would indicate their
situation. A young man named Alfred Town
send arrested upon suspicion of being
accessory to the robberies, and the detectives
are now upon the track of others who art
leading parlies in the affair. The eburen was
presented, a short time ago, with anew organ,
tbe one which they then used being out of or
der, and it was abandoned, and the new instru
ment erected. When but a few weeks in church
the back was taken out, and the pipe and bel
tows carried up" stairs, where the)' were used
for the purpose of melting the stolen sil\er.—
This act was charged against New York thieves,
as was all the others. In this same place were
found stoves and everything necessary for t heir
use. The amount of goods discovered will
amount up to $15,000, and from present indi
cations there are chances ot ferreting out simi
lar dens of depredators. The prisoners were
committed to jail, to be brought forward when
the remainder cf the band were -arrested. —
Knight is willing to turn State’s evidence, un
der the thought that it will free him from
punishment lor either crime; and Townsend is
said not to have been connected with them
for months past, but is willing to testify against
the parties in hopes ot getting free himself. -
Here the case rests for the present. It has
created more excitement on Long Island than
any P r ® v occurrence, including the recent
murders. The people came to Flushing from
every town ia the county to get a view ot the
articles and the ingenious men who have been
so expei tat their business. In the loft were
found various letters which had been com
menced, but not suiting the composer, wen
thrown around carelessly. One or two of
them are evidently in the handwriting of a fe
male.
The Radical writer of the following note to
Gov. Washburn, of Maine, has the usual Radi
cal modesty, but more than the usual Radical
candor:
. T , ] ’ August 9th 1562 Mr Gov Washburn
s.r feel as thoe I had aught to be duing some
thing for my c ontry, and have you a curnels
place for me I shuid like to hav it if you will
write me and give me instructions what you
Want me to do. Yours trolly
[From the Washington Siar, November 2.
The Diplomatic Corps,
THE MINISTERS PLENIPOTENTIARY AND
LNA OYS EXTRAORDINARY AT PRESENT IN
WASHINGTON.
The representatives of foreign Powers
who are Ministers resident at this capital
have, for the most part, returned from their
summer trips of pleasure and travel, and
have settled down with a critical observ
ance of men and politics in Washington.
At no previous period have they exhibited
so keen an interest in American affairs, for
the coming excitement of a vast Presiden
tial campaign and the important issues to
be presented to the November session of
Congress have attracted the attention of all
foreign powers.
Mr. Francis Clare Ford, the First Secre
tary, is in charge of the British Legation
since the death of Sir Frederick Bruce. No
successor of Sir Frederick has been ap
pointed, and Mr. Ford, who was formerly
the First Secretary of the English Legation
at Copenhagen, is likely to remain iu charge
ior the present. M. Jules Berthemv, the
new French Minister, has remained here
during the summer, and lias been assidu
ously engaged with the important business j
ol his Legation. M. Berthemy is one of the
most accomplished Diplomats of Europe,
and gives the domestic affairs of "this coun
try his closest attention, for the benefit of
the home Government. Senor Don Gabriel
i ■ I essara, who has been the representa
tive ol Spain for eight years, is not at pre
sent in the city. Senor Tassara, before he
came here, was in the State Department at
Madrid. Baron Gebolt, the Prussian Min
ister, is now iu Washington, where he lias
represented his Government for twenty
consecutive years. Prior to his coming
here to a lull mission, he was Consul Gen
eral to Mexico. Baron Gebolt was a warm
supporter ol thffe cause of the Union during
the war, and is a close, personal friend of
the Secretary ol State.
The Russian Minister, Baron Stoeckel,
returned a vear since from a visit to St.
Petersburgh, and has been here ever since,
lie was appointed to Washington shortly
after the Crimean war. Mme. Stoeckel, has
just returned from Europe. Baron Stoeckel
contemplates returning to Russia after the
final settlement of the recent Russian ter
ritory purchased by the United States.
The new Austrian Charge de Affairs,
Baron von Folkenstein, has just arrived
here to succeed Count Wydenbruck, the
late Austrian Minister. Baron von Fol
kenstein is not a full Minister, but recipro
cates. with diplomatic exactness the course
of this Government in sending a Charge de
Affairs (Mr. Hay) to Vienna to succeed Mr.
Motley, who was a full Minister.
The Diplomatic Corps has recently been
reinforced by two new missions, newly
created for this country. Blaque Bey, a
fine, scholarly-looking ‘Frenchman, has
lately arrived as the Turkish Minister. He
takes a deep interest in American affairs,
speaks English fluently, and lias made him
self the target for many a good-natured joke
by a remark made to the President in his
presentation speech, that he saw no dif
ference between the institutions of Turkey
and the United States. He was Consul to
Naples, prior to his being sent to fill the
first full mission to this country from Tur
key.
Alexander Ris liangabe, formerly Minis
ter of Foreign Aflairs in Greece, is the first
Greek Minister to Washington. He arrived
here last Summer, and is laboring zealously
to render his country popular with us.
The Italian Minister, Mons. Cerruti, is
the successor of M. Bertinatti (so well
known iu Washington), and was formerly
Assistant Secretary of State at Florence,
and afterward Minister to Constantinople.
He is at present in Washington.
The Ministers from the Netherlands and
Belgium are necessarily smaller stars iuthe
Diplomatic firmament. M. Maurice Del
Fosse, of the latter Kingdom, has been here
about eighteen months,* and M. Mozel, of
the former, has been a Mnfister Resident
about five months. They are now in the
city.
The Diplomatic Corps do not recognize
the Mexican Legation, for the reason That
none of the European Powers represented
here recognize the Juarez Government in
Mexico. Signor Ingo Mariseal, the first
Secretary, is now acting Mexican Minister
n tiie absence of Senor Romero, wild lias
ust sailed for Mexico.
The new Portuguese Minister here is in
town, and the successor of Col. Roumain,
the Haytien Minister, divides his time be
tween New Y ork and Washington.
Senor Luis Molins, the Nicaraguan Min
ister, has been recalled, and left Washing
ton in October for Central America.
Baron de Wetterstedt, the Swedish Min
ister, is located permanently at Ellicott’s
Mills, Md., and does not make his residence
here.
The Venezuelean and Brazilian Ministers
have been absent for some time. Their first
Secretaries are in charge.
Br gram Young on Marriage.— On Sun
,i..j iuj.( is said to have treated his
audience io a very quaint kind of speech. He
wants all the young women married off in
stanter, and wants ail ttie young men in Zion
to marry them; and he openly threatened that
if the young men failed to do the job, that he
and the bishops and the elders would take the
matter in baud, and marry them all themselves.
M drying for love was played out; the old
fashioned way of getting married wag explod
ed. It wouldn’t do here, because it a young
man allowed himself to love a young girl, and
then married her, the dickens usually was to
pay when he wanted to take a second wife.—
She had his heart, and it was impossible to di
vide the affections with two or more wives.
But he insisted that the young men, as a duty
—a religious duty -should go for the young
| wome i and marry them all off. They were ia
| structed, aNo, to marry tin m by couples and
pairs and triplets, to quadruple, quintuple,
and sextuple, if they could support th< m. The
only consideration for a prudent young man
was to inquire how many wives he*could sup
port. The young women also were ordered to
marry whenever a young man, a saint, went
lor them, and to become mothers in Israel.
[Safe Lake Vidette.
What is the difference between the bark of a
tree and the bark of a dog ?
An*wer. One is formed on the bough, and
the other on the bow-wow.
T-e-s, and we are pleased when both leave
off.
Precocious girl that who took as the theme
of her graduating essay at a fashionable semi
nary, “ The Education of Our Boys.”
Cotton-
The Rapid edine in Prices, and the Influ
ences bij Which it teas Brought About — A
StiU L neer Level to be Anticipated.
[From the Round Table, November 20.
The cotton question is becoming highly
interesting, and it is for that reason that we
venture so s»on to recur to it. it is but
little more than a month ago that we told
our readers some interesting facts about
the staple and indulged in some specula
tions with regard to its future, but at that
time we certainly did not expect that events
would so speedily prove the correctness of
our impressions. Since then middling up
land cotton has declined in Liverpool from
9%d„ on September 19, to on Octo
ber 10. In three weeks the fall was equiva
lent to nearly fifteen per cent, abroad,
while iu New York during the same time
tiie decline was from 25 cents per pound to
18 %, equivalent to twenty-five per cent.
The following tables, showing the rapid
ity of the tumble both here and in Liver
pool, may be interesting. The quotations
in Liverpool for middling upland cottons
on the days mentioned below were as fol
lows :
September 19 9%d. October 2 B%d.
“ 25
“ 26 B%d. “ 7 B<j|d.
“ 28 B%d. “ 8 B%d.
“ 10 B>£d.
and in New York as follows:
September 19.. .25 e. October 2 22 c.
“ 24.. ,23%c. “ 3 21J^c.
“ 26... 23 c. “ 7 20 c.
“ 28... 22 c. “ 8 18j^c.
“ 10 183^c.
This shrinkage in the value of cotton in
New York, between the dates mentioned,
was greater than an average of one per
cent, per day, which, we believe, is alto
gether unexampled in the history of the
trade.
A decline so rapid as this has directed
general attention to its causes, and all
classes of business men are asking of each
other the reason why ; which, however, we
venture to say, are not far to seek. At the
outbreak of the war cotton was selling in
New York, in gold, at prices which were
above those now current, notwithstanding
the enormous crop of the previous year.
The general trade of the world was good,
and it was thought in Europe as well as in
this country that hostilities between the
North and the South would so greatly di
minish the World’s supply of the article,
that cotton must soon reach extravagant
figures. The South thought cotton wts
king, and was never weary of boasting
about it. No country had for a century
successfully competed with this in its
growth, quality and • not quantity consid
ered, and consequently when we became in
volved in civil war, many foreign countries
assiduously devoted attention to its culti
vation.
While these crops were yet in the ground
American cotton rose enormously—that is,
in currency value, although it ought to be
observed that it never reached a price above
about sixty-five cents per pound iu gold.
Tiie demoralization in this country conse
quent upon the war, the losses as well as
gains inflicted upon Europe resulting from
it, the political influence which it has had
upon the Governments of the old world, all
helped to impress upon Manchester the in
creased apprehension that their supply
could no longer be confidently expected
from us in any safe degree. The result was,
as we have said, greatly increased produc
tion elsewhere, observable mainly in the en
larged exports from India, which speedily
put an end to the cotton famine in England
and stimulated her forty millions of spin
dles to greater activity than ever. Manu
factured goods soou clogged the paths of
commerce, and the tremendous power of
machinery in England and the continent
has kept them choked ever since. Europe,
for two years past, has had too much cot
ton, far more than she could use, and now
we have the collapse, which means simply
this : that until old garments are worn out,
no new clothes are needed.
In addition to the causes which we have
named, in order to account for the recent
decline, there are others as potent, and not
the least among them is the conservative
feeling which is daily spreading abroad in
this country with regard to expenditure.—
People on all sides are beginning to be care
ful about money. In truth, they have less
to spend, while business lags and profits
dwindle, while events at Washington are
uncertain and the price of gold is doubtful.
The cost of living is extravagantly high,
and the prudent are disposed to retrench.—
If we look abroad and add to this the po
litical condition of Europe, the scanty har
vest in England, the very uncommon dis
trust in all commercial and banking circles,
there so great that money is a drug on the
security of gold bars at one and one half
per cent, per annum, and without such col
lateral cannot be had at all ; with the
Bourse in Paris in a ferment; the Credit
Mobiliere with its millions hastening to
ward a crash ; the Bank of France gorged
with idle coin, California wheat selling in !
Liverpool at seventeen shillings per cental ;
riots in Manchester; prisoners tried in its
courts with shackles on them while under
arrest on mere suspicion; heavy failures in
Liverpool—among the rest "the Royal
Bank, with an indebtedness of over
four million pounds sterling; no confidence j
or courage anywhere; how can it be ex-!
pected that cotton should be dearer? The ;
whole world is against it; and ruinously j
low as it is for the people who produce it, j
there seems a lower depth to edme. In this 1
country, had not the war impoverished a ;
very large class of its consumers, cotton *
would not probably be to-day at its present t
price}, but war is always destructive to in-;
dustrv, and although a few thrive by it, the !
many must inevitably suffer. While we write J
there are thousands of planters in this coun
try who are selling the product of their year’s j
hard labor for fur less money than that
they put in the ground, helpless and almost
despairing, unable to refund the loans made
them to till %he soil, and amidst the con
stant cheerlessness of the political aspect of
their lives living upon the barest hope of
the future. For instance, it is a fact that
in Georgia to-day planters sell their cotton,
that is, the average crop of their farms, at
about ten cents per pound in currency.
The Government, with a. rigor wfiicb is
quite unworthy any generous adversary,
taxes them two and one-half cents per
pound, a tax which is simply ruinous. The
interest upon the money which the planters
borrowed last spring to put the seed in the
earth is a great one, as mast necessarily be
the case in all countries which have been
VOL. 26. NO. 44
! devastated by war and consequently impov
erished ; and, in short, eighteen cents per
\ pound iu New York pays the Georgia
I planter, after all charges are reimbursed,
| not over twelve cents per pound in currency,
or about eight cents in gold, for his crop,
which must bo middling in quality to com
mand even that price. These figures are
low, and as Manchester and the Continent
will use the American staple instead of
Surats at a low cost, and India cotton must
follow our owu down in the markets of the
world, we believe that the day is not far
distant when India will temporarily with
draw from tne English uArket to a great
extent and prices of our own.staple possibly
improve. At present, however, our own
spinners are not profiting by it, low as it is.
They cannot sell the goods which they
make, except at a less price to-day than a
week ago. They buy sparingly and cau
tiously, work as*few hand as possible, and,
like the most of us, live in hope.
Finally, a reason which might not occur to
all of our readers in thinking about the re
cent revolution in cotton is this the South,
particularly Texas, where the best cotton
in this country is grown—other than Sea
Island, which is produced from a special
seed—has just suffered under a pestilence
which spread to New Orleans, thence to
Mobile, and finally to Memphis. These
four points are the most important of all
domestic ports in the trade. While people
were dying by hundreds daily in these
places there could hardly be much trade.
We anticipate some activity in the cotton
business from the recent abatement of the
disease, but we are persuaded that the favor
able weather of late for picking and saving
the crop will enable planters to send such
heavy supplies into the ports in November
and December that no considerable increase
of price in New York or Manchester can
speedily be hoped for and no large advance
cither here or there until prices reach a
lower level still, in this couuiry, as they
will probably do, and the export to Eng
land from other countries be consequently
diminished, or until the general trade of
the world revives and consumption of
manufactured goods becomes much greater
than at present.
[From Harper’s Magazine for November.
Anecdote of Poe
“ Foe at West Point,” is a short sketch by
Thomas W. Gibson. Edgar A. Poe was a
room-mate of the latter at West Point in 1830,
and recounts an amusing incident of their wild
life there at that time.
The occupants of “No 28 South Barracks”
were in the habit of taking turns in going out
of the barracks for the stated supplies of brandy,
which these young warriors considered neces
sary to their prowess. It had been the writer’s
turn, and he was returning with a bottle of
brandy and a gander lor their private supper.
Poe was on the lookout, and met me some
distance from the barracks, and my appearance
at once inspired him with the idea of a grand
hoax. Our plans were perfected in an instant.
The gander was tied, neck and feet and heels
together, and the bloody leathers bristling in
every direction gave it a nondescript appearance
that would have defied recognition as a gander
by the most astute naturalist on the continent.
Poe took charge of the bottie, and preceded me
to the room. “ Old P.” was puzzling his brains
over the binomial theorem, and a visitor from
the North Barracks was in the room awaiting
the result of my expedition.
Poe hsd taken his seat, and pretended to be
absorbed in the mysteries of “ Lecons Francais
es.” Laying the gander down at the outside of
the door, I walked, or rather staggered, into
the room, pretending to be very drunk; and
exhibiting in clothes and face a spectacle not
often seen off the stage.
“My God I what has happened?” exclaimed
Poe, with a well-acted horror.
“Old K——, old K!” I repeated several
times, and with gestures, intended to be particu
larly savage.
“ Well, what of him?” asked Poe.
“He won’t stop me on the road any more !”
and I produced a large knife that we had stain
ed with the few dops of blood that remained in
the old gander. “ I have killed him.”
“Nonsense!” said Poe. “ you are only try
ing one of your tricks on us.”
“ I didn’t suppose you would believe me.” I
replied ; “so 1 cut off his head and brought it
into the barracks. Here it is.” And reaching
out of the door I caught the gander by the legs,
and giving it one fearful swing around my head,
dashed it at the only candle in the room, and
left them all in darkness with what two of them
believed to be the head of one ofthe professors.
The visitor leaped through the window and
alighted in the slop-tub, and made fast time for
his oy/n room in the North Barracks—spread
ing, as he went, the report that I had killed old
K- , and that his head was then in No. 28.
The story gained ready credence, and for a time
the excitement in the barracks ran high. When
we lit the candle again, “Old P ” was sitting
in one corner a blank picture of horror, and it
was some time before we could restore him to
reason.
The gander w r as skinned—flicking the feathers
off was out of the question—and after taps we
cut him up in small pieces and cooked him in
a tin wash-basin, over an anthracite fire, without
seasoning of any kind. It was, perhaps, the
hardest supper on record, but we w-ent through
with it without flinching. We had set out to
eat Old K in effigy, and we did it; w-hether
he ever learned ol the honors we paid him that
night, I never learned.
Upon the whole, the impression left by Poe
in his short career at West Point was highly
favorable to him. If he made no fast friends,
he left no enemies behind him.
A New Dodge.— The latest form of dem
agoguery and dodging is to talk with a gentle
man, express your opinions frankly and freely,
and then when he goes off and repeats your very
words, say that he was “ not authorized to make
any such statement”! Unthinking people take
this for a flat contradiction, and u is so intended
to be understood, but the language means no
such thing. That a man is “not authorized”
to make a certain statement, is no evidence that
the statement is untrue. A may tell B a thous
and things without authorizing him to repeat
them ; but yet, when he does repeat them, even
without authority to do so, it is hardly just to
brand him as a liar.
This is a favorite dodge ol Grant’s, and we
hope somebody will read Washburne’s speech to
him and ask him to state categorically—yes or
no—whether he has said any such things—
whether Mr. I\ashburne has told the truth on
him or a falsehood. —hfafon Telegraph.
Anew opera, entitled “ Ada Mareseotti,” by
the Maestro Prospero Sell!, but written so far
j back as a quarter of a century, has been well
received at Viterbo. The Milan journal which
announces its success, says, of it, that it is full
of passionate melodies, and that there is to be
found in it that purely Italian style which has
disappeared from the works of the modern
masters.
George Francis Train knows a family of sis
ters who cured their brothers from swearing
by saying damn every time their brothers did.
At the table Busie wonld say to Georgie, pass
me that damn butter, j laughter] and Minnie
would ask Elsey for that damn buckwheat
cake. [Laughter.]
