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C(jc |hnnrr. w ‘The entrance of Thy Word giveth light’ JAS. NATHAN ELLS, Editor. Associate Editors : 11. C HORNaDY, Atlanta. J. M. WOOD. Newnan. A. C. DAYTON, L Fayette. D. P. EVERETT, Florida. ATLANTA, GEORGIA: SATURDAY, MAY 16,‘1863. To oar Subscribers. As lias been previously announced, on and after the sixth day of June. 1813, the subscrip tion price of this journal will be four dollars per year. It is but fair to remind our friends, that until date three dollars sent to us will secure the reception of The Banner for twelve months. Some hive already acted upon this suggestion* notwithstanding they were credited for months ahead ; and should every subscriber now upon our books see fit to remit three dollars fo/bre the first nf June, and thus save a dollar, of course they have that privilege We take this occasion to say, with erateful feelings, that within four months past the cir culation of The Baptist Banner has been nearly doubled ; we entertai i .j fear in regard to a supply <,f paper; and we are determined, by God’s help, to do our best in furnishing an accep able paper. The furnishing of religious literature for our Soldiers is one of the most import ant Christian charities of the day ; or, more correctly spiaking, it is a debt (rather than ' a charity) which a’l our citizens owe the ; brave men who have interposed their strong i hearts, as a wall of adamant, between them ! and the enemy. The sacrifices our soldiers ; have made, the hardships they undergo, and 1 the perils to which they are exposed, appeal cogently to the sympathies of every patriot, i To the Christ an, the danger of the soul j is the most affecting of all considerations. 1 Who, that has observed ’he sad deteriora tion of morals among our young men since the war commenced, can doubt that this , danger is augmented by the habits and as sociations of the camp and field ? Headers ! give us a moment’s attention : The gallant defenders of your homes and liberties are literally perilling their blood-i redeemed immortality for your protection ! It. is in your power to erect a barrier be tween them and perdition ; and while they! sacrifice for you the life .of the body, vou i may rescue the more precious life of the Boul. There is a wide difference in ‘ Poli tics’ and ‘ Party Politics.’ It is not neces sary, as a general rule, for all of us to en gage in the petty discords and contentions of mere party-polities; but each educated, intelligent and loyal citizen should be poli tician enough not only to understand, but to take a deep interest in and sustain the laws an I government under which he lives. What holds good with individuals, will ap ply still more forcibly to every publication i in the e umtry, no matter to what purpose oitensibly devoted, tor each one must, to a larger or smaller degree, exert direct infill- : ence over its own circle of readers. At a time like the present, when our na tive land is invaded by the polluting foot prints of fan itical enemies, the conductor of this journal feels that silence is reprehensi ble, and indifference actually culpable. At a crisis like this, we think that any South run who withholds his colors is, by his neg ative position, affording positive aid to the enemies of his country, by inspiring and misleading them to deeds of daring, thro’ the false hope of latent sympathy, at the same time that he damps the patriotic ar dor of our people. Nothing is clearer to every intelligent thinker, in the length and meadth of this land, that he who is not now openly for, must be against us. If for us, there can be n > manly reason tor the suppression of an open avowal. C unpromise and neutrality ar j the absurdest of all panaceas for our country in her present terrible emergency. Taerejs no neutral ground to occupy be tween treason and loyalty. As well’may < we attempt mediation between truth and falsehood—honor and dishonor—vice and i virtue.. We repeat that it is, just now, the duty ot all classes and individuals— wheth er conn ‘cted With commerce, art, science or literature; at home or abroad ; in the public by-ways ur in the privacy of the family fireside —to distinctly, open I v and unequivocally pronounce in upholding the ca i-e ot t le South, securing her rights, and nia.i.t i.H.ng her integrity. S'HB ®A. ®S S 3£ SB 3Si®,. Thing« tn Augusta. Lively times in the ancient and beautiful city d Augusta, within the past week. Not Uss h m four ‘Conventions’ were there convened ; hus affording delegates and visitors from di erent portions of the nation an opportunity of aking a Spring-time view of tiiis l ively and lourishitig locality, and or enjoying the hospi a.'ities for which its < itizens are justly pra sed. The Chemists, the Episcopalians, the Baptists, md the Georgia Railroad stockholders, have issembled, transacted the business for which each body met, had a fine time, and adjourned Let us take a little stroll, with memory, this norning, and briefly make mention of a few ’ Things in Augusta.’ There are several Government institutions here—among which are the Powder Works, so highly commended by the American correspon lent of the London Times; the Arsenal, at the Sand Hills, and its branch in the city, which it is in contemplation to increase and establish here on an extensive scale as an Arsenal of Construed n; the Lithographic establishment* where postage stamps end State treasury notes ire piinted; the Government Clothing Bureau, where, under Ihe super ntendence of the ener getic. Major Bridewell, about one thousand women are supplied with work ; Q lartermaster ind Paymaster departments, Nitre Manufactory, etc. Beside these, the Georgia Relief and Hos pital Asjociation headquarters are established here. These establishments are all very im portant to the government and people, and add greatly to the prosperity of Augusta. Among the noteworthy' institutions of this city, we should not omit to mention the store of the Purveying Association, where the poor, and the needy families of sold ers, are enabled t<» purchase provisions at about half the regular market rates. This store was established at the suggestion of Mayor May, partly by funds from the city treasury and partly irom private funds —the City being pledged to return to the con tributors the amount of their contributions without interest, when the necessity for the store shall cease to exist. Agents are employed and sent out in any direction where it is likely provisions can be purchased at low rates, and articles thus purchased are sold to the needy at i cost prices, with necessaiy expenses added. — Where contributions are made to the store. the prices of the articles contributed are reduced somewhat, and thus the poor of this city are enabled to live comfortab y, comparatively ! speaking. The example set by Augusta in thi 8 ! respect should "be followed by every city and I county in the State. I A pleasing feature of affairs i a this city is ' the establishment of a course of Lectin es, on moral, political, and instructive subjects, now ( being delivered by accomplished citizens oi the i Confederacy, for the benefit of the widows and ■ orphans of Georgia soldiers. They are dehv- I t red under the ausp : ces of the Georg a Re iei | and Hospital Association, by which body the ■ fund is sustained and applied, aim are gem rails : well attended. Two lectures have already been . delivere 1; one by the gal ant and a complished Georgian-Henry R. Jackson, and the other, by Carolina’s gifted author—W. Gilmoie Simms- The lectines are delivered at Masonic Hall every Monday evening. The next will be by Judgt Gould, of Augusta, on the subject: ‘Wh it made Se. ession the r ecessary policy of the South '! ’ | Among the changes in the Editorial fraternity here, we observe that Mr. D. G. Cot ting, the venerable and accomplished editor of the i ‘ < hronicle and Sentinel,’ has retired, and been superseded by Mr. Hallock, quite a young man, and a son ot the former editor of that well known paper, the (New York) ‘Journal of Commerce.’ Mr. John L Stock'on, the popular book-keeper of the ‘ Constitutionalist,’ has be come asaocialtd with Colonel Gardner in the business management of that journal. Mr. L T. Biome, for a long time the indefatigable and competent associate editor, is w inning high es teem hs a model City Clerk, and still contrib utes to the columns of the same journal. Wei were pleased to learn that the publication of | . the ‘ Field and Fireside,’ recently susptnikd on account of the inability of the proprietor tu obtain a sufficient supply of paper, will be re | surned shortly. Os course, we visited the Cemetery here ' It is, indeed, a be utiful resting place ot the dead. Its evergteens preach the immortality , of the soul. Its white roses preach puiity and innocence; its clambering vims, our mutual dependence on e ich other—our entire depend ence upon God. The can: -leep of the departed speaks peace to the weary tuul. Their narrow home and the common level to v h ch they are I reduced, inveigh against pride, selfishness and ostentation. Here ’the rich and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the Maker of alt’ The Naziircne Banner. In ten dais from this time there will be issued, in this city, the initial number ot ’The Nazarenk Banner,’ a publication devoted to the interests of Arm v Colport-i age and G-neral Missions. It will be pub lished monthly. A large number of copies have al ead» been ordered, designed for general distribution among the soldiers— and the publication will also be made in teresting to all at home who may wish to know what is transpiring in the religious! world. Orders from Churches and individual* may be addressed to James N. Eh, Atlanta, Georgia Terms: eight dollars for one hundred copies. The editor of The Bunner will be in attendance at the Cherokee Baptist Con vention in Rome, on Saturday. Friends "ho may desire to subscribe to this paper, to renew subscriptions, or to make dona tions for sending the paper to the soldiers, can have the opportunity during the session of the Con vention. The philosophy of a thousand years has not explored the chambers and ma -azines of tie soul. ° i South ria SSapii'tCunv ntaon BIENNIAL SESSION, Aj3. The ninth regular meeting of the South ern Bintist Convention was held with the First Church in Augusta, Ga., commencing ■>n Friday, B.h instant, and continuing till noon on the Tuesday following. About one hundred and fifty delegates were in at tendance. Rev. Dr. P. 11. Mell, of Georgia, was chosen President ; Rev. Drs. J. B. Jeter of Virginia, Basil Manly of Alabama, William Williams and J. L Reynolds of South Car olina, Vice Presidents ; - Revs. George B. Taylor of Virginia, ami Sylvanus Landrum of Georgia, Secretaries; Charles J. Eiford, of South Carolina, Treasurer. The usual Committees were appointed the first day; and a resolution adopted, setting apart half an hour of each morning , session to supplicate the Throne of Grace in behalf of our country. Beyond this, i nothing of special interest transpired, ex cept the queer conduct of a pedo-baptist chaplain present, who, upon obtaining per mission to ‘ make some statem- nts ’ in ref erence to army organiz ition, proceeded In lament the fact tha% in many regiment.-, there are no chaplains to look after the spiritual welfare of the troops, nor at hand ‘to administer the last rites of our holy re ligion to a dying soldier’! [.Hem.: upon this little episode, more anon.] The introductory sermon was preached, 1 Friday evening, by Rev. Dr. J. Lansing Burrows, of Virginia. His theme—God’s method <>f abolishing war—was discussed in an able manner before a crowded audi tory. Saturday morning, the Reports of the Boards of Missions were listened to. Rev. Vlr. Poindexter presented that of the For eign Board: Missions at Canton and , Shanghai, in China. At Canton, one of the missionaries—Rev. C. W. Gaillard—was killed by the falling of his house during a typhoon in the spring of 1862, which de stroyed the lives of 10 000 inhabitants ofi the city and a vast amount of property. The mission is succeeding wel l . Though it has been seriously affected, pecuniarily, by the inability of the board to transit funds, the missionaries have not suffered. They voluntarily reduced timir salaries by one fir, h at the commencement of our troubles. i At Shanghai, except at an out-station, [ the w<nk of the mission has suffered great-1 I) from the fact that the insurgents have in vested the city. The report records the } murder by the rebels, near Chee sow, of Rev. Mr. Holmes, a missionary of the B ad, together with that of Rev. Mr. Par ker, an Episcopal m'Ssionary. The mission aries have not yet suff-red for want of! funds, though they have had to borrow on the credit of the Board, and also to curtail their operations. The Board also reports missions in Afri ca, in Liberia and Yoruba. While the mis-1 sionaries in the former field have continued | in their work, they have been much cm-! , barrassed for want of funds, and nearly all the schools have been suspended. They report favorably of the spiritual condition i of the mission. At Aveokula, in Yoruba, the missiona- I ries have been favored with great success. ‘ Though greatly straightened for funds, they ' have not suffered. The want of funds among the missiona* ties has originated in the inability of the ! Board to transmit to them. It is h pt-d I i that the difficulties in the way will be sou’i i lessened. The Treasurer reports §37,972, including balance on hand, as having been received, from 3lst Match, 1861. to 25ih of March. 1863, of w hii h § 18,836 84 have been ex pended; leaving at the di.-p<>sal of the Board, $19,1-14 16. The amounts received ■and expended are not more than half those i usually reported. This is owing to the fact that the Board, being unable to transmit s funds, have made but little effort to collect them. The eighteenth annual report of the Board 1 of Domestic and Indian Missions, was read by the Secretary, Rev. M. T. Sumner The war having nearly broken up all the missions of this Board among the Indians of the West, it has recently devoted itself i chiefly to missions among the soldiers of the C»«nf*deraey. There are some thirty mi.-sionaries now laboring in different por tions of the army under the direction of this B >ard, and it is proposed still to in crease the number. The field is a most in vitii g and piomising one. lhe Board acknowledged the courtesy of. the Col portage Board of Virginia, under the efficient superintendence of Rev. A. E Dickinson, to its missionaries, in furnishing them gratuitously with large supplies of their publications—neludiog 5 000.000 pa ges of tracts —for distribution m the army. The following extract from the Report, respecting ‘ Religious Newspapers,’ we sub join : *• i he p r e-en?e of n ‘ paper.’ and e«pech'ly one , f vox Uuiuu, !□ LaUcd wi-U acLigiu. ui thu caraps uud , hosplra’, by the poldlc. The scarcity of literal'.' p o actions iu the rirrny is o >e rca-on W'hy LU newspaper 1- t-o valued, mi iim>Cr>vr is, that ii <■<>' tain* a lull sutnui ry of | a-sim; even s, keepuuf th* reader lullj’ posted n the > u rent lii-t.>ry of th times, i lie eircuhttioii ot tlie • pap-r,’however, not desljp ed o sup lane the u e of die religi"u tracts—these little nns-iies of t>uth arc indi-pen-a ble for the • ccouiplishineut of our legi iniate ob ject. It is a direct ami earne-t appeal lo • lie under s> andiim and con.-eienee of die reader, ami well cal culayd to follow up an impres inns ilia may tn enviously made in retcrence to the soul's eternal intere-t. It is the united testimony of the Mission aries, f at the tract and *p ip r' should ever be louiid in hand as they move on .heli daily rounds us duty.’ .The report showed a gran 1 total at the disposal <>f the Board, for the two years, to April 1, 1863, of $49,505 05. Di-burse ments: in Domestic department, £12,390. 08—leaving a balance in the treasury ot $11,989.31 ; in Indian department, $2,262. 33—leaving a balance of $6,082 43. In thiTafcernoon, a lengthy debate follow ed the introduction of a resolution for the establishment of a S.ibbath-School B ard, , which was participated in by Messrs. De- Voiie, Manly, Elford, Teasdale, Baker. Crawford, Poindexter, Jeter, Burrows, Ca biniss, Henderson, Gaskill, Stout, and Gov. Brown. The resolution was adopted. Oa Saturday night, a mass missionary meeting was held, and excellent speeches, upon the happy effects of army c< J pottage, were made by Revs. G. B. Taylor of v’lr ginia, Broaddus of South Carolina, and Sumner of Alabama. Much enthusiasm prevailed, and the exact sum of three thou sand dollars was raised on the >pot. f<>-sup plying the Confederate soldiers with Testa merits, tracts, and other suitable religion reading. During the S ibbath, the several pulpit.-* in the city were occupied by members of the Convention, as arranged by the Com mittee. On Monday, the following resolutions, offered by Rev. Mr. Tupper, of Georgia, were adopted : Resolved, Th it it i* thes'nseof this body that ihe field open <1 ic the army for piou nbor is* o,w of ihe niO'i Imo >'iant that an be entered at pr s enc; and that the Providence of God call- 1 udli upon Hi- pe j>le to mak prompt a-d viir«>r u-e • torts to seen e the service ot'chaplain-, and to send for h nii-siunaii s ami colporteurs inc » the Held 'j Resolved, t hat tLe pastoi sos the churches be, and !are hereby, came lly r<-que*ied to briiijj his subject j p oniinenliy and Iri-qm-nily to theatiention ot their peoplean i, also, lie day ot consume supplica tion of the Divine ble sinic upo < such laborer.- am -mr our soldiers, that we n ay be obedient lo tli sacred comman d —‘ W- at soever thy hand tiudeth to do, du it. wLh thy nrght.” I At the hour appointed for devotional ex ' ereises, Dr. Reynolds, of S. C., conducted the services. Dr. R. stated that our tiearts | have been pained this morning by the an nouncement of the death of that great fa vorite of the people—and, what is more, the friend of God—General Jackson, and re quested Rev. A. Btoddus. < f Va., to lead in prayer in reference to the sad event. Rev. Messrs. McCall, of Ga., and Lundy, of Ala . also led in the devotions. A committee. (I?,. G. Cabiniss, of Ga , chairman,) was appoiutel to recommend a place for the next meeting, and to nominate the preacher of the annual sermon. The committee subsequently reported ! Raleigh, N. C., as the pla e and Dr. W. T. ! Brantly, of Ga., as the preacher. Adopted ' Rev. J. P. B >yce r ad a cotmnun'e ition, from the Female Missionary and Edura-l tional Society, of First Biptist Chinch, of ' Charleston, enclosing ninety dollars forth missions of the Domestic Board. On motion of Dr. Manly, J; , of S. C.— Re-olved, That n committee of six ba rni cd to consider Ute propriety of this Cotivei.iiou appoint ing a suitable brother i > proceed to Europe, lor the promoti n ot t e int- re-t* of our several B > rds. and especially to procure Bibh-sa d other religi .u publication*, and t c.lit.es fur ,h e wuik ol general evangelization. The following compose the committee : B. Manly, Jr., Tnornas S ocks, A. M. Poiu dexter, S. Henderson, Perry, of S. C., md Woolffik. It was agreed to leave the subject to the ■ Boards of Missions. On motion of Mr. Nichols— Resolved. That with a view of a p>rt‘al supply of I reiigiou- renting tor our a mfc-. the pas <» s and I supplies of the r -pective chuo-he- be earnestly re quested to secure from the suo-cribers ot rd g’totis ' i periodicals su< h n -uibets as are not filed, arid for I ward to ihe chaplains and colporteurs fur distribu tion. Tne c >mmittee on the state of the coun try reported appropriate resolutions—ex pressing ihe sense of the Convention as tol the justice of the cause for which we are contending, and invoking the blessings of) God upon our efforts, etc. A highly-merited vote of thanks to the hospitable citizens of Augusta and vicinity, for Courtesies received during the session, was unanimously passed, on Tuesday m .ru ing. President Mell th-n feelingly address ed the Convention, and recited the hymn, ‘ Blest be the tie that binds,' —luring the singing of yvhich the parting hand was giv en, and the President declared ‘ Fne South ern Baptist Convention stands adjourned, . without day.’ We cm not refrain *rom allu ling to the very excellent mu-ic afFnded by the well trained choir of the First Baptise Church, under the direction of the efficient leader and organist, Mr. Ii .bin-son. Their strains of melody will 1 >ng be remembered by the gratified listeners. ! By a recent act of Congress, sol- diers in the Confederate army are allowed : to receive newspapers free of postage. The War Acwm. In another column will be f am I details .f ihe recent great battle fought neat Fred ericksburg. The t.-l.‘graph brings uo laic mt. lligence from that direction up to the nour we go to press. Tua West. —Dispat _hes bring int. Hi .fence of an attack by the Federalists, 12 h mst., on Raymond, the capital of Hinds county, Mississippi —eight miles south of the Vicksburg & Jackson liailr ad, —in which they were checked. Col. MeGaVock, of the lOch Tennessee regiment, wa-> kiljed. The Natchez Cairier has information from our prisoners from New Orleans, ex changed at Port Hudson, that Kirby Smith, with ten thousand raw troops, has whipped Banks badly, driving him to Washington, Louisiana. Lincoln has issued a proclamation, call ing out al! the militia, from twenty to forty, live years ot age, to put down ihe rebellion. Phi.-, includes foreigners who have declared their intention to b come citizens. His ne gro troops having failed to accomplish his Ao* k he has called on those who will prove less manageable or efficient as s -Idiers; — but the greatest difficulty probably will be, thiil they woii’c come to his call, a- d it is very doubtful v. hich si le those of the We*t. ern States will be found on, if they do come. Ueath cf General t. .5. Jackson. The heart of our N ition has been culled to mourn by the following telegram : “ R chmono. May 10.—Goa Letclu r reeeiv<‘d a di-puicn this aiteinoon, announcing the death of Gen. Jack-on at G tinea’s .Station, nt 3 i 5 P. M. He died irom the combined effects ot hii wound, and an attack oi pneumonia.” '1 he green turf is holy that covers the breast of this Christian hero A < ogrent Hebuke. The Raymond (Mi*s.) Gazette adminis ters a severe but just rebuke to tho*e w h » are so ready to cry out against the curren cy of the country. Ilsras: “The fact, now well established, that Confederate bonds have recently been sold in Europe at a premium, is a severe rebuke, we take it. to the great mass of our own people. Here we hive men who control their hundreds of thousands of dollats, w ho, instead of investing in bonds and as (sistmg the government, arc prowbug like 'devouring Wolves through the country, speculating in everything, defrauding and thwarting the plans of the government, de preciating the currency and robbing the people, and plundering the families ot’ our soldiers; here we have men who put ten prices upon eveiything they hive f.»r sale, boldly alleging “ the wotthle.-sness of the currency ” as their apology ; while also we have men who will not sell any thing they have, if they can avoid it, even food to a 'tarving neighbor, at any price, b. eau-e they do not think the money is worth »i v thing! Thus is the contrast Complete Foreigners are upholding the pecuniary credit of the Confederacy, while our own ! people, right here in Mississippi, having everything at stake, and within heniug of the Yankee guns, are doing everything in ! their power to depreciate and destroy it. Ehuly jWeedttgs. Preaching every night continues nt the j First Baptist Church, in this city. The : pastor is aided by Elder*Tharp, of Houston | county. Prayer-meetings, from Bto 9 o’clock, tvc ry morning. «♦»««» Educational Convention.—This body assembled in Columbia, S. C., on the 29th. Seventy delegates, from six ditferen! Stales, were present. The permanentoffic* rs elec ted were: President, J. L. Reynolds, <d S. C. Vice Presidents, W. T. Davis, of Va., C. H. Wiley, of N. C., and R. W. Gibbs, <f S. C. Secretaries, J. Stoddard, of G.i., S. T. Pearce, of Ala,, and W. IL Stratton, of La. Recording Secretary, J. T. Stevens. Corresponding S‘Cretary, W. J. Palmer. I Treasurer, J. B. Patrick. Any male citizen, jor teacher, or other person identified with I the educational interest, is admissable to membership by ballot. The meetings are to be held annually. The Convention al journed to meet on the first Wednesday in [ September, at Atlanta, Ga. Important com- I mittees were appointed and great unanimity |p* evailed in the objects and arrangements fur future action. Gkx. Van Dokn.—The telegraph brings the news of Van D >rn’s death. He die**, it is understood, the victim of a man whose coi jugtl happiness he had ruined. I' is said not to be his first similar offer ee. JI is fate will excite no sympathy, while a cause sUch as ours will su-tain n<> |o>s. The HapttMt Staines*. The proprietors of The Baptist Banneb would inform the readn g public, especially heads of families, that, as an excellent HOME PAPER, THE BANNER i-hall le surpassed by none. It will be publi-lif'd every Saturday morning in Atlanta, at the rate of three dollars a jear— subscriptions taken for any length of time. Tm>se desirous of subscribing will phase en close the amount of their subscription, w ith the name and post-office, and address JAMES N. ELLS CO., January, 18G3. Auauta, Ga.