North Carolina Newspapers

m. ii i f . .O.I .1 J-5STto' ? itt "t . i- j .ri lit ,.J 4- VOL IX.--THIRD SERIES SALISBURY. ''Hi,, ;C,:, PMtt?.AtY,; 2i;;i879? 'If 1 i r - - i i 1111111 f tnis u:t ,.-, ' . i-' Mt: Verxox, X. C. - Feb. 4th, 1878. ? TA . w.W..r.x-. Tf m k.. n ,v Vi i a i ..V T.",i,V.st. " ?r ls U liaf I tCjuttv Altmir. r ntt '7 lint. ti ; bound injustice to Bay,) of viudy Iiaran- guea and imaginary statement, too learn rI or lylttij, to be of much use. I anf far from denying, however, that the small leaven of. truthful and practical matter which they contain "lea ventli the whole lump'' atouesJbr the objectionable fea tures ; and iiiay and does make these pe riodicals of infinite value to the man of culture and judgment for he will Tcnow wbat to. cull and-what to reject. The Honorable Professor Dry rehashes the old chemistries, natural philo- Mphie and geologie we .lnnl nml Mr. Pftrmpr Smart brn.rt 1,U 'millet, and oats and notatoe I 1 patches. Such as Dry and Smart are apt f to contribute the general drift of the mat- I ter published-then some clever, sensible ' ieilOW lilllr IKlll it LU1IIIIII1, nil" j.v . nuction in his "short sermon" than is ; found in all the other thirty odd pages of the magazine. Now commend, me to the ' "siftinjr process" when I sit dowji to read such "oonsarns" a n o intam of dirt and rubbish to a grain of gold. Well, now I've give 'em a regular sprink- ling of duckshot from 'my old gun, let'em go. 'Taint worth while tube too censor- r ious-and, in n.y heart of hearts, I must j BOilre 1115 Ituiu ii-iiro nun i tu uetin iiiiu ,iA ,-f oil iwtr if -t.iio i.i imi,..! i.nMi ;i ithhfs von. as ant as not, courteous read.- ' t er,) would only patronize 'em, and" pay I 'em, and not keep 'em in a run all the time hunting ahttle bread and meat to keep edi- j tor and tvpo alive. How can a literary: lalorer or any other workman, iutellec- : tual or manuei, perform his task with ; force and discretion, wjien he's hungry: and anxious and tired and bambodzled : half to death bv a precious lot of folks whom Horace Gi-eeley was wont to denomi- irate as "the ten thousand fools?" They i -r-not the fools, but the agricultural writ- er8,loaheap of good, anyway. the mischief is their printed sheets don't set taken enough to do the millionth part ot . the good' they iniht and ought to do. They are like the mass of mankind, and - the mass of farmers firing too much in I the air and around the bush their aim is ; too indirect and scattering and fussy they don't go straight for the big game i and the'best game and what they're sure to kill, as Colonel Crockett did.. They ' have no what d'ye call it xiiittemthafs theword no plans under the heavens. : They're going along, like the Gipsy where to is quite a secondary consideration. Sam Slick. wisely puts down all fhis-des-ultory aimlessuess of our race under the weeping" caption of "Human Natnr;" Nasby may call it "ingrained cussedness," "for" wat I know : but no matter; we all ? undeACaiuTit, Its easier grumbled at than , ! i. j- v i i.- i mended ; so we 11 not fret about it, bat get along-side of tlie glorious old plowman, .-'Bob Burns, and sing : , "A man's a man for a' that." In social circles, both he-that tells what everybody knows, and he that narrates what nobody believes are liisnfievable bores. And what are books and maga- , zines and papers but the talk of the mul 1 titude rippling over the paper ? How ma il ny men do you meet in a day' who are .worth-listening to? And'.how many farms are just like these folks, and books, and papers things all out of time and place all confusion ; lit tle good being done, from jne season to another, and most of the concern taking a swift gallop down hilfall. the while? The hillside is cleared and allowed to be plowed and washed away before the bot tom is ditched and fenced. The bottom is not planted soon enough after the fresh et, because it's muddy in there ; and a crop is lost, which it takes the owner of the place five years to make up ; buying, com every year. 1 he lianas are gone to a : march or a frolic perhaps to hire to some body else in the height of the com-work- , ing season, when General Green is march- 1 ing double-quick night and day, and when their labor is worth, not les than three and, perhaps, as imich as five dollars - a day in their-oim crop blest if they arn't working sometimes iu the next field - At fifty cents a day. The fences are annu ? ally repaired with brush and poles till they hold neither out nor in any longer ; for.it is "against the religion" of many stalwart laborers to strain themselves making rails. The cows are never penned , orshedded, the manure is scattered and tfll f on anything Know.. And thi, thatvjrSu ete d Imt9 tnein.nind''oftheagncnltn.al pa- tfanw not worJu tJki about , ,k.w and the farmerVcidnains .in th oth- Come to tl,e couut , , f rrjoumaK T e etm to be made up, bling millionH, and fight the pLic from for the uort part,. Cvet with some very thold fort-fiiht it over the plow handles notable and honorable exceptions, I am vta si,...-i :n t lost, and H takes halt as much more to leed things perverted are the worst. Chris ,the creatures, not to speak of half of 'em ! t- Wrth b tJecolneg a curse. Ke dying in an extra cold winter. Everv- , , . , , , thingisfrmrM.70H;land, stock, tools, owii- Bgious education trampled on becomes a er and all, with no prospect of resuscita- "fountain of moral disease. Sabbaths hum, rejioeu.iiiou, resurrection inis sine . W 1 T X 1 A 1 S 4 1 I oi doruaji. ii siix) tare. i loom v picture, witJeHJuinaiiycasesisn fit so! Much of itisthefaiier'stault,andmnchalsoisto ; be attributetl to narrow-mindedness of the customs under which he lives customs which griud him down under the highest taxes and the lowest possible pi ices for -produce customs which have made the young men leave the farm, with its drudgery, for something nicer in town customs which make railroad magnates i and politicians to roll iu wealth while the honest son of toil is struggling vainly i for a bare living customs which have written "Mene, meue, tekel; upharsin" in , blazing letters upon our institutions, na tional and social customs which preach I that there is no hell for rogues and plenty j . oi compromises and bargainings for frauds -customs which have torn down our time-honored citadels of truth and set up the goddess Falsehood as worthy of all A reverence customs, not of our 'fathers, , but of: these latter day-saints and of the Enemy of mankind! Where men feel confidence in the way things are going on, and where labor is undisturbed and encouraged, prosperity will prevail. But where bondholdersVhd rascals rule, there is 110 confidence where the laborer is uncertain, the lands will go down. Money is the life-blood of the farmer; and, when he can't get it, he staggers. Yet the "darkest hour is just before the dawn.' - j ..-w vvAvrau UU1 May we not hope aye w ithout hope, we lose. all. In the meantime, with all his discouragements, the farmer is the only independent man among---the workiiur rim. ; and if all the loiterers and grunib- lers in the towns and alonir the railroads and Til out the factories and mines will only "go back io Uie faVing," I Ihiuk the country ean fight is great financial trou- b,"8 witl' far I prospect of ulthnat triumph. It haa Wei well .aid that "there ,lw ,,,ore "-udgery in farming than in - . " cue the citizen yet. E. P. H. A LOST SON OF GODLY ITVTIIJSIfc; 1 -- - "Wherefore do the wicked live T" Seme wicked men are among the most useful of mankind. Certain poisons medical science 110 otl'er l-emedy. So certain examples " :, ' " I of iniquity may be" transformed by the p.ace of God into remedial forces by the eontrast th furnish to tlie virtues, and thevisdom thev teach to observers, Kiug Ahaz is one of tlie stupendous niomeut8'of guilt iu IsraeJitish history. He is one of the tew men in any history of whom not ouegood thing is recorded. His caieer' was one uniform and - unmitigated ; stream of iniquity from beginning to end. Xot one virtue or virtuous act is thought ' worthy of mention in hU whole life. So .... ... ... via " " a oiacK aiiu uisgiaceiiu was ins reiirn. tnat when he died the indignant and revolted i conscience of the nation refused him bur- ' ia, iu te r1 nchrem inonire what lessons mav i)P ! Ul Im inquire wnac lessons may be learned from the life of such a supreme I model of deoravitv . ' ' '. j T- ,nfr- iltatvoa fi., j nf , y 7 " J racier by which the mcketluess of a man ftr proportioned to the amount of hohj in- HeCe which he has conauned. Sv fin.l ' i,-;., ,t.. ,i ;.. ti... ., -, . j V. xtr'iue facilities which he had for being a saint. He was the son ot a godly tather. vonth was nassnl under the. restraints of " - his holv example. He was one in a royal line which had been distinguished for ex- amples of illustrious piety. He had good blood. IIermflfmn,l .tfc. If, t.w tmitli Hlon- of litl.Amm.A.hA..f tl.A world, 1ield his crown swid kingdom by di vine right as king of God's chose u people. He knew that a splendid history lay behind him, and that a more splendid future was before him. In the line of regal descent in which he w'as ; a connecting link, One was to appearJn whom all the'nations of t!ii. wurlfl wr t he lilessed. Tluit. u- wi. --.. . - n . , . cient. promise of (jroil to ilraham siianued , 1 1,ke a rainbow the royal family ot Jndah. Mysterious as its meaning was, it must have been a power of moral restraint and moral stimulus to a man .called of God to sit on the throne of Judah. - Said a French monarch, when once so licited to consent to a dishonorable treaty: ':The blood of Charlemagne isin my veins; and who dares to propose this thing to me ?" The sense of honorable inheritance must have been'a moral power of immense significance to a monarch who stood in a line of theocratic princes. And it was not frittered away and lost in mere sense of chivalry : it was a direct and potent help to .holy living before God. Such a combination of holy influence thisJudean king broke through ; and therefore he be came the man he was. The-depth of his fall was proportioned to the momentum acquired in bursting the bonds which held him. Such is the natural working of things in the experience of sin. It is a funda mental law of character. As virtue is proportioned in vigor to the temptations resisted, so depravity is proportioned to the forces of conscience and inheritance and education and example and persua sion, and the spirit of God, which have been fought with- and conquered. This must always be reckoned in forecasting a man's future in a career of sin. The best oroken become an opportunity to vice. v..f.,....l ondKMito trJm;..n l.l.,..t1 i . ; s. become a foundation for i l) "ans,iession, oecome a iounuauou ior towering iniouitv. Convictions of sin re sisted are often transformed into beliefs of falsehood. The strivings of the Holy ( Spirit quenched, become the basis of Sa tanic conquest. Devils fill the place from which the spirit of God has been ejected It used to be proverbiaHn the days of, overseers were Northern men. who had to nvpm.lthA emotion of tlioir vnnt.li and their inherited faith in order to be come slave-drivei's. This was one variety of the universal law which governs the degree of character, good or bad. Tell me what good influence a man has defied and scorned in becoming what he is, and" I will give you the gauge of his depravity. The worst of men are apostates fro the best of faiths. 2. The career of this apostate prince illustrates also the faithfulness of God in chastising the wicked men for their good. "The Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz." From the beginning to the end of his reign, he experienced the truth that j ' tae transgressors is hard. Ia war ' he was whiimed all around. In alliances ' he was cheated and checkmated His 1 i i v lL j People Were P bJ thousands, Nothing went well with him. His public life was one long career of defying God, vvv ni i iiiv tiincn auu uuu mil i CO" yet of Gods jfsistent efforts to savehiin by chastising him. " f This is repeated over and orer again iti tlie experience of wicked men. -Such men often think it a great mystery that they suffer w much. They da not understand why it is that misfortune pursue4hem so. "Just my.luck" says one, stiien ill success attends his business.,'? iYet often the secret reason is that God is trying to save the man." He is contending with God iu one way, and God is contending with him in another. There is no luck about it. It lis God's faithfulness to the soul at the expense of the pocket. - --.-rr "It is a great nay stery j I do hot under stand it ; it is unjust, -eays an ungodly man whom disease lays low, perhaps just on the eve of splendid . successes. The cup is dashed from his lips, just when he him perhaps till he is glad to find such i. ' i i i i l i - i rest as hetran in the grave, j Often it is no mystery. It is God's striving to save the man. It is God's faithfulness to his soul, at the cost of his body. Somebody's praj-ers are answered in his affliction. In one of the works of a popular author ';tf fiction, a wicked man, engaged in a w"-eu uusmess, is represeuieu as scom- Sd swearing at and beating his Chris- wau lte because sue iersists poor sou u iu PrayinS for him- He protests .that she sha11 stoP Paying, or he must stop his business. Both cannot go on togeth er one or ne otner masti Sve way He tninks ue 1,a tried it and found it so. The fancy is often true to fact. Often prayer cannot be answered except by chastising . 1 a He must "hipped out of his s'us or ne never can be a happy man. This is the secret of the misfortunes of mv in nnodlv man an "'Y . , , ' . , The sufferings of this world are not in a strict sense retributive. They are dis- cinlinary. The world of retribution lies farther on. In love. God holds the rod over many a bad man. He strikes him it i ;i i.:... ii ere, anu ne strides mm lueie God's flail threshes him like wheat. He sur- rounds him with trouble. He heaps up misfortunes. They come, thick and fast, Life is one long disappointment. "Few and evil have my day s been , is his la ment as he looks backward : "All is vani ty and vexation ofc spirit." Is not this the general feeling with which men reach old age with out the consolations of re ligion ! "Oh that I had never been born!" exclaimed Voltaire in his old age. lint in this experience of the wicked, God is never vindictive. This isjiis way of striv ing to save men from eternal death. Sometimes he pursues it to the very last, till the grave closes over the incorrigible sinner, and he passes on to a world where the retributive decisions of eternity dis place the benigu discipline of time. 3. The life of this depraved prince il lustrates further the extreme which sin reaches when men fight successfully against God's chastisements. "Iu tlie time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord." This is the teartul .phenome non sometimes witnessed in the develop ments of sin iu this world. Some men are not subdued by suffering. They refuse to bow to chastisement. The more they suffer, the more they sin. Trouble angers them agaiust God. They indicate their growing fitness for the world of woe in this induration of heart by which suscep tibility to the softening effect of sorrow is destroyed. Sometimes this phenomenon is witnessed on a large scale. Times of pestilence are proverbially times of un usual wickedness in great cities. The great plague in London developed the vices of the metropolis frightfully. Men patrolled the streets singing ribald songs beside, the dead-cart. In the peril of shipwreck, two classes of suffers are often observed -. those whom the peril subdues to prayer, and those whom it drives to the rum-bottle. When the Pemberton Factory fell, two classes of sufferers were crushed under the ruins ; and two sets of voices came forth from the smoke and flames. The favorite hymns of the Methodist church from the one drovned the curses and im Piecaiious iioiu incomer. xmi uic uvu i .1. 'PI Al. 1. went up on those wings of tire to meet tUa MntrBt e ti, God! How like to the contrast of the two crucified thieves: "Lord remember me," and "If thou be Christ save 'thyself and us !" Few things are so truthful a touchstone to the character of men as the way in wnicn tney treat tne sunenng wnicu uoo sends as chastisement. One man turns at I t8 bidding and becomes an heir of glory ; another defies it and becomes a monumeut of perdition ! Lord, who maketh us to differ f 4. The reign of this wicked monarch illustrates the disappointment which wicked me experience in their hopes of happiness in sin. The historian relates of him : "He said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them that they may help me." But fAeiy were the ruin of him. True to the life, every word of it! In no more truthful figure can we express the experience of many young men living for this world alone, as it seems to a looker-on, on the top of the wave of human felicity. A rich man seems to them a supremely happy man. A successful statesman appears to have all that an aspiring man can ask for. A man who has gained the summit of social rank and splendor becomes to many who are below him the model of earthly bliss Any man at the top 6f the ladder seem: very bigh mu a man the ljottom Sd a jouiij? BMii i ipi'ii )opW ODj frpM, ,e imppya n3ucerotoWy,fal del.l.eray tofo.of ; are allured ly'the fflamorfvrr'lmhgion ty 'the glamor f ofr'ifr prosperity. unq v&S Ut, ht,,. But wlveu they;try tbp cxrjriuaentifor themselves, 'it is the rniri of thhn The fruit turns to ashes. No such young man ever finds the w orld to be what ft looked to bevben he eur ife Jt . ,s a beautiful mirage f W exnenceprovertoaWtbUie T" MW WW' l i .. . .a ... ... : . ... ,1 rne issue oi an uen expenments-Miisap-pointhient. 'This world is full of soured nit l alt so miAl nfojl fnon TKa nwiwtA tmAli. ' 1 , gious meu are, the more profoundly they experience this inward consciousness of failure m their life's plans. Ihey have "hewed out to themselves broken cisterns I that can hold no water." j In one of Hawthorne's thrilliuffly fear ful fictions, he represented a wretched ,"""uu,ii"w"H "ltu " , bosom. Every now and then he clutches ' at his breast with his fingers crying : "It gnaws me; it gnaws mei as ne wains the streets among his kind, he thinks he finds that every man he meets is cursed with the same snaky guest in his bosom. ' Each man at intervals seems to thrust his hand up to throttle the reptile. All alike ; are doomed to the hideous companionship. "It gnaws me; it gnaws me!" is the uni- versal confession: The whole world seems to his crazy fancy to be at the mercy of vipers, each man warming and cherishing ,ns mvn' ! (Midi a worm is any worm ox oeings given over to seeking happiness in itself. Such is this world, except as its fearful consciousness is relieved by the grace of God. Such is Self in any man or woman, when turned away from God and turned inward. No flagrant crimes like those of the Judean king are necessary to reduce a man to this condition of inward and conscious curse. Perjurv, arson, murder, are not the only nor the most common ' precursors of 'such a doom. A man has only to abandon God and live to himself, and he is as sure of it as Judas. Such a man may sit on the throne of the Ctesars, or revel in the wealth of "farthest Ind;" vet he carries the snake in his bosom. In lis honest hours, when he confesses the truth to his own soul, his soliloquy is, "It miaws me: it gnaws me!" 5. The career of this wretched prince illustrates the distinction which it is possi ble for' a man to gain in this world as a mon ument of guilt t "He did trespass more against 4he Lord. This is that kittq Ahaz!" Such is the reflection of the annalist, after enumerating the monarch's crimes. "This is that king Ahaz look at him; mark him ! let him stand in historv as a monster of iniquity; let the world stand aghast at him!" Such seems to bo the spirit of the inspired recorder. Wc all naturally crave distinction. One man for one thing, an other for another; all hanker for it in something. Anything to lift us up and out of the common herd! This is the tem per of a world without God. It is pos sible for a man of reckless impiety to be come illustrious for guilt, and that only. Some such names stand out in history, and will stand thus forever. Where all are sinners, some become guilty above their fellows; princes in depravity; royal dukes in iniquity: men so like to Satan in character that he dwells with and takes possession of them before the time! This, I repeat, is possible to any man. It requires no great genius or inveutiou. A man need uot travel far and explore distant seas to gain the means of this hid eous renown. It requires only a strong, presistent and selfish will, determined to fight God! This is the natural drift of sin. What a scaffold is among human punishments, what hydrophobia is among deadly diseases, such may a man become among his fellow-sinners, by simply giv ing himself to himself, and defying the rights of God. This is the legitimate euding of a long career of alternate chastisement aud sin without repentance. A Cornish proverb says: "He that will not be ruled by the rudder must be ruled by the rock." This is the rock on which haughty and defiant guilt is wrecked. It is simply left to tself; to become what it has chosen to be, such a demon of iuiquity as to Ihj abhorred of God and man. God save us from our selves ! Wo carry withiu us the elements of hell if we but choose to make them such ! Ahaz, Judas, Nero, Borgie, Alva, all were ouce prattliug infants iu hap rv mothers' arms. The first babe of our race a marvel of joy to the first mother - was the murderer ! Who shall dare to encounter the possibilities of human guilt without the grace of God ? 2,000 Persons Perish in a Fire. Paris, Feb'y 4. A telegram, dated Shanghai, China, yesterday, Feby 3th 1878, published here, announces that an asylum for women and children at the city of Tientsin has been bnrned. Over two thousand persons are stated to have per ished in the fire. SUSAN B. ANTHONY AS HEAD OP n THE ;XDIAKiUREAU. Mrs.f5ooter recent speech.) all, Aftec this you mut be called Sed- .more f elegant.,, If K 11 feh r ' ' ' ' vrvn 9m1 .Ht it .WrT" ...f f ;..;- ,t-: i-1 I a Sitting Bull Me want my land back.' S B, JL.-Sedeutary Borine, who's (got 1 yourjandl A . , m S. n , A Whifo lunnUon nflP fliif Tii. aZ Z .W.hue man to S. B, ADryp, Bag Gohome. Skip! S. B,A,White man, you're a. beast! Mr. Hayeeiwdn't you drive those', white Mr. II -Madame, I'd like to do any thing to oblige you, but care and deliber ation are necessary in these matters. We miist take time. We must move slowly, nofc bnU in S. B. A. Oh, fudge ! Why don't you do 80Iuething , if yGu re President, why be Pregident ? cbief j h do w&nt? you C. J. it back. White man got ray land. Want g. B. AWhite man, go away from josepll8 iani WhUe ManL(Uses language to S. B. A. which cannot be printed.) SnsMii to Mr. Haves There I do von , tha(. f wilf you the Pre8ident of teae UnUed Stateg gjt -d or gtand Qr gt aU(1 heaf mch language as ugC(l tQ lueft re8pectal)le woman by such a nasty, dirty, low, vulgar, gieasv, fonl.ntout.ie(lj bulking, thieving, lazy, good.for.not,llng loafer bummer, tramp, . murderer, thief, robber, as that? Hey, (rtampB heP. foot aud whacks the table with her umbersoll). Mr. II. Really. Madame, you sec I am placed that is, I have no power to re move these countrymen of mine with out S. 1? A. Power! Ain't you President? Or ain't you ? O, I wish T was President of this country for about five minutes. Injin, what do you want? Ponca Chief White man got my land, horse, cow, farm, school -house. Gib me tin medal for 'em. No good. Want 'em back. S. B. A. Now, Mr. Hayes, can't you do this poor Indian justice? Mr. H. But, Susan, you can't do in these matters just what you want. Now, Susan, do lc quiet. Your back hair is all a cotnin' down. You've broke your tim brel 1. Here's Mr. Schurz. He'll tell yon all about the Poncas. S. B. A. Well, Schurz, will yon stand by me and see this injustice done ? Schurz Vat vas der matter? S. K. A. Matter? Why that Ponca outrage. Schurz Yaw! Susan, we trinks zwie lager togedder, and talks era over a lettle. S. B. A. Beer ! beer for me ! Mc swill beer, like a lazv, good-for-nothing Dutch man, (here the Cabinet (fonncil breaks oft). EAGER TO GET into THE MINISTRY. (Froin the N. Y. Sim.) Bishop Foster of the Methodist Church lately made a very remarkable aud sug gestive statement. He said that the con ferences of his denomination were crowd ed at the present time with applications from young men desirous of entering its ministry. There are now more than two thousand of these, and the church does not need so many new preachers. It seems, too, that the pressure is great est in New England, where the salaries are larger than in other parts of the coun try. The inference we are forced to draw from this fact is that, other ways of mak ing a living having given out, unemploy ed young church members have made up their minds to try pleaching as a means of support, and that they prefer to seek places where the pay is the best. We do not know whether other religious denominations are beset in the same man ner as the Methodist, but it is not unlike ly that they are now gettiug more appli cations than formerly for the privilege of preaching their doctriues. We certainly do not see of late so many urgent calls upon young men to choose the profession of the miuistry as used to appear in their organs. In the old days it was hard to get enough of them to supply the demand, and the theological schoolsvinonrned their unfilled benches. The ZiotCs Herald, a Methodist -paper, speaks kindly to the throng of aspirants for ministerkJ fuuetions, compassionates them ou their ill luck in not getting the places they seek, and advises . them, while they are waiting for vacancies, to secure a thorugh ministerial education, Probably, however, they are not able to wait. What they wish is immediate em- j u r i . ... ploymeut, and they fancy that that of the ministry is the most desirable which now offers. There is much food for reflection in the statement of Bishop Foster and tho con dition of things it implies. " It ia stated that ia Southern California men outnumber the women ten to one, and that several ship loads of marriageable women could be marketed right off. ENGLAXD ON SEA AND SHORE. (Louisville Courier-Journal.) The official report of the strength of the British navy for 1878 shows that there are in commission 297 ships-of war, with 2,647,guns, aggregating 874,203 tons, and steam power equivalent to 570,806 horses. There are also steam gun -hosts, with from one to fotir guus each, aggregating 26,034 tons and 22,247 horse powers: 31 Biraot vessels in tne, uaroor service; sailing' ships, 'nine of them armor plated; 29 coal ships? 15 reeMng4 shtps'and tllZ training shfp's eongtgriaiernirsand1 19 coast iinW' wftieti vessel!' Theii'avtiY utretith; therefore Is WTese?s of -915 500 roos'burtheBTYth fipW gaus,' iintl steam power equivalent to 603,443 horses'.' Sirty-fourof tliese1 vessel 5 afe powerful iron-clads1. Tnefigtires' wer takefrdnV the" FinrtnclaT- ileform' Almanac 5 for fM? cnranrVeftrM the numbers stated go, it appears that we have an Admiral for each of the 297 ves sels in commission, with 35 to spare for receiving, store, training and surveying ships, dispatch and tug vessels, yachts, etc., and 43 more than one for every two of the 579, including coal depots, chapels, hospitals and reformatories. There is a similar glut with regard to the army. Of Generals, counting those on the active list only, there is one'for every two of the 151 regiments, with 20J to spare. There is a' Lieutenant Colonel for each of them, with three over, and for every regiment there are three Major Generals within 18, six Colouels with 19 over fifteen, Lieuten ant Colonels with 44 over, and uine Ma jors with 116 to spare. Proiortionately, therefore, if not actually, we are more abundantly supplied with officers than even the great military lowers of the Continent. Of regular troops we have 151 regiments; of militia, 'yeomanry and volunteers, 43d regiments, making a total of 639 regiments, to say nothing of- pen sioners aud reserves. We have also a sea force more powerful than that of any two other naval powers, and the advantage of an insular position instead of open fron tiers. Wc are in a state of profound pcuee with the world, and may so continue if we please. Yet, notwithstanding all this, there are persons among ns who believe, effect to believe that there is nothing to prevent the landing of a hostile force of 100,000 men upon our shores in a single night, and that there will be no safety for us until every ablebodicd man among us is trained to arms." These views and figures are of interest just now when the British Govern mentis on the verge of declaring war against Russhi to avenge the wounded honor of the nation and protect "British interests." The strength of England is herTiavy, yet the invention of the Whitehead torpedo, with its awfully swift and destructive power, seems to make the most potent iron-clad fleet in the world as helpless as so many-birch-bark canoes. Mr. Ward Hunt, the Naval Secretary, has himself declared that this vast array of vessels is but a phantom navy." Of the half mil lion of men on paper, Euglish military authorities say that it would le exceed ingly difficult to put one hundred thou sand men in the field, with proper equip ments, under two or three months. In the event of war with Rnssia, the item of transportation would be a very heavy one for England. The voyage to the Dar danelles requires three weeks, and an at tack by way of the Baltic would be quite impracticable. The Danes have, in fact, already announced that they are prepared to plant torpedoes in the Sound, the nar row strait between the Baltic and' the North ea, at twenty-four hours' notice WAIVER OF THE VIRGINIA HOME STEAD CONSTITUTIONAL. On last Thursday Judge Christian de livered the opinion of the Court of Ap peals of Virginia in the case of Read vs the Union Bank of Winchester, wherein i the court unanimously decided that the statute allowing the homestead exemption to be waived was constitutional. The case was this: The Union Bank of Win chester having discounted some notes made by Read, which contained a waiver of homestead, brought suits on notes and recovered judgments. The bank then filed a bill in chancery to subject' Read's real estate to the satisfactiou'bf the judg- ments. Pending this suit. Read execn- i ted and recorded a deed of homestead, and ' thereupon the wife of Read cttme iu and filed a petition, setting forth the above ' facts, and claiming that under the const! tntion Read could not" waive the rights of 1 the family in the homestead exemption, j and praying that the real estate embraced ' in the declaration of homestead might be ' sold for the satisfaction of the judgments , which had been recovered agaiust Read, j But the court below dismissed her peti- ' tion, aud decreed the land to be sold, and . the Court of Appeals .affirmed that decree, j The opinion proceeded upon the gronnd that the right to the homestead exemption 8 P ?TueK8 "s- holder may waive, and that the statute auowing the waiver is therefore not in conflict with the constitution. Bine and Gray on the Same Footing. (Washington Star.) Both the Senate and the House Com mittees on Pensions have now concurred in recommending that the names of all pensioners stricken from the rolls on ac- count of alleged disloyaly during the pe- riod of the late war shall be restored. M1 THE CHUFA EXERTirfeNT?Bul U Two years ago we'rjbreseJited an old friend, Cornel uis 8tepen?of4Eij2itfon iyn ueuii, uuiisijuu OTUUIJ.JVII.U B, email lot of clip fa seed, and asked ,a iavqthat1 iMkWonld try them, aUheiuie tjiiie giv- iug him a priuted drcjalat laa to . hoV te plant aud cultivate. We reethiift at Jhe. terday and askd.biiu jiow. he anV.ouf with the cHufaiw His answer was verba-, Uon as .follows i. L planted one .peck of "W-QJP ue,acrt4 ofwhnari' wniL lantL "I JXA " - -i ijLtsu wJ I.a nh r IM. .. - -1 V- The ch ufa patch Jcept jup, thirty headf geesejind fifty head ofcliickens "njOO now, 'aud I have to-day brought twenty dozen eggs to market. I never sold any eggs iu February before. Have plenty of chufas in the patch; think there are seyj eral bushels yet. I dug twelve bushels. iMieign uoserver. 1 t THE GEOLOGY OF NORTH CARO-. , , LINA. . i We learn that a course of lectures oil the special geology of North Carolina, 4t physicial geography, climatology, Sne. will be delivered at the University, com" mencing Febnary 18th, by the State. Geologist, Professor Kerr. This is under the maudate of an act onhe Legislatnre . tlie object being to stimulate the study of the resources of oufState. North-1' Catt lina has hid in her bosom vast treasure of minerals and ores, not only nndevelop d but absolntelj- unknown. ' '"" "' It is hopc-d that our young men from all sections may bernduced by this speeial instruction of an accomplished lecturer to take greater interest in their own States and be stirred up to discover and develop those resources. . ' V The students in the Department of Natural History having just finished general geology under Prof. Simonds, are prepared to appreciate and profit by this instruction. . . .t ; In consequence of the great pressure on Professor Kerr's time the Faculty have arranged for him to complete his lectures in about a fortnight HaleUjh Xews, ' Galveston Xews: The oldest woman in the world is Eulalia Perez, -now living "Iu Los Angeles, Cal. She is 140 vears old v - , and still uses her needle, having sent a- jiiece of embroidery to a church fair about two years ago. Her age is well autfientv cated, as it is on record that when tne" church of the Mission of St. Gabriel was built in 1771, she was a -Quarried woman aud the mother of several children, ' The for mei private secretary of Pfes- identPolk has been discovered, old aud poor, in Santa Fe. He knew'lAhdrew Jackson, and desefbes an incident, that happened while he was staying at 'the General's house, after the death ofTMfs, Jackson. One morning he arose verv early and started to walk toward the old family cemetery." He approached rather close to the grave of Mrs. Jackson, and was surprised to find the General himself kneeling over it. '. He retraced his foot steps as soon as possible, but not too soon for the quick eyeof the old soldier to Bee htm. Afterwards he spoke to his visitor about the matter, and said that the act in which he had beheld him was no uncom mon one. Every morning, he said t he went to the gra vector he thought that the proper place for him to conduct his relig ious devotions was by the remains of hjs wifejwho had been so dear to him, and who had o great and o abiding a faith in the graciousness of the Ruler of the universe. ' ; i - Law Against Flirting. (From rue Petersburg Index-Appeal.) 4 l Burke, in his History of VirgiuLa says: "I find that the Governor -was obliged Roon after to issue a proclamation forbid ding women to contract themselves to two several meu at one time. For women be ing, yet scarce, aiid much iu request, this offence was become very common; where by great disquiet arose between parties and no small trouble to the goverment. 1 1 was therefore ordered. That e very min -ister should give notice iu his church that what woman soever should use any word or speech, tending to a .contract J'pf" mar riage, to several persous atone time,,. al though not precis and legal, yet so as might entangle or breed scruple in their conscience, should, for such their offence, either undergo corporeal correction, or bo punished by fine, or otherwise, according to the quality of the person so offend-, ing." . ' .' '.. DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING AGI!f The granger iu the Keutucy;AsembIy means to tolerate the lawyeljweinV This we gather from a masterly' speech of a ruraPmemberj "I follow rgt icaltcral pursuits, " said he, adding rather redatnj, antly, "I am a farmer, and am iprond; ef it. But I have nothing agaii ist u lawyers, the class that my honorable friend repre sent. I am likean-old Methodist preach er who, w hen be went aronod to the mem ber cf hi congreg:Uiori eaine .across an old lady iu spectacles. . ?'Do ypu love;t4 Lord t" he asked. Weli," she sajn, pir mi, I ain't got nothin agia him V9 ' ' ;v ' fu.fc 'I