Confiscation Under the Amnesty Pro
clamation -Its Very Limited Extent The
law of July, 1862, and President Lincoln's prbo
tarnation consequent thereupon, imposed the
penalty of forfeiture of the eutire property, real
and personal, uppn every man who should con
tinue, after sixty days, to participate in, or iu
any tuaoLer abet, the rebjlliou. It was a tren
chant measure, of rnuch thane character as
the enactment of the Confederate Congress, ten
mouths previous, which smote all sorts and.de
scriptions of property belonging to alien ene
mies;" that is to say, to friend of the-Union.
Were this law now to be carried out,-it would
make nearly every Southern man and woman
houseless, landless, penniless; for nearly every
Southern man and woman has in same way par
ticipated in the rebellion since that time.
The Amnesty Proclamation of President
Johnson relieves all from this forfeiture, except
ing those embraced within the fourteen catego
ries specified. Its practical effect is to lift the
liability to confiscation from nearly every. South
ern farm and plantation. Comparatively few of
the owners of farms and plantations come within
the rauge of the designated exceptions. The
men who served in the Confederate 'Congress,
and who filled the Confederate offices, were
mostly lawyers or professional politicians, who
had nothing to do with agriculture. The mili
tary officers above the rank of Colonel were
mostly officers of the old national army, who
had lived in garrison, and owned little or no
Crops, &c. Passing through portions of
Wake, Johnston and Wayne counties dating
our recent excursion J we could not avoir the
conclusion, that our farmers will r barely if ake
half their usual crop, even though the. seasons
should prove unusually favorable. Tbenost
that some of our farmers can do the present
ear will be to renew their fencing geneially
destroyed and to prepare as , well as ma; be
;for making an average crop next year.
This State has been peculiarly unfortmate
in this crisis; for though the actual destruction
of property within her borders has not beet so
extensive perhaps, as in other States yet he
.movements of tw6 large armies in planting ca
son were extremely disastrous to the agricultural
interests of large sections of country, while? in
discriminate foraging has reduoed the farmers
in many instances to absolute want. Tbcso
have had' to begin life almost de novo, apd'o
replace from their crippled resources not ony
'the stock and the agricultural implements es
sential to a proper tillage of the soil, but they
have had to essay all this when the Iabor-systen
is in a state of utter chaos: The suddeif aboli
tion of slavery has transformed into wastes,
plantations that were once gardens. Bewildered
by the novelty of freedom, able bodied slave
haye ceased to work. Leaving the weak and
the infirm, the women and children, as a bur
'then to those who formerly owned them, the
strong and stalwart have congregated in the
towns, their definition of freedom embracing
but two ideas; the one license not to vsork; the real estate. lne planters and larmers ot tne
other,sgratuitous rations from the U. S. Cora- South almost universally remained at. home
fiussariat. . .without any official connection with the Con-
. i federate Government. This was in accordance
not only with their own habits and disposition,
but with the policy of that government; one
ot its chief solicitudes being to secure for it
jreat armies adequate subsistence. The only
one of the exceptions specified which to any ex
tent touches the planting and farming classes
oftbeSouthis that which excludes from the bene
fit of the amnesty all abetters of the rebellion
who have taxable property valued at more than
twenty thousand dollars. 13ut the ravages of
the war, the lossof slave property, the disorgan
hation of the wh6le labor system, and the un
certainties of the future, have so greatly reduced
all of the old agricultural values, that it if safe
to say that not one in cue hundred of the pre
sent landholders of the South has taxable, prop-J
erty to the amount named in this proclamation.
. There will be then, at most, but comparative
ly little confiscation of Southern lands. This
fact, we doubt not, will give general satisfac
tion. The object of the original law was not re
tributive but restorative. It was hoped that
tbe property-holders of the South would be in
fluenced by the fear of ruin to take advantage
o he sixty days grace presented by the Presi
dftt's proclamation,- and return to their allegi
ance. Perhaps some sucfc effect might have
followed, had McClellan taken Richmond with-?
injlie two months, as was then expected. lut
th Southern people could find nothing in his
disasters to assure them of the ability of the
government to reestablish its power. No South
ern .taan, at that time,- however personally at
tached, to the old flag, could conclude from our
method of conduoting the war, that the rebel
lion' would be evorcome; and it is . not at all
strane that Southern property-holders did not
withdraw fjom the rebell'iou at the time, in pur
suance of President Lincoln's call and warning-
copy tho following from the Raleigh .
Progress of the 7th inst :
Our New Governcr-The Policy to be Pursued
in Reconstructing a State Government. We had
.a short interview with Governor Holden on Mon
day "afternoon, and from him learned the plans
t;nd intensions of President Johnson relative to
'the reorganization of a loyal State government in
!Nortb Carolina. It is not the policy of the Gov
ernment to allow those person who have been
notoriously disloyal and prominent in their hos
tility to the national authority to have anything
to do with the reorganization of a State govern
ment. The enrolment of voters will be conduct
ed by men-of unquestionable loyalty, to be fc
iected for that purpose in each county, and those
leaders who were prominent in their adherence
to the rebellion will neither vote or hold oice, for
the simple reason that for the present they are
excluded fr on the Amnesty Oath. ,
Though the President gave the general out
lines of the policy the Government desired should
be pursued in the reorganization of the State gov
ernment, the details and practical application of
tho system will all he left to Governor Holden.
But the people must not expect all fhis
to be done in a day. It has taken years to pull
down, and it will necessarily require considera
ble time to build up. Iu the first place, having
no mails and no means of communication save
through couriers, it will require some considera
ble time to make the necessary appointments in
the several counties for the enrolment of loyal
men: and after this shall badone, the enrolment
must be made and the record returned to the
Governor's office before au election will bo held.
This can probably be acccomplishpd in time to
elect delegates' to a Convention in 'August, and if
so, the body will assemble by the 1st of Septem
ber at farthest; and then, having laid the ground
work, the work will go on rapidly and harmoni
ously. The Convention can arrange for the hold-
lqg or an election lor liovernor, congressmen,
members of the Legislature, oounty officers, occ;
and after all these shall have been elected, and
entered on the discharge of their duties, the new
State government will be fully under wafi and
the military iney be entirely withdrawn from our
borders. ' .
And as much discretion has been given .the
Provisional Governor, by the Government, in the
discharge of his duties, Mr Holden will be mainly
responsible to the loyal men of the State for the
manner in which the work of reorganization shall
be performed, and weliespeak for him the hearty
co-operation of all true men in the- performance
of the arduous duties before him.
TennesseeA bill fixing the legal status of
the colored people of Tennessee has passed the
lower branch of the Legislature of that State.
It guarantees the sanctity of the matrimonial
relation among them, but forbids' their inter
marriage with jwhites. All laws in force for the
benefit of married women and children are to
apply to people of color, provided that colored
children shall not be admitted to the schools
with the whitesw$$ifrOlored persons may be wit
nesses in all State cases in couit against each
10th er, but not against white persons, and no con
tract between a white and colered person shall
be binding unless made in writing and witness
ed by a white person.- Colored persons are sub-
ject to the same penalties for crimes as whites,
with the addition that rape by a colored man on
a white woman shall be punched with death.
Thire are various other provisions in the bill;
but these are the most prominent. N Y. He
raid. ' ;. .-. .. ';, " . '
The government has rescinded the order re
quiring passports from travelers coming in the
United States, excepting only those who'iufja
known tq'bo, or -w ha may be suspected of being,
enemies of the government. The latch string
is out for all honest niec.
Railroads, in Tennessee and Georqia.
The work ou the railroad between tbb city
and Atlanta is progressing with great, rapidity.
Trains can now run to Kingston," and in a few
days will be able to run to Cartersville,' only a
small piece of trestlework over Petit' Creek be
ing yet to complete.. On the Atlanta end the
negroes, captured by Gen. Wilson during his
raid, have been set to work under the super
vision ot some 50 overseers, and have repaired
that portion of the road as far as the Chattahoo
chie River, while another lot of them are on this
'side of tbe river. The telegraph line is work
ing to Cartersville and will soon be completed
to Marietta. Parties are employed in carrying
passengers in wagons from Atlanta to Dalton,
charging them $15 for the trip.
- , Gen. Wilson has granted to a firm named
Lockhort, Lee & Co , the privilege of gathering
together all the machinery and materials that
can be found in Atlanta, and the firm is busily
engaged in repairing and putting in good order
the rolling stock of all kinds, belonging to the
different railroads which centre there.
The President demand Indemnity from
England. The Memorial Diplomatique Pa
ris ot the 4th ult., makes the important an
nouncement that President Johnson has in
structed our Minister at London to "require of
the English Government a prompt decision as.
to the indemnities due the United States for
Iossvs caused to Federal citizens by Confederate
cruisers, such as the Alabama and others, con
structed and equipped in English ports since
the beginning of the war."
The Memorial adds that this demand has
been several times made by the United States,
but that its justice has never been conceded by
the British Government, which has rested its
rjiutfal upon the opinions given by the law offi
cers of the crown; that 4,Mr Lincoln bad never
theless persisted in the demand, renewing it a
short time before his death; and that Mf John
eon, far from abandoning this demand, has re
vived it, accenting it with more vigor and ener
gy than ever' It is the opinion that the de
mands will be acceded to by the English Gov
ernment. ; The Madrid Epoca, of two days later adds :
We believe, finally, that England will end by
satisfying the United Stats, and recognizing the
justice of the reclamations which we believe can
not in the main be contested, even if they do
not in amount fully reach the sums mentioned
in this connection. .
The London. Standard says that "so long as
the Confederate States were able to hold, their
own and give employment to all the foroes of the
North, it was. not convenient for the U. States
to push matters in-making demands of England.
1 A National Rank..- Such an institution is
much needed in this region, and will prove of
incalculable benefit in 'restoring business gene
rally. Our people have ample securities, but
are utterly devoid of money with which to re
sume their occupations. With a healthy bank
in our midst, having ample capital to loan on
undoubted security, we shall soon have prosper
ity again. Wilmington Herald.
This is just what we need in this region, al
so; and we have no doubt it could be easily and
speedily obtained by an energetic combination
of our leading business men. Indeed we have
heard something of a movement said to be al
ready on foot toward the opening of such an in-
eiimtlnn !n fkorlnrto Wo tin nrtt kiinir tiniv
Directions for Administering ; and Record- f it , pressed, or what measure of suc-
ing the Amnesty Oath. The following official i ccss it has met with, but we trust it will be pros
circutaihas been issued:
Aec York Times.,
Department
Washington,
of State,
4
r J
SlR-A copy of the President's amnesty
proclamttioo of this date is herewith appended.
Ry a clause in the instrument the Secretary of
State is frrected to establish rules and regula
tions forUdministering and recording the am
nesty oatl, so as to insure its benefits to the
people arid guard the government against fraud.
Pursuanlto this injunction, you are informed
that theyath prescribed in the proclamation
may be taen and suscribed before any commis
sioned offifcr, civil, military or. naval, in the ser
vice of the United Statesf or any civil or milita
Yy" officer of a loyal State or Territory, wjio by
the laws tlereof may be qualified for ad-ministering
oaths. ' All officers who receive such
oaths are h?eby authorized to give certified co
pies thereof to the persons respectively by
whom theyj were made; and such officers Are
hereby required to transmit the originals of such
oaths at as eWly a day as-may be convenient, to
this department, where they will be deposited
and remain in the archives of the government.
A register thkreof w,ill be kept in the depart
ment, and on application, in proper cases,certi
ficates of such) records will be issued in the ens
tomary form of official certificates. I am sir,
your obedient irvant-
WILLIAM II: SEWARD. .
1 Secretary of State.
ceuted to a successful issue, because we believe
that , here as well as in Wilmington, it .would
prove of incalculable benefit in restoring busi
ness generally. Chqrlotte Bulletin.
An Auctioneer Caught in Jlis Own Trap.
Smith, the auctioneer, is a popular, man, a wit
and a gentleman. No person is offended at
what he says, and many a hearty, laugh he has
provoked by his humorous sayings. He was
lately engaged at a sale of venerable household
furnitur and fixins. He had just got to "Go
inggoing, and a half, and a half, going!"
when he saw a smiling countenance upou agri
cultural'shoulders winking at him.
A wink is always as eood as a nod to a blind
horse; or a keen sighted auctioneer; so Smith
winked, and the man wiuked, and t bey kept
winking, and Smith kept "Going, going," with
a lot ot glass ware, stovepipes, carpets, pots and
perfumery, and finally the lot was knocked
down. .
'To who?" said Smith gazioc at the smilinc
HEWS ITEMS.
stranger.
Id Macon Ga good bason has sold as low a
seven cents pec Jound, fresh beef at eight cents
per pound. Com weal at seventy-five cents per
bushel, and eggs at fifteen cents per dozen.
"Who? Golly I" said the stranger, "I dun no
viho!"
"Why, you sir," said Smith.
"Sho: Me!" ' ft
it'Yes, yes," said, Smith; you bid on the lot."
A"Mer "I'll be goll darned if I did," insisted
the stronger;
Why did'ntyou wink, and keep winking?"
quoth the auctioneer.
' "Winkin! Well I did so did jpu wink at
iut. I thought you were winkin! at much as to
cay keep dark, I'll stick 'somebody on this lot
I of stuff; and I winked, as much as to say I'll
I be goll darned if you don't, mister."
General Beauregard,,of whom we haro heard
very little for the past two months, ws in NeW
Oileans on the 2 2d, and registered his name t
General' Ranks' headquarters as a paroled rebel
officer.
Trial or Jlff. IfAVis.Tbe Judges of
the Supreme Court of the District of Colurubj
have determined to try Jeff Davis, on the in
dictment found last Friday, before a full bench,
Judge Carter presiding. There is reanoo to be
lieve that the trial will take plaae on or about
the 19th of this month, unless the defendant
can make a showing of necessity for postponing
the hearing for a few djiya. The trial cannot
occupy more thai) three or four days in' the inj.
panueling of the jury and presentation ot evi
dence; any-further prolongation" will depend on
the length of arguments of counsel. New J or,
Herald. Gov. Rrown of Georgia has been released on
parole at Washington.
The military commission has found Rcnjamiu
G. Harris, member of Congress from Maryland,
guilty of the charges' of persuading rebel sol-
dicrs not to tasce tne ostn oi allegiance, but tj
get exchanged and go back and continue tit
fight. He was sentenced to three years' iraprii.
onment and a forfeiture of all political right.
The President has approved of the -finding, but
remitted the sentence, and tho prisoner has beei
released.
It is understood that the mission of Gentn',
Sickles to Rogota was for the purpose of obu'm
ing grants of land for the purpose of settling
them with blacks from the United HtattP, ami
that the late President, who authorized the mis
sion, was willing to give fifteen millions of dol
lars for adequcte territory.
Kentucky. A resolution was introduced in
both branches of the Kentucky Legislature to
recon&ider that rejecting the . Constitutional
Amendment abolishing Slavery, but was refused
permission to be entered. The vote, however,
showed a large accession of strength to the ran Li
of its friends.
Cbiro, Thursday, June J.
Trade has airly opened with the people ci
Northern Alabama. Two steamers have gone
below from this city, laden with merchandise
for that section, which sells readily at satiifacto
ry rates, money being found thero hi unexpect
ed abundance. -
r T . . . t i
xuumid. it is surprising to tnose woo
have been in' the oity since its occupation bj tbe
union army, and'wbo formed a very unfavorable
estimate of the amount of articles of trade here,
to witness the cart and dray loads pf cottoriOk
in, &c , dow beiog "stored in the. warehouses for
shipment to the northern market. Where it
comes from no one knows. Ten days ago all
kinds of vehiclesfor hauling could be found iu
idleness on the streets, but 'since" the removal of
restrictions on trade not one is to be tfeen all
busy hauling. Wilmington Herald.
m
The National Debt. We hive now the
official figures, from the hands of Secretary Mc
Culioch, showing us the aggregate of the nation
al debt as it was known to exiit on the 1st of
the present month. The following are the de
tails: Total indebtedness S2,GS5.205,7.V;
Interest, both in gold and paper 124,C3,S"4
Amount bearing interest in coin 1 ,108,1
-Interest G4,4H(.,4N'
Rearing interest in lawful money 1,053,470,:JT1
Interest G0,16S,:N
Amount on which interest has ceased 78G,2
Amount bearing no interest 472,82J,I'i
Legal teuder notes in circulation 659,100,501
Fractional currency 24,GG7,U'.H'
Uncalled for pay requisitions 4U,00U,tXK'
Treasury notes over .25,0UU,l'W
It thus it appears that we have already s iMt
of over two thousand six hundred and thirtj
five millions, which before the fiscal year, in
1866, will no doubt be swelled, to three thou
sand millions, with an interest of one hundrfi
and fifty millions in gold and currency to
annually. New York Herald.
CIRCULAR IN RELATION TO Till
SHIPMENT OP COTTON,-&c.
Headquarter Department of North Carolina.
JUWrigb, N. C Mar 30, ltttfi.
General Orders No. Ci.
AU seizures of Cotton or other products, oi
private property of whatever kind, are prohibit
All restrictions upon the purchase and tbipni-'
of tbe prodacs of tbe coon try bare been rcrao"
All pofoo. except those in the militarj srrvic. '
authorized to purcharc and hij to market, u
and other products without restriction. Tl e
ernroent tax of twentj-five per cent, upon IVV
will be paid at the sea pott from which tLe
meet i$ xuade. .
The Qfiartermaiter's department will nfVurJ
pojiible facilltiea tor tbe ahipment of cotton
other products over the military railroad.
All commanding officers are required to entvr'
the prohibitions of this order, and to Mrmf''
people to send products of the country tu m'
Tbej willnlso gire- purchasers and slipper w"e''
ear j protection as far as practicable.
Hr command of ilsj. Gen. SchofielJ,
J. A. CAMPBELL, As't A5jt