tt iwUi) Star. 1 k N ' - A M Y -v'- .- ..".;o ivvnMi "i --;f - ' osP'M'icningpt-V' ' n , -fvtk w to i f ll" l ri II ; n : -n - m i mm mm mia ' 1 1 . . - . . r ,v - wv . m : .' i ' . t . t . . . -. SI. 50 a Year, in advance. SS8S3383SSSSSSS3S siHQOH CI H vA 04 C sssssssssssssssss 33SS33SSSSSSS3SS3 SSa'8'8'89'SSSSSSgS3 SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS smnoH z SSS3S333SS2SSSS33 sssssssssssssssss 3 X mi m - nn (x w ex w w W W SSSSi?8SSSS8SS8SS8 etaioVaOMetniaeeeMeag' SSoSSoSSSooSSSSSS -I o eo d oo cs o i-1 05 eJ os it - mh e e ei a CQ OHC9lOOffl Entered at the Post Office at Wilmington, N. 0., aasecopd-claaa matter. J Subscription Price - "... The subscription price of the Wekk ,v Sijar is as follows : single Copy 1 year, postage paid, $1.50 i " " G months, 44 44 1.00 : t 3 " ' .50 TUB B A lit ROAD QUESTION AGAIN. A 8 the matter is so very important we recur to the proposition to settle with the holders of the Construction Bonds. It is not a question of whether North Carolina will payits .debts or not so much as it is whether North Carolina will retain theTw-nership in part of the most important road within its borders, or let it pass forever from under its con trol. The Star is sick and tired of the palaver about a "North Carolina 'system." That, is the sheerest. bun come the most unmitigated bosh. Bat the St ah does not believe in aelingjin wisely in an important busi ness transaction if it 'can be avoided. Farther investigation into the reo-:uuieudatiou of the Comraission appointed by Governor Jarvis to, represent the Slate satisfies us that the proposition heretofore com mented upon ought to. be accepted, if nut in its entirety, atJeast in its main features. That is to say, a settlement cannot be avoided, and the proposed terms seem to be as fair as could be expected When , the circumstances are viewed, and the. whole question considered. The main point of objection with us is the time the new bonds are to run. We i not approve of the furty years proposition. We do not believe the Legislature will or ought to agree to thai time. Half the time ought to Uj the farthest, it strikes us, for in tweuty years the population of North Carolina will be more than 2,300, 000, and arrangemeuts can be made, sareiy, to either pay off the entire , debt or to takre up the six per cent, bonds outstanding, and, issuing four per cent, bonds, place them in market . to raise whatever may be still due on the debt. North Carolina four per cent, bonds will no doubt sell well if the future is not clouded by now unforeseen calamities. We believe that when the business men of the Legislature come to consider .the details of the settlement with the holders of the Construction Bonds they will not favor the unnecessarily . long period of forty years. The idea should not get into the tax-payers' minds that it is optional' with the State whether it liquidates its. debt or not. The North Carolina Railroad is a very valuable piece of property. We have reason to believe ; that the Richmond & Danville Rail road, that leased it for twenty years, some seven or eight of which have expired, is making by its bargain, and making'largely. There is no mort . gage on this long railroad. There are not many railroads in the United States of which this can be said. The great lines in the North are covered all over with mortgages, but not so with the North Carolina Railroad. If the State meets the obligation incurred in the construction of the road, it will be very valuable proper ty, worth many millions, and will be the key, so to speak, to other roads, Sf and will be controlled henceforth -by the people. The Commission is composed of three well qualified gentlemen, name ly, Messrs. George Davis, Montford , McGehee and Donald W. Bain. No one who knows them will doubt either their capacity for such work or their integrity of purpose. They have viewedthe question in all of its hearings, and they are. clearly in fa vor of settling with the bondholders, and upon the terms mentioned al ready. Wo have indicated the point to which we would object. " We recapitulate: the present debt is some $2,Y00,00Q. The Charlotte VOL. XII. Observer says $2,600,000, and it may be correct. The State owns $3,000j 000 of stock in the road. This stock is now-in the hands of a receiver, who was appointed by the TL 8: Court in the celebrated Swazey suit. When the bonds held in 'New t York and elsewhere have matured, then the property will be sold like any other property, uuder the- hammer and to the highest bidder." If the Stale arranges the debt the property passes from under the control of the bondholders or their agent, the re ceiver. The Treasurer of the State takes his place and money is saved, thereby. The Charlotte Observer says: - ' : "Under the act .of Assembly , the State Commissioners act in "a double, capacity : they compromise or arrange the debt as Commissioner, and tbey receive . and hold all the old bonds a? trustees, until such lima as tbey are directed to be cancelled by the proper authorities. When these old bonds come iu to their hands, as trustees, tbey will have control of the' Swazey suii, and will, of com ee, dismiss it, and save the now enormous expenses in the way of fees, costs and commissions, and vet hold the eld bonds in trust The same paper ; estimates that $24,000 will be the sum applied an nually to the sinking- fund, and .that in forty years this sum invested an nually will pay the new bonds at maturity, and leave the State in pos session of $3,000,000 without paying one cent of tax. The debt now, principal and interest, is over $3,200,- 000. The creditors propose to relin-? quieh $624,000 a clear saving doubt less to the State. The new bonds will be not less than $2,600,000. The interest will not be less than $156,- 000 annually. The i lease of the Richmond & Danville Railroad will continue for some twelve years, we suppose. It pays $260,000 annual rental. We repeat, it is not a simple ques tion whetuer or not the State will meet its obligations. It is whether it will allow a great State Railroad to be sold at auction, and thus pass forever from its control, or make ar rangements to save it, and in the end, without taxation, became the owner of $3,000,000 of its stock. If the needed steps are not taken the valua ble property will be sold by a reoeiver. What say the people? Shall this be done, or shall the recommendations of the Commissioners be adopted,subject to such changes as subsequent dis cussion and reflection may suggest in the arrangement ef the details? The Stab very much prefers the latter. - THK OCCASION ISIPBOVBD. The Wilmington Stab is perhaps not aware that there are people not one hun dred milss trom Wilmington who denied whether that sheet bad any Democracy to "bust" even long before Hancock 8 defeat. aaaumry Citizen. This is from the new Radical pa per at Salisbury,editeJ by a man who a few weeks ago was conducting the most rampant Democratic sheet pos sible. There are fellows who cannot draw a distinction between fidelity to principle and subserviency to men . The Stab is the organ of no man or set ot men ; of no clique or ring; but it is a sincere, earnest supporter of the great distinctive principles of the Democratic party. It does not in dorse all that Democrats may do. It would not be worthy of the conside ration of reflecting, conscientious men if it supported a party measure, right or wrong. There' is a differ ence, sometimes as wide as the poles, between party principles and a mere party measure. We have never asked the Democratic party for any favors. We have always tried to pursue the right, to be governed by our convictions of duty, and have supported every principle of the De mocratic party that has given it cre dit or influence. There' are always questions of policy arising what is best to do under given circumstances, and here comes in a fair occasion for variant opinions. , The Star has warmly supported every Democratic State ticket, every Democratic National ticket, every nominee of the party for office, and no man of truth and honor can ques tion justly its fidelity to principle. We would have paid no attention to the Salisbury turn-coat if it were not that some one might construe pur silence into acquiescence. We do not parade our principles or enter upoa a def ence of our fidelity. Our political course is a sufficient refuta tion of all flings and innuendoes, come from Radical or Democratic source as - ie case may be. We are glad to know that the seal and energy with which the Star sup ported Hancock and the Democratic ticket generally in the last campaign has been warmly approved both by WILMINGTON, N. C.r FRIDAY, DECEMBEHf 24 1880: 1 some of oar brethren of the press and I interests ; and greatest safety and. f popnlationrof .the.loegroer-wli! iave.i by hundreds of Democrats inl this sec- I prosperity of tue peome of the South 'jwsen 'to !&&&Rte3 "swrM'v- tSon who, unlike many others, "have are to, be found in harmonious con -1, Thr calculation is -not exoesslve. l no price" for their principles. THE : 1 ' i - IBtKEGlJI. AE&IT1ES CF THB ELECIOBAL SYSTEM . The evils of the present' electoral system are being discussed,; and some of our exchanges are poibting out some of the probable conseauences that might have followed.1 . In; orer to arrive at a proper understanding of the matter it will be necessary to ga ther from many sources information concerning the operations of the sys tem.7 Take one view of it. The Philadelphia i: 7VMii monfirkna that. all the Garfield electofs were chosen in Northern States, where a Repub- licin vote of about three millions and a quarter carries 214 electoral votes, while a Democratic vote t of nearly three millions names but seventeen electors. A change of two thousand votes in the six and a quarter mil lions would have given those seven teen electors to the Republicans. On the other hand, a change of eleven or twelve thousand votes in the State of New York would have reversed the election. ; A candidate might receive a ma jority of a half million of the popu lar vote and still be defeated by little Rhode Island in the Electoral Col- lege. The Times mentions another ininatw , Tfhrv.io Toioni haa hnt. 18,000 Republican voters. It yet has four electoral votes. New York has more than half a million Demo cratic voters, and yet this year it is not allowed to name one electoral vote. So the voice of the people! does not have a nl opportunity of making a choice or expressing a pre ference. ' The same injustice will be f ound in a dozsn other places. Mis souri, with 'one hundred and fifty thousand Republicans, has no vote, whilst the fifteen thousand Demo- crats of Delaware name t$rce elect ors.- The Times says: "A system like this is certainly well cal culated to encourage sectional antagonism, and in a-i important election it must be about im.oasible to prevent the arrayiDg of one group of States against another group. At the recent election had the electors been chosen by Congressional Districts,with two I or the state at large. there would have been no solid South as now rigidly accepted, and there would have been no practically solid North. No large body of voters would have been without representation." j - If the evils be genuine and flagrant and the inequalities great, why con tinue it? Why will not the press take hold of the matter without party bias and sift it to the bottom. If it is a good, fair,equitable Bystem,then continue it. But if an evil, abolish it. THK EDUCATION BILL. In the debate in the Senate on the Education bill Mr. Teller was a little facetious, not to say sarcastic, in his remarks. He thought that as the South appropriated one dollar per oapita for education he did not think the proposed bill, which would give each child in the South seven cents, could improve their educational ad- Vantages very greatly! The new Senator from Alabama, Mr. Pugh, advocated the bill and took occasion to enunciate some necessary truths. He reminded the Senate that four and a half million of negroes had been freed in the South who were too ignorant to exercise (intelligently the right of suffrage that slavery had disappeared, and that sectional ism remained growing out of distrust and ignorance ignorance of the real feelings, dispositions and purposes of the white people of the South, and ignorance of the colored voter. He defended the whites of the South, and deolared that they have been united from no purpose or object unfriendly to the rights, interests or Tjnrsnitaof anv wMtion or of anv people, WW oroolo, bntfor . j - . j ueieuce, ior, seu-preservauon. This is the position the Star has often insisted upon, as its files will show. We have also affirmed re- peafcedly that the people of the North were utterly ignorant both of the feelings and motives of the Southern people and the character of the ne- gro. i5ut however just the senti- ments of Senator Push, , however permeated with, a lofty patriotism and a sincere devotion to the true in- terests of the whole country, we fear his words fell upon cold and unsym.. pathetic ears. The abstract of his speech we have seen shows that he spoke wisely and earnestly. One of his utterances impressed us as both true' and timely. He told the Sen ators that the unavoidable and anal- terable results of the war had deep- Rnfldhia convictions that the "highest fiding s nationality njiyt nationality resulting from centralized 4 govern-1 ment, but nationality secured by fidel-4 ity to the Constitution with all of its delegations, prohibitions and lim- itations of power, andjto the promo- J tion of all thecrreat iobieots recited I .! .m - - . r: t J in it as reasons for the formation of i . - our indissoluble Union of indestruct- ... G . lDle otates. . ' " ' We hope the South will -receive I r - . I such help as may be possible in edu- J eating the now more than tfive mil- & " . . , Z ' lion negroes from the General Qo- vernt The NorhaTreope lib rate4 -themvnd odhTSeiribltyt: to see that they are hot left in a con dition of ignorance which will for ever disqualify them from exercising intelligently the rights of citizenship and sovereignty. kAN OBITUARY AND A BBANGE. KERlEia- The Slater (Missouri) Monitor, of December 11th, announces the death oh the 3d inst. of Mrs. E. J. Robards, reliot of the- late Col. Horace L. Robards, of Salisbury, North Caro lina, aged sixty-four years, born at Ben Lomond, Goochland county, Virginia. She had been sick but a few days when the death of her daughter, Mrs. Annie Keeling Rob erts, save ner a biiock trom wnicn she never recovered and which sent her gradually to her rest. She had not seen her only daughter for five years. They were allowed bv a good Providence to meet before they both passed over the river. The funeral sermon and burial services were per- formed by the Rev. Mr. Woodruff, Episcopal clergy raan, from Marshall, Missouri. Mrs. Robards was for many years the admirable matron of the Oxford Orphan Asylum. She web; indeed a mother to the poor little orphan chil dren who were under her watch-care. The writer has kuowh her for more man iniriy-nve years. large, warm . " hearted, intelligent Christian woman nas euea. tier maiaen name wsb Watkins, and her family is of the best in Virginia. Thirty-five years ago she rode in her carriage drawn by four fine horses. Once in every few weeks her elegant home at Ox-I ford was open to the reception of the ladies and gentlemen of the town and neighborhood. She had her own band of music and was the leader of fashionable society. Five yearsl ago we saw this fine lady, so pure and good and generous, riding in a small wagon, drawn by a mule, herself seated in a common country chair, the driver one of the little: orphan boys over whom she watched with mucu of molherly interest and kindness, going to visit a widowed Biste'r four or five miles in the country. Mrs. Robards was in all respects one of the truest women and finest ladies we have ever known. Peace to her spirit, and may her memory be held in precious remembrance by those whom she befriended both in her wealth and in her poverty. She bore her reverses of fortune with a cheer fulness that was both rare and beauti ful. . THE BOOTH. The South has more white popula tion in 1880 than the United States h when it engaged in the last war with Great Britain. It has more than four times the total population of all the Colonies when they entered upon the War of Independence. It I is a p'ower of no little importance if considered apart from the North. It is believed that the white population now amnnnts to 12.000.000. The i - - black, are snppced to aggregate 6f- ouu,uuu. ine wnues are iu excess over the blacks nearly 6,400.000. There are nearly as many more whites now than blacks as there were total whites when the War of the States begun.. The Columbia (S. C.) JReg- 1 ister hda an interesting article onthe I South, whioh furnishes the Northern politicians something to think about. It shows that the whites of the Sonth I increase much more rapidly in popu- lation than the Northern people in I crease, exclusive of the foreign ele- I ment. It says the facts show that the native population of the South increases , 30 per cent, every ten years. It shows by this rate of in crease that by 1890 there will be 15,848,950 whites; by 1900, 20,603,- I 735; by 1910 that is thirty years, I one generation or jess there will I be 26.783,725. By that time the The increaseToasht t& be maintained if the ionntry rebiainsai' peace, the CTnion and -thtf Constitution are' pre- served," iud.pth olBerity ' of the country sboolbnftnne The hes uter says with force-;: IIm-mA - r'Maintamuijrour rata origrarwth; wjwcu wo have dons from the,-ieundation ef this X. rt-f :-. J-s.- OTCtliiU.U A If lO IUUO OIIUOUl W flUi uiai, without the. advent of single dminigrant hUher Jrm abroad, the Soath,wlUfiWw. tmt nf its own loina one of the moBt'rtower- fill aggregations of white meqr ever known, n oifriliizatinn unH thorp toill apt in B. VWb interchange of population between-thesfr Wapcwwngatw railes, ot nearly 400,000 square mlle&ja eX- cess of .the territory Tot (4ermany,,France;' and the iJnUsh isles, ana nearly equal to. the; territory Britisa LlSift miles.' j'1 1 America lor Americans was .1 the sloean of the North. The South has another rallying cry: The white men of the South must and shall rule the South. There is not enough intensified hatred; there is not enough will-power however exercised in be half of wrong; there is not endtagb pluck and endurance and force in Staiwartism to prevent such a con summation. God Almighty never made the white man to be the slave and the inferior of the black man. The laws of nature cannot be set aside or overturned by the maljce and will of a bitter and vengeful Radicalism. The white men of the South are the masters now and wil I .: . L . r 0 t refflaiu lUB " uiucru., and tte negrophilists and malignants of the North cannot prevent it. The Register finely says: o(KlSK- em land with its vast resources and varied clime, counting within itself more of the eed of rfttt civilized race than was ever groaped together under the sun of neaven utsioro vau cuuicuiuiara mu patience or consent to condone the trifling with their great future to satisfy the paltry demands and selfish schemes of miserable political hucksters, either at home or at the North, .in dealing with the supreme de mands of our civilization. To possess this land and retain it for that mighty civiliza tion awaiting this imperial Bection of our great Union is one of those trusts the Southern white men wiU never, can never surrender." Our friend of the Charlotte Dem- I Qt .g jmaKng an earneat, and ., 5n ftnnnc,ii.in-n-iA.t.hfl rrt. posed settlement of the Construction Bond He is fortified bv another writer who ia a prominerjt gentle- nf cmv Mmanr.a in ubHc affaire ,, We may refer t0 some of the points presented hereaf ter. In the meantime we copy the following : "Our friend of the Wilmington Stab is mistaken in supposing that after the State's stock in the Road is surrendered to the Bondholders, she (the State) will still be responsible for $700,000. She is do more responsible to the Construction Bondbold ers beyond the amount of her stock than she is to all. other classes of Bondholders who are now getting only 15, 25 and 40 cents on the dollar for their old State Bonds." New York has a "Civil Service Reform Association." Some one has sent us its Constitution. The object of this Association is most praise worthy, but unless the President elect should be more devoted to its claims than Hayes, has shown himself to be, we suppose, but little can be done. When the President manifests to the country that he is devoted sincerely to ref orm,that a public servant should be qualified fully for office, and that a public office is a publio trust, then we may expect the beginning of true reform in the Civil Service, and not ubtilthen. New York is soon to be illumina- ted from Fourteenth to Thirty-fourth streets with the electric light, lne Brush Electric Light Company is doing the work. . I TaiK of AbaudoamK ForUvnbuoD. There is talk among the officers of the garrison of Fort Johnston, at Smithville, "at the Uovernment is contemplating me i . . . ... . . , mT.S i ronbIe about it. Thev have formed Quite I n attachment to Maj. Graves and his officers and men and will be loth toee them leave; besides which they are very naturally surprised that this, one of the oldest military posts in the country, should be given up, and they still hope the Gov ernment may be induced to reconsider the matter of its abandonment. Produce Kxchtncei. The successful efforts of the Produce Exchanges of the cities that took action in the matter of the "Suppression of Custom House Statistics," referred to yesterday, afford a striking evidence of the usefulness of these bodies, not only in establishing a uniform set of rules for the government of the members, thus in almost every case avoiding litigation, but also as showing that by their united action ' tbey wield a powerful influence for the public good. We are glad to bear, in this connection, that, our Wilmington Exchange has lately had several accessions to its membership. and that other applications are pending. NO.9. Svperior conn An I taportant Case. Tfa attention 'ot the I Seperior Court ever since Thursday vmorni8giOf. last week has been takea up in the consideration of an important case, being a suit by one of the . ( heirs of Ronald HcDougald far partition of ;ceft4m real estate that the said McDdugald ' left at hU decease. It aeems tbat he left' -:will,' and one .of the, important questious, among the many which came before the Court,. was whether or nojtr under the con struction of that will, he devised to his -wife an estate for life ' or an. estate in fee-. ; And again,- T. 'C. McDougald, one of the heirs at law. ' made - a 'mortgage of his io ..terestin the estate-during bla mother's life, sind the question Is whether the mortgage. eM is. barred by" Japae of time. There ere many wise points of law involved and 'much legal acumen' has been expended in the Various stages of the case; :J .il : . ) The case, as we stated, was commenced onj Tr8daorjung of last week; -the eVidenceclbse obiKfesday-iaat, at' the dinner hour; add Col'D. K.McRte, for the plaintiff, consumed the evening with his argument,' Major D. J. Dcvane, f or.the de fendant, the ensuing (W.edafi8dav) morn ing, and Marsden Bellamy, Esq., for the defendant, the afternoon . and part of Thursday morning; Judge Russell consu ming the remainder of the day in the closing argument for the plaintiff. PENDEB COUNTY. Proceedings or ibe County Commii alonera. - : The Board, of County Commissioners met in adjourned session oaj Friday; pre sent, D. Shaw, chairman, and Commis sioners James H. Alderman and G. W. Corbelt. Eli R. Williams. Sheriff -elect, failed to tender his official bond,- as required by law, whereupon the ofhee was declared vacant, and .the Board proceeded to eleci a Sheriff in the person of Mr. Alfred C. Ward, Democratic candidate for that posi tion at the late election, and the Clerk of the Board was authorized to issue the neces sary certificate of election to Mr. Ward. A. E. Taylar, Register of Deeds-elect, presented a bond for five thousand dollars, with D. L. Russell, S. H. Manning and John T. Bland as sureties thereon, which was approved, ordered registered and placed on file. John M. Daniels. Constable-elect of Caintuck township, declined to qualify, whereupon the office was declared vacant and Franklin P. Hunt was elected to fill the vacancy. I. H. Brown, Coroner-.elect, came before the Board and asked until the first Monday in January to give his official bond, which waa granted. Tbe Carolina Central In Georgia the Railway Commission have reduced passenger fares on the lead ing railway lines of that Stale to three cents per mile. Here in North Carolina, where we have no Railway Commission, the Car olina Central Railroad voluntarily reduces its fare to three cents per mile for round trip tickets. This Company deserves great credit for giving the public an opportunity of showing its appreciation of cheap pas senger fares. UnderAthe new management the picayune policy which once made the Carolina Central a laushinsr stock has been abandoned, and every ert that liberality and sound ' judgment can: suggest is being tried to. make this great cojnmercial artery of -Wilmington no; only a eource of profit to its owners, but a real- and substantial benefit and convenience to the people who support it. It is a pleasure to know .that under the enlightened policy which now prevails the business of the road has largely increased. Progress of the American Union. ; We learn from the Charlotte Observer that the poles of tbe American Union Telegraph Compang bave.becn distributed for seventy miles down tbe Carolina Central Road, and a force of thirty hands began placing them from Charlotte and had finished about five miles on Wednesday. The Observer adds; "The northern con nection from Wilmington over this line will be made through Charlotte, as the company has no wires along the Wilming ton &Weldon Road.- Tbe rates for right of way offered by this road were declined. New York and New Orleans will be con nected directly by a duplex wire already stretched.. Another wire, to Richmond, WiU be stretched in a short time, giving the comDanv three northern wires from this point." ! The Carolina Central mall. Within the next' few days the fast pas senger and express train on the Carolina Central railroad will also be a mail train. It is hoped that the Post Office Department will contract for a mail on both the night and day trains; but, in any event, we are authorized to state, there will be a through and wav mail carried by the fast train which leaves here at 9:10 A. M. Immigration Department People generally will be glad to learn that Col. A. Pope, General Passenger Agent of the Atlantic Coast Line, is about to establish an immigration department in connection with his office, and proposes to establish enereetic agencies in different parts of North Carolina, and will also visit Europe in the interest of tbe praiseworthy scheme. He should; have the hearty ce operation of the people of the State in any effort he may make to induce suitable lm migration in this direction superior Court. In the case of McDougald vs. Bocham, which has occupied the time of this court since Thursday of last week, the jury were unable to agree, and were discharged last night, about 10 o'clock, when the court adjourned for the term, T--Theji2abethCSt that the Windsor cotton factory hat adde d another Clement'5 Attachment and a daily ; set profit of $2&10;4b realized : - ; Mary FraociP ans'aged 24 years, aad of French descent oarher. lath- ! er'B sidehaa dlaappearedmysteriOusly from A jonosioncoamyjirnere she livedo l4i"A slSre- ir Lincolntor was rob ". Ewmg 'were overfiauled with a prt 'of the stolen goods trfd jilted at lacontOa. - L- Capt. 11. S DaVti rill w as sen tenced by Judge Eure to twelve monjhs J imprisonment in the Guilford jail for shoot ing Mr. Cv P.: ftfeisdenbair, as "are - learn from the ixanot.-- ' : . . " v r'--- . pi! A- dentist in Western Noft Carolina, near the . Blue Ridge, aoVtrtises that he will inseit tdil "eets of upper: teeth lor ten dollars, and best material U9eT.8o Papers selecting material for tfofc manufacture ot a U.r 8. Supreme Court, Judjge, and searching for great legal Jearo ipg add ability; fail to mention the greatest lawyer ip the State,. aa the barbelieves-aBd . accepts, l bis is curious. -r Saleni"JVws:";-newBpapeVdi-; retted to "His SattwcJ Majesty,- HeU, Be- 5 low China, came Into the hands nfjbe . route agent or meaatem tsraflca ltailroad, aDd it puzzled tha old ntan how 'to dispose of it. .He asked our. worthy P. M.. and he answered in his usual quiet manner, "all foreign mail matter go Norla."- 'And sp ilwento V . .1- v v:r' '-' ': ' Petersburg Va. December -15. - Information was received ncretbia after-' noon or the shooting and killing of W. J. Bradley near hia borne at Summit. N. .C, yesterday, by a magistrate named James A. Squires. Tbe murder was the result of old grudges. The victim was about 60 years uf age and a wellknown merchant and cotton grower. Tourgee published in the New York Sun a fiat denial that he was bribed while in North Carolina. But what about the Fraud Commission 1 Wilmington Star. Yes, and what about Tourgee cheating that poor old darkey, Pharoab Glass, out of bis money, which Bet him crazy, and caused him to jump into a mill-pond in this counfy ' and drown himself ? This is the only in- . stance we know of a dead negro -being found in a mill-pond. Milton Chronicle. But the Wilmington Stab says Fanny is not the first "American Girl" who ever wore fine clothes by a long odds. It looks almost cruel to spoil a good thing like this, but candor compels us to state that Fanny is an English girl. Raleigh Star. .Tne point or the article is that she played . the "American Girl," and it does not mat ter what her nationality is. In point of fact, we suppose, she is American and is the daughter of tbe once celebrated KL. Davenport. J A colored boy employed by Mr. C. M. Kerr as house boy -in the ab sence of the family several nights ago- slept 18 hours witbout awakening, lie went to sleep at 9 o'clock at night and woke up at 3 o'clock next evening. Greensboro Patriot. Rev. Dr. Deems goes to bed on Friday night and is not awakened until Saturday afternoon. ' He thus recu perates from his severe labors. He has no rest day on Sunday, so he uses Saturday lor tbe purpose, which is sensible, very. Stab. . , . Raleiejh Visitor: A meeting of the friends of prohibition was held in the Common's Hall last night, at which an or ganization was effected under the name and style of tbe Prohibitionary Liquor Law As sociation.of which the following gentlemen were elected officers: President, Judge E. O. Rsttdi; Vioo Prooidont, Et. Jl. Qndgr Secretary, R. H. Wbitaker; Treasurer, N. . B. Broughton. The following were ap pointed a committee to prepare and issue a call for a State Convention: Rev Thos. E. Skinner, John A. McDonald, W. C. Kerr, N. B. Broughton and E. R. Stamps. The Charlotte Democrat is op posed to lea ng the A. & N. C Railroad to the W. & W. Railroad. Wonder if it is in favor of leasing it to Best ? Wilmington Star. If your question is intended to get information as to our position, we will say that we are not in favor of leasing the At lantic & N. C. Railroad to Best or any other person or corporation until tbe Legislature has a chance to consider the subject, as it had in the matter of leasing the Western North Carolina Railroad. The Stab is about as much of aa admirer of Mr. Best's railroading ability as is the Democrat but as he is almost out of the railroad business in this State.it is not worth while to discuss his merits. Cliarlotte Observer. Charlotte Observer: The colored people in that section of Logtown situated below the North Carolina Railroad depot were greatly stirred np yesterday afternoon on account of the discovery of a dead baby floating on the surface ef tbe water in a well in the neighborhood. The mar riage ceremony of Mr. J. L. Chambers.for four years connected with tbe editorial staff of the Observer, and Miss Emma Mc Dowell, both of this city, attracted a select company to the Second Presbyterian church last evening. Ours is not the only town that wants amendments to her charter. Durham will also apply to the next Legislature on the subject. Mr. George Cobb was, examining his pistol, on his way home late last night, when it went off and broke one of bis fingers, the ball 'passing through it at the joint. E. J. Hale writes to the Fay etteville Examiner on 13th, from New York: I have in press a scorching "Reply to the "Fool's Errand," by Wm. L. Royall, late of Richmond, Va., where he was a prac ticing lawyer and editor of the Daily Com" monweaUh, and now a lawyer in this city. I could wish that some one in North Caro lina had undertaken this task, which would not have been, as Kenneth Rayner once said in reply to a fellow member of the' Legislature, "skinning a dead dog," for Tourgee ia not dead by any means. Bat his exposure should have come from among the people whom he bad basely maligned. Tbe pamphlet will be issued in a few days, at the price of 25 cents. I think that Tour gee must be qualifying himself to be the Radical candidate for President. He may not yet have committed perjury, but will hardly allow such a trifle as that to stand in bis way. PEUSOKA Ij. George N. Lewis, the former husband of "Sylph," of whiskey ring noto riety, died recently at Jerseyville, 111. -Gen. . McDonald and the widow are said to be mated at Nokomis, 111. M. de Lesseps says he owns only one share in bis Panama Canal project. He bought it at $500, and tbe shares are now worth $3,000 on the Paris Bourse. Simi larly be purchased (founder's shares in the Suez Canal.whicb to-day are worth $80,060. . Mr. Vest, of Missouri, called John Brown an old scoundrel in the Senate, and then something was said on the Re publican side of the chamber in the old man's defence. Senator Edmunds thanked God his soul is still marching on. .. . v . Mile. Jeanne Bernhardt, Sara's sister, arrived in New York from Havre a day or two ago. She was dreadfully sea sick all the way over. When her tall form, encased from bead to foot in an olive green cloBk and capped with a marvelous piece of head-gear, glided along the gacg plank tbe bystanders all exclaimed: "How like the B. herself I - I: ft r i - x