Newspapers / The Daily Wilmington Herald … / Oct. 26, 1865, edition 1 / Page 1
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. . ' ' mil ' " . HPMW ' TfT) A W " WITT - M'TFTcf :' !i c . 1 I r. t-U SECOND -EDITION. THREE O CLOCK P. M. To be Lifted. , J. N., the astute and immortal.; philosppher; promises to 'Hit the veil" at the market house at 7 o'clock this evening. Look out for-the engine, etc. t , ir r ; ? H t3 THE LATESTTOWS BY TELEGRAPH; a No report this afternoon. BY MAIL. THE PRESIDENTS VIEWS. What Mr. Johnson Thinks of the Restoration of the Southern States, THE P UNISHMENT OF TREASON. STATUS fcc, OF THE fee , NEGRO. &c INTERVIEW WITH MB. JOHNSON. Medford, Mass., Oct. 8, 1865. My Dear Sir I was so much impressed with our conversation of last Tuesday thatI returned immediately to my room and wrote"down such of the points made as I could remember, and, having pondered them all the way home, am to day more than ever convinced that, if corrected by you and returned to me, for either public or private use, it will go far to promote a good un derstanding between you and pur leading men. It will also unite the public mind in favor of your plan, so far at least as you would carry it out without modification. You are aware that I do not associate much with men in political life, but rather with those who, representing the advanced moral sense of the country, earnestly labor for the good of our people, without hope of or even desire for office or other immediate reward. . The latter class de sire earnestly to understand your plans and, if possible, support your administration. I think the publication of your process of re construction, with the reasons for your faith in it, will commend itself to their candid judgment, and, as I told you, inspire our whole northern people with confidence in your administration. The report is meagre and unsatisfactory, but I think it conveys, for the most part, the spirit of our conversation. Therefore, although the whole tenor of your words led me to believe it was not Intended .to be kept private, I have refrained from answering the specific inquiries of ajixious friends, whom I met on my way home, lest I might, in some way, leave a wrong impression on their minds. Truly your friend, GEORGE L. STEARNS. To the president of the United States. THE PRESIDENT'S VIEWS. - - Washington, D. C, Oct. 3 11.1-2 A. M. I have just returned from an interview with President Johnson, in whichhe talked for an"hour on the process of reconstruction of rebel states. His manner was as cordial, and his conversation as free, as, in 1863, when I met him daily in Nash ville. His countenar.ee is healthy even more so than when I first knew him. I remarked that the people of, the north were anxious that the process of reconstruction should be thorough, and they wished to support him in the arduous work ; but their ideas were confused by the conflicting reports constantly circulated, and especially by the present position of the dem ocratic party. It is industriously circulated in the democratic clubs that he was going over to them. He laughingly replied, "Major, have you never known a man who for many ; years had differed from your views because you were in advance of him, claim them as his own when he came up to your stand-point!" 1 replied, "I have often." He said, "So have I," and went on "The democratic. party finds its old position untenable, and is coming to ours. If it lias come up to our position, I am glad of it.- You and I need no preparation for this conversa tion ; we can talk freely on this subject, for the thoughts are familiar to us ; we can be perfectly frank with each1 other." He then commenced with saying that the states are in the union, which is whole and indivisible.' . ' Individuals tried to carry them out, but did not succeed; as a man may try to cut his throat and W prevented by the bystanders ; and you cannot siy he cut histhroat because he tried to do it. Individuals may commit treason, and be pun. islied, and a large number of individuals may con- stitute a rebellion, and be punished as traitors. Some states tried to get out of the union, and we opposed it, honestly,, because we believed it to be wrong; and we have succeeded in putting down the rebellion. The power of those persons who made the attempt has been crushed, and now we want to reconstruct the state governments, and have the power to do it.' The stab institutions are prostrated, laid out on the ground, and they must be taken up and adapted to the progress of events ; this cannot be done in a moment. We are making very rapid progress so rapid I some times cannot realize it ; it appea s : like a dream. We must not be in too much of a hurqr. It; is better to let them reconstruct themselves than to force them to it; for if they , go wrong, the power is in our hands and we can check them at any stage, lo the end, and oblige them to correct their errors. We must be natient with them. I did not expect lo keep out all who were excluded from the amnesty, or even a large number of lliem ; but I intended they should sue for pardon, and so realize the enormity of the crime they had committed.-, Is. '" You could not hafis broached the subject of equal suffrage, -at the north, seven years ago, and we must remember that the changes at the south have been more rapid, and they have been obliged to accept more unpalatable truth Hum the north has. We must give them time-to digest a part ; for we cannot expect such large affairs will be comprehended and digested at once. We must Rive them time' to 'understand their new posi tion. " ,-. . . , , J ,..' I have nothing to conceal in these matters, and have no desire or willingness to take indirect courses to obtain what we want. Our government is a grand and lofty structure; in searching for its foundation we find it rests on the broad basis of popular right. " The elective franchise is not a natural right, : but a political right. I am opposed to giving the . states too much power, and also to a great consolidation of power in the central government. .If I interfered with the vote in the rebel states, to dictate tltat the negro shall -vote, Imighfdo thr tatne thing for my own purposes ' in Pennsylvania. Our only safety lies in allowing each state to- ctntrol the right of voting by it own laws, and we have the power to control the rebel, states if they go wrongs If they rebel we have the army, and can control them by it, and, if necessary, by legisla tion also. If the general government . controls the right to vote in the pta tea it may establish auch rules as will restrict the vote to a small x.io'Jsr of persons, and thus create a central des- ? y position liere is different from what It would 1c if I Was in Tennessee. u frt - r ; . There. I should try to introduce 'negro tttjfr aye y ' tally: first those, cho had served in the army; th tr who could read andtcrite. and per Imps a pro pt : fiqttdification for others, say $200 or $250. I It will not do to let the negros have universal suffrage now, it would breed a . war of races. " "There was a time in the southern .slates when tlte slaves . cf large otpners looked . dotw - upon noit-; slareotcners because they did not own slaves; the larger the number of slave 1 their masters owned, the prouder they werei and Jhis has produced L hos tility between the mass of the whites and the negros. The outrages are mostly from the rion slaveholding whites; ;t , ,i : : : I, ,The negro will vote with the late master whom he doesnot hate, rather than with the non-slave-bOlding white, whom he- does hate. Universal suffrage would create, another, war, not against us, but Sa war of races. Another thing. This government is the freest and best on the earth,- and I feel sure is destined to last; but to secure this we must elevate and purify the ballot. I for-many years contended at the routh that slavery was a weakness, but others said it was political strength; ithey thought we gained three-fifths representation by itt I contended that we lost two-fifths. . i ",' . It we had no slaves we should have had twelre representatives more, according , to the : ratio of representation.:. Congress apportions representa tion byr states, not districts, andthe state appor tions by districts, '- Many years ago -I -moved 'nf the legislature, that the apportionment of representatives to con gress in Tennessee should be qualified voters. . The appprtipnmehf''is now fixed until 1872; before that.time we might change the basis of re presentation' froni population to qualified voters, north as well as south, and in due course of time, the states, without regard to color, might extend the elective franchise to all who possessed eertain mental, moral, or such other qualifications as might be deter mined by an enlightened public judgment. THE PRESIDENT'S ENDORSEMENT. Boston, Oct. 18, 1865, The above report was returned to me by Presi dent Johnson, with the following endorsement. GEORGE L. STEARNS. I have read the within communication, and find it substantially correct. " I have made some verbal alterations. A.J. The Fenians. Philadelphia, Oct. 23. The Fenian organization was completed to-day by electing the following persons as " senators :" V. R. Roberts, of New York, President of the Senate; B. D. Killian, of Missouri ; James Gib bons, of Pennsylvania ; Michael Scahlah, of Il linois ; B. B. Darley, of Indiana ; R. F. Mallon, of Tennessee ; W. Fleming, of New York ; P. Bannon, of Kentucky; P. J. Meehan, of the Irish American, New York; P., A. Sennott, of Massa chusetts; J. W. Fitzgerald, of Ohio; S. J. Meanv, of the Toledo Commercial, Ohio ; P. O'Rourke, New Yrork ; W. O'Sullivan, Ohio ; D. O'Sullivan, New York. The new constitution provided for a house of representatives, to be composed of the delegates assembled in congress. - They held their firrt ses sion this evening. The house wassailed to order at six o'clock, on motion of Colonel M. C. Mur phy, who was elected permanent speaker, arid P. A. Collins was elected secretary. John O'Ma hony was declared, amid loud and enthusiastic cheers, again and again repeated, the unanimous choice of the joint- house for president of the Fenian Brotherhood in North America. : - Execution cf Champ FurpuKon. - -NASHViLLByvOctober 20. Champ Furguson, the guerilla, was executed at noon to-day. He evinced no emotion until the rope was placed around his neck, when his face turned very red and brok into profuse perspira tion, attended with a strorg quivering of the lips. He stood composedly on the drop some twenty minutes, while the charges, specifications and sentence were read by Colonel Shatter. He nodded recognition to several persons in the crowd, and shifted his position in an impatient manner while the sentence was being read. To some specifications he inclined his headjin assent. To others he shook his head. He requested that his body be given in charge of his wife, and called upon his Maker to have mercy on him. The drop then fell, and in a few seconds he was a lifeless corpse. Attack 011 Matamoras Abandoned. New Orleans, October 19. Late Mexican advices report all fears of an at tack upon Matamoras at an end, the forces of Escobedo and Cortinas having separated and only a; few straggling followers of the latter remaining in the neighborhood of the town. Maximilian, it is said, intends increasing his forces largely on the frontier. MARINE INTELLIGENCE. Tide Table. CORRECTED WEEKLY, BY G. W. MASTER. WILLIAMS, HARBOR PHASES Full Moon 4t Last Quarter 11th New Moon 19th First Kuarter 27th OF THE MOON. .. 5:15 P. M. ..10:05 A. M. ..11:06 " ; .10:16 " HIGH WATER OS. BAR. CTOBBB. sun. RISES. I SETS. MOOJT 8ETS. 23 21 Monday. Tuesday, 6.. 12 6.. 12 6.. 13 6.. 14 6. .15 6. .16 6.. 16 5. .17 5.. 16 5. .15 5. .13 5. .12 5. .11 5.. 10 8. .11 9.. 01 9.. 53 10. .50 11. .50 (Moon) e9 9.. 59 10. .44 11. .30 (Moon.) 0..21 1..16 2. .16 25 j Wednesday.. 26 27 28 29 Thursday. Jj riday . . . Saturday , Sunday.. High water at Wilmington two honas fifty -six minutes later than at the bar. PORT OF WILMINGTON, N. C. , ARRIVED. Oct 26 -Str Flora Temnle, Damming, from Xorfoik to Savannah, to Harris & Howell, put in for eoal. Captain Demming, of he steamer Flora Temple, re ports having left Beaufort yesterday morning at 9 o'clock, and the steamer Euterpe was not there at that time. f COMMERCIAL. The Home IWnrket. '- WitBisGTOif, Oct. 26 2 P. M. COTTON. The second bale of new Cotton received this season arrived to-day, from Nichols' Depot, on ' "the Manchester railroad. M. Mclnnis is the consignee. No sales have as yet transpired. ROSIN 198 bbls Broken Common were received and sold at $4 60. TURPENTINE 87 bbls sold at 4 25 aonsiderab!e advance.. ';.' , - TAR Sales of 151 bbls at f 60. V TIMBER Two rafts ordinary and good middling were sold at ?12 and $18 60 per M. New XoxKlWdrlieU'-'lS. - J- , (By Mail.) 1 New York, Oct. 21. and M0 bar corn meal, 22,346 bushels wheat, 354,000 do corn, 62,470 doats, 7,600 00.170, ana ioa,oo ao. oaney. Th aiarket for State andfAVestern Flour was firmer, and prices closed oc a 10c higher, under an active speculative and fair trade demand. TJie sales were neariy ou,uw Mis. Southern Flour was in improrfd demand, ' ami prices were sliehtly higher. The sales comprised 600 d'jIs. Canada Flour was also more active, and prices ad vanced 5c a 10c per bW for all grades. Th e Bales were about 400 bbls. Rve Flonr Was rather Quiet, but as the etook was pretty 1VW, prices were firov ' Coru meal was GRAIN. The market for Wheat wu more active, and prices advanced 2c a 3c per bushej, and at the close . ry nrm- i ne sales embrace 55,000 bushel at si 67 r 1 73 for Chicago sprigg, fl 68 a $1 7S for Mil waukee elub. $1 75 1 76 for Amber Milwaukee, f2 24 a w Amber State, and f2 75 for choice new WbB state. The corn market was considerably depressed by neaTy arrivals, under which prices ruled a trifle in buy ers' favor, thoasrh at the close the market was rather more sieaay..; The galea were about; 85,000- bueheks at -i wu if umwnna, ana 4c a i-as lor . eoand Mixed V efctern. Oats were rather quiet, but prices were with out material change; sound were setttnsrat 57e a"59c, and nound at 50c a 54c. , Rye was quiet, with, a few sales at fl 20 for Canada. Malt was duH and prices were quite nominal. Bjriey was in fair demand and prices remain ed steady, with sales of 40,0iXr bushels Canada at 1 25 a 1 27 mostly at the inside price. 7 COFFEE Was very firm and quite active. "We Jiote sales of 5,003 bags Rio, et-Ureula on private terms. A steady jobbing-trade was aiso done at yesterday's qnota- COTTON Opened steady at 57c a 58c for 'Middling: but prices subsequently lecameiirreguiar, and the mar ket closed dull-, heavy, and fully, le per lb in buyers' fa vor. The sales were very moderate, comprising 950 bales. We qnote: , ' ; T Upland; Florida Mobile. N.O.&TI Ordinary ..-44 -44 43 45 Middling 56 56 '; 57 ; -H 57 CkJod mjddllug.7. 58 .59 , : 6 ; : 60 PROVISIONS The pork, market was again irregular and unsettled, opening nearly 2 lower for new Mes.J but closing rather more "steady at $33 62 1-2"; prime and prime Mess were almost -nominal: k-nd the tnttr ninwd heavy, with a tendency to decline-, at $29','the sales 6bm prised about $8,000 bt.is at $33 50 a 34 50 for Mess, 820 for Prime, and $20 a 29 75 for Prime Mesit The beef mar ket was less active, but prices were well maintained; and if anything were; tending to advance: the sales-were about 730 bbls at f 11 a 14 for Plain Mess, and $14 a 17 for Extra Mess. Beef hams, were 1a limited supply and in fair request, but we heardof no safes, In consequence of the extreme view of iioldera.UB;oofti wos also held; above buyers' views, and war-ery quiet. Cut Meat 'were inastive. and" prices were nominal tn the absence of sales. Bhoulders were held at 16 l-.2e a 17 1-2, and Hams at 20c a 23 l-2c per lb. The Iar4 warket was flrm. with a good inquiry. The sales were 700 packages at 24 l-2c a l 2c ior common wcnpice.. .iJutter was firm, but .only a moderate demand prevailed. The sales were at 28c a 42c for Western, and 42c a 55e for State. Cheese was quiet, with a few sales at 14c a 18 l-2o for common to choice factory. .-.. . . JiRICE Was quiet and unchanged; we heard of no sales. SUGAR The market was dull, but full prices were sustained. The sales were eonlined to 164 hhds Cuba Muscovado at 14 l-2e a 14 S-4c. Refined Sugar was firm, but not active. FINANCIAL. New York Gold Market. J By Mail.'" Nw Tobk, Oct 21. Gold opened at 1461-4, touched li6 S-8, fell off to 145 3-4, and closed at 146 1-8. Silver continues scarce, and is wanted at 3c a 4c below the price of gold. ; . THE WEEKLY WlUILGrON HEUALD. Tlie Largest, Best and Cheapest Newspa per in North Carolina. ' The Weekly Herald for the present weeki ready ou Saturday, will contain the very latest news by telegraph and the mails up to the hour of going to press ; New York and European Gossip ; choice storFes and poetry : religious intelligence ; agricultural information: weekly review of -the markets, etc., etc., etc. Terms. Fer year, $2 50 ; six months, $1 50 ; three months, $ 1 00 ; one month, $0 50. A limited number ' of advertisements only will be received, which must be handed in by Thurs day noon. . - . FROM THIS MORNING'S EDI TION. , THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. THE GENERAL CONVENTION. A Loyal Xhaiiltsjrivingf Service- the Action of the House of BishopsA State ulent bylDr. Kerfoot. Correspondence of the Evening Post. Philadelphia, Oct. 18. A supplementary service of thanksgiving was held last nigiit, by those members of the conven tion who considered that the restoration of na tional authority over the land and the extinction of slavery were subjects for which it was the duty of the church to offer public and solemn praise to Almighty God. The services were held, by a happy selection, in the church of the Epi phany, from which the late Rev. Dudley Tyng was expelled for an anti-slavery sermon. The congregation was larger than that which attended, the morning celebration. The seven bishops -one can hardly fail to remember that this was the exact number of the prelates immortal in the history of the English revolution of 1682 pre sent, and who represent the ininbrity of the up per house, were Mcllvaine, Bedell,. Vail, East burn, Lee of Iowa and his brother, of Delaware, and Burgess. t The special prayer of thanksgiving was writ ten by Bishop Lee, of Delaware, and was un hesitating in its devout expressions of gratitude and loyalty. After prayer, the bishop of Ohio made a fervent address on the duty of the nation to (he freedmen, and then introduced Horace Binney, who read the resolutions he had intro duced Si the morning, and also an extract from the convention addressed to his diocesan, Bishop Stevens. He snowea mat tnere was nothing m, his resolutions which was not founded upon the language used by Iris bishop in May. And yet ! he was now regarded by some as an artful bring-1 er in of discord. . No one raore fervently than himself joined in the prayer of thanksgiving of fered this morning for a peace which had brought a son back to his amis; but he felt there was oc casion to thiuik (pl for more than that. Rev. Dr. Alexander Vinton spoke eloquently of the war as educating the nation. ; THE ACTION OF THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS. To-day I have been able to learn, from author itative sources, some of the reasons for the action of the house of bishops in the omissions which have occasioned so much severe comment. The. venerable bishop of Maryland, whose loyalty at the commencement and throughout the i war earned him the bitter hostility of his clergy, who,' with few executions, were illhloval. was one of the principal movers of the action t.i' his breth ren. He felt that his own loyalty, which had never been doubted, and which was further testi fied by a paper left by the late Governor Hicks, in which it is stated that Bishop Whittingham had done more than any other person to assist him in keeping Maryland in the union, placed him in a position to act the part of conciliator. ' " ' The southern bishops and clerical and lay dep uties present, as well as many of their brethren in the southern states, accept all the .conclusions of the war. States' rights they admit no longer exist in the sense they formerly understood j sla very is abolished, and they accept it; but they say they cannot, without hypocrisy, pretend to he joyful over the defeat of principles they de fended to tho last. There is no doubt that a por tion of the majority both in upper "aud lower houses who are ; and have been unhesitatingly I loyal in the r support of the government, . think that the war bemsr over it is Detter to .dutf au ruch topics in oblivion, and ' .-without A any. . prQcla- mation oj, principles to set to wont u neat up uie past. Some , of these maintain that .the; official action of- the church during the war s .'sufficient guaranty for her future action.'j; bv.n bm-y There is undoubtedly a section of members who have no hesitation, outside of the conven- tion, in heartily expressing . their .gratification ; at all the results of the war; but .who do np wish to force painfulvtopiCT of discussron upon tlie re turning members, and who at the same time, from a principle of "churchmanship, desire to keep the councils of the convention free, from acrimonious, topics of debate. The paper which I send you tONday.vSigned by the president of Trinit- Col lege; whoT-rhen'a? prisoned in the handaabflihe rebels, refused ts be false t& his allegiance to the government of the United. States, expresses, the sentimeiti oftnis loyal portion; of the conserva tite majority in both housem51 -i iiiuiau to tcLj . irhe jfenowing is the pailolwiltefCsby Rev. XSl . AClfUVV 1BB1PU JfiM ft-r y r )I desire bereby to record that in voting on Sat iifday. tlio litb'iristant, to lay ttpbtf ibd table1 all consideration f the resolntiona proposed by-the honorable delegate, from Pennsylvania wbieh called on tfie r bishopa add;tO ;tb topics of Ithanksgiving- thef triumpblof the"3uational autbxjrtr 2fndrUi0 de strnctipii of lavery the meaning -and intent of my vote! was solely, to , prevent unprofitable and painful debate in this bonsef fts distraction from its pror4f legitimate vork 3 the 'grief and proba ble remotal from. among ns of ibe representa tives of aonie dioceses now again with us, and formally welcomed by an official declaration to a ehare wsour work, by our thuA raising questions beyond jthe Kne of our duty as an ecclesialtical body, ind; btf1 wbicb sUca representatives, "5 as all must' know,: eoiild not agree with iis;- and the inevitable result" whidr could not but be foreseen j that loyal men, loyal in the fullest sense of the; wtVrd, must thereby seem to be put down in 'the record of this convention as indifferent to the na tion audits universal freedom, I hereby pot on record my Jiostjlity early and late, throughout this who war to tna , rebellion, my beaity joy and thanksgiving for. the national triumph over all resistance,- and my profound gratitude' to Ged for his wonderful mercy and glorious workr in the j overmrow 01 Aincan slavery m mis iana. May rebellion and. bondage of, every sort be ever banished from -the nation and onrjchurch! May order and freedom, truth and love, rule us all as citizens and christians! 1 , J JOHN B. KERFOOT, Of the Docese of Connecticut. PhiladelphiaT Pa., October 17. SHIPWRECK AT SEA. LOSS OF THE STEAMER AT LANTA. Nearly Fifty Persons Drowned. SCENES AT THE! WRECK. The New York World gives the following par ticulars of the loss of the steamer Atlanta, an anounceinent of which has already been made in our columns : - . On Saturday, the 7th inst., the steamship At lanta, from New Orleans for this port, with a crew of thirty-five men and . seventeen passen gers including all hand3 on board about fifty souls. Up to Wednesday, the 11th inst., nothing unusual occurred to disturb the even tenor of the v6yage; the winds had all along been favor able and the sea comparatively calm. However, a steady breeze sprung up on Thursday evening, the 12th inst, continuing through the following day, when it rapidly- increased into a furious gale, and the ship was tossed about on the angry billows like a; toy, the waves dashing over her at times with the greatest fury. On Friday it was found that the vessel had sprung a leak. At this alarming feature the pumps were set to work, and during the entire night . and the. following day, Saturday, men were constantly employed by their means to keep the vessel from founder ing. The water, nevertheless, kept rising higher and higher in the hold, until it finally reached the furnaces and extinguished the fires. This rendering the working of the pnmps useless, all hope of saving the passengers and crew by their instrumentality was abandoned. In the mean time, between the furious gale,, that was blowing and the high sea running at the time, the vessel was tossed about her helm having no control over her movements at the mercy of the waves, an uncontrolable mass of wood and iron. The confusion, which was very, great from the time that it had become known that the vessel had sprung a leak, was a thousand fold increased when it was announced that the only chance left of saving the people on board was to resort to the life boats. Though it was evident that no boat could live any length of time in such a sea as was dashing over the vessel, nevertheless, with the eagerness that a drowning man catches at a straw, passengers and crew rushed for this, their only hope of life. . . ' LOWERING THE BOATS. The first boat was soon ; lowered, but it had scarcely touched the water before it was dashed into a thousand splinters against the sides of the ship. Two or. three others were then successively-let down, but were shattered like the first, and one of them, into which several persons had jump ed almost before she was off the vessel's deck, was dashed t pieces in the twinkling of an eye, and those it contained were swept away. - - THE SCENES ON BOARD. At this juncture, "according to he testimony of the survivors the scenes on' boards were of the most heartrending character. Men, with blanch ed cheeks and. eyes starting out of their sockets with terror, ran about the deck wringing their hands with anguish, and casting imploring glan ces beyond the the white-capped billows, in the vain hope of espying some friendly sail. One T . . 1 J 1 . 1 M. boat yet remained, and by 'the greatest efforts four seamen succeeded in lowering her to the water and getting into her; but, they had scarce ly done so before they were , swept away from the vessels side, and soon lost to view amid the rising and falling of the huge billows that roared around the doomed vessel. It would be impos sible to convey any idea of the terror of those on board at this sight of their last Top0 .being thus rudely snatched away. . Despair was pictured on every countenance, and Some ' fell cursing like madmen, others to weeping like children, and still ; others to praying for help. But no ' help came : the shrieks of anguish were drowned by the thunder of '.the -angry sea, and 1 the cries for succor were answered but by thelhbwlmg of the winds and the roaring of the billows. " . THE SHIP GOES TO FlECES i . . In the midst of all the cpnfusion' aUvl conster nation that reigned among the passengers and crew, Captain Williams, nothing daunted -by the aspect of the dangers surrounding his posir tion, retained bis presence of mind throughout, giving his orders as calmly as if his vessel we saieiy moorea m me port irom whence he sia: ed. f lut they leu on the ears of his crew as so many empty sounds ; for even they, old seamen as they were, knew but , two; well ;hat the time when obedience to their captain's orders would save' them had passed. In the meantime the ves sel's timbers were fast bseaking piece by piece, under the, action of the water filling her hol and the dashing, of the waves against her. aides. The passengers and crew stood holding to what ever cbject they thought miht be of service to them when- thei; moment of the vessel's sinking would arrive; and thus the trembling, praying, weeping groups on the deck awaited in agony the coming of death. Saddenly the vessel gave' a lurch, as the sea, lashing itself into greater fury, t dashed against the groaning ship, and, with noise of parting timbers like unto the falling, of an immense tower, she separated into a wrecK of three distinct parts, and over the remnants, of f-the-once gallant steamer dashed the wares, roar- I ingr as if in triumph, at the havoc, they had ac comblished. The passengers -and 'crew clung :with the tenacity of dispair to whatever portions - of the timbers came within their 4-each, but the waves mercilessly tore them from their last hopes or existence, ami uut uve persons aione succeeu ed in getting on a piece . of the deck, and. smok ing room, about thirty reet Jong.' - i . ' r t - - - - r m t. s fit' t tr vn tn from Suhday.aLTiieidvmonunffi, when Ihe bark William E. Anderson, from Mobile.-bound to NeWtTprk," espied themr and sent a boat t6" their oQM.bark they were found toWiii Vsiate' of complete exhaustion, and their btnds and limbs swollen frpm tlie action of i the watec and the ex., posure,tpey had undergone iXherifjllowing are the names of the persons saved : David Drexter, passenger ; William ; Keuman, ; seaman ' August Ketefiremab ; Thomas Holland, steward, and William JBrunar, . steersman. The.- following list ,of4)assengers is from a New Orleans paper of the 8th October: Miss Wolf. 0. tivington;. Qapt.' M. R. Wilson, Charles S. Smith, D. MyeTS and lady, H. H. Maluny, W; TanseryDiUexter and Robert Collie., . ( t . r Vi , ? f, Mania was buUtat Mvstic 3onn in 1; was considered to be worth 1.V)0n0 and was insured for $90,000 in Tarious insurance c6mpa4i iutoi luis cisyj one was registered J,000tonst was built of oak and chestnut, copper and iron fastened ; had' three decks direct-acting angines with cy finders of "44-neh stroke of piston ; brig antine rigged, rated, a , an A X or first-class , ves-, sell, and was owrl.Chajrles Mallory, of Mys,. tic She had at the inje of her Toss a . cargo of 1,178 bales cottofjQ:b6xescandles and one case mercnandize. a tn: i THE MILITARY COMMISSION, FOTIRf EJENTH DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. Trial of McGill and McMillan. Argument of Mr. Waddcll, Esq. THE FACTS OF THE CASE REVIEWED. &c. &c. The commission met this morning, pursuant to adjournment. The thirteenth day's proceedings were read by the judge advocate. , Mr. Waddell, for the accused, then read the following argument on. the merits of the case : Argument of A. WL. Waddell, Esq, on the ' Merits of the Case Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Commission : The argument against the jurisdiction of this tribunal in this case which is purely a question of law is, by agreement, assigned to ray asso ciate counsel. I shall,, tberefei e, pass by that question, and enter, at once upon the merits of the case ; simply remarking that it this commis sion has jurisdictioa of the crime se forth in these charges viz., the murder of wife citizen of North Carolina by two other citizens in the month of April last, it likewise has jurisdiction of any offence committed by a citizen since Sept. 24th, 1862 the date of Mr. Li ocoln's proclamation under which the j jrisdietioa is claimed-wheth-er that offence be murder, arson, burglary, lar ceny, or assault and battery. And. as, accord ing to this idea, the jurisdiction of a military tribunal ."ince that time must have been an elusive jurisdiction, it follows that all persons who have been tried, here by jury since Sept. 24th, 1862, may still, if living, be arraigned be fore a military commission for trial and punish ment ! To me has been assigned the duty of ar guing the facts of the case, with the law appli cable to them,, and 1 shall make my argument as brief as a sense of duty to (he prisoners will permit. It is a case of circumstantial evidence. No one of the witnesses professes to-know when Matthew P. Sykes died or how he died. He was not seen by any of them for more than twenty- four hours before his body was discovered, and the inference that the prisone.rs-'McGill and McMillan murdered him is drawn from circum stances which transpired previous to those twenty-four hoars. No positive testimony has. been offered either as to the time, or the man ner of his death. Most "extraordinary efforts have been made by the fenale relations of Sykes to compensate for this lack of proof by hard swearing as to other facts, but no witness has been found, or can be found, who saw tie de ceased die, or knows the cause of his death It is a well established principle of criminal aw, applicable to all courts, civil ana military, and founded upon reason and humanity, that, where circumstantial evidence is alone relied on to convict the accused, if any other reasonable hypothesis thanthat cf guilt, consistent with he facts of the case, can be established, the ac cused shall" be entitled ; to the benefit of that hypothesis, and shall be acquitted. The prison ers are innocent until their guilt is proved be yond a reasonable doubt. There can be.no choice of probabilities In the matter, where there are more than one arising' from the facts. The conclusion of guilt from the circumstances mut be morally inevitable, or ia the language of Mf. Starkie (vol l,page 510.) "It is essential that the. circumstances should, to a moral certainly, actually exclude every hypothesis,- but the one proposed to be proved." So that, in this case, the supposition that Sykes was murdered must not only exclude every other, supposition in re gard to the manner of his death; but the suppo sition that he was murdered " by he prisohers must exclude every other supposition in regard to the persons , who committed the deed. .: You must be satisfied beyond a rational doubt, and to the exclusion of every other supposition, that wnnWtAfMi 'mHwlAMi) K ' li Am Ilt 1 S UC YTOO UIUIUCICU, BUU IliUlUClCU, UJT IUCUI. 1UIO commission, being .an extraordinary tribunal-,- unknown until lately in the United States and destined soon (every patriot may hope) to be come unnecessary to the -dispensation of justice would certainly not convict any man of crime and especially of murder, upon weaker-testi mony than would satisfy a jury ; and a jury, in this case, -would ,be instructed to ..acquit the orisoners if the evidence , would sustain any other supposition but that Of their ' guift,tf,Qr it is the actual exclusion of every other hypothe sis which-invests mere's circumstances with the force of proot"XStarkie yoU l 509). - Mr. Star kie, on the same page, proceeds. to say that evi dence which tends to establish one probability rather man anotner can never amounr to proor, however or eat the probability : tov he. So that no matter how probable you may think 4 hW guilt of the prisoners, u the evidence, willjustifj, any ot her reasonable "supposition as for' instance that Sykes might' have been killed : by bthers-- you must acquit-them, c r fi-ctf?.; To the e8tabli8hmeu ot. a different hypothesis from the oae sought to be established 1 now. ad dress niy self. 1 believe Jhat the .evidence will sustain the hypothesis that' Sykes Was arrested by McGill and MeMillan -in thedischarge.of their duty as members ot the home guard, that he was delivered .by them to; the-cavalry, and was executed by the cavalry. ; I . regard this suppbsition as not .only reasonable, but highly probable z" hut "remember that it is "only peces-I sary to $how that aueb might Teasonably have been the case' .n;;Hf.5;.'.-l?-B- To the deliberate -perpetration jof any criuaey men must be impelled by, a corresponding ftotke and. although the ' law "ran lies malice where there is nositwe'woof ot a homicide bV the adcus ed and thifit b:bardeai'o'f.iipoiiSMioi4 IWUI keryMr restet the. cpnclusiou that, if , . there is na such rnle.in cases circum slant ialUhea!!been cdn-spiracy anions them, they .sh. Th. w;. ? r-rr .TT- - ZTt anything can be inferred from U. Nothing is fu ly submit that' tbe prosecundnhaslil ery failed to establish: any sufficient' mbtivi'6n the part of the prisoners to murder Svkeil The motive which the prosecution tried show fs ibased upon the aUegatioV contaiDjed irtXAt I he charges, Trttbai-Sy ke: naa t oeena iiittaj v the yfS-ioreesI and "tb&prisojrieTS bpineCoa-r leueratea were nis . encniies-TTUUi. .ue suuum does not' sustain the allecatiofi. J There is absoT ruteryf. evidence that Svkes wasiahic toJhe, rienoa to prove thatceve wasin" cgnrpahy1" s Tjf with the U. S.-lroobsJiit tT-rt'rfnd-'afe declarations previous to "liis tarrest'as 'to w'mch Lucretia Edwards testified, notbcinr admis- teered ia thq Confederatet army anl. remained m.w i it as long as.hfa health woiUdpermit, which was x; ; , up to .the month cf juTy. 1864. " There is no .. , evidenct that Sykes had ever done any injury to 'f ' either of th nrishnfri tvt'x Bad evef jriveri-'lnem'11' 5 any eause to w'sh to take his life. -Is it to be,T,"' "'- supposed that out of the cloud of witnesses from the immediate neighborhood of allthese parties,"1' 1 no Jtne; conkf : have been; found who could . have established a motive If Qtie hnd existed 1 u in. this case especially when we; consider ', '. that sottie of them have heen sop7r gafnE't ! " the prisoners as t o s wear1. t i a, con tintfous t rail f v" "'' along a hard ridge road, covered in many places : with pine straw,' through wife-grass, I ' 't thickets, old fields and woods, and worse Atill to the peculiar twist of a horse's'lidof in " being lifted: from ihe eround ? We'-afe thus asked to believe that two respectable citi- . zens of Bladen county r withcut any afsignable motive and. under circumstances which mustf. . have .ensured their conviction; perpetrated 'a , eold-blo.oded, diabolical murder ! I snbmit, that this is asking too mnch of our credalily; iWhy : then, itt may be asked, did tney, arrest and tei v him if there was no motive for the. deed! The answer is very simple and is a, powerful support for the hypothesis which I set'tJttl'Ho argue. ' There may have been a very good reason and a complete justification for the arrest,;, while the motive to commit murder was entirely wanting; ... indeed, all the circumstances attendant upon and subsequent to the arrest go to disprove the existence of any such motive. 5 It is proved that a detachment of cavalry were previous to and about the time!, of his arrest in search of Sykes for the purpose of arresting and .hanging him that Sykes ' had laid out in the woods to avoid them-and that at the time of his arrest he was actually bidden under a pile of loose cotton. There is no evi dence to show that the prisoners had ever attempted to arrest him before the night in question. From whom then was he hiding at midnight? There can be but one answer to this question, and the fact stands clear in the light of McMillan's Jeelaration at the time of his arrest, viz: that Sykes was to beco:irt martialed. Sykes was hiding from the cavalry, who, he knew, were scouring the country for him. Here then is not only the absence of a motive on the. part of the'i risoners to murder Sykes, but also conduct on his part showing that he feared danv ger from another quarter, and the strongest evi dence that his fears were well-founded. ; Take, in conned ion with the foregoing, the, fact that Mc'Gill and Mc'M.llan were, the for mer an officer, and the latter a private injthe home guard that it was made the duty of the home guard to assist the regular troops in makv: ing arrests and that Mc'G-.ll's upc! ror officer, (Capt. Kelly,) when called upon by the cavalry, two days before Syke's body was found to assist ihem in arresting Sy tea, wrfeonly prevented by the performance of other pressing duty and that he referred the cavalry to Mc'Gill as an officer under him. Add to this the fact that the prisoners re- mained at Edward's hoifce nearly nn hour after arresting Sykes Mc'Millan quietly smoking his pipe with his . prisoner sitting by him and that at the approach of daylight they started with him towaids the public road. And can the commission say that in all these pregnant' cirs cumstances there is nothing to justify any other supposition bt:u the one sought to be es- . tablished ? D theyin the words, ot Starkie be- i fore quoted,, ,,to a moral certainty, actually ex clude every other hypothesis?" Do they not make a different hypothesis not only possible, but very probable ? I believe that you will so decide. Be fore entering upon a critical examination of the testimony by which the prosecution seeks to convict the prisoners I wish to satisfy the commission that they improperly admitte 1 the declarations of Wilkinson in regard to Sykes' death, and that they cannot legally counider them in coming to a decision in this c-ise . You will remember that notwithstanding one of his declarations was in. favor of the prisoners, viz., Hhat bykes was delivered to fifteen cavalry, who were waiting for him,"- the counsel for the prisoners objected to any declaration of Tiis be- ing received, because it was clearly incompetent and could only be used at ainst Wilkinson him" 8elf.T I now refer the commission to the ease of State vs. Poll 1st Hawks' N. C. Reports,, page 244,,which'i3 a case directly in point. lnere, as here, three persons were Iridlcttd for murder,, and, the declarations of one of them be ing offered in evidence against the others, were ruled put as inadmissible, and the supreme court say,' "the rule has never been carried larther than this : That, when a common design is proven,, the act of one in furtherance of tLat design is evidence against his associates ; bqt the declarations of one of the parties cah.be received only against him- self." It is, therefore, clearly the duty of the i commission to ignore entirely all that wonderful ;. fetofy of Uny Sykes, even if it was true, a virtue ' 1 which does not attach, as I shall show, to the bo- , Lance of her testimony. Now, let us examine the testimony." Catharine' A. Bykes, widow of deceas ed, -is very positive and very particular as rto va-. nous circumstances which she swears t accom panied the arrest of her husband. 1 She swears ' that when the party entered Kdwnrds' house they' all had pistols; that they all pointed the pistols at . sykes and threatened to kill him; that each ot the prisoners charged him with "pilotingthc Yankees,"- and that each of them told him to bid his s ; friends good bye, &c, &c. Now, in each and , every one of these particulars she is llatlycontra- aipted by .nas Ji,dwaras, the very next witness lor ihe prosecution; who swears that he was with; , t , the prisoners and Sykes during the whole ot their stay at his bouse; that Catherine A. Sykes was o ' - ' " present all the time ; that McGill had no pistol until ; McMillan handed him, his ; that neither of. t . the accused threatened to kill Sykes ; and that'' neither, ot them charged him' with "piloting the " Yankees." He further , swear lhat he fctood be-,, ,. hind .McMillan's chair when he tied Sykes; that'". 8ykes sat between McMillan and. himself; and-' ' ,'1 that after charging Sykes with! 1 violating the Jaws- , . of his country, fenongh to take Jus ute," lc-jKUt-Ian, in reply to tya I (Edwards') question what he intended to do with him, replied, "have hhn court l; -' .vU"x martialed."; ,-:h ,fi 'r ---.i,-f .-1 '.-' . ' f,.rThe witness Lucretia Edwards''who is equally " particulaf with Catherine Sykes 'as to 'ihe above,1" ' ' ' l ' -and even more 'minute and, numerous circum- H , . i, BtanceaV admits that she re n out of the room at the , . 1 ' '' time she says the pistols were pointed at Sykes, ,i! J and that was, according to her own statement, lm- " -b. ... mediately after they entered the house., f : , ...... , .. And; so with, Mary G. Edwardswho says she, " being1 in bed and badl frightened, covered up her ' " head with the bedclothes when the p'y&tols were . ." presepted. , If the commission wUL bear in mind ti . , , the near relationship of these witnesses to the de- i ceased,' with the fact that the whole of Uat inter- ' ' x esting family: live 2 together and that : these two . -. ' J - r-; girls arc the younger menders of it, and subject to all the evil influences arising from such an as-' ' ,ft socialion.' as -well aa the e-xtraordinarv coincidenco a xi., both Of every trifling and important cireu instance- i 4 mettlpoed by thei.i throuchout lhe whole case, it. f W aiscustea -uiotcasosanongst tnem-M selvea untU their common -atory has, been, photo-' J grapUcd, as it vere, on the mind of each. Admit the latter 'for, charity's eakb as to the two Edwardste,ui . n - .but Jn&ticeforpids - the- lnterposUiQn,: of eharity-r.. , when Catharine A. Svkes. in the nfoirress' of her' ' ! 'J J i.Vrtetlmony,Teaches the -1 eight' mile post 'and, ix "Tj -td to . -!... j f Continued on fourth jag: v. t j - A Tiki A'Ji'S I'll S, ; 'r ( ' t ll , Vj.t. tr 1 r r' X v- JS; Iff II V1 A.J. MS J ' - 5 m III
The Daily Wilmington Herald (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 26, 1865, edition 1
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