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By P. M. HALS.
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RALEIGH REGISTER,
Second Floor of Fisher Building, FayetteviDe
Street, next to Market House.
VOL. I.
RALEIGH, N. C, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1884.
NO. 42.
1 II
THE SURVIVAL OF TRUTH.
EDWARD WILLBfT.
the cause thai to right shall be buried in
Never
a-lies, ; '
Never be lost in the cloud or be sunk in' the
dust ;
i ill from the embers the light of the truth ever
Hashes,
Still there is glory ahead for the cause that is
just.
M- u '
who have labored with firm and uufailing
devotion,
Only for what they believe to be honest and
right.
Yet shall be heirs of the isles in the midst of the
ocean, -
Isles of the blest that are lovely with sweet
ness and light.
j.nst is the bud that is blighted, the thoughtless
supposes,
Kit but to fall, and forgotten to rot on the
ground ;
Yet it shall bloom in the spring with the rest of
the roses,
Yet in full bloom with the bravest and bright
est be found.
Truth cannot perish. It fails and it falls, but its
essence
Lives like the breath of the flower, in the
earth, and the air;
in ;hTs time, will it living and beautiful
presence
Break on the sight of the people, resplendent-
ly fair.
Never a life shall be lost that for truth has been
riven.
Never a wound for the right but shall fully be
cured :
Stili athe heroes who loved us live here as in
heaven,
Ilcililrug the blessing of balm for the pain they
endured. '
Lovclv is truth, and the one thing . sublime and
immortal,
Often to sicken, but never, oh, never to die ;
Yet to be welcomed on earth as at Heaven's
irreat portal,
Y
et to be crowned in all,glory, on earth as on
hisrh. '
.TI A CHINE EDUCATION.
Science In School Management.
Popular Science Monthly, December.
1 lie progress oi popular education is
gradually bringing into prominence a class
uf iiuestions of fundamental importance,
the existence of which was hardly recog
nized in its earlier stages. It seemed at
iirt ;i very simple affair to organize a com-
uioti-schoi'l svstem, and nobody anticipa
ted that anv vtrv serious difficulties could
arise in carrying it out. Children were to
be taught the rudiments of knowledge
chiefly reading, writing, and ciphering.
There was but little trouble in finding
teachers competent for this work, and no
mmlile at all in finding any number of
men held abundantly qualified to be direc
tors, trustees, managers, and superinten
dents o such education.
But the system was no sooner entered
uon than it began to undergo a series of
changes which were, of course, character
ized as improvements." There were at first
much erudeness, laxity, and irregularity in
the schools, ,and these were to be replaced
by better order and closer and more me
thodical work. The scope of instruction
' b.-ifan to widen, and new subjects were in
troduced. Courses of study were laid
mt requiring years to complete them. The
iiiiils were classed and graded, and this
necessitated the gathering of larger num
bers in the same establishment. Lesser
schools were absorbed under the policy of
expansion. With more diversified study,
a complicated system of examinations,
markings," and promotions grew up, which
required a special, apprenticeship of the
teachers to work" in it. The department"
or normal schools was instituted to meet
the new demands on teachers, and, as the
-vstein was regulated by State authority,
it was reduced to constantly increasing
uniformity in all details of management.
In this way the public schools under
went a radical change, by which what had
no existence, at first gradually came to be
of supreme importance. Xiibcrty on the
part of ljoth teacher and pupil disappear
ed, ami they became the passive subjects of
mtli-xihle regulation. Knles grew sacred,
:;nd there was no sin so great as to be ab
sent from school a day, or not to be
promptly on hand at the moment for start
ing, riie officials directed everything,
- decided what and how much to study,
hours of attendance, recesses or no re-
- ' i sm's, and nut as much or as little pres
sure us they pleased upon school opera
uons. As a conseouence. a 21 cant ic me-
ehaiueal system was created, the perfec
tion of which consisted in the mechanical
' h nient. There are many who think that
1 ne system is now essentially perfected,
'ud that, to gain its highest advantages,
"otning remains but to augment its re
sources, and drive it with increasing vigor .
't experience is disclosing grave difficul
ties in its working, and difficulties, more
v--r. which spring out of the alleged per
fections of the method. That which
'lnncterizes it is the completeness of or-
iniation for dealing with pupils in
laa-ses: and the vice which is now widely
r c ii'iiizi-d in its operations is. that the in
dividuality of pupil is sacrificed to the
rf. 1 1 working of the mechanical arrange-
"f course, in the nature of the case, the
1' iter tile number of children operated
M"'ii. .t lie less is the consideration that can
riven to each personality. Children are
,;' d by a plan which; implies that they
tr
t
a iKe, hut the assumption is not true
7 are unlike, the differences among
tie-in are great; and, when it comes to the
i" " 1 " s f education, these differences
fundamental. The fact which is neg
; ''. d in machine education is the most
' -runt fact of the case. The palpable
"df-reiices in physical aspeet by which
is known as an individual extends
'.iii the whole nature. Children dil
"id'lv in thi-ir mpntal faculties, in
f.
Uu capacity of apprehension and reten
bi aptitude foj different kinds of
!:" al effort, in quidkness of perception,
1!l !lll"al sensibility, and power of self-re-"'r
'lint, -in organic soundness, and the ca
lability of endurance. To cultivate them
I'.1'' alike is to do violence to those pecu
iiariiie, which make up the individuali
l: They nan neither be taught in the
"11 way with the same results, nor plied
o 11
same motives with equal effect, nor
Mil,
'"'d to the same decree of strain
o!,o;,t injurious consequences. Say what.
JV!' will, there is an undoubted antagonism
lM, t lv" 11 the necesHitics and rights of indi
J'1'1' d children and the inexorable grind
1,1 reat educational machine; and ex-!'"'"-iiee
testifies that the policy of ever
'"'!' ::-i'ig stringency of requirement to
lVll:i ! the mechanical system tends only
a vates its evils. In this respect there
is nothing self -corrective in our education
al methods.
. Tl 9 .... I -m -
it is not to be denied that a main root !
of this evil is the incaDacitv of teachers
and of those intrusted with the manasre-1
ment of schools to judge intelligently of
uc irauiw ui meir sysiein upon the vary-
natures oi cniiaren. This is a com
plex and extensive branch' of knowledge
uj wmcn mo normal scboois give little at
tention. Our teachers as now nrenared.
and our school officers as now selected r
leit in ignorance unon this snhwrt in.
structors are trained in the matters they
are to teach. They are drilled in nil th i
petty niceties of preordained school-room
studies, and disciplined interminably in
all the technical processes of the school
system. Superintendents, inspectors, and
boards of education are frequently mere
uusiness men, oiten men who have failed
in some profession, and sometimes promo-
ted tenchcrs, and that they should know
nothing of those physical, mental, and i
moral -characteristics of the children sub
jected to their charge is inevitable.
And obviouslv. under the present noliov.
they can never possess this knowledge. The
time is all taken up with other thins, the
machine is in the ascendant, and the results
aimed at must be such as will commend
themselves to an ignorant public senti-
ment. The thorough scientific stndv of
the natures of children, which would
qualify a teacher to judge of their differ
ences, and the unequal influence of the
system upon them, whether for good or
for evil, could only be brought about by a
radical reconstruction of the whole meth
od, and the rejection from it of a great
deal which is now held of supreme impor
tance. No such profound chance is to be
expected. There is, therefore, little hope
of
relief from existing difficulties bv anv
special preparation of teachers for the pur
pose. And, even if the policy were en
tered upon, it is extremelv doubtful if it
could be developed and carried out for
many years in any adequate way ; and it
may be probably laid down as wholly im
practicable to qualify the masa of teachers
to judge intelligently of the effects of
their educational system upon children,
even in the single particular of over-pres
sure, and its influence upon mental and
bodily health. Perhaps a few teachers
could be specially trained in this direc
tion, so that some degree of intelligence
might be brought to bear upon the school
room regimen ; but even this is impracti
cable in the present state of thought upon
tn suDject;
What, then, - remains to be done? Is
the most important measure of improve
ment in school management to be given
up as forever hopeless? We, have said
that this defect of our school system is at
tracting serious attention, and calling
forth sharp criticism, but is this to avail
nothing for future relief? We are not
driven to this alternative, for the suffi
cient reason that there are men in the com
munity well prepared to deal intelligently
and efficiently with the subject. It is the
especial business of medical men to under
stand the human constitution, and all
their knowledge relates to what the school
system ignores the peculiarities of the
mgivmuai. iiagnosiB, critical personal
observation, is the basis of all medical
, " 3 1 ti ,
practice. Moreover, there is an especial
branch of medical study that bears di
rectly and immediately upon the questions
here involved. There are physicians who
give their lives to the investigation of
mental science with reference to its corpo
real conditions and its problems of health
and disease. They are the students of in
sanity, and alt the causes which tend to
undermine mental soundness and produce
feeblemindedness in its innumerable
forms. These are the mein prepared to
judge of the working of a school system
upon the natures of children, and it is
impossible to see that any reason can ba
offered for not invoking their services to
this important end. let, strange to say,
our school authorities are the first to re
sist this reasonable policy. They resent
the idea that their system is not already
working in perfection, and they virtually
maintain that the ignorance of teachers
and school officials is just as good for
practical guidance as the knowledge and
experience of men especially cultivated to
ueai witn cases wnicu are constaniiy aria
incr. where pupils become the victims of
an undiscriminating high-pressure system
of school -work.
An illustration of the subiect has re
cently arisen in London, which is attract
ing public attention in the shape of a con
troversy between an eminent medical man
and a prominent Government official. Dr.
Crichton Browne, adistinguished authority
on nervous diseases and the treatment of
the insane, pointed out some of the evils
attending prevalent school practices, and
advocated school inspection by competent
nhvsicians. ' Mr. Mnndella, a manulactu
rer. a philanthropist, and Vice-President
of the Government Council, who has large
direction of the school, took issue with
Dr. Browne, and there came a public con
tention upon the subject. The London
Lancet reviewed this controversy, and gave
reasons for maintaining that Dr. Crichton
Browne had the right of it. The subject
is so important that we reprint the Lan
cet' remarks in full:
"Leavine the personal issues involved in
b rpirrettable dispute which has been
raised bv Mr. Mundella's equivocal mide
of traversing Dr. Crichton Browne's report
on the subject of "over-pressure of work
in public elementary schools," we turn, to
the main question : Is it, or is it not, the
fact that over-pressure exists, and that it
is doing mischief? The case seems to us
to lie in a nutshell, and it would be diffi
cult to cast the underlying hypothesis in a
more terse form than that embodied in
one of Dr. Crichton Browne's concluding
.ntpnpes. No one alleges", or for a mo
ment supposes, that the Vice-President of
the Council, or any influential member or
nf the Educational Department, is
..irhrr willful or careless in the matter. It
is simply a question of policy; and the
tK.it. nofA or can be iustlv said ?is
said in these words: "It is quite possible
that a scholar, whose body is twelve years
old, but whose brain stopped growing at
eight, might by his pleasing exterior and
superficial sharpness impress the inspector
with ine iuea iui 1
while all the time he is childish, not to say
babyish, in intellect, and ineducable be
yond the first standard." If this be con
ceded, as we think it must be, then it fol
lows that the inspector is not in a position
to determine whether a particular pupil is
or is not physically able to do the work
required of him or ner, nu ut suicij w
be pressed through the educational curri
culum. This seems to us to cover every
contingency. It is not necessary to argue
closcly'or warmly as to the question of ex
periences. It is conceivable that not a
single case of injury may actually have
occurred, and yet the system which makes
a non-medical inspector however humane
i ,.mneteiit for his proper task the
judge of physico-mental fitness,
,.f nnnll or nupil teacher, must
whether
lie inde-
fensible. What are we doing? Simply
tms: applying a uniform pressure to a
vast multitude of brains, some of which
must, in the nature of things, be too weak
or too ill-developed to bear the strain
thrust upon them. It is a monstrous and
inexplicable blunder this insistence on a
level code of education for alt. Why,
even as regards the muscular and general
organism ot the soldier and the sailor a
medical examination precedes the com-,
menevment of drill, and medical inspec
tion from time to time keeps the question
oi neaitn in view. .Muscular weakness is
not half so serious a bar to physical train
ing as mind weakness is to intellectual ex
ercise. How comes it to pass, then, that
without any medical examination or super
vision whatsoever the brains of a multi
tude of children, the majority of whom
are under-bred and ill-fed, should be sub
jected to the same discipline and required
to do the same task? It is not considered
enough to know the age of a recruit for
the army or navy ; means are taken to as
certain whether his heart, lungs, and or
gans generally arc healthy, and medical
officers are specially appointed to examine
him from time to, time with a view to de
termine whether he is bearing the strain
healthily; but no provision whatever is
made for testing or watching the immature
cerebral organs upon which the public
pedagogue is not only left free, but re
quired, to operate. The mere fact that
this obvious measure of individual scruti
ny, from the health point of view, is
omitted, put the case for the department
out of court.
"Vt. uricnton tsrowne insists that, "in a
great number of cases of dullness of in
tellect, a medical man could at once rec
ognize the physical defects (which are of
ten distinctive enough, although imper
ceptible except to the medical eye) which
accompany mental weakness, and would:
support the judgment of the teachers ; and
in many cases of bodily disease and de
bility he could interfere to protect the
children, even against the teachers, by
preventing scholars who, although quick
witted and eager to learn, are certain to
suffer in the process from being unduly
pushed forward." The profession will in
dorse this statement as one of fact, and
with that indorsement the dispute ought
to end. Dr. Crichton Browne has un
doubtedly proved his case. It is not to
the point whether the victims are many or
lew ; the system extant is radically bad ;
and, that being so, the magnitude of the
mischief wrought is of secondary impor
tance. The blunder of striving: to enforce
a uniform code ought to be repaired with
out more ado. It may be strictly true, as
Lord Shaftesbury has remarked, that
there does .not "live on the face of the
earth a man who" is more opposed to tyran
ny and oppression than Mr. Aiundella, or
any one mure earnestly desirous of putting
down all over-pressure as regards women
and children." Then why, in the name of
common-sense, does not the Vice-President
adopt the suggestion made to him, instead
of fighting what must needs be a losing
battle against bis own moral and states-
manly consciousness of right?
"Headaches, short-sightedness, neuralgia
and sleeplessness are not normal contin
gencies of youth, either for pupil-teachers
or children, yet it is a fact which Dr.
Crichton Browne has demonstrated, and
which men "engaged in the ordinary
practice " among the humbler classes, and
who, according to Mr. Fitch, are "able to
know something of the children of the
poor, their pursuits and their ailments,"
can substantiate, that these troubles the
direct fruits of over-pressure of work
largely prevail. Nothing can be gained
by denying this fact, and certainly a lay
inspector is not the person to contradict an
able and experienced practitioner on the
subject. Dr. Crichton Browne modestly
says: "I cannot doubt that many of the
facts which I have brought before you in
this letter will be disputed, and that many
of the principles which I have incidentally
laid down will be challenged ; but the for
mer admit of verification, and in the lat
ter I shall, I believe, have the support of
the medical profession." We accept the
facts and support the principles. If Mr.
Mundella is not satisfied with one of the
best professional opinions obtainable, let
him appoint a small commission of physi
cians and surgeons, men of mark, in whom
he and the public will have confidence, but
who are in no sort of way connected with
the public service or the department, and
let the issue be left in their hands. It is
not for Mr. Mundella and his lay inspector
to impugn the judgment of a qualified
physician. The presumption of so doing
does not beseem these gentlemen : it goes
better with the crass hcartlessness to use
no stronger epithet of the school mana
ger who, when a wearied mistress ven
tured to sit while teaching her class, or
dered all chairs to be removed from the
building! While the administration of
our educational system rests in hands like
these, there is little hope of success or
safety in its operation. For the sake of
children and teachers alike, the schools
ought at once to be placed under medical
supervision. In an able and interesting
paper on "The Brain of the School
Child," read before the Social Science
Congress at Birmingham, Dr. Francis
Warner has insisted on the urgency of the
need which exists for medical inspection.
We cordially indorse and support his ar
gument. It is the cry of common -sense,
If the reasonable demand be not met fair
lv and fullv, there cannot fail to be disap
pointment and regret when the inevitable
issue of a mistaken and futile policy is
fully worked out."
THE BAIL. ROAD PROBLEM
Has Rather Solved Itself.
Mr. Reagan, of Texas, got the House on
Tuesday to take up the Inter-State Com
merce bill, and moved his own bill as a
substitute. On this motion he made a
long and very earnest speech. The main
difference between his bill and that of the
committee lies in the more drastic provis
ions of the former. Mr. Keagan proposes
to absolutely proniou discriminations.
pooling, and rebates, and fo punish viola
tions of the law bv damages to thrice the
amount of actual injury and by fines of
not less than 11.000 for each offence. The
measure is likely to attract some attention
this session, but not to get through. Just
now the general impression as to railways
is rather that their competition with each
other is likely to prove ruinous to their
shareholders than that their exactions are
over-burdensome.
Time's Change for the Jews.
About 1230 Simon de Montfort, Earl of
Leicester, granted . a charter to that thor
ough for the total exclusion of Jews there
from. It runs: "No Jew or Jewess, in
my time or in the time of my heirs, to the
end of the world, shall within the liberty
of the town of Leicester, inhabit, remain,
or obtain any residence." Nevertheless,
Mr. Israel Hart, a Hebrew, is Leicester's
Mayor, and is the first of his creed to fill
that office.
THE METHODISTS.
The Tear Work In North Carolina; '
The Statistical Secretary (Wilmington
Star) of the North Carolina Conference
last week in session at Wilmington report
ed 74,888 white members g:tin 2,632; 182
colored members gain 24: baptisms of 2,-
786 infante and 9,211 adults; 240 local
preachers; 96 parsonages worth $121,775;
840 churches valued at f&iS.SuS; 847 Sun
dayschools, 46,026 scholars 5, 506 teachers,
28,431 volumes in libraries valued at $6,
687. $29,294 has been raised for Church
Extension and equally divided between
the Parent Board and home churches. For
the Bishop's salary $1,725.40 has been col
lected, and for superannuated preachers,
widows and orphans $5,387.23. J
Appointment.
RALEIGH DISTRICT.
N. D. H. Wilson, Presiding Elder.
Raleigh Edenton Street, W. C. Nor
man.
Raleigh Person Street, W. L. Cunning-
gim.
Brooklyn and Macedonia mission To
be supplied by J. T. Butt.
Cary circuit J. B. Bobbitt.
Roleeville eircuit J. D. Buie. '
Smithfield circuit Daniel May.
Clayton circuit A'. E. Wiley.
Tar River circuit J. F. Gibbs.
Youngsville circuit B. C. All red.
Louisburg station W. S. Rone.
Oxford circuit T. A. Boone.
Buckhorn circuit J. E. Thompson, I.
W. Avent.
Newton Grove mission D. A. Watkins.
Earpsboro mission J. E. Woosley.
Raleigh Christian Adtorate W. S. Black
and F. L. Reid.
DURHAM DISTRICT.
W. S. Black, Presiding Elder.
Durham station B. C. Phillips.
Hillsboro circuit J. E. Gay.
Durham circuit J. T. Lyon.
Chapel Hill R. B. John.
Person circuit J. R. Griffith.
Leasburg circuit L. L. Nash.
Oak Hill mission To be supplied.
Alamance circuit L. L. Johnson.
Haw River circuit L. II. Giblions.
Pittsboro circuit R. A. Willis.
Granville circuit J. B. Martin, T. C.
Moses, sup.
Lniversity of rsorth Carolina A. W.
Mangum, Professor.
GREENSBORO DISTRICT.
J. A. Cunninggim, Presiding Elder.
Greensboro station S. W. Crawford.
Guilford circuit T. H. Pegram.
East Guilford circuit J. A. Bowles.
Pleasant Garden circuit J. Tillett, C.
W. King.
lanceyville circuit It. G. Barrett.
Winston station J. T. Bagwell.
Forsyth circuit S. H. Helsobeck.
Stokes circuit J. R. Scroggs.
Snow Creek mission S. D. Peeler.
Madison circuit R. P. Troy.
Ruffin circuit N. E. Coltrane.
Reidsville station D. R. Bruton.
Kernersville circuit J. C. Thomas, M.
Hunt.
SALISBURY DISTRICT.
W. H. Bobbitt, Presiding Elder.
Salisbury station James Wheeler.
Salisbury circuit T. A. Stone.
Mocksville circuit G. F. Round.
Rowan circuit H. M. Blair.
Tarrington circuit W. C. Willson.
Concord station W. S. Creasy, T. W.
Smith, sup.
Concord circuit L. Kush.
Mount Pleasant circuit G. A. Oglesby.
Albemarle ciruit T. J. Gattis.
Stanly circuit W. L. Grissom.
Big Lick mission J. E. Underwood.
Mount Zion J. W, North.
8TATE8VILLK DISTRICT.
L. L. Hendren, Presiding Elder.
Statesville station J. II. Cordon.
Statesville circuit W. M. Bagley.
Mooresville circuit P. F. W. Staraey.
Iredell circuit J. C. Rowe.
Rock Spring circuit M. V. Sherrill.
Newton circuit G. W. Ivey.
Alexander circuit J. T. Abernethy.
Caldwell circuit J. O. Guthrie.
Lenoir circuit J. W. Jenkins. ,
Wilkes circuit B. A. York, E. J. Ei-
daily.
Roaring River mission J. b . Craven. .
Elkin and Jonesville J. M. Ashby.
Mount Airy station M. H. Moore.
Mount Airy circuit C. P. Snow.
Dobson circuit E. D. Cameron.
Yadkinvillc circuit J. W. Puett.
T. L. Triplett, Principal of Oak Insti
tute, Mooresville.
8BELBT DISTRICT.
M. L. Wood, Presiding Elder.
Shelby Station B. R. Hall.
Shelby circuit M. D. Giles.
King's Mountain Circuit II. F. Wiley.
Double Shoals circuit I. A. White.
Cherry Mountain circuit J. A. Lee.
Rutherfordton circuit T. J. Daily.
Columbus mission T. H. Edwards.
Morganton circuit J. F. England.
Burke circuit C. A. Gault.
Hickory and Happy Home circuit G.
W. Callahan.
South Fork circuit R. M. Hoyle.
Dallas circuit J. B. Carpenter.
Gaston circuit J. C. Hartsell.
Lincolton circuit J. B. Bailey.
McDowell circuit C. G. Little.
Island Mountain station J. W. Wheeler.
CHARLOTTE DISTRICT.
T. W. Guthrie, Presiding Elder,
Charlotte, Tryon Street W. M. Robey.
Charlotte, Calvary Mission J. B. Hnr
ley.
Charlotte circuit W. F. Coffin.
Matthew's circuit S. M. Davis.
Clear Creek circuit T. S. Ellington.
Pineville circuit J. Ed. Thompson.
Pleasant Grove circuit M. II. Hoyle.
Monroe station F. D. Swindell.
Monroe circuit F. B. McCall.
Wadesboro station W. C. Gannon.
Wadesboro circuit R. S. Webb.
Ansonville circuit L. E. Stacey.
Lilesvillc circuit G. W. Hardison.
FAYETTEVILLE DISTRICT.
S. D. Adams, Presiding Elder.
Fayctteville station F. H. Wood.
Campbellton mission J. J, Grigg.
Cumberland circuit F. L. Townsend
Lumberton circuit J. F. Finlayson.
Robeson circuit C. M. Pepper.
Laurinburg circuit B. B. Culbreth.
St. John's station A. P. Tyer.
Rockingham station J. H. Page.
Ashpole mission J. A. Hornaday.
Rockingham circuit-W. 8. Hales. .
Cape Fear circuit W. S. Chaffin.
Lillington circuit J. H. Hall.
Carthage circuit W. B. Doub
Jonesboro circuit J. H. Arnold.
Manly mission M. A. Smith.
WILMINGTON DISTRICT:
P. J. Carraway, Presiding Elder.
Wilmington, Front street E. A. Yates,
Wilmington, Fifth street D. H. Tuttle
, Topsail circuit J. C. Crisp, C. P. Je
rome.
Duplin circuit A. G. Gaunt.
Magnolia circuit M. M. McFarland.
Clinttm circuit J. T. Kendall.
Cokesbury circuit A. M. Lowe.
Bladen circuit T. B. Ruks.
Elizabeth circuit J. M. Lumley.
Whiteville circuit C. W. Smith.
Carver's Creek circuit S. R. Belk.
Waccamaw mission To bo supplied by
J. H. Tart.
Smithville station C. M. Gentry.
Brunswick circuit Z. T. Harrison.
Onslow circuit D. A. Futtrell.
NEW BERNE DISTRICT.
J. E. Mann, Presiding Elder.
New Berne station L. S. Burkhead.
Goldsboro station J. T. Harris.
Wayne circuit R. C. Beaman-.
Goldsboro circuit J. F. Washburne.
Mount Olive circuit P. L. Groomc.
Kinston station J. W. Jones.
Snow Hill circuit P. L. Herman.
LaG range circuit Alphcus McCullen.
Lenoir mission N. A. Hooker.
Craven circuit W. J. Crawson.
Jones circuit A. D. Betts.
Morehead station C. W. Byrd.
Beaufort station N. M. Jurney.
Carteret circuit J. R. Betts.
Neuse mission To be supplied by F. S.
Becton.
Pamlico circuit O. Ryder.
Straits and Core Sound mission To be
supplied by E. D. Hoover.
WARREN TON DISTRICT.
J. S. Nelson, Presiding Elder.
Warrenton circuit R. O. Burton.
Warren circuit L. J. Holden.
Ridgeway circuit J. N. Cole.
Roanoke circuit J. N. Andrews.
Weldon and Halifax station W. B.
North.
Halifax circuit J. E. Bristow.
Scotland Neck mission W. W. Rose.
Wilson station J. R. Brooks.
Wilson mission B. B. Holden.
Nashville circuit J. Mahoney.
Edgecombe circuit James WilsoB.
Central Institute for Young Ladies J.
M. Rhodes.
WASHINGTON DISTRICT.
W. H. Moore, Presiding Elder.
Tarboro and Bethel A. R. Raven.
South Edgecombe circuit J. Sandford.
Williamston circuit J. L. Keen.
Greenville station C. M. Anderson.
Pitt mission J. G. Nelson.
Swift Creek mission To be supplied by
R. B. Gilliam.
Aurora circuit E. L. Pell.
Washington station T. P. Ricaud, W.
H. Call, sup.
Bath circuit To be supplied by N. H.
Guyton.
Plymouth station W. R. Ware.
Columbia circuit C. C. Brothers.
Mattamuskeet circuit J. D. Carpenter.
Fairfield circuit F. A. Bishop.
Hatteras mission To be supplied by J.
Y. Pegram.
Portsmouth and Ocrakoke mission L.
O. Wyche.
TRINITY COLLEGE DISTRICT.
V. A. Sharpe, Presiding Elder.
Trinity Cotlege station J. F. Heitman,
F. Kurans.
Randolph circuit R. T. N. Stephenson,
U. Durant.
Thomas ville and High Point S. V.
Hoyle.
Davidson circuit D. L. Earnhardt.
Lexington static T. S. Campbell.
Abbott's Creek mission J. W. Lewis.
Randleman station R. F. Bumpass.
Franklinsville circuit W. F. Cutchim
Deep River circuit P; Greening.
Uwharrie circuit C. H. Phillips.
West Uwharrie circuit R. L. Warlick
Montgomery circuit To be supplied.
Pekin circuit F. M. Shamberger.
Mount Gilead circuit M. W. Boyles.
Trinity College J. F. Heitman, Pro
fessor.
Transferred J. J. Carden to the Balti
more Conference; S. J. McLeod to the
South Carolina Conference; W. P. Mc-
Corkle to the West Texas Conference and
appointed to El Paso.
Conference adjourned with doxology,
and benediction by Bishop Parker.
A NEW SOUTHERN LINK
With Raleigh On It.
New York Times. J
Raleigh, N. C, Dec. 2. A glance at
the map shows a gap in a through line of
railway from New-York to New Orleans
from Hamlet, in this State, to Cheraw, in
South Carolina. The through lines in this
State are by way of Greensboro and Char
lotte and by way of Weldon, Goldsboro,
and Wilmington. Raleigh has always
been upon a side track, and has never re
ceived any of the benefits of the Florida
travel during the Winter months, nor of
the fast mail. The managers of the sea-
lioard system of railroads have not attempt
ed a through line by Raleigh, and oneTo
Charlotte over the Carolina Central, be
cause they have no outlet at Charlotte,
both roads at that point being under the
control of the Richmond and Danville
Company. The road from Richmond to
Weldon is run in connection with the At
lantic Coast line, so that ' it has been im
possible to have a through line by way of
Raleigh without building a new road from
Richmond direet to Ridgeway on the
Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, and then
by filling in the gap from Hamlet to Che
raw. Moncure Robinson has a charter
for the Virginia and Carolina Railroad
authorizing the construction of a road
from Richmond to Ridgeway and has been
rapidly building this line. He has also a
charter for the Palmetto Railroad, and has
been constructing a road from Cheraw to
Hamlet. The grading is done from Rich
mond to Ridgeway, and the bridge across
Roanoke River is very far advanced. The
grading from Cheraw is completedand
the road is ready for the iron. Both com
panies have ample means and both con
nections will be made by June next. When
all the connections have been made, a
through line from New York by Washing
ton to Richmond, thence to Ridgeway
over the Virginia and Carolina Road,
thence to Raleigh over the Raleigh and
Gaston Road, thence to Hamlet over the
Raleigh and Augusta Road, thence to
Cheraw over the Palmetto Road, and on
to Charleston and to New Orleans will be
opened. This line will be shorter than by
Wilmington, and the people along the line
from Ridgeway to Hamlet expect great
benefits from its establishment.
Good mathematicians.
The Rev. Dr. Paxton is quoted as say
ing: "I never could understand why a
Scotch drink was always considered to be
dry. If ever any people on the earth keep
it wet outwardly, and a good deal wet in
wardly, I may say the Scotch people do it.
But after all, the Scotch people, whether
they get their wetness from the weather or
frdm toddy, are the only people who ever
successfully solved the problem on this
little planet of how to combine punch and
piety."
THE NEW COTTON-PICKER.
Its Practical Working.
Charleston News and Courier.
Many anxious inquiries from all parts
of the cotton growing section of the South
&s to the success of the machine known as
the Mason Cotton Harvester, will find a
satisfactory answer in the official report
given below, and which has just been for
warded to the authorities of the World's
Fair at New Orleans. As the lateness of
the season precluded the possibility of any
exhibition of the actual working of the
Harvester at the Exposition, a committee
of experts in cotton culture was appointed
by Commissioner-General Morehead to test
and report upon the practical efficiency of
the machine at the home of its inventor in
Sumter county, in this State, before the
open cotton should have disappeared from
the fields.
The test took place on the 22d ult. Cir
cumstances prevented the attendance of
the full committee, but the report of the
results obtained is signed bv the chair
man, Col. A. P. Butler, the commissioner of
agriculture of South Carolina, and bv
Major J. A. Leland, the chairman of the
South Carolina delegation to the Vicks-.
burg Cotton Planter's Convention. The
report is as follows :
Columbia, S. C, Nov. 29, 1884.
To the Hon. F. C. Morehead, Commissioner-General
of the World's Exposition
at New Orleans Sir: On the 22d of
November, 1884, the undersigned, com
missioner of agriculture for the State of
South Carolina, accompanied by the chair
man of the delegation from South Carolina
to the last year's Convention of the Cotton
Planters' Association at Vicksburg, Miss.,
visited Sumter, S. C, to inspect and re
port upon the working of Mason's Cotton
Harvester.
We devoted the whole day to the ob
jects of our visit, and found Mr. Mason
indefatigable in furnishing every facility
for examination the most critical. He
conducted us through every part of his
workshop, not only explaining every part
of his harvester and cylinder gin, but the
process of manufacturing the tools with
which alone he could work. "
We are not called upon to report on the
mechanical structure of the machine, but
only upon its practical efficiency; and
much curious information we derived from
this investigation is uncalled for in this
report.
We were struck with the fact that every
improvement made in the course of his ex
periments tended to simplify the machine,
and its chief recommendation when now
ready for work is its extreme simplicity
combined with strength and durability.
The problem before him at the inception
of his enterprise, and most pertinaciously
adhered to through all his experiments,
was to invent some substitute for the hu
man fingers in picking the lint from the
open bolls without damage to the stalk of
the plant, its leaves, blooms and immature
bolls. This he has at last fully accomplished
by means of rotating points or teeth mi
nute, but strong and durable which will
inevitably seize upon the fibres of the lint
brought in contact with them, but so ad
justed to the rotating surface as to pass
harmlessly over every other form of mat:
ter. Fibres, and fibres alone, can reach J
these teeth, and once seized, the bolls to
which they belong must follow.
This we saw practically illustrated be-4
fore our own eyes. The present cumbrous,
box-shaped locomotive jointed, screwed,
and bolted for any conflict with mules
and negroes in which the simple machin
ery was mounted and put in action by
power derived from the rotation of the
wheels of the locomotive, was hauled by
a single mule over a long cotton row.
Frost had more than once fallen on the
upright stalks; the bolls were all open,
with the cotton hanging to them loosely
and limp. The limbs of the stalks and
leaves were exceedingly brittle and crisp,.
yet as the machine advanced we only
missed the. lint stalks, limbs and leaves
remaining intact. Of course the lint, in
being drawn frem the bolls, came in con
tact with and adhered to parts of leaves
almost pulverized. The shafts of the lo
comotive were attached to one side of the
locomotive, so that the mule moved be
tween the rows while the centre of the ma
chine passed over the apex of the row.
Of course the return trip threw the mule
between the first and second row, and the
machinery passed over the same row
twice. After the return trip we noticed
no change in the stocks, etc., but the lint
was nearly all gone, safely stored in pen
dant bags. The result was wonderful
almost incredible to any but an eye wit
ness. It could have scarcely been subjected to
trial under more unfavorable circumstances
those above mentioned and others that
might be enumerated and yet at each
passage over the row about fifty per cent,
of the cotton theYe standing was bagged.
Its almost intelligent selection of the open
cotton, to the exclusion of almost every
thing .else, was the most remarkable as
well as gratifying feature. Those who
have-seen it work in a field with luxuriant
weed, and on the first opening of the cot
ton, testify to this wonderful result. The
seeded lint alone was gathered, while the
blooms, leaves and immature bolls were
left uninjured.
An intelligent planter from Mississippi
who witnessed its performance at this
stage of the cotton plant offered the high
est prospective price for the machine for
his own use in the present cotton crop.
After close examination of fhe results;" he
gave it as his opinion that, with the ma
chine then working and three good hands
to follow and glean after it, he could do
the work of forty hands a day.
We take pleasure and pride in reporting
that, in our opinion, this great feouth Car
olina invention will prove a success. Mr.
Mason himself, however, is not yet wholly
satisfied. He believes that with better
tools, which he will soon have all facilities
for perfecting, he can render his machine
still more effective. He is now aiming at
gathering all the open cotton at a single
passing over a row, and thinks he can do
it. Her is sure he can make all the parts
adjustable, but doubts, from their present
perfect state, whether he need improve the
strength and durability of those already
tested.
He showed us several machines of van
ous sizes already prepared for work and
pointed out several of his contemplated
improvements which none but a skilled
machinist could appreciate, isut the sim
plicity of true genius characterizes all its
forms. The efficient parts are all made on
the same model and arc all interchangea
bly adjustable. Any one part can prompt
ly be replaced in the machine without de
rangement to the other parts. As it must
necessarily fall into unskillful hands on
the farm this is vital to its success. The
operator has only to retain his seat on the
locomotive and drive his mule aright and
the machinery itself takes care of the cot
ton. The cotton gathered in this experi
mental trip of the machine was immedi
ately transferred to the Mason Cylinder Gin
and promptly Converted into lint ready for
packing. Mr. 'Mason promises as an ad
junct ,to his machine a cotton cleaner,
which will remove all the light dfibris
sometimes adhering to the cotton.
Of this cylindet gin we are not called
on to report, but as the universal verdict
is in its favor in preference to the saw gin
we must be pardoned for saying, from
what we saw of its efficiency, that it has
these decided advantages over a saw gin
of equal size :
1. It requires less power to work it.
2. It turns out more lint.
3. Its cost of construction is less.
4. The lint turned out has no gin-cut
even in long staple highlands.
5. It is a perfectly safe machine for the
operator and manipulator.
This last advantage is inestimable. The
same, device for drawing the cotton over
the cylinders by these mysterious, but
ever present teeth, is its distinguishing
feature, and while irresistible to the cot
ton, is perfectly harmless to the operator.
Nails, &c, thrown into the cotton while
feeding are thrown out with the seed,
neither the nail nor the machine being the
worse for the passing through.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
A. P. BUTLER,
Commissioner Agriculture State of S. C.
J. A. Leland,
Chairman of Vicksburg Delegation.
THE VIRGINIA EPIDEMIC.
News From the Afflicted Region.
Lynchburg,; Va., Dec. 2. The latest
and most trustworthy information received
about the epidemic in the southwestern
part of this State is contained in a letter
written by ex-Congressman A. L. Pride
more, of Lee county. He lives, in the re
gion in which the scourge has raged so
fatally, and is thoroughly acquainted with
the people in all of the counties in which
the epidemic prevails. The following is
Mr. Pridemorc's letter :
Jonesville, Va., Nov. 26, 1884.
Yours of the 24th inst. inclosing an ac
count of of the "scourge in southwest" to
band. I have not seen any of the persons
actually suffering from the disease, but
from all the symptoms as described it is
that of flux, or rather a mild form of chol
era. The victim is taken with severe
pains, sometimes accompanied by fainting,
followed by severe vomiting and purging,
which in several instances ended in death
in from four to twelve hours. There have
been in Wise county, as I am reliably in
formed, over 200 deaths. Two entire fam
ilies, both parents and all the children
died. In several, all the children, in oth
ers the parents. The same disease exists
in a milder form, yet very fatal, in Scott
county, near the Wise line and in the same
belt of country. So far it has been con
fined to people using freestone water; not
a single case that I have heard of in the
limestone neighborhoods. In the coal,
iron and sandstone regions at all times in
the Fall season the water is low and
bad, the pools in the river being black
as ink from the sulphur and iron.
This excessive dry year has dried up
the creeks and smaller rivers so that they
not run, and the springs are but mud
holes, and to this cause I think the origin
of the disease may be in every instance
traced. In Scott County the rain on elec
tion day so far brought relief that there
was not a new case for several days. Seven
or eight sometimes die per day, and there
have been four burials at one graveyard the
same day, and this is sparsely settled coun
try. The frost so far has not had any ap
preciable effect upon it. I am not per
sonally acquainted with the condition of
the people affected by it, but I know from
the surroundings that they need medical
aid, and some action ought to be taken to
move them out. Many are too ,poor to
get away without help, and no more meri
torious case ever was presented for the aid
of liberal men. There does not seem to
be much alarm near the fatal locality. I
do not know that I have fully answered
your inquiries, but I have given about all
I know about it. It has been steadily at
work since 1st of last August, and if I
were to write a full description of its
symptoms and effects it would be such as
I have read of cholera in rather severe
form. A. L. Pridemore.
P. S. Some cases have a strong resem
blance to the worst type of cholera. It
certainly is far beyond any flux ever
known here.
In some of the counties in which this
disease exists there are very few, if any,
licensed physicians. In one of these a
prominent citizen states that there is not
a single graduated and experienced medi
cal man within the borders of his county.
BANKRUPTCY PROJECTS.
The Bill Before the House.
New York Times.
A bankrupt bill was passed by the Sen
ate on the 21st of last April. It was orig
inally prepared by Judge Lowell of Massa
chusetts, but was considerably modified in
the Senate, chiefly in the direction of the
amendments proposed by a convention of
merchants in January. The bill was dis
cussed very carefully in the Senate and
secured a strong majority on its passage.
It is, so far as it goes, a good bill. It pro
vides for Commissioners and Supervisors
of Bankruptcy, paid by moderate salary
out of money to be raised by a fixed as
sessment on the insolvents' assets, and for
the review and inspection of all proceed
ings by competent judicial authority. In
brief, the law gives to the business men of
the country a fair set of tribunals in which,
with justice to all, the estate of a bank
rupt can be administered, creditors can
obtain wbat is available, and the bankrupt,
if reasonably honest, can be released. This
seems to be a desirable thing. It seems'
far more desirable than the complex and
confused set of varying systems in each
State by which sharp debtors can cheat
their creditors and the sharpei creditors
can get an advantage over the others.
The Senate bill after its passage went to
the House, and was considered and unan
imously approved in committee. It failed
of passage in the House, not because it
had not a majority in its favor, for it had
such a majority, and a strong one, but
because it required a two-thirds vote to
advance it on the calendar. The motion
to so advance it lacked only sixteen of the
required number of votes.
Wake County's Poor.
Evening Visitor. J
From Treasurer Neathery's report it ap
pears that the average number of paupers
in the county poor house for the year has
been 69, and the average number of prison
ers in the work househas 1een 32 ; total,101.
These have been fed, clothed and main
tained at an average cost of $5.27 per
month, or $03.24 per annum. This cov
ers every item of expense in the mainten
ance of the poor and work houses, in
cluding new buildings, which cost $450.
HELP THE ORPHANS.
"Kris Krlngle'" Address In Their
Behalf. .
To the lotert of ehhdren in North Carolina:
The coming of Christmas, always excites
in the minds of children peculiarly sweet
anticipations, andjhrywe meet the earnest
appeal ever flashed from their eager eyes
in confiding Innocence when that Holy
Day is mentioned, we can but feel " that
hardened and cold indeed must be the
heart which refuses to respond appropri
ately to the expectations of children at,
Christmas, when all Christians rejoice and
all who respect God's commands should '
seek to make joyous and happy the lives
of His orphaned little ones."
The universal and ever beautiful observ
ance, by North Carolinians, of Christ's
birthday is eminently calculated to stamp
them as a people distinctively strong in
appreciation and reverence for God's
boundless love and commands, and in no
manner can they more truly display their
sincere devotion to His cause than is com
passed by constant and tender care of the
unfortunate and helpless and those of
whom he so lovingly said, "Suffer little
children to come unto me, and forbid them
not, for of such is the Kingdom of '
Heaven."
These thoughts are suggested as I sit
endeavoring to shape an appeal to you in
behalf of the approaching Christmas fes
tivities at the Oxford Orphan Asylum.
For the three years just past the children
at this institution received most of their
Christmas presents, through me, from
strangers ; but this year I am determined
you shall not be deprived of the pleasure
I am confident it will afford you to aid my
endeavor to make their Christmas bright,
happy and joyous. The sweetest pleasure
of life is found in making others happy,
and I dare to believe that you will so re
spond to this appeal in behalf of these lit
tle orphans that the remembrance of what
you did for them "Christmas 1884" will
never cease to bring to your hearts a sweet
and happy joy, whose influence will purify
your lives and prove a welcome light
along your pathway that will reach, not -only
to the grave, but beyond, and" gild
with matchless splendor that robe of im
mortality which becomes the heritage of
all who do the will of Him who commands
us to "clothe and feed my lambs."
In aiding this special work -you must
understand your offering or gift must also
be special, for I do not wish to interfere -with
or affect the general contributions in
aid of the Asylum.
Many ways are open for rendering mate
rial service in this work, and most of them
will be quickly suggested to the mind that
reads this appeal with a view to aiding the
cause.
The Presidents, Principals, Superinten
dents and Teachers of institutions and
schools would aid materially by explaining
my object to the young under their charge
and requesting contributions on a day
early in December. By this course "pen
nies," "nickels" and "dimes" will be ag
gregated in a manner that would prove of
great assistance, for "one cent "from each
school child in the State would amount to
a sum sufficient to give the orphans every
thing they expect Christmas, and provide
many comforts they are sadly in need of
and ought to have.
The churches, God's chosen mediums
for influencing us in doing good and di
recting us to the abodes of the needy, and
helpless, would do a grand and holy work
by taking up a special collection Decem
ber the 14th or 21st in behalf of thfs ob
ject. Mothers could perform a double work
by calling theinlittle ones together and in
ducing them to give a part of their "prec
ious savings" toward making the Christ
mas of the little Orphans happy. Every
gift from a child for such a purpose incul
cates self-denial and creates that rare sym
pathy which connects its little soul di
rectly with God. To mothers I make no
special appeal for I know their duty will
be grandly done. The lives of Onihans
would be sad indeed did not the purest
sympathy for their homeless and helpless
conditions form the greater part of the
sacred and tender natures of the mothers
of the land.
To fathers I simply appeal to do as their
loved ones ask, for in so doing they will
do good and guide aright the tender heart
that wishes simply to bestow a part of
what God has given him on those He has
seen fit to visit with sorrow and affliction.
To those whose ears have never heard
and will never hear appeals from the lips
of their own offspring, no words from me
are required to induce them to respond to
the wants of the orphaned, for He who
made them barren or decreed their solitary
lot, did so that they might have a deeper
and purer sympathy for those whom He
would make homeless, fatherless and sad
dest of all, motherless.
To the young and gay I appeal for the
value of a cigar or half the value of a box
of "bon bons." Will not the ladies col
lect these values and send them to aid in
making these Christmas offerings the best
and grandest ever received at the Asy
lum? I will need everything that is calculated
to please, amuse, improve or make more
comfortable the little waifs whose future
God has committed to our keeping.
Send me balls, books, dressed dolls,
pen-knives, scissors, shears, pictures,
gloves, marbles, little chairs, candy, nuts,
toys, etc., etc. All perishable articles
should be sent immediately before Christ
mas. Direct everything intended for the
Christmas festivities to "W. F. B." care
Dr. B. F. Dixon, Oxford, N. C. Send all
money contributions to Dr. Dixon, and
mark on envelopes "For Christmas," that
he may easily keep it separate from other
contributions.
In conclusion, I beg you will not wait
for your neighbor to act but do what you
intend to do at once and with an earnest
ness calculated to arouse zeal in others.
"God loveth a cheerful giver." .
Hopefully yours,
W. F. Beasley.
Oxford, N. C, December 1, 1884.
The Press of the State is asked to pub
lish this appeal and aid the cause. j
A Canning Financier.
The London correspondent of the Ameri
can (Paris) Register relates this : An epicu
rean Bishop was neatly taken in by a smart
boy at Banbury. Being desirous of tasting
the famous cakes, be beckoned to the lad
to come to him to the window of the rail
way carriage, and asked the price of cakes.
"Three pence each, sir," replied the boy.
Giving him six pence, the Bishop desired
him to bring one, and added, as he was
running-off, "Buy one for yourself with
the other three pence. " Presently the boy
returned, munching his "Banbury," and,
handing three pence, in coppers to the
Bishop, announced in the most ingenious
mauner, "There was only one left, sir."