LI
: -J MtrJ"- - . ' - I- 1 - v."-., - .
5 r- - ''. r.;&Ja I ,. I
5r 1 1 I
... ' : J ' i
;.!,; it
'
I---
... -7.
i jl' :
t it '
Volume VI.
STATESVILLE, N. C
PUB LJ SIX ED WEEKLYj ,
1Di B. DRAKE. BY
W. P. 1JRAKE.
! IJGENE B. DRAKE t'50N, 1
... , Editors and Proprietors. '
i t k - - .. - :
TERMS OF THE, PAPJR,
453 a Year, in Advance.
iltJW jS$cripti(n received'vndL-r C month,, r,
JB3T" ' V not paid in adoance 54.UU. j '
I;;' For the Iredell Express.
t ; .'; ; .The Evening Cloud. '
jThe mighty Ptorm had ceased to rage,
j The lightnings failed to flash ;
No more, the fearful thunders rolled, ' Z'
j Hyiih loud and awful crash.
jThejBeiting surr, with gorgeous ray,
Pijerced through the gloom on higji ;
lA-qjiH fell uiora cloud, as fair
A8 ever graced yon 8k v.
O.-'for a seraph's pen to write,
! The glorics of tliat nccne,
That taauteoiis rloml in .f.leiulor wrtipf.
, . nu jn a gotoen sneen.
Jlfjiiassive heaps, liket8ofteststiow, j j
f Wu mount 'gainst mountain laidj
!While lofty peak o'er peak below
Cast soft arrd lovely sljade.
in at the base, all hennteous, stood!
i' -A chain of cloudy hHla, I
Capped o'er vvith blue O, such a scene
j -The pouI with' rapture fills ! ' I
VI "fancied, mid tlio.se fiiiry clitfs,
The glory" wa.s so briglit, ;
Angels reposed, and from their forme;
.Cast soft and holy Jig'ht. -
0, thus it is when storms break o'er i
The christian's path m life ;
When all around seems dark and drear,
. And all within is strife ; i
God's smile of inere breaks the gloom ;
i Gilds clouds with glory o'er; ' ! ..
Vfe upward look, with eye of lkith,
: Jni wonder and adore.
Oakland Cottage, fJa:
From- tAeSaiti K -
On -rii'ld
IJnerpcc'eit Orders- Foq Turn
ing the. Flunk Huttlc ' lAncStrat Shells
W the't'r Ktrrrt Yankees .At'cr Us A
.Close Shave -A X-yht in the Pines The-
! Wilderness Great Baltic of Chancellors-
xUlcWouniled put their ferlts 'Woods-
fire Men Bamed Allee The Battle Field, j
The; regiment had been on jticket a 'week,
the bandcooks, &.C., left in camp as usual ;
when at ten o'clock on Thursday niirht. Apr.
30 th, we very unexpectedly received orders
to join our regimefTt with all possible haste.
We bundled up, and after ayu-hourjand jl
'half's rauibling?in the thicketsbordertng the
'Rappahannock we found our boys, all busy
fixing f r a inarch. Durhig the da,T jreced-
in heavv cannonading had been kept up,; '
and a few" of our met. killed and wmip!ed. on, pell mell, in worse confusion and more
..Friday we. expected a great baUle it is 1 frightened than a rlock of shce when chased
,..io. wonder then that we were astonished at ! by hungry wolves. And let me assureyou,
the unmistakable signs of an, iittendtQ evac- ! kind .reader, we did not need a second bid-uatiOT.-.Orfe
had'-been ,1-s'ueTm cmp to ! d.ing. The chase that followed was more
biirn.and destroy every .(,.'iug that coinld not j amusing than the first ; it might well 'be
be moved; an l'thc troops 1 discovered were j termed "scientific skedaddling," and w.as
throwing away everything they h id except- ! kept up with vigor for the next mile and a
.r the 'clothinhev- lia.l on, 'and a chaise I half, when we came to a place known as the
of linen in their knapsacks,- also excepting
their 'arP!9.and'.S4irftty:'uv rounds of cdrtridg
"cs.' Besides these they carried their jhaver
f sacks, stored with three days rations, j Who
wouldn't " smell a rat ? " Feeling very tired
I lay down and the next moment was .-ound
.asleep. At2 o'clock I was aroused Oh,
" Heavens I my kingdom for a little! more
"sleep! 'Twas useless to think of it," but
"shaking my etupor off I shouldered my knap
sack and began the march with the others.
Some thought we were going to Guineas,
ome to 'Hanover, others to Cdl pepper and
fio on f" but when we took the road for Fred
ericksburg all came ,fo .tfie conclusion that
' Wjedid not know where we were going.
Some asserted thattheToad led to a certain
. nameless placeull of sulphurous odors ; if
'" so, this was not the broad way, but a kiud
of. by-path, as yet unexplored, and full of
! holes, ditches and piud-phddles, into which
many a poor fellow stumbled. To. add to
our difficulties a thick fog made the darkness
" ' - ' -
almost visible, but erp long day dawned,
when indeed Ave had reason to. thank God for
his kindness in shrouding us with Buch a
4ense covering. We discovered, top, that
none of Qur conjectures about our route was
correct, and that instead of going to any of
the towns above mentioned, we were only
endeavoring to outflank the enemy ; and had
it not been for the friendly fog a tempest of
- slvelU would have met us at every turn. The
Yanks could not see what we were up to,
,- neither coutd thef hear, since every man
Vas cautioned to make as little noise las pos
' sible. While the thousands were passing, a
7 person two hundred yards from our jroad
Would not have had the least intimation of
' . . . -
it. By noon on Friday we were out pi any
great danger. We were halted and drawn
; "up in ( line of battle, say a fourth of a mile
: f rem the .enemy; , Oneofourregimenta&ur-
geons was sent -wrth his retinue (consisting of
the band) to a house half a mile back to
await orders, or the arrival of wounded So
far everything was perfectly calm, the quiet
was;even oppressive, it foreboded' no good.
W remained until 4 .o'clock p. m., when or
ders came to move forward. The surgeon
left, telling us to come on as best we could.
We traveled about five miles, making inqui
ries of every one we saw, but none could give
us any satisfactory information concerning
Rhodes' division. Night canfe on; and. with
it came an irresistable desire to rest and
sleep. All agreed, and some fifty yards from
the road weboilt a huge-f5rejr around which
we piled ourselves promiscuously, and slept
profoundly until daylight on Saturday morn
ing. Soon we were up and off again j and
three miles further up we got wind of our
division, which we learned, was lying in line
of batle about ar mile ahead. Kwowing the
aversion which doctors generally have fcr
these unwelcome-: visitors usually called
shells or bombs, we felt sure that our su
geons would conla back and make their!
headquarters in the, dwelling at which" we"
w eye then halted. So confident were we in
this "belief that we remained there until 3 p.
m., when having not seen nor heard from our
brigade we concluded to go forward on the
line. Meantime two or three small battles
had been fought since noon, in sight of our
position, and near the exact spot where we
thought our brigade was placed. Battles
they? would -have been termed in the days of
th6 old revolution, but now it is nothing but
kirnfisliing. We do not apply, the word
lmit.U: now-a-davs to anvt.liinr short of n
v . . O "
;" skrimmage" where not less than ten .or
fifteen thousand men have been killed and
wounded. Fast people ice are, truly ! Bui
to resume ; when the firing somewhat
abated we took up our beds fand board) and
walked out within a few hundred yards of
the battle ground. We had scarcely haltedl
ere we learned that our division waa eight !
miles to thtr left and still going-double quick.
The command "right about", was useless,
fur the next instant a shower of sheila were
thrown at the ordnance train (amunition
wagons) standing near by. They (the bombs)
exploded above our heads, scattering frag-
ments uncomfortably near. u. These Uat 3
conceding a oncB that tho aimoephere was ;.
utiliealthy about there, we' " cut grit" and
1 made remarUaUy good time for about two
t. miles T urged on for the first half "mile bv
messengers from the same quarter bringing
' the same news. When well 'out of danger
Jfwe" reined up, blowing like young steamboats,
'and for an hour too
k it more moderately.
When three miles from 'the scene of our glo- j
rious charge to the rear, we halted in a nice
shade beneath some cedars, slung knapsrtcks,
lit our pipes and lay down for a Test. We J
had been there perhaps half an hour, when '
we were alarmed by the clatter of, musketry j,
a short distance in our rear, and sobn after
wards a hundred skirmishers came shorting
along, and bawling out, to us " Run for life, ;
the Yankee -Cavalry are after us in sight."
hey
never slacked their gait, but tumbled
' Old Tavern " or " AVilderness Tavern.
Here we came up with' reinforcements', un
fortunately, of the same stripe as ours, viz :
frightened skirmishers. But our force was
sufficiently strong to repel any attack which -J
a squad of Yankee cavalry might see proper
to make. This, .in Virginia's palmy days,
seemed ta have been quite a public place.
Four roads met, the first leading toSpottsyl
vania, the second to Orange, the third out to
the plank-road and up to Culpepper, and the
fourth back to Fredericksburg. On each
road couriers were sent to order back all
.wagon tras, "which by night were congre
gated in considerable numbers around the
cross roads. Danger threatened us from all
quarters ; but soon after nightfall our squad
ventured up the Orange road about a mile,
then turning square to Jhe right, we entered
a dense pine thicket which we penetrated
some two hundred yards, where we spent the
night in dread apprehension of a ,fight or
T . it. t '
surrender before morning. JJunng me auer
noon we had heard distinctly the roar of bat
tle but a few miles to our right and front;
and not knowing exactly what to make of it,
and dubious' about the result, it is not sur
prising that our slumbers were none of the
sweetest. But Sunday morning, May the
3rd: dawned on us, clear and serene, and we
were Mill living rebels. At an early hour we
set out, and by a cirpuitous march found our
l obrtnt. 10 o'clock a.m! The
great battle at Chancellorsville wai then
racing in all its fury : the very hills I shook
with the thundW Of cannon, and the sun was
i.,.i.i or'WK immense columns, of smoke
tiUUUVU ivu
rising heavenward.. Pur hospital was loca
. k ' 1
ted at " Wilderness Church," aroundj which
had been a severe battle on Saturday evening
nrpdin(r Dead men. and horses, shattered
artillery carriages, clothing, and, in
short,
every conceivable article of plunder Uy scat-
STATESYILLE, N. C,
tered thick over the adjacent fields. It was
but a mile down the plank-road to when;
they were then fighting. It was Sunday,.
but no one 'thought of it, or cared,
troops were' hurrying up to assist th
hausted comrades, and amongthe thoUsa
... . ruilu& urwara UW a sirapter
c 1 ... . v i.l
. . '
mined. Thev had been well fed. well rested.
f - - .t . j
'"'ff -ow mey ieiureaay, wui-
ing and able to plunge madly into the bloody
work before them. The artillery went rat
tling on, raising clouds of dust as they rush
ed along even the horses seemed " to smell
the battlft afar of!' "Axclte
hurry and tumult. At nooo the firing ceas
ed the wind bore the tidings onward- TKc
victory is ours. An hour ' later, and the
wounded begin to arrive,! the butchery be
gins, and amputated limits are tossed care
lessly about, wounds are probed, halls ex
tracted, the blood-besmeared soldiers ar
washed and all made as comfortable as cir
cumstances will allow. f&Iy dear readers,
you can never do enough for these brave Tel-
lows, never! never! Jfycm could once see a
battle field, or a hospital! near by ; If you
could see their faces burijjt with powder,
lyokemarms dangling by their side, clotted
naassestof blood hanging ir their hair, or the
life-tide, gushing from gljastly wounds on
their bodies or hear them beg for help, or)
one dro"b of water; thenlwould-you think
them more worthy of loveand kindness?
I have seen
en it, and more tljan I dare attempt"
I t 'r
to portray
The enemy was 'driven back, but' obsti
nately contested every incjh of ground., At
1 r. m, the fight was resumed and continued
with unabated fury until long after night's
dark pall was spread over ijthe blood stained
earth. Then to add untold horrors to the
scene of carnage the woclds in which thej
battle raged after noon caught fire, and 'be
ing very, dry burnt rapidly. , Many dead
bodies were scattered through the thick un
derbrush, and not a few pounded. These
could not be brought out,! but were left to
their horrible fate. True, j the greater por
tion of the dead and the jliving who were
thus burned tin one awful funeral pile were
our' enemies, but that signified nothing.
I IiGir oodles. .buraedtlUp4rekM'iMK? ;
pneknots; and the screams, the unearthly
shrieks made the niirht hideous. Great God !
Is this war ! ' Then deliver us.! Oh, spare
US another buc)i harrowing scene 1
' On Monday morning I visited the spot
where our regiment fought. The fire had
not got on that side of the road, and they lay
as they fell ; in every posture imaginable',
but mostly
. " With their backs- to the field
And their feet to the fue."
The greater portion of them I could re- J
cognize, but some were so mangled as to ren
iler reenirnif ion im possible. Thft . whrtdfl
through winch they charged was torn up
with shot and shell most, frightful! v.- A
horricane could not have slashed down the ;
timber worse. Some have told me that the
crash of falling trees could be lieard above
the dread, roar of battle. Scarce a shrub or
sapling is left standing, all are shot away.
The wonder with me is, how a single soul
could pass. through and' live.
- "NAT.
Fredericksburg, Mav Ilth, 1803.
From the 34th Regiment N. C. Troops.
Camp near Guinea StatioS', Va., )
May 16th, 1803. j
Messrs. Editors :
When I wrote you last week I was very
much fat-igued by the short, but arduous
campaign through which we had just pass
ed : consequentlv ray letter was short and i
uninteresting. I propose now to more fully
manifest the "tips" and "downs" which
the 04tli was called upon to pass through.
in so successfully driving the ruthless Yan
kee from this side the Rappahannock and
compelling him to seek safety beyond her
banks. $Qt only did he recross for safety
but for again to calm his panic stricken and
demoralized army which has the secondtime
met. disaster on the Rappahannock's shore,
as well as completely routed many times by
this noble army of Northern Virginia.
The 34th, on the morning of the 2?th of
April, received an order to be in readiness at
a moment's notice for the march, which put
a new face to everything and a complete
Change was seen mrouguom, r..-
, . .i i . . . i . . , .
tl"7, , f T
until tne oruer .o ,uu w 6c, -u .
marched off. There was many a "wonder"
made "where we are going"? but as usual
we marched slowly 'and silently on, passed
beyond Hamilton's crossing and inarched
into the woods and forced a ljoe of battle
about sunset, and there remained two nights
and one day, without tent3, (and it rained
" some") Then we marched in the direction
of ChancellorsviWe and formed about eleven
o'clock (30th) in line in a very dense forest.
but only remained a fey .hpurs wbj we
marched up the plank road, leading from0m poupuupti wus. -an bime ma-
- .( reaericKsuurg, ana mea w wie ieit auu
I i- i i i zi 1 A 1 1-1. .-i
! marched round and-came m above tne an.-
kees and marched in battle ime across a
4 wilderness about a quarter of a mile whilst
the forces then in bur front were giving them
! battle in Jacksos style. After they
were
TIfIUSDAY3 JUNE 4, 13.
riven some distance, nightcame and Pen-
dej Brigade was marched up to fake the
VmSTi linn .-.K . i 1 . Tr 1 -r . -
..... miit-oiuer . jsrigaues ot tne iivi.
, somer (oeing so unexpected) and wounded
f ..
me fciorm was soon over and
! . took nnrn ift k ' ,
i jv-..i.jsii icit ui luc roau
; ana mere remained that night with,
arms in
hand and nothing between
us excepting a
Jme of skirmishers.
runday" morning (3d) came and ve were
ad y for the duties then devolving Iron ua.
f-jv waftedthe command '' forward'
I which met our ears in due tjme,; aid I am
iMyj iu mi us biricnv ouevea. t.
Onward we moved, and soon wl came
within range and our line opened upojh them;
jhey had been working pearly all light in
collecting logs and brush, forming ajkind of
protection for their miserable carcasses, but
U availed them nothing. !
Onward," with hearts of patriotic devo
tion, was our watchword, and nothing Save
victory or death was sufficient to satisfy the
Southern b6ys. Onward we moved ujhtil our
Ammunition in hands of men, was exhaust
ed, when reinforcements (Alabamiarii) came
la and relieved us. We retired anjd drew
'rations" of cartridges a?id were relidy for
tie secoud advance, but the Yankels had
sot ceased giving back, and we filed ito the'
road and drew crackers; and baedn and'
inarched again and took our position; on th
feft of where -e-fought irftlicf.mornm" an
ic
d
again on the front line, but changed our front
Jb the left, and there remained jn front on
he defensive for one; day and two Rights,
tfhen they politely left us, leaving tile most
formidable fortifications almost ever seen,
ind recross'ed the river in double haste.
Then the battle was ended and the Yankees
aiaed nothing. Although ground La lay
their carcasses in numbers, they, as! usual,
J for their lying tribe) claim to have slaugh
tered the rebels in vast numbers abovje their
own loss, while it never became their privi
lege to- view the battle field after the fjght.
It has been truly said "that none bit they
ho set a just value upon the blessings of
lihefty are vJbrthy fo eujoy her,' a id hovl
wrat-fimisefab1ef ' enemies who'
puwons ana
uthern Independence tat the
time the South asked her Independence
Kever will the South yield to the tynfrmy of
the. North erif usurpers as long as lief brave
soldiers rally ' around their countryfs ,1'ag
with such united determination to Achieve
" i
her liberties. J
I herewith transmit a list of the killed and
rounded of Capt. McNeely's Co. "fc)," of
tiiis Regiment in the fight.
- "Killed Sergeant Franklin A. Lovfrance.
Wounded 1st Sergt. J. Corriher, Seflgts. V.
A. Sloop, W. A. Kilpatrick, Corioraj R A.
Overcash, Privates J. II. McLaughlin and
Dhvid Iiay. . "
Grand total, Killed .20, Wounded 117,
Missing 19.
Many are slightly wounded and will re
turn to duty in a short -time, whil some
have already died of their wounds and others
will never again be tit for the field, f
Respectfully, j
Lt'CO.
"From the Greensboro' Patriot.;
I Opinion of Chitf Justice Pearson in the
matter ot Hichoison.
The facts are: Nicholson is Z years
of age, is a miller' and rnill-wright
skilled in both trades. He was en rol
led as a conscript 8th of July,- arjd tfas
ordered into service 15tn . of July,
1SG2. BetweenVtlie 8th and lBth of
July, be applied to the commantlant of
conscripts tor a special exemption as a
.miller; this was refused, he neverthe
less failed to report, and continued at
his trade as a miller, as he habitually
tione for many years- before. n Au
gust, i862, he went into the- armory
of Lamb & Co., expecting to le de
tailed, but ldft before the detail was
made, and sit into work for on Ship-'
man, as a mill-wright, where lie work
f.ed until the 1st January, 1863'when
he went to Virginia, and set id work
as a mill-wright for one Lamb,lwhere
He remained actually employed; at his
'i'-rof-fp until "fnrrh whpn rnrrlitSor into
, , fe
thig gtate on a vigit to his hu&j, he
"was arrested as a recusant conscript
He made tKe affidayit ag ruirea
by the exemption act. , 1
in tne matter 01 juuis, a snpe:ma
ker, and Angel, a wagon-maket. I de
cided that the exemption act, October
11,I862, applied as well to th'o con
scription act of April, as to the con
scription act of September. Ifgee no
reason to change my optnion The
act adds to the list of exemptions con
tained in the exemption act of April
uerai uruS appiicuie 10
lers, tanners, &c" makes no distinc
tions between persons under or over
3 Rd repeals the former exemption
act," showing "obyiously that the inten
tion was in reference to the coliscriD-
jtion act of April, to put the last ' ex-
1 7: j
t reM1 uul Jusl ue ase gUing ur ros",on this, fee not so, there are no exemptions
ei.r ex- Yankees poured a most terrific vfelW nf:-Kof fio ocr
, 11,,. - "ti-n.tn luc atca ui J.O mm OO, anU
nd3 grape and shell-into .our line whichv fansfvl i (I
..,..i1,taMn(ulul,HI
emption act in place of the act repeal
; ed, and make one exemption act an
'
! swor tor hnth
If
bers of the Legislature, Ac, under the
a?e of 35 are liahlp n iftn.nn.
gG 0I,f' are . ConsVts,
nay, all persons although "unfit for
military service by reason of bodily or
liitniui iiiuriimy, are iiaDie as con
scripts, if under the age of 55. SucI
a construction is inadmissable. v It was
said by Mr Scott on the argument,
"This difficulty met by tue-'TKVwer
t given to tne president to make special
exemptions." Jut it could not, have
oeen the intention to make Governors,
Judges and members of the Legisla
ture depend upon the pleasure of the
President; the object was to enitle
them to exemption bfj Into and not by
favor.
It was also said, if the act applies
to the conscription act of April, it
must have a retroactive effect, and its
construction will present many difficul
ties. That is true, but when the clear
intention of the law' makers that" the
one act should apply to the other, it
becomes the duty of the fudges to
adopt such a constructioa as will make
them fix in the best way they can be
put together.
In the matter of Mills and Angel,
it was, not necessary to fix. on the time
when the act required the party to be
actually' employe at his trade, for
they were not ordered into service un
til after its passage, and were, with
out default, actually employed at their
trades, both at the passage tof the act,
and when ordered into service, and
taking either date as "the time" were
entitled to exemption.
In this case the point .is directly
presented. . If "the time" is when the,
party is ordered into service, then
Nicholson was entitled to. exemption,
and his sub3equ,ent conduct in keeping
out of the way, and going to Virginia
thorized act of Govemmfent oracerm
more cprnmcnaaDie course wouia nave
been to insist openly on his light, ' If
however, "the time" is when the ex
emption act passed, then he was liable
as a conscript, and although actually
employed at his trade, cannot claim
for that reason to stand on higher
ground in this respect than if he bad
been in the army, because ot themax-
, , i n , 1 1 i
im.-rro man-snail taKe auvaniago oi
lis ewn wrong." .
The clauses under consideration does
not (except indefinitely in the provi
so), refer to the time when the person
claiming 4o be exempted must be ac
tually employed at his trade. It
makes no exception of persons then in
service, or who had been ordered into
service, and puts the stress upon the
fact of actual employment. It is in
these words: "Al shoe makers, tan
ners, &c, skilled and actually employ
ed in the said trades, habitually en
gaged in workjng for the public and
whilst so actually employed, provided,
said persons shall make oath in writ
ing that they are sg skilled and" actu
ally employed at the time, as their
regular vocation in one ot tue above.
trades, which affidavit shall only be
prima facie evidence of the facts there
in stated.
In reference to the conscription act
of September, it is clear, "the time
is, when the party is ordered into ser
vice; that being the time when the af
fidavit is called for to enable mm to
claim exemption. But in reference to
the Conscription act of April, it is not
so easy to fix the time. The difficulty
arises from the fact that, the exemp
tion act is applicable to both conscrip
tion acts ; one of which was passed six
months before the other, and after it
had in a great measure been carried
into effect. In my opinion "the time"
is the same in reference to the act of
April, as: in reference to the act of
September, to wit, when the party is
ordered into service. Had the time
of the passage of the act 'been inten
ded, it is reasonable to presume, that
the wordiwpuld have been "now actu
ally employed," as in the clause Just
preceding in respect to physicians,
at this time." The policy of exempt
ing shoe makers, &c, being, not to fa
vor the individual, but to subserve the
public interest-whiebwas greatly prej
udiced by taking tradesmen from their
occupations-r-it was immaterial wheth
er the tradsman was under or over the
age of 35 years.
The material inquiry is, was he
working for the public at the time,
which naturally refers to the time
when he was called off from his trade.
Taking the distinction between volun
conscrintion arts
Number 27.
?er4lh0 of theirown accord had quit
theplradjes; atid ionscripts, who had
bee4ken rom "their trades by act of
larMl should J)e considered in refer-
,ende i tleir intended exemption -aS
.:"t lver trades. 1 his construc
tiilialjcd for by the rule, "the
samiirds in the same statute ought
w.-..wiup -auuiv. uit'puiug,.. ana as in
refjefle q the act of September the
mca certainly is when the party is
ord!y!ntjo service. Tbjsume wordat
canit:navie a different meaning in ref-
ereE&Sstd
o the iact of April. Ijad it not
becflif intention to include all 6hoo
naKffec.,witliont regard to age,
thislgsultvduld have been avoided,
by agphe vdrds provided no
shde?mScesr, &c. shall be exemntcd
whdJ'wtiri service or has been or
d.erM!. service." So the question is
narr4tb'.this: Can tho Courts add
thes'llwlkls to . the act I see no
grOujili' which the omission, if it bo
one, :f be. supplied by construction.
It wfeifeed by Mr. Scott that the
puMfjteest' required as many sol
dierii could be raised, therefore an
inteigf to exempt any who were al
readlscrvice, or who ought to hav-e
been5rernce, can only be inferred
froniMain and direct worcra. This
was. by Mr. Gilmer with the su-gestreffi-
that the public interest re
quir thatj tradesmen should not bo
take'froffl their vocations, and that
thoscrwho have been taken eff by act
of law, should be allowed to return; as
it Wasseen the public interest had been
prejudiced, kind it was a matter of dif
ficulty, far the people to get a pair of
shoesy or "have a plough sharpened,
&c., hd that the benefit of a matter
of dojibt, if there be 6ne, arising from.,
a want of precision in an act of Conr
gressj should be given to the citizens,
ratnerithan to the Government.
'tng tc these suggestions, proper
eonsMiration, the inquiry, whether the
teresn the army or at home can only .
be .ajjexibv theyrords used. The
$ieixn.&er&&c.
havtS been in the army, at the passage
6f tfe act, and the indefinite words in
the oviSo factually employed at the
i;iine;iv cannot be by .any recognized
rulc pf construction make the excep
tion.! Ai it does, "in plain and direct
wor&P repeal the exemption act of
April. This fact" has an important
bearing cm' the question of construe-.
t ion, (or, if it was not the intention
that kie additional exemptions should
applyfto persons under 35, wliy repeal
thatlct? and if such was the inten
It 'i : 1,
tion,i ine pniy.way m nmcuai w u
carrfefl out, and the exemption act bo
mad I to fit . the conscription act ot .
Apr (with a few exceptional cases
likcvlills and Angel) is to give it re
la t fob! to tlie. time when the party was
ordehd into' service, and taken from
his tirade. .
- AWither 'shoe makers, &c.f who
were r. service as conscripts when the;
1 1 - - i . i
act sseu, can now claim exemptiou
or wpild be taken to waive tne ngnt,
by ajequiesence, in afterwards receiy- -
mg fifty, &c, is not the question novr
prcs?ited. ;
JSifholson certainly has done no aot
thatlian amount to a waive of his right,
he Isas not receivea the State bounty,
has received nt) pay,, and has done
no tiling from which acqmesenco can bo
ls considered by me that' Nichol
son lil entitled to exemption, and that
he forthwith discharged, with leave
to where he will. , It isralso qohaici
erc.d that Lieutenant Anlderson pay
thejlost of this proceeding, allowed bj
laifo be taxed by the' Clerk of the
Scheme Court of Guilford Counly,
according to the statute in such aiCase
i -.41 -5
f e Clerk will file the papers in this
prcMceding.aTnong the papers in bis ofr
ficeiand give copies to Nicholson an4
lieiltenant Anaerson.
It, M. TE ARSON,
eh.j.s.c.
Mt Richmond Hill, May 4,1803.
IjIermesViOontinues occasionally to
tefcood things. Here is his last:
lh the Capitol Bquare, a few daysi
ag;) a drunken soldier accosted the
Prfident: ;
- IlAre you M Davis?"
am," was the stern reply.
flAre you the President of the Con
federate States?"
fIain." -.."' ' . t
4 Vel I, I tb ough t you looked like a
.poliage'stamp." ..
; . --- -
M heroic soul is scornful of being
seined. " "'
- 1 . - V
4. .
fl
0