The Greensborough patriot [January 14, 1864]

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MLX-** <■††/
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)2L2^^2!tAif^S^ ■—"-■† For the e<ercis
res wen i««" —• - — -- a-,,
fire-place in it- Apply at tk» offi« ^
«*-»^- A nv one in tue coumrj u»»-- „
.. bW Ml i«.W do ..IT •• •PP'J-""""-
"'&;^««]■•• 4S;
B<>ar(1
L. A. JOB,
JJT24, !863. OreeueboroVN. C.
1 Guil,o"l county, will «lt«d at -h. following
tuneand place, fo? the purpose ot asseeatngaU he
Ejects li-ble to Conleuerate T«, viz . All IM
cattle, horses and mules ^t^tassltiva^aad
jack, and jennet.. Also, tie ttfljfOpgrJS
.alary t^x, quarterly return of wholeaale and "tail
dealers&.% which time, and p ace,,, awho
h.ve not already made full return, of »"*"'»»;
biUties, are expected to meet u. and save double
UWe are requested to state that the Confederate
Collector will attend these appointment., either in
person or by his deputy, to collect whatever taxes
NATHAN HUNT, \ KM**W—
M. S. SHERWOOD,/ "
January 7th, 1884.
MB. HCNT'. APPOINTMENT..
At High Point, during the remainder of the month
of January _ , ,
Col. 1). 0. Nccllev's Monday, February 1
F. FentreM*, Tuesday,
Stanley » More, Wednesday,
Aimer Coffin's, Thursday,
Jamestown Depot, Friday,
Friendship, Monday,
Uruhuni .V Lowry's Store, 'i uesday.
King'. <":o68 Roads, Wednesday,
Summerfield, Ihuisday,
A. Bevill's, Friday.
MB. SUEBWOOD'S AI-POISTMBNTS.
Gn.cnsborough, during the month of January.
Jonathan W. Parker's, Monday,
Montieello, Tuesday,
L. W Summers', Wednesday,
Win. K. .Smith's, Thursday,
McLeanville, Friday,
W. M. 1 uung B Mill, Monday,
Wm. M. Mebanes Tuesday,
Coble'. Election i'recinct, Wednesday and
Thursday,
Wooddy's Mill, Friday,
jaal2
February
10 and 11
12
83-lw
To the Farnifi-sorxortiiCarolina.
I have bean sent to thia State for the purpose
of procuring a supply oi MOLASSES for the use ol
th, Amy of Northern Virginia. A. many of you
have/iWi and rdatnt* tfcete, may 1 not beg that
you take an interest in the matter, and render me all
the aid you cau? Will not each one make up a
pajkage, or where one cannot -spare a. much as a
barrel, will not neighbors form clubs and make up
one two or wore barrels and take to the nearest
railroad station, and write me at this place- *or
all so delivered, 1 will pay $8 per gallon
All Will thus have an opportunity of doing a la-ve
r for their friends that will cost nothing but a lit-tle
labor I firmly rely ui.on your benevolence and
patriotism. ^ .f CARRAWAY)
Major andC. S.f Wilecx'a LiBht Division,
Hill s Corps, A. >. \ .
OKAHAM, N. C, January 11, 1804.
The above appeal meets my hearty approval, and
the Commissaries in the State will render every as-sistance
to Maj. Carraway I* carrying out tbe ob-ject
of his visit from the army. Where barre.s are
wanting, tuey can be procurred and delivered at any
point on the railroad, byW^"^^
Major and Chief Commissary for State of N\C.
Greensborough. January 11, 1804. oa-ow
Qoldsborough the 10th. for the army of Northern dorcd lo report at jport Macon, this man
Virginia. All persons desirous of'*ȣ"** J^* should have joined the company ; but in.
S'/'^.SnarTcdTdVoper^dir^ted. Small slead of doing SO, he pretended IO want to
parcels eaunot be taken. Doxes will be taken on at | rajgg & company for ibe defence of our
mountain region ; failing in this, ho devoted
take the responsibility. For the exercise ->r this
trust members were responsible to their constiouuU
and to posterity. Who so competent to perloim
this duty as those fresh from the people and fa-miliar
with their wants When we »cknowi.-dge
ourselves incapable of performing it, we should re-sign
our stats and go back to our constituents —
This bill clothes the President with the power
of the Autocrat of Russia, and prerogiitives before
which those of Napoleon sink into insignificance.—
Pan it, and no man can preach, practice medicine,
publish a newspaper, or proclaim the tidings of the
Qospel, without hambly cringing at the footstool of
power, and beg permission from the lips of the Om-nipotent
executive. Member, of Congress, hat in
hand, would crowd tn. ante-room of the Executive
mansion and War Department, and humbly ask for
a detail of a tanner, a shoemaker or a minister of
the Gospel for tbeir constituents. Pass the bill, and
then commences the scramble :or executive favors
and patronage. We shall have the War Department
and Executive Mansion beleaguered by in innumer-able
host of suppliants for the thrift that follows
fawning. A. a representative, he woulJ never vote
to subject hi. constituent, to 6uch slavery, or sub-ject
himself to the lots of the manly itdependence
so necessary to a representative in his ^intercourse
with the executive departments of the Soverniaent
He would not .ay that an obnoxious editor or an
obnoxious member might not prove a. successful in
his applications as one who basks in the sunshine of
Executive favor. Be this as it may, thsre will be
constant temptation to favoriti.m, to abuse, and fre-quently
to oppression. The present Secretary of
War was known to be a man of elevated talent, and
patriotism. But in the contingencies of Tar he ui*y
be removed or may resign, and no one could tell who
would be his successor. The liberties oi the people
are never safe if dependent upon the onaracter or
pctrietism of one man. The true principle of free-dom
and liberty is not to be dependent on any man's
will, how it shall be enjoyed. The evils of the tine
did not originate from the exemption law. They
grew out of the system of details, over nil the coun-try,
anywhere and everywhere; the thousands of
Quartermaster, and Commissaries and tt-eir innum-erable
host ol clerks ; the impressing agents for ba-con,
coin and fodder, foundiies, Kxpress companies;
detaiis for everything except to fight the buttles of
the country. The bill would give the truiy a few
hundred tanners, shoe-makers, editors and minis-ters
of tue gospel. The system of details was the
branch of the service which demand-d reform, and
there the remedy should b» applied. It is destroy-ing
the vitals of the country and the energies of the
struggle Remedy this, brin^ back the absent es,
modify the exemption law in some particulars, and
we would have an army ample to cope with our ad-versary.
Unless the policy of the Government is
changed, we shall have upon us a bloody and pro-tracted
war—a struggle such as Prussia had when
one sixth of her male population perisLed on the
field of battle, the women cultivating th« fields, the
laws overthrown, and the horrors of famine added
to the atrocities of war Bring in and perfect a bill
of the character he had indicated, and the ranks ol
the army would be crowded, another year would
end the struggle, the sunshine of peace would beam
through the clouds that now obscure it, »nj the bow
of promise once more span the Heavens.
A singular proposition on the subject of j whenever the signal may be given for such
the currency, and one wLien is said to be j a rao"n
receiving considerable countenance in Con
m m
gress, is to tato the cotton and tobucco in
the country, and put out ■ new currency
on pledges of these staples, leaving the old
currency to die a natural death. Should
■mch a measure be adopted, we can't see
that any confidence whatever weald be
placed in the new issue. A plan of repu-diating
the present currency thus early in
itB existence, would insure a subtenuge for
killing the other in due time.
The reported burning of Yorktown has
been confirmed. The town was fired in
several places by the negroes decoyed
there, who became incensed at Yankee
rule. During the melee 150 men woro
killed. About 200 negroes have escaped
and returned to their owners.
We regret to learn that the exodus continues from
some of the Eastern counties, and that there is not
a night but a number of original secessionists make
their way through the lines to the enemy. Some of
them aie even reported as running away ftom their
own neg'oes to escape the conscribing Lieasure. of
Congress. We are glad to learn thxt none but ori-ginal
secessionistshave taken the underground line.'
[Raleigh Progress-
We understand by what would seem lo
bo reliable authority, that a former citizen
of this town, who was an "original seces-sionist,"
and shouted long and loud for
blood before there was a necessity of shed-ding
a drop, has taken the "underground
line," and is now doubtless safe in Yankoo-
-.he intermediate stations. ,,T>ur»ic
WALTER A. THOMPSON,
83-4w State^Agent^
i 1 iove» and Socks Wanted.—1 desire
(j to purchase for the Soldiers 10,000 pan. of
., . ,-nd 10,000 pairs of Socks I>°naUoas will
be thankfully received. EDWARD BARREN,
S3-4w Surgeon Gen. M I.
VTotlce—I hereby give nonce to all who are
J> indebted to me on account, that interest will
be charged on all such accounts that are not closed
on the Uf of January, and 1st of July, »«»•
88-8w*c J- B- HOLMfcb.
THE PATRIOT.
«iii:i-:\.sBonoi'«n, x. C.
Vm. XXV No. 1,288.
THUBSDAY, ...JANUARY 14, 1864.
Among the many extraordinary propo
Bitions now before Congress, none are more
monstrous than the recommendation of the
Committee on Military Affairs, that Con-grcs
« shall abdicate its legislative fjowere
mid invest the Executive with the power
and discretion of exemptions. Without
wanting a better argument against such a
measure, it might sutrico to state that the
'•Kxe tit-ve" has already as much on bis
mind in the discharge of his legitimate du.
tiea as he can well manage. But this io
not all. It would virtually change his title
of President to that of Dictator. It is not
safe tx invest any one man, at the head of
a government, with absoluto authority and
unlimited power in time of peace, and the I g
precedent would be still more dangerous in
time of war. The genius of our institu-tions
and the training of our people would
forbid any such BCbeme of Executive coni
Bohdation, and we really doubt whether the
President even desires such an extension
ol power. He certainly would be none the
better or wiser by it.
I>uring the discussion in the House of
Representatives, of the bill to regulate ex-emptions,
ilr- Staples of Virginia, submit"
ted the following sensible views:
He said that at the last session of Congress a bill
similar to the »ne under consideration was rejected.
HN e h■'o'[pe^d' tihn.i.s wnbouuildd UmiCeeCtl ItUhCe Msaumlle; llaa.tVe,. liiiie. csaawn
nothing in the condition of the country, and had
heard nothing in the speech of the chairman of the
Military Committee to justify such a bill. If the
Secretary ot War was endowed with the genius of
Sapoleon, he could .not .perform the duties that
would be imposed on him by it. It would create the
necessity for local boards and agents, which would
give additional influence as a source of Executive
patronage. It would initiate a scramble for place
by decayed politicians and the sons of wealthy and
influential men, to the exclusion of poor, and, per-haps
more meritorious. No man could calculate the
los» to the mechanical interests of the country until
the necessary details could be made- If the Execu-tive
i-v«-od with this power, Congress, on the
same principle, should authorize the Executive to
dispose of the question of the currency. The ar-gument
urged in favor of the bill was that of mo
narchia] power against the weakness end indeci-sion
of representative governments. The question
o! exemption was one for Congress to determine.—
It is a legislative power, discretion and obligation;
his leisure time to speculating, until the i
conscription law was enacted, when, to j
shun the war, which ho was so anxious to
bring about, he took a government con-tract.
Tho noxt thing he "taUes" will, wo
suppose, be Lincoln's oath—"only one step
from the sublime to the ridiculous."
It is supposed the public at last have the
finale of an important and highly interest,
ing political controversy, which I.as been
conducted, with remarkable zeal, for the
past four years by the Ralegh Standard and
State Journal. A late issue of the Journal '
asserts that at a supper recently gi?en in
Raleigh, at which the editor of the Slao«
dard was a guest, the "Stats and Stripes"
were toasted. The Standard indignantly
denies this m Mfoat charge, and says it is
currently reported in Raleigh that on the
very same night alluded to, the editor of
Lie Journal was at a negro party given in
a gentleman'-s kitchon in Raleigh, :.nd that
he had the presumption to eat at the fir.it
table! Wo presume the acme of political
discussion has at last been reached—if in l
fact the crisis has not been passed—by
these champions. But supposing the above ■
charges to be true, it would bo d.tfii.iili to
decide which has committed tho most un-pardonable
offence, the one for toasting the
gridiron, or tho other for allo-.ing iiis van-ity
to violate tho rules of etiquette at a ne-gro
party.
PRETTY GOOD.—la the House of Be pre- ,
sentatives, on Mondaj", Mr. Moore, of Ken-1
lucky, offered a resolution inviting Major
Gen. Breckinridge to a seat on the floor-—
A member moved to add the name of L't
Gen. Hardoe. Others from tbe several
States moved to include Brig. Gens. Baoi
ning, Hoke, liuarles, S. E. Jones, Gregg,
and others, when Mr. Hilton, of Florida,
staled that there were many privates in j
Richmond, ju^t as distinguished as somo oi
the Brigadiers, and he therefore moved to
include them in the resolution. Mr. Mooro
thon asked leave' to withdraw his resolu.
tion.
IMPORTANT J-ROM WILMINGTON.—An of-ficial
telegram from Wilmi igton, received
in Richmond on the lltb, says there was
heavy tiring all day at Lockwood's Folly,
Dy eight steamers ol the en-imy. One Yan-kee
steamer was blown up. The explosion
was heard io tho town.
FROM NORTHERN VIRGINIA.—The latest
intelligence from tho army of Virginia in-dicates
that all is quiet. There is no
change in the enemy's lines or camps.—
Mosby is mill harrasaing the enemy.
W. W. Young, Tax Collector for Guil-ford
County has tendered*hiB resignation,
which nas been accepted, and James W.
Dick has Deen appointed in bis slead.
Mr. George Albright for the past thirty
years the acceptable proprietor of the Man-sion
House in this town, has retired from
tho business, having leased his property to
J. G. Efland, who opens the Hotel undor
tho title of the "Piedmont House," and
will, we feel assured, do his best for the
comfort of the way faring man.
Mrs. D. G. Neelley has favored us with
a bushel of turnips finer in point of size
than any wo have ever seen. She has our
thanks.
To Miss Ruth A. Wiley we arc indebted
for a baskot of fine potatoes.
ATTORNEY GENERAL—The Hon. George
Davis, of North Caro'ina, has been ap-pointed
by President Davis to fill the va
cancy in the Cabinet caused by the resig-nation
of Attorney General Watts, who
was elected Governor of Alabama.
TITHES.—The Conlederau Senate has
passed a bill detioing the meaning of 'he
Tithe Law to bo that farmers shali not be
required to pay a tenth of tbeir straw ol
wheat, oats, rye or barloy, nor of shucks
or stalks of their corn crop.
The small pox has made its a icarance
in Raleigh. Four cases have been reported.
CHARLOTTE BULLETIN.—This paper has
changed proprietors—Mr. Britton, its for-mer
editor and proprietor being succeeded
by Mr. S. W. Whitaker.
LONGSTREET'S COMMAND—HIS CAMPAIGN
'N THE WEST, &c.
The Examiner has the following inter-esting
account of tho condition of Longi
street's command, tho East Tennessee cam-paigOt
&c.
Wo havo some interesting news of Gen-eral
Longstroet's command and of the gen-eral
situation in the Coniral West.
General McCaws has been relieved, and
charges have been preferred against him
by General Longetreet. The fact is, there
have been some discords in Longstreet's
army, and there is a disposition to impute
lo them the failuro of his recent campaign.
It appears, however, that considerable
results were accomplished in the campaign,
which claim a historical recognition.
It is an indisputable fact that, when
Longstreet was sent from General Bragg's
lines, bo was furnished wilh no subsistence
whatever; and in way of transportation,
was provided only with somo refuse teams
by iiragg's quttriurmaater. Despite these
difficulties, he succeeUed in subsisting his
army and in capturing an aggregate
amount of stores from the enemy, which
a'.one was a valuable result of the campaign.
At Lenoir station he captured a train of
eighty-five wagons a quantity of forage,
and some horses. In the Clinch Valley he
captured lorty other wagouB—a particu'ar-ly
rich spoil, as they wero mostly laden
wilh BQgar and coffee.
Aootii. r c-au.ie of embarrassment in the
liiioxvilli' campaign is said to havo been
the inadequacy of Longstreet's force.—
Wh.ii he started on h.^ expedition, Steven
uou's division was then at Loudon, some
it.ir y in .'.i- from Knoxville; and it ap-pearu
that, by the perversity of Bragg, ho
was re-called to Chattanooga, and liiat the
first train which carried Longstreet's troops
through to London returned with tho-so ot
Stevenson. It is argued that Longstreet"
movement was thus Uncovered, and that
lie was left with only eleven ihodetand in-fantry
to conduct the campaign, arduous
in all respect*-, against an enemy twice his
nambers.
But whatever may bo the value of these
military criticisms of tho recent Knoxville
campaign, there is no doubt, from what we
bear, that tho retreat of our forces to
Rusolville was one of the most fortuna'e
retreats of the war. It- was made without
the sligutest loss. It evaded a large col.
umti of the enemy at. Loudoc. Its imme-diate
object was Bogeraville, where Long-street
expected to get supplies ami milling
fur Iiis army. OjrlorCes, however, being
pressed by the enemy, wbo followed tbem
to Beau stalion, on mo Cumberland Gap
r<-ad, turned upon tho Yaukucd, inflicted
upon mem u severe defeat, at:d drovo them
twelve lines before Russellvi le.
It is expected that Longs treat's forceB
will winter in tholr present position. His
headquarters are at Russellville, and the
lines of bis cavalry extend, to Morrislown
and Mossy creek. It is said the army will
be able to got sufficient supplies and an
abundance of long forage in lUo valley of
the Chickey and X'rencn Broad rivers.
Tho position is one of tbe most advan-tageous
en tho theatre of tho war. It i6
ou the flank of Thomas' army. It threat-ens
the enemy's communications through
and Nashville. It is witbio thirty milus
of Cumberland Gap. It is on tbe East
Tennes:>ee and Virginia railroad, which, we
understand, will bo completed to Long-street's
headquarters in three weeks, and
thus, in case of emergency, bring the army
ot Tennessee witbin tupporting distance of
Richmond. It is, i.i short the controlling
position between Lee and Johnston, and
at the same time close enough to Ken'
tucky for the easy invasion ot that State
We are pleased to be assure) that the
sufferings in Longstreet's command bare
boon grossly exaggerated by reports. It
is asserted that the soldiers in the army of
Northern Virginia have, at various time1*,
(for instance, when the army came out of
Maryland, after the battle of Sharpsbarg,)
been in much greater distress than the
Tennessee troops. But few of tbe soldiers
are actually barefoot, although many of
them hare their feet cased in moccasins.—
A large number of shoe shops have recent-ly
been established in Longstreet's army,
sufficient lo provide for it during tbe win
tor.
We hear one invariable story of the bad
management and demoralization of our
cavalry in tho WeBt. Many of the cavalry
men are rather freeboocers and speculators
than soldiers. It is said to be not unasal
to see, in Tennessee, a cavalryman leading
his beast, ladec with spoils like a cutnpier
mule, and flanked with sides of leather, &c.
A re-organizr tion of our entire cavalry
forco in the West has been recommended
to the government on the highest authori-ty,
and it is reported that the whole force
will bo united under Buckner.
CONGRESSIONAL.
RICHMOND, Jan. 11—Efloris have beon
made in the House to have the tax and cur-rency
bills debated in open session, but so
far without success.
The President's veto to tho bill to placo
a million ol dollars in the hands of the pro-visional
Governor ol Kentucky to clothe
Kentuey soldiers, was tho subject of some
comment A bill was passed on the 19tb
January, 1862, appropriating two millions
to aid in raising troops in Kentucky, be-fore
they were mustered into service, which
appropriation has not been expended.
Tho bill which tho President has just ve-toed
devotes one million of that approprla
tion to clothe Kentucky soldiers. The
President objects because it directs thai
the expenditure bo made by other than
bonded officers of government employ;
that two sots of agents will boappointed to
do the same duty, who will be bidders
against each other in tbe market. On mo-tion,
in tbe Senate to day, to pass the bill
over the veto, the vote stood, yeas 10,
nays 8—not the two thirds required hv the
Constitution.
The Senate adopted a resolution that a
Joint Committee of both Houses prepare
and publish an address to the country.
Tho House has heretofore adopted tbo
same.
In the House t'ais morning, the Speaker
preseutcd a resolution passed by tbo Leg-islature
of Georga, declaring that, tha1
State would never submit to reconstruction
or Yankee affiliation on any terms, which
was read and ordered lo be printed. An-thorily
has been granted a committee to
investigate federal outrages in North Caro-lina,
and send for persons and papers. The
bill reported by tbo Military Committee
somo time ago, to repeal all exemption
laws, was taken up and referred back to
Committee ; yeas 32. nays 24. House in
open session only about an half an hour.
SECOND DISPATCH.
RICHMOND, Jan 12.—In tho House this
morning a report from the Superintendent
of Conscription was presented, showing
the number of officers and sold.ets engaged
in executing the Conscript law, in the
Slates ot Virginia. North Carolina, S >uth
Carolina and Georgia. In Viigima, there
is 4 colonels, 8 majors, 23 captains, 65 lieu-tenants,
81 physicians, and 107 soldiers;
North Carolina, 47 commissioned officers
64 toldiers, and7-">0 mounted men ; South
Carolina, 64 officers and 141 men; Georgia,
58 officers, 208 men, besides Lee's battalion
ol Rangers, consisting ol 30 officers and
455 men. The duties of the Conscript
Bureau, besides enrolling conscripts, extend
to arresting and returning deserters and
absentees, tbe number of whom are now
very great; and the matter of furloughs and
details ontsido of tbe army, which alone
amounts to 1,300.
A bill to allow Chaplains to draw thtr
rations ot a soldier and tlio-e who have
horses to draw forage tor the same, was
passed.*
A resolution was adopted (hot a Special
Committee oi five be appointed to enquire
into tbe expediency of authority the im-pressment,
for the at my, of a share of the
pork and bacon held by persons in tbe
country, who havo a full year's supply,
prices lor the same to be agreed upon be-tween
the parties, or ascertained by local
appraisers, without appeal
Three bills introduced to pay for horses
killed, captcred or permanently disabled in
the service, and ordered to bo printed.
Resolution adopted calling en the Presi-dent
for tho names of persons authorized
to raise companies, battalions and regi-ments
since the 27th September, 1862, in
sections where the conscription has not
been suspended, and the number of men
raised. A resolution of Committee on elec-tions
toenquire into expediency fof allow-ing
Maryland soldiers to elect a delegate to
Congress was first.
Tho Senate adopted a resolution calling
on the President for Brags's report of tho
battle of Chickamauga. Passed a bill to
allow officers of the Navy todiaw rations
and fuel passed. Also a bill fixing the first
Monday Ml May next for tbe next Con-grsM
to assemble.
Col.Horace L. Bobarde, formeily well
known as tho proprietor ol tho Rowan Ho-tel
i" this place, died %t bis late resident-.•,
tho White Sulphur Springs, in Catawba
county, on Sunday the 3d inst.
Salisbury Watchman.
The Hon. William A. Graham, Senator
elect to the Ct nfederalo Congress, has re-signed
.iis seat in the General Asscmoiy
as Senator from the county of Orange.
HUlsboro Recorder.
The first North Carolina Hospital at
Charleston, S. C, was destroyed t.y fire
on the morning of the 4ih. All the sick
and wounded,'and all the medical stores,
&c:, wero safely removed.
GENERAL FORREST A MAJORGENERAL.—
General Forrest has heen nominated by
tne President aid confirmed by the Sen-ate
a Major-General.
Gen J. C BrecKenridge was in Colum-bia
S. C , on Wednesday last. Ho is said
| to have gone to Richmond.
For the Patriot.
IN THE MATTER OF WILL. \U WTRICK.
The petitioner before the psasa^e of the conscrip-tion
act, volunteered for the war ins company
which Csptain Shober was raising in Ouilford, pat
in a ■ub-titute for the war, and w as discharged; af-terwards,
notwithstanding his disc- ar^e he was en-rolled
as a conscript and taken to the armr in Vir
gima where h» *eived-izteen monthi; that fall he
came home on sick furlough, refused to return at
tne expiration of his time, was arestcl. and sued
out this writ. While in service, h, bad receded par
clothing and rations, but had not received bounty
The enrolling officer imisted tha" tbe petitioner be
ing absent from the army without leave, could not
be heard to claim a discharge until his offence was
disposed of by a eourt martial, and relied on Gra
ham's case. In my opinion that case does not apply
Graham entered the army by enlistment before
he was twenty-one years of age, and being unler ar-rest
for some collateral offence, sued ont a writ seek
ing to avoid his contract of eniiarm-nt on the sround
of infancy. It «-as held that he could not be heard,
until the offence lor which he was under arrest was
disposed of by court-msrtiai. Graham went intc
semce voluntarily, and wan rightfully a"soldier un-til
the contract was avoided ; his offence was a col-lateral
act, having no connection with the validity
of bis enlistment. The petitioner was taken to the
army against his consent, the ma'ter as he alledgea
was void " ab mifto," the supposed offence grows
out of and depends on the question, whuher he was
rightfully a soldier or not, and that is the point put
at issue by this proceeding. It would be strange
if the court before it can try this question, is requir-ed
to assume in favour of the government, that the
petitioner is rightfully a collier, and on tbatgiound
to remand him to be tried before a court martial
for an act, the character of which depends on that
very question I " No one shall take advantage of
his own wrong" is a maxim of law. Suppose the
pelidoner was not liable to conscription, the set of
the govermeht was wrongful, and his set in leaving
the army in order to assert his right before a judi-cial
tribunal of his country is justifiable; Vpcau.-e
made necessary by the first vrrongiul act of the gov
ernmeut. To refuse to hear him would be to enable
the government to take advantage of iu own wrong
and amount to a denial of justice : See how it would
work ; a man leaves the army, comes home and up.
peals to a court to try the question whether he is
rightfully a soldier or not; ska court relu.e to hear
him, he is sent backto the army iu Virginia, tried
by a court martial ns a deserter, sad executed tc
deter others from like acts; that is the end of it:
Or suppose he is punished and allowed to live, he
is without remedy in the courts of his cuudtry, be-cause
beyoud the reach of its rrooesi. Will it le
said, this denial of justice is ntcetB&rj for the good
of the public service to prevent des-'rtioa ? God for
bid, "fiatjutlia ruat etxlum," let justice be done with-out
regard to consequences ! The oase of Dickson
is direct authority lor the petitioner on this prelimi-nary
question (name term interred to in Guyer's
case,) Dickson was under thirty firs years of age,
a blacksmith taken as aconsciipt and serving in the
army when the exemption act passed; served sever-al
mom ha, received bounty, pay, clothes, and ra-tions;
came home on lurlough, refuged to return and
was arrested as a deserter, a:id sued out the writ
on the ground that lit- was no! rightfully a soldier.
On the preliminary question ibe two learned gent'e-men
who appeared for the government did not rely
on tbe case of Graham as applicable; and the court
considered that he was not precluded from being
heard un the merirs by the fail that he was absent
without ieuTe, but went into t!ie merits, and decided
against him. I have a distinct recollection, although
1 do not remember the names ol tbe cases that in
looking over •• Hnrd on Habeas Corpus" in reffer-ance
to this preliminary question, be cites several
casea, in which an alltdged datrter was heard on
the merits, taking the distinction between the ca-
»« wieie tbe enlistment is alledged to be void as in
this case; and wLere it is alleged to be voidable, &9>n
the rase ol Graham So both upon "the reason ol
the thing" and upon authority, 1 decide the pre-liminary
qiie^'ion in lavour of the petitioner.
On the menu, accoidmg to i he decision of the Su
preme Court in Ritters ease, i be petitioner was not
liable to consciiptiou, and 1 i-.irn the enrolling otti
cer lefused to exempt him because he had special
instructions not to regard the decisions of the Su-preme
Court, unless the party had been discharged
on writ of Habeas Corpus. On the quetlion of leaver:
lo the foots that he receives pay, clothing, rations
and serves sixteen months niuke him liable to serve
for the war ! He insists that tiie government would
thereby take adfantageot its own wjong, ihe cnrnll-iug
officer insists thai tuese tacts amount in law to
a waver of bis original right flowing out ot the sub
stitution and relies on Oicksuti's case. In that case
the point is not positively decided, there being anoth-er
ground to wit that as he was in service the
exemption act does not err-bisce his case. I5ut I
know the Judges were of opinion that when all of
these facts <-xist no wit, receipt of bounty, p/y,
clothing, rations and service, there is a waver ot a
right to ex- mption and I have accordingly, on that
ground, remanied the parties in three other cuses.
But in " the matter of Fleming," who was arres-ted
as a conscript and without an opportunity to
sue out a writ, taken to camji Holmes, sent to Rich-mond,
and then toStaunton where he left the army
without leave, came home and was arrested as a de
serter, I had Gen. Hoke notified, and it being ob-jected
:tiat as he was a dastaleff he could not be
.viu,! until a court martial bad disposed of him. I
oveiuled the obj ction, for the reasons above sta-ted,
and on the authority of l>i' kson's case. On the
merits, it appeared he was over thirty-five and the
keeper of a public mill and had been refused ex-emption
on the ground that he . ttovded to a sawmill
as well as a grisi mill! I held thai position untena-ble
On the question of waver, it appeared he bad
br-en under military restraint for three weeks, had
received rations and drilled a lime or two. I held
tl ere was no evidence of a waver—he was obliged to
eat and iorord to drill, and it was bad enough, that
he had been rut in jail, taken < '.i', tud like a felon,
and restrained orhis liberty for thice weeks against
luw. In the matter of (I lorget the name,)—
the petiiionerwas a blacksmiih. had beeu derailed,
was afterwards taken as a eonsoript to Virginia, kept
there three months, most of the time in the hospital,
scut home on tick lurlough ami icfused to return I
overruled the preliminary objeciioa ; on the merits
held he was exempted according io Guyer's case, and
as lo waver, that the additional circumstance ot re-I
ceiving clothes, did not vary the case from that of
Fleming, elo'hes were neccssaty sad he was required
to be ir uniform.
In this case, there are the additional facts of re- ,
ceiving pay and serving sixteen months. J* to pay '■
tiro considerations bear on the natter, a so.dier is |
in many cases obliged to draw pay for his own com-fort
and ihesuppo<tof his wife and children in bis
aoseuce. The pay is only an equivalent for services
rendered. °.nd consequently cannot lie tbe foundation j
for an implication of a waver consent to seivc for ;
the war ; as to the sixteen mon/i.< ervi-e it would seem j
th* government should be content with having exar- (
ted tiiat much out of him, and < M on no principle j
make it the sround for torcing iim to serve during j
thewar. The case differ, from (!. itof Uickson in this;
no bounty inwreeeww^wnichinlbe most material and j
unequvocaleidenceofawavei, it is a volur.tary act j
iiicousi^tant and against cons W-nce, exc< pt on tiie j
supposition that Ihe party is to >erve out the uhole
,irae as a conscripr; audforthat reason the court in
Dickson's ca-e, considered this iact connected '■
aud propped by the other facts, evidence ot a w
or consent to serve tot the war The accep'anc
bounty is so impoitantafact, that a case cannot bt
madeoui without it; it would he like an arch without
thek-y stone, or acting the piaj oi Haiulei
character of Hamlet omitted.
!t lath-refore considered, that the pt til toner be
discharged. " M. lWsON.
ItECKMBSB 1863.
IMPORTANT Dscrsroif.—We tsko the fol-lowing
from a Richmond paper.
We alluded some weeks since to the
application of William T. Brooking for a
discharge from Iho service on a writ of
Kabeos corpus.-
Tbe petitioner voluntoered in 1861 and
served regularly in tha army, wan wounded
at the batilo ol Gettysburg in July, IMS.
While in tho tervico ho was clet-tod ns a
Justice of the Peace in the county ol Or-ango,
and regularly qualified as such. Oo
this qualification he applied for a discharge
from ibe service. Thia was refused hint.
He then applied for a writ of habeas corpus
before Jud>ro Meredith, of thin city. It
w»" agreed by tbo council of Brooking,
(J. H. Gtlmor, E»q.,) and tho counsel for
the Confederate States government,
(Messrs. T. Neeson and T. P. Aoga-t.)
that the merits of tho case should be con-j
sidercd and decided on an argument lor
roe application. Tho argument, on tho ap-plication
was then heard folly on all the
k-o-al points, and the learned Judge awar-ded
the writ, and yeslerday, in court, dis-charged
Brooking from tbe service.
We understand tho argument on tbe
application was very full and earnest on
both sides. Tbe case turned on the judi-cial
construction of tbe conscript act of
1862, March 16, as to exemptions, and the
act of tho Virginia Legislature passed in
October, 1862, which expressly exempted
Justices of the Peace from militarr
service.
WHKHE ARK WE DRIFTING?—The ten.
denciee of the hour are dangerous. The
proceeding at Richmond aro well worth
the whole attention of our people at this
moment. Congress holds in its band* tba
destiny of the Republic, h has ihe deter-mination
of the question whether it shall
live or die.
Tho debates and proceeding of Congress
furnish much oennon for painful aoliciiude-
They cvinco panic rather than that cool
and grave deliberation becoming such a
body, in itd auxieLy lo rostoro the curren*
cy and till up the army, tho danger in im-minent
that Congress will bankrupt tho
country and overturn the very frame work
of society and production. The reported
proposition of the Special Committee on
Finance to tax tho present values of ihe
Confederacy to tho amouut of $700,000,000,
should be entitled, an act to sell cut at
public auetion lor taxes all the real estate
of tho Confederacy, lo the people wbo
havo speculated and uccumulatod fortunes
by tho war; while tho bill reported from
the military t-oumi.lee might bt-ju-lly
entitled, an act lo establish ao irrtiponsibla
despotism at Richmond, and to starve ; no
country, ircluding tho army.
Is Congress daft? or worse, is u a party
to n conspiracy, ti> centralixe Ihe Govern*
merit and c-rreel en ,lio ruins of a broken
constitution a despotisa at Kichmor.d ?
Tbe bounds from the capital grate hurshiy
on iheeHMof patri Ha. The speeches lately
made in Congress strack of ihe harangues
of Uobofpierre, Potijn, Danton, Murut—
tho.-e heroes of a wild hour in a not very
remote past.
I In God's name, lot us bo spared are peti-
| lions in our land of that sad drama of blood
arid tears.—Alontgomtry Hail.
l.vifp.KsviNu TO MAIL CONTHACT-.RS.—
fhe Jiuieaii ofConsci iplion, under inst. uc-ti-
Mis from the War Deptiriniem, has deter*
mined, with reference to mail contractors,
•' that tho ciii-o of exemption should exist
at the time that military service is claitnr I.
If a pemon otlicrwir-e subject lo CODScrifH
tion, before or at iho time of enrollment,
I claims exornplion by reason of being such
a mail contractor as is mentioned in '.ho
i act, exemption must, not be rofused, cteri
the ugh iho contract «us obtained since tie
. passage of the act. If the contract is ob-tained
subs.-quent to tho onrolimvnl, iho
party virtually becom s a member of tho
army, and a release Irom sorvice is of IDA
nature of a discharge from the army, which
| is not contemplated in the act of Con-
| gress." , .» „
FIGHT ON Cor-Bv —Last Thursday, tho
24th, Gen. Vance had a brush with somo
:JJ0 lories, on the head of Cosby Creek,
Cockc county, Tenn., some 43 or 50 miles
from this place. The enemy weroslronely
posted, but alter a to-v rounds our men
charged them and .hoy fled, leaving throo
dead, three wounded, all their camp equip
age, a number ol horses, and a few gani
b, Intnl. Gen. Vance captured six Of eight
of tho garig.
Gen. Vance's force conninte-1 ofaXfow
regulars, and the Henderson Jdomo Guards
under Capl. Banniny, Sfid tho HayWend
Homo Guards under Moj. Kiy. Ali ncu-J
noblv, and when the order to charge teas
given the Home Giaids dashed OaTsritb a
yell that made the mountains ring. Gen.
Vance says veteran troops never acted
more gallantly.—Ash. Aiews.
nib I
waver j
re ot
M bt
.. .thout
ritu the I
EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.—There arc
various rumors from below bu- we can
make but titilo out tl then. Tho impres-sion
gains ground that V\ ilmington is to
bo attacked, atd that we are to have an
active campaign along the oast th.- Win-ter
Wo have seen gen1 lemon who left
Kinston on yesterday,'and ihoy say the.
impression in prevalen thorn tbafj tan en-emy,
aro leading a conquerable force til
Moreheud city and in O.i-iow ^omntx. II
is also stated that there is a fleet «-fl >V il-mington.
We know noli.ing of the tiut
„f these statements and unly give them
as rumors. Wo shall not be surpused,
however, to hear at any lime thai Wu
miogtoa has been attacked or that the
onemy are marching on Kinston. VVe
hope that the authorities will be prepared
for these movements.—llaUigh Progress.
CAPTAIN IIIXES —The gallant Ilirics, who
was one of Gen. Morgan's companions in
the escape from the Ohio Penitentiary,
and who became •"eparai-'J from him in
Tennessee, it is understood, has certain-ly
arr veil at I'-lton. Information lo
that eiT.ct has been incurved here, and
Capt. limes himself is expected very
soon.
It will bo remembered Ihnt Hinos rod3
up to a house to mako inquiries, leavi-.g
General Morgan in the load, wlion a p-.r-ly
ol the enemy dashe . by .Morgan, wh' m
they did not i-ce. and tliaiged tonards
tlic hout-c where limes was. .Not seeing
or heanng of him afterwards ihe gravc-t
apprehensions wars felt lor lime's fa»e.
lluppi'y, he '.as been as sue- CSHI'UI as his
Commander in eluding his enemies and
reselling our lines.—Hichmond Sentinel.
Oua CAVAI.RV IN TKXNES-EE—From the
region oi iho Tennessee river accounts of
of snail cavalry raids represent that much
produce and fora^o aro being CtfileOted.
Tho cit zens of Tennessee are nankin;
every effect io as.-int our cavalry. B..con
is sold Ireely at fins ISSHS per pound ..■
Conlederate money. Cold can bo bought
at Irom eight ». > leu for one. Col. Roody
commands a line ».f mounted pickets,
which pairol a largo extent ol country.
LATEST FROM THE FRONT.—General
Longstreet has gnin into winler-quar't is
at Mornstown. Htscavalry skirmish with
the enemy daily. Gonoial Ransom is at
MoreBburg, Hawkins couny Fiona this
placebo is enabled to watch the move-ments
of the enemy at Cumberland Gap,
and prevent ix flank movement upon Grno-oral
LoLgsireet.
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