Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-06-12
The Apprentice System-An Important
Letter.

The Apprentice system-An Important
Letter.
The Charleston Courier and Mercury
contain longl letter from Hon. Howell Cobb
Secretary of the Treasury. Ncssrs. f. La
iitc y Co, of Charleston, had applied to w.
i. Colcock, for clearance for the ship
Richard Golden, "foI, the coast of Africa,
tor the purpose of taking on board African
cmlgrants, in accordance with the United
States passenger laws, and returning with
The same to port in the United States. )"
Before acting, Mr.. Colcock applied for in
strnctions, and is replied to by Mr. Cobb.
1t 10 palpablc that the intention was to i'm
port StdVcS. Mcssrs. Laftte x Go. must
have expected to pay for each "emigrant"
so much per head, and when their cargo re-
turned they would have sold them into
Starey. Mr.. Cobb says that the acts of
l194 and 1900 against the slave trade were
conilncd to stdUcS co nOminc. But the act
OF 1907 provides that after the first of Jan
uary, 1903, it shall not be lawful to import
or bring into the United States, or terrific
ries thereof, from any foreign kingdom, place
or country, any negro, mulatto, or person
of color, with intent to hold, sell or dispose
of such negro, mulatto, or person of color,
as slave, or t0 6c hcM to serUicc or hu6or."
Mr.. Cobb decides, that the returning of
such African emigrants would be clearly a
violation of this act, and thinks MIR. Colcock
in duty bound TO refuse the vessel the clear
ancc asked for.
The Charleston Mercury thinks chat the
instruction " is based on assumptions that
no Administration has right to make. and
Is a usurpat' IN not warranted by law" 1t
says, however, that the whole letter shows
that to reopen the slave trade, whether wise
or not, is impracticable in the Union, and
therefore deprccatcs agitation. The Mcr-
curry also says, that the apprentice system
is on y another name for the slave trade
This is, of course, the view Mr. Cobb takes.
1T is the slave trade, and no matter under
what name itmay go, the laws of the United
States are against it, as will be seen by the
extract above given from the act of 1907,
arc explicit and broad enough to cover it
under any name. We do not sec how Mr..
Cobb could have otherwise instructed.
South Carolnian
Loss OF SPEECH FROM FEAR.-We read
in one of our French exchanges, an account
taken nom LU NouveIIelStc de Rouen, or a
singular loss of speech by French girl, the
circumstances of which arc as follows At
late hour in the night, an inhabitant of
Bolsguillaume passing through one of the
streets of Roucn, saw a window open on
the first floor of u dwelling house on his way
and thinking that the family were thereby
exposed to nocturnal visitors, he reused the
inmates of the house and informed them of
the negligence and danger. Thanking the
traveller for his kindness, the master of the
house Immediately went up to the chamber
of his domestic, to whom the carecssncss
was chargeable, and waking her up from a
profound sleep, began in a loud voice to
ccnsurc her for her carclcssness The star
tied girl, not recognizing the voice of her
master, and thinking it was the noise ofrob-
bers at her door, was so frightened that she
could only respond with articulate sounds,
and since that time has not been able to
speak.
TIE MONSTER GOLD NUGGET.-Thc i'm
mense nugget of gold discovered about year
ago in Australia, weighing 1743 ounces said
! to be tho largest mass of pure gold ever dis
covered, and worth from thirty to forty thou
sand dollars, has been carried to the CRYSTAL
Palace at Sydenham for exhibition. a Lon
don paper, in giving the following account of
this discovery, intimatcs that the nugget is
! worth, as geological curiosty,' much
more than the intrinsic value of the metal
Few persons, however, could afford to pre-
serve SO expensive specimen of native gold
for the mere purpose of stocking minerolo-
gicai cabinet:
1t was discovered at "Kingower Dig
gings," about 100 miles from Melbourne by
q party Of four diggers; and what ,is more
very little gold was subsequently found. 1t
was found embedded in sand and pipe clay, at
n depth of l3 feet from the surface. One of
the most remarkable features respecting thio
auriierous mass is its freedom from quartozc
impurities, it consisting of solid and al
most chemically pure mass of gold. In. form
it is ian irregular slab, about feet 4 inches
long, 10 inches broad, and from IL to Q in
ches in thickness. 1t rings like bell wnen,
struck, and extremely brilliant on the sur
face, in which respect it differs considerably
from many ofthe celebrated auriferous mas
ses which have been from time to time dis
covered. The largest mass of gold hitherto
found was the famous Siberian nugget which
is now in the Museum of the Academy of
Sciences at So. Petersburg. 1t weighs 1900
ounces. 1t is to be hoped that the govern
ment will, for the honor of science, saFe this
wonderful geological curiosity from the melt
ing pot, snd purchase it for the British Mu-
scum"
UNANINous AGAINST IT.-The proposition
which was broached in the Louisiana Legis-
lnture, to introduce African coolies into that
State, has booh denounced by nearly all the
journals III tho State. 1t was the absurd
| hnax tnof tho x..a,o cot.,.lt..