The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-08-22

Cashier, who lives in the rear of the Bank,
at whom they fired, driving him back into
the house.
After removing the money from the
vault they set fire to the papers therein and
mounted their horses and started OFT IN the
direction of Owen county.
The amount of money stolen was $loO,
900 in gold and silver, and $50, 900 in paper.
Every effort is being made to lead to the
capture of the robbers.
Condition of Affairs in the South
ern States..The Report Of an In
telligent ScOtchman.
How is it that ordinarily we hear SO lit
tie of the state of things in the Southern
States? Our means of information have
been most unsatisfactory. Sometimes a
cavalry raid is made into Dixie, and the
horsemen, after travelling some hundreds
of miles, return to tell us that women,
children, negroes, and old men alone occu-
ply the country, and such men allege, with
Grierson, that when the military crust is
cut through, there is nothing more to fear.
Sometimes batch of prisoners are bro't
in, and these are generally found to be
thin, lank, mud-colOred men, who, al
though determined and brave, are weary
of the war, and don't hesitate to say SO;
but of reliable details we get almost moth
ing.
Glasgow Herald, a most respectable paper
of Southern leanings, is in this respect val
uble, inasmuch as it is not the work OF
newspaper partisan, but of private gen.
tleman high in position, and was sent IN
confidence through friend, who was run
ming the blockade, to a friend in Bathgate,
Scotland.
rnIn G
that those have sent may fail to reach
you, having been obliged to trust them to
strangers; and have to pay on every let
ter quarter of a dollar (25 cents) in silver,
and that, at present, is worth at least two
dollars of our deprecated paper currency;
and, perhaps, the silver is SO much temp
tation that it may be the death of the letter
it is meant to forward. A friend OF mine
is about to start for Nassau, in the BAHIA
mas-of course he has to get out with some
vessel running the blocade; but if he gets
safe there, know he will mail this letter.
This may be the last letter l will send you
until hear from Scotland.
Before this unnecessary and unnatural
war began, 1 had sufficiency for all my de-
sires and plans, but now, who can see the
end? My means were and are mostly in
vested in bank and State stocks; well, my
dividends arising from those sources were
sufficient to support all depending on me
in natural times. Now all banks have sus-
pended specie payment; indeed, l don't
| believe they have any specie to pay, and
Government paper is certainly from six to
eight hundred per cent below the specie
standard, consequently bank and State di-
vidends are not worth fifteen cents on the
dollar, so that instead Of receiving from
my dividends $1,000 per annnm, do not
really get $500.
"My taxes last year were nearly $500; this
year, am afraid they will be nearer 81 900.
am convinced that if the war continues
another year, the state of things will be
terrible; and / can see no way to wind il
up but by exhaustion. I know so much
corruption was in our Government, and in
our country, that this present state of mat
ters had to come; but not so soon by ten or
twelve years. The members of the Gov
eminent and of Congress were men of the
most corrupt principles gamblers, drunk
ards, thieves and murderers-and the peo-
people would only elect such to Offices of
which leaves no hope of lettering our con-
| dition, the same men who were in power
in the old Government seized the places of
the same in this Government, and their vi
ces are no less than formerly; there is fully
as much corruption in this Government,
just struggling for existence, as ever there
was in the old.
/
as well filled as heretofore, but, notwith-
standing, religion (if ever there was any
has entirely disappeared. The most prom
inent members of the different churches
are the most unblushing extortioners and
grinders of the poor; and even ministers,
who have any chance, have all rushed into
making money by extortion and specula-
| ton. look upon our country as COM
pletely ruined, whatever way this struggle
may end, or when. AS soon as we got
clear of trading with the Northern people,
i our own people set to work to eat one an
other up. The grocers raised every neces-
sary of life from 900 TO 800 per cent. over
the same articles we got from the North. l
have not seen dollars worth of specie in
circulation for nearly two years. Our
country farmers, who used to wear cloth,
now wear very coarse cotton and wool
mixed-few would but they themselves;
they now sell it to the rich aud poor at a
higher figure than French or English
broadcloth used to sell here for. Those
among us who desire to keep our boots
blackened, have to pay one dollar for a
small box of backing that. suppose you
can buy for penny. We used to buy
9lO sterling, (50.) Shoes that were one to
three dollars, are now twenty to thirty dol
lars. You can see what we have to con-
tend with. Then look at our army; when
the war first broke out, our young
men and old men rushed into it; they were
made to believe, by our rascally politicians
that the war would net last over six
months; the rich, as we'll as the poor
went into it. 1t was jus, to be a frolic-
some OF the men, or rather regiments, vol
unteered for six months, but most of them
for twelve. When the six months expired
the regiments were dishanded. as there
were few six months regiments; but when
the twelve months mems time was near
out, and when large majority of the rank
and file found out that soldering was any
thing but frolic; then their rulers stole q
march on them-Congress passed a Con
scription Law compelling every man who
was in the army, between the ages Of eigh.
teen and thirty-fve, to enlist for the war
be it long or short, and forced all who were
not in, between those ages, to join the ar.
my for The war, but the crafty Congress.
men who had sons and other relatives a,
home hBtween those ages, who, of course
would Be made to take the field likewise
made provision in the law that any mar
subject might hire a substitute of ag.
above thirty-fiye the price ranging froIr