The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-08-12
EEIINe WEsT.VA. SATURDAY. MORNING, AUGUST l21 1866
GIimpses or southern sentiments !

G1mpses OF Southern Sentiments.
"Agate" writes to the Cincinnati Ca
Sette gleanings from his conversations
with prominent Southern citizen:
In giving, the other day, the talk Of a
South Carolinian, just appointed to help
in the work of reorganization, was
compelled to leave out some miscella-
neous statements of his, which NAV
still possess an interest for many.
was the South exhausted of men
when the rebellion broke nown?" /
asked. WAS it really impossible to re-
lntorce Lees army; and,' If so, what
izing State except the rebel soldiers
unless, indeed you reckon the negroesP"
"Ihe South never was exhausted of
mon, sir; there were plenty of them
everywhere, Disatfection, weariness,
tndtsposition to the long strain of an
effort that took more than four years to
accomplish It's purpOse-that was what
broke down the Confedertcy. There
were plenty of men all the time, but
they lodged the conscripting officers,
OF deserted at the first chance they got. -
E1-Speaker Orr said something of
the same sort; You never subdued us
on the battle field. You did it in the
Treasury Department. Then Four: - peo- ss1
pie, impetpous mt the outset, but not
enduring in their passion, got weary
down."
At the dinner table, by the way, an
other South Carolininn was rallving
Orr on the material results of the rebel
hon in his individual case. "Before
the war Orr was, for an ex-Spealler of
the House of Representatives. quite a
respectable man. He comes out of it
with homespun coat and leather but
tons on his vest, and is worth exactly
one thousand dollars, all told, clothes
included. That's pretty estate for a
gentleman In his position in the cOun-
try, and at his time of life, isn't it?"
And the red-faced ex-Speaker looked
as if there was something twitting on
facts in the conversation.
"Itell you the South could have con-
tinued the war for ten years if it had
had your Northern gift of persever-
Nnce." Thus said the South Carolina
delegate first mentioned, EeWe- were
neither exhausted of men nor of pro-
visions; 1t was only that the fame of
enthusiasm had burnt out. havemy-
self travelled within the past month";"
he continued, Through sections of South
Carolina from GreenYille to Columbia,
and thence northeast and northwest, so
as to know accurately the condition of
the crops in One-half the State. There
is no trouble about starvation. The
people arc not suffering, except in such
isolated cases as you will always find,
and there is n larger breadth of grains
planted thnn ever before. With reasons
able care there ought to be no suffering
this winter" H
" I asked about the relations of the nc
grOeS and their old masters.
I'm the main, the niEgers nre work
ing just as they used to-nOt having
made contracts of any sort, because
there was no competent officer Access
sible, before whom tho contracts could
be approved. 90 a few have been hired
by the day; and some others have gone
TO work for n specified share in the
crops. I'm n great many cnseS the
planters have told them towork ahead,
get their living ont of the crops, and
what further shnre they were entitled
should be determined when the officers
to approve contracts came. Then, ifI
they couldn't agree, they could sepa-
rnte.n
s. "Have there been no disturbances be-
tween the negroes and their former
masters-nO refusal to recognize the de-
struction of slnvery?''
SIN our pnrt of the State, none. Else
where I have heard of them rs YOU
have. With us the death of slavery is
recognized and made basis of action
by everybody. But we don't believe
that because the nigger is free he ought
to be saucy; and we don't mean to have
any such nonsense as letting him vote.
He's helpless andignOrant and depend
ent, and tho old master will still con-
troll him.
II have never been large slaVehol-
der myself; for the last wear or two /
have had but twelve, little and big.
Every one of them stays with me, just
as before, excepting one, n carpenter.
told him he'd better go off and shift for
himself. He comes bHck every two or
three nights to tell me how he is getting
along; and the other day he told mo he
hadn't been able to collect anything for
his work, and / gave him quarters
provisionstog get started with"
II had to give him, he significantly
added, ga sort of paper; not of course
pretending to be legal, certifying that
he was working for himself, with my
consent, in order to enable him to get
along without trouble"
There was n world of meaning in the
ph1Hse, ITO enable him to getalong with
out trouble" though he was as free as
was in the tloyar part of South Caro-
lima, about Greenville. What "trouble"
the freedmen may encounter in the
heart of the slave region this South Car
Gilman could not assume to tell.
New York and PhIIadeIphIn
By the lnte semi-decennial census the
city of New York contains upwards Of
n million of people. The PhiIadelphia
EVeniIg Bulletin gives the following
statement, showing the relative progress
of New York and, Philadelphia in pop
ulation:
bv NEW YORK
Year. Pop. Year. Pop,
l656............. 900 lS20....,....... l2S, ,7O6
1673............. $500 1s25......,..,... lG6,089
l69i.......:...... 1902 lS30........... 2O2, $50
i73I............. 1923 1s35............. 27O,O3s