, 1865-12-26
CHICAGO. TUESDAY, DECEMBER rs. 1865.

feet, re yein= VARYING from four to seven
feet IN thicln.5s. This coal contains little
sulphur, Is very free from slate, and produces
gas almost equal 10 Pittsburgh coal-in oil
these particulars it l. far superior to tue Prai'
re Goals. Three nlnea hare recently been
opened nesr. this town, which are paying
theu oE ares handsomely, although the ope-
ratia11s are VERY limited and conducted With
out P: q er mee ehtncry. Gould Chicago capital
.sts DO lna1cea 70 embark IN this enterprise
they souia make paying Investments, and
ehcgld saan c9}mpapy "a be- formed, tae. stock
roat one mile long wonld Conner The mines
with tho sInois Central Railroad, on which
coal could be'transported II Cairo at alx dol
lars lets expense thin from Du Quoiu, and
the coal readily commands two cents per
bushel higher price.
The Marphysbo1e Enes are in the hauds Of
Il compauy-the Mt. Carbon Coal and Rail-
road ComFany-whlch is building q railroad
from their mines to polnt On the Mississippi
riyer, opposite Grand Town. The road VIII
be nfncteen miles long, and be finished in a
few months. The Compeny's landing g-known
us "the DesI's Backbono''-Is one Of the
best npon the river, aad offers every adTan-
toge ior the erection 3f iron manufactures.
Iron ore can be had tw milca from the river
in this county,, upon the river, one
Of the most loufishing manufacturing
towns In the Southwest. The lit. Carbon COM
pany Is pushing matters at most astonish-
ing ratc, and which completely mystiles the
old fogies. A sl1nilaf company could work
the Carbondale mines with one-third the cap
ital required to operate the Murphysboro
shaded to pay this town a visit and take the
initiatory toward developing the resources Of
this region,
THEN AND NOW.
Nowhere has The changoin public sentiment
been greater than in this county. Five Years
ago our people were rndieally pro-slarery; and
out Of some 9,600 votes Mr. Lincoln received
less than 800; at the election for Circuit
Judge, held three weeks since, Col. dough
erty, Union, vas defeated BY only nlneteen
votes. Five years ago not ten negroes conld
be found In the county, and every strange col
ored mau WAS ut ouce arrested and placed In
confinement as u runaway slave. Pub
lie opinion envc to the slave owner
hls property Without process Of law
II found In this county. Now our negro
population cannot be less than 15o, ind with
out negro labor not one-half the cotton crop
would have been secured. The negroes are
usually industrious and well disposed,
although there arc some sud scouudrels
among them, who, By their thieyish practices
Keep up strong autnoslty against their race.
q eololcd school Is to be instituted in this
town In q few weeks, and co1ored church
has already been formed and q building
secured for their rse.
COUNTY AFFAIRS.
Generally our county affairs have been con-
ducted with reasonable fairness md ecouomy,
ut recently the old County Court spread f.
self, and tho result u gigantic swindlc upon
our people. Through the conniyance Of our
!ate State Senator, Blanchard, q bill was pass
Court Of Jackson county to Issue county
bonds, to the amount Of S15, 600, for the puE-
pose Of building jail. No person imagined
great WAS the public wonder when the old
court surrendered upon Its trust, to Learn that
an insignificant little abortion Of u building
was to cost Is, COG, and that bonds to that
amount had been Issued aud sold. A number
Of builders had estimated tie cost Of our new
jail, and the highest price placed upon 1t Is
5000. This Is big attempt to gonge tho
county, but thanks 10 our new County Court
good Union men and true-it will be tfustrat-
ed. The exposure Of this fraud has caused
great futtefiDg In fho enemy's camp, aud
will 60 far toward breaking up their party
j, A. Fl.