The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-06-26
CURRENT TOPICS.


NAPOLEON has gathered about him the temporal
sovoreigns of may nations, civilized and semi
barbarous, to witness tine exhibition Of science and
art, PIUs the Ninth has summoned to Rome tho
spiritual heads hierarchs and soveregns OF oil the
Catholic world, to celebrate the eighteen hum
dredth anniversary of the martyrdom Of ST.. PETER,
and participate in other religious ceremonies OF
significant and important character in the Chris
tan world. There are few countries, we presume
which will be unropresented by their leading
bishops in the Eternal City on this occasion.
From the North Pole to tho South, wherever
through its hierarchy and priesthood the ancient
faith of PAUL and PErER-which gave worshippers
to the catacombs, victims to the gladiatorial
arenas, and missionaries to all the earth-is re-
cognized, the cope and mitre, the crozier and the
cross, the simplicity Of faith and tho halo OF in
tellectual power, will wend their way to Ro ne to
make part of the grand pageant. AS prominent
historic incident Of our century, this assemblage
and these ceremonies will be not less remarkable
than the congregation of emperors, kings and
princes at Paris. Whether the Pope has called to-
gether the lights of the Church at the present
time in the capital of Christianity, with view to
rival the assemblage at the French capital, or
whether the Roman ceremonies occur tn>- the
ordinary disposition of events, both incidents will
note remarkable epoch in the history Of the pre-
sent year Of the nineteenth century.
n. BERrHouD, in the Uniuers Hiustre, speaks
thus of meerschaums at the Exposition: ga very
simple chemical process is required to produce
tho artificial meerschaum in quality 80 white and
beautiful that it cannot be distinguished genuine
silicate of magnesa, and in fact, is sold for the
genuine article. At the shops of the pipe manu-
facturers one may see large quantities OF small
blocks of white substance which may be easily
worked, and out of which pipes are made. By
means of certain greasy substances the reddish
color, so much sought for by smokers, is impaired
to these pipes. Artificial meerschaum is further
made out Of potatoes, turnps and carrots. For this
purpose good potatoes are pealed, macerated
in water, mixed with eight per cent. of sulphuric
acid in which they are left for twenty-fou hours.
Then they arc washed. plunged into common
water until their contact no longer reddens htmus
paper. Then they are dried on plaster Paris
plates in hot san1, where they shrink gradually to
about half their original size. Now they are
strongly compressed and they can then be used, IT
not for manufacturing first-class pipes, at least
Tor making great many smaller articles, and es-
pecialy for the manufacture OF handles OF knives,
&c. This substance easily assumes all sorts Of
colors. Turnips converted by an analogous pro-
cess into artificial meerchaum, look somewhat like
prepared hartshorn, and carrots treated in the
same manner resemble the finest corals."
A CORRESPONDENT Of the Anti-Szaoery Standard,
writing from Virginia, with an evident under
standing of the party machinery among tho ne
groes, gives tho Republican party fair warning OF
what is in reserve for them. The negro vote, he
ssys will decide the Presidential election. The
negroes understand this perfectly, and are laying
their plans in accordance with it. "There are
several negroes" says the writer, gifted for the
position Of Vice President, and that race claim
that the second Office in the nation shall be filled
by a negro" The correspondent fully endorses
their claim, and wishes it distinctly understood
that it must be conceded, or the negro vote Will
be cast against the Republican party. The party,
he says, dsre not refuse it, its defeat without
the negro vote and the vote of Northern men who
will back their claim is certain. What will sena-
tor WADE do In this contingency He has pledged
himself to .keep ahead" Of the people on all ques-
lions OF Radicalism, and here is one which de-
mands his immediate attention. There are ne
groes who, we are satisfied, would preside over
the Senate with quite as much dignity, intelli-
gence and grace as Senator WADE himself does;
but will he think sol Perhaps he can get tho nc
groes to postpone this question until that Of the
Redistribution Of property" is settled.
WE HAVE BEEN suffering OF late from rain, heat,
obdurate money lenders, and general dullness;
but it would seem that ours is not the only city on
this Continent afflicted in this latter particular.
Listen to the New Orleans Crescent: 'Every-
thing is dull. In the hardware stores knives arc
losing their edges; at tho shools, the boys go to
sleep st their desks; nobody looks sharp-all look
dull-and even this pen, with which we have
chronicled so many choice titbts Of news, has lost
its pristine point. Reporters fit like shadows
through the dingy corridors Of tho City Hall and
the police building, crying, News news and
thore is no news. Nobody has heard anything,
nobody knows anything, the town is quiet, every
body keeps sober, it's too warm for people to fight
and disturb the peace, and If anything is stirring,
it's elsewhere than here. If Widow Piggin's COW
would only broak down neighbor Siggin's fence,
or il some small boy would only fall out Of the
third story window without getting hurt, how
happy, how bissfully happy We should be. But
such luxuries as this are too much to hope for,
and If things go on as they are at present We shall
be compelled to fall back for local items upon the
cities Of Mobile and Montgomery.
UNpER THE HEAD classification OF History"
that doughty knight Of the shears, ALBERT PIKE,
Of the Memphis Appeal, goes on the rampage in
the following style: "If hell has any imps whom
It desires to perfect in al the branch Of liberal
and to adorn with the accomplishments
that ft one to shine in the Courts Of Satan, it
could not do better than to employ as its Professor
Of Bellies Lettres the Editor Of Harper's Weekly.
His inoe.ire genius is not great; but he has never
tbund q lie already spawned, libel on the South
already manufactured, that he has not hastened
with great alacrity to promulgate, with an orna-
mentation admirably profuse; and il one desired
10 impress upon ths mind Of the world, the con-
vction, thorough, vivid and undying, Of the innate
the low vulgarity, and the depraved
tastes Of the Jsoobncal portion OF the Northern
people, he could not moro efectually do 30 than
by reproducing tho pictures, filed with hato and
malice, and incarnations and concentrations OF
lies, with which the numbers OF Harper's Weekly
have been enriched for tho last six years. When
language has proved inadequate, it has resorted to
the more finished villanies Of the pencil"
! ONr OF OUR exchanges hits the truth in tho fol-
lowing: "The men who fought" it says, "havo
Yielded more readily to the Congressional plan OF
than those who staid at home.
Generals who will be disfranchised by the Const-
tutional Amendment, recommends its acceptance,
while men who only talked treason and kept their
precious bodies out Of harm are full OF patriotic
defancel" This is the case everywhere. FILES,
tho man who disturbed tho Mobile meeting, and
interrupted KELLYs spocch, occupied q bomb
proof" during the entire war, and those men who
n, II, H.. ,..ao,k -, b,r rooms ond IN stroet cor-