The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-07-30
CURRENT TOPICS.

to blow uo Congress ~ man has been arrcstedin
Washington for saving that if he could get several
barrels of gunpowder, he would place them under
the Capitol and blow it up with all the members of
Congress in it, After hearing before Justice OF
tho Peace, no was bailed out for $500, to appear
when waited, and to behave well for tho period OF
six months. The testimony showed that he had
served in the United States navy and is regarded
as quiet and peacoable citizen by his neighbors.
Here is case for special Committee and'
Congress had not adjourned before the arrest was
made, we suppose that one would have been ap-
pointed, with power to summon witnesses, ana all
the other magnificent apparatus OF ceremony
which attaches to such committees. There ls no
telling how many persons might be implicated In
the bloodthirsty design of this quiet and peaceabe
citizen" Some connection might be estaohshed
between him and ''many officials high in public
fe,-certainly as close connection as the special
committee on the LINCOLN assassination have sue
ceeded in making out. The South could easily be
dragged in as partner in the intended crime. 1t is
good thing for the country that Congress had
adjourned; otherwise We might have had them sit
ting the whole summer, frightened but apparently
heroic, ready to be blown up, without moments
notice, by ''seyeral (or more) barrels OF gunpow-
der" prepared to offer themselves up as gigantic
holocaust upon the altar of their country They
would have remained in session just to let thepeo-
ple know that they were not to be scared OF by
Guy Fauxes, and also to improve the occasion 70
administer few more turns to that Radical screw.
We feel much indebted to SoRRELL (such ls tho
name Of the great suspected) that he did not e1-
press his insane desire for several arrels OF gun
powder" for the purpose named at an earlier day.
The New YORK Sun has On editorial headed
ssTurning over new Leaf" saying that although
two v ears have passed since the war ceased, no
perceptible progress has been made in the reor-
panization Of the Southern States. It says this Is
owing to the fact that tie North and the South
have persistently refused to pull together. 1t asks
evil the aspect of the case bo any more an en-
couraging one, two or ten years hence, under
such circumstances 2" adding, "Time enough has
been wasted, snd this foolish quarrel should be
continued no longer" The Sun continues: "Ulti-
mately the North and the South must join hands,
and march forward together, keeping step to the
music of the Union. They cannot permanently
be estranged, as they now are. The Siamese twins
are not so closely bound together in the flesh as
the North end South are in material interests.
Then, why not cease this hurtful wranglc on both
sides, and come together at once, as good judg-
ment and common sense demand. Both sides are
to blame for the present political entanglement.
The South is the moro blameable, because it was
the rash act of that section which brought oil tho
present trouble upon the country; but the North
is blameable, also for the incorporate and ezas-
perating manner in which the extremists act upon
the question OF reconstruction. Whatever the de-
gree Of culpabiity mny be, however, it must be ad-
mitted that it would be better for both sides, and
the county generally, If animosity we're now
dropped, and it's place supplied by that excellent
Christian MAXINE Charity toward all; malice to-
ward none We have had enough of the past, let
it now be forgotten. 1t can do no good to gaze
upon or brood over it, and the best policy is to
draw veil over it's dark scenes, turn away, and
henceforth look only to the bright and happy fu-
ture."
THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, published under tho
very shadow Of Brown University, speaks against
the comforting of degrees by colleges. It says
s'Some colleges, no doubt, are more careful than
others, but all alike seem to have combined
in pursuing course that ronlers these de-
grees as nearly worthless as possible. Tho
Boards that confer them are seldom capable OF
judging of the merits they profess to recognize,
and they usually distribute them according to
some personal hvoritism or expectation OF advan.
tage, either to themselves or to the college they
represent. The idea Of simply bestowing meri-
ted honor on worthy man in any professional or
literary walk in life very seldom enters the minds
OF those dispensers Of distinction. They some-
times seek to appease hungry applicant, some
times to satisfy friend, and sometimes to secure
benefit, and thoy really do almost anything else
than encourage literary or professional merit; or
honor intellectual labor or services for mankind.
Yale College, some years ago. ceased to confer
the honorary degree Of D. D., and some other
colleges have dispensed with all honorary degrees,
and confer only those which are the result OF the
regular examinations. We are only surprised that
in the present condition Of society the President of
respectable college can have the face to announce
such unmeaning and ill-considered appendages in
connection with any honest name among his fel-
low-men.
umes, containing IN account of his operations in
Egypt during the first four months Of 1867, just
published, has again directed attention to the
pyramids. HERoDorus, STnAHo, PLINY and the
Arabian writer's all concurred in the statement
that the Great Pyramid was originally covered
with white casing. For many years this state
ment was not believed, because no traces could be
found. However, in 1887, Colonel VYsE found two
casing stones in stu. They were Of white lime
stone from the Mokattam hills. As early as the
year 1000 the Kalfs Of Egypt began to strip of
this casing. The blocks, measuring eight feet by
five, were used in building palaces, mosques and
bridges. Those which remained were near the
foundation and covered with sand at the time of
the devastation alluded to. They were cut 80
true that a cement no thicker than ordinary paper
was required to join them. The true anglo Of the
pyramids shape WIS determined by means Of the
remaining casing; as measured by Professor
SMYTH it is 81 degrees 81 minutes 143. The base
OF the pyramid is square, each side being 764
feet, and the original height of the pyramid was
4S6 feet. Mr. JOHN TAYLOR was the first to dis
cover that the height bore the relation to the
sum Of two sides of the base as the diameter to
the circumference Of circle.
Now THAT OUR specie circulation is based 80
largely upon nickel, it may be interesting to the
reader to know something Of the locality and
character of the mines whence this mineral is taken
The few facts about to bo quoted with reference to
them are taken from Pennsylvania newspaper
published in the vicinity Of the mines, the largest
of which are situated in that State. 'Fourteen
miles from Lancaster" says the journal in ques-
ton, "are the Gap mines and smelling works.
These mines were discovered many years ago, and
about the time of the Revolutionary war were
worked for copper, but wore soon abandoned, tho
crude machinery of that period being ill-adaptcd
to working them proftably. Two generations had
passed away, and the circumstances had been