The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-04-04

jacksonville, the county seat of Duval
County, is beautifully situated on the east
bank of the st. Johns river, about twenty
miles from its mouth. Its pleasant wide
streets with substantial looking buildings
gives it an appearance very unlike most
Southern towns. The population of this
town has greatly increased Size the war
some three hundred per cent. There is
now some prospect of getting line of
steamers to run between here and New
York, and until then she can never take
rank as commercial City to which she
is justly entitled. The prediction is that
jacksonville will, at no distant day, take
rank with the chief cities of the Union.
As winter resort Jacksonville certain
tainly does excel. Hundreds flee hither
in search of health and pleasure every
winter, and the number is steanily being
increased. The winters are mild, not I'M
like Spring, and the accommodations for
visitors here is considerably better than
one would expect to find who leaves the
North, to visit Southern State. 1t 10
true | have found cockroaches in my
soup, and have partaken of meals when
every dish seemed to be favored with
onions, but am happy to say the influx
of Northern emigration has worked great
change in this respect, among the
Southerners in this locality. The people
who have settled here since the war are
mostly from the North aud West, and
this is now beginning to be to all intcn-
tional purposes, a Northern City.
The city government is composed of
Republicans, men mostly from the North,
who have wrought a great change in the
management Of the city's affairs since they
have taken charge, The morals of the
city have also been greatly improved, and
fewer rows and murders occur than form
erly. Ignorance, the drinking of spirit
Gus liquors and carrying of firearms,
are great cause OF the vast amount of
lawlessncss reported in the South, An
ignorant drunken fellow makes good
Ku Klux.
Very gratifying to the lover OF good
order is the array Of furnishing temples
reared to the worship of Almighty God.
jacksonville, as every other fashionable
resort, is visited by a heterogeneous mass,
and it is easy to forget in the whirl and
excitement of fashionable visiting the
customary use of such communion as
alone can preserve the strength of faith,
the glow of love and the brightness OF
purity, but here there is no excuse for
declining piety, The Methodists have
six, the Congregationaists, and presby.
terans three, and the Baptists, Episcopal
lians, Adventists and Catholics one each.
Schools have lately been established,
and no one who has the funds to pay,
need keep their children from School.
There are no free schools believe. The
Government has erected beautiful school
building costing some $4,000, for the
use of the freedmen and poor white chill
dren. The Southern whites call it "nig-
ger school," and not desiring to have their
children so disgraced by sending them
there they prefer to keep them in iguo-
rance. The building is now filled by
the colored people, and is doing n grand
work for them This school has proved
contrary to what the Southerners try to
make us believe, that the negroes who
are past twelve years Of age are as capa-
Bile of being educated as the white race.
Here may be seen the aged and the young,
all trying to get an education, and their
teachers give good reports as to their
efforts. We have a public school. but
that is closed as the county's funds have
mysteriously disappeared, or been expend.
ed. The "lnstitute of the South East"
and "St Johns Academy. are two -four
ishing schools.
The country surrounding jacksonville
is covered with the "pine woods" as they
are called, with the exception of a little
distance in the immediate vicinity of the
city, which was cleared by the soldiers
when they infested this region. This
4, clear space is now fast being built up.
Much Of this land was bought for 81 .25
per acre few years ago, and now has
greatly increased in value, as the little
lumber town has become city. For a
few miles from Jacksonville, little farms
are cleared midst the pines framed by the
"crackers,, and negroes. These "crack.
ers" are what the aristocrats call "poor
white trash" and | think they are appro-
priately named, for | never saw such a
set of human beings. They are worse
if possible than the negroes, in their hab-
its, and they are bad enough. Many
Northcrners have settled on the river
and are engaged in the propagating OF
of tropical fruits and plants, and garden
vegetables for the home and Northern
markets. Mrs. II. B. Stowe has pleas
ant place at Mandarin, fifteen miles above
jacksonville. w. II. j. b.
From the Pacific Coast.
SAN Francisco, March %. 1871