New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-21

with their blood, and absOlved all aliegiance WIN
Mother Britain" An inspiring feature OF TINS SEMI
centennial celebration was the presence OF three
score OF more veterans Of the Revolution all wearing
badges, on which were stamped the figures ~ 10.
AT that tIme the Courthouse was still known
also as a church; indeed it was the only place Oh
public worship in the town, and it is said that not
wthstanding the highly moral character OF the peo
ME the nearest meeting-house was at Sugar Creek,
three miles away. The graveyards OF sugar creek
will be one of the objects of interest to the visitors
to Charlotte during tho Centennial week. Many OF
the graves arc unmarked, and many are depressed
In one of the cemeteries the remains OF seventy per-
sons of the Alexander family INFERRED it will DO
remembered that six of the twentysx sgners OF tho
Mecklenburg declaration bore this name. In another
il the grave of the Rev. Samuel G. Craghead,
PENNSYLVANIA by birth who is said to have preached
here because he could find nowhere else congrega-
ton sympathizing fully with his advanced Demo-
cratic and strait-laced Presbyterian ideas This
grave is marked by sassafras tree of immense size
The people of Charlotte ought to take advantage OF
the Centennial enthusiasm to raise funds to put
these Sugar Creek cemeteries in good condition be-
fore the hcadstones all crumble and the graves them
selves are past identification.
THE TOWN AS 1T Is TO-DAY.
The Charlotte of to-day is thriving little city OF
5000 inhabitants. / know of no interior town III
the South so fourishng, with better prospect OF
greatness. or with more refined and cultured sOc-
ety. Its first commercial advance was made before
the late war; and during that 1t the seat of
important branches of the Confederate Government
But not until after tho surrender of Johnston to
Sherman, in another part of the State-the death
blow of the Confedcracy and as the people thought
tho seal of their doom-did Charlotte enter upon her
present prosperous career Cotton is the foundation
Of its growing wealth. At least fourteen counties in
North Carolina and eleven in South Carolina raise TINS
staple for the Charlotte market At the outbreak of
the war the sales of cotton at this point thoughto
bc large at ~ 900 bales in the of year. In
1866 business was resumed at the same figure, but
since that time it has increased annually until the
presept wear. when it will not fall far short of
so 600 bales So much cotton cannot be handled
by any town without great profit, and Charlotte
makes the very best of her trade The result is seen
in the busy air of the people, in the brisk retail
dealings. and in the improvements in progress on
every street. The town has also become railroad
center of considerable Importance railroad was
first built from Charlotte to Columbia which con-
nected this place at once with the markets OF the
world by means of the railroads running along the
southern coast from Norfolk to Ncw-Oreans. The
western division of the Wilmington. Charlotte and
Rutherford Railroad then extended through
Charlotte to LncOntOn, and has recently
been completed from Wilmington to Charlotte.
Another road connects Charlotte with States
vile, on the Western North Carolina Railroad,
and at very recent date it was placed on the great
thoroughfarc of trade and travel between Richmond,
Va. and Atlanta, Ga. With other Industries me
manufacturing business has sprung up and rs IN
creasing every year. Educational interests have
also thrved. Public and private schools with ex-
ceent teachers abound, and the latter attract pat
ronagc from other States as well as from North caro-
lima. The most prominent school is the Carolina
Military Institute, which was founded before the
war by Gen. ID. II. Hill Oh a plan furnished by Gen.
T. J. CStoncwalD Jackson.N II u now cohuuc'eu oy
Col. John p. Thomas The widow o. Stonewail
jackson, with hor child, resides here and is oae q
the lions with visitors from the South
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CELEBRATION.
One would think that tho cool, damp weather of
this late Spring would dampen the ardor of the pco-
pie and cloud their expectations but to-day the Cen
tennial is the theme on every tongue, and prcpara-
tons proceed apacc regardless OF most unseasOn-
able and chilling rain. How the crowd expected on
the Goth is to be accommodated ia problem TO
which much timo and thought have been given. AS
a partial solution the citizens have generously
thrown open their houses to accommodate visitors,
and if necessary many will give up every room for
lodgings. The principal hotel in the town
has been greatly enlarged and fitted mp
with hundreds of extra cots, and shelter
tents are provided for those who cannot obtain ad
mittance either to hotels or private residences. A
distinguished party from Richmond will turn a
sleeping car into a boarding house, and it is ex-
pected that many visitors will make application to
the railroad companies for similar accommodations.
Unlike Concord, Charlotte is not within a few miles
of large city, so that the crowd might be COM
fortably disposed of as the celebration was
over: and if there was so much delay and vexation
of various kinds in the last hours there, what will
not be the discomfort heref
As | write the work of decoration is beginning.
From the country roundabout come slowly moving
Ox-carts, driven by antiquatcd coored men, and
laden with evergreens and wild flowers, which are
eagerly bought to be fashioned into wreaths and
festoons for tho houses. The navy-yards have not
shed their wealth of flags here they have for
other Observation-Disclosures. but there is reason
to apprehend dearth Of bunting. Ladies who q
few years ago would have walked many blocks to
avoid passing under United States flag now dis
play the national colors in profuson, which mani
tests the thoroughness of their reconstruction while
the men who drapo their stores with the Stars and
Stripes give tho lie in this in other ways to the
charge of an Administration paper at Wash
ton that the Meckenburg celebration is to be re-
union of rebels for the plotting of treason. The
truth is that no State in the South accepted the sit
alton earlier or heartily than North Carolina,
and the public men of no Southern State are more
outspokcn in their devotion to the old flag and the
new Union. One hears on every side, from infuen-
tial persons, expressions of the hope that the
tennal celebrations in progress North and South
may be the occasion of revival of patriotism
throughout the country. 1t was in this patriotic
spirit and with this hope that the President and his
Cabinet and the Governors of all the States were in
vted to attend the most notable of all the ccebra-
lions that may take place in the SOUTH and it is