The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-11-14
OUR VIRGINIA LETTER.

-
III. ENt9r:: To-day tiIn election for
delegates and senators to the Virginia
legislature is going ON, and a South
Carvii"ian, formerly well known in
! Winnsbcro, with every Eirginian, is
supposed to b. doing his duty. The
! election law here is somewhat com
plcated, being q modification OF the
Australian system, but works pretty
we'll, and is Said to enSure fair elec-
tiols. At the elections here, though
there j. some excitement, things are
conducted in more quiet manner
than they are at the South Carolina
polls.
I, is with great interest that we read
the accounts of the Constitutional Con-
vention which is being held in our
native State. South Carolina has
been complimen'el on one Of her
laws, namely, tie law prohibiting d.
vorce, she being the only state in the
Union in which no divorce is allowed.
srrhe once proud Palmetto State" Gas
it is always spoken OF by the Ale1an-
dria Gaz:He) still has at least one law
of which It may justly be proud. The
Convention, however, has been CEN
snrcd for crying down Mr.. McMahan's
proposition 10 establish a department
Of reads and foresty. IT'S said by
some who know Of the condition of
the forests in South Carolina, that
such law would be salvation to the
State. For # the farmers continue to
cut down the woods for the sake Of
making 'n"W ground" for cotton, in
few }. ars :'e State will be a real
Sahara. 7 q farE's will not be worth
anything. I country vii! be in
tested with malsrla, even more than 1t
is now, and various other evils will b:
apt tn follow. If Mr.. McMahan was
cIiticized rather severely in his own
state, many persons ont of It seem to
realize his good common sense on this
subject, and he has been greatly COM
plimented. In regard to the roads, ii
certainly would be wise to pay them
more attention. It is universally |
known that bad roads are ruinous to
vehicle; besides, they always convey |
the idea that prosperity is absent.
We are glad to see the rise in the |
price of cotton, and trust that what
the farmers lose by the short crop may
be made up in the high price-high al
least in comparison with the four
cents of last year. The late crops
here turned ont very badly on account
of the long drought. The vegetables
were cut short, the c)rn and potato
crops were anything but satisfactory,
and bpckwheat was so poor that some
of the farmers did not even think it
was worth cutting, in consequence
they left it in the fields. Last week
we had some rain, and the dark clouds
overhead at present arouse feeling
Of hope in our brcas:s, and it il hoped
before night that there will oe a
steady rainfall. Some families in this
neighborhood have been scarce of
woier, as the wells and springs have
gotten very low during the continued
dry spell However, grumb'lng Will
do 20 good, and as the drought has
extended ali over tie country, there
are probably people in other places
suffering mere lhar those IN Virginia.
This neighborhood is rather quiet at
present, it being too late for ''slraW
rides" picn;c:, tournaments etc.
During the past few weeks the
Bap,i>ts of the neighborhood have
been holding a series of revival meet
ings which proved very satisfactory to
The church. Tie meetings were con-
ductcd by two Wiling c'ergrmen,
who delivered some exceliant sermons.
Twenty-Five persons joined and were
baptized in Accotink Run, which
stream is about eight miles from Alex,
andria. Beulah church was crowded
every night during the meetings anu
many people of other denomina' ions
attended regularly, and they found the
services quite interesting anu I'M
presslVe.
Th, whole country seems to be DIS
;resseu on account Of he burning OF
the Rotunda and annex OF the Vir
ginia Univer-i'y. the lossis especially
fe.t by the VirgiuiIns and all alumni,
and though meetings are being held III
order to raise money to rebuild, new
buildings cannot really replac: the old
ones on account Of association.
Each week it is with pleasure that
we look forward to our dear county
paper which always has the best
wishes for its success from its humble
correspondent. Nelle.
Ashland Farm. Va, Nov. s, 1855.