Year: 1864

For The Standard


Mr. EDITOR viii you allow>a subscriber a
small space in your paper do not propose TO ed


ny yourseli or numerous readers on the all absorb
topic Oh war or that much more desirable object
Peace. That leave to ADLER and better men sncb
as Messrs. Stephens and Boyce, and the sentiments
announced through and by the Standard and Pro
gTeS'' l most heartily endorse the utterances of
sucn journals and such men, and do not exagce
rate IN saying that threefourhs of the thinking and
voting men of this Connty concur with me. 1t
would be sad disappointment to many, very many
snould you or they be driven from the defence
OF the great truths you have put forth to the world
AND, Mr. Editor, agree with you that the letter of
Mr. Boyce to President Davis is decidedly the ablest
paper that has appeared in print since the war be-
gan =


But propose to con6ne myself mainly to local
matters-matters of very great Importance to the
people, and am sorry to say OF but small import to
those who govern them Idesire to call the attention
OF all those whom it may concern to the status of af
fairs IN this section of North. Carolina


In the. first place, the crop of corn, nearly all of
which is ungathered, is consequently exposed TO
heavy loss and depredations from many causes, and
will, therefore, in my opinion be much lighter than
was at hrst supposed. This country is deprived of
nearly all the white labor in it. the males being al
most constantly performing some species of militia
ry duty, and ooeying apparently senseless orders of
some modern military Napoleon-I mean the Home
Guard commanders.


1t is certain that the crops of small grain have
barely averaged half; wheat in particular, which
owing to the great scarcity of bread last summer is
now nearly CONSUMED. Besides not more than half
crop has again been sown this fall. Owing to
the same scarcity, the vegetable crops are nearly
hauSted also. Stock Of all kinds is exceedingly
scarce, such as hogs and beef cattle and venture
the assertion that one half the white population will
have to live without meat next year, and hundreds
Of fInn ralaC
Winter, long, dreary winter is fast approaching
and soon the armies of the contending sections will
biVouac in their winter quarters, and then we may
again expect thousands of amlShed worn-out horses
to deuge the country. These horses and their ri.
ders will have to be fed and recruited and it is this
thought which so much disturbS our people, when
We look back to the scenes OF last winter and spring
Should sueh be the case, sad indeed would be the
condition sf many, Ifnot all who live here trust
the Legislature of North Carolina now convened,
will look to this thing, and the Confederate gov
ernment will have receivCds its full titbe of all it
requires, it surely will not need more. Why not
require tie military authorities to establish en-
campments where the tax in.kind is deposited, and
forage the cavalry there? They should not be for
aged on private property without the means, and
often without the disposition, of remuneration and
1t is we'll known fact, that the receipts already
given during the present and last year, amounting
to many thousands dollars, have never been paid,
nor have such losses been credited on the tax In
kind. So that it really seems as il this government
from principle repudateS its promises to pay, on
the account of such quartermasters, Coonels, Cap
tains, &C., perambuating and living the country


Yet the poor farmer has alternative If he
respectfully informs these military gentry that he
has nothing to spare, without subectng his family
to DISTRESS or if he refuses to let them have all
they want, the usual course of these brave soldiers
is tn diSmount and in all probability take all you
have, to your last bushel of corn or stack of fod-
der, oats or hay, and then damn your soul in the
bargain. And this too while the government has
thousands of bushels of corn rotting and wasting.


Mr.. Editor, l am all the time willing, and have
always been willing to comply with the law and de-
mands of charity towards those who really deserve
it; and imagine the history of the world will not
yield parallel to the people of the South, who
have given up to the Government not only their
substance bat the far greater boon of their personal
rights and liberties in this revolution. Still the cry
is more blood and all your treasure. Will you al
low me TO ask you a question? How can the poor
men, in moderate circumstances, who buy and sell
not nor speculate, how they live and meet these
heavy demands !? Our property is not worth as
much as it was prior to the war, and yet small
house and farm is taxed S ,300 which farm is bare
ly sufficient to support family. Once we met,
gave in our brief lists and departed; now nearly
every third man in the Confederacy is ax.gather
er or some kind of revenue officer and every change
of the moon brings them to your door. Their re-
ceIpts are multfarious in form, and some, am in
formed, run ninety-nine years, the extreme age Of
lie Imprisonment This does not include the
tax in kind. That may not be so complicated


do not apply aught of the above to the assessors
&C., Of Caldwell. They are gentlemen, albeit hot
war men.


Mr. Editor will close this article BY saying that
hope the Congress just assembled will do some
thing for the country. hope they will not allow
agents to impress promiscuously, after the govern
ment has taken Its tithe If such be the case
another fall will not Legislature have to double
its appropriation for the wives and families of the
soldiers? LOCKER ON:


Caldwell county, Nov. 10, 1864.


LCarrsanr,darsa Of