Staunton Spectator

We have sometimes wondered whether the extortioner ever prayed. We should like to hear his prayer, or rather to read the secrets of his heart, while ostensibly engaged in the holy exercise. His words, interpretated [sic] with his thoughts would be something like what follows:

Our Father who art in heaven--I wonder what will be the price of wheat this season. My crop is fine, very fine. I think that I might get at least four dollars for it. I should like to get ten--Hallowed by thy name--If the season continues I shall make a tremendous crop of corn, and as my crops are sufficient to last me two years, it will be a clear profit--Thy kingdom come--Chickens are a great institution. Before the war I used to sell them for ten cents, now I get two dollars. I can scarcely find it in my heart to pray for peace--Thy will be done on earth--I believe I will sell my corn to the soldiers' relief society. They dont [sic] give enough--as it is done in heaven. That old steer brought me two hundred dollars. Give us this day our daily bread--my poor neighbor who has a poor husband in the army, and six little children at home, must find it hard to get along.--The Lord bless her and hers. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us--my old friend Smith was rather hard on me when he said I gouged the poor, but I forgive him--and lead us not into temptation--I am afraid our pastor's prosperity will prove a snare to him. Why brother Jones sent him a cow and calf--but deliver us from evil. I wish our pastor would quit preaching on extortion. If he don't I will stop subscription, sure. He is really an evil. He won't let a body be at peace--for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever. I believe I will send some milk cows to Atlanta. I hear they are bringing tremendous prices. The merchants there do charge awfully for their goods. Lord have mercy on us, and save us from such extortioners.--Amen!

After returning from our Chaplain's meetings, General Jackson would send for me, and in his manner would say, "Come in, Mr. Lacy, and make your report." In response to interesting statements he would say--That's good; we ought to thank God for that." When he saw Gen. Lee and other officers come to attend preaching, it gave him great joy. Among his liberal contributions of money, it may be mentioned that he gave $300 to publish an editon [sic] of the tract, "Our Danger and Our Duty," one of the most powerful productions that ever came from the pen of Dr. Thornwell. General Jackson was deeply impressed by it. After he was wounded in his last battle, his love for the word of Go seemed greater than ever. He (Mr. Lacy) would sometime a read eight or ten chapters to him.

Here the Rev. Dr. Hoge being requested to state what was the impression made in England by his death, remarked, in substance, that it was in the highest degree solemn, deep and affecting; that he was not only admired there as a great General, but loved as a good man; and that his death was lamented with a sorrow like that which belongs a personal bereavement. Lord Shaftsbury said he considered Gen. Jackson the greatest man our country had ever produced.

Mr. Lacy then traced the progress of the revival after the death of this eminent man. About one thousand soldiers made a profession of religion in Gen. Jackson's corps while encamped about Fredericksburg, and before the army went into Pennsylvania. Amid all the hindrance of the campaign, there was still great interest on this subject, and when the army returned to Winchester it increased. More than two thousand have made a profession of religion within about two months.

We have been unable to learn the particulars of the fight in Greenbrier on Friday, the 6th instant, in which the forces of Genl. Kohels and Col. Wm. L. Jackson, amounting to only 1,700 men were forced to retire in some disorder before the combined forces of Genl's Kelly and Averill numbering 7,000 men, after a stubborn resistence [sic] of four hours.--Col. Wm. L. Jackson with a small force of cavalry and a section of artillery, was near Mill Point, in Pocahontas county, when the enemy marched upon him.--He despatched the fact, that the enemy in force were marching upon him, to Genl. Echols at Lewisburg, who immediately marched to his relief. Col. Jackson fell back in the direction of Lewisburg to Droop Mountain (28 miles North East of Lewisburg) where the reinforcements of General Echols met him, and where the engagement occurred. A correspondent of the Richmond Whig says:

"The battle was joined about eleven o'clock by our artillery firing at the enemy's battery as it came into position.--This was soon ended, as he was driven away by our well directed shots. The enemy now massed his whole force on our left and centre, consisting of about Four thousand Cavalry, under Averill, and three thousand Infantry under Kelley. To oppose this force we had seventeen hundred, of which eight hundred were cavalry. For four hours we contended against overwhelming odds.--The enemy, moving his forces beyond our left, wheeled his men, and thus obtained an enfilading fire.

Just at this time, our centre, which had been much weakened in reinforce the left, was attacked by a largely superior force and pressed back. Gen. Echols, seeing it useless to contend longer, gave orders to retreat; the enemy badly cut up, made only a feeble pursuit.--Our loss was necessarily very heavy, especially in killed and wounded. Maj. R. A. Bailey, of the 22nd Virginia regiment was wounded; [reported mortally] and captured. Of ten officers in 3 companies of this same regiment that fought on our left, but two escaped unhurt.

The 3d batallion [sic] suffered severely, but as reports of casualties have not been handed in, no accurate information can yet be obtained.

The retreat had continued but a short time when Gen. Echols received information that the Yankees, several thousand strong, were marching on Lewisburg, by the Kanawha road, to cut him off. It was now all impotant [sic] to get our trains and artillery by Lewisburg and across the Greenbrier river before the new force could come up. This was done, and the enemy baffled with the loss of [illegible] of artillery and one wagon which was abandoned because the carriage broke down. Gen. Echols crossed the river early in the morning of the 7th instant, and after resting a few hours, continued the march towards Union, Monroe county."

After the failure of the enemy to capture the forces of Echols and Jackson at or near Lewisburg as they no doubt expected to do, Gen. Averill, with a cavalry force supposed to number 3,500, marched East in the direction of Staunton as far as Callaghans in Alleghany, 6 miles West of Covington, where he turned off north to Highland county. A foraging party of the enemy went within a few miles of Covington where they were fired upon by a portion of Genl. Imboden's force, when they took the back track at more than a double quick. As the enemy marched North on the North side of the Mountains, Gen. Imboden marched North on the South Side so as to be ready to prevent his coming to the Valley.

On Thursday morning a despatch was received here from Gen. Imboden which stated that from the information he had, he was led to believe that Gen. Averill would be reinforced at Monterey by a force of 300 under Col. Mulligan, and that their combined forces would attempt to reach Staunton. Upon this information, Col. Baldwin, as Colonel of the regiment of Home Guards, summoned the different companies of H. Guards in the county to get ready for duty and report as soon as possible at Staunton. On the next day (Friday) the town was thronged with hundreds of Home Guards who were soon armed and ready to march to the mountains to meet the foe. Gen. Averill seemed to know instinctively the kind of reception he would meet with on the part of the Augusta Home Guards, and marched in the opposite direction, so that there was no opportunity, for the Home Guards to phlebotomise the Yankees. The Home Guards reported for duty as promptly as regulars could have done, and they presented as fine an appearance as any regiment in the service, and those who knew the good material of which the companies were composed did not doubt for a moment that they would fight gallantly.

Though the "wolf" may not come every time the cry of wolf is made, yet it is better to respond promptly every time the alarm may be given, for it would be better to come out ninety-nine times when there is no wolf, than to fail the hundredth time if the wolf should really come. We have no doubt that the Home Guards will always do their duty, and their first duty is to respond promptly when called upon by their commanding officer. Should it be their fortune to be led against the invading foe, we cherish the hope that their heroic conduct will cause a halo of glory to

"Circle their armies with a charm against death."

"The plan of financial relief, copied into this paper a short time since from a North Carolina paper, originally appeared, we believe, in the Columbia South Carolinian, to which journal it was communicated by a citizen of South Carolina. The plan is attracting considerable attention from the press, and is generally regarded as the most effective yet suggested for restoring our finances to a healthful condition. The proposition is to levy a tax, one-half of which, or some other equitable proportion, shall be paid in SPECIE, or in the coupons of a new issue of six per cent. bonds. The theory is, that tax payers will invest in these bonds to an amount sufficient to secure the coupons required to pay a moiety [sic] of their taxes, and thus the redundant currency will be reduced, and, thereafter, may be kept within reasonable limits."

In our poor judgment this is the most inefficient and mischievous proposition that has yet been suggested. Its adoption would leave the currency for a long time to come, in its present lamentable condition, and bring ruin on the whole people. To talk of collecting one-half the present large amount of taxes in gold and silver, is simply preposterous. Where is the gold and silver to come from? Specie is now worth 12 in notes for one in gold. If this be the case when there is but little demand for it, what would be the premium when a new demand was created for hundreds of millions of it? It would run up to 50 or 100 for one. There is not one-fifth of the required amount of gold in the whole Confederacy. But it may be said that people may relieve themselves by buying bonds of the new issue to such an amount that the coupons would be sufficient to pay the specie half of the tax. This may do for the wealthier classes, but how are men in moderate circumstances to get the money to buy the bonds? A shoemaker or other mechanic, for example, pays a license tax of $50 and commissions on his sales amounting to, say $100 more. One-half of his tax would be $75. Under this notable scheme, he would have to pay $75 in gold, or buy $1250 worth of bonds to get enough coupons! Where is he to get the money? All his stock in trade, including his tools, would not suffice to buy them, and he would be sold out of house and home for taxes. Of course, at the sales, nothing would be received in payment but coupons of those particular bonds or gold and silver! What would property bring sold on these terms?

This mild admonition to buy bonds reminds one of the wisdom of the Queen of France, who, when the people were clamoring for bread to feed their starving families, naively exclaimed: "How silly! Why don't they eat cakes?"

But suppose the scheme were adopted, and suppose the bonds bought, it would require six and twelve months for the coupons on the bonds to mature? What would become of the country and the currency in the mean time?

If Congress wishes to ensure the defeat of our cause, it could devise no more effectual means of accomplishing that end, than to adopt this scheme. National and individual ruin would be its inevitable consequences.

We are satisfied the editors of the Whig did not intend to endorse this scheme by giving it a place in its paper. But as it appears from the article that "the plan is attracting considerable attention from the press and is generally regarded as the most effective yet suggested," we wish to enter our solemn protest against it; and, if it be not trespassing too far on the kindness of the Whig, we beg that our protest be made known to its readers.

The Richmond Whig says that the tripod of evils on which the confederate cause appears to rest may be defined thus--Yankees, Repudiation, Starvation. With the first we are familiar, and have been these two years or more; the other two are new foes, whose power we have not yet encountered, and need not, if we manage rightly. At all events, we do not intend to succumb to them any more than to their parent, the detested Yankee. Our Revolutionary sires overcame the last two; be ours the task to overcome them all. The coming days are full of trials, but they are winter days--dark but brief. Courage! A fickle and uncertain spring will follow the winter, and then--the clear tranquil sunshine--type of peace!