Staunton Vindicator

The Nigger Question in the Yankee Congress.

In the House of Representatives on the 29th the Civil Appropriation Bill was under consideration. The Senate had proposed to amend the bill so that the 8th and 9th sections of the act to prohibit the importation of slaves into any port within the jurisdiction of the United States after the 1st of January, 1808, in which said sections undertake to regulate the coastwise slave trade, be repealed forever.

The Committee of Ways and Means recommended a concurrence.

Mr. Brooks, of New York, (Dem,) suggested the danger of interfering with the question of coastwise trade, which was now a monopoly in the hands of Americans exclusively. The public mind might be so agitated that changes would be made detrimental to commercial interests.

Mr. Davis remarked he believed the gentleman was mistaken as to the nature of the amendment; it only proposed to so interfere with the coastwise trade as to prevent the importation and transportation of slaves.

Mr. Mallory, of Kentucky, said if the Abolitionist could make any profits by continuing the slave trade they would do so.

Mr. Blaine of Maine, (Union) said the gentleman from New York (Brooks) would by his policy strike down protection to the navigating and commercial interests.

Mr. Brooks said that if there was free trade New York would vastly improve in all her material interests.

Mr. Blaine replied that the gentleman would strike down the laws of navigation in order that New York might be built up.

Mr. Cox said that the advantages of the coastwise trade was a contract between the North and South. The North has broken the contract, but holds the consideration.

Mr. Blaine said a Western Confederacy was talked of.

Mr. Cox said he never heard of it.

Mr. Blaine, in the course of his remarks said, a Western Confederacy could not be set up long enough to be kicked over, without an outlet to the ocean.

Mr. Arnold of Illinois, (Union,) said the gentleman from New York remarked some time ago, that Slavery was dead. Did he still think so?

Mr. Brooks replied that he was no undertaker or embalmer, to bury the body of Slavery.

Mr. Arnold asked, if slavery was dead, why continue the Slave trade?

Mr. Brooks replied, that the gentleman, like Don Quixote, was fighting a windmill.

Mr. Arnold said, he wished Slavery was a mere shadow; he was removing from the statute books all tracts recognizing Slavery.

Mr. Brooks, noticing some remarks of Mr. Blaine, said the latter was guilty of moral treason in saying that if the votes were taken, New York would give a majority of 30,000 votes for Jeff Davis. This would give aid and comfort to the rebels, and be paraded in the Richmond press.

Mr. Blaine asked how would New York decide between the Montgomery Constitution and the reelection of President Lincoln? Would she not prefer the former?

Mr. Brooks replied she wanted the Constitution of our fathers and no other.

The debate was terminated by order of the House, when the question was taken on the Senate's amendment, which was agreed to.

Who Are They?

Just when all Yankeedom is jubilant over the prospect of Grant's sure and certain capture of Petersburg and the consequent reduction of the Rebel Capital, and the daily journals are eagerly sought for the news of Grant's marching into starved out Richmond, comes the startling cry, from the upper Potomac, of a terrible Rebel invasion. Consternation is depicted in the face of Unionists and fear and trembling shakes their feeble knees. Nor is the alarm and panic allayed by the news from the threatened point. One report has it that Early with a large force is moving into Pennsylvania, another that it is only a small cavalry force bent on the destruction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Canal, both of which, (whether they are a handful or a multitude,) have been seriously damaged. Then they have it that Breckenridge heads this force of infantry and cavalry and that they number 15,000, and finally they have it that it is Ewell's and Longstreet's corps under the immediate command of Gen. R.E. Lee. That there is a multitude of reports flying which have not reached us may be seen from the following extract.

"A Chambersburg paper says that, in summing up the information gathered from various border sources by a large corps of reporters, "the rebels had crossed the Potomac at no less than twenty four different places, the previous afternoon, in columns from five to ten thousand strong, and that the main body had not yet reached the river," that according to all these reports, "not less than a million rebels were about to enter Pennsylvania;" that they had "maintained a line of battle twenty miles long all day Sunday, on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad;" that they had fired at the rate of fifteen cannon shots every second, and that, judging from the distance they were heard, some of the rebel guns "could not have been less than fifteen hundred pounders."

Since no one seems to be able to give them the desired information as to who the invaders are, we, in consideration of their late kind treatment to the people in the Valley, venture, in spite of all the Provost Marshals and Commandants of Posts in the Confederacy, to relieve their minds. Gen. Hunter, while in this county, received and had read to his troops official information of the evacuation of Richmond and its occupation by Grant. Grant wishing to make as much Bumcombe as possible has not desired this information to be given to the Yankee public yet and consequently it will be perceived that the last report they get from the threatened point is the reliable one, to some extent. It is not only Ewell's and Longstreet's corps but the whole of Gen. Lee's army, under his immediate command, which in the evacuation of Richmond, have been forced to cross the Potomac to avoid being surrounded and captured by the Victorious Hunter with Sigel as grand flanker. It is true that Lee has about a half a million or perhaps a million of men with him but they are so depressed at the loss of Richmond that Gov. Curtin's Melish can easily capture the whole of them. There now, don't be alarmed, Governor Curtin's Melish and Sigel's 100 day men are between you and danger.

Calling out the Reserves.

It will be seen from the several orders, published in to-day's paper, that the Reserves of the Valley are again called out.

We do not know what is the occasion of calling them out, but we do know that it is a source of great inconvenience to this section. They are mostly farmers, and have large crops out, which, even when they were absent a few weeks since, suffered very much. In the little respite since they were disbanded they have been assiduously engaged in saving their wheat crop, doing little or nothing with their corn, which they planted to their utmost capacity. As there is but little else than white labor in the Valley and no possible chance of working the corn crop, (now much in need of it,) if the Reserves are, at present, placed on duty, we felt it incumbent on us, not only as a duty we owe to the Reserves and those dependent on them, but also to the Confederacy, which will be greatly the loser thereby, to call the attention of those in authority to the state of the case here.

The circumstances east of the Blue Ridge may be such, for all we know, as not to be so much effected by the Reserves being called out, there being more labor and the crops maturing more early in that section, but here it works an exceedingly great hardship.

We are satisfied that the Commandant of Conscripts for Virginia, if acquainted with the state of the case here, (with which we opine he is not, but only acting for the good of the Confederacy from the facts in his immediate proximity, unless there is an emergency of which we are not cognizant and which we very much doubt,) could not make the hardship so great [illegible] people, who have been robbed of their supplies by the late Yankee raid and whose sole dependence is [illegible] the present promising prospect of abundant crops.

War News.

The point of interest in the army of Gen'l Lee is now in front of Petersburg. Nothing of interest has transpired at that point during the last week. The Richmond papers assert positively that one corps of Grant's army has gone to Washington, and the impression prevails that more are going. In confirmation of the foregoing, authentic information has been received at Richmond that a large number of Transports have recently passed down the James River. The Northern papers inform us that the most intense excitement prevails in Maryland and Pennsylvania, (and no doubt in Washington) in consequence of a "Rebel" invasion, and it would not be at all strange that Lincoln regarding his own safety paramount to every thing else had perem[p]torily ordered Grant to Washington, to effect that object. While this may be mere speculation, there is no doubt some movemen[t] is going on in Grant's army, the character of which will be revealed in a few days.

From Northern Georgia, we learn that Gen. Johnston, in order to counteract a flank movement made in force by the enemy, withdrew his army on the 3d inst., from the vicinity of Marietta, and fell back to the line of the Chattahoochee River. With this river in his front, and a line of formidable breastworks prepared in advance for the reception of his army, he will be the better enabled to resist the advance of the enemy, and at the same time render the safety of Atlanta more secure.

An official Dispatch dated the 10th inst., from Gen Jones, says that Gen. Robertson attacked the enemy Saturday morning, and drove them from their position, with loss to us of 100 killed and wounded. Eenemy [sic] fell back to transports and passed to James and Morris's Islands. monitors and gunboats in Stone have been driven beyond effective range of our batteries--the monitor damaged. It appears that the force now operating against Charleston, is composed of all the available forces on the South Atlantic coast. Bombardment of Sumter heavy for several days--continues so.

By latest advices from Mississippi we learn the forces of Gen. Forrest were concentrating at Ripley, Miss., in order to meet Washburn, who was at and east of Lagrange, with a force of 18,000 men. It was not known with what force Gen. Forrest would be able to meet the enemy, though it was felt that a severe chastisement awaited him, as Forrest does not know the meaning of the word defeat. He was dismounting every man who was not well mounted and thoroughly equipped.

The "Staunton Spectator."

The subscriber would announce to his patrons that the publication of the "Staunton Spectator" has been suspended since the date of its last issue, the 31st of May, in consequence of the destruction of the office by the enemy on the 7th day of June. He is making preparations to publish it again, and will do so as soon as it will be possible for him to obtain a suitable Press and the necessary materials. having had his Job Press repaired, he is again prepared to execute Job Work as heretofore. The enemy destroyed everything in the three stories of the building, and the Job Press is the only one that could be repaired--the others being, he fears, a total loss.

As the fabled Phoenix rises from its funeral pyre, so will the "Spectator," before many moons have filled their horns, rise from its heap of ruins--an eloquent monument of the enemy's Vandalism and cowardly dread of truthful utterances. They esteem an independent Press as more "terrible than an army with banners." They feel that, "the pen is mightier and will prevail"--hence their chivalric warfare upon Printing Offices.

The subscriber is pleased to learn that other Editors, in the line of the enemy's march of ruthless destruction, have not suffered so seriously as himself.

Richard Mauzy,

Editor and Proprietor.

Runaways!

Taken away by the Yankee army from the Central Lunatic Asylum at Staunton, on the 9th and 10th of last June, the following named slaves hired to said Asylum by the following persons who have not yet returned.

Mary, a girl about 48 years of age, black skin, scar in the face, hired of W.D. Ewings of Augusta county,

Hannah, about 25 years of age, mulatto, scar on one eye, caused by a burn, hired from B. Jolly of Fauquier county,

Janetta, about 18 years old, dark mulatto, hired from Miss Laura Shefflect of Albemarle,

Jennie, about 18 years old, mulatto,

Lucy and 2 children, mulatto,

Susan, 20 years old, mulatto,

Peggy, about 65 years of age, dark mulatto, hired from Miss C.M. Shifflett of Albemarle county,

Julia, about 42 years of age, dark mulatto, hired from Benjamin Crawford of Augusta county.

Sarah, about 18 years of age, mulatto, hired from J.J. Winn of Albemarle county.

Laura, 20 years old, mulatto, hired from Miss F. Diggs, of Fauquier county.

Harriet and Child, between 30 and 40 years old, mulatto, hired from W.J. Shumate of Augusta county.

Joanna, aged about 40 years, mulatto,

Amanda, aged about 23 years, black, hired from R. Croper of Fauqueir county,

John, aged about 19 and Arch about 18, dark mulattoes, hired of Col. Franklin McCue, Agt. of Augusta county.

James, about 35 years old, mulatto,

Harvey, aged about 35, dark mulatto, hired from Clotom & Lynes, Ag'ts of Richmond,

Reuben, about 25 years of age, dark mulatto, hired from F.S. Pennybacker of Shenandoah county.

The rewards authorized by law will be paid for the recapture and delivery of said slaves or any of them, or for securing any of them in jail so that they may be recovered by the owners or the Asylum.

Samuel A. Hoshour

Steward of Central Lunatic Asylum.

Sentinel copy 4t and send bill to this office.

July 14--4t.