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Newspaper
Bristol Phenix
Location
Bristol, Rhode Island, United States of America
Date
Jan 23, 1864
Page
2
A fragment from a historic newspaper page shows a dateline style note with the name Che Bristol Phenix and the odd date Saturday Morning Jan 234 1004. The readable text is sparse and lacks full context or events.
The article argues United States prosperity draws European workers and families, noting bounties and wages lure Irish and German labor. It claims not all come to fight, many seek better living and education, and urges Europe to come to New York, except for John Bull who should stay home.
A historical critique argues that constitutional questions must guide postwar policy and that Congress and the executive should shape terms of settlement with seceded states. It ponders if secession destroys state sovereignty, whether state constitutions are annulled, and if local laws survive when states join the Union again.
A Providence public school incident recounts Annie repeatedly punished for tardiness until seven year old Mary asks the teacher not to strike Annie. Mary explains her friend’s mother is poor and out washing, and Annie is not to blame. The teacher relents and Mary’s act of kindness is remembered.
Warren readers will be delighted to know Madame Varian and Mr Hollman will host a Doscert at Armory Hall on Wednesday evening. They will undoubtedly draw a fashionable audience with full aid and attire.
Miss Bailey will give an entertainment in reading at the Town Hall under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association. Critics praise her voice and stage presence, predicting a crowded Bristol audience for the performance.
A Providence Journal correspondent describes a December 8 Santiago disaster in which about 2600 people perished in a cathedral fire during La Parisima Concepcion de Marin. The church, lavishly decorated with 20000 gas lights, trapped crowds as doors closed and panic spread. Clergy and police failed to aid escape amid chaos and collapse of crowd control.
Alfred R. Cornell of Brietal Neck wandered from home on a Friday evening and was seen near a toll bridge. He crossed back and headed toward the Providence Warren and Brieton Railroad bridge. A splash and cry were heard but no body was recovered as ice likely concealed the victim.
Madame Varian and Mr. Hoffman bring a grand concert to Town Hall on Tuesday evening January 26. The duo promise an excellent program of all new pieces named as in their Niblo's Garden engagement, drawing beauty and fashion en masse to hear their favored Prima Donna.
The next meeting of the Young Men's Debating Club will be held in their rooms on Friday evening. Proceedings start promptly at 7 o'clock with a discussion on the resolution that an extravagant use of money is a greater evil than parsimonious spending.
Lyman Bosworth of Company G arrives home on furlough for ten days and notes the Bristol boys in the same company are well. Veterans re enlisted include George T Easterbrooks John Lawrence Allen Monro Thomas Brennan and Frank Maulday from this town and Leonard Weat of Warren. they expect return with furlough near month start.
The Richmond correspondent of the London Times denies famine exists in the Confederacy while acknowledging a dangerous crisis due to widespread shirking of military duty by the male population and growing corruption among all classes amid weak rebel Congress policies.
The issue promises notably interesting contents, with emphasis on features and columns. Aimed at engaging readers through varied topics and commentary in this February edition.
The piece argues greatness arises from deliberate trials not privilege or birth. It cites Socrates, Dante, Luther, and others, claiming suffering refines virtue, tests resolve, and yields enduring renown through perseverance, self sacrifice, and steadfastness amid persecution.
The author contends slavery misvalued property and that free labor yields higher productivity. It argues enslaved people lack incentive, while wages would motivate honest work. Citing Louisiana plantations as evidence, the piece asserts slaveholding costs outweigh gains and praises wage labor as economically sound.
Reports from Sandusky say two or three thousand rebels gather at Point Pelee to raid Johnsons Island and free rebel prisoners. The colonial government should disperse hostile gatherings or the United States may need to protect itself by increased surveillance and neutrality enforcement. Paragraph cites Parz Tepcer urging English action to deter cross border hostilities.
A Union refugee from Richmond says Christmas morning saw a coffin with a rope atop it placed in front of Jeff. Davis's door. Items were taken from the house and eventually found by servants, witnessed by several people. The report notes this incident may not reach Richmond papers.
Mount Hope Coal Mining Co reports 75 tons per day from its Portsmouth Rhode Island mine. Most coal shipped via Old Colony and Newport Railroad to Taunton. Coal quality is excellent and fetches 750 dollars per ton at the mine. Owners plan copper smelting works next spring across about 300 acres, intended as the most extensive in the country.
The Newport Mercury reports a proposed business improvement with a Stéan Flour Mill on Swinburne’s wharf. The facility would produce about one hundred barrels of flour daily once the machinery is installed, adding to existing buildings as part of broader progress.
The London Quarterly Review notes that vessel models have greatly improved. Engines once barely able to move a 1000 ton ship at ten knots now push a 1500 ton ship at least fourteen knots, with even better results expected.
A Richmond letter home to Baltimore derides local society as hosting starvation parties with music and dancing but no food or drink. It mocks the idea and offers the North as a refuge with plenty of music and supper if a secesh damsel pledges allegiance and proves reasonably good looking.
A satirical line describes Charles X of France as extravagantly tolled and extraordinary in many traits. It mocks excess and exile, noting his ostentatious behavior and subsequent expatriation and death in exile.
The will from Elias Boudinot of New Jersey grants the president and managers of the Bible Society two hundred dollars to be used for purchasing spectacles for poor girls.
The Rhode Island General Assembly convened in Providence with Senate and House sessions across January 1864. Debates covered debt, constitutional amendments, registry tax, judicial authority, roadways, and boundary issues with Massachusetts, plus hearings on a Home for the Aged in Newport and deaf-mute exhibitions from Hartford.
The governor chaired a session where Rev. Collins Stone from the American Institution for the Deaf at Hartford demonstrated education progress of three Rhode Island pupils. A resolution thanked Stone for the exhibition as both houses adjourned until morning. The Senate considered charter amendments for the Commercial Steamboat Company and various river and hospital matters.
A long catalog lists multiple lawmakers sharing common surnames with notes on party, state, and chamber. It explains confusions from shared names such as Browns Dixans Clarks Harrises and others, clarifying who sits where and their affiliations. It also mixes in global items like rail news and military notes for contrast.
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