Friday Homing .January 26, istitt. SENATOR COWAN'S SPEECH. EDGAR COWAN, U. S. Senator from Pennsylvania, is a member of the "Re publican" party, who stands firmly and immovably upon the ground occupied by tnat party when it first came into existence. He is and always has been an anti-slavery man. When he was chosen to his present office, he was re garded by all who knew his political views, as radical in his opposition to the institution of negro slavery. But Mr. Cowan, when his party rushed into revolution, trampling under foot the Constitution and Laws, preferred to stand still, even at the risk of being dubbed "conservative" and of losing the friendship of his political associates. It seems singular that the radical of 1856, although as radical now as then, should be deemed the conservative of 1855. Yet such is the degree of inten sity to which the radicnlioiii ot tin. 1 ' tto publiean" party has been wrought up, that many who, ten years ago, held up their hands, in holy horror, at what they called the ultraism of Cowan, now look back in wonder and indignation at the failure of the ultra of that date to come up to their present position. It is not that Mr. Cowan is less radical than he was when elected Senator, but lie- cause his party have gone so far beyond his radicalism, that his position is con servative to-day. 1 n order that the pub- lic may know the sentiments of this representative of the "Republican" party before it was abolitionized, we publish on our outside, a speech made by him, in his place in the Senate, a few days ago, in defence of President Johnson, and in answer toCharles Stun ner. We hope every body, and every body's neighbor, will read this speech. It is an able, an unanswerable exposi tion of the trickery by which Sumner and his confreres hope to perpetuate the dissolution of the Union. THE will of the majority, glorified so extensively by the late Abraham | Lincoln and his followers, does not seem to be held in very high regard by the "Republican" members of the pres-1 ent Congress. The people of the Dis trict of Columbia lately voted almost unanimously against the proposition to give the negroe l the right of suffrage ' in the district; yet, in defiance of their \ solemnly expressed wishes, the "Re publican t>ongroQcmon proctn-d dslib trately to pass a bill forcing negro suf frage upon them. If this is not des potism of the most arbitrary sort, will somebody tell us what is? A great noise was once made about the "Leconip ton Constitution" not being the will of the people of Kansas. Admitting, to be true, (for the sake of argument) that all that was said about the manner in which that instrument was adopted, how much better is this attempt to force upon the people of the District of Columbia, a law which they declare, al most to a man, is odious to them? Now, honest "Republican," do you en dorse this outrage committed by your representatives in Congress? Do you deny that the will of the people ought to be the ground-work of all laws in a Republican form of Government? THE Valley Spirit ttnd Franklin Re pository, respectively the organs of the Democratic and "Republican" parties of Franklin county, have been enlarg ed and improved. They are both edi ted with great ability and in their "get ing up" should be models for every country paper in the state. The Spirit adds to its other good qualities, thor ough soundness in politics, whilst the only fault the Repository has, is its per sistent wrong-headedness on the Ne gro and other political subjects. We always read both of them with interest. WE are glad to notice that the lecture on the "Literature of the Abolition Yankee" delivered before the Keystone Club, of this place, by James F. Shunk, Esq., is being published by quiteanum ber of our exchanges. It is, we observe, to be issued in pamphlet form, in a few days, from the office of the Patriot ,{• Union, Harrisburg. No more useful document than this can be put into the hands of the people. Let it be circu lated. THE Democracy, and all citizens of the county opposed to Negro Suffrage and radicalism generally, will assem ble in Mass Meeting, at the Court House, in this place, on Monday even ing, February 12th, for the purpose of electing a delegate to the Democratic State Convention and transacting such other business as may properly come before them. We hope our friends in the country will not fail to attend. THE Huntingdon Monitor has chan ged hands, and is now under thecontrol of Mr. CORXMAX, lately connected with the Carlisle Democrat. Brother CORXMAX makes a good paper. Buc- MN to him. Black! Black! Black! I) ARK AS EREBUS! ETHIOPIA IN WASHINGTON! A BLACK DEED BY A BLACK CONGRESS! THE WORD WHITE STRICKEN FROM ALL LAWS PRESCRIBING THF. QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. THE NEGRO ELEVATED TO A POLITI CAL EQUALITY WITH THE WHITE MAN! The Republican Party Openly Commit ted to Negro Suffrage! On Thursday last, January istli, the House of Representatives at Washing ton, resumed the consideration of the bill to extend the right of suffrage to the negroes in the District of Columbia. After striking out all qualifications, the bill read as follows: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the I 'nifed States of America in Congress assembled , That from all laws and parts of laws, prescri bing the qualifications of electors for any office in th<- District of Columbia, the word 'white' is hereby stricken out; and that from and after the passage of till? at imi peiwiu Mian dlSqUafllteu from voting at any election held in the said District on account of color. Sec 'J. And be it further enacted , That all acts of Congress, and all laws of the state of Maryland in force in said Dis trict, and all ordinances of Washington and Georgetown inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repeal ed and annulled. A vote was then taken upon the bill, which resulted in its passage, ayes 116, noes 54! The ayes are all "Republi cans;" the noes are all Democrats, ex cept Anderson, of Missouri; Ashley, of Nevada; Benjamin, of Missouri; Far quhar, Henderson and Hill, of Indiana; Kuykendall, of Illinois; Latham, of West Virginia; Phelps, of Maryland: Randall and Green Clay Smith, of Ken tucky; Stillwell, of Indiana; and Van Horn, of Missouri; just thirteen Repub licans, who voted with the Democrats against the bill. Every Republican mem ber of Congress from this State voted for i the bit/. Their names are A. A. Barker, J. M. Broomall, William D. Kelley, ! George V. Lawrence, Ulysses Mercur, j Geo F. Miller, J. K. Moorhead, Leon i ard Myers, C. O'Neill, G. W. Scofield, i Thaddeus Stevens, M. Russell Thayer, Thomas Williams, S. F. Wilson. Let these names be handed down to the la- I test posterity, on the roil of everlasting | infamy, as those of traitors to their race, 1 enemies to their country, and breakers of the law of God, which separates so- 1 | cially and politically the white and i black peoples. Now, let the people I otriko home. Now, let all men who call themselves- "Republicans" Miake of!" the shackles of party and step out like men to assert the supremacy of the white man. Do you believe in this : mingling and mixing of the races? Do you believe that God intended it to be | so, when he created them different from | each other? I f not, then leave the part v whose leaders uphold this doctrine. — You mast do this if you would be clear i of the responsibility which will rest I upon the heads of those who are striv j ing to bring about this black and white revolution in society. For God's sake, i don't let yourself be deceived again ! | As a lasting record of the disgrace of the "Republican" party, wegivein full, below, the vote upon the Negro Suffrage Rill for the District of Columbia: YEAS— Messrs. Alley. Ames, Allison. Ashley. 0.; j Baker. Baldwin. Banks. Barker, Baxter. Beaman, j Bidwell. Bingham. Blaine. Blow, Boutwell. Bran ! degee, Broornall, Bromwell. Buckland. Bunday, ! Clarke, ot Ohio; Clarke, of Kansas; Cobb, Conk ! ling Cook. Cnllom, barling, Davis, bcfrees. Dela j no, Deming, Dixon, Donelly, Driggs, Ecklcy. Eg gleston. Eliot, Farm-worth. Ferry, Garfield, Gam mell, Griswold, Hale, Harding, Hart, Hayes, Hig by. Holmes, Hooper, Hubbard,of Iowa; Hubbard, of N. York; Hubbard, of Connecticut; Hubbard) James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian. Kas son, Kelley, Kelso. Ketcham, Laflin, Lawrence, of Penn ; Lawrence, ot Ohio; Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Mars ton. Marvin. McClurg. Mercur. Miller. Sloor head. Morrill, Morris, Moulton. Myers, O'Neill, Orth. Paine. Patterson. Perhatn. Pike. Plants.Pom eroy. Price, .Raymond, Rice, (Mass.). Rice, (Me.), Rollins, Sawyer, Sehenck, Scofield, Sheilabarger. Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Francis Thomas, Trowbridge. Upson, Van Aernan, Van Horn, Ward, Warner. Wash burner III.), Washburne, (Mass), tVelker. Wentworth, Williams, Wilson, (Iowa), Wilson, (Pa.), Windom, Woodbridge—llfi. NAVS —Messrs. Ancona. Anderson, Ashley.(Neva da). Benjamin, Berger, Bover, Brooks, Chandler. Dawson, Dennison, Kldridge, Farquhar, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Harding, (Ken tucky), Henderson. Hill. Hogari, Hubbard, (West Virginia), Hubbell, (N. Y ), James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Jones, Kerr, Kuykendall, Latham. Leland Marshall. McCullough. MeKee, Niblack,Nicholson, Noell, Phelps. Radford, Randall (Pa.), Randall, (Kv.), Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Sitgreaves. smith, Stillwell. Strouse, Taber. Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Van Horn, (Missouri), Voorhecs, Winficld : —54. SAYStheSunbury Democrat: A mem ber of a School Board of Philadelphia offered resolutions in the board to sup port President Johnson. The Presi dent of the board—a republican, ruled the resolutions out of order, whereup on an appeal was made from his decis ion. One republican and four demo crats voted for the resolutions, and sev en republicans against it! Why don't the republicans support the Govern ment? Ah! Mr. Purdy, things have changed since the death of Father Ab raham. The President is no longer "the government." Congress is that inachinejust now. The "Republicans" told us when the war commenced that they wanted to know whether we had "a government." After fighting about this matter for four years, they are un decided whether the President, or Con gress, is "the government," aud after the next election, we have no doubt, they will deny that either is, but will fall back upon Lincoln's re-constructed Supreme Court. AJ( OIPORTAST DECISION. Judge King yesterday delivered a most important decision in the court of quarter sessions of this county, in the case of Rowe vs Stenger. Mr. Stenger was returned as elected to the office of District Attorney last fall, and Colonel Rowe contested the election on the ground that the majority of Mr.Stenger was made up of votes cast by men who were deserters from the draft or from i the military service, and are disfranchi i sed by the act of Congress. Judge King held that the penalty of forfeiture of citizenship could not be i inflicted without due process of law, i and that deserters can be disfranchised only upon conviction of the offense by some competent tribunal. As the act of Congress makes no provision for the judicial ascertainment and conviction i of the crime, and the laws of the State make no such test of the qualification of voters, the votes of such men must !be accepted. In the decision he does not raise the question of the power of Congress to impose a penalty affecting j the right of suffrage in a State, and he j expressly waives the issue raised as to 1 whether or not theact of Congress is an ex pod facto law, inasmuch as the point I decided is conclusive of the case. Such a decision coming from a judicial I officer second to none in the State in | high legal attainments,and eminent for his devotion to the loyal cause, presents j the question of the disfranchisement j of deserters as one yet to be perfected by the legislature if it is to be enforced n\ftitle to be leW'Tn 'doubt, and we hope to see this case reviewed by theeourt of last resort in the State. But by the time it will reach that court, the legis lature will have adjourned and if the j decision of our court should be sus tained, we >hall have another year of doubt and defiance of the law of Con ! gress by the only party that can hope to profit by the votes of those who de- I serted their country's cause in the day of peril. Just as is the penalty of the act of Congress, its enforcement must , have all the sanctity and ceremony of law, and to this question the attention I of the legislature should be deliberate ly, wisely and promptly directed. We i must either have such enactments as will ensure uniform enforcement, or the punishment of desertion must be abandoned. The general government has abandoned it, and it is fortheStates to declare by their legislation whether thev will do likewise. WE take the above from the Frank lin Repository, of last week. It will be seen, by that article, that Judge King has decided that persons who evaded the draft, or deserted from the milita ry service of the United States, are legal roter*. This is just what the I >em oerats claimed them to be. How bitter a pill this decision must be for those Abolitionists to swallow, who bellowed so loudly against the reception of "ske daddler's votes" at the last election. The Repository is dumb-founded by it and doesn't know exactly what to rec ommend, under the circumstances. It says that the "general government has abandoned the punishment of deser tion." Well, is it, then, the business of the States to take it up? There was no desertion from the State , but only from the Federal service. What busi ness, then, has the State with the pun ishment of desertion? But, suppose the Legislature passes a law prohibit ing "deserters" from voting, what will it amount to? It would be clearly, in disputably unconstitutional, and would beyond question, l)e so decided by the Supreme Court, whenever the matter would he brought before that tribunal. Therefore, we cannot see that the Re pository e&n help its party much by get ting the Legislature to pass such a law. We think, on the whole, that that pa per had betteradvise the leaders of the "Republican" party to turn their at tention to some more honorable means of carrying elections than disfranchi sing white men on the score of their being "deserters." THEClinton Democrat wants to know "if the abolition party, after getting through with its crusade against De mocracy and the Constitution, for rec ognizing the distinction between the Caucasian and the African, will turn it- batteries, resolutions, Ac., against the Creator for making that distinc tion." To he sure they will. Don't they want an "anti-slavery Bible and an anti-slaverv God?" WHY don't the Abolition papers in this neighborhood, publish the Presi dent's special Message to the Senate, in reply to Sumner's resolution, as also Gen. Grant's Reportof his tour through the South? Do they love darkness rather than light? Come, gentlemen, don't try to hood-wink your readers! THE SENATE COMMITTEE to try the contest between Duncan and McCon aughv for the seat of the Adams and Franklin district, metagain on Wednes day evening and decided in favor of McConaughy by a vote of six to one.— The committee, as we stated in our is sue of Wednesday, was composed of six Republicans and one Democrat, and the result is what we then intimated it would l>e. There is no use to talk about this be ing anything but a mere partisan de cision, made without the slightest re gard to right. The committee had be fore them a certified copy of the opin ion delivered at Chambersburg on Monday last, in a case involving the identical point at issue in this contest, by Judge King, himself a Republican. They not only disregarded this decis ion by a Judge belonging to their own party, but they refused, by a vote of five against two, to refer the question to the Attorney General. We under stand that Senator Lowry voted with Senator Montgomery to take the At torney General's opinion—wherefore we forgive Lowry both his red head and his ruffled shirt! The othermembers of thecommittee were Senators Worthington, Landon, Bigham, Shoemaker and Graham.— We have only to add, byway of cau tion to all who may be compelled to visit Harrisburg this winter, "beware of pickpockets." -Lancaster Tutefligen cer. Correspondence. HAHBISBI K LETTER. Return ol tioxcrnor Cur till and Family —Oemuerntie iind Abolition Conven llOllH—Candidate* for Governor—The MeConaiiKh) .Runt-an Contested Elee tion Case. Harrihbukg, Jan. 23, 180(1. Editor Gazette: —Governor Curt in and family returned here on Saturday morn ing last, from their trip to the island of Cuba. The telegraph informs the pub lic that the Governor has greatly im proved in health. I hope this is so and that he may live out his term of otlice, for he is infinitely to he preferred to the person who would ex-ojj'mo become his successor. The political cauldron is a bout being fixed up preparatory to its J being placed over the fire of public o- ; pinion. The Democratic Convention ■ is called to meet here on the fifth of; March. The .Shoddy Abolition Com-1 mittee, with your Bedford "Governor" at the head, met here last week, one j day, and fixed the seventh of the same month for the meeting of their Con vention. The principal business of these bodies will be to put in nomina tion candidates for the office of Govern or. The most prominent names on the Democratic side, spoken of in this con nexion, are those of lion. Hiester Clv niei, w, ... \t*>, vifii. ureo. \\ . v ass, t ! Pittsburg, Hon. Richard Vaux, of Philadelphia, Hon. John D. Stiles, of Lehigh, and Hon. Asa Packer, of Car bon. Any one of these would make a strong candidate, and I have no doubt - that the standard-bearer of the Democ racy, during the coming campaign,will be chosen from among these gentlemen. The Abolitionists are having quite a variety of candidates for their nomina tion. W. W. Ketchum, (not the New ' York chap of that name) of Luzerne, J. K. Moorehead, of Pittsburg, Gen. J. W. Geary, of Cumberland, Col. L. W. Hall, of Blair, and other worthies of i that ilk, are spoken of. Gen. Hancock was feared at one time by some of the civilian candidates, but his letter to the Tammany Hall Democracy, on the oc casion of the celebration of Gen. Jack son's victory at New Orleans, has put his nomination out of the question. By the way I had almost forgotten the candidate from your county, the re doubtable Cessna. lam unable to say what his chances are, not hearing his name mentioned here in connexion with the nomination. I see, however, that the Chevalier Met'lure has had himself elected a delegate from the Franklin district, with instructions for Cessna. This means mischief for the Caineronians, if it means anything. The President of the late Fish Conven tion may yt see the day when he will have cause to regret the hour he took the Bedford renegade to his bosom. The contested election ease of MeCon augliy vs. Duncan, in the State Senate, has just been decided by thecommitt.ee in favor of :he former. The point on which the <*se hinged was the legali ty of the 'qkedadlers'" votes. The committee, it seems, backed down from ! the original understanding, that the : question shoiid be submitted to the i Attorney General, they having discov ered that Mr. Meredith would declare those votes legal. The decision of Judge King, in the Howe vs. Stenger case, which involved the same legal question, was read by J. McDowell Bharpe, Esq., attorney for Mr. Duncan, in his argu ment before the committee. But the committee chose to disregard it, as it stood in the wty of their pre-deter mined purpose togive McConaughy the seat at all bazar Is. If the people of Franklin and Adams do not rebuke this outrage upon the.r rights, they will be recreant to their duty as free and inde pendent voters. For, if ever a wrong was done to any constituency, this is plainly one of tlie grossest and most unwarranted sort. LEX. Vor the dinette IS ISqt'IKY. EDITOK GAZETTE : —I am a reader of both county papers and I have read them sufficiently to know that both try to bolster up their respective sides, which is ail right enough ; but it does seem to me that there would be a much more intelligent support given to the candidates of either party, if the whole truth were always told. Now, 1 notice that you publish the speeches of some leading "Republicans," the whole of which, of course, as a "Democrat," you cannot endorse; but the greater part of which you give your readers because it is plainly 'Conservative, and, therefore, patriotic. For, whatever tends to "con serve" (or more properly, preserve) our government, is patriotism. lam glad that you have the liberality to publish the speeches of such "Republicans" as Doolittle, of Wisconsin, and other emi nent men of that ilk. lam a "Repub lican" in politics and as I want to vote intelligently, 1 desire to know what is going on in my own party. lam sorry to say that 1 cannot find that out by reading my own political county paper. It seems to know of nobody aifiong the "Republican" leaders except Thaddeus Stevens; at least it never publishes the speeches, or views, of those in the party who disagree with old Thad. Now, I am sorrow that this is the case, and I would like to know why it is so. Surely men are not mice nor moles that they can be kept burrowing in the dark all their lives, without finding out what is going on in the broad light of day!— Suppression of the truth will do for a while, but in the end the weight must he lifted and the crushed principle and hidden fact will again burst into view. It is better, far better, to meet the issues of the day boldly and squarely, than by evading them awhile, to be com pelled to meet them when least prepa red. Therefore, lam sorry to see that the Bedford Inquirer cannot let us have, through its columns, a perusal of Ed gar Cowan's speech, in defence of Pres ident Johnson and Gen. Grant against Sumner's uncalled-for and ungenerous attack. Will the Inquirer tell us why it cannot meet this Issue; why it re frains from publishing Cowan's speech? Is it afraid to do so, lest it might have some of its readers think differently I from Thaddeus Stevens? Is it afraid : the conservative men in the "Republi can" party might get a crumb of com-! fort from that speech and feel emlxfid ened to oppose the schemes of the radi cal leaders in this borough ? Whatever is its reason for hiding its light under a bushel, let the public know it, so that those who think it is dealing in an un fair, one-sided manner with its own party, may have the benefit of its de fence. !am sorry, Mr. Editor, thai I am compelled to make this inquiry through thecolunins of a "Democratic" paper,but 1 have had experience enough with the publishers of the Inquirer to know that they would neither publish, i nor answer, this communication. So J am compelled to resort to your paper as j a vehicle for what I wish to convey to | the public, as well as to the eye-sight of I my friends of the Inquirer. Perhaps, being asked in this way, the latter will be ashamed to keep silence, and if 1 succeed in "smoking them out," I shall not regret having written for a Demo cratic paper. LI NC< )LX IT E. For the Bedford Gazette IWHiE I'OltY'K I'LATIOItn. Ar. I-Uwwv, ;uuiiv\ainl VJI I-'.I cle Toby's platform of principles, ail ha> been comparatively quiet 011 the line of the "Keystone rail road." As in the material, so in the social and moral spheres, after clouds and darkness come brightness and sunshine. Every storm is succeeded by a calm. Uncle Toby is still in the shadow of the mountain. The connexion with his base of supplies (which was partially interrupted for a brief season) is now reopened and well guarded. The hor rors of starvation for the present are past. The kind-hearted, scientific gen tlemen, who made so much ado about nothing and poured out the vials of their wrath in such a furious manner upon Uncle Toby's head (in his absence) are now like the man out of whom the unclean spirits were cast, clothed in their right minds, and gentle as cooing doves. The difficulty probably, after all, was only the result of a slight mis apprehension. Uncle Toby may have been at fault in that he did not append a glossary to his "Keystone rail road," for the special benefit of scientific gen tlemen, but he did not suppose that their peculiar professional engagements precluded the possibility of storing their capacious minds with general and miscellaneous information. For illus tration, had he told them that New York is called the "Empire State," Vir ginia, the "Old Dominion," Ohio, the "Buckeye State," South Carolina, the "Palmetto State," Delaware, the "Dia mond State" and Pennsylvania, the "Keystone State," it Dem ocrat and an effort was made to oust ■ him on the ground that he was elected i by a plurality and not a majority vote ; of the Legislature of his State. —John Sherman has been re-elected to the United States Senate from Ohio. | His principal opponent for the Repub lican nomination, was Gen. Schenck, now in the lower house of ('ougress. The nomination of Sherman is consid ered a-a rebuke to Secretary Stanton, | for his treatment of the Senator's neph | ew, Gen. Sherman. —During the passage of the District of Coluinnia .\egro .sunrage inn, the galleries of the House of Representa tivesat Washington, werecrowded with negroes, who applauded loudly when the result was made known. —Had all the Southern Congressmen been in their seats and voted against the District of Columbia Negro Suf frage Rill, the vote would have stood 116 yeas to 113 nays, or three majority for the bill. —The Democrats of Harrisburg have formed a Central Club and opened a splendid Club-room, to which they in vite the Democrats from the country when visiting the capital. A good no tion, verily. —David McCouaughy, Abolitionist, has been given the seat of Mr. Duncan, (of the Franklin district) in the State Senate, on the ground that the latter was elected by the votes of "deserters." —lt is said that some revelations which have just come to light in regard to cotton frauds at the South, impli cate high military and civil officials and present most astounding disclosures. —Senator Doolittle, of Wisconsin, has made a very able reply to his col league, Senator Howe, who lately as sailed the restoration policy of the President. —The Democracy of Pittsburg have appointed their delegates to the coming State Convention, and instructed them to support Gen. Geo. W. Cass for Gov ernor. —Gov. C'urtin and family arrived at Harrisburg, on Friday last, from Cuba. The Governor's health is said to be much improved. —Provisional Gov. Marvin, and Wilk Call (son of the late Hon. B. K. Call) have been elected I". S. Senators from the State of Florida. —The lower house of the New Jersey Legislature has ratified the amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery, by a vote of 42 to 10. —Senator Lane, of Kansas, better known as "Jim Lane,has been ma king speeches in that State, in support of the President's policy. —C. B. Flood. FTsq., of the Colum bus (O.) Cm/s, is engaged in writing a series of "Personal Reminiscences of the Old-time Politicians of Ohio." —The Democratic State Convention will be held at Harrisburg, on the -sth of March. —The "Republican" State Conven tion is to be held at Harrisburg, on the 7th of March. —Secretary Harlan has been elected X*. S. Senator from lowa. M ISCFM.AMOI* SEWS. —A plan for colonizing negroes in Flor ida has been submitted to the Govern ment. It involves the purchase from Florida of all of that State below lati tude 28 degrees, and the creation of a territorial government therein; none but freedmen to he permitted to settle upon the lands and each head of family to receive eighty acres. —The Fenian Senate have had a meet ing to legislate for their faction, and a Congress of their adherents is talked of. Meantime, the O'Mahony division are growing in power. Both parties con tinue to receive endorsement and re mittances. —The Navy Department has ordered the fitting out of the ex-rebel steamer Florida for a twelve month's cruise.— The ram Stonewall is being overhauled for experiments. —The Judiciary Committee will re port an amendment to the Constitution providing that negroes shall not he rep resented in Congress unless they are enfranchised. —Of fifty-four million acres of land contained in the State of Minnesota, nearly twenty million are unoccupied and open to settlers under thel - oinestead law. —Martha Grinder, the poisoner, was hanged on Friday last at Pittsburgh. Previous to her execut ion she confessed to two of the murders, hut denied the others. —The Fenian Senate adopted a reso lution yesterday requesting President Roberts to call a Congress at Pittsburgh 011 the 19th of next month. —The new fifty cent note was issued from the Treasury Department 011 Thursday. It differs but slightly from the old one. —lt is said the State Department has been positively informed that the French troops will soon be withdrawn from Mexico. —Rufus Ohoate, Jr., son of the famous Boston lawyer of that name, died at Dorchester, Mass., on the loth inst. —The President has recognized the actual Governor of Florida, relieving the Provisional Governor, Marvin. —The Committee 011 Commerce will report in favor of repealing the Ashing bounties. —A clerk in the Baltimore postoflice has been arrested for robbing the mail. HOOKS AXD PKRIODK AUi. THE DEMOCRATIC ALMANAC FOR IB6o.— We are in receipt of a copy of this vath mecum of the politician, j; is a most valuable work un u ,_ lished by Van Evrie, Norton At j 102 Nassau St.. New York. Price i cents per corty. live copies for sl.oo i H . dozen >2.2-.. AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL .Moxm r.v.—The January number begins vol ume 3, of this periodical. It b, w . think, one of the best educational se rials published. Of course it could not supply the place of Mr. Burrowes' e\. eel lent School Journal, hut as its object i of a more general character than that of the latter, it can he read with great benefit by those who are rentiers of th> School Journal. The Educational Monthly contains some tine scientific articles and sharp reviews of current literature which make its pages quit, attractive. Sehermerhorn, Bancroft, Co., Publishers, 130 Grand St., New York, .">l2 Arch St., Philadelphia. THK OLD GUARD.— The first uumlier of the new volume of this really valu able work is before us. The frontis piece is a beautiful steel portrait of Gen. B. E. Lee. Among the literary content* are "The Science of Public Opinion." "Pen Pictures of Puritanism," "A Na tional 'Evil' that is a National Hie ing," "Poe and Coleridge," "Ex-Presi dent Buchanan's Book," "Zulu Land," and a number of other articles. We recommend this magazine most cordial ly to the public support. An original romance, entitled "Bertha Seely, the Heroine of the Old Dominion," will he commenced in the next number.—Sin- glecopy, per year, $3.00; Peoples, 5 copies, $12.00; 10 copies, £20.00. Ad dress, Van Evrie, Horton & Co., hi: Nassau street, New York, HARPER'S MAGAZINE.— The Febru ary number of Harper is on our table We are glad to find it free from the Ab olitionism which tainted the pages . some of the preceding numbers aiu; which crs out in suchi>ajrtiznn rmurh ness in the Weekly. We should like t< see Harper return to his first love, < nervalinn , for it really gives us pah.: see an old friend get so wrong-headed The present number is filled with in teresting matter, but, we presume, tw in tended for the special benefit of the Radical Congressmen, as its leading ar ticle is on the "Black-wetr* Lunatii Asylum." GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK.— Godey, for | January, is a capital number. A new story by Marion Harland, entitled "Riz ' pah's Idols," is commenced. "The i Unclaimed Portrait," by Metta Victor ia Victor, is a well-written tale, and the republication of "Mrs. Washington Potts," by the late Miss Leslie, will interest many readers. The fashions and others illustrations are very fine. o\<;iti:ssio\ vi. SEWS. In the Senate, on Friday last Mr. \\ il son introduced a bill restricting the ex pense of collecting soldiers' claims. A bill was introduced for the relief of cer tain officers of colored troops, which was referred to the Judiciary Commit tee. Mr. Doolittle presented the cre : dentials of William Marvin, Senator e lect from Florida, which were ordered to lie on the table. The bill giving tin appointment of pension agents to the President was considered, but no action taken upon it. The Mil to enlarge the power of the Freedmen's Bureau wa taken up, and an amendment confirm ing the titles to lands given by Genera! Sherman, at Savannah, for three year-, was adopted. Without further action. , the Senate adjourned. In the House, a communication wa> ! received from theSeeretaryof theTrea ! urv urging immediate legislation in re gard to the resolution of February itu. | 18(15, in relation to the merchant niarim • j The Commerce Committee were in structed to inquire into the expediency of exempting from tax Western nttt- I boats and barges used for market p";'- I poses. A resolution was adopted call ing on the Secretary of the Treasury I for information astotheapportionnnnt | of the currency notes in the differed ! States and Territories. A resolution was also adopted calling on Secretary : Stanton for correspondence in relation |to captured cannon. The Ways and Means Committee were instructed to j inquire into the expediency of repeal ing the stamp duties on written instru ments. The House then went int" Committee of the Whole, and proceed ed to consider the naval appropriatm" i bill, and the clause appropriating 81 n-v 000 for the purchase of Soavey's Islap'j was struck out. This Dill was then lain over, and the President's message con sidered. In the midst of the debute the House adjourned tiii Monday. In the United States Senate, on S"t urtlay, a joint resolution was pushed ex tending the time for the completion o the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. The bill authorizing the appoint""' 1 ' of pension agents by the President wa passed. The House bill making appro priations for invalid and other pension ers was also passed. Mr. Stewart, 11 Nevada, asked leave to call up the bit for the admission of Colorado, upon Mr. Sumner hoped it would no be done, as he had an amendment a oiler. Mr. Stewart then gave notice that he would call up the bill o Wednesday next. The bill to enlarg* the powers of the Freedmen's Bureei was taken up. Mr. Cowan offered an amendment restricting the operation of the bureau to States lately in rebel lion. After a debate between Messrs- Trumbull, Guthrie and Pomeroy " ,r Senate, without action, adjourned.