JkMort) Inquirer. BEDFORD PA., FRIDAY, DEC. I, 1866. {the southern states a field FOR AMERICAN PHILAN THROPISTS. I The people of the United States are just ify celebrated for the vastness of their phil anthropic works. The sun ever smiles up lon our labors of love. Every clime from F'Greenland's icy mountains" to the remote [[regions of the Ant-artic Continent, has re ceived the substantial blessings of our liber- Lality. Philanthropy has been taught until [it is as much a part of our social system,as | education itself. The infant first learns to ; lisp a demand for the smallest contribution jjto assist in the education of far off "Afrie s 1 dusky sons ' or India's Buddhistic million-. With an increase ofyears comes an advance of charity : the penny increases to a pound; from a few thousand we have advanced to millions, and with the force ducaiioii and the increase of wealth, we are destined to advance year after year, until every ob ject worthy of charity be reached through out the broad expanse of the Globe. In the of so much charity, great care, tact and ingenuity must be brought into requisition to secure its proper dissem ination. We arc too apt to see the mote in a'stranger's eye while we do" riot consider the beam flowing from our own. All around it* there are objects most worthy of our most liberal donations, yet wc see them not, and give our most special attention and gifts to the regeneration; for the moral and religious training of the anthro pological Figi Islanders. I'his is com monly denominated',- very properly,' false Philanthropy. "Charity begins at home.' This apho rism is only observed when we speak o." our individuality ; of our personal abilities to contribute ; in the broader and more gener al acceptation, in which it should be used, it is seldom practiced. Not because the objects of charity are less frequent in our midst, but because we attribute too much to our influences and associations, and too frequently presume that our charitable in stitutions are amply sufficient for all the purposes for which they have been designed. "Distance lends enchantment to the view in this great religious impulse of the hu man heart, as well as in many other practical relations of life. We contemplate the mis eries of Asia and Africa from America. The instrument through which we gaze at the heathenish masses, who worship gods of their own creation, is of the largest cali bre; while the miseries in every community, which can readily be relieved by the expen diture of a few paltry dollars, are visible to the naked eye and are of such common occurrence, that by their frequency, they so familiarize themselves to us that we cannot see in them the objects of a philanthropist. And above all this man is an egoistic crea ture, and not always disposed to follow the scriptural injunction, Let not thy left band know what thy right hand doeth. It is a pleasant thing to see one's name iu print in front of a fine array of figures, to be follow ed with the eulogistic remarks of those who prize such liberal benefactions, and who de sire to impress upon the charitable the beauty of imitating so illustrious an exam ple. If "Charity begins at home, and we feel determined to individualize the phrase, lot us apply it to ourselves as an individual na tion, not as an individual man or wor, an. In this aspect, upon close scrutiny, we can find sufficient objects of philanthropy, to employ the whole American philanthropic system, for the next ten or twenty year? in the States that have just emerged from one of the most bloody and terrible rebellions which it has ever been the duty of the his torian to record. * For long years the histo ry of these States portrays a system ot exclusiveness and barbaric practices. i'o men who held sentiments antagonistic with the prevailing system they were as inacces sible as the Chinese Empire has long been to the worid without. The minister of Christ who preached, Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you do ye even so to them, was unceremoniously ejected, provided he did not define the sense to have no reference to master and servant. The literature that inculcated a higher civiliza tion than that produced by slavery, was con signed to the flames and its author notified that a "coat of tar and feathers awaited him if he ever dared to set his impious feet upon the sacred soil of "Dixie." The man who entertained liberal yiews of Church and State and Morality, wbo believed Democ racy did not mean slavery, was elevated to the boughs of the nearest tree, became the target of some inhuman monster, or paid the penalty for his temerity at tlie glittering point of a bowie knife. These were tlie natural defences of an institution which could not otherwise be successfully defended. Thanks to the Gleat Ruler of nations, and the strong arms of Northern freemen, these relics of barbarism —this barbarism itself — have been swept away as chaff before a fu rious hurricane. A field is now open for the reception of all the philanthropy that the great North ern philanthropists can bestow. And for once in our lives let us be practical: let .<ur philanthropy stay at home, instead of going to the Hindus or Abysiniaus to find objects for our material sympathies. Let us pour our donations upon the object.a of charity in the Southern States and bring them up to the standard of the civilization of the latter half of the nineteenth century ; after we have done this, after we have considered this beam, then it will be lime plenty to turn our attention to the motes of our brethren on the opposite side of the earth. Millions of negroes, with minds as rational as ours, have been emancipated ; millions of whites, though not slaves, have been eman cipated from a serfdom almost as bad as slavery. These two classes, whose interests are identical, must be christianized and edu cated. They must be made intelligent be ings ; advanced in the scale of human per fection until they can fully participate in every right, civil, political and religious, which we exercise. Already two great lead ing churches, the Catholic and Methodist, y stepped forward to assist in the Violent of the great work. Let l Nshea do their share in eradiating (he Wist vestiges of' barbarism and ignorance from those .States which hare so long been a by-word end reproach to our Democratic institutions. aetßorouTMiss vs. iu;O< RA< V. Paris is France, London is England are accepted axioms in the political world. Each i- the metropolis of the nation and wieUls the larger proportion of the powers of gov ernment. We may therefore change the wording a little without chungin? the sense and read Paris rules France, London rules England. In the same manner New York lays claim to metropolitan honors, and as such aspires to a controlling power in the government, of the United Status Yv hat her influence on our national affairs would be in ease she should reach the goal of her ambition, <-. in only be determined approxi mately by deduction from the facts and ex p u ionees of the past. The experiment has never been tried in London, but in Paris, all attempts to establish and admini tor a dem a tic or republican form of government, have heretofore proved signal failures. The republics of ancient times have been pro verbially short-lived and unstable until the very name of republic had become thesyno u> ii of mutability and political anarchy. It has been the ambition of political philos ophers, for centuries, to discover the inhe rent cause of the instability, of what 111 the light of human reason ought to be the most permanent of all human governments, but which all experience, previous to that of our own nation, bad demonstrated to be the most unstable instead. In all former repub lics the governing power had been wielded, for the most part or entirely, by large cities, and in many cases large cities alone consti tuted the republics. It was the vice and corruption of the citizens (the inhabitants of the cities) that wrought the destruction of all the ancient republics. From the re publics of Greece and Home, down to our own, all h-tvc come to an untimely end through metropolitan corruption. The breaking otttof the rebellion was regarded and accepted for a time by Europe as the end of republican institutions in America. Since we succeeded in putting" down the rebellion, democratic institutions in the 1 nited States have been pronounced a success by the civ ilized world. At the very moment when the most persistent declaimers against de mocracies have been obliged to concede, not only the practicability but also the extraor dinary utility and vitality of our institutions, our chief city, laying claim to metropolitan honors and aspiring to the omnipotence of a London or Paris in the conduct of our na tional affairs, has been obliged to call upon the representatives of the rural districts to defend her from the hands of her own van dal marauders. Despite a most rigid regis try law and the best efforts of her best citi zens. New York, governed as a democracy, is at the mercy of the gamblers, thieves, robbers, garroters, and other classes of the vicious and depraved. While millions of dollars are extorted from her business men in the shape of taxes, she is one of the worst governed and filthi est cities in the nation, and is driven to an appeal to the rural districts, not only to pro tect her from'her robbers and cut-throats, but to cleanse her from her filth in order to stay the ravages of the pestilence. Now York is our largest, richest, vilest and filthi est city, but the vast proportion of the vi cious classes that are there made available to perpetrate frauds at elections, character ize, to a greater or le. s extent, all our large cities. Wo for the first time, in the history of republics, have extended the govern mental power to an immense, intelligent and moral rural population. Is this why we have thus far succeeded ? Has our rmul population been the balance wheel in our machinery of government that has thus far regulated and preserved our democratic in stitutions? Have we after all made no pro gress in the science of government ? Is de [ mocracy still a failure in large cities? The proportionate increase of population | in our cities is immensely in excess of that' of our rural districts. If the tendencies of large cities are prejudicial to republican in stitutions, we are tending rapidly to destruc tion and it behooves us to act promptly in devising means to counteract these destruct ive tendencies. Should we not under such circumstances set ourselves to work to de vise and enact sucli laws, as will encourage the growth of small towns and the increase of our rural population and thus divert the current from those dens of iniquity, those cesspools of iniquity, the large cities, and turn it into our comparatively unsettled or sparsely populated districts? These are questions of the very highest importance to our whole country and we would commend them to the careful consideration of our students of political philosophy. TIIE CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND MENT. facts versus Theories. Notwithstanding the palpable absurdity of the theory, that the Constitution of the United States cannot be amended by the loyal States, without the aid of a sufficient number of the rebel States to make three fourths of all that once were States, there are still those, who blinded by prejudice, mis take their own childish wishes for the de ductions of sound reasoning. Ignoring facts and closing their ears against reason they set themselves to theorizing to suit their wishes. When one attempts to prove that Washington never lived, or that Napo leon was a myth, the faith of him less ex pert in tlie science of logic may be shaken ; but if the same person attempts to prove that the party himself, whom he undertakes to reason with, does not exist, the most con elusive answer the second party could give his opponent's absurd theorizing, would be a practical demonstration, by knocking him down. The same parties, who deny that the passage of the pending amendment by the loyal States will make it. a part of the Constitution, acknowledge the amendment abolishing slavery as a part of that instru ment. This fact being everywhere accepted is a sufficient answer to their present objec- I lions. If the former amendment is legally a part of the',Constitution, as they admit, ; it is so by the act of the loyal States alone ; j the adoption of it by the rebel States was in j every case under duress and therefore void, | even if they bad had the right to pronounce ■ upon it, which we deny. True the I'resi dent in his ejcjtcriments declared its adoption aV.c q<w mox to (heir re-admission ami res toration, but this is neither uiore nor less than every territory asking admission as a State i re'jaerod to do, and the President's action, {outsiitt-oi* his own individual opin ion, which is e£ jjoaocounrin the premises, for it is a mat* r of legislation and not of executive opinion), may with as much pro priety be declared a pract.ujal demonstration of their territorial' status, as an acknowl iDeat of their rights ass f ates. As territo ries. the President under the direction of Congress might have bivl a right to dictate, iti general terms, the character of their legis lation, but as stases. neither Congress nor the President, had the Jeast semblance cfa right to meddle with their constitutions. That self preservation is the first law of nature applies to nations as well as men. If we acknowledge that, the loyal States of themselves have no right to enact laws, amend the Constitution to suit the exigen cies of the times, and carry on the govern ment. without the con nt i f the rebel States, then every act of Congress since 186U, iuoluding the "amendment, is void and of no effect —slavery is not abolished —every dollar of our national currency is worthless ami illegal and the United States Bonds, held by our people, are not worth the paper they are printed upon. If this theory is to he adopted and carried out, thou Cuiixrc.- i* illegal—Andrew Johnson is not President — wc are without a government, instead of being victors we are the vanquished, our gov rnment being destroyed, the whole civilized world has beeu egregiously fooled and the Southern Confederacy is a success instead of a failure and Jeff. Davis ought to occupy the Presidential chair instead of Andy Johnson. The utter absurdity of this copperhead theory is too palpable to deceive any one not entirely devoid of common sense. He who cannot sea its impractica bility and absurdity is open to conviction only by means of the knock-down argument. 80-.Uongress convened on Monday. Up to the time we go to press, (Jse IVsident's Message has not been received. Vie will submit it to our readers in our next i--ue. The President, it is said, will continue to urge "My Policy,' in a mild way. It has been said of the Bourbon's that they "never learned nor forgot anything." Andy John son belongs to the same class of stupids. Well, we had no-right to expect anything else. SQuThe first number of The Leader , a neat little paper established in the intern t of Temperance, at Hollidaysburg, Pennsyl vania. by John H. Keatly. has reached this office. This number exhibits undoubted evidence of ability and is certainly very read able. The editor manfully announces the course he intends to pui sue in these apro priate words : "Thegood we hope to accomplish will com pensate, in an itnmcsurable degree, for the terrors of the opposition we may provoke. Our design is to publish a journal whose e >l - will always be open to temperance men of whatever school they may be : forwt be lieve that all temperance soeietic are honest in their purpose, and calculated to help us in saving the drunkard from a terrible end. But the work of good meb is not confined to the reT<firtwg <>■• <>-•> jit is us much our duly to save the young, as it is to rescue n • grey-haired veteran of the no house, frou n miserable death. No intimb'. ion. • pre texts of a truckling policy, shall induce us to deviate from the path which we conceive to be right." We cheerfully recommend it to every tem perance family in Bedford county. The subscription is .$2.00 per year, per ingle copy, and $1.50 in clubs of ten or more. Our temperrnce men must take hold, or the enterprise cannot maintain itself. The Message and Accompanying Doc uments. A special dispatch to the Philadelphia inquirer says : It is pretty well understood that the Pres ident's Message will refer to the restoration of the Southern States at length. Ilis main point will he that Congress should admit Soutlu-in re presentatives to seats in the councils of the nation. lie considers that ten States remain with out representation and looks upon this a injustice, while if they were admitted their appearance in Congress would tend to strengthen the Union. lie is not of the opinion that disloyal men would be allowed seats at the Capitol while the Senate and House are judees of the rights of persons applying for admission. Secretary McCullcch's report will prove of interest to the nation. It is prepared with great care, and the Secretary ex presses his views in reference to our currency and the revenue system in a manner which will attract the attention of Congress. The con dition of the National debt is tvpr -cnted a satisfactory, its diminution for the past year and a half being over $200,000,000. The receipts of the fiscal year ending June 30, are understood to have reached the sum of $.355,000,0f>0, while tlie expenditures were but $520,000,000. Reduction of taxa tion is recommended. Secretary Stanton's report gives valuable information respecting the operations of the War Department during the past year. It will be concise, but will embrace a vas; amount of information, such as will show that we are ready for any emergency. Secretary Welles will make an exhibit of near three hundred men-ofwar. .-applied with the guns known. He al-< nil in lor.-e League Island as a suitable site lur an iron clad navy yard. l'ostniastcr-General Randall and Secreta ry Browning of the Interior, have their re ports made out and in type. They will he perused with much interest, more especially that of the Interior Department. A DEMOCRATIC RE Olll). The following condensed statement of John Morrissey's court experience explains the -ccret of his great popularity with the party: IN REXSEOAJSR COUNTY". Twice indicted for assault and bafOri/. Once convicted and sentenced to , j li/j'orsijrty days. Twice indicted for burglary. Once con victed and sentenced to jail Jar sixty-days. Once indicted for assamlt with intent to kill. IN ALBANT COUNTY". Three times indicted, convicted and sen tenced for assault and batt< ry. serving a total term of nine months in the Albany i'oniten tiary. IN NEW YORK CITY. Three times indicted for assault with in tent to kiU. Notwithstanding this record John went in by some 2,700 majority. If he bad been lucky enough to kill some of those he as saulted, his majority might have been much larger. One thing must be -aid in his be half, that he was uot stingy of his money in the canvass. Tt is reported that he spent $75,000 among the b'hoys.— Chicago Tina*. GENERAL. NEWS ITEMS. CAVE JOHNSON, former member of Congress from Tennessee, and Postmaster General, died at his residence at (Marksville, Tenn.,on Friday last, aged 74 years. THE Fenian Stephens has left New York for parts unknown. He was accompanied by several military gentlemen. It looks probable that within ten days an insurrection will take place in Ireland. THE Philadelphia Ni<U)g has an elaborate and able financial article taking ground in favor of the repeal of all Internal Revenue laws and demonstrates the practicability of doing i.o without damage to Government, fi nances. THE Legislature of North Carolina, after four ballotings, elected M. E. Marley U. S. Senator. He was Judge of the Supreme Court under the Southern Confederacy. A movement is on foot in Erie to organize a transportation company, to ship oil from that port direct to Europe— to any port on the Continent. Mr. A. Brigham. one of the first exporters of oil from the United States, is at the head of the movement, which promises to meet with success. AT the Fort Pitt Work's, there was cast another monster naval gun. The gun was the third of the description and calibre ever cast. Jt is 20-iuch bore, and"s designed for the naval service on our iron clad fleet. In the three I'tn naces UK <1 there wore 140,000 pounds of the best Bloonifiehl or Juniata pig iron. SEKATOR BKX WAIIK is spoken of as succes sor to Mi. Foster in the presiding Chair of the Senate- Whilst Mr. Sherman is probably a better parliamentarian, the selection ol Senator Wade would be good news to his millions of friends. THE ex-rebel General Edward Johnson, re cently pardoned by the President, on Tuesday applied to the United States Treasurer for the payment of a check for S3OO, due to him in 18>1, as Major in the United States Army. The payment was refused. A wife in Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio, whose huaband died of delirium tremens, brought suit against two of the men who sold him liquor, and recovered ss<K)from one and S2OO from the other. That fellow certainly increased in value by dying. HORACE Gr.KKI.KY has published a card affirming his willingness to be elected United States Senator from New York. The Times advocates Mr. Greeley's election in terms which are honorable to all parties, consider ing the disturbed relations between Messrs. Raymond and Greeley. Gov. GEARY will be inaugurated on the loth of January next. On the same day a United States Senator will be chosen to suc ceed Cowan. A Paris letter writer states that Queen Isabella, of Spain, has offered the Pope, in the event that he is compelled to quit Rome, a residence in the city of Granada. WEXDKI.I. PHIMJVR says "Grant is unable to stir a plaudit in the Illinois prairies." We should like to see Wendell and Ulysses there together; then we could determine who could stir the loudest plaudits. A delegation of Kentuckiaus, who have been to Washington, on office seeking bu.iness, were told by the President that there would be ua liiui'u removals fr*" •• f bce at present, and that he intended to consider no applica- tion. F. C.vnr.oLt. BREWSTER, of Philadel phia, it is now pretty certain, will be the new Attorney General under Gov. Geary. He is recommended for this position by the Judges of the District Court of Philadelphia, and a number of ether distinguished jurists in the State. RKCOXRTRUCTION is progressing in South Carolina. An agent of the Internal Revenue has just been murdered. The assassins gave themselves up, but there is little probability that they will be put to any inconvenience. It is no crime for a high toned Southerner to kill a Yankee. THE intelligence from Mcxie • is interesting, Maximillian had not left thee wintry, although his baggage was packed. II" was staying at Orizaba, as a private gentleman—which means, we presume, that he had ceased to be an official personage. The Imperialists had suffered fresh reverses, and an American Pro tectorate was regarded as the only solution the difficulties of the country could have. THE lion. Jacob Fry, Jr., expired on the 28th inst, at his residence, Trnppe, after a short illness, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Mr. Fry filled d '.ring his life a num ber of important offices. lie was fir3t ap pointed by the Governor Prothonotary of Montgomery comity, and afterwards chosen to the Legislature. In I*3l he was elected to Congress, and re- iected in 1830. Subse quently, in I*3o, he was chosen Auditor Ge neral of the State. In 1863 his name was prominently before the Democratic Slate Convention for nomination for Governor, and in 1864 Governor Curtin selected him one of a committee of three to investigate certain alleged frauds. GALVESTON advices of Nov. 2*tb, inclusive, furnish no later intelligence relative to Gen eral Sedgwick than has been already tele graphed. The report telegraphed from New York that General Sedgwick had been order ed under arrest is authoritatively denied. At head-quarters the whole story of a move ment of troops across the Rio Grande is set down as entirely false. In Texas efforts nrc making to get the dis satisfied negroes, of South Carolina and Georgia to emigrate to the former State. The laborers arc- too few for the crop now in the ground. The Texas crop is estimated at 260, 000 bales. Manufacturing enterprises are springing up all over the South. Capital is lacking as well as skill and the North will be asked to supply both. AT the lute election the total vote of Kansas, exclusive of one county, was 19,247 for the Republican candidate for Governor, and 7,865 for the Democratic candidate, or in the ratio of two-and-a-half Republicans for every Demoeiat. This vigorous and thriving young State has evidently not forgotten the lessons of her early history. The soul of John I'rown is "marching on.'' A BILL was introduced in the Tennesse House on the 19th, to rereal the present Franchise Law, and give suffrage to the ne groes, being a proposition for universal suf frage and universal amnesty. It was laid ou the table on first reading by a vote of 39 to 29 —the East Tennessee members voting solid with the Radicals and Conservatives to lay oil the table, and the Conservatives from Middle and West Tennessee against. Another bill was introduced strikiug out tho word white in the present Franchise Law. A PETITION is on its way from Louisiana, asking Congress to erect a territorial govern ment and provide for the appointment of a provisional governor for that State. AT the next Parliamentary session amongst oilier measures it is' supposed, a Reform Dili will be introduced, the Bank Charter will be overhauled, and a bill for reforming the Es tablished Church of Ireland will be introduced. The Alabama claims will also be debated. THERE are at this time in South Carolina eleven cotton factories in successful opera tion. running 27,200 spindles and 996 looms, the largest one, the Kalmia Mills, having 10,- 000 spindles and 000 looms, and the smallest one, the Valley Falls factory, having 500 spindles. IN the State of Illinois, some time ago, there was started a new secret society, com posed entirely of honorably discharged sol diers. and called the "Grand Army of the Republic.'' It is said that the organization already numbers in that State one hundred thousand men. It is fast spreading through the States, and especially in the West, and promises to be a great power. It is not a political organization, but purely for the ben efit of soldiers and their widows and orphans. A DESPATCH from Washington, by its ap parently plausible explanations, gives a quie tus to the sensational rumors about Mexican affairs. Napoleon's reason for not withdraw ing his troops in instalments is reported to be that n diminished force would be endangered l>y the advancing Liberals, and a positive promise is given of a complete French evac uation at an early day. The mission of Gen eral Sherman is defined to be merely adviso ry, and to issue military orders, in the event of a necessity, for the prompt movement of our troops on the Texas frontier. Coi. Jos cm SEYKKNS was sworn in Inst Snturday as Surveyor of (lie Port of Philadel phia. He takes the place of Mr. Myers—the last of the Republican officeholders in Phila delphia appointed by President Lincoln. Col. Severns is a thorough-going Copperhead and has been an Editor of that puraunsion for many years. All the National Offices in Philadelphia are now filled by Copperheads and Copper-Johnsons, except it may be a few subordinates whose positions are of no account. THE FRESH insurrectionary rtfffvements in Ireland have aroused the indignation of the British public to white heat. The leaders of opinion, instead of enjoining on their govern ment the moderation and amenity they urged our government to exhibit in its treatment of the Southern rebels, breathe threatenings and slaughter. The strongest measures of repression have been adopted, and will be vigorously pursued. The condemned Feni ans in Canada will experience the full rigor of the new bitterness. This is the last exem plification of how much easier it is to preach than to practice. A CorttT was opened in Platte county. Mo., by the new Judges, as elected on the radical ticket. The Court progressed without inter ruption all day, and adjourned until the next morning. Judge Allen, the old Judge, early on Tuesday morning, opened Court upon his own hook, before the hour. The Clerk re fused to recognize his authority, and put the docket and court record under lock and key. Allen then issued an order removing Mr. PltytMrj wliu it fVtnA*l iv :jr tilt) wild! n P()nnd of Utuceii thirty and forty bush wnckers threatened to kill him if he did not deliver up the record. Moore refused te do so. and escaped. The old Judges adjourned the Court for a week, and a company of arm ed bushv. ackers are guarding the Court House, refusing to allow Court to be held by the new judges elected. THE Philadelphia Bulletin says: The re cent trip to Fort Riley shows what can be done in a single car in the way of saving time and preventing discomfort. Mas the Direc tor's car of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com pnr.y the pioneer of a movement by which the traveler, who is bound on a long journey . will take to his car as he would to a ship for the voyage? The Union Pacific Railroad Com pany showed their Philadelphia guests that the thing was capable ofaccomplishment, and as General Palmer.the Treasurer of the Com pany. remarked ou the trip, there was nothing in the way of going right through to the Pacific except the want of a railroad over a portion of the route. As the company is now grading its road at the rate ola mile a day, and as the track layers follow hard upon the heels of the graders the consummation may not lie so far off as some persons imagine. PRICKS. Thursday's New York Tribune reported beef cattte as having declined fully 2;c. per pound, and stated that the market was overstocked, and there was an average arri val of 300 head per week in excess of the re ceipts one year ago. Sheep, according to the Tribune, have declined about le. per pound, and pork 41c. per pound. Pork is $10.50 less per barrel than the price last year. Lard 12 to 14 cents per pound lower thr.u at this time last year. The flour mar ket is unsteady and prices looking downward. Corn has advanced thirtv-five cents per bushel in three months, but the Tribune thinks prices will fall below present, quota tions. Butter has declined live cents in in three months. Coal has declined two dollars per ton in three months. The Tri bune follows up its statistics with these com ment-: "The things we cat are daily becoming less eo-tly in the markets. The decline is not so perceptible at the stalls and shops of retailers, and to the actual consumer at the hotels and boarding houses it is wholly un known. The full supply of provisions in the country, pressing upon the crowded store houses in the city must eventually break down all speculation, and force down the prices to consumers, in order to induce more rapid consumption of the peri.-Jiable articles of food. Finally, in the course of time, the decline will rcaeii the people who buy to eat, and the good old days will return wherein the laborer was able to sit down to a hearty supper, without first balancing ac counts between his appetite and his day's earnings, so as not to leave the latter iu debt to the f run r To which prediction all persons who wish well to the masses of our people will heartily respond Amen! Official Report ofthe Arrest ol John 11. Surratt. WASHINGTON, Dec. 2. The Government has information as long ago as last winter that John If. Surratt had gone to Europe, The person who commu nicated the facts conversed with him during the voyage across the Atlantic, and also reported that Surratt, believing he was far removed from danger, was free and out spoken about his connection with the assas sination conspiracy. To-night Secretary Seward received a dispatch by the Atlantic cable, dated to-day, as follows : I have arrested John H. Surratt, one of President Lincoln's assassins. No doubt of I identity. HALE, U. S. Consul General, Alexandria, Egypt. THE MEETING OF CONGSEBB. The Galleries Crowded.--Good feeling prevails among the Members. WASHINGTON, Dec. 3. The weather is as pleasant as could possi bly ho expected. The galleries of the two branches of Con gress are densely crowded. Those of the House are not sufficient ly large to accommo date all set hers of admission. The members of the House arc present in full force. Long before noon the members of both parties were seen shaking hands, with marked cordiality, and conversing on other subjects than polili -s. A mere look ••ron would n-arceJy suspect that differences on any subject over divided them, so happy are they in greeting. SENATE. , 1 hs Senate was called to order at twelve o clock, precisely, by Mr. Foster, President pro tern. Prayer was delivered by the ( taplain, Rev. Dr. Gray, of the Baptist Church. Mr. Anthony presented the following res olution -, which were severally adopted : I hat the Secretary^inform the House that a ijuoruin of the Senate is assembled. 1 hat the hour for the meeting of the Sen ate be twelve o'clock until otherwise order ed. That a committee of two be appointed to join a committee of the House and wait up* on the President, to receive his message. Mr. Sumner said if there was no business before the Senate he would move to call up Senate hill No, 1, an act to regulate the elective franchise in the District ol" Colum bia. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The Rev. Dr. Boynton opened the llou-c with prayer of thankfulness for the result o£ the late elections, which tend he said, to establish the principles of liberty to all class es and conditions. 'I he roll of members was then called when l-li answered to their names. , Th ree new members were sworn in from Tennessee, and two from Kentucky. A committee was appointed to wait on the President and inform him that Congress had assembled and was ready to receive any cotiiiuunicaH' u. Mr. Eli -s.) asked leave to introduce a bill to repeal the thirteenth section of the act of July 17th, 1802, which section au thorizes the President to grant pardon and amnesty to persons who took part in the re bellion. Mr. Fink < thiol objected, and the rules were suspended so as to allow the bill to be introduced. Mr. Eliot s hill was then put upon its i passage, and was passed by a vote of' 111 to 20 A resolution was adopted calling for in formation as to the arrest and escape of John 11. Surratt. .V bill was introduced, and referred, di recting tie -ale of $2,000,000 of gold, by the Secretory of the Trea-ury, every Mon day. Also, a bill for the meeting of Congress on the 4ib of March. 2. f. M. —The President's message has just been received. Mr. Stevens moved tfl postpone tli" reading until to-morrow. The motion was rejected, and the Clerk proceed ed to read the message. Mr. Stevens introduced a bill to regulate removals from office, which was made the special order for Friday next. Mr. Schenck (Ohio) introduced a bill to equalize the bounties of soldiers, sailors and marines. If red to the Committee on Military,\f The Alabama Legislature. rrr. n r , r ,\ r>.„ . _.—em-ctai aespmci state ti.ut in llu Alabama House of Repre s.on'ativi - yesterday. Mr. Brooks, of Lown des county, presented a bill to alter the Con stitution of the State, to admit conditional negro suffrage. The conditions are that the voter shall possess property valued at S2OO and shall 1 able to read the Constitution of the Stat and of the United States, and write a leg i f.- hand ; these conditions hold ing good a is-- in ca c of white men. Mr. Brooks was closely identified with the C 'nlvdc-iate cause, having expended his last dollar in its. port, and in presenting his bill said t: > h - did so as a measure of poli cy an Ip. Ie good. After an exciting de bate the was tabled. Meteoric Display in England. Tiie amusing witticisms of the American pres over the disa] pointments of Professor Looiui ami other astronomical mvans who who prom -cd us t> meteoric display about the 12th it!;., will now cease, since wo are assured by the English press that there re atly was a shower on the 14th ult.. and a very brilliant one. The phenomenon was visible at London. Dover. Leicester, Not tingham, Liverpool, Weymouth, Glasgow and other points'. The Times says: The spectator had soon counted half a dozen, then he felt sure he had counted thirty, then six or seven in a minute, then they appear ed faster than he could count them. The heavens - mod alive with this unwonted host. Look where wc would, it was the same; in the tar West, and throughout the entire Notth. Mr. Bishop, of Weymouth, estimates the number ol meteors at 7,tHJO to is,ooo. Professor Grant, of the Glasgow Observatory, writes: 'At lh. Ifun. the heavens had assumed an extremely imposing aspect. Multitudes of bcautifu' sn t is were now everywhere visi ble but ( : •: illy in the Eastern regions of the heav n-. where the constellation Leo was to Ie -ecu as he gradually ascended in his course towards the meridian. Hun dreds of the meteors tar surpassed in bril liancy the stars of the first magnitude. In multitudes of instances they were brighter than Jupiter, and sonic of them even equal led Venus when she is at her greatest bril liancy.' As an incident of these meteoric times, it may be mentioned that immense rains fell in various parts of England, and that Lanca shire and Yorkshire especially were deluged. Tiu: pro cut inactivity of the Prussian cab inet is subject a of general specula tion among European politicians. I'he rea son of this inactivity is to be found in the absence <.f the - ul of the cabinet. Count Bis marck. In some quarters it is believed that the sickness which is supposed to have detained him in the country is not real, but feigned, in order to induce the King to rhake certain changes in the cabinet. A Tribune correspondent says : ''His sufferings have in creased so much during the last few weeks, that his advice cannot be obtained even on the mnsl important circumstances. Huron Laviguy, i'or instance, was directed to consult him confidentially on various points in the treaty with Saxony. But Count Bismarck's family declared that such conversation was impossible, because the excitement would produce dangerous consequences. It is hard ly to be expected that he will come to Berlin to the opening of the Parliament, and as he cannot remain on the Island of the Baltic in the winter, his family are desirous that he should go smith, either to the Lake of Gene va or to one of the lakes of Upper Italy. At the i. ke ol Geneva he would meet one of his colleagues, General Roon, the Minister of War, who is also staying there forhis health's sake. Though it. is not at all strange that both these statesmen have suffered severely in health from the efforts and excitement of the last year, there are many, however, who do not believe in this sickness, but regard it is a pretext. Lv/iWedding Cards, Business Cards, Bill eads. Circulars, and all kinds of Mercantile Blanks, neatly and expeditiously executed at the INQUIRER Job Office. A Minister in Diittcnltiea. For some time past Mr. Washbume, I nited States Minister to Paraguay, has been attempting to get to his objective point which ie Assumption, thecapital of that Re public. Ihe Allies operating against the araguayan army, have objected to his going on, an l.e ha laid idiy by, waiting the slow progress of events before Huaiuaita. It is now said that he has found a means of get ting forward, and that the United Stab s gun boat Shamolcm will take him. But as the river is filled with torpedoes, this will a very dangerous experiment, and it. may end the mission of Minister Wa-hburne very summarily. It is to be hoped that he will succeed, and go through safely, but when we consider the danger, and estimate of how little importance his success will be to our interests, we cannot but think that he is as suming a great risk for a very small benefit - I ' l '■ LINCOLN S fciSTIJIAIJ OF ANDREW .JOHNSON.— -The Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette makes the follow ing statement: "Three days before the muni rof Mr. Lincoln, he had made ar rangements for an afternoon ride with cer tain members of his family, and the hour of two o clock was fixed upon. At that time, the Pre-ident not appearing, word was M nt to him that the party was waiting for him. tie returned an answer that the Vice Presi dent had called upon him, and that lie si oul'l not he able to go. Mr. Jolinson re mained about when the President joined the family, and in conversation re garding the delayed ride remarked, with much apparent concern:—" 'Jhat miserable ' i■(> it ii*ijt tt_t tjtti 1 < the (rmiblt x he, mill cause me during my second term of ojpee. buch were, with scarcely a doubt, the last words spoken by Mr. Lincoln concerning the present occupant of the White House; and spoken as they were in the privacy of bis own family circle, they were doubtless the full and free expression of his real be- Fram New Orleans. NEW ORLEANS, Dec. L— There is an in creasing disposition manifested in the South to admit qualified suffrage, impartial as to color. Fhe violent attacks on sucli papers as do not directly oppose it show that it is gaining ground as an equivalent for Uni versal amnesty, but the Union papers not edited by negroes oppose it. s. T.— L A GO. —X.—The amount of Plantatie Hitter? sold in one y ear is something startlinn They would fill Broadway six feet high, from thg Park to 4th street. Drake's manufactory is oto of the institution, of New York. It is s lid thae Drake painted all the rocks in the Eastern States with his cabalistic "S. T.—1860.—X," and then got the old granny legislators to pass a law "pre venting disfiguring the face of nature," which gives him a monopoly. Wo do not know how this i", but we do know the Plantation Bitters SELL as no other article ever did. They are used by all classes of the community, and arc death on Dyspepsia—certain. They are very invigorating when langnid and weak, and a great apnotiicr. Saratoga Spring Water, sold by all druggists "In lifting the kettle from the fir. I -e.dded myself very severely—one hand almost I *a crisp. The torture was unbearable. * * Th Mexican Mnstsng Liniment relieved the pain nlwo-; im mediately. It healed rapidly, and leit very little scar. On AS. FOSTEE, 420 Broad St. Phila. This is merely a sample of what the Mustang Liniment will do. It is invaluable iu all cases of wounds, swellings, sprains, cutL bruises, spavins etc., cither upon man or beast. Beware of counterfeits. None is ge: nine unless wrapped in fine steel-plate engravings, bearing tho signature of (5. W. Westirook, Chemist, and uiejntrore stump 01 I'iciis Jt.i RXks ,i CO.. New York. a rat oga Spring Water, s .Id by ail druggists. AUOB I'E MAGNOLIA. —The prettiest thing, the "sweetest thing," and tin- most of it for the least ntonoy. It oi reomes the odor of perspira tion: softens and adds delicacy to the shin, is a delightful perfume; allays headn he and inti 1111- raation. and is a necessary companion in the ,-ick r m. in then -ry.andiq ntin toile* -id' oard. It can he obt.;ined everywhere atoned Car per bottic. Saratoga Spring Water, sold bv all druggists All who value a beautiful head of hair, and its pi-is. n :,:ion from premature baldness and turning gray, will not fail to use Lyons' celebrated Kath airon. It makes flic hair rich, suit and glossy, eradicates dandruff, and causes the hair to grow with luxuriant beauty. It is sold everywhere. E. THOMAS LYON. Chemist, N. Y. Saratoga Spring Water, sold by all druggist. WHAT Dm IT? —A young ia.iy, returning to her i uuntiy home after a sojourn of a few months n New York, wis hardly re "gnircd by here friends. In place of a rust.'-, (lushed face, she hud a -oft, ruby c< implex i.n. f almost marbla sine nhness: and instead oi 2. she really appear ed I t 17. she told them plait, pv -ho uso.l llugun's Ma n lia Balm, and would not be without it. An; lady can improve her personal appearance vci y much by using this srtic',. Itean be order ed.oi any druggist f or only 50 cents. Saratoga Spring Water, sold by all druggists lleimstreet's inimitblo llair Coloring has been Itily growing in favor f> i over twenty years, -d acts upon the absorber:.- at the roots of the aair, anil changes it to it- original color by de crees. All instantaneous <i; ■ - leaden and injure tb: Lair. Heimstreet's t- i • a dye, but is cor ntain in its results, promotes its growth, and i.- bcautiful HAIR DRESSING. Price 50 cents and $1 Sold by all dealers. Saratoga Spring Water, uklby all druggists. LYON'S EXTRACT or 1' JAMAICA GINGER — or Indigestion, Nausea, Heartburn, Sick Head, nolle, CbolcraMiorbus, where a warming, ge. ial stimulant:-as required. Its careful prepara tion and entit purity make it a cheap aud relia ble article forerctdiuary purposes. Sold cvery ly here at 50 cts. per bottle. Saratoga Spring Water, sold by all druggists , s :wJo2lß6flly V SPLENDID ASSOP. j MENT OF .If DO. MEM and Promts- ty Notes, either wi'h or without waiver of cxen . ti. u, for sale at this office nov o.tiO A SPLENDID A.-.-t'.. i UKN X' t'F .111".;- 51LN 1 and Promissory Notes, either with or without waiver of exemption, for sale at this office nov 2-60 BRADLEY'S DUPLEX ELLIPTIC SKIRT combining durability with elegance of shape New .Spring Styles just received. Mayll:3m (I. R. &, W. OSTKK. BLANK DEEDS FOR SALE CHEAP at the INQUIRER OFFICE." Nov. 2, IS6C CIOONTRY MERCHANTS supplied with all J kinds of Tinw ire en the shortest possible no cct, at U Me. BLYMYER * CO S. CIOOK AND PARLOR STo-VEsTat J D. 51.-. ELYSI YE It 4 CD'S. SELF-SEALING FRUIT CANS, (Glass,)t B. Me. RLYMYRR ACO'E A SPLENDID ARTICLE of Blank Deeds, on the best parchment paper, for sate at. the Inquirer office. NOT 2, 1866 miNWARE OF ALL KIN OS, at X E. Me. ELY 51YER A CO S
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers