tip Lancaster inteUtgatar 4.110. SANDZIRRON. EDITOR. A. lIANDSLESON. Asseslats. LANCASTER, PA., FEBRUARY 17, 1863 Ars. mrriteraii,k Clo.l Ammirmnot Aumui, , ST park Ravi Nsw Sorg, and 10 State Mum&Borton. &M. PRIZINGILL 4 . Co., are Agent, te r The Loweatkr imatmaorr, and the most Lohnoltdit and largest thumb. keg Nawmi In the United Nita arid Ma Outadmu— nay are anthar l sad'to <unbar* form at our lomat rata Mails I Autote, 1065 Broadway, New Tack, are authorised to 'roadie admuttsameuts for The rime, at our lowest ratan. Bir•Jomm W73812:111 AIMMTUare AGENT IS 10ditiol at N 0.60 North 6th atreet,..Phltadelphia. He ',authorized to modulo adrertimmonta and subamlytkom for The Laneader hidlimos% S. B. Nam, No.l Saoßay's Building, Court St., Boston, U our authieed Agent for receiving tbs adNew s ver m tisments, te— V. B. Palms, ri en. Agent, N. B. c a." orner Fifth and Chestn Ame ut St reet s, Pbßadelphla, outlasted to receive inbeeriptions and advertisements for Ma paper, at our lowest rates. His receipts will be re. prados payments. OURFLAG Now our flag is flung to the wild winds free, Let it float o'er our father land, Aud. the guard of its spotless fame shall be 'Oolumbla'a chosen band. "CLING TO THE CONSTITUTION, AS THE SHIPWRECKED MARINER CLINGS TO THE LAST PLANK, WHEN NIGHT AND THE TEMPEST CLOSE AROUND HIM."-DANIZL WEBSTER. The Special Message. The Message of Governor CURTIN TA the Legislature, on Thursday last, is a curiosity in its way, and reflects no credit on the Executive either as a literary production, or from the doctrines, with one notable excep tion, which it avows. The exception is in the unwilling admission that Congress alone possesses the power to suspend the great writ of, habeas corpus. Thus far we agree with the Governor in his implied condemna tion of the unconstitutional acts of the President, and we think he is en titled to some credit for the admis sion he has made. But for the bal ance of the Message we have no word of approbation. What, can it be possible that the Chief Magistrate of the great State of Pennsylvania has no word of condemnation for the arbitrary and illegal Military ar rests which have, time and again, been made within the limits of his jurisdiction ? Can he not throw a shield of protection over his own fellow-citizens ? Is he not clothed by the people with ample powers to assert the dignity of Pennsylvania, and to say to the General Govern ment that here, within the limits of this ancient and loyal Common wealth, where the laws are in full force and where the Courts of Jus tice are open and unobstructed, every citizen shall be protected in all his Constitutional rights ? And yet he has failed to do so in the Message which we publish in another column. Would Governor SEYMOUR, of New York, or Governor PARKER, of New Jersey, have done so ? Nay, verily, they are made of sterner stuff than to " Bow the pliant hinges of tie knee, That thrift may follow fawning." But the most singular thing con nected with this singular - document is the time selected for sending it to the Legislature. Was the Governor oblivious to the fact that most of these illegal arrests were made prior to the meeting of the Legislature.— Why, then, wait until six weeks of the session had elapsed, before com municating his views to the repre sentatives of the people, and then couch his sentiments in rude and offensive language to the great mass of the people ? The Message was neither well-timed nor dignified—to say nothing of the craven spirit it exhibits, and is alike discreditable to its author and to the great State whose executive head he is for the time being. In his quiet moments we think the Governor will be ashamed of his own' production, as many of his political friends already are. Even FORNEY gives it the " cold shoulder," and when he disapproves this act of his model Executive, who can approve ? THE quicar.ar OF THE WEST The manes of the Federal steamer Queen of the West, in running the blockade of the Vicksburg batteries, is reported by Captain Ellet, her commander. He states, however, that she did not escape wholly unscathed.— The cotton bales which constituted a part of her protective armor, were set on fire by a shell from the batteries on shore, and the flames epread so rapidly, that " the dense smoke rolling into the engine room suffocated the engineers." The fire was finally ex tinguished by cutting loose the burning bales and pitching them overboard: In the mean time, the Queen was struck twice in the hull by the enemy's shots, but above the water line, and one of her guns was dismantled and ruined. A later despatch from Cairo, states that she subsequently went down the river nearly to Port Hudson, and succeeded in sink. ing three steamers loaded with provisions, and in capturing fifty-six persons. POLITICAL PREACHING It seems that even in some' parts of New England the people have begun to be weary of so much4olitical preaching. A notable case is that of the "Old Congregational Society" of New Boston, Litchfield co., Conn., where Dr. Lyman Beecher so- long preached. This So ciety, at a recent meeting, passed the follow ing sensible resolution : Toted, That the . pulpit committee of this society are hereby instructed that whenever they employ a minister of the Gospel to preach in their meeting-house on the Sabbath, they shall first inform said minister that he is em ployed to preach the Gospel truth according to the Bible doctrine, Christ and Him cruci fied, and that only. That he is strictly prohi bited, by a vote of this society, from delivering any discourse pf any description upon the pre sent war, and that he shall not allude to the matter either in prayer or sermon. lir We refer our readers to the card of Messrs. Wsmon & Yon, Bankers, 25 South Third street ; Philadelphia, in another column. They are both thorough-goink, intelligent business nen, and affable and courteous in their'-Manners. Mr. WALTON was the late Trensarer of the 11. S. Mint at Philadelphia, end Mr. Yoe was formerly Chief Engineer of the old Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad. "While I am writing upon this. matter, I will take occasion to add that there is not another city North of Mason and Dixon's line wherethe Mayor would have been so thorough ly dead to every sense of courtesy find retro tability auto refuse a welcome to such alnan as Gen. R. The Mayor seemed to studiously avoid even a sight at Rousseau. - Why was this? Is Rotisseark too sound a democrat— and too vigorous in. hie prosecution of the war against those infamous traitors whom be characterizes as -"liars who could teach ..the deVil "—to be palittable.to the 'very question able political sensibilities of the Mayor ? 'Tie a burning shame that our city which has sent forth so many noble, patriotic sons to fight the battles of this great and good coun try—could not 'have a man as its chief mag istrate who would eitend the hand of fellow ship and welcome to a General, who had so brilliantly led those sons—some to victory, and some to death I but all to glory I" We clip the above from a com munication in the Express of the 9th inst., signed " Contributor." We do so, simply to show the baseness which must actuate the Abolition scoundrel who indicted it. ' The writer either did not know what he was writing about, or because he was asked to contribute twenty-five cents towards defraying the expenses of the Fencibles' Band, felt himself so muchaggrieved that he gave vent to his spleen by wilfully and deliber ately slandering the Mayor of the City. It is true that funclionary was not present at the Black Repub lican serenade to General ROUSSEAU, (gotten up by the leaders at that particular hour in the evening for the purpose of breaking up the Democratic meeting then in progress at Fulton Hall, but which they sig nally failed to accomplish,) but that he either "refused a welcome to," or " studiously avoided even a sight " of the General, is notoriously false and unfounded. And we appeal for the truth of this declaration to Col. Duchman, Lieutenant Hartman, Lieutenant Reese, Messrs. Haldy, Hopple and, many other gentlemen who are cognizant of the fact that the Mayor did call, not once but twice to see the General ; ~that the second time he had a somewhat lengthy conversation with him in.his chamber, and that the Mayor then and there expressed his regret that the General's health was not such as to justify a public demonstration in his favor. The Abolitionists wanted to make a little political capital out of the serenade, hence they fixed upon 8 o'clock as the hour. Had they se lected either 6 or 9 o'clock, which would have answered just as well, and as they were requested to do, the whole Democratic meeting, with the Mayor at the heed, would have been there to do honor to the dis tinguished soldier whom we all so hiodily esteem. But this did not suit the ulterior design of the Abo litionists, and being foiled in their main object—the defeat of the Democratic ticket the next day— they now resort to their favorite weapons of slander and defamation of Mayor Sanderson. STEVENS , NEGRO BILL We subjoin the vote or the negro bill on its final passage by the lower House of Congress on the 2d inst. As this bill, providing for the arming and equiping of one huhdred and fifty regiments of negroes, is a pet measure of the administration and the Abolition party, the vote is important, and will„no doubt be frequently referred to hereafter. Six con servative Republicans voted with the Demo orate against the bill, to wit : Messrs. Gran ger, Hale, Kellogg, Horton, Woodbury and Thomas, Mass.: YEAS—Memo, Aldrich, Alley, Arnold Ashley, Babbit, Baxter, Beaman, Bingham, Blair, Pa., Blake, Brown, Va.; Buffington, Campbell, Casey, Chamberlain, Clark, Colfax, F. A. Conkling, Con way, Cutler, Davis, Dawes, Dunn, Edgerton, Ed wards, Eliot, Ely, Fenton, S. C. Fessenden, T. A. D. Fessenden, Fisher, Frank, Gooch, Gurley, Hooper, Hutchins, Julian, Kellogg, Mich; Lansing, Loomis, Lovejoy, Low, M'lndoe, M'Kean, M'Knight, M'Pherson, Marston, Mitchell, Morrill, Vt.; Nixon-, Noell, Olin, Phelps ' Cal.; Pike, Pomeroy, Porter, Rice, Me.; Riddle, Rollins, N. :11. Sargent, Sedg wick, Shanks, Sheffield, Shellabarger, Sherman, Sloan, Spaulding, Stevens, Train, Trimble, Trow bridge, Van Horn, Walker, Wall, Wallace, Wash burn, Wheeler, White, Ind.; Wilson, Winslow, and Worcester-83. NAYS—Messrs. Allen, Ohio; Allen, Ill.; Ancona, Bailey, Biddle, Blair, Va.; Clements, Cobb, Cox, Cravens, Crisfield, Crittenden, Delaplaine, Granger, Grider, Hale, Hall, Harding, Hamson, Holman, Ind.; Horton, Johnson, Kellogg, Ill.; Kerrigan, Law, Lazear, Leary, Mallory, May, Maynard, Menzies, Morris, Noble, Norton, Odell, Pendleton, Price, Robinson, Rollins, Mo.; Shiel, Stiles, Thomas, Mass.; Thomas, Md.; Vallandigham, Vib bard, Wadsworth, Webster, Whaley,•White, Ohio; Wood, Wiakliffe, Woodbnry, Wright, and Yeoman sogeb In the House of Repres.eritatives, at Harrisburg, OD the sth inst., Dr. PATTON, the able Demooratic member from Greene county, presented the following series of resolutions: Ist. That in the opinion of this House, the present bloody and devastatine civil war could and should have been averted.by the adoption of the Crittenden Compromise, or some other measure alike just and honorable to all sec tions of the country. 211. That the whole responsibility for the failure of such pacific measures rests upon the dominant party in Congress, who were united in opposition to any such peaceful adjust ment. 3d. That the object of the war as unani mously declared by Congress in July, 1861, was to restore the Union and to vindicate the authority of the Government, and not to con quer or subjugate the revolted States, or to interfere with their domestic rights and insti tutions. 4th. That it was upon this pledge, and with this definite understanding, that vast armies of our patriotic fellow citizens rushed to arms in support of the Government and laws. sth. That as those solemn pledges have been violated, and the whole powers of the Government have been turned to a ruthless crusade against the institution of slavery, therefore Further Resolved, That until the adminis tration recedes from its unconstitutional, in flammatory and despotic proclamation of January Ist, 1863, and returns to a policy in the conduct of the war sanctioned by the Con stitution, by justice, by patriotism and hu manity, it can have no further claims upon the loyal State of Pennsylvania for men or other means of carrying on the war. A LILLIPUTIAN WEDDING.—The marriage of General Toni Thumb (Mr. Charles S. Strat• ton) to Miss Lavinia Warren, was solemnized in Grace Church, New York, on Tuesday lest, the 10th inst. The gentleman is twenty-five years of age, thirty-one inches high, and weighs twenty-nine pounds; the lady is twentyone years old and - thirty two inches in height. There was great excitement in New York an the occasion, and the papers devote a large space to particulars. Miss Minnie War. ren, ,the bride's sister, acted as hridesmaid, and little Commodore Nutt as groomsman. Miss Minnie is sixteen years of age, twenty five inches high and weighs nineteeen pounds. The Commodore is twenty-one years of age, twenty-nine inches in height, and weighs twenty pounds. A small affair to make so much fuss about. tar A clear, smooth, musical voice is half the attraction in many beautiful women. But a harsh, shri 11, shrewish voice certainly has nothkrig admirable about it. To dispel cough or hoarseness, Bryan's Pnlmonio Wafers are incomparable. Only 25 cents a box. Bold by Kanfinan & Co., East Orange greet. NEGRO SOLDIPILIN-miTHE DEOILILDA.• TIPP OF OUR RAGE AND COUNTRY. The motive of bringing forward the bill for the enlistment of negro soldiers is obvious, An emancipation war will never be fought by the truly patriotic, and Christian population of the North ; the time is fast approaching when no inducement will keep in the army that large majority of its rank and file which will not fight for the negro; the radicals have no idea of exposing themselves to the perils of warfare; Greeley's 900,000 and Andrew's •" swarms," which they alleged to be only waiting for the *emancipation policy, have not manifested the least sign of stirring; and there really seems nothing left for the Abolitionists but to call upon the negro to put on arms for the cause of his people. We need not say that this terribly degrading resort would be entirely needless, if Gree ley and Andrew would only make their boasts good, neither of whom have yet issued a sum mono for the purpose. Governor Andrew, it is true, has obtained "authority" from the Secretary of War to• raise troops of African descent in this State ; and if he is able to en list a . single regiment here, or half of it, now that the question is one of downright fight, we will agree to give him credit for the very great exertions which will be indispensable for him to use to insure success& As for Greeley, so far as we have seen, he has not made a solitary allusion to his " three times three hundred thousand," tine* the proclama tion came out. We say the project is a degrading one— Aloft will make our latest posterity blush for us—that we had so little manhood in us as to call to our aid on the field of mortal strife, for the defence of " the land of the free and the home of the brave," a race of inferiors' to do for us what we, confessedly, by adopting such a measure, have not the spirit, energy and wisdom to effect for ourselves. Truly, the men who concocted and voted for such a bill can only be taken to have reached the lowest stage of human degradation and dishonor. Such an argument need not be pursued into details, for the whole force of it occurs at once to any man with a spark of manly feeling in his bosom. The reasons of a practical nature against the bill are plenty as blackberries. Nobody doubts that black men may be brave and often are so ; but one thing is certain, that neither black nor white soldiers can be so, unless they stand upon some footing of equality ; and this can never be in any army composed of both races, except when the dependent is fighting with and for his master. On the other hand, the idea that anybody but a madman or a scoundrel would think of arming one hundred and fifty thousand negroes to serve in a single body, or in any number of considerable bodies, or that the expectation could be entertained by anybody that a few white officers, unable to restrain white soldiers from crime, could hold black ones in from the most horrible bar barities—argues a degree of truly inconceiva ble infatuation. Indeed, the whole thing is preposterous from the start, and we shall only be saved from the ferocities which might ensue from attempting to carry such an act into operation, by its utter impracticability. It is as idle a scheme as Mr. Lincoln's proclamation which be said beforehand would not free a negro, and which has not freed a negro.—Boston Courier. WHAT PHILLIPS SAYS The following is a quotation from a recent speech of WENDELL PRILLIPd in New York City : "On the first day of the present month he announces in the name of the nation that na tionality is henceforth liberty, and that the nation is henceforth to be wholly free. (Ap plause.) It is not a step onward; it is turn ing a corner and launching into a new chan nel. it is not the punishment of treason; it is the inauguration of justice. He loads his cannon with broken fetters and fires them from the bastion of absolute justice. (Applause.) The Union, in other words, launches on a new channel. She undertakes to say that the sys tem of slavery is incompatible with the perpe tuity of the republic. The Union announces that doctrine, records it on her statute book, and henceforth the motto of the American cit. inn is, Liberty to the slave or death to the Un ion I" The Albany Evening Journal, a Republi can paper from which we have quoted several severe articles against the radical abolition policy, copies this extract and says: "This is sufficiently explicit. The man who speaks by authority for the abolition press, says henceforth the war is not to be carried on 'to punish treason,' but that we are ' launched into a new channel ;' and that the motto is ' Liberty to the slave or death to the Union.'— It will, we presume, be admitted now, by Republican journals that have failed to 1113 derstand us, that our 'logic' is sound: The war is not ' to punish treason,' but to liberate slaves, and the motto is—' Liberty to the slave or death to the Union.' And at this turning corner' we part company with abolition." "We part company,' says Mr. WEED, " with abolition." Then you part company with the administration ; for no fact is more apparent than that Mr. Lincoln follows where Mr. PHILLIPS leads. Who can doubt that there has been for months a complete under standing between these worthies ? THE REQCIREMENT OF STAMPS ON ORIGINAL PROCESS DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL.--JUdgo Barnard, in a case in the Supreme Court of New York, has declared the Stamp Act passed by Congress July 1, 1862, unconstitutional, So far as it relates to requiring stamps upon original proceedings in the State courts. In the case of Walton against Bryenth an order had been obtained to vacate the proceedings on the ground that the summons had been filed without an adhesive stamp, the defen dant's counsel contending that the provis ions of the statute rendered all original pro. ceedings invalid and of no effect unless stamped. Plaintiff's counsel argued that Congress had no powor to interfere with the proceedings of the State courts. It was doubtful whether they had the power to impose the penalty of $5O ; but if they could render the proceedings in State courts invalid, they usurped a power that was illegal and unconstitutional. If they could impose a duty of six cents upon a sum mons, they could, upon the same principle, lay a duty which would amount to a prohibi bition, and thus paralyze the whole system of administering justice in the State tribunals. The court decided to dismiss the order. Con gress had no right to interfere with the pro ceedings of the State courts. In hie judgment the provision was illegal and unconstitutional. Congress might impose a penalty, but could not invalidate the proceedings of the State courts. This case will soon go to the Court of Appeals, and probably to the Supreme Court of the United States, where the impor tant question will be finally decided. THE FRENCH MINISTER In response to a resolution of the Senate of the United States requesting President Lin coln to communicate to that body the charac ter of the suggestions made by Mr. Seward, as Secretary of State, to M. Mercier, as nar rated in the letter of the latter to M. Thou venel, and which induced M. Meroier to un dertake his well known mission to Richmond, Mr. Seward has replied. He states emphati cally that no suggestions were made by him to M. Mercier "that induced, were designed, or calculated to induce him to undertake a mission to Richmond in April or at any other time." Mr. Seward further declares that M. Mercier " was not then, nor has he or any other person ever been authorized by the Government, or by tho Secretary of State, to make any representations of any kind or any subject to the insurrectionary agents or so called authorities at Richmond, or to bold any communication with them on behalf of the Government." A PATRIOTIC CLERGYMAN.—Rev. JOHN F. MEREDITH; Chaplain of the 50th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, preached two ser mons in Minersville on Sunday last, in which he took occasion to give his audience his views on the manner in which the war has been conducted. Mr. Meredith has had ample opportunity of observing the evil effects of the policy adopted by the abolition administration, and does not hesitate to speak his mind fully and freely on all sub jects connected with the war. The removal of General McClellan he regards as one of the most suicidal aots that could have been com mitted. Mr. M. went to the - war a thorough going Republican, and we are glad to know that he has detected the hypuorisy of the abolitionists, who have arrogated to them selves virtues which they do not possess.— Potlrot 7 / 4 Standard of Saturday. LOCAL DEPARTNICNT. INAUGURATION OF MAYOR SANDIRSON— rumor ow Orrr 0771C128 —Mayor Sienzzeols was Inaug urated In presence of the City Councils and a large number of citizens, in the Common Council Chamber, on Tuesday last, at 2 ceckck. P. M. The oath of office was adminis tered by WILIZAII Caucuses, Esq., Recorder of the City, after which the Mayor Ilelitteral the following INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Mi Pagioneuv: Having been again elected, and for the fifth time,-to the Mayoralty of the City, Tenter upon the duties devolving upon me with alull purpose to discharge them with an eye single to the Public good, and for the beet interests of the tax payer* who are more direetly con cerned in the fsithfnl admlniaiiition of the City Govern ment. To be again honored by a confiding constituency with their suffrages fills my heart with profound gratitude, and it will be my purpose and aim, a kind Providence assisting me, to so conduct the affairs of the municipal government as not to impair the public confidence. Chommatz3 or was Commas: It will afford me much pleasure, as it is my duty, to co-operate with you in furth ering the interests of the City. The finances are in a sound and healthy condition. The fended debtbf the ter poration is being gradually extinguished by the operations of 'the Sinking Fund, and is now but a small fraction over s3oo,oo9—having been reduced in all $41,88078 since the Fund was established by Ordinance of 20th of April, 1819. In keeping the interest of this Fund intact and making It sanders In the accomplishment of its legitimate puma*, I have bad the willing and necessary aid of the excellent ffinenee Committees of Ckunacile for the last four years,. and I hereby Um publicly avow my obligations to them for their zeal and efficiency. It should be our bush:teas, as the custodians of the people's treasury, to husband the resources of the City—to use all proper economy in the public expenditureb—and to - vigilantly guard every dollar of the funde entrusted to our care. That government is the best administered whit Is the cheapest, taking into view the wants and comforts of its citizens; and every appropriation made by Councils should be faithfully has banded and -ftrully expended by the officer/ in whoa., hands it may it placed. All necessary improvements should be promptly and entetantially made, but they should be done at the least possible cost to the corporation, and no monies should be expended without a correspond ing benefit to the tax-payers. You will pardon me, Gen tlemen, for adverting to this topic. The Chief Executive Magistrate has no voice in the legislation of the City, nor has he any control in shaping the appropriations; but he feels, as every good citizen should feel, in these tronblons times, that economy should be the order of the day in our National, State, and Municipal Governments, and there• fore an allusion to it will, he trusts, not be considered out of place on the present occasion. FIELLOW Cmizass. We have fallen upon evil times. Dark and portentous clouds bang gloomily over the political horizon. The sad condition of our distracted and bleeding country calls loudly upon every patriot to step forth and aid, In every possible way, In restoring the old Unio'n as founded by our fathers, and thus bring back the halcyon days of peace and prosperity to the land. My firm belief is, that every true-hearted man in the North and In the South anxiously longs for the day when we shall all pay homage to the same old flag,' and when, under the benig nant smiles of a kind Providence, we ehall again be one people—with one Constitution, one Government, one djue tiny. But to accomplish this, and unite the people of the loyal States as one man, the Constitution of the Hotted States most be respected in all its provisions. It is an in strument which was framed by the statesmen and patriots of other days, and was intended to operate alike in peace and in war, In prosperity and adversity, ehedding Its blessings, like the dews of Heaven, on the high and the low, the rich and the poor. Brit the citizen is to be made secure in hie person against illegal arrests, and to have his property protected from unnecessary searches and seizures. He is to be free to express his opinions respecting the con duct of our rulers; and, In addition, the freedom of the press—the great bulwark of liberty—is guaranteed, 30 that the acts of the Government may be freely com mented upon—to be praised where they merit praise, to be censured wham censure is deserved. By it, too, the writ of habeas corpse, handed down to us from our British an. restore, is held sacred, and its provisions and inestimable benefits extended to every citizen. These are all Conati• tutional rights, and whilst it is the duty of each and every Individual to cheerfully stand by the constituted authori ties of the Nation in the enforcement of the legitimate authority of the General Government, he should not be required to surrender any portion of his liberties or rights under the Constitution as a free American citizen, nor will such degradation be willingly submitted to. ' In this connexion permit me to Bay that, so far as my magisterial functions extend, I shall endeavor to protect all our citizens In the full enjoyment of their legal and Constitutional rights—believing, as I conscientiously do, that in a loyal community where the Courts of Justice are unobstructed in their operations, where the laws can always be enforced, and where every man is entitled to all the privileges of American citizenship, the military should always be held in subordination to the civil power. At the same time I conceive it to be the duty of the civil magis trate to aid the military authorities in the legitimate dis- charge of their duties, and this I shall cheerfully do. We are all, I trust, my fellow citizens, for the Union as it was and the Constitution as it Is. We are fcr the Geyer°. meat as established by our fathers. We ask no better. We want to see the rebellious States brought back to their allegiance, with all their constitutional right. guaranteed to them. If they prefer to have African slavery continued amongst them, as a local institution, they are entitled to have It—lf they choose to emancipate their slaves, so be It. It is a question for farm to determine—not us. Any other course on our part would not be conceding to them the same right that we enjoy under the Federal Constitution ; they would cease to be co-equal and sovereign States, and become mere dependencies of the Government. Lancaster City is loyal to the Union, and she has fur 'limbed more brave hearted, patriotic men, who have cheer fully went forth to tight the battles of our beloved country, than, partial'', any other city of the same popialation north of Mason and Dixon's line. She has done so, because she believed the war was to be prosecuted for the restoration of the old Union and the supremacy of the Constitution, and for no other object. I have said thus much, my fellow-citizens, not because I think National question. should enter Into our local muni. eipal contests, but simply for the reason that these ques- Goes were made the issue by the press of this City prior to the recent election. I have now discharged my duty in this respect, as briefly as I could, and, again thanking you and the rest of my fellow-citizens fur the high mark of honor you and they have voluntarily conferred upon me, I shall detain you no longer, but proceed at once, under the oath I have taken, to commence the faithful perform• ante of the duties devolving upon me. The Mayor was greeted with much applause at the cm:l -ett:lgoe of his address. Councils then proceeded to the election of the various City Officers, with the following result: City Treasurer—Henry C. Wentz. City Solicitor—Samuel' H. Reynolds. Superintendent of Water Works—Rugh Dougherty. Street COmmissioner—Henry Stumm City Regulator—James C. Carpenter. Assistant Regulators—Georg. Gundaker, Geo. Albright. Meisenger to Councils—John Dora - art. After the adjournment of the Convention, and when Councils had reconvened in their separate Chambers, the Presidents announced the following STANDING COMMITTEES. Finance—Select—Messrs. Zabm and Rathvon. Common S.hober and Fitzpatrick. . Water—Select—Mesara. Itengiar, Evans and Kline.— Common—Messes. Shobar, Ringwalt and Ye'sley. Street—Select—Memars. Deaner and Trout. Common— MoFars. Lechler and Rutledge. Market—Select—Mesers. Long and Kline. Common— Messrs. Pyle and Smelt . , Fire Engines and Knee—Seleet—Mosars. Evans, Kline and Long. Common—Meears. MacCionigle, Swilkey and Baer. Buchanan Rellef—Select—liessrs. Zahm and Long.— Common—Messrs. Wittßogor and Scheurenbrand. Police—Select—Mcasre. liengV,r, Trout and Evans.— - • - • Oommou—Noesra. Deichlen Swilkey and Pyle. Lampe—?elect—Meeore. Deaner and Trout. Common— Diemen, Fitzpatrick and Seheurenbrand. . . . City Property—Merere. 11..thvon and Rangier. Common Mreers. Yoleley end Baer. GONE TO NABHVILLE.—Mr. LEWIS HALDY, one of the Committee, left the city yesterday morning for Nashville, Tenn , having In charge the bountiful Stand of Colors, a girt from our citizens to Col. Ilambrielat's meat. lie also took with hint a west number of Istters and small package. for the men from their relatives and friends We wish him a pleasant journey and safe return. THE PHILADELPHIA SUNDAY MERCURY.— The Mercury, the best Sunday paper In Philadelphia, can now be had regularly every Sundae morning from Mr. Santulli Hammer, News Agent, No. North Queen et— It contain. the latest Telegraphic and all other news up to the hour of going to press, and Is a live. paper In every respect. Success to it. Trig PENNSYLVANIA RAILEOAD.—The total receipts of the Pennsylvania Railroad for tb. pool year amounted to ton millions three hundred thousand dollars. Its running expenses are only about forty per cant. of this sum, and after deducting interest on bonds, &c., Re net receipt. are the millions of dollars. READING AND COLUMBIA RAILROAD. —The following °Meer. of the ilteadlng and Columbia Railroad Company were elected af the annual meeting of the CoM pony, held on the first Monday in January, 1863: Prosident—Wllllam G. Cue, Columbia. Directors—C. S. Kauffman, Columbia; Ephraim Hershey, Columbia; Michael Clepper, Columbia; Samuel Small, York; William McConkey, Wrightsville; Bates Grubb, Mount Hope; Nathan Worley, Manhoim; John Hostetter, Maohelm ; Frederick Leiner, Reading; Isaac Eckert, Read ing; John McManne, Reading. At a stated meeting of the new Board held on Wednes day, Feb. 4th, 1863, they unanimously re-elected J. B. Tshudy, of Litie, Treasurer; John A. Sheaff. of Lancaster, Chief Engineer; and Geo. F. Brenemsn, of Lancaster, So licitor. Tinsels are excellent selections: To ATTEND CHURCH.— Lodge No. 43, A. Y. M., will commemorate the 132 d birth-day of WASEITNOTON, on Sunday next, the 22d inst., by attendloß divine !service, at. 3 o'clock, P. hi., at the Duke Street M. D. Church, Rev Mr. MDRIIIDITEI'II. REV. G. 11. lIARN.—The reported death of Rev. 0. 11. HORN, formerly pastor of the Union Beth,l Church of this city, Is contradicted. A Wooster (Ohio) correspondent of the Church Advocate, who)ro the reverend gentleman was stationed previous to entering the army, refers to the matter as follows: ‘. Brother Her n is not dead; he is simply wounded in the thigh, and was taken prisoner by the rebels at Vicksburg. One of his comrades came and spoke to him, to whom he gave his watch and puree. and requested him to give them to hie wife. These are all the facts we know, and If he is dead he has died since the battlo, and of course we know nothing about It. His wound, it Is true, was a severe one, but if he received the care due him, ho will doubtless recover." A SOLDIER'S OPINION OF " THE MOST Woantr."—We have received the following communication as a Soldier's reply to an article in the Inquirer., headed "The Most Worthy," having reference to the candidates for the Mayoralty in the late Municipal Election. The communication was written by a member of one of the Lancaster companies In the lst Pennsylvania Reserves, one who hse been all the time with the Army of the Potomac, and who was severely wounded in one of the battles before Richmond: THE MOST WORTHY. Robing Into the bunk of one of my fellow soldiers this morning, I espied a newspaper. On picking it up I saw it was the "Lancaster Inquirer." Perusing Its columns I noticed an article headed "The Most Worthy." I read Cho article, and, to my astonishment, discovered it was pub lished for the purpose of doing injury to our worthy Mayor. Mr. Write said: " Let every man do his duty, and neat Tuesday will tell a tale that will make our bold soldier boys, throw up their caps and hurrah for the Most Worthy,' in every loyal camp along the front from the At lantic to beyond the Mississippi. Send them this good news from home. It will tell them that we believe in men who think as they do, who appreciate their trials, their dangers and their sufferings in the cause of the Republic." How truly the Abolition Editor spoke, for the "Philadel phia Inquirer" of the 4th brought us the good newrithat Mayor SANDERSON was re-elected, which did send a thrill of Joy through the hearts of the brave boys in the three Lancaster companies in this Regiment. Mr. WE/35 also said that two-thirds of the men In the army (rat Lancaster are Abolitionists. I will simply state that he is greatly mistaken, for' at least three-fourths of the men in this Regiment are loyal Democrats. Such news from home as the re-election of loyal-Democrats to impor tant positions encourages no. We then know you are doing your duty at home, as well as we are doing ours here; but news such an the Emancipation Proclamation, the Negro Soldiers' Bill, Illegal Arrests, Ac., dieheartens us. We are compelled to bellere we are flghtlag to free the negro, and not for our country. So long es our beloved General is kept away from us, so long will defeat after defeat meet our arms. When Mn CLILLON was torn from ns we felt like newly-made orphans; we were lost. and since then have been wandering through the rugged hills of Virginia, sometimes meeting the enemy, but only to be defeated—other times sticking in the mod with nothing to eat, all for the want of Generalship. Can not our loyal people at home devise some plan to have oar General restored to to nab? It is evident we will fight much better when' we have a man that we can place confidence in. How could we have confidence in BURNSIDE, who has no confidence in himself? He told the authorities at Washington that he did not feel competent to take command, yet they insisted on it, and what was the result? 15,000 men killed and maimed for life. Is that one of the important war measures taken to suppress the Rebellion? If it is we want no more meas. urea of that description. Keep the ball moving, loyal Democrats of the North, and six months more the flag of Democracy will wave in every State and County from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Wipe out Abolitionism, and that alone will end the 'Rebellion. ' • A SOLDTKEL Cate iruz Hsu, Plan, Va, lab. 6th, 1868 WASHINGTON'S BIRTH-DAY.—Will there be any public celebration of the anniversary of Washington'a Birth• Day in this city? We see no movement u yet among oar, citizens looking in that way. The FIA comes on Sun day next, and if any thing is to be done, it should be at tended to without delay. Perhaps the different churches will take the matter in band. Bev. Mr. Muutorrn, of the the Duke Street M. E. Church, is to preach a sermon to the Free Masons in the afternoon of that day, and, it may be, that other clargymen.wlll'also deliver discourses appropri ate to the °Guidon. ' We trust something will be done. WAS AND PEACE PROPOSITIONS IN THE NEW JERSEY LEGISI.AT URN. names, Feb. 11. A number of resolutions were offered in the House to-day relative to war and peace propo sitions. A remonstrance was received from Bergen county against Mr. Halsmail's peace propositions. Mr. De Smith offered resolutions of a peace character, reiterating, in substance, the reso lutions of Senator Randolph, and the adding of a resolution providing that Theodore Runyan, Jacob R. Wortenby, Abraham Bron ing, Henry Y. Green, John S. Dorry and Moses Bigelow be, and are hereby appointed commissioners to proceed to Richmond to as certain whether the States now in arms against the United States Government will consent to re affirm their adhesion" to the Union, and recognize the authority of the Oonstitotion ; and, if not, on what terms or conditions ami cable relations under one United States Gov ernment can be restored between them and the other States. That we invite the co operation of our sis ter States in the fraternal mission hereby enacted—that the President of the United States be, and he is hereby requested to fur nish to said Commissioars, the necessary safeguard to enable them to proceed in safety upon their journey. That while relying on no temporary expe dients and no political combinations, we feel that we are bound to the Union by indissolu ble ties, and will cheerfully share its fate and future, ready to perform our appropriate part in the preservation whenever or wherever oc casion may 'call, We regard the men who are embarrassing the Government and dis couraging our soldiers, as the most skilful architects of ruin that the world ever pro duced, who proclaim to the world that the great experiment of a repregentative Govern ment has failed. A third resolution was offered, as follows : That, as an act of justice to our dead who have fallen on the side of law and liberty, and as a duty we owe the brave men who on the field sustain untarnished the honor of our State, while others conspire at home, we ap point General Winfield Scott, Major General Ambrose Burnside, and Henry W. Green, Chancellor of New Jersey, Commissioners, to proceed to Washington, with instructions to urge upon the President of the United States sleepless vigilance and determination to put down and crush out this rebellion against the Constitution and the Union ; and, if need be, to,call upon the people to come to the rescue of an imperiled and suffering nation. All these various resolutions were referred to the Committee on Federal Relations, and a caucus is now being held to agree as to what policy shall be adopted in the midst of these conflicting views. SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM TEE GOV- In the House of Representatives, on Thursday last, the following message was received from Gov. Curtin,: RXECVTITE CHAMBER, kLA.anisunna, Feb. 12, 1863. To the Senate and Rouse of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania : GENTLEMEN: I desire to call your attention to • subject of moment: When the present infamous and God-condemned rebellion broke out, Congress was not in session, and the occurrence of such a state of things not having been foreseen in former times, no adequate legislation had been had to meet it; at the same time—the life of the country being at stake—it ap peared necessary that some means should be taken to control the small band of traitors in the loyal States so as to prevent them from machinations which might be injurious, if not fatal, to the national Under these circumstances the General Govern ment resorted to the system of military arrests of dangerous persons, and, having thus commenced acting under it, have continued (at long intervals in this State) to pursue it. The Government of the United States acts directly on individuals, and the State Executive has no authority or means to inter fere with arrests of citizens of the United States, made under the authority of that Government.— Every citizen of Pennsylvania is also a zitizen of the United States, and owes allegiance to them as well as (subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the United States) he owes it to Pennsylvania. If he be unlawfully deprived of his liberty, his only redress is to be had at the hands of thejudiciary. In such times as the present, it is more than ever necessary to preserve regularity in official action.— Great efforts have been, and are perhaps still being made, by persons blinded or ill-disposed, to throw, us into a state of revolution; that is to say, to create anarchy and confusion, and ultimately to bring about the destruction of life and property among us. Any irregular, much more illegal, inter ference by your Executive, with matters which, by the Constitution, are not entrusted to hie cognisance, and especially any such interference with the action of the Executive of the., United States, or with the functions of the judiciary, would be, in the existing crisis, emphatically dangerous, it would have a di rect revolutionary tendency—in fact, it would be to commence a revolution. The courts of justice are open, and no doubt all personal wrongs can be properly redressed in due course of law. I do not know how many arrests of the kind here inbefore referred to have been made in Pennsyl vania, as I have at no time been privy to the mak ing of them ; but I believe that they have bean few. I was under the impression that there would be no necessity for more of them, otherwise I might have referred to them in Illy annual message ; but recent events having shown that this impression was erron eous, I deem it my duty now to invite your atten tion to the subject. The contest in which we are engaged is one for the preservation of our own liberty and welfare.— The traitors at the South hate the great body of our people who are loyal, and hate and bitterly despise the few who are ready for submission. Unless the rebellion be effectually suppressed, we must lose our pride of country, the larger portion of our territory, and the elements not only of greatness, but of pros perity, and even of security to life, liberty and property. Notwithstanding all this, it is, I fear an undoubted truth that& few wretches among us, false to all our free and loyal traditions; false to the memory of their fathers and to the rights of their ohildren ; false to the country which has given them birth and protected them; only stopping short of the technical offence of treason ; in the very mad ness of mischief are actively plotting to betray us; to poison and mislead the minds of our people by treacherous misrepresentations, and to so aid and comfort the rebels, that our fate may be either to abandon the free North and become hangers on of a government founded in treachery, fraud and insane ambition; or at best, to dissolve the Union under which we have prospered, and to break this fair and glorious country into fragments which will be cursed by perpetual discords at home, and by the contempt and ill-usage of foreign nations, from which we shall then be too weak to vindicate ourselves. That such 'offences should be duly punished, no good citizen can doubt; and that proper legislation by Congress is required for that purpose can be as little doubted. Whether such legislation should in clude a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in any and what parts of the country, is a question which belongs exclusively to the legislative authori ties of the United States, who, under the Constitu etitution, have the sight tri, determine it. That great writ ought not to be upended unless to the wisdom of Congress the present necessity shall ap pear to be urgent. Therefore, I recommend the passage of a joint resolution earnestly requesting that Congress shall forthwith pass laws defining and punishing offences 'of the class above referred to, and providing for the fair and speedy trial by an impartial jury of per sons charged with sash offences, in the loyal and un disturbed States, so that the guilty may justly suffer and the innocent be relieved. LIGHT FROM DARK PLAC6S.-oocaeionally we get light from the darkest of dark places. In the debate on the militia law of February sth, from which we yesterday took Mr. Carlilt, s speech. we find then following remarks from Mr. Sumner : " If we would have fewer political speeches less talk about the negro, and turn our energies to the suppression of the rebellion, we should soon see good results. While for once we agree most fully with the Senator, we think it a great pity he had not found it out before. We have entreated this same thing of him and of Congress, and petit Lions have gone up to this effect, but in vain. But how he " drops the negro" may be seen by the bill introduced by him into the Senate yesterday.—Boston Courier. EXTRAORDINARY CATTLE.-Mr. A. R. Paul, of the Western Market of Philadelphia, has purchased two cattle raised and fed by Henry and Thomas Kirk, the celebrated cattle feed ers of Ohio, that exceed in weight and quality any ever produced in this country. The lar gest bullock ever converted into beef in the United States weighed 2,452/ pounds, and made clear meat of 71/ pounds for every 100 lbs. of live weight. It is computed by good judges that they will make 73 pounds to the hundred. This would make the pair together weigh, dressed, 5,256 pounds, or 2,628 pounds each. There was lively competition among the Western market victualers to secure these cattle for New York city, For that pair of bullocks, Mr. Paul paid the sum of $1,200: A FAT Jos.—The Mary Benton, a little Connecticut river steamer, has been sold to the Government for $52,000. She cost, when new, only $30,000. and the Government has paid her owners $27,000 for the pee of her for the last six months. It wcnld be interesting to know how the purchase ifioney,WilB divided. --New Haven Journal. [Prom the Cincinnati Enquirer, Web. 10th.] THE FEELING IN THE. SOUTH. WESTERN AUNT. ON BOARD STEAMER SIOUX CITY, MILLIEEN t s BEND, Jan. 23. lb the Editor of the Enquirer: I hav6 been favored by a fellow-soldier with the inclosed copy of a letter written by him to a friend of his in Providence, R. I. It is long, but I think .worth perusal, and if you deem its publication likely to aid in the cause of truth, it is at your disposal, from an old subscriber : BEAR FRIEND E—: STRAXIIR Sioux CITY, Nercazorr, ARK., Jan. 16. , I am about to do what will probably cost me your friendship—write an honest letter. Not that I have hitherto written" dishonestly, nor that you are accused of hating oandor,-in itself considered. But candor upon the theme I shall treat of, differing, so widely as I now do, from your well known views upon the same topic, can not fail to overtax your patience, involving writer and epistle in one irrevocable anathema. But the fact is, I can't write at all without being true to my nature, which has become deeply stirred with shame and indignation by my country's follies; how deeply stirred this letter win prove, since even your good-will is not a bribe rich enough to prevent my writing it. Like many other Republicans, who, loving the whole country, and deprecating coercion as the most likely means of sundering it for ever, were yet firm in their allegiance to the old flag, however loth to see it committed to a wrong policy, I long strove to justify this war, employing for that purpose all my little stock of learning and skill, both as a theologian and an amateur politician, though I had the decency always, as my friends know, to keep polities entirely out of my Sunday lectures. When the increasing needs of country seemed to demand the sacrifice, I heartily throw my person, as well as my voice, into the tide of carnage, willing even to die that the' Union might live, and ready for any policy looking to that end, in the spirit of the dangerous maxim, "All's well that ends well." The negro—having studied him in real life, not in the pleasing fictions of the Beeohers—l knew too well to care about disturbing him, unless as a convenient makeweight, to be thrown into the scale when better means should fail. I was proud of our regiment—had some linger ing faith in the President—and somewhat more (though hardly full confidence) in the wisdom and virtue of our Generals. Thus I went forth in hope, trusting mainly in God and our vast numbers for success, and proud to find en many old friends rushing with me to the field. This was six months ago. Anybody with open eyes, campaigning even three months in the Southwestern army, ought to learn some thing that could not well be learned at home. Our bOis have been learning, and I don't claim to be duller than the rest. Ergo, my faith in President Lincoln has changed from a grain of mustard-seed to a perfect nonentity; my trust in Union Generalship has ,dwindled to the verge of despair, as the machinery by which officers are made becomes more bare, and their characters, when made, more visible and notorious. Noble exceptions there are, but these are the men that soon resign, or find themselves court martialed. My sentiments touching the black idol have changed from good natured indifference to downright die gust ; and I need hardly add, my hopes of the Union are reduced to a mere hope in some new political dynasty, which I shall now pray and toil for with all the zeal and industry my nature is capable of. Were I alone in these painful discoveries, I ixtight be inclined .to distrust my own judg ment, or at least to repine in silence. But when I find the same views and feelings per-. vadiog our whole regiment, and every other we are brought in contact with, vented in louder and still louder whispers, burdening the letters to every home, seasoning the broth at every mess-table, and deepening the mur murs around each bloody grave—when I know all this, I have no longer a pretext for feigning ignorance of facts which, if men could ignore them, would cause the stones to cry out. - What are we fighting for? In the name of reason and humanity, what is the sublime re sult, which can justify year after year of sack cloth at home and butchery here, of neglected fields but thick strewn Golgothae, of empty Churches, crammed hospitals, deferred bridals, accelerated bankruptcy, and the ever-length ening line of pensioners, who for a paltry stipend and a puff of praise, must hobble arm less, eyeless, footless, to the pauper's grave F,,r what were these things begun, for what must they continue, without even the remote prospect of an end ? Nobody knows. But from the many conflicting rumors on the sub ject, we may examine four of the more com mon and plausible ; each and all of which, instead of justifying the war, are conclusive reasons why it should be condemned, and at once abandoned. Firstly. We aro fighting, it is said, to cram the pockets and wine cellars of a commissioned aristocracy, whose reign and reveliogs must end when peace removes their shoulder-straps. Gladly would I pronounce this a mere slander, hut—l promised to write an honest letter. D aibtless there is just enough truth in it to demand this one remark, namely : That such cause of warfare, however agreeable to the privileged class alluded to, can not always satisfy the rank and file on whose blood they are supposed to fatten. Even glory grows irksome at last, when consecrated by no higher aim than the aggrandizement of tyrants. I have heard that bayonets could be turned upon their employers, but I never believed that. Secondly. We are fighting to abolish slavery, the Union to survive or perish as emancipation may direct. This, too, has truth in it for a large class in New England, and for a few in the West. To them Caucasian 'blood is so inferior, when compared with African, that we can afford to drain its richest arteries that Pompey may call himself ; free, though notori ously as incapable of true freedom, (which implies self-government-and self-support,) as the parrot is; of true eloquence. Theorists may whitewash as they will. Our army has seen the black elephant as he is, and we are forever cured of Uncle Tom's Cabin. To fight in such a crusade is a freak worthy alone of idiots and madmen. • Thirdly. We fight to restore the Union, slavery to stand or fall as the interests of the Union may demand. So we wore told, and so we believed six months ago. Grant that such is indeed the fact. We shall best succeed by conquering ourselves—in other words, by throwing down the sword and fire-brand, trusting to the listening car, the instructive tongue and the faithful .breast. No Union can be valid br lasting until cemented by the union of hearts ; and to say that we can rivet South ern hearts to us by hacking them to pieces, is absurd in terms an well as in fact. A nation great as ours, in wealth, population, arts, arms and commerce, can afford to be equally so in magnanimity. And a Christian nation might well set an ,:ample to the world by dealing with her unruly children upon Christian prin ciples. Rom. xi', 17-21. A. G. OURTIN Finally, we fight simply to humble and cir cumscribe the South, whose growing wealth, power and territory, excite the jealous fears of the New England States. This opinion, though held by very many in the West and South, I can not entertain for a moment. If in this I am deluded, and such be the real origin of our troubles, then the Union army is sure of defeat ; for crime can not prosper, and war from such motives is crime of the most damning type. Better share amiably the glory we can not prevent, than to play the part and share he doom of Haman. I will not speak of the demoralizing` effects of war, nor even enlarge upon its physical horrors, as a further cause for being isick of the present struggle. Mercy to the anxious hearts at home, already convulsed at ate bare suspiCion of the hell behind the scenes, forbids us all to unfeld the secrets of our prison-house —even if human ranguage could unveil the worst, as, thank God, it cannot. Leaving such gleams of Pandemonium for the hollow eyes that are compelled to bear them daily, or to close on them only in the last chill sleep, I confine this letter purely to the intellectual, phase of the war questions, where we find enough, and more than enough, to justify the almost mutinous anxiety for peace that fills, as I have said, the heart of the great South. western army. You may say we are home sick ; I trust in God those of us who have ;homes, love them too dearly ever to forget what we have sacrificed, or to forgive the Adminis tration that could so needlessly, yea, wicked- ' ly, tear us from their hallowed circle. For me, however, the taunt is powerless, death having left me no earthly home to sigh for. Yon may call us cowards. Our blood has washed out the foul aspersion upon every field where we have been brought to the test. Indiana, espe cially, has no indulgence or northing to crave et the hands of history. Her record in this war is one blaze of heroic deeds, only dimmed by the want of cause equal in splendor to the conduct of her sone. The Eighty-Third Regi mot, in its brief but arduous careero'has won, absolutely, the finest reputation in the servioe so acknowledged by older regiments, and by Generals in nowise predisposed to flatter us: Personally, I am not very brave, but my place now is at the Quartermaster's desk, where, except by sympathy, I have no concern about the dangers of the van. Yet I am a man with friends in the ranks and a heart in my bosoin• ' a man to whom the mothers, wives, sisters, and children of those friends look for news from the fray, and whom they justly hold re sponsible for at least the mortal welfare of many who came with me to the field. Oh, God 1 that I should ever have aided even by a breath, to rush into, the shamble s so much good material for so poor a cause. If this expiatory offering—for I shall make the confession to them all—can lessen, even partially, the guilt of the past, I shall die content, even though hung for saying what we all do know. If spared to reach home, however, I shall devote myself, with wiser and humbler zeal, to the gospel of peace, leaving war to brute beasts, and striving, in deep con trition, to " go and sin no more." As ever, your true friend, • J. H. CLEVELAND. TIIIRTY•SEIENTII CONGRESS-SECOND SESSION. Mortnex, February 9. The Senate received from the War Department a report from the paymaster-general, showing the reasons why certain regiments were not paid up to the 31st of August. The report was ordered to be printed. Mr. Harris presented the resolutions of the New York Assembly in favor of the reduction of the duty on printing paper, and a resolution in favor of a bankrupt eat. A memorial was received from bankers and merchants of New York asking that the notes of the government be received for customs duties. The Military Committee reported a bill to organize a signal corps during the present rebellion; also a bill for enrolling and sailing out the national forces, which provides for scarcely any exemptions. Congresmen are as liable to be drafted as ether citi zens, and the bill declares that the first draft shall be made front all persdtts between the ages of eigh teen and thirty. Mr. Sumner introduced another bill to raise additional soldiers. A resolution was adopted requesting the government to furnish the Senate information relative to the amount of govern ment cotton sold in New York since the commence ment of the blockade, together with the amount of commission and storage, and the names of persons interested. Another resolution desires the Presi dent to commu n icate the character of the suggestions made by Secretary Seward to M. Mercier which in duced the latter to visit Richmond, and what repre sentations the French minister was authorized to make from the federal government to the rebel au thorities. In the House most of the session was taken up by consideration of the Western and New York Canal Construetion and Enlargement bill. After an ex tended debate the bill was rejected by a vote of 01 to 71. Mr. Dawes, from the Committee on Elections, reported against the credentials of John It. Rodgers and Lewis McKenzie, the former claiming agseat from Tennessee, and the latter from the Seventh district of Virginia. The reported of the proceed ings may be found on the second page. TETESDAT, February 10. The Senate passed the bill for the organization of the post-offme department. Mr. Foster offered a resolution, which was adopted, requesting the Presi dent of the United States (if not incompatible with the public interests) to lay before the Senate any correspondence which has taken place between this government and the government of France on the subject of mediation, arbitration, or other measures looking to a termination of the existing civil war. The national currency bill was then taken up, and Mr. Sherman spoke in favor of its passage. Several amendments to the bill were rejected, but no vote was taken on the bill itself. On motion of Mr. Arnold the Rouse Committee of Ways and Means was instructed to examine and report on the practical operation of the excise law upon the interests of manufacturers of limited means. The report of the Committee on Elections in favor of admitting Messrs. Hahn and Flanders as repre sentatives from Nen Orleans was then taken up and a brief debate had thereon, but without taking any definite action. WEDNESDAY, February 11. In the Senate Mr. Sherman presented a joint reso lution of the Legislature of Ohio, protesting against the proposed enlargement of the canals of Illinois and New York. Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, re ported adversely on the bill fur the construction of a marine cable, and asked that the Military Commit tee he discharged from farther consideration of the bill to construct a military and postal route from Washington to New York. The Committee on the Judiciary reported against the bill to amend the fugitive slave act, and reported back the bill to allow the United States to prosecute appeals and writs of error without giving authority. The bill for the removal of the Winnebago Indians from Minnesota was passed. ' The bill to increase the number of major and brigadier-generals was called up and dis cussed until the hour for the special order, when the currency bill was taken in hand and debated with warmth and at length. Amendments offered by Messrs. Harris, Arnold, and Sherman were adopted during the debate. The Senate adjourned with the understanding that a vote sbouid be taken at 1 o'clock on Thursday. In the House Mr. Crittenden, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, reported a joint resolution to facilitate proper representation of the industrial in terests of the United States at the International Agricultural Exhibition in Hamburgin July next. It appropriates $lO,OOO for the transportation of articles to New York, thence. to Hamburg and back, to be returned free of duty ; and also $5,000 for the salaries of a commissioner and clerk. After some debate it was set aside for consideration in the Com mittee of the Whole. Bills authorizing the territo ries of Nevada and Colorado to form Constitutions preliminary to their admission into the Union as states were reported by Mr. Ashley. The bill to in , corporate the National Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Ohildren was passed. The Louisiana election case was postponed until Monday. Debate was resumed on Mr. Calvert's amendment to the naval appropriation bill, provi ding that the appropriation shall not apply to the seventy-six acting midshipmen appointed during the recess of Congress, and that the said midshipmen be discharged from the service, which was eventually agreed to. Without coming to a conclusion on the bill the House adjourned. THURSDAY, February 12. Mr. Chase's banking bill passed the Senate by vote of twenty-three to twenty-one. The bill to aid the State of Missouri in emancipation, was taken up and debated i,Hezt,nso. An amendment by Mr. Sumner was adopted to reduce the amount paid for each slave emancipated from $3OO to $2OO. The substitute reported by the Judiciary Committee was adopted, and the bill then passed by a vote of 23 against 18. At the evening session Mr. Lane,_ of Kansas, introduced a bill to admit Nevada, Nebraska, and Colorado as new states. The bill to increase generals was passed with an amendment, limiting the increase to twenty major and fifty bri gadier-generals. In the House Mr. Frank presented the resolutions of the New York Assembly recommending the re duction of duties on imported printing paper ; also those in favor of a general bankrupt law. Consid eration of the bill to indemnify the President for arbitrary arrests was postponed until Tuesday.— The fortification bill was passed, with an amend ment providing $200,000 for the fortifications of Washington. FRIDAY, February 13. In the Senate several petitions were presented for a camp hospital and ambulance corps. Mr. Wilson, from the Committee on Military Affairs reported - back the bill to raise negro soldiers, with the recom mendation that it do not pass, because sufficient authority for the purpose is granted in the act passed last July. The bill to withhold the pay of officers absent from duty was else reported back. The bill to provide for ways and means to support the govern ment was then taken up, and amendments were adopted making the interest on notes authorized by the bill and certificates of indebtedness hereafter issued payable in green-backs instead of coin ; else reducing the amount of the notes to be Weed to one hundred and fifty millions, instead of three hundred millions. A proposition to reduce the proposed tax on the circulation of the banks from two per cent. to one par cent, for two years, and two per cent. afterwards, was adopted by twenty yeas to seven teen nays, aftef a lengthy debate, in which the question of the relative loyalty or disloyalty of those in favor and those opposed was principally discussed. The bill was then passed by a vote of thirty-two to four. The House took up the naval appropriation bill, and concurred in the amendment that while the re bellion lasts there shall be one additional midship man Id' each congressional district in the loyal states ; and also the ameodment making an appro priation for a floating dry dock in the New York navy yard of sufficient size for raising any of the vessels now built. Information was directed to be given whether some plan cannot be devised by which. -the one hundred dollars bounty can be paid promptly to the families of deceased soldiers. A' hill amen datory of the several confiscation acts, providing that the court rendering judgment upon tcondemned property shall first provide for thepayment from the proceeds of any bona. fide claim of any one who shall not have participated in disloyal practices in connection with the property, was passed. A bill to. provide comfortable homes for poor, disabled, and. discharged soldiers was referred. SATURDAY, February 14. In the Senate several petitions ware presented for camp hospitals and ambulance corps. Mr. Wade, from Committee on Territories, reported back the bill to provide a temporary government for the Ter ritory of Montana. Mr. Wilson, from Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the peti tion of Dr. W. T. G. Morton, asking compensation for the use of either in the army, made a report of facts, without any recommendation. Mr. Collamer, from the Committee on Post Offices reported the bill to establish certain Post Routes. Mr. Howard, the bill to increase efficiency of Hospital Department of the army, Referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. Mr. Carlisle offered a bill supplementary to an act for the admission of West Virginia into the Union. Referred to Judiciary Committee. Mr. Howard, from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported back ;he bill to enlarge the Canals, Fox and Wisconsin rivers. In the House Mr. Dawes, from the committee on Elections to whom were referred the credentials of Jennings- Piggot, claiming a seat from, the 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina, and protest of 0. H. Foster, against his claims, made the report adverse to Mr. Piggot. Mr. Morehead, from tha Committee on Naval Affairs, reported a bill Ao. establish a Navy Yard in Western waters at St. Louis. The bill was referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union. FROM SAN FRANCISCO. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 10. John Conners was finally elected Senator, receiving ninety-eight out of a hundred :and fourteen votes. He was formerly a Douglas Democrat, and latterly a member of the Union party. The unrelenting feud bet.ween the friends of Congressman Phelps and Mr. ,Sar gent prevented the eleotion; of is Senator Of Republican antecedents, in accordance With the political bias of a large majority :irt?thes Legbaliture.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers