Mai MUM p3,gaimoita liden*ltem WEDNESDAY,: JANIJARY 1865 . ..... . • The printing igesses shall. be Enbele every person who .undertakes to.examine - the pro ceedings .of the legislature, or any branch of government; and •no law shall ever. he made 'to restrain theright thereof. Tketree eommu _nication of thought and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of . men; and every citizen may freely speak, write and print on any =b leat; /NAN; .responsible for the abuse of that liberty.. in prosecutions for the publication of papers levesligating the official conduct of offi cers, or men in public capacities, or where the matter published is proper for public informa tion, the . truth thereof may be given in evi -'dence."--Osusatation a! Penasykarda. The Present Opportunity. Just now we are very Jubilant over our recent successes. They -are great, and can, if used aright, be made of per manent value. The more thoughtful men of the nation are awaiting the action of the Administration with much anxiety. What will Mr. Lincoln and his party do with these victories? Will they, use them aright, and make them the steppingstone to ay,peedy and honor able peace? That is just now the great question: They have given to them a golden opportunity for accomplishing great and beneficent results. Will they use it aright? We have not the slightest doubt that an open, manly offer of settlement, made to the people of the South, would be responded to promptly by the people themselves. The leaders might scout it, and seek to rally the masses to new and more desperate contests ; but, if the declaration should go forth at once from Washington, that each and every one of the seceded States would be received back into the Union, without any hu miliating conditions, merely on the basis of the ?Elan - Leaded Constitution, we be lieve the rebel leaders would find them selves in a condition in which it would be an utter impossibility for them to continue the contest. Now is the time. This is the tide in our affairs which should be taken at the flood. Each month of war, every new raid that is made, every barn that is burned, every house that is pillaged, but adds to the nuniber of those whose disposition will be that of desperation, and whose hatred of us will be the more unappeasable, If we are ever to have a Union worth restoring, indeed, if we are ever to have any Union under a free form of government, it must be one of consent. A Union of force under Re publican institutions is an impossibil ity. 'We cannot achieve it if we make war upon the South for twenty years, and it would undesirable if obtained.— It will avail us noting to pin the seced ed territory fast to us by bayonets.— Now is the propitious hour for wise action. If it should be neglected ; if the mad cry of utter subjugation is to prevail, we shall find all the good fruits of our present victories dropping away from us, and shall one day be made painfully aware of the utter folly of the policy of our ruler , s. If Mr. Lincoln and his party desire . 'to see the war end within the next four years they must abandon their fanatical schemes, and lend all their energies to one honest and manly effort to restore the Union.— Their schemes of reconstruction are ut terly absurd and impracticable. We scarcely dare hope, however, that they will :be wise enough to use the present advantages aright, but we are sure they will bitterly regret not having done so. The Great Anaconda. We are not about treating our readers to a dissertation on this king of the serpent species—far from it. But it is our purpose to direct their attention to a huge serpent of vastly more dangerous characteristics, and one which will en gulf in its capacious maw, if not speedily destroyed, the liberties of the American people. We allude to the great Ana conda of Abolitionism, than which a more deadly enemy to our free institu tions has never existed. In its destruc tive career it has successively swallowed the Federal party, the Whig party, the Anti-Masonic party, the Temperance party, the Know-Nothing party, the Republican party, and a score of other political parties and isms of lesser note and more circumscribed influence; and it is now engaged in the laudable work of separating the Federal Union and swallowing it by piece-meal. It has slaughtered myriads of our fellow-citi zens, and made widows and orphansby tens of thousands. It has saddled the country with a debt, the magnitude of which exceeds the power of numbers to calculate, and which will rest as an incubus upon us and our posterity to the latest generation. It has engen dered heart-burnings and bitterness, discord and contention in every neigh borhood of our widely-extended domain. Brother has been arrayed against broth er, father against son, and even Chris tian churches have been torn and dis tracted, and the Saviour of men set aside by his professed ministers to make room for this new god of their idolatry. Such has been the destructive career of this huge monster—this terrible ser pent—who only had his counterpart in the Garden of Eden, and whose baleful influence there brought " death into the world and all our woes." This is but a feeble picture of the slimy and poisonous trail of this modern monster of infidelity and crime. Can there nothing be done to stay his rav ages? Are the American people so far demented, as that no danger, however imminent, can. arouse them from their lethargy ? Is this Great Anaconda to go on unopposed and unobstructed in his horrid career of desolation and death ? Is there no A merican Hercules to encounter and slay the vile monster, ere the last vestige of Constitutional liberty is crushed beneath the weight of his ponderous folds? We pause for a reply, and shall resume the subject more at our leisure. Our object at this time is merely to direct the attention of good men of all parties to the terrible condition into which we have been plunged by this Demon of Abolitionism with which the Nation is cursed. The remedy will suggest itself to every right thinking, unprejudiced mind. Speech of C. F. Black, Esq We publish to-day a speech delivered at Reading in October last by our talent ed young friend C. F. BLACK, Esq., of York. Some of our readers may be disposed to think that we have chosen an inap propriate season for the publication of matter of this kind. But it is in periods of political calm that the public mind is best prepared to take in truth, and there are some truths in this speech which the public mind should lay hold of and reflect upon. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that the speaker, when he touched upon that subject, did not go more minutely into matters connected with Fort Sumpter. The popular mind, which has never reached the naked truth in relation to that Fort, has thrown the responsibility where it does not belong. Amalignant and unscrupulous Administration, tak ing unmanly advantage of the extraor dinary forbearance of those most injured by the popular delusion, has carefully suppressed every official document cal culated to enlighten the public mind, We live in hope of seeing the veil lifted at no very distant period, and facts dis closed which have been too long with held from the people. Inauguration of a Governor. ALBANY, Jan. 2..'—Governor Fenton was inaugurated today, and has issued a proclamation urging th'e people to fill up the last call by volunteers. Whet Ma* Done WittEthe.liegroes? It is only 'the advancl' guard of the Aboliiimitats4o4s tiir. 8 2 ' willing to announce their 1iT.40411411e tear" dency of the4rinciplegV theirparty and to accept: with welcome the ulti- mate Old Well-foreseen,Tlyeaulkl.Of , thair politididteltehingl• AllettatigidenWilio have given' the creed of that party a careful examination unite their testi mony in declaring that it can, if carried into action, have.but one resultthat of elevating the negro to equality with the white man, or rather of degrading the whiW man to a level with - the negro. No one who has studied, by the light, of history, the problem of the cerdi tions of the continued existence of two distinct races, the one superior and. the other inferior, in the same country and under the same form of govern ment, has ever been able to arrive at any other than one of two solutions. In all such cases it has invariably happened, through the action of natural laws, that the superior race has dominated over the inferior, and kept it in a condition of complete subordination and depend ence; or else, that the two by a mingling of blood have been blended into one composite race. The same problem is now set before us, and it imperatively demands to be met and answered. When our Govern ment was formed, the negroes among us occur ied a strictly subordinate position, and in that state they were left by the Constitution. Constant agitation upon the subject of slavery at length elevated to power the representatives of a party bitterly hostile to that order of affairs. They came into office possessed, as religious fanatics always are, of a single idea.— To carry this out they were willing to go to any length. Regardless of the ruin sure to follow any violent disturb ance of long established social and political conditions, they went to work to accomplish the overthrow of African slavery in the Southern States. It mattered not to them that they would inflict the greatest possible miseries upon a once happy country; that they would inaugurate the most gigantic and barbarous civil war the world has ever known ; that millions of lives would be wasted; that the treasure of the na tion would be exhausted, and ; the peo ple be burthened beyond endurance with taxes. Fanaticism never stops to count the cost. And now, after four years of such horrors as no nation ever experienced, when it seems possible that slavery may be destroyed, the great problem of the conditions of the continued ex istence of the two widely differing race under the same form of government, is found to be no nearer a solution than it was at the beginning. Not only has the war inflicted great miseries on the white man, but it has entirely failed to benefit the negro. It has stricken the shackles of slavery off many, but it has only re moved them from the easy condition of lightly worked agricultural laborers to throw them on their own resources, and bring them into immediate contact with the stronger and more intelligent race in the struggle for a livelihood. What is sure to be the fate of the poor negro in such a contest is well attested by the history of all inferior races brought into contact with a superior and stronger, except where the two have by common consent mingled with one. The Abolitionists cannot reverse the laws of nature, or do away with the ex amples of history. The more sagacious and thoughtful among them see the dif ficulties of their position, and those who are bold enough to he without fear of popular clamor unhesitatingly embrace he alternative of breaking down all distinctions between the two races. That this is the only way in which the negro race can be saved from extinction, by a slow but sure process of exhaustion in a hopeless struggle for existence in antagonistic contact with a race so im measurably his superior, all men who have studied the subject are, if honest, forced to admit. There are honest men among, the abolitionists, men who dare to avow and uphold the doctrines of their party, and who having followed the teachings of their party to their legitimate results are not afraid to embrace even the ugly ultimatum of universal amalgamation. Mr. Stevens, boldly declared that oil men should he made equal under the law. He is a representative abolitionist, a man of brains and ofnerve. He knows what the teachingsof his party are, sees the necessities thrust upon it by the new order of things, and demands that the negro shall be made a citizen.—. Others of his class are boldly advocat ing amalgamation before the Northern public. We shall give in to-morrow's paper some extracts from a speech made on Tuesday last by Wendell Phillips, at Cooper Institute, N. York. His oration is instructive, as showing the real tendencies of the doctrines of the party to which he is attached. Death of Ilion. George M. Dallas. The whole country will profoundly regret to hear of the death of the Hon. Geo. M. Dallas. As announced in our telegraphic despatches of Saturday he expired at his residence in Philadel phia, on Saturday last, after only a few hours illness. He was a distinguished citizen, and few men in the country have borne a more irreproachable char acter in public and private life than he. He was a christian gentleman and a true patriot: Mr. Dallas was born in Philadelphia,' July 10, 1791 He graduuted at Prince ton College with high honors, com menced the study of the law, was ad mitted to the Bar, and immediately appointed Private Secretary to Hon. Mr. Gallatin United States Minister to the court of St. Petersburg. On his re turn to his native country he recom menced the study of his profession, in which he always held the highest posi tion. His great legal erudition and fine intellectual powers eminently fitted him to take a prominent place in his profession. He was appointed, as a mark of Presidential favor, to the posi tion of Deputy Attorney General at Philadelphia, His fellow-citizens, de sirous of showing him their esteem, elected him the highest position in their gift—that of Mayor. Upon the expira tion of his term, he was appointed Uni ted States District Attorney for the city. In 1831 he was elected United States Senator from the State & Pennsylvania After holding this post for two years, resigned, and returned again to the practice of the law. In 1837 he' was appointed Envoy Extraordinaryl-and Minister Plenipotentary to the Court of Si. Petersburg. He was re-called' in 1839, and in 1844 was 'nominated for the Vice-Presidency do the same ticket with James K. Polk. During his Presidency of the Senate, the question of abandoning the Pro tective policy and deriving revenue from duties was brought before the Senate in the Report of Hon. R. J. Wulker, Secretary of the Treasury.— The Senate was equally divided and Mr. Dallas had the casting vote. His voice in favor of the bill caused the proposition to become a law. He there fore was the father of this great im provement in our national system. In 1855 he was spoken of generally 'for the Presidency, but was defeated in the National convention. On February 4, IMO, he was appointed United States Minister to the Court of St. Juries, which position he held., Prisoners of. War. There are yet languishing in rebel prisons overfifty thousand Of our North ern soldiers, while it is said - we 'hold nearly one hundred' thousand rebels in our various barracks. 'Cannot our_suf fering, soldiers be released by a :wise system of exchange? Is not" the life, are not the services of each one of our men North as 'much to us as a rebel of equal rank is to the Confederacy ? What Wendell Phillips WouldDoMph the Negro.' -;-= The opinions of Wendell Phillips igke ioniethinatir ,, two, rewiaMs. the first plie lliiis a nAn of *time con siderable Iniellebt, and, 'secoriilly, hell aziepresentative man athis party. hi* evidefitly stell i e4:te some Purpose he problem ofthe existence of '"the negro race amongF'_:lns after they are emancipated. He is not content, as are most of those who blindly follow where he and such as.helaye led, with join- ing in the line mid cry for the destruC tion of an existing social s and political institution without hiking some thought as to whht is to follow. He knows that the old'system being abblished, it is ut terly impossible for so many human beings to exist without some new rela thin being provided for them. He is willing to risk everything for the sake of emancipation, but he refuses to shut his eyes to what is to follow. He sees the difficulties that must be encounter- ed in the future, which he regards as near at hand, and sets about to provide for them. His method of disposing of the great political and social problem may not be the most agreeable one, but it is in strict accordance with the thee ries of the representation men of the party now in power, and has the merit of being consistent. He does not shirk the real issues because they are ugly and unpopular, but meets them face to face, recognizes them as truth, and em braces them. In his late speech at New York he puts the Copperheads and the vascil lating conservatives of his own party on 4. par. Neither of them, in his opinion, are to be trusted. He regards Lincoln as very near rightin sentiment, but thinks he is slightly lacking in back bone. He admits that the triumphs of the battle-field will establish nothing, unless the national mind can be edu cated up to what he declares to be die proper stand-point in this really im portant matter. Hear him : "Conquest does not make a nation. Well, then, another element of national ity is a mixture of recces. There never was a great nation on the strain of a single blood. I don't care whether you force it—it matters not. The Slavonic is the noblest race, judged by the same test, in the world ; but nobody can now hardly trace its abiding place. All great nations, ever since Rome wel comed all the gods' to her Pantheon, have been the mosaic of races. The proud Yankee—the proud Saxon spread ing from Massachusetts before, but at St. Louis claiming the domination of the continent, with more brains in his right hand, as Emerson said than other races have in their skulls, shirking the primal ordinance to work for his living by the sweat of his brow, harnessing the steam and sending lightning on errands—still that race summoned the Dane and the plodding German to its aid. We did not make nations for num ber one. It k no matter what other races were, the elements were all neces sary to the great result. And you know now that I tun coming to the blacks. [Applause.] As that unwelcome coun try cousin said, mn your cousin, and you can't help it.' [Applause and laughter.] Some fastidious white man says, ' I do not like negroes;' but, as the man said, ' God didpot consult him.' Now, the nation, in order to be strong, prosperous and just, should be inspired y one idea, and should welcome into its bosom all races that have tal' en re fuge on the continent. [Applause.] A gentleman in the audience here arose and inquired of Mr. Phillips whether he was in favor of amalgamat ing the white and black races. (Hisses.) " Mr. Phillips—Oh, no don't hiss him. What did I come here to-night for? Not, certainly, to conceal any sentiment I entertain—not, certainly to avoid any questions any man in this house may ask me. (Hear, hear.) I have endeavor ed, if the questioner has understood me, to show you that the history of all na tions has proved the absorption of races to be beneficial to the great national re snit. I looked upon the German, with its appurtenaces of Saxon and the vari ous races represented in these Northern States—the Latin of the Southwest and the negro of the Southern States—as the great elements out of which God is to build up the nation. (Loud applause.) And as Trojan is represented as hating in his comyti, sYs e rrlp language' and I•CIW creed, so 1 believe that when Amer pipits, Ms her conquests the negro will find himself in the same position equal with the white man, in the Sm ote." The voice of Mr. Phillips in this mat ter has one merit at least—it is honest. He sees that in no other way than the one he has pointed out can the negro race ever exist in this country, except in a state of dependence and virtual slavery. lie is hard upon Gen. Banks' apprentice system, denounces it as a mere sham, declares that the fre,V ne groes on the Government plantations are still slaves in all but the name:. and not only fully developes his theory, but proves conclusively its entire correct ness. We agree with him in this mat ter throughout. Whatever may become of the institution of slavery, as it ex isted before the war began, whatever may be the result of the war, there are but two conditions of existence possible for the negro. Either he must be made the equal of the white in all respects, and become gradually absorbed by a process of miscegenation, or he must remain virtually the slave of the white man forever. It is to be hoped we ?shall see less dodging of vital issues among the supporters of Mr. Lincoln's Ad ministration. It is high time they should open their eyes and look the ugly issues squarely in the face. The great question of tie day is, what shall be done with the negroes '.' Mr. Phillips, and such as he, present the only solu tion which seems possible, unless the poor blacks of the South are to be ex terminated and buried in the same grave with their masters. It is citizenship for the negro, with all the rights of citizen ship; or his destruction, if the Abolition theory is to prevail. It is high time the Abolition leaders were deciding which it is to be. The poor negro has suffered almost as much in this war as the white man, and his future is very gloomy. It is doubt ful whether even Mr. Phillips' proposed plan can save him. In the report of the present commissioner of Agricul ture a passage occurs which is very sensible, and founded upon some knowledge of the capacity of the negro race for improvement. The following paragraph seems to extinguish the last hope even of such abolition philanthro pists as Wendell Phillips : " Mongrels bred upon half-breeds com municate most of the vice's and infirmi ties of their blooded ancestry and few of their virtues, and a second or third out cross generally loses all trace of the original good blood. The exemplifica tion of this can be found nowhere more sharply defined than in the crossing of the Caucasian with a lower type of hu manity. The first cross results in a man inferior to the pure Caucasian, but superior to the Chinese, the Indian, or the negro, from whom he may have sprung. The second cross with another mongrel produces a being inferior to either race. Persistent commingling with the same blood destroyi all traces of the Caucasian elemergli and in the case of the negro, at least,'leads to scrof ula, impotence, and death." Well may we ask, what is to be done with the negro? Thewar may freehim from the control of his master, but, what is to become of him then ? Death of James William Wallack The theatre-loving public, and especi ally the elder portion of it, will learn with profound regret of the death of James William Wallack, the veteran actor of. America. He may be said to have formed almost the only remaining link that bound the old school of theat ricals to that of the present day. For the last six or seven years he_ has not, with slight exceptions, appeared on the stage, and since 1861 devoted himself to the management of his; new theatre at the corner of Fourteenth street and Broadway, New York. kCrazy Authors and Crazy Editors . ;A fa Singular case has been on trWilll ! Olf) City Court 0-. Brooklyn, New 1 1044"! fad son* days vattC.. The plaittiliff, Was. i'L.O.nti C- uNDEitErn44; iiiscii:Yor about forty years-,of age; and the dyf.sn+-.1 ants are her own nephew and sister.±' .She haahrougnt,themition against tl eni. to recover damages for injuries inflicted upon her health and reputation by their confining her in the Bloomingdale In sane Asylum. It came out in the evi dence that Miss TJNDERHILL is the author of a number of very well 7 written poetical effuaions,,ancl the question was put to Dr. BnowN, principal physician of the Bloomingdale Asylum, " whether it was not possible that a person of. in sane mind should write excellent poetry, such as the plaintiff claims to have written, or to excel in any other art ?" To this question the Doctor made the following answer : I suppose the best reply I can give to that question is to state that Adler's German and English Dictionary,Vhich is used as a standard text-book in the principal colleges in the country, was written in the Bloom ingdale Lunatic Asylnm, by a person of insane mind; I might also mention a num ber of the standard textbooks which were written in that institution ; and I will state as a conclusive fact, that one of the leading newspape'is in New York is principally' edited in the Bloomingdale Lunatic Asy lum, and the leading editorial is written three or four times a week by a person of unsound mind confined in that institution. Dr. BROWN did not give the name of the " leading newspaper " that "is principally edited in the Bloomingdale Lunatic Asylum," but no one who is well acquainted with the leading New York journals.can doubt that it is the Herald. Its columns of jumbled words without ideas—its railing to-day at men and things it had praised but yesterday —its constant exhibitions of glaring in consistency, while claiming, to be en tirely consistent—and its morbid long ing to be everywhere recognized as the head and front of American journalism, when it is in fact entitled to but a very low rank—all are evidences that its edi torial columns are controlled by persons of unsound mind. Compared with the finely-written and well-digested articles of the World and the Journal of Com merce, its incoherent editorials do indeed read like the productions of a mad house. What, for example, could read more like a Herald editorial than the following, written by ,a lunatic named Lin., an inmate of the Dublin Insane Asylum, about the close of the last century ? o! that my lungs could bloat like buttered peas, And by their frequent bleatlngs catch the itch, Or grow as mangy as the Irish seas To engender whirlwinds In some stubby witch; Not that a hard-roed herring dare presume To swing a tithe pig in a'cat-skin purse,— Because the great hail storm that occurred at Rome BV lessening the fall might make It worse. I know that drunken rainbows, lulled to sleep, Dance like welsh rabbits on a lair !mild's eyes. I love to see a pluidlng creep, For creeping puddings always please the wise. The reason's plain—torebaron's western Burge, Driving full-tilt into the subjunctive mood, Beckoned to a porpoise, and gave In charge To fatten paddocks on Antartic food. charg e To Jupiter, and snuff - the moon, [Here a cloud is supposed to have passed over the moon,) Alas! thou envious tlod, thou'st snuffed it out too soon ! The Exchange of Prisoners of War. The Washington correspondent of the New York Herald says : "The prisoner question is just now a subject of serious consideration with the authorities here. Apprehensions are en tertained that it may be made a sub ject of Congressional investigation,when it may possibly appear that our own Government is not free from blame in regard to the continuance of the suffer ings of the Union prisoners in the South. The rebel officials allege that they afford them the best treatment fn their power; and it is said they have invited our Gov eminent to send . for them and bring them home. This has not been done because the rebels have failed to recog nize the equality of negro prisoners, and also because the rebel armies can now be reinforced only by the return of pris oners. It is probable, however, that authority will be given to Colonel Mul ford to go on making exchanges, until the question as to the negro.. prisoners becomes a practical one. Why is it that, after all the stories of the terrible suffering to which our pris oners have been subjected in the rebel prisons, we hear uo demand for their exchange from Abolition newspapers. These journals teem with reports of re bel barbarities, but not one of them seems ready to advise the adoption of any judicious plan of exchange. Have not enough of brave men already died in utter misery, because the authorities refuse to permit an exchange to pro cede until the status demanded by Mr. Lincoln for the negro shall be recog nized by the Sonth? How many more thousands must thus most wretchedly perish ? Mahommedan's War Order Aboubekre then causing his army to be ranged around him in a circle : " Warriors of Islam," said he, " attend a moment and listen well to the precepts which I am about to promulgate to you for observation in time of war. Fight with bravery and loyalty. Never use artifice or perfidy towards your enemies; do not multilate the fallen, do not slay the aged, nor the children, nor the women ; • do not destroy the palm trees ; do not burn the crops ; do not cut down the fruit trees, nor do not slaughter the animals except what will be necessary for your nourishMent. You will find upon your route men living in solitude, in meditation, and in adoration of God do them no injurngive them no offense." —Lamatine' s Turkey. The religion of Mohommed would not permit the indiscriminate plunder and burning of houses, mills, fences,• and stacks of grain, of both friend and foe, as the want of some sort of religion did both Sherman and Sheridan. Yet the man who gave utterance. to the forego ing extract is called a pagan and a heathen. If that be heathenism, give it to us in preference to the Christianity of such orders as was recently issued by 'Sherman and Sheridan, by whose order large portions of Georgia and Virginia, were rendered desolated by pillage and plunder, and friend and foe, involved in one common ruin. That may be the religion of Abolitionism, but it cannot be that of the Prinee of Peace. The Good Old Times Thomas Mifflin in his message to the Legislature of thiS State, delivered in this city, on December llth, 1799, used the following language : "For a period of almost ten years, "during which the expenses of the " Government have been unavoidably "great, and the appropriations for pub lic improvements liberal beyond all " former example; let it- be repeated "that the people of Pennsylvania have "been exoneratedfrom every species of " State taxation.'!, Think of that ye overburtheued tax payers of the present day. Ten years of complete exemption from all' taxation, except such light assessments as were then levied for county and city pur poses. No National debt, no State debt, no national taxes, no State taxes. What a contrast to our,'present condition.— Verily we have fallen upon evil times, and we are paying heavy penalties for having discarded the honest principles and the safe political maxims of our fathers. Ten years of complete exemp tion from even a State tax. That is something we shall never see again ; a blessed relic of the past only to be made to appear more charming and desirable by a contrast with our present over taxed condition. In those days of hon esty and economical expenditure an ample State revenue was derived from sales of the State lands, and from a moderate license ,on taverns and re tailers. THE PRESIDENT LOOKS BAD.-A re cent visitor to Washington informs us that Old Abe looks haggard and care worn, and thinks that he may not sur vive the term for which he has been re elected. What a pity it would be if the country should lose him eonsylvanla coigresslonal Ilection THE GOVERN6R'S PROCLAMATION- :rk.Pennsylttuaia,,as : the mute and by stfleatithority of the ConunifnwealthijfPenn:< sylvaniN Andrew G. Ca I#n, Governer of , the said Commonwealth. ! , A PZOCLAMATiON. :;.-Whereas, in mid by au, act of therGenerid Asseinbly of thiscommonweldth,Passedthe 2d day of July, A. D. one thousand eight Minded and thirty-nine, entitled an act re lathigto the elections of this Commonwealth, it is made the duty, of the Governor, on the receipt ofthe returns of the election. of the members orthe frodit of Representatives of the United States; bythe - of the • ConitnOnwealthr 7 ttraeplareby p theonames of the persons returned as elected in their r!arpectlive districts. And whereas. the returns of ti se general electio4 held on TneSday, the 11th day ofOctober last, in and for the several districts for members of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States for the term of two years ; from and after the 4th day of March next, have been received in the office of the Secre tary of the Conissonwealth ; agreeably to the provisions of the abote recited act; whereby it appears that to the First district, compos ed of the Second Third, Fourth ; Sixth and Eleventh warcl.4 in the City of Philadelphia Samuel J. Randall has been duly elected ; in the Secend , district, composed of the First, Seventh, .ighth, Ninth and Tenth wards in the City of Philadelphia, Charles O'Neill has been duly elected; inthe Third district, composed of the Twelfth, Thir teenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth; wards in the City of Phila delphia, Leontrd Myers has been duly elected; in the,' f ri'ourth district, composed of the Fourteentli->lfteenth,Twentieth, Twen ty-first and TS-enty-fourth wards in the City of Philadelphia, Wm. D. Kelley has been duly elected; in the Fifth district, composed of the Twenty-second; Twenty third and Twenty-fifth wards in the City of Philadelphia and the county of Bucks. M. Russell Tl.9yer has been duly elected ; in the Sixth: district, composed of the counties of Montgomery and Lehigh, B. Markley Boyer has been duly elected; in the Seventh district, composed of the counties of Chester and Delaware, John M. Broomall .has been duly elected; in the: Eighth district, composed of the county of,:, Berks, Sydenhaiii E. An cona has been i!duly elected ; in the IN.: inch district, eonipsed of the county of Lancas ter, Thaddeus Stevens has been duly elect ed ;iu the 'teihh district,. composed - of the counties of Schuylkill, and Lebanon, Myer Strouse has been duly elected; in the Eleventh district, composed of the counties of Northainwat, Carbon, Monroe, Pikeand Wayne, Philip Johnkon hits been duly elected; iu thESTwelfth district, composed of the counties of Luzerne and Susipithanna, Charles Dennison has been duly elected; in the Thirteenth. district, composed of the counties of Bradford, Wyoming, Sullivan, Columbia and _Montour, Ulysses Mercur has been duly' elected; in the Fourteenth district, com4sed of the counties of North umberland, Union, Snyder, Juniata and Dauphin, George F. Miller has been duly elected; in the Fifteenth district, composed of the counties of Ong!: Berland, York, and Perry, Adam J. Gloss brenner has been duly elected,; and I do further declare that no such returns of the election in the Seventeenth Congressional district have been sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth as would, under the act of July 3d, 1539, authorize me to`proclahn the name of any person as having been duly elected a member of the House of Repro sentatatives of the United States front that district ; itt the Seventeenth district, com posed of the counties of Cambria, Blair, Huntington and Mifflin, Abraham A. Bar ker, has been duly elected ; in the Eigh teenth district, composed of the counties of Centre, Clinton, Lycoming, Tioga and Potter, Stephen F. Wilson has been duly elected ; in the Nineteenth district, compos of the counties of Erie, Warren, McKean, Forrest, Elk, Contemn, Jeffersoit and Clearfield, Glemii W. Schofield has been duly elected; in the Twentieth district, composed of the counties of Crawford, Veit ango, Mercer and Clarion, Charles V. Culver has been duly elected; in the Twenty-first district, composed of the counties of Indiana, • IVestmoroland and Fayette, John I. Dawson has been duly elected ; in the Twenty second district, composed of that part of Allegheny county south of the Ohio and Allegheny rivers, including Nevil .1. K. Morehead has been duly elected ; in the Twenty-third district, composed of that part of Allegheny county north of the Ohio and Allegheny rivers, and of the counties of Butler and Armstrong, Thonms Williams has been duly elected ; in the Twentv-fourth district, composed of the counties of Law rence, Beaver, Washington and Greene, George V. Lawrence has been duly elect edP Now, therefore, I, Andrew G. Curtin, Governor as aforesaid, have issued this my proclamation, hereby publishing and de claring that Samuel J. Randall, Clutrles r Neill, Leonard Myers, Wit litun D. Kelley, M. Russell Thayer, B. Markley Boyer, John M. Broomall, Svdenham E. Ancona, Thaddeus Stevens, Myer Slrouse, Philip Johnson, Charles Dennison, Ulysses Mer cur, George F. Miller, Adam J. aossbren ner, Abraham A. Barker, Stephen F. Wil son, Glenni W. Schofield, Charles V. Cul ver, John L. Dawson, J. K. Morehead, Thomas Williams and George V. Lawrenee have been returned as duly elected in their several districts, before mentioned, its repre sentatives in the Congress of the tinned States for the term of two years, to coin- Inence front and after the fourth day of March next. Given under my hand and the I.great seal of the state, at Harris , j burg, this twenty-sixth day of De -- cemlwr, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the Commonwealth the eighty-ninth. By the Governor : 1:LI SLIDER, Secretary of the Commonwealth Death of Col. Charles A. May We take the following notice of the death of this gallant officer from the _A'. Y. lirortd. Col. May was stationed for a number of years at the Carlisle Barracks,and was personally well known to many in this State. 'The ll'or/d says: A brave and chivalric soldier, a true and high-souled gentleman, an Ameri can whose name is indissolubly con nected with oue of the most brilliant episodes of our national history,passed to his rest in this city on Saturay, the 24th instant. Colonel Charles A. May, of Maryland, entered the army of the U,nited States during the second presidency of Andrew Jackson, and, resigning his commission in 1860, retired into private life in this city, where he has since resided, win ning an honorable name among our citizens as the active and efficient Vice President and Superintendent of the Eighth Avenue Railroad Company. But on the rolls of that noble army of the Union, enlisted for all time the company of patriotic soldiers who fight ing together side by side under the one flag of their fathers, knew no North, no South, no East, no West, but won for all the land a commop triumph and a common fame, 'the name of Colonel May, the soldier of Resaca de la Palma and of Montere', is still borne " fore most among the foremost." Few names Shine more brilliantly than his in the records of the last war waged by Americans against a foreign foe. Others, his companions in arms, during that glorious episode of our an nals, have since made theMselves more widely known in the conflicts of the civil strife which now desolates the republic. But the fame of May neither South nor North can claim. The story of the resistless: cavalier 'who led so many charges on those far fields of Mexico belongs to America, and will be Proudly remembered by Americans as long as knightly courage stirs the blood of youth, and duty loyally done com mands the respect of men.' Colonel May Was still in !the vigor of life, having been born August 9, 1818, in the City of Baltimore; and his singu larly stalwart frame and Stately pres ence, well befitting a soldier of romance, seemed to promise him many years of usefulness and happiness. But an or ganic tendency to disease of the heart, to which his brother, Captain Julian May, some years since succumbed, de veloped itself into sudden and fatal force, and aggravated probably by his incessant devotion to the duties of his position among us, into which he car ried a military thoroughness and exact ness of administration, over-matched even his colessal, strength of frame. " A WAR for the Union," coercing the people of the North into :an army in order to coerce the South into the Union! The Northern people, according to the war logic, desire so strongly to have the Union preserved, that they have to be caught, chained and put in the army ! It is coercion both ways. Coercing the South into the Union, and coercing the Northern people to force them in! Was there ever such stupend ous madness, since man was created ? Peace Commissioners gone to Richmond. Francis P. Blair, Senior, and Mont- , gotnery Blair hd.Ve gone to Richmond on a mission of`peace. It is questioned here if their errand is self imposed, or if they went in obedience to a request communicated to Blair, • a‘nior, by Jeff Davis. It is understood that the passes and orders which cover this expedition were granted by, the President. THE ATTACK ON WIL4IINGTON. Admiral Porter's Official Report • - - WASHINGTON,' Dec. 29, 18&4. ,The Secretar of .tke.Navy received tliteragthetcilli4iirf by s*ial, . nuesbiker : Lt. , ",., • ' :ti Xl. .t'S.6SRT4PLAZiir SQUAQCON, -'.,',:} i ' • k et i .:. U. S. Flagship Malvern, at Se 1 ,'-;- OlLlpiewpilet, Daiit' 7 ;.„ ~,.. 5 - , .• Siii,"i'l was in'fi r opesAliatr , S oulk have been able to present to the nation Fort-Fisher and the surrounding works as a Christmas offering, but I am sorry to say it has not been taken yet. I at tacked it on the 24th inst., with the Ironsides Canonicus, Mahopac, Monad noc,_ Minnesota, Colorado, Mohican, Tilaciirota, -. Wattali; - = Brooklyn -Pow. hattan, Susquehanna, Juniata, Seneca, Shenandoah, Patuxent, Ticonderoga,. Mackinaw, . Maumee Yantic, Kansas, lase°, Quaker City,'Aionticello, Rhode. Island, Sassacus, Chippe*a, Osceola, Kacony, Pontoosuc, Santiago de Cuba, Fort Jackson, and Vanderbilt, having a reserve of small vessels, consisting of of the Aries, Houqua, Wilderness, Che rokee, A. D. Vance, Anemone, .Eolus, Gettysburg, Alabama, Keystone State, Banshee, Emma,Lillian, Tristam Bran dy, Brittania, Buckingham and Nanse mond. Previous to making the attack a torpedo on a large scale, with an amount of powder on board supposed to be sufficient to explode the powder magazines of the fort, was prepared with great care, and placed under the com mand of Commander A. C. Rhind, who had associated with him on this perilous service Lieutenant S. W. Preston, Second Assistant-Engineer A. F. Mul len of the United States steamer Agawam, and Acting-Master's-Mate Paul Bayard, and seven men. So much had been said and written about the terrible effect of gun-powder iu an ex plosion that happened latelai in England that great results were expected from this novel mode of making war.— Everything that ingenuity could devise was adopted to make the experiment a success. The vessel was brought round from _Norfolk with great care and with out accident, in tow of the United States steamer tiassaeus, Lieut.-CommanderJ. L. Davis, who directed his whole atten tion to the matter in hand, and though he experienced some bad weather and lost one of his rudders, he took her safely into Beaufort, where we filled her Up with powder, and perfected all the machinery for blowing her up. Gen. Butler had arrived at the ren dezvous before us, and I hastened mat ters all that I could, so that no unneces sary delay might be laid to my charge On the liith inst. I sailed from Beau fort with all the monitors, the new Iron sides, and the small vessels, including the Louisiana, disguised as a blockade runner, forthe rendezvous twenty miles east of New Inlet, N. C., and found all the larger vessels and transports as sembled theril, the wind blowing light from the northeast. On the 2.oth a heavy gale set in from the southwest, and not being able to make a port without scat tering all the vessels, I determined to ride it out, which I did without acci dent of any kind, except the loss of a few anchors, the monitors all behaving beautifully. Only two vessels• went to sea, in order to avoid the gale, and fare no better than those at anchor. The transports being short of water, put into Beaufort, N. (j., and were not suitable for laying out at anchor in such lieav weather. , After the southwester the wind chop pod around b the westward, and gave us a beautifu: pelt of weather, which I could not afb : d to lose, and the trans ports with the troops not making their appearance, 1 determined to take ad vantage of it and attack Fort Fisherand its outworks. On the 23,1 I directed Commander 1 - Wind to proceed and explode the vessel right under the walls of Fort Fisher. Mr Bradford of the Coast Sur vey, having gone in at night and ascer tained that we could place a vessel of seven feet draft right on the edge of the beach. Lieut. It. H. Lamson,command ing the Gettysburg, volunteered to go in the Wilderness, Acting-Master Henry Arsy in command, anirtow the Louis anna into position. At MI p. in. the powder vessel started ifftoward the bar and was towed by the Wilderness until the embrasures of Fort Fisher were plainly in sight. The Wilderness then cast off and the Louisiana proceeded under steam until within 200 yards of the beach, and about 500 from the fort. Commander Ithind anchored her sei curely there and coolly went to work to make all his arrangements to blow her• up. This he was enabled to do owing to a blockade runner going in right ahead of him, the fort making the blockade runner signals, which they also did to the Louisaua. The gallant party, after coolly looking all their ar rangements for the explosion, left the vessel, the last thing they did being to set her on fire under the cabin, and then taking to their boats they made their escape off the Wilderness lying close by. The Wilderness then put off shore with good speed to avoid any ill effects that might happen from the explosion. At 4:5 minutes past one of the morn ing of the :24th, the explosion took place and the shock was nothinglikeso severe as was expected ; shook the vessels some and broke one or two glasses, but noth ing more. At daylight of the 24th the fleet got under way and stood in line of battle. At 11.30 a. in. the signal was made to engage the forts, the ironsides leading, and the Mm lad noel:, Canonicus and Mahopac following. The ironsides took her position in the most beautiful and seamanlike manner, and opened a deliberate fire on the fort, which Was firing at her with all its guns, which did not seem numerous on the north-east face, though w'e counted what appeared to be 17 guns. But Mur or five of these were fired from that direction, and they were silenced almost as soon as the Iron sides opened her terrific battery. The Minnesota then took her position in handsome style, mid her guns, after getting the range, were fired with ra pidity, while the Mohican, the Colo rado, and the large vessels marked on the plan, got to their stations, all tiring to cover themselves while anchoring. By the time the last of the large vessels anchored and got the batteries into play, but one or two guns of the enemy were fixed, this fee drefcr driving them all to the bomb-proofs. The small gunboats Kansas, t7nadilla, Pequot, Seneca, Pontoosuc, Yantic and Huron took a position ou the south ward and the eastward of the monitors, and enfiladed the works. The Shen andoah, Ticonderoga, - Mackinaw, Ta wny and Vanderbilt took effective positions, as marked on the chart, and added their fire to that already begun. The Santiago de Cuba, Fort Jackson, Oseeola, Chippewa, Sassacus, Rhode Island, Monticello, Quaker City and lasco dropped into position according to order, and the battle became general. In one hour and fifteen minutes after the first shot was fired, not a shot came from the fort. Two magazines had been blown up by our shells, and the fort set on fire at several places, and such a torrent of missiles were falling into and bursting over it, that it was impossiti o le for anything human to stand it. Find ing that the batteries were silenced completely, I directed tini ships to keep up a moderate fire, in the hopes of at tracting the transports and bringing them in. At sunset Gen. Butler came in, in his flag-ship, with a few titans ports, the rest not having arrived from Beaufort. Being too late to do anything more, 1 signalled to the fleet to retire for the night to a safe anchorage, which they dill WithOUt being molested by the enemy. There were some mistakes made the day when the vessels went in to take position. My plan of battle being based It th. on accurate calculations and made on information to be relied , was placed in the hands of each co ander, and it seemed impossible to go astray if it was strictly followed. I required those vessels that had not ftillowed it closely to get under way and assume their proper positions, which way done promptly and without confusion. ,The vessels were placed somewhere nearer to the works, and were able to throw in their shells, which were-before falling in the water. One or two leading ves sels having made the mistake of an choring too far off, caused those coming after them to commit a like error, but when they got into place, and com menced work in earnest, the shower of shells (115 per minute) was irrestible. So quickly were the enemy's guns silenced that not an officer or man was injured. I regret, however, to have to report some severe casualties by the bursting of 100-pounder Parrott' cannon. One burst on board the Ticonderoga, killing six of the crew and wounding seven others.; another burst on• board the Yankee, killing one officer and two men; another on the Juniata,. killing two officers and - wounding and killing ten • others ; another on the Mackinaw, killing one 'officer and wounding five other men ;, another. on ' the Quaker City, wounding, I believe, two or three; another on the Susquehanna, 'killing and wounding seven. I think the burst ing of the gu,tiSl 4-: six 1a11) much dis concerted theVe*Sof the vesselswhere - - - the accidents happaitedyan d gave one and a4test distrust;'of 44e_100-It) Parrott, 418esubsequeritivi3 . n, ts proved, they were unfit for setitce tind.- calculated to kill*ore of our taxi than those of the eneßay.qp'ome of tiap`v*sels were struck out, or.ftrlce, ...The - Mackinaw had her tioller with`a shell , and ten or twelve persons were badly scalded. The Osceola was struck with a shell near the magazine, and was at one time in a sinking condition, but her efficient commander stopped up the leak, while the Mackinaw fought out the battle, notwithstanding the damage she receiv , ed. • Thy.Mantic was the only vessel which left the line to report damages. Commander John Guest, at the eastend of the line, showed unusual intelligence in selecting the position and directing his tire. Twice his guns cut down the flag-staff on tlie mound battery, and he silenced the guns there in a very short time, the Keystone State and Quaker City co-operating effectively. Lieut.-Commander J. R. Davis, with both nidders disabled, got his vessel, the Sassacus, into close action ' and assisted materially in silencing the works, and the Santiago de Cuba and the Fort Jackson took such positions as they could get, towing to other vessels not forming proper line and throwing them out of place, and fought their guns well. The taking of a uew position while under fire by the Brooklyn and Colora do was a beautiful sight, and when they got into place both ships delivered a fire that nothing could withstand. The Brooklyn well sustained her proud name under her present Commander, Capt. James Alden, and the Colorado gave evidence that her commander, Commodore H. K. Thatcher, well un derstood the duties of his position. The Susquehanna was most effective in her fire, and was fortunate enough to obtain the right position, though much both ered by a vessel near her that had not found her right place. The Mohican went into battle gal lantly and fired rapidly and with effect, and when the Powhattan and Ticonde- roga and Shenandoah got into their po sitions they did good service. The Paw tuxet fell handsomely into line and did good service with the rest., and the Van derbilt took position near the Minnesota and threw in a splendid fire The tiring of the Monitors was excel lent, and when their shells struck great damage was ttpoe, and the little gun boats that cok , Jred them kept up a fire sufficient to disconcert the enemy's aim. The rebels tired no more offer the vessels all opened on them, except a few shots front the mound and upper batteries, Which the lasco and her consorts soon silenced. Our men were . at work at the guns five Incurs and were glad to get a little rest. They (mite out of the action with rather a con tempt for the rebel batteries and anxious to renew the battlikin the morning. (in the 25th, all the , transports had ar rived, and Gen. Butler sent Gen. Weitzel to see me and arrange the programme for the day. It was decided that we should attack the forts again, while the army landed and assaulted them, if possible, under our heavy tire. I sent seventeen gunboats under the command of Capt. (). S. di lesson to cover the troops and assist with their boats in landing the soldiers. Finding the smaller vessels kept too far from the beach, which was Quite bold, and having sent in the Brooklyn to sent them an example, which that vessel, (lid, relying as every wander should on the information I gave hint, in relation to the soundings. To this number was added all the small vessels that were covering the coast along. And finally I Sinn some eight or nine vessels that were acting under Commander Guest in en deavoring to lied a way across the bar.— This gave lees small boats to land the troops , with, besides those the army were already provided with, clout In more. At 7 a. tn. on the 25th I made signal to get under way and form in line of battle, which was quickly done. The order to at tack was given, and the Ironsides took position in her usual handsome style, the monitors following close after her. All the vessels followed according to orders, and took position without a slmt ' fired at them, excepting a few shots tired at the four last vessels that got into line. The tiring this day was slow, only sufficient. to amuse the enemy while the army landed, which they were doing five miles to the east of the fleet. I suppose about three thou sand melt landed, When I was notified they were re-embarking. I could see our sol diers near the fort reconnoitering and sharp shooting, and was in hopes au assault was deemed practicable. General Weitzel, in person, was making observations about 0/0 yards off, and the troops were in and around the works. One gallant officer, whose name I do not know, went on the parapet and brought away the rebel flag we had knocked down. A soldier went into the works and led out a horse, killing the orderly mounted on him, and taking his despatches from the body. An other soldier tired his musket into the boombproof among the rebels, and eight or ten others who had ventured near the forts were wounded by our shells. As the ammunition gave out the vessels retired from action, and the iron-clads'and Minnesota, Colorada and Susquehanna, were ordered to open rapidly, which they did with such effect that it seemed to tear the works to pieces. We drew off at sunset, leaving the iron-clads to lire through the night, expecting the troops would attack in the morning, when he would commence again. I received word front Gen. Weitzel irtforming me that it was impracticable to assault, and herewith inclose a letter from I ten. ISutler, assigning his reasons for with drawing the troops. I also inclose any an- SW Cr. In the luimbardnient of the 25a1l the finer were engaged firing slowly for seven hours The Rebels kept a couple of guns on the up per batteries firing on the vessels, hitting some of them several tittles without doing much damage. The Wabash and Powhat tan being within their range, the object seemed mainly to be to disable them ; but a rapid fire soon closed them up. Everything was coolly and systematically done throughout the day, and I witnessed most beautiful practice. The arnty commenced landing about 2 o'clock, Capt. tilesson in the Santiago de Cuba having shelled Flag-Pond Battery to insure a safe landing, and they commenced to re-embark ahont :t o'clock. The weather conning on thick and rainy, about a brigade were left on the beach during the night, covered by the gunboats. As our troops landed, (15 rebel soldiers hoisted the white flag, and delivered themselves up, and were taken prisoners by the seamen landing the troops, and conveyed to the Santiago de Cuba; and 21S more gave themselves up to the reconnoitering party, all being desirous . to quit the war. I don't pretend to put my opinion in op position to I ten. Weitzel, who is a thorough soldier and an able engineer, and whose business it is to know more of assaulting than I do; but I can't help thinking that it was worth while to make the attempt after coining so (hr. About 12 o'clock I sent in a detachment of double-enders, under Commander John ;nest, to see if I could effect an entrance through the channel. The great number of wrecks in and about the bar has changed the whole formation, and where the original channel was we found a shallow bar. I sent Lieut. W. B. Cushing in to sound, and buoy out a channel if he could find one, with orders to Commander attest to drag for torpedoes and be ready to run in by the buoys when ordered. One boat belonging to the Tacony was sunk by a shell, and a num had his leg cut off; still, they stuck to their work until ordered to with for other duty. In conclusion, allow me to draw your at tention to the conduct of Commander Blond and Lieut. Preston. They engaged in the most perilous adventure that was perhaps ever undertaken ; and though no material result has taken place from the effects of the explosion that we know of, still it was not their fault. As an incentive to others I beg leave to recommend them fur promo tion. Also that of Lieut. R. 11. Liiivson who piloted them in and brought them off: No one in the squadron considered that ,their lives would be saved,lllol ('apt. Ithind and Lieut. Preston had made an arrange ment to sacrifice themselves in case the vessel was boarded, a thing likely to hap pen. I inclose herewith the report of Com mander Rhind with the names of the gal lant fellows who volunteered for the des perate service. Allow me to mention also the name of Mr. Bradford of the Coast Survey, who has al ways patiently performed every duty he has ever been called on to carry out. My thanks are due to Lieut. Comman der K. R. Breese, Fleet Captain, for carry ing about my orders to the fleet during the action and for his general usefulness ; to Lieut. Commander H. A. Adams, for promptness in supplying the fleet with am munition •, to Lieut. M. \V. Sanders, Signal Officer, whose whole time was occupied in making signals, and who preformed his duty well ; and to my aids, Lieut. S. W. Terry, and Lieut. S. W. Preston who afford ed me valuable assistance. I have not yet received a list of the ells ,- ualties, but believe they are very few from the enemy's guns. We had killed and wounded about 4 i persons by the bursting of the Parrott guns. I must not omitto pay a tribute to the officers and crews of the monitors riding out the heavy gales on an open coast, with out murmuring or complaining of the want otcomfort which must have been very seri ous. They have shown a degree of fortitude and perseverance seldom witnessed. Equally brave in battle they take the closest work with pleasure, and the effect of their shells is terrific. . The following are the names of the com manderS, and I hope I shall ever keep them under my command: ComManders E. O. Parrott, of the Monadnock, and E. R. Cal - loun, of the Saugus; Lieu% -Commanders, tkio - i . ge and E..E. Potter,.of , the,Mahottc:. - There 'are about 'I;000 Men left shore;', by the army, who have not got off yet on account of the surf on the beach. These will be got off in the morning, and the sot dler will then be sent home. I inclose the general order for the attack. I am, sir, very respectfully, Your obedient - servant, DAVID D. PORTER, Rear Admiral. Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy. Washington, D. C. GEN, BUTLER'S LETTER - - - - - . HINDS DEPT. Oti VA. AND N. C., ! 'December 25, 1864. j Admiral: Upon landing the troops and making a thorough reconnoissance of Fort Fisher, both Gren./Weitzel and.myself an fully of the opirlibik-that the place couli not be carried by assaul4,as it was left sub stantially uninjured as a dbfensive work t'y the navy fire. We found,' seventeen gun, protected by traverses, two only which were dismomad, bearing up th. beach and covering a strip of land, the tall) practicable route; not wide enough' for thousand men in line Of battle. Having capturtl Flag Pond Battery, ill, garrison of which, sixty five men and tw, commissioned officers, were taken off by the navy, we also captured Half Moon Bat terv, and seven officers and 208 men of th. Third North Carolina Junior Reserves, it, eluding its commander, from whom learned that a portion of Hoke's Division consisting of Kirkland's and liappmod'! Brigadesj had been sent from the lines be fore Richmond on Tuestlity last, arriving a Wilmington Friday night. Gen. Weitzel advanced his skirmish lin. within tifty yards of the fort, while the gar rison was kept in their bonil,-proofs by th. fire of the navy, and so Closely that thre, or four men of the picket line ventured upoi the parapet and through the sally port ti the works, capturing a horse, which the: brought off, killing the orderly, who Nva the bearer of a dispatch from the Chief ii Artillery of Gen. Whiting, to bring a high battery NVithiu the range of the fort. Thi was done while the shells of the navy wee falling about the heads of the daring I. who entered the works • and it ii as evident as soon us the fire of the navy , eased, ho cause of the darkness, that the fort was full . manned again, and opened with grape an. canister upon our picket line. Finding that nothing but the operation of a regular siege, which did not come with in my instructions, would reduce the and in view of the threatening aspect of th weather, the wind arising from the semi, west rendering it impossible to make fat ther landing through the surf, I caused tie troops with the prisoners to re-embark; an I see nothing further that can lie dome b' the land forces ' I shall therefore sail ft 11;111,11mm Roads as soon as the transpoi fleet can be.got iii order. y engineers and officers report Foi Fisher to me as substantaßly uninjured a defensive work. I have the honor to Iv very respectfully, vour obedient servant, BENJ. F. BUTLER, Com m To Rear Admiral Porter. NoRTII ATLANTIC SQUA DRON, S. PL.\ t.-) M.{ lA' N, OFF NEW INLET, B=MME= : 1 beg leave to tteknehrledge receipt 'of your letter of this date, the sal stance of which was communieated to me (len. - Weitzel last night. 1 have orderer Itl largest vessels to proceed off iteaultirt to ti• up with ammunition-to lie really for anothr attack in case it is decided to proceed this flatter by making other arrangement We have not commenced tiring rapblly p aint could keep any rebels inside front shott ing their heads until an assaulting -.11011 was within 20 yards of the works. I some Inure .r your gallant fellows had f. lowed the officer who took the flag 11,00 ti t parapet, and the brave fellow who brougi - , the horse out, from the fort. I think tha would have found it an easier (mapm• - than is supposed. I do not, however, pr' t , tend to place my opinion in opposition i. Gen. Weitzel, whom 1 know to be tot aceon g. plished soldier and engineer, and who: opinion has great weight with me. I will lo,ok out that the troolfsare all all f safety. We will haven west Wind present 1.11111 It SIIIIOOOI heuoh III,1111( 0 . 111W1:, sufficient !mats will be sent for them. prisoners ivy on board the Santiago Cuba wilt be delivered to the Provo . - Marshal at Portress Monroe unless yf wish to take them on hoard one of IL. transports, Which would be Moat venie just now, I reuuein, Gotteral, re,poct fully, yort obetlieritsvrvant, DAVID D. l'OllTEli:Rettr-Atlntiral...,... Tu \l~•ej.-l:en. li. I. lit Tt.t.:te, Unnitun7:: ing, Sad Times in Kentucky The good people of Kentucky ai having more than their share of peculiar blessings attendant upon tlt war. It seems they are ruthless;,! robbed, and frequently murdered roving bands of guerrillas, and tit even the Fedetal soldiers who are su: posed to be placed among them as protection commit gross outrages all the most barefaced robberies. The et dition of that State is a very sad one., The Louisville Jowna 1 thus speaks the rebel guerrillas: Cowardly, thieving guerrillas, dep: date with impunity in Kentucky, a' the authorities seem powerless to su press the critne. To have read of su outrages four years ago, thebloodwotr i have chilled and the brain have gro\ dizzy, and the heart sick. Now th are of daily occurrence, and their rech, scarcely awakens a thought of surpr and wonder. Cumberland county, C-. theatre of these revolting murders, It suffered terribly by such wanton ep ("talons. It has furnished more soldit for the Federal army, in proportion its population, than any one county the State, yet it is destitnteof proteeth , While the soldier braves the hardshi and the dangers of the battle-field, I, home is given up to tlte despoiler, at. his friends left to the tender mercies men more bloodthirsty and liendi,; than the debased savage. There is security for life and property in tl section, and the country is fast becoi: ing desolated. The males who ha! not enlisted in the army have be driven from their homes by lawle , bands. Towns and villages are fallr into decay, and every where stalks trl black form ruin. Another of the daily papers of th ; city gives the following account of t manner in which the Federal`soldier conduct themselves : When a band of guerrillas come wit in a mile or two of the city and go it a citizen's house or grocery and kno down the proprietor, rob him of go. and money, and commit like depret: Lions, people think it an outrage, a call the perpetrators thieves, rascals, & • and the military authorities send scouts and parties of soldiers to cat. them and have them punished for th rascality. At the same time we Ir " Federal guerrillas " bodly operati under the very noses of the military thorities in the city every day and nig and nothing is done whatever to pu stop to the many depredations co miffed upon our citizens every nigl During the past few days'our l lean citizens, more particularly the toy ones in the upper portion of the ci , have suffered by soldiers who w boldly into their establishments, a while one holds a pistol to his he. others rob him of what they want, a if the proprietor shows any resista he is knocked down and beaten. A this is not all. They walk boldly int private residence and demand son thing to eat, scaring women and eh dren, commit highway robberies, a do almost as they please. Between the assaults and the dep. dations of the two parties it must anything else than pleasant living there. But such are the inevitable sults of a brutalizing war like that which we are engaged. From Charleston WASHINGTON, Jail. 2.—A private I ter from the fleet says that refugees fr Charleston and other ports in So Carolina, state that all the inhabitin who could do so have removed into t country. Great distress prevails, a flour and other necessaries of life c scarcely be obtained at any price. Sh man's moves occasioned general alar Several blockade runners are in Churl ton harbor waiting an opportunity escape. Many passengers for Nass have already engaged berths. V: little business is doing in Chariest other than that connected with blo' ade-running and war matters. Railroad and Steamboat Accidents. There were more people killed a wounded by railroad accidents last than in any preceding year since 1:s One hundred and forty accidents curred ; four hundred and four li were lost, and one thousand eight h dred and forty-six persons were wou ed. The transportation of troops d , not account for this increase ; for . railroads transported quite as many - diers in 1863, and yet the number of cidents and the number of killed wounded were nearly double thos: that year. The steamboat acciden 1864 were less frequent and fatal. T did not exceed the average for the 1 ten ydars, but Were more numerous t in 1868, " - •
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers