+ +F ca guttiligenon.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 1865
"The printing presses shall be !Tee to every
person who undertakes , to examine the pro
ceedings of the legislature, or any branch of
government; and no law shall ever be made
to restrain the right thereof. The free commu
nication of thought and opinions is one of the
invaluable rights of men ; and every citizen
may freely speak, write and print on any sub
ject; being responsible for the abuse of that
liberty. In prosecutions for the publication of
papers investigating the official conduct of offi
cers, or men in public capacities, or where the
matter published is proper for imblic informa
tion, the truth thereof may be given in evi
dence."—Constitrition of Pennsylvania.
Meeting of the Democratic State Central
Committee
The members of the Democratic
State Central Committee will meet at
the Diehler House, in Harrisburg, at 2
o'clock P. M., on Monday, the 6th day
March next, to decide in regard to the
meeting of the next Demqcratic State
Convention. C. L. WARD,
Chairman Dem. State Committee.
HARRISBURG, Feb. 2.5 th, 186.5.
Fred. Douglass at Reading.
The Eveniug Record is a loyal little
sheet published daily in the neighbor
ing City of Reading. It is loyal, we
mean to say, in the modern acceptation
of that much hackneyed term. It sus
tains the Administration, and is will
ing to aid in securing the rights of citi
zenship for the negro. That is the test
of true loyalty in these days—devotion
to Abraham and Sambo. The Record
is enterprising too. It employs a phon
ographic reporter on occasions of great
importance. Such, in its estimation,
was Friday night last, when the negro
orator Fred. Douglas addressed the loyal
ladies and gentlemen of the good city of
Reading. Our enterprising little cotem
porary has a report of his speech, which
occupies about three solid columns. In
introducing the speech it says editor
ially :
" We have the satisfaction of laying
a Phonographic report of the Lecture of
Fred. Douglas, on Equality before the
Law," before our readers,' (Reported
by Mr. James Wall) which we are sure
will be carefully read by everybody:
As we predicted it Would be, the
large Keystone Hall was crowded last
night. Reading cannot boaSt of a more
intelligent or respectable audience, nor
has a lecture ever been received with
more satisfaction."
A few short extracts will be sufficient
to show to our readers what the lecture
was like, which so highly delighted that
loyal, intelligent and highly respectable
audience. Fred. Douglas said :
Tne Democratic Party had the reins
of Government fora long series of years.
They held that slavery was essential.
The Republican Party is now at the
head of affairs on this great continent.
He had to tell that party that as slavery
is what it is—they were to be strictly
logical. Hitherto we had read the
Declaration of Independence with limi
tations—'' all men are created equal "
except the negro ; so had we read the
Bible with limitations—" of one blood
God made all the dwellers upon earth,"
except the negro ! Yet the American
Eagle covers us, and we simply ask that
you extend to us the same rights as you
accord to other men. The difficulty
with us has been your lack of recogni
tion. The North had legislated in their
prejudices. He was there to ask, in the
name of justice, for the American peo
ple to put themselves in the logical line
of Liberty and Equality to all men.
We want the ballot-box, and the jury
box. You have given us the cartridge
box, and now we want the other two.
We are subject to law in this country ;
for its infringement we are addable,
and suffer imprisonment and even death;
and the law presumes we know right
from wrong. He wanted to be in Con
gress or at any rate, to have a voice in
sending some one else there.
That sounds like pretty strong doe
trine, but it is only the utterance fron
a negro of the same sentiments ad
vanced by the gentleman who now rep
resents this district in Congress; am
for whom the loyal men of Lancaster
county voted. The negro, Fred. Douglas
does not ask too much of the Republi
can party when he demands that i
shall be logical. To be consistent i
must follow its doctrines out to their
legitimate conclusion ; as Thaddeus
Stevens did when he boldly declared
himself in favor of making " all men
equal before the law." Fred. Douglas
demands that, only that, and nothing'
more. He met the charge that the
negro is ignorantin this wise. Said he:
" But, it is alledged, they don't know
enough! He scouted the idea. They
know enough of law, and of taxes, and
the negro knows as much when sober
as the Irishman when drunk."
There it is in plain language. Fred.
Douglas feels himself of sufficient im
portance already, not only to demand
the right of the negro to vote, to sit in
the jury box, and to be sent to Con
gress ; but he indulges in a fling at one
class of white men, and evidently
regards the negro as the superior of the
Irishman. Had he been lecturing else
where than in Old Barks, it is about as
sure as anything can be, that he would
have coupled the Dutch and the Irish
together in his comparison.
We might beg the pardon c-of our
readers for devoting so much space to
the speech of this orator of the Repub
lican party, but for the fact that we
consider it necessary from time to time
to make a note of the utterances of the
leading men of that organization, in
order that the people inay,see where
they are drifting. To confer all the
rights of citizenship on the negro is one
avowed object of the leaders of that
party. That is with them a cardinal
political principle to-day. It remains
to be seen whether the masses will
blindly follow where they lead.
.11e - A Washington i,etter to the Bos
ton !Transcript (Republican) states that
the Senate Finance Committee, which
was instructed to examine and report
what losses of public securities have oc
curred in the office of the Register of
the Treasury 'during the last year, have
already discovered two losses of Li S.
bonds from that office—one for 530,000,
and the other for upwards of 51,200,000.
These are in addition to the loss of
$lOO,OOO mentioned in the annual report
of the Secretary of the Treasury to Con
gress, in December last. The total loss
so far ascertained in that bureau is $l,-
330,000.
ze- The Bucks county papers are
filled with advertisements, mostly of
sales of real estate and personal pro
perty. The Intelligeneer of last week
has twenty-two coh o imns, and Demo
crat has about the sane number. The
people of that county understand their
business. When they make sales of
real estate or personal property, they
not only get hand-bills, but they also
have them advertised in the paper,
The result is that they have splendid
sales, plenty of buyers, and get big
prices.
THE Canadian press are in a violent
ferment in consequence of numerous al
leged violationsof the neutrality laws by
our people. Kidnapping, they say, is
quite prevalent, and large gangs of Ca
nadians are taken over the line, without
passports or examination, ostensibly to
chop wood, where they are treated to
food and liquor and then met and en
listed by Yhnkeerecruitingagents. The
Le Courrier de St. Lryaeinthe states on
what it claimsas reliable proof that "the
,purnber of-Canadians who have enlisted
,aims the beginning of the war is placed
at 43,40. Of this number, 35,000 were
Freneh--Canadians, no less than 14,000
of whom hay.e,died on the battle field."
elar When the three pm}' correspon
dents, who attemptedtp,puss the batter
ies at Vicksburg were reported to have
been lost, General Sherman is - credited
with the humorous comment ThEit't
good! We'll have dispatchesgA?Ny . 4'92
. :
„bell before breakfast.',
Special Southern Trading Permits.
A list of special cotton and other per
mits, furnished to parties who were thus
allowed to trade with rebel States, has
been sent in to Congress. Among the
names are the following :
Robert Lemon, recommended by Ward
H. Lemon, 50,000 bales from any Southern
State: A. 0. BrummeL recommended by
John L. Reese, 5,000 bales cotton, 2,000 bar
rels rosin, same amount of turpentine, 2,000
boxestobaaco, Virginia and North Carolina ;
E. W. Gould, reccomxnended by M. N. Falls,
6,000 bales cotton, Virginia and North Car
olina ; Hooper C. Hicks, recommended by
surveyor at Baltimore, 3,000 bales cotton,
2,000 barrels rosin, same amount tar, same
amount of pitch, and a quarter nillion
shingles, Virginia and North Carolina.
At an early period of the war, Presi
dent LINCOLN issued a proclamation
forbidding all citizens of the loyal States
from trading with the inhabitants of
the insurrectionary States. The wisdom
and justice of this interdiction were
not questioned by the public. It was
supposed that cutting off the trade of
the South would tend to put down the
rebellion, and no one ever dreamed that
the President could be so base as to root
out the business of the people in general,
only for the purpose of enriching him
self and a few favorites. Are his hands
clean of the profits of this war? The
Mrs. Grinsley transaction is not forgot
ten. The Secretary of War's letter, re.
commending Mr.,Lincoln's "old friend
from Springfield " to the Quartermas
ter at St. Louis, has not gone out of
puhlic recollection. The paragraph
above given raises new suspicions !
Robert Lamon, on the recommenda
tion of Ward H. Lamon, had permis
sion to trade for or steal fifty thousand
bales of cotton wherever he could find
them. Nobody else on the foregoing
list had permission to trade for or steal
more than five or six thousand bales.
Why this great difference in favor of
Larnon ? We don't know Robert La
mon, but we do know Ward H. Lamon.
He (Ward) hails from Springfield, Illi
nois. Lincoln took him to Washing
ton and made him Marshal of the Dis
trict of Columbia, a position out of
which any honest man may make a
fine living and any scoundrel may make
a fortune. Lamon is supposed to have
made a fortune.
It would be interesting to know
how much this pet of Lincoln's cleared
on his interest in the fifty thousand
bales. It would be still more interesting
to know whether he divided with his
old chum. Fifty thousand bales of
Cotton, obtained as these must have
been, ought, at present prices, to yield a
profit of five or ten million dollars. The
Senate or House ought to appoint a
committee to inquire into this Lamon
cotton business. Does the President
grant cotton permits on condition that
a share of profits shall go into his own
pocket ? If not, how does it happen
that Ward ',anion, the second self of
the smutty joker, can get for somebody
of his own name a permit covering the
enormous quantity of fifty thousand
bales?
Not only does Lamon's permit cover
the extraordinary quantity of fifty thou
sand bales, but it gives permission to
get the cotton in any Southern State.—
The other parties onthis list are restric
ted in their operations to the two States
of V irginia and North Carolina, but La
mon is allowed to go wherever he pleases.
" pent-up Utica contracts his pow
ers." _Does a credulous and confiding
public suppose that no member of the
President's family was to receive any
portion of the profits of Lamon's cotton
operations ? Will Old Abe go out of the
Presidency poorer than he went in, as
did JEFFERSON and others?"
CAPT. Ii..,BERT T. LINCOLN, son of the
President, left the eity to-day for the front,
under orders to report to Lieut. Gen. GRANT
for service upon his staff.—Wash. car. Ball.
Nun, Pell. 21.
Bob Lincoln got home tiOm college
some time ago. He had reached the age
at which free Americans are subject to
be made slaves by: order of his father.
There was a draft inipending. Three
hundred thousand more white men
were wanted to fight against the Union
as it was before the traitorous Aboli
tionists subverted it. It would not have
looked well for old Abe to have ordered
the enrolling officers of Washington to
leave Bob's name off the list, and it
would have cost a thousand dollars to
buy him a substitute. There was an
unpleasant look about the thing, but
old Abe smoothed its wrinkled front by
a stroke of masterly strategy. He saved
his own reputation for self-sacrificing
devotion to his bleeding and Africanized
country—he saved Bob's character for
patriotism and courage—he saved Bob
from the draft, and. he saved himself a
thousand dollars, the cost of a substitute
—by commissioning Bob as a Captain
and assigning- him to duty on the staff
of Gen. GRANT.
Is any "Union-loving father," any
" loyal mother" or any " patriot daugh
ter" afflicted by the-thought that the
Prince of the House of Abraham Afri
canus may come to an untimely end on
the gory field of battle ? Let all such
apprehmsions be dismissed at once.
Like the war horse of the scriptures,
Bob may smell the battle from afar, but
he will never get near enough to it to
risk the abrasion of his cuticle by a Con
federate bullet. Real staff duty on a
hard-fought field is not unattended by
danger, but such fancy staff duty as the
first-born of the King of Rails will have
to perform at Grant's headquarters, has
no more danger in it than there is in
selling tape behind the breastworks of
a dry goods store in the peaceful City of
Lancaster.
This thing is disgustiug. It is a sick
ening and contemptible sham. And
this is probably not the end of it. In
due course of time a lying telegram will
come along, informing the public that
"Copt. Robert T. Lincoln, the gallant
son of our patriotic President, has just
returned from a successful expedition
into the enemy's country, which he has
conducted with great skill and courage,"
but the particulars of which will never
be known—not even to Bob himself.
In the event of a battle taking place
between Grant and the enemy, we are
sure to hear of Bob. The despatch that
reached France from the Crimea during
the Russian war, might, by merely
changing the name, suit Bob's case ex
actly. It informed the world that—
The attitude of Prince Napoleon was
admired by the whole army." The
Prince, surrounded by a glittering
throng of officers of the Bob Lincoln
order, lied assumed a very graceful
" attitude " on horseback a long way off
from the field of battle.
If Urant's staff needed an addition to
its numbers why was not some Captain,
Lieutenant, Sergeant or private who
has had experience in the field ap
pointed on it? Why was Bob Lincoln,
who has given no evidence of courage
and is not known to possess any mili
tary skill, put on the staff? It was done
to save him froin the conscription
ordered by his father, which is dragging
the poor man from his weeping wife
and wailing children, and sending
him to the front to be shot down
like a dog. What say you, citizens of
Lancaster county who are liable to the
draft—Democrats and Republicans—is
that the sort of patriotism you admire
in a President—the sort that consigns
you to the forefront of the battle, with
musket and knaps.43k, and assigns the
President's son to staff 4pties which
will consist entirely of drawing rations
and eating them ?
A case is pending in the New York
Supreme Court in which a child was
left in pawn or pledge for the payment
of a debt.
After the Rebel Armies are Defeated
What Then ?
We have repeatedly expressed our be
lief that the overthrow of the military
power of the South would be discovered
to be but a single, short and uncertain
step toward a satisfactory solution of
the really vast difficulties which present
themselves to this nation. If the only
problem for us to solve were the de
vising of some plan by which the re
bel armies might be defeated and broken
up, our future would present a more
cheerful prospect to the thoughful mind.
We may, and in all probability we will,
be able to accumulate a military force
before which no organized army of the
South will be able to stand. We may
occupy every Southern seaport, reduce
Richmond, disperse every rebel army,
and reach a point in this struggle when
our troops may be able to march all over
the soil of the South without meeting
organized resistance anywhere. But
will we have restored the Union and
brought back peace and prosperity when
all that shall have been accomplished?
We fear not. Indeed, we are fully con
vinced that the very saddest disappoint
ments for the people of this land are
yet in store for them. A strong writer
in the London Quarterly Review has
some remarks upon this very subject,
which we commend to the considera
tion of every candid reader. He says:
" Any other people would have learn
ed from the history of Poland, of Scot
land, of Spain, and of Italy, what the
forcible subjugation of a brave nation
means, and at what a prodigal sacrifice
of blood, and treasure, and civil rights,
it has to be maintained. That the se
ceded States can never return in amity
under the power of those with whom
they have fought in so many bloody
campaigns, the Northern politicians
themselves are beginning to admit. If
they are held at all, they must be held
by force. Their vast extent will be oc
cupied by a people hating their rulers
with the bitter hatred which Poles bear
to Russians, or Sicilians bore to French.
Before the South can be conquered, a
very large portion of the white males
must have been killed off. But the chil
dren are still left; and they will grow
up to look upon the hatred to the
Yankee as a sacred tradition, to
which they will cling with all the
intensity of enthusiasm which men
feel towards a cause for which
their fathers died. The reconstructed
State will thus present the'curious spec
tacle of a country of which the larger
and the more fertile portion is inhabited
by a profoundly disaffected population. '
Large garrisons will have to be main
tained in all the important towns; a
huge gendarmerie must be organized to
protect railroads and rivers, and to raise
the taxes which will then be necessary.
The press will have to be kept under
rigorous censorship. The writ of habeas
corpus must he permanently suspended;
an elaborate staff of police spies must
be maintained to conduct the arrest of
possible ring-leaders, and to check the
first symptoms of revolt. In fact, the
whole apparatus of repression by which
`order is maintained' in Venice and in
Warsaw, will he the only tenure by
which the liovernnient of Washington
will rule over more than half its ter
ritory. How burdensome such a mode
of Government will be to finance, how
ruinous to trade and industry, how
deadly to political freedom, the people
of the Federal States may convince
themselves from the experience 5.1
Austria and Russia. It may be safely
assumed that not much ;II he left to
them of their own liberty by a Govern
ment which is encouraged to make so
little account of the liberties of others.
It seems hardly possible that a hostile
population can be permanently govern
ed by the sword, over so vast an extent
of country. The cost of doing it, if it
be done efficiently, would be so gigantic
that the richest nation would pay by a
speedy bankruptcy the just penalty of
the attempt. If it were done ineffi
ciently, of course the yoke would be
thrown off as soon as the means had
been collected for doing so. Even in
the inconceivable contingency of such
an undertaking being successful in a
period of repose, it clearly must break
down at the first approach of troublous
times. Any disaffected party within
the State, or any enemy from outside,
would always (summand certain and
sure allies in the population of the sub
dued Confederacy. A prop( (sal fuss been
made by the Northern papers, and
echoed by liberal philanthropists upon
this side of the Atlantis., to dispossess
all the landlords of the South, and re
people the Confederaey by granting
their estates to Northerners. This bar
barous idea furnishes a fair sample of
the humanity of the minds in which it
has arisen ; but it is fortunately im
practicable. At least, it may be suffi
cient to say that it is without anything
approaching to a 'parallel in the history
of civilized times. A faint anticipation
of it was practised by Elizabeth, James
1., and Cromwell, in Ireland ; but the
experiment has met with but indifferent
success. Unless the North could afford
to keep an army to protect each of the
new landowners, they will have but a
brief enjoyment of their ill-gotten pro
perty. Men who have suffered oppres
sion of this kind are not usually very
squeamish about the time or place which
they select for their revenge. The new
landowner might get his property free;
but it would be upon the tenure of act
ing as walking target to all the dispos
sessed Southerners Within a radius of
fifty miles. Under these conditions, it
is not likely that the confiscated estates
will be the subject of is very keen com
petition on the part of intending emi
grants."
Such are some of the difficulties in
our future pathway, as seen and pointed
out by a foreign observer, one who may
justly be regarded as a more disinterest
ed witness than any one of ourselves,
engaged as we are in the contest that is
going on. The considerations presented
are serious ones. May we not well ask:
After the rebel armies are defeated—
what then?
Roger A. Pryor
The following appeared yesterday in
the editorial columns of the ,Vational
Intelligyncti. The facts are interesting,
thoilgh very ungramniatically Mid:
General Roger a Pryor reached here
on Thursday evening, and immediately
called upon the President. That func
tionary intinlatel to the General that
he was mainly intlebtudi or his libera
tion to the fact of his kindness to our
wounded p , risoners in the hospitals at
Richmond, and added that Gen. Grant
was not altogether favorable to his pass
ing his lines upon a return to Virginia.
It seems,
however, that the President
has directed that he shall be passed
through our lines, and he has accord
ingly left this city.
We were present with General Pryor
on Friday, when intelligence reached
him of the execution of Beall, at which
he was very deeply affected. Bell was
a companion with him in confinement
at Fort Warren, and lie had in his pos
session his diary, which abounded with
religious sentiment and resignation to
the fate that impended.
General Pryor, like General Lee, does
not think that the rebel, cause is in ex
trcmis, but that a victory over Sherman
might turn the tide of affairs. At any
event, the army can sustain itself for a
long period of time. He spoke well of
our soldiers and particularly of our su
perior strength in cavalry. Referring
to privations of Federal prisoners in the
South, he remarked that the people
there were frequently driven to a
dire point for food. His own
family had not had meat but once a
week, and as for tea and coffee, &c.,
they were out of the question. In the
vicinity of armies the people were much
reduced in provisions, andthe family of
Dr. Cornelius Boyle, whom he saw at
Gordonsville in 1863, were in that con
dition at that time. The rebel army
was then moving north toinvade Penn
sylvania.
A block of teuenlent houses was
burned at Chicago on the afternoon of
Wednesday last. Some twenty families
were rendered homeless, besides losing
all their property, Five stores were also
destroyed. The entire loss was upwards
of twenty thousand dollars.
The headquarters of an immense gang
of thieves, robbers and counterfeiters in
the State of Illinois has been discover
ed, and eight men and two women be
longing to it have been arrested- A
large amount of property, supposed to
have been stolen by this party, has also
been found and identified by the owners,
The gnpplies of Assam and other India
teas are said to be increasing rapidly,
with larger profits to the importer than
are afforded by the product of China.
A Disgraceful Exhibition
On last Thursday a scene was enacted
in the United States Senate which dis
graces the age and the country. Mr.
Trumbull, of Illinois, a leading Repub
lican, but a man of decent deportment
and gentlemanly feeling, asked leave
to take up the bill to provide a marble
bust of the liite Chief Justice Taney for
the Supreme Court Room. Thereupon
the following debate ensued:
Mr.-Trumbull (Rep., Ill.) asked leave to
take up the, bill to provide a marble bust of
the late Chief Justice Taney for the Su
preme Court room.
Mr. Sumner (Rep., Mass.)—l hope not.
An emancipated country ouht not tomake
a bust of the author of the I)red Scott de
cision.
Mr. - Trumbull (Rep., of Ill.) said Chief
Justice Taney was . not to be looked at in
that way.
Mr. Sumner—Let me tell the Senator
from Illinois that the name of Taney will
be hooted down the page of history, and an
emancipated country will fasten upon it
the stigma it deserves—a disgrace to the ju
diciary of the country and the age.
Mr.,Johnson (Dem., Md.) said he',Could
not hdar such remarks applied to the late
eminent jurist without entering his protest
against it. The Senator from Massachu
setts should remember that Justice Taney
was not alone in the decision,
that a ma
jority of the court concurred in it. Mr.
Johnson then spoke of the high private and
personal character of the late chief-justice.
The resolution was taken up, and after
some remarks against it Mr. Sumner moved
to amend it by striking out the name of
Roger 13. Taney and inserting that of
Joshua R. Giddings.
Mr. Trumbull (Rep., Ill.) said it was
customary to place busts of the chief
justices in the Supreme Court. Chief-Jus
tice Taney might haile erred in his decisions,
but he had great ability as a lawyer, and
high personal and private character as a
man.
Mr. Sumner then withdrew his amend
inert.
Mr. Hale (Rep., N. H.) was opposed to
the amendment, because the name of Judge
Taney would always be associated with
Dred Scott, and that of Dred Scott with
Judge Taney. Believing this to be the fact,
he would not vote for the appropriation of
money to perpetuate the memory of the
Dred Scott decision. The most that could
be asked of the anti-slavery men of the pre
sent day, was that they be permitted to let
the memory of Justice Taney rest.
Mr. Wilson (Rep., Mass.) said he had no
heart to follow' any man to the grave; but
he felt it his duty to vote against the reso
lution, and it seemed to him the millions of
the country who were horrified by the Dred
Scott decision, would be surprised to see
Senate of the United States voting honors
to the authors of that decision. The nation.
was horrified eight yerrs ago when that de
cision w s produced, and since that time
the Ifted Scott decision had been the scorn
of the country. It was an outrage on hu
manity, and the memory, of it, with his,
was unworthy of respect.
Mr. Wade (Rep., Ohio)said it was useless
to talk of the legal ability, 6:c. of Justice
Taney.. It would be better fin. his memory
if he could he made out a fool. The higher
the character for ability that was made out
for him, the worse his memory.
•
Pending the consideration of this subjee
the senate, at o'clock, took a recess.
Never was there a more reprehensible
exhibition of mean bigotry aud foul
mouthed fanaticism than is displayed
in the actions and the utterances of
Sumner ) Hale, Wilson and Wade as
reported above. None but men lost to
all sense of honor and common decency
would have made such a disgusting ex
hibition of themselves. They show
themselves to be the very incarnation
of bitter hated and unrelenting ani
mosity. The same spirit would unearth
th 6 hones of Washington and scatter
his sacred dust to the four winds of
heaven because he was a slaveholder,
and did not think it wrong to be such.
How is it possible that a restoration of
the Union should be brought about,
while such feelings are publicly exhib
ited on the floor of the United States
Senate? What man of gentlemanly
feeling would desire to hold any close
relationship with a party of whom these
foul-mouthed fanatics are the represen
tatives?
The Clearfield Prisoners
The Clearfield Republican has the
following article on the prisoners from
that county, in regard to which we
noticed a one sided statement in the
Repress of last evening :
We learn that the citizens of this
county, lately confined at Fort Mifflin,
have been removed to Harrisburg, and,
excepting those of Knox township, are
expected to get their trials this week.
A Major Johnson, a Volunteer officer
from Connecticut, has been appointed
Judge Advocate, who is represented as
a high minded, intelligent gentleman,
not likely to be blinded by false oaths
dictated either by personal spites or the
cowardly fears of real criminals. This
is all these much wronged men and
their numerous friends ask.
We are unable to learn the reason
why the citizens of Knox townships—
who were the last of the victims of this
" Reign of Terror " were not also to be
tried at this time.
Those who are expected to be tried
this week are Major Wilhelm, Jacob
Hubler, Samuel Lansberry, J. Blake
Walters, 0. P. Bloom, and the Brady
township men.
It is especially gratifying to learn that
the stories told about certain of these
prisoners having made certain disclos
ures, implicating others as well as them
selves, are as false as the spirit that
dictated them is mean and contemptible:
Reports were in circulation that some of
these men—having been persuaded that
they could thus secure their own release
—had sworn to certain statements about
proceedings of a disloyal and unlawful
character, implicating many other citi
zens who have not been arrested. But it
is not true. These men have no conceal
ments. They know nothing of them
selves or others, that deserved the ven
geance of outraged law, and they were
not mean enough to perjure themselves
to escape these indignities and gratify
the vile scoundrels who, for political
vengeance, have caused all these out
rages.
That they were approached for this
purpose, and appealed to in the most
earnest manner, we are well aware ; but
except in the case of two or three non
reporting conscripts (mere boys) their
efforts were almost a total failure.
How deep and damning the ignominy
that must attach to the villains who
thus sought, through the presumedfcars
of their victims, to injure their neigh
bors ! When these scorching, blister
ing truths, with the names of their
ignoble authors, are made known—as
they surely will be—it were better they
had never been born.
The War Progressing
The Confederates have had a streak of
bad luck running through the last few
months—indeed ever since General
Sherman commenced his triumphant
march from Tennessee into Georgia,
through the heart of the latter State to
Savannah, and from thence into South
Carolina. First Atlanta was evacuated
—then Savannah—then Columbia—
next Charleston (the cradle of the re
bellion)—and last, but not least, Wil
mington, in North Carolina, if it has
not already fallen. All of these im
portant places have been surrendered to
the Union forces almost without a
struggle, and it looks now as if the
military strength of the rebellion was
being concentrated in the neighborhood
of Richmond preparatory to a final and
decisive conflict with the combined
armies of Sherman and Grant. Indeed,
it is supposed by many that even the
latter city will be evacuated, as its per
manent occupancy, it is alleged, does
not enter into the plans of the new
Commander-in-Chief, General Lee. If
this be so, the great conflict, which can
not be much longer delayed, will take
place somewhere farther inland—per
haps near the dividing line between
Virginia and North Carolina, or in the
neighborhood of Lynchburg, Va. A
few days, or weeks at farthest, must
bring about the fearful collision, and it
is useless, therefore, to speculate upon
the occurrences likely to transpire in
the near future—especially as the line
of policy adopted by the commanders
on either side may be changed by cir
cumstances beyond their control.
/Stir One hundred years, pearly, hav
ing transpired since American Metho
dism began, that denomination is taldiag
measures for an impressive celebration
of the event.
Southern News
Rebel Financial Measures
[From the Richmond Examiner, Feb. 21.]
Among the financial scheme's in Con
gress is a bill recently introduced by
Mr. Russell in the House, to authorize
the impressment, of cotton and tobacco
at a price appraised in specie, to be paid
in six per cent bonds at par ; or, at the
option of the owner, the cotton or to
bacco to be returned in kind within a
specified time after the end of the war.
The bill has been ordered to be printed.
Arming of the Negroes.
This subject grows daily more prom
inent in the Richmond papers, and the
current is all one way. The Sentinel
says:
It was generally known that both
Houses were in secret session yesterday,
on the bills to put negroes in the army.
It is understood that the' bill On the
subject passed the House yesterday,
and it is believed one of , the same
character will pass the Senate to-day.
As they differ in detail, the subject will
come before both Houses again„ There
is but little doubt of the adoption of the
measure. • The Commander-in-Chief
and the rank and file are in favor of it,
and it is growing in favor with the peo
ple.
We understand, says the Sentinel,
that a vote was taken yesterday in
Pickett's Division on the queStion of
employing negroes in the army, and
resulted in a very large majority voting
in favor of the measure.
Exchange of Prisoners
The Sentinel says :
We congratulate the friends of the
returned Confederate prisoners; and the
gallant men themselves, upon the ar
rival of the twenty-five hundred more
at the landing in James river. One
thousand were brought up to the city
yesterday, and the remainder are ex
pected to-day. A large number of Fed
eral prisoners will be sent down to-day
in exchange. We understand Colonel
Hatch has been sent to Washington to
facilitate the sending off a large number
from that point. The authorities of
both governments are heartily engaged
in the good work, and will receive the
heartfelt thanks of the poor fellow, both
friends and foes, who are thus permitted
to visit- home and friends again. It is
the earnest-wish of every good man that
nothing may occur to stop so humane
a measure. Gen. Grant is proving by
his acts that the charges of Butler against
him were not true.
Going- North
Fourteen hundred Federal prisoners
(sick and wounded) will be sent home,
on condition of exchange; this morning,
by flag of truce. No other prisoners
now remain in this city, and, as the two
Governments have recently fixed upon
Wilmington as the most convenient
port hereafter for conducting such busi
ness, it is uncertain whether any more
prisoners will be exchanged from this
point.
Resolution in Congress
In the House on Monday, under a
suspension of the rules, Mr. Perkins, of
Louisiana, reported back from the Com
mittee on Foreign Affairs, the following
resolutions, with a preamble:
Resolved by the Congress of the ( 'on
federate States of America, That while
Congress regrets that no ultimatum is
left to the people of the Confederate
States but a continuance of the war or
submission to terms of peace alike ruin
ous and dishonorable, it accepts in their
behalf the issue tendered them by the
authorities .of the United States gov
ernment, and solemnly declares that it
is their unalterable determination to
prosecute the war with the United States
until that power shall desist from its
efforts to subjugate them, and the in
dependence of the Confederate States
have been established.
Pcsoired, That the Congress has re
ceived with pride the numerous noble
and patriotic resolutions passed by the
army, and in the gallant and unconquer
able spirit which they breathe, coming
from those who have for years endured
dangers and privations, it sees unmis
takable evidence that the enthusiasm
with which they first dedicated their
lives to the defence of their country is
not yet extinct, but has been confirmed
by hardships and sufferings into a prin
ciple of resistance to Northern rule that
will hold in contempt all disgraceful
terms of submission ; and for these ex
pressions in camp, as well as for their
noble acts in the field, our soldiers de
serve and will receive the thanks of the
country.
Res()lrcd, rk,- at the Congress invites
the people of t lese States to assemble in
public meeting and renew their vows of
devotion to the cause of independence ;
to declare their determination to main
tain their liberties; to pledge themselves
to do all in their power and fill the ranks
of our army ; to provide for the support
of the families of our soldiers, and to
cheer and comfort, by every means, the
gallant men who for years, through trials
and dangers, have vindicated our rights
on the battle field.
Rcso/red, That confiding in thejustice
and aided and sustained by the Cod of
battles, in the valor and endurance of
our soldiers, and in the deep and ardent
devotion of our people to the great prin
ciples of civil and political liberty for
which we are contending, Congress
pledges itself to the passage of the most
energetic measures to secure our ultimate
success.
The Examiner on the Situation
The Richmond Examiurr of the 21st
concludes an article on the situation and
the prospects of the opening campaign
as follows :
There is not at this moment so much
to alarm us in reality as there was last
May. It is true, we have not so many
troops ; but neither has our enemy, by
agreat deal. On that occasion, too, Gen
eral Butler could and did land his forces
at City Point, without any effort or loss ;
but this year Sherman has to fight his
way through many a swamp, and take
or turn many a battery, and leave many
a blue-coated corpse behind him ere he
can hope to see a Virginia railroad. It
is hoped, not without some degree of
confidence, that the President will not
this year relieve General Beauregard in
the very crisis of his campaign, and ap
point General Pemberton in his place,
with orders to the latter to slip round to
Sherman's rear and march away to
Moble. But, barring this, or sonie other
equally enormous blunder or crime, it
seems evident that Sherthan has before
him a much more difficult and perilous
part of the grand campaign than Butler
had last year. And in the meantime
his devastiug march through South
Carolina is no more conquering that
State than his great raid through Geor
gia has converted Georgians to the
" Union."
Richmond is safe if all parties con
cerned do their duty ; that is, if the new
Secretary of War is energetic, and if the
new commissary shall be found to have
some elementary ideas, about food ;
especially if Congress proceed at once
with such legislation, for the purpose of
giving General Lee control of large
numbers of negroes, as that general asks
at their hands. Promptitude and deci
sion are important in this matter ; yet
it is understood that many members
have long speeches to make-; and one,
they say, has even threatened tohe heard
for two days—going down into the very
first principles of human society and
soaring to the sublime future which is
reserved for the destiny of our species—
and the roads almost beginning already
to dry under the winds of March. Two
days! Why Sherman can march forty
miles in two days.
If this measure is to be adopted to in
crease our means of national defence, it
were well it were done quickly, in order
that there may be at least a portion of
the now material ready for the work of
the coming struggle. In the meantime
let it not enter the thoughts of any citi
zen of Richmond that the city is in any
greater danger this spring than it was
the spring before. There is the strongest
probability, too—all the omens indicate
—that this will be the last campaign
against the Capitol of Virginia.
Proclamation of Governor Vance to the
People of North Carolina.
[From the Richmond Examiner, Feb.. 21.]
We find in the North Carolina papers
a proclamation of Governor Vance, is
sued on the 14th inst., relative to the
recent " peace negotiations." The fol
lowing are some of the concluding par
agraphs of this patriotic and stirring
paper:
I trust and believe that there will be
little difference of opinion in North
Carolina as to the propriety of continued
resistance. The great argument which
will be brought forward to shake your
honor and intended to excite you to
despair will be that successful resist
ance is no longer possible. Some will
tell you that we are already subdued
that the enemy * outnumber us ; that
our fighting men are all slain; our re
sources all exhausted, and we might as
wellsubmitnow. This, mycountrynaen,
is false, and as frequently proceeds from
a craven or a traitorous, as from an hon
est but mistaken spirit. Great as our
calamties have been, straightened as we
are for all supplies, both of men and
material, I tell you in all candor that
when I survey oth condition by the
light of human history, I see no danger
which threatens to be fatal to our cause,
except the depression ofspirit among
the people and the still more dreadful
risk .of internal dissension. So long
as we remain one and determined, it is
not in the power of our enemies to sub
due us. "But except these abide in the
ship we cannot be saved." All things
may be supplied if we were but possessed
to that bold and manly spirit of resist.
ance of tyranny, of which liberty and
independence are born. Thatalone can
fill the widow's barrel and still the
orphan's cry, can cast cannons and
build ships of war ; can raise up armed
men from the dust of the dragon's teeth
can wrest tangible realities from the
very jaws of impossibility. Withoutit,
numbers but add to the ignominy of
certain defeat, even as the Persian mil
lions were whipped and shamed by the
three hundred in the mountain pass.
Are our men all slain ? Over four hun
dred thousand names yet stand upon
the muster rolls of the confederacy,
to say nothing of the many
thousands who shirk. Where are
they? Thousands upon thousands
absent without leave, are lurking in the
woods and swamps of the South. Are
our provisions all gone? Hundreds of
thousands of bushels of grain now rot at
the various depots of the South for want
of transportation, and this transporta
tion cannot be protected because these
absent soldiers are not at the post of
duty. Oh, my countrymen! if you
would but rise to entreat, to shame, to
drive them back to their country's
standard ! Has our territory been over
run? It has; but how much of it has
been held? The enemy marched tri
umphantly through the heart of our
sister, Georgia, and is she conquered?
Except for the garrison at Savannah,
and the ashes of desolation on their
track through the interior, Georgia has
neither enemy nor the sign of enemy
on her soil. So of most portions of the
South which space does not permit
me to enumerate. For four years
their countless legions have gnawed
at the vitals of Virginia, yet to
day they claim not even all of her ter
ritory which is swept by their cannon.
The cities, the garrison, the land their
armies actually stand upon, and the
waters ridden by their fleets, areal' that
they really hold, or even can hold ex
cept by our ignoble consent. Let the
balance of our cities go—:Nfobile, Char
leston, Wilmington, Richmond, all ;
and, if we are determined to be free, our
subjugation is quite as distant as ever.
For, thank God, the confederacy does
not consist in brick and mortar or par
ticular spots of ground, however valu
able they may lie in a military point of
view. Our nationality consists in our
people. Liberty dwells in the hearts
of her votaries, and the ragged, bare
footed soldiers, standing in the depths
of the forest, or in the shadow of the
mon n tain , call oiler her sacrifices
which will be as sweet and as
acceptable as those proffered in gor
geous temples in the midst of magnifi
cent cities. So if „our country and its
cause, like to the Kingdom of God, be
enthroned in our hearts, then indeed
am I persuaded that neither principali
ties nor powers, nor things present nor
things to come, nor height nor depth,
nor life nor dea!li, nor any other crea
ture shall be able to separate us from
that independence and honor for which
our people have suffered and our sons
have died. Therefore, my countrymen,
having warned you of this danger w hick
is upon us, I now appeal to you, by
everything held sacred among men, to
bear yourselves as become your high
lineage and future hopes. I implore
you to lay down all party bit
terness, and to be reconciled to
your neighbor for the sake of your
country ; to use every possible exertion
to restore absentees to the army; to di
vide of your abundance freely with the
poor and the suffering; to strengthen
the arms of your rulers, and to sustain
your soldiers and their generals; and to
give cheerfully your aid, physical, men
tal and mbral, in whatever sphere you
may lie, to prevent the degradation of
your country and the ruin of its people
The New Secretary of Treasury
It is now pretty generally understood
that Mr. Hugh McCulloch, the present
Comptroller of the National Currency,
is to take the place of 'Mr. Fessenden as
Secretary of the Treasury. His opinions
on the financial policy of the nation
cannot fail to lie a matter of some in
terest. In relation to the country issuing
its own notes as a permanent circulating
medium he says :
"No more dangerous, no more cor
rupting power could be lodged in the
hands of the party in possession of the
Oovernnient, and none more perilous
to official probity and free elections."
There are few, we think, who are not
moved by the corrupt influences of
political organizations, that will
dissent from the opinion so boldly
expretsed. Paper money, gener
ally, Mr. McCulloch thinks should
be convertible into coin, not only when
there is no demand for specie, hut also
at times when it is most needed. "It
should not," lie says, "on the oue hand,
by being overissued, encourage extrava
gance and speculation, and give" las at
present) "an unreliable valuation to
property ; nor on the other hand, by be
ing reduced below the proper standard,
interrupt business and unsettle values."
He reconmiends the hanks to prepare
for a return to specie payments, which
is an indication that he will exercise his
power to place the government on the
same track. He anticipates at no dis
tant day an up-heaving in financial af
fairS'apparalleled in the history of na
tions. In reference to which he says :
" Fortunate will the country be if the
war s can be closed and prices reduced to
former standards without a collapse,
which will as greatly excel in the ex
tent of its disaster that which occurred
at the close of the last war with Eng
land as the present war excels that in
costliness and magnitude."
Getting their Eyes Opened.
The Abolition press occasionally give
evidence of returning reason, by telling
some forcible political truth which is
usually found only in Democratic pa
pers. The New York Times, an in
tensely " loyal" sheet, was smitten in
this way the other day, and while un
der the influence said :
"Every man, woman, and child now
pays half of their monthly or yearly
earnings into the cofirs of this war. If
a mechanic earns Sl3lO a year, $3OO are
paid away in paper currency ; if a
clergyman or college professor receives
$1,500 salary, he now gives $750 to sus
tain the circulation of the country. It
is so with the every-day laborer and
poorest seamstress. It is equally so
with the Government itself. Of its two
millions paid out every (lay one million
s lost by the depreciation of the circu
lating medium. The nation doubles its
debt every day, because its paper rep
resentative of value has lost half its
worth. Every person dependent on
salaries or fixed wages is just one half
poorer to-day than he should be, because
of the reduced value of our currency.
The dollar is worth only fifty cents.—
Every one knows this. The people see
that what is called " the price of gold "
is to them the most important of all pe
cuniary matters, and that the tax on the
currency far outruns all other taxes. In
deed it is wellseen now that a direct tax
of fifty per cent. on every person's in
come (provided it brought the currency
up to par,) would be less exacting and
wasteful than the present depreciation,
because it would be fixed, and would
not permit such excessive speculation
and overcharging by the dealers in
commodities.
Vir The construction of the Govern
ment arsenal at Rock Island, Illinois,
will be commenced immediately. It
will cost $1,500,000, and will be one of
largest structures of the kind in the
world.
The Baltimore American says a sub
stantial company, to be made up of
New York, Washington and Baltimore
capitalists, is about being formed for
the purpose of establishing a camel line
between the Missouri frontier and Cali
fornia, the eastern terminus of the line
to be at Omaha'city.
Captain Beall, at the breaking out of
the war, it is said, owned a large plan
tation in Jefferson county, Virginia, and
worked about 100 slaveS. His fortune
was then estimated at 81,500;000, and he
is, in addition, the heir apparent of Lord
Egelby, of England. He was only thirty
two years of age.
Execution of Captain John T. Beall—A
Bash Life ended by a Brave Death.
We take from our New York ex
changes the following highly interesting
account of the execution of Captain
John T. Beall,Who was hung on Gov
erners Island, N. York, on Friday last.
It is a rare thing for a Mall to die on the
scaffold so bravely.
SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
Captain John T. Beall, was born in
Jefferson county, Va., and inherited
sufficient means and social position to
go travelling. He visited London and
Paris ; went up the Nile, to Jereusalem
and Damascus, to the Crimea and Con
stantinople, and " beat" over the com
mon route of European tourists, till the
beginning of the war summoned him to
the Confederacy, when he entered the
rebel service, and fought like a devotee,
passing unscathed through the bloodiest
battles, deserving a commission, till au
evil hour cast him far northward, de
pendent to a certain extent upon the
charities of the Canadian agents,
Thompson, McDowell, and Clay. These
put him on their list of utilitarians, and
engaged him in the strange crusades
which he was too enthusiastic to refuse,
such as seizing and scuffing steamers on
the lake, and finally in throwing trains
of northern passengers off the railway
track., so that the mails and express
packages might be obtained. It was
this last essay that shut him front our
sympathies, and gave him to the scaf
fold; but now that he is gone we may
grant him the possibility of the doubt
that, in his zeal, he forgot the terror he
was planing for helpless children and
women who might have been passing
between Dunkirk and Buffido. At any
rate, he was seized in the frontier depot,
returning to Canada,and brought to New
York. Here his conduct wascool with
out being insolent, and full of rare dis
cretion and secretiveness. Ile never
treated the detectives and officers as
either his equals or masters, but rather
as foreign and strange people, with
whom he had neither social nor politi
cal sympathy. These, knowing his
desperate intrepid spirit, were
glad when he went into the
custody of the United States, and
was put without the possibility of es
cape. Before leaving 11 ort Lafayette he
gave his money and best clothes to the
Southern prisoners, reserving his very
worst suit for Governor's Island, where
he spent two week's of manly reflection,
reading the Bible, the Book of Common'
l'rayer, a devotional work entitled "The
Follower of Christ," and some lighter
writings, as Goethe's "Renard, the
Fox," and a French copy of "Manon
Leseaut." It is fair to say that the full
ness of a lite, as well spent as its close,
would have made Beall a scholar, as he
was a traveler and a gentleman. He
was a born rebel, with the hest of south
ern characteristics—calmness, reticence,
a fine sense of gentlemanliness, and It
pleasant dignity that both won and re
bufli,sl men. The court-martial proved,
but did not shake him, and as death ap
proached, he grew quieter, but not less
praiseworthy.
He was to be hung on Saturday last,
but the reprieve filled hint with no vain
hope. "It is only postponed a little
while," he said, "until I can see my
mother." This lady came, with several
of his friends. He treated them more
like a father titan a son or brother, and
without any pedantic demonstration,
satisfied then[and others that he was
both well read and well prepared. Ile
could not resist the almost magnetic
fami iari ty of Lieutenant Tallman, the
provost-martial of the post. Both of
them were masons, tool in the wonderful
attachment of this order, the correspon
dence between priest and sacrifice was
kindly and tender. Beall was fed upon
soldier's rations; his strong, close cell
was furnished with a straw-Issl, made
upon the brick floor, a chair, and writing
table. It was a fair place for a captive
—a dreary place ter an observer. Two
sentries watched the strong door day
and night, and six times in the round
of hours, at regular intervals, Tallman
looked in his cell and spoke with him.
This g,en ial jailor often conversed wit It
him, but never politically; their con
victions were too different to admit of
argument. On the night preceding his
originally anticipated execution, Beall
remarked: " I never slept better."
PREPARATIONS Font THE EXECUTION.
Although, according to the terms of
the sentence, it was not carried into ef
fect until between the hours of 12 and 2
o'clock p. m., the sight-seers, who were
so fortunate as to procure,passes, began
to arrive in large numbers at ( iovernor's
Island at an early hour in the morning,
and there was also a considerable throng,
who, to judge by their appearance, had
managed to pass the guards without cre
dentials. By 12 o'clock upward of rien
speetators had assembled, without in
ducting soldiers, of whom there were
several hundred. Between the hours of
11 and 12 o'clock, United States Mar
shal Murray proceeded, with a file of
soldiers, to the cell of the condemned,
in order to convey him to an apartment
less remote from the scaffold, prepara
tory to the execution, which, it had
been determined, was to take place
shortly after 1 o'clock.
THE; PRISONER IN HIS CELL.
Maj. Cogswell and other officers testi
fied to the courageous bearing of Capt.
Beall ever since Ids confinement on the
island. As we entered the cell of the
prisoner, in company with Marshal
Murray, a Deputy Sheriff and another
gentleman, we were struck by his sin
gularly cool and eonfident mien. He
Was sitting on a chair by a little table
which stood in the middle of the cell,
with the black cap of death already up
on his head. Seeing us enter, he imme
diately arose, and said to the Marshal :
"I am at your serviee. You will
oblige me by making this thing as short
as possible."
The Marshal, who had Seen him fre
quently before, did not at first recog
nized hint, as the black turban-like
night-cap, with its long tasseled overlap,
somewhat altered his appearance. He
knew Idly to be the same, however, as
soon as he spoke, and promised to com
ply with his request.
Capt. Beall was a handsome man.—
About five feet nine inches in night, a
strong, compactly built form, light beard
and moustache and yellowish hair, re
gular features indicative of culture and
intellectual firmness, and a clear,
brilliant gray eye—these were the
physical characteristics of the Rebel
spy. There was also a singular freedom
and self-possession in his manner of
movement and address.
Following Marshal Murray to the door
of his cell, he marched between the
guards, who were awaiting him, toward
the designated apartment, heedless of
the curious gaze of the knots of loungers
who had gathered to witness the scene.
We forgot to mention that he was also
accompanied by the Rev. S. H. Weston,
Chaplain of the Seventh Regiment,
National Guard, who had been his con
stant companion for several hours pre
vious.
lii=
The gallows via.: erected on a little
of ground, which sloped gently to
the waters of the bay on the extremity
of the island fronting the Narrows.—
The structure itself was simple enough.
There was no drop• but a chair was
placed directly under the rope, which
ran through an aperture and along a
groove, or series of pullies in the beam
above, the other end falling into a rude
box, or shanty, where it had connection
With a heavy weight, which the sever-
ing of a subordinate line would bring
the noose up, with a swift jerk, to the
top of the gallows-tree. l'p and down,
in the interior of the inclosure contain
ing the weight paced the man whose
business it was to cut the short line at
the signal, and by the action of the fall
ing weight, run up the outer cord, with
its dangling burden of flesh and blood.
He was in fact the hangman of the oc
casion, a deserter long confined on the
island, but who, we understand, was
extemporized into an executioner, on
the condition that thereafter his own
past sins were to he forgiven.
By noon there was a large crowd col
lected around this spot, eyeing the
structure with a morbid curiosity, and
several platoons of troops were march
ing and counter-marching around it,
with a full band playing at their head.
Nearly all of the press were represented
and stood very near the scaffold, with
Maj. Bumford, the commandant of the
post, and several other officers belong
ing on the Island. As the fatal hour
drew near, the crowds of spectators be
came so pressing that a guard was de
tailed, which quickly drove them back,
while the troops were formed in a hollow
square around the gallows, to keep out
siders at a distance.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE PRISONER
Just about one o'clock the guard, with
the prisoner and Mr. - Weston in their
midst, came filing down the slope, and
the crowd respectfully opened to let
them through.
The prisoner walked swiftly, and evi
dently without fear. His arms were
pinioned. by the_ elbows, behind his
back, which induced a slight forward
stoop as he walked, but there was some
thing defiant and free in his gait and
betiring. There was something grace
fully romantic in his attire, especially
iia . the short dark cloak which he wore,
falling theatrically down to his waist
and concealing the hempen twist round
his neck, and even his black cap added
to;his dramatic effect, being rolled up,
turban-like, above his brows, the baggy
end falling on one side and fluttering
in the fresh wind that blew in from the
sea. Otherwise, the prisoner was at
tired in a gray suit, somewhat tarnished
from his long confinement, additional
evidence of which was also perceptible
in his palid and somewhat emaciated
features.
READING TILE SENTENCE
We learn, and it is very probable, that
the prisoner entertained, almost up to
the hour immediately preceding his
death, confident hopes that the execu
tion would not be carried into effect.
These hopes probably vanished before
he started on his last brief journey
to the gallows ; indeed, they must have
thine so, for on the way, he looked up,
gazed steadily at the sun, which was
shining in a clear blue sky, and pouring
a flood of effulgence over his pathway
to tlie grave, and said to Mr. 'Weston :
How beautiful the sunlight is!
never knew what its splendor was till
now, when t look upon it fur the' fu,,l
Arriving at the gallows, the prisoner
threw a quick, curious glance upward,
as,though he had never seen the struct
ure, before, although it lay fully exposed
to his eyes durit* the several moments'
march (ruin his place of confinement.
Nevertheless, he seemed perfectly satis
fied with it, on closer inspection, and
quietly stepped forward under the rope,
while the Adjutant proceeded to read
the various findings of the Court, the
order accompanying it, and the death
sentence. While this was going on, the
quiet, almost cheerful, courage of the
prisoner, won the respect of all who saw
hitt. His demeanor was, howeVer, any
;
th' g but that of a bravo ; it evinced a
p , moral courage, an intellectual eon
tAN'ipt for death. His face was
pale, but sorrowful, and frequent
smiles played across his I il,s
as he listened to the reading 0C
the flitlbrent specifications of which he
had been found guilty, anti for which
'he was there to meet his death. Especial
ly at the reading of that specification,
respecting the Lake Erie piracy, where
lie had placed the innocent passengers
41 the captured steamer under dur
ance by force °farms, he almost laughed
as if the reading recalled some incident
which had once particularly amused
hint. In all of this carelessness, how
ever, there wasonly contempt and hardi
hood—nothing like contrition for the
7rimes which he had attempted, and
nothing like a conviction of the fanati
cism or spirit of revenge which had im
pelled him,
Immediately after the reading of the
sentence, the'prisoner stood up, and the
noose round his neck was fastened to
the suspended cord above, leaving a
slack of about two feet. lie faced the
sea. On his right stood Marshal Mur
ray, Maj. Cogswell, and another official.
(to his left stood Mr. Weston, who pro
duced a copy of the Episcopal liturgy,
and read the commendatory prayer
therefrom in solemn tones, the pri
soner bending his head reverently, and
evidently listening with profound at
tention.
At the eonelusion of this ceremony,
the Deputy Marshal approached the
prisoner, adjusted the rope, and asked
him if he had anything to say. lii
prisoner replied :
" Yes; I protest against theexecution
of this sentence! It is absolute murder
—brutal murder! I die in the defense
and service of my country !"
Before the cap was drawn over his
eyes, on being asked if he wished to say
anything further, he said:
\o; I beg you tomake haste !"
Thesignal was then given ; the weight
was heard to fall; the rope was seen to
spring high up; and John V. Beall was
in eternity; for his neck was iintnedi-
ately broken, and Ma probably died in a
second. There Waw a slight convulsion
of the legs awl all motion ceased. 'Vile
execution took place at fourteen min
utes past one o'clock precisel y.. niseosAL E ItOl,lS
The body was suffered to hang just
twenty minutes. Itwas then cut down,
and, upon examination, the Fiurgeon iu
attendance pronounced life extinct. It
was then placed in the collin awaiting
it and borne away, Nvlien the crowd dis
persed.
We understand that the corpse was to
have been brought to the city, and there
delivered to some friends for interment.
Two gentlemen from Baltimore,
friends of the deceased, were with him
in the morning, and witnessed his, exe
cution.
A few days before his death the
prisoner wrote a sketch of-his life, and
during the early morning preceding his
execution, at his own iequest, had a
photographic likeness taken of himself
General Lee Gone South—Johnson tom-
minds at Richmond
The Richmond papers state that I fen.
J. E. Johnston has been assigned to a
command by Gen. Lee, but singularly,
for them even, omit to state what it is
or where he will serve. On the '2.3d they
intimated that his succeeding Beaure
gard in command of the army in front
of Sherman was a foregone conclusion.
It is now apparent from other sources
of information that quite a different
disposition has been made of him. An
escaped Union soldier from a Rich
mond prison brings the news that.
Johnston is in Command of the
rebel army defending Richmond, and.
that Lee started South two days ago.
to join the forces under Reauregard,
to take the immediate direction of
aflitirs if necessary, and to determine
the general features of operations in.
that quarter in any event. There is
very little doubt of this being true.
Heavy operations may certainly be ex
pected within the next few weeks.
Sherman to be Checked.
From the Richmond Sentinel, 'kith.!
There are despatches at the War I),
partment from the South, which it k
not proper to publish, as the enemy
would thus procure information in a(1-
\ranee of that received froin their own
source of intelligence. But this much
we may say, that the prospect is fair
for a most decided check being given to
Mr. Sherman.
The Inauguration.
" the Washington correspon
dent of the Cincinnati Comm(
writes as follows of the inauguration of
'ri,ident Lincoln on the 4th of March :
Preparation, are being made for the
Patent Office buildings, several large, ,
processions, and any number of individ
ual sprees. The indications are that
the usual throng will be here, though.
from the fact that there are very few of
fices to give, one would think the influx
from abroad would not be great. The
smallest hotel in thecity was asked, two.
months ago, to provideaccommodations
for six hundred persons from the Ist to
the uth of March, and so of other estab
lishments. I can not see in what re
spect any man who doesn't expect or
want an office, can get compensation for
the outlay of time and money, necessa
ry to witness the inaugural ceremonies.
Not one in five hundred will even hear
what the old man has to say on the
occasion of his reinstatement. I think
lie better part of valor in the premises,
s to stay at home and read the "ad-
. -
dress" in the morning papers the day
after its delivery.
Yankee Boots on a Blockade Runner.
One of our Exchanges says
Among the cargo of an English block
ade-runner, recently captured off Wil
mington, were a large lot of heavy
cavalry boots that were evidently made
for the Southern market. These boots
were brought to Philadelphia and retail
ed here to persons who thought in buy
ing them they were procuring for loyal
feet good, strong English made boots
that were intened for a very different
service. A good many -of these boots
have fallen under the notice of experts
in the shoe trade, and the fact of their
Yankee origin has been clearly de
monstrated. The boots were made in
a New England workshop, shipped, pro
bably, to Nassau, and thence on their
blockade-running mission to Wilming
ton. We do not say that their m anu
facturer or manufacturers knew what
their ultimate destination was to be ;
but the hint is worth following up. It
does not look well to find New England
made cavalry boots (evidently gotten up
for rebel feet) on board anKuglish block
ade-runner.
The English Viceroy in central Asia
has received the homage of six hundred
princes, assembled to do honor to Queen
Victoria. The ceremony took place at.
Lahore.