NEWS FROM ALL NATIONS.
A Provost Marshal and a soldier was [
shot and instantly killed at West Newton, Pa., last
week, while attempting to arrest a deserter by the !
name of Smith, who had jumped the bounty sever
al times. The Marshal had with him a posse of ,
six men. but the murderer succeeded in making
his escape. A reward of SI,OOO is offered for his j
arrest.
—Hon. Eli Slifer, Secretary of the Com
monwealth, and lady, celebrated the twenty-filth
anniversary of their wedding, at their fine resi
dence, near Lewisburg, on Friday evening last
week. A large number of friends partook of their
hospitality on the above occasion, says the Lewis
burg Chronicle.
—The house of Lieutenant Hendricks, of
Snnbury, says the Gazette of that place, who is ab
sent with the 47th regiment, was robbed of a num
ber of articles of value, including a watch, jewelry,
clothing, Ac. The house has not been occupied
for some time. Mrs. Hendricks residing with her
father.
—The Warren accommodation train on
the Pittsburg and Erie Railroad, collided with the
mail traiu on a curve near Garland Thursday after
noon, smashing the engine, tender, and baggage
car. Two men were killed and several injured.
The mail train was off time, which caused the ac
cident.
—C. V. Gundy, Esq., has received the ap-;
pointment of County School Superintendent for j
Union County, in place of J. A. Owens, resigned, j
—Bombay is in a state of much excite-j
ment over the great success of East India cotton
cultivation. Men who a short time ago were pos
sessed of moderate meaYis, have suddenly become j
milionaires, and the manner in which it is said for
tunes are being piled lip there rivnls tlie wonders of j
our own oil regions.
—According to the Mobile News, there is j
a perfect exodus through Texas into Mexico of "the
gallant youth who are the reserve guard of the sun- !
ny south, and who will do the fighting after their |
brave fathers and elder brothers have fallen."
—The Southern Hotel, in St. Louis, now
approaching completion, will cost about $850,000, j
although the c mtracts were made at the gold stan- 1
dard. The furnishing will require at least $350,000 '
at the present prices : making a total expenditure
for hotel and outfit of $1,200, OIK).
—The clerks in the rebel departments
have petitioned to have their pay raised to seven
thousand dollars per annum—they cannot live up
on a less siun, and would prefer their food and
clothing in the form of rations.
—A correspondent of the Chicago Jour
nal estimates Gen. Sherman's army at 87,000 in
fantry and 16,000 cavalry. About 10,(XK) of these
are colored troops, remaining in the vicinity of
Port Royal, but his moving columns number over
IXI,OOO men.
- -An eruption of Mount Etna took place
during the night of January 31st, after several
earthquake shocks. At the latest date from Mes
sina the lava was flowing rapidly, and several vil
lages were in danger.
—The rebels in onr prisons have a queer
way of complaining of the bad treatment they re
ceive. A few days ago 1882 were examined at camp
Morton for exchange. All except 306 declined to
leave the prison and go back to the rebel army.
—The States of Maine and Missouri,
which were admitted as members of the Union to
gether, ratified the amendment to the Constitution
abolishing slavery on the same day.
—Gen. Grant reports that since the be
ginning of the campaign last May, 17,000 deserters
have come into our lines from Lee's army alone.
—The first strawberries of the season
were received a few days since at Powell's fruit
stors. No. 147 Fulton-st., Brooklyn. They were iu
number six, filled one basket, and were sold for a
large dinner-party at the moderate sum of two dol
lars and a half. The fruit was raised in Fitohburg,
Mass.. where they never use their snow till it is a
year old.
—('apt. Robert T. Lincoln, son of the
President, has gone to the front, under orders to
report to Lieut.-Gen. Grant, for service upon his
staff'.
—The distance from Branchvill to Charles
ton 62 miles ; from Branchville to Kingsville 45 ;
from Branchville to Florence 108 ; from Branch
ville to Columbia 68 : from Branchville to Augusta
75 : from Branchville to Wilmington 216; from
Branchville to Charlotte 174 ; from Charleston to
Florence 102 : from Wilmington to Florence 157.
—Judge Hughes of the United States
Court of Claims, has resigned his position on the
bench of that court. Iliehard W. Thompson, Esq.,
of Indiana, has been appointed by the President
to the vacancy.
—The paymasters attached to the Army
of the Potomac and the Army of the James, have,
we understand, received orders to prepare their
rolls down to December 31st, and this would indi
cate that these armies are to Ire paid off.
—Seventeen flags, captured in the bat
tles around Nashville, were presented to the Secre
tary of War, fifteen of the captors making the pre
sentation in person. The latter were all granted a
furlough of thirty days.
—At fourteen minutes past one o'clock,
Saturday, John Y. Beall, the Lake Erie pirate, was
executed on Governor's Island, the President hav
ing fnil&i to grant any further reprieve. His bear
ing at the gallows was calm and self-possessed,and
he passed from life with hardly a struggle. Quite
a large crowd of visitors witnessed the tragic event.
—The proposition to arm 200,000 ne
groes, which passed the Rebel House of Represen
tatives was indefinitely postponed by the Senate
bv one majority.
—General Gillem, with 4500 men, is re
ported by the Richmond papers to be advancing
through upper East Tennessee. His outposts are
north of Greenville.
—There is a report, believed in Knox
ville, Teun., that Longstreet is moving against
that city.
—Brig. Gen. Meredith has been relieved
rom command in western Kentucky, and persons
arrested by him have been set free.
—ln the army of the Potomac a shotted
salute was fired in honor of the capture of Charles- ,
ton.
—Maj.-Gen. Palmer has assumed com
mand of the Department of Kentucky, and estab
lished his headquarters at Louisville.
—The rebel Golonel R. J. Breckinridge
was captured by our troops, near Midway, Ky., 011 j
Wednesday.
—The guerillas are again becoming
troublesome on the Arkansas river, firing into pass
ing boats and committing other outrages.
—From New-Orleans we learn that 011
the 17th inst., the Legislature ratified the Consti
tutional Amendment, only one Senator voting in
the negative, and that the draft liegan on the 15th.
—Eight Railroad disasters occurred last
week in different portions of the country, and for-'
ty-ttoe since the commencement of the year, in- •
yolving the loss of 63 killed and 441 wounded.
.—Fred. Douglass lectured in Hoboken 011
Saturday evening. He discussed the general status
of the negro and the proposition of the Confederacy
t > arm its slaves.
—One of Dupont's powder mills, near
Wilmington, Del., exploded on the AT.th, killiug .
three ot the employes.
fßtatlffltd Hcportcf.
Towanda, Thursday, March 2, 1865. j
THE MOXROR DOCTRINE.
Since a French army has taken posses
sion of Mexico, public attention has been
more or less drawn to the Monroe Doctrine,
as it is called, and which naturally grew
out of our last war with England. The ex-;
act boundaries, the limitations and appli-,
cations of this doctrine, were never fully
settled ; and to this day, there is much di
versity ol opinion on this point. The Mes
sage of President MONROE, in which this j
policy of our government towards the oth
er States on this continent, was first pub- j
licly announced, though it had been fully
| discussed, and generally entertained, some !
| time prior, declares "That any attempt on i
the part of European powers to extend
j their system to any portion of this liemis- i
1 phere, would be regarded by the United j
j States, as dangerous to our peace and safe-i
: ty." It was however, subsequently declar- :
jed in Congress, by leading republicans, j
t " That the President had taken too wide a
j range on this particular subject, and that
j it was never intended by the republican i
| party of that day," whicii was at that time i
i dominant, " to extend the protection of the
i government beyond the independent South
' American States." So that the correct in- j
terpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, is fur ,
i from being settled : and we think it is well j
j that our government is not in condition,and
not in disposition, to attempt its practical
! application. For the more time we have to
j examine its merits,and the more experience
i we have as a government, the more its im-
I practicability becomes manifest. Besides,
when we remember the condition of the
I country, and the causes which give rise to
i this doctrine,we cannot fail to see addition
i al reasons for the exercise of circumspec
j tion t and for holding in abeyance a theory
j so clearly surrounded with trouble, so pos
; itively aggressive in its tendencies, and so
i at variance with every consideration of
! public tranquility. It will be borne in mind
! that some time before the war broke out
. i between England and the United States, in
t' 1812, some under-handed means had been
r resorted to, on the part of the former, to
seperate the Eastern States from our gov
! eminent, with the view of attaching them
' to the British provinces. For this purpose,
J JOHN HENRY, an Englishman, was employed
j by Sir JAMES CRAIG, governor general of
. | Canada, to undertake a secret mission to
• Boston. CRAIG had promised HENRY for this
j service, an office worth a thousand pounds
! a year. But failing to fulfill this engage
| inent, the latter, in a letter written in Phil
| adelphia, on the 20th of June, 1813, dis-
I closed the whole affair to Mr. MONROE, then
; Secretary of State, for fifty thousand dol
| lars. This project,with others of a similar,
! though less notorious character,very great
ly aggravated public sentiment in the United
• States against Great Britain. These trans
i actions, together with the English blockade
| orders against our commerce, and the im
pressment of our seamen, culminated in a
war, wherein we were triumphant. To
; master, as we did then, after we got fairly
to work, both by land and sea, the most
! powerful nation on the earth,and one which
i had whipped out all the other nations of
Europe, was well calculated to excite the
vanity of JEFFERSON, MADISON, MONROE, AD
AMS, CALHOUN, CLAY, and their democratic
compeers, who had wrested the govern
merit out of the hands of the federalists,
broken them down, and against their coun
sels, and with little of their aid, had made
the war a success, and a glory Under
such circumstances, they were excusable
for competent to protect
the whole continent. It may too, have been
wise, in view of the propensity of England
to meddle with our affairs, to proclaim a
determination to protect in future the hem
isphere on which the United States were
located, from those insiduous wiles of the
mother country, she was ever projecting
against it for purposes of aggrandizement.
While theiefore, we can, not only excuse,
but justify, this position of our government,
at the time referred to, because of her pe
| culiar surroundings, yet we are not so
ready to admit that it is either the part ot
wisdom, or of good morals, to insist upon
the same position now, not only for the
reason that it is not tenable, but for that
stronger, and higher reason, that it is not
right. A government makes itself redicu
lous, in assuming to command that which
it has 110 means of controlling ; and if we
now declare the Monroe Doctrine to be the
| policy of our government, how will it ap-
I pear before the world, with British and
Russian possessions on one side of us, Mex
ico and Brazil on another, and the other
1 South American States, as much, at least,
under foreign, as under our control ? The
doctrine thus viewed- -and this is its true
aspect—is a positive nullity ; and such in
reality, it has been ever since it was pro
| claimed. Aside from this, how would it
look, if a rich, successful,proud man,should
proclaim that the particular district, or
township in which he resided, and which
was thickly populated with property-hold
ers, was under his protection, and that no
system of farming different from that which
he practiced, would be tolerated in it ?
Would not this be looked upon as very ar
rogant, and would it be the rights of prop
erty were respected ? Moreover, the gov
ernments of Canada and Brazil are dissim
ilar to ours, and can we consistently, pro
tect and foster them ? Do they want any
thing of this kind from us? in short, is
not the Monroe Doctrine, an absurdity.with
Canada under the protection of England,
and Brazil under that of Spain, as applied
to these governments? And how much
better is it in respect to Mexico? With its
indolent, ignorant, restless, and vicious
population, a republican form of govern
ment can not be maintained there. It is ]
idle to talk about it. Any dav, since Mex
ico declared herself independent of Spain,
adventurers, and brigands, could call to- •
gether, in any part of the country, bands |
of the discontented population, for pnrpos- •
es of plunder, or to prey upon, or oppose i
the government, or all combined ; and so !
long as the present inhabitants remain un
changed in these respect, so long is a re-j
public in Mexico out of the question. Xoth-!
ing but a strong government backed by a
large and well disciplined army can main- !
tain itself there ; and for the United States
to undertake to foster, or protect one there, I
would be simply, the most impracticable,
and the hardest job it ever assumed, the !
...
1 crushing of the Slave-holder's rebellion not
excepted. For these, and other reasons we
have not time or space to give, it appears j
j to us, that the policy (tin - government has i
pursued towards Mexico, since its occupa
tion by the French, has been eminently ju- j
dicious.
FRAUDS ON THE DRAFT.
It lias been a great wonder to many peo
ple what becomes of all the soldiers sent to
the army, or why it is, thai the armies of
the United States are not larger, after the
several largo drafts which have been made.
This matter is about to be explained to the
country. The authorities at Washington
have discovered that thousands upon thou
sands of fraudulent papers, such as are re
quired to be made out for each actual sold
ier, have been palmed upon the townships,
boroughs.and cities, that have been bring
ing up men to fill up their respective quotas,
taking heavy sums of money from them,
but furnishing no men, and therefore, none
going into the army, thereby swindling the
government out of the men, and the town
ships, boroughs, and cities, out of very
great sums of money. Immense fortunes
have bean made out of this business by the
bounty-brokers, some having realized as
high as tico and three hundred thousand dol
lars by means of these swindles But the
game is played out,as we are glad to learn.
The Nev%York Herald, of Feb. 8, gives the
following account of these operations in
that city :
" It is well known that these bounty-brokers, in
following their business legitimately, would make
a great deal of money out of men honestly enlisted
and placed in the service. But when the men lie
came scarce, and profits did not accrue as rapidly
as wished, they cast about for means of making
them reach the desired standard. This was soon
found, and has been worked to such an extent as
to make many of the enormously wealthy. A re
cruit legitimately enlisted at the naval rendezvous
in York street, Brooklyn, would be sworn in, it re
cord kept in the office, and he sent on board the
North Carolina, where a receipt from the officer iu
charge for him would be good for the bounty and
hand money. So far so good. Col. Bakerhas dis
covered the following mode of procedure 011 the
part of the brokers :
One of the party who has been arrested, and
whose name will presently appear, would go to the
chief clerk of the Naval Rendezvous and procure
from him the names of all the men recruited on the
preceding day. Taking the names of these men,
who were already on hoard the receiving ship, the
parties engaged in the work would forge duplicate
enlistment papers, descriptive rolls, Ac., making
out a full set of pajiers, to which would be affixed
the signature and seal of office of John Devlin, no
tary public, making all appear straight and correct.
These papers thus prepared were presented on
board the North Carolina, showing the men enlist
ed, a receipt would be given by the officer in charge,
which presented at the rendezvous, called for and
was good for SOSO. Again, there are always to be
found in this city numbers of men from other
towns looking after substitutes to fill their quota.
The brokers employ runners to find these men out,
who are waited on and told that they can fill their
quota, asking how many men they require and how
much their town pays? On being informed, a bar
gain is struck, and the happy man is informed the
men to save their city from a draft shall be forth
coming in the morning. The brokers go to their
office, forge the necessary number of enlistment
papers complete—each list representing a man—
and, having attached to it the seal of office and
signature of the notary public, who is represented
as having sworn them in—this notary in all cases
being John Devlin. Everything—so far as the pa
pers go—looks fair, the broker representing that
the recruit has been sent on board ship, or 011 the
island. The man pays his thousands of dollars
and goes home, congratulating himself upon the
quota for his. town being filled, the broker pockets
the money, and the government receives "nary" n
soldier, although the papers carried olfby the men
who have paid their money, and which are in the
hands of the provosts of the different towns, show
their quota is filled, and they receive credit for the
same.
This is part of the system of fraud and forgery
perpetrated by the brokers in this city and Brook
lyn which Col. Baker has been able to trace up,
procure the proofs, and arrest the scoundrels. To
j do this he has had an infinite deal of trouble ; but,
with his efficient corps of detectives, he has been
able to go to the bottom of the whole matter. The
i first arrests made was through representing liim
i self as a man from an inland town wishing to raise
\ a large number of men to fill his quota. James
I Devlin, living at 128 Hudson avenue, Brooklyn,
i brother of John Devlin, and James Cahill, both
| substitute brokers, operating through John Devlin,
; called upon Col. Baker, at theAstor House, and iu-
I quired if he was the man who had some inland
town quota to fill. He said he was. and would give
i five hundred dollars apiece for the men to till it.—
At that time he purchased from them four sets of
papers, for which he paid them two thousand dol
lars in greenbacks. He then told them that he
wanted one hundred and twenty-six sets more, and
if they would furnish the men he would pay five
hundred and twenty-five dollars apiece for them.
They promised to do so, and would have them the
next day. The next day they came again, but'said
they had been able to get but ninety-two, yet would
procure the remainder in a day. Col. Baker took
the papers and gave them a check on the Hanover
Bank for sixteen of them,amounting toover $7,000,
saying he would go with them to the bank and get
the rest. A receipt for the money paid was asked
for by Col. Baker, which was signed by the two
men—one as James Cole, and the other as James
Higgins. Immediately upon seeing the signature
of James Higgins, which appeared in one of the
four sets previously bought as a recruit enlisted
and sworn in by John Devlin, the notary, as a sold
! ier, Col. Baker knew he had the right men. He
then told them who he was ; that he had been af
ter them, and that their game was up, and at once
arrested them. As soon as they found out they
were trapped, they owned up the "whole affair, told
who were their accomplices, how the work was
done, and gave such information as has led to the
arrest of twenty-seven of the principal actors in
the most stupendous fraud ever attempted, They
confessed the papers were forgeries in every ease.*
From this beginning Col. Baker went on and
found that the practice of bounty jumping was
carried to an alarming extent, almost passing be
lief, and that these brokers had a regularly organ
ized plan by which they would enlist the "jumper, "
help him to "jump,' enlist him again, pocketing
the city and county bounty in all eases, carrying
the same process on until the man had been put
through ttrenty-seeen times."
Maj .-Gen. George Crook and Brig.-
Gen. Benjamin !•. Kelloy, commanding in
the Department of West Virginia, were re
cently surprised in their beds at Cumber
land, Md , the headquarters of their depart
ment, by a band of sixty or seventy moun
ted Rebels, who came forty or fifty miles
through Union territory, surprised and
captured first a cavalry picket, then an in
fantry post,then dashed across the I'otomuc
into the city, woke up the two Generals,
together with Kelley's adjutant, made them
dress in a hurry, mounted them on fresh
horses, and, supplying themselves with
other such, made away into Dixieuneaught
and unharmed.
RATIONS OF FISH. —A recent order of the
War Department directs the issuing of a
ration of fish, namely, fourteen ounces of
dried fish, or eighteen ounces of pickled
fish, to be made to the troops once a week,
in lieu of the ration of fresh beef.
THF RF.BF.T.K IXXtKIITG OFT FOR THK '
FITI'RK.
The rebel leaders, through their public
and private agents, at home and abroad, 1
and their newspapers, are making a desper-;
j ate effort just now to draw the French and |
English into their support,by exaggerating ;
! American sentiment on the subject of the
MONROE Doctrine. It has been even intima
ted,by one,at least,of the Richmond papers,
i that they would not care much to give up
j their scheme for an independent confederacy, j
i if we, on the other hand, would make it I
j part of the condition, to help them drive j
| MAXIJUI.UAN from Mexico, the English from
1 Canada, destroy English and French com
' merce, drive the one out of Asia, the other '
! out of Africa, taking their possessions, and
their trade, for the purpose of taking the '
j haughtiness out of these nations. A pretty
j large job to be sure, but one they say, can
bc easily accomplished by the United States, i
when the South is again united with it. All
this,however, is intended for a foreign mar
ket, and is designed to drive European mi- j
tions into a recognition ot the rebel govern- >
ment. From our stand-point, the means to 1
the end, in this matter seems very illy pro-!
portioned; but it is said that "drowning!
men catch at straws," and we guess, this is '■
what the rebels are doing in this instance, i
In this scheme to work upon foreign gov
ernments, there is visible, however, another
project, more reasonable and therefore,
more feasible,and'one which the rebels may
attempt to carry out, if they fail to secure
independence ; and that is, to go over to
Mexico in a body, and undertake to conquer
it, with the view of creating there, what
they could not here, a government of their
own. Some of our cotemporaries have been j
inclined to look lightly upon this ulterior ;
purpose of the rebels ; hut to us it appears
plausible. The rebel leaders must see that
to establish an independent government
out of any part of the United States, is an
utter impossibility, and it looks as if they
were preparing for this. What becomes of
these men, in the event of the failure of
their present enterprise, if they do not look
out for some means to escape, and they are
not hanged, as we believe they ought to
he? They are almost all past middle life,
their property has been confiscated, their
negroes freed, their desolated country has
no employment for them, and they will
have the most damning load of disgrace to
carry any mortals were ever burdened with,
and under these circumstances, how could
they live ? And does any one suppose
these rascals do not look at all these tilings ?
No, no. If they fail here, as they must,
they will try somewhere else ; and what
place, what locality, so favorable for such
an enterprise, as Mexico ? They can reach
that point more readily than any other, and
two-thirds of the population of that coun
try would hail their coming with rejoicing.
It is objected, that although the rebel lead
ers might he willing to go themselves, they
could carry no considerable share of their
army with them, and without it they could
do nothing. This latter is not so certain.
A large portion of the soldiers, are in no
better plight, in many respects, than their
leaders, and they have learned to hate us
as bitterly, and would therefore, as much
dislike returning, after being whipped out.
Then, conquests in new fields, with the of
fer of large bribes, which would be held
out, would he very tempting to the sold
iers ; and think you, that the men who have
been able so completely to mislead the
public mind in the South, would he want
ing in devices to attract the soldier, in such
an emergency ?
There is, moreover, above and beyond all
this, the f act that as at present situated,
the Mexican government could be very
easily overturned by the rebels. Fifty
thousand of their •veterans, with the aid
they would soon draw together among the
discontented Mexicans, would drive MAXA
MII.I.IAN, and his French cohorts out, in less
I than six months. There can he but little
| doubt of this, and we wish they would un
! dcrtake it speedily. It is the easiest way
; to get rid of them, and the war they are
making upon us ; and the sooner they un
; dertake the business, the better for us and
themselves. A few more of SHERMAN'S
movements will convince the rebels that
j the time for the exodus lias come.
THE Ft RATE RAM OI.I.VHE.—The Oovern
; ment has reliable advices that the pirate
ram Olinde, which has been the subject of
| so much speculation, has put into Gorunns
for repairs, which, there is reason to be-
I lieve, she will not he allowed to receive,
and without which she will not he danger
| oris to any nation or port on this side of
the Atlantic at least.
THE On. BUSINESS.—But few persons rea
lize the extent of the business carried on
in the Pennsylvania Oil Regions, unless
they visit here and judge for themselves.
Ihe number of teams required for the
transportation of Petroleum from the wells
to the different shipping points, in seasons
i when both river and creek are low, and
navigation suspended, is immense. For
. several days during the recent good order
of the roads, there have been an almost
i continuous train of wagons loaded with
oil, traveling on the road from Cherry Run
to Franklin, a distance of over twelve
miles. Just think of it, reader. A train of
wagons leaded with the product of one
single township in this State, over twelve
' miles in length, And this too only from
a portion of the producing locality of this
same township. For it is remarkable to
suppose that the amount of oil being ship
ped to the Shaffer Farm, and other railroad
po nts, is equally as great. The load for
these wagons is generally seven barrels,
and the weight of a barrel of oil is about
3HO pounds. In view of this immense daily
traffic carried on by means of wheeled ve
hicles, is it any wonder that our roads here
soon become impassible ? No road could
long stand such wear and tear, without eon-1
staut extensive repairs. If, therefore, our
roads, and even the main street of Oil City,
which is the great thoroughfare, should
appear almost impassible to the denizens
of other places, they must take into oonsid-;
eration that -a good reason exists for it.— j
Oil Cifi/ Register.
(JOI.II at Now York. Saturday, sold at 199
fell to and elosed at 199J, against
204}, on the 18th.
FX OM TTA XRTSX rX G? ~t'
HABKISRCBO, Feb. 25. f865.
MK. EDITOR : On the 16th, the Senate considered i
a joint resolution sent up from the House, asking
the President of the United States to remove Maj.
It. J. Dodge, from the office of the Provost Mar
shal General of this State. On the motion to pass
to the second reading of the resolution the pre
vious question was called. Then commenced a
system of <l(nU/ing which I think must have origi
nated with Maj. Dodge himself. Senators refused 1
to vote, so that a quorum did not respond to their
names, of course the resolution was not adopted.
A call of the House was moved by Los®, of Erie.
The Sergant-at-anns was ordered to not allow any
Senator to leave the House until the vote was ta
ken. Mr. BXAHDSLT, from Wayne, refused to vote
because the Senate had no power to make him vote
until a vote to that effect had been taken, wliioh
had not been done. The Speaker decided that lie
must vote or be arrested for contempt, unless be
was excused by the Senate. Mr. ComELt, of Phil- j
adelphia. who was in one of the side rooms, re- i
fused to answer when called, a motion was made to 1
excuse him, which was promptly decided to be out■
of order, the Senator being within the House he !
must answer for himself, which he finally did. Mr. !
HAM* of Blair, and Mr. HOPKINS, of Washington, '
' asked to be excused from voting and gave their rea" '
' sons, they were excused. One other member made j
' a similar request but it was not granted. Several
! desired to make explanations, but they were not i
1 allowed the privilege.
The yeas and nays were called upon from every
| vote. The resolution passed finally by a vote of 18
|to 9. It was not a party measure, Democrats and j
Republicans voted on both sides. Republicans
and Democrats tried their best to get rid of voting.
The whole scene was amusing.
Now what are the charges against this Maj. R. j
I. Dodge, about whom this whole state is so anx- j
ions at this particular time? He is accused of neg- j
lect of duty, of nnkimlness to the new recruits as
they come into the camp, and general unfitness for j
his position. I have no opinion to offer as to the j
truth or falsity of these charges, for I know noth
' ing about them. Ido know that almost everybody
S who does, or attempts to do business with him
I complains of his treatment, but with how much
I reason I cannot tell.
The House adjourned over from the lCtii to the
: 21st, to enable the committee of ways and means
to visit Philadelphia and inspect some of the be
: nevolent institutions that receive aid from the
; State. The chairman of this committee, CUCHBAN,
of Philadelphia, is a most laborious worker, and
with all, a kind, gentlemanly man, he has assoeia
i ted with him many of the ablest men in the House,
i More labor is performed by this committee than by
j any other in the House. Speaker OI.MSTE.AD was
fortunate in the selection of a chairman of this
\ body of legislators, before which comes the most
, important matters that are acted on by the whole
j body when together.
j The case of Maj. Dodge was again brought up
in the Senate, and NICHOLS, of Philadelphia, pre
j seuted several papers and affidavits to show that
j the Major had done all he could to make the re
j cruits comfortable, and if they had not been made
| so, the fault was not his. The Senators, several of
j them at least, become satisfied that they hail acted
| too much in haste in condemning an officer un
j heard, and the whole matter was postponed tilj
) Thursday, when I presume we shall have an expose
lof the whole subject. One thing has been made
! clear bv this action so far. That is, the State au-
tliorities and Major Dodge do not agree, and so
! long as he is in his present position, military mat
i ters in this State will not move smoothly. It is
. useless to inquire who is in fault, the matter is a
; lixed fact, and unless he is removed there will in
] all probability continue to be a jangle.
Oil now has the possession of the Legislature.
; Oil rail roads, oil companies, oil charters, oil turn
i pikes, and oil booms are in full vogue. I do not
know but some of the members have so much "oil
| on the bmin," that they will take fire and consume
away, certainly some of them are getting quite
firey. It is now proposed to authorize a company
to erect booms on Oil creek to stop and save the
I oil that escapes from its rightful owners and runs
away down the creek. This meets with strong op
-5 position and will probably be defeated.
Oti the evening of the 21st, there was an extra
i session in the House to consider an oil bill which
proposes to sell, or lease out to parties, the beds of
; all the creeks and rivers in the State, in order that
they may be bored for oil. There was some sharp
practice at the commencement of the session, the
object of which was to get rid of the bill. There
, were motions to postpone indefinitely, to postpone
| for four weeks, for one week, till the fourth of July,
! motions to divide the questions. There were am
meudnients, and amendments to amendments, and
; motions for reconsideration, and points of order
and questions for information, and explanations,
. and calls for yeas and nays upon every question,
j and requests to withdraw motions and amend
! ments ; but finally all were voted down, and then
| Mr. SHARP, of Franklin, offered a bill as a substi
tut for the original, which he said had been drawn
I up by the committee, with the assistance of the
i Governor, the Attorney General, and the Secretary
;of the Commonwealth. If such a plan should be
adopted at all, this bill appears to lie as good a one
as could be passed. The great plea is that it will
bring revenue to the State. The board of trade, of
Pittsburg, sent in a strong remonstrance against
the project in every shape. The matter was finally
postponed to some future time.
On the evening of the 20th, the fifty-first anni
versary of the Harrisburg Bible Society was cele
brated. No church in the city is large enough to
I accommodate all who desired to be present on the
; occassion, consequently exercises were held in the
M. E. church, and the old school Presbyterian
[ church, both of which were filled. Itev. Mr. MITCH
ELL of the Presbyterian, and Rev. Mr. SNXDEK of
the German Reformed churches, preached on the
occasion, both young men and both just settled
over their respective congregations. Their dis
courses were prepared with great care and evinced
a superior order of talent. It appears from the re.
port of the Society which was made at the close of
the sermons, that there had been raised over two
thousand dollars during the past year for and by
this Society. This, in addition to the continual
calls made upon the citizens of Harrisburg for
other benevolent purposes, and for the aid of sol
diers, is certainly a respectable sum.
()n Wednesday evening the second annual meet
ing of the Christian Conmission was held in the
New School Presbyterian church. The house was
crowded, notwithstanding the unpleasantness of
the weather. Addresses were made by M. RESH,
the Secretary of the Commission, and by Dr. PAT
TERSON, of Chicago. If the men and women all
over the laud could know what this Commission is
doing, and how much suffering is relieved by its
delegates, they would send in their contributions
without stint. As liberal as the people have l>een,
more funds are still wanted to procure the comforts
needed by sick and wounded soldiers. In all prob
ablitv, there will, early in the spring, be the great !
and decisive battle of the war. Then hqjidrods of
men and women, and hundreds of thousands of
dollars will be wanted to alleviate the suffering of
that terrible day when it comes. Let our people 1
be rendv to meet the emergencies. X.
OCR RELATIONS WITH FRANCE. —Advices !
from France shows that the reported ces
sion of Sonora is without foundation, and
indicate that the relations between- France
and the United States are not likely to un
dergo any disturbance.
EXTRA SESSION OK THE UNITED STATES SEN
ATE. —President Lincoln lias issued a proc
lamation calling an extra session of the
United States Senate on the 4th of March
next. • !
LATEST WAR NEWS.
EVACU AT 10 N OF CHAR LESTO X —TIIE
OLD FLAG WAVE.S OVER SUMPTER !
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21.
This Department has received the official
report of Major General Gilmore, announ
cing the surrender of the city of Charles
ton, South Carolina, to the United States
forces under his command, at nine o'clock
on Saturday morning, the 18th inst.
Among the captured property are two
hundred pieces of good artillery and a sup
ply of fine ammunition. The enemy burned
their cotton ware houses, arsenals, quarter
masters' stores railroad bridges, two iron
clads, and some veseels in the ship-yard.
EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.
OFFICIAL REPORT OF GENERAR. GILMORE.
CHARLESTON, S. C., Feb. 18,
via NEW YORK, Feb. 21.
M njor Qtntrill ll'illn-l, Chi if at :
GENERAL : The city of Charleston and all
its defences came into our possession this
morning, with about two hundred pieces
of good artillery and a supply of fine am
! munition.
The enemy commenced evacuating all
the works last night, and Mayor Macbeth
! surrendered the city to the troops of Gene
! ral Shimmelpfenning at y o'mock thismorn
! ing, at which time it was eccupied by our
forces. .
Our advance on the Edisto and from
Bull's Bay hastened the retreat.
The cotton warehouse, arsenals, quarter
masters' stores," railroad bridges, and two
iron-clads, were burned bv the enemy.—
Some vessels in the shipyard were also
burned.
Nearly all the inhabitants remaining be
hind belong to the poorer classes.
Very respectfully,
Q. A. GILMORE, Maj.-Gen. Gom'dg.
DETAILS OF THE OCCUPATION.
NEW-YORK, Feb. 21.
The steamship Fulton, from Port Royal
and Charleston Bar on the 18th instant, at
t p. m., arrived this morning. Parser
McMauus furnishes us with the following
memoranda :
Charleston was evacuated by the enemy
on the night of the 17th, leaving the sev
eral fortifications uninjured, besides two
hundred guns, which had been spiked. The
evacuation was first discovered at Fort
Moultrie, on the morning of the 18th, at
ten a. in. Part of the troops stationed at
James Island crossed over in boats and
took possession of the city without oppo
sition, the upper part of the city being on
fire.
Previous to the enemy evacuating they
fired the upper part of the city, by which
six thousand bales of cotton were burned,
and it is supposed that before tliey could
subdue it two-thirds of the city would be
destroyed.
A fearful explosion occurred in the Wil
mington Railroad depot, the cause of which
was unknown. Several hundred citizens
lost their lives. The building was used by
the Commissary Department, and was sit
tuated in the upper part of the city.
Admiral Dahlgreen was the first to run
up to the city, where he arrived about 2 p.
i m. Gen. Q. A. Gilmore soon after followed
in the steamer W. \V. Colt, and had an in
terview with Gen. Schimmelpfenning, he
. being the first general officer in the city,
and for the present in command.
It is supposed that Beauregard evacua
ted Charleston in order to concentrate ami
give Sherman battle.
The remains of two iron-clads were found
1 which the enemy destroyed by blowing uj
previous to the evacuation.
The blockade runner Gyrene,just arrivec
from Nassau, fell into our hands, and two
, others were expected to run in on the nigln
of Febuarv 18th.
The first flag over Sumpter was raiser
by Capt. Henry M. Bragg, A. D. C. on Gen
Gilmore's staff, having for a stall' an oai
and boat hook lashed together,
r The houses in the lower part of the citi
were completely riddled by our shot ant
, shell. The wealthy the populatioi
have deserted the city, and now all that re
main are the poorer classes,who are suffer
, ing for w ant of food.
It was reported at Hilton Head that th<
left wing of Sherman's army had reaehei
I Midway, on the Charleston and August:
Railroad,and that the rebels,in consequence
j had evacuated Branchville and had fallei
| back on Orangeburg,
j A movement had been made by the fore:
" j under General Hatch, which resulted in tin
1 i capture of six guns, which the rebels ha:
", abandoned. The carriages were destroyed
ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.
The New York Eivning Poxt gives th<
■! following additional particulars of the new:
■ brought by the Fulton :
I THE EVACUATION.
r The evacuation was discovered by oui
forces under General Schimmelpfenning
from James Island. Exactly at what tim<
j is not yet reported though the occupation o
. | the city and of the fortifications took placi
. j at about ten o'clock in the forenoon on th<
, 1 Stli instant.
The departure of the rebels from Forts
i Sumpter and Moultrie was, it is understood
seen from our picket boats which reconnoi
tie the harbor at night; and the operations
■| of the rebel garrisons began about twelv:
hours before the evacuation was completer
| —namely, at ten o'clock on the evening o
! the 17th.
THE FIRING OF THE CITY.
Early on the morning of the 18th, twe
| terrific explosions in Charleston were ob
I served from our fleet. Fire, smoke, ant
i burning fragments filled the air for a greai
' distance, and the shock was severely fell
; by all our vessels.
Soon afterwards, and before daylight
! fires were set in other places, and extender
i throughout the upper part of the city. 1
has since been ascertained that many thous
[ and bales of cotton were burned in couso
i quence of the explosion of the warehouse
and other public buildings that were fired
by the rebels.
OUR FORCES TAKING POSSESSION.
Our foi - ces took possession of the city in
the forenoon, as already reported. Gen
Schimmelpfenning was unopposed, the reb
els leaving as the Union troops came in
sight.* There was not even a show of insis
tence.
REUF.I. THIEVES.
It appears that the rebels who remained
to the last were ot well organized, and a
majority of them were thieves, whose ob
ject in staying was plunder. It is resorted
by the inhabitants of the city that these
men were guilty of many disgraceful acts
They had little difficulty in effecting their
| escape with their booty. •
REEEI. DESERTERS.
Several hundred rebel deserters wen
concealed in the houses in Charleston, and
when our troops entered they surrendered
declaring that they were tired of the re
bell ion, and would no longer fight for it.—
: They were received as prisoners.
THE NEGROES
Crowds of negroes met our troops, and
made many demonstrations of joy. There
were men, women, and children. They
wanted food. Many of them said they
, would be glad to work ; some proposed to
take up arms against their masters.
THK I'DITI.ATION.
The population of Charleston consisted
entirely of the poorer classes, who Wtr( .
unable to get away, the rich had for seve
ral days been removing. The persons w |,,
remained were in want ; they had nothing
to eat, and had no means of obtaining an v.
thing. Their situation is described as mue|
| worse than that of the inhabitants of sa
vannah after the rapture of that eity.
CONDITION* OF THK CITY.
The lower part of the city, within read
of our guns, was in effect a ruin, and was
almost uninhabited. Comparatively f-v
persons dared to remain there. Some of
the houses were knocked down ; bricks
and timbers were lying everywhere, aid
the streets in particular were strewn with
the fragments, in many placrt entirely ob
structing travel. Shells were lying among
i the rains. Ihe appearance of the city—
the lower part uninhabitable and the npp< r
i part in flames—is described as dreary and
desolate in the extreme.
! THK RKBKI. ARMY AND SFPHMEB. .
lheie is information tliat the evacuation
of Charleston began nearly three week>
ago. A rebel officer, who deserted am!
was examined at fort Royal, gave some of
the details,hut they were not then believed
Since that time the rebels have been a;
work removing stores,though all the hcavt
j supplies were left. .
i The only information in regard to th.
rebels is that the direction taken by then,
in their flight was northward, and tha:
their mtmbor was about fourteen thousand
| An expedition of Union troops at Bull',
Bay,a short time before the evacuation,wa
it is understood, intended to cut the rail
| road north of the city , but, if successfulj;
could have prevented the escape of only
few of the rebels.
REBEL NEWS.
As was expected, the rebel journals |, r .
nounce the loss of Charleston " a Ll >sih,
in disguise " The Richmond Whiff of Fi
uary 21 has the following allusion to tl
event, with a statement of what Slierim,
can do :
"On last Tliursday night, the ltttli i
stant, our forces evacuated Charleston, ai
it is believed that the enemy took poss
sion during the next day. Many guns mm
have abandoned by our troops, but it
consoling to know that the Yankees g
little else. There was no cotton at <'| lu
lestoii to gladden Lincoln's heart, ami ti
city itself was little better than a des<-rt
ruin. Several telegraph operators, all
them men of northern birth, did not r. i
out with our forces, but remained t r
ccive the Yankees.
"The evacuation of Charleston slum
rather inspire cheerfulness than gloom.—
Sherman can only be checked by an hum
diate concentration in his front of all
troops, both in North and South Carolit
If this is done he may be defeated and 1.
present expedition broken up. If he is i.
defeated lie will march straight up them
road to Charlotte, thence to Salisbu:
thence to Greensboro and Danville, and
on to Richmond. Many different estiinu:
have been made of Sherman's army. S
think he has sixty thousand men. V
know he lias four full army corps am
strong force of cavalry. ilis corps u
not number less than twelve thou
men.
The question of arming the slaves
agitates the rebel Congress. The lb
mond Sentinel of Febuary 21 says :
"It was generally known that h
Houses were in secret session yesterday
the bills to put negroes in the army. It
understood a bill on the subject passed t:
House yesterday, and it is believed OIK*
the same character will pass Senate toda
As they differ in detail, the subject tv
come before botli Houses again. There •
but little doubt of the adoption of tl
measure. The Coinmander-iu-Chief at
the rank and file are in favor of it, and
is grefwing in favor with the people "
CAPTURE OF WILMINGTON !
WAR DEPARTMENT.
WASHINGTON, Friday, Feb. 24—12, midnight. (
To .1 raj-Gen. Dix, Ave-- Yuri : Thefollowit.
official report of the capture ofWilmingt
; has been forwarded to this Department!
Gen. Grant.
EDWIN M. STANTON, See. -it' W...
FORTRESS MONROE, Va., Feb. 24 lop. m.
; To Gen. I . S. GRANT, City Point: Our ti
! entered Wilmington on the morning oft
22n inst. After the evacuation of Fort A.
• derson, Gen. Schofield directed Cox t>
low its garrison toward Wilmington, wL
Terry followed Hoke on the east side of;
river. The latter took up a new line, 1
I miles from Wilmington, but was so close!;-
pressed by Terry that he could send
troops to the west side. On that side tl
Rebels made a stand, behind Town Crm
but on the 20th Cox crossed his troop
low them on a tlat boat, attacked them
the rear and routed them, taking two gu
and 300 prisoners.
On the 21st Cox pushedjto the Bums--;
River opposite Wilmington, where t
bridges were on (ire; and on his arrival
Rebels began burning the cotton and I •
in the eity, and left it that night.
Our captures, including Fort Anders
amount to about 1.00 prisoners and 30 guu*
Citizens state that the Rebels bun.
1,000 bales of cotton and I.nOO barrels '
rosin.
The I nion feeling showed itself q"
strongly in the city.
ferry followed Hoke northward.
C. B. CoiISTOCK,
Lieut.-C01.,A. D. C. and Brev. Brig.-Gcii
THE CHENANGO CAXAI. EXTENSION. — V
are gratified to learn that the surveys!
this work preparatory to putting it un i
contract are about completed. The wri
should be prosecuted without delay. The
is no other way in which so much may
done to reduce the present high prices
coal, as by opening additional avenues!
the coal fields of Pennsylvania. That tin
avenue would accomplish that end,in ina:
lest from the fact that our citizens liav
been able to advantageously to stipp'
themselves with coal this winter by brin
ing it from Athens, a distance of 21 mile
and Towanda. a distance of over 30 milc
in wagons and sleighs—points both mi d
canal the Chenango extension is to conne'
with it.— thcrgo (iazette.
THE AMENDMENT. —The Kentucky legisb*
tuie Thursday rejected the constituti"i"
aigeudniont. The vote in the Senate 'J
taken on the 22d, standing 12 in favor ai
21 against; in the House,standing2l i" 1 -'
vor and 02 against. Minority reports
the subject were presented in both Hons*
favoring ratification on the conditio"
compensation; but the majority report-*
rfatly rejecting the amendment, wore tina
adopted.
Two states (Delaware and Kentucky
have now rejected" the amendment,
seventeen have adopted it.
SECRETARY OF THE TREASCRY. —On \lonL-V
President Lincoln nominated Senator M" !
gan of New York as Secretary of the Tro;'**
ury, but subsequently withdrew it.