Ely rtss. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1862. EXTRACT FROM THE LAST SPEECH OF STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.—" The conspiracy to break up the Union is a fact now known to all. Armies are being raised, and war levied to accomplish it. There can he but two sides to the controversy, Sven , man MUSt be on tbe side of the United States or against it. Thera can be no neutrals in title war. There can be none but patriots and traitors." TIRE LATEST WAR PIEWS In oonsegnence of Secretary Stanton's restrictions upon the prey, and our desire, under any circum stances, to avoid conflicting with the interests and projects of the Government, we have refrained to day from publishing many items of news that would be interesting to the reader. Stirring events, des lined to live in history, are doubtless close at hand. Meanwhile, let us cherish the counsel of General 'Maclellan, and with c , patience, forbearance, and confidence," all will yet be well. 16. In no State have the rebels been more relent less in their course of rapine, treason. and blood shed than in Missouri. Originally a Union State, she was shamelessly betrayed by her Governor and others of her chosen servants, who rushed her headlong into the rebellion, entailing upon her all the misery and wretchedness that cause is heir to. Armies were raised in the State, and under desperate and merciless leadership they have plun dered and sacked ail they could lay their hands upon. But now, thanks to the tireless energy of our commanders and the bravery of our troops, the adopted State of Benton is at last free from all armed bands of rebels, and her Union loving citizet 8 will now have an epportunity to re. pair the damage done by the despoilers All honor to Gen. Balleck and the brave officers and men under him, for their deliverance of the people of Missouri from the rebel thraldom! Their memories will be forever perpetuated, not only by the people of that State, but by the loyal mass of Americans everywhere. The gale of Monday last, as we learn from Bal tird6re, net enly interfered with the laying of the submarine telegraph cable across the bay, from Fortress Monroe, but materially damaged the shipping along the coast. The Hoboken, which - was employed in laying the cable, was driven ashore, at Cape Henry, and broke in two. After remaining upon the wreck nearly twenty-four hours, her crew were taken off by the Span/ding. The latter reports having seen the steamer R. B. Forbes at-here, near Nag's Read, on Tuesday morning. The steamer Bayress is reported lost on the Eastern Shore. The frigate Cumberland dragged her anchors, at Newport News, and seve ral schooners got adrift. The number of regular army officers now serving in the volunteer force is one hundred and twenty one. Of these, one officer holds the rank of major general of volunteers; fifty have the rank of brigadier generals; fifty-seven are colonels; seven lieutenant colonels, and six majors. All of these officers, with the exception of twenty-three, are graduates of West Point. The total number of general tfrioers of volunteers is ono hundred and twelve—namely, six major.generals, two of whom are West Pointers, and one hundred and six brigadier generals, seventy-three of whom are West Pointers. It is stated that since the rebels have occupied the batteries at Cockpit Point, on the lower Poto mac, they have fired 5,000 shells, directed at our vessels and camps belonging to Sickles' brigade and Hooker's division, on the opposite side of the river. Nearly all of the shots proved entirely ineffectual, only about a dozen doing any considerable damage out of the whole number fired. - a The news that the rebels have evacuated Nash ville and fled to Murfreesboro, after having burnt ell the State documents, is further confirmed. Gen. Grant has declared martial law in all of West Tennessee, and the mail facilities have been ex tended to Clarksville. Congre.ss Yesterday SENATE.-Mr. DlcDougall, from the , special com mittee, reported a hill for the establishment of a railroad and telegraph line from Wisconsin to <the Pacific Ocean. The bill for the occupation and cultivation of cotton lands, being the special order, was then taken up, and occasioned a lengthy debate, but no decisive action was taken upon it. The bill fixing the number of members of the House of Representatives was passed with the amendment of Mr. Collamer, of Vermont, making the aumber 211. The ease of Senator Starke was then taken up. .Mr. Sumner moved to amend the resolution re ported by the committee, so as make it read, " that Mr. Starke be not entitled to take his seat without an investigation of his loyalty." Pending the debate thereby eeessioried, the Senate ad. journed. HOUSE. —The Senate amendment to the bill fix ing the number of Representatives at two hundred and forty-one, under the basis of the last census, was concurred in. This will give en additional Representative to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, lowa, Minnesota, Vermont, and Rhode reuusylvauia Legislature, SENATE.—Mr. Smith, of Philadelphia, from the Select Committee, reported as committed the joint resolutions of the House relative to the defences of the Delaware river and bay, which were subse quently considered and passed. The bill providing for the appointment of fence viewers passed with an unimportant amendment. The bill, which is of special interest to the citizens of Philadelphia, was published in our local columns a few weeks since. Horse.—The greater portion of yesterday's ses sion was consumed in a discussion upon the act to repeal the act (approved in March last) providing for the commutation of the tonnage tax. Mr. Wil liams, of Allegheny, at length offered a substitute, section first of which provides that the tonnage tax impend by the ectincorporatiog the Peunsylvania Railroad Company shall be reimposed and made payable to the Commonwealth. Pending the discussion to appoint a special day for the consideration of the latter bill, the House adjourned. Southern Logic. Judging from his inaugural address, Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS is qualified to fill the chair of Logic in one of the Universities of the Flying Island of Laputa. He is . not only a philosopher sin generis, but also a remarkable optimist. He reminds one of the physician who as his patient successively enumerated all the bad symptoms of a mortal ailment, kept on exclaiming, while life was fluttering and ebbing away, ccexeellent symptoms "—despite of which the sick man breathed his last. Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS assured his discontented au ditors at Richmond, last Saturday, that all their misfortunes were for the best, and that there was something sMibiaelety and tonsolin g even in ce the serious reverses " which, he was fain to admit, the rebellious conspiracy has recent ly experienced. He carries out this optimism, and rather re joices at the existence of the blockade. lie includes it among the " corresponding bene fits" which, in his catalogue, are to be set off against " the material sacrifices of the- past Test." He says, "if the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an inde pendent people." Here, with all respect to Professor DAvis, we submit that a blockade which deprives the South of its commerce cannot precisely be called pretended. It was to effect this—it was to cut off the commerce of the South that the blockade was established, and has been somewhat effectively maintained. .114 r. DAVIS adds : as The blockade, if effec tual and permanent,"—lf? Why, it has de prived the South of its commerce !--" could only serve to divert our industry from the production of articles for export, and employ it in supplying commodities for domestic use." Farther on, he enumerates the articles of ex. port so produced, which the blockade keeps on Southern ground,—they are cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, provisions, timber, and naval stores. The export of these has entirely ceased, thanks to the "pretended blockade," .and the prodnctive industry of the South does not apply itself to supplying commodities for .domestic use. In fact,the rebellion has mainly .suspended labor in the South, and afforded suet lieenze to the " peculiar institution," that were the Rebellion to cease to-morrow, .and the Union once again be in slats quo, the owners of estates in the South would find it .difficult to organize one half the labor which they used before the war. No doubt, the South has a large amount of articles fitted for export. If, as Mr. DAVIS says, the blockade is only cc pretended," how has it happened that the cotton, rice, sugar, and other articles of the exchange, which con stitutes commerce, retrain in the South 1 A. blockade whirl retains these, surprisingly re• sembles a reality. . The Arguments of the Secessionists In England and America There is a strange contrast between the ar guments used to justify Secession in the United States and those, put forward in Eng land by the rebel Commissioners, YANCEY, ROST, and Kum, in the letter they addressed • to Lord JOHN RUSSELL in August last. Here Secession has been claimed as a sort of con stitutional right, not at all revolutionary in its character. The Federal Government, accord ing to the t•iew of the rebel leaders, is hut a partnership or league between cc Sovereign States," which they have a right to peaceably dissolve at their pleasure. It is, therefore, with some surprise that we find YANCEY & Co., in their letter, falling back upon the doctrines of the Declaration of Independence for a jus tification of their infamous attempt to sever the Republic. In the letter referred to they eny ; They were especially desirous of convineinse your lordship, and laid before your lordship rea- SODS for their belief, that the people of the seceding States had violated no principle of allegiance in their art of secession, but, on the contrary, had been true to that high duty which all citizens owe to that sovereignty which, is the supreme fount of power in a State, no matter what may be the par ticular form of government under which they live ; they were careful to show to your lordship, however, that the idea of American sovereignty was different from that entertained in Great Britain and Europe ; that whereas in the great Eastern hemisphere gene rally sovereignty was deemed to exist in the Go vernment, the founders of the North American States had solemnly declared, and upon that de claration had built up American institutions, that Governments were instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becotnes de structive of these ends (security to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happluess), it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.' " The undersigned assumed it to be incontrover tible, in order to give practical vital:ty to this de claration, that the people who were declared to pessess this right to alter or to abolish' such oppres sive government must be the neopie whose rights such government either assaile:d or no longer pro tected. Whether that government should be ad ministered by one tyrant or the more heartless and equally effectual despotism of a sectional and tyran nical majority oould make no difiiirence in the ap plication of the principle. when the people who thus act in abolishing' their form of government are not mere self constituted assemblages of disaffected individuals, but the sovereign peo ple of great States, each possessing separate constitutions, and legislative and executive powers soling in modes prescribed by those eon. stitutions, and taking votes under form and by vir tue of law, the minority yielding cheerfully to the decision of the majority as to the question of re dress, it became clear that, whatever might be European views as to such action if developed in Europe, the seceding States were amply jirstified by the great American prrnerples sell-g-overn ?new proclaimed by their ancestors its 1776. They submitted that, so far from the principle of Ameri can allegiance having been violated by the people of the seceding States, in those States alone is that principle upheld whereby the actions of men claim ing to be the representatives of the men of 1776 are to he guided and justified, and that the people and Government of the States upholding Mr Lincoln in his war upon the Confederate States are alone the traitors to that great political truth, and as such must be judged by an impartial world." The Declaration of Independence is the last document that Southern politicians have, of late years, thought of appealing to as an autho rity for the settlement of vexed questions in American politics, and the sentence immedi ately preceding the one YAlecnv & Co_ have quoted has always been considered peculiarly obnoxious, for it contains the famous passage which announces that " all men are created equal t. that they are endowed by their Creator Wills certain inalienable riglito i that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap piness," and that it " is to secure these rights" that " Governments are instituted among men," &c. The "commissioners" must have been sadly in need of authorities for their wicked movement, when they ventured upon the experiment of quoting from the immortal document which when literally construed, condemns the chief corner-stone of their so galled cOnfederacy. There is another equally striking feature in the address of the rebel commissioners. When appealing for recognition to a Govern ment which avowedly cherished strong anti blllYery 'proclivities, they sought to prove that the slavery question had nothing to do with the rebellion, and tint the " peculiar institu tion " Would be as well protected by ARRA ILAN LINCOLN as by JEFFERSON DATIS. It is curiouS enough to hear YANcEY—who has done, perhaps, more than any other man to fan the flame of rebellion in the South by creating the impression that submission to the rule of a Republican President would virtually de stroy slavery—address Lord JOHN RUSSELL its the following language "It was from no fear that the slaves would be ! liberated that secession took place. The very ! party in p . ower has proprfsed to guaranty slavery for ever in the States if the South would but re main in the Union. Mr. Lincoln's message pre- Toms no.frecdom to the sieve, but announces sub: jeetion of his owner to the will of the Union ' in other words, to the will of the North . Even after the battle of Bull Run, both branches of the Con gress at Washington parsed resolutions that the war is only waged in order to uphold that (pro slavery) Constitution., and to enforce the laws (-litany of them pro-slavvry); and out of 172 rotes lii Cie loWef Houk., they received all bat 2, and in the Senate all butt vote. As the army commenced its march the commanding General issued an order that no slaves should be received into, or allowed to follow, the camp. The great object of the war, therefore,ns now officially announced, is not to free the. stare, hut to keep him in subjection to hi., owner, and to control his labor through the legisla tive channels which the Lincoln Government de signs to force upon the master. The undersigned, therefore, submit with confidence, that as far as the anti-slavery sentiment of England is concerned, it can have no sympathy with the North ; nay, it will probably become disgusted with a canting hypocrisy which would enlist those sympathies on false pre tences. The undersigned are, however, not insensible to the surmise that the Lincoln Government may, under stress of circumstances, change its policy, a policy based at present more upon a wily view of what is to be its effect in rearing up an element in the Confederate States favorable to the ream/strut tion of the Union than upon any honest desire to uphold a Constitution, the main provisions of which it has mostshamelessly violated. But they confi dently submit to your lordship's consideration, that auccees in producing so abrupt and violent a de struction of a system of labor which has reared np SO vast a commerce between America and the great States of Europe, which, it is supposed, now gives bread to 10.000.000 of the population of those States, which it May be safely assumed is intimately blended with the basis of the great manufacturing and navigating prosperity that 'distinguishes the age, and probably not the least of the elements of this prosperity, would be visited withiresults dis astrous to the world, as well as to the master and slave." Here is a virtual confession that the only danger with which the institution of slavery is now, or may hereafter be threatened, arises not from any aggressive spirit in the North, but solely from the exigencies of the war forced upon the nation by the Secession con spirators; and the people of the seceded States are admonished by their own betrayers that whatever damage may be done to their cherished institution will be prodined by the revolt into which they were misled by gross misrepresentations. The National Wealth and Resources. The debt incurred in suppressing the Rebel lion, great as it may seem, and burdensome as it may prove to some of the interests of one country, bears a much lower relation to the wealth .and resources of the nation than is generally supposed. By the census of 1860, the true value of the real and personal estate of the United States was estimated at $16,159,- 616,088, an increase of $3,95,481,011 or 126.45 per cent. as compared with the census of 1850. The following table exhibits the re ported wealth of the respective States : Real Estate,. Personal Properly Alabama $155.034,089 $277,164,673 Arkansas.. 63.251.740 116 1 950 ; 590 9115 ) , California 66. 4131 . . 12,748,030 Connecticut.... 191,478,842 149,778,134 Delaware 26,273.803 13,493,439 Florida 21,722.810 47,206,875 , Georgia 179.801 44 , 1 438,430,946 Illinois 287,219,940 101,987.432 Indiana 291,829,992 119,2E2,432 lowa 140,433,423 55 733,560 Kansas 16 ,088,602 6,4 2 9.630 Kentucky 277.925,054 250,287,639 Louisiana 280,704.998 155,082,277 Maine 86,717,716 67,062,672 Maryland.. ... 65.341,438 231,793,800 Massachusetts.. 475,413 : 165 301,744 651 Michigan 123.605,084 39.927,921 Minnesota_.... 25,391,771 6,727.002 Miesissippi...... 157,836,737 351,636,175 Missouri 153.450,577 113,485,274 . .. N. Hampshire.. 59,638,348 64,171,743 New Jersey.... 151.161.942 345,520,550 New York 1 069,658.080 320.806,558 North 'Carotin.. 'l, 1 it 946973 175_921,029 Ohio :: 1947 518.121 212.348.980 Oregon .. 6.279.492 12.745.313 PrZ1112`y1V0:11111... 5 1 i1 112 t:s9 153 00 :;55 Rhode Island ... 63.778 291 • 41,326.101 South Carolina.. 129 772 964 359,546,444 Tenneksee 219 991,180 162,504 020 Texas 112,476.013 155,316,322 Vermont . 115,6:19.973 19,118,646 Virginia 417:052 22S 280-080 104 Witeunsin 148,235.766 "3,706 72:: $12?006,756,585 The whole expenses incurred up to this time do not amount to flair per cent. of the value of the real and personal estate of our coun try. • No one, of course, seriously proposes or expects that the debt now being incurred will be paid at once, or at any very early period. The general expectation is that a considerable portion of the burden will fall upon a future generation. Yet, if, as is non expected, the rebellion should be speedily crushed, a sum less than one-tenth of the increase in the value of American property from 1850 to 18E0 would defray all the expeaditues of use n - ar. If the power of, the GOTernment is tho roughly re-estabished, and our usual state of prosperity is fully restored, bu a small frac tion of the increased value of American pro perty doing the next len years would be equal in amount to the whole national debt. The value of the agricultural and manu factured products of the Union is estimated in round numbers at $.4,000,000,000 per annum. The whole national debt incurred and to be incurred by the war, will probanly not amount to two per cent. of We Pl►lue of these products for ten years. An annuli revenue of $200,000,000 would be derived from a tax of one and a quarter per cent per annum upon the value of the whole real and personal estate of the country, or a tak of five per' cunt. per annum upon the value of our annual.products. Our revenue system is a compound of direct and indirect taxa'ion, and more money is de rived from the taxes upon foreign imports and upon special articles and interests, than from a direct tax upon real and personal property. We do not expect or desire to see a radical change in this matter made, and the whole burden of the war thrown upon the existing owners of property. But it would be welt for those who are disposed to magnify the ex penses of the war, to consider the resources of the nation. WHAT win be the policy of the Govern ment in dealing with the seceded territory now reoccupied by the Federal armies ? The successes in North Carolina, the capture of Clarksville, and the impending occupation of Savannah, give this question a practical mean ing, and Congress may very soon be called upon to prescribe a certain policy for the go vernment of these States. Several proposi tions have already attracted the attention of Congress, but it is impossible to indicate what may be adopted. The whole subject is subor dimde to the necessities of military events. In times of revolution the plans of to-day are uncertain beyond to-day, and circumstances may compel new laws and a new policy to:- morrow. The object to be attained is the re storation of Federal authority in the disloyal territory, and our statesmen will be compelled to shape the successes of our soldiers into a permanent and comprehensive policy. 'What will be done with this reoccupied territory ? The course of our Government in Maryland, Missouri, and IVesterh Virginia, affords a pointed precedent. In Maryland the SeeeniOniStS Obtained control of the State. They burned bridges, impeded the progress of our troops, possessed a majority of the Legis lature, and were as audacious and powerful as they are in North Carolina or Alabama. The Administration took possession of the old State organization, imprisoned the disloyal members of the Legislature, and, by throwing a force into the lower counties on the day of the recent election, secured a triumph at the polls. In Missouri, the same policy was virtually adopted. In 'Western 'Virginia, the loyal peo ple were enabled to assume control of the Government, and the Acimirt,ration, by re cognizing Mr_ PIERPONT its GOvernor 7 And Congress; in receiving Messrs. CARTAGE and IS ILLEY as Senators, ratified their action. That the Administration will follow this prece dent in dealing with Tennessee and North Carolina is probable. It is based upon the assumption that in these States a large Union feeling exists, having been coerced into silence by the presence of an overpowering rebellion. The Government, by overturning this over powering force s enables the people to resume their functions as citizens, and to come again into the 'Union as loyal States. It enables such men as ANDREW J,onwsorr and his perse cuted friends to return to Tennessee, depose expel the Legislature, and bring the State back to its allegiance. This seems to be a just course. But can it be adopted in all parts of the South ? May it not enable the disloyal States to come again unpunished into the Union and restore the old order of things ? If we permit the rebels to resume all the privileges of citizenship, they may, without any difficulty, vote themselves back into power—vote DAVIS and SLIDELL, or men as infamous as D-avis and SLIDELL, into Congress—and re-establish the old tyranny. The contemplation of such a thhig is terrible. This war woffid be a vain contest, and the debt we have incurred a criminal and unnecessary burden, if the possibility of such a calamity was permitted to exist.. To guard against this is as necessary as it is to guard against the capture of Washington by BEAU REGARD ; and in permitting the old State ma chinery' to be placed in, operation we must take care that it does not become an instru ment of treason in the hands of traitors. It is contended by those who dread this con tingency that the policy of provisional govern ments is the proper one. Or, to be more ex plicit, the reduction of these States once more into a Territorial condition, depriving them of all power as members of the 'Union, and governing them by military rulers and an army of occupation, postponing their recogni tion as States until years have elapsed, and the country has been repopulated and reor ganized. We are not prepared ourselves to support such a harsh measure; but it may be come necessary, and when necessary, we stand ready to advocate it as we have advocated 'every stringent measure, in order that the Union may be saved and the Constitution vin dicated. TIIE promotion of Brigadier General GRANT to be a major general, and of Col. GARFIELD to be a brigadier general, indicates the policy to be pursued by Secretary STANTON in making army appointments, while the prompt confirma tion of these gentlemen by the Senate shows that the conduct of the Secretary is approved by Congress. We are pleased that this course has been determined upon by - the Administra tion. It was necessary, in organizing an army of the magnitude of the army of the Republic, to go into civil life to procure officers. Our old military system was small and inefficient, and we took officers and soldiers from the peaceful professions as a military experiment. Tie necessity for extemporizing generals, colonels, and captains out of peaceful profes sional gentlemen no longer exists. We have an educated and organized army, who have seen service in the camp and on the field. From the ranks our future officers must rise. They intot 1100 3 like the got genemils of NA roLEoN, and indeed like great generals in every age of the world, by reason of their merit and . bravery. The appointment of holiday officers at this time is a source of complaint on the part of moritorious officers, and especially those who have served in the regular army. They say truly, that if men in civil positions are to ob tain the honors and positions to which long years of service entitle them, every motive for enadation or honorable ambition gill pass away from the army, and the service, for all practical effect, ever after will become demo ralized. This consideration is an important one and we are glad it has excited the atten tion of the Senate and the Seeretary of War. When men win their laurels upon the field, when, like General GRANT and Colonel GAR FIELD, they show themselves capable of com manding an army, it will be proper to invest them with the power to command. TIM COUNTRY will honor Governor MORTON, of Indiana, for appointing, as the successor to Mr. BRIGHT in the Senate, Hen. JOSEPH A. WRIGHT. Mr. WRIGHT is a native of Pennsylvania, and has been a citizen of Indi ana for a number of 3:ears. He served in Congress as a Representative of that State from 1843 to 1845, was chosen Governor for several terms, and was appointed by Mr. Bu- CIIANAN minister to Prussia in 185 T, retiring with the Administration of his chief. He was a warm supporter of the late Mr. DOUGLAS, and (lid not hesitate, at all times, to denounce the atrocities of which that illustrious statesman- eras the victim. At the Prussian Court he was eminent for Lis discretion and 10) ally, and his hit - hit:ace went far towards conciliating that rower, and defeating the machinations of the rebel ambas sadors_ On his return to this country he placed himself in the adv'ante of the Union sentiment in Indiana, and has been bold and untiring in his support of the Administration in its war policy. The appointment of such a man is a high tribute on the part of thc Governor of Indi• ana to the loyal Democracy of that State, and it will be appreciated by the loyal Democracy in every part of the Union. In sending a re presentative Democrat to the Senate Governor NORTON recognizes the deVotion of the Demo cratic masses to the Union, and their sacrifices to maintain the honor of our flag. If the ex ample of this Republican Governor would only be followed by the Republican leaders .elsewhere, it would produce the moat gratifying results, and strengthen the public sentiment POW Administration. Onio, in electing Governor Toro, and Indiana, in send- $5,1181,661,050 4 A • I I t 7 111 . . I 4 • ing JosErn A. Wnzonr to the Senate . , have sacrificed part;sanship to patriotism, and strengthened beyond the possibility of over throw the loyal sentiment of the West. The Last Hope Gone • This reporting a Parliamentary speech is such an unusual, as well as useless a thing, for it is certain to be corrected at once, that perhaps it was only by accident that The London Times, giving what purported to be Lord DERBY'S speech on the Address to the Queen, on the opening of the Session, made him say : cc I think the lime is nearly come when the Go vernment may probably be called on to recog nize the so far successful revolt of the seceded Status." Lord Denny lost no time in assu ring the House of Lords that he was misre roved. His correction reads thus : cc What I said was, that the time has not come when it on properly be called on to recognize the verrment representing the successful revolt of the Southern States. I added that, though it is the practice to recognize a de facto -Go vernment that has succeeded in establishing itself, I did not think that the`resistance of the Southern States had been so successful as to justify us in recognizing them as a Power able to maintain its own independence." This is a different version, and shows how Whig and Tory in the British Senate agree that the Southern Confederacy is not to be recognized. We never did believe that Lord Deasy, in whose Colonial Secretaryship, some thirty years ago, Negio Emancipation in the British Colonies was carried, could give his sympathies to the South, where Slavery is an institution. Dr. Russell's Prophecies. Out of the millions cf spoken and written prophecies which are declared every year, some few must come true. Nothing is easier than political vaticination, because, in numerous cases, what will be may be judged from what has been. This is almost as certain as the re sult of sowing grain in a ploughed land and prei icting that, in a certain number of months, it will wave in the golden beauty of harvest. In politics especially, the Past is the prophet of the future. Dr. RUSSELL, of the Loudon Times ; has been some ten months in this coun try, during which he has written as much con cerning this country, its affairs, its inhabitants, • as would fill two volumes as large as any of IllAcAtmAy's great history. He has travelled through the length and breadth of the eountry —from Niagara to New Orleans and Mobile, from East to West—he has been hospitably received everywhere, admitted to sources of information studiously kept back from the leading journalists of the country.; he has been in confidential communication with leading personages on all sides; he is shrewd, sharp, well educated, experienced in the art of dashing journal writing, (especially when describing battles of which he only saw the distant smoke, and retreats in which his own wagon took the kad,) and in, the seventy or eighty letters from America which he has written for publication in England he has ventured on several hundred predictions. Yet, marvellous to mention, no ono can point out a single prophecy of this distinguished cc special correspondent" that has been ful filled. Long since this curious fact must haVe struck his own mind, but, with a persistency worthy of a better cause, lie has persevered in this prediction line, and his latest letters in The Times are just as prophetic as the earliest. When we find that even oil of his prophecies comes true we shall certainly chronicle thc exception. Salaries and Fees. The bill introduced into the House of Re presentatives, to tax the salaries of all Go vernment officers and abolish fees, might ad vantageously be taken as a model in the prin cipal cities of the whole United States. It is intolerable that a collector, sheriff, prothono tary, or any person, installed into office with out any peculiar personal qualification, should sometimes receive in fees, an amount equal to the annual salary of. the President of the United States. Each State, 'county, and city officer should be paid according to the respon sibility of .his situation and the labor he may have to perform—should be-laid by a fixed salary, giving him fair and moderate compen- Sation for hiS services, and no more, and every cent received in fees should be duly accounted for on oath and duly paid over, at frequently recurring periods, into the public treasury of the State, county, or city afore said. We are persuaded that this is a suita ble subject for State as well as general legisla tion, and commend it to the attention of our lawmakers at Ilarrisburg. In the city of Phi ladelphia, where "the spoils" are enormous, the proposition should be entertained with re spectful consideration—as likely to save a great deal of public money. It might be ex pected to be unacceptable in cc the Row," but the pure-minded and unselfish officials there are too patriotic, of course, to think of re sisting what would so eminently and effective. ly serve the public weal. LETTER FROIR " OCCASIONAL." WA9HINOTON, February 2i,1862. The inaugural of Jefferson Davis, the coun terfeit President of a counterfeit government, is exceedingly tame and despondent. No one can fail to perceive that nearly the same ar.,on meets he employs against the people of the loyal States and the regularly constituted Go vernment are used by certain of the so-called Democratic leaders in the North and North west, who, while pretending to favor the war, quietly resort to every means to embarrass those engaged in the prosecution of the war. He uses the favorite falsehood that Secession was produced by the hostility of the Northern section of the Union to the domestic institu tions of the Southern States, which monstrous allegation you will remember was corrected, refuted, and trampled - under foot by the illns-; trious Douglas in all his speeches during the campaign of 1860, and in the Senate of the United States prior to his lamented death. Like the New York Journal of Com merce, Davis bewails the imprisonment of citizens arrested without civil process or indictment duly found; -like Mr. Pendleton in the House of Representatives, he declaims against the.suspenaion of the writ of ',Wass corpus; like his friends in Maryland, ho is in dignant at the arrest of a State Legislature on account of known Secession proclivities ; and, not to be outdone in imitation of the .corn. plaints of those who sympathize with , him in the free States, lie predicts, as they predict, that the regular Government must sink iinder the immense load of debt which has been, incurred. Thus it is that the organs" othoi tility to the Federal Administration, who claim to favor the Government andio oppose Secession, insensibly adopt , the. language and use the arguments of Davis himself, or, rather, furnish to him language and arguments to sup port his monstrous treason against the Consti tution and the laws. By a significant coinci dence, too, it will be observed that in nearly every case the men who oppose the Administra tion of Mr. Lincoln in the prosecution of the war, or who affect to approve what they call his conservatism, in order that they may damage him with his own political friends, were closely associated with Breckinridge during the late Presidential campaign. Their condemnations are bestowed not so much upon the rebels in arms as uponathe Republican party, and, no doubt, thossands of them heartily sympathize with their leader, who drew his sword against the Constitution, and is now acting as a per jured member of the rebel Congress in the city of Richmond. Very fow of the real friends of Judge Douglas participate in this bad business. Here and there a displaced office-holder or a revengeful politician may be found to lend him self to the machinations of such men as Wit , liam B. Reed, the illustrious Ben Wood, and I voter desperate and untlirgiving enemies of the late Senator from Illinois. The Demo crats of the free States, if they needed any further admonition, would find it in the close and unbroken similarity between the . arguments of Jefferson Davis, the head of the rebellion against the Government, and the argument of the so-called Democratic leaders against the Administration of Mr. Lincoln. The question is often asked whether this Session of Congress will be a long one or short one. Much important business remains to be done, but as our legislators are working very bard ibis might be accomplished within a month or two. A protracted session, how ever, may be necessary in order to admit to seats each persons as may be, chosen by the people and the Legislatures of the reorganized seceded States, and' if a system of provisional governments should be adopted a continued session will be inevitable. One thing is cer tain—no man will be permitted to take a seat in Congress, from a seceded State, who has ever been suspected of treason. OccastoNAL. PROM WASHINGTON. THE PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. INCREASED RATIO OF •REPRESENTATION. THE LONDON EXHIBITION OF INDUSTRY. The United States Note-Bill Law. Special Despatches to The Press." WASHINGTON, Fob. 25, 1R62. Certiliesteg of Indebtedness to Public Creditors The following is a copy of the letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanying the bill submitted by him authorizing the issue of oortifi.- mites of liodtbledaese to public crWitors, and which bill was jesterday promptly passed by Congress, and has received the approval of the President : TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Feb. 25,1862. SIR : Notwithstanding all possible exertions on my part to provide the means of satisfying the just demands of the public creditors, and notwithstand ing the actual payments, averaging nearly a mil lion and a half of dollars each day, arrearagos have largely accumulated, and the accumulation has caused great inconvenience, and, in some instances, serious trouble and distress. Those creditors espe cially who have furnished supplies of arns.s and transportation urgently require payment, and ought to have it. The delay affects not themselves only, but, through manifold ramifications, large numbers of others, not to say whole communities. The amount of unsatisfied requisitions from the several departments is $26.;4:30,557.83, of which $21,281,553 69 is from the Department of War. Thu amount of iloating debt, chiefly existing in the War Department, probably 65:46644 forty minions. It is impossible to borrow advantageously, until the financial measures necessary to insure a prompt payment of interest from taxes, and to provide the beet possible market for the bonds of the United States, shall have received the sanction of Congress, and the means of payment by the notes to be issued under the act of Congress just passed cannot be provided except after the lapse of the considerable time required for their preparation and completion. Under these circumstances, I have anxiously sought for some measure of relief, and, after much reflection, have determined to submit to the consideration of the Committee of Ways and Means a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue, for the amounts found due on the final settlement to such creditors as may desire to receive them, certificates of the Treasurer of the United States, payable in QUO year aster date or earlier, at the option of the Government, and bearing six per cent. interest. These certificates, issued either for the full amounts due, or for portions of such amounts not less than one thousand dollars, would probably an , swer most of the purposes of actual payment, and afford very considerable relief, while the Govern talent would incur no risk, and could suffer fie 1611 in consequence of their issue. Trusting that this measure will receive the favo rable consideration of the committee, and, if ap proved, the earliest possible sanction of Congress. I remain, with great respect, S. P. CHASE, Secretary of Treasury. To Heil. TiIADIIB I .43 STIVVR4I3, 0131b1170/1110f Ways and Means. The following is a copy of the bill as passed : Be it enacted, 4-c. That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause to be issued to any public creditor who may be de sirous to receive the same upon requisition of the head of the proper department, in satisfaction of audited and settled demands against the United States, certificates for the whole amount due or parts thereof, not less than one thousand (1000) dollars, and signed by the Treasurer of the United States, and coltutersianed i tt may be di rteted. bv. the Fieer.--- y of the Treasury. 7„', L i c h certificate shall be payable in one - yea from date or earlier, at the option of the Government and shall bear interest at the rate of 6 per centum. The London Exhibition of Industry, The following notice to the public has just been issued WAsstmoroN, Feb. 24, 1862. ,4 The undersigned, on behalf of the commis- BIM:PIS appointed by the President to represmt the interests of such American citizens as might desire to appear at the exhibition of the industry of all nations, to he held in the city of London, during the present year, submits the following statement : " The Congress of the United States, after due consideration, has declined to adopt any measures to further National representation of our works of industry, invention, and art at the aforementioned enhibition. The authority of the Commiesion hoe therefore ceased. They have advised the commis sieners appointed by the British Government that there will be no general participation on the part of the citizens of this country on that occasion. But they have thought it not improper at the same time to recommend to the consideration of the royal Colm I:oscine/8 that such works of industry and art as have received the authentication of the Commission may, to ' a limited extent, be presented for exhibi tion through individual exertion. Wit. 11. SEWARD." 7 The U. S. - lote Law., The President has approved of ihe U. S. note bill. It is therefore a law. Direct from Roanoke Island. The steamer Batimore, from Roanoke Island, run the blockade last night, and arrived at the navy yard this morning. Kai left Roanoke on Sunday, and reports that none of our vessels at Old Point suffered from the effects of the severe gale on Monday. The Confederate batteries did not fire a single shot at the Baltimore as she passed up the Potomac last night. The President's Family. Little Tnennzus, the youngest son of the Presi dent, is now considered entirely out of danger from the disesse whioh prostrated him. Mrs. LINCOLN, 11110 was much indisposed from anxiety and watch ing over her children, is now improving, hut is still cubed to her room, She ii cverschthavd with sympathizing friends. Our Friends, the Russians. The reply of Secretary SEWARD to Princ3GOßT. SCDAKOFF relative to7the Trent affair is expressive generally of the friendship between our country, a great Republic in the West, and Russia, a great monarchy in the East. Ile repeats the assurance that the war will end in the perfect restoration of the Union on the old and well-tried Constitution. Mr. Julian's Spatch. A large edition of Mr. Jt:mazz's speech, made in the House on the 14th of January, having been ex hausted a new edition and also one in the German language, have been issued, which can be had, folded and franked to order, at sixty cents per hundred copies. General McClellan's Staff. Major FEODINAND LECOMPTE yesterday formally reoeived his appointment on General MCCLELLA.E'S staff. Be is considered one of the most intelligent and energetic officers in the Swiss service, and is known as an author as well as a soldier. ile ob tained a leave of absence from his own Government in order to enter our army. The Schuylkill Steamers. The little stern-wheel steamers which for years plied on the Sehuylkill have been chartered by the Government. COLO. CALEB S. WRIGHT, with his juvenile fleet, bas been ordered to report at An napolis. The Ninety-Eighth Pennsylvania. This regiment is still encamped at Tennallytown, expecting every day to receive marching orders. Col. Ilemman is in Philadelphia, suffering from an attack of typhoid fever. Lieut. Colonel Manmut. is sick in camp. Major GEORGE Wysxoor is tem porarily in command of the regiment. He is a Pennsylvanian, and a most excellent, practical officer. Rev. Mr. Ames Rev. CHAS. G. Ants, of Illinois, has excited mush interest here during the last week, by his lecture at the Smithsonian on the '",Diseases of the Republic," and his sermon on ( 4 The True and False Peace." The discourses were high toned and eloquent, strikingly kind and charitable towards opponents. They made a most favorable impression, and were in a temper calculated to be moat serviceable. Mr. AXES sustained credita blUdoiligb reputation. The American Telegraph Company.] WA SIIINGTON, February 26.—Tho undersigned gives notice to the public that the military posses sion of the telegraph, taken by , order of the Presi dent; will make no change whatever in the conduct of social, private, and commercial business by tele graph. The lines and business remain in the hands of the telegraph officers, duly authorized by the War Department. E. S. SANFORD, President of the Ainekieen Telegraph Company Skirmish at Independence, Mo KANSAS CITY, bb., Feb. 26.—A skirmish occur red at Independence, on the 18th, between a de tachment of Ohio cavalry and a band of rebels, beaded by Gauntrol Parker. The latter were routed, with a loss of three killed and several wounded, and several taken prisoners. A quantity of arms was also captured. The Federal loss was one killed and three wounded. From Harrisburg. HARRISBURG, Feb. 26.--Tho following important order bee just been issued : GENERAL ORDER, NO. 17 HEADQUARTERS PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA, / HARRISRITIM, February 26, 1862. All promotions of officers in the regiments of Pennsylvania volunteers, wherever the Governor has the power in appoint, under the, nPrier of the, ur De purino.ttl of Lhe !lb of May, Mil, aria Lhu act of Congress of the 224 of July, 1881, will be made in the order of their seniority, and all second lieutenants will be appointed from the noweein minim:led officers and privates in the companies where the vacancies occur. This onion only apples to °Meer* below the rank of field officers, and will be enforced, 13XdOpi: in special eases, which may be presented through the colonels of regiments. By order of A. G. CUICTIN, Governor and Commander-in-Chief. To A. L. lluesELL ? Adjutant General P.. 11 A grand presentation of State liege took place to day in front of the arcane!. Four regiments of infantry, commanded by Colonels Campbell, Mere dith, Lehman, and Wilson, ware drawn up in Nue. The firing ,of cannon was the signal for the Gover nor to eenamenee the ceremonies. llis speech was eminently patriotic and eloquent, and ho expreasod unlimited confidence in mural McClellan. The replies of the colonele wore short and appropriate. The .ceremonies concluded with three cheers for Pennsylvania. Sentence of a Slaver NEwYoux, February 2(l.—David Hall, who was convicted of Laving voluntarily served aboard the slaver ' brie, has been sentenced to nine 'months imprisonment. MEMPHIS AND COLUMBUS. Caine, Feb. 26.—[Special to the Chicago Tri bune.] Nothing has transpired ifi reference to Columbus. Reports from rebel sources represent that a stand will be made at Columbus. The Randolph and Memphis forces are concen trating at the latter place. The streets of Memphis aro barricaded with cot ton bales. T.he reports of the paeinostion of Tennessee are denied. Late Memphis papers contain a savage war speech delivered by Governor Harris. FROM NASHVILLE. Sr. Lours, Feb. 26.—A despatch from Fort Donelson, dated yesterday, to the Democrat of this city, says that a boat which had just arrived from Clarksville reported the evacuation of Nash- Vale by the rebels. The Union citizens at that place sent a boat to Clarksville, which towed one of our gunboat for their protection. The rebels, with Governor Harris, retreated to Murfreesboro. Harris burnt all the State doeunsents before leaving. General Grant has declared martial law over West Tennessee, with the understanding that when a sufficient number of citizens of a State return to their allegiance, and show a desire to maintain law and order over the territory, all military re strictions will be withdrawn. Postal facilities have been extended to Clarks ville, and the mail-bags will follow the flag. THE WAR IN NEW MEXICO. RAIISAS CITY, Feb. 25.—The Santa Fe mail, with dates to the 10th inst., has arrived. • Sibley's proclamation did not have the desired effect. Instead of rallying men to his standard, it has strengthened the Union army by at least two re giments and placed nearly all the citizens under arms. Great enthusiasm prevails in the counties of Bernadilla, Venicia, Socarro, and in the upper counties. The militia has turned out in large numbers Advices from Fort Craig are to the 7th inst The Texans, under Sibley, were at Fort Thome ; five hundred miles from Fort Craig, and advancing on the latter place. Their supplies were scarce, their transportation poor, and their only alternative was to fight or starve to death. Our forces are anxious for a battle. They have every advantage, and are confident of success, pro viding there be no treachery. A grand Pontifical masa was held in all the churches in the Territory on the 70th, to pray for the souls of the Catholics kilted in battle. An Important Order. The following important order ties boon issued GENERAL ORDERS—NO. 60. .11EADquAlt,TAP4 Aloll* or TRY. POTOMAC, WAKIIINC,TON, Feb. 21, 18112. Brigadier General Andrew Porter is announced as Provost Marshal General of the army of the Po tomac, and will be obeyed and respected accord ingly.. A provost marshal for each division will ba appointed by its commander. The division pro 's/At marshal will obey the orders of the division commander in all matters affecting interior police, but will be responsible to the provost marshal gene ral, and be guided by such instructions as h 0 may from tirllc io little gig°. A sufa f ";.?; or. guard will be intai/cd by the division commander for duty under t . .no orders of the provost marshal. A local provost marshal for a city or village will, when necessary, be appointed by the commanding officer or by these headquarters. For brigades and detachments a de puty provost marshal may, when necessary, be ap pointed by the division commander. The duties of the provost marshals, golsOofil aad local, relate to the general police of the army, and embrace the following subjects : Suppression of marauding and depredations, and of all brawls and disturbances; preservation of good order and suppression of drunkenness; be yond the limits of the camps, prevention of strag gling on the march; suppression of gambling. houses, drinking-houses, or bar-rooms and brothels; regulation of hotels, taverns, markets, and places of public amusement; searches, seizures, and ar rests ; execution of sentences of general courts-mar tial, involving imprisonment or capital punishment ; enforcement of orders prohibiting the sale of intoxi cating liquors, whether by tradesmen or sutlers, and of orders respecting passes; deserters from the enemy ; prisoners of war taken from the enemy ; countersigning safeguards, passes to citizens, within the lines and for purposes of trade ; complaints of citizens as to the conduct of the soldiers. The provost marshals, general and local, will notify the regimental commanders concerned of all arrests of soldiers made under their orders, and will cause the men to be delivered, with a copy of the charges against them, to their proper officers. They will see that the orders respecting passes to officers and men absent from their camps are en forced. All passes will ho taken up by the guards at their expiration. Passes so taken up will be turned over daily to the provost marshal of the di vision to which the guard belong,-who will esiuga them to be examined, and all forged passes, or passes granted by improper authority, or for unau thorized periods, to be reported to the division commander. All prisoners captured from the enemy will be turned over to the provost marshal of division, who will send them, at the earliest practicable moment, with complete descriptive lists and infor mation as to where, when, and how they were cap tured, to the provost marshal general. All safeguards granted at these headquarters will be countersigned by the provost marshal gene ral. Persers found violating such safeguards will be instantly arrested by the provost marshals. Passes to citizens within the lines, and for purposes of trade, may be granted by the provost marshals, general and local, who will be guided strictly by the instructions heretofore given by these head quarters upon the subject. the provost marshals will investigate all com plaints of citizens in regard to the conduct of the troops, and will report the facts in the case to the division commander. By command of Major General MCCLELLAN. S. Wrmaams, Assistant Adjutant General. General Bushrod R. Johnson [For The Press.] Mn. EDITOR : In your paper of the 20ch inst., under the head of "The Latest War News," you Say " Bushrod R. Johnson, who was captured at Fort Donelson, and whose name has been con founded with that of Albert Sidney Johnson, is a native of Kentucky, and graduated at West Point in 1.430," 87c. If you refer to the register of officers and gradq ates of the U. S. Military Academy, compiled by Capt. George W. Cullum, 1850, you will see at No. 1039: Bushrod 11. Johnson, born in Ohio, ap pointed from Ohio, and graduated in,jB4o. The remainder of his history you have given correctly, according to the came authority. C. The Privateer Sumpter. LETTER FROM COMMANDER SEM3[ES Tolhe Etiztor of the London. 11'ms Sia : An article in the Daily Hews, reviewing the rights and duties of belligerents and neutrals, has recently come under my observation, in which the following expressions occur : "At the same time, it must be admitted that both the Sumpter and the Neohottle have grossly vio lated the laws of civilized warfare, by burning merchant ships to the water's edge, instead of oar rying them before a prize court. Their conduct is certainly much more like that of pirates-1104es humani g enems, as the commander of the Sumpter says. Nor is it clear that a community which sanctions such barbarous proceedings deserves to be treated with the same consideration which is uni versally accorded to those who themselves observe the laws of civilized warfare." Vow, the above remarks are execedingly unjust— not that I suppose you intended injustice,, but you have not rightly appreciated the position in which we of the Confederate States have been placed by those "civilized" nations whose rule of warfare you say has been violated. Great Britain has acknour lulged zts (tea belligerent, Thxoacknototedgmettt gives vs all the rights of war equally with the other party. One of the most essential of these rights on the high seas is the right of destroying the enelny's commerce, and thus disabling hint from carrying on the war; a right which ereat Britain, in all ber ware, has exercised to its fullest extent, and with terrible effect upon her enemies. And when she has not found it convenient to send her prizes into her own ports she has had that .over weening influence with the nations of• the earth which has enabled her to send them into neutral ports, and there to have them condemned by her own prize courts. The ports of the Confederate States were block aded on or about the firat of Juno, MI. Subse quently to this period, and with full knowledge of the fact, Great Britain, France, and Spat?, and the lesser maritime Powers of Europe, all issued pro clamations, defining their positions in the war. In these proclamations they prohibited belligerent cruisers from bringing their prizes into their ports —except in case of necessity, iiud , la that event, both the cruisers and their prizes were to depart within twenty-four hours. In this state of facts, how can it be insisted that we shall send our prizes into port for adjudication ? Into whose ports shall we send them We cannot send them into our own ports, for they are blockaded—nt least so far block aded as to render it ditlieult for ordinary sail ships to enter them. We cannot send them into any of the ports of those " civilized " nations who are so shocked at the barbarity of our burning them. What, then, shall we do with them? They are our lawful prizes, captured, says Europe, by the cruisers of a recognized de facto Government. Shall we lot them go? This would deprive us of our right of capture, or render null that right, which is the same thing. And can this be what impartial Eu rope intended when it penned its proclamations It is readily admitted that the usual and more proper courseis, as you say, for a cruiser not to '• burn her prizes to the water's edge," but to send them into a "prize court for adjudication,'' and this is the course which I need not were you we would be tied to pursue if the thing were possible, for ibvious reei-ou, But If the nations of the earth put it out of our newer to pursue this course, is it generous to find fault with us because we do not pursue . it? To show you the earnest desire which I had, in the beginning of my cruise, to send lay prins in fur adjudication rather than. take the responsibility nt sitting, in jiplgment on them myself, I send you enclosed a copy of a letter which I addressed to the Governor of the town of Cienfuegos, in the island of Cuba, 113 early as the 6th of July last. This letter will explain itself, and I have only to remark with reference to it, that I had not at its date corn the Spanish pro ruination. I rely upon your sense of justice to give plate in your columns both to this cOUtutuei cation and the letter. B. SEM M ES, Commander Confederate States Navy. C. S. steamer Sumpter, Gibraltar, Jan. 20, 1062. CAUTION—TnEestair•NoTE CouroNs.—The public are cautioned against a piece of villainy, by which the operator cuts the coupons off the 450. 7 30 treasury notes, and passes the note as a demand nofb in trade, thus pocketing .140.95, the amount of the coupons for three years, which he may col lect half.yearly upon presenting them at the Ga vot:anent offices. Traders should bear in mind that there are no $5O demand notes, only $5l. Ms, find 620s....Petersoit's Cori n Mica Detector, lAD I v I x\I4III4IIN 1u WAsinsarow, Fob. 26, DN. SENATE, GENERAL BANKRUPT ACT Mr. HARRIS (Rep.), of New York, presented a pa. tition from the merchants, dtc., of Now York, praying for a general bankrupt act. MEMO WALE Also. a memorial from the Academy or Medicine, of New York; Holing the employment of hornreopathie ear. geone. Meseta. DOOLITTLE (Rep.), of Wisconsin, and SUMNER (Rep.), of Massachusetts, pretented petitions for the emancipation of slaves. RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH FROM WISOONOIN. Mr. Mc DOUG ALL (Dem ), of California, from the spe cial committee on the Butoct, reported a bill for the cc iftirlintooold of o, coUrvad owl tolvistarh Rho condo to the Pacific ocean. OCCUPATION AND CULTIVATION OF COTTON On motion of Mr. WADE (Rey.), of Ohio, the bill for the occupation and cultivation of cotton lands was taken un r, DOOLITTLE (Rep.) thought it a question whe ther the Government should go Into raising cotton and attempt to run plantations. He thought it a very doubt ful experiment In a pecuniary sense. If It woe a pro position to lease out tile lands he would not object. Lir. WADE Paid that he did not auppolie that the kill would rval l4o any great sum of manful but there AVEIA a large extent of territory abandoned, and the slam left at IttJNY, and 601110 thing reset he done to take care of them. This was Oct any settled policy, only a tempo rary measure for one year to meet the necessities of the Mr. DOOLITTLE thought that if commissioners lout been tout down to Port Royal to see the elephant we have on our haul!, we might have received much lns Mr. WADE asked if ho had read the report of Mr. Pierce on the subject. DOOLITTLEIII r: said that ho had not, and confessed to his ignorance on tne He wanted the Govern ment to take some measures to collect revenue and taxes in those States, even if we lied to sell the lands. Mr. SUMNER (Rep.), of Massachueetts, thought that Ever(' would not wait for the operations of Congresti Ihn If We enpost to got any crops, seed must be planted soon, and it will not do to delay the matter. There was a un-eseity for immediate action. Mr. BROWNING (Rep.), of Illinois, considered thls Tory important measure, and should be carefully CAM 'Wend. Be thought the hill vague, and needed revision. Be moved to refer the hill the Judiciary Committee," There was great, danger of doing injury to loyal - men, who deserved protection. Mr. MALE (Rep.) said that if the war could be prose cuted to a successful issue without hurtiag anybody, he would be glad of it, but he did not think that this was possible. lie thought there woe great force in the re mark of the Senator from Massachusetts, that" the seed flow is upon um," That won one of tho most prophetical remarks that he ever made in the midst of so mtny slag eical quotations. It is a fact that the seed time it upon us, and, if we do not take advantage of it, we may be obliged to say that the summer has passed, the harvest ended, and we have nor stved.” Mr. FOSTER (Rep.), of Connecticut, thought the bill was carefully drawn up. It was Made expressly for the tuttZtit of attvihg and pre_ poses to provide for those who will be in a perishing condition unless speedy relief is furnished.. NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES. Turning hour having expired, the bill fixing the numf the members of the 11011R0 of Bepreaentadvea was up. . _ Mr. VOLLAM.Et: (tep ), of Vermont, MTIEIIIIIi an amendment to make the number 241. He spoke at some length in furor of his amendment as producing a more correct ratio of representation. The amendment was adopted, and the bill passed. Mr. TRUMBULL (Rep.), of Illinoie,moved to take up the confiscation bill. Mr. HARRIS (Rep.), of New York, moved, tg trgio hp the crier, of Mr. Starke, who claims a seat as initiator from Oregon. THE CASE OF MR. STARKE Mr. DOOLITTLE (Rep.), of Wisconsin, said the Senate was in the middle of a discussion on three hills He tbonglat it would be better to take up the one that lied been discussed first, and finish it, and then take up the next. Mr. TRUMBULL withdrew his motion, and the case of Mr. Starke was taken up. Mr . HALE withdrew his motion to recommit the subject to tht Judiciary Committee. Mi. SUMNER offered en ornentnent to the resolution repettal by the committer „ as to make it real it that Mi. Starke be not entitled to take the oath without in vestigation into hie loyalty." lie spoke at some length in favor of tho amendmeat, contetding that the Senate, in self-defence, ought not to admit a suspicion of disloyalty, and it was not justice to the people of Oregon to adroit a disloyal representation, which n - as, in fact, no representation of their will. Ho claimed that the affidavits in the ease were worthy of in vestigation, and the Senate was hound t meet disloyalty on the threshold. We should not allow a person to per jnre himself in the Senate. We should preserve the sacred oath to support the Constitution. Such an oath was not an oath of purgation. Dir. MoD U 0 ALL (Dent.), of California, said the &MB, ter from Massachusetts had made a most unwarrantable await& on a person Who was not permitted to reply. klr. atiDINER. said ho bad only spoken on the facts of the case, and wanted to know in what ha had made an assault. Mr MoDOITGALL replied, the Senator had said that if the applicant front Oregon was pertnitted to take the oath, it would he perjury on his part. • • Pin YVAINER POI thy gYvatyr !IN nvt da him indigo. menators had urged here that the applicant from Oregon ehould Le permitted to take the oath in order to purge himself. He Lad said that, with all the evidence he had ou the !subject, if the Senate, without investigation, allowed the applicant to go forward to take the oath, they woitld allow him to go forward to perjure himself. Ile would go Kill further and eay that they would un. dertake to enact a comedy. Mr. MAVIS (IT ), of Kentucky, thought the Senate had all the evidence before them. He contended that the Senate could not exclude a member for mere opinion's sake. There must be some overt act committed. What is disloyalty That is the question He thought the niejm ity of the people think that the Senator from Masesattsetts lteedbloyal, 6e tont" take the thioiti lice nwhich had Lieu °fibre," by the Senator from Mama churetts and prone that he was as disloyal as the Senator from Oregon. Indeed, that was his ( Kr, Davis') view uE thc rclativc etoto of tho "rho gonator.from Maeeachusette bad better beware of what principles lie advocates ; or he may be brought to submit to them him self. Dir. COWAN (E 1,), of Penneylyania, said that If members were to be excluded by mere caprice, we could not tell on whom the blow will next fall. The question what le this thing disloyalty 1 What are Its hounds and limital its would like the Senator from Massa. chusetta to &flue it. Mr. SUMNER read from a letter to the Secretary of State, signed by thirteen citizens of Oregon, stating that they knew Mr. Starke, and he had been in the habit of openly talking against the Government and in favor of the South; saying that the South wee right and might to succeed. If these facts were true, the claimant from Oregon was disloyal, aid when such facts were presented to the Senate, it they fail to consider them they solemnly stultify themselves. That wee his answer. Mr. HOWARD (Rep.), of Michigan, called attention to other evidence, where Mr. Stadia had- said that if there was war with the South, ho would sell his proper ty foi , Afit dollar and go and fight kbr the boutn. . . Mr. COWAN EWA he bad asked a definition and got an example. He was just as wise as he was before. Did disloyalty consirt in talking against the Government or selling property at half price ! He contended that the Senate had no right to go - outside of the qualifications mentioned in the Contethttrinti, hut the Senator (rem Massachusetts proposed to go outside and make the in dividual opinions of a Senator a qualification, Mr. DOOLITTLE (Rep.), of Wisconsin, asked if we admitted Mr Starke to be worn, and if ho was proven a'terward to have been a traitor, could we expel hint without finding him guilty of the commission of some sat MU his salinisbibn Mr. COWAN eel.' he might answer that question whrn it arises; but that was not the case now before us. Mr. WILMOT (Rep.), of liennolvanist, said that dis loyalty might be defined as unfaithfulness ti 011e'd coun try and Government, by associations and sympathy, aside from an overt act like treason. Tim simple (Mei.. tion is, when shall the Senate eons' ter the queetion of die• loyalty I If a person isdist eyed, he is certainly not a tatted to a seat. Re thought that now was the proper timo to settle this quretion. Mr. CARLILIC spoke at some length He contended that the Senate had no power to exclude any person sent with the proper qualifications for a State There were different views entertained as to what was meant by dis• loyalty. For instance, there were fifteen Republican canto charging the sonator from Maeachunotto with disloyalty. lie would never declare, by his vote, that the States were held subordinate to the pleasure of the Senate. in their right to representation. • Mr. &KERMAN (Rep.), of Ohio, said the question wee not one of disloyalty, but whether Mr. Starke should he sworn in, and whether a Senator could be prevented fry tn being sworn in by as paste testimony. At the ex iiiration of this Congress there will ha only thirty Sena. tors left, and if this rule prevails, it would be in their power ever after to exclude any other Senator, and such a rule would everrbrew the Government. The Consti tution provides that a Senator shall take the oath, but does not provide the time or place. The oath might be taken anywhere. He was inclined to think from the evidence that Mr. Starke was disloyal ; yet he would not ietnee Oregon its feti'bilSkitatioh. If Pillow should he sent here be would expel him before he could take his seat. Be cited various eases in England where persons were expelled for offences committed long before. Mr. TRUMBULL (Rep.) thought the Senator from Ohlo had stated some very extraordinary propositions—that the oath could be administered anywhere and by any body, and that the Senate could expel a person before Ike wall a member and took the oatilkgt.Mkter 4'90. - Virginia seems snockttl that The majority can exclude a person. Why, thirty-five members is now the quorum, and twenty-four two-thirds, and, therefore, twenty-four can expel any member. That is the law now. It Is not to he assumed that the Senate will act from mere caprice. If they do that, then the Government is good for nothing. Mi. DIXON (Ran.) said ha knew no ditTeranca be twoon the leader of a rebellion and the man who nn. held it. Mr. MARAIS (Rep.), of New York, spoke at length against the amendment of kir. Sumner. The Senate then slimmed. ROUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THANKS TO MAJOR GENERAL lIALLECK 1 - 001LIIEES (Dena.), of Indiana, asked leave to offer a reAilution of thauka to Major General Manta, but Mr LOVEJOY objected. The resolutions commend the sentiments and policy avowed in General Halle(Ve general order of F. tinier/ 9.3 d, already pntilinhod, as eminently wise and patriotic, end in strict conformity to the Constitution, and that the war should ha conducted In accordance with the same. . . . . The thanks of Congress are tendered to General Hal le& for the said eider, and for his military achieve ments as Commander of the Department of Missouri. PERSONAL Dlr. VAN WYCK (Rep.), of Now York, nettod to be excused from serving further, at- present; as chairman of the Committee on Government Contracts. A. iew days would be necessary to close up some unfinished investi gations. lie would alwtos feel actively interested in the results of the committee. It lies yet much to do, although the unflinching integrity and untiring watchfulness of Secretary Stanton relieves it of many cases. He also naked to be excused from serving as chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. Ifs trusted the Rouse would grant the request. RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY. Mt.YAN WY(Ili then offered the following resolution, Which was adopted: Resolved, That the Committee on Government Con tracts be directed to inquire Into the amount of moneys 'received Iv the, toiled States °Mears In the city of New Yvtle by virtue of their °Rice i . also, as to the ownership iOntot of the bonded warehouses . also, the tarots, considerations, and profits of the Libor contract and general orders contract tor the storing, hauling, and de livering, dm., of foreign goods in the city of. New York, when made, by whom, and who are now interested in the same. The SI'CAKRII ruled that as to the chairmanship from which the geettenuel se.hed n, i.e excleael r. cot vice, that was a question for The committee to determine: OS EL MT It) N %SR. The House proceeded to the consideration of the Up ton election ease, being thee. Representative from the S. Tenth Congressional district of Mr. WORCIEST Elt (Rep.), of Ohio, nod/dallied that there Wag no proper evidence that Mr. Upton, the sitting member, had received any rotes, hence the (31111111111.tHeo (11 Ell 01011 S hisi reported imanimmisli agabi 4 Mr. anti's ST ICE Opp ) Logue(' that the other mem hers from 'Virginia were admitted under the sane law which governs in this case, the only difference being as to the number of votes. Mr. RIDDLE (Rrp.) and Mr. FESSENDEN (Rep.)• spoke is favor of, and Mr. SHEFFIELD (H.).agaList, Din VPhirs Tho subject wasilsen lald over, THE NEW RaTIO OE REPRESENTATION. The House concurred in the Beside amendment to the bill fixing the number of Representatives—viz.: that there Anil be two hundred and fortr•one under the census of 1860—au aulditionalßepresentative from Penn. sytcania, Ohio. Kentncky, Ilhnnie. lowa. Prtinnearkta, Vi rroont, and Rhode Island, owing to the largo traction& of tho satubliuhed ratio. Tie Home then adjourned. Marine Disaster OTIRENPOTIT, February 26.—The 80h001101t of New Bedford, for New York, bee been totally lost on Plumb Island. Three of the crew perished, the captain only being Run& PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE. HA Ra tss t lac t , rebrzikry 26,1862, SENATE The Senate was sailed to order at 11 o'clock by kllO Speaker. Prayer by Nev. hr. Nadine, of Philadelphia. Mr. CONNNLL presented s remonstrance from resi dents of Germantown against the supplement to the North Philadelphia Plank-road Company. Mr. STEIN Presented two petitions from Lehigh county in favor of constituting that county a separate judicial district. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. NhON (Curpieuthsto;), mu l on4me n t e , the bill to Incorporate the Peuueylypul4l rotrylannt Transportation Company. Mr. Me.AURE (Itaihoods), as committed, the sup plement to the act incorporating the Macaulay Mountain Railroad Company. Mr. SBITii, of Philadelphia, from the select com mittee on the huldort, ...pit, 441, ay cortunittorl, thn joint rotiolutiono adopttd by the name relative to the defences of. Delaware river aoelpay, BILLS INTItODI;CIED. Mr. MIESTAND, a bill to extend tho cLarby of the Lancatiter County Bank. Mr. SEILBILL, a bill relative to a. eermla burial grbiii.d I ) ! the ritratur, Mr, Cbi‘litiLL, a bill tar the mara Caalliatitalt atal eCollol7iiCal 6C.tliktielit Lf decodentsi estates, BILLS CONSIDERED, &c. The bill providing for the appointment of fence viewers tune up in order on second reading, and Paned n.oty, atter I.ping wlicrlttl.4l by Mr iumarn ro, to, ry— Quire that the Bawd of burveyoreanrt ftegniateri than receive no extra coninetulation for the duties Imposed by this ant. The' bin to incorporate the North American Shaft company came up iu order on mecum! rettddug, and passed Mr. SMITH, of Philadelphia, on leave given, road la place a 13 upplemPot to the act of 1336, relative to to at. tnclatent 4f work. On motion of Mr. SMITE, of Philadelphia, the joint resolutions relative to the defences of Delaware river and Lay were considered and passed, On motion of .51r. KINSEY, the enpplement to the act to enable joint tenants, tenants in common, aad adjoin. lug owners ol mineral lands, to manage and develop the same, ti as taken up on second rendin s, and passed Lni motion of Mr. SMITH, of Philadelphia, the till relative to the Green Ridge Improvemeut cmpmay Whir cconadc-rvd end noblied. Aniuurntd. HOUSE. Tho Home met at 10 A. AI., Hon. John Rowe, Speaker, in the choir. Prayer by the Rey. Mr. Steele. ()RDEII An act to repaid the act, liPPf9Yell SSh Minh, A, D. idea, entitled "an act for tho ccmmtiUdion of ronnaga dittle.4." the hill was referred to the Committee of the Whole, Mr. Armstrong, of Licoming, in the chair. After consideration, the viii was reported back as com mitted. The House then proceeded to OPu corolliproti9n gf tha COMMUTATION OF TONNAGE DUTIE9 Mr. KAINE, of Fayette. This is a very important Lill. 'That the Legislature hes a right to repeal an act of the preceding Legislature, unless on a particular cir eunieteuce, is not to be disputed or denied. The report of the Committee on the Judiciary . (general) implies, at k " eet, that 4, 4 1 4 s trantiOnt around this ewe,- lion. If the Legislature have nut the right, there must be something in the act of last session different from ordi nary legislation. If there is anything in that act that looks beyond the pale of the Legislature, it must contain something within itself that is protected by the Consti tution of the State. If it is, as is alleged, a solemn eon- Intsi euterti lute Intwevu the Ctmmitmwealth of Penn. eyivonia OD the one part, and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on the other pert, upon good and legal coast. deration, it would be a contract. A contract, I believe, ie defined to be au agreement made between two parties, lawfully to do or not to du acute particular act. The first position I take upon this question is, that the act proposed to repeal by tidy act was Illegal be caute it infringed a principle of public polies. and because it yea iu siotatum of the faith of thla Common wealth. I take it that the Legislature has a right to regulate the toll. No corporation is entirely independent of the Legislature. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at the time of the passage of the law, was in debt to the Commonwealth at least the entire IM MO of .1.950 t :199, The money belonged to the donatuutanrunittt of Peaneyl• yenta, and was, or ought to have boon, within its tree sury ; and, to disrobe this thing of all its surroundings, it was nothing more or less titan an appropriation ot 3850,000 to ten railroad companies. Pennsylvania was giving the Pennst ivania Railroad Company E 1850,000 to be distributed after the passage of He bill by the Legis lature, le that Roy port of a contract when it is agreed that the whole amount of this money, or nearly so, be longed to Pt nnsylvanin I The act ot 1861 provided that them 8950,000 should be divided among ten railroad companies, when certain work was done. When certain conditions in this law were complied with, then it was made the duty of the tzeaVaLliV to appronthits ill , money_ %f..t le their Paw! they say that to six railroad companies they hove appro priated this n:oney. At the mine time, they admit that these railroads were not in a condition to receive the money. Mr. SCOTT, of Huntington. The law in itself Is preju dicial to public interests—to the interests of the people. Its pasgaue was procured by trout Ton Constitution of the United States Drarldna that no State shall pass a law impairing the validity of con tracts. Mr. 8. proposed to consider whether the State has made a contract in this case. We must take the act as it stands. The right of the Commonwealth te collect tonnage duties bee been questionel. If there be Its that law any provisions that infringe the Constitution of the tnited States, that the Legislature transcended their power* in setting apart that money; thk eignisly is open. no was forced to believe that all re is in title hew a con tract. The nueetion is whether a fraud in this transac tion can be reached, either by this body or any judicial body of this Commonwealth I It is the duty of every member of this Renee to give his moot serious attention to title question. A more important one could nut be begught Lama ally body, I gtslallvs be judicial. He was not guided, in considering the propriety of the re peal of the act, by any blind admiration of the Pennsyl vania Railroad Company, nor of hostility to it. He looked upon the railroad as a great enterprise. It had greatly developed the resources of the State, and in the late national exigency did much towards saving the capital. But money was used in procuring the passage of the law ieSt year. This venality mast he stopped. - Unless we stop the We of money in public bitiiness it will not be many years before a travelling artist takes his stand upon the unfinished shaft reared to the memo ". of Wszolangton, un the hanks ot the Potomac, and sketches the ruins of a crumbling Capitol. If the Legislature has been corrupten t why should not the court,. th.ku eognizu het. of the .jueetiout If the Lecislahita Call be corupted, and there is no judicial re. medy, and this corruption can go on, we may soon begin to fear that gold wilt begin to Ilea its way in all emata tion—amoug all public officers: and hold the scales not. for the justness of the cause, but the merit of the brine. Mr. TRACY, of Bradford; wished that the gentleman, and more like him, were here last winter. 1.4 it possible that the Legislature cannot repeal a law, although It be an act contracted and consummated in fraud and curritp tith lie (sle. Ttli.ty) LAl46'Olll that the Lagislatato have the remedy for corruptions of this kind—that the remedy is here, among ne, anti it 14 the ditty wo owe our constituents and ourselves, and the Commonwealth whose renresentetives we are. The remedy must be now and speedy. He thought gentlemen from the city ehculd express their views. A. SUBSTITUTE Mr. WILMA 4181 of Allegheny, veld he had prepared a bill which Iw propoautt as a atthatitutr f.ur the one new upon the table. An act to repeal the act entitled an act I".r the commuta tion of the tonnage duties, approved Match 1, A, D. 1801. Whereas, An act was passed at the last session of the Legislature, purporting to be an act for the commutation of the tonnage duti, by Means whereof the sum of 5752,308.41, or thereahoute, besides Interest thou owing to the Stene by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and in contemplation of law in the treasury of the State, to gether with a large minuet revenue stipulated to be paid by the said company, as the pries of the charter and by way of compensation for the deterioration in value of the main line of the public works apprehended and actually inflicted by the construction and operation of the said road, which revenue had already reached the eutu of three hundred thousand dollars and upwards, and would have amounted at Gels time ut is greatly large, emu, with the prospect of indefinite in ert ace, y, as wrongfully, unjostly, and iloconstitutionally withdrawn from the etuktue fond provided by the dm stitution and laws of this State for dm isayment of the public debit therent, and made sacred and inviblable for that purl:use, upon euegestions which were false and pre tended, considerations which were either in conflict with the Constitution or utterly illusory end worthless in themselves, amounting in effect, under color of a pre tended contract or counoutatiou.to a gratuitous donation of all the.satil moneys and revenue to a private corpora tion, without any sonstantial equivalent whatever, there by vitiating the plighted faith of the State and increasing the burden of the people, at a time when the neceselties of the country pre-eminently required the meat rigi,t economy and the strictest husbandry of their resources: And whereas, The said act was approved by the Go vernor, as elbow!' in hie meseage to the House of Repro of d.eY Of February last pier, lirder stipulation iu writing for the benefit of the people, wnich was not Made known to them, and has since been ear rendered to them without their knowledge or consent on the demand of the said coMPany, without any previous registering in the proper office, and without even the pre mental ion of a ropy thereof: And seherear. It I. affirmed and believed that the terms of the said act of the Assembly were dictated by the said company, and that the passage thereof was pro cured by improper and unlawful means other than thaws which Lave been already recited on the part of said com pany and its agents. SECTION I. Be it therefore enacted, (C . v.. That the said recited act of Aseepably of the 7th of March, A. D. 1861, be, and the Fame le hereby, repealed, and the said tonnage tax or duties imposed by the act incorporating. Ma said Panusylvanfa IblifrOad /30ISITIRHY is hereby tee kored, reimposed, oast made payable. to the Common wealth in the Same manner and upon the same terms and conditions as though the maid repealing act had never been paorell. SEC. 2. That it shall he the duty of the Attorney Gene ral to Drees-ea forthwith to site ILr, recover and collect by distress irreplevatde or otherwise, the arrears of the.said tonnage tax, mbich were doe and owl.); at the time-of the passage of the said recited act, which is hereby re pented, together with melt edditional tax or duties as would have accrued upon the tonnage of the said compa ny, man the date of the present act. And for the proper ascertainment of the amount of the said additional tax, it shall be the duty of the said company to ftle forth with in the office of the Auditor General a statement duly authenticated by the oaths of the president and trcnanrer of rain company, of Tile 011101111; of *heir • business so made taxable for the Intervening period and alto to furnish to the Attorney Goners!, from tints to time, such other aml additional etatetnenta.and such ac cess to their hooka as he may judge necessary for the purposes of the said suit, or other proceeding hereby au thorized : provided, however, that the moneys paid by the debt Comprenyon account of the said pretended Com mutieVon, over end beyond she annual hideiment or in stalments payable by them on their bootie for the our- Chase money of the piddle works, shall be credited upon the arrears of the esid tax, which were due Rll , ll)Wing at the passage of the said repealed act, and allowed in the collectioa of the sad encore. Ducting the Aiacn , +ei•m on tb. motion to set a day for the niacinl consideration of the bill, the hour of ono ar rived, and the Speaker adjourned the Bono WI to-Mor row at le) A. M. SALE OF DRY GOODS, IC., AZ ALTTION.—The attention of purchasers is requested to the large and varied &wort/Bent of Britioth French, Gerakein• In dia, and domestic dry goods;, also, a line of linen handkerchiefs, embracing about 5110. lots of staple and fancy articles, in woollens, worsted, linen, cot ton, and silk, to be peremptorily sold by catalogue, for cash, commencing this morning, at 10 o'clook, the sale to be continued, without intermission, the greater part of the day, by John U. Myers & auctioneers, Nos. 232 and 231 Market street. LECTITRE 111 - Ray. E. W. Ilurrim.—The con eluding lecture of a series, gotten. up by the Lu theran Board of Publication, is to be delivered this (Thursday) evening, at Ceneert 11411, Chaotnut Pirret. trbove Twelttl4 hn ilrc Itev, E. W. Rutter, Subject: r Our Country." The fertility of the theme, coupled with the lecturer's eminent ability to present it in an attraotive and popular foray will, wo doubt not, insure a full house. T CuP trot. E m g 41M .—WO (415;0r ro that Mr. root, of Vermont, has introduced into the Senate • joint resolution, reported from the Comtnitteo on Pub lie Buildings end "'wounds, tt ansferring the supervhdoet of the Capitol extension and the erection of, the new dome from the Wee Deputhaeht to the Vspartraskot of the Interior. Our meters are aware that. hue pro poAition does but contemplate a TOSnrni ea. fir al relates to the department chargek Wilt, au over sight of the work, to the original arnangemetat 'AM:A wee rAtabliehr4l at the Lineation of the sr. chtlt•eturat improvement of no Csoltol, At pre- Mit the extranrainery engagammta. of the military breech of the Goverurneut would systurelly render this labor an incluebrauce s.f which It mLght well desire. to be rtlieved, to the end that tha work inhand be prow, crated to its earlier completion. 'The suspension of Obi. work dering the war is, moreover, Dron perhaps, lea oh. jections on political ground', as Deeming to leapt," is lingering doubt respecting the ospedlencr of Wigan the ea Datong 0 thi) national 9111101,,—;fgrffnat pitcicigerclr
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