gvnuktin :,tpositorgt.
Wednesday, January 25, 1865.
B. WTEVENS AND THE CABINET.
It was but a just tribute to one of our
ablest and most upright and consistent
"statesmen, for the Union members of Con
gress to urge the appointment of Thtul
dens Stevens to the important position of
'Secretary of the Treasury; and he could
do no less, in justice to himself, than de
cline it. It is, well known that Mr. Ste
. Vens has not approved the financial policy
of the government, although as Chairman
of Ways and Means in the House he has
for four years •past been the organ of the
popular branch of the government on fi
nancial matters, and the man most brought
into consultation with the management of
the Treasury. From the outset he has
been earnest in his opposition to the stat
ute distinction between specie and gov
ernment currency, and now when it is too
— late to'retrace, the wisdom of his policy
is - confessed -on every hand. Gold has
been made a necessity= by the acts.of, Con
gress and the policy of the Treasury, which
adopted' and adhered to specie paying
bonds and thus necessitated the collection
of customs in coin ; and with the necessity
thus created, there has been no power in
—the government to- regulate the price of
gold. Vainly las it been attempted; but
every effort has but enhanced its price,
until at last, after exhausting all efforts to
control its market value, the government
withdraws its specie loan and now propo
ses to rely upon bonds with principal and
interest payable in currency. True the
right of conversion remains ; but that too
will soon fade away; and after hai - ing is
sued one thousand millions of speciebonds,
currency will become the standard of go-
vernment financial operations. Had this
- polleY been'adopted, in accordance with
Mr. Stevens' earnest suggestions when the
• war commenced, we should rliave saved
Millions of money, and the credit of the
government would be infinitely better to
day.
—Mr. Stevens might have enjoyed cab
inet honors before this iad lie - been as
ambitiois as other Men *hose qualiflca
, tions are measured only by their ability
to climb to positions of prominence. In
1861, after a family `broil of some weeks
_in -this State, the Union members of Con
gress united • in reconnnending Mr. Stevens
for the position of Secretary of the Treas
ury, and had he maintained the vantage
ground thus proffered him, he would
- doubtleashavebeen appointed.. But great
as he is in a struggle for a great principle,
he is not conspicuous for pressing his own
claims to personal preferment, nor does
he appeal to the cupidity or ambition of
small men to promote himself. He there
failed in 7861, and whether he regret
ted it personally, perhaps no one knows
but himself—He has given a most cordial
gni : Tort to the measures of the 941minia.
eon .necessary for the suppression of the
rebi3llion, but baa never lost his charaetei
lade manhood in criticising the acts of the
• government. Few such men now reach
positions,' save as the people confer them,.
and we s look for Mr. Stevens to remain
where he is, 'asthe great Commoner of his
age
Mr. Stevens narrowly escaped cabinet
honors a quarter of a century ago. He
was perhaps the only man who hold the
- voluntary written tender of a place in the
ministry of Gen. Harrison before the elec
tion of 1840, and why hel was not of that
cabinet when it was formed, we are not
advised. That it was tendered and with
out solicitation on his part, we feel assur
ed, but without having signified his ac
ceptance or declination, we believe, his
• name and S tatewere omitted in the ministry
of 1841. The real author of this violated
faith probaly sleeps in the quiet shades
of Ashland, and the chief actor in the
fruition of the triumph of 1840, was strick
'en on the threshhold of his high honors.
-Mr. Stevens and President Harrison never
' met after the election, and.no conununi-
cations ever pissed between them. Un
-' like modem 'politicians, he , did not exact
conditions and then demand that it was
. so. denominated in the bond.
, • • --It is perhaps well for Mr. Stevens that
he has never 'been ailed beyond the pro
' , per theatre for a great popular leader.
Had be gone into - the Harrison cabinet,
he might have shamed Webster into an
earlier withdrawal from the treachery of
Tyler; but he could have accomplished
nothing for the country. Had he been
appointed to the cabinet of Mr. Lincoln in
1861, the Nation would have lost its ablest
leader in the popular branch of the gov
ernment, and at a time when of all others,
his consummate ability and unfaltering
devotion to Liberty and Law were most
needed. His views as to oar proper finan
cial policy would have been condemned
at the time in the great monied centres of
the country, and he would doubtless have
encountered embarrassments of the most
perplexing if not fatal character. Time
and experience have fully vindicated the
wisdom of his counsels, but he could not
conform the finances now to his views,
• and he does well to remain the mighty
leader of the House in the severest ordeal
in onr history. until his ceaseless labors
for Freedom are crowned with triumph.
Then will a regederated Nation and its
faithful historians justly class him among
our great Representative leaders in this
fearful struggle for the Right as the " no
• blest Roman - of them all."
THE PROSPECT OF PEACE.
Again the National heart beats with
tremulous anxiety because of the ray of
hope that breaks upon the dark horizon
- of bloody war.' There is hope of PEACE!
It may be a delusion. It may have been
but a snare on one side or the other, and
end in disappointment; but we believe
that never before, since "the coinmence
' meat of this fearful, desOating struggle,
has thei:questiou of Peace been so favora
bly entertained by.the insurgents as now.
Their army of the South•west.is shattered,
. and confessedly unable for an offensive
spring campaign• Charleston is menaced
the port of Wilmington is closed, by the
• capture of Fort Fisher, thus cutting off the
lastuvenno for foreign supplies: Lee's nr,
my is wasting under the gloom With which
multiplied - disasteta have abadowed it ;
Richmond cannot long beheld . with the
powerful armies of Grant, Sherman and
Sheridan gathering around it, and with it
surrendered, the leaders of the rebellion
would be without a resting place. It is
most natural therefore that the question
of Peace should distract their councils and.
array their victims against the colossed
crime that has wantonly deluged our land
with fraternal blood.
Mr. F. P. Blair, Sr., went to Richmond
a few weeks age, ostensibly to recover
some valuable papers, said to have been
stolen by the rebels when they occupied
his premises in July of last year ; but it
was clear to most persons who knew the
character of Mr. 31air that he did not go
to Richmond solely for the recovery of his
private papers. If they wei taken, and
could be procured
ag ain, a brief corres
pondence within the irules prescribed by
the government would have - answered the
purpose. Mr. Blair evidently had a higher
purpose for his mission. He went with
the hopithat he could bring about an ad
justment. What assurairces he bad we do
not pretend to know. : He may have been
invited there; be may have been sent
there by Mr. Lincoln, or he may have
gone on his Tim conviction that the time
has come fdi friendly intervention. At
all events 110 went to Richmond; and re
turned; Viand=after a'pro_tmeted and strict
ly cora:WA ial interview with Mr. 'Lin
coln he steps on board of a steamer that
had been kept in readiness for him, and
he is now in Richmond He is no
fool, nor does he seek notoriety. He is
past the . .years when he would thrust him
self into the rebel capital in order to find
his name in every newspaper. Anti he is
as sagacious as .be is earnest. He well
knows the rebel readers. The time was
when he was the great leader of many of
than. When he spoke they trembled;
when hecounseled they obeyed, for Jack
son was at his back apd he well deserved
the confidence the Old Hero awarded him
as the editor of his organ. He therefore
knew when to go and what to . say ; and
he has gone and said it—then returned
and reported to NlLLincoln, and gone back
to say more. All this may fail to close
the war; but we are
. greatly mistaken if
there are not reasonably fair prospects
that the South will, in some way, propose
to end the conflict before the spring cam
paign oPens.
The question of Slavery has ceased e to
be an issue- North and South. By com
mon consent it must die. The North tle
reands it ; the world demands it ; the des
olated South demands it; the graves of our
hundreds of thousands of martyred dead
demand it, and it must bow to the retri
butive stroke it has so wickedly, wanton
ly invited. It may die to-morrow, or
may linger for a term of years ; but the
seal of death must be indellibly planted
upon its mutilated form. There is there
fore little to impede adjustment. The
rebel currency and debt have long since
been given, over as worthless, and no pre
tense of galvanizing it into valuewill be
offered. Confiscation has been a practi
cal nullity, and the amnesty proclama
tions of the President quiet(nla apptvlit•u-
SIOW3 of vindictiveness on the part of the
government. There is therefore nothing
for the South to do, but §ubmit---to de
throne their leadersi who have given them
war for peace ; desolation for prosperity ;
bereavement for happiness, and the work
of reconstruction, as it is called, is effec
ted. The• Davis's the Toombs; the Wig
falls; the Masons; the Slidells, &c., will not
trouble the government. They cannot
live in any part of the Union when it is
again Imited: . Every man's hind will be
against them, and especially will the vic
tims of their intrigues and ambition in
the South demand their expulsion from
the laud they have shrouded in morning.
We have abiding faith that President
Lincoln will assent to no negotiation or
adjustment that is not entirely consistent
,with the honor, .the - dignity and the su
premacy of the government; and we
therefore welcome every ray of light that
dawns upon us, came whence it may, and
hope soon to greet the noontide of victory
bearing with it a restored and regenerated
Union and an honored and ending Nation
ality. .
THE Spirit devotestwo columns to Show
that this journal has treated the prosecu
tion in the case of the Coin. vs. Rev. W.
V. Gotwalt most unfaiily by the publica
tion of the letter of our Harrisburg cor
respondent. If the Spirit will be kind
enough to inform its readers that Mr. Mc-
Clure moved to amend the bill on third
reading, and inserted Dauphin county in
stead of Franklin, giving as a reason for
the motion. that an impartial bearing of
the case could not be had in Franklin in
consequence of the publication of our cor
respondent's letter, its two columns of
malignant misrepresentation would be
disposed of. We do not now, and M.
McClure never did, assume that Mr. Got
wait was innocent. Whether he is*guilty
of lewd conduct, or Miss Walter of per
jtvy, are questions which did not eider
into the struggle for , a change of venue.
Whether guilty or innocent, Mr. Gotwalt
is entitled to a fair, impartial trial, and
that he could not have in Mimi county.
Why the case was involved in the bois
fermis strife and deep-seated prejudice of
party politics, w - e neither know nor care.
It is enough to blow that such is the - fact,
and being so, the propriety of changing
the venue was apparent. The pound
from which a jury must have been selec.
ted to•try Mr. Gotwalt had but two lie
publicans on it out of forty-eight. It may
have been a very strange. accident, or it
may have been design considering that
the brother of the prosecutrix has been
for some years clerk to the commission
ers. We do not charge that the jury was
deliberately packed to see ure Mr Gotwait's
conviction ; but we do say, that : if that
bad been the purpose of the parties draw
ing the jury they could not have more suc
cessfully carried out their purpose. The
case now goes to Dauphin where both par-,
flee are unknown, and where the athriin
istration of_ justice will not be impeded by
prejudices Of any sort, and we only hope
thatthe guilty will meet due punishment.
Does the Spirit want more or less
• Mn. KELLY, of Washington, has taken
a step in the right: direction in the legis
lative, by offering a resolution'for 'the ap
pointment of a committee to inquire into
alleged frauds relating to the army vote
practised by return judges and Prothon
otaries in various localities. In several
districts Democratic return judges and
Prothonotaries deliberately attempted. to
. set aside the army vote, or so much of it
as would enable them to certify, Demo
cratic candidates elected. This was the
case in Adams, Fulton, and Bedford, and
it is alleged that the same fraud was at
tempted in the Union, Snyder and Ly
coming district. The design of Mr. Kel
ly's resolution is to get the facts fully be
fore' the House, and then remedy the
wrongs by such laws as may be nlcessary
to preserve the integrity of our fictions.
We did hope that Messrs. Meyers and
Tindlay would contest the seats of Arm
strong and Ross, and thus enable the
House to get at the bottom of the intri
gues and frauds practiced in this Congres
sionarand Judicial distaict. and in the
Legislative district west of us ; but Mr.
Meyers considers discretion the better part
of valor, and he abandoned the field to
avoid an exposition of his attempt to get
into the House in defiance of the voters of
his district. Mr. Kelly will likely supply
this chapter in the history of Democratic
management in the border counties, and
every honest man will congratulate him
when he has accomplished it.
WE give in anotiter column of to-day's
paper the new board of Directors of the
Southern Pennsylvania and Coianellsville
Railroad Company. We learn that the
work is being pushed as rapidly as possi
ble, considering the great scarcity of labor
and exorbitant prices of everything per
taining to the construction of Railroadi.
The apprehension of some of our people
that this important work will be stopped
when the connection with the Huntingdon
and Broad Top Road is made, is, we are
well assured, entirely groundless. That
connection Will first be Wade for obvious
reasons, as it (ince makes the' part of
the road already made productive; but it
is not contemplated by any one connected
with the management to abandon the con
nection with the CuMberland Valley.—
There is some doubt , as to just where the
new road will intersect the railroad line of
this Valley; but we hazard little in saying
that it will be at this point or south of it.
It would i*w be impossible to complete
the entire road in the time prescribed by
the act ©f incorporation, and an extension
will be asked for: but the company will
not seek to he relieved from completing
the Eastern line of the toad. Au effort is
now being made to locate it in Maryland,
and bring it from Cumkerland td }lagers
_ ; but we hope to see it pass through
our 'county. - If located in Maryland, we
_should lose direct communication With
the Broad Top coal fields, and receive
exchange direct communication with the
Cumberland Coal beds.
THE Harrisburg Telrgraph thinks some idea of
the Immense magnitude and labor of the execu
tive dUties since the rebellion has engaged the at
te_oviott of thmo.l.pal Gtnernons, nmy Le infert,tl
front the fact that in threes• yeari, or sincertlMwdr"
began, Gov. Curtin has signed thirty-five thousand
commissions for officers in the volunteer service.
It must be remembered that it is not the mere
signing of these documents in which the labor is
involvitd, but the examination of facts in each
case, the claim to on appointment and the
right to prothotion, which requires the utmost
executive care and discrimination. Front all this
it can easily be interred, that to be Governor of a
Commonwealth like Pennsylvania. is to assume
aid discharge a labor at once herculean and im
pn•tant.
THE Tribune Almanac for . 1E46.5 is the moat
valuable political work for reference to be found.
It is cheap, admirably arranged, concise in state
ments, and generally most reliable. The only er
ror w•e notice in it is the name of A. H. Coffroth
as the Congressmen elect .from this district, al
though in the election tables Gen. Koontz is given
his proper majority. Price 20 cents per copy.
It can be had at Shryock'a.
THE Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows have secur
ed an eligible sig't in Baltimore on which to erect
a suitable monument to the memory of the late
Pui , t Grand. Sire, Thomas Wildey, who was tc
garded as one of the founders of the order. The
monument is designed to be of imposing grandeur.
WE are indebted to Hon. G. W. Scofield for
valuable public documents.
, WASHINGTON
Rejoicing over the Fall of Fort Fisher—
Departure of Mr.Rlair for Richmond—
Preliminaries for the Inauguration of
Mr. Lincoln—Success of the Union Arms
—Despondency in Rebeidom—The Char.
lesion Mercury on President Lincoln
—Places - of Amusement—The New Rail
road Project—Hon. John W. Forney
and the Secretaryship of the Interior.
Correspondence of the Franklin Repository.
WAiIIiNGTON CITY; Jan. 20, 1065.
We have been blessed with a few days of pleas
ant, cool and dry winter weather, just such as
would make one feel contented, were it not for
the cor4inual state of excitement to which we
are daily subject.
Since Monday last a continual rejoicing over
the fall of Fort Fisher, has been kept up. Last
night when the excitement had quieted down,
rumors of peace took its place, and to heighten
the fever old Mr. Blair to-day took his servant
and again started for Richmond. The steamer
Don, on which ves,el he made his last trip, has
been lyiug at the Navy Yard ever since with
steam up, and to-day at 11:15 Mr. Blair got
aboard and she steamed away for City Point.
This of course caused a tremendous hubbub,, even
among our - bulls and bears, for we have some
here, and gold tumbled down to 201. If old Abe
don't pistil tell some people what kind of business
old Mr., Blair .) is traveling back and forth to Rich
mond about, some people will die of wonder.—
But the return of Mr. Blair to Richmond, does
look as if sometlip&Aiore than the recovery of'
papers was in the — MML Let us have patience
and Abraham will tell us all about it, for he said
so.
Since the commencement of the present session
9f Congress very little 'MB been done, Have deba
ting the queationa of amendment to the constitu
tion and recomitructior.. They bid fair to have
a Much longer nu.
_ If the arrangements which are now making be
earrird out, the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln
-next 4th of March, will surpass anything of the
kind ever held on this continent, both as to the
number of people in attendance and the imposing
grandeur of the ceremony The Union League,
the Lincoln and Johnson club, and the Loyal As
sociation of Pennsylvania have made the prelim
inary movement in the matter, and invited other
State associations to join them. The inaugural
will take plaetn on the steps of the main entranee
the itanklin Repositorp, 41,Iptabers4tig, pa.
of the east aide of the capital, whore the last took.
place. In the evening a grant ball will be given
in the North unfinished wing of the Patent Of
fice, where there is a ball some 300 feet long by
16 in breadth, Cards of admission Will be
,$4O,
and at that price, the demand will be greater
than the supply.
From all sections of Rebeldom where our ar
mies are operating, every breath of wind wadi to
us news of success and victories beyond our most
sanguine expectationi. The beginning of the end
is fast approaching. This gigantic rebel bubble
must.soon burst, and every individual in Rebel
dom, from the highest official to the beggar is
aware of it. Every issue of their papers 'show
weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. The rank
and file of the people of the Confederacy are heap
ing curses deep and loud upon their old leaders—
the betrayers that lead them on from happy homes
to misery and death. Even Jeff. Davis himself,
so lately set up by them as an omnipotent power,
or rather God, is deemed by them an impmeti.
cable imbecile, who knows neither how to act or
plan, nor jndgemeut to select an executive officer
who caa. To show the wonderful change of opin
ion in comparing the Administration of %Jeff. Davis
to that of Abraham Lincoln, we - quote the fol
lowing from the Charleston MerrurN of January
. -
10th, 1807 i; '
"When Abraham Lincoln took the chair of the
Presidency of the United States, he promised 'in
his flat-boat lingo to ' run the machine as he found
it.' Whether he has strictly kept his promise,
those may doubt who choose to consider the hub
jeCtt It is enough for us to know that, whether
'running his machine' in the pathway of his pre
decessors or not, he has run it with a stern, inflex
ible purpose, a bold, steady hand, a vigilant, ac
tive. eye, a sleepless energy, a frantic spirit ; and
an •eye single to his end—conquest—emancipa
tion. • He has called around him, in counsel, The
ablest and most earnest men of his country.
Where he has lacked in individual ability, learn.
ing, experience and stutesinanghip, he has sought
it, and found it in the able men about bite; whose
assistance he unhesitatingly accepts, whose pow
ers he applies to the ads aucenieut of the cause he
has undertaken._ In the Cabinet and in the field
be has consistently and fearlessly pressed on the
search for mini svho could advance hiscause, and
has unhesitatingly cut 'dull those who clogged -it
with weakness, timidity, imbecility or failure.
Force, energy, brains, earnestness, he has collec
ted around him in every department. Black
guard and buffoon as he is, he has pursued his end
with an energy as untirir"e , as it is Indian, and a
singleness of purpose that might almost, be called
patriotic, If he were not an unscrupulous knave
his end, and a fanatic iu his pliti l viewit, he
would undoubtedly s coniumud our. respect as a
ruler, so fist as we are concerned. Abroad nisi
at home, he has exercised alike the saute cease
less enereand eicurnspection.
"Tie turn our eyes to Richmond, and thp contrast
is appalling, shocking to the heart.',
Yesterday I.fas the first day, since eatlY . 1111861,
that there was tie "death of a soldier to report-from
the Hospitals of this District. Owing to the high
state of perfection to which our hospitals have
arrived, very few deaths occur.
Our Theatres and places of amusement aro
nightly crowded. Forrest is pley - ing at Ford's
and Miss Annie Jones at Grover's. Besides we
have had three nights of ItalionOpera.—tit V. 50
per ticket, and at that price _there was scarcely
room left to inure your elbow.
Yesterday the subject of a new Rail Road be
teen Washington and New York was debated
in the Senate, and quite a number of Railroad men
are in the city. The old Monopoly will as usual
come off victorious and no new road will be built,
which is notch to be regretted.
The mune ofJohn W. Forney is daily used and
his chances every day growing bright, for &ere
.tary of the Interior in the re-construction of thO
cabinet. Thaddeus Stevens declined, on account
of ill health, the use of his name for Secretary of
the Treasury, for which position he was urged by
every Union member from Pennsylvania. His
declination makes the ehancesof Mr. Forney bet
ter. •
The Adams Vertutty Venue case , --roWitsti
Jurietieneral Law to Insure Inapar•
Bid Juries—The Local Bounty question
The State Guard—The Violation of the
Election Laws—The De Haven Con.
tested Seat.
Curresporalonee of the Franklin Repository.
There was little business of importance trans
acted in the legislature this week. The bill to
change the venue in the case of the Common
wealth vs. Gotwalt, from Adams to Dauphin, ex
cited some debate, and passed finally on Thursday
—the day the cal.e,was called up for trial in Get
tysburg. Mr. M'clure moved to amend tin', bill
ou third reading in the House to change it to
Dauphin instead of Franklin, giiing as a reason
the publication of my letter in that county, which . ;
might forestal public opinion in the case:
The main reason for the change of venue in the
case was the fact that the pannel of jurors for the
present term of the Adams county court was
composed almost entirely of Democrats. The
commissioners of that county seem to have acted
upon the idea that the position of Juror is a purely
political one, and must be used to reward small
friends in a small way, and to punish political en
emies in courts: of justice. The Union men of
Montgomery and other counties complain bitterly
that their juries are packed in the Same way, and
a general law will probably be passed prescribing
some more equitable mode of selecting jurors, so
as to break up the intrigues of petty potations
designed to control trials in the courts of justice.
Messis. Sharpe and McClure heve both pre-.
sented petitions for and remonstrances against
collecting the additional bounty of $2OO to each'
recruit by tax. Franklin is in the same situation
on this question With most of the other counties
of the State, and there is scarcely any dhision,of
sentiment among the members ali to the necessity
of a law providing for the collection of the addi
do al s'2oo; but there is much diversity of opinion
as to its details. ; There will doubtless be a gene.
ml law on the subject designed to cover all cases..
An amendment to the militia law was passed
to third reading in the House. yesterday, giving
all the necessary power to the Governor to make
a draft for the State Guard with promptness at
any time it may be necessary. It will pass both
branches in a short time, and unless the war is
brnught to a speedy close, we shall have a State
force to protect the border by the time spring op
erations commence.
A special committee - has been raised in the
House, on motion of Mr. Kelly, of Washington,
to inquire into the violations of the election laws
by return judges and Prothonotaries, with power
to send for persons and papers. These officers
'have assumed in several instances to disregard
the army vote in order to give certificates of elec
tion to defeated candidates but the most notice
able. case was in your congressional and •judicial
districts, and the Bedford, Fulton and Somerset
Representative district. The object of the com
mittee is to ascertain the facts and report to the
legislature what I enactments are' necemary to
guard against future frauds :and. punish those who
attempt to perpetrate them. As Meyers and
Findley skulked away from a contest, after hav
ing insisted that they were honestly and legally
elected, the House hall no opportunity to get the
facts of that case before it but by a special com
mittee. Messrs. Kelly and Waddell, tws mem
bers of the committee,are young lawyers : 4 more
than ordinary ability end energy, and they will
preisecute the investigation thoroughly. I have
not learned the 114111 CS of the other members of
the committee.
The contested electlon CARO of,Scoaeld vs. De-
Haven is understood VA be deciaed, although re
port has not been made. De Haven will retain
his seat. The question as to residence for a year
iu'the district was a new one, and perhaps the
strong equity of Do Haven's case gave him the
benefit of ell doubts It is not denied that he was
I,LtRRISBURG
January 21, INSS
elected by nearly 500 , majority, and lender eueb .
circumstances it would require a clean demand of
the constitution to qualify Mr. Scofield.
1142Raer-
' aimidommmirdmmit
SUMMARY OF WAR NIEWIi.
—A band of mounted rebels attempted to in
vade Illinois at Metropolitan, but only a few sue
needed in crossing the • river, the others having
been dispersed by shells from a gunboat.
—General Canby has ordered a draft of one in
seven Within the Departments of ..rhansas and
Mississippi and the Gulf on the 15th of February•,
unless the quotas are preciously filled by volfin.
teen.
—Rear Admiral S. P. Lee, under date of 9th of
January, informs the• Navy Department that' he
has learned that &resolution will soon be introdu
ced into the Alabama Legislature recommending
a return of the State into the Union.
—The monitor Patapsco was destroyed o ifl
Charleston at 2 o'clock on the morning of the
17th, while doing picket duty, by a rebel torpedo.,
Forty or' fifty of tile crew went down with hi.r.
Their names were not ascertained at the time of
the sailing of the Fulton.
,—Lieutenant Dar* late keepoi of the Ander•
somille.(Ga.) jail, who was recognized by one' of
our soldiers While in transit to Canada, has be;en
brought to Cintinnati,*and will be tried as a spy.
He defends his treatment of Federal prisoners:, as
being in obedience to orders.
—Admiral Porter has made a report to.the
Navy Department relative to the iron-dada and
monitors, speaking very favorably of them. He
also refers to the New Ironsides in high terni,
saying that no other ship' has so come up to,his
ideb of a vessel for offensive operations.
—Secretary Stanton, is a letter to the Preei
dent, dated Fortress Monroe, January 17, stites
that the rebel flag or, Fort Fisher was delivered
to him on the previous day, on the steamer Spaul
ding, off that place, by, Gen. Terry. Mr. Stanton
then gives the particulars of the capture , of :the
fort, as. obtained Irom Admiral Porter,and Gen.
Terry.
—The Richnibud papers, in discussing the . iisit
of Mr. Blair, to . that city, guy that his ostensibly
object was to have au interview with Jeff Darla
about the return of seine papers, but in the mince
of conversation he touched upon peace. The re
bel "President" is said to have replied that be is
always readyto receive regularly accredited Com-
Inisbione . rson the subject, or, to send such coin-
—Admiral Porter in his (retailed report, of the
attr.ek ou Fort Fisher, gives the total number of
naval officers kilted and wounded at twenty-one,
and of others killed, wounded and missing, inclu
ding the eipkndon of the magazine at three hun
dred and nine. He states that the rebels have
blown up Fort Caswell and the steamers 'Talla
hassee and Chickamauga, and that we will be in
Wilmington before long.
—A son of Herschel V: Johnson; who hien of
in Hood's army, writes from that band of de
moralized scamps to his father, that the people
of Atlanta, instead of looking upon the
..Confeder
ate government as n protection, see in it nothing ,
but a great tyrant crushing them. to death.; He
expremes the opinion that the war will stop with
in thirty days after the 4th of .*arch, for the
Southern People will come beckon any terns.
•
—Deserters from the Rebel army arrived with
in Grant's lines say that the Danville Railroad.
between Danville and Greenaborough, a distance
of forty-five miles, bas been destroyed by the re
cent heavy rains—that every culvert and bridge
has been carried away, and that Lee's army is
likely.to be out of rations altogether very soon.
Every effort is making- to reconstruet the road,
and large gangs of men are detailed for that pur
pose, but even at that it will take sonic time to
repair It. the deatructiou of the road being so ex
tensive.
—A despatch from Cairo to the Comm*iitA,
says: Lieutenant Nesly, in command of &coni..
pany of Tennessee cavalry, left Columbus; Ky.,
on the .18th, au& when ten miles out, encounter
ed a fume of two hundred rebels. " A fierce
figlit ensued, latum4 half au hour. The rebels
had tie() killed, one uunded, and fire taketipris.
_There were Rio casualties, on the Union
side." It . is reported that from fivelo ten of For
rest's command come into our lines and take the
oath daily.
—Charleston dispatches of the lath contain ac
counts of the attack on Pocotaligo bridge the
Federal forces, and the evacuation of the place by
the rebels.' The rebel forces took a position be
hind the Combahee river. The frame dispatches
Say that Hotid's losses during his campaign were
8000, and that he has plenty of artillery. It is ru
mored in Richmond that Hood has been - smx.rse 7
ded by Gen. Dick Taylor.* The rebel Senate has
passed a bill creating the officer of commander
in -chief, and recommending that General' Joe
Johnston be reinstated.
Sherman renewed the movement °This%
forces from Savannah last week: Secretary Stan—
ton, in a letter to the President, states that the
Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps went in trans
ports to Beaufort on Saturday, Jan. 14th. 'The.
Seventeenth Corps crossed Port Royal Ferry, and
with a portion of General Foster's command
moved on RPcotaligo. The enemy abandohed his
strong works in our front during Saturday night.
General Blair'S Chrps now occupies a strong pdsi : .
tion across the railroad and covering all the. ap
proaches eastwardlo Pocotaligo,
—Forty guerillas ..nder command of Pratt and
31eGregor,a consolidation of several bands on Wed
nesday last iniule a dash into Bardstown, Ky.,
for the purpoie of recovering one of their men,
John Robinson, confined in the jail of that place.
Bardstown is garrisoned by a detachment ofFed
eral soldiers utider .Capt. G. W. Nichols. The
.guerillas set the depot on fire and tt was burned
to the ground, and the body of Mr. Sunberry,was
consumed in it. The guerrillas and our troops
had a heavy fight. Captain Pratt and Pat Bull=
were killed and Lieutenants 3lunday and SlaSon
and several others wounded. The guerrillas were
routed and driven from the town. The "pursuit
was continued till-darkness put a stop to further
proceedings.,
—An expedition Consisting of details from the
Brigade of Gen. Gregory of theilfth Corps, Army
of, the Potunine, sent out on Wednesday last in
the direction .of Stony Creek for the purpose, of
obtaining forage for the use of the Brigade, was
fired - upon by en unknown *force, of the enemy
secreted in ambush, killing- and wounding seven
of our men. Among the kilied, was Capt. Rice,
Inspector-General.on the staff of Geo. Gregory,
whose body was fora time lett, in possession of the
enemy. A stronger fordo was afterwards sent out
to recover the body of Capt. R., web bad com
manded the foraging party, and on returning found
it denuded of its clothing, and tnuilateci by several
shuts in the head which' had been fired by his
merciless enemies after the retirement of our men.
Capt. Rico was an officer of great promise, and
his sad fide is deplored by all who bad the pleasure
of his acquaintance.
—A., D. Richardson, the Tribune correspon
den who has escaped from Salisbury, North Car
olina, speaks of the sufferings of our men there as
most 'distressing, and asserts that the rebels are
deliberately, remorselessly, starving and freezing
them death. - His information and statements
are explicit, and go to establish the necessity of
making a complete exchange of prisoners, or im
mediate retaliation on the rebels in our hands.
It is the opionion of Dlr. ,Richardson, that the
rebels can not increase largely'the force of white
men in their arrny. Western North Carolina is
full of faithful Union pecritle;ilid the Itegroes are
everywhere and all the time, the friends and help,
ers dour soldiers; The rnionis' 111 . in North Car
olina are, latterly, doings good work is the, way,
of bushwhaching the rebel home girds, devoting'
themselves especially to the shooting of officers.:
The Richmond paper that has much the largest'.
circulation is the Examiner, the sheet that so bit-,
ter], assails Jeff. ]?aria,
PIEASIINAL.
—Gov. Hahn bas betin elected U. S. Senator
from Louisiana, for Pa yearn.
—General Sherman is to be presented - with!
$lOO,OOO by the citizens of Ohio. ,
—Hod. HenryjWilsoa vras on Wednesday last,
re-elected United States Senator from Massachu
setts., •
—Win. H. Fry, the composer, and long COD=
netted with the Tribune, died At Santa Ortiz on'
December 21st.
—CoL Lamb, taken at Fort Fisher, was, we
think, captured at Fort Hatteras in 180. He is
a North Carolinian.
—Burleigh, the Canadian raider, has been rec
ommitted to priion to await extradition by the
Governor General. '
—Lieut, Col. Harry White, Of the ti7tb Penna.
Vols., has been commissioned by Gov. Curtin as
Colonel of his. regiment.
--Gen. IVhitting, captured at Fort Fisher, Thai
native of Hartford, Conn., and an old friend of
his captor, Gen. Terry.
—General antler's friends at Lowell have'ap-'
pointed a committee to make arrangements for.
giving him a panic reception, upon his return to
that city.
—During hisstay in Savannah, Secretary Stan,
ton promoted a number of dfficers who have dis
tinguished themselves, including dvu.
who was brevetted a major general.
—Parson Brownlow has been recommended to
the President for the appointment of Brigadier
General, in order that he may succeed Gov John
sun as Military Governor of Teunesse.
Prentice, having been cluirged with comi.
plicity with the rebelhon, during his recent visit
to Richmond, is out in a lengthy vindication o
his conduct, in the Journal of the l lAth Met.
Col. Jacobs, of Kentucky, who was
sent South .some time since, has been pardoned
by the President and has returned to his•hom©.
He represents the feeling in favor of-peace to Le
strong among not only the lower classes but
among officers of high grade. - -
—Major General - Winfield S. Hancock waipre
seated on Saturday morning, at the La Pierre
House, with the handsome saddle and accoutre
ments voted him by the citizen of Philadelphia
at the Sanitary Fair, during last sum her. Wm.
H.•&shhurst, Esq., made the presentation.
—Hon. Myer Strouse, Alexander Bailey and
Archibald VAllister, of -Pa., Democrats—with
- two members from each of the States of NeW
York aid Missouri, one from Kentucky, and one
from WinctMsin, of the smite party, voted for the
constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. ,
—General A. J. Smith, the dashing cavalry lea
der of the went, is a man nearly fifty years old;
he- ean glasses, his hair is white or rather grii
zly ; he speaks quickly, moves briskly, is nervous
and restless. He is a man of small stature, come
ly of dress, and abrupt in his address, though
kind of heart. the officers of his command say.
—lt appears that the rebel authorities after ar
resting rebel Senator Henry S. Foote, at _Ocen
quan, conveyed him to Fredericksburg and parol-'
ed him until Jeff. Davis could determine wh'at
should be done with him. Late Richmond papers
announce that he is released froth his parole and
at liherty to go where he pleases. It remains to
be seen whether they will permit him "to pass
through the rebel lines to reach Washington,
•
where Mrs. Foote and her child are residing.
—Lieut. Cal. Harry White, whose capture mid
retention by the Rebels kept our Senate in het
water for's() long last winter, until relief finally
came in the shape of -a captain with the gallant
Senator's resignation Sewed in his shoulder strap,
was promoted, by Governor A. G. Curtin, to the
fall command of his 'old regiment, the Sixty-sev
enth Pennsylvania Volunteers. After a brilliant
- reception at the State Capitol, the Colonel left
for his regiment.
. —Col. Pennypacker, who led one of, the charg
ing columns in the assault on Fort Fisher, is a son
of Chester county, and has won his way from the
ranks to his present position by his own merits.
He is every inch a soldier. Beloved by his men,
they would follow him to the cannon's mouth.
Born on the storied ground of Vallley Forge twen
ty-five years ago, he has caught the heroic, blood
of '76. We pray he may survive his danger Ons
wound, and live to serve his' country among the
long list of Pennsylvania's patriot sons.
—Brevet Major General' Alfred EL Terry, com
manding the expedition against Fort Fisher,' is
one of the enceessful officers taken from civil life.
He was born in Hartford, Conn., Nov. 10th, 1827,
and was educated at New Haien, where he was
admitted to the bar in 1848. Ho became clerk
of the county courts, but resigned in 1860, and
made a short visit to Europe. He had long in
clined to military studies, and took an active part
in the militia of his State. He was colonel of the
2d or New Haven County Regiment when Fort
Sumpter was fired on, and immediately offered
his servives to the Governor, and was commis
sioned to command the 2d Connecticut Regiment
of thregelentbs men, which was one of the few
that behaved welt at Bull Run. He afterwards
raised another regiment, the 71h Connecticut,
which did excellent service in General T. W.
Sherman's (aftepwarde Gilmore's) command, 'at
Hilton Head, and at the capture of Fort Pulaski,
for which it had the honor of being selected
the garrison. In March, 1862, Terry was pro
moted to be a brigadier general of volunteers, - and
the splendid service of capturing a fortwhiCh,
twenty days nefore, Gen. Butler had declared im
pregnable, he has, ?been made a brevet Major
General.
—Brig. Gen. Adelbert Amee, who commanded
the assaulting ditision in the successful attack on
'Fort Fisher, was at the breaking out of the rebel
lion.a cadet at West Point. He was graduated
on the 6th of May, 1861, fifth in his class, and en
tered the army on the same day as second lieu
tenant in the Fifth Artillery. At the first battle.
of Bull Run he served with distinction Griffin's
celebrated battery: and was wounded in the thigh.
He was engaged- with Ids battery at Yorktown,
Golding's Farm and Malvern Hill. In August,
186'2, he was appointed Colonel of tilt! , Twentieth
Maine, and commanded that regiment at Antie
tam, ShePpardstown and Fredericksburg. At
Chancellorsille ho sercoil on Gen. Hooker's staff.
Ou the 20th of fay. 1863, Ames w4s made a
Brigadier General and placed in command of a
picked brigade, which he led at Beverly Ford on
the 9th of June, in that year.. At Gettysburg he
commanded a division in the Eleventh Coips dn.
ring the second and third days of that memorable
battle, and for his good conduct was highly com
_mended by General Howard. In August, 1863,
Gen. Ames was ordered to report-to General Gil
more; and he With his brigade participated in the
operations against Forts Wagner and Gregg, arid
ako.in the bombardment- of Fort Sumter. Get].
Ames remained in the Department of the South
until April 22d,1864, when he proceeded to the
Peninsula with the Tenth Army Corps, in all the
operations of which against Petersburg and Rich
mond he acted a distinguished parts General
Ames was born in East Thomaston, (now Rook.
land,) Maine; on the 31st day of Oetiltheroaral
January 125, 1865,
'' s Inxilevar» ON
THE SITICATiON.
THE
The following significant article appeared• in
the Charleston Manny of January 12:
The condition of this military department, u
Embraced within the limits of Georgia and South
Carolina, is anything but satisfactory to any - man
who is aware of facts, and has capacity to under-
stand their bearing. We presume there ism one
in the department to whom the condition of our
present military organization is less aitisfactory
than - to the General commanding: Probably there
is no one so thoroughly aware of , the lamentable
disorganization that prevails certain corps nnd
sections of his command. Yet it would scarcely
be fair to hold him responsible for this condition
of things.
His department has been newly turned into bia
hands; and many of the troops are new to him
and to This department They came to Lim un;
der the command of imbeciles; he has received
them, a herd of _stragglers and outlaws. What
has been done to eradicate this fatal evil weshall
not stop to inquire. The time has been short to
do much, and the forces hive been much scat
tered. Bat the very hut moments bye arriving,
when all must be done that can be done. The
enemy does not intend to wait upon our leisure.
And there is much to do. a
I
Before bringing ourselves to face Met-only, it is
absolutely essential that those in command bring
themselves to face the vital evils existent within
our own lines. The path ?cc now are traveling is
straight to destruction. The crisis of the Confed
eracy has arrived in fatal earnest. The remit of
the next six months will bring the Confederacy to
the ground, or will re-instate its power. Without
reform we are doomed. There is more- than one
department of the Government in which reform is
important But reform in oar armies is essential
—is vital Without it the death of the Confederacy
is already tolled. With the proper reform made,..-
he is a coward who carries his heart in his boots:
There are men in the land—there is fight in'
the land! It is the imbecile that is sick at heart
—it isthe coward whose stomach is weak. There,
is nothing before us that cannot be overcome:,
but to do it, there must be a new state of things' .
instituted. We say again, there must be nerve.
Men in command must not be afraid to die—they
must not be afraid to kill Officers must be killed
—not mere privates. Reform must begin at the
top, not at the bottom of the service. 'Ro reach the .
private, captains must be shot. We want no child's
play—we want an army.
What is a man's life to the institutions sand the,
liberty of the country t Nothing. 'Let old things
pass avilly—let us have a new condition of things.
We want no more Jeff Davis' foolery; we want
one atom of brains, one spark of nervewe Want
no more of Buhainism—we want not mermaids
with heads of monkeys and fishy attachments at
the neither extremities—we want men, real men,
earnest men—North Carolina, Georgitond South
. Carolina are in no mood for trifling. They•have
had enough of this sort of thing. They don't in
tend to have much more: — South Carolina don't
intend to be conquered. She intends to fight.
She don't intend to be hampered or tamed
over to the enemy. When she is thus dealt with,
there will be reckonifig—a reckoningwheie there
will be no,respecters of person. We want implic
it order and calm forecast. South - Carolina is a
Commonwealth of order; we expect order,'and
we demand order. We are acoustomal to ordir.
We are not used to lawless ruffianism ;we don't
intend to suffer it.
. A most onerous but imperative duty devolves
upon.the commander of this department, whoever
he ts. That duty—this first and most essential
duty—is to cashier and shoot.• Without it noth
ing can be done, and Sherman con us.—
With it, he is a coward who sue - at heart
- Everything is at stake; everything that is in
the way must be faced and trampled upon. The
man who commands hero must put his heat hi
his pocket, and his sword in his band. He mad
know nothing but the good of the Confederacy
That be mast do regardless of official weakiliess.
The end must be radical reform.
- It is folly to talk of red tape now; we wait the
thing, we must hive it—reform, sbootingorastis
iering, order, subordination, soldiers—not, nip
ways, ragamuffins,
,ruffians. We want, a u we
must have, brains and pluck in commanders, pad
implicit obedience and order in subordinates and
soldiers. Six spaces and a steady arm will do
the business, if repeated sufficiently often, especi
ally among commissioned officers.
If, however, commanding officers will not do
their duty in this matter, let all men shut their
books, for the end will hare well nigh collie. The
time is short—will it be improved?
A YANKEE STRIKES OIL IN gUROTE—The
wonders of the petroleum oil discovery will never
cease. Last year Colonel Govvarytof Boston, the
gentleman who had the - contract for getting*
the sunken Russian ships in the harbor of. 8et1111...
topol, was coming - down from St. Petersburg
through - Georgia and Cireassia; when, in theneigh
borhood of the Sea of Azof, he stumnled upon
some oil wells which the natives were working in
a very indifferent way, and which the Colonel
bought. He then came to Paris and London, - or—
ganized a company, sent out men to work the •
wells, and ships to carry to - London and Liferpool
the products, and they are nouituiying handsome
dividends. But what is more surprising still,the
Colonel, in returning lately from the Black Sea to
Paris, stopped on the way at the island of Samos,
on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, where
he found and bought another oil well. • What is
still more curious, this well was, spoken of by
Herodottis, the great Greek historian, 450 years
before Christ, and front that day to this no one
has thought 'of turning to use this important dis
covery. Even the English traders of.thillie later
days, who have control of the comnipren of the
island, have blindly walked over this important
source of wealth without perceiving it: Colonel
Gowan has bought fifteen acres of gronnd'at the
ordinary price of land on the island.
ATTACK ON JUDGE KELLY.—List Sunday
evening as Judge Belly, Hon. Charles O'Neil,
and Major Harper were sitting at thetmtable at
Willard's, one Judge Field, who is claiming a
seat in the House as a member from Lois'
remarked in a loud voice to Jidge Kelly:—
" Well, Judge, you were all/afraid to show - your
hands on admitting ourdOgatio_ ,n "
ing it with an oath, to which Judge Kelly made
no reply, as he had no aeinaintance with Yield
but on the continuance of his insults, Judge Ke
lly replied that when his name was eallod,it would
not take him long to decide upon his cue, to
which Field continued his violent talk, Wilba
"damn you, your people want US back bad
enough, and you are afraid to face than you
don't vote for us !" He finally le ft , threatening
Kelly with personal violence, and on subsequently
meeting Kelly in the corridor, he rushed at tun
with a bowie knife, and being a more powerful
man than Kelley, collared him, and as Kelley
tried to disengage himself, he calls handopen
to the bone with his knife. A number of persons
rushed up and disei N iaged him before he could in
flict any dangerous wounds upon him. Kelley
was taken to his room, and Dr. Stone called in to
dress his wound. Field was taken to the station
house, and finally released, on bail of one thous
and dollars fora further hearing.
A VETERAN DOG.—Jack, the faithful - dog
which accompanied the 102nd Pa. Vet, Regiment
to the wars, has been lost, for whose recovery $5O
have been offered. Jack has shared the dangers
of the battle field with this regiment ever since
the first out-break of the rebellion r he having been
engaged in the Beige of Yorktown, the battles of
Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Savage Station, Mal
vern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksbunt Marye's
Heights, Salem, Heights, Mine Run, Wilderness,
Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, before Petersburg,
Defence of Washington July 11, 1864; Winches
ter, Flint Hill, Fisher's Hill, and Middletown.
He was wounded at the battle of Malvern Hl,
taken prisoner at the battle of SalemHei,ghts and
remained six months on Belle Island with men of
his regiment, was again raptured at 3Fuldletown
and held a prisoner of war by the enemy for six
hours when he made good his escape.
A FEARFUL LEAP.--Gustas Adolph Vorgt.
man, charged with forging a receipt of the Pros
elan Government for sixteen thousand dollars,
(and upon which he received that amount of
money,) was recently arrested at Chicago, and
taken to ,New York, via the Pennsylvania rail
road, a day or two ago. As the .train was in the
vicinity of Huntingdon, and running at the rate
of twenty miles an hour, Vorgtman expressed a
determination to kill himself, and jumped from
the cam. He was very seriously injured, but
not killed, and is now in the hands of the anthori
tiea at New York
IT is stated that the Secretary of War has is
sued an order calculated to prevent the crime of
bounty jumping. It is to the effect that all enlist
ed teen, es soon as mustered into the service, shall
deposit with the nearest paymaster all moneys
received by them as bounties, reserving to. them
selves a sum not to exceed twenty dollars. After
the enlisted man is placed in the armyat the front,
he can draw for the money in the paymaster's
hands.
--Senator Foote him been released by the pm.
vest marshal at Fredericksburg, and has armed
in Riehmnnd