Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

1 ~tim ir nnwii riirw.-—u_llj-li—i__i i- _ . I>V N. S. MOUSE & CO. (Chronicle ft Sentinel. J * r K HMS. TjIK WEEKLY I'llllOYM l.r. A. hI,\T!>KL 15 l'lllil.lSllkO EVERY WKBNESLAV AT FUIK OOLLAIIH FOR SIX MltVniH A’.WAVfi IN’ ALVA.V E. \VK!.i;i.V AUVKRTI-tIMJ lIVTKS Oumtsnt Aiin.tti ,*!«wn puVi-:-f<l Is Ui« Weekly wI! ba eh ir*a/U»eutf o*te“r.Ma ;ine-.Mhinv'*lon. HrnOiAL So i: . > will hf ). I l,..rty -*• * nr.rfor » h niertlnn. MxMiAAM.Pf crnfiad Fvaeau N-.• i on* 4 oltar os- i, | o«mr*«».Vaii- a fart) . ml.fßrlii.e f.,r on* .—»t.-n L j •$HL*r Dollyor tt>*k r. Wbrt O' 'tv—y No(!< e w*. |.i, I -tahe.l In I). »t>4 Wrekly - «:«l» 1.. o. • COtf.AG it) THEIR »»i The 2}c«r .rid rib.eiimi as folio-. •. !ii reffirnnee to U ■ present state of society in the Yankee metropolis : -The faot in our people want excitement pas-timo. Nightly they crowd th* theatres ami concert roometo f siwi), * Mir !«rj<-"t ih-a tree draw crowded hotre-s will) tire Won! in different play*. The m inogers attribute Hies, i over It owing audiences to the merits of theii performances. 'i hey are midtak'n. Ihent i jnitv of these plays ure mediocre; hut tie pubf.c must be diverted, must draw thong t: auil hence Wall* k's e in pimluee any I'ebaidi it pleased ; Niblo's Garden plays which are not those ( ,f the future, or the present'either, strict 1> speaking , the Winter Garden icural (llamas in which tint public only applaud the villous anil iegret tin ; r untimely detection ; the Ulym pic time-honored burlesques—lho-e 'of Hie pint the long ago—and still the public will crowd these piuces, and neve murmur at the sameness of the dpcs tide or dteam ol change. W'fiy doe; this d,Hire for di.ersion exist ' Why tiiid apatliy t.s to tlie nature ol the amusement Hiiuoly because the p «/;•- are Horn awl ill ut ease; their minds are Irmhied ; oiey are ditujmted unit •and amflgfc/ u>Uh ike ictr, Us scvutilvus pros titution into <ttt electioneering agency, its he iug'm .do the lever to (delate th- nigger above. the white man. ltd being made the cloak for every specie.; if plunder II I'-pcat, the ’»•(, ft'ei urt aun'ijel, <lis jiistul and u)jii ,<l''l, ni\>\ they (Tew-i our piacea ot a.itiucmeiit as mrny utl happv beings fly to dunk to drown sorrow or , •hums. Tho New York Tb'rriM is very poor authority for any statement v.-hne Ivive not the immiK of refilling it, if false. It can misrepre sent turd equivocate a* readily as any journal v.-Uioh .vo have over known. It avoids usually. bowuf.T. Ih-s wlitch are m> transparent that they must be delected by everybody. Anil t would not make tins statement touching tl e disjust of the war ami tha trouble anil sorrow which prevail In consequence, nil lew there wi it good groun 1 for tho assert on. We have no doubt tho Herald gives it-t a cor rect repi escalation of the state of feeling whit h prevails among itio masses in NewAork. it exlii its h great change even from whit was manifest a tow months ago; an 1 compared with the temper wh ch nuiujated the public in the beginning of the war. it amounts to a revo lution. If in August or September, lhtil, the Herald or any other newspaper had said that the people “were ißsgusted and annoyed with the war and resorted to placer of amusement to rtrowti their sorrow an’. -!*«*.(.'. th« public e» tion would have dtatvn down upon tho oiler <1 (IfR paper (ho wrath of an i veiled mob; or tie proprietor would have been waited upon I y some olii ror, who at tho tap <>l .Mr. t-eward s i ball had been ordererl to lake him into custody j Then tho public sentiment w.. . “any nr.or who j ■peaks against the war is a traitor at h--u*t, rtriti i ■hail meet a traitor's doom'Then there was ! pne loud and m id . rv for the lrlood of rho rcb- ■ *> who had raised their fwnlcid.il banc's to overthrow “the mod. i g* voruuient oi tin* world;' and wo to the man who then talked of the war os an.annoyance. Surely “a change hit conit* over the spir it of that dream when a jouro and which habitually puts popularity and patronage before rectitude and honor, finds the former promoted by giving currency to ruclr sentiments as wo have quoted above. We are not surprised (hat our enemies begin at length—according to the showing of their own newspapers —to be annoyed aud disgust ed. Certainly they ha\ e enough to make them ■o. With a debt already hanging over them of two Ufimsand millions of dollars; with one hundred amt twenty-four thousand widows whose husbands have perished in tire service asking for pensions; with gold at a premium exceeding any tiring which it has attained at any time sin a* tire war; with the lucrative trade of the Confederate Stu'es utterly alitn nted, with the bones of their men moolderir g on a hundred battle Helds; with thousands ot their follow eiv't;: * . languishing it. our prisons; xvitli their comtUiico in large part expelled front tho seas by our gallant navy; with the best people in the civilized world crying out tdiarne I Shame t as they look at tho vindictive and barbarous war which they have waged against us; above all with four hundred thou svud Confederate soldiers yet confronting them after their unparalleled sacrifices of blood am! treasure— we think they have good reason to be *• disgusted,’’ and to seek in tiro mirth and diversion of tlio play house deliverance from the lashings of an accusing conscience. V*"<j confess wo look with no small satisfac tion ujw i anoU a picture of Now York society, a* that which we have f it nished our readers in the extract above. Not indeed that we areglad to hear that our enemies are crowding then places of amusement, but that the war is so *• annoying and disgusting that they.teel the need of relief We shall do all iu our power to increase this annoyance and disgust, and we hope that it may become so intolerable 4 iur enemies may be compelled to seek relief not in operas and theatres hut in hea-ty re pentance for th dr sins and in doing unto us as they would have us do unto them. A Bold Xlovs— Nliermaa s movement aero-s j the cjntro of Mississippi is certainly one of tin* j boldest which this war has developed, and it successful, will give him a reputation for dat ing and foolhardiness second to none iu the F*knil army U will be equivalent to a bid forth#Presidency. H.‘ will l- toasted, feted, lionized; much patrioti-iu will effervesce in speeches, much liquor flow, and blatant brass will discourse countless “ llail CoUttablas aud “ Yankee Hoodies. - ’ L» .t if ho loses there will 1 be none so poor as to do him reverence, the , veriest cur iu the streets will meet with more favor fix >tn his master thau he. Although we are unadvised of tha exact po sition. of our forces —and would not disclose them if we knew—there is such atone of con fidence amoug o3r leaders in that section, and the prees seem so hopeful, that we ate persuad ed ail is going well. If wo cannot leant all that is transpiring ou the military chess-board. It is because a wise reticence is manifestly the true policy. T ine will very soon develop the whole affa r. The next few days are big with events. We shall soon see whether Sherman'* raid i* ta succ od or not. BcroiDS —Mrs. Some- s. the Post Mbt.-es* at Rowes' i’nmp, Ga., committed snicid* on Sun day night. No a.use as.djj tea lor the act. Supposed to be inprae, THE ,\m DEPAIUMS'T. /.*■;—rf fn*» the Joint Belt* Gmm-Hee lo In ' < dig at.- the Management of the .Yury I) :nirt- The Joint Select Conniitteo cf the Senate j and 1 fence of Representatives, “appointed to j investigate ihe administration of the Navy Ile ; paituunt, under its prevent head, with power j to send for [s-isons uud papers, find to report 1 tlie iesu!t of Raid investigation to the two Homes, respectively,” ask leave to report— | That in n<vordaii<« with the instructions ! contained in the resolution for their appoint ment, thoy l ave called tvetore them many per -nn-. engagixl ill the naval and military service, : ami as contractors and e'nployeee, as well as | others in civil life, supposed to have huowl-. ! edge of the matleis to be iovestigated.and have j examined many [xipeis among the archived of j tlie Navy Hepartment. in order to inlortu | Lhcrn-eives of the manner in which tire Depart ! uient Jus been administered. They have • I.*, iiiforin ttion wherever they supposed it ! old be found, and have iuviled it from all v.-t o could give it. Tholaige number ol wit- rie--es and voluminous record; examined, pro irti ted Hieir siitingd until near the close ot the fast session of Congress, when they found it m:ce>-ii:y to print the testimony, that each member might review it before making a re nin t, and that the two Houses might be en abled to decide whether the committee had | Im med a just judgment anil attained a proper conclusion. All the testimony deemed mate rial mid proper to l»e publbhed will he lound in a voimneof nearly 500 pages, printed during the last recess of Congress, whkli they here wth .submit its part of this report. The various laws relating to the navy, the reports of the Secretly, (which have heeu confidentially communicated to Congress,) and the tide.- and orders given by him, although coining under the review of the committee, they did not think it necessary or proper to print. Tie* committee conlined their examination to the domestic operations of the Navy Depait ment. They intended to investigate its foreign operations also, and to impure who were Rent as agents to foreign countries, to purchase ves sels, .what instructions were given them, what funds were furnished them, what übvlaele.-t they en wintered, ami what were the results of their respective missions. But the Secret,uy and the President deemed it inconsistent with the public inteicst and the good faith of the Govern ment to furnish such information, us its publi cation would imperil those in our servlceabroud. arrest ilieir labors and defeat their efforts to serve us; and the committee concurring in those views did not pi ess such inquiries. It is due, in this connection, to state, thatthe Secretary of the Navy offered to send before the committee a gentleman who bad charge of the foreign contracts and of the correspondence id ding to them, who could inform us, confi dentially, of their character and results, and that he offered all Information uuder his con- tr.rl and every facility for obtaining it he could employ touching the domestic utt.iirs of the na vy, whenever called for by the committee. it will appear in the printed testimony here with .submitted, that the committee have inquir ed Into everything relating to tho materials and the operations of the Navy within theCon fedt-rali* >’tales; the moans and resources lor budding a navy; the "efforts-to purchase or build vessels and to obtain ordnatme and ord nanie stores; tlie number aud kind of vessels purchased or built, of whom purchased or by whom built; the contracts for them aud how compiled with; the contracts lor war vessels now pending; the vessels owned by the Gov ernment when the Navy Department was organ ized and the number aud kind now owned by it; tire naval dt'fenos of the Mississippi river and onpcctally of New Orleans, ol the Cumber land, Tennessee and J«mes rivers, and of the city of Norfolk; the circumstances connected with the destruction ot die Virginia, the Louis iana, tho Mississippi, the Arkansas and other gunboits, tho causes sf our naval disasters and ..I t!r.* f il.in* oi our navy to meet the public expectations. i lie committee do nr t deem it necessary to review nil tho facts relating to these top es, or to exprisr llieir ooncliuiou upon each of them, .s tlie testimony is herewith presented, and may lie read by all who desire I lie *rformation it furnishes. They think they will discharge their duty by expressing the general result of IHoi»lnvestigations. They are gratified that they can state that, after long, patient, and careful investigation, they have found nothing in tho administration of the Navy Department that justifies any censure of Mr Mallory. , Mr. Mallory assumed tho oflioe of Secretary of the Navy at the beginning of the Provis ional Government, aud organized its Navy De partment. It then had n i navy, no vessels of war, and, indeed, not a vessel of any kind There were but two navy yards .in tire Confed erate States, aud hut Htle ship timber in them. Wo had hut a small number of shipwrights, or ol persons possessing the skill or handicraft necessary to the construction of vessels ot war. We had but few seamen, anil no commercial school for training seamen. We were especially deficient in lire machinery for propelling steam vessels, aud iit the means lor its construction. We had nut the iron, the iron works, the loundries or rolling mils, the work shops or the skilled workmen, essential to the comple tion of formidable skips ol war. But seven steam war vesse's had beeu built iu the States now forming the Confederacy since tlie war of lsl‘2. Engines for but two of these were contracted for in these States, the heavy lor sings of which were necessarily cdetracted for elsewhere. The entire machinery for such vess-ls had not beeu constructed in these states. Our means and resources for building i uavv were so small and iuconsiderab e, com pared with'the naval power aud resources of 'he enemy, that many patriotic .men doubted lire wisdom of an .attempt to construct a navy. While our means of building hulls, engines ind machinery, aud of equipping and manning efficient ships’of war were thus limited, the im mediate and hourly demauds upon ail the work shops of the country lor ordnance aud ordnance -tores reduced them sldj more. Thus the shops at Norfolk Nav y yard, after they -came under the control of the’ Secrets»y of the Navy, were laigeh engaged in the manufacture of gun carriages, shot, shell. «Xe., for the army, and in mounting and supplying guns. We have had to labor under the most unto ward and i mb ir. assiug circumstances. Men had U>eu employed as ship wrights, who had never served an apprenticeship, or built'a vessel, or even worked on one, be,cause skill aud ej*)*)- rience could not be commanded. All the labor ot materials requisite to complete and equip a war vessel could not be commanded at any one point of the Confederacy; but the machinery for propelling it, or some part of it, or the ord nance or orduanoe stores, had to be transport ed to the rations and distant poiuts where the hulls were being built. Thus in the construc tion of the Mississippi at New Orleans. the la- K>i. skill and resources of different parts ot the Conledcracv were necessarily invoked: her iron was rolled at Atlanta, portions of her machine ry and equipments were made at Norfolk, while ihe main sbatt*and ordnance and ordnance stores were ituule at lUchmoud. : In order to sheath the hulls of gunboats, we have been obliged to use such scrap irqp. old and rejecte l sugar mills, and other discarded ! ii on as could l>e gathered up; and to propel the a have been constrained to use the engines and boilers of dilapidated steamboats. Hence 1 it has h ipitched that some of our gunboats have ’ proven Inefficient because of their machinery i | and sheathing. Besides tne deficiencies and difficulties, we j have been obstructed in our operations by the | invasions cf the enemy, whereby we not onlv ! tost our navy yards anil much of their machine- I ry and ship timber, but were compelled to de- 1 stroy gunboats quite completeil, and steum boats whose mactiinery might have served us, to prevent them from iking captured bv the enemy. Hence the destruction of the Virginia, l.ouisinnia, Mississippi. o tthe vessels in Laks ponchartrain. Bayou St. John, the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers and elsewhere.) But had we been able to command all the workshops and material, artizaus and seamen, j requisite to construct a navy equal in size to that of our enemy, still we should have begun j the war upon t’hj most unequal terms. The euemv bad a powerful navy to in-gin with; we hti none laider the l". 6. Government the Southern Stutc* have made great aud generous ! sacrifices to promote the maiitime interest of | iha North, while the great reeouice* of naval wealth and [rower were ignored; aud wLeu we entered u|>on our struggle for independence, wo fonud ourselves confronted and, our waters in vaded by a powerful nary which had. with our . aid, been fostered ted developed lor over s^ty AUGUSTA, GA„ WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH 2, 1864. yenrs, and which, in addition tosurdler vessels, readily converted to war uses, from a great commercial marine—comprised 37 steamships, minv cf them the mi»t foamidable on the oeeau, and." 57 sailing vessels, with an aggregate of j 3,178 gjins, all under the guidance of naval j men and seamen whose professional attainments i and nautical ekiil were unsurpassed. The ene | mv’s vast naval resources, great commercial school for seamen, numerous artisans and vast j workshops, enab ed him to augment this fornii- ! dablo foiee with a rapidity uneqtwled in naval j history ; while the naval resources of the world j were also opened to him. It would have re- J 1 uired many years, even under the most fivor- j able circumstances, for us to have built and ) equipjied a-many and stt.’h vessels us the ene my began the war with. The committee make these observations, not merely in justice to the Secretary of the Navy, hut to correct the public judgment, which has bt-eri founded, at least in part, upon ail exagger ated estimation of our means, or undeserved dis estimation of the Secretary, or of naval officers, or of contractors with the Department. 'The testimony does not furnish any sufficient grounds lor imputing the shortcomings, failures and dis asters ol our Navy to the Secretary. On the contrary, it shows that lie has been vigilant, in dustrious and energetic in employing the means withinhis power to purchase and to build a navy. Due ot Ins first acts, after entering upon his duties, was to call the attention of Congress to the rapid and radical changes in naval warfare which had taken place within a few years, in displacing the “wooden walls” that had been relied on for attack or defence, with gigantic iron-clada. He early took means for construct ing an iron-clad navy. An oiSeer was sent throughout the Confederate States to examine and'report the mean# of manufacturing and pre paring iron armor ami heavy machinery. Oth ers were sent to the United Ntates, to Canada and Europe, to purchase or build suitable vessels for immediate use. The building of armored vessels was began in the hope of compensating byAheir individual strength for our great inferi- ority to the enemy in tlie number of war vessels and of seamen and marines. The time, labor ami material necessary to construct a single heavy armored may be judged of from the following example: The Merrimac, one of the ships sunk and partially destroyed by the enemy on abandoning Norfolk, was raised, and although the main point of the hu[l and the boilers and material parts ot tho machinery were uninjured, *ight months of uninterrupted labor of as many workmen as could advantageously be employed, aided by the workshops of Richmond, were, necessary to get her ia fighting condition as an iron-dad. Work upon her, under orders of the Nfivv Department, was commenced on the 1 tth of July, 1861, and she fought the memor able battle of Hampton Roads —a battle which at oncorevolutionized naval warfare—on the Bth of March, of 1863, before she was entirely com pleted. And yet Constructor Porter says, “the yard at Norfolk was. worked up to its fullest capacity. Everything was properly organized, ami the officers were constantly on tlie spot di recting operations and pushing forward the work. Tlie Secretary of the N'avv in order to stimulate operations, offered inducements by way of additional pay or rewards to work after .lark and on Sundays. In short, he offered every encouragement that was calculated to excite them to more zeal and energy.” By letters and by telegrams he urged the oncers of the navy at New Orleans and other important points to spare neither men nor money, and to work day and night in completing gunboats, preparing ordnance stores and getting ready to attack or to meet the enefcry. The credit of the Navy Department at Now Orleans was impaired for a short time for the want of money to pay lire em ployees; but this is not imputable lo Mr. Mallo ry. His requisitions were made upon the Treas ury in due time to have supplied adjust demands against the Department. Tire causes of this tinancial embarrassment are explained in the correspondence between himself and the Secre tary of tho Treasury, which is embodied in tho testimony. It does not appear by tire testimony that work on any vessel, or for the navy, at any time or place, was delayed or suspended by the default ol the Secretary of the Navy. He has ordered courts of inquiry in every instance whqrf there was probable cause for attributing qur de feat or disaster to the defu-iency’or delinquency of an officer of the navy. IJe has invited con tracts for building gunboats wherever they could Ik- soonest and best built, and most advantage ously employed His contracts scene to have been judicious and to have been properly enforc ed. Contractors have in some cases failed to complete rheir work within the time stipulated; whereby tire expectations' of the Secretary have been disappointed arid his plans defeated. But, on inquiry, it has been shown that they failed to comply with their engagements in consequence of unforeseen causes beyond their control, and not through any infidelity or want of diligence. Inasmuch as there has been much misrepre sentations and crimination of lire Secretary of the Navy, and of the Messrs. Tift, because of their failure to complete and to save the Miss issippi, it is hut sheer justice to say that these gentlemen are not related by blood or marriage, in any degree, to Mr. Mallory; that they under took to construct their vessel without pecuniary reward, and prosecuted the work on it with rare industry and energy and with extraordinary dis patch ; that their loyalty, patriotism and integ rity are unquestionable, and that neither they nor the Necretarw-are censurable tor the incom pleteness of that vessel when the enemy reach ed New Orleans, or for its destruction. ’ Their operations were delayed from a want of iron, which the Navy Department could not possibly supply as fast as it w r as demanded. In deed, neither th<‘ Government nor the people have been able to meet and satisfy the great de mands of the army and navy for iron. The ?>'a vv Depatment lias, far a long time past, employ ed agents in many parts of the country to gather scrap iron in cities and on plantations, to relieve, in some measure, its necessities. 'The reports of the Secretary of the Navy have not been published, from motives of sound policy, and hence ihe operations of tliat department are not generally known. It is not deemed proper now to publish all the facts which should be presented, in order to a full knowledge and just appreciation of the management of the Navy Department. But it is not improper to state that the Department lias erected a powder mill, which supplies all the powder required by our navy; two engine boilers and machine shops and five ordnance work shops. It has established eighteen yards for building war v ,-ssels, and a rope—walk, making all cordage, from a rope yarn to a nine inch cable, and capable of turning out 8,000 per month. Os vessels not iron-clad, the Department has purchased and otherwise acquired and con verted to war vessels .... 41 Has built and completed as war vessels - 12 Has partially constructed and destroyed to save from the enemy - - - - 10 And has now under construction - - 9 Os iron-clad vessels it has completed and has now in commission - - - - 12 Has completed and destroyed or lost by cap ture - 4 Has in progress of construction, and in va rious stages of forwardness - - -20 It has, also, one iron-clad floating battery pre- I rented to the Confederate States by the ladies of j Georgia, and one iron-clad ram, partially com pitted and turned over to the Confederacy by ! the State of Alabama. Taking into consideration the poverty ot our means, and the formidable naval power and boundless- resource of our enemy at the begin ning of this war, our people have no sufficient cause for shame or discouragement in the opera tions of our navy* NV hat has been, anu is being done, to resist tiie enemy on the waters ot our rivers and the sea. should inspire confidence and excite strong hope that our navy will yet prove efficient and worthy ally of our noble armies in achieving our independence. It has already won ! the admiration ami applause of neutral nations j for its gallant and glorious achievement. And if ! we should succeed in getting into service the war vessels completed and iu progress of con struction, the committee believe that our naval triumphs will yet rival the heroic and brilliant achievements of our land forces. Since the last session of Congress one of the members of this committee on the part of the Senate, Hon. K. L. Y. Peyton, has died ; and as the testimony haJ been taken before his death, it was not deemed necessary or proper to ask the appointment of another Senator lo fill hu place. This will explain why’ tiiis report is signed by 1 only four Senators. E. Bakksdack, Jamks Lvoxs. Reserving my judgment upon much of the general course of reasoning adopted in this re port, I desire to empress my full concurrence in the conclusion arrived at favorable to the Score- ! taryoftlu* Navy. Wm. \V Boycs, On the part of the House. C. O. Clay, Jr., f’h’n, * Ttios J. Skxixies, A E Maxwkll, James Phelan. On the part of the Senate. * Note—Some of the committee think that the Mississippi was lost by want of energy and diligence ol officers of the \o \ y at New Orleans. COXFEOKft 4TE STATES ( ONGRESB. •SENATE— FEU. 16. A motion was entered to reconsider the vote rejecting the bill relative to the exchange, etc., o.' Trans .Mississippi troops. The Committee of the Judiciary, reported ■ liack the House bill to authorize the" payment of mileage and salary to members of the Second Congress of the Confederate Stales. The Jhill was considered and passed. 't he same committee reported back, adverse ly, a bill in relation to trading with the enemy; a bill authorising the District Courts to award a writ of mandamus, in certaiit cases; and-a House bill (o facilitate the payment of deceased soldiers’ claims. Mr. Hill, in regard to the latter bill, said the present law on the mbject was more simpleund efficient than that proposed, and if its provis ions were observed and carried out, the settle inent of claims would be more expeditious. The said bills were placed upon the calendar. IMPBFSMENT OF MEAT. The Committee of the Judiciary, reported back the House bill to authorize the impress m -nt of meat under certain circumstances. The bill was considered and passed. The House joint resolutions of thanks to the Surry Light Artillery, McGown’s Brigade 8. C. Vols , Peedee Artillery, and Poague's Artillery batt.allion, were feveraly considered and unani mously concurred in. The House joint resolution declaring that the provisions of the act increasing.the compensa tion of certain civil officers and employees in Richmond should apply to detailed clerks was concurred in. The Senate bill to authorize the creditors of the Covetnment to receive their dues in 8 per cent, bonds ; and the Senate bid for the relief of Captain \\ r . W. Payne, of Ga, were severally taken up and indefinitely postponed. The Committee on Finance, reported a bill in relation to the qualification of State colec tors, which was considered and passed. It pro vides that said collectors may bo within the conscript ape. . . The bill heretofore introduced to repeal fhj act authoiiz.ng the President to confer tempo rary rank and command for sen ici with vol unteer troops on officers of the Confederate ar mv was next taken up. Pending its consider ation the Senate went into secret session. HOUSE. A joint resolution of thanks to the 37 th North Carolina Regiment, re enlisting for the war, was unanimously adopted. A ievolution explanatory of the act approved Apiil 21th, 1803. to lay taxes for the common defence, »f - c. The resolution construes the act to except from taxation the salaries of detailed soldiers for clerical duty, and was adopted. A motion was entered to reconsider tire bill passed Monday, to increase the compensation of .route agents of the Post Office Department. A resolution was submitted to instruct the Committee oil Military Affairs to report a bill to increase the pay of non-commissioned officers aud privates of the army. Lost. The Speaker laid before the House the Senate amendments to the Appropriation bill, Mr. Jones, ofTenn., said he was instructed by the Committee of Ways and Means to move to 'strike out the first amendment, anti substitute $20,000,000 in lieu of $10,000,000, for the pur chase of cotton, tobacco, naval stores, army, navy and other supplies tor the rise of the Gov ernment. The amendment was agreed to. Mr. Barksdale, of Miss , called up the unfin ished business, which was the bill supplemen tary to I lie several ucts in relation to the pub lic 'printing, a substitute for the bill previously reported. ~ The bill as amended was passed. The bill provides that thirty per cent, shall be paid on the actual cost of type setting, press work, binding find ruling, tbo certificate oi two disinterested practical printers to accompany each bid, and the paper to be furnished by the Superintendent of Public Bruiting. All con tracts for printing must be approved by the Attorney General. On motion, the House then went into seerbt session to reeeive-the report of the .Conference Committee on the Currency. Senate, Eer. 17. The following were passed : House bill to authorize the establishment of auxiliary bu reaux of tire War Department west of the Mis sissippi ; House bill to repeal act authorizing the organization of bands of partisan rangers ; House bill to authorize the promotion of offi cers. non-commissioned officers and privates for distinguished skill and valor ; joint resolu tion of thanks to Gen. Longstreet and men; thanks to Gen. Forrest and command ; thanks to Gen. J. E. B. Stuart and command", House bill to increase compensation of route agents and special agents of the Post office Depart ment ; r esolution ■ explanatory of tax act 6f April 24th ISG3 ; to establish two bureax west of the Mississippi iu connection with the agency of the lieasury. Tire special committee appointed to examine into the administration of the Navy Depart ment, submitted a report which was, on mo tion, laid on the table and ordered to be prin ted. house, — feb- 16. Nigdt Session. —The Speaker laid before the House a number of Executive communications, which were laid on the table and unbred to be printed. Senate bill relating to the appointment ot general? and lieutenant-general, was taken tip \ and passed. The Ho -.se having re considered the bill to in crease the pay of route and special agents ot the Postoffice Department, the bill was amended by stiining out route agents, and again passed. A joint resolution of thanks to the thirty ninth Mississippi regiment, for noble sentiments proclaimed at a meeting of tho commaud, and for re-enlisting fbr the war, was passed unani mously. _ , The" House concurred ia the Senate amend ment to the bill fixing the compensation lor the publication of the acts of Congress. Senate l ill concerning the volunteer navy was taken up aud passed. * Senate bill to attach the county of Noxubee, in the State of Mississippi, to the Southern ju dicial division of said State, was taken up and passed. . The Committee on Military Affairs, reported back a Senate bill to provide for retiring offi cers of the army, and it was taken up and con sidered. HOUSE —FEB. 17. A joint i ablution was adopted, recommend ing Friday. April Bth, as a day of fasting, hu miliatten'and prayer. . . Various resolutions of thanks tore-enlisting troops were passed. The joint Select Committw to investigate the management of the Navy Department, made a report, which was laid on the table and ordered printed. A minority report ot the same sub ject was also laid "on the taole and ordered printed. The President’s veto of the bill to provide a veteran soldiers' home, was called up, and on taking the vote whether it should not be pass ed over the veto, the House refused to pass the bill—veas 20. nays 39. The Special Committee appomted for that purpose presented an address to the people of ‘he country, which was read. A resolution was adopted that forty thousand copies be printed ior distribution. H was ordered that the ad dress be signed by all the members of the two Houses of Congress." . , j , . The Special Committee appointed to investi gate* the recent outrages of the enemy in North eastern North Carolina, submitted a report, which gives an outline of the tacts proved by evidence, of banging and burning, the arrest aud cruel treatment of ladies and delenceless cifisens, but recommended uo action. The r«- I P ort anJ evidence were laid on the table uud I ordered printed. lhe following Senate bills were passed, A bill to provide for retir ng oftieeis of the army; ; to amend an art to provide and organize engi neer troaps to serve during the war ; to pro vide tobacco for the'army; to create the office of Ensign in ihe armv of the Confederate States. | Tlio following were also passed ; A bill sup j plementaiy to the general appropriation bill; to punish drunkness in the army ; to amend the tax law ot the present session ; to provide for the more disciplaiue and subordination of the cavalry service ; to piovide for the compensa tion ol non- commissioned officers and soldiers f on delailed seiviee. • | . Senate hill to amend the several acts in re t gaid to military omirts, and tocreav courts for divis ons of cavalry, was taken up and passed ; but the vote was subsequently te-considered, and the bill laid upon the table. The House refused to coucur in the Senate amendment to the bill iucieasiug the pay of official age’.its of the Post office Department to twenty dollars per day. The secoud amend ment of the Seqate, lequiriug that the agent shall be over forty-live *ears of age, was con curred in. SKNA'E. — FEU. 18. The Committee of Conference on the dis agreeing voters of the two If uses on the bill to establish a bureau ol foreign supplies, presen ted a report, which was concurred in. Mr. Henry, of T’enu., (Mr. Orr in the submitted the following resolution, which was unanimously agreed to : Resolved, 1 hat the thauks of .the Senate are hereby tendered to tlie Hon. R. M. Hunter, President protein, for the dignity, impartiality, and ability with which he has presided over the deliberations of tlie Senate dining the present session. Mr. Maxwell submitted the following resolu tion, which was agreed to ; Resolved, 'That a committee be appointed to join such committee as may be appointed on the part of the House of Representatives, to wait on the President of the Confederate States and notify him that unless he may have further eomiimn cations to make, the two Houses hav ing completed Urn business before them, ure ready to close the present sesskrtt by an ad journment. The Chair appointed Messrs. Maxwell, Hill and Henry as the Committee on the part of the Senate 't he President pro tem, who was temporarily absent, having returned to the Senate chamber and„ resumed the Chair, Mr. Orr announced to him tlie unanimous adoption of the complmeu tary resolution introduced by Mr. Henry. A message from tlie House of Representa tives was received, communicating orticial in formation of the death ot Hon. M. R. 11. Gar nett, of Va; and a copy t>f the resolutions adopted by the'- House of Representatives, of which deceased was a member. Eulogistic resolutions were adopted, and ap propriate addresses made. Mr. Hill, from tho jdint comm'ttee to wait upon the President, etc., reported that the committee had discharged that duty, and the President lequestfd them to say that lie had no further conitnunica-ion to submit. He ten dered to Congress the assurances of bis high consideration, and expressed the hope that by the next meeting, we should find the country relieved of the troubles which now environ us. He wished the members a safe return to their homes. The Chair (Mr. Orr), then rose and said : The hour having arrived for tlie termination of tlie present session of Congress, tlie Chair announ ces that the Senate stands adjourned sine die. HOUSE. Resolutions of thanks to re enlisting troops were adopted. The Committee on Accounts presented a re portshowing the expenses of the House during the session to he $58,617, of which SPOB,OO were authorized during the last session to he paid oht of the fund of tire present session. The Committee of Military Affairs, reported a resolution to correct the record of the War Department in relation to the numerical desig nation of the tub Kentucky regiment, which was adop erl. The same committee reported hack favorably tha S--nate hill to establish a bureau of Poly technics, which was placed on tire calendar. The-death of the Hon. M. It. H. Garnet, late .Representative from the Ist Congressional Dis trict of Virginia, was form illy announced aud appropriate resolutions adopted. The Conference Committee in relation to the disagreement ot the House to the Senate bill to estai lish a Bureau of Foreign Supplies, made a report, which was agreed to. A message was received from the President, through his Private Secretary, announcing his approval of various bills anil resolutions. A message was received from the Senate an nouncing that a committee on the part of that body had been appointed to wait on the Presi dent and announce that, having completed the bus'ness before them, they were ready to ad- journ. On motion a similar committee was appoint ed on the part of the House. Mr. Lyons, from the committee appointed to wait on the President, repotted that the Com mittee had discharged the duty imposed upon them, and were requested by the President to state that he had no further communication to make to the House; to return his thanks to the members, and wished each one a safe journey to their respective homes; and to express the hope that before the assembling of the next Congress the country would he relieved from the difficulties with which it is now contend ing. The speaker, after delivering an eloquent and address, declared the House adjourned nine die. Difficuity between tub United States and France.- Washington letter writers say that difficulties between the United States and France are brewing. A dispatch to the New York World of Jan, 21, reads thus : It is rumored in high official circles here that we are upon the eve ol a war with France, ow ing to the singular diplomacy of Mr. Seward touching the questions glowing out of the build ing oi Confederate ruins in France. It will be remembered that Mr. Seward as-limed a very bold tone towards the English Government al ter lie discovered that the British Cabinet had determined to detain L ord's rams and keep the peace with this country. His high-sounding dispatches were all written after the change of policy in the Kuglish Cabinet was definitely un derstood. Emboldened by his bloodless victo ries on paper, it is undei stood here that he as sumed a simii vr tone towards the French Gov ernment, touching the Florida aud the escaped steamer Kappuhauuock 1 and also with regard to the rams which were known to be building in France for tire rebel Government. His po sition was so incautiously belligerent that he has received a reply from Drottyte de Lbuys which has put the Administration in a cruel predica ment. r lhe United States must either abandon its pretensions or go to war to maintain them, this, it is stated, is the only iutrepretatiou which can be put on ihe reply of the French minister. Hence the panic in the gold market, the call for live hundred thousand men, and Ihe orders which have been sent to various naval stations to fit out the iron-clads instanter. Another telegraphic dispatch in regard to the sitme subject says : It is now alleged that the trouble between France and the United States relates iu some way to the special embassy which Mr. Win. M. Evarts hud been sent on to lliat country. After his services in the ram dispute in England, it is known that he was instructed to demand of France ihe surrender ol the belligerent rights it accorded to the Southern rebels. Whether tiie demand, for whatever course of action, was based in a too peremptory tone, or whatever may be tiie trouble, it is certain that there is some serious difficulty with the French Cabinet, so mu' li so as to alarm all save Mr. Seward himself. Under an act of the late session of the Ala bama Legislature, Gov. Walts has determined to issue two million five handled thousand dol lars in State Treasury notes ot large denomina tions. These notes are to aid in paying appro priations of the General Assembly. They will he ready for delivery in the course of a mouth or six weeks. The notes are required, by the act, to be signed by the Comptroller and State Treasurer. Ihe act leaves it optional with the State to fund them in five per cent. fitate bv“4»* VOL. LXXVIIL —ISEW SERIES VOL. XXViIL ML REPORT Os the Comm Utter on Schedule of Prices, for Au gusta. Mr. Editou : A large number of tho Commit tee appointed by a Public Meeting of the citi zens of tiiis county assembled on the 6!h day of tho present month, and to whom the duty was assigned of agreeing upon aud publishing "a schedule of fairly remunerative prices” for “ar ticles suited to army subsistence.” beg leave to report through me that they have proceeded to discharge that duty according to" the best of their ability, and recommend the followiug scale of prices for ail supplies furnished to the Government : Bacon, last year’s, Uneivh'ble) per lb. $2 75 Bacon, new, “ •_> jp Pork, tfc.t, <• “ j go Pork, gross, “ “ i io Beef, nett, •• “ r,o oa iop Crnm. “ per bush 650 Wheat, “ “ £0 00 Peas, <• “ 7 op Dats, <■ “ 4 50 Fodder, “ per 100 lb 650 Shucks, “ “ . 400 Flour, “ perbbl 110 a1 25 Corn meal, “ per bush ti 50 Potatoes, sweet, “ “ 4 00' Lard, “ per lb 2 75 Sugar, brown, “ “ 3 00a 400 Salt, domestic, “ 45c a 50 Ch. Sag. cane syrup “ pergal 500a 800 Hay, . “ per 100 lb 6 50° Leather, upper “ * per lb 600 “ sole, “ “ 5 00 “ harness, “ J‘ 500 Lumber, merchantable*, pr 1000 ft. 80 00 The Committee have' instructed me to say that these prices chiefly, have been adjusted witii the aid of information received, as to re cent sales by holders of such articles to officers of Government, in our city; but that the sched ule should be considered as subject to revision when the currency shall be materially affected by the recent act of Congress, say after the Ist of April next. lam also instructed to remind our fellow citizens that the prominent object of this effort is to render unnecessary, if possible, the action of impressing officers among ns; and that if our recommendations be accepted in the right spirit, we have reasonable assurance that there will no longer be employment for these officers in this community. E. Starnes, Chairman. A Spirited Proclamation. —Gov. Watts, ot Alabama, lias issued the.annexed sperited proc lamation to the people of that State : Fellow Citizens of Alabama—Our foes have commenced the attack on the water defence of Mobile ; their army said to be thirty thousand strong, has marched across the State of Missis sippi, and on the Western border of Alabama, confronted by Gen. Polk, threatens to invade the State. General Polk needs the support which brave hearts and.stout arms can give. Your property, your firesides, your wives and children are in danger, unless this army of our hated foe lsrepulserl. Are you willing, tumely to submit to tire boastful pride of our enemy ? If you have the spirit which always glows in thehe*rtsof freemen, you will not hesitate; you will show by yonr acts, that freemen know-- how to die, and not to falter, in defence of their homes and hberties. Ido not ask yon to incur dangers, I am not willing to share with you. I ask you to come promptly ; come will-* ingly. I will go with you to tire battle field and there await the fate no brave man fears.' Alabama must, Alabama shall be defended. All of the county reserves who are willing to share in tho glory of defending the State will report themselves without delay, to the commandant of the second class militia < f each county. The commandant of the second clas3 militia in each county, will, without tlelay, call together his command. All who will vol unteer, may organize themselves into compa nies, battalions and. regiments. 'Those who will not volunteer in ten days after notice, will be ordered into camp, with all their arms and equipments, ready to obey the orders from the Adjutant Genmal ot the State. Gen. Joel Riggs. All volunteer organizations will be received at Selma by Col W. M. Smith, one of my Aids, and arms an-1 ammunition will he furnished. Atrocities in North Alabama— An office from north Alabama gives the annexed account of some of the atrocities of the Federal* iu that section: About twenty five Yankees, headed by one Ben Harris, a tory from Madisou county, crossed the Tennessee river into Beech Island, a tid cap lured Benjamin Raden, an old man, his son, his nephew James Raden and bis son, and an otlrermau whose name is forgotton—all piivate citizens—and shot them, killing four dead*, and threw them into the liver, three of whoso bodies were afterwaids found. The fifth caught hold of some bushes, when Harris ordered them to cut iris head off with their sabres, but could not reach him; he then ordered them to knock his brains out with a fence rail, and failing in this, they fired two guns, and he dropped his head in the water as if dead, aud the fiends, supposing him dead departed. The same crowd- went to the house of Madison Richie, the conscripting officer, and took him out of his bed and drove hint in front of them some t*o or throe miles to Paint Rock river, anil made him wade in about midway aud shot him, putting seven halls through his body. These were unoffending citizens, Benjamin Raden was an old man, sixly- three years old. They hung an overseer —who had summarily taken the oath of Lincoln—his sole offence con sisting in assisting his employer to get his stock act oss the river. They put a notice on the tree that it would be death for any one to take his body down. They went to P. Rollins, formerly a Captain in (Jol. Hele’s regiment, who had resigned in consequence of ill health, and robbed him of several thousand dollars—giving him ten min utes to cross the 'Tennessee river, and threaten ing to hang him and leavehim hanging till the buzzards should pick liis eyes out, if he evxrr returned. They have issued an order for all to take the oath, or leave their lines. Yankee Enlistments in England. —The New York Times has a l«>ng editorial article head ed “ Rebel Enlistments in England,” in. which it complains that vessels have not only been built for tiie “rebels” by English workmen and with English, money, but that they have been manned by English crews, recruited in England by “ rebel” agents. Os this' United States Minister Adams complained to Earl Russell, who retorted with the charge that ihe Northern Government had been guilty of re cruiting on British soil. This Adams promptly denied. He. declared that no authority had •been given by tne United States to listen to any proposals to enter its service, or to make any engagement. He had no reason to believe that any American citizen, in England, clothed with authority, had ventured to act in any oth er way. The denial may f»; correct as far asi£ goes. The thing no doubt has been done se cretly and clandestinely, as might have been expected while Lincoln is'President and Seward prime minister in the States of the Noith. This denial by Mr. Adams was 'followed by the following letter from Earl Russell, winch the Times characterizes as- very extraordi nary.’’ Although nearly a year old, it has but t ecentlv come out: . Foreion Office, April, 20, 1803. Sir.;—With regard to tha complaints which . yon have made, from time to timer, of'Britisb sailors who have entered the Confederate ser vice, I have to remark thaft no steps have hith erto been taken by the United States authorities to prevent British subjects Irom entering the military or naval serviae of the United States. Mr. Seward has. ou tiie contrary, justified tn measures used, provided there were 001,1 ry or intimidation, tc» induce British sane - enter the Federal service. . , (h You will readily -perceive the just!ice of request lam abbufc to make, nacu J, vj r ifcish fore you repeat your comp lamte that sa lors have entered tie semce of the stwca ed Confederate States, you will fuinlsti ar e with proofs tbafall British subjects serving m the Federal army rmd navy have been discharg and that orders have been given not to eu bator engage such person* to serve in arms contrary to the tenor of Her Majesty’s proda- the honor to be, with the highest con sideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant. Rcssell. To Charles Franc® Adams, Esq. Several cajjes of tfiy final 1 pOX haru OCCUriqd' in Richmond. FROM \OUTU GEORGIA. SPECIAL COnStSSPONDEXCE CHRONICLE A SENTINEL Position of Affairs — Sherman's Mmements j Thoughts on the limes—Sinedl pax at A'-nxr j thus— Weather, etc. Dalton. Feb. lib Since yie departure of Gens. Breckinridge and Morgan, the trout ba.-> collapsed into a state of universal quietude. Everything is calm. No news. No exc'teraent of any kind. Grant it is conceded will make no move in our front til! Sherman shall have fulfilled bis work—the capture of Mobile —or bis glorio is repulse. The latter alternative it is hoped will be the end of the audacious attempt lo penetrate so far into tlie Interior. Yet it is somewhat feared that the very audacity of the movement, may superinduce irresolution and bring about a partial success ot the plaus of the enemy. The great fault ot tho Southern temperament is contempt of danger, am} an under estimate of both the strength and chivalry of their foe. It is a fault which leads naturally to negligence in pieparing for the future, inactivity in making up the details of a campaign. Too great reli ance is placed in natural courage, former suc cess, patxiotisin &c., without the proper ener gy. Before the end and! this war every human being must do their whole duty. It is a com mon conviction that if every man and woman in the Confederacy would do his or her whole duty, the war would be very soon ended, and that it is dereliction of duty that protracts it. If every straggler, if every soldier in the ranks would stand square up toewhat tlie times demand ; if every officer woul IjlaitlifuUy dis charge the duties resting upon him, il every planter would work to feed the army and the Buffering families of our soldiery ; if every merchant would cease to extort ; it every civilian not legitimately out of service, would go the ranks ; if every mother, sister and wife would work in her sphere for the cause, and use licr influence to encourage and impel all within her acquaintance to their duty, •it would present a spirit of determination which would convince the Lincoln glynasty that sub jugation was an impossibility. The moral spectacle presented by so unani mous and earnest an effort for the greatest boon that an oppressed people could seek, would make cravens of a foe who dare to invade the dominions of such a heroic people. Nothing later from Knoxville except that the mortality of the enemy from small pox is on the increase. The weather this morning is bitter cold witii appearance of snow, Ice an inch thick was made last night. N. CONFED RATE PRISONERS IN InNONVJI.I.E. The following extract honl a correspondent in the Atlanta Register will give our readers some idea of tho treatment Confederate Prisoners received in Knoxville : Confederate prisoners in Knoxville are shamefully, barbarously treated. No fires were kinkled in the prison cells and wards during the bitter cold weather of January and February. Gen Carter when advised of the fact, by one of our ladies, condemned such bar barity, but the superintendent of the prison, one Lieut Kbaw, an Ohio shoo milker, was utterly devoid of all human sympathy. Pro visions were scarce; broad was made of wheat brail, and hardly enough of that to allay the pangs of hunger. There was a better supply ol bacon, but the prisoners had no*fires to cook it. Their rations were necessarily sent to, fam ilies to be cooked. But for the generosity and kindness of true .Southern women every prison er would have perished by hunger .and cold. Many died for want of food and fuel. They had no blankets; of these they were deprived when first taken prisoners. Forty blankets were taken from as many of our men when they were captured because they were marked “U. S.” At first the ladies were freely permit ted to visit our. soldiers in prison: finally the pi ivelege was denied them and the prisoners received nothing except what passed through Shaw’s hands. During the intensely cold wheather many of our soldiers suffered with pneumonia, aud many died without ever having seen a physician. Alter the ladies were denied the privlege of visiting the tail, nothing was known of occurrences within its walls. Ilow many died from neglect, cold, and hunger, can never be known. One man was found frozen to death in prison. Inhuman Treatment. —Rev. Isaac Lewis, a Methodist minister who for forty years has been a preacher of the Gospel in Knoxville, died in that city lately# During his last hours he was subjected to the moat inhuman treatment by a Federal soldier. The following is from a letter describing the affair : The evening before he died the privacy of bib quiet bed-room was invaded by tire lude knock of the Yankee soldiery at iris door. One of them, when the door was opened,! mini red with an oath “if that old rebel spy was,not dead yet the house is wanted for a hospital.” lie was told to come and see for himself. He entered, and nothing awed by the presence of Mrs. Lew is and her daughters standing in tears around the hen, lit* rudely came forward and felt the ex tremities of the dying man, and for three hours remained by his bedside impatient to see him draw his last breath. Death soon came to re lieve him from this unwelcome intrusion. In words scarcely audible to bis indignant aud deeply bereaved family, ho calmly whispered, “Bit still—say uothidg to him—l will soon be beyond their power and their malice—where the wicked cease from troubling— and tire weary are at rest. ” So died another martyr to the Southern cause. For tiiree months he had suffered Horn Yankee tyranny and insolence. The city where his long life had been spent was under a seige, in want of fuel and subsistence. His sods were in the camp or the field, and his wife and daughters soon to he turned out of home upon the cold charities of strangers and enemies. Under these influences he sickened — under'these savage circumstances he died. Suffering of Confederate Prisoners.— The Chicago Times in remarking on the late cold weather at the North speaks thus of the suffer ings of the Confederate prisoners confined neai that city: Ihe suffering and tortures endured by the Confedeiate prisoners was beyond the power of pen to portray. Unaccustomed to the North ern climate and coin lake and prairie winds, their light Southern garb was a poor protec tion against the ordinary temperature of the elements. But with the winds maddened into fury, the air filled witk freezing snow, they suffered as no people ever suffered before.— I Through the crevices of their thin board bar racks, the wind whistles as if in very mockery, bringing the snow in such quantities as to cp er the floor and beds upon which, they ' sleep. So desperate was the.r cond.t.on that they were compelled to sleep by f( j re _ viding off into squads of tour, ‘ •.t, thebf vn- Ure to their cold berths covering ‘he bkm kets of the four, while tbe,oth ■ p eaoh did fire. Thusmturns of tto braye the these poor n ’ o, ‘ als “ ® ’ ca3C s, the snow had. ingo f thastom. JnmuyM the blankets of frequently to lheir ingenuity, they the sleepers. _ WHim all d numbers of them could not keep expos ure of this dreadful v ,11 suff-r f om tbo T(J ad(l to the hor . fiton "/thMr sirindion. many of them were rick and the wailing wind and searching cold added fresh terrois to their sufferings. The Impendin'*. Revolutions.— The New I ork Nows the organ of tiie Wood Democracy, speaking of the usurpations of the Lincoln ad ministration, says: ...... Is it probable that the people will entrust power t« snch maaiacs again? No! It would he shackling themselves with a wors *. torment than even the old naan of the sea was to Sin bad. This Administration has been a heavy burden to can-y, but, like Siubad. the people have botne with it quietly, if not patiently, un til the opportunity has come to throw it oil. It has been Bterally made drunk with P° wor ’ and the people must seize the moment, at the next eleciion, when its grip relaxes, to fling on the i tcubaa," and stand once more bafore the world as freemen. Then, is ewery indication that this wiJl be done. U the peop»«* ** alone, a revolution of opinion will effect * • U is Attempted to overage and coerce.the®, then another kind revaUßion is the only nUenwtive. FOBKIUN ITKMS ! A pair of shears, weighing twenty four tons, Ilia.; been built at Birmingham, England, for the Russian Government, lo be used in a large iron works in the neighborhood of St. Petetsbnrg. It lias a power of pressure equal to 1,000 tons, and can cut to pieces a bar of cold imnjialf a foot square. The blades are of cast steel, and they me operated on by hydrostatic pressure. These shears are said to possess double the power of any setSierctofore constructed. The Scotsman says Hint the number of steam ers that have ‘eft tire Clyde since the blockade of the Confederate poits was commenced is up wards of sixty, and their purchase price amounts in the aggregate to 41700,000. in many cays vess.els were sold at half more than their orig inal cost. On the Whole they have paid their owners very well, some of them being a sour< o of great profit to all concerned. The remains of a gigantic animal of thp bear species lias been dug out of a land slip near Talbot, in New South Wales. The animal, when alive, must have been ten feet in length, four and a half feet high, and must probably have weighed over a ton. The richest individual in England is the Mar quis ot Westminster, whose daily income is es timated at $5004. The Rothschilds, four of them, are the rich est house in Europj. Their income is estima ted at $9,000,000 per year, or SIOOO an hour. The Liverpool Post says that the great topic of the East India press is, of course the Ala bama, her late manoeuvres and probable future tactics occupyiu > much of their space. The American flag, however, is fast disappearing, ships taking shelter under that of l’eru, Prus sia and Portugal. Risks in American bottoms ure point blank refused by Eastern insurance offices, and by this mail only one gship is re ported loading under the American flag. Mean while the cause of all this consternation is qui etly cruising in the Straits ol Sunda, patiently wai ting for coming prizes. The Paris correspondent of the Herald states that the recent debates in the French Legisla- • ture have excited the revolutionary element to a degree unknown for several years past, and that a small spark would easily produce u po(>- ular explosior. The Great Eastern has been sold at auction for 130,000 pounds. The cold weather of January was terrible in Europe. In parts of England the ice was nine inches thick out lie Ist of January. The Dublin Statue to Goldsmith has been in augurated by Lord Carlisle. The following loans are now ill the European markets seeking capital : Russia. 200.000,OOOf; Spain, 75,000,0001'.; Italy, 200,000,000f. ; Swe den, 181,500,000f. ; |Denmark, 30.500,000f. ; Prussia, 52,500,000f.; Greece, 200,000f.; Ger man Diet, 42,500,000f.; and Austria, 250,000,- 000. The Federal Rjj Grande Expedition.—Let ter writers to lhe New Yoik papers do not think much of the success of Banks’ Rio Giande Ex- • pedition. They are of the opinion that he has. accomplished nothing—that's all. The New Orleans correspondent of tlie New York World comments thus ; Yotr must abandon any great expectations from the Rio Grande expedition. It has accom plished all it can do as against the rebellion, and, until the arrival of troops at Matamoras, nothing new will occur in that region. After some little time, a France Mexican force will appear iu tho rear- of Matamoras, and all the interior of tire Stale of Tamatilipos will declare for the intervention. Matamoras may hold out for months; but the towns up Die river will go tor trade arid intervention with Texas, and the wagons and carts will take the direction of Tampico or Sotoda Marina, under convoy, if necessary. The bus'ness then done will be al together in neutral soil and under neutral (fags; safer than any ever yet done at Brownsville; nearly as expeditious, and iu these times of ex pense, about as profitable. If you talk of send ing troops up the river to prevent it, you will please them hugely, because you put yourself on a par with the rebels in difficulty as to sup plies and distance from the base of operations. Take it all in all, we have won an elephant in the Rio Grande. What the “Old Flag’’ is. —Bill Thompson, the notorious bushwhacker : n East Tennessee, was captured lately fry our troops, and execu ted upon the spot, The Yankees have a high opinion of the love these bushwhackers have for “tire old ling.” From a paragraph iu the Bristol Gazette we take the following descrip tion of the “old flag" that Thompson was fight ing for : 1113 house and premises jvere searched, and vast quantities of stolen goods were found se creted in boxes around the house. These box. es were filled with china and glassware, bed clothes and wearing apparel, and the boxes were concealed under brush heaps and old logs, &e., some distance from the house. Fargo quanti- ties of leather were found, bearing different marks, as il it had been taken from several tan neries, and in an unfinished state. Many arti cles were identified by the owners and taken away. It appeared, on investigation, that this monstrous development of Unionism in the per son of Thompson has been reduced to a regu lar and organized.form of robbery; for all tho witnesses- Tories and Southern men—concurred in the statement that he nud his gang of rob bers bad only robbed the he rises aud tanneries of decided and avowed Southern men. Judging from the acts of most of the Federal leaders we think all of them are fighting for tho same “old flag'’ Thompson was. An Exciting Navat.Chase.— The Baris corres pondent of the London Times, under date o Jan 12 gives the annexed acccount of an ex citing naval chase which took place off tho coast of France ; An exciting chase took place a few days sineo off the port ot Brest in consequence of the commander ,of the Federal corvette Kearsago mistaking the French war steamer Renaudin for the Confederate steamer Florida. The Kearsage was cruising off Ushant, watching for the Florida, having received orders to attack the Confederate steamer ou her quitting Breast. The ItenamU.i, whh i. “*y r i„-.J-. was going out to sea. and was passing groise when the Captain of the Kearsage gav e chase. French navil authorities, and proved to them Smt the Captain of the American steamer may that tne cap k hj j H( j velg ary in Irencli water "‘of which he is not well acquainted with the boundaries. The Port Admiral of Brest has consequent ly given orders that the steamship of-the-line Wagram shall watch the movements ot the two shins and prevent them from engaging ia French water*. The Florida, moreover, is not yet ready for sea. She made a trial tr.poa Jan Gtb, and steamed as lar as Oonquet. Iho trial was most satisfactory, and the log gave a speed of thirteen knots an hour, even with tho goulet —The Confederate corvette Rappahan nock Is still in the port of Calais, undergoing repairs. Yankee Cultivation cf Cotton.— -The Abo litionists are not entirely satisfied with their at tempts at cotton culture. A Government Su perintendent of a fine “confiscated” estate on Port Royal Island, in writing of his prospects. Sa> lt is mv duty to correct a statement made in my last letter, which would be sure to mis lead, and which, at the time, the letter was written, I had every reason to believe correct. I there stated that the Government would, in all probability, realize 7000 pounds ginned cotton fro in the cotton fields on my twef plantations, comprising forty seven acres. There will he nothing over 1,000 paunds ginned cotton. There are three reasons for l Ins entire lack of manure, the lands being much worn ; late iil inted'cotton on account of poor seed, mak ingVplanting to a great extent necessary, and the* fact that on one my plantations, cou tainin- thirty-two acres cotton, the hands were aknosfall rice plan ers, being broad people from the Santee a year ago last July-the cot ton plant being of such a delicate nature that it requires experienced hands to culture it ! ...pH. I must say from certain know edge that the best cotton crops on this Island will tb * i soar average about 500 pounds seed cotton to j lu acre, which is a trifle lew than half a crop