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About Weekly constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 185?-1877 | View Entire Issue (July 12, 1871)
THE WEEKLY 00H8TITUTI0NALI8 T WEDNESDAY MOKNINO JULY 12, 1871 POLITICAL WIHK WOHKEBS OF THE WI TH. These gentlemen, “and their name is egion," are beginning to busy themselves with electing, on paper, the next President. It is In questionable taste for Southern men to be volunteering their services in this mat ter. Especially is it in bad taste for them thus early to show a disposition to force their preference, or what may be the pre Terence of this, the minority section upon the people of the North. The real pre ferences of the South cannot be expressed at all in any national convention author ised to act on the subject; for to express them would be to ensure defeat. There is no real heartfelt affection In the South for any of the possible candidates named, for they are all outside of the Confederate lines. There were three brave, f«rless men in the North—peace Democrats —whose record had endeared them to South ern heart, and for whom some enthusiasm mlgh* have been enkindled had they lived, and either of them been put forward by their section as the Democratic standard- bearer in opposition to Gen. Grant. These are cx-Prestdent thRUCK— ex-Gov. Thomas Seymour, of Connecticut, and Vallandig iiam, of Ohio. The two former would have been out of the question, because they were Peace Democrats, had the Northern Demo crats no other objection. The last lived long enough to abate, by his New Depart ure Platform, somewhat of his claims on' Southern admiration. Ills proposition was not simply a waiver of discussion, of dis puted rights, but a perpetual surrender. They were, however, all high-toned men— true to their convictions of constitutional duty and fearless In their protests of the In- Justlc done the South, even when the war raged the fiercest. Bat they have gone to their long ac count, and no leading man is left in the ranks of the Northern Democracy who, like them, could kindle the affections of the Southern heart. It is then a mere question of expediency at the South who shall be the nominee.— The affections of the South are all with tjielr Southern leaders. These are all out side the pale of possible candidacy. But expediency obviously suggests that the Northern Democracy best know who will best take with the Northern constituency. They understand the situation better than Sou<hern men can. It is therefore at least in questionable taste, as already said, fur Southern political wire workers to posh forward into the lead In this matter. It would be unwise for them to busy them selves with the platform or the candidate. What would really suit the South would be wholly, unacceptable to the Northern Democrats, li by any fatuity accepted, overwhelming defeat would be the result. Even tlie presence of Southern delegates in a National Convention to nominate, we consider of very douhtful policy. Bat In opposition to these views, active movements are on foot to thrust this dis cussion upon the Southern people. In the New Orleans Picayune of the 25th ult. appears a carefully prepared exposition by Col. Blanton Duncan in favor of Gen Hancock. It Is in the shape of a letter to ex-Gov. Baker, of Louisiana. This letter was sent to us In print in advance of Its publication, In the hope that it would be Inserted In these columns. It was doubt ' less so sent to most of the principal South- ern papers. s’ We are strongly of opinion that Gen. Hancock would be more apt to enrry Penn sylvania than any other man available to the Democratic party. And it is clear that If Pennsylvania goes Democratic, the success of the party in the general result is almost certain. As goes Pennsylvania, so goes the United States, is an old saying, and it has always proved true. Bat this is a matter In which the politi clnns of the North, and especially of Penn sylvania, are the best Judges, and they do not want suggestions from a Kentnckv or Louisiana politician. Any proffered as siatance of that kind will do more harm than good. It Is not an occasion for Louis iana, or any other State, to assume the role of leading off. It is Impossible for a South ern State to have any very frantic enthu siasm for a Northern war Democrat, and especially a Northern Democratic General, who contributed Ills full share to crush out the South; nor for a platform of principles on which such a candidate can comfbrtably stand. It will be sufficient If we take them, when offered to us, as we take many measures of reconstruction since the war, as the best we can get. * But there are always restless and ambi tious men, South as well as North, who like to be amoug the earliest worshippers of the rising sun, and who hope to be re membered at the proper time, if they should be so fortunate as to name the winning man. How the Laws ark Executed —At a late term of the Circuit Court of Ouachita county, Hon. Geo. W. McCown pre- ding ! Judge, Indictments were found against the' rrg sirars of the county for corrupt prac- j tice ut the late election. Over three hundred names were stricken from the list of regis- ’ tered voters after the registration had boon cl user I. Last week court convened lu this county, when the prosecuting nttorney, pro I fen, Mr. M. D. Kent of Washington, nolle ' proud the cases, against the solemn pro ! list of tlie members of the bar. Had the caaes been prosecuted as it wts the duty of’ the H’aU-'s attorney, every one of the regis 1 trar# would have been sent to the penltcn tltrv Ibe evidence was overwhelming t"*’ •fiPhJU'i-’rat l >u .j the manner .» wU*Vi the aos ofuUHt*’. ; ,f oaecnt- U s*»- fra*. •<m - , ,y a*#*C iif nkl io. BOX tot o* us MUU* limk. A At ****•• • S ss an ;giom the Atlanta OonsUtution. » Dobbins vs. Gaskill. Card from Jlr. Dobbins. Atlanta, June 27,1871. Editor Constitution : As there is some excitement growing out of the fact of the grand jury of this county, at the late term of the Superior Court, undertaking to in vestigate the acts of Col. Foster Blodgett., late Superintendent of the Western and Atlantic Hallroad. and V. A. Gaskdi, Esq., touching a claim I Held against said rail road, I have thought It my duty to give the facts In the case to the public. The nature and amount of this claim is correctly stated in an account made hy Col. A. B. Culberson, my attorney in the case, and published by Col. Blodgett ib his card of the 24th instant, amounting to |10,848 00. I agreed to settle the claim on 'he basis of the actual loss sustained, with interest. Mr. Culberson and myself ex amined the amount of cotton destroyed, and the damages otherwise sustained, anl found that they amounted to the above amount, viz: $10,848 06, Including Inter est. For that amount I agreed to take Foster Blodgett's Superintendent note at 60 daya for $7,000, which note was dated, I think, on the 7th of November, 1870, and was paid to me by Mr. Gaskill in his check on J. H. James, on tlie 9th of January last. This note for $7,000 is all the note I ever saw or heard of until I was summoned to the grand jurv room to testily in the case, when, instead of the $7,000 note, 1 saw one for $15,548 06, signed by Foster Blodgett, Superintendent, payable to me or bearer. As regards Mr. Gaskill being my attorney, I never considered him assneh. If so. why the necessity of giving him a special power to sign my name to a receipt to obtain a warrant founded on a note held by me on Foster Blodgett, Superintendent, given me in settlement of my claim ag&lnstthe West ern and Atlantic Railroad? I? regard to my promising Mr. Qaakili ail he conld get out of the claim over $7,000,1 may or may not have done so. My memory in that particular does not serve me ; but if I did, why did not Mr Gaskill inform me what he did get? Instead of doing so, he has kept me entirely in ignorance. So far as my knowledge went I never knew he had received one cent above the $7,000 he had paid me on the 9th of January last. My understanding was that 1 was compromis ing a claim against the State with Mr. Gas kill as agent of the Wtate, and not with Mr. Gaskill as an individual or as my attorney. How could I compromise a claim with my own attorney. He made no charge on me for services, nor hud he any promise of pay. I did say to him If the State was disposed to pay him anything I thought they could well afford to do so, as the claim was set tled at a very low rate, viz : $7,000. • M. G. Dobbins. The above statcm-it of Col. Dobbins is correct in its leading features. I was the counsel of Col. Dobbins. I never recognized Col. Gaskill as counsel of my client. On the contrary, I negotiated with him as counsel for the State Rond, and when he agreed to the settlement on the basis of Col. Dobbins’, and Ids counsel receiving $7,000, and Col. Gaskill said. lie must have counsel fees, my reply was, “7 have no objection to that " Gaskill having said in the communication that when he went into Col Blodgett’s office he reserved the right to practice his profession in ad dition to the salary he was receiving as Secretary of the Superintendent. A. B. Culberson. [Corrcnpondence of the Courier-Journal Indiana Ku Klux. Salem - , June 24. Our town Is in a blaze of excitement this morning, occasioned by the arrest of four men, named John Richardson, Joseph Richardson, Peter Wolf and Henry Shep pard, charged with attempting to hang Jesse Trneblood. Some two weeks ago the barn of Ira Richardson, two miles west of this place, was bnrned, and was un doubtedly the work of Incendiaries. Sus picion, from some cause which I am not able to give, attached to Jeasc Trneblood, Dave Butterfield, and another man, whose name I have not learned. Last night (Fri day), about 9:20 o’clock, the Richardson boys (sons of Ira), assisted by Wolf and Sheppard, caught Trucblood, and, after knocking him dowD, tied a rope around ills neck and swung him np to a tree, threatening to take his life unless lie told who burned the barn. Trneblood, it he knew, refused to divulge anything, and, after considerable rough treatment, he was turned loose, after being admonished to say nothing of what had happened If he valued liis life. Immediately on being re leased, he came to town and made an affi davit against the parties, all of whom were arrested about daylight this morning, at the residence of Ira Richardson. The per petrators of this outrage wore masks or h id their faces blackened, and how True blood will be nble to identify them I an un able to tell. They will have a hearing be fore Justice MeGrindley, and in all proba bility be recognized to appear at the next term of the Circuit Court. X. The Now York city directory for 1871-73 has made its appearance It contains 1,260 pages of names and 63 of ml-cel lam ons information. The names number 200, 953, against 204,617 last year, which is a decrease of 8,864. Brooklyn gives an in crease for the present year of 8,700 names, the total being 94.304. Adding New York and Brooklyn we have the following: New York, 200,953 names; Brooklyn, 94,304 names ; total for both cities, 295.357 names The New York papers offer do explana tion of the fact that the number of house holders in the metropolis has actually de ceased, while the population dolag business and having its legal “ residence" there has i increased. It is plain that the Journals of that city do not Intend to make the disad vantageous fact conspicnons throughout the country. A variety of causes undoubt edly combine to produce the effect noted, but it may be fairly suspected that no one of these has been more potential than the heavy taxation, falling upon a high if not Inflated valuation, which attends the hold- I ing of residence property in that city. ] It was'a matter of speculation in the minds of some people what took the l’resi ) dent back to Washington in such a hurry ■ last week. A correspondent who has set ; tied the matter says it was not in the in terest of tlie Government, but to see about ! his horses! He inquired about them, and | had all tlie veterinary surgeons In the Dis ' trict of Columbia at his side before he even | attended to the smallest official rcquirc ' ment. A« for the Cabinet meeting which | was said to have taken place, the Chicago i Timet say*: “If the Cabinet were only a 1 "Übv.and a President need only be a ho*- ! '.hr, we *h mid the 1, *t Cabinet oft)- o ut tkt lag " ’ia t i U f * 'kit Will - ,» ' kin. u * *p> a i..h i. -it ii. ~ i *!«, !(,„ i,, . > (U*t of list U >’ from the Onfflc Middle (Korgien. Indian Springs. There are a few historical facta concern ing this popular resort for invalids as well as pleasure-seekers, that may be new to some whilst they are familiar to many. For the benefit of those "Vtiwitt-e ignorant of these facts we briefly refer to them. From what the name, Indian Spring?, is derived, we know not, but suppose that, as the place was frequented by the aborig ines, and was the headaua’-ters of Mcln tosh, the Chief of the Crest tribe, and was the scene of important negotiations between the white and the red man, it was so called. It la said that the first white man that saw the spring was named Douglas Wat son. He, acting as a spy. visited the place about the year 1818. When he near ed the spring he became alarmed at the scent of burnt gunpowder, which greeted his olfactory nerves, and In his fright came very near abandoning not c dyhis scheme, bot the country. After? Allying all the courage that his pride cc lid summons he ventured, however, to re lain, and before leaving the action he bo) 1y ran the risk of taking a look at the th' Jg itself. He was prevailed upon to taste of its waters, but no—that which seemed to emanate from the very regions of brimstone, was not made for him to drink (in this world), so he returned to report tljat he “came” and be “ saw,” but he did not drink. A few years after our old friend Douglas made his discovery, the whites began to settle the place, and in the year 1825 a treaty wa> made, in winch the then Chief of the Creek tribe, ceded to the whites all that territory lying between the Ocmulgee and Chattahoochee rivers. The authorities treating with Mclntosh allowed him to reserve for his own use and benefit one thousand acres of land; in the centre of which was the Spring. This reserve was afterwards bought from Mclntosh by the State, and then surveyed off in two acre lots and sold at public outcry. The house in which the treaty was sign ed was bnilt by Mclntosh, and stands to day at Indian Springs, occupied by Mrs. Varner, and used as a hotel. The Indians, knowing that negotiations relating to their country were under con sideration at the time, assembled in thou sands near Mclntosh’s house, awaiting the result. When it was announced that Mc- Intosh had ceded away the territory be tween the Ocmulgee and Chattahoochee, they deemed it an outrage. One of their number, a young warrior uniriendly in his feelings to Mclntosh, took this occasion to appeal to the passions of the tribe, and to create a feeling of enmity against Mcln tosh. So soon as the result of the negotia tions was announced, this young warrior advanced to a large oval-shaped rock in front of the house, and, taking his stand upon It, began his harangue to the mul titude. The rock stands to-day in front of Mrs. Varner’s hotel. The citizens of the place object to its removal because of the incident that it seems planted there to commemorate. The gesticulations of this orator indicated that he advised vengeance, and Mclntosh should be the victim to pay the penalty. Upon the conclusion of this speech, the Indians dispersed to seek camp ing grounds further west. A few months after this treaty, Mcln tosh, in company with his son Chilly, visited a place which he owned on the Chattahoochee, and while there thepeualty was paid. His house was attacked by his own tribe, broken into, and he was killed. His son Chilly escaped by jumping out of a window and swimming the ChaiX^ioochee. SITUATION of .the town. The surface of country in which the town of Indian Spmpgs is im mediately located, is undulatnig and in some places rugged. A descent in the bed of the big Sandy Creek lends, to a small extent, an attraction to the scenery of the place. Indeed, by some, St would be con sidered picturesque. On one side of this creek are huge stones—some of which are symmetrical in*form and ponderous size. Just at the point where the descent in the stream commences, a bridge crosses It, the road leading down from the town. THE SPRING. There you find, not a gushing, bubbling, spring, curbed with marble and decorated with choicest shells: but yon find a large, black rock, which in size, as well as color and general appearauce, resembles very ninch an extra large elephant. At the base of this rock is-nes a stream about the size of a ladies’ little finger, which trickles down and fills a cavity in the rock, the capacity of which is the whole amount of a pint and a half without exaggeration. The crevice through which this water passes, as well as the small basin that holds it. is lined with a yellowish-white coat, which Is the sediment, of the miners 1 properties of the water. This spring, though small, is sufficiently large to accommodate the de mands of as many “as will likely visit it in qnest. of health. One Is not apt to become so fond of the water as to prefer it to our free stone •well?. We therefore conclude that it will not be drank dry for some time to come, but on the coutrary, will be the sceneofinnch festivity, and that its effi cacious waters* will prove beneficial to the inn lids of the present and future genera tions. When tlie Griffin and Madison Railroad is complete and in running order, “ the Hprings ” will, by reason of its free access, lie frequented by greater numbers than has been the custom. Asa tows for trade, in ducements can he offered that at present are impracticable. Its population will at once increase in nn nliers and property will corresponding ly advance in price. We expect to see the day when our friend Johnson’s term will become a by-word, aud Indian Springs will be called the “ Saratoga of the South.” Dog Team Traveling. — An lowa team is thus described by the Tipton Advcr tiecr: • A Mr. Loomis arrived at Tipton last week, by a rather novel conveyance, a team of dogs. Mr. Loomis’ house is in Nauvoo, 111., whence he came by dog express, with : a circuitous route through Ills own State, making‘he trip of about 240 miles. This : lie accomplished in thirteen days, thus i making an average of eighteen and nine teen miles a day. His dogs are Newfound lands, both less than a year old, and are harnessed to a small skeleton wagon and i driven by lines attached to leather inozzles. Mr. Loomis was so unfortnuate as to re ceive n spin al injury when a l»oy, that i makes him wholly unable to walk, and almost entirely helpless, but, once in his wagon, he manages hla team easily, until wishing them unharnessed and taken care iof He say* that neither cats, rabbits nor strange dogs along the road can tempt h's canine horses to for a moment forget their i duty ; but that deep inud “ gets ” them. In traveling, he waters them very often, and , once or twee in each half day stops and riei* them, unbanns* <<o«* at » time for a ■ w ti.n un-. iibeity, ~iUi which U nomre <*ut, n.tr- making In py" - r» “b Em 1 [From the Baltimore Gazette. Decision of an Interesting and Im portant Case. The cases of the State of Maryland vs. Madison J. Marcos, of'Augusta, Georgia, indicted on the charge of obtaining goods on false pretences in Baltimore last fall, were decided yesterday in the Criminal Court, his Honor Judge Gilmor sitting as judge and jury, the prisoner having elected to hwe his trial beiore the court. The trial occupied an entire week, having been began on the 22d instant, and attracted very general interest throughout the com munity, more especially among the mercan tile classes, bix indictments were found against the accused, one of which was based on charges preferred by Messrs. M. L. Starns & Cos., wholesale clothiers, from whom there was obtained merchandise val ued at $-1,300, being the largest bill bought by Mr. Marcns. The other indictments were on charges of Messrs. Hurst & Cos. dry goods dealers ; Messrs! Baker, Bruff & Cos., wholesale dry goods dealers; Messrs. Wiesenfeld & 'Co., wholesale clothiers, and two indictments on similar charges by Messrs. Hecht & Put zell, boot, shoe and hat dealers. The amount bought by the accused from these several houses aggregated about $7,000. Mr. Marcus was arrested in Augusta last Sep tember upon a requisition from Gov. Bowie, end|brought on and lodged in jail in this city. In a week or two thereafter his counsel, Col. J. Fairfax McLaughlin, procured his release, Hon. John Merry man, Gustav Ober, Esq, Col. B. M. Johnson and Solomon Marcus, Esq., appearing as bail for the ac cused in the penalty of $15,500. The various indictments, by agreement among counsel, were tried together, and the test case was that of Messrs. Straus & Cos., the evidence developed in this being supported principally by that brought out by the witnesses for the same house, and for those of Messrs. Baker, Bruff & Cos., and Messrs. Hecht & Putzell. The prosecution abandoned the other indictments, the testi mony not going to prove the cases for the State. The specifications alleged against Mr. Marcus were embraced under four heads, viz: First, that he represented his business in Augusta as a cash one, and that it reached $35,000 to $30,000 a year; second, that he represented his stock on hand at the time of his purchases at about $8,000; third, that he represented himself as free from debt, and lourth, that he repre sented himself as owning $2,000 in real es tate in Elberton, Ga. To these several statements the indictments plead negative averments, and issue was joined. The arguments of counsel extended over three days, and at their conclusion, on yes terday, Judge Gilmor summed up the en tire evidence and law of the case in a very full and interesting manner, and laid it down as a well settled principle of law that the actual condition, the financial ability, and the solvency in connection with the representations of the acc used at the time the purchases were made, constituted the gravamen of the case, and that in order to make it out on the part of the State the representations of the accused must be proved to have been false, and the goods obtained by means of them; the scienter of fraudulent intent be proved, and the insol vency of the traverser be established. In the case in question it was proved by va rious witnesses, among others by the clerk of the accused, that hi3 business was sub stantially as great as he represented it to be; that his stock was worth SB,OOO, and evidence of a legal title in Mr. Marcus to property worth $2,000 in Elberton, Geor gia, had actually been produced in court. In regard to the representation made by the traverser that he was free from debt, his Honor held that the prosecution had en tirely failed to produce evidence of the ex istence of any liabilities against him. His actual condition tunc, when he bonghtthe goods could only be considered by the Court. Judge Gilmor made numerous citations of authorities to fortify his decis ion, and concluded by ordering a verdict of not guilty to be entered in the case.— The accused was accordingly discharged. The State was represented by A. Leo Knott, E=q., State’s Attorney, Col. Charles Marshall and Milton Whitney. Esq.; the accused by Judge Linton Stephens, of Sparta, Georgia, Richard J. Gettings, Esq., Col. J. Fairfax McLaughlin, M. A. Mullin, Esq , and Malcolm Johnson, Esq. The trial was conducted with eminent ability on both sides, Messrs. Marshall and Knott participating in the argument for the pro secution, and Messrs. Sittings, McLaugh li.n and Stephens for the defense. The last, a brother of Alexander H. Stephens, dis played, in a marked degree, many of the distinguishing talents of liis kinsman. A Speck o? War v The Little Hook Upon which Eng land and Germany Threaten to “Split.” A correspondent of the Pall Mall Ornette gives to that journal the following inter esting account of the little Island which Germany is now trying to recover from England: 1 see the Heligoland question has turn ed up again, and a few words of descrip tion may not be without interest to vonr readers, for there is no place like it on the f.ce of the earth. It ts a red Bill, rising straight ont of the waters, with a sand bank on one side. < a the sand and part of the wav up the hill, is a town, or rather village. It was inhabited in former times by sailors and wreckers, but they have de generated into lodging house keepers.— Heligoland is the Gargate of Hamburg. Thither stream the citizens of that rich city to gamble at rouge et-nor (at least they did when 1 was there), and to enjoy the sea bathing. “There is a regular season in the sum mer months, and sometimes many passen gers that are brought in the steamer are obliged to sleep on board, and to go back again—the island being full. Every house probably takes in lodgers; but then there are not very many houses. The bathers resort to a "neighboring sand bank, a cis island, which the Governor, it will be re membered, some time ago stocked with rabbits, which began eating up the grass j that held the sand bank together, so that i the Heligolanders became furious and ■ talked of shaking off the English yoke.— ! However, the rabbits were ail shot and the l islanders were pacified, and nothing more [ was said about their old Frisian constitu tion. “Their language is German, but they detest that nation more even than they do i ourselves. They are not Euglish, though ; they are English subjects; they are not i German, though they speak German. They are Heligolanders, the noblest of created j beings ; all foreigners are 1 skit,’ which, in t their homely dialect, means dirt. The top of the island hill Is flat, ami, as well as I t can remember, about the size of the Green I Park. There la a well known story of a [ man from the far West—and therefore sc ! rnstomed to aee land only on a large scale who paid a visit to England When - Corea. Origin of the Trouble Between Our Government and that Country. Five years ago the American ship Gen. Sherman went ashore on the Corean coast, the crew were captured and horribly treat ed and tortured, some being put in cages and carried around and exhibited to the natives. One of the men escaped, and reaching an American man-of-war detailed these atrocities. Admiral Bell, then in command of the Asiatic squadron, sent the United States steamer Shenandoah to the Corean coast to inquire into the mat ter and demand redress. The Coreans fired on the Shenandoah from shore bat teries, and as her commander had no or ders to return fire he left, and reported the matter to Admiral Bell. Here the matter rested nntil Admiral Rowan, in the Dela ware, took command. He left the country with orders to settle up the Formosa and Corean difficulties. When he got on the station he found that the Formosa matter had been settled, and before proceeding against the Coreans the Navy Department sent word for him to await further or ders. No further orders were given, and when Admiral John Rogers sailed in the Colorado it was understood that he had full authority to demand redress from tiie Corean Government, and if it was refused, to go lor them to the best of his ability. With this in view he carried in the hold of the Colorado a battery of field pieces, a battery of Gatling guns, and other means of carrying “ the war into Africa.,” having fall powers in the matter. As the initial step taken by Admiral Rodgers has excited considerable interest throughout the country, it may not be out of place to say a few words about the country which our navy has undertaken to teach the ways of civilization. Corea is a kingdom on the east coast of Asia, northeast of China. Area about 90.000 square miles; population from 10,000,000 to 12,000,000. It comprises a peninsula ' 400 miles long and 150 broad, the island adjacent and a part of the neighboring con tinent. The total length of the country from north to south is somewhat less than 600 miles, between latitude 33 deg. 20 min. and 43 deg. north. The coast is rugged and barren, and the northern portion cold and mountainous, but in the western part the climate is more genial and the soil more fertile. The government is despotic, and though tributary to China and Japan, the freedom of it - action is uncontrolled.— The army of Corea is estimated at 640,000 men, and the navy has 300 vessels (war junks), carrying from 10 to 20 gnns each, old 20 and 30-poundcrs. The political or ganization is similar to that of China.— The King unites in his peison temporal and spiritual authority. The archipelago of Corea is a group of small islands in the Yellow Sea, on the west' coast of the peninsula of Corea. The Islands are chiefly of granite, some of them rising to the height of 2,000 feet above the sea. The navigation in Corean waters is both difficult and dangerous, and compara tively little is known of the channels. Con siderable anxiety is felt to hear from Ad miral Rodgers, as it was fully expected he would make another attack upon the Co reans next day after the date of his last dis patch. It is the opinion of competent naval officers here that the combined force of European government now East is not sufficient to meet and punish the aggres sive spirit exhibited by the Coreans. It is stated that the action of Admiral Rodgers in his attack upon the Coreans is the subject of diplomatic correspondence between the ministers of leading European Governments and the United States. [from the Columbus Sun. The North and South Railroad. Rome Subscribes sl2s,ooo—Proposi tions to Bnlld. The following telegram from Senator John T. Burns explains itself: “Rome, Ga., June 29,1871. “W. A. McDougald : Council unanimous ly appropriated one hundred thousand dol lars to the North and South Railroad. The subscription will be submitted to the people on July Bth. John T. Burns.” Prtvate letters state that private sub scriptions have already been made to the extent of $25,000, making $125,000 from that city. The Rome Commercial, which rame yes terday, in reporting a meeting which oc curred at Rome on the night of the 28th, says: Maj. Burns, who spoke ex cathedra, said that the road would certainly be built. Messrs. Lane & Cos., with an able engineer, CcH. Hszlehurst, would contract to have the ; road bniitin eighteen months, and trains plying between" Rome and Columbus in. seven hours within two years. Ist. If the corporators would raise $500,- 060 in money by the 10th of July. 2d. If the corporators would adopt the three foot gauge. 3d. If they would permit the commencing of the work at both ends of the road at once. 4th. If no person or corporation be al lowed to take a controlling amount of stock in the road. They also propose to take one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the stock in this road. This money has been, or will have been, raised ltefore the 10th of July, and the road will be commenced from Columbus at that time. Wall street brokers have agreed to cash the bonds of the road at ninety cents on the dollar if the three foot gauge is adopted, and sixty cents if the broad gauge is chosen. Circumstantial Evidence —How a Mail Robber was Detected.— The old saying, “ Murder will out,” is so frequently exemplified that it has almost become lite rally true. With some potency, after the recital of a recent incident, we may remark that “robbery will ont.” In August last, an estimable yoneg lady, a resident of San Francisco, died. During the following Oc tober, a lock of the deceased’s hair, together with two rings, were placed in a registered letter and dispatched towards the East.— Daring the mail robbery on the 22d of that I month, the letter in question was opened i and one of the rings appropriated. When ! Postal Agent Barstow took possession of ’ the debris in the mail car, he found the ! lock of hair, one ring, and several pieces of J the letter. After considerable trouble, he Inansged to decipher the name of the party forwarding the letter, and that of the party ! for whom it was Intended. The writer of the letter—a lady—furnished him with a , minute description of the missing ring, i mentioning that its principal feature con sisted of a heart crossed by two clasped 1 hand*. This clue was furnished to the de tectives, and through tta aid they captured : ime of the leading spirits in the robbery I But for the ring, which lie had devoted to the tub it unrf of Ids own rlurn*y land, , he might have craped ill<«r*tl»rd l!" hv. I taken up Ma n stdeuce at the Neva la Hut. Prh“<" The rfr ; was returned to »*« owner ' [‘Un Frannsso Built**, lUA I Sunken Iron-Clads. Carious Things Seen toy Divers, The Charleston Neves, in giving an ac count of the work of wreckers in Charles ton harbor, says that the iron-clad Housa tonic lies in thirty-six feet of water, just over the bar, sixteen miles from the city. She rests on a hard shell bottom, and lies northwest and southeast, upright on her keel. The water out here is beautifully blue and clear, and the divers prosecute their work with less difficulty than at the Weehawken. Her decks, masts and rig ging have all been eaten by the worms, and little else is now left of her but the huge black bull. Her propeller, shaft, chains and anchor, and a large portion of her machinery have been hoisted from her by the machine, and also two of the small er guns composing her armament. The rest of them were taken up by the Govern ment several years ago. The Government has a buoy planted abont three hundred yards east-sontheast of this wreck, which enables the wreckers to gness pretty closely as to her whereabouts. To render the matter a certainty, however, Capt. Soames, when he leaves her to come up to the city, marks her position with a buoy fastened to the centre of her hull. About twenty feet south of the wreck of the doomed ship lies the hull of her destroyer, the Confederate torpedo boat. She has been visited by the Captain, who reports her to be lying bottom upwards, and seemingly in good preservation. There are no holes in her hull, and the wings of her diminutive propeller, now uppermost, seem to be in good running order. She did her work effectually. In the null on the port quarter of the huge ship is a hole large enough to drive a carriage and a pair of horses through. The heavy oaken ribs and thick planks are blown in with tre mendous power, and the Housatonic must have gone down with but little preparation. Her diminutive but dangerous foe met with a similar fate, and the two now rest in si lence, side by side, in the bottom of the sea. Under the waters the divers see curious things and make curious acquaintances. Near the surface of the water on his way down the diver sees sharks of enormous dimensions, which seem afraid of the cu rious monster thus intruding their domain. The sharks are never seen at the bottom ; they keep their distance ; but the small fry at the bottom are much more sociable.— These swim around the diver in the most indifferent manner, and, with a curiosity truly feminine, insert their noses in every orifice in his submarine armor. Their par ticular amusement is to pry into the glass eyes, and at times they are as troublesome as the musquitoes are to us landlubbers. All varieties and immense quantities of these small fish feed around on the shells, and their curiosity renders them easy vic tims to the insinuations of hook and bait. At night the phosphorescent sparks in the clear blue water ont at the Housatonic light up the depths in a wonderful manner, and the diver enjoys the illumination, though he has not much time for admiring the beauties of nature. He stays down six hours or less, as his work renders it neces sary. In rummaging about the ship, the Captain discovered several bottles of Rhine wine and ale. He also brought a globular brass lamp and several metal mountings from officers’ sword. The Captain has also in his possession a massive jaw bone. It is 1 vidently the lower maxillary of a man, but its size and the strength of the teeth are wonderful. t from the New York Sun. Swindling the Farmers. An Ingenious Mode of Obtaining a Man’s Signature—Elongating the Vlsagc-s of Long Island Agrlcnltu* ralists. On Saturday Henry O. Bedeli, a farmer of Hempstead, L. L, made an affidavit before Justice Cox, accusing Josiah Preston of forgery. Preston called at the carriage factory of Calvin Witty, at 638 Broadway, and bargained for a carriage, for which he agreed to pay $465. In part payment for the carriage Preston tendered two notes for $250 each, otfe purporting to have been made by Mr. Bedell, and the other by Mr. C 'melius Vau Nostrand, of Oyster Bay, L. I. Mr. Witty, before accepting the notes, wrote to Messrs. Bedell and Van Nostrand, inquiring whether the notes were genuine. In reply, both gentlemen said that the notes were not genuine, and that their signatures had been obtained by fraud. They also advised the arrest of Preston. Mr. Witty placed the matter in the hands of Captain Irving, and Detective Kelso, of the Central office, was detailed to work the case up. Having obtained sufficient evidence, the detective arrested Preston, and he was locked up in one of the cells of the Central offee until Saturday, when he was taken before Justice Cox and by him committed to answer, the manner in which these notes were obtained dis closes one of the most ingenious swindles ever practised on the public. An indivi dual professing to be the owner of a valuable patent right to a newly invented and improved seeding machine calls upon a responsible farmer, and after expatiat ing upon the merits of the invention, in duces the farmer to accept an agency for the sale of his machines. The following contract as between Mr. Bedell and Preston will illustrate the ingenious manner in which these sharpers manage to obtain the signatures es respon sible and well-known, although unsuspicious par' ies to a note for a large amount of money. Having induced the farmer to accept an agency, as specified in the accompanying note, and having obtained his signature, the rascal de puts. After having read the accompanying note carefully, one would sup pose it to be all right for $lO. Cut it in two between the words or and bearer, in the first line, and it will be found that the left hand piece is a perfect note for $250. The sharper then cuts off the right-hand por tion and proceeds to the nearest biokeror banker, to whom he offers to sell the note at a discount, 'on the plea of needing money. The signer Is generally a responsible person, well known to th* business men of the village, and the note Is readily purchased.— When the note falls due it is presented for col lee lion, and ae rii" signa pay #$W, when b" »«p* IrtNMJ h< wuly owed #lO. • Hemustkad, L. 1., April 15,1871. One year afterdate, I promise to pay to Josinh Preston or bearer Ten Dollar- l* t j order, Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars worth of seeding saarAnc* for value received, at ten per cent, per annum, said Ten Dollars. «• . -j» payable at Hempstead, L. I. HENRY O. BEDELL. Witness: John Doe.
