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ment to the Deficiency Bill, but
did not succeed. The Senate finally adjourned without action,--The House was not
in session.
On Saturday, 23d, the Senate
passed the bill providing for the payment of expenses incurred in suppressing
Indian hostilities in Washington and Oregon, and a similar one providing for the
expenses in Utah. The Post-route Bill and the Miscellaneous Appropriation Bill
were debated in the Senate. Among the amendments proposed to the latter was one
offered by Senator Dixon, of Connecticut, providing for the payment for marble
for the
Custom-house at Charleston, South Carolina. It was ruled out, however,
on a point of order.—In the House, the Tariff Bill occupied attention in
Committee of the Whole, and the first Senate amendment, reducing the proposed
$21,000,000 loan, was agreed to During the debate Mr. Garnett, of Virginia, made
an attack upon
General Scott, for the efforts he has made to preserve the peace
of the country. It was finally agreed that the House should meet on Monday at
10 o'clock, and continue the debate on the Tariff in Committee until I o'clock,
when the amendments should be reported to the House and acted upon finally.
On Monday, 25th, the Senate,
after the usual business of the morning hoar, passed to the consideration of Mr.
Colfax's bill providing for the discontinuance of the postal service in the
seceded States. Various substitutes were offered but were rejected, and the
bill, with some slight modification, finally passed, by a vote of 34 to 12. The
Senate then considered the Miscellaneous Appropriation Bill, and acted upon
amendments agreed upon in Committee. Senator Green, of Missouri, made an attempt
to tack on the Chiriqui amendment, but It failed, and the bill, after some
factious opposition, was passed,--In the House, according to agreement on
Saturday, the Senate's amendments to the Tariff Bill were disposed of. The
amendment fixing a duty upon tea and coffee was disagreed to. Before the whole
were finally acted upon a motion was made to adjourn, the object being to
prevent action on
Mr. Stanton's Volunteer Bill, which was subsequently to be
taken up. The attempt, however, failed, and the Senate's amendments to the
Tariff Bill were all agreed to except the one mentioned above. A Committee of
Conference was then ordered, and a similar one asked for on the part of the
Senate.
On Tuesday, 26th, the Senate
appointed a Committee of Conference on the tea and coffee amendments to the
Tariff Bill. The Post Route Bill was passed, and also bills organizing the
Territories of Colorado, Nevada, and Dacotah. The Consular and Diplomatic
Appropriation Bill was passed. The Army Appropriation Bill was discussed, and
reported to the Senate.—In the House, after the presentation of a number of
memorials relative to the troubles of the nation. the bill called the Force
Bill, authorizing the President to accept the services of volunteers to aid in
enforcing the laws, was taken up, and after considerable discussion Mr. Corwin
moved that its further consideration be postponed till Thursday next. The motion
was carried by a vote of 100 to 74. This action is said to be a virtual defeat
of the bill. The next business in order was the report of the Select Committee
of Thirty-three on the crisis. A scene of great confusion and excitement
ensued, which lasted till eight o'clock in the evening, the Democrats resorting
to all expedients to prevent a vote being taken, in which they were aided by the
conservative Republicans. The House finally adjourned without taking any action
on the report.
On Wednesday, 27th, in the
Senate, Senator Powell, of Kentucky, moved to postpone the regular order—the
Army Bill—and take up the Crittenden proposition, alleging as a reason that the
Peace Conference were unlikely to agree upon any plan which would satisfy the
country. His motion was disagreed to—27 to 16. The report of the Committee of
Conference on the Tariff Bill, recommending concurrence with the House in
striking out the duty on tea and coffee, was agreed to, and the bill only awaits
the signature of the President to become a law. The Army Bill was then
considered and passed—an amendment offered by Senator Hale, of New Hampshire,
proposing to reduce the salaries of officers, being rejected. A communication
from the President of the Peace Conference was received, announcing that the
Conference had agreed upon the proposition inclosed, and asking Congress to
submit it to the Legislatures of the States. On motion of Senator Crittenden it
was ordered to be printed and referred to a Select Committee, with instructions
to report at 10 o'clock on 28th.
Senator Mason, of Virginia, then moved an
executive session, and the motion prevailed.—In the House, the Select Committee
on the Abstracted Bonds were authorized to make inquiries as to whether
Wm. H.
Russell, or any person for him, has paid money to any person to assist him in
obtaining Government contracts. The report of the Special Committee of
Thirty-three was then considered. The first proposition voted upon was the one
providing for calling a National Convention, which was rejected—109 to 74. The
next proposition acted upon was that of Mr. Kellogg, of Illinois, which was also
rejected—158 to 33. It was explained, however, that the reason for voting this
proposition down was, that its adoption would have prevented any vote on the
Crittenden plan, as submitted by Mr. Clemens, of Virginia. The latter was next
in order, and suffered the same fate as the preceding ones. The vote stood 80
for to 113 against it. The question then recurred on the first resolution in the
series reported by Mr. Corwin—of which we give the substance below—and they were
adopted, 136 to 53. The House then took up the joint resolution reported by the
Committee, providing for an amendment of the Constitution, so as to prevent
legislation on the subject of
slavery outside the Slave States. This was
changed, on the motion of Mr. Corwin, so as to provide against any amendment of
the Constitution authorizing such legislation, and the resolution, so amended,
was rejected—the requisite two-thirds vote not being obtained.
On Thursday, 28th, in the Senate,
Senator Crittenden, from the Select Committee to whom the action of the Peace
Conference had been submitted, made a report recommending its adoption.
Senator
Seward submitted a substitute, providing for the submission of the
Constitutional amendment question to the Legislatures of the various States.
Senator Doolittle, of Wisconsin, offered a proviso to the first section of the
amendment proposed by the Conference, declaring against the right of any State
to secede. Finally the report, the amendments, and the joint resolution adopting
the report, were ordered to be printed and laid over. The Post-office Bill was
then considered. and an amendment proposed by Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts,
changing the Butterfield route, and providing for a daily mail by the Central
route to California and the Pony Express, was adopted. The recompense is to be
one million dollars. The Senate then went into Executive Session, and soon
afterward adjourned.--In the House, after the presentation of petitions, the
first business in order was the motion to reconsider the vote on Mr. Corwin's
proposed amendment to the Constitution, by which it was on Wednesday rejected.
Messrs. Kilgore, of Indiana, and Stanton, of Ohio, made strong appeals in favor
of a reconsideration, and the adoption of the resolution. The vote of Wednesday
was reconsidered—128 to 65. The question then recurred on the adoption of the
resolution, and it was adopted by the requisite two-thirds vote—133 to 65. The
Senate's amendments to Mr. Colfax's bill providing for the discontinuance of
the postal service in the
seceded States were agreed to, and the bill went to
the President for his signature. Mr. Morris, of Illinois, from the Committee on
the Abstracted Bonds, reported in favor of a Commission to make a settlement
with William H. Russell and others, but the report was disagreed to by a
decisive vote. The House then considered the Senate's amendments—forty-two in
number—to the Miscellaneous Appropriation Bill until the adjournment.
MR. CORWIN'S AMENDMENT.
The following is the resolution
of Mr. Corwin, as passed, after reconsideration, by the House, on Thursday,
February 28.
JOINT RESOLUTION TO AMEND THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE
UNITED STATES.
Be it Resolved, By the Senate and
House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
two-thirds of both Houses concurring, ''at the following article be proposed to
the Legislatures of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said Legislatures,
shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution,
viz. :
" That no amendment shall be made
to the Constitution
which will authorize or give
Congress power to abolish or interfere within any State with the domestic
institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or servitude by
the laws of said State."
THE PERILOUS COMMITTEE'S
COMPROMISE.
The resolutions reported by Mr.
Corwin's Committee of Thirty-three, which were adopted on 27th by a vote of 136
to 53, declare, substantially
1) That all proper and
constitutional remedies for existing discontents, and all guarantees for
existing rights, necessary to preserve the Union, should be promptly and
cheerfully granted.
2) That all attempts to obstruct
the recovery of fugitive slaves are inconsistent with interstate comity, and
dangerous to the peace of the Union.
3) That the several States be
requested to revise their statutes and repeal such as may be in conflict with
Federal laws on this subject.
4) That slavery is recognized as
existing by usage in fifteen States, and there is no authority outside those
States to interfere with it.
5) That the laws on the subject
of fugitives from labor should be faithfully executed, and that citizens of each
State should be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the
several States.
6) That there is no cause for a
dissolution of this Government, and that it is the duty of Congress to preserve
its existence on terms of equality and justice to all the States.
7) That the faithful observance
of the Constitution, on the part of the States, is essential to the peace of the
country.
8) That each State is requested
to revise its statutes, and amend them if necessary, so as to protect citizens
of other States who may be traveling therein against violence.
9) That each State be requested
to enact laws to punish invasions of other States from its soil.
10) That copies of these
resolutions be sent to the Governors and Legislatures of the several States.
11) That as no proposition has
been made to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia or Government
dock-yards, or to interfere with the inter-State
slave trade, no action on these
subjects is needed.
THE PEACE CONFERENCE COMPROMISE.
The peace conference at
Washington adjourned on nth, sine die, after having adopted, as a basis of
adjustment, what is known as the Franklin compromise. This compromise is as
follows :
ARTICLE THIRTEEN.
Sec. 1. In all the present
territory of the United States north of the parallel of 36 degrees 30 minutes of
north latitude, involuntary servitude, except as punishment of crime, is
prohibited. In all the present territory south of that line the status of
persons held to service or labor, as it now exists, shall not be changed. Nor
shall any law be passed by Congress or the territorial legislature to hinder or
prevent the taking of such persons from any of the States of the Union to said
territory, nor to impair the rights arising from said relation. But the same
shall be subject to judicial cognizance in the Federal courts, according to the
course of the common law. When any territory, north or south of said line, with
such boundary as Congress may prescribe, shall contain a population equal to
that required for a member of Congress, it shall, if its form of government be
Republican, be admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original
States, with or with-out involuntary servitude, as the Constitution of such
State may provide.
Sec. 2. Territory shall not be
acquired by the United States, unless by treaty; nor, except for naval and
commercial stations and depots, unless such treaty shall be ratified by
four-fifths of all the members of the Senate.
The city was startled on Saturday
by the intelligence that the
President-elect, instead of proceeding on his
journey to Washington from Harrisburg, in accordance with the published programme, on Saturday morning, had left the latter city secretly, on a special
train, on Friday night, and returning to Philadelphia, had passed thence,
unrecognized, through Baltimore, and was already in the Federal Capital. This
step, it appears, was induced by the desire to avoid threatened trouble in
Baltimore, and was taken at the earnest solicitation of his friends and leading
Republicans in Washington, who had received authentic information that an
organized demonstration would be made against him in Baltimore—if, indeed, he
were al-lowed to reach there alive' for it was also feared that an attempt would
be made to throw the Presidential train from the track on the Northern Central
Railroad. This information, it appears, was imparted to
Mr. Lincoln on Thursday
night at Philadelphia, and he consented, after considerable hesitation, to the
private arrangement which was subsequently carried into effect. He reached
Washington early on Saturday morning, and proceeded quietly to his hotel, his
arrival being known to but few. He soon afterward, in company with
Senator
Seward, paid a visit to President Buchanan, and interchanged civilities with him
and with other gentlemen of distinction.
ONE VERSION OF THE PLOT.
The Herald correspondent says: It
appears that the plot was concocted in Baltimore, and, being discovered by a
detective officer, was by him communicated to two or three leading Republicans,
including
Mr. Seward and
Thurlow Weed. Afterward it was made known to Mr. Judd,
of the Presidential party.
"On Thursday last, tile
intelligence having been privately forwarded to New York, several detectives
were at once sent from that city to confer and cooperate with those who had the
matter originally In charge. Mr. General Superintendent Kennedy and Commissioner
Acton were also on hand. Together they succeeded in ferreting out the details
of the conspiracy, and enough. has been made known to give it, in the minds of
these men, a rank by the side of the most infamous attempts ever made upon human
life.
" The exact mode in which the
conspirators intended to consummate their designs has not yet transpired; but
enough is known to be satisfactory that either an infernal machine was to be
placed under the cars or railway, like the Orsini attempt upon
Napoleon, or some
obstruction placed upon the track whereby the train would be thrown down an
embankment at some convenient spot; and that if these failed, then, on the
arrival at Baltimore, during the rush and crush of the crowd, as at Buffalo, by
knife or pistol, the assassination was to be effected.
"It has also been ascertained
that two or three of the conspirators were in New York on Wednesday, the 20th
inst., watching the course of events while the President-elect was there."
ANOTHER VERSION.
The Times correspondent says: On
Thursday night after he had retired,
Mr. Lincoln was aroused and informed that a
stranger desired to see him on a matter of life or death. He declined to admit
him unless he gave his name, which he at once did. Of such prestige did the name
carry that while Mr. Lincoln was yet disrobed he granted an interview to the
caller.
"A prolonged conversation
elicited the fact that an organized body of men had determined that Mr. Lincoln
should not be
inaugurated, and that he should never leave the city of Baltimore
alive, if, indeed, he ever entered it.
"The list of the names of the
conspirators presented a most astonishing array of persons high in Southern
confidence, and some whose fame is not to this country alone.
"Statesmen laid the plan, bankers
indorsed it, and adventurers were to carry it into effect. As they understood
Mr. Lincoln was to leave Harrisburg at nine o'clock this morning by special
train, and the idea was, if possible, to throw the cars from the road at some
point where they would rush down a steep embankment and destroy in a moment the
lives of all on board. In case of the failure of this project, their plan was to
surround the carriage on the way from depot to depot in Baltimore, and
assassinate him with dagger or pistol-shot.
"So authentic was the source from
which the information was obtained that Mr. Lincoln, after counseling his
friends, was compelled to make arrangements which would enable him to subvert
the plans of his enemies.
"Greatly to the annoyance of the
thousands who desired to call on him last night, he declined giving a reception.
The final council was held at eight o'clock.
"Mr. Lincoln did not want to
yield, and Colonel Sumner actually cried with indignation ; but
Mrs. Lincoln,
seconded by Mr. Judd and Mr. Lincoln's original informant, insisted upon it, and
at nine o'clock Mr. Lincoln left on a special train. He wore a Scotch plaid cap
and a very long military cloak, so that he was entirely unrecognizable.
Accompanied by Superintendent Lewis and one friend, he started, while all the
town, with the exception of Mrs. Lincoln, Colonel Sumner, Mr. Judd, and two
reporters, who were sworn to secrecy, supposed him to be asleep.
"The telegraph wires were put
beyond the reach of any one who might desire to use them."
YET A THIRD.
The Tribune says : " The facts,
as given by Superintendent Kennedy. are substantially as follows- The police
authorities of Baltimore had come to the conclusion that there would be little
demonstration of any kind during Mr. Lincoln's passage through the city. Indeed,
as firmly had they become convinced of this, and that there would be no riotous
proceedings, that they had determined to employ a force of only twenty men for
the special duty of attending to the route of the Presidential cortege through
Baltimore. The reason alleged for this course was, that they wished to
demonstrate to the country and to the world the law-and-order character of the
city.
"This coming to the ears of
General Scott, he at once declared that one of two things must be done: either a
military escort must be provided for Mr. Lincoln at Baltimore, or there must be
a coup de main by which he should be brought through the city unknown to the
populace. Under the circumstances, it was thought that the employment or a
military escort might create undue excitement, and the cause of its being
brought into requisition misinterpreted. The alternative of employing stratagem
was therefore determined upon. A messenger—a civilian, and not a military
man—carrying three or four letters from men high in position, and one from
General Scott, was therefore immediately dispatched to Philadelphia. He had an
interview, and delivered his letters sometime toward midnight of last Thursday.
It is not known that the fact was communicated to any other person than Mr.
Lincoln on that night. Mr. Lincoln, therefore, was apprised of the deviation
from the published plan of his journey before he left Philadelphia. The
messenger then went on to make arrangements for the special train which conveyed
Mr. Lincoln from Harrisburg the next morning."
PROPOSED ATTEMPT ON MR. LINCOLN'S
LIFE
SEIZURE OF NEW YORK VESSELS AT
SAVANNAH.
We read in the Savannah
Republican of February 22: :
"Up to the present time the arms
seized by the New York police have failed to come to hand, or even to be
delivered into the possession of the agent of the State in New York. There is no
prospect of their recovery, according to present appearances, and the Governor
has determined to resort to other means for reimbursing our citizens for their
loss. Under his order Colonel Lawton seized yesterday the following vessels now
in port, belonging to citizens of New York, and placed them under a military
guard:
"Ship Martha J. Ward, 75S tons,
Captain Hinckley, consigned to Brigham, Baldwin, & Co., and loading for
Liverpool
"Bark Adjuster, 495 tons, Captain
EneIl, consigned to Muller and Michels, and loading for Queenstown and a market.
"Brig Harold, consigned to W. B.
Giles & Co., and loading with lumber for Sunderland.
"These vessels are of sufficient
value to make up a good portion of the loss, and we presume the Governor will
forth with advertise them for sale at the expiration of thirty days, unless the
arms shall be laid down in Savannah in the mean time."
DISMISSAL OF A REVENUE OFFICER.
Secretary Dix has recently issued the following order: " John G. Breshwood, a
captain in the revenue service, while in command of the
revenue-cutter Robert McClelland, having, in violation of his official oath and
of his duty to the Government, surrendered his vessel to the State of
Louisiana, and S. B. Caldwell and Thomas D. Foster, lieutenants under his
command, having been parties to the surrender, it is hereby directed that their
names be stricken from the rolls of said service.
" By order of the President of
the United States. "JOHN A. Dix. "Secretary of the Treasury,"
NO ATTACK TO BE MADE ON
FORT
SUMTER.
Information from the highest sources in
Charleston give assurance that
no immediate attack is meditated on Fort Sumter.
Governor Pickens has restrained
any demonstration thus far, and was glad to be relieved of further
responsibility by the action at
Montgomery.
Major Anderson writes that no
unusual preparations have been recently made, and some of the works have been
apparently suspended.
THE $8,000,000 LOAN.
The bids for the United States
eight million loan were opened at the
Treasury Department in Washington City on
Saturday last. The total amount offered was $14,355,000, at rates ranging from
75 to 96, most of the bids being between 90 and 91. The loan was taken at an
average of 90.60. It has since sold at 93.75.
THE NEW SOUTHERN TARIFF.
An act of the Congress of the
Confederated States of the South, adopted on the 18th inst., a copy of which is
published below, declares a tariff of duty on goods imported into the new
republic on and after the 4th of March, proximo:
Be it enacted, That the following
articles shall be exempt from duty, and admitted free into the several States,
to wit. Bacon, pork, ham, lard, beef, fish of all kinds, wheat, and flour of all
other grains, Indian corn and meal, barley flour, rice and rice flour, oats and
oatmeal, gun-powder and all the materials of which it is made, lead in all
forms, arms of every description, and munitions of war and military
accoutrements, percussion caps, and living animals of all kinds ; also all
agricultural products in their natural state.
Section 2 enacts that all goods,
wares, and merchandise imported from any one of the late United States of
America, not being a member of this Confederacy, before the 4th of March next,
which may have been bona fide purchased heretofore, or within ten days after the
passage of this act, shall be exempt from duty.
Section 3 enacts that the State
of Texas be, and is here-by, exempted from the operation of the tariff laws
hereto-fore passed or adopted by this Congress.
HOWELL COBB, President of the
Congress.
J. J. HOOPER, Secretary.
Passed February 18, 1861.
In consequence of the passage of
this law the mails front the South for the past three days have been teeming
with orders to forward so as to arrive within the Confederacy before the 4th of
March ; for all goods which arrive after that date will be subject to duties;
therefore goods for,
New Orleans are ordered via
Savannah. The Southern people will feel at once the effect of the tariff in the
advance of prices on Northern manufactures. The merchant there who pays the
tariff of a dollar on a hat or pair of boots will of course charge his customer
the excess.
The Southern "Congress" passed an
act on Wednesday, authorizing the
President of the Confederated States to borrow
$15,000,000 to support the Government, payable in ten years, at 8 per cent.
interest. The act also directs a levy of 1/8 c. per pound on cotton exported
after the 1st of August, to create a fund to liquidate the principal and
interest of the loan.
SOUTHERN TARIFF PUT OFF.
Official notice has been given
that the secession collectors at Charleston and Savannah will pass goods sent
by Adams Express Company, if each case is accompanied by an invoice of its
contents, with the affidavit of the seller attached, certifying that they were bonafide purchases made previous to the first of March, and an affidavit that
they were put on board ship before the fifteenth of March. The seller's
affidavit must particularly describe the number, mark, etc., of the case or
cases in which the invoiced goods are packed.
The following order has been
published : "HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS,
SAN ANTONIO , February 7, 1861
" SIR,—I am commanded by the
Commanding Gen. of the department to address you as follows:
"The Secession Act has passed the
Convention of State, to take effect on the 2d day of March next. Nothing has
been heard at these head-quarters as to the disposition of the troops. The
General Commanding has made five applications for orders, or intimation from
Washington as to what is to be done, but has received no answer.
" You will therefore continue to
do duty as usual until further orders; but prepare to move at a short notice,
reducing the baggage as much as possible. If the General Commanding knew at this
time how the troops are to be disposed of you would be informed, but he does
not. He will, however, remain with them until something is done, and attend to
their comforts as far as circumstances will permit, I am, Sir, very
respectfully, your obedient servant, W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant
Adjutant-General."
SURRENDER OF UNITED STATES
PROPERTY BY
GENERAL TWIGGS
Dispatches from Texas announce
that General Twiggs, the commander of the Federal troops in that department has
turned over to the State authorities the property of the United States, valued
at $1,300,000. The Federal troops were allowed to depart quietly. There are, we
believe, about two thousand United States troops in Texas. General Twiggs, it
will be recollected, has been offered the command of the Georgia State troops.
A dispatch from Washington, dated
February 26, says : " The dispatch received yesterday by the Secretary of War,
informing him that General Twiggs had surrendered the military property to the
revolutionists in Texas, was from the Commissary of Subsistence, and dated at
New Orleans. He adds that, as a loan, the use of the Government means of
transportation was allowed to take the Federal troops to the sea-board, and they
were permitted to take with them three or four cannon and their side-arms. The
Secretary received this morning documents from Texas showing that as early as
the 7th of February General Twiggs was entering into negotiations with the
Texans for the surrender of the military property. Colonel Waite was several
weeks ago appointed to succeed General Twiggs as chief of the military
department of Texas ; but it appears he had not reached there at the time of
General Twiggs's surrender, which is considered by governmental authorities here
as one of the most disgraceful and atrocious acts yet committed by the
secessionists."
FOREIGN NEWS.
ENGLAND,
BRITISH SYMPATHY WITH THIS
COUNTRY.
THE following extract from a
letter dated London, February 8, 1861, and written by the Duke of Newcastle, the
Secretary of State for the Colonies, to a gentleman of this city, is quoted as a
candid and voluntary expression of English opinion, and one entitled to more
than usual importance, considering the eminent source from which it emanates :
"Let me assure you and those with
whom you are associated how anxiously we all desire in this country to see a
happy termination to the troubles which are now afflicting the United States.
The accounts from thence are watched with an intensity of interest scarcely less
than that which, three years ago, attached to every mail from India. I am, dear
Sir, yours, very truly,
"NEWCASTLE."
THE ENGLISH FIRM AGAINST SLAVERY.
John Mitchell writes as follows in his last letter from Paris to the Charleston
Mercury:
"On the whole, I would beg most
earnestly to impress upon you the conviction that in Europe generally, but in
England particularly, you have no chance, no locus standi, no pretension to be
considered as Christian men, or perhaps as human beings, except the cotton field
alone. But for that, and the interests hanging upon that, you would be hunted
from the face of the earth, and erased from creation by the indignant voice of
an outraged Nineteenth Century. Unhappy, stupid, and driveling century, It falls
to you—it devolves upon you—especially, you Southern men of America, to bring
back men's minds to the manly and straightforward days of old—days when there
were no poor-houses, and when fathers and mothers did not strangle their
children for the sake of the burial fees."
PROPOSED MEDIATION.
A Berne telegraphic dispatch of
the 13th ult. says it was through the medium of the Swiss Consulate at Algeria
that Mr. Cobden proposed that Switzerland should mediate between the contending
States of America. The Federal Council Had declined the proposition, on the
ground that it was not qualified for such an office.
NEGOTIATION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND
FRANCE.
A number of English merchants were about to present an address to the
Queen praying that a negotiation be opened with France for a mutual reduction of
existing armaments.
ITALY.
GAETA SURRENDERED.
The Sardinians have at last been
successful at Gaeta, The garrison capitulated on the 14th. The King and Queen
were to embark on board a French ship, but their destination is not stated.
SYRIA.
OUTRAGE ON TWO AMERICANS.
The London American of the 9th
inst. mays: " We learn that an outrage has been committed in Palestine on two
American travelers, the Rev. Dr. Leyburn and Mr. Low. These gentlemen, being on
their way to the Dead Sea across the wilderness of Engedi, had halted, for
refreshment, on the 26th ult., on the shores of the Jordan, when suddenly a
party of Arabs, one of whom had been having a conference with their guide, an
Arab sheik, rushed upon them from an ambush with pointed spears and at full
gal-lop, demanding their money. Mr. Low presented his revolver, but it missed
fire; whereupon the Arabs took their watches, jewelry, and clothes, and
disappeared across the river, taking two of their horses, which were afterward
found. The sheik galloped off to Jericho for help. Mr. Low was fortunate enough
to discover an Arab cloak, and he and his companions, scantily clothed, made the
beet of their way to Jerusalem. Mr. Page, United States Consul, took immediate
steps for the discovery of the robbers and the restitution of the spoils. He
demanded of the Pacha that the Arab sheik should be kept as a hostage, which was
done. The event will undoubtedly lead to the demand for guarantees for the
better security of Americas travelers."
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