Railroad Annoyances

JANUARY 23, 1864.]

HARPER'S WEEKLY.

51

(Previous Page) served the State, like Generals and Magistrates, are the proper subjects of Legislative resolutions of respect; and that to disregard that rule is to set a most inconvenient precedent.

THE OLD SOPHISM.

MR. RUSSELL, of the London Times, says that when he was in this country he met Mr. Horatio Seymour at dinner, and reports him as saying, just as the rebellion was breaking out, that the National Government had no power to coerce States. It was by such a subterfuge that the more reckless of the Northern friends of the rebels hoped to paralyze the Government, and connive at the success of the rebellion. And in his "Life of General Butler," Mr. Parton tells a story, of course derived from the General, that in February, 1860, Butler was in Washington to confer with other leaders of his party, and found that the Southerners contemplated war. They told him that the North would not fight. He said it would. They smiled, and said they had friends enough here to prevent it. Why did it not occur to them that for every Seymour there would be a Butler; for every Vallandigham, a Logan; for every Wood, a Grant; for every Pierce, a Burnside?

The sophism by which these gentlemen hoped to do the work of the rebellion in the North has just been repeated by Governor Seymour in his Message. "If the South is revolutionized," he asks, "its property devastated, its industry broken up and destroyed, will this benefit the North?" But that is no more the question now than the coercion of States was in the beginning. The Government is maintaining its authority over rebellious citizens; and the simple question is not whether the North will be benefited by the success of the Government, but whether it is better for the country that the rebellion shall be suppressed by every means known to honorable warfare, or whether the war shall be infinitely prolonged and embittered by holding out olive branches to men who spit at them. The difference between a man like Davis and one like our Governor is, that one is in deadly earnest and the other is playing a political game. When the rebel chiefs drew the sword they had at least the manliness to say, "Let this decide between us." They will be destroyed by it, and their section sadly blasted by the war they have invoked, but they will leave canting and whimpering to others.

RAILROAD ANNOYANCES.

WHILE the railroads in the South are going, and the means of restoring them have already gone, our own are worked beyond precedent. The enormous increase of freight, the passage of soldiers, and the immense travel, with the frost now added, derange all times and trains, so that it is hazardous to count upon making any connection or upon arrival within hours of the appointed time.

The recent delay, most vexatious if not dangerous, in the Susquehanna, and the constant complaints and frightful disregard of the comfort and health of passengers upon the single route between New York and Washington, may persuade Congress that something should be done for the relief of the public. But relief in the winter passage of the Hudson River at Albany seems to be beyond hope. There is something ludicrous, if it were not outrageous, in the helpless way in which hundreds or thousands of people are daily and nightly shot out of comfortable cars upon the river, in all winter weathers, rainy, snowy, sleety, blowy; when the ice is hard, and you may ride or walk; when it is soft and uncertain, and you must splash across upon boards and in slush with the chance of breaking through, so that an inconvenience and exposure so barbarous are hardly to be found in all our railway travel, except, in another form, upon the Washington route.

And this is upon the great Northern line between the East and the West. The only reason urged for the continuance of the enormity is that Troy is opposed to a bridge at Albany, and that a party in Albany fear the loss of the business of transhipment. The latter reason is not one that long prevails in this country over the public convenience. The former is surely one that ought not to prevail, since it is easy enough to build a bridge which should neither obstruct the river nor navigation. As it is, the winter-crossing at Albany is a disgrace to our civilization.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

CONGRESS.

SENATE.—January 6. Select Committee on Pacific Railroad appointed; Mr. Howard chairman.—Mr. Powell's bill to prevent army and navy officers from interfering in elections came up; debate ensued, in the course of which Mr. Saulsbury asserted that in the State of Delaware a majority of the voters had been driven from the polls because they were not in favor of the Administration. Mr. Wilson defended the Government, The bill was finally referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, in opposition to the wishes of its mover, who desired that it should be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.—January 7. Sundry petitions were presented and disposed of.—Mr. Carlile offered a series of resolutions defining the relations of the General and State Governments, the gist of which lies in the assertions "that it is competent for the President, or any military commander in any State, to impose obligations interfering with the State laws;" and that "the whole power of the Government should be used, not'against the rebel States, as such, but against the armies of the rebels:" laid on the table.—The Bounty bill was debated and referred to the Committee on Finance.—The Enrollment bill was taken up, debated, and several points disposed of.—Mr. Howe offered a series of resolutions for the relief of our soldiers now held as prisoners; the substance of which is that the President be requested to call for a million of volunteers for ninety days, or less, to liberate all our prisoners; that General Grant be placed in command of this force; that Congress adjourn on the 4th of March, and that each member under fifty years of age join the army: referred to the Military Committee.—January 8. Mr. Morrill offered resolution that notice be given to Great Britain for the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty.—The Committee on Military Affairs resorted the bills of thanks to Generals Hooker, Meade,

Banks, and Burnside, with their officers and troops.—Mr. Wilson introduced bill to promote enlistments; the chief features are that all enlistments in the regular army shall be for three years, and colored soldiers receive the same pay, etc., as white.—Mr. Grimes introduced bill fixing the pay of officers in the army.—Mr. Hale submitted a resolution for a Committee to inquire into the condition of the navy, and especially into the efficiency of the steam engines lately built. Debate ensued, in the course of which Mr. Hale assailed the management of the Navy Department, and Messrs. Grimes, Doolittle, and Conness defended it. Mr. Davis also took part in the debate, assailing the Administration generally.—Mr. Wilson offered a resolution for the expulsion of Senator Davis, of Kentucky, on the ground of a series of resolutions offered by him on the 5th of January, from which the following phrase was quoted: "The people of the North ought to revolt against the war leaders, and take the matter into their own hands," thereby, said Mr. Wilson, "meaning to incite the people of the United States to revolt" against the Government. Mr. Davis rejoined warmly, declaring, "The Senator's interpretation of my resolution is false in letter and spirit, and false in fact."—Without disposing of this resolution for expulsion, the Senate proceeded to the consideration of the Enrollment bill. The main point of discussion was the $300 commutation clause. Mr. Sumner proposed an entirely new course; substitutes should be furnished only by Government; commutation to be fixed at $300; every drafted man seeking exemption should pay that sum, and if his income exceeded $300 an additional sum as follows: On incomes of from $600 to $2000, ten per cent.; on incomes from $2000 to $5000, twenty per cent.; on incomes over $5000, thirty per cent. Debate ensued upon this proposition. Mr. Wilson said that, though instructed by the Committee to report in favor of repealing the commutation clause, he was in favor of its retention, and proceeded to argue in support of his view. Without coming to definite action on this subject, the Senate adjourned to Monday, the 11th.—January 11. Mr. Wilkinson offered a resolution requesting the Secretary of War to furnish information respecting the imprisonment of certain soldiers from Minnesota at Jefferson City, Missouri. He said that a negro came into camp, saying that his master had entered the Confederate service, and that his wife and children were on the point of being sent South for sale. Some of the soldiers went to the cars, and liberated the woman and children. Forty of the soldiers were arrested and thrown into prison. Mr. Lane, of Arkansas. said that the matter was now undergoing investigation by the Legislature of Missouri; the officers appointed by Governor Gamble were the offenders; these officers were sympathizers with treason. Mr. Brown, of Missouri, indorsed the statements of Mr. Lane, and condemned the course of General Schofield, the commander in Missouri: resolution adopted.—Mr. Wilson's resolution for the expulsion of Mr. Davis came up; Mr. Davis wished for immediate action; after some debate it was laid over until the 13th.—Mr. Henderson proposed amendments to the Constitution. They provide that slavery, or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, shall not exist in the United States; and define the mode in which amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed and adopted.—The Senate adjourned out of respect to the late Senator Bowden, of Virginia.—January 12. The Committee on Finance reported back the House bill extending the time for paying bounties to March 1. A letter was read from the Secretary of the Treasury setting forth the necessity imposed by this bill for increased taxation. The bill passed.—The House bill for paying Missouri troops was reported by the Committee on Military Affairs.—A message was received from the President in answer to Mr. Lane's inquiry of December 16, relating to the treatment of Kansas prisoners. It inclosed letters from General Halleck and the Commissary-General of Prisoners to the effect that there was no evidence that Kansas prisoners had been treated differently from others, or that any Kansas volunteers had been put to death on being captured.—The Enrollment bill was called up and debated. Mr. Sumner modified his amendment so as to provide that the money received from commutations should be spent only in procuring substitutes: amendment lost, 25 to 15. A desultory debate ensued in respect to the enlistment of slaves as soldiers. Mr. Johnson said that slaves were considered property, as well as persons, by the Constitution: as property they were liable for their master's debts; as persons were punishable as traitors if found aiding in rebellion. He learned that in Maryland slaves had been recruited without their own or their masters' consent. He protested against this procedure. No vote was taken on the bill.

House.—January 6. Resolution for Committee to report on railroad from Washington to New York adopted; Mr. Brandagee subsequently appointed Chairman.—The Committee on Elections reported a bill fixing a uniform time for electing Representatives in Congress, and enabling soldiers to vote.—The Committee on Military Affairs reported bill extending the time for paying bounties to March 1: passed unanimously. The Appropriation bill was passed, after general debate. Mr. Arnold made a set speech upon the state of the Union and the President's Message, laudatory of the course of the President, and urging the entire destruction of the system of slavery. "It is the mission of Mr. Lincoln," he said, "to carry out the regeneration of the country by the death of American slavery; let him finish the job."—Mr. Blaine offered a resolution declaring that the debts incurred by the States in suppressing the insurrection should be assumed by the General Government.—Mr. Baldwin offered a resolution to the effect that "any proposition to negotiate with the rebel leaders at Richmond, sometimes called 'the authorities at Richmond,'" should be rejected. The resolution, after some opposition from Mr. Cox, was adopted by 89 to 24; the preamble, which declares that "the organized treason which has its head-quarters at Richmond exists in defiant violation of the Federal Constitution, and has no claim to be treated otherwise than as an outlaw," was adopted by 112 ayes, and no contrary vote.—The Committee on Naval Affairs were instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing a navy-yard and depot for the construction and repair of iron-clads.—Mr. Rodgers proposed resolutions declaring that the rebellion is wicked; that the war against it should be prosecuted; but that a compromise was desirable; and that therefore commissioners should be appointed to meet with similar commissioners from the insurgent States to treat respecting peace and a reconstruction of the Union; that the people of the insurgent States have a right to return to the Union, and "reorganize their respective State Governments, with their domestic institutions as they were before the war," and elect representatives to Congress, without "any conditions precedent except that of being liable to be punished" for violations of the Constitution and laws: these resolutions were laid on the table by a vote of 78 to 42.—Mr. Randall offered a resolution that the President be requested to effect an exchange of prisoners, and that "if that exchange can not be extended to all prisoners it may be carried into effect as to any portion that may be agreed upon between the parties:" laid over for consideration.—Mr. Myers offered a resolution to the effect that the war should be prosecuted till the traitors love the Union and consent to the Emancipation and Reconstruction proclamations; that then the leading rebels should be hung, and the war cease; this factious and disgraceful resolution was quietly referred to the proper Committee. After debate on the Diplomatic Appropriation Bill the House adjourned till Monday, January 11.—January 11. Several bills of local interest were introduced and referred.—The use of the Hall was granted to Miss Anna Dickinson for an address in aid of the funds of the Freedman's Aid Association.—Mr. Fernando Wood offered a resolution for a Committee to inquire into the conduct of General Butler while in command at New Orleans, and into various charges of fraud in the Military and Navy Departments, in the Treasury Department, and in the Custom-house at New York; laid on the table by a vote of 77 to 63.—On motion of Mr. Fenton a resolution was adopted referring the charges of misconduct in the New York Custom-house to the Committee on Public Expenditures.—Mr. Broomall offered a resolution to the effect that the Government endeavor to induce the slaves in the rebel territory to enlist in the army, by giving them full pay and bounties, and by guaranteeing them freedom at once upon enlistment. Mr. Cox moved to lay the resolution on the table unless the mover would consent to an amendment conscripting all the blacks in the land. The motion to lay on the table was refused, 73 to 61.—Mr. Ancona offered resolution that the Committee on Military Affairs inquire into the expediency of paying to soldiers the money withheld from them on account of clothing,

etc., thrown away by command of their officers: adopted.—The Committee on Ways and Means reported bill to reimburse to Pennsylvania the amount expended by her in calling out the Militia during the late invasion.—The House adjourned out of respect to the memory of the late Senator Bowden.—January 12. The Judiciary Committee reported bill for revising and consolidating the laws of the United States.—The Committee on Ways and Means reported a bill for increasing the revenue. The main provisions are: a duty of 60 cents a gallon on distilled spirits; a duty of 2 cents a pound upon cotton, except such as is sold by the United States; a drawback of 2 cents a pound to be allowed upon goods exported if manufactured from cotton which has paid the duty.—The bill to pay $700,000 to Pennsylvania for her expenses in calling out the Militia came up, and was debated at length. The House adjourned without any definite action upon this bill.

THE BATTLE IN THE CLOUDS.—A CORRECTION.

An important error occurs in General Meigs's graphic account of the "Battle in the Clouds," near Chattanooga, as published. By a mistake of the telegraphic reporter, the name of General Thomas was substituted for that of General Sherman in the paragraph describing the passage of the Tennessee and the seizing and fortifying the position on Missionary Ridge. General Meigs, in a letter to General Sherman, says, "I wrote your name, and it was so sent to the telegraph office." The services of General Thomas have been many and great, but the credit of this achievement belongs to Sherman, and he should not be deprived of it through the error of the telegraph.

GRANT'S CONGRATULATORY ORDER.

General Grant, in General Order, dated December 10, returns "his sincere thanks and congratulations to the brave armies of the Cumberland, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and their comrades from the Potomac, for the recent splendid and decisive successes achieved over the enemy. In a short time you have recovered from him the control of the Tennessee River from Bridgeport to Knoxville. You dislodged him from his great strong-hold upon Lookout Mountain, drove him from Chattanooga Valley, wrested from his determined grasp the possession of Missionary Ridge, repelled with heavy loss to him his repeated assaults upon Knoxville, forcing him to raise the siege there, driving him at all points, utterly routed and discomfited, beyond the limits of the State. By your noble heroism and determined courage you have most effectually defeated the plans of the enemy for regaining possession of the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. You have secured positions from which no rebellious power can drive or dislodge you."

WESTERN VIRGINIA.

A detachment of two hundred and eighty men, commanded by Major Beers, was attacked on the 3d of January at Jonesville, in Western Virginia, by a large Confederate force, under General Sam Jones; after a desperate resistance, in which we lost 30 killed, and as many wounded, the remainder of the command were made prisoners.

The enemy, under General Early, by way of reprisal for Averill's raid, undertook a great expedition into Western Virginia, threatening the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and other important points. A dispatch from General Kelley, dated January 7, gives the result: The rebel force has retreated toward the Shenandoah Valley. The force was a formidable one, consisting of three brigades, under the command of General Fitzhugh Lee. Deserters report that it was the intention of Lee to capture the garrison at Petersburg, take New Creek and Cumberland, destroy our stores, break the railroad by burning the bridges. The great raid has thus far resulted in a complete failure. An empty wagon train, returning from Petersburg, was captured by a portion of the enemy's forces. With this exception they have not, thus far, been able to inflict upon us any injury.

On the 10th of January a battalion of Maryland cavalry was attacked by Mosby's guerrillas. After severe fighting for an hour Mosby was repulsed, leaving his dead and wounded on the field; among the dead were four officers. We lost two killed and eleven wounded.

SKIRMISH IN NORTH CAROLINA.

An expedition under Colonel M'Chesney, of the First North Carolina Regiment, which left Newbern December 30, for Greenville, met the enemy near Washington and routed them. The lieutenant who led the Union troops in a charge was killed. The loss on the other side was one lieutenant and five men. The troops engaged on our side were negroes.

CHARLESTON.

Our direct intelligence comes down to the 7th of January. On that day General Gilmore had thrown twenty shells charged with Greek fire into the city; with what result was unknown. A week before, however, the same number had been fired, every one of which exploded within the city, causing an extensive conflagration. Heretofore, it is said, the shells charged with Greek fire have exploded before reaching their object. This fault is said to be remedied by an invention of Colonel Bell, by which the explosion takes place at the proper moment.

NEW ORLEANS AND TEXAS.

From New Orleans our latest intelligence is dated January 3. Information had been received from various sources of a combined movement being contemplated on the part of the rebels. It was said that all the rebel troops who have been operating in Western Louisiana, on the banks of the Mississippi and other points, were gathering for Central Texas, and uniting to form one large army, to attack our new acquisitions on the coast of Texas, and would probably number at least twenty thousand. Preparations had been made to meet this rebel force as well as possible with the number of troops in the department.

A SOUTHERN VIEW.

The Richmond Inquirer, of December 31, says that the gloomiest year of the struggle has been concluded; that neither the hopes of intervention, which buoyed up the spirits of the rebels in 1861, nor the victory of Fredericksburg in 1862, cheers them at the conclusion of the past year. It admits that the check given to General Meade's advance at Mine Run, or Longstreet's partial success at Bean Station, are a poor set-off to the severe loss which the rebels suffered "in the murderous assault at Knoxville."

FRAUDS IN THE CUSTOM-HOUSE.

Fradulent transactions by persons occupying important positions in the New York Custom-house are reported to have been detected. Several arrests have been made, and the alleged culprits have been sent to Fort Lafayette. The whole matter is now undergoing close examination.

THE CASE OF THE "CHESAPEAKE."

The case of the Chesapeake is before the British Admiralty Court at Halifax. Judge Stuart said he was of the opinion that the vessel should be given up to her owners. The counsel for the Confederates asked him to contemplate the probability of an application for the vessel on the part of the Confederates, which the Judge said he would not do. The Advocate-General for the Crown also expressed his opinion that the vessel should be given up to the owners. The case is still open.—Several persons have been under examination before the magistrates, charged with rescuing the three prisoners taken on the Chesapeake from the hands of the police. The Mayor decided that the case must be legally decided, and should be handed over to the Crown officers. The prisoners were required to give bail for their appearance before the Supreme Court.

FOREIGN NEWS.

EUROPE.

No intelligence of special importance has reached us during the present week. The war in Poland has assumed a guerrilla character.—No collision had occurred between the Danish and German forces in Schleswig-Holstein. Prince Frederick had been proclaimed a sovereign in opposition to the King of Denmark, and the town of Altona has been illuminated in consequence. This town was evacuated on the 24th of December by the Danes, at the

approach of the Federal forces.—It is said that the Messrs. Laird, the builders of the Confederate rams in Great Britain, had refused to sell them, though they had received several offers.—The United States Ministers at London and Paris were making strenuous efforts to prevent the escape of the rebel steamer Rappahannock, then lying at Calais.—An insurrectionary movement in Hungary, with Kossuth at its head, is reported to have been commenced.

INDIA.

The hostilities in India, the breaking out of which was noted in our number for January 9, have assumed an alarming aspect. The first accounts merely stated that some of the Hill Tribes attacked an English position, drove in a picket, but were repulsed, the English, however, losing 128 men, in killed and wounded, most of them being native troops. Subsequent accounts speak of a series of engagements, from October 30 to November 24, in which the British loss is set down at 600 men, killed and wounded. The India papers consider the affair serious. One says, "We are no longer engaged in an insignificant raid, but in a war with numerous tribes, whose numerical force, in an almost inaccessible country, it is difficult to calculate." Another says, "It is clear that our position there is a critical one, and that the most decisive measures must now be adopted to save our force from annihilation."

MEXICO.

From Mexico our accounts, derived from various sources, are utterly conflicting. The general tenor of those which appear to be most reliable represent the French and "Imperialists" as meeting with almost uniform success in the progress of their various columns through the country. On the 8th of December they took possession of Guanajuato. The Mexicans, under Doblado, retreated toward Zacatecas, having destroyed the aqueduct, water reservoirs, mining works, and growing crops, leaving the country a desert. They were pursued by a division of the French army.—On the 6th of December Tobar, an adherent of the French, was defeated near Guadalajara by the loyalists, under Colonel Rajos, who captured 500 prisoners. The numbers on each side are stated at 3000.—On the 17th Uraga, who had inflicted considerable damage upon the French, attacked them at Morelia, where they were strongly intrenched, but was repulsed with a loss, it is reported, of 2000 killed and wounded, out of an entire force of 5000.—A letter from President Juarez, dated December 8, has been published, in which he says that he trusts, when our war is ended, many American soldiers will join the Mexicans, for the purpose of driving the French from the continent. In the mean while the Mexicans can only carry on a guerrilla war.

ST. DOMINGO.

Some months ago the Spanish Government took formal possession of and "reannexed" to Spain the Republic of St. Domingo, the southern half of the island of Hayti. An insurrection against the Spaniards broke out not long after, and a desultory warfare has since been waged, the general result being in favor of the Spaniards. Present appearances indicate that this war is drawing to a close.

ARMY AND NAVY ITEMS.

A GENERAL court-martial, held in the Army of the Potomac, has recently passed the following sentences:

Major E. A. ANDERSON, Ninth New York Cavalry, for absence without leave, misbehavior before the enemy, and conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman, to be dismissed the service of the United States.

First-Lieutenant ROBERT P. PORTER, Third Indiana Cavalry, for drunkenness and conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, to be dismissed the service of the United States.

Captain Hasbrouck, Fifth New York Cavalry, for selling Government horses, to be dismissed, and forfeit all pay due him from the Government.

Captain B. L. WEST, Commissary of Subsistence of Volunteers, for disobedience of orders, and conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline,. to be dismissed the service.

Captain WILLIAM D. PAULDING, Fifty-ninth New York Volunteers, for drunkenness while on duty, etc., to be dismissed.

Second-Lieutenant LAFAYETTE CAMERON, Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, knowingly making a false return of the clothing of his company, to be cashiered.

First-Lieutenant JOHN GALVIN, Seventy-first New York Volunteers, for drunkenness while on duty, etc., to be cashiered.

First-Lieutenant REUBEN R. WEED, One Hundred and Fourth New York Volunteers, for disobedience of orders and absence without leave, to be dismissed.

Second Lieutenant CHARLES W. GALVIN, Fourteenth Connecticut Volunteers, disobedience of orders, drunkenness on duty, and quitting his guard without leave, to be cashiered, and to be forever disqualified to hold any office of trust or profit under the Government of the United States.

Second Lieutenant URIEL D. BOLLES, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York Volunteers, misbehavior in the face of the enemy, dismissed with loss of all pay and allowances.

Private JOSEPH RICHARDSON and Corporal DAVID McGAHAN, Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers; Private CHRISTOPHER L. SAMPSON, Fifth United States Artillery, and Private PETER CHATEAUWET, Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers, having been found guilty of desertion, were sentenced to be shot to death.

General HEINTZELMAN, it is reported, is to be given a command in Texas.

General STONEMAN has been ordered to report to General GRANT at Knoxville.

Major-General CURTISS has been assigned the command of the Department of Kansas, which consists of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and the Indian Territory.

Governor BRAMLETTE, of Kentucky, has issued a proclamation ordering military commandants, where a loyal citizen is taken off by guerrillas, to arrest at least five rebel sympathizers in the vicinity of the outrage.

Captain HUTTON, who was dismissed the service on account of his difficulty with Lieutenant CUTTS, at Cincinnati, has been restored to his rank and position.

There were 10,520 Federal prisoners in Richmond on the 18th ult. There were eleven deaths among them on the same day.

About $7000 have been collected lately at Paris for the Sanitary Commission. A concert is to be given in the Chapel of the Rue de Berry in aid of this fund, at which the performers will be all amateurs and Americans.

The Confederate army of the Southwest has gone into winter-quarters at Dalton.

The following New York soldiers have died in Washington since the 1st of January and been buried by the Government: SAMUEL YATES, 72d New York; ALFRED CRUMB, 64th New York; HENRY WEBSTER, 4th New York Artillery; JEREMIAH DEMPSEY, 15th New York Cavalry; JUSTUS COONEY, 126th New York; Geo. C. SWEENY, 1st New York Cavalry; L. WILBUR, 9th New York Artillery; MICHAEL RYAN, 95th New York; HENRY WIGGINS, 4th New York Artillery; Geo. ELLISTON, 15th New York Cavalry.

Rebel prisoners, spies, and guerrillas, are being sent in daily, and consigned to the Old Capitol prison. There are now in this institution nine hundred and ninety-seven inmates.

General THOMAS has issued an order assessing $30,000 on rebel sympathizers living within ten miles of the recent murder of three soldiers near Mulberry, Tennessee, the money to be divided between the families of the soldiers killed.

HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, Jan. 10.

In pursuance of sentence by General Courts-Martial, Lieutenants ISAAC N. WHITEMEYER, Nineteenth Indiana; Thomas A. DORWART, One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania; EDWARD F. CONWAY, Seventy-first New York; JOHN B. HARE, Seventy-second New York; Thomas M'NAMEE, Forty-seventh New York; and ALBERT REINART, Fifty-second New York, have been dismissed from the service.

The total cost of the Monitors built and being built, will be $22,150,000.

The Seventy-eighth and Fifty-first New York Volunteers are on their way home from the West.