The New York Herald Newspaper, April 2, 1853, Page 4

NEW YORK HERALD. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR AND EDITOR. Mien wi , j the = sie cou par ef “Great, Britain, and 90 to amy’ part of Sees te inchede UNTARY CORRE ER, sntaininy inper Bae ii fatty poll for. “Ove Foumon Counteron: Bante Cy pry \UBOTRD TO ORAL ALL Ler “ADVERTISEMENTS renewed every dav. Wodume XVII... cess eeeee NOs Oe er AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. powsar THEATRE, Bowery —RaG Picker o Paw yaw TO Goon Lucu—Lors Momres. BROADWAY THEATRE, Broadway—Merawona—Dia. monn cur Diamond. BURTON’S THEATRE, Chambers street—Scare Goa T— Poor Piziicoppy—MiLieR's Maiv. NATIONAL THEATRE, Chatham street—Rep Reiven oy Arrit—Eva, THE luis Paincess. WALLACE’S THEATRE, Broadway—Hain ar Law— Pavuixe. AMBRICAN MUSEUM—Afternoon—Don Cesam vg Ba- man. Bvesing—Don Crear ve Bazan—Domxsric Eco- mouy, ST. CHARLES THEATRE, Bowery—Damon anp Py- wmras—Warrace. CHRISTY’S OPERA HOUSE, 472 Broadway—Brmorian Macopise sy Cunisry's Or: Trovrx. WOOD'S MINSTRELS, Wood's Musical Hall, 444 Broad way—Erusorias Minera xisy. CIRCUS, 37 Bowery—Equestuias ENTRRTAINMane, GEORAMA, 886 Broadway—Banvann’s Panorama oF wus Hoy Lamp. RISLEY’S THAMES, at 406 Broadway. HOPE CHAPEL—Dnz. Va.entima’s Evenincs or Ec- exsraiciry. HELLER’S SOIREES MYSTERIEUSES, 539 Broadway. Wew York, Saturday, April 2, 1853. Malls for Europe. THE NEW YORK WEEKLY HERALD. this port at noon to day for Liverpool. Subscriptions and advertisements for any edition of the places in Europe:— Lnvenroot—John Hunter, No. 2 Paradise street. Loxpon—Edward Sandford & Co., Cornhill. * Wm. Thomas & Co., No. 19 Catherine street. Pans—Livingston, Wells & Co., Rue de la Bourse. “ B.H. Revoil, No. 17 Rue de la Banque. ‘The European mails will close in this city at half-past ‘ten o'clock. ‘The Wumxry Heravp will be published at half-past nine @elook this morning. Single eopies, in wrappers, six- pence. The News. We are sorry to be called upon to record the edeath of the consort of another of our distin- guished men. Mrs. Cass, wife of the venerable Senator from Michigan, expired at Detroit last Thurs- Gay night. The details of the European and South American news, brought by the Niagara, are very interesting. The accounts of the sufferings of the Buenos -Ayreans, who are struggling to repel the encroach- ments of Urquiza, will be read with feelings of the deepest emotion. One or two of the New York nominations are re- ported to have thrown the members of the United States Senate into a complete state of confusion yes- terday. Some of the democratic members expressed their doubts as to the propriety of giving to Gen. Dix the Sub-Treasuryship of this city. Having been assured that he was all right, so far as concerned the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave law, and that it ‘would be death to the party for Southerners to object to free soil appointments in the North, they con" eluded to pass him through. Not so with the Southern whigs. They expressed their views at Jength, and, after a debate of three hours, upon tak- ing the question eight votes were given against him ‘There was also a brisk controversy with regard to Mr. Fowler. Good feeling was afterwards re- ftored by the unanimous confirmatiou vf variuus other appointments—among them a relative of Father Ritchie and ason of Mr. Marcyas pursersin the navy. The selection of Mr. Dickinson for the Collectorship, and Mr. O’Conor for the District Attorneyship, gives the most unbeunded satisfaction. Seeretary Marcy 38 in trouble, and Mr. Cushing is watching him closely. Harmony is generally supposed t have been restored between the majority of the hard and soft shells, and the country is unquestionably safe— until towards the approximation of the next election. Mr. Mason, Chairman of the Committee on Por- eign Relations, by consent, yesterday withdrew the papers relative to the imprisonment and ill-treat- ment of Mr. Rice, the American consul at Acapulso, Mexico. It is understood that the Executive con- templates investigating this affair. * By reference to our reports from Albany, it willbe seen that the difficulties existing between the softs and the hards—the barnburners and the hunkers— have not by any means been wholly adjusted by the recent appointments of Gen. Pierce; on the contrary, the excitement has been transferred from the nation- al to the State capital, and the old feud between the factions seems destined to be revived with redoubled fury. The contest for the national spoils being over, the place and power seekers have now turned their attention to the State, and are said to be pushing their, claims with a boldness and vigor hitherto un- preeedented. In the Senate yesterday, after Mr. Vanderbilt had been heard in defence of his consti- tational amendment, against the attacks of Messrs. McMurray and Pierce, during which some pretty sharp remarks were indulged in by way of by-play, Mr. Cooley offered a resolution to go into executive sersion. This unexpected movement, and on the first day of April at that, rather startled the barn- burners. Suspecting some design to corner them, they opposed the proposition with great vehemence until the hour of recess. This sudden and direct change in the attitude of the two parties astonished the spectators. It wasa complete mystery to them why Mr. Cooley, who had heretofore deferted all at- tempts to take up the Governor's appointments, should now be in favor of so doing; but it was still more inexplicable that the barnburners, who had all along been so anxious to dispose of the appointments, should whip round, and be averse to touching them. Upon counting heads the secret was easily solved. Mr. Cooley and his adherents, backed by the whigs, hada decided majority; but their adversaries got possessi6n of the floor, sprung motions, made ap- peals, and adroitly managed to talk away the time till the hour of recess. During the afternoon seasion Mr. Cooley withdrew his resolution. The debate was unusually spicy, the scene very curious to be- hold, and the excitement prodigious. This émeute is becoming serious. What's to be done’? The Pennsylyania House of Representatives have pasted the Senate bill repealing the Railroad Gauge law. Lieut. Denman, U. S. army, was recently killed at fan Antonio, Texas, by the accidental discharge of ® gun in the hands of Lieut. Hollibird. A despatch from the East announces that the schooner Hurd was recently burned near Halifax. ‘One man perished in the flames, and another was so severely injured that his life is despaired of. The British mail steamer Conway, with late advices from the West Indies, arrived at Savannah on Thurs- @ay. She reports that business continued dull at Jamaica, Wilcox, at New Bedford, were destroyed by fire on | difficult task has been met with the most signal Thursday night. The loss of the former is estimated | address and discretion. As far as an armistice at $60,000, and the latter at $20,000. could have been expected—as far as the embit- The recent advices from Europe are reported t0 | tered jealousics between Dickinson and his fac- ———eee have caused considerable sensation in the New Or BFFicn W. W. CORMBE OF FULTON AND NAS8AN ETS. | Jeans cotton market. Fifteen thousand bales were ya sold on Thursday, at advancing rates. General Lane, with his family, is already on the way to his new post, the Governorship of Oregon. tion, and Marcy and his, could be conciliated in the division of these spoils—the work has been done. Nor have we any doubt that, after lis- tening until impatient at the wranglings of Mr. Daniel Underhill, aged 68,8 member of the | the cabinet with the Premier upon Schell, and more subdue. tenor of her life. Mrs. Cass was a domestic woman, and has seldom, of late years, left her Western home to mingle in the vanities of fashionable soci~ ety at Washington. In this respect she resem- bled Mrs. Fillmore and Mrs. Clay, who still resides at Ashland; or, perhaps, more nearly Mrs. Gen. Taylor, who, even in the White House, maintained in strict seclusion the quiet, simple habits which had marked the even Mrs. Cass is but another Her Veteran Corps of the War of 1812, died suddenly, Cisco, and Hunt, and others. that Gen. Pierce from hemorrhage of the lungs, on Thursday night. | himself cut short the controversy by the Coroner Gamble held an inquest yesterday. surviving Veterans will attend the funeral of the old man, and bury him with suitable military honors. Coroner O'Donnell held an inquest yesterday, upon the body of James Murphy, late boatswain of the packet ship Surprise. The deceased was stabbed upon the 10th of March, in a general pcp took place amon, the crew and petty officers: He ‘died in the ena sar The jury found that | Personal interests of the party. It may be his death was caused by the wounds, but were un- able to determine by whom they were inflicted. We annex the heads of a portion of the contents of to-day’s inside pages :—The Clam Trade of New York, including a history of the hard and soft shells; Interesting from Mexico and the Rio Grande; Perils of a Voyage to California; Telegraphic Cor- rections and Calumnies; Coroners’ Inqnests; Scenes in the Special Sessions; Operations at the United States Mint; Commercial, Railroad, and Theatrical Affairs; Advertisements, &c. Death of Mrs. Cass. It was but yesterday ‘morning that the re- mains of Mrs. Fillmore left this city for their final resting place at Buffalo, and last evening they were crossed upon the way by a telegraphic message from Detroit, announcing the death of Mrs. Cass, the wife of the distinguished Se- nator from Michigan. General Cass was called home several weeks ago from Washington, by a telegraphic sum- mons announcing her dangerous illness. death, therefore, is an event not altogether un- expected; but the blow will fall none the less ‘Fhe Collins steamship Baltic, Capt. Comstock, willleave | heavily upon the veteran statesman, whose partner through the most eventful portion of his eventful life is thus taken away. We sym- ‘rw Yorx Henatp will be received at the following | pathise with him in his loss and in the desola- tion of his house, which time to him can never The | schedule which has been adopted. We cannot, then, withhold our approval of the prudence, caution, and consistency of pur- pose which have thus far marked, in the main, the appointments of General Pierce all over the country, in view of the great object of con- ciliating all the diverse factions, sections, and that mere personal interests have been carried too far—it may be that, in consulting the claims of those old ones and their families who have been subsisting upon the party and the trea- sury for half a century, the just and rightful claims of the younger wing of the party have been overlooked. We think so—and we despise the idea of the Bourbons, of a perpetual exclu- sive title to the crown. We are herein, how- ever, dealing with a larger issue, to wit: the prospects of General Pierce and the democratic party. Upon this issue we propose a brief review of the signs of the times. The democratic party cannot be held toge- ther upon the “cohesive power of the public plunder.” Experience has established the fact that the possession of the spoils is an element of weakness, and not of strength, to the party in power. However judiciously divided, the patronage will not hold out. The minority of the applicants are appointed. and the majority are disappointed. Of this majority there have been, and ever will be. found a sufficient amount of loose floating materials to form the balance of power in the next succeeding general election. Witness the elections of 740, ’44. ’48, and ’52. In fact, the day has gone by when even the powerful democratic party can expect to hold the govern- ment for two successive terms, except upon some substantial platform of practical measures or principles which will command the general suffrages of the people. How is this party now situated? It is in the full plenitude of power— but it is made up of discordant materials. There will be disappointments, plans of re- venge, mutiny, and desertion. There is no whig party. with its Galphin corruptions, and its imbecile foreign policy in Cuba and Central America, to be supplanted. It is out; but it is sheaf gathered to the harvest of the Universal Reaper, and she, too, has gone to her reward. 5 The Spolls—The Administration —Ominous Signs of the Times. The inaugural of General Pierce pretty dis- tinctly defined his policy in reference to the distribution of the public plunder, and not a shadow of doubt remains as to his meaning from the practical commencement of the work. It was, indeed, the great substantial issue of the last year’s campaign. There was no equivo- cation, or hypocrisy, or double-dealing. about it. The democrats made no false promises to “proscribe proscription,” as did the whigs in a 1840, nor any of those fine-sounding but delu- sive declarations of clemency to the office- holders which characterized the Taylor cam- paign of 1848. Quite the contrary. The demo- h cratic party entered into the canvass of 1852 with the emphatic declarations emblazoned upon their banners, that the Augean stables must be thoroughly cleansed—that the Gelrkin~ ~—~-+ be turned adrift. and that the executive depart- ai ments of the government must be washed, corubbod, fumigated and ventilated, as the first | 1 essentials to a healthy administration. The grand result of the election, involving this direct issue, justifies, therefore—and, in ti truth, the popular verdict may be said to de- mand—the utmost rigors of proscription against the whigs in office, as the legitimate penalty of their false pretences and inordinate peculations upon the treasury. They have been duly warn- ¢ in a position to re-organize, and assume the ffensive mode of warfare. The democrats are thrown upon the defensive. The enemy may hoose their points of attack; but the defence must maintain its ground, which it cannot do unless: strongly fortified by good measures, sound policy, wholesome reforms, and a good practical progressive platform for the suc- cession. It is indispensable, in the outset, to the unity of the party, that the President should be chief of the administration. It was this simple but grand idea which gave to the lemocracy, in the days of Jackson, the irresistible force of Napoleon’s army. There was a Napoleon at the head. But a head who is not a Napoleon may suffice. And ere, too, we must say that, from the develope- ments made, General Pierce has manifested a steady and selfrelying resolution to hold his rightful prerogative of the hana -* ration, ‘as the el as ectoral chief of the entire lemocratic party. This is all the more to his credit, inasmuch as it is well understood he has 0 aspirations for the succession, and is in no sense engaged in dividing the spoils with the view of securing another Baltimore nomina- ion. We believe that he has not the slightest inclination of that kind ; and ifhe had, he might discover, from the example of Mr. Polk, that a re-nomination is hardly possible. This is a splendid position of power anc inde- least six months. ed—they know their fate—and they submit with a remarkable and dignified spirit of resig- nation. We remember well when the “‘no-party” scruples of poor old honest General Taylor were broken down, and the doors were broken open, and the halffamished whigs rushed in and hur- ried out the fat and sleek ‘“locofocos” to exe- cution; we remember well how they howled upon {the scaffold, and how piteous were the sympathizing groans of Father Ritchie with every fall of the guillotine. He kept us chin deep in the bloody horrors of the Jacobins for at By contrast, the present gen- tlemanly submission of the whigs and the whig press, now that their turn has come. gives them something of the sublime port and bearing of the ancient Christian martyrs at the stake. But what is to be the end of all this? never was a more prosperous epoch in this coun- try, or any country, than the present. There Labor is pendence ; and yet it is not altogether without its dangers. The probability that in noevent will General Pierce be a candidate for thc suc- cession, will only make the hitherto detated aspirants the more vigilant and industrius in twisting the administration to their owt pur- poses. And if any such ambitious gentzmen are in the cabinet, they will, perhaps, be ound the readiest instruments of mischief in thweting the straight-forward intentions of the exec.tive. The outside candidates will be suspiciou: too, of favoritism to the insiders; and thus a srt of guerrilla warfare, within the cabinet and vith- out, will be excited, which will be very at to end in itsdissolution. Symptoms like the: are already discoverable in the cabinet coucils which have occurred upon certain appointmnts; and it is against falling into the slough ‘thich swamped Gen. Taylor that Gen. Pierce eeds most to be guarded. He must control hieabi- abundant, provisions are plentiful, money is al- most a drug in the market, the field for ac- tive speculation and enterprise in a thou- sand channels, with capital and without capital, is almost unlimited. and was never more inviting. The gold fields of Cali- fornia appear to be only the more inexhaustible with every slip load of the dust that is brought away. while the mines of Australia seem to be limited only to the monstrous proportions of thet ‘mater monstrorum” of the Indian islands. We have yet a vast expanse of unpopulated territory. inviting the enterprising to agricul- ture, to wealth and to happiness, and a thou- sand objects and openings for profitable adven- ture on every side. And yet, notwithstanding all these advantages to men possessed of any degree of talents, skill, enterprise. or industry, never has there been an example of, or any- thing approaching to, the sorry spe le of the hungry hordes of office-seekers which have in- fested Washington since the advent of General Pierce. We look upou the scrambling scene, not only with disgust, but amazement; and the evitable idea which is suggested is, where is this thing to end’ Can General Pierce hold his administra- tion and his party together upon so frail a platform as this—‘that to the victors belong the spoil As far as he has gone, he has evidently been distributing the plunder to the end, if possible, of holding the present cumbersome and incongruous ma- terials of the democratic party together. It must i task | tact and cool discrimina The Philadel phi tion. The steamship Yacht on her last passage from Galveston to New Orleans, brought $70,000 in specie from brazos. Seven thougand men, in charge of one hundred and seventy-five vessels, have recently sailed from Newfoundland for the seal fisheries. The oil and candle factory of Sahford & Howland, | party of the South; but in the dispensation of | There is a seve with the a@oinin; what? ard lumber yard of W appointments have thus been apportioned 1 | very considerable skill and discretion. The | eame nice adjustment of the balances has mark- | ed the appointments between the members of | the late Union and secession branches of the 4 thel of New York, the most and £ net, or they will control bim, and weaker and demoralize, and destroy his administratio corruption in party politics is the presen-ush for the spoils. party, though not necessarily dangera to Gen. Pierce. He may divide the plundeand stand his ground. But. unless he places hiself at the head of some great measures of preess or reform, he cannot stand long. He has,ow- ever, time enough yet for this. The imméate elements of danger are in the candidates f the succession. Let him keep a sharp eye pon The most ominous indication of an increing It is ominous to the demoatic them. There are certain indications of son- spiracy to use Gen. Pierce as the tool of cain aspirants. Let him stand fast. He must Ithe President or a cypher. The signs of the nes indicate an approaching coup d’état at \sh- ington. Tur Cram Trape.—-We give in another conn a sketch of the clam trade, which is entit! to geome notice,on account ofits extent and the-ge number of persons who are partially or wily dependent upon it fora subsixtence. It whe scen that the value of both kinds of thigell fich sold. jn one year, is about six hundred yy- sand dollars, and that there are one hwed veesels, averaging thirty tons each, engag in carrying clams to this city. These fewrts give it an importance which very few iighe willing at a first glance, to accord it, and jity us in giving it such prominence, Where ake tHE New Orirans MamstVe have not received a paper South of for upwards of two weeks. Our late y from New € ans are to the 15th ult.. le thoee from England are to the 19 are cha nty yeare since it tookr- ty d the Atlantic. and ni Orleans. The time cccupiin ) las now changed posh, locee somewhere, or peps tone Sin Seat the Lowibesn iauil Conliaclors are on a ke, form by the New York delega- tion, the higher rises our opinion of its merits. That it is not perfect none of its framers will Time and experience alone can produce such @ law as will obviate all ills and cure all grievances. Some of its provisions may turn out to be inexpedient—one or two may fall short of the aim sought—it may become pru- dent to relax the stringeney of others; but, even admitting all this, it is impossible to con- secrate an hour’s honest study to the bill with- out becoming thoroughly convinced of its im- mense superiority to all the other projects that have been proposed and to the existing city char- ter. It is certain that it would operate as pow- erfully as any law can to put an end to the corruption that has roused so many eomplaints. It is more than probable that it would ensure to the city a sound, upright, and economical government. It is fair to believe that, if honestly administered, it would check the per- nicious practice of rewarding unscrupulous electioneering agents with appointments to posts of trust. In this view we believe that most of our contempoaries' concur. The Tribune is a solitary exception. The strictures it publishes on the bill afford a very fair criterion both of the honesty and the intellect which are display- ed in the management of that journal. It states that # is “far more complicated and less eft cient than the bill reported by Mr. Russell Smith.” The readers of the Tribune will be surprised to learn that the bill reported on Tuesday actually contains every reform em- bodied in Mr. Smith’s bill, (save only that alter- ing the time for the elections to the spring which the delegation very properly rejected,) ang comprehends, besides, judicious provisions on almost every point that Mr. Smith’s com- mittee had overlooked. Such, for instance, is the clause limiting to ten years the time for which the corporation may grant leases. Those who believe but half what is laid to the charge of our present alder- men, cannot but see how liable the power of granting leases for a longer or an indefinite period is to be abused. What more convenient opportunity for indulging one’s corrupt propen- sities than the power of letting for two or twen- ty years, according to choice? Yet Mr. Smith’s bill says nothing on the subject. Another provision, no less judicious, is that providing that no person who is “in arrears to the corporation, upon debt or contract, or who is a defuulter, as security, or otherwise, upon an obligation,” can bid at the auction sales of city property. Mr. Smith’s bill did not interfere with the present practice. according to which a defaulter or debtor to the corporation may con- tinue to have dealings with it and perpetrate new swindles on the city. Nor is the section prohibiting the granting of extra allowances to contractors less important. It is notorious that politicians of both parties have been in the habit of tendering for con- tracts at prices far below their real value, in the hope—too frequently realized—of obtaining an ‘extra allowance.” in consideration of the sums of money they had expended. It was time that such an absurd practice as this should cease. Of all parties to a contract, a public body is the one from which the least favor or indulgence ought to be expected. Contractors will know, under the Dill now under review, that they will be held to their bargains with the city as strictly as if they had been made ith an te2i-ta.-) ove sen aes SOMMLU DULL the old system of fraudulent tenders, fraudulent contracts. and fraudulent extra allowances, would have been carefully preserved. It might have been expected that the defects of the system of police appointments would have attracted the attention of legislators at the very outset of their labors. Enough has been said about political partisanship. and neg- lect of duty on the part of the police, to ap- prise the whole city of the defects of the exist- ing law. Mr. Smith’s dill, however, scrupu- lously avoids the subject. The bill reported on Wednesday radically cures the evil, by conferring upon a board of three commissioners the power of appointing the police. This pro- vision alone ought to ensure the passing of the bill. We would like to see added to it, how- ever, o provision for a uniform for the police, which we deem to be absolutely indispensable. Leases, under Mr. Smith’s bill, might have been granted, not only for an indefinite period, but without any security on the part of the lessee. The bill now before us requires the lessee to give adequate security, and empowers the corporation to revoke ferry leases, in case of mismanagement, or neglect on the part of the lecsee to provide proper accommodation. How these points could have been overlooked by the committee the fruit of whose. labors was reported by Mr. Smith, we are totally at a loss to imagine. We must suppose that they have never heard of the complaints which have been made. from time to time, of the conduct of the lessees of ferries. Finally—for our space does not permit us to enumerate all the points which are omitted in Mr. Smith’s bill, and embodied in that of the New York delegation—the latter opposes as firm and substantial a barrier to bribery and corruption as it isin the power of any Legis- lature to erect. If, while it remains in force, an-alderman receives a bribe. he docs so at the peril of his liberty and his fortune. If a con- tractor tenders a bribe, he runs a like risk. and both parties have the pleasing certainty before them that the chances of detection are far more numerous than the chances of escape. Each is in the power of the other. and may rest assured that, should any disagreement arise between them. nothing but the pity and forbearance of his accomplice could save him from exposure and punishment. We have here touched upon six points, all of them of vital importance. All of these have heen soundly dealt with in the bill of the New York delegation—all have been totally omitted in Mr. Smith's project. What must we think of a jouraal which, with this fact before it. de- liberately declares Mr. Smith’s project to be the more efficient of the two. It may have required more philosophy than the editors of the Tribune possess to ac- knowledge the merits of a bill which it was compelled to copy from the Hweranp. or to ad- mit the soundness of reforms introduced by members of the democratic party. But had the New York Heravp filled its columns for months with coarse abuse of the aldermon— | had it gre edily seized every idle tale of official | corruption. recklessly thrust it before the | public, and exhausted a copious vocabulary of | abuse in ageailing men against whom it never | sought to prove a single act of dishonesty had it pandered to the taste of a few indi- of reform was proposed, resolutely withheld its support, and actually threw objects in the way of its adoption—the Hzratp would be partieu- larly careful in avoiding any allusion to such delicate topics as consistency and uprightness. Srrance Domes at San Juan—Wuar ane THEY ati apout?—We published in yester- day’s Heratp, letters from two of our corres- pondents at Greytown, or San Juan de Nica- ragua, giving somewhat different versions of recent important occurrences there, but agree- ing on the one point, namely, that the govern- ment of the city has been annulled, dissolved, and that that important point of Central America is now virtually without any civic or- ganization, and hanging, like Mahomet’s coffin, between earth and heaven; that is, between the. governments of Nicaragua and Mosquito» of the United ‘States and Great Britain—be- tween the Ameriean residents and the Acces- sory Transit Company. To which side destiny may incline the balance, is now a subject for political and philosophic speculation. To reduce the facts, as we have received them, to some sort of order and connection, and to exhibit them in an intelligible light, will be our endeavor in this article. It would seem that in June, 1851, before the organization of the late municipal government of San Juan, the Transit Company, then trading under the title of the Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company, applied to the Mosquito King, through the British Consul, for permission to establish a depot, coaling yard, &c., on Point Arenas, a spit of land which forms one side of the harbor, on the opposite side from the city of San Juan. The desired privilege was granted, and the company erected the ne- cessary buildings on the spot indicated. Afterwards, the municipal government of San Juan, which was organized in May of the following year, and which was composed almost exclusively of Americans, required this depot as a quarantine ground; and the company having refused to surrender it, legal proceed- ings were instituted, and an ejectment issued for the expulsion of the company’s employes and the demolition of the buildings they had erected. On the other side, however, it is charged that the government and the American residents have been working under British influence; that they were annoyed on account of the facilities provided by the eompany for the transmission of passengers, thereby diverting from the citi- zens the rich pickings they might otherwise have had from travellers to and from California; and that the hostile proceedings against the company were to be attributed to this spirit of jealousy and vexation, and to the desire that they should locate their depot on the city side of the harbor. However this may be, one thing is certain— that the writ of ejectment granted by the courts was to be put into execution on the 11th of March, and that all the needful preparations were made to enforce the edicts ofthe law. The marshal and his staff were ready, the axes, and saws, and implements of demolition were pro- vided, the militia were at hand to protect the officers of justice, and the doom of the com- pany’s depot and workshops appeared sealed and inevitable, when lo! on the day previous to that which was to have witnessed the triumph of the municipality and courts of law, the U. S. sloop of war Cyane hove in sight and anchored in the harbor. As if by common consent. the heads of the government, the United States . seh Be events weed dhe epome uf the Trunsit Company, repaired on board to lay their seve- ral statements before Captain Hollins, and to solicit his support on one or the other side. The details of these interviews are given in our cor- respondence, published yesterday, and will have, doubtless, excited considerable public atten- tion. On the morning of the 11th—the great, the eventful day, big with the fate of San Juan . and the Transit Company—it was seen, with no little amazement, that the Cyane had taken up a menacing position, and that the adamantine lips of her great gums were uncovered and peeping through the portholes, right out on the ittle city. Still the marshal and his staff, un- deterred by these ominous appearances, and in. vested with the powers of the law, made a show of attempting the execution of its injunc- tion, but were incontinently brought to their senses by the command on board to “ prepare for action,” and the appearance of a body of marines, armed, as our correspondent says, cap-d-pie. What was to be done? The law was powerless in the presence of a higher law; the attempt to oust the company must be de- sisted from—and consequently the powers of the government and of the law were alike null and void in this extremity. Next day the members of the government met, passed a resolution re- signing the offices with which they had been entrusted, struck their flag—the Mosquito one —and appointed a committee to demand expla- nations from the government at Washington. Now, is administration prepared to satis- fy their legitimate reclamation on this point ? It is a matter of no small moment and responsi- bility thus to interfere with and overawe the re- gular operation of a regularly constituted go- vernment and courts of justice. Did Captain Tiollins act from instructions ?—and if so, on what grounds were those instructions issued ? The controversy was a purely legal one, both parties to it being Americans; and we would like to know by what precedent or right has the executive arm intervened? Doubtless the ad- ministration is in possession of facts and docu- ments which may have led to this armed inter- vention, and we trust that some member of the Senate will give it the opportunity ot pre- senting them to the country, and rendering an explanation of this extraordinary matter, We want the reasons—the public want them—the ex-government of San Juan de Nicaragua wants them; and £0, by all means, let us have them. Tim Orrra.—In consequence of the illness of Salvi there was no opera Jast night at Niblo’s, The “Child of the Reg * will be given to-night. Those holding seats for Friday can use their tickets for this evening. Hoboken Intelligence. Uxkxowx Man Fouxp DrowNep —About eleven o'clock yesterday morning a body was discovered floating in the river, opposite Castle Point, Hoboken, and was taken ashore by some laborers in the employment of Fawin A Stevens, Esq. A jury was empannclied and an inquest held by F. W. Carpenter, Esq , Justice of the Peace. The man was well droseed, and had nearly $40 upon his per- son, but no papers by which he could be identified, except acard of a public house kept by William Partenheimer, No. 9 Albany stree ew York. The landlowd ; that he put his house on the evening of the day previous: took his supper, lodging, and breakfast, and left his house about re in the morn ¢ 0 nployment, and beforego- xenty in the morning f e'phia in search of ing out looked over the advertis viduals by substituting senseless clamor for calm reasoning, and, when a practical scheme | f Teper to see if he could discover anything to aid his pur. Fore. Decensed wana German, about thirty-five years of dick of t-6 jury—That be eame to his death by There in y little doubt but he committed c kept til tomorrow afternoon 08 lowest point last week, of 3{c. a 3<c. per Ib. closed at $4628 $468 for common brands. Groceries have been in better demand the present week, owing to. the opening of navigation on the rivers, Western lakeq and Bouthern canals, The stocks of cotton, coffee, &e., ‘were not considered large for the season. It was thought. that the Erie canal would open about the 25th instant, if not sooner. Some inquiries were made regarding the movements: and progress towards establishing the assay office in thig city. Who was to be appointed assayer? Where was a building to be procured? No one seemed to be prepared: to give satisfactory gnawers. It was agreed, however, om all sides, that it was an establishment much needed, and: that the sooner it could be put in operation the better, ‘We have arrivals of about four millions in gold dust per moath from the greater part of whieh wouk Go to an assay office, did one exist. The Japanose expedition was the subject of conversa- tion, The most decided opposition was expressed against, all idea of its abandonment, Im the outset of the measure, merchants might have been founa to oppose it; but, since the whole affair had progressed to ita present position, its recall would be the greatest folly. Neither was i¢ thought a wise course to cripple its efficiency by with- holding any material portion of the armament designed to aid the expedition. If it was desirable to open a trade with Japan, a more favorable opportunity would never occur. An old whaling sea captain on ’Change stated that he had often sailed in sight of Jeddo, on the Japan eoast, and had examined many points of the country through his glass, from the deck of his ship. He said that the Japan waters often afforded excellent whaling ground He considered that access to some of the best harbors would prove of great value to whale ships, as well as to the country at large. The probable return of Santa Anna, as Dictator of Mexico, was alluded to. Adversity, it was said, was not without its uses; yet, should Santa Anna commence hig rule by crushing all prominent men in his way, and at the same time sow the seods of {11 will and hostility towards the people of the United States, it was feared that he had not profited by his exile. It was stated that though he had lost largely by banishment, yet he remained quite rich; and, strange to say, that his funds are chiefly kept in the hands of his bankers and agents in New Orleans, under the protection of the flag of the ‘Northern barba- rians,’? whom he denounces as robbers, and, like a new Roman power, ready to swallow up his adorable country. It was believed that his dictatorship would only lead te new revolts and pronunciamentos, The news from Buenos Ayres was looked upon as unfa- vorable to American interests in that quarter, and it was. thought that government should keep a sharp look out for the habitual revolutions of South America. Affairs in the Law Courts. Yesterday it was not only rumored, but unquestionably: asserted, that Mr. Abraham T. Hillyer had been notified: that his appointment to the office of Marshal for the Southern District of New York had been confirmed, and that he would, therefore, be sworn in immediately, and assume the duties early next week. We understand that Mr. Hillyer has retained the valuable services of Mr. Thompeon, the present second deputy marshal, bat whom the incoming functionary has appointed first depu- ty. Mr. Thompson has been for nearly ten years con- nected with this department, and his retention under the- new order of things will be a source of gratification to all. whore duties call them to the United States offices of our city. The rumors about the United States District At- torneyship conflict with the intelligence received by tele- graph, and published in the papers yesterday morning. It is still said that Chas. O’Coror will not accept, and that Lorenzo B. Shepard is the man ; but whoever may be the attorney, all agree in saying that Mr. James Ridgway, the present chief clerk who has been discharging the duties of his office for nine years with industry, ability and cour- tesy, will be tendered the post of Assistant District At- torney—a position which; from his experience, he is wel: capable of fulfilling. The Broadway Railroad Injunction case against the grantees, will be decided this morning, unless some more important duties prevent Judge Strong from coming in from Kings county. Great anxiety is manifested among lawyers and laymen as to the result,, and it is eagerly hoped that this important matter wilt be disposed of without subjecting the community to unne- cessary excitement during the approaching dog days. Mr. Van Cleef, an elderly gentleman, and 2 member of the Albany bar, fell ye:terday, apparently in a fit, when acconding ihe steps to the Supreme Court. He was immediately removed to his hotel. Business and rumors will be rife in the halls on Monday, the first day of April term. The Dauphin, Mr. Genet and General Cass. 3 New York, March 31, 1853. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK HERALD. Sim—I feel called upon to request, as a particular favor to myself, that you will give a place in your columns to the following correspondence. The frank avowal and candid explanation of Gen. Cass are certainly most satis- factory to Your obedient servant, GEO. C. GENE: MR. GENET TO GEN. CASS. New Yorx, March 23, 1853, Hoy. Lewis Cass, Unrrep States Sexator— Sm—An anonymous article appeared, on the 21st inst., in the Nuw You Henarp, over the signature of St. Clair, in which my father’s name is unnecessarily mentioned in 8 disparaging manner. This article is attributed by many here to no less a person than yourself, and the resson: they assign is your supposed friendship for the family of Louis Philippe, ex-King of the French. A prejudice against France, and objects of « political nature, have induced many who were ignorant of his position in this country, or who disregarded simple justice when these objects were to be attained, to calumniate my father upon every cecasion; but even these have not been #0 unprincipled as to assail his private character. Your ine timate knowledge of the political history of this country, and the absence of any such object to be accomplished on: your part, added to your high character for honorablo motives, lead me to believe that the suspicion of your having been the author of the article in question ia unfounded; and I therefore take the earliest opportunity, sir, to enable you to refute a charge whichI do not be. lieve would be agreeable to you personally, With sentiments of the most entire respect, I remain, sir, your obedient servant, GEO. C. GENET. REPLY OF GEN. CASS. Detrorr, March 29, 1853, Sm—T have received your letter, and shall answer it frankly. The article to which you allude was written by me, but it was hastily written, at the close ofgthe sossion, of Congress, when my time and attention were much en- groesed by public duties, and when, of course, I could not give the subject all the consideration I should otherwise have done. I had neither motive nor design to do injus- tice to the memory of your father; nor, indeed, do my remarks attribute to him any disposition to commit a breach of confidence, for, from aught that appears or ig stated, if he postesred the secret of the Dauphin’s escape and existence, he was under no obligation, whether honor- able or moral, not to dirclose it, and expecially as it was ® secret involving, not private rights, but the gravest public considerations, and which it was proper should be made known to the world, But Iam free to say there ia an in- timation which may well give offence to his family—that: the history of his life furnishes reason to believe that in- terested motives might have induced him to make this revelation—and I recognise the right of a son to redeem the memory ofa father from such a suggestion. When I wrote the article, this altusion to your father was the result of impressions—prejudices, perhaps—left upon my mind by the history of his public career, im- perfectly remembered indeed, but which, when I was a young man, was a subject of warm discussion among the Folitical affairs of the time, Thad not for many years adverted {o this matter till I received your letter, when E turned back to the cotempornneous accounts of your father’s coure, to ascertain whether the impressions I had retained were justifed by his conduct. I have no hesitation in raying I found they were not; and I know of no act in his life which would impeach, in the slightest degree, bis claim to honorable disinterestedness. What- ever jadgment may be formed of his diplomatic intor- course with our government—and that ie now matter of history—his private character, as far as I know or be- lieve, i ailable. Under these circumstances I re« giet that I made the allus'on, and am Gratified at the op- portunity of thus correcting the error. You are at liberty to give such publicity as you think proper to this letter. Jam, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, Gro. C. Grrr, Eeq. LEWIS Cass This Day, fotion: 8, B70, 889, $15, 427, 410, ‘ neral Term.—The decision in the: sitet thy Levadway railioud yrautoem,