The New York Herald Newspaper, January 19, 1859, Page 4

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4 NEW YORK ‘HERALD. JAMES “GORDON BENNETT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR, OFFICE XN. Ww. comms OF FULTON AND MASSA0 BTS SERMS, cash én advance. Money sent. by mait willbe ot the oak of the sender, Postage stamps not a rabscription bei: HERALD, two conta 8 fut pee ERALD. very Ser id ola conte p+ Wedlnes toy ny Pat reat Brita’, Lat he tie fmmwin. MILY WEUGLD, every Wednesday, at four cents per per anne. /ARY CORRESPONDENCR, containing towortont lied L from any quarter of th Cit for. ‘gaetium Fousrox Beets onteins ae Seal au. Lerrens axD Pack- OTE oe nee i) PRINTING exzculed with neatness, cheapness and de- seoeeNOelS AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. BROADWAY THEATRE, Broadway.—Rockwoop—Ros- Inson CRUSOR. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Tuz Tuner Fast Mex; on, THz FemMare Ropinson Ckvsors. BURTON'S NEW THEATRE, Broadway—Octausascurt —Map Docs—Harey May, WALLAOCK’S THEATRE, Brosdway.—Tnx Veteran. LAURA KEEN®’S THEATRE, No. 6% A Peselwrey —OcR Awenicas Cousix—Tam Cartatn 18 Not Miss, BARNUMS AMERICAN MUSEUM, Boadwsy—After: noon and Eveaing—Concert sy Tay’ Ho win Faity— Kiet PANTOMIME BY THE ZAVISTOWSKI TROT. WOOD'S MINSTREL BUILDING, 561 and 563 Broadway— Erwortex Boas, Dances, 4u.—New Year Cais, BRYANT®’ MINSTRELS, MECHANIOS’ HALL, 427 Broad: way—Nvcno SONGS AND BURLESQUES—SBYLOGK. SNIFFEN'S CAMPBELL MINSTRELS. (44 Broadway.— oUR-T-TaIRvEs. Fourteenth street—PRor. Mit AWS, SINUCTURE AND StaBuity OF TH p Pu ssetany New York, Wednesday, January 19, 1859. MAILS FOB EUROPE. The New York Herald—Edition for Europe. ¥ The Cunard mail steamship Africa, Captain Shannon, will Jeave this port to-day for Liverpool. The European mails will close in this city at eight o'clock this morning. The Furopean edition of the Herarp will be published at haif-past seven o'clock in the morning. Single copies, in ‘wrappers, Bix cents. Subscriptions and advertisements for any edition of the New Yorx Hupatp will be received at the following places tamer cos 47 Ladgate Hil Son & Co, Dror ms ‘sarr’& Co.47 William street. Pans... Lansing, Baldwin & ‘a, .» 8 do 1a Bourse, xVEROOL..Lansing, Starr & Co., No. 9 Chapel street, = R Stuart, 10 Exchange street, East. Haves..... Lansing, Baldwin & Co., 21 Rue Corneille, Hamsvna.. De Chapeaunge & Co. The contents of the European edition of the Heratp will eombine the news received by mail and telegraph at the effice during the previous week and up to the hour of Publication. MAILS FOR THE PACIFIC. New York Herald—California Edition. The United States mail steamship Moses Taylor, Captain Gray, wili leave this port tomorrow afternoon, at two o'clock, for Aspinwall. ‘The mails for California and other parts of the Pacific will close at 0: e o'clock to-morrow afternoon. ‘The New Yore Wematy Heratp—California edition— eontaining the latest intelligence from all parts of the ‘world, will be published at ten o’clock in the morning. Single copies, in wrappers, ready for mailing, six cents. Agents will please send in their orders as early as pos- sible. ‘The News. A resolution was introduced into the Senate yes- terday, calling upon the President for all the cor- respondence between this government and Spain relative to the purchase of Cuba. Mr. Slidell’s proposition to place thirty million dollars at the disposal of the President, to facilitate negotiations with Spain, was not reported upon by the commit- tee yesterday, as anticipated. A resolution was passed permitting Mr. Townsend Harris, our Con- sul General to Japan, to receive a present of a gold snuff box from her Britannic Majesty, as an ac- knowledgment of courtesies and facilities extended by Mr. Harris to Lord Elgin whilst negotiating a treaty with that empire. Quite a long discussion on the Pacific Railroad occupied the attention of the Senate until the hour of adjournment. The House passed a resolution to appoint a committee to investigate certain charges preferred against the officials of the navy yards of Brooklyn and Phila- he committee appointed to investigate the affairs of the Commissioners of Emigration at the last session of the Legislature, have made their report. The committee say that many abuses are practised under the system adopted by the Com- iuissioners, and recommend that the law of 1855 be 60 amended as to protect emigrants from imposi- tion in future. The bill to repeal the law for the yal of the Quarantine station was passed by the Assembly. Washington to vote for an appropriation of ti million dollars for the purchase of Cuba. Mr. Rt ly introduced a bill for another railroad in the city, throngh avenue D to Chatham street; alsoa branch track through East Broudway and Canal street to Broadway. r The overland mail from the Pacific, with ad vices from San Franciseo to the 24th ult., reached St. Louis yesterday. The advices from Victoria are to the 14th, and from Honolulu to the 2d of December. The news isinteresting. Considerable rain had fallen at San Franc! and business at a stand still, Much suffering was anticip among the miners on Fraser river frozen over. The loss of the whale sh New in the Ochotsk sea on orted. Thirteen persons ed in mong them Captain Stewart, of Fair- d others whose names are given in the news. ‘The news along the mail route is to the effect that the trank and contents stolen from the Commissioners had been recovered, and v Heintzelman had left Fort Yuma to re- claim a woman and two children stolen by the In- dians from an emigrant train last fall. A train had been attacked, the stock run off and two men killed, by the Apaches, near El Paso. Our correspondent at Rio Janciro, writing on December 8, says:— Business generally, as usual at this season of the year, is dull, and will not revive before the middle of next month or after the holidays. The non-arrival of the British mail steamer has added to the general dulness that pre- vails. The clearances to date to the United States ar 76 Lags coffee, and to Europe and the River Plate 16,543. Stock on hand 90,000 bags. Re- ceipts fair, with a great deal to come in. Flour is advancing, and now commands from $15 50 to $16 50 per barrel. Exchange 26§ a 27. The port is healthy. Internal improvements are progressing with ‘xtraordinary rapidity. Cotton manufactured goods from the interior come in fall supply to market, causing foreign manufactured domestics to be sold at very low prices. There were over thirty trading vessels in port, with the United States steamer Harriet Lane. James Ferguson, United States Storekeeper and Naval Agent at Rio, died on the 4th ult., and was much regretted. Nis Majesty Don Pedro the Se- cond was thirty ‘ve years old on the 2d of De- cember, and his }.rthday was solemnized by a grand parade of the military. At the close of the prayer meeting in Dr. Cheever's church last evening rather an exciting #eene occurred, in consequence of the revival of the differences which existed last year. After itayer and the singing of a bymn one of the mem- a -NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1859. bers inquired if the meeting was open for the transaction of business, and having been answered in the negative, the President vacated his seat. After some conversation a chairman was appoint- ed,and a motign adopted to exclude not only re- porters, but all persons who were not members of the church; and on the withdrawal of these parties several resolutions were proposed, none of which, however, were adopted. It is understood that several gentlemen who last year sustained Dr. Cheever have changed their views, among whom are Seth Hunt, Esq., Rev. Dr. Blackmer, Professor Thompson, and others. The exclusion of the mem- bers of the press last evening was performed in rather an uncourteous manner, and will not tend to preserve that “veil of secrecy” which is dbout be- ing thrown around the actions of some of the members of this church. Yesterday afternoon the captain and crew of the British bark Franklin, which was wrecked at sea onthe 7th instant, were brought into port by the packet ship Manhattan, which rescued them from the wreck on the forenoon of the 10th. The cap- tain’s lady and on’y child were lost at the time that the vessel capsized, and one young man from Brooklyn perished afterwards. Four of the seamen were so badly frostbitten that they were left yes" terday at the Sailors’ Retreat, Staten Island, for medical aid. The captain and the four others came to the city destitute. A fall report is given else- where, ‘The investigation of the Elm street murder was concluded yesterday by Coroner Jackman, who committed John Glass, James Higgins, James Lof- tus and John Quinlan to prison, to await th of the Grand Jury Additional evidence the prisoners was elicited, a detailed account of which is given elsewhere. Loftus, one of the pri- sone”, « Sixth ward constable. James Glass, who is also imp! cated in the transaction, has made his escape, and the officers have been unable to arrest him. The Whig General Committee met last evening for the first time since their organization this year, at Thorp’s Hotel, Broadway. Hiram Ketchum, on taking the chair, to which he was elected, delivered along speech, in which he denounced the princi- ples of William H. Seward and his party, and en. dorsed wiat he stated to be the platform of the old whig party. The oration was received with much applause, and five thousand copies of it were order- ed to be printed. The Board of Supervisors at their meeting last evening passed a resolution in favor of applying to the Legislature for power to raise one million of dollars for building the new City Hall. The Board of Ten Governors of the Almshouse held their ordinary weekly meeting at the Rotunda yesterday evening, President Dugro in the chair. The return of inmates showed the number remain- ing on the 8th inst. to be 7,822, since which there have been admitted 1,264, making a total to the present time of 9,086; of these 39 have died, 989 been discharged, and 131 sent to the Penitentiary and State prison—the number remaining on the 15th of January being 7,927, showing an increase of 105. The requisitions for supplies for the various institutions were read and passed; after whicha number of communications from the Wardens and others were read and variously disposed of. The Board, having devoted some time to the disposal of some routine and a little unusual business, ad- journed to Tuesday next. Charles Butterfield was tried and convicted yes- A bill was introduced in the Senate | by Mr. Schell, instructing our representatives at | terday in the General Sessions of forgery in the se- cond degree in passing a five dollar counterfeit bill on the Westfield Bank, Mass., and was sent to the State prison for five years and six months. William H. Post, jointly indicted with John Dunn, was con- victed of a similar offence, he having attempted to pass a three dollar counterfeit bill on the Railroad Bank of Woonsocket, R. I. The proof of his guilt was conclusive, a large bundle of worthless bills having been found in his possession. The City Judge sent him to the Sing Sing prison for five | years and six months. Ann Fallon, alias Cassidy, pleaded guilty tu an attempt at larceny, and was sent to the penitentiary for nine months, John Isadore, charged with receiving $69 worth of silk and gloves, knowing them to have been stolen from Thomas B. Peck, 61 Chambers street, pleaded guilty and was remanded for sentence. The Grand Jury brought in a large batch of indictments and resumed the discharge of their duties. The Special Committee appointed by the Board | of Aldermen to consider and report upon the nomi nation of Dr. Foster by Mayor Tiemann for the office of City Inspector met yesterday. There was not a quorum of the committee present, and their action was only informal. A report of their pros ceedings may be found elsewhere. The cotton market exhibited more steadiness yester- day, while the sales embraced 2,000 bales, about 1,000 of which were in transitu. We quote middling uplands at 12¢. ; Florida middlings at 12c. a 123{c.; Mobile do. ,12%c., | and New Orleans 123{c. The total receipts at the | ports since the Ist of September !ast are about 2,068,000 bales, against 1,221,000 for the same period last year, | showing an increase of 847,000 bales. The exports for the same period have been 1,038,000, against 622,000 bales last year, sho«ing an increase of 416,000 bales. Flour was firmer, with a fair amount of sales to the trade, closing rather better for common and medium grades of State and Western. he exports of breadstufls from the United States since the Ist of September last comprises out $3,787 bbls. of flour, against 444,053 last year; 18 bbls. corn meal, against 126 bbls.; 412,425 | bushels of wheat, against 3,088,120 bushels, and 310,352 | bushels of corn, against 680,284 bushels in 1858, and | 2,431,889 do. in 1857. Wheat was from lc, to 2c. higher, with moderate gales. Corn was firmer, with sales of Western mixed at $8c. and of old white at 9c, Pork was firm and active at prices given in another column. Sugars were firm, and refining goods about 3c. per | Ib. better. The sales embraced about 1,600 bhds. and 600 boxes. Coffee was firm. A cargo, 5,500 bags of Rio, sold at pt; 500do, do, and 2,500 mats Java at i cleewhere. ‘The stock comprised about 20,031 , aud a total of packages of all kinds (including s and 16,850 bags of Java) of 100,511. Freights ogagements light, while rates were in a The Cuba Question with the Black Republi- cans—What It Is, and What It Means. There is trouble in the black republican camp. The Cuba question is an apple of discord for its followers. The proposition to give Mr. Buchanan anthority to negotiate for the purchase of Cuba, and thirty millions of dollars to be used in pay- ing for it if he buys it, awakens the most varied emotions among its leaders. We republish in another column a picture ef the scene, being lead- ing articles from four of the black republican journals of this city—the Tribune, Courier and En- quirer, Express, and Times. The Tribune brings the most common sense to bear on the question, and frankly acknowledges that if the democrats get the Cuba issue before the people, “their battle for 1860 is half won.” It calls up sundry vivid recollections of the Polk and Texas, Pierce and Lone Star, and other cam- paigns, from which it seems to havegathered some political wisdom. So it goes in, tooth and nail, against the Slidell proposition—calls it a folly, a juggle, a nefarious #cheme—says the de- mocratic statesmen have no tack, that they are a set of political gamblers, and not such idiots as they would at first seem tobe. Very good for you, Master Greeley. Our old friend Webb, of the regular army, improves the sion to show his reading of the Newgate dar, his exten- sive knowledge of Spain—where te has never been—talke with buly horror Of this “ tampering with the Spanish government,” which he calls bribery, forgetting free wool readiness last yenr, and counsels the democrats to follow Mr. Cal- houn, for whom Cuba was “forbidden fruit.” | The Aimes ie even more muddy than the Ciuricr, and treats the question with a strong effort to be on both sides at once. It is even more than usually illogical and confused. If we want to buy Cuba it thinks. we should not let any oue know, lest the sellor find it out, asserts that the | island is not tor eal, buf that we shall purchase | it “by and by; that we should not prepare to , buy it, because in so doing we insult Spain, but | that we ougbt to be ready to buy it, though it does not think Mr. Buchanan is the man to manage the trade. The xpress fads the | scheme “monstrous,” then twaddles about | Slidell & Co. getting us into a war with “all | the world and the rest of mankind,” and winds up by pitching into poor Senator Mason, who does not favor the scheme at all. With the exception of the Tribune, all of these journals utterly mistake the point at issue in the proposition about to be brought before Congress, They tuke the question as though it were an attempt to make a bargain by the agreement of one ofthe parties only, when the true point of it is to ascertain whether we want Cuba or not. This question has never been decided; it has never been presented to Con- gress nor formally to the people A few filibusters and fire-eaters only have dealt with it. It has received nothing more than the expression of a fuvorable opinion by Mr. Polk, Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Everett, an unfavorable one by Mr. Fillmore and Mr, Marcy, and both opinions by poor Pierce, who evidently, like the Times, did not know which side he was on, and so wished to be on both, The question bas now come formally before Congress: “Is the acquisition of Cuba desirable to this great confederacy?” Should Congress not resolve it in accordance with the popular wish, then it will come before the people, and there will be a greater breaking up and reforma- tion of parties than has ever before been seen in this republic. All those statesmen who have been left stranded by the disintegration of par- ties, all those who have refused to follow in the wake of an insane abolition or pro-slavery agi- tation, all those who have held aloof from the reckless counsels of democratic demagogues, will be found again in the field, battling for the right on an issue of truly national importance. The voices of such men as William C. Rives of Virginia, Edward Everett and Rufus Choate of Massachusetts, and hundreds of others, now rest- ing from their labors, will be again heard at the national council fires and in the halls of the nation. The discussion of such a question as this, which involves many of the most profound pro- blems of our material interests, our social pro- gress and our political status, is not and cannot be an insult to Spain, or to any other nation. And the discussion of it on the high grounds of political necessity and social deve- lopement not only will/do it no injury, but will give ita great impulse in the public mind of Europe. It is nota question of enhancing the power of some kingly court, or of establishing some family dynasty. It is a question of social science, to which political combinations must be subordinate. The ruling motive now of en- lightened nations and cabinets is the elevation of the masses through the advancement of their ma- terial interests. The developement of human knowledge is inseparable from the progress of industry and of national wealth. Whatever stimulates these is for the common advantage of all, and whatever depresses them is the common evilofall. If political combinations stand in the path of social science they must give way to it. If they have stood for three hundred years un- changed, that is no argument for their perpetuity; rather will it be admitted by the world at this day that that is an evidence of the necessity of change. And in the case of Cuba this necessity has ex- isted for long years, and hason many points prevailed. For two centuries that island was a close monopoly to all but a few interests in Spain. The necessity of following the enlighten- ment of the world and of cabinets caused it first to be opened to an intercourse with the whole of Spain; then, toward the close of the last century, to a limited intercourse with other countries; this was still further enlarged in 1818, and has gone on opening wider and wider ever since, until to-day it has a commerce exceeding immeasurably tle ratio of that of the mother country. And not only Spain herself, but the colonial government, is forced to advance in the pathway of material progress, clearing away the antagonisms of political considerations. In 1850 the government Censor probibited the press of Cuba from even suggesting the ideaof a sub- marine telegraphic cable between that island and the United States; in 1857 that same govern- ment granted a privilege and a subsidy to par- ties to construct one. All experience tells us that these ripening events inevitably result in the separation of distant colonies from the parent stem. Hitherto this separation has been a vio- lent one, disturbing the peace of the world and vexing the commerce of all nations, No coun- try has suffered more than Spain from it, In discussing the establishment of a peaceable mode of doing what has hitherto been done by force, and what all knowledge tells us is inevitable, we do no insult to Spain, nor to Europe, nor to the world. Rather is such a discussion a recogni- tion of maintaining the peace of the world for the good of all. Some of the obscure journals, instigated by a petty malice and partizan envy, have attacked the President and impugned his motives for re- commending the discussion of this question in Congress. But in pursuing this course he has shown himeelf to be an able and upright states- man, an honest man and a bold politician, He seeks not to hide his motives and his ways in the Gevious paths of diplomacy. He wishes to have them diecussed in the open light of day; and if he should, with the sanction of the country, come forward with a proposition to Spain to ne- gotiate for a peaceable solution of the the solving of which is inevitable, he will do it with a moral grandeur, and considerations of jus tice, good will, and care for the welfare of all, that will commend his course to the approval of the whole world. A Resroxsmie City Govenxwent.—From present indications there is a strong proba bility that the dominant party im our State Legislature is disposed to make such alterations and amendments in our city charter as will give to usa strong and responsible city government. We hardly necd to refer to the vast imporiance of such @ measure, not only to the citizens of the metropolis, but to the State, and the country at large, which looks to New York as its commercial and financial centre. If the republicans or any other party will give usa strong and efficient municipal government, they Will find that the honest voters of the city will not be ungrateful when they next go to the polls. What we want is @ compact government, with one responsible executive head, that executive to be elected for a long torm—gay four or five years—and to be clothed with powers distinct from those of the Common Council, which should be purely legislative. Then the finaucial ailuirs of the city could be safely entrusted to the Comptreller; but there must be one executive head, The business of government, to be suc- cessful, must be carried on, like any other busi- ness, upon strictly common sense principles, and those we have suggested time and time again. Now what the Legislature ought to do isto reeonstruct the charter upon a common sense basis such as the people of the metropolis demand. There should be no faltering, blunder- ing or paltering, or half way steps about it. We believe tbat the Legislature is ready to take this step, and in order to encourage 80 excellent a work the taxpayers and good citi- zens generally, without distinction of party, should go to work immediately and call public meetings to memorialize the Legislature for a thoroughly effective and responsible city govern- ment. Ifyou saw a man overboard you would not inquire whether he was a republican or.a democrat before pulling him out. We present the converse of the proposition. It is you, citi- zens, who are overboard, and you should take advantage of any plank in any party platform which you can lay hold of. Sovn or-our Dirromaric anv Consurar Dx- FYICIENCLss-~ THE Dury or Coneress.—The Se- nate, lust week, rejected a proposition reported by Mr. Mason, of Virginia, for the benefit of another Mr. Mason, of Virginia, our Minister at Paris, in the shape of a bill to equalize the sala- ries of our Ministers at Paris and London, the effect of which, if passed, would have been, as we understand it, a small balance of five or six thousand dollars in favor of Mr. Minister Mason. We are sorry the bill was rejected. And why? Because within a year or two past house rents and the costs of living have been almost doubled in Paris; and because, as we all know, whether the prices of oysters, for example, are up or down, Mr. Mason must have his oysters. He is from the “oyster fundum” district of old Vir- ginia, that “oyster fundum” so graphically described by Governor Wise as an available source of State revenue. Mr. Mason, thus ac- customed all his previous life to the finest oys- ters, and the largest oysters, and the cheapest oysters in the world, fresh from the water, went over to Paris, himself a sort of “oyster fundum,” and, high or low, scarce or plenty, good or‘bad, it has been impossible, and is impossible, and al- ways will be impossible, for him to do without his oysters. Thus, we suspect, it was the oyster question that secured, by the casting vote of Mr. Mason, the location of that famous convention at Ostend which produced the Ostend manifesto, although the oysters of Ostend are poor, little, coppery things, which no regular tide water Virginian would eat, except from sheer necessity. With these facts before them, and considering the Ohio railway speculations into which Mr. Minister Mason, with our Minister at London, Mr. Dallas, and Mr. Ex-President Fillmore, has been drawn by a Mr. Samuel Hallett, of New York, we hope the Senate will reconsider the bill of Mr. Senator Mason and pass it, so that Mr. Minister Mason, before he comes home (if he does come home), may be able at least to settle up in Paris his subsistence expenses, oysters and all. Meantime, we learn that Mr. Beverly Tucker, our Consul at Liverpool, finding it hard to get along there upon $7,500 a year, is at Washing- ton, casting about for an increased compensa- tion. This is a difficult case; for whether his in- come be seven thousand, ten thousand or twenty thousand, Tucker is a good fellow, and the very man to spend it; so that perhaps it would be as well, for the present, considering the short sup- plies of the treasury, to let it remain at seven thousand five hundred. We leave this question, however, to the wisdom of Congress, But again, within the last four or five years there have been two or three subordinates attach- ed to our European diplomatic establishments, whose deficiencies in the way of tailors’ bills, milliners’ bills, restaurant bills, and other inci- dental contingencies left outstanding, ought to be equared off by Congress, for the sake of our pub- lic character and the reputation of our official representatives abroad, of high and low degree. ‘We call, therefore, upon Mr. Senator Mason to bring ina bill for the settlement of all such ba- lances, so that each of our diplomatic officials among the courts and potentates of Europe may proceed to our Cuban negotiations free from the reproachful reminiscences of tailors, milliners, restaurant keepers, and all such unreasonable people of the retail trade. A saving clause might also be inserted for the protection of our diplomats against railway speculators, if it were not found in conflict with a strict construction of the constitution. We turn over the whole mat- ter to the careful deliberation of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. Tue Pourttcat, OnGANizations oF THE Day.— We perceive, by a notice in our news columns, that the old whig party, of Broadway House fame, has again risen from its ashes and started @ new organization under the ancient banner. This gives no less than five distinct party orga- nizations in the field—to wit, the Tammany Hall democracy, old and the Tammany new, the re- publican, the whig and the Know Nothing or American, with all their numerous cliques and sub-divisions. Nearly all these organizations are headed by professional politicians who desire to keep their names before the public, in order to be ready to cut in for the spoils in the event of a new deal of the political cards. They are purely arbitrary, and they represent no positive strength. Still, in the event of a heated Presi- dential contest, such as the next federal election promises to be, they may be all important as controlling or influencing a large floating vote. It is well enough, then, to keep an eye upon their movements, which may yet produce very significant results. The old whigs evidently do not intend to die without a struggle. They have serious intentions of convoking a meeting in this city, the object of which convention is to bring about a full, free and fair discussion of the politi- cal fseues of the day, and their bearing upon the prospects of the opposition in the next campaign. It is proposed that this meeting shall be addressed by the eminent statesmen who were laid upon theshelf by the anti-slavery agitation, but whose names are still strong with a people that often neglects but never forgets. A gathering of such men as Everett, Choate and Winthrop, of Massachusetts; Evans, of Maine; Washington Hunt, of New York; Crittenden, of Kentucky, and Bell, of Tennessee, could not fail to carry with it great weight, and exercise extended influence over the country. We should see, then, while second, third and fourth rate men were squabbling about petty things in Congress, the really prominent and leading statesmen of the country, including men who are out of oflice, and never expect to be in, coming together with purely patriotic motives to ex- change their views npon the great questions be- fore the nation. Whatever might be the ulti- mate effect of such a meeting, there can be no doubt that its immediate results would infase a healthy sentiment into the politics of the day. ‘The Cuba Question in Congress—The Policy of Union Among the Democracy. We are not surprised to learn that the pro- posed thirty million bill in behalf of active nego- tiations for the purchase of Cuba is creating a profound sensation among all parties at Wash- ington; but, considering the manifest policy of the democratic majority in both houses of Con- gress upon this question, it is somewhat remark- able that such prominent leaders of the party as the two Virginia Senators—Mason and Hunter— should be found among the first to break ground in opposition to the scheme. Mr. Mason, as Chairman of the Senate Com- mittee on Foreign Relations, is doubtless tho- roughly posted upon the whole subject of Cuba in all its bearings and complications, from the executive branch of the government, and is thus, we dare say, possessed of the requisite informa- tion to justify a cordial support of this bill as a diplomatic experiment. What, then, can be his overruling objections? We presume that they are those of his colleague, Mr. Hunter, Chair- man of the Senate Committee on Finance, and are objections resting upon the embarrass- ments of the treasury. These Virginia strict constructionists have an abiding horror of high protective tariffs and heavy federal taxations of all sorts, and they discover, perhaps, in this bill of thirty millions the nest egg of protective du- ties for the benefit of Northern manufacturers, oppressive to fhe Southern consumers, or a scheme of universal direct taxation, which will draw too severely upon the pockets of Southern planters. We would admonish Messrs, Mason and Hun- ter, however, that the expensive legacies in- herited by Mr. Buchanan from his last two pre- decessors in the White House, and the damaging effects of the general financial revulsion of 1857 upon the federal treasury and the country, have resulted in a state of things which must be met and provided for, now or hereafter, in a comprehensive reconstruction of our financial and commercial affairs, federal and local, and embracing tariffs, banks, bankruptcies, corpora- tions and individuals, in the action of Congress. From this general work of reconstruction there is no escape, and it will make very little difference in this view, considering the import- ance of the Cuba question, whether the loans and Treasury notes of the present session are limited to twenty or extended to fifty millions of dollars. In other words, as the addition of this sum of thirty millions for Cuba to an inevitable public debt of a hundred millions will only be made in the event of successful negotiations for Cuba, there will be very little hazarded in passing this thirty million bill. But the paramount consideration with the leaders of the democratic faith, in reference to this proposed bill, should be its commanding ad- vantages as a stroke of democratic policy looking to the Presidential succession. In this view Mr. Douglas has exhibited the proper conception of the question, and has shown that he ungerstands upon this point, at least, the temper and prevailing sentiment of the American people. They desire the annexation of Cuba, and they stand ready to second any practical movement on the part of the government for the acquisition of this fine and inviting island. The people of the North, from commercial conside- rations, are as anxious to secure the island as are the people of the South trom the additional political strength which they will secure. Let this thirty million bill be passed, or let it be made a plank in the democratic platform, and we shall soon see a fusion of all the scattered factions and fragments of the party, as compact and harmo- nious as the reunion which was effected upon the Texas annexation movement. The general effect will be equally great to the detriment of the opposition. Their present plans and combinations will be destroyed; their exist- ing odds and ends of the negro agitation will be taken away, and their hue and cry against the expenditures and debts of Mr. Buchanan’s demo- cratic administration will be overshadowed in the prevailing popular enthusiasm for Cuba. In this connection, while Mr. Douglas has displayed something more than his usual sagacity, Mr. Senator Hunter has overdone his usual policy of safety, economy and caution. It was the same sort of timidity and prudence on the part of Martin Van Buren in reference to Texas that caused his rejection by the Democratic Balti- more Convention of 1844. Ie was afraid of the consequences of annexation, and he was cast aside to make room for a man pledged to keep step with the progressive spirit of the masses of the people. So, we apprehend, it will be at Charleston, The timid and halting leaders of the party upon the Cuba question will have to “take a back seat in the new car,” while some one of the boldest will be chosen the conductor of the train. Mr. Buchanan, in his last annual message, has laid down the foreign programme upon which the democracy may combine and press forward to a certain and decisive victory in 1860, and Cuba is the leading feature of this programme. If, upon this leading issue, the democracy in Congress shall fail to act from want of harmony among their leaders, we may safely conclude that they will also fail upon every other masterly stroke of policy suggested by the President, and that they will thus go into the campaign of 1860 broken up into two or three factions, each upon a separate Presidential candidate, and come out of the fight as the old whig party came out of the contest of 1852, never to rise again. Mount Venvon Association.—We are informed that the net proceeds of the Festival at the Academy of Music are returned by Mr. Ullman at $1,200. Miss Laura Keene hag paid in $500 for the representa. tion at her theatre of “Our American Cousin,” Mr. Sniffin has paid in $100 as the proceeds of an exhibition of his ‘Campbell Minstrels.”’ The above were voluntary offerings, and the two last on a ecale of unusual liberality. No application to Mrs. Kemble or to any other artist for gratuitous services has been made by any member of the committee. This statement is found necessary in con- Bequence of the following which is going the rounds of the papers:— " Jeary Kemble hag a and well-carned ann cobseyian ir speech att somdesh, rca some o hen of her biuntneasen havo a vein of truth running em that naturally redeem thelr cheracter, Of these is the following answer made to a committec of Now York Indies, who solicited from her a sories of Shaks- [ogy readi in aid of the fund to purchase Lg Ver- ‘brute and Shylock to whose anuaon it bas _— medon oie eed but have no a for : a re coukceyip eo poensar or too ae ae yom Hae the orioe a won elf through the nal tha ata ae an onl aiporn and qunek 8 Mi My humble biiiven are at your neice, at with rovien, that, whatever amount of mone yield, etell be to Congrens na the first to enable ooaxe aduty ought to be discharged by them, THE LATEST. NEWs. IMPORTANT data WAShingrey Temper of Prema, en the Proposition te Purchase Cuba. OUR SPROIAL WASHINGTON DuSPATONES. Wasainaron, Jan. 18, 1859. Since the caucus of democratic Senators, held on Satur~ day, a careful canvass of the party vote in both houses of Congress, on the Slidell proposition, bus been made, with the fotiowing result:—Among the Senators but four cam be found who are disinclined to touch the subject, and their objection§ lie more against the opportuneness of the present movement than against the measure itself, They will probably yield their private objections to their desire for party unity, and vote in favor of the bill when it is brought up. In the House there is even greater unanimity among the democrats than in the Senate, and the proba- bility is that they will present an undivided vote. Several of the republican and American members are known to be favorable to the proposition, and though they may not vote in favor of it, they will probably ab. gent themselves when the roll is called, and thus leave the democrats to carry it by a decided, if not by a large majority. The Committee on Foreign Affairs bad a protracted ses- sion this morning, and discussed the report which Mr, Branch is to present for the purchase of Cuba. Tho re- Portis very able, and is based apon grounds urged ia the President's message. Mr. Ritchie, from the minority of the committee, presented his report. It embodies the old doctrine of non-extension of territory, and sucle exploded ideas, The committee adjourned without adopt ing either report, pe THE TARIFF—TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION, ETC. Wasaincron, Jan. 18, 1859. The Committee of Ways and Means mot this morning, and discussed, at great length, the tariff question. At least threo projects will be presented to the commit- tee. Mr. Phelps will favor a slight modification of the tariff of 1857. Mr. Morrill (opposition) will favor a tariff for protection. Mr. Phillips, of Pennsylvania, will pre- sent a bill with an increase upon the rates of 1846, ,to- gether with a moderate list of specific duties, What will ‘be the provisions of the bill the committee will agree upon is not yet known, but it is certain that a majority of the committee is in favor of the increase of duty. Troa- sury notes will either be funded in loan or authorized to be re-issvtd, There will be no other provision for meeting them. Estimates for the Post Office Department for the next fiscal year amount to nearly $17,000,000. This does not include ocean mail steamer service. ‘The House Committee on Territories met this morning, and heard arguments in favor of a territorial organization for Colona, Mr. Stephens submitted his bill for tho or- ganization of Dakotah Territory, which was adopted. The strictures of the HeRap on Mr. Clingman’s course in reference to the Clayton-Bulwer treaty has touched that gentleman and his friends to the quick. It is said at the time he acted against the administration in this mat. ter that he was aware of tho views of the President. Tho strictures in the Herap have alarmed some of the fishy democrats in Congress, who are too ready to embarrass the administration. ‘THE GENERAL NEWSPAPER DESPATOI, Wasurnaton, Jan. 18, 1859. Mr. James M. Crane, delegate elect from Nevada, has issued a circular to members of Congress, presenting a long array of arguments why the bill to organ- izo that Territory should become a law. Its length is about 600 and width 450 miles. The popula. tion ranges from 15,000 to 18,000 souls. He gives a glowing description of its minoral and agricultural features, saying, in conclusion, he can enter into no bargain or arrangement for omnibussing the Terri- tories through Congress. The Territory of Nevada is suffering under a peculiar affliction. ‘he bill to organize it is in advance of others. Let each one come up in order and be tested on its merits, The House Committee on Territories this morning ordered the bill to provide for the organization of a Terri- torial government in Dakotah to be reported with & boundary extension west to the Rocky Mountains. Representative Colfax, and Mr. Graham, the delegate elect from Colona, appeared in the committee and address- ed it in favor of the organization of the latter Territory, but the committee arrived at no conclusion in rogard to it. Should the action ultimately be favorable, the Terri- tory will, it is supposed, be made to cover a larger area than Mr. Colfax proposed in his bill, The Postmaster General estimates that $16,000,000 will ‘be required for the service of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending 30th Juno, 1860. ‘The Secretary of the Treasury bas submitted to Con- gress his plan for reducing the expenses for the collection of the revenue to the extent of $400,000 per annum. He Proposes the reorganization ot thé collection districts, the reduction of the one hundred and sixteen ports of entry to seventy five, and to discontinue twenty-one of the cighty- six ports of delivery—the salaries of officers to remain the same, as under the recommendation their duties would be increased. He suggests the employment of steamtugs at the larger ports, and whether the protection of the reve- nue and relief to distressed vessels could not be better effected by the navy. The revenue cutters ought, he says, to be attached to the Navy Department, and their officers remain in the service until their present. commissions expire or terminate by death or resignation. ‘Those who have rendered noteworthy service could be transferred to the navy with an assimilated rank. Mr. Hatch to-day, in the House, made a strong but un- successful effort to grt up the Senate bill making an ap propriation for the St. Clair Flats Improvement. The motion encountered sharp opposition. The annual meeting of the American Colonization So- ciety was held to-night at the Smithsonian Institution. The Secretary's report states the receipts of last year at nearly $62,000, It represents that there is an increasing disposition among the free colored persons in the Northern States to emigrate to Africa, and that the general interests of Liberia are evidently improving. The opinion is con- fident!y expressed that opposition to African, colonization will fail to arrest the progress of the society, and great events are anticipated. ‘The Ser Post Office Committee have agreed to re- port a bill inoreasing the postage rates to five cents for all distances under three thousand miles, ‘This feature was opposed by Megsrs. Bigler, Dixon and Hale. The commit- tec are unanimous as to restraining the franking privilege, and propose to authorise the Postmaster General to make bids on tho best terms, without regurd to particular modes of conveyance, as now designated by law. This bill, it ia said, will save a million and a half of dollars to the de- partment, There is no probability that Congress will in- crease the rates of postage, Majority and minority ,eporta have just been made om the Oregon bill by the members of the House Committeo on Territories. THIRTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION. Senate. Wasmvctor, Jan. 18, 1869. PRESENTS TO OFFICERS, After the presentation of several departmental returns, memorials, &¢., a joint resolution was passed permitting ‘Townsend Harris, Consul General to Japan, and his inter- preter, to each accept a gold snuff box from the Queen of England. Mr. Puan, (adm.) of Ohio, objected to the custom of American officers receiving presenta from foreign poten- tates, Mr. Pugh, Mr. Hale and one other Senator voted no. ‘THR PURCHASE OF CURA. Mr. Sewarn, (opp.) of N. ¥., introduced @ resolution, which was adopted, calling on the President for all the correspondence between this government and Spain re- lative to proposals for the purchase of Cuba. INDIAN ANNUITIES, Mr. Jomwson, (adm.) of Tenn., from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported a bill to enable the President to «xpend the annuities of certain Indian tribes for educa- tional and agricultural purposes in their behalf. The bill ‘was passed. ‘TH SENATE PRINTING. Several resolutions were adopted with reference to printing—the object being to limit ita extent. Mr. Doorrrrix, (opp.) of Wis., failed to bring up his re- solution relative to Commodore Paulding, although he Fotidig i te Ulli courte at Now York. Mt "ACIFIO RAILROAD, Tue Pacific Railroad bill was taken up, but thero was little debate upon it, the time being occupied in on tha several amendmente—the yeas and nayy. bolag taker "ah fest dont, Mr. Sebastian’s, that amendment ‘a, that th ‘Fort y ie castor terminus 'bo- at ) Arkansas, was lost by 4 nea Mr. ie, fcaateaie acnendmnent that it be betwoon oun ant 824 parallels, wan alto lost, 29 uguinnt hen ne Mr. Green's amendment was valootanen to Poe celes Chat the cae Toad lave two Masters tore Southern not farther south than ion ta Arkansas, and the Northern not further north than tho Big Sioux, aad

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