The New York Herald Newspaper, January 22, 1859, Page 4

NEW YORK HERALD. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR, : BrFCCE ¥. W. CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS 7, exh dm asteance. atoney vent by mail will be at he a i] ‘LY HERALD, teo conte , 8T See OAT LY HERALD, cocry maarieel ce ones? 3 the om on the Bth and Mth of ‘each “moniAt at atc co's ESP ONDENCE, containing dmporta» ster of the world; if used, will be BAA UK FORFIGX CORRESPONDENTS AR® SQUESTED TO Se4s ALL LETTERS AND Pack- n of anonynious correspondence, Wedo not ed every day; advertisements in- eaaees Fawinr ALD, and in the Ouife repean Editions. TON PLINTING exiouted with neatneas, cheapness and de- THEATRE, Bowery.—Tue Toxex Fast Mey; Male Rominsox OxusoKs. NEW THEATRE, Brosdway—Macsera—Macic w 1 THEATRE, Brostway.—Tur Vereeax ; on, France aND ALGERIA, LAURA NER THEATRE, No, 6% Broadway.—Ock Awentoan . ‘Tae Cartatn ws Not 4 Miss, BABNOM'S AMERICAN MUSEUM, Broadway—Atter- modu and Rvening—Cono! BY Tae Houtan Fawity— HALLeT PANTOMIME BY Zayisrowskr TRourE. 5 FOOD'R INST BUILDING, 86) and 668 Broadway— Braior.an Bones, ions, £0. Yaak Cais, BRYANTS’ MINSTR: MEOHANICS' HALL, 427 Broad- way—)zcno SonGs AND BuRLESQUES—SUYLOCK. VS CAMPBELL ‘Burimsques, ac. TRELS, 444 Broadway.— uur THIEVES. New York, Saturday, ‘The News. Up to the hour of going to press this morning the Europa, which left Liverpool on the Sth instant, had not made her appearance. She will bring ad- vices three days later. Am ge was sent into the Senate vesterday by the President, in reply to a resolution of that body, calling for such unpublished correspondence as may have taken place in relation to the purchase of Cuba. The President says there is none; and adds that he deems it highly important, if not indis- pensable to the success of any negotiations he might institute, that the measure should previously receive the sanction of Congress. During the executive session of the Senate yes- terday, while that body were discussing the Ohio appointments, an altercation took place between Messrs. Fitch and Douglas on the Mlinois appoint- tents, which the latter denounced by wholesale. Mr. Fitch replied with much acrimony, and the re- marks on both sides became very personal—the lie, it is said, being given. A motion to adjourn, which was carried, cut short the dispute. A fracas also occurred between Messrs. George Taylor, of Brooklyn, and Charles Waldron, late Deputy Col- lector of this port, in consequence of some offensive remarks of the latter. A joint resolution was introduced into the Senate yesterday by Mr. Seward, providing for continuing the conveyance of mails between New York and Liverpool via Southampton, Havre and Bremen. for the sum of twelve thousand five hundred dollars each trip, or the sea and inland postages. Nothing of importance transpired in cither branch of Con- gress, it being private bill day. The Senate has ad- journed over till Monday. A remonstrance against the proposed repeal of the law allowmng parties in interest to testify in their own behalf was presented to the Assembly yesterday. The remonstrance was signed by near- ly all the Judges of the Supreme Court, Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, and many promi- nent lawyers. The remonstrants appear to regard the proposition to repeal as a retrograde movement, and calculated to excite alarm in legal minds. The resolution calling for information as to the emolu- ments of the offices of Sheriffand County Clerk of this city was adopted in the Assembly by ayes 72, | nays 29, but on a motion for reconsideration was finally laid on the table. A resolution calling for the appointment of a special committee to investi- gate the affhirs of savings banks, with a view of ascertaining the amount of unclaimed deposits, gave rise to a spirited discussion, which continued till the hour of adjournment. These urclaimed les given in another place. Coffee was firm. The pub. sale of Santos drew a good company, and went off with Spirit, and at an advance of tc. a 140. over previous sales, The amount sold embraced about 4,000 bags, at an Average of 11 5c. The sales also comprised 1,000 do. St. Domingo and a small lot of Porto Rico at rates given in another column, Freight engagements were light, and quotations for most articles to European ports were more or lees nominal. Sentiments of the People of Cuba—What They Think of the Proposition to Pur- chase. + The series of letters from Cuba which we pub- lish in another column to-day are worthy the attention of every reflecting man, for they pre- sent profound and fruitful suggestions as to the cour of international questions affecting the interesis of this continent. It is not for their style, their depth of thought, or beauty of composition, that they are remarka- ble. They evidently came from persons in vari- ous positions of society, and with great diffe- rences of thought and expression; but in one ‘hing they are unanimous, and that is the com- plete disclaiming of the feeling of loyalty to the crown and professions of fealty contained in the official representations lately sent by the Captain General in Havana to the court at Madrid. This is the first occasion on which the voice of the people in Cuba has found utterance in contradic- ion to the official expressions of their constituted vulers. The press of Havana is subject to a rigid censorship by the government, and even the expression in private of politieal opinions adverse to the present rule is constructive treason, and punishable by fine and im- prisonment, if not by death, These letters ail tell us that they were written under constraint. Some wrote at midnight; another did so with a pencil and in a disguised hand, so that in case the letter miscarried, the experts and chemists usually called by the Military Commis- sion to examine the writing and the ink might | not trace the writer; a few give us references in this city, that we may learn who the writers are if we doubt the genuineness of the letters; and a large number come to us anonymously. We willingly open our columns to give expression to the sentiments of the people of Cuba, so long as our courtesy is not misused by endeavoring to make it the vehicle of personal attacks ; and we have no wish to inquire the name of any writer of a proper letter sent to us from that island. It will be seen, from the evidences which we present to-day, that the number of those who dis- sent from the official expressions of the munici- pal authorities in Cuba is not small; and that itis openly stated that even many of those who have signed those manifestations do not entertain the feelings they profess. Our letters are unanimous in the assertion that not only is there no popular indignation at the proposition of Mr. Buchanan to negotiate with Spain for the cession of the island to the United States, but that on the contrary it was a subject of general rejoicing ; and two of our correspondents assert that if the question were left to the decision of the people, under some international compact that would secure them from ulterior danger for expressing their wishes, it would be carried by a unanimous Cuban vote. One of the writers goes so far as to assert that a large portion of the Spanish soldiers, if the change were to take | place, would desert their ranks and become citizens of the new State. Even should there be some exaggeration in these statements, they | prove the existence of a state of feeling in the | Cuban mind highly inimical to Spanish rule. But the strongest proof of this is the spontaneity with which this manifestation of popular feeling has broken out. It was not sought for, nor was it expected. The President, in recommending in his message the purchase of Cuba, looked at it | solely as an American question, and yet his words have stirred the people of that island from one end of it to the other. This betokens a state of things which cannot | be maintained by Spain for a long period of | years. Popular impressions wear the deeper the | more they are confined to their channels. Free- | dom presents a thousand flattering hopes. Spain is fe away, and to the great mass of the people of Cuba is known only as the country dividends, it wes urged in the course of the debate, | that sends them rulers, who exact an annual were needed by the State to complete her unfinish- | money payment from each man for a license ed public works We have some additional facts, of a very interest- ing character, showing the progress of the revoln- tion in Hayti. Our Port au Prince correspondent, writing on the 5th inst., states that great excitement prevailed in that city; trade was at a stand still and the stores closely watched, The British frigate Melbourne, on her way to England from Jamaica, had reached the harbor with over four hundred troops on board, and would remain there for the protection of all foreigners, at the request of her Majesty's Consul. A United States war vessel was loudly called for. Soulougne, in company with the Ministers of State and generals of the y, left Port au Prince ov the 28th ultimo for o ind on the following day the soldiery captured Mont Rouis. Gonaives was declared in blockade, and if the army remained true the Emperor would be re-established securely on his throne. A French- man of Saint Marc was arrested on his way to Gonaives ina boat. An official return of the move- ments of the imperial army from the 28th ultimo to the 2d instant is given. Captain Whitehouse, of the ship Condor, at Honoluln, furnishes a full report of the loss of the New Bedford whaling bark Rajah, in the Ochotsk Bea, on the 18th of October last, which we publish this morning, with a corrected list of the names of the men who perished on the occasion. The Academy of Music was crowded last even- ing, notwithstanding the rain and mnd, to hear Prof. Mitchel’s third lecture on astronomy. His remarks were specially devoted to the comets. See report in another column. ‘The Supreme Court has decided, on the applica- cation of George D. Bulen and wife against the Burdell estate, that there was no legal obligation on the part of the heirs to pay the costs and ex- penses claimed by Mr. Bulen, amounting in the ag- gregate to about $10,000, incurred by him in the contest before the Surrogate with Mrs. Cunning- ham, as to the administratorship of the personal property of Harvey Burdell. In the General Sessions yesterday Edward West and William Miller were convicted of highway rob- bery,and were sent to the State prison for ten Fears and three months. The Grand Jury were discharged, having finished their labors and made a presentment, in which they state that the increase oT crime M this city is to be attributed to the use and sale of intoxicating liquora A significant illus tration of the efficiency of our City Judge is seen in the fact that more prisoners have been sent to the State prison during the present term than have ever been so disposed of since the organization of the Court of Sessions. ‘The cotton market wis again active and firmer yoster. day. The sales embraced about 3,500 bales, in store, losing at an advance of oné-eighth of a cont per pound. ‘Wo now quote middling uplands at 12\¢.conts. The specn+ Jative fooling in flour continued, with a turthor slight im- provement in prices. Southern brands were firmer and in good demand, with free sales. Wheat was firmly held, ‘with moderate sales at full prices. Corn was heavy and | pales light. Pork was steady, but less active, with fair pales, at rates given in another column. Sugars were Lem, with sales of 600 700 bhds. and 1,137 boxes at | to reside in the home , to his fathers for generations, that. has belonged The United States are near at hand, and having been ‘the refuge of thousands of Cubans who in times of political persecutions have fled the | island, has come to be looked upon as the ark of | safety. Besides this, there is a large number of | Cuban youth that have been educated here; another that from motives of profit or pleasure | have visited this country, and not a few who have visited this as well as the older countries of | Europe. All of these things are germs of ideas | destructive to Spanish rule. If the press of Cuba is silenced, these ideas will find expression in | those of this couniry, which are carried to the | island by a thousand channels, They have a | natural course of growth and maturity, which | all experience tells us attend the growth of com- munities, and which will inevitably produce that separation between the mother country and the | colony that in the history of past times has been witnessed in many instances. This natural ripening must come, and the only question is, How shall the severance of the politi- cal ties which bind the metropolis and the colony be brought about? Hitherto it has been done through violence and wars, which have vexed | the commerce of the world. The advance of | social science and political philosophy now re- quire that another and a more peaceful method shall be found. A repetition of the straggles that destroyed the commerce of Spain for a | quarter of a century is not to be thought of. |The idea of maintaining any nation in atu quo by force of arms cannot be | realized. The growth of a nation is silent, but gradual and irresistible as the flow of a river. Dikes and dams may stop it for ajwhile, but the constant accretions of water render necessary the laying of new courses of stone, one after another, until the fabric cannot resist the pressure behind it, and the whole is carried | away in one irresistible and destructive flood. | That is the ense with Cuba. In 1825 five thou- sand men were sufficient toholdit, In 1830 an army of ten thousand men was required. This it was found necessary to increase to fifteen | thousand in 1840. Twenty thousand men wore | imperatively required by General Concha in 1860 as the smallest force with which he would undertake to hold the island to the Crown. Tlow far can this go? Where is it to end? His tory assures us that armies themselves have changed sides, Spanish generals have been | known to pronounce, Shall the peace of the world he endangered because the Spanish Conrt will not look the future in the face or cannot read its portent? This is the Cuban question of the present day, which is presented for solution ' by the Cabinets of America and Europe. NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 1859. ‘The Pacific Ratiroad, the Administration | and the Richmond Enqutrer. We submit to our readers this morning a leading editorial from the Richmond Enquirer, on the Pacific Railroad, in which Mr. Buchanan is handled with some apparent vindictiveness, as | having been guilty of deception, treachery and falschood towards the Virginia democracy upon | this important subject. Reducing the accusations thus levelled at the President to a few words, they are—Viret, That Mr. Buchanan knew, at the time of the Cincin- nati Convention, as well as he does now, that “had he previously made known to the people of | Virginia the views which he now publishes on | the subject of the Pacifie Railroad, he never | could have been nominated. 2. That he ac- cepted his nomination with this understanding.’ 38. That he thus pledged himself to the people of Virginia, 4, That the action of Pennsylvania | in the Convention confirmed this pledge. 5, That the resolution adopted by ghe Convention gave him no authority for his subsequent course. 6. That after his pledge to the contrary he serted this new the Cincinnati platform. 7. That his Pacifico Railroad letter of 1856 to the California democracy was “open to just ex- ception—that “it was mailed to California in such, manner that it could not be published on ' | this side the Rocky Mountains, except on the very eve of the election,” and “was not pub- lished here until after the election.” Such are the specifications in the premises levelled at Mr, Buchanan. But the proceedings of the Cincinnati Convention, recited by the Enquirer to prove its accusations against the President, prove only the dirty trickery and double dealing of the juggling managers of that convention. Thus it appears that the Pacific Railroad resolution, which, like Orator Puff, has “two tones to its voice,” was twice rejected be- fore the nomination of Mr. Buchanan, and that then its adoption was only achieved through the infidelity of the Pennsylvania delegates to their pledges. How the resolution “was reported, cr by whom, docs not appear. Certainly it was not accompanied with the signature of the Chair- man of the Committee on Resolutions.” It is thus sufliciently evident that this Pacific Railroad resolution was smuggled into the Cin- cinnati platform. But Mr. Buchanan found it there; and it was not his business to inquire how it got there, no more than it was his busi- ness to’ go behind the legal facts and antecedents connected with the Lecompton gpnstitution. The resolution in question, we admit, is a very ingeniously constructed two-faced concern, as our party convention manifestoes upon ticklish questions always are. It is admissible of the strict construction applied by the Fn- quer; but it is more clearly admissible of the more liberal construction adopt- ed by .Mr. Buchanan, And admitting the fact that Mr. Buchanan did send out to Cali- fornia, in 1856, his letter declaring his belief in the constitutional form of the federal govern- ment to build a railroad to the Pacific, so late in the campaign that the letter was not published on this side the Rocky Mountains “until after the election,’ what right have the Virginia democracy to complain, when the great object of Mr. Buchanan was to save the democratic party of the Atlantic coast from tumbling to pieces upon a Southern abstraction. According to the campaign proclamations of Gov. Wise, and other leaders of the Southern chivalry, the salvation of the Union depended upon the election of Mr. Buchanan; for in the event of I'remont’s success, they had threatened to march a Southern army upon Washington and to carry off all the ready cash in the Trea- sury, and the archives of the government. Thus the publication of that California letter in Vir- ginia before the election might have resulted in the dreadful calamity of the destruction of the government through the seizure of the federal capital and the robbery of the “exchequer” by aSouthern army under Gov. Wise; and so the Virginians ought to be thankful that Mr. Bu- chanan averted this calamity by his judicious course in regard to that California letter. With this defence of Mr. Buchanan, we are drawn to an inquiry into the purposes of this deliberate assault upon his ve- racity and honesty by the Richmond Enquirer, The editors of that paper may have their pri- vate grievances; but into these we care not to inquire. The present position, and the late aberrations of Gov. Wise, as a democratic aspirant for the succession, will serve our purpose. The Enquirer is his mouth-piece and devoted organ; and its opinions concerning the administration show us exactly the whereabouts of Mr. Wise. Breaking ground against Mr. Buchanan upon the Lecompton question, the Governor has continued since that day to hold a very equivocal position as a member of the democratic church, Through the Enquirer he was prompt to aggravate his re- bellious Kansas antecedents in a sweeping denun- ciation of the late annual message of the Presi- dent, in reference to the Pacific railroad, Mexico, Central America, Cuba, a general bankrupt law, and the tariff question. He has now pushed his hostility to the extremity ofa vindictive personal attack, in which, though vulgar epithets are avoided, the most offensive accusations are em- bodied. We must conclude, therefore, that Gov. Wise and his followers have cut loose from the administration, and that this, his last manifesto through the Richmond Enquirer, is a formal decla- ration of war. What then? Only another factions organiza- tion within the lines of the democratic camp. We have seen, from the proceedings of the ast and the present session of Congress, that there is anything but a “happy accord” between the administration and the Southern democratic ultras, fire-eaters and malcontents of every description. We presume that the leaders of the party in Virginia mainly con- cur in the hair splitting views of the Enquirer upon the leading topics of the message; we understand that both the Virginia Senators in Congress are opposed to the project of the thirty million Cuba bill, and we dare say that some ef their colleagues of the House hold the same opinions. But all this only serves to widen the existing breaks and splits in the party, and to multiply the chances of a democratic row at Charleston and a democratic scrub race for the succession, in which the ancient prestige and glory of the “Old Dominion” will probably sink, to rise no more. We had hoped that Governor Wise, like Mr, Douglas, would be quick to perceive the policy, a8 a party man, of the new Cuba movement em- fn the thirty million project of Mr. Slidell. But the Enquirer flatly repudiates this admirable party tonic, as too strong for the delicate nerves of the Virginia demoerncy, and shrinks with pious horror from the tremendous schedule of cénjectural expenses involved in the President's general programme. We await the action of the democracy of Congress. If thoy are firm and be ——————————— eee Cuba proposition, and pass it, uutcd upon th! near Seen Oe casionally Let out seine confessions of thelr queer they my bring even Goyernor. Wise to termay! operations, but with a degree of sublime audaci- but if they’ flinch or fail, we may a8 well to-day as to-morrow give up al! calculations of a na- tional reunion of the broken fragments of the democratic party. was —We are inundated subject of an in. Pay or Navas. Orrienk with communications on th ‘ erense inthe pay of our naval officers, The object, we presume, is to secure ihe passage © the Naval Pay bill at present before Congress, Having given a careful examination to | > sub- ject, we are compelled to admit that there is a good deal of justice in the representations on which that measure is founded. It is now nearly a quarter of a century since the present rates of pay weré established for most of the grades of the naval service. Since then the increase of the expenses of living, both at home and abroad, has effected a material diminution in the relative value of those rates, bringing them down, we believe, to nearly one- half. Whilst Congress, in the civil service, as well as in the army and marine corps, has recog- nized the necessity of rendering the pay ade- quate to the changes which have taken place in the rates of living, it bas overlooked in this mea- sure of justice a body of officers to whom, per- haps more than any other, this country owes its present greatness, Whilst it hus raised the pay of the army, whose services are rarely pushed beyond our own frontiers, it has made little or no angmenta- tion in that of the navy, whieh is called upon to represent not only merely the power, but the dignity of the republic abroad. To place our naval officers in the straits to which they are consiantly reduced by the narrowness of their incomes, and to expose them to the invidious comparisons drawn between them and officers of the same rank in foreign services, is humiliat- ing not only to the gallant men thus employed, but to the pride of a nation which claims to be one of the first in the world. In order to show the justice of the augmenta- tions embodied in the Naval Increase bill, we will just mention a few facts to prove the dis- parity which exists between the pay of our own army and navy. Whilst a major general in the army gets as annual pay and emoluments, exclu- sive of quarters and fucl, $7,293, a captain in the navy, holding assimilated rank, gets as pay and rations in command of a squadron only $4,091 25. A brigadier general gets $5,214; a captain in the navy, over ten years’ date of commission and com- manding a ship, only $3,691 25. A colonel in the army gets $4,585; a captain in the navy, over five years’ date of commission and com- manding a ship, only $3,591 25. A lieutenant colonel gets $4,127; a captain in the navy, under five years’ date of commission and holding the same assimilated rank, only $2,891 25, A major gets $3,249; a commander jn the navy only $2,591. A captain in the army gets $2,782; a lieutenant in the navy, holding corresponding rank. only $1,591 25. And throughout the different other grades of the ser- vice the same disproportion is observable. When we come to compare the pay of our naval officers with that of other services the dif- ference is still more striking, Thus our senior captains get only $4,500, when in the English service an admiral of the fleet, corresponding in rank, gets $15,932. American captains of squad- ‘Tons get $4,000; British admirals, $14,162. American captains, full pay, $3,500; British vice admirals, $11,391 75. American commanders, full pay, $2,500; British commanders, first class, $10,621. American lieutenants commanding, $1,800; British captains of fleets, $5,310. And so on down to the rank of purser. Seeing how much we already owe to our navy, and how much of our future political importance is dependent upon its efficiency, we think that steps should at once be taken by Congress to re- move the just causes of complaint to which the above facts give rise. It is impossible that any body of men can feel satisfaction in a service in which such inconsistent disparities exist, and in which they are exposed to the daily humiliation of finding their pay inadequate to support their familics and the rank which they fill. The coun- try has no right to expose its servants to such degradation. The niggardly economics of a great nation are the penny wise and pound fvol- ish savings of short sighted financiers. CurvaLter Barnemw axp Lota Monts on Tuer Tray Our amiable transatlantic cousins are enjoying a rich treat, or, rather, two treats. They sent to us some time ago the fascinating Lola Montes, ex-countess, ex-poli- tician, ex-danseuse, ex-actress—in fact, she had all the ex’s but none of the excellences of her sex. We had a good deal of Lola—rather too much, indeed; for a little of that sort of thing goes agreat way. There were no special re- grets when the dear one took advantage of the Galway line and left onr shores. She carried with her, on the same principle of Esquimaux importations by arctic voyages, a specimen of American manufacture, in the shape of a Tam- many Hall politician, redolent of the Pewter Mug and dusty with the debris of the Coal Hole. The happy youth and still happier maid are on their travels through the United Kingdom. Lola is giving to the curious Britons some informa. tion, such as it is, upon the social and {political peculiarities of our glorious republic. The agricultural population of Great Britain is no- toriously gullible; but if they can take in all that Lola, who is a crinoline Munchausen, tells them, Mr. Bright may as well shut up his reform shop at once. Of course we could not take such a treasure as Lola without giving something in return; so we have loaned to the English the Chevalier Bar- ‘num, ex-showman, ex-proprietor of the mermaid, the woolly horse, Joice Heth and Tom Thumb, ex-clock speculator, ex-fire annihilator and ex- Jenny Lind engineer. Although differing from Lola in style and manner, the Chevalier Barnum pursues essentially the same line of the country. Dickens tells of a dwarf who eat on the top of a barrel organ, and as the music came out felt his money coming in. Lola has the Tammany exile to see that her money comes in, and no doubt the Chevalier Barnum would like a similar contribu- tion from the same source. We can spare them in any quantity, and it is their natural voestion to keep a sharp eye for the spoils. ‘We have given an instalment of Lola’s lectare upon the United States, and we have before us the London journals which chronicle the début of the Chevalier Barnum at St. James’ Hall. He told the British people how to get money, adopt- ing for the basis of his oration the theory that the aggregation of wealth was the entire sum and substance of human happiness. Ile compared himself with the great poets, paint- ers and sculptors, and claimed that instead of be- ing a humbug, he, like they, only heightened nature a little. Both Lola and the chevalier oc ty rotely paralleled iv any age, they set them: selves op as guides and teachers of the public mind. They are really very vulgar, common place persons, who have managed to acquire 4 certain degree of uotoricty by uablushing impu- dence and unbending pertinucity. The British public bus a penchant for odd things, aud we oh them joy of Barnum and J.ola Montez. We can do without them; and we only hope that Mr. Bull will come down 60 liberally with bis shillings that the twin luminaries wii uever be tempted to re-visit our shores. We have been bored with them quite long enough, and it is only fair that the broad shouldered Britons should bear their portion of the burden. Tur ok fxsrecror Conrnoversy.—As the committee of the Board of Aldermen to whom was referred the appointee of the Mayor for City Inspector have not thought proper to take any action in the business, it becomes a matter of come importance that the question should be settled in some way beiween the Ms md the present occupant of the City Inspector's office, about the legality of whose present course there is some difference of opinion. The Corporation Counsel, we understand, holds that Mr. Mortom is entitled to retain his position until his sacces- sor is appointed; and if this were so, the Board of Aldermen could keep him in office for another year, should it become their interest to do so, But many other eminent lawyers view the matter differently from the Corporation Counsel. ‘The Mayor has procured the written opinion of one of the leading lawyers in the city, to the eflect that Mr. Morton had no authority in law to exercise any of the functions or receive the salary or fees of the City Inspector's oilice after the Ist of January inst. This opinion is based upon the distinct declaration of the 51st section of the amended charter of 1857, which says that “the persons then filling the offices of Corpora- tion Counsel and City Inspector shell continue in office until the expiration of their soveral terms.” Now, there is no doubt that Mr. Mor- ton’s term expired on the Ist of January; for he was elected by the people for three years, and no more, and as the end of that period was reached on the above date, that settles the point as to the term of his office. It is contended, on the other hand, that the 2ist section of the’Charter permits the heads of executive departments to hold their offices “ until their successors are appointed;” and it might possibly be so construed with reference to the City Inspector, were it not that a subsequent section—the 51st-—specially excepted that office and the Corporation Counsel, as above stated; thereby implying that the former section applied to appointed officers only, and not to elective ones. This view is borne out by an opinion of the Attorney General of the United States in 1854—Hon. B. F. Butler—that administrative ofticers generally, in contemplation of law, hold over until their successors are appointed and qualified, but that this does not apply to elective or judicial officers, who cannot be allowed to exercise their functions “after the expiration of the terms of service for which they have been elected or appointed.” As Mr. Morton’s office was an elective one at the time of his elevation thereto, this would seem to cover his case, and, taken in connection with the ex- press declaration of the fifty-first section of the charter referred to, would indicate that he can be removed by due process of law. But it may not be necessary to resort to measures of co- ercion in order to put this important department into working order, for we believe that Mr. Morton has dismissed all the new subor- dinates whom he appointed since the Ist of January, which looks as though whatever aurangement had been made with his friends in the Board of Aldermen with reference to ap- ointments, as boasted of by one of the Board, was not to be carried out ; and on the presump- tion that such a compact formed the mainspring of the opposition to the Mayor’s nominee, the ap- pointment may possibly be now confirmed. It is to be hoped that such will be the case; for the idea of a city like this, containing a mil- lion of people, being left without a government in the Sanitary Department, either through the pranks of the Board of Aldermen or the quibbles of law, is preposterous; and that fact alone is enough to make this metropolis a byeword among all the civilized cities of the world, if its abominable misgovernment in other respects has not made it so already. Axoruer Granp Scene oF ANNEXATION.—We perceive from the proceedings of Congress yes- terday, that Mr. Farnsworth (republican), of Illinois, asked leave to offer a long preamble setting forth the importance of our possessing all the British American provinces, concluding with a resolution instructing the Committee on Foreign Affairs to inquire into the expediency of initiating measures to secure them by honor- able treaty. The resolution was objected to, perhaps as a slur at the Cuba thirty million proposition; but what objection can there be to the annexation of all British North America, if it can be bought? It would soon pay for itaclf from the public lands, fisheries, &c., which would thus be secured, and the Fugitive Slave law might thus be brought within reach of some thousands of runaway slaves on the other side of the Canadian boundary. With the South- ern annexations of Cuba and Mexico, the North will doubless insist upon the acquisition of the Canadas, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, <&c.; and what harm would there be in sounding the British government in advance? Let Mr. Farns- worth’s proposition have an airing. It is too grand to be treated as a joke. Forney Expenimentrxa.—It appears that the Chevalier Forney, the other evening, at a little private convention of disaffected democrats in Philadelphia, proposed the experiment of bring- ing out Mr. Douglas as an independent Presiden- tial candidate, without further loss of time, and without regard to the Charleston Convention. It seems, however, that the motion was coldly re- ceived by Forney’s associates, who preferred the old plan of adhering to the usages of the party. ‘This is evidently the policy of Mr. Douglas him- self; and his cordial support of the Cuba thirty million proposition indicates that poor Forney is in danger of being left out in the cold to fight his own battles against the administration. We have always advocated the policy of indepen- dent popular Presidential nominations; but For- ney is hardly the man to initiate the movement. Turmtow Wren on tim Avnricay Stave ‘Trave.—On the strength of a Washington rumor that the House Committee on Naval Affiirs at Washington are preparing a report, the effect of which, ifadopted, will be the revival of the Afci- ean slave trade, Thurlow Weed goos off half cocked into a doleful rigmarole on the African slave (rade tendencies of the democratic party, We had supposed chat Mester Weed would be too busy about these times with hie Albany lobby Jobs to attend to niggers in auy shape or form; but it secms that he still has time to hook after Sambo, We fear, however, that the report in question, of the Naval Committee, when brought forth, will disappoint his expectations. Let him keep cool until we have the report, THE LATEST NEWS. AFFAIRS AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. The Slidell Proposition—Grand Flare Up in the Senate Between Fitch and Douglas— Rencontre Between Messrs. Tayior and Waldron, &c., &e. OUR SPECIAL WASHINGTON DESPATCH. Wasnincton, Jan. 21, 1859. There is stil] much doubt and discussion among the re- publicans as to the course to be pursued on the Slidell Proposition to negotiate the purchase of Cuba, and no decision has as yet been arrived at. Some of tho younger members think the occasion a good one to got rid @f the old leaders and bring out new men. Those from Obgo say that to oppose the measure is to commit them virtually against the free sugar question, which has been once carried in their State Legislature. Advices have been received from Governor Bunks that the cotton manufacturing interests of Massachusetts will 0 for the measure, on the ground that they are now kept out of a good market for five millions of dollars of their products, f In executive session of the Senate to-day an angry and exciting discussion arose between Judge Douglas and Senator Fitch, when words were used which it is thought must lead toa duel. The debate occurred on the question of confirming Potter, of Ohio, as Collector of Toledo, Mr. Pugh opposed Potter’s nomination, as the man displaced was his friend. He gald if the President desired an issue with him (Pugh) he was ready for it. He denounced the appointment, and called on every Senator who was hig (Pugh’s) friend to vote against it. Douglas responded, faying he would vote with the Senator from Ohio. He then branched off on to the Illinois appointments, and said. they were diehonest, corrupt and incompetent. Senator Fitch interrogated Douglas, and gaid it was untrue. Douglas again reiterated what he had said. Fitch again said it~ was untrue. Cries of order were then made. Douglas continued the debate. Fitch replied to Douglas with great bitterness, and said that Senators knew how to prize anything coming from that quarter. Cries of or- rwere again made. Douglas then replied, and was culled to order, Motions were then made that Douglas be allowed to go on in order. Jeff. Davis opposed it, and said, turning to Douglas, he had listened with indignation to the language used, and it was that of a highwayman and bravo. The debate was continued some time, when a motion was made and the Senate adjourned. It is said the lie was given and most severe personal remarks made. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs met again this morning, and bad under consideration Mr. Branch’s re- port. The report is voluminous, and discusses the ques_ tion of Cuban affairs in every aspect. Some amendments were suggested, which will be submitted at tho next meeting, when the report will be adopted. The minority have not yet completed their report. They scem to be afraid to take position on the question, as many republicans favor the purchase of Cuba. ‘The Senate Finance Committee is industriously engaged upon the subject of retrenchment and reform. They in- tend to carry it into all the departments of government. The appropriation bitls will be thoroughly sifted. The iron interest is largely represented here just now, looking after the tariff, New England is also on hand, to see that free woo! is not interfered with,” The eelect committee to investigate matters connected with the Navy Department met this morning. They in- tend. to sit daily during the session, so as to bring their labors toa close before Congress adjourns, They bave despatched officers to subpena witnesses. ‘The Interior Department is informed that the Supreme Court of Michigan made a decision sustaining the claim of the department in question to titles to town sites of Ontouagon, which invalidates the claims of those now holding. A rencontre occurred in the Capitol to-day between Mr. Chas. C. Waldron, late Deputy Collector of the port ot New York, and the Hon. George Taylor, M.C. from Brook- lyn, who resented offensive words uttered by Mr. W. by a pretty rough assault on him, The interference of by- standers was prompt, and therefore, of course, no scrious bodily harm was done. OUR GENURAL NEWSPATER DESPATCH. Wasmctox, Jan, 21, 1859. Tho President to-day sent to the Senate a message in reply to the resolution calling for copies of any correspondence in relation to the purchase of Cuba, which bas not yet been made public. He says that no such correspondence has taken place which bas not already been communicated to Congress, and adds:— “In my Jast annual Message I stated that the publicity which has been given to our former negotiations on this subject, and the large appropriations which may be re- quired Lo effect the purpose, render it expedient before making another attempt to renew the negotiation, that I should lay the whole subject before Congress. I still en- tertain the same opinion: deeming it highly important, if not indispensable to the success of any negotiations which I might institute for the purpose, that the measure should receive the previous sanction of Congress.” ‘The message was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. The resolution introduced by Mr. Seward to-day, and referred to the Senate Post Office Committee, providing for continuing the conveyance of tie mails between New York and Liverpool by way of Southampton, Havre and Bremen, authorizes the Postmaster General to contract with any parties who will give adequate security for the faithful performanco of the service for the sum of twelve thousand five hundred dollars for each round trip, or the sen and inland postage, at the option of the contractors. As Hon. George Taylor, of the House of Rep- resentative, was passing one of the halls of the Capitol this afternoon, he overheard a high- Wy offensive romark from Mr. Waldron, of New York, made to the latter's companion. Approaching Mr. Waldron, Mr. Taylor asked whether that language was directed against him? On receiving, after hesitation, an affirmative response, Mr. Taylor resented the insult by hitting Mr. Waldron with his fist. Mr. Waldron struck back with an umbrella, of which Mr. Taylor obtainod pos- fession after it passed from Mr. Waldron’s hand, and struck him with it, and then threw it at him. Other par- Yes interposed and provented furthef difficulty. It is said that Mr. Taylor presented the charges on which Mr. Waldron was removed from the oflice of Deputy Collector of the Custom House at New York. ‘The petition presented by Senator Wilson to-day, from the Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts, aska for a Settlement of their claims for the half pay for life, pro- mised by the act of October, 1783,to the Continental army. They do not ask this as a matter of bounty or pension, but that Congress redeem its plighted faith. The following naval appointments have been confirmed by the Senate:—Surgeons—Edward Hudson and MoCoun; Assistant Surgeons—Lining, Bertalotto, Leach, Christian, Magee, Gibbs, Buractt and W. M. King; Pursers—Picroe and Fulton; Chief Engineers—Stewart and Stimers. The following Marine Corps officers have also bcon confirmed :— Captain—Tansill; First Lieutenant—Browning; Second Lieutenants—Jngraham and Rathbone. Secretary @is has applied to Congress for an appropria- tion for thoealary of Townsend Harris, Minister Resident 0 Japan. ‘The House to-day was opened with prayer, for the firat ime, by a Roman Catholic priest in full dress. THIRTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. BEOOND BRSSION. Senate, Wasiineton, Jan. 21, 1859. INORRASE OW PAY IN THE NAVY. Mr. Kine, (opp.) of N. Y., presented a memoria’ from citizens of New York, praying {or an increase in the pay of officers of the Navy. THR FOREIGN POSTAL SERVICE, Mr. SewarD, (opp.) of N. ¥., Introduced & joint resota- tton concerning the trangportation of the mails between New York and Liverpool, and between New York and ‘Bremen and Havre, via Southamp on. Referred. Mr. Wiisos, (opp.) of Mass., presented a petition from the Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusotts, Referred, Tho private calendar was then taken up, Atnong the general business transacted Mr. Biglor pre- sented a memorial from citizens of Ponnsylvania urging fpecific duties on iron, MORE LAND GRANTS Mr. Tantas, (opp.) of lowa, presented a memorial,