The New York Herald Newspaper, February 16, 1859, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. OFFICE N. W. CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS. TERMS, cash in ‘sender. advance, Money sent by mail will bea risk of the esses ssamge tee santosh ao cotecrip ion mon THe DAILY HERALD, two cents , 91 per annum. THE WEEKLY HERALD, ica, at ota cents 4 copy, or BS y al sxx cente per or $5 to opp. or G1 80 por cnn rae rani HERALD, every Wednesday, at four cents p+r ISeratly patd jor. sae Own Poustaw CORRESPONDENTS ARE ParticvLan.y Requestep 70 Seat All Larrens an Pao: AGO NOTICE taken of anonymous correspondence, We dono je rm ions. return rejected com D ; nS renewed day; advertisements in- ADVERTISEMENTS roncced every days “44 serted in ay Seite by mel TINTING executed with neainess, cheapness and de- spatch, AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. BROADWAY THEATRE, Broadway.—Waeoe AsHoRE— ‘Tue AvENSER—Famity Jans. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broxdway.— Afternoon and Evening— Cincos PeRrokMancrs—TRaixgD Hoxses, Muss, £0. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—G1o, Tam ARMORER OF Tyne—bean Huyters—Biack BLUNDERS. BURTON'S NEW THEATRE, Sroadway—Our Faas American Covsin—King’s Ganvewen, WALLACK’S THEATRE, Broadway—Tums VaTeran; OR, FRANCE AND ALGERIA. ° LAURA KEENE’S THEATRE, No, 624 Broadway.—Ovn Ausnican Covusin—Janny Live. BARNUM’S AMERICAN MUSEUM, Broadway.—After- somane Evening- Ngo Minerextay—Cvssosreiss, ko. WOOD'S MINSTREL BUILDING, 561 and "~~ hema ruioriaN Soncs, Dances, &0.—Mystio Sri BRYANTS’ MINSTRELS, MECHANICS’ HALL, 427 Broad- way—Necro Soncs anp BuxLesques—Wipe Awake. ACADEMY OF MUSIC. Fourteenth street.—How. Horace Gaeniey’s' Lectuxe on Great Mex. New York, Wednesday, February 16, 1859. pede rte 4s bn nmr ils ae a rT MAILS FOR EUROPE. Whe New York Herald—Edition for Europe. The Cunard mail steamship Asia, Capt. Lott, will leave this port to-day for Liverpool. The European mails will close in this city at half-past ten o’clock this morning. ‘The European edition of the Heratp will be published at ten o’clock in the morning. Single copies, in wrappers, Bix cents. Subscriptions and advertisements for any edition of the New York Hera will be received at the following places ae 47 Ludgate Hill. Lonpon....Sampson Low, Son & Co., 47 Ludgat . priser Starr & Co., 74 King William street. 8 place de la Bourse, 9 Chapel street. street, Bast. , 21 Rue Corneille, The contents of the European edition of the Hxratp will combine the news received by mail and telegraph at the office during the previous week and up to the hour of Publication. The News. In Congress yesterday the Senate took up and passed the House bill modifying the pay of officers of the army. Among the amendments adopted by the Senate was one cutting off the brevet pay of Gen. Scott, some five thousand dollars only. A bill regulating the mileage of members was introduced and referred. Notice was given of a motion to take up the Old Soldiers’ Pension bill to- day, in order to have a test vote on it. The bill providing for the acquisition of Cuba was then taken up, and Senators Crittenden and Hale delivered elaborate speeches in opposition to the measure. The House was engaged in discuss- ing the Senate’s amendment to the Indian Appro- priation. In the Legislature yesterday the Senate passed the bill to extend the charter of the Harlem Rail- road. The Assembly was occupied in debate upon the Registry Law bill. We publish some very interesting details con- cerning the landing of the ex-Emperor of Hayti, his family, and suite, at Kingston, Jamaica, this morn- ing. It appears that some exiled Haytiens, with exceeding bad taste, grudged his fallen Majesty the shelter which had been extended to themselves when in trouble, and that one of them went so far as to attempt an assault on his person. It is highly probable, had not the British frigate Melbourne touched at Port au Prince, that either Soulouque or his Cabinet Ministers, or perhaps all of them, would have lost their lives at the hands of the excited popu- lace. As it was, the ex-Emperor, his wife and family, had to be escorted through the streets leading to the harbor by a strong force of English marines, ac- companied by the British and French Consuls. It ‘was proposed by the crowd to fire the house in which the ex-Ministers were lodged; but President Geffrard having issued a soothing proclamation, the deposed officials were permitted to go into exile. Soulouque was about to rent a mansion at Kings- ton, where his appearance, aided perhaps by his cash, had impressed the white population favor- ably towards him. In the Court of General Sessions yesterday, Florence Myers, indicted for burglary in the first degree in entering the dwelling house of John Hig- gins, 273 Elizabeth street, on the 6th inst., and stealing $28 worth of silver spoons, pleaded guilty to the third grade of that offence, and the Recorder sent him to the State prison for four years and eight months. John Hustis, jointly indicted with Wm. Johnson for keeping a faro table at 575 Broad- way, was convicted on the complaint of Benjamin F. Hibber, who swore that on the 24th of Novem- ber he lost $600 in Johnson’s establishment. Hus- tis was committed to prison, and will be sentenced on Saturday. Hugh Hays, indicted for an assault with intent to kill Michael O'Riley on the 4th of April, pleaded guilty to assault and battery, and was remanded for sentence. Wm. Foster, who was jointly indicted with William Hanley for assaulting Thomas Burns, in Tammany Hall, on the night of the 24th of November, was convicted of anassault and battery. It appeared from the evidence that Burns was a “regular” delegate to a convention to nominate Councilmen, and that the defendant was one of the “irregulars,” who hai possession of the room, and who attempted to pre- vent the “regulars” from entering, which resulted in a Tammany fight. Foster will be sentenced on the last day of the term. Itis understood that the Grand Jury will bring in bills of indictment this morning against the alleged murderers of Decker, in the Sixth ward. At the meeting of the Board of Ten Governors yesterday a resolution, r@yuesting the Common Council to examine the books and affairs of the Almshouse Department, was adopted. There were 8,279 persons in the institution in charge of the Governors on the 12th instant. A bill for oysters supplied to Bellevue Hospital from the 23d of September to the 27th of January, amounting to pole 71, was referred to the Warden for explana- tion. A few of the members of the Board of Council. men instructed the Clerk yesterday to call a spe- cial meeting of the Board on Wednesday, at three o'clock, for the purpose of passing the tax levy. The foreign news by the America bad a tendency to un. ‘tle the cotton market yesterday. The sales were con- tow few hundred bales, in store, which were too ed in amount to afford any correct criterion of prices, wos rumored that some 800 bales were sold in transit, % seemed disposed (0 await the arrival of private vos by the steamer before doing much. Private dos. hea, it was reported, had come to hand trom one or oof the Gulf ports, which tended to show that receipts har to come extent been checked, the truth of which, Lowever, we’ could not fully trace, Flour was again crmer, with pretty free sales both on speculation and to toe domestic trade; common and medium grades again told at vetter prices, Wheat was held above the views or t u f i \ Of buyers for prime lots, while sales were limited. Corn ‘was more active for new, while prices were rather easier. Pork was heavy and prices favored purchasers, The sales embraced new mess at $16 25, and prime at $13 60 a $13 6234. Sugars were in fair demand, wit. - Jes of about 900 a 1,000 bhds., included in which w re 109 bhds. Lew crop Cuba muscovado at rates given in another colum, The sales also embraced about 1,800 Dixes it TC. @ Die. Coffee was steady, but quiet. Freig hts were steady, with moderate engagements, among which were some lots of compressed and uncompressed ‘so to Liverpool at 5-32d. and $-16d., and a lot of Sea v) do. at 3-84. Rosin at 1s. 10344. to 2s., and tierce beef at 3s. The State of Affairs in Europe. The aspect of affairs in Europe, as conveyed in the report from Halifax yesterday of the news by the steamship America, wears anything but a pacific aspect, What most characterises the present state of affairs is its marked similarity to the condition of things previous to the breaking out of the Crimean war. Then we had continual rumors {rom “the best informed circles” that the ques- tions pending would be amicably adjusted, and official journals preached peace up to the last moment, Yet England, France, Russia and the other continental Powers went on with their belligerent preparations until all Christendom found iteelf fighting the battle of the Turk, or maintajning an armed neutrality that was nearly as costly as war. Soin the present case. In England, while the official journals disclaim all intention on the part of the government to per- mit iteelf to be mixed up with the new complica- tions which have arisen, there is a marked activity in the gunpowder department, and the country looks anxiously for the opening of Par- liament, which was to take place in a few days. France presents even more marked indications of war than England. The cavalry is being filled up with urgency, artillerymen are making large preparations of cartridges, ships are ordered from Cherbourg to the Mediterranean, and other signs are visible on all sides. All these evidences, however, do not prove that war is going to take place between France and Austria, or between France and England, or Sardinia and anybody else. They are possi- bly the signs of something else than an interna- tional war to make or break Louis Napoleon as arbiter of Europe. The financial revulsion which swept over the world a little more than a year ago has left the material prosperity of the go- vernments and communities of the Continent in a state which is little more than a hollow sham. The governments have carried themselves through, and are still keeping up appearances by a series of loans, which in reality is nothing more than putting off fora short time the day of reckoning. Trade has not revived, industry is not prosperous, credit is not restored to that degree which would warrant the confident belief that these three elements of peace are ina sound condition. The financial centres of every capi- tal in Europe are agitated with the fear that the public debt, and the vast system which pre- vails there of squeezing the active classes to pay the drones and a brutal soldiery, are about to follow the old assignats of France and the red book system of Louis the Sixteenth. Germany in this respect is rotten to the core, with its enor- mous list of princes and petty courts. Austria has been forced to march eighty thousand troops into Gallicia to keep down the popular fermen- tation. Italy is filled with idleness, profligacy and poverty. But it is in France where this state of things weighs most heavily. There the financial revulsion of 1857 was apparently stayed and controlled by a powerful exercise of the imperial will ; but the results were only warded off for a while, and not completely passed over. In Paris at the present moment it is doubtful whether the court pays most attention to its preparations for war, or its efforts to revive the prosperity of trade and industry. The imperial halls are brown open twice a week, and everybody is in- vited, which is equivalent to acommand to come, and no one can appear twice in the same dress. The efforts to stimulate emigration to Algeria, the resuscitation of the slave trade to the French colonies, the vast imperial works that are under- taken, the desperate gambling on the Bourse, are alla part of the same system. Every effort is made to keep up this sham of artificial pros- perity; but natural laws must in the end prevail, and the bubble burst. The stirring up of the Italian question, as we have on a former occasion pointed out, has more to do with these political necessities of Louis Napoleon at home than it has with any intention of establishing the liber- ties of Italy. The whole continent of Europe is preparing the elements of a volcanic revolution, which must come sooner or later. It is only a question of how long the tinsel may dazzle, or a brutal soldiery cow the people. A famine ora frolic may inaugurate the change at any mo- ment. Corrections about Mr, StckLes.—We are in- formed on competent authority that the story which has been circulated of differences between Hon. Mr. Sickles, Member of Congress, and Mr. Butterworth, of the Assay Office in this city, is entirely incorrect. It will be recollected that Mr. Butterworth was the second of Mr. Sickles in the Tucker affair, and probably the corres- pondence which took place in that affair gave rise to the mistake. At all events, the friend. ship between the two gentlemen is as strong as ever, Another Washington correspondent mentioned that Mr. Sickles was agent for a claim in one of the departments, held by Secor & Co., of this city. Mr. Sickles is a lawyer by profession, and very good fn his line; and if any gentleman having a ease in the courts at Washington, or elsewhere, chooses to select him as counsel, he has a perfect right to do 80, and Mr. Sickles has an equal right to ac- cept the case, which, in fact, would be only prac- tising in his line of business. It is no imputa- tion against the character of a lawyer that he attends to his professional duties and takes care of the interests of his clients. But it happens that Mr. Sickles is not the agent or the lawyer in that claim, and our correspondent must have been led into a mistake, not from any unfriendly purpoee, but from a blundering propensity on the part of his informant. These are very small matters for the friends of Mr. Sickles to complain of, for if the atate- ments were all true, they would not involve any reflection on his character either as a politician or a8 a professional man. He had a perfect right to quarrel with Mr. Butterworth if he had rea- sons; but he has not done so, and he is still his friend, including also Ike Fowler, who is a little slippery. He had a perfect right, asa lawyer and man of business, to take a fee, if offered to him, in the case of Secor & Co., a8 well as in any other case; but it seems that in that case he has done nothing of the kind, and will be so much the loser. As 4 politician, however, he seems to have oc- NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1859. cupied a very prominent position in the face of | ate name for the new commonwealth, moreover, the assailants of Mr. Buchanan and his measures, | Would be the State of Triainsula, or the Three and on that score he has given general satisfac- | Islands—a comprebensive, significant and withal tion to his constituents—a course which some of his friends have not followed up with the same zeal and the same tenacity of purpose that he has done. We wish Mr. Sickles would infuse a little of his spirit and pluck into the democracy of Tammany Hall. All the original jierté of that old concern seems to have gone off with Fernan- do Wood. Ike Fowler & Co. are a slow team at best. ‘Tammany Hall and the Cuba Question—Tho True Position of Parties in New York. Since the Sachems of Tammany Hall smoked the pipe of peace in Washington, and came home and passed the Cuba regolutions, which smacked of the old times when they had a party at their back, the leaders of the democratic masses im New York have given no sign of life. We are well aware, however, that this seem- ing state of blissful peace among them is only apparent, and that they are busy scheming and plotting among themselves against each other, and how to secure the largest share of the god they worship, which is the spoil. The Tammany tribe has declared a secret war against all who dare to introduce anything like the issues of the day among them, to disturb their happy gorg- ings, and the recent Cuba resolutions have been quietly extinguished. The old gray rats are well convinced that they have a good thing of it in the Tammany larder as at present consti- tuted, and eo they have cautiously declared a political death penalty against any one who may claim on the Cuba platform a show in the next distribution from the city flesh pots. This was precisely the course they pureued last fall, and it is evident to every one that their defeat in the charter elec- tion was a direct and palpable rebuke given by the people to the Tammany spoilsmen. The Dickinsons, Richmonds, Woods, Fowlers, Purdys, Tiemanns, Schells and Harts may take this truth home with them and ponder over it. By their narrow and selfish policy of clique gov- ernment all the young talent of the city and State bas been driven away to seek other parties and coalitions a1 new field for exertion. It was this clique tyranny which gave the State over to the black republicans, and the same baleful in- fluence is now depriving the party of all possi- bility of reorganization under the wise counsels and leadership of Mr. Buchanan. Without a new and true issue, with new men and new leaders, the democratic party can never hope to regain its ascendency in this city. The people are sick and tired of the constant internal squabbles and distractions on paltry questions of party discipline and the distribution of the spoils to the leaders. Rotation is one of the soundest planks in the democratic platform, and it must be brought to bear on the present state of af- fairs. The old woodpeckers and war horses, the grand sachems, grand warriors and grand fugle- men of the democratic wigman must be set aside in behalf of the success of the party on which they have lived. If Wood and Tiemann are eager for another gladiatorial contest to show their personal prowess, they must bring it off in a private way, for the old issues are gone, and the leaders must go with them. The new issues have been presented to the country by Mr. Buchanan, and everywhere they are scattering the disorganized factions and making a practical recrystallization of parties, Foremost among those stands the Cuba question. It is the Aaron’s rod of the next political cam- paign, swallowing up all the abstractions of nig- gerism, free soilism, free loveism, free treasonism, and everything else that has been so long played on by political spoil gatherers. Let new men take Cuba for their rallying cry and watchword, and it will unite all sections and factions among the people. Even Mozart Hall and the Pewter Mug will fall in upon this compromise platform, or they will be abandoned by the masses, The vast trade and manufacturing and mechanical interests of New York are more deeply interested in the annexation of Cuba than all the rest of the Union together; and if a new set of democratic leaders will inscribe Cuba upon their banners they will present a united democracy to the support of the President, will bring back the young and vigorous talent of the city and State into their ranks, and Seward, with his black republi- can cohorts and disunion flags, would be borne out of sight and disappear forever, Tue Grievances or StareN Istanp—A New State Requinep ts THE Unton.—The extermi- nation of Quarantine at Staten Island last fall has involved the residents of that insular ap- pendage to the State of New York in some pecu- niary troubles which foreshadow a heavy draft on their pockets. Subsequent to the conflagra- tion, when legal proceedings were instituted against the parties alleged to be the ringleaders, a eubscription was taken’ up among the inhabi- tants of Richmond county, amounting, we be- lieve, to about nine thousand dollars, for the purpose of defending the individuals prosecuted and defraying such other expenses as were in- curred by the summary removal of Quarantine. The Supervisors of the county have framed the tax levy for the present year, and we under- stand that the taxes on property have been in- creased nearly forty per cent, as is alleged, to meet the expenses which have arisen out of the proceedings of the first and second of Septem- ber last; the county thus voluntarily taxing itself with the amount required to carry out these proceedings, both of a legal and—as it is claimed—an illegal character, in addition to the subscriptions to a private fund already created. The Legislature, it must be remembered, have also in consideration the question whether the county of Richmond shall not be held accountable for the entire damages accruing from the burning of the Quaran- tine buildings, including the expenses of main- taining Governor King’s army of occupation. If this should be determined against the Staten Islanders, it seems that they will have to pay three times over for the luxury of a pure and healthy atmosphere, free from the dangers of pestilence; so that ina pecuniary point of view, the destruction of the Quarantine hospitals will have proved a costly affair to the parties inte- reated. This is decidedly a hard case, and in view of the meddling legislation at Albany with which this city and its neighboring counties are afflict- ed—the Metropolitan Police law, Quarantine laws, Commissions, and so forth—would it not be a good idea, as if the only escape from the nuieance, to create 2 new independent State, composed of the three islands, Manhattan, Long Island and Staten Island, whose interests are ina measure identical? We are fully competent to govern ourselves without the assistance of the sagacions legislators from the country districts who now make laws for us. A very appropri- | euphonious nomenclature, albeit it is neither Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, nor yet Indian, in its origin. Let us think about it! Lectures and Lecturers, The business of boring people with what are called lectures is, by a special Providence, usuaNy confined to country lyceums, wherein the old folks congregate to sleep, and the young ones to flirt or pout, as the case may be. Whether or not we of the metropolis have committed any particular enormities this winter is beyond our ken. We are, of course, awfully wicked at al! times; but it has not appeared that we are more so now than usual, except by the overwhelming number of lectures and kindred humbugs with which we have lately been afllicted. The topics embrace history, biography, science, literature, politics, poetry and art. We have one philovo- pher expatiating upon King Bomba; another giving bis views upon society in the United States; a third waxes geological; the redoubtable Count Joannes is in the field with his French reminiscences, and the Hon. Massa Greeley heads the list with an oration upon “Great Men;” and people are not only expected to go and suffer these things, but absolutely to disburse current coin of the United States for the happy boon of being bored te death, That such a terrible result muat eventuate from the efforts of these would-be guides, leaders and teachers of the people, is beyond per adven- ture, when we take into consideration the fact that they almost invariably select some topic upon which they are entirely uninformed. Take the Hon. Massa Greeley, for example: He goes about the country delivering lectures to the farmers upon the science of the soil, when the science of the composing stick is the only one that he ever learned. What a splendid discourse he could deliver, however, upon the Irish rebel- lion of ’48; the art of getting up a paper revolux tion; procuring subscriptions to a liberty fund, and then taking the liberty to keep its final destination a profound secret; orupon the reception of Kossuth; or the Na- tional Kansas Fund, which was raised to slay all the border ruffians, when they ran away and the subscriptions “made unto themselves thin air, into which they vanished;” or upon that remark- able breeches pocket which touched pitch in the shape of a thousand dollar draft, drawn by the Treasurer of the Fort Des Moines Company in favor of a lobby member of Congress, and came forth undefiled! But no; like all great philo- sophers, the Hon. Massa Greeley is very imprac- ticable, and instead of lecturing upon topics with which he is acquainted, he prefers to sail into the puddle of muddy theories and dingy ge- neralities, Mr. Park Benjamin, too, is unfortu- nate in his topic, which should be literary infan- ticide. He could explain to sucking journalists the whole art and mystery of establishing, rear- ing and killing off newspapers, as he has had an extensive experience in journals which have never lived through the process of dentition. A history of these unfortunate publications, which have been nipped in the flower of their youth and interred, with many tears, no doubt, by Mr. Benjamin, would be intensely amusing. The scientific lecturer is safer than the literary one. The former can say all manner of stupid things without danger of detection. In fact, so far as practical application goes, such sciences as astronomy and geology are little better than imaginative poetry. Thus, the astronomers tell us that “the fragments of broken planets; the de- scent of meteoric stars upon our globe; the whirl- ing comets, wielding their loose material at the solar surface; the volcanic eruptions in our own satellite; the appearance of new stars, and the disappearance of others, are all foreshadows of that impending convulsion to which the system of the world is doomed.” So much for celestial dangers. The geologists tell us that the centre of the earth is ball of fire, which must burn through the crust one of these days; so that we are between two burnings, and cannot escape. If some philosopher would fix the exact date of this conflagration, which has now been impend- ing several centuries, we can guarantee him a full house for his lecture. According to all the savants’ accounts, we are on the verge of a grand emash-up, and it would be gratifying to know at what hour we might expect our doom. But, omitting the mention of the sciences of which the world knows nothing definitely, would it not be much better for the lecturers of the day to talk about matters with which they are acquainted? After all, however, the ratio of a lecturer’s value is in precise accordance with his notoriety. Thus, the Rev. Mr, Kal- loch, who ought to found his lectures rather upon the Erotica than the Encyclo- pedia, would be worth thirty-three per cent more than Greeley; and that philosopher wouid iikcwise be more valuable than a better man, who had noi been s- extensively adver- tised. But when peoj... ¢0 to hear the Chevalier de Faublas of the pulpit, or the Pecksniff of jour- nalism, it is a natural expectation that they will talk about matters with which they are identi- fied; and as they fail to do it, the public goes away bored. All these lecturers, however, are only the pilot minnows which indicate the ap- proach of such big fish as Dickens and Spurgeon. When they arrive we may expect to see a grand excitement in all classes of society, throwing all the small fry performers far back in the shade. Tue Frvanctat Improarto 1x Coxeress,— There is a positive, and to all appearances a very resolute majority, in the House of Repre- sentatives against any more issues of Treasury notes, and any more loans, until there shall have been something done to replenish the Treasury from the solid receipts of the customs. For example, Mr. Phelps, Chairman on Ways and Means, moved (on Monday last) a suspension of the rules, in order to introduce a bill for a reissue for two years of some twenty millions of Treasury notes, and the motion was rejected by a vote of 109 to 83, And this majority, excced- ing twenty, we apprehend will hold good in the House against all attempts to give the tariff the go-by, and to fall back .upon more loans or Treasury notes. The’ Senate, we suspect, is equally decided against giving the tariff ques- the precedence; and thus, between these two stools, there is every chance that the Treasury will fall to the ground, or, in other words, that this Congress will close without touching the financial necessities of the government. An extra session of the new Congress, therefore, looms up into a bold relief, as one of the most probable contingencies of the coming summer. Very well. So be it. The President, as we have already shown, may turn an extra session to good account, not only in the matter of tem porary relief, but in reference to ac vaprehen- sive and decisive policy of retrenchment and re form from stem to stern. And #0 let the wrangling and distracted democracy of this Coa- gress fritter this session away; for, though it may be the worst thing that could happen for them, it may prove to be the best thing that could happen for the administration and the country. Tus Anmy Rerrencument.—The Secretary of War hasdone a good thing in calling together the special board of army officers, which meets to-day in Washington to consider and report in detail their epinion upon these important points of retrenchment of the army expenses, to wit:— 1. How and to what extent can the transportation of the army be reduced, and the present cost of transportation be brought down. 2. To what extent can the animals required in the sor- vice of the Quartermaster's department be reduced in pumbers consistently with the wants of the army, and bow can those required be supported more economically. 8. What is the best mode of purchasing horses for the mounted service, 4. How can the expenses of the army in every branch, ba ig and in the field, be reduced. . What ig'the best and most economical plan for quar- ters and barracks, either permanent or temporary, at new Pe hat plan sfould be adopted for the disposal of posts no longer needed for military purposes, With such experienced officers as Ripley, Gar- nett, Eaton, Chapman, Marcy, and the others constituting this board, we have reason to anti- cipate some very considerable trimmings and prunings, They ought to beable to reduce the costs of the service at least five millions below the December estimates of the Department, and we trust they will work up some such bill of re- lief before the expiration of the week. In be- season. Every mail brings in a mass of ictters from the clite of Boston, New York and Philadelphia, applying for rooms at Willard’s the day previous to the ball, It was at first intended to devote only half tho vast dining room ‘at that hotel to the use of the dancers, it being conteu- plated to reserve the other portion for 4 supper room. The pressure for tickets has, however, compelied the committee to change their plan and select other rooms ter the supper, whilst the whole of the cining hall, which is nearly three hundred feet long, is to be appropriated to the votaries of Terpsichore. ‘This is not the only altoration that has been made in the original plan. It was at first proposed to limit the sub- scription to a fixed number, in order that the company might be more select, but it was soon discovered that #0 exclusive a course would expose the committee to much un- friend}y comment and create very general dissatisfaction. It is rumored that Lord Naprer, with that good sense and taste which are his distinguishing characteristics, ventured to suggest to some of his friends om the committee that it would be far more gratifying and complimentary to Lady Napier and family, if they could look upon the ball as @ mark of public appreciation and esteem rather than as the simple, though flattering, testimonial of private friendship. It was thereupon immediately decided to make the sub- scription general, and the consequence will be that we shall witness a gathering of all that is really respectable a8 well as fashionable, not only in Washington but in the adjacent capitals. No such opportunity has presented it- self for years for comparing the pretensions of our larger cities to the foremost rank in beauty, taste and wealth. All who aspire to the envied post of leaders of fashion must appear at the Napier ballon Thursday, to submit their claims, not merely in laces and diamonds, but in breeding aud elegauce, to ingpection and approval. ‘Tho rivalry between the youngest and fairest of our Northern belles will be something formidable; for to carry off the palm of superior beauty, wit aud fascination, will be a prize worth contending for, and will make the winner a national celebrity in the world of fashion. Some- thing more, too, than applause and admiration thay fall to her share; for be it remembered that half of the reduction of the costs of transporta- several ot A sotione import and titles of *, gland will be represented at this bail in the persons of tion we have an excellent idea to give them— | irevoung noblemen who ave just returued. from there the recall of two-thirds or three-fourths of the troops in Utah. Every thousand men thus re- called to any point within reach of navigation will be equal, we presume, to the saving in transportation of subsistence of a million of dol- larsa year. A thousand or eight hundred regu- lar troops are competent to maintain law and order in Utah. THE LATEST NEWS. AFFAIRS AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. Our Special Washington h. THE TARIFF QUESTION—REDUCTION IN THE ARMY EXPENSBS—GENERAL SCOTT'S BREVET PAY CUT OFF—CORRUPTION IN THE NAVY DEPARTMENT— GREAT RUSH FOR THE NAPIER BALL, ETC., ETG. Wasunaton, Feb. 15, 1859, Nothing was done to-day by the Committee on Way “and Means on the tariff question. It is still believed that the proposition to suspend the act of 1867 for two years will carry; but it must be done at once, or an extra session is inevitable, The committee had under consideration the claims pf several States for arrearages of interest, based upon the rule adopted in the Maryland caso. ‘The Army bill which passed the Senate to-day cuts off all the brevet pay allowed to General Scott last year, amounting to nearly five thousand dollars, Mr. Davis tried to cut it off last year, but failed. Since the action of the House Military Committee in cut- ting down the Army Appropriation bill, the Secretary of War has addressed a letter to said committee, approving their course. The reduction amounts to nearly two million dollars. The Sherman Naval Investigating Committee expect to report on Friday next. There has been an immense mass of testimony taken, showing great looseness in the prac- tices and details of several navy yards, especially Brook- lyn, anda good deal of conflicting testimony as to the character of the contracts. Mr. Swackhamer, brother of the former Navy Agent, accuses George N. Sanders of misstating the accounts of his office. Sanders denies this, and a witness has been sent for to rebut Swackbamer. It is also in testimony that Mr. Wendell, brother, we believe, of the public printer, supplied an inferior article of paint to that called for by contract, and that his account was passed. The other officials of the yard are also in trouble. A member of the present Congress testified before Sherman’s Investigating Committee that Glancy Jones, Minister to Austria, whilst a member of Congress, had made an agreement with witness, then not a member, to procure him coal contracts from the government, for which Jones was to receive a commission of five per cent. In case the rumored retirement of Chief Justice Taney and Judge McLean takes place, there is no doubt Attorney General Black would go on the Supreme bench. The op- portunity would also then be embraced of a reconstruc- tion ef the Cabinet. A Senator Gwin purposes, it is said, introducing an amend- ment to the Army Appropriation bill, providing that the five mounted regiments now employed on the frontier shall be posted across the plains to California, and that it shall be their duty to convey the overland letter mail. This can be done by despatching from post to post three or four men each mail, and whilet it will not add a dollar additional expense, it will save the large outlay now paid for the transportation of that mail, practice the army as scouts, and afford protection to emigrants. All the tickets reserved here for the Napier ball have been sold, and still applications are pouring in. A Speaker's warrant was sent by this evening’s mail to_ Philadelphia, to the Sergeant-at-Arms’ deputy, for the ar- rest of John Cassin, who has refused to appear before the Sherman Investigating Committee. The Cass: Yrissari treaty will probably uot reach here in time to be laid before the Senate this session, as the mes- senger failed to come by the last steamer. Mr. Sickles of your city is reported among the absentees on the Oregon question. It appears that Mr. S. and Mr. Fickman, of Pennsylvania, paired off on the final vote. Among the personal topics of Washington society just now are three fashionable weddings, all to take place within a month, viz.; Mr. Eustis, M.C. from Louisiana, to Miss Corcoran, of Washington, daughter of the banker; Mr. Riggs, of Washington, to Miss Bright, daughter of the Senator from Indiana; Mr. Baylor, of Alabama, to Miss Gwin, daughter of the Senator from California, Western pilgrimage. Who kuows but that they have escaped the arrows of the Indians only to fall victims to the shafts from sly Cupid’s quiver? It is stated that all the leading journals are making pre- parations to do honor to this splendid festivity, and thas the grandest feats of the immortal Jenkiug, of the London Post, will be thrown into the shade by the glow: ing metaphors and pompous hyperbole of his American imitators. Well, the occasion will be worth all that can be said of it; for not only will the Napier ball be a féle of surpassing brilliancy, marking our rapid advance in social refinement, but it will be a just compjiment to a lady pre- eminently distinguished for her personal attractions and virtues as well ag to her admired ano respected lord. It will serve in addition to testify the good feeling and esteom which we entertain towards England, and which only seek legitimate opportunities like the present to manifest them- selves. Amidet all the splendor and gaicty of this festival, let it be remembered that in honoring the guests of the evening we are paying afree tribute of affection and re- spect to the great country from which our own civilization springs, and which bas done go much for that of the world generally. Vive the Napier ball! THIRTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION. Senate. Wasnnaton, Feb, 15, 1859. Prayer was offered by Father Boyle, a Catholic priest. Not a Senator was in his seat at the opening hour save one, who retired into the lobby during the prayer. The Vick Presipent rapped with his mallet, and re- marked that he could not call the vacant desks to come te order, so he would await the arrival of the Senators, At a quarter past eleven the Senators had droppad in; 80 the journal was read, Mr. Supeut, (adm.) of La,, offered a resolution that there bo evening sessions on Wednesday and Friday te discuss the Cuba bill. Laid over. ‘The Vick Prxsrpgnt submitted Mr. Wright’s report oa the Indian war in Washington and Oregon. THE PAY OF ARMY OFFICERS. ‘The House bill modifying the pay of army officers was taken upand amended. It provoked much discussion, chiefly between Messrs, Pugh and Davis. Mr. Pugs, (adm.) of Ohio, offered an amendment that the act of February, 1857, be repealed, and the pay of ali nee the army be that prescribed by the laws for- ‘Mr Tooune, (adm.) of Ga,, supported this view. Army officers receive much more pay proportionately than the same amount of talent does in any other walk of life. Rati- mated at the purchase price of commissions in the British army,a Ieee gh Place fresh from West Point would be ,000. Mr. Pugh’s amendment was lost by 14 inst 41, and the bill, with a slight amendment, was peg ; THE MILEAGE OF MEMBERS, Mr. Witson, (opp.) of Mass., introduced a bill to regu- late the mileage ot Senators and representatives. It givee 16c. per mile for distances under 1,000 miles, 20c. for dis- tances between 1,000 and 2,500 miles, and 25¢. for dis- tances over 2,500 miles—the distance to be computed by the nearest mail route. Referred to the Judjclary Com. mittee. THR OLD SOLDIERS’ PENSION DILL. Mr. Cray, (adm.) of Ala, gave notice that he would to. morrow call up the Old Soldiers’ bill from the House, and have a test vote on it. THE ACQUISITION OF CUBA. Mr. Crirrenpan, (opp.) of Ky., then took the floor on he Cuba bill, Mr. C. commenced by admitting the im- portance and desirability of Cuba, the residence and rest- ing place of Columbus. He also admitted the President’s constitutional right to negotiate for it without legisiation; ° nay more, if the President succeeds in acquiring it by honorable means, there are few who would not hail the acquisition; but he (Crittenden) did not regard his success as certain, on the contrary no time can be more inopportune. When the message was promulgated what echo was returned from all Spain, indeed from all Europe, and even from the down trodden ovince of Cuba? Spanish pride was touched. The bans refused to be bought and sold. We have the authority of the Spanish government, that not only i Spain not conciliated by our mauner of approaching her, but constders it asan insult. Would the President have written that message, had he known it would be so considered? Mr. Marcy to Mr. Soulé in 1853, says, it was not expedient then to offer to purchase the tsiaad, and how much stronger were the circumstances now? if the President, in the face of the Spanish declaration, makes the offer, bow can he avoid the imputation of premedivstod insult? God speed him, however, in his negotiation, and save us from those probable complications and wars, of which this same Cuba may be the cause. Diplomacy, in- stead of now pressing the obnoxious offer, should rather leave it open, and seek to renew it in some one of the thousand events that occur in the fate of nations. Suppose Spain were to sell—euppose England and France, who propose a tripartite treaty, were to permit her to sell the island she holds as trustee, where are we to get the money? We have been obliged to go in debt for our household expenses. We have raised one loan for market money, and another is wanted. The treasury emits a funeral sound when we knock for money, for none is there. He did not mean to say the country cannot produce any amount of men and money, but it is more convenient to do so at one time than auother. 1s it convenient now to have fastened on us and our childrena ten million per annum interest on atwo hundred million loan for the purchase of Cuba? Mr. Crittenden here made @ digression, to speak of Central American and other weak States. It was the policy of the American government to maintain friendly feelings with all the nations of the conti- nent. He remembered whon the American name was loved; when it was dear to the struggling republics; when the declarations of encouragement that bad been ‘spoken by the voice of Henry Clay were read at the head of their ar- mies. How have we lost all this? Read the message, and there you will see that we are at variance with Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala, and that we are buried in diffi. Culties from the Fejee Islands to the Spanish throne. Do all these speeches of war augur well to the revenuc? Yet a bill is now ponding to place the military acd naval forces in hands of the President, apart aud above the action of Congress. aoy one tho constitutional power to make war except Con. gress? No, but you can hoid a threat over the heads Of these small States, make them trembie, and settle aay claim whenever it shall appear good to the Prosident to do it. Mr. Crittenden did not think it worthy the mag- nanimous character of our country to hunt out the weak and let the strong go free. If tbat bill should pags can we expect to be at peace, when we bhave even now to renew our geographical knowledge to know whore the places aro with which we have difficulties? He reterred, in iliustra- tion, to the Paraguay expedition, the greatest armada that ever left our shores, saying it was to fight Lopez, a Para- quay chief, who in’ power and ability was uot equal to john Ross, the Cherokee Chief, He theo referred to the roposed seizure of the somewhat populous States of ora and Chihuahua, to defend the frontier of the wil- derness poetically cally Arizona, The biil was most un. wise. It was to enable the President to make little wars with little people. He then reviewed the Ostend mani. festo, and its of oom hint that if Spam will not sell we Wil take, The President supports his demand for thirty millions of dollars by the mn of Jefferson, but the cases are not paralicl. fore the treaty TUE GENERAL NRWSPAPRR DESPATCH, Wasninaton, Feb. 15, 1859. The President, in a reply to a resolution of the House, communicated a message to-day, enclosing a report from the Attorney General, who says that the local officers of the government at Savannah have been specially and Strictly enjoined to perform the duties imposed on them by the several acts of Congress for the suppression of the Slave trade; that special counsel has been employed to aid the District Attorney in prosecuting the offenders; that the advices received satisfactorily show the diligence and activity of all persons engaged in the public service to find the negroes who were clandeetinely introduced, to identify the parties engaged in the crime, and ascertain other important facts connected with the transaction, All this bas been attended to with many difficulties; but there is good reason to hope they will be overcome, and Justice, according to the law of the land, executed upon the offenders, But the present condition of affairs is auclr as to make it absolutely impossible that the proceedings already instituted, or those in contemplation, should be given in detail, without very great prejudice to the public interest, Tt appears, from an official document, that the cost of the sites of the navy yards at Portsmouth, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Norfolk, Blythe island, is assepted to by Congress, ard ever 4 Mare Island, Sackett’s Harbor, Pensacola, and the amount | gress never consent, the’ Predidens con daw “the expended in improvements thereon to tho Ist of Decem- | money, and take its safe keeping into nis ownhands, Tho President himself may be above suspicion, but the consti- tution does not entrust him with one dollar. Tuo hands of the Executive should be pure and unsoiled by mouey, He should be unsuspected, and now 1 exposed to the unescapadle suspicion of money a Further, it is unconstitutional, because it augments the Presideavs power, and destroys the balance vetween the States, Mr. Super, (adm.) of La., and Mr. Davis, (atm.) of Miss., here interposed, faying that this money is no more under the control of the President than is an ordinary ap. Propetetiog for foreign intercourse. ir. CRITTENDEN resumed—If we had Cuba, and had paid two hundred millions for it, he would say to her, we have Tescued you from Kuropean tyranny and have saved you from being @ bulwark against us in the bands of any Ka- Topean power—establich a free and independent govern- ment of your own under our protection—it will be better for you, and we believe, for us, He did not want to see an Anglo-Saxon race mingled with people who do not ut: derstand or appreciate our institutions, aod he did not think that our country’s greatness was to be achieved by adding acre to acre, but by tiling it with arts and in dustry, He believed that this whole scheme of policy would burst like a bubble, The bill ism mero Pleco of fanfaronade: it is a partof the freworks now fet ablaze to give a different complexion and hue to the rather darkened features of Wwe administration party, Mr. Hate, (opp.) of N. H., followed on the samo &i to. He sald it had beeo erroneously assumed by the commis ber, 1868, us far as can be ascertained, was $26,287,000. The Secretary,of the Interior bas asked Congress for an Appropriation of, $20,000 for taking the consus of Kansas, with. view\te ifs admission into the Union, in accordance with the recommendation of tho Presideat in his annual message. Tho aggregate number of passengers arrived in the United States from foreign countries, by sea, from the 30th of September, 1843, to the Ist of December, 1858, is 4,052,000, of which nearlytwo and a half millions wero mates, Our Washington Correspondence. ‘Wasiinaton, Feb, 14, 1859, Magnitude of the Preparations for the Napier Ball—~Bresh Alterations in the Programme—AU the Fashiomables of the Leasing Cities to be Present—Ocoupation for the Jen- Kinses of the New York and Country Press—Value y International Conurtesies, do., de, ‘The Napier ball, which takos place om Thursday noxt, forms the vniversal topic of conversation here, 1nd pro. * mises to be the most important fashionable ever of the