The New York Herald Newspaper, January 31, 1874, Page 4

4 _ASHANTEE. Herald Special Correspondence from. West Africa. History of Commissioner Clover’s Expedition. THE NATIVE ALLIES. Our Commissioner’s Trip to Adda Forh. A Wamber of Fearful Correspondents—“The Vessel’s Frail, You Know!’ —The Launch Dauntless on the Atlantic. Appa Fors, Mouth of the Voita, Gold Coast, West Coust of Africa, Dec, 14, 1873. Events at Cape Coast Castle had become tame ana uninteresting. They lacked the charm of novelty. Sir Garnet Wolseley and bis intentions unconsummated—indeed, as yet not begun—bad been written about threadbare. There remained actually nothing upon which anything more might be said connected with Sir Garnet Wolseley’s ex- pedition, Before rendering myself up to utter ‘despair [ bethought me of the strange expedition ‘to leeward, about which I had attempted to write at 8 distance, but of which few people at Cape Coast—the authorities included—knew anything Yationaily and intelligently. This” was Commis- sioner J. H. Glover's expedition to Ashantee land. The HERALD steam launch Dauntless was lying Peacefully at anchor in the lagoen of Beyah, close under the frowning white Castle of San Iago Teredos, saline particles gradually cor- roding her iron works below and the hot sun Dlstering her bulwarks and scorching her decks, after her TROUBLOUS TRIP TO ACCRA. The Dauntless offered me the means to proceed im search of Commissioner Glover, and I at once availed myself of them. But it appeared to me to Dea very seifish proceeding, this availing myself aione of the only means to hunt up Glover, when tuere were so many of my itinerating colleagues hungering after such information as would be de- rived from the trip to Adda, the reputed location of Commissioner Glover’s camp, and I offered to take down any of the correspondents who chose to venture within the limited confines of the tiny he Dauntless, One only was found brave to accept the offer. “It is very tempting, | i conioss,” said my colleague of the » “bat I | Would not venture in such a tiny boat on the Atlaniic jor a thousand pounds.” “Oh, no, by “George,” said another, “you don’t catch me on board; uf I lost my life on the trip my people ‘wonld say, ‘Well, what a foo! the fellow was, to be sure! A very scant reward, as you will admit. I hike the sound of the surf and waves when I am saic on shore; but 1 do not like the idea of being tossed about on big waves with the thought pre- vaiing in my mind that the launch would very provabiy go down and I should ummediately ve GOBBLED BY THE SHARES. You are very kind and obliging,sir, but I must really dectine."* Tke brave man who accepted my offer , was mys colleague, Mr. George A. Henty, of the Stan- | dard, whom I knew first in Abyssinia. As soon as he had made his determination Known he and I were vet upon by all with a doleful chorus of voices preticting direst calamities, such as “Sure to go | ai " “Battered by the surf,” “A certain ship- wi m store,” “The bar of the Volta is awtful,”’ Goglish and German beer, claret, hock, sherry. Name anything you like, genuemen.” The muggt- ‘ness of the atmosphere, the buffeting by the waves, the @ubsequent hot @ushing of the face, the parched tongues demanded German beer, with which we were immediately gratified. Bidding our new-found friend a good evening, we strolled away across marshy ground io the direction of the camp, through scenes which de- serve, from their novelty and picturesqueness, to be immortalized in oil on canvas. Adda Forh ts embowered by paims. Under the grateful shade of the cocoanut trees it is TWILIGHT KVRN IN MIDDAY. Imagine the deeper gloom which prevails just after the gun has plunged beneath the berizon; people this gloom with two or three thousand balf-dressed and over-dressed black savages tn all attitudes, with hundreds of camp Gres lighting up bandreas of queer black faces; imagine you hear @ noisy hubbub of hdman voices, articulating lan- guages you have po conception of, shouts to com- rades with strange names, and now and then a startling report of a gan, with flashes of red fire, and you have a picture that an artist with a true artist’s soul might fervently desire to paint. ‘Through the palmy colonnades, uprearing above ali this scene, the graceful pendent leafage, we marched @ short distance and gained com paratively open ground, seamed with irregu- lar depreasions half filled with stagnant water, whence issued dolorous chorus from the @nourer, with which the muddy waters swarmed, Where there was no marsh the ground was half covered with dwarf clumps of bush, from the depths of which cricket and mantis grieved the ears with thelr striduious notes, ‘Soon we beheld the bet! tents and square marquees of the camp rising through the fast deepening darkness, @ multitude of dark forms gliding abont, uncertain flickerings of soft firelight above several crouching men, and distinguished, sbortly after, the low, humming sound that indicates the neighborhood of an orderly camp. After inquiring of a colored man ina cap and European clothes, whom we were certain, from his costume, could speak English, the whereabouts of the headquarters, we svon arrived before a large hospital tent, wherein we introduced ourselves to Captain Goldsworthy, who is second in command of the Volta expedition. Unlike the reserve and diplomatic adumbness which characterized our intercourse with the authorities at Cape Coast Castle, we met a gentle- man in Captain Goldswortay, who, while tendering the most gratifying hospitality, omitted not to im- part the information [ had come so far to obtain. He furnished me with most ample materials of a letter, and I soon found myseif compelled to have marked his conversation when Commissioner Glover’s name was the topic. He never cared to restrain the impulse to endow his chief with all the high qualities wnich a great chiet should pos- sess. It was simply singular that Captain Golds. worthy should share in the enthusiasm for Glover which I hdd perceived strongly imbued the re- marks made on him by every merchant and trader on the Gold Coast. I was compelled to reflect that when a man receives the high encomiums of which Commissioner Glover has been the recipi- ent, from both civilians and soldiers, there must be some, if not much, good in him. As there was no equivocation whatever in the praise be- stowed on Mr. Glover | was being prepared to see and converse with AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN | in some respects. Before introducing him I must give you in brief some account of him. Commis- sioner J. H. Glover was born in the year 1629, and consequently is in his forty-fourth year. He en- tered the royal navy when very young and rose rapidly to the rank of Commander. He was speciady detailed for service on the West Coast of Africa, where he has undergone some remarkable adventures. After cruising about “Picnty of crocodiles about,” “Think of the bar at Lagos,” “The launch will never cross those break- | ers,” “Vessels three times larger have been upset on that bar,” “You won’t find any one at Adda,” “Glover is certain to have gone to the iront,” “If | he is marching how will you catch him?’ “The white troops will come in your absence, and you will have lost the opportunity or seeing them landed.” These and @ hundred other uncom- fortable suggestions were thrown out for our ben- efit. We treasured them m our memories, but de- clined to act upon them, knowing as we did that if we fell in the cause of our respective journals ‘We should fall glorionsiy. The Dauntless awoke from her slumberous re- pose in the lagoon of Beyah about midnight and steamed DOWN THR GOLD COAST at arattiing rate, heediess of the burden of fore Dbodings which had been heaped on the heads of her mgers. The beaming stars and silver moon one over our heads brilliantly and lighted up our course, and in the morning the sun arose and with the san the wind came and blew the sea intoa million uneasy wavelets, which made the tiny yacht hop up and Gown merrily. On our left was the Gold Coast of Africa darkly green and beautiful, ow rising inte gentle bills and anon subsiding into alluvial valleys or stretching away a level plain, scantily tufted with cactus and thorn clumps. Clusters of conical huts appeared at almost every headland and within the recesses of every | ‘each lined bay. Umbrageous depths of surubbery filled the hollows and depressions of the coast line, and the ridge limes seemed to be deep, impenetra- ‘bic hedges of jungle bush. On our right heaved the deep, far stretching At- lantic Ocean. waiting calmly tor the flerce tropical ‘tornado to stir its waves into action and fury and suvmerge the saucy little Dauntiess and her crew in its soundiess depths. But the Atiantic ‘waves, though piacid enough in our vicinity, ex- pend their strength and mighty energy to our left, ‘wuere they thump the shore with tireless tury and Dose, The afternoon of the second day THE DAUNTLESS WAS RACING ‘pasta lengthy stretch of glistening beach, dotted here and tuere with palm groves, each of which embowered a village. This palm dotted beach Separated a lagoon of the Volta trom the sea. It ‘was but a narrow spit of sand, thirteen miles in Jength, on the eastern termination of which was Adda Forh, where Glover's force was reported to be encamped. At the end of a couple of hours we Baw a break in the sandy beach, deeper groves ot palm trees, a village, with glistening white houses; ‘@ number of surfboats and native canoes drawn up ‘on the beach, and in the foreground of all a raging eur’, a roiling line of tall waves and white foam. When we had arrived opposite the white houses ‘we stopped the steamer and blew shrill signals to those ashore to bring boats, which were unheeded for @ long time; but persistency finally was re- ‘warded, and a surfboat manned by wildly ges- ticulating paddiers, commanded by 4 tall, brawny fellow who stood upright on the fore thwart, and who gesticulated like @ madman, was seen now on the height of a lotty wave, now in a deep trough hidden from our signt, Jaboring toward us. While Witnessing the frantic antics of the commander, the gesticulations of the paddlers, the uneasy throes of the boat, we anticipated but littie enjoy- Ment when it would be our turn to experience the same dangers, The steam launch was hauled up astern of a brig lying 1n the roadstead. We entered the surfboat and after an exciting race with a huge wave, which bore us on its white crest, we Were flually dashed, boat and all, high on the sandy BEACH OF ADDA FORE, amid the strange welcoming cries of a couple of hundred sable savages, who were grouped ashore to watch our perilous but triumphant progress through the surf. So much of our journey was ended safely, and we breathed ireely. Then we made inquiries of a trader a8 to the whereabouts of Commissioner Glover, and ‘Were answered that be had gone up the Volta in his steamer, the Lady of the Lake, but would be down again next day to the camp at the moutn of ‘the Volta River. We were told also that the camp ‘was barely a mile from Addah For and that the river was only about 500 yards beyond the camp. ‘The trader, who was a Scotchman, offered us the usual hospitable invitation among men on the several years in those waters he left the naval ser- | vice and became attached to tne colonial service | 48 Governor of Lagos, which is an island and port on the Guinea coast. His career while in charge of this African colony in the Benin Bight has es- tablished his fame as one of the wisest admints- trators the British government ever exiled to Af- rica, He has endeared himself to the whole ni tive population of Lagos and its dependencies; his name is as universally known among the tribes of tne interior bordering the West Coast as Liv- ingstone’s is Known in Central Atrica. He has en- riched the colony beyond belief, until, from a mis- erable settiement, with an unenviable notoriety for fevers, its annual imports and exports amount- ed m 1872 to $5,432,310, and the port of Lagos is considered as healthy a place to live in as the healthiest town in West Alrica, Its wharves, piers, drains, houses, public buildings, order, systemati- cal government, its local police and its volunteers mark the port of Lagos as having been under the ‘fostering care of @ man who took an interest in his work and was possessed of the requisite energy and will to carry out his proj- ects of reform and improvement, One of the most important acts of his administratorship at Lagos was the raising of a force of Mahometan soldiers, or armed policemen—emigrants irom the country of Haussa—and a faithful, loyal band of Mussulmans from the Yoruba country, with which he contrived to repress the turbulent and contumacious tribes in the neighborhood, and to inspire them with re- spect for the British Queen’s government. When this able man resigned his administratorship of Lagos last year there was a general feeling of sor- row among all West Africans, native as well as white, and it was the universal belief that no man, however great he might be, could ever replace the great Governor Golibar, as he was called by the Yorubas and Haussas. He himself had given up all idea of being connected again with African af- fairs, as he was promised office elsewhere where his merits might be rewarded, However, the Ashantee war broke out, and, while conversing with Mr. Goschen at the beginning of last fail, he proposed a plan of campaign by which the Ashantee power could be broken. He inclined in his conversation with Mr. Goschen to the plan of raising an auxil- lary force of Accras, aided by his old Haussas and Yorubas, and marching through Eastern Akim to the Pran, animating all native hearts to resistance against the remorseless savages of Ashantee. Mr. Goschen, struck by the manner of the man and ‘the vigor of his ideas, wrote to Mr, Cardwell pri- vately and suggested that Glover should be con- sulted. The consequence of the consultation with Mr. Cardwell, which took place next day, was that Governor Glover was empowered to proceed to the Gold Coast as special commissioner to raise the tribes from Accra to the Volta and throughout the eastern portion of the British protectorate against the Ashantees, This authority was given to him just one week before Sir Garnet J. Wolseley ‘was appomnted administrator of the Gold Coast and general in command of the expeditionary force to Coomassie, Governor Glover landed at Accra, seventy miles east of e Coast Castie, and com- menced his work in earnest. At that time, it must be remembered, the Ashantees were almost mas- ters of the protectorate. The Fantees were wholly unable to resist the invaders, They were almost demoralized from the many reverses they had experienced, and general dis- may had seized upon the minds of the tribes of the protectorate. The gailant Mussulmans upon whom he had lavished s0 much care and solicitude while he was in power at Lagos listened to the appeals of their old chief, and the Haussas and Yorubas col- lected round his standard, to do battle for ‘Goli- bar” and his cause. Their presence at Accra nad @ cheering effect upon the Accras and Akims, THE CROBBOS AND AQUAPIMS, the Crepees and the Oso-dokos, It wasa gigantic task, however, that Governor Glover had under- taken, The slow witted and apathetic Africans could not be moved with the speed and rapidity the emergency demanded, and the Commissioner saw with considerable anxiety that the days were growing into weeks and weeks into months, while he was still unable to move from Accra, The King oi Eastern Akim cost Glover many and many a pa- iaver and may a puncheon of rum. He had se- cured his good will from the first, but recourse to my notebook to treasure manifold | items. One singular thing I noticed in Captain Golds- worthy, and that was the enthusiasm which | NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1874.-TRIPLE SHEET. thing in ¢he anape @f tiquor we (ancied—“Brandy, | diate and active co-operation. Finally the jong sudexiny waa determined vw start without tum, and he marched eastward {rom Accra to Adda Forh, at the mouta of tne Volta River, a dis- tance of sixty miles, where be established bis camp, and where I had the good fortune to meet him the second day of my arrivat in the Dauntless opposite Adda, Commissioner Glover had just come down the Volta from inspecting the camps above in the river steamer the Lady of the Lake, He was sitting in @ cane chair, looking rather careworn and wea- ried, on the hurricane aeck, when my friend, Cap- tain Goldsworthy, introduced me to him. It is possible that I was prejudiced in his favor some- what, from the general tone of praise men used while speaking of him; but I was at once struck by the power, will, energy, determination written in every line of his face, It possessed the sel!- confidence of # man who can and ts determined to govern; the ability of @ man who knows what be is about; the energy to carry out a project he pro- poses to perform; the estlent but eloquent con- sciousness of power. 18 was one of those massive faces humbier men love to look upon and study; stern a6 tne lace of a judge when at rest; a picture of kindly warmth, geniality, good iellowship when the lips relaxed and the face smiled. {t is @ face full of character, and his character, as revealed to me by his actions, did not belie it. In stature he is about five feet eight inches, solidly built, well mnscied and large boned—a@ form as yet not de- teriorated in the least by his long residence in Airica. He does not appear older than he really 18. He has a good prospect of living thirty years more. His eyes are black; he wears mustaches and a short beard, Just now graying along the edges. His face and neck are tawny im color from the tropic sun, helmet and in its place hag substituted the Mus- sulman turban as a more edective protection against the heat of the sun, which, in this climate, soon disables 4 man and even threatens him with the terrors of sunstroke, What he las done since his arrival on the Cold Coast may be best understood when I tell you that he has succeeded in collecting a force of OVER TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND NATIVE WARRIORS, The collecting, equipping and drilling of this large | and imposing force have occupied him just three montns. In thts great work he has been aided by Captain BR. T. Goldsworthy, who holds the rank of deputy commissioner ; Captain K, Sartorius, of the Sixth Bengal cavatry, assistant commissioner; Lieutenant Cameron, Nineteenth regiment, as sistant commissioner; Lieutenant Barnard, Muneteenth regiment, whe acts as signal of- ficer; Captain Thomas Larcom, R. N., who is in charge of the naval portion of the expedi- tion; Lieutenant Moore, BR. N., co-operating in arge of the steam launches; Dr. Rowe, medical officer; Assistant Surgeon Bale, R. N. These are all the officers granted to Commissioner Glover, who are required to furnish tmpetient force sufl- cient to drive 25,000 African savages along the warpath, ‘This force consists of 11,000 Akims and Crobbos at Jankitty, a village om the northeast frontier, under King Attan of Eastern akim and the Crobbo King; 3,000 Aquapims under King Ansa; 2,948 under Captain Sartorius, at Blappa, consist- ing of tribes under Champagne Charley, the Demon, King Lam of Crobpo, Oso-doxo chiefs, King of Crepee and King Snai; 550 Haussas, 560 Yorubas, 2,000 Accras under King Solomon, 4,000 Accras under King Tarkey and 600 under the King of Christiansborg, encamped at Gravie Point and Island of the Volta, Adda Forh camp and Adda Forh village. To every chief who brings 1,000 men into the field Commissioner Glover pays £19 per month, Each warrior is armed with a gun, either Snyder, Entleia or Tower musket, and a machete or short sword. He is also furnished with a red cap, blue shirt and accoutrements. Every tenth man re- ceives a bill hook and axe, and so Many spades are furnished to every company of 100 men. The lesser chiels are paid at the rate of five shillings per day; the men receive threepence per day and subsist- ence, while the carriers receive one shilling a day for their services. It is a singular fact that, though a shilling a day is offered to carriers and only threepence a day to the fighting natives, very few of them volun- teer to carry loads, mostly all preferring to take the lesser pay with the dignity of carrying @ gun | to the greater pay of a carrier and the indigmty of being known as a currier. The commissioner has therefore been under the necessity of compelling | each chief to set aside one-third of his force to act | as carriers, The naval portion of the expedition consists of three large steam launches and their crews, armed with 24-pounder rocket guns; one steamer, the Lady of the Lake, of 300 tons, armed with two 24-pounder Armstrongs. The artillery of the land force numbers two Gatling guns, four 7-pounder steel guns, mountiin train artillery; two 434-inch howitzers and several rocket troughs. The purpose of this expedition under Commis- sioner Glover and his subordinates, so far as I could gather from the chief himself, is to proceed up the Volta River as ‘ar as Gravie Island, thence cross over to the left bank and sweep northeast- erly through the Awunah and Aquamn territory, while Captain Sartorius, with the Aquapims, will descend southeasterly, and the Crepees from the East will advance westward upon the Aquamus and Awunahs, when @ general annihilation of these two tribes, I presume, will take place if all goes well. This doom 1s to‘ be meted out to them jor the invitation extended to the Ashantees, in 1863, to come and invade the lands of their neigh- bors and for the danger to the rear of the expedition which lies in the presence of large bodies of them in such close proximity to the weakened stations which Glover will leave be- hind him when he leaves the Volta for his final march to Coomassie. Without this measure the Aquamus and the Awunahs, having been so long a period at deadly feud with the Accras, Addas and Crobbos, might take advantage of the ab- sence of the warriors wit Giover and make a de- scent upon portions of the protectorate with fire and sword. Once ccnquered, these tribes will no longer be a source of dread to Glover and his allies, and they will be left at perfect Mberty to assist Sir Garnet Woiseley in his attack upon tne Ashantees. Commissioner Glover, with his anxiliary force, and Sir Garnet Wolseley and his expedition are to fraternize on the banks of the Prah on the 15th of January. At least this ts the plan ordained py the lajter and supertor officer, If Commissioner Glover fails to keep the appointment according to Sir Garnet Wolseley Commissioner Glover might as well have never left England; and I have ro doubt that if Glover does fail to keep the appoiatment Sir Garnet Wolseley will not withhold giving his opinion in terms emphatically adverse to him, Commissioner Glover is in & VERY DIFFICULT POSTTION, it must be confessed. It is somewhat in this way. |, His 11,000 allies are at Jankitty, on the northeast frontier, about 100 miles from Prahsu, but they are subject to the caprices of their native kings, not immediately under Glover's control. Captain Sartorius commands 2,048 men, who are under Glover's control, ready to move at a moment’s notice. These last may be considered as a force immediately available for action, On Gravie Island and Point is a farther force of 2,000 men under Lieutenant Cameron and a Mr. Robert Banner- man, This force is also available. Governor Glover himself has a force at Adda Fort on the sea, the Haussas and Yorubas, disciplined irregu- lars, armed with Snyders and Enficids, numbering 1,100 men, besides 6,600 Accras, who are, however, from their late arrtval at Adda Forh, not quite ready to move, but would be in a week from date if hard pushed. Governor Glover thinks they will be ready within four days. Let us suppose the Accras will be ready by the 18th inst. The Commissioner will have a force of over 10,000 men to commence operations on the Awunahs and Aquamus. One day’s march to Gravie Point and a two days’ halt there will ¢x- tend the date until the 21st of December. One day more will be occupied in transporting the force to the left bank of tne Volta, which wifl make i¢ the 224, The operations against the enemy are sup- posed to extend over a week, aiter which some period must be incladed for a general jollification and gleefal ieasting and plunder, say another West Coast of Asrico, to retresh ourselves with apy. | it was @ dimcult tagk t geoure bis imme: | week, ot the Qnd Of which (imo it will be probably, He has discarded the use of the sun | January 6. From Blappa, om the Volta River,wo Prahau. is & distance of 2iv miles, which muss be marched within nine days. Otherwise Sir Garnet Woiseley will think Commissioner Glover might as well nave never left England. What Sir Garnet Wolseley intends to do witha force of abous 85,000 men at Prahau I know not, nor can I imagine, as Sir Garnet is not tn the habit of tmparting his intentions to gentlemen of the press. 1¢ would be far wiser, in my opinion, if Glover were permitted to choose his own route to Coomassie, and engage to meet him one day’s march this side of Coomassie, say at Sirrosoo, on the hither bank of the Dan, a tributary of the Prah, Commissioner Glover would then have ample timg to run his troops up to Pong by steamer, whence there are but 200 miles to the village of Sirroseo on the Dah River, The meeting might take place at Sirrosoo on the 23d or 24th of January, thus leav- ing the Commissioner a margin of eighteen days, without in any way retarding the march upoo Coomassie of Sir Garnet Wolseley’s force. We may rest assured that aman of Glover's energy and character, who could collect @ force of 26,000 Africans within three months, 1s not one to ask for one day’s delay unless upon grounds of utter impossibility to do the feat imposed upon him within the required time. If Glover had fifty more white officers under bis command to assist him the thing might be done, bat I doubt whether it can be done situated as he is, Each white regt- ment has about thirty officers to command it. Sir Garnet Wolseley has about three of these regiments by this time with him at Cape Coast Castle, which farnish him in the aggregate with ninety officers, Altogether Sir Garnet Wolseley tas about 200 white oMicers under his command over a@ force of about, 9,000 men. Special Commissioner Glover has but ten white oMcers to assist him in the command and management of 29,000 African savages, and Special Commissioner Giover ia expected to be on the Prah River oy the 15th January, otherwise he—but it neca not be repeated. My trip up the Volta River, the scenery on the Volta, the camps, &c., will be described in ny next. The mail is ‘eaving, and [ have been hurried over- much to even write this letter. THE GREAT NAVAL DRILL, Preparations for the Great Event of the His- pano-American-Cuban War Agitation—~ Parker's “Naval Tactics’—Fleet Ma- neuvring with an Iron-Clad Con tingent—Code Intruction—List of Vessels to Participate. Key Wast, Jan. 24, 1874. ‘There is now here one of the largest and most imposing looking fleets ever gathered together in. American waters, To-day ride at anchor off this harbor, in the Gulf, twelve of the vest American steam {rigates and corvettes in our navy, and three iron-clad monitors—the Wabasn, the flag- suip of Admiral Case, under the command of Cap- tain Samuel -R. Franklin; the Colorado, Captain George M. Ransom; the Franklin, Captain Edward Simpson; the Congress, Captain A. 0. Rhind; the Ticonderoga, Captain D. ©. Badger; the Canandai-- gua, Commander R. B. Lowrie; the Powhatan, Captain John C, Beaumont; the Shenandoah, Cap- tain C, H. Wells; the Alaska, Captain Samuel P. Carter; tne Wachusett, Commander T, Scott; the Wyoming, Commander Wiliam B. Cusbing, and the Kansas, Commander A. V. Reed, all wooden Vessels, but as good as any of their class afloat; and the monitors Saugus, Commander E. K. Ben- nam; Manhattan, Lieutenant Commander Yates, and Mahopac, Lieutenant Commander James O'Kane, are already here. To thesewill be added the Brooklyn, Lancaster, Ossipee and Juniata and the monitor Ajax. The fleet lies about five miles from the city, so that communication is very dimcult. The Admiral has exercised great.wisdom in this, for a too fpe- quent communication with the snore is prevented and ali the discipline of sea service is maintained. ‘Tnore have been so very many conflicting rumors regarding THE PLEET DRILL, Dow to be the sole result of all these preparations for a war with Spain, that I have avoided writing or telegraphing much about it until something definite could be given. The information that such @ spectacle was to be bad was first imparted to the officers of the feet from the HERALD Bureau here, and it was not until the official orders had been received by mail irom Washington—more than a week later—that any oficial confirmation | ol the HERALD’s advance news was known here. Now we are to have a naval drill after a new code and upon the most approved principies of maritime warfare. Commodore Parker’s code of fleet exercises has been adopted, all others have been repudiated, and now the author of the exer- cises is to superintend the entire signal manage- ment of the fleet. All that will be learned by this great number of officers and men will be from first hands. The Commodore will, from the bridge of the Wabash or the signal officer’s flagship to be hereaiter designated, direct the mancuvres, both by day and night. There has consequently been a great deal of “cramming up,” as a college man would say, on the subject of signals. into whatever wardroom you may in this large fleet, and from the mess at dinner you can readily single out the signal officer by his haggard and anxious jace. He knows that the day ts not very far distant when his acuteness and his coolness are to be put to the severest test. Not only will the eyes or the marine glasses of every other om- cer in the fleet be upon him, but an admiral and a commodore will be there to take his gauge ina moment. 1 went offthis morning to the Wabash and called upon COMMODORE PARKER, He received me very courteously and expressed the gratification which he ielt for the sentiments which the HERALD had expressed regarding the possible ruture importance of these exercises. in the event of trouble, even at a remote day, every officer in this fleet at the present day, down to tne youngest midshipman, would recail the manner in which the evolutions were made. The vaiue of such practical information, a8 compared wich ail the theory imaginable, was dwelt on at some length. THE EXERCISES WILL CONSIST OF sailing in squadron, deploying in column for battle and a hundred other minor exercises. The most thorough and complete exercises in landing in surf boats, tnrough breakers, will be carried on, There will also be exercises on land, the marine officers exhibiting all their knowledge of “Up- ton’s Tactics” in battalion and company drill. The torpedo exercises will be under the charge of the most efficient officers who have had thorough experience at the station at Newport. The Mayflower is now on her way to Mobile to bring alarge hulk for the experiments with these deadly weapons of offensive as well as Geiensive warfare. A large schooner bas just ar- rived from the North, bringing an assorted cargo of the very latest patterns of torpedoes, Then, too, there will be practical trials of boarding ves- sels in smail boats. The ships’ sides will be fitted with every appliance to keep off boarding parties, notsomuch to exhibit the actual necessity for such things as to test the practical efficiency of the several devices. ‘The target practice will be a fea- ture of the exercise. very vessel is provided with canvas targe which will be anchored at trom 700 to 1,500 yards range, and the most thor- oughexperiments with the latest apparatus for elevating and depressing the guns, jor the gan sights and Jor gun carriages will be made, A very important feature of this part of the exercises will be the tests of fuses as applied to shells. Every possible means will be used to determine the best Methods o: charging and tamping shelis. To couvey the whole Lea sey clearly to the mind of any naval officer it may be said, in general, that the code laid down in PARKER'S ‘NAVAL TACTICS” ‘will be closely adhered to. The Costen system of night signals will be used, ana every effort will be Made to thoroughiy familiarize each officer with every necessary signal in the code, from “Pipe down hammocks” to “Ciear ship for action’? It may be officially stated, as | telegraphed some days ago, that the entire fleet will leave for Dry ‘Tortugas as soon after February 1 as possible, The exe will extend over the greater portion of month, alter which, if our government is not fortunate enough to get into a war, the feet will disband, and various ships Will rot to their stat which now are sadly in nee: cnoe. tne W ‘s tree Woe topean W abast, it will, retura to Eu. Descend | eeeenien Coup d@’Ftat at Bar- cades—Despera treat of Volunteers from the City— The Carlists Coming Op. Baxcetona, Jan. 11, 1874 It is barely possiple that fail accounts of the vol- unteer rising, which commenced on ‘thursday last, the 8th, have reached you, for when | tried to telegraph you I was tniormed that no messages would be received. Fighting began on the after- noon of Thursday between the regular troops aud the voluntarios. The latter had erected barricades in the Galle dei Carmen, in the Calle del Hospital, and in several other streets. The reguiar troops commenced their attack on various points about three o’ciock in the aiternoon, and a hot engage- ment engued. THE REGULARS, being exposed to the range of the voluntarios from the tops of houses, from windows and behind their barricades, suffered heavily, reports giving their loss at twenty killed, inciuding a lieutenant colonel and a captain, and a@ great many wounded. The loss on the part of the voluntarios was small; but, unfortunately, several private citizens, women and children were killed or wounded, Yesterday, at ten o’cloek, sixteen peraons, principally officers, were buried at the Eglesia del Merced, A GREAT BATTLE was going on all day yesterday between the regu- lars and the volunteers, at Sans, a suburb two miles out of the city. From the best sources I gather that there must be over 200 killed and wounded on both sides, Hardly had the conflict subsided at Sans before another one commenced at Seria—an- other suburb of the city--and lasted until four ofclock this afternoon, All morning long the streets of the city were alive with troops-—cavairy and artillery—marching ont to tne confict, A most lamentabie event took place during tne struggle. About ten o’clock a detachment of cav- alry and infantry was escorting through the city a squad Of 100 voluntarios who had been captured. Passmg through the promenade of the Rambla a bola attempt was made by some of the tntransi- gentes to release their comrades, whereupon the regulars opened AN INDISCRIMINATE FIRK upon the assailants and the unmense crowd of per- sona who had gathered about—chiefy the prome- naders who are usually to be seen at this hour in the open air. I nave not yet ascertained how many persons were killed and wounded. Half an hour after the slaughter 1 saw seven deaa bodies lying-in the Rambla des Floras. Persons coming from Seria inform. me that the regulars had again suffered severely in the condict in this suburb, They bear the greater part of the loss—eighty killed and 150 wounded. We are hourly expecting to hear of @ lresh battle. Some 3,000 voluntarios have gathered under a determined leader at Gra- cia, & suburb at the head of the Paseo de Gracia, and have erected barricades at the entrances of all the streets, The voluntarios are also in possession of the towns of Malaro, Sabadeilo and Molins del Reys, and it will require hard fig hting to dislodge them. The Carlists are improving their opportu- nities. They have taken Vich and several other towns and are approaching tuis city. JANUARY 12, 1874, I concluded my last letter to you by Saying that a serious conflict was expected to-day at the suburb oi Gracia, Last evening the Captain General of Catalonia, Martinez Campos, sent word to the volunteers, who had ensconced themselves firmly behind their barricades, that, uniess they dis- persed betore seven o'clock tuis morning, he would shell them out from the fortress on the heights of ¢| Monjuich and that he would be compelied to destroy the whole place of their concealment. The threat proved effective. The volunteers left their barricades and sought shelter in the neighboring mountains, while this morning a large force of regular troops took quiet possession of the barri- cades left by the insurgents and destroyed them. ‘No more trouble is at present apprehended. ‘The volunteers say they would have stood their ground to the last if they could have been certain of en- gaging the regulars in a street fight; but they had no desire to.be blown to pieces by shot and shell fired two miles away, and to see their nomes crumbling about them when they had no guns wherewith to reply. yu ‘ Yesterday's battle at Seria proves to have been more serious than I wrote you yesterday. I vis- ited the scene of the conflict this afternoon. Sev- eral ol the streets bear evidences of TERRIFIC FIGHTING having there taken place, the houses on both sides being riddled with shot and shell. Five thousand Tegulars are said to have been engaged against some 2,000 volunteers, The latter suffered com- paratively slight losses, having fought for the most part under cover, irom housetops and windows. The fight lasted trom.two o’clock in the morning untiltwo inthe afternoon, when the volunteers were overpowered and fled to the mountains. The regulars were led by General Turon. SANDWICH ISLANDS. Honowv.u, Dec, 27, 187: ‘The letest news from Hawaii regarding the King’s heaith is iar from eneouraging; for, like most natives, he lacks the force that combats dis- ease. A grand native feast was to be given on , Christmas Day, but His Majesty had caused it to be promulgated that he could not attena, as he had at first hoped todo. He has seemingly succumbed to the disease and keeps to the house most of the time. Those who have seen him lately say that it 1s sad to observe the wan and wasted form of His Majesty. Ho has been loved by his race and will be long remembered as the “People’s King.” It is to be hoped that he may be spared to see the amendments which he had proposed to the consti- tution passed and made the law of the land, for they are all in the interest of the people and tend to decentralize power. It has been decided upon that Ais Majesty shall return to this ctty, and the steamer Kilauea will be despatched to bring the royal party. NAVAL CARE OF AMERICAN INTERESTS. ‘The United States ship Saranac left this port on the 2ist inst. for San Francisco. It Is ramored that prominent Americans residing here protested again st the Admiral’s leaving the port while the King’s health was so rapidly failing, fearing that in the event of another interregnum life and prop- erty would be unsuie. There 18 but little doubt that the Admiral was well informed as to the icel- ing of the most influential natives, and was well satisfied that the lile and property of ioreigners were as safe as at any time within the past filty years. The natives will not be guilty of an overt ee unless forced to it by the aggressions of for- eigners. ie letter of Mr. David Kalakana clearly an- nounces his imtention to stand by the constitution and laws of the country, and evinces a proper ap- prectation of the very iriendly jeeling shown by vhe United States towards this Kingdow at ail umes. A story is cropping out by degrees touching the action of the American Minister and the Com- manger of the United States ship Portsmouth dur- ing the disturbance at the barracks, of which you were informed. ‘Ihe truth of the statement I can- not vouch for, but give is for its worth. Prominent Americans had appealed to their Minister Resident for prevection, as they feared that the mutiny would assume proportions beyond the control of the native authorities, it is now asserted that the Minister conierred with the Commander of the war ship, and everything was in readiness to land a Was at this time that the report was curicat that the Ministry had appealed to the American Minis- ter to land @ torce and hoist the American fag. ‘fhe report was denied, and it was also denied that the ship had made any preparations; but unior- tunately one O/ the lieutenants of the ship had satd inaclub room that the men on board had been drilled and guns prepared to laud at a moment's notice, RUSSIAN CARE FOR PATR PLAY. It is Now said that the Commander oi the Rassian corvette Askold was fully posted touchi the action of the parties on shore, and tnatit the Portsmouth had landed a man or a gun that he would have immediately entered a protest against such action as unwarranted and unnecessary. Tue od feeling which has always existed betweeu ‘his people and the people of the United States 1s constantly in jeopardy by the action of a few hot heads who hold that it is manifest destiny that these islands should become American territory, and who feel it to be their duty to give a helping aoe to hasten what they consider to be the inevit- le. PALIAMENTARY ELBCTION CANVASS. There are indications that the elections to take place in February will be warmly entered apon and \hat the voters will be called upon to supporta legion of candidates. Rains have Yellen ebundantly all over the, group, and the crops propaiae well- force whenever it was thought to be needed, It | | PROSPECTS OF THE BONAPARTISTS ‘Weakness of the Bourbon and Orleans Parties. NAPOLEON IV. AND HIS FRIENDS. pests cael? tr ae POLICY OF THE EMPRESS EUGENIE, Panta, Jan. 15, 1874, There seems little doubt that the restoration of imperial goverament in France is a mere question of time. 1 hold in my hand, as 1 weite these lines, @ passport issued yesterday by the English Em- bassy. It is headed by @ statement that Lord Lyons ts Her Majesty’s Ambassador [¢xtraordinary to the “Emperor of the French,’’ amd over the last four words are coarsely daubed with @ handstamp “French Republic.” Evidently Lord Lyons, who ts tolerably well informed, though not by any means & great diplomatist, does not consider it worth while to go to the expense of having new pase ports printed at present; and this, if his opinion ts to be estimated rather in accordance with bis means of information than with reference te the accuteness of ts intellect, must be taken @ significant fact. Lord Lyons, though not 2 sage, is, as the Americans well. know, & soma sort of man, of an intelligence indecd below the average of persons who have thought and read and acted busy parts in life; but he can see whas 1s going on around him and he can understand, at all events, a part of what ne hears trom day to day. Now itis clear that for some time past the Re- public has been steadily declining in the fickle favor of the French people. {ia efigy—repre- sented as 4 sturdy, hard-teatured, vulgar woman— has been struck off the new coins iately issued by the mint. i The nobility, the merchants, the tradespeople, the artists of France are all dissatisfied with the Republic for different reasons which have so oltem been told that they need not be here repeated, and every well informed person is expecting & coup d’état from day to day. If a coup a'dtatis made, the restoration of the Empire may occur much sooner than was anticipated a few months ago, for there are some symptoms that Maraial MacMahon is getting tired of the task of govern ment, and that he would be open to discreet offers from the imperialists, THR TENDENCIES OF MACMALON. Itis quite true that formeriy he was supposed to have strong leanings towaras Henry V., but that dull prince committed blunder after blunder in his negotiations with the party in power and thereby rendered the restoration of Bourbon monarchy for. the present impossible. He required the Marshal and his dukes to make an unconditional surrender of their offices, and would give them no assurance that they should receive any tangivbie aavantages: alter they had done so, Then MacMahon turned for @ moment to the Oricanists, brought the Duc d@’Aumale into the front rank and gave Lim a high command in the army. But the princes of the House of Orleans are very wary and economical persons. The Duc d’Aumale himself could hardly be better off than he 15. now, and during the existing interregnum he maxes @ more important figure than he would under any Political system established upon a more perms- nent basis, He is very rich, and, therefore, he ia airaid to mix in any intrigues which mighe fail and end in the confiscation of his property. The Count of Paris, who is heir to the immense ea- tates and accumulations which his uncle derived from the muraered Prince of Condé, is equally nervous and unwiliing to thrust himself for- ward. ‘The Duke de Nemours is @ mere lay figure. He is a very fine gem tleman, honorable, high minded, kind hearted; Dut he has neither ambition nor energy. His prin- cipal object in this life 1s to cut his beard in the same shape as that of HenryIV. He is more ofa royalist than his king, and such AN INSIPID MORSEL OF MIND as he has got is entirely devoted to the impractica? ble Comte de Chambord, whom he acknowledges as the chief of his house aud Monarch of France by right divine. The Prince de Joinville is extremely deaf and extremely lazy. He is a self-indulgent, easy liver, wno does not want for anything or care for anything. The Duke de Montpensier is @ heavy, parsimonious gentleman who has long ceased to concern himself with French affairs, The Duc de Chartres is a iight- headed cavalry oMcer. The Dukes de Penthitvre and d’Alengon are in no sense remarkable young men, nor are the ladies of the House of Urleans gitted with that spirit of political intrigue whick has sometimes made Frenchwomen no contemptible adversaries of skilful statesmen. To sum up, the legitimists have no immediate chance of power. ‘Their chief is stubborn and unreasonable beyond conception, and all their best men, sach as the Dukes ds Broglie, Decazes and De Larochefoucaula have deserted from the white flag of the Bourbon. The Oricanists feel that they have no real party im the nation, and they are not at all inclined to try uncertain hazards. THE REPUBLICANS are so disheartened that M. Gambetta ts afraid te * sleep at home lest he should be arrested in the ‘ might and put out of the way. M. Thiers is too ‘old and too wily to engage in fresh adventures ' not over safe in their management or promising ! iu their results, He remembers how suddenly he was seized in bed and expelled from France on a former occasion, and has no fancy to acquire any similar experiences. M. Grévy, the greatest of the moderate, republicans, is a very timid and cautious elderly gentleman, not at all likely to risk getting himself into a scrape. On the other hand, the Bonapartists are @ compact and powerfal party, composed of eager, resolute and adventurous men, with the strong, patient head of M. Rouher to lead them. How well he has fulfilled that task may be seen im the extraordinary fact that he has recently recoy- ered the personal property of the Empress from the present government and obtained a substan- tial payment in money. The Bonapartist cause is openly advocated by three of the best written papers in Paris, and even the names of those papers have been chosen with consummate tact. They are _en- titled ordre, Le Pays and Le Gaulois, Each of them speaks in the language best understood by a large section of the French peopie. It is danger- ous to speak ili Of the imperialists m any public | place, for there are numerous fire-eaters among them, ot whom Paul de Cassagnac, editor of the Pays, is the fiercest, and it is not going 100 iar to say that society In general is rather airald of af fronting the imperialists. Another element of their strength is to be found the acknowledged fact that no dynasty ever rewarded its adherents so magnificently or was more true to its friends in adversity than the Bo- napartes. Napoleon IIL was * ‘ABSOLUTE KING OF THE BLACKGUARDS. He was not a dishonest man himself, but the char. acter of nis mind was unusually indulgent to all forms of human frailty. Theretore, every able man of queer antecedents who had sinned past redemp- tion under square-toed masters looko’ to the French Emperor for patronage and rehabilita- tion, If there was really anything in him he seldom looked in vain, and the oddest people possible were perpetually turning up in high employments, it may be safely amrmed, then, that some of the cleverest and most unscrupulous people in the world may be counted among the Bonapartists. They would be still more numerous, but the Empress hig ee has unfortunately quarrelied with Prince Napoleon and the-active intriguers who surround him, ‘There 1s, to.speak piainly, @ split in the imperial camp, and the Empress, wlio has not much to do at Chiselnurst, finds a somewhat injudicious occupa. tion in writing angry letters. But sue is rich, and keeps up high state in ner English home. In so far as she does this she is weil advised, for the great want felt just now by the more irivoloua part of the French people is THE AVSKNCK OF A COURT, ‘and to be received by the Empress gives any one an undeniable Ponape into much rich and agree- able society. Her son, called Napoleon LY. by the Bqnepertiety, and treated with imperial honors since his father’s death, is not, indeed, a vigorous- minded lad; but he has been caretully educated. He passed his examination very creditably a8 am artillery oficer at Woolwich. He is a consummate Maguist, a fair soldier, an excellent horseman. His manners are good, and he has*yet done nothing to alienate his friends or to make himself enemies. Sbould he come to reign over France, as seems very possible, M. Rouher will be made a Duke; ana if he and the kmpress do not quarrebh—a thing not 80 certain as it might be—they will manage State affairs togetner. Bonapariism Wasa prety French toy—gay, brilliant, splendid. It made Paris like the drop scene of @ grand oper, and it will do sa again, American travellers wall be deliahted.