The New York Herald Newspaper, April 3, 1874, Page 6

COOMASSIE. The British Army in Possession of King Koffee’s Capital. | THE STREETS AND THE PALACE, A Glance Up the Broadway of the Metropolis. no he Sn THE SPOILS OF WAR. Umbrellas, Drums, Masks of Beaten Gold, Mrs. Stowe on a Snuff Box---Other | Articles of Virtu. AN AFRICAN GOLGOTHA. The Burial Place of 57,000 Victims to Fetichism. “RIGHT ABOUT FACE, QUICK MARCH!” Wolseley’s Conduct of the um paign. The possibility of a new issue of inconvertible paper I regard with amazement and ancxiety, and, in my judgment, such an issue would be a detri- ment and @ shame.—CHARLES SUMNER. Cape Coast CASTLE, Feb. 12, 1874. We were in Coomassie at last! On the night of the 4°b of February the British army was bivouack- ing in line along the main street of the Ashantee capital, The palings and wooden boards and heavy, cumbersome doors, cut of cottonwood buttresses by Ashantee artisans, were eagerly possessed by the British soldiers and Jaid in blaz- ing pyramids along the centre of the street, sur- rounded by social circles of British soldiers and sailors, who were relieving themselves, after a hard day’s fight and march, by chatting light- ‘heartedly about the great event which had termi- nated the campaign in West Africa, Those ‘who had arrived in Coomassie earlier than others, and had seen the weary promenade of the staf in search of quarters for themselves, and knew by imtuition that every one would mostly be left to himself, had hastened to secure quarters for the night on the clay verandas of the pretentious Ashantee houses which lined the main street on either side, and which gave a somewhat ornate and picturesque effect to the capital, and trom the level of these clay verandas we looked down upon the fire-lit street and scenes o! confu- sion, wondering What events would follow oar arrival in Coomassie. “Ii the King would only come in,” thought we, “to sign a treaty of peace with the General, we may be able to return home, conscious that the expedition bad done its work Well and successfully.” STREET SCENES AFTER THE CAPTURE. As our eyes glance up and down the crowded street, which is sixty yards wide and about hall a mile long, they rest upon other forms than those of Britis soldiers and sailors, or Fautee laborers, or Bonny and Apoboe warriors. Tney are forms of Ashantees who are passing and repaesing, arms on their shoulders, and tasteful native cloths avout their waists, and to our left along a cross street leading to the Bantamma, there is a seem- ingly endless file of them, all armed, passing by, hardly any of them stopping to more than cast curious glances at the novel aspect of the main street of their capital on this night, and to wonder at the sight of so many pale-faced men in pos- session of Coomassie. These armed men thus hurrying away by us are the jugitives from the battle grounds around Ordasu, and there is mot one seatry posted to stop them, to disarm them, to ask them whither they go and what they do with guns in their hands inaconquered city when the conquerurs are so near them. They may be counted by the hun- dred. The warriors are armed with Enfield rifies, coubie-barrelied shotgans, long Danish guns, and almost every man carries a long, broad knife, and on their heads the greater number of them carry heavy loads of Something covered with mats. As it grows later we notice algo that the crowds of natives which we witnessed on our first entry into Coomassie were dwindling away; that many who seemed disposed to proffer friendship at first were now withdrawing somewhere out of sight; that almost every native seemed to be on the move, with his most valuable household goods on his head, without so much as a token of farewell in Jrendship, Like sheep following one which had jound means Of egress, they seemed to be hurry- jog away in one direction. All this occurred, or seemed vo occur, Without anybody of the staif ap- parently taking heed of it. REMOVING THE TREASURE. The gentleman with whom I messed exchanged views with me on this matter, and singuiariy enough tie same line of thought had been followed by each oi us. Had Sir Garnet posted sentries around the cy vent people trom leaving with the wealth « scared city on their heads before something utte had been determined upom as regards tie inture? If not, why not? Why were between 9,000 and 5,000 men permitted to leave Coomassie witli a-ms in their hands to be 2 source of troubie and anxiety to Sir Garnet and his army on the return marci? Was this omission | ac a part of Sir Garnet's pol It could nardly be | called a predetermined policy, as tue first order he | issued on his arrival was to disarm ana destroy | every weapon, but he had rescinded the order when he saw the Forty-second Highlanders drawn calmiy ap in line. Had it struck him at that moment, as being unnecessary, that the King’s submission was almo: certainty? One or two officers on the staff have since pleaded fatigue asthe cause of this omission. Fatigue A general determined to win success when it is almost within bis grasp should never plead *“atigue” as an excuse for dereliction and gross neglect of duty. A staf bound to assist their general at the very eve of @ periect victory should never be permitted to plead ‘“Jatigue’ as an ex- cuse for not urging with their advice and assisting by their actions the General at such a moment, Toe army Would have respouded w the com- mand cheerfully. There were jine officers in pleaty whom I could name who would have marched their men to their posts to guard every onuet from the city. Some officers have suggested tuut Sir Garnet feared that such precautions would have precipitated @ street conflict at night. Such a saggestion is puerile and unworthy of men who had been victorious im every engagement with the Ashantees, The enemy was too severely punished, too much cowed, even after their busa experiences, to think of risking themselves in an open street fight, where their slaughter would have been @ Work of but few moments. We, seeing the signs of this exodus of armed men at night, and arguing thus, could not understand what Sir | Garnet meant by permitting so many of the | enemy to leave the city with the means to Mgnt again and harass his return to the coast, MILITARY COMPLIMENTS TO THE MeMBLED CROWN. About eight P. M. a bright light being thrown by | pee | the city was on fire, | amid fastnesses of swamp, jungle and forest. | which were supported by square pillars a NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1874.—TRIPLE SHEET. severat torches near the General's headquarters attracted my attenticm and on proceeding there L discovered Captam Brackenbury holding forth in & \ery umpreasive voice upos the high estl- mation in which the King of Ashantee was hela by Sir Garnet, to an ambassador and suite just come irom the King. Sir Garnet, according to Captain Brackenbury, desirous of showing the deep respect he entertained towards his Ashantee Majesty, had surrounded the King’s palace with a cordon of guards, that tt might be sale from intrusion and spoliation from # conquering peopie. Coomassie Sir Garnet was willing to pledge his | honor as au officer in Her Majesty's service that he would be well treated, and that he would sign a treaty of peace and irtendship with him. Tne am- bassador and suite retired to communicate the same to His Majesty, who was said to be at “pre! “pre!” Sometime about ten P, M. J was one of those startled by @ flerce light of fire which shone in the neighborhood of the King’s palace. A portion of Almost at the same time fires started in our rear which threatened for & If the King would only enter | | Aminecha, bis country residence, situate a mile | | and a half from the capital. ume to burn us out, but the sappers and mivers | | working vigorously restrained the fire and con- fined it to the houses which had been wilfully con- signed to destruction by the Ashantees them- | only most malevolent glances, and the knowledge selves. There was only one member of the staff | Who thought it necessary to proceed to discover | What caused the briznt lights, and he, aiter gazing upon the fire for some moments, “guessed he would turn in,” and accordingly retired to his couch, But if the staff took it so easy, and did not allow such sinister conflagrations to disturb their minds, @there were bat few others who did. It was a most alarming night altogether. | At midnight the camp was awakened to a man by the screams which issued from a doomed youth who had been found in the act of hooking some cloth, who had been sentenced by the Acting Com- | mandant, Coionel McLeod of the Forty-second, to be hanged. The process of hanging him lasted nearly an hour, during which time the youthful | Fantee policeman rent the air and disturbed every one with his cries, The next morning dawned upon the swaying figure of the dead man hanging to @ tree, visivle to the eyes of all, as an | indication of the extent of punishment the authori- ties were prepared to iufict upon those who vio- lated the law prowubiting plundecing. | DESOLATION, Coomassie, which seemed so crowded with the Datives of the city the night previous, was now strangely deserted. The entire army collected in the main street did not give the city the appear- ance of populousness it wore the night before. We did not discover one native tn the streets. Even | our own house, wherein we had taken shelter on our first arrival, had been deserted by its owner, though he had shown a disposition to be friendly and communicative and had actually sold three- penoce worth of bananas to my friend; but the owner had taken precious good care to remove everything he possessed during the night. It had been a wicked night we had passed. Repose had been scorned by those whose minds had conceived alarm, distrust and suspicion of the Ashantees, The soldiers, when obliged to rouse themselves, were stiff and still fatigued trom their marches, as the restless night was not caiculated to assuage | their pains. | HASTY BVACUATION AND MARCH TO THE COAST. | Major Russeli’s ana Colonel Wood’s regiments were ordered at early dawn to commence their re- | turn march to the coast, from which it may be imagined that they did not see very much of the city, and this was the first indication we received that Sir Garnet would not stay very long in the captured capital, and that he was actuated by an extraordinary eagerness to return to the coast. THE CITY AS IT WAS. Istrolied up and down the main street of Coo- | massie fora while, t0 Make @ survey of the place which the British had come 145 miies to see and conquer, As the capital of Ash- antee, Coomassie may be fairly said to have verified the standard I had conceived. It was situated on a low eminence composed of reddish clay and rock, strongly impreg- nated = with iron; = about half a mile in diameter one way and about a mile another | way, around the base of which meandered a slug- gish stream about eighty yards wide, which had | transiormed its former course into aswamp. The circumierence Of the city migot be traversed by a | man on foot within an hour, or it may be said the | city Was a@ littie over three miles round, The principal streets were extremely broad and tolera- biy gtraight, whereon processions of State, to waich ASiantees are much attached, might be | made with due form and ceremony, street might easily contain 50,000 people, and other streets might contain many thousands in proces- sion. Besides the main street, there were many lanes or alleys running through and communicating one with another. general appearance of the main street was that of aristocratic Ashantee houses, with the usual front of arched porticos, whitewashed and raised four or five feet above the ground and situated apart one from the other, very pictures of exclusiveness. The whitewashed fagades of each house were covered with tae curi- The ous half Moorish, half native designs already de- | scribed in my letter upon Formannah, worked in fine plaster made of fine white clay, which when Tetonched with a solution of this clay acquired a glazed white color similar to paint. The lower haif of the front of each house was of a deep The main | the rears, | ochrish color, obtained from the reddish clay. The | steps leading from the street into each house and the floors of the glazed with the same material. THE BROADWAY OF THE METROPOLIS. So that, looking up the main street at its width, the glorious old patriarchal trees which towered | for in one of the porticos I observed a number less pleasing. This excessive boldness and broad- | ness of design rather imparted an air of grand | stateliness becoming the residence of a monarch of @ Warlike pople. At THE FIRST VIEW of them arose the excusable plea that the artisans had not the proper material to work with; that the plaster work was not durable because there Was no durable support for it; that all these fine designs were wrought on plaster of friable clay, scattered over fragile bamboo rods, instead of Stone. Without the plastered embellishments and involved ribbons of clay mortar, the finest al- coves would but present to us the wattled and mud daubed huts common to the Fantees as well as the Ashantees, But that they have veen able, with such material as European workmen would | refuse, to exhibit the original genius they possess is a marvel to any unprejudiced mind, and inclines one more than ever to compassionate the foolish stubbornness and contumacy which have induced them to coutinue their hostility against the imperial power of Great Britain, Ina corner of this courtyard 1 observed a door which led to a smaller court, and less ornate than the | preceding, where there were two or three dozen Ashancees squatted on a raised platiorm. I en- deavored to open a conversation by means of an interpreter with them, but in return | received of how little they regarded human life made me, | confess, lovh to continue the tedious task of con- versing with such eulien beings. Ketracing my | steps I came to the grand court of audience, wiere | the King, seated in state, under the shadow of one of the richly columued porticos, could observe every one and be observed by his subjects. Here, I presume, the State councils were held, | of drums, one of which was garnished with a namber of skulls, There were also several State | umbreilas and stools, Beyond this court was still another, wherein a tame crested crane stalked as if he were sole owner of the palace, and in his despotic master’s absence had arrogated to bim- self the mdisputable rights of the King. This court exhibited signs of decay. The steep thatches of the porticos required repairing, large chips of plas- ter were wanting to the column casing and the entablature above was considerably frayed, but | the lower portions glistened with a new covering of ochrish clay and the courtyard was clean, KOFFER’S PERSONAL RESIDENCE, Beyond tnis court was the King’s private resi- dence—a strongly built edifice of stone, plastered over with lime mortar. Every pound of lime was transported at immeuse cost irom Cape Coast Castle. In appearance it was like any of those solid square buildings wnich one may see anywhere in Palestine or Syria, with the addition of battlements and loopholes, It was altogether a substantial struc- ture, and any British merchant at Cape Coast or Sierra Leone would have been proud to call such a house his own. It enclosed @ quadrangle or a paved courtyard, twenty-four feet by twenty, and | was two stories high and flat roofed. a flignt or | mortar and stone stairs led from the inner quad- rangle to the second story, Where were the King’s | sleeping apartments, | THE STOOL OF BLOOD. Among the strange, heterogeneous plunder vis- ible in tne courtyard and in the recessed apartments ground it was the stool which, according to re- port, was never quite dry from human blood. That it had been lately dyed anew with the blood of some unfortunate victim to a despot’s caprice, or some barbarous custom, was evident, for the flies had settled in hungry myriads on it. Among the thousands of things, strange, antique, and curi- ous, which were seen about were a dozen or so of STATE UMBRELLAS, leaning against a corner of the wall and stand- ing ten feet or 80 above the ground. When opened one of these umbrellas gave one an idea of @ large and lofty circular tent of gaudy colors, Tne | major part of them were made of red, blue and | biack blanket cloth; others were of variegated, | fine broadcloth, with silver bendicles ringing | sweet chimes as soon as one touched them; others were of vari-colored giik of exquisite pattern and manufacture, which latter, it may be presumed, | were the King’s own umbrellas or belonged to members of his family. In one of the lower rooms | were also found heaps Of Jaded tapestry, carpets, | silks, cloths, worn counterpanes of siiken damask and cast-off hangings of similar stutts. DRUMS. Another apartment on the lower floor disclosed | to us a variety of drums, from the huge European regimental bass drum to the smallest kettle drum of European make, while stacks of drums of native workmanship lay also piled. Chairs also for | travelling seemed to be numerous; old trunks and boxes of leather, deal, mahogany and teak lum- bered up the room. One of these old trunks had its interior pasted over with an old copy of the London Times, October 17, 1843, and another was cover2d with a copy of the Bristol Mirror o1 equally old date. AN AMERICAN RELIC. But one of the most curious things of ail found was an old brass snuff or tobacco box, on which were engraved the unmistakable features of Mrs, Beecher Stowe, with the name of “Mrs. Stowe” | engraved upon it. There were certainly the outlines { the face of the famous autioress of “Uncle Tom's Cabin,” and the ringlets hanging down each side of the face—a true portrait, 1 suppose, of Mrs. Stowe as she appeared twenty or thirty years ago, ‘The gentleman who picked up this antique box in- tends to present it to the British Museum, WHAT WAS FOUND UP STAIRS, The plunder discovered in the upper rooms was | Very valuable—at least some of it—whitle much of it | verandas were colored and | at intervals aloug it, the long array oi picturesque | and novei porticoed houses, each appearing as if it were newly wuitewasued and painted, the colors of clean white and red ochre strongly contrast. ing, the effect was fine and gave one a high idea of the Ashantees as a nation, who thus evinced their attainments in this ambitious embellishment of their capital, 1 have seen it suggested some- where that straight, broad streets mark a young and growing nation; instances, Washington and the cities westward. What shall be said of Coomassie, with streets from 150 to 200 feet wide? The city of magnificent distances 1s excelled by this capital of a sable nation enthronea Be- hind each of these white and red painted porti- coed houses, which look out on the streets, the houses of the families and slaves belonging to the aristocratic proprietors were arranged in quaa- rangies, which, during peaceful times, must have been models of neatness; but the hurried depart- ure of the inhabitants had littered these courts and quadrangles, verandas and yards, with an indeseribable mass of black earthenware crockery d @ miscellaneous assortment of gourds and stools. Cotton waste for pillows seemed also to be plentitul, for it Was strewed over the ground like Cols of slushy, miry snow. SITE OF THE ROYAL RESIDENCE. Afver the departure of Russeil’s and Wood's na- tive athes I proceeded in quest of the King’s palace, which lbad antieipated must be exc ingly fine nd it covered an extensive area On 4 depressed piece of ground north of the road leading to Coomassie from Jwabin, Externaliy tuere Was hovling Very linposing about it, for after the manner of tue Oriental style of architecture the beauties Of an Ashantee house are seen in the interior courts and arrangements, I saw @ mass of buildings and tuateved nuts with a great extent of dead mudwa: of bamboo, which stooa There were three or about eight feet high, jour sentres of the Fantee police on guard with loaded guns inside the palisade, One of the police directed me he said led into to a door which | the interior courts. Passing by him! found my- self ina spacious courtyard, around wich were ranged the lofty alcoves and verandas, the front of i round columns, the iriezes above which were embel- lished after the Mooresqne style, already observed in other places in Ashantee towns. Some of these designs were unmistakably original, ali of them bold, but devoid of the finical finish and completeness o/ the true Mooresque. But they were not a whit | silver, while bottles of rich Bohemian ware gave a | Would be too tedious to attempt enumerating. In | or $200 in gold. Surrounded by alight palisade | would have fetched a high figure if properly sold at auction, In one room we found, coveied over with a carpet, the King’s breakfast and dinner service of silver, There was a large tea kettle o! siiver, and as handsome an epergne as any European gentieman of weaith would wish to possess. There were plates, knives, forks, gobieis and cups of sumptuous and regal value to tiis quantity of loot. Carpets of Kidderminster and Persia lay rolled up in heaps, while numbers of boxes and trunks | here contained @ paraphernalia too varied to describe, There were leathern cots, folded up, and ereat state chairs, richly decorated with solid brass work, and trays and dishes of wood, tin, japanned ware and silver, piled up in any quantity, making an assortment of curious lumber that another apartment, which we found to be the King’s sleeping apartment, was revealed a luxury such as no African potentate south of Egypt can boast of. The bedstead was a marvel of native workmanship. The chairs around the room shone With bright brass nails; ornaments of svlid brass Work; the floor was covered with a richiy figured carpet; the bed was o! silk cotton floss, covered with crimson silk damask; the pillows were of the same material; the coverlets were of silk, In a trunk found in this cnamber were seven MASKS OF BEATEN GOLD, The gold of each weighed about forty sovereigns, A goid nugget necklace was also one of the treasures in this box. Splendid maiacca | canes, With gold tops and massive silver heads, and a sword which Was @ present from Her Majesty | Queen Victoria to the King of Ashantee, and an old gun whose stock was decorated with a massive jump of gold, were among tue things of value dis- covered here, Other apartments revealed similar scenes of luxury, Wealth and costiness—state umbrellas, | scimitars, Sabres, guns, blunderbuses, stools gore geousiy decorated and adorned wito gold and sliver, and a whole hos and interesting. SEARCH FOR CURIOSITIES. As I retraced my steps towards my own quarters I saw numbers of white men, oblivious of the ex- treme punishment meted out to the Fantee police- men the night before, on the search for loot, conveying Valuable and salabie things away, and noting these things I pitied the evident want of | forethought which seemed of Wophies, both valuable to characterize Sir | Garnet, When, later in the day, it was represented to him that the King’s palace contained rare | treasures which might either enrich the Britisn | Maseum or ata sale produce a sum amply sumi- | cient to give each soldier and sailor in the expedi- | tion a respectable suia as prize money, he thought fit to send a company of the Life vricade to guard | the palace In place of the five policemen which had hitherto been thought sufficient. Ateleven A.M. Sir Garnet was sanguine that the King intended to visit him during the after- noon to sign a treaty of peace and friendship with him, as Sir Garnet, in the hope of inducing him to come, haa reduced the tndemnity to a mere noml- nal sum, and no longer insisted that the Queen mother and the heir apparent should be given up as hostages, but had stated that he would be satisfled if two or three ehiefs of rank and 1n- fluence would be sent to him instead, wherein, as it is evident, he betrays his ignorance of the native character and his total unfitness for anything like a stern, relentless cascigator of the Ashantees, The day passed siowly. When almost all the sights of the city had been seen people were fatigued at looking at the litter which strewed the streets of Coomassie. Sir Garnet wi anxious that the King would come, that he might put @ graceiul finish to a campaign that had been successfui so far, and almost every officer shared Sir Garnet’s anxiety. Three | o'clock came and with it a tornado of wind and rain, which inundated the streets and made us all chilly and uncomfortable, An hour later it had again cleared up, but the streets were soaked and the littered lanes even worse than ever, GoLGorHa. Just at sunset I went to see Sammonpone, or the Golgotna, the stench from which pervaded every nook and cranny in Coomassie, and made it appear as though we dweit in a charnel house. The Golgotha was the dense grove, which, pro- Jecting almost into the heart of the city, appeared the very fittest place for a cemetery, were not the grove and the swamp o:jectionable from a sani- tary point of view, A little narrow path leading through @ maze of tall grass and dense growth of cane, which grew on the edge of the grove from the foot of the great market place, brought us, after traversing 100 feet or 80, into @ glade, where the quantity of dead bodies thrown in had killed the undergrowth, and revealed the most appalling sight thatcan be imagined. We had entered the place with our handkerchiels to cur noses to prevent suffocation, for the odor was intolerable; but as the fell smell penetrated the folas of our handkerchieis we could only remain long enough to assure ourselves that this whoie- | sale butchery of humanity was real, and not a sport or freak of our fancy. Hight at our feet, as we emerged before the hideous scene, were twenty or thirty DEAD BODIES of men and women, which had been dragged hither after decapitation,, There was only one body—that of a boy of eleven or twelve years old—which showed that decapitation was not the only means of inflicting capital punishment or sacrificing human beings to fetichism, and this boy had evidently! perished from strangulation. These dead bodies in the early stages of decay rested upon untold strata of human relics, of skulis, thigh bones, ribs and vertebra. I say untold strata intentionally, for tne reason that, ever since the city of Coomassie was founded, in the eighteenth century, this portion of the grove nas been the receptacle of the hun- dreds of victims slaughtered annually for the ob- servance of the cruel customs imposed upon the natives by their abject and pitiful superstition. Bowdich mentions that in 1817 the place was crowded with relics of mortality. Remember, then, that at the rate of 1,000 unfortunate slaves sacrificed every year, a period ot fifty-seven years which has transpired since Bowdich visited Coo- massie, there have been 57,000 victims slaughtered at the bloody footstool of fetichism! It has been repeated over and over to us that the people of Coomassie slaugh- ter a thousand men and women slaves annually for the observance of their customs. M. Bonar, a French captive lately released, says he saw about 300 killed in one day. So that the enormous num_ ber of 57,000is only a moderate estimate of the victims which have been dragged into this grove | to bleach and rot during filty-seven years. We | cannot, then, be very far wrong if we compute the dead which have been thrown into this grove since the accession of Sy Tutu to the throne of Ashantee, in the eighteenth century, at about 120,000. STRATA OF SLAIN BODIES. And here they lie, strata upon strata of human dust, fresh victims huried in each day—sometimes one, sometimes a dozen, sometimes 300—relics of humanity scattered by the thousand, nay, tens of | thousands, as 1/ the negroes of Central Africa had Leen spectally born for the observance of Ashantee ceremonies and to pander to the lust of murder inherent in the souls of this cruel, tratricidal race. HORROK AND MOR® HORRIBLE, I hurried away from a scene which baffies ce- scription, which eclipsed that most awful sight, the incarnate fury of the Emperor Theodore had prepared for us below the cilfs of Magdala, in Abyssinia. MESSAGE FROM THE MONARCH. The day waned into night, and stili the King had not come. Osakoko, the King’s favorite messenger, nad ar- | rived during the day, and had told Sir Garnet the King would surely come, while at the same time that royal fugitive was in {ull flight. Osakoko was discoverea subsequently handinz out arms and am- munition out of a house to his people, which, con- sidering the peaceful nature of his supposed errand, was very strange conduct. Mosema- jura, too, a chief of importance, accustomed to traverse the streets of Coomassie with 200 re- tainers shouting his tities, janning him, hold- ing his umbrella, proclaiming his valor and pedi- gree, was captured while touring it about on, I presume, 4 special Investigation into the causes of the Astantee King’s defeat. Two or three others of lesser note, such as the chief of the Houssa body guard, the chief! execu- tioner and a dozen or 80 of important slaves, were made prisoners, with which feats, I believe, Sir Garnet resied content for the day, inwardly sorry that the King woula not come, but determined to burn Coomassie to the grouad next day. CHILLED AND THINKING OF HOME. The night of the 5th was another uncomfortable bight, The ventilation silts along the rooi ridge had been left open by the Ashantees, through which the rain pattered incessantiy the whole night, and a cold wind came in rawish gusts, which gave us all pretty neariy a severe cold. “ATTENTION |? On the morning or the 6th the troops were astir early, an order naving been promulgated the pre- vious night that a march was tobe made; but whether it was to burn the sacred city of Bantam- mah or the royal country residence at Aminecha very few knew unti, at six A. M., the wounded were borne, With their convoys, towards the sea- coast. Major Hume, of the engineers, was re- ported to be mining the palace and preparing to burn the city. At seven A.M. tne staf following the brigaae took their places in the line of march for the sea. ‘vyhe Forty-second Highlanders were detatied for the honor of being rear guard, as they had the honor o! being vanguard when entering Coomassie, FIRE AND DESOLATION. About this time one-half of the city was seen enveloped in thick smoke, and we knew that the work of destruction had begun, Frequent ex- plosions informed us also of the growth of the conflagration, a8 the fire, laboring against the | damp atmosphere and thorough saturation of the palm thatches, began to extend and to burn fiercer. At nine A, M. every hut had been touched with fire and a great cloud Of smoke bung over the blooay capital of ruin that had at last overtaken.its gore-stalned houses. <A couple of loud explosions heard at hall-past nine A. M. informed us that two of tne mines under the King’s stone tion showed that two corners of it had been blown down and the edifice considerably shaken. The now raging fre we hoped would utterly consume the rest, and not leave a vestige of it remaining. Nay, if our wishes couid have any effect, we could sincerely have wished that the eartn would open and swailow the accursed hill on which the city was built. “RIGHT PACE, MARCH”? Towards evening we arrived at Agemamn, thirteen and three-quarter miles from Coo- massie, on the road towards home, The Forty-second, however, Were compelled to en- camp on this side of the Urdasu River, owing to the cect of the late rains, Which impeded rapid travel. The next day, finding that Sir Garnet in- tended to prosecute his return to Cape Coast Castle with all speed, I hurried away from the con- fusion consequent upon such a hurried return of an army, and, on the sixth day of leaving Coo- massie, I arrived at Cape Ooast Castle once more, and greeted the sight of Old Ocean with becoming fervor and @ proper feeling of gratitude that the campaign was over. The possibility of a new issue of inconvertible paper I regard with amazement and anatiety, and, in my judgment, such an issue would be a detri- ment and a shame,—CHaries SUMNER. Summary of Events in the Field. Care Coast CasTLE, Feb. 14, 1874. Before I begin summing up the campaign and its results I must avquatat you with later news which has arrived to-night, The gallant Glover, whom the military men were quite willing to decry, and for whose sake I have been mercilessly chafled, has done wonders, On the 26th of January he had penetrated Jwabin, and was elghteen miles northeast of Coomassie five days before Sir Garnet had fought bis first battle, witich occurred the Sist of January, His Presence in the immediate neighborhood of the capital seems to have been the cause ofthe ex- cessive fright which possessed the Ashantees after the battle of Ordasu, Glover had orders (rom Sir Garnet to the Prah on the 15th of January, otherwise he might as well never leave England, He took the hint, marched with his defendible force of Houssas and Yorubas, about 800 men, into the enemy's terri- tory, defeated the Ashantees at Apogoo, had serious skirmishes with them on the Assome River, and was at Jwabin on the 28ch of January, eightcen or twenty miles northeast of Coomassie, but being peremptorily joroidden by Sir Garnet not to enter Coomassie, remained at Jwabin, the second city in opulence in Ashantee. After the burning of Coomassie Glover heard of the fall and destruction o! the capital, and at once attempted to open communications with the com- manding general, who had strangely neglected his duty on bis ; art in this matter, sending Captain Sartorius with twenty men towards Coomassie with that view, Sartorius left Glover's camp on the 10th inst. and entered Coomassie the same day, and traversed the still smoking city without meeting a soul, four days after Sir Garnet's retreat (?) from Coomassie. Pressing on after him, Sartorious over- took Sir Garnet at Fromannah, when he was warmly welcomed, and when he informed Sir Gar- net that the King oi Jwabin desired to surrender to him and lay down his arms NATIVE ALLIES, Another event has lately occurred which re- deems tnis expedition somewhat in critical minds. ‘The King of Adansi has arrived in Sir Garnet's camp at Formannah with 1,000 men, and has ex- pressed his desire to live forever at peace with the English—to leave Ashantee at once with ali the families of his tribe, The King of Mampon, the third monarch of those tributary to the King of Asnantee, who, with Amanquatico, commanded the enemy at the battle of Amoatul, and who was wounded, has since died of his wounds, THY KINGDOM 13 PASSED AWAY. The Ashantee Kingdom has thus collapsed like the bladder to which it was aptly compared. There were six great tributary kings, who were tne main props of Ashantee proper. One has died and his people are scattered. The Kings of Jwabin and Adansi have expressed their willingness to surrender and have abjured their allegiance to Ashantee, The supreme King is a fugitive, hurry. ing with a disorganized army towards some point | in the North; Coomassie is a mere smoking ruin, and Ashantee is henceforth butaname, These are great, indisputable facts, which go far to amend Sir Garnet Wolseley’s faults and failings as aGeneral. Since all has ended well, promising a | still better end, it is hardly worth while to criti- | cise one who I have no doubt in England will be henceforth lauded most fuisomely, and who as a soldier has distinguished himself worthily. WOLSELEY AS A COMMANDER. I know I shall run counteF te the majority in my opinion of Sir Garnet, but my duty does not lie in following the views of the majority, but in ex- pressing what I think of Sir Gafnet’s conduct in him. I make the following charges against him:— First—He did not pay attention to the control Gepartinent of his expedition sufficient to save it | from the constant series of iailures which must be attributed to it, Which on a campaign so peculiar ag this ought to have had his contunfal and un- ceasing care and attention. Second—He was tvo vacillating in his demands the Ashantees, denoting tne | upon the King, entertained too serious a regard | for what Exeter Hall might say to the detriment | of the mission imposed on hu. Third—He irittered away iis time when the | King’s treachery was evident, In seeking to recall and win him to friendly ailiance by treaty with | him, when be should have Girected a watchiul eye | upon the enemy’s capital, whica lay, to uze bis owa | words, at his nlercy, | sourth—He did not adopt the tstal precautions | of guavding the capital trom night attack, fire or Wholly plundered by the retreating enemy. Fifth—He gavé DQ orders prohibiting plunder by his own troops uatf! one was already caught in the act, and most cruellf strangled as an exam 18, when it mignt have been prevented by a timely proclamation and adopting proper precaution. Sizth—Owing to the fatiure of bis transport he was obliged to retreat irom Coomassie beiore his Tuli duty was accomplished. No one 1s positively sure that Coomassie was entirely burned (except Captain Sartorius, who came in five days after- | wards), as we could not wait to withess the effect Ol the conflagration or the mines, | Seventi—ihe most important place of all—viz., the Bantamman, or the sacred city—the Mecca of Ashantee, distant a mile or so from Coomassie—was not even visited, nor was Aminecha, the King’s country residence, touched, though it was so near. #ighth~the most serious next to the seventh mistake Sir Garnet committed was the permission he gave the Ashantees to leave Coomassie with arms in their hands beore ne had come to any terms whatever with them. | GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. | But all these errors and omissions, which are only enumerated in order that you may be able to | Judge Sir Garnet accurately, are made to appear small by the series of things which have happened since Sir Garnet’s hasty retreat trom Coomassie, | over which Sir Garnet personally had no control, | but were the happy results of the perpetual de- | | feats the Asnantees had suffered at the handsof | | British troops in the battles preceding the fali of | Coomassie. These happy accidents, all tending to | crown @ successiul campaign with glory, may, | therefore, in @ great measure atone for the | lanite and failings of the General commanding, | The desired end has been attainea—the | Ashantee power has been crushed, I thoroughly believe, irrevocably, and this was the object of the | British expedition to Coomassie. But supposing, ag each Of us had a right to suppose, judging from what an astute and stubborn enemy might have done, that the Ashantee spies had dogged the | jootateps of the rapidiy retreating British army, and the King had set to work to surround and de- stroy Glo’ with the guns which Sir Garnet per- mitted the Ashantees to bear away trom Coomas- sie, What would the world have said of a gen- erai who had cruelly and needlessly abandoned such @ gallant fellow as Capcain Glover to his fate ? Supposing that the Ashantecs had, npon the re- treat of the British army, immediately taken it intu their heads to rebuild Coomassie, which they could easily do within a week, and had begun to inaugurate a new era oO! conquest on the Fantees and their neighbors, and were congratulating themselves that, though defeated, they were not crushed; that, though Coomassie had been de- stroyed, the sacred city had not been tonched, what would the world have said of a general who, | entrusted with such a costly expedition, did not Palace | had been discharged, and a subseqnent examina. | make his work thorough while he had them at nis mercy ? But why need we go further ? The Ashantee ex- pedition is atan end, By aseries of accidents it has ended happily, and Sir Garnet Wolseley and the government of Great Britain may congratulate themseives heartily, and with good reason, that All's well that ends well. KNITTING MILLS BURNED AT COHOE3, Conogs, N. Y., April 2, 1874, The Tivol Knitting Mills, on Mohawk street, owned by J, G. Roots & Sons, were totally de- Btroyed by fire this alternoon. The toss 18 $200,000; insurance, $180,000, The knitting mtil of Gregory & Hiller was partially burned, The loss is un- known, but it is fuily msured. One thousand Woramen are throwy out gf cuployment. this campaign and my reasons for this view of | plunder, nntil the Clty bad been fired and almost ; HOLY THURSDAY SERVICES. At St. Patrick’s Cathedral yesterday the Most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey oMctated as cele- brant, the Rev. Father Cluny and Rey, Jonn J. McNamee as deacons of honor, with deacon of the Mass John J, Salter. A’ the close of the mass & Procession was formed ky'tie priests, who passed along the aisle Geposited the Biessed Sadr maha the repository. In the Kpiscopal caurcn Services were also held. In ‘'rinity church n= vices were read, the officiating ministers being the rector, Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix, assisted by the Kev. H. B. Hitchings and John A.’ Hauchton. Services were ai80 solemnized , Cea ee im Grace aud the other Epis- Visits to the Repositories in the Brooklyn Catholic Churches Yesterday. Each year would appear to indicate the exist- ence of @ more widespread and general desire on the part of all ciasses to observe the religious fes- tivais, more particularly those which occur in Pas- sion Week. The City of Churches must, of course, take the lead and set an example in this growth of spiritual perfection, and certain it is that the church meetings of all denominations have been both numerous and well attended, while the affairs of business and exchange have been commen- surately dull. There were several masses in the thirty-six Catholic churches and chapels of Brooklyn yester- day morning, which were well attended. At seve- ral of these churches the ceremonius were of a most tmpressive order, tne consecrated Host being removed from the grand altar to the repository with due ceremony. Aft St. Mary's, Court street, near } quécr, thé blessed #Acrament was borne from ie altar by the pastor, Rev, E. Cassidy, assisted by Rev. Fathers O'Callahan and Sbeeuy, preceded by acolytes incensing and the ittle girls of the Sodality of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in procession, ‘The children were attired in white and pink and wore wreaths and gilt crowns while facing the Host. They moved at a very slow pace around the aisies of the edifice, scattering Jowers (which the; carried on silver salvers) in the path. ‘the reposi- tory where the sacrament was placed was in the chapel adjoining, and was decidedly the most handsomely arranged of any oi the churches. About 200 wax tapers and gas jets shed their lustre upon a beantiful variety of rave floral offerings, Which shed asweet odor, wile the richly bespangled folds of the lace that formed the can- opy over the altar and the starry bickground of bine all tended to impress the beholder with admi- ration for the piety which thus honors God, Thou- sands of pilgrims visited this shrine during the aay and tar into the ie gs and, kneeling Gown, offered their prayers. There were also reposito- | ries at St. Charles Borromeo’s, Sidney place; Our Lady of Mercy, DeBevolse street; St. Joseph’s, Pa- cific street; St. Augustin’s, Fitth’ avenue; St. Peter's, Hicks street; St. Boniface’s, DuMeld street, and other churches, each of which were visited by the Jaithtul, Holy Week in the Newark Churches. The services customary in the Episcopal an4 Roman Catholic churches during the week before Easter are being held in the Newark sanctuaries with much spirit and impressiveness, To-day the services will be especially solemn and grand, At St. Patrick’s Catuedral yesterday was celebrated solemn pontifical high mass. To-day there will be a “mass of the presanctified.” At St. stephen’s, the House of Prayer, Grace, Christ, Trinity and the other Episcopal churches there wili aiso be im- posing services. The possibility of a new issue of inconvertibl paper I regard with amazement and anxiety, and, in my judgment, such an issue would be a detri- mend and a shame.—CHanies SuMNER. THE PASCHAL FEAST. The Passover as a National, a Family and an Individual Festival—Discourse by Mr. A. S. Isaaca. The evening and the morning constitute the original creative day, and the evening and the morning constitute still the Jewish ecclesiastical | day. Hence tneir Paschal Day, or Passover, festival commenced on Wednesday evening at sundown, and yesterday it was pretty strictly observed in all the synagogues of the city and of the land. Unleavened cakes, bitter herbs—not now, however, so bitter as those which their forelatuers ate on | the memorable night when they marched triumph- | antiy outor Egypt—the unfermented juice of the grape and various sweets adorn the tables o1 | those who are able and willing Lo keep this feast | in its grandest and most significant style. Before partaking of their meals it is customary for every wealthy or well-to do Israelite to inquire whether nis poor neighbor has been properly provided for, And if he should not be, the former must supply the wantere he touches that wach his own industry has provided for bimselt ; and family, There are not many pauper Israelites | in New York, though there are some who live, so | to speak, ‘“rom hand to mouth.” All who desired to keep this feast to the Lord have been furnished, | not only with halls and places to observe the feast, butalso with the necessary provisions for its proper observance, It is istimated that not less thai TWENTY THOUSAND POUNDS OP PASSOVER CAKES, exclusive of other essential food, have been this | Week thus gratuitously distributed among the Jewish poor of this city, The testival ts 2 fe of the | most important and solema ti) the Jewish calen- dur, It lasts eight days, and ls Observed by ortho- | dox Jews in its completeness and entirety. It is customary to hang tne ark and the pulpit with white cloth furing the Jestival, The officiating priest also covers his head with his phylacterio ‘when he confesses the sins of the people and asks divine forgivemess therefor. The music is of @ somewhat subdaed character also; and, 60 far a3 the ritual can make it, the first part of the service denotes trouble and sorrow, with a degree of suppressed joy at the thought of escaping Irom bondage as the ancient Israelites did from Egypt. Belove the festival closes, nhow- ever, and immediately upon its ending, the signa oi rejoicing wili become more marked and mani- fest. The Reformed Jews usually observe the first and the last days of the festival and leave their orthodox breturen to take care of the intervening days alone, Yesterday the congregation ‘Darech Amuno,’? which for the last three or more years has wor- supped in the University chapel on Washington square, Was instructed by Mr. A. S, Isaacs, @ young theological student and son of the Rev. 8. | M, Isaacs, of the Forty-fourth street synagogue. | The discourse was reasonably successfal, though the young preacher evidently felt greatly em rassed under the circumstances, With greater practice in public speaking be will, doubtless, lose much Ot the style oi the schoolboy debater which still clings to him. THE MATTER OF HIS DISCOURSE was nnexceptionably good. It treated of tne Pas» over festival in its relations o the Jewish nation, the family and the individual, It was not neces- sary, he thought, for us to go back to the origin of | this’ festival to find illustrations of God’s favor. | His mercy is as rich to-day as it ever w: if we only bad the eyes of faith to see it. Most of us, | however, he remarked, need the recurrence of this | festival to bring the fact more prominently before our minds. This festival comes to us like 6 | thunder cloud, telling us that there is @ voice which must be heard and must be obeyed. And such a festival is not merely @ thing of the past. We staud appalled beiore that power which gave law to a nation and liberty to the oppressed. If when we look at Niagara We are awed, why not much more when We look at the commemoration of a nation set iree? It behooves us as Jews to Ha serra a mere past—the echo, aningless and absurd, of to da: ‘The Passover is a national, a social and a family festival, and in this threeiold aspect the young preacher expounded 1ts significance. Israel lefs Egypt no more arace of nomads, but now con- scious of their divine mission, WHILE THE PASSOVER EXISTS the Jewish nation cannot be said to be dead, In @ day hike this we feel how strong is the tte of nationality, What care we for the rise or fall of nations? We rise above them and above mere | territorial bounds. And, yet, if a man wants his pride brought low, let bim step into any of Nature’s gteut workshops and see how God works. And side by side with this idea of our insignificance runs also the idea of our responsibility, Our jathers had some excuse for their infidelity, but one. Wer Teancs next treated of the influence of this feast upon the family. The household ts the scene oi love, where the loved ones live and never die, ven the air of cleaniiness which prevails in the househoid at this season is refreshing, But senti- ment is one thing; action 1s another. He tuere- fore urged upon his hearers the duty o/ faith im ‘nd obedience to God’s law and commandments, & strict adherence to Jewish morality, and earn ness and devotion to truth and liberty, ‘The synagogue service was continued thereafter until long past the midday hour, The congrega- tion is one Of the most orthodox in the city, and has yet refused to feel the influence of reiorm, except in so iar as to admit English preaciing into 18 pulpit. | ANOTHER COUNTY TREASURER ARRESTED, COLUMBIA, 8. C., April 2, 1874 Humbert, the County Treasurer of Orangeburg, was confined in jail to-day, charged with being @ | defaniter to the amount of $30,000, Smith, County ‘Treasurer of Faurfleid, was placed in jail two days ago. Others are suspected, THE WELLAND CANAL. St. CATHARINES, Ont, April 2, 1876 The Welland Canal will be opened on Thursday, April 9 tor the passure of vessela