Rensselaer Union, Volume 3, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1871 — Page 1

THE RENSSELAER UNION. Published Every Thursday by HORACE E. JAMES, | PrnnrlH , rs JOSHUA HEALEY, f Proprietors. OFFICE IN SETTLER'S BmOINQ OPPOSITE THE COURT HOUSE. • Nnb.crlpil«n, S 3 m Year, la Advance. 1 JOB WORK •f cter, kind credited to order In good ityla •Bd it low rate*.

Miscellaneous Reading. FURTHER," LANGUAGE FROM TRUTHFUL JAMES. (htk’b ronn, Stanislaus, 1870.) Do I Bleep;'dol dream? Do 1 wolidcr and doubt? Are thing* wlmt they seem, Or is visions about? Ia our civilization a failure? Or ia the Caucasian played oat? Which exoreßsloDß areetrong; Yet Would feebly imply Some account of a wrong— Not to call It a lie— At was worked oft on William, my pardner, Which hi* name It was W. Nyo. He canto dow n to the Ford On the verv same day Of that Lottery, druwed lty those sharps ut the Bay: Amt he says tome, “Truthfnl, howr goes it!" I replied, “ It i* fur, far, from gay—- “ For the camp has gone wild On this Lottery game, And has even beguiled • lu)in I)lck ’ lty the sumc." 1 Widen said Nye to me, * Injlns is plzen— Do you know wiiat his mimher is, James?'" I replied “ 7,2, 9,8, 4. is his hand Which lie started—and drew Out a list, which lie scanned; Then he softly went for his revolver, With language I cannot command. Then 1 said, “ William Nye I" But he turned upon me, And the look in his eye Was quite painful to see. And he says: •' You mistake; this poor tiijln I protects from such sharps us you be 1” I was shocked and withdrew; But I grieve to relate, When he next met my view Injin Dick was his mate, And file two around town was S lying In a frightfully dissolute state. Which the war-dance they hart Hound a tree at the Bend, Was n sight that was sad; And it seemed that the end Would not justify the proceedings, As I quiet remarked to a friend. For that injin he fled . The next day tohis band; And wefonud William spread Very loose on the strand, With a pcaccfulJike smile on his features, And a dollar greenback in his hand. Which, the same when rolled out, We observed with surprise, What that Injin, do doubt, Had believed was the prize— Them figures in red in the corner, VI h'.ch the number of notes specifics. Was it guile, or a dream? j Is it Nye that I doubt! Are things what they seem, Or is visions about? Is our civilization a failure? Or is the Caucasian played out?l , —F. Hkkt Harts, in Overland Monthly.

NASBY.

[From the Toledo Blade.] lilt. NABBT, AKTKH DISTUNING TO TIIK DEBATE ON THE m’cREKRY RESOLUTION TO RESTORE THE ARLINGTON ESTATE TO THE LEE FAMILY, DREAMS A DREAM, IN WHICH UK UNVEILS A POSSIBLE (AND probable) future. • Washington, Dec. 26,1870. . Washington isn’t a remarkably good place for Diinoerats jist at this time. The Ablishnists arc in power, and everybody seems to realizp the fact. The hotel keepers all know ifT They know that a Dimocrat kin hcv nothin to make here, and, ez a eonsekence, when one uv us makes his appearance tie is unannifously rckesleiTfo pay afore he registers his name. It wuz not so under Johnson. The landlords all knew that es we hadn’t money, all we lied to do wuz to git on good terms with Johnson and we cood git it, ami credit wuz then attainable. In eonsekence uv this inhuman suspishen uv men uv my appearance, I am not patronisin a hotel in Washington at' present.. I take my meals at free lunches and repose at uightundera bridge. It iz sometimes cold and sometimes damp, but ez I hcvn’t any money I prefer it. Its at least free. I’m. not hampered by hours or exposed to the supereiliousnis uv hotel clerks with diamond pins. 1* breathe the free airuv hcven, mixed slightly uv. course with the odors from an adjoinin livery stable, wicli is, however, a good thing, ez it reminds me that I am uv earth earthy. The mto that McCreery, uv Iveutueky, interdooced his resolooshen restorin the Arlington estate to the Lee family, and peiVidiu for the iliggin up uv the bodies uv the Federal soljers wicli wuz berried there, I went to sleep full uv that idea. I wuz rejoist beyond expreshen, for I saw in that movement a return to sutliin like a sense uv justis ou the part uv the Government toward the people uv the South, wicli failed to bust it. Goin to sleep with my mind full uv this, I dreamed a dream. In my dream, my mind o’erleaped two years. 1 found inyself standin in the Fedral cemetery at Arlington, on the ground made classicic by its wunst hevm bin owned by General Lee. I wuz amongst the monuments and heel stuns coinmemoratin the dead hirelings who wuz beneath em, and wuz indulgin in a spasm uv cussin the government wicli not only yoosurped the property uv the great and good Lee, but wicli desccratid it by yoosin it ez a cemetery for its ded soljers. While'thus musin, I saw a regiment, more or less, uv Fedral soljers enter the cemetry, armed, not with muskits, but spades and picks. At their head wuz men drest in gray, wich I recognized ez ex-Coufedrit officers, who wuz a directin the force. To my astonishment the men in bloo, every man uv them with an expreshen uv hooAiiliaslicn sich ez I never saw ckalled, commcnst knoekin down the tomb-stuns and pilin uv em up, after wicli they dug up the graves, and hist in out the skeletons uv the dccest hirelings, dumped em permiskus into Fedral army wagons wich bed arrived for the purpose. “ Wat does thisanean?” I askt the Confedrit officer who seemed to hev charge uv thcperceedins.

“ Meau! ’’ he returned j “ it- means that at last the era uv good feelin hez returned. It means that at last the Dimocrisy is in power, and that the proper equilibrium hez bin restored.” T .1 “ Wat year is tills ? I asked in astonishment. ”1873. The cleckshen last fall made Hoffman President, and the Congress is Dimocratic likewise. Hoffman was inoggerated day before yefcterday and we towunst commenst reconstructin, accordin’ to our idee.” “ Wat is the programme? ” I asked ‘‘McCreery immejitly interdoosed the same rcsolooshen wick wuz defected in 187t>, gi-vin back the Arlington estate to the Lee family, and removin the dead Fed ml soljers from the grounds, that the site thereof mite not offend the yoothful Lees. Tire South wuzn’t satisfied. It wuz goood euuff, ez Air ez U went, but they wantid suthin more. They wautid an acknelligenrent that them dead soljcrs never shood hev been there, and they demanded that that acknoUigement be made in sich a

THE RENSSELAER UNION.

VOL. 111.

way that it wood he understood, that it wuz an apology. Saulsbury liv Delaware got the idea. Immejitiy he moved to amend the resolooshen, pervidin that the work uv removin the dead soljers and realm in the grounds bo performed by vetraji Fedral soljers selcctid from all the regiments in theaervis,ezaslite token uv the re gret uv thegovernmentfor hevin desccratid tlie property, wich wuz promptly passed. To further soothe the Southern mind, a hundred Confedrit officers wuz rekested to take command uv the men and tooperinlend the work, and—” At this moment one uv the Fedrals came up and salootid tlie officer who wuz a taikin with me. “ We hev the wagons loaded with skeletons—wat shel we do with era ?” “ Dump em into the Potomac —duinpem into the Potomac, where the current will wash em out to sea.” m “ But wat else is'to be done ?" sed I. 11 Not much. The work uv consiliashen is goin on. A bill is pendln pervidin for the removal uv the dead bodies uv Fedral soldiers from all the cemeteries in the country, and tlie destrueshen uv all tlie tomb-stuns and the monuments erected to era. The names uv the battle fields is to be changed, so that all memry uv the onpleasantncs shall be obliterated. Tlie vessels wich took part in the war is to be . sunk and their names taken off the records uv the Navy Department; to make the government trooly naslmul, ez it was, tlie outh is to hev complete control uv the Government in all its departments, and is to dictate its policy in everything. All the battle flags, guns, and trophies uv all kinds is to be taken out uv the Nashnel and State Capitols; celebrashuns and reunions uv Fedral regiments is to be prohibited, and it is to be made a penal ofl'enc to even menshun the name uv any one uv the battles wich took place between the years 1861 and 1865, and all them 1 wicli lost their forchoons with the Confedracy, and who lost property in eonsekence, is to hev it restored, when practicable, or the valyoo in money, wich the most-uv em take, ez they prefer livin in Noo York. The Cabinet is. now made up uv Southern men, and to remoonerate em for wat they hev suffered, they are all men who had commands in the Confederate army Igo myself to-morrow to remove the bodies from the Cemetery at Gettysburgh, and to destroy the Federal asylums for soldiers at Dayton, Ohio, and Augusta, Maine.” We did hev some trouble. Tlie moment we eommenst talking uv restorin estates to confederits, and remuncratin uv em for lost property, then come some thousands of southerners whose property bed bin yoosed by the Federal Government, who demanded remunerashen likewise, but they didn't ask a second time. Tlie proposishen wuz reseeved with shouts uv lafturc by every Dimocrat in Congress. “ McCreery then, in 1870-r” “ Wuz simplytwo years ahed uv his time, that wuz all. When the Republikin party lost its grip in 1871, we knowd we bed em. We held McCreary and sich ez he steadily, till after the eleckshun gave us the power —now—” ‘ At this point a gentle hog which wuz roamin in search uv his breakfast happened to meander that way. He hed doubtless bin at some period uv his life in a distillery, for ez he came within smellin distance uv me lie commenced rootin about my head. He awoke me, and I -realized that wat I hed expcaranced. wuz merely the base Tess FaTmc ofli dream. " But after all there is suthin in dreams.Let the Dimocracy wpnst get into powci and" we sliel see what we shel see. There is old scores to settle—there is remunerasliens to be made—there is restitoofliens. We ain’t dead nor h<sv we lost our memoiy. Es that dream rclatin to the .success uv the Dimocrisy cood be true, the rest uv it wood follcr quick enutf.

PETROLEUM V. NASBY,

(wicli ti T> ostmaster).

—The Independence (Iowa) Bulletin records the heroic conduct of a lady teacher of that place, Miss Maggie Cooper. The school buildiug In which she was teaching is provided with ventilating Hues, connected with the rooms by registers. These registers are of cast ij\M, weighing about forty pounds each, and are let into the wull about thirteen feet from the floor. The other afternoon, as two little boys were working at the blackboard, directly under the register, in Miss Cooper’s room, the lady happened to cast her eye in the direction of the ceiling, and saw to her consternation that the heavy iron register was 01 the very point of falling on the heads of the unconscious children. Taking in the situation at a glance, she saw that the little ones could .not be removed in time to avoid the impending danger, but, determined to save their lives at any sacrifice, she rushed to the spot, and extending lier arms above the heads of the little bovs, received the whole weight of the fuhing iron, and, by the utmost exercise of her strength, diverted it from the line of its descent to the floor, where it fell close by the side of the imperilled children. There is not the least doubt that, but for the heroic action of Miss Cooper, the lives of one or both of the boys would have been sacrificed. Miss Cooper received a severe cut in the hand, and for a day or two her arm was so benumbed by the concussion as to be entirely useless. It is known that in early life Sam Houston abandoned a just-wedded wife and the Governorship of Tennessee, and for many vears lived iu voluntary exile among the Indians. The reason of the freak lias just been discovered. He learned within a few hours after his marriage that his wife did not love him, but had been urged into the match by an ambitious family while loving another man. He at once left the place, and by his subsequent l exile gave the lady a right to the divorce which she obtained. According to the statistics recently published, there are 1,141,91)0 farm horses at work in Great Britain. The aggregate of form stock is decreasing. The reduction within a year amounts to 7(MKH) cattle, 350,000 pigs, and 1,100, 0 W sheep. Twenty thousand more acres are devoted to wheat, 84,000 to barley, 22,000 to oats, 14,000 to rye, 45,000 to beans, and 100,000 to peas, while of clover there are 805,000 acres less than there were the preceding year. A young lady of New York ought to have a prize for persevering endurance in the way of pleasure-seeking. On a recent Thursday she went to a large party in New Haven, and returned by the midnight train to New York, in order to attend a morning wedding where she was to oftivinte as bridesmaid, and on that evening went to- a party in Elizabeth, N. J., returning the same night. Early the next morning sinstarted ior Buffalo, where she was engaged to act as bridesmaid to a friend.

RENSSELAER, JASPER COUNTY, INDIANA, JANUARY 12, 1871.

Weekly News Summary.

CONGRESSIONAL. In the Senate, on the 4th, bills were introduced Bud referred—to enable honorably discharged soldiers and sailors, and their widows and children, to acquire homesteads on public lands of the United Slates; making a grant of land to tho State of Kansas, in alternate sections, and to aid in the construction of certain railroads; amending the Bankrupt act so as to give priority In the distribution of bankrupts’ estates to wages due any operative, clerk, or nonse servant to an amount not exceeding *2C9... .The bill amendatory of the funding act of last session, authorizing an Increase of the Issue of five per cent, bonds from *200,009,000 to *600,000,000, and making the intorcst on the same. payable quarterly, was taken np and passed... .Resolutions were adopted —calling fer information on San Domingo matters; directing Inquiry by the Finance Committee ss to tlie expediency of imposing a tax of one dollar on eacli application for an official position having u salary of less than *I,OOO, and the same on each signature thereto, made to tlie ITewdaut, or made and presented to any authorized department; and where the salary is In excess of tI.CKO, a further tax of fifty cents is added .. .A resolution Was iatroduced and re erred, directing inquiry into the alleged complicity of Senator Sprague with blockade runners during tlie late rebellion... .The bill for the re'ief of Congressmen from Importunities in ai>polntmq(fii to olfic# was briefly considered.... Executive session and adjournment.

In the House, on the 4th, bills were re-ported-the annual Indian Appropriation bill, saado the special order for the 11th; and a bill making an additional appropriation of *2 0,009 for tlie improvement of the Louisville and Portland canal, made the special order for the 10th... .Bills were introduced and referred—to extend the benefits of tlie homestead policy to disabled soldiers and sailors, and to widows and orphans and dependent relations of those who died in the service ol the country; to provide that no pensions shall hereafter he allowed, except in cases where the wounds or disabilities were contracted in actual hostility aganst tne pulHic enemy; to repeal ?o much of the National Currency nctof July 12, 1870, as provides that no banking association shall have circulation in excess of *,">00,000; requiting the modification of the Newport and Cincinnati bridge recommendation; authorizing the establishment of a Bureau of Mining The San Domingo ques- * ion was debated at length, and notice v.as given if an amendment tp the Senate joint resolution in f ferenre to San Domingo, with a view to its application to Cuba Adjourned. In the Senate, on the sth, a bill was introduced directing the President'to nominate to the Senate six Inspectors of Indian affairs, to be under tho direction of the Interior Department! and at a salary of *4,000 per annnm, to visit the Indian tribes, and Inspect their sanitary, industrial ami educational condition.... Bills were passed—relative to internal taxes; to make restoration for destruction of this Union troops of a house at Paducah, Ky., during the war.... A resolution was adopted calling for the correspondence between Minister Motley and the Department of State....An opinion of the Attorney - Gcneral was reported, that the United States is .bound by the treaty obligations to Ibsub to the Choctaw Indians *260,000 in bonds, and a resolution was adopted declaring the President to have the power, without fnrtherlegislatlon, to issne the bonds.... The vacancies in the Committee on Naval Affairs and the Pacific Railroad were filled by the appointment of Mr. Jewett, the new Senator from Missouri... .The Vice-President announced as a Select Committee to consider the charges against Senator Sprague for connection with blockade-running anting the rebellion, Messrs. Thurman, Trumbull, Howe and Wiley.... Executive session and adjournment. In the House, on the sth, a letter was received from Mr.Schensk,announcing bis resignation as a memher, and the speaker announced that he had appointed Mr. Orth, of Indiana, to fill the vacancy in the Committee of Ways and Means, caused by the resignation of Mr. Scbeuck On motion, the President was requested to furnish copies of the report of John Hogan, United States Commissioner, on the resources and condition of the Dominican Republic, made during the administration of I’resident Polk, and the report of Capt. G. B. McClellan ou the same subject, during the administration of President Fierce A bill was passed, giving Mr. Schenck, the United States Minister to England, an additional allowance of *2.500 a year, for'private espouses Adjourned.

FOREIGN. A dispatch from Strasbourg announces that the Germans stormed the French fortress of Belfort twice, recently. In both cases they were repulsed, with considerable loss. The Roumanian Government has declared its independence, and repudiates the treaty of 1854. A London dispatch on tlie 29th says Earl Granville had received a dispatch from the Prussian Government at Berlin, apologizing for the- outrage on English vessels on the Seine; slating that pecuniary indemnity will be given if demanded, and announcing that the military commander who wa3 guilty of the outrage will be court-martialed and dismissed the service. Professor Hall, Eastman and Harkness, of tlie Naval Observatory, who went to Sicily for the purpose of observing the late solar eclipse, report that the weather was not propitious, and that tlie results of. the observations were unsatisfactory. On the 29th ult. the Prussian Twelfth Corps occupied Mont Avron after one day’s bombardment. The French, in their retreat, left belaud their dead and many gun carriages and rifles'. Accounts received.on the 30th ult. show that both Prussian and French troops had suffered terribly from cold. Strong reinforcements hail been sent forward to all points, to replace the French soldiers thus incapacitated. Vast quantities of material, calculated to increase the comfort of the troops, had also been sent to the front. A special dispatch to the N. Y. TYibune says a dozen shells were sent inside of Paris on the 27th ult., into the La Villette. and Belleville, from Rainey, at a range of 7,000 yards.

A London telegram of the 30th nit. says the Conference of powers on the Eastern question had been indefinitely postponed, as France had refused to take part, and the absence of one of the signatories to the treaty of Paris would render the meeting useless. A London dispatch of the 2d says the French had evacuated the advanced posts on the northeast of Paris since the reduction of Fort Avron, and the forts around Paris were silent. Marshal Prim died at Madrid on the night of the 29th ult., from the effects of wounds inflicted a few days before by a nnmlier of assasins, all of whom escaped. After Prim’s death the Cortes unanimously voted full powers to the government formed by Admiral Topeto. Minister Washburne, in a dispatch to the State Department at Washington, recently received, gives it as his opinion that the surrender of Paris will not terminate the war. The Frcnch’have at no stage of the struggle showed greater determination, and Mr. Washburne thinks that they will not submit so. (long as they have any men or money left. King William gave a reception on the Ist, in the rnlace at ycrsaille’s, to the officers of the German agmy, in honor of the | j opening of the New Year. 'The occasion i I was signalized by the delivery by the King I

OUR COUNTRY AND OUR UNION.

of a brief address, in which he said: “The great events which must have preceded our celebration of such a day, in such a place, are due to your heroism and perseverance, and to the Bravery of the soldiers. Our goal is, however, still unattained. Important tasks remain to he performed before we shall achieve lasting peace, and it will be censurable to make any peace which involves the continuation of the duties which have brought you here.” A Bordeaux dispatch of the 8d says the engagements along the Loire for a week had all, been successes for the French. The London Telegraph of the 3d announces, on authority, that the demands upon Prussia by the British Cabinet, relative to the seizure and sinking of English colliers in the Seine,, were in a fair way of adjustment. Versailles advices state that Mezieres capitulated to the Prussian besieging army on the 2d, and the Prussians entered and took possession of the city. The news from Versailles on the 3d is to the effect that the bombardment of tlie forts on tlie east side of Paris continued with such effect that only Fort Nogcnt was responding to the German fire. A London dispatch ot the 4th says more reliable information has been received as to the movements of the French Army of the North, under command of Gen. Faidherbe. It appears to have occupied the towns of Achiet and Briancourt, after trifling resistance from the Germans. The towns of Envillers and Behaignes were also carried by the French after hard fighting. Losses heavy on both sides. Prince Amodeus arrived at Madrid on the 2d,’ and immediately paid a visit to the widow of General Prim, and expressed his sympathy for her in lier-bereavement. He then proceeded to the Chamber of the Cortes, and took the oath as King of Spain. The enthusiasm of the people is said to be universal. The funeral services of the late General Prim were performed on the 2d.

General Sheridan was tendered a grand reception at Rome, on New Year’s eve. Victor Emmanuel entered Rome on the 31st ult. His reception was most enthusi astic. He was accompanied by the princi" pal ministers of tlie Cabinet. A London dispatch of the 4lh says it was known in the highest German circles that desperate efforts to reduce Paris were being made. The Paris correspondent of the London Times of the sth thought that further resistance by Paris would be brief, and that food will fail before the end of the present month. Garibaldi was at Dijon on the 4th. The London Times of the sth has an article on the Alabama claims question, in which it says England only desires by fair concessions and frank allowance to bring about a settlement of this foolish quarrel which alienates two great nations. The new Spanish Cabinet has been com-pleted,-aaYoHows : - Serrano,—President- of the Council; Martos, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Montero Rios, Minister of Justice; Beranger, Minister of Marine; Sagusta, Minister of the Interior; Ulloa, Minister of Public Works; Ayala, Minister of Colonies.

DOMESTIC. Gold closed in New York on the sth at 110«£. Orders have been issued in New York city for the survey of all hotels in the city preparatory to requiring them to place fire escapes upon their buildings. A‘ N. Y.) dispatch states that the Assistant State Cattle Commissioner, on the 29th ult., reported one thousand head of diseased cattle in Dutchess county, and that the health of the county was seriously endangered by the people using the milk. It appears from the returns made at the census office in Washington, that the colored population in 1870 in 1,030 counties, is 1,507,011. In the year 1880 the colored population in the same counties was 1,441,402. The gain is a little over per cent., and leaving out the Northern States, which were included, the total gain would be less than 3 per cent. A recent fire at Marshall, Texas, destroyed |150,000 worth of property. The following is the public debt statement as published on the 3d. Total outstanding debt $2,423,182,060 00 Total principal, and interest, including iutcrest due and un-, paid.. 2,470.154,366 00 Amount in the Treasury 188,066,572 00 Debt less amount in Treasury 2 332,067,703 00 Decrease during the mouth 2,240,700 00 Defcrease siuce March 1, 1870 106,260,683 00 Bonds issued to Pacific Railroad Companies, interest payable iu lawful money— Amount outstanding 64,<518,832 00 Interest accrued and not yet paid.. 1,786.564 00 Interest paid by the United States. 8,815,345 00 Interest repaid by transportation of mails 2,460,818 00 A fire at Mifflin, Pa., on the night of the 30th ult. destroyed seventy buildings, inflicting a loss of from $150,000 to $200,000. The gang of laborers engaged in clearing out the ruins of the Spottswood Hotels at Richmond, Va., have discovered portions of bodies which cannot be identified. Chief Justice Beasley, of the New Jersey Supreme Court, has decided that the Erie Company has the exclusive right to make regulations governing traffic through the Bergen tunnel; and, also, that the Erie time-table must have precedence. By the official report of United States Treasurer Spinner, the conscience fund during the year ending June 80, 1870, is shown to haye increased $3,406.03, and the total contributions to the United States Treasury since 1863, through the agency •f the “ silent monitor,” is $117,897.84. The Commissioner of Pensions has recently decided to strike from the list of examining surgeon* employed by the Bureau <#Pensions the names of all surgeons <* the homoeopathic school. The I grounds of his decision are, that all the i surgeons should belong to one school, and i have but one theory of medicine, and that

tlie homoeopathic system is not recognized by the Bureau. A motion haa been made for a new trial in the Jenks murder case, *at Lagrange, ' Ind. The Judge reserved his decision in the matter until the March term. A fire at New Orleans early on the morning of tlie 2d, destroyed the steamers Magenta, Grand Erie, Julia Rudolph, Thompson Dean, and John Howard, all of which are a total loss. The steamship De Soto?*running between New York and New Orieans, was burned to the water’s edge, below the latter city, on the 31st ult. The new tariff went into effect on the Ist. It changes the tax on teas from 26 to 15cents; coffee from 5 to 3 cents; new sugar from 3}£ to 1% cents: sugar above No. 7, from 4 to 2 cents; refined sugar, from sto 4 cents; cane molasses, from 8 to 5 cents; brandy, from $3 to $2; liquors, from $2,50 to $2 per proof gallon; wool, from 30 per cent, to 11 and 10 cents; steel railway bars, from 2% and 10 per cent, to cents; pig iron, from $9 to $7; cast an# wrought scrap are each increased $1 per ton. Fifty-two articles, mostly drugs arc placed on the free list; and the tariff upon'forty reduced.

PERSONAL. - ■ Tliei celebrated Edith Lola Montez, familiarly known to the public as Princess Editlia, lias become hopelessly insane, and has been committed to the Insane Asylum at BlackweirsTsland. The certificate for the pension of Mrs. Lincoln has been completed, and forwarded to Chicago. Mrs. Belknap, wife of the Secretary of War, died at Washington on the 29th ult,, after several months’ illness. She was the daughter of the late John Tomlinson, of Ilarrodsburg, Ky. It is stated that Charles A. Dana has been challenged to mortal combat by Colonel James B. Mix, an ex army officer, and writer for the press, for abusing. Mix in the columns of the Sun, as a common blackguard, drunkard, liar, and thief. Dana refuses to take any notice of the challfbge, and Mix threatens to attack him the first opportunity. On the night of the 29th ult. the jury in tlie Jenks murder trial, at La Grange, Ind., brought in a verdict of guilty, and sentenced the prisoner to the Penitentiary for life. Much excitement lias been created in Boston and New York financial circles by tlie failure of Oakes Ames. There are several firms involved, viz: The Ames Plow Company, Oliver Ames & Sons, and Oakes Ames individually. Owing to the death of Mrs. Belknap, and in order to show proper respect to her memory, there was no public reception at the Executive mansion on the 2d, nor did the families of members of the Cabinet keep open houses on that day. Colonel A. H. Conner, of Indiana, has accepted the appointment of Governor of Idaho Territory, and will assume the duties of that office on March 1. The Boston Times of the 3d, speaking of the Oakes Ames failure, says: “We are able to state from reliable authority that the Ames Company will, after all their debts are liquidated, find themselves enjoying a surplus of at least $8,000,000. The idea of insolvency as connected with this firm is simply absurd.” Among the nominations sent by the President to the Senate, on the 4th, were: A. E. Lyon, Surveyor of Customs at Dubuque, Iowa; M. D. Leggett, of Ohio, to be Commissioner of Patents. Postmasters—J. M. Boreman, Parkersburg, Va." H. B. Wells, Dowagiac, Mich.; C. B. Beevc, Beaver Dam, Wis.; J. L. Parrnelee, Aurora, 111.

POLITICAL. Several members of the North Carolina Legislature arrived in Washington on the 28th, from Raleigh. They state that Governor Holden expects that he will be impeached. It is doubtful whether he will attempt any defence. It was proposed to engage some eminent counsel from among the Conservative lawyers of the State, but the Raleigh Sentinel, in a recent article, says no one would dare defend Governor Holden. An Atlanta, Ga., special to the N. Y. Tribune of the 30th ult. rays that returns enough had been received to warrant the statement that three Republican Congressmen had been elected to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses from the Se«ond, Third and Fourth Districts of Georgia.

The Minnesota Legislature met on the 3d. In the Senate, F.E. Snow was chosen Secretary; A. A. Howard, Assistant Secretary' ; John T. Williams, Sergeant-at-Arms; C. T. Tuthill, Enrolling Clerk; C. T. Rambush, Engrossing Clerk; Iter. J. Marvin, Chaplin. The House organized by electing Colonel John Merriam Speaker; General E. P. Jennison, Chief Clerk; C. H Slocum, Assistant Clerk; M. B. Bcrusner, Enrolling Clerk; A. M. Kimball, Engrossing Clerk; S. M. Phelps, of Olmstead, Chaplain. In the Louisiana Legislature on the 3d, J. Pinkney Smith, Democrat, was elected Warrant Clerk. The Ohio Legislature met on the 3d, and the Governor’s Message was read. The Pennsylvania Legislature organized on the 3d. In the House, Hon. James H. Webb, Republican, was elected Speaker, and General James L. Selfridgc, Chief Clerk. In the Senate, Hon. William A. Wallace, Democrat, was elected Speaker, and Jacob Zeigler.'tCierk. The other candidates placed in nomination by the Democratic caucus were also elected. Tho New York Legislature met on the 3d. Mr. Hitchman, of New York, was elected Speaker of the House, and Cbroej lius W. Armstrong, Clerk. The Governor's Message was read. The Michigan Legislature met and organized on the 4th.

NO. 16.

The Illinois Senate organized on the 4th, bv the election of the following officers, all Republicans: E. 11. Griggs, Secretary; T. 8. Swan, First Assistant; Second Assistant, O. B. Knickerbocker; Enrolling and Engrossing Clerk, R. 11. Gettemy; Assistant, G. Martin; Sergeant-at-Arms, L. Zeigler; First Assistant, J. F. Moore; Second, Assistant, H. V. Ilarlan ; Post-Master, J. B. Turchin; Assistant, It. C. Staples. Gen. Simon G. Griffin is the Republican candidate for Congress in the Third New Hampshire District. In convention on the sth the Maine Legislature elected the State officers of last year, as follows: F. M. Drew, Secretary of State; Thos. B. Reed, Attorney General"; P. P. Burleigh, Land Agent, B. B. Murray, Adjutant General. In the Republican caucus on the night of the sth, Hon. L. M. Morrill was renominated for United States Senator. The Illinois House effected a permanent organization on the sth by the election of the following officers: Speaker, Hon. Win. Smith; Clerk, Daniel Shepard; First Assistant, J. M. Rice; Second, Eric Johnson ; Third, S. R. Hay; Enrolling and Engrossing Clerk, W. W. Lowdermilk; Assistants, C. C. Tolsack, William P. Squires and C. J. Haydoeker. The Nebraska Legislature organized on the sth. The House elected G. W. Collins, of Pawnee, Speaker. The Senate elected E. E. Cunningham, of Otoe, President. The Missouri House on the sth elected R. P. C. Wilson, Speaker, and Daniel Sutton, Clerk—both Democrats. All the other officers are Democrats. In the Senate Lewis Gottschalk, Liberal, -was elected Speaker pro tern., over Morrison, Democrat, by a vote of 17 to 16. For Secretary, Hendrick, Democrat, over Moser, Republican, by a vote of 18 to 14. The other officers are divided. Miss Belle Fenloysin was elected Engrossing Clerk, unanimously.

CURRENT ITEMS.

The sweetest thing in bonnets—a pretty face. Tub ladies of New Orleans gave the newsboys a Christmas dinner. Why is an infant like a diamond ? Because it is a dear little thing. Endow your children in the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Chicago. A good peculiarity of shoemakers is, that they hold on to the last. Why is the world like a piano ? Because it Is full of sharps and flats. Tuehe are nearly 2,000 insane persons and over 500 idiots in jails in Ohio. It has become a question as to whether a phrenologist can tell what a barrel contains by examining its head. The assets of the Washington Life are of the most solid character—Cash, Government Securities,, Real Estate Securities. Some author says that one of the uses of adversity is to bring us out. That's true—particularly at the knees and elbows. A veteran shopkeeper says that although his clerks are very talkative during the day, they are always ready to shut up at night. Mr. Henry Bergh, President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, protests against the practice of clipping or singeing horses in the winter. They tell of a farmer in Kentucky who was so lazy that when he went to hoe corn he worked so slowly that the shade of his broad brimmed hat killed the plants. A woman in Terre. Haute, Ind., glues her husband’s eyelids together when he comes home drunk, and, when he promises better things, she soaks them in warm water and restores his vision.

It cost the city of Boston for each bath taken during the last season at the public bath houses, including all the expenses for constructing the houses, superintendence, etc., only one cent and five mills. A man who had been Governor of Maine “accommodated" a stranger on the cars with $250 the other day, “until he could get a check for $3,000 cashed.” That ex-Guvemor has lest his faith in human nature. A gentleman purchased a quantity of supposed milk at a Boston restaurant a few days ago, and, a few hours afterward, found his purchase had settled, the top being clear water and the bottom a poor quality of flour. The United States Circuit Court, in New York city, has prosecuted 3(54 suits for penalties and forfeitures during the last year, and recovered $194,109, most of which has been collected; 772 suits are now pending. "Father” Thurston, of Newport, R. 1., aged about 90, was locked out of doors the other evening, by mistake bn the part of his better half, and, not being able to raise the inmates of his home, procured a ladder and climbed into a second-story window. An agent, soliciting subscribers for a book, showed the piospectus to a man who, after reading, “One dollar in boards, and one dollar and twenty five cents in sheep,” declined subscribing, as he might not have boards or sheep on hand when called upon for payment. * A man living in Bristol, on the Virginia border, after indulging in stimulants the other day, kicked one of his acquaintances across the State line into Tennessee. For this little unlawful diversion he was first arrested and fined in Goodson, Tenn., and on his return homo was arrested and fined in Bristol.

One of the “solid men of Boston,” who for twenty-five years has furnished an evening paper with weather reports, etc., is a gikndson of Robert T. Paine, a*slgner of the Declaration of Independence. He has so retentive a memory that he can tell you the peculiarities ' of the weather upon almost any day during the past forty-five ears. A New York clothing house having been robbed, in a short time, of $75,000 worth of goods, had Its employes examined bv detectives the other evening as they were quitting work, and on the persons of. eight, out of eighteen cutters, stolen property, was fotiud. A gentleman, whose cU9tora St was to entertain very often a circle of friends, observed that one of them was in the habit of eating something before grace was asked, and determined to cure him. Upon the

THE RENSSELAJBB PfflW. RETK9 OF APrMWrtwg Ona Square (8 Hum or leee) omlaaertioa,flJH ■very eabeequeDt Insertion Arty cents. Advertisements not utter contract mate to msrkcd the tenetsi of Uau dctlroO, or they trill to continued and charged natll ordered oof. r*'*, rl 7 advertleere will be eberged extra tor Dlkeolntlon and other notices no* connected tnUl their regater bnaloee*. All foreign advertiaamente mast be paid quarterly in advance. Profeaalonai Cerda oft re Ifnee or lean, ana year. 06 00. Im. | t to. <m. TlafT One Square ~oT<*)| $4 00 gSAOI 010.0* x»° •• #.oq tom non noo Ona-ana/ter Col’mn. W 00l HOO M.OO MU One-hetf Column ... l*oS l«(r MO< »O 0 One Column 16 0(l| 3(1.00 «.jjnj 0800

repetition of the offence, he said: Fnr what we are about to receive, and for what James Taylor has already received, the Lord make us truly thankful.” The other day one of the squirrels on the Common, which had been in the habit of helping bhnsclf to a peanut now and then from a fruit stand near' the West street gate, found the woman who tends the stand had covered her peanuts with a cloth. So he seized a peach and made off with it. The woman gave chase, and the squirrel, after drawing her some distance from the stand, diopped the peach, started baok on the double quick, seized a nut before slio could get back, and made off with it, much to the amusement of the by-gtand-ers.—Our Dumb Animal*. A dignified drunkard dwells at Bellows Falls, Vt. He is an old Indian, known as “Dr. John,” and would be smart, save for his love of liquor. As he was tacking along the sidewalk, he made a* misstep, plunged into an opening and stuck there, with nothing but his feet visible above the brick. A person who saw him fall ran to bis aid and pulled him out. As soon as the “doctor” was on his feet, he braced himself up against a hitchingpost, and said: “G’long now 1 Can’t ye mind ycr business* What have I done that ye should abuse me this way?” The individual explained,by saying that he wished to help the doctor out of trouble. Wereat John replied: “ ’Spcct you think that’s mighty big talk! Next time I stoop down to pick up my bat out o’ that hole, want ye just to keep ycr hands off, that’s all!” Among the strangest of rare lsccs is a veil given by Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, to Mrs. Thos. H. Seymour, of Connecticut. It is very large, of exquisite design, and so fragile, so £thereal in texture, that, when shaken out and cast upon the air, it floats like a thistle down, and it is many minutes before it will settle in a close room, and then a whispered invitation will start it on its aerial travels again. The ending syllable “ ough,” which is such a terror to foreigners, is shown in its several pronunciations in the following lines: Wife, make me some dumplings of dough, They're better than meat for my cough: Tray let them be boiled till hot through, Hilt not till they're heavy or tough. Now I must be off to my plough. And the boya ( when they’ve hod enough) Ifust keep the flies off with a bough , While the old mare drinks at the trough.

The late Professor Silliman, of Yale College, received from a company a specimen of coal to examine, and the Professor said he would make a test aad determine its quality. The next day the owners of the grand discovery waited on him again, eager to hear the verdict which was to make or mar their fortunes. The Professor said, with that impressive solemnity which always marked his manner.- Gentlemen, I understand you to say that this property is situated upon a hill-top, consequently the situation is prominent. .It is valuable—immensely valuable—though as a coal mine lam obliged to observe that it is a failure. ’ Fence it, gentlemen, fence it in, and hold it through good and evil fortune, till the Last Day; I am convinced that it will be the best point from which to view the sublime spectacle of final conflagration. I feel satisfied that if any part of the earth shall remain uninjured after that awful fire, it will be that coal mine of yours. A correspondent of the New York Tribune relates a remarkable instance of perseverance and success under unusual deprivation es natural faculties. Two sons of a wealthy American gentleman, both dumb, and one deaf also, were sent to Europe for their education, and have succeeded wonderfully. The elder, who is wholly deaf, passed through the rigid and extended scholastic curriculum of Heidelberg, acquiring ease and elegance in German and French, and a perfect understanding of Greek, Latin and Hebrew, enabling him to pass an oral examination in these tongues with marked ability, and tb receive, at the age of 28, the unusual honor of Doctor of Philosophy, in addition to the usual degree of Master of Arts. The younger brother, though deprived of speech and hearing, has also achieved an equally remarkable success. He is now engaged in painting the ruins of the Alhambra, in Bpain ;tne work, when finished, to be placed on exhibition in this city.

THE MARKETS.

NEW YORK, Jan. & 1871. BEEF CATTLE—Fair to Prime *l3 50 o*l4 60 HOGS—live 7.00 ( i 7 “ Dressed... 8.00 1 i H 5 SHEEP .TTr; 4.00 ( i 6.00 COTTON—Middling 15 (I ■»* FLOUR—BxU* «-15 880 WHSAT-No. 1 Spring,new.. 1.4* O 1.48 J RYE-Western .#4(5 *5 CORN-No. 1, Mixed TO .TO OATS—Western 81 9 -Ml PORK-Mess, new 19 50 5 *O.OO LARD 11*40 •»* WOOL-DomesttcFleece..... .46 9 .05* Palled... .87 5 .41 CHICAGO. BEEVES —Choice .$675 *7OO Prime.... B.*J < i 850 . Fair Grades 5. #5 ( i 5.75 Medium BS3 < > 4.75 STOCK CATTLE—Common... 8 *5 4.50 Inferior. *.*s i . 800 HOGS-Live 5.75 8.15 Dressed 0.70 I 8.80 SHEEP—Live—Good to Choice 8.75 4.50 BUTTER—Choice *7 U » KGQB—Fresh *7 I 5 •*» FLOUR—White Winter Extra.. 8.00 7.50 Spring Extra 4.50 sh 6.75 Buckwheat 4.75 Q 575 GRAIN—Corn—No. *, new.... 48 A .48*4 . Barley—No. * TO 9 .78 Oats—No. * SB a BHI Ryc-No. S 75 5 -78 Wheat-Spring, No. 1. 1.10*5 Mo* No.*. 1.10 5 I.lo* LARD «*5 -ft* PORK-Mess, new 18.55 5 18.60 WOOL—Tub ~ .45 A .50 Fleece 88 A -44 Unwashed *5 5 -80 CINCINNATI. _ .... FLOUR—Family SS. JO If » WHSAT-Red tt 1.18 > 118 CORN-New 6J -84 OATS-No. * 41 ' •« BARLEY * ' 1 HOGS-Uve... •-« . Dressed 7.85 7.78 ST. LOUIS. BKKF CATTLE—Choice...... $8.50 < > $8.50 Good to Prime 4.00 ( > 8.00 HOGS-Lire 8.80 i . 8.30 FLOUR—XX 4.75 ( i 6.00 WHEAT-NO.*Red I.*# ' > 1.80 |!; §,„ bar lev .';. y ’* < 1 i‘S PORK-Mess 19.00 ( > 19.» T.ARTt .11 -U* MILWAUKEE. . 1| I ik CORN-No. 9. « 5 .48 OATS-No. * - -I* • ■« BAKLEY-No.* ;"••• y* • w clsvblaiOx «TL¥oM winm:: | *i.g oIt?-vZ\. 51 5