Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 March 1875 — THE NEWS. [ARTICLE]

THE NEWS.

The Church and State Difficulty in Germany. Ftarfal Effects of the Famine in Asia Minor. Public Debt Statement, M.areli 1. Chmlng Days of the Forty-third - Congress. hinge »f the Bill for tbe Admission of Colorado u a State. The Force Bill Not Passed by the Senate. Tbe President Refases to Sign the Equalization Bounty Bill. - mitett-Beecher Trial—Opcnlmr of the Defense. Other Interesting News Items.

FOREIGN. Mons. Buflet has been re-elected President of the French Assembly by a vote of 479 to 68—an unprecedented majority. A telegram of the Ist announces that he would attempt tbe formation of a new Cabinet. The European troops had been withdrawn from Yokohama, according to late Shanghai telegrams. By a railway accident near Litchfield, England* on the Sd, thirty persona were injured. The steamer Gothenburg has recently been wrecked on one of the Fomeaux Islands, in Bass Straits, between Van Dieman's Land and Australia. She had on board eighty-five pasaengere and a crew of as many more. Of these only four are known io be saved. Three boats filled with passengers and crew were yet to be heard from at the date of the dispatch. < The 29th of June next has been fixed upon by the Irish Rifle Association as the date of the return match between the American and Irish riflemen. A Madrid dispatch of the 2d announces the defeat of the Carlists under Mirel. A SLPe tersburg dispatch of tbe4th says there was great indignation in Government circles over certain allegations of Russian misgovernment and exactions in Turkestan, contained in the report made by Mr. Schuyler, the United States Charge d'affaires, and it was reported that Prince Gortschakoff had demanded his recall. John Mitchel was renominated in Tipperary, for Parliament, on the 4th. A dispatch from Berlin of the sth says Bismarck, had demanded the dismissal of the Papal Nuncio at Munich, and the cessation of relations between the Vatican and Bavaria. A decree had been issued prohibiting the importation of American potatoes and also the exportation of horses. Havana dispatches of the 6th report several engagements with the insurgents, in which the losses on'each side had been about equal. The Spanish troops on Mora River, near Guantanamo, had been recently attacked by insurgents clad in Spanish uniform. The official dispatch from Spanish sources says both sides lost heavily. Lieut-Gen. Sir James Hope Grant and Arthur Helps died in London on the 7th. The famine in Asia Minor has decimated some districts to the. extent of two-fifths of their population.

DOMESTIC. The statement of the condition of the public debt March 1 is as follows: « Sts per cent, bonds $1,151,992,550 Five per cent, bonds 572.137,750 Total coin bonds.... $1,724,130,250 Lawful money debt 14.675.000 Matured debt. 8,779,670 Legal-tender notes 382,072.147 Certificates of deposit 45.855,000 Fractional snrrencv 44,904,963 Coin certificates 22.269.400 Interest 26,426,738 Total debt .. $2.269416.168 Cash in TreasuryCoin ■ $75,626,083 Currency 1v.319.ti97 Special deposits held for the redemption of certificates of deposit, as provided by law ... 45.5Ki.000 Total in Treasury....... .. $131.800.180 Debt less cash in Treasury $2,137,315,988 Decrease during February 6,681.184 Bonds issued to the Pacific Railway Companies, interest payable in lawful money, principal outstanding $64,633,512 00 Interest accrued and not vet paid.... 646.T3& 12 Interest paid by the Cui ted States.. 26,264,102 31 Interest repaid by the transportation of mails, etc „ 5,724.214 29 Balance of interest tuad bv United States 90.539,888 05 A Si<»ux City (Iowl) dispatch of .the Ist Bays there is no question about there being geld jn the Black Hills region. The speci®ens brought by Gordon and Witcher, two retent arrivals from the Hills, were on exhibrtun hi Sioux City, and thousands of people hid examined them. According to the etatenent made by Gordon and Witcher, 10,006 miners in the Hills can make ten to twenty -live dollars a day as soon as ayrinff weather sets in. At Memphis, Tenn., on the eight of the 3d, two colored men who had purchased tickets for admission to the dress-circle cd the theater were refused admission and their money returned to them. The manager, it is said, will contest the constitutionality of the hw, in cas£ suit is ought by the ’rejected pari ties. A Washington Associated Press disnatch of the 4th says the President refused to s’gn the bit for the equalization of soldiers’ bounties, and if time had been showed he would have sent fa? a veto message. The House Election, or Force, bill was read a first u:d second time in the Senate. Beyond this the Senate took n« further action. It therefore failed. It was understood that the riesbfent would take no

further action in the affaire-of Arkansas, be being Influenced by the recent expression oi the House againstGovernmentalintertercnce. The third annual convention <rf the National Butter arid Egg- Association -Was- recently held in Chicago. G. E. Gooch, of Chicago, was elected President, and Col. R. M. Littler, of Davenport, lowa, Secretary. A resolution was adopted declaring that any discrimination against butter lon account of the section of-lhe country in which it is made is wrong, and that the term “ Western" shall be dropped in the market report*, and it shall be graded and stand on its merits as butler, without any reference to the locality In which it is made. There was a foot of snow on a level in St. Louis on the 3d. A -Nashville (Tenn.) telegram of the 3d states that the town of Jasper, in that State, was then submerged by the flood, and people were living in the second stories of their houses. The water was four feet deep in the Court-House. Many cattle had been drowned. Much damage had been done in other sections of the South by the high water.' The Jetty bill, as passed by Congress, fixes upon the Southwestern Pass for the channel and appropriates $5,250,000 to carry out the enterprise. The next annual meeting of the National Butter and Egg Convention, will be held at Davenport, lowa* the first Wednesday in March, 1876. At the recent session in Chicago liberal premiums were offered for meritorious essays on butter-making and egg culture. The manager of the Public Library Hall in Louisville, Ky., on the night of the sth, refused admission to a colored barber who applied for a ticket to the first circle, among the white people. A gallery is set aside for colored men, in which no whites are allowed. The same individual was subsequent’y admitted to Macauley’s Theater, where he took a ' front seat. At Wilmington, N. C., on the sth, the case of a colored man who had been refused a drink at a saloon was brought before the United States Commissioner, and was dismissed on the ground that the Civil-Rights bill does not apply to bar-rooms. On the evening of the 3d four colored men demanded admission to the new Memphis Theater, and were given seats in the dress circle, Manager Daney having, it iasaid, abandoned the idea of contesting their right to do so in the courts. The Chicago papers of the sth announce that the Railroad Company had reduced the passenger fare from Chicago to Baltimore and Washington to eight dollars. This reduction has been brought about by the difficulties between that company and the Baltimore <fc Ohio Road. Atty-Gen. Williams says President Grant had told members of the Cabinet, before the Equalization Bounty bill was passed by Congress, that he was opposed to its provisions, and would veto it in case of its passage, as he regarded the measure very crudely drawn and Involving an extravagant and uncalled-for expenditure of money. Eight inches of snow fell at Cairo, 111., on the 7th, and fifteen inches at Memphis, Tenn.

PERSONAE. Mr. Edward J. Ovington, Rufus E. Holmes and Mrs. Ovington were called as witnesses for the defense in the Beecher suit on the 2d. Their testimony was designed principally to reflect on the character of Mr. Tilton. The late Adjt.-Gen. Lorenzo Thomas died in Washington on the 2d, in the seventysecond year of his age. In the Beecher trial on the 3d Mr. Ovington was recalled and testified further as to the money placed in his hands by Mr. Storrs for the benefit of Mrs. Tilton. He had found ou looking over his books that he had made a mistake, the amount being $1,245 in all. Mrs. Ovington continued her evidence, but nothing of leading importance was elicited. Mrs. Putnam, a personal friend of Mrs. Tilton, was called to the stand, and soon after the beginning of her testimony one of the jurors was taken •with a sudden faintness, and the court adjourned for tfffe day. She continued her evidence on the 4th, and testified to the great love and devotion Mrs. Tilton had evinced in her presence for her husband, and said she uever had the power of living out her own life in (opposition to his wishes. Mrs. Tilton had often made statements to witness which the latter did not believe, when endeavoring to hide hei; husband’s •faults. While the witness was giving her testimony Mr. Jeffery, the juror who had been taken sick the day before, sent word to the Judge that he was again unwell, arid the court 1 adjourned to the §th. Senator Andrew Johnson met With quite an ovation on making his appearance in the United States Senate on the sth. It was reported on the sth that one of the newspaper reporters in attendance upon the Beecher trial had been down with the small-pox, and it was feared the sick juror was threatened with the same disease. It is reported that persons arriving in New York city on the sth for the purpose of serving papers ou Congressman-elect Schumaker, relating to the Pacific Mail subsidy, found that he had just sailed for Europe, where his family now are. Hon. James Buffinton, member of Congress from the First Massachusetts District, died on the morning of the 6th, about an hour after reaching his home at Fall River on his return years old Gen. Sheridan left New Orleans on the 6th for the West.

POLITICAL. - At a special meeting of the Committee of Seventy in New Orleans, held on the Ist, resolutions were adopted—that the members of the legislative caucus who had voted for the Wheeler compromise did not reflect the wishes of a vast majority of the Conservative people of the State; that sueh compromise was unwise and impolitic, and announcing in behalf of the Conservative people of the (State an unalterable determination to continue to oppose the Kellogg Government regardless of the action of the caucus. The Minnesota State Senate has indefinitely postponed a bill providing for an amend men£ to thh Constitution allowing women to vote. Pretident Grant signed the Civil-Rights bill on the Ist. The bill for the admission of Colorado as a State, passed by Congress, provides that the election for delegates to frame a State Constitution is to be field under proclamation of the Territorial Governor, to be issued within ninety days from the Ist of September, 1675, and the Constitution thus framed is to be submitted to the jfeople in July, 1876. A Little Rock (Ark) telegram erf the 3d there was general rejoicing throughout the State over the seliou of the 1 lower house of Co ; gress on resolution relative to affairs in that State. Joint resolutions had been passed by both houses of the State Leg.

Mature, thanking th* member* of Congress , who voted for the Poland report and pledging | the titato Government Io see that equal and i xact justice, is done to all men. BtTt>li‘*n W. Kellogg ha* wen unanimously renominated for Congress by the Republicans of' the Second Connecticut District. The Democrats of the First District have nominated Geo. M. Sanders. The Pennsylvania Republican, State Convention is to held at Lancaster on the 26th of May. The Democracy will hold their State Convention on the Bth of September, in Erie. The-Arkunsas Legislature adjourned on the sth. The Indiana Legislature adjourned sine die on the 6th, and tbe Governor issued a proclamation the same day fora special session to begin on the 9th. The Kansas and .Wisconsin Legislatures also adjourned sw»e die on tbe 6th. r 1 1

COMIRKSMONAL. In the Senate, on the Ist, the “ Force” bill was received from the House and read by its titje,' when objection was made to its second reading or that day and It was left on the table Several hills were passed, among them—to promote economy and efficiency iu the Marine Hospital service; to authorise the construction of a pontoon wagon bridge across the Mississippi River at or near Dubnqne, Iowa; also a bi Idge across the same river near Grund Chain; House bills for the further security of the navigation of the Mississippi River; House bill consenting to the erection of a bridge across the Arkansas River at ffine Bluff, Ark... .The Tax and Tariff bill was debated at considerable length and then laid on the table—39 to 49. In the House, on the Ist, the rules were suspended and the resolution of the Louisiana Select Committee recommending the Louisiana House to take measures to reseat the ejected Conservative members was agreed to —124 to 85— and then the resolution recognizing the Kellogg Government was also carried—l 63 to 89.... The Senate amemjmeuts to the Army Appropriation bill were non-conchyed iu. Tae conference repct on the Military Academy Appropriation bill was agreed t 0... . Some of theS nate amendments to the Indian Approurialion bi>. were non-concnrred in.... A new conference committee was ordered on the Legislative Appropriation bi 11... .The Deficiency Appropriation bill ($1,800,000) was reported and ordered printed. .. .The Sundry Civil Appropriation bill was taken up in Committee of the Whole, and its consideration extended into the evening session, but it was not entirely disposed of. In the Senate, on the 2d, a nAimber of bills reported by the Committee on Pensions were passed... .The Force bill was read a second time and laidover.. . .The House bill to equalize the bounties of soldiers was taken up, amended and finally passed—3o to 30—the'Vice-President giving the casting vote in the affirmative... .The Tax and Tariff hill was considered; several proposed amendments were rejected and the bill was finally passed as it came from the House —3O to 29... Among the other bills passed were the following: House bill to prevent cruelty to animals in the District of Columbia; House bill to am eiid tlfii iiet for the restoration to homestead entry and to market certain land in Michigan.... The conference report on the bill to provide for the incorporation and regulation of railroad companies in the Territories was agreed to. In the House, on the morning of the 2d, before the conclusion of the all-night session, the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill was passed . ..After reassembling, bills were passed—for the governmentof the District of Columbia; to protect witnesses summoned to appear before Congressional committees from arrest on civil process; giving consent to the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company to build its road between Portage City and Stevens’ Point on the line adopted by the act of the State Legislature passed Feb 10,1875 ... .The Senate amendments to the Postoffice Appropriation bill were considered, and the one reviving the franking privilege in the case of garden seeds and agricultural reports was agreed t 0—133 to 95—as was also the amendment allowing members of Congress to frank certain public documents—ll 3to 65. The amendment fixing the salary of the New York Postmaster at sß,ooii was übn-concurred in... .A resolution was unanimously adopted rescinding from the records a resolution, adopted April 10, 1562, censuring Simon Cameron for certain alleged irregular proceedings as Secretary of War in the matter of purchasing military supplies at the outbreak of the rebellion.... The Arkansas question was then taken up, and the resolution reported by the committee, that no interference with the existing Government in Arkansas by any department of the United States Government is advisable, wan adopted—l 49 to 80... .The Deficiency Appropriation bill ($2,496,556) was considered in Committee of the Whole.

In the Senate, on the 3d, the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill was passed with several amendments... .The River and Harbor Appropriation bril was taken up aiid several amendments were agreed to. ..Conference reports were concurred In on the Indian and the Postoffice Appropriation bills and also On the Army Affairs bill .... An adverse report was made on the bill to relieve the political disabilities of Raphael Semines ....A conference committee was appointed on the bill for the equalization of bounties. In the House, on the 3d, conference reports were agreed to on the Postoffice, Army and the Indian Appropriation bills, and on the bill forthe incorporation and regulation of railroad conipanies in Territories... .The conference report on the Legislative Appropriation bill was not concurred in, and another conference was asked for... .The Senate amendments to the bill to equalize bounties were non-coricurred in and a conference committee was asked for... A vote of thanks was unanimously tendered to Speaker Blaine for the impartiality, efficiency and ability with which he had discharged the duties of his position .. The resolutions directing copies of the testimony in the Pacific Mail investigation to be laid before the next House and before the United States District Attorney, looking to proceedings against William S. King and John G. Schumaker, and to deprive newspaper correspondents involved in the matter from the privileges ot the reporters" gallery, were agreed to ...The resolutions reported by the Committee ou Elections declaring Pinchbacknot elected as member from the State of Louisiana at large, and George A. Sheridan elected and entitled to a seat, were agreed t 0—123 to 29--and Sheridan took the oath ot office, having fifteen hours to ■ serve... .The resolutions in the case of Sypher, from the First Louisiana District, declaring that he was not, but that Lawrence, the contestant was. entitled to the seat, were also agreed to and Lawrence was sworn in, having about fourteen hours to serve. ...The bill for the admission of Colorado as a State wa» passed—l 64 to 76.... The bill the admission of New Mexico was rejected—;yeas 154, nays 87—not two-thirds in its favor.. . .The Senate amendments to the House bill for the further security of navigation on the Mississippi River were agreed to. .7.The Senate Civil-Rights bill was referred to the Judiqiary Committee... The bill to extend the time for the completion of the railroad from St. Croix River or Lake to rhe west end of Lake Superior and to Bay -fleld-was. rejected. . ..The bilLtoU set, apart a portion ot tne island of Mackinac, Mich., as a National Park was passed.

\ln the Senate, on the 4th, conference reports on the River aud'H arbor, the Deficiency and other appropriation bills were concurred in, aud the bills were passed... .Bills were passed— House bill making appropriations to pay the award made by the Southern Claims Commission (claims allowed 1,1(3. involving an expenditure of $740,41111) ;for the improvement of the Kox aud Wisconsin Rivers in Wisconsin: House bill granting pensions to widows and children, dependent mothers and or orphan brothers and sisters of those soldiers who were murdered by guerrillas m Central Missouri iu-1864; removing the political disabilities of a number of persons . . . A report was made from the Conference Committee on the bill for the equalization of bounties, stating that the House had . finally concurred in the Senate amendments, and’ the report was laid on the table. Subsequently it was ascertained that the Vice-President had signed tins bill as having passed, aud tile question was raised that he could not-legally do so, t tie conference report having been tabled when it was necessary it should be concurred in by the Senate, notwithstanding the House bad withdrawn its non-coucuiTence in the Senate amendments A resolution was passed tendering thanks to the Vice-President tor the impartial and courteous manner in which he had presidedjpver the Senate, when a report w*s received from the President that he had no further communications to make. and'the Senate adjourned tine die. . In the House, on the 4th, conference reports on the Sundry Civil. IRiver and Harbor, Legislative and Deficiency Appropriation bills ware agreed to .. Among the bills passed were—for rhe relief of the Terre Haute <x Indianapolis Railroad Company; for the coinage of twentycent silver coins; authorizing a nor.toon I wagon bridge across the Mississippi River at Dubuque. ...The Senate amendmeaik .to the Cioutueru Claims bill were qoucurnd ia. ...Several bills of.a private character were also passed . .7.A resoluiiVu was psysed tendering thanks to ,th« Clerk and other officers of the House tor their coprtesy. efficiency aud fidelity, ana, a commitß-e ■ having reported that the President had no fur-

ti.-r eommunjeatian to make to Congress, at twite o’clock theßpeaker announced the expira- . tfon of the laat session of the Forty-third Congr. “>. and delivered a short tareweltaddreaa, and the uietoben dispersed. The Senate of the Forty-fourth Congr< -s assembled In special session on the sth, Vice-President Wilson presiding. The proclamation of the President was read and the oath ; administered to the new Senators.... Mr. Marton I offered resolutions—declaring Mr. Kellogg to Ibe the legal Governor of Louisiana, and I promising the support of the Government in administering the duties of hjs office: declaring Pinch back entitled to a seat in the Senate from Louisiana....Tbe committee appointed to wait upon the President reported that he would comn.uulcatc with the Senate on the Bth. and an adjournment was had u> that date.