The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-03-22 00:00:00

AMERICA.

On the 2Pith ult. the Appropriation Bills occupied
almost exclusively the attention of ('ongress. In the
Senate, after another refusal to take op the Homestead
Bill, committees of conference were appointed to meet
similar committees from the House, relative to the dim-
agreeinenta on the amendments to the Legislative,
Executive and Judicial, and the Consular and I)iplie
rustic Appropriation Hills. Mr. Housten made his
farewell address to the Senate, in which he reviewed
and vindicated his course in Congress. The Post-office
Appropriation Bill, which calls for an aggregate of
upwards of $19,1100,000, Was then taken up and dis-
cussed for several hours. An amendment Wsii Adopted,
which provides that in no event shall the liabilities Ito
allowed to excwil the appropriations for the current
fiscal year. Several other imrsirtairt amendments were
adopted, but the final vote was not taken. In the House
a colloquy of a personal nature took place between
Messrs. Regan and Bryan, of Texas, which created
considerable excitement. 'rue Naval Appropriation
Bill was paisoed, tie amendments reducine the navy-
yard appropriations from $1,192.000 to SIIII,OOO, and
reducing the appropriat for repairs, arinamenta, Ice.,
from $3,100,000 to $1,900,11119, having been concurred
in. Mr. Phelps asked leave to report a Bill to revise
the Treasury-note Act, but the House refused to suspend
the rules. He then moved to go into committee on the
General Appropriation Bill. which was agreed to. A
tion to strike out the Coast Survey Appropriation
was unsuccessful. The report of the committee ap•
pointed to investigate the accounts of the late Superin-
tendent of Public Printing Was received. It censures
Mr. Seamen for improper and illegal conduct.
From New Orleans we have the following scanty tele-
gram respecting a frightful catastrophe :
" New Orleans, Feb. 234.
" The steamboat Princess, from Vicksburg for New
Orleans, exploded her boiler, caught fire and burnt to
the water's edge. at Conrad's Point, near Baton Rogue,
on Sunday morning. Four hundred passengers were on
board of her at the time, 200 of whom are loot and ruin-
sing, mostly residents of Giusiaria and Mississippi. A
large number of those on board were ladies. Those
known to be killed are as follows W. Seyrirour, of
Baton Rouge ; Mr. Conlon, of Maysville, Kentucky ;
the pilot and assistant-engineer of the Princess; 11. B.
Murphy, of St. Louis; Hodges, of Mississippi; and
three persons whose names are unknowii. :timing the
missing are the following : —Charles Banister mol
Howard, representatives from New Orleans to the State
Legislature; Joseph Clark, second 3lerk ;Joseph Warts, ,
of Virginia. No other Northern or Eastern names have
as yet been ascertained. A large number were badly
scalded and otherwise injured. The boat and cargo Sr,
a total lose. The former was one of the finest vessels
plying on the river." A later despatch says :—" • boat
arrived from the wreck of the Princess, bringing a
number of the wounded. It was foggy at the time of the
explosion, and the Princess, being huhind time, hail too
much steam on. A Baton Rouge dispatch says the
engineer is reported to have said he would reach New
Orleans certain in time, or blow up. The engineer was
cut in two, about WO persons were Wounded, and many
of then are in a dangerous and dying state. It is
imposs:ble yet to ascertain the number of the lost.
Several boat,' saved many lives. There is much excite-
ment here and all along the river. Numerous unrecog-
nised bottles are being found, but there are no Northern
or Western names."
On the night of the 24th • very destructive fire occur-
red in Broad-otrtert. Beeton ; the damage was mitimated
at 5250,000 ; the " Royal of London" is responsible for
$20,000.
A prisoner in
.Alton Penitentiary, who was requested
to ewe up a knife he had in his pooression, declined to
do so, and the officers fearing to resort to force adopted
starvation measures. At the end of 97 hours the man
was an weak that he was overpowered and the weapon
taken from kiln.
The New Mexico Legislature had paused a stringent
Act for the protection of slave property, and denying
the right of Congress to interfere with it.