The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-15 00:00:00

AMERICA.

:QUEENSTOWN, Saturday Morning.
The Cunard Royal Mail steamer Persia, from
New York the 3d inst., has arrived.
The funeral of the late President Lincoln had
reached Chicago, and was about to proceed to
Springfield Cemetery, where the body is to be in-
terred.
Accounts respecting Mr. Seward and his son
continue to be favourable.
A Washington despatch of April 29 says :
" Notice has been given by our Consul-General
in Canada that all the criminals connected with the
murder of Mr. Lincoln must be surrendered to the
United States' authorities. This has a meaning."
The mystery as to the disposal of Booth's body
has not been cleared up. It is stated that not half
a dozen persons in all are:acquainted with the truth
of the matter. The Washington Star of the 29th
ult. furnishes the following additional details of
Booth's movements subsequent to the assassina-
tion :

it There no longer remains any doubt that Booth
fractured his leg when he sprang from the Presi-
dent's
box upon the stage. It being one of the
small bones, it is not probable that he discovered
the extent of the injury until the next day. On
the night of the assassination the confederates of
Booth were actively engaged in measures to divert
pursuit from the right direction, and a number of
horses were turned loose, with no other object than
to convey the idea that the assassins were still in
the city. The report of Booth's being seen in Penn-
sylvania was also started by his friends, it is be-
lieved ; but all such canards were neglected, the
detectives steadily and surely tracing the murderer
in all his wanderings through Maryland. Early on
Saturday morning the detectives and military were
sent across the Eastern Branch, others following
in quick succession, until Prince George's, Charles,
and St. Mary's counties were fully enveloped.
Colonel Ludington, chief quartermaster of this
department, was called on to furnish horses, and
at one time there was not left at headquarters a
single waggon or available horse. The first reliable
information concerning Booth was obtained on
Saturday morning at Surratt's tavern, about ten
miles from the city, on the road to Bryantown. The
military called at this place, but failed to get any de-
finite statement until the detectives came up. The
tavern is owned by Mrs. Suratt, and leased to the
old man who keeps it. Upon a close examination he
stated that Mrs. Suratt had been there on Friday
afternoon, and left word that two men would arrive
during the night, who were to be generously pro-
vided for. She also directed that two carbines sus-
pended by a string between the plastering of a par-
tition should be given them. Booth and Harrold
arrived as expected, and. remained until some time
Saturday forenoon; but on leaving Booth declined
to take a carbine, stating that he was too lame to
carry it. Harrold, however, took one, and the two
set out for the lower counties. Upon reaching the
neighbour of Bryantown, near Port Tobacco, Booth's
leg became too painful to proceed further, and the
services of Dr. Mudd, of that vicinity, were called
into requisition. After the fracture had been dressed
and Booth had left the detectives arrested Mudd,
who denied all knowledge of the character of his
patient. The boot, however, which had been cut off
from Booth's foot, the inflammation rendering it
impossible to draw it off, was found, and in it was
written with ink 'J. Wilkes,' the word Booth evi-
dently having been scratched out with a knife. Why
any portion of the name was left is a mystery, unless
a sudden alarm hurried off the party before the
completion of the erasure. The next place Booth
and Harrold were heard from was at the house of a
Dr. Coxe. The latter upon being questioned denied
having seen any such parties, but said that three
paroled rebel soldiers had applied there for accom-
modation and had been sent away. Coxe's servants
all asserted that the two men had staid there over
night, that their master had entertained them in the
most hospitable manner, and on their departure next
morning gave each a quantity of whisky. The detec-
tives next came upon the fugitives near the Sachiar
Swamp, in Charles County. There they found a dila-
pidated shantly occupied by an old coloured woman,
who stated that on that morning two men, one of them
with a crutch, had come out of the woods and askedfor
something to eat, offering to pay any sum for it. She
being afraid of them told them she had nothing; that
there were no white people around there, and that
they could get nothing to eat in that vicinity. The
lame man then inquired the direction to the great
swamp, which she gave, and the two went off. The
shanty stands in a small clearing, surrounded on all
sides by dense pine woods, with the exception of
one side, bounded by the swamp. The Bth Illinois
Cavalry and a regiment of coloured troops were im-
mediately sent through the swamp in every direc-
tion, searching every thicket, but without finding
any trace of the assassins, the latter having evi-
dently secreted themselves in the pine woods and
madetheir escape while the swamp wasbeing scoured.
On Sunday afternoon Booth and Harrold crossed
the Potomac at Swan Point, a short distance below
Matthias Point, and passing Port Royal en route to
Louisa Court-house, were captured (as previously
described) at Garrett's place. Facts have come to
light which show conclusively that Booth and his ac-
complices had, before carrying their plans into exe-
cution, decided upon the routes to be taken in
making their escape. Maps, understood to be in the
possession of the Government, and which are known
to have belonged to these parties, bear distinct
marks of the routes laid out by them. Booth and
Harrold were to escape to Rebeldom and seek Jef-
ferson Davis's protection, who was finally to assist
them in leaving the country. Harrold, in conver-
sation with an acquaintance of his who resides in
Maryland, some time previous to the murder of Pre-
sident Lincoln, made a remark to the effect that
there was no extradition treaty between the United
States and Spain, a remark that excited no special
attention at the time, but in the light of subse-
quent events it would appear that Booth and
himself contemplated shelter somewhere in the
Spanish dominions. Surprise has been expressed
that Booth selected such a shallow-pated blab-
mouth as Harrold as his nearest accomplice in so
'terrible a plot. This mystery, we think, may be
explained in this way :—Harrold, a young man of
idle, vagabond habits, was a good shot and a capital
boatman, spending much of his time in gunning and
fishing excursions in the lower counties of Maryland,
acquiring in this way a thorough knowledge of the
country, especially its by-paths, forests, swamps,
and creeks, sought only by the hunter and fisher.
On the outbreak of the rebellion this knowledge
made his services valuable in the capacity of guide
for blockade-runners, and there is no doubt that he
has been actively engaged in that business through-
out the war. Doubtless he was recommended to
Booth as a suitable guide in his flight, and that the
acquaintance between them was formed in that way,
But for the injury received by Booth in jumping to
the stage, by which he was crippled, it is possible
that the well arranged plan of escape might have
succeeded. But the outraged flag of . our country,
trampled upon by Booth in his exit from the box,
would seem to have been endowed with powers of
volition, seizing him by the spur and causing. him to
fall crippled on the stage, whereby his flight was
intercepted and his few. days of Cain-like existence
made days of anendTattenitense. It is believed that had
he not been immediately captured
f death would have
ensued from mortification his broken leg—uncared
for as it necessarily was and in
constant use. Traces
at points of his route indicated that he attempted
to obliterate the tell-tale marks of his crutch in the
earth, whereby his route might be traced, and that
he hopped on one leg at other points, not using the
crutch, to the same end."

A letter written by Booth to his mother, dated
n
the morning of the 14th of April, the day of assassi-
nation,o has fallen into the hands of the Government
authorities. It is directed to ,‘ Mrs. M. A. Booth, a
No. 28, East Nineteenthlareet, N.Y.," and bears
Washington, D. C.,, Post-office stamp, dated April
14. It bears the appearance of having been written
in considerable haste, and is all contained on one
side of half a sheet of note paper :

"April 14, 2 a.m.

"Dearest Mother,—l know you expect a letter from me,
and am sure you will hardly forgive me. But indeed I have
had nothing to write about. Everything is dull—that is,
has been till last night (the illumination). Everything was

bright and splendid. More so in my eyes if it had been a
display in a nobler cause. But so goes the work. Might
makes right. I only drop you these few lines to let you
know lam well, and to say I have not heard from yon. Ex-
cuse brevity; am in haste. Had one from Rose. With best
love to you all, I am, your affectionate son, ever,

" JOILN."

Mr. John S. Clarke, an actor, brother-in-law of
Booth, has been arrested, on what grounds has not
been stated.

The Philadelphia Inquirer publishes a report of
the murder of Corbett, the man who shot Booth,
but the statement appears to be untrue.
A plot to burn Philadelphia has been discovered.
The Washington Star says :

"The circumstances under which the plot to burn
Philadelphia was discovered here are about as fol-
lows :—On Friday evening last Sergeant A. P.
M'Benny, at the Sixth-street wharf, discovered two
suspicious-looking individuals lurking about in the
dark, who, upon seeing they were watched, made
off. On Saturday evening these two men again
made their appearance at the wharf, when Sergeant
M'Kenny informed his commanding officer of the
fact, who instructed him to watch them closely. The
sergeant, seeing the two men in conversation, got
close enough to hear one of them inquiring of the
other, 'Do you think they will meet to-night ?"
The reply was not heard, and the men again started
off, but were followed by Sergeant M'Kenny, who
overtook them on a vacant lot on Four-and-a-Half-
street, when one of the men, seeing that they were
followed, drew a pistol and fired at the sergeant, the
ball taking effect in his right breast near the nipple.
Fortunately Sergeant M'Kenny had at the time a
package of letters in his pocket, through which the
ball passed, thus deadening the force of the ball and
preventing its making a serious wound. The ser-
geant being alone concluded to lie still, although not
dangerously wounded, and the fellows believing that
they had killed him immediately ran off and made
their escape. Sergeant M'Kenny upon regaining
his feet discovered a letter upon the ground, which
the man who fired the shot pulled out of his pocket
with the weapon. Upon returning to his quarters
Sergeant M'Kenny discovered that this letter was of
some importance, and it was accordingly sent to
Col. Ingraham. The letter revealed the fact that
there was a deliberately planned plot on foot to burn
Philadelphia, in which a large number of conspira-
tors were to take part, and contained a request
urging certain parties, supposed to be the two men
alluded to above, to be in Philadelphia on the 10th
of April, as an attempt to destroy the city would
be made on the Ist day of May, when the final blow
would be struck, and the torch not lowered until
the city was in ashes, and their pockets filled with
treasure. Col. Ingraham, after reading the letter,
immediately despatched officers to the railroad sta-
tion, when it was ascertained that two men answer-
ing the description of those who had assaulted the
sergeant had taken passage on the train which left
the depot a few minutes before. Information of
the discovery of the plot was then telegraphed to
Gen. Cadwallader at Philadelphia, and early on
Sunday evening, Capt. Potts, chief of the military
detectives, and the patrols attached to Col. Ingra-
ham's office, were despatched to Philadelphia with
such details of the plot as had come to the know-
ledge of the authorities here. Facts are within
knowledge of the authorities here which go to show
that there are some 800 conspirators banded together
for the purpose of burning Philadelphia and other
Northern cities. The affair is now undergoing in-
vestigation."

The Washington Republican, in alluding to the
search which has been and is now being made in the
capital, has the following :—" The investigation in
this city has developed facts of the most astounding
character. The official record will eventually show
this. 'These developments, resulting from a partial
search only, show what would be brought to light by
unroofing and unearthing, if necessary, every house
in the district of Columbia. Seek for double parti-
tions, false walls, secret apartments, under-cellars
-where the great State prisoners were to be kept se-
creted in chains after being kidnapped. That it is in
evidence that President Lincoln, Vice-President
Hamlin, the members of the Cabinet, Gen. Grant,
Chief Justice Chase, and Speaker Colfax were
marked as the victims of certain rebel conspirators
and assassins, there is little doubt ; that the plot
originated with the chief political rebels in Rich-
mond, was planned in detail in Canada, and was to
be executed in this city, there is no doubt; that
secret meetings were held at the residences of Seces-
sionists in this city to further the execution of this
fiendish plot is well known."
'The President has issued the following order,
removing restrictions on trade in the Southern
States :

" Executive Chamber, Washington, April 29.

" Executive Oreler.—Being desirous to relieve all loyal
citizens and well-disposed persons residing in the insurrec-
tionary States from unnecessary commercial restrictions,
and to encourage them to return to peaceful pursuits, it is
hereby ordered-Ist. That all restrictions upon internal,
domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse be discon-
tinued in such part of the States of Tennessee, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ala-
bama, Mississippi, and so much of Louisiana as lies east of
the Mississippi River as shall be embraced within the lines
of the national military occupation, excepting only such
restrictions as are imposed by the late Acts of Congress
and regulations in pursuance thereof prescribed by the
Secretary of the Treasury and approved by the President,
and excepting also from the effect of this order the follow-
ing articles contraband of war—to wit, arms, ammunition,
and all articles from which ammunition is manufactured,
grey uniforms and cloth, locomotives, cars, railroad iron
and machinery for operating railroads, telegraph wires,
insulators and instruments for operating telegraphic lines.
2d. All existing military and naval orders in any manner
restricting internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial
intercourse and trade with or in the localities above-named
be and the same are hereby revoked, and that no military
or naval officer in any manner interrupt or interfere with
the same, or with any boats or other vessels engaged
therein under proper authority pursuant to the regulations
of the Secretary of the Treasury.

" ANDREW JOHNSON."
A Washington letter of the 2d inst. contains the
following
General Bragg's Military Commission is now engaged
in the examination of a case which, as the decision will
furnish a precedent to be followed in the treatment of
many neutral friends of the country, is regarded with con-
.siderable interest. It appears that in the autumn of 1862
seven Scotchmen, lithographic printers by trade, were en-
gaged, by an agent of the Confederate Government to print
Confederate notes and bonds. They entered Wilmington
late in 1862 and proceeded to Columbia, South Carolina,
where they engaged in their trade. When Gen. Sherman
approached Columbia the men in question left that city and
proceeded to Richmond, where they worked at their trade
until the Ist of March. Finding that the Confederate cause
was sinking they determined to leave the South, and ac-
cordingly came to Maryland, crossing the Potomac near
Port Tobacco. About the middle of March they started from
Port Tobacco for the purpose of coming to this city. While
en route they were arrested by the mounted patrol and
brought here. On Saturday they were arraigned before the
above military court for violation of the laws and customs
of war, in having run the blockade, engaged in the service
of the Government, and again running the blockade by
entering the Federal lines without permission. Their coun-
sel claimed for them the benefit of an order from the late
President, of date March 14, requiring all persons who have
been engaged in blockade running to leave the country
within 12 days from its publication. The prisoners were
arrested before the 12 days had expired. The decision of
the court will not be announced for several days."

Nothing certain appears to be known regarding
Mr. Davis. The New Orleans Delta of the 18th ult.
quotes a report which states :
"That Jeff. Davis, accompanied by a bodyguard com-
posed of Texas cavalry, crossed the Mississippi river in
launches at Tunica Bend on last Sunday night, and moved
rapidly forward towards the Atchefalaya river, having en-
tirely escaped the observation of our naval forces. As Davis
left Richmond on the evening of the 2d he has had plenty
of time to reach the point indicated. Should this report
prove well founded the question of what to do with him,'
had he fallen into the hands of our Government, will be
happily got rid of."