The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-16 00:00:00

of the charges against Brigadier-General [Benham, has
ordered the release of the latter from arrest, and he is to be
ordered at once to duty."
The New York ?lines of Dec. 30 gives the fol-
lowing account of affairs at Beaufort :—" The steam-
transport Empire City, from Beaufort on the 24th,
and Hilton Head (in the 25th inst., arrived at this
port yesterday morning. Her advices arc interest.
ing, and in some respects important. No demon-
stration of any kind had been made by the rebels
against our troops, the stories to that effect in the
rebel papers being pure inventions. On the other
hand, our troops are making rapid advances into
the:States, making their position secure as they go,
and scouting parties are daily pushed in every di-
rection—one proceeding from Port Royal Island
almost within sight of Savannah. A portion of
the 79th Regiment had made a reconnaissance 15
miles from Beaufort, and taken six rebel prisoners.
These reconnaissances and scouts had established
the fact that the rebels aro able to concentrate, in a
short time, upon any given point, from 15,000 to
25,000 men. ?Another important gunboat reccw-
naissance had been made, which had been pushed
within 15 miles of Charleston, at a town called
Rockwell. Here a force of 400 rebels was found,
which fled in a panic when an inferior force of our
men was landed.
It is stated that the reconnaissance ofthe Federal
pickets made from the centre of the army of the
Potomac had established the fact that the pickets
of the Confederates had been withdrawn two or three
miles back from their former positions, and it
was inferred that the Confederates were going into
bill for abolishing Southern portswinter quarters. - .
The following
of entry was introduced in the House of Represen,
tatives, Dec. 30, by Mr. Stevens on leave :
" 1. That all laws or parts of laws creating or establish.
ing ports of entry or delivery in any State in rebellion be.
and the same are, hereby abolished.

" 2, Hereafter no vessel, either foreign or domestic, ex-
cept such as belong to or are employediby the Government
of the United States, shall enter or leave any of said ports
unless driven there by stress of Weather.

" 3, If any vessel shall violate or attempt to violate the
provisions of this act, the said vessel, cargo, and everything
appertaining thereto, shall be forfeited, the one half to go
to the captors and the other half to the United States; and
every person is hereby authorised to make such seizure,
and the captain or commander of the said vessel shall be
fined not exceeding 500 dols,
"4. The baid vessel and cargo may be seized at any
place, at sea or in any port, and the goods may be taken
wherever found, either on land or water,
" 5, The proceeds shall be divided among the captors
according to the law now regulating prizes.
" 6. The ship and cargo may be tried, as well as the
officers, in any court of the United States into whose juris-
diction the same may be taken:

" 7. The States now in rebellion are Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida,
Texas,
any
oth
er States shouldllissis hereafter Tennessee, accl Arkansas.
If eafter become rebellious, the
o Loeuristat
President shall proclaim the fact, and the provisions of the
act shall then apply to such State or States.
"8. The President shall have power to declare any har-
bour b
ore harboursexpedien t.,,
paThe Court of Inquiry in the case of Colonel
rts of entry, When, in his judgment, it
shall
Miles, charged with being intoxicated at the battle
of Bull
Run,
Anotherhadffi
ohonourablycer,
acquitted him of the
charge. who
was mistaken for
Colonel Miles, was open to the charge of being
intoxicated on the day in question.

The total amount expended by the Washington
Goverment in the purchase of fire-arms since the
beginning of the rebellion is 22,000,000 dollars.

Nearly 300,000 stand were purchased in Europe.
When the America sailed reports were current
of a general engagement near Paducah, Kentucky,
resulting in the success of the Confederates, but as
the telegram by the Nova Scotian does not confirm

he report, they are presumed to have been un

,''ounded.

The committee appointed to consider the expe-
diency of completing the long-delayed " Steven's
Iron Battery" at Now York, had made a report
_ _