Litchfield enquirer., 1834-12-18

know not. It is that Henry Clay is about 1 to resign in the S~Oate-aDd that Kentucky { member tn the House is tO vacate his seat there, SO as to enable Clay to come tn as a rallying leader of the opposition. Certain it | is. that leader of the opposition is wanted Y. Star.
 Pension Frouds.-Owing to the frauds that have been committed by pension agents to obtain money frum Government, tt is advised by the President, at the suggestion of the Secretary of War, that thorough investiga- tiOn, by persons appointed for the purpose, he made in the claims of each individual now drawing a pension. The plan reported by the Secretary is, that the persons SD appoint ed for the purpose, go tO the residence or ntighburhO0d of each peOsioner and examine into the testimony on which his pension was granted. The Report says, in conclusion Ot the subject, ''Undt rtaken by proper per sons and conducted with proper discretion, it could scarcely fail to confirm the grants made to honest applicants, and to detect those
 which have been fraudulently obtained by
 dishonest ones. It appears tO me that the
 expense of such measure ought not tO delay its immediate adoption. ltis impossible even
 to conjecture the amount of surrpelitiOus
 claims. It may be far greater than the data
 now befnre the office enable us to estimate.-
 And possible conjecture and recent disclo- sures may have led to the suspicion that the
 ramiications of the system have been more extended and the abuses greater than rigid inquiry may confirm. In one case the bene- fical result would be the relief of the Treasu- ry from fraudulent payments, and the pun ishment of th"se concerned in them. And in the other it would be satisfactory to know ah.,Rv hs F [ been justly appropriated, it has not been inn properly applied"
 The time for which the pension office was established expires on the Sd March next. but owing to the importance and extent of the bu sness of the department, it is recommended to be continued. The money annually dis bursed L" the pensioners amounts to S3, ,20O,- Ooo.-BridgePort Farmer.
 Post Master Generals Report.-From this docug;ent. it appears that the gross amount of postages during the first six months of 1884, was Sl,448, ,269 69, and the gross expenses of the Department $l, 400, ,762 45. Nett income after deducting expenses, $47.5O7 24: which sum, deducted from the debt of the Depart ment on the lst of Jan. last beyond the a. mount of its available funds (SSl5, 599 98) re- duces it to $268,O9 74. Since the lst of July it has been still further reduced. and it is calculated that before the close of 1885, it will be wholly extingushed. This ameliora- ton of the finances of the department is ef- fected by retrenchments in the transportation of the mail: i. e. by discontinuing sundry routes, and diminishing the frequency of transportation on others. The number of Post Offices in the United States on the first of July last, was lO,69S; being an increase of 566 over the number reported last year. The mail is now carried in stages and steambOats about 1G, 800, ,00O miles year, and on horse- back and in suikies, about 6, ,6OO, ,O00; making a total of about 25, 500. .OOO miles year. On the lst of July 1888, the number of miles was stated at S26,854,485 showing diminutiOn of Sl, ,S54,485 miles.-J0ur. Com.
 The nett revenue of the Department, aris ing from postages, has fallen short of the esti- mates more than SlOO,0OO. This, says the report, is believed to 5e, io very considera- ble degree, attributable to .he great increase of free letters" owing to the accumulated hn- siness correspondence of the Executive Off, ces, and the extended privilege to members of Congress of franking during the recess.- The amount paid to Post Masters for the de- livery Of free letters during the two years since this extension, is S1S,6Ol greater than in the two years before. The number of free letters is 68O.O99 more since the exteosion.- "No allowance is made for the delivery offree letters at Post Offices where the POstmasters' commissions exceed $500 per quarter.
 From the Vest Indies.-We regret to an. nOunce that the accounts which were receiv- ed yesterday from Spanish town from West. tnOreland are alarming. Three attempts have been made to set fire to the town of Savannah. Ie-Mar, and the negroes generally were man. ifesting determination to resist labor. On Shrewsbury estate. to which there are attach ed upwards of four hundred apprentices, and where they formerly used to make thirty hogsheads of sugar per week. the quantity now manufactured is hogshead.
 This has principally arisen from the resolu- ton taken on the part of the apprentices not to work beyond the hour of 6 o'clock. They will neither work after hours for wages, nor will they make an exchange Of time, until strong measures are resOrted to, to compel them iO labor with more alacrity than they have done since they emerged into state of conditional freedom.
 The latest account from that estate, we un- derstand, states that the previous evening the apprentices deserted work at 6 o'clock, leav- ing an immense quantity "f fiQuOr in the boil ing house, which would have been all spoiled, had not the Overseer cOntrived to bribe few hands tO watch its progress during the neces- sary process. We are also informed that the spirit of passive resistance is also spreading thrOuS hOut the apprentice population in Vest