Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-05-10
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

L "A0AANVAON 4NA " . ANO UOSSlH.
The "0ld Point" Hotel and the Secretary
Of War.-All our readers may not know that
the Secretary Of War is being roundly misrep-
resented by some persons and papers in North
Carolina and lower Virginia, all about the
Hotel at DID Point Comfort, Va. Under the
predecessor Of Gen Davis, permission was OBJ
tanned by the proprietors of the watering place
hotel there, to enlarge their buildings, trench
ing upon government property in so doing
Subsequently, it has been ascertained by a
proper military examination that their plan OF
enlargement cannot be carried out without in
terfering with the range of the guns of forti.
hcation there. and the Secretary of War has
accordingly felt it his duty to revoke the order
granting permission for the particular plan
OF enlargement. Whereupon a terrible out
cry has been made, North Carolina CORE
spondent of the Portsmouth (Va) DAILY
Transcript going so far as to accuse the Sec
rotary Of causing the establishment (the Old
Point HoteI to be closed during 1.-The season. -
&c. All this is wrong that officer has in no
manner interfered with the house or its pros
poets, as they have existed up to this time
He has merely decided that as the proposed
Improvement in the hotel, if constructed, will
interfere with the range Of guns of the fort, he
cannot consent to its erection on Govern
ment property in the precise spot whereon
they desire to place the addition. He, how
ever, offers to permit them to add quite as
,,uob on IN tho 9TH or and NJ m q praoont bu;ld
ing, which shall not be carried higher than the
hotel as itstands at present. These are the real
facts as they exist. Already that establishment
is in the enjoyment Of many privileges from
the Government, which are doubtless deserved
and can be accorded --;sL---. sL . lisLt.sG dts
regard of the public interest. Its proprietors
and their friends should rest sati SIZED with
them, it strikes US; ceasing, one and all of them
from incorporating plain and palpable act
Of duty to his trust on the part of the Secretary
of War
Tho Governments Remedies against De.
Inquent Officer. In answer to a correspon.
dent who writes us concerning the Govern.
ment's remedies against delinquent military
or naval officer, we have to say, that by the
statutes of March Is, 1920, and January 25
1928, the Government has a two-fold remedy
against delinquent officer. The Sd section OF
the first act requires that delinquents shall be
reported for suit, and the latter requires a
stoppage of his pay; and this latter act, it is
held, is not in derogation. nor IN any ,cay a
mod feation of the act of 1920, but it is the
duty of the accounting officers to enforce both
The Nebraska Bin.-The friends of thi:
measure design refraining from moving te
close the general debate upon it, at least until
that course shall be necessary to insure
that it shall be finally disposed of by
the close of the current week. 1t was tn,
subject Of about seventy five speeches il
the House Hall, before being taken up il
Committee. Yesterdays long session proved
the still existing anxiety of great many
gentlemen to be heard upon it. There bid.
fair to be from half dozen to a dozen hou,
speeches yet made upon this bill every day
until the general debate may be formally
closed. If the purpose of debate in Commit
tee be the elucidation of questionable points
involved in measure under consideration
certainly the opponents Of this bill will have
had ample opportunity to effect every thing
for their cause in the Hall, that may possibly
be effected by the delivery Of speeches They
will have enjoyed the right of full, free anu
fair discussion almost al nauseana we may
not inappropriately write. That is to say
many more speeches will have been delivered
directly to the Nebraska question by the time
the final vote may be taken, than were ever
before delivered directly to or upon any other
bill considered by the House of Representa-
tives Of the United States
1t can hardly be, however, that we will fai
to hear ordinations in Abolition prints agains
the application of the gag law in this case
This is funny world we live in; and, per
haps, the most unaccountably funny people il
it, are our over-righteous and over exactine
Abolitionist fellow-citizens
"Box Rent" at Post 0fices.-The law &C
cords to the Post Office Department no speeia
control over the box rents of any post Office
where they may not exceed So, 900 per aanum
The excess over that sum alone, is to be place.
by the postmaster to the credit of Department
As it is left optional with the patrons of III,
Office whether they will, or will not rent boxes
so also is the rate of rent for boxes left to tn,
discretion of the postmaster.
Late Speeches in tho House. The No
brsska debate still continues to be marked
by brilliant display of almost unex am.
Piled ability That is, no whole series OF
many speeches delivered upon any other sui
ject in the House hall in the last eleven years
have exhibited as much talent and legi slative
stateman-like attachments as have character.
lied the current debate. So far, Mr.. Hughes
recent effort against the bill was fully up to
the mark made by that gentleman early is
the session. Mr.. Hibbard's, delivered yester
day, won the powers of his mind great praise
from the opponents as well as the friends o.
the measure. Mr.. Lyons amusing effort ii
also highly spoken of as a capital legislative
jem d'esprit, as it were.
To-day, ere We left the Hall, Mr. Ingersol
delivered speech principally upon the neu
trality laws question, which attracted great
attention 1t was replete with solid informa-