The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-11-19
WASHINGTON ITEMS

OF the COMMITTEE to inquire into the eXDad;sn,-
of selling a lot in the Park to Government e..
the post-ofice site, having addressed the pos,
master General on the subject, Mr. Browa 10
day addressed him letter formally re,avi,,
the offer of two hundred and iify Thousand doI
lars-admitting that the lot is worth mora Iy.
declaring it all he had to give, and sugges;rg
that the building to be erected would be an Or
nament to the city, and that the public corvo.
nience seemed to demand It's location ,he-,
Mr.. Brown also states positively that, if the Of,
is not accepted, the building cannot be erected
! for some years to come, because it will uecas
sarily fall under the policy Of retrenchmaat. -e
Gently resolved on by the Administrator rels
tive to all uncommenced public structures
Should the city of New York accept the off,
of the Postmaster General, it would furnish o
fine job for many of the laborers ont Of work
who nov parade the city in mobs Better lose
something, than carry out Mr. Woods PROPOSE.
ton to vote away barrels of beet and -four to
the hard listed sons of Labor.
By extraordinary effort and unremittiDr A..
tention to business, the Postmaster General
caused the pay for transportation Of the mail,
over the railroads Of nearly cur whole countrv
to be issued within the first fortnight of The
present quarter. In view cf the gloomy pros
poets of the workingmen of Philadelphia during
the approaching winter Governor Brown has
given orders to the superintendent of the new
Philadelphia post Office to commence opera.
tons thereupon Immediately, which will dis
tribute many thousands of dollars in specie
amongst the mechanics aud other working
classes of that city. This is substantial sympa
thy.
The work on all the Gosernment improve.
ments in this city, and on the great aquedac..
is progressing with great rapidly. Annual re-
ports on each, which are now in course Of prep
sraton, will be perused with interest in the
course of a a few weeks.
William B. Taylor, Esq, has been promoted
TOTE an examiner IN the Patent Office, (ccm.
pensaton $4,000 per annum.) Mr.. Robert b.
Clark, of Wisconsin has been appointed to be
an assistant examiner IN the same Office, vice
Taylor, promoted. Mr.. Henry D. Smith, Of
Connecticut, has been appointed to a second.
class clerhship in the same office, (compensa
ton 81 400 per anrum
The workingmen in the machine-shops at the
Capitol propose to give one days wages month.
ly for the benefit Of the suffering poor during
the winter months. Should this benevolent ey
ample be followed by our citizens generally in
proportion to their ability, the resident poor
may be relieved greatly during the Indictment
season.
The subjoined dispatch has been received
from the Utah expedition:
. 81. Louis, Noe ll.-Col. Johnston. when
last heard from, was beyond Fort Laramie, and
100 miles this side Of where the express left him
thesnowwas seveni uche5deep. Owing to the slim
supply Of corn and the entire absence Of grass.
the teams and drsgoon horses were falling rap
idly. News had reached Laramie tina. the
Mormons had burnt three Government trains cf
20 wagons, near Green river, 80 miles behind
Col. AleXander's command, which constituted
the vanguard Of the army"
If this is true, it foreshadows The failure
Of the entire army sent to Salt Lake. The re-
suit by SO many thought impossible, IS now
probable.
Washington correspondent says:
" The President, in pursuing the policy Of
rgid retrenchment in every department of the
Government expenditures expects to keep the
estimates of appropriations for next years ex.
penses Ito be submitted to Congress at ia meet.
iug) within forty millions Of dollars. against
eighty fce millions appropriated last year. It
Is not probable that the appropriations will be
permitted to exceed forty FIVE millions, under
any circumstances. The corrupt lobbyists and
land-steaiers, accordingly will find poor encour-
agement next winter, and Congress will have
more than usual opportunity TO attend to legit-
innate private as well as public business pre-
scented to it under legitimate and honest aus
pices."
This may be truo-we hope it is-but the
" land-stealers" aud corrupt lobbyists may
prevent it.
A private letter, sent 4" at venture" By the
hands of q wild Indian on the Plains. has been
received by the family of Lieut. Beale, tha So.
pe,intendent of the California Wagon Road ez.
petition from Fort Defiance to the Colorado
river. AT its date, the party had reached the
Colorado, the western terminus of their route
All were well, aud the party had not lost
single animal. The camels were thoroughly
tested in this expedition, and to their employ.
ment, doubtless, is to be ascribed much Of its
success.
Lieut.. Beale states that he will probably not
be heard from again for three months. Ii is
supposed that bis intention is to retrace his steps
to Fort Defiance, to re-examine his work. and
remedy any defects, and then return to the Col
orado, and thence to California, where his party
will disband.
1t is proposed to Withdraw the naval force al
together from Panama Bay, on account Of the
insalubrity of the climate.
a letter from China to the London Times
contains the following:
I" have already spoken Of the fatness and
fertility OF the Hong Kong rats. When MIMI
thus, the Dictator, was swearing FIaminius IN
as the master of the horse, we are told by Plu-
tarch that a rat CHANGED to squeak, aud the su-
perstitious people compelled both officers to
resign their posts. Office would be held under
great uncertainty in Hong Kong, if a similar
superstition prevailed. Sir John Bowring has
just been swearing in General Ashburnhsm as
a member OF the Colonial Council, and, if the
rats were silent, they showed unusual modesty.
They have forced themselves, however, into
state paper Two hundred are DESTROYED every
night IN Jail. Each morning, the Chinese prs
oners see with fearful eyes and watering mouths
APPLE OF these dehcacies cast out to waste. 1t
is as if Christian prisoners were to see scores
white sucking pigs cast forth to the dogs by
Mohammedsn jailors. At last, they could re-
frain no longer. During the punishment OF
tail-eutting, which follows any infraction OF
prison discipline, they first attempted 70 a6-
stract the delicacies. Fooled in this, they took
the more manly course They indited petI-