, 1859-08-23

Correspondents II " Ii tts.s.a !; 1!!sens;l ,,,,
The Dsnocratie State Contsstlon assenblad
Il the eapstal ii Til city ss.dsy, snaa "hszaer"
looking 1s4herias isse'don seen. Ths ladian
agents ~ all here; ths land officers arc all
here; ~ te9@raa Office Aofdess Of Minnesota
are al hc.e to man. Office holders and Office
seekers. thick rs the frogs Of Egypt, have come
up to St. Paul to derisc "ways and means by
which the Democracy can retain their ''stated
places Of power" .of aiaother two years term:
jim Cavaaaagh, noisy and gassy Is usual; is
here. and Phelps, severely down in the mouth"
looking sad and detected, is on the ground. The
railroad larpies aud shystcrs Of Wisconsin aud
Minnesota are here too, hanging upon the cont
skirts and dogging the footsteps OF the dele
gates, begging them to have the party take
grounds in favor Of tax bill to meet the in
terest upon the State railroad bonds voted by
the people.
It is impossible to describe the character Of
the Convention as between Douglas and Bu-
chanan. "0ld Joe Brown" Buchanan's Indian
Agent, seems to have the Convention entirely iu
his own hands, whasA1e Douglas men assert
upon the tallest kind of oaths. that they can
carry the day orer Ne President. The truth is.
there is, nor will be, nSeonteh over principles.
1t is mere scramble aftefofice, and the Con
vention will, without doubt, endorsepod414vs-
las aud Bucl}apan. -
The main contest to-day, WIS ore, the fof
Of the Committee on Credentials. Joe Brown
had brought in delegations from some fifteen or
twenty s'new countics.'' So "new," indeed,
that no one but the old Indian Agent himself
knew anything Of their existence. Mr.. Caruth-
ers, and other delegates, objected to the admis-
sion of delegates from counties whose names,
location and boundaries existed only in the
imagination Of the Presidents Indian Agent.
Mr. Caruthers told the Convention that If they
would give him the chance, he would prove
that those counties had no existence in fact,
TINT there were neither Democratic or Republ-
can Toters in such counties, that no white men
bad ever been in the locality of those pretended
counties, only to camp long enough to stuff their
pockets with credentials, 6c- He also told the
Convention, that the only object in this new
county movement WIS to carry out grand
system Of frauds, Of the Breech Clout" aud
Soccassin stump, in carrying the election. "Old
Joe" did not attempt to deny the truth Of sfr.
Caruthers' statements, but rery plainly limited
to tue Convention that if lis delegates were re-
jectcd they would find themselves short of votes
in October. That hint was sufficient. To lose
Joe Browns services and influence in the un~
settled counties, where nobody lives, but where
great many votes arc cast, would never answer,
and so the report was adopted BY an oTerwheln1-
ing majority, when the Convention adjourned
until tomorrow morning, when the first bust
ness in order is the adoption Of platforr
The candidates for Congress will b. ,.
Cavanaugb, aud a. N. Fridley; Geo. L.E
Of st. Paul, will be nominated for Cos
Further than this, the " State" is not ye. &
up.
I will write you tomorrow, and gave y~- ---
result Of that days proceedings. OBSERVER.
4 Remarkable Achievement In En:1"
necr1nE.
One Of the most remarkable achievements OF
| modern engineering is the construction Of the
railway bridge over the river Tamar at Saltasl,,
On the Cornwall railway in England.
I
the bridge is iron, although stone wus used to
some extent. It is in nineteen spans, aud its
total length is a,240 feet. Two Of the spans
cover space Of upwards 900 feet. II is these
two spans and the central pier which We propose
to notice.
| TIC height from the foundation of. the pier
| to the top of the superstructurc is EGO feet.
Tie river where the pier is built is 20 feet Deep
| with twenty feet Of mud between the water and
the rock on which the pier rests. To build q
coifer.dam in such depth Of water was out ol
tie question; and to build pier without one
the following method was devised. An i'm
mense iron cylinder Of boiler plate, one incl
tl,ick, 81 feet in diameter, and 100 feet high
was constructed, and set one end in the river
where the pier was to stand. The upper enc
WIS closed witlrthc same kind Of iron platc AMI
the wafer forced out and air forced in by mean:
Of i steam engine. The workmen were thc1
enabled to descend into it as into IN immcns,
dising bell. They excavated the mud AMI
earth, aud leycled the rock on which it was It
stand, till it was set firmly in its place; afel
which il was filled with the stone masonry to
level with its top.
On the top Of this were placed four cast irol
columns 10 feet in diameter, 100 feet high aut
two inches thick. These columns were cast i,
joints of six feet Iong-and the weight of eacl
column is $50 tons. On the top Of these col
uuans, and spanning the river each way to th
| joining piers OF abutuents, are im.nens
arches with chain tension lies, the arch risin;
| fnn& 10, ~ i:
feet. and the Chains taking Tue same curvatur
| downwards. These arches arc iron cylinlroids
their shortest diameter being IL the longest L
feet, The tension chains are made Of iron bar
six feet long, one inch thick aud six inche
wide. Each link is composed Of IA and Is o
these bars alternately, aud on these chains til
roadway takes its bearings. The total quantit,,
Of wrought iron used has been 900 tons; &
east 1900 tons; Of masonry and brick worl
1,7o0 cubic yards, and about II 900 cubic feet @
timber The other II spans were composed Q
stone and iron, in the construction Of wllic
there is nothing worth special notice. Th
bridge was formally opened few weeks sine
By Ills Royal Highness the Prince Consor
Tho engineer in chief Of this great work wa
l 2lTs 1aIuAta4 hGAtlEAAAu hAAEi1 AuuMA 10 u Sill
cessful and practical engineer, having been c1
gagged on many Of the finest works in England
including the Thames Tunnel md the Gsca
Eastern steamship. G. P. r.
Gen. Augustus Caesar Dodge In II Paa
aion.
Tie following passage occurred ia dcbat
between Mr.. kirkwood and Gen. Caesar Dodg,
ut Oskaloosa, as reported in the Nsrald Of til:
place:
"Mr X. remarked that those present in til
afternoon would remember that he had rredic
ed that before long the Democracy would L
urging the revival Of the slave trade, becaus
slavcry, as they would afli,n. is chris.ianizin
institution. But, said he, did not expect III
competitor would commence SO soun. This fl
and legitimate Inference drawn from Gen. d.
remarks on slavery furly roused the lion With
Him. As soon as Mr.. H. sat down the Gcncr
> sprang to his feet, and declared saya.ely that
Mr. kIrkwool said thut lie or any Of the Demo
racy was in favor Of tile slave trade, At tcas
lidr, and that if he repeated it he would cr1
tie lie dp'cr hi* Mrodt' Mr. r.. perfectly cn
and good-n4turrtl, waited until the General h:
relieved bis cha1"r somewhat, when be remar]
cd that if Gen. u. spoke tsuratirely, in regnr