The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-06-02
TnEC CATTLE DISEASE IN MASSACHUSETTS


Message Of ire Gore,nor-The Legislature OF
Massachusetts met in extra session on We'd
nesday. when the Governor delivered his mes-
sage. The Governor suggests a thorough scien
| tihc investigation Of the character of the dis.
ease thinks that the transit Of cattle through
| The several towns may require additional re-
guiations; and leaves to the wisdom Of the
Legislature the subject Of enlarging the mum
Der Of the Board Of Commissioners and in
creasing their authority. We extract the fol.
lowing:
| ltappears that all suspected herds have been
| examined, and many cattle have been isolated
| by order of the Commissioners. Eight hum
| dred and forty-two have been slaugh tered. for
| which compensation has been allowed by the
| commissioners to the amount of $40, 1875
| Ine appropriation Of $4,000 made by the
| Legislature was very soon exhausted. The
| iabors OF the Commits soners would have been
| al once brought TO 4 close: but the distemppr
| continuing TO spread, and the public mind be.
coming more excited in the districts where its
| ravages were chiefly confined, aud where it Sc
| IiouSly anected and seemed to threaten the
| destruction Of the principal occupation and
| support OF the people, many generous and
| pubiic.spirited citizens representing different
| business interests, voluntarily subscribed TO
Iund which was intended to enable the Com.
miss!oners to continue the work, notwith-
standing the failure of the appropriation. and
10 guarantee all parties concerned against
AoSSs ia vase Tie lI"XlSiituTe SHOuIu I3lI 10
cogniZe and provide for the unnu horized ex-
penditure of money.
Two considerations alone have impelled me-
WIN very great reluctance, to summon the
members OF the two houses from their homes
at this season Of the year. The first has re-
1erance to the importance Of the interest in =
Lived. Ii is not a disas ter affecting Massachu-
setts or New England alone. II the con tagion
Is allowed 10 spread without effort to extir-
pate or restrain II, ultimately it must ravage
the whole country. The neat cattle in the
United States in 1880 numbered Is, ,31SO0O. Es.
tlmating the number at present upon this
basis by adding 20 per cent to the n um ber as
| Inc natural increase in ten years, it will now
exceed -, 100000.
The number of milch cows returned to the
censuS bureau for 1870, was over six millions
| and the number OF working oxen was nearly a
million and three quarters. The value of bu t.
ter, cheese and milk not used for butter and
| cheese returned In 1850, as portion of the ag-
rlcutturaI product, according to the estimate
OF Prof. Tucker, exceeded eighty million dol
| lars. To this must be added an equal sum as
the value of cattle slaughtered for the mar
ke;, and the value OF the labor of nearly 4
million yoke of working oxen at the present
time. estimating their labor for a year at $50
per yoke, and the aggregate value of this YEAR
iy product exceeds one hundred and eighty
million dollars There is but one agricultural
product OF equal importauce-that Of Indian
| corn.
II we Could confine the ravages of this fatal
distemper SO unfortunately deposited upon
Al
| OF sufficient importance to demand the earnest
attention of the people. But unless extirpa ted
on the instant when IL appears it cannot be
| SO confined. If it spreads over our own terri
| tory 1t must raTage other States, and it be-
| comes duty of the highest character one
| which He owe alike to ourselves and to the
people OF the whole country, to make every
| available and possible effort to restrain its
| raVages ii eXtirpation is impossible.
|
| THE MARRIAGE LAWN a suit before the
| Circuit Court of Charles county, Md, last
| week, Judge Grain decided
That 70 constitute a valid marriage in Mary
land, it is not necessary for the marriage cere-
mony to he celebrated by persons in canoni-
| Gals. 1t is only necessary to prove that the
| contract OF marriage was en- tered in 10 by the
man and woman in the presence Of witnesses,
and that they used a ceremony Of Naptta per
rerta De present.. That it is a civil contract
| and according to the common law the con-
tract OF marriage is valid and binding if es.
tablished by evidence that it had been en- ntered
into by the parties to operate marriage
and followed by cohabitatiOn. That no license
was necessary to the raiidify of the marriage
That although the act of III imposed penal
ties upon all persons who should undertake to
celebrate marriage, except clereymen, &c, rs
therein mentioned, still the ceiebration OF a
marriage contrary to that act would only
subject the parties concerned 10 4 penaitY, but
wouid not render the marriage void. The only
r0N marriages under that aC were those with
| In the prohibited degrees.
The point, therefore, was settled in favor Of
the plaintiff-the prayers of his counsel being
granted and those of the defendant rejected !;
but the jary after remaining out all nigh t. rem
dered verdict in the case for the defendant
SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATEs-Tie Sci.
zHre Of the ANranioa SteamerS.-Late Madrid
journals mention Il report that Cabinet coun.
Gil, presided over by the Z ueen, had resolved
that an energetic note should be addressed to
the government of the United States on the
subject of the seizure by an American shin of
war, in the waters of Mexico, of the Spanish
steamer the Marquis de la Habana-a seizure
affected though the latter was CARRYING the
Spanish flag.
Senor Collante the minister for foreign af-
fairs, has declared in his Journal the EpOca
that Spain is prepared 20 enforce her claims
should America refuse her redress, indemnifl-
cat tiOn and guarantees that no such "ou,rages''
shall be preretrated for the future I'VE do
not desire 4 war; says the Epoca, ''With Anne.
RIGA, but, should it be unavo oidable We are not
apprshenSire as to the result A nation which
has just shed its blood and treasure in Africa
in defence of its honor-in the name of this
nation, which has thus rendered itself great
and powerful, we demand that the government
ehall display i'll this matter the utmost energy.
We hope that the affair may be settled by di-
plOmacy; but should diplomacy fail, ve wU
,cri!e on America tcih the points of our s,oords
tbs concluding pages Of the magnificent epoch
Thich zee hare so giorioHsiy commenced on the
burning sands Of Africa"
The Liverpool Mercury considers this a
specimen of "pluck'' and "taIl talk" which the
Americans will find it difficult to beat.