Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1861-04-02
NEWS Of THE DAY.
e To Sho,c tie re!y age und body of'MeTlM


ted the penalty Of forfeiture upon the schoon-
er Restless which sailed from Mobile without
proper clearance papers, upon the ground that
there is no collector Of the United States aethe
port Of departure to grant clearance. The
steamship Bienville has also been released,
the owners having entered int bonds to pay
any penalty that may be imposed III conSe-
quence of the vessel having brought goods
from New Orleans without the proper United
States clearance Several vessels have re-
Gently arrived at New York from the ports
of the Seeded States, the captains of which,
not having the requisite papers, have been
fined by the Collectors, but. to prevent delay,
the fines have been paid under protest.
March 23d was an interesting day at
Frankfort, Ky. Gov. Wickliffe made Il most
eloquent and earnest appeal for the Union,
arguing that Kentucky would inevitably be
the loser should she go with the G. 5. \. In
the course of his speech he said that, TO his
great grief, his only son was for the South
ern Confederacy, but lie was satisfied that
he would uutive it, although the speaker
hardly expected to do SO himself. in the
evening, Gov. Morehead urged the necessity
of taking the preliminary steps for the as
sembling of Border State Convention.
The last of the batteries erected for the de-
fence of Charleston harbor was completed
last Wednesday, and the Mercury says the
troops are now pretty well prepared for any
| foe. The Courier learns that agents repre-
sentng several very extensive manutactur-
ing establishments in Sheffield aud Birming-
ham, England, are expected to arrive ut
| Charleston in few days for the purpose OF
making temporary arrangements preparatO-
ry to the establishment Of permanent agen-
! cies.
| The finding Of the court-martlal in the case
| of Commander Wake, of the storeslip Sup
ply, has been rendered, and approved by the
Secretary of the Navy The decision of the
court was that Commander Wake had dis
obeyed the orders of Flag Officer Pendergrast
in bringing the Supply to New York instead
of proceeding to Vera Cruz, and that the said
Commander Wake be admonshed by the
Secretary of the Navy, which was done.
The favorable winds which prevailed for
the past few days have enabled Il large num-
Der of vessels to get into port. From Sunday
to Thursday last inclusive there were two
| hundred and sixty-nIne arrivals ut the port
of New York, viz: On Sunday D., Monday
| 50, Tuesday So Wednesday 80. Thursday
To- Of these l27 (nearly half were from
foreign ports.
Mr.. Russell, Of trust Fund memory, has
published u defence of his conduct and III
reply to the report Of the special committee
Of the House of Representatives, which he as
| serts to be full Of mistatements and false de-
auctions, and altogether unfair and partial.
| lie claims to have issued acceptances in good
| faith
The arrivals of the last few days at Bos-
! ton, Holiness Hole, Newport, NC, have
brought us intelligence of disasters in various
! directions; in some Instances the crews Of
abandoned vessels have been brought in: in
others, wrecks have been seen with no one
on board, leaving room for the most melun-
choly fears.
Professor Parsons, Of the Harvard Law
School, has recently published lecture on
the Origin, Function, and Authority of the
| Constitution Of the United States in which
there il very clear statement of the charac
| ter of the "British Constitution" as cDulpar.
! ed with our own.
The bri West Indian and the schooner IL.
?. Russell are loading vi Charleston for South
America with lumber and rice. and are ex-
pected to return with from eight to ten
thousand bags Of coffee. 4 line oil packets
is also about to be started between Charles
ton and the West Indies.
Florida has Just sold half million Of acres
of land to some New Orleans spectators ut
two cents an acre. Considering the millions
of dollars she has cost the United States
while she was in the Union, ten million mills
will not enable her to keep 4 very large army
upon Il war footing.
An old-inshoned passage of one hundred
and seven days WAS made by al old-tashion-
! ed craft, the Dutch galiot Cad2andrion,
which arrived at Philadelphia on Friday.
from Rotterdam, loaded with Il cargo Of
schnappS. Washington Irving would have
been delighted with Il sight of such model.
The Buffalo Republic Of March Goth,
says that during the three preceding days,
eighteen hundred bales Of cotton had been
sent east from Buffalo to Boston over the
\. Y. Central railroad. 1t is brought from
Memphis TO Cincinnati by water and thence
by rail to Boston.
1t is curious phase in the history Of poll
tics. when Mr. Seward has come to he spo-
ken Of as conservative" in his views His
previous ultraism has assisted in driving tie
country to the condition it now is in; and
makes "couservatism," in degree, ncces-
sary for even Seward. Truth is mighty.
The Presbyterian Genera! Assembly CO.'S.
of the United States will hold its next meet
ing in Philadelphia: commencing Thursday,
the 10th of May. The Assembly will be
opened with sermon by Rev John ". leo-
mans, u. D., Moderator Of the last Assembly.
At Plttsburg, the merchants and business
men generally are standing firmly against
receiving deprecated currency. except ut
brokers' rates, Virginia and Missouri bills
being received at four per cent. discouut.-
The farmers will not receive it at all.
The Texas Convention confirmed the per-
manent Constitution Of the Contaderated
States, and adjourned sine die without refer
ring the question in any form t. the people.
Gen. lIouston's opposition to Secession is
said to have proved entirely frutless.