The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-12-14
Nm S1vr R.ro.r.-rhe Report Of Secretary

I'm NAyY RsPosf.-rhe Report Of Secretar,
v.,Iee. will bs read with interest. It gives
,,ed exposition Of the state Of affairs in Ii,
Y.,v Department together with CONDENSED
,ke.ch Of its operations since the July session o
oouesess. The subjects Of the blockade, o
naval expeditions, and Of the pursuit aftcs
,rsses, are nrst treated Of by the report; the
.as.se Of the Rebel distinctions on the Potomac
hsvsver, 10 left in somewhat unsatisfactory
coodision, inasmuch ~ no hint is given as to the
usasures 70 be taken to break up the irritating
Ilockade of that river. 1t is stated that the
ssose feet which very recently sailed was to op.
suie In the channel Of Charleston harbor and in
Savannah river. The number Of vessels cap.
tured BY us for violation of the blockade and for
cher offences is l5S, and . list is appended to
he Report as delivertdtc' 'oo&sress Consider
able space and warm praise is given to Flag
OAacsr Dupont for his brilliant Port Royal affair
The conduct Of Capt Wilkes in seizing Mason
and slidell is commended, without further quail
6cstion than is contained in the hint that he
showed too great leniency in not capturing the
Trent as we'll as her passengers. The position
ofthe Report on this point is decided, and the
expression of opinion is sharp. This portion of
The document will squarely meet the public SEN
dnent of the country. The total force Of the
Navy, when the vessels now building and purch-
wed are put in order, will be 264 vessels, 1857
guus, alS,Ol6 tuns. The number Of seamcn is
now $4,000. The Marine Corps in October had
strength Of 1894. The position of the De.
partment upon the question Of what to do with
the slaves who come to our ships may be briefly
stated thus Set them Mt work for wages if
there is no work. apply for it to the army if
the army has none for them, let them 60 in peace
whither they will Various other topics are
treated in the Report--all, however, briefly and
clearly. * aa l -r,
cE The South Carolinians have been loudest
and most confident in boosting of the attach
ment Of their slaves. They professed to be.
lieve that insurrection was impossible, and that
II the sacred soil should be invaded the negroes
would fight to the death for their masters The
FIRST landing Of our troops at Port Royal dis
PEELED this ilusio2. The negroes refused to fly
inland with their masters, but remained to vel
come the invaders, Of whom they had heard such
terrible accounts from the whites, showing that,
with all their ignorance and stupidity, they are
shrewd enough to see through the deceptions
practiced upon them, and to guage accurately
the nature and value of patriarch's love for
his 'chattcls personal" A thousand or more of
the late slaves have come into our camps and
found employment and shelter, and eight or ten
thousand are running unrestrained over the is.
lands around Beaufort, holding high carnival in
their new found liberty. Such as were forced
into the interior with their masters are breeding
mischief there, and already we have painful ac-
counts of instructions, accompanied with the
usual horrors of the slaughter of white fami-
lies, and the burning of the negro asaassins.
Twenty Ellsworth guns which have just arri-
we'd at Washington from Worcester, were tested
1t the Arsenal on Saturday, under the supervi-
zion Of Col. Kingsbury, of Gen. NcClelIan's staff,
with the most satisfactory results 1t was found
that their range at five degrees elevation was
about two Mills, at ten degrees three miles, and
at twenty degrees the ball went out of sight. 1t
is claimed that an expert can fire one of these
guns 20 times a minute. This battery was or.
dered by the Government aoout the 1st Of Oc-
tober. Some of them are to be assigned to Gen.
Banks. These guns are named after the lament
ed Col. Ellsworth, because he was the first to
order the arm for his regiment.
The number of Union soldiers now on the sick
list in the various camps and hospitals of the
country is estimated at sixty thousand, which is
in itself great army but the per centsge is
dred. The sanitary regulations Of the army are
pronounced very defective and behind the age,
and the National Sanitary Commission, to meet
at Washington in few days. will endesvor to
remodel and reform the system. t...ir....
eBA private letter received in New York
from an officer Of a blockading vessel off Ocra.
coke Inlet, states that the sinking of three
schooners, laden with stone, in the lulet, on the
l4th instant, has positively barred the entrance
to Pamlico Sound against the passage Of all ves-
sells. Privateersmen are blocked out from an
other of their lurking places. The writer says
that twenty or thirty rebel schooners are known
to be cruising about in Pamico Sound and other
waters connecting with it.
The ladies Of Boston have presented splen
did canopy tent" for use as chapel for rel-
gious services, to Col. Powell T. Wyman's regi-
ment, at Camp Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe.
Two men on Monday attempted to cross the
river at st. Louis in a skif 1t was caught in
the ice, and one of them, Daniel Gleeson, was
drowned.
The Secretary Of the Treasury is aboat to ap-
point agents to reside in Rebel territory under
the control Of the United States, for the purpose
Of securing and preparing for market cotton,
rice, and other products. Slaves are to be em-
ployed in performing this work, and will be paid
for their services
Slaves owned by rebels, coming within the
lines of our army of the Potomac, are hereafter
to be received under military protection. az
u About sundown on Saturday, as Profes.
soa Lowe was making Reconnaissance in his bal
loon near Budd's Ferry, the rebel battery fred
at him, the screw Of q shell striking his car
No damage was done. a,s,,, 80 s
T Great complaints are made Of the En-
FIELD rifles Imported from England. The barrels
are crooked, they bayonets bend, and the ram
rods ere IKE rattan. ia !gs tHhatio{ =
The Richmond Dispatch says that the Confed
crates have missed il in not spending seyera
millions for navy, and that by energetic efforts
they can get up Feet before spring. "Ou1
: naval officers, among the most accomplished ani
heroic in the old service, are painting for an op
portunity Of distinction and usefulness upor
the ocean, and We hope they win not be disap
pointed" t'ef 'g@ a'''s .iH'l
The Richmond Enquirer contains an adver
tisement for three hundred negro men--alave,
or freemen-to be employed in the constructor
Of military roads for the use Of the army Of tn,
Potomac. Twenty dollars per month and on,
ration per day are offered to each man.
The lump Of bad fat, Humphrey Marshall, j
now II The Held n a Rri0adioP in the rat,el ear