The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-02-18
THE NATIONAL CRISIS.

y
lotfe, n. c., on the 11th inst.
Lieut.. Str;blng, late of the United States
Navy, having offered his services to South
Carolina and been accepted, left Norfolk
Thursday for Charleston.
Col. Gabe Fowler, a Mississppian, eyinced
his patriotism the oath nit, by paving
81 500 Tor the expense of Transporting the can
non and munitions purchased in Baton Rouge
La, to Eicksburg, Miss.
Major Walter Gwynn, Chief of the South
Carolna Engineer corps, advertises for Offer
ings of laborers to be employed in works for
the defence of Charleston harbor.
The ammunition seized on last Wednesday
by the New York Metropolitan police on
board the STEAMSHIP, Huntsville, of the Crom-
we'll line, was on Friday given up by Super-
Intendent Kennedy in obedience to the de
mands OF the Sheriff. Mr.. Kennedy was re-
plevened by Mr.. Cromwell, and, therefore, was
forced to surrender them under the eompul-
Sion of the law.
The Milledgeville GA Recorder learns that
the Governor has appointed the Hon. T. But
ler King, Commissioner to negotiate with
ine Belgium and Savannah Steam Navigation
Company, for the establishment of direct
trade with Southern ports, pursuant to a late
act of the Legislature.
EXPECTATIONS OF A FIGHT AT PExsAcoLA-ASIGH
OF SUSPENSE.
The arrival of five u. S. ships of war off
Pensacola harbor on the 5th inst, has been
noticed. The Brooklyn and Macedonia were
the first two seen in the o.iins. The pilot who
brought the Brooklyn into the ofting informed
the Alabama volunteers at Fort Barancas
that Captain Walker had expressed his deter
mination to land the artilIerymen from For
tress Monroe, because he did not have pro-
| visions enough on board to serve them A let
ter from volunteer at tzASort says:
The The BROOKLYN ;, lyman and NJ ,ia both came to
tllra.a Host from Hort 4
same distance from the Navy Yard. At Pick
ems, we could see increased activity in labor,
three extra sentinels Were placed upon the
| ramparts at dark, and two squads of men,
supposed TO be Picket Guards, were marched
out of the fort Upon our side all the prep
arations for battle We're made before night
and every man was ready upon the report of
| the signal gun to take the place previously as
signed him. A few men from the Metropolitan
Guard and Tuskegee Lit. Infantry were ordered
TO take two of the heavy guns from Fort Nc
Rec and mount them upon the sand battery.
They worked faithfully, and before morning
| had two ten-inch Columbiads upon a fiat. BIZ /
| owing to the strength of the tide which rush
| strongly seward they We're unable TO get it
| towards the land. During the night we could
hear their call above the roar of the surf and
| see their torches flash out here and there
| through the dark. The signal for the other
| companies to rush TO arms was to be two guns
| fired in quick succession from Barancas.
| About O'Clock at night, Capt. Andrews, of
| the Blues, took a small yacht, and with a few
| men ran out in the harbor to watch the mov
ment of the ships, and to see if any attemp pit
| TO land troops was made. They were scarcely
half q mile from shore when rocket was
| shot up from one of the men of war; and in a
| few minutes the Wyandotte came creeping
| stealthily upon them. The boat was instant
ly turned about for the land, and every light
| on board eXtinguished. Looming up through
| the dis tance, like a huge leviathan, the war
| steamer passed and repasstd them so near
that the command on board could be distinct
| ly heard, and the halloo to the man at the
| wheel. The sa was calm, and the boats ran
| noiSelessly over the water, only known to each
| other when the vast huh of the steamer tow
| cred above the smaller yacht, or when q
! chance light was displayed by the latter. The
| soundings, as announced by the man at the
| bow, the dull plash of the falling lead and
| the roaring OF the waves as they broke upon
| the shore, Were the only sounds that disturb
| ed the death like stiffness of the night. The
intention of Capt. Andrews was to draw ths
| steamer upon the bar, to get her aground
by displaying decoy light here and there
| but the pilot on board was too conversan
| with the harbor to be caught. Meanwhil,
every one in the fort listened intently to heal
the signal to man the guns, and sat by tn,
camp fire fighting imaginary battles, and pic
turing heroes in the cleaning Goals. Torn
ing came, however, to awake them again Il
.deedless life, and to dispel the bright vision:
| of glory, which had burst upon their youth
full minds during the hours of night.
About three O'Clock in the morning few
| rockets We're sent up from the BROOKLYN
| which were answered by the Macedonian; tn,
| Wyandotte ran outside, and everything wa!
| quiet AT daybreak not 4 sail was in sigh
nor any sign of the men of war, for they ha,
taken advantage of the tide and run out to sea
| Throughout the 7th, nothing occurred to dis
| turb the quiet of the camp, and the ." boys
We're again placed in the sand battery to finisl
the work, and to mount the guns. The labo
of transporting those heavy guns yer,
great, especially as few OF the soldiers wer
ever accustomed TO manual Tabor. Col. For
ney was i'll charge Of the work, and staid b.
the men all night and throughout the day.
"SoBoDY HURT"
The following is from the Philadelphia Pres:
(Rep.,) of Thursday:
The President elect arrived at Columbu.
Ohio. Yesterday afternoon When he state
that nobody is suffering anything III conss
quence of the present agitation, his mind ey
IDENTIFY reverted rather TO the nourishing an
prosperous agrieu ltural region in which he hi
long resided and 20 the fertile districts throug
which he has recently passed, than to the con
mercial and manufacturing centres, whei
business arrangements are most keenly fel
where thousands of operatives are thrown OF
of employment, and where bankruptcy star,
in the face many of the most enterprising an
useful citizens Of our country.
ENGLISH VIEW OF AMERICAN GRowrH.-Tl
London Times has an editorial on the extraol
binary growth of the United States, fro
| tie iOltoWihs 10 dH cAtIuSt
If the threatened dissolution of the Unite
i States should be actually consummated, 1
citizens will enjoy 4 singular opportunity
contem mplating, at the very crisis OF their de-
tinies, the magnitude and spiendor OF the p'
| litical fabric which they have Just deStroye
The year of the Secession was also the ye;
of the Census. AT the moment that the fe'
eral Government was receiving the ENJOYS
independent Carolina il was receiving also Il
returns of population and progress from u
| STATES an the Union For the plgh
time only since the origin OF the Confederae
and yet tor the last time, perhaps. Ia ITS hi
, tory, the great Republic has taken stock
| its pee pie 1t has numbered and classified /
E citizens, counted its gains, and put its grow
e | upon record and now it seems as II II we
7 resolved on terminating It's existence. III
t does so it will die in a blaze. It's progress h
! outstripped even the speculations OF It's ov
e | rulers Ten years ago, ut the taking oil Z
l | seventh Census, some Americans safe dow
A to calculate the probable numbers OF the p
S | pulation i'll 1850, just as thrifty trader
n balancing his accounts Will indulge nimss
| in computing the pros pective accumulation
I | OF such surplus as he has Just discovered.
e They made out that the United States wou
i con tain at the period which has now arriv
Z, an aggregate population Of 81 ,0e5, 535. I
: reckoning has actually been verified and wi
L | a little 10 spare. The numbers are 81 STA, 81
S Nothing like such growth has ever been W
I messed in the old States of Europe. The
O crease during the decade has been upwar
o of !, s,ooo,eoo; the per centage IS. Our o,
s country has made great strides, consideri
Q the numbers who emigrate, but we can on
II show such per centage OF increase in VI
: rare ins tances, upon insignificant areas, 4
d under special conditions.
r NAPoLEox's ToxB.--With permisSicn Of ii
y land, the French Government has repaired
5 tomb of Napoleon ut 81. Helena. The tcl
n has been completely res stored to the constiti
J, In which IL was at the period Of the depoi
y Emperors interment; and LongWoOds
l. house In which he died, has been put tatt
l. state of subs stantiul repnir. longwood 10 I