Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1861-01-03
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS OF
THE HERALD.

DEAR HERALD While sleigh rides
are fashionable, and great coats nece ssary
in your Section, evening walks and boat
rides form agreeable changes with us from
the heat Of the day, where the thermom-
eter never gets down 10 zero, except at
an expense of ten cents per pound for the
luxurious article Of Ice. What a contrast
only week from. frost bitten ears and
noses to perpetual summer. Our dry
season has just commenced, and we are
now rejoicing at the absence Of our pro-
tracted winter rains. Beautiful dry wea-
ther is the order Of the day, and cool
tinually keep Us indebted to the clerk Of
the weather, who, Notwithstanding my
northern proclivities, | think a southern
man-and like him all the better for being
so. As we are not allowed to pay taxes
here or vote, we shun politics altogether
Although, without doubt, we are entire
ly over our troubles with the lawless band
Of Negro desperadOes, who, some time
since, so nearly gained entrance into this
city for the purpose of plunder and ravage,
yet it seems the question between the
American and English Naval commanders
regarding the right of a protectorate over
the city is still open, Notwithstanding all
former announcement TO the contrary. BY
| the last California steamer letter was re-
ceived from Captain Miller of the Rriti-h
! H., :. Gu. "a answer TO one from our
| Flag Officer, regarding his Capt. Miller)
right of statiOning a guard at the Consul
lates in the city to hail persons passing
! throuah tho streets, &c. Now that Capt.
Miller has left this harbor, and is over
1000 miles away, back comes an an
swer to a letter sent him while leaving
port, and which Is entirely contradictory
to other correspondence held on the sub
ject while here, stating that notwithstand-
ing what has occurred, he should again, at
any future time whenever he considered
it necessary, place a similar guard over
anu of the cOnsulates in Panama, and that
the sentries should be ordered to hail all
passers by during the night. and to arrest
those who refused TO respond.
All this is bombastic and should the
" Clio" ever drop down here from San
Francisco, it is surely expected that there
will be an open rupture between the Off |
GERS of that ship and our navy; at least
our Commodore will teach the polite Cap |
tain what is the meaning OF the protecto- !
rate which we guarantee over this Isthmus. |
We have now six men-Of-war in our har- |
Dor, and in case of emergency can have |
three or four more at short notice there |
fore we neither anticipate any serious dis |
turbance by the natives, or interference by |
John Bull. Still it cannot be denied that |
the latter named hombre is seeking every |
excuse, and taking advantage of every |
opening to place himself on a better foot |
ing and destroy our influence on this coast |
Will our government calmly look on and |
see this great highway Of American COM
merce, with lis millions of treasure, of
passengers and tons of mails and freight, |
swallowed up by another power because,
forsooth, it is too feeble in its foreign pol |
icy to say yea or nay and hold to it: Let
us hope that the inauguration of another |
administration will turn over a new leaf,
and commence another page in the history
of those politicians who, having had the
governing powsr in their own hands for
the past thirty years, have used it with a
vacillation disastrous in so many cases to
domestic and foreign policy. Democracy
in olden time was noble word, but OF lat
ter days has sadly degenerated from the
good old Webster definition of " Govern |
ment by the people collectively" May
we not hope that a new era has dawned in
all our foreign policy as well, and that the |
States and confederation bordering on our |
glorious Republic will be looked after with |
a more jealous eye, and also those more
remote as regards distance, but drawn |
very near by the bond of commercial IN
terest
The last English mail from the southern
coast brings important news from Peru,
Chile and Bolivia.
PERU. From Lima comes the start
ling intelligence that President Castella
barely escaped assassination the other day.
As this makes about dozen times the
old mans life has so nearly been sacrificed
to his Jacksonian spirit, L will not endeavor
to make "sensation" item, but give the
facts in the case briefly. Castilla's escape
was owing to the want of fixed plan of
operation; few officers having put their
colonel under arrest, placed two sentries
over him, and then got together as many /
of the soldiers as they thought necessary {
for attacking the house of the President c
but the two sentinels who were placed '
over the Colonel finding themselves alone, t
quilted their posts and Joined their COM t
rades, leaving their prisoner to make suf- {
ficient noise to attract the attention of a a
passing soldier, who instantly liberated C
him. Being free, the first thing done was b
to rouse the balance Of the battalion, and b
start in pursuit of the conspirators, who b
were only found by the reports OF their 0
muskets in Castilla's house. h
The officers of the attacking party had a
meanwhile gained entrance TO the Gen. v
erals house by knocking at the front door Z
and shooting the guard who opened it. &
Thence they at once proceeded 70 the pri- j