, 1862-03-14

Roads, and It was the intention OF Commana.e,f1
Worden, Of the battery, to remain taeie unha 10
morning; but in the course o1 Lne nlEnt 1g!9ao+f
procecdcd to the scene of the conflict "1thout
notice to her convoy.
THE MONITOR And 1ERRlNAC.
Mr.. A. B. Smith, pilot on board the 1r1gate
Cumberland at the time Of the battle IN damp-
ton Roads, makes the following impoftane
statements:
"Thc Monitor came in Saturday night, ana
proceeded up past the Minnesota the reoet
steamers Jamestown and Yorktown WelE @ 1o'
iron-plated, or, at any rate, only paf1lany so. e.
They came down in the daylight, making ior
the Minnesota, but to their surprise, found inc
Monitor ready to receive them. On S11naag
morning the Monitor moved close up TO INC M
Mcrrimac, and, side BY side, engased nef t;sa ior
Merrinlac dashed her iron Prov s4uare!y
against the Monitor, but did not injurt that
vessel in the least. The Monitor in turn de-
tcrnined to try her force in :: Similar opera
ton, but in some unaccountable manner the
cutapeIed, S M It it's IS said, and the Monitor rushed
ty, just missing her aim. Captain Wordcn is
confident that he put three shot through the
hull Of his antagonist probably through the
ports. The Monitor fired one hundred and
scventy.eight pound cast IRON s9ot; me
wrought iron shot we're not used, because
th.ir great weight and peculiar construction
renders the guns much more liable to burst.
The Mcrrimac fred about forty shots on the
Monitor, which replied rapidly as possible,
but, SO far tar as is known, neither vessel IS
damaged Those on board the Monitor say
the balls rattled and rang upon both vessels
and seemed to bound of harmless.
stThc Merrimac is probably not injured, at
least more than the starting Of plate or SO OF
her iron covering, and her machinery being
uuinjured, she is probably 1t to come 3 oas
f@o1n coming out. Sue can sail three knots an
he III faster than the Monitor From her cyo-
lutions should judge that she can so at the
rate Of eight or nine knots per hour
T is Impossible TO board the Merrimae.
vii VIII be 'Ae obliged to pass within
range Of the Union gun at the Rip Raps, and
q shot from it might perhaps crush her
sides, but it is very difficult to manage 60
heavy piece Of artillery, and the Union gun,
without touching her. I do not think the
Alerr!mac il calculated to carry much coal, and
that might have been reason for her retiring
from the contest. The Monitor perhaps might
follow up the rebel steamers and disable them,
but If she gets among the rebel battcri:s a
from different points. aud she be thus IN
jnrcd, or possibly she might be grappIel to
and towel ashore. These and other reasons
may suffice to show why the Monito7 did not
follow amor. The batteries Of Craney Island
and Norfolk General Wool, I understand,
has ordered all the women and children away
from Fortress Monroe, i'll anticipation OF the
McrTlmac's Fcnppearancc.
Senator Covran and the t'Stlnk of
Nfggers-7'
Since the intensely pro-slayery speech of
Mr: Cowan, in the United States Senate, tho
loyal men OF Western Pennsylvania have been
holding meetings, and in this and other ways
1nanifesting their disapproval Of the man. It
can hardly be said, however, that they have
reason to be disappointed, if the following be
trrc, as written to the Pittsburgh Gazette by
leading Republican lawyer ofIndiana county.
The writer says:
It may be OF Interest to you to know that tho
true Republicans Of Indians county always suspect
I'd tie sou1lncss of afr. Cowa,: on the slavery
question. lie visited our courts frequently. and
when q campaign was approaching, WIS always
called upon address (,tlr meetings. It was no
tic=d that i'll his speeches he never touched upon
the morality OF the slavery question but discussed
! i as a question Of political economy. The New
England ahOlitlouists were particularly obnoxious
| to him. NlEserE we're represented as II sEnnss' u
who would stink free labor from the territories;
| he never claimed any rights fo- the negro. The
whole issue with him was the antaynnism Of
free and sla:c labor in the territories, aud he
| wuu1d illustrate this by comparing it to two men
| WEo siioNlu agree, tor a wager, Ihat their dogs
sEonld Gsht. but when one Of the men, in
| stead Of bringing his dog into the ring should
throw 2 skunk into the ring. the Other would in
dl.nantly step out. This style Of logic that
diu nct suit sincere men. 4 few persons II least
t thurEht that SO grave question vas susceptible
O.: more diYnlied Illustration. As to the stink
! which Nj Cowan dreaded from the presence Of
sn1ssars n the territories. it conld not, in Its
Wurs1 possible type exceed that which ROW iss,l,:s
il huge volumes from the great EcEtmorela.d
Senator.