Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-01-15
From Washington.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1.-THE president has
submitted to congress a message with an
accompanying note of Il. Schleiden, minister
from the Hanseatie Republic, relative to the
international agricultural exhibition to be
held with the cooperation of the German ag-
ricultura society at Hamburg, commencing on
the l4th of July next. The minister is anx-
ious that the triumph of American agricultur-
al genius and art, so signal in the case of the
reaper and mower in London, may be re-
peated at the first national exhibition of Ger
many.
The military and postal railway from this
city to New York makes the capital stock ten
million dollars, five millions of which are to
be raised by thirty year bonds OF one thou
sand dollars each the first million to be paid
to the corporation, when it shall be shown
that two million dollars have been expended
in good faith, the loan to be repaid, one mill
lion in ten years, and the other four~at inter-
walls of five years each; the guage to be uni
form; the track double; the highest rate for
first class passengers two and a half cents a
mile: and the maximum rate tor freight five
cents ton per mile.
The Judiciary committee have reported
back the Missouri emancipation aid bill, rec
onmending amendments to make the remun-
Grafton 20,O00,0 900 instead OF l00U0000,
the bonds to bear but five per cent. inter-
est; the maximum allowance for each slave
$500; and the limit for the entire extinction
of slavery to be 1876, with a proyiso that an
act OF emancipation shall be passed by the
legislature, and the exclusion of slavery
be forever thereafter.
The senate to-day confirmed the nomina.
ton of John Row as postmaster at Ports
mouth. Ohio; Richard S. Field of New Jer-
sew as Judge of the district court of the United
States for New Jersy, vice Philemon DECKER
son, deceased; and Robert w. Taylor Of Ohio
as first comptrolnr Of the treasury, vice Eli
sha Whittlesey, deceased,
The report of the commission appointed
on emancipation in the District of Columbia,
saws they have consideredtavorably nine huns
dred and nnety-nne petitions, rejected en-
tirely thirty-six, and in part twenty-one. The
whole number of servants for whom cOmpen-
sation has been awarded is 29S9 and the en-
tire number of servants for whom compensa-
ton has been withheld is Ill, making total
of 300, included in the 800 petitions. As to
the loyalty of the owners, there were but few
instances in wkch the evidence was of
a nature to warrant the commissioners in
Withholding compensation.
The three cases of this kind in which the
evidence of unpatriotic or disloyal sympathies
was most manifest, were those of ladies ad-
vanced in years. They were required like
other petitioners to take the oath of allegi-
ance and to produce two witnesses to attest to
their loyalty. They received their proper
tionate allowance of compensation. Several
claims have been put in for slaves who have
absconded prior to April l6, 1862.
In these cases both the claimant and the
slaves were interested in favor of construc-
ton of the act which would entitle the owner
to compensation. In some instances the fu-
gitiyes came back in order to avail themselves
of the benefit of the act; but in others this
was not the case. The commissioners, after
a careful investigation, have decided, that
where the owner of the fugitive could give
evidence that he had used ordinary diligence
to recover his slave, and where the lapse of
time has raised no presumption of death or
abandonment, compensation may be allowed
The commissioners say there are few persons,
especially in e community like Washington,
where slavery has been for many years an in