Litchfield enquirer., 1864-04-21

4, Xsk fCLADs.--In response to resolution of th, House, Secretary Welles has transmitted are. I port on athe efficiency of our iren- -clsds. Ii I di4russes at considerable length the failure o Hunter and Dupont to reduee Charleston. FIr
 Nay 1882, Admiral Dupont val inforEned tha thd' eapfurs of Charleston had been sresolvea upbH and the work would devolve soleiy upor I the squadron under his command. Genefal Hunter with ten thousand troops was to co.op! crate. After the unsuccessful attempt ofsAd- miral Dupont on the 7th of April, thssGovern ment, inferring from the tone of ais letter tha; his Judgment was opposed to Q renewal of the attack, and being unwilling to relineuish fur lther efforts upon place 80 conspicuous in the I febellion, concluded to relieve him of his com. u,and Rear Admiral Foote was named AS his successor. Owing to the sickness and death Eof Admiral Eootc; dmitai Dahleren was soon after assigned to the post.
 1 The Secretary states that the several orders from the President directing Admiral Dupon, to prevent the enemy from erecting battsyies l on Morris Island, To aia General Hunter in taking the batteries on Morris and Sullivan Island, and subsequently, to cooperate with 1 General Gilmore. were not obeyed. 1t . General Hunter in letter to the President, after promising that the plans of Admiral Du- pont werc such that the army was to take no active part, says that on the afternoon follow. ing the attack on Fort Sumter, the troops on Folly Island were ready to cross to Morris Is. landi where they could have rehdered Sumter qntenabTe in tw6 days. To the surprise and ehsrgin of all, the Admiral M gaye qp. the at.aok and refused to renew It. Y WI s''-'
 The testimony of naval and military officers In regard to the iron-clads is voluminous. Rear Admiral Porter expresses great conf denee in them, and thinks them exactly adapt l l off -g+
 Rear Admiral Goldsborough distrusts their I value for ocean purposes. He maintains that every iron-clad should be ram, and for har- Dor defense, unprovided with guns. In case of maritime difficulty he thinks they could Le rivers. - .,'s's ''' - l A few years ago, to settle m estate. parce of timber land in' Mount Holly, vt., was ap- praised at the value of $10O. The same Ian, has lately been sold for $S,s75.
 The omnibus proprietors in New York mad, mistake in raising the fares to ten cents I People patronize the cars, go afoot, do every. thing rather than pay the ten cent fare, and the stages go empty.
 Philadelphia offers $l, ,0O0, ,00O if the legisla I ture will move the seat of gover nment there from Harrisburg. VI A lady in an omnibus at W WashiDgton, espied the great unfinished dsme of tie capitol. end sald, innocenily, l suppose those are the gas workss s' "Yes, madam, for the nation," was the reply of fellow a3Ea. passenger.
 The Jamaica cotton planters are getting along finely, and have begun to make shin ments for England. Two meat markets in Woonsocket, R. I have closed operations recently, on account of the high price of meats, and the consequent scar- city of buyers.
 A cave has been recently discovered near Quincy, Ill.,, in which a skeleton was found with several domestic relics, among them Q drinking mug, containing seven old French coins worth about twelve cents each.
 It Is estimated that the incr ase in the num- Der of aoresi in the Southern States planted to wheat, corn and potatoes since the war broke o,t, is from 10 1000, 900 acres ir lsfl, ts ''ia- 95o, 900 Tn 1862, to r, 200, 900 is lSss and 20, 550,000 in 1864 7 '-
 it ia stated that over 15, 700 acres of land were taken up under the homestea law during the month of March at the land offico in St. Peters, Minn. Upwards of l9.O00 acres were entered in the same month at tho WinnebagQ City office in the same state.
 Major General Dix says the bounty brokers of New York have robbed recruits of $40o, 900
 The new cent which the Philadelphia mint is now ready to issue, is to be 95 per cent copper and per cent tin, about the size of the nickel cent. but ,ndsoMer. ' '"" Ten Gloucester fishing schooners, which should have arrived at 'Glonoester ton dhys oI ko n knxc nLhi sI recent storm. Seventy -eig ght men, probably lost with the schooners leave behind thom 3l widows and 5S fatherless children. This af- ffiction, added to rue losses by the great fire, makes the present year of great calamity and1suffering in Gloucester.
 The New York World predicts that Gen. Grant, will cary out the plans of Gen. Nc Clelan." If so, he will do more than Gen. Mcclellan ever d;d himself
 The republicans have carried 599 out of 938 towns in New York, at the town elections this spring, Il gain of 93' over last year. The revenue of the English Government amohnts annually to about S355, 100000 of which S63, 3,0OO,000 are derived from taxes on spirits. $50 900 ,OO0 from taxes on beer, and 10000, 900 from taxes on tobacco.
 A respectable sea captain just returned from three years voyage. and knowing nothing of our recruiting excitement. met some friends on leaving his ship. who invited him 10 take glass of something, which he accepted, and the next thing he knew he was at Galloupes Isl- and and. as recruit having enlisted SF q Three
 The country on the bead of the Minnesota river where the Indians two years ago com mitted their depredations, ia said By those who arc acquainted with it to be the finest in th, world. Many Western families are removing there the to evAa s thsmsslsss ,f0 the hoHes'sad M
 4 Cape Am paper is responsible for the following: IA lady in this town sent her husband to the store, lately. to buy dollars worth of sugar, as the good wife was nearly out. The sugar not appearing. 9 few days afterward she asked her husband what he had done with it. He replied, after few mo- l ments hesitation and head d-scratching, that he must have put it in his other vest pocket r On Tuesday snow fell in Brunswick. Me, to the depth of sixteen inches. -s .rs, The story is told of the soldiers of the Gulf that after using their coffee they spread the grounds on their blankets to dry. and then spll the.n to ssseceshD at &I SO nar yourd '.N