The Portland daily press., 1866-04-25
Agricultural Affairs in Georgia !
Personal. &c.

WASHINGTON. April "a.
The Secretary of the Treasury has writtel
a letter to the Chairman of the Senate Financ
Committee on the apportlonment of the Ma
tlonal currency. He says the Senate bill No
i 256 IS seemingly general in its provisions, bu
In effect it singles out Massachusetts, Connec
ticut and Rhode Island, and reduces their cir
culation to a certain arbitrary standard AM
it practically asserts that the circulation of th
national banks in Massachusetts shall be di
mlnished sixty per cent; that the circulation
! OF the national banks in Connecticut shall be
diminished seYenty-fOur per cent. The prin
| ciple on which this reduction is based is no
| correct. 175,000 of the rural population O
Ohio or Illinois do not need tenth part O
| the circulation required by the manufacturing
and commercial communities of Rhode Island
This bill is an amendment to section 21st O.
the present National Currency Act, and pro-
poses to withdraw circulation from Banks by
reducing the ratio which it shall bear to their
capital. twill affect Banks in all the States
more or less by certain fixed rule. The re-
duction is to be effected gradually. As the cir
culation becomes worn and mutilated it is to
be returned for redemption. The amount by
which the circulation is to be thus diminished
approximates S250 000,0 ,009; and it is proposed in
anticipation of this reduction to authorize the
issue of circulation to Banks in the States
that have secured the least proportionate
amount Of circulation, as it may be needed
The Secretary thinks it is important that the
solvent State Banks should have an opportu-
nifty to become National Banks, otherwise by
the operation Of the laws of the United States
they will be compelled to wind up after the 1st
day OF July next, and that it is matter of
great Importance that provision should be
made to meet the wants of those States which
have been in rebellion.
The banking facilities are necessary to de-
velope the Industrious interests of the South.
and to stimulate the production of those staples
which enter so largely into the financial inter-
est OF the. country At the same time twould
be wise policy to afford the people of that Sec
] ton all opportunity to become pecuniarily in
terested in the successful maintenance of the
Government of the United States, and mas
much as Congress has assumed entire control
OF the currency of the country, and to a very
considerable extent of its banking interests,
and prohibiting interference of the State Gov
ernment, it would seem to be the plain duty of
Congress to make adequate provision to meet
the wants of all the country in the way of
banking facilities.
The total amount to be withdrawn from the
Eastern States would be as follows: Mgine,
$65O00; New Hampshire, $4,000; Vermont,
$1l6,SO0; Massachusetts, $5,2S8675: Rhode
Island, $674, $50; Connecticut, 81 ,091 ,45O; New
York, S7,914,6 $50.
The following is list of officers recon-
mended for brevet promotion by the Board
which was recently convened at st. Louis:
For rank Brevet Major General-Irwin Nc
Dowell, John Pope, Joseph Hooker, w. S.
Hancock, J. w. Scofeld, o. o. Howard, A. FL.
Terry, ]. O. o. Ord, j. G. Parke, ID. S. Stan
ley, A. FL. Humphrey, E. r. S. Candy, III. G.
Wright, A. J. Smith, John Gibbon, Jefferson
c. Davis, Joseph A. Mower, +. ]. Wood and
james Wilson, ranking in the order as named.
SiXty-SiX recommendations for brevet rank
OF Brigadier Generals were made as follows
Fe David Hunter, A. Med. McCook, j. G. Fos-
ter. @. G. Augur, Gordon Granger, George
Stoneman, George Sykes, Frank Steele, G. l..
Hartsuff, HI. j. Warren, A. Pieasanton, j. A.
Gilmore, W. f. Smith, George Crook, Godfrey
Weitzel, w. B. Hazen, w. Merritt, George A.
Custer, VIM. F. Barry, j. G. Barnard, Seth
Williams, J. N. Newton, }. w. Brannan, R.
W. johnson, z. D. Tower, J. W. Davidson, Eu-
gene Allan, W. III. Emery, j. Grover, J. W.
Crawford, j. I'll. Carleton, A. Baird, j. G. Rob-
inson, Thomas Seymour, Charles Griffin, W.
8. Elliott, ii. j. Hunt, w. w. Getty, Alfred
TuIy, Robert S. Granger, John H. King,
Frank Wheaton, VIM. p. Conlin, r. B. Ayres,
r. G. Tyler, j. L. A. Tarbell, Adelbert Ames,
Judson Fitzpatrick, A. S. Webber, Kermer Gar
rard, S. S. Carroll, E. Upton, John B. McIn-
tosh, Eli Long, Louis ID. Watkins, Sidney
Burbank, r. c. Buchanan, j. C, Duane, ii. L.
Clark, A. Beckwith, G, B. Comstock, o. M.
Poe, J. I'll. Potter.
The Commissioner of Agriculture has re-
ceived advices from Macon, Geo., in reference
to replantiug the cotton crop, stating that the
planters generally were in the midst of plant
ing, but that an area will be planted this sea-
son somewhat smaller than usual, owing to a
wide prevailing fear among planters that the
seed has lost much of its vitality by lying four
or five years in gin houses. Many planters
have been compelled to plant over from this
cause, thus losing two weeks OF the best cot
ton growing season.
1t appears from official documents that in
December, Senor Romero addressed two notes
to the Secretary of State in relation to an Or
der issued by Maj. Gen. Nc Dowell, command
ing the Military Department of California,
prohibiting the expectation of arms Oh muni-
tions of war by way of the frontier into Mex
leo. These notes were referred to the Attor-
ney General who said the question raised by
the Secretary of State was, whether in the
opinion of the former this order was in con-
f0rmity with any laws, regulations or orders
in force bearing on the subject. The Attor-
ney General says no military officer has a
right to issue any order to which he cannot
lawfully compel obedience by the forces under
his command. The test therefore of the va
lidity in point of law, of this order, is whether
he could lawfully employ the forces subject to
his control, to prevent American citizens and
other persons within our jurisdiction, from
transporting arms or munitions of war as
merchandise, across the frontier into Mexico,
in the present state of affairs in that country
The Attorney General says he is of opinion
that the order of Gen. Mcdowell yas intend
ed to interfere with such trade conducted by
our people as the authorities have declared to
be lawful, and is not, therefore, in conformity
with an order, but was probably intended to
be directed against military expeditions OF
armed enterprises carried on from this Gov
ernment against the belligerents contending in
Mexico. Such expeditions and enterprises are
of course violations of our statutes, and moth
ing in this opinion is intended to impugn the
validity of the order in respect to them.
The Attorney General apprehends that il
is well settled that merchants may lawfully sci
at home to belligerent purchasers, or carry
themselves, to the bellgerent power, contra
band articles subject to the rights OF seizure in
transitu. The right of the neutral to trans
port, and the hostile power to seize, are con
ficting rights, and neither party can charge
| the other with criminal act. This is thu
| view taken by Chancellor Rent
Vice Admiral and Mrs. Farragut are in thi
| city for few days They are the guests o
| the Secretary of the Navy.
The letting of mail contracts has been con
Guided, embracing 5000 routes, on favorable
terms to the Department.
w. e. Odell has been confirmed as Naval of
ficer at New York. M
| All appointments in the Internal Revenu,
service in Virginia have been made of person
| who took the test oath. tf.ttl
| aoatsA From California.
| ~. SAN FRANCISCO, April "a.
The steamer Juo. L. Stephens, from Mazat
Ian, arrived to-day with S45,500 in treasure