Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-11-23
NEWSS OFTHE5 DAY.
40 ho,o the very age and body Of the Times !

~ skoao the very age and body Of the Times s
Prairie fires continue to rage in all sections,
West. They have been particularly severe 10
northern and western Missouri and Kansas, IN
many instances devastating whole farms. =
Immense amounts of property have been de,
stroyea.=The swamps In southern Missouri
are said to be a.lnass Of FIRE, and along the ll-
nois railroad, for a distance OF 100 miles, pral-
ries are burning; and in Union county, Illinois,
the flames are extending into the woods, which
are burning Nore!ief is looked Tor until a
heavy general rain 4 jsyg... s...
The judiciary committee was in session at
the Capitol yesterday. The principal witness
before the: committee was detective Baker, who
was examined upon points previously testified
to- AT the July session Of Congress s. an order
was obtained for the arrest of Baker, for con-
tempt, in refusing to obey the summons of the
committee. He was arrested upon his arrival
in Washington, but has purged himself OF the
contempt 1j9.a Z ..aiHln s.ti3t
A telegrapliic, dispatch from New Orleans
says Gen. Grant has directed Gen. Mower to
suspend his order making removals un til Gen.
Hancock's arrival, The Times says: I'VE
are informed that, although DR.. Avery, the
newly appointed sheriff, mot given the re-
CURED bond, military guard was, sent to the
sheriff. Office this afternoon ejectIng the oc
cupant, and in installing Avery. '' ';. 5 ,;l
E. It is said that Secretary Seward feels conf
dent that the people Of the. Island OF ST..
John and St Thomas, in the Danish West
Indies, will ratify the treaty, Of purchase by
the, u. s. of those islands, and that the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Approprla,
lions will also recommend that Congress, In
that event, shall confirm tho purchase.
1t is stated that over 100000 changes oil
Postmasters have been made during last fisca
year, which is sc, 900 more than was ever be-
fore made in any given year. e. In some In,
stances, owing to disagreement between the
President and the Senate, ono postoaico has
had three or four different postmasters in as
many months. i 4&@hE
"A gentleman who has been with Weston
during the greater portion Of his walking match
saws, that at no time since his start has he
made more than 81 miles an hour, except on
the 10th, when he made the distance between
the State Line and North East, Pennsylvania
six miles, in IS minutes ..---~,--- 800 ,5
The Massachusetts, election is beginning
already to have it's effect in the Increased open
sale of Intoxicating liquors, and particularly O
ale, in Boston Numerous beer fountains anc
taps which had been thrown aside or sold !ol
old metal, under the action of the Prohititory
law, as enforced by the State Constablcs, arc
being re-establishcd: 5t ~. ~ II
Several large manufacturing establishment
in Louisville, Ky, have recently, closed on ac
Ecount, of the great scarcityof coal, and great
distress is apprehended among the employees
thus; thrown out Of work, during the winter
| months. .t?s z9< iT#ED ;@o41s
A young postofice clerk was sentenced in
| New York, few days since, to ten years hare
labor in the pcnitentiary for cmbezzlmg letters
| His thefts had been detected by means Of de-
coy letters containing money that was marked
| Runners are again rifle that Il majority of the
judiciary committee will report in favor of the
impeachment of the President, aud that botf
Messrs. Woodbridge and Churchill have chang
| cd opinions, etc.
A railroad company from Denver City tc
the Pacific has been organized at, Denver City
and about quarter of million dollars sub
| scribcd there towards carrying out the enter
| prise. u,5
The majority in North Carolina for a Con.
| vention is estimated at twenty-five thousand.
There is a majority of thirty-one thousand
white registered voters in the State. - IL.
Chief Justice Chase yesterday, in Baltimore
delivered an important decision in blockade
case, reversing a previous decision of tho u.
S. District Court for Maryland. 81 .rI.sa
.: The carpet weavers who have bcen on a
"strikc" in Philadelphia, have not only been
compelled to go to work again, but to take less
wages than they formerly obtained
1t is generally understood hat Congress will
repeal the cotton tax. r. '. III. sy.t
GEN GRANT, in his report about to be sub,
mittcd, and an abstract of which has found its
way INTO the newspapers, estimates the cxpen-
ses of the War Department for the next fiscal
year at seventy million dollars, ana shows that
there has bccn.importaut rctrenchments of late
in its several bureaus He states: chat Gen.
Sherman is, Of the opinion that peace with the
Indians is firmly established Gen Grant is
silent in his report regarding the continuance
of the Frecdmens Bureau after it expires by
law next summer. +" -
q. In relation to the military district Of the
| South, he says that their commanders are, in
their civil capacity, entirely independent ofthe
| General of the army or the Secretary Of War,
except in the matter of removalof civil officers;
| but they have exhibited willingness TO- &C;