The Portland daily press., 1869-01-02


The Suns Washington dispatch says Hon.
E. B. Washburne had long talk with Gen.
Grant Wednesday. Mr.. Washburne called at
tention to the alleged conversations reported
in the New York papers, in which Gen. Grant
was put down as advocating the repeal of the
tenure of office act and favoring an extra SEES
sion in March, and intending to retain in Of
flee capable men without regard to politics.
Gen. Grant pronounced them such garbled
misrepresentation of what he had said that
he repudiated them all, and said he wondered
how any respectable paper could give them
credit or circulation.
Miss Nettie Chase and not Mrs. Sprague
will do the honors of the Chief Justices man
sion this winter.
The Erie railroad company has perpetually
leased the Columbus, Chicago and Indiana
Central railroad, which connects with the At
lantic and Great Western at Urbana, Ohio,
and will lay a third rail over all its tracks,
amounting to 715 miles. The Erie thus Sc
sures through broad gnage line to Chicago
and Indianapolis, and will try to get possession
of a route from there to st. Louis The
amount paid is in the neighborhood OF $20,OOO,-
WV ~ h"o NASooOu Sui9S oh CASiVCLCue IA
railroad circles, which will probably result in
the building Of new line from Indianapolis
east.
1t is announced that the managers of the
New York and Boston express line via
Springfield, decide to put two new and fast
express trains to run daily in each direction
between the termini Of the route.
Some very frightful exhibits of the condi-
ton of liquors in New York are made in a re-
cent report to the Board of Excise. Out Of
thirty-two samples purporting to be Bourbon,
brandy and gin, only three or four are report
ed to be fair, and the rest are inferior, bad and
very bad. Against the first sample marked
"bad" we find the note, flavor like vinegar aud
rancid lamp oip. Another. favored with win
tergreens, thirty per cent. below proof" The
remainder are commented upon as "vile stuff"
"davor of pine shavings," forty per cent. be-
low proof" diluted with tea,""a poor rum
favored witch wintergreen," ETC., etc. Fusel
0iliwas discovered in greater or less quantities
in all the samples but four.
A convention OF officers of the old Army Of
the Potomac will be held in Washington on
February %, when permanent organization
similar to those of the societies of the Western
armies will be effected. s 4sts-- syn
A certain obscure citizen known as General
Blair, much given to drinking old sack and
the singing of psalms has recently been in
Washington, but attracted little attention
The discovery has been made that postoffice
contractor has been paid 100000 annu-
ally for two years for conveying the mails
over certain route in Arizona, while during
that time not single ounce of mail matter has
ever been carried over the route. The person
son who had the contract is connected by ties
of blood with a prominent ex-offcial of the ter
ritory.
The only important public document
that the public is now waiting for is the re.
port OF Hon. David A. Wells, Special Com
missioner of the Treasury, which is sure to be
very able and very long,
The whole valuation of real estate in Yer
mont, including non-organized towns and
cores, is 81 ,272, 113.
The towns of Swanton and Highgate, Yer
mont, have removed the conditions on which
aid had previously been voted the Lamoille
Valley Railroad. This &C ton greatly encour.
ages the enterprise.
The term of Office of Mr.. Alexander Del
mar, chief of the Bureau of Statistics, expired
Thursday night.
The English government is believed to have
sent an agent to Bogota to watch Mr. Gushing
and see that the United States does not get toe
much advantage in the Darien ship canal bust
ness. Cd
Vice-President Colfax repels the insinuation
that Mr.. Bowles of the Springfield Republi.
can has been following him about for two OF
three years" and says that Mr.. Bowles has &C,
companied him to the West and elsewhere on
ly on his (Mr. Colfax's 81 invitation p"
The Dragoman with whom E. Joy Morris
Our Turkish Minister, has quarre led, is moi
the Dragoman of the Empire, but his own In
terpreter and Secretary of Legation.
Gen. Spinner is of the opinion that the
resumption OF specie payments should not be
delayed longer than Jan. list, 1871.
Letters have been received from Mr. Bur.
lingame's Chinese embassy. They were cour
teously received by the late ministry, but feel
| ing sure that the fall elections would bring a
change in the English Cabinet, did not press
their business on Mr.. Disraeli, preferring te
| wait and work with Gladstone and his friends
The embassy confidently expects to find the
new ministry disposed to liberal dealings,
The execution of John Brown was com
memorated by public meeting in London
The old fellow is still "marchng on"
1t is stated that the Law Lectures of the
Howard University, Washington City, will be
delivered during the coming winter by John
NJ. Langston, Esq.
partial estimate of the great number o.
people who will be in Washington to. witness
Gen. Grants Inauguration may be formed
when it is stated that every one of the rooms
in one of the largest hotels has already been
engaged, fnd the proprietors were compelled
to refuse at least two hundred other aplipca.