The Republican journal., 1869-05-06
The Rebel Steamer Alabama.

FROM Inc Boston Traveller April u.
One of the crew of this freebooter is now or
board the steamer Virginia, lying at East Bos-
ton. He says that the Deerhound was in fact
a paid tender to the Alabama that she had on
board the chronometers and other valuabIes
Which had been stolen from American ships
(tor the thieves were not permitted to land
them at Cherbourg) that few days before the
fight with the Kearsarge she brought fifty men
from Portsmouth (Engiand), trained gunners,
who had received their training on the British
practice-ship Excellent, to work the guns; that
these men, when the Alabama left Cherboure.
were stationed at the guns, and had entire con
troll OF them-for the officers knew very little
II anything of gunnery and that he thinks the
Alabama fired three shots to one fired by the
Kearsarge.
The Alabama was somewhat quick In her
rolling, and hence why the firing was so rapid.
The gunners could not elevate or depress the
guns with any degree of accuracy, therefore
they trusted to luck to hull the kearsarge for
their line firing was uniformly correct; but the
shot generally passed over the Kearsarge or
among her rigging without doing much dam
age On the other hand, he says, the firing of
the hearsarse was very true; every time sho t
struck the Alabama it made her trcmble fore
ana ait, and toward the close of the action
crash upon crash tore her almost in two amid
snip, when she filled and went down. She lost
~ men out of PIP with which she began the
action He thinks her powder was bad, her
officers were fools, and the Englishmen who
worked the guns too self-conceited to initiate
the cool elaboration of aim that prevailed on
board the hearsarge from first to last.
Dana in the New York Sun (radicaD gives
the President a terrible raking down. After
drawing damaging contrast between the
present administration and those of Jefferson.
jackson, and John Quincy Adams, he goes on
to say: "Gen Grant spent nearly the entire
week OF his term in trying to cvade the plain
provisions OF salutary statutes, because thew
olocked the way for the admission to the most
important seat in his Cabinet of an almoner
VINO mad bestowed dazzling present Baftied
IN thls by the f1rmness of the Senate and the
1roWns OF the public, he nevertheless installed
among MS constitutional advisers other indi
vldualS Who though not obnoxious to this mar.
ticular objection, were chiefly distinguished for
having conferred upon him costly and valuable
benefactions. The natural result of all this
must inevitably be, that corruption and venol-
ity will walk unabashed and almost unrebuled
through every department of the Governments.
Such evil examples tend to make lucre the
badge of honorable distinction, and the DOS
session of riches the sole passport to power.
eminence, or even responsibility" Mr.. Dana
very sensibly inquiries if it is not high time
that the masses ofthe people, who neither seek
nor hold office, should labor for the return of
the good old times of republican simplicity,
when statesmen felt a stain as wound; when
Inc dispenser of patronage would scorn to feed
MS poor relations from the public crib: and
when the President would cut off his right
hand ere 1t should sign the commission of a
man VINO mad bestowed upon him gift?