The Portland daily press., 1869-01-25

Theodore Tilton addressed the prisoners in
the Penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio, recently,
with such imprisoned eloquence and with so
much palhos, that very many of them were
moved to tears.
The birthday OF Burns is to be celebrated in
New York to-day, by grand dinner at which
ladies will be among the guests. The manag.
ers OF THIS festivity recognize the absurdity of
panisnlng the feminine element from ban
qset In honor OF the poet who SO "dearly lo'ed
the lasses ohr' --- .....-
The destruction of the forests for timber
and firewood, all along the track of the Pacific
Railroad, has become SO great as to call loudly
for the immediate interpositon of the govern
ment. Private parties having saw mills, and
contractors for fuel, are both cutting on gov
eminent land without stint; hundreds of mil.
lions of feet of lumber and hundreds of thou
sands of cords of wood are being thus swept
away without any consideration OF the rights
of the government, and thousands of acres of
land are thus rendered valueless.
A transit of Venus takes place some five
years hence, and astronomers are getting
ready for trip to the South Pole to witness
it. e r4L Il ..E
1t turns out now, according to Frenchman
lately writing on the subject, that Napoleon
lost Waterloo because he was sleepy, and cof-
fee would not keep him awake during the
most critical hours before and during the final
struggle. .. -s-s
John Stuart Mill has published letter in
| England taking the ground that criminals
ehn1, n ho oil 70 <orti fu ~, <lo;,
| half
1t is rumored that the Somewhat notorious"
| DR.. w. H. M. Howard of West Fairlee, Vt,
who reported that he had been robbed of $22,-
500 in the New Haven depot, did not lose any
| money, but merely put the story in circulation
for the sake of getting gratuitous advertising.
A little girl bitten some weeks ago by mad
dog, and subsequently seized with the dread
full malady of hydrophobia, was taken to
Cleveland to try the efficacy of mad stone, in
the possession of family in that place. The
srone was applied without effect. SIS
Five of the most skilful and determined de-
tectives of the Paris police are intrusted with
the special task of watching over the Prince
Imperial. t.l -arH
A novel proposal has been made to Mr..
Bright as President of the London Board of
Trade. A Scotch gentleman has directed the
attention Of his great mind" to proposal to
clear the seas of bottle-nosed whales and of
porposes, which, he says, care depriving our
hardy fishermen of their living by devouring
and destroying the greatest quantity of fish,"
Mr.. Bright, in reply, said he did not think
Parliament could be applied to grant money
for such purpose.
Women are to be admitted to Cambridge
University. p ~
The investigation of the Wells. Fargo & Co
contracts for carrying the mails across the
plains finds things very much "mixed up" A
party who is supported in his testimony by
New York banker says that he offered to carry
the mails for seven hundred thousand dollars
less than the contract with Wells, Fargo &
Co.
The Herald's correspondent from Rio ia
metro says at the recent battle at Viletta the
Brazilian loss is placed at two thousand but
it is understood that the Emperor admits it to
have been much heavier. Angostura has not
yet been attaced, but division was marching
against it. Minister Mcmahon is reported to
have come to an understanding with Lopez
and the steamer Wasp had returned to Buenos
Ayres. ''4
The Spanish government proposes to declare
all vessels engaged in the slave trades pirates.
Riviere has been selected to preside over the
sessions of the new Spanish Cortes. The
transports containing The troops to reinforce
General Dulcs are nearly ready to sail. In
order to save the time and expense which the
transportation of troops and supplies from
Havana to the seat of war would necessarily
entail the government has given orders for the
fleet to land at Santiago de Cuba in the south
eastern part of the island which is much near
er the insurrectionary district. e,rt al
The Rogers murderer is yet at large. The
story from Waterbury, Conn, is not credited
Mr.. Seward has lately been arranging his Z
affairs for an extended tour of travel, which
be proposes beginning on the expiration of his
term of Office. The journey will be across the
continent to California and thence through the
republics of South America. ,.