Wilmington journal., 1870-07-01

IL Is FRUSTRATED BY A CONt
ERATE CHEMIST, &c, &C.
The New York Herald publishes, under
a flaming heading, a voluminous report of
the United States Senate Committee on
Military Affairs en- the claim of Col. J. f.
Jaquess for important secret services to
the Government during the late unpIeas-
antness. The Colonel states that he OBJ
tanned leave of absence from his regiment,
the 73d Illinois, in May '64, from Mr..
Lincoln, and proceedod to Richmond via
Fortress Monroe
TRIP THROUGH THE LINES.
On getting to General Grants head
quarters and stating his wish to visit Rich
mond, the General remarked that he had
not been able for weeks to get reply from
'the rebels" to flag of truce, but agreed
to make another attempt. His request was
as follows
"Wiil Colonel Ould, commissioner for
the exchange of prisoners, Confederate
States Army, meet Ool James L. Jaquess.
OF the Seventy-thlrd regiment, Illinois
volunteers, United States Army, on i'm
portant business iii the line of his duty ?"
70 this the following reply was re-
ceived
"Col. Ould will meet Col. Jaquess to-
morrow morning at o'clock, near Mrs.
Glenn's house" Signed by Il. E. Lee,
officially.
The case was then referred BY General
Grant to General Butler, to be executed in
detail. When ! reported to General But
Ter and explained to him the order and my
intention of entering the rebel lines, he
said, "GoOd chance to get hung" And
when arrangements were completed and
was about to take my final departure for
Richmond, General Butler said, in very
consoIing terms, '' If the rebels hang you,
To- Arr1 0f &Ln.n,
place, better men than you are
THE CoNFEDERATEs NOT FIGHTING FOB
SLAVERY,
Further on he testified that in his inter-
view with Mr.. Davis he elected the state
ment that the COnfederates were not fight
ing for slavery, but for independence /; ad-
ding, o we viii have independence or We
will have annihiIation."
THE NIAGARA CONFERENCE.
His next secret service trip was to inter-
view Clement G.. Clay and Jacob Thomp-
son, at Niagara Falls Mr.. Linooln's in
structions to him being, IL want you to
crack that mt immediately" He had to
make second trip before he gained ac-
cess to the Niagara Conference, and then
obtained it, he says, through Elk President
Buchanan. To get Mr.. Buchanan's sig
nature he repaired 30 Wheatland. and
u''Gie.ftsaGa- drank more llauor than 4e
time, because it was the custom OF Mr..
Buchanan's guests at that time. We never
before knew that the Sage of WheatlaDd
was either very bibulCus or the patron OF
hard drinkers.
The Colonel says: among other i'm
portant facts which 1 discovered In this
movement was one, not SO generally credt-
ted at the time, viz: that Ex-President
Buchanan was thoroughly advised of and
ia Wit q DnnVpm9Ita
enemy on the border, and in full sympathy
with them, and preferred that they should
succeed in their wicked design against the
government than TINT the Republican
party should succeed III saving and keep
ing control of the country"
He made three trips to Niagara, to what
he terms "the Democratic Convention" as
sembled there, and reported each time to
President Lincoln IN person.
HIS NEXT VISIT TO RICHMOND.
He next smuggIed himself through the
| Confederate lines, passed through Peters
| burg and came to Richmond, his business
being to ferret out the supposed plot to
| burn the Eothern cities. Here he found
| Confederate at the head of the chemical de-
| partment, whose name he declined giving,
! except to any mem ber of the committee,
privately.
THIS BIG-HEARTED CHEAIsT.
Upon this point Col. Jaquess says
got access to him, and found him q gentle
man, q man with a kind heart, with big
heart and by kind interview with him
| l succeeded In inducing him, by practicai
i experiment, to get mp composition thas
would burn for a given time as though 1t
would burn the world up, and then extin-
guish itself. He got up, first, conposI-
tion that was very inhammable, that only
| boI IN ,a foucbe1 Yith match and II
went off a. once like a friction match
He put up another substance IN bal
about the size Of a hens egg, or perhaps
little larger, which was inclosed in thu
, outer very inhammable substance, ane
a when fire HvaE touohod to this ball IL buIn-
| ed very viyidly for moment, and tn
moment it struck this inside composition
a it would sparkle and make fuss YER
/ much like damp powder and extinguisl
k itself at oEce. We experimental In room
{ where he and / were locked together, Wit
straw and hay, and / saw that the thin
r was perfectly satisfactory, and / made tn
II arrangements with him to have the pla
Il carried out, to have that used. 1t cost m
d between 81 200 and 81, 300 My obJee
r was to avert the burning OF the Norther
Y cities.
h He further testified that Gen. Bfecken
II ridge, acting under the authority of th
a Confederate government, was at the hea
If of the plot and this good-hearted chemi
# was induced by him to aid in defeatir
4. the object.
III HIS soJOURN IN RICHMOND.
u: While at Richmond, where he RENAME
three days, he had an interview Wi
1f President Davis. Leaving Richmond
IN the end of this period, he returned Wi
40 all haste to Washington, and reported tt
ef result of his Mission TO MIR. Lincoln
5n person, reciIng in detail all that had
aS Cured during his trip to the Confedera
~ Capitol
III
az HCIIpss
ct The next total eclipse of the sun VIII o
cur on the 22d day of next December.
will be invisible here, bnt can be watch'
a at the Mediterranean astronomical st
Ok m. Ditch nnrarnrnarnt Ia M a L /,