The Portland daily press., 1871-11-04


the ancient London Satirist, or imitation o
the later Ool, of that same burg, both, how
ever, more vigorous efforts of the slanderous
scnooi than IS his Capital hebdomadal, has for
several weeks past served an unsayory dish OF
haSh 10 MS readers under the title of tbe
"Cat-flsh Difiiculty"-that being his ELEGANT
way OF characterizing digniAed rebuke on
the part OF our State Department of Mr.. Con.
stantin de Catacazy. the Russian representa-.
tive here. There is good deal of interest in
other quarters as to this quarrel Your cor.
| respondent has been at some pains to inyesti-
gate the facts with regard to the refusal of the
President any longer to receive the Russian
Minister, aud thinks he has succeeded in get
ting at the facts. By the way is it curious
that the two diplomats who have been re-
garded as specially in Mr.. Summers good
graces, should be out of Ulysses S. Grants /?
But so it is. The Massachusetts, Senator is
charged with Philo-Russianism, and surely he
mas mace himself the peculiar champion of
the Haytian cause and association with Mr..
Sumner, whose contempt is not abated or
concealed, may have led Mr.. Catacazy to talk
VI lhe rresiuent with the sanderous inso-
ence OF which there is no doubt he has been
guilty, as well as to think himself fully able
unscathed to interfere with our politics and
intrigues against the success of our policy.
CATACAZY's sLANDERs,
1t will be recollected by careful newspaper
readers, that there is famous claim pendino
against the Russian government, known aS
the Perkins Claims" In brief, this is a
claim by the heirs of one Capt. Perkins. of
Worcester, Mass, for large sum of money.
with interest, in payment of $4,000 muskets'
altarnl n rif1pc 1SO of Z
other military munition, which it is alleged
agents of Russia contracted for with claimant
during the Crimean war. The arms and DOW
der were purchased in good faith, the former
altered and the latter packed in casks as lool
wood, lin order to prevent capture at sea:
when hostilities ceased, and the Russian gov
ernment found 1t convenient to repudiate the
contracts, declaring that the agents had no
authority. So the matter stood. Capt. Per-
kins presented the claims to our State De-
partment, of which Gov. Marcy was then the
cbiet. 1t was then examined and sustained
by that able man. Russia, however resisted
payment. President Buchanan came in. and
Secretary Cass also made a demand on sd.
Petersburg Mr.. Seward agreed to press the
claims, but the war prevented. When it was
over he would not touch it because Alaska
was to be purchased. In the meanwhile
Capt. Perkins had died. Butler sought to
prevent the passage of the Alaska appropria-
ton until the Perkins heirs were paid.
Through Gen. Banks the promise was dis
tinctly made that the matter should be SUBJ
E,itted to arbitration, and the Russian gov
ernment would abide by the result.
Baron StoecH was recalled; Catacazy took
his place. He had previously been second
secretary of legation. Mr., E. Peshine
Smith, of the State Department, was chosen
as umpire and the case again elaborately gone
into. 1t was again decided in part, in favor
OF Claimants; the arms and interest on the
amount, in all about $640, 900, being allowed.
and claim for the powder rejected. Catacazy
fought it bitterly. He began with defaming the
dead creditor OF his government as dishonest
and drunken, but got more than he bargained
in brilliant defense made by Capt. Perkinss
daughter. He then took to impugning mo-
tives, &C., through the press. He has been
proven to have authorized items, and written
letters of slanderous character. On one oc-
casiOn he sent letters to the New York Herald
which quite curiously found their way to the
President without publication. But the last
drop in this cup was an accusation, fully
traced to him, that the reason for the decision
of Mr.. Examiner Smith against the Russian
government aoas that the President had per-
sonal interest IN the claim.
1t was on this that the demand was made
for Mr.. Catacazy's recall, which was enforced
by dispatches to Minister Curtin, charging
that the Russian Envoy was person whose
word could not be relied upon-unless il was
in the sense of relying. The President dis
tinctly refused to receive him any more.
POLITICAL INTRIGUEs.
But the Russian appears not to have been
content even with assaiing the character of
our President. He undertook it seems. TO
NEEDLE in our foreign affairs. The merest ty-
70 in European State.craft could see that Rus
sian interests would be better served by keep
ing Great Britain and the United States es-
tIanged. Catacazy seems to have regarded it
as duty to his Emperial "boss" to intrigue
to prevent the success of the recent Anglo
American negotiations.
There are not wanting those who hold that
Mr.. Summers friendship with Russia would
have been better served by the failure of the
treaty of Washington, than otherwise. That,
OF course is siander, having only this pre-
tence- that the Senator's views of Ameri-
can diplomacy are not to be measured alto
gether by his lofty ideas of domestic policy
But, to return to Catacazy. The busy minis
Ter couldn't keep out of wishing in a verv
matter OF fact that the treaty of Washington
might faiL The steps he took in this direc-
tion were unwarranted.
THE RESULT.
Mr.. Catacazy will leave here as soon as
Alexis does. If he stays TOO long. ON tbe or
der OF his going, his passports will tell him 10
GO. He is reported TO have declared that he
should return that he will absent himself on
leave CT absence, to return when the Presi-
dent himself should be absent from the White
House. From many little things connected
with the doings of this astute and unprinci-
pied servant of a government which embraces
US with pretence Of friendship, it is not un-
likely. Catacazy evidently has friends at st.
Petersburg.
PERSONAL, HISTORY AND GOSSIP.
CCnstanlin de CatacaZy is one of three
brothers, all of whom l believe have been in
the Russian diplomatic service. Michael is
at some South American government-Bra-
zil, believe. Some scandal has been afloat
about his wife or - who is or was a famous
dansuene, and whose name has been closely
connected with Gorttschalk the Pianist.
The wife of Constantin has been the sub
ject of many sprightly paragraphs, to which
shall not add, except to express belief that
she was more sinned against than SHINING.
AT any rate she has been received and accept
ed everywhere, at st. Petersburg as well as
Washington, even though nearly twenty years
she lived in secluded cottage at Bladensburg,
under cloud, fguratively of course. How
the recognition has been won may in part be
explained by an incident / have heard relat-
ed here. Count Bodisco, now Russian Con-
sui General at New York, was first secretary
OF legation when Catacazy was second, and
Madame was at her cottage. Bodisco mar
ried Georgetown belle. There was consid-
erable hesitation about receiving Madame
chere ami, and Catacazy was heard to declare
openly that if the Bodiscos didn't receive her
the Count would suffer for it at st. Peters
burg. The result was that Madame
WINS received, by both Madame Stocehi and
Mrs. Bodisco, the latter calling at the formers
| residence while the Catacazy was visiting
there. Bodscos' American friends here
attribute Catacazy's promotion and the un-
popularity of Bodisco at the court, to the in.
fiuence which is undoubtedly exercised al
home by the Minister. Young Bodisco, son o.
the Consul General, has married a poor but
beautiful American lady, and is now in Rus
| sia. 1t is feared here that Catacazy is work.
ing to have him disgraced. Probably the
| "Cat," as d. p. terms is one of those superior
spies all personal governments maintain.
| SPECTATOR.
The MORMON WoMEN.-Grace Greenwood,
now in Salt Lake City, is writing the New
| York Times a series of letters respecting that
country and its people. Speaking of the wo.
men, she says:
Those have met appear to me, 1 must sa,
| Ike good and gentle Christian women. They
are singularly simple in dress, and modest il
demeanor. What saddens me is their air o.
extreme quietude, retirement and repression
But for the children around them you would