The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-11-06

The official statement Of the p,eceDt condi-
tion of the whaling fleet shows the rapid decay
of a traffic which was oree 1ourshing and i'm
roriaat This year, only ,249 vessels are en-
gagged in the trade. against 2s9 in 1870 and 1923
in 1868. The loss of fifty ships TO the trade
since last year is sig nifcant indication of tho
displacement Of whale oil by petroleum ani it's
products. In 1857 the whaling feet Of the
United States consisted of go vessels of which
35s were ships, and the capital Invested was
estimated at s22 100000.
The decree OF Emancipation in Brazil fro os
all slaves born after September 27, 1871, tho
date offts passage, frees the slaves held by
government at once, and makes various pro-
visions for tfn emancipted. The population Of
Brazil is about 1900, 600, of whom ], ,4OO, 900
were slaves, a proportion not unlike that which
existed in this country The bulk of the white
population is on the sea coast or in and near
the towns. The blacks are mo. tly in the inte-
rior. The slave trade was abolished BY law in
Brazil in 1881, but it existed until new aud
more stringent law was passed in 1850, aud
| which was made more severe by an act in 1854.
Charles q. Warl, late OF the Boston firm of
Mellen, Ward s. Co. who enbt zzled govern
ment funds has been pardoned by President
Grant. He was sentenced to vhree years iu-
prisonment. and comm enced serving his term
in June, 1870 The pardon is said to have been
obtained through an interview between Mrs.
Ward aud Mrs. Grant when the latter yas in
Boston recently.
The delay in the shipment of grain sirom
Boston is occssioned by an accident to the ele-
vator, which occurred three weeks ago, and
will take another week to remedy.
In relation to the day set apart for Thanks
giving It appears by correspondence IN Wash
ington that Gov. Hoffman must have known
that the President would SGT apart the 30th
inst, when he appointed the 23i. The corrts-
pondence shows that the blunder was made in
Albany and not in Washington, as Gov. Hoff.
mans later proclamation leads the public to
infer. w.
The deficit of Forbes, the Philadelphia PEN
sion Agent, amounts to $4,000. the result of
carlessness and incompetency rather than in
tent. His bondsmen will make up the deficit
and Forbes will be passed over to the grand
jury.
Rev. DIR. Cyrus lHsmlip, the widely Known
| missionary TO Turkey and President of Robert
| College at Corstantiuople, arriyel in New
York from Europe Wednesday. He comes to
tDlS CCuLuy IOr u Orict WISH VI uuslueSo COn'
nected with the college.
The civil service commission are considering
the subject OF Postmasters 1t is thought that
those receiving salaries OF less than S10O an
nually, numbering 22,OOO of the total $4,000,
should not submit to competitive examina-
tion, the offite, being for mere neighboIhooJ
accommodation and not profit.
new paper, called The Week, will appear
soon. 1t will contain resume of clrrent
opinion, home and foreign. 1t will be the sizs
of Hsrper's Weekly, aud issued by tue pub
fishers of the Eclectic Magazine in New York.
The American Home Missionary Soce
makes an nreeat appeal for the immediate to-
penishment of its treasury. 1t owes $4,000
to missionaries for labor already performed;
and many of these faithful laborers are suffer-
ing severe physical privation. Some Of them
have already sacrificed their furniture and
| books, and have even sold The horse and the
| COW that are Indispensable to a missionary on
the frontiers, to obtain the necessaries of lie.