Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-07-29

NllculSuA, Wulcn carried fourteen gun
was the only obstacle. Secret commur
cations Were had by which they were a
} vised That on the night of the nineteenl
of September on attempt to seize Il
Michigan would be made pa. r--..
On that night Captain Cole, who hs
previously established the ftiendliest +
lations with the officers 5f the steame
was tO have Wine-drinking with thel
on board, and at a given hour Acting
Master JBeall was to appear on q boat
be obtained for that purpose, with a sufi
cient body of Confederate soldiers
board and take the steamer. ShOul
they capture the steamer, a cannon sht
sent through the officers quarters O
. JOhnson's Island was to signify to I'll
pfisoi1efs that the hour fer their II
lease had come. Should they tal
the island, boats were to be impr'
vised and Sandusky was to be attacket
If tahief; the prisoners were to /
mounted and iifake for Cleveland, th
boats cooperating, and from Clevelan
the prisoners were to make for Whee
ing, and thence to Virginia. The Ike
to the whole movement was the captur
of the Michigan. On the evening of th
nineteenth, by some treacherv, Cole wa
arrested, and the messenger who was {
meet Acting Master Beall at Kelly's Is
land did not reach him. Disappointed
but nothing daunted, Acting Maste
Beall, having possession of the Phil
Parsons, passenger steamer from De
tToit 10 Sandusky, went on his way to
ward ,IohnsOn's Island. Having lahde,
at Middle Bass Island 10 secure a sup
ply of wood, the steamer Island Queen
with a large number of passengers ant
thirty-two soldiers, came up alongside
and lashed herself to the Parsons. Al
attack was at once resolved upon. Thl
passengers and soldiers were soon mad,
prisoners, and the boat delivered up t,
our men. The soldiers We're regularly
| paroled; the passengers were left on th,
island, having given their promise no
to leave for twenty-fOur hours, and tn,
boat was tOwed out into the lake anC
sunk.
The Parsons was then steered directly
for the Bay of Sandusky; here the men
for certain reasons not altogether salts
factory, but possibly fortunately, refused
TO make the attack on the Michigan
Beall returned, landed at Sandwich
Canada West, and the fnen scattered
through the country. Most of them
have returned to the Confederate States
but a few days since Acting-MasteI
Bennett g. Burley was arrested, and the
trial is now going on for bis delivery
under the eXtraditi0n treaty. Ifw had
Beall's, Coles or his own commission,
should not fear the result. As it is, they
will have to prove that they acted under
my order, and that will, in all probable
ity, secure his release; but it may lead to
my expulsion from the provinces; at
least, have it from a reliable source
that this last proposition has been
pressed upon the Canadian authorities,
and they have considered it. Should
the course of events take this direction,
unadvised by you, l shall consider it
my duty to remain where | am and abide
the issue. / should prefer, if it be pos
sible, TO have your views ON the subject.
Captain Cole Is still a prisoner on John
sons Island. In obedience to your sug-
gestiOn, as far as it was practicable, soon
after my arrival here l urged the people
of the North to convert their paper
into gold and withdraw it from
the market. / am satisfied this pOlicy
was adopted and carried into effect to
some extent, but how extensively / am
unable to state. What effect il had on
the gold market il is impossible to esti-
mate, but certain it is that gold contin-
ued TO appreciate until it went to two
hundred and ninety. The high price
may have tempted many to change
their policy, because afterward gold fell
in the market to one hundred and fifty,
when it was about one hundred and
eighty, and expectation of gold was so
small that there appeared to be but little
Or no demand for il. Mr.. John Porter
field, formerly banker in Nashville,
but now a resident of Montreal, was fur
lished with one hundred thousand dol
ars and instructed to proceed to New
York to carry out a financial policy of
MS own conception, which consisted in
he purchase of gold and exporting the
same, selling it for sterling bills of ex-
5hange, and then again converting his
into gold. This process in
7olved a certain lOss-the cost of tran
'hipment. He was instructed by Mr..
Clay and myself to go on with
his policy until he had expended
twenty-five thousand dollars, with
which he supposed he would ship
lirectly five million dollars, and induce
lNAClo ~ lAAOACg anu llituF IL
he effect upon the gold market was not
7ery perceptible, he was to desist and
eturn 70 Canada and restore the money
By his last report he had
'aused the shipment of more than two !
Millions of gold, at an expense of less |
han ten thousand dollars. but it seems |
hat Mr.. Lyons, who had been a for |
ner partner of POrterfeld, was arrested !
" General Butler on the ground that he
vas exporting gold; and, although Mr.. |
lyons had no connection with Mr.. Por- |
erfielG in this transaction, yet he /
hought it prudent to return to Canada, |
nd, while he retains the uneXpended |
'alanee of the twenty-five thousand dol
ars TO carry out his instructions, he has /
estored seventy-five thousand dollars.
must confess that the first shipment /
lad marked effect on the market. l |
m inclined to the opinion that his theo-
Y will work great damage and distrust
n the Federal finances, if vigorously
)llOwed up, and if no untOward eircum-
tances should interfere with the opera
ion.
Soon after reached Canada, a Mr..
IinoT Major visited me, and represented
imself as an accredited agent from the
States to destroy steamboats,
n the Mississippi river, and that his
perations were suspended for want of
leans. | advanced to him two thou
and dollars in Federal currency, and
ION afterward several boats were
urned at st. Louis, involving an inn
lense loss of property to the enemy.
lie became suspected, as he represented
, me, of being the author of this burn
lg, and from that time both he and his
len have been hiding, and consequently
ave done nothing. Money has been
1vanced to Mr.. Churchill, of Cincin-
att to organize corps for incendiarism
/ that city. | consider him a true man,
nd although as yet he has effected but
tile, am in constant expectation of
earring of effective work in that quarter.
Previous to the arrival of Lieutenant
Olonel Martin and Lieutenant Headly,
'inging an unsigned note from you, all
lie different places where our prisoners
e contned-Camp Douglass, Rock
land, Camp Morton, Camp Chase, FL
been thoroughly examined, Z
nd the conclusion was forced upon us
lat all efforts to release them without
4 outside cooperation, would bringdis-
ter upon the prisoners and result in no
'Od. All projects of that sort were
except that at Camp Doug
IS, where Captain Hines still believed
: could effect their release, We yield
TO his firmness, zeal and persistence,
I'd his plans We're plausible, but treach-
Y defeated him before his well-laid
hemes were developed. Having moth
& else on hand, Colonel Martin ex-
essed wish to organize a corps to
lrn New York city. He was allowed
do so, and most daring attempt has
en made to fire that city, but their re-
lnce oll the Greek fire has proved a
isfortune. 1t can not be depended on
an agent in such work. 0e
l have no faith whatever in it, and no
tempt shall hereafter be made, under
y general directions, with any such
aterials. / knew nothing whatever of /;
n rof1 ~, 81 lhcug trv4fI affor | d,