The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-03-26


March 1919, Joseph Tarbox and his wife froze
mile of their house, on clustering, clear day.
On the 18th of April 1S43 (my birthday /
rode from this place to Saco in sleigh-the
snow being as high as the fences most of the
way.
In a rain storm On the first of the May fol-
lowing the Augusta dam was carried away and
many bridges and mills on the rivers through
out the State were swept away by the snow
freshet. w. G.
WNDHAM, March 23d.
Our Washington Letter.
Washington Weather-Seneca Sho,cers-C Con-
gressional Squaus-Relief for Commercially
preparations for Maine-Fail,re of the Arnas
Conspirators-The Homestead BILL Personal, etc.
etc. -E.frTE rse t.s.R
From our own Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, March, Odd 1872.
MAINE AND WASHINGTON WEATHER COMPARED.
Go where you may, south of Kittery Navy
yard, and you are greeted with expressions of
pity for the unfortunate people who live in the
cold climate of Maine-and of contempt for the
climate itself. The natives, too many of them,
are also inclined to join in the general denun-
citation of their state in this particular If one
wishes the world to believe that Maine is only
a fit place to emigrate from, they can hardly
pursue more effective course.
Perhaps the friends of our good old State
may derive something cheerful, while reflect
Ing on their recent snow storms and snow
Blockade, from a knowledge that the weather
in Washington, during the same time, has
been more disagreeable than it knows how to
be in Maine. l cannot describe this fearful
whirl of dirt-'aot dust. Just imagine your
drifting snow to be a sort of granulated ''SENE-
cASAND STONE propelled by the wind with
three times the velocity and in five times the
quantity that snow ever blew in Maine, and you
will get fair idea of what you would encount-
er during a weeks stay there at this season.
L have faced the SNOW STORMS in Maine,
many a mile in all. kinds of conveyances from
an OK sled to one of Kimball's best sleighs
drawn by a Hambletonian and on foot; and
have spent a few days and nights of my life on
snow-bound railroad trains with the thermome-
ter below zero and the woodpile but little above
that figure and really envy the wayfaring suf-
ferer as extract the much discussed building
material from my eyes with painful and tear
full labor. Wo to the. poor unfortunate adven-
ture whose stock in the Seneca quarries is call
in his eye" The manner in which his grlefs
are presented to me brings tears of real sorrow
CONGRESSIONAL BICKERING.
Congress has done little less than its usual
amount of quarreling during the past week,
and think it safe to predict that harmony is
soon to come out of the apparent discord that
has been developed to so unpleasant an extent
and magnified to many times its real import
ance, and that the Republican party will come
out of the furnace far brighter and purer for
being rid of the dross of which it will have
freed itself. This wrangling is by no means
unusual just before Presidential election. 1t
is only shaking of the tree by the wind, the
result of which will be to throw off the un-
sound branches, leaving the tree more thrifty
and beautiful than before. -
RELIEF FOR COMMERCE.
There now seems to be no doubt but that be-
fore the adjournment some important measure
will be enacted for the benefit of American
commerce. The plan that appears most likely
to be adopted is that of allowing a drawback
equal to the duties paid on all imported mate
rails actually used in the construction of vessels
not to exceed q certain amount per ton accord
ing to the class of vessel constructed. For the
interest of Maine, it is to be sincerely hoped
that something really beneficial may be done,
and the proposed bill certainly seems to be
favorable one.
RIVER AND HARBoR APPROPRIATIONS FOR
MAINE.
The River and Harbor bill will be reported to
the House next week
learn that there are to be recommended for
expenditure in Maine, the following sums {:
Royals River, $4,000; Portland Harbor 49,
900; Saco River, $4,000; Kennebec River,
$4,000; Penobscot River, $25, 900.
'HoIsT BY THEIR OWN PETARD."
The arms investigating committee, aided by
Senator Schurz, has thus far failed signalIy to
develop any collision on the part of United
States officials with agents of other govern
ments, or any knowledge on their part that the
purchasers were acting in any such capacity.
On the contrary, it has been most conclusively
proved especially by the testimony of Col. w.
c. Squire, Secretary of the Remington Arms
Co., given before the committee that no such
collision could have existed, and that all
knowledge of any connection with the govern
ment of France was carefully concealed from
the officers of the War Department-and that
point, the only one upon which the movers
of the investigation have ever contended
since the appointment of the committee, has
therefore failed of being sustained.
A. H..r4 e
amble that ''the Committee of the French Ma
tIonal Assembly ON war contracts has adopted
a resolution asking the United States govern
ment to furnish the result of inquiry into the
conduct OF American officials suspected of par
tclpating in the purchase of arms for the
French government, during the war with Ger
many has been proved to be no more than a
mere newspaper canard, by the recent cores
pondence between the State Department at
Washington and our Minister at Paris Mr.
Washburne ltelegraphs in reply to an inquiry
from the Secretary of the State, as follows:-
"Count Remusat replies ofiicially-no resolu-
ton of the kind ever passed by National As
sembly or by Commission Purchases He
wrote week ago, French Charge so to inform
you. WAsHBUREE.
The above, taken in connection with the fact
that the alleged discrepancies between the ac
counts of the Treasury Department and those
of the War Department. in relation to money
received from the sale of arms, were so salts
explained in the Senate during the
discussion preceding the appointment of the
committee, that Mr.. Sumner himself admitted
that the charges were not sustained, seems to
make the arms investigation, so lately inaugu-
rated with such Flourish of trumpets" rather
a disastrous political investment for its movers
and indeed they seem to feel, themselves that
they have made a mistake 1t is generally
thought that they would be glad to drop the
matter if they could. Carl Schurz was examin-
ed yesterday, and testified that he knows abso-
Iutely nothing, personally, of the matter upon
which he has talked so much, thus apparently
the suspicion already so generally
the whole thing was moved
merely with the hope that something might
be discovered to justify it, and cast some