The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1873-07-16
BY TELEGRAPH. H.
Exclusively for the Register
BY the Pacific and Atlantic Line.
once, 1lO Main street.
WASHEN TON.
WASHINGTON, July Is.
DeStructiye Fire.


This morning between four and five
o'clock, fire broke out 10 the south
end of the Navy department, caused by
an explosion in the chemical room. The
entire upper portion OF the building was
DESTROYED by fire, and the balance ol
the building was completely flooded
with water, damaging a large number
valuable papers. The bureau ol
medicine and surgery sustained con-
siderable loss, but the most serious
loss was sustained by the bureau OF the
steam engine room. Nearly all the
valuable drawings. including some be-
longing to the ordinance department
drawings of new steam slops OF war,
and log book dating back
many years, were either entirely
destroyed or 80 badly damaged
as to be utterly useless. 1t is thought
that all the drawings can be replaced
but at great cost. The damage to the
department, other than the loss OF valu-
able papers, is estimated at $lO,0OO.
Secretary Robeson arrived last night
and was one OF the earliest workers at
the fire.
The Minnesota Manitoba Middle.
The British Minister, Sir Edward
Thornton, is now absent in the Catskill
Mountains with his family. His repre-.
sentatives in the Washington Legation
have not received any official advices
of the muddle in Manitoba growing
out OF the kidnapping Of Lord Gordon
Gordon on British soil, but that
the subject will become in some
way a topic of correspondence between
the two governments is deemed highly
probable. As q matter OF course, the
preposterous claim OF Consul Taylor
that the arrest OF Gordon could be
made under the principles Of the COM
mon law, and without recourse to the
forms of the treaty of extrsdition, will
not be recognized. Consul Taylor is
said to be fussy, fdgety little official,
and entirely without capacity.
Steamboat Inspection and License.
A Collector of Customs inquired If a
steamboat that does not 60 out Of the
State or District, and that has been in
epected under the steamboat act, is re-
ouired to be enrolled and licensed under
the navigation laws. To which the
Secretary OF the Treasury replied to-
day, that if the vessel is navigating the
waters OF the United States she must
take out enrolment and license in ac'
cordeDce with the provisions of the act
Of February 25, 1869. The Supreme
Court OF the United States has defined
the waters referred to, as follows :
Those rivers must be regarded
as public navigsble rivers in
law which are navigable, in
fact, and they are navigable in
fact when they are used or are susceP-
tible Of being used in their ordinary con-
dition as highway for commerce, over
which trade and travel are or may be
conducted In the ordinary modes OF
trade and travel on water, and they
constitute navigable waters OF the
United States, within the meaning ol
the acts OF Congress, in contradistinction
to the navigable waters Of the States,
when they form in their ordinary con-
ditiop, by themselves or by meeting
with other waters, q continued high
way over which commerce is or may
be carried on with other States or for.
eign countries, in the customary modes
in which such commerce is conducted
by water"
General Caleb Cushing
Is cow busiIy engaged in revising the
proof sheets OF a translation into
French Of his recent work on the
treaty OF Washington. The translation
will come out in Paris in few weeks
meantime General Gushing will make
summer excursion to the Sweet
Springs of West Virginia, and subss'
queniIy to the seaside.
Sypher Come TO Nought.
Clerk Mcpherson graciously an.
nounces that he will not place either
Sypher or his contestant, Mr.. Law
renee, upon the pay-rolls as the Rep
resentstiye of Louisiana, but will leave
the matter to be determined by ths
House Of Representatives next winter