The Portland daily press., 1873-10-20

themselves examining the work of the codifiers,
Messrs. Abbott, James and Burringer, appoint
ed Thomas j.. Durant to further revise the work
and prepare it for Congress, subject to the SUI
Pervision and approval of Attorney General
Williams. Mr.. Durant has submitted the re-
suit of his labors to the Attorney General, who
is now carefully examining by detail5 400 or
1910 printed pages into which, by the omission
OF notes and other extrahous matter, the two
volumes containing the statutes, as revised by
the codifers commission has been condemned.
In this form substantially they will be submit
led to Congress for enactment at the next ses-
sion.
Postal Cards. %
The total demand for postal cards has settled
down to an average of between $4,000 and
aoooo per day. which is believed to indicate al
most exactly their daily consumption at the
present time. -af.
The Death of Captain Hall Satisfactorily
Accounted For.
NEW YORK, Oct 1S.-A Washington des-
patch says the examination of Buddingtoc.
Ohester and Morton is already finished, and
mat OF DR.. Bessel nearly concluded. The
pIactlce OF the commission is to let each wit
ness tell a detailed story of the expedition in
his own manner. and after the direct statement
mas been completed, questions are asked upon
whatever points needs calculation. Bessels
testimony is said to be in the highest degree in
teresting. Each witness has been asked
that Capt. Hall died other than natural death
and in each instance the answer has been an
indignant denial of the cruel suspicious that
have been set ahoat.
Morton denies absolutely that he ever had
any suspicion of foul play, or that he ever told
any one he had, or gave any one reason to sup
pose SO. The charges of poisoning that have
been made appear to be directed especially to-
wards DR.. Bessel. The following statement
bears directly on this charge hen Hall re-
turned from the sledge expedition Bessel was
in the observatory, two hundred yards from the
Polaris. He ran down and shook hands with
Hal and his party and returned to his work in
the observatory. Hall and party entered the
vessel and all partook of coffee, which was not
made especially for them, but was taken from
the ships locker, and from which the crew of
the vessel had previously drunk. The rest of
the party were unaffected by the coffee except
Hall, who was Immediately attacked with vorn-
iting. He fell in a slate of insensbibility.
Half an hour after the return of the party Bees
sci was summoned from the observatory and
found Hall already 10 a comatose condition.
1t is clear that Bessel could not have tamper-
ed with the coffee that Hall drank without af-
fecting that used by the rest of the party, and
none of the others suffered from drinking it.
1t seems equally clear it could not have been
poisoned at all When Hall revived from the
state of insensibily it was found that his left
side was paralyzed. The fact is considered in
itself absolute refutation of the charges of
poisoning The symptoms and medical treat
ment of Hall have been submitted to the most
eminent men of the country. and by them have
been unheSitatingly pronounced to have been
due to natural causes and the treatment en-
ployed by Bessel is Endorsed as exactly required
and the Only treatment proper under the Cir
cumstances DR.. Hammond saws that the
paralysis and death were undoubtedly caused by
an effusion of blood in the brain.