The Portland daily press., 1876-01-10
WASHINGTON.
Concentration of Naval Vessels mt Port
Royal.

Concentration of Naval Vessels at Port
Royal.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8.-The concentration of
naval vessels at Port Royal, s. c., is in pursu-
ance of the general plan Of the Secretary of the
Navy to make that place the headquarters Of
the North Atlantic station, as it presents
many advantages over any other port Oh the
Atlantic coast, in points OF climate, harbor and
geographical location. 1t is the policy of the
Secretary of the Navy to have our home squad
ron larger than those abroad, because he be-
lieves in being prepared for any emergency
which may arise. While there is no official
announcement in regard to the condition of af-
fairs between this country and Spain, it is be-
lieved that the uncertain tenure which Spain
has upon the Island of Cuba may cause that
government to become involved in difficulty
with the United States when it sees it can no
longer hold the island. The Secretary also
deems it advisable to order vessels to Port
Royal from northern rivers and harbors in
order that they may be free from ice in the
case of an emergency.
J. Y. scammon's Case.
Mr.. j. Y. Scammon of Chicago, now here,
says the indictments reported by telegraph as
having been found against him in Chicago are
Matchmaking operations, gotten up by Bos-
ton creditor of Mr.. Reed who is his son-in-law,
to compel Mr.. Reeds friends to pay debt
which through unforeseen calamities he is una
BILE to pay. The charges against him Scam
3 huOuJ ubtcIiy IdlSo duu CduuOt U6 uldlUtalu-
ed in any honest form anywhere, much less in
Chicago, where he has resided over forty years,
and is we'll known. So far from using the
funds of the Mechanics National Bank for his
own purposes, Mr.. Scammon says he became
personally responsible in 1873 and 1874 to save
the credit of that bank to its correspondent In
New York for over $250,000.
The Cotton Crop.
The statistician os the Department of Agri-
culture has completed the compilation of the
official returns for the past month and finds
correct the presumption of lower yield of lint
in proportion to seed cotton. Only two states,
Arkansas and Texas, report a greater proper
ton than in 1874. The Atlantic states which
have previously made low estimates of aggre-
gate production, all return smaller yield of
lint and seed in comparison with the previous
crop, and none of them over 30 pounds to each
100 pounds of seed. The average decrease in
all the states is four per cent. The
reduction in most cases is attributed to ex-
cessive moisture and in some to the effect of
early drought. The average quality of the fl.
bre is somewhat lower than last gear. Arkan-
sas and Texas furnish the only exceptions to
this statement. The seasons report taken to-
gether indicate crop of not less than 1850 900
bales nor more than 4,150,000.
The Union Pacific Railroad.
NEW YORK, Jan. ga Washington special
says some leading members of Congress are
maturing bill to repeal and forfeit the char
ter of the Union Pacific Railroad, and are like
ly to introduce it next week. All the southern
or Texas Pacific advocates in Congress will IA
vor the bill, out of hostility to the Union
Pacifcslobby, which is working against the
Southern Pacific.