Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-13

100000 TO BE INVESTED IN
SAVANNAH'S DEFENSES.


All the Cities on the Eastern and Gulf
Coasts to be Made Equally Impreg-
nable- Congressman Hewitt's Alleged
Belittlement of the O'DOnneII Case
PrOvokes RattIing vOIIey.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 12.-The
fortifcation bill this year Will be different
from that OF the past if the full committee
accepts the views of the subcommittee
having its preparation in charge. The
latter is giving a good deal of attention to
the defenselees condition of our coast.
They have decided TO ecommend
that the appropriation be made to CON-
mence a chain of defenses from Port
land, Maine, and around the Gulf
on this side of the continent,
and for forts at San Diego and San
Francisco on the other side. There are To
be defenses of all the important seaports.
rho system recommended will DO tho re-
modelling of the present stone and molar
forts and the application of the turret
system, which reVOlutiOniZed naval war
fare to land defenses. The amounts for
the different cities have not been fixed
upon by the subcommittee except at Sa-
Vannah, where a 100000 appropriation
for the commencement of work. is the
figure decided upon. Charleston, Pensa-
cola, Mobile, Galveston and New Orleans
are the other Southern cities where the
subcommittee think the work of prepar-
ing defenses should be commenced.
HEWITT AND THE o'DONNELL CASE.
The Philadelphia Press to-day makes a
charge which Impeaches the integrity OF
purpose OF Representative Hewitt, OF New
York. MIR. Hewitt introduced the O'Don-
nell resolution requesting the President
to ask a respite OF that condemned man at
the hands OF the British Government. He
is charged with having tried, after in
Producing the resolution, to get sew
eral Republicans to object to it,
and with going to the British
Minister and apOlogiZing, saying that it
was all buncOm6e any way, and that if he
had not introduced 1t worse resolution
would have passed. The British NJ mister
is reported to have telegraphed this to
his government, with the result of COM
pletely handicapping the Presidents re
quest tor O'DOnnel's respite when it
reached the British Foreign
Office there. The statements have
! been the subject Of several
conversations among the members of Con-
/ gress to-day, aud Mr.. Hewitt, VINO Is in
NV York. has been pretty severely criJl-
cised. Representative HOrr, of M chigdu,
! SAID to the NEWS correspondent: III all
of that story il as untrue as its first part
/ then 1t is very weak. | was the Republi-
! can member alleged 10 have been ap-
! preached. After the resolution had passed
/ | went to Mr.. Hewitt and said that | WAS
surprised that he should initiate RicheIieu
| Robinson, and that l had had "a great
mind to object to the resolution when he
! put it. Mr.. Hewitt said: L would have
| given you my check for $1,000 had you
Objected He meant, and 1 50 understood
| him, that it would have been Il very good
thing for the Democratic party had the
/ resolution been forced TO go over by Re
/ publican objection"
An investigation of the other statements
! shows that there is not much in the
/ charges of the Philadelphia Press. 1t
appears that on the night of the day that
! the resolution passed, Mr. Hewitt with
/ number OF other gentlemen were enter
! tanned by Minister West. The cOnversA-
tiOn turned on the O'DOnnell business.
Mr. Hewitt made the remark that '.legis-
lation of that character was generally
more in Difference to the wishes OF partio-
ular classes of citizens than representa-
tive OF the real sentiment of members of
| Congress-" These are believed to be all
the facts in to- days sensation.