The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-12-29
CAPITAL CHATTER.
The q JOsefa Indignities an
Ancient Affair.
THE COLORADO LAND CLAIMS.
Lighthouse BOard-To Test The New
Steamer-7he Historical Assoc
citation Other Items.

I66ru6U ~ bQS department. VI DbdIo tAoI
the cass.of the brig Josefa against the
Spanish government for indignities,
&c, alleged to have been imposed By
customs officers of Porto Rico, Jamaica
has been under investigation since
July, 1887, and since that time the
State Department has been endeavor-
ing to secure a remittance of the fine
that has been placed upon the vessel.
The Spanish laws against smuggling
contains a provision that if vessel
comes into a Spanish port with less
cargo on board than her manifest
shows, she will be liable to fine of 5000
for every package missing. This ships
manifest mentioned twenty packages of
corn starch that could not he
found, and a fine of 81 900 was accord
inglv levied on her. 1t is
the custom to remit the fine if reason
able excuse can be given, but in this
case the missing packages could not, by
any explanation, be accounted for.
The defence was advanced that the
goods had been put by mistake on the
bark jose a, which lay next to the
Josefa, but the Department, lnVesti-
had no corn starch on board that trip,
and did not lay next to the Joseta IN
loading. In correspondence, one of the
officers of the Josefa admitted that the
mistake had been caused by a careless
description of the goods.
In view of the failure of the ship to
explain the absence of the packages,
the Department could see no ground on
which to base quarrel with the Span
ish customs officers, and the case has
been dropped.
WILLIAM HENRY's PHOTO.
An excellent portrait in oil of Hon
William Henry Smith, general manager
ofthe Associated Press, was o-day pre-
scented to the Washington correspon-
dents by its painter, T. G. Weber, the
well known artist of Cincinnati. The
portrait is much admired. 1t will be
hung in the House press gallery among
other eminent journalists.
REJECTED CLAIM.
Commissioner Stockdager, of the
General Land Office, has rejected the
claim of the State of Colorado, for land
selected By the State as indemnity for
the school grant on two sections that
are included in the Indian reservation.
The collections which are embraced,
contain lists transmitted through the
commissioner from local officers at
Pueblo, Leadville and Glenwood
Springs, Colorado, and cover 81, 1876
acres of land. The ground of the re-
lection is that the lands were all
selected in one body which is not in
conformity with the act of March Sd,
1875, admitting Colorado into the Union.
This act provides that the land selected
as indemnity for the loss, granted that
this school section shall be contagious
to the land lost. The rejected selections
will be subject to settlement and entry
THE "cHARLESToN's" TEST
Irving NJ. Scott, president of the
Union Iron Works of San Francisco.
was at the Navy Department to-day n
conference with the different bureau
officers in regard to the conditions under
which the steam trial trip of the cruiser
Charleston shall be conducted. The &C.
ceptance of the vessel by the govern
ment will depend upon the success of
this trial Scott said the vessel will be
ready for the test in aabout six weeks.
The Charleston is the first vessel of the
new navy constructed on the Pacific
Coast, and the unusual interest is
manifested by naval officers in regard
to her speed and construction.
THE LIGHT HOUSE BOARD.
The annual report of the Light
House Board to the Secretary of the
Treasury was to-day made public. The
board renews The recommendation that
proper steps be taken to prohibit the
establishment and maintenance of pri-
yate lights and buoys III naYigable
proyision be made in order to establish
inexpensive lights in cases of exigency /;
and pending the action of Congress,
RECOMMENDS an appropriation be made
for the establishment of lighthouse
depots in the tenth. fourteenth, if
tenth and sixteenth districts. Atten-
ton is called to the hampered condi-
ton in which the board is left by the
provision of the law which requires it
to accent the lowest bid to do work for
which proposals were advertised, no
matter how unfit the bidder or how i'm
possible it may be for him to do good
work, provided he can give good
bonds; and it is recommended
that this section of thesrevised statutes,
making this regulation, be modified.
LII IL SuDmlLCeU CudG proper Steps
should be taken to enforce the legisla
lions of the board over navigable waters
to be lighted. The board repeats the
recommendation that a new building be
provided, as quarters for the Lighthouse
board, but reduces its estimate from
$3.50, coo to $4,000 for the purpose. The
estimate general appropriations amount
to $2.292 800; estimates for special ap-
preparations amount to $3.107. 80
Among the items are the following
Completing the pedestal on the statue
of Liberty, New York Harbor, $50 900
depot for the ninth district, $4,000
tender for the eleventh district, S85 900
st. George Reef light, California. $780,.
600; Hicta Head light, Oregon, $50, OG0
Columbia River Kest light. Oregon
$50, 1000; Gray's Hsrbor light, Washing
ton Territory, $50 600.
THE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
At the morning session of the Ameri