The times., 1898-01-24
CAPITOL GOSSIP.

L
| A collection of S,060 letters and papers
written by Thomas Jefferson is in the
hands of the heirs of Sarah N. Ran
| dolph, and the House Committee on Lii
brary has asked Congress to purchase
| them. The papers are contained in
tWenty-one portfolios and are in excel
lent preservation.
They are nearly all autograph let
ters- Here in these letters, written
while minister to France Secretary of
| State, Vice President, and President
! and after his retirement to Monticello,
embracing the period from 1884 to 1926.
appear the record of his daily life, with
| it's numberless interests; picture of
| his family and home life, and run
ming commentary on the early political
| history of the country, jotted down and
| elaborated by one who largely shaped
and guided the destiny of this country
during those eyentfhl years.
| The letters To the RandoIphs and
Eppes, his daughters, and to their hus-
bands form in some respects the most
valuable part Of the whole collection.
| To them he wrote with a freedom and
| confidence which does not appear in
any other part of his correspondence.
| The letters wPitten during the excit-
| ing Presidential struggle of 1900, and
| during the passage of the alien ana
| sedition laws at the time of the acqui-
| sition Of louisiana will be found of re-
markable interest and great value A
| side of his character which is proba-
! bly, new to most persons is seen in his
! letters to his children and grandchii-
| dren. The whole collection is most val
| liable, not only from a historical point
OF view, but because they show Mr..
| Jefferson'S S extraordinary activity of
mind, his breadth of thought, and his
wide interest in all human affairs.
They show him as the patriot never
weary of working for the good of his
| country; as the planter To whom no
smallest detail of management was be-
meath consideration: as the wise and
loving father whose letters to his
daughters show a tenderness and a
consideration which give to them a spe-
ciai charm. Besides Jefferson'S letters
there are in this collection large num-
Der of letters from such men as Ben
! jamin Rush, Adams, Madison, and
Monroe. Kosciusko, William G. Rives,
David RittenbouSe, Timothy Pickering,
Edward, Robert and Brockholst Liv-
| ingston, Edmund Pendleton, Edmund
Randolph, Count Jean Potocki (the
| Polish historian), Arthur Lee, Judge
Story, George Ticknor, and Andrew
{
ed men of his day and generation.
In addition TO these are the Nicholas
letters. which plainly show the sources
of the famous resolutions of 1883.
letters from Wilson Cary Nicholas and
George Nicholas, of Kentucky, whose
names are 50 closely connected with
the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions.
The Senate has recognized the BRAY
cry of one of the Governments ser
wants. c. r. Dobbins, keeper OF the
| lighthouse at Moose Peak, Me, at the
risk Of his own life, was instrumental
in saving the lives of the crew of the
shipwrecked British schooner Ashton,
of Weymouth. Nova Scotia. The gov
ernment of the Dominion of Canada, in
recognition Of his deeds of daring and
his humane acts, presented Dobbins
with a magnificent gold watch. Being
in the employ of the Government. Dob
I! Eins could not accept the present with
out the consent of Congress, and last
week the Senate passed an act giving
the necessary permission.
Friends of Cuba are making an effort
to have the Senate amend the dipio-
matte and consular appropriation bill
with a clause acknowledging the bel
ligerency of Cuba. If these efforts
should prove successful, and the Senate
should add such an amendment to this
appropriation bill, the House could not
in any way avoid Il direct vote on the
Cuban question. Under the rules Of the
House a member has the right to de-
mand separate vote on any item in
an appropriation bill and if this policy
were pursued in relation to an amend
ment recognizing Gubas belligerency
the Republican majority would be COM
PEELED to meet the issue flat-footed and
either vote for or against Cuba
If the House, by vote, refused to
permit the belligerency clause to be
voted on separately they would either
have to pass il with the appropriation
bill or send it to conference. Unless
such a course rs pursued by the Sem
ate the possibility Of the House acting
on Cuba during this session is from
present indications, very remote.
Without the consent of the Commit
tee on Rules there is no other way in
which Cuban legislation can be brought
before the House !and inasmuch as
Speaker Reed controls the Committee
on Rules there is not the faintest pos
sibility that this committee will con-
sent TO any measure having for its OBJ
iect the recognition of Cuba's bellig
erency.
1t is said that should the Senate con-
sent TO add a clause to the diplomatic
and consular appropriation bill that
the opponents to the plan may delay
the action of the Senate for several
months, so that it might possibly be
next summer before the amended bill
could reach the House. However, it
appears at present to be the only hope
for legislation in behalf of Cuba, and
if possible the Senate will be induced
to act in the manner mentioned.