The Sun. — 1867-01-07 (London, England)

OOO. Origin of the fire accidental.  said line of telegraph. Section 2. That no message shall be sent over the said line unless it shall be  stamped with a three cent postage stamp, and there  shall be a uniform rate for the transmission of mes sages, without regard to distance, of one-half a cent for each word, except for the odd word of any Ines_ __  Colorado is not to be famous alone for its gold mines, as both salt and coal have been discovered in the Territory. Both those articles are quite as valuable to the people of Colorado as their gold. The assistant superintendency of the Western railroad, lately made vacant by the promotion of Charles 0. Russell, has been filled by the appointment of Mr. J. B. Chapin, the veteran conductor, to the position. A new steamer of twenty-five tons, the " Aaron Kimball," has just been completed at Brookfield, to ply on the upper Chicopee river between the mills near the depot and the pond at the south part of the town, for the transportation of wood and lumber. She made her trial trip, of about twelve miles, to the satisfaction of a party of a hundred or more passengers. . The engine, of seven horse power, worked better than a good many larger ones, and the enterprise commences very auspiciously. The project of a steamer for this purpose was originated by Aaron Kimball, whose name the boat bears, and since his death has been resumed and carried forward to completion by Messrs. Hyde, Brewster, and Twichell.  sage there shall be no charge ; but no message shall -  be sent for a sum less than ten cents, and there shall be charged two cents for the delivery of each and every message, provided that the Government shall  be entitled to send and receive all its messages over  said line free of charge, and shall have priority in sending all messages. Section 3. That the sum of $50,000 is hereby appropriated, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act." According to intelligence from Vera Cruz, the Emperor Maximilian issued a proclamation, dated Orizaba, Dec. 1, announcing that the National Mexican Congress was about to be convoked to decide whether the Empire was to continue, and if so, to frame laws. The recent Union Pacific Railway excursion from Philadelphia to Fort Riley, Kansas, and back, was  accomplished in a single car, by means of broadflange wheels, covering the different gauges which  occur on the intermediate roads. The distance is  nearly 1,500 miles each way. President Johnson has transmitted to Congress a letter from the Czar, expressing his Majesty's thanks for the Congressional congratulations addressed to  Charles P. BOSSOI) , who died suddenly at New York on Sunday, December 9, of heart disease, was the president of the Boston Reporters' Association, and for many years connected with the press of that city, first on the Herald, and more recently with the Evening Commercial. He had travelled extensively in Europe, and writing from his observations abroad, and experience at home, had contributed extensively to agricultural papers. For three years past he had been engaged in the preparation of a statistical volume relative to the United States, which was nearly ready for publication. He was about fifty years of age. Charles Minot, the former superintendent of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and later of the New York and Erie, who died December 10, at his residence at Somerville, left a fortune of half a million as the result of his diligence and energy in business. He was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1828, and leaves no family. The Bartlett, James, and Ocean mills at Newburyport are to have new machinery from England, as it can be imported cheaper than it can be made in America. The people of Fall River are moving to secure a public library and reading room, and have $16,000 already subscribed. They took half a million of manufacturing stock in that city in a couple of days some time since. which i lrcoret, withas present Gilmore and Co. of Boston have just completed a $5OO n goldkeyfso r Aan d mouth.D H piece, isv e intended leader of the Bangor (Maine) band. Col. John Prescott of Candia, New Hampshire, committed suicide December 10, by a dose of strychnine. He was 50 years old, and one of the wealthiest and most prominent citizens of the town, having filled several official positions of public trust and responsibility. A. and P. Coburn of Skowhegan (Maine) own four townships of woodland, comprising 400,000 acres on the Kennebec river, in which they will employ this winter 860 men, and intend to cut 25,000,000 feet of lumber. Miss Ida Lewis, whose father keeps the Lime Rock Lighthouse at Newport, rescued three men in her lifeboat on Tuesday, December 11, from a perilous position during a high sea, in which they would have certainly gone down had it not been for the brave girl who saved them. Henry Betts of Norwalk (Connecticut) in 1810 proposed the railroad across the continent, and was thought mad. He lives to see his idea fast being realised and the great work of the century. Lieut. Governor Winchester, one of the United States commissioners to the Paris Exposition, left Dec. 11 for Europe. He will go first to Switzerland to close a contract for furnishing the Swiss army with the new Winchester rifle. PRESIDENT Jo lINSON'S