Late Northern News.
We continue our extracts from Northern papers of the 16th inst.:
State of Rhode Island, Executive Department, Providence, Nov. 10, 1862.
General: Allow me to tender you my sincere congratulations on your appointment to the command of the Army of the Potomac.
Your well known energy, skill, and patriotism will, I feel sure, restore confidence to a disheartened people, and lead them to expect active operations and the speedy success of our brave army in the suppression of treason and rebellion.
Rhode Island regards your appointment with unfeigned pride and pleasure.
Wm. Sprague.
To
Gen. Burnside, Commander in Chief, Army of the Potomac.
Your dispatch, of this date, is received, and I thank you for it. It is a great support to me in the assumption of so great a responsibility to know that I have your confidence and that of the
State of Rhode Island.
The sloop-of-war
Pawnee, (of ‘"
Pawnee war"’ memory,) has arrived at
Philadelphia to be refitted.
She left
Port Royal on the 3d inst. The information given by her officers to the
Philadelphia papers is as follows:
Preparations for a combined attack upon
Charleston and
Savannah were being gradually matured, the crews of the
Powhatan and other vessels being occasionally employed in taking soundings along the coast.
The weather off the coast of
South Carolina is of that unhealthy nature so productive of fevers.
The death of
Gen. Mitchell is deeply regretted by the officers and men of the entire military and naval forces about
Port Royal.
His funeral was the occasion of a heartfelt demonstration in testimony of his many virtues as a man and his decided ability as a commander.
Among other incidents of recent occurrence, it is stated that a boat's crew from one of the U. S. vessels blockading
Charleston came very near being captured by the rebels.
The men, numbering 24, were in the harbor taking soundings, as usual, and getting farther in than prudence would warrant, a Secesh steamer suddenly made her appearance, steaming directly for the boat, the occupants of which, perceiving their danger, immediately plied their oars with the utmost vigor.
After an exciting chase of a couple of miles the venturesome little band reached their ship in safety.
At the time of the capture of
Fernandina, Fla., the
Pawnee was the flag-ship of the squadron making the attack, after which she guarded the place for three months from incursions by the ‘"rebs."’ From thence she was ordered up
Stono Inlet towards
Charleston, and when the United States forces retreated from
James Island she assisted to cover the retreat.
The draft in Wisconsin--a Commissioner attacked and Houses Torn down.
The draft in
Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, which was to come off on Tuesday at
Port Washington, as has already been reported, was broken up by a mob of the citizens, and the
Commissioner,
William A. Pors, compelled to fly from the county.
The following are the particulars as the Milwaukee
News learns them from parties acquainted with the facts:
‘
On Tuesday
Mr. Pors and his assistants were approaching the
Court House preparatory to the discharge of their official duties under the order of the
Governor, when they were attacked by a promiscuous multitude of citizens.
Mr. Pors, after having been badly injured, succeeded in escaping from the hands of the excited populace, and fled to this city.
The crowd then waited upon the
Sheriff and compelled him to deliver up all the documents and machinery relating to the draft, which were summarily destroyed.
Vengeance was then visited upon those who had been prominent in counselling order and submission to the proceeding.
Yesterday, at 1 o'clock, Tomlin's mill had been torn down; the house of
Hon. A. M. Blair, lately State
Senator from that county, had been sacked;
Mr. Blair himself was badly injured;
a Mr. Ramsey, not the
Bank Comptroller, and a clergyman, were seriously hurt; the residence of
S. A. White,
Esq., had been gutted; the house of the
Commissioner had been torn down, and his furniture pitched into the streets; Lafayette Towsley's house had been attacked and badly damaged, and the
Masonic Hall was cleared out. In all, eight houses had been mobbed and injured, and at the date of last information, yesterday afternoon, the mob was threatening an attack upon
Blake's store
Mr. Pors is now in the vicinity of this city in the hands of his friends.
Last night the
Provost Marshal General of the
State,
W. D. McIndoe, arrived in the city, six hundred infantry being part of the Twenty-eighth regiment, were furnished with forty rounds of cartridges each, and, accompanied by the
Provost Marshal and
Lieut. Col. Whittaker, departed on the boat for the scene of the disturbance.
Hon. W. H. Ramsey, the State Bank Comptroller, whose residence is at
Port Washington, accompanied the party.
It was reported yesterday that the ‘ "Insurgenis"’ had planted cannon upon the pier at
Port Washington, anticipating the arrival of soldiery.--In view of this fact, it is understood that the
Provost Marshal, with the infantry, would land at Port Ulao, this side of
Port Washington, and enter the town in the rear before light this morning.
’
The Confederates iron-clad navy--Yankee information on the subject — What England is Doing about it.
The New York
Times has an article on the statements of
Mr. Cameron, the recently-returned
U. S. Minister to
Russia, about the Confederate iron clads building in
England.
It obtains its information from a gentleman just returned from
England.
It says:
‘
According to
Mr. Cameron, three immense iron steam rams, the most powerful ever constructed, are building for the rebels.
It is not certain that the statement is true.
Two are on the stocks at
Liverpool, in the hands of
James Laird, M. P., who built the pirate
Alabama, and is pushing them rapidly to completion.
The third is building, if anywhere, on the
Clyde, at
Glasgow.
Our informant has little knowledge of the Liverpool rams, their sixes, or how nearly finished they are at present.
His account relates especially to
Glasgow.
In the great ship-yard of that port three iron-clads are building.
One of them, the
Hector, just launched, is for the
British Government; another for
Denmark, both in the yard of
Messrs. Napier & Sons.
The third is a screw steamer, under contract by
Messrs George & James Thompson, of 3,500 tons, and 800 horse power, of a model so flat that she is calculated to draw but fifteen feet of water; built wholly of iron, her frame included; and with a plating twenty-two inches thick, of which four inches and a half are iron and the rest solid teak.
’
This vessel is said to be for some foreign Government not named, though if for any recognized Government there is no reason why there should be any mystery about her. But although no effort is made to hide the facts about any other vessel, little is generally known of this one, and information like that we give was obtained with difficulty.
A man-of-war is commonly named when her keel is laid.
This has no name, but is known only by her number in the yard.
Her frame is about half raised, and work is going on slowly.
The contract requires her to be completed in twenty months from last July.
If any vessel is now building for the rebels on the
Clyde it is this.
But it is quite obvious, from the rate at which work on her progresses, and from the period fixed by the contract, that she is not relied on for immediate service.--And concerning both this and the Liverpool rams, our Government is and has constantly been fully informed.
Whatever doubts there may be about this ironclad, there is none at all that other steamers for different service are bought and built for the rebels at
Glasgow.
The
Columbia, Adela, and
Leopard all sailed last summer from this pert, the
Columbia to
Hamburg for a cargo, the
Adela to
Liverpool, the
Leopard to
Cardiff.
The two former were captured endeavoring to run the blockade; the
Leopard got through.
The rebels are preparing, apparently, not to break the blockade this winter by force, but to evade it by vessels of unusual speed.
With this view they have bought and are fitting out steamers at
Glasgow, which port seems to share with
Liverpool the honor of being a rendezvous for pirates.
There is great activity in all the yards, especially in that of
Messrs. George and
James Thompson, above mentioned, in which six iron — but not ironclad — vessels are on the ways for construction or repair, all owned by rebels, or in rebel interest.--The
Lona,
Pearl, Eagle, and
Ruby were selected especially for the work of carrying arms and ammunition into blockaded rebel ports.
The lona was the first to attempt the voyage, and was sunk by collision six weeks ago. The other three, like the Iona, are long, narrow, swift, smooth-water, side-wheel steamers, built to run fifteen miles an hour on the
Clyde, and from 150 to 200 tons Burden.
The
Pearl was lying at
Queenstown, taking in powder, when the
City of Baltimore, on her last voyage out, touched at that port.
It is proposed to send her and the rest — all of them being unfit for an Atlantic voyage — by way of
Madeira to
Nassau, there to load, and thence to attempt the blockade.
There are immense stores at
Nassau waiting the opportunity to find entrance into rebel ports, and the rebel necessities are so great that they will leave no means untried to obtain them.
Besides these there are steamers of another class — the
Thistle, Giraffe, and
Columbia, three screws, built for sea voyages — destined for similar service, but of much larger tonnage.
The Giraffe cost £26,000, the
Thistle £12,000, and the seven together not less than £100,000.
It appears from an examination of their Custom-House register that all, except the
Giraffe, are owned in the name of
George Wigg, a Liverpool merchant, active in the
rebel cause, and were bought by
Henry Lafone, agent.
Both
Wigg and Lafone have been in
Glasgow on business connected with the vessels.
Messrs Begby & Co., of
London, who were concerned in fitting out the
Gladiator, of recent notoriety, have also three iron steamers, of 500 and 600 tons, building on the
Clyde, probably intended to run the blockade.
From the fact that
Captain Reasons who went to
Glasgow to take charge of the
Columbia, was transferred to the superintendence of the whole rebel fleet, it is supposed that this firm may also be interested in the
Columbia.--The names of
Messrs. Begby & Co., of
George Wigg, of
Henry Lafone, of George and James Thompson, and especially of
James Laird, M. P., and rebel merchants, agents, and ship builders, deserve to be faithfully remembered by loyal
Americans till a possible day of future reckoning.
But it is the Liverpool Southern Association that the rebels most largely owe whatever of credit and resources they possess in
England.
Liverpool is bitterly and almost unanimously rebel in its sympathies, and throughout
Great Britain this pestilent seaport has exerted a wide and earnest influence against us. We are not likely to forget it.
A fact concerning the
Alabama deserves to be stated.
The American Consul at
Liverpool seems to have made every effort to persuade the
British authorities to prevent her from leaving port on a cruise which all men knew was to be piratical.--The Government at last consented to interfere, and the day after the
Alabama had called issued an order restraining her from going to sea.
Under date of November 1st,
Archbishop Hughes has written a letter to
Secretary Seward.
He reiterates the stern views he has always held of the necessities of the times, and in the course of his letter speaks with a warning voice of the dangers of foreign intervention, cautioning the
Government to be prepared for startling emergencies.
He says:
‘
It is just one year and eight days since it was desired, by a telegraphic communication, that I should visit the city of
Washington on public business.
I obeyed the summons.
I spoke my mind freely.
It was thought that, in the perils of the nation at that time, I could be useful in promoting the interests of the commonwealth and of humanity if I would consent to go to
Europe and exercise whatever little influence I might possess in preventing
France and
England from intermeddling in our sad quarrel.
It has, no doubt, escaped your memory that during the fourteen or fifteen hours which I spent in
Washington, I declined the acceptance of what would be to persons not of my rank a great honor.
I did not absolutely refuse before deciding, but I wished to consult one or two persons very near and dear to me in New York.
Finally, and at the very last hour, there was a word uttered to me, not by any special member of the
Cabinet to which you belong, but by the authority which it possesses, to the effect that my acting as had been suggested was a personal request, and would be considered as a personal favor.
In three minutes I decided that, without consulting anybody, I should embark as a volunteer to accomplish what might be possible on the other side of the
Atlantic in favor of the country to which I belong.
’
What occurred on the other side, I think it would be at present improper for me to make public.
I am not certain that any word, or act, or influence of mine has had the slightest effect in preventing either
England or
France from plunging into the unhappy divisions that have threatened the
Union of these once prosperous States.
On the other hand, I may say that no day — no hour, even — was spent in
Europe in which I did not, according to opportunity, labor for peace between
Europe and
America.
So far that peace has not been disturbed.
But let America be prepared.
There is no love for the United States on the other side of the water. Generally speaking,
on the other side of the Atlantic the United States are ignored, if not despised treated In conversation in the same contemptuous language as we might employ towards the inhabitants of the
Sandwich Islands, or
Washington Territory, or Vancouver's Island or the settlement of the
Red River, or of the
Hudson's Bay Territory.
This may be considered very unpolished, almost unchristian, language proceeding from the pen of a Catholic
Archbishop.
But, my dear Governor, it is unquestionably true, and I am sorry that it is so. If you in
Washington are not able to defend yourselves in case of need, I do not see where, or from what source, you can expect friendship or protection.
Since my return I made a kind of familiar address to my people, but not for them exclusively, in St.Patrick's Cathedral.
Some have called it not a sermon, but a discourse, and even a war blast, in favor of blood spilling.
Nothing of that kind could be warranted by a knowledge of my natural temperament or of my ecclesiastical training.
From the slight correspondence between us, you can bear me witness that I have pleaded in every direction for the preservation of peace, so long as the slightest hope for its preservation remained.
When all hope of this kind had passed away
I was for a vigorous prosecution of our melancholy war so that one side or the other may find itself in the ascendancy.
The
Bishop closes his letter by urging a vigorous prosecution of the war, considering the most humane battle to be that which ends the strife.
Miscellaneous.
Of the eighty-eight counties in
Ohio, one fourth escaped the draft entirely.
It is stated that fully one-half of the men drafted have volunteered in the three years service.
Gen. Fremont, it is said, will be assigned to the command of the defence of
Washington.
Generals Wadsworth and
Heintzelman will both take the field in a very short time.
The
Rossin House, the largest hotel in
Canada, was burned on the 14th instant.
Several lives were lost, but the guests in the hotel were saved.
The loss was very heavy.
The building was insured for $88,000.
A telegram from
St. Paul says the
Mississippi is closed by ice above
La Crosse, Wisconsin.
