Washington Correspondence.-
Washington, August 12th. The Bell and Everett partisans are in a great glee over their recent celebration in this city, and they have a right to be, for it was a brilliant affair. How could it be otherwise, when every second man in the procession had a flambeau? And as to its being a bell meeting, deaf, indeed, should the individual be who was not made aware of that fact.
By the twanging
And the clanging,
And the jangling,
And the wrangling of the bells, bells, bells!
In the clamor and clangor of the bells.
Almost every one you met belonging to the Bell-Everett association of Washington, as well as the delegates form Alexandria and other places, were furnished with, and flourished a bell. You may imagine the effect of the blazes and the bells. One of the delegations was headed by a signal, made of a covered, bell-shaped ladies hoop, of extensive dimensions, illuminated. This was meant not only in its shape to symbolize Bell, but also from its usefulness to the softer sex to designate Mr. Everett as the ladies’ candidate…
…Speaking last evening with a retired Whig leader- one who was once the business manager of that party in the House of Representatives, and was a candidate for the Speakership on one occasion, he calmly reviewed the whole field…
..He said he had lately returned from a business visit to the West, and that the people there regard the Abolitionist’s as insane. The Southern ultras they knew and cared less about. They paid attention to their own section, and expressed themselves freely on the crisis, which they said was made by wrangling politicians and not by the people, and that the latter would reverse a good many of the judgments passed upon public affairs by these politicians in November next. The gentleman with whom I spoke had no political preference. When speaking of politics per se he expressed views similar to those advocated by Judge Douglas; but if a personal preference was to guide him, he probably would, as an old House mate on the Whig side, go for Bell. I give you this glimpse to show how inevitably the bone and sinew and the conservatism of the land will go for Douglas, Johnson and the Union….
So we have at last obtained Mr. Breckinridge’s acceptance of the Richmond nomination. After seven weeks elapsing since that nomination was made- after the country became clamorous to know if he would or could accept the unadulterated disunion platform, a brief letter is given to the public fully committing Hon. John O. Breckinridge to the purposes of the violent violators of the Democratic fraternity who met at Richmond as a disunion body. This letter is dated a month after that which conveyed to him the intelligence of his nomination, and is now unaccompanied by that letter. It was once the custom to print the communication of the officer of the convention instructed to inform the chosen candidates. Such communication is supposed to reflect the policy of the convention. Mr. Breckinridge acknowledges the receipt of the letter of Mr. Erwin, “President of the Richmond Convention,” but he does not-probably he dares not- publish it. The delay in the publication o fhis own shows that he is fearful of the result. The States suggests that his letter was only intended for circulation among the extremists, and was sent round among the leaders, but that Yancey insisted on its publication, as he desired to fully commit Breckinridge to the disunion movement…Louisiana.
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Later From Texas- The writer of the following letter is well known both in this city and at Indianola as a gentleman of veracity, and his statements can therefore be relied upon as correct:
St. Charles Hotel, 16th Aug., 1860.
Editors True Delta: On the night of the 13th, as a little boy, who is employed in the Courier office in Indianola, Texas, had been out that night cast-net-ing, was coming home about 10 o’clock, he discovered a fire in a house adjoining a livery stable, in which was stowed considerable hay. He immediately ran to the spot and put out the fire before it did any damage further than to consume some canvas in which it had first taken.
The next morning the citizens, thinking the fire must have been the work of an incendiary, from the place in which it had broken out, and a woman in town stating that she had seen a certain person come out from the house in which the fire originated only fifteen minutes before it occurred, they arrested said person, who said his name was King, said he was form Boston and had been two years, in Texas. But he was evidently from the Emerald Isle originally.
When asked where he was from, King said, San Antonia, Texas.
What was your occupation?
K- Stone mason.
Judge Rogers then took him by the hand saying, You lie now, certain for your hands are too soft.
K- I was not stone mason but stone quarrier, working near San Antonia
Judge R.- Your hands are too soft, but why are you not doing something now, and not loading?
K-I can’t get work, I have tried.
R- You lie again now, for labor is begging laborers and you can get 25 cents per hour for every hour you work on the T-head, and as much work as you can stand up to.
K- I have a sore hand.
The citizens here admitted that a hand was sore, but that K. was at least a vagrant and a suspicious character, and accordingly ordered him to be outside of the limits of Indianola by 4 o’clock that evening or hang. King (accordingly shipped on board the steamship Magnolia, where I that evening saw him doing service as a deck hand. Between Indianola and Galveston I pointed him out to a Mr. Miles, of Victoria, Texas, who said he thought he recognized hi m as one of three suspicious characters who left Galveston on the 5th of July last, after a house had been robbed the night before. King is about 19 or 20 years old, about 5 feet 10, slim and red headed, stoops considerably in the shoulders, and would not probably weigh more than 140. I did not see him after the ship landed at Galveston.
There was to be a meeting of the citizens on that evening at 7 o’clock, in Indianola, of the purpose of forming a Vigliance Committee to patrol the negroes and vagrants. Among those who I heard say they would take part were Gen. Wm. H. Woodward, Col. D. M. Stapp, Messrs. D. S. Crosland, …men of the town, men who have wives, children and property, and who do business in the city.
The writer also states that he was shown a letter from the directors of two of the New York Insurance offices to a leading citizen of Indianola, in which they stated that their offices could take no further risks in Texas.
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Kentucky Democratic State Convetion- The Cincinnati Enquirer of the 14th publishes in full the proceedings of the Kentucky Democratic State Convention, from which we make the following extracts.
Galt House, Louisville, Aug. 11…
-At ten o’clock the convention was called to order [the organization of the Convention was announced]
-Afternoon Session- The Platform and Resolutions-
…That this Convention cordially approve the platform adopted by the regular National Democratic Convention at Cincinnati and Baltimore, as the platform of the National Democratic party, …
…this good old Commonwealth for Stephen A. Douglas and Herchel V. Johnson, the regular nominees…
…a committee of ten, who shall carry the greeting of the Democracy of Kentucky to the Democracy of Virginia, in their Convention at Staunton on the 16th, and ask of the old Mother Commonwealth that she emulate the example of her gallant daughter…
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Arrest of A Notorious Character- Of the arrest of the man Medlock, before mentioned, the Mobile advertiser of Yesterday has the following:
Officer Whitney returned, as we learn, from Pensacola yesterday, whither he had gone in company with Mr. D. Williams, sheriff of Escambia county, as the custodian of the man W. R. Medlock, arrested in this city , as we are informed, two or three days ago upon an old charge of negro stealing. The offense with which Medlock, and others, still at large, is charged, is alleged to have been committed ayear or more ago in Florida, and despite the most diligent exertions, no trace of him could be found, and number of citizens of the neighborhood banded themselves together as “Regulators,” and offered a reward of two thousand dollars for his apprehension. Recently Medlock made his appearance in Mobile, and was recognized by Mr. J. S. Gonzales, who gave his description to officers Fuller and Whitney, who arrested him and consigned him to ht e guardhouse until something more positive could be ascertained. They telegraphed over to Pensacola that the prisoner was in custody and ready to be sent over for trail whenever a proper officer came to take him, and Mr. Williams arrived a day or two after for that purpose. On his arrival Medlock was recognized, but at first refused to go to Florida without a requisition-waiving this requirement, however, subsequently, and consenting to be taken over for trial. Accordingly, Whitney and Williams took him in charge and delivered him into the custody of the proper authorities of the State. Now we are informed , Gonzales claims the reward and all the credit of the arrest besides. It is stated now, we are told, that the same man Medlock killed a man named Henfield in 1838, was arrested and broke jail, and was re-arrested on the old charge.
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Horrible Murder- A Son and Sister Killed.- George Aldrich, a convict, who had just served out a term of five years in the Virginia penitentiary, for killing a man in Logan, left Richmond a few days since, and on arriving at Logan county, found that his family had moved across the river to Warfield, Lawrence county, Va. The Kanawha Republican says:
He followed them. He murdered his sister in the most shocking manner, literally cutting her to pieces, taking out her heart and hacking it to pieces, and then throwing the body into Sandy River. The body of his son, a lad of about thirteen years old, was found in a by-place, nearly eaten up by the hogs- but was readily identified by a remarkable scar, on one foot, which had been preserved by the shoe and stocking. The son was by a wife who had obtained a divorce. After the perpetration of these horrid deeds, the fiend, with his gun in hand, fled to the woods, saying that he intended to kill his father and mother and two other persons- and then the people might take him, burn him at the stake, or do what they pleased with him.
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A Drum Corps- Col. Schwarzwaelder, of the New York fifth regiment, has given one hundred dollars to the drum corps of his command, to enable them to challenge all the other drum corps of the Union. They are going on a drumming tour soon, a la Zouave.
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A Kansas Built Steamboat- The first steamboat ever built in Kansas was launched on the 30th ult., upon Kansas River. It is called the “Kansas Valley,” and is 90 feet long, 13 feet beam, with side wheels, and draws only one foot of water.
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A Secret For One Hundred Years- The treasurer of Amherst College has lately received from Mr. Daniel Sears, of Boston, a heretofore liberal benefactor of the college, a small and carefully sealed box, with the instruction that it is not to be opened for one hundred years, on the pain of a forfeiture of the gift which it contains…But let us be patient till 1960, and then we shall all know, says the Springfield Republican.
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The Earthquake in Kentucky- At Evansville …doors and windows rattled, and buildings jarred as if agitated by the moving of heavy goods on the same floor.
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A Steamer in Collision With A Whale- …the St. John steamer Eastern City was on her way from Boston to Portland, she ran upon a whale, knocking off her fore-foot, and causing a slight leak….A school of five whales were in sight, playing about, when suddenly one of them rose just forward of the bows, and was struck on the side, about two-thirds of the way back from the head, causing quite a shock to the vessel. The whale dove instantly, and not being seen again was supposed to be killed. It was a large whale, judged by those who saw it to be seventy-five feet long….
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A Telegraph Line Between the Mississippi and the Pacific. A contract will be made in September under the loan of the late session, for the construction of a line of electric telegraph between the Mississippi and the Pacific….California has promised a bonus of $100,000 to any company that first establish a continuous line of telegraphic communication between San Francisco and New York.
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This line will, it is thought, finally enable P. McD. Collins and his company to carry into effect their grand scheme of telegraphic communication between the United States and Russia…
Fourth Ward Douglas Club- The Fourth District goes for Douglas and Johnson…
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Seward and Greeley- It is alleged that the leading motive of Senator Seward in taking the stump for Lincoln is that he may be the premier of the new administration, and thus be in a position to demand the sacrifice of Greely for the part he took in the Chicago Convention in “slaughtering” the New York Senator.
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Murder and Lynching- The Augusta Dispatch learns that a negro boy who had killed a white man was burnt at the stake at Station No. 11, on the South-Western Railroad, on Friday last. Twelve persons took him form the Sheriff’s custody, giving bonds for his redelivery, after which they tried, sentenced and executed the murderer, returning his ashes to the officer.
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David Upton