WASHINGTON. s Cundurango a Job- Fraud? he Fur-Seal Flurry—Cuba and Apache Wars, .'reswell’s Eeoomendations —The New Party. From Our Special Correspondent. WASUINGTON, Dec. 2. One of the leading physicians here, Dr. Al exander \V. P. Garnett, has just published a broadside against the new specific for cancer, cundnrango. Ho says that two-thirds of tho persons treated in this city with the enndu raugo, and reported as evidences of its virtue, have died; and that the remaining two—Mrs. Mathews, mother of the Vice President, and Mrs. Gorham, wife of the Secretary of the Senate—are neither of them curcd. As to copies of the report on the other cases, which the State Department has col lected from different portions.of the country, —furnishing itself specimens of tho cundu rango for experimentation,—these have been refused to Dr. Garnett and a local committee of physicians, who wish to make replies to their patients in other cities, who had solic ited a knowledge of the virtues ot the drug. Dr. Garnett then makes tho broad assertion that persons in the State Department, in col lusion with leading physicians here, con ceived the notion of introducing this medi cine, giving it a wholesale pull* through a State Department circular letter, and then importing quantities of the drug to be sold by the cnudunmgo ring” only. The individual sent out as au agent for the of the drug. Garnett says, •went ut :he expense of the United Stales Govem nent: and it is now alleged that the State i »epartmeiit will not permit the evidence on mud to he made public, because it is not avorable to the new treatment. Dr. Garnett says that a full scientific •hemical analysis of cundnrango tended to lemonstiatc that tho drug, if not absolute y inert, possessed no very active therapeuti al principle v hatever. I mention this mat er because "Washington is now overrun with anccr-invalids, whom the physiciaus hav ug the drug in-charge profess to prefer to reat upon the spot. If this medicine is a mere nostrum without irtne, it is an outrage ou the poor people •ho are using it to put them to the expense f coming in winter to this expensive city, mav add that the physician most promi ently mentioned in connection with this ostrnm has retired from tho peripatetic rofession of medicine, and become a druggist u this one article. These irregularities, con :arv to the medical code, should not operate The prejudice of tens r ''ousands ot wom a suffering the agr disease for hicli tbereexists no ownpharma >p!a>. It would r pun nature that should 2 without rein' mo bal unic part o f this uk is druv *'ut ic aimer ug-dec cable'’ I’ourr! .ary of the v wonderfully •s feat accom j waters of Co .oixious for. and .ityupon the ques erference in the har jer ports of Cuba, par- Spanish volunteers and A take our merchant ves of-war to possess no other oarks of what are called the ,s. There is certainly more of .gon tho Cuban matter now in .on. in the different parts of the ve Government and through Con chan I have ever noticed before. t-iC strife on that island is unnecessarily tel, unnecessarily prolonged, and it ap ars to be more atrocious on the side of the aniards daily. Robeson has of late taken a ad deal more characteramougst observers in rshington than he formerly had. He is a mocratic sort of chap, always available d frank speaking, audit would appear that does not mean to give Admiral Porter the io le of his former absolute control over the vy. i:uW OVER THE JT'R-SEAL IM.E«. tiuongsT the quarrels to bo fought over un his winter is tho interminable one mt the lease of the Alaska seal-fisheries. year an associationof young gentlemen aiued from the government, under the vision of an act of Congress passed in ir favor, the right to take all tho seals, to a certain limitation, from tho islands ;t. George and St. Paul, —paying so much annum for the lease. The most promi it person in this company is General ler, who lost an eye in one of Grant’s ipaigns, and was afterward Collector of Port of San Francisco. The Eastern ut is a Mr. Hutchinson, one of the sing familv of Hutchinson Brothers, of New rland/and a shrewd, amiable, and dexter lawyer and uegocUinte. I am told that ‘U General Rousseau was seut up to m and the Russian waters, to take pos iou ci whatever he found there, after the sian evacuation, he gave tho hint to eof his friends, who quietly repaired •land, by different routes, met him at Francisco, and arrived at Sitka with money in. hand to make purchases, chinson, for the lirm of Cole, Miller, chinsou A Co., instantly concluded a ain for the store-houses, seal-gear, and vessels which constituted a part of the chise of tbo Russlau-American pauy; and, with this purchase, 3 fell to him, besides, some sort of au tin ted lease of the fur-seal islands them •s. Now, on the same expedition, certain Francisco capitalists had ensconced tselvcs, chief of whom were the proprie of the ice-monopoly of San Francisco— ce used at that time on our Pacific coast ng exclusively from one spot in Russian *ica. As the ice people and their camp vers were generally Hebrews, and dis l to look twice at their money before spent it, they lost the only object worth ring there—possession of the fur-seal hisesaud equipments. Of course, two es were instantly formed—the Ins and •nts —and agents were seut to Washing *ho deport ed themselves as agents gen do here, acting up to their prettiest. -*as soon apparent that Hutchinson had genius than his opponents, in diplo as well as business; and, although tary Bontwcll, acting that pecu riginal obstinacy for vlncii he js noted, uis influence against the Miller and 'iison crowd, vet Congress, after inves m in committee, umiesitatinglj' con b -i.be original patentees. Under the this act, Mr. Bontwell was compelled ieef ea e Miller *.V. Co., which he did Zad grace. You know very well how squabbles over spoils are conducted: :mous letters are written to newspapers •views: lawyers get in with organs of ace and public meu; pamphlets arc put full of affidavits from -people far s Knmschatka; and, if the sorc jarfy do not succeed In ousting their uts, they generally expect to he bought order to’ have the quarrel stopped, ’ot-tins case, and the utter impossibil coxnputing the right or wrong of it, Ihat the National Congress, meeting on )pe of the Atlantic Ocean, is undertak do too much when it either gives out •iuds contracts to this or that party for t monopolies, which can never be understood away from the place of ocation, TWO SENATORS. i Sherman is hero, tolerably confident re-electieu. lie might have been i readily had anybody possessed the or The time to take up the contest t him. Sis rotes only.’were required ennrated from the Kemiblicau side to his defeat: but, as Jr was probable Sherman could. secure as many •rats as tbe coalition against could secure .Republican, and he contest, therefore, seemed olve a great deal of money and some inuUies for the State Prison, every jacked out. General Garlield had his .mm law business, and so had Sccre ox; and the latter, I believe, made the sthat he could Hot afford to go to the 1 States Senate and take the salary at llo that office. Thus, the old jobbers ck every time: nobody is in favor of but. somehow or other, they get the attire. iur George Vickers, of Maryland, goes Ike Senate on the qth of March, IS7J; 5 there is some son of hereditary rule rylaud, that the Kastern Shore must cry alternate Senator, about a dozen :ril'able persons from the hanks of the noke. the Pnngateagno, IheManokiu, he Appoquummuk expect to succeed 'nil- HKMOCRATS WHO SKI.I. OCT, Democratic xiarty.is showing how per dead it is by the uirncr.Uy of making iug out of its ruins. 1 have seen about en Democratic members of Comrrcss aud they all look upon any new party ticn with that sort of apprehension in old poorhouse vagrant does wheu ecin to suggest any new proposition of v-reform. Many of these Democrats 0 break up their grog-caucuses at home, ich they now pull the strings by a sort rtoniatic genius, while any change result in their replacement by better under the new coalition, i his makes stand off. As I have told you al number of these Democrats have 1 the lime taking things, gifts, sine st Others, &c.. from this Republican f c -ration, just as the Republicans in (jik cit v divided tho pickings ru some with 'Tammany Hall. The way to h such is to get up J« t be r ‘I 1 1 ,Inc 1 nct voumr, ardent, oratorical fellows, favoring the new start, and, during Congress, accomplish —the revolution of the district behind them. Thus two purposes will bo served. The old Demo cratic parts* will dio in the absence of its hereditary pall-bearers, and there will be no chance of seeing the same peddling faces back here in Congress under tho better aus pices. VINCENT COLTER. The Government policy, as laid out by the Quaker and Colyer Commission, for the management of tho Indiaus, has proved to be both unpopular and unwise. In thoEast, orSicnx country, the tribes arc all playing ball, running horse-races, and fattening at the public crib—making no movement what ever toward cither Christianity or self-sup port, Down in the Apache country there is terror day and night,and some of our bright estyoung officers share the sam e fate of the settlers there. Is it not a picture of disor ganization to see a travelling artist, dreamer and theorist, like Vincent Colyer, how ever sincere, turning back troops, in timidating the Generals who com mand tnem, and giving not even contemptuous attention to the Governors of the Districts and Territories ho visits. Per haps it is also anomalous to see the irovcrn incnt resigning its function of ruling its wards, and delegating its own work away to religious bodice, which, believing in peace at fill hazards, in turn command the armies of the United States. First, we set a soldier to watch the Indian; then, we set a Quaker to direct the soldier; then, we get an artist to study lines of beauty in the Quaker, and the pyramid is complete. This is sublime, but it is not administration. It is the uplifted um brella of Peter Cooper raised to keep off u shower of Cochise’s spears. Tho latest investigations and analyses show that the supposed tin ore of Ogden, Utah, is merely gneiss, or granitic rock, oc curring, not in veins, but m masses aud in open quarries, on tho side of a metamorphic mountain. This rock contains a little mag netic iron ore, hornblende, feldspar, quartz, iron pyrites, aud brown garnet. This is thought to be final, for the present, on the question of tin in the Rocky Mountains. CTIESWELL’S KXI’HKXMENTS. Not content with reviving the issue of the franking privilege in his next report, the Postmaster General is now about to embar rass it by also recommending postal savings banks. It will be pretty hard to make it appear how a savings bank has anything to do with the Post Ofiice. Tho business of money-order transmission is legitimately a part of a well-directed postal system; but, until we have a reform in she whole method of appointing Postmasters, it is doubtful if the country will recommend that each of these chaps be made a banker, in his own right, over the accumulations of’the poor people round about. Imagine Chorpeuning, lor example, as a Postmaster aud a savings hanker,—to both of which positions ho is eligible under the present system, and. in deed, apt to ho a probable candidate. Mr. Creswcll has also carried his reform propen sities down to the rather little game of de barring letter-carriers from their annual pre sentation of a little card, which may or may not he reciprocated bj* citizens with a boun ty to buy the poor chaps another pair of shoes. If some of these Cabinet officers, instead of bringmgtheir great intellects to tbe refor mation of snch pretty lit tie customs as these. —which make the country all the more jovial and rob nobody,—would come down upon the system of taxing clerks from 5 to 10 per cent on their salaries for elections, and thus form ing, from tho clerical staff, an annual cor ruption fund to saddle au incompetent ad ministration upon their age, they might get more credit, and also accompUsli one thing at a time. GOOD TIMES COMING, AVc are on the eve of better times. "When ■we see a jury in New York not only refuse to give verdicts to Jay Gould and Flak, but ab solutely standing in their places to expose efforts made to bribe them; when we see old Connolly, like Fagin in jail, muttering over the refrain that he is “only a very old man.” and William Sikes Tweed preparing to quit “Lamnun”; when tho truth is coming out about men of high connections, like Clarence Seward, who has been de scribed by Fisk as one of those lawyers who lap up Erie Railroad money “as kittens do milk;” when the Americas Club falls into the hands of the Sheriff, and Tweed’s yacht runs up the white flag instead of the black: when not only the greater cities, but their suburban villages, begin to investigate how money Hies: 1 say, these things are signs already of the Hew party which is here, but of wnieh the old politi cians say that it will soon blow over,” and then, what are we going to do about it»” on xismas The New Y*ork says that my inability to see anything wrong in General Sherman taking Fred Grant to Europe arises from my ignorance of a regulation restraining subal terns from securing leaves of absence. Then the point should have been inade on this is sue originally. Cannot the General of the American army detail a Lieutcnantto accom pany him anywhere He ought to know. The New York Standard asks where I got the phrase “copper,” used as a verb. Such are the critics of “the great dailies,” who call a word a phrase. However, I heard it at John Chamberlin’s, Long Branch, where the editor of tho Standard had the honor to-in troduee me. To copper means to reverse Tour bet already made. Copper, substantial ly used, is an ingredient ot brass, of which there is no deficiency in any New York paper. Gatxi* ILLINOIS. I>esirnciirc Fire at JL.incola—Treasury Statement* Special Despatch to the Chicago Trihnne. SrniNcm:Li>, Dec. 7.—There was a large and destructive fire at Lincoln, on the Chicago A St. Louis Railroad, last night, the .loss being reported at $20,000. The Mayor of that city telegraphed here for the assistance of our Fire Department, which was promptly granted, but before the engines could be sent a telegram was received countermanding the request, on account of there being no water in Lincoln to supply the engines. The following table shows the receipts and ex penditures through our State Treasury, during the last month: KF.crirrs. Revenue funds State debts School Town ami city interest. Canal i edemptiun Total, nxi’i-NmifULs. Revenue funds State debt School Interest Canal redemption Illinois Central Railroad.... Township and city interest. Total expenditures. LABOR AND CAPITAL. Wendell Phillips’ Lecture in New Fork City* New York. Dec. C.—'Wendell Phillips lectured this evening before a large and respectable au dience, in Steinway Hall, on the labor movement. He lirst expressed his approval of the funeral parade, next Sunclaj*, in honor of the Paris Com munists, and predicted that the leaders of the Commune will yet be elevated to the respect of mankind, and then proceeded with his lecture. He did not intend to propose a panacea for poverty or a hope for the millen nium where there will he no poor. There would always bo shift less men, and those who lived beyond their means. Labor was not antagonistic to capital, but the trades’ unions were right in using the only weapons within their reach. The English trades* unions would bo right if they bankrupted half the realm to make capitalists look down and say, What is the matter i With their election of ofliccrs by ballot, they arc educating England for a republic that will arise when tbe semblance ot monarchy falls. But strikes were a waste of capital and labor, and the American artisan is dillercntly situated; for with Ida vote he can con centrate the thought of yu.occ.ooo on him and make scholars and newspapers his vassals. Mr. Phillips condemned the great monopolies, especially in railways, and said that if Tweed had exhausted the patience of New York by his taxes, the shadow of the little Unger of the Dele ware and Lackawanna Railroad was heavier on them than Tweed's loins. He recommended a political organization to hold the balance of pailv, and spoke favorably of the Japanese custom, by which u man’s land reverts to the .stale after his death. He would tax wealth heavily, and when mcoijiorating capital, make labor its partner. He advised battling with mon ied corporations which rivet {the chains of labor, and said Hint if corporations were essential to fa cility and cheapness of production, and states man cannot devise a plan to reconcile them with each other, then it is useless to send men to Congress, when one man can record the edicts of the Pennsylvania Central. MARYLAND. Destructive Fire at Hagerstown Tlic Episcopal Church mid Court House IS timed—Several Selves Lost. Hagerstown, Md., Dec. 7. i o’olock a. m Last evening, at lo o'clock, a lire broke out in the business bouse of Rolling Burbanks, agricul tural implement dealers. located on Antictam street, opposite the Baltimore Ohio Railroad depot, and rapidly spread to the adjacent build ings. The Kpiscopaichurch and the Court n o n«u were burned to tho ground. All the public records were saved. Several lives were lost by tho falling of tho Court House dome, and a number of persons were severely injured. The lire i*still raging, with heavy winds from tho southeast. Origin of the lire is unknown. The Court House was not insured. Hagerstown, Md.. Dec. 7.—Tho lire is bow to tnllv extinguished. Tho losses arc estimated to exceed *CO.COO, on which there is a partial insu rance. Itis fcaredi that Shank, of Simthbury, and Henrv Chester, of Hagerstown, were fatally injured. Irohn Wise and several others were seriously hurt by the falling of the cupola. Oae of the bodies buried in the nuns has been rccog niyed n* Hint of J. FrCVdCnng, ll limn 111. Hag rust won, Md., Dee. 7.—The by the lire last night is Sso.oco. insurance, su,ww. SOUTH CAROLINA. Rcverdy JobuNon on the Kn-Klux Trials •••Roivm i Chances for n Scat In Con- grcsH. Charleston, S. C.. Dec. c.—ln tnc Ku-Klnx trials, to-day, Rcverdy Johnson argued that Congress could give the Federal Courts no rigut to try violations of Stato laws, and showed that the indictment put tho prisoners in jeopardy twice, viz.: by an act of Congress, aud the laws of the State. It is stated that Congressman Delargc, of this Male, intends to resign in February, in favor of ins contestant, C. Bowen. THE NORTHWEST. IOWA. lowa farmers sowed a larger number of acres to winter wheat, last fall, than ever before. —Deer are travelling southwesterly through' Northwestern lowa, in large numbers. —A man at Fontanello has hired a fiddler for six months, at *25 per month, to play for his’ amusement daily. —Fiye hundred and forty-three applicants for office have engaged board at DcaMoines. —The establishment of a large reaper manu factory is on foot at Cedar Rapids, with a capital Of $209,000. —John Buff—one of lowa’s pioneers—died near near Kossuth, on Wednesday of last week, in his SSthycar. —Last Saturday night a freight car on the Bur lington, Cedar Rapids Minnesota Railroad loaded with SIO.OCO worth of furniture, was de stroyed by fire, near West Liberty. —The Burlington Jlmck~Eyc has been converted into a joint stock concern, under the name of tho Sairk-Eyc Printing Company, with Dr. Beards ley as President and Mr. Edwards as Vice Presi dent. Tho Pcshtigo Company have fourteen lumber camps built and In operation in tho woods, and intend to have twenty-five in all. —Tho Escanaba Tnhinie says that the iron shin ments of that port- for the present season, includ ore and pig iron, will amount to 500,000 tons. —Thomas McCann,an emxfioye on the Chicago Northwestern Railway, wasjkilled nearPeahtigo, on the 3d inst., while attempting to get on the en gine of a construction-train. —Robert Hunter, of Jefferson, has raised, this season, over 8,000 pounds of excellent tobacco. Tho oldest man in Chirk County is a negrtf, named Merriwether, aged 105. —Scott Thomas, of North Madison, employed on the Jeffersonville, Madison Indianapolis Rail road, had his back broken near Columbus last Saturday while attempting to couple some cars." —Daniel Balliard, a farmer, living near Mou* roevillc, about 50 years of age, was killed on the sth inst., by a pistol shot. A man named John Kline has been arrested upon suspicion of com mitting tho murder. Saginaw has got a veritable ghost, who Is vouched for by Judge Sutherland, the only Dem ocratic member ot Congress from Michigan. —The shipments of fruit from St. Joseph for 1871 were as follows: Peaches, 150,000 bushels; strawberries, 20,870 bushels; blackberries, 24,087 bushels; raspberries, 11,580 bushels; apples, 50,000 barrels; pears, 45,000 baskets. Total value, $010,155. —Nathaniel F. Hodges, of Ovid, 45 years old, and recently divorced from his wife, was, last week, arrested on complaint of Varnura Worden, of Victor, charging him with the abduction of his daughter, Laura Worden, aged 14 years. —Evart, one of the new towns near tho present terminus of tho Flint Pore Marquette Railway, 70 miles west of East Saginaw, and on tho west bank of the Muskegon River, was platted last June, since which time over 05 substantial build ings, beside numerous shanties, have been erected. —A Michigan correspondent writes: “Wo bo* lieve an actual computation of tbo number of tho old clothes sent to each male sufferer by the forest fires in Michigan would give him 200 pairs of old pants and 100 old boots per cajrfta —Mr. William Richards, of Union Plains, Shia wassee County, was carrying corn in a basket up stairs, November 21, when he fell backward, and so injured his head and neck that he died a few days after. —The Hon. George H. Sanford, who died re cently at Utica, N. Y., had extensive business in terests in the Saginaw Valley, The engine-house of the Winona A St. Peter Railroad, and tho elevator, at Kasson, were de stroyed by fire on the 3d Inst. —Private Robert S. McMurrry, of Company G, Twentieth Infantry, deserted from Fort Ripley on the 24th of November, and was arrested a Ed wards’tie-camp, near Swan River, the next day, and is now in durance, awaiting trial by court martial. —A boy of 10 years of age, weighing 12G pounds, is living in tho town of Racine, Mower County, near High Forest. —Mr. S. Winston, a railroad contractor at Erainard, was attacked by a lot of Swedish em ployes, who demanded pay for their labor, or hanging would be the result. Mr. Winston was finally rescued by his friends without injury to himself, and with the result of several broken heads among the Swedes. —The St. Paul School Board has instructed tho Superintendent to admonish the teachers of the public schools not in any way to interfere with the religion of children attending school, and not at any time, either within or out of school hours, to carry on in the public school buildings any religious instruction whatever; and directed him to take stops that will prevent any school building from being used at any time for Sunday School or any other purpose than the secular education ol tho children. The Taylor’s Falla Jtcportcr confirms the statement that Caleb Cushing has offered for sale his ownership of the water-power there; and that paper urges the Common Council to de vise some means for encouraging manufactories tkerc. There is great scarcity of hay in Northern Kansas. —Another vein ol bituminous coal has been struck in West Kansas City. —General J. L. McDowell, tho Superintendent of the Kansas State Fair, has been presented with a gold-headed cane by the police force of Leaven worth. —Tho amount of improvements in Saline this year will exceed SIOO,OOO. —A lire broke out in tho Medical Director’s De partment, at Fort Leavenworth, on the Ist inst., which destroyed about SIOO worth of property. —Tho country around Independence is rich m coal, and is now being successfully mined. —The Cowley County Censor says that tho dead body of a man was foundlately seventy-five miles west of Oxford. The man had apparently been killed and scalped. It is believed that the murdered man was Mr. Swope, of Summer County. Mr. S., though an old hunter, was an educated man; had served under Colonel Hous ton, in the Texas Avar, as a Xacutenant; fought under General Taylor in Mexico faring the years of "47 and *4B, and was wounded several times. —The preliminary examination of Mrs. Ruth, on the charge of being accessory before the fact to tho murder of her late husband, was commenced at Lawrence on Friday last. The new testimony shows that She had posted a great many letters during the Medlicott trial. Sheriff Walker testified that Mrs. Ruth had made several attempts to get pos session of the “pretty baby’’letters, by threats and by indirect offers of money; also, that ho had heard’hcr threaten the County Attorney and oth ers during the trial at Garnet. Mrs. Ruth was present dming the examination of all tho wit nesses. She was dressed in deep mourning, wore a long veil, and was accompanied by her son Belmont, and by the little dog Guess,” who has been her constant companion. She betrayed some uneasiness during Mr. Walker’s examina tion, but otherwise appeared cool and uncon cerned. $33,545.3) 74,706.9) 105,738.67 15,113 S5 3V..02L31 $712,131.07 2o ‘).oO>t.L 44,936.10 900,423.70 54,5Gt93 105,000.00 212,475.55 431,896.81 -$2,001,807.37 The new Kansas filff'/flciacpromises to be a success at the outset. Dr. C. O. Clause, the Superintendent of the State Insane Asylum, has resigned, and Dr. C. I*. Lee has been appointed In his place. The editor of the Neosho Jlemlliijht apol ogizes for the appearance of hia paper by saying that two of hia employes had gone to the Mis sion, and another was on a drunk, —the three leaving him all alone to do the work. A few days ago, 'William Watkins, son of Gen eral N. W. Watkins, was shot through she arm by some party unknown, on the road near Morlcy, —A little child of Joseph. Briscoe, living near UaiTisonvlUe, fell into forty-live feet deep and containing only two feet of water, a short time since. No bones were broken, and the child will recover. —Mr. William K. Noyes, who has long held the position of Mail Agent on tho Kansas City, St. Joseph Council Bluffs Hoad, died very sudden ly, of Asthma, at Kansas City, on the yd inst. —The people about Waldron are in. a great state of excitement over mad dogs. Several persons have been bitten, us well as a large number of cows and hogs. —A company of prominent merchants of St. Louis, have organised, with a capital of SOOO,OOO. to orcct a new Chamber of Commerce building, which is to cover an entire square bounded by Third, Fourth, Chestnut, and Pine streets. —George Kennedy, of the firm of Logan Ken nedy, railroad contractors, died suddenly at his home in Syracuse, on the 20th ult. Tim FAR WEST. —The Abllfao (Kan.) Chronicle has been in formed by Mr. Patiick Hand, who has just re turned from a trip up the Solomon Valley to the Colorado and Nebraska line, tbat the new set tlers have severely suffered from tho cold and storms. Mr. Hand says that the fall immigration into tho Solomon Valley is unprecedented. Many families arrived just before tho late storm, and the suffering among them is terrible. Hav ing no houses, they are compelled to live in their “moving wagons;'' and the suffering among the women and children, particularly, is very severe. To add to tho hardship of the situation, the peo ple arc almost entirely destitute of food,—many of them having scarcely tasted a mouthful of bread since reaching the valley. They arc trying to subsist mainly upon such game as they may be able to secure. This situation of affairs exists from Mitchell County northward and northwest' ward, up both branches of the river. —The District Court of Washington Territory THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SATtTRDAf, 9, 187 L WISCONSIN. INDIANA. MICHIGAN. MINNESOTA. KANSAS. MISSOURI. Las decided the land-claim case which Involved the title to tbpKolama town site. It has been decided in favor of tho Northern Pacific Railroad Company. All the trains on the Control Pacific aro now detained by snow. Commissioners have been appointed to ex amine the flrsteectlonof the Oregon Central Rail road, tho completion ot which will be within t wo weeks. One thousand acres, in one field, are to be planted in cottdn in Kem County, Cal., next spring. Successful experiments have already been made in the same vicinity in cotton-raising. —Tho Yreka (Cal.) Union is responsible for a story that tbe railroad surveying party found In the mountains north of that town, a young forest of wild plum trees, on which there were estimated to be 5,000 bushels of plums. —Tho Plaeerville JiejmhUtuu of tbe 23d nit., has the following: “A veritable horned horse, bitched in front of our office on Monday, attracted groat attention. There was no other peculiarity about tho animal, but there was no mistaking tbe horns; they grew out from the lower side of the oar, and were abou; two inches-long, resembling very much tho horns of a young goat.” -Date-palms aro growing in Santa Clara, Cali fornia, suid have not been seriously injured by tbe frosts of two winters. —General Sheridan has issued tho following or der, dated Chicago, December 1: “As the com munications of Camp Supply, Indian Territory, are by way of Forts Dodge and Hayes, that post —■with tho military duties and questions relating thereto—is for the present, with the approbation of the Secretary of War, placed under control of the Commanding General of tho Department of the Missouri.” MISCELLANEOUS. A woman-lecturer opposes tho co-education of tho sexes because “It is not safe to hold flro to flax.” —The Belgian Government has placed $4,000 at tho disposal of the Belgian Legation at Washing ton, to meet the wants of the Belgians who hare suffered by tbe late disasters in America, especi ally the Belgian colony In Wisconsin. —A severe storm at Thibodeaux, La., blew down a house, killing two men and seriously in juring two others. A little boy was caught in tho air and lauded three hundred yards away, where he fell, uninjured. Upon alighting ho oxcbilm cd, I tcli you I had a sweet ride.” —A New York hotel keex>s a pew in a fashion able eburoh for the use of its guests. —A Frenchwoman of spirit, who has been the victim of “interviews,” writes that in America there are two kinds of mosquitoes, that which prevents you from slceplngat night —la bclc enjin —aud that which troubles your repose at all hours, day as well as night. This last mosquito is tho reporter. To my miud, and I mean no offence to tho liberty of the press, tho second is infinitely more disagreeable than tho first.” —ln the window of a Broadway (Now York) variety store there is to bo seen a toy called the “mechanical milking-cow.” It- can yield more milk than any live cow that ever was, seeing that through a hatchway in tho spinal ridge the hollow body of tho bovine fraud cau bo supplied with milk a discretion. —lt is said that more opium is now consumed In the United States than ever before. Daring the six mouths which ended with September last 32.350 pounds were imported at San Francisco alone, paying $191, 100 duty, above one-third more than was paid during the corresponding period of IS7O. It would appear that not only is the con sumption of opium among our Chinese residents increasing, but that Americans also use more of the drug than ever before. —Great Britain has taken formal possession of tho diamond country in South Africa. It had twice before rejected it. Now, however, that the country is found to bo a mine of precious stones, the British Government has discovered that tho Brit'sh diggers need protection against tho en croachment of the Boors. With this view, a Magistrate has assumed legal control over-whites and natives, the Qulygas have been recognizedjas subjects of the Queen, and tho Boers have, in the most gentle manner, been ordered back within their own territories. —The Coast Survey, since its establishment, has surveyed an area of a?, 000 miles—and, when creeks, inlets, etc., are included, 50.000 miles; of roads, 35,000 miles. Two hundred thousand miles have been run in taking soundings the area sounded is 52.000 miles, and tho number of sound ings made »,300,00c. The Bearer Labe Land*. To the Editor of The Chicago Tribune 6m; An article In reference to Beaver Lake lands, m Newton County, Ind., appeared in a recent Issue of your paper, well calculated to mislead the public mind in regard to the recent action of the Commissioner of tho General Land Office. The largo number of interested parties among your readers Induces me to request you to insert my statement, for the purpose of correcting the erroneous impressions in reference to the Com missioner’s rulings f The questions involved In this controversy arc First— The title. Second—The right of pre-emption upon unsur veyed government land in the State of Indiana. Michael G. Bright purchased some 2,000 acres of land, in a circular form, and then claimed to be the owner of some 17,000 acres of government land, embraced within said circle, as riprarian propriation. Bright and his assignees and the State of In diana, were represented before the Commissioner ol tlie General Land OJliee by Bright himself, Hendricks, Herd 6c Hendricks, Bayliss W. Han na. state Attorney, and Governor Baker, in a printed brief of 41 pages, by telegrams and let ters, and in the person of Thomas A. Hendricks ex-Commissioner of the General Lund Ollice it was claimed on their part: IVrff/—That Michael G. Brighter his assignees were the legal owners or the land in question. Xerond— lf Bright -and his assignees were not the legal owners, these lands were convoyed to the Slate of Indiana by the swamp-laud law dated September iis, ISoO. The learned legal counsel claimed that tho pre emption laws had never been extended to the State of Indiana; also, that unsurveyed lands were not subject to pre-emption, except in Colo rado. Their opponents arc|lOß prc-emptors, and the Township School Trustee, who claim that these lands belong to the Untied States, and the Six teenth section to the school fund, under the act of Congress, ITB.>, and subsequent laws. Isaac Myers and myself had the honor of bein'” the representatives of the pre-emptors and Town ship School Trustee, before the Commissioner, in Ibis controversy, without any legal advisers to assist us. The result was as follows: Commissioner Drum* mond ruled: stm belonged to the United States. Seeoml— That- they were not conveyed totho Stale ol Indiana by the swamp-land law, for the reason that, at= tho date of the law, .September °3, 1850. Beaver Lake was u permanent body of water, ami not swamp or :;vorllowed land within the meaning »f that law. T/iinl— That the prc-onijilinn lows hud been ex tended to the State of Indiana. I'tnirJlt—That tin; unsurveyed lands in tho State of Indiana arvo subject to pre-emption. firth—-That a person who owned 020 acres of land had no rrght to a pre-emption; that. If such a person — That a pre-emptor hud a legal right to go upon i«o acres of government land, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, and occupy and im prove the same; and, in doing so, ir(lb 110 l a ■passer. h’crnilh-- That? Michael fi. Bright, Lemuel Milk and Al/y Dean had no legal rights that ho was bound to respect. JXf/lifli—' Thatll“ndricks. Ilord and Hendricks, and Michael G. Bright, had presented no legal reasons in opposition to the applications for the survey, showing why he should farther delay the order; but that, out of respect for the State of Indiana, and at the request of Governor Baker and Bayliss W. Hanna, Shite Attorney, he felt justified in still withholding tlie order forthe sur vey until after tho meeting of Congress. The following is a true copy of tho Commission er's oflicial letter, in my possession; DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAM) OFFICE. WASIHXIiTOX, J). C. Nov. 18, 1371. rarl.cr I)resm\ ti up, Watltim/tnu, J). siu; By reference to llio application of Isaac Mj-crs, B. 11. Miiroy, jiud others, citizens of Newton Co., Iml., for the Hiiwcy of a body of land emhraccil in tlio bed of Beaver Lake, I have to say thattho magnitude of the interests Involved in lids and similar cases amt the great dUlieully attending a just and equitable ad judication of them under the circumstances, render It inexpedient for this oflleo to take any action in tin* matter until additional Congressional legislation shall have been hnd.upon the subject. Veiy respectfully, _ Wilms Dul’m.mo.vd, Commissioner. The Commissioner 6 surveys on every point have been favorable to the pre-emptors, except tliat they requested an immediate order for sur vey, to enable them to pay for their lands add end all further controversy. The withholding of the order for the survey does not prevent the pre-emptors from takim possession of their lands, but gives them so much longer tune to make payment for them without interest or tuxes. No power in the kind, except force, not legal, cun prevent these pre-emptors from taking pos session of their claims. They have been driven oflby a mob. unuor the advice and leadership of Milk, Hendricks, and Scan, as IJam credibly in foimoO... When the time comes, and the weather permits.the pre-emptors wiU make short work of this aand of njucnldfoi's and (rcsjiawcrs, who have illegally taken possession of tho sehonl hmds, as well as of this vast tract of government land, and appropriated the pre-emptors’ lumber, to the amount of several car-loads, to their own USO. PARKER DKES3EU. Cujcago, Dec. 7. Freight on Reef. To the J Editor of The Chicago Tribune In your is.suc of this date is an editorial article relating to rates of freight on beef from Kansas city to New York in which you say: The beef packers af thin city are very justly com plaining or the injurious discrimination now being made again?! then iu favor of Kansas City bv ail the railroads rtimdti; vast from this city except the Michi gan Central, the ulHcei’s ol which refused to join in the arrangement. Tho above statement is entirely at variance with the fasts in tho case, and docs an injustice to other roads running cast from Chicago, Tho facts sir© that tho rates named by you are not, and have not been, sanctioned by this road, and wo have notified all our connections that wc will not be a party to any of these low contracts from Kansas City, which discriminate against Chicago i 1 r 8t8, You lurvo evidently beon misinformed m this matter, and will, I am sure, be as ready to make this correction as you was to make the statement. Respectfully yours. Charles M, Gray, AsMStant General Freight Agent. Lake Shore Michigan Southern R. R, Chicago, Dec. T. PAPER. PAPER. ■Wo-liaVeno-rlji stockafull lino or “WINNEBAGO MILL" Express Papers, Manilla Papers, Tea Papers. ■Wrapping Papers, Straw Papers, Straw Board. WRITING PAPERS. Note, Ectter, Li-iiaJ, and Gap. PRINTERS’ STOCK. News. Boob, and Tinted Rook Papers, Cardboard, Note, teller, and Billheads, Full line Flat Papers, Colored Poster and Mediums, Tissue, Manilla, Colored White, Envelopes, Twine, Ac. BratSner, Smith Co., 344 and 346 Wabash-av. CARD. We take this method of informing our customers and the public that we have retired from the paper business and transferred our stock and good will to Messrs. Bradner, Smith Co., who will keep a full line of our well-knewn brands of Paper. We respectfully solicit for them the liberal patronage bestowed upon us in the past. Our office will be with B, S. Co. for the present. Cr. H. L. LAFLTN, PRINTING MATERIAL. FIRST IK-THE FIELD. Only Type Casting Machines Running in Chicago. EM Westßii fyp Miry, 50 West Raudoipli-st., Barnhart Bros. Spindler, Prop’rs. We bare now In operation, day and night, two Type Casting Machines--the only ones running In the city—and arc prepared to execute orders promptly. Also, onr LEADS, SLUiS, BRASS AUD LAB OE-SlfliVG RILE Departments arc In sneecssfai operation. If yon want Printing machinery or PrlnUng materials of Any Description, don’t fail to site ns a call. BOOTS AND SHOES. Bools art Slits, DOGfiETT.BASSETT HILLS, TTRA’nQTTA'R/rPTTtg AT 522 Watoash-av., corner Harmon-conrt, are now receiving a now stock of Boots and Shoes, and arc prepared to supply cus- tomers. CANDLES. CHRISTMAS CAUDLES! Pounds, half pounds, 4s and 6s, Green, Bed, and White. ARMSTRONG CO., 384 State-st. FURNITURE. WEBER FURNITURE CO., WAREROOMS, 243 ai2ls Soi ClaM, CORNER JACKSON ST. A large amount of goods arriving daily. A. A. FARWELL, Agt. HARDWARE J. LIEBENSTEIN CO., Wholesale Dealers and Manufacturers’ Agents of CABINET UARBWME, WESTEREM’ MdES, AID UNDERTAKERS HiMK CORNER BTichigan-av. and Harmon-court. TEAS. FOR GOOD TEAS, GO TO THE Hong- Kong Tea. Co., I I and ic South Halsled-st, between Randolph and Wa.shintrtou. PROFESSIONAL. MEDICAL ELECTRICAL INSTITUTE, Before the fire at 159 Wabash-av., now at NO. 123 CALTTMET-AV., CHICAGO. Tins is truly a homo of modern improvements, full of romfoTts for Urn Invalid, and the best medical and electrical means known in the profession used, ior reference send for a circular. _ JUSTIN HAYES, it. D.. Resident Physician. BOOKS. HOLIDAYS. A Largs Assortment of New and Beau* tiful Books, at Lowest Prices, American Tract Society, 467 1-2 Michigan-ar., Chicago. rNDHttWEAB. 8.0. ROGERS CO. 334 WEST HADISON-ST* DEALERS IN Men’s Furnishing Goods. QIiiWACTUBERS OF BBIBTS* We have Just received a full hno of CHEVIOT SHIRTS, Slilrtiugs, U ndcrweatvHosiery, Neck Wear, and a splendid assortment of Cloves at their lawest B. C. ROGERS CO. prices. 3AJ West Madison-fit., corner Aberdeen. MISCELLANEOUS, Bridges, Hoofs, &c>, The Michigan Bridge and Construction Co. mpre* Eared to erect wooden, iron, or combination, roots or ridges at short notice. Correspondents please address Michigans?Ldge a"4 Construction C9-i Detroit. Mich. PAINTS AND COLORS. C.TIAYNOLDS&GO. Take pleasure In Informing (heir customers and tbe trade tbat tbey bate resumed bail neuat tbelr new store, on MICHMI-AV. COfi. fflSEIiTi-ST. (LAKE FRONT,) ■with a full and complete stock of PAINTS, COLORS, AJSJD VARNISHES, ARTISTS’, DECORATORS’, AND WAX FLOWER MATERIALS, ■Which they offer at manufacturers* and im porters’ prices. Orders solicited and executed with prompt ness. ANNOUNCEMENTS. A NEW ROUTE from; CHICAGO TO SPRINGFIELD The Illinois Central Railroad, In connection with tho Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad, Is now run ning new and elegant sleeping airs through to Spring field without change. Trains leave tho depot, foot of Twenty-second st. at 7:10 p. m. New and line day coaches are also ran through on tho train leaving Twenty second-st. at 9:30 a. in. The time hy this route is as quick, and tho faro os low, as by any other. Passengers by this rente leaving Chicago at night remain In sleeping car at Springfield until morning, thus avoiding the disagreeable necessity of leaving tho cars before daylight, incident to other routes. COMMISSION MERCHANTS. G. W. ADAMS CO., Ufa, 11 Canal-st,, Room 1, Are now paying particular attention to handling DRESSED BOGS, And will make liberal Advances on Con* ■ignments* MORSE, WARD CO., COMMISSION MERCHANTS, Wo. 227 East Washington-st. Advances made on consignments of Grain. Provi sions, and Dressed Hogs, for sale In tills market. Property bought and sold on margins. REFER BY PERMISSION TO FIRST NATIONAL BANK. Cidcago. UNION NATIONAL BANK, Chicago. FLINT. THOMPSON CO.. Chicago. REID, MURDOCH