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stand it, he is to be harbored. By the reception of 
which are the rebels most to tie distressed, by taking 
those who have wrought all their rebel masters 
desired, masked their battery, or those who have 
refused to labor and left the battery unmasked. 
1 have very decided opinions on the subject of this 
order. Jt does not become me to criticise it, and I 
write in no spirit, of criticism, but simply to explain 
the full difficulties that surround the enforcing it. Jr 
the enforcing of that order becomes the policy of the 
Government, I, as a soldier, shall be bound to in force 
it steadfastly. If not cheerfully, but If left to my own 
discretion, as you have gathered from my reasoning, 
I should take a widely different course from that 
which it indicates. 
In ft loyal State I would put down a servile insur¬ 
rection. In a State in rebellion 1 would confiscate 
that which was used to oppose rny arms, and take all 
that property which constituted* the wealth of that 
State and furnished the means by which the war is 
prosecuted, besides being the cause of the war; and 
if, in so doing, it should he objected that human 
beings were brought to the enjoyment of life, liberty 
and the*, pursuit of happiness, such objection might 
not require much consideration. 
l’ardon me for addressing the Secretary of War 
directly upon this question, as it involves some 
political considerations as well as propriety of mili¬ 
tary action. 
I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
liKN.IAMIN F. BtTTLER. 
THE SECRETARY OK WAK TO GEN. BPTLER. 
Washington, Aug. —, 1861. 
General: —The important question of the proper 
disposition to he made of fugitives from service in 
the States in insurrection against the Federal Govern¬ 
ment, to which you have again directed ray attention 
in your letter of July 20, has received my mosj atten¬ 
tive consideration. It is the desire of the President 
that all existing rights in all the States be fully 
respected and maintained. 
The war now prosecuted on the part of the Federal 
Government, is a war for the Union, for the preserva¬ 
tion of all the Constitutional rights of the States and 
the citizens of the Staten; in the Union; hence no 
question can arise ns to fugitives from service within 
the States and Territories in which the authority of 
the Uuion is fully acknowledged. 
The ordinary forms of judicial proceedings must he 
respected by the military and civil authorities alike 
for tin- enforcement of legal forms; hill in the Slates 
wholly or in part under insurrectionary control, 
where the laws of the United States arc so far op¬ 
posed and resisted they cannot be effectually enforced, 
it is obvious that the rights dependent upon the 
execution of these laws must temporarily fail, and it 
ia equally obvious that the riiriil* dependent on the 
laws of th** States within which military Operations 
are conducted must necessarily be subordinate to tlm 
military exigencies croaled by the insurrection, if 
not wholly forfeited by the treasonable conduct of 
the patties claiming them. 
To this the general rule of the right to service 
forms an exception. The act of Congress, approved 
Atig, 6th. 1.%1, declares that if persons held to ser¬ 
vice shall he employed in hostility to the United 
States, the rieht to their services shall be discharged 
therefrom. It follows of necessity that no claim can 
be recognized, by the military authority of the Uuion, 
to the services of such persons when fugitives. 
A more difficult question is presented in respect to 
persons escaping from the service of loyal masters. 
Jt is quite apparent that the laws of the State, under 
which only the service of such fugitives can he 
claimed, must needs be wholly or almost wholly 
suspended, as to the remedies, *by the insurrection 
and the military measures necessitated by It; and it 
is equally apparent, that the substitution of military 
for judicial measures for the enforcement of sncii 
claims must he attended by great inconvenience, 
embarrassments and injuries. 
Under these circumstances it seems quite clear that 
the substantial rights of loyal masters arc still best 
protected by receiving such fugitives as well as fugi¬ 
tives from disloyal masters, into the service Of the 
United States, and employing them under such organ¬ 
izations and in such occupations as ci retina stances 
may suggest or require. Of course a record should 
he kept showing the names and descriptions of the 
fugitives, the names and characters, as loyal or dis¬ 
loyal, of the musters, and .such facts as mav bo neces¬ 
sary to a correct understanding of the circumstances 
of each case. 
After tranquility shall have been restored upon the 
return ol peace, Congress will properly provide for 
all the persona thus received into the service of the 
Union, and for a just compensation to loyal masters. 
In this way only, it would seem, can the duty and 
safety of the government and just rights of all be 
fully reconciled uud harmonized. 
Von w ill therefore consider yourself Instructed to 
govern your future action in respect to fugitives from 
service by the premises herein stated, and will report 
from lime to time, and at least twice In each mouth, 
your action in the premises to this Department. 
You will, however, neither authorize nor permit 
any interference by Lire troops under vonr command 
with tin; servants of neaceahk* citizens in a house or 
held, nor will you in any manuer encourage such 
servants to leave the lawful service of their masters, 
nor will you, except in cases where the public good 
may seem to require it, prevent. Ihe voluntary return 
ol any lugitive to the service from which lie ruav 
nave escaped. 
1 am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
Simon Cameron, Secretary of War. 
Movements lu rlie West. 
By telegraph from Cairo on the 20th, we learn 
that the night previous a battle occurred at Charles¬ 
ton, Mo., between the Federal forces, about two 
hundred and fifty strong, consisting of a portion of 
the 22d Illinois regiment, under command of Col. 
Dougherty, accompanied by Lieut.-Col. Itawson, or 
the 11th Illinois regiment, and the rebel forces, esti- 
mated at between 600 and 700, and commanded by 
Col. Hunter, Of Jeff. Thompson's army. The Federal 
forces were victorious, completely routing the enemy, 
killing forty and taking seventeen prisoners. Loss 
on our side was one killed, viz: Wm. P. Sharpe, Co. 
A. Among the wounded are Colonel Dougherty, 
slightly; Lieut.-Col. Itawson, shot in shoulder, not 
serious. 
The steamer Samuel Orr, the Evansville and Padu- 
cah mail packet, was seized by the rebels at PadaCftb, 
on the 22d, and taken up the Tennessee river. The 
officers and crew left, her and came to Cairo in skills, 
ller cargo was valued at #20,000. It is reported that 
the rebels at Paducah sent to Union City for some 
64-pounders, for some thousands of rebels commanded 
by Ketchell, who are reported to be at Benton, Mo., 
fortifying themselves. They have nine 24-pounders. 
Capt. Noleman, with fifty mounted men, left Bird's 
Point about « o’clock on the 10th for Charleston, to 
join tho forces under Colonel Dougherty, but (ailed 
to form a junction with them. They met a party of 
rebels, about one hundred strong, and gave them 
battle, killing twenty-eight and taking thirty-three 
prisoners. They also captured thirty-five horses 
without the loss of a man. 
A force of confederates, on Sunday the 18th, seized 
the village of Commerce, between Cape Gjrardcan 
and Cairo, and planted a battery on the river bank to 
command the channel and interrupt communication 
bt tween Cairo uud St, Louis. As soon as intelligence 
of this movement reached General Fremont, he sent 
orders to Cape Girardean to dispossess them. Jn 
obedience to this order live hundred men left Cape 
Girardeau on the 19th, went down the river to a 
point above Commerce, landed, attacked the enemy 
and drove him off. There was but little fighting, as 
the enemy made no attempt to stand, but retreated 
with his battery. He had about one hundred and 
fifty infantry and one hundred and fifty cavalry. 
The President has authorized Hon. John S. Phelps, 
of Springfield, Mo., to embody the citizens and form 
five regiments of infantry and one of cavalry to serve 
under the laws of Missouri for six months. As he 
raised about 2,000 Home Guards two months ago at 
the request of Gen. Lyon, it is believed that Gen. 
Phelps will find little difficulty in persuading his 
neighbors to rise and drive out their Arkansas 
invaders. lie i’b a man of energy and eminently 
practical. In the meantime orders have gone out 
authorizing fifteen full regiments to be raised in 
Missouri for the war. 
Gen. Pope has ordered Gen. Hurlbut to march from 
Macon City up to Kirksville, with several hundred 
men and two pieces of artillery, to operate against 
Green and his rebel force, who were last heard from 
in the vicinity of Edina. 
Col. Moore, who has from 600 to 1,000 men sta¬ 
tioned at Memphis, Missouri, has received orders to 
march from Memphis to Edina. Co). Woodyard will 
also move on Edina from the East from Monticello. 
These movements wiW Hirronnd the rebels, leaving 
them, however, an outlet from the Fables river, lead¬ 
ing to Palmyra, where a force will also be ready to 
receive them. Mr. Martin Green and his rebels are 
in a fair way of being squelched. 
About L r i00 rebels have assembled in Saline county, 
and arc organizing to join either Price’s army in the 
South, or for local operations in the surrounding 
country. In view of the latter purpose, Union citi¬ 
zens of Glasgow have sent to Fremont for protection. 
Some thousand or more rebels of Chariton county 
crossed the Missouri river at Brunswick, on Saturday, 
and marched southward to join Price's forces in the 
Southwest. They took a large number of horses and 
wagons with them. 
Accounts from Springfield are to the effect that 
from 6,000 to 10,000 of McCullough’s army had left for 
the North. A small force have reached Lebanon, on 
the Kolia road, and are engaged in making reprisals 
and committing depredations on Union men. About 
700 of the exiles from Springfield have joined Col. 
IPad's regiment. Thousands of Union men have 
I been obliged to abandon their homes in the south¬ 
west and leave their property at the mercy of the 
rebels. There is much distress among these people, 
large numbers of them having neither money nor 
provisions. The baggage train of the Federal Army 
which was brought from tSpriugfield by Major Stur¬ 
gis, is said to bo worth a million and a half of dollars. 
The parage of the rebel army north, will enable our 
forces, when they move back to Springfield, to cut 
ol!' its communications with and retreat to Arkansas, 
and thus completely inclose it in the western coun¬ 
ties of the State 
Capt. Emmet McDonald, of the secession army, 
came to Gen. Siegel’s camp at Kolia under a flag of 
truce on the 18th inst. He reports that Capt. Charles 
C. Rogers, aid-de-camp to Gov. Jackson, and Capt, 
Stephen A. Coleman, both of St. Louis, were killed 
in the battle of the Kith. Also that McCullough’s 
force before the battle was 22,000 strong, and their 
killed and wounded amounted to from 2,000 to .'1,000. 
He also states that Generals Price and Clark were 
slightly, and Brig.-Gen. Slack seriously wounded in 
the late engagement; also, Col. Bay, formerly the 
Captain of Jackson's body guard. 
Messengers to Ironton bring the information that 
Col. Hecker, who left here on the 22d, with his regi¬ 
ment. surprised a body of some 400 rebels near Fred¬ 
ericksburg on the 26th, and captured all their camp 
equipage, and ate the breakfast which they had just 
prepared. Twelve prisoners were also taken. 
Gen. Prentiss lias arrived and taken command of 
all the forces in this section. 
Gov. Gamble lias appointed a Division Inspector in 
five of the seven military districts in the State for the 
purpose of mustering men into service under the 
militia law of 1859, revised by the State Convention. 
The Governor calls upon the citizens to come for¬ 
ward promptly to sustain the peace by the suppres¬ 
sion nrid dispersion of the bands of armed men who 
are now committing violence in different parts of the 
.State. As soon as troops are enrolled they will hold 
themselves in readiness to march at the call of the 
Executive to enforce order. Any regular organiza¬ 
tion will be permitted to volunteer in the service of 
the United States, if the members thereof so desire. 
The following is the form of oath to he admin¬ 
istered to the militia:—“You, each and every one of 
you. do solemnly swear that you will honestly and 
faithfully serve tho State of Missouri against all her 
enemies, and that you will do your utmost to sustain 
the Constitution and Laws of the United States nud 
of this State. And you do further swear that yon 
will well and truly execute and obey the legal orders 
of all officers properly placed over you whilst on 
duly; so help you God.” 
Gen. Price issued the following proclamation at 
Springfield: 
TV* the People of Missouri: 
l ellow citizens: The army under my command has 
been organized under the laws of the State for the 
protection of your homes and firesides, and for the 
maintenance of the rights, dignity, and honor of 
Missouri. It is kept in the field for these purposes 
alone, and to aid in accomplishing them, our gallant 
Southern hretliren have come into onr state. With 
them we have achieved a glorious victory over the 
foe, and scattered far and wide the well appointed 
army which the usurper at Washington has been 
more than six months gathering for your subjugation 
. 1 . x The victory trees a large portion 
in the next twenty days, to be sent to St. Louis. Jt 
is evidently in contemplation to prosecute a vigorous 
campaign in the southwest. 
The Secretary of War has ordered the Governor of 
Illinois to prepare all the men at his disposal for 
instant removal to St. Louis. 
Reports On the- 24th give information of Hardee’s 
forces, which are withdrawing from Greenville 
towards Beeves’ Ferry, which they are fortifying, and 
also to Benton’s Station, nearer the Arkansas line. 
This seems to confirm previous reports that the east¬ 
ern division of the rebelB is hastening to join Gen. 
Pillow. A strong body of Jeff, Thompson's forces is 
represented to have occupied Benton, eight miles 
back of Commerce, where they are throwing up 
fortifications. 
Tho body of General Lyon arrived at St. Louis on 
the train from Rolla on the 26th, and was escorted 
from the depot by two companies of soldiers. 
A private of Colonel Moore's regiment arrived at 
Keokuk from Athens, Mo., on the 26tb. ne states 
that Green was approaching that place with a force 
variously estimated at 1,500 to 9,000. The Union 
pickets which were sixteen miles out were driven in. 
Col. Moore has 900 men and four cannon. Three 
hundred men left here last night and this morning to 
reinforce him. General tiurlburt is reported to he 
behind Green with 600 Union troops. 
• and enslavement. __ 
°l' the Mute from the power of the invaders, and 
restores it to the protection of the army, it conse¬ 
quently becomes my duty to assure you that it is mv 
firm determination to protect every peaceable ;uid 
law abiding citizen in the full enjoyment of all his 
rights, whatever may have beeu bis sympathies in 
the present unhappy struggle, if be has not taken an 
active part in the cruel warfare which has been 
waeed against the good people of the Mate, by the 
ruthless enemies whom we have just defeated. I 
therefore Invite all good citizens to return to their 
homes and the practice of their ordinary avocations, 
with the full assurance that they, their families, their 
homes, and their properly shall be carefully pro¬ 
tected, 1 at the same time warn all evil disposed 
persona who may support t he usurpations of any one 
claiming to la* provisionally or temporarily Gov¬ 
ernor of Missouri, ami who shall in any other way 
give aid or comfort to the enemy, that they shall he 
held as enemies and treated accordingly. 
(Sigued) Sterling Price, 
Major Gen. Commanding Mo. State Guard. 
Gen. Price has issued his official report relative to 
the action of his brigade in the battle near Spring- 
field. IJis men were Missourians, and numbered 
5,220,of which 156 were killed, and 517 were wounded. 
Among the killed are Cols. Wightman, Allen, and 
Brown, Lieut. Col. Austin, Major Rodgers, Captains 
Euglehart, Ferris, Hillock, Blackwell and Coleman, 
Lieutenants Hughes and Haskins. 
The wounded are Brigadier General Clarke, Cols. 
Burbridge, Foster, Kelly and Hawthorne; Captains 
Nichols, Dougherty, Armstrong, and McCarthy. 
Many of the wounds of both officers and men are 
reported mortal. 
The entire rebel army had been ordered to move 
forward on Gen. Lyon in four columns at 9 o’clock 
I*. M., so as to surround Springfield and begin a 
simultaneous attack at day break, but the order was 
countermanded in consequence of the darkness of 
the night and the threatening storm. 
Gov. Blair, of Michigan, received on the 21st inst. 
a requisition from Gen. Fremont for all the Michigan 
troops now ready, and as many more as can be raised 
Department of ilie East. 
Private advices from Kentucky state that the 
Union men in that State are rapidly receiving arms 
and organizing. Four or five regiments are ready. 
Tt is believed that., in a few days, 20,000 loyal citizens 
of Kentucky uud Eastern Tennessee, from which 
hundreds of fugitives are prepared to fight their way 
back, will he in line. 
James Rogers, one of the deserters from the rebel 
army, and who was a member of the Polish Legion, 
states that when his regiment left New Orleans there 
was not another regiment remaining in that city, and 
that it was almost, impossible to obtain recruits, 
though the most active measures were being made to 
do so. 
Information has been received at headquarters to 
the effect that the recent rains had entirely broken 
the plans of the rebels for a movement upon the city 
by their having so swollen the Potomac aB to make 
it utifordable. There is now no point between 
Georgetown and Harper’s Ferry, where the river can 
be forded. 
The 22d ills', was an eventful day with the military 
men in the department of Alexandria, caused by the 
review of the division J»y General McClellan anil his 
staff'. The customary salute was fired, and the new 
General expressed himself as highly pleased with the 
conduct of the troops. The new order in relation to 
pusses between Alexandria and Washington is now 
rigidly enforced, much to the inconvenience of those 
who arc unable to prove their loyalty. A large 
number of Alexandrians were unable to return home 
to-night, as Provost Marshal Porter, of Washington, 
requires all receiving passes to be personally vouched 
for as Union men. 
A skirmish took place at Hawksnest, in Kanawha 
Valley, eight miles beyond Gauley, on the 20th inst. 
The rebels, who were 4,000 strong, advanced to 
where the Uth Ohio had erected barricades, and 
were driven hack with the loss of fifty killed and a 
considerable number wounded and taken prisoners. 
Our loss amounted to none killed, two slightly 
wounded, and one missing. Our forces captured 
quite a number of horses an-l o/piipments. 
Upon Geo. McClellan’s order, all the women in the 
camps across the Potomac, married or unmarried, 
were sent away on the 19th, save two hospital nurses 
for each regiment,. 
Johnson and Beauregard have been reinforced by 
some 15,000 or 20,000 since the Bull Bun battle, and 
it was reported on the 21st that Yorktown, Newport, 
and Richmond, have been almost denuded of troops, 
whose ultimate destination is presumed to be Mary¬ 
land and Washington. In the belief that they design 
to cross below and above the city, ample precautions 
have been taken. The Potomac flotilla has been 
enlarged by the addition of six or eight vessels and 
a number of launches, and the present force could 
be largely increased on short notice. The Chain 
Bridge and fords above, the latter for the present 
rendered useless by the heavy rains, are well guarded. 
The Potomac licet now consists of eleven well armed 
steamers and eleven launches, each carrying 15 men 
and a Dahlgren 12-pounder. 
The mutinous spirit which exhibited itself in the 
79th, liltli, 13th, and 21st New York regiments, has 
been totally suppressed, and the ringleaders sent 
to Tortugas island. 
Trustworthy intelligence from Northwestern Vir¬ 
ginia states that General Rosecraus is securely 
intrenched, and with a sufficient force to remove any 
cause of apprehension for liis safety. The rebels are 
reported intrenching themselves at a distance of 
from fifteen to twenty miles, and with a force vari¬ 
ously estimated at from two thousand to twenty 
thousand men. 
The continued improvement of the troops in all 
respects is the subject of congratulation in the army 
as well as in the executive quarters, resulting mainly 
•rom strict discipline. The line of the upper Poto¬ 
mac is now well guarded. 
The correspondent of the Associated I’ress writes 
of General Banks'division as follows:—The health 
of the army is generally good. The hospitals have 
hut few tenants. There has been a great improve¬ 
ment in the condition of the troops since they left 
Sandy Hook. 
Major General Butler, of Fortress Monroe, has been 
detailed by Gen. Wool to the command of the volun¬ 
teer forces at that post. General Butler will occupy 
that position for some time before returning to Mas¬ 
sachusetts to raise a new division. 
Gen. Hunterhas almost recovered from hiswonnds. 
He will to-morrow take command of the Jlliuois 
troops. 
Gen. Heiutzelman has suffered a relapse. The 
public will be concerned to hear that the wound ou 
his arm threatens inflammation. 
Richard B. Irwin, late of the War Department, has 
been appointed Aid-de-Camp to Gen. McClellan, with 
the rank of Captain. 
Gen. McDowell has been appointed to the division 
comprising the brigades of Generals Keys and Wads¬ 
worth. 
A letter from Savannah says the Oglethorpe Regi¬ 
ment of Georgia lost 517 men at the battle of Man¬ 
assas. 
The question of the terms of enlistment, which 
has been the source of the recent disturbances in 
several of the regiments, has been judicially and 
finally settled. The Government’s right to hold the 
soldiers, aud the fallacy of the pretences originated 
by mischief-makers are effectually expressed by the 
decision of Advocate Justice Wayne, who has made 
the following order, viz.:—That the writ of habeas 
corpus awarded by me on a prior day, (on the 10th,) 
on the application of Edward A. Stevens, the 
petition be and hereby is dischared, and that the 
aforesaid Edward A. Stevens he and he hereby is 
remitted to his military duty in the 1st Minnesota 
regiment. Colonel Willis, and that until then lie 
remain in the custody of the U. S. Marshall for this 
district. 
The line of the Alexandria and London Railroad 
is dotted with rebel camps. At Leesburg there are 
3,000 infantry and six cannon. At a point five or 
six miles below, are 6,000 infantry and six cannoa. 
Mill further on, fourmiles beyond, are 3,500infantry, 
and in Loudon are 2,000. The Potomac, however, 
remains too high to be forded, even by cavalry, to 
whose saddles the wateT comes. 
It appears that the withdrawal of the rebels from 
Fairfax Court House was a regular stampede. Two 
scouting parties of the enemy mistook each other 
for uational troops, attacked each other, sharply 
fought, and rapidly fled after a few rounds, convey¬ 
ing the news that McClellan and all his army were 
| in pursuit. The consequences of the intelligence 
was a hasty flight, of the rebels, who dropped their 
sick along the road. 
Ihe Government has reliable information that a 
quarrel has broken out among the leading traitors of 
the rebel States that promises to be disastrous. The 
belligerents are Toombs and the Virginians and 
North Carolina on one side; and Davis, Wigfall, 
and the extremeieta of South Carolina, on the other! 
The complaint among the disaffected is that Davis 
is progressing rather fast toward the legitimate 
results ol treason, and the abnegation of State and 
individual rights. 
Destruction ol Hampton, Va. 
Tue Baltimore Sun of the 10th inst., says that 
the steamer Adelaide, Captain Pearson, arrived there 
the day previous, with about fifty passengers, mostly 
officers and privates of the army. They bring the 
news of the burning of Hampton village by General 
Mag ruder. The village contained about 460 houses, 
all of which, with the exception of ten, are totally 
destroyed. The population by the last census was 
about 2,000, white and black, most of whom had 
left the place. There remained about 60 persons in 
the village, of whom two-thirds were colored. The 
others were men of business who had long been 
residents of the town. 
An advance guard of the Confederate troops 
entered the town and set on fire some unoccupied 
bouses. The troops then notified the residents of 
other houses to leave in fifteen minutes, when a 
general rush for Old Point touk place. Among tho 
I houseB destroyed were fifteen public buildings, in¬ 
cluding three hotels, live churches, Ac. There were 
three Methodist churches, one Baptist, and one Pro- 
testunt Episcopal which was over a hundred years 
old. The value of the property destroyed is thought 
to be not less than eight hundred thousand dollars. 
The dwelling of Mr. Philip J. Gibson cost twenty- 
eight thousand dollars. Mr. Samuel Cummings, un 
old resident, had two handsome buildings burnt. 
Many of the white inhabitants of the town had great 
difficulty in making their escape. Most of them 
reached Old Point Hotel in safety. Several came up 
to Baltimore in the boat, having lost all they pos¬ 
sessed. 
Aflntrs In Washington. 
Tue State Department has received a letter from 
the United States Consul at Cnrocoa, dated the 7th 
inst., in which he says that according to the state¬ 
ment of a runaway seaman, an Englishman named 
Ord, from the privateer Suiuter, she was not allowed 
to enter Cienfuegos, but was ordered to anchor below 
the fort. Her prizes, however, six in number, went 
Into port. The Sumter, after coaling, proceeded to 
sea immediately, supposing some of our men-of-war 
were in pursuit She subsequently captured two 
American vessels, both loaded with provisions, one 
of them named Joseph Maxwell, oft’ Puerto Cabello. 
She was seen on tne 22d inst,, in the vicinity of 
Moterim, on the coast of Venezuela, proceeding to 
windward; and it is supposed continued her course 
through the windward passage to capture vessels 
there. 
The Consul had, on the day of writing, called on 
the Governor of the Island, requesting an answer to 
his question whether the Sumter would again be ad 
mitted into port, should she re appear. The Gov¬ 
ernor, in his reply, assures him that she would not, 
on the ground that since she left there she bad been 
capturing vessels on the main, and as he desired to 
occupy a strict neutrality according to his orders, lie 
could not permit the Island to be made a starting 
point for the Sumter. The Consul questioned the 
Governor in regard to other vessels under the same 
flag and commission, when lie stated that should 
another vessel appear he would act according to cir¬ 
cumstances. The Consul adds:— u I am of opinion 
the Governor has committed himself iu admitting 
the Sumter here, and now desires to arrange the 
affair.” The majority of the people of Curacoa are 
of the same opinion. 
Post-Master General Blair, in respose to an inquiry 
on the subject, says be bus ueitVer the power to inter¬ 
dict nor to suspend intercourse between the loyal and 
rebellious States by private express, or otherwise. 
This power rests with the War and Treasury Depart¬ 
ments alone. and so long as these Depaitments forbear 
to exercise it, correspondence between the insur¬ 
gents of the South and their friends and abettors at 
the North may be lawfully continued. His power 
over the matter extends only to the protection of the 
revenues of the Department from fraud by the con¬ 
veyance of this circuitous correspondence over the 
post routes of the United States, partly in the mails 
ami partly by private expresses unlawfully. This 
the Post-Master General believes has been effectually 
done in ft manner set forth in Lis letter on the sub¬ 
ject to General McClellan, published a few weeks 
ago. He concludes by saying:—“You have doubt¬ 
less observed that the President, in pursuance of an act 
of Congress, passed at the recent, session, has, by bis 
proclamation of the 14th instant, declared that all 
commercial intercourse between the insurgent Mates, 
or the people thereof, and the loyal States, is unlaw¬ 
ful. It is presumed that instructions will he issued 
bv the Treasury Department for the due enforcement 
of this declaration, and that the above, of which you 
complain, will be effectually suppressed.” 
The Mate Department has issued the following 
explanatory notice: 
The regulation of the Department of the 19th inst., 
on the subject of passports, was principally intended 
disloyal persons with 
to check communication of 
Europe. Consequently passports will not be required 
by ordinary travelers bn lines of Railroad from tbe 
United States which enter British possessions. If, 
however, in any special case, transit oi persons 
shonld be objected to by au Agent of this Govern¬ 
ment, tbe Border Agent will cause such person to be 
detained until communication can be bad with this 
Department iu regard to the case. 
Wm. H. Seward. 
By an order from the Adjutant General’s office, 
from this time until January 1st, 1862, recruiting 
officers are directed to make all their enlistments of 
men to the regular army for the term of three years. 
Minimum standard of height for recruits is fixed at 
five feet three inches. 
Typhoid fever has appeared in the Government 
hospitals, and nearly all the sick and wounded 
[ soldiers have been attacked by the disease. 
Brigadier General Anderson left here for Kentucky 
on the 20th, although his health is not fully restored. 
He is anxious to be on active duty, and will at once 
assume command of his department. 
Congressman Potter’s Committee has reported to 
the Secretary of War the names of twelve disloyal 
clerks and not a few disaffected army officers; to the 
Secretary of the Treasury the names of the disloyal 
beyond doubt, and ten suspected; and to the Secre¬ 
tary of the Interior twenty disloyal and seven sus¬ 
pected. 
1 homas McKay, of Ohio, has been appointed Aid- 
de-Camp to Major General McClellan, with the rank 
of Colonel, to date from August 19th, I860. The 
commission is dated thus as a reward of the services 
rendered by him in Western Virginia, ns a civilian. 
Ihe appointment is the first and only one made under 
the act of Augnst 5tb, 1860. Col, McKay is a western 
man, born in Mason county, Kentucky. 
Tbe startling announcement made the other day by 
the New York Press, to the effect that England and 
France bad formed an alliance with a view to com¬ 
bined action on American affairs, i'b untrue. The 
facts are, that three weeks ago M. Thouvenal, French 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, transmitted a note to the 
English Government, proposing that the two Cabi¬ 
nets come to a clearer understanding as to the United 
Slates, To this note the English Cabinet sent a mes¬ 
sage, asking for a more explicit statement. The 
reply was that England should unite with France for 
the purpose of obtaining tbe autumn supply of cotton 
and tobacco from the United States. The English 
Government then replied that it could enter into no 
such agreement. 
General James Shields, of California, lias been 
appointed Brigadier General of volunteers. 
Wm. H. Wallace, of Washington Territory, has 
been appointed Governor of that Territory. Also, 
Leander J. S. Turner, of Illinois, to he Secretary of 
Washington Territory. Also, A. S. Paddock, of 
Nebraska, to he Secretary tbereo'. 
Commander Livingston, of the steamer Penguin, 
writing to the Navy Department, under date of the 
Uth inst., communicates interesting particulars of 
his blockading operations off the Cape. He states 
among other things that, chasing the Louisa, of Wil¬ 
mington, N. C., he brought her within reach of his 
guns, when she ran ashore, keeled over, filled with 
water, and became a wreck. She intended going to 
the West Indies with a cargo of lumber, and return 
with coffee. 
Commander Iliekley, of tbe British ship Gladiator, 
has sent u note to Commodore Stringham, which has 
been forwarded to the Navy Department, represent¬ 
ing that the blockade is open at tbe entrance* of Cape 
Fear River and Wilmington, Port Beaufort and Occo- 
quan, inlet to Peralico Sound, all un tho coast of 
North Carolina. The Navy Department will soon 
remedy these deficiencies. Thirteen vessels, seven 
of them steamers, carrying 2,000 men, are expected 
home within 10 or 50 days, and will be added to the 
blockade force. The Brazil squadron, tbe frigate 
Congress and another, is expected daily. The Afri¬ 
can squadron, three vessels, one the Mohican, equal 
to the Iroquois, should be here early iu September; 
the China squadron a month later. 
The following order has just been published by tbe 
Post-Master General : 
I’o* T-OKFTCE IlEl'AKTMKNT, / 
August 24th, 1861. J 
The President of the United States directs that his 
Proclamation of the 16th, interdicting commercial 
intercourse with the so-called Confederate States, 
shall he- applied to correspondence with those States; 
and has devolved upon this Department the en¬ 
forcement of so much of tbe interdict as relates to 
such correspondence. The officers and agents of 
this Department will, therefore, without further 
instructions, lose no time in putting au end to writ¬ 
ten intercourse with those Mates, by causing the 
arrest of any express agent or other person who shall 
after the promulgation Of this order receive le tters to 
be carried to or from those States, and will seize all 
such letters and forward them to this Department. 
M. Blair, P. M. General. 
The President, with the Secretary of State, attended 
General McClellan’s reviews on the south side of the 
Potomac, Saturday. The perfection of tbe discipline 
surpassed anything that has beeu seen in tbe military 
line in this country since the war of 1812. The volun¬ 
teers have ulready become soldiers. Gen. McClellan 
declares his perfect satisfaction with this array, the 
greatest ever seen on this continent. 
Recently, a gentleman wrote to the Navy Depart¬ 
ment, inquiring whether a bounty would be given for 
the capture of privateers. It is understood that 
other parties would, for a consideration, engage in 
the same business, but the Department has no such 
power under the present law. One-half the value of 
all prizes goes to the Government, and the remainder 
to the captors. From what has transpired, it is 
highly probable that the Government would relin¬ 
quish its share to those who would successfully 
engage in such speculation, and while granting com¬ 
missions for these purposes, afford whatever aid it 
could in the matter of armament. 
Minister Pike, in his dispatch from the Hague, 
referring to the Bull Run aff air, says, in bis judgment 
this reverse will not especially prejudice our cause or 
lead to adverse action in Europe. A public senti¬ 
ment has gradually been developed ou this side of the 
water in regard to our affairs, which is inclined to 
wait, a fair trial of the strength of the Government, 
without prejudicing its ability to overcome its mis¬ 
fortunes. If, he remarks in conclusion, it shall be 
shown to tbe coutrary that simply huddling masses 
of men together does not make an army, and shall 
develop some kind of defence for tbe judgment and 
wisdom of experienced men aod for those who have 
charge of affairs, then tbe disaster may prove to be 
a wholesome experience, and not an unmitigated 
calamitv. 
Tbe following has been promulgated from Wash¬ 
ington. If carried out it will act as a virtual sup¬ 
pression of the newspapers heretofore named, and all 
that may be presented hereafter: 
1 
Post-Ovfjok Dkpartmknt, 
August 22d, 1851, 
On receipt of this letter, none of the newspapers 
published in New York city which were presented by 
the Grand Jury as dangerous, from their disloyalty, 
shall be forwarded iu the mailB 
T. B. Trott, Chief Clerk. 
To the Post-Master New York city. 
The arrest of Mayor Berrett and his removal pro¬ 
duced some sensation, but no surprise, that military 
measure having been previously expected. It is not 
for the reason merely that he refused to take the oath 
of loyalty as an ex-officio member of tbe Board of 
Police authorized l>y Congress. There were other 
grounds, good and sufficient to the Government, fur 
this proceeding. A guard has been temporarily 
placed over his house, where his family still remain. 
