ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1119, 22 July 1865, Page 9 (Supplement)

ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH MAIL.

[The following was published in a Daily Times Extra yesterday afternoon.] Daii.t Times Ofhcb, Friday, July 21, 2 p.m.

The ateamship Hero arrived at Port Chalmers to-day, shortly after twelve o'clock.

The City of Adelaide arrived at Glenelg at seven o'clock on the morning of the 12th inst. The downward passage took 102 hours, and the upward passage occupied the same time.

The P. and O. steamer Jeddo, Captain Farquhar, arrived at the Sound at four a.m. on the 7th inst. She left Grille on the 20th June.

The Bombay, with the Australian April mails, broke her shaft four days after leaving King George's Sound. She arrived at the Mauritius, under sail, the 21st of May. Having been repaired, she took the mails on to Aden. The Madras, having sprung a leak on the passage up, was Bent to Bombay for repairs. She has been replaced by the steamship Jeddo.

We publish the following summary of intelligence from the English papers: —

LATEST INTELLIGENCE

Londok, May 26. America! A telegram received this morning per the Scotia, via Crookhaven, dated New York, May 17, announces the capture of President Davis. M. de Montholon, the French ambassador, has presented his credentials to President Johnson, on which occasion reciprocal expressions of friendship took place. The emigration excitement has somewhat subsided.

The intelligence of the immediately preceding mail reached to the 13th of May, and. represented the pacification of the •ountry to be rapidly progressing. General Dick Taylor had definitively surrendered to General Canby. General Kirby Smith, commanding the Confederate trans-Mis-sissippi department, had issued an appeal to his soldiers, exhorting them to stand firm to their colours, and assuring them that he has resources to protract the •truggle till they can secure term 9 worthy of a proud people. In Texas, some resolutions had been passed not to give up the rebellion.

President Johnson has issued a proclamation calling ior renewed efforts to capture rebel cruisers. He goes on to say that he ■will refu«e hospitality to the ships of neutral nations who may henceforward give hospitality in their ports to rebel cruisers. Several orders have been issued having in view the reorganization of the South. Theae show, in the first place, that there will be no undue severity exercised on the people; next, that slavery is everywhere abiolutely extinguished, and the freedmen put under the guardianship of the Federal forces, which for the present will occupy the country; and, finally, that trade is to be fully re-opened.

The trial of the Booth conspirators began on the 9th. The proceedings took place with closed doors. The prisoners pleaded " Not guilty."

It had been announced that, previous to the final reduction of the Federal army, a grand review of the entire force would take place on Manassas Plain, Virginia. To that end, the jeveral armies of occupation, as they are recalled from the scenes of their recent operations, are concentrated near Alexandria. The army of the Potomac arrived on the 12th of May, and encamped upon the site of General M'Clellan's encampment during the winter of 1861-2. Shermun'a army and Sheridan's cavalry were expected on the 14th. The day for the review had not been fixed. It is said /that a standing Federal army of 150,000 men will be maintained, consisting of one corps of volunteers, one corp3 of regulars, and two corps of negroes. The New York Herald is the chief authority for a series of statements that a scheme for a filibustering expedition to Mexico is contemplated. The Courier dcs Elas Unit expressly states that President Johnson will issue a proclamation against breaches of neutrality, and resolutely oppose any effort to take part in the Mexican troubles. General Rosecrans, in a speech at Boston, denied a statement, ■which had been extensively published, that he waa organising an army of 25,000 men for the Republican-Mexican service, and denounced the Mexican emigration project as a buccaneering expedition.

During the progress of the war the opportunities of getting information from the South were so rare and imperfect that the condition of the country has been almost unknown. Now that the curtain is pulled aside, the desolation and misery which prevail everywhere are found to be greater than anyone supposed. In the prosecution of the war, everything else has been forgotten ; the means of tbe rich are exhausted, and the poor are reduced to want and starvation. In some districts — the Valley of Virginia, for example—there can scarcely be a home which has not lost one or more of ita members; but the people seem to keep aloof from their conquerors so that little is said of their individual sufferings. It is the physical aspect of the country which impresses all who pass through it. The desolation in all directions is deplorable. In Eastern Virginia, there is said to be no crops ia the ground, no seed corn to TJe obtained, and no cattle to be seen. « Slave labor is disorganised, and free black labor cannot be obtained." The last evil i s one which everyone has anticipated, and which must of C°fcT f? U UUtil «*• position, of tne Sa* if S^ hßs Co*Pletely re-ad- j 3 ev C tf f " ? u{ yeare Vetapi before even the face of the country t , Co y ers from I

the ravages which have taken place. In South Carolina, people of "gentle blood,'1 as well a3 the very poor, are described as waiting for a small measure of rice to be doled but to them. In Georgia, the papers speak of the destitution as " appalling," and declare that "what few inhabitants remain there are almost starved to death. 7' It was known that the state of the South must be desperate, but these descriptions conjure up a picture which is more melancholy than the mo3t ardent partisan of the North has drawn- The world has probably never seen havoc anil ruin on so huge a scale.

MEXICO.

The New York papers contain important advicee from Mexico City, dated the 29 th April:—Within the previous fortnight, the French: end Belgians had, it is aaidl, suffered several defeats at the hands of the Liberals. The city of Periana, in Mlchoacan, has been captured by the Juarez troops, who hold it, after having routed its French defenders; while another city, near Morella, has been attacked and taken by the Liberals. In this latter instance, the place was held by some 300 Belgians, who, being driven into the church, refused to surrender. Upon this the church was fired, and " the whole command were either burned to death or were shot as they made their escape from the flames." Several smaller actions have resulted disastrously to the Imperial forces. The country aeems to have broken out afresh under the news of Northern victories, and appeals from Juarez, which are circulated in all. directions. The French, however, have occupied Guaymas, in the Gulf of California, and are making rapid progress in the Northern departments.

FRANCE,

It now appears that the Emperor Napoleon J3 disposed rather to extend than shorten his stay in Africa ; and it is announced that his Majesty purposes to visit the Suez Canal before returning to France. In such a case he cannot be expected back in his own capital before June 10th. This has caused much disappointment in Paris, as the utmost uneasiness' prevails concerning the Mexican business, which is rather increased than allayed by the foolish attempt of the Government and its scribes to suppress the news from Mexico, and to represent the Mexican emigration scheme in New York as harmless, and the policy ol President Johnson as pacific and prudent.

ITALY,

The negotiations between the Italian Government and the Pope still continue. Notwithstanding the outcry of the extreme party of action, Prince Odo of Savoy is said to possess the greatest influence over King Victor Emmanuel, and to be the principal author of the latest change in the Italian policy. He is constantly attacked by the Mazzinian press.

THE ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT—THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF THE SECRETARY.

From the various accounts furnished, are gathered these particulars of the assassination:— It having been publicly announced that the President and General Grant would attend Ford's Theatre on the fatal evening, and General Grant being absent, Mr Lincoln, in order that the public might not be disappointed, went, accompanied by his wife and his youngest son, a daughter of Senator Harris, and Major Hath burn. The play was " Our American Cousin." About half-past nine o'clock, a man, who, according to some accounts, had been seen for some time loitering about, the passages, appeared at the door of the box occupied by the President; and passing the guard by stating that he was a Senator and had been sent for by Mr Lincoln, he entered the box. Major Rathburn arose and asked: —" Do you know, sir, upon whom you are intruding. This ia the President's box." The person accosted muttered some inaudible reply, and reluctantly left the box, his eyes fastened upon the President. The door of the box had scarcely beep closed when the shot was fired through an aperture which had evidently been previously cut lor the purpose in the sash of the door. The assassin at once sprang into the box, and striking at, and wounding with a dirk, Major Rathburn, who opposed him, he sprang from I the box down upon the stage; His spurs, catching in the folds of a flag draping the front of the box, threw him at length upon the stage. Recovering himself instantly, he rushed across the stage, pausing an instant to shout " Sic semper.tyrannis" and to brandish iris dirk. He disappeared behind the scenes, struck at several, who happened to be in his way, and escaped from the building by a door leading j into an alley, where he mounted a horse and fled; since when no trace of him has j been found. He is said to have crossed the long bridge, or to have taken a road leading northward out of the city. The evidence points unmistakeably to John Wilkes Booth, the actor, as the assassin. Every exertion was being made to capture him. The pursuit was not, however, commenced until about 11 o'clock; but it was thought that Booth could not escape. Cavalry were sent into the country in all directions, and every house in and around the city in which it was possible that the assassin could have been secreted, was placed under guard and was searched. A number of arrests were made of persons whose evidence was considered valuable, and every possible measure was adopted to secure the capture of the murderer. Booth is about 26 years of age, of medium height, and is represented as a handsome man, but of desperate character and dissolute habits. He has been heard to say that "the man who killed Lincoln would be for ever! known to fame." I

The whole affair so astonished the audience, that it was some time before the terrible fact could be realised. It was announced from the stage that the President had been shot, and great excitement ensued—the crowd being with difficulty pushed aside, in order to remove the senseless form of the Chief Magistrate. The piteous cries of Mrs. Lincoln and her son, and the loud imprecations heaped upon tbe murderer, added to the terrors of the scene. Mr. Lincoln was at once removed to the house of a Mr. Peterson, opposite the theatre, and here he remained .during the night and until after his* death", the* body .peing then taken to tlie Presidentia

mansion, where it was laid out in state/ The death-bed of the President presented apeculiarlj painful scene, the grief of his wife and two sons being almost uncontrollable. Mr. Lincoln was utterly unconscious from the time of receiving the fatal shot until he expired. He appeared to suffer no pain, and his death was unaccompanied by the slightest struggle. The ball was found embedded in the brain/having entered the head about two-and-a-half inches back of the left ear.

When the excitement at the theatre was at its wildest height, reports were circulated that Secretary Seward had also been assassinated. On reaching this gentleman's residence, a crowd and a military guard were found at the door, and on entering, it (was also ascertained that the reports were based on truth. Everybody there was so excited that scarcely an intelligible word could be gathered; but the facts are substantially as follows: —

About 10 o'clock, a man rang the bell, and the call having been answered by a colored servant, he said he had come from Dr Verdi, Secretary Seward's family physician, with a prescription, at the same holding in his hand a small piece of paper, 'and saying, in answer to a refusal, that he must see the Secretary, B3 he was entrusted with particular directions concerning the medicine. He still insisted on going up, although repeatedly informed. that no one could enter the chamber. The man then pushed the: servant aside, and walked heavily towards the Secretary's room, and was then met by Mr Fredk. Seward, of whom he demanded to see the Secretary, making the same representations which he did to the servant. "W hat further passed in the way of colloquy is not known, but the man struck him on -the head with a billy, severely injuring his skull, and felled him almost senseless. The assassin then pushed into the chamber, and attacked Major Seward, Paymaster of the United States Army,: Mr Hanssll, a messenger of the State Department, and two male nurses, disabling them all. He then rushed upon the Secretary, who was lying in bed in the same room, and inflicted three stabs in the neck, but severing, it is hoped, no arteries, though he bled profusely. 'The assassin then rushed downstairs, mounted his horse at the door, and rode off before an alarm could be sounded, aod in the same manner ai the assassin of the President.

The attacks both at the theatre, and at Secretary Seward's house, took place at about the same hour (10 o'clock), thus showing a preconcerted plan to assassinate these gentlemen

THE FUNERAL,

The Funeral of Mr. Lincoln followed close upon his death. It was a great national act of mourning. The body lay in state first in Washington, under the dome of the Capitol, where it was visited by thousands. It was then removed in a solemn state procession through Philadelphia, and New York, and Albany, and all the chief towns of the Union to its final resting place in Springfield, Illinois, lying in state in each town, and thus literally attended to the grave by the whole people. There never was conceived/i more touching tribute to the memory of a popular chief magistrate. ,

THE FLIGHT AND DEATH OF THE ASSASSIN.

The energy displayed by the authorities in the pursuit of the murderer was speedily rewarded by success. Within 12 days of the murder, Booth and Harrold, an accomplice who accompanied him, were found to have taken refuge in a swamp in that part of Maryland which juts out between the mouth of the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay. It had already been ascertained that the conspirators had assembled in that neighbourhood before the fatal night of April 14, and it was conjectured that Booth had fled in that direction. Thither he was tracked by a body of Federal Cavalry. The New York correspondent of the " Morning Herald " supplies the following details: —

For the time, public attention is attracted from the progress of the corpse of the President, on its way to its final resting place, to the intensely-thrilling history of Booth's flight and death. With a broken leg—the bone, we are told, protruding from the flesh and chafing against his saddle— he rides out of Washington on that bloody night, and pushes for the swamps of St. Mary's County, Maryland. His accomplice, Harrold, rides by his side.' After hours of terrible travel'they find a surgeon —one Dr Mudge—and this man sets the broken limb. Whether he knew the character of his patieat or not, is yet to be determined. Near the house of this Mudge, Booth and Harrold lie concealed for three days. From their hiding place in the thickets, they see the squads ol Federal horsemen thundering up and down the dusty roads ; the country about them is full of pursuers; the hot breath of a terrible vcngsance scorches their haggard faces. They finally creep from the buehes, and, by stealth, and in the darkness, they work their way to the Potomac. The surface of the river is by night ablaze with light: fleets of gunboats patrol its waters incessantly; there are no skiffs, scows, or canoes to be found—every vessel of the sort has been destroyed by the Federal forces. Every ford is guarded. The negroes are stimulated, by special appeals, to hunt down the assassins •, and they cannot safely trust any white man. A reward of 150,000 dollars is ready for the man who shall lay his hand upon them. Finally, after ;a ' week of what must have been intolerable agony, they are set across the river. A Confederate captain pilots them 'to a point near Port Royal, informing all persons that they are Confederates returning from Maryland to the South. ■■'; For the remainder of the narrative, we turn to other sources of information :— It having been ascertained'that the two men had crossed the Potomac, a force of cavalry at;once started in pursuit. On the night o$ the 26th April, the fugitives were found to have secreted themselves in a barn, near Bowling Green,; in. Caroline County, -. Virginia, A detachment tof .28 men of the 16th New York Cavalry came up and surrounded -the. barn.i. Booth: was called upon to surrender. The following colloquy is said to have taken place between Booth and Lieutenant Baker, of the Cavalry :— Baker:. You must give up your arms and surrender. We will give you five minutes to consider, and then, we will burn the barn.—Booth : Who are you, and what do you want ?—Baker : We want you and intend to take you.—Booth : This is a bird case. lam a cripple, with one leg, but give me a chance for my life. Withdraw yourraen.one hundred yards from the barn and I will;cpme ; out and ;fight — Baker: We don't.come here to fight, but .to take you prisoner^ You must give up your arms. * and , surrender.—Booth:. I coum pick off a dozen of you while yon are talking,- but I do not wish to kill any-

body. I will never surrender, though. Never be taken alive.—Baker: Then we will fire the barn.—Booth: Well, my brave boys, prepare a stretcher for me. After this a conversation touk place inside •between Booth and Harrold, during which Booth was heard to say, "You coward, will you leave me now ? But go —go. 1 don't want you to stay with me." He then addressed the party outside, and said, " There is a man here who wants to come out." Lieut. Baker : Let him hand out his arms and come out. Another talk here occurred between Booth and Harrold, in which it appeared 1 that the latter was begging to be allowed ;to take out some arms with him, and i Booth was heard to say, "Go away from j me. I don't want anything more Ito do' with you." Harrold then I came to - the door, and asked to be let out. Lieutenant Baker said, " No; band out your, arms." Harrold replied, " I have noDe." Lieutenant Baker : " Yes, you have; you carried a carbine when you came here. You must hand it out." Booth : "He has no arms. They are all mine. Upon my word as a gentleman, he has no arms. All that are here belong to me. 1' Lieutenant Baker then approached the door.' Harrold thrust out his hands and was pulled from "the door, tied, and placed in charge of a guard. All this took place in the dark, the night being cloudy. Colonel Conger, in command of the Cavalry, being satisfied that further parley was useless, set fire to the hay through the crevices of the barn, and the building was soon in flames.

What followed is thus narrated by Sergeant Corbett, one of the soldiers present, from whom, as will be seen, Booth received his death wound :—

: '^Before the flames were kindled, Booth had the advantage of us in respect toli<?ht, He could see us, but we could not see him. But after that, the tables were turned against him; "we could sec him plainly, but could not be seen by him. The fllmes appeared to confuse him, and he made a spring towards the door, as if ta attempt to force his way out.' As he passed by one of the crevices in the'barn, I fired at him. [aimed at his body; I did riot want to kill him. I took deliberate aim at his shoulder, but my aim was too high. The ball struck him in the heal, just below the right ear, and, passing through, came out about an inch above the left ear. I think he stooped to pick up something just as I fired. That may probably account for his receiving the ball in the head. I was not over eiuht or ten yard 3 distant from him when I fired. V was afraid that if I did not wound him, he would kill some of our men. After he was wounded, I went into the barn. Booth was lying in a reclining position on the floor. I asked him : ' Where are you wounded ?' He replied, in a very feeble voice, his eyes glaring with a peculiar brilliancy, 'In the head. You have finished me.1 He was then carried out of the burning building into the open air, where he died about two hours and a half afterwards. About an hour before he breathed his last, he prayed for us to shoot him through the heart, and thus end his misery. . His sufferings appeared to be intense. Booth, although he could have killed several of our party, seemed to be afraid to fire. Mine was the only shot fired on either side. When he fell, he had in his hand a six-barrelled" revolver, and at his feet. was lying a sevenshooter, which he dropped after he was wounded. Two other revolvers were also near him. He declared that the arms belonged to him, and that Harrold had nothing to do with the murder. We gave him brandy, and four men treht in search of a doctor, whom we found about four miles from the actual scene of the occurrence. But when the doctor arrived Booth was dying. He did not talk much after receiving his wound. When asked if he had anything to say, he replied:—'l die for my country,' and asked those standing by to tell his mother so. He did not deny his crime." * '

Harrold, the accomplice, heavily ironed, was led away by a rope round his neck, and thus conveyed to Washington. The corpse of Booth was interred—" where," adds the account, " but two men know."