LATER AMERICAN NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 621, 24 October 1863, Page 7

LATER A MERICAN NEWS.

The Au-klarid Swfhcrn Cross of the Wth ins+int .contains extracts fr«m Califoruiau papers to the 29th Augtfst,' received by the .Neva, arrived from San Francisco. They contain telegraphic news from the seat of War to the 26th August, Tho events narrated are not important as throwing any now li»ht upou the development of the War, and under the preaent pressure uopn our columns, ■ac shill be content with giving the following brief resume of the intelligence furnished by the Southern Cross : —

LATS AMERICAN NEWS.

The brigantine Neva arrived yesterday after a quick passage from San Francisco, and we have boen fo vowed by Messrj Hen lersosi and Maoin.Tla.nc, the owneis of the vessel, with Ran Frans i*co ppevg to August 29f h, containing n- ws from th» seat of war up lo August 26tb. The flits of pipers being incomplete, we are only able to give the n^ws of the wtek prior to the 26!h of that month, and such as it is it unv*l be taken with the usiihl hllowauce for exaggerations in intelligence received from that source. We have carefully scanned the p\pers, bnt can see nothing to indicate thnt (be position of the belligerents is much ehinge 1. Fire and the sword have earned desolation into the city of Lawrence, whifh had been burned to the ground by a baud of guerri'las under Qaan™ trell, and 180 of its inhabitant? killed. Gray one house, it is said, remained staii'linc ; and that was filierJ with the dad ati'l \voun'le>l of all classes. One hundred a'ul twenty of the bod. re of the .slain had heen burie', many of them frightfully c'lan-edby fire, The Alto, California hays on this sublet:— " The cuerilla Quandvll has 1. ft a blocly trr.ck in Kansas, the city of Lawrence being <!e troyed by fiie end most of its citizens brutally murdered. Our accouut blames the Commanding General of the Depa traent for la.'k of energy, but it seems thfifc the peofj'e theitnalvs were be^uils.l into security by lal«e reports, an 1 made little or no resistance. It is probable that Qunntrell has succeeded in reaching Minimi ri sidl-Iy." The sieaeof Cnarlcston wns progressing, " favourably" as" the Federnl account has it, and Fort Suinte"' was being bombarded by the combined army an In vy of the Federals. I'h.i boni'< am men t \va3 commenced on the 16th August, and continued up to the date of the last advices, ■ iz.. the 23rd, by which time it is said the whole south end of the Fort liad been shot away; and it was even reported that the Fort had surrr-nderod. Thi*, howeve., is probab'y only an Altn, California exnggeration, although if th.3 >eports of lbs bombardment are anything like true, the defenders mint ba in a sal plight. The steamer City of Madison, had been blown "up at Vicksburg while loading ammunition, and sixty lives were lost. From Washington the accouut is, that there was a wide-spread sufftriuit, aud that fears were entertained of a famine duiiug the coming winter. Lee's army atnouuted to 35,000 rscn. One of the sensation headings in the Alta California ij " The Rebel loan bites foreign sympathisers to the tune of four millions sterling/ and the sinie paper quotes the Londou Spectator as having said '• the friends of the rebels have lately paid 14,000,000 for their friendship, as the rebel loan has tumbled to suuh a degree as to bo almost out of sight." We quote the folloaina; from the Alta California of the 24th August:— ''Acconnts from Charleston represent the siege as progi-epsine: favourably. Tli3 combined array and navy have batterei Fort Sumter so terribly that it is scarcely tenable. A day or two_ will bring tbe intelligence of iU total demolition—an augury of ecjuJ .success oa the part if Federal operations a^aiust the city of Charleston. The bornbaid'nent of Charlfston, as conducted by General (iilmore and Admiral Dahlgren, will furnish a brilliant chapter m the histoiy ot the suppression of the rebe'lion ; and the fall of Charleston will H haile.i with joy by all as the death knell of flic rebpl chanc-s of prolonging their insane and fracticidal effort?. The various cnrp3 of General Burn-ide army held commenced their march through Kentucky, and as they make a much larger force than he baa beea accredited T\ith, v.c may confidently look for important successes at his hands. He has a finely disciplined army, and is assisted by capable Generals."