October 14.—One hundred and fifty voters of Chincoteague Island, Accomac Co., Va., took the oath of allegiance to the United States, in the presence of Lieutenant Murray, U.S. ship Louisiana. It appears that all the inhabitants of Chincoteague Island, (which is a part of the county of Accomac, Va.,) numbering nearly one thousand, are true and loyal. No other flag than the Stars and Stripes has up to this time been allowed on the island, and the National ensign is at all times kept displayed on a high pole. A committee of citizens, appointed to confer with the commander of a war vessel, say:
“We, the citizens of Chincoteague Island, Virginia, do respectfully represent that we are law-abiding people, attached firmly to the Constitution and laws of the United States of America; that by interest and affection we cling to the Union; that we are united as one man in our abhorrence of the secession heresies; that we have upheld the old flag in spite of many menaces from our secession neighbors; that the opportune arrival of the war steamer commanded by Captain Murray, and his energetic measures alone saved us from subjugation, the enemy having mustered on the opposite shore for that purpose.” They therefore ask the continued protection of a Government vessel. — Washington Star, October 20.
— A slight skirmish occurred on the line of the Potomac, between a foraging party of the Union troops, about three miles from Minor’s Hill, and a band of rebel scouts, consisting of infantry and cavalry. The National troops opened a brisk fire on the rebels, who took shelter in a house, but a few shells from the batteries on Minor’s Hill drove them out, and sent them scampering along the Leesburg road. — N. Y. Herald, Oct. 15.
The train on the North Missouri Railroad from St. Louis was stopped at Rewick, Mo., by a party of thirty armed secessionists, and six Federal recruiting officers on board taken prisoners. The rebels then searched the train, but for some unknown reason did not enter the express car in which there were three hundred Enfield rifles and two tons of military clothing, destined for Nebraska. Two of the captured officers were released on the spot, and three of the four others were set at liberty a few hours afterwards.— N Y. World, October 16.
— The Southern Commercial Convention assembled at Macon, Ga., this day. — Isaac Davenport, of Richmond, Va., of the firm of I. and B. Davenport, gave a check for ten thousand dollars to the Southern “Confederacy,” which was owing to Northern creditors. — The Confederate Government authorized General Winder to arrest all Yankees who may venture there in concern for their former rights of property in. the South. — Richmond Examiner, October 8.
— William F. Springer, a citizen of Philadelphia, returned to his home, from Charlotte, N. C., after an absence of several months, a portion of which time he spent in prison in Charlotte. Mr. Springer went South, before the secession of North Carolina, to build a house for ex-Governor Morehead. Before he could complete the contract, the workmen he had taken with him were either driven away or pressed into the rebel service, and he was finally arrested on the charge of being a Union man, and thrown into prison. When it was concluded to liberate him his head was partly shaved, and he was required to leave at once, which he was not slow in doing. He came home by the way of Tennessee, after numerous detentions and escapes from violence, the cars having been searched for Northern men at various stations. Mr. Springer represents the people in Charlotte to be in an almost starving condition. Provisions of all kinds are high, and money scarce. The Southern soldiers that he saw on his way home were many of them in rags, and some of them had worn the soles off their boots, and tied the uppers under their feet.—Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16.
—The steamer Grampus, with a flag of truce from the rebels at Columbus, Ky., and Captain Polk and Lieutenant Smith, of the rebel army, bearers of despatches from General Polk to General Grant, asking for an exchange of prisoners, arrived at Cairo, Illinois.—(Doc. 83.)
—As important correspondence passed between Lord Lyons, the British Minister, and Secretary Seward, relative to the rights of British subjects during the pendency of the rebellion. Lord Lyons, referring to the case of Messrs. Patrick and Rahmie, who were arrested and subsequently released, terms this proceeding an arbitrary one, and states that the British Government is much concerned about the matter, and regards it as requiring serious consideration. Secretary Seward, in his reply, after detailing the circumstances of the arrest, states that the proceedings were taken upon information conveyed to the President by the legal police authorities, and not until after the suspension of the habeas corpus act to an extent deemed necessary by the exigencies of the State. For the exercise of his discretion in this respect, the President is responsible before the highest judicial tribunal of the Republic, and amenable, also, to the judgment of his countrymen. The safety of the whole people has, in the present emergency, become the supreme law, and all classes alike must acquiesce in the measures which that law prescribes; and, while the learning of the legal advisers of the British Crown is not questioned, it can hardly be expected that the President will accept their explanation of the Constitution of the United States. He must be allowed, therefore, to interpret it in a manner which will enable him to execute his great trust with the most complete success, under the sanction of the highest authority of our own country, and sustained by the general consent of the people.—National Intelligencer.
—Major Wright, with one company of the Fremont Cavalry, surrounded the village of Linn Creek, in Missouri, and made prisoners a company of rebels, to the number of forty-five, commanded by Bill Roberts.—(Doc. 86.)
—Jeff. Thompson, Brigadier-General of the Missouri State Guard, addresses the “patriots:”
Headquarters First Military District, M. S. G.
Camp, St. Francois County, Oct. 14, 1861.
Patriots of Washington, Jefferson, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, and Iron Counties! I have thrown myself into your midst to offer you an opportunity to cast off the yoke you have unwillingly worn so long. Come to me and I will assist you, and drive the invaders from your soil or die with you among your native hills. Soldiers from Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois, go home! We want you not here, and we thirst not for your blood. We have not invaded your States, we have not polluted your hearth stones, therefore leave us; and after we have wiped out the Hessians and tories we will be your friendly neighbors if we cannot be your brothers.
M. Jeff. Thompson,
Brigadier-General Commanding.
—St. Louis Republican, Oct. 26.
—The gunboat Sciota was launched from the ship-yard of Jacob Brierly, at Kensington, Philadelphia.—Rev. Harvey E. Chapin, of Sandy Creek, Otsego County, New York, arrived in Troy, with a company of ninety-four men, most of them members of his own congregation, and at once marched up to Camp Strong, where he joined Colonel Morrison’s Cavalry regiment.— N. Y. World, October 17.
—Secretary Seward issued a circular to the governors of States bordering on the-ocean or lake coasts, stating that, in view of the attempts being made by the rebels to embroil the Federal Government with foreign nations, it is desirable that the coast and lake defences should be put into effective condition, he suggests that the work should be undertaken by the States individually, in consultation with the Federal Government, and that the expense should be ultimately refunded by the nation.— (Doc. 87.)
—The Forty-fourth regiment of Ohio Volunteers, under the command of Colonel Woods, left Springfield, Ohio, for the Gauley Bridge, Virginia.—Springfield News, Oct. 15.
