North Carolina Newspapers

The News and Observer. VOL.. XLIII. NO. 143. Leads all Other North Carolina Dailies in Both News and/JreUlation. HARDLY A TORPEDO Such Seems to Be the Best Naval Opinion, TO BE INVESTIGATED LIST OF OFFICERS COMPOSING TIIE BOARD. THE BUNKERS THEORY NOW POPULAR Orders to Put the Flag at Half Mast Have Been Sent to All the Naval Stations and Army Posts -The Funeral To-day. Washington, I). C., Feb. 17.—The government has settled back into a wait ing attitude in respect to the terrible Marine disaster in Havana harbor. The great shock caused by the news lias given way to a clamor and more judicial state of mind and realizing from the events of tlhe day that the court of in quiry is the sole dependence in the search for the cause of the Maine’s loss, the Naval officials are now /resigned to await the results of that inquiry by a court ordered to-day by the Navy De partment. There was little new to add to the sum of information as to the disaster during the forenoon. No tele grams came and all that could be gleaned was a denial of some absurd story or other that had crept into print or became currrent gossip. The newt, of the day all caiue in the late after noon in the shape of Oapt. Sdgbee's re tort of the funeral of his dead sailors, uml General Lee’s graphic story of the terrible struggle for life in the dark hull of the Maine. The officials at the Navy Department devoted the day to the effort to correcr the lists of living and dead; to an swering frantic telegraphic appeals from relatives of men on the battleship and last, but not least, in meeting with un wavering courtesy and patience the ex acting demands upon their time of tin press reports. The disposition of the survivors, Capt. Dickens, acting Chief of the Navigation Bureau, has arranged for as well as could be done fronn this distance. The wounded sailors in the Havana hospitals, on tlx* Spanish flag ship and eleswhere, when not in condi tion to be brought back to Key YY’osi will be carefully looked after by Miss FLAK Y BARTON IN CHARGE. Clara Barton, who has been given carte blanche to buy any and everything necessary, food, clothing, delicacies and hire nurses and physicians. The wounded able to get across to Key West will be taken care of in the Marine Hospi tal there. The sound survivors will be quartered in the spare army barrack.-, there. As for the Maine herself, not withstanding discouraging reports from Lieutenant Hood as to her condition, the Navy Department will make an ef fort to raise her; while this is re quired by every creditable sentiment, they say that they are hound to re move the hull from the small harbor in any case, and it may be as easy, 01 easier to raise her as it would be to de stroy the hull and machinery slowly by the use of divers and dynamite, li is believed that this work can best be done by private wrecking corporations and negotiations are already afoot for placing the contract, based on worn by the day, at an estimated cost of $200.- o*lo. At she Navy Department specific de nial was given of the roi>ort emanating from Madrid that a torpedo flotilla was about to leave Key West for Onbu It was stated that only two torpedo )>oats. fheOushing and the Ericesson, are at Key West. These have not been ordered and will not be ordered, accord ing to present plans, to Cuba. It was strongly asserted that no present pur pose existed of sending any war shij there. ALL QUIET AT WHITE HOUSE Senor Du Bose, the Spanish charge, hud received no instructions up to six p. m., as to going to New York and stopping the Si*anisli ship Vizcaya from entering the port, and reports to this effect were discredited. The air of suppressed excitement which characterized the movement of the employes and visitors at the White House yesterday was not noticeable to day. There were comparatively few vis itors during the morning hours and for a considerable time in the middle of tin day the White House Ixire an almost diverted appearance. Only a limited number of members of Congress called during the morning and the interviews were brief. Postmaster General Gary was the only member of the Cabinet who called and his business related en tirely to departmental matters. Assis tant Secretary Day saw the President for a few minutes, but he had nothing of importance to communicate until af ter four o’clock when he carried to the White House official information of tin* closing of the Do Line letter incident. So far as could be learned the only in formation as to tlx* situation in Havana that reached the President direct came through the Associated Press. On the streets there was noticeably less excite ment than yesterday, when the i>eople were loth to believe that under the cir eumstances the loss of the Maine could be traced to other than Spanish sources. All the flags throughout the city, in cluding those on the eapitol and tlie de jnirtment buildings are flying at half mast today, uud among the others is conspicuous that of “Cuba Libre” which flies from the staff on the Hotel Raleigh, the headquarters of the Cuban Junta. A bulletin irotn Key West was receiv ed this morning to the effect that divers had found an eight inch percussion hole in the bottom of the Maine. Also that all proofs of the torpedo work will be removed. The Navy Department abso lutely discredits this story. NOT A TORPEDO. Secretary Long says that there is no such thing as a percussion liole; that there is no eight inch torjiedo, and there is no other way in which such a hole could be accounted for. It is of course possible that a shell exploding inside ot the ship pierced a uole of that kind in the outer skin hut that would he read ily revealed by the character of the an gle and whether or not tire skin was bulged in or out. It is more likel.y if there is any hole at all of the kind that it is simply the outlet of one of the numerous pieces from the inside of the Maine. Secretary Long positively denies that Captain Sigsbee has in any suppressed telegram expressed the opinion tnat a torjK'do caused the disaster, or that it came from an external cause. The Cap tain said on the contrary that he could not venture to express an opinion. The Key West bulletin regarding the finding of a hole in the bottom of a plate of the Maine and referring to the work of a toriHHlo was sent to the White House l»y the Associated Press and was shown to President McKinley. His only comment was that it was the first he hall heard of it. The President does not wish to make any statement concerning re iwrts that come regarding the disaster hut he permitted the fact to be known that the administration had no advices tending to confirm the Key W’est re port. The Navy Department received a dis patch this morning from Admiral Si card. in command of the North Atlantic squadron, giving the detail of the court of inquiry to investigate the Maine dis aster as follows: “Capt. Sampson, president of tlx court.; Captain Chadwick, Lieutenant I ommander Sehroeder, Lieutenant Commander Marix.” Captain Sampson, the president of the court, is commander of the battleship lowa, now at the Tortugas; Captain Chadwick is commander of the New York at Key W’est; Lieutenant Com mander Sehroeder is executive officer of the battleship Massachusetts, now at the Tortugas; Lieutenant Commander Marix is executive officer of the Ver mont. He was formerly with the Maine as executive officer before the detail of Lieutenant Commander W’ainwrigbt, who relieved him. COURT OF INQUIRY. Admiral Sionrdo board has ample an thority to make the most searching in vestigation into the cause of the dis aster. The Fern and the Mangrove re ported their arrival at Havana last even ing. The former is provided with (liv ing apparatus, and as every warship’s company includes at least (several ex pert divers, there will lie no lack of men to make the necessary search. These men can be dejnended iq>oii to rojKirt tin exact facts. They, moreover, will lie subject to orders of the court of inquiry in every particular, and as t&ey are familiar with the bottom of a war ship of the type of the Maine, they are not likely to he led into the mistake of sup posing the outlet hole or pdjw? from the interior to lx* a torpedo hole. It is believed that under the most fa vorable circumstances this investigation cannot be made for several days. Lieutenant Commander Marix, who will be a member of the Court of In quiry. left Washington at 11 o’clock to day by train for Key W’est. and he is supposed to lie assigned to duty as Judge Advocate of the court. Probably tin* board will be conveyed from Ha vana to Key West by the Olivette or one of the light house tenders, ns it is again stated today that the Navy De partment has no intention of sending another man of war to Havana imme diately. General fear is expressed by the older officers at the Navy Depart ment that the destruction of the Maine has been so complete, at least in the forward portion of the ship where the explosion is believed to have occurred, that it would be perhaps impossible to find suffiieent evidence in the wreck of the hull to be able to declare with cer tainty the cause of the disaster. It may he <snid, however, that nothing has yet developed in the news from Ha vana as to the appearance of the wreck, or in the conflicting stories of the survi vors to change the opinion of the ma jority of the officers stationed in the Navy Department that the Maine sunk as the result of an internal explosion. As to the origin of this explosion there is still a wide difference of opinion, but the coal bunker theory today finds very many more strong supporters than any other theory. This theory is based on the sujvpopsition that spontaneous com bustion in one of the hunkers, which in the Maine are separated from the maga zine forward by a single thin imrtition of iron, ignited the magazine uml caused she destruction of the vessel. Proofs of similar fires on other vessels of the Navy are being produced in profusion at the Navy Department today. CAPTAIN BRADFORD’S REPORT. Captain Royal Bradford today pro duced the quarterly report required by regulations to show exactly the state of the Maine'* coal supply mid the quali ty of the <-oal. At the end of December the vessel had fifty-two tons of enul only in her bunkers. This, was made up of Pocahontas and New River coal. Caj>- taiu Bradford said that Pocahontas is flic standard- naval coal, and us rated at 10t). New River following next and is set down at JMt )*r cent. These are semi-bituminous coals of a quality close ly approaching that of the celebrated Welsh navigation coal, the British naval standard. In the opinion of Captain Brad fond neither of these coals is particularly sub ject to spontaneous combustion. Since the Maine lias been in the Gulf of RALEIGH, N. C., FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 18, 1898. Mexico, however, she probably consumed i good part of this coal, and replenished lor stock from the Naval store at the Key W’est station. The coal there taken >n was anthracite, which Captain Brad ford said "is no more subject to spon n neons combustion than a idle of stones.” The Maine took oil 280 tons of this coal in December, and in Jann* uy, before she left for Havana, she loaded up with 271 toms more, l'liis eon I at Key W’est is kept behind a picket fence very much exposed to any evil minded person who might desire to conceal a bomb therein; something which could only be effected with great diffi culty after the eon I was stored in the bunkers. In spite of the British reflec tions ujxm the discipline on American warships, the officers here do not hesi tate to say that in the matter of fa re fill inspection of the coal bunkers, the magazines and the like, our Navy is sec ond to none in tin* world. ALL FLAGS AT HALF MAST. Captain General Blanco today cabled to Senor Du B**e, Charge of the Spanish Legation, giving the formal action of he insular government of Cuba express ing to the President of the United States profound sorrow over the entas trophe to the Maine, and the resulting oss of life to Americans. At tile same hue the Alcalde, or Mayor of Havana, sent resolutions of the municipality ex oressiug to the President the grief of the authorities and the people of Ha vana. Senor Du Bose presented the dis patches to Assistant Secretary Day, who laid them before President Mc- Kinley. In execution of the decision of the President last evening to have a nation al observance of mourning, the follow ing order was today communicated by telegraph from the W’ar Department to commanding officers of the Army: "As appropriate honors to the deceased in the recent disaster to the battleship Maine, the President directs that flags at all army headquarters, military (xists and on army buildings be displayed from sunrise to sunset at half mast until further orders. (Signed.) “SAMUEL BKEOK. “Adjutant General.” Secretary Long today directed that dispatches be sent to the commandants of naval stations and the chief officers of United States vessels throughout the world to display all flags at half mast until further orders, as a mark of re spect to the officers and men drowned from the bnttlo-diip Maine. Admiral Sicard ‘telegraphed Secretary Long from Key W’est this afternoon as follows: “In the opinion of lieutenant John Hood, of the Maine, who has jiw»t ar rmd-from Havana, says thaf the Maine can never again be utilized as a ship. He describes the whole forward body of the •ship as completely collapsed where the shock of explosion was heaviest. Pho tographs of the wreck will be sent to the Dcjnirtmeut today.” Tlie State Department this afternoon* received the following dispatch from Consul General Lee: “Havana, February 17. “Assistant Secretary Day, Washing ton: “Merritt in junior officers mess room. Jenkins in ward mess room at the time of the explosion. Latter left before an officer who was saved. Must have gone the wrong way. Lights out imme diately and water rasing in. Merritt got to hatch with Naval Cadet. Boyd. Ladder gone. Boyd climbed through and tric'd to pull Merritt up. hut hitter let go his hands, fell back and was drowned. Bodies of these officers not yet found, possibly in wreck. Bailors funeral to day at 3. Will l>e an immense proces sion.” The following message was received at the Navy Department at 3:35 p. in., from Captain Sigsbee. at Havana: “Secretary Long. Washington: “General Blanco called on me person ally at the hotel last night and also the mayor of the city. They have requeued me to permit the government here to give a public burial to the deid already found in order that public sympathy may Ik? expressed thereby and due a 'nor shown the dead. Ground for the burial has lieen secured. It is assumed that I am expected by the department to bury flic dead here. In fact would be impracticable to transport remains to the* United States. Means and facilities are lacking. I have -accepted the offer of Hie authorities and there will Ik' a public funeral at 3 o’clock to-day. AH lien* from -the ,>xaiue will go, also a dele gation from the Fern. Fifteen bodies recovered during oiK*rations. Operations prevented by rough weat-ner.” There was -unabated interest in both ends of the eapitol to-day, in the Maine disaster, but expressions generally tak- Hie shape of inquiry for new light upon the subject and of demands for most rigid investigation. The present disposition, especially about the Semite, appears to be to allow the matter to rest where it is until more light can bo secured than at present. The. disaster to the Maine haw aroused a feeling among members of the House in favor of extreme lilierality in ap propriations for the naval and military establishments, tlie practical result of winch is likciy to Ik* the acceptance by the House with little contest, of the Senate amendments, increasing the ap propriations for fortifications about s4.* 000.000, tin* authorixzation in tin* Naval Appropriation bill o- two battleships in stead of one, and possibly the authoriza tion of the entire dry docks weenie recom mended tJ y the dry dock board appointed by l In* Secretary of the Navy. The re commendation of the Secretary of the Navy was for only addition to the Navy tliis year, a first class battleship, but the loss of the Maine macs it. likely that appropriations for two ships will be re ported by the Naval 'Committee. The subject has not yet bene considered by the Naval Committee, but most of the individual members . of the committee yesterday ami to-day expressed them selves aw in favor of building a ship to replace the Maine and also of authori- zing the ship recommended by the Sec retary of the Navy. A parliamentary complication has arisen in connection with the question of including provision for dry docks in the Naval appropriation which keep such provisions out of the bill in the House. Two rulings of presiding officers in Committee ol' the hole during the, consideration of Maval Appropriation j whole dry dock scheme, it is estimated, bills are against the incorporation or appropriations for dry docks. The would cost in the neighborhood of $5,- 000,000. It is probable that the families of the victims of the Maine disaster will be cured for by the government as were t'h survivors of those who were lost in the Samoan hurricane several years ago when tifty-faur American officers and sailors were lost from the Nipsic, Yan dalia and Trenton, which were wrecked <m that occasion, Representative Me- Cnllun..of New Y’ork, introduced a joint resolution appropriating $17)0,000 for the purpose in the House to-day. The resolution is as fll-ows: “Resolved by Hie Senate and House of Representatives, that the Secretary of the Navy Ih\ and he is hereby, direc ted to pay out of any money in the Treasury, not otherwise provided a. sum equal to twelve months jay to the legal lieirs or representatives of each of the officers and crew of the United States battleship Maine who perished in she disaster in Havana, February In, 1898, and the sum of $150,000 or so much thereof as may In* necessary iw appropria ted to carry out the provisions of this j act.” A special act of similar tenor was passed for the relief of the victims of the Samoan disaster. It is not custo mary to grant pensions to the widows or orphans of withers r sailors who die in time of peace 'but Congress in view of the extrardinary circumstances undoubt edly will Ik* quick to grant the relief proposed by Mr. McClellan. AN INCENDIARY CIRCULAR. Was ricked Up on Streets of Havana Lieutenant Jun-geii. it Seems, Feared Trouble. I New Y’ork, Feb. 17. —Medical Dire* tor Wood, of tin* Naval Hospital. Brooklyn, 1 is in i>o session of the copy of a circular, incendiary and outrageous, which was (Kissed about the streets, on railway cant and other places in Havana. A transla tion of this circular was sent to Medi cal Director Wood by an officer of the Maine, who picked it up while on a train returning from a hull fight. The circular is as follows: SPANIARDS. r -> Live Spain and Honor. ‘*Wbat are ye doing, thftt ye allow ydurselves to be insulted in this way? Do you not see what they have done to us iu withdrawing our brave and be loved Weyler. who at this very time would have finished with this tin worthy rebellious rabble, who are tramping on (Mir flag and our honor V Autonomy is imposed on us to *pt to one side, and to give ports of honor and authority to those who initiated this reliellkw, thes * ill born autonomists, ungrateful sons of our beloved country. And. finally these yankee hogs who meddle in oyr affairs, humiliating m to the last degree, and for .still gr Her taunt order to us one cf the ships of war of their rotten squadron after insulting us in their newspapers and driving us from our homes. Spaniard*?, the moment of ac tion has arrived. Sleep not. Let us show these vile traitors that we have not yet lost shame, and that we know how to protect with energy befitting a nation worthy and strong as our Spain is. and always will be. "Death to Americans, death to au tonomy. "iamg live Spain. Long live Weyler." Mrs. Jungen. wife of Lieutenant Carl \V. Jung n. watch officer of the Maine :•? at the home of her uncle, Medical Director Wood. In answer to questions as to whether any of her husband’s let ters indicated a feeling existing in Ha vana against the American officers, she said: “Oh! In all the letters from my hus band lie liras spoken of the bitter feeling against the Americans, which was everywhere apparent. This was among the lower class of Spanish. I under stand —Weyler’s followers. In a letter dated as late as February 19th, he used tie significant expresison, ‘lf we don’t get away from here soon there will be trouble.’ ” A SURVIVOR’S ACCOUNT. Lieutenant Blaiidin who was or Board Tells in Vivid Language of the Mo ment of Horror. Key West, Fla.. Feb. 17.—Lieutenant John J. Blandin, of Baltimore, one of the Maine's survivors, who is ut the Key West Hotel, gave the correspon dent of the Associated Press this even ing a succinct account of the disaster, saying not until now has he been able to recollect the (sequence of events in the awful ten minutns following the explo sion Tuesday evening. Lieutenant Blandin was ocn the Trenton at the time of the terrible disaster off Samoa in March 1889, when American and Ger man vessels lost 244 men all told. Lieutenant Blandin says: •*I was on watch, and when the men had been piped below, I looked down the main hatches and over the side of the ship. Everything was absolutely normal. I walked aft to the quarter deck behind the rear turret as is allow ed after eight o’clock in the evening, and sat down on the port side, where I remained for a few minutes. Then for souk reason 1 cannot explain to myself now, I moved to the starboard side and sat. down there. 1 was feeling a bit glum and in fact was so quiet that Lieu tenant .1. Hood came up aiwl asked laughingly if 1 was asleep. I said ‘No, 1 am on watch.’ “Scarcely had I spoken when there came a dull, sullen roar. Would to God Unit 1 could blot out Hie sound and the scenes that followed. Then eiwne a sharp explosion, some say, numerous i detonations. I remember only one. It seemed to me that tin* sound came from the port side forward. Then came a perfect rain of missiles of all descrip tions, from huge pieces of cement to blocks of wood, steel railings, fragments of gratings, and' all the debris that would be detachable in an explosion. "1 was struck on tlie head by a piece of cement and knocked down but 1 was not hurt, and got to my feet in a mo ment. Lieutenant Hood had ran to the poop and l supposed, as 1 followed, he | was dazed by the shock and about to jump overboard. 1 hailed hun and he answered that lie had run to the poop to liieip lower the louts. When I got there, though scarce a minute could have elapsed, I had to wade in water to my knees and almost instantly the quarter deck was awash. On the poop I found Captain Sigsboe, as cool as if 1 at al ball, and soon all the officers ex cept Jenkins and Merritt joined us. The pooj) was above water after the Maine i settled to the bottom. Captain Sigs- I lee ordered tlx* launch and gig lower ed. and the officers and men, who by (his time had assembled got the bouts out and rescued a number in the water. Captain Sigsbeet orcSerod Lieutenant Commander Wainwright forward to see the extent of the damage and if any thing could be done to rescue those for ward or to extinguish the flames, which followed close U(K)U the explosion and burned fiercely as long as there were any combustibles above the water to feed them. ! "Lieutenant Commander YY’ainwright on his return reported the total and aw ful character of the calamity, and Cap tain Sigsbee gave the last sad order "abandon 1 ship” to men overwhelmed with grief indeed, but culm and appar ently unexcited. "Meantime four Ixint* from the Span ish cruiser Alfonso XII arrived, to be followed soon by two from the Ward Line steamer City of Washington. The two lioats lowered from the City of Washington were found to bo riddled with flying debris from the Maine and unfit for use. Captain Sigsbee was the last man to leave his vessel and left iu his own gig. "I have no theories as to the cause of ’ the explosion. I cannot form any. An ; examination by divers may tell some thing to a court of inquiry. I with oth ers. had heard that the Havana Har bor was full of torjiedoes, but the offi cers whose duty it was to examine into that reported that, they found no signs , of any. Personally I do not believe the Spanish had anything to do with the disaster. Time may tell. I hoi*? so. i "We were in a delicate position on tl<* Maine so far as taking any precau tions were concerned. YY’e were friends [in a friendly, oj- alleged friendly port and could not fire upon or challenge the / approach of any boat Warding us unless , convinced that lier intention was hos tile. 1 "I wish to licaven I could forget it. I have las'll hi two wrecks now and have had my share. But the reverberations us that sullen yet resonant roar, as if i the Ixittoin of the sea were groaning in • torture, will haunt me for many a day, ■ and the reflection of that pillar of flame comes to me when I close my eyes.” I MAINE OPEN TO STRANGERS. New Y’ork, Feb. 17.—Tlie Evening World has received from Sylvester f Scovel, its cor resjxnx lent at Havana, [ the following reply to an inquiry as to , whether strangers were allowed on the Maine the day of the disaster: 1 "Yes, visitors were on the Maine all ‘ afternoon of the day of the explosion. The bomb might then have been depos ited near tlie magazine, as I have al reay cabled. Cables are much delayed here.” This dispatch bears date of to-day. A MERE PILE OF i Havana, Feb. 17. —The night of the disaster to the Maine a light wind from <• southwest was blowing and her head pointed in a southeasterly direction. • She was moored in about twelve metres of water forward and drew about thir teen metres aft. Tim* Spanish cruiser ■ Alfonso XII was about two hundred j metres from tin* American battleship. The explosion so disjoined and twisted : the battleship that her remains now ap ; pear like a pile of wreckage. All the ; upper deck structure, turrets, and guns, are in a heap, one boiler has been blown ■ out of its place and at 2 o’clock yester [ day afternoon was still smoking on : deck. • . • The foremast and bow of the Maine : have collapsed, and now only the end j of her main masts remains above wa ! ter. j Tlie boats of the Spanish cruiser Al fonso XII have picked up a quantity of wreckage, including boats and a flag. • and to-day ten more bodies were found i in (he harbor and taken to tin* morgue. It is impossible to identify them. Contrary to the reports current here yesterday the divers have not yet made any investigation of the wreck and the general opinion expressed in Spanish circles is that the explosion occurred inside the Maine. i | COXGOSTO’S DISCOURTESY. II is Angry and Indiscreet Words Seem l ed to Have Been Pregnant YY’ith Prophecy. New Y’ork. Feb. 17. —The Evening World! to-day contains a copyrighted ca blegram from Havana signed by Sylves ter Scovel, which repeats graphically the story of the blowing up ol’ the battle ship and says: "The correspondents of tin* Madrid press have sent home foreboding mes sages and on tin? civil side* of tbe palace nitre are grave apprehensions and scant courtesy. When 1 asked Secretary Con gosto to aid me in talking to Gen. Solano over securing the re-opening of (he cable for tlie messages of the Maine’s officers, lie coldly said it was none of his buisness, tlit General Solano w«s in sole charge* Fortunately that gentleman was courteous and the mes sages went Iu view of Ihis present attitude I shall now quote what Secreta (Continued on SeiJOmi Page.)/ LAST EDITION. P T «V> E FIVE CENTS. SPAIN'S DISCLAIMER Minister Woodford Receives a Note, of Apology. THECENSURESDISOWNED THE STATEMENTS OF DeLOME ARE DISAUTHORIZED. SINCERITY OF SPAIN INSISTED UrON Its Conduct as to Autonomy Since the Writing of the De Lome Letter is Cited-The Artful Abstracting of the Letter Condemned. Washington, Feb. 17.—SiKiiu lias offi cially disclaimed iu positive manner the reflections contained in the De Lome letter, and as officially announced by the State Department to-day the incident is satisfactorily closed. The statement given out in as follows: "February 17, 1898. "The following is an abstract of a note sent last evening by the Spanish government to Minister Woodford at Madrid: " J li«? Spanish government on learning of the incident in which Minister Dupu.v De Lome was concerned, and being ad vised of his objectionable communication, with entire sincerity laments tlie inci dent which was the cause of the inter view with the Minister. It states that Minister De Lome had presented his resignation and it had been accepted iK'fore the presentation of the matter by Minister YY’oodford; that the Spanish Minister, in accepting tlie resignation of a functionary whose services they have iK'en utilizing and valuing up to that time, leaves it perfectly well es tablished that they do not share or rath er. on the contrary, dieimthorize the criticisms tending to offend or censure the chief of a friendly State, although such criticisms have been written with in the field of friendship, and had reach ed publicity by artful and criminal means; that this meaning had taken shape in a resolution by the council of Minister before General YY’oodfonl pre sented the matter, at a time when the Spanish] government had only vague telegraphic reports concerning the senti ments alluded to; that the Spanish na tion. with equal and greater reason, af firms its view and decision after reading the words contained in the letter reflect ing upon the President of the United States. "As to the paragraph concerning the desirability of negotiations of commer cial relations, if even for effect, and importance of using a representative for the purpose stated in Senor Dupuy De Lome’s letter, the government expresses concern that in tlx* light of its conduct long after the writing of the letter, and in view of tlie unanswerable testimony of simultaneous and subsequent facts, any doubt should exist that the Spanish government lias given proof of its real desire and of its innermost convictions with respect to the new commercial sys tem. and the projected treaty of com meree; that the Spanish government does not mow consider it necessary to lay stress u(K>n or to demonstrate anew the truth and sincerity of its purpose and the unstained good faith of its intentions; that publicly and solemnly the govern ment of Spain contracted before the mother country and its colonies the re sponsibility for the political and tariff eaanges which it has Inaugurated iu both Antilles, tlie natural ends of which iu domestic and international spheres, it pitisix'S with firmness, which will ever inspire its conduct.’ ” HER PRESENCE OF MIND Averted a Terrible Disaster—Fires Rag ing in the Mountains. Lenoir, X. <’., Feb. 17.—(Special.)— During the hardest windstorm yesterday afternoon, ever known to our citizens, the roof of the kitchen to Hon. Edmund Jones' residence caught on fire. There was no one at home except Miss Sadie Jones and the cook. Miss Sadie’s pres ence of mind is the talk of the town. She immediately telephoned to Central and 250 persons with the fire outfit were on the way in a few minutes. Miss Sadie after telephoning went to the bed and took the bed clothes, and wet them in a tub of water, and Mr. Clinton Whittl'd who arrived about that time, climbed to tlx* roof, and with the wet clothes subdued the tire before the en gine arrived. It was a narrow escape. Fires have been raging in the moun tains for two days, and the wind yes terday and last night brought the fire within two milts of town. Much dam age to femes and timber is the result, and it may lx? houses have been burned. One man alnmt Patterson lost his barn. CONSUL TO SIERRA LEONE. John 4'. Williams, of North Carolina, Nominated Yesterday. Washington. Fell. 17. —Tlx* President to-day sent to the Senate the nomina tions of .1 oliii! T. Williams, of North Carolina, to be Consul at Sierra Leone, Africa. To lx* assistant Surgeons Marine Hos pital Service —J. F. Anderson, Virginia; L. L. Lumsden, Y’irgiuia. MRS. WILLARD DEAL). New York. Feb. 17. —Frances E. YVil lard died at midnight at the Imperial Hotel.