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m a n B outljron 8ITMXKB WATCHMAN, Established April. 1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's.' THE TBUK SOUTHRON, Established Jone,.12^6 Consolidated Avg. '2,1881. SUMTER, S. C.. WEDNESDAY, MARCH ).. 1899. Sew Series-Yoi. XTIII. No. 31 %\t W^t^mx rift BwfyxwL Publiaiod STOTT "STeinesday, SUMTER, S. G, TSR32S : ... . $ L 50 per SQ BUDS-i B advance. aoa bs, o Jpsgex wil itiocf whicb subserve privat* ? ad veri teasers ta. Obs ta aries ami tribales of respects will lbs t He Eeplies to tbe Chargeas Made Against Him by tbe Navy Department Washington Feb. 20,-Rear Ad mitral W. S Schlep, having been granted permission to answer the charges made against bim in the communication recently sent to tbe Senate, banded to tbe committee on aaval affairs to day bis statement, in which be disclaims any purpose of controversy with the navy 'depart mest. Tbe letter of the department, be says, so far it relates him, can be summarized under the following beads : "The delay off Gienfaegos ; the alleged slow progress toward Santiago de Cuba, from Gienfuegos.; j the retrograde movements on the ; 26tb and 2Tth of Ma? ; the battle of Santiago, and the detraction of Cer veza fleet." ;. The admirai says his orders from S^pew^o May 19 were to blockade C^n goe, wfeich be proceeded to d . On his arrival he se . Com- j ashore to establish re: alfons with the in^rgenls, the resnk of which was madeinown tolui at 3 40, oe May 24 Then, for -the- first time, be learned definitely tLat the Spanish ! fleet waajwkat Gjepfee^os^^WjtlMD two oin ^%tart rJ^r Santiago * -'ty S& *^* Hgronnd of criri c fe;^ ^ ysr"adver8e' to me tber can be in ail. thi> E do not see. I i was on .the spot acting nader orders, ] which gave me entire discretion, and yet clothed me with the responsibil ity of going to Santiago onry after ! was satisfied that the fleet was not at Ciea^egpe" .rV _ ^ ', _^ ~, iBe quotes fr m dispatch of Sampson of May 20, in which the latter; says Robley should ''bold Jais fl s #l|0fenfa go3 If the Spanish ships'have pnt into Santiago wey* must come either to Havana or Cien fuegos to deliver , the munitions of war which they are said to bring for nae in Cuba. I am, therefore, of the . opinion that the best chance (0 cap tare these ships will be to bold the two points, Cienfnegoe and Havana, witb ail the force we can muster { If laser it should develop that these vessels are at Santiago, we cac then assemble off that port the ships best suited for the parp se and completely blockade it. Until wa then receive more positive information we shall continue to bold Havana and Gien fuegos." Admiral Schleyadde : "This letter is not printed either in the appendix or executive document G, bat I re ceived it on tbe 23d and it shows ' that I was expected to bold my squadron off Cien fuegos " , "As to the. slow progress to ward Santiago on account of tbe Eagle, he states that she was a part of the force which Admirai Sampeon had seen fit to send him, and he bad no right to abandon her. Speaking of "the retrograde move ments,'* which the Secretary, adopt jag the language of Admirai Samp son, characterizes as "reprehensible * conduct," Admiral Scbiey says that in forty-two aars* eefvice, "never was au sb language used to charac terize conduct of mine, and I aee jip reason for it DOW." He adds : "Acting io accordance with the best judgment, in .view of the ci ream stances, without certain knowledge of the whereabouts of that Spanish fleet ; after having been informed by the scents commanded by each o SS cere as Sigsbee, Jewell and. Wise, that, although they bad been off Santiago for a week, they bad seen nothing of it, and knew nothing of its whereabouts, since it bad left Carocoa ; after having been assured by Sigsbee that he did not believe it was in Santiago, and by tbe emphatic declaration of the pilot Nuuez ; and kuowiag that as the sea and weather then were it would be impossible to coal my squadron off the port. I deemed it best to take the action I did, the final result of which was toe j location of the enemy's fleet in San tiago harbor." As to tbe battle of Santiago, Ad mirai Schley says tbe facts of thal contest speak for themselves. He quotes from his official report tc Sampson, in which he congratulated toe commander of the squadron, and said tbe "victory seems big enough foi all of na." - He asks tbe committee to contras! hie reports with those cf Sampson containing references to OM S^^ continues : ^Aa to^alltii^^i cism of my conree prior| jjj j$e iscoverv bj moon May 29 of Cerveravs 'fleet, whether from Admiral Sampson QI the departcsent, none of it has evei been made by either to me ; and 3 never b rd a word of it from any one until after the battle with that fleet, although five weeks had passed since tbe 'alleged reprehensible con duct* bad occurred: " Admiral"Sch!ey then submits a long detailed statement of the facts be summarized in tbe foregoing, which is in reply to a request by Chairman Hale, of tbe naval committee. The commanding officer of tbe Harvard reported tbat he did not have coal enough to reach any home base, and could not steam beyond twenty four or thirty boors, which, the Admiral says, forced him to send the Harvard to Kingston ; the Tale and Minne apolis could reach Key West, ana* the St Paul could remain at most off tbe port for bot two days The Brook lyn, Iowa and Massachusetts were fairly well off with coal, bot the Tesas, Marblebead and Visen, were considerably reduced. The project ing spoontOcn8 of the Texas and Marblebead made it dangerous to coal them alongside tbe collier with any swell on the open sea "It was tbie situation," say's the statement, "coupled with the conclusion tbat the Spanish squadron might have touched and then moved west, ss reported at Cieafaegos, and, rein forced by the fact that Sigsbee had not seen them and thai the pilot, Nunez, was strongly impressed with the doubt that this squadron could enter tbe port, which occasioned my telegram of May 27." Capt. Sigsbee ie quoted aa con firming tbe opinion as to the diffi eolty of coaling off Santiago, fie gives the details of the absolute loca tion cf the Spanish squadron inside the harbor on May, 29, which discov ery was, the Admirai says, the result Of a determination to satisfy himself fully before leaving for the west On tbe^Sr i'ie^ made' recon ois sance "to develop the enemy's posi - -tion, and'-incidentally/,to<injure or i destroy if possible, the Colon, moor I ed felfcuffriS the harbor 51 ! S 2 2 r Admiral Scaley quotes the depart , rnentV dispatch of B^^ rthese words: "Tjie d triment Mooka, o you tb ascertain ^fie fact of the pres ence of the enemy, and that tbe ene my, if in the harbor at Santiago, does not leave without decisive action " Commenting on this the Admiral says : "In obedience to the above order, and without any further order er instruction from any one, I did ascertain the fact that the enemy was at Santiago, and the enemy did not leave without a decisive conflict " Detailing the events connected with the batt! ot July 3, he says that at 8 45 of that day Admiral Sampson made signal from bis flag ship "Disregard movements of the commander-in cbief," and steamed eastward to 8iboney "Tbis," says Admiral Scbley, "left me the senoir officer present, and necessarily cloth ed me with the responsibility of the command " Cont inning, be declares, that when the enemy's vei3seis came out of tbe harbor signal was made from the Brooklyn (his flagship) to the fleet to "clear ship for action " Then fol lowed the signal "close action," and this by tbe signal "the enemy escap ing to westward. Following the appearance of the Spanish fleet there was a general in ward movement of the American vessels, closing in and engaging it Explaining the movements of to vessels - of both, (leets, be says the Spanish fleet was coming westward under high speed, and, "changing course more to .westward, brought the Brooklyn, beading es* ward to meet it, into a position where she uould have blanketed tbe fire of the eastern vessels of our forces now changing their courses to the westward and between them and aad tbe Spanish vessels " "Instant, decidion," be continues, "was therefore, necessary to avoid interfering in any way or cutting o2 any of the fire of our vessels, as would have occurred if she had turned toward the Spanish fleet, cow approaching the Brooklyn. Turning westward left tbe enemy's ships unmasked by the Brook j lyn, and exposed them to the concentrated fire of our squadron. The result of this manoeuvre was that in thiryt minutes from the opening of the combat four of the enemy's vessels were on re and riddled with projectiles. "At the fioal capture of the Colon, st 1 15 P M., the Brookiyn was nearest, tbe Oregon next, and tben the Texas and Vixen. The New York arrived at 2 23 P. M., and tbe coamaoder-in-chief assumed ooooaod, of the squadron. Signals were made from the Brooklyn to the squadron notil all signals* halyards were shot away, and then by tbe Myers army eode " Io ceo elusion, Admiral Scbley con tends that the toro of tbe Brooklyn io tbe battle of the Sd was the "crucial aod deciding feature of the combat, aod of decided ad van tage. " ? Fortbermore. be says, it is a-mistake to say that tbe vessel's dis'ance from the-eeemy was increased to the extent of 800 yards, add adds : "Though this may ont be of record, it is a fact nevertheless " He cites the faot that the char's of the board of navigators shows that the Brook ly o was nearest wheo it emerged from tba harbor, Dearest at every stage of the battle, and nearest the Colon wheo it surren dered, aod gives many confirmatory details of his flagships's action aod effective participation io the battle. He says be made oo report of his manoeuvre io his report of the battle, as its effect upoo the battle was never a question with bim His last paragraph readr- : "Oo May 31 I received a telegram from the commander-in-chief congratu lating me upoo my suocess io locating aod blockading the enemy's fleet at Santiago. If oct worthy of commen dation at that time I am oot at a loss to understand bow it coold have growo io to reprehensible conduct, as suggested by Admiral Sampson io his letter of Joly 10, 1898, some six weeks later." % ----- ? -^^^^ Satisfaction Over Judge Shel by's Good Fortune. Washiogtoo, Feb. 22-Southern members of congress are much pleas ed with tbe nomination of Hon. David D Shelby, of Alabama, to be judge of the new circuit court for the States of Florida, Louisana, Georgia Ala bama and Texas Jodge Shelby has Iqng been identified with the best interests of the sooth, being one of the best known, and most highly respected Republicans of bis section That be will prove to be a good and fair judge is not doubted Senator Morgan, of Alabama, who waa one of the principal supporters of J edge Shelby in speaking of the nomina tion last night, stated that the presi dent in appointing him to the exalted and dignified position honored not only the man. but the State of Ala bama, and the whole south Gomez Nearing His Goal. : - ,; aum'j*?-'< ?? ?' .. ? ? Marianao, Prov&c ' df :H bana, Feb. 23 -Gen Maximo Gomez left Gaines St half past 2 this afternoon and is now at Marianao This even ing he ie at a banquet tendered by the town--the last, except that to be given io Habana, of a long series of such entertainments The special train of five cars stopped between J Gaines and Ci naga for a few minutes each at Palenque, San Felipe, Quivi can, Bejucal and Rincon, arriving at Vienaga at half past 4 The people bad assembled at each of these points to cheer tne Cuban commander in chief while the hands played Cuban airs Gen. Gomez shook hands with many persons at each station Mayer Lacoste of Habana, Senor Federico Mora, the civil governor of the city, and tbe members of the Habana council accompanied Gomez from Guin e to Marianao At Ci n ago, about three miles from Habana, a crowd of 2.000 persons collected, some on foot, others in private car riages, while all the trains from Habana were jammed These people cheered vociferously As the train drew into the station Gen. Gomez appeared opon the platform Stops were made at Puentes Grandes and Buena Vista. At the latter point Maj Gen Lee went upon the plat form and welcomed Gen. Gomez in formally in a few hearty words The train stopp d next at Quemades, where crowds of American soldiers bad gathered, and finally reached Marianao, where a tumultuous wel come awaited Gen. Gomez Japanese Seed Rice Free. The Clemson College experiment station bas 10 bago of Japanese seed rice for distribution to planters for experimental purposes. Ont of a total of 200 bags procured by the govern ment, 10 were allotted to this State. The seed may be procured by address ing President Henry S. Hartzog or Col. J S. Newman, professor of agriculture. --- -- Baeyrus, O., Feb. 23.-Adj. Schaber of the Eighth Ohio regiment, who, during the Spanish war, bandied large quoDtities of the carnied beef provided for the soldiers, says that ali the cans j bore labeis with the figures 1898 print ed on them By soaking the cans these j label could be pulled off showing an orig io ai wrapper with the date 1888 or j some other equally ancien; period mark- j ed on them. Old Sewing: Machines made new at Randie's. Wisdom to-day rr eans comfort to-morrow* To prove it ney a White aod use it. . A GREAT FIRE IN MANILA. IT IS CLAIMED THAT IT WAS SET BY THE NATIVES. Manila, Feb. 23 -Last night was one of terror to thousands G the in habitants of Manila, the rebels mak ing good their oft repeated threats to the extent of taming acres of build ings, wounding an officer and three men by firing through windows dur ing the excitement* At S o'clock an incendiary fire oe curred in a block of brick buildings occopiad by 8 Chinese on the Calle Lacoste, in the Santa Cruz district. stiff breeze was blowing and the inflammability of tbe structures caus ed the blaze to spread with alarming rapidity The city fire department was hopelessly incompetent, and the English volunteer brigade from Santa Meza was summoned, and with a modern engine pumping adequate streams from the canal succeeded after four hours' work in getting the blaze under control Meantime the entire block and the greater part of two others across the street were completely gutted The whole city was thoroughly patrolled and the guards were dou bled Every available man was dispatched to the region of the fire. Impediments were placed in the way of the firemen and the hose cot five different times. This resulted in all the natives being driven off the streets, those in the immediate vicin ity of the blaze being corralled in vacant lots and guarded until the excitement was over In many instances tbe natives were insolent and paid no regard ito the . orders given them and the soldiers were compelled to use harsh measures. Shortly after midnight another big fire was started in the Tondo district, where the natives are thickest, and when the firemen and soldiers at tempted to work a regular fusillade of rifle and revolver shots were fired from the windows and roofs of the baildings. The firemen, escorted by soldiers, proceeded to clean out the houses, while the. fire was unheeded. The 13th Minnesota were reinforced by detachments from the Sd infantry, the 2d Oregon, the 3d artillery and the 10th Pennsylvania. Bullets flew ia every direction in almost every street in Tondo and by Tondo dis tricts, causing tbe most intense ex citement V Capt Robinson, of the 13th Min neeota, and three men were wound ed AU night long the fire spread through the Tondo district, sweeping away rows of bouses and devastating acres of territory. The damage is inestimable With daylight punitive measures were decided upon, and the Americans, though tired after their sleepless night's work, soon cleared the district of every native after a slight resistance. Insurgent Leader Issues a Hot Proclamation. Hong Kong, Feb 22 -Aguinaldo bas issued a maoifeato and accepted tbe situation caused by tbe "uoexpeeted provocation of tbe Amerioans " While lamenting the hostilities, which he says be tried to avoid by every means ic his power, tnakiog humiliating oonoessions sod tolerating insults and outrages b}' the army of occupation against the people of Manila, be adds that he is prepared to sacrifice everything to maintain the integrity of tbe national honor." He further alleges the country is unaoimons in bis support and tbat tbe people will perish rather than accept tbe odious American dominion, alleging .that "even corrupt "Spainish dominion is preferable " Tbe Philippine commission is con sidered a farce. Otis, Denby, Dewey and Secretary Harden are classed as "pronounced annezationists " The Filipino newspapers are classed as being especially obnoxious to the Filipino government Finally. Aguinaldo expresses the wish to proclaim to the world and officially dispel any false rumors tbat Germany or any other power has ren dered assistance, moral or material, to the Filipinos, nor have the Filipinos solicited it. TO CRUSH THE FILIPINOS Washington, Feb. 22.-The authori ties here are giving close attention io the Gaily developments in the military situation in the Philippine? and have decided to posh the campaign against the rebellious Miowers of Aguinaldo with energy. Within two or 'bree weeks a forward campaign will begin, and a heavy blow will be struck that will keep the insurgents quiet during tbe rainy seusoc, if it does not bring about their immediate surrender. Progress of the Philippine War. FIGHTING AROUND MA NILA CONTINUES. Manila, Feb. 23.- With daylight this morning the enemy commenced worrying tactics at vari os parts of the American line, apparently for thc par pose of withdrawing attention from affairs inside the city. , An attempt was made to rash through oar extreme left, near Caloo can, bat it was promptly checked by a hot and effective musketry and artillery fire. In the meantime small bodies of rebels, evidently some of those OB gaged last night io the cowardly work at Tondo, spread oat between the city and the outposts. Every available man was sent to drive them away, with the reedit that there wss desultory firing all the morning. From 8 to" 10.30 a. m., the United States doable turreted monitor, Monad nook, joined in the engagement, barl ing 10-inch shells over the American linea'into bodies of the enemy, as indi cated by the signal corps. So far our casualties are one man killed and 10 men wounded At ll o'clock there were sharp en gagements at the Chinese cemetery and at San Pedro Macati almost simuota neously, bat the artillery fire from both positions drove the enemy back. From the high towers of the city fires can be seeo burning at a dozen different points outside. Some cf these are probably due to the Monadnook's shells. It is ourrently reported that the na tives have threatened to burn Esoolata and the walled city to-night. Scores of rebels have been arrested in the Tondo district. A band of 60 rebels havlog two carloads of arms and accoutrements, waa cantered in a boase. Business is temporarily suspended. THE CAPTURE OF ILOILO. Paris, Feb. 23 -Filipino agents in this city have received news from Uoilo saying that the outbreak of fire was cot the work of the natives, bat was started by the American shelis. When the attack commenced, the Filipinos, add, the foreign residents were endeav oring to persosde Gen. Lopez, the Filipino commander, to submit, as Iloiio was not fortified, and was there fore not io a position to resist the American attack. The whole commercial quarter of Iioilo, it appears, was destroyed, with four fifths of the rest of the town. Finally, the Filipinos Bay, the foreign residents subsequently met and protest- j ed against the bombardment, and i resolved to put in claims for damages. I MORE TROOPS FOR MANILA. Washington, Feb. 23.-The war department has arranged to dispatch farther reinforcements to Ger:. Otis at Manila. The regiments selected are the 9th infantry, now at New York, and the 6th infantry, at San Antotaio, Texas. Both these regiments will go by way of San Francisco. It is ex pected that the transports taking them will be able to leave by Maroh 15 Gen. Otis Cables Reports Re ceived From Gen. Miller. Washington, Feb. 21.-The war department has received the following : Manila,, * 21. Adjutant General, Washicgtoo : Gen. Miller reports on the 19th inst, j insurgent forces few miles out from iioilo, believed to be disintegrating. Can maintain his position with present force. Business in eity being resumed. He has sent up four representative men, officials from capital of island of Negros, where American flag was : raised and American protection request- j ed against small insurgent force in island Affairs there and in Cebu very encouraging. Shall endeavor to main tain and improve present promisiog condition. Affairs here quiet. Small insurgent force east of city driven away yesterday with considerable loss to eDemy. Otis. HOW IT WAS TAKEN. Washington, Feb. 21.-Owing to I iaok of punctuation and regard to ! economy in cable tolls, Gen. Otis' ; bulletin is not very clear io some ! essential points, particularly thc ' reference to the island of Negros. A j careful study of the dispatch oo that ! point bas convinced the offieials here tb at Geo. Ons meaos to sa j that four representative inhabitants of the island of Negros bave come to Manila, having been sent by Gen Miller to meet and confer with Geo. Otis in regard to an extension of American occupation to that island: Negros is the fourth island group in importance. It lies at its nearest point about 1 miles from the island bf Fan ay. and Oas. Miller's forces most have been io pl ajo sight of Negros during the weeks preceding the captare of Iioilo. Jost to the east ot Negros, separated by a very narrow strait, is the island of Ceba, which is also a part of Gen. Otis9 purpose to occupy. From Geo. Otis' dispatch it is gathered that neither at that point nor at Negros is there likely to be substan tial resistance. Count D'Almenas Still Contin es His Attacks. HIS SPEECH OCCASIONS A GREAT UPROAR. * fri Madrid, Feb. 21.-In ths senate to day Count D'Al meo as resumed the attacks begun by him yesterday apon the generals who were eogaged in the war in Cuba. He complained that chests of gold, sect out to pay the troops io Cuba, had been returned to Spain intact and unopened, just as they had been sent out. In terms of special severity he criticised Capt. Ancon, tba minister of marine. Twice be was called upon by the president to withdraw his remarks, and bis speech was attended throughout with great aproar. Marshal Martinez de Campos defend ed Gen. Linares, who was in command of the Spanish troops at Santiago at the capitulation, against tho charge of treason brought by Count D'Almenas, adding that the latter would not dare repeat his charges outside the cortes. Count D'Almenss essayed to reply, but the president refused to bear him. Senor Sagasta, the premier, who spoke amid increasin g tu mah, deplored the attitate of Count D* lmeas and defended the government's conduct. He concluded by calling for the closure. The debate was adjourned. D'Almenas Won't Fight. Madrid, Feb 23 -In the cortes to-day the debates cn the conduct of the war" with the United States were continued, but little interest was developed in either chamber. Count * D'Almenas declines to accept the challenge to a duel sent by Gen. Linares, -whom he had charged with cowardice in connection with the capitulation of Santiago. He declares that he will not yield to intimidation, but will continue the campaign against the .generals in the senate, where he wili read a violently provocative letter he has received from Gen Linares. Gen. Pando intends to speak agaiost peace with the United States and will then resign his senatorship. Gen. Maximo Gomez b as Ar rived at Matanzas. Habana, Feb 21.-Gen Gomez arrived Hast night at Matanzas from Cardenas. He was met by Maj Gen. Wilson, military governor of the department of Matanzas ; Gen. San ger, military governor of the city of Matanzas, and the Cuban general, Betancourt, who is in command of the Cuban forces in Matanzas pro vince. From the railroad station he was escorted by the Eighth Massa chusetts volunteers, the Second Uni ted States cavalry and several local clubs to the palace, where be is the guest of the civil governor. A reception was given in his honor soon after his arrival, but he did not deliver an address. This evening he was tendered an elaborate banquet Governor General Brooke has di rected Gen. Ludlow to receive the Cuban commander in chief on bis ar rival here with appropriate military honors Gen. Chaffee. the governor general's chief of staff, who, with other military men, will sail for MataDzas at noon to-morrow on the Hartford, c.pects to be preseut at Gen. Wilson's ball. If he meets Gen. Gomez he will invite him to come to Habana on the Hartford. Gen. Brooke is determined to show Gomez all possible courtesy. A complete line of Bex Paper--5c 'o $2 Co at H. G. Osteen & Co's. Makes the food more delicious and wholesome ^ B g3aBaMwwaBBBg"^^D '^ ^"M1J^ :* I I limn II iii i III M iiii_ 1*-"