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EPITOME OF NEWS.

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AGRICULTURE.I

AN ENGLISH ARTIST TAKEN BY…

AN ACTRESS'S CARRIAGE AND…

MARRY IN HASTE, AND REPENT…

THE LAW OF MORTMAIN.

THE ASSASSINATION CONSPIRACY.

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THE ASSASSINATION CONSPIRACY. A correspondent from New York writes:-At last we have the testimony taken in secret session by the military court trying the conspirators upon which Pre- sident Johnson based his famous proclamation, offer- ing a reward for the apprehension of Davis, Tacker, Saunders, Clay, and Cleary; and accepting the evidence as authentic, this action was certainly fully warranted. Conover, one of the witnesses, was missing for some days, and serious apprehensions were entertained lest he might have been "disposed of," as it was known that he had gone to Canada to transact some business notwithstanding the protests of his friends. This Conover is a native of the State of New York. At the outbreak of the war he was living in South Carolina, where he was conscripted. In some way, which he does not explain, he secured a position in the rebel War Department, and by his official con- nection gained the confidence of the Confederates in Canada, whither he went early in 1864, upon making his escape from Richmond. He was on intimate terms with Thompson, Clay, Saunders, and Cleary, as well as with other distinguished rebel agents, and was bold enough from time to time to divulge particulars of plots which they had under weigh. He did this by means of letters to the New York Tribune, the last medium of communication which the agents alluded to would have supposed one of their number could gain access to. Conover's testimony is perhaps as important as any of that in. cluded in this batch of secret evidence. He states that he saw the conspirator Surratt, who is still at large in Canada, on April 6th or 7th, when he delivered Thompson's dispatches from Davis and Benjamin direct from Richmond. The dispatch from Davis, he affirms, was in cypher. The witness states that Thompson urged him to participate in the enterprise of assassinating Mr. Lincoln, and that when he re- ceived the dispatches alluded to from Davis, Thompson laid his hand upon the papers and said, referring to the assassination and to the assent of the rebel autho- rities, This makes the thing all right." Witness also said:— The dispatches spoke of the persons to be assassi- nated-Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Johnson, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, Judge Chase, and Gene- ral Grant. Mr. Thompson said on that occasion, or on the day before that interview, that the assassina- tion proposed would leave the Government of the United States entirely without a head; that there was no provision in the constitution of the United States by which they could elect another President. My first interview with Thompson on this subject of assassina- tion was in the early part of last February, in Thomp- son's room, in St. Lawrence-hall, Montreal. He then spoke of a raid on Ogdensburg, New York. It was abandoned, but it was because the United States Government received information of it. He said he would have to drop it for a time, but added, We'll catch them asleep yet,' and to me he said, There is a better opportunity to immortalise yoarself and save your country,' meaning the Confederacy. I told them I was ready to do anything to save the country and asked them what was to be done. He said Some of our boys are going to play a grand joke on Abe and Andy, which he said was to kill them his words were, 'remove them from office;' and he said that the killing of a tyrant was not murder; that he had com- missions for this work from the rebel authorities, and conferred one on Booth, or would confer one; that everybody engaged in this enterprise would be com- missioned and if they escaped to Canada, they could not be successfully claimed under the extradition treaty. "Thompson told me that Booth had been com- missioned, and every man who would engage in it would be. I had a conversation with Wm. C. Cleary J on the day before, or the day of tha assassination, at St. Lawrence-hall. We were speaking of the rejoicing in the States over the surrender of Lee and the capture of Richmond. Cleary said they would have the laugh on the other side of the mouth in a day or two. I think this was the day before the assassination. He knew I was in the secret of the conspiracy. It was to that he referred. The assassination was spoken of among us as commonly as the weather. Before that Saunders asked me If I knew Booth very well, and expressed some apprehension that Booth would make a fizzle of it; that he was desperate and reckless, and he was afraid that the whole thing would be a failure. I communicated to the Tribune the intended raid on St. Albans and the proposed assassination of the President, but tney refused to publish the letter. I did this in March last as to the President's assassi- nation; also In. February, I think-certainly before the 4th oi March. Surratt delivered the dispatches in Thomson s room four or five days before the assassi- nation. The whole conversation showed that Surratt was one of the conspirators to take the President's ire. 1 hat was the substance of the conversation. It was also understood that there was plenty of money when there was anything to be done."

ASSAULTING A SWEETHEART.

",,¡ JBXTBACTS 3TBOM "FUiSfCH…

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