DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 20, 1862.

Major General GEORGE B. McCLELLAN,

Commanding Armies of the United States:

Your or any officer you may designate will in your discretion suspend the writ of habeas corpus so far as may relate to Major Chase, lately of the Engineer Corps of the Army of the United States, now alleged to be guilty of treasonable practices against his Government.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, January 20, 1862.

Colonel MARTIN BURKE, U. S. Army,

Commanding Fort Lafayette, N. Y.

SIR: It is contemplated to release and send South all civilians or seamen from the rebellious States who were captured on board vessels seized for violating the blockade or who when captured were not in arms or had not been engaged in any hostile act against the United States. The Department does not know the names of all those who are now confined in Fort Lafayette by its order and will therefore be much obliged to you for a list of them, with the name of the vessel on board which or the place where they were captured, if you can give me that information.

I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,

GIDEON WELLES.

BRIDGEPORT, CONN., January 21, 1862.

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.

SIR: I am in some doubt as to which Department to communicate the following facts, but have concluded to inform that under your charge of the same. A few days since two persons, one named Reemer the other Theodore W. Downs, arrived in this city from Memphis, having received a pass to come North from the rebel authorities. Reemer has a family here and Downs a number of friends. An article was published in one of the Chicago papers (which I cannot recollect) a few days since stating that they had been closely watched inasmuch as it was reported and believed that they were coming North for the purpose of visiting some of the manufactures of arms, taking drawings of machinery, &c., for the benefit of the rebels. Reemer is a machinist by trade and quite expert. Adjutant Rust, of Colonel Buford's Illinois regiment, rode some distance behind them in the cars and informed some friends of his in this city that he believed from their conversation they were rank secessionists and upon no honorable errand. They design remaining here for some days.

There is every reason to believe that a lodge of Knights of the Golden Circle exists in this city, although their meetings are held secretly and without any degree of regularity. They at one time met on stated evenings, but on the eve July 21, 1861, our citizens smarting under the results of Bull Run and thinking they had met for the purpose of

13 R R-SERIES II, VOL II