Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, April 6, 1873, Page 8

— THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE: SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 1873. TERMS OF THE TRIBUNE ZEute OF UDMRITION (riy MR K ATVASCE), 12.00 | Sundas.. -$2. :001 ey %t Parts of a seara the exmo rate. - Ta provent delay and mistakos, bs eure and give Post OFce adaress in full, including State and County. Remittances may be mace elther bydraft, expross, Poat ©Offico order, or i reristored 1ottors, at our risk. TERMS TO CITY SUBSCRIBERS. Difln delivercd, Sunday excentod, % centa per wesk. Duils, delivered, Sunday included, 30 cents per wuok. Address THE TRIBUNE COMPANY, Corer Madison aud Dezrbora-sta., Chicao, L. - The Chidags Tibume, Sundey Morning, April 6, 1673. PUBLIC DEMORALIZATION. The most deplorable of the social evils of the presont dey is the general weakening of public Tespect for the eanctity of official and publio trusts. Bince the 4th of March, 1809, to the present time, thore has beena constant succes- sion of robberies of the National Government, committed by subordinates of every degree. Theso men bave taken public monoy intrusted to their bands sndused it in some form of gam- bling. Many of thesd men have,been convicted, but all, ornearly all, of them have been par- doaed; others have run away, and Congress has rclieved their sureties of all respopsibility. Othars, after conviction, heve been resppointed to ofice. The Execntiveclemencyhas even gono backward, and pardoned criminals convictod under previous Administrations. Congress has practi- cally recognized the rottenness and irresponsi- bility of the Civil Servico by releasing principals from all lisbility for the frauds committed by their subordinales. It may be safely eaid, at thia time, that the employes of the General Gov-. ernment are not mistiker in assuming that there is no criminal punishment to be inflicted wpon a5 man who robs the Tressury. of the United States, cither by forgery, fraud, stealing, couaterfeiting, or otherwise. This is supple- mented by the lkmowledge thst any man who by forged invoices and false oaths defrands the revenno may easily “compromise” by. pay- fag back a part of what he has stolen. The Tnited States collect nearly two hundred and forty millions of dollars annually throngh the castom-honses, and it would bo interesting to' kmow how much, in 2ddition to tho soven illions salary paid the officers, the Iatter receive from tmporters in tho way ol blsck-mail, for false ap- praisements, and ll tho other means so well nn- dorstood in official circles. This utter demoral- {zation of the Civil Service of tho Government has, naturally, exténded to the Governments of tates and municipalities. The robbery of tha . S*ate of Pennsslvanis, open and confessed, was ratified and indorsed oy the election of onaof the lesAers as Governor of that ommonywealth,a vast political party considering his election of more importance than the vindication of public hon- 2sty. Andmow & convicted ballot-stuffer, who sssisted in this election, is pardoned by the Presi- dent! - The general demoralization has been pmmma by such ecenes a8 where the Honorsble Afr. Dawes, of Massachusetts, rising in his place in Congress, declared that & false and scandalous thoee who are the Jondest and most ostentetions in the work of regeneration the men who have provarication and bribory brosdly printed on their own foreh eads. . A RELIGIOUS DATLY PRESS. The Methodist ministers of New York City have a useful custom of convening once a weok for the discussion of currént events from their point of view, and for comparing motes to ascer- tain how they may. best right the wrongs of society, and successfully battle sgainst the wickedness of the world. The general purpose of these weekly meetings is comméndable. It would b strange, however, if some mistakes in judgment should not occur evoa in sn assem- ‘blage of divines. At one of their recent meetings the discuseion fell upon the character aud influence of the daily presa. Had it taken s practical turn, polnting out the disgraces that are tolerated aund -even yromul.ad by s certain class of newspapers, and suggesting s plan for counteracting the pernicious influ- ences which these - journalistio bandits oxert, the discussion would have been timely and parhaps profitsble. On the con- trary. the most sweeping denunciations wWere Thurled at all newspapers without distinction ; it was maintained that their demoralizing effocts were universal and entirely unimpeded by the in- fiuenco of tho pulpit ; it was held that sermons ‘were reported simply for the purpose of gaining the ear of the religious public and then pouring poison into it ; it was suggested that reportera should be excluded from all respectable. places, and especially from these ministerial gathorings ; and it was finally proposed, as the only available means for bresking down this Antichrist, to start a religious daily, to be followed by other religions dailies, and thus bring in a higher school of journaliem. It was claimed that it was only necessary to secure a capital of $100,000 to set the ball in motion and achicve a completo revolution in the newspaper world. Without attempting any defense of journalism against this promiscuous onslsught, and certain- 1y without any purpose to defend the manifold disgraces thst distinguish & certain grade of journalism, it msy not be entirely useless to point out some sbsurdities to which the Metho- dist ministers committed themselves in this dis- cussion. In the first place, their general propo- sition was a confession of wealkness. If there are 20,000,000 church-going people in this conn- try, it is fair to presume that they constitute the masg of the reading public. If the journalism of to-day is univeraally as objectionable as the New York Methodist ministers wonld have us ‘believe, the 20,000,000 under direct religious in- struction must be largely respousible for tho fact. The conclusion, thes, ia either that the press, a8 & whole, i not 8o much demoralized as it is represented to be, or that the church- es exercise but a feeble influence over- their flocks. We prefer to believe the former. In' either case, the credit or the fault rests largely with. the. people who sustain the newspapers, and who, undoubtedly, assist in shaping their charactor. Tn the sccond placo, it is very donbtfal whether s religions daily would serve the purpose for which it is proposed. The experience of the past would say robbery of the Treasury had been 8o far success- fally matared by & member of the Cabinet that’ warrant for the payment of nearly half s mill- fon of dollara was then . passing through the hands of the recording officers of the Tressury, and asking the immediste passage of & law pro- Bibiting the payment of the warrant. The mem- “ber of the Cabingt whose job was 0 summarily scrosted by Congress has been complimented by & resppointment; first having been whitetashed by & committee, compozed in part by an ex-mem- ‘ber of the Cabinet, who Las since been convicted of Laving recoived 810,000 from & railroad cor- oration kaving daily business with him officially, lic morals of the shameless disregard of truth, ead even of_ oathe, by others holding the highest places in official life, where they vainly sought to hido bribery by falsehood and falee swearing. With such 2n gn exhibit of the moral standard recognized in at least ¢wp branches of the Na- tional Government, the following statement of our Naw York correspondent vrlLl not appear sur- prising. I conversation, the other dny,: veteran vpen(m‘ on the Stock £xchange, who knows the street, told me bo kad resson to believe that thore were defalcations -2 many of tho supposed-to-be-strongest banks in towm; €hatitis slmost impossitle, in these times of ‘desper. -#'o epcculation, fo guard zgainst irregularities on, tho part of officials, Insiders alone (he_added) bivo any adequste ddea of the extent to which finznciel ipatitutions are robbed here, Hardly s .asses withont tho discovery of some large ¢ in tellers’ or bookaepers’ sccounts, sad most of thcse deficits arp coroealed, and arranged through the 1mZuenes of the embezzlers’ friends, He mentioned a farge bank in Noasau street, - which bad lost, he as- zerted over $1,000,000, fu the padt year, by the dis- bonesty of gome of its prominent officers. Anotber roncern, in Pine street, hed zuffered at the same time, and in fhe ssme manner, to the extent of $500,000; end still snother, only last January, found that, in fivo Fears, the peculstions of its employes resched £3,000,000. Now York is no oxeeption. All through New Eogland, in ‘all tho large cities, and even in the vural districts, this same tendency to breach of trust provails. It is encournged by the license sud toleration of crime which provails in pubiic office; by the open disregard of honesty by eminent churchmen®holding oXNcial places; by the accepted doctrins that it 18 no disgrace and no longer punishsble to rob tho Government ; that men convicted of. Iying, bribery, &e., still hold high places officially and 83 leaders in moral and reformetory movements; #nd to a foverish anxiety to becoms rich by short euts instead of by honest toil and persaverence. Tho same feverish ansioty to get rich by ehort cuts prevails among all classes, Ths social ex- travagauces of those who have monoy oxcite others, There-is & general desiro to be rich that the money mey be squandered in dress snd the vprions extravegauces of society. This intonee. desive, in the light of the example of those in public life, who lie aud steal and re- main honorable men, undermines all old-fash~ - foned notions of- integrity. .Who_can measure the extent to which this demoralization éxtends? Who can tell how far the falsa swearing of 3 Benator of the United States has weskened the general regard for, the obligation of an oath? ‘Who can tell how far the bribéry of meén jn high office has unhinged the moral-rectitude of hum- bler men living upon emall ingomes? Who can snswer for the_ vast volume of crime which has resulted f:om the doctrine that it is better to let mwime havo full license than to cxposo it snd # hurt the party 2" m Georgo Willism Curtis has just retired rom the Civil Service Commission_bacause, he gays, the President of the United States is uttor- gy waslloe to change the chnm:tez of that service b5 sppointing an‘honest and ‘competent man so Inng s 5 thief is presented for the place by Sen- stors and local political cliques, Here isa field for those who geek the regeneration of society, pat unfortunstely we find conspicuous among ‘o need not point out tha effecta upon the pub-‘ not. The New York World was started as a re- ligions daily and failed. There is a religious anily now published in New York, under the pat- ronageof Mr. W. E. Dodge, called the Witness, which, We venture to say, féw people in this part of the country ever heard of, and whoge circala- tionis very limited at home. - Tho resson is natural enongh. . A professedly religious news- paper recommenda itself o a spocial class, like & real estato jomrnal or & railrosd or manufac- turers’ organ. II it were possible to conceive of a religious daily that would throw its liberal mantle over Bomsn Catholic and’ Metho- dist, over Presbyterisn and Unitarian, over Baptist and Swedenborgian slike, and unite them &1l in the common purposs of making the news- paper serve the general cause of morality, such a venture might command the support of de- voted people, but it wonld scarcely be placed where it would do the most good. Moreover, something beeides $100,000, or $200,000, or & Iarger sum, is necessary to the establishment of au influential daily newspager. It {s exceedingly donbtfal whether a jougal modeled after the _motlons of ministers of the Gospel would be & newspapératall. Itis the life, and duty, and plecasure of the clergy to look forward to the life to come. Their thoughts, their writings, ‘their actions lie, or onght to, in this djrection. It i8 their vocation to lift up the peoplo absorbed in businees or engrossed in worldly pleasures to the contemplation of the future world s much 28 possible. This is not the province of a news- paper, or, if g0, only incidontally. The model . hewspaper is the history of a day of the world’s "doings with suitablo comments thereon. This {8 not the province of a religious journal. An incjdent was cited in the ministerial discus- sion that pointedly presents the error which the Mpothodist clergymen of New York have com- mitted. The Rev. Dr. Harris found a young man in the penifentiary for burglary, who had for- merly been a regular attondant at Sunday-echool, When the burglar was asked how he came thers, Do snswered that ho had gone to Sundsy-school to learn to read and to gain rospectability, and that he had then gono home to study an English history of thieves in thirty yplumes. Tho in- ferenca intendod to be conveyed was, that news- papers were as bad a8 & history of thieves, and thns led to barglaries £nd to the penitentiary. The spesker failed to fix any responsibility on ‘the Sunday-schoof, howver, for teaching the boy to read, and failing to confine his readings in & proper chronel. Is it probable that this Bunday- pehool scholar would hsve resd the religious daily which is projected in preference to the his- tory of thieves in thirty volumes? The incident rather shows that the ministers can do more good by using their influenco whero it belongs, than by entering a field of newspaper compotic tion in which they wonld certainly be badly dise $anged. The inspiring exazple of the Rev. Mr. Ancient, who ran & line from tho shore t9 the rigging of the steamship Atlantic, and thereby saved the life of Chief Officer Firth, recalls the exquisite tale which Dickens has embodied in the opening chapter of the “Uncommercia] Traveller,” where an under-paid clergyman, wearing out his life in & poor fishing hamlet, is called to the shore in & tempestuons night to save life from an awfal shipwreck. - After laboring diligently and ef- fectively with his hard-fisted and sun-browned flock to rescue the terror: stflckm pasgen- gors, he devotes himself “to " identifying the dedd 8s they sro. Wwashed ashore, end marking their burial-places 8o that their frionds ‘may recover the dear romains. The successive pictures of human gratitude for this pious Iabor which coms fo him jn the form of letters from widows and widowers, fathers and nothers and children and brothers snd sisters, +whoso lost relatives he has identified, ensbling them to reclaim their remains, constitute s re- wurd for a life of toil, and devotion to duty, for which any conqueror o statesman might willing- 1y exchange all the resulta of tho most brilliant and succesefal career. THE S8ORROWS OF AN AMERICAK PRINCESS. o Recent Copenhiagen papers contain the details: of the adventures of two American ladies in Donmark, oneof iwhom, Miss Ray, of Boston,: ‘was married some time since to tho Prince of Schlesweig-Holstein-Noer, and was therefore s Princess and s member of the royal family, of Denmark. Beinga Princoss, and, bettor than that, a Yankee, she determined to have all the righta appertaining to her position. - The Princo died ehortly after marriage, and the widow was refused recogaition by the royal family s one of its members. BSho was liviog in superb style, in one of the finest honses in the city, with plenty of money &nd sarvants, and had for s companion Miss. B—w, a vay handsome and charming young 12dy, who had slso had sn affairof the heart, baving been engaged to be married to a Count Rantzow. She brokeoff the engsgement, how- ever, in & very abrupt manner, whereupon tha Count sued her for breach of ‘promise, which suit Is still ‘pending. One Would naturally sup- poso that & dashing young widow sorrowing for” & Prince, and an oqually dashing young maiden cordially detesting & Count, living together, im~ parting confidences, both free as air, having plenty of money and nothing to. do but to spend it, onght to be supremely happy. But suchis the porversity of the female sex, that the [Princess was not hsppy. There is nothing to show _that che. wre specially - overcome by the desth of the Prince, but the thorn in her sido was that sks couldn't run into the royal household and make morning calls, and chat with tho scions of royalty on the Copenhagen bonnots -and latest Gourt gossip. Being a plucky American woman, and inher own estimation at least a8 good a8 any Dane, she brought o suit against the King of Denmark, in the nature of a mandamusto compel him to admit her claims. Tho Supreme Court of that country, on the 1stof March last, rendered s decision sgainst her, on the gromnd that, when she marriod the Princo of Schleswig-Holstein- Noer, the marrisge did not confer upon her the rank of & Princess in thoroyal house, and that, not being a Princess of the blood, ehe could only obtain the rights and privileges of the roy- ol family by decree of the King. Having thus checked the widow, the King ordered a police officer to call upon her and ex- act a written pledge from her that she would no longer molest the royal family, and thst she would cease calling herself s Danish * Priccess. A acéno followed. Mrs. Schleswig-Holstein- Noer-Ray, of Copenhagen and Boston, flew mto o Borserker rago, Her Yankeo blood was up, likewise her Danish determination, and ehe in- formed the policeman, in choice but concise Danish, that ehe shonldn’t do anything of thokind. She should continue ® assert her rights regardless of consequences. The officer informed her that the consaquences would be very unpleasant, 28 his instrctions were to re- ‘move her from Copenhagen and send her across the Danish frontier, if she didn't quit playing Princess. This was only adding fuel to tho flame. She would like to see the King of Den- mark or suy of his menials Iy hands upon her, the widow of the King's cousin, snd, a8 if to in- vito sn operation of this sort, sho solomnly her own accord. Having thus tM¥rown down the gauntlet to the . Court, she politely bowed the officer out of her apari- ments, and retired to confide her griofs to her friend, the charming Miss B—w. The King of Denmark, being a practical sort of man, and withal obstinate, registered an oath that she should go, and instructed “the police to carry out bis instructions. After consulting with her lawyer, the Princess decidéd that discretion was the better part of valor, aud quietly left for Lisback, & German eeaport on the Baltic, ~ Thers i8 an episode in the story which is even more amusing than the rage of the Princess. The charming Miss B—w was no child. Her friend the Princess having béen snubbed by the Danes, she determined to get even with them, and at the same time ta revenge the widow. The Danish Court, in which the breach- of-promise suit was pending, had ordered her not to leave Copenhagen while the suit was pending. Sho snapped her fingers in the face of the Danish Court, and when the widow left for Lisbeck, all forlorn, thé charming Mies B—w wont with her, leaving the luckleas Count Rant- zow to pay 2ll the costa of his suit, and nurse his damsged foelings slone. The King got shead of the widow, and the widow's friend got ahead of tho Count snd the Court. There is & double moral which adorns this ve- raciops tale. Amerioan girls who are not content to espouse Republican Smiths and Browns, but have aspirations towards royalty, and are dazzled with the sheen of princely tiarsa and jewals, ehould be careful low they marry Danish Princes, who are blase enongh to_bé counted as poor riske by s life insurance sgent. They shonld selact healthy specimens af royalty only, 28 & Boston widow, after the Prince's death, is only & Boston widow, nothing more; can- not sport her litle and flaunt her robes in the faces ci her transatlantic sisters; cannot. take . her sowing and mmn over sud spend the day with her royal comsins. Danish rogalty don't strike in, and the game of Copenhsan is soon plsyed out. There s alsoa bint tp Dgnish countn to beware hoy they go flirting sbout with Amarican belles, 88 the latter know thing or two. Count Rantzow, reflecting upon his adventures with the charming Miss B—w, and reflecting upon the transitoriness of ‘women from America, i3 an instance in point. What Miss Ray knows about Rogalty is fairly maiched by what .Count Rantzow knowa about Republicaniam, —— In the Erie investigation, now in progress te- fore a committee of the New ' York Legislature, Mr, Watson, the President of the road, rocently produced & mutilated account-book which he hed found in the Erie offices, containing items of expenditure for “legal services,” under the day Gould management. How many of thess items had been thrown sway with the lesves that Were torn ont it is impossible to say, but those that wereleft made the following showing: Mr. Jay Gould had allowed himself the sum ot £638,500 for “legal expenses,” some of tho itoms being charged to Senator Humphrey, 8. H. ‘Hammond, A. H. Barber, Senator ~—, Messra. Jordsn, Marsh & Co., pnd others entirely un- sccountedfor. One item of 347,000 in Jay Gould's account was eet down simply as ¢ extra legal services.” William M. Tweed's ‘legal acr- yices” bad cost the Erie Boad, according to thiy testified before the same Committes that Tweed swore that she would never leave Copenhagen of . that his formor master had been poisoned. He -the purity of their ‘past lives. How much re- account-book, $105,662.86, but Henry T. ' Antoss must have Tecoived at least $1,000,000 in the timo, for which 105,000 is chargod. Peter B. Bweeny received tha round sum of §150,000 for his valuable legal services. Samuel J. Tilden is charged with §20,000, but s he ays- that he did not receive s dollar, this item is probably s bare forgery, and found its way to the pockst of somebody ' else. Of. tho other accounts,’ Hugh ‘Hustings hed 815~ £40; Thomas C. Fields, EBOBO James Fisk, ©193,400.43; Hamilton Harris, $69,448.92; A. D. Barber, 855,750; A. Van ' Vechton, §12,500; Daniel Drew, $52,600; ' Henry -Thompson, 8159,500; W. H. Vendarbilt,. §18,950; M. P. Bennis, $1,000; and James O'Brien, 82,500. In ddition to this eminent legal talent, three hotels were also engaged in *legal services ™ at acostof 87,135. The total expenditures thus Ioosely accounted for samounted in .sll to 81,504,912.71 in s period covering abont two years. Itis not surprisiog to learn that the memorsndum-book bore ovidences of an at- tompt &t destruction. : et — BLONDE LITERATURE. Tt used to be that the fiercest passions and the Qarkest doods were. associated with black eyes and raven bair. The brunsttes Lada copyright in literature and on the stage for the feminine tragady. They were slways the heroines of the ‘blood-and-thunder dramasand the weekly serials, They wore intimately associated with witcheraft. The Borgias, Medicis, sud Lady Macbeths were ‘niversally painted as dark-featured, with plore- ing, incandescent orbits and luxurisnt masses of jet-black hair, falling back upon the shoulders or loosely caught up, to act a8 a constant and ccuspicuons m.m!.ugw timorous young men. All this hasbeon changed. Modern research would have us beiieve thattho black-eyed Borgia was the very pink of perfection, s lady of grest personal and mental charms, with s preference for a lifo of single bleasedness, but & widowhood that was simply irresistible. Lady Macbeth, on tho other hand, has boen discovered to have been o slight little woman with blue eyes and blondo hair. Modern literaturo has fully recognized the claims of the fair ladies with golden locks to bo the standard heroines of melodrams. They| are o longer required to fritter away their penchant for the terriblo upon the simpering sentiment of the Juliets and Paulines. They have been admitted into full membership in the froitful school of blood-snd-thunder. Miss’ Braddon was'smong the first to do justice to the blondes, and 'Ledy Audloy’s golden locks became a fair stage precedent for les femmes terribles. She was speedily transferred to the Fronch stago, if indeod sho was not originally ‘borrowed therefrom, and Messrs. Alexandre Dumas and Adolph Belot are now engaged in showing the public to what grestar depths of crime » fair Iady with golden locks may go than ever were reached by the fercest women of dark ‘hair known to history; tradition, or pure fiction. M. Domas’ “Femme de Clsude” wes a fair- haired lady, and wickod enough in all conscienco to establish any precodent that might be thought desirable. Bhe descended to’ tho lowest of crimes. She availed herself of her husband's’ ingenuity in the invention of a new gun, mado bim the first victim of his improved pro- foctile, stole his sccret and devoted it to enriching her paramonr. But M. Adolph Belot, the author of the sangninary drams entitled * Article 47," which has boen playing in Chicago during the past woek, was not to:be outdone in making fair-haired women horrible. His effort in this direction is entitled “Ls Femme du Fou." Thoides of a “Woman of Fire” with red bair was in-consonance with the new order of things. Fer name is Diano de Borard. Sho i the sensation of the watering-plsces, and is given to taking- moonlight baths, whero she- glitters in the phospliorescent sea-waves, and’ dazzles the susceptible young men. Among thesois M. Lucien d'Aubier, an advocate, who is alresdy botrothed to & .young lady named ‘Marie de Rieux, who, -being inno- cont and ‘much-abused, is‘ presumably s brunetto. 3L d'Anbier declares his lovo for the terrible blonde, and finds that his love is roturn- od. The conventional French msmms steps in and forbids the bans because Diane has no for- tune, and becauseshe proposes that hor son shall marry money. Diano tells hor lover to wait and she willremove this difficalty. Lucien agrees to this. Disne, with the wicked deliberation now characteristio of the blonde species, marriess cortain old AL, Lery, Who is richi, and who dies at & conveniently early dsy. Lucien is astonish- ed at Diane's prescience, but as sho has now the requisite dowry and adds the attractions of widowhood, he marries her. But their hap- winess is short-lived. The - first husbaod's svonger steps in. He was M. Lery's steward, and has long suspected, probably on account of Disne's blonde compezion and goldoy locks, finally fixes the crime upon Diane, snd in re- venge makes love to her himself. Diane thinks the punishment too severe, and resents the ad- vancos of the Deus ez Machina in the pereon of the steward. Thus insulted and ontraged, tho steward kills Disne and then kills himself. This affords Lucien a gratefal relief, and he immedi- ately proceeds to marry his first Iove, Marie, who has also become awidow inthe meantime, though by the coyrse of nature. - The introduction of *“the fair one with golden locks” aa the heroine of the sensational novel and drams does mot seem to have im- proved this school of literature, though it has evidently stimulated its popularity. / The Womsn of Fire” rapidly ran through twenty-two editions ae'a novel, and has Lad a tremendous gucoess a5 8 plsy, It would be difficult to con- ceive of anything more flimsy or more demoral- izing than the action of this play. Afterinstruct- ing thousands of people through the book and on the stage in thc mast infamous varieties of crime, the story leaves a8 a moral the union of ita two meanest characters, and the inferemce that they had a happy .life. Lucien, who married & yoman after waiting forher to dispose of her first husband in'order o possess his for- tune for their mutual benefit, and Marie, who conveniently forgets her old lover's infidelity, and ignores the vile associationa of his first mar- ried life, become united for the purposes of talk- ing overthe joysof their first marrisges, and sponsibility the novels and dramas of this vi- cions achool must sssume for public familiarity with crime, and romantic 'suggestions in vice, is an interesting problem for the d.ucnmon of the Bocial Science ‘Congress. The First Lord of the English Admiralty has Just submitted to the House of Commans the naval estimstes for the ensuing fiscal year, which exceed those of last year by 81,702,880 It will ‘bo remembered that the army estimates recently prosgnied by the Becratary of War showed 3 do- | New Orlexns and the SBtate. crease almost as large 88 the increase in the navy estimates, The fact is important, asshowing that England is detormined to maintain her old supremacy on {2e seas, and will rely upon her navy rather than her army in case of au emer- gency. Taking this view of tho case, a very de- cided increaso of her naval resources was neces- sary, from the fact that all the Continental na< tious aro matarially strenglhening their ngval power. i The Boston Zranscript publiches, nnder the title of ““A Dream by a Federal Officer,” an apt illustration of the late Congressional salary grab. The dream recitea that the officer was employed in‘the Bub-Treasury, and that, having lived more exponsively than his salary justified, he found himself indebt. Togetrid of the debt be took 95,000 of the public monoy, was arrest- od and indicted, sud knowing of ‘no "dofense pleaded 3\ulcy ‘YWhen sbout tobe sentenced, the court was disturbed by the entrance of & stout, vigorous man, having a smooth head. Ho rushed to the prisoner, and, swelling with in~ dignation, domanded, * How far Las this non- gense gone?” This man's name was Ben Batler. Addresaing the prisoner he said: “Tunderstand you were' in the service of the Government, and prices having risen since John Adams’ Adminiatration, it has required more than your ealary to support your family in & Afirst-class hotel, and 60 you have helped yourselt to & few thoussnd dollars of Government money." Violontly striking his round fist upon the rail, “Good God, and they dare accuse you of embezzlement, Why, you've only drawn dack pay.” : Thien, addressing the Court, Butler stated the facts, threatened the newspapers with libel- suite, and thus closed his argument: Can {t be that the citizens and courts of AMassachu- setts have not learned that Government servants need no longer gauge their living by their salarics rather than by their tastes 2 - Are they not aware that public officers may reasonsbly suppiement their salsrics by recourso to the public funds? ¢ Dum wicimus, vioa- .mus," {s now the motto of the national service. Have ot the publio heard that the members of the Congress of tho United States whose hotel and other expenses had excesded the amount of their alsries, have just taken, with the same justification under which this do- fendant hes acted, s million and a half doliars from the National Treasury 7 Do they not comprehend that money thus sppropristed o himself by a publio servant is regarded a5 back pay 2" In the name of im- partial justice, in the fair neme of equity, I ask what is the difference between the act of. & Congressman who draws “ back pay " and that of the defendant The Court suggosted that the cases were par- allel, when the prosecutor replied that, the Con- gressmen bad protectod themselves by 5 vote. To this the Court anawered: *Lét 0o such thin tochnicality distinguish the Washington from tho Boston embezzler, The dofendant may pass » voto confirming his set with equal moral effect.” Tho priconer was then discharged, and left the box with tho complacency of & porfactly ‘honost maz. 3 A recont cable dispatch, dated Copenhagen, April 1, announced that' the Folkething, tho Lowor Houso of the Rigsdag, had pagsed & vote declaring & want of confidencs in the Danish Miniatry, which, to most readers, convoys about 28 much meaning a8 a corrésponding sentence in Choctaw. The Rigadag, or Danish Parlisment, is divided into two Houses,—the Landathing (Senste) and Folkething (House of Rep- resentstives). There s mo hereditary con- dition attaching to tho Landsthing. Twelve of its members are nominated for lifo by the Crown for distinguished service, the remainder being chosen for eight years by electoral bodies made up of the largest tax-payers in the country andcity districts. The Folkething bas 101 members, who aro elected for threo years. The conditions for the exer- cise of the olective franchise are that the voter haa reached hio-25th year, that he is notin tho recoipt of public charity, that he is not in private servico withont having his own household, and that he has resided at least onme year in the district whero ho votes. All men over 30 years of age, who have a good reputation, can bo elocted to the Folkething. Tho Royal Privy Conncil is the King's Cabinet, and consists of seven departments—the President of the Council of Ministers and tho Ministers of Foreign Af- fairs, Interior, Publie Education and Ecclosins- -tical Affairs, Justice, Finance, and War. They ‘have access to both Houses, but can only vote in the House of which they are members. The present Privy Council hes been in office since May 28, 1870. A correspondent of the Cincintiati Com mercial writing from New Orleans, givos s gloomy ac- count of the condition of sffairs in Louisians. An nssociation not to pay taxes has been’ organ- izod, and he ropresonts it 88 including smong its mombers the property-holders and the most honored, substantial, and prominent citizens of Of the finsncial condition he says : Toutaisns, with less than a million population, has to-dny & Btate debt of £40,003,000, and tke City of New Orleans” has a dobt to-dsy of abont $30,600,000. It secms incredible, and will startle you who in Ohio, with & population of over threa million, owo less than, 9,000,000, This enormous debt of the Btate- and cliy’ Das all been created in the past six years by the very men who sre now supported by Gen, Grant in the usurpation of the State Government. It is useless for them to point to Warmoth as the scapegoat, and charge ‘him, sa Governor, with the responsibility for this enor- ‘mous debt, which 8o clearly indicates robbery and cor- ruption, for they are the men who surrounded him . and legislated this money away. The Lrade and commerce of the city has greatly failen off during the last few yenrs. Businessis paralyzed with the constsut disturbance and irri- tation. Thé failures during the lsst three ‘months smount to over $3,000,000. Tho rato of taxation is 5 per cent on the full valuo, and all fho Toal estalo in tho cityis or sale, with no buyers at any pric The following, from the London- Echo, is too full of truth and good sense to be loat : * There is no way in which ladies, otherwise good and honorable, behave 8o thoroughly ill and do so much mischief a3 by their violation of the prin- ciplea of verscity and justice in their dealings regarding the transfer of servants. To conceal any fact which distinetly militates sgainst their honesty, morality, or sobriety, 1s to be guilty of # most serious deception.” A very considerable proportion of the tronbles with servants in al- most every household grows outof the loose manner in which housekespers give servants certificates of good character, merely to get rid of them without disturbance. Considerate and respeotful treatment of & good servant snd a peremptory refusal to recommend a bad one ara two important elements of the domestic econ- omy, which many American as well as English honsekeepers bave yet to learn. OneJobn F. Green was placed upon trial, s few Qa8 since, in Baltimore, for embezzling publia’ money. The indictment charged that he had taken the money ‘‘fraudently.” The . prison- er's connsel claimed that this was not legally English, thelettors ““u” and “1” being omitted, and the Court sustained the objection. Mr. Green was discharged, and, thanks to the State's Attorney’s bsd orthography, can enjoy the manemhmh he did not ““fraudently” embezzle. timore courts, however, must be labor- ing under a very bad spell of Iaw. CHARLES SPURGEON., 'BY PROF. WILLIA MATHEWS, OF THE UNIVERSITY ©OF oHICAGD. T “Who hias not seen Naples, haa seen nothing," say the Italitna; who has not heard ‘Blr. Spar- geon, has not heard the grestest of living preachers, will sy hundrods, not only of Eng- lishmen, but of Americans, who have listenéd to the burning words of a Beecher, a Liddon, & Punshon, or & Hall.” To visit London withoat secing the Metropolitan Tabernacle and, ita preacher, would be like visiting Rome withont soeing Bt. Peter’s, or making the tour of Amarica without beholding Nisgara, For this reason and- a mixture of. others, .we left our hotel on & fine Sabbath morning,—the 6th of August, 187i,— and, mounting an omnibus bound for *‘The Elephant and Castle,” were soon on the Surrey side of the Thames, and presently at our point of destination. The Tabernacle, 60 noted among. churches, we found to” be s plain, but massive ' church of brick, sdorned with Corinthien pillars, standing back from tho street, znd inclosed with an iron fence. Although the gato to the inclosure was not yet open, a crowd of persons had already collected, half an hour be- fore the service begen, Waiting xmpnhanuy for admission. Upon stating that we were an Amer- ican, a ticket of admission was at once handed to us, and we entered the building just as it \vas beginning to fill. Glancing around, we'wers struck with the resemblance of the vast sudience- room to that of & Iarge theatrs. At the farther endis astage-like platform, with a movesblo tableon casters and a few chairs; and just below it, five orsix feet above the main floor, there is an orchestra-like inclosure, filled with » large number of bright-looking and neatly dressed boys. Iunning round the church are three galleries, one above another,—the whale forming one of the best arrangements for seeing and hearing that conid be contrived. Beating oursélves in the front gallery, st just tho right distance from the speaker, wo had an excellent opportunity both to see and listen. The regular congregation hav- ing been eated, the doors were thrown gpen to the crowd, when & mighty tide of human beings surged into the aisles, filling every standing- pluce, sitting-placo, niook and corner of tho build- ing, till it seemed impossible for anotheér man or child to squeeze himself in. Never have we seen an sudience more denmsely packed,—not even when Jenny Lind sangthe first night st Tremont Temple in Boston, of the rapt attention of the dense throng on which occasion this strongly re- mindedns, Even the uppermost gallery, which is 3 good way toward heaven, mauy persons wero standing for lack of seats. The house filled, Mr. Spurgeon at once steps from o back door upon the platform, followed by the Elders of the church, whosit just behind him. Inhis physiognomy and general appearance, there is littlo to give assurance of & great orator. Bhort, stout;and muscular, with a’ somewhat square face, small, sparkling eyes, a well-formed nose, & mouth shaded by & black raustache, and"s general air of frankness, straightforward- noss, and honesty, he is a good type of the An- glo-Saxon, and 1o _one could possibly mistake ‘him for & nativa of any other country. Natur- 2, decided, and impressive in his manner, full . of force and fire, and spesking in a loud, bell-.| like voice, at ouce clear in its articulations and pleasant in its tones, be rivets your attention at tho start, though procisely what is tho socret of his hold upon you, you are puzzled to tell. Ho begins the service with prayer; and a prayer it is, & real outpouring of the heart to God, not an oration befors the Almighty, or an eloquent so- liloquy. Ho is evidentlynot oneof those preachers who, 28 Sonth says, *8o pray that theydo not supplicate, but compliment Almighty God ;™ e believes, with the same divine, that it is not necessary to beg our bread in blank verss, or to show anything of the poet in cur. devotions but indigonce and want. After tho. prayer comes the hymn, resd in a clear, im- prossive voice, and without any sccompani- ‘ment, either of organ or bass-viol,—the vast as- sombly of 5,000 or 6,000 sound forth the notes of praise. After the first verse has been sung, Mr. Spurgeon singing with'hia people, & second verse ia read end sung, then another varse, till the an- tire hymn is gone through with. Before worship- ing at the Tabernacle, wobad heard tho fino music at the royal chapel at Whitehall, and lis- tened with ravished ears to tho echoing strains of tho trained and gowned singers in Bt. Paul's, and to tho pealing organ aa it swolled the note of praiso in *the long-drawn aisles and fretted vaults” of Westminster Abbey; but we woere 'more deeply moved by this simple praise,:~this grand, though inartiatic song of joy,—walling up from thesp Christian hearts, than. by the most- gorgoous music that everip minster or cathedral had esenyed to 4 #Dissolve us into ecstacies,” - ‘And bring all Heaven befors our eyes.? A lesgon from the Scriptures is next read, companied with s pithy and suggestive running commentary, and the people throughout the house open their Bibles, and follow the pastor in the reading. Another hymn is given out and sung ag befere; and then comes the sermon. Though fitty or sixty minutes long; it is listened to throughout with the- profoundes interast, no one, not even of the listeners who are standing, ehowing any signs of ‘wearinoss. The text is 1 Corinthinns, 6: 19, 20— Yo are 'not your own ; for se are bought with s price;, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your epirit, which are God's.” The subject is considered under three heads; L., The blessed fact—“Ye aro bought with s prica;” IL, The plain consequance arising from this fact, namely, that, 1. It is clear a8 a negative, that ** Ya are notyour own;"” 50d 2. Ttis clear as s posilice, that *your body end epirit are God's.” III. The natural conclu- sion, “Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit.” Under the second hesd the speaker ob- serves: “It is s great privilege mot to be ome's own. A vessel is. drift- ing on the Atlantic hither and thither, and , faults in him whigh they, would‘ not see it he were not & profossor. For my part, Iam very glad of the Iynx eyes of the worldlings. Let them _watch, it they will. I have. heard of .one. wha wasa groat caviller at Christian people, ‘and, after baving -apnoyed a church a long time, ha was about to leave, and, therefore, as a parting jest with the minister, he said, ‘I have no doubt | Youwill be very glad to-know that I sm going a hundred miles away ! “No,"said the pastor; ‘1 shull be sorry to lose you.” How? I never aid you any good." ‘I don’t know that, for I am suro that never one of ‘my flock put half a fool throngh the hedge but what you bogan to.yelp at “him, and 80 you have been s famous.sheep-dog forme.’ 'Tam glad the world observes us. It has & right to do 56, If s madeays * I am God's, he sets himself up for public observation. Y¢ are lights in the world, and whas are lights in- torided for but to ha lookmi Tat? A mty set ona hill cannot be hid.’ 5 ‘These pasaages, mm from the. ennluxc give but faint idea of the sermon a4 & whol, which Was a masterpiece of its kind, and in many re- spects poculiar and original. After servico, wa had pleasant interview with the preacher, whom we found lying on & sofa in 8 back room, guite exhausted by his effort. He had but just recov- ered from a severe aickness, this being ‘his sec~ ond sermon gince he left his bed. It is -wéll known that his exhausting labors and burning enthusitsm have begun to tell upon his physical constitution. The sword has proved too sharp for even the stout scabbard. Ten years aga preaching was almosf as easy to him ‘as singing to & bird, - To electrify, convince, and persuads audiences was s Isbor of love.: = Now every Sundsy's efforta cost him foriy- eight hours’ pain. Dauring our -inter- view a gentleman _said to him that!an Amierican preacher who had heard the sermon observed at its close, ** That discourse was com- posed in' this house.” “Did he say 807" ex- claimed Mr. Spurgeon. “That is remarkable, The text wsa given to me by one of my deacons, who died yesterdsy, and requested in his 1ast mo- ments that I would preach fromit. At 8 thir morning I eat down to think out the discourse. Ispentan hour upon tho text, and could make nothing of it. Inever conld preach from: other people's texts. I said this, in my despair, to my wife, who told me to try again. I tried again ‘with the same result. -*Well,’ said Mrs. 8., go into the pulpit, and the sermon will come to you.' I followed the advice, and you know the result.” In this case Mr. Spurgeon must have sperit more time than usual in preparation, for it is eaid that e commonly devotes but a halthourto this pur- pose. Only the heads of the sermon aro put on papor; all the Tost is left to the pulpit. “If T had a month given me to prepara s sermon,” he chen said to a-visitor, “I would spend thirty days ané| twenty-three hours in something else, and in the last hour I would make the sermon.” When asked by the same person if -he had ever written » discourse, o replied, “Iwould rather b bung.” : Yetif Mr. 8.spends but little time inimme- diate preparation, he spends a vast deal of tirie in goneral preparation, for the pulpit. No preacher Das drunk déeper dranghts from the old English divines, or saturated his mind more thoroughly with tho spirit of God’s word. By these means hehas become “a Leyden jar, charged to s plenum,” in Horaca Mann’s phrase, and, the mo- ment he comes in contact with his people, gives forth tho electric fire. In our conversation with him, we observed that we woald not call the ser- ‘mon eloguent; it was somothing far better than eloquence. * O, no,” waa the reply, “I haye no pretension to that sort of thing. I love to hear eloquent men, you know, sa well as any- ‘body, but if I should attemptoratory, I shonld ba sure to fail.” In the same spirit he lately profaced alecture by saying that he had never yet suc- ceeded in the art of lecturing, and added; It any of you have ever seen s goose trying ta fly, you may eay, That's like Mr. Spurgeon try- ing to lecture.”™ It is reported that a moted fanaticand bore once called to see him; and, boing asked by & deacon what name he should announce to Mr. 8., replied, “‘Say that s servant of theLord wantsto see him.” ‘Tell him,” was the' preacher’s reply, that Tam ‘engaged with his Master.” Bamg asked by Dr. G., of Chicago, Who was with us, whether this snac- dote was apocryphal, he smilingly admitted its truth. AMr. Spirgeon has & good deal of mother its end no man knoweth. It is derelict, deserted by all'its crew; itis the property of noman; it is the prey of evéry storm, and thesport of every wind ; Tocks, quicksands, and shoals wait to de- stroy it; the ocean yearns to engulf it. Itdrifts onward £0 no man's land, and no man will mourn its shipwreck. But mark well yonder bark of the Thames, which its owner surveys with pleas- ure. In its attompt tosreach the sea it may run, aabiore, or coma into collision with other veasels, orin s thonsand ways suffer damago; but thero i8 o fear, it will pass throngh the floating forest of ‘the Pool;' it will thread the winding chan- nel, and reach the Nore, because ths ownér will secure it pilotage, elillful and spt. How thank- fal you and I should be’that we are not derelict to-dsyl Wearenot our own, not lefton the wild waste of chance to be tossed to and fro by fortuitous circumstances, but ‘there isa hand upon the helm; we have on board spilot who owns . us, and will surely steer us into the Fair Havens of eternal rest,” Under the third head, Mr. Spurgeon ssys: “Our bodies used to work hard enough for the devil ; now they belong to God, we will make them work for Him. Your legs used to carry you to the theatre; be nottoo 1azy to come out on & Thuraday mght to the honse of God, Your eyes have often been open on iniquity; keep them open during the sermon, do-got drop asleep! Your ears have been sharp enough to catch the words of a lascivious song; let them be quick to obsérve the word of God. Those hands have often squandered your earn- ingsin sinfulness; let tHem give freely to the cause of Chrisf Your body was a willing horse when it was in the service of the devil; letit not beasluggish hack now.that it dmw- the chariot of Christ.” Again: *If you were togo toa cattle-show, and it were said, ‘Buch and guch s bullock belongs to Her Msjesty,” it may be that it is no better than another, but it would be of interest to thousands as belonging to TOy- alty. See here, then, such and such & man be- longs to God; what manner of person ought he to be? Kthembc any ame in this world who will not be criticised, depend upon it, Christian, it i8 not the Christian: sharp eyes 1 will be upon him, and worldly men will find | wit, and even when preaching drops from time totime a shrowd, pungent remark, orindulges in an apt, vind pictorial illastration, that cansca the sea of upturned faces to ripple with a amile. Ina recent: speechin Surrey, st the laying of the foundation stono of & new chapel; he said no money was to be placed in the cavity of ‘the stone, for he could not see the usé of burying money, and, moreover, he had known memorial stones to move suddenly during the night when morey had been placed in thom. He once heard amian say, “If you want to touch my purse, yor ‘must touch my heart,” to which' he (. §.) re- plied, ““I believe you, because there is where you keep your heart.” Another manonce said to him, “I thought you preached for souls, and not for money ;” and he replied: “8o.we do, but we can't live upon sonls, and if wa could, it woula take a large number mnhuynm to make 8 singlo breakfast.” Tn another article, we shall endestor to sxplain the secret of Mr. Spurgeon’s marvelous succcss 5 5 preacher. * Capt. Carlsen, the Norwegian navigator whe: has recently reported his rediscovery of: Spitz- bergen, makes a curious revelation. , Nearly three conturies ago, in 1596, William Borentz, & Dutch navigator, sailed on his second voyage to discover tho passage to Asia throngh the Arctio Ocenn, reached tho archipelago, and‘Janded on the const of Spifzbergen. He pitched his tents, built huts, and passed the winter there, When ho sbandoned the const, heleft the huts and-their contents as they were. From tnat time to the time that Capt. Carlsen landed on' the coast, in the year 1870, no man had ever touched the same spot. Cspt. Carlsen found the huts of theold Dautch navigator just as he had left thom,—~the relics of the fire that had been éxtihiguished 500 years before still lying on the hearth ; the books on the shelves,. including & work on Davigation and s history of China which had been tranalat into’ Dutch; the jugs and dishes in which the food had been prepared and served, engravings, mathematical instruments, & pair of £hoes, otc. Capt. Carlsen took all these &Xng! and brough$ them back with him to Europe.. They will cer, tainly be ourious relics of a singular story., Bt. Louis is sgain wild with excitement and delight, having got out another diractory, which gives the population of "twelvo of the thirtsen wards of the city at 428,12%—an sdvanco of 117,262 over thé census of 1870. In this cones tion, the following table will be found of-ine terest: Chww]n' ¥ f.{ml‘- %,m Rt ‘The Thirtaenth Ward of St. , added since: 1870, embraces ‘* all out doors,” and its vote for Mayor, April 1, was 1,138 Its population, sc- conding to the basis of the twelye wards (1 vota to 17 inhabitants) should be 19,346, making fill total 447,472. 1f this basis holds good in '8t Louls it ought to hold good here, and on_thix ‘basis Chicago has a8 728,501 inhabitants. Bt. Touix must get out another directory. oz incressa the nun of inhabitants to voters. By st i Pere Hyscinthe has gone to Genevs at the in< vitation of & number of Catholics, to preach, 88 e says, the principles of true Catholicism. He deprecates any idea of getting into any religlous . controversy, but as Geneva is just now thevery hot-bed of theological strife, it is difficult to sea how ho can go there without being drawn -inte the troubles between the Old Catholics and the TUltramontanes. Insa hner to » friend ho s2ys: 1 ask only one thing from tha governments of this world, viz, : The liberty to preach the Goa- ; and T go to Geneva, 23 I went to Manich, logne, and Bome, and s I ghall go whither: - soever I may ba calfed by Catholica Beadived not o abdicato the raith of their fathers.either ing the hands of Ultramontanism or disbelief.” -