Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, March 29, 1874, Page 8

8 " THE CHICAGO DAILY NDAY, , i i e T e e e = TERMS OF THE TRIBUNE TEBXS OF SURSCRIPTION (PATABLE IN ADVAKCR). Parts of 8 y f.muunanu. To prevent delay and mistakes, by sure and give Post 0t ce address in fall, inclnding State and County. EBemittances may bo made either by draft, cxpress, Post Gice order, or in vegistored lettors, at our risk. TERMS TO CITY SUBSCRIBERS. Datly, delivered, Sunday excepted. 25 conts per week. Daily, delivorod, Sunday incladed, 30 cents per wook. Address THE TRIBUNE COMPAXY, Comer Madison s0d Dearbora-sts.. Uhicago, i TO-MORAOW'S AM USEME NTS. M'VICRER'S ] steeot, botween s, TETATE e g ACADEMY OF MUSIC—Halsted stroot botween Med; st Sty Jngasemontol Mrn: . Jimes 4. Outer® Combination. ¢ Madame Angot's Child. ADELPHI THEATRE—Comer of Witash svesg and Congresss treet. Graad olio entertaiument. Zegrino, Moulton, Ajaxthe Defiant, stc. FQoLEy's T Tmzu‘n?—mnflomn stroet, between Clark and LaSall Psogae: < Riska. THE. 1RE——D laines streat, between Mad- e ahtegtan, Engagemont of tho d Jop Brothcrs snd Charlas Chrisde’s Paniomime Tronpo. ampty Dumpty Abroad.” MYERS OPERA-HOUSE Momros strect, betwecn to: Atlinglon, Cotton, sad Kemble's Do e ey ‘and Comicalitios. " Now busiesque o€ ** Llown Up Alive.” The Chiags Tribune, Sundsy Morning, March 28, 1874. THE BROOELYN COUNCIL. The allabaorbing topic in religious circles is the Congregutionsl Council in Brooklyn. The history of the matter mey be briefly restated. A year or more ago various scandalous stories were ciremlated and printed, involviog the Iev. Henry Ward Beecher, of *Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, and, indirectly, the families of Theo- dore Tilton and others. The promulgation of these stories was wraced to Henrs C. Bowen, of the Independent and Brooklyn Union news- pspers. Previous to any publicity of them Mr. Tilton had cessed attendsnce at Plymouth Church, and at 8 much later day his name was dropped from the roll of members of that church. He had not asked, nor did he receive, sny letfer of dismissal. Plymouth Choxch, throughout fhe entire agitation, had resclutely and nnanimouslyenstained Mr. Beech- er, sod sconied everything like iuvestigation. Tho matrer stood thus until & Congregational Church of New York addreseed a letter to Ply- mouth Church suggesting that the dropping of the name of & member withont cause duly as- signed was an irregulaity, and asking friendly conference. Plymonth Church: declined this, intimating that it was competent to take care of its own business. The Congregetional churches * of whichDoctors Storrs and Budiugton are pas- tors therenpon voted that invitations boeenttoa number of Congregational churches in various parts of the country, to hold a Council, and de- termine what is the practice and law of the Congrogational Church ontho question involved. In complisnce with this call church-meetings wero held by all the invited congregstions; some voted to send dclegates, and others de- clined doing so. The Council thus callod is now iu seesion. Under all this lurks the sll-important quee- tion whether Mr. Beecher is guilfy of thocharges made sgairst, him, and whethsr Plymouth Church cea be tolerated in refusing to investi~ gote sccusations which, if trne, would unéit Mr. Beecher a8 a teacher of religion, and stamp him w5 3 hypoerite and a standing Teproach to “Christisity. Though nothing of this kind ap- pears on the surface, every one knows that the real purpose of the Council is to force an inves- tigation of the charges which bave been bandied sbout against Mr, Beecher. In the meantime, after a season of scandal, in which Bowan and Tilton appeared to stand up by leaning against each other, there was a solemn pact of secrecy entered into between Bowen, Boccher, and Tilton, under which all further publicity concerning the scandal has been suc~ cossfally stified. Still there has been, msni- festly, no cordiality betwenn the parties, and there has always been a little smoke issuiog from the ground where the thing was buried, aotil now it has biazed up in the Brooklyn Coun- =l The excitement has been intensified by the statement of Dr. Storrs that Tilton's name was dropped from the roll of membership of Ply- mouth Church on account of slanders uttered by him, and without any trial toshow whether he was guilty ornot. Following upon this state- ment, if not provoked by it, Ar. Tilton ad- dreesed alstter to the Council on Friday, in which he mads the two statements foliowing : Fisst—In 1850 I became a member of Plrmouth Cburch, In 189 I terminated my connection with that church, In 1673, my name, which still lingered n the roll, was officially erased. My retirement from 1his church wes cxecuted by me in strict conformity with the rulo of the church, and the validity of my act ‘has since been sigually and repeatedly ratifisd by the unanimous vote of tho church, afirming snd re- affirming the principle on Which that act was Lased, ‘That principle, a5 I hold it, is the right of a freeman 10 sever hia connection with s church by his free will, 34 I shall never become & churchman in sny church in which this is not the rale, Second—Four years sfter I had ihus terminated my «onnection with Plymouth Church I was charged by a. ‘member of that body With having circilated and pro- moted scandals derogatory to the Christinn integrity of tho pastor, and injurious to the reputation of the chiurch, A widespread impression overshadowed good men's minds that whatever other points were in donbt there could be no doubt that I hsd slandercd the pastor of Plymonth Church, Thereby declars that Thad 2ot thun, nor have I eince, nor at any time in all my Iife, ever uttarod a slander against any human being. Tho firat of thege seems to be conclusive os to Lis retirement from the church, but the second has intensified the feeling in regard to the other question of his having accnsed Mr. Beecher. His words that he ‘‘never uttered a slander against suy human be‘ug" are accepted as hav— ing 8 double meaning. ' They donot amount to » denial of having made charges against Mr. “Bosches, but merely to & denisl that he has ever 2ccnsod him wrongfully, Mr. Tilton, therefors, ‘having spoken at all, will baseto do 50 agsin and explicitly, He must now state that e nev- er made any of the accusations of which he is the reputed suthor, or that, having made them, ‘'he did so because they were true. The Council, therefore, if it succeed in doing nothing elso, will have uncovered this great scandsl, and com- polled Mr. Tilton to Geny all the statements at- tributed to him, or place Plymonth Churchin a position where it can no longer refuse to inves- tigate the charges. In the meantime, the country will not lose sight of the fact that, from the beginning of this tronble, Plymonth Church Las never beon divided in its devotion to ita pastor, nor on the question of stamping down every movement tending to an inquiry, or explanation, or investi- gation of the conduct of Beecher, Bowen, or Tilton. That is & beok which Plymouth Church has declared, with extraordinary and persistent ( unanimity, Rhall never be opened; and, even 0¥ the Cluroh aud its pastor treat the Council ‘with caremonions indifference. Altogether, this is the profoundest muddle of modern times. It takes rank with the Tichborne case in its palmi- est days THE “ TOWN-BOARD” PEST. The people of this county are fearfully and wonderfally governed. We are, in this city, subject tono less than four distinct bodies of officials, cach haviog power to levy taxes. These are: (1) The State Legislature, which levies taxes and expends the money ; (2) the Common Council, which bas the same powers; (8) the County Commissioners, who poseess and exer- cise the same powere ; and (4) the threa * Town Boards,” which also possess and exercise the same powers. We have occasion just mow to sgain call the attention of the people of the city to the monstrous rob- beries perpetrated by these Town Boards. There is a * Town Board ” for South Chicsgo, anather for West Chicago, and atother for North Cbicago. Each of these Boards is composed of the Supervisor, Town Clerk, and Justices of the Peace. Tho law provides, in cage of the ebsence of either of these officers, the Assessor or Cal- lector, or both, may eerve in place of the 8b- sentees. The town officials for South Chicago, during the year ending in April, 1674, consisted of the following persons : Justices of the Peace—Calyin D' Wolf, Jcn Charles Haines, N. B, Boyden, S. C. Hiusdale, C. H. Daggett. Ruperrisor—Patrick O'Brien. Zouwn Clerk—Jobn Schueier. Coliector~P. M. cxm Assessor~E. Phillipe, During the year l.heru bave been fiftsen meet- ings of the Town Board, and at the last oune which was held the compensation for town ofi- cers is 8aid to have besn fixed. We have infor- ‘mation that t50 of the fivo Justices were ab- sent, and we regret that we do not know their names ; and that Collector Cleary and Assessor Phillips wore called in to act for them. The Board in session consisted, in that case, of Bu- pervisor O'Brien, Assessor Phillips, Collector Cleary, Town Clerk Schacffor, end three Justi- ces,—in allseven pergons. This Board fixed upon the following compensatiol -The entire Jabor of the Collector was within three months ; that of the Assessor did not oc- cupy 80 long; the duties of the Supervisor would be amply compeneated with §20 ; and the Town Clerk had to atteud fifteen meetings. In addition, the Collector had the public money on deposit during his service, and probably re- ceived for its use at least £2,000. It will be seen’ that the Collactor, Arsessor, Bupervisor, and Town Clerk were a majority of the Board who voted theso salaries. In the case of the Town Clerk, we are informed that the vote stood 5 for the sllowance and 8 againet if, end that on tLe next vote ho voted and carried the motion to pay himself $100 a day for attend- ing the meetings of the Board, though the said Clerk was incompetent to discharge the daties of his offico and fad to cmploy & substitate. We: presume that the three Justices voted against these enormous allowances, and we aro informed that Justice Boyden denounced them trothfully as a robbery. The law contemplates that the salary of the Collector shall not exceed 1,500, and thut of the Asscesor shall be 85 s day when actually engeged. The legal compen- sation of the Town Clerk should not exceed $30. Tho fair and liberal compensation for these officers msy be thus stated : Yet these fonr men voted themselves £23,500. In a fow days the North Town Board and the West Town Board will meet ana vote the sala- ries for their officers, if they have not already doue 80, and, as the officers of these towns are oqually 88 meritorions ns those of the South Town, they will unquestionsbly be voted com- pensation on tho same scale. Ny These Town Bosrds, and the Supervisors, Assessors, Collectors, znd Town Clerks, are nothing but legalized bodies of public plunder- ers. Theyare wholly unnecessary as part of the governmental machinery; they have no du- tios to perform that might not be much better performed if there were no such oficérs. They are an incubus, o fraud, an organized hody of men licensed to rob the public. XNow, there is 8 remedy, and that remddy is available. All thess town officers who \have voted themselves this public money are candi- dates for re-election. Thoy are opposed by oth- er candidates, who seek the offices for the pur- poso of repeating tho robbery on the same, or even 8 larger, scale. There willbe ia each town several tickets, all mado up of tho samo tribe of tax-eating scallawags. The remedy isfor the decent people of each town to seloct some citi- zens of respectability and elect them to these offices, There are no duties to be performed ; but respectable men, by keepivg the thieves out, -will protect the pablic. There is to be a voll in each ward of tie city, and every voter, who will give five minates to the duty, ean at least do somethinz to clean out these repacious and insatiable wretches, who have unlimited nuthority fo levy taxes and’ vote tne money to themselves. Shall Chicago pormit itaelf to be plundered this way any longer? Will the tax-payers not strike one blow for their own detlverance? We can only look far final relief in the total abolishment of the Town-Board sys- tem; but, in the meantime, the people can pro- tect themselves from wholesale robbery by elect- ing men who will not abuse their powers so infa- ‘mously a8 the present Board. ‘The way should be prepared for doing this & weck from next Tuesdsy. PROF. SWING'S PUBLIC CHURCH. The possibility that Prof. Swing will presch once each Sunday in eome large and central hall instesd of his own church is & ignificant sign. It puts in concrete form two or three noticeablo facts. A man nowalays cannot well be both preacher and pastor. The time when the minis- try formed & peculiar intellecinal caste, led men by force of esclusive knowledge, bas passed away. While theological training has remained substantislly the same, end while the percout. ege of college-bred men who study theology steadily ~ decreaced, iunstruction in “*branches of lcarning bLas found pew r facts to _teach, and has invented me ethods of teaching them, znd hss taught,’from year to year, more and more men. To keep even abreast of hm rongre- gation, much mpre to keep ghead of it, the min- ister of to-day needs to study far more than hie grandfather ever dreamed of doing. Ifheisto play the paatoral part, and pay an endlessround of visits, and push forward Dorcas clubs and 86%- idgesocieties, snd church-fairs, he cannot, save has other countless in very exceptionai cages, find time for the etudy which good sermons demend ; sud Prof, Bwing's bealth has fairly given away \mdar the doubla strain. Another notable fact whick flla proposed change would ,exemplify is that s written creed, even when it is fally belioved, may prove a fot- ter toa clerical student. The same form of words means such differont things to different men that they can belong to the same sect aud yet hold widely different views. This does not matter so longas they lot each otber alone. When one of them, bowover, happensto boa busybody, he cail drsg the other before Prosby- tery, and BSynod, and Goneral Ausembly quite st bis good will snd pleasuro. The process msy result in disrupting the accused’s congregation; although it is more likely to disrupt the denomiuation. Ecclesiasti- cal martyrs do not have to bleed bodily to plant the seed of & new church. A Bishop tries to depose a clorgymsan, aud lo, the Reformed Episcopal Chburch springs into being. The gist of the creed-business is this: A minister ought to be responsible only to God and his own con- gcience. for what he preaches. He is, however, responsible to the congregation that has called him, and to various ecclesiastical gatherings be- sides. His acceptance of a call implies an obligation' to conform strictly to the religious ideas of the particular church, and bis entering a denomination implies & tacit bargain that he will preach only what tho major- ity of that donomination’s highest court con~ siders trne doctrine. No man can kuow, when he enters or leaves stheological seminary, what his viows will be in a score of years. He can, of course, by keeping an Index Expurgatorius of all books which in any way contradict his creed, keep himeelf piously ignoraat, and so insure his baving the samo views at 45 that he bad at 25. To be sure, here are twenty years with x0 Tesult of progress; but what is the loss of a fragment of time compared to that eternity of happiness which awaits those who devoutly stop learning anything new after their boghood? If » minister should, on the contrary, gather & congregation around him in virtue of the truth he teaches, instead of the form of words ho was baptized in, his responsibility is limited toits proper sphere. God and his own con~ ecience are his only judges. ‘The crowds which listened to Prof. Swing in McVicker's Theatre did not care whether the speaker believed in the ¢ Sabellian doctrine of a model Trinity” or not, or whether he was guilty of that frightful soteriological heresy, ‘‘the morat-influence theory of the Atonement,” or not, or whether he was of this sect, or that, or tother. They did not even shudder when Prof. Patton launched at him the awful charge that he did not preach enongh sbout hell. His is the true position of a minis- ter who wishes to do as Christ did,—reech the publicans and einners. He must preach the spirit that giveth life, not the letter that killeth. He mmust be free to speak the truth thatisin him. He must speak it from a platform rather than from apulpit. If Prof. Swing takes tho step proposed he will resch thousands of people who never go inside a church. Chicago needs moe independent ministors preaching in the heatt of the city. ENGLISH TRADES-UNION CONGRESS. On the 12th of January last, the Parliament of the lsborers, mechanics, and tradesmen of England mot at Sheffleld, and continued ir ges- sion eight 1ays. The men there gathered did not, however, call their assembly & Parlisment; they called it a Congreas, considering that des- ignation, doubtlcss, more democratic. In it were represented 112 societies, and, if we can rely upan the published reports of the mecting, 1,046,000 members of various trades-unions. Tlus is o formidable srmy; but the number is probably much too large,~purposly exagger- ated fo impose on the public, and com- mand s consideration which does not ontirely belong to it. This is all the more probable, 88 in the Congress held at Manchester in June, 1868, the number repre- sented did not probably exceed 500,000. The ‘highest estimatc made of it is only 860,000. The speaker claimed that this year the number rep- resented was 1,650,000. It is difficult to discover what the real figure is. Some cool-headed writers, commenting on the proceedings, 28y that the Congress did not ropresent over 800,000, It appears, however, that one Society alone—tho *‘Factory Acts Reform Association,” which sent delegates to Shefield—numbers 236,000 members, recruited from Lsncashire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire; and another—the ' Glasgow United Trades Council "—140,000. ‘The Congress reemed to desire to impress the people of England with two things: their strength and their moderation. They agitated several important questions—the suflrage, taxa— tion, labor-representation in Parliament, the rolations of capital and labor, between which they would not admit thers could be anything but antagonism. They avowed that it was their object to make capital subservient to labor; and to institute s war—not e bloody one, howev- er—ageinst class-distinctions in England. They inveighed sgainsi the practice of appointing certsin Judges in Englund, divines, land-owmers, and others, who drew no salaries, and consequently had no interests in common with the laborers and arti~ 5ans, demanding that the courts over which they presided shonid not bave cognizance of breach- es of contract between masters and employes ; that such cages should come before, and be de~ cided only by, salaried Judges. They had some- thing to say also about commerce and the trade in real estaie. In fact, they resemble in some respect a logialative body, and claimed, throngh their President, lr. Rolley, that their Congrees did not ¥ield in fmportance to the House of Lords or to the House of Commons. The Evglich trades-unions as at present or- ganized have no bond of union but this Con- gress. A 1r. Howell read s paper advocating the crestion of a universal trades-union. Itwas proposed that the trades-nnions of Greab Britain should join thas part of the International which eechews political agitation. Mr, Owens proposed federation with the trades-unions or similar organizations of other conntries—a propo- sition which was adopted unauimonely. A rep- resentative of the gentler sex, Mrs. Batler, ad. dre| the Congress on the claims of women, and demonsiratad the propriety of abolishing male arstocracy, a¢ well as all other kinds of aristocracy. While the trades-unions are tuus displaying their strength, another and opposing power is growiogup in England,— The National Federa- tion of Employers,” with John Robinson, of the firm of Sherp, Stewart & Co., of Manchoster, as President. It is gaid that this Society embraces the employers of 2,000,000 laborers. Its charao- ter, however, is entirely. defensiva, It ocon- capital, to ecure the independence of such English laborers as rofase to join the unions, 204 t0 see to it that eapital, intellect, and educa- ticn are represented in the National Councils. The Congress &t Sheffield passed 2 nnanimous resolution condemning waras ameans of settling international disputes, on the ground of its bac- ‘barism, ineficiency, and expensiveness ; and nd-"| vocated the establishment of an international tribunal jpstesd. Among the friends of the Congress are meny men well known in England, Jarge manufacturers even, and mem- bers of Parliamont. These men. have hitherto exercised a very beneficent influence over the unions, and held them in check. 3fuch of the moderation and gocd sense which characterized the Congresa in January it owing to their influ- ence. Whether they will be ableto control organi- zations of the character of these unions when party passions run Figh, is auother guestion. The tendency of these organizations is even now revolutionary. Yearafter year they are becomfng more radical socially, He would be a bold spe:n- lator who would dare predict in what the conilict between the trades-unions snd the * National TFederation of Employers” will end, moderate a8 the former profess to be, and resolved, as the Iaifer are, to act only on the defonsive. THE SUNDAY-AFTERNOON LECTURE 80- _ CIETY. ‘To-dsy will witness the insuguration in Chi~ cago of 2 movement without o parallel in this country, ahd with but one in England. Socioty knows that ignorance is the great cause of misery and erime. It knows that ull the ap~ pliances of education might almost as well not exiat, 28 far as workingmen and women are con- cerned. They cannot go to echool. They can- not go to the courses of lectures given éach win- ter, for they cannot afford to pay 25 or 50 cents for an hour or two of amusemont or instruc- tion, nor have they auny desire to learn snything in the evenings that follow long hours of hard work. Society knows, too, that the vast majority of people of all ranks of life will not use their Sundays in going to church. This may be & sorrowful fact. It is nevertheless a fact. Society knows that Snndsy is the day on which saloons and other places of vile resort reap their richest harvesta. It knows that one grest reason of thisis that the people have nowhera else to go. Knowing a1l this, it has yet neglected to provida the plain and easy remedy. The people wantgmowledge. They cannot psy much for it. Their only leisure time is Sunday. If no pleasant mesns of instruction and smusement are pro- vided for them on that day, they will spend it in idleness, or worse. Ergo, instruction and amusement, both of the highest poseible kind, should be furpished on Sundsy st prices which would put them within the rosch of every one. Acting on this plain fact, the Chicago San- day-Afternoon Lecture Society has gone to work. Its members have spent their time aud money treely. Mechanics and merchants have united in the task. It has hired aball on the West Bide, in & thickly-settled region whichis comparatively dostitute of churches. It has remembered that skilled mechanics are earning now only half of what they were a year ago, and it haa therefore s0ld twenty-five Lickets, each good for any leo- ture, for 21. It thus gives an afternoon’s en- terioinment, a combined concert and lecture, for 4 cents! Its members, whose yearly tickets cost but 31, pay only 2 cents for each Sunday’s enjoyment. The Society is not especially de- signed for the working classes. It is for every- body. It will provide the best pcesible lectures and the best possible music at the least possible cost. Ite London prototypo has been liberally sustained. It hopes for 28 liberal s support here. Only 500 members are needed to insure its success. If it obtains a larger number it will give lectures in half-a-dozen different halls, and 80 put knowledge, With its inevitable results of comfort and immunity from crime, within the reach of tens of thousands. DBE. BASTIAN ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE, The beginning of life, the starting point of vitality from organic matter, is an unsolved problem in science. Tho viows of the ancient philosophers were vague and chimerical. They imagined that life arose from the mud of the Nile, from the dews®n plants, from decay- ing meat, or from & primeval egg, and the varions changes in many organic beings, now known to us 88 the metamorphoses through which they pese, they looked upon 28 an origination of life. Later, mon wearied with theso apeculations, and, possessed of a more complete knowledge of facts, rested upon the axtom omne vitum ez oto. But with farther advances into the regions of Nature the origin of the egg itself was questioned, and, with the unfolding of tha Evclution philosophy by Mr. Darwin and Mr. Spencer, they were at ouce placed under the implication of teaching that life was the resultof the inter-action of natural forces, under certain conditions and at suitable times, without the iniervention of a creativeact; or, in other words, that they were advocaies of the theory of spontaneous gener- ation. With regard to Mr. Darwin, his oppunents professed too much. Mr. Darwin deals, not with the origin, but with the modification, of organic beiogs. {In bis * Origin of Species” he speaks of life with its several powers as breathed by the Creator into a few forms or one.” Mr. Spencer has explicitly denied that heis abeliever in spontancous genersticn in the present state of the earth’s history, but, as he is not content with the theory of a creative act, he looks upon the origin of life as occurring at a time when the heat of the earth's surface was falling through those rauges of temperature at which the higher organic compounds were more unsta- ble than now. This instability of organic com- pounds is at the root of the whole matter. They are easily decomposed, and exhibit a molecalar ‘mobility which is very feeblo, The nitrogenons compounds which form a large pext of living tissues are peculiarly unstable, and their meta- ‘morphoses take place under very slight changes of conditions. Prof. Huxley maintains essen- tially the same position as r. Spencer. Sir Villlam Thomson, dodging the direct queshon, suggests that originally life may heve been in- troduced on our earth by a moss-grown frag- ‘ment from the ruins of another world. Indecisive 28 these various theories are, they are at least suggestive of the spread of the Evo- lution hypothesis and the gredual weaning of men from the anthropomorphic idea of crestion. TUniformity is the central idea of modern sci- ence. That which was once competent to pro- duce certain resnlis is competent now, and the msaner in which we see the operations of Na- ture effected now is the same that has been con- tinuons throughout the past. The quantity of tho work done i3 changed, but the mannerin which it is accomplished,—the governing law,— never. Ths excess of cerbomie acid in the Carbonifer- temolstes, besides caring far the interests o | 2ms Age produced an Lumense vegutstica; with its diminntion in volume s less renk growth of vegetable forms prevails. The action of ice at the present time is less productive cf results than in the glacial period, but the method is the same, ‘But we have wandered somewhat from oumr subject, which is, Is living matter now orig~ inated denovo from orxaute matter, or ia it mere~ 1y a descendant of previons lving matter, arig~ insted, wo koow pot bow or when, in the past ? 1t is an interesting question, and we can only butefly direct attention to it, At the extreme end of Evolutionists stands Dr.. H. Charlton Bastian, a distinguished Englich ecientist, who has for some years been investigating the sub- ject. In his ‘ Beginuningsot Life™ (1872), he has given at length his views and experi- ments upon the question of Archcbiosia (life- origination), in which work are many grave facts and not s few startling sssertions. He claims to have proved the originaiioa of living beings from organic snd non-living matter, aad sufticient corroborating testimony bas been given by other scientific men to the effect that, if life is not produced de novo, it has aileast been produced under conditions which were previously beld to negative its existence. In the 1ust pumber of the ** Popular Science Monthly,” Dr. Bastian, in s review of the posi- tion of Spencer, Euxley, and other Evolution- ists, brings forward eome new arguments to compel their acquiescence in the theory of Archebiosis, which are certainly very effectively presented. Ho looks upon their denial of the present occurrence of Archebiosis, while admitting its poseibility in the past, as unwar- ranted, and as assimilating it to ansct of special creation, the very notion of which they reject. The diverse conditions of ttmperature, and of tho present growih of living matter on the earth; the great abundance of dead organic mztter, lacking in the beginning, but now fur- nishing an easy starting point for life-evolution ; the admission that carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, all lifeless bodies, when brought together under certain conditions give rise to protoplasm, this protoplssm exhibiting the ‘phenomena of life; the division of eolid sub- stances under two forms of aggregation, crys- talloid and collord, the latter possessing energis and looked upon as the primary source of the {force sppearing in the phenomens of vitality; the multiplication of effects which sre at work upon the simplest forms of life, and must iney- itably modify them, so that it wera absurd to suppose thet such structureless organisms as amoeba shonld bave existed unchanged through Limitless past time; these snd other reasons seem sufficient, in the view of Dr. Bastian, to prove, and, indeed, to necessitate, the fact of the origin of living beings 1o less to-day than at any previons time in the earth’s history. Experimentation on this difficalt question has a8 yet been desultory, and the facts are not suf- ficient at present to do more than indicate the result. Dr. Bastian is, perhaps, the most san- guine of the many investigators; but, aside from the flasks and retorta of the laboratory, thero are other arguments which may aid in finally set- tling this vexed guestion, and thereby giving a completeness to the hypothesis of Evolution which it does not now possess. 'WINE-DRIREIRG IN MASSACHUSETIS 200 YEARS AGO. In the April number of Old and New is a most entertaining history of the liquor trade of Massachusetts two hundred years 230, written by Henry A. Miles, the facts of which are as follows: The first trade of Boston was with the wine countries. These countries, which were Roman Catholic, wanted fish, and casks, staves, and hoops in which to ship their wine. In ten years after the settlement of Boston, there was a brisk irade with the Canaries, | Azores, Madcira, Cadie, Lisbon, and Malags,— carrying out fish and staves and bringing back wine. As early as 1642, a law was enacted ap- pointing gaugers. In 166, the General Court of the Colony made 2n order which, after recit- ing that complaints had been received from * divers forrain ports” io regard to the insuf- ficiency of the ataves and with respect to their baving “‘worm holes” in them, directed the appointment of “‘viewers of all pipe- staves” intended for exportation, and to bo used ‘“for making of tyte caska.” ‘This order, to be made of general notoriety, was to be setup in two places in each town,— the meeting-house door and s post on the whart snost used. The trade in fish was so large that all persons were forbidden to use cod or bass for manure, and fishermen were exempted from trainings. In 1642, ten ships sailed from Boston with fish and staves, and all returned laden with wine. Wine was so sbundant and cheap that the best ciaret sold for fourpence a gallon. ‘With the incressein the trade came the difficni- ties of enforcing the laws regulsting it. In1645, there was a tax of one-twenty-fourth part of the value 1ad on all smported wine. This ad valorem duty had its drawbacks, and was changed toa tax per gallon. The vecond tax waa on the re- tailer, who was required to pay for evary butt of wine the twentieth part of the value thersof. ‘The third tax was the license tax for retailing. In each town men were licensed to draw wine, paying twenty ehillings for every butt of sack drawn, andso in proportion for larger casks. All these laws were more or less evaded, and the General Court wus kept basy devising means to prevent the evasions. In 1646, , officers were authorized to entor all houses and cellers in which wine was kept that had not paid the imposts, and seize the wine. Later, the Court offered to abate the duties one-half to all importers who made a true entry of what they had landed. Still later, in 1648, the collection of the daty was farmed out, the farmer to pay £120 to the Government, In the meantime the use of wine was universal, and it was having ita effect upon the people. In 1646, in a preamble to & 1aw, it was recited that « forasmuch as drunkonness i a vice to be ab- horred of ail nations, especially of those who hold out and profess the Gospel of Christ Jesus,” etc. Btill the use of wine was 8o gen- eral that the legal resrainta were of a kind that would be considered mild at this day. ‘Ta s tecord of provisions for the supply of 200 soldiers, the list of articles reads as follows: 4 Peas, 8 hogsheads; beef, 6 hogsheads; fish, 10 quintals; oil, 10 gallons; vinegar, 1 hogs- head; beor,1tun; buter, 6 firkins ; wine at your pleasure.” This was in 1645. In the stme year the General Court found it neceseary to protect laborers from being compelled to receive their wages in wine. There wero thore who wanted to make wine alegal tender. The law on this’subject, made by the immediate descendants ¢f the passengers of the Mayflower, will sound carious to many in ths day. It re- citea: * Whereas, it is found by too common aud sad expericnce in all parts of the Colony that the forcing of lsborers and other workmen o0 take wine in pay for their labor is a great nureery ot preparation o drunkenncid And il lawful tippling, occasioning the private meetings of profane persons whereby youth is draww aside to lewdness, fhe good creature of God notoriously abused, the hearts of good people much sad- dened, the profession of religion scandalized, and the Lord greatly dishonored,” etc. The General Court of Masaachusetts of that year had 1o harsher term for wine than ‘‘the good crea- tare of God.” Two years later, in 1647, s meeting of the ministers and Elders of the Colony took place at Cambridge, when the General Court passed the following ¥ote: *The Corte thinke it con- venient that order be given to the Auditor to send twelve gallons of sacx, and six gallous of white wine, as s small testimony of the Corte’s respect to the reverend assembly at Cambridge.” These were the complimentary auspices under which religions conventions were held at that time. Ono of the first Iaws of the Colony was to prohibit the sale of stimulating drinks to tha Indinns; but, when wines became 5o sbundant, the Court, in November, 1544, passed an order that “ The Court, apprehending that it is not fit to deprive the Indians of any lawful comfort which God alloweth to all men by the use of wine, do order that it shall be lawful for all such as are or shail be allowed license to retail wines, to sell also to the Indians so much asmay be fit for their needful use and refresning.” Even in those days arose the perplesing ques- tion, What constitutes a tippling-honse, and what ia s “ tipple”? The General Court defined these quostions by s law which required that no ‘man shonld tibple longer.than half an hour, ar drink more than half a pint atatime. A tip- pling-house was to be prosecuted in case a man was seen drank in it ; and this led to anotherlaw to prevent drunker men from being hidden from sight in tippling-houses. It should be remem- bered that this wine was good; it was pure snd unadulterated. The wine in those days was drank from pewter pots of various sizes. In those days, too, the uss of wine at the sacra- mental table was liberal o the point of being shocking to the notions of the present day. The church records show that tho msual supply in the administration of the sacrament was s balf pint to each Communicant! The writer con- cludes that the annual consumption of wine in those days averaged more than two barreis to each family in the Colony.” GLORY AND ITS COST. Under the rays of a tropicsl sun on the weat cosst of Africa stands the town and fortress of Cape Const Castle. A white line of surf beats incoesantly upon the granite rock which forms the foundation of the fortress, and rolls in upon tha sandy besach with a rhytlmic monotony that never ceages. Originally colonized by the Por- tuguese in 1610, snd aftorwards by the Dateh, it passed into the possession of the Bntish in 1661. At first & station for facilitating the slave-trade, it has becoma the depot of commercial inter- course with the interior. A hundred years thero are'butas & day ; change there is none; it is an eddy of the current of the world's progress, and well-nigh forgotten and monoticed by all bat the school-boy in his routine task of geographical studies. A deadly climate, noxious beasts, anda death-rateof 150 t01,000in European occupants lend afunereal atmosphere to the place, The romance of Letitia Elizabeth Landon hes woven, smoug the reminiscences of slave-traders snd dolefulmemoriesof garrison officers, the mystery of aloneliness rarely disturbed. Beyond is an impenetrable jungle, through which & few narrow patha lead to the fertile country of Ashantee, rich in growth of grains, vegetables, and fruits. The trade is in palm oil, gold dust, snd ivory, and the gains tempt a handful of merchanfs to riak their lives in traffic. The Ashantees, a rather vigorons race, became involved in diffculties with the British in the early part of the century, and, after the destrac- tion of the British army under Sir Charles Ale- Cartby, a momentary advantage gained by the Ashantees was overcome ; they were obliged to tme for peace, and, by a reaty in 1826, the River Prah was fixed as the boundary of Ashantee on the south, leaving the coast tribes under the protection of the British. Since then various differences have occurred, but they have hither- to been settled by negotiation. A recent transfer of possession of s part of the coast from the Dutch to the English haa re- sulted in & war. Whether the grievance be that of non-psyment of tribute, or the denial of ac- cesa to the coast to the Ashantecs, matters little. The defeat of Sir Charles McCarthy fifty years ago was not forgotten, and s long list of troubles with the warlike Ashantees led to the sending of an expedition similar to that dispatched to Abyssinia a few years sgo. It was poedful that the campaign should be short and speedy, a8 military operations were of neceseity limited to the coolest months. The resources of the dock-yards and arsenals were gathered together; breech-loaders and rockets and all the improved appliances of modern war- fare were bronght into requisition. The aid of the native tribes was invoked, and for six months the British public has awalted, in ill- concesled suspense, the resulf. Special corre- sponcenta flocked thither from all points of the ccmpass ; varied and conflicting rumors found their way home from time to time, and were re- inforced by sage predictions of disaster. Dis- cuseions as to the fature policy of the Govern- ment, whether of occupsncy or abandonment, were gravely discussed ; but behind all was the invincible determination to make the Ashantees feel and thoroughly comprebend the power of the British arms. Meanwhile the war progressed. Allies failed, the Fantees proved cowsrds, the Houssas unre- liable ; but ptuck carried Sir Garnet Wolseley through all dificulties, and on the 1st of Febru- ary he entered the Ashantes Capital, Coomnassie. Onze in possession of the Capitil the object of the campaign was attained, and the, return to the coast and to England was !éeedi!y accom- plished. We may predict thereas« The natives, duly impressed with sn ides of the power of England, and possibly somewhat fatigned with over-exertion in 80 hot a climate, will for the Ppresent remain quiet. Some additional trophies will adorn the rooms in the Tower of Londox, & name or twowill be worked upon the flags of the victorious regiments. For the victories i in Abys- sinis Bir Bobert Napier was received in state, granted a pension and the freedom of the City of London, and created Lord Napier of Magdala. Less cannot be granted to 8ir' Garnet Wolseley than to descend to history as the conqueror of Ashantes, and Lord Wolseley of Coomassie. It is, after all, but an episode, a parsgraph of history. The old castle will still decay, the sun throw its sestbing heat upon the surf as of yore, and the naked savages play upon the beach and steal through the jungle, forgetful of the past. Bat for the lives that wors lost, and the freas- ure that was used, has compensation been re- ceived ? It is a fine thing to be the policeman of the world ; but perhaps in the future some highsr taotivd insy itilinate kitd airést the appite cation of this power to other uges thanto satwfy the avarice of a few merchants and ths “i:. gloty of & powerfal nation, or to sustain th, diplomatia “ relations™ of greedy and arrogan commercial agents in their incursions ing savage and berbarous countries. DID MRS. BANES DANCE P In the present Senatorial canvass in Masgs, chusetts tho party-lines are beginviug to b, drawn very rigidly, and the antecedents of can. didstes for the chair of the dead Statesman are examined with microscopicsl fdelity. Gy, Banks has been one of tho victims of this pocz. lisr scrutiny. He has been placed under the m;. croscope, and a very serions flaw has been dis. covered in his antecedents by the Dawes caucns, which unfits him to be & Seoator from Masss. chusetts. Some one in the caucas ventured thy rash remark that there was no aristocracy, or pretonse of aristocracy, in Boston, whereupon another member got up and denied the soft i poschment. He rominded the gentleman whg had mada this rash assartioz of an lucident ag. tending the Prince of Wales ball in Boston dar. ing the Governorship of Gen. Banks. The ‘“lavender-water” element of the city hag picked out a certain lady as representative of the creme de la creme, and typical of the gilt. edged, rose-tinted, donble X, A No. 1 aris. tocracy which sprang from the original codfish mspended over the Speaker's clair in the House, to lead the danca with thoPrince. Gov. Banks, however, Teming. ed the lavender-water elementof the require. menta of official etiquette on such occasions. To this they demurred, a8 it was not every days live Prince was caught swimming m Iavender water; and, although very ngly stories were cire culated about the young gentleman, they werg determined that the feminine representative of the creme de la creme, snd no$ some ordinscy skim-milk woman, should have the honor of first inaugurating the terpaichorean honors to Muster Albert Edward, who was then an unmarried, roystering youth, sddicted to midnight flagons and a penchant for the Can-can. The Governor, however, held out for the requirements of eti- quette. The lavender-water element stormed, and the more they stormed the more determined grew the Governor; and at last he put his foct dowu with a crash, and declared thst he would not be present to receivq the Prince unless thy first place in the first set was given to the lady to whom, the speaker declared, by all precedent, it belonged,—the wife of the Chief Magintrate. Lavender, therefore, had to yield, and, although it was sorely shocked and grioved, an@ has nct rocovered from it to this day, Mrs. Gov. Danka led ont the Prince of Wales in .the first dauce, and tke gili-edged young woman of the creme de la creme is now only known as the woman who didn't dance with the Prince of Wales, and loog #go made up her mind that this is a hollow, de- ceitful world at best. It behooves Gen. Banks, therefors, if he etill bas a hankering for the Senatorial position, to settle this question. Did Mrs. Gov. Baoks, fourteen years ago, dance with the Prince of Wales, or did she not? It she did, then is Gen. - Ranks a bloated aristocrat and a fawning tuft- hunter, and anfit for the high pasition of 4 free, enlightened, Republican, Democratic, Liberal statesman. If she did mot, then should he hasten to deny the slandarous assertios. I Ars. Gov. Banks was 50 rash as to dsnce with the Prince of Wales, how can her husband dis- cuss guestions of finance or vote intelligently upon the tariff? Jf Mrs. Gov. Banks was not only 8o rash ss to dance with the Princeof Wales, but also to render the pilt-edged young woman of the creme de la creme disconso- 1ate for life, and the victim of & socret, consum- ing sorrow, how can the General expcct to ropresent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Senate Chamber of the Uited States, and look at the interests of that State throughre- publican spectacles? MUSICAL SENSATIONALISM. It is rather a curious featurs of the musical profession that the managera will persist in re- gorting to humbug and sensation for advertising purposes, when these humbugs and sensations have become go transparent that the public can see through them without the slightest difficulty. They accomplish no useful purposo, for, while a few unthinking people may be csaght by such glittering chaff, the artist must soomer or Iater coms before the bar of public musical opinion and find her true level. The worst fea- ture of this sensational syatem is that it places & serious obstaclein the way of many who might otherwise attain a high position. Taie, for in- stance, s young American girl who may exbibit some vocal promise, and thercfore goesto Italy to study. Musical quacka are as plenty in Italy a8 in America, perhaps more so. Florence, Naples, and Ailan awarm with music-teachers. She secures the services of one of them, and, 88 an inducement, she is guaranteed an appesrance ordebut in opers, 2t ths end of one or Wl years' study, as the csse may be. She finishes her term. Her teacher has sulicient influenceto secure s theatre or opera-honse and the use of the compsny for ome night, and the young lady’s friends foot the bill. The teacher hns his claque and the control of the local musical paper. The young lady makes her debut, the clague sp- plaud, and the musical paper pronounces thé® debutante a guccess. Anything which sppears in s foreign musical paper is sure to be widsly copied, and thus it happons that ws are conting- ally resding of thedebuts of American singers 8t LaScala or La Fenice. But what becomes cf 2ll these debutantes, who have made such illus trious succeases, and have been smothered i flowers? How is it that not one in ten of @ is ever heard of again ? Now and then one of these debutantessuf- vives her debut, and falls into the hands of 33 impressanio. In sach an event, the impressario at once cominences that sensational style of advertising which has been in use ever since 49 days of Jenny Lind, and was, in fact, originated by Barnum himself. Bofore his time it w8 unknown. Mslibran, Catalini, Sontag, Porsisc, Alboni, aud the grest artists who preceded them made theiz way by the sheer force of wrk s0d merit. But that system has gone out of YOgu& and the high-pressure one has takenits pls<d- A very fair sample of thisis afforded in nhlfiff tothe American Register, publisked iz Parit written from St. Petersburg, and describing 9 aabut of Mlle. Albani, an American lsdy, ip t8t city. At her firat concert, we are told, she L ceived dismonds and othsr gifts to the valss of 20,000 francs. At the second she excited A% lios Patti's jealonsy by singing a song which Iatter clsimed as hars, =nd tho lester-wiils pathetically laments that a misunderatsndisé should have occurred between *thesa tWd “ mirakle artists.” At the next perforzmance 3¢ waa called bafors the curtain fittesn times I thefirst act, and received ssvaral largs bouqteth whilé niitaller oiies were Eistrised upon B e e o T — “m DRI T T e e e T A AR bt T