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

THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1874—SIXTEEN PAGES TERMS OF THE TRIBUNE. 1874, PTION (PATADLE IN Sunday.. Weekly tho same rate. delay and mistaker, be sure aod give Post- VANCE) o 0t P D;u’v;‘dr:rvn in full, Including Stato and County. ™ ‘Jiemfttances may be made elthier by draft, express, Poet- Gfco order, ur in registered lottere, at our risk. TERXE TO CITY BUDSCRIDERS. Daily, delivercd, Sonday excepted, 25 cents perwoek. Daily, dolivered, Sundzy fncinded, 30 cents por week. Ti{l; TRIBUNE COMPANY, ison and Dearbora-ste., Chicago, IlL TO-MORROW'S AMUSEMENTS. 5] PERA-HOUSE—Clark street, P_nr_mlze g SRAND, ORERNY & Loowe Minstrela, + Graad Luch 8. HOOLFY'S THEATRE—Randolph streot, botwoen Glars and LaSalle. ** Divorce.” ACADEMY OF MUSIC—Hatsed wrest.between 3ag- on Kimroe, Engagement of J. L Toole. ! o Ren T GaBarle Fraucals, and *‘The odger.” AR AMVICKER'S THEATRE—Madie Dearborn and Sta I.Engl‘cmnnl ol **David Copperseld. X stro of MCCORMICK'S HALL-North Clark strcet, corner Kinrle., Readinge hat on_streer. between f Johu Brougham. "SOCIETY MEETINGS. WL :GAN CHAPTER, R. A, 3., NO. 126— m,:x.?cxfr;fixnn Friday cvening, Dec.d, 1S, tor X Ly rcer theelecuion of Omcens aud pay SLE. P. W.H. Soeretary. .2, R, A, M.—Tell 7 Monday eveuing, Nov. LAFAYETTE CHAPTER, onroe-st. Special conte 5 By ork on T, and M. grees. Visitors co invited. 1y orderoline L KU S UNION, No. ax meoting on Thurs- 2T %00 7 act Randulph-se. Al itonl, ae herods buchuess of ARMBRUSTER, Hee. Sec s NOTICE—All members of G O AT B are raqueston to mast Ao derihwest cornes of LaSalle and Shanday eeing nesty Dt uttan ; o it b e JPOr S T MITEHELL, C. C. Lodge. rder. By e Kol it 5. BERNARD_COMMANDFPRY, XO. 85, K. T.— ST. g5, K. T. ‘e Wecaosday evening, Dec. 2, for elac- Al Soneeve WHAKKY TURNGR, Coinmander. = ral mesting_held e e O T e e dats, (Went SIdo). 0B Sunday, 2th inst., = tion of Tranhoo Lodge. No. .Kr‘l:cosglly"u'}:: ;'.".?gvf":lmu‘ Couneil Hall, Grand BodesHadding. cirabr Adsinvand Lasallo.sts. " Moria- i i 0o T a5 fund speciai ordorof businzan, Lrerdee o o o L"B—Tchl‘gvg?xl{lrbml):(lhd- Cai: junian Ciub_wi s hel b e o e )4 tachiarton-at, on Tuesday ovun- g, Doc 1 stediock. The Gl e o b ocorn: faraday evoning, * Bocoin Elfl.rfi:ll‘o‘!:{;ck. "“‘x. COSHR.AZ\'E. 4th Chiofiain. CHICAGO GALED! STONE LODGE, No. €39, A, F. and A. M.—An- el o anicaton pext, Weds ovening, in their hall, 62and 64 North Clarkst., at o'clock, for tho eloction of of:cers and parment, of di Menibers. are 3 t orited. Dotitied to suiend. Visiturs iraterasliyiatited- o BEN. F. PRINCE, Secretary. The Chitags Tribune, Sunday Morning, November 38, 1874. WITH SUPPLEMENT. THE COURT-EOUSE JOB—SHAERP PRACTICE. The most striking instance we have had of late of official trickery is the attempt to con- clude a contract between Cook County and James P. Egan concerning the new Court- House, The County Commissioners represent, it is true, Cook County, but that includes Chi- cago, and when Chicago and Cook County are at variance over s matter of taxa- tion the county cemses to cut much of s figure. The occupation of the Cowrt-House Square is the joint right of the city and county. The County Com- missioners, having the power to issue and sell bonds, have been in a lhurry ever since the fire to begin and ‘build a new Court-House. It, however, was necessary for the city to co-operate, and the city has had no money, nor has it hed the power to borrow. A year or more was spent in getting up plans, which resulted in award- ing the promised premium to the Tilley plan. There the matter ended until, some months ago, the County Commissioners elected James P. Egan architect upon thepart of the county to prepare plans and superintend the con- struction of the Court-House. The Common Council attempted to do likewise; it, how- ever, elected three architects, and then it was discovered that the Common Council had no power to appoint any such officers, and that whatever publicbuilding was erected for the city would have to be erected by the Board of Public Works. There the matter rested un- 1 the 16th of November, when the County Commissioners resolved to go on with the work alone. The mnext that was heard wes thet Mr. Ashton, as President of the Boord, and Egan had signed a contract, pre- pared by the County Attorney, by the terms of which Egan was to prepare a plan and specifications for the county part, or half of the building, which was to cost not exceeding $1,250,000. For this plan, when approved by the Board of Commissioners, Egan was to re- ceive $15,000, and in addition $£22,500 for services as architect and superinténdent, or in ell §37,500. When this contract was pre- sented to Ggm Lieb, the ‘County Clerk, for him to affix the county seal thereto, he re- fused to do it, so the contract re- maing unexccuted, although the County Attorney professes to believe that the contract is good without his signature. In the meantime Mr. Tilley presents his pro- test, claiming that when the city and county secepted his plan they adopted it as a whole for the entire building, and himseclf as archi- SecL The Common Council, being powerless, is compelled to stand idle. But when the public remember that the people and ‘proper- ty of Chicago are to be texed to build the city's half of the new building, and to pay five-sixths of the cost of building the other half, this attempt of the County Commis- sioners to hurry this business through in the last hours of the old Board, to the exclusion of the city from all voice in the selection of either plan or ar- chitect, was, to say the least, most reprehensible. Supposs Mr. Ashton's con- tract is completed and Mr. Egan’s plan =dopted by the Commissioners, and the tity authorities should refuse to accept that plan, but insist on some other, what possible mode of extrication will there be? Shall we have a joint building erected upon two differ- ent plans,—one half Gothic, or Doric, or Co- tinthian, or Tonic, and the other half after some other order? If this contract had been executed, and Egar's plan adopted by the County Commissioners, then. the of Dave uo choice but to % 8 tity would - accept the same plan, oad employ the same architect ot the same cost. To do otherwise will necessitato the erecton of an entirely - different building, separate and distinct fr om that erected by the county. The hurry and ex. pedition shown in this matter by the re. tiring Board of Commissioners indicate that this was the real purpose, and that the end sought was to force upon the Board of Pub- lic Works, and the City Government. \fr. T ,an as the architeot, and BIr. Lyguus gs a finality in the matter of the Court- | sum reclized out of Keyser. The $15 charged House and City-Hall. It was 8 sort of snap judgment upon the city authoritics, and upon the whole public, at once barefaced and out- rageous. . But the whole proceeding is illegel. For the contract itself there is no authority. Its attempted execution by Mr. Ashton was an extra-official act, as the facts show, viz.: On the 16th of November the Board passed cer- tain resolutions coniirming the election of Egan on the 2ith of July last, and reaffirm- ing tho limitation of his compensation to 3 per cent on the cost of the building; direct- ing the architect to ¢ prepare a plan " for the county’s portion of the building, *‘in connec- tion with such architects as may be selected on the part of the city, or otherwise;” the plan to be submitted to the Board for further action,or adoption; that if the city author- ities shall not join in the building the county shall proceed alone to complete its half; and that the County Atitorney be directed to prepare a contract between the county and the architect in accordance with these resolutions. It will bo seen that there is nothing whatever in the resolu- tions providing for paying the architect £15,000 upon the adoption of his planj and, therefore, the contraci is at variance with the resolutions. But it was void for another reason: This contract, when pre- pared by the County Attorney, was to be sub- mitted, like all other contracts, to the Board of Commissioners for their approval, rejec- tion, or amendment. It was mnever so submitted! It was never examined by the Building, or any othor, Committee, and was never sauthorized, in fact, by the Board. Mr. Ashton, as President of the Board, had no more authority to sign it on the part of Cook County than had any out- side citizen. The whole thing is utterly illegal end void from beginning to end. The County Clerk, therefore, was fully justi- fied in refusing to affix the seal of the county to the pretended contract. In the original competition of plans Mr. Egan’s was rejected and Mr. Tilley’s adopted. The public generally agreed that Tilley’s plan was by far the best then exhibited. If a new plan is to be prepared, why confine the selec- tion to Egan's, and why not invite new ofers from gll the architects? It is desirable, also, that the whole building should be uniform in plon, and, that both wings should progress simultaneonsly. The ecity cannot move before next summer, becaunse it has no availoble funds. The construction of the building might well be delayed another year. At all events, the Board of County Cominis- sioners should show respect enough for the people who have to pay for this building to give them an opportunity to adopt s plan for the building. Though we do not know that it will make much difference, the old Board might well leave this matter to beact- ed on by the new Board, which will be in of- fice in a few days. Public opinion will resent this sharp practice on the part of Egaa and Ashton, and will hold to a strict responsibili- ty any person who attempts to give it valid- ity. PRICES OF DYING IN CALIFORNIA. Tee Temuse raised its voice a few days ago on the subject of chieap dying,—a sub- ject Liardly less vital to the community than that of cheap transportation, or cheap post- age, or cheap lunches for the beer-beguiled laboring man. What we had to say on that occasion wes in connection with an apparent movement of the coffin-mekers for the en- hancement of even the present exorbitant prices of their commodity; and now a bran- new phase of the question has been brought forward by a recent occmrenco in Los Angeles, Cal. It was claimed by a recent mewspaper- writer in Los Angeles that that city offered to invalids from the Fast, in addition to its other manifold attractions, a cemetery which lies high and dry, andis begutifullyimproved; thereby, in all these respects, greatly excel- ling the cemetery at Santa Barbara or any other health-resort along the coast. Whether arush of eager but debilitated tourists im- mediately followed the publication of this statement, Tae Trisuxe hes no means of knowing. Be that as it may, it is certain that there are drawbacks even to the attrac- tions of Los Angeles as a place to make one’s demise. This painful fact has lately been exempli- fied in the case of a Mr. Keyser,—a case wherein Mr. Thomas, a friend of the de- ceased, bids fair, through Keyser's mortality, to put on an immortality of his own. as the champion of dying men’s rights. The whole facts of the case have been brought out in a newspaper controversy, for which luxury the contestants pay at so much per line. Dr. Thomas first comes out with a state- ment of circumstances which he thinks go to prove that “ It costs altogether too much to die in Los Angeles.” The bill of the ho- tel from which the spirit of Mr. Keyser took its flight is reproduced entire. It showsonly that class of mortuary expenses pertaining to the hotel, and makes no mention of the un- dertaker's bill for lsying out, for coffin, ete., nor of the always enormous charges for carriegeshire. Its items are as follows, cov- ering, according to Mr. Thomas, less than twenty-four hours’ actual board and lodging of the corpse : Ar. Keyter, Dr.— To four dzys’ room, at & To four days’ board, 6 To change of room and carpet. 3 To dsmage on carpet. 10 To work changing ferent room To dsmage to bedd To privilege of house. To two duys’ laying ont. ‘Total.. Relative to this little bill (the roundness of its total will be noticed by the observant render), Mr. Thomas inclines—and justly, we think—to the opinion that the benefit desig- nated as “privilege of the house” can hardly be worth the sum charged, especially when all the minor * privileges ” are 50 well recol- lected by the hospitable lsudlord, and so minutely “nominated in the bond.” Nor is the explanation of this item by the landlord, viz.: That by pritilege he meant damage (i. e., damage to reputation or feclings, as the ma- terial damoges are otherwise provided for). Noris this explanation fally satisfactory, looking at the case from this meridian of longitude. Perhaps it is contrary to the rules of this affable host to have persons die in his tavern, and that he consentsto waive this rule only on payment of a fee of $25 specie. Perheps, again, the landlord means to indi- cate vaguely by this phrase, ¢ privilege of the house,” that privilege which departed souls are snid sometimes to exercise, of as- suming ghostly garments and stalking thus arrayed through vacant halls and lomely chambers at the dead hour of - mid- night. But if the Isndlord conveyed to his ghostly guest any such *priv. ‘lege” as this, he ought, ir justice, to Make a deduction in the bills of his other B2 | ouxders ¢orresponding in amount to the for “two days’ laying out” is, as we learn from the context, for some constructive benefit in addition to the ‘‘privilege of the house,” not for servicesin that melancholy toilet which follows death For that the usual charge in Los Angelesis $30. Inad- dition to this the sexton would bring in a bill of at least $100 (also specie) for coffin and, services, and the livery man from $75 to $100 for carringes. Taking the minimum figure, and making no allowance for the bills of the doctors (whose services in assisting Mr. Key-_ ser to die were, perhaps, the most efficient of any), but throwing in a paltry 350 for in- cidental expenses, we find that, after being subjected to an expense of $375 for the lux- ury of dying, Mr. Keyser finds himself at the railroad station or cemetery gate of Los An- geles, 'and still subject to further tariffs, whether for graveyard lots or railway fare. If the decensed i3 wise, he will compose himself as best he may in his “‘taxed coffin, fastened down with taxed nails,” for an investment and quict lodgment in the superior cemetery for which Los An- geles is distinguished. Such disposition of one’s self, after one finds that he has become not only a ‘““demnition damp, unplensant body,” but a terrible bill of expense at every turn of the narrow lane—such sepulture, at any price, promptly furnished, were infinite- 1y preferable to the slings and arrows of out- rageous railroads, whose well-known habit is to tax the mere ‘“mortal coil” which a pas- senger has shuffled off twice as much for transportation ns they demand of such coils properly inhabited by a living, thinking, and paying soul. The practice of railway and steamboat companies in this respect is so out- rageous, and folls with such hardship on many poor snd bereaved relatives, that we could almost excuse the native of Victoria's realm who, after learning the expense of shipping a deceased brother across the ocean as an honest “corpse, had the lamented one cut up and packed as mess pork,—we might even excuse this fellow, if he had not, after leerning that all the pork on board had been thrown overboard in a storm, brought in a bill for the value of his missing barrel, Finally, from the case of Mr. Keyser, which is only one in a thousand, a majority of which are still more severe, there is much food for thought, not only by the public in genersl, which has 8 duty in this direction, but more especially for that growing class of individuals who are inclined to seek, and seek too late, the benefits of distant climates for the cure of disease. They should under- stand beforehand that it is not only more expensive to live abroad than at home, but infinitely more so to die abroad. THE UNION PARK JOB. The proposed purchese of an addition of one and two-thirds acres to Union Park at £268,500 has been referred back by the Coun- cil to the Committee on Wharves and Public Grounds,—the same Committee which orig- inally reported in favor of the purchase. A review of the past history of the job may induce the Committee to revise its action. The purchase of this property was * asked by 400 citizens,” which reminds us to say that probably no proposition could be suggested which 400 citizens” could not be found to ask for by signing their names to a petition. This petition was referred to the Committee on Wharves and Publit Grounds, who reported that they had called in “‘five prominent citizens” to fix the valuation of the property, and that these * five prominent citizens” had appraised it at $265,500. Thereupon the Committes recommended its purchase at that figure. The Council Com- mittee consists of Messrs. Cannon, Schmitz, Moore, Jonas, and T. F. Bailey. The report had the names of only threo attached to it,— Messrs. Cannon, Bailey, and Jonas. We are informed that Mr. Jonas did not sign it, and that the use of his name was not suthorized. If this is true, the report was really s minority report, and not the report of the Committee. Mr. Moore, who is unquestionably the ablest member of the Committes, refused to sign it, and has persistently opposed the purchase, though living in the vicinity of Union Park. Mr. Schmitz did not sign it, and has not given the proposition any decided sanction. Looking for the ‘‘five prominent citizens” who are said to have fixed the valuation, we find only four names, viz. : Mr. O. Cronkite, a life-insurance agent, who lives jat 857 ‘West Washington street, near the Park; Mr. J. Lewis Lee, of the real-estate firm of Snyder & Lee; Mr. J. A. Hamlin, s druggist, who lives at 96 South Ashland avenue, also near the Park; and Mr. F. A. Riddle, who is just put down in the Dircctory as a lawyer. We have no means of Imowing by what process of ressoning these four gentlemen arrived at the conclusion that this smell tract of property is worth the ex- treordinary price of $268,500 now when it was offered to the city for $99,000 in 1869, when Chicago real estate was nearly at its highest. We infer, however, that they took no testimony, and that they were not under oath themselves, since the Committee did not say so. Wo only know that the price is singularly exorbitant, and that the gentlemen who fized it must be regarded either as in- competent for the work for which they were selected, or influenced by some other motive than that of securing the best bargain for the city. We must also conclude that, if the Committee which hed the matter in hand had desired to get at the actual value of the prop- erly, they would heve summoned to their aid gentlemen who have an acknowl- edged and spegial fitness for apprais- ing Chicago real estate, after ascertaining that they had no personal interest in the proposed sale. They might have called, for instance, Mr. J. H. Rees, Mr. A. J. Aver- ell, or Mr. S. H. Kerfoot, from among the real-estate dealers, or Judge Skinner, Wright & Tyrrell, or Gailup & Peabody, from among the firms who loan money on real estate. Such | men would not only have been good judges themselves, but they would have taken testi- mony regarding the value of the property, and would have been competent to estimate the relative force of the evidence offerad. The property which it is proposed to buy could not be divided into more than fourteen or fifteen building lots of ordinary size for residences. At the rate fixed by the four . ‘‘prominent citizens,” these lots would cost the city about ©20,000 each, or something between $600 and S700 per front foot,—a price at which first-class busi- ness property can now be purchased in cer- tain portions of the city. We take mno ac- count of the proposed transfer of the claim sgainst tho Second National Bank in the in- terest of AMr. S. J. Walker and Mr. D. A, Gage. We donot see how this can legiti- mately cut eny figure in the case. The simple fact is that the city has been asked to pay at least double what the property is worth, in hard times and with a bankrupt Treasury, for sn addition which is not really needed even if times were good and the Treasury were full to overflowing. If the Committee on Wharves and Public Grounds propose to take any further action in the mat- ter, they will do well to summon a committes of advice from among such men as we have named above, take testimony as to the real value of the property, and then make a re- port that will command confidence in its in- tegrity. A still better way would be to let the proposition die & natural death in the comumittee-room. . CHEAP WINES. Paradoxical as it may seem to & Prohibi- tionist, there is a very strong temperance ar- gument in the fact that the vintage of 1874 in Frauce is the most bounteous on record. It is stated that the extent of territory under wine cultivation is lessthan 2,000,000 hectares, or 5,000,000 acres, and the produce is 75,000,- 000 hectolitres, or 1,987,500,000 gallons. A French paper says the quantity of wine nlready stored would suflice to fill a canal through the whole breadth of the Medoc dis- triet. Of this amount, the local consumption is snid to be 49,000,000 hectolitres, or 1,298,- 000,000 gallons, leaving this year 25,000,000 hectolitres, or 662,500,000 gallons for foreign consumers. Of the immensity of this busi- ness some idea may be formed from the fact that it is third in importance in France,— wheat ranking first, and suger second. The average annual revenue to the pro- ducers is cbout 00,000,000 francs, the consumers paying abou$ twice as much. France, as a rule, consumes the red wines of the Claret and Rhine brands, containing 4 to 5 per cent of aleohol. The ** manufactured” wines, as they are called, are principally sent to England and the United States,—the latter taking the champagnes acd the former the sherries, which are doctored with sugar and whisky exported from the United States, and consequently contain a large per- centage of aleohol. So far as the demand is concerned, the American Messenger says: “ It is a noticeable fact that, so far from thera being any relaxation in the foreign de- mand for French wine, the contrary is the case, and that each successive year brings a more formidable demand than previously for the light wines of TFrance. The improved consumption is most remarkable in the case of low-priced wines, which were formerly unsalable without the limits of the Fremch territory.” France is not alone in its good fortune. The California vintage is now so nearly com- pleted that safe estimates can be made, and the papers of that State are agreed that it will reach 10,000,000 gallons, which far ex- ceeds the entire amount which is produced by the other States. Of this amount, five- sixths must either be exported or placed in store, as the entire home consumption, sdded to that which goes eastward to be doctored into the likeness of foreign wines, will not exceed 2,000,000 gallons. The moral of all thess facts and figures is cheap wine, and cheap wine is a promoter of temperance. France has cheap wines and temperance. Drunkennessis found only in Paris, and is not the result of wine-drinking, but of cognac and absinthe. Italy has cheap wines and temperance. A drunken Italian would be a curiosity. Germany has cheap beer and wines, and is a temperate nation. America has whisky, and rum, and all sorts of poisonous compounds, and drankenness is fre- quent. It will be a matter for rojoicing, therefore, if this sbundant produce of the viney.rds shall conduce to give us cheap wines, and if the light and healthy bevernges of the European vineyards can be brought hero in sufficient quantity to supplant the villainous and fiery poisons which Americens are pouring down their throats because wines are so dear. A PUBLIC SCARDAL. The attention of the people of this State, and especially of members of tho General Assembly, is carnestly asked to a political gbuse inflicted upon the people of this city. Our citizens have endured this outrage for years, and there scems to be no deliverance. Following some arrangement of quarter sections, the City of Chicago is technically divided into three * towns,” and each of these “towns " has a soparate and distinct Govern- ment. Each of these towns has an Assessor, a Collector, a Supervisor, and & Town Clerk; in nddition to this it has a “Town Board,” which is composed of the Su- pervisor, Clerk, and three Justices of the Peace. These officers are chosen by the caucus mob every spring—that is, in April. The Assessor finishes his work by the 15th of July; the Supervisor has no possible duties; the Collector has sixty days' work in collecting some personal taves ; and the Town Clerk has to call and attend the meetings of the Town Board. The law of the State fixes the compensation of all these officers, but, unfortanately, has not prohibited their being voted extra compensation. The office of As- sessor, or Collector, or Supervisor, in any one of thesa towns is better in & pecuniary sense than that of Governor of Ilinois, or Judge of the Supreme Court of this State, or even of the United States. At the meeting of the Town Board, a round sum is fived for com- pensation of theso hard-worked (?), faithful officers, The rule has been in the South Town to fix §25,000 or $30,- 000, and this sum is variously distributed something as follows: Collector, $10,000; Assessor, £8,000; Supervisor, $7,000; Town Clerk, $4,000; rent, $1,000. And all this is in addition to a liberal allowance for clerk hire. The “Town Board” votes these sal- aries, and directs that a tax be levied to pay the same.. There is always a floating debt, ranging from $20,000 to £75,000, outstand- ing; and, though taxes are levied and collect- ed, the debts seem never to be paid. There is not a service rendered by all these officers that could not be dispensed with, and for which 35,000 would not be ample com- pensation. The West Town and the North Town each vote their officers a proportionately out- rageouns, swindling sum. The profits, or, more properly, the plunder, divided among these officers of the three ‘‘towns " each year ranges from $75,000 to $100,000 for services rendered that could be done at one-fifth of the money. The strangest part of this whole proceed- ing is, that the County Commissioners befora whom this action of the Town Board came up for confirmation actually indorsed the robbery, and fixed the allowance for the Town of South Chicago at $38,000. The Commis- sioners may have acted upon the supposition that they had mo discretion and must grant it; nevertheless it is another mystery in Cook County assessments how the County Board can levy taxes for town purposes. But the Board has levied a tax upon the property in the South Town to the amount of $23,000 to pey the outrageous salaries voted to each other by these town-grabbers. All this, it must be remembered, when the law fixes im- peratively the compensation of each of these officera. 528 Now, is there any remedy? We know that there is a difference of opinion among law- yers. Mr. Root, the late County Attomcy, has a very clear judgment that township organization has been abolished by the Con- stitution in this county, ne the Convention certainly intended shouid e the case. The township organization is required by the Con- stitution to be uniform in all counties where it prevails; the Constitution provides also that the affairs of Cook County shall be managed by a Board of County Commis- sioners. We have township organization withont the Board of Supervisors; and the township organization in this county is something outside of, and unknown to, the gencral township law of the State. What- ever may be the actual state of the law, there ought to be some remedy for the evils with which this city is cursed. If the Legislature can do no more, it can provide for the con- solidetion of these three towns into one, and thus enable the city to get rid of st least two sets of officers. It might also, by law, pro- hibit these officers receiving, and all others from voting, any compensation save thattixed by law, and declare all taxes levied for any such purpose to be void. This will at least modify, if it will not destroy, the evils of the present rotten and dishonest system. - LORD ACTOX'S LETTER. The letter of Lord Acton to Mr. Gladstone on the subject of the civil allegiance of Cath- olics is & remarkable document. It will be recollected that Lord A. mzde a spirited re- sistance to the passage by tie juie Council of the decrees establishing the doctrine of infal- libility. And it is plein that, while ke asserts that these decrees added nothing to obliga- tions slready existing which might be sup- posed to hold Catholics to a higher allegiance to Rome than to any non-Catholic Govern- ment, he looks upon them now as he did at the time of the session of the Council,—as altogether pernicions and uuworthy of the real belief of Catholics. He is no Ultra- montane, and he regards the doctrines and theories of that party os calculated to bring the whole Church, in the eyes of non-Cath- olics, into the conternpt with which he re- gords these wrongful interpolations into her tenchings. He appears to be ready to show, in his own case, an instance of frecdom of thought and criticism which may vindicate one scction, at least, of his Church from the charge of servile and unworthy compliance with the decrees of authority wrongly exer- cised, or stretched beyond its proper bounds. ‘While making this showing of independ- ence of opinion, Lord Acton does not make it quite plain whether he approves, or not, the conduct of those who, like Fenelon, make outward submission to authority, but in pri- vate assert that suthority to be in the wrong, or who, like Copernicus, abjure aloud the truths of astronomy, but still assert, in an un- dertone, that the earth moves. We are under obligations to Lord Acton for bringing to mind some scraps of history which, if produced by a non-Catholic, would hardly be accepted as authentic by the faith- ful adherents of Rome. It will be news to many that it is part of the Roman canon law to-day ““thet it is no murder to kill excom- municated persons,” and that a Pope, can- onized as a Saint, commissioned an assassin to take the life of a Queen of England, and that another, ‘‘on learning that the Protest- ants were being massacred in France, pro- nounced the action glorious and holy, and im- plored the King, during two months, to carry the work on to the bitter end, until every Huguenot had recanted or perished.” We think this latter instance rather worse than that of our more modern Presbyterian mili- tary saint, whourged the Lilling of the prison- ers of war. We apprehend that, as against Archbishop Manning and his school, Lord Actor will be found an efficient ally of Mr. Gladstone. It remains to be scen how many of his En- glish co-religionists he can carry with him. On the Continent of Europe we suppose the Ultramontanists to be greatly in the majority. 1t is of more interest to know how our ewn Romanist fellow-citizens stand on the ques- tion. In the meantime we commend Lord Acton's letter to the careful perusal of all interested in the subject. FASHIONABLE FUNERALS, The menia for making extravagant and un- necessary displays at weddings, which has been illustrated several times of late, now seems to have broken out in & new quarter. It is not unnataral, however absurd it may be, that the fickle and frivolous deity of Fashion shouldrun riot among orange-flowers, costly trousseaus, and all the brilliant para- phernalia which characterize these oc- casions of hymeneal jubilation, when people are mnot accountable ~for what they do, and when their fancies light- ly turn to thoughts of love; but that Fashion, with its inevitable train of extrava- gant expenses and silly forms, shonld invade the chamber of death is not only unseemly but ghastly. It is not long since that the funeral ceremonies of & young men were held at the residence of his parents om Fifth avenue, New York, where 33,000 worth of floral decorations were used, a prima donna sang, and a well-known professional player officiated at the pinno. Lately, however, this funeral display has been eclipsed The decensed was a young girl who had al- ways held a high position in society. At the funeral the coffin was placed upon a platform in the parlor, draped with black velvet and jet trimmings. Over $8,000 worth of flowers was exhibited, and a chorns was sung by hired vocalists. On either side of the coffin stood four young girls in white, with wreaths of flowers. While the minister prayed a bell was tolled in the hell, and a chant was in- dulged in by the hired vocalists. Cui bono? What good purpose is sub- served by this ostentation? In the case of the wedding, some excuse may be offercd for making a splurge, although it is silly even then ; but what excuse is there for making a splurge at o funeral? Doesit pay any tribute to the memory of the deceased, or bring any additionel consolation to the hearts of the survivors? Does it not jar upon the solemni- ties of the occasion, and vulgarize the depart- ure of the dead to the grave, by making this mournful oceasion a show for the multitude ? There are many ressons whick might be urged in protest against this latest imposi- tion of Fashion. It increases the already onerous burden of funeral expenses, and vul- garizes the most tender and solemn duties which one person can pay to another. Fash- ion has already sufficiently invaded the seclu- sion of giief with its tear-bedewed crapes and black-edged handkerchiefs and stationery, its numerous equipages and floral effigies, with- out being allowed to take full possession of the funeral rites and conduct them as it would a marrisge or a soiree. The worst feature isto be anticipated in the future. If funerals are to be regulated by fashion- able competition, where is this thing going toend? A fashion once asserted pervades gll ranks of society, and, if funeral-splurges once get a footing 8s being en regle and the thing to do, what limit can be placed upon the absurdities that Fashion will perpetrate ? Does not such a public and showy advertise- ment of grief carry withit a suspicion that the grief may mot be very genuine? True sorrow always seeks seclusion, and never flaunts itself in public. P ———— THE MUSICAL SENATOR. Vietor Emanuel has done a very graceful act in making Guiseppe Verdi, the great com- poser, a Senator. The musical fame of Italy Tests almost entirely at present upon the name of Verdi. Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, —nearly all the Ttalian composers of promi- nence in fact,—are dead, and Verdi remains, in his old age, the one man to whom the Italians can point with pride. The musical sceptre, even in opers, has been trans- ferred to Germany ; and while the German musicians of the modern school were never more productive than they are to-day, Italy can only show the * Manzoni Requiemn ” and the opern of ** Aida,” both the work of Verdi, as her musical record for years past. Verdi is now an old man, but his genius, which pro- duced * Trovatore,” * Ernani,” *Traviata,” ¢ Rigoletto,” and other works, has given the world pleasure for years, and his productions heve probably ‘been performed mora fre- quently than those of any other operatic com- poser in his lifetime. The world has not been slow in recognizing his genius. His name is kmown in all civilized countries where music has any power. Almost every sov- ereign in Europe has presented him with the insignia of the Orders of Enighthood, and he has been enrolled ss & member of numerous lerrned and scientific bodies. In his own land, up to the present time, he has been the prophet, not without honor save in his own country. The Itul- ian people have worshiped him, and his works have richly repaid him, but the Government has been slow to recognize him in en official sense, aithough ho has done no- ble and lasting work for the country and the Church. He was once elected & member of the Italian Parlinment, in 1861, and he went to Florence in 1671 to take the post of Min- ister of Public Instruction for the reorgani- zation of the Musical Institute of Ituly. Victor Emanuel has now publicly recog- nized his genius by conferring upon him the dignity of an Italian Senator. The position will not bring him finaneial remuneration ; fortunately he does not need it, as his works have been very remunerative and his habits of life economical. It is, however, the high- est distinction which the Government could have paid him. The son of the village-inn- keeper of Parma has, by the force of his genius, raised himself to the highest distinc- tions of nobility, and the world will applaud the merited honor he has achieved, and wish him many more years of life in its enjoy- ment. ¢THE REVOLT OF TEE RESIDUUM.> Grent Britain had its political revolt and revolution last spring; we had ours the begin- ning of the present month. That the two had anything to do with each other, in the relations of cause and effect, need not bo osserted; but that they present some inter- esting analogies, may be esasily seen. The leading article in the last Westminster Review is devoted to an explanation of what is termed ‘The Revolt of the Residuum.” It is an uncommonly instructive chapter in con- temporary history, Reformers, and legisla- tors, and social scientists generally, may find in it sundry stubborn facts which it will be infinitely better for our people to appreciate now, than it would be to postpone thought and action respecting them to the future. The ““residuum ” refers to the masses of illiterate voters, who, without property, character, or intelligence, are always nom- inally our *“sovereigns,” and every now and then emphatically so. They stand at the bottom of society, and yet, through the lev- erage of the ballot and the balance-of-power, are liable almost any moment, when some endemical impulse seizes them, to emerge to the top, and turn a considerable part of the world upside down and wrong side out. The extension of the franchise during the Gladstone Administration doubled the num- ber of voters. And last spring the great tribune of the people got his pay for it, when the residunm got their backs up and revolted. It need not bassumed that Mr. Gladstone re- grets, or has renson to regret, any measures that were proposed by him. Only such is the way they have. For their own private reasons—it would be absurd to say it was from considerations of the public welfare— they suddenly changed front. The army of Tlliterates carried their votes, almost en masse, over to the Tories! The multitudes who in England hover between uncertain poverty and absolute pauperism nearly all sided with the Conservatives, and joined in the shout, “Down with the Liberals.” Now, no onewilldeny that here was acurious phenomenon. Were the peupers alarmed for their property? Were they suddenly afraid of the spread of democratic theories and ten- dencies ? Did they suspect some ‘* Grecian gift” concealed under Mr. Gladstone’s en- thusinsm for the institution of 2 national sys- tem of education? Or was the panic of the “residuum ” occasioned by a dread lest rude hands might be Iaid upon the religious Estab- lishment? Notmuch. Other causes conspired to bring about the startling result ; but the decisive one was of a very different sort. It was apot of beer and glass of grog that tipped the Gladstone Ministry into the Thames. Whether it be right or wrong, curable or incurable, the tenderest spot about the aver- age uneducated British voter is the handle to his mug of ale. His self-respect will submit to anything else sooner than that another should forcibly restrict his personal liberty there. Tell the English publican that he must close his bar at 11 o’clock instead of 12, and an insurrection begins to brew ot once ; and the next opportunity that offers the party of the second part, with all their hosts of re- tainers, the well-drilled army of illiterate ¢ govereigns,” will swear in the face of John Bull himself that they will suc- cumb to mo such tyranny. The high- est claims of gratitude, the most be- neficent achievements of statesmanship, will all go for nothing, until the Government finger has been taken off the beer pitcher. * OV preservation, iy, upm'x it the ?ecessnty of ,flmking Popular ucation universal. If parents and <€ disns can in 00 other Way bo induceg 02" cate their children, they must by oq, o* to do 5o, “ompeleg The other inference is, that r, " manners, habits, and cu;tcms :;:n::om e matters pertaining to the part of et 0 fells within th range of personal rggq 2 liberties, can only be effceted by i Eflh‘d i begin by duly and. frakly methoy these personal rights, and the limitae, public Iaw. This fact ought nol:mt;mdfg ! sge reformers. It only shows them thy i residuam will revolt, if moral influenceg 1 neglected, and false methods are ’mfied:: ——— THE WOMER'S NATIC! Eobirgy CoNvENTION, TPATERANG s Convention sat, st Cleveland on Thursday m;?g'af;‘.’,,?jf;‘" forelast. The conciusions at which it .\-,;'6 are somewhat interesting. They mm\'ed show—though, perhaps, it is hope that d':. ceives us here—that women haye Tear something since they prayed God agg i for prohibition and went on property e ing crusades for the glory of the g;&h'u‘. The resolutions adopted 2t Clevelang do s demand prohibition. We gladly telly 0,._.‘;"1 good-sense. They do, however, mske ,: wild recommendation that a man Who g7 liquor within & year *of the pEnding i tion " shall be disfranchised! Here we e rowfully tally one for folly. Other ragy. tions ask for aid from press aud pulpi g, ject to the nomination of intemperat e for office, ask the President and all othe public men not to have wine on their tay request Congressional investigation of s evils of the liquor traffic, invite the tion of ell ““good temperence WOmen, withgey regard to sect or nationality,” and Protes against the prescription by physicians of g coholic liquors. On this last topic, the Con, vention was empkatically in deadly earaest, The sssembled ‘womankind were willng g, have their friends (not themselves) die with the greatest rapidity rather than have they imitate Timothy and take a “little wins gy their stomachs’” sake. At any rat, they seid so, in these words: ““We protest, ete, believing it to be infinitely better thst o friends die prematurely, if need be, from pai. ural causes, rather than that their livesty prolonged to go ultimately to a drantady grave, unhonored and unsaved.” The lis word shows that the members of the Women's National Christian Temperance Union hars acquired an insight into the schemg of salvation far beyond . the ken of others. We are accustomed to hewring of liquid damnation in abstinencs speeches, The phrase is a great comfort to an angy assailant of alcohol. It allows him fo swem with safety. But we have never before seen it distinctly asserted that a drunkard bss no chance of salvetion. This is veryssi Bat perhaps, incredible as the hypothesis seems, the Women's N. C. T. Union is mistaken Pethaps a man who inherits from his ances tors s fiery thirst for alcoholic stimulants en who - struggles bravely bat in vain agsind overmastering temptation is not such a hops. less sinner as he seems to eyes which haw never been charmed by the snake in the giss. The Union's plan of work is good. It - ‘poses to form subordinate leagues through. An aspirant for office may be an Atheist ora Papist, a Tory or s Radical,—it is allthe same, unless he promise to let the publican and his thirsty customers alone. The first inferenco from facts like these is, that a * government of a pcople by the peo- ple” is never safe so long as thero remains a large proportion of illiterates. They cannot be safely trusted. It may be the grim neces- ity of the situation that they must have the franchise intrusted to them; but the experi- ment is fraught with peril. Ignorance is al- ways miscalculating. And disappointed ig- norance quickly turns to caprice and fury. Another inferenca is, that the very first law out the country, and to systematically sgitats the subject by means of mess-meetings, tez- perance tracts, pictures, coffee-rooms, azi glee-clubs, and the aid of pulpit and press The aid of the latter can be got mach mm easily, since the Union has abandoned ths exploded dogma of prohibition. The Amer: can press is not in favor of the Statels sy plementing the Ten Commandments with 2o TEleventh: * Thou shalt not drink wine.” Just before the adjournment, Miss Francss Willard, of Chicago, presented s sensible res- olation, which was adopted. Ttisasfollows: Reaolred, That we endesvor to secure the €o-0pers- tion of great manufacturing firms fn_our efaris & pledge their omployes to total abstinence, and that 3 ask these firms to consider the advantage tosobuiety of paring gthfl.r ‘men on Mondzy, rather than on Scfurdsy Our praise should be restricted, perhaps, to the second half of the senténce. Circalating the pledge is but a low method of temperance- reform. Making Monday pay-dsy is s littls thing which means a great deal We hava urged it editorially heretofore, and have in every instance received letters indorsing t.b.a idea from firms which had tried it. Promi- nent English employers say that the change of pay-day from Saturday to Monday has di- minished drunkenness among their men ons- half, and increased the prodaction of their works by a fourth. We are glnd that Mia Willard has revived this sensible idea, and w2 hope the Union with a long name will by able to do something to put the theory i practice. THE FALL OF A BAM(P)SOK. The former city editor of the Lond® Times (a position - corresponding to thatel the fingncial editor of an American D8¥ paper) was very properly named Samyfl— He was a Samson in_strength, and follovel ont the Biblical story by bringing sbout 4 own downfall. He controlled the fnss columns of the 7Times during the period of the American Civil War of the Rebellic> He was deeply imbued with Lhy commflf British prejudices against the Union 'fm?g' and; in his cose, this prejudice was s0 inteze sified that it colored his nnnn;x“;l :n‘ii :;1 warped his judgment in re Amer se:?;-ifies. ]Hog::\de the wildest predldha:'-_’ of disaster awaiting the United States bflfl"f’ When the first semi-annus? interest w53 h on the original jssue of Governments, - boldly proclaimed that this would be last. His assertions were absolutely & qualiied when he declared the AmET can securities to be worthless. He 1.1;7!3 hesitated to dvise directly and emphetic ‘j against the investment of English 5;;31 therein. Ho ignored every evidencs of % faith, material prosperity, or st the true principle of finance vfhxch fered ns a pledge of xedemph'o opposed to everything Americad; s ngfhing so much as the American bopc® His position made him s powerin EW"$ Ho manipulated the financial bolts of | o Thunderer. His articles were mui‘flmd:d all the European languages and YEP‘d'm:.’ in gll the Eunropesn money-centres- To sccidental power he added the fo;z: of nal ability and a reputation ) B iraess. The resat of ths ol combinsation was to dismay dox: capit Europe, with the exception 13 Gernfuny where the people preferred ¥0 sl up their own ju ent. L P’fl:e cost ofl gh‘xz:l single man’s mn!‘g:f ‘::_; ence must be connted by bundreds = jons. This loss must be diridep(; betweed English and the American people- dociived tho former and outraged the late® By his continued unjust and e - sentations of the facts and 4 gard to American securities, he destroy P confidsnce of the British capitalists, % onob