Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, December 7, 1874, Page 4

TERMS OF THE TRIBUNE 1874, RATES OF RUBSCRIPTION (PATATILE IN ADYANCE), Tarta of yaar at the snmo rate, To provent delay and méatakes, be sure and give Tost- Dffico address In full, inoluding Stato aud Cotnty, Tiowittancosmay be made sithor by dratt, expe Oftioo ordor, of In registorod lotters, at uur sk, TENMS TO CITY SUBRCRIBERS, Dalty, doltecred, Sunday excapfed, 25 conts perweok. Daily, doitvered, Suuiday includod, 30 conta por weok. Addrou THR TRIBDUNE UOMPANY, ‘Corner Madison and Denrhorn.sts., Ohicagu, 1L Post- TO.DAY'S AMUSEMENTS. FRA-IOUSE-Olack e SN, o Koliy & Lows Bifast enpontie Fhrnd HOOLEY'S, THEATRI:~Randalph stroot, stwesn Olack and LaSatla, ** Bobool %d KR'S THEATRIE—Madlson wtrost, botwoesn pflr“fi.'fin Stata. Iingagemont of John Drougham, “Tha Lottory of Life." INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS. ANTS AND NOTIORS=Son sovonth pags. 5B s Xth page, DM O POPUSALS 80" eocond and The Chicags Teibune, Monday Morntng, Docombor 7, 1874. = Perhaps it was not trus that the Inst Com. mon Council wished to mnke something ont of the Wabash Avenuo Railwny ordinance, A cnrofnl examination of the votes on Fridey pveniug in this connection will bo instravtive. Some of tho wise men ot Washington bo- liovo that President Grant's recommendation of a speedy return to specic pnyments will prove to bo & “firebrand.” Now, *fire. brands” are not bad whon properly applied. e The ramor that an offonsive and defensivo Mlianco has been formed botweon the North- ern Paciflo, Soutbern Pacific, and cotton-tax {obbics, is worlh bearing in mind. It should be remembered, further, that only a Demo- sratic success ab tho next election will make 1t possible for such a schoma to succeed. —— H is not probable that the Senators who avo opposed to tho confirmation of Mr. Jowell os Postinnster Gonernl can mnke even a respectable showing whon the question comes up for settloment. Mr. Jewell l}l\s slrendy shown himsclf to bo an Exccutive officer of whom tho Republican pasty bes renson to be proud. Dr. Fowler mnd his advisers have made many serions blunders in tho management of the Northwestorn University, ‘but none of them was so bad as the order excluding the young ladics from the litorary meotings of the male students. Some moro delicate mothod of accomplishing this end than o plain intimation of distrust of the young Indies was certainly possible. Gentlemen who don’t go much into politics sy need to be reminded that the lnst session of tha Forty-third Cougress bogins to-day. Gen, Butler has made a programme for the guidance of the House, butwa hopa to sce the lendorship in better hands, The Repub- licom members of this House should take care to make for it nrecord which their Demo- cratic successors will not b likely to surpnss. 1t is probable that tho Hon. J. B, Rice, of this city, will not be ablo to take hissentupon the reassembling of Congress for several weeks yot. A privato lotter from Norfolk, Va., brings the unweléomo intelligonco that ho is lnid up at present with a sharp attack of sickness, from which he is just beginning to recover. While fortunntely ndt serious enough to eauso his friends any anxiety, it is enough to place him Lorsde combat for n time. His absence from the Capitol will therefore bie understood, [ ——— What purports to be, aud very likely is, a synopsis of the President’s Message is far- nished this morning to the Associnted Press, It opposrs from it that tho President will suggest the wisdom of interference in Cuba to termimate tho insurrection ; recommend tho resumption of specie-pay- ments at the emfiest practicable day, leaving Congress to say when that will bo ; urgo de- cisive action in the Louisiana and Arkansas cases aud commend the Indian Peaco Policy and the Civil-Servico Reform exporiment, Surely thero is nothing very startling in this, The vindictiveness of the German Ultra. ‘montanos is siown by the fiereo attack which wns mado upon tho German Government by the. Ultramontane Deputics on Saturday last for suppressing the Legation at tho Vatican. The same step had proviously been taken by England, which removed its represontntive to Lisbon without even protest or criticism, but the moment Germany took the ssme step it was followed by the grossest misropresentn- tions and most bittor vindictiveness and abuse. The netion of the German Govern. ment was based upon tho very best of ren- cons. Solong os Germany recognizes the Popo as the head of the Catholic Church, aud this Bismark himself aftirms to bo the fact, there is no other recognition dua him from Germany, or in fact from uuy other country. 'Ihe Pope "~ being mno longer o temporary yuler, it 8 only a uscless expense, and snbsorves no purpose whatever, as negotintions with the Pope, if thoy become necessnry, can bo conducted through the rogular Ambassador to Ttaly. Tu addition to this fact, o roprosontative from tho German Govormmnont at the Vatican is an insult to the Government of Viotor Emanuol, with which Germany is in harmovious reln. tions, Germany has still another renson for ‘withdrawizg her represoutativefrom the Vat- iean which does not apply to suy other Goyvern. ment, nawely, that the Pope continues to urgo tha Catholie clergy not anly to brenk the laws of Germnny themselves, but to advise their congrogations to do the samo, ‘I'lioro is, therefors, no ronson why Gormany shonld bo at tho exponso of maintaining a roprosent- ative at tho Vatiean ; on' the othor haud, thore'is every reason why she should not, The Chieago produce markets wero goner- ally weak on Saturday, with less doing in grain, Moss pork was uctive, and 23@%00 per brl lower, closing at §10,756 cash, and $20.95@ 20.40 sollor Fobranry, Lard was active, aud 10@1G¢ peor 100 it lower, closing at 13,05 cosh, and $18,45 for February, Moats wore less active and ensior, at 6 5-1@6 7-80 for shoulders, 91-2@9 6-8¢ for short riby, and 10¢ for ahort clears, Highwines weve in fnir de- mond and stendy at 970 per gallon, Drassed hogs wero dull and weal, closing at $7.66@ 8,00 por 100 1bs, Flour was in fair roquost, but onsier, Wheat was dull and 1@1 1-fe lowor, closing at 90 1-fo eash, and 91 1-fo gollor January. Corn was dull and steadier, ulosing at 74 8-4c for old, 670 for new, and 72 8-d0 seller Moy, Oats woro quiot and 1-20 lower, olosing nt 68 8-40. Rye was quict and onsior, olosing at 9dc. Barley was dull and 1.20 lowor, olosing nt'$1.27 oash, and $1,28 for Janunry. Hogs were quict, and cloagd dull and lower, Sales at $6.00@7.50. Catllo were innetive, with prices weak, Thore wad afair domand for sheop, with salos at $8.00@0.00. The Rev. A. B. Kittrodge preached lnst night on a text furnished by Tun Unisunz Inst Monday morning. Iis offort wns to show that “n libornl and comprohensive odu- cation " enunot purify society. Weo under- stand My, Kittredgo to menn that no education\, whatover—mot even tho in- struction.«\ of the Churoh or tha rovelations of God—ara suflicient for the reali- zntion of n penfect socioty. This can only bo nccomplishiod, Mr. Kittredgo believes, by tho workings of tlio Ioly Bpirit in the hoart. ‘Wa should say that the'discussion, when it is carried to this point, has only a speculative interest, pid not much of that, THE IAW AND THE FACTS. Ono of the instructions given by Judge Murphy to the juryin the Gage caso lins drawn attention to a serious orror in our statutory provisions governing the verdict of the jury in criminal trials, The discussion of it mny hopofully lead to a reform, The ingtruction was on the purt of the defemse, and s follows: First—The Court Inatructs the jury that thoy are the Judges of tho law aud tho facts in tidy case, aud that they aro not bound by tho oplufon of tha Courtas to what tho lasv {5, aud thoy can assumo tho reapousibility of deciding, cach Juror for himsolf, what tho law fa. This is tho most literal construction of o statute passed ns long ngo ns 1815, which reads as follows: *Juries inall criminal cases shall be judges of the law aud the fact.” Judge MeAllister, in n recent publio letter on the accumulation of cases in tho Supromo Court, referred incidentally to this statutory provision s n relio of the formative period of our existenco as a State, a an exporiment whielt might have beon adapted to the back- woods, Demoaratia tendencies of that time, but which has been found to work to, the dis- advantago of a mora populous, advanced, and organized condition. This i just what it is, and the wonder is that it has Leen allowed to remain so long on the statute-books, It is a rule which eonforces every Cirouit Court in tho State to work by contraries. It leaves tho *Court” just what Judgo John M. Wilson designated him undér this Iaw,—in tho position of a ¢ Moderator of n town meoting.” As in the Gage case, he many exercise his judicinl functions through- out the trial up to the time of giving tho caso to tho jury, and then all his judicial learning and experionco aro found to count for noth- ing. He may rule out ovidence, interprot the application of the law to the case in hand, Iny down the principles and reeall the stat- utes, and, at the very last, ha is forced juto tho inconsistont and ridiculous position of telling the jury that they need pay no atien- tion to liis interprotations and rules, but must judge, ench man for himself, of the law and its applieation. This is o logical contradic- tion, and its practical operation is a serions impedirgent to justico in more ways than one, The common-law rule, and the practice in & majority of the States, is that the Court shall o the judge of the law and the jury the judge of the facts, This principle is founded in common sense, and hos beeu jus. tified in the practico of England, Canada, and tho greater number of the United States where it hns obtained. Itis the natural and proper division of judicinl responsibility, The Judges aro elected meinly with reference to their logal lenning and experience, Person.” ul integrity is not of itself a sufficiont quali- fieation for a judicinl position, though it is an essentinl. A man is needed to proside over trinls, not merely for tho purpose of keeping order in court, which could be dono by o baililf, but to keep counssl down to the law and prevent them from imposing on the jury; o decido- between adverse legal positions {faken by the opposing nttorncys; to protect the intorests of the people as well as the interest of tho acoused in criminal causes; and, above all, at the end of the cose, to sum up in an intelli- gent and impartial manner the application of the Inw ay it is to the facts ns the jury may find them, The responsibility put upon the jury of determining the facts from the evi- denco before themn ia just ns reasonable s that part of the responsibility whick the Court should bear. The jury comsists of twelve men instead of one, The danger of personal projudico is lessened in the ratio of 12to1. Yo judge of faels from ovidence that the Conrt has beld to be competent is a task that my be snfely intrusted to ig- norant men, if it 50 happen, It ro- quires simply tho exercise of common sense and fair * dealing, and it is not necessary that there should be any famil- invity with law., As s matier of fact the great majority of jurymen know nothing of law, nover saw o statute-book, and never heard even of Coke or Blackstone, Chitty or Greenlenf. It is sheer folly and absolute dan- - gor to invest such men with the right of pass- ing upon the lww, of which thoy know nothing, and applying its principles, which they are likely to distort, to facts that may thus bo made to loso their forco and bearing, | As o rulo, the best work a Logislature can do for a State is to r¢peal laws, and tho Legisla. ture which convenes this winter should repeal tho statuto of 1815, and substitute one just as brief, which shall rend: * 'Tho Court in all cases shall bo the judgo of the law and the jury the judgo of the faocts.” At tho same time the Logislaturo doos this, it should also repeal & statuto of 1847 which, in its application, permits tho attornoys on the other sido to dictato tho instructions to the jury. If thero is any sphere in which a Judge can make himsolf useful, it is by menns of a olear olucidation and a fair summing up of the evidenco. An nccomplished and honest Judgo can do moro toward straighten- ing out the complications of a caso than n hundred one-sided nrguments by counsol. Tho operation of the presont system is to promote lnziness nnd indifforonce on the part of the Judges, who are now content to atlow tho attornoys to suggest the instructions on oither ido, which are presonted to tho jury in o contradictory and confusing shape, The rulo was adoptod oviginally, porhaps, as tho Prosident oviginally began to cull upon Con- gresamen to recommend ofiicial appointinents in thoir distvicts, But as in the Intter cnse the Congressmen have come to regard thom- solvos ay possosod of tho 7ight of appoint- ment, fo now the attornoys dictate tho in- structions. I'he result in both cgees is per- nicious,—in the one to the civil sotvice and int the othor to justico, Aside from the positive injustico that avises from the operation of these two old illogical slntudes, their oxistonco is the principal eauso for -the overloading of tho Sapromo Court doy and Lho cinbersoms and endloss sys- tom of litigution which provails fn thiu State, e THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE: MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1874, It is ontirely roasonable, under tho present ! satisfactory to wait a yeor for the srgument Inw, to deny motions for new trials without roferouco to the injury dono to law and justico by the vordiot, The Court naturally arguos that the jury aro mado by statuto the judges of tho law; and, having passed upon it, tho only recourso is an apponl. Thus tho Suprane Court is conatantly asked to roview absurd vordiots which would nover have boou roudered if the Judgo could have exorcicod his natural functions of interprating the law and inatructing tho jury accordingly, It is ovident that tho next Togislature can do good work by ropealing these old statutes. poAR THE BUPREME COURT—~EXCEPTIONS AND USELESB OPINIONS. « Mhe reduation of tho bill of excoptions to gomothing like ita proper proportions would Qoubtless meot with the onthusiastio opposi- tiou of all tho Circuit Court Clorks through- out the State, In the great majority of enjos the bill of oxceptions constitutes Ly far tho largest portion of tho record. For copying it into tho record, the Olorks charge certain sumn per job, ¥r page, and the busi- ness is profitable. Copyists ean be hired vory chonply, and tho margin between the amount paid by the Olorks to their copyists and the amount received from tho party or- doring the record is very liberal, For the record to which referonco was mado in o former mrticle the Clerk obarged and re- ccived §125, while tho endiro exponse in. etrred by the Olerk did not, in all probability, excoed §10. At all ovents, tho work ean be dono for that sum, Thero aro doubtless n lorgo number of lawyers who would pro- tost against the proposed change. Tho prosout systom is tho lozy man's method. Tho proparation of a bill of exceptions at presont demand from the nttorney neither Iabor nor brains, The work is performed by the shorthand reporter, and all that the at- torney ambitious to take a cnse to the Su- premo Court has to do by way of preparation is to take a transeript of tho shorthand ro- porter’s notes and fil them ns hig bill of ex- coptions. Under the proper systom, howover, he would be compelled to know something about his ense, and to be sble to put that kuowledgo into shipe. If he had any points upon which an appenl ought to be taken, he would hinvo to presont them. If ho were un- able to do-this himself, lie would be driven to ono of two alternatives : to hire somo lawyer who could do it, or for the while turn student and learn. The general public, the parties themselves, and the Court would bardly look upon hig situstion as oue calling for very sotivo sympothy, DBut, asido from ‘the reforms which we have indicated, others of grent importanco can Dbe suggested. The Supreme Court ought not to be raquived to write opiniona in every ecase ‘Drought before them, nor ghould a ritnal of the cause upon its merits bo expected at their hands, Where the judgment of the Court below is against eovidence, thoy should re- verse it, but it ought not to be demanded by them to review mere quéstions of fact where the evidence was conflicting. Thero aro scores of cases taken to that Conrt, at overy torm, which involve questions of no earthly cousequenco to any one except tho parties. Theso enses involve no legal princkples and frequently present no legal questions what- ever. In theso tho Courtshould not be re- quired’ to write opinions, nor should such enses bo reported. In n vecent volume of the Tllinois Neports thére ave thirty-one enses ve- ported, snd some of them at length, which aro of no conceivable importance to the pub- lio or to the profession, In neither of these cnses should written opinions lheve been required, nor should ecither of these cnses have been roported, To the Court should be left the privilege of delermining in what cnses opinions should be written and what cpses should be reported. Thus the Iabors of {be Court might be greatly lesseued, 1he number of reports reduced, and their ac- tual value greatly emhanced. It is useless, end worse than useless, to cumber our re- ports with cases which present gquestious w hich have beon repontedly passed upon. Of vibnt conceivablo uso is an opinion of tho Sapreme Court detailing at great length the evidenco in & causo before them, and finally reaching the conclusion that, as the evidenco is conflicting, they will not disturb the judg- ment of the Court below? What interest has the public or the profession in knowing that in a particular cnse tho judgment appenled from had, in the opinion of the Supreme Court, no ovidence whntover tosup- port it? Undoubiedly such a conclusion pos- sesses grent intorest to the pasties litigant, but the general public and the profession at large derive from reading such opinious neither instruction nor amusement, It is a dreary, cxpensive, and nseless wasto of time to compile such reports, auda uscless and onerous tax upon the public to publish them. The Suprems Court can, with entire safety, be intrusted with tho responsibility of de- tormining in what cases they will write opin- ions, and what opinions shall be published, Thero is no Judge at presont upon that DBench, mnor is there likely to bo in the future, who has not suficiont smbition to promote and establish for himself o judicial reputation to rendd¥ it porfectly certain that he will have all his own opinions published which e may think possess any proper claim for publica- tion, Tho danger will rather be that they would not exerciso this power even if they possessed it to tho extent that they might be well justified in doing. Our Supreme Court as at present constituted is n body of vory ablo, but exceedingly caroful, prudent, and conservativogontlomon, Their prudence, indeed, sometimes looks very much liko timidity. They have submitted to the im- positions of shorthdnd roportors’ notes ~—mignamed bills of exceptions—with a dogreo of patience and forbearance ranlly wonderful. Thoy have suffered thomselves ta bo Dbwied boneath ab. stracts which wore such only in nome, and which wero in fact substantinl copios of tho ontire record, and this, too, even in the faco of thoir own rules. Know- ing the entiro faithfulness with which every member of that Court is devoted to the dis- charge and performance of his duties, and knowing, too, how onerous those duties avo, wo would aid them by legislation in every egitimnto maunor, But they ean do much to holp thomselves, and whatover they can do they must do, You nood’ a little more courage, gentlomen, Bring the lazy lnwyer to time, and compol Lim to reduce his cases to somothing like their proper form aud their propor proportions, If he caunot ar will uot do this, sond him and his ease ont of court, Attempt to decide no more onsos than you ean ihoroughly examina and decido to your entive sntisfaction and eredit, You are not rosponsible for the. size of the docket, and this the public perfectly woll nndorstand. Encourago ornl arguments, and then docide when tho argument s fresh in your minds, The dookot may fall far bohind, but it is more of acnuso aud have a decision iminediately upon tho argument, than it is to argue it at onco and wait a yenr for the decision, Lay on your penalties for vexatious ap- ponla without foar, and, with tho logislative nssistanco which wo have pointed out and plenty of nerve on your own part, you will do much good and ba happy. HMORE WORDS WITH A PROHIDITIONIST, ‘Wo have received a second and lengthy communiention from Mr, J. W, Hanson rola- tivo to the question * Doos Prohibition Pro- hibit ?" and in answer to a pocent editorinl in "Tix: Trinune tonching upon his first com- munication, Tho firat lotter of Mr. H. wns in sonrch of n controversy. Ifa made his points, artfully, ns he supposed, but sophistically, ns was shown, ‘The mattor should thon have rested as be- tweon him and Trr Tainung, a8 ho had his sny and sold his argumoent. Wo havo mot spnco for an ninplification of his sccond lot- tor, and will only extrnct so much of it as prosonts o new argument or rouson for pro. Libition, Ar. Hanson says @ You praceed to represont me as sdvocating laws pro~ hibiting drinking, Not at all, It s the salo and ot the use that tho law concerns iteelf with, and that Probibitioniats would fubibit, Men may drink beer, clder, whisky, if thoy will, but o srrest tho mischiof ‘wrought by the busiuces, the law, to protect tho pub- e, sayn it shall not boaold, In tho case of dlseasod ‘meat, no statute prohibits nny one from oating, but ho moy not soll, o may eat carrion, but the law pro~ hibits him o opon a sliop to sell it, If you can prava that tnintod meat hos boen tho favorite food of entira tribea aud natfonn, aa 1t 4a of som, to-dsy, you nre Do fean o tranagressor § you vond the articlo iu s decent community,—an articlo whoso evil eflects aro nothing compnred with thoao of Yquor, Wo are glad that Tnz Trmuse's position on Prohibition lias elicitod one positive state- ment from the Prohibitionists, and wa stick apininit right here for futuro reference. “Mon mny drink beer, cider, whisky, if they will.” 1t is not the drinking, then, but the selling of liquor that the Prohibitionists ove bent upon stopping, and which they claim thoy have the right to stop. Now let us sco about the selling, No ono but o fauat- ic will deny that wine, beer, cider, and other liguors ore tho produce of the earth, adapted to use by man's, labor; that those produets havo their uso in satisfying certain wishes and nppetites of men, ond that this use hng been recognized from immemorinl times; nnd that the vast majority of men uso them without injuring themselves or others, and have a natural right to these products, which sro in fact their property. The drinker is the priucipal; the seller is only his ngent. If men did not drink aud desire to be supplied with liquor, thero would be no sellers, Fhe liquor-scller is only anagent who supplies tho consumer with certain fiuids which he wants, If anybody is at foult in the promises, it is the drinker, but the Prohibitionist snys he hes the right to drink, 1f, therefore, the drinker hos the right to drink or use this property a4 ho sees fit, by what authority can the Prohibitionist or n Legislature sny to the agent, You shall not sell a man property in which he hnsa natural right? But, says Mr. Hanson, “in the ense of diseased mieats no statate prohibits any ono from cating, but he may not seil. One mny cat carrion, but the law forbids any one toopen a shop to el it.” This isn shrowd attempt to escaps by sophistry. The Inw forbids the snlo of discased ment be- cauge it is an imposition and a frand upon the purchiaser and the public. ‘The vender of disensed mont defrands his enstomer, cheats snd swindles him, by passing off an unsound ond worthiess article for n fgood .and sound one upon him, The man who buys his liquor knows what he gets and gots what he pays for. If Lie pays a cheep prico he pgetsa .chienp article, If he pays alarge priceho gets avolunble article, Every man who bnys liguor knows what he is buying, and gets what hie considers an equivalent for his mouay. The man who buys diseased ment does not know what ho is buying, nnd is consoquently defrauded in pocket as well as injured in henlth. The remaindor of Ar. anson’s communi- cation is argued upon the basis that the use of liguor must be forbidden beenuso it in- volves a danger to socioty and is ndverse to the public welfare, and in the conrse of it he voturns to the original proposition, as follows : " Tagreo with you that men have goncrally rosorted ta stimulants, and that the great majority of thow be~ lteva in driuking. Thoy seem to bellova fn meny things that are wrong and wioked, but I havo not ob- sorved that Tus TrinuNg advocates licansing thom to follow tho bent of thelr Inclination, It would be useless to argue this point over agnin. We have once exposed its fallncy, and that fallacy is, that men believe in drink- ing because they do not knovw, feel, or believe that drinking is wrong, or wicked, or crimi- nal, and therefore do not know, fecl, or be- Tievo that thoy should be restricted from or punished for drivking, or that their agents shonld be restricted from or punished for golling to them liquor, The additional point mado by dr. Hanson is, that the use of ar- dent spirits is averse to tho public welfare, therefore it must bo stopped. This assertion will not stand analysis, The #publio welfare " is not put in jssue by rea- son of one person in a bundred drinking to oxcess and becoming intoxicated, There is not a natural right that men possess which might not be taken away from them upon the ground that they shonld surrender their rights bocauso cortain individuals abused them and perveried them to bLad purposo, and honee the * publio welfare ¥ required the ninoty-nine to be doprived of the use of a thing which did not injure them or cause them to injure others, lest the hundredth mau should abuse his privilege and do ovil to himself and others. A conclusion of this kind, drawn from such promises, is ealled in logio a non sequitur. " It is admitted that the great majority of the people, the world over, have from time immemorial been in the habit of usiug stimulants temporately, and that only a small per cont of tho wholo have consumed liquor intomporatoly, Then by what right or authority do a handful of intermoddling people presume to suy to the vast mass of wmankind, or of the American peopls, * You shall not Lo purmitted to drink any moro; no man shall be allowed to sell to you, under paing and penalties of a Inw wo proposo to onnot, beenusio some men drink to excess.” By what outhority do they make thom- selves tho judges of what temporato pooplo ghall eat and drink, and presume {o exeroiso an abuotute rule over the desires or appotites of those whoso desires and appetites aro kept within due bounds, and do no harm to them- selves or soclety ? By what authority do thoy propose to atop a thousand men from Quinking boesuse ton men @rink too muoh? The presumption is an impudent and im- portinont one. If thoy have tho authority to prohibit the exerciso of ono uatural right, then they can prohibit the uso of all tho uatural rights, since any natural right may bo onrrled to oxcess and prove daugorous to the individual who canuot restrain his in. dulgence thercof, THE I-TENDER ACT. A rocont docision of the Unitod States Su. prome Court in the cnss of the Baltimore & Ohio Railrond ¢ 'Tho State of Maryland, whioh hos escaped goneral notico, renflirms tha constitutionality of the Logal-Tonder act as applied to obligations contracted prior to tho passago of tho act, Fob, ¥5, 1862, To traco briefly the history of the Supreme Court's constructionof this act: It will be re. monbored that Chief-Justice Chase, in his opinion in the caso of Hepburn vs, Grisweld, in which he wns sustained by s mnjority of the Court, declared that portion of the act unconstitutional which made debts contracted prior to its passage poyablo in Trensurynotes. Ohiof-Justico Chnse's former position a3 Bec- rolary of the Treasury, and his idontifica- tion with the Treasury-noto system, gave his decision in this cnso peculiar forco; but a large portion of tho politiclans saw fit to give it o partison significanco, This gained ground, probably, through the coquetting of the Democrats with Judgo Cbase ns n Prosi- dontinl candidate, and o portion of the Re- publican party thought it was nocessary to resent this expression by overruling the do- cision, Thero was shortly aftor a vacancy on the Supremo Bench, but the filling of this place ‘alone would. not secure a majority of thoe Court. Congress then added ono to the number of Bupreme Judges, and Messrs, Bradloy and Strong wero appointed Associate Justices. On May 1, 1871, the Supreme Court rendored decisions in the cases of Knox vs, Lee, and Parker vs. Davis, which reversed tho opinion of Chief-Justice Chaso and afirmed the constitutionality of that portion of the nct declaring Tronsury notes to bo legal ten- dor for nll dobts contracted prior, as well as those contracted after, the pnssnge of the act, unless paymont in coin was expressly stipu- lated. i ‘The late decision in the case of the Balti- mora & Olio Railrond renlly goes further than the former decisions of the Court in this direction, since the objection to pny in gold whs strongly implied, if not indeed provided for in express torms. The case was as fol- lows: In 1836, tho General Assembly of Maryland authorized o Stato subscription of §3,000,000 to the stock of the Baltimoro & Ohio Railrosd on condition thatthe rondshould pay an aunusl interest of 6 per cent on that amount out of its earnings. To raiso the monoy the Stato ‘issued 3,000,000 bonds bearing G per cont iuterest, Tho Commis- sioners sent to Europe to negotinte theso Donds failed in their mission, In 1838, tho Geuneral Assembly - authovized au issue of sterling bonds, beaving 6 per cent interest, payable in gold in Loudon, and the Company accepted these bonds in exchango for tho 6 per cent bouds, thereby accepting the condi- tion of paying the & per cent intorest in gold in London. As o matter of fact, the Com- pauy did pay this intorest, and it was to their advantago until greonbacls began to dopreci- ate and exchenge boeame very high, In 1870, the Compnny figured up that the difference they had paid between the gold interest and the same reckoned in greonbacks amounted to £281,48). They wore under an obligation to pay the State one-fifth of the gross recoipts from possengers on the Wash. ington branch of the rond. This they withhold to offset the difference ns sbove, claiming that they were obliged to pay only in pgreenbacks, The State, under the instructions of the General Assembly, brought suit for this amount, and the State Court rendered a decision favorable to the State. This was rovised by the Court of Ap- poals under the Supreme Court's declsions of 1871. Tho State appeeled to the Uniled States Supreme Court, whick sus- tnined the Court of Appoals, and held that tho Compony might pay in Treasury notes and could not be compelled to pay in gold. By this decision the State of Maryland is re- quired to pay the diffierence botween the gold interest and tho same interest in groen- backs,—amounting to nearly $300,000, It will bo noted - that this Intest decision really goes further than tho first, since the noceptanco of the sccond issuo of storling bonds was a virtual sgreoment to pay tho & por cent interest in'gold, Notwithstanding this strong presuraption of the Compnny's ngrecwment to pay in gold, it fa held that the $3,000,000 was originally borrowed from the State, that the interest was due tha State, and that it could therefore be paid in greeubneks 09 being legal tender for ell debts, This is oll very well, so far as consistency goes; but how will it be if, in the future, the character of tho Supremo Court shall be remodeled agoin with » spocific application to the Legal- Tender nct? Probably the spoodiest way of escaping from tho complications is tofixa definite and early date for tha repeal of the Legal-Tender act. time from tho old difficultics, and there will certainly be no new ones arising in the fu. ture. REVOLUTIONARY BHINPLASTERS. Mr, J. W. Schuckers, who is making aname ns an exnct and able writer on matters of financo, has published another pamphlet on the monetary history of this country during tho Revolution. Itis good reading for the irredoemnblo-greenback lovers of to-day. Of courso it tells tho old, old story all over ngain. Tho issue _of irredeemable rags adorns but one theme,—inflation, deprecistion, speoula- tion, smash, But the details of what our forefathers did in '76 point a needed moral for thoir descondanta in 1874, The socond Continental Congress met May 10,1776, War waa inovitable, Where wero its sinows to bo found? The iden of raising monoy by taxation was rejected, because tho rovolt was ngainst taxation, and it was thought that the people would be impartially disgusted by n tax lsid by Congress or King, Moreover, Congress had no real power to tax, It thereforo adopted the ensy oxpedient of <« making money” out of paper and ink., The presses wero sob running, snd a nowminal value of 6,000,000 was thrust on the coun- try in the shape of oblong bits of paper, This was in 1776, A speedy termination of tho war was oxpected, and it was reasonable to supposo that the united Colonies would ro- deom this small nmount, There wns, thero- fors, no depreciation, In 1776, when che Declaration of Independence had mads a long aud DLloody struggle cortain, $19,000,000 more was issued, and depreciation bogan. Tho Tories oponly rojected tho ourroncy, declaring (what was indeed true) that it would nover be redeemed, The Whigs were loth to take tho bills and ¢ paid them out as promptly as was conaist ont with n respoctable regard for tho eanso," Gold and silver venished. Tho artificlal valuo of the currenoy grow loss, day by day. Threo couscs hastened tho process, Con- gress throw a new loan on the market in the shapo of intercst-bearing bonds, Theso cir- culated from hand to hand as ourronoy, and by thoir deproofation made that of the nons ‘Wo may then cseapo in, intorest-benring bills-greator still, Moreovar, -tho gevoral Btates issued serlp about as fast asit could bo printed. Its worth scnk to nothing and it carrled the nationsl owrrency down with it, The third causo of declino was the frantio zenl of Congress to provent do- clino, Its Inws mado n rofusl to rocoive the billa oparato ns a dischargo of tho dobt, and declared that persons who refused them or triod in any wny to hiudor thoir ciroulation should be * precluded from all trada and in- towonrso " with othier Amerionns,—should bo, in fact, outlawed. By tho spring of '77, whon the paper dollars were quoted at 50 conts, Congross resolved,with grave nsininity, that thoy should thercnfter pnss for coin dol- Inrg at por, Inoredible as it may seom, they did not oboy the mandate of this august body. Thoy flouted it, in faot, by sinking lower and lower. Thon Congress and tho Statos fixed the prices at which commodities should sell, in paper, and found, to their gront nstonishment, that the roboeltions com- modities pnidno attention totheir docrees, and porsisted in solling for a groat denl more than the lnwful rates, It should interest Senntor Oglesby to know that * blood-sealing” did not holp the case a bit. No matter how much the nrmy fought, bled, and died, the legale tenders dropped down with unvarying regu. larity, It should, hawevar, be recorded to tha oternal crodit of the Continental Congress that it finally stopped short in*its folly, voted that it would not, under nny circumstances, havo more than $200,000,000 of curroncy out at any one time, and kept its word. When tho post-inflation stage of deprecintion had been fairly renched,spoculationswelled into gigantia proportions, Debts incwred to-day could bo poid to-morrow in ** money ” that had fallen 10 to 50 per cent in tho interim. Dishonesty was rompant, Bchuckers quotes from Gor- don’s History of the Revolution os follows: All clnssos were fnfected, Tho paper produced & rago for apeculation, Tho mechanic, tho farmer, tho tawyer, plylelan, mombers of Congress, and in somo flnces oven n fowof tho olorgy, were contaminsted. Tl morsls of tho poplo wero corrupted bayomd any- thing tist could Linva Leew bollaved prior totho avent, Alltioa”of bogor, blood, gratitude, Lumasily, and ustic, wero dissolved. ' OId debts’ wero paid when lio paper wnonoy was moro {han soventy for ouo. Brothors defrauded brothers, chfldren thelr varonts und purents tholr cllldren, ' Wi Widows, orplars, and otliors wore pad for monoy lont i spclo with dopro~ chuted paper, aud were compeliod 1o recelve it, The mnnin of dishonest speculation do- pressed the value of the currency more and more, In 1782, n paper dollar, to the ro- demption of which in specie the public faith was pledged, pasaed for less than one-fifth of a cont! This was tho end. The mondy censed to circulate and bocame mercly a curiosity. Stagnation came upon trade. Tho people were bitterly poor. The cycle of tho shinplasters was complete. They had led to inflation, depreciation, speculation, smash, GRAVE-ROBBING AND MEDICAL BCHOOLS. The medienl school of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, seems to have gob itself into trouble again on account of the bodies it has been forced to buy for dissect- ing purposes. This discussion comes up periodically, ond a great bue-and-cry is made with every revival of it, It may bo admitted ab the outset that it is a very horrible thing to rob graves, and the authoritios of every medical school who buy cadavers without Lnowing where they come from are apt to encourngo this desporate and revolting sys- tem of spolintion. To this extont their con- duct is reprehensible. But we must also meot this question with the recognized me- cessity for providing medical schools with dend bodies for disseotion ; and, in this, we aro forced to the conclusion that the State suthorities must share the guiltwhich attaches to the robbing of graves whenover they fail to provide decent and legal means for obtain- ing tho bodics. The great trouble in this whole controversy is a silly abhorrenco to the consideration of a subject which, if not altogether nffectéd, is the growth of tradi- tional prejudice, ‘Wo must start out with the admission that the medical schools must have bodies for dis- section, Science demands it. Life and health demand it, The law really demands it. The statutes of almost all the States provide peunliies for malpractice. As long ns a surgeon is liable to imprisonment for cutting the wrong srtery, it is unjust and ornel to deprive him of the meaus of learning how to disscct the human body, or to force him to barter with the grave-robbers for his material, The State is constant- ly called upon to support ecriminnls, paupers, and insane persons during their lives, and to defray the exponses of their interment after denth, Thers should be in every State provision for turning their. bodies over to the mediesl schools whenever they are mnot claimed by relatives or friends, The decensed have been, at the best, a drag upon theState, and sometimes worse, If thoy have not se- tually been marauders on society as crim- innls, they have sapped tho resources of the State for their support, and have in no way roturned an equivalent. If their empty frames, nfter death, can afford any compen- sntion for the service rendered them during life, they should be used for this purpose. Thero is not the slightest tinge of sontiment that can give a coloring to the opposite view. Hero are bodies which no man nor woman cares for. If lowered into the pau- por's grave, thoy decay and become food for worms, If transforred to the dissecting.room, thoy contributo more to the progress of scionce and surgical knowledge than they over contributed in life to their own good or the welfara of the community, Frow a mere sontimental view of the ques- tion, wa can see no choice between a horrible dissolution in the society of worms and a clean-cut dissection, unless it be in favor of the lntter. Respeot for the feeling of rel- atives and doference to tha wida.sprond prejudices of socioty ronder it wrong to do- mand this from those who provide for them- selves in lifo and who are provided for by their friends in doath, But, where theso bodies aro the property of the commonwealth, becoma so by the positive right of support while living and the negative right found m tho absence of auy other claims when dend, then they should Lo used for the common ‘benofit of mankind in the medieal schools, ‘With regard to tho Ann Arbor Univorsity, wo beliove that the law of Michigan anthor- izes this uso of the bodies of criminals who dio, but that tho ofticers of tho jnils and penitentiarics lave persistently refused to deliver tho bodies upon the application of tho schools, Bome penalty ought to boe provided for such refusal, Tho simple frot is that the sohools must have bodies for disseotion, and, if tho Btato does not provide some othor means for obtaining them, the graveyards will continue to be pillaged, and the publio will have to bear theso poriodical outbrenks of disgust. The first thing to do is to over- como the absurd squenmishmess which most of ua nre apt to entertain with reforence to tho subjoct. , Oonsiderations of seienco and personal henlth are much moere important than the disposition of a lifeless body which nobody cares to claim, and whioh never ron. dored tho world a service untll it gave up the ghost. Tho “Jerry Orunchers” will nover disappear until the State Logisintures provids adequatoly for the dissccting-schools, e THE PITTSRURG BTRIEE, ‘I'he late troubles in Pennsylvanin are got- ting worso, Wa hava from timo to timonoled tho atoppngo of the coal mines, partienlmtly intho anthracito districts, by which many thousands of mon have been put out of worlk. Even in their destituto elreumstances thoy re. fuso to work temporarily or lot others do so at less than the rates they recoived whon tha domnnd for conl wns great. Wo now have the ense of the pudidlers in Pittsburg, The demand for iron since tho panic hos steadily declined, and the prices lave fallon nearly ono-third, Tho production has declined, thug oporpting on the demand for coal, The Pittsburg manufacturers, unable to sell tholr iron nt all oxcopt at greatly reduced prices, have tried to avold closing their mills, but to do so must reduce their wages, Varlous schemes biave beon proposed, but the pud- dlors have been inflexible, They have ro- fused any concession, demanding the samo ‘wagos as herotofore, The result ig that there is & doad-lock, the mills being closed and the puddlers out of work. The closing of the iron mills cuts off the domand for conl and for iron ore, and nacessitates not only the auspension of work by the puddlers, but by tho minors of ore and of cosl It is osti- mated that 100,000 men are thus suddenly deprived of work ot the very threshold of winter. Onco susponded, these works will be slow fo resumo, There aro immensa stocks of iron on hand oqunl to maet the do- mnnd until epring, so tho closing of tho mills will not prove go disastrous to the mane ufacturers, and the whole weight of the dis- sster will fall upon the workmon thamselves, In some parts of Pennsylvanis, a fow worke men bavo accopted employment at tha ra- duced wnges, but the multitude rofuse, Four-fifths of the working-classes connected with the coal mineg and iron works in the Scranton region have baen out of employ- ment for thirty or sixty days. Laoborin all this brauch of industry mmny be said to be idle in Pennsylvanin, Wohave no sympathy with corporations that cut down the wages of their laborors wantonly and for the sake of swelling their own profits, But the panio has stricken the iron trade more severely than all others, and of necessity in that State has reduced the de- ‘mand for ore, and especially for conl, Iron that sold st @46 per ton beforo the panie is not in demand now at §30. This s, thers. fore, a clear case where labor must of neces. sity adapt itself to the demand. The pud. dlers and miners of Pennsylvania have do. cided otherwige, They insist on ante-pania ‘wagea or nothing, and, under the ill-advised authority of their Unions, thoy have driven the employers to close their mills, They prefer to earn nothing and receive nothing through the winter to have steady employ- ment at reduced wages. While it is trae they bring this misery and destitution on them- selves, the madness by which they have been rulod is nono the less deplorable, A LAWYER ON THE SUPREME COURT, The articles -in Tue Twnuxe urging the ros forms needed In our judicial syatem havo drawn public attontion to the nocessity of a mors or loss radical change in the mothods of justice. Awmong o largo numbor of lottera on the subject, wo have roceived ono froma member of the Chicago Bar which makes some timaly sugges- tious, Its resomblance, in length, to the end- less briofs of which the Suprema Beuch com- plaine forbids our printing it entire, but we havo summarized its more {mportant parta. The law's delay in Tllinois is maily due to the length of time consumed in apposling to the Suprome Court, the cheapnces of an sppeal, and tho possibility of making the opposite party, in this way, pay hoavily for his victory. The firev can be obviated by & rule that sn appoal aball always bo taken to the noxt torm of the Bupreme Court afcer the rendering of judgment in the inferior juriediction, To make this practicable, action eliould bo bad iu regard to aqueazing the usolesa dotail sud oloquence out of rocards and briefs. Tho present choapness of an appeal happens in this way: As o judgment draws only G porcent intorest until the appeal is deocided, tho appoliant con make-a forced loan at that rate from hia craditor for from one to thrae yeara, Tho margin betwoon this and the 10 per cont ho can make on tho money will often more thon defray all the costs he hag to pay. Tho appeal, therofore, involves him ia no oxponso, whilo ho bas tho satisfaction of sccing his creditor bled by conrt-coats and ate tornoy-foos for mouths and porhaps years, To remody this, all costa and all rorsonablo feed shouldbo taxed againet tho unsuccessful suitor, aud a judgment, if reaflirmed, should be made to draw 10 per cent from the start. Buch a rule will put & poualty, fustead of s premium, on unwarranted appoals, It will also put it out of the debtor's power to force his creditor to buy justico at o heavy rato, At prosent, it costs about 1,000 to collect a note of 4,000 from an obstinato debtor. Is it just toalow s solvent man to make his oreditor wait two years for his manoy snd then take 75 cents on the dollar in {ull satiafaction for the dobt ? Tho Bupreme Court has s remedy in its own banda for somo of the evilsof which it com- plalus, The law sllows It to assess damnges of from 5 to 10 per cont sgainst an appellant who feils to prosecute his apposl or who ap- parently prosccutes it only for delay. In the former case, it raroly, very raroly, gives more than b per cont, and it isloth, perhaps unduly 50, to daclde that auy spposl lins beon taken simply for delay. A little healthy severity in both theeo classoes of suits would do & groat deal of good. If an appoalis not proscoutad, 10 per cont damagos aro cortalnly not too large areward for the unjustly-harasced sppellee; and, whon some of tho Suprome Judges have openly assert- od that & larga proportion of tho oasos brought ‘bofore thom aro appanted for delay, itseomans if thoy might punish this flagrant misdemesnor mors frequontly than thoy do, 1f Barand Beach aud Legislature do their duty, the nveded re- torme will not long be delayed. —_— Tt tnkow nbont aquart of powder and 8 pounds of lead to arrost & man in Arkaneas, which should be provided for by taxation iustoad of fulllng upon tha pockots of individuals. Tho Sheriff of Lincoln Couuty was sent to accompauy & sen teneed pridaucr to lua atore, 'Tha latter intrench= od Limeelf bebind the countor, and, aided by & coupte of frieuds, propared to dofend thelr posi= tion, The Shorift called upon two cssual by~ standers to assist in malking the arrest, on tho Iypothiesis that ovory man m Arkausaa carriod the wherewithal to mako himsclf usoful, to-wit: a londed rovolyor, A govero eugagoment fol- lowod. Tho dend snd wounded wore 50 por cout of tho whole numbor ougeged. Two of the Bheriff's impromptu posso wors seversly riddted, white tho enciny loss one of their aumber alto- gothor, e e o The law of Congress providing for tha pre- payment of postago on printed watter, whioh gocs into offoct the first of the yoar, disorim- inates against mouthly publications and all oth- oy tlat appear leud frequontly than onces weok. Tha uewspapery aud weekly publications pay ab tho rate of ¢ivo cents por pound, whilo the wag- azins are roquired to puy throe conts por pound, We do not know what wduced Congrosa to make this distiuction, unless it was that the monthly mngazines and quarterlies, appearing loss froe quontly and haviug & more linited ciroulation, do not provide as much business to the malls