Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, December 25, 1874, Page 4

( ; / P { THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE: FRIDAY. DECEMBER 25, 1874, TERM’S F THE TRIBUNE. 1870, DECRIPTION (MYM\:J: T ADVANCE) PretaRl & year at tho suina rato, Vo prevent selay il mista sura end glee Pott. Ofics address $n Tull, Jucluding Htate and County. Nemitiancosniay omado olthorby draft, expross, Poste Ofice ordor, o tn regiatarcd lattore, at our rlak, TERMA TO CIFT RUNSCNINTRA, Dally, delivorcd, Sunday excebted, 23 conts perwoek Daily, dellvured, Sunday Included, 30 cents por waok Addre TUE TRIBUNE COMPANY, Qorver Madison ami Denrborn-sts., Chicage, I, TODAY'S AMUSEMEN AUADEMY OF MUSIC—Halsted sizest, hatwoen Mad« 1 Monios., Tusagematt ol Hin' Aling O cra: o Pratbn, A ftathooin * La Bollo Noloue. Iiven: £l Ing, ** La Porlchole." MVICKUIUS TIRATRE-Madisan streat, hetwoen il i eut of 1 earhor o, Enpagemwent of Jivin looth, Rioraog ‘ha h'lmminv" sad *Katheriug sud Pe teaohio," 'Bvontug, ** Klchollsn JIOOLEY'S THEATRE-Yandolph srest, hatwenn taxkc and taSrllo, “**Tho Serloun Family" and bur- Taaquo on **Richnrd IT1 Atiernoon and avoniog, GRAND, OPLRA-IIOUSE-Cinrk street, oppgsita Boorman Houss, Solly & lcon's Minstrols, ‘Lo Patlt Paust.” Aftarauou aud evenlog. UM _Monron kirest, batwoen Doar. ryhndy's Sriond ' and **1ho Tira uifoots." “{'hreo porformancos, ns follows: Motnlng, 10 o'clock; aftarnoom, 3:30; evauiu, ¢ v'eluck, REST AND LARGEST ARSOUTMENT OF el;rq‘}v?t B unings désiruse . OUSHING, THOMAS 200, 160 pud 162 Charkeut. WM, B.WARREN LODQRE, No. 219, A, 1% and A, M, ~Tho anvual communteatinon os this 14avge, for tho rloc- Tion of olficors aud transaction af othor importans bust. il b Bl tomcrrow Gsmuniao) ovoning au 7 o k. nté)llal;“-;l l:flll,"‘lfl ;A;lb.'illflln-‘hll.a‘ fllnhnl;um: that Srory moubar wil mako i comventont ta Yo, precohte Vs . DUNLOR, Hecratary, n INDEX. TO ADVERTISEMENTS! THIRY, PAGE—City, Buburban, and Country Ttaal Tatate, Wanta, To Keuts, Loat aud Yound, Ta Kxchangs, Financial, eic.. eto. SEVENTIE DAGE—Amusomantn, Ocean Stoamslips, Railroad Tinio-Tabla, Medical Cands, otc., oto. The Thivags Thibune, Fridey Morning, Decomber 25, 1874, Gen, Graxt has determined, it soems, o re- move Gen. Exzny from New Oxleans to St Paul, and to make Gen. Tenny commander of o division in the South which ghall em- Draca Mississippi, Louisionn, and other States in which trouble is apprehended. Gon, Iar- rny i3 too intimately acquainted with tho ren! condition of affairs in Louisiann to be s desirnble commander there, His sympethics are too muoh involved. It may bo necessary, before long, to chango the iroops, as well as their Genoral, Soung interesting facts in relation to the new Finauce bill, and the views of it entertained by members of the Lower House of Congress, in which it is now pending, aro doveloped in = letlor addressed to the New Yorle Z'ridune, and reprinted. elsawhero in this paper. Tho bill had not passed the Senate at the time the lotter was written, but it was even then a subject of general discussion. Tho Repub- lican mew bers wers then genorally in favor nnd the ‘Democrats opposed to its passage. Perhaps cool roflection durng the vacation may cawss gomo changes on both sides. § wo have no iden that oven the ma- jority of thoss who voted 1o waive the engrossment nund pass tho Wabash averuo horse-railway ordinnuee on the in- stant received money or promises of money for their votes. Other inducements and per- suasions wero employed to seeurs some votes; “but we are not prepared to express the samo opinion 28 to tlo othors, The circumstances are very suspicious, to say the least. It may ‘e possiblo that no corrupt means were em- ployed, but the only way to mako the trath known and to put suspicions at rest is for the Grand Jury to give tho cass a careful investi- gation, If such a scrutiny nequits the Coun- cil and Compaay, it is their right to have such a verdict, A dispatch from Washington, published this morning, ngain relates tho mowrnful story of Rrcuinpson’s attempt to regulate the value of the five-frano piece. The frane piecos and the pounds sterling were very disrespectful to Rrcuaspsoy. 'They refused 10 bo rogulated by him at all, and fixed their own values protly much ns they pleased. Henco the present strifo be- tween tho importers and the Treasury De- partment, tho former contending that the vahte of the franc is cstrblished by law as something less than the Treasury valuntion. Seeretary Brisrow will not eare {o raiso much disturbauce in a dispute of this kind, The waluo of tho frane, it must be understood, is chapgenble ; for neither gold nor silver is an absolately inflexible measure of value, A Washington correspondont of an even- ing nowspeper sends word that President Grant hns decided to abandon the experi- ment of Civil-Servico Reform, and {o use the Toderol offices for the advancement of the Republican party, "The suthority for this statement js, of course, untrustworthy, ‘The President las probably come to no con- clugion different from the one oxpressed in his messnge,—which wns to leave with Con- groes the responsibility of sustaining or de- feating tho reform monsures which le lins inpugurated. Congress may yot sce the wisdom of Civil-Servico Reform, and come to its reseno with the needed approprintion, In any event, wo do not believe President Grant will nne the Federal offices under his control ‘“for the advancement of the Repnublican party,” or for auy other purposes onve those of an economical and officiont administration of public afiaim. swindle, will nothave a Merry Christmns, but he is, for all that, in tols rably comfortable circumstances, Iho Washington dispatches report that Inwry, althongh nominslly under arrost,lives more sumptuowsly thau auy of the Senators. Tho wonder is, indead, how Inwiy can afford to seatter monoy about so profusely es he has boen doing since tho Iust Pacifio Mail subsidy was ob- tainod. Thera ara not wanting un. charitabloe gosaips to inf'mate that ho latoo rich {o be an hones:man. Wionoe the deduction {8 tasy that lva nbsorbed wost of the corruptiun fund that way intended for Congress, I the {uveatigat ion now in prog- ress 18 at all succosaful, it will doubtloss show thot such mnembors of Congross as wors bought by the Company sold thomsolves chenp, and that tho veal, boneflelary of the oconsion was Inwix, mcv e ot The Obiengo protluce mnrkets wero wenk yesterdny, Moss povk wi nctive and 80@ 860 per Wl lowwr, <closing at R18,46 cnsh, and $18,85 ne ller Tobruory, Lard was sctlva ond 160 per 100 ths lowor, alosing ot $1290¢ cadh, and £10,171-2 poller Fobruary, Ments wers qulet #ibd 1-80 lower, at 0; 140 tor shoulders, 0 1-t0 i for short riby, and 9 5-8¢ for short cloavs, Highwines were in good demand and 1-2c highor, at 07 1-20 per gallon, Tlour was dull. ‘Wheat waamora netiveand 8-4@1alower, clos- ing at 8 cnsh, nud¥d 1-4ofor January., Corn was quict and frregular, closing firmer on old, nt 79120, ensier on now at G+ 3-le, andat 7L 1-S6 for Mny., Oats wera dull and 1.0 lower, closing at il 1-fc cash, and 52 1-1o for Janmry, Ryo way quiot and firm at 97@0e. Barley was dull and 1@1 1-20 lowoer, closing nb 3L24 for January, and $1.25 nsked for Tebruary. Ifogs wore iunctivo and wenk. Saley chiefly nt §0.50@ 7.00. Caltle wero in in fair demand ol fivm xates, Sheop wero netive and fivm. Tho Staals-Zeitung denounces the precipi- {nto ennclment of tho Wabash avenuo horse- railway ordinanco, and intimates protty strongly that, in its opinion, Lribery was om- ployed to earry tho bill through tho Council, "hen i€ turns round and alloges that the Re- publiecan party must Lo lield responsiblo therefor, becnuso twenty-ome of tho for members mve, or wero, Republienns on Na- tional party questions! Wa hnd supposed that o majority of the members of tho Com- mon Council wete the product of the People’s party, and that the Mayor, who lobbied forthe possage of tho ordinnuco and then signod it, was elected by the samo party of which tho Staats-Zeibung bonsls it is thoe solo organ, It the 8.-Z, will put on it spectacles and in- apecs the Council proceedings, it will perecive, first, that & mnjority of those who voted to pass the ordinance wero Democrats elected Ly the §.-Z.'sown party; second, that n major- ity of those who voted against suspending the rules and passing the ordinance were Re- publicans, and werc not elected by the Peo- plo's party. However, party considerations do not seem to havo eut much of a figure in the ense, and the 8.-Z. talks very absurdly in irying to givo tho disgracoful trausaction a partisan shape, "What pnrt of President Guawe's last mes- sago which relerred to Cuban affnirs was in- nocont end eautious enough to eseapo all an- imadversion ; aud so it wounld have done, doubtless, if tho Associated Press ngent at Washington hind not unadvisedly sent out, tho night beforo tho delivery of tho message, what purported to bo a synopsis of it. In that synopsis very strong and evon belligerent Jangunge wns wsed with yeferenco to tho disorders in Cuba. 'The conse- quences of this misrepresentation were not very considerablo in America, for the errors in it wore corrected tho next day on the pub- lication of the message. Buta similar cor- rection was not sont to Europe, whither the false roports of the correspondents hied beon dinpntched ; nnd the result was a terriblo commotion, Tho supposed warlike rttitude of America towards Spain suggested all sorts of dreadful complications to the dip- lomats nnd journalists ; and opinions wero vontured ULy those who lad a right to speak as to the probable out- como of the quarrel, The reports by mail lavoe quicted the scers and sages, but, it must bo confessed, disgusted them as well, Their fortifications have been lmocked into ruing, Thoy have teken somo satisfaction out of Baron Reuter, and compelled nn apology for him, but the world, after all, soems to thom 10 be hollow and vain, et WHAT DEISOCRACY 7 It is a little extraordinary that at this dato there should bo any question as to what is the fundamontal doctrine of the Demaceratic party. Wo have nover had any donbt on tho subject. Our reading has taught us that the grent gulf which opened between the fathers of tho Republie, and on one sido of which were Wasmncroy and Iasarzow, and sabso- quently Wrpsten, and on the other Jerren. goN, MapisoN, and Carnouw, was the ques- tion of Stato sovereignty, s opposed to national sovereignty ; State rights, as opposed to Btate subordination to tho Governmont in national maitors; and State anthority and independence, ag opposed to tho supremacy of tho United States as a uation. Under one nome or the other that question has Leen the dividing line between parties from 1789 to 1874,—tho Democratic party slweys main- taining tho State sovorcignty and State inde- pendence theory, and holding that the Gen- eral Government was & mere agent of the States, created by them, and under their control. Somo woeks ago, without the slightest wish or intontion tomisrepresont any body or party, wo undertook to show that there could be no union between the Republicen and Demo- cratic parties, Lecruse of this old fundamental issne, and we endeavored to show that the Republican party was radicolly committed to tho theory that tbe United Stales weren nation, and not o confedoracy of States ; that it was the Government of an entire pooplo, and not of soparpto and distinet tribes in- Labiting distinet and independent States. Wa wera much ustonishod at flst to recoive Demaocratic papers, disavowing tho Democratia doctrine, but wo wore not surprisod that other Democratic papers ropresenting Democratic constitnents, resolutely took up the Dbattle, and wro still maintaining that the only dis- tinctive doctrine of that pariy is the doctrine of State sovercignty, and of a confederncy of States, of which tho General Government is tho mero agent and creaturo, The Democratic papera of Aligsouri, end of Greorgla, of Virginia, and of Ponnsylvania, noarly ull stand by the doetvines which have been peendinr to the Democratic party from Tyodsg JeerrxsoN to Jerr Davis. Tho Luigville Courier-Journal ot fivst treated the malter lightly, but afterwards way obliged to como out flnt-footed in bohnlf of the eucient faith, It e trus the Chicago Y'mes donied that thero was any vitality in tho old doctrine, ‘but then the Chicago Z%mes has become so much of a nondegeript sheet that it hay ceasod {o represent anything, Now cowmes the New Youle World, which aspires to the organship of the Deuocracy of the Empire Stato and of Conmany Hall, That paper makes the fol- lowing Qeliverance ; L0 ukin with, flien, tho doctring of Stato rights, as exrounded by the Fother of tho Couatitntion £nd'ac- Levted by tho ustional Demacracy, dues not ineluda ut cueliates Blate novorolgnty (7}, und, secordingly, what Ank I'niuose says on thiv boad s busolewds Slute rovorclgnty AV most was Bimply a crotehet of cer- tan heterodoy Demoorats which tho elvll war oxe ploded, with the ndditionn] efuot of converting or por- vorting 00mo o€ its uolwost udvocates {nto opponontn of Hiato vights quito us_ radical und swooplng o Tun CH1CA0D TNUNE Stsolf Tins hecome, 'Tho excrascenco Diwa vandahad from thy Duwnveratio hody (1, “Tho doo- trin of Etato soverelguty ducs not naw uxist fu our yulitics (1), It Lulongs 10 tho'yenrd boyoud the food, The Utloa (N. Y.) Obwsver, which is a Daomocratio papor of the old style, ia at direat issue with the World, lLowevey, and repudi- ates the whole theory that tho United States aro o natlon ; and holds that man as laboring to subvort the Constitution who denios that this is n Governmont of **States," and is o netlonal Government, It comments upon the cownvdico of some of the Demooratio pa- pera whel {gmore this quostion, or equivo- cato or dony the tive Dameceratio principle, by At e far the latitudo of Qu but Wo can't speale for the latitude of Clicago, i Lol of tho Domiocrusy of Gontral How Yosk (vhiolt includen somo namos not unknown to Ilinots) we beg 1o wauure Tur OmoAuo TRIDUNZ that thora 19 no de- 8lro to tauppress ' or dodgo & question In which wo aro ll vitally tntereated, Wo subnait to the Observer that ita quarrel is not with' ''nz Tniounr, Wo ngreo with it that the Democratio party hng nover lind any other so distinetive fundnmentnal prineiplo na thnt ours {8 not n nationnl Government, but a mero agoncy of confedernted Stales. Tet it address itself to the Workd, or other Démo- orntic papors that nro seeling Lo dodge rud suppress sll inention of tho fact, It may de- pond on us for o reasonablo anount of help, ‘THE DAY WE OELEBRATE, What will the iconoclasts loave us aftor a while? We aro even gotting mixed up on the date of Christmas,—tha very dey fram whicliwe date all things olse. al sazan, nuxions o glorify the stars by ns- sociating them with the homago paid to the 8nvior, but unwilling to ancrifico his mathe- matienl acewrncy o romanes, tradition, or projudico, recalls to us that the doy wa colo- brato isn't tho day nfter all. In point of fact, it isn't within four yenvs of the day. It wns not 1874 years ngo that tho star shono in Talestine, and the bensts of the field gathered from afar and bowed down in raverenco. It wos 1878 yearsago, In other words, theSavior was not born in the year 1 A, D,, but in tho year —4 A, D. This isn't very clonr, wo admit, but it i3 8s near ns we can get nt_ it nnd preserve tho mnthematical unitics. The only prrallel we con suggest is in tho form of n conundrum, with which pavents moy start off their children this morning,” The proposition may bo stated thus, and it is a-trua ono : Lverybody be- lioves Christmas and Now Year’s come on the samo day, or rather the corresponding day, of the week; but they do not in 1874 and 187, Aftor tho parents havo fully made this out, and solved it to their own satisfaction, it will o time to oxplain to the children ahont this dresdful mistoke weo lave been making for tho lnst 1874 yonrs,—this Inpso of four yonys, thia pions aunchronism, this fearful wiscaleulation of the horologo. ‘Wo sincerely hiope that this difference of four years will not bo counted up ngninst the lifotimo of any persons now in existonce. It wouldn't bo fair. If we bave actually lost four yenrs in our computntion of timo, wo shall insist that it shall bo taken awny from tho beginning of thoe ‘Christian ova; and not from tho middle or the end. The disciples, saints,-and mavtyrs of thoso emrly days can- not reasonably object to such a procednre, which wo living folks may. Life is shorter now than it was in those days; we can't afford to admit tho four years and chargo it up ta our account. Wa don’t think Christian- ity ought to exact it of us, and wo tell the nstronomers and mathematicians plainly that itisnono of their affair, snd we shall not pormit them to dictate in the matter. We also hope, and are inclined to believo, that tho children, to whom Christmas be- longs, will havo just as mnvy presonts in 1hoir stocldngs, just a8 many tapors on their trees, just ns much eandy and plum.pudding in their stomncks, just as litkle cave in their hends, and just ss much fun, asif the Sa- vior hind renlly come upon earth this day 1874 years ago, and not this day.1878 yenrs ago. Four years to n child on Christmas Day is o mattor of much less import than four doys to the man ar woman who has seen n sooro or iwo of Christ. mases, who has to fill the stockings instend of hanging them up, who buys presents and gets none, and who can’t eat plum-pudding or Christmas-pio without soeing a maternal mncestor all night long. If tho four years' differoncoe in timo can nffect o child at Christ- mas, it will be the poor little fellow who doesn't get any prosents, and who might have been born under a different and happier star if this serious error had not been mado by the enrlier Christians, « If any of us ave inclined to complain of our lot on this the happiest day of all the year, an excellont discipline will be found in looking about to ses how much worso off somebody olce is, Though it appears to bo o contradiction, it is practically true that no- bady is so unhappy that he cannot think of somebody elso who is infinitely more wretch. od. This may bo called comparntive cousola- tion, and we commend it to those whom hard times have struck harder then they expeoted. Yo all men, women, andchildren, with Christ- mas presents and without, in deflance of all mathematical eateulations, and with supreme indifference whether you celebrato o day that started 1874 or 1878 years ago, wo commend the old saw: 3 # At Christrosa play, and make good cheer, For Cliristias comes but onco n year,” THE SENATE FINANCE BILL, The text of tho financial bill possed by the Senato does not remove the blindness or indistinotness which scems to ronder the menning obscure in certain particulars, Tho act clemly removes all tho restrictions upon the nggregate issue of notes by the National Danks, and provides that the Seeretary shnll Hredeom™ the legal-tender notes of tho United States in oxcess of threo hundred willions of dollara to the amount of 80 per centum of the incremsed issue of National Bank notes. This * redemption” is to con- tinuo *until thero shall be outstanding tho sum of 200,000,000 of such legal-tendor United States notes and no mora,” Thiy scemingly is very plain, but what is meant by “redemption®? The mnero talding in of the groenbacks, and putting thom away in the vaults of the Treasury un- til wanted, is one kind of redemption; to tako them in, and cancel and destroy them, fnd not issuo others in licu of {hew, is quite nnothor form of redemption, When Sonator Snenatan was nsked which form of redemp- tion was intended DLy tho bill, ho declined making an answer. When seked if {heso uotes, when ““redeemed,” might not Lo is- sued again, or others in place of them, he re- fused o answer, From all thig, the country is to understand thab tho *‘redemption® of "I'rensury notes prior to 1879 is to be subject to tho discretion of tha Becretary of the ‘Lvensury to reissue them whon in his opinion it ig desirable or oxpediont. After January, 1879, tho bill requires that tho Socrotary *shall redeem in coin the ‘Irensury notes then outstanding on prosenta- tion," &o, 'This plan of redemption is onsily understood, But the bill is a little opaque ag to the modo by which the Seerotary is to got tho funds for thiy redemption and for tho pro- liminary or preparptory redemption of the oighty millions, For both those redemptions ha is nuthorlzed to *‘uso any surplus rove- nuos” in tho Tronsury, andto ‘‘issue, sell, nnd digposo of at not less than par in coin " ony of tho 6, 41.2, and 4 per cent bonds horatofore authorized to bo issued. 'Fho nots of 1870-'71 suthorized tho issuo of $600,000,000 of O per conts, all of which have hoon nogotiated except §128,000,000, for whieh cortalu persous have an sgreownont wo- ourlng to them an option until Jan, 81, 1875, This will dleposo of all tho 5 por cents authovized to bo Issuod, lshving the An astronomie- | Seccrotary with authority only to issne bonds at 41-2 ond nt 4 per cent. As the & per cents avo just struggling to keep at par, it is 1ot tikely that the Secxatary will bo nble to sell any of the 4 or 4)§ per cents at par for coin for many years lo come. Wo Leliovo thera is no nation in tho world which can siell )¢ per cont bonds ot par except England, Yrench and German 5 per cenls aro linrdly ot par. I'ho whole issue of & por cont Government bonds when the Syndiento tako the $125,000,000 will be nearly $700,- 000,000, and, wuntil these tako a permancnt valuo above par, the opporlunity of selling the lower rate of interest bonds will not pre- nentitrelf. It moy bo that Congress will havoe to athorize an increased issue of & per cent bonds to meet tho redomption of green- baeks, Tho mode of rodemplion leforo 1879 is nlso indirect, I'ho bonds aro to be sold for coin; but is this coin {o bosold for green- Dacks, or is the coin to be used for redeeming tho greenbacks which ave first presented, by somehody posted as to the proper timo to do s0? Lo obseurity of the bill on theso details is by no meaus essontinl to make it accoplable to the public. 'The peopla like plain danling, aud do not liko this double-meaning logisla- tion, which in time will prove a plaguo to its inveniors, If the Houso will only relieve the Dbill of its equivocal phrases, it will not only nnke the bill elenrer, but will add immensely’ to its popularity, ‘Tho peoplo are' all right, and Congress should not bo afraid to trust them. Tho most important provision of the bill is that which fixes n timo for the ultimate ro_ demption of tha greenbacks. The only erit. jeism which wa hiave scen made Ly tho leading poapers of cither porty is, that thoe timo is put off too long. Most of them come to nbout the somo conclusion as that of tho New Xork Times, which geys: Al which deelarea a day for tho payment of tho Governtient notes in cofn, and which provides for (ke atedy reduction of the volume of thoss notos relative (o thia bank issues which aro redcemablo iu thiom, i3, in our judigent; ono which desorves o ospitable recep, tiou ot tha hands of tho friends of specio-paymonts, Ip 18 by 1o means perfeot; but, 37 it 19 o bill that can pass 1t 18 o thousand tlmes wizer to accept it than to stan out for ono which, though & great deat boltor, can ncy a8, * RESOVE THE NORTH PACIFIC I The St. Paul Pioneer, the Democratio organ of Minuesota, grows pathotic and poetical in n leading editorial under tho caption wo' have quoted. 'The Pioncer wants Congress to reseno Jay Coore's subsidized failuro by giv- ing it $125,000,000 of tho peoplo's money bocouso it * utilizes tho road, alrendy, built ; opens up o strotch of country heovy with minerals eud rich with the succulent grasses which ara the delight of the herdsman and of Ligdroves; peoples now wildeincsaes; attracts new communities of emigrants; opens up communication withremoto sections of o com- mon country; makes our new Alaska pos- sedsions of somo praetieal valuo (1); reduces the oxpenses of the Government in the main- tenance of troops more then an equivalent far the whole interast asked to ba guarauteed; sattles the Indion question in the interest of civilization and peaco; aud saves the com- merca of tha Preifie from falling into the hands of the Canadian road, which will surely bo built if this is abandoned.” This is indeed n catalogue of blossings. The Pioneer ought to, bizin to pay dividonds pretty soon, if it gets anything like the proper rate per line for such fine flights of fancy., It maybe worth while, perhaps,io look at the blessings from the standpoint of truth, and thus discover preciscly what we are likely to get for giving Jax Cookr nnd the rest of the lobbylsts the right to take 1235, 000,000 out of our pockets, The bill now before Congress provides for the gummntes by the United States of 350,000 of 5 per cent bonds for each mile of the rord. The man- sgets may bo relied upon to follow the pree- edent sob by {ho Union Pacifio ring, nnd put severnl hundred miles of track on the route by running off-shoots here and thero, and by making the road squirm over the level prairio in gemicircles. The aggregato amount of bonds issmed will bo (2,600x350,000) $125,000,000. They ave to run forty years, he nggregate intorest for this time will be £240,000,000. 'This makes a totol of $805,- 000,000 which the people of the United States will have to pay in order to give Jay Cooxr: and his ring n frosh start in lifo, And now for tho blessings ! TFirst, it * utilizes the rond "already built.” Tho policy of throwing nway good money aftor bad has ot last found a champion. Thoe world usunlly regards this aa the scmo of folly, and the world is quite right, This ar- gumont would make the country dig the James River & Konewha Canal over and through & fow hundred miles of mountains, and would forco New York to prolong indefinitely the wuscless lateral ecannls which she has just. voted, most wisely, to abandon, It would compel us, whenover o mman got a road chartered from Podunk, in Maine, to Bloody Hollow, in New Mexico, and built a fraction of traclk, to construct the rost of it for him and pay him a hundrel mill- ions or so for the privilege. Why is it, too, if the new road is to develop the country, thnt the 535 miles of it already built have falled to do auything of the sort? Is it worth while to spend ¥865,000,000 for the salke of utilizing something thab will appar- ently never bo of any especinl uso? Beeond, it ** opens up n streich of country henvy with minerals and vich with tho suceu- Iont grosses that aro the delight of the herds- man and his droves,” Nobody kuows whoth- er the country ia heavy with minerals or not. If it wero Inown fo bo £0, it would swarm with minowy long before tho track could bo Iaid. Wo aro not aware thet tho men who rushod to Pike’s Peak wnited for palace-cars to tako them there. It is o pity that tho “tgucaulont grassea” on which, according to tho fino pootienl phraso of tho Pioncer, tho Lerdsman grazos, Nobuchednezzar-like, with his droves, do not exist, bt thoy don't. For fovon months in the yeor, tho storile waste through which the Novthorn Pacifle will pass if Congross in foolish and Jmavish enough to voto this subsidy is covered with snow, It-is cold enough there thon to freezo the horns off any wretched ox caught in tho dreary region, As for tho imnginary herds- mau, it i diffoult to any whother he would bo moro delighted or surprised to fiud any- thing in that soction on whick ho or his herd could feod, Ifwe should make this second argument vead, *Tha road would open up o country Lieavy with allali snd snow and rich with saga-brush and swamps,” it would ex- pross tho truth with o fidelity whioh the St Paul Pioneor might copy with adventage, Third, it “peoples new wildernossos; nt- traots now communitios of emigranfs; opous up communioation with romoto seotions of & common country; and makes our now Alnskn possosslons of some practienl valuo,” While wao have such a fine nssortmont of old wildor- nesses on hand to peoplo, thevo i renlly no nooosslty of providing a fresh Jot, Thosage- brush along the Union Pooitlo mnkes just as good kindling ns the snge-Lrush along the Northern Pacific. ‘Fhe alkali-lands nlong tho routa in operation aro na worthless ns those along thoe route survoyed. Since the now wildorness offers nothing renlly now, we seo no necensity for plnstering it over with Gov- eramont bonds. Any community of emi- geants that is * atirncted " by tho Northorn Pacific must bo composed of gigautie fools whom we can readily’ spnre. Do we, indeed, nood to atirnot miy mora cmi- grants, when we cannot give work to thoso who lave nlready como? There i no apparont ndvantago in * opening up com= munications ” with n remote desert or a ro- moto wwanmp, morely beeanse it is within the geographical limits of tho United States, If this is such a blessing, lot us have n railrond to the summit of Mount Shasta, with n branch to tho Alentian Islands, forihwith, The Treart must thrill with the prospect of Dbeing in conununieation yith theso * remolo poc- tions of a comnnon country.” Alnska, which i not far from the North Dole, cost ug $7,- 100,000, and ig worth to us about 7 conts, 1t is now gravely nsserted that we ought to spond £365,000,000 moroe in order to gebn profit out of our originol investmont of $7,- 500,000! But if tho Northern Pacific were completed from Duluth to Puget's Sound, it wortld not be withiu 1,000 miles of Alaska, Tourth, it “roduces the expenses of the Government in the nnintensnce of troops moro than an equivalent,” ete,, ote, Thisis the old soug. It is folly, siuff, nonsense. The annunl interest tho couniry must pay will nmount to £6,250,000,~—~which is about the present total cost of supporling all the Indinng in tho United States. It ncedsa Thived lobbyist to claim that the cost of main- taining the army will bo reduced by building the Northern Pacific at Governtnent oxpense. The truth of the mattor is that troops will liave to bostationed all over the ** now wilder- ness” through which tho Northern Pacifio will run, in order to guard the rond againsk Indinn attacks, and thus the cost of the mmy will bo incrensed instead of diminished. Tifth, “The Conadinn rond will bo built if this is abandoned, and will get the commerce of the Pacifie.” Thevo is no prospect of the building of the Canadinn road. If the Dominion is foolish enough to banlrupt itself by trying tho job, our Northwestern lines can tap tho Cauadinn Pacifle and draw down to Duluth, 8t. Paul, Milwaulkes, and Chieago, all the ““commerco of the Paciflo” which will come over the road for a good many decades yet. Ono froight-car a day could probably eprry it Tho Northern Pacific kindly offers the peo- ple of the United States, in exchange for £865,000,000, the blessings aforesnid, and the vight to fix faves and freights, and a lot of worthless bonds and sterile wilderness, Tho preaent Congress will not order tho bonds issued, That job will be left for the next Congress to do, which will be Domocratic. BPIRITUALISIIO. The rocent exposure of-the Karme Kixa swindlo seemns to have -been the signal fora general breaking up of tho tricks and jugglor- ies of ihe mediums, It hins not been o difii- cult taslk, as the really export swindlers have gone out of the business and dropped out of public notice, Hoe, who astonished all Europo with his trickery, and enriched him- self with costly presonts from noble and even roynl dupes, is heard of no longor., The Davesront brothers, with their rope-tying fents, have disnppenred. Tho cabinet and clothes-line style of Spiritualism, which bad n great run in its day, i8 as dend a3 o last yemr's enlt herring. Ihen cnme tho spivit-photograph business, by which apy number of sunts, uncles, and cousing, in gauzy robes and luminous sur- roundings, hovering nbout the sitter in fan- tastio shapes, could bo produced at so much per - epitz, to suit the castomer’s pursoe. When it was discoverod, however, that sll the spirit-photographers were mediums, and that no other pliotographer, bowever skillful he might be, could get an impression of the family derd-and-gones, this humbug was ox- ploded. Now comes ancther jeonoclast, who Lias Doen deeply inferested in spivitual sopnces, and has followed them uwp industriously, and exposes the tricks of the business in the Now York Herald, somo ex- traots from which wa print elsewhere, Tlo chose tho three most famous wediums, Maxs- rreep, Foster, and Srape, who ave well known throughout the country, having trav- aled extensively aud entvapped vietims all over the United States, Maxorrerd makes o speeinlty of answering questions written up- on a picce of paper, subscquently folded Ly the writer, 'Fhis frick is such an old one, ond has been so many times exposed, that it seems well nigh inerediblo thero is any ono left to bo decoived by it ‘There nve two ways of doing this, Firat, the medium provides his own paper, which is so very thin that the writing shows through, oy, by sleight of hand, enother pioce of paper folded in the smme manner is sub- stitutod for it, whilo the original pioco ro- mains open, out of sight, on the medium's Lnoe. This gontleman’s next visit was to Toyren, who performs the papor-rick in tho same manner, In nddition to this trick, Mr. Fosten pruduces the answors {o questions in raised letters upon his avm, which is done by running o sharp thumb-nail over the arm end then rubbing it smoothly, which eauses the writing to appear in rod ridges, Branr’s slate writings, which is a common trick at tho sennces, is explained by tho substitution of ono.slnte for another, and his meterinlize- tions are porformed preeisoly ns Karz Kmia's woro, In addition to these porfonmances, & young man in Boston, who lag mado n study of theso illusions in altending tho seances of Mrs, Hanoy, o woll-kinown medinm of that oity, recently gave o performnnco of them at his own house in Mrs, Ilanpy's presenco, at which ho went throngh with all the dmlk cir- clo manifestations * under the gaslight,” so {hnt s}l presont conld ses how they wero done, Ono of tho strongost proofs of the nrtiflces employed by the mediums and the materallz- ors i the fact that the magiciang like Iantz and Herxen ovo uob only doing all that the former do, but even: more wonderful things, with thelr legordemain, In fact, nothing that theso mediums have ovor accomplished equals in wonderfal skill the feat of Hruren in rubbing two rabbits Into one, without any accessorios of any sort, and beforo your very oyes, In tho light of such revolotions ns these, it doos not seom possiblo that any ono can bo loft guilible enough to bo takon in by them ; and yot sonuces of this deserip. tlon are mattors 2 daily and nightly ocourroncs in Uniongo and all over the country, and thera mo atill loft men wmaking protensions to solentifle knowledgo and goneral eulturo who are roady to swallow tho porformanoes of theso mediuma and accopt them as unnocountablo, i2 not ss gonuino spivitunl manifestations, Buch testi- mony ought to ba sufllolent to sink the wholo business of Spirltualism out of sight forevor, ad lnduae its viotims horoefter to givo thelr attention to earthly matters, whicl are not half ns well attended to as they ought to bo, Wo presume, howover, that there will still be multitudes of the unwary who will rush into tho trap set for them with wide.open oyos, and aceopt tho jngulorics of charlatous as wauifestations from the epivit-world. e A FRENOH PROPHECY, Thirty yonrs before the Declarntion of Independenco wny signed, and \fteon yonrs before the Dritish conqueved the Canadian possessions of tho Iromeh, D'Ancrysox, n Tyench writor, nttered o remarkable prophecy concorning Amerlen, in which ho said: 1 can nay thiat, oma bright morning, thesa domita« tlony con separato from Englaud, o awd orcot themsoelves Into nn_jndependent ropublio, What swill appon from tuls? Do’ poopla think of thisy A cottntry well regulated by tn nrts of Burope, in cone ditlon to commiinicate With It by tho prosout porfose tfou of itz mnriuo, und which by” thin will npproprints our arls in proportion fo tiotr fmprovoment ; pnttenca t Such n_country, n noveral nges, will make great progreas fa population sud in politoncss; Bnch o country wilt ‘render 3taoll In u sliort tino mustor of America, and_ospoclally of the Pn\l\ mines, And you will thien gos how tho enrth will Lo boautifull What cullurol What now srly aud now seleucos] What safely for commereo! Nuvigation will precipitate all tho peoples toward each other, A day will como when ono will go in nlpcumlmn! and regulated eity of Californfa an oo goes {1 tho stage-coach of Meaux, Tho French seer was right so far ns he went, but his vision was not keon enough to penotrate all tho scerots of the futave, iy spirit of propheoy recognized only tha mate- rial growth and the commercial, artistic, and scientiflo progress of the country. He did not sco the country rent by a civil war, and disorder, violence, nud auarchy succeeding it. Ifo did not seo corrnption rampant in the goneral administration of Goverment, dishon- eaty cropping out in Stato, conuty, and mu- nicipal oftices all over the country; legisla- tors bought and sold like sheep in the sham- Lles; subsidies bought and squandered ; Credit-Mobiliers corrupting public inen; the public credit weakened by spoculators and rings of politicinna; defaulling oflicials ; earpet-baggers filling their pockets by impov- orighing the poople ; scandals breeking out in society and the church ; the ecause of re- ligion defiled by ila teachers ; tha churches turned into fashionnblo coteries, nnd picty growing wealker and weaker ; crime increas- ing with fearful rapidity ; family ties sovered for the slightest causo ; men hastening to get rich, regardless of the mauner ; people living Leyond their means to keep up appearances ; tho influonco of tho Church aund the discipline of the family poworless; the growing generations leaving the oldstand. arda of truth and running after every will-o- the-wisp of science, cnreless whero it leads; young men and women growing prematurely old with the dissipations of fashion and luxury ; fow men nble to trust their neigh. bors ; no guarnuty of honesty binding, Theso ara some of tha things which the keon.cyed French prophet did not seo in his vision of tho future. Theso aro somo of the results of our fast lifo, insane itch for money, and reck- less compatition with each other. Consider- ing their number and their nature, it is doubt- ful whother tho real progress of tho country makes sufficient compensation for them. Would not a slower growth have been n groater blessing? Wero D’Ancexsox alive now, what would he sea an hundred years hence ? AMENDING CONSTITUTIONS. The Constitution of the State of New York provides that it may bo amended from time to timo, and tho process cousists of the ap- proval of an amendment by the conenrrent netion of the two Houses of the Legislaturo in fwo different years, snda final approval by the peoplo at the polls. At the last clee- tion the people ratified a number of amend- ments, including two of great importance, Ono of these provides for the sale of all the minor Stato canals, sud the other, copicd substantially from the Illinois Constitu- tion, prohibits specinl legislation. After tho rntifiention of theso amendments by tho poople, to the .gromt dis- may of thoso whoso business was thus summarily cut off, it was discovered by the Intter thot those amendments, after they had possed the first Legislature, wore changed by tho sccond Legislature, and it was confended thatthey were thereforo void, becanso theyhad not been approved by the Legislatures in the precise form in which the people had ratified thom, This point has been submitted fo My, Crartes O’Coxor, who las given an elabo- rato opinion, in which ho maintaing that the smendments ave valil, Mo declares that it caunot be maintained that & State Constitu- tion which provides ¢ memnsg for its own amendment connot be al- tored or varied in any othor manmer, The prosent Constitution of New York was ndopted in entive disvegard of tho man- ner provided in the Constitution which it sot asido, 'Chero are also many other precedents of o like chavncter. After an sblo review. of the facts, he contends that tho action of the Logislature in 1874, submitting the amend. nonts to the people and the ratifieation of the ameondments by the people, are, taken alone, suflicient to give validity to the amendments, He insists that, whenover they seo fit, the people of a Stato can altor their written Con- stitution, and this right catnot bo denied or abridgoed by anything contained in the Con- stitntion itself, - This is clenrly the true dootrine, The peo- ple acting at the polls have the samo power to nmend their Constitution s they had to ordniu the Constitution originally, CLUES FOR GIRLS. ” Thio ** Saturday-Morning Club,” of Boston, porhaps answers tho question which the’ girl of the period is nsking in novels and essays and roviows : * What can X do ?” 'Che S.-M. ©. ia the child of Mys, Jursa Waup Howr and Mrs, Lavensronz, They founded it for the snko of giving unmnrried women in good so- cioly an opportunily to do somothing. The Olub mombership is restricted to girls, Aboup throo scoro and ton of the most cultivated young ladies in Boston belong to it. Admis- sion, whioh is by bnllot, is eagerly sought. The fees ave only a dollar or two o yoar. Ab. sence rud tardiness aro both finable offensos, Porsistenco in them resnlts in oxpulsion, Such is the organization of the Club, It is very simple, Any circlo of girls ean imitato it. Awy pgirls can imitate its work, too, though thoy will Iabor undor disadvantages, outside of Boston or Now Yorl. 'U'his does not consist in sewing for somebody's pet poor, or in colleoting monoy to send fonther-bods to unbroeched converts in Africn, Tho Club is an nssocia- tion of girls for mutual improvement. At every othor meoting, one of the Boston Nter- nti rcods a mew locturs, or pocwm, or n magazine article, or a chapter of a book from tho advanco-sheets, Nothing s over rend bo- fore the Olub after it has boen published. At tho noxt moeoting, the paper ia digoussed,— keonly and brightly, so the omuisicont ** they” sny. Papors have boen rond by Dr, Horays, Janes T, Freeoy, B, B, Haug, Hownnrs, Avaen, Janzs FreesaN Oranoe, Eaznsow, and othora, Tho Club gives & bouquot to the leoturor or yeador, Most of its money is spont for flowers, Besldos theso contribu. tions fromn outaiders, memborn of the Club who aro abrond gend it sketohes of what thoy have seen and what they lhiave thought about it. @Fhere is sliil auother fenture. Tho Club is divided into scctions, Music han one; tho languages another; nrt n third; and coolery tha Invgest of all, 'This Inst section T produced an onormous manuseript coolee ery-bool, which the world mny soma ting see, Fach mombor of the section gives o Iuncheon in turn to tho rest, and ench bringg to ench ontortninment adish made by herself. "I'ha first luncheons consistod mainly of cakes aud puddings, butall branches of the enling- ry art havo sinco boon mnstered. Tho mem- bera of oncli of thaother threo sectionsnid oncls othor, but naturally produco fower palpnble results, Tho art section is, however, to bo eredited with some olover devices for honso- hold dccoration, ote. Somo of its membery are knid to bo winning no litllo Zudos and cash by their panol-paintings, "Tho Now Yorle Z'mea ealls for tho establisl- mont of such a club or a sot of kuch clubs in that city, Why not in Chicago, too? Tha Indies’ club already started hove, tho ** Fort nightly,” is n success, but it covers only a part of the field of tho * Saturday-Morn. ing." Ithes fentures corresponding to tha soctions of tho latter, and its membership ia largely composed of married women, wha cannot devote to it n titho of tho time which almost every young Indy finds hanging heavie 1y on herhands. Who will do for tho girls of Chicago what Mesdnmos Howe and Laven. aong have done for thoso of Boston ? ——————— THE TAXATION OF TITLFS, ThaHon, David A, Werreshaa writton ashort and sharp lottor to our New York namesske ou the unfairness and tho illegality of taxing tho evidenees of property, such ss morgtages, notes, ete., in addition to the property itsel?, "Phe taxution of mortgnges has been justified on the ground that tho mortgngo wes tha titlo to ng much of tho land morigeged ns the monoy advanced would buy., But the land in‘taxed, and tho holder of tho original title pays tho tax. Lovying on the mortgage title, then, is doublo tasation of tho samo property. This is grossly unjust. Tho fal- ncy which underlies all taxation of evidences of indeblencss is, that titles aro property, that o thing is what it represents, that a note for $100 is $100, or, in a word, that & pic- fure of a mountain is the mountain itself, My, Wrrres humorously adds that this theory *¢ ndmits of o mon having ten neres of wood- land in tho crown of his hat, a church with a long stecplo in one cont-pocket, and a four- story brick block, with possibly a mill-privi loge, in thio other.” The Supremo Court of tho United Stntes has decided that n Stato connot tax lmd bo. yond its jurisdiction, and that no two States can tax the samo pieco of land. This decis. ion maltes it poseible for auy man holding a mortgage on property outside the Stete in ‘which hio lives to resist in tho Courts any at tempt to tax that mortgago. All taxation should bo on property. No new property is crented by giving a note or a mortgage, which ave merely written promises to pay money. If money is taxed, the note representing it ought not to be, I land is taxed, tho mortgages representing part of it ought not to be. This is tho gist of the whole thing, Promises and ngresments ara not property. Only property should be taxed, 'Therefore titles (i e ovidences, of indebtedness) ought nat to be taxed. Upon this Chmnstmas morning it is not very oncoursging to read of a deeline in tho foreigy miegionary businoss, and yet such o result s shown by o pamphlet recently published at Cal- cutta, ontitled *Statistical ablos of Protostant Missions in Indis, Coylon, and Burmah for 1871, propared at the request of tho Cafeutta Mission. ary Couference.” Irom this work it appears that tho sum total of Protestant Chiristians in the throo countrios is no greator than 259,000, which {8 o rather mortifying showing con sidoring the immonso oxpeuditures involved in tho work and the vast machinery necessary ta keepup the systom of missionory labor. The {ncroaso in tho last ten yoars Lise boen 84,000, and upon this basia the writer of the pamphle ostimate, if tho proportion was mainteined, “in A. D, 2001 tho number would smount to 198,000,000." Tho writors, howover, candidly oxpress uo hope that thore will bo noy such ine creade. Asregards the class from which con- verts are drawn, thoy state that nine-tonths of thom are from low caates and aboriginal tribea. In the last ten years no approciable increago bna been mado in tho numboer of missionuries sont from Emvope, and, in the case of five of the so- ciotios, toro is & positivo decreaso, which loada the writers to obsorve: “Trom this circum- stance it would appenr that foreign socioties are either unwilling or unsble to send out more wis- slonarios, and that, whicbover supposition wo may adop, it is a slgn of dimmishing intorestin Indinn missions.” Upon ibie subject of financos the writors preserve an ominous silonce. i e I'ho Common Council, in rushing through the Witbash aveuue ordinance for tho Qity Railway Company, refused even to provide tbat “two- mon card” should bo run upon the street, thougl the * bob-tail ™ cars are the bano of ex- istouco in tho South Division of the city. Wa think, howover, if tho law wore proporiy e foresd now, tho *‘bob-tall” cars could bo speedily abatod, Hio any othor nuisanco, There 18 o city ordinanco, passed July 18, 1607, Which rends a8 followe: Tt shall Lo unlawfal for fin{af tho horse-railway companies of the Olty of Chicago to suffer uny of thelr cura to bo ruu oh uny of tho strects, OF 8Dy Do tion or part theroof, fu tho suld city, at uny timo, une lesy tho samo hall bo fu chargo of, aud under the con trol of, somo canipetent comdnctor. Yor cach and every violntion of the provistons of this section tho #add companies, or elthur of them, eltall bo mubject to 8 £in0 of not leas than §10 nor exceeding $100, Thiis cannot bo construod to mean & driter, sinco ic would be sheor nonscnso Lo providoe thut 10 borgo-car should bo run without & driver. It would baimpossivlo to run a horse-car without o driver, 8o thet no sanoman would thin‘k of maiting m Jaw to compol this, Tho ordiance menns that overy car shall have a “‘conductor’ to eolleot fare and protect tho passongers, if it meana suything., It is the duty of the City At~ torney to prosecute tho railway company which 80 flagrantly disrogards this ordinance, ‘Tho growth of tho one-sided commerce bo« twoen Cabn and the United States i shown by tho following figures : Tu 1830 our imports of merchandise from Cala were $50,070,401 ; in 170, $50,777,1081 §u 1871, $57,604,925 5 In 1872, $07,204,018 ; fu 1673, $17,077, 725 dnd I 1674, tho fiscal yeavs onding In June, $35,126,097. Thus during the ol yeara of fuaurrection thoro' hea baon, with the excoption of 1870, o soarly aud largs increats in ous {myortations framn tho {aland, and fu the six yoars thig hau viseu from. lers than fifty-voven iillious to over alghts-five, Our oxport of ddmeatlo produce to Gubs auriig thy e3no period ling in Uke mounor, thongh woro wlowly, ineronsed, In 1889 tho value woa $11,818~ G203 I 1670, §12,670,067 3 i 1871, $15,708,00; i 1673, Sl‘J.IIM 891; 1n 1870, #16,117,707; aud ln 1874, $15,077,¢ 710, Thio trada witl Oubn by fucreasad vory iargaly in tho laat twauty yoars, for ju 1874 wa bought of Ouba to tho valuo of only 618,010,000 bt it i notablo that 4y 80l $0 tho fsland, 1n that yesr, to the yuluo of over 38, 000,000, 'Tlus our exporta to Cubia Lava by no meany {ncreasod in proportion to our fmyports frout the laland, Noarly tho wholo produot of our gold minos la roquired to pay the ditferenca Lotween our lme porty and oxporta with that ono fsland, e et Baya the Milwaukos Advertiser (Ropublican)s “Te Green Doy Garelle complaing thes Tan Tomuxs ‘hus already commonoed soolding, and ‘bofors Qongross has falrly got to work It doolavoa thot it has mado throo sorious binudera! In the catimntion of tho Qazsife, 1t fo not a0 bad for the Topublican party to hava Congross commit bluds dors #e 1 is for a Nepublican newspapor 40 say