Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, January 6, 1876, Page 4

TERMS OF THE TRIBUNE. RATFP OF &UPICRITTION (PAYARLY TR ATVAKCE), Fostnee I'repald at ¢ Delly Fdition, poat-paid, 1 year. Parte of yearat The partas It 10 ce: Epecimen coplee sent free, To prevent delny and mistakes, be £are and give Pomt-Ofice sddress in full, fuclnding Stateand Connty, Nemiftincesmay be made either by draft, expross, Foat-Oflico order, ot In registered letters, at our riak, TERMA TO CITY SUBTORIDENS, Datly, deliverod, Bunday excoptad, 23 cents por week, 1Dy, delivered, Sundsy fuciuded, B0 ccnts por week, Addrens TIIE TRIBUNE CUMPANY, Coruer Madison and Dearboi Chleago, T, T AMUSEMENTS, HMOOLEY'S THEATR Clark and Lasailo. Eug Company, * Ii Trovatore. sudolph atrost, hetween cut of the Kullogg Operse MoVIOKER'S THEATRE—Madison strect, befween Duarbornt aud Baie, Engagenient of the Oates Opora- Company, * The Preity Perfumer.” ADULPAI THEATRE—Daurborn streat Monroe, * The Forty Thieves," : corner ACADEMY OF MUBIC—Talsied atrcet, betwoen Maditon ‘aud Mourow, Engagement of (e Georgis instrels, : NEW CHICAGO T! Randolph and Lake, Liart Combinatton. RE—Clatk wreet, betwoen roment of the Harrigan aud “The Doyla Brothers,” WOOD'S MUBEUM—Monrce street, batween Deare born and State, _Aft rr on, Rerl Jtd'ng-Houd ” and ¢ Drad Shot.” Eveniug, * Thy Adventures of s Coun~ Ary Garl "and ¢ Dead Siot” SOCIETY MEETINGS. WAUBANSIA LODOE, No, 160, A. F. & A, M,~The snnusl communlation for theelection of officors and the pavioent of A whl by beid 4t Orimial Hall, Thureday sveuing, Jan. 4, 1376, Lot overy member by prose a'¢,0ck, AhaT. . fror order of tue Lodge. T, J. TUSTIN, W, M. E! Sk, JURY, Socrotary, he (fi—lfimga Tribume, Thursday AMormmg, Januery G, 1870. Slight!y colder weathor is predicted for this locality to-dny, Greenbacks at the New York Produco Exchange yesterday opened and closed at 382 Approprintions will recommend a reduction of $116,620 from tho estimate submitted by Becrotary Brumyar for the annual appropriation for the West Point Military Academy. Capt. Sawven, of tho ship Orphens, which caused the wreek of tho stenmer Pacifio, and was afterwards run ashoro and abandoned in Barclay Sound, is on trinl in San Francisco, the charge being that he willfully wrecked lis own ship. The Repaklican State Convention of New Hampshire yestorday nominated n State ticket and adopted n platform favoring & To- wmption of specic paymeuts, opposing a third term, and advoenting the adoption of Mr, Brave's non-sectarian constitutionsl amendmont. Buffalo's defaulting City Trensnrer hag re- tnrned and surrendered himsolf tothenuthor- ities. Ho procured buil to the amount of £60,000, nnd offers to assist in administering apon his assets 8o that thoy may be made to cover all claima, A resolution, offerc y Mr, Cavrrmenp, was yesterday adopted by the House of Rep- wesentatives, Instructing tho Committeo on Tablic Buildings and Grounds to onter upon an inveastigation of the charges of fraud and mismnanagement in the construction of the Cliiengo Custom-Honso building, United States Paymnster Sravepive, of San Francisco, whoso Chief Clork, Prxxey, was so romnrkably successful in defranding tho Gov- -ernment, was yostorday arrestod aud impris. oned on Maro Island. It is susposed that suspicions of complicity in the Pmvvey pecu- Intions have led to the arrest of DPaymaster SravLovo. is largely n Guaucial ono, Tho formor wishes to establish n National Bank of her own, and have ita .irredecmable currency made legal tender throughont the dual Empire, The Austriang proper have boen too Ladly bitten by tholr own wildwcats to want the Hungarisu species turned loosa upon the! —_—— In the sccond oratorical contest of the In- tercolleginto Associntion, which took place in Now York Tuesday night, the first prize in the Greek examination was awarded to Miss Jurta J, Ty, of Cornell, tho only young womnnn who entered the lists, Dut the ty- rant qunn secured the finost prize afterall ; b secured Miss Jouria hersalf, who becamo Mrs, Invang soon after the oxamination, A plan for the romoval from politieal influ. ences of the system of suleoting jurors in the Vedernl Courts hay bevn devised by Mr, Horgms, of Penusylvanis, nod embodied in & bill which was introduced in Congress yes. terday. 'The bill contemplates thot each Judgo of the United States Cirenit Court shall call to Lis aid two promiuent citizens of different political predileotions, arnd with thelr ndvico and counsel shall himself seloct tho pauel of jurors, the United States Mar- shal having uothing to do in the watter, The Demoeratic Loglataturs of Mississippi do not taks kindly to Gov. Aurs' messago, "They ure in bigh dadgeon at what thoy char. acterize hin partisun coloring of the recont tronbles between the whites and blacks, and it i3 quite probable that the impeachment furore will be considerably aggravated by the Governor's injudicious messoge, A resolu. tion was yesterday introduced expressing (he willinguess of the Howse to receive and gqu- sider auy communication yelating to State af- fuird, but declining to bother with campaign documents, Senator Mosnisy, of Vermoot, yesterday introduced a bill to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem Jegal-tenders by the issue or sule of bonds Leuring interost not ox. ceeding the rate of 4} per cent, in uccordance with the et of July 14, 1870, and thus to carry into effect the Itesumptionact of Jau, 4, 18756; and further providing that all contracts mude after Jon, 1; 1678, shall bo payulle in hard mwoney unless otherwiso stip. ulated, and prescribing the coin reverve to be beld by the Nationn! Banks, Mr, Moraiy snuounced his intention to speuk upon the bill to.dmy. The Chicugo produce warkets were rather tame yesterdny, 3Mesu pork was quiet and tumly, olosing at §19,20 cash sud $10.35@ 10,874 for February, Lard wis quiot aud unchanged, olosiug at $12.47) per 100 ibu \ gallon, cash and 812,40 for Febrmacy, e in fair demand and firmer, at 7@ 7le for shoulders, boxed, 10}e for do short ribs, and 10ic for do short clears, Ilighwines wore moderately nctive and nnchanged, at $1.00 per Flour was dull and steady. Wheat was lesa nctive and 1c lower, closing at 953c for January and 9]c for February. Corn was quict and easier, closing at 43}0 cash and 42jc for February. Oats wero in fair request ond de lower, closing at 800 eash aud 0}o for Februnry., Rye was quict nt G6e. Barloy was active and easier, closing at 78}c for Jonuary aud 76c for Februnry, Ilogs wero fairly active and 10c higher; sales nt %6.50@ 715, Cnttla were dull and unchanged. Sheep were in good demand nnd fairly steady. Ono hundred dollars in gold would buy $112.624 in greenbacka at the close. The foreign news of this morning contains several items rolative Lo the Turkish provin- cinl imbroglio. 'The Princo of Montenegro, desirous of having n Lrush with his natural enemy, the Porte, has sought counsel of the Emperor of Rusaia, and been advised that ncutrality is his (the Prince's) best hold. It is ngain gsserted that tho lives of Christiana in tho insnrgent districts are in imminent danger, and that a general massacre can only Le prevented by the occupation of the dis- turbed provinees by Austrian troops. France and Italy are smd to take kindly to Count Axpnassy's reform project. The sub) of specio resurnption has boen very deftly taken out of the hands of the Banking Committee, of which Mr, Cox is Chairman, by so dividing the President's uessnge n4 to refer to the Banking Comnit- teo all matters relating to bauks and banking. and the currency and resumption of tho National Bauks, but placing the legal.tendors and all matters ralating to thom in the honds of the Committee of Ways and Means, 'This mny Lo regarded, wo think, as a partinl vic- tory of the hard-monoy element in Congress. There is ouly one *‘greonbacker” on the Cowmittee,—Mr, Keruey, of Pennsylvanie. All the others aro cither outhusinstio in their devotion to sonnd monvy, or (like Mr. Gin- rirLp, of Ohio) so committed to it by the sentiment of thoir constitnents that they cannot do otherwise thau stand by it. The Republican minority in the Tlonso of Reprasentatives yesterday Iaid anothor clever suare for the Democrats, nnd the latter promptly put both feet into it. It was n most adinirably devised plan to demonstrate the hollow iusincerity aud rank Lypacrisy of their opponents, and it sncceeded as perfectly ns conid binve been desired. Mr. Oasox, of Indinnn, offered a resolution declaring that, oll other things being equal, the preference should be given the loyal soldier in the bestowal of places within the gift of the Gov- eroment, and committing the House to the policy of allowing liberal ponsions to diseased and crippled soldiers and their widows, or- phans, and other dependonta. Of cousae, it wouldn't do to vote agninst such aresolution, and it was adopted. But the trap was sprung alittlo later Ly a resolution offered by Mr, : Four, of 1ilinois, declaring that, in view of the principle just indorsed, the oflicers of the Tlonse be instructed to give to wellqualificd Union soldiers tha preferance over Confedar- ates in ‘filling the subordiunte positions. Thero wos 1o esexpe ont of the dilemmn ox- aopt by nbsolute stultification. But tho case was desparate, and, at the motion of Fen- ~axpo Woop, the Democrats accomplished the nocessary someranult aud contemptuonsly buried tho resolution in tho Centennial Com- mittee, THZ NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVEN. N, A dixpatch from Washington indientes that Chicago will probably be selected as tho lo- cnlity of the National Ropnblican Conven. tion noxt summer, TLis iy the proper thing todo. There are no good rcasons why it should not Lo held hero ; on tho other hand, there are many rozsons why it shonld. This city and tho Stato of Lllnois have no particn- lar preferonco for a Presidont and aro not chanipioning any candidate’s cause. The dulogates from tho othor Btates can come here with the confident assurance that there wiil bo 10 undue pressure for any candidate, There will be no interference with the pros. pects of eandidates from other States. There will bo no political propaganda hero, and no advautage taken of local onthusinsmn to urge a speoinl candidate, as might happen in other places having nstrong partisan fecling fou their own citizons as candidates. Tho State is olrendy satisfled with its success in furnish. ing two groat Presidonts, It Tllinois furnishos tho candidato again, it will be bueange the dolegates from the other States shall soluct oue of "her citizons of their own freo choice, 'The delegates can, thorce fare, como hiere as freo from localinfluenco s in any other part of the United States, They will recoive n cordial wolcome hore, and the people of Chicago and of Minols will heartily indorsa their action if it is well taken. This is tho only feoling the Republicans of Dlinols havo in the mattor. There are other important reasons of local nature why the Convention uhould Lo held bere, No city inthe Unfon has such ampla, conveniont, aud comfortable hotel- nccommodations ns Chicago. We have the vast Esposition building for tho use of the Convention, whero tho delegates can all be comfortably seated and conduct their dolib- arations fu the presonce of 25,000 people on tho floor and gallerios, Railroads converge hero from every point of the compass. Now Orleans, New York, Ban Fiancisco, St. Paul, Charleston, aud Bt. Louis, can get bore withoat difficulty, It is n central point, —~a hnb from which tho spokes radinte in all directions, Tt ¢an be reached by all tho dele- gotes without bardship or unnceessary ex- penso or loss of Lime, It isn national, po- litical, and geographical centvo, It is cosmo. politan, Al the delegates, no matter whence they cowne, will find personal friends or rela. tives here, They will find the best of Jving aceommodationsand the most reasonable, Chi. cago being unexcelled ns a place of summer resort, they will have pure sir and wuter, pleasant days and cool nights, instead of the sweltering und disngreeahio weather of other cities, They will be in the grent mart of the Northwest in the busy season of the year, and will, thevofore, have an opportunity of seeing our comwerciul system sud watching its oporations, Thuy will bave an opportu. nity, not afforded anywhero else, of en. joying tho siglts, and sounds, and sensa- tions of o new and great city that ouly ive years ago lay in aslica, nud they will have an opportunity to luspect its wonder ful rebuilding and growth, snd to visit our beautitul parks. In all theso aud numerony other respects, Chiougo offers facilities for the meuting of conventions that can be en. joyed nowhiero elss in such porfection. Ity railroad and hotel facilities, its dslightful sumnmer climnte, il accesaibility from all points, ity coumopolitan charactor, Ita vom. ' wore THE CHIC. 70 TRIBUNL: THURSDAY, tinl charac.or of its newnpapers, and tho go. ahead charactor of its people, rli combine to make it the great convention city of tho conutry, and will give this Convention ench n send-off as it can have in no other city, Tut nbove all other 1easons, the ona we firat enwnerated, namely, tho freedom from loeal pressnra that tho delegates will enjoy here, should conclusively aettle the locality for the meeting of the Convention, ———e TAE TAX TROUBLES AND TRE REMECDY, It is uow determined that thero ls no rolief for inequnlitics of tho assessmont of 1475 oxcept ns individuals may scek it in the conrta at their own risk and cost. The Citizens' An- Aocintion has very proporly refused to take chargo of any caso with roferenco to past as. nessments, The grievauces are individunl, and tho remedies must bo songht in individu- a1 actions, sinco the County Board and Com- mon Couneil, and the attoruoya of both, hnve dacided that thero is now no relief short of the courts. Each person, thercfore, who feela that ho Is suficiently nggrieved to war- rant the expenses of o lawsuit must contest tho nisessmont for himself. But the very fact that thero is no reliof excopt in the courts, and perhaps not there, should prompt every citizon to do his share in the way of averting a reeurronco of tho outrage. It is well, theraforo, that the whole case should be defined for future reference. Theontrago it- sclf consists of tho inequnlity of the nascss- 'ment, which is threefold, and as follows: 1. A disproportion of the personal to tho renl nsseesmont in tho Sonth Division, In former years the real property was assessod ot five-sixths of the aggregate value and the personnl at one.sixth; in thoe prasent levy more than one-third of the whols valuatiou is in personnl property, and less than two-thirds in thoe ron! proporty,—houses and lands. 2, Thero has been a discrimination in the threo towns, That is, the proportion of tho potsonal valuation in the North and West Divisions is only about oma of personal to live for real property, while in the South i Division it is, ng stated, moro than one to two, which shows that the Sonth Divisign was assessed more than double for personalty. 3. The othor inequalities, nud those which bonr most heavily, are individual, and permit many to eseapo assossmont altogether, while others aro nwessod at doubls .what thoy nught to be. ® ‘These aro tho ovils, The canse is to bo found in the system and tha incompetent character of the mon to whomthe assessment i intrusted. The radical remedyis to bo looked for in tho nbolition of the system and the substitution of one which will assure o uniformity of assessment. ‘Lho Citizens' Asso- cintion hns very sensibly drawn the attention of tho voters to the fact that there will be another nssessment beforo the system can bo changed. Town officers will e ballot-box- stuffed noxt spring, and proceed under tho presont law to the nsseasment and collection of taxes s usual. For tho curront year, thereforo, tho only remedy lies with the peo- ple themselves, who must give as much time and thought to the next town eluction a3 any genernl election, Both politieal parties should put good men in nomination, and loave the bummer eloment out altogether ; the good citizeny must take possession of the pollsnnd excludo the ropentors and the ballot- box stuffers. If competont men can be selected for tha threo Assessors, the trouble may be bridged over until permnnent relief can be afforded. 'The permancut relief itself ia to be found in the following mensures : 1. By voting at the next goneral clection in the fall ** Against the continuance of Town. ship Organization," s provided by the Btate Constitution, 2. By secaring from the State Legislature next wintor the creation of an'office of County Asseasor, with a subordinate organization and a systom similar to thoe city organization sud system of nssesslng property previous to the ndoption of tho act of 1872, which will assure uniformity, ‘Thongh tho Citizens’ Association is power. less ns to the injustice anl inequality of the present assessment, it con bo of great assist- anco in the future, It can fasten tho atten- tion of tho public to the importanco of the spring elootion, and it can prepare the necos- smry preliminaries for voting the county out of township organization and for sccuring the passage of tho law providing s County As. sgssor. The Associntion ought to interest it- sl with thess measures, and spare no pains to carry them through, A SLANDER RETTERATED, A oy or two since we referred to the gra. tuitons slander upon the Republican party mnde by tho Juter-Occan, in its asacrtion # that reconstruction had been o failure,” and exposed ita falsity and bnaencss. Since that, the Jnter-Ocean returns to its slander on the Republican party and roiteratea it. Its reply to Tus Trisyxeis either in the nature of n misconcoption of what wa have stated or it is a studiod ottempt to avoid the issne. The nnimus of ita chargo is that the Republican Administration has failed in its reconstrnetion legislation, and that tho Republican party is responsible for ita fallure. 'Thia is simply o malicious folschood. Tho only duty. which he Republioan party had in the premises was to furnish the machinery of reconstruction to the South and tho opportumty to use it, and to pass the necossary amendments and laws for that purpose, so that the people might have tho chianco to recomstruct themselvos upon the basis and in accordance with that legislation. If, through tho iguorance and iucapacity of the freedmon upon the one hond, and the corruptions and rascalities of carpet-baggers upon the other, whom by the way that concern hasencouraged and sustained, the blacks havo broken down in the attempt, it fs simply puerilo to Iny the blame upon the Republican party of the North, and no ono but a fool or & knavo would doso, So far as thero is auy point to the articles in wuestion, they-aro a direct attack upon the President, the two Vice-Presidgnts,—Corrax and Wirson,—upon the Republican Senate and Repnblican House, upon the whole Ad. ministration, and upou the goneral leadorship of the party uil over the North, ‘Theonly derolictlon of which the Republican party can bo guilty is in Its failure In the passage of laws and constitutional amendmonts to #eoura and expedite tho work of reconstruc- tion, and tho enforcemiont of theso laws, thereby sccuring the Boutborn blacks and carpet-boggors the meons of roconstruction, But thers hns heon no failure in this respect. ‘Tho “organ" caunot lay its fiuger upona mensurs necesrary to reconstruction that has not been furnished or o law that has not buen enforced, with the aid of the Pederal courts where it was possible, and with the military arm ‘of the Government where the courts have beeu unable to enforce their processea, The baso attack of the J..U. upon the Adwiulstration and the Republican party is a compound of whine and sophlsm. and rends like the cowmplalnt of sowe scalaway JANUARY G, 187¢ t.o midst of his rascalitios. Itisof the same naluro an the courss of thnt reckless sheeb towneds Eocretary Baisraw, and, as it bad to ont fts words in that eeco, 80 when it becothos apparont to its dull adnses that the Ropub- lican party did not guarantee to furnish the Boutlorn people with bralns, honesty, con. scionoe, and administrative ability to govern nnd boliavo thomselves, it will have to ent them agnin, 'Ihic Ropublican porty has given the peoplo of the Bouth eqnal rights and every lawful opportunity, as well as the necessary materinl for reconstruction, and, it they have fallen short or failed to restore order and low and govern themselves nccording to the Northern standard, tha fault is their own. The Ropublican Administration js not re- aponsible. OFFICIAL COMPLIGNTY 1IN REVENUE FRAUDS. The lettar of Mr., Woovann, pnblished clsowhore, was written npon a very blunder- ing misunderstanding of the spirit and lot- ter of the editorials of this papersa to tho relative criminality of the whisky manufac. turers and the oficinls by whose connivance aud assistance the frauds upon the revenuo wore committod. ‘The point made by Tus Trmoxe was that, under the law, the Governmont practically manufacturod the whisky ; that the distillers furnished the machinery, and tho raw mo- torial, and the lnbor; and that tho Govern- mont took absolute ohargo of the wholo product, which it held until it received its tolls, Consequently it was impossibla to put on the market any whisky on which the tax wans not paid, unless by tho connivanca and conseut of tho Governmont's own corrapt aud troachoronsagents, This is g truo in Chioago asitis in overy other partof the country. It being impossible to sell whisky on which the tax was not paid without the connivance and ‘permission of the Govern- ment officers, it follows from tho fact that snch whisky was sold that thero was officinl connivance. 'I'ho evidenco in the St. Louis cages established that the ofiiclals in that city organized their Ring, includiog high Govern. ment officers at Washington, before thore was nuy illicit distillation; that they proposed it to tho distillers; that the cstablishments which refused to be dishonest were subjected to all 1aanner of oflicial interferonco and per- secutions, aud, being unable to manufecture honestly and compcts with tho others, wera in n maunor compelled by the Foderal officers to become participants in tho frauds, Sub- stantinlly tho samno stato of facta exist hero aud elsewhera, Tue Cuicaco Tripoxe innists that the chiel moral responsibility for this whole fraud rosts upon tho corrapt ofiiciala. ‘Chis paper bas not attempted to apologize for the distillors or refluers; their guilt s confeased, and wo have never suggested or thought that thoy should not ba well punishiod. What wo have discussed is not the fact of the guilt of either party, but the degreo of moral criminality, and we havo inslsted that the crime of the perjured oflicials has been far more heinous, morally, than that of the manufacturers. Tha Fedoral agents avo the chiefs and princi- pals in the conspirncy. ‘They are the sen- tinels who, false to their trust, lave for moncy opened tha gatos to tho emo- my, and have offered to the enemy to open the gates for monoy. Their erime is one involving all the degroes of moral turpi. tude, They have, for moncy, violated law, violated ofiicial duty, violated their onths of offico, betrayed the Governmont, and induced others {o counmit crime nand share with them the proceeds of their iniquity, Mr, Woopann seema to think the roverse is the case, and that, If thero bo any moral differonce in the guilt, that diferonc is in favor of the cor. rupt officors | There is uot a civilized Gov. ornmment whoso laws do not mako critnes committed by officors in thoir ofcial capacity more heinous than that of their unofMeinl ac. complices. We are certnin that every ro- flecting man in the country will insist that the ofliclals and their associates, who have forced the distillers into this groat fraud, de- aerve n punishment greater thun lhat which should bo meted out to the sccomplices, TIE PROPOSED MICEIGAN CANAL, Wa have given beliovers in tho advisnbility of digging a ship-canal across Michigan, from the mouth of the Knlamnzoo River to some point on the Detroit River or Lake Erie, n fuir showing, by printing a number of letters in wupport of the project. It wonld no doubt bo a marked advantago to have a broad and navigable water-conrse straight across the peninsula between Lakes Michigan and Erie. If the inhabitants of that section had created tho Btate, they wonld doubtless have arranged to bring this about. All that would bo nooded ia the eroction of a couple of parallel ranges of hills and the subsidence of part of the valley be- tween thom, But as Neture did mot canso this and man cannot, the only way to make the jmprovemont now i to dam the rivers and dig o deop ditch clear across the peninsula. The ditch would have to be deep enough to Ooat ships carrying from 1,000 to 1,200 tons of froight, for n3 soon ag the improvements on the Welland Canal are finished, tho trade of our great inland seas will bo carried on {u vessols of that burden. This would requiro a clenr dopth of at lenst 14 feet. Tho ditch should be large enough to allow two largo veagels to pass cach other, If only turn-outs wore provided, the delay and consequent ox- pensa would bo incrensed. At least a dozen locks on ench side of the summit would have to bebuilt, These, 8a well ns all the rest of the work, would have to ba construct. od in the most substantial manner ponsible, for tugs would neceesarily be employed in drawing the vessels through from Inke to lnke, n distanoe of same 200 miles, and tho wash from thelr paddles would speedily do. utroy anything but stone walls on tho canal part of the routo, After the canal and slack- water part had heen constracted in this costly fashion, in all the nocessary length, breadth, depth, and thoroughness, it would be in con- atant danger of running dry, especially in tho very soason, midsummer, when it would oaturally bo most needed and used. ‘The puddles which arv kuown as **lnkes ” plong the projocted course would be hard-taxed at any time to keep the greab ditch full, and counld not do ko when the heat of summer was sucking their waters into tho earth aud ecvaporating it into the air. Wo will, however, suppose that the needed amount of water conld be got on the npper levels in the dry season. Would the canal pay? The yearly revenue would bave to pay interest on the cost of construc. tion and meet the running expenses, includ- ing the heavy ropairs which every canal con- stuntly needs. ‘I'he only source of income would be tolls. If these wero high, they ‘would defeat their own object by preventing the use 'of the long and not straight diteh, It thoy were low, a cestain number of shjps would an (hrough the caus), but we foar ‘ al and politica! imperiance, the fnfluen. ! of a oarpet-bagger snldonly ckoked off in ' nothing lika the number nocescary to meke ' tho investment a profilable one. The extra i cxpences of towage for so great a dis. tanca and the slownczs of the mavige- tion end ingritablo dolay would muko ! many, pethaps most, captaina profor | tho broad open lakes, where thoy could go from 8 to 10 miles an hour by stonm and pay no tolls to auybody, to where thoy could bo towed only 2 or 8 miles an hour and pay for both this and the privilege of usiug the artic ficial conrse, Not a day would be added to the senson of navigation. Tio narrow, shal. low, atill sheot of water in the canal would bo frozen before the Btraits were closed. The Inke sension always exceeds by wocks that on the Erio Cnnal. Probably, too, the cost of transportation would not bo decrvased a penny,—perhaps incrensed, There might possibly bo n scanty aaving of time in the passage, but this wonld be mora than coun. torbalanced by the extra expenses and dan- gers nlready catalogued, How, indeed, under any circumstances, could grain be carried from Chicngo to Buffalo for less than tho water-rates of the past two yoars,~2} to4 conts per bushel ? Ouo point remains, Where is tho monay to como from? This is no time to ask for subsidies from a nation already taxed almost boyond ondurance. No subsidy could be got at Washington unless this sohemno were joined with 5 number of others even more impraoc- ticable in au “omnibus bill,” snd the whole thing waos then earried through by active log- rolling. This would involve In the end hundreds of millions, and add the samo to tho national debt. Tho State of Michigan will not Luild the canal, No State in the Union could afford to enter into such o dubi- ous speculation, The only reasonable re. saurce is private capital, Who will furnish it? It {s not necessary to proceed o stop far. ther in the discussion until that question is answered. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENYS AND TAXA- TION, The Board of Estimate and Apportionment in Now Yorlk City has fixed upon tho finau- cial budgot of tha city for the ycar 1876, The nggrogote of :he estimated expondituros for the yoor wns 384,808,000 ; but there were soma minor sourcos of revenus which reducad the amount to bo rnised by taxation to 000,000, against 332,367,000 for 1875, apparent reduction has boen telegraphiod far and wide as a roduction of expenditures, but o reading of the debates of the Board provi. ous to the adoption of the budget does not confirm the seeming rotrenchment, Evory offort mnde to effect a reduction of sal- nrios was voted down by the Board, The reductions made were generally in onsos where tho amount required was fixed by law, the scoming reductions amounting, in fact, to the creation of deficiencles. Now Yorl City has a g, stom somowhat like that of Chicngo,—that it, it makes all its current ex- penditures and collacts the rovenuo to gover thom aftorwarls, To do this it isanes what is called rovennoe bonds, payabls out of tho taxes when colleoted. Tho persons assessed for personal taxes In New York are of two classes: 1, Those who pny their taxes promptly, and aro nllowed a discouut for so doing., 2. Thoso who mnever pay their taxes, Adding tho dizcount allowod for prompt pay~ mout to the amount of personal tux not col- lected at nll, thure is a larga annnal doficit in the rovenuo from personal tax, nnd the def- ioit is represented by the oustanding revenue bonds, In courso of time these bonds acon- mulate, aud in 1875, the Comptroller having no possible revenue with which to radeomn thom, issued &35,000,000 of long bonds in place of them, adding that much to the bond- od dubt of tho city, 1In tha City of Philadelphia an evon worse systom hag provailed. The Conrmon Council has gone on making approprintions and paying therofor with city orders, adding durlng the course of o fow yenrs many millions to the bonded debt and 315,000,000 to tho flonting debt of tho city. Tho Council, under the corrupt control of a Ring, has boen reck- lerg in voting exponditures, and Las sought to ovoid nttention by omitting to vate sufli- cient taxes to pay for them, This evil has been supplemonted by the failure to collect personal taxes. The result of all is ropre- sonted by the onormous floating debt. All this is the story of Ohicago over sgain. In Juuo we vote appropriations. In Soptembor the tax is lovied, aud in August of the next year wo go through tha form of collecting taxes. In the monntimo wo have incurred all the linbilities voted, and the tax-collec- tions fall far short of the amount appropri- ated. Tho doficit i represented by tho Comptrollor's certificates, payablo ont of the tnxes when colleafed. Tho accnmulated dof- icits rosulting from uncollected taxes now amount to soveral millions of dollars,—all bearing interest. It hins been carefully estimated in varions States that not over 28 por cent of the ag- gregate personal property is over raturned by the Asscasor; the othor 72 per cent is never found. Of tbie taxes on the personal property that is found, not over one-half is collected. Under thesocircumstances, 86 per cent of the personal proporty cscapos taxa- ton. In tho agricultural districts of States like Illinols, the live stock and other personal property on farms are nsscssed und the tax thereon collected. The figures we have given aro applicable to the country generally, and especlally to largo citios, ‘I'ho experlenco of all communitics in this country iy that the tuxation of personal property, the most of which is invisible, is a fuilurein Lwo particulars: (1) That four-fifths ot it cscapes ussessmont altogether ; and (2) that tho portion which is taxod is taxed unequally, unjustly, and oppressively, The Lionest property-holder s mudo to bear the biirden of his neighbors, and eight out of ten wen avoid taxation, Unlike Now York, Drooklyn, and Philadel- phis, Chicago hss not tha liberty to add to her funded debt, and theroby transfer to postority tho poyment of the wncollectod taxation of the present. Wo Lave no menns to pny our floating debt exeept by taxation, and the floating debt jtselt is roprosented by uncollected taxes, 'I'he problem of the day which porplexes and embarrasses all Municl. pal Governmonts s, how to make personal property bear its share of peneral taxation. No man has ever yet discovered the means of producing such o result. The plan that has come nearest to establishing oxact justice is that which proposes to abandon “the valn ut- tompt of taxing personal property altogether und resorting to asystem of tax by licenses. ‘[ho amount of uncollected taves now rep. resentod by the floating debts of some of the citios may bo thus stated: New York, §22,- 000,000; Brooklyn, $12,000,000; Yhiladel- phia, $16,000,000; Chicero, $4,000,000,—all of which is bouring interest, and all of which receives edditions every yeur, or is passed ovor juto the funded debits of the vities, No Government cun exist whera the peopla rufush ‘to pay thely tuxes, Boonor ur lter 2 L & —_— there must be an oud to the business of tun- ning Governmenta without revenue, Tuica can hiave but ono resnlt, When City Govern. . ments refuds to retrench their expenditurcs and {ho peopls rofuse to pny tazes, thera must be so abrupt termination; the City Govornment must suapend. TRE COTTON-TAX BIEAL, Mn. Coox (Dem.), of Georgin, is ns fertilo in the preparation of savory dishes for the Southern poupla as Duaas or Rossint for his own palate. e is apt to precipitats the Tlonse into a precious stew, however, if ho prosses some of the mensures ho has intro- duced. Ono of them is a bill providing for ho repeal of the cotlon tax, which was as follows: In the year 1863, In the year 1501, 1n tho yuar 1808 In tho year 181 1u tite year 1867, 1ntbo year 1808, Total, .. 465,072,383 To this must b ndded, of course, the in- terest on the money, if tho claim for repny- ment is to bs allowed by Congreas, which will amount Lo 80,000,000 more, making in round numbers $100,000,000 which Mr. Coox wants refunded to his Southern breth. | ron, It scoms strange to ho enlled onto argus snch o proposition at a time when the same Congress proposes to reduce expond - tures and taxes by 940,000,000, but the points ngainst it aro simply unanswerable, 1. The North paid taxes during tho prose- cution of the War, and on-account of the War, by comparison with wbich this {ax on cotton is a very small item. During ail this timo the South in rebellion was exempt trom Federal taxation for the cost of which it had put upon the Government. Bo far from thera being any special hardship in the tax, it fell short of atoning for tho losses incident to recession, outside of the debt assumed, by hundreds of millions of dollars. ¢, During tho term when the bulk of this cotton tax was lovied, tho price of cotton was very high, and the burden of the tax fell upon tho consumer. It wns not the South 50 much ns the North and the whole world that uses Amerionn, cotton whichh paid this tax; ko that, if thera wero any justico in the claim that it oughtto be refunded (which thora isn't) it would not by righta go to the Con- foderaten. 8. No schemo of refunding conld reach the plantors who pafd the {ax dircetly npr thoso who pail it indi.cotly. One hundrod millions of dollars wonld bo taken out of the poclets of the lax-payers or added to the debtof the cauutry, for the purpose of dividing it among the lobby, corrupt Congrossmon, and profes- sionnl claim agents, Mr. Coox (Dem.) pro- poses that & per cent gold bonda shall bo issuod nnd turned over to the States in tho proportion which they (?) paid, and allow ihem to distribute it. Tho effect of this would be to creato State rings as well ns o national ring, and spread the corruption far nnd wide, Wo have no menns of knowing how much favor this rascally proposition will receive from tho Demoacratic Congress. We appre- hend there Will bo an insincera opposition to it among o certain class of Northern Demo- crats who will foresce its fatal effecton their prospocts for eleoting tho next Prosident, and who will undertake to repross it for the present merdly-to rovive it in the fature when thoy shall have buth Flouses in, Con- gress and a traotable Prosident to sign any bills that may be passed. If the proposition only encounters this sort of opposition, it will . boe as danyerous ns if it shonld notunily pass the House. . We hops that it may bo treated in such o woy that the peoplo may under- stand just what they have to expoct from Democrntic rule. If it is the real policy of the Democrats to throw all the burdens, of the Rebellion upon tho Nerth, it {a well that this should be known and understood by the people, A PARTY OUT OF ISSUES, “Work or die,” is the alternativo prosentod to many except in 6o fer as an injudicions charity or o groat inheritance saves bim from both horns of the dilemma. Nothing savesa political party from tho samo dilemma, It must work in order to live, When it can find nothing which it is willing or ablo to do, it dies. And this is just what is the matter with the English Liborals.. Thoy went into power some yoars 8go with an ample pro- gramme, Thero were jobs of roform in abundance. The party worked on thom, and lived a vigorous lifo. They woke up one morning, however, to find that they dona all the work on hand. Thoy had finished the contract given them by the peo- plo of Great Britain. 'Their leader took care of himeolf, and bogan to write pamphlots on ecclesiastical millinery nnd manners, The party, as a whole, was forced to give way to 8 new get of workmon, The nation had some jobs on hand, to be sure, It wanted a polioy carried out whioh Disraert doseribed 04 one of ‘‘common sewors for tho common people,” But the Liborals were not wiss onough to bid for this, and the Conservatives consequently got the work, which they have badly bungled. They, however, have used their chances to create some mew taske; in Egypt and elsewhere, and are in no im. wminent donger of having no work to do. In foot, their only dnbger nmow seoms to bo that they will have too much to do. Meanwhile, the Libornl party is dying fast. ‘The process of decomposition Is going on, Thoe elements cannot be uuited again, despito great effpria to that end. There are five questions which divide the party instend of consolidating it. No one of them com- mands the ndheslon of the whole body. Thess aro disestablishment of the Eoglish Church, extension of the suffrage, redlstribu- tion of Parliamontary representation, nation. al, compuliory, and seonlar education, and land.reform, Theso areall, with the possible oxcoptlon of ths eduontional due, distinative. ly Radical measurcs. The modorate Liberals shrifk from each and all. 'They want offices, the pay for political work, but thoy wish to do nothing oxcopt raise and spend the money necessary to carry on the ad. ninistrative, legislative, and judieial ma- chinery of the English Government. This was atrikingly shown two weeks ngo, when great Liberal moetings wore held at Shoffie!d and Manchestor, At the two, the Marquis of HantinaToN, the elected lender of this party which refuses to be led, Jomx Monvzy, oditor of the Nortnightly, Joseem Ancu, the agricultural Moses, and Mayor CuaMBERLAIN, of DBivmingham, wera among the speakers, They repreeant, respectively, the moderate, the philosophic, the ex'rems loft, and the loft.centre sactions of the party, ‘The Marquis made o let-alone speoch, point. ing out Uaws in the policy of the Conserva. tives, and apparontly forgetful that a policy with flaws s better than no policy at all, Moawxr thyaw up the sponge by saying that what was needed was not the invention of a new programme for the sake of pushing the party, bLul {he rvorgauization of the 1 for tho rnake of rushing s 1o, This was mob very phil. | osophie, inasmnch w8 the one hops of the parly liea in n now programme. Cuanneriay is an avowed ndvocate of land. reform, but indulged ounly in cautious gener. alities on this occasion, whilo Josern Ancn was explicit in his domand for voles for the agrionltural sorfa of England, At 8hofileld, where ITanrtivoToN spoke, the only resolu. tion passed was one ndvocating in gonernl terms the unjon of all Liberals, bul not de. fining one of the planks in the platform on which they were to unite. At Manchester, on tho other hand, the same evening, resolu. tions were ndopted in favor of household snffrage, without distinetion of sex, the dis. oestablishment and direndowment of both the English and Scotch Churches, aconlar ednea. tion and national schools, and land-reform. Various minor matters were also formally adopted ms objeots of party effort. Thus, whilo tho olectod Liboral leader was advising his Sheflield auditors to stand still, the Man. clicster men wero choering n speaker who said: *“Wa ropudiato any leador who asks us tostand still,” That is eonnd doctrine, A party is like water, It must constantly move to koop any scmblance of frosh life. Stag. nation and decomposition aro the main mnrks of a stand-still party and a standing pool. The defeat of tha political rings in Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, and othor citfes, has boen followed by a very daclsive and gratifying defent in a moat nuexpected quartor, and ono whera the result will hava o most important influence. The Philadel. phia City Ring lias hitherto been supposed to be so strongly intrenched as to dofy dis. lodgment, and yet o ruinous broach has been made in the walls which will result in event. uol ovorthrow, if advantage is taken of ths firat victory, This victory conslata in the de. font of 3Mr, A, Wirsox Hewzer, candidnte of the ocorrupt Ring oclomenta for President of the Common Council, a position which ha has held for the past three years, The situs. tion was not unliko that now existing in Chi. cago. Under his administratien the flonting debt of the city has incrensed from $1,748,450 to 39,612,617. The man Hexzer was the chiof of the Ring, and, having the nppomt. ment of the Comunittees that reported npproprintions, played into the hands of the Ring and robbed the pooplo until at last thoy resisted, especially whon thoro wasa prospect of an enormonsly heavy tax to pay off the incronso of debt.. One after another, the Times, tho Inquirer, the Telegraph, and the Ledger, took up tho fight in bohalf of tha people and against the Ring, which had the North American snd Bulletin npon its side, The fight wns a bitter one, and it ended inn victory for tho right. Tho moral is an obvi. ous ono,—that when the lionest tax.payers of any community unite to resist the tax-eaters and corrupt rings, they con accomplish theie purposo if they aro only active, courageous, and quited. Tho {osson is local to Chicrgo. 1t such a powerfal organization as the Philn. delphia Ring can be broken, the, honeat: and respactable people of Chicagn need not de. spair of smnshing the Ring which is oppress. ing them and overwhelming them with taxa. tion, ) Advices from Washington state that the Democrata and Confederates in the House are not Ao desirous of investigating ns they were, and that we may not, after all, witness the Millennium which was to follow the Demo. oratic and Confaderate advent to power. The Iendora bogin to find that the thing is over. dons when every momber arrives in Washe ington with his pockets filled with investiga: tion rosolutions, much of which ean lend only to ridioulous results, and many of them ta equally ridicnlous failure, Bosides this, the additional dangor is involved that in some cnses the investigations may prove to be boomerangs raturning to batter Demec.:ratic heads, The country has alrendy had one sample of Demoeratic reforma in State poli tica winco the foll clections of 1874 T Ia protty evident that in nations! politics Democratio roform means only investigation of Republicans for partisan pur poses; but as the Ropublicans are already investigating themselves with enger alacrity and thoroughnoss, and are driving the rats ont of tho hold and clearing the rubbish of the deck of the old ship, preparatory to gen. oral action next fall, fhe Confederate pro- gramme of investigation has already become o work of supororogation. The Republicam aro leaving little for the dominant party in the House to do fn their direction, and the iden that thoy will reform any Democratit nbuses is too nbaurd to be entertained. Oum OartEs and Bamney OCavcrrerp, therofors having roally nothiog to dv in the way of in vostigating, are froe to devote their time and gonins to tinkering the Constitutlon, fmprov. ing tho republican form of government, and correcting the numerous mistakes mads by the fathers of tho Ropnblic, Gov. KrLroaa has mannged to make sove eral mistakes in Louisiana, but his bigges! theoretical blundor s contained in his recent mossago. Ho gravely informa tho Btato thal it ahould do what it can to mnintain a pro- tectlve tariff. Tho sugar and rice of Loujsl ona aro exchanged for clothing, shoes, hats, nails, implements, and all manner of ws ohinery, Each and evory one of theso com« modities costa the peopla of Louisinna mnch more augar and rice than they would under 8 rovenue tariff. The Governor's recomua :ude ation, then, may fitly be smnmarized some what as followa; Wo are getting too much for what we hava to sell ; our interests do- mand that the United States should pravent any one's giving s much goods {n exchange for our rico and sugar as we aro getting now; wo would be richer If we roceived losa goods for cur atuflf, Is Louisiana, then, sufforing fven an overplus of prosperity ? ey matter of dlscussion in the Senate Committee on Privilegos and Eleotions, Mr, Eosusot’ resolution calling for a new eleotion on the 7th inst, is under consideration, and the ques tion is whethor or not tha Sonato hos the right to choose n Prosidont pro fem, st $his time, A docislon will probably be reached to-day; but it scems that mora importance if given the subjoot than it really possesseh nluce Mr, Ferar has beon confirmed in the place by the vote just bofore the recess, 0 that there Is no further question about the Preuldontial suocesalon in case of Gen Guant's death, choren 8 Oharlestown, Maas, wailoh oreated » panid among the congrogation, resalting fortunately only in & fow casualiies, caunos be raad xtbvod ashudder. Iotiue instance, a curiawn drepid the status of the Virgiu AMany took fre fra® the candles about the altar, Had it not beed far tho presence of mind of a youog man wbo rushed forward, tore off the drapery wnd trsat® pled ool tus fize, the moas ulvartrous consd Queness inight tave sususd. Ii is Luv B ot el ; [