Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, April 23, 1876, Page 4

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 1876—SIXTEEN PAGES, which are naturally TERMS OF THE TRIBUNE. PATES OF SUBSRIPTION (PAYABLE IN ADVANCE). Postage Prepaid ar this Office. Daily Edition, postpaic. 1 year.... $13.00 Parts of year at same Spectmon copies sent free. To provent delay and mistakes, be sure and give Fost~ Offico addrems in full, incindingState and County. Ramittsnces mzy be made either by draft, express, Pest-Ofice order, or in registered lotters, at ourrisk. TERMS TO CITY SUBSCRIBERS. ‘Daily, delivered, Sunday excepted, 25 cemta per week, Dadly, delivered, Sanday Incladed, 30 cents per week. address THE TRIBUNE COMBANY, Corner Madison and Dearborn- Onicago LL. AMUSEMENTS. TO-DAY. MCCORMICE HALL—North Clark strest, corner Kinze, Lecture at 3 p. m. by Mre. Elizabath Cady Stanton. Subject : # Washington Women." NEW CHICAGO TEEATRE—Clark etreet, batween 1aXe snd Randolph. * Der Herr Stadtmusikus und eino Eapelie.’ HOOLEY'S THEATRE—Rndoiph stroet, between Clark and LaSalle, Concert at $p. m.inaidef the Good Bamaritan Home. TO-MORIOW. HQOLET'S THEATRE—Rsndolph street, between .Clark andLaSalle. Eogagement of Eatls Putmam. Fanckon the Cricket™ McVICKER'S TEEATRE—Madison strest, between Dearborn and State, “ Hamlet™ ADELPHI THEATRE—Maonros strest, ooraus Dear« ‘Sarn. Variety entertainment, et SOCIETY MEETINGS- @AURTLET LODGE, No. 4, ENIGHTS OF PYTHI- convention Tussday night, April 25, at 8 Hall, northwest corner ZaSslle snd Adams sts. Work on the third rank in amplified form. Visiting Enights cordially invited 20 meat with us, ¥. F. CUDEBECEK, Chan, Com., 3.W. ACKERMAN, E. of B. & 8. . GARDE CITY LODGE, No. 141, A.F. £ A. M.— A Begular Communication will be held at Oriental Hall on Wedneeday evening, April 2. Work on the AL AL Degroa. Visiting breciren fraternally tovited. F. HOLCOMB, W. M, L. L. WADSWORTH, Sec'y. ORIENTAL CONSISTORY, S.-. P, B~ 8.7 829, A £A.S. B will be held at Consistorial Eall, 72 Mon® Tosat, on Thursday evening, April 27, at T:30 p. m. Important business and amendment 1o By-Laws, By ordar il W, Barnard, 330, Come-in-Chief, JAMES A.'T. BIRD, 22°, Gr. Sy, NOTICE.—All members of Chicago Lodge, No. 55, 1. 0. 0. F.. wiehing to participate in the celsbration at Eockford Wednesday, April 26, will be furnished with tickets for the round trip at §1 apiece. Tickets can be Lodgs-Hoom to-morTow evening. ‘COMMITTEP. CLEVELAND LODGE, Ko. 211, A. F. AND A. M.— Bpecial Communication Thursday evening, April 27, a2 7:30 e'clock. Matters of tmportance to come before s Loage for sction. A full attendance is requested, ‘GEO. F. SINCLATR, \. 3L ATT#RTION, SIR KXIGHTS !—Special Conclavs of Chicago Commandery, No. 19, E. T., Mondsy evening, April 24, at 7:30, for work on the K. T, Order. Visit- ing Sir courteonsly invited, By order of the EC CHAS. Recordar. J. TROWBRIDGE, COLUMBIAN ORDER.—The Chiefs af the several tribes will mest at the Wigwam, on Tussday evening, the 25th, to canfer as to the FALL prospects, . P, A. HOYNE, Granad Sachem. @be @hicage Frikbume. BSoxdsy Mormng, April 33, 1876. WITH SUPPLEMENT. At the Now York Gold Exchangs on Satar- day greenbacks ranged between 883 and 89}, The heathen Chinee, who with their cheap Iabor are ruining the Pacific Coast, have had compassion on the “ruinated™ Californians. Finding that the Centennial Commission of the State was without sufficient funds to send articles for eshibition in the California De- partment st Philadelphis, a few Chiness mer- . chants of San Francisco, apparently in dead earnest, bat with most solemn satire, raised the $500 wanted and sent it to the Commis- sion, so that the ruined-by-cheap-Chinese- Iabor Californians may be spared the morti- fication of guing unrepresented st the Cen- $ennial ‘There is a story that the fifteen or sixtesn 4lderme who wers elected in 1874 propose to instst that they were legally elected to serve two years, and that they are therefore mtitled to hold their seats until December next. In answer to this ridiculous preten- tion, it is only necessary to quote s part of the 52d section of the charter, which reads s follows: ‘At the first election under thiz act thers shall be elected the full namber of Aldermen to which the city shall be entitled.” The power of the Legislature to abolish offices and to create now ones has becn too eften affirmed by the Courts to be questioned even by an Alderman. However ths United States Senate may ¥inally determine the question of its jurisdio- tion in the Bzrxwar impeachment trial, it was illadvised for Mr. Berxvar to plead a lack of jurisdiction. He is disgraced before his own people now, and, if innocent, the only opportunity afforded him for vindication is in this very impeachment trial against wrhich he has so foolishly protested. A pro- teat under guch circumstances is only another confession. It also creates the suspicion that Brrxvar enly seeks to avoid impeachment because ho does not want to be disqualified for; future officeholding. Having already re- sgned, the: only other penslty of impeach- ment cannot be visited uponhim. Brrxvr's :‘&nflm friends have advised him very ly. Spaim is'not all peace. The three Basque Provinces—Biscay, Guipazcoa, and Alsva— we mot inclined torest satisfied under the sbolition af ths faeros, or independent cods of laws, under which thess provinces have &ived for several hundred years. The Spanish Cortes 38 now comsidering aproject for annul- fing these laws and placing the provincesunder the genoral laws of the Kingdom. The pop- mletion of the Basque Provinces, numbering ®ot mare than 70,000, composed of a hardy racs of Shepherds who have always been cel- ebratad for their bravery. These provincials thresten to seceds from Spain and claim for- eign protection should the Government pro- gramms be carried ont. The funeros were almost entirely abolished by Esrarrrno in 1835, but ware restored by Queen ISABELIA in 1844, T ——— The Chicago produce marketswere steadier Baturday. Mess pork was active and 10@12} per bd higher, closing st $21.85@21.87} for Msy and $22.70@22.12} for June. ILard was sactive and 5@10c per 100 Ibs higher, sSosing at $13.25@13.27} for May and $13.40@13.424 for June. Meats were in bet- Jer demand: and firmer, at 8}c for boxed shoul- 8ers, 13¢ Sor do short ribs, and 12§c for do short clears. Highwines were quiet and firm, =t $1.07 per gellon. Flour was quiet and steady. ~ Wheat was active and Jc lower, closing at $1.03 for regular snd $1.03} for May. Cornwas sctiveand 4clower, closing at 463c £ox April and 47jc for May. Oots were active and i@}c lower, closing at 820 for. Apri) sad 833e for Msy. Rye was dull and eatlys, 55 66@6640 Barley was vary dull, closing at 59¢ for Mny. Hogs were in mod- erate demand, ot $7.70@7.85 for light and at $7.70@8.00 for poor to choice heavy. Cat- tle wese dull and weak,at $2.50@5.25 for in- ferior to choice. Sheep were inactive and unchenged. Ono hundred dollars in gold would buy $112.87} in greenbacks at the close. : It appears by a Washington dispatch that the Democratic delegation from Missouri has bronght a strong pressure to bear upon the Attorney-General to secure the pardon of the convicted St. Lonis whisky thieves, and that two delegations of Democrets, the one hesd- ed by Bocr and tho other by CocERELL, have waited upon the President with the same purpose in view, not a single Repub- lican member joining them in their move- ment. If it is so hard for the Missouri Democrats to ses these whisky thieves in the Penitentiary for defrauding the revenue, when convicted by the other party, how much punishment would have been meted out to Macuime and the rest of the gang if the Democrats had initisted the proceedings ? This sudden outburst of sentimentality and tonder-heartedness looks suspicious, to s&‘y the least. Secretary Bristow, as custodian of theval- unble records of the Treasury Department, has & proper estimate of the importance of that trust. Like Postmaster General-JEWELL, he has not the most implicit faith in the wolfish investigators and their followers who hang sround and occasionally steal mto the various departments, and the latter has o in- timated to a committee of the House. In answer to an application for certain important documents, the Secretary very politely, but firmly, told the Committee that they could have copies of the papers specified, and that the Committee could ex- amine the originals in the Treasury Depart- ment, but that the Iatter could not be taken out of the Treasury building. What the Committee will do =after putting these two answers in their pipes and analyzing the nshes, remains to be seen. If a bountiful Providence, with the co-op- eration of *“Old Probabilities” in Washing- ton, and the permission of Prof. Tzcein St. Louis, will only bless us for a fow days with such glorious spring weatheras gladdened the hearts of the community yesterday, there will be a speedy recovery from the depression which all branches of trade have felt for some weeks ,past. The winter hes been a trying one, notwithstanding the absence of severs cold weather, for it has been long drawn out, and ran overinto the spring-time, leaving the country roads in such a condition s to maoke it impossible for the farmers to get their produce to the marketa. This, in tarn, has affected the business of the towns and cities. But a few days more of sunshine like that of yesterday will dry up the ronds and set the machinery of commerce working ssusual. The long faces and blagk despair of the merchants turned into a broad smile under the rays of the sun and at the first sight of green grass and budding trees, and the general good nature will relieve people to some extent of the chronic complaint of hard times which everybody has dweltupon; a more genial liberality on all sides will im- prove business of every kind; and improved business will in turn promots liberality and confidence. THE ELECTION OF MAYOR, The general interest in the recent election bas been increased by the certainty that the new Council will have a large majority of re- spectable business-men. This certainty has intensified the desire that the head of the City Government shall be in harmony with ths Common Council, that the city may be rescued from its present helpless condition of financial distress. There is a univorsal ‘wish that the present Acting-Mayor may be deposed if there be any legal method of so doing. The attitude of that question stands at present as follows : Alr. CoLviy was elected Mayor in Novem- ‘ber, 1873, to serve two years. In April, 1875, the new charter was adopted, repealing the one under which Convin was elected. The Constitution provides that * No law shall be passed [by the Legislature] which skall operate to extend the term of any public officer after his election or appointment.” The new charter containg the following provisions : 1. The chief executive officer of a city shall be s Mayor,who shallbs . . . and hold his office for ‘two years aud until his saccessor is elected and qual- 1fled, 2 “Whenever a vacancy shall happen in the ofice of the Mayor, when the unexpired term shall be one year orover from the datewhen thsvacancy ocours, it shall pefilled by an eloction. 3. If the vacancy isless than omeyear the City Council shall eloct one of its members to act as Mayor. & Ageneral election for city officers ahall be held om the third Tuesday in April of each year. 5. At tho general elaction held in 1873, and blenntal- 1y thereafter, s Mayor shall be elected i each city. 6.. . If » majority of tho votes esst at such election [on the adoption of the charter] shalp be for such arganizations under general law, such city shall thenceforth be deemed to be orgsnized under this act. And the city oficers then in offics shall thareupon exercise tha powers conferred upon like officers in this act, until their successors shall bs elected and qualifisd. This is the law governing this question. Did the adoption of the new charter ‘‘ oper- ate to extend the term " of the Mayor beyond the term far which he was elected ? ' Did it extend the term of the Mayor beyond the next *‘ general election ™ in April, 1876 ? Did it extend it to April, 1877? If so, what be- comes of the prohibition of the Constitu- tion ? Did Corvix's legal term expire in December, 1875, leaving the office vacant to be filled by special election, ar at the next regular election in April, 1876? Was there alegal vacancy in the office at the time of the recent elec- tion? If there wers such a legal vacancy, then itis claimed—and we have no doubt cor- rectly—that the failure of the Common Coun- cil to call a special election, or the refusal of the Common Council to canvass the vote to fill such vacancy, cannot not vitiate or defeat an election nctually held on the day and at the places provided by law. At the recent election nearly 40,000 per- sons voted for Mr. Troxas Hoxxx for Mayor, and, on the assumption that there was a legal vacancy then existing, his friends claim that he was elected Mayor to fill out the term end- ing in April, 1877. On the other hand, there are those who claim that the new Common Council can elect one of their own number Mayor, the vacancy in May being for less than a year, and the new Council will certainly do this unless it be determined that they have no such power. Right hero is a fair chance for a contro- versy between those who believe 3fr. Hoyne was legally elected and those who think the Mayor must be elected by the Council. For- tunately, however, thers is & way to raconcile the conflict. Mr. Horxx accepted the nomi- nation by the mass meeting, not because he wanted to be Mayor, but because he could people of all parties might express their rep- Yobation of Corvix's usurpation, aund their wish for a change. plished by the almost unanimous vote against Corvixy. it 23 a personal calamity o be compelled to act as Mayor, and will unguestionably co- operate with the friends of good government in all meesures that will expedite the change. It will be noticed that the title of Mr. Hoxxe to the office, and the title of the person to be chosen by the Council, must both rest upon the assumption that there was a legal vacancy. Now; it has been suggested that Afr. HoxsE at the proper.time take the oath of oflice as Mayor, and that he then resign the office,—thus relieving the person elected of the counter-claim that the vacancy was filled by the popular election, and transfer- ring to that person whatever legal force there may be in such claim. The Mayor elected by the Council will then represent the united opposition to Corvry, and such Mayor will hold all the title which rests on the assumption that s legal vacancy existed. A triangular fight for the offics would ndd to the complications of the case, and would have the effect of strengthening Corvr's usurpation, dividing the friends of good or- der, nnd tend to further embarrass the city, while o union of the anti-Colvinites, it be- ing no party question, would render the con- tinuation of the usurpation extremely haz- ardous. TRE COUNTY BOARD AND THE COURT- ‘HOUSE. That end was accom- AMr. Hoswt would doubtless regard Public attention is again attracted to the Board of County Commissioners by the in- vestigation pending before the Grand Jury. There is now & fair prospect that, in select- ing Mr. SToREY 88 a juryman, 8s a sort of joke on the *‘ old man,” the official rascals around the County Building havé *‘ caught a Tartar.” it ‘au serieux, and, from sll accounts, will arrive more nearly at the * true inwardness ” of the official iniquity that has been going on predecessors. In all this the Foreman may confidently rely upon the active sympathy of the people of Chicago and Cook County, and, if he can succeed in making an exposure of official scoundrelism that will lead to its pun- ishment, he will do much to atone for some of the reprehensible things which the public has reason to Iey up against him. service as the Foreman of the Grand Jury will be permitted to offset some of his shortcomings and offenses as an edifor. In his new role, Mr. Storey should receive the support and assistance of every one who can contribute to throw light upon the villainous transactions connected with the administra- tion of county affairs. It is to be hoped that there may be such evidence before the Grand Jury as will warrant the finding of true bills agninst those who have been engaged in bribe-taking and swindling the public; but, in any event, it is expected thatthe Grand Jury will make such & report of the evidence aswill impress upon the peoplo of Cook County the necessity for cleansingthe County Board and its collateral departments. He seems determined to take than any of his Efficient It hns been notorious for two or three years that the County Board has been con- trolled by corrupt influences. There have been a good many bad and reckless men in- side the Bonrd, but there have beena good many worse men outside, hanging on the’ outskirts and using their professed influence ‘with the Board to facilitate their blackmailing schemes. Among these hangers-on the most conspicuous and shameless is the man named Perrorar. He has made it his business either to take for himself all the contracts the Board' had to dispose of, or to dictate where they were to be let and on what terms. There seems to be evidence enough, and there is certainly no doubt in the mind of any one who has watched the proceedings of the County Board for some years, that Perro- zaT is the evil genius who has done more to suggest, encourage, and formulate the jobs for geizing upon the public moneys than all the others combined. He appears to kave a pecaliar talent for jobbery, backed up by the most sublime indifference to public opinion and utter imperviousness to criticism, and his name hes figured conspicuously in every scheme of public plunder in which corrupt influences have been suspected. Nothing has been too small for Pertorat’s desires and nothing so great as to paralyze his powers. He has busied himself along the whole line of contracts from * rotten beans ” to the building of the Court-House. At times he seems to have been the County Board it- self. He does not even appear to have been ‘bound by the old doctrine that thera is honor among rogues, for the evidence points to the belief that he took money aud notes of hand from varions people competing for the same contract, acting under the policy that every man enjoying official patronsge must pay him tribute. It would seem that he occupied the same position relative to the County Board as that of Joxoe to the St. Louis Whisky-Ring or Jaxe Remx to the Chicago Whisky-Ring,— whipping in everybody and coercing official iniquity in order to increase his share of the spoils. Itwill be as valuable to the county to destroy this man’s power as it will be to the city to drive Convix out of the Mayor's office. If it can be done by indicting and ‘punishing him, it will also be & salutary warn- ing to future PERIOLATS. If the Grand Jury fails to procure sufficient evidence to warrant the indictment of the men whohave been chiefly engaged in the county jobs at the expense of the people, we have no doubt that its report will fully con- firm the public suspicion of the corruption, and will lead the voters of Cook County to elect a class of men to the County Board who will drive off the fellows like Perrorar. The first opportunity for beginning the reform will be at the election of the coming fall, when five new members of the Board are to be selected. The introdaction of five men of such conspicuous excellence in sbility and character as to command public confidence will of itself reform the Board. The cor- ruptionists who may be left over will not then dare to commit themselves to such flagrant violations of their public trust, and the cer- tainty of exposure will deter them from at least a part of their swindles. This iz the true remedy, and the people must keep it well in mind. — One of the most important measures taken by the House of Representatives is'the pas- sage of the bill transferring the Indian Bu- reau to the War Department. It should re- ceive the prompt acquiescencs of the Senate. The bill provides that the Secretary of War shall have the same supervisory power now enjoyed by the Secretary of the Interior, and sathorizes the detail of army officers to ad- minister the afiairs of the Burean. It is further provided that the contracta for the Indian service shall be made in the same manner as other contracts in the War De.- not reject the nmominstion tendered under | partment, and that all religions denomina- such circumstances. e consented that his | tions shall have equal rights in missionary name might bs usad as & means whanly the | and groselyting enterprises, We are inclined to expect a genuine reform from this change, if it shall bemade, notwithstanding the doubts cxpressed by Mr. S. S. Cox, who failed to convince his own party in Congress of the danger to be apprehended from tho transfer. The employment in the Indisn service of a large number of unemployed army ‘officers, who are maintained on the frontiers in any case, ought to make a decided saving of itself. There will bea saving, in addition to this, of the cost incident to the dilatory pol- icy of the Indian service under the manage- ment of civilians, and the opportunity will be afforded of breaking awsy from the vul- tures who have lived and fattened on Indisn contracts. The country will be seriously dis- appointed, too, if the army officers as a class shall not develop a higher order of official responsibility and personal integrity than has been the rule under the management of the Indian service heretofore. ] A FRENCH RING. ¢ Misery loves company. It may therefors be some consolation for us to be assured that we are not the only people afflicted with rings. Even Paris, which swarms with in- spectors end detectives, has these parasites upon its municipal institutions, as is shown by & case now pending in the French courts. The evidence in this case establishes the fact of the existence of a_xing of over fifty men in the service of the city, engaged in the Halles, or Central Market of the city, who have conspired to defraud the municipality of the octroi duties. The conspirators aro divided into threo classes,— those who assess the tax, the clerks of the market, and the dealers in poultry who con- spired with them. The Assessors, who are under the Prefecture of the Seine, are re- quired to receive tho statements of country- men who bring in the poultry, examine it, and then sssess the tax, and it was found thot they had been engaged in taking the declarations without verifying them, os was done in some of our whisky cases,~—the deal- ers paying them with gifts and presents. The American Register gives the following account of the organization of this branch of the market, service which is requisite to a proper understanding of the conspiracy : In 1804 the market for the wholesale trade in poultry and gamo was establishied upon the Quai des Grands- Augusting, then known ss the Quai de Ia Vatles, whence the namo of La Vallee Market. In 1866, after the completion of the Halles, the saleof poultry was transferred thare, to Pavilion No. 4. The old rules and organization were there maintained, Tho regulatiocs forming the base of those still in forco were made on the 13th of March, 1804, or 22 Veatose, An XIL, in tho language of the time, and were issued by the Prefoct of Police, approved by the Minister of the Interior, Under these regulations the octrol tax was not put on at the gate of entry, but in the market, and, in order to guard agunst loss, a regular service was organized, 1t consists of eight perceptors of the duties and eight- een selling clerks appointed by tho Prefect of Police. Formerly, both wers required to give bonds when tak- ing theso posts, but now the clerks aro exempt from this demand. Before the latter begin their sales, it is tho duty of the perceptors to examina the stock, o sea it woighed if there ean ba any doubt about the declara- tions, and to assess the tax demanded by the city, with an additicasl percentage for the sapport of this xer- vice. At the Is Vallee Marketan ad valorem duty wus alsrays imposed. The selling clerks turn over tha utire wum reccived by them during the sales to the cashier of the pouliry division of the market, sud, after the tax and commissions have been daducted, the rest is patd over to the vendor. From this it is apparent that the Assessors and clerks must be in collusion with the seller in order to sharo the profits and per- potuate the fraud, and that these threo classes make a very complete ring. Their operations were 80 successful in 1875 that they sold within & given time $65,300 worth of poultry, while the declared sum was only $10,000, leaving a difference of over $25,000 upon which the octroi duties had not been paid. Thisis only one fraud occurringin a given time, and perpetrated by a few dealers. The corruption runs back several years, and the investigation bids fair to open up new leads of corruption in other direc- tions, It is the opinion. of the American Register that the French have a fraud uwpon their hands which will guite equal our own in crooked whisky, and that the Parisian ring is quite as large and power- ful as any of those which have been exposed a8 American. We have no special reason to congratulate the Parisians, except from the fact that misery loves company, and from our own pleasure in the conviction that rings are not “ native and to the manner born.” It has been a quite prevalent opinion that rings for defraunding the revenue were peculiarly Amer- jesn instituti6ns. It is cheering to note, however, that, while our rings may be more gudacious and colossal in proportion, we have not a monopoly of them. PRIMARY ELECTIOR SYSTEM. The recent Republican, City Convention passed, by & very decided vote, 8 resolution advising an abandonment of the system of nominatiohs and the election of delegates by primary meetings. The Democratic party had previously adopted a resolution to the same effect. Neither party, however, has suggested any other plan ss a substitute. The corruptions and dishonesty of the pri- mary-meeting system ars confessed, but the wit of men has not yet discovered a praotical substitnte therefor. * . Several expedients have been resorted to as substitates for primary mestings, but all have proved abortive. The most successful of these was what was called the Crawford County plan,” invented, we believe, by Afr. Bucrarzw, of Pennsylvania, and taking its name from the fact that it was first put in operation in Crawford County, in that State. This plan was in the voting for candidates di- rectly by the people, instead of nominating them by conventions. This plan, however, hns been universally abandoned, because it does not meet the great evil of the primary ‘meetings, which is, the stuffing of the ballot- boxes, fraudulent voting, and voting by per- sons not belonging to the party, and hired for the purpose by opposing factions. These were as practicable under the Crawford County plan as in any other. Thers can be no question that the theory of the primary-meeting system is the correct one. It brings the selection of candidates directly to the people. Where it is not possi- ble for the whole people to mest at one place and at one time to select candidates, the pri- mary meeting offers to the people of each lo- cality the means of selecting delegates to meet other delegates and collectively give ex- pression to the wishes of the mejority of their constituents. This is the theoretical primary meeting,—the one that ought to be. It is hardly necessary to say to Chicago read- ers that such & primary meeting is of rare oc- currence now, espacially in large cities. The failure of the primary meetings is largely dus to the refusal of the great body of voters to attend them, thus throwing their manage- ment exclusively into the hands of the candi- dates, and often into the hands of unscrupu- lous men,whose standard of morality is meas- ured only by success. The contest for nom- inations is therefore too often remanded to a class of persons whose names would naver be presented if the mass of the voters of the party aitendsd the meetings. Advantage is thus taken, and the primary meeting degen- erates into a seramble between factions which resort to the most disgraceful and fraudulent devices to secure success. Thus it is that candidates and delegates, representing but 8 faction of the more disreputable class, are forced upon the people, and manage and get absolute control of the machinery of politics. Under tho circumstances, the primary sys- tem becomes perverted ; it defeats instend of executing tho public will ; it fills the pub- lic service with scoundrels, thicves, loafers, and incompotent men; males peculation and fraud of common occwrence; and it de- moralizes public sentiment. One of its most dangerous results is that the primary meet- ings become schools of practice for corrup- tion, ballot-bos stuffing, repeating, and false returns in the -regular elections, and that they offer a pecuniary reward to the whole class of criminals, who are ready at any time to enter into a contract to nominate or elect any person who will pay for the ‘work. There are two remedies for this condition of things : (1) To purify the system, and (2) ‘the union of all honest people to defeat ab the polls the election of improper persons nominated ;by dishonest menus.. Obviously, the first of these is the better plan. The Re- publican party hus a club organization in every ward in the city. There isno more useful feature of an organizetion than o knowledge of the names and residences of all the voters in every precinet of every ward. This is almost indispensable to any thorough, intelligent action. The Republi- can Club of each ward should have a full record of all the voters, Democratic as well as Republican ; thege shonld be record- ed, and the registration thus made should ab- solutely govern the right of suffrage at the Republican primary meetings. No person unwilling to register himself on the books of the ward club as a Republican should bo allowed to vote st aRepublican primary meet- ing; and to protect the registration from fraud by colonization, or by sudden inroads of men from other wards to vote at the pri- maries, this- registration should be closed some weeks before the meetings. It is an easy matter for these clubs to canvass the wards by blocks and ascertain the names and residences of the whole number of voters, and their general politics ; and this informa- tion, while furnishing a complete defense against false voting at the primaries, will also serve as a check npon and’ the means of de- tecting stuffing the boxes, or false refurns at tho regular clections. As we said in the be- ginning, the primary system rests upon the only true principle by which the popular choice of candidates can be made. The evil isin the perversions and abuses of that sys- tem, and the non-participation of the people therein, not only rendering frand possible, but inviting it by the immunity offered. The remody therefore is not in the abolition of the system, but in -its purification and by pre- ventive regulations. Chicego is frequently advertised to the nation in & manner scarcely ecalculated to re- flect credit on the community, though sexrv- ing all the same to fasten public attention upon this marvelous city. 'We have become as conspicuous-through our calamities as our good fortune. Mr. BarNex CAULFIELD threatens to be one of these. The peculiar unfairness and capacity to blunder which he has exhibited since he went to Congress have given him on unenvieble sort of prominence, which Chicago must, perforce, share with him. He began his carcer of misrepresent- ing this city by sppearing on the floor of Congress as an apologist for Bex Hrur and the fire-eating Confederate sentiment in the Democratic Congress. This was peculiarly aggravating in view of the fact that Chicago was as loyal a city as there was in the War, and probably contributed as largely as any other to the successful prosecution of the Wzr. As long as Cavr- FIELD was content to stand by.the Confeder- ates in Congress, the Democrats stood by him; but.when, as Chairman of the Com- mittee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice, CavurFrELD began to blunder, the Democrats lost “confidence, and have now robbed him of his opportunity. They have taken from his committee the investigation of the allegations ageinst Secretary Bristow,and turned the matter over to the Committes on Ways and Means. Congress has also notified Mr. Cavrrrerp,that he must henceforth con- duct his other investigations publicly. His colleagues are evidently disgusted with the failure in the Presidential sensation which Cavrrrerp had promised them, and are also determined not to lend themselves to the smirching of character by misrepresentation of secret investigations which subsequent pub- licity shows in its true light. CavrrrELD’s Jorte is evidontly not Congressional service. The old conflict botween the Church and the Theatre has broken out again,—thistime in En- gland, and in a very singular manner. Cardinal MaxyiNae having learned that TeNNvson's * Queon Mary" had been prepared for sho stage, and knowing that 1t contained several severe soti-Catholic passages, at once launched a thunderbolt atjthe stage—a brufum fulmen, how- ever, ag in the preparation of the Poet-Laureate's play for the stage all the objectionable passagos had been carefally expunged. The Cardioal did not stop to inform himself upon this point, but at a temperance meeting in Exeter Hall he very intemperately denonnced all establishmenta for theatrical representation, **from the costly theatre of the rich to the penny gaff of the poor,™ as * one vast acale of corruption,” and warned his hearers, “ never on any account to set foot in them,"—all of which is, of course, only whistling down the wind, and is proof that the Cardinal, although Me may be very loarned. and very religious. is also very im- practical and very bigoted, snd has placed nimself in the same category with the most rigid and straight-laced members of the Puritanical sects. The Cardinal's sweeping denunciation, howover, was not allowed to pass unnoticed. Two popular tragediags, both well versed in the literatare and i the business of their profes- sions, bave roplied to the Cardinal. Mr. BAND- ‘MANY, the German acter, who ia well known in this country a8 an accomplished scholar as walt 88 actor, took 1ssue with the Cardinal, upon the ground that the Roman Catholic religion is a religion which not only tolerates, but encourages and supports, dramatic art. Ar. Hesry IrviNg, the English tragedian, in s paper readPbefore the Church of England Temperance Society, an or- ganization composed of clergymen 2nd laymen, mads some very practical enggestions. Althoagh they ere not altogether new, they were put be- fore his auditora very forcibly, as will be soen by the following extract ; and, we may add. they were very heartily cheered by his religions sndience. Mr. InviNG 2aid : Literary men who write, preachers who really preach, daily diacover with pain that, to a large ex- tent, their work 18 in the clouds. A moving actor goes straight and surely to the popular besd and Boart. A recent writer ha, very unnecessarily, reft 0 apothieosizs the drama as & pedagogus of virtue, and offered to demonatrate that the drama has never been a direct educational instrument. None ths less it 14, for tens of thousands of onr countrymen, s well- ‘spring of the purest moral emotion, On_tha stsge selfishness can only be shown to be gibbeted. Private and publie generoaity of life cannot be sen_withont ‘being: ired. The stzge must not be homiletic or didactio; it must exhibit in its mirror the rough with the amooth, the dazk with the light, the villainy and Laissnads tnte which may be baizayed, as g;xdm:n?%gw MI‘I’! there be any who are for velling from homan sight all the dovelopments of evil, they indeed must tura from the theatre door, and must desire to sea the footlights putout. But they must also close SHAGBELARE, svold o Y sofan aa 1 ton wbdersiand, v T earte of tholr Bible, It is 20k by hiding evil, but by showing it to us alongside of g0od, that human character 1 trained and perfected. Teot members of religions congregations know that there i no harm, but rather good. in entering into ordinary amusements, 30 faras they are decorous. Tse the pulpit, the press, and the platform to de- nounce not the stage but certain evils that find allow- ance on it. In England attendance ata theatre—I know this too well, for I was brought up {n Cornwall —1s too commonly regarded 2s & profession of irre- ligion. Break down this foolish and vicions idea, snd one may hope that scme inrvads may be made on the posszesions of the drink demon, snil Some consldar- ablo acreages annezed to the dominions of religlon and virtue. Mr. Inviva strikes st the very foundation of the mattor when he recommends to the Charch to denounco the evils and not the good things af the atage, and he might have made his point still stronger by advising the religious people to purify the theatre by patronizingit. A manager caters to suit the taste of his patrons. If the theatre is left to the patronage of the vulgar and the depraved, the tone of the performances will be lowered to suit that class, or the manager muat close his doors. If, on the othor hand, he Lias & respactable nudience, that audience will not tolerats valgarity. Ar. BaNDMANN'S statement that the Roman Catbolic roligion not only tolerates but supports and encoursges dramatia art, is partly correct and partly incorrect. It is & well-eatab- lished fact that the omodern drama was born under the auspices of that Church, and thet the opera also took its rise under its influences. The Miracle plays of to-day are the legitimate descendants of the ** Myateries’ of early times. Pricsts and monks, and even Bishops and Cardinals, have written plays for the stage. In Italy the Church recognized the stago when restrained by its censorship. Lou1s XIV. ndvised the Archbishop of Pans toallow MorieRe to be buried in oonsecrated ground, in the intercsts of the Church, and tha Arch- bishop consented on these grounds. The old Popes took & very prominent part in the estab- lishment of opera, and under the Papal Govern- ment sn opera-house was kept open 1u Rome iteelf. All those facts show & decided leaning of the Romish Church toward the drams ana the opora ; but there are some facts which are equally forcible on the other side of the ques- tion, and the Pall Mall Budget recalls some very interesting historical events bearing upon it. Two hundred years Bgo, actors in France were treated as Pagans or excommuni- cated Christians. For a long time the Church had the power to stop the production of sny piece on the stage. Since the theatre, however. escaped from the clutches of the Church, the two have not been on good terms. RoSIMOND, the actor and zathor, brought out 8 new version of the * Festin de Pierre” on the stage. and also wrote the *Lives of the Saints for Every Day in the Year,” but his holy buok did not save him from beiug doomed to destruction and buried without priess or prayer for wrising the play. Apriexyz LrcouvREon wes denied the ordinary funeral ritce. So was AMlle. Rivcougr, the famons actices, slthough a special appeal was ‘mads for her to the Archbishop of Paris.. When the Duke DE BERDI was stabbed on the thresh- old of the Opera and token back into the building to die, aud was about to receive the sacrament, the Archbishop stipulated that the edifice shonld nover again be used for spectacnlar - purposes, and in fact shontd be entirely demolished, which was done. The Church in reslity occupies the anomalous position of being an oppouent of the drama, and yet the drama flourishes best in Catholic conn- tries. It denounces the theatre, and yet has en- couraged and sapported 1t. A Cardinal sweep-' ingly denounces all theatres as hotbeds of cor- raption, and yet priests and seminarists, as Mr. BaNpyaSY says, attend them without commit~ ting any breach of disciplive. One Cardinal as- sails the theatre, and another writes plays for it. A Cardinal attacks every form of dramatic repre- sentation, and a Pope subsidizes the opera. Bat, waiving both sides of this interesting question, the strongest argument agsinst the Cardinal's denunciation is its impotence. , Other church dignitaries before Cardinal MaxsNe have de- vounced the theatrs, and it still exists as flonrishing as ever. Other dignitarics after AMaxxive will denounce it, but it will keep on flourishing. No discussion upon his view of tha question will bs of any value, bscause his viswis thoroughly impractical. st S Seddest of all the late revelations of the trans- formation of public chantable institutions into institutions of dizbolical torturs, are the facts brought ont relative tothe mismanagementof the Government Asylum for the Insane at Washing- ton. By the testimony of oe of the attend- anta it appears that a considerable proportion of the demented patients were regulsrly consigr~d to foul cells, without furniture or fire, and with only a bundle of straw to slesp upon, which was only renewed when it bocame so fetid that it had to bo carted away. The food was insuf- ficient of course, and there was practically no medical attendance, the unhappy lunatics being left half-starved in these filthy cages until they were covered with vermin, their clothes rotted off, and their bones wore through the flesh. Thus 1t waa that Gen. C. O. Loous, of the famous Loos Battary, of Michigan, died there. Other equally revolting cruelties have been disclosed, too sickening for publication. It will, of course, all be exposed, and amids: the usual spluttering indignation the officials reapon- sible will be removed. Then they will besucceed- ed by others appointed on the spoils system be- canse of their political influence, and the proba~ bilities are that ia slightly modified form the cruelty and oeglect will obtain as before. The only conceivable motive for the diabolical cruel- tiea practiced thers is that they paid. The moneys appropriated for the care and mainten- ance of the patients were stolen by somebody who was sppointed to manage the mstitation on the spoils system, and were by him or them ap- propriated 8 his or their reward for political services. Their enccessors, appointed under the samo system, will disappoint ail reasonable ex- pectations if they fail to do the like. Their ap- pointment will be that they may realize their sharo of the spoils, which thus they can do, and ‘may be expected to do, though they may manage to escape detection. And yet it isonly **vision- ary doclrinarres who are opposed to the spoils system and propose to set up instead as the sole qualification for appointment fitness and integ- rity, which would destroy the machine nulsance in our politica. ———— Last fall, at the hard-fought contest between the Republicans and so-called People's party, the Nortn’ Division voted, on the fairest test, as fol- lows for County Commission: Last Tueaday the y which is the fairest test, becanse both dates are Americans, was aa follow: Republican msjority.. The vote on Polica Cl publican, and BoxrreLp, Democrat, ws Beat, Republican. ... Bonfield, Democrat. Republican majority. The Republicana carried for Bide Wards, viz.: The German Fifteenth by 274, the Germaa and Scandinavian Sizteenth by 624, the American and German Eighteenth by 840 majority ; bat lost the Insh Seventesnth Ward by 708 votes. The Republican gain is due to two causes : first, large numbers of Germans sup- ported HesING and his ticket, and now that heno longer lsads the mongrel foreign alliance against the Ameriaans, they have returned tothe Repub- lican party; and, second, fraudolent voting was this time prevented. The Hatch Houss crowd ‘Wwere not permitted to stuff the ballot-boxes. His Imperial 3Isjesty Dom Pxp2o, after leav- 1og Omaha, decided to visit Balt Laks Oity be- calling on the Mormon Emperor, Saiot Bagg. may. He will probably reach the City of gy, Sainta to-dsy. (S — PERSONAL. Millas, the artist, has been offersd 7500 for a picture not yet pamted. { London is & heaviness to ** Johm Pagl» By calls Madame Tussaud’s » fraud. Mr. Adirondsck Murray's congragation i o a while o worahip in the Boston Theatra, Mrs. Ads Deen Hant, formerly of ( has blossomed out as & parlor-readar in Ne York. Ho R Vanderbilt, Stewart, and Astor each fifldmx estats taxes on an assessed valuation of §3. 000,000. 0 Mark Twain will takethe character of p, in the **Loan of & Lover,”in Hartford th, ricals. Miss Rsy, colored, of New York, composed thy poem read at the nnveiling of the Lincoln. monge meat in Washington. Jultan Kloezko's book, **The Two Chano| lors,” is ahortly to be republished in thi.m"m: try by Hurd & Houghton. The Independent says that Joaquin Miller hy ofien beeo mistaken for A. T. Stewact, the rg. somblancs being very close. ¥ &The Liebig memorial fard jin Munich hyy reached the sum of $375,000, and it it announg. od that no moré money is nesdad. A Leavenworth Iawyer offered & man's nosa in court ag evidence that the owner of it wag 1 drunkara. The Court ruled it out. The Independent says there ia nothing in thy * Arabian Nights which surpasses tho sudden risg of Judge Hilton to fame and fortune, Miss Minnie Hauck, the brilliant Awericsy prima donna, it is annonnced, will shortly marry an sminent officer of the Itahias army. Mr. Boechor had a alim audienca in Boatoy Thursday night. The New London Telegran asserts that the recoipts did mob pay theeg. penses. Louis Riel, President of the Republic of Wis. nipeg daring the insurrection of 1870, is, accord. ing to the Ottawa #vee Fress, in s madhouss it Montreal. v v Dr. Barto! dsclared in a recent sermon that thy Prof. Silliman Emma Mive scandal and thy Beecher scandal were tco heavy s load for Yalg Coltege to carry. Alatt Morgan's tronps of artista’ models eamy to grief =2t Pittsburg, whare the uneducats burghers natarally declared that the naked girls were indecent, A portrait of Bianca Rosabells, better knowa in Chicazo as Blanche Tacker, appears inths current oumber of the London Sporing Dramatic Times. 2 Mr. Robert Collyer, in his address at the Shakspesre memorial performance yesterdsy, said that he had listened to many s sermon from tha lips of actors. Carlsle once said to s distingnished Amari. can: ‘“Amer:cais a great country, but nosme temn can last which wouald give Jesus and Juias precisely the eame vote on public affairs” Judge Hilton closed both the stores out of respect for the memory of Stewart, and sat ths clerks to work making an inventory. They mourned their departed chief in dead earnsst. Can our weak women carry their pumssin their hands when silver comes into generaluss] If the resumption of spacie psyment should cause the abolition of this familiar borrar, W will not have suffered in vain. Queen Victoria, in acnouncing two drawing- room receptions for the 10th and 12th of May, expresses the hope that this early notice will ene ablo ladies to make their preparations withoo! necessitating late hours on the partof the dressmakers. Malistoa, King of S8amos, formally dismissed Steinberger from his post as Promier, aud handed him over to Mr. Foater, Capt. Stevens aod Mr. Williams, **1n order that they may have him removed.” Thatisa queer way of *re moving " a Prime Minister. The execution of the plan of using the Loz zens Hotel property noar Weat Point as » home for convalescenta has been prevented, tempo- rarily at least, by o legal obstacle. Thers it some defect in the mortgage foreclosures, and d oAt the purchase money has boen returned. Levy's cornet, prescnted to him by a Earo- pean Prince, and seized in Detroit to satistya debt, is to be sold to the highest bidder. The instrument turnsootto be washed instead of heavily plated, =2s was suppossd, sod is wortk only $125 instead of $600, as rapresented. Professor Sheppard, in his lecture on Thack- eray’s works, to show the unreasonsbleness of those who find fault with Thackeray because ht did not pat more brains in his womes, eaid that the same criticism had been made o8 Bhakspeare, on Milton, and on God Almighty. The statement that Secretary-of-War Taft bad called out two Michigan companies in anticips- tion of trouble with Mexicn, proves to havabeea 8 hoax put upon the newly-elected commsadert of the two companies. They wers thoroughly taken in, ana made full preparations for mareh ing at s moment's notice. Mra. David Dudley Field died at Carrolltos Hotel, - Baltimore, : Wednesday evening. Sbe married Mr. Field ten yeara ago. Her firat hus band was Dr. Samuel J. Carr, of South Caro- lina, whom she married when in her 14th year. Her maiden nams was Polk, snd hac family ot of the oldest in Maryland. Mr. Gladstono in a guarded way expresses ths opinion that the Moody and Bankey mestingt could have had no considerabls success, ** unle § sustained with the ssme enorgy and pertinacity of wholesale advertising which, until quitere cently, was better known to the inventors of certain descriptions of blacking and certain kiads of medicine.” The late John Forster's estate is valued st about £150,000. Among other legacies he willed to Mr. Thomas Cartyle the gold repeater watch ‘bequeathed to him by the late Charles Dickens; to Lord Lytton, the painting by Maclise of Caxton, showing tbe printing-press of Edwand IV. and his Queen, whieh he hopes will be per mitted to remain at Enebworth aa a heirloom. The New York Sun relstes tha following aned dote: . ** A well-known financier of grest tssit sand culture was one day dining at Mr. Staw- art's, when his *Prince Metternich® bineseal wine was served In & manner showing it ¥l thought to be very precious. *You have tssted this wmme before?’ Mr. Btewart ssked him. +Ohb, yes’ was tho answar, ‘and from larged glasses.’™ Oneshare of ths Phonix National Bsokof Hartford, Conn., belonging to the Smith sisters, of Glastonbary, Conn., the obstinate defendert of woman’s rights, was mold by auction befors tha Btate-House in Hartford laat Mondsy mors- ing to meet the taxas which the obstinste paf refuseto pay. Three of the sisters’ eows were sold for a similar purpose in Glastonbury cn Bst- urday, The Buffalo Ezpress in s ribald spirit e marks: “Judgiog from the way Dom Pedrs scooted through Chicago, we fancy he had of King Kalakaua's experience with Mayor Col- vin and the Board of Trads. There's 1o talling what Colvin would have eaid, but tne plsyfal youngmen of the Board af Trade wouldus: doubtedly bave hailed him as ‘Old Brazi-Nuts and haveurgad him to *pull down his vesh' 8 the choiceat Portugee.™ The Lotos Club of New York gave s compli- mentary banqnet to Mr. Whitelaw Beid, there tiring President, last Wednesdsy. Mr. Joba Broughsm occupied the chair. In answeetod tosst of the President, Mr. David G. Croly spoke of the dignified silence Mr. Reid bad maintained under personal attacks. Mr. Beid reptied feek- ingly, saying he belisved the people for whod newspapers are published have mo intersst is the parsomal quarrels of editors. The banqued waa the ‘mast blliand evez gisen by the Las fors going to San Franolsoo, for the purposs of | CGlub.