Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 28, 1877, Page 4

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: WEDNESDAY, FUBRUARY 2R, 1877 nt 62@63c, Darley closed tame, nt 462 for April and 440 for May. IHogs wero nctive, at 5@10c decline from Monday's prices, with #alea ab $5.20@5.90 for poor to vhoice. The cattle markot twos dull, and 10@160 lower. Sales wers made at $2.75@0.26 for poor to oxtra. Bheep wero sleady, at $3.25@06.60. Thye Tribyave, \ TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. #12.00 | Last Satarday avening thers waa in store in 1'% | this city 3,406,640 bu wheat, 2,973,410 bn Raday Edlt o.50 | corn, 948,482 bu' oats, 273,948 bn sye, and . sfiy‘y‘anfm” i 'i':‘,;“ 051,226 bu barley. One hundred doilars in L R R ey mond 3 | gold wonld buy $104.874 in grecnbacks at WEERLY Epitiov, FosTraID. | the close. i Gne 2 S —— 35| A onble dispatch, published in the after Fostege rrepald, Egecimen copica sent free, Toprevent delny and mistaken, be mre and give Poat- offeeaddres in full, Inciuding Stata and Connty, Remittances may bemado efther hy draft, express, Toat-Onlco order, or fa registered Istters, at our risk. L TERMS TO CITY AUDSCRIBERS. Dy, delieered, Ennday excepted, 23 conta per week, ' - Datly, deitvered, Sunday included, 30 centa per week BUNE COMPANY, born-ats.. Chlcsgo, file noon papers yesterday, contained the sur- prising intelligence that the demobilization of the Rnssian army had been agreed upon by an Extraordinary Council of Ministers, to take place immedintely upon the conclusion of the peaco negotintions botwean the Porte and Servia and Montenegro, ‘Ihat the Czar shonld have repented the historic military maneuvro of the King of France and his # twenty thonsand men " in the manner in- dicated wonld have been difficult to under- stand or believo 1f the report had romained uncontradicled. The restoration of peace between Servin and Montonegro and the Porte would boe a sorry protext for undoing ol that Rossia has done in the way of gigan- tic preparations for war, and it is almost a matter of courss that the silly afternoon re- port which the Enropean news.gatherers stupidly transmitted is emphatically and an- thoritatively denled by later advices from 8t, Potersburg. What Russin is waiting for is areply to the GonTscuasorr circular ad- drensed to the Powers to nak what thoy pro- pose Lo do about it, and when that reply is recoived somothing will be done, and it wiil probably not be demoralization. Adelphi Theatre, » Mo street, corner Dearhorn, ‘'Marked for L6 Yartely eateriainment. Afictaoon a0d €YEniog. . Hveriyte Theatre, Iph_street, hetween Clark and L . Ene fi%‘:‘; o1'the. doldene Troupe. **3Isdams LAFCD: X b7 O revickers 'rm‘e’m'ro- i, { adieon street, between Dearborn and State. En- i gagement of G jeva llogers. ** Maud Muller. Tan- eeheen.coraaty 3~ A R AR W Greenbacks at the New York Gold Ex- Tho information, which seems to be on- tirely trustworthy, that certain fest freight lines aro taking grain from 8t. Louis to New York at the rate of 35 conts per hundred pounds while exacting 40 cents per hundred from Chicago shippers, ought to receive im- mediate attention from the Board of Trado. This grain, we understand, is bronght through Chicago, and the sagents pay the Alton & St. Louis Rond 8 cents por hundred for bringing it here. This leaves the rate on the 8t, Louls shipments 27 cents from Chicago to New York, or a discrim- mination of 13 cents ngainst Chicago ship- pers. 'Tho arrangomont betwecn the Enatern roads, which enables the Pennsylvania and Baltimors Companies to cat under onthrough shipments, isaccountable for this, as Chicngo how alrendy discovered that theso ronds ore inclined to discriminate against this city in favor of Southwestern points. The dis. crimination has already gone so far, wo un. derstand, that 8t. Louis commission-men are writing to Chicago commission-men that thoy arc 1n a position to fill Chicago orders, tho differenco in rates belng sufficiont to enable the St. Louls shippers to meko their commissious on the ordcrs over and above tho Chicogo commissions. A difforence of five cents 1n freights leaves room for n very handsome commission, The Board of Trade Los tho power to put astop to this ont- rageous business by prompt and energotic action, Lot there bo a formal resulution, binding upon every membor, not to ship by any line that discriminates against Chiengo, and lot there be a standing committee to in- vestigate and report the discriminations. Faithful adheronce to this rule will soon Lring the bulldozers to their senses, change yesterday closed at (4 Davip Duprex Fiewo's biil to encourage {'.and promoto the future recurrence of the Y Presidentinl complication now practically ¢ terminated wns yesterday rushed through in I., the House, and passed by a voto of 138 to ) 109, thirteen Democrats voting with the Ro- publicans against (he mensure, There s no " prospect of this bill cver coming o s voto in the Scnate, An effort ! was made to socure its referenco to the * Committes on Judiefary, of which Mr. 7' *Coxxrive is Chairman ponding Judgo Eo- “., auxps' attondance as a member of the Elect- ¢ oral Commission; but the Ropublicans had no intention of s0 much as hazarding a favorable roport, and the bill wos therefore (« referred to the Committea on Privileges and .. Elections, whore it will probably expire with %' the Forty-fourth Congross, ¥ ‘i * Bouth Carolina was disposed of last even- ing by the Electoral Commission, and tho roport will bo submitted this morning noti- * fying the Joint Conventionthat the Tribunal ‘4" decides that tho soven votes of that Btate . ¢ should bo counted for Hayrs and Wirezrea, 1"’ This decision was by the usual vofe of 8 to 7, the Democratio Justices joining with the 4 partisan Congressmon of the Commission in % woting to excludo the votes of the seven Electors whose clection stands admitted by overybody, upon the remarkable protenso that South Carolina has not a republican * form of government, and that the presence and interferonce of Fedoral troops deprived ., the qualifiod votors of the right of suffrage and provontod a freo choico by the people of Prosidential Electorss Thua ands the labors of tho Tribunal, and with them all conflict - and nacerfainty regarding the result. A i ey THE NEW CIVIL-SERYVI SYSTEM, « Thore 15 no moro industrions man than an office.sceker. Thero is no more pertinacious man than an office-secker. A tithe of tho labor, onergy, perseverence, and brass that he employs ta got an office, if applied to some other and honest work, would not only securo him a liberal living, but would lead him to fortune. It i4 sirangs how strong and wide-spread is the theory that Govern. monts are instituted to provide salarics and incomes for individuals, and that that Gov- ernment is the most beneficent which pre- vides places for the ‘groatest number of persons, and pays them the largest salaries, 'The nnxlety to enjoy this branch of * the blessings of Government " is intenso, es. Tipey and Hexpricks Reform Club, a motley crowd, including Dr., Many Warkes, assembled in Washington last evening, the . purposo being to prevent the inauguration of Prosidont Haves. Boyoud the clection of o President and n host of Vice-Presidents, . noneof whom were present, tho meeting does not appear to have accomplished much in tho way of revolutionary obstruction. No ono appeared to havo any suggostions o make, sand the audience did not scom to bo n o temper to act ratfonally on any that might be made. 8o after speeches by Mr. Georoz W, JuriaN and others denun. dlrectly stravagance and offical incapacity. It ixn temptation to diehonesty; it Maders and im. paies that careful supervisfon and strict accountn- bllity by which alone falthful and eMclent pabile service can be secared; i obstructs the prompt re- woral and enre punishment of the unworfAy; in everyieay it degrades the eieil serciceand the ehare acter of the Goternment. . . . Ttonght to bo abolished. Tho reform should be tborongh, radical, and complete, Weo shouid re. tarn to the principles and nractice of the founders of the Government, snpolying by leglslation, when needed, that which was formerly the establiabed custom, They neither expected nor dealred from the public officers any pattisan scrvice, They meant that the officer shonld ba scenre fnhistennre erentod for other purposes nnd other duties, and auseris that these regniatiqns ** will not be in accordance with existing statntes, the objects of which have been kuown aud con- ceded for sovonty-fiva years, oud by every Ezxecativo from the days of Mr. Jerrrnsox to the present time.” The Commissary-Gen- eral of Bubsistence makes the sweeping eriti- aism : *“ As tho President is anthorized only to mnke and pnblish regulations for the government of the army in accordance with oxisting laws, 1 respectfully submit that he is not suthorized to make those suggest- nl long Mim. personal character remained Tn’ur- ol to which I have refegred, for the nished snd the performance of his duties satieface » ¢ Torgs 11 elacten. 1 onall eondnet the adminiaira. | 7608008 indiosted.” Tho Judge-Advo- cato-General devoles himself mainly to tho regulation sotting forth the atatus of the * General 8taff," showing that it is both incongrnous and incorrect, and rdds signifi- cantly: * It need hardly be added that army regulations, though authorized by Congresa to be mede, are properly mere executive rulos which can have no effect to repeal or modufy enacted law, The proposed regula- tione thus cannot legislato, nor can they con+ traveno in sny respoct, an act of Congress. Wherever they may conflict with the atat- nte, thoy must necessarily be {noperative,” Tt is evidont from such opinions aa these that it Gen. Scuorizup’s regniations aro ap- proved at oll, thoy will be approved in such modified form that he himself will hardly recognize thom. He nppears to have run pell.mell against the statutes and laws, as many another soldier has dona befors him. MERRITT-OKIOUS BALDERDASH, It must be the sins of our fathers that havo visited upon us the infliction of the Meanrrr family intho Legislature and Itli. nols politics ; certainly nothing that the pres. ent generation in Illinols has done merits tho punishmont. Wa seek o bear the visi. tation as meekly as becomes a patient and long-suffering people, but -thora are times when it is 8o aggravating as to call for a gen. tle protest. Whon, for instance, tha irre. pressible Mennrrr tries to commit the Ili- nois Logislature to a number of mendacious twhereases In order to have it recommend the ilinois membors of Congross to break a sol- emn compact and help precipitata the ne- tion into snarchy and revolution, Mernrrr ‘becomes somothing worse than a nuisance, and deserved the summary snubbing which tho Logislature promptly administered. Wo rofer, of courso, to the seventesn whereases and single resolution that Mennrrr desired the Legislature to indorss, setting forth in substance that— Wueneas, The Electoral Commission was nppointed by almost & unanimous vote of tho Democrats in Congress for the purpose of awarding the Presidoncy to Sauver J. Tir- prxn; and . Wuenzas, Said Commission has disap- pointed the Democrats by nbiding. by the forms of law nnd respecting the constitu. tional method of appointing Electors; and ‘Whazaras, The Presidency has been award- ed to Ruruenronp B, Hares whon the Dom. crats expeoted it to go to Baxvzn J, Truoen ; therefore, . Resolved, That the Democrntic members: of Congrossare not bound to abide by the result of the arbitration to which thay sgroed, and it is their duty to defeat it by vavolutionary measurcs and violation of law, to the end that ansrchy moy lead to the adoption of the Mexican system in the United States of America. x While this abstract of Mzanrrr's resoln. tions and whoreases fairly ropresents, no doubt, his own notion of the obligations of a contract and the purpose of arbitration, the great mojority of the INinols Legislature, focluding both Democrats and Republicans, thonght differontly, and kicked Mr. Menntrr and lis resolutions ont of doors without ceremony, Wo are glad that the people of Hlinols were o promptly vindicated from tho insinuntion of bad faith, and only regret that the insinuation should have been made oven in o porson of such little Mennrrr. Hero iu a terbatim eamplo of ono of his mul- titudinous tliercasea In violation of the pravislons of tho Constitution guaranteelng to every State a republican form of government, sending the army Inlo the States of Virginia, 8outh Carollns, Loulsiann, and Florlda withont avplication from tho Legislatares of thoee States or cither of them, when the same could tlon af the Gorernment upon these principfles, and All canstitational powers verted in the Execn- tive wiil bs employed to establish this reform. ‘Thesa promises and pledges of President Hayes have but small comfort to the aver- 8ge politician who is peddling petitions to Le appointed to office. Ho promises that ns Preaident ho will not recognize the right of any Beantor or Kepresentative to select Fed- cral officers, nor to control or dictate who shall be appointed or removed. He has promised that ho will exercise all tho consti. tutional powers of tho Exeentive to break up that whole system of appointmonts, We do not suppose the Proaident has changed his views since he mada this pledgs to the conn- try last July, Applicants for office to him will therefors requirs something inaddition to a petition,—something in addition to the recommendation of s Senator or Represonta- tiva in Congress. They will not only have 1o satisfy tho President of tholr own fitness, capacity, and integrity, bnt will have to mako it eclear to the President that the men now in the offico ought to be removed for cause other than political. The gintle- men who have petitions and papers asking the President to appoint them as Collectors, Attorneys, and Marshals in this Btate, will go prepared, thorefors, to show not only their own quslifications according to the Presidontial standard, but also that the pres- entincumbents of those offices aro mnot safe men, nor compotent men, nor honest men, and should thorefors bo removed. 'Tho conntry hns witnessed during the last yearthowithdrawal andretirsmont of the old, stained, filthy, disense-breeding, and ragged fractional currency, and the substitution therefor of the clean, bright, handsomo sil- vor coin, having the ring of tha true metal. Itis tima for the Ropublican party, now that it hias a President who has not only not been connected with machine politics, but was nominated and clected in defiauco of the mnchine, to withdraw from public use, and retiro from public gaze the old, stained, filthy, and corruption-breeding poli- ticinns, whose very namos have become offensive to the country, and, with a new President’ proposing n new nnd reformed systemn of ndministration, to furnish the conntry with public ngents clean nnd bright, ~—men of a modern coinage, and having the ring and sterling value which the President himself possesses, 'Tho conntry expeota of the Presidont u faithfal, judependant, and fear- less administration of the Governmont, and to aid him in this he wants new men, as frce 25 himsolf from tho old and corrupt past, —mon who hold machino politica in con- tempt, and arc prepared to restoro the public sorvico to an honest and constitutional basis. Professional and veteran office holders and seekors have nothing in sympathy with an Administration which ignores party services and sorvices to party leaders as qualifications for publio ofti PROPOSED NEW ARMY REGULATIONS, A strong effort is now being made to in- duco Congress to approve the new general army regulations, and, ss they have not hithertg been made public, we give below a summary of them so far ns they differ from or autagonize the existing regulations, which will bo of special interest to army officers throughout the West and Northwest, Theso aro not the regulations originally promul. gated by the Army Board which convened for that purpose, but those compiléd by Maj.« Gen, Jony M. Scuorretp, who las adopted somo of tho regulations rccommended by the Bonrd. It will only bo noceasary i this connection to notice the changes which the approval of Gen. Scmoriztv's regulstions ciatory of tho Elsctoral Tribunal, and the singirg of the hymn *And are we sinners yet alive; and do we vot rebel 7 the assem- blage retired each to his customary bar-room to indulge, in the language of Mr, Ricmanp BwrvrLres, in a modest yuenchor. pecially among those who have become veteraus in living ai tho public expenso. Office-seoking is, a8 o general thing, but a gonteel form of mendicangy, and those en- geged in it are, with few excoptions, social aad political dend-beats, too lazy ¢r too fincompotent fo ocarm a living in any way requiring ability, integrity, and industry, Scrutinize them as a class, and the majority will be found to he men who would be tramps wero they not too lazy to tramp. 'Thesa meun with petitions, and letters, and certificates from ward-clubs, are now hanging ronnd the State-tTouse at Co. lumbus, 0., and noxt week will be at Wash. fogton importuning the President to give them oflicial soup-tickets. ‘The Republican parly of the United States has just escaped from a general and over- whelming defeat. Gov. laves was weighted heavily with the frauds, dishonesty, and in- competency of the civil servico. The great roproach it had to bogr was the general cor. ruption, notonly of the civil service of tho Government, but of the shameless system of appointments, which had reduced the Presi- dent aud the chicfs of departments to the mere daty of office-brakers filling contracts made by others to deliver offices in consid. eration of personal services. So great and 50 confessod had this evil become that the Republican Convention at Cinclunati frankly declared ¢ Under tha Constitution. the President and beads of departments are to make nominationa for oftice; the Senate 16 ta advise and copsent 10 sppoint- ments, and the House of Heprescntatives s to cusy und prosccuta falthiess oflcers. The hast terest of the public servica domal distinctions be respected; that by last evening, ostensibly for the transaction of legitinate business, but in polct of fact, it appears, for tho purpose of instructing President Mayes concerning the proper per- ! son to be appointed Hecratary of War, + .. Nood we add that that person’s name ig Logax? One of the Votcrans, Dr, Kocn, had tho good senso to opposs this propo- sition a8 unworthy of the Club, and predicted that the President wounld + pay little attention to it. In this opinlon ha was eminently sound. Tho in- ¥ dorsement of a fow ward politicians in Chi. cago, even thongh presented bya Committeo of their number to the President in peruon, will probably not dacide who shall ba Becre. tary of War, nor is it at all likely that any " candidate who is seduced to such desperats siraits for testimonials of provious good character will be tho successful man, Eie) it Y ‘l Now that the resolutions providing for the sppointment of a Committcs to investigato the Bouth Park Commission in Chicago Las passed the House, let the Committes be se- lected from among members who mean busi. ness, who have a serious conception of the work to ba done, and who will not regard the affair in the light of a prolonged pleasure i excursion to Chicago at the expense :, of the Btate, or, still worse, come hers with a predisposition o white. wash. We hope the investigation will bo comprehensive and rigid, covering all the ground and digging up all the facts, not excluding the operations and intentions of . the Corzuoun, Duxrevy & Co, Ring. Upon " the presentation in the House last weck of the list of charges against the Park Commis. mioners Tux Tuisrsz prowmptly joined in the demand for an investigution, and, now that one has been ordered, it cannot be too thor. }, ousb, searcniug, and impartlal. Wherever ..+ there is crookedness, let the doylight in up. onit. s rs and Rep- resentatives who msy lo judgos and accusers should not dictate appointments to ofice. 'The 1nvarlable vule fu appolntments should have reference to the Loncaty, tdelity, and capacity of tho appolntees, giving to the party in power those placks where harmony and vi; rof adminlstration 30 mted, but permitiag ali others to be diled by persons selected with sole referencd to tho eMciency of the publlc service, and the rigut of oll citizens to abare In the honor ol reuderiug faltbful servico to the country, To tbis. formal declaration of opinion by the Convention, couceruing the greatest of all abuses in the civil service, Gov, Haves, in his letter of acceptance, responded; MMoro than forty years ago a system of making appointuwents 10 offico grow up, based upon the maxim **To the victors belong the spoile.'* The old rule, the trae rule, that honesty, capacity, and fdelity, conatitute the only real qualilicatiyn for office, and that thera is no other claim, guve plac 10 thc {uea that party scrvices wery to be chlody considered. Al parties In practice hove adopted this syatom. It has been casentially modified since ita dret jutroduction. [t has not, however, been improved. Atfirat the President, either directly or through the leads of departments, mado all the appolnt:nents, but graduslly the appointing power, in muny cascs, passed Into the control of uembers of Congress. The oltices fn these cascs have be- come not merely fowards for party services, bat sewards fOF services Lo party leaders. This syatem destroys e independence of (he sep- arate deparunents of the Government, **1t teuds 'The Chicago produce markels were inore cctive yesterday, grain being weak and pro- visions firmer. Mess pork closed 5o per brl 3 higher, at §14.20for Marchand $14.45@14.47} 50 for ApriL Lard closed a slhiade ensier, at §9.60 s for March and $9.7*j ww April. Meats closed 4o higher, et 50 for loose shouldars, 7{o for short-ribs, snd 8¢ for short-clears. ;. Highwines were steady, st $1.06, Flour was < quiet and weak. Wheat closed 4o lower, at §1.20} for March and $1.22} for April. Cora closed jo lower, st 8jc for March and 43]o for Msy. Oats closed }o lower, at 3¢ for March and 83jofor April. Rye was dul, would make in these existing st present. The article defining the nature of the War Department makes the Chiefs of the several stafl corps, departments, and bureaux of the army not only Chiofs of Bureaux of the War Department, but olso Chiefa-of Staff {o the Genernl of the Army, and they report directly to and act under the immediate orders of the General-in.Chief in all matters appertain. ing to tho command of the army. The classification of the army remains unchanged. The dutics of the Goneral of the Army are’| enlarged. All branches of the military estab- lishmont are under his command. The di- rection of all military oporations and the anpervision of all military worke devolve upon him. o issucs through the office of tho Adjutont-General all ordors relating to military operations, dlsposition of troops, army discipline, and all orders for its in- formation or government, whether they originate with tho General or are directed Ly the President or Becrotary of War, Heis to watch over the economy of the servics in all its Lranches, and with the subordinate commanders must see that estimates are based upon propor data, aud allofficial corre- spondence npon subjects of which the com- manding ofticers should have kuowledga must ba transmitted through his headquar. ters. The artide upon ** Geographical Di- visions and Departmonts " provides that the General-in-Chief shall exejciss {mmediate snpervision over the Military Academy and the Artillery Bchool, and that, in general, fortl- fications under construotion or extensive re. poirs, arsooals of construction, and ord. nance, quartermaster, and subsistence depots for the supply of a division, will bo under tho fmmediats control of the Division Com. mander. ‘The commauder of a division also osurcises a superviaion over the affairs of the dopartments under his control, and presides over the Board compoaed of the senior of. ficers of engiueers, orduance, and artillery serving in tho division, for the consideration of all importaut questions of fortification and armament within the division, to bosub- mitted for the action of the General-in-Chief and the Beeretary of War, The proposed regulations, as drawn up by Geu. Scaorierp, have been submitted by Gon, Suzsuay to various officers, with a re- quest that thoy append their opinions of thent, In some quarlers they have pro- voked very polnted and hostile criticism, as will bo seen by a reference to the opinions of three of tho most important of- ficlals,—heads of burcaux in the War Department. Gen. Husenacys, Chief of En- ginoars, takes exception to the regulstions which take away the control and responsi- bLility of the permanent fortifications of the country from the Corps of Engincers, * which inlicro to it from the very nature sud purposes of its organizativn, anddevolve them upon other brouches of ths sexvice, have heen convened, the privileges of tho electiva tranchieo wern wreated from the legul vaters, .and these States roturned for Hayes and Wuzenen through the fraud and manipulation of Retumning Boards tostracted thereto and protectod thereln by tho nnconstitutional ucta of the Federal ofticlals aforessid. Was there ever such & jumble of palpabla untruth with scnseloss vorblage as this? Hero the redoubtable Mennrrr tells us that the Btate of Virginia was *‘returned for Hayes and Waeenen through the frand and mnnipnlation of the Returning Board, in- structed thoreto and protectsd therein by tho unconstitutional acts of the Federal officials aforesaid”’! Now the vote of Vir. ginia has not actually been counted yot, but it is generally belioved that the Tiuoen and Henoriczs Eleotors were returned, and if the Recturning Board was guilly of any *fraud and manfpulatfon” fn that Stato, it was ovidently in behalf of the Democrats. This only shows how very little Mernirr knows of what he Is talking about. 'The re. mainder of the allegation is almost equally ridiculous and altogether as untruthful, In all the Democratio investigations of South Carolina, Louisiane, and Florida, thero has not been an intimation that any man was deprived of the privilege of voting by reason of the presence of troops, nor that the traops in auny case wers snywhero near the polls ; if they had been, thero would have been much leas bulf. doziog, Yot MuynmiyT has discovered at this late hour that ** the army " sent into those Btates ¢ wrested the privilegs of the eleot- ive franchiso from the Jegal voters "l Verily Mernrirr is an ass, and should insist upon being 8o writ down, As to Virginis, * the army " sent into that State consisted of n squad of soldicrs stationed in Potorsburg nt the special request of the citizens to prevent a riot that was threattned, in which cer. tain persons, including the judges of election, wero to ba killed off. Tho presenca of this Sergeant’s squad of soldiers for a fow days preceding clection prevented even an attempt at riot, and the soldiers were not at any time ‘within two miles of the place whero the vot- ing wos done, Mennrrr probably deserves some oredit for having applied the reductio ad aleurdum to the outrageous misropresentations of the Desperadoes. If they are entitled ta nny serious treatment, the fairest answer that can bo made to them is the following lan. guage from the Nation, which has been fa- vorgble to TiLpex all along : ‘The Presfdential contest may now be consldered over, and, if 1t has not ended sstlafactorily, all that can bo sald {s that the pators of the contro- tisfactory ending to it was mmission Lad declded to *+gobehind the returns to tho extent asked for by the Democrals, althongh it might bave piven Mr. TiLpex @ clearer titls to the place than tho present nding can give Mr. Harzs, it would bave preparcd tho way for endless complications at fu ture clectiogs, eng perbapa for tho conversion of ‘| a8 unconscionablo the Presidentlal election into s farce. Wo shonld have had to prepare oumelves for llnifln re- turna™ from two-thirds of tho States and'& fAight In Congrees ovcr the Vote of each fitate, which wanld have cansed the count to Iast for a year, and wonld, every fourth year, have Inflicted o aeason of complete paralyeis on Linsinces. Tha tesperato and conscienceless politicians on both sides would not object to this sort of thing, and the gnmo wonld bo to the sharp- est players; but the great bulk of the Ameri. can peoplo who earn an honest living oufside of politica eannot afford a quadeionnial tour- nament for the offices which shall lnst over soveral months, frighten the people and pros- trato busingss in tho meanwhile, and even- tuate finally to the advantago of those who prove their elaims to being more unsornpn. lous and tricky than their opponents; for this would bo tha result of any precodent for a Natfonal Reflrning Board to acrutinizo the popular returns from overy Btato in. the Unidn, THE NEW YORK B8YSTEM OF LIPE-INSUR- ANCE SUPERINTENDENCE. There is o worse fenture about the life-in- surance troubles than the failares of the Con. tinental and Becurity Companies, and the revelations of iniquity and fraud in their management. It is tho uncertainty as to which company will fail next. 1L ia & fact, openly stated in all the utterances on this quertion in New York, the groat centro of the life-insurance business of the country, that other compnnies must go down. It is inevitable that wide-sproad alarm shonld be the consequenco of such a state of affnirs. The present number of policies now in force in this country is botween threc-quarters of o million and n-million. The resorves held by tho companies for the protection of theso policies nmount to $00,000,000. The amount insured is fully equal to tho two thousand miilions of the national debt, if-it is not' more. Husbands nnd fathers have confided bundreds of millions of dol- lars to the life-insurance companies for the mostsacredof trusts. Thishasbeenundoubt. edly abused in many cases. The indict- mentsfound against the officorsof Lho Sceurity aro not more disheartening than tho indict- mont that wo must present nagainst the Now York system of superintendence. Now York companies have been collecting niill- Ions of dollars annually from the people of the Western and othor States on the gencral supposition that the peoplo of New York had thrown around the system o bulwark againat fraud and swindling. But the con. duct of the State in this mattor has been a8 its management of tho conols and its levy of heavy tribute on all the commerce that pnsses thronugh its port. While the citizen of Chi- cago or tho farmer in Towa has beon paying honvy nnnual promiums to somo New York compaily, on the assuragco that tho State of New York superintendéd the companies and watchedJthem closely to provent mnladmin. istration, the grossest frauds have been opeuly consummated. There is no pretense in the office of the New York Superintendent of Insuranco to<loy of any nccurats knowl. edgo how far the Now York companies have been worm-eaton with corruption;'or how niany more millions of dollars will ba lost to policy-holders by tho collapse of companles still permitted to continue. The report of tho Recolver of the Contluental Life stated that anything like & proper cxamination of that Company would have shown years Ago that it was impaired. Tho expensive Insuranco Department that Now York maintalned dignot even sco to it that the Continental and” tho Becurity kopt the proper books and kept them in proper shape. The bookkesper of tho Continontal testificd that he had never scen a stock- transfer book in {ts office, In tho caso of tha Security, tho Tnsurance Dopartment, with its oxpenaive Superintend. entand clorks, and -contly annual reports, conld not dotect tho forgories and thefts of tho officers. Roal ostate was grossly over. valned, mortgages on it wore suppressed, securities that had boon borrowed or not paid for wero returned ninong the assets, and the cash was swelled by entirely imaginary bunk balances. Intercat hind to be pald, of course, on the money borrowed to buy securitios with, and when it was disbnrsed it was cutered on tho books as * cash dividends paid policy-holders,” Nearly a thousand policies wero ‘omitted from the valuation Looks by the very officor who subsoquontly aftixed his afidavit to the statewnent that they coutained all thy pulicies in force. The net reault of the New York system to the 9,643 policy-liolders of the Security is a deficloncy of §2,053,824, Tho Receiver of the Con. tinental estimates its impairment at $1,087,- 000, 'The insurance of the Continental and tho Becurity smounted to 871,796,603, Tho wreck of tho Security ia almost complets, How tho policy-holders of tho Continental will fare, ennnot bo told, If the past of-insuragce eonipanies of New York is to give the claw to the future, that caunot be conaidored bright, In alate issue the Financial Chronicle prints o list of the Now York life-insurance companics that have been wound up sinco 1870, and gives some other valuable details of the history of the business in that State. Out of thoe forty-fivre compaaies that have been organized in New York but eighteen remain, and only five of these are older than the Insurance act of 1853, The period of greatest prosperity in life insurance was during the paper pros. pority of the -War, Thirty.iwo compenies were organized since the outbreak of the War, and of thess only eight survive. In tho last soven years twenty-five companies have gone out of business, with an sggregato of nominal insurance of $230,000,000, much of which is counted over several times on account of successive reinsurances. The oxtont to which reinsurance has been carriod ia exemplitied by the case of tho National Capitol, which recentlyaalivated the New Jersey Mutual, ‘Ihis devil-fish among life. jusurance companies will have inits maw the American National Lifo, the Amorican Mutual Life, tho Hartford Life & Health, the New Jersey Mutual, the Continental, the Commonwealth, the World, the Craftsmen's, tho Hope, the Empiro Mutual, the Farers’ & Mechanics', and tho American Tontine. 1t is a significant fact that of twelve com. panics that have gone Into the business of reinsuring only three survive, and oue of theso is the National Oapitol, which may be said to survive, but can scarcely bo said to live. Theso facts make it plain cnough that policy-holders need no louger delude them- selves with the {dea that they get anny pro- tection from the New York Iusuranco De- partment, They must protect themselves, They must not look to laws or Btate Boards for salvation from bad investments. They must not ask thelr newspaper which are the best companies; above all, they must not believe overything they read in the adver- tisements. 'Iwo general hints, however, will Le of great servico to those who are wise enough to follow them. Tkoss com- panies ars prosumably the strongest which give their asselq in detail, giving names, de- nomination, and deseription of bonds and siecnrities ; and no company should bo pat. ronized which docs not throw open its bovks to tho fullest and freest inspection of the policy-holders, who are the chief partles in interest. ARCHEOLOGY. Dr, AXprE®S read an fmportant paper last evening befora the Archicologleal Section of the Academy of Beleaces, Scientists have long sinic proved that a raco far moro Intelligent and civilized than the Indians lived in largo num- bers In the Missiseippt Valley many centunes ago, and that thoy were probably driven south or exterminated by the ancestors of the eavage trihes who held the country when first discov- ered and explored by the Europeans. facrl- ficinl and other mounds have been explored in Inrge numbers, but hitherto they have only ylelded a collectipn of skeletons, stone histchots, fmplements of husbandry made from flint, & few rude copper tools, and quito a large variety ot bowls, jars, ana other specimens of pottery. Sclentists, and all who ars Interested in the subject, will nt once scs that tho paper of Dr. Anpnews gives promise of further Important discoverics as to the character and the habits of the mound-bullders ‘Theinscriptionson thetablets discovered at Rock- ford and near Davenport arc probably no more difficult to decipher thah were those from which the history of the anclent Ezyptlansend tho Assyrians has been read and given to modern cviiization. The Davenport Academy of Belence has published accurate drawlngs, from which Dr. AkpREws made his description of the tablets found in the mound near that city, and doubtless scores ot acute minds will scan them mont intently, and it Is to be hoped will o able to glve Lo the world the knowledge they were Intended to vonvey to after ages. Now that so valuabla a discovery has heen made, other mound-explorers should examine them with more care, and {I possible add other tablets to thosa already in the hands of our active sclentists, Let us havo all the knowledge avalla- ble on this subject. ——— e ‘The Journal has been looking around for the reason why TuE TRIDUNE charactorized GrANT'S appolutment of PALMER as **scandalous,” and it can only conclude that “the real difcuity with Tns TRIBUNE {8 that Mr. PALMER camo to this city to cdit the Jnler-Ocean, and was connect- cdwith that paperuntil a few months ago. Now, it tho Journal will only think a moment, it witl understand this couldu't be tho reason, sinco PALMER made a lamentable faflure as an cditor, and left & bankrupt nowapaper worse off than hio found it; eo, it Tnz TRINUNS were sclf- ish about the matter, ft would have every reason to bo grateful to Mr. PaLmen, But thero are other reasons which the Journal might have thought of why Tus Tninuxz cannot ap- provo tho appointment. One'is that PALMER and his nowspaper borrowed through the Ring- Machine bank somo of the Government funds Postmaster MCARTHUR hod deposited there, and, so far as wo know, this moncy has never been repatd, Another is that PALMER and his newspaper wero the persistent maligners of Secretary Bristow, and the peralstent defend- ers of the Whisky Ring which Bristow was prosecuting.. A third Is that nobody In Chicaro, a8 far s wo have heard, asked PALMER'S ap- vointment. A fourth {s that PALMER was a snlary-grabber, and belonged to a class obnox- fous to the people everywhere, A fifth s that GRANT, In his cxpiring official life, should not scek to chooss officcholders for his successor, A sixth—=but perhaps these are cnough for the present, and the Journal might have thought of them ull, {€ it had been so disposed. e ——g———— Spectal Diapatch to tha Yew Tark TWorld, New Onteaxs, Feb, 21, —The Democrat of this morning in an oditorial saya: Our position may as well ba_clearly stated and thoroughly understood st the North. " 1f tha National Domocracy, acting through its accradited leaders, should fnally ro- solve 1o oxhanat thelr physical and msierial renourcen fn & patrfotic struggio to aava the matclie lesa characier of Mberty bequeathed to thom by thelr forofathers and rescun tnix fair land from its threatencd doom nf Mexicanization, we think we speak tha yolco of flhie entiro bouth when wo say tunt they will bo sustained by thia part of the coun- try 8a Jony os the banner of Liberty shall wavo be- fora thelr oyes, or ag Inng as there will he material here for the Tormation of a battalion of eoldiers, 11, on the contrary, they proposs to persevere ina policy of empty prolests and windy resotutions, and meet forca and frand with nothing more effect- ual than angry indignatfon, we give them notico that we can stand asurpation in the Federal Gov- ernment as wejl s thoy can, and that wa do not intond to waste any of our strength in beating the air, ‘There 18 not the slightest doubt that the Dem- ocrat ypeaks the sentimonts ol the organ'zed rifie-clubs and bulldozers of tho State. They arc ready for nrenewal of clvil war, incnse Northera desperadoes open tho balt and com- mit themselves {rrevocably to insurrcetion and anarchy, Tha cut-throats. who terrorized over tho Republican parisbes are on hand for any desiltry or lawless proceeding, which thoy de- nominato “Liberty," and when theyare on thelr midnight prowls scarvhing for negroes to whip or hiang, the masks thoy wear they cafl tho ban- ner of liberty waving before their eycs. All the lazy, fdlo vagabonds in the State who refuss to work for a living have their position correctly stated by thu New Orleans Democrat, e —— e / 1t 15 a curlons colncldencs that McAnTuUR'S shoes, vacated so shruptly on'sccount of a shortaze on nis part, should beso promptly filled by Mr, FRANK W, PALMER, Tho sudden- ness of the transition has been attributed to o precancerted arrungement whereby McArTuuR bad agreod to step out a few days befors tho expiration of tho present Adwntnistration in or- der to coable Gen. Graxt to saddle PaLscr upon Mr, Havzs whether the latter will or no, —because PaLsen can hold onunder the Ten- ure-of-Office act. The destinfes of McAuTnur und PALMER haye crossed hefurs, and fn Loth instances PALMER scems to hiave had the advan- tage, McARTHUR, it will bo remembered, was tulldozed by his Washington patrons fnlodo- positing the Post-Office funds In a certain po- litieal hank, known astho Cook County National, in which Scnator Joun LooAN had an interest, Tho bank failed, and left McAnTutina defaulter to tho Government to the amount of $40,000, to ‘which hie has nuw added by privateabstractions. Paruxa was then the chief of & ugwspaper con- cern koown as the Jufer-Oceun, aud in that ca- pacity had the advantage of belug & borrawer from the Coak County National Bank, i{ we are not mfataken, Thus PALNER, or the newspaper i controlled, or both, cnjoyed the possession of some of the Goverument funds depos! there by Postmaster MeAuTuer under orders. Now that MoARTIUR bas to step out for being s de- faulter, PALMER steps {n appurently because he cnjoyed the use of somnu of the missing funds through the accommodation of the Ring bauk. Evidently PALuzg has the beat of it. — ———— - ‘The English Government {s now moving In earnest to transfer the glant obollsk known as Cleopatra's Nevdle from. its present locality st Alexandria to the embankment of the Thames, The procrss of removal is s0 unlque that we copy a portion of 1t from the London ZT¥mes: ‘Fho sand 18 to be clearcd away aud the obellak sot square parsilel with the existing sca wall. An iron cylinder, Onished off (0 & chisel edge, with sutiicient diapbragm to give 1t sireogth, la to bo constructed round tho obollsk, which is tu ile in the loug axia of the cylinder and w be Wedged and calked whero {t passes through the disphragws so 24 Lo divide the cylin nto water-tlght compart. ments, Tho cylinder i (o be U5 fcet' long by fect diameter, and will bave a draught of U feet of water when afloat. ng riveted water-tight, 1t will be rulled jnto thy ud across Lho vandy bed of the wuter titl it 1t will then be tura. «d over and the man-hols the top opened and abuut thirty tons of Lallaat 1o keep the ends vertlc «caly v0 4 10 act Jike stem aud stern, it will then Lav®iwo bilgo keoly, muat, sud uy sails stache sn anchor and good chafn cabl LI ne:e-ur‘y & pump in caso of Icakage. The cylinder rhip will then be 8t 10 ¥0 Lo any port of tha world with fle freight, snd n ony weather. Thisnovel craft will bo towed > England this sumincr, and by muaus of o fewtimbers and two bydraullc rains will bo clevated to its site on tho embankment. Tho cotire cost will bo only $50,000, whilo that of tho Paris obellsk was $400,000. Its cotire heigbt is 70 feet, and it ls 7 fcet at the base, ——— The recent geoeral election in Germany de- veloped many curious souial fcaturcs of which ‘we bavo taken note from time to time. It now sppears that the CUltramontanes themselves have heen affected by It quita ns eetlously as the Goyernmant party and the Liberals, tfoce it has developed a achlsm in the ranks of the Roman Catlialics, An [rrecancilable faction bas ap- peared in Bavarls, whose procecdinga bave re. sulted in serious damage to the Clerical cause, The new champlons of the Church cantend that tho Ultramontane contro in the Reichsteg s made up of Prussians, and that thelr orthodoxy in religlon cannot relleve them of this tsint, Unon this account they took a distinct lne of their own during the recent electlon,with tha ro. sult that the regular Ultramontane candidates polled less votes by one-fourth thon at the last clections. 3 Tho dismisal of prococdings. sgainet Jomx 7. TIARPER. dofanlting Internal Revenus Collector, Bpringfeld, is very conerally approved a8 8 jndit clous exercige of Exacntive elemency. President Gnaxr acted upon the recommondation of both of the Unlted Statca denatora from Illinole, and many othiers whoso opinions deserve conaideration, Journal. The Journal has misapprehended the tenor of public scotiment If It supposes that condoning the erfme of plundering the revenue, and par. doning a self-convicted revenue-thie! befors trial, Wil recelve its approval. The public owalt something very different from Gen, Granz's successor. Docsn't the Journal f e —— . The Minister of Instructlon In Egypt ba re. cently made a_report which gives us an Insiehy, rarely afforded, foto the educational condition of that country. It appcars from bis atatistics that there at present under fnstruction 140,077 puplls. Of these, 111,803 aro in primary Arab schools, 16,335 In mosque schools, 1,335 cducated by Government, 8,001 by mlssfona and religious communitics, and 2,960 in the inuniclpal achools, Tite principal text-book Is the Koran, and some- times & littlo arlthmetic is taught. The children read aud write from right to left, and even leam thelr Koran backwards, because the final chap- ters are easler for beginners. 1864, - ‘ 1877. ‘Thero 18 no Democrat| The treason of the and,no Ropublican who Radical leaders, whileths fa niot thoronghly con:'sama crime in quafity as vinced In his inmust soulthiat of JEre Davis and that Annranax Lixcorn's'hin assoclates, in morg treason to tho Constitn-|flagrantly impudent than tion nnd 1awa which.theirs,—Jitinoie Staile constltute the **Govern-{Regieter, Feb. 23, 1877, mont " has heen Ay con- apicuons and canseless aa| thatotJerrznsox Davis, ~1ilinols State Kegister, Aug, 27, 1884, Will Mr, Marnirr rise and explala the cofnd. dencel —— ‘Wo judge that It Is President GRANT'S Inten- tlon to providea llving for all the impecunious aflaches of tho newspaper which dofended the Whisky Ring and bullyragged Bristow. As far as wo know, there aro now only two unpro- vided for; one named Pienc® might be ap. polnted Pensfon Agent, and Nixox, the As. signco of the concern, might be given some oftice that Beverinar docsn't want, ———— PERSONAL. —— Henry Wadsworth Longlellow was 70 years old yestorday, The Cincinnati Commerclal says that Gov, Hayos 1s worth perhaps o qustier of & million dollars, aud his cstate is incumbered by the obligations en- tered into to pay a large sum—alout $40,000-—ob. 1igations that cansed the trouble of his enemles 1ast summer concerning his taxes. At the annual meeting in London of the Woman's Fducational Unlon, of which her Royal Uighnen tho Princoss Lonisa was again ra-elected Presi- deat, Dz, Lyon Playfalr nresided. It was stated that abont 1,000 women were avalling themselves of tho mean1 provided by the Unlon for obtalning & higher educatlon for wamen. Georgo Alfred Townsend's lettor on Donn Plait s Intezesting reading whatever way it s viewed. Abaolutqly, It is refreshing to see Townsond's sharp, cpigrammatic, trathfnl summary of ths character of Piatt; and, relatively, it {s {natructiva to ohserve tha audacity of Townsend, himeelf & frail mortal, In samming up the wesknesses of & fellow-creature. The Cardinal Archbishop of Parls, fn his Lenton pastoral, states that marriages with nleces and eisters-in-law, formorly almost or qoite un. knawn, have lately Incrested in melancholy pro- portion. [lis anxiety has been aroused by ths de- mand for dlepensations for very ucar degreesof conpanguinity or aflinity, and he exhorts t e falts. ful to a foithful obscrvance of the laws of the Church on marriage. Mr. lallam Tennyson—named Hallam after the historian's eon, in whose honor the poet wrote **In Memoriam "—wlill shortly publish s book of poems. Ho is #ald to have formed his styls op the model of hle father, and to have developed rare postic talent. Ife fs o0 the ove of marriage with the only @anghter of Mr. Frederls Locker, a veni fler of some considerable note fn soclety, The roughs of London amused thomseives s firat by making sport of tha membera of the Chincsa Embassy now in that city, Dut a different aspect ‘was 80on pat on sffairs by a magistrate, who seat one of the offendera to prison for two months. ‘The man defended Limaolf by eaying hoe was drusk and had an objection te tha Chincse religlon. These amazingly-power{ul pleas had no effect upon the maglateato, The new Doston poem, **Delrdre,* does not find an admirer in the London Academy, any more than {tdid In tho New York Nation, The former yeof it: **1t s astonishing tous that this poem ould have madoa great scnsatlon fn Amerles, it.fasaid to have donc, Tho versification ls smooth, and there fs apparent a certain inflnencs of Mr. William Morria; but beyond this 1t {s (m- possible to praiss it, for It is really an extremely poor performance, ' Madame de Bauflremont, the Iady who obistaed o decree of judiclal separation 1n France and af- terwards married again in a forelgn country, bt besn subjected to 8 now and cruel kind of lepa! persecution, Tha Fronch courts have oraered thst alic be fined 1,000 franca a day untll ahe returns to the keepidg of her former husband the iwo children of bur first marriage. The fna will be levied on the income of her property In Franes, which is under scquestration. Mark Twain fa not done yot with his defsmer, 3ir. Charlea C. Duncan. In another lotter to the World Mark weltes: **IL sooms that overybody has known, for four or Aive years, that this Sbip- ping Commissioncr was diligently and constantiy robbing the till of his ofice, with exception of the brief intervala of time he dovoted to his Bunday- school, of which bo was, snd ls, Bupcrintendent." The awful crimo of belng Superintendent. ol 8 Gundsy-school Mr. Dancan does not rlsa to desy. Seward's atatue in New York In cross-fegged, sad & woman writes abont this ** blot upon the Lasts of tho city " to the Evealny Post., Bhe has studled art in Mitan, I nd Floreoce, and sho neves heard of such 888 cross-logged status bor fore. To alt cross.legged In the presence of aoY one she consldors ** 3 dreadful sin.* It fa not 8 alnin the docalogue, bowever; and, sithough It may be undignided far Seward, who was a Becre: tary af State, toalt in bronze with his lege cromeds thore aro maay stateaiaen of the present day WHO would be Impraved by similar treatment. A brother of Berthold Auerbach, the Germsd novellst, has lived for thirty-three years in thevi cinltyof Rtockaway, snd 18 known thers ssanes: cellont famify physician. It has coma to pass thak tha vowels and consonants have -assuimed new pro portions in the name of the Doctor, and be s unl* vernally known smong the simple country peoplt as Dr, Auber. Mo 1aa pleasant, hospitable mas of 50; short and thick-set, with a round face sl moet hldden fnhls heavy, frizzled beard, surmonated by & brosd, fuisllectual forchead. e came to Amerlica thirty-three years sgo, snd, bav 1ng the mlsfortuna 1o settle at Rockaway, s sk there yet; but belnza philosopher in s smallwaly o man of scholarly attsinments and simple tasteh he §s contented, Ilsfarm supplies his table, 83 bis books keep his wind active and healtby. At'tho late meeting of the Dritish Bocial Sclonce Assoclation 1n Englsnd, Mr. E. B, Jones, 5. 4.0 read a paper maintaloing that the readiog a0 spolllug of English, with the present orthograpbls aro anteachabla to the **mauscs of childron wbo 1eave school before the ags of 13." Mr. Janul; a mild reformor, sud only advocates 8 system wbid would give us a spelling like tuls: **Our Fatber which are in beven; haloed be Thyname; ThY kingdom cum; Thy wil be dan ja erth 83 itis ‘: boven; glv us this day our daily bred; nuom' us our dets 32 we forgiv our debtors. lndlw}:,, 00t luty temtslshun, but deliver us from cc¥ From this point a dlscussion, taking a wide nose, sprang tp on tho subject of spelling-refurm. MaU x&puum?nbxo proporals were made, 1-,‘-:‘.‘ ;hf";;: much smusing talk on the subject, ¢ thinks Fi'Bo'just as well o rganize su ams clation for the suppiression of force of babit &2, undertake any spelling-reforin; but constantl eats crewsing Interest n the sabject seems 0 1A e that this conclusion {s perhsps & tride preous! and exceasive.