Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, September 2, 1877, Page 4

‘ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SUNDAY. -SEPTEMBER 2, 1877—-SIXTEEN PAGES. ‘She Teibwre. TEEMS OF SUBSCRIPTION, BY MAIL—IN ADVANCE—POSTAGE PREPAID. To prevent delay aud mistakes be sure and sive Post- Othice address tn full, Including State and County. Remitzances may be msde efther by draft, express, Post-Office order. or in registered letters, at our risk. TERMS TO CITY SUBSCRIBERS. Daily, delivered, Sunday excepted, 25 cente per week. Dally, delivered, Sunday included, 10 cents per week. Address THE TRIBU: PANY, Corner Madison and Dearborn-sts.. Chicayo,, IU. Orders for the delivers of Tux Trinuny at Evanston, Faylewood, and Hyde Park left iu the couating-room ‘Will receive prompt attention. SOCIETY MEETINGS. PLEIADES LONGE, 478, A. F. and A. M.—Regular communication Thursday’ evening, Sept. 5, sor the Sfavsction or imporanupasiness. Pull attendance ot requesicd, Per urier WM Meee a ELE. NEWELL, . 393, A. F. and 4 y afternoon at 4 orciock. | ftecu- itnp.m, Work un tie Third De- ren cordiahy invited. ity order of J. M. TERWILLIGEK, W + BLAIt LODGE, Bree. Visiing bre nese. log Sir f ANBOLS, E. C, fer ira: 2 ‘cordially invited. te IN JAS. E, MEGINN, Rec. KNIGHTS TEM- Monroe aS. I, prompt. A «Important business will p ler of the CONGREGATION BNAI SHOLEM, Michiran-av., Deiween Fourteenth and Sixteenth-sis., lias afew more r tae Lolydays. south Clark-sb. Umited number of mpi, corner Twenty- Apply to the Committee, fm the lecture-rvom. RAND LODGE OF PER- CTION—Will ular Assembly on Thursday evening next. ath and Sti Ly order of aos Er ~ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1877. CHICAGO MARKET SUMMARY. ‘The Chieaco produce markets were et ronger Sat- urday, ahd breadstuffs were more active. port Mess cloxed i0c per orl higher, at $12.35% for September and 47B12.50 for Lard closed 7izc¢ per 100 ts higher, at 2132.8, 35 for September and $8. 42% tor Ccto- leats were firmer, at 54y¢ for loore shoulders anu Ge fordo short ribs. Lake freigt us were less active. at 2c for corn to Builalo. Mighwines were steady. at $1.09 per gallon. Flour was in better demand. Wheat closed Ye higher, at$1. 02% tor September and $1.00 for Octuber. Corn closed dad ne tigher.at 42% cavh and 43136 for October. Oats close : ic hieher, at 24¢ cask and 24%¢ for. October. itye was tirmer, at S8G53iec.. Barley closed 4c lower, at GG}ge for September. Hozs were uctive and firmer, at $4.70@3.35. Cattle were steady, at $2.50%5.50 for poor to choice. - There was a lizht demand for sheep at $3.00@4.2 One bundred dollars in gold would uvy $103. 8715 in greendacks at the close. Greenbacks in New York on Saturday were worth 964@96} cents on the dollar, Springfield (0.) is disappointed and rathex inclined to objurgate Mr. Hoss, because that gentleman will not admit that the boy found there is hisson Canter. This is the first chance Springficld ‘has had at the famous kidnapping case, and is disposed to force the youngster, whether Ti After considerable speculation, the Com- missioners on the jocation of. the Southern Tinois Penitentiary have agreed upon Ches- ‘ter, Randolph County. It had been a much wiser selection had Alton or East St. Louis been chosen, bat Chester is better than Grand Tower, onZthe principle that it could wot have been wo: It has become manifest that savings banks have been paying too high rutes of interest upon deposits, and the necessity of a redne- fion during the prevailing hard times is forcing itself upon them.” As appears in an- otker column, the Fidelity Bank has con- sluded to reduce its rate from 6 to 5 per tenton all accounts nfter Oct. 1,—an ex- ample that might well commend itself to all The system of tying down the safety- valves of engines has seldom proven a. grati- fying speculation. As a general thing, the increase in power is imparted to the by- standers rather than the engine, aud it has never yet been demonstrated that the ad- vantage of force obtaized is compensated fer by the loss in the explosion, At London, Oat, yesterday the workmen in a steam threshing establishment attempted to facili- tate indtters by fastening down the valve. Due man wes literally blown to pieces, dthers were injured, and all the windows within half a suattered. It is estimated that at the least calculation 4,620 depbsiiozs in the Staio Savings In- Btitution assembied at tho Tabernacle last night for co: tion upon the best course to pursue in winding up the affairs of the broken Lank: ‘the meeting was compara lively orderly and quiet, though that highly table citizen known to reporters Voice” wes heavily represented, Naturally the Hon. Long Jous Wentwortn presided, and speeches, Were made by him- self, Congressman Arpnicn, Micuaen Krery, aud Cel. Anxen Tavzon, all condemnatory of the State's style of benking and of Srescen. Every sentiment reflecting upon either was highly applauded. ‘here ap- peared to be a growing feeling in favor of Col. Taxzor, and a disposition to give him a fair chanco in regulating the business of the Institution. He reported that there were £650,000 wherewith to pay an indebtedness of $3,000,000, and finaly figured ont thet, after all expenses had been paid, each depositor would receive about 25 per cent of nis claim. No definite action was tnken by the meeting further tha: to adjourn until next Saturday night. ————— The Pall Mall Budget of Aug. 18 contains some significant figures as to the actual strength of the Russian army in Europe. The right wing in Bnigaria, posted along the River Osius, with its right at Novoselo, com- manded by Lient.-Gen. Sorory, its centre at Balgareni, commanded by Baron Knvpesen, and its lef at renova, commanded by Prince Scitaczosky. numbers 40,- 500, aud has’ been reinforced by 10,- 600 Roumanians. The centre, occupying Tirnova and Selvi, and holding the Schipka and Treuna Passes, under Gens. Raprrznr and Govnxo (since relieved), numbers 30,000 men. The left wing, stationed at Cerni and oa the River Lom, commanded by Gens. Vassorrsax and Hany, numbers 40,000. The extreme Jeft,.in the Dobrudscha, under Gen. Znomnsay, consists of 30,000. Leaving out the Roumanians, the force in Central Bul- garia foots up nearly 110,000 men, who are threatened by 50,000 men under Suremtax and Raovr Pashas, 48,000 under Menexer Aut, and 36,000 under Osman Pashs,—a total | of 134,000 men. It is stated that the Rus- sians are receiving reinforcements at the rate of 5,000 per day, but it must also be remem- bered that. they are losing between 2,000 and 3,000 per day. In the general battle which must shortly take place, it is evident that the two sides will be very evenly matched, Upon along and exhaustive system of com- plicated mathematical computation the base- ball compiler of Tue Tainuxz has succeeded in figuring out the exact relation borne by the Chicago White Stockings to the cham- pionship. He estimates that if the Club win all the coming games of the senson and the other clubs lose every game they play, jhe White Stockings will win.the pennant by a small majority. Tae Tnvune’s base-ball compiler has the reputation of being the most reliable gentleman in the business of reporting the national game, and his opin- ions carry weight. His statistics may be re- lied upon, though the contingencies he sug- gests are not liable to accrue. Comparison of the British grain trade for this year with that of former years clearly demonstrates that the demand upon tho United States in the near future will bo greater than ever before, An elaborhte review of British cereal transactions appears among our cable dispatches, and shows beyond the possibility of a doubt fhe correctness of tho deductions drawn by Mr. Wouum L. Fawcerre in his letter, published in Tuz Tarnune of Saturday. ‘There is no question that the grain trade of not only Great Britain but also of the European Continent has fallen off in the ratio in which that of the United States has gained, and the demand which has been steadilf growing will soon develop into a trade which promises to make the ex- portation of cereals from this country an in- terest larger than the most sanguine has ever contemplated. fir. O. C. Grass, a well-known resident of Chicago, and aman of great practical expe- rience in farming and in criticising lands adapted to agricultural purposes, has been engaged by Tae Tnisune for a pilgrimage through Arkansas and Texas. These two States are constantly presenting their claims for superiority in all that pertains to hus- bandry, and Mr. Gunns is sent to thoroughly investigate these claims and report, that the surplusage of workingmen in Western cities may understand what the advantages are and where the defects lie, so as to enable them to judge intelligently whether or not their interests lie in seeking new homes and embarking upon agricultural enterprises. Mr. Gross is famil- iar with the country through which he is to travel, aud Ins letters will conscientiously set forth the exact status of affairs therein. They will be of value to workingmen whose attention has been called to the practical inatility of striving to build up homes in | large cities, nnd should he find the States of Texas and Arkansas to be what they contend they are, his researches will enable Tae ‘Trosvne to point out wherein ventnres may be made safely and. the laboring classes re- lieved. THE POSTAL SAVINGS BANKS. ‘The closing of the State Savings Bank of this city, and the now evident wholesale plunder and robbery of the depositors by the officers of the bank, have attracted general attention in all parts of the country to the insecurity of the whole savings-bank system. In fact, thero is no security for depositors, Even the personal character aud responsi- bility of the managers afford no permanent responsibility or defense. Combinations may be made, and possession of a controlling amount of the stock may be secured, and inasingle dsyanew managemont may be installed, and the millions belonging to the depositors placed in the custody of deliberate swindlers. If the Chicago case bé in some respects a greater fraud than those perpe- trated elsewhere, it is only because the operators were greater villains and their opportunities better. We repeat what we seid several days ago, that the time has come calling for the interposition of the Govern- ment to protect the many millions of citizens wko own the one thousand or twelve hundred millions of dollars deposited in the savings institutions of the country. We do not propose that the Government shall estab- lish e bank, and lend out other people's money. But we do propose that the Gov- ernment, which has seventeen hundred mill- ions of gold bonds ontstanding, shall offer to receive the savings deposits and invest then in its gwn obligations. The Government is paying 6 per cent gold interest on 9814,000,- 000 of bonds, and 5 percent gold interest on $700,000,000 bonds. ‘These bonds are held allover the world. ‘The G per cents are all subject to.call, and may-be taken up by the Government at pleasure. We propuso that the Government shall offer to the people of the country to receive their deposits and pay thereon interest at the rate of 3.65 per cent. With the money thus deposited the 6 per cent bonds called in from time to time may. be either purchased or paid. ‘Lhe Govern- ment would thereby save the difference be- tween the two rates of interest, less the cost of management. The cost of management in England at present is less than one-half of 1 por cent. So faras the Government is concerned, the transaction would be merely achange of creditors, with a reduction of interest from the present rates to 3.65 per cent. ‘The agency of the post-offices is the best, because it extends the facilities of mak- ing deposits to every town and village, there- by enlarging the usefulness of the savings banks, and also facilitating the payment of interest or principal. ‘The only serious objection made to this scheme of post-office savings banks is, that it will be the assumpiior of paternal power,— theexercise of authority over the business affairs of the people. Let us see how far this is true. The Government now borrows money and pays interest thereon. It is pro- posed that the Government shall continue to borrow money, subject to call, paying inter- est on such balances as may be left in its hands. To borrow money for public uses is one of the expressly granted powers and in- dispensable, functions of all Governments. The Government now receives on deposit and has in its vaults an average of 380,000,000 to 390,000,000 of private money, subject to call, for the custody of which it is responsi- ble; and which it receives and pays out with- out interest. If it can furnish vaults for the safe keeping, and be responsible for, and issue certificates for, the money of the rich, itcan certainly do the same for the poor. The rich make no compensation for the safe Keeping and cost of handling their deposits inthe Treasury. No interest is paid on it, because the Government cannot use it, The Government receives Money now at the post-offices, and issues orders therefor, pay- ablo in any part of tho country, It collects charge for the service, and becomes responsible for the money it receives until the order is paid. This busi- ness of receiving money and issuing postal orders therefor amounts in the year to many millions of dollars. No one has ever imagined that this was paternaiism, or any Goveru- mental interference with private business. ‘The amount of money sent by mail through the agency of postal orders is very insignifi- cant compared with that deposited with sav- ings banks, The offer by the Government to receive these deposits, become responsible therefor, and pay interest thercon, is byt to offer a sccurity to the depositor, which all experience has shown cannot be otherwise obtained, just as the postal orders are a pro- tection against the very common robbery of the mails, As persons may now resort to bank drafts or postal orders at their pleasure, s0 the people would bave the option to de- posit with the Government or with private banks. Tho fact that the Government offer- ed absolute security would operate, as it has in England, to compel the private banks to maintain honest management, lest their wholo deposits be withdrawn, ‘A law was proposed in this State intended for the protection of depositors, and providing for official examination and supervision of all State banks, There ‘was an opposition to such law by the major- ity of the 150 or moro banks doing business under State charters, and this opposition was sufficient to defeat the law. It isa misfor- tune that the law was not passed. It might, if honestly administered, be of some benefit in preventing frauds ; but official supervision at best amounts to little. The value of even sworn statements and official inspections have been illustrated in numerous instances of National Banks and of now bankrupt insur- ance companies. A Superintendent of savings-banks in New York who permitted the fraudulent management of a bank which failed has just been tried and punished only by removal from office. Such investigations, when dishonest, are but additional means to deceive and plunder the public. There can be no such adequate protection to depositors as that which can be afforded by having their deposits received into the Trensury of the United States. The Now York Ierald, which heartily. approves the Post-Oftice Savings-Banks measure, says: ‘The true remedy is that which was adopted in Enztand some sixteen years since, and is operating go admirably that it commands universal approval iu that country. We of course refer to the lnw, carried through Parliament by Mr. GuanstosE in 1861, establishing eavingy banks in connection with the Post-Ofiiee, That excellent Jaw, which has proved so aucccssful and so beneficial, grew out of a state of things similar to that which now exists in this country, and described as follows by the authority from which we take the facts: ‘*e- tween 1849 and 1857 the great frauds and defalca- tions in these banks had a tendency to destroy the confidence of the people in their stability. As early as 1806 Mr. Wnitsneap had proposed the stablishment of savings banks in connection with the Post-Oflice. In 1859, at a meeting of the So- cial Science Association, a paper was rexd on the subject by Mr. Sixes, of the Huddersfeld Banking Company, which attracted the attention of the Postmaster-General and others, and iinally a plan, toa great extent baeed on Mr. StKge' suggestions, waa matnred by Groncz Cnetwrnp and Franx I. Scupmore, with the co-operation of Sir RowLanp Tit A billembodying this plan was the one carried through Parliament by Mr. GLapstoxz. ‘The success of this planin England fe so per- fect and has been so fully tested by experience that it deserves attention in this country, when we 60 urgently need a reimecy for the same state of thinge which Ied to its adoption. It grew into favor wit the working-clasies somewhat slowly. At the end of the second year after the passage of the law the gun of post-ofice deposits was only £1,604, 724. At the end of 187% it had risen to ind the amount deposited constantly, from year to year, although the rate of interest allowed is only per cent, while the ordinary savings banks pay 31; per cent, the feel- ing of absolute security causing 3,000,000 of de- positors «the number was, 2,917,093 In 1873) to prefer depositing in the Post-Oflice at lower inter- est. One Gf the effects of so entirely truetworthy a rival is to keep the savings banks of England on a sound basis, lest they should loge all their de- positors. ‘Lhe details of the measure are very sim- ple, and ensy to be carried out. The Gov- ernment now compels the banks to deposit security for their notes, and to keep a fund at Washington to redeem currency. This is direct interference with the banking busi- ness to protect note-holders. ‘The savings banks will be merely ao means whereby de- positors may if they 0 choose accept the absointe security of the Government. There can be no rational objection to the measure ; and Congress at its next session shonld promptly provide this means of protecting the people from the frauds and robberies which have become incidental to the present system of savings banks, THE NEW CITY-HALL. At the meeting of the Common Council last Monday, a resolution was reported by the Special. Committee on the Canal Fund knowledging the obligation of the city to muke that fund good, to cause to be appro- printed from time to time a sufficient sum of money to meet the deficiency, and to expend what remains of this fund upon the erection of # new City-Hall. Another resolution was offered at the same time directing that immediate preparations be taken to put in the foundations of the new City-Hall, and to employ such help and make such contracts as may be necessary to prosecute the work. After some discussion, the whole subject was referred for final decision till the next meet- ing, which occurs to-morrow. ‘There shonkl be uo farther delay in this matter, ‘The Council should determine to proceed immediately with the foundation, and without avy unnecessary bickering as to who shall lave charge of the work. Good faith and the interests of the city alike demand this. As ao matter of good faith this course is due to the State, which voted the payment of the Canal Fond (amounting in all to $3,121,420) on the con- dition that nt least one-fifth of it should be. expended in reconstructing the bridges and public buildings and structures destroyed by the fire upon the original sites thereof. One- fifth of this sum is $622,284. There has been expended $317,149 on bridges and via- ducts, $9,465 on police station, and $35,803 on four engine-houses, rebuilt on the orig- inal sites. The other expenditures on public buildings and structures did not comply with the condition of rebuilding on the original sites, and cannot. there- fore be deducted from the State Fund. The total amount of the State Fund already ex- pended on the restoration of public build- ings is $362,409, so that tnere must still be expended the sum of $259,875 before the city will have kept faith with the State. As a matter of fact, however, there is no public structure to be restored on its original site except the City-Hall. So the entire residue of the fund (amounting to $750,000, if all the money due the city were collected) may be expended on the construc- tion of a City-Hall. Moreover, there are funds amounting to about $90,000 which are immediately avail- able, and which cannot properly be used for any other purpose. Even taking the posi- tion of the City Law Department, which de- nies that the State canal money constitutes a trust fund in the sense that it should take precedence over the other special funds, the Comptroller reports that there aro $74,018 in the Treasnry whiph belongs to the Canal Redemption Fund as its pro rata share, and $16,434 which belongs to the City-Hall Fand under the appropriation of 1874, making in all over $90,000 in ‘cash, which may be used immediately, and which, judiciously expend- ed, will carry on the work upon the founda- tion during the good weather of this fall. This fund will receive accretions as rapidly ‘as’ the defalcation of Gace, tho defalcation of Von Honzex, and the defalcation of the tax-fighters can be recovered. The Von Houten defalcation is the only one which can be regarded as an absolute and total loss, and the deficit of the tax-fightors will begin to come in under the collections of next summer. There is every reason why a be- ginning should be made now. Tho fair weather of this fall, the cheapness of labor and material, the $90,000 in the Treasury which cannot otherwise be used, the necessi- ties of the workingmen, and the obligations of the city to the State—all require it. The matter should be definitely settled at to-mor- row’s meeting of ‘the Council, and any Alder- men who show a disposition to posipone or obstruct the work will be severcly censured by their constituents. EVOLUTION: FOR AND AGAINST. Tho recent inaugural address dolivered by Prof. Seenxe upon assuming the Presi- dency of Amherst College, in which he dis- cussed the relations of religion with civitiza- tion and education, has aroused decided ad- miration on the one hand, and equally decided antagonism on the other. As the address bids fair to become ‘tho basis of a very in- teresting conflict, in which the doctrine of evolution will be prominently involved, the positions already taken, pro and con, will be of interest, anda statement-of them will enable the reader to watch tho conflict and follow it intelligently. President Szetrz’s positions are two in number, and may bo stated as follows: First, that the historic phenomena of national decay disprove the doctrine of evolution ; and, second, that whatever progress there has been is due to the supernatural. Upon these points we quote from the address: No historical fact is clearer than that human Progress has never revealed any inherent power of self-perpetuetion. Arts, languages, literature, sciences, civilizations, religions, bave in unnum- bered instances deteriorated and left a peopie to grope inthe shadow of death whose progeuttors seem to rejoice in the light of life. Itwas uot the construction of his house that taught man to build his temple, but exactly the other way. The same is true with sculpture. partis, poetry, and music. It was a religious impulse which gave to all these therr first inspiration, ‘The oldest monumente we possess of any uf these arts are associated with some religions rite or faith. But, more than this, we mnet also notice the un- doubted fact that the arts have grown in glury just as the religious sentiment has grown in power. ‘The supernatural,” says President Seer xe, ‘tis the Alpha as well as the Omega of human thonght.” ‘The Popular Science Monthly, in discussing and dissenting frown his positions, cites the following statement of his views, which he has made still clearer in anarticle on “Darwinism” in Johnson's New Universal Encyclopedia: The history of men js full of instances of deteri- oration, If we weigh it simply hy number, whether of years, or of nations, or of individuals, degen- eration und decay vastly preponderate. Where is the civilization now of ‘Tyre. and Carthage, and Babyton, and Nineveh? and where are the arts which built the Great. Pyramid and Baalbec? All over the world we have evi:lence of a tendency among nations and mento sink away from e1viliza- tion into. barbarism, but history does not show an instunce of a nation rising by tts own efforts from barbarism to ciyilization. Toe incon- testable fact is, thut hnman nature reveals no in- herent impulee to tmprove or perfect itself, Mie tory gives unnumbered cases of a downward tend- ency, but not a single instance of a xelf-erolved progress, The lamp which lights one nation in its advancement has teen always lighted by a lamp be- hind it, Civilization is never indizenous; it ie an exotic plant waerever found. This 1s the simpie truth of bistory, which makes all such discussions an Mr, Danwin’s respecting the descent of man as falee to fact us they are abhi orrent to philosopby. Upon the one hand, these statements have been greeted with onthusiastic admiration, some of hia admirers, among them the Ciiis- tian Intelligencer, declaring that the address has fallen “like a bomb into the camps of skepticism, and has startling significance in this day of theological enervation and cow- ardice before 8 dogmatic evolution.” Says the writerin the /vtelligencer: ‘ Most acute- ly and. eloqnently does he prick this bubble, blown of sentimentalism and conceit, which hassolong been suffered to pass nnchal- lenged, and oven been hastily adopted by Christian thinkors.” The friends of President Sretye and the advocates of his doctrines are not to capture evolution, however, without a bitter struggle. Its friends are rallying to its defense, and al- ready the Populur Science Monthly hes sent a solid shot into President Srerye’s camp, which is an enmest of what may follow when other advocates of Evolution, who are not so orthodox as the Monthly, commenco the defense by assault. It takes the bold ground that President Szexre’s doc- trine of national decay, instead of disproving the development theory, is in harmony with it, because decay is not possible except upon the hypothesis of previous growth, and be- cause a community cannot degenerate unless it bas first been organized and unfolded. “The conclusion is certainly logical, that, before civilizations can dissulve, they must first be evolved; so that to'nirm a ‘law of deterioration’ is necessarily to imply a pre- vious ‘law of evolntion.’” With regard ‘to the preponderance of decay and degenera- tion-in the past career of humanity, it calls the attention of President Srenre to the great law of life, that “the eggs that are wasted and the seeds that are scattered and lost vestly preponderate over those that mature.” Nature is profuse in the waste of life. Tho effete must al- ways disappear. Death is simply tho consequence and the logical result of life. Nations die to. make way for others, and civilizations disappear that humanity may advance, the impulses which they have gained reappearing in higher steges of de- velopment. Upon this basis, the Mfontily hands the following hard nut to President Serurr, with tho request that he crack it: If the dissolution of States and the decsy of civilizations do not break the continuity of those agencies br which man is civilized, how can they hinder that gradual improvement of the process and heightening of the effects which evolution im- plies as the consequence of prolonged, varied, and accumulated uational experiences? With regard to the second point made by President Szevre, respecting the relations of religion to civilization and the element of the supernatural, the Wonthly hardly occupies a controversial attitude, but rather looks upon it as interesting from the indications it affords of the rationsiistic tendency of New England orthodoxy. It makes no objection to the theory that religion plays an important part in promoting the progress of man, but it puts the dilemma in which the orthodox admirers of the Address are placed somewhat as follows: It cannot be cfhimed that the civilizations of Tyre, Carthage, Nineveh, and*| Babylon were dueto the Christian religion. ‘They were therefore caused ‘‘by other relig- ions, potent with genuine inspirations and supernatural in their elevating influence.” But how does this comport’ with tho essence of orthodoxy, that Christianity is the only true faith, and that all other religions are delusions and heathenish superstitions ? The implication of the Ad- dress is, that thero are other religions whose genuine supernatural influence is attested by their civilizing influences. But this recog- nition of the universality of religions as opposed to the claims of any particular sys- tem is the very ground occupied by the ultra-rationalists. The criticism of. the Honthiy is so pointed and ingenious thgt President Szznyz can hardly pass it by with- out reply, and the discussion thus com- menced must inevitably draw others into it, so that it promises to be une usually interesting.- Meanwhile, there is still auother question which it seems to us needs explanation, both from the Evolution- ists and the anti-Evolutionists. If, as the Evolutionists say, civilizations decay only to evolve higher stages of civilization, how is it that some civilizations, like the Aztec and others, have not only decayed, but have be- come utterly extinct and left no sign, and that arts havé been lost and evolved notting to take their place,—in other words, that there are well-defined cases of annihilation? And if, as the anti-Evolutionists say, super- naturalism is the controlling cause of the progress of man, how is it that it somotimes fails in its work, which should be infallible, and at other times works imperfectly ? THE TRIAL OF JESUS CHRIST. The question whether the conviction of Cuntsr was legal is considered by Mr. AuEx- ANDER Taytor Isnes in the last number of the Contemporary Review. The subject naturally divides itself into two branches, inasmuch rs both Hebrew and Roman law were involved in the proceedings. Mr. Insts confines himself in the first article to aconsideration of the Hobrew law. This Jaw is preserved in the Mishna, or central portion of the Talmud, which was compiled by Rabbi Jupau, A. B. 200, and is as open to the investigation of scholars to-day ns it was when the trial of Jesus took place. Mr. Innes finds that the forms of law were open- ly discarded by the Jndges in this case. ‘The Court ‘‘was organized to convict,” as was said of Mr. Stanron’s military courts, and it overrode every technicality that seemed to staud in the way of the fulfillment. of its inission. ‘The four great rules of Jewish criminal jurisprudence, as laid down in the Mishna, were “strictness in the accusation, publicity in the discussion, full freedom granted to the accused, and assurance against all errors of testimony.” Mr. Innes holds that these rules were flagrantly violated. The first illegal act was the arrest of Jesus, which could not legally be made before trial under the Jewish law, unless resistance or escape was apprehended. The lawfulness of the arrest, supposing that resistance was appre- hended, really turned upon the qnestion whether it was to be the preface to a legal trial. Subsequent investigations will tend to show that it was to be otherwise here. ‘The second illegal act was the secret exam- ination by night, which was prelimmary to the public arraignment before the fall Sanhedrim. It was, under the Hebrew law, the right of the accused to be free from all personal investigations until he was brought to trial before his congregated brethren. The deposition of two or more witnesses agaiust the accused was required to be given publicly ; and, until it was so given, he was held to be, in the judgment of law, not mercly innocent, but~ scarcely accused. Jesus was only insisting upon his rights and showing his familianty with the Hebrew law, when, on being interrogated as to his doctrine and his disciples, he replied: ‘‘T spake openly to the world; I ever tanght in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have Isnid nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them which heard me, whet I have said unto’them. Behold, they know whatI said.” Later, when a bystander struckhim for insulting the High-Priest, he psnin reiterated the aw: ‘If T have spok- ‘en evil, bear witness to the evil ; but, if well, why smitest thon me?” ‘These words,” remarks Mr. Innes, *‘ appeal to the princi- ple of the Hebrew law by which «itnesses took npon themselves the whole burden and responsibility, and especially the whole ini- titive, of every accusation, even as they were obliged to appear at the close, and, with their own hands, to hurl the stones.” Nothing is clearer than that the witnesses did not appear against Jesus in the prelimi- nary examination before the High-Priest. Moreover, this examination being held by night, was ipso facto contrary to Inw. ‘The Mishna prov‘des : “ ‘Money trials are commenced only in the anytime, but may bo concluded after nightfall; capital trials are commenced only in the daytime, and must also be concluded during the day. The former may bo concluded by acquittal or condemnation on the day on which they have begun; the latter may be con- cluded on that day if there is a sentence of acquit- tal, but must be postpone to a second day if there Js to be a condemnation. And for this reason capital trials are not held on the day before a Sab- bath or a feast-day. ‘he abov2 extract points ont a third fla- grant violation of law in the trial of Jesus. ‘The meeting of the Council took place on a Friday, the day before a Sabbath, which was also a feast-day. Such a meeting on such a day was forbidden. A fourth illegality was the failure to order an adjournment of twenty-four hours before pronouncing judgment, ‘The Mishna pro- vides on this subject: ‘‘If aman is found innocent, the Court absolves him. But if not, his judgment ts put off to the following day. Meantime, the Judges meet together, and, eating little meat and drinking no wine during that whole day, they confer upon the cause. On the following morning they return into court and vote over again with the like precautions as before.” ‘The fifth illegality was the secking 2f wit- nesses against the accused. The indecorum of this action will be realized when it is un- derstood that under the Jewish law the evi- dence of the leading witnesses constituted the charge. The sacredness of the office of witness is set forth in the Joew- ish code; which contsins this awful admonition: ‘If any witness shall destroy ono soul out of Isracl, he is held by the Scripture to be as if he had destroyed the world.” The Hebrew Judges wero eminently counsel for the accused, and the witnesses wore the prosecutors. For the Judges, therefore, to seek for witnesses, whether bearers of false testimony or of true, was a departure from the principles of the Jewish law of the most serious kind. Thero were other minor irregularities in the proceedings, such as 0 confusion. of the charge against the accused, and an attempt at cross-cxamining Him, which was contrary to the whole scheme of jurisprudence. But the last and greatest of all the wrongs in the course of the trial was the solemn demand, of the High Priest for a confession. It was couched in these words: ‘I adjnre Thee by the living Gop, that Thon tell us whether Thou be the Cxaist, the Son of the Blessed.” Tho answer was : “Iam.” Thereupon the High-Priest rent his garments, which was the customary action when blasphemy was pronounced in the presence of a Jew. Jesus was condemned on His uwn confession, although all the Talmudists hold that the Jewish law ‘‘ con- demns no one to death upon dis own. con- fession.” < ‘Mr. Inwes reserves for another article the consideration of the proceedings in the Ro- man tribunal. His investigations in this connection are original and full of interest ; and, if we have been successful in present- ing a fair abstract of them, the reader can- not fail to admire his learning, and to gather some information from the light he has thrown upon the subject, THE FALL ELECTION. It is the necessity of our form of govern- ment that the people scarcely outlive the excitement of one clection before they aro called upon to undergo the torments of sn- other. Ashns béen remarked before, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. While somo silly people are still quarreling over the issue of the Presidential election, pru- dent people heresbouts will rather turn their attention to the local election which occurs this fall. To the people of Cook County the approaching election is more directly - and personally important than any Presiden- tial election, since it involves the expendi- ture of the funds raised by county taxation, the safe-keeping of those funds, and the administration of public justice. There are to be elected five County Commissioners, County Clerk, County Treasurer, County Judge, Probate Judge, a Judge of the Su- perior Court, a Probsto Clerk, and Clerk .of the Criminal Court; and the politicians have had their eyes on pretty much all these offices for several months. It is-time the people began to think of them, too. Wo do not desire now to suggest any names in connection with the difforent places, but to point ont the relative impor- tance of the offices, and set the people think- ing for themselves. ‘The most important of all the officers to be chosen are the five County Commission- ers. hey constitute the County Legisla- ture. Since the State Legislature last win- ter refused to give Chicago and Cook County any immediate or adequate relief from the present Copnty Ring, the only escape from a condition of things which constantly threatens plunder is in the choice of five men whose personal honesty cannot be called in question. ‘The Commissioners whose terms expire this fall are Guen- Ther, from the country; Scaywpr and McCarrrzy, from the North Division ; and Hoven and Canronn, from the West Di- vision, We understand that Guenraer will refuse to be a candidate, and no observing person can doubt that all the others ought to be defented, if they shall attempt to prolong their official career. Only one is to‘be elected from the country; the other four are to be taken from the city; but we presume the selections will be confined to the West and North Divisions, in order to retain the present geographical relations of the Board. Whatever aspect the campaign may take, every taxpayer and every honest citizen should determine now to vote for ne man for County Commissioner whose name is not a voucher for honest dealing. If five honest and plucky men caa be clected, thera are at least three in the Board, and perhaps four, who can be counted upon to act with them, and there will then be a trastworthy major- ity for the people, instend of the standing majority against the people which has ruled with a high hond for several years. Of the other officers to. be chosen, prob- ably the most important to the people is the County Clerk, because his position enables him to watch the Board and impede rascality, or to assist it materially in the development of any rascality. It is believed, too, that the County Clerk's office is extravagantly managed and needs reforming. In selecting s County Treasurer, the people may gain an advantage in the choice of a man who will not merely watch over the funds vigilantly, but one who will be an enterprising Col- lector, and who will expose and oppose any unlawful use of the moneys under the in- structions of the Board, as Mr. Huck, the present incumbent, has done.. The duties now performed by one Judge will henceforth be divided betweon two,—the County J udge and the Probate Judge,—and the peculiar fiduciary characteristics of both places re- quire the selection of men of acknowledged industry and well-known personal integrity. ‘The vacancy which occurs in the Superior Court will probably be filled by the election of the Judge whose term expires, if he will continue in office. In the contest for these places, it is prob- able that tho strnggle will be made, as usual, between a Republican tickt and a~Demo- cratic ticket, but under somewhat different circumstances,. The Democrats can rarely have any hope in a Cook County election ; but this year their weakness is more apparent than ever. President Hares’ policy and the ‘character of his Administration thus far have afforded the Democrats no opportunity for antagonizing the Republicans on Political grounds ; on the contrary, the general satis. faction which the people of both partics feel in what President Haves’ Administration has done and is doing will induce the Democrats to avoid a party fight as much as possible. They will be further encouraged, to this course because the local Democratic party is held responsible for the bold and persistent County Ring which the people have been vainly fighting for the past year ortwo. It is not unlikely, therefore, that the Democrats will seek to make a combina- tion with the workingmen, and endeavor to elect their ticket under that cover. They will not hesitate to pander to the Commu- nist sentiment, if they think that sentiment can be used to their atlvantage. The disguise will be a thin one, however, and, if aggres- sive, it may do the Democrats more injury than good. here is no doubt that the Re- publicans can elect their county ticket easily this fall, if they nominate none but good men; but if they nominate obscure, weak, or suspected men, they will court the defeat which, indeed, they will deserve under those conditions. We tender our services as peacemakers be- tween our esteemed contemporaries, the World and Sun. With the mercury boiling over, the Turkish war raging, Democratic conventions indorsing the President's policy, Brigiraxe Youna beyond the reach of a Federal warrant, Mr. Cornet not fully convinced that resigna- tion is a virtue, oysters in season, moons of Mars being discovered on all sides, the State Savings institution gone up, Gain Haminton bottled for the rest of the season, journalists have too much to do to waste time and ink in feeling with cager hands for each other’s fifth rib. We must command the peace, and, if our. friendly admonition is unheeded, we shall insist on having peace if we have to fight for. it. Meanwhile, let Mr. Dana understand that he is under our particular Protection, Ar. Dawa is, in a measure, one of us. He obtained My journalistic education in Chicago, and, th . he did not make the old Repubtican much of success, we appreciated his erergy at the tin, and have always felt ia him and his paper 2 amicable interest. Mr. DANA can count on Tag * TRIBUNE every time—sometimes twice. rr 8t. Lonis is indeed a creat city in somer, spects. Its population is not large, but it has, Bridge which is a great convenience in many ro. spects. But for that Bridge people from thy Southwest who come to Chicago fur their pup chases, their freight, and the Chicago drum mers would have to be ferried across the Missis. sippf,—a tedious and expensive prozess. the Bridze is also a good place for the solitary dey. otee of Nature who would commune with he far from the hum of busy crowds and bustling cities. But asa Bridge the St. Louis Bridge & not mach of asuccess. More people pass over one of our little bridges ina day than traverse the St. Louis structure in a year, even if it isa small-pox year. When Morap Hatstsap Errgnor learned: that Gari HaaLton had ceased her. blustering railing, hé smiled away back to the nape of his neck, and observed that he. felt as if a night mare 1,600 hands high, and stout in proportion, had got off his chest. And now, when he, as he is walking along the handsome but compara- tively unfrequented streets of Cincinnati, nas occasion to mop his perspiring brow, he re- moves his Spanish somorero without looking over his shoulder surtively to see if there is a petticoat in sight. —— “Tt fs indeed hard to please my pale-faced brothers,” sadly sithed Srrtixe Bout, Esq., the otherevening, as he warmed his hands atachcer- ful fire kindled with wagon-wheels upon the ab- dominalresion of aBlavk-Hillsminer. ‘Itis but aweek ago thatiny Great Father at Washins- ton was wroth because { was in Canada, aud would fain have sent me a Commission, and now because | have come and saved him the ex- pense of a Commission, my Great Fatier’sheart is angry. What ho! without there! Moro scalps!” ——— Itis alittle rough on the old-line politician who takes upa paper nowadays and turns to the political intelligence. At first he sees that the Republicans of Maine are denouncing tie President, and he thinks that the editor was drunk, and then he reads that the Democrats of Jowa have approvea the President’s policy, and he belicves that he is drunk, and then he takes to studying the Ohio platforms, and becuines convinced that everybody is drunk. se - ; Miss Gam, Hamicros has had nineteen fits of hysterics, each lasting on an averaze two columas; and what is the result?) Mr. Scnurz is still Secretary of the Interior; Tue Cutcaco TrRiptye is still delivered by carriers to city subscribers for 30 cents a week (including Sun- day edition); and Mr. Buatnz is no nearer toa nomination in 1880 than he was. Miss Gar had better go on blazing with her serial columns. $< Sir Isaac Nzwron understood the conse quence cf demonctizing silver. [He said: Where silver has been demonetized and driven from the circulation of a coantry, it necessarily fends the price of yold up hixher, and a fall in gold will inevitably follow, and by'nu buman in- genuity cam be made to precede, a recvinaye of silver. i It surely cannot be that Gam Hamiiton bas donc. Nineteen letters, aud not a postscript! Bet you that it’s just what we always said it was,—that Jim Buaive is Gain Hamittoy. « | pba Srrts3 Bott, Esa., desires that, if a Com mission be sent to him, there be, in the law guage of the billlard-player, “hair on it.”? ° PERSONAL. Lord Benconsfield sent his check for £50 to the Lord Mayor of London in aid of the Indian Famine Fund. ‘The widow of Judge Chisolm contradicts the report that the, Probate Court of Kemper County bas refused to settle the estate of her deceased husband. Mr. William Kanffman, at present a mem- ber of the editorial staff of the Cincinnati Tol%s- blatt, will after to-day be the responsibie editor of the Cleveland Anzeiger. The desk on which. Nathaniel Hiwthorna wrote his best books is to be presented tothe Pittsfield (Mass.) Athenenm by a number of gen- tlemen ywho have purchased ic. Mr. E. L. Stanton; son of ex-Secretary Stanton, died in Washington a few days sinco after a brief illness. Ie was about 35 years of ‘age, and a lawyer by profession. Tho custom now prevailing among army officers of signing their dispatches with their sur- names only iy not an affectation, but is done in compliance with an order from-the Adjutant Gen- eral’s office designed to effect economy in tele- graphing. 2 Jennie June remarks that the real capitalist of to-day is the Irish servant-girl, since she has everything provided for ler but her clothing. ‘The cost of atl fabrics ie less now than before tha War, but servants will not listen to such a thing a8 a reduction of wages. A Free-Trado Convention at Saratoga, N. Y., takes the piace of the conference Proposed to be heldin this city. It is called by a Provisional National Committee, of which the Hon. Natnan Appleten, of Boston, is Chairman. Ie may pe addressed at No. 10 Commonwealth arenue. All the American improvements are gain- ing recognition and adoption in England. Mr. Labouchere, who has recently eztablivhed a sc Hilous nowepaper in London on the American pat- tern, haa been logged, in strict confurmity with the Usages in this country by a person he bad libeleL Charles Warren Stoddard, who hag been fonr years abroad, has returned home. He has been corres punding regularly during all that time for the San Francisco Chronicte, besides wri numberof maguzine articles, Ue is stopping for afew days at Perth Amboy previous to hia de- Parture for his home in San Francisco. The successor of Brighain Young, it is probable, will be his third son, John W. He is nota fanatic, and very little of a Mormon, and these seem to be the best pointsin his favor. ‘The fret son, who would have succeeded by hereditary right, filled a deunkard’s stare, and the secont son is tou much in the fashion of Jim Fisk to be admired by the faithful. Mr. Richard Grant White objects to the term American. There are no Americans. proper- ly speaking, he says. ‘ The Springfield Kepublican, however, seoms to think the word describes pre- citelyenongh persons who have descended from several generations born in America. ‘+ Because Mr. Richard Grant White is an accurate Engiist- man, by descent and toilet, shall the blent blood of half dozen races have no compromise title?” Minnie, the colored cadet from New York, ‘Was coldly received at West Point. The etadents there have resolved to treat him as they did Flip- Det, never speaking to him except to give orders, and making him so lonely and desolate that he will be inanced to resien. Minnie dined the firet day at the common table in very fashionable com- pany; and it isnot improbable that many whom be has served as waiter at Newport or Saratoga may have the pleasure of Meeting him on equal terms in the fatare, In noticing the death of William Longman. yesterday, there was an omission to mention the Sreat work of the firm in connection with the writings of Lord Macaniay. His ‘+Lays of An-° cient Rome," **Eesays, "and ** History,” were is- sued br this firm, and for the second two soiuines Of the **History,” it will be remembered, he re- ceived the sum of ‘£20,090 in “one check, a thing unprecedented in all the annals of publishing, The same firm published such popular works as **The Greville Memoirs" and Lothair,” besides those heretofore alluded to. New York physicians are watching. the cage of a man named Charles Tyler, who says that he has for years been in the habit of takingan average dose of from seven to cight grains of mor- | Phine daily, and that he has taken a single duse of sixty grains hypodermically. This is accounted impossible by the physicians. He says he was also at one time in the habit of drinking as much as ninety fluid. ounces (ve pints) of whisky dally. and thathe stopped drinking oaly whun waieky ceased to affect him. Chewing tobacco was an- other habit whicn he indulged to excess, and he says he osed as muchas half a pound a day, of eight ordinary 10-cent packages, Ps an yam 3 i i