Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, March 14, 1880, Page 4

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: 1880—SIXTEEN PAGES Tye Tribune, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. BY MAIL—IN ADVANCE—POSTAGE PREPAID. Dally edition, one rear... 812.00 Parts of # rear, per m0) : Loo lesday, rsday, and Saturday, per yesr.. ueeay Teameadaye and Friday, per sear. $-00 Saturday or funday, 16-pageedition,pervest 2-50 Ang other day, por year... - Be WEEKLY EDITION—POSTPAID. Qpe cope. per Fear. — 8 2-50 ‘lub of Four. é Clad of ten. . 122.00 Specimen coples sent free. Give Post-Oftice address in full, inclading State and unty. Pemiitances may be made either by draft, express, Post-Oftice order, or in registered letter, at our risk. TO CITY SUBSCRIBERS. Dally, delivered, Sunday excepted, 25 cents per week. Dally, delivered, Sunday included, 20 cents per week Address THE TRIBUNE COMPANY, Corner Madison and Dearborn-sts.. Chicago, IIL, —_—_= HOSTAGE. Entered at the Post-Ofice at Chicago, UL, as Second- Class Matter. Forthe benefit of our patrons who desire to send sincle copies of THE THIBUNE through the mall, we give herewith the transient rata of postage: te a Eleht and Twelve Page Paper. Sixteen Page Paper... ‘oreign. Eight and Twelve Page Paper. bixteen Pace Paper Per copy. cents cents 2 cents cents TRIBUNE BRANCH OFFICES. ‘THE CHICAGO TRIBCNE bas established branch offices for the receipt of subscriptions and sdvertise- ments as follows: NEW YORK—Room % Tribune Building. ¥.T. Mo- FADDEN, Manager. GLASGOW, fcotland—Alian’s American News Agency. 31 Renfleld-st. LONDON, Eng.—American Exchange, 49 Strand. Besry F. Guiic, Agent. ‘WASHINGTON. D. C.—1519 F street. ————s SOCIETY MEETINGS. ‘AIRVIEW CHAPTER, NO. 101, R.A. ¥-- ia} scanvocadon Monday evening, March 15, aut -o'clock. Work on the M. E. and K. A. Degrees. Reg- Siar Convgration Thurnaey cree eccome : re alwuys "ame, Visiting companion? rik BAN Y, ME. iL P. | MYRON HARRIS, Secretary. MMANDERY, XO. 1, K. T.—Special none , March 16, 1530, “ 7 o'clock. ‘The Nemple will be conferred. Heguls : same erent Ue niet * Apollo must spear og Vis! F Beder of the Eminent Com- emer s owome DY TS TIFFANY, Recorder. CHICAGO CHAPTER, NO. 127, B.-A. M.—Hall 33 “Uwenty-second-st.—Regular Convocation Monday Eran Te ote Wied” BY onder of tno M Fi 227" iy snvited’, QMITH Secretary. ‘VAN RENSSELAER GRAND LODGE OF PERFEC- *TION, rt & A, SCOTTISH KITE MASONS—There qa bea rerulay assembly on easy evening next. Tor busin orde lor busines’ 50. MOCLELLAND, T-. P.. G-. ED GOODALE, Grand Secretary. GOLDEN BULE LODGE, NO. Btated_Communication neste. p.m. Work. of importance. Visi Gislly invited. A. F&A. M— arch 16, at 7:30 iting brethren cor- ‘By order oF Me GOODMAN, Secretary. D. A. CASHMAN LODGE, NO. 6, A.F. & A. M— Regular Communication in'their ball, corner West Madison and Robey-sts., Tuesday evening, March 16. 1 Important business and work. Would like 10 see member present. Visitors wel 7:30 sharp. biol » @. A. DOUGLASS, Secretary. |ARD_ COMMANDERS, NO. 3 K.P. Btated Conclare Wecnesday even! ‘Mareh Ii, at Tae aN om on ane Temea Br order of ivr ous SOuN D.C CANE, ALD, Commander, J.0, DICRERSON, Recorder. CORINTHIAN CHAPTER, NO. 69, R. A. M.—Special Convocation Monday evening, March 1s, for work on the -- end Lire a. enress: eng companions me. ‘By order avo always welcome, QHieRT MALCOM, M.E. HP. JOHN 0. DICKEESON, Secretary. CHICAGO COMMANDERY, NO. 19, K. T—Stated ST. BERN. enclave Monday evening, March 15, 190, at, 7:30 pglock. | Visttin ‘Bir Knights are courteously invited. 5 order of the Eminent Commander. HIRAM T. JACOBS, Recorder. SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 1880. Dexreates to the Chicago Convention from Arkansas will be selected at Little Rock Aprii 28, ACCORDING to the Minister of Commerce for Austria, American competition has ex- tended to that country. . NAVIGATION on the Hudson has been sus- pended on account of the ice formed in the tiver during the recent cold spell. A caucus of Democratic Senators was held yesterday to devise some legislation as to the manner of counting the Electoral vote. No definit conclusion appears to have been ar- tived at. 7 BRIGANDAGE seems to be rife in the nelgh- borhood of Salozica, Turkey. The whole country not in the immediate vicinity of the cities and large towns is infested with free- booters, and no age, or sex, or sect is free from their depredaticzs, | Tu scheme for constructing .a canal be- tween the German Ocean and the Baltic Sea through Schleswig-Holstein seems to mect with considerable favor in Germany. Dahl- strom, a Hamburg engineer, is maturing plans to carry out the project. ‘Tues prisoners who were confined in the Frankfort Jail made their escape Thurs- day night through a hole made by displacing vne of the stones in the celling of a cell. One of the trio was a murderer who narrowly escaped Judge Lynch about 2 year ago. Kranrney was placed on trial yesterday at San Francisco. He substantially admitted the use of the vulgar and threatening lan- Guage attributed to him, but his counsel claimed that he had not traversed the law by indulgence in such. Judgment in the case will be rendered next Monday. Mayor Baxres, of Louisville, narrowly escaped assasination yesterday at the hands of a discharged street foreman named Redd. The would-be murderer was only three feet from Mayor Baxter when he discharged his pistol, and the escape of his intended victim ‘was very remarkable to say the least. —_—_———_——. Durrve a dense fog, the steamer Montana, of the Guion Line, while on its passage from Queenstown to Liverpool, struck on the rocks off the coast of Waterford, Ireland. The passengers, crew, and mail were saved and conveyed to Liverpool, but it is probable that the vessel will become a complete wreck. Tre famine in Armenia is reported to be- of the most appalling and widespread char- acter. Itis said to exist over a territory em- bracing 100,000 square miles. The Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the Marquis of Salis- bury, and Earl of Shaftesbury have appealed to the English people to subscribe in aid of the starving veople. ‘Te intensely cold weather which has pre- vailed for some time in the upper part of British Columbia is causing great havoc among the cattle, sheep, and horses of that region. The loss already sustained by the stock-raisers is estimated at $1,000,000. The snow fs from three to five feet in depth, and, as there is no indication of a thaw, it is thought that nearly all the live-stock of the region will perish before spring, and that many of the hitherto rich” herders will be reduced to beggar) —_—— Hexgyr Apams, a colored man, testified before the Exodus Committee yesterday, and explained the beauties of Democratic rule in the South. The witness-had been shot at twice for encouraging emigration from Louis- jana. He also testified that the Southern merchants cheated the ignorant negroes, and that the Democratic officers mulcted them in such heavy taxes that there was little chance for the colored people to progress in any ‘ business in which. they could engage for themselves down South. Believing all this, Adams encouraged the negroes to come North, and was punished for his presump- tion by the scions of Southern chivalry. Tue Joint Commerce Committee of Con- gress listened to arguments for and against the proposed Detroit. bridge yesterday. Mr. Ely, of Cleveland, argued that the bridge would obstruct commerce and consequently increase the freight rates. It would only benefit the railroad companies. Mr. Joy, on the other hand, held that the obstruction to navigation would not be very material. Sir Garner WoLseLer will return to England in July. His mission in South Africa has not added greatly to his reputa- tion either asa statesman or as 2 soldier. On his return he will be made Quartermaster- General of the Horse Guards. The young bloods of thatmilitary organization are not greatly enamored of the hero of the Ashan- tee war, and it is probable that his new posi- tion will not be very agreeable to the dashing Irish soldier, Nor thinking it entirely proper to hold the office of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury while canvassing for the Governorship of the State of Illinois, the Hon. John B. Hawley has resigned, and purposes to vigorously push his claims for the Gubernatorial nomi- nation, Theactionof Mr. Hawley is credit- able to him, and might well be imitated by the chier officer of the Treasury Depart- ment. Gen. Hawley’s successor will in all probability be the present Chief Clerk, Mr. J. E Upton. e —_—_—_—_—_—"— Tue Irish societies of this city have de- termined to celebrate the coming St. Pat- rick’s Day in a very sensible manner. In- stead of the usual foolish parade there will be lectures in three of the principal Catholic churches by eminent ecclesiastics, The pro- ceeds of these lectures will be devoted to the relief of the suffering people of Ireland. The St. Patrick’s Society is the only Irish organ- ization which will indulge in festivities. The orators of that, body must have a chance to air their eloquence. in A MEETING of citizens was held last even- ing at the Grand Pacific Hotel to consider the project for a ship-canal from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. The mat- ter was discussed in its various as- pects, the general opinion being that such @ canal was not only necessary to the development of the agricultural and other resources of this State, but required in order to preserve the health of the city. A large and influential delegation was appointed to the Ottawa Convention. Senator Bex Hill indignantly denies all the allegations made against him by Belva Lockwood, and attributes her course to dis- appointment because he did not favor her bill to. allow women practice be- fore the courts. The Georgia Sena- tor has a most unfortunate capacity for getting himself into trouble, and does not seem tobe very ingenious in getting out of it. His Congressional career must have been very unsatisfactory to him, to say the least, and a retirement in utter disgust might be expected. did not the Senator, like most persons from his section, have so decided a yearning for office. Mr. SrepHen A. Doucias, who has come to Chicago after living in North Carolinaa number of years, should meet with a hearty reception for his father’s sake and his own. The address which he delivered the other evening before the Young Men’s Auxiliary Club, and published in yesterday’e TRIBUNE, showed that he has made good progress in the firm Union principles in which his father died, and also that he has inherited much of the talent which made his father one of the great men of his time. Mr. Douglas has lived among the people of the South, and speaks by the card. He has only kind words for them personally and socially, but,the most unbounded contempt for their political here- -Sies and methods. He would encourage the people of the North to believe that some of the Southern States may be carried by the Republicans this fall by proper energy. He may be mistakea in this, as things actually are, but his confidence would certainly be warranted if the Douglas Democrats and old- time Union men in that section would assert their convictions as clearly and forcibly as he does. ‘THE taxpayers of the different wards are casting about for suitable persons to serve as Aldermen, to be elected in April. There is need for a change in the Second Ward. The outgoing incumbent has, though personally honest, generally voted wrong on all ques- tions of importance to the taxpayers. We are sorry to haye this tosay, but it is the truth, as the record shows. Thereis a gang of fifteen or sixteen blackmailers and tax-eat- ers inthe Council who always vote to in- crease expenses, to raise salaries; to multIply officeholders, to cheat and devour the taxpay- ers, and who make their living by levying ‘blackmail on any measure that ‘has money in it’ which comes before the Council. For some reason or other the Second Ward Alder- man votes nearly always with this gang. He ist certainly know they are not honest, and have not the confidence of. respectable people. Then why does he yield to good nature and act with that crowd so often? His colleague, Ald. Ballard, votes against the blackinail gang every time. Why~doesn’t Sanders act in concord with his colleague and thereby give the Second Ward two votes on the right side of every question? NEARLY the entire time of the ‘Ways and Means Committee was occupied yesterday in listening to the arguments of the pulp and paper manufacturers in opposition to Mr. Fort’s bill. Mr. Mills, of Texas, appears to have been the only member of the Commit- tee who resented the action of the protec- tionist majority in excluding the people from stating their side of the case, but his reproof seems to have had no effect, The extraordi- nary and undignified, not to say indecent, spectacle was presented of two members of Congress interested in the paper manufact- ure—Miller, of New York, and Russell, of Massachusetts—coming before the Committee to advocate their own interests. In the course of his remarks Mr. Russell said he did not care what the people thought; he considered it his duty to protect his own interests. ‘This is certainly a novel idea as to the duty ofa legislator. Elected to represent the peo- ple of his own district, he has the indecency to openly répudinte any obligations to them, and to hold himself in duty bound to protect his own private business, even though it is counter to the public good. It is not surpris- ing that a person so morally constituted could make an utterly false statement about Tue TRIBUNE, and that, when corrected, he had not the manhood or common decency to retract it, Mfr. Russell has rather the ad- vantage of the press. He can play the part of Congressman, and vote a bounty into his own pocket and lobby at the same time. He has the run of the inside rooms, while the press is kept on the out- side. He fs in a position where he can work for his own monopoly every day among his colleagues. He is one of these doubly protected chaps, and still he is not satisfied. He is protected by a paper-pulp patent which was renewed fraudulently after it had run fourteen year: Congress three years ago by being passed in the closing hours without its title being read. ‘And he is there to defend a fraud of thatkind and profit by it. But his profits cannot be so small as he would hypocritically have the public believe, when it is understood that he is interested in thirteen or four- teen different mills or pulp factories. He is trying to throw a little pulp in the face of the people. Tae Trisuny and the pub- Jishers of the United States are not working for any protection for themselves, but would ike to have members of Congress, if they are disposed to listen ah, all, reason out this line of distinction. ‘The press is simply say- ing to Congress: We-ask no protection at your hands, but we insist'that you shall not help these paper-makers and pulp-makers at our expense. Let ever tub stand on its own bottom. They are just as well prepared to furnish paper or pulp without protection as the newspapers are to furnish their sheets without protection. ‘This protection against newspapers has been a swindle. The tax on paper furnishes no revenue to the Government, and it was not intended to furnish any revenue; and it has thus far performed the purpose of its inten- tion. It is a bare, downright robbery, in which Congress is made to take the part of one set of manufacturers and swindle an- other set of manufacturers. If they can reconcile that with any principles of protec- tion legitimately accepted, they will do some- thing that has never been shown to the public. —————— Tne Third-Termers, who cal] themselves “Stalwarts” par excellence, never cease to traduce and sneer at President Hayes on ac- count of what they call “his abandonment of the Southern Republicans.” This abuse is the result of blind malignity, coupled with treacherous memories for the record. It was under Grant’s second Administration that the ex-Confederates achieved the power of “ Home Rule,” for which they had contended so fiercely from the close‘of the War. When he went out of office the control of every Southern State except two had beén wrested from the Repubjicans, and in those two States the Republican tenure was so frail that it Joosed its hold immediately after Grant’s retirement. Mississippi, the strong- est Republican State in the South, was al- lowed to be clutched by the Confederates in 1875 by fraud and violence, and Gov. Ames (Republican) was compelled to resign his office, orfrun the risk of assasination, and leave the State. The election was carried by the most high-handed and out- rageous means. Hundreds of Republicans were murdered, and other hundreds driven into exile and their property confiscated, and President Grant never raised a finger in their defense, never punished one of their per- secutors, and made no effort to oust the bull- dozers from power which they had obtained by force, fraud, and assasination. We have often asked these peculiar “Stalwarts ” who never cease abusing Hayes how they excuse Grant for his apathetic non-action in the case of Mississippi, but have never succeeded in getting a satisfactory or intelligent explana- tion from those gentlemen. They simply ignore the case of Mississippi, and also Alabama and Arkansas, both of which were wrenched from the Republicans by foul means during Grant’s Administration, with- out receiving protection from him, or being restored by his intervention to their rightful control of the administration of those States. HOW TO HAVE CLEAN STREETS. Chicago people are too busy to kcep their minds for any great length of time upon mere personal discomfort. Hence the freez- ing up of the mud in the streets during the past two days has served alniost to obliterate -the nniversal indignation which at one time promised such an agitation of the subject as to compel the city authorities to take some decided action. The South Water street merchants gave vent to their wrath one day by posting and caricaturing the Mayor, and then went back to their business. The next thaw will bring out another transient howl, which in turn will subside under the rush of per sonal affairs. And thus the residents of this great city settle down toacomplacent en- durance of universal mud and filth because they are engrossed in money-getting. They even become indifferent to the annual waste and destruction of great value, incident to the wear and tear upon horses and vehicles, the soiling of furniture, garments, and stocks of goods, the impairment of the retail trade, and the discouragement to immigration, which are direct results of the muddy streets. But there is one class of our citizens who cannot plead the usual excuse for this com- mon indifference tothe public health and comfort, and to the welfare of the city. We mean the official class, The men who are elected to protect the public :nterests, and are supported by public taxation, may be reason- ably expected to give their time and atten- tion to matters of public concern, for forget- ting which citizens in their individual ca- pacity may be excused. The most conspicu- ous of this official class in city affairs is the Mayor. The condition of the Chicago streets should weigh down upon him, waking and sleeping. His nightmare should take the form of great mountains of mud hauled from the alleys and cross-streets and piled upon his breast. In every public communication, in every message to the Council, in every private interview with an Alderman soliciting an appointment or begging the release of some constituent from the Bridewell, the Mayor should not omit to urge that some- thing must be done to improve the streets, Mayor Harrison’s failure to take this lively, vigilant, untiring interest in the matter isthe reason why the South Water street mer- chants and the people generally are disposed to hold him responsible for the mud nuisance. It will not do for the Mayor to excuse him- self by saying that the streets cannot be kept cleanin their present dilapidated condition. We all know that. But Tne Trmune has pointed out, on more than one occasion, how they may be put into a condition by a uniform system: of improvements that will insure cleanliness thereafter with proper care and effort. This suggestion has the approval of the great mass of people without regard to party, color, sex, or condition. Every man, woman, and child in Chicago will rise up and bless the man who shall be the pioneer in the movement for good streets and clean streets. Here is Mayor Harrison’s great opportunity. Let him bring the matter to the attention of the Council at the very next meeting. Let him renew the suggestion at the following meeting. Let him urge it at the third, insist upon it at the fourth, demand it in the name of"the people at the fifth, threaten trouble at the sixth, and so keep up the agitation, with the aid of his official prestige, until he shall make it an issue before the people, if neces- sary, and compel the Council to act. The proposition is, that a general order shall be passed by the Council requiring the improvement, subject to the direction of the Public Works Department, of ail the streets and alleys within the district bounded by the lake, the river, and Twelfth street, at the ex- Pense of the property benefited. The dis- trict described includes the principal busi- ness portion of the city. The value of the property {t contains ranges all the way from $250 to $2,500 a front foot, aside from the value of the buildings. The average cost of @ general, and as nearly as possible a simul- taneous, system of street-paving will not be ‘s. It was smuggled through Y more than $1.50 to. $8 per front foo outside. The law :provides the machinery for making special ‘assessments for such work. The machinery isslowand the process ig tedious, but thesooner @ beginning ismade ‘the qfiicker the desired purpose will be ac- complished. The Council order is the first step to be taken; the others will follow in due time. The City Council seems utterly indifferent to the necessity of Improving the mud streets of the businéss portions of the city between the river, lake, and Twelfth, and the people themselves are too busy with other affairs to urge it. Why doesn’t Mayor Harrison go at it in a persistent, .sledge-hammer way that will be sure to make an impression sooner or later? Ile is personally familiar with the condition of the European and Eastern cities, and he knows how disgraceful and damaging the streets of Chicago are to the progress and metropolitan character of this community. We knows that the cost of the proposed im- provement will be trifling in each in- dividual case. He knows that the owner of every piece of property will get his money back tenfold in the increased value thereof. He knows that the tenants of the buildings will gladly submit to the insignifi- cant increase of rent which would be neces- sary to assess the interest on the cost of the proposed improvement. Ie knows that if all the streets In the business portion of the city be improved about the same time it will then be possible to keep them clean and in good repair at slight, expense. He knows that the work can be done the cheaper by letting out large contracts. He knows that the other sections of the city would soon follow a proper example in the principal business dis- trict. He knows that hundreds of thou- sands, if not millions, of dollars can be saved and gained for the people of Chicago’by a uniform system of good and clean streets. He knows that such a blessing will never be secured except by an aggressive and sweep- ing movement such as THE TRIBUNE has ad- vised. 5 * Why won’t Mayor Harrison go at this work and follow it up until he shall secure the backing of organized popular sentiment, and compel the Council to pass the necessary order? The revival in business and the pros- pect for good times will make the charge upon the benefited property very light, and it will be easily and cheerfully sustained by the great majority of the owners. The gen- eral improvement of the streets will be a good business investment, as well as a great boon to the people of Chicago, and Mayor Harrison may win immortality by identify- ing his name with such improvement. Will he dot? : ed ECONOMY OF PAYING YOUR TAXES NOW. The legislation of the last session of the State Legislature amendatory of the Rev- enue law in the matter of tax collection will be put in force at once. Heretofore taxa- tion for each year has been due and payable after the 1st of January following the close of the year for which the taxes were levied. Thus, the taxes of 1879 became due and pay- able Jan. 1, 1880. The practice has hitherto been for the Town Collectors to devote their energies to the collection of taxes upon per- sonal property, and when they returned their books early in March little or none of the taxon real estate was collected. The prac- tice in this county has been to waste several months in copying tax-lists into ponderous volumes at an immense cost, and then at the July term to apply for judgment upon all the real-estate taxes then unpaid; a judgment for the delinquent taxes was obtained towards the close of summer, and then the taxes commenced to be paid, the fina) sales or forfeitures taking place in September or October,—the great bulk of the taxes on real estate’ that were paid ‘being ‘paid between August and October. Z The Legislature at the last session sim- plified this business very much. It pro- vided costly penalties for non-payment of taxes. It declared that all lands on which taxes shall not be paid on the ist of May shall be legally delinquent, and that on the second Monday in May the Collector shall apply to the Court for judgment against such lands for the taxes thereon, and the costs, and interest at the rate of 1 per cent per month until paid, or until the lands shall be sold or forfeited. This interest will begin on the 1st of May, unless the taxes be paid before the date of the judgment. In the meantime, all taxes on real estate are now due and payable; the Town Col- lectors’ books have been returned to the County Treasurer, who is now cdllecting the real-estate taxes. There are but six weeks intervening between now and the Ist of May, at which time the penalty of 1 per cent per month interest will begin. The penalty for delinquent taxes will be 1 per cent for May, 1 percent for June, and 1 per cent for July. Supposing the taxes are not paid in July, and the lands are forfelted, there will be an additional penalty of 25 per cent, instead of 10 per cent as heretofore. It will be. seen, therefore, that the penalty henceforth for the non-payment of taxes on teal estate in this county at the time they fall due has been made a heavy one. These penalties, whether in the form of cost of &d-" vertising, interest at the rate of 1 per cent a month, costs of judgment, forfeiture to the State, or sale, combined, will be a large addi- tion to the tax bill, which will have to be paid in any case. Perhaps the wisest—certainly the most satisfactory and economical—of all proceedings is to avoid all costs and venaltics by the payment of the taxes during March and in the first week of April. Then prop- erty-owners can, in addition to saving costs and penalties, also avoid having themselves published as delinquents. OUR MEXICAN RELATIONS. Americans generally Know very little about Mexico. They know she has a species of subdued mania for revolutions; that her form of government is apt to change with the seasons; that she once was engaged in a war with the United States, and that “vet erans of the Mexican War” takepart in pub- lic processions. They also have avague idea that Montezuma was an original Mexican and that Cortes oncé made a dashing raid into that territory. They have heard that her soil was fertile and her mineral wealth vast, but are apt to consider ‘‘Greasers” ainong her most important productions. Were it not for an occasional flurry along the Rio Grande or a semi-occasional visit from a Mexican Minister, even her geograph- ical position would be but a memory. A writer in the Californian objects, per- haps not unnaturally, to so much ignorance of the affairs of a near neighbor, and pert- inently inquires whether our Government has ever decided upon any definit policy toward our “‘ sister Republic.” He is also filled with righteous indignation at. the apathy or indifference of our merchants and traders, which leads them to forego what should be-a profitable market. The business of Mexico is in the hands of European mer- chants. On the entire West Coast there is not a single American commercial house, and but one—and that'a hardware house, im- porting largely. from. Europe—on the East Coast. This state of affairs is not pleasant to coutemplate. In 1878, Mr. De Zamacona, Minister of the Interior, addressed the merchants and man- ufacturers of Chicago, urging an extension of commerce between the two countries. His statements were ‘vel received, and for a time it looked as though Chicago might mercial relations with Mexico. But the “boom” waned; the fire ended in smoke, and the chief damper on the bright prospects was probably cast by United States Minister Foster, who, in a letter to Mr. Carlisle Mason, took a gloomy view of. the prospect for aiding the Mexicans ta develop their agricultural, commercial, and mineral resources. ‘The obstacle in the way—the great barrier between the two countries— was the practically prohibitory tariff of Mex- ico. Mr. Foster cited facts and figures to prove the truth of his position, and was satirical and pungent in his ridicule of the Mexican policy. Ham costing 11 cents pound in New York cost 31 cents in the City of Mexico; a barrel of flour in New York cost $6, and in Mexico $29; a barrel of beer in New Orleans cost $18, and in Mexico $33.61; oilcloth in New York, per yard, 45 cents, and in Mexico $3.08. These are but a few of the examples clted. Naturally enough, Mr. Foster’s communi- cation evoked an equally sharp rejoinder from Mr. Romero, who made a better show- ing for his Republic. But in some respects ~as Mr. Brooks states—he proved too much, Mr. Foster assumed too much in the first instance, when he supposed that special Jegislation was directed by the Mexican Government against Americans, and Mr. Ro- mero errs in supposing it to beunsafe to trust ! Americans with franchises without tak- ing excessive precautions. There is no valid reason why the two Republics should not work together harmoniously and in accord. “ Their fraternal accord would replentsh the Treasnry of Mexico, sustain herchosen Execu- tive, put an end to revolution and dissension, relieye the poor, and enrich the rich. It would open the vast treasuries of that coun- try to the commerce of the world and furnish a new and inexhaustible field for the young and enterprising of our own race and Nation.” But before any practical steps can be taken in this direction Mexico must at least amend her tariff. Who will send clothing for trade where it is taxed 182 per cent? Reciprocity, strict reciprocity, may do for a while, but not atreaty reciprocal only inname. Minister Romero says: *, Fix upon a few articles produced by elther country and consumed in the other; reduce the duties ou these, or remove then: altogether; and, taking into’ account the amount of duties paid by theve articles during some period previ- ously, arrungo the matter so that the amount of duties from which each country will be ex- empted will be equal. Such a treaty would pe a preinium on the exportation of certain national products. This, or something similar in principle, would do as a compromise measure. The difficulty seems to be to get commercial In- tercourse started. The United States when claiming changes in Mexican import duties must be willing to make concessions herself. The most certain way of fostering and advancing the indus- tries of 2 country is to place it in competi- tion with the countries most advanced in this respect. Mr. De Tejada is right when he says that the Mexican policy is to “prohibit not only the actual products and manufact- ures of our country, but such even as might be produced in it, and this syste—con- demned by the soundest doctrines of eco- nomie science and by experience—is firmly upheld by private parties whose interests are considered paramount to those of public convenience and the voice of reason.” Let manufacturers think this question over again. ‘There’s millions in it.” ‘WHAT THE NEW CANAL-PUMPS CAN DO. The City Council has wisely included in the annual appropriation ordinance the sum of $100,000 for the new lock and pump at Bridgeport. The Canal Commissioners, and all others who have studied the problem, unite unreservedly in «claiming that this measure will have the desired effects; that it will supply the canal with the abundance of water which it now lacks for navigation; that it will provide the means of emptying into the canal from the river 50,000 to 60,000 cubic feetof water per minute, instead of 15,000 only, as now; thatthis body of water is more than is needed now to keep the river clean; and that the flow through the canal will be so diluted with pure and clean water from the Jake that the country along the canal and Lilinois River will experience no possible unpleasantness from the stream. This result is worth all the money needed to accomplish it. It has been estimated by those familiar with the work that it will require ninety days in which to build the new lock, provide a building, and put the machinery at work. The necessity, therefore, for immediate ac- tion is obvious; at the shortest time the pumps cannot be put in operation before the 1st or the middle of July. The Canal Commissioners have through- out these whole proceedings given their best aid to enable the city to extricate itself from the calamity with which Chicago has been threatened, and we suppose the Commis- sfoners will cheerfully codperate in ex- pediting the relief which can only be ex- pected from these new pumping-works. ‘The experiment tried at the Fullerton ay- enue conduit may prove of some value. The sufficiency of the pumps there to create a current in the North Branch has been fully established. Unfortunately, the peculiar weather prevailing this winter has not been entirely favorable to the success of the work. ‘There was no difficulty in producing a good, effective current through the North Branch and the main river out into the lake. Ordi- narily, this foul water upon leaving the river would have gone off to the south and south- east; but the winds have been contrary since last fall for most of the time and have carried the water of the North Branch to the north- east, directly to the Crib, thus polluting the water-supply of the city. The southwest wind rarely prevails as it has during'this winter, and it has compelled the suspension of the pumps in the North Branch. The ex- perience of these wheels may be of some value in providing new machinery for the lift-wheels at Bridgeport. The most effective and thorough cleans- ings to which the Chicago River can be subjected are the occasional freshets, gen- erally in the spring, when the water pours in from the prairies and various sources, and with strong force rushes through the river and its branches, carrying all the loose and offensive matter out Into the lake, These freshets give the river what is known as a thorough scouring. It is the natural means for accomplishing that important end. ‘The pumps at Fullerton avenue are of the reversible character,—that {s, they can be take the lead in developing. extensive com-, that, on occasion, tl increase the force of the natural freshets rushing on their way through the river into the lake, and carrying before them the de- posits of the sewers in the sluggish stream. HEARTLESS EXACTIONS OF THE IRISH LANDOCRACY. James Redpath’s letters from Ireland to the New York Tribune are doing great good in New York and the Eastern States in giving correct information in regard to the actual condition of the people of Ireland and the real cause of their suffering, distress, and poverty. Redpath fs no ‘Tory or flunky, but a fearless, observant radi- cal, who can describe what he sees, and has an eye to see things in their true light. The people in New York have been grossly misled by the correspondence and editorials of the New York Herald, which have ail been cast from a Tory- Jandlord standpoint. The Herald has persisted in shutting its eyes to the merciless robbery of the Irish farmers practiced by the feudal Saxon landocracy. It refuses to see that so jong as the people of that country are nearly all tenants at will, and most of them rackrented, it is a moral and ecouomical impossibility for them to be otherwise than miserably poor in the midst of plenty produced by their own ‘industry, which they dare not touch but must turn over to the alfen claimants of their farms. Redpath points out these phases of the Irish situation, which the Herald carefully suppresses. In his letter dated Dublin, Feb. 21, he gives some facts to which we would invite the atten- tion of some of our Chicago Protestant clergy- men, who, in recent discourses, while discussing the reason of Ircland's misery, laid all the re- sponsibility therefor at the doors of * Popery,” and kept their eyes carefully shut to the chief and underlying cause,—the horrible land system of that country that drains the Ufe’s blood of the tenantry, keeping them for- ever in a condition of semi-pauperism, and ren- dering it impossible for them to get akead in the world. The Protestant farmers who are tenants at will paying ruck-rents are no better off than their Catholic neighbors. No matter what a man’s religion may be in Ireland, the alien absentee landlord clutches all he earns with the utmost {mpurtiality, But to Redpath’s letter, based on actual observation and investigation of the facts: ‘The reduction given by some of the landlords in their vents was at once productive both of and evil, because it was un inducement to the poor struggling small furmer, whose crops for the last three years were for the most pure totul failure, to sell the little produce it he had to pay the rent, in order to get the benefit of the reduction. but which he ought to have kept for his support, and thus save bimself and his family from starvation and utter ruin; and this bus just been the cause of. the famine in “$7. Itis truly distressing to see able-bodied men coming with thelr bugs on their arms, standing for day's watching for the meal granted by the Mansion House Committee. Dr. John Magee, of Strudbully, draws a picture of human wreteb- edness that must move every heart. There is an impression in “Americn—which I shared—that the agitation aguinst the landed proprietors in Ireland is an ograrian movement. it is nothing of the sort. It is an honest effort to remove the causes of famine, I find that jevery _pri of intelligenco— every man whom I have met and who has studied the effects of the present system of Jand tenure—shares in the indignation so deeply and widely felt among the peusantry agaist the landlords and their land laws. The evidence is overwhelming and comes from every county, to show that the landlords of Ireland are not con- tributirg a shilling to the Relief Fund;. but, asa elnss, that they are mercilesly enforcing their legal claims to their pound of fiesh from their starving tenants. Dr. Magee says: “Dear Sir: .. ¢ And if asked why it is that Ireland is so poor; with abundance of foreign grain and tood in our ports, whence this famine and panic thut alarms ae the strangér, my answer would be, speak as we may of short and scanty harvesta, the real cause is rack-rents, landlord absolutism and landlord exactions, which drain the land of money, leave nothing to buy corn, and present us periodically to the world, as at present, mendicunts and beggurs before na- tions. Landlord absolutism and unrestrained rack-rents have ulways been and are at present the bane and the curse of Ireland. “Thave in my own parish five orjsix landlords, not the worst type of their cless,—two of them of Cromwellian descent; a third an Elizabethan; all enjoying the confiscated estates of tho O'Moores, O’Lalors, and O’Kellys, whose sons are now the miserable tenants of these estas; aying or trying to pay 40, 80, and in some cases 2 Aine centover the public vaiuation of the Jand, treated as slaves and starved as beggnrs. If they dare gainsny the will of the Lord, or even complain, they are victimized on the spot; and thigsis a picture of Ireland, and this it is that makes us mendicants periodically before the world. aS eS i “This land system pays over from the sweat and toil of our inhabitants £16,000,000 ($39.600,- U0) of our money yearly to 6,000 or 7,000 land- lords, who do nothing but bunt a fox or hunt the tenantry. The Government that upholds this cruel system abstracts £7,000,000 ($35,000,000) more from the land in Imperial taxation, while there is left for the food. clothing, and sustain- ment of 5,000,000 of people not more than £10,- 000,000, or nbout £2 ($10) per head yeurly. “If the harvest be good, landlordism lux- uriates and abstracts all; if bad or scanty, it seizes on the food and cattle for the rack- rent. This is the system which produces our periodical famines; which shames and degrades us before Europe; which exhibits us as mendi- cants and beggars betore the world, exciting, no doubt, the compassion of all in our favor; and will any one blame us, cost what it may, if we are resolved to get rid'of a system that has $30, jong enslaved and impoverished our na- ion “Meantime, all honor and thanks to the nobdlo and merous American citizens who have thought of us in our bour of need; who try to supply the want that rack-rents have caused; to mitigute the cruelty of our domestic de- spoilers; who have ever given a home to our exiles and:to the hungry of our race. We Irish may-be a proud race, but we are not ungrate- ful, and we never forgot a kindness done in the hour of need.” LENT. The flood of Nouh was forty days upon the earth. The children of Israel “ did eat" manna in the wilderness forty years. Christ fasted forty devs. The early Christians observed a Lenten period of forty hours, which was subse- quently extended to thirty-six .days, and, in the ninth century, to forty days. With the Church “ forty” has always been, and still continues to be, a magic number. It representa the wrath of God in the Deluge; Bis promise and mercy to Moses and the-Israelites; the long and painful abstinence of its founder; and the perpetuation of one of its oldest traditions. Of the three hun- dred and seventy-five million Christians in the world, nearly thrée hundred million, embraced within the pale of the Roman Catholic, Greek, used to force the .water inf or from the river. There are frequent seasons and fre- quent occasions when the supply of water in the canal is in excess of what is needed, and when there is acurrent towards the lake. This is often the case during thaws in winter, and at other times. If these new pumps can be reversed, they can be employed dur- ing one of these seasons of high or excessive water to pump the water from the canal and precipitate it into the river, add- ing to the force of the river cur- rent the additional weight of water in the thirty miles of canal, thereby increas- ing the scouring process of thefreshet. This might be done at least twice, and perhaps ottener, every year, doing much to perma- nently remove the great depths of slime and other deposits which cover the bottoms of the river and iis branches. One such thor- ough cleaning or scouring of the river is worth whole months of surface-drainage. The new pumps, therefore, may be so made and Protestant Episcopal Churches, observe, to a greater or less extent, the season of Lent. Some fastton degree, some deprive themselves of this, that, or the other indulgence: but all ap- pear atthe church-services and confess that hey are “ miserable sinners.” And this a all that re- mains of the monasticism and devoteeism of early church bistory. There is no wearing of haircloth, no fasting tu the verge of starvation, no barefooted pilgrimages to holy shrines, no retreats to the wilderness, the mountain, and the cave, no seclusions in damp, unwholesome cells with a dict of bread and water. Shoulda “Paul the Hermit" or a Simeon Stylites seek to estab- sh an order of anchorites in this age the Church prelates would hasten to denounce the proposi- tion as ridicuious, A modern Bishop, clothed in filthy rags, crouching in his hermit’s cave, or perched on a lofty pillar of stone, after the man- ner of the fifth century, would bring more scan- dal upon the Church than his trial and convic- tion under the charge of having violated every injunction of the Mosaic decalog. Inthe old time monks and devotees scourged their bodies asa penance for sin; modern Christians set apart a period of forty days for special duties of piety, and their asceticism displays itself in self-imposed scourgings of the soul. They bewall their condition as “miserable sinners,” andcry aloud for mercy. They call upcn the “sun and moon,” the “stars,” the “showers and dew,” the “frost and cold,” the * lightnings and clouds,” and the “ mountains and hills” to bless and magnify theLord forever. The Lenten service abounds in protestations of unworthi- ness, humility, and self-abasement; but its as- ceticism has lost all the grossneas of its counter- part of the early time. Formerly the religious ascetic deemed all of life too short a space for penance; now the practice of asceticism is con- fined toa brief half-hour of the mornings and evenings of a few days. Doubtless the deca- dence of persecution has much to do with the decorum and lack of passionate spirit of the modern ascetic. The spirit of opposition ronses to deeds of deflance and daring. Before John Bunyan was 10 years old, “his sports were in- terrupted by fits of remorse .and despair; and his sleep was disturbed by dreams of fiends trying to fly away with him.” He had studied “Fox's Book of Martyrs"! When afterwards he was thrown into a dungeon and warned that, if he persisted in disobeying the jaw, ‘he would be liable to banishment, and thatif he were found in En- gland after a certain timo his neck would be stretched,” bis answer was: “If you let me out to-day. I will preach again to-morrow!” Macau- Iny referred to the prayer-book as “Those beau- tiful collects which have soothed the sorrows of they can be employed to_ forty generations of Christians.” But Bunyan’ wanted to rouse man, not soothe him, ang ie wroto against the Iturgy of the Church of Ey gland, and he wrote forcibly. "Those," hosain, “who have most of the spirit of prayer are aif to be found in gaol; and those who have ier zeal for the form of prayer are ell to be found, the ale-house.” Dungeons, the mack, and mae, tyrdom have ceased to exert their infuenes upon the cause of religion; have ceased to be the seed of the Church. Hence, while theob- servances of Lent may soothe, they rarely stimy. late to great deeds of piety and self-sacrifice o) the part either of the priesthood or the laity, More than 200 years ago a poetical wag wrote this quatrain: ‘ In the golden of the Chui ; Crooks were ‘ar wood. and Dehepe ats pitts But things move now In different mo ? With Crooks of gold and Bishops of wood! These lines, however, convey but a. half-truth,- As the Government will not be much worse than its constituents, the people, so the ‘Bishop will usually be worthy of his congregation. The Lent season of the present age falls upon the Church like a great calin. It is a rest, ‘not from the exertion of pious employment and decp religious emotion. but from the. physical snd mental exbaustion. produced by tho intense strain of worldly cares and the weariness entailed by a senson of social dissipation. ‘Towards the close of the winter's series of balls, parties, ruts, and operas notonly. the woman of fashion, but the sober head of the family, the rich bachelor, and the poor bachelor who bus incurred debts for gloves, cai neckties, and amusement-tickets,—all thesesigh for repose. The womun of fashion finds that her complexion is fading and her eyes growing dim; she requires more powder and more rouge on each recurring festal occasion. The sober head of the family loses his temper and ago. nizes for an evening ut home. Tne face of the bachelor, whether old or young. rich oF poor, becomes sallow, haggard, and wrinkled. They all want to beat a retreat. The Church offers them an asylum, and they eagerly hide themselves in {ts bosom, declaring that.they are “miserable sinners.” The change from thé stitied atmosphere of overheated, overcrowded, brilltantly-lighted rooms, with a mélange of gossip, envy, jealousy, passion, and bate going to make up the conversation, to the xoft light, solemn silence, and deep shadows of the temple of worship, is moze than restful; it is delightful. Under such cir. cumstances, many a woman who bas perhaps not given one serious thought to the subject of religion since the preceding Euster falls gently into a train of pious reflections. When sho makes confession of havi * done those things which she ought not to have done,” and of hay- ing “left undone those things which she ought to have done,” she is melted to tears, and re- solves that next Lenten season shall not find her quite such a * miserable sinner.” How much of this penitence is due to the exhaustion of her late dissipation, and how much to real piety, it were not generous to inquire. Resolutions of amendment are always in order and always commendable, notwithsanding the old saw thas + Hell is paved with good intentions.” Lent has {ts curious and humorous as well as serious side. As the forty duys wear on, the jaded devotecsof fashion gradually recover their wonted spirits. As their physical systems re- gain the tone of health and vigor, the tones of their voices become less and less lachrymose, and they pronounce the self-deprecatory and self-condemn: ters responses of the litany with less solemn unction,—ualmost “ trippingly on the tongue.” When the service is over they hurry out of the dim church as if cager to solace them- selves with the glare of the broad sunlight. It is at this point that nice distinctions are drawn ag to whut constitutes 2 proper observance of Lent. The evenings begin to drag heavily, and questions like these are discussed: Is it proper during Lent to attend a theatre-matinée ? “No,” says one, triumphantly, “because it does not interfero with the church-service: onecan leavo the theatre and reach the church before 5 o'clock!” And this is settled. Is it a violation of the proprictics of Lent to attend a whist- party? “Wo,” says anothor, “ provided there are only four tables; itis wrong toattend a whiste party consisting of five tables, but perfectly proper to join where thero are only two, three, or four.” Lunch-parties and dinner-parties are regulated by the snme code of rules. Hence during the Intter part of the Lenten season the fair penitents hurry from the theatre or lunch- party to the 5 o'clock service, or from the 5 o'clock service to the dinner-party or the two, three, or four table party at whist. These evu- sions of the strict rules of Lent subject their defenders to a good deal of badinoge of the good-natured sort at the hands of their friends, the Protestant dissenters. And this badinage usually Ieads to hot debates on the merits of the respective theological doctrines, which inva- riably disclose the fuct that those members of the Church who tolerate an occasional matinée, lunch-party, whist-party, or dinner-party dur+ ing Lent are most violent in defense of all its dogmas. This shows that it is very difi- cult to maintain, in the present age, even the shadow of the asceticism which distinguished the profession of Christianity during the early days of the Church. Indeed, it may be sald that Lent, as observed in this country. is little more than the dividing-line between the winter sea- son of social dissipation and the summer season of recreation in the country, at the springs, and the seaside. It putsa period to social routs at the moment when the devotees of fashion and display are at the point of sinking from satiety and exhaustion, and removes the ban in time to permit the renewal of wardrobes and gencral preparations for the summer jaunts. ASTRONOMICAL, Chicago (TrrsuxE office), north latitude 41 deg. 52m. 57s.; west longitude, 42m. 18s. from Wash- ington, and 5h. 50m. 30s. from Greenwich. The ‘subjoined table shows the time of setting of the moon's lower limb, and the Official time for lighting the first .street-lamp in each circuit in this city, during the coming week, unless ordered sooner on account of bud weathen Also the following times for extinguishing the 1:10 a. m. B 1:40 a. m. ‘The new moon occurred last Wednesday ever~ ing. The mvon will be at her greatest distance from the earth next Wednesday morning at 7 o'clock; and in her first quarter Thursday at 6:46 p.m. Wednesday evening she will occult the planet Mars, as stated below. The sun’s upper limb rises Monday at 6h. 10}jm. a.m. Souths at &m. 51.5s.p.m. Seta at 6h. 74m. p. m. The sun's upper limb rises Friday at ¢b. 0im. a.m. Southsat im. 40.98. p. m. ‘Sets at 6h. Im. p. m. "e Sidereal time Thursday noon, 23h. 46m. 38.856. ‘The gun will “cross the line,” that is, he will be in the Vernal Equinox, next Friday, the 18th inst., at 11:23 p.m. Those who still tnink that the event alwuys occurs on the 2lst may be in- terested in noting the fact. It will fall on tha 20th next year. Mercury is east of the sun, setting after him, but is rapidly decreasing his distance from the sun. The two bodies will be apparently in con- junction on the evening of the 2th inst., Easter Day. fs Venus is a morning star. Thursday she will rise at 5:02 a. m.,and south at 10:17 a.m, She is approaching the sun, and wil be in superior conjunction with him July +2. Jupiter will be in conjunction with the sun wr morrow, after which he will pass to the poaltion of a morning star. Saturn is an evening star, but is rapidly near ing the sun. Thursday be will south at 1:18 pe m., and set at 7:33 p. m. Uranus is in the constellation Leo, about three times the apparent breadth of the full moon to the east from Rho Leonis. Thursday he will eouth at 10:44 p. m., his meridian altitude being 58%; degrees. Sirius willsouth Thursday at 6h. 52m. 6.738. Pe m., and Alpha Leonis at 10:13% p. m- Mars iznow north of the principal stars in. Taurus, a little ‘west from the two stars in the tips of the horns {n that constellation. He isan object of special interest this week, as he will be occulted :by the moon Wednesday even ing when both are high up in the heavens. The phenomenon of disappearance scarcely be visiblo to the naked eye, a it occurs at about 5h. 5m. p. m., which is nearly an hour before sunset. The disappearance may, how- ever, be watched througha glass of moderate power, or even througha roll of paper long enough to cut off the rays of sunlight dispersed through our atmosphere. The planct will pass behind the dark limb of the moon, which is not visible: so that he will seem to fade out of existence in a fow seconds, with: