The New York Herald Newspaper, December 11, 1855, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR AND EDITOR, SYFIOE N. W. CORNER OF NASSAU AND FULTON STS. No. 343 AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. BROADWAY THEATRE, Broadway—Bracty ANp Tur Buasr—Wasvanina Minercee. 'S GARDEN, Broadway - Secuet Marnuce—Tue "TD ABPHODEL. fetus": ne THEATRE, Bowery—Tux StRancen—JeaLous wR. BURTON'S THEATRE, Chambers strect—Fatsy Pnsrex @as—TORNING THE TADLES. WALLACK’S THEATRS, Broadway—Lirrix Taxasvar-- Pst Niout Tae acne. WOOD'S MINSTRELS, 444 Broadway—Ermorian Pau pemmaNces. engeuny HURLESQUE OPERA HOUSE, 58 Broad- ‘ URLeeCUs OreRs AND Negro Minst: ACADEWY HALL, 663 Broadway—Ermiorias MUSICAL AND TemRYmcoKRan MIN MENTS. MECHANICS’ HALL, 472 Broadway—AmERICAN JUVENILE Beut RINGMRS AND VocaLiers, ‘Hew Yerk, Tuceday, December 10, 1855. The News. By our despatches from Washington it will be meen that matters are still in an unsettled state a the federal capital. In the Senate yesterday no business of importance was transacted. In the House of Representatives six votings were had, but me Speaker was chocen. Much “ noise and confa- wien ” was caused by the introduction of a resolution ‘by Mr. Thorington, of Iowa, that the candidate weoeiving the highest number of votes, a9 quorum being present, should be declared elected. After @ensiderable excitement, the resolution was with- @rawn. When the confusion had subsided the Yoting was resumed, and Banks’ vote ran up to 107, lacking but seven of an election. Whether the eaucusing of the friends of Banks last night suc- eeeded in securing thoge seven, to-day will determine, though one of our correspondents regards him as a ™ dead cock in the pit.” We learn from Washington that Gov. Meriweather Thas succeeded in making treaties with the Indian tribes of New Mexico, and that peace and good will yrevails among them. The treaties have been sub- Mitted to the Senate. Itis stated that the Finance Peport will recommend that wool and other raw me- terials be admitted free of duty, as a step towards =". Tron to remain as at present. day was unmistakably wintry. ft was cold aad blustering, and heavy gusts of wind swept over ‘the city during the day, wheeling up clouds of dust, and making the walking very disagreeable. The sky, however, was clear, and the air, though cold, ‘was clear and bracing. Winter may be considered eshaving taken up its quarters permanently among Be. The summing up in the Baker case commenced yetterday, Mr. H. I’. Clark addressing the jury in behalf of the accused. At the rising of the Court he had not concluded his address, but will resume this morning. Mr. Whiting will follow for the prosecu. Won. It is hardly probable that the charge will be @elivered to-day, as it is likely the entire day will be ©onsumed by the addresses of the learned counsel. & report of yesterday's proceedings will be found in another column. The excitement at City Island, in regard to the Badora tragedy, still continues. A gentleman, while searching among the coal with which the vessel was Waded, came across a piece of flesh, which was pro_ wounced to be human. It was the intention of Capt, Arnold, if permitted, to unload the entire cargo, and make a thorough search. The negro Wilson stoutly e@ denies all knowledge of the crime, and continues to exhibit himself to visiters at a shilling a sight. © ‘The Board of Supervisors did not organize last evening, owing to the fact that only nine members “came up to time” (Mayor Wood’s) at four o'clock im the afternoon. In the Board of Aldermen, last evening a mes- gage was received from the Mayor, calling attention te @ resolution passed by the Board ef Councilmen, ia February last, to groove the Russ pavement in Broadway, and recommending that it be taken up apd passed. The matter was referred to a select committee. Alderman Briggs introduced a resolu- ‘tion declaring the office of Chief of Police vacant, in eonsequence of ineligibility, and requesting the Mayor to nominate a suitable person to supply the wacancy. Aftera rather sharp discussion, the reso- Intion was adopted by a vote of 11 to 8. ‘The Board of Councilmen last night adopted a reso- Qntion authorizing the City Inspector to advertise to sell to the highest bidder the right and privilege of collecting and removing the offal of the city for fhe term of five years. Another attempt was made to raise the salary of Police Captains, but without muccess: The Police Committee of the Legislature met again yesterday, and examined several witnesses, but did not elicit much information in addition to ‘that already published. A report will be found clse- where. The new order of his Honor the Mayor changing ‘the policemen detailed to attend upon the criminal courts once every six months, went into effect yes- terday in the Court of General Sessions, Seven offi- ers were removed, including the old crier of the Court. The object in making these changes is to prevent collusion between the officers and prisoners and the “ Tombs lawyers,” growing out of too great intimacy between these parties from lomg associacion together. The Supreme Court, General Term, have granted a pew trial in the case of the parties convicted at the Conrt of Sessions for the riots of 4th July, 1853. ‘The decision of the General Term, in reversing the judgment of the Sessions, is grounded onthe facts that the Court below erred in refusing to compel a juror to answer whether he was prejudiced or biased against Roman Catholics; and also in refusing to admit the question to a witness as to whether he belonged to the Order of United Americans, and was ‘thus warped against the accused by the principles of his Order. The Board of Regents of the New York Univer- sity, at their last meeting elected Samuel B. Wool- worth, LL. D., to fill the place made vacant by the decease of Dr. T. Romeyn Beck. The steamship Prometheus has arrived at New Orleans, with California dates to the 20th ult., bat we have not received our usual synopsis of the news, ‘The steamship Northern Light had left Punta Arenas for New York, with about 2350,000 in specie. Captain Beaman, of the bark E. A. Rawlings, from Rio Janeiro has forwarded us a letter of our correspon- ent there of October 17, in which we are informed of the resoue of a number of the sailors wrecked in the Cleopatra, by the Rawlings. The Amazon Na vigation Company had forwarded another fine steamer (the fifth) to the wa Cholera was on the decrea amongst the slaves and pauper popul, raged fifty®a day. The shipping was healthy. A magnificent equestrian statue of Don Pedro the First was about to be erected in the city. The United States steamer Savannah had not returned from her cruise nround the spot where the Cleopatra struck. Late advices from the La Plata river state that the commander of the United States steamer Water Witch had discovered a canal rapning be tween Parana and Assumption. The coffee market was brisk, with prices a shade lower. There had ‘been large arrivals of flour. From Buenos Ayres we learn that, after a long diplomatic correspondence between the government and the French Minister, as to the rights of French subjects to the benefits of the thirteenth article the British treaty, which provides that British jects may dispose of their property of every d tion by will or testament as they ‘may think in the event of dying intestate the Cy have the right to nominate curators to of the property without interferenc rs of that river of aub- eacrip- » fit, and spaul shall cake charge &,, the govern e ment of Buenos Ayres, not admitting the alleged grounds, of its own free will and accord concedes the principle to French residents. The claim of the French Minister was founded on the treaty of 1840, which secures to French residents the privileges of the “most favored vation.” Bermuda papers of the 27th ult. announce the ar- rival of seven British war vessels from England and Halifax, as reintorcemeuts to the West India squad- ron. One of the steamers will run as a mail boat | between Halifax and Bermuda during the winter. As far as heard from, the municipal efection in Maseachusetts appears to have resulted in the defeat of the Know Nothings. In Boston, Alexander H. Rice, the citizens’ candidate, is elected Mayor, over Shartleff, Know Nothing, by a majority of 1,930. A large majority of the Aldernen on the gitizens’ ticket are also said to be elected. In Lowell, Worces- ter and Newburyport, the anti-Know Nothing tickets have also been successful. A letter from Francis P. Blair to the Republican Association of Washington City, taking strong ground against the extension of slavery over the new Territories of the United States, is given in our paper to-day. Mr. Blair is well known throughout the country as one of the editors of the Globe daring the administration of Gen. Jackson. ‘The triat of Judge Kane, for false” imprisonment, in the case of Passmore Williamson, it is stated will take place in the Philadelphia district in February next. Williamson claims $50,000 damages, which is at the rate of $13,333 per month, or $3,000 per elk. worn postmasters of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston have been officially notified that an extra mail for California and Oregon will be des- itched by the steamship St. Louis, which sails m Norfolk, Virginia, on the 13th instant, with the Ninth Regiment of United States Infantry. Con- nection will be made at Panama, on the Pacific, with the steamship Oregon, also an extra steamer, which will sail immediately for San Francisco and Oregon. The following statement gives the period of the opening and closing of the Erie Canal, and the number of days open to navigation, for a number of years past :— ett. hosed, Days. » April 18 November 26 223 2 April 16 November 20 220 + April 16 November 25 224 : May 1 December 1 214 May 1 December 9 223 May 1 December 5 219 April 22 December 5 225 April 15 Decomber 5 235 April 20 December 15 280 April 20 December 15 239 May December 3 2u7 May 1 December 10 204 By the table it will be seen that the canal has been open but twice during the past twelve years later than the present one. The cotton market was firm yesterday, with sales of about 2,600 bales. Flour was dull, and common grades closed at a decline of about 12}c. a 18c. per barrel. Among the sales were about 5,000 barrels for export. Wheat was dull, and sales limited, while prices inclined to droop. Corn closed at 82c. a 05¢. for inferior to good new Southern, and 99}c. for old Western mixed; Southern white was sold at about $1 Ola $102. Rye was firm, and included iu the sales were about 8,000 a 9,000 bushels for export. Pork was heavy, and prices at the close rather un- settled. Lard was firm; Western prime was at 124c. a 12fc.,and new city rendered sold at 13c. for ex- port to California. Coffee was firm, with small sales. Sugars were firm, with moderate sales. New Orleans new molasses was in good demand, at 45c. Freights were higher, and grain to Liverpool, in buik and shipper’s bags, was taken at 11d., and cot- ton at jd. a 9-16d.; tierce beef at 7s. Rates were also firm to other porta. Congress=No Speaker Yet—Banks Almost Elected—Great Excitement—Giddings comes to the Rescue. The proceedings in Congress yesterday upon the Speakership, were decidedly interesting and promising. They were interesting as in- dicating the working of the fusion game, and promising, inasmuch as they foreshadow the probable election of a Speaker to-day—per- haps Mr. Banks, perhaps somebody else. The first trial yesterday gave Mr. Banks one hundred votes—the precise number at which he left off on Saturday—from which it would appear that nothing was done in the interval from Saturday night till Monday morning by his electioncering friends. Mr. Thorington, of Iowa, thereupon, on his own responsibility, (innocent man!) moved the adoption, after three more trials, of the plurality system—a motion which excited a prodigious fluttering among the uninitiated democracy and the scattering votes. But here the venerable black republican patriarch, Father Joshua R. Giddings, came to the rescue, and proved him- self equal to the crisis. There was no neves- sity yet for a resort to the plurality alterna. tive. He believed the feeling of the House was settling upon Mr. Banks. And so Mr. Tho- rington obligingly withdrew nis motion. The House then resumed their votings for a Speaker; and from what Samuel Weller the younger, would call “a werry singular coincidence,’ Mr. Bauks, on the very next trial, received 105 voves, Lest other people might say, however, that the first vote was all ashy, and that Mr. Thorington’s motion for the plurality dodge, and this second vote,were all cut and dried. before hand by Thurlow Weed, we beg leave to say that we stick to the record, and don’t care just now to look be- hind it. But there is another curious circumstance in these fusion strategetic movements of yester- day. {St will be seen that Mr. Fuller, of Penn- sylvania--the obstinate, intractable and tn- compromising Fuller—starled off yesterday morning with thirty-one votes; that on the second trial two of these went over to Banks ; and that on the fourth another went over— but that Tuller stuck at twenty-eight. Per- haps those three deserters were decoy ducks and their object may have been to create a stampede among the real Fuller men, and to carry them over to Banks, Thus far, the stratagem has failed, Perhaps the inflexible Fuller may have been conciliated to a surren- der by the soft appliances of Tharlow Weed and ( Webb last night, and the sweet diplomacy of Greeley. A few hotre nore will tell the story, involving the election of or, perhaps, the last vain struggle for Mr. Banks, Still another curious fact, in Weking over the several votes yesterday, ‘3 worthy of notice, On the thirty-fifth ‘rial, when Mr. Banks received 105 votes, he lacked but eight of an clection; on the thirty-seventh he wanted but five to carry fim into the Speaker's chair; Whereas, on Pye thirty-ninth trial, receiving 107 votes, bg foll seven votes short of an elec- tion, frov, ¢he accession of one additional vote to the Whole number cast. Sticking at 107 they 00 Journed. We are still inclined to the pIni’ ym that should Banks stick fast to-day, a 4 Southern conservative experiment will be bole ade upon ex-Speaker Cobb; and, from the ., complexion of things at the adjournment yes- terday, bis election is by no means an impos- sible event. Thus far, from the very begin- ning, we believe nota solitary vote has been cast for Cobb, which leads us to conclude that there is at least an understanding in the mat- ter—that the democrats have been holding him in reserve, as their trump card, for the South- ern whig and Know Nothing vote. The ba lance of power lies with Fuller. We dare say he is too conservative on the nigger questioa, and bas gone too far in resisting the election of Campbell and Banks, to conciliate .the violent black republicans, so that the alt five with Fuilgr’s friends will be probably reduced to day to Banks or Cobb, The democracy of the House, thus far, have stood with a steadiness and solidity to Richard- son stropgly foresbadowing the national con- solidation of the party in the Presidential con- test. The divisions among the opposition elements sbow as clearly that they are still adrift. Mr. Buchanan and His Anti Russian Sympa- thicse—Curlous Historical Factsa—Tae Mat ter Explained, The following extract from the London Stan dard of February 23, last past, throwsa strong coloring of circumstantial evidence upon the late accusation of the London Times, to wit:— that the American Minister near the Court of St. James, on the outbreak of the Russian war, had declared the sympathies of the United States to be with the Allies and against Rus- sia :— rom the London Standard, Feb. 23, 1855. On Wednesday evening last the Noviomagian Society held one cf ita festive literary gatherings at Kiobardaon's Hotel, Covent Garden, This society, or club, so long ce- Jebrated tor its quaint customs, witty devioes and literary relaxa’ion, 18 an offshoot from the elder or parent socie- ty of antiquaries of London, and takes its name from the supposed site of the ancient Roman town of Noviomagas, at the Warbavk, Keston, Kent, with the discovery of which the founders of the Noviomagian Soc'ety are #0 closely identified, The chair was taken, in the absence of the President, b; §. Carter Hall, and in addition to a numerous sprinkling of members, the Chairman was supported by the presence of the ief Baron, the American Minister, and the Lord Mayor, together with several eminent literary visiters. e usual eccentric formalities and singular literary toasts were much re lished on the part of the guests; and a toast from the American Mtuister obtained a political importance, fcom ‘a glance which he took of the porition of this country with reference to the Eastern question, and the direct ai- lusion which he made to the assistance America would heartily render to the parent country in preserving the liberty of the world. The party broke up at a seasona- ble hour, after the enjoyment of alt ‘a highly in- feresting and intellectual evening. = It will be remembered that this accusation in vague and general terms, was lately ea ployed by the Zimes as an excuse for theu lawful and offensive British enlistment pr .- ceedings of Mr. Crampton and his agents: 1 this country; the plea of palliation being ad- vanced upon the presumption that if the sym- pathies of our government and people were with the Allies, our administration would wink at the gathering up, here and there, of an indi- vidual from our loose materials, as food for Russian gunpowder in the Crimea, It will also be recollected that Mr. Buchanan prompt- ly addressed 8 note to the Z%mes editor, assur- ing him that he had been “misinformed” upon the subject, which note the crusty editor de- clined to publish. Now, this extract from the London Standard, prima facie, throws back the burden of proof upon Mr. Buchanan; for the time, the place, and the occasion are specified at which the aforesaid general declaration is alleged to have been made. The question first suggested here is, oan this report of the toast and remarks of Mr. Buchanan at the meeting referred to, of a year ago, be true? We see no reason to reject it as an invention. Mr. Buchanan is represented as making “ a direct allusion to the assistance America would heartily render the parent country in preserv- ing the liberty of the world.” But this does not necessarily involve the tender of Americau sym- pathy against Russia in the present war. Con ceding, however, that it has “an awful squint- ing” in this direction, we think the matter is susceptible of an easy explanation. As between Turkey and Russia, in the be- ginning of this Eastern imbroglio, the sympa- thies of the American people and goveramen were undeniably with the Sultan. The inter- vention of Russia in the Hungarian revolu- tion—the extinction of that otherwise popu- lar revolt by the legions of Paskewietch—the sanctuary given by the Sultan to the Hunga- rian refugees, at the risk of his empire—the in- tervention of our own people and government in behalf of Kossuth and his companions in exile--the reception of “ the great Magyar” in this country,” hig speeches, and the ovations and subscriptions given him, by Congress and by Legislatures and corporations, throughout the Union--the Hulsemann correspondence of Mr. Webster against Austria—the reso- lutions of General Cass offered against her in the United States Senate, pro- posing to cut her off from any further diplo- matic intercourse with our government—all theee marked and concurrent events had brought about in the United States upon the outbreak of the quarrel between Menschikoti and the Porte an almost universal feeling of sympathy for the Sultan and of antagonism to the Czar. This feeling, though considerably softened and sobered down, was still the popular senti- ment of this country upon the advent of the democratic administration of President Pierce. That his administration shared in it may be proved from his inaugural, Marcy’s circulars upon costume, the Korzta case, the Koszta let- ter, and other facts and circumstances, one of which immediately bears upon the exact ques- tion under consideration, Some two years ago, or nearly three, a young gentleman of the name of Roger A. Pryor was attached to the editorial staff of the Union newspaper, the organ at Washington of the President and his administration. Shortly after his introduction into the office, the Unicn appeared one morning with a strong article, gracing its editorial co- lumns, in support of the government and the general foreign policy and prospects of Rus- sia, as better adapted to the “manifest des- tiny” of the United States than the de- sign and hostile schemes of the Western Powers, as nearly as we recollect it. This article was instantly pronounced anti- American and anti-democratic on the right band, and on the left the responsible editor of the Union accordingly put in an apology, and, to satisfy public opinion, Mr. Pryor was dis- missed from the establishment. Now mark the change! ‘ihe declaration by Lord Clarendon, in the British Perliament— that “the happy accord between England and France extended not only %o the affairs of Turkey, but to the political affairs of both hemispheres”—chilled, instanter, the popular feeling for the cause of Turkey, now that these Allies, with this pledge that they also intended to regulate American affairs, had taken her cause in hand. This reaction has involved the administration; for Mr. Pryor, discharged from the Union office for his advocacy of Russia, has been latterly given a fat office under the go- vernment, by way of indemnity, and in com- peneation for his superior political sagacity. We think it very likely, then, that Mr. Buchanan, a year or two ago may have ex- preseed opinions, as did our Minister—Mr. Spence—at Constantinople, somewhat inst Russia, which were then consistent w views of our administration, but which would now be held inadmissible in any representative ot the Cabinet of Weehington. “Circamstances alter cases,” and republics are not exempt trom the rule. Our ! ast Attempt at Naval Reform a Fal- lure—Re-Orgenization Disorgaulsation. The presentation of a petition in the United States Senate from Commodore Smith, remon- stratipg against the action of the Naval Board, in placing him upon the retirdd list, opens the ball in the campaign about to be waged in Congress, against the proceedings of the commiesion. However free the report of the Board might have been from the suspicion of favoritiem, it would have been exposed to the imputations of ihe friends of those who think themselves aggrieved, but in that case the public would have rendered justice to the purity of the motives that dictated it, and would bave discountenanced any attempts to impugn its decisions, With evidences, how- ever, of a wunt of discrimination so glaring as to render inevitable the conclusion that zeal for the interest of the service did not, in all instances, influence the judgment of the Roard, and with the significant fact that in giving it their official sanction the Secretary of the Navy and the President endorsed the re- port, with the strongest condemnation that could be decently pronounced upon it, the members of this immaculate commission will neither have the satisfaction of having their labors appreciated by the service nor of re- ceiving that support from public opinion which they might otherwise have counted upop, All the attempts that have been made to effect « reform in our naval service have, some how or other, proved unfortunate. It is not that the necessity for extensive changes in the system was ever contested: on that point all our leading politidiams have been agreed. The obstacles to carrying them out seem to resolve themselves into the difficulty of devising a measure which would reconcile the claims of justice with the proper efficiency of the service. This embarrassment is not Yeculiar to us. It is the same in the naval and military services of other Powers. In aristo- cratic countries, where the nobility monopolise the higher military and naval grades, the evil of continuing upon the active list a large supernumerary staff of aged and incompetent officers must be contentedly submitted to. With us no such necessity exists. We have neither family interests to consult, nor class prejudices to overcome. We have only to make an honorable provision for those whose age and infirmities incapacitate them for ser- vice, and to compel their retirement, to render our active list what it should be—the most effective in the world. Strange to say, we have hitherto found it impossible to accomplish so simple and straightforward an arrangement, Every step that we take to effect it seems des- tined to be accompanied by some wholesale act of injustice and invasion of individual rights, which neutralize all the adyan- tages that might be derived from it. Since the early days of our navy, when an im- perfectly developed system produced us such splendid officers as the Decaturs, the Hulls, and the Perrys, we have mado no roal impruve ments in its constitution. We have, on the con- trary, consecrated by misdirected efforts all its deficiencies and abuses. Satisfied with the achievements of the men who fought our naval battles in 1812, we allowed the spirit of old fogyism to permeate through all branches o! the service, from the heads of the naval depart ment downward, and clinched the evil in 1846 by our bungling attempts to reform the evils that had resulted from such a state of things It is now admitted that the principle of pro motion by seniority can never work well in either the naval or military services, unless it be accompanied by effective provisions for the periodical weeding out of aged and infirm offi- cers. To do this, such a retired maintenance must be accorded to the latter as will be worthy of the country and of their long services. Any other conditions of reform would only degrade the service, and render it ungrateful as a pro- fession. We do not allude to questions of in- competency arising from moral defects, because the existing constitution of our navy provides a remedy for all such cases, Convinced of these facts from its experience of its previous attempts at re-organization, Congress endea- vored in its naval bill of last session to frame a measure by which an effective and searching reform might be accomplished. There can be no doubt that the intentions of the framers of that law were good; but as the result has proved, they could not have hit upon a plan which was more likely to defeat their objects, In the first place, the very constitution of the board was vicious, and entirely opposed to the spirit and form of our institutions. The crea- tion of a sccret tribunal to decide upon the characters and fortunes of men upon er parte and hearsay evidence, and without giving them an opportunity of defending themselves, was a thing in itself so monstrous, and so en- tirely without precedent in a free country, that it could not but inspire general dissatis- faction. Under the most despotic governments, no such arbitrary proceedings have ever been attempted. Even the Star Chamber and the Inquisition afforded those who fell under their ban an opportunity of being heard in their de- fence. Not so with this republican Council of Fifteen, which promises to attain as lasting a fame as that of the celebrated Venetian Decade. They neither called the accused parties before them, nor did they trouble themeelves with examining into the truth of the charges made against them. When we state that according to an accurate calculation of the time occupied in their sittings, and of the number of officers whose characters were in review before them, the time passed in the examination of each case was only thirteen minutes, we have sufficiently demonstrated the impartiality and value of their decisions. Leaving out of view for a moment the nu- merous acts of individual injustice which have necessarily been committed in consequence of the hasty and superficial nature of this inves- tigation, let us examine the net gain to the country from the labors of the commission, It will be recollected that the chief groand urged for the passage of this bill for promoting “the efficiency of theynavy” was, that many of the senior officers had become worthless and unfitted for duty at sea, in consequence of having been for many years on shore and un- employed, and that the country required young, efficient and able men. Agreeably to the official registry of 1855, there were in the & At Bea.. Commanders... the ! Liewtepamte.. ss, NEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1), 1856. During the administration of President Ty- Jer @ large pumber of nominations for promo- tion were sept into the Senate, which the latter refused to confirm, and a law was passed limit- ing the pvumber of officers and seamen in the Bavy, the latter being fixed at 7,500. The re- porte of the Secretaries of the Navy have fre- quently recommended a reduction in the num- ber of captains and commanders, there being more of thore grades than the service required. The total number of vessels at sea in 1855, by the Navy Register, is forty-two, and that num- ber canno be increased without an additional number of seamen. The commissions now issued will make the Navy Register of 1856 contain— 4 + 83 + 65 + 162 The consequence of this enormous increase of officers in the navy will be, that the propor- tion of sea service of the respective grades will be as follows:— Captairzs will be at sea. Commanders do, 1 do 6 Lieutenants do, ldo 38 We put it to Congress and the-American people whether these officers, after such long periods on shore, are likely to be eflicient and competent officers at sea? Would merchants and ship owners entrust the care of their vessels and cargoes to men who had been so long off duty? Would any one, in short, like to employ a lawyer, a physi- cian, or a mechanic, who for so many years had not entered a court room, treated a pa- tient, or worked at his trade? But not only have the provisions of the old law limiting the aggregate of officers been violated, but we find a similar departure from the new act, as regards their aggregate pay. A clause of the second section provides “that nothing in this act should be held or construed to authorize any increase of the aggregate pay of the said grades, or of the naval ser- vice, as now allowed by law.” The following comparison will show how closely this provi- sion has been adhered to:— Captaine—old region onniew ett Commanders—old regime “ new © LOBB 1.6 cere see eee Lieutenants—old regime. “ new ¢* TOBB.. se eevee teeeeeee Total loss by re-organization, in three grades... Thus we see that; neither in efficiency nor economy, has the country been a gainer by the new organization, whilst at the same time it has been effected with a large amount of in- justice and individual suffering. Men of the highest moral and professional character have been retired from service, while others noto- rious for their dissipated habits and ineficiency have been kept on the active list. That many of the latter cases may have occurred from ignorance of the characters of the parties, we are disposed to believe; but we cannot alto- gether acquit the board of the imputation of partiality, when we find, for the same of- fence, one officer honorably retired, another furloughed, and another dropped. To aggra- vate the cruel and arbitrary character of these proceedings, the decisions of the board were cunveycd to the victims in the most un- courteous and unfeeling manner. They were notified summarily of their retirement or dis- missal, without any reason being assigned for the fact. ‘The common privilege allowed to dismissed servants, of informing them of the grounds of their disgrace, was denied to them— a proceeding for which we find no sort of justi- fication on the part of the department. There is no reason why the country should be less conscientious and courteous towards those who have passed their lives in her service than in- dividual employers, The effect of such treat- ment on the minds of honorable and high spirited men, with large families involved in their ruin, must have been bitter in the ex- treme. We question if their feelings of pa- triotism would have resisted at the moment the test of such a shock. We have always been the strenuous advo- cates of naval reform, but we never contem- plated the adoption of a measure which vio- lates the principles of our constitution and of justice, weakens instead of imparting strength, adds to the expenses of the country without yielding any adequate return, and inflicts un- merited suffering upon a large number of de- serving families. If Congress cannot cure abuscs without creating others of greater mag- nitude, it is better to let the old evils flourish. We entertain confident hopes, however, that it will not only find its way through the dificul- ties that environ this question, but that it will discover some means of redressing the griev- ances that have been created by its last bung- ling effort of logislation. e The Booksellers at War with the Press— Paid Critics and Salaried Reviewers. We give elsewhere, to-day, a strong article on the subject of the war which has lately sprung up between a number of book pub- lishers in this city, and certain persons at- tached to the daily press, who write what are facetiously called criticisms upon new pub- lications, We find this article—part of which we know to be true, and all of which we believe to be founded upon fact—in the official organ of tae New York publishers, and have rescued it from that depth of obscurity, for the purpose of saying a word or two upon the general merits of the highly interesting subject upon which it treats, In the first place, it may be well enough to ask how the publishers happen to have an organ at all; for we have no doubt that nine out of ten men who read new books have, until now, been ignorant of the existence of the hebdomadal from which we quote the exposé of the £0 called reviewers. A few months ago the Book Publishers’ Association rent a circular to the leading journals requesting to know their lowest terms for advertisements of new publications. One of these circulars was sent to the Herat, and we offered to take off twenty-five per cent from our regular rates, providing we could have ail the advertising. We thought that the discount would be made up by the inereased interest of the paper to « very large class of our subscribers who desire the announcements of what is new in the lite- rary world. But the scheme fell tbrough; and it was found impossible to select any one pa- per, because some of the publishers had a pe- cuniary interest in other journals, or could be disturbed in some nice little arrangements which they had with certain writers. The pub- lishersthen started their circular—which is not often seen out of the trade. It is, undoubt- edly, a very useful publication to booksellers; Wut the publiy is generally in w obeiy of the eee most lamenisle ignorance as to its object and its very existence. The only interchange of opinion that the Heratp ever bad with the publishers is de- scribed above, They sent a business letter to us, and we replied in a business-like manner. It they did not see fit to buy our advertising columas, there was no harm done on either side. We stand in a perfectly independent position as regarde the whole matter, and we have given the pub- lishers a good show with their official defence of the coursé taken by Ticknor, Reed & Fields. against the Boston Traveller. Our readers have heretofore had our opinion on the Zraveller matter, The editors of that journal were right in vindicating the indepen- dence of their editorial columns, and the publishers of Hiawatha gave a terrible blow to that remarkable work, which was finished and laid out neatly, by the proof that it was a plagiarism from the Finnish. But Hiawatha being dead, we will let him rest, and come to the publishers’ Hecuba, which is contained tar ra very few words :-— “ Again,” says the Circular, “ critics ocou~ pying important positions, are plainly seen ta be influenced in their published opinions by: pecuniary considerations, properly brought ta bear. In some cases the manner of doing tha thing properly is simply to enclose five dollars to the critic, without a word or comment. In other cases more delicacy must be used, and the critic may be salaried by the pub- ligher as a manuscript reader, or in some other capacity.” Also, the publishers say that these critics, who are thus open to the benign influence of bank notes, are attached to influ. ential leading journals—so-called. Now, we are aware that this charge is true ia several instances, and those city papers which are the loudest in denouncing newspaper corrup- tion are the journals which are meant by tha above extract, and their conductors are fully aware of the position in which their sub-editora stand to the book trade. One leading critig receives twelve hundred dollars per year as editor of a magazine published by an eminent book publishing house. It is a sineoure, for he does very little except to write puffs for “our books,” and give slashing reviews of the things got out by those fellows across the way. He also has a salary of eight hundreé dollars per annum as reader of MS. for the publisher who lets off so many sensation books, written by mysterious young women, who turn up as great genuises in the rural districts, write some flash books, get a great many puffs in the papers, and then give place to some other genius quite as brilliant and a little fresher. Another critic for a leading daily haga sala~ ry for reading manuscripts ‘for “a Broadway publisher. The critic also indulges in what some people call authorship, and his publisher gives to the world the reviewer's stale rechauffer of old newspapers, and tavern jokes of the last: century. The five dollar gentlemen are brigands, generally expatriated from their native land, who keep up the fight on their own hook, and have a sort of guerilla connection with newspapers whose proprietors have not found them out. This is a bad stete of things for all parties. Bad for the newspapers, because the public have no confidence in their opinions; bad for the publishers, because they pay their money for notices which do no good; and bad for the Public, because it cannot tell what to believe, and therefore rejects all. The paid critics are pretty well known, and their* quoted opi- nions in the advertisements which’ precede the “first fifty thousand” of a book which, perhaps, never will sell twenty-five hundred, or “the one hundred and fifty thousand” of a maga- zine, have not the slightest weight with the reading commun: The only remedyor all this is to adopt our rule, and make the advertising columns alto- gether independent of the editorial and news part of the paper. It is, undoubtedly, true that the journalist will be more likely to no- tice books which he finds advertised in hisown Paper, but it is absurd to say that the publish- er is to pay for a notice by an advertisement, and that the notice must be good, whether the bock is a humbug or not. If the publisher thinks that he does not ‘get the value of his money by the publicity given. to his work by the advertisement, be will not advertise, Ta demand a good notice because he pays a dol- lar or two for an advertisement is absurd, You might as well, Messieurs publishers, ask your butcher to give you a sheep because you. bought a pig from him the day before. We da a great deal of advertising and receive a great deal of money from the chambermaids who want places, and we never knew one of them ta. ask for an editorial notice. They are perfectly satisfied that they get their money’s worth by the advertisement. Our relations with the pub- lishers must be the same. If they are not satisfied, they can all imitate one publishing house in this city, and establisl: a newspaper for the express purpose of puffing their publications. If the nominal proprietor —the salaried critic—rebels, they can kick hin out and get one more pliable. At the same time the reading public is fairly warned. It will know how much to believe from these eminent critics in the future. Crry Opvities.--At a shop window in Broad- way, where the likenesses in plaster of several notabilities, dead and living, are to be seen, a new object of attraction has recently been added. It is the head of a mummy, from the catacombs of Egypt, upwards of three thoa- sand years old, Turning from the contempla- tion of this curiosity, and casting a glance over the road, the pedestrian will perceive what is called a heraldry office, and on its front and in its window various grotesque de- vices--all interesting enough, no doubt, though equally unintelligible to the members of “upper tendom,” who seek the aid of the wise man doing business there, in the discovery of proper coats of arms, cresta and mottocs. The two places, almost vis @ vis, are sugges~ tive ; and no better exemplification of flankey- ism can be conceived. The antiquity of » thousan@ years, the well known sarcasm of the elder Napoleon, with its numerous types of lions, rampant or couchant, dwindle down inta something very small in comparison with tha dried visage of the Egyptian, who died before Alexander and Cwsar were born, and which now grins, Yorick like, by the side of Clay, Webster, Benton and “Prinee John”—tho whole done in plaster, and on exhibition in 4 phrenologist’s shop window. have been 129 veusels launched at different points There on the bkes this with 46,007, of wich 9,099 wece ot stosms, and 62,04) mall”