The New York Herald Newspaper, April 13, 1867, Page 6

6 NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1867.-TRIPLE SHEET. NEW YORK HERALD. | JAMES GORDON BENNETT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR OPFION N. W. CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS. Volume XXXII........ Phd Wee ” Ne, 103 AMUSEMENTS THl> AFTERNOON AND BVENING. WAY THEATRE, + Broadway. near Broome ee ete tiers Bargroor. Matinee at 1}4 o'Clock. NEW YORK THEATRE, Broadway, opposite New York jotel.—Tus Lavy or Lrons. WOOD'S THEATRE, Broadway, opposite St Nicholas Hlotel.—Camitx, Matinee at Lig o'Clock. THEATRE FRANCAIS, Fourtoenth street, near Sixth eveoue.—Lacascs Borgia. GERMAN STADT THEATRE. 45 and 47 Bowery,— ‘Louracivaaasunpus; opas, pas Lispsacious Kiegeiatr. OLYMPIC THEATRE, Brosdway.—Tas Encmantazss. IRVING HALL, Irving place.—Ma. J, MN. Partuson’s Matures at Tunes 0'CLoce.- WAY HALL, Fourteenth street.—Pusuo Re- wisn or tam Puipmanmonio Soowry OF New Yor, at Three o'Clook. RTE 8 Breadway.—Prorzsson 1. Faery Singine Binp, Matinee at 3 o’Clock. SAN FR. MINSTRBLS, 58 Broadway, opposite the Metropoli lotel—In tasin Eraiorian Exrearaty- wants, Sincina, Davowa axo Bouavesqves.—Tus Biace Coox—Rep ‘TAKEN Pao Casta Diva. ELLY & LEON'S MINSIRBLS, 729 Broadway, siete Now york Toleente wena Bows, Daur ‘Boo ex. ‘TRICITIES, ut .—Onpues-Leox—Madauascas Besar inovre tas Two Doves FIFTH AVENUB OPRBA HOUSB, Nos. 2 and 4 West fourth atreet.—Gi & Femur SO cai aati, atledom hates TRIOPLAN MI} 3 LENO = Biace Croon—La Baiganpiano. Matinee at 236 o' Clock. ‘TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, 201 Bowery.—Como ‘Vooaisu. Noro Minsreetsy, Burtesques, Bauer Diver- Rigewere, £0.—A0 Inisaman In Gaxxce. Matinee at CHARLEY WHITE'S COMBINATION TROUPE, at ‘Mechanics’ Hall, Broadway—In 4 Vawery or Ligut wD Lal onl Starus Ee Matinee at 234 o'Clock cue HOOLEY’S OPERA HOUSE, Brooklyn.—Ermiopraw Min- Pain BaiLabs aD Bourtesques.—Kiu-Ka. Matince at ‘O'Clock. THE BUNYAN TABLEAUX. Union Hall. corner of ‘and Broadway, at 8—Movina Min- ron OF the Pitorim’s Prooress—sixty MAGNIFICANT Scans. Matinee Wednesday and Saturday at 3 o'clock. NEW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618 Broadway.— Flea ax Rigar Ana oF Prosst—Tux Wasninctox Twixs—Woxverts 1 Narorar History, ‘Lacronss Daur. ‘Day, Open from 8 4. M, till TRIPLE SHEET. New York, Saturday, April 13, 1867. AND WP. Mw. NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS. Advertisers will please bear in mind that in order to have their advertisements properly classi- fied they should be sent in before half-past eight o'clock in the evening. THB NEWS. EUROPE. ‘The news report by the Atlantic cable is dated to yes- terday evening, April 12. ‘The citizens of Luxemburg are decidedly opposed to the sale of the territory to France. The British squadron had arrived off Cadiz, and made a peremptory demand as to the other vessel. An iron-clad war sbip despatched from Liverpool to Cadiz. The Railroad bill has been passed in the Hewe of Lords The British Parliament adjourned for the Easter holidays The dill of indict. ‘ment against ex-Governor Eyre, of Jamaica, bas ‘Deen ignored by the Grand Jury. The United States war ‘Vessels Miantonomoh and Augusta are at Leghorn. Consols closed at 90% for money, in London, an ad- ‘vance of { percent, United States five twenties closet at 74 in London and 75% in Frankfort. The bullion in the Bank of England decreased £209,000 during the week. ‘The Liverpool cotton market closed heavy and inac- tive, with middling uplands at 124. Breadstufls were active and buoyant, with an advance in corn and wheat. In the Senate yesterday the veto of the Cross-town Railroad bill was sustained, and the veto on the passaze of the Central Railroad Fare bill, notwithstanding the “objections of the Governor, was postponed until to-day. ‘Namerous bills of a local or personal character wore passed. The bill to establish a quarantige boarding sta- tion at any point in New York harbor was cofisidercd in Committee of the Whole and made a special order tor this morning. The New York Tax Levy was madca ‘Special order for this afternoon. Bilis for the moro por- fect asse-sment and taxation of porsona!l property and to allow busband and wife to testify for or against one another were ordered to «@ third reading. In the evoning session, bills incorporating the Assoc.ated Press of the Siate of New York; incorporating the Forty-second, Houston and Grand street Railroad; and several others of an unimportaut character wore passed. In the Assombly, bills to provide for the appointment Of an additional Fire Commissioner and to regulate the pay of tho New York Fire Department; more particu. larly defining the powers and duiies of the Metropolitan Board of Health; aid to incorporate tho trustees of the Peabody Edutations!l Fund were passed. An the evening session, ills relative to the ‘assessment and collection of taxes in New York; con- @erning certain vagrants in New York; creatiug the @Mfice of Metropolitan Fire Marshal; and incorporating tho New York Board of Underwriters were passed. the Teport of the commitice investigating the affairs of the Pacific Mail Steamsh'p Company was presented. Bills to Incorporate (he Metropolitan Market Company and for the protection of persons travelling on Fourth avenue wore re; eo THE CITY. Mr. Hamilton Morton, Secretary of the New York ‘Yacht Club, has received a letter from the President of the Paris Rowing and Sailing Club inviting the various clubs of the United States to participate in the Loternational Regatta, which 13 to take place during the Exposition. ‘The officer who killed the burglar Monzani, ia Wil- pag, some time ago, is receiving numerous ova. tions at the hands of the citizens of his district. The manager of an opera house gave hima bene(it last night, anda handsome testimonial will be prosented to him next Tuesday. In the Supreme Court, Circuit, Part 2, yesterday, in the case of Wm. A. Sanborne vs. Silas C. Herring et al., verdict was rendered for the defendant. The action (wis brought by the plainti(f_to recover $24,300, which ‘bad been stolen from a safe purchased by him from the defendant's agent at Chicago, under representations th at 1t was burglar proof. The safe was broken into by ‘ledging the spindle of the kuob on the outside of the cheat, and the verdict is rendered accordingly. ‘The Court of Appeals, which bas been in session in this city mince the 26th day of March, adjourned sins dis ‘Yesterday. A large number of decisions, which will be found tn another eoiamn, was rendered. Tn the Superior Court, part 1, yesterday, in the case of Hoffman ve, Manhattan Fire Insurance Com- “verdiet for . bond purporting to be en 27% po bY the defendant signature theresa was s ry. In the Common Pleas, Part 1, yeeterday, in tho casd Sonnets va Albert Myers, to recover $510 which ho (plaintiff) alleged he had placed in defendant's hands for was, aa eased ested 80 to do, and that Ta the Common Pleas, Part 1, in tho case of Henry Mlcinknecht vs. Charles F. Bender, plaintit’ sued vo recover the value. of ninety.six gallons of Rhine wine which he delivered to defendant, who aleged as his ground of objection that it was not equal to the sample on which he bought it Tho jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed, Another interesting salvage case hag been argued before the United States District Court of Brooklyn, B. D, in which the Forty-third regiment (colored infantry) claim two thirds of the valuejof the steamer Merrimac, for having kept her afloat by constant balling and ex- cessive labor white on board of her as passengers from New Orleans to New York in 1865, The vessel eprung & leak, it appeara, when about two hundred and ten miles from the mouth of the Mississippl, and required all the exertions of the crew, working by reliefs under the charge of their officers, to gave her. The tibellants claim that the cage is unusual and does not come under the law disallowing salvage to passengers. The Court has reserved its decision. The fine now steamship City of Antwerp, Captain ‘Mirehouse, of the Inman line, will leave pier 46 North river, at noon to-day, for Liverpool, touching at Queens- town. The mails will close at the Rost Office at half-past toa M ‘The National Steam Navigation Company's steamship Virginia, Captain Prowse, will sail at noon to-day, from pler 47 North river, for Queenstown and Liverpool. ‘Yhe Anchor line steamship Britannia, Captain Laird, will sail from pier 20 North river, to-day, at twelve M., for Liverpool and Glasgow, calling at Londonderry to land passengers and mails. ‘The Hamburg American Packet Company’s steamship Germania, Captain Schuersen, will leave Hoboken at twelve o’clock M. to-day for Southampton and Hamburg. ‘The mails for the German States via Hamburg will close at the Post Office at half-past ten o’clock A. M. ‘The New York and Havre line steamship Arago, Cap- tain Gadsden, will sail from pier 46 North river at noon, to-day for Havre, calling at Falmouth, England. The mails for Great Britain and the Contient will close at haif-past ten o'clock A. M. The steamship: Fah Kee, Captain Stirling, will leave pier 28 East river at three o’clock P. M. to-day for San- tiago ds Cuba via Nuevitas. ‘The fine steamship General Meade, Captain Sampson, of the Cromwell line, will sail from pier No. 9 North river at three o'clock P. M. to-day for New Orleans aie Black Star line steamsbip Ashland, Captain Nor- ton, will leave pier 13 North river to-day, at three P, M. for Now Orleans. ‘The sidewheel steamship San Salvador, Captain Nicker- gon, of the Empire line, will leave pier 13 North river ‘at three P, M. to-day, for Savannah, connecting at that port with Florida steamers, and by rail to all points South and West. The popular steamship Saragossa, Captain Crowell, of Leary’s line, will sail from pier 14 East river, foot of Wall stroet, at three P. M. to-day, for Charleston, con- necting with the steamer Dictator for the Florida ports, The'stock market was steady yesterday. Gold closed at 13634. Though few marked changes will be found in our commercial report this morning, yet the fecling in com] mercial circles yesterday was on the whole pretty buoyant. The comparative firmness in the gold market and the disturbed condition of political affairs in Europe were conceived to have a special significance, in view of which imported merchandise was held with more than ordinary firnness, holders, as a general thing, being sangdine of higher prices at an early day, ospecially in case of actual hostilities in Continental Europe, Domestic produce was generally frm; butter was an exception, the market ruling heavy, On ’Change bread- stuffs were steady. Corn and oats were lower. The hay product was generally quiet, but without decided change. Naval stores ruled firm though quiet. Petroleum was firm. Wool was more active, but the market continued beavy. oe MISCELLANEDUS. In the United States Sonate yesterday the resojution of Massachasetts ratifying the proposed amendment to the constitution was presented. The question of a final adjournment on Taceday next was taken up and debated pro and com forseveral hours, being Gnally decided in tho affirmative, The Sonate then went into executive session, whea several minor appointments were con- firmed or rejected. The Mississipp: Injunction case came up before the ‘Sapreme Court at Washington yesterday, on the motion to file the bill. Attorney General Stanbery made a lengthy argument in opposition to the motion on the part of the United States, and Robert J, Walker spoke in ite support on the part of the petitioners, Charlies O'Conor moved for leave to file the bill of @ similar character in the Georgia case, and the Court agreed to take the matter under advisement, Secretary Seward has issued a circular letter to the Consular agonts and Ministers of the United States stationed at porte likely to be visited by General Sher- man’s expedition to the Holy Land, commending the General and bis party to their consideration, and inti- mating that any attention paid to him by foreign states will be gratefully appreciated by the government. Tho Sccretary of the Navy bas given orders to supply the Quaker City—the vessel in which the party sails—with artillery and flags to he usod in saluting. Our special correspondence from Matamoros, Mexico, gives further news from the vicinity of Querstaro to the 224 alt. No doubt at present exists that the recent en- gagement resulted in an imperial defeat, The fighting was very stubborn, and the losses are admitted by Esco- bedo to be very heavy on both sides. Tne imperial chiefs had issued a proclamation offering $10 to any soldier who would join them with his arms, and $5 for any one who would j them without hisarms It is probably intended bait for deserters from the liberala, The comfhander of Matamoros had again re- quested a loan of the merchants of that city, the amount desired being $30,000, By the steamship Corsfca at this port, yesterday, we have files (rom the Bahamas, dated at Nassau, N, P., on the 6th of April Five French vessels of war had ar- rived im the harbor from Mexico, viz:—tho Tartare, Cap- tain Delapianche; Brandon, Cahagne; Tactique, Coligny ; Ditigente, Rivault, and gunboat Tourmente, Maission. The mon and officers were on shore daily, and their pre- ence affurded much animation to Nassau city. It was thought tho squadron would remain s month. The weather was fine at the island. The British war ship ‘Steady arrived at Nassau on the 6th instant. Fish con- ‘tinued abundant and had fallen in price. Advices from the West Coast of Africa, dated at Sierra Leono on tho 14th of February, report that the natives were giving trouble again to the English in the Gambia. Captain Smithwick, Licutenants Gardner, Steward, Jackson, and Ensign Macdonald, First West India regiment, were despatched to a scene of disturb- ance, and one of the officers was presented with a sword by some of the natives for fring on a hostile party who wore landing on Britisn territory. There were three ships-of-war in harbor, one with tho Admiral on board. The British Commodore was also on the Gambia river in hor Majesty's steamer Grayhound. We have files from Bermuda dated to the 34 of April. Tho weather for a fow days had beon very stormy. It ‘was thought that the young crops of potatoes and onions would suffer materially from the high winds. The contest of Stewart against Pheips for the seat in Congress as representative of the Third Maryland dis- trict has beon terminated by the withdrawal of Stewart, who renounces his claims and offers to refund the ex- penses incurred by Phelps, who has been tho oocupant Of the seat during the contest. The firm of Frazer, Treuholm & Co., of Charleston, of which the late Confederate Secretary of the Treasury is ‘© momber, and Lafitte, their agent at Nassau during the war, have boen notified to appear before the Judiciary Committec at Washington, to give testimony relative to the business of blockade running and the assets of the firm remaining st the close of the war. Sophie Boisclare has beon sentenced to death for the murder, by poisoning, of a family at Montroal Her counsel opposed the passing of sentence upon the plea that she was encéinie, and a jury of matroms was ap- Pointed to investigate the matter. The Governor of Iilinois has designated the 15th inst, ae 8 day of fasting, humiliation and prayor. it is the aoniversary of the death of Prosident Lingoln, “~ * ‘The United States vessels Mor*figahola and Peoria aro at Hamptoa, Begs serftiog orders to sail for tho Weat ladies The Br Boto is expocted there ovory day. ‘A military commission for the trial of citizons ws being held at Fortress Monroe. ~ Gonorai Longstrect is out in another letter on th’ Southern sitdallle” sew. -vemem A titia on the Concord and Portsmouth Raliroad was Precipitated 01a the track and down an embankment Of itveen or twenty fog im height, near Candia yester. day. No one was fatally hurt, althougi: several persons Wore seriously injured. The authorities of Vernon county, Missourl, have of. fered $3,000 for the arrest of the two murderor of General Baily, and haif the amount for the death of each of thom. Probable War in Europe—The Dynasties and Their Debts In Danger. Our latest telegraphic news from Europe shows good reason for the war panic of the existence and prevalence of which we had been previously informed. The situation is suff- clently alarming. It will not surprise us if the next message should inform us that hostilities between France and Prussia have actually com- menced. Plucky as ever, Count Bismarck is fully prepared and not unwilling to stake the future of the new Germany which he bas 60 recently called into existence, and which as yet is by no means consolidated, on the chances ofa war with France, Should it come to an actual collision it is impossible to predict where or how matters will end. Itis not France or Prussia, it is Europe which is in danger. Disorder, in fact, is general, At no previous period since the birth of the States system in Enrope has there been such general and com- plete disorganisation as exists at the present moment, For some generations, with the ex- ception only of the period of the first Napo- leon, a species of family compact gave at least the appearance of unity to tho various Euro- pean nations. That unity is no more. Disor- ganization is the order of the day. Not only are nations not agreed with each other, they are not agreed within themselves. Internally and externally disorder reigns. Among the various Powers entente cordiale there is none. Within the limits of the various States con- tentment there is none, At the present mo- ment what European Power of the first class can be said to be in alliance with any other of its peers? If we except Russia, what Power can be said to have peace and contentment reigning within its borders, Take England, with her Fenianism and Reform; France, with her factions and her army reconstruc- tion schemes; Prussia, with her newly ac- quired but still grumbling provinces ; Austria, with her various and conflicting nationalities ; Italy, with her eternal Church question and changing ministries ; Spain, with her stupidity and her straggling but dying Bourbonism, to make no mention of the unfortunate sick man of the East—and say which of the European States is at rest within itself. For all this disorder there is but one possible cure—the nations, one and all, must be made self-forgetful. Their thoughts must be directed outwards. Nothing can so effectually accom- plish this result as war. The needed ventila- tion can be found through no other channel. If we may judge from the war clouds which now loom portentously on the horizon, the requisite remedy may s00n be applied. In the midst of all this disorder and confu- sion it is felt to be a relief to allow the mind’s eye to rest on the composure and dig- nity of Rassia and the United States. Like rocks in mid-ocean, they sit serene and lofty, unaffected by the surging billows which roll in foam and fary all around them. Busy with numerous internal improvements, Russia, with one foot on the Baltic and the other on the Black sea, looks hopefally towards Oonstan- tinople, and sees, in the not distant future, the day when she will sit in pride on the shores of the Bosphorus and when her flag will float in triumph on the waters of the Mediterranean. The big pear which she has long been anxious to pull is ripe, very ripe. If Russia will but have patience, it will soon, we promise her, fall into her hands. The United States, on the other hand, so far from being on the verge of financial ruin and ‘about to break in pieces from its own weight, as some of our Old World friends would fain believe, startles the world more than ever by the dash and boldness of its enterprise, Not only not contented with a terri- tory which certainly is large—some think too large—but eager to obtain and able to utilize more, we propose to purchase from our big neighbor Russia that immense tract of terri- tory on the North American continent which has formerly acknowledged her sway. “ What will we do with it?” some eagerly ask. “Use it,” we answer, “and tarn it to good and pro- fitable account.” Thus the Unit-d States grows, and must grow more and more, until the entire North American continent, with all that properly appertains to it, comes under her authority. Our neighbora, however, need take no alarm. We have no intention of imitating the barbarous examples of the past by making might the test of right. We wish to hold our land by a nobler tenure. We discard all idea of conquest. We mean to maintain and ex- tend the great republic on a grander principle, What we want we are willing to pay for, and what we do acquire we mean to acquire by honest means and to retain on fair and honor- able terms. It is fitting and proper—neces- sary for the times and worthy of our history— that we should read to the world some such noble lesson. There is one reflection which is irresistible from this view of the political affairs of the Old World and the New: security and confidence are certain to gravitate westward. The old dynasties are doomed, and the day is not far distant when their debts must be repudiated. A revolution similar to that which swept over France in £789 threatens at an early day to devastate thé entire European continent, the adjacent islands of Great Britain, and Ireland not excepted. Incendiarism—Daty of the Fire Commis- sloners, * It may not be generally known, but it is nevertheless a fact that about thirty per cent of the fires in the city of New York is the work of incendiaries. This is a fearfal state of things, and we are forced to ask, Where shall we find a remedy? The courts can do ® great deal, and we are giad to see that one of our Judges is taking the right course to that end. Recorder Hackett on Thursday last sentenced Gartano 8. Castagneto, who was found guilty of arson in the first degree, to hard labor in the State Prison for the term of his natural life, and intimated that the proper penalty for such & heinous crime was hanging. We hopo the other Judges will foll6w the exeellent example of Rgcofder Hackett whenever such cases Come before them. But there is a general complaint from the public— and we think the complaints are amply justified—that the causes of the recent fires many of the theatres have not beeg properly iggestigated. In several instancés a special Pravldesds te it wets, ee thousante of people from a fearful deatn, and yet wo have not been farnished with any sa infor- mation as to the origin of the conflagrations. The Fire Commissioners appear to be behind- hand in the performance of their duty in this matter, They ought to insist upon a vigilant fire patrol being maintained in all public places of amusement, both by day and night, as Is done in the theatres of Europe. The recent fires which have demolished so many of our theatres fortunately occurred at hours when the houses were not crowded py lagge audi- ences ; but this was the result of chance. We have no guarantee that similar accidents may not happen during the performance on any night, under which circumstances the conse- quences would be horrible to contemplate, The Legislature should take care before its ad- journment to pass a law for the protection of life in theatres—a law so stringent in its provi- sions that managers would be compelled, under severe penalties, to keep 9 regular fire patrol always on band and to ensure facilities for s rapid and convenient egress in cases of fire or panic, Unless this is done and the Fire Com- missioners pay special attention to the theatres, recent experience convinces us that it is no longer safe to visit these establishments as they are at present constracted and managed. State Rights—A Chance fer Quece Victoria, Queen Isabelia, Napeleen the Third and Maximilian. It is @ remarkable fact that the Southern theory of State rights has never by any of the learned lawyers concerned been pushed to its logical solution, In the memorial of W. L. Sharkey and Robert J. Walker, in the name of the State of Mississippi, for an injunc- tion from the Supreme Court of the United States against the execution of the reconstruc- tion laws of Congress, and in a similar com- plaint from Jeremiah 8, Black, in behalf of the State of Georgia, that beautiful line of argument is, though somewhat disguised, really preserved. First, that the several States came into the Union and subscribed to the federal constitution with the right reserved of going out at their discretion respectively; secondly, that in their late hostile coalition and war against the Union the rebel States only exercised this reserved right as free and sovereign copartners; thirdly, that when their rebel armies were subjugated by the armies of the Union the rebel States, in sub- mitting to the Union, were restored to their rights as they stood before the war; and fourthly, that the constitution is violated in holding the rebel States as subordinate to the Union. Stripped of all pettifogging verbiage, this is in truth the argument upon which thes State rights lawyers present their case for an injunc- tion from the Supreme Court against the sov- ereign national authority of Congress. But let us follow up this line of technical pleading and see where it will bring us out. We will take the case of Mississippi. We will suppose that she has seceded from the Union; that she is joined by ten other States; that they con- bine their fortunes in a separate confederacy ; that they have to fight for it for four long years, but are then subdued; that they then claim their rights under the constitution as if nothing had happened; but that Congress not only refuses their demands, but puts them under martial law. What then? Why, then, we hold that upon that Southern theory of State rights the proper appeal to be made to the Supreme Court is this—that inasmuch as the federal constitution has been violated by Con- gress, and beyond remedy, all the States are released from it, and the national govern- ment known as the United States ceases to exist; that as the federal constitution swal- lowed up the old confederation, that, too, is gone; and that as the old confederation ab- sorbed the Declaration of Independence, the several States are legally carried back, and may return, if they choose, to their original condition as colonies of England, France or Spain, or to Mexico. Accordingly, the com- plainants pray that this decision be rendered by the Supreme Court, so that, if they choose, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi may be restored to Queen Victoria as the lawful successor of George the Third; that Florida may be re- stored to Spain, and Arkansas and Louisiana may be returned to Napoleon the Third, the successor of Napoleon the First, and that Texas may be at liberty, in the exorcise of her State sovereignty, to join Juarez or Maximilian. We say that this isa good case and the pro- per case for the Supreme Court, it we admit the theory that the constitution is @iolated in holding rebellious States subject to the laws of war. Thenational coparinership of the United States is thus dissolved, and as in sweeping away the constitution everything is swopt away back tothe colonial authority of George the Third, the States failing in their late rebel- lion, and protesting against the pains and penalties of Congress, may, according to the arguments of Sharkey, Walker and Black, de- mand of the Supreme Court an order to Presi- dent Johnson to restore said States to their original jurisdiction under England, France or Spain, excepting Texas, and that she may be at liberty to return to Mexico under Juarez or take up the cause of Maximilian. Geld and a Paper Currency. The market price of gold has not fluctuated much during the last two years—since, in fact, the war was known to be closed up—except in a spasmodic way, ana occasionally through ef- torts of stock jobbers and Wall street gamblers, For instance, in May, 1865, the maximum price was 14534; in December of the same year it was 146%;4n May, 1866, it was 14134; in Decomber following it was 141%. During the months January, February and March of this year the fluctuation has been between 13214 to 140%. True, within these two years it has gone down once to 12534, and was bnee as high as 167% ; but, as we said, these wete temporary and spas- modie fluctuations. Theactual mean and regu- lar price, for some time past, has been between 130 and 140. For the last fow months it has been pretty steady between 132 and 138; with rather a downward tendency, except within the last day or two, when it has gone up above 187, In consequence of speculators endeavor- ing to create a panic about a war in Europe. In reality gold ia only an article of merchandise or speculation. Our currency is our money, and all our transactions and obligations are based upon. that. It makes no difference what the prige of gold may be, the money of the country isa paper currency. It is the same for otie person as another—the same for the buyer as for the seller, the borrower as the lender. No trouble can result from this state of things un- less efforts be made to force specie payments, and range all established values and credits.” We ought not to desire a return to specie payments till the nation is relieved of all or the greater portion of the debt. With contracted currency to the specie standard the weight of the debt would be immensely in- Tremendous Convalsion im the Democratic creased, and we should find great dificulty in discharging it. With the present volume of currency we should be able to pay it off at its proper value and within a reasonable time. We are going along very well now, and we should let well alone. ‘The Vote Message and the Central Rallroad— A Compromise Measare. Has Governor Fenton ever read the Legal Tender act? We judge not. He was in Con- gress, it is true, when it was passed; but how many members of Congress ever read this law, or know, to this day, what its terms and its meaning aret Mr. Fenton was too busy in- triguing for the Governorship of New York to pay much attention to national legislation on the subject of finances ; and his head being amall one, it would not hold’ many idea’ at the same time. The Governor in his veto message dodges the only question of any magnitude involved ; and that is the relative rights of the corpora- tion under the law as it now stands and under the new bill. At present the road can exact two cents a mile in specie, which, at the pre- sent price of gold, is more than two and three- fifths cents in currency. Under the proposed bill they can exact only two and a half cents in paper, which is leas than they are now en- titled to. The Legal Tender act applies only to debts. Railroad fare is a cash transaction ; the com- pany have a legal right to exact the fare in advance, and it never becomes a debt. As wo understand the law, it is construed so strictly that where a lessee had the option to pur- chase leased property at a price agreed on, Judge Grier, of the United States Supreme Court, held that the option was to take it at such a price in specie, and not in paper, as it was not a debt, and consequently? the Legal Tender act did not apply. Suppose paper should depreciate, as it did in the time of the American Revolution, to one hundred dollars in paper for one in gold, or, as it once did in France, to sixteen hundred in paper for one dollar in gold, does anybody suppose that the Central Railroad could be compelled to carry passengers at two cents a mile in paper? And yet that would only be strictly carrying out the principle which would require them to transport passengers at two cents a mile in our present depreciated cur- rency. The principle results in confiscation and enslavement. It would confiscate the property of the corporation, and, if it could be executed, would compel the officers and em- ployés to labor without compensation, which is slavery. Undoubtedly, as a matter of common sense, the company have a right to exact two cents a mile in specie nows undoubtedly, as a matter of law they have it, for the principle has been decided. What, then, is the meaning, what the object, of the bill now before the Legislature? If the company have the clear right to two cents a mile in especie why do they ask for a law authorizing them to take less? It means, simply, an offer of compromise. The directors of the road are not lawyers; they are simply business men, who, like all business men, dis- like litigation. So they offer to take, by agree- ment, less than they are entitled to in atrict law. This is the correct view of the bill. The Senate may adopt this view and pass it over the Governor’s veto, which is a very weak and wholly evasive document. Otherwise the company will bave to turn down the specie brakes on all the cars. That is all, If the present directors do not do it a board will be put in who will. Then the stock will be worth one hundred dollars in specie, instead of seventy or eighty, as at present. Senater Sherman’s Speech at the Union League Club. The speech of Senator Sherman, delivered at the Union League Club rooms, in Union square, on Thursday evening, and reported exclusively in yesterday’s Huratp, although nothing more than a cursory review of the most interesting political topies of the day, delivered without preparation, was yet a very satisfactory and sensible address, and stands _ out in marked contrast with the democratic balderdash put forth recently at the State Convention of that party in Albany. Senator Sherman very appropriately referred te» tho action of the Thirty-ninth Congress and to the settlement it made of the question of recon- struction, as to him, especially, the couutry is indebted for the harmonizing of conflicting views and the perfection of a plan upon which the republican party could unite, and which is acceptable to the South and likely to accom- plish the work of complete restoration. No man understands better than the Senator from Ohio the trae chatacter of the last Congress; for he was one of its leading and controlling spirits,and he gives the right interpretation to its sentiments and its acts when he declares it to have been eminently a conservative body. The radicals were baffled and defeated in all their principal measures. Thad Stevens and the rest of the extremists were unable to accomplish the impeachment of the President or the confiscation of the property of tho ex-rebels, or any other of their favorite schemes. Their Military bill, do- signed to hold the Southern States as con- quered territory, was converted by Sherman himself into the means of promoting the speedy reconstruction of the Squth. Every ultra movement made by the radicals was quietly disposed of by Congress, Senator Sherman remains a member of the Fortieth Congress, and, if he adheres to his present enlightened and progressive policy, and uses his influence to induce his party to act with as much conservatism, sense and judg- ment upon the great questions that must suc- ceed that of reconstruction, as they have in their treatment of the question of reconstruction itself, he will continue to morit the approval of the country. The tariff, the currency and similar matters will soon engross the attention of the people, and if the repub- lican Congress shall meet the issues in a broad, enlightened, conservative spirit, they will secure ® long lease of powor to their party. From the old democracy, joined to its idols and unable to catch up with the stirring events of the age, the country has nothing to expect or hope. They look to the present conserva- tive majority in Congress for continued wise and prudent action, and we believe they will not be disappointed. Ixrorwation Waxten iv Watt Staret.— Will somebody conversant with the sabject send us the current quotations for votes in the Legislature? Information om the subject is wanted in Wall street, _ Party—A Tompect in a Teapot. We publish to-day = manifesto of the Miles O'Reilly or Union democracy, declaring “war to the knife, and the knife tothe hilt,” against the Tammany Hall and Tweddle Hall, Peter Cagger and Peter Sweeny democratic organi- sation. The State Convention recently held at Albany, under the operation of gag law, ad- mitted the representatives of the Tammany “ring” and excluded all the other democratic delegations from this city, and the present movement is designed to repudiate the nomi- nations made by that convention, as well as those yet to be made by Tammany in the Senatorial districts of New York, and to run opposing candidates. The Union democracy carried the city, high and dry, in the last elec- tion for Register, &c., and in its present war against Tammany it will be joined by all the other independent democratic organizations in the city, and supported by every voter who is opposed to the continued rule of the “ring.” So there appears every probability of a, tremendous convulsion and upheaving of the unterrified democracy of New York, and we expect to see Tammany utterly demolished by the young and vigorous opposition.’ The inde- pendent democrats who, on the strength of the Exoise law, and for other reasons, supported Hoffman for Governor last fall, find the vote they then rolled up for the leader of the Tammany “ring” urged against them as a proof of their weakness, and they will not be caught in the same trap again. The war will’ not be confined to this city, however, but will spread through the State. Tha masses of the democratic party are disgusted with the action of their convention, and repudiate the addresa put forth by the fossil politicians who ran the Albany machine, and the vote at the election for delegates to the Convention of Revision will show that the wornout State rights democracy is utterly powerless, from Montauk Point to Lake Erie, Revival of the Classic Drama. ’ According to our predictions, the advent of Ristori in this country and her prodigious suo- | cess have given an impulse to the classic drama which must yet result in its revival. . || The influence of the reigning Queen of the Stage was felt at once and everywhere. The enthusiasm which she excited in the publio mind and heart led several managers to aim at satisfying the growing demand for a loftier.\. range of pieces and a superior style of acting. Thus Mr. Stuart, an enterprising man, seized the opportunity of initiating great improve- ments, which were unfortunately interrupted by the burning of his theatre. Mr. Wallack also entered upon the same path of progress, But most of the other managers seem still to linger in the old beaten course which a purer taste and an enlightened popular favor have already deserted. in New York, on her return from per- | haps the most successful theatrical journey | throughout the United States which has ager will have netted him also a handsome sum—not jess than eighty thousand dollars, These extraordinary successes haye thrown all others in theshade. For instane, we hear very little at present of Italian opera. “But we hope mer, with an excellent company. Patti is the first American artist who has attained the highest rank as a prima donna. Strakosch has made the best proof of managerial capacity in| his European tour with her. No doubt, on his, return te New York, the proprietors of the Academy of Music will have the good sense to make an engagem?nt with him that sball en- able Patti to lead us all to a final’and glorious solution of the question whether the opera) shall succeed here or not. Cartosities ef Pelities—The Two State Con. ventions. ‘The two political conventions that have just! been held—republican and democratic, the one at Syracuse and the other at Albany—present some very curious features. The republicans made their nominations for delegates at large, and wisely abstained from laying down any general programme or platform in the shape of an address or resolutions. In fact, their gathering was a very quiet, humirum affair, the only excitement during the session being occasioned by a foolish or mischievous person who proposed the names of Thurlow Weed, Henry J. Raymond and Abram Wakeman as three of the delegates at large to the Conven- tion of Revision, and in return was tendered an involuntary exit through the window. Tho Convention did, however, adopt a single resola- tion in favor of giving to the black man in the re- vised State constitution the same rights of ballot as to the white man. Batthiscam hardly be re- _ garded in the light of a republican platform ; - for everybody is in favor of it, and is moving in the same directian, North, South and West, democrats, secessionists and republicans; and the struggle in future is to be, not whether the colored man shall bave the right of suffrage, but who shall be smart enough to get his vote. The most curious feature of the conventions | is the programme or platform put forth by the | democracy. It is precisely the same in sub-| stance as the addresses issued by that remark- able party during the war of the rebellion, Indeed, they seem to ignore the fact that there has been a war at all, and go back to their old ception of Connectiont, and that they gained through the blunders and folly of the republi. cans and in spite of democracy. Yet nothing short of utter annihilation seems sufficient to convince them that the United States is mov ing steadily into the twentieth century, ané that the world is not standing still. It is only the Third, The whola, party reproscnted b, te, ‘piece | } }