The New York Herald Newspaper, November 13, 1868, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR ia AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. FRENCH THEATRE, Fourteenth street and Sixth ave- nue.—GENEVIBVE DE BYASANT. OLYMeIC THEATRE, Broadway.—Humete Domprt, wit NEW FEATURES. BROADWAY THEATRE, Broadway—Mags. F, W. Lan- DER AS MARI ANTOINETTE, WALLACK'S THEATRE, Broadway and 18h street.— Tox Lancasutne Lass. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway—MatiLpA HERow 48 CAMILLE. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Pimatxs oF THE S4- VANNAM-SNOW BIRD, OPERA HOUSE, corner of Eighth avenue and .—LA BELLE HELENE. GERMAN STADT THEATBE, Nos. 45 and 47 Bowery.— ELN GLASS WABURR. MRS. F. B, CONWAY'S PARK THEATRE, Brooklya.— FANcuON, THE LitrLr CRICKET. BRYANTS' OPERA HOUSE, Tammany Building, Mth stroct.—KTHIOPIAN MANSTRELSY, £0. KELLY & LEON’S MINSTRELS, 720 Broadway.. PIAN MINGTRELSY, BORLESQUE.—OBPHER AUX SAN FRANCISCO MINSTRELS, 535 Broadway.—EBTEI0- PIAN ENTERTAINMENTS, SINGING, DANCING, AC. TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE 201 Bowery.—Comio Vooai.i6, NEGRO MINSTRELY, &o. THEATRE COMIQUE, 514 Broadway.—Tas Guat Oni GINAL LINGARD AND VAUDEVILLE COMPANY. WOOD'S MUSEUM AND THEATRE, Thirtieth street and Browdway.—Afternoon and evening Performance. ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Fourteenth street.—REURABSAL OF Ine NEW YORK PHILMABMONIO SOCIETY. APOLLO HALL, Twenty-oighth street and Broadway.— JAurs TAYLOR AND ALF BUBNETT. NEW YORK CIRCUS, Fourteenth street.—EQugsT RIAN AND GYMNASTIO ENTERTAINMENT. GREAT EUROPEAN CIRCUS, corner Broadway and 34th -EQUES(RIAN AND GYMNASTIO PERFORMANOKS. UNION LYAGUE CLUB THEATRE, corner Madison avenue and 2th street.-READINGS FROM SHAKSPRARE. IRVING HALL, Irving place.—Mao Evor’s Naw Hr BERNIOON. ALHAMBRA, 616 Broadway.—MUSICAL MOMENTS WITH Menuy Momus. HOOLEY’S OPERA HOUSE, MINSTREILS—FEMENINE WiOWAM, ‘ooklyn,—HOOLRY's HOOLEY'S (E. D.) OPERA HOUSE, Willtamsburg.— HOOLEY's MINSTRRLE—BUBLESQUES—ARONAUTS, &0, ART GALLERY, &5 Broadway.—EXuIbITION OF O11 PAINTINGS—ESMERALDA. NEW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618 Broadway.— SOIRNOE AND ART. New York, Friday, November 13, 1868. Sa Europe. The cable reports are dated November 12. The British Parliament elections commence to-day, and extraordinary precautions are being taken to pre- Vert disturbances, especially in Blackburn, The Bank of England returns show £119,000 less in vault than last week. The Rey. William Thomson is appointed to the See of Canterbury. The Austrian Reichsrath has passed new army regulations. ‘The International Military Commission of St. Pe- tersburg has admitted the limited use of explosive Projectiles in war. Mexico. Telegraphic advices via Havana state that Con- gress is about to try General Mejia, the Secretary of ‘War, for misappropriation of public moneys. Seve- ral other prominent personages are also to be tried, nd Minister Romero has been accused by a Con- gressinan of illegal acts in various ways. General Cauto, the murderer of Patonl, had demanded a Mullitary trial. Cuba. Our Havana letter of November 7 confirms the news, published in our letters yesterday, that Puerto Principe had risen in revolt. Five war vessels had been ordered to depart immediately for the scene of the insurrection. A commission, in the person of Aguilesa,a prominent leader of the rebels, is be- Neved to have gone from the insurgents to Secretary Seward to urge upon him the expediency of recognizing them as belligerents, The government authorities in Havana are quiet about the progress of the revolt, and it is believed that they are forced to confess themselves unable to subdue it, The insurgents are supplied with arms from St. Domingo. Telegraphic advices of yesterday state that Cap- tain General Lersundi has issued a proclamation closing all ports in the Eastern departments where no Custom Houses have been established, The American war steamer Contoocook, which @ailed from Fortress Monroe for Havana on Tuesday, carries out Rear Admiral Hof, who has made her his flagship. Miscellaneous. District Attorney S. G. Courtney and Marshal Mur- way arrived in Washington yesterday to answer the charges made against them by Judge Fullerton. They visited the President and the charges against them were read by Judge Fullerton, who had a pile of aMdavits on the subject. Both are charged with malfeasance in office, including bribery and corrup- tion. Thoy wade informal defences, but it is said that Tiurlow Weed and Mr. Van Vaikenburgh, of New York, ave retained to deiend them. A resolution was introduced in the Tennessee Legislature yesterday to unseat the Speaker of the House, as ineligibie. The resolution was laid over until to-day. A siore at Huntington, L. 1,, was entered by burg- larson Wednesday night, the safe blown open and $18,000 in United Staves bonds were carried off. General Cole's secoud trial commenced at Albany yesterday. Uutof @ panel of 150 jurors called four only have so far been accepted. The white men of Charleston, S. C., propose to contest the municipal election in that city oa the ground of intimidation. Michael Roche, for the manslaughter of Patrick Maaden in Hoboken last July, was sentenced to three years in the State Prison, ‘The trial of James Rielly, who ts charged with Daving murdered his wife in August last by throw- ing her from iackeasack bridge into the river, was commenced in Hudson City, N, J., yesterday, The City. Nine thousand dollars in bills were stolen from the Mechanics’ Bank, in Court street, Brooklyn, on Tues- Gay, by an adroit thief, who, with two confederates, entered the oftice about one o'clock in the afternoon. ‘ihe two clerks present were engaged by two of the thieves, while the third quietly emptied the drawers Bearest him. A bank messenger, With $100,000 in bonds and Money in his possession, was assaulted in Cedar Street yesterday by ® man who attempted to steal the treasure. A policeman came to the rescue, how- ever, and arrested the thief, A young man named James Henderson presented ® check for $95,000 at the Fourth National Bank for payment yesterday afternoon, but as the cashier be. Came suspicious the young man became frigttened nd ran, but was easily captured. On examination it proved that the check was a genuine one altered from $916 to $95,000. In the Board of Common Councilmen yesterday the veto message of the Mayor on the resolution for the appointment of an iudex clerk at a salary of $1,600 was received. The ordinance authorizing the issue of $75,000 worth of stock forthe purchase of @ pauper burying ground was received and laid over. Admiral Farragut paid an ofictal visit to the Brooklyn Navy Yard yesterday and was received by Admiral Godon with tho customary honors, Faustin& Berthitlot, formerly an attaché of Bate. man’s optra house company, sued “the General’ yesterday im the Marine Vourt for the recovery of $600 dainages for alleged flegal arrest and imprison- ment. It appears she had been fined fifty cents for Profeasional delinquency and in a row which ensued NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1868. she called Mr. Bateman a thief, He causedgher| The Whiskey Goverament ef the United arrest and Judge Dodge fined her ton dollars. The case is not yet finished. Grifin, who is charged with complicity in the Royal Insurance bond robbery in 1666, was yesterday Committed to the Tombs in default of $10,000 ball. Dr. Cremmen, of Henry street, has been arrested on the charge of having some of the stolen bonds tn his Possession. ‘The steamship General Meade salled last evening for New Orleans, a new plate of iron having been substituted for the one stove in last Saturday night when in contact with the steamship Marmion, near Sandy Hook. ‘The Inman line steamship City of Paris, Captain James Kennedy, will leave pier 45 North river at one P. M. to-morrow (Saturday) for Queenstown and Liverpool. The European mails will close at the Post Office at twelve M. on the 14th Inst, The steamship Erin, Captain Webster, of the National line, will sail from pler 47 North river at two P. M. on Saturday, 14th inst., for Liverpool, call- ing at Queenstown to land passengers, &c. The Merchants’ line steamship United States, Cap- tain Norton, will leave plier 12 North river at three Pp. M. om Saturday, 14th inst, for New Orleans Prominent Arrivals in the City. Senator S. C, Pomeroy, of Kansas, is stopping at the Astor House, General J, A. Potter, of the United States Army, and J. F. Joy, of Detroit, are at the St. Nicholas Hotel. General George J. Fisher, of Buffalo; Dr. Charles Barnard, of California, and George E. Spencer, of Alabama, are at the Metropolitan Hotel. Colonels Thos. Davidson and A. B. Garfield, of the United States Army, and Professor Reeder, of Phila- delphia, are at the St. Charles Hotel. Dr. W. Hays, of Covington, Ky., is at the Maltby House. Judge Geo. G. Munger, of Rochester; Robert E. Chandler, of New Hampshire; 0. A. Washburne, of Rhode Isjand, and Chas. E. Leedy, of Quebec, are at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. General T. G. Pitcher, of the United States Army, and Madison Slogt, of Indians, are at the Hofman House. Captain Andrews, of the British Army, and Judgo Henderson, of St. Louis, are at the St. Julien Hotel. Our National Finances and Currency=The Duty of Congress. The most urgent duty of Congress now is to place the finances and currency of the country on a sound and durable foundation. Through the ignorance and mismanagement of Mr. McCulloch and the want of correct financial views in our national legislators we have been drifting and floundering about in a perilous manner. Had it not been for the extraordi- nary resources and surprising elasticity of the country under difficulties we should have seen great trouble. Mr. McCulloch has brought himself into an embarrassing situation, so that be knows not which way to turn through his absurd resumption theories and wretched man- agement of the Treasury, By his contraction of the circulating medium and stupid attempts to regulate the money market he disarranges business, encourages gambling in gold, stocks and currency and makes the people pay a ruinous rate of interest. Having reduced the legal tender circulation to about three hundred and fifty millions he now claims the power of increasing it to four hundred millions, the amount limited by law, and from the tenor of our Washington despatches it seems he contem- plates exercising that power. Thus the vast business interests of the republic are placed at the mercy of one man, and that man utterly ignorant of the subject of national finance and currency. This ought not tobe. It is mon- strous that one man or any set of men should have such power over the trade and values of the country. The first thing Congress should do, therefore, is to pass laws determining the amount and character of the currency and regulating the finances on a sound basis. A great commercial nation is subject to peri- odical revulsions. They have occurred in this country heretofore every ten years or 80. They are the natural reaction from over- trading and speculation, and can hardly be avoided entirely, but with a sound monetary system they may be made comparatively harm- less, With a sufficient and flexible currency business would soon recover from temporary shocks and flow again in the regular channel. But it cannot bear such violent and frequent interruptions as the country has suffered during Mr. McCulloch's administration of the Treasury Department, There is not probably more than one-fourth the currency in circulation to-day that there was four years ago. The amount at the close of the war was not less than a thou- sand millions, and probably nearer twelve bun- dred millions, inclusive of legal tenders, national bank notes, compound interest notes, the seven-thirties and fractional currency, to say nothing of the bonds which circulated to some extent while they were at par or the pre- iium low. The actual circulation at present is not more than between four and five hundred mil- lions. The seven-thirties and compound inte- rest notes have been withdrawn, and there is not, perhaps, over a hundred millions of legal tenders in active circulation. A hundred and fifty millions, or about that, may be held as reserve by the national banks for their liabili- ties and another hundred millions locked up by other banks and moneyed institutions, So that, in fact, the actual circulation at present, including national bank notes, legal tenders and fractional currency, does not reach more than between four and five hundred millions. How easy, then, with this comparatively limit- ed circulation, it is for the Secretary of the Treasury or a combination of bankers and speculators to disturb the money market and paralyze trade. We want the currency regulated by law and a sufficient amount of it. Then it would not be subject to such influences. Ali attempts to contract it for the purpose of forcing specie payments have been futile and would be ruin- ous. With an established and well regulated currency the country would grow up to specie payments naturally as wealth and population increase and trade expands. At the same time that Congress should #0 regulate the cur- rency it ought also to consolidate the national debt in one stock bearing a low and uniform rate of interest. There is necessarily great sympathy between the currency and such a vast debt, and the condition of one affects the other, If the interest of the whole debt were reduced ‘to three or four per cent people would hold it strictly as a permanent invest- ment, would cease to speculate in it as they do now and money would be used for other purpoe As the first step in these necessary reforms the President should remove Mr. McCulloch, who stands in the way. Then Congress, immediately on reassembling, should regulate the currency according to the wants | of the country, reorganize the national debt on the basis we have suggested and give us @ sound financial avater in overy respect. States. At last there appears to be some prospect of ection on the part of President Johnson in regard to the internal revenue frauds, and some likelihood that a definite point will be reached leading to a clearing out of the depart- ment and an investigation into its past trans- actions. An important budget of evidence, strengthened by affidavits, has been submitted to the President, and parties interested in the developments have been summoned to appear in Washington and answer for themselves. Rumors of suspensions on a grand scale aro floating about on the air, and there is a sus- Picious fluttering among government offi- cials and a sudden revival of the Congres- sional whitewashing committee which look very much like preparations for a storm. Above all, the old policy of blackening the character of parties engaged in the investiga- tion of revenue frauds is being revived in the organs of the whiskey rings, and this may be accepted as the surest indication that the operators who have been for three or four years making hundred million dollars a year out of the government expect at last to be brought to bay. It is to be hoped that the parties into whose hands the investigation into these frauds has passed will prove equal to the task and perse; vere in their effort to keep President Johpedn up to the mark, so as to insure the 8"4pension of the government officials Who obstruct inquiry and bring about & complete exp osure of all the transactions of the whiskey rings so far as they can be ascertained. But the people have witnessed go many failures in this direction that they will hesitate to place much confidence in the present indications until some definite result has been reached. The fact is that the whiskey rings have vir- tually governed the United States for the past three or four years, and the country knows their power. They have had their voices in the Cabinet; they have carried ma- jorities in both houses of Congress; they have governed the departments and bureaus at Washington ; they have filled the offices of col- lectors, assessors, storekeepers and gaugers ; they have placed their agents upon the bench, at the bar, in the jury box and on the witness stand. The subordinate positions in the several districts have been filled on the recommenda- tion of the collectors and assessors with the right sort of men, and hence, when the princi- pal officers have been the allies of the whiskey rings, the whole revenue force of the district has partaken of the same character. The laws have been made at the dictation of these rings. The Congressional committees charged with the construction of a system of taxation have called before them none but members of the whiskey rings and their co-operators, and the very men who have made fortunes by selling their products at less than the tax nominally imposed upon their manufacture have been deemed competent advisers in the amendment of faulty revenue laws. The Tenure of Office law was a necessity to the whiskey government of the United States and was enacted in its inte- rest, It tied the hands of the Executive, ren- dering it impossible for him to remove any federal officeholder, from his Cabinet advisers down, without the consent of Congress; and hence while the whiskey rings held Congross they were secure from molestation, however glaring and enormous their frauds, The Pres- ident had the power of suspension left, but this he could only exercise at his peril, and the constant session of Congress rendered it nuga- tory. Thus armed at every point the whiskey rings have for the past three or four years vir- tually governed the United States, and have been revelling in fraud and corruption, safe from removal, protected against criminal prosecutions and fearless of exposure. President Johnson is well aware of these facts, and he knows that the groundwork of the whole evil is the Congressional interfe- rence with the constitutional functions of the Executive of the United States, If he pos- sessed the power of removal the corruption that surrounds his administration would have been long since swept away. But he is now free from Congress until the first Monday in December, and he can in the meantime sus- pend the principal officers in the Internal Revenue Department, substitute unexception- able men in their places, proceed vigorously with the investigation into the enormous frauds of the past three years, and then defy Congress to interfere with or nullify his acts. After the one determined step his way will be plain ond his task easy; for upon the first real danger to the eorrupt rings they will turn round upon each other, and each will endeavor to save himself by volunteering as State's evi- dence against his fellow criminal. Now is President Johnson's opportunity. Let him act promptly and fearlessly and he will clear his own character from the stains that disfigure his administration, and will place the responsi- bility upon those who have stripped him of executive power, But if he should falter and decide to leave the work of purification to his successor, the world will be slow to believe that his own hands are entirely clean, Mr. McCulloch as a Stockjobber. Although no more Treasury stockjobbing despatches have been received from. Washing- ton within the last three days the public indig- nation which they excited has by no means subsided. It 1s generally known that until within a very short time past Mr. McCulloch looked forward to retaining his present office under General Grant, but hopes of this no longer exist, and the Secretary, as a dernier ressort, is said to be intent on making a million of dollars, more or less, before he leaves the department. The semi-official press de- spatches of Friday, Saturday and Monday last were therefore, thero is good reason to believe, part of the stockjobbing scheme in which the Treasury ring is engaged, with Mr. McCulloch atits head. This is not only a scandal to the department, but a disgrace to the government, and its repetition ought to be punished by the President by the suspension of his stockjobbing Secretary of the Treasury. It is not the business of the latter to attempt to regulate Wall street by either bulling or bear- | ing stocks, gold and government securitiés, in league with speculators, or trying to influence the money market by resorting to expedients, The Secretary of the Treasury has no authority | undor the law to inflate the currency, and it | was an abuse of authority for him to threaten | to do 80, and, moreover, it is in direct conflict with all that he has hitherto said on the sub- ject. But what signifies consistency and official honor when the Treasury ring is at work? It remains for public opinion to enlighten Mr. McCulloch, if nothing else will, and the former is unanimously opposed to any interference whatever with the money market tor ‘he bene- fit of either the Treasury ring or any other stockjobbers. 7 Exit the Blair Family—Euter the Washburne Family. Great families are great facts in all national history, and the family as an institution is so universally found and respected in nations having any civilization whatever that we must accept it as the natural unit of social organi- zation. Roman history is especially noted as having grown around the names of a few great families; and if we would sum up the earlier glories of the republic we shall find that its wealth was less in its record of great achieve- ments than in the roll of its illustrious gens. The true splendors of that history were the Furii, (from whom Camillus came), the Corn¢lii, the Emilii, the Fabii, the Julii, the Horatii— names thatin the great story ofthe past rank even almost with the name of Rome itself. Inguch esteem did the Romans themselves hold their great gens that they have stamped indelibly | upon the speéch we inherit from them that itis a reproach to be a fellow of none of the fami- lies; to be non generosus is to be without much of the better grace of life, and the pos- session of a fair claim to gen-tility compensates the mass of men for even the want of more sub- stantial possessions. Our own history shows a growth not dissimi- lar to that of the early Roman republic, and we see in it also the prominent splendor of some great names. We all know what a power the Adams family was in the story of the Revolu- tion, and we see its high tendency in the education of its sons to the science of gov- ernment running through many generations. Another part of the country cannot write its history without the name of Lee on every page. Our own State has a richer roll of these names than. any other, and its story could be amply written in the biographies of members of such illustrious gens as the Stuyvesants, Van Rensselaers, Schuylers, Hamiltons, Mor- rises and Livingstons. In the roll of these names of great American families there is also, not to say it captiously, the Blair family. (Ex- President Fillmore regards Old Blair as ‘‘the greatest man that God Almighty ever made.” This illustrious family was once held in greater esteem than it is now; but decay of influence is a possible fate of all families, and is no dis- honor to the family, but only to the age that fails to appreciate it. Men who know our his- tory will not regard the Blairs the less that one of thom got fewer votes for an insignificant office than somebody else ; for they will know that this single family has carried on the government since the days of General Jackson. We never had any earthquakes in San Francisco in those days. But itis also a peculiarity of this dovelop- ment of nations that every now and then new families come up. Often a great man establishes a gens, as Camillus, who was a Furius, was afterwards counted the first of the Camilli. In many cases foolish people call these men parvenua, upstarts and nobodies ; but wiser people see the future inthem. The Ro- mans called them nobiles, because of their novelty or newness, and this is the queer ety- mology of nobility ; so that for a family to be very noble it must be very new, which ought tobe a great comfort to those happy people who cannot tell the names of their grand- fathers. In our history one of the most illus- trious of the new gens is the Washburne family, which will be known in the future bet- ter than even Ignatius Donnelly knows it now. We expect a great deal from this family, be- cause it is so large. It went first from Down East, which is the best section of the country to migrate from, and settled out West in a soil that gives vigorous growth. There is at present an Elihu Washburne, an Elias Wash- burne, an Elijah Washburne, an Elisha Wash- burne, with Abijahs, Nehemiahs, Hezekiahs and Obadiahs too numerous to name. They are all in Congress just now, except a few that are in foreign missions; but Congress is, after all, not place to thrive in, so that we expect to see five or six of them iu the Cabinet in a short time and the rest in the next best places. NOTES ABOUT TOWN. None of the numerous sidewalks in the city have been repaired so often and none of them to-day are in sucha wretched and abominable state of neglect and dilapidation as the one on the Broadway side of the City Hall Park. Can't our “vity Fathers” have this disgrace remedied? ‘The nulsance of “ticket speculators” that infests the entrance to most of our metropolitan theatres is being gradually abolished. To Wood's Museum be- longs the credit of this needed reform, and other places of public amusement, it is rumored, are about to follow the example of their uptown neighbor. The young fops and peacocks of fashion, who have suddenly taken a fancy to wear peacock feathers in the bandit bats which are now the rage, would be less conspicuous would they but content themselves with the hat and “bend” without the feather. These ninnies plume themselves immensely upon their silly appearance. The proposed filibnstering expedition to Cuba is at present the all-absorbing topic of conversation in this city among adventurous young men of siender prospects, who have nothing particular to do, To such as may be inclined to visit the “Queen of ihe Antillea’’ the recollections of Nicaragua and the fate of General Walker should be a warning. SALE OF THE PROPERTY OF THE BOSTON STEAMSIIP COMPANY. ‘The great steamships Erle and Ontarto, which were built a little over a year since by the newly organized American Steamship Company of Boston, have recently been sold at private sale. Commodore Vanderbilt was the purchaser, and the price patd was far below their original cost and probably about the amount of the indebtedness existing agaist the steamship company. They were intended originally to run between Boston and Liverpool, but there was not sumicient business to sustain them. Commodore Vanderbilt, it 18 sald, will run them between the Paciile coast and some foreign port. THE COLEHISCOCK TRIAL AT ALBANY. ALBANY, Nov. 12, 1868. The second trial of George W. Cole commenced here to-day in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, Judge Hogeboom presiding. A motion to postpone till to-morrow on account of the absence of James T. Brady was denied. ‘The panel of jurors was then called, Out of 150 jnrors summoned @fty-eight were drawn up to a journment, of whom tho following were accepted:— Samuel Truil, Cohoes; Joseph Deltz, Ezra Dickeman and Patrick Lamb, of Albany. Senator Cole, of California, brother of tho prisoner, is attending the trial. LECTURES LAST NIGHT. Arctic Diecevery—Address by Dr. Hayes, the Arctic Explorer, Before the American Geo- graphical Society. The lecture room of the American Geographical Bocloty was crowded last evening by an assemblage of ladies and gentiemen representing the intellect nd culture of the metropolis to listen to an address on ‘Arctic Discoveries,” by Dr. Isaac I. Hayes, the renowned Arctic explorer. Judge Daly, the presl- dent, occupied the chair. This was the first monthly meeting since May 14 of this year, and the reports of the treasurer and Morarian were received and ving statements of the business of thelr departments during the interva) , The president then made some allusio”, to the gratl- fying reports reqaived concerning tye gafety, re- searches and probible success of 7,7. Livingstone, and & brief passing eulogium on t” 9 memory of the lately deceased De La Roquct™., president of the French Geographical Sociaty, “and suggested that a] riate reaolutions be trap" mitted to the society. After al- Meet + Cee minor subjects he introduced the eg tbe. evel Dr. Hayes, who proceeded to deliver % Dost el: discourse upon the subject announced, which he iilustrated by globes, ch: @nd outlines, After review! \e progress Snolent geography the times of Moses and Ho- Wer, who, he sald, were the first eee and the labors of their successors down to the fall o! the Roman Empire, he dwelt at length on the over- shadowing importance of the discovery of the mag netic needle. From this era modern geography too! its rise and the age of discovery began to reek itself, Columbus led the way to a new world then began the struggles of the nations to reach India by & Sorage. to the West. The Spanish aud or except the norterly passage, aud tie Boglish and ol 01 rl an 1e an started expeditions to seek a Dutch ear! course in that direct! pea @ northern Magelian's Strait. Thus opened the of Arctic discovery, In 1494, by the Venettan Cabot, under the British and which was never brought to an end, until McClure, under the same flag in 1853—350 years afterwards—proved that there was in truth a northern route to the Indies, but proved at the same time that it was unavailable for cominercial Ped py The lecturer then traced the adventures of the Scandinavians and the jue fishermen. The northern coasts of Agia and America enclosed what is known as the open Polar Sea, Whose existence Dr. Hayes elaborately defined upon the theory of the oceanic currents. Of the tiow of the waters within the limits of the Polar Sea we know little, but we can trace one. This swee along both coasts of Greenland; the branch on eastern side, after touching Iceland. wheels around Cape Farewell into Baftin’s Bay, where it joins the other branch through Smith’s Sound, and out from the great Parry Archipelago through Jones Sound, Lancaster Sound and Hudson Strait. Thus uniting its great arms this Polar current courses along the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, and wedging itself in between the Gulf Stream and the American coast is finally lost off the cape of Florida. The Guif Stream and the Japanese current both flow into the Polar Sea, the former enter- ing by the coast of Spitzbergen and the lat- ter through Behring Strait. Noting the influences of these currents upon the climates of the adjacent countries we find on the Atlantic coast, Glasgow, in latitude 65 deg. 51 min., parallel with the coldest int of Labrador, which is chilled by the ice-encum- red current of Baffln’s Bay, St. Petersburg is on she same parallel of latitude with the southern point of Greenland. On the Pacific coast Sitka was found in latitude 57 deg. 8 min., with much the same climaie as the European cities before mentioned. Water, he proceeded to say, did not freeze except where shel- tered by the land, as it was a restless object. Firmly frozen bodies of water of any considerable extent were not Known. Baffin’a Bay and Hudson Bay were never sealed, and in passiag the winter of 1960-61 on the margin of the most northerly portion of batiin’s jay, with the tempera- ture at forty degrees below zero, he, with his party, was always within sound of the beating surf. Exp‘aining the dierent proposed and Projected routes to the Polar Sea, he said he wouid give the preference to the way of Smith’s Sound. A Vessel could certainly be forced up to Fort Polk, and thence would be afforded, first, land as a base of operations, the route lying over Grinnell’s Land, and, second, the opportunity to colonize a party of hunters and natives as a permanent support. Birds, whale, walrus, seal and reindeer were here to be found tn abundance. This was his plan seven years ago, as it was now. in concluding, while stating that he did not ap- peer ag the advocate of @ cause or to prove a heory, he expressed the utmoss confidence in being able with a steamer to reach the open Polar pel and was Willing again to attempt it in the interest o! science and for the honor of tho nation. Our gov- ernment was not one upon which we usually rely in such emergencies; yet he had thought that the gov- ernment might be persuaded to lend to such an ex- pedition a good, stout ship of the many not now In use. At the close of his address, which occupied over two hours in delivery, @ vote of thanks was tendered the lecturer, and @ request made ior a copy of his paper to be preserved in the archives of the society, Japan and the Japanese. Last evening Mr. George 5. Fishcr, late United States Consul to Japan, delivered a lecture on Japan and the Japanese at the Forty-second street Presby- terian church to @ numerous and select audience. He said that the name and memory of Commodore Perry were well and affectionately remembered in Japan, and too much credit cannot be awarded him for his triumphant success in opening the trade of that country to American enterprise. The islands of Japan are several hundred in number and gene- rally fertile and healthy. The seaboard is stormy and inhospitable, but there are very many fine harbors to be found and excellent anchorage ground within. Terrific storms and typhoons arc common to the wators of Japan. The interlor country is abundantly watered, and rich alluvial valleys, magnificent wood and tablelands meet the eye on all sides. The ca- Melia japonica is often seen growing to an altitude of sixty feet; the acacia, the camphor wood trees, the palm tree, the tall cedars, the variety of clirysan- thums rhododendrons, the orange, the fig and pome- granate are on every hand and add intense beauty and interest to the landscape. The summer nights ie siways refreshing on the coast. In the interior the weather in some places is exceedingly sultry. The population of the country might be about 38,000,000 of souls. The population of Jeddo has de- creased, owing principally to the reversal of the ancient decree by the Tycoon requiring the great daimios to retain a large representation of their followers at the national capital; and then there have been some fearful fires, eda | down whole acrea of houses and destroying an immense number of ives, The ceilings. partitions, doors and windows of Japanese houses are made of paper. The true Japanese house is opened front and rear, at the rear more particularly, and parterres of the most exquisiie fowers are trained around the humbiest dweilings. ‘The Tycoon is the it tem ruler of Japan; he is Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy; he governs the Treasury; coins all the current money of the realm; regulates the supreme, civil and judi- cial business, and atiends to innumerabie other mat- tera. ‘The accounts we hear now from Japan about the Mikado being deprived of his share inthe dual government—the spiritual element—are diMicuit to Tely upon, because Japanese affairs are mystery thrice mystified, and impossible to be fully and clearly understood and bo pgp by foreigners, There is @ deal dissension among the daimios on the subject of trading with the outside world. Some of them favor throwing open all the poi while there are others who would forever adhere to the old and obstinate licy of sealing up the entire seaboard, This very Reet ‘on this subject was the source of the troubles which sprung up in Japan in 1863, A strong party insisted upon the immediate closing up of all the ris, The buildings of the British tion at Jeado, which had just been completed, were burned down; large numbers of angry and excited men swarmed around those ports where foreigners were congregated, threatening to trample in the dust men, women and children of the barbarian race, but the wise and temperate action of the Tycoon allayed the excitement and restored order. ‘rhe distinctions In Japan between oMcials are very great. Caste is not t most wholly impassable between the common and the nobility, wear two swords; old merchants wear one sword. peculiar sword for defend of rank also carry a smal: sword or d wt for seit. defence or self-immolation, like their lords, who per- form the hari-kari (the happy despatch) when cer- tain forms of disgrace overtake them. ‘The people are imore dignified, intelligent, self reliant, gencrous and hospitable than auy other Eastern or Indian people, ‘The fashions of the Ja- panese never change, fastidiousness im dress is not prevalent and nudity ia not uncommon, ‘The transportation of burdens through the interior is done by coolies, who traverse the empire from one end to the other, The temples of religion are in some tn: ces of great magnificence, and are situ- ated amid scenes of the most exquisite beauty. The papentty, of the Japanese gives them claim to be called the yellow Yankees of the East. For models of coolness aud patience they excel, and In politeness they are ahead of the Frouch. ‘The masses of the woinen are low in stature and more like slaves of burden than helpimates of their lords. Some of them in the higher ranks are very finely formed, and with teeth of pearly whiteness. The moment, however, that they marry their teeth are put in mourning, dyed blacker than the blackest ebony. It is very likely a custom itended to draw a palpable dis tinction between the married and unmiar. ried, and thus running away with another man’s wife becomes a very dideult and dangerous operation for @ known bachelor, Tobacco is smoked by all Classes, even by womel. ‘The common people ate meter y rich nor very poor, As a nation the Japanese have made more rogress in cight years than tie C ines tn fr Tie Cutnese do not understand the be iv ple All persons and officials of rank men, wealthy and retired The short sword is the ig personal honor. Ladies the Jap will ne eign euyt to atop fom ut se ore quite at home at it if thoy can avoyt it, any pre weir ow Dr. Lemercler’s Second Lecture—Scientifie Dr. F. G, Lemercier, lately from France, delivered the second of the course of lectures, for which the learned gentieman was announced by the “Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science and Art.” The large hall of Cooper Institute was filled to about one-fifth of its capacity, and this is to be for the learned lecturer demonstrated p! truths which it would benefit many thousands to know. His English ts not of the purest, put by Means of objective illustrations he succeeded very Well in making himself understocd, and although occasionally one or the other of the audience sug- ited to him this or that word, he always managed ‘0 keep himself on the course which he laid out for himself, and never deviated. he learned gentleman man and beast which every student of mediciue is, or ought to be at least, fully familiar with, He showed the heart, the viscera, the blood circylation, the lung and how it worked while breat! the diaphragm, and closed the introduction by apart a snail, by while he explained the proceas of £ tio, giving the alldience to Understand that it Well to smoke after dinner, but that it was other- wise if a cigar be taken before it. A tive representation was of the effect that corsets have upon the human body; they interfere with eat- ing, with breathing, disturb secretion and make work unpalatable, the learned Doctor had simply said that tight lacing produces dispepsia and all tao attendant he would have been sooner under- stood. Dr, Lemercier then gave a lucid explanation, aa- sisted by an enlarged plastic, or, as he cails it, “‘clas- tic,” illustration, how @ serpent produces poison, how its glands secrete it and how it ts pressed into the hollow of the incisor, and how, when the serpent ig biting, the poisonous juice is forced out through its teeth. The mechanisin of the suake’s head was illustrated, that of the bee and of the silkworm, and the physical structure of this worm was admirabi: given. The Doctor toid his audience how the sil Was generated within the body of the worm, through what tubes it has to pass, how the cocoon was formed and that three thousand feet of silk were made by a single worm inside of three days, ‘the lecturer then passed over to the nervous system; that there are two distinct sys- tems in man—one the nutritive, which promotes life and breathing; the other the sensitive, which has its centre in the cerebellum and which receives the sensation from all parts of the body, and wiuch also imparts the sense of voiltion to all the members of the human frame. Aiter ceneeenng, this pro- position by a number of apt illustrations the learned geuticman turned to “‘taste,’’ and very happily tlius- trated it by the divergent tastes of master and cook, the latter of whom often knows better, from ihe very instinct of his trade, what 1s good to dispel the effects of an ill regulated life. On the other hand he referred to the saying of the celebrated German Buysiclan, Dr. Hoeilliein, that the call of cooks is to estroy health, that of physicians to repair it, bat that cooks are more certain to succeed than doctors. Giving a full and vivid elucidation of the organs for smelling, illustrated by models from d and foxes, the lecturer proceeded to the sense of sight, and with the enlarged representation of the human eye, which he produced, he gave a@ graphic and Ppictural description of that beautiful mechanism, Adverting to the bot or short-sighted eye, the Doctor remarked that short-sighted men are gener- aliy more inteliigent than others; which declaration those who are gifted with short-sightedness may consider as advantageous tothem. The ear and ite mechanical construction were the last referred to, the de potarn! was shown, and the whole method of hearing illustrated. The next lecture will be to- night, and for its subject the Doctor has selected the “brain” and its influence upon the body. FARRACUT. Oficial Reception at the Brooklyn Navy Yard—Honors to the Hero of the Missis- sippt and Mobile Bay. Admiral Farragut yesterday afternoon pald a visit to the Commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and ag the visit was merely a sort of return compliment for Admiral Godon’s visit to the Franklin the other day, and which naval etiquette exacted from even the “hero of New Orleans,” no very extensive pre- parations were made for his reception. There was no manning of yards or flaunting of flags from the war ships in the river, as was expected would bethe case, for the fact is that but very few persons out- side the regular attachés of the Yard were aware that Farragut was about to honor the post by his pre} sence, About noon the Admiral, accompanted by several members of his staff in full dress, drove down town from his residence in private carriages, and em- barked in a small tug that had been sent over the river from the Navy Yard for his accommoda- tion. As the little vessel steamed its way across the stream the brilliant uniforms of the officers at- tracted the attention of the crowds on many of the aasing ferry! who on ‘ing the famwihar : Nata their midst, cheered him quite ust tly. On the arrival of the tug at the Navy Yard wharf the Admiral was met at the ray by Rear Admi- ral Godon and his staff and a large number of naval officers from the various war ships now lying in the river. The two Admirals each other quite warmly and arm in arm, followed by their statts, marched up the roadway towards the Lyceum, the band playing “Hail to the Chief,” and the battalion of marines, in fali uniform, under Colonel Brown, which was drawn up in line along the route, pre- senting arms as ow Pane It is customary when a rear admiral goes on boara. his flag ship ta assume command or to be received at any naval station for the drums to give two ruf- fles and a salute of thirteen guns to be ; but om account of rragut’s occupying @ higher rank in the navy tl any one mentioned in the latest edi- tion of the lations,” according to St. Gideor four rumMes of the drum were given and a salute seventeen guns was fired from the shore battery as he entered the commandant’s headquarters, The Admiral had no sooner got himself into the Lyceum than ne was at once surrounded by all the oflicers, naval and marine, each of whom seemed to vie with the other tn expressions of welcome. Admiral Godon introduced the officers singly, and for over a half hour Farragut was forced to undergo @ hand-shaking ordeal that no other man besides General Grant could outlive for an hour. After hav- ing chatted on some one topic or another with the blue coats and n reminded a many more times than was actually neces- sary that he was in close proximity to @ quantity of cannon he had capiured at Mobile and elsewhere during the war, he was escorted to the Com- mandant’s house, where an interesting imprompta levee was held in the pariors, the iadles joing the honors with becoming grace. Several ladies. prominent families in Brookiyn catied on the Admi- ral during the levee and paid their respects. Within an hour after his arrival at the Yard he tock his departure, escorted to the wharf by the marines, A great many flags were displayed from housetops in Brooklyn during the Admiral’s visit. THE EAST RIVER IMPROVEMENT “ASSOCIATION, The meeting of the East River Inf provement Asso- ciation, heid last evening at room,’ No. 21 Cooper In- stitute, was attended by a large /number of promt nent citizens and east side proper iy holders, and the proceedings were of a most enc/juraging and satia- factory nature, Tho President, ¥ ir, James R. Taylor, said that, although the society’ was only organized last spring, it had already acco aplished a great deal towards improving the comre#:rcial and industrial interests of the East riverand f he real estate border- ing thereon. The soclety solic! ts the co-operation of ail those interested in devel sping the natural re- sources and enhancing the v# jue of property on the east side of New York city ynd harbor. Every ex- ertion is now being made, ‘to convince Congress of the necessity of removing ‘the obstructions at Hell Gate aud other points om the Hast river and of making the Sound entrance as practicable as Sandy Hook, and also to urge upon the State and municipal autheriides the advantages of a better system im the construction of docks, plers and wharves, and the nec asity of improving the Avenues and streets on the ea at side, It is estimated that not lesa than $3,000,000 ‘will be red for the removal of the obstructious at Hell Gate, and confident of re- ceiving the hearty upport of the property holders and citizens of the east side the Association is vigor- ously following up the good work it has inaugurated and pledges itscli to accomplish the much desired end. A special committee i# now engaged collecting data and statistics in relation to the number of ves= sels, amount of tonnage aud value of commerce Yearly passing through Hell Gate; the namber of Vessels lajured oF wr ‘he amount of losses taourred an¢ by wnsur~ Qne* companics; tho approximate mount o tempo- rary insurances daly eifecte! on astern trade by reason of the fa mt tho Gate, and, in fact, om envinee out log siators of the n Word sult t m, the come- fie meeting waa .