The New York Herald Newspaper, January 31, 1869, Page 4

fonsinues to be cheering fron try. The theatres are in several cities Unto churches every Sabbath, and the Gospel ts dis- (pensed to large numbers of thirsty souls. val Christian gives accounts of preaching services ‘vy Unitarian clergymen in theatres or other public halls in Boston, Hartford, New York, Pittsburg and ‘tion, but a short time since were coutent to have the ear of a portion of the educated and refined classes, NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 1869.-TRIPLK SHEET. A Timely Suggestion Woucrsrsr, Mass., Jan. 26, 1869, Mr. Epfrox—In Monday's Haxaup you give the report of a meeting held the day before by the i i : ee a ly 8. Fro! it paroxysm:! ‘and were doing little or nothing to proclaim | friends of the American Tract Soctety to consider | the description which our informant gave the whole ‘their principles to the masses. Indeed, they weemed to have none of the aggressive spirit the age, and it has been a standing against their principles that they jored the great command of the Saviour, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every Within the last Ove or ten years a great «change has come over the denomination, It is taking mo part, or next to none, in the work of fo! mis- sions, but it bas'aoqatred € new activity and is now | a strong ® general effort to gain the ear ‘and acquire the favor of the people, The power of the spirit has been manifest for several weeks in the old church at Kastumimpton, L. i, suage tbe pastoral care of the Rev. J, D. Stokes. The inferest has been very genera!; between three and four hundred have been asking what they must do to be saved, and many have fouud the Saviour. A very interesting aud extensive revival is now in ress in Marietta, l’a. The Lord is adding to the number of such as would be saved. The Week of Prayer was observed with great profit in the Presbytertan (0, S.) church tn Counetl Biuits, Towa, On the Lord’s Day following the chureh re- ceived twenty members, a few of them on profession | of their faith. fhe weekly services still continue with increasingly solemn interest, A church was organized jast tall at Buffalo, foar miles from Louisiana, Mo,. of twelve members. At @ subsequent sacramental meeting eight persons were received into the chureh on profession of faith, five of whom were past the middle There is a silent and continued work of ing on in the church at Palmyra, Mo., chiety the young men and women, At the new mission under the aus) School churches of Cincinnati, wn a3 Lincoln Park church, @ number have fessed the Chria- tian’s hopes and others are ingutring. The Centre Unity church, Steubenville Presbytery, ‘Was dedicated on the 24th ult. A new church at Waseca, Minn., was dedicated on the 20th uit. Ld The Congregational church, Camden, N. Y., Rev. ¥. Curtis pastor, dedicated its mew edifice Janu. 14. r. Cuyler's church, in Brooklyn, received forty- seven members January 17. Among them was a Quaker, commended in @ beautiful letter by the monthly meeting of the Society of Orthodox Friends, ‘Dr. ler read the letter irom the pulpit and ex- the cordial and teed love of himself and church for “the Orthodox nds, that body of ‘Christian brethren who had given to the church and | ‘to the world such noble men as Joseph G. Gurney, ‘William Alien, Stephen Greilet aad John Bright.” Revivals are reported tn the Presbyterian church of iWysox, Pa., ailtord, Del . n, N.Y. ‘ fissoring with preat itn the Congregati with great succeas with the Co! jonal ‘churches of Aies, lowa; Elkhorn, Wis., and else- fwhere. In the latter place seventy-\ve are converts, ‘and tne church has been nearly trebled since May 1. ioying « deugtat refreshing trom ts prescnte of a re! rom the presence of Lord. Not less than sixty souls have found the of great price, and many others are earnest in- » We have cheering news from New Jersey, There quite @ religious revival m Cumberiand county. various denominations in Burlington are hold- extra services with considerable mterest. In in the Presbyterian church, a numbér have d religion. In Cedarville, at the Methotlist lurch, twenty or more persons have aiready con- themselves at the altar. At Salem the | church has received the accession of about or sixty, and the Methodist churches are both eaiontag large revivais aiso. At Hancock's Bridge is considerable interest, while in Alloways- ‘town the revival ts of the most powerful character that has been known for many years, and fifty or sixty of a night are found at the altars, ce £O~ among ces of the Old £28 Preaching in Theatres, ‘The unusaai spectacie of a special preaching ser- vice for the police force occurred in Cincinnati, in ‘Woda theatre, on Sunday, the 17th, Commenting this subject the Observer remarks:— +) An experiment was made in this city afew years and for nearly eight months the old Academy Music, much larger than the present spacious allding, was crowded every Sunday evening, while @ much larger Crowd came and left without gaining ‘@dmittance. There were only two or three evenings, jand these were stormy, on which there were noi {from 5,000 to 10,000 who came to hear the Word, and | Some evenings it was estimated that as many as | 15,000 came to the Academy of Music. The same ‘work has been carried on for years in London, | where, every Sabbath evening, several theatres ‘and halis are crowded, and where clergymen | of all denominations, includi; bishops of th (Bstaplished Church, preach to the assem multi. ‘tndes. way should not the: Gospel us well ror ‘de preach to the people in our own cities? The | mrad will cote to hear if it is proclaimed to thein w men who are in earnest, who bring it as the word life for dying men; and if the truth is proclaimed | in this spirit it Will not return yout to Him who has | sent it—it will accomplish Hts graclous work. | | buna, the ultimate appeal in the Church of England the work of circulating the.Bible in Spain, Wilt you, Mr. Editor, out of pity for us in Massachusetts, invite the reverend gentlemen who took part at that meeting to direct their energies towards us? If New York does not need their services we do, But a few weeks ago our great hall was filled with an audience of more than 2,000 persons that loudly ap- plauded an intidel’s ridicule of the sacred Seri tures ; and this on a th evening, imthe very heart of Puritan New England. *Chaxity dered begins at home.” Send to us, then, those zealous reverend doctors, Let Spain alone for the Present, especially as one of their number informs us that “most of the Spantards are upright and in- dustrioua, Will that not do for the tume being’ Are there not some localities nearer home of which 80 much canaot be said? Trouble Among the English Ritanlists. A meeting of Ritualistic clergymen, hetd in Lon- don on the 12th tnst., is suggestive. It was called to discuss their grievances. Archdeacon Denison pre- sided. The recent decision of the judiciary committee ofthe Privy Councli—tae highest ecclesiastical tri- —Wwas unanimously condemned and the court pro- nounced “incompetent to deciare the mind of the Church of Engiand upon any subject whatever.” In other words, these gentlenten who have sworn obedience to ali the ecclesiastical authorities of the Church, are now en | to repudiate the last and highest court and authority of the Chureh. On the question of outward obedience to the decisions of tus court, there was a difference of opinion, But, as has been repeatedly seen before m the high churchmen of England, discretion was deemed on the whole the better part of valos; and these clerks who, conscientiously no deubt, repudi- ate the government of their Church as utterly incom- petent to its work, could nevertheless decide to re- main in the Church, in order to do what they can to undermine that Church; or, to ase their own words. “to spread in all possible ways the doctrine of the Real Presence.” Religion on Board a Man-of-War. UNITED STATES STEAMER FRANK! Navy Yarp, New York, Jan. 26, 1869. As you generally notice churches will you receive a notice from our ship of Sunday's work? At five A. M. all hands are called, about twenty minutes allowed to pyt away our beds, then breakfast, poor coffee and bread, then scrub the decks—all in dark yet—and those decks are wet nearly every morning. At nine A. M, the drum beats to cleau the brass work—rub, rub, ruab—then clean outseclves. Half- yas nine trumpet sounds to go to our guns. We lorm two ranks; then comes the captain to inspect us. He 18 very polite, takes off his cap and smells “strong of perfume. At ten A. M. hands to muster; we stand on deck for one hour and a half. Now we think we will have a rest, but the bell tolls for pray- ers, fof our captain is very religious, but as we are tired we don’t go, only avout ten, Then ho orders the drum to beat to quarters and makes us all stand at the guns until prayers are over, and about twelve noon, after beingat work seven hours we get din- ner. Wonild It not be a good plan for ministers who can’t get a congregation to have a drum on the side walk and make citizens stand there if they did not goin’ This may be reiigion, but it looks to me ike rank hypocrisy. Finances of Methodist Missions. The Methodist Missionary Society during the half century of its existence has received the following amounts: — . . : Average Annual Contributions, Total, First decade $5,301 3,010 Second dae 58,621 536,210 Third deca 99,064 990,640 Fourth dec 336,507 Fifth decade 451,665 Total contributions for fifty years.. In November, 1865, there was asarplus in the trea- Sury of $430,000. In 1866, $1,000,000 were approprt- ated: in 1867, $1,090,978. The contributions of tne Church have not kept pace with these outlays, but have remained about the same for several years. As aresult there were but $16,000 in the treasury No- vember 1, 1868, and on January 1, 1369, the amount of the remittances to. the foreign missions for the f the year was borrowed, making a 6. Justice to the Hebrews. LAGUAYRA, Jan. 1, 1869, To rrr Eprror ov tne Hara :—While thanking you for the justice yau do the n&® recent article, in which you pralae their good qualities as citizens, [ must find fault with the half mocking, half serions tone tn which you ask them why they still continue to pray for their return The Bible in Spain. It is not tre, the Blole Record informs us, that any | telegraphic communication had passed between the | British and Foreign Bible Society and General Prim relative to the circulation of (he Bible m Spain. ; How the report originated ts not known. The old | §aw which prolubits the importation of Bibles con- | ues in force, and has only been tentporarily «et 1 le in one or two instances by special favor. h the influeyce of our Minister, Mr. John P. | however, th® provisional government have ted permission to import Bibles from the United at one-half the usual Custom House duties, and otieen the British and Foreiga Bibie Socety | fre making arrangements to print tue Bible ta Madrid. Fashions and Fasbionable Churches, How imperious, how strange, how unavoidable Is j ‘thal governing power of every day life known 4s j fashion! The strongest intellects bow to its dictums | apparently with the same readiness as the lesser lights of the world ; but perhaps this spirit of seif- | accommodation to the whims and fancies of fashion arises from a very natural desire to rid themselves | of the wearisomeness of constant opposition or | from an innate dislike to appear singular, and #0 to | excite an amount of attention to themselves which is undesirable and unpieasing to them. ‘That giddy | goridess, Fashion, rules more or less ali classes of | society, permeates through ali tts pores and exercises tmmense influence among high and iow, rich and | poor, sometimes for good, sometimes for evil. she | clad in blue, and all shades of that color tin- iy onal she appiands a deputante, and every one hastens to hear the last new cfvtntenae to throw bouquets at her feet and to deciara that ghe sings @ merceille; she goes to church, and all her votaries suddenly become religions. Nay more, she | attends the same church on a second occasion, and on | the following ee deigned to patronize is date the crowd of worsh'ppers that flock to tts doors. ter is in ecstacies deniy discovers Un at the same time neighboring ministers are surprised A the unfortunate sexton sud- and chagrined to see pews formerly well and regulariy | Winning shepherd has robbed them of their flocks, | and 80, cCastiug about bere and tiere for excuses to their gor propre, Ming theit upbratdings Into the wide open lap of Pasion. And in rost cases they uis running about from @hurch to huroh; this playing first Hypiscopailan and then Presbyterian bas no origin in reat religious teelin it springs simply from a seif-napo imaginary o coasity of going with the stream doing |p cisely What thet next door neighbar aves, Ung! ‘with a longing for new excitemenja, As we were wending our Way to our enstomary Place of worship last Sunday worting our attention Was attracted to the crowds of persons entering the | Presbyterian church at the corner of Nineteenth street and Fifth avenue, the minister of which ie the Rev. Dr. Hall. This charch ased not to ve so crowd- ed, 80 we determined to enter, in order to see for ourselves what are its peculiar attractions. We con- after remaining throughout the service, we ‘Were unable to discover them. There was no heau- tiful music; the ae haif an bour loug, whieh the minister exhibited considerabie fervor, bat Ms. =yr44 J Sania of tie san gentic- man beginning of his sermon that it was his intention to preach on the subject of natu- revealed reiigion we eed up our ears, an- pating ‘8 discourse somewhat at of the ordi sermons, though we ubderstand rig the er should have thought it necessary to his for dilating “on #0 ” But we were a & few piat! on ot i only a6 literary actions liable to Serorst We are vt tencuers it ts nos the sacred edifice she has | totally unable to accommy- | Pews rise rapidly to & premium, the minis- | | his office ts no sinecare; while | ) sary to enforce them, the bold of the church and of to Palestine, and exhort them to give up the thought and make up their minds to settle down permanentiy in the United States, which is the true land of pro- mise for them, Allow me to say that this bit of ridicule considerabiy Mars the good things yon said betore. If the Jews im their prayers stitt refer to tneir return tw the land of the Patriarchs you are too legrned ot to know that they allude to that remote period when, by a divine promise contained in that sacred book both Jews and Christians be- Heve in, Israel is again to be a united natton in the iloly Land, For my part, although 1 almost daily pray that I may soon be able to leave this country for a more peacefal one, f pave never for one moment wished it jo be the promised land, The true feelings of the Jews in this respect have beea so clearly and ecloquentiy described by one of Lueir eminent modern preachers that | cannot re- fruin from transcribing the passage for the informa. tion of those of your reactors who may have taki your words in their literal meantng:—"It ts tru says Professor Marks, of the West Londof syna- wue of British Jews, “that we have deep religious oclations with the land of the Patriarchs, and Vest In conformity with the promises of seemee Seripture we maintain the belief that Israel will be restored to that land at the period of Messiah's ad- vent. wheo ail ex: if political relations will be dayted to the gtoi events consequent upon the coming of the regenerator af the human race, Bat unl that period arrives, a period of which no account is taken by Israciites in any of their rela- tions ag eftizens, the political Jerusalem of every Jew ts the land of his birth, the land where he ts @ cuazen among citizens, in fine, his native land, whose welfare and prosperity are ideutified with the dearest affections of his soni.’ As Lknow you to be sincere im your good opinton of the Jews, | trust you wilt obligingly give space in | your columns to this letter Intended to remove any unfavorable Impression you may unintentions» ity lave created respecting their fectings a8 citizens of Vivir native or anopted countries. 4 JEWISH READER OF THE HERALD, jevernment and the Clergy of Austria. are ho signs of peace between the govern. ment and the clergy of Austria. Each party i# ina | measure suce a. The government has passed more laws in relation to civil toarriage aud shows its determination to complete, so faras law can do Mt, the liberal legislation which is now the sestied ey. On the other hand the clergy, backed by the refuse to yield obedience to the new law. in some cases punishment has followed the retractory | conduct of the eaciesiastics, but it hag not yet had } the effect to induce them to ‘submit. ‘The govern. ment ts in a pecuilar condition, The people have de manded the reforms that have now been made by statate, bat itevidentiy has uot the fall courage noces. Billed now without occupants. These bygone celeprities | care not to Own, even to themselves, that gome more 0) he clergy being too strong to be easily suaken otf, The ultimate result of the conflict is Mot at ali doubt. Jal, bevertueless, Sptritualigm—Strange Mantfestationa—ood | Spirits and Bad—Queer Capors of the Lin | visibles. } (Jetersoavile (lad.) correspandenes of the Louisville thing seems to come from an extreme nervous de- btiity. Both of the young ladies live with their pa- rents, and their characters are said to be irre- Religious Notes. The following noble sentiment accompanied a cheek for $284 sent by a brother in one of the North- western churches to the Home Mission Committee in this city:—“God has given me some means, and [ have determined to give back to His cause my whole income, less the cost ‘of living, iaproad of investing it for the purpose of making more money. In this my wife heartily agrees with me.’ Dr. f, P. Warren, iong a secretary of the Tract So- ciety of Boston, has resigned, The Socrety for the Propagation of the Roman Catholic Faith. whose headquarters are in this city, received, during 1368, $1,000,000, of which $900,000 was from subscriptions of one cent per week, * Phe vestry of St. ‘Thomas’ church have secured the Church of the Resurrection, corner of Forty- seventh street and Madison avenue, as & place of worship until the magnificent edifice on Fifth avenue and Fifty-third street is completed. ‘The present tem- rary chapel will be taken down abou€ the ist of ay, when the congregation will remove to the Chureh of the Resurrection. ‘The orders of the Catholic ministry were latel conferred on fifty-six students of St. Francis Semi- nary, near Milwaukee, and of this large number thir- teen were raised to the priesthood. The Domestic Missions Board of the Other Branch, under the administration of Dr, Musgrave, is now, for the first time in many months, about clear of financial embarassment. k Albert Brisbane, the well. known Fourierite, has bought a large tract of land in Kansas, for a colony of Frenchmen, who will cultivate the land on the co- operative principle, and also manufacture silk Me The Society of Spiritualists gave a dance at the Everett Rooms last week. The Spiritualists of Cin- cinnati are talking of building a church. ‘The first Episcopal cathedral ever built in New England was opened in Portland for the first time on Christmas Day, It ts a modest one, but we are told has been eed organized, after the English system, by the Right Rey. Dr. Neely, Bishop of Maine. Rey. Joseph Cross, D. D., (formerly of the Metho- dist Eplscopal Church) has been received into the diocese of lowa from that of Texas and has become rector of Grace church, Cedar Rapids, lowa. Rev. George P. Huntington, son of the bishop elect of central New York, has been called to St, Paul’s, Malden, Mass., and accepts. Lucretia Mott, the venerable minister of the So- ciety of Friends, preached in the Unitarian church, in Washington, a week ago last Sunday, ‘The Marquis of Bute, a young Eng! nobleman of immense wealth, has joined the Church of Rome. A meeting was held in New Haven January 19, which resulted in the organization of a society to advocate the practice of systematic benevolence and the consecration to the cause of religion and the needs of the poor of a stated fraction of each Chris- tian’s income. The Sweaish philanthopists are endeavoring to discover a cure for their national vice of intemper- ance, which vails to such an alarming extent that the Legislature is called upon from all quarters to interfere and put it down with a strong hand. Even its victims, it is said, are themselves joining in theery. The King of Sweden sympathizes with the temperance men, but hesitates inaction. The Maine Law goes the length of forbidding the sale of intoxicating drinks; but the Swedish agitators go further, and propose a rigorous statutory law to suppress their manufacture. 16 Tablet states that Newark has added $9,000 to the Endowment Fund for the American College in Kome, which now amounts to $103,500. Of this aah Be Bil York oes ee ogc a oe each; Bal re, three; deiphia, two; n, one; 1 pn On’, fad rat , One. The balance is in sums of $1,000, $500, &c. Ag already announced, when tye work is completed a detailed list of sub- seribers will be published, Brooklyn will be visited after Easter. We learn from the 7wblet that the Right Rev. Igna- tius Bourget, D.D., Bishop of Montreal left that port on Juuuary 23, in steamer Ville de Paris, en route to Kome. The Right Rev. Bishop was accompanied by Rev. Thomas — and Rev. A. J. Gravel, priests of his diocese. With them also went M. Maurice de Saluberry, who will enter the Canadian Battalion of Papal Zouaves on his arrival it Rome, ‘ mong the scholars who at a recent examination distingaished themselves at the Coltege of Subolk was a Jewish young lady, aged fourteen. She re- ceived the goid medal as a reward for her pro- ficiency tn the Russian tongue. Rabbi Reuben Wanderbary of Riga, in Russia, died some months azo. He was fifty-six years old. As Rabbi of Riga as well as a teacher and writempthe de- ceased was very distinguished. He was a colaborer of the Doctors Lilienthal and Neuman in establishing 1001s for the Jews of Russia. Ernst Jacopsohn has been appointed by the King of Sweden as Professor of Sculpinre m_ the Royal Academy, He is the tirat Jew who has held such @ post there. p Benedict, born a Jew, but a convert to Christianity, one of the lords in waiting on the King of Sweden, died lately; leaving $10,000 towards butiding a new synagogae in Stockholm. The maxim holds, “once a Jew, always a Jew." It is said on good authority that Spain at this mo- Meut possesses mo less than 39 convents, With 15,000 nuns. There are 55 oishops, 2,000 canons and abbots, 1,300 “regular priests,” 24,000 vicars, &c. ‘Toe budget for the chureh is twice as high in Spain as in France. ‘The Rey, 4. F. Ware, & Unttarian clergyman of Baltimore, is of the opinion tiat Methodism ts to be the religion of the Sonth, but 13 to become “more broad in its faith and chartty."? Unitarianism, he ays, cannot be popular there. 16 will succeed in the West, hut nog in the South, where creeds and preja- dices are inherited. Colonel Thomas Adams, of Noxbury, gives $10,000 toa the rell¢lous society worstipping im the: stone church elifice in Quincy, where the Rev. John D, Wells oMciates as ciorgyman, for the support of pub- ie worship, on the condition that Charles Francis Adams or his family shali give to the same society a like sam for a like purpose. fhe First and Fourth Untversalist Societies of this city, worstilppiug heretofore tn the Church of the Res- toration and the Church of the Redeemer, having uaited under the name of tie “First Universalist Soctety.”” are now holding services, temporarily, in the Church of the Redeemer, Greene gvenue, between - Carlton avenue and Adelphi street. Says the Boston 7'ravelier:—some of the people of Central New York, who do not seem to be aware of the good ick in store for them, are not quite satis- fied that a Boston man shold have been elected bishop of their new Episcopal diocese, We can assure them that his departure is regarded asa it loss, and our only consolation in parting with him is that cevtral New York will get just such a man as ts needed there, both for their spiritual and tem- poral good, and to convince them of the folly of their beilef that no good thing can coine from Boston. CONGRESS AND MA. GEORGE PEABODY. Mr. Peabody's Acknowledgments to Congress. In the following letter Mr. Peabody acknowledges the receipt of the medal ordered by Congress to be Presewted to him, and tells what disposition he 04 QUREN StineT, CHmarsimn, means to make of LONDON, Jan, 6, 1569, | To Hon, WiLtiam U. SRWwAKD, Secretary of State, Washington:— Sit-—f Rave the honor to acknowledge the receipt, through the United States despatch agent at Londen, of the case allucted to in your letter of the 7th of Oc- tober, containing the gold medal which, parsuantte the resolation of Congress, the Prestdent has caused | to be prepared for me, together with an eugcoseed copy of the resointion referred to. ‘The package arrived in England in November, but, owing to my absence ia London, it was not ti! the evening of Ohristmas Day that [ wre enabled to examine tts contents, in the presence of a cwele of rr; intimate friends. Of the tnsur- pasded beauty of the medal and the excellence of its delicate workinanship there 18 bat one opinion, aud J heartily concur wit all who have seen it Ih Spprectating the elewance of ite desigu and the unas. terly skill of its execution, ‘herishing, a j do, the warmest affection for my country, 16 is nat bie for mie to feel more grace Jonrmmi, Jon. 24.) , Net many days agoa gentleman of the medieat fraternity recerved am invitation to be presoat at | | Some spiritaal manifestations in the house of one of | Our respectable families on Front fow. He went as a matter of courtesy, but with positive incredulity. | Shottly after arriving one of the young indtes be. . came under spltitual infiucnce, and requested that a young lady acquaintance be sent for. The young | lady carge, according to request, and she tmimedt ately also hecame under the influence of the sj | nnd bath leaned thole backs the wall ond | commenced 9 conversation bat retuned. | fect totne, cecenicnieg of imagery ‘ut 0 ecoen' leg | um wnue he sinter int eomnpasion were tnaeticed corn by the devil. ‘Things eoneintiea sus for fout hours, Z the y sister and her com nm contin’ the tnost boisterous and wniad: conduct, the mother and curat; oti i he Sal mp ll the forehead wh Mi thaw Lo for this precious metuortal of ita re. | pm 4 it does from) thirty mil ard comin Mions of Ametican cutzens, turough their represeutatives Congresd, with the full accord and co-operation of the President. ‘This medal, together with tie lp wall why ostt in the | Institution at the place of my birth, Ay 2 apartineuts spectaliy constructed for thelr sal ‘slo with other Mtg timmoaiais itn whic 1 have erations to attest the generpes maneiopaed of the American le in recognizing the e hi Vek eteree, of one ot (a humblest of low ey ot elves : enlightenment aud pros. ir, individually, { to convey the ns- tittae for ihe interest sarance of my profound which you have persona! ‘on the occa- manifested ton and for the cordial mi ae my Wishes tn relation io ens sion Une honor to be, with gras nih y num Ye servant, i letetee ss ‘opokGr \ Baru oF A CAMM.—A large Baotrian camel, the property of Profesor Jona } pT ge) of jungle and the saw- ring, Wodheaday rearing College wtreet yous last Wednesday morning, wave toa beautiful tte as pure in color as as au, invoreoting hitie Gaia has ine: of boing wp of its kind born on tls COBH Gormervial, Jan. Be MECHANICS’ HOMES. "Tae Great Need of Our City—Homes for the panics. Iisa with just pride that New Yorkers view the increasing growth of thelr already great metropoll- tan city. In point of wealth, commercial and indus- trial enterprise, in all the arts of civilization New York stands pre-eminent on this Continent, and ranks the equal of the great cities of the world, with @ fair chance to outrun them all im the race for pre- dominance in the near future. But while we expand in everything—in the trade which we gather in, the manufacture of merchandise which we send out, and the wealth we accumulate, we are remiss in an im- portant particular—we fail to provide comfortable homes for the great mass of our population. In re- viewing this subject we take into consideration not alone the political and geographical subdivision of New York city as confined to the limits of Manhattan island. AU the suburbs and environs, on Long Island and in Jersey, in Westchester county, may justly be reckoned a8 being part and parcel of New Yorks connected with it in interest, rismg with its growth and gaining with its strength. ‘This district of country contains a population of about 2,000,000 people, half of whom are compelled to live on an annual income not exceeding from $1,000 to $1,500 and one-fourth on yearly earnings below $1,000. ‘There are no leas than 100,000 mechanics of all trades in New York proper, whose average wages do not exceed $20 per week. These, with their famuiies, comprise a& population of from: 300,000 to 350,000 souls, being among the most thrifty, industrious and respectable class of our inhabitants. It is safe to assume that outside of New York, but dependent upon its industry and living in the suburbs, within a few miles of our shores, there are from 20,000 to 30,000 more, numbering, with their families, from 70,000 to 80,000 people, similarly circumstanced. If these estimates are correct, and there is no evidence to show that they are not below the reality, we have « population of from 400,000 to 450,000, with about 100,000 heads of families, living on $1,000 a year, out of which to pay for rent, for food, for clothing, for medical aid in case of sickness and for purposes of rational amusement and recreation. Let any one who has the necessary leisure and sufficient interest in the matter spend ‘the hours from five to seven of an evening in Chatham square and see the unbroken stream of humanity as it passes him from down town workshops and business places, diverging into East Broadway, Division street and the Bowery, or watch during the same hours either in the morning or evening the ferries at Fulton street, Peck slip, James slip, Catharine, Grand, Houston and Jackson streets, or cross over to the North river side and have a look at the crowd of workingmen on the Jersey City and Hoboken ferries. The sight that meets one’s eye in these localities and at the desig- nated hours is proof demonstrative that the numbers given are rather below than above the actual figures. HOW THBY LIVE, As stated above, the vast majority of these people live in this city and crowd the tenement houses from cellar to garret, There are generally from two to four families on a floor, averaging from fifty to 100 persons under the same roof, and in some cases one roof shelters as many as 300 and 500. Probably two- thirds of this class of our population tnhabit the Tenth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth wards, where scarcely any other dwell- ings are seen than rows upon rows of huge tene- ment houses, reaching almost into the clouds and peopled all with the “bone and sinew” of tne coun- try. The rents vary from twenty-five to twelve dollars, according to ae upper it ops ¥ the distance of the arrangement in these houses generally ts a “room and a bedroom,” or sometimes “two bedrooms,” the bedrooms being mostly dark, ill-ventilated closets, of very limited dimensions, tn the middie of the house, with an apology for a window, about a foot square in size, opening upon the hall, which recetves its dim light from an opening in the roof covered with besmeared glass. In this “room and bedroom” live the tailor, the shoemaker, the porter, the carman, clerks and even small trades- men, with their families; and in some m- stances, where the arrangement is a “room and two bedrooms,” the additional bedroom 14 rented to one or two boarders, to lighten the expense. The solitary “room,”’ with one or two windows opening either on the street or on the rear in the yard, serves for a parlor, dining hall, living room, kitchen and washhouse, aud the drying of clothes, when wash day cgmes round, is done by means of what are called “pulley lines” stretel across the yard from wall to wall, or, if the distance be too great, then from wall to post, and one line generally has to serve all the families on the same floor, The cupid- ity a eon Bg Sow M was Papel epeege ed with thus herding people together and packing them as close almost #8 pickled herrings in a keg. Wherever the “yurd,” or rear part of the lot, afforded space enough to erect another buliding it was done, and in the wards named above whole colonies of tenement houses can be found in the middie of the blocks, ac- cessible from the street only through wet and filthy alleys and lanes, and shutting out sun and air from all tne tenements, THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM, ‘The “system” of tenement houses—for such it must be called, and in truth it is—is one peculiar to New York. {t was first developed here and attayped 11s present dimensions here only and nowhere else, {t has for tts foundation the custom in large cities of Europe, where each house affords living room for several families, and where even the higher classes ofthe population do not disdain to occupy one floor of a building and rent out the rest to other occu- pants. Tnus in Paris, in Bertin, in Frankfort and in Vienna bankers, higa officers ‘of the government, generals in the army, wealthy merchants and ¢ap- balists, even the nobility, are found to reside on the first floor, the belle etage; winie the second, turd and fourth are inhabited by other families of less pretension and less means. There are even large buildings where from thirty to fifty families live, and one in Vienna, the Matschaker-Hof, ia cele- brated for its size, as it contains over 300 families. But the intertor arrangement .of these Euro- pean “tenements” is quite different, Kach Moot, or each connected series of apart mnent, is @ separate dwelling in iteeclf, even in the buildings destined for mechanics’ homes each family lives distinct and rate from ail others, with guafiicient houseroom for comtort; and the fact is so common as to make it the general rule that people live tn the same house for years without knowing the occupants of the apartments below, above or beside them, and but seldom, if ever, seeing any of the other inmates of the building. On this plau several butidings have lately been erected in this city, with separate halls on each floor, and in a few instances even with separate stairs. Bat te rent of these floors is too high for the mechanic and the workfagman. None of these can pay forty or fifty dollars a month merely to have a shelter and a roof over his head. Yet they are quick- ly absorbed by small tradesmen, people With salaries from $1,500 to $2,000—by, in fact, the higher stratum of what are called the iniddle classes. ‘These build- ings are therefore not tenement houses, and afford no homes for the sturdy population which swings the hainmer or plies the needle or the aw! THs DISADVANTAGES OF THR TENEMENT HOUSES. ent house, though based, as was sald, suropean pian, js a deleterious offshoot from While in Kurope the houses mentioned aftord pleasant and healthy habitations our tenement idings are but an aggregation of huts and shan- and n pis, sties, piled one upon another, th wi enclosed with @ brick wall and calied a “ten: ment.” The disadvantages of living, and particu. larly of being compeiled to live in such a place, are manifold and so evident to every intetligen server that they necd not be detailed. Chief among them, and which, to our recollection, has never been suiMciently considered, is that it complevely destroys the ennobiing inflaences of the family circle, that it removes all incitement for home life. ‘The famiiy is the unit on which is based the security and pros. posity of the State, Not inan, not woman alone, but both anited, with their otfspring in the family, are the foundation on which the mmighcy edifice of the stute ts reared, With the decliue of the family begins the deciine, in a socio-political aspect, of the State, ut a family home, family life, is, to the very nature of things, an impossibility in a tene- meat hoase, ‘The moral cohesion of the family, the authosity of the parents over the children, the pioug sabral of the latter to their parents is not only loogened, but Jost in the turmot! of the multitudes swarming through the whole place, “it ts but @ lodging and feeding place, bat neither @ house nor a home, ‘he influ. ence of this upon the general state of society, espe- claliy the growing youth trom Reneration to generation, cannot be underrated. The want of wholesome restraint in children, the want of a home, of a family hearth, around which custer our thoughts and recollecttons, results in after years in disregard of all restraint of law, in recklesan and conse. Pony be Lg And it is this disadvantage ‘Of the tenement house aystem-these evils which it necessarily it public attention should he more directed to, in order to lessen its threatening © “it te needien heediess to Rpeak of the injurious effect to the nok x wo the general one , the eatin acts hat Pawson, boatda of Nenlth ‘stcuved. with ayes eect yomers, improvements suggested and apertially a whole ayutent have not ‘een renoheds Witte hing and there a more vioient and offensive ‘ote tas | removed, the whole unhealthy system stil! re pointing to the paramount Peony, of proviaing only, for lodging, but actaal iomes, with Saclittigs of home life, for this class of our people. HOW AND WHER TO Do IT, Westchester ity J and the districts wo indson offer almost: to the founding of itlages zee i tho the ome PARIS FASHIONS. Fash for 1869-7 RB ‘The Potropoulals penal, marr gg been s ued measure int, ae already sane fty—Tho Ball Seasca~The Empress and toctetien;” some for sp omners wis} Or Toots Panta, Jan. 12, 1800. oy ebrsnting promisconay trades, The | tt really ts dimoult to know what opinion | am te with casy Nemtas’ of comfortable | form of our young sovereign, the Fashion of 180% I homes, to be owned by themselves, in the neighbor- | met her at the Tuileries bali and she was very lovely Rood of the oly. Fhe are fom Afty conts:| in a taye robe, pink Isurel blossom, covered with to two dollars per ‘which with shaded leaves, individual case @ small per tulle of the same, looped begonis wookly wage are nos. seriously ‘and in her hair immense black pearls, sot in a aggregate make @ handsome capital,’ diamond diadem. She is fair, her bodice was out increase by compound interest, in he half curled and of a year or ao to pay for the land. Thyerection low, & la Grecque, and her locks, \ Tie ances half crimped, fell down to her waist, while # chignom Sy Pea tapered ‘are | of curls, all her own, rippled above. My opinion of to'be built, gradually providing al the her dress was conclusive and favorable, her personal With @ house and home of their own. This plan appearance fascinating, but I am in doubt about her Wiens Sxceedingly well in in connection } notions, I think she is not settled about them her- with @ societies for other ow many a famiy who Hever dared aspite 10 self, and that accounts for her having postponed thing higher than hired a omMetal opening day until after the Turco-Amtoo- ie tame comartabl y iecaved a own i; | Greco conference now being carried on at the flower bed in front or surrounding fee Quai d’Orsay. She wavers, too, about the attitude the delight of the workingman after his return she has to assume as regards Rome, where the Pope Gradgery and tabor. by the horns and let tt out, movertient should not be confined to the few | "as again taken a ball by societies now in existence. fulminating against ladies’ clothes, and she may unions to be called into life in eve! want to see how he is going to conduct the nee Ro ny ne ee christening of Mme. de Mouchy’s baby, whose god- and and heartily supported, the | father he is to be. Then again she 1s not certain saving in food and raiment to the wi ‘ould | whether or no the female mind ts decidedly or only temporarily turned on logic, politics and charity. The only novelty yet decreed by her Ia @ conference hat, an Astrakhan fea, with the beak and eyes of an imperial eagle in front, and Grecian borders all round. The idea is said to have arisen from the follo’ dlalogne she overheard at the ‘Taueries ball between two budding beauties;—'Potro- poulaki has capitulated,” said one to the ather; “do you know Petropoulaki?? No, Well, it has capitu- lated; so it must be a place, and by its ngme a place. If it has capitulated it must n&ve been be- sieged, and if besieged therefore conquered by no one but a Tark; if again the Turk as Mustapha hae the upper hand of Petropoulaki, Petropoulaki has: hung in up on 2 nail, and the conference round M. de la Vallete’s green baize cloth is useless; we can wear oriental ideas combined, and the of Europe is secure, Upon this there is every proba- bility the hat was invented, As there 1s a very variety of fashions set already, we may have to look for nothing novel until spring, and the wise hope the field is vast we be large enough to for a lot of und in one year and baild him house io adhe Another circumstance should not be lost sight of. There are a great many of our mechanics who have capital would buy the for all of them tn less than two years; by the weekly contributions of the mem! added to their per- sonal labor, the increased value of a portion land bought and reserved for sale would probably furnish the rest of the money needed. And a settle- ment with a hundred houses would make a consider- able village and contain the germ of constant in- crease. A CHANCE FOR CAPITALIgTS, But this proposed amelioration ot the condition of the workingmen need not be left to the impulse of self-help alone. The wealthy of our city migit share in the laudable work. By this 1t is not meant that | this cee be the case, considering they should open wide thelr arses and throw about | enough for all the satin, lace and velvet that is to be charitable donations to tl or that cut up. Three splendid soirées are announced having this or that benevolent purpose at Mr. Arsene Hoassage’s, and three immense view. None is so proud and to fancy balls are in contemplation, of which the the gifts of o! ity a8 the intelligent and | world is to be ‘nformed, One will be given industrious workingman; and in being so he is but | by Millerio, the jeweller; another at Havre, bya no less wealthy merchant, and the third at Nice, no one knows by whom. The ball which was to have taken place at the Hotel de Ville the day after to- morrow is postponed till the 18th inst., on account of the death of the Prefect’s mother. It is a week’s mourning only, but itis tobe hoped Baron Hauas- mann is not expected to open the ball. Much ex- citement is now made tn high circles around youth and parties for the young. This 18 @ natural conse- quence, as the imperial Prince is of an age to re- ceive his young friends and to return civilt- ties, The arrival of the Prince of Asturias and the just to bimself; for, while aiding the productive in- dustry of the country, he claims it properly as a right to share in proportion to his labor in the gains ol the work performed, and he spurns what is thrown him in charity as au insult and lowering his dignity as a man, ere ig a much better incentive for the wealthy to take hold of this movement. Cap- ital, the accumulated surplus of money, is rapacious, here as elsewhere, It seeks its own increase, and will flow whither the promise of remunerative re- turns leads it. Let, therefore, capitalists profit by the example and stnerionce of their own class in 'rance. associ Infantas, the choive of Paris also for the studies of of Maneved oy sg aes eee pote ap wo the sons of the Viceroy, have occasioned many fes- chased in the neighborhood of large cities in- | tive mectings during the Christmas and New Year's holidays. By the way, the eldest son of the Viceroy, ts so timid that he could not be persuaded to spend an evening last week with the Prince .until assured that they would be quite in private; but when the dustrial centres; neat, tidy dwellings were erected and sold, partly rented, to workingmen, at a Sti predate onan sins tt some perce! in. rance associations have even been aided by the govern- roung duchesses of Albe walked in to map rch some ment cases in, oub red this descendant of the Pharaohs, ee rocuirede ee at ae eee aud did not stop on his way out of the palace until money required was advanced oui of the public treasury. All these associations have succeeded well beyond their expectation. and fourish' vil- lages now dot the neighborhood of the cities selected for the experiment, and the enterprises are multi- ‘ing from year to year. hy do not our rich men enter upon thus rich field of investment instead, as some of them do, of using their money in Wall street in making “‘cor- ners” and disturbing the values of property, to the injury and d: of the country lots of avail- able ground of hundreds of acres, all within twenty miles of the City Hall, accessible by railroads, in- vite them to proceed at once, secure the land, bulid pisin houses for the Somporaia, es not Ls rn - ‘ mechanic ahd if? jling Soke tane oon or rent them (allowing, perhaps, the rent to stand as part of the purchase money) at reasonable rates, with an advance of @ reasonable percentage upon the out- lay, and thus not only insure for themselves a safe return of their money, with interest, but become the benefactors of the worku eee tion of our city. They cannot fear, as m suggested, to depopulate New York, and thus diminish the profits of some of their number as tenement house owners, The very natural conse- quence would be that the houses ‘for workingmen in this city will have to be improved to afford better homes, and hence both those who avail themselves of a proffered residence in the suburbs aud those who would take their places in the city would be equally benefited. Some efforts in this direction have au been made on Long Island, at Wintield, near the junction of the Flushing and Long Island Railroads, and at se points in New Jersey. ‘They all do well and yield a handsome proft to their Projectors; but the buildings are planned for those he was caught hold of, without hat or overcoat. Who could have predicted a few centuries ago that the gyptian would be pursued, they who were nearly all drow! gnce for running after other people? 7 numérously atténded evening ent in- Ment was given to juveniles by Mme. del Sesto. It was a fancy ball, and all the fair representatives of their mothers were dressed in long trains, their cavaliers in Louis XIV. court clothes. je Zone absurd can be imagined. It delighted the Parisiana, but it was painfully grotesque to your special. Monkeys would have pleased him better. The bow- ing and scraping of these children were far from fanctful. On thelr rounded cheeks sat the aifected dissipation of their elders, in their glances the cox- combry of crévég, on their lips the diazé smile, too easily acquired. The little girls, in trains, were mechanical dolls, but not half so pretty. The sale of Mme. dei Sesto’s property for the inheritance of the children she had when Duchess de Morny ts not yet’ over. Her toilets. Jewels, books, furniture, Veer pred everything she pos 1, been exhibited and bargained at the Hotel Drouat, which ts the Paris auction house, Old pedlers and old women have made their prey of the silks and satins which the deceased duke so loved to select for his young wife; nothing has been kept, not even the gifts of first love. ‘The gilt of fringe is still fresh, the velvet uncrushed, but the griping fingers of Jews have passed every thread from hand to hand, and what ought to have been packed in coffers, if even for the moths to eat and warms todestroy, has been turned into money, souvenirs and all. the descendants of M. de Morny were poor there would be some reason to give for this desecration; had they his debts to pay tt would have been an incontestable sacrifice of feeling; but the Duke del Sesto is a Spanish one peed who can & yearly rental of from $400 to $800, and | &Tand that no onecan look up high enoug’ where he and he Is one of the richest men of comue below 4 ‘00 ie ceptoedie a a Europe besi: a’ ‘Mme. del Sesto is ranked among the A number of capitalists have lately purchased two | ¢l¢gantes de Paris; her tolicts will often be mentioned here this winter, as her taste is thought faulticsa; her tact is much less so. For instance, she sends in- vitations to her gala banquets without sufficient acquaintance with the 3 she thus honors, and in answer to one of these promiscuous invites re- ceived the following answer last week :—Madame—I have received in your name & note of invitation for dinner, with R. 8. V. P. in the corner, which means reponse #'it vous plaat. it does please me to answer that not having the honor to know you I cannos have that of dining with you, and remain, &c., &c. ‘The signature produced on the duchess the effect of blocks, from Sixty-fifth to Sixty-seventh street, near Tenth avenue, and proj to erect thereon, on cat stock account, palacial brown stone m ions. This is all very well for those who can afford to live in princely style. Something should be done wo provide for the humbler citizen a comfortable hoine, ‘The talk has been about town for some time that A. T. Stewart, and others of our wealthy men intend to devote several millions to erect buildings on the Kuropean plan, as we have detatied itin this article. This is @ laudable intention and should be carried out without delay. For a very numerous class of oul ie such dwellings have bec ® course of mitigated supination. But to the necessi sity. “tive desire to make agentes! al earance ‘Tuileries ball. It ee a very splendid one, and has kept them from tenement houses; they are not | took place on the 4th, The Empress wore able to rent dwellings in what are calied “respecta- ble neighborhoods,” and hence they huddle together in boarding houses and second and third class hotels, where the sacred ties of the family are broken into by the publicity o1 this mode of life. For such the pro improvement would be a lasting benefit, itis about time that the talk in regard to wt ‘should cease and work begin. But to aiford homes suitable for. the mechanic, so ag to relieve.the press. ure now feit in the city, the only available plan is the one suggested. $ HINTS TO RALLROADS, ‘The general objection made to thls plan ts the | on) distance the workingman would have to travel mi home to his place of employment and the loss of time entailed by it. This objection is but an mt one. It has been entirely overcome Nurope, and may be ¢o here, All the railroads lead- ing out of London along the lines of which working- men’s villages have grown up ran Dumerons special trains into the city in the morning and out again in the evening—so-called “labor traums”’—on which, for a small od the mechanic rides to hid shop and home agath. For the money it costs now to ride from the City Hail to 124th street on the Eighth ave- nue the London mechanic travels twenty-five miles, and he is set down within a stone’s throw of his home tn less time than tt now takes to reach the Park from the He&waLp office. Similar arrangements have been made on the roads leading into every & pale lemon train robe, covered wit, pated talle,; spotted with folds it was trimmed with satin biais of the same shade, and round the bottom was a gar-; land of variegated pansies in veivet, the same round her corsage, but put on so as to form a thick bunch! on the left side, and then it trailed off as if there had not been enough flowers for the end, The tas diamond pins shone in her hair, which fell downin @ 1ong braid and curl to the waist, Madame de Metternich was in a rich pink velvet— the most dificult color to get in that material. It ‘was quite first empire, with a short waist, open like a shawl in front. Her over tunic was of black tulle, spotted with gold, and a large moire black sash. On her neck she wore diamonds and 4 narrow black ribbon; in her hatr, pink feathers and diamonds, 1 could not admire this toliet, and J do not think it was intended to please so much as to attract atten. tion, which it did when the Princess entered. The ambassadress of Brazil was in white and blue; a court train of the latter over white Satin, with @ splen- did lace flounce round the bottom. "The habit is pre- ferred to the simple bodice. It is a watst and pannier in one of satin, looped with large rosettes over tulle and founced underskirts. Em- press’ the Ist of January, when she received the ladies of her household after mass, was the —— red satin (caroubier) robe, trimmed with black lace, a camargo jae of ti same covered with lace and very full behind, and 7 ‘5 . i very smali velvet Fanchon hat of the same shade, Which: though’ not large watioties the compeate | with a narclavus algrette in velvet. Lor tollet wt tne family dinner in the evening was & white satin robe, covered with a silver gray crépe de chine, platted’ round with frilis of the same and looped on one side; tn her hair a single diamond star, The most glaring rosettes aud bows aud a bit of lace constitute bonnets. Plaid satin chemisettos and sleeves with sashes of the same and a are, with veivet skirts, the newest costumes, Golden chestnut brown trimmed with black velvet and black lace sashes are the richest at the Bois, Black poult de sole under panniers of orépe de chine, looped with satin bows, in the centre of which are us butterfios, is the ne plus ultra of wickedness when worn by a blonde. Ail the oficial visits on the occasion of the new year were made in train robes; those which Were not Our railroads could do the and thus add not only to the rapid development of the country imme- diately yee this city, but increase their own traffic, the value of their stock and rate of dividends aad conter a benefit to a class of peopie—tue work- ingman and mechanic—tully entitled to tt. AN INTERESTING INCIDENT. A Wife Ascertains the Fato of Her Soldier. Husband After Twenty-Three Years of Suse pense, 2 [From the Toledo Blade, Jan. 27.) About a week since @ Jetter Was received by Post- master Reid, of this city, from a Mrs. Clark, of Bernesville, Belmont county, Obio, in which ‘the | OMclal, but famillar, or simply visites de politesse, write ‘Stated that in ‘Ge pos 1846 her husband, Jo. | Were made in shortoostumes of satin with walweaux seph Clark, enlisted somewere in this section’ in a | of velvet. company that was raised for the Mexican war, since which time she had never heard from him. She was now aged and dependent on others, gt yet cherished the In at she might learn t® fate of her husband, and in her decluing years receive tho support from her natural protector, that had been denied her during the long, weary yeara that had dragged away since he left er side, to battle for his onntry. ; |, Who#e boyhood days were passed in this that at the time of the war recruited a HORSE NOTES. A new mile trotting track ig about being laid out and the necessary buiiaings in course of crection near Poughkeepsie. The course is to be under the management of Morgan L. Mott. . Mr. Oharles Carman has tately purchased a fine team of bay horses. They are fast wotters and very stylish, Dexter's great apeed and fine disposition was ox- hibited to perfection the other afternoon on Harlem lane. He was driven to a top wi distinction im the war with Mexico and a gallant oitcer in the various positions ned to him | who had @ friend with him. As Dexter came flyt during the jate rebellion, The old gentleman ts now | past Bartolt’ Mr. Bonner threw the reins oosely on wearing his home near this cityrin Manhattan | nia back and halioed at hia at the same mo- township. Thinking that the General bmg Mo ment. The hot 18 4 but never bly naye some information on the supject to the letter Was sent to him. Sy tye ap thas Pela oa la