The New York Herald Newspaper, March 13, 1869, Page 8

6 NEW YORK\HERALD let BROADWAY ©. STREEY. tween Thirty-fourth nade tee The bills for the of @ President pro eee JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR ‘All business or news letter and telegraphic despatches must be addressed New York HERatp. pure milk. A resolution of inquiry into the outrages on emigrants during the late trip of the ship James Foster, Jr., to this port Was introduced, and the As- sembly adjourned, ‘The officers of the navy, headed by Vice Admiral Porter, ana the officers of the army, headed by General Sherman, paid their respects to President Grant yesterday. ‘The Georgia Senate yesterday passed the fifteenth amendment to the constitution by a vote of twenty- one yeas to sixteen nays. The House, by a vote of eighty-one yeas to forty-four nays, reconsidered its action of Thursday adopting the amendmeut. The extremisws of both parties in Georgia oppose its adoption, Dr. Mudd has been released from his tmprison- ment on the Dry Tortugas and 1 on his way to his home tn Maryland. * Clifton Harris, a negro, was hanged at Thomaston, Me., yesterday for the murder of Mrs, Kinsley and Miss Casswell, two old women, at Auburn, Me., in January, 1867. He met his death calmly, confessing his complicity in the crime. In the Massachusetts State Lunatic Asylum at Cambridge a coroner’s inquest was held yesterday on the body of James Parks, a maniac, who died from injuries received on the 8d inst, at the of three prison keepers upon whom he made a ‘assault while laboring under ac attack of mamacal frenzy. Upon examination it was found that his breastbone and fourteen ribs had been fractured, two of the ribs on the right side being broken in two places. ik Volume XXXIV steeeseeeee seeeees seeereeee No. 72 ‘AMUSEMENTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DWAY THEATRE, Broadway.—Snapow* or A chu. RIGHELIED ‘AT SIXTEEN. Matinee at 1). ? e BOOTH'’S THEATRE, 284 st., between 6th and 7th avs,— Matinee at —RoMEO aND JULIET. Evening—Ngoissx. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway.—TaR ayers Ex. TRAVAGANZA OF THE FoRTY THIZVES. Matinee at WOOD'S MUSEUM a THEATRE, Thirtieth street and Broadway.—Afternoon and evening Performance. oe WAVERLEY THEATRE, 720 Brosdway.—E.ize Hou7’s BURLESQUE COMPANY, Matinee ata oes THEATRE COMIQUE, 514 Broad’ ae SEETOUES AND Living StaTUR8—P1.010. Matinee at: WALLACK'S THEATRE, Broadway and 1th street.— Mucu Apo ABour NOTHING. BROUGHAM'S THEATRE, Twenty-fourth st—PERrzo- ~ ‘vION—-MUCH ADO gpa MERCHANT OF VENICE. OLYMPIC THEATRE. witm NEW FRATUBES. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Tue Li atcneed Dwanrs; on, HARLEQUIN AND thin WonLD oF WomD) ‘Matinee. NEW YORK THEATRI rr a on, King AND EXECUTIONER. ath, Mallnes i ig nen re THE TAMMANY, Fourteenth street.—Tas Horse Ma- Binks, Ac. Matinee at 2 ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Fourteenth street.—ITALIAN OPanA_Malinee at /Cuiserno B La COMARE STEINWAY HALL, Fourteenth street.—Taxo. Tuomas’ SYMPHONY SOIREE, MRS. FB, CONWAY'S PARK PARK, THEATRE, Brookiya.— Prep 0’ Day. SA SAN FRANCISCO aipeeel nc B85 Broftmay-- emo. FIAN ENTERTALNMENTS—SIRGB OF THE BLOND! BRYANTS'’ OPERA HOUSE, Bang ub street—ETHIOPIAN ‘MINSTRELSY, TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, S01 Bowery.—Comro Voca.ism, NEGRO MINSTRELSY, cana. iy ads Dig. NEW YORK CIRCUS, Fourteenth pe a AND GrMN4sTlO EXTERTADOMENT, Matings at24. HOOLEY'S OPERA HOUSE, Brera, Roguars MINSTRELS—GEANT'S CABINET, Ac. Mating at 234, Bast xoRe us oF. MaTOUr, 6 TRIPLE SHEET. The Dairy Herap will be sent to subscribers for one dollar a month. The postage being only thirty-five cents . quarter, gomntry subscribers by. this arrangement o, Hmnard at the ‘sdme price it is ify. ete age . Notice to Herald Carriers and News Dealers, Heratp carriers and news dealers are in- formed that they can now procure the requisite number of copies direct from this office without delay. All complaints of “short counts” and spoiled sheets must be made to the Superintendent in the counting-room of the Heratp establish- ment, Newsmen who have received spoiled papers from the Heratp office, are requested to re- turn ‘the same, with proof that they were obtained from here direct, and have their money refunded. Spoiled sheets must not be sold to readers of the Hzratp. can Teceiv, ‘e furnished i Europe. The cable despatches are dated March 12. The Spanish Minister of Finance nas asked for a loan of 1,000,000,000 of reals to meet extraordinary expenses, and the Cortes refuses to pass the bill authorizing the abolition of the capitation tax and ‘the military conscription. The Austrian Reichsrath has passed the budget, ‘which shows a deficiency of 2,000,000 florins. The Chancelior of the Exchequer stated to the House of Cémmons that if the mail contract were allotted to the Inman line the steamers would sail from Queenstown on every Friday. ~. Cuba. The insurgent General Capote was shot on the oth inst. at Clenfuegos by his captors. The insurgents are active in their operations along the railroad. Lopez's Spanish column had entered Mayari after a severe fight. Velasco was marching from Bayamo to co-operate with him. An attack on Count Valma- Seda at Jignani had been repulsed. Buello had issued @ conciliatory address. President Grant's tn- augural address is praised by the Havana Diario. Business was stagnant, and several large firms in Santiago had failed. A number of rebel prisoners bad been captured near Gibara and despatched with knives by their captors. General Jordan, formerly Chief of Staff to General Beauregard, recently disappeared from Charieston, 8. C., and it is currently reported that he had sailed for Cuba to take up arms in behaif of the insurgents. It is also further reported that he has been all along, as regards this movement, in fall accord with Prest- dent Grant, and‘acting with his fall knowledge and consent. The President, it is said, has assured him that po American taken in rebeliton shall be harshly @ealt with by the Spanish authorities. Mexico, Advices by way of Acapulco state that disaffection ia general throughout the republic and the position of Juarez is very critical. Congress. ‘The Senate was not in session yesterday. In the House Mr. Buter’s resolution for a joint committee on Indian matters was gen iy dis- cussed and finally passed by @ vote of 03 to 47. A concurrent resolution for an adjournment on Fri- day, the 26th tnst., was agreed to. A joint resolution authorizing the recognition of the independence of Ouba was referred to the Committee oo Foreign Affairs. Another, authorizing the President to Open negotiations for the an- nexation of St Domingo was referred to the same committee. A resolution instructing the Judiciary Committee to report a bill to prevent frauds in naturalization and to secure the surrender of fraudulent naturalization papers already issued ‘was adopted. Mr. Schenck introduced his public credit bill, and, the second section being stricken out, the bill was passed by @ vote of 07 to 48. The resignation of Mr. Boutwell as a member waa pre- ented. The Speaker announced that he would mame the standing committees on Mo nday, and the House adjourned unui tat day. The Legislature, In the Senate yesterday a bill was reported to in- corporate the Fulton Fishmongers’ Association of Rew York city, Bills were introduced extending the powers of the Erie Rattroad Company; to incorporate the New York Searacn’s Association and the Fulton Ferry and Hudson River Railroad Company. The Senate then adjourned until Monday. In the bills amending the charter it Of Iife and health insur. ance companies and requiring the registration of births, marriages and deaths were reported, Billa were introduced to reduce the fare om Mrs.¥ Jeremiah Ladd, of East Lynn, Conn., aged 108 years and nine months, the oldest person in the Nutmeg State, came toan untimely death on Wed- nesday last. Her health had been quite robust untti @ few days since, when she took cold and died of pnenmonia, The commencement of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelpnia, was §neld yesterday. One hundred and twenty-six students graduated. A delegation from the New York Corn Exchange ts in Buffalo, receiving many attentions from the denizens of that city. A public meeting is to be held on the Buffalo ‘Change to-day, at which the New York delegation wil be present. A large part of the Gloucester, Mass., fishing fleet arrived home on Thursday from George’s Banks, having encountered unprecedented:y severe weather, irivolving losses which will consume the profits of the fishery for the present year. Dr. Charles Wallace, editor of the Warrentown, Ga., Clipper, was shot and instantly killed yesterday by Dr. G. W. Darsen, who had been denounced in the Ctipper as a liar and villain. The City. Louisa Eghmie, who ts the girl that Cunningham, the White Plains prisoner, referred to as the former mistress of Logan No. 2, denies all the‘allegations he made lately tn relation to her connection with the Rogers murder. She says that she never knew Rogers or Logan, was never in New York city but four days, and has friends in Dutchess county who will confirm her statements, The report of the Superintendent ef Public Build- ings for 1868 is published. There remain 3,587 build-* ings unsupplied with the requisite fire escape; 2,112 new buildings have been commenced and 1,874 were finished during the year. The largest number of persons admitted at one time to the various theatres im the city reaches an aggregate of 39,520, which is an excess of 13,681 over the number of seats pro- vided, The report gives the length of time to empty each theatre of ita audience, Nibio’s has contained 3,600 persons and required only from five to seven minutes to empty it, while Brougham’s, which con- tained 1,000, and Wood's, which contained 2,300, re- quire from nine to eleven minutes. The Board of Directors of the Vessel Owners’ and Captains’ Association held a special meeting at their rooms in Pine street at three P. M. yesterday to con- sider the bill now before the State Legislature in re- lation to Hell Gate pilotage. A committee was appointed to proceed to Albany to use their efforts to defeat the bill. The captain and mate of the emigrant ship James Poster, Jr., on which eighteen persons died on the last voyage from Liverpool, owing in part, it is said, to ill treatment, were arrested yesterday, The investi- gation was postponed until to-day. ‘The sidewheel passenger steamship Ariel, Captain Jones, will leave pier No. 42 North river, at two P. M. to-day, for Bremen and Copenhagen, via Cowes and Bremen. ‘The steamship Don, Oaptaim De Hart, will 1eiffe pler No. 4 North river, at three P, M. to-day, for Matanzas. &c, The sidewheel steamship De Soto, Captain Eaton, will leave pier No. 36 North river, at three P. M, to-day, for Havana and New urieans, The steamer General Sedgwick, Captain Gilder- dale, wiil sail this afternoon from pier No. 20 East river, for Galveston, Texas. The steamer Perit, Captain Gardiner, will leave pler No. 4 North river at three P, M. to-day for Gaiveston via Key West. The sidewheel steamship Manhattan, Captain Woodnull, will leave pier No. 6 North river at three P. M. to-day for Charleston. ‘The stock market yesterday was very quiet and steady. Gold was steady between 131 and 131%, closing finally at 131%. strong, the '62's selling af 120%, the nighest price they ever reached, but reacted at the close. Foreign exchange was weaker. Governments were very Prominent Arrivals im the City. General J. M. Braine, of the United States Army; General J. Hunter, of Ohio, and Captain Brooks, of steamer City of Brooklyn, are at the St. Nicholas Hotel. Judge B. R- Curtis, of Boston, and Captain T. Cook, of steamer Russia, are at the Brevoort House. Morris Lopez Roberts, Spanish Minister, and Rev. a Morton, of Georgia, are at the Fifth Avenue Captain Van Reed, of Key West, and Chas. King, of Nassau, N. P., are at the Astor House. Colonel E. Mahone, of Mississippi; Professor Samuel Gardiner, of Philadelphia; Dr. John W. Saw- yer, of Providence, and Colonel W. H. Friedley, of the United States Army, are at the Metropolitan Hotel. Judge J. L. Connelly, of Franktin, and Judge 3. Sherwood, of Connecticut, are at the St. Charles Hotel. Colonel Stewart, of the United Sates Army, and Dr. BE, Wilson, of Philadelphia, are at the St. Julien Hotel, Major A. H. Prayn, of Kingston, N. Y., and W. PF. Tobias, of Philadelphia, are at the New York Hotel, Prominent Departures. Commissioner Rollins passed through this city inst evening en route for Boston; Mr. Hall McAllister jeft yesterday for California by the overiand route; Judge Woobury for Boston, J, B. Drake for Chicago, Gen- eral 0.E. Babcock for Washington, 8. L’Homme- dieu for Cincinnati, ex-Senator L. M, Morrill for Maine, General Frank P. Biair for St. Louis, General Wallin, Colonel Slocam and W. H. Laws for Cincin- nati, John McKay for Washington, and Major Alfred Foote and wife per seamer for California, Tae Inwan Love or Steamers AND THE Exorisn Matt Contract.—We are pleased to observe that that honorable sense of fair play among Englishmen in all matters especially relating to themselves is now about to recog- nize the merits of the Inman line of steamers by turning over the mail contract to them. This has been so long held by the Cunard line that it began to be considered as theirs by right. The Inman steamers have, however, fairly won it and should receive it at tee, Let some other company now give us a line faster than the Inman, and we shall as quickly advocate their claims to it, tree iw wer Yorxr HINALD, SATOADAT Railroad; ‘m relation to| The Reconstructed Cabinet—What Next? The ship of state under the new administra- tion is now in full sail; the Cabinet difficulty has been overcome and every department has its chief and is in in order, Still there seem to be some incongruities that may require rectifying hereafter, as two Cabinet Officers from one State (Massachusetts) and the mixed character of the Cabinet, which has in it various political shades, from the ultra radical and New England protectionist to the Western free trade war democrat, Then the President has promised that he will make changes if necessary till he and the country are satisfied with the Cabinet; so that, although the machinery is in perfect working order, it is possible discoveries may be made to make it go better and more satis- factory to both himself and the people. In Politics, as in war, plans of action have to be modified and commands to be reorganized to suit circumstances. Hence, though the Cabi- net is reconstructed, we must walt to see how it acts before passing judgment upon it, The original draft of the Cabinet was, per- haps, the best, and the leading thought of the President in its construction was good. He Preferred taking practical business men of sound sense and conservative views to active Partisan politicians. He did not hesitate to avow this, and more than once declared that he was not elected by nor was he the repre- sentative of politicians. His sentiments and purpose were unmistakable. While he intended to pay proper respect to the will of the party that nominated him for the Presidency, par- ticularly as to the distribution of patronage, he evidently wished to look more to the interests of the country than to those of a party. In this view he started ons more independent course than his predecessors usually had. His Cabinet was composed at first with that view. But he met witha check at the commence- ment; for though the Senate confirmed Itis nominations at the spur of the moment it did not like his policy. That body is the centre and nucleus of the political rings, and it looked with disfavor upon the attempt to ignore the politicians. The difficulty about Mr. Stew- art gave the Senators an opportunity to show their hands, and they did not fail to seize it. We have seen the result, General Grant wanted peace—wanted to avoid the conflict and difficulties which Mr. Jofinson plunged into, and. desired to work in harmony with the Senate, Under these circumstaices and the pressure brought to bear upon him he has reconstructed his Cabinet, and while carrying out to some extent his original plan he has modified it so far as to take forthe most important post—that of the Treasury—one of the leading radical poli- ticians in Congress. Shall we have peace veg harmony now? Or what next? Looking at the reconstructed Cabinet, the appointment of Hamilton Fish as Secretary of State, as New York was cut out of the Trea- sary Department, seems unobjectionable enough. The Secretary of the Treasury ought to have been from this great financial centre; but the President having taken Mr. Boutwell, of Massachusetts, for that post, it was well to give the State Department to New York. Mr. Fish is a gentleman of ability, conservative and dignified, and will, we suppose, fill the office creditably. General Rawlins, the new Secretary of War, is adapted for the*position, and, as the friend and old companion of Gene- ral Grant in the war, will work harmoniously with his chief. But what of Mr. Boutwell? He holds the most important position in the government; -for everything de- pends upon the proper management of the Treasury and placing the finances of the country on a sound basis. From the coursé of this gentleman in Congress and from his speeches with regard to the currency, specie payments and a faithful collection of the reve- nue, he stands on the same ground as Presi- dent Grant. The expressions of the inaugural address and those of Mr. Boutwell on different occasions upon these questions are identical. In speech before the Republican State Conven- tion of Massachusetts last fall he said:—‘‘We do not propose to tolerate, sanction or permit an issue of demand notes payable in coin, to be exchanged for the time bonds of the United States. We intend to limit, and, if necessary, to diminish gradually the volume of paper money until it approximates in value to the standard of coin, When this is done the public debt will be paid as theresources of the coun- try will permit.” He thinks that we can then issue bonds, payable after ten or twenty years, bearing a lower rate of interest, and thus save annually. twenty or thirty millions of dollars. He is for paying the debt at all hazards and maintaining the public honor. He has been opposed to the contraction of the currency heretofore, as cal- culated to bring disaster upon the country, and has favored limiting the power of the Sec- retary of the Treasury over the currency and sales of gold. So far, then, he is in accord with the President and probably with the ma- jority in Congress. His reputation stands high for integrity, and it is believed he will, to the utmost of his ability, purify the Trea- sury Department of corruption and inefficiency. It remains to be seen whether he can for the public good emancipate himself from the poli- tical and Congressional rings that have had such a firm grip upon the Treasury. On the whole General Grant has, in the reconstruc- tion of his Cabinet, and particularly in the ap- pointment of Mr. Boutwell, deferred in o measure to the wishes of the dominant party in Congress. Now let us see what will follow. Let us see if the Senate will meet the Presi- dent in his desire for harmony and restore his constitutional prerogative by repealing the Tenure of Office act, Upon that will depend the success or failure of his adminis- tration, A Revepy ror rie Street Car NUBANOR At THE Foot ov Tug Parx—Make a circular road for all the cars of the various lines that terminate at the junction of Broadway and Park row, and compel them to pass along without stopping to their respective tracks. There would then be no delay, no changing of the horses, and consequently no obstructions ‘and no nuisance, Each road would have but one terminus, and that would bo the up-town depot. There would be no necessity for down- town statters, and the companies, the public and the city generally would be benefited. Let the city authorities insist on trying the ex- periment, see ao” dthsadwid Le, naa Ide New Grand Railroad Campaign—Fisk, Jr. and the Pacific Railroad. : There is a promise of light to be thrown on the dark doings of some of the Pacific Railroad Companies, Fisk, Jr., opened a campaign against them in the courts last summer, but the movement made little progress till a day or two since, when the annual election for direc- tors of the Union Pacific Railroad Company was to be held. Young Erie applied to Judge Barnard for justice, and got an injunction. But the Pacific Railroad was not to be stopped in its march by a common officer, and so the enjoined directors proceeded to hold the elec- tion. The result was that the sentinels of Young Erie broke in upon them and arrested the board while in the act. Oliver Ames, Pre- sident, and Sidney Dillon, Vice, were inconti- nently consigned to prison in one of the par- lors of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, their offence not being a bailable one. We. rather like the Fifth Avenue Hotel parlor prison idea. Thomas C. Durant, Cornelius S. Bushnell, John Duff, John B, Alley and John F. Tracey were also arrested and bailed. The only one of the lot who escaped was Hon. Oakes Ames, member of Congress from Massachusetts, who, being on his way to Washington to attend his duties, could not be stayed. The claim of Fisk, Jr., is a round one, He asserts that he bargained for a great number of shares, and paid a margin on them, and they have never been delivered to him, for reasons the directors have not made known. And inasmuch as the same gentlemen control the Crédit Mobilier Company, which holds the contract for constructing the Union Pacific Railroad, and divide to themselves some thirty or more per cent per month of profits, he wants to take part in the election, or to know if not why not. We think thts claim of lively Young Erie is a just one. If there is any underhand work going on why should he not have a finger in it? And inasmuch as the effort is now being made by so many,immaculate rail- road directors and Wall: street operators to crowd Erie on to the sidewalk, and off the side- walk into the gutter, if there is any chance to show up any other concern as being in the same boat we are in favor of Fisk, Jr., having the benefit of the show-up. The peculiar relations existing between the Board of Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the stockholders of the Crédit Mobilier, which is building the road and divid- ing so large a profit as thirty per cent a month on its own capital, are rather notable; and there are persons who suppose that the per- sonal resemblance is so great that, when seen together, the stockholders of the Crédit Mobi- lier cannot be distinguished from the directors of the Union Pacific Pailroad Company. Be this as it may, if the Union Pacific is a bird of the same feather with the modern Erie, we advise them to keep Fisk, Jr., out, on the principle of proserving character. If the directors have made the millions report has assigned them they can afford to compromise with Fisk, and if they will not come down @ la Vanderbilt and Drow, we advise Fisk, Jr., to learn that the Austrian They By Atlantic cable finances are, as usual, in a bad state. find a deficiency of three million florins this year. This might readily be remedied by set- ting their half million of uniformed men at work, who could add an equal number of dol- lars daily to the wealth of the country, instead of drawing the same amount from the public purse. So much, however, for European boun- dary lines. This is the payment for the privi- lege of boasting over petty divisions and little nationalities, Spain is in a still worse condition than Aus- tria, With her great Cuban source of revenue taken from her, and an expensive war in its place, she finds it necessary to call for a loan of one thousand millions of reals—about one hundred and twenty-five millions of dollars, gold. It is very doubtful if she can negotiate such a large loan. The best method to put herself in funds, and to take a long step in civilization at the same moment, fs to confiscate all the estates of the clergy and sell them out at auction. How little the people of Europe are disposed to set capital in active operation at present is shown by our cable report that there has been the very heavy increase of eleven millions of francs in bullion in the Bank of France. This and the very large amount held in the Bank of England does not speak well for European prosperity. So they move across the water, three millions of bayonets glittering, the peo- plein poverty and capital stagnant. Wars Over tae Water.—The Brooklynites are in a terrible state of excitement just now. They have disciplined and marshalled forces fighting for and against a paid fire depart- ment ; ranks well filled with eager belligerents on both sides on the question of reducing the proportions of Prospect Park, and quite a nice little fight, with plenty of adherents on each side, going on between the old Brooklyn Gas Company and the Hudson Avenue Ferry Company. About year ago the gas com- pany, in perfect harmony with all acts of gil gas companies, having no regard to the accom- modations of the people, ordered the ferry company away from the landing at the foot of Hudson avenue, which they had used for up- wards of forty years, to the great ac- commodation of the Navy Yard people and the inhabitants of that section of the city. The gas company claimed to have purchased the ferry slip from Cyrus P. Smith, the Brooklyn railroad, gas house and ferry manager. It is alleged now that the property thus sold by Mr. Smith belongs to the State, and the gas company’s title is likely to prove as weak asa spider's web, They are very anxious to compromise with the ferry company, but as the city authorities have the matter in hand the gas men are likely to get nothing but their bond. Goop News or tue East River Baivor.— The plans of Mr. Roebling having been ap- proved by « board of consulting engineers, “the work is to be prosecuted without unne- eossary delay.” Fenton's Exprnss,—Jay Gould, who did the Erle business in Albany last winter, is re- to have said that he had contributed “twenty thousand dollars to Governor Fen- ton’s expenses.” What did he mean? and why wns this part of the corruption testimony sup- pressed? TRIPLE SHEET. Whe Backed Napoleon Out of Méxicot— Boulévard property fd soon the satisthctory Who Killed Cock Robin¢ We have an extraordinary Minister at Brazil. Hells officially recognized as General James Watson Webb, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, &c., but is familiarly known as the Chevalier Webb. He has been attending to the affairs of the United States at Ri®®anciro for eight long years, and has managed to keep things very lively down there pretty much all the time without getting us into actual war. But it appears from a late mysterious exposition, published since the retirement of Andy Johnson and his Secretary of State, that the Chevalier Webb, besides his important questions of diplomatic etiquette and his active labors in the affairs of Brazil, Paraguay and the Argentine confederation, and his misunderstanding with Admiral Davis, &c., has had some other diplomatic irons in the fire—that, in short, the country is indebted to Webb, among other things, for the quiet backing out of Louis Napoleon from Mexico. The case thus made out for Webb is as full of dates and specifications, and is as plausible inthe argument as the statement of Cunning- ham concerning the Rogers murder. Briefly summed up it amounts to this: That en route to Brazil in 1861 the Chevalier Webb drepped in at Paris to have a little diplomatic téte-4-téte with his old friend and pitcher the Emperor Napoleon, which resulted in a promise from the Emperor to respect President Lincoln's blockade of the rebel States. Secondly, that when the said Webb heard of the Franco-Maximilian adven- ture into Mexico he made another trip across the Atlantic and had another confidential chat with Napoleon, in which he was advised to back out of Mexico, this good advice resulting in a promise from the Emperor to back out if we did not threaten or attempt to bully him out. This secret understanding, it next appears, was confined to Webb, Napoleon and Lincoln; for, to keep it out of the newspapers, it was not made known to the Secretary of State. So it was that when Andrew Johnson went into the White House in 1865 he and Seward, both being ignorant of,Webb’s arrangement, commenced to open fire on the French usurpa- tion in a style somewhat alarming. No time was to be lost, and so the Chevalier Webb lost no time in another trip from Brazil to Paris and in securing another confidential chat with Napoleon, the result of which was the final agreement under which the French troops were withdrawn from Mexico, our Min- ister at Paris, as well as our Secretary of State, still being left in the dark until the settlement was accepted by Mr. Lincoln. “Thus,” says this exposition from the Cheva- lier Webb, ‘‘thus it appears that the State De- partment had nothing whatever to do with the settlement of the Mexican question.” It was all done through the Chevalier Webb and his old friend. Secretary Seward had the wool pulled over his eyes, and was indulged throughout the French occupation of Mexico in his superfluous and preposterous semi-belligerent diplomatic cor- respondence with the French Minister of State. Poor old man! What a grim joke was this of Webb against his confiding benefactor, the man who had been the saving and the making of Webb! Is not this requital worse than that of.the courageous donkey kicking the dead lon? But the Chevalier Webb, whether hauled over the coals by the sage of Auburn or treated by him with silent contempt, cannot be allowed to monopolize the glory of backing Napoleon out of Mexico. We have no doubt that the Chevalier Colorado Jewett and the Chevalier Thurlow Weed and other volunteer diplomats had a finger in this Mexican ple. For the present, however, we are content in bringing forward the rival claims of the Chevalier Wikoff. He, too, is an old personal friend of Louis Napoleon, and ‘the friendship. between these two wonderful men began in the prison of Ham, where a friend in need was a, friend indeed. The Chevalier Wikoff can tell a score of personal conversations with Napoleon for every one of these diplomatic interviews of Webb, and he knows all about the entente cordiale of 1853 against Russia between Eng- land and France; for Wikoff in this matter was the confidential messenger employed between Napoleon and Lord Palmerston. Now, then, for the Mexican claims of the Chevalier Wikoff against the pretensions of the Chevalier Webb. Under the peaceful dispensation of Andy Johnson the Chevalier Wikoff was seized with the brilliant idea of solving the Mexican problem in a trip to Paris and a talk with his old friend Napoleon, who is alwvys glad to see Wikoff. It was evident that Seward was groping in the dark, and so Wikoff, with or without the advice and consent of the Senate or the State Department, went over to Paris and laid the great mistake and the great dan- ger of Napoleon's “grand idea” of a protecto- rate over Mexico fairly and freely before the Emperor, We havea sort of an impression that the views of Wikoff thus delivered con- vinced Napoleon that his only course of safety was to back out of Mexico. We have hot the exact facts or details of this mission of Wikoff before us, but we presume that he will cheerfally, if called upon, supply them. Accordingly we call upon him for the facts; for we believe that they will scatter these Mexican pretensions of the Chevalier Webb to the winds. Let Wikoff remember, too, in putting in his claims, that the issue of this controversy may settle the mission to Brazil for the next four years. Whoknows? The ingratitude of Webb towards Johnson and Seward is unquestionably dead against him. Real Estate in the City. Not long since there was a commission in existence charged with the job of making the whole of this island a sort of municipal checker- board of cross streets and Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth avenues. All that picturesque part of the island whose broken surface afforded fine suburban residences for the wealthicr citizens of tho metropolis was to be destroyed in the plan of these worthies, the whole face of the island was to be cut a dead level to make an illimitable area for corner groceries and ‘‘city lots.” We took a somewhat active part in spoiling the vast job that the commissioners had in hand in that vandal scheme, and in securing the improve- ment of the district in question by the con- struction of the Grand Boulevard under the auspices of the Central Park Commission, in the present upward movement in the prices of result of our exettions. * Already the appre- elation in value has been tenfold; for tracts : actually sold but @ few years since for one “hundred thousand now realize a million, The increase in prices awakens memories of the activity of 1837, only that what was specula- tive and visionary then seems sound reality now. It scems that the vast increase in the power and influence of this metropolis—an increase due to our activity in pushing to their full effect the great elements of civiliza- tion and progress, that are conquering the world—must make this city, before many years, the richest materially, as the greatest intellectually, of the earth. The Press and the Cabinet Appointments, The republican and independent journals are generally well satisfied with the Cabinet as now arranged, They thinkit rather an im- provement over the one which has occasioned thus early in the new administration a scrub -fight betwoen the President and ‘Congress, The democratic and copperhead organs are, however, not so well pleased with the new slate, Entirely left out in the cold, they feel much like the poor devils who stand in front of a well filled eating house while dinner is going on. All they can do is to pick their . teeth, think how they have gormandized in times gone by and patiently wait for the crumbs. Under these circumstances the lead- ing copperhead ayid democratic flute of this city plays a very doleful tune, and especially with reference to Mr. Boutwell; says that ‘“‘he is all that radicalism gould desire—bigoted, in-. tolerant and sectionél in his political views, and, withal, ag: 8 protectionist.” sophomorical -gurdy, . the Manhattan Club organ, scarcely knowing what tune to play before so respectable a company, y day devoted almost an entire leader to the merits of the only big Fish that suits its hungry palate in the Cabinet. Turning to the repub- lican sheets, we find that the head waiter ex- presses his satisfaction in his usual uncertain style; thinks that ‘the changes which haye been made will strengthen the political’ ele- ment in the “Composition of ‘the Cabinat, and will, in that respect, render it more satisfac> tory to the country,” and thinks that “it argues well for the efficiency and success of the new administration.” Looking at it through philosopher’s stone of the radical faction, find it endorsed as a “‘strong and safe Cabinet,” which “will prove harmonious and efficient We do not pronounce it abler than the original cast, yet it will not suffer by comparison even with that.” So we start off, with a little preliminary trouble, for the work of the coming four years. We shall have ample opportunity to judge of the practical value of the men that Grant has collected about him as his assistants. If they do not meet the requirements made upon them we shall expect that, in accordance with the inaugural address, they will give ‘‘place to those who can.” Quer Domes at THE Strats CaPiTAL.— The Senatorial report on bribery determines at least this one impbdrtant point—‘‘that largé sums of money did come the'treasury of the Erle Railway Company, which were ex+ pended for some purpose in Albany for which no vouchers seem to have been filed in the office of the company.” Mr. Lewis F. Payne and Mr, Luther Caldwell appear to have re= ceived, without equivalent value, large sums of money in the great railroad fight between Central and Erie, » Otherwise there is much hard swearing both ways, but it seems to be satisfactorily shown that the two great railroad corporations did exercise a demoraliting influ- ence and freely use money to corrupt the Legislature and influence legislation. This being shown, what shall be done about it? Tae EXxpPLosion ov THE AUSTRIAN STEAM Frigatg RapEtzky.—We published yesterday the thrilling details of the recent explosion of the Austrian steam frigate Radetzky. Only twenty lives out of four hundred, i} appears, escaped on this sad occasion—the consequences of the criminal carelessness of drying wet cart- ridges in the powder room of the steamer, in- stead of on deck. As this is the second accl+ dent of the kind which has befallen the Aus> trian navy since 1848 it is not calculated to make a very flattering impression of the fresh water navies of certain European nations that aspire to become maritime Powers. Prestpent Grant's REOEPTION OF THB Dirtomatio Oorps.—President Grant rer sponded appropriately to the expressions by Baron Gerolt, in behalf of the Diplomatic Corps, of their good wishes for his welfare and that of the nation which has chosen him as its Chief Magistrate. He assured the Diplomatic Corps that it would be his constant endeavor to maintain those relations of peace and friend- 1 ship which now exist between the United States and the countries respectively repre- sented by the members of the corps. This is all very well and in strict accordance with eti- quette. But we are very sure that President Grant does not thereby pledge himself to adopt the mifk-and-water policy of Mr. Seward and Mr. Reverdy Johnson. He will adhere to the text of his own foreign policy, as plainly indicated in his inaugural address, The Division of the Spoils. ms Confusion reigns among the politicians in Washington. The spoils question, and who shall direct the division, is the great bone of A contention, With an instinct that belongs to the true bummer the members of both houses do not incline to quarrel among themselves, and sq they have adopted the caucus plan, King Caucus assumes the appointing power, and, after arranging the slate, waits upon the President and tells him whatis tobe done, In tho matter of the nominations to the offices in { Pennsylvania a very instructive incident has occurred in Washington, which illustrates the , peculiar relations to each other of the several branches of the government, The republican Senators and Representatives from that State met in caucus and coolly resolved that each republican member of the House shall have the control of the appointments to office in his district, andin those represented by democrats the State Senators shall have the same, , The coolness of this proceeding is only surpassed by its impudence, We can readily comprehend that in making appointments to office the President would do well to consult representative men from the several districts,