The New York Herald Newspaper, August 15, 1869, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 1869.—TRIPLE SHEET, PAVEMENTS. OUR STREET The Triple Problem of Sewerage, Drain- age and Roadway. PRESENT CONDITION AND STATISTICS, Belgian, Russ, Ison, Stafford aad Conerete Roadways Relatively Coasic ASPHALTIC THE PARIS ROADS. Defeeis of the New York aud Their Remedy. . System The subject of street pavements in this city is be- ginning to atiract the attention and cali out the criticism of py ical engineers to an extent that seems likcly to result tn considerable venellt to the ‘The fact, however, remains, and {n none of the several metro. polises of tue world isso large an amount yearly squandered in constraction and repairs, and to 80 litte purpose, as in this leading mart and metropolis of the Westeru Conugent, Various causes have Operated to produce twis result; aud various re- forms, there‘ore, must of necessity be adopted be- fore the effect, eventuating in the worst paved city of 13 extent within the circie of Indo-European civilization, can be obytated, Legislative attentuuon must be directed to the foundation of a bureau of construction and repairs, consisting of competent engineers, whose powers, within certain liinits, shal be aroitrary, and not sub- ject to the iterference of the Common Coun- cil, except possibly in the matter of expenditure, This conimission should be invested wita the power to perfect and apply @ thorough, compreteasive and scientific system of sewerage and drainage; and, with a board of ths kind in operation, New York might expect and anticipate that within tive years after its organization the triple problem of sewer- age, drainage and pavement would be solved and applied with just regard to the heaitn, convenience and nece S$ of its million of inbabita The sewerage sysic and unsei- entific, Were $ to occur in suc ion with- n—a contingency liable to happen av ni city would ve Jittle more than a pest hole, the carrying off of the sewage being in so great a degree ndent upon the rain fail, Iu fact, there are points at which three week: uglt would wor similar etfe as, for instance, at the corner of Eleveuih street and Sixth avenue; and, as itis, with the ordinary mete- orology of asuiumer, it may be remarked tat the great prevalence of suinmer epidemics in this me- tropolis, which by virtue of advantageous situation Ought to be more healtuiul than either London or Paris, 18 due vrincipatly to defects in the sewerage and drainage system. The reports of the Croton Board, which ongit to be packed with the sugges- tions of practical engimeers as to these important subjects, aiford oniy meagre details of receipt and expenditure, very necessary in their way, to be sure, but by no meaus so valuaole that they ought to be permitted to crowd out other and equally impor- tant matters. The fatlure to adopt a practical and sufficient sys- tem of sewerage as had the effect to complicate the pavement problem to aconsiderable extent, No pavement in use in the city is susceptible of being taken up and put down in biisters of a tew hundred square feet without injury to the whole adjoining fabric, and yet tuis piecemeal process is necessitated from year to year by the present system of sewer- age. The iaying down of a new gas mainorofa new sewerage pipe necessitates a disturbance of hundreds of square feet or hundreds of square yards of pavement, and for no other reason than that no suMicient plan for carrying off the sewage of the city has beev yet put in operation. That the sewers of the city should be large enough to ad- mit of underground repair, without disturb- ing the surface, is, in the abstract, conceded; but the concession 18 qualitied with 80 maay opjections that practical adoption 1s indefinitely postponed, and in the meantime the vid aud inadequate system pre- ‘Valls, at ab expense of a quarter of a million or more per year. The truth is, 10 reason can be quoted way sewers should uot be constructed sulliciently large to admit of the passage of gas mains, &c., by the half dozen, and yet preserve all the efficiency in carryiug off reluse matter claimed for the pipes in present use. Geueral Viele, than whom New York has no more unremitting student in the application of engineering to this purpose, has, in fact, digested @ plan to effect 8 combination’ of the good qualities claimed for bow systems, the application of which would obviae the necessity for disturbing the surface iu the repairmg of sewers and the pul- ting down of hew gas mains. The effect of its in- troduction would be to enable the gas companies to pass their mains along within the periphery of the sewer by the half dozen if necessary, thus relieving companies of a large expense and laying the foundation for a more active competition, by which the cost of gas to ine city might be materially lessen- ed; and that some more adequate plan must event ually supersede that iu present use 1s quite unques- tionabie, ‘Ine creation ofa board of construction and repairs upon tie pian hitherto specified would, no doubt, result in the adoption of this draining or something, simular, and unt thas desideratum is attained New York wili probably blunder on at an expense of half a million @ year for the repair and extension of a sysiein of sewerage Which must be given up at last as taudequate. The success wiicn las attended the limited inde- pendence of the Commissioners in maa- ‘aging the details of the work committed to them 18 a proof of the poicy and economy of eliminating the question of politics from the conduct of pubic works in as far as may be practicable, and of wnat may be done by a well selected board, gg opt ly independent of political considerations. The want of success Which has attended the subjection of the appropriation for tae removal of the Heli Gate ov- structions to political influence 13 another prooi (by reductio ad absurdum) of the same principle, and both point to the necessity for the creation of an independent board of con- straction and repairs for the evolution and carrying out of an adequate system of drainage, sewerage and street pavement, neither of which can be separate’ from the otner two without in- voiving a certain waut of unity 1n the application of engineering to city improvement, ‘The compit- cation of the pavement question is mostly due to three cauges:—First, the necessity for irequent taking up and relaying of the roadbed occasioned by the laying or repair of sewerage pipes, the laying Of repsir of gas mains and the laying or repair of city rauroad tracks; secondly, the contract system, resulting in defective and unscientitic construcuo! ana equally unscientific and defective repair; an thirdly the speculative and experimental element, eventuating in the testing of new inventions at a considerable yearly expense to the city. A board of construction and repairs, consisting of competent” engineers, would obviate all tnese objections aud put the city in possession of Ube best attainabie pavement at far less expense per year than is now disbursed tn bebalf of the piecemeal of construction and repair wiich hag ween golug on for tue past thirty years, STATISTICS OF THE SUBJECT. ‘The new pavement which has been put down on Broadway, in sections exceedingly well done, forms @ notabie exception to the generai workings of the contract system, for which the public is indebted, not w any adequacy Of the system itself, but to the honesty and enthusiasm in nis work of Mr. Guidet, tne contractor. The votal length of the stone block pavement now laid in the city ig eighty-one miles and 3,431 feet, some of which (400 lineal feet on the Bowery) was put dowa in 1852; and in only a smail portion of this amount, a few thousand hineal feet in Gil, has che Russ patent been infringed upon. The sta- Ustica of the several kinds of pavement jaid down within twenty years, presented by a survey of the city, Would stand approximately as follows:— beta srt) Stone block. , Nicolson. "08,564 Fisk concrete (estimated), 6,000 Stafford (esumated).. 700 Cobble stone (estimated) ‘Since 1666 the disuse of the copbie par has pecome 4 feature of street improvement. Dur- ing that year 17,254 square yards were put down— ‘under contract 10,222 and at private expense 7,032 — Dut one ordinance looking to the laying of it in any part of the eity beng passed while the previously mentioned work was going on. This ordinance pro- vided for @ cobble stone pavement on Bank street from West street to the river, The career of the Nicolson pavement began with the disuse of the cobble slone, im the ting down ot «400 mare §=6yards §=on jassau atreet in _ 1866, 29,001 in 1867 and of 2,073 in 1968, A Contract was also made for laying tne Fisk concrete pavement along 174th street, irom Tuird to First avenue, and en experiment with the Stafford pavement was tried at private expense in ‘Wall street, between William and Hanover, An ordinance in favor of the later On Seventh avenue, between Four and ninth streets, was also i with ax ordinances, amounting io af to 60,000 equare yards, io favor of the Nicolson, PRRIBAPCH, MIU 1) BRUTE Dt] ar ee yards, in favor of the MeGonegal; two ordinances, ‘amounting to 40,000 square yards, in favor of the Brown & Miller, and three ordinances, involving bout 20,000 square yards, in favor of the Fisk cou. crete; fifty-six ordinances, summing about 490,000 square yards of stone block pavement, compiete the rovisions for the year. bart application of the Russ pavent has been very Limited, though some royalty Was paid in 1349 in the aving of Broadway, between the Battery and ‘ranklin street, and between Cane! and Fourteenth streets. ‘Phe section between Franklin and Canal streets, put down ip 1853, was laid mn ordinary stone block; also the section between seventeenth and ‘Twenty-third streets, in 1862; also that between Twenty-inird and Fifty-ninth, executed i 1863, Park row was paved with the Russ patent in 1856, and since (hea its advantages have been mostiy dts- regarded. ‘the statistical history of Broadway up to 8-9 may be briefly put in tavle, anal to Fourteenth ranklin to Canal. veuteenth to Twenty-third Twenty-third to Fifty-ninth.....9,420. ‘These data serve to exuibit the fact that under or- dinary conditions Broadway wears the stone block pavement too smooth for safety im something less thax Sweaty years, and fixes the limit of the dura- bility, provided the pavement be put down suii- ciently weil to defy strain and other causes of dilapidation, The attrition of vehicles and horses producing this result has been recentiy subjected to statistical observation by @ curious engineer, Whose notes atford the following tabulated returns as lo the number of vehicles paasing the Astor House be- tween seven A. M, aud eight P. M.;— seven (o Tweive M. op. Down, Stage m4 601 Double trucks. 307 616 Single trucks. Double carriages, Single curriges. Total ste Tuvlee si, « Five P. at Stages...... Double truck: Single cracks Double carriages. Single carriages. Single trucks Double carriag Single carriuges. Total... Complete total. Wie ss kaon Total in both directions. ..........+sseereeee 13,801 From these figures some idea of the tremendous daily atirition proaght to bear upon the pavement of this thoroughfare may be gathered if for the re- maining eleven hours an addition of only 3,000 be averaged, inaking ia all a round total of 17,000 ve- hicles lor the twenty-four hours; and if subjected to this wear, the stone-block pavement may be calcu- lated upon the basis of renewal once every fifteen years, 1t must certainly take its plaCe as the most economical which engineering skill has yet devel- oped. Taking these figures, with the attrition indi- cated, as indicia! of the capacioy of the Russ pave- ment, it may be remarked that, under ordinary conditions. the Russ patent possesses few advan- over the stone biock as generaliy put and, with the frequent necessity for removal S occasioned by the admunisiration of the Board, presents some grave disadvantages. Itis now some years since General Viele conducted acouple of experiments, which resulted in the re- Jection of the Kuss patent for ordinary purposes of pavement, except wiere heavy tratilc was to be anticipated. One of these consisted in the laying of tue stone blocks upon a bed one foot thick of sharp, clean sand, and was applied to a section of Talirty- fourth street; the other, in substituting a bed of broken sione one foot thick. The latter was con- ducted on a section of Fourth avenue, both are in- ferior in durability, when subjected to great strain, to the Russ pavement; but both have the advantage over the Kuss of being taken up and replaced in por- tions with less injury to the general fabric; and hence in connection with the present sewerage sys- tem are preferable, except here aud there in sections Where great strain is to be endured. There seems to have been no reason, however, why the concrete bed of the Kuss patent should have been adjudged subject to proprietorsaip under the patent law, there being nothing original in the idea historically considered. ‘The concrete bed has been in use historically nearly or quite eighteen centuries, and is supposed to have been imvented by the Romana, who, however, superadded an upper struc- ture of sandsione, quite superior to the trap super- added by Russ, in that its tendency was to wear More roughly. An argument very strong in itself against the use of trap for tne superstructure is found in the increased wear and tear of horses and Vehicles occasioned by it, whici 1s estimated by ex- perts at an average of twenty dollars per year on the shoeing of horses, twenty-five dollars per year excess over the ordinary wear of horses Os draught upon common and better adapted surfaces, and twenty-five dollars per year excess over the ordimary wear of vehicles on roadbeds of less grinding surface to tires. Estimating the number of borses and vehicles in use in this city, at 150,000 it Will be seen that not lesa than $10,500,000 might be saved annually by the adoption of some less grind- ing subsutute for the hard trap of the Russ and Beigian and stone block superstructure; and tne inference may be drawn that she question of ex- nse of construction and repairs is not the only portant economical question involved. The rela- tive cost per square yard of the several pavements in use may be averaged as follow: Stone block (Belgian)....... wees Kuss, or stone block with concrete bed. . for the and stone, for the present, @ brie survey of tem in use in respects the application of engineering to the aolu- tion of Doge problems of improvement—may be attempted, involving incidentally the application of veton Coignet to the purposes of sewerage, lagging, sidewalks and the like, THE PARISIAN SYSTEM has, since 1854, manifested strong preference for the asphalt road upon the concrete foundation. In 1864 960 square yards Of asphaltic road were jaid in Paris, and since then the use of the material has steadily increased, until, at present, it is ranked as weil adapted ior purposes of heavy trafticon the most frequented thoroughfares. Up to 1866, 94,000 square yards had been put down; in 1867 tne surface added ‘Was 44,000 in Paris proper and 44,000 In all in the de- partment of the Seme, making @ total in thirteen Jears Of 150,000 square yards. The contract of the Cie Générale des Asphaltes with the city of Paris covered at that date at least 96,000 square yards more, to be put down in 1863 and 1860. The ancient streets of Paris were without sidewaiks, and were paved with large square blocks, with grades sioping from the sides to the middle, forming a gutter on the central line. Sidewaiks began to appear in 1825, and in the same year the reversal ot the surface, bringing the gutter to the sides, was introduced. In 1852 the Lage of Macadam was Sppliea vo the old boulevards, and in 1858 this method was improved for heavy traitic by mtroducing margins along the sides, trom two to four yards in width, paved with small blocks of Belgian | algal pages germ of the sidewalk as now used. The whole surtace ot streets the sys- j—the queen city of the world as and sidewalks is now constituted as follows:— Square Metres, 643, Streets—Paved... Macadamized Ot asphait.. TOtal.....000 Sidewalks—Of granite. TOtAl....ccecessecees seoeee se eeeeeeeeeee shy TOQ SIT Grand total.......0sseesesee +8,947,679 Equivalent in square yards to. 10,701,416 fhe relative cost of the three as constructed is worthy of attention and may be added, together with the annual cost of repairs tothe square yard. The Generalization exhibits the following figures:— Cost per 8q. yd. Annual Repair. 2 Asphaltic road........§2 50 Belgian porphyry pav. 3 00 to $3 67 08% to 26 Macadamized......... 1 17 42 wo 50 ‘The first cost of asphait streets 1s greater than that of macadamized, while the cost of repairs is considerably less; and, again, the first cost of the asphait is less than that of the Beigian pavement, while the expense of ror a is heat The asphalt coating, one-sixth of afoot thick, is sup. ported upon a roadbed of concrete, composed of ninety parts gravel to forty parts of mortar, about a quarter of afoot in thickness and resting upon the compacted soll bed beneath. Provided the requisites 1 thorough surface and under dratnage have been observed, the asphalt roofing being utterly imper- vious to water, the road bed of concrete waxes harder and dryer with age, and, once made, is imperishable. Repairs are easy, and con- sist simply in cutting away the asphate aud replacing tt with ne with the Belgian pavement, the lability to horses being driven over the asphaltic road ia 1 in 1,409 to 1 1n 1,308 on the former, proving the supe- riority of the asphaltic surface in this respect—tnat is, in surety of svothold, by differs from ‘he concrete Known a8 béton roadbed concrete ate an artifi- the: ordinary cially formed sandstone of great durability and strength, and of extensive application in civil bo gg | iM all its ramifications, from the manu- facture sewers to the construction of aqueducis, from the fabrication of to that of underground vaulta ot most posaibie capacity. The best déton endures a crushing strength four and three-fourth times that of the best brick, fifty per cent greater than that of limestone, fifty per cent greater than that of sand- stone, ‘and about forty per cent less than that of the strongest nite, to [an hg per cent more than that of the inferior qualities. For common use & good béton is compounded of four paris of sand and one part of fat lime, to which, for extra strength, one-half part of Portland cement may be added. It could be manufactured here at an expense of four a cubic yard, and for roadbed, a uarter foot , at sixty cents per square yard. $n excellent concrete road migit be constructed of it at haif the scheduled expense of ti Fisk concrete pavement, its durability being about the same as that of the best quality of ‘The emi on which runs the ur, at the Trocadere, is ted by & i of this material forty feet in for vibe abuect @ quarter of a milo; and, Mubipes OF Lig eppycga & BOW being discussed and experimented upon by the vest engineers in France, with @ view co extend to the utmost the constructive capacity in engineering of so Inexpensive a material as that developed by the invention of M. Coignet; wile @ the sewerage sys- tem it is rapidly superseding everything else. In it no doupt is, at the end, to be sought the gsoiution of te sewerage problem m this city, if the adufinistra- tion thereof ever falls, with the neeued powers of discretion, into the hands of 4 competent board of engineers. What is wanted tn the problem is the boldness to break loose from wornout ideas and apply the best invention of the age to the develop- ment of @ better and more adequate system—a qual- ity which has been startlingly exinbited, with equally starting and successtul results, in the ad- ministration of the departments of the Seine and tn the construction of pubhe works in Paris for the past ten years, Most foreigners travelling in France remark the excellence of the macadamized roads, and not un- frequently suppose that there must be something pecallarly favorable in the nature of the soil or Something untque in the method of construction. ‘The supposition is not true to fact, however, the quality of the roads in France being attributable to good engineering and care and exactness in all the processes of construction and preservation. In fact, in the system of Tresaquet and Simplon the system introduced into England by Macadam in 1816 had been anticipated more than half w century, Macadam cvpied Simplon in bis roadbéd, while Telford did nothing more than rewurn to the sys- tem founded by Tresaquet in place of the still earlier roadbed of flat stones, Tue roads of France are simpiy iilustrations of what may be done by good construction raver than of any superiority of Tactilitiey those of the city of New York are toa greatextent examples of the result of siovenly con- struction with suilicient fadilities for the best of work; and vats leads to the general principle, that of the several pavements tn use any one is practi- cally good enough forall purposes when well con- structed. The defect is not inthe theory of the pavement itself, but tn the detective and slovenly application of it under the contract system. As in railroad building, with the result of innumerable accidents, so in street paving defective roadbed the great sin of the contractor; and, as in railroad building, the United States cannot be compared with France or England tor thoroughness and attention to the de- tails which result in perfection, so, in the matcer of pavement and the laying of tt, American contractors: ow the average are slovenly and inefficient. Con- tracts for street paving are annually awarded in this city to persons whom a competent European enst- neer would not trust as workers under a superin- tendent; and thus, through ignorance in many cases, through greed in many cases, through both together existing in many cases, It is seldom that New York can boast of a section of pavement properly put down with due attention to all details, hat ia THE COMING PAVEMENT, or which, of the several kinds now bidding for popular favor. 18 & question not easily answered. As a rule, competent engineers express doubts as to the merits of the Nicolson and of wooden pavements of all patterns. In the Nicolson structure the road- bed is of sharp, clean sand, of the proper thickness. A basis is then made by laying common boards, dipped in hot coal tar, lengthwise on stringers of like material laid from curb to curb. The olocks forming the superstructure are of Southern hard pine, three by four, and are set on end in rows, crosswise of the street—the blocks before setting being dipped to half their length in a bath of hot coal tar. Between the rows of blocks intervene pickets of thin boards set on edge and leaving an opening between the rows of biocks of a foot ornearly in depth. This opening is filled with clean screened gravel rammed down With @ pavior’s rammer and an iron blade made for the purpose, and the surface is covered with hot coaltar. The gutter exuibits lis lowest point naif a foot fromthe curb, The whole surface is covered With coal tar suiticiently boiled to be tough and fibrous, but not brittle, upon which is sprinkled a layer of fine gravel and common sand. The Statford pavement divers from the Nicolson in the laying of large blocks prepared after the Seely pavent, resting upon stringers, which ip their turn may be supported by any specified roadbed. Provided the roadbed 1s sufliciently secure, say of strong con- crete, and the upper deposlt is made sufficiently complete, the Stafford pavement cannot but com- pare favorably with o:her wooden pavements, and, tor simplicity, is quite superior to the Nicolson. Both obviate certain objections in surface way, which pertain to the Belgian, in the wear and tear of vehicles and horses and the noise or reverbera- tion of wheels; but both are inferior to the asphaltic road in these respects, while the asphaltic has one great superiority valuable as a prevenive of accident, to wit, the beating of tne hoof ol the horse 18 rendered very audible—audible above all other souads—so as to be measurable by the ear in the matter of dis- tance. This latter advantage can only be estimated Lf persons who have taken occasion to note the extent to which one falls into the habit of meas- uring the distance of a vehicie from any given cross- tng by the ear; and one of the main liabuities to ac- cident occurring from wooden pavements is the muitling or comparative muffling of the hoof-beat. In this respect, mn fact, any form of concrete pave- ment Possaeees material advantages over either the stone block, which exaggerates the rumbie of wheels and obscures the hoof-beat, or the wooden pave- ment which reduces both in about equal proporuons. In a word, a grave objection to the Nicolson pave- ment ts the fact that tn just one respect it ts a trifle too noiseless for the safety of pedestrians in crossing eape- cially in these days when every driver seems to de pos- sessed with the devil to run Over somebody. Again, in case of extensive conflagration in any part oi the city, the wooden pavement might prove a dangerous ally by ignition, an instance of which has recently occurred in Philadelphia, Neither of the wooden Pavements above named command the unqualified admiration of practical engineers as yet, though the test 0: use 18 the measure of merit in these mat- ters, and neither has been in use here sufficientiy long to warrant the expression of an opinion. In the great desideratum of simplicity, a8 well as in ease of repair, the Stafford seems to possess advan- tages over its elder im the field; but there is no likelthood that elther will super- sede the stone-block to any great extent. The coming pavement, in fact, from all indicauons included in tne survey Of the subject, is not to be found in any use of wonden biocks in any form or under any conditions, If the igian (stone block) is ever superseded—and it will be within the ext twenty years—that supersession will have been brougnt about by invention in the way of practicable concretes. The asphaltic road in Paris has given an impulse to tnveatigation in this direction which will not eae until some practicable substitnte tor the stone block (Belgian) has been developed. The age of block stone pavement is in ita last quarter—to borrow a metaphor from the moon. The movement in favor of wooden structures is merely speculative sod adventitious, and must of necessity prove exceedingly ephemeral in duration, ex ingly meteoric in its triumpn over the fixed principles of practical engineering. Bubbies alwi need not, a8 @ rule, be pricked by way of facilitating that operation; ana that the mania for wooden pavements 1s merely speculative no practical engi- heer cao doubt. The wooden pavemeat question has, in fact, been exhaustively settled in the nega- tive by Engitsh experiments during the past twenty years. Ita merits are its nolselessness, its redaction of the mortality of horses, ite reduction of the wear and tear of vehicles and its effecting a utilization of the utmost percentage of draught and these are @li merits to an equal of the asphaltic road—may be made merite of any concrete whatsoever. The increased moftality in horses occasioned by the Russ and Belgian and other stone pavements in this city 18 estunated at 3,500 annually—an item of considerabie importance in the discrimination between pave- ments for thoroughfares, As between the two typl- Cai structures, the Belgian and the Nicolson, from data already supplied, it may be estimated that, with the attrition of Broadway, the former would last tifteen years against a last of half that period in the case of the latter, if, indeed, the Nicolson can be regarded as equal to the necessiiles of Broadway at ail, It 1s seen, therefore, that while the stone block (Belgian or Russ) ia open to grave objections on the one hand, the wooden pavements (Nicolson and Staf- ford) are open to equally serious objections, on the other hand, on the score of lessened durability. The concrete pavement—the value of which has oeen happily settied in Paris—etfects a union of the better qualities of both without tue objections appertaining Wo either, and, as the minds of engineers and inven- tors are uiready gee to vnrn in this direction, nothing is hazarded tn predicting that the idealor coming pavement will be developed from the present crude concretes, The asphalt road, one triumph of concretion, the befon Coignet, another triumph ia @ direction of equal practical importance, the attempts at concrete from dnexpensive material in this country, all point to the hypothesis that the solution of the long-mogted pavement problem is at band in the evolution of @ concrete roadway combining the durability of the stone biock with the advantages of the wooden superstructure. Valual hints as to the constitution of concretes may be found in the reports off Messrs. Beckwith on beton Coignet and asphalt and bitumen as applied to the construction of streets and sidewalks in Paris; and, in the way of American invention, the constitution of the Fisk concrete pavement, under the Hairm-Burlew patent, may be studied. This pavement 13 com: posed of gravel, broken stone, cinders and coal ashes (free from all foreign substances), mixed in definite roportions with tar, rosin and aspbaitum. he roadbed, properly prepared, the composition 1s spread on in layers of moderate thickness, successively rolled with heavy roliers for uniformity and compactness. These lovers form @ sudiciently strong roadway of from half to three quarters of a foot in depth, and can be put down at an expense, per square foot, not ex- ceeding the expense of the asphalt road’as con- structed in Paris. It ins for years and attri- on to test the practical e Of this concrete; bat, in general, it may be remarked, that itis heartily and bighly commenaed by thoughtful engineers as aatep in right direction. ‘he sonorousness of the hoof-veat, as enabling the pedestrian to measure the imminence of passing vehicles, fs an element of concretes over wooden pavements, illustrated in an eminent d by haitic road, the value of which asa preven- tive of accidents cannot be overestimated, A pave- ment may be too noiseless 8% well as too nolay for immunity in this respect, and by all means let the capacity of the concrete be,developed to the utmost, The Commissioners of the Park have also developed orearih roads’ upon similar: principio: thorn ie of earth roads wu ciple; though Felation to the Park the probiem Nas been lous aime cult of solution, mo necessity existing to provide for the contingency of heavy traffic. In tts capacity for the combination of on af pita which expe -~ rience has esirapie in a road- way for li cities the concrete must there fore be @s superior to either of ite competitors, and a8 bodying in itself the germ of the coming pavement in this city, and, the duagested reforms IM tae sewersge eyatgn having been carried ont, attention may be directed to the production of an inexpensive concrete, analogous to the asphaltic road, Dismissing speculation at Wus stage, the general FAULT OF THE CONTRACT SY8TBM may be specilied in its result of putting the work into the hands of contractors of no knowledge a3 engineers, aud practically watit to be entrusted with the supervision of men in the construction of in- portant puviic works, Im most cases where work has been done at private expense a better pavement has been produced—a fact which should lead to the looking UpoD propositions from private parties with favor, aad the preference of them, wherever pracucabie, to those of professional con- tractors, Unfortunately, however, the greedy members of the ring must have something to pluck of pecuniary feataers; and, the de- mands of the ring satisfied, Uttle remains to be done. The system a3 DOW administered hus not the merit of contatuing in itself evea the germ of reform. Had 15 that merit reforms might be suggestea; having it not, the remedy les im the creation of something new—in the elimination of the matter from the com- pound equation of city politics altogether. The system adopted by the general government might be made to answer the purposes of States as well; aud thus an ellicient corps 01 engineers Would be enlisted and made an army of conquest in reducing tne city to subjection to just pol ples of engineering adapted to the vopography aud wants of the city as a whole and dovetating with perfect harmony 1n all its separate parts, Discussion of the subject as it relates to the city would be 1acomplete without due consideration of the ° TYPICAL HISTORICAL PAVEMENT, based upon the Koman system and its susceptibility for improvement; for itis a fact that a large class of conservative engineers still look for the advent of the ideal pave 12 some modification of the stone block on the concrete roadbed. The completion during the past week of the relay of the Broadway ave, atan expense of nearly $500,000, recalls the t that no question exists ai to tne value of the substructure of concrete, The question ts ag to the supersiruciure, Large stone blocks on a roadbed of sand form thé major pens of the pavement of the city—the iarge bloc! ave being less ex- pensive than the small, On Broadway the wae feature introduced consists in splitting ‘the blocks by @ laiernal fissure, searing. tem in point of superficial appearance parallelograms a quarter of a foot in width against a foot or there- abouts in length. This, oy quadrupling the number of joints, affords w sure foothold tor horses, espe- cially ag the blocks are laid transversely—the line of travel crossing the linear of the nave and surface at right angies with the length, with the effect to affora an average of four clinging points for the horseshoe m the new pave to one in the old. This decreases the liability to slip, really dividl it by four, and, with the concrete bed, fulfils tne ideal of the old Roman pave. The want of elasticity 1s, however, in nowise obyiaved; the difficulty of trac- tion is by no means lessened, the jar and volume of sound are not in the leastwise subtracted from, ‘The sanitary purpose ts met, and percolation ts prevented; but no part of the $10,000,000 annual wear and tear of horses and vehicles 1s saved; and this 13 a matter to be considered in the pavement of acity. The important question is to settle upon the desideratum in the way of superstracture. Wood is too unreliable; the stone block (cap) has superficial objections, due mostly to its want of elasticity. The problem has been solved tn Paris by the superstruc- ture of elastic asphaltic composition upon a stron roadbed of concrete; and the probiem must be simi- Jarly solved here before the full measure of the popu- lar aeed in the construction of a perfect pavement can ve rounded over, Before the necessity for repaving Broadway shail occur again these questions will have been seitied, and New York may then hope to promenade ,a thorbughtare comparatively noiseless. A new concrete has just been tested at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, whtca promises well, [tts com- posed of a first layer of gravel, a second layer of fine gravel and cement, and a third layer of fine gravel, sand and cement. Like Fiske’s concrete, this pave 13 sufticiently elastic, but whether either will last long enough for economy remains to be seen. ‘The true method of invention would seem to be to make béton Coigner the basis, and to this to su- peradd some fourth ingredient to develop the needed elasticity. Tar boiled to the point of elastic solidity, or asphaitum, which can be procured at twenty dollars per ton, currency, baa be added in small proportions to the béton; and in this way, by experiment, a concrete might be developed equal in all respects to the asphaltic road, now so popular with engineers in Paris. The huge quarries of trap along the East river render the Russ pavement tolerably inexpensive; and hence, in order practically to supersede it, some- thing must be produced which can be put at $2 50 or less per square yard, and as durable as the block stone. An able and competemt engmmeer estimates the loss in horses, extra wear of vehicles and extra horseshoeing in tlie cities of tne United States, oc- casyoned by block-stone and cobble-stone pave- ments, at— ‘On horses. On vehicle: On horseshoeing Total.. ‘The province pavements, therefore, is to save this vast amount by the substt- tution of a concrete upper structure as inexpensive and durabie as the ie, beg and as elastic and easy as the wooden, which failed in the respect of du- Tability as well as over expensiveness and can never be generally adopted. PARIS FASHIONS. Effervescent SpiriteRemedy Against Sun- stroke and Ita Inconvenleuce—Some Cases in Point—Musical Raptures=The Mysteries of the Temple of Art—Unassuming, Sim- Plicity and Aristocratic Finery—A Modern Fresco—Exciting Performances—The Em- prese’ Toilet for Egypt. Paris, July 27, 1800. Iced champagne propped up just a little on one side in a cooler and wired down tight to keep all its fan in could not look nor feel more Knowing than your fashion writer at the opening of this corre- spondence. And whyt Because fresh dews ts working in my bachelor spirit just like Roman can- dies; up and down they go, like the atoms that dance, flash and shimmer in one’s goblet as soon as the cork does pop off; that seethe and that boil—not ike the liquid described in Schiller’s Song of the Bell, but like volcanic lava—and do all the—Mephiato with mankind. I said fresh newa—not fresh only in the sense of cool, but fresh in the sense of novel, Could I be satisfied with what is simply cool I should mention the latest method proposed by an Americal contemporary to prevent sunstroke. He gays one has only to piace a cabbage leaf between one’s hat and one’s skull. I really believe this to be an excellent system where cabbage leaves are not in great demand and rabbits few, but at first sight tn- conveniences are attached to it. A sudden feeling that prompts a gentieman who has adopted the plan to do unto a lady friend the sudden homage of a bow, then’a limp sensation after exposure to the heat on the fieads of the bald, of whom it could no more be said when satirically alluding to their shiny sur- faces, ‘that the green has been cropped from their meadows’’—I know this isonly giving the lie to a metaphor, but I think something more inviting could be suggested than even the heart leav @ cab- bage; besides, sunstrokes do not always attack the tegion of the brains. I have seen young fellows, as young as amall pigeons, turn scariet all over their faces on present- ing a set of priceless diamonds to a diva, so timid and #0 nervous lest the belie should not consider the set had cost hundreds enough. I once saw an old fellow, too, get the stroke full at heart, when he heard thata fair child, a poor orphan before he loved her, one who, from the lowest caste, he had raised to his level, had run away from hi heart, home and protection with his stable man, No cabbage leaves could avatl in these cases, fashion news of this date is fresher, and, to wegin with, it ia from the solemnities of this week whion have taken piace at the theatre of the Conservatoire, the imperial academy for drama and music. Many of your readers who have been to church to-day must have heard the text signify- ing that the way which leads to heaven is narrow and difficult of access. It is @ textone hears Cif Sunaay. It illustrates exactly the style of the ro: that ng have to follow if they wish to get into the theatre of the Conservatoire. We are further told that many are elected and few get to heaven; with the Conservatoire pupils few are elected and not Many get through the ordeal oe up to examination. Those who can, ie years and years of constant study and drill. ing, get up to the front ranks, there stand until noticed, and get their names put down on a list for trial before the jury, are heard on the occasions I am describing by a chosen and limited public. The re- latives—tne Very nearest—are always favored with admitiance—that is, wita one and never more than two tickets. No money can buy this favor; some se- cret influence alone must be resorted to by those who, a8 in my case, are #0 bent on in that no feat of dip! is left untried. When once in the stifie is int it one’s pains are rewarded by the aspect of real Paristennes, by sensations and shivers and shakes and quavers of rare descent; by the as- + of toilets such as are not viewed at court, cer- t DO legs cl and appropriate. re close of the exam! ation danag which the fature stars of the are or those who aspired to become stars aro discouraged from the atvempt, there is the nomination of prize pupils. A mere access is a8 much thought of as @ laurel ‘wreath elsewhere, for this entities them to continue their studies within the temple of art. [say temple, 1 did not say “haliowed,” but I will not dive ander the mysteries of back scenes; 1 do not, moreover, believe that any public school, composed as the Conservatoire, can be without ries, ‘The result of the masical tl miven gratis, the character and aspect of the actors, actresses and the audience are my subjects. I arrived early—earlier than the card of invitation mentioned. The oe to “now at nine A. M. and to yh at five P. I was my stall at half past and found the house full. An egg not be more neatly replete inside. There sat the expectant fathera and the comrades also who had received honors and were going Wrough some supplementary course of tuition: the chiidren of the Conservatoire, too, who now rea] jortunes and whose names are equivalent to tri- umphs; they all had docked to encourage, ap- plaud, judge or recall their first scenic emotions, to go back to the times when their first 1ove songs were felt and their illusions pure. It was a treat to look at Auber so close, al Pasdeloupe, at the famed critica, at Augustine Bro- han, at Arsene Houssaye, at Cham, G. Doré, but still @ greater treat to look at the pretty girls, sisters of the artists, who were in tearful anxiety and sus- pense behind the side slips. My attention was tirst drawn toa father and daughter, whose seats were near mine. The young lady carried a small basket, Sie was in @ square-podied casaque and panier, Her skirt was [rilied, and the material was striped white and pink cotton percale; the sash, vows and waistband of the same, Her hat was a toquet of black lace, with pink moss roses on her forehead. Mer earrings pink coral; her hps ditto; her cheeks a3 pink as her roses; the tips of her ears ditto, and her eyes as ‘black as per- ries. No duchess in velvet and Venice potnt could have swayed to her place with more elegant destnvodure, One look at the father told me he was: a—well, undoubledly @ master of something—a teacher of drawing, very probably. The pretty giri seated herself and then opened the basket, Llooked in. It contained her lunch, consisting of green figs, @ piece of chovolate and @ roll. She was ‘ah ee there all day. She was not a singer hersel{—oh, no! She was her father’s housekeeper, Her sister was a singer. Tnese facts I collected from a dialogue which began with her neighbor, a3 soon as she had ther opera glass up Bud her father’s stick, with er parasol, safe between them. Her sister was to play a scene from ‘‘Faust’—the prison scene. Then the conversation ‘lagged, while she looked around with all the ease of a miilionnaire, and I spied some one else, She was a classic beauty. She had come in without her hat, and her hair in wavy ringlets be- hind was ornamented tp front with thrown back bandeaus and a round crimson bow. Her dress was plain black, a hign bodice and skiré of tine alpaca, with crimson belt, sash and 0oW; On each epaulette a crimson bow, The fit of this dress wag perfection; the width from shoulder to shoulder across the back of scuiptural proportion, the slope of the shoulders and free neck not to be outdone. Still there was no handsome item on the wearer—it was beauty all due to a tasteful cut. Anywhere t irl, with her cor- rect profile, soft gaze, quiet and re! , would have been singled out from @ thousand, ‘The preity white chemisettes on musiin skirts next delighted me—so fresh, so inexpensive, 80 youthful. Then the tidy sail- or collars and deep cutts of Holland over goat's hair costumes, the pretty combination of shades, such as garnet toulard or sultane, with primrose bows in the hair or primrose sailor knots on the throat, brown and scarlet ruche mixed, on brown mohair, with carnations in the hat or on the bosom; then the plain musling so much frilled at home and neatly edged, which form the loveliest trimmings round paniers and skirws and sleeves. The headdress, hot all fashionable, but so suitable to the wearer, whether @ plain chignon, @ coll or curis, and thfougnh tt all @ ribbon to match the toilet so clevernandedly negligent; the neatly gloved hand, the fun-loving or sentimental eye, the quick perception roused, the whispered repartee, and yet all this from young ladies rather in point of birth below the middle classes, From these tidy and tasteful young creatures I looked up to the dress circles. There were the ueens Of art in its ditferent branches and richly at- tired in flowing robes of the grandes dames who in the eighteentn century were called “gatantes.”” Here the low cut bodice, quite sleeveless, worn with biack lace, or net chemusette, havmg so tight a Ot that it shows off the bust and arm to perfection. Here the towering hats, with feather and veil, or the toquet, with lime blossoms, mignonette and roses on a pyramidal top. Here the black velvet revers on all colors; here the Valenciennes border on all frills and tlounces; here the rich natural flowers in open bodices, peeping out from snowy drapery on the fichu and bosom. Here the tuile Oriental scarf, brought down from the top of the chignon and passed under the chin, to fall over the shoulder back again, Here the cam- orics, tatfetas and Indian crépe, the unbleached linen with cluny, the rolls of satim and lace on the shoulders and rich lace facings. For such high priestesses: as these the days were over when they first heard untutored tenors sing “Je vous aime” at every other bar, and believed it—many, alas ! since their girlish debut, have heard the same words go often that they cause no thrill. But, to return to the little rosy girl witn the fig basket. She kept her opera glass on the side scenes with such perseverance that'l was roused from my observations by the following from her fatner:— “Nizette, what are you looking at?” ‘Oh, the Nine Muses, papa, on the wall,” answered Nizette, color- ing. “They are fine trescoesa, my dear,” rejomed the credulous papa; “quite Grecian school.” Just then Nizette nodded to a jet, curly-neaded youth, who peepeo out and made her a sign, then put his hand on his heart and disappeared. This was the fresco work that had absorbed her. When the pieces began all caste was forgotten; every one of the wise and unwise virgins. of the toiling mothers and hopeful fathers, were absorbed in the drama. In time Marguerite came on with Faust, who was the curly-headed youth, and Ni- zette’s heart beat so fast I could detect the heat of it under her casaque; but when all applaude she turned pale, and when the audience shrieked out his name, and catled and stamped, down went id the fig basket, which emotion papa attributed to joy at his Marguerite’s success. [nm all the other parts of the house every gush was responded to with almost sensitive appreciation; every defect caused start, every ridiculous or awkward attitude was pitilessly laugned at, every affectation repudiated. And this, I thought, is what renders it 80 *diMcult for foreign artista to stand up before a Parisian public; all these gins, with their fine artistic bumps so painfully developed, are worse than the Council of Ten and the Torture Cham- ber, On the other hand, how warm their aoe when it was deserved, and when at length the Jury did give out its Verdict, after deliberation in a p: vate chamber, what clapping when their tastes were confirmed, and what threatening displeasure when ay. considered the sentence unjust, When this gathering broke up as good a scene took place in the lobbies, Then came the meet face to face, of parents and (ork Phere of joy, sobs be com aspiring ambition and discouragement, despair, comfort and—Nizette m Faust’s arms, Yor he had had the first prize, and the Muses on the wall were forgotten. pa did congratulate him tenderly, while Marguerite was 80 pleased that Nizette and Faust had some chance of marriage before them now he was a laureate. I now hasten to describe some of the toilets made for the Empress’ voyage to the East. A white gros grain and white tulle, above which a tunic of Indian cashmere, embroidered with gold and edged with gold fringe. The crossed bodice is one piece of gold work.and Indian glow. Another, a pearl gray Ara de soie, frilled up the skirt, each frill being bordered with Valenciennes, somewhat narrower than the frill itself. A tunic ofthe same, edged with Valen- ciennes, anda tight bodice, are the upper parts of this costume, ie cuts are & revers and edged with lace. A second costume is of straw-colored gros grain. ‘The underskirt is covered with founces, tunic is of crépe de chine, of the same shade, looped en paniers. It is bordered with a wreath of worked violets in mauve silk of variegated shades and open up the centre of the back. A tunic that is to be worn with any toilet is made of black crépe de chine, fringed round with scarlet fringe and worked all over with bouquets of roses. A pale nasturtium ball dress is made of poult de sole, The skirt is trimmed round with tolds of China pe of the same shade, edged with lace. One of the evening dresses is a pale green silk covered with muslin, striped with insertion length- wise, and pordered with Valenciennes, This ts to be looped up with flowers. Tne bodice is all muslin and Valenciennes. BOILER EXPLOSION. ‘Two Persous Killed and Several Others In- jured. (Corunna, Mich. (August 9), correspondence of the Detroit Free Press. A sad and fatal accident occurred a short distance from this city, on the farm of Mr. Nelson Coles, re- sulting in the death of Mr. Hart Castle, and a boy named Cephus Hatch, about sixteen years old, the articulars of which are as follows:—A Mr. George jollier, of Owosso, an experienced engineer, en- some time ago to furnish a boiler and engine on wheels, the power of which was to propel a thresh- ing machine for threshing wheat, It having been completed it was placed In the fleld of Mr. Coles, as above stated, to test its power and capability to per- form what was recommended. The boiler wasa sinali one and considered safe to stand a pressure of seven- ty pounds of steam, as indicated by the escape valve and the weignt attached to the lever. Steam was got up, but tt was found that in order to get the requiredépower it was necessary to place some Weight upon the end of the lever of the escape valve to keep the steam from escaping. A large wrench, weighing five and one-half pounds, was used, but still was not sufficient to confine the steam and to give the required power. Mr. Collier then requested the lad Hatch to step upon the wheel of the carriage upon which the boiler was placed, and hold it down with his hands. This he did, but occasionally allowed dome steam to escape, when ir. Collier sald to him, ‘Hold it down,” repeating over twice, The boy did as directed, but a by- stander remarked that it was a d: thought the boy bad better fmendiy warning could be heeded a tremendous explosion took place, throwing one hbundrea feet, and tearing every of clothing of from his body except his boots and one wrist-band, and, it ia supposed, killing him a: A of the bo! Castle just below the hip, sever hig right en- Urely from his body, from which he died in leas than an hour, Li Present say ory y the ek tense agony, repeatedly for a knite which to cut his own throat to end his sufferings. An- drew Phillips had his Collier was badly injured in tne left arm and hand, not full; as the arm is langerous place and down. Before the but to what extent known, badly swollen. Robert Ketchum had his hand ly scalded and his shoulder burned. several others who were eee the scene of the disaster and found ‘The steam cheat was Lurown about twent it struck the ground, ploughing @ deep hole in the earth and coming very near Kiting some half-dozen men who stood simost directly in the line it took. ‘The safety valve and lever were thrown fully ten ve rods, and it 1s certainly a wonder that more were not Killed, for tuere were & nulabot of spectators of the experiment. Texas, Alabama, Mississ! ‘kansas, as well giiseivrey a ana, te Bans as also quite active em plo; are wall at — ia Ledger, august Le AMERICAN STOCKS IN THE LONDON MARKET. Lonpon, July 29, 1869. In looking over the quotations of foreign stocks here [ have been struck by the very Jow dgure as which our United States and State stocks range m comparison to most of the South American coua- tries. I find that Brazil, with an exhaustive war oa hand, an enormous and increasing debt, her Finanve Minister proclaiming that “if the Paraguay war lasts ten months longer the country will be ruined, * has a better credit than we have. Her five per ceat bonds stand at 844. The Argentine republic has an mcome of about $15,000,000 (gold) annualiy. This year there 13 a deficit ui the oudget of over $5,000,000. Her six per cent bonds stand at 194. Uhile stocks are deservedly high. {he govern- ment ts progressive and peaceabie, The peculiar geographical form of the country 18 & guarantee against any long continued revolutionary distute- ance. Their six per cent bonds stand at 94. Peru, depending entirely upon her guano de- posits to pay the intereat upon a very heavy debt, Still has a better credit than we. Her four and one- third per cent bonds stand at 96. And yet guano does not grow, nor does it increase to any extent worthy of mention. Peru 13, moreover, one of the most revolutionary of all the Spanish amert- can States, Six weeks ago Bolivia had ao offer from the Paris bankers to negotiate a six per cent loan for her at 82, Conversing with Mr, Edward Haslewood, one of the leading and best known members of the London Stock Exchange, [ have drawn from him as a result the following interesting and very pointed lever upon United States government, State and compuay stocks. It will serve well for those who are dis- posed to look at American finances and politics through English spectacles. He makes several good Founpers Court, Lorusury, July 20, 1869. D#ak Sin—in accordance with your request { now put into writing the substance of my verbal answers to your imquiries—what can be done to restore the confidence of the British peuple tu tue diferent State stocks, public enterprises and government securl- ttes, and vo place them ata better quotation whea compared with those of ather nations? Undoubtedly the first and most important step for the restoration of confidence tn the bonds of tne individual States is to compel the State of Miasissippt to recognize both her debta and come to a compro- mise with her creditors. The argument is this:—If Mississippi can default on the bonds issued throug the Planters’ Bank and reptdiate ber bonds issued through the Union Bank, why should not New York or Massachusetts do the same? There 15 neither @ Superior Court with power to judge or to eniorce that judgment over a sovereign State, nor 1s the voice of public opinion exercised or of sumictent weight to compel a State to continue in the path of honesty. Te European view of the matter ts that these States are sovereign and inde- pendent when they choose to cheat their con#ding creditors, but are part and parcei of the federal gov- ernment for all other purposes. At this moment Mississippi is held to be out of the Union and is not to be admitted unless she complies with certain le- gislauve enactments, not one of them being thatshe shall do anything to restore her own credit or to re- air the damage done to the general character of er sister States by her wrong doing. I have said that she must come to a compromise with her cred- itors, for of all the States this one appears to be tne oorest. by ‘The bonds of private enterprises are not favorites, they are so liable to overissue. The bonds of foreign governments, countersigned by their agents in Lon- don, who are amenable for overissues to English laws, are very different things to sharesor deben- tures of public companies whose power of creation t# only limited by the demand. Another objection to these private companies is the system gaining ground of issuing scrip for dividends instead of bona side cash payments. it is a well known fact that for some months prior tothe publication of Sumner’s speech there had been a steady demand for smull real investments in the five-twenties on the partot the British public, which ceased the instant the speech was reported. The London market 1s now, 1n reality, the mere pipe by which the Continent is fed. Very doubtful, tn- deed, if the tenth ,part of the federal securities heid abroad are held in this country, and the common sense view of it is that until the Alabama claims are settled, or at ieast that Sumner is snuifed out, that tenth part is more likely to be decreased than increased. Want of confidence in the securities of ‘the general government has been fostered by the senseless bowing down of your rulers to the lowest classes. I am certainly not worshipper of the peer- , and put my confidence more in the House of mmons, who look forward, thao im the House of Lords, who are anti- rogressive, but I would rather commit ture of this nation to any peer than I would do ag the Americans are doing, bowing themselves down to the statue of ignorance, which is half black and half white. By your laws you require that no American born on the soil shall vove until he ws twenty-one years of.age, and you have, to your honor be it said, provided schools to educate him; and yet you unhesitatingly grant the ignorant foreigner, who pos bly cannot write his name, can- not read, or perhaps even speak your language, full Powers of voting nal to your most wy ape citizens. Worse ti this, as election ap- proaches, your speeches and addresses are all made, not to the intellectual classes, but to the lowest of the low, so as to catch the largest quantity of votes, Ifthe vipat under discussion 1n the vil green ia a well or a pump, then all can understand it and the decision can be given by the villagers without y educauonal qualification; but if the question ts the foreign policy of the country, let it be reserved for those who can at least & newspaper. When the November elections are progressing Fenianism will be in the ascen- dancy; each candidate will promise everything that every Fenian can desire. When the elections are over these promises will not be remembered by the givers for one moment. But there 18 a class whicn willremember them, and that class is the real investors, who will turn aside {rom the securities of your nation, not knowing how soon the smoke may be fame, In other words, investors will not urchase the bonds of your people when judging by he stump orations. iom for Irelaud meaus war with Great Britain. ‘The price of all things depends solely upon supply and demand, irrespective of the quality of the article. fone | funds limit the supply and ulti- mately must tell on the price. For this reason the action of the sinking fund is narrowly watched dnd the smallest latches or deviation froim the strict compliance with the engagement end commented upon. In February, 1862, when the five-twenty loan the sites toa We ca pomaene ent ng caine the sin tund was one per ci in gold on all the debts of the United Staves, and the interest saved thereon to be applied at the discre- tion of the Treasurer, Now | ask has your own law been carried out? The proof that it has would give confidence. If it has not, how do we know that another solemn bp deren will not be broken? ‘The late deciston of the Secretary of the Treasury to sell, once a fortnight, the quantity of one million of gold is very near the mark, and so long a3 the pre- mium on goid is more than the premium on any one of the federal stocks he will liquidate in less than one hundred years. But if the construction of the act should be found to be that the sinking fund 18 accumulative, then any Compourd inverest table will tell us that one per cent per annum plus the compound interest six per cent will pay of the entire debt in thirty-three ana a half years, or at five per cent in thirty-seven — Such ti being the case, I am fully jun led in dwelling on the importance of the law of February, 1862, which requires that one per cent in goid shali be applied annually to the extinguish. ent of the debt. Under the Peruvian sinking fund, its three per cents are higher than British consois. In conclusion, to recapitulate in few words, had the conduct of Misstaippi n discussed in Congress and reparation insisted upon; had the doctrines enunciated by Sumner been at once annihilated by the Senate; had the elections for Congress been in the hands of native born citizens, so that Americans, and only Americans by birth, might rule your inter- national policy, then we should havea very different peered ee a per Le My hie are under ritish consolidated three per ce! EDWARD HASLEWOOD., Fortunately for us it has ceased to be absolutely necessary financially that England should think well of us. The remark in the above relative to the movement of our bonds towards the Continent helps teli a story that Englisn duiness will not appre- ciate until it is too late. in 1466 London was the financial centre of Kurope and of the het | the Arab story, on the Nile, that the Americans sacked London and were spending the proceeds there, to the contrary notwithstanding. in that year came the failure of Overend, Gurney & Co. and that of Peto & Betts, amounting in the aggre- gateto nearly thirty milion pounds ai rung. great nomber of large firms followed sult. nog came the crash of the ‘limited lability” compan ‘These toppled over by the hundred. All this gave @ terrific biow to Buglish faith and enterprise. For centuries their capitalists bad distrusted ev abroad, only to find at last that those whom least trust were themselves. The English mind has not yet beaun to recover from this stroke dea arnt Mia ioe pl iba Rata kfort have pus! A the ‘of ti ter, ‘absorption of great continent en! latter tn general secarities, When England awake from her lethargy she will find that Paris aod Fran eaatl wah se Winks of ue Ausnctaly oF that, a8 @ result, what she rr ly will be of secondary consideration in the nited States. THR PRILADELPAtA BONDED WAREHOUSE FIRE.— ‘The walls which remained of the Patterson ware- house after the fire are being removed, preparatory to the bricks and charred timber being taken from the cellars. Itis believed that a number of barrels of whiskey will be found under the ruins, thongh the tntensity of the heat on the night of the burning would geem to render such @ supposition rather tm- probable.—Philadeiphia Ledger, August 14. ‘The initials C. 7. R., with a crown, intended for the partisans of Don Varios, have been publiciy of- fered for sale in Valiadolta, and when the authori. ties interfered and ordered their removal the venders asserted that the mitials indicated the cost only— ‘vig., Cuedta 7 Ris, (coat seven reais).