The New York Herald Newspaper, December 13, 1869, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. Letters and packages should be properly sealed. Rejected communications will not be re- turned. All business or news letter and telegraphic despatches must be addressed New York HER. ae THE DAILY HERALD, published every day in the year. Four cents per copy. Annual subscription price $12. Volame AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. BOOTH’S THEATRE, 201 Tax MERRY Wives or W ween Sth and 6th avs— Dson. OLYMPIC THEATRE, Broaaway.—UnDrR THE GAS- Lien. 2 TH g, Twenty-fourth st.—Don FIFTH AY v A Poor Goosr. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broaoway.—Tux Lirrce DEf®o- TIVE—AN Ovseer oF INTER or ning. WoopD's M ner Thirtiei! ERIE ee daily. Performance every ¢ BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Tne Dogt. iN THE Mist—Nroopeavs—Ds0k re un NRWSBOY ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Mth street.—Iraian OrrRa— Pirie. WALLACK'S THEATS Eenesrine—Try NEW YORK THEAT Pim er Le Beau Temps. Broadway and 13th street.— Broadway.—Le Souzp—La THE TAMMANY, Fourteenth street.—Tak BURLESQUE ov Bap Dickey. orner ot Eighth avenue and BSQUE COMBLNATION, MRS. F. B. CONWAY'S PARK THEATRE, Brooklyao.— Tue Romance oF a Pook YouNG MAN. TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, 201 Bowery.—Comio Vooarism, NEGRO MINSTRELSY, THEATRE COMIQUE, 514 Broadway.—Comio Vooat- 1su, NEG@KO AoTS, &o. BRYANTS’ OPERA HO! et.—BRYAN15" MINSTRELS. BAN FRANCISOO MINSTRE PLAN MINSYRELSY, NEGRO A. E, Tammany Building, Mth 585 Broaiway.—ETai0- &o. WAVERLEY THEATRE, k WU Broadway.—ETuro- Plan MINSTRELSY, NEGRO A’ ko. NEW YORK CIRCUS, Fourteenth street.—EQUESTRIAN AND Gyunasrio PERroRMANcrs, &c. klyn.—HOOLEY's COOPER Lxoruse, * NEW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, €13 Brondway.— BOENOK AND Aur. LADIES' NEW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618s Broadway.—FEMAt ONLY IN ATTRNDA New York, Monday, ITUTE, Astor plad.—OLIVE LoGAN's GIR. December 13, 1869. THE NIWs. Europe. By special cable telegrams dated in Naples and London yesterday we have important intelligence from Eurojr. The Deistival or rfdical ‘reds’? Congress in Naples turned out a “dead” failure, the question of the French occupation of Rome exciting serious dissen- Sion among the delegates. The condition of Ireland has become alarming to the British government. St was debated at three dif. ferent Cabinet Councils during the past week. Five thousand additional troops of the line are to be im- Mhediately despatched to the island, and portions of the provinces of Munster and Ulster, ‘proclaimed’? in insurrection. Ministers will immediately ask the Brith Parliament for power to suspend the habeas corpus and do all other executive acts to preserve the authority of the crown in the island. The Duke of Genoa was still spoken of as @ candidate for the crown of Spain. An immediate change of cabinet was looked jor in Parts. President Grant’s Message ‘was still commented on favorably in England. Pope Pius the Ninth has taken measures fur{tue election of bie successor in case he should die during the ses- sion of the council By steamship at this port we have interesting mail details of our cuble telegrams from Europe wo the 34 of December, The Suez Canal. M. de Leaseps denies that the Canal Company is in want of funds, and promises that ail the unfin- ished Work will be completed and the navigation of the transit remain uninterupted. Central America. A terribie hurricane prevalied in the Altos region of Guatemala in October last, causing great loss of life and property. Sefor Pim has made a proposi- luon for the construction of a railroad across Guate- mala, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In Costa Rica the government has disarmed the militia, all fears of @ revolution being at an end. Coffee picking bas commenced with favorable pros- pects, and it is believed the crop will be above the average. The revolution in Nicaragua ts at last suppressed, although disturbances exist in some districts. The losses and casualties during this last insurrection foot up to 195 killed and 370 wounded. The expense Was upwards of $1,000,000. Sonth America. ‘The steamship Alaska arrived at this port yester- day from Panama, with South American dates to December 2. In Bolivia the revolution, thougn apparentiy sup- pressed, 13 lable at any time to break out anew, and the government was despatcning troops into every department, in order to be ready for any emergency. Peru has ratified the proposal for the laying ofa submarine cable from Trumbes to Panama. An effort is being made to establish a national institu- tion for instruction in agriculture, including a lib- eral and comprehensive system of education. A courier from Paragnay, which arrived at Valpae- raiso, November 9, brings reports that Lopez, on his fight to the Bolivian fronuer, committed great atrocities, At San Estanislas he aiscovered a revo- lutionary plot among his followers and caused 100 of them to be shot. His force was reduced to 200 ik conditioned men, with twelve pieces of artillery drawn by hand. His army chest 1s plentifully pro- vided with the sinews of war, he having in his train twelve carts loaded with money. Cuba. A proposition has been made for the organization of a company to mport negro laborers from Africa into the 1 a after the abolition of slavery. The Captain General oMcially denies the rumor that this project has received his sanction, Miscellancous, During the month of November the vaiue of reve- Bue stamps furnished by the Internal Revenue Bureau at Washington was $1,250,455; number of beer stamps, 1,200,150; vaine of same, $431,100; number of liquor stamps, 52,100; value, $5,! Value of tobacco stamps, $1,798,031, A delegation of Virginia radicals, loaded down With proofs of frauds and interference during the late election, made their appearance in Washington yesterday in order to imfuence Congress Against the admission of their state, A very Well known shipmaster, named Horace Ss, Taylor, was crushed to deatt on Saturday night, in Boston, by falling between a ferryboat and the pier. A New series of postage stampa has been decided Upon And Will soon be issued by the Post Oftice De- partment. The new stamps will be one-third larger than the present stamps and consist entirely Of profile busts. The balance of gola in the San Franciseo Sub- Treasury is $7,000,000, and of currency $1,600,000, ‘Track laying on the California and Oregon Ratt ad Voing PURE forward at the rate of a mye @ . NEW: YORK HERALD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 186% 7 Gay. Thirty miles of the road will ve finished by the ist of January next. Prominent Arrivals in the City. Colonel J. B. Abernethy, of Indiana; General John A. Rice, of Chicago; Captain W. P. Dustin, of the United States Army; Judge J. BE. Allen, of Provi- dence, R.1.; Colonel A. W. Thrasher, of Dover, Mi General E. Marshall, of tne United States Army; J. M. Parr, of Boston, and Colonel W. D. Leroy, of ‘Syracuse, are at tie Metropolitan Hotel. J, H. Gardiner, of Sharon Springs; H. Lockwood, of the United States Navy; George F. Evans, of Cor- pus Christi; Tiburciott Parrott, of San Francisco, and O, Noonan, of New Orleans, are at the New York Hotel. Senator Fenton, of New York; J. é. Hamilton, Jacob Sharp and J. D, Mitchell, are at the Fifth Ave- nue Hotel, Colonel Lewis and Captain Haskell, of the United States Army, are at (he Hofman House.} Howard Paul, of New York, and Dougiass Kiss, of Baltimore, are at the Coleman flouse. Colonel H. H. Walpole, of Syracuse; G. W. Hotch- kiss, of Irvington; E, Reilly, of Lancaster; D. 't. Littiefleld, of Albany; W. J. Kane and Dr. H. Daane, of the United States Army, and Judge J. F. Cowan, of New Jersey, are at the Astor House, Prominent Departures. Colonel J, Cooper, for Philadelphia; Major A. Davis, for Louisiana; Colonel Robinson, for Califor- nia; Mr. De Calvin, for Washington, and Colonel G. W. Leilie, for Aibany. United States and China—The Bur- lingame Mission a Success. The relations between the United States and the Chinese Empire, in the ratification at Pekin of the Burlingame treaty between the two countries, have been placed on a sound footing. The mutual concessions embraced in that treaty will be advantageous to both nations, and especially to us, in view of the new commercial era opening upon the world, Already, since the completion of our Pacific Railroad, such has been the increase in the trade between San Francisco and the great ports of China, and such the increase of the population and commercial demands of our new Western States and Territories, that we can hardly exaggerate the value and import- ance, even ten years hence, of the exchanges of the Pacific and the Atlantic slopes of our continent with the eastern flank of Asia, and all the neighboring chains of Oriental islands, especially as half way to the end of the decade we expect the Darien ship canal to be in full operation, Meantime this new treaty opens the new and broad field of China itself to American enterprise, in the introduction of railways, steamboats, telegraphs, mining machinery, &c. The equivalents to China are the first broad recognition by any Western Power of the right of that great empire as an independent nation to the management of its internal affairs ; and, secondly, the protection of the Chinese in Cali- fornia, This concession of the right to China of self-government as a civilized Power is the special object of the Burlingame mission to the great Powers of Europe. We are grati- fied, also, to be able to say that England, France and Prussia may be set down as sub- seribers to this important concession, and that such being the case, Russia may also be counted as a party to the general agreement. But while the great European Powers have thus from the first manifested their readiness to adopt the liberal policy of the United States, the Burlingame mission has been bitterly opposed by the old British party of merchants, emissaries and adventurers in China, whose policy has been to Indianize that people. This British party have found the game so exceed- ingly profitable to foment quarrels with the Chinese, and to call upon the British fleet to bombard, now and then, a city or two, and to levy tribute in the way of damages, that they would like to keep it up. Itis just the game which our Western Indian agents and con- tractors and rings have played for so many years with success in filling their pockets at the expense of the .Indians and the public treasury—the game which General Grant is happily undermining and superceding, with General Sheridan to manage the fighting Indians, and honest Quaker peace commis- sfoners to deal with the friendly ones. Our late Minister to China, Ross Browne, with his California prejudices and political affiliations and calculations, and from his igno- rance of his business in China, fell an easy prey to this old British party at Shanghae and Canton, and their American allies in Chinese trade and politics, called by the coolies ‘‘gec- ond chop Englishmen”—the real English being “first chop.” Hence the mischief done for awhile by Browne in upholding the policy of the British speculators and adventurers of Indianizing China and in opposing and mis- representing the policy of his own goy- ernment. But the prompt recall of Browne by General Grant, and renewed assurances to the Chinese government of the good faith of the United States touching the Burlingame treaty, have resulted in repairing the mischief done by the “‘second chop English- men” and in securing the ratification of the treaty, which Browne so blunderingly, in the interests of British adventurers, labored to defeat, Our new Minister to China, Governor Low, also from California, is a diplomat who under- stands his mission. Fully instructed, more- over, by his government, he cannot make the mistake of Browne, an appointee of Johnson, who assumed the responsibility of acting for himself after Johnson's retirement from office. The British party in China, in getting hold of Browne, played their cards very adroitly to create a diversion in England against the Bur- Nngame mission, They induced Browne, in a deliberate letter, to denounce our treaty and the Chinese themselves as semi-barbarians, unfit for ity under international law. Then se were told that the Bur- lingame mission was Involving them in all sorts of trouble, and every foreigner in Pekin was denouncing the mission to the Chinese and the Chinese to every foreign governpent. But, notwithstanding all this “noise and confusion” in China, Lord Clarendon sided with Bur- lingame; and so England is committed to the great purpose of his mission—the treatment of China not a8 a race of barbarians, to be bom- barded and plundered on any pretence, but as a government entitled to the respect due to a civilized and independent State, From the foothold already gained, then, in this direction, we think we may safely assume that the Burlingame mission is a great success, and that from its good results in the way of peace and trade with China, and the new field opened to American enterprise, the United States will reap a rich harvest, as will all the other gations concerned, The ‘The Abuse of the Franking Privilege. The franking privilege enjoyed by Congress has long been justly inveighed against by the entire newspaper press of the country, The system in itself would not be so bad or so con- demnatory, however, were it not that it leads to such abuses as has drawn upon it uni- versal odium. In his excellent message to Congress and to the cquntry President Grant assures the people of an administration of economy and retrenchment in all the depart- ments of the government under his especial charge. Itis to be hoped that Congress will keep step with the Executive in this course of retrenchment and economy, and that the first earnest of its good intentions in this regard will be to abolish the franking privilege alto- gether, or institute a reform in the present system which will render impossible the frauds upon the Post Office Department, to which it is now notoriously subject. The abuse of the privilege has gone so far that not even the semblance of the autograph of a Representative or a Senator is necessary to frank letters to the most distant parts of the Union, In Washington not one person in a thousand ever s:amps a letter mailed in the Post Ottice. It is all the same whether Con- gress be sitting or not, from the fact that mem- bers while in Washington, by means of engraved stamps, flood the city with their autographs, which hold good all the term of their offices and for years after thoy are dead—of which there have been instances. Not only mail bags of letters are thus fraudu- lently transmitted through the Post Office, but tons of Congressional reports and documents and such heavy matter, that is never read, but which involves the Post Office Department in great expense and encumbers the mails and often retards their prompt transmiszion from point to point. Congress, perhaps for want of a little good advice in the matter, has hitherto persistently and contumaciously refused to abolish their privilege of franking letters and Congressional documents, notwithstanding all the abuses which we have pointed out as attaching thereto, and which have never been denied as existing. Now we propose once more that the privilege be abolisbed, but not without offering a sub- stitute in its place. Here it is. Let there be a law passed granting to members of Congress while engaged in their Congressional duties postage stamps for all proper and necessary purposes, the Postmaster General to keep 3 record of the amount of stamps thus contrib- uted by his department, designating the quan- tity allowed to each Representative and Sen- ator. If Congress is imbued with any of the political wisdom of General Grant, who first in his own administration of affairs promises economy and retrenchment and recommends the same much needed policy to the legislative branch of the government, it will surely move in the matter and act at once upon our sugges- tion, With our suggestion the economists and reformers in Congress can once more ditect their efforts to the removal of the abuses of the franking privilege. The opponents to the change must be few, as opposition to such a just and economic measure would assuredly bring down on members the obloquy and odium of their constituents, The change which we here propose in the franking system would embrace all the depart- ments of the government, civil and military. The check to an undue and extravagant use or misappropriation of postage stamps would lie in the fact that the Postmaster General in his annual report to the President for submission to Congress and the country would be required to make a return of the amount of stamps supplied to each Senator and Representative, In the same way he would designate the amount consumed by the heads of the various departments, and thus would be insured not only a redress of the present great abuses of the franking privilege, but would show the extent to which the Post Office Department would be entitled to credit for its share in the perform- ance of the great work of government. The Suez Canal—Our Correspondence. In the Heratp of yesterday we gave another illustration of oar unequalled enter- prise. Our correspondent’s letter from {smailia and from Suez occupied eleven columns of this journal. For exhaustive tredtment and for literary ability it is only fair to say that this letter has not been approached by anytRing which has appeared in the shape of correspondence regard- ing this subject in any journal either in this country or in Europe, The reproach scorafully flung at American journalism in the early stages ‘of our late war that it had not yet developed special corres- pondents of any literary ability it has been the privilege and pride of the Herarp to wipe out. Our correspondence in the later years of the war, our letters from Abyssinia, some of our recent letters from Spain, our recent — letters from India, our correspondence “from Constantinople relating to the movements of the Empress Hugénie, and now this latest letter from Egypt, have on all hands commanded the highest admiration and have amply justified our claim to the fore- most place in the domain of journalism. It is thus that we lend our powerful influence to delight, instruct and to improve mankind. REVOLUTIONARY Conta Gion—PortvGan Inrzctrp.—A cable telegram ivforms us that fears are entertained of the breaking out of a rebellion in various parts of Portugal, and that the authorities are active. It is not won- derful that such fears should exist. Thon- sands of exiled Spaniards are now in that kingdom. It will be well for Portugal, how- ever, to await the result of the experiment now being made by her big sister, It is not yet certain that revolution in Spain is to be an unmixed good. Jupez MoConn any THe Reprarers,.—A man charged as.an election repeater, and detected in plying his game at the late charter election, was on Saturday last brought up on habeas corpus to the Superior Court. Judge McCunn, presiding on the occasion, discharged the accused, volunteering an extra judicial opinion that ‘it was a practice among police captains to arrest large numbers of men om the charge of repeating merely to prevent them voting at all.” There may be very good sophistry in this, but had the Judge's and the man's palitige mothlog to do with Wy? The police captains come in for a pretty fair share of judicial criticism these times, but this last savors a good deal of political prejudice. Go on “‘repeating,” boys. The Postponement of the Ecumenical Council, By cable telegram we learn that the Council which met at Rome on the 9th of this month has adjourned until after Epiphany, or until after the 5th day of January. It is added that much opposition is expected when the Council resumes its sittings, This opposition is no longer a mere rumor; it is a fact, Francehas taken decided ground; and the example of France is approved and adopted by all the Catholic governments, The French govern- ment has notified the Council that the declara- tion of the infallibility of the Pope is re- ligiously inopportune, and that politically it nullifies the Concordat and releases France from her obligations to the Holy See. This is a heavy blow. This, however, is notall. The majority of the French bishops are opposed to the infallibility dogma. So, it is certain, are all the liberal bishops of Germany, We do not wonder that it has been found necessary to adjourn the Council. The Pope, it is said, is somewhat alarmed; but he counts with con- fidence on the support of the American bishops. When we remember that the Coun- cil of Trent sat at irregular intervals, from 1545 to 1568, a period of eighteen years, and during which the chair of St. Peter had five successive océupants—Paul Iil., Julius I., Marcellus II., Paul IV. and Pius IV.—we cannot help attaching some importance to this first adjournment. The end of the Council may be near; but it may be afar off; and no one can foresee its history. Return of tho Empress to Paris. The Empress Eugénie has returned to Paris from her trip to the East. She returns to the seat of her husband’s government crowned with the laurels of success that have been showered on the colossal enterprise whose completion owes so much to the Empe- ror’s co-operation and good will. The opening of the Suez Canal is a victory that will forever reflect credit upon the French nation, not only for the perseverance and material support gen- erally granted to the scheme throughout the country from its commencement, but to the individual merits displayed by M. de Lesseps in bringing his untiring efforts to a successfal termination. Perhaps no better expression can be employed than the words uttered by the Emperor at the recent opening of the Chambers in Paris, wherein he alludes to the absence of the Empress:—‘‘The Empress is not present to-day, because I desired her to testify the sym- pathy of France with the wonderful genius and perseverance of a Frenchman.” Surely no fitter person could have been selected to express such sincere good will than a lady, and, above all, a lady holding the exalted position of the first lady in the land—in fact, the Emperor's wife. The Empress has proved that she is possessed of considerable power of observance and common sense, and many of the great moral revolutions that will doubtless be recorded in future history in reference to the East will owe their origin to her observations, In the matter of the Suez Canal the visit of the Empress of the French has made an impres- sion upon the people of those distant countries the effects of which will be more telling and powerful than any conquest effected either by diplomacy or by the force of arms. In sending the Empress to attend the inauguration of an enterprise of such great importance to the world at large the Emperor has but given another proof of his clear foresight and well- poised policy. JupcE Dow1Ine AND TUE Portce Commis- sioNErs.—In the Tombs Police Court on Sat- urday last Judge Qowling made some appro- priate and much called for strictures on the police for not bringing up the parties arrested during the previous night for the action of the court. Judge Dowling in his remarks said that he had been in attendance at seven o'clock A, M., and it was near nine before the court was placed in a position to dispose of the charge sheets. He showed the great evil accruing to citizens from-the omis- sion of duty on the part of the police, whom, however, he did not blame, as they were sub- ordinate to their captains, and they in turn had to obey the orders of the Commissioners, The evils to be redressed are serious to the community. Judge Dowling says he is power- less in the matter; but when he once sets his face against a wrong done to the people coming through his court he is just the man to see it rectified, no matter what are the odds against him. Tae ConpITION oF InBtaNp.—Among our special cable telegrams is one which says that the condition of Ireland looks alarming to the British government. It has been the main topic of debate during the past week at three Cabinet meetings. Five thousand additional troops of the line are to be immediately despatched to the island, and portions of Munster and of Ulster are to be ‘‘proclaimed” {n a state of insurrection. Members of Par- liament will at once ask for power to suspend the habeas corpus and to do all other execu- tive acts in order to preserve the authority of law. When the five thousand additional troops shall have arrived they will swell the number of British troops in service in Ireland alone to thirty or thirty-two thonsand—that is to say, to nearly half of the entire British forees actually in service throughout Great Britain and its colonies, If so large a pro- portion of the British army is needed in Ireland the condition of the Emerald Isle may well look alarming to government, Tog Prestpeni’s MgssaGk AND THE Biug Noses.—President Grant's message, says the Halifax Chronicle, renders annexation all the more desirable. This is a common sense view of the situation. Annexation is the manifest destiny of the New Dominion, Let our neigh- bors make up their minds to the inevitable, Inthe Union they will have genuine recipro- city, Out of it they cannot prosper, Neatty Sam.—The London Apectator of Saturday last, in an editiorial on President Grant’s message, says that the programme of “peace, retrenchment, reconstruction and honesty must enhance the position of the United States as a nation, Her way of pay- ing debts is the last to be quarrellod with. | Eien ia Well said. We axe grateful ba} not inatrucjed. | cranuikauoe eageptidg tho ute. Yeaterday’s Sermons. Although our weekly report of the Sunday sermons is briefer it is also more interesting than usual. It will fully satisfy the curlosity of all who wish to know what the Rev. Mr. Frothingham had to say about ‘‘The Foes of Society,” dividing these into two classes— “the hot-blooded foes and the cold-blooded foes”—and pouring torrents of vituperation upon the press; as well as what the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher thinks of Father Hyacinthe, of the remorselessness of nature, and of the want of sympathy and forgiveness among mankind, It moreover reproduces Father Preston's presentation of the Catholic view of the vexed question of common and denominational schools, and the first of a series, of lectures by the Rev. Dr. David Einhorn on the importance and true mean- ing of the reform movement among the Jews. In most of the sermons which we publish it is gratifying to trace the direct influence of the New York Heratp on the minds of the preachers, Even those among the latter who, like Balaam, open their lips to curse are constrained to bless a journal which converts their words into ‘‘wifged words,” that shall fly all over the world, immeasurably widening the sphere of their personal influ- ence, but, when this is dangerous, supplying effectual antidotes for the poison. Tut DetsticaL Coneress At NAPLES has already proved, according to our special cable telegram, ‘‘a dead failure.” This Con- gress is, in fact, but a political convention of radical ‘“‘reds,” whose personal squabbles among themselves exhaust all the strength with which they might unitedly act against their conservative opponents. The question of the French occupation of Rome is exciting more serious discussion among the deists assembled at Naples than any theological or philosophical question. SWINDLES. A New Way of “Raising” the Wind—An Ex- tensive Business in Bridgeport, Conn., on Bogus Recommendations—Ten Thousand Dollars? Worth of Goods Awaiting the Owners. About six weeks ago some parties arrived in Brtdgeport, Conn., and hired the store No. 13 State Street, and commenced business as commission mer- chants and produce dealers, putting up a sign which read “W, H. H. Stewart & Sons, Country Produce.” They hired the store tor lve years and pald a por- tion of the rent in advance. They seemed to do con- siderable business, and received heavy consignments of produce from various parts of the country. The best references were given to parties whose-custom was solicited, and letters and telegrams were re- ceived after a while by the banks and by well known business men of Bridgeport asking about the stand- ing of the firm of W. H. H. Stewart & Bons, who solicited consignments, and to whom goods were frequently shipped before the shipper troubled himself to make the necessary inquiries, Several merchants doing business at Montrose, Pa., had received circulars and had been referred to the National Empire Bank, No. 234 Broadway, New York. Leuters addressed to this bank were promptly answered, the reply in each case’ being written on a sheet bearing a handsomely engraved nead reading, “The Nattonai Empire Bank, No. 234 Broadway, New York. Capital $1,000,000"—with the names of the president, directors, &c. These lettera_assurea the parties inquiring that ‘the firm of W. H. H. Stewart had transacted business at this bank fora number of years, and was considered perfectly sound.” On the Strength of this large consignments were made from Montrose to the Bridgeport firm. Not feeling perfectly satisfied, one of the Montrose merchants wrote to a friend doing business in Bridgeport to ascertain the facts and inform him immediately. Being satisfied on examination that there was an attempt to swindle, the Bridgeport merchant tele- graphed to his friend in Montrose that he would do well to come on and see to the matter for himself. ‘this advice was acted upon, the Montrose merchant stopping in New York long enough to discover that no such concern as the “National Empire Bank, No. 234 Broadway," was in existence. On arriving in Bridgeport the Montrose merchant found nis goods untouched, the store having been attached in the interest of the creditors by Bridgeport parties. About $10,000 worth of produce was found in charge of an old man and a boy, who claim to have no knowledge of the principals, and whose duty it Was to receive and ship goods. Large quantities of gvods have been sent off from the siore, and’ many more are constantly arriving, showing that te transactions of the concern Were very extensive. Some eighty barreis of flour and forty or fifty tubs of butter sent to this concern are at the steamboat freight office in Bridgeport. Nothing has been seen of any member of the concern, and no one knows anything about them. They had in seme cases given the names of the pest business men of Bridgeport as references, and also some of the banks, at whicn they did no business aud to whom they were not Known atall, They evidently relled upon thetr ref- erences not belng questioned, and were successful in many instances. Merchants and shippers of produce from New York city and thé West have been at Bridgeport looking for their goods, which have in some cases disappeared. It 13 enocens that they- have been reshipped by the parties lelt in charge of the store to the members of the firm, and by them sold at some ae safely distant from their base ot operations. The matter is being worked up, and may develop some interesting facts. It looks as if @ very extensive swindling operation had been nipped in tue most Opportanely. UNION ACADEMY OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE AND ART. Object of the Academy—Advancemeny and Diffusion of Knowledge tho ‘Aim—Text of the Principal Articles in the Constitution— Branch Associations to be Formed. WasHtnaton, Dec, 12, 1869, The American Union Academy of Literature, Sclenge and having become an established in- stitution of general interest in its objects and na- tional in its character, frequent inquiries are made from different parts of the country concerning its nature and purposes," , The second article of the constitution deciares the object in the following language :— The object of this Academy shail be to secure co-oporation d_condert of action in the advancement and diiusion af owledge, to aid inquiries in any department of learn and to te the elevation of taste In the community an throughout the country, The fifth article defines the field of labor as fol- lows:— To facilitate the businem of the Academy the following de- partments, o which others may hereafter be added, shall be Zk. lopartiment of iathematics, Engineer- Ing, aud Mechanics; “2° Of Thysics and Chemistry: i OF edioal Science and ttygiene; 4. Of Faychology, thics and celal Holepce; BOE kttinology and: Natural’ History ; 6 Of Archwology, Geogtaphy and civil History; 7. Of Phi- Jology and Luerature; 8. Of Fing Arta, Architecture and Music; 9. Of Law and Pollty; 10. Of Finance, Statistics and Political Bconomy. Each of those departments shall be vision of committee consisting of three amine revise, and if approved, report rsin their several departments pre- sented to the Academy; and the members of these several committeos, together with the officera before provided tor shall consiilute the council of the Academy, The seventh article:— A branch of this Academy, as auxiliary thereto, may be es- tablished, subject to its spproval and regulations, in the capital of any State or Territory, ar in any city’ of the Unived States,” Tha members of any such branch shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership herein, except the Tight of voting on legislative matters, ‘Phe eighth articies— Quentions pertinent to the scope of the several departments of the Academy aud of importance to the pubile interest, which may be oficially submitted to tho Academy or its branches by the officers of the general or Stats governments, or by auy association, shall have prompt conelderation and shail be responded to in such moae at Academy shall prescribe. Each of the several departments of the Academy has a distinct organization of ite own, and every member of the Academy must be @ member of at least one and not more than five of the departments. Bach department may resolve tiself into section: each section appointing its own chairman, who shal report proceedings to the departments, and the de- partments report to the Academy. The council, composed of the officers of the Academy and the officers (gonstituting the com- mittee) of the several departments, has general executive a Ay the business of the Academy, The fleid of labor here prescribed extends to ail the several branches of the moral sciences, as well aa the natural sctences and mathematics.and art. This institution seeks to secure the co-operation and concert of men of learning and science in the several States and Territories by means of branches and alliances with kindred associations and thus 19 national im ty character. There can pe no conflict between this and the Smithsonian Institute, but each may be auxiliary to the other. The close cor- led the ‘National Academy of ngl in ite character or LITERATURE. Reviews of New Books. SCATTERED VERSES AND LETTERS GATHERED AGAIN. By Jenny Perkins Williams. A glance only at this litte book will satisfy any one that the writer has genius, humor and the power of forcible expression. Indeed the intellectual char- acter of her mind and style of writing in strength @nd force are masculine rather than feminine, an@ very different from what 1s seen in the literary pro- ductions generally of female writers, Still there 18 & vein of deep womanly feeling, flue sentiment and poetry running through the whole of tneae re- gathered fugitive pieces. Miss Williams has more genius than she ts conscious of perhaps, and more than her insufficiently studied compositions would indicate to a superficial reader. Her faults are that she is too independent or neglectful of the rules of ‘good taste in grammar and composition, though tt ig evident she understanas these; that she neglects ¢ the mental discipline necessary to pecome a great writer, and that sne permits her really comprehen- sive and active mind to dwell within a narrow circle of objects, There are flashes of genius Seronge alt her compositions, but the effect upon the reader ts damaged from the want or a higher cultivation and more care in writing. by some old poet that ‘ Of all the arts in which mankind excel, Nature's chief master-pieve 1s writing well. But this can be attained only by much study and practice. Miss Williams has the natural gualifica- tons in a high degree, as well as the necessary foundation of @ good education, and all she wants, on Said, 18 to study and to be more careful in writing. Not the least tnteresting part of wer book is the preface, and particularly where she speaks of her “seven years’ reatdence 1n the heart of the great city of New York—a girl earning her existence,’’ when she mignt have lived comfortably at home with her parents. Her ambition to do something for herself and her heroic struggie in the effort are both inter- esting and highly creditable. Referring to her suce cess in the occupations of teacher, writer, amanuen- sis, &c., she mentions .with gratitude the great ser- vice the advertising columns of the NEW YORK HERALD haye been to her. ‘It has ever been,’ she writes, ‘‘through that channel that has flowed in upon her every gooa and perfect gift;’’ so much so wat she feels that the only legacy she is capable of leaving to the world will be -in the shape of an advice to people to advertise their wares and wants im the HERALD. Undoubtedly Miss Williams displays: her good sense and sound judgment in thus express- log herself; and for our part we are gratified py the knowledge that she has found the HERALD go great an aid to her efforts at earning a livelinood. Tue History or Roms. By Theodor Mommsen. Translated by the Kev. Wiillam P. Dickson. With & Preface by Dr. Leonhard Schmitz, Volume 1, New York: Charles Scribner & Co. The publication of this history of Rome will un- doubtedly be welcomed by every student of history in the United States. It 1s, so far as we can see in this volume, far superior to Niebubr’s, whose work has hitherto been regarded as the vest on the sub- ject. It is true, as Dr. Schmitz observes in his preface, that Dr. Mommsen has possessed the great advantages arising from half a century,of research siace Niebuhr; but, even taking these into considera- tion, we still hold the present work in every respect the best. It seems to us that Dr, Mommsen’s investigations were conducted in a more catholic spirtt than those of Niebuhr, who belonged to a School Of thinkers that deilghted in overturning and demolishing old recoras of the past, whether founded upon the misty, doubtful whisperings of traditions or the exaggeratea records of facts. And this school, which included such great minds as Nie- bubr and Strauss, with many others of equal promi- nenee, did not hesitate at sopiem where positive argument faued it. But not only in its greater con- servatism does Dr. Mommsen’s history excel. Its Merits over all others that aspire to recognition as minute and exhaustive histories, resulting from patient research and investigation, are unmistak- ably apparent in every chapter. While agreeing, in the main, with predecessors regardin; the ancient inhabitants of Rome, his account of them 18 so Clear, so simple, and at the same time go vivid, that there is notiung left for conjec- ture and nothing requiring patient study to arrive at a correct understanding of the views held. So also im the very exiaustive account of the political and social condiuon of the peopie—the development of the constitution, law, religion, agriculture, com- merce, the arts and sciences—we are furnished with @ narrative of unsurpassed clearness. Dr. Momm- gen, indeed, possesses a literary virtue which few Ger- man writers can lay claim to, however learned and perspicuous they mi Waile neglecting notb: that can in the aug it degree add to the historic value of the work he has arranged his matertais with remarkaoie skill, framing with them @ narra- tive at once so animated aud so taterest that the intelugent reader can enjoy it with all the enthusiasm of a young sentimental girl poring over the latest love story. Wedo not hesitate to recommend the work as the best history of Rome yet written, The pubitcation of the remaining taree volumes will not, we trust, be long delayed, THE Livinc Writers OF THE Sours. by James Wood Davidson. New York: Carleton, publisher. While we think Mr. Davidson Jacking in jadgment in including in this book the names of a large num- ber of very obscure writers of decidedly mediccre ebility we nevertheless recognize the value of his work and its merit a3 @ literary production, It makes afar more flattering exbibtt of Southern lit- erature than most persons would have supposed possible, The total number of writers named is 241, of which seventy-flve are women. Precisely one-half of these are writers of poetry, the most conspicuous hames being Hayne, Flash, Sums, Re- quier, Randall and a few others well known to the people of the Nortn. In fiction there are Madame Octavia Le Vert, Augusta Evans, Mrs. Southworth and others, History is represented by such names as Gayane, Campbell and Pollard. Altogether vhis book shows very accurately what literature the South possesses, Numerous extracts from the writ- ings of those referred to enable the reader to form a fair judgment of their capacity. As Mr. Davidson himself saya, ‘some of these specimens are poor enough, In all conscience, but each in its way and all together have their use in tne general ocsign.”” AS a book of reference we think this the most com- piete and accurate of all the works on the subject that have heretotore appeared. RASSELAS, PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA. By Samuel John- 800, D., with an introduction by the Rev. William Wout, B. A. New York: Scribner, Wel- ford & Co. It 1s hardly necessary for us to refer to the merits of this book. g Not to have read “Rasselas” at least once during @ iifetime is something dificult to Imagine of an educated person. The present edition 1s one Of the charming ‘Bayard Series” to which we have made reference in former notices. Like the owers in the’ series, the little volume ts neauy printea and Pan ® convenient size for wp Bocket and very cl ’ * Sy EVENINGS WITH THE SACRED PoRTs. A serios of Quiet Talks about the Singers and their Songs, By the author of “Festival of Song.’ New York: Anson D, F, Randolph & Co. To the thoughtful, meditative mind this book wilt be a source of great pleasure and instruction. It is really an admirably written review Of the sacred poets and their poetry, beginning with the Biblical, Greek and early Latin and ending with the modera English erican. The author displays an tal a ee intance with all the poets, Tie has a > materials with skill, grouping each age and class of poetry ander their appropriate heads, and judiciouslyjeriticising whatever calis for critt- cism, All of (he quotations are felicitous, To con- clude this notice, the dook is in all respects deserv- ing of @ large circulation, {tis neatly printed and bound. TERE pen de In Born Wortps. Wm. H. Holcombe, M. D. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Uo, It ig impossible to Ox a Jimit to the number of works describing the world to come which will be published before a change (iet us hope for the better) comes over the minds of our people. This material- istic age rejects the ideal heaven with which our fathers were content. They desire a real, tangible hereafter—something that they can become familiar with, AS @ congeqaence ‘The Gates Ajar,” “The Gates Wide Open” and kindred works ha ve deluged the country, ‘To these we now add, “In Both Worlds.” ‘fhe author says that a surgeon of the British navy, while on a visit to the Holy Land, dis- covered the petrified remains of Lazarus, whom Christ raised from the dead. With the body was @ manuscript history of Lazarus’ career in heaven and upon earth, which has been translated, and 18 now for the first time given to the world. We must leave the reader of the book to ascertain what the expe- riences of Lazarus were without any bints from us. ‘The narrative is very well written and 18 strongly Christian in sentiment, THE NEW YORK HERALD iN RHODE ISLAND. {From the Woonsocket Patriot, December 10.) A GREAT NEWSPAPER, New York has several large, able, first class news- paper establishments, They represent the commer- clal, political and literary features of that metropo- lis. The New York HERALD now stands pre-emi- nently at the head of the New York dailies, and, m fact, at the head of the newspaper press of this country. We find no journal lis equal in enterprise norin the amount of reading it gives its patrons. Every daj it issues a triple sheet, with forty-eight columns of reading matter, exclusive of eight pages of advertising. Its correspondence extends over almost every portion of the civilized globe; ita tegraphic news comprises everything contributed by electricity; while its editorials cluc@ate all topic of general and pubite interest, It is unquestionably the greatest representative of wie “fourth catate’ Wo this country : It has been said