The New York Herald Newspaper, September 16, 1872, Page 3

ENGLAND'S DISTRESS, A Dangerous Winter on the Approach. FAILURE OF THE POTATO “The Crop is Obliterated” in England, Scotland and Ireland. THE CATTLE DISEASE. Dear Meat, Dear Potatoes, Dear Bread, Dear Coal. THE LONDON BAKERS’ STRIKE. J Lonpow, August 31, 1872, ‘There can be no doubt that many people in this eountry look forward to the approaching Winter ‘with the very gravest apprehensions. People in America can have some idea, but probably not an adequate one, of the derangement which bas been Produced here by the disputes in the various trades, First, the butiding operations of this city ave been standing idle for weeks at the moment ‘when fine weather end long days offered the great- est facilities for building. In the country the agri- cultaral x has made up his mind that he @hall no longer be satisfied with wages that barely pay him as much as can keep body and soul to- gether, and the ficlds have been lying idle at the moment when agricultural operations should be in their fallest swing. _ ‘THE FAILURE OF THE POTATO CROP, Side by side with this state of things, we have afiother evil of terrible magnitude—namely, the failure of the potato crop. That this failure is widespread not only in England, but’ also in Ireland and Scotlund, there can mo longer be the slightest doubt. Ou the 10th of this month I find it stated that in several parts of Caithness the disease has mace its appearance to such an extent as to excite fears for the whole crop. “Entire flelds are already affected.” On the game day another letter states that the disease has appeared in many parts of Nottinghamshire, espe- cially in the north, “The potato crop,” it is said, “gave much hope of being one of the best known, but within the last fortnight the potato herbage has shown proof of disease, which, upon examina- tion, has been confirmed. A great many potatoes are affected, and the malady secms daily growing Worse. The holders of large plots are much con- cerned.” On the 20th Mr. J. Algernon Clarke, the editor of @ leading agricultural weekly, wrote :— lon of the potato pd eg ‘any rate so far as this year is concerned. Yes- ri ay hearetalle cxamined, @ uamber of felis in the josato-growing 43 around Long Sutton, in Lincoln- shire, found that three-fourths of the tubers. cA wei are dine ased, while the mischior ts still in ac- jes, Tud testimony of many growers in the neighborhood is that s*argely any sound potatocs can be discovered throughout wile, fields, and the general anxiety is know, not wist may be the probable » for’ the marke, Vit, whether enough rihsoming ag “sced) Or Next year. Pa test doubt that ths ae, ! ae crop pre over entire trac. of Country" between Boson and: Wishcach, and «at the yield, if anything at ail be little more thai? .@ can Ms Yeiurn of the seed planted. ‘The consternation amon; the farmers, who pay high rents and apply to their land ver: quantities of artificial manure, may be imagine SS Ra ShE Joss can scarcely be under £15 or perhaps Dp Disease appears to hay itten the crop in all parts of ae Kingdon; and it ts de: rable that necarate ree ris as tuber should be torthe: to the prevent state of t] om ink a Pert rk, C) Hencashive, Cheshire, Yorkshire, “Li ivectpehire, ‘Gam: Pridseshire, Easex, ire, Kent, rect and vonshire’ count ‘the largest acreages. in geen Britain, and al pis greet Rattan ee ey the British ait But d , the ots ot like 1, acces (besides yardens) at say four and Ed per tne epmnas fg Baba, or the ‘alie of say yr ton, es ae la On the 234 it is stated that “early potatoes have been badly affected with the disease and some Ep ers complain that they do not pay éven fF t labor of getting them up.” On the same day a cor- respondent of the Times, writing from Wolver- hampton, says:— This market isa great centro for the potato deale for whose accommodation the London and Northwest Railway Company have lately put in a speciai sid with attached stages and sheds. Yesterday Uities of the root would at ordinary thn brought to the market alike by rail and road rounding Staffordshire, Worchestershire and Shropshire farmers and market gardeners, as well as the cultivators ata greater distance, send here their produce that the lemen purchase and distribute among the numerous shopkeepers throughout the Black Country, or offer in the Birmingham market upon the Thursday. Tuc supply yes- terday was, however, exceedingly ‘small and ‘there ‘was great consternation among the dealers. The reports were of the most dolorous character. For eleven years, there has no 80 dis- astrous atime. disease has worked shocking Davcc among ali the early season roots. It began to make ite appearance ‘rat when the, potatoes begat to ripen: ‘The first introductions from Jersey and Cornwall and even Bedford were unobjectionable, bat the second sup- 8 were tainted—tainted so much that after the baskets been in the possession of the dealers only a day and a night more than filty per cent were found to be bad. ‘luis gone on manifesting itsell’ in the potatocs arriving from near aud remote districts ever since. Hence, in- stead of being perl ne than half that price, potatoes are now from £7 to £8 a ton wholesale, and they are bein, r pound. Very sad in by dealers who Just gone round Lincolnshire. ‘There whole acres are gone, and the people who own t when spoken to about sales, repiy,, with tears, in thelr tyes, that they are rulued. The spleniid garden dis- trict of Pershore {sin hardly any better condition, Im- mense tracts are not worth the getting, and the owners are already arranging to plough them into the eoll for manure. ‘In Staffordshire and Shropshire the same is occurring in nota few eises. Growing potatoes are being offered at one shilling a rood, but without find- ing customers. The produce should be worth ten shil- lugs. The face of the country where the potatoes are iyibg, i Dlackened, and in the worst cases the steuch Plainly indicates the presence ot the disease before it is detecied by the eye. If the late sown toes are no Deiter the calamity will be very great, From Gloucester- shire we a that Gr people are Boone 40. Beye x) give thre sack for ea otable mception to the bulk is found in tho" cases: ih which ie is what is known as the American red-rose. It is @ only recently introduced, and they are almost alto- gether free of the disease, but they are unhappily only in small supply. The Fie/d, an important agricultural journal, con- tained the following on the 24th:—‘I hardly ever wemember to have seen the malady so general aud ‘the destruction 80 complete, Within the last month it has come and overrun the potatoes in all direc- tions, and hundreds of thousands of tons of useful food have been converted into loathesome rotten- ness.” Land and Water writes on the same day :—“The blight seems to have made sad havoc among the potato crop.” On the 26th I ind a letter in the Témes from the southern counties, in which it is stated that “the Potato discase is very general.” A correspondent from Worcester writes on the same day:—“In some parts of the county the dis- ease has not manifested itself very severely. It 1s Seared prices will be very high before Summer is gone.” Onthe 23th, Mr. J. J. Mechi, the eminent agricultural authority, writes to the Times that tales are brough potatoes are much diseased, while another journal | contains the following despatch from Plymouth :— Having received special reports on the subject from ANY correspondents throughout Cornwall, Devon and rset, Iam now able to give a well-authenticated re- Fort on fie extent of diveaso in thirteen western counties, Joo, question that Kinds of paistoes sease atch of green most, and growers of the finer @ Joss, of almost their whole crop, or, at Haid kiduays wilt ouly fetch the price of eominonest Cpt On the other hand, the rocks grown Zor the use of the army and navy, Tam ‘wold today by @ large contractor, who nas dug a hundred acres, area very fair quantity. But for the disease the ‘yield would doubled that of any year on recosd. | The disease andeg Tome ing the Welgiit “On fi aad wit it. On hy <Hiinestone bottom, sloping tothe south, on which common tatoes were planted early and duy early, the crop ot Hoare, "On thigh level, Int, with uraniee base, ache eois ears. On le . ase, BUCH as ind on the borders of Dartmoor, ihe tose from di in ‘itty per cent, On low nde with a moder. ‘. gi of thie better jand the erop is eutirely gone. consideration the extraordinary ‘ould have been had no a re pretty fuirly represented by the Present Price of potatoes at local markets, syhich is early but not quite double what It lsat this period of ‘ordinary years. The agricultural weeklies, published this di ‘sive the same gloomy picture of tue state of tl {potato crop. Zand and Water writes:—“The po- disease this year 19 likely to prove very disas- in ite consequences :— Bowerascrs crop | alone Aid The Weir Waa cosas “Your wi Teport from Wolverhampton as to the tobe crops fo peng, a oh nburghsht From Duntermilne eo is not 80 eecount eived fron < , from, eastern from Fifeshire and East Lothian. a over ire reports are dis- also from Perthshire, but in Forfarshire Tent. returns info consideration, there ban bo returne i re Can Bo doubt that the tilored almost nmversal ores ig Stop may be con- The Field writes with equal emphasis. “The re- ports,’ it says, *‘as to diseased potatoes are most discouraging, We have no very certain informa- tion from the potato districts in Scotland, and a full crop there supplied us last year with abund- ance, when our own yield was in mgny cases most deficient; but if, as is reasonable to suppose, elec. trical induences have affected the plant, no district Will escape where such were prevalent. Mr. Al. gernon Clarke, the editor of the Chamber of agrt- culture Journal, and himself a farmer in @ part of Lincolgshive where the crop is largely grown, first sounded the alarm, and his inquiries in different parts of the country have only revealed the sad fact that throughout England the disease is unl- versal, @md in many instances the sound potatoes will not represent seed sown. From Ire- land we have less certain information; still, what we hear isbad. The disease has certainly appeared in Scotland, though, their crops being usually later thap ours, the mischiel may not have developed so far. We quote from a leading article in the Cham- ber Journal of the 26th inst.:—‘In the fen parts of Cambridgeshire the potatoes everywhere are smit™ ten with the disease. Im Cheshire they are very bad, In Cornwall ‘the rot’ has spread moat exten- sively, and halfan average crop will be a liberal estimate, In Derbyshire the disease is spreading. In Dorsetshire the crop is reported as full of disease. Im Durham cases are already talked of. In Essex the potatoes are almost an entire failure. In West Gloucestershire the crop is badly diseased. In Shropshire and Worcestershire the disease pre- vails to an alarming extent in the Vale of Severn.” I think I have now embodied a sufficient quantity of evidence to demonstrate the truth of the propo- sition with which I set out—that the failure of the Potato crop is widespread in England, Ireland and Scotland, Two other questions may be touched on briefy—the cause of the disease, and the remedy. I find the mass of authority is agreed in saying that the successive fall of rain and the fre- quency of thunder storms which have characterized this season are the leading causes of the blight. A correspondent of the Times thus writes :— On reading Mr, J. A. Clarke's alarming letter of this date, in which he shows that “we are threatened with an obliteration of the potato crop,” it occurred to me to com- pare the meteorological tables of the last three months ‘with the similar tal for 1845, which are to be found in the Gentleman's Mc for that year, and itis curious to observe how in both instances heavy thunder stor: re- vailed. This has, perhaps, been already noticed by scic tifle men; bat as I have ‘nowhere seen any connection surmised between the extraordinary electrical condition of the atmosphere which characterized the summer of 1845 and she pbesent summer with the potato disease, I have thought it worth while to make a note of the cir- cumstance for others more fully to investigate. Another correspondent says:— From 1845 to the present date I have paid considerable attention to the subject, and I have invariably found that in districts which have been entirely free from the disease prior to the occurrence of severe thunder storins, within a very short time after any great electrical disturbance of the atinosphere, the well-known blotclt has appeared upon the leaves of the potato stalk, and the unmistakable During the Summers of 1860, 1870 few thunder stor and ere Were very scarcely any of noticeable vivience, fore was little, ff any. potato blight? but this year it has followed the course of the violent country with a painful and w Weare “threatened an obliteration of the potato crop.” My theory ia, therefore, largely confirmed, that the pota! disease is lered more or less active by the electrical condition of the atmosphere. A siinple, but effective, altiation of the evil has been found to result from plant- ni few Win sor pr ei ir broad beans between the rows of potatoes, The bsati-stglks rising abovo the pota- toes act as natural conductors and faery, off the super. abundant electricity. This fact may ttny she notice of and may be improved upon by scientific men. ~ A Mr. Hallott suggests that the great remedy for thé disease in potatos js to select proper seed. “piaéase,” hé Bays, “Is aa much hereditary in plants as man.” “Acting,” he says, “upon this view I have for years carefully sclected my potatoes for seed, and, upon the assumption that the disease reaches the potato through the haum, have always rejected the whole of the produce of any plant which presented any appearance of disease, and although this may have been manifested on only oneoF its forty or fifty potatoes, and even on this buf'slightly, I have rejected them all as ¢¢ aS ei freedom from disease of the imported American Ted-rose potatoes seems to support my view.” Another gentleman s' ests another plan of pre- venting the disease. Having begun by the state- ment that while in gardens on each side of his the otatoes are badly diseased those in his own gar- Ron have escaped altogether, he goes on to say:— My potato ‘plot was last Winter cropped with greens. gud in the Spring was dug over, and without adiing any manure the sets were planted two feet apart one way an one foot and a half the other way, in shallow tretiches. In due course soll was drawn to finally left in’ ridges of about seven, inches deep and about twelve inches broad at the top, The wide cropping and deep ridging amply provided both for ventilation and drainage, which left. the so h tubers nice ‘and that about five thunder storm, I noticed | that smitten with numerous dark-colored, spots, which I took for blight, and thinking it might be the forerunner of dis- at once pinched off about four inches of the top of and every stalk, suppo-ing that, in so doing, if m "3 Were correct, it would act as a preventive, and it recaution and to the mode of cultivation aped disease. I the hawm, and was stee ease, ea fea owing to this that I consider my potatoes have esc: would beg to add, in conclusion, that the “scotch reds’ and the “Kent regents” which I'am now using average @ yield of two pounds per root, and they have not yet done growing. 1 took up a root of flukes only a few days azo whieh numbered seventy-six potatoes, every one ‘sound, and sixty-two of them of a size fit for table. Another fact of tmportance in relation to the present failure is that the earlier crops escaped almost unhurt. It is the later crops which princl- pally suffered, One thing above all others brings out in relief the appalling proportions of the catastroplie—namely, the number of substitutes for potatoes which are daily proposed in the newspapers. Dr. Hooker, the Curator of Kew Gardens, was actually asked vy Premier Gladstone to make public a means by which a portion at least of jiseased potato may be saved. Dr. Hooker accordingly writes to state that the starch of beet steed is not affected by the disease; and, accordingly, if separated from the rest of the be would be fit for use. The way 0 separate the starch is Oo rasp peeled _—_ tubers upon a bread grater into a tub of cold water. In a few minutes the starch sinks to the bottom, while the diseased matter lies suspended in the water, and should be poured away along with the water. Fresh water should be again added, the starch stir- red up and again allowed to-settle. Two or three washings of tuis kind remove all impurities and render the starch fit for use. Dr. Hooker also sug- gests that efforts should be made to spread among the poor the use as fooil of beet root, the follage of the turnip ‘and other vegetables now wasted or given ouly to cattle and sheep, THE FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE. In addition to the failure of the potato disease acu interests in England are threatened with another calamity—namely, the spread of the foot and mouth disease among cattle. ‘The following article from the Daily News of to- day gives an interesting account of the progress already made by this disease Seeing that this malady has now extended to almost every county in England, and to not a few shires in Scot. land, some statistics a8 to the actual number of animals ¥ prostrated through its eflects ‘il sting. Last vear, it will be remem- dered, about the same period, there’ was a considerable number of English shires affected by foot and mouth disease; and pleuro-pneumonia (much more tmaslduous and fatal than the other affection) was likewise comparison of the shows that the disease was uot 0 + been this season. We question Whether there ever was a year in Engiand when so many aniinals suffered the deteriorating effects of the malady 4 80 far as to exc remembered by agricul: M. P..a member of our Mr. Clare Sewell Read, ve body, Who has taken a deep matters affecting farmers and stock owners, stated at a meeting held at Norwich the other day:—“During the last five weeks there had been returned 10,000 cases of cattle and cases of sheep aifected with foot ‘and mouth disease; and he would ask any gen: fleman present. wiicther those figures represent jo mumber of eases that existed 7 o three bullocks tailen down with the disease? Why, he made a return of the three bad cases only, when, asa matter of course, the other seventeen were sure to have the disease. If thoy put at the lowest figure the loss upon each fae Le a a ‘ Ho = yy * re had been, during the last five weeks, a loss to the ow . Jn Norfolk alone, of 42:50). That was than any eattle #iague ley ever had or ever should have.” And tru would seem so, resent state of matters in rd to the disense would Puig Justify the Privy Council, in our opinion, in en- forcing some extra stringent regulations such as those adopted in wie memorable cattle plague year, of clodng all ore markets throughout, the country for a specified time—say six weeks. In ony, a existing regulations of the Privy Couneil. As far as we have observed their working, they appear to meet jseaxc in Le normal state; butis anemergency such as © present, when the flocks and herds of the country are oatened with—we would almost say—extinction, soine immediate steps should be taken with a view to protec- tion. ‘ from time to time given figures of thé fe ae mn ry y ofateahed ‘imal rious counties of Bx 5 pf atteehd 8 : in the Farioug counties of Bog i k before last, noche untae a hati here are no than 10,748 case Sr nacheteih a Sass j ‘he Pp and wi has ever Wy wee! fewe olng “for foot time a second sent attack of janouth Llltoe present year the as 8 ai ‘alone; but exp “auly 100 confinsivaly decided the Guestion, Dorset 18a county Trom toot and mouth disease, and of th ret e crease in th be! ots sok cont 0, "There are sn all nu 06 . 12708 cases of the complai int in county, out, that number seventy have died during the ‘past week. The disease is therefore becoming more /atal than was its wont From Hi equally de and discour- aging accouuts are toss d yun the soupy of Noribarnyton et pe tod only 4 large number of cases of toot and. mouth ff e1 it pletro-pneumonia and she ‘tad havoc ainchg the (armer riet proving quite ineffectual he pri of the ond inthe nelghborhe Of Lincoln and Staumiord the increase cf the number of animel; aifected since the beginning of the week has in- duced the magistrates to issue notices ud viel caution ing them to ‘desist from exposing affected animals in the markets and to exerche a carefml system of dix infection and isolation, Nothing can be more rep- sprenetie os. we ye rents a Giger hg meee an to endeavor, a8 Iu alm off stoc! subject to the disease pan bul Th x e tobe I & ey deserv Srareeartci's ladoine hates te SA Lancashire the. tra be the la 8 show that 2. cate, 188 sheep and Ai pigs are atiocted with cot and ‘The last returns from Norfolk are somewhat more favor. le than those formerly tasucd, but the fact that 114i ead of stock are eutfering is in itself suficient to justity ‘the local authority in petitioning the Privy Council for a stoppage of all fairsand markets. In Eomersntaning ie fresh outbreaks were. reported last. week, while in Wor- certershire there was an increase of nincty-nine. In the Jast-mentioned county there is nota single district iree trom the disease. As regards Scotland it is pleasing to note that the ac- tivity of the local authorities has had the effect duing the foot and mouth complaint in its ravage: in @ few countiey—Dumfries, Kinross and Fite—several additional cases have been brought to light. It is still, more pica: to report an appreciable ab- sence in its more virulent form in Ireland of the disease— the country from whence comes the bulk of our live stock. It would, indeed, be a disaster of no slight magni- tude to the public were the herda of Irish farmers to suf- fer to the extent at prosent prevailing tn Sngiand, and itis to be hoped that the Irish authorities do their utmost to preserve their fortunate immunity from dis- Well, then, your readers will see that we have good reason for re; ing the coming Winter with Potatoes will be at least double their usual price; meat will probably increase much in price; and whi we are still in Sum- mer, already doubled its usual value, will it cost when the cold days of December are upon us ? RISE IN THE PRICE OP BREAD. fe og) weare threatened with arise in bread; for the bakers are expected in a few one togo out on strike. What a state London will be reduced to when all the bakers’ shops are closed—Lonaon, where scarcely a housekeeper knows how to make her own bread. Dear bread, dear potatoes, dear meat, dear coa!—these are the prospects for the Winter that we can al amell from afar off, ‘The effects of this state of thiigs may be very, very serious indeed, The S devotes an article this week to the threatened strike of the bakers, which is very suggestive. thinks that the coming strike of the bakers’ men may Prove a serious affair. It can hardly believe that a city like London can be leit for even one week without bread, but it is quite possible that it may be go lett for forty-eight hours, and quite certain that if itis there will be very extensive rioting. The threat held out by the bakers will force the ublic to conBider a very curious question, which as never, that it: knows of, been practically raised, and that is, the duty of the community when threatened bya strike which affects its very existence. Is it to endure anything, on the pica that the strikers have aright to do as they like? Suppose, to take crucial instances, all merchant sailors struck at once for impossible terms, 80 that Great Britain was virtually in blockade, or that all policemen struck for a pound a day, or that these journeymen bakers really could execute the threat some of their rasher spokesmen are sense- less enough to utter, and wve London fora week, actually leave it without food—should we be baie a by a sense of justice or fair play or com- assion to look on passively while the rain was be- ing accomplished ? The Spectator knows, of course, that the public would not look on passively, that it would use force unhesitatingly and very much too soon, but it is talki of the abstract right and wrong of such @ course of conduct. We cannot see that, the community being in peril, it would be at all wrong to employ force. If we could not get re- cruits to defend ‘the country by voluntary enlist, i eerpe we bribery wir eye ption law, and c. mA just a8 right to “lev @ kers as to levy folder, alto Fate Re set to exist is higher than the right of the individual to free, and all it would be bound to do would be to make its new pers ae little oppressive as fhe circumstances wou! mit, CIVIL SERVICE REFORM. The Rules and Regulations of the Curtis Ad- visory Board To Be Carried Out in New York—Difficulties of the Undertak- ing—What the Applicant is Expected to Know, An effort is to be mals adopt and cgrry out the rules and tegulations respecting the civil ser- vice, approved by the Advisory Board, of which George William Curtis is chairman, and published in Washington, May 14, 1872. Naturally New York, in its relations to the government the most impor- tant place in the Republic, is selected for the eater- ing wedge, and E. 0. Graves, Chief Clerk of the United States Treasury office, is now in this city, actively engaged in establishing the system laid down by these regulations, The great difficulty in the way of carrying these regulations into effect has been the want of sup- port and co-operation on the part of those occupy- ing leading positions in the varlous departments throughout the country. For the most part receiv- ing their appointments as the reward of political services and trusting to their immediate subordi- nates (who are held in position to furnish brains, without reference to changes in the administra- tion) for the proper performance of their duties, and hoiding them responsible. They have failed to appreciate the necessity of reform and have been loath to surrender that consequence which the arbitrary power of appointment has given them. This has left the effort at reform— the carrying out of the rules and regulations of the Advisory Board—entirely in the hands of the im- mediate subordinates referred to, chief clerks and deputies, who have a keen appreciation of the dim- culty in obtaining a proper performance of duty in the various departments and are eager for a change which shat! lighten their own labors and responsibilities. In this connection it may be well to call the attention of the country to the well known fact that those obtaining high official po- sitions and the large salaries appertaining thereto are politicians, with few exceptions, ignorant of the duties they are called on to perform, and trust- ing to their subordinates, men of experience and capability, who, for a’ comparative pittance, per- form the duties for which their principals are paid. For three months past the system of competitive examination, as provided for in the regulations, has been in operation in the Treasury Department | at Washington, and the results have been entirely satisfactory to those who have been in the best positions to appreciate its workings. Under it the names of the three shown by the examination to be best capable of performing the dut-es of any vacant position, named in the order of merit, are submitted to the Ce Ripe Deal and generally speaking the first one named has been selected, The following boards of Examination for this city have been appointed :— FOI COLLECTOR'S AND SURVEYOR’S OFFICES. Thomas L. James, penny Collector, Chairman; Joho R. Lydecker and John L. Benedict. NAVAL OFFICE. Cyrus W. Burt, Chairman; Robert Etheridge and H. W. Green. APPRAISERS) OFFICE. Appraisers Bausch, Burt ana Sturgess. ASSISTANT TREASURERS OFFICR. William G. White, Cashier Chairman; Charles A. Patterson and F. ©. Field. These gentiemen are all occupying oficial posi- tions, and their duties as examiners are additional and witout further recompense, Mr. Graves has had informal meetings with the Advisory Board, consisting of airmen of the respective boards mentioned, arrangements have becn made for the opening of sessions at an early day. Those for the Collector's and Surveyor’s oftices and the Naval Ofice will be held in the up- er room of the Custom House Building, corner of Exchange place and Hanover street, now being repared for that harpose that for the Treasury im the Treasury Buildt The place of meet- ing for the Appraisers is not yet decided upon, Under the regulations’ governing appointments and promotions in the customs ser- vice and the Sub-Treasury in New York, applica- tions must be for the lowest grade or for the once next above that held by the applicant, Copies of the regulations showing the formalities necessary in making application hands of the chatrmen of the respective Boards. All candidates ior appointment to positions the annual salary of which is $1,200 or more will be ubjected to @ public competitive, written exami- nation upon the following subjects:—(1) penman- ship; (2) writing aud briefing lette 8) elements of English grammar, chiefly orthography and syn- les, fractions, tax; (4) arithmetic—fundamental ru! percentage, interest and discount; (5) elements of accounts and bookkeeping; (6) history and geo- fraphy—general questions, principally such as re- ate to the United States, and prominent fea- tures of the government of the United States. Candidates for appointment to tions the sal- ary of which is less than $1,200 il be examined in ike ner upon the sul Fir ni ip; second, copying; elements 0 mar, ort ani yr appointment are in the | ae esac rect | THE WARD'S ISLAND HORROR The Alleged Murder of a Patient in the Insane Asylum WAS HE KICKED TO DEATH BY A KEEPER? One Man Said to Have Been Guilty of Three Murders. A Number of Lunatics Give Their Tes- timony Against Him. Is Their Evidence Worth Anything ? THE ACOUSED DENIES HIS GUILT. An Inquest To Be Held 'To-Day. On Friday a man, by the name of John N. Ornell, & patient in the Ward’s Island Insane Asylum, died, His death was a very painfulone. He com- plained during the few days previous to his death of having received injuries from one of the keepers. Dr, Escheveria, who is resident physician at the Asylum, attended the patient two days before his death to take his ante-mortem statement. Ornell then said to the Doctor that a few days pre- vious one of the male nurses, named Thomas Farrell, who was stationed as a keeper in ward M, where the dying man was confined, had assauited him without provocation, He gave a circumstantial account of the assault, saying that while he was sitting in the hall Farrell approached him an, told lim to give up his seat. Ornell refused, and Farrell, he alleged, immediately set upon him, beating him over the head and knocking him down. He states the keeper then, while he was on the floor, kicked him in the stomach, on the chest and on the head until he was made perfectly insensible. When he came to himself he was in bed, and suffered from pains all over, particularly in the intestines. He could neither eat nor drink without great pain, and he told the Doctor that he felt his end was approach- ing and he wished to expose the man who killed him, Dr. Escheveria took down all these depositions of the dying man and exerted a!l his skill to save him, He recognized from the first that the patient Ornell was suffering from internal injuries which were mortal, He looked at his body and found marks of blows and abrasions on the stomach, tho abdomen and the chest of the patient, which looked ag If they had been inflicted with a biunt {nstrament, such asa boot. Two days after the man died, and Dr, Escheveria notified Farrell that he must con- sider himseif under arrest. On Saturday morning the Dogtor took Farrell before Justice McQuade, at Harlem, * i PROCEEDINGS BEFORE JUSTICE M’QUADE. Dr. Escheveria then and there made a formal com- Plaint against Farrell, and accompanied the com- plaint with an afidavit. In this document he stated that he truly belicved Farrell to have been the mur- derer of Ornell, He stated what he claimed were the facts of the case ashe had found them—the assault, the injuries and the deatn. On the state- ment in the affidavit Justice McQuade committed the prisoner to await the action of the Coroner, He wa then locked up in the prison attached to the Harlem Court House. ANOTHER CASE, When the Doctor got back to the asylum he found another patient in ward M desiring his services, ‘This was Horatio Seymour, @ colored lunatic. He was in bed in a ver, eas condition, and evidently Apes BU ei ~StB se ray bs 27) suffering trofi Severe pains. This inan also stated that he wasavictim of Farrell's brutality. His story was that Farrell had assaulted him without cause or provocation, and had beaten and kicked him allover the body. Just as soon as Seymour had finished his story he began raving in an inco- herent manner. The Doctor examined his body and found marks of brutality upon his abdomen, the skin had been raised by a blow, and his cheek also showed @ mark as if from a fist. The Doctor, surprised at this secoad revelation, inquired amon; the inmates of the ward as to the circumstances 0! the case, Several of the patients, men whose story 1s worthy of credit, as they are sane save on all points but some hobby which possesses them, bear out the testimony of Ornell and Seymour. They said that Farrell had committed the assault upon both of the patients, and that he habitually treated them ina brutal manner, A few days before they al- leged that Farrell had attacked Ornell, and had baaten and kicked him in au outrageous manner. The next day he had done the same with Seymour, and in both cases without being attacked himseif. They stated that Farrell was in the habit of bully- ing the patients and ordering them about in a tyrannicai manner, 80 much so that all the people continued in ward M dreaded him, and always felt themselves in danger of his brutality. WHAT THE KEEPERS SAY, In the ward two attendants were on duty be- sides Farrell. These are Edward Bell, an oid hand, wko has ria ead agood record in the Asylum, and one McLaughlin, a new ian, but con- sidered a good nurse by the Warden of the Insane Asylum, Mr. Burke. Both these were questioned by Dr. Eschevena, and they both united in saying t they had never witnessed Farrell acting in & brutal manner towards the men who complained of him or to any others, They said gi were present when the assault is said to have taken place upon Ornell, and they did not see anything out of the way. In fact, they both unite in saying that F: rellis a good min and was never guilty of any brutality to the inmates. As both of them fully exculpate Farreli from any blame it leads to the paige that they must either be accomplices ofthe alleged murderer or else he must be free from blame. No such assault as is alleged could possibly have taken place in the ward aud they present and not kuow of it. ORNELL AND SEYMOUR. On the other hand, again, both the dead patient and the dying one are kKnewn to have been very quiet people, and previous to the last week to have been in very good health. Urnell particularly was advancing rapidly towards cure, and it was intended to have let him out of the Asylum within the next three or four weeks, Seymour, though not tn such favorable condition as Ornell, had never been known a3 an unruly patient. On the contrary, he was very unassuming and always endeavored to retire into the background, This makes the sup- position that they injured themselves and then ac- cused Farrell almost incredible, FARRELL'S STORY. Thomas Farrell, who is accused of all these atro- cities, 18 @ rather thick-set, pleasant featured man of medium stature. He has no hardened look about his face and deports himself very indifferently in spite of the accusations he labors under, He en- tered the Asylum as an attendant or nurse on Jul; 29, 8o that he has beena little over six weeks tn hi position. He treats the matter of the murder somewhat derisively, and pronounces the whole thing untrue from beginning to end. He says that there is no proof against him except the testimony ot lunatics, whose oaths are valueless before a court Oo! law, that lunatics are constantly in the habit of injuring themselves and when asked about mpt to lay it on the keepers. He denies ever ‘ing strack any por in the Asylum or ever having had the silghtest dispute with any of them. He does uot believe he can be convicted, and seems to take considerable satisfaction in the thought that the lunatics’ evidence will go for naught, FARRELL'S PAST RECORD—ANOTHER CHAKGE. Unfortunately for Farrell another case comes up which he, no doubt, believes has been hushed for- ever. ‘The HERALD reporter asked the Warden, Mr. Burke, fosterday, in what ward oue Charles Rusch had been contined during his stay in the Asylum, Mr. Burke, after looking over the books, stated it was in ward No. — (Farrell's ward). The facts of this case are interesting in conjunction with the present bt) against Farrell. Charles Rusch, 4 German, aged forty, had been confined on Ward's Island since the ist of April last. He had temporary fits of insanity, which showed them- selves in & pensity for suicide. On the 29th of August fis wife succecded in getti him out on @ three months’ , alter which time his Ieave of avsence expired unless it was found that he was en cured. On Sunday last he went toCentral Park with his relatives, and hi complained of severe ins in the side. asked the cause he said that while on Ward's Island he had been dreadfully treated by one of the keepers, cod that the pains in the side were the result of blows received. Rusch, though suffering, Early on Mar of his. wife fou when she nA Me akan a men oma ru ly Ol ie eepers, and said he hardly dared speak for fear of still worse treatment, George Miller and erick Huntley, also patients in his ward, complained ofharsh treatment. Rusch showed bruises over his body, but said that if he complained it would be the woree for him, 2) ga recently of his injuries, ANG 2t5hd tims B Suidiac gc maa & ecryNls &car over the eye, which, he said, he had re a from oon the keepers, but he did not specifiy whom, case, which happened so few days ago, is damning evidenee against Farrell, or axalnst the Keepers in the ward with lim, a all these brutalities are alledged to have taken place in ward M. ‘Three deaths, and two dying from one ward, and all attributing their ill-late to brutatity, seem enough to disprove Farrell's plea of inno- cence. WHAT THE WARDEN SAYS. Yesterday a HERALD reporter calied at Ward's Island, He saw Mr. Burke, the Warden, Mr. Burke js a genial gentleman, and looks upon the accusations against Farrell with horror. He ig that if Farrell is guilty he should certainly sufler the severest penalty of the law. Mr. Burke, how- ever, thinks it will be rather dificult to convict Farreil. He says that he himself always considered him an intelligent and careful attendant, and never heard anything against him up to the time San precent Cuaraee. The ye xevarver ned ar, Burke regardi e man: en: in general of the asylum. ties a “I do not think,’ said Mr, Burke, “that any place of this kind could be managed bettergthan this, It has every reason to be a eae asylum and is con- sidered no by compesens judges. Of course a mat- ter of this kind hurts us, but yet it is hard to hold the institution responsible for what after all is the crime of one man. Had lever heard of any bra- tality on his part he would have been immediately discharged. We are terribly strict upon this one int of laying hands brutally upon the patients. t is forbidden except in the very hardest cases of self-defence. Sometimes, though seldom, the pa- tents attack the keepers without reason. Even then the keeper ia enjoined to abstain in every way from touching them. It is only really when a man’s life im danger that we tor a moment countenance the thing. A snort time ago a patient seized a cham cr, and as an at- tendant was passing by struck him a blow that knocked him senseless, Here is onc instance of many that shows how hard itis sometimes betain from using corporeal violence. I remember, a month or so since, that an attendant named Crawford wae accused of stnking @ patient in the Fg wees plea dismissed, though he that he only ‘itatne thing in self-defence and was assaulted first. A keeper named Smith was also dismissed for doing the same thing. His case was almost an excusable one. He was struck several times over the head before he struck back, and yet the rule was go strict that we did not excuse him.” “Who,” asked the HERALD reporter, “makes the appointments 1? “The Commissioners of Charities and Correction,” sald Mr. Burke, “of course. I have no power of either intment or dismissal.’ “Ww ‘arrell, then, appointed by them?” “Certainly, Mr, Burke then went on tosay, in answer to other questions put, that tne Commissioners took all re- sponsibility in the appointments. The salary of the attendants Is $35 a month and “found.” There are tlrty attendants or nurses in the Asylum and 449 inmates patients and twenty-five out on pass, One watchman is employed at a salary of $75 a month, and one keeper at $83 a month, besides himself. The men appointed @re mainly young and intelligent, aud seem to be good men for the busl- ness. They are tradesmen or skilled workingmen of decency and pequactandity, and as a rule manage very well with the patients, who generally like them and defer to them without much ordering. ESCAPES. There are few escapes. A short time ago four women and three colored men made their escape from the Island, being aided by parties in boats, These all beloaged to the Penitentiary and were serving as servants in the washhouse or kitchen, Very seldom a lunatic escapes. It has been known that they would make their way througit the gates, get down to the boat and cross over. But they were always caught. A short time since two of them swam across, Nevertheless, these instances are rare, and, indeed, rarer every day as the sylu comes 1n9i'¢ aud More establ. PSE Eh a ig aD established in its DISBELIEVING LUNATICS. Before leav: the Asylum the reporter inter- viewed somo of the lunatics alone. Inthe main they were sensible people, with some unfortunate hobby to which they would occasionally recur. They said their treatment was good and their food excellent. They all complamed that they could not go to New York when they wanted to, As to bru- tality they denied (at least those the i) apices oth ever having been subjected to any, and appeare: to ridicule the idea of ig beaten. On the whole they had just as much liberty as was good for them. THE POST-MORTEM, On Saturday a post-mortem examination was made on the body of Ornell. Dr. Walsh cut the corpse up. It was found that there were lash marks of blows on the abdomen, as before described, and on opening it a bloody deposit was found beneath the cuticle. The intestines were more or less in- jured, evidently from the blows, but it remains an open question whether the injuries were suficient to cause death or not. On opening the skull and-e; beeen: the brain, it was found to be in a discast condition, suflicient in itself, according to Dr, Marah, to cause death. Still, it is'doubtful if the diseased state of the brain was its normal condition or wee “el injuries errr 4 — pg natural weakne: rf sguse eo ie state ip which ie wag fous a See SLTaewe THE INQUEST. The inquest on the body of Ornell will be held to- day, and testimony will be taken on the causes of the death and the criminality of Farrell in causing it. Dr. Escheveria will be present, as also the pris- oner and Warden Burke. A discharged lunatic named Caudar, who is said to possess a great deal of information implicating Farrell in several brutalities to patients, will also give his testimony, and it will no doubt be of an exceedingly interest- ing description. The attendants who were with Farrell in ward M and two or three lunatics will also give their evidence in the case, SEYMOUR’S CONDITION. Yesterday afternoon Seymour was very weak ant sinking rapidly. It is not thought ssible that he can live longer than to-day. He unable to make any further statement than that already given to br, Escheveria, as he has been raving since jay. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMMISSIONERS. Itis stated that the Commissioners of Charities and Correction will appoint a committee from ir number to look into the condition of the In- sane Asylum and correct any abuses which may exist. This was lately done also in consequence of the HERALD’s exposures of mismanagement in the Penitentiary on Blackwell’s Isianl, where a total reorganization was effected. The alleged mur- ders at the Insane Asylum coming 80 soou on top of the other will cause the Commissioners to look sharply after their laurels. MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. Josh Hart has a host of novelties at the Comique. Tony Pastor has a grand reopening this evening. The Union Square begins its season to-morrow night. Carlotta Patti and Mario to-night at Steinway Hall. Ole Bull will makea tour through the South this Winter. “Saratoga” is drawing well -at McVickers’, Chicago. Thomas’ orchestra will perform at Syracuse on the 27th inst, J. H. Budworth makes his bow to-night at Charley White's Atheneum. Mrs. Chanfrau plays noxt week at the Grand Opera House, Baltimore. Miss Fannie Marsh is the latest addition to the Boston Museum Company. Mrs. D. P. Bowers appears at the Academy of Music, Chicago, to-night. Miss Carlotta Leclerq commences an engagement at the Arch, Philadelphia, next week. Mr. Charles Fechter appears in French comedy at the Union League Theatre on Thursday evening. James W. Morrissey has resumed the position of treasurer of the Grand Opera House whici le bas worthily filled for many years, Madame Pauline Lucca remained indoors all day yesterday and received no visitors, She will be photographed by Sarony to-day and wiil drive through the Park. YESTERDAY'S ACCIDENTS AND ASSAULTS, Charles Mooley, a boatman, was severely cut about the head yesterday morning with a bottle while engaged in a quarrel with Daniel Courtney at 21 Coenties slip. Courtney was arrested by an officer of the First precinct and Mooley sent to Park Hospital. Thomas McDermott, of 25 Greenwich street, at an early hour yesterday morning went home intoxi- cated and went to bed. Shortly after retiring his bed was found to be onfire. Before the flames could be extinguished McDermott was severel ee abs the body. He was removed to Par' jospital. Thomas O’Brien, d twenty-three, yester morning visited the “Nineveenth preeingt 8 find house and reported he had been stabbea e times in the right breast and once in the arm by James Brady, at the corner of and Third avenue. He was attended by a police bby Sp and sent home. Brady made his escape. cer Campbell, of the Nineteenth precinct, while endeavo' to quell @ disturbance among the members of the Metropolitan Collar Company yesterday afternoon, was knocxed down and severely stabbed in the leg by Thomas Vander- yoort, of Seventy-sixth street and Third avenue. ‘The latter was arrested and locked up. Edward Butler, aged twenty, of East Thir- teenth street, was stabbed in the leit shoulder by Elias Specht, of 20 Clinton street, while stai in the hallway of the latter's Ferg last Butler was sent to Bellevue Hospital {n an am 1, nie Epeoks ‘arrested by an Officer of t! Flevei c ‘Yeaterday afternoon, as Michael J. Saunders, of 25 Second avenue, was ras front of his own house, he was an’ stabbed in the neck by William J. Gleason, of 02 Second street, Brooklyn. Gleason was arrested and locked up, WASHINGTON. The Progress of Cotton Manufactures. Failure of the Commission to the Ute Indians. The Steamboat Law and the Metis Disaster. The Spanish and Mexican Claim Commissions. WasuHinaron, Sept, 15, 1872, Statistics of Cotton Manufacture in the United States. The complete statistics of the manufacture of cotton goods, just sent to the press from the Cen- 8us Office, show the number of distinct establish ments in the United states to be 956, of which Mass- achusetts has 191, Rhode Island, 139; Pennsylvania, 138; Connecticut, 111; New York, 81; New Hamp-~ shire, 36; Georgia, 34; North Carolina, 33; Tennes- see, 28; New Jersey, 27; Maine, 23; Maryland, 22; Alabama, 18; South Carolina, 12, and Virginia, 11. ) Number of steam engines, 448; aggregate horse power, 47,117. Number of water wheels, 1,260; ag- gregate horse power, 102,402. Number of looms used, 157,310; frame spindles, 3,604,477; mule spin- dies, 8,437,028, Hands employed, 47,700 males, above sixteen years; 69,637 females, above fifteen; 22,942 children and youths. The aggregate amount of wages paid during the year was $39,044,132, Materials used, 6,222,189 pounds of cotton yarn, 136,100 pounds of cotton warp, 5,234,260 pounds of cotton waste. Value of mill supplies, $10,910,672; total value of all materials, $111,737,686, Articles produced—| 478,204,181 yards sheetings, shirtings and twilicd| goods; 34,533,462 yards lawns and fine muslins; 489,250,053 yards print cloths; 30,301,087 pot yarn; 11,560,241 dozen spools thread ; 73,018,045 yards! cotton warps; 11,118,127 pounds batts, wicking and! wadding; 493,892 tablecloths, quilts and counter-, panes; 2,767,060 seamless bags; 6,057,454 pounds! cordage lines and twines; 906,066 pounds thread ;| 8,390,050 yards cotton flannel; 30,275,246 yards ging. hams and checks; 7,921,449 pounds waste; 484,400) Pounds tapet wadding; 405,585 pounds seamless bags; 13,940,895 yards cassimeres, cottonades and| Jeans; 10,811,023 pounds miscelianeous products. Aggregate weight of goods produced, 349,314,592 pounds; aggregate vaiue of product, $177,489,739. | Of these statistics, B. F, Nourse, of the Cot) ton Manufacturors’ Association, says :— This portion of the census has the nighest| attainable accuracy. It isin remarkable contrass' with every previous census since the cotton manu-} facture became one of the important industries of| the country. If, in other industries and other de- partments of production the same degree o! Boouracy: has been obtained as in regpect to tho cotton manufacture and the production of raw} cotton for the year prior to June 30, 1870, then this census worthy of the confidence of statesmen, | political economists and men of business. The Reservations of the Utes—Complain of Ure—The Intrusion of the Miners=— Refazal to Sell Their Land. A gentleman present at the recent Council with’ the Ute Indians write3 as follows :— The Special United States Commission, consisting’ ot Mr. E. M. McCook, Mr. John D. Lang and Gen-| eral John McDonald, failed to accomplish the ob-' ject of their mission, which was the purchase of about one-third of the reservation of the Indian: covering the San Juan mining district and the! larger part Of their tillable land. The Council was held at Los Rinos, was attend by some iifteen hundred Indians, representing the, Tabequache, Denver, Capote, Manche, Uncom- re and White River Utes. “Ure, the head chief, who has always been the | consistent friend of the whites, and of whom every ; one speaks well, said they did not wish to sell any) of their lands; that the government had promise to take care of them and to keep the white people | off their reservation, and all tney asked was that it should fulfill its Pats of the agreement. Every, Speaker expressed himselt as very desirous that! not only peace, but ore should continue to exist } teen 1g White on! Sho Indians, and that they should go forward haud in hand. ! Over a hundred miners have been at work on the reservatiou for more than a year, and during the past month a quartz mill bas been placed upon it, while the government by treaty promises to keep all whites off the reservation. Not one of these miners has been molested by the Indians, ies rd they have repeatedly notified the authorities of the presence of the miners and asked that they be ex- pelled. The Utes have always been at peace with ‘he whites, and settlers who live upon the borders of their reservation not only have no complaint to make of them, but express their unwillingness that the Indians should be compelied to live exclu- sively on their reservation. Hon. Felix R. Brunot and Thomas K. Cree, Secre- tary of the Board of Indian Commissioners, who were investigating the affairs of the azency and inquiring into the condition of the Indians, wero also in atvendance upon the sessions of the councils. Ure, in a conversation with Mr. Brunot, sald he dia not believe that the Utes had killed Agent Millen, of the Nevaso agency, aud expressed tho opinion that {t had been done by white men. He promised to make an earnest effort to find out who the perpetrators were, and that if they were his 0.0} No ke would deliver them to the authorities. Vith the in ig of this one act no charges can be made against the Utes. The recent despatches in regard to depredations in Utah fail of confrmation at army headquarters and are highly sensational, and the presence of tho troops has been secured more to quiet the clamer of those having prov.sions to sel] and to avoid tho possibility of danger than to repel attack or punish depredators, «x The Forty Sioux Savages. A delegation, forty in number, reached here this morning, and are quartered at the Washington House. They came under the care of Assistant Secretary of the interior Cowan. The Loss of the Metis=-Damaging Evi< dence in Hand. The Secretary of the Treasury is in possession of evidence which will, in addition to the testimony already taken regarding the disaster to the steam-' boat Metis, prove beyond doubt that the vessel was only partially equipped, and that her owners knew that she was running in violation of the Steamboat law. This much, it is sald, has been got since the disaster, while documentary evidence beyond question will be submitted with the roport of the Inspectors, An investigation in- dependent of that conducted by the loca! inspectors has been going on for a week past, and, it is alleged, will prove more than all the testimony taken from passengers. The Mrxican Claims Commission. Our government has lately received communicae tions from Minister Nebgon, relative to the inter- ruption of the proceedings of the United States and Mexican mixed Claims Commission, owing to the conduct of the Mexican Commission; but there fs as yet no definite action by the Mexican government. There is no doubt that a remon- strance will reach the Mexican government, against the course of its Commissioner. The Com- mission will expire, by the terms of the conven- tion, in February next, and it is the opinion ot some of the attorneys who have had business be- fore it that the convention will be an entire failure unless ail the cases filed shall be acted on, and that even the awards on those which have been ad- Jucicated will not be patd. This question is, how- ever, considered by others to be involved in doubt, Claims Against Spain. About one hundred claims, with the proofs, havo been filed before the Commission on the Claims of Citizens of the United States against Spain. The regulations were adopted June 10, 1871. It is said that by October 1 the Commission wil) formally enter upon the consideration of the cases, It is expected that in a few days Dr. Howard will file a claim for a very large amount of money, The Oregon Senatorsh: From information just received tt does not ap. pear probable that either Corbett or Mitchell can be elected to the Senatorship from Oregon, and there- fore there 1s reason to belleve that Attorney-General Williams witl be adopted as & compromise candi- date by the republicans of the Legisiature of that ee ‘The British Minister. Sir Edward Thornton will leave Washington early this week for the White Mountains, to seek relief from the effects of hay feven