The New York Herald Newspaper, November 26, 1872, Page 3

_ Ks. — WASHINGTON. Points of the President’s Forth- coming Message. PARDON OF PAYMASTER HODGE. (Mo Hope for Bleeding Cuba and the Problem of the Antilles Yet To Be Solved. Seeretary Robeson Waking Up to the Necessity of an American Fleet. Keon Hunt for Geneva Spoils and Diplo- matie Pickings and Leavings. —s———_— ALITTLE AFFAIR OF $400,000, ‘San Juan's Hasty Evacvation—Haurly-Burly Con- eerning the American Fleet and the Slave Trade—Crackers for Assist- ané Diepensers of Navy Grub. WaAsmincTon, Nov. 25, 1872, Points of the President’s Forthcoming Message. ‘The President will to-morrow read to the Cabi- met a complete draft of his message. He has Fielded this year, as he did last year, to the advice of experienced politicians, and changed its tenor @0 far as it reJates to the South. He gives that section & passing mention, praises the wisdom of the enforcement laws, alludes to the disappear- ance of lawlessness in the South, as well as the 00d behavior at the polls at the general election an November, and hopes that this condition of affairs ‘will continue without limit. He has no special recommendation to make im behal! of the South, Maving Congress to do whatever its wisdom dic- tates, and reiterates his sentiment that he has no policy to enforce against the wishes of the people- The country is felicitated on the bloodless victories achieved under the Treaty of Washington, and at- tention is calied to the fact that legislation is only necessary now to practically efface ali that is left of tle treaty—that the two great nations of the earth have presenicd Sapoter gnvong en exe pee nned ‘will be emulated in all future international aie putes. Respecting Cuba and the struggle of the insurgents less is said than in the Message of last year, and far less asperity will appear in the few Paragraphs devoted to this subject. ‘The effort of the United States to protect its citizens, the release of Dr. Houard and the existence of the Spanish @laims Commission will be passed over with brief commént and doubtful compliment. Allusion to ‘Mexico will also be unimportant, as the President Fecognizes the importance of the commission ap- pointed by that government to investigate dis- orders along the border;and while the complaints Of our citizens for injuries sustained must not be forgotten, there were, douvtiess, aggravating circumstances, a knowledge of which must firet be had before anything positive can be done. ‘The dissension in the Mexican Claims Commission is also commented on briefy, with the hope that ‘the convention will be renewed and a full and fair settlement of all existing diMculcics be brought about, Our relations with the different foreign mations is disposed of im the usual brief paragraphs. The coming Vienna-Exposition is commended with pertinent recommendations, and the appointment of Centennial Commissioners for the Philadelphia exhibition in 1876 is also spoken of. Our credit at home and abroad, the eMelency of the management of the forcign and home policy, the peaceful and prosperous career of the nation during the past year, the return of @epartmentai business practically to the basis of a@nte-vellum days, make up the substance of the President's forthcoming annual report. President Grant on Our Commercial Marine. The President to-day, in a private conversation with a shipbuilder, said that he would, in his forth- coming annual Message, recommend that Congress take action with a view to restore the commerce of the country to the condition it was in before the fate civil war. Brigadier General McDowell Appointed Major General—Major General Hancock im Charge of the Department of the East. Brigadier General Irwin McDowell, the senior oMcer of his grade in the army, has been appointed major general, in place of the late General Meade, and js transferred from the Department of the South, with headquarters at Atlanta, in place of Brigadier General Allred H. Terry, who returns © his former command, Department of Dakota, with headquarters at St. Paul. Under the new policy of good feeling Major General Hancock, who has twice officially protested, through Gen- eral Sherman, against the action of the President in keeping him in the Department of Dakota while junior officers were commanding divisions or larger departments, succeeds General Meade in command of the Division of the Atlantic, with ‘the option of having his headquarters at Phila- delphia or New York, it being known that both places are especially agrecable to him. General Terry's restoration to the military supervision of the country through which the Northern Pacific Railroad is located, and in which the hostile and troublesome bands of Sioux roam at large, is for the gratification of the Indian Bureau and the sections interested in the success of the road, Terry having been quite sue- cessful in his former administration of the North- erm Department. The promotion of General McDowell and the carly retirement of the aged General Cooke wi reduce The number of Brigadier’ to six, as the Jaw requires, Generals Meigs and Terry were the remaining prominent candidates for the Major Generaiship, but the President was uot willing to pass over General McDowell, as on the occasion of General Schofield’s promotion nearly four years ago. Blue Nose Postal Convention, A postal convention has been concluded with the Province of Newfoundland, reducing the inter- national letter rate between the United States and Newfoundland on and after December 1 from ten cents to six cents per half ounce, and fixing the rate for newspapers at two cents each, prepayment being compulsory, Each country is to levy and collect its OWD postage on all other articles of printed matter, sampics and patterns of merchandise. Tue United States will charge on all such matter two cents for each two ounces or fraction thereof, The Post Ofice Department to-day ordered an extension of the postal service on the Syracuse and Chenango Railroad, from Cazenovia to Brieville, N. Y.—a@ distance of eight miies—at $400 per an- num, commencing December 2. Sorehcads to be Scratched. Senators Trombul) an? Fenton waive apy claim vo the chairmanship of the senate committees onder the role of the Senate. They Tecognize the Sack that the committees of thie body are Only or .an unreasonable delay in removing gantzed for eam session. They have no claim ‘upon the position they now hold, and cannot ob- Ject t© reorganization independent of political opposition. The President Pardons Paymaster Hedge—The Reason for and Circum- stances Attending the Pardo The expected pardon of Paymaster John L. Hodge from the unexecuted part of his sentence was granted by the Presifent to-day and the order for his release sent to the Warden of the Albany Peni- tentiary by telegraph, The origina! sentence con- demned him to be cashiered, to suffer ten years’ imprisonment at hard labor, and to be kept in prison tilt he refunded the sum embezzied—nearly four hundred and fifty thousand dollars—but the President remitted the Jatter provision. He has served out about thirteen months of his term of confinement, Under the rulings of the law officers Major Hodge is, by his sentence, forever ineligible to appoiitment to any Place of honor or trust under the United States, It was on Saturday that President Grant satisfied himself that the Department of Justice could not take prelimininary measures for the pardon of Major Hodge, as this was a matter exclusively pertaining to the War Department, Hodge having been convicted of the embezzlement of $450,000 by @ general court martial, and sentenced to ten years confimement in the Penitentiary. The President accordingly had a conference with Secretary Belknap and other gentiemen in high official position wpen the subject. The Presi- dent was, it is underatood, moved to this act of clemency by the belies that Major Hodge was drawn into the defaleation by the intrigues of others rather than by any premeditated intention of his own to defraud the government. His frank acknowledgment of the crime and his voluntarily making all reparation in his power by surrender- ing his private property, and in which his wife in- sisted upon joining him with her own individual property, excited for him and his family the sympathy not only of officers of the army, but of Many others in prominent public and social posi- tions, who were acquainted with all the facts of the case, His conduct at the trial in declining to take any technical advantage, and also his deport- ment since his confinement, have somewhat con- tributed to his liberation. His wife, who is in very delicate heaith, and their children made earnest appeals to the President, which were not among the least of the efforts in his belialf and which strengthened the Presinent in his disposi- tion to extend the pardoning power. Be. sides 1t was considered that Hodge, who, pre- vious to the embezzlement, had borne a high char- acter for honesty among his brother officers, and was respected among them for his social qualities, had already been reverely punished by the stigma attached to him by the sentence as much as if he had served out the entire term of ten years’ im- prisonment, ‘The following order was isgued this afternoon :— GENERAL COURT MARTIAL—ORDER NO. 33. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, Noy. 25, 1872. ‘The President of the United States directs that the remainder of the sentence to confinement in the case of John Ledyard Hodge, late paymaster, United States Army, published m_ General Court Martial Order No, 21, of October 9, 1871, be and it is ae le Wil be released from con- taccordingly, seco Hy “Orde? of thé edralary of War E. D., TOWNSEND, Adjutant General, It is understood that the pardon of John Ledyard Hodge, late major and paymaster in the army, is for the purpose of securing hia testimony on the prosecution of Polehamus and Jackson, the New York brokers, through whom the $450,000 charged against him was expended. Diplomatic and Legai Word-Men at the White House—A Keen Hunt for Geneva Spoiis in Prospect. The agent and counsel of the United States be- fore the Geneva Tribunal, accompanied by Secre- tary Fisn, called upon the President to-day to pre- sent their views as to the recommendations in the President's Message which should precede the in- troduction of a bill in Congress for the appoint- ment of a commission to take testimony and deter- mine the manner in which the award of the tribu- nal should be made, Te Tobby has de- veloped itself sufficiently to show that the United States representatives at Ge- neva are regarded as desirable attorneys, and they are now offered large retainers to prose- cute their claims. The Attorney General has also been approached, but declines to accept, as he would be compelled to resign his office. Several prominent members of Congress elect are also deprived of prosecuting claims under the award, as it is held that the amount has been assumed by the United States, and Congressional legislation probibits them from appearing in claims when the claim 18 against the government, San Juan’s Hasty Evacuation. ‘The evacuation of San Juan Island by the seventy or eighty British soldiers was ordered two weeks ago, and was of so little importance that the War Department did not deem it of suMcient impor- tance to telegraph to Gencral Schofield on the sub ject, The treaty provided that from the date of the decision it should become operative, and had the British Foreign Ofice shown the re- presentatives of British force from the isiand it was the intention of our government to present a diplomatic protest more emphatic than any charac- terizing the Geneva muddle. The only parties immediately interested in the withdrawal of the British soldiers are the American officers and troops, for between the two forces there has been the most cordial relations during the joint occu- pancy of the island, In official circles here there is no praise for the act of the British government in view of what was done with British cotton bond claims & year or more ago. The Secretary of the Navy on the Inef- ficiency of Our Present War Vessela= The Excessive Cost of Repairs and the Necessity of New and Improved Steamers, Important recommendations concerning the efficiency of the navy will be made in the forthcom- ing report of Secretary Robeson, predicated in part upon the reports of the chiefs of bureaus of that department, It has been found that more money has often been spent in the repair of old vessels, as authorized by Congress, than would serve in the construction of new ones of greater strength and of improved model and appurtenances, As an in- stance of this, the Pensacola cost $325,000 and the repairs more than twice as much—namely, $760,000. As to other vessels of the navy, including the Guerriere, Nevada, lowa and Vanderbilt, to put them into thoroughly good condition would require an amount of money far exceeding their original cost. Their timbers are much decayed, the ships having been built of unsound white oak. The ne- cessities of the situation, however, have required expenditures upon them to meet emergencies, without permanent benefit. _ Congress at the late session authorized the Secretary of the Navy to sell worn out vessels, and also useless aterial at the several Navy Yards, tt fh abe task ilieré “aré “such acctmulations there which originally cost millions of dollars and which were for the most part never applied to Practical purposes. Several of the worn out ves- sels are soon to be soll at auction, and othera of like character will be afterwards offered to the highest bidders. The opinion of naval officers is that there should be at least twenty good, active steam vessels always in condition to be imme- diately used, About a year ago, When there was such an ex- citement at Havana as induced the Conaul General at that city to telegraph our government to send vessels thither for the protection of American citizens, it was diMcult to immediately find the vessels suitable for such an emergency, and the Secretary was therefore obliged to despatch an iron clad from Key West, together with four other vessels, not of formidable proportions, to that locality, Spain, at the time to which refer- ence is made, had twenty-three vessela iu the Guif and the vicinity of the Island of Cuba, Our ves- sels, owing to this disparity of force, would have been unable to contend with those of Spain in case of hostile movements on her part, The Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repairs will, it 1s underatood, recommend that compound engines be placed in all our vessels, both as to economy of fuel and iugreage of puegd. and that he will support his views by careful argu- ments, It has been ascertained from naval OMficers that not more than ten of the fifty iron- ¢lad vessels can be rendered useful for naval pur- poses, Therefore the government will dispose of ‘the remainder of them, and as they will be sold for nothing better than old iron it will be for the gene- ral benefit. The twenty light draught monitors built during the war ata cost of $16,000,000 never fired a gun, not having been called into active ser- vice. A bill is now pending before the House of Representatives appropriating $3,000,000 for bulld- ing ten sloops of war. In view of the facts concerning the ineMciency of the navy efforts will be made at the approaching ion of Congress to completely reorganize it. A part of Secretary Robeson's report will be de- Yoted to this subject, and he will repeat the re- commendations in his last annual report to supply the places of vessels which have become useless with those of good and sound construction, and urge that unless something is done in this direc- tion our cruising navy, now by no means powerful— indeed scarcely respectable for a nation of our rank and responsibilities—will soon almost wholly pags out of existence as an arm of our national power, Report and Recommendations of the Comptroller of the Currency. The report of the Comptroller of the Currency reviews at length the working of the national banking system since its inauguration in 1863, Of the whole amount of circulation appropriated by Congress $342,000,000 have been issued and the balance of $12,000,000 promised to associations that have filed their applications and taken the pre- ilminary steps toward organizing as national banks, The Comptroller considers that part of the recent act which calls for the redistribution of $25,000,000 of currency by withdrawing that amount from the Middle and Eastern States and giving it to the South and West as impracticable, and recommends its repeal and also that an amendment be made in lieu thereof, providing for the issue of $5,000,000 of bank circulation an- nually for the next five years to meet the wants of such States which have not had their full propor- tion, He is opposed to any change in the law in reference to the reserve which the banks are -re- quired to hold, and shows by statistical tables that @ Jaw which has become a rule with all the cautiously managed banks should not be hastily repealed, suggesting, however, that it would be to the interest of the banks to keep a larger propor- ton of their reserve in their own hands, instead of placing it on deposit with the city banks, and points out the way by which this end may be ac- complished to the general benefit. Congress is informed of various complaints which have been made of usurious transactions, and the Comptroller incidentally suggests the propriety of @ repeal of ali usury laws, so far as they apply to na- tional banks, Full In‘ormation is given in relation to the banks which have failed, snowing the ave- Tage dividends upon the aggregate claims proved, which amount to about eighty-six per cent, leay- ing fourteen per cent, which the law provides shall be assessed upon w shareholders. ‘The locking up of greenbacks in New York city is re- ferred to and attention called to the resolution passed by the Clearing House, and the beilef expressed that its enforcement will do more to prevent such illegitimate transactions among the banks than any legislation by Congress. A table is given, showing the total amount of coin held by all the national banks, together with the amount of gold, ‘Treasury noles, checks payable in specie and coin held by the banks in New York city, stated separately, Amendments to the act are suggested as follows:—The organization of banks without circulation, upon a deposit of $10,000 in United States bonds, instead of one third of the capital; the imposing of a penalty on and the withholding of interest from banks whose capital is impaired and who refuse to go into liqui- dation, under section 42 of the act to pre- vent the cireulation of shinplasters by railroads and other corporations in the South; defining more fully the duties of the comptroller and the receiver in the final closing of insolvent banks, and an amendment permitting banks to loan ten per cent, both on capital and surplus, The amount of taxes coliected by the United States for the four years previous to January 1, 1872, is more than forty millions of doltars, and the whole amount of taxes, State and national, nearly twice that amount. The date upon which taxes are assessed can always be readily obtained, and the proportion of taxation is therefore be- lieved to be much greater than upon other property, Full statistical tables are given, exhibiting the amount of dividencs and earnings of the national banks for the last four years, The ratio of the net earnings of the na- tional banks of the country to capital and surplus, without making allowance for bad debts, 1s about ten per cent annually, ana the ratio of dividends to capital and surplus less than four and a half per cent, The appendix will contain much new statistical information in reference to the kinds of funds held as reserve by the banks and their net profits; also comparative tables showing the amount of authorized circulation, together with the population and wealth in 1870; the circula- tion per capita; the ratio of circulation to wealth, to capital and to deposits under the present system, aud under the State banking system in the year 1862, The importance of frequent examinations by competent and courteous examiners is stated, and a small appro- priation is asked to defray the expenses of special examinations in order that such investigations may be promptly made, as may be considered ex- pedient for the protection of creditors. Increased compensation for gentlemen holding respousibie positions in the office is also urged. The Report on Indian Affairs—Recom- mendations Concerning the Census. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has not yet completed his report, but 18 expected to do so this week. That portion relating to the treatment of the Indians will, it is said, be very interesting. And this much of it will be incorporated in the report of the Secretary of the Interior, with opin- ions elaborated by Assistant Secretary Cowan, who has given the Indian policy careful attention. The rapidity with which Commissioner Walker has pre- pared the Census report will also be favorabiy commented upon, and his recommendations for taking the census every five years endorsed, Efficiency of the Interior Department Clerks—Work in the Patent Office. The reports of the Chiefs of the Bureaus in the Interior Department this year show & state of em- ciency never before attained. Tne work in the Land Office, which has been very much behind, is now uptodate. The Pension Bureau disposes of | its business with promptness, and complaints of | delay in settling claims for pensions are very sel- | dom received. The Commissioner in conclusion | adds that the investigation of frauds contiuues to receive especial attention, with auch grattiying re- sults, both in the detection and repression of wrong doers, ax to demand a continuance of the present policy, The amount required for the next | fiscal year is étimated at $30,480,000, In the Pat- | ent OMice perhaps the greatest improvement has been made, The number of applications for | patents during the year ended September 15 | was 19,587; for extensions, 284, and for reg. | istered trade ark, 589. The number of patents | fasued Was 13,626; extensions, 233, and certifled | registry of trade marks, 556, The fees from all sources were $700,954, being $77,400 In excess of the expenditures, The Commissioner of Patents in his annual report to Congress cals attention to | the fact that the same law under which the office was organized is practically in effect to-day: that while it was complete enough for the Patent OMce in its infaucy, it has ontgrown its usefulness and a new organization is absolutely necessary te secure to inventors and to the country the benefits of our patent system. He renews his recommendation of February 25 last for a change in the law, and hopes it will be favorably reported at the coming session, The necessity of separating the office from the Interior Department is also dwelt upon, The difference in the class of work required of the Patent OMce employés and those generally employed in the bureaus of this department makes it desirable that the personnel of the Patent Office should be maintained wholly in the interest of inventors, More room is required to meet the Wanty of the OMink The gangs iu the, NEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1872—TRIPLE SHIRT. model hall will be rearranged with the view of economizing the space in the building. Mortality and Sickness in the Army=—Re- port of the Surgeon General. The report of the Surgeen General shows that among the white troops, numbering 24,000, there were 47,500 cases of sickness and wounds and 3:7 deaths. The colored troops numbered 3,000, wit’: 8,600 cases of sickness and wounds and fifty-fov" deaths, There are fifty-mine vacancies in the Medical Corps, which, under the act of March 3, 1869, cannot be filled, and the employment of physicians under contract does not afford a fully satisfactory substitute for a permanent medical staff, As the filling of the vacancies will take seve- ral years the Surgeon General recommends the re- peal of the prohibitory law. There have been 17,000 visitors to the Army Medical Museum, many of them in search of specific information not to be had elsewhere. The Museum continues to be en- riched with valuable contributions from all sources. A Flaw in the Merchant Shipping Act. Many complaints and appeals are addressed to the ''reasury Department against the action of the various Shipping Commissioners under the late act of Congress regulating the shipping and dis- charge of seamen in the merchant marine, or against the practical construction given to the act by the Commissioners; but as no jurisdiction is conferred upon the Secretary by the law in ques- tion no redress can be afforded. The act vests the appointment of the Shipping Commissioners in the Circult Courts of the United States, and where none Such are appointed the duties of Shipping Com- missioner are devolved upon the Collectors of Cus- toms, As such wrongs and errors as arise under misapplication of the provisions of the Shipping act are not usually redressable by the slow and costly process of the Courts, the failure of super- visory ailtbority in the Treasury Department over the subject prevents the enforcement of unifor- mity, and leaves each Shipping Commissioner vir- tually supreme in his own district, as all other shipping interests are placed in charge of the Treasury Department, The attention of Congress will be called to the probably unintentional omis- sion in this instance, A Solicitor Solicitous of Fame, Duringthe past year the Solicitor of the Treasury states that the amount of claims flied for prosec! tion was $8,567,185, of which amount $1,000,422 was collected, The American Fleet and the African Slave Trade, With reference to @ special despateh from Lon- don, intimating that the United States steamships Colorado and Yantic were gomg to Zanzibar to co- operate with the British expedition against the slave trade, itis stated at the Navy Department that the last orders given to the Colorado required her simply to leave Singapore 80 as to arrive in New York in March, and the Yantic was ordexed to touch at Zanzibar merely, on her way to join the Asiatic ficet. Assistant Inspector of Navy Grub. Assistant Paymaster Frank H. Clark has been ordered bythe Navy Department as assistant to the Inspector of Provisions at the Boston Navy Yard, Treasury Kalances. The Treasury balances at the close of business to-day were :—Currency, $8,189,329; special deposit in legal tenders for redemption of certificates of deposit, $26,755,000; coin, $71,386,262; coin certif- cates, $20,615,600, CHIT-CHAT. LITERARY niet biceps “THE MINNBSINGERS OF GERMANY” is the title of @ forthcoming book by Charles Kroeger, which Hurd & Houghton have in press. Mr. Horren, of London, who has constituted himself publisher-in-ordinary to the ‘American Humorists,” has contracted with that merry blas- phemer who contributes the “fown Crier’s” non- sense to the San Francisco News Letter, to publish @ book, which will doubtless be unique in its un- likeness to any product of literature, humorous or serious, that has yet seen ine light. Mr, R. Abbey's “City of God and the Chureh Makers,” idsued by Hurd & Houghton, is a book of controversial theology, which will be “nuts” to the Sree-thinkers, since 207 out of its 312 pages are de- voted to “errors of authors’’ or exposing biunders, contradictions and absurdities in the most ac- credited writers of retigiows orthodoxy, Yet the author deems himself exceptionally orthodox, and, alter proving all modern theologians mistaken in treating Christianity as anew form of religion, he denounces M, Rénan, the author of “Ecce Homo” and “The German Infidels of the Present Day.” MR, Procrer is still pegging away at trans-ter- Testrial themes. His newest book—just out from Longman’s London press—is “Star Depths; or, Other Suns than Ours.” THs Latest British “Blue Book” is the “Annual Report of the Postmaster General,’’ which shows the following eXtraordinary business transacted by that Department in the last year :— 915,000,000 76,000,000 103,000,000 99,000,000 12,000,000 12,700,000 Twelve hundred miitions of missives sent and re- ceived ina single year, or an average of thirty- eight communications for every person (including babies) in the United Kingdom! Dr. JoUN TULLACH has written an able contribu- tion to the literary and religious history of Eng- Jand in his “Rational Theology and Christian Phi- losophy in Engiand in the Seventeenth Century.” The work fills @ gap in critical literature, giving the first thorough account of the Latitudinanans and the Cambridge Piatonists that we have, IN THR GOLDEN TREASURY series Mr. Edward Jen- kins (Ginx's Baby) will give us selections from the works of the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle (Charles Lawb’s favorites), under the title of “The Cavalier and His Lady.” Toe Saturday Review notices Dr. C. M. Butler's “Ecclesiastical History,” published this year at Philadelphia, and says it has “not a touch of originality,"’ which, by the way, it does not claim to have, being only @ compilation. The Review criticises What itis pleased to cal! the very demo- cratic constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America, as shown in Dr. Butler's book, and says that it amounts to this—that “the legislative power of the diocese and its committees is nearly supreme, the bishop being a dignified but rather unimportant personage who presides over a boidly republican arrangement ny which almost anybody may prevent almost anybody else from doing almost anything.” By way of relief from thia frightful picture of American Episcopacy, the learned reviewer congratuiates himself that “an English dean can sit quietly in his stall and regara the whole ministry of the ChristianChurch as a divine afterthought,”” Mr. BEPWORTH DIXON hax gone to Spain for six weeks, in connection with his forthcoming new bock, (will be @ historical, not topographical, work, and will deal with Queen Katherine of Arra- gon and her rival and successor, Anne Boleyn. The title of the work ix said to be “The Two Queens.” It usually takes Mr, Hepworth Dixon about six weeks to write one of his sketchy histori- cal books, which are, none of them, remarkable for accuracy. THE FRENCH EpitiON of Guatave Doré's “London Tiustrated” has reached its eleventh part, the whole work being comprised in twelve parta, at seven france each. THE FRENCH Press seems to have a hard time of it under President Thiers’ government. Three Journals were served with warnings or supprea- sions in a single week of October. Vive la Livertét ‘Telegrams... | DISASTROUS RESULTS OF THE EPIZOOTY IN TENNESSEE, MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 25, 1872, Rain has been falling here since last night, There Is hardly a horse or mule to he seep on the streets and business is suffering in consequence. Owing to the large number of muies affected by the disease the street cars stopped running this morning. A few fortunate owners of oxen are getting $1 25 per bale for hauling cotton to. the depote and the river, Some of the shippers have ordered @ large number of oxen from the interior, Some few horses have died, aud ahonid the present cool rainy weather continue the mortality, It is be- Neyed, will be wrgat, NITRO-GLYCERINE CATASTROPHE. Terrific Explosion at Youkers—Two Per- sons Instantly Killed and Two Others Horribly Matilated—A Terrible Warn- img to Young Men—Setting a Death Trap in the Woods, Another frightful addition to the catalogue of horiors occasioned by the subtle and cestructive properties of nitro-glycerine took place at Yonkers, Wesivhester county, yesteraay, when two lives Were instantaneously sacrificed and two others Pplaved in imminent peril. The shocking affair also conveys a terrible warning to mischievous youths, whose dare-devil propensities are often a source of constant sorrow to their relatives and perpetual annoyance to the communities in which they live, It appears that four youths, named respectively George Hill, Michael Gallagner, John Donnelly ana Wiliam Terry, whose ages ranged from sixteen to twenty-one, leit their homes in Yonkers yesterday morning on A GUNNING BXPEDITION, Shortly before tweive o'clock the party found themselves in the woods, about equi-distant from the Hudson River and Harlem Railroads, and im- Mediatcly on the line of the New York and Boston Railroad, now being constructed in that vicinity. Here, it seems, they discovered several Jarge cans containing nitro-glycerine deposited in 4n excavation about two feet deep and surrounded by some rough boards in the form of a fence, on which were distinctly traced the words, “BEWARE—DANGER—GLYCERINE.”? What transpired to bring about the accident is not yet definitely known, but about noon a tre- Mendous explosion took place, which was dis- tinetly heard for many wiles throughout the county, and which shattered the windows in houses situated @ quarter of a mile from the spot. Some farmers who were in the vicinity, om hastening to the scene of the explosion found Hill and Gallagher dead, while ot u more fortunate companions, Donnelly was discovered with his clothes burned off and himself buried in a heap of mud, and Terry, crouched bes hind a tree, covered with blood and in an uncon- scious condition, Donnelly was speedily rescued, in a dying state, having received injuries which, it ix said, must result fatally. He, together with Terry, was shortly afterwards conveyed to the Riverside Hospital, where everything that medical Skill vould prompt was done to assuage their agonies, Accompanied by Coroner Smith a HERALD repre- sentative drove out last evening to THE SCENE OF THE CATASTROPHR, which presented a truly horrfying spectacle. The terrific effects of the explosion were manifold and striking in the extreme. A cavity in the earth nearly fifty feet in length and in some places sev- eral feet deep evinced the terrific force of the ex- plosion, while sundered rocks of huge proportions and trees, in some instances completely denuded of their bark, almost persuaded the spectator that an earthquake Nad taken place there or that lightning had visited the spot, At a dis- tance of nearly two hundred feet trom the cavity lay the charred and mutilated trunk of Hill, a youth of twenty-one, the face and almost the en- tire head gone, the lower limbs blown away from the trunk, the left arm torn from its socket, and various portions of the entrails hanging in the surrounding trees, at a height of at least FIFTY FEET FROM THF GROUND. The trunk was periectly nude and afforded a sickening Paint , Bees i lived with his payents ip Qrehgrd street, Yonkers, th ie Yo “of Michael Gallagh wed sixteen, was blown under a projecting rock, the clothing torn away, the body shockingly mutilated, and the features bruised and blackened beyond the possi- bility of recognition, The parents of Gallagher ave both dead, but his aunt, who appeared on the scene as night was closing in, made the wouds re- sound with her witd lamentations, According to the incoherent statement of Terry, whose injuries are not considered to be of a necessarily fatal — nature, Hill took up a large stone, and standing directly over the cans of nitro-glycerine, announced his intention of dropping it in order to see What effect it would produce. Gallagher, al- most equally as daring, took up a position near HIS MOR ATE COMPANION, while Terry and Don immediate neighborhoc When it is estimated that the cans contained several hundred pounds of the explosive material named the result can hardly be considered surprising. Atter reviewing the remains and the scenes of the casualty Coroner Smith instructed the under- taker, Edward Connell, to gather up the fragments of humanity and convey them to the homes of their relatives, preparatory to instituting a thor- ough investigation of the case bd 8 It was thought last evening that Donnelly could not long survive, as, in addition to having oue of his limbs broken and his right eye almost forced from its socket, a large piece of his neck was car- ried away and irightfully burned. ERIE’S BATILE. Aa Manceuvres at the Office of Counsellor Barlow—Mr. Ficld Tries to Pump Mr. Travers. Yesterday afternoon Mr. David Dudley Field called on Mr. Samuel L. M. Barlow, at the oMce of the latter, in Wilham street, for the purpose of ascertaing what was the precise position of Mr, Travers in reference to the arrest of Jay Gould, Mr. Field, who was accompanied by a stenographer anda notary public, so timed his visit that he would catch Mr. Travers in Mr. Barlow’s office. Mr. Field at once explained to Mr. Barlow the object cf his visit, and said he desired to ask Mr, Travers for a full statement of his connection with the difficulty. Mr. Barlow replied that Mr, Travers would answer any and all of such questions as Mr. Field would put, provided they had any reasonable pertinency to the arrest of Mr. Gould, DUDLEY FIELD AS AN INTERVIEWER. Mr. Field immediately said he would then and there begin, and asked Mr. Travers the leading question—namely, had he had anything to do with causing the arrest of Jay Gould—but Mr. Barlow at once Care and said the questions to his client should put in writing or, if Mr. Field preferred, he might draw up an affidavit and submit it to Mr. Travers, who would then swear as to its accuracy or otherwise, Mr, Fieid did not concur in this arrangement and said he would have recourse to the courts for an order to compel an answer before a referee. After a little legal contest between the two lawyers, Mr. Field left the office. Immediately after Mr. Field had left Mr. Barlow, for the purpose of leaving no doubt as to the posi- tion of Mr. Travers in this matter, despatelied the following communication :— MR. TRAVERS’ POSITION DEFINED, New Yorw, Nov. 25, 1872, Mr. Davip Dupiry Fieip:— Dean Sin—In order that there may be no misunder- standing as to what occurred this morning In regard to ) Mr. Travers in the suit of . isely before you. 8 prepared at all times to make an affidavit in this to be prepared by you, and which shall be truc and You prefer not to prepare this aMdavit in advance and choose to present questions in writing to him, he will at on wer them, and when you shall hav odled the affidavit he will swear to such an affidavit, It ecelving his answ further questions in writing, in like manner Answer them, and will, when they are embodied in an affidavit, «weur to the kame on request, But he denies your right w question him orally out of 33 Court. Isend this statement at Mr. Travers’ request and as an answer on nd. Yours, &¢.,. is part to your den SAM M. BARLOW, of counsel for W. R. Travers. It was understood that Mr. Field also called on some other gentiemen supposed to have been in- strumental im cavsing Mr. Gould's arrest, but wit out soy more success than he met with in his a tempt in the case of Mr. Travers, the lawyers being in expectation of him. THE GUARDIANS OF THE REVENUE. Iicit Distilling Transferred from Brook- lyn to New York—Scizures by the Guv- ernment. Owing to the vigilance and strenuous efforts of Mr. Dutcher, Supervisor of Internal Revenue, aided by the Assessor and police in Brooklyn, the iMicit distilling of “poteen” was entirely broken up in that city. For a while the revenue men were nonplusse’d and put off the scent, Not an illicit distillery could be found in the City of Churches, It seemed as though “Othello's occupation was gone’? and the whiskey detec- tives would have to resign. But the Supervisor did not believe that men who had lived and fattened 80 long by tramMic in the “illicit” could t have become honest. Therefore, it became nevegsary to direct the detectives to look else- where. Jt betng believed that they had transferred their operations to the city of New York, diligent search Was made in this city. At last their labor was rewarded. Four illicit stills have, within about a month, becn discovered running in the | upper part of New York—in Harlem and vicinity— and been seized by the proper officers. It is believed that the same vigilance that wai own in the err e of this unlawful business in Brooklyn if exerted In this city would put a stop to it here. ‘There is arumor afioat, which may give these defrauders of government revenue encouragement, ‘That is, the appointment of Mr. Dutcher to the po- sition ‘Of Pension Agent. If he accepts the same it will depend very much upon who becomes his naccessor as to how eit distilling will thrive, The name of Mr. Lucian Hawley has been mentioned as successor to the Supervisorship, @ cistille: cannot extract much comfort from such news, his experience with that class of men qualifies him Sor the , and he would be worse on the de- . Slapgeyp than evev Mr, Dutcher was, oe POUGHKEEPSIE'S MORALS. Another Chapter in the Reign of Crime Recorded. LECHERY LET LOOSE, Vulgar and Horrible Outrages Attempted by 9 Heartless Villain Named Davidson—More — About “the Lineal Descendant of the Archbishop of Cauterbury.”’ POUGHKEEPSIE, Nov. 25, 1872. « It wonld scem from all information received! that in this vicinity we are passing through @ Season of crime. The people are (ust becomings hardened to details. They had not yet got over the first surprise that “the lineal descendant of! the Archbishop of Wanterbury’ created before another story of shame apd humiliatfon was pu upon them. ‘he facts sertously implicate a young man of this city, and the details place him in nov’ enviable light, His name is Charles Davidson, and by occupation he is @ painter, 11 seems thatt Davidson has been working at stormvilla: on the Foote farm, lately purchased byt George W. Allerton of New York city, for Messrs, Wilber & Rosell, painters. He boarded att Fletcher's Hotel, Stormville. Ona recent afternoom he met a girl who wasemployed by Mr. Charied Readayet, who works Mr, Allerton’s farm, ank made insulting advances to her. She repelled them, when he attacked her in a violent manner, and throwing her down attempted to ravish her, She struggled terribly and managed to elude hit grasp. With clothes torn and FACE AND HANDS BLEEDING she ran for her life to her employer's house, Davidson then going in another direction. It was Proposed to move against him before the courts, but in some way or other the matter was settled by Mr. Wilber. Several days after Davidson be- came acquainted with a young girl fourteen yeara of age, daughter of the town clerk of East Fishkill, and managed to gain her confidence, Sometimes she would meet him in a clandesting manner at Fletcher's Hotel, and then again at Barney McCabe's residence, At the latter place Davidson was painting a fence and there they would stand and talk together. Finally he proposed marriage, when the ehild told him she had heard he was a married man, He told her he had been married, but that he had proe cured a divorce, The arrangements for an elopes ment were then effected, the little girl promising to meet him last Thursday evening. On that even- ing she informed her parents, who were ignorant. of the entire affair, that she was going out that evening to call upon o of tha neighbors, They denied her the vilege,- suspecting that something was to occor from her nervous deportment, She protested but finally succumbed to parental authority, and proceeded to her room up stairs, where she procured garments necessary for her comfort, and then speedily left the premises and hurried to Hopewell Junction, on the Dutchess and Columbiw railroad, where she was to meet Davidson, Her P | parents however, aided by some of the neighbors, scented the movement in the ‘nick of time,’? and arriving on the scene betore the train on which they were to take their departure came along, took charge of their WAYWARD LITTLE ONE, and conveyed her back to her home. ‘rhe got out of harm’s way as speedily as possibie. people there say that it he appears in the viel again they will lynch him, There are severe comn man The iy nts in and about Jeter. son Valley, hear Peekskill, Westchester County, over the verdict of the Coroner's Jury in THE CASE OF JULIA DIN whose body was found in a lake in ey. The’ verdict was “that sie came to her death by sufio- cation in jumping from a boat into the waters of the lake.” There are those who believe that sie was murdered, and the evidence surrounds tlhe whole case with deep mystery. Charles S$, Benjamin testified that he knew Julia Dingee, and met her mostly in t Valle op the Sunday evening that she was missed h with her until after nine P. M., and he was ti ib pers son with her; he said he leit her at the her father’s residence; he testife said to him as he lett her, “I would than go into the house." Watson Dingee, a brother of deceased, testified that he was out on the Sunday ni im question, looking for his sister Jrom five till nine P.M. Gilbert Darrow testified that on the Monday: morning following, before daylight, he he t cry of murder twice; he got out of bed wa the window and heard murder cried onee more; he lives near the lake; he cried back, “What is the matter?” then he heard a voice again crying, “Help! come quick! and almost mmediately atter there was a sound like a gurgling noise as it some one were laughing. Caroline Dengee, mother of deceased, testified to her daughter having said to her, “I never want ta 0 on that lake again, for every time 1 think since Fivent on it last I shiver;” she had been in the habit of sailing on the lake ina boat with Benjas min. Edward B, Odell testified that he was going to work on the Monday morning referred to ai fitteen minutes after five. When he got upto the north- east end of the lake, and about forty rods from it, he heard the bark ofa dog. Then he heard a vowe cry, “Help me! Help me! Come quick!) He nex¢ heard a gurgling noise, if some one Was strog~ ging in the water, and then all was still. After daylight on Monday Julia Dingee’s hat, collar and her bow, with a breastpin in it, were alb found, nicely covered with her pocket bandker- chief, on the shore of the lake. Out on the jake floated a boat, and in it were found a woman's waterfall and hair pins. Several days after her body was found floating im the lake. It was wel. preserved, though the jace was swollen and discolored, Around the neck was ee that appeared to be half of a large biue veil. Was she murdered? HENRY PORTER TENISON, the lineal descendant of the Archbishop of Cantere bury, is still in jail in this city. He had severad calls to-day, and In the presence of all his inter- viewers his deportment was very high-toned. He ja gate, near $0 that she her be killed ; didn’t have wine for his dinner to-day, nor did he send two telegrams which he had written to De- troit, because he hadn't money to pay for either. He still tells fabulous stories of his wealth. He says he gave Miss Mapes a diamond ring worils $900, We have seen it, and it is worth about one dollar and fifty cents. It looks as if the Mrs, Morita previously referred to was the medium throngte which Mr. Mapes’ daughter became acqnainted with Tenison, Mr. Spaulding, writing from troit, says:— “{ will soon show you Tenison did not dare to speak to Miss Mapes in the car on her mother's account, but Slipped @ note into Mrs, Moritz’ hand, asking Miss Mapes’ name and desiring am introduction. Mrs, Moritz, thinking it a romantia thing to have tl feliow fall in love and marry “Mamie,” as she led her, heiped the matter on, In one Of her letters to Tentson she said she was married under similar circumstances, and cr mar- | riage proved a good one, and she had no reason to doubt but what “Mamie's would prove the same. Mrs. Tenison (his Detroit wifey wrote Miss Mapes from Toronto saying se was Tenison’s wife, but this rascal makes Miss Mapes believe itastory gotten up to injure him. Miss Mapes in a letter to Tenison said Mrs, Moritz made her sit down in her presence and write to Tenir and enclose him Mrs, Tenison’s letter, and then made her promise her (Mrs, Moritz) that she Mapes, moda The above shows how dangerons it is for a young lady to form an acquaintance on the cars. INDIGNATION MEETING, Gathering of the Citizens of the Twelfth Ward—$1,000 Reward To Be Paid for the Apprehension of Mr. Bull’s Assati~ ant. One of the tamest indignation meetings ever organized was held last night at Lincoln Hall, in 126th street, Harlem. The initial step in the proceedings was to elect Colonel George P. Web~) ster, of the eview, Chairman. A committee wi appointed to draft a resolution breathing the sensa’ ofthe citizens of the Twelfth ward in reference ta murder and attempts at the same, which was dong and the resolution adopted by the meeting. ) ‘The immediate cause of this indignation meeting was the assault on Mr. Bull, of Harlem, who "a ol knocked down witha Inna jot, in the hands an unknown man. Mr. Walter Gibeon, also Harlem, improves the occasion, and declares it 0 him the assassin intend ubstantiation of what h tter that mo one but bi any’ rl about, in which the writer states that ha wished to sce him (Gibson) On buajnes: To Ra to this man’s house he would have to pass by the street in which Mr. Bull Was assaulted, and on these facts he bases hi claim for public sympathy, which, by the ray seems not at allin his favor, A gentleman told him last night that the whole affair Kg more fol his ability as an advertising agent than for hi veracity a8 @ gentleman, A committee was ap~ pointed to collect $1,000 as @ reward for the apprgs bension Qf the assailany