The New York Herald Newspaper, November 28, 1872, Page 6

.NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. ————— sseeeNO, 333 AMUSEMENTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third st. and Eighth avehounn tux Croce. Matineo at i. UARE THEATRE, Broadway, between Thir- ‘ourteenth streets.—AGyxs. Matince at 2, UNION teenth and FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, Twenty-fourth street— Muxur Wives or Winpsor. Matinee atl)g. WALLACR’S THEATR! etreet.—Our American Cor Broadway ana Thirtecath Matinee at 1g. Rots, Matinee at 2, BOOTH’S THEATRE, Twenty-third street, corner Sixth @venue.—Romxo anv JuLiet, Matinee at 2 THEATRE COMIQUE, 514 Broadway.—Kino Or Can- OLYMPIC THEATRE, Broadway. between Houston and Bleecker sts.—ALapDIN THE Skconp. Matinee at 3. ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Fourteenth strect.—-GRranp ONCKRT AND OrERaTiC PERFORMANCE. TERRACE GARDEN THEATRE, sath st., between Lex- Apgton and 34 avs.—Orena—Tx Jnwess, BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Poxr; ov, Awar Down Sovta—Goiven Fanner Mal t 2, 18 MUSEUM, Broadway, corner Thirtioth st.— he Wancrmne Duveuwas. Aiternoon and Evening. GERMANIA THEATRE, Fourteenth street, near Third “av.—Das StivruNcsrust, AY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE. oTuinc—Evenysopy’s Frucnp, MRS F. RB. Saver wv Wowr's OOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Montague st— nes or Leave Man. Matinee—Eiteun Oax, , \ BRYANT'S OPERA HOUSE, 6th av.-hxGKo MinsTRELSY, FE enty-third st. corner TRicITY, &c, Matinee 2, NEW YORK STADT THEATRE, 45 and 47 Bowery.— Macias PeRronwaNces. Afvernoon and evening. t WHITE'S ATHENAUM, Ni Broadway.—SruzNpip Vantsty or Novexties. Matinee at 24. ‘A HOUSE, No. 201 Bowery.— Matinee at2 TONY PASTOR'S OP: Granv Vaniety Entertainment, &¢. SAN FRANCISCO MINSTRELS, corner 28th st, and Broadway.—Eruior1an Minstretsy, &c. Mutinee at 24. f KELLY & LEON’S, 718 Broadway.—Ermiorian Mix- \simgisy, Matinee at 2. BARNUM'S MUSEUM, MENAGERIE AND CIRCUS, ; Fourteenth sireet, near Broudway.—Day and Evening. RBAILFY'S GREAT CIRCUS ANB MENAGERIE, foot 1 Houston street, East River. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN, 234 st. and 4th 8y.—Exuisition or Parntinc Afternoon and evening. NEW YORK MUSEUM OF A ECIENCE AND Ant. DR. KAHN'S MUSEU. TRIPLE SHE € New York, Thursday, Nov. 28, 1872. ‘THE NEWS TOMY, 618 Broadway.— T. OF YESTERDAY {Lo-Day’s Contents of the Herald. “EXCITEMENT IN GERMANY OVER THE POLIT- IGAL CRISIS IN FRANCE! IS THE FRANCO- GERMAN WAR TO BE KENEWED?'— LEADER—SIXxtH Page. .FRANCE AND GERMANY! A TERRIBLE WAR ANTICIPATED! GERMAN EFFORTS TO RE- TAIN THE SOLDIERS OF THE FUTURE: AUSTRIA’S ENTENTE—SEVENTH PAGE. PARISIAN TUMULT SUBSIDING! A CABINET COUNCIL TO REVIEW LEGISLATIVE AC- TION: M. THIERS TO ATTEND THE ASSEM- BLY—SEVENTH Paz. SMALLPOX VESSELS AT QUARANTINE! A BARK FROM BRE AND SCHOONER FROM BOSTON W HE CONTA i; ACTION OF THE SANITARY OFFICERS--i1rrH Pace. AND THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL 'yY! THE BANQUET AT DELMONI- BRILLIANT INTELLECTUAL Dis- TENTH PaGE. MEETING OF HENRY WILS SUMNER—AMUSEMEN' ING—WEATHER PERSONAL NOTES—GE INTELLIGENCE. POLITICAL FUTU F THE NEW DOMINION! THE PRESENT ASPECT OF ANNEXATION: THE HOROSCOPE OF A CENTURY: HIS- TORY'S WARNINGS—Tuirp Page. PRESIDE: }RANT'S MESSAGE! SUMMARY OF THE LEADING POINTS—Tarrp Pace, GIVING THANKS! PRESENT AND PAST OBSER- VANCES OF THE DAY WE ALL CELE- BRAT: FOWL FEASTS OF THE PURI- TAN FATHERS: FEEDING THE NEEDY— Fourta Pags. OPERATIONS ON ‘CHANGE! AT THE OLD FIGURES: A RISE IN LAKE SHORE:, DREW'S OLD LOVE: GOVERN- MENTS ADVANCE: THE FOREIGN MAR- KETS—NINTH Pace. LEGAL FRUIT OF THE LATEST “CORNER!” SCHELL’S AFFIDAVIT: TRAVERS’ RE- FUSAL TO ANSWER—EiGuTu Pace, HANGING UF A HARDENED CRIMINAL! BRU- TALLY MURDERING AND BURNING A FAITHFUL WIFE: HIS CRIMES, CAPTURE AND FEROCITY IN PRISON—FourtH PacE. ANOTHER DANGEROUS SCHOOLHOUSE ! GRAM- THE ‘D CHARLES GEON SHOOT PORTS—THIRD PaGE. RAL TELEGRAPHIC NTH Page. NORTHWESTERN MAR SCHOOL 12, IN THE SEVENTH WARD: DEFECTIVE CEILINGS—THE DE- PARTMENT OF EDUCATION—EveventHt PAGE. PRESIDENT SMYTH AND GRAMMAR SCHOOL NO, 2—LESSONS OF THE BOSTON FIRE— Firta Page. A LOVE-CRACKED MODERN OTHELLO! TOUCH- ING PLAINT OF TENISON, THE POUGH- KEEPSIE OFFSHOOT OF THE CANTERBURY PRIMATE—ELEVENTH PAGE. LEGAL! AN ACTRESS AS A FINANCIER: WHITE-SMITH HOMICIDE: SENTENCED: CONCERT TARGET COMPANIES PRES! GRAND JURY—Firtn Pace, OUR SANITARY CONDITION! THE PUBLIC WORKS AND HEALTH BOARDS: LOOKING INTO THE CONDITION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS—ErautH PAGE. JOHN FOLEY GIVES AN INSIDE HISTORY OF REFORM! THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OPERATIONS OF THE SEVENTY SOLONS: WHAT THEY PROPOSE TO DO—E1cuTH Page, THE LIVINGSTONE EXPEDITIONS—LITERARY GOSSIP—HIPPOGRAPHS—Fourti PaGgy LETTER FROM MR, ETHAN ALLEN ON THE LIBERAL REPUBLICAN FUTURE—IMMO- RALITY IN OUR CITIES~INTERESTING LOCAL GLEANINGS—EiontTa Pace. LAX DISCIPLINE AND INSOLENT BEHAVIOR OF THE PARK POLICE—NEW YORK CANOE CLUB—ELEVENTH PagR, THE EMIL ANDRIE LOONS AND TED BY THE ‘Tue Ricamoxp Whig, in an article digcuss- ing the “Policy of General Grant,” arrives at the conclusion that ‘‘he must ignore all party before he can have the confidence and support of the whole country; and if he can- not do this he had as well turn over tho gov- ernment to Morton and the rings and go at onee to Long Branch and take his éase.”’ Have a little patience. ‘There is music in the air,” if we may take the wavering in the regular republican lino as any indication ghorvot NEW YORK HEKALD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1872.—TRIPLE SHEET. Excitement in Germany Over the Po- litical «Crisis im France—Is the Franco-Germaa War To Be Re- mewed? Tho Hxratp special report from Washing- ton published to-day will be read with interest by all, and not without some concern by those who would look upon a renewed disturbance of the peace of Europe asa calamity to the world. Our despatches leave no room to doubt that the German government has adopted positive measures to prevent the emi- gration of its citizens to any foreign country, and that the reason given for this action is the apprehension of a renewal of the war with France. For some time past Germany has been striving to check the tide of emigration which has been steadily rising since the restoration of peace. Her efforts in this direction have been regarded with dis- favor by the United States, and our ropresen- tative at Berlin has received instructions to protest courteously against the policy as ap- parently unfriendly towards the country in which the German emigrants mainly seek a future home, These remonstrances have been met by the reply that the action of the Ger- man government is a strict military necessity, and now Baron Schlozer, the German Minister to the United States, has officially communi- cated to the government at Washington tho fact of the practical prohibition of further emigration, and the explanation that a re- newal of hostilitios with France is believed to be so imminent as to render it desirable that no person owing military sorvice to tho State should be permitted to leave Germany. France is represented as boing in a condition of in- tense excitement over the tumultuous contest in the Assembly and the anticipated resigna- tion of M. Thiers, and foars are entertained that Austria would side with the French in the event of an uprising against Germany. Baron Schlozer appears to have unburdened his mind in a somewhat undiplomatic manner upon the subject during an interview with one of the resident Ministers in Washington. The sub- stance of his remarks were that, in the event of a rising in France, which would inevitably follow the resignation of M. Thiers, the cry of revenge against Germany would ring over the whole land. The evacuation of a great por- tion of the border territory by the German troops leaves the frontier without security against invasion, and to escape further pay- ment of the indemnity as well as to win back Alsace and Lorraine would be objects worthy of an effort on tho part of Frenchmen. As to Austria, Baron Schlozer thinks Schlos- wig-Holstein sufficient to induce her to side with France against Germany. At all events he states distinctly that his government ap- prehends trouble with France, and deems it prudent to keep its fighting population within its own reach. While we do not undervalue the signifi- cance and importance of this information we are disposed to believe that Germany's appre- hensions are at least premature. Our cable despatches convey no indication ofa rising in France, but on the contrary evince hopeful- ness of a peaceful solution of the present diffi- culties by a compromise that will leave M. Thiers still at the head of the govern- ment. No doubt Germany keeps a close watch on French movements and is well informed as to the intrigues of parties in France. Her interests require such precaution. But even if the breach between the Assembly and tho President should prove irreconcilable and to- day should bring a political revolution at Ver- sailles, itseems beyond the bounds of reason that France should plunge again into a for- eign war or that Austria should tempt fate by joining in such a hopeless contest. The over- throw of M. Thiers at this time would bea misfortune under any circumstances. It would bring to a head tho jealousies and enmi- ties of rival factions, Imperialists, Orleanists and legitimists, who can bear with M. Thiers and a constitutional Ministry that may serve to lead the public mind back to the form of | monarchy, leaving their own strength to be tested hereafter, would join in open war against a decided republic, with Gambetta at its head. The real republicans, on the other hand, may content themselves with Thiers, but would never peacefully accept a government of dis- guised monarchists, who would only await the opportune moment to appear in their true character. A military dictatorship under Mac- Mahon might be accepted temporarily, through fear of the army, but could only be the precur- sor of revolution or restoration. All these evils are threatened by the resignation of M. Thiers; but no misfortune it could bring upon the nation would be so heavy aso renewal of the war with Germany. The whole civilized world would ery out against such an act of madness. In- dced, the idea seems chimerical. What gov- ernment could take the army into action? What would become of its fortunes at home while its forces were in the field? France has been doing well since the war. The adminis- tration of M. Thiers has been an astonishing success. But France is not yet her own mistress. Her plotting factions are the enemies she must fight and subdue before she gives a thought to foreign conquest or revenge. Her armies have yet a mission on her own soil before they seek to wrest back from Germany the terri- tory they lost through the wickedness and self- ishness of the Empire. The smoke of the Commune fires still hangs like a threatening cloud over the nation, It must be dispersed by the sunshine of a strong and permanent government before Frenchmen can find their way to glory over the bodies of foreign foes. It appears singular that the German Min- ister at Washington should have been so dis- tinct in his utterances in regard to the appre- hensions of his government, and we may be pardoned for the thought that the anxiety to excuse the arbitrary crusade against emigra- tion may have exaggerated Prince Bismarck's fears of a French invasion of German terri- tory and of a Franco-Austrian alliance. Diplomacy is seldom distinguished for such extraordinary candor, and it is not impossible that the military necessity which impels Germany to keep her fighting population within the reach of her military laws arises from some other cause than the political turmoil at Versailles, It must be remembered | that Prince Bismarck’s opposition to omigra- tion is not a new sentiment, The great statesman of Germany has long been anxious to retain within the nation the vigorous and enterprising spirits who have been eager to seek a home and fortune in the New World. It may bo that he sees before him territory over which the strong arm of Germany may soon be stretched, and upon which he hopes to plant the best stock of the Empire—the men of energy and daring, who are willing to carve out a future with their own hands. When he looks across the Atlantic at the hosts of sterling citizens his country has supplied to the United States he may well regrot their loss. Yet he must know that emigration can- not be stopped—probably not seriously checked—by coercive measures, and that an undue enforcement of the severe military laws of the Empire may have exactly o contrary effect to that which he contemplates. Our government will do well to bear these facts in mind ; for while we desire to be on the best of terms with Germany it is our duty as a nation to protest against any policy that strikes at our commerce and our prosperity. At present we can discover no danger of a renewal of tho war between France and Germany by the action of the former Power. Still less can wo see any pros- pect of a hostile movement on the part of Aus- tria against the Empire—a policy that could only prove as disastrous to the former nation as at this time it appears uncalled for. The idea of an alliance between Austria and France, ifit means anything, means something more. It is a needless alarm, or it foreshadows a general European war, not to be confined to three Powers. Weincline to the belief that the fears of the German government, if seriously enter- tained, are a needless borrowing of anxiety. France may fret over dismemberment, but she will pay the war indemnity to the last coin. In time she may even learn to look with less grief and shame upon the lost territory of Alsace and Lorraine; and if the fortresses that have been wrested from her shall in the future prove the bulwarks against aggressive war, instead of a stand- ing threat of invasion, the change of ownership will be a gain to the civilized world. We hope to see the political crisis at Versailles pass away without serious trouble. We trust that the close of this day may find the quarrel between the President and the Assembly compromised and M. Thiers still at the head of the government. But, however this may be, we feel well as- sured that we shall not again have to deplore the breaking out of a war between Germany and France, The lesson of the last struggle has not yet been forgotten, and it was too severe to tempt a renewal of the experiment. The Northwest Corner and the Eric Suit—The Ethics ef Stock Gambling. Tho Northwestern ‘‘corner,’’ with its curious addendum of the suit agatnst Jay Gould by the Erie Company, will long remain one of the memorable events of the speculation lunacy which has become a feature of the age. We have no necessity now to go into the relative morality of those who ‘bull’ and those who “bear’’ stock. A stock gambler is not a “bull” ora “bear’’ because of his views on the Decalogue. In the two religions of the “‘street,’’ conversions from one faith to the other and back again are as frequent as the fluctuations of the stocks themselves. After a storm of this kind, however, we are certain to hear recriminations about the evil which lies in the bosoms of all the horned and hirsute animals of the Exchange, and by taking each at its word about its neigh- bor we may arrive near the truth of the matter. Mr. Horace F. Clark, with a delicate humor, and a touching sarcasm, speaks of the miserable ‘“‘bears’’ of last Friday as persons who ‘were not careful in all instances to own the stocks of which they made speculative sales." Mr. Augustus Schell breaks the crust of the conundrum more savagely, for he calls them ‘that class of men who sell short of stock and profit by great casualties and by the misfortunes of other men.” It will be news, indeed, to Wall street if it can be made known that ‘bulls’ always own, that is, possess, the stocks they sell, or that they do not, on an occasion like last Fri- day, ‘profit by great casualties and the mis- fortunes of other men.’’ We have only to note that in the evidence on the point yet fur- nished the terrible Boston fire seems to have entered into the calculations of all those who profited by the spasm in Northwestern. Some two hundred and forty years ago tho worthy burghers of Holland first, we believe, practised on a large scale the purchase and sale of things without possessing or caring to possess them. There were no railroads and no Pacific Mail to practise on, so they bulled and beared with tulip bulbs as a substitute. There was some innocency in this part of the idea, but a single bulb often was bulled be- yond its value by the ‘corner’ more effect- ually than Northwestein on Friday and Satur- day, and bulbous fortunes were the order of the day. The States soon put a stop to the traffic; but before that the “bears” had the market in their hands and reduced some of the earnings of the “bulls.” The end of it was that many of both classes were obliged to emigrate, and as New Amsterdam was in fashion then as now, these Dutch ‘operators’ landed on Manhattan Island. How long their spirit lay dormant here we need not tell; but at this writing the tulipomania under another guise is among us and just as mad and exciting as in 1639 in Holland. We instance its origin only to re- mark how much we owe to the Knickerbockers besides some fine old family names and a pear- tree sprig. There isa disingenuousness, to use a very mild phrase, about the dealings of the model “operator’’ which is one of the worst features of the business. Men who denounce each other up town behind each other's backs meet in Wall street to smile winningly and chat affectionately. How many of those men who have Jay Gould in their arms now have called him by all the names in the dictionary of vitu- peration a week ago? Men who oppose each other on the ‘‘étreet’’ will have joint accounts; others, swearing loudly they will never settle with a set of conspirators, rush privately to make an accommodation where they can get it. We must, nevertheless, refer to the card of Commodore Vanderbilt, who may be a Croesus, but who is not afraid to come into print with a statement as to how he stands with reference to the operator who forms the central figure in the late trouble, He says very pointedly :—‘I have bad but one business transaction with Mr. Gould in my life. In July, 1868, I sold him o lot of stock, for which he paid me, with the privi- lege of a call for a further lot, which he also settled, Since then I have had nothing to do with him in any way whatever, nor do I mean ever to have, unless it be to defend myself. I have, besides, always advised all my friends to have nothing to do with him in any business transaction. I came to this con- clusion after taking notice of his countenance.” Without asking how deeply the Commodore learned tho secrets of physiognomy from Lavater, or how far he is justified in the conclusion he states so frankly, we would be glad to learn how safely some of his accusers in the Erie prosecution could say the same, or what guarantee we have got that they will not retire into his bosom to- morrow. His friends just now seem en- deavoring to prove that the order for his arrest was ‘improvidently granted.” If, as wo have said before, the accused is guilty of ‘‘mis- applying’ nearly ton million dollars of Erie funds, let those who have made themselves responsible for his arrest prove it, or brand themselves as men willing to bring tho law courts to their aid ima stock-gambling exi- gency. This is the sum total of the matter as it now stands, the ‘corner’ being a thing of yesterday. The Future of Canada—A for Independence. If the London Times, by uttering an un- pleasant truth about the connection of Canada with England, has awakened the former to 9 sense of its humiliated pesition, so much the better. The English organ did not mince mat- ters, It said bluntly to the Canadians, If you are tired of England, set up for yourselves and see how you'll liko it. This was not very courteous speaking, and when the Canadian journals call it “brutal,” ‘atrocious’ and ‘Gngulting,”’ they prove nothing beyond their sensitive mental weakness, When Oliver Cromwell cried, ‘‘Take away that bauble!"’ there is no doubt a feeling of wounded pride and insulted respect for authority ran through every beadle in England. But tho uncouth Protector was a man who spoke his mind in direct phrasing, and when he made war upon monarchy, with its ruffles, frills and baubles, he cared very little about the wincing of those whom it galled. Cromwell's rudeness was merely that of the representative Englishman of to-day. When he works himself into a passion the circumlocution of courtesy is quickly flung away and he blurts forth his meaning, rudely, mayhaps, but with point. Thus it is that the spoon-fed Canadians who have looked up and listened to their nurse of Printing House square, Lon- don, are shocked at the apparent inhumanity of being told to provide for themselves. How wide this spirit of reliance on what is prac- tically a foreign government to them was is proved in the fact that the leading journals of the Dominion, without exception, are still between wailing ard wonder at tho strong new light which has broken upon them. The gradual manner in which England, for selfish ends, has accomplished the process of alienating Canada from herself, has deceived the Canadians. The consolidation of the provinces into the Dominion, the withdrawal of the English garrison, the Treaty of Wash- ington, with its fishery and San Juan clauses, and without the reciprocity which Canada hoped for, were all acts paving the way for the declaration of the Times. Canada, how- ever, in its spirit of dependence never drew the moral from them which England wished. Hence it is that they now feel a sense of injury and helplessness, where honest pride and self- reliance should be their answer. In another portion of the Heratp will be found a highly interesting letter from one of our correspondents, dated at Toronto, which will give a fair idea of the ferment of opinion over the border. They are hurt, but tor the most part are inclined to pocket the Times “insult” and say it was not England, only an English newspaper, ofter all. They must have something to shake their hands at, and hence they find it safer to bristle up because the Henatp in the kindest spirit bas pointed out to them the course for a young people to fol- low whose leading strings are being cut. As our correspondent humorously intimates, there exists in this torpid community splen- did human material for progress if it only had the benefit of an intimate connection with the great industrial heart of the United States to vivify it. At present Canada is cut off from enterprise as much as China. England has so far withdrawn from it as to leave it almost a separate nation, treating with it after barter- ing away what Canadians called its rights, by putting down some twelve and a half million dollars in cash. From the Union it is cut off by restrictions on its commerce which arise almost solely out of the fact that its nominal government is an English dependency, and treated, therefore, as England herself, The question, then, for Canada to consider, having first taken the utterances of the New York Henatp and the London Times seriously to heart, and without any puerile ill-feelings of wounded sentimentality, is, how best to rid itself of the meanness and poverty of its position and to grasp the opportunity of building up a power whose independence and material prosperity may be a matter of pride to its citizens. Standing in the way of this is, firstly, an irrational conservatism among the ultra loyal, who manufacture American “bogies’’ out of their own ungrounded fears ; secondly, the office-holders with money of the present power in their pockets, and, thirdly, a subsidized press. Against this, though not strongly operative just now, is the popular dissatisfaction with the barrenness of the Dominion idea, which, with all its fanfaronade at the start, has brought forth nothing for anybody but the office-holders and their ‘rings’ on the new Pacific Railroad. The dangers which surround the Macdonald Ministry in consequence of its recent defeats and the personal attacks upon Sir John him- self, growing out of the Washington Treaty, of which he was the Canadian Commissioner, all tend to show the incipiency of the movement which will end in the assertion of the manhood of Canada. When they thus condemn the effect it should not take long for a thinking people to overthrow the cause. The tories in Canada will repeat the réle of the tories in the Revo- lution, with this difference—thnt they will have no opportunities to take up arms for the Brit- ish, since the latter will not, as the Times indi- cates, place any barrier of steel between Canada and its desire for independence, or, if it so wills it, admission into the great federation of the Union. The subsidized Canadian journal- ist or placeman who writes or talks the stale cant about “Yankees’’ and so forth will find himself preaching without o following, while the strong, manly movement, now in its Movement incipiency, will gather the brains and sinew of the country into its fold. The Mr. Beatty of the Leader, whom our correspondent reporta, says that if they “wanted union with America (sic.) plenty of men and papers would give expression to the sentiment in the morning.” This but proves our expreasion that the plant of independent journalism is a stranger there. If there had existed a single independent news- paper in the Dominion the significant article in the Times would have met an immediate re- joinder that now England was willing to let them go they would think about it. Instead of this course we see a faltering, a whining and a begging which no people, no matter how debased, could countenance. The work of concentrating the movement towards independence must therefore be slow at first, but once the people lose their hesi- tancy and find that progress, national exist- ence and immunity from war lie in the easy path before them, the establishment of an in- dependent Canadian Republic will follow nat- urally. If then the Canadian republicans de- sire to become part of the Union we shall feel at liberty to entertain the idea. Long before the arrival of either of those alternatives the Canadian press will have learned to appreciate the truth of the Heraup’s expressions and to thank even the London Times for its insult. Tho Prussian Reform Bill—The Par- Hament and the King. The Lower House of the Prussian Dict has passed the County Iteform bill by a vote of 288 as against 91. It is well that our readers should understand this new German question. The bill now before the Lower House of the Prussian Diet provides for the extension of municipal privileges to the rural population of Prussia and for large improvements in the matter of local self-government. Rural Prus- sia has hitherto been too much under the control of the potent lords of the soil. This bill extends the suffrage and so limits the power of the rural landlords, Already the bill has passed a third reading in the Lower Honse, and already it has been rejected by the Lords, It will be remembered that the King interfered, and that, in spite of the wishes of the Emperor-King, the Lords threw out the bill, ‘The Dict was prorogued, and the Dit again has met. In slightly modified form the bill was reintroduced into the Lower House. In its new shape it has passed its first reading, and it is perfectly safe to say that it will pass its third reading and be sent to the Upper House. The Emperor-King is in favor of the bill, and he has promised that if the Lords should continue to rebel a second time he will make full use of his prerogative and create as many peers as shall be necessary to pass this bill into law. In connection with this question we have more than once referred to the deadlock which occurred in the prog- ress of the English Reform bill in 1831-2. On that occasion the British House of Peers resisted the Commons and the King came to the rescue. He did precisely what the Em- peror-King now does. He threatened to create as many new peers as should force the Reform bill through the House of Lords. The fulfilment of his threat was not necessary, for the Lords gave way and the bill became law. Privileged orders hate parvenus in Prussia quite as much as they do in England, and it is safe to take it for granted that the Prussian aristocracy will yield rather than have their numbers increased by vulgar recruits. The bill, with the aid of the King, is sure to pass, and the result will be a gain to the popular cause as well as a new sensation to imperial Germany. Bismarck has found out that if Prussia is to be relied upon for fighting men the fighting men must have a vote. The County Reform bill must, therefore, become law. Our Harbor Detences. The Chief Engineer, in his report to the Minister of War, states that the matter which has chiefly engaged the attention of his depart- ment for the past year has been the question of our harbor defences. It is reassuring to learn from so good an authority that the im- portant work of securing our seaboard from the danger of attack is being attended to by the government. The improvements in mod- ern navies render the old defences practically useless, and if we are to be secured from the danger of having the chief city of the country destroyed in the event of o foreign war we must be prepared to cope with the new forces which scientific knowledge is creating for offensive purposes. No country can afford to leave its seaboard open to the attack of an enemy, and ours, on account of its extent, would be peculiarly exposed during a forcign war to the incursions ofa hostile fleet. Profit- ing by the experience of modern warfare, we shall trust principally to earthen forts and a carefully planned torpedo system. The Chief Engincer points out that we must supplement the torpedo system by fortifica- tions of great power, mounted with guns of large calibre. This, of course, was never questioned by military authorities, but some, how an idea got abroad that guns could be dispensed with if an expensive torpedo sys- tem were adopted, and the report touches‘on the point in order to dissipate the error. We could wish that the report informed us that the principal harbors were in a complete state of defence, as they ought always to be, rather than that plans were adopted, and in course of application. If the delay in pushing on this necessary work be caused by want of money Congress ought to make such appro- priation as is necessary to render our de- fences thoroughly complete, With a navy to- tally unable to compete with even the second rate fleets of Europe it behooves us to see that weare not left without adequate defence at home. No one can tell when war may come, and we have examples enough of the danger of being caught napping to warn us of the necessity of preparing for all possible eventu- alities. r ‘ Coming Back To Oxp Princreres wy Part.-- During the war the proprietors of our city omnibus lines nearly doubled their rates of fare, alleging, in excuse, the extraordinary rise in the price of feed, the government tax on receipts, &c. That rate (ten cents) re- mains to this day, notwithstanding the war was closed years ago and the government tax has been removed. But we are pleased to see that one line, at least, has taken a step in the right direction and reduced the fare one-half on a portion of its route. We have no doubt all the omnibus establishments would increase their receipts in the aggregate by going back to the ante-war scale—viz., six conts per single passenger, OO ——$_— Thantsgiving Day. ‘Whereas,’ says the President of the United States in his proclamation of the 11th of October last, “the revolution of another year has again brought the time when it is usual to look back upon the past and publicly thank the Almighty for His mercies and His bless- ings; and whereas, if any one people has more occasion than another for such thankful- ness it is the citizena of the United States, whose government is their creature, subject to their behests; who have reserved to them- selves ample civil and religious freedom and equality before the law ; who during the last twelve months have enjoyed exemption from any griovous or general calamity, and to whom prosperity in agriculture, manufactures and commerce has been vouchsafed ; therefore, by these considerations,” and upon the Presi- dent’s recommendation, this day will bo generally observed throughout the Union as a day of thanksgiving ‘‘to God for His kindness and bounty.”” A glorious text is here sug- gested for the preacher of every creed and of every race and in every place throughout the Union. In another part of this paper the reader will find an interesting sketch of Thanks- giving Day as-a religious, social and family festival in this country, beginning with the old Puritans of Massachusetts. In ‘Tho Book of Days,” by W. & R. Chambers (Edin- burgh, 1864), they say of Thanksgiving Day in America that “this great social and religious festival of New England, from which it has spread to most of the States of the American Republic, is a legacy of the Puritans;"’ that “they abolished Christmas, as a relic of Popery or of prelacy, which they held in nearly equal detestation, and passed laws to punish its observance;’’ but that, ‘wanting some day to replace Christmas, the Colonial assemblies, and later the Yoverhors of tho States, appointed every year some day in Autumn, generally toward the end of Novem- ber, as a day of solemn prayer and thanks- giving for the blessings of the year.” So far our Scottish historians may pass; but their history will not apply when they come to say that our ‘Thanksgiving festival, though widely celebrated, is not 60 universally respected as formerly, as the influx of Roman Catholics and Episco- palians has brought Christmas again into vogue.’’ The truth is that while this Puritan or New England institution of Thanksgiving has been steadily extending itself to all parts of the country, and will be more widely ob- served this year than ever before, so will bo the Christmas celebration derived from the English Episcopalian colonists of Virginia and the Catholics of Maryland under Lord Baltimore, and so will be the New Year festi- val which has descended to us from those sturdy old dealers in red herring and drinkers of schnapps, the Dutch founders and builders of New Amsterdam. It is only since the tearing down and roe moval of that great obstruction, political, religious and social, which divided the South from the North—it is only because of the re- moval of that previously impassable barrier of African slavery that this Puritanical institu- tion of Thanksgiving has passed below the Susquehanna and the Potomac. It was never, under ordinary circumstances, the sub- ject of a Presidental proclamation from Wash- ington down to Lincoln. The now political dispensation resulting from our late civil war has made this New England festival a national affair; and, from the same causes operating to bring about what Kossuth would call ‘the solidarity of the people,”’ the old Vir- ginian Christmas and our old Knickerbocker New Year's have gained a permanent foothold even in Boston, and a dozen cyclonic fires cannot burn them out. So itis that there ought to be no more prejudices of sect or section, North or South, against the extension of Thanksgiving Day. It was in the outset a Puritanical affair entirely, in which Praise- God-Barebones, from his melancholy meeting house, passed to his gloomy dinner of pork and beans and hard cider. It has become a day of social reunions and enjoyments posi- tively delightful to men, women and children of all sects and sections, ‘without distinction of race or color.’’ Those hard-headed, fanatical, pragmatical and bigoted founders of the Plymouth blarney stone and’ the New England Thanksgiving as it was were of that ‘order of Puritans who, according to Macaulay, looked with horror upon bear-baiting, ‘‘not because of the pain it gave the bear, but because of the pleasure it gave the spec- tator.”’ But with this welcome and beneficent and universal institution of Thanksgiving Day as it is, we can forget itas it was, We have it now in something of that broad and generous spirit of social enjoyment and general charity which mark the original thanksgiving ordi- nances of Moses, that great lawgiver of the Hebrews, to whom the world at large is more indebted than to all the wisdom of Greece and Rome combined. We recognize this institu- tion, then, as coming down to us, not from the blue laws of Massachusetts, but from the in- spirations of Mount Sinai, glorified by the teachings of Him whose advent was ‘‘peace and good will to men.’ We rejoice at that re- turning spirit of harmony among our people made manifest in the enlargement of this charming festival, and with all the people of our great Republic at home or abroad, and in all their religious and social observances of this happy day, may the spirit of thanksgiving to our common Father and ‘good will to men’” prevail. Thanksgiving Day at the Theatress Music and the drama have long been recog- nized as among tho things for which all cultivated nations are thankful. That the people of New York have much reason for thankfulness is apparent from the announce- ments made by the different places of amuse- ment for this afternoon and ovening. Shakspeare still holds the highest place in dramatic art, and two of his plays—one a tragedy, the other a comedy —are now rendered here; the tragedy at Booth's by the greatest living representative of Juliet, Miss Neilson, and the comedy at the Fifth Avenue, where Mr. Charles Fisher has made a genuine suc- cess as Sir John Falstaff. At tho former theatre the performance is varicd by the representation of ‘The Stranger’’ at tho mati- née. At Wallack’s: Mr. Sothern gives his delightful impersonation of Lord Dundreary in “Our American Cousin,” both afternoon and evening; the Union Square presenta “Agnes,” the Grand Opera House “Round tho Clock," and tho Olympio the burtosqno of