The New York Herald Newspaper, December 18, 1872, Page 6

NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR, THE DAILY HERALD, published every day in the year, Four cents per copy. Annual subscription price $12. sereeeeeseeeeee Ne 353 Volume XXXVI. AMUSEMENTS THIS WALLACK'S THEATRE, Broadway and Thirteenth gtreet.—Oun Auznicay Cousty, NOON AND EVENING, J COMIQUE, 514 Broadway.—Arnica; on, Pi nt ND eau, Matince at 23%. BOOTH'S THEATRE, Twen pyenue,—Tux Lucy oF Franc 1 (C THEATRE, Broadway, between Houston and Bleeker st8.—La BELLE HELENE. ” @RRMANIA THEATRE, Fourteenth street, near Third ‘Bv.—Des Nascusten Havsraav, £0, \ BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery—CaTaRact OF tax Ganoxs—Eacuz Eve, y SEUM, Broadway, cornet Thirtieth st— ‘poses tx ta8 Wo0D, Aiternoon and Evening. GRAND OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third a agg Eighth gy.—Hounn tux Croce," ** NTRLO’ RDEN, Broadway, between Prince and tee feces ax Lovo p SQUARE THEATRE, Broadway, between aryirwecath aad Fourteenth streets. AGNES, f gis a a STADT THEATRE, Nos. #5 and 47 Bowery.—Orera— Porte Bursone, £0. FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, Twenty-fourth stroet— A Bopp Staogs rox 4 Husvann. Rare Sy ‘ MRS. FB. CONWAY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE,— Tux Duxx's Morro, ., BRYANT'S OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third st., corner Gtp av.—Nagpo Muxstartsy, Eccentmiciry, &c hird street, corner Sixth ATHENEUM, No. 585 Broadway.—Srignpfp Variety Q Noveutiss, Matinee at 23. » VANTERBURY VARIETY THEATRE, RrofdWag, be- gen Bleecker aud Houston.—Vaniety ENTERTAINMENT. TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, No. 201 Bowéty.~ iD Vauusty ENTERTAINMENT, &C. ceria IAN FRANCISCO MINSTRELS, gorngr Mb st. and WAY —-ETBIOPIAN MINSTRELSY, &C. ARNUWS MUBEUM, MENAGERIE AND Ofhitirs,— nth atreet, near Broadway.—Day gyd Byeulng. 4 YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618 Broadway.~ IGIBNCK AND ART, RIPLE SHEET. low Kerk, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1872, Bia NEWS OF YESTERDAY. /To-Day’s Contents of th \ Herald. NEW YORK HEKALD, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1872—TRIPLE SHEET, The Federal Administration and the Lou ma State Troubles—A Dangor- ous Precedent. The indecent scramble for office between the Louisiana carpet-baggers, Kellogg and War- moth, would have excited little interest be- yond the limita of the unfortunate State if a federal Court had not assumed jurisdiction in the proceedings to which it gave rise and if the administration at Washington had not taken sides in the quarrel. As it is, tho issue is no longer one between the rival factions in New Orleans, but has become an issue between the federal and State governments, It is no longer a fight for power between squabbling politicians, but a struggle for free government, in which all the people of the United States are vitally concerned. Whatever may be the real merits of tho case, the fact is undeniable that it has been settled not by the test of the constitution and laws of the State—not by the State Courts, but by a federal Judge, federal arms and the arbitrary dictum of the federal administration. The . orders of a Judge appointed “by the President of the United States, sec- onded by the active co-operation of the Presi- dent himself, have decided how the Presiden- tial vote of Louisiana shall be cast, what Congressmen shall be declared elected from’ that State and to which party the United States Senatorship shall be given. The plain statement of these facts is sufficient to show the dangerous chatacter of the federal usurpa- tion. If the action of Judge Durell be in con- formity with the existing law, and if tho course puraued by the administration at Wash- ington be legitimately within the province of the Execytive, the end of free government has been reached. The President of the United States, may perpetuate his power at his will and choose his own Congress. This is no mere figure of speech, The seven electoral votes of Louisiana might bave decided the re- sult of the Presidential election, The five Congresgmen from that Stgte mi; t_bave turned the political complexion of the House of Rey ong way the other. tn tbat aot e ote f the President's action would have been to elect himself and his Congress by the power of federal bayo- nets. It is impossible to deny the truth of this proposition, and if the course pursued by the administration is justifiable at all, it would have been just as proper in the event we have assumed as it is under existing cir- cumstances. We regard the part played by Attorney Gen- eral Williams in these Southern complications ATHE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE LOUISIANA STATE TROUBLES! A DANGER- OUS PRECEDENT’—LEADING EDITORIAL THEME—SIXxTH Pace. ‘BARTLE FRERE'S MISSION FOR THE SALYA- TION OF AFRICA! ARRIVAL AT ALEX- ANDRIA, EGYPT, AND WARM GREET- INGS: TO BE THE GUEST OF THE KHE- DIVE: HIS SUITE—SEvsnrH Page. ‘FEDERAL CAPITAL NEWS! THE CREDIT MO- BILIER COMMITTEE: A CIVIL SERVICE RETREAT: GENERAL SPINNER ON THE CURRENCY: “OLD PROBABILITIES” ON HIS HOBBY—Turrp Pace. THE RACE MEETING OF THE LOUISIANA JOCKEY CLUB—DISASTROUS FIRE IN BALTIMORE—SUMNER AND THE BATTLE FLAGS—Tarep Pace. MEXICAN RUFFIANS CAPTURE AND DESTROY THE BALLOTS AND BALLOT RETURNS IN MATAMOROS—CUBAN NEWS—SgvENTH PAGE. SHOWING UP THE CREDIT MOBILIER! AN IN- SIDE VIEW OF THE SCHEME: HOW CON- GRESS HAS BEEN MANIPULATED—Tuirp Page. BEORETARY BOUTWELL AND JAY COOKE EX- PLAIN THE FUNDING SCHEME! MR, BOUTWELL SENDS AN EPISTLE TO THE HOUSE OF PaGE. CABLE AND GENERAL TELEGRAMS—PERSONAL NEWS GUSSIP—THE FEATURES IN THE AMUSEMENT WORLD— WEATHER RE- PORTS—SEVENTH Pace. THE BUTCHERY OF NICHOLAS W. DURYEA! FOURTEEN CUTS WITH THE KNIFE! THE | YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL WIDOW TAKES A LAST FAREWELL: SIMMONS LEG FRAC- TURED: HE IS SILENT AS TO THE DEED— Fivtu Pace. | HOW NEW YORK CITY LOST $200,000 THROUGH SLACK ADMINISTRATION OF THE comp. | TROLLER! A TALK WITH CHAMBERLAIN | PALMER—TAMMANY SOCIETY—Firr Pace, | A DECLINE AND PROSPECTIVE “SQUEEZE” IN GOLD: A GRAND SEE-SAW IN MONEY: STOCKS, EXCHANGE AND EXPORTS~ NINTH PaGE. QHE REAL ESTATE MARKE1—INVESTIGATING | THE FIFTH AVENUE FIRE—COMMISSION- ERS OF EMIGRATION—NintTH PaGE, COURT PROCEEDINGS! AN ADOPTED CHILD ABDUCTED: f M’CABE TEMPORARILY IRRESPONSIBLE: NOONAN EXTRADITED— LIFE INSURANCE—Fourrn Pace. GOOD SKATING AT THE PARK—INTERESTING LECTURES ON EXCELLENT THEMES—MARI- | TIME INTELLIGENCE—Tentu Pace, EDWIN FORREST'S WILL AND THE HOME FOR DISABLED ACTORS! PRIVATE CBARITIES— THE OTHER SIDE OF THE KIDNAPPING CASE: THE CHILDREN RETURNED—E1gutH Page. WHAT SANTA CLAUS HAS IN STORE FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE! A GREAT BUDGET OF KNICK-KNAUKS — YACHTING — Furta Paas. THE POISONING OF EDWARD 0. ANDERSON | CONTINUATION OF DR. IRISH’S TRIAL— | THE “LOST CAUSE —Firtiat Pace, A Lost Art—-The repression of crime by | suspension of the criminal. Barrisx Rartnoapvs.—Great Britain appears going wild on the subject of railroads. A law requires a notice of application to Parliament for railway charters to be given before the opening of the session. Already two hundred and eighty have been placed on file, Home ror Decarep Actons.—Although not very popular with the mass of the actors of his day and gencration, the late Edwin Forrest bas won 4 place in the esteem of those who | survive him by his munificent donation for the establishment of a comfortable and per- Manent home for those who have become de- | bilitated or decayed in following their pro- fession. According to the terms of the be- quest this ‘Home’ is to be erected in Phila- delphia, surrounded by an extensive area of | ground, and to ve both an ornament to the | city and in every way appropriate and elegant | for the purposes intended by the donor, In | the hands of proper trustees, and duly in- | corporated by the Legislature of the State, | this “Edwin Forrest Home’ may become one of the finest private cleemosynary institutions in the country, REPRESENTATIVES—TuiRD | as peculiarly unfortunate. From the first his conduct has been too distinctly marked by partisanship, and justifies the suspicion that his advice has led President Grant into his present undesirable position. The Attorney General's telegrams to New Orleans read more like the orders and decisions of an autocrat | than the calm expressions of the legal adviser of a republican administration. As a lawyer, that officer ought to have been the first to recognize the indecency, under any circum- | Stances, of pronouncing a final judgment in a case yet before the Courts, and the last to recommend to the President |@ course in conflict with his consti- | tutional powers and duties. The blunders of the Attorney General have been aggravated by his publication of a special plea intended | to excuse, if not to justify, the course of the administration. His statement, with all its license of assertion, utterly fails in its object. Its tone is bad; it renders the partisanship of the advocate offensively apparent. It is un- becoming a member of the President's Cabinet to use the following language in describing an | act of a Governor of a State:—‘Warmoth then pretended to remove the Secretary of State from office, and appointed in his place a fellow by the name of Jack Wharton.”’ But, independent of the offensive style of the Attor- ney General's official statement, he proves that the contest in regard tothe Board of Can- vassers and Warmoth’s removals was within | the jurisdiction of the State Courts, which were in operation and possessed the power to enforce their orders and compel obedience to their authority; that proceedings were actually pending in those Courts, and hence that the intermeddling of Judge Durell was not only of questionable legality, but was, under the circumstances, a gross interference with the State Courts, The Attorney General | shows conclusively that Judge Durell’s orders and decisions were made to affect the election of the State Legislature, while the law under which the Judge claims to act expressly ex- cludes State Legislatures from his jurisdiction, The Attorney General's apology for the Presi- dent’s action will scarcely be accepted as sufficient, The President, he says, did not | | doubt that irregularities had occurred on both | sides; but, “believing that the republican | ticket had received a majority of the votes of { Louisiana,’’ he determined to forestall the | action of the State by recognizing a Legisla- ture declared elected by a Board which did not | have before it an official election return from a single district of the State. So, according to this legal luminary of the Cabinet, the | ‘belief’ of the President as to the result of a State election is to compensate for all “‘irregu- | larities’’ in the canvass and to decide what ' | government shall be pronounced the “lawful | government of a State.’ ‘These unfortunate events are deplorable for two reasons:—First, in the broad aspect of | the question, because they are calculated to have shown every disposition to prove tho sin- cerity of thoir abandonment of the horesy of secession and their desire to remain loyal to the Union and to be anffered to live in peace. The Southern citizens have done all that man- hood will permit—all that manhood should domand—to show their unreserved acceptance of the results of the war of the rebellion, and unless their States are to become an Ireland or @ Poland thoy are entitled to the samo rights and privileges enjoyed by the rest of tho Union, We regret Prosident Grant's action in this Louisiana matter tho more because his re-cloo- tion afforded him so favorable an opportunity to inaugurate a new and magnanimous policy in his treatment of the Southern States. In all his former publio careor, whilo ho remained independent of tho politicians, General Grant displayed a liberality to- wards the South which did much to endear him to the popular heart; for the Amorican people are generous in tlicir instincts and aro willing to forget the enmities of the past. Tho beliof that in his second term of office the Preaidont would insist upon rostoring to the Southern States all their constitutional rights, and would leave the Southern citizens to manage their own affairs in their own way, influenced many thousands of voters to sup- port him at the polls in the recent clection, North and South, He might have won—bo Bay yet win for himself .a fame peace ag enviable as his reputation in war, by pursuing such a course as will restore entire self-gov- ernment to every State in the Union. It is ‘evident that in his action on the Louisiana mestion ho has been badly advised, but it is guoshae be late fo rémody the evil. Let him recall nition the Pinch- bad Siete ad declare that whiJo hé will usd the federal aimy to protect the State against domestic violence, ho will recognize no government in Louisiana ‘Until a final decision of the controversy has been reached in the Court of Iagt regort, Tho aie Toe Orleans and of the Staté would greatly prefer a temporary military rule, pend- ing such final decision, to Ree af coated es ey a cdmpel a ¢ Judge Durell, “ye which an appeal coul fal | the Supreme Court bes ciready oak et stich an appeal would lie to that Court, By pursu- ing such an independent and impartial course Presidgnt Grant yould not only do justice to the pedple of the tate of Louisiana, but would prove his determination to respect those re- publican institutions he has alroady done so much to preserve. Reconstruction in Mexico=President Lerdo de Tojada’s Fine Opening. The 1st day of December, according to a Henatp correspondent there located, was a great day for the city of Mexico. It was the day of the formal inauguration of President Lerdo de Tejada—a day of general rejoicings and congratulations and of great expectations among the Mexican people. Even the brave old revolutiapary General, Porfirio Diaz, having given in his adhesjon to the new ex- ecutive head of the nation, was present in the capital making complimentary speeches with therestof them. Butstill, with his submission to the now order of things, the old recon- structed rebel stands upon his dignity. Before the supreme will of the people he lays down his arms; he thinks President Lerdo suffi; ciently intelligent for his high position ; that he (the President) should not and is not able to projudge the people for what may occur, and that “insurrections, which have been basely named crimes,” are very good things as warnings to those in authority, looking to the fature. It thus appears that the old revolutionist lays down his arms with a proviso; but, as he is said to be looking after the Vice Presidency, which lies in the appointment to be made of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, it may be assumed that General Diaz will remain loyal and peaceable unless this office is given to somebody else. Meantime President Lerdo begins his regular administration under the best advantages and the finest prospects, He has no revolutionary chiefs in the field against him, he has been unanimously elected, he is cleaning the high roads of the robbers which infest them, he is restoring law and order and industry and public confidence, And by the vote of Congress he has been invested with the power to represent the nation in grant- ing concessions and making contracts for the construction of railroads with ists. Could better proof be given than this of the perfect confidence in which President Lerdo is held by the Mexican Congress? They give him absolute power over this important subject of railroads, and he may enter into contracts for roads here, there and everywhere in the exercise of his unlimited discretion. We have no doubt that it is because the Merican Congress is convinced that railroads are destined to pacify and regenerate Mexico, and because President Lerdo has recommended 4 liberal railway policy, that he has been given this unlimited authority over the subject. We may expect, therefore, soon to hear of the completion of the line now in progress from the city of Mexico to the Pacific, which will give a continuous railway from Vera Cruz to the Pacific. Next we may anticipate a con- tract for a road from the capital northward to the Rio Grande, to connect with a road they | undermine the foundations of republican | liberty and to substitute brute force for law. | ; if the action of Judge Durell was legal in ; Louisiana, a similar authority might be exer- | cised by the federal Courts in any State of the | ; Union, It would only be necessary for the de- | feated party to obtain the friendly aid of a United States Circuit Judge, and the assist | ance of @ body of federal troops, to enable | them to reverse the result of an election and | to seize upon a State government. Once in. | stalled in office by such means, they could | imitate the example of the negro Pinchback | and his Legislature in New Orleans; impeach | and remove objectionable State officials; abol- ish unfriendly or independent State Courts; | disarm the militia; replace the police with | creatures of their own, and thus render their power supreme, All this bas been done in Louisiana, a sovereign State of — the | Union, and if suffered to succeed, the States will henceforth exist only through the sufferance of the federal government. But there is another reason for deploring the arbi- trary action of the federal authorities, It isa cruel insult to @ proud-spirited people, who are constructing between Denver, in Colorado, | and the Mexican frontier; and the Californi- ansarealso pushing fora line on their side which will connect San Francisco with the Halls of the Montezumas, and they, too, are hopeful of satisfactory arrangements with the | progressive President of Mexico. Give our people these roads, give them to the people of Mexico, and both peoples will be satisfied that their interests lie in the reciprocities of trade and the mutual support of each other as sister Republics, and not in the policy of annexation, which we have carried quite far | enough for our own internal harmony and safety, Pustic Divwern Decuiations are now becoming commendably fashionable, Gen- | eral John A. Dix, the Governor elect, is the latest example of this heroism, although the banquet was tendered by the most prominent men in our business community. Let the General persevere in this noble course, and he will be quoted affectionately by posterity free from dyspepsia, as he who first said, “If any one offers you a public banquet decline it on the apot,"* foreign or domestic companies or capital. | Comptrolier Green and the City Fi- mances—The Fatlures of Reformers. Comptroller Green makes @ disingenuous reply to the charges of Alderman Geis in re- lation to the failure to collect the large amount of rent duo to the city from the Erie Railroad for the premises ocoupied by that company on Washington and other atreets, and to the quostions of the Hzranp regarding the pay- mont of interests on tho city and county bal- ances by the banks that have the use of tho money, ‘Pho city has been kept out of four years’ ront, says the Comptroller, because the appraisers appointed by Comptroller Connolly in 1868 failed to agroe, and because no deci- sion was reached by the umpire until a fow months ago, when the valuation of the prop- erty was fixed at two hundred and twenty-five thotisand dollars. Considering that Comp- troller Greon has been in office nearly a yoar and a half, it is singular that so active and officient an officer should have suffered a delay which he regards as reprehensible under his prodecessor to con- tinue for so long a period undor his own régime. His: prediotion that: the amount of forty-five thousand dollars, which ho states is the sum due, will now he promptly collected, may prove true; but if so, the result will be attributable rather. to the zeal of Alderman Geis than to the sharpness of the financial de, | partment of the city government. But in his reply to our questions rogarding the interest on the cily deposits Comptroller Green attempts to mystify the matter in a very curious and suspicious manner. Tho facta are very simple, Under Chamberlain Devlin the gity received no interest on amounts ye- maining in the city and county treasury. The Chamberlain did, however, receive interest, which he put into his own pocket, The de- Pdsits were worth @ great deal to the banks, and they paid the Chamberlain, wo believe, four per cent for the use of the money. The greater the amount in the treasury the piore profit the City Chamberlain realized, ‘Fo consequence wag that m: t tbe balances reached into Pies tira tipon all this amount it least for nine months in the year, the people w. © paying seven per cent integost, the money being raised on city revetitie bonds in anticipation of taxation, Chamberlain Devlin is said to have made over a million dollars ott of this interest. Cham- berlain Sweeny decided to give up this perqui- site of the office and to pay over the in- terest received to the credit of the city. His immediate successor, Chamberlain Bradley, kept up the practice. The interest sccount was kept separately, and when Mr. Bradley retired from office it yeached nearly half a million dollars. This fund was not all the advantage the city derived from the new system. There being no object in keeping heavy balances in the Treasury, for which the city received four per cent interest and paid seven per cent, the balancesran down to a few hundred thousand dollars and the interest paid on revenue bonds proportionately de- creased, Since Chamberlain Palmer came into office the amounts in the city and county treasury have heavily increased. Observing this, the Henatp inquired of Comptroller Green whether the interest on the amounts kept on deposit in the banks was still collected and credited to the city, and if so where the returns were to be found? Thg monthly returns made by Chamber- lains Sweeny and Bradley were no longer forthcoming, and we desired to know whether the old practice prevailing in Cham- berlain Devlin’s time had been resumed and if the city was being again cheated out of the interest on deposits. We put the questions first to Comptroller Green, and his answer is evasive, impertinent and unsatisfactory. We have, therefore, unearthed the truth by an interview between one of our attachés and Chamberlain Palmer himself, and we find our | suspicions confirmed. From the statements of the Chamberlain and hig deputy, which appear in the Henarp to-day, it will be seen that since December last not a single dollar of interest has been paid to the credit of ‘the city. The table of monthly balances during the year shows a gross amount of over sixty-seven millions, or an average of about five millions and a half, | in round numbers, per month. Four per cent interest on these deposits would have realized two hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Not a cent has been paid. The benefit of the | large deposits has gone into some person’s pockets; it has not been secured by the tax- payers. Let us examine the manner in which Comp- | troller Green attempts to evade responsibility | for this return to the rotten system of the-worst days of Tammany rule, and the efforts he makes to befog the plain issue. He admits | that he prohibited last December the practice | of keeping @ separate account and making a | separate monthly return, which every taxpayer | could understand, of the amount of deposits | during the month andthe amount of inter- | est received and paid over to the city. But he affects ignorance of the after-fate of the | interest, when its visible life had thus been | cut off, and ‘‘assumes’’ that it is ‘credited | | where it ought to be, along with the principal of the various accounts on which | it has accrued.” Is this an honest | statement? Comptroller Green knows the | exact amount he raises by bonds and the exact amount paid in to the bank of deposit, the Broadway Bank, from all sources, | | The law requires that all deposits shall be reported to him, and the evidence is kept in his office. The Chamberlain makes reports of his balances, &¢., week by week to the | Comptroller and the public, and these have | shown that nota dollar has been received by | the city for interest on deposits. After for- bidding the keeping of @ separate account of | interest, Comptroller Green in December, 1871, wrote as follows to the Broadway Bank :—~ “I have to request that at the end of each | month you will please add to the credit of the | city and county on your books the amount of | interest which accrues upon the daily balances | at the credit of each account, and that you in- form me of the amount of such credits, that corresponding entries may be made in the books of this department." These reports have never been made, be- cause no interest has been credited to the city. | Hence Comptroller Green must either have been cognizant of this plunder or he must have suffered twelve consecutive defaults to have been made by tho bank of deposit in the feturns he roauired of them last December. He has taken no notice of the non-payment of the interest until the subject has been forced upon his attention by the Henarp, In so honest ® man as Mr. Green this may be a mere oversight, although an unpardonable one in a financial officer who looks with un- and unaccountable suppression of the separate monthly returns made by Chamberlains Sweeny and Bradley, united with his remarkable for- getfulness in the matter of the returns he had demanded from the bank of deposit, would be set down as positive proof that he was interested in the job, and that his action had been taken for the very purpose of facili- tating the diversion of the two hundred and twenty thonsand dollars from the city treasury. The Reign of Murder in the City. Murder is the fashion of the day in Now York. Humiliating as the confession is, truth A Movement im Congress to ‘Batiroad Charges. Resolutions offered by Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, in the Senate, with regard to regu- loting rates of fare and transportation om Rogulata It is under the provision of the constitution which authorizos Congress to regulate com- merce among the several States that these resolutions were offered. It isto be hoped the Judiciary Committee will thoroughly in- vestigate this matter and propose the legisla- tion needed. Tho railroads have grown te be stupendous monopolies, and tax tho people of the whole country and of all classes more heavily than the federal government can ven- ture totax them. A railroad that costa twenty millions inflates its stock to forty, fifty or sixty millions, and than demap? fares from the travelling public and ~ compels it. Oriminal homicides are recorded freight from our farmers and ~ in almost every issue of the Henatp, the sick- ening details furnishing daily sensational hor- pay interest on the inflated - This isa more burde: rors, Life is held cheaper here to-day than it | tax than tho governme: has ever before been, evon in tho most lawless | far to retard the develop, localities of the West or South. In the ‘flush | tho country. Tho railrona times," thirty. or forty years ago, it was eg. ' rivers, are the arteries of « ‘eSfned perilous to visit Natchez-under-the- | tp), States, and Congress -has, Hill after nightfall, Pistols and bowie knives wore freely used there, but the Placklegs who congregated in the hells were cognizant wt = great 48r0e among no doubt, the power to regulate their charges. Woe know of no more important and necessary measure thaa this of Mr. Stewart, which has beon referred of tho custom, and honest people could stay | t> the Committee on the Judiciary, and we away. California’s early miners protected hope that Congress will. act upon it po an early their lives and property with the ready revol- yer, and punished theft by the simple law of vengeance, In the rudy conditions gf gociety which sanctioned such practices there was a lack of the regular organizations for dispensing justice, The swift punishment of an offender by the party injured or his im- mediate friends, though informal, was often actugl justice, and popularly accepted as such. Here, on the contrary, we have mur- derous viglonce in open defiance of law and pug SRG Oar oy 8 zoaesen bra vigilant police. Its Courts of juns- diction are many and costly. Perhaps no- where else does the public pay more liberally for judicial protection, yet murder stalks our most public streets in high day; it holds revel in our slums at night; it infests our hotels; it mocks the majesty of the law by slaying its victim on the threshold of a judge’s chamber; it is all about us, thickening the air with blood, and itis never punished. Jack Rey- nolds was a prophet. His execution only gave the seeming lie to his assertion, ““Hang- ing is played out,”’ which has since his death become literal truth. Our City Prison is thronged with murderers. Their lives are safer there than those of the average citizen in the streets, We do not hold the police responsible for the terrible condition into which we have drifted. They usually detect and arrest the slayers. In the practical uselessness of our Courts and prosecuting officers is the source of this plague, which, if not stayed, will work the ruin of our great and proud city, It is well known that money is able to post- pone and indefinitely prolong the trial of a culprit guilty of the most heinous murder. If money is not used to corrupt officers it certainly is-made to procure such vexatious delays that in effect it thwarts justice and procures immunity from penalty to the most guilty. It obstructs and clogs all the operations of the Courts, and, far worse, has created a popular belief that murder in New York is not to be punished. This is the explanation of the reign of murder at all times and in all places through our city, Were it once again established that speedy and sure hanging would be the fate of every murderer, from that moment murder would become a rare crime, To bring back this assurance is the sacred duty, as it is the urgent interest, of every citizen. Without it neither life nor property can long have value. The Approach of Christmas, In New York and sister cities Christmas has become quite an institution. It is not more faithfully observed in any part of the South, or, indeed, in any part of ‘Merrie England,”’ than it is with us. Thanksgiving Day itself is not more heartily welcomed by the young folks than is Christmas Day and the holidays, which follow it. It is the season of mirth and jollity, of good cheer, of kind wishes and deeds of charity. It is the ‘season in which, more than in any other, the heart goes out beyond itself and finds delight in the diffusion of happiness. The day commemorates a great love, and it is well that on the day char- ity should find free and full expression, In a few days more the holiday season will be upon us, and there is every evidence that the season will be one of unusual prosperity and liveliness, Already the stores along Broadway and on the various avenues are put- ting on their holiday attire. The wholesale places of business are filled with the choicest assortments of goods adapted to the holidays. The theatres, too, promise to be lively and entertaining beyond almost any Christmas season in the past. Ina day or two more our country cousins will be in upon us in crowds. They have their Wants to supply, and their present anxiety Is what stores to visit and where to invest. To all such we commend as the best directory the advertizing columns of the Henaxp. If amusement is wanted the Henao tells where to find it, and where it is safest and wisest to purchase the Henanp in- fallibly guides, Hartex Currescy ayp Prestpent Sacrr's Decrer.—The President of Hayti has issued & decree, as will be seen by our despatch in another part of the paper, to abolish paper money currency; but he very wisely extends the term for ac- complishing this object four months from the 15th of this month. President Seget | might just as well have extended the time | much longer, for no one can imagine how | specie payments are to be resumed where cur- rency holds the relation to specie of three to four hundred dollars for one dollar, and where | there is scarcely any specie in the country. However, as the President has exercised the power to repudiate all the notes of twenty dol- lars denomination, because they have become much depreciated by counterfeits, he may squelch the whole paper currency and debt of the Republic in the same facile manner. Mr. day. The Life Insurance Controversy. The controversy among the life insurance companies and policy-holders, which the action of the Mutual Life Company to reduce the rate of its premiums brought about, hag thrown a great deal of light upon the condition and management both of the Mutual _gnd lif ~~ surance companies gener” Decirous of presenting the £7 to the public our columng Ave beer open to the representations and ar? guments of all sides, leaving the people te ij {2 addition to 9 vast amount of mate ter already published we i to-day & Com. munication from a policy-holder addressed to his fellow policy-holders on the subject of tha management of the Mutual Life Company. ‘The statements made in this are damaging and call for serious consideration, The policy- holders of the Mutual are more immediately concerned in these ; still other companies and the many thousands of policy-holders in all are deeply interested jn inyestigating the alleged mismanagement in order vay en edy fox whateyer evils may exist and to give that feeling of security in life insurance insti- tutions which the: public needs, The contest between the Mutual and otheg | companies appears to be settled for the pres’ ent ae former abandoning its policy of reducing the premiums, though its action in this respect has been declared to be only one of expediency and temporary. Notwithstand- ing this apparent reluctance to yield to the pressure of the other companies, and an- nouncement of the fact, we think the matter may be regarded as settled for atime. This is fortunate, for anything that tends to shake the confidence of the people in these institu. tions is fraught with widespread disaster: We have only to reflect upon the vast number of people of all classes, and particularly of the poorer and industrious class who have beer paying their scanty means to the compa- nies, to understand the terrible consequences that must result from a feeling of insecurity. Then see how all the financial interests of the country are interwoven with these numerous and wealthy life insurance institutions, and what a shock must be given if the impression should become general that they are misman- aged or unsound. While, however, it is gratifying to know that the late controversy, hostility or rivalry, or whatever it may be called, between the | Mutual and other companies has about termi« nated on the question at issue of reducing the premiums, it is evident that a more strict and | comprehensive supervision of the whole sys- | tem is necessary. The revelations that have been made through our columns, and the very. conflict itself which has brought them out, shows that a stringent and general law, appli- cable to all the companies alike, should be. | made and enforced, and that a system of the most rigid inspection by the State should he established. This would prove a benefit to | the companies themselves, by inspiring a feel- ing of confidence and security in the com. munity while affording the necessary protece | tion to the vast number of policy-holders. The State should ascertain if the premiums can be | reduced, and provide against the extravagant | Use or misapplication of the funds of life in- | surance companies. The interests involved are of too great a magnitude to be left to the will, cupidity, cr caprice of individuals ox corporations. Tae Barrse Mission AGAINST THE AFRICAN Stave Trape.—Sir Bartle Frere arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, yesterday, at the head of the British Commission which has been despatched for Zanzibar to operate for the Suppression of the African slave trade. The travellers enjoyed a pleasing, enthusiastic reception from the English officials and the Egyptian army officers serving in the city. Sir Bartle will proceed to Cairo, where he will be entertained as the guest of His Highness the Khedive, He is attended by a at of distinguished officers, as will be Seen by our cable telegram, and will no doubt be enabled to accomplish very important results soon after he reaches the objective point of hia present journey. Congress Yesterday. French spoliation once more engaged the attention of the Senate yesterday. The venerable measure was treated with some indignity at the hands of the Ohio Senators, from which its extreme age should have saved it. The International Exposition at Vienna next year and the Orddit. Mobilier scandal engaged the Honse, For the former some kind words were said on the score of its peace-inclining genius, Is it wrong to be cynical on this view of tha benefits of those international raree shows ?, That they help trade and commerce is some times trac; but that they are of any greater sentimental value than the piping of the wind instraments at the late unfortunate Boston Sumner'’s pet black Republic has a peculiar Jubilee is, we fear, untrue. When wo look and original system of finance for disposing | back over the Paris Exposition of 1867 and of ita objigationa wknown eleowherer the ominous display of Krupp rifled cannom