The New York Herald Newspaper, December 30, 1872, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. Volume xxxvVil.. ++.No. 365 AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. WALLACK’S THEATRE, Broadway and Thirteenth street.—Brotaxr Sam. Pin COMIQUE, 5l4 Broadway.—Dixo Done LL BOOTH’S THEATRE, Twenty-third street, corner Sixth avenue.—Ricuarp lil. OLYMPIC THEATRI and Bleccker sts.—Lxs WOOD'S MUSEUM, Broadway, corner Thirtieth st— Dace, Tae Grant Kitier. Atternoon and Eve! Broadway, between Houston ent ViEnaua. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Swaur Ancreis—Tue Heno or Pouann. \ GRAND OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-thira st. and Eighth ay.—Kounp Tux CLock. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway, between Prince and Houston streets.—Lro axp Loros, UNION SQUARE. THEATRE, Broadway, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth sts.—Scwoo. rox Scanpat. STAOT THEATRE, Nos. 45 and 47 Bowery.—Orrra— The Jewxss. ATHENEUM, No; 685 Broadway.—Tax Tagxr Huxcn- BACKS. (FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, Twenty-fourth street — New Year's Eve. MRS. PF. B, CONWAY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE,— Divonge. BRYANT'S OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third st.. corner th av.—Nrono Mixsrexusy, Eecentnicrty, &c. TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, No. 201 Bowery.— Hoarty Dumrery. SAN FRANCISGO MINSTRELS, corner 28th st. and Proadway.—ETHiovias MiNstTRRISY, &C. \( HALL OF EAST SIDE ASSQOTATION, Fighty-sixth st, and Third av.—Lxorure, Crean Gait.” “ASSOCIATION HALL, 234 street and 4th ay.—Praxo- Forte Some, NEW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618 Broadway.— FCLENCE AND ART. WITH SUPPLEMENT. { New York, Monday, Dee. 30, 1872, THR NEWS OF YESTERDAY. 4 To-Day’s Contents of the Herald. “THE HERALD’S SECOND MISSION TO CUBA! FIGHTING STILL GOING ON!’—EDITORIAL z LEADER—Founri Page. ‘CUBA BATILING FOR FREEDOM! NIGHT AS- SAULT UPON MAYARI! TWENTY SPAN- IARDS KILLED! THE INSURGENT FLAG FLOATING OVER HOLGUIN! HEAVY ‘ SPANISH LOSSES—Firtn Pacr. ‘VEXED CUBA! THE HERALD COMMISSIONER AGAIN IN THE OVER-OPPRESSED ISLE! CAPTAIN GENERAL CEBALLOS REFUSES HIM A SAFE CONDUCT! A RISKY PASS, PORT! SPANISH ARGUMENTS IN REBUT- TAL OF HENDERSON'S STORY—Eica7a Pacs. EUROPE BY CABLE! THE AUSTRIAN PROM- ISE OF SUPPORT TO NAPOLEON: THE RESIGNATION OF THE FRENCH MINISTER AT THE PAPAL COURT: VON BEUST TO BE SHELVED—Firtn Page. STILL CLOGGING THE MISSISSIPPI! A QUARTER OF A MILLION IN STEAMBOATS AND FREIGHT BROKEN UP AND DE- STROYED IN THE IMMENSE FIELDS OF ICE! MEMPHIS UNDER A CLOUD—Firra Pacs, SELECTION TROUBLE ANTICIPATED IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS—GENERAL TELE- GRAMS—Firta Pacs. EXPOSING THE LOUISIANA CENTRALIZATION SCHEME! THE LOUISIANA DELEGATION TELL THE FACTS: SENATOR KELLOGG ANSWERED—TsnTH Pace. WATIONAL CAPITAL NEWS! SUGGESTIONS TO MEMBERS OF THE NEXT CONGRESS: NEW ENGLAND WANTS A CALCIUM TURNED ON THE CREDIT MOBILIER: COUNT CORTI—Firtn Paag. EARCHING FOR THE REMAINS OF THE CEN- TRE STEEET VICTIMS! JUDGE DOWLING AND MORGAN JONES SUBSCRIBE $500 AND THE WORK IS BEGUN: JENNY STEWART'S BODY RECOVERED—SixTH Paas. REMOVING THE SNOWBANKS! GUERILLA s- SAULTS UPON AND AMID THE FROSTY AND FILTHY ACCUMULATIONS: THE RAPID TRANSIT SOLUTION OF THE PRUBLEM— SKATING—SEcOND PaGE. THE OUTLOOK IN THE REAL ESTATE MAR- KET! SALES MADE AND Tu BE MADE: THE WEST SIDE INCREASE IN VALUES— NEGROES ADMITTED TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS— SEcoND Pags. ns PaSTORAL POINTS FOR PIOUS PONDERERS! ODRISTMAS VIEWED FROM DENOMI- N. "CE ATIONAL = “STANDEOINTS ; | TALMAGE ‘THINKS THE TABERNACLE NoT WASTED— ‘TurEy Pas. OPERATIONS OF THE WALL STREET CLIQUES! NAPOLEONIC SCHEMES: WHAT HAS BEEN'DONE: THE BANK STATEMENT— NintH Pace. BOOKS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON—OBITU- ARY—INCENDIARY DIJABOLISM — Sixtn Paan. COLOMBIA AND VENEZUELA! A REVOLUTION ‘ AND INUNDATIONS—ACCIDENTAL SHOOT- ING—REPORT OF THE FIRE MARSHAL— Ninto Page. ENJOYING THe SNOW! THE METROPOLIS IN SLEIGHS: MANKIND MIRRORED—MARI- TIME INTELLIGENCE—TENTH Pace. ‘Tae Pagswext or THE Frexcu Rervstic sustained a severe personal shock, in conse- quence of an accidental fall, on Saturday. He slipped and came to the ground after {eaving the building of the British Embassy. Blight contusions of the hip and elbow fol- fowed. M. Thiers held a reception yesterday evoning notwithstanding. The venerable gen- tleman has passed the seventy-fifth year of his age. It is to be hoped that his health will not suffer from the accidental injuries when the bodily reaction is complete. Tae Reront or tHe Cur Exorveen or owe Anmy on our land defences, which we published yesterday, would lead the Man in the Moon to believe that we are surrounded by formidable hostile nations on the warpath, and that our main business is the building of fortifications, the casting of heavy artillery and the transportation of gunpowder for the war against our encircling foes. We say, how- ever, that if the Treaty of Washington means anything, “Jet us have peace.’ og. ‘Tux TRACK OF THE npr Storm is marked by dtuteTous wrecks an: disastrous consequences on the landand sea. ‘The full force of the tempest appeats to have swept the coast of New England, Ney Brunswick ‘and Nova Scotia, and as it passed out into the ‘Atlantic to the channel of the Gulf Stream, The Herald’s Second Mission to Cuba— Fighting Still Going On. In another column of to-day’s Hznanp wo lay before our readers the first letter from our Special Commissioner to the Island of Cuba, Mr, James J. O'Kelly. It will be een there- from that Captain General Ceballos has de- cided not to repeat his extension of protection to a Henaxp correspondent. . ‘The grounds on which he bases this refusal to perform a grace- ful act are certainly not conclusive. In all the points which he calls to his aid in giving his explanation a pleasant faco there is one which will be noted as the most promi- nent—namely, the offence to Spanish authority in doubting Spanish statements about the in- surrection. ‘However this hauteur may satisfy Castilian pride, it is not enough. The exist- ence of the insurrection is not denied by the Spaniards, but it is by them reduced on paper toa mere handful of naked, starving negroes, under the command of a few white despera- does. . The Cuban:sympathizers, on the other hand, aver that the patriots cannot be beaten, and the careful investigations of our late Com- missioner go a good way to confirm that belief, while pointing out the faint chances of ultimate rebel success, To investigate such a state of affairs is worthy the best efforts of an inde- pendent journal, Carried on as is this war with all the atrocities of old barbarism, it is a disgrace to our civilization, and any steps which would lead to its cessation should be hailed in the heart of every human being with pleasure. Vapid oratory and rhodomontade on the Cuban side and rabid rage among the Spaniards have been the insecure data from which the outside world has endeavored to form an opinion of the standing of the parties in the war. The washy sentimen- tality of. the multitude for Cuba Libre drives Spain into ..ill-temper _- with America, and the meaningless utterances of the President in the same vein do not improve our relations with the Spanish gov- ernment. A hollow sympathy for the in- surrection satisfies President and people, while everything which can aid and comfort the Spaniards isat the same time accorded. It has been for four years one long story of professed friendliness to the Cubans and active assistance to Spain. We wish to see this anomaly ended. ‘The investigation of Mr. Henderson laid bare a part of the story and shed new light on somo of the most interesting features of this deadly strife. In our anxiety to learn the whole truth our present Commissioner has taken up the position vacated by Mr. Henderson. We cannot, therefore, characterize the refusal of the Captain General to allow Mr. 0’ Kelly the same facilities as his predecessor otherwise than as a grave mistake on his part. It matters little whether Mr. Henderson left Santiago de Cuba because of the laborantes, the volunteers or the vomito. The courtesics which he re- ceived we are grateful for, and” believe that it could not possibly injure the cause of Spain to have them renewed for his successor. Con- vinced, however, that our present Commis- sioner will use all honorable efforts to fulfil his mission, now made doubly perilous, we can only regret the mistaken policy which needlessly hampers him at the outset. _ The cdtise of Mr. Honderdon’s departuré from theisland has been made the source of many speculative efforts among the Spanish press in Cuba. From the Diario, which edi- torially gives General Riguelme’s side of the story, we copy elsewhere an article on the matter. The reasons it advances are puerile, for we do not credit the idea that the man who took the field with the Spanish troops and braved danger in entering the insurgent camp would run away from so much of the yellow fever as appears in Cuba in the Winter months. The explanation made by Mr. Hen- derson, that he considered his mission com- pleted, and that he left simply at the first op- portunity, covers the question beyond cavil. It is certainly convenient for the Spanish au- thorities to have such bogies as the laborantes and the vomito at hand to account foranything which they may think needs explanation. The news telegraphed us from Havana, under date of Saturday, will give increased force to the interest excited in regard to the Heniry's mission. Tyo oo} ble fights have taken place in the districts, the advantages in each being with the rebels. Although details are wanting, and likely to be for some time, the fact of two defeats, with heavy loss to the Spaniards, is admitted. The town of Holguin, a place of six thousand inhabitants, in the Oriental Department, was the scene of the most remarkable of these ex- ploits. The fort of the town, left undefended by the regulars and unoccupied by the volun- teers (the former having departed on an ex- pedition), was suddenly captured by the insur- gents under Vicente Garcia. The volunteers, un- aware of this surprise movement, on marching to garrison the fort were met by a heavy fire, and lost, they admit, twenty killed, although report places it nearer sixty. The hardy rebels held their position all night and retreated unhurt, after inflicting what damage they could, before daybreak. At Mayari the rebels similarly surprised the town and sacked sev- eral houses before the authorities were aroused. A detachment of marines, sent ashore to drive out the insurgents, were badly cut up, losing twenty men. The insurgents, it is stated, carried off their dead and wounded. In view of the Spaniards claiming the victory, either the Cuban loss must havo been very slight or their retreat carried out with great delibera- tion. These two gallant affairs singularly carry out the plan of warfare explained by the insurgent chief, Cespedes, to our late Commis- sioner. Confeasedly unable to meet their enemies in the open field, they harass the enemy night and day with false alarms, am- buscades and sudden attacks. It is more than probable that the Spanish regulars who left the fort at Holguin undefended were at the time of its capture in pursuit of the same band who so suddenly occupied it. It can, in all these skirmishes and collisions, be seen that the Spanish vaunt of having re- duced the insurgents to the contemptible con- dition of parties of armed vagabonds is not quite the truth. They show that the Spanish army in the field is not numerous enough to occupy the great number of posts needing de- fence and at the same, time conduct opera- tions om any large scale in the ficld. To extirpate the insurgents, or, to use along that line to the other side of the Atlan- tic, serious misfortunes are apprehended. ‘We can only hope that a few hundred miles out the storm was exhausted or reduced to an December gale. the Spanish phrase, pacify them, would re- quire at least double the force at present en- gaged in the campaign. The surprises as car- ried out ot Holguin or Mayara may bo re- peated in a weck at other places, an’ every | Fhe Loutsinna Usurpation—A Partisan woek thereafter in etill other neighborhoods for an indefinite period, What reason, the, can Spain give for this inability to cope with’ what she calls a small rebellion? The atro- cious, ruthless struggle that continues to be waged debars her from shirking this demand. We look at the question outside of sentiment, and in the light of humanity alone. Were the ranks of the insurgents at present doubled, the conflict, if made more bloody fora time, might be shortened by giving victory to their side. This isa contingency which Spanish pride might never acceptias possible until convinced beyond doubt. ‘The four million negroes here, who are now moving in behalf of five hundred thousand of their race en- slaved. in Cuba, could furnish a large army if they were free to go. We do not bring these things forward simply to cause irritation. ‘The government of the United States bas observed a neutrality too markedly one-sided to make it probable that the Cubans would be allowed to ship a single negro. to fight for his brethren. But the weakness of Spain in Cuba may, at any hour, from home complications, be mado weaker. still, and. tho, American government might, in the bloodier straggle that would follow, be compelled to take a part, 80 as to end it. ‘What that part would be will be interpreted by every one according to his desires, From the equivocal -stand occupied by the American government and people to- day it would be hazardous to conjecture on which side they would strike. Searching for the Centre Street Vice tims. The painful conflict of authority has ceased in reference to the removal of the débris from the site of the recent calamitous conflagration in Centro street in order to recover the re- mains of the unfortunate persons known to have perished in the flames or by falling walls. To dclay and quibble under such circum- stances is a disgrace to our bonsted civiliza- tion and reflects sadly upon the system of government in New York. At length, how- ever, the relatives and friends of the dead may hope to recover the charred and mangled re- mains of those buried beneath the blackened ruins, though it cannot be said that they will be greatly indebted to the city authorities for the privilege. While Coroner Herrman was getting up an elaborate document as to his intentions and authority in the premises and engaged in consultation with his colleagues Messrs. Dowling and Jones each contributed two hundred and fifty dollars, and yesterday started a gang of men to remove the rubbish and find the bodies. Of course the expense has been the chief deterrent of the various city departments from the first, and these gentlemen determined to furnish the funds out of their own pockets, thus prac- tically breaking the deadlock and tending to relieve the anxiety of bereaved and sorrowing parents and families. The Coroners subse- quently stated that unless something were done by Tuesday, the 31st instant, they would com- mence to search for the seven victims either with or without the co-operation of the other departments; but private benevolence has forestalled them. A deputation from the In- ternational Council also waited upon Mayor Hall yesterday afternoon, who informed them that he had given orders to Coroner Herrman to have the débris cleared up. Finally Justice Dowling succeeded in secur- ing the assent of one of the Commissioners of Charities and Correction to have a hundred able-bodied men from the Workhouse to as- sist in the search. Hence the work of clearing has been fully entered upon. In twenty min- utes after the first shovel of material had been removed the body of a woman was discovered and duly identified. The search will be con- tinued and probably ended to-day, and it is to be hoped the occasion will prove a beneficial lesson to those in authority for the future, convincing them that if they hesitate in the performance of a purely humane and paramount duty there are citizens who know how and will not hesi- tate to perform it for them. Tae Kv Kuvx Prwoxzers From Sours Canoima.—The steamship James Adger, from Charleston on Saturday last, brought to this portten Ku Klux prisoners from South Caro- lina, on rowe for the Albany Penitentiary. They Were, excoDting one, young men ranging in age from nineteen ¢0_ thirty-five years, and all married but one, and dongpicuous among them was the Rev. John Ezell, df, perhaps, fifty, of the Macedonian Baptist churcb, Spar- tanburg, 8. C. Two have confessed to the commission, 4s Ku Klux, of fourteen murders, and the others were proved guilty of partici- pating in the raid on the Union county, 8. ©., Jail, some two years ago, in which fifteen men were killed—blacks imprisoned on a charge of murdering several whites, if we are not mis- taken, These Ku Klux are sentenced from two to five years’ close confinement, with various fines attached. The men are mostly the sons of planters, developed into Ku Klux from the general demoralizations of war and the complete overturning of Southern society in the fiery furnace of the late rebellion. They have some hopes of Executive clemency, and, so far as extenuating circumstances may apply ina careful investigation of their cases, we hope they will be considered and admitted. Waat Ir Aut Amounts To.—Whenever a particularly severe disaster occurs on sea or land it is followed by a great outcry against some corporation or other for culpable negli- gence or worse. But what does it all amount to? Ina few days it is forgotten, and things goonas usual. Steamboat and railroad cor- porations pay not the slightest heed to the public clamor. They go on running rheu- matic steamers and epizootic boilers as though nothing had happened. Dilapidated bridges and broken rails are left untouched. Fire escapes are unprovided. Dangerous flues are kept going. Wooden structures continue to go up like Father Hepworth’s on Madison avenue, and, in fact, nothing good results from all the warnings and clamorings for reform and improvement. Of a surety Amer- icans are the most good-natured, most patient and least provident people in the world, Tue Overnancine Masses or Sxow from the roofs of many buildings in the city should be dislodged by hand, or, from their fall upon the pavement without a moment's warning, men, women and children may be killed or crippled for life. The proper authorities should at once attend to this matter, Story from LEx-Secretery of State Herron, We publish in to-day’s Hrnarp a communi- cation from F. J. Herron, the late Acting Sec- retary of State of Louisiana, whose name has figured so conspicuously in the events in that State which have culminated in the overthrow of the legitimate government by fedoral power. Mr. Herron claims to have discovered inaccu- racies in the Hzrarp editorial of the 24th in- stant, on the Louisiana troubles, and proceeds to correct them by setting forth a statement of his own, in which the Warmoth wing of these scrambling carpet-baggers are shown to be altogether in the wrong and the Kellogg wing wholly in the right. We have long since pub- lished the story now told by Mr. Herron, together with the partisan versions of the other side, and, without crediting either, we have endeavored to sift from them, as well as from the proceedings before the Courts, the testi- mony of disinterested parties: and the scci- dental developments made during the progress of the controversy, such grains of truth as might load us to's correct judgment of the mer- its of the case, Mr. Herron’s communication affords us no.new light, exceptin so for as it adds his own written testimony to ‘the already satisfactory evidénce of the illegality of the bogus Returning Board, in which he figured with Messrs. Lynch, Longstreet and Hawkins, and to which, in violation: of law and in de- fiance of the constitutions of the United States and of the State of Louisiana, a federal Judge assumed to give legal authority over election returns which were never in its possession. We will take Mx. Herron’s statement of the circumstances attending the meeting of the regular State Returning Board, at which he claims that the Lynch Board, as it is called, was legally chosen. It is as follows: —‘“‘At this juncture (the Board having been in session an hour, and holding its second meet- ing) Governor Warmoth handed me a notice of my removal as Secretary of State, which I declined to accept, not acknowledging his power to remove me. I then nomi- nated James Longstreet and Jacob Haw- kins, to fill the vacancies, which was carried by the votes of John Lynch and myself, and a motion to adjourn was carried by the same vote.’’ This history of the proceedings of the Board has been con- tradicted by the other side; but, accepting it as truthful, it proves that the motion to elect Longstreet and Hawkins was proposed by Mr, Herron and voted for by him after his removal by the Governor, when he was no longer Acting Secretary of State and had no position on the Board. ‘Idid not acknowl- edge the Governor's power to remove me,” says Mr. Herron; but what he acknowledged or declined to acknowledge has nothing to do with the case. He had been removed from the office of Secretary of State by the Chief Executive, and it was not for him, but for the Courts, to decide whether the removal was legal or illegal. Until they did so decide he could not perform another ministerial act as Secretary of State, and hence could no longer sit on the Returning Board, of which he was a member ex officio only. In- deed, Mr. Herron himself supplics us with evidenco of his incapacity when he proceeds to state that immediately after tho adjournment of the Board he applied to the Eighth District Court for an injunction against his successor in the office of Secretary of State, Mr. Wharton, and also brought suit against him under the ‘Intrusion into Office’ act. If such proceedings were needed to restore Mr. Herron to the official duties from the discharge of which he had been removed by Governor Warmoth they were needed the moment the notice of his re- moval was served upon him, and he was de- barred thereafter from doing any official act until rehabilitated by the Courts, 2 But what was Mr. Herron’s actual position under the Louisiana State government? He was not the constitutionally elected Secretary of ‘State, but the mere creation of Governor Warmoth, who had, in 1871, removed the reg- ularly elected Secretary Bovee and appointed Herron, just as he afterwards removed Herron and appointed Wharton. In all such cases the Courts have held that the appointee can perform none but the ministerial duties of the office to which he is temporarily assigned ; that none of the powers and privileges con- ferred by the law upon the constitutionally chosen officer are enjoyed by the appointed, and, hence, that he has no fixed term of office. We believe that such a decision was actu- ally made by the Louisiana Supreme Court in Mr. Herron’s own case, and that his pe- moval of the Assistant Secretary appointed by Boveé* <was held to be illegal, on the ground that; if fegally appointed himself, he could exercise the ministerial duties of the office only and was possessed of none of its con- stitutional powers and privileges, Mr. Herron was, therefore, simply am agent of Governor Warmoth, discharging the routine duties of Secretary of State, without any legal rights pertaining to the position, without any fixed tenure and liable to be removed at will by the authority that appointed him. There may have been. some question as to the power of the Governor to remove Bovee; but Bovee was compelled to go to the Courts to test that question, and could not legally perform a single official act until the decision was ren- dered. There can be little question as to the tight of the Governor to remove Herron; but Herron, if desirous of testing the right, was bound to do so through the Courts, as his pre- decessor had done. Herron was appointed to succeed Bovee in precisely the same manner in which Wharton was appointed to succeed Herron, and the legality of his own appoint- ment and of the removal of Bovee have been maintained by Herron in the Courts, The politicians who have been implicated in the disgraceful proceedings in New Orleans may as well understand that the people of the United States care very little about them or their partisan pleas. Their scrambles and fights would have attracted but little attention outside the limits of the State they plunder but for the fact that they have led to acts on the part of the federal administration which threaten to subvert the principles of free gov- ernment. The weakness of Mr. Herron’s case shows the outrageous usurpation of Judge Durell’s Court. Under the cover of a law which confers upon this Court special juris- diction to give roliof to a person who, being a candidate for any office “except Elector for President or Vice President, member or Dele- gate in Oongross, or member of the Stato Legislature '’ is dofeated in the election and SCS NEW YORK. HERALD, MONDAY, DECEMBER . 30, .1872—WiITH SUPPLEMENT. pai fs held armed possession of the halls of logisls- tion; seized upon the State armory, disarmed the State militia, and thus assisted in the dis- Placement. of the Governor of the Btate, the breaking up of independent State Courts, | the suppression of a froe press, and all the other outrages which have followed inthe wake of federal interference. It is these feloni- ous assaults upon the constitutional rights of'a State—these indications ‘that the liberties of the people may ‘be held at the mercy of any partisan federal Court, backed up by federal bayonets—that have startled and alarmed the people. Apart from this they care nothing about the squabbles of the Louisiana scala- wags and carpet-baggers, and would be only too glad if their fight could have a termina- tion similar to that, which resulted from the battle of the historical cats of Kilkenny. The Pastors? Review of 1872. Thero is always more or less of reverence and awe connected with last things in life. The last look or last word of a dear friend ora loving child or parent. are remembered: longer and hold a fresher and greener spot in the heart than any other word or look. The last days of a year or of a lifetime bring with them reflections that no other days suggest. There is.a special solemnity in the occasion if the last day of the yoar falls on tho Sabbath. Though yesterday was not the last day of the year 1872, it was the last Sunday, and the preachers and pastors very generally reviewed the religious events of the year, and drew forth appropriate lessons therefrom. The attendance in the several churches was larger than it is ordinarily, as if some sort of superstition possessed the minds of the people that the last Sabbath of the year ought to be spent religiously. And no doubt it ought. But not it alone. Every Sabbath should be so spent if we would make our lives ® benediction and our influcnce a power among men. Dr. Chapin drew from the closing ycar the lesson of the decay of the outward man, and urged thereby the renewal of the inward man day by day. A year is a large sum to bo taken from the capital of life, and life is a capital that is ever wasting and is not to be recruited. While we may not feel decay in our- selves we are nevertheless reminded that we are passing away by. the whitening hairs and weakened limbs of our acquaintances of other days. Decay is real; not to men only, but to all material things. In the ordinary business of life there is no other account than that of profit and loss, and in this business of living the losses are all on our side. We lose hotirs, days and years, and materialism says it is a dead loss: there is no gain. But Paul’s common sense (and the Doctor declared that his epistles contained more of it than two-thirds of the books in the libraries of the world) assured him that there is solid gain, for while the outward man per- ished the inward man was renewed day by day. The great lesson, therefore, which Dr. Chapin drew from the closing year is the com- pensation by an increase of spiritual life for the loss of the material. The value of time and its improvement were suggested to Mr. Powers’ mind as proper themes for the closing Sabbath’s sermon of 1872, Time, he said, is the twin brother of space. It isthe most regretted when it is gone and the least regarded when it is by. It is always the friend of the virtuous and well- disposed, but it is the bitter and tormenting foe of the vicious and evil-minded. Alas! that this fact is so little remembered or be- lieved in. Mr. Northrup was ready, with David, to thank God for judgment as well as for mercy during the year. Temporal life, he said, is the giftof God, and its value is shown in longevity, given os a reward to the good. In reviewing the judgments as well as the mer- cies of Mr. Northrop paid an eloquent tribute to the Inte Horace Grecley—“a sane Wea (wee (Ho. Gieat De Rete dent, yet. did not ow it; @& man who did more for his country than the whole pack of snarling curs who defamed and called him a devil during life, yet who were ready enough to make a saint of him when dead,” The fleetness of time, as instanced by the pass- ing year, was made a motive for living holier and better lives in the year to come. Mr. Hepworth undertook to brush away the false impression that prevails that Jesus Christ lived in obscurity and died in ignominy, and to prove that, on tho contrary, He lived in purple and died right royally. The mode and ar- rangement of his proofs are barely indicated in our sketch, but as the details in the Gospels are within reach of every one the proofs can be examined at leisure. It is figuratively if not literally cor- rect to impute to a year a soul. Mr. Frothingham, while he very elaborately reviewed the social, political and moral events, not only of the year now closing but of years long gone, brought out prominently to view “the soul of the New Year’’—the principle which shall bring a reaction in many of the social and religious questions of to-day. Tem- perance, woman's rights, orthodox creeds, re- ligious revolutions, will be affected by the soul of 1873, Every yearisa prophet. The past heralds the future. The past is gone beyond recall. The evil that we may have done cannot now be undone, though it may be forgiven, nor can the good that we have done be improved. But the future is before us, bright and fresh and virginal, and if wo begin 1873 as we did 1872 some may regret it ere the year closes. The social practice of wine-bibbing on New Year's Day was deprecated by Mr. Parker, who charged it with making hosts of moderate drinkers, from whose ranks the thousands of drunkards sre annually drawn, and who are responsible for the fearful category of vice that fills graves and crowds hell with victims. ‘These social customs not only affect men, but, So the — Parker declared, they “are making our daughters dainkards also."’ He, therefore, cautioned his poople against putting the bottle to their meighboms’ lips an Wednesday next. Mr. Grabam, in veviewing the events of the year, could see thé onward march of the Church. The disasters-and accidents by land and sea he considered ag evidences that God is angry with the sons of’ men, Tho’ ‘social and political movements which e taken place in “Europe inspired with fresh confidence in» the Church’s’,and the world’s progress in the future, Mr. Cathedral, in the course which he presented the Lord, Jesus. Christ as ;the lever by: hitch men are raised up to God. And though He is nolonger visibly present with’ps He ia spiritually present in the sacraments, and to receive Him in these the reverend prelate considered to be the imperative duty of 00d Catholic.” Tho new year pe ya of prayer for the afflicted Pontiff, that the light of faith may break in upon the darkness that surrounds him, and that the'erring oni. dren of the Church may return to, her fold again, . Mr. Beecher’s discourse is. hardly worthy the dignity of sermon, It was rather essay on wit and good nature, with a texte front and Christ in, the rear to give it a sort of religious appearance; but take away the text and a few lines towards the close and it. would make a pleasant social talk for the patlor or the lecture room. But, when We, have so many ministers who put s0 little of Christ into their sermons, a man of Mr. Beecher’s prominence should never Jet an op- portunity pass to lift up the Saviour that men may be attracted to him. Dr. Chapman protested against indiscrimie nate and absurd culogies of the dead such as he had heard and read lately. He protested against making men saints after they die wha never mado a profession of Christianity while living. Mr. Talmage impressed upon his audience in the Brooklyn Academy of Music the value of faithful performance of duty, and drew from the conflagration of his Tabernacle a lesson of the fires of the last day and the im- portance of building a moral structure here that shall escape the fires of the future. Mr. Camp preached an ordinary Christy mas sermon in Unity Chapel, Brooklyn, and Dr. Marshall also a Christmas discourse in the Presbyterian church in Hoboken, The sketches of sermons which we give to-day will, perhaps, repay perusal by our readers, for though the theme is one the thought and the treatment are varied. The Fire Marshal’s Report on Our Late Destructive Fires. The Fire Marshal, in reference to the Fire at Barnum’s Museum, says that in his opinion “the fire originated under the floor imme- diately over the boiler, and from superheated steam, which, in its effects, is as destructive as burning gas or gas flame, and where it is allowed to gain strength is sure to be terrible in its results." He says, too, that the managers of the establishment were repeatedly warned of this danger, but that ‘these ad- monitions were entirely neglected.” With regard to the Centre street fire, he learns that it was caused in the printing office, third floor, of Dun, Barlow & Co., from negligence with a lighted paper, whereby it came into contact with the inflammable vapor from the benzine with which some boys were washing off the printing presses, and that before many minutes the entire interior was a secthing mass of flame. He gives it as his opinion substantially that if the elevator and stairway adjoining—the only means of escape—had been constructed deliberately asa trap for the destruction of human life it could not have been more ingeniously devised. His remarka on “the utter neglect and want of considera tion for public feeling manifested by the proprietor of the building,” touching the remains of those poor girls among the ruins, are strong, but they are evidently just and true, Hi The fire at Maillard’s confectionary is pro- nounced as the result of ‘‘one of those acci- dents that no human foresight could have anticipated or prevented;”’ that, as far as it can be penetrated, this fire was caused by “sparks from the furnace, close to which cocoa was roasted, getting among the shells, and these sparks, smouldering among the warm shelis, burst forth into flames in the morning.’’ It thus appears that while Mr. Maillard is fully endorsed in his careful precau- tions against fire these other two destructive éoaflagrationg resulted from the moat culpable neglig a responsible al fig to the safety of both life and property. The interests of the community call for a thorough judicial inquiry into these cases, PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE. Charles M. Barras, dramatic author, is at the St. Nicholas Hotel. Rev. Robert Collyer, of Chicago, sojourneth at the St. Nicholas Hotel. Judge J. P. Emmons, the Attorney Gencral of Florida, is totally blind. Ex-State Senator Thomas Parsons is lying ill at his residence in Rochester. Colonel E. Palacios, of Costa Rica, has quarters at the Grand Central Hotel. United States Marshal J. B. Hubbard, of South Carolina, is in town, at the New York Hotel. 4 Albert Rhodes, the Galaxy essayist and ex-diplo- mate, is @ temporary sojourner at Washington. Mary Clemmer Ames ts, a8 usual, installed at the capital for the season as correspondent of the Ide. George B. Shepherd, of New Pedford, Mass., io Clerk of the Warmoth House of Representatives in Louisiana, Walt Whitman is still attached to one of the gov- ernment bureaus, and still “invites his soul” om Pennsylvania avenue, Grace Greenwood is a Winter resident of Wash- ington, and occupies @ portion of her time writing letters to a New York journal. ‘The Marquis de Chambrun divides his time be- tween book-making and his duties as logal coun- sellor to the French Legation. W. 0. Robinson and Edward 8. Sears, of the Bos- ton Post, have left that paper and accepted edi- torial positions on the Journal. George B. Macarthy, of the Printing Bureau, Washington, has not been announced at any of our hotels lately, What's the matter? General Julius White, the lately appointed United States Minister to the Argentine Repubtic, is among the late arrivals at the Hoffman House. Charles Astor Bristed—“Carl Benson’’—lives opu- lently in his Own house on K street, Washington, formorly occupied by Secretary Stanton. An indictment has been found against Mary Ang Colton for poisoning Charles James Colton at West Auckland, England, She is also accused of having poisoned about twenty other persous., She isin we