The New York Herald Newspaper, January 11, 1873, Page 11

has @ Ddiock , Movement, and the desolate and poverty-stricken . for which. “ RAPID TRANSIT. *NEW Y ORK. HERALD, , SATURDAY, that the company wil! do the best they can to avoid ¢he risk of the forfeiture of their privileges. Onginally, the road wes intended to be worked by uMatic power, but this has been abandoned deference to the existing prejudice avout its im- racticability, This, however, is a mere matter of ‘Gleams of Hope in the Present and seta which lias not much ailectea the onginal the Near Future, ‘Extension of the Elevated Railroad in Greenwich Street—A Specimen Ride—Operations To Be at Once Begun Upon tho Gilbert Rail- road—The Eoute Laid Out and the ‘Capital Ready—What It Looks Like—Prospects of Its Repid Completion—The Fourth Avenue Improvement. ‘That fretful impatience and readiness to look at “the gloomiest side of things, which 80 many philos- ophers have remarked as being among the most conspicuous traits of the human mind, have been rarely more plainly displayed than in the matter of rapid transit, ‘Talk to the average citizen upon this subject and he will at once dolefully tell you ‘that he doesn’t believe we shall ever have anything better than the stages and cars fh which we are most of us now condemned to pass a tenth, and per- haps even an eighth of our waking existence, The road is to run right round the city, Starting from the City Hall on one side aud the Battery on the other, with a continuation of the wost side track 4s far as Kingsbridge, along the western margin of the Harlem Kaver, ‘There is ® double track each way, and each train of cara makes the complete circuit of the city. Thus there ae Mig in all about twenty mites of road to be WHAT IT LOOKA LIKB. In the ofice of the company which has been formed for the carrying out of this scheme thera isa beautifully executed model of the projected road, and the promoters of the plan, of course, promise that the road shall be as graceful in apaeanence as its miniature prototype. The an consists of a series of iron arches, span- Ring the street at intervals of about sixty-six feet apart (thus taking about turee to a block), with a transverse arched girder, leaving the centre of the Space between the girder and the arch free for the track, The height of the arch ts forty-five feet, and of the girder twenty-five fect from the ground. The bay which form the roots of the arch, and which are of wrought iron, rest im cast-iron sockets, which are let into the edge of the side- walk. These sockets are four fect square aud three feet deep. The space between the piilars across the street 1s sixty-two feet. The tracks are laid on an open truss lattice girder, and take pb twenty feet of space, They are four feet eight and a half inches wide, the regu- lar gauge, They are Inid directly on wooden crossties, thus, it is claimed, securing comparative noiselessness and avoiding the terrible clamor and | which wotld arise if iron were employed for the which constitute, in discomfort and positive phys- | purpose. Such are the main features of the gen- a foal sudering, so lively a picture of the hor- rors of purgatory: whiie even if we ever do, it will be at much too remote a date in the far future to have more than @ Specudative interest for the present generation, Yet how far this is from the truth! An instalment of one rapid.transit line is now actually running for a length of about three mules at ‘least, and two- other projected schemes are being pushed rapidly forward, one of which will have tobe completed from the Battery to Forty-second street, under pain of the forfeiture of its charter, within a pe- » Flod of seventeen months from this present writing, THE ELEVATED RAILROAD. Probably not more than a tenth of our eitizens have ever availed themselves of the elevated rail- road, which after surviving so many vicissitudes of fortune and expiosions of popular ridicule, is now Carrying daily some two or three thou- Band passengers. There are many things Bgaingt it—its apparent perils, its fitful timetable, tts adhesion to the “early closing” Bir which seems to cling about its stations. But these are mere trifies. The danger is probably little, ifany, greater than on a surface road and the coaches are passably comfortable if they are not positively luxurious. And a trial is enough to Convince anyone that it ig inflnitely and immeas- orably superior in point of speed and convenience to the horse cars. Just now, indeed, when biock- ” ades occur hourly even in the widest avenues, and Oar passengers, after waiting patiently for a quar- ter of an hour within half a mile of their destina- tion, are frequently obliged to get out and, climb- Ing over @ mountain of soiled snow and then wading through a swamp of ice-cold water— and they are lucky if they do not tumble ieee JOnrney make wi best of their home over dangerously slippery pavements, the advantages of the new road 7tO° al y one that eer pull ve @ few blocks of its route are especially A NEW STATION just been opened at Morris street, within a of the Battery; and one can now, therefore, either start uptownward from there or from the corner of Dey and Greenwich streets, which for a Jong time previously had been the terminus, as - is still the downtown headquarters of the road. he stairway is not very inviting, but it is kept from the usual coating of ice, and, arrived on the platfor you find yourself in the midst of a rowd of perhaps two hundred people. Frequently, deed, towards the close of the afternoon, the ‘throng is #0 great {hat the officials close the gate and turn away intending passengers, as it is one of the fixed and unalterable rules of the com- pany that there shall be no more people carried han can be seated inthe coaches. Ima little while the train, consisting of two coaches anda small dummy engine, comes swiftly along, making comparatively no noise at all, atthe worst not more thana stage clattering over the stones of | Broadway. The coaches are rather curiously con- atructed, the main body between the wheels being let down very near the rails, while at each end there is a sort of upper apartment. This probably gives the cars a firmer grip upon the track and ane, JSTRIBUTES THR Woe — Wasto Peete dE RoaTEE that vibration | from side to side whicn indicates a greater ox less | degree of top-heaviness. Each car seats about seventy-five people, and sometimes there are besides half a dozen or so ‘of accidental ‘“standees.” As you sit inside | the coach, there is at first a rather curious sense of Ansecurity. The cars seem resting upon nothing, and, as you look down through the windows into the street, you notice that you will have an un- (pleasantly long distance to fall in the event of a disaster, But before you have had time to get | acared enough to retreat, there comes the well- Known signal of -‘All aboard,” the conductor looks put from the rear of the ngine along the road as though it were just possibl eee, might be something on the track, or track had Aaya vee altogether, and then, without any rn J, such 8 you have becn accustomed to in your previous jOurnéys behind the iron ee } the train beging slowly to move along at a level ust a little higher than the second story of the houses along the route, has deen written about the strangeness of 2 first journey on a _ Londen railroad ‘over ‘the rooftops’? and among the huge stacks of chim- :meys which are the one great picturesque feature | ef domestic architecture in Cockneydom, but it | \may be doubted whether AN EXCURSION } along this new city railroad does not surpass itin | interest. On the rooftops there is nothing tobe | geen, after all, except now and then a plump ser- | vant moving among a wilderness of clothes props | and damp linen, or a cote of pigeons, or a flock of | swallows, or “something of that sort, you knew,” | and these objects soon grow tame and monotonous. But to be gilted with what practically amounts to the power of Asmodeus and to look into the secrets | cof the second story rooms of a New York street, | that 18 indeed worth a ten cent stamp, especially | a8 most of the inhabitants are of the poorer classes of society and take the chances of being discovered at their domestic occupations witha nonckalance | and indifference that are, to say the least of it, | somewhat surprising. Bu THE SPEED : at which you are borne along prevents these glimpses into private life from being more than | goomentary. For, after you have once left the sta- | tion, the engine plods forward with an earnestness | and vigor that strikes a horse-car passenger dumb with amazement. From Dey to Canal the journey , takes exactly five minutes; from Canal to Twelfth is another five minutes; from Twelfth to Twenty- first street 13 Lang a matter of less than three | minates more, and you reach the present terminus of the road uptown at the Hudson River depot in something less than twenty minutes. Surely, thisis, | 4ndeed, an carnest of a brighter future. i 'A few words must now be said about the running | of the cars over the curious structure which forms the track and its support. The jumping at the end of each rail which we have all noticed in riding ever an ordinary surface road is much more dis- tinct, but the jump takes place at each post. You are plainly being transported along | @ line of sepa A rails, and thongh the- declension is very slight it is enough to be unpleasautly per- ceptible and suggestive of posgjble mishaps. The officials, however, are confident ef the safety of | the road, and smile ween you talk of the chances of @ broken rail. VhESENT CONDITION AND PROSPECTS. | This line began running as far back as the 20th April, 1871, but for a long time its rolling stock | ‘was a single dummy, and there was no serious at- | tempt to begin passenger trafic in earnest until | much more recent period, Even now there are only about twenty-iour trains each way daily, and i] as they run to connect with the time table ofthe | Hudson River road there is sometimes an hour | between the trains. On the ist of February, how- ever, the bag ser § hope to begin making trips every fiiteen minutes. t present there are only six coaches and two dummies, but another dummy will be put on the track this week and before the end of next week two more coaches and still another dummy, mak- ing in all four trains. Even at present as many as 2,430 p: ra have been carried in a single day, and in 8 single month nearly forty thousand. at ten cents a passenger, ought te begin to pay ap- prectable dividends, for the expenses of the road cannot be very heavy as it is now run. It is claimed, however. that no less than a mnillion and a ‘half of dotiars have been expended altogether in its construction and in the varions experiments ‘that have been made upon its rurning power, one of which, the endless chain principle, was a very costly failure. And rie this enormous capital of course @ satisiactory dividend would require eno! amous receipts. The success achieved has, how: ever, sufficiently encouraged the proprietors to in- duce them to continue the line to the Harlem ‘River. This work, it is promised will be begun Dext Spring. THUR GILBERT ELEVATED ROAD. Another road which will be commenced at once 4s that for which Dr. Gtibert holds a charter, and . Only about a month ago, the commis- sioners completed the task of determining and lay- ing out the route. The charter reads that the road ust be begun down town avd finished as far as rty-second street within a year and a half after Twenty-eighth precinct station house in the case ' and kicked him, and then taking a pitcher from eral structure contemplated by this scheme. 4 PNEUMATIC PARCKL DELIVERY. Mindful, however, of the pneumatic idea which was one of its principal features, Dr. Gilbert has determined to have at icast small pneumatic tun- nels at each side of the track, capable of transport- ing little trains of parceis and newspapers. These, he claims, can be carried from the City Hall to Har- Jem in three minutes, and thus the evening papers, which suffer now, perhaps, more even than the morning dailies parene time consumed in reaching the upper end of island, may be distributed all over the island while they are yet damp ‘rom the press, Should this parcel delivery prove a success room may be found about the structure for ad- ditional tunnels, one of which might, inaeed, have a diameter of as much as three or four feet, ‘The cost of working them will, it is confidently be- lieved, be very slight. The clor is one of the fow whe have faith in the commg future when the HERALD will be circulated in Cincinnati on the same morning that it is published. Some revenue is also expected to flow intv the coffers of the com- any from the use by the telegraph companies of heir arches instead of the ugly wooden poles which now deface the streets. Its Cost. The great trouble about this road is that, like almost everything else greatly needed, it will cost a great deal of money. ‘The estimated outiay for construction alone is $700,000 a mile, pr, in round figures, $15,000,000 for the entire length of the road. Then the rolling stock will cost another round sum of money, especially as it is expected that trains will be run every minute. But there is said to be now no difficulty in ratsing the necessary capital, and that the work is to be pushed ahead as soon as the auevern are completed, which will be in a week or WO, THK FOURTH AVENUK IMPROVEMENT. It should not be forgotten, either, that work is vigorously going on upon Commodore Vanderpilt’s road. The Fourth avenue improvement consists of three sections, one taking in from Forty-fifth to Forty-ninth street, another comprising from Forty- ninth to Seventy-ninth street, and the third from Seventy-ninth to the Harlem River. Upon the first work has been progressing (or the past six months, and the contracts for a8 mucn of the last as is contained between Seventy-ninth and Ninety-sixty streets have been pady made and are now being carried out. The section from Forty-ninth to Seventy-ninth street will be begun so soon as satisfactory contracts can be made ior it, and bids fer the work will be re- ceived on Monday next, The rumors that the proj- ect had been abandoned are greatly ridiculed by the officials who are carrying out the scheme, and 80 long as they can point to such operations as are being carried on above Seventy-ninth street the Be ic will becieve them. Here two tunnels are eing dug out, one upon each side of the avenue, and though no one seems to know exactly how many men are at work there, there are enough to show that some one is very much in earnest about getting the work finished. THE DORRINGTON HOMICIDE. Coroner’s Investigation—Verdict Against Lawier—His Release on Bail, Coroner Young yesterday held an inquest at the of John J. Dorrington, the young man, late of 94 Charlton street, who died some days ago in Belle- vue Hospital from the effects of violence alleged to have been received at the hands of James Lawler during a quarrel in the barroom corner of Spring and Washington streets, early on the morn- ing of the ‘6th uit. as heretofore reported. Deceased, who was very drurk, and one or two others were in the barroom, and meeting Lawler, then quite sober, picked a quarrel with him, dur- ing which Dorrington, as shown by reliable wit- nesses, struck Lawler in the face with his fist. Lawler, who appears to be quite a respectable man, in defending himself struck and kicked his assailant about the head and body. Below will be found a brief synopsis ef the most important evidence elicited before the Coroner aud the jury:— THE EVIDENCE. Alonzo Kirkpatrick, of 367 Hudson street, de- posed that he was acquainted with John Dorring- ton and James Lawler, and was present at a fight between them on the night of the 16th ultimo at the public house of Cyrus Oimsted, corner of Spring and Washington streets; Dorrington was very drunk and fell on the floor, when Lawler com- menced kicking and striking him; Olmsted said, “He (Dorrington) las been looking for fight; now giye it to him; Lawler then grabbed a pitcher from the counter and anade three blows at him; the first struck the counter, the second struck his back and the third hit his head; Dorrington said, ‘Don’t do that; I give in;” Dor- rington got up and said, “Oh, my God!” and feli senseless on the stoop, where he lay five minutes; he then got up and started off alone to the station heuse; Dorrington had taken a few drinks, but was not very drunk; saw no blows struck except by Lawler. dames Clark, of No. 81 King street, deposed to facts substantially the same as those sworn to by the first witness. Jobn Malcoim, of No. 56 Vandam street, said that he, hearing a rap for assistance, ran into the public | house and saw Dorrington on the floor and Lawler on him; deceased said, “Let me up, I'll stop;” when deceased got up. he said, “I'll eat you,’ and rushed for Lawler and clinched, and deceased feli heavily on the floor; Lawler said deceased was biting his leg the counter struck at him three times; two of the blows took effect on the body of deceased; Mr. | Olmsted took the pitcher from Lawler; deceased was avery ugly man when drank; he was very much under the influence of liquor at that time; after the fight Dorrington got up, and going oat lay down on the stoop; he soon got up and walked up Spring street. John McDonald, bartender for Mr. Olmsted, testi- fied that deceased commenced the assault by striking Lawler the first blow in the face or on the | head, and believed Lawier acted in selt-defence. Cyrus Ounsted, proprietor of the place where the fight occurred, came orn stairs ay request and found Lawler holding Dorriigton fill a policeman shonid come and arrest him; Lawler said, “I. am sober and am right and cannot help myself;"’ Dor- rington being released made at Lawler and strack him in the face; Lawler was compelled to defend himself, anc in the struggle Dorrington fell and Lawler fell partly on him and then commenced to kick at him; Lawler picked up the pitcher and made passes at deceased to defend himself; con- sider that Lawler acted in self-defence; think it was necessary to disable the deceased in order to get away trom him. Mr. Olmsted positively denied urging Lawler to assault deceased, as testified to by the witness Kirkpatrick, whose arrest for perjury was urged upon Coroner Young by Lawler. Deputy Coroner Marsh, who made the post-mor- tem examination, testified that pycmia, the result of injuries, was the cause of death. ‘The jury rendered-a verdict against Lawler, and, owing to the circumstances of the case, Coroner Young decided to release him on giving #2,000 ball. The witness Kirkpatrick was sent to the House of Detention, but will be released, he executing & bail bond to insure his future appearance. It was erroneously stated after the occurrence that Lawler had run away, but feeling himself jus- Fg he what he fad done be remained at home all e time. THE MAYOR'S OFFICES. ‘The offices of the Mayor are andergoiug a com- Plete reconstraction or rather a restoration to that appearance which they manifested some years ago. The number of callers greatly increases, and it re- quires all the vigilance of the messengers to keep His Honor from the invasion of quite an avalanche of visitors, The Mayor adheres to his former practice, when Mayor previously, of performing the | attendance at t | only son to'think of you, Yoursruly, THE CENTRE STREET HOLOCAUST. eae ers All the Evidence In—The Jury Want an Ad- journment Until Monday—The Coroner Com- promises by Allowing Them to Dine—The Verdict a Sweeping One and Many Persons Censured, While Some Are Puffed—Who Wants a Posi- tion in the Fire Department— Children’s Offerings to @ Victim's Friends. Coroner Nerrman yesterday resumed the inquest in the case of the victims by the fre at the Caxton Building, when Walter W. Adains, of the Building Department, was recatied and testified that he sur- veyed the building after the fire of 1870 and found considerable injury to fixtures. ‘The fire originated on the first floor and got up by a hatchway in the rear. The witness described at considerable length the condition of the building after that fire. He found the lumber on the first floor, where the heat Waa greatest, not charred more than to the extent of a fourth ofan inch, Witness examined the walls and found they wore not affected by the fire, The stock of the New York Printing Com- pany was very heavy. Witness bad examined the building after that, wnen the machinery was in motion, and found it to vibrate ; in his opinion this Was due to its standing atone, but had it not been built so wellit would have shaken more. ‘In his Opinion the wall fell so soon in consequence of the heavy weight in the building and the inflammable substance in it, amd as soon as cold water was played upen the iron columns they snapped and the walls fell in consequence. If he had the power, witness said, he would compel all employers to in- struct their hands as tothe means of escape in case of fire, and restrict the use of bensine and other inflammable substances. The law of 1868 would require the second story wall to be four inches thicker; according to the present law the walls are required to be sixteen inches in thick- ness. This closed the testimony, when the Coroner ad- dressed the jury, dwelling upon the evidence given by the different witnesses and suggesting to the jury the points which they should especially note, He dwelt with much stress upon the unsafe condi- tion of the ladder, the use of benzine by boys, whose names were unknown to their employers; the fact that while there was a tank with water in it, there was no hose; the ignorance of the em- ployés of the location of the fire escapes, and the use of them; the danger of placing elevators be- side staircases, and the-great weight on the floors, The jury, after an absence of two hours, were unable to agree, and requested permission to ad- journ until Monday. This request the Coroner denied. They then requested permission to go to dinner, and at half-past one they left, promising to return at half-past two and consider their ver- dict. Promptly at the nour named the jurors— Messrs, Peter C. Barnum, R. 8. Hoquet, W. M. Fleiss, L. J. Philips, George Kuster, E, Ketchem and James T. Whitlock—returned to the Coroner's office, and immediately assembled in a private room, which Coroner Herrman had specially set apart for their use. After remaining closeted for some time the jury entered, and, to the surprise of the reporters and spectators, who had been as- tonished at the anxiety of the jury to be permitted to snuil the free air, rendered the following VERDICT :— From the evidence, the jury -find that Mary Jane Stewart died trom suffocation and burns in the fire origi- nating inthe third floor of houses 31,8 and 8 Cenire | street, in the pressroom of Dun, Barlow & Co.'s printin, establishment, on the 2dth of December, 1 the tlre was caused by carelessly bring! light in eo: tact with benzine, an article which Dun, Barlow & © have been in the habit of using for cleaning their pre roliers. The jur: pevercly. censure said firm and their foreman, Joseph Payer, for the practice of entrusting such dangerous material to inexperienced persons. the jury condemn emphatically the continued use of such a dangerous material in any printing establishment or an; factory where inflammable material is used, even witl the best precautions, for the testimony clearly proves thatthe use of benzine for cleaning presses and rollers necessarily results in saturating the foor, so that the slightest spark coming in coutacc with the door instantly ignites an unmanageable fire. ‘The jury also censure Messe. Archer, Anderson & Co. for neglecting, during their entire vccupancy of thisbuild. ing, to call the attention of their employes to the means of escape from the building by thé fire-escapes, and tor not having examined these escapes with the view of see- ing that they were kept in prop The testimony shows that the few who had reached the lower balcony ie means of the fire-escape would have perished but for ¢ timely aid of the persons who came to their rescue from the root of the adjoining building—the t bei shown that from the lower balcony to the roof of the ad- joining building (a distance of about thirteen feet, or one Story) there was no fire-escape, the drop-ladder for this last story being so secured thai it could not be brought nto use. The jury recommend that all employes should be in- formed by their employers of the location ot the fire es- capes, their position, use and manner of using them, by proper printed notices beiug posted in all the work- rooms. In all the workrooms in all the buildings where so many recre are employed tire plugs and hose shonld be attached at each floor to the water pipes, and that their use be tully explained to the employes by proper notices to that effect. The jury, commend to the Fire Commissioners particu- larly the services of John McGloin, who, hanging to the lowest bal eauy i the fire escape, Was the incans of sav- tng several working girls. The jury sugyest that all fire escapes be frequently iuspected by the proper authort- ies, so that they and all other appliances for saving juman life be kept in good order. They also suggest that the floofs of ail toom§ where printing is done or presses used be covered with stone or iron, and that the ceilings | of all factories should be of corrugated iron. ‘They also suggest that all elevators be placed as far as ossible from the staircases, as the evidence shows that Pre‘ire was intensified by the extreme draught cansed by the proximity of the stairs to tae elevators and thus | Pico the escape by the stairs, ‘They would also suggest that in all factories staircases be made of iron, cased with corruga ‘on. In conclusion they would commend Coro in his action in taking upon himself to exh of the fire, and would recommend that suificient authority be given to the Fire and Police Departments to proceed at once in such cases, and thus prevent the recurrence of the painful fact of seven human beings lying under the ruins of a burned building ior a number of days. When the verdict. was rendered there were in e Coroner's office no delegation to cheer, but parties likely to be affected by the ver- dict were present, aud their iaces exhibited much anxiety. Among these were officers of the Build- ing Department, who awaited the verdict with interest. r Herrman e the bodies INFANTILE SYMPATHY FOR THE VICTIMS. Among the Cee 0c who lost their lives in the building Wasa little boy named Bevins, a nephew of Captain John Mount, one of the senior captains of the police force. Poor little bevins’ bedy was scarcely recognizable, and the circumstances of the finding of his body having appeared in the HERALD, @ number of letters have been addressed to the care of Captain Mount, inclosing money and sympathetic expressions on the part of children. ‘The following are given as specimens of the senti- ments of the dear little children who have read of the horror :— . Bevins—Please take this ney to buy a 'y of your good little b ocket money every ren gives me money, and I will you may feel that there is one more B. VAN A—. it with you, so t New York, Jan. 5, 1873. 7 My Dear Mrs. Brvins—I am ten and my sister is seven; but we feel just as sorry as if we were big people, and we send you what we have left from our Christmas money. We will pray to God to take care of you, and.He will. us loves little boys and girls, tor He said suffer little ‘hildren to come unto Me, forbid them not, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven—and you ought to be very glad | he hes iy to oe Magy oop shore are 60 many wicked rople in New York. Your true trends, i" 0. NEALIE AND JESSIE. ‘AN. 4, 1873. DETECTIVE DOINGS. Frank G. Teller was arrested yesterday afternoon by detectives Heidelverg and Tilley, charged with stealing goods valued at $500 from Richard H- Elias, jeweller, on the corner of Broadway and Hous} ton street. A portion of the property, valued at $91, was recovered by the detectives, ‘Teller will be sent before Judge Dowling at the Tombs this morning by Captain Irving. He was employed by Mr. Elias as a clerk and watchmaker. The property was found at his residence, No. 355 West Fourteenth street. Edward Kelley was arrested yesterday by De- tective Farley, charged with perjury. It appears that seme time ago Andrew Haine and John Hanley were committed to the Tombs on @ charge of burglary. Not long since Hanley got out on bail, and his bondsman was pt a rs the police say, not entitle fo the privilege of going security for any one th consequence of his social status. This becoming known to Captain Irving he ptaced the matter in the hands of Detective Farley, who soon ferreted ont the desired Mr, Kelicy. It is time this system of straw bail was done away with. This is the first , and it is to be hoped Captain Irving will not, ‘ in this good work until the entire batch of rogues is captured. HOW YOUNG GIRLS ARE ENTRAPPED, New Yor«, Jan. 7, 1873, To rae Eomor or tux HeRatp:— In looking over your paper I observed an in- gertion for a teacher of French and music, Upon applying for it [ was grossly inauited by being | were promptly repaired. JANUARY. 11, 1873.--TRIPLE SHEET. THE NEW YORK CANALS. ee Report of the Auditor of the Canal Department, ‘The following is & brict synopsis of the dnancial report of Auditor Dayton. The report is lengthy, ‘and we give only its main points :— RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS, Total revenues of the canals for facal year ending September 3@, 1872........ $3,078,247 Total payments for ordinary repairs, sal- aries, &c., for last Gseal year............ 1,876,076 for last Surplus revenues of the canals fiscal year $1,202, 571 Tais surph set apart, in ac- cordance with the provisions of article 7 of the con Btitution, to sinking tuna under section 2. TOLLS FOR LAST PISCAL YEAR. Tolls collected for fiscal year of 1872. ‘Tolls collected for tiscal year of 1871 813,686 Increase of 1872..... ecesscvecccees $206,668 CANAL AND GENERAL FUND DEBT, The canal debt September 30, 1872, was. . $11,396,630 The general fund: debt September 1862, was. $3,000,328 8,988,526 1237, 545 Total canal and general fund debt after applying sinking funds. . $11, 147,660 CANAL DEBT. Stocks amounting to $2,257,900 were paid on the 1st of July last. The policy inaugurated in 1869 of paying that portion of the State debt that was contracted before the passage of the Legal Tender act by Congress, in coin, has been adhered to. An- other portion of the canal debt, amounting to $847,500, matures January 1, 1873, TOLLS, &C. ‘The Auditor dwells at length on the subject of tolls and the efforts which have been made to withdraw the commerce which naturally belongs to the channels of this State for transportation. It is but common justice that the canals should be self-supporting and that so far as consistent with other interests and other rights they should pay the ‘debt incurred in their construction. nis right is recognized and sacredly established by the constitution of 1846. But as the canals were con- structed for commerce rather than for revenue, the latter muse be subordinate to other considera- tions and tolls should be adjusted so as to attract and not repel freight seeking transporta- tion. Neither should the State exact from the carrier an undue proportion of his earnings by way of tolls, 80 as to leave him without a just and reasonable compensation for the means employed and for his services. ‘there can be in the nature of things no fixed and absolute standard of tolls, but they must be adjusted from year to year and from time to time to meet the various circum- stances and conditions. The tolls at their present rate, assuming that the tonnage is not decreased, will yield annually at least $1,200,000 over and above the cost of superin- tendence and repairs, which will extinguish the canal debt by April 1, 1886. The surplus might very easily be increased by bringing the cost of the superintendence and repairs within proper limits, REPAIRS AND SUPERINTENDENCE. The cost of repairs and superintendence of the canals for the last fiscal year has amounted to $1,875,676 61. Various causes are mentioned under this head as having contributed to waste and ex- travagance in the administration of this branch of the canal service and a thorough revision of the whole system of canal repairs is recommended. OWNERSHIP OF THE CANALS, Suggestions have becn made that the caifils should be transferred to the federal government. ‘That the State will ever consent to transfer its ownership in the canals and yield up their control and management to the federal government or any private corporation is not probable, They were constructed upon a system perfected in the early lustory of the State, with a view to the develop- ment of its great resources and commercial advan- tages, and have vindicated the wisdom and sound policy of their projectors, Having, unaided and Without embarrassment, when its resources and wealth were undeveloped, expended many millions inthe construction of the canals, the State is not in a condition to ask another government or a pri- vate corporation to relieve it from the compara- tively trifling portion of the canal debt, yet to be redeemed, and which the revenues of the canals will, with the tolls at the present low rates, extin- guish in less than fourteen years. If taxation were necessary to cancel the debt (which can never be the case) a tax of seven and one-half mills upon the dollar would discharge it in a single year. ‘The debt furnishes no ground for the abandoning of the one to the United States or a private corpora- jon. Total canal and general fand debt. Total balance tn sinking funds. . STEAM ON THE OANATS. This subject is considered in the report at length, and concludes as follows:—‘‘The act has had the effect anticipated. It has called into action the inventive genius and mechanical skill of the citi- zens of this and other States. It can hardly be doubted that the resuit of the experiment now be- ing made, and the inventions and devices which are being put to the test, will go far towards the realization of the desires of the iriends of the ca- nals, Witbout anticipating the action of the re- port of the very able commission, charged with testing and examining the several processes and inventions which shail be submitted to them, it is proper to say that recent experiments have been of a character satisfactorily to show that the ap- plication of steam as a motive power for the pi pulsion of boats is feasible, and that it can be ap- plied without seriously intertering with the tows age of the boats or damaging the banks or walls of the canals, and so as to secure a much greater speed than has been attained hitherto.” LATERAL CANALS. The expenditures for the ordinary repairs and collection of tolls of the lateral canals for the last fiscal year exceeded their income by whi jum was charged to tke account of the Erie and Champiain canais. drawn from the tolls ef the Erie and Champlain canals since 1540 to maintain their works now ag- gregate $9,014,687, or nearly the amount of the present canal debt, after applying the balance in the sinking funds. These deficiencies do not include the sums expended for extraordinary repairs and raised by taxation. THE BUSINESS SEASON OF 1872. After considering the subjects of ‘Ordinary Re- pairs,” “New Réservoirs” and the “Canal Between Buffalo and Black Rock," &c., the report conciudes as fellews:— Up to the time of the breaking out of the disease among the h the tolls collected were in ex- cess of those eived at @ corresponding date in 1871. The epidemic commenced at a time when the canais were taxed to their utmost capacity | with freight, and continued until the close of navi- gation. The loss to the State in tolls resulting Irom this cause was undoubtedly large. The season Of navigation just closed was about twenty days shorter than that of the previons year; yet | the receipts will nearly, if not quite, equal those of the season of 1871. Two breaks occurred on section 3 of the Erie Canal ecariy in the season—one at Big Nose, near Spraker’s, and the other at Port Jackson. They Other breaches have occurred on the different canals, but of much jess magnitude and causing no serious delays to navi- ation. athe day fixed by the Canal Commissioners for closing the canals Was tke Sth of December, put the cold weather interrupted navigation wore or less atew days prior to that time. Nearly all the boats, however, safely reached their destination. JONATHAN OLDBUCK ON GOVERNOR DIX’s | The C Banking and New York Improvements. To Governor Dix:— | I have read your message to the Legislature | with much satisfaction, and I claim the privi- lege of a friendly acquaintance of half @ cen- | tury for the remarks I am about to make. Your opinions, observations and recommendations, with few exceptions, accord with my own, and, I think, will be accepted as public opinion, Your reference to the commerce and business of New York is ea- pecially opportune. You say truly that other States as well as Canada are using unwonted and praisewortny efforts to secure the trade that ap- pears to belong to our State. The building of locks for steamers of 800 tons | burden on the Canada side, between Lakes Erie and Ontario, will make the necessity more palpable of an immediate connection between the waters of the St. Lawrence and the Hudson River, for steam- ers of the same eize, through Lake Champiain. This work, when completed, will accomplish what J pressed strongly upon our Legislature when the enlargement of our canals was under consid ration, in 1838. [fat that time locks at the Falls of Niagara had been built for steamers of 800 tons burden, and 4 canal built of the same dimensions from the St. Lawrence to the Hudson, we should have secured travsportation from Chicago to New York at about one-thjrd of the present cost. This work would not have cost one-half the outlay made upon our enlarged canal, and would have secured beyond any competition the trade of New York nthe West. But alas! Political considerations Yemanded that all outlays should be confined to our canals, and thus the West and the East were sacrificed. You have omitted to refer to one small change in our trade with the West that will make a great saving in expense upon Western produce—a change which will be asked for by our people by offered $100 a sitting for my picture. I consider it marriage ceremony, snd cons tently ne has beev called upon every day since be has attended at the ‘the route which it 18 to foliow has been decided upon; and as iat sums have already been expended + Bpon the me. it is only reasonable to believe offices of the Chief strate of the city to oper- ate in this wise, serday hé bound together two couples in tho bonds of maetrunenay. @ subterfuge to entrap innocent females, The pisve is on sixth avenue—a room hung with dif- Ferent painti If you will insert this little note in your paper it the means of preventing some virtuous girl i fition to the Jegisiature, and which, if made, wilt work out grout and important results. The work in the Kast River at Heil Gate, which ia boing done by order of Congress, renders the pening of the Hariem River @ necessity. The Hao rom Aloony would thus save a distance af | out tyr qAbr ve paiton around 181, | The total deficiencies thus | and join the European and New fingiand trade at oe most economical and convenient point for slupment on the fast River. The saving by this short cut will be equal to one-third the freight feet Butfalo. Here then, by an expenditure of about three or four hundred thousan dollars, you will benefit the West and New York city more the outlay of two millions on our canals. small work will solve another problem suggested by you. You oe that “during the last ten yeara the population of New Jersey has increased at the rate of thirty-five per cent, while ourshas increased at the rate of thirteen per cent.” This is true, and Why is this so? Because New York city hasbeen built ‘wrong end foremost.” ‘The Harlem River should have been opened to commerce from the Hudson to the Bast River when our canals were built, in 1825. Then this river would have become the centre of our fyade with the West, and our ulation would have extenaed south on our island and north on Westehoster county. All the increase of population and wealth would have been within our State, and would have made up more than the thirty-five per cent of population that our fatal mistake has thrown into New Jersoy. At this time there is more than bat a million of population in New Jersey that should have been located in Westches- ter. If the Legislature shall cause this small cut to be made within twelve months your wish wilt be ratitied, tor the natural increase of population in estchester county will be equal to hall a hundred thousand per annum, and before ten years we may see a dense poplar on streets and avenues that will extend ten miles north of the Hatiem River. You have referred in your message to the pro- priety of a cireulating medium in specie, You are aware that | was largely instrumental in devising and establishing the systems of banking in this State and the Union, and that { have advocated the present system of currency a8 the truc policy for our country. As this question demands care- ful consideration, I propose to make it the subject of another communication, Respectfully yours, eo, JONATHAN OLDBUCK, BROOKLYN AFFAIRS, EE Policy Players Caught. Justice Delmar yesterday committed Garret Wal- lace and a man named Hassen, policy dealers, to await the action of the Grand Jury. They were ar- rested at No. 59 Union street, on Thursday night, where they were conducting the “little game,’’ The arrest of these parties leaves the Third pre- cinct clear of gambling places, Cock Fighters Ueld for the Grand Jary. The police of the Butler street station recently made a descent ona cock pit maintained by ex- Police Sergeant Kane at the corner of Columbia and Congress streets, and arrested the proprietor and thirty-four other parties who were witnessing a “main.” Yesterday the prisoners were before Justice Delmar, who held each of them to bail in $500 to await the action of the Grand Jury. The police express their determination to break up cock fighting entirely in Brooklyn. The Gas Question. Application will be made to the Legislature early this session for the appointment of a bureau to supervise the affairs ef the Brooklyn gas com- panies. Theirrates are extortionately high, and that, too, under a pretended reduction effected last ear in the price of gas. Complaint upon the sub- ject is general. The illnminative properties of the light are exceedingly poor, and there is no redress for the consumers save that which a stringent en- actment of the Legislature faithiully administered May afford. The gas companies’ bills against the city for the month of December amounts to $60,000, Jail Supplies. The cost of shoes supplied the Raymond Street Jail for the use of prisoners last year was $1,233; for blankets $678 was expended, and for calicoes and cottons, $550. The prisoners confined at the jail at various periods during the year numbered about eight thousand. Their cost to the county was $77,000, At the last meeting of the Board of Supervisors one oi the members condemned the custom of providing discharged prisoners with shoes and calicoes, as being an encouragement to vice. The jail authorities, on the contrary, consider it a humane custom to furnish unfortunate prison- ers with shoes or a dress when they are dis- cnarged. The Aldermanic Bridge Investigation. Aldermen Kodman, Ropes and MoGroarty, the committee appointed at the last meeting of the } Common Council to investigate the affairs of the New York Bridge Company. will commence their labor next week. The committee state, however, that they do not see what can be accomplished by them. mgd say that three reports have already been made by the Bridge Committees, and as those reports do not charge fraud the Aldermen appear to be at a loss to comprehend what is expected of them. All they desire is an economical expendi- ture of the people’s money, which they believe thev will have. They are anxious not to retard such a great work. Charge of Arson. Fire Marshal Keady made an investigation ves- terday touching the origin of a fire in a stable oc- cupied by John Preston, in the rear of Nos, 762 and | 764 Fulton avenue. premises, ascertained that @ fire had been kindled | under a wagon in the stable, and feund a match- | box and some remnants of a newspag | per saturated with oil on the floor. It | seems that the premises No, 764 Fulton avenue are occupied by one James W. Stewart, a liquor dealer, who has an insurance of $300 on stock, of which he has about ten dollars’ worth. The Marshal also learned that the newspaper, por- | tions of which were found in the stable, had been urchased by the bartender, T. J. Butterworth, on ; Sunday. A quantity of match boxes similar to the box found in the stabie were found in the bar- | room, and Mr. Keady, deeming that he would be | justified in having Stewart taken into custody, made a complaint against him before Justice | Waish, who committed him to answer. | Proposed Increase of the Fire Depart- ment. The question of the proposed increase of the Fire Department is being agitated in Brooklyn. | | Ex-Commissioner Campbell is of the opinion that | the present high rate of taxation will admit of such an indulgence. He believes that fve new Amoskelg engines should be procured, which can | be built for $5,000 each. One of these he would put in the engine-house in Pierrepont street; | another in Herkimer street; another in Van | Brunt street, near Hamilton avenue; another in tue ‘warchonse — district, — Williarms- burg, and another cither at Greenpoint \-or in'the Fifth ward, There is no necessity for an increase of the force. Mr. Campbell believes that | volunteers could be summoned at any great fire, whose services would answer every purpose | | requisite. He considers the present Fire Depart. | ment the most efficient in the country, and that it is far superior to ‘w Yor! chiet Engineer | Nevins he eulogizes as fearless, energetic, clear | headed and cool and equal to two companies him- | self, ‘Ten thousaud dollars should ve spent in in- | creasing the namber of fre sigual stations, which are now too far apart. Bad Bourbon ahd Kerosene. On the night of November 25 & woman named | Margaret Bradiey was found lying bieeding in the | area way of 48 Front street. She was insensible | from a fearfal beating which, it was alleged; she had | received at the hands of one Hugh Barr and his wife, who lived in the basement of the above-numbered domicile, where she had been visiting. The assault was committed with @ heavy wooden potato masher. The woman lingered. between life and death for several days at -the City Hospitai. Barr was taken into custody at the time, but was yesterday released, his victim having recovered her health. He deter- mined upon making an ovation upon his return | from “durance vile.’ Accerdingly, after his own | peculiar and depraved fashion, he procured half a gallon of vile stuff, called bad bourben. Thus sup- plied, he cansed tis wife to invite several iriends to their basement and partake of the liquid bounty which ke had purchased. There were present at | the drinking whith ensued Rose (his wife), Miss | Baker, Susan McFadden and Bri vy. A | porribie social reunion ensued. The maddening | potion was drank until the worst passions of the berated feion found vent in a desperate quarrel | with Rose, In his aco dl he seizéd @ glass | lamp which was filled with Kerosene oil and was | upon tue mantelpiece. He deliberately poured the | contents of the iamp over the red hot stove, about which the women were grouped. Some of the burning fuid fell on the girl Baker's ‘clothes and the flaines from the stove set fire to her dress. The other females fled, m their terror rendering no as- sistance to the unhappy girl, who was so badly burned that her recovery ts d dof. The | police of the Second precinct arrested Barr and conveyed the victim to the Vity Hospital. The other guests of Barr were also taken into custedy. pads ansiceaih DT cot POLICE MATTERS. ‘The following communication from the Board of Fire Commissioners was received yesterday by the Board of Police :— Hon. Henny Sarrn, Paxsipert or raz Boanp. or Porto COMMISSIONERS — Sie-At a meeting held on the Sth inst. the following preamble and resolutions were adopted :— reereas Ce ty Me Par’, been mote Des men, upon the ery of a fire, r bs be 3 frre inthe ‘abit at going to the station house to report it before jag out an Alarm, thereby occasioning delay, therefore be it Resolved, That the Police Department be requested to instruct the members of the force that tn all ey where they discover a fire Pre the nearest box and remain | there until the arrival ot 1 first apparatas, im order to designate to them the Sip dk the fire, C7 then 6 whatever repor' may deem desirable. Later Hoare tk. WHITE, Secretary. Tn answor to this communication the Police Com. miastoners desired the Fire Comratssioners ta point { The Marshal, upon visiting the | | remainder | 1,601 to | ton u A MUNICIPAL PICKLE. REN WEE ENS NE The Differences Between the Compivoiler ant the Department of Docks. poe A Decision Which Is No Decision--The Treasury of the Docks Completely Empty—Nearly All the Workmen of the Department . Dis- charged and the Legisiature Alone Powerfal ta Decide the -iusae. It seema that, after all, very little can be agi@ im favor of the Frear Charter, about whica so marek jubilation was gone into at the time of its passage, nearly three years ago. Under ita inystic language the Department of Docks 1s ta such & pickle leat it seoms improbable any amount of law cases about it can do any good, A recent articie tn the iigratn ahowe! pretty thorougniy how hampered the Department of Docks had been in its operations for the past year or so, tndeed ever sinco Mr. Green came inte power. It was thua, at last, ttt, driven to deaperation, the Commissioners of Docks resolved to seek & mandamus compelling the Comptroller to pay them the sum which the law directed they should have when necessary. But tu law there are alwaya two sides to a question, and THGUNICALITIES OFTEN OVERRIDR ronest right. Judge Leonard, im giving his dect- sion on the application for & mandamus, began Wy saying that though there was no question tn makers of the law meant that the Commuissic of Docks, who were invested with very extensive powers, should receive their money in bulk, still they had failed to be suficiently expt on the subject, 20 much so that the Comptrotier was justified in demanding to see the'items of the cia bursements, insteadiof paying the money over im bulk. Undoubtedly the Commissioners had the right, the Judge said, of getting money on their requisition, and by having the signatures of the Commissioners of the Sinking [und attached to the requisition. Nor was it necessary to get the signatures attached to each particular item, but toageneral bill. Judge Leonard then weut onto Say that, had the Commissioners, in making their application for a mandamus, given at the same time a bill of particulars, the action might. stand; but that in simply demanding a sum tp bulk, with- out specifying tor what purpose, the Commission- ers were not really before the Court. ‘This decision, while virtually supporting the ground which the Commissiouers had taken, prac tically was adverse to them, and places themin, it possible, 4 Worse position than ever; but i( now they DIFFRR FROM THE DEOISION and refuse to act under it, the opposite side can say they refuse to act in accordance with the Law, and uninitiated people will achily belteve it ab first sight. Sod yet whata pitiful plight i pute them in! Inthe first place, the Commissioners have hetd all along (as Judge Leonard says the law undoubt- edly meant) that todo that work properly they should have their money in bulk, and not in par. eels, for only in this way can they make contracts advantageous to the y. No estimates of doce the first place exorbitant evec sality. It is a work about’ whicty came up to the even the most expert are always at fault. There are portions of TUR DOCKS NOW BUILDING where the soft mud sunk down fifty feet. Such work sometimes costs five times the estimate, In the second place, in the purchases of dockage in this city, where the signatures of Comme sioners Oj the Siuking Fund were necessary, the Dock Commissioners have had considerate ditt culty in getting them, and this when the Commis- stoners of the Sinking Fund were rather favorable than otherwise. Now the Dock Commissioners say the Comptroller and the Mayor, beiug both Commissioners of the Sinking id, can very easity fuse their signatures altogether, which of itself 3 almost a certain death to any requisitions they may make. % it may be readily seen then that the decision of Justice Leonard really is only A BLOW T0 THE DOCK COMMISSIONEKS, instead of being a help to them, as it looks at first eight. The next move of the Commissioners, therefore, will be to send a commit to call upon the Comp- troller and ask him tg furnish sudicient inoney fe the running expenses of the Board—that ts, to the laborers on the docks, the engine: 3 and also 4 sum of $31,893, which has been. due for some time, but which Mr. Green has not seen tit te pay. The money is now urgently demander by the creditors and the Department of Dock, which has always been known as one of the prompteat paying ones in the city, and the immediate conseqnence it that it will sink to THE DISGRACEFUL LEVEL ofsome of tne others, where men have to wait months, and perhaps years, for money they have honestly earned, This is another resul: of mista- ken economy, for men of business who wait for | payment cannot be expected to Turnish things at the same price a3 those who can get immediate. payment. in the last meeting of the Board Commissioner Wood proposed the jollowing resolution, wnich waa adopted :—‘Resolved, That the report qi tne Audit- ing Commitice be adopted and that the treasurer be tnstructeu to pay the various smal! bills uadet audit, Nos, 1,476 to 1,500 (amounting in all to $799), for rations of crews, of tugs and dredges, trans- portation of surveying parties, janitor’s fees, premium for insurance, and so forth, and. taat the f the bills andited, numbered from inclusive, and amounting: to $31,443, be, paid as soon as the Treasurer recetves iunds from Comptrolier."* It was in accordance with this that a committee was hy iaoatlesd to wait on the Comptroller. [tis more thau probable that he will PUT THE COMMITTER OFF. in one of his wonderfully vague addresses, and then the Deck Department will literally have become # very handsome ormameat to the eity, but certainly nothing more. But the departiaent will fortunately have one re- source, that of again appealing to the Coarts, and itis this wiueh it will do, Judge Leonard in his decision says that it is not to the prejudice of another action, and no doubt if the department was to put ina bill of particolars with its applica ‘or 4 Mandamuagy it might meet with better success. * ‘AS ulready foretold in the previous-articie on the docks in the HexaLp, the Commissioners have been obliged to DISCHARGE MANY OF THE HANDS in their employ, producing widespread suffering, esp tly at this period of the year. Lt was only last Week thatthe Commissioners requested Geo- erai McClellan to discharge all men who were not absolutely necessary to him, so that the works now in progress need not suffer materially, and Geueral McClellan, the Engineersn-Clief, com- plied. Thie was, of course, omiy done under e pressure of necessity. The Commissioners have been becoming shorter and shorter of money every week, until at present they actuaily have only $3,000 in bank, and without. prospect of re- ceiving more. For one of the moss important. of the departments in @ great city like this sucb showing secws absurdly ridiculous, bat it has the meri cing true. On November 16 the payment of.29@ men for two weeks was $7,241. On November 30, of 272, alreudy. twenty men less, $6,379. On December 14, of 215 men, $5,634, and the iuat fortnightly paymnens, was made on December 24, and the following is THE OFFICIAL PAY ROLL of the department :— Men. Ammonnt.. Pler at West Twenty-fourth street........ 2 sue Pier at Christopher street... 5 z Removing piles at pier 2 North Rive y Drawing spuds of dredges. .... Pile driver, No. L..... ft Pile ariver, ett at Field corps and bureau.of eiigineors. 2,7 Totals. $3,566 At presont the work is still going on at the Bat- tery, and promises to continue jor same time, The pier now appears for some foot or two above the water, and seems to. be a fine piece of nasonry. But it is lamentable to think that this is all that has been done in three years, and ‘hat hat the Commussioners received, the money tho law allowed them the work at present might bane stresshes perhaps up to Canal atreet. And it is STILL MORE LAMENTABLY: to think that all this great work—the pros- perity of the city—depends upon a mere nod, special cases Of delinqucacy i the mater falgnd of Wow Kork, | tuay would deny with theme ma and that men who have not really the city’s interest at heart have the pewer to dm or undo ag they please the material helps to its Fane hace without pny doa Ww prevent such aconsummation, A misunderstagding has, arisea between these two important departmeuts, snd new the Legislature must step in am! take the matter in hand to Na” ag, bmp, Ag angther—to decide which 13 right, the Compitrotier or the Com- ' missfoners. AS Matters at present stand ip is a, deadlock between them, in whieh neeher wil give, | way and which both conceive theampire: cunallg. right. ARd it is, no doubs, probanle = perera, the courts of law can cvem inquire Inte “74 Se oa een of the maker Yo tN AD ai y taken cognizance " charter, which it 1s expocted wil be the Bald, Bush: e98 Of the gentlemen at Albans shia, year. ANOTHDR PRISK FIGHT. Lam CoateHa, Jack Conway, of Scranton, ant wilt , Of Binghamton, have wet ‘an’ signed articles te Ment in the prise ring within one huadred mites @ Soramtom, Pa, Om 'Ue 139 day of Maret, é