The New York Herald Newspaper, January 26, 1873, Page 6

6 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. * JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. Volume XXXVIII....... AMUSEMENTS TO-MORROW EVENING. BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—Broxen Sworp—Nice or tux Woops—Sxow Bixp. WOOD'S MUSEUM, Broadway, corner Thirtleth st— ir, Tue ARKANSAS TRAVELLER, Altcrnoon and Kvening. NEW FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, 728 and 730 Broad- way.—ALIxe. GRAND OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third st and Eighth @v.—Catanact oF THE GANaxs. ATHENEUM, No. £85 Broadway.—Granp Vagisty En- FERTAINMENT. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Houston streets.—Lro Broadway, between Prince and axp Lotos. UNION SQUARE THEATRE, Broadway, between hirteenth and Fourteenth strects—Atusxky Count. WALLACK'S THEATRE, Broadway and Thirteenth street.—Bromurn Sam. BOOTH . Twenty-third street, corner Sixth avouseeBuuroes om fur Favs or tanauix, THEATRE COMIQUE, No. 514 Broadway.—Lata Rooxu. OLYMPIC THEATRE, Broadway, between Houston and Bleecker streets. —ALHAMBRA. . MRS, F._B, CONWAY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE.— Tux Inon Mask. BRYANT'S OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third st.. corner tb av.—Nxgno Minstaxisy, Eccentricity, &c, TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, No. 201 Bowery.— Vanintey Byreetainmxnt. SAN FRANCISCO. MINSTRELS, Broadway.—Eraioriax MinstRELsY. NEW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618 Broadway.— fcrENcE AND Arr. TRIPLE SHEET. New York, Sunday, Jan. 26, 1873. THE NEWS OF YESTERDAY. corner 28th st. and ae. To-Day’s: Contents of the Herald. “OITY REFORM! A FEW HINTS FOR THE NEW YORK CHARTER REVISERS’—EDITORIAL LEADER—SIxTH PaGz. RUSSIA OR, ENGLAND! EUROPEAN ALARM ABOUT THE QUESTION OF SUPREMACY IN CENTRAL ASIA! CABINET CORRES- PONDENCE TO ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES ! PRELIMINARY PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONTEST—SEVENTH PAGE. fROBABLY A TERKIBLE SEQUEL TO THE NORTHFLEET CALAMITY! THE SPANISH STEAMSHIP MURILLO SAID TO BE LOST, WITH ALL ON BOARD !—SgvENTH PaGE. EUROPE BY CABLE! SPANISH INDEMNITY FOR SLAVE EMANCIPATION! THE EX-EMPRESS EUGENIE TO REMOVE FROM CHISEL- HURST! SWEDISH CORONATION PREPARA- TIONS—SEVENTH PaGr. THOSE DREADFUL REVELATIONS! THE CON- GRESSIONAL BAD BOYS BEFORE THE COMMITTEES! A LITTLE MORE LIGHT FROM THE KEEPER OF THEIR CON- SCIENCES! TUESDAY FIXED FOR THE WIND-UP—THIRD PaGE. CALDWELL’S OUTLAY FOR A SENATORSHIP! TESTIMONY OF PROMINENT PERSONS BE- FORE THE SENATORIAL COMMITTEE— Turrp Pace. AN ABOMINABLE CRIME! POISONING OF AN ENTIRE FAMILY BY THE HUSBAND AND FATHER! THE MOTHER'S ANTE-MORTEM DEPOSITION—SEVENTH PAGE. NATIVE CUBANS JOINING THE SPANIARDS IN OPPOSITION TO REFORM IN THE ANTIL- LES! SUFFERINGS OF SAILORS—~SEventH PaGE. PRESIDENT GRANT'S RUMORED ASSASSINA- TION! WHAT WAS THOUGHT OF IT IN WASHINGTON! A SORRY SIGHT! THE CAPITAL IN TEARS—THIRD. PaGE. MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF A BANK CASHIER AND TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS—SEVENTH PaGE! PERSONAL NEWS—THE WEATHER REPORTS— LATE TELEGRAMS—SEVENTH PAGE. NEARLY BURNED TO DEATH! EX-DISTRICT ATTORNEY GARVIN AND HIS DAUGH- TER SERIOUSLY IMPERILLED—A JESREY ILLICIT STILL SEIZED—Fovrta Pags. MISS EMILY FAITHFULL’S RECEPTION! AN EL- , OQUENT TESTIMONIAL FROM LEADING NEW YORK LADIES TO HER GRAND PHI- LANTHROPY—TENTH Pace. FIRE PRECAUTION! RESULTS OF YESTERDAY'S INSPECTIONS OF PUBLIO BUILDINGS— MARITIME INTELLIGENCE—TEnTH Pace. GRAND RAILROAD INAUGURATION IN MEXICO! ATTEMPT TO THROW THE PRESIDENTIAL TRAIN FROM THE TRACK—SEVENTH PaGE. + FACTS ELICITED IN THE PFEIFER MURDER IN- QUIRY! AN AFFECTING SCENE! THE FAMILIES OF THE MURDERER AND OF HIS VICTIM PRESENT IN THE CORONER'S OFFICE—Fourta Pace. BUSINESS AND RATES FOR MONEY, GOLD, STOCKS AND GOVERNMENSS IN WALL STREET EXCHANGES—THE CIVIL SERVICE—lirTu PaGE, RELIGIOUS FACTS AND FANCIES! THE SER- VICE PROGRAMME FOR TO-DAY! EPISTO- LARY POLEMICS! VANCOUVER’S ISLAND EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL—Fourtn Pag, CONGRESS FOSTERING (?) ART—COMETS AND SHOOTING STARS—Eicutn PaGE. ma A Srupm anv Inramovs Hoax.—A report was spread through the country yesterday that President Grant had been assassinated at Washington. In this city the hoax was seen through at once and received no atten- tion; but in other places consternation seized upon the people and eager in- quiries were forwarded by telegraph to Washington. Many citizens at the capital, who were thus made aware of the report, hurried to the White Housé, not satisfied with anything short of a personal investigation of its foundation. the President not only living, but in excellent healthand spirits. ‘The Henaxp correspondent was the first to inform him of the hoax, and | the President recoived the information with a smile and a joke. Mrs, Grant was, however, somewhat excited over the report, which was as heartless and mischievous as it was absurd. Tae Weer i Wat Srergr was charac- terized by a further advan& in gold, which old at 114}, and a more active speculation and advance in the stock market. Towards the close the money market gave token of a searcer supply, and stocks receded. Govern- mont bonds were exceedingly strong on ac- count of the revival of the Syndicate and pro- posed refunding of the debt. The new five per cents advanced to their par in gold. Mayor Havemeyen’s reprimand of Police Justice Scott, in reference to the late decision of said Justice on the arrest of certain alleged sawdust swindlers, is what might be called Mallog right qu} in meetine.” They were gratified to find | NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 1873.—TRIPLE SHEET. vlty Reform—A Few Hints for the New York Charter Revisers. ests they cover. Strip the Comptroller of this | also brilliant and very bare. When Mr. patronage, and he will be more capable of dis- The State Legislature is now engaged in the | Charging his responsible duties with .efficiency work of perfecting the new charter for the and impartiality. The plan we propose is in city of New York, and the committees on the | Teality founded upon the model of the United affairs of cities of the Senate and Assembly are | States government. The Commissioner of holding joint meetings for the purpose of Public Revenues would stand ina position affording persons interested in our municipal government an opportunity of presenting their several views on the subject, Last week the Committee of Seventy was represented in full force at Albany, and offered numerous objec- tions to the draft of a charter prepared by the republican committee, but suggested few alter- ations that commend themselves to the judg- ment of the legislators. ‘The trouble with the Seventy appears to be that they desire to fit a law to their own particular interests and to interests of the present office-holders friendly to their views, without regard to the perma- nent good government of the city or to the probability of a future change in its personnel. Mayor Havemeyer has been their chairman, and appreciates their public services and their qualifications for the leading positions in the various municipal departments, and henco they wish to place in his hands the unre- stricted power of appointment to office; but they do not stop to reflect that Mayor Havemeyer may be succeeded by an executive in whose hands such power might not be so discreetly and honestly exercised. Others who have propositions to submit in relation to the new charter are similarly influenced by individual notions and interests, and demand that the laws shall be shaped to meet these special objects, The Legislature is not, how- ever, called upon to frame a charter for Mayor similar to that of the Secretary of the United States Treasury. ‘The Comptroller's office would be 4 subordinate but independent bureau in the Finance Department, the samo as the Comptroller's Bureau in Washington orthe present Chamberlain's Bureau in this city. The Comptroller would have almost the same control of the fiscal concerns of the cor- poration as at present; would still examine and approve all accounts against the city, sign war- rants and perform the other duties pertaining to such an office. But the supervision of all the bureaus and the large patronage of the Department would vest in the Commissioner of Public. Revenues, and the Comptroller, whose duties demand entire impartiality, would not be called upon to audit, approve and pay the claims of a host of office-holders of his own creation, who would be, in the évent of the appointment of a political or dishonest Comptroller, his tools and accom- plices. In framing the charter the Logislatura should, as we have said, look to the founda- tion of a sound and well-guarded system of government, and not to the mere fitting of the _law to the present officials or to the interests of any particular set of individuals, Mr. Havemeyer will not always be Mayor of tho city, and hence the desire of the Committee of Seventy to make the charter for him and not Havemeyer, but for the city of New York; it | for the city is buta shortsighted policy. So is not legislating for the interests of the Com- mittee of Seventy, but for the interests of the Committee of One Million—of all the resi- dents of the metropolis. It wiil fail to do its duty or to satisfy the people unless the charter it now gives the city shall be one founded on broad principles of polity, with far as the appointments are concerned it mat- ters very little to the people who may secure the offices so long as their duties are faithfully and honestly performed. But it is essen- tial that harmony should be re- stored among the various departments, and that the powers and duties of proper safeguards thrown around every de- each should be distinctly defined. The dis- partment, from the highest to the lowest, so that the public protection against misrule and official dishonesty shall not be dependent solely upon the personal integrity of the Mayor or of any other municipal officer, but shall rest upon the solid basis of an efficient, responsible and well guarded government. The main features of the charter drawn by the republican committee have met with general approval, but on some few points im- provement can no doubt be made. It is pro- posed to give the appointment of heads of departments to the Mayor, subject to confirma- tion by the Board of Aldermen. This follows out the system prevailing in the national and State governments, but there should be some means by which good appointments may be made certain in case of disagreement between the Executive and the Aldermanic body. Without this, objectionable officers might be kept in power by collusion with a majority of the Aldermen, or the Mayor might be coerced into making nominations which his judgment disapproved. When the Aldermen fail to con- firm the Mayor's appointees the absolute power of appointment should vest in some authorities who would command public confi- dence, The Mayor should, of course, be in- cluded in any such appointing board, and his associates should be independent of the Execu- tive, suchas the President of the Board of Aldermen and, say, the Chief Commissioner of Taxes and Assessments. Great caution should be exercised in the formation of the Board of Apportionment and in the Temodelling of the Finance Department, which, under the Tammany rule, was built up into an enormous political power for the use and benefit of Comptroller Con- nolly. The recent attempt of Mr. Green to absorb the patronage of the Chamberlain's Bureau will direct public attention to that portion of Mayor Havemeyer's Message in which he condemns the practice of making commissioner3.of the municipal departments members of the Board of Apportionfhent, and thus enabling them to pass upon their own estimates. Under the present system Mr. Van Nort, the Commissioner of Public Works, and Mr. Green, the Commissioner of Parks, are both members of the Board of Apportion- ment, and as such vote upon their estimates for those departments. In Mr. Green's case the evil is the most glaring, since he also has enormous patronage as the head of the Finance Department, and not only passes upon the estimates for that Department, as well as for the Department of Parks, but, as Comptroller, audits and pays all his own bills in both de- partments and the numerous bureaus attached thereto. The power he thus wields is too great to be wisely concentrated in any one public officer. As head of the Finance Department Mr. Green appoints an army of office-holders. Bosides the patronage of his own office he controls the Bureau of City Revenue, the Bureau of Collection of Taxes, the Bureau of Arrears, the Auditing Bureau, the Bureau of Collector of Arrears of Personal Taxes, the Bureau of Markets, and the appointment of numerous sub- ordinates. The present heads of these bureaus in their order are’ as follows: — Thomas Dunlap, democrat, appointed by Richard B. Connolly and reappointed by Comptroller Green; General McMahon, dem- ocrat, appointed by Mr. Green; A. S. Cady, democrat, appointed by R. B, Connolly and reappointed by Comptipller Green; A. T. Earle, appointed by Mr. Green; Morris Mil- ler, democrat, appointed by Mr. Green; F, Devoe, democrat, appointed under the Con- nolly régime and retained by Comptroller Green. No doubt Mayor Havemeyer had in view the overshadowing patronage thus con- | centrated in the hands of the officer whose j duty it is to audit and pay all the accounts, as well as to pass upon the estimates, when he the Board of Apportionment The wielding of this power by the Comp- troller of the city is radically wrong. That officer should be made wholly independent, ond should possess no patronage whatsoever, except so far as regards the appointment of his immediate deputy, clerks and bookkeepers. The appointment of all other officers, auditors and rs of accounts, and all the out- side bureaus should vest in a Commissioner or Commissioners f Public Revenues, who should be at the head of the Finance Depart- ment. It is wrong in principle that the Comptroller, who certifies and finally pays all accounts against the city, should be the ap- oe power and hold in his hands such a multitude of offices and the enormous inter- graceful squabblings and jealousies that have prevailed for the last year are destructive of efficient government. The great interests of the city have seriously suffered. Public im- provements have come to a standstill; the works laid out in the upper part of the island hfive been interrupted; assessment lista of over two millions and a half have laid in the Comptroller's office over a year, upon which seven per cent interest has been running on assessment bonds, while valuable time has been wasted on idle law suits and purposeless quarrels. All this should +e brought to an end without delay. The republicans, who havo carried the ity on tho promise of giving the citizens a vigorous, enterprising and liberal, as well ‘as an honest, government, and who have a large majority in both houses of the State Legislature, will be held responsible for their pledges and for the future management of our city affairs. Tho ery of non-partisanship raised by those who desire to partition the spoils among the strongest partisans in both parties is a fraud. If the republicans choose to work with dem- ocratic tools they can do so. If they desire to trust their own.men with power, they are equally welcome. But they are bound to give New York a good and harmonious city govern- ment, and the people are willing that they shall do so in their own way. The Anglo-Russian Dificultygy We print this morning a cable despatch, special to the Hzraup, which encourages the fear that trouble of a serious kind may yet grow out of this Central Asian question. Ac- cording to our correspondent considerable uneasiness prevails as to the result of the cor- Tespondence now going on between London and St. Petersburg, Some four years ago Mr, Forsythe, an experienced public servant and well acquainted with Indian affairs, was sent to St. Petersburg to bring about, if possible, a common, understandieg between the govern- ment of the Czar and the government of Queen Victoria as to the course to be pursued in Cen- tral Asia. It was understood that Mr. For- sythe’s mission was completely successful. It was the understanding of the British agent that all that was demanded by his government was that Afghanistan should not be touched. Russia might conquer and annex the three Khanates, Bokhara, Khokand and Khiva. Great Britain would not complain if Russia kept off the borders of Afghanistan. To this Russia consented. The present difficulty owes its origin to a difference of opinion as to what is the boundary line of Afghanistan to the north, England holding one opinion and Russia another. It is reasonable, we think, to conclude that this boundary difficulty will be got over, that Russia will be allowed to pro- ceed unchecked in her career of conquest and annexation, and that the great conflict will fot alittle while longer be deferred. It is a deli- cata affair as it stands, and it threatens to result in fresh humiliations to England. Amusements for the Winter Weeks, New York has no particular reason just now to complain of the variety of amusements which the managers provide. True, we have no Italian opera, and opéra bouffe, its bar sin- ister offspring by the Lower Empire, has also departed. The Academy of Music gives up its space to the festive gatherings of those who through saltation, flirtation, chicken-picking and ehampagne-sipping seek to bring funds unto some charity, or who meet to honor some ambitious nobody. While, therefore, from the artistic standpoint we mourn the for- tunes of the Academy, it is gratifying to be able to turn to the performance of Brutus by Edwin Booth at the theatre which bears his name. After contemplating the severity of this Roman type of man, we can, by looking in at Wallack’s, waken feelings of a lighter nas | ture in looking at and listening to Mr. So- drew attention tothe present const ..ction of | thern’s “Brother Sim.” The Union Square Theatre, just around the corner, will insure you amusement in ‘Atherley Court,” and when you want to have your feelings wound up and given an extra turn, drop in on “‘Alixe,”” at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, on Broadway. Ifyou are pradent perhaps you may satisfy yourself without going any further. ‘There are other places, though, where glitter is pre-eminent, and sense not so much gratified as the senses. If yon insist take the ‘Cata- ract of the Ganges” first, for it has all the sparkle and spectacle without the naughtiness that people so much condemn, whether they go to see plays or not. ‘Leo and Lotos,” at Niblo’s, is a mine of brilliancy and barren- ness, beyond which little cun be said in its praise, The “Alhambra,” at the Olympic, is Fechter opens his mechanically perfected theatre and gives us the romantic drama in fine style, as wo hope, some food for thought will be found for those -who think the stage- carpenter a link in the chain of barbaric taste. Mr. Fechter will gather converts from this school of critics. In the matter of lectures and readings we may bid kindly welcome to John M. Bellew, who begins his readings among us on Thurs- day next, at Steinway Hall. The fame of this gentleman is founded on such superlative encomiums from the entire English, Irish and Scotch ‘press for some years past that we, have no doubt he will justify very high, if not the highest, expecta- tions. Another English platform professor is Miss Emily Faithfull, whose utilitarian. pur- pose in life commends her to her hearers almost as strongly as her style or tho matter of her lectures. Then Daniel Dougherty, of Philadelphia, with his clear, rich voice, who appeals to our judgment at Steinway Hall on Wednesday next in shis lecture on oratory, should not be omitted from such a notice, Here is a good place, too, to sandwich ina pleasant anticipation of Mark Twain's lecture on the Sandwich Islands, at Association Hall, on the 5th proximo. The Rev. John Weiss, who comes a lecturing to Gotham from the Hub on the characters of Shakspeare, at tho special invitation of sundry lovers of the Bard of Avon, will give us a taste of hif’quality for six nights at Robinson Hall. This gentle- man’s analysis of the characteristics of lead- ing Shakspearian characters ‘is highly epoken of by the New England press, and if that is not evangel what is? The amusement out- look is encouraging on the whole. Our Religious Press Table and What Is On ItmA Call for a Little In- dignation Thander. Our religious contemporaries as a class do not present any remarkable features this week. It occasionally happens that they unite in commenting upon some single and striking topic of the day and hour, and hence have more influence with the general reader than if they confined themselves to dogmatical dis- cussions upon some particular sectarian no- tion or other. This was notably so in their comments upon the verdict and sentence in the Stokes case, and also in their judgments and criticisms upon the character and eareer of the late ex-Emperor of the French. In one of these instances the religious press ex- pressed with extraordinary unanimity its satisfaction at the vindication of the majesty of the law, and in the other, with like accord, it held up the moral career of the deceased ex-Emperor as one not at all to bé commended by the moral and righteous people of the land. Following a similar strata, and moralizing from a similar text, it was to have been hoped that this week the thunders of the canonized and uncanonized pious press would have made the welkin ring in denunciation of the mon- strous and unparalleled developments now startling the community by the investigation at Washington of the Crédit Mobilier shame and wickedness. What does the crime of a Stokes or the moral turpitude of an extmguished ruler amount to when compared to a nation’s humiliation at the spectacle exposed to the world’s view by the resurrection committees at the national capital? Here we have seen exhumed, as it were from a national grave- yard, the corrupt bodies of men high in office and once held in exalted esteem and con- fidence by their constituencies and friends, but who are now recking with the foulness of personal greed and official cupidity. No doubt they are all goed church members; no doubt many of them are open professors of religion; no doubt they feel themselves spotlessly clean, and that, as cleanliness is affirmed to be next to godliness, they think themselves.all right. But this is not always the case. Cleanliness is not always allied to godliness. For exam- ple, there is now imprisoned in this citya condemned man who js said to be a marvel of cleanliness, and yet he has been proven to be one of the most ungodly men in the commu- nity. Itis the clean conscience that is de- manded. Can either of the accused Congress, men lay his hand on his breast and truthfully and solemnly say, “Iam clean?’’ That man has yet to be dug out of this sarcophagus of Congressional corruption. X ‘We say we had hoped that our brethren of the religious press would have seized this golden opportunity to have spun editorials upon the moral depravity of men who sit highest in the tabernacles of legislation. But we fail to see anything of the kind. In lieu thereof we find the Christian Union discussing on ‘The Pope and His Little Difficulty,” beginning a 4 Sorrows of Werter seem as Jolly as a joke- book, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah really sound like the gay jests of some sunny-souled optimist, if they are brought into comparison with the latest utterance of a certain sorrowful old gentleman who at present resides in the Vatican, and who Is quietly addressed as “Our Most Holy Lord, Pius IX., by the tavor of Providence, Pope.” And concluding in this wise :— But it ia not so much for the one big Pope in Rome as it is for the innumerable little Popes in America that we have written what we have written. These little Popes are Protestant as well as Catholic. For them, too, the times are out of joint. They also fail to see that God drives and guides the ark of modern civilization, just as He did that of ancient civilization. They, likewise, have Ss grndge against the nineteenth century for up- setting the pretenstonsof their arrogant ecclesi- asticisms, It matters not what their objeets may be—whether to make Mace teacher a priest or to unite Church and State by a mechanical inocu- lation of the constitution with the name of God—they have made a fatal mistake. The Golden Age advises the government to maké tour of lynx-cyed inspection among what are’ pre-eminently known as the honest and incorruptible importing houses in this city. There may, it thinks, be fish in the sea as good af ever were caught. There may be knavish partners in the most honest firms of Cliff and other streets. There may be other eminent but guilty offenders for whom there waits the same rod of avenging wrath with which Alexander Hamilton has been punish- ing smugglers since 1799. A ‘Trinity of Crimes’’ is also the subject of an editorial in the Age., It is not quite so musical as the Chimes of Trinity. The Evangelist is in gloom, and its columns in partial mourning upon the decease of its late and lamented founder, the Rev. Joshua Leavitt, D. D., the patriarch of the religious press of this country. The Independent also laments the demise of Dr. Leavitt, and at the same time uses the whitewash brush slightly upon the Crédit Mobilier Congressmen. The Tablet (Catholic organ) descants at length upon the invention of journalism, and comes to the conclusion that it is one of the pest hits Satan has eyer made, We have no doubt s good many corrupt politicians and backsliding religious teachers have frequently wished journalism to the devil; but the just and upright have nothing to fear from the influence of a respectable and responsible newspaper, The Freeman's Jowrnal (Catholic) speaks & kind word in behalf of the recent Italian immi- grants, discourses on the readjusted divine offices for the. Diocese of Paris, gives a first rate notice about the curative powers of the water of the Grotto of Lourdes, and is char- acteristically “‘vimmy”’ on other topice. ‘The Observer (Presbyterian) keeps up its tilt with the Catholic Tablet. The Methodist has a new philological wrinkle, in which the adoption of the English language by the entire population of the Japanese Em- pire is the feature. Let him who is not influ- enced by the hari-kari superstition propose it to the Mikado. ‘ The Christian Intelligencep touches on the ‘Revival of Romanism," ‘Religion in Period- ical Literature,” and various other matters, The Jewish Times calls the attention of its readers to the text of a petition in circulation some time since in Nashville, appealing to the Tennessee Legislature to place Jewish minis- terson an equal footing with those of other denominations when a divine is to be asked to open its seasion with prayer. Of course, says the Times, the petition was granted, as how could it be otherwise, when tho national gov- ernment, about a year ago, set a handsome example to the world in extending the honor of opening Congress to an Israclite ? The Jewish Messenger contains a ‘‘Plea for Earnestness,’’ says as a general rule the Amer- ican Jews are not earnest enough, and con- tinues: — If our Judaism is but @ name and a memory, ever growing fainter in our hearts, why not abandon e hypocrisy at once?. If it is a dead trunk, let us forsake it. If a pretty plaything, it is not worthy of our serious attention. If a lingering paperati ion. it must be forsaken. If a patchwork of legends and myths, we must spurn it. But if, on the contrary, Judaism is a living fact—as it really is—let us treat it as such. If it is a revela- tion ever fresh and potent, a manual of duties whose performance we cannot shirk; if it means a holy life and the exercise of the higher powers Seen oR vr, p ponents, glowing with the tint of the In- ig the Divine flush and inspira- tion, let us approach it with that spirit of earnest- ness which loyalty demands, The Cutholic Review regards it as one of the signs of the times that Mr. Froude, in select- inga .topic of great importance on which to enlighten the limited audience of the Christian Intelligencer, chooses, not the decline of Catholicism, of which we hear so much in a boastful way, but its revival. Church and State has an interesting article upon the subject of ‘Our Landscape Painters and Modern Culture.”” It says:— To the great sentiment of the universality of spiritual power, which comes to us from the Chris- tan Fougion. wehave thus added the light of mo- rn idealism and also of modern naturalism, and the result is a noble realism that combines the idealand the actual, the spirit with the body of things in a way that is most cheering ana hopeful. Our artists may not be oper devotees or philo- sophers, yet they may none the less catch the spirit of faith and science. aS The Era of Murder=-What Can We Bo To Be Saved? The cry of the peaceable, reputable citizens of New York to-day is for protection against assassination. The eyents of the past year have Uestroyed the feeling of safety in every man’s breast, and no one who walks the streets and mingles in the ordinary currents of city life can be regarded as entirely safe from the pistol, the knife, the car-hook or the bludgeon of the murderer. The prevalence of ruffianism spreads ihe danger of fatal en- counters. Men who have never before accus- tomed themselves to carrying concealed weapons now recognize the necessity of arming themselves in self-defence, and as they know on how many occasions harmless persons have been butchered recklessly, cruelly and without a purpose or an excuse, they feel the necessity of shooting down promptly any ruffian who may abuse or unnecessirily interfere with them. No one can blame them for their determina- tion. Judging from the experience of the past twelve months, the only chance of saving one’s own life in New York is to take the life of any rowdy who may evince a disposition to indulge the brutal propensities of his nature. A quick eye and a ready hand is, unfortu- nately, a better protection than the law. No doubt the crime of murder is fostered by the tardiness and by the too frequent failure of justice. When a murder is com- mitted the whole community is excited against its perpetrator, and the enormity of the offence is properly appreciated. But the murderer, after committal, is left to linger in the Tombs, or is suffered to interpose quibble after quib- ble to drive off the day of trial, and before he is placed at the bar some other deed of horror has driven his own crime from the public memory, and ‘the example of his punishment, if by accident he should be punished, is com- paratively thrown away. Ifa murderer could be brought to as speedy a trial as is consistent with justice, and could be made to suffer the penalty of his offence without any more delay than common humanity requires, there is no doubt that. the promptness of his arraignment and of his punishment would have a beneficial effect upon those who might feel disposed to follow in his footsteps. As this course has not been recently pnrsued, and as an army of murderers has been suffered to grow on our hands, the terrible example of the execution of the death sentence on the same day on all who are found guilty and con- demned to death would act as a fearful and effective warning to the criminal classes, not in New York alone, but throughout the Union. It has been proposed to resort to special legislation to enable the Courts and the prose- cuting officers to clear the jail of those prison- ers who are now awaiting trial for capital offences. The suggestion is a good one, and should, if practicable, be promptly acted upon. The Court of Oyer and Terminer meets, and its time is occupied for weeks with some suit which every person fears will result in’ failure, and the murderers in the Tombs remain untried. If a concurrent term of the Oyer and Terminer could be called, by special act or otherwise, for the trial of capital cases alone, it would be productive of much good. We want all the murderers dis- of some way or other, from the oldest criminal now untried down to the ruffianly Nixon. Let such as are innocent or as cannot be proved guilty go free, and let all those who are con- victed suffgr the death penalty together. After this terrible example we should hear of no more murders for some time to come, and our citizens might again walk the streets without the terror of a Stokes, a Foster or a Nixon constantly beforo.their eyes, ‘Worldliness in the Church. The day long ago forctold by the Saviour, when men should be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, has come. But it came stealthily and asa thief in the night. The coming of this worldly spirit was not noticed until it had taken possession of almost the en- tire Christian Church and had so far negatived the Sabbath and week-day instruction of the clergy that they werd overwhelmed with the gigantic proportions of the evil that confronted them. And now that they have seen and measured its strength they know not what to do with it. Itis not alone the “sinners’’ in Zion who are guilty, but elders, stewards, trustees-and class leaders or officials by what- ever name they may bo known. If a pastor preaches to the young against dancing he is, ag an ominent minister in this city remarked ® few days ago, ‘wasting his ammunition on too small game,” The children dance, because their parents éncourage theni both by precept and example. If the clergy speak against billiards they denounce what many a Christian man bas in his house, and what he believes to be an innocent amuse- ment. So also of cards and dice and back- gammon, and a host of other social games and amusements, And yet the prayor meot- ing is neglected for the billiard table, the theatre or the opera. The ‘‘sacred’’ concert in the theatre has more attractions than the sacred songs of the sanctuary, whether sung by quartet or choir. The churches, in fact, are almost deserted on the Sabbath and the theatres are crowded nightly. The progress of the Gospel is impeded by these influences wherever they exist. The clergy are divided on the relative degrees of moral guilt or inno- cence of these several forms of pleasure and pastime, and hence they fear to getinto o snarl, not only with their congregations, but with one another. And still they are ex- tremely anxious, by some means or other,-to overcome this worldly spirit in their churches and congregations. But how to do it they know not, During the past eight or ten weeks this. matter has been greatly agitated by the pastors of the different denominations in this city in a series of prayer and conference meetings. Some of them hardly hoped for or expected to ‘make any impression by preaching, exhorta- tion ‘or pastoral visitation, so profoundly rooted is the spirit of worldliness among their people. Nor, indeed, need they expect to succeed in unseating it and tearing it up until they lay the axe at the root of the trea -and make a radical change in the basis of their church management. A purely ma- terial basis now controls their affairs. The great truths of the Gospel enter into the management as a secondary consideration. A quarter ofa million dollars is not an unusual sum to expend upon a single church in any of our large cities, and not unfrequently nearly twice that amount is paid or promised there- for. In looking for locations it is well known that church trustees have always in view the material and not the epiritual side of this question before them. ‘Where can we find a good site, a favorable location?” is the in- quiry—not with the view of doing the most good or of reaching the most people, but of reaching the wealthiest and most respectable people, whether few or many. They there- fore leave the downtown mechanics and go to the uptown merchants. But though they generally obtain good prices for downtown church property, their extravagance in build- ing up town leaves many of the fashionable churches deeply in debt and with heavy mort- gages resting on them. To own or ovcupy ®@ pew in such churches » man must pay the price of a nice, well-stocked farm in the country. But even in the selection of a minister the material basis of the churches crops out every- where. Itis not by the number of converts whom he has brought to Jesus that he is measured, but by the number of hearers that he can attract by his eloquence or his oratory. And‘ the amount of his salary is based on his eloquence, and not on his piety or purity. Hence there is a growing tendency in the minds of tho masses, and es- pecially among the rising generation, to look upon ministers as they look upon physicians, lawyers, artists, musicians or other profes- sional men. They follow the business of preaching because there is money and position in it, It is the minister's business, they say, to preach, and he does it because it is his business. And that is the extent of the argument. They go to hear an eloquent sermon as they would to listen to a lecture or a political speech, to look at a painting or to hear a lawyer plead in court. But they come away as they went—uncon- verted and unimpressed. And too frequently the ministers themselves take this view of their own calling, and “the one thing needful” with too many of them is their salaries, monthly or quarterly, when they are due. It then becomes a question of dollars and cents between the pulpits and the pews. If the minister preaches against the worldli- ness of the churches, whether it be manifested in theatre-going or in dancing, ho is likely to set some pew-holders against him and, per- chance, thereby cause « falling off in his re- ceipts; and, on the other hand, the sinning member is kept in his place by his pecuniary investment in his pew or by kindrod consid- erations. And hence, also, when the minister goes the people go too, unless an equally clo- quent successor is found to take his place, Some ministers affect to believe that this spirit of worldliness has grown out of ungodly alliances either in marriage or in business between Christian and unchristian people. Such . alliances are not always good, nor are they always evil. But, good or bad, they are the legitimate offspring of the materialistic age in which we live and of religious teachings founded upon a material basis. There is one recipe given in the Bible for filling churches and for destroy- ing worldliness which we would commend to those ministers who have so often to preach to empty pews and to worldly Christians. It is one given by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and, like all of his recipes, it is simple and easily remembered:—‘‘And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.” There is ro promise anywhere in the Word that philoso. phical essays, scientific lectures or disqnisi- tions or sensational sermons will do this, But the lifting up of Christ spiritually before the people will do it, and multitudes will flock to listen to His words as they did in the days of his flesh when from Jerusalem and Judea and Galilee and the regions round 4