The New York Herald Newspaper, March 16, 1873, Page 8

8 YEW YORK HERAL BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. Volume XXXVIII..... sane AMUSEMENTS TO-MORROW EVENING, ST. JAMES’ THEATRE, Broadway and 2th st—Bur- ‘Lesque Orgra—Lucnezia Borgia. OLYMPIC THEATRE, Broadway, between Mouston ‘and Bleecker streets.—Kumrry Dumrry. UNION SOUARE THEATRE, Union betwee Broadway and Fourth av.—A ‘Bonnase Wows, m WALLACK’S THEAT! Broadwi and Thirteenth srcet.—Davip yr ad ai BOOTH'S THEATRE, Twenty-third street, corner Sixth avenue.—Dappr O'Down. RAND s 4 Eighth oon OPBRA HOUSE, Twenty-third st. and Big! BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.-An Ina Fancs— Dastiny, £0. ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Fourteenth street.—Irauian, PREA—F aust. THEATRE COMIQUE, No. 514 Broadway.—Drama, Buruxsque anv O110, NEW FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, 728 and 730 Broad- way.—ALixE. WOOD'S MUSEUM, Broadway, corner Thirtieth st— Eanam, Afternoon and Evening, ATHENEUM, No. 8 Broadway.—Guanp Vanrery Ex- ‘SERTAINMENT. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway, between Prince and Houston streets.—Lzo ann Loros’ MRE, F. B, CONWAY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE,— Monts Oristo. PARK THEATRE, ite the City Hall, Bi lyn. Panorama oF Cuckoo. hii ish fe BRYANT'S OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third st. corner ith av.—NxGRro MinstRELsy, &c. TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, No, 201 Bowery.— Varuery ENTERTAINMENT. STEINWAY HALL, Fourteenth street.—Reapinas fROM SHAKSPEARE AND THE PoxTs. COOPER INSTITUTE, Third avenue and Fourth st.e Caveuing Gas Exutprtion. NEW YORK MUSEUM OF ANATOMY, 618 Broadway.— AND ART. QUADRUPLE SH lew York, Sunday, March 16, 1873. THE NEWS OF YESTERDAY. To-Day’s Contents of the Herald. “THE DECISION OF GOVERNOR DIX! LAW AND ORDER MUST PREVAIL, COST WHAT IT MAY!""—EDITORIAL LEADER—EIGnTa Pace. GOVERNOR DIX GIVES THE GROUNDS OF HIS DECISION IN THE FOSTER APPEAL! HE 18 THANKED IN THE NAME OF LAW AND ORDER! THE SAD DUTIES OF THE EX- ECUTIVE! THE KINDEST FEELINGS FOR THE FAMILY OF FOSTER! “SHAME IN CRIME, NOT IN ITS PUNISHMENT” —Firta Pagg. WILLIAM L, ALLEN’S CHARGE AGAINST MRS. PUTNAM OF ACCEPTING A BRIBE! WHAT HE HAS TO SAY AND WHAT HE FAILS TO ESTABLISH! QUEER CONDUOT—Firta Par. DISRAELI’S DILEMMA! ANOTHER CONSULTA- TION WITH KARL DERBY! HE DECLINES THE PREMIERSHIP! GLADSTONE MAY RESUME HIS DISCARDED ROBES! THE PARLIAMENTARY CRISIS—NINtH PaGE. ENGLISH FINANUIERS “TAKE" A NEW AMERI- CAN LOAN AT A PREMIUM! THE NEW YORK, BOSTON AND MONTREAL RAIL- ROAD BONDS SNAPPED UP IMMEDIATELY ON BEING OFFERED—Ninta Pace. FRANCE TO BE EVACUATED BY THE GER- MANS ON THE 5TH OF SEPTEMBER! THE CONVENTION SIGNED BY THE FRENCH PRESIDENT AND THE GERMAN AMBAS- SADOR! BARING BROTHERS AND THE ROTHSCHILDS TO ARRANGE FOR THE PAYMENTS—NINTH Pace. 4 DRUNKEN HUSBAND MURDERS HIS WIFE ! HER SKULL CRUSHED WITH AN AXE WHILE ASLEEP—NINTH Paces. AMERICA’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLD'S FAIR AT VIENNA! WHAT HAS BEEN AC- COMPLISHED BY THE COMMISSION—M'EL- HANEY DOOMED—FirtH Pace. EUROPEAN NEWS DESPATCHES BY CABLE— GENERAL TELEGRAMS—NEWS FROM WASHINGTON—NiNTH Pas. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS—MARINE NEWS—TwELITE Pags. HOW ST. PATRICK'S DAY WILL BE CELE- BRATED! A TEN-MILE PROCESSION AND GRAND MILITARY, RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL AND CIVIC OBSERVANCES—Firtn Pace. AN EXTENSIVE LAPSE IN THE WALL STREET MARKETS! GOLD STEADY! MONEY EASIER! THE SALIENT POINTS OF BUSINESS AND THE QUOTATIONS—Sixtu PacE. GLEANINGS FROM THE RELIGIOUS FIELD AT HOME AND ABROAD! SERVICES IN THE VARIOUS CHURCHES! THE NOTES AND QUERIES OF CORRESPONDENTS! MINIS- TERIAL AND DENOMINATIONAL CHANGES— SIxTH PaGE. MICHIGAN ENACTS THAT IT SHALL BE PENAL TO EXCOMMUNICATE—THIRTY- FOURTH STREET SYNAGOGUE—SixTH PaGs. France's Day or Freepom rrom Forrrcn Invaston.—France has arranged for the final liberation of her soil from the presence of the Prussian hostage indemnity guard. President Thiers and Count Von Arnim, the German Ambassador in Paris, signed a convention yes- terday by virtue of which the French govern- ment makes provision for the payment of the fifth milliard of the war indemnity money by instalments, and the Berlin authorities have accepted the offer. The final payment is to be made on the 5th of September next, at which time all the French territory occupied by the Prussians, including Belfort, is to be evacu- ated. Messrs. Baring Brothers and the Roths- childs will undertake the financial arrange- ments. The 5th of September will thus be made » remarkable day in the future history of the civilization of the present period. A great nation restared to itself; # people vin- dicated by their own self-exertion against im- perialism, invasion, absolutism, foreign assault and commercial demoralization. It will be the baptism of the people in their morality and honesty, instead of the baptism of the Bonaparte Prince in fire and blood. Amentoan Rarway Secunrrtes 1x Evrorr.-— The Henarp special telegram from London ‘which appears in our columns goes to con- firm the fact that the American railway secu- rities remain a favorite investment with European capitalists. ; American CLAuMANTs SeExtNG CoMPENSA- mon from Mexico for damages have written to the Hunap from California and other por- tions of the United States territory, asking in- formation concerning the work and progress of the Claims Commission appointed by the governments of the republics to adjust and settle the bills and differences. They should write to Washington, The work goes slowly Che : NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 1873.-QUADRUPLE SHEET. The Decision of Governor Dix—‘Law and Order Must Prevail, Cost What It May.” The fate of Foster, sealed as it is by the decision of Governor Dix, continues to be so General a topic of discussion that we will be excused for again returning to it at length. From the broad differences of opinion on the matter among the press previous to the final death decree it might have been expected that the Governor's determination not to interfere with the execution would have produced a vari- ety of comment. A unanimous acquiescence in its justice is, instead, seen everywhere. To our inflexible Governor this must be especially gratifying. It is a recognition of the highest conscientiousness and fidelity to duty in one of the most painful positions wherein the Ex- ecutive of a State ever found himself. The care and intelligence he brought to bear upon the subject, and his firmness in resisting all extraneous appeals when once his convictions were formed, will elevate him higher in the estimation of hfs friends, while equally com- manding the respect of his bitterest enemies. We aro rejoiced to observe this unanimity among the press. It indicates a healthy tone in' those who do so much to control and direct public opinion. To read the utterances of some journals a few days ago beside those made since the decision will show how power- ful-a lesson cdn be learned from a single action performed by a man placed under such awful responsibilities as General Dix. Among the best authorities on law in the State the Governor's decision has produced the same impression that it has made upon the general public. The members of the Constitutional Convention remaining in Albany called upon the Governor yesterday and congratulated him upon the sound logic in law and equity which enabled him to clear the subject of its mists and decide it on its merits alone. But the Governor, in face of all this expression of lay and professional ap- proval, still preserves his dignified attitude of an unimpassioned Judge of the last resort, To a correspondent of the Hxratp, yes- terday, he made an explanation of his course, whose words will stand out in flaming letters beside the apothegm which became so famous during the civil war. They should be graven on the minds of the criminal classes. To the law- abiding citizen they will be astern promise of justice when crime attempts to spread its bale- ful sway. He said:—‘I made the decision I have made utterly regardless of the clamors and so-called influences which have been brought to bear to secure the commu- tation of the sentence of the prisoner. h have looked upon the case and decided upon it after the most careful study and deliberation, solely on its merits. Law and order must preval, cost>what it may. The position of Governor often puts upon him duties that are hard to perform—sad duties; but for all that they are duties from which he cannot shrink. Iwill not shrink from them.” ‘These are noble, fearless words, and they are the death-knell of the hopes that count on the majesty of the law in matters of human life being destroyed by a mistaken lenity. The promise that ‘‘law and order must prevail, cost what it may,’’ is, we believe, certain to be kept while it lies in such hands, To this decision the Heraxp can point for its justification in the unflinching course of demanding justice upon the murderers who have made life so unsafe in this city, anu whose long impunity has lowered the respect for law in what should be its most impressive forms. We feel pity for the family of the - wretched being condemned to an ignominious death. Their sufferings, as well as his own, are the sad but necessary consequences of his reckless disregard of what pain and suffering his crime would cause to the victim and his near and dear ones. This branching out of the penalty of murder radiates not merely from the murderer, but from the victim. The family of the homicide, in addi- tion to acute grief for the degrading doom of one they love, feels itself crushed under a sense of shame, which, however illogical, will assert itself. To the family of the victim, out- side of the anguish caused by his murder, there is another cause of grief to which the world does not give sufficient weight. It must stand by in silent sorrow while every little action of the dead man’s life is paraded, while every fault or blemish in his character is made rich matter for lawyers in court to wrangle over. The dead man and his family are put on trial al- most as much as thé murderer, no matter how much victim and murderer may have been strangers before the fatal meeting. The “skeleton in the closet’’ which the family had in decency and resignation kept carefully hidden is dragged out before the ruthless world. It is the innocent family must bear the finger pointing and shameful burden, when the dead man might say: — Cut off, even im the blossoms of my sin, Ne reck’ning made, but sent to my account ‘With all my imperfections on my head. It is an inexorable law that ‘breaking into man’s bloody house’’ entails pitiable suffering to those free from every stain of the sin. Perhaps the strongest words that can be used in sympathy with those whose heart- strings have been wrung by the Governor's decision is where he says:—‘‘The shame was in the commission of the crime and not in its punishment.” It is one of the bad signs in a civilization when being the relative of a man who lawlessly took life is accounted a small thing beside being the relative of s man hanged for the crime. If the law, were more certain in its action there would soon be sn end to this distinction. As the law now stands there is a good deal to keep alive this distinction in the long de- lays, the variety of appeals that can be made, and the uncertainty that makes condign pun- ishment seem small among the chances. It has been our duty as journalists to lay aside elements of pity that have no right in such cases, and where crime has been committed to advocate even, swift, unerring justice. This has been our guiding priaciple in the painful and thankless discussion which has been ended by the decision of Governor Dix. No other consideration in the honest discharge of duty should, with the journalist, be of a feather's weight. The subject before us calls to mind that we have other murderers yet to deal with. Mur- der runs in classes of infamy as well as being accomplished by a variety of means. The reckless, drunken murder has its companion in the ¢ool and calculating murder. There isthe murderex of passion, the stealthy, poisoning ‘murderer, the murdor in a tavern brawl, the wife murderer, the mur- der of one desperado by another, the murder byawoman. The olasses might be largely increased beyond these even by a visit to the Tombs. It is a curious thing that every one of them finds its apologists, under ono form or another, among men who themselves may abhor the idea of blood. Stokes has his apologists among men who hated the viciousness of the man he slew. Ma- gruder would find apologists by the score south of Mason and Dixon's line or west of the Missouri, because he warned his victim one day that he would shoot him the }next. The very thing which will go to con- vict him of murder with brutal premedita- tion here would bring a triumphant acquittal in the backwoods. Sharkey would never be molested there, because he shot his man in front of a bar. Simmons, whose ferocity led him to plunge the knife again and again into his victim, will find people to say that it was ® policy man he killed, and that it is excusable because there was a struggle, and because Simmons was also a policy man— dog eat dog. King will, perhaps, find people to believe he should mot be hanged, because a ‘pistol was found in the pocket of the man’he shot from behind. Scannell, who made one attempt on the life of . Donohoe before finally killing “him; ‘and farnished himself with the heaviest pistol he could find, to make sure of his work, has had jurors who believed that these things were, with a few others, proof of insanity. Even Nixon would find apolo- gists among the class who believe that the world and its roads were made for them alone. Around the murderess, and sometimes—strange contradiction—the wife-murderer, the greatest amount of shallow sentimentality is thrown. The name of woman alone inspires the first; the suspicion of a hus- band being wronged is held to palliate the second. All these apologies are of the flimsiest; but their being brought forward can be foretold with certainty as soon as the blood of the victim has been spilled. We cannot purify the atmosphere of society of its murder elements by using an absorbent on only one order of noxiousness, The rich murderer as well as the poor, the influential murderer as well as the unowned outcast, the deliberate and the plotting murderer as well as the hasty, the infuriate or the drunken, must all be treated alike. “If juries will only do their duty,” said a Senator to our correspondent, ‘murder must bow its head.”” We want fearless juries, as well as an unshrinking Executive. These can give society a gaugo of security by the conviction of the criminal. While Governor Dix is in the gubernatorial chair we may rely on stub- born justice being wrought out. He has pledged himself to it, and has given us a telling instance that he can be trusted to keep his word. The British Cabinet Crisis. By » Henatp special telegram from London we have intelligence of the fact that the British Cabinet crisis, which was induced by the resignation of Premier Gladstone, was maintained at a late hour of the evening yes- terday. Mr. Disraeli took counsel with the Earl of Derby during the night of Friday. The result of the deliberation was that the conservative leader in the Commons sought audience of the Queen at Buckingham Palace yesterday and communicated to Her Majesty his reasons for declining office and the task of forming a Ministry. Lord Derby endorses Disraeli’s position, the Peer being convinced that the conservative party cannot accept the responsibility of forming a government at the present time. Thig resolve of the titled young statesman denotes his possession of a consid- erable amount of prudence and goes to prove, also, that the political party chivalry of his family has been toned down to a very reasona- ble and rational extent in his mind by his col- legiate training, his University Rectorial ex- perience, and his public communication with the middle class masses of his countrymen. He does not appear to be by any means am- bitious to undertake the exercise of “tooling’”’ a “Derby dilly, with its six insides,” at the present moment, and thus accepting the almost certain chance of having it ‘‘spilled’”’ by the wayside, as was the tory ministerial conveyance when his deceased father held the lines. Apart from the fact of Disraeli’s declination of office there is not anything extraordinary in the news. Mr. Gladstone is ruralizing with a friend. The Queen has gone to Windsor, where, it is said, she will see the ex-Premier. The comments of the English metropolitan press are variable and without point. Earl Granville’s name is again mentioned in connection with the idea of a Ministry, of which his lordship would be the head and Mr. Cardwell Chancellor of the Exchequer. Public opinion points to a gen- eral election, notwithstanding that it is said the Parliament will be held over to Mid- summer or, perhaps, a later period. A gen- eral election entails a vast deal of expense on would-be legislators in Great Britain, and the people are, as yet, poorly educated in the intricacies of the ballot box, so that some new and very unexpected results might ensue from a universal exposition of the national will under the new form of voting. Allien, the Brave-Hearted—Slander, De= mial and Silence. Extraordinary occasions produce extraor- dinary men equal to the occasion, The Augustan age of murder has not only pro- duced a Dix, but it has also dragged up an Allen from the depths. We haverecorded our admiration for the action of the Governor, but what shade of feeling will be applica- ble to Allen? Will the deepest con- tempt be strong enough for him? He is a relative by marriage of the widow of Avery D. Putnam. He calls himself her ad- viser, and therefore should be one to shield her from slanderons accusation. But he be- comes her slanderer, says he is aware of her having sold her claim on vengeance fora bribe of money, and that he advised her to do it. He tells this to neighbors, acquaintances, merchants and reporters. Three of these have sworn to his words. Our reporter, to whom he made the avowal, is ready, if necessary, to swear to his words also. The bereaved woman to whom he had, under the mask of friendship, done this hideous wrong, writes a denial, and then Mr. Allen comes forward with a mask of brass and sends us a denial of his having used the wordg aygrm ta by pumberg as being him That he may have the full benefit of what self-condemnation thero is in the letter wo print it here. The utter unlikelihood of its being genuine prevented it from being published yesterday. We did not believe he was so lost to all sense of decency as to pen the following in face of what he had said and done before :— To THE Epirox oF THe HeRaLp:— Sin—The statements in the daily press that Mrs. Patnam received a bribe irom the triends of Wil- liam Foster through me are not correct. I have not Known or said knew that she was paid any sum of money ior her petition to the Governor for the commutation of Foster's sentence. WILLIAM L, ALLEN. 67 Puan Street, New York, Marcn 14, 1873. This is not all, When our reporters yes- terday called on him—one of them the writer to whom he made the statement about the bribe—he hung his head and had nothing to say in defence of his statement, in defence of his denial ofehis statement, in defence of himself. © courageous Allen! trath- telling, manly Allen! Allen, who one day makes a slanderous statement against tho honor of a bereaved woman, denies having made it five days after, and has nothing to say for himself, his statement or hw denial on the sixth day! Let us hope that Providence makes few men like you in these troubled days. The taint that comes from the presence of pedtiferous disease'creates a horror akin to the actions of & aman whose .motto ‘is cowardly” blander, brazen denial and self-convicting silence. Indepen it Journalism—The Causes of the Success ef the Herald. Independent journalism, which started with the Henaxp, has no better example both of its growth and its importance than in the Henan itself. Forty years ago such a thing as an independent newspaper was unknown. Noews-gathering had not yet become a science. Most of the editors of that day cared very lit- tle whether they printed the news to-morrow or next week or not at all. Advertising was almost as meagre as the news. Politics stood uppermost in the minds of publishers. Eyery editor was a politician. Every journal was a political organ. The paper sustained the party and the party gave the paper whatever vitality it possessed. An honest and inde- pendent opinion was rarely, if ever, expressed from one end of the land to the other. When the Heratp appeared it wrought a magical change in every branch of journalism. Founded to print the news, it printed it and continues to print it in advance of all its con- temporaries. Every event of any significance received and continues to receive its earliest attention. Politics was only news, and, con- trary to all precedent, news that was to be treated from an independent standpoint. In- dependence found favor with the public, and the Hratp of to-day, crowded with news and crowded with advertisements, is a magnificent illustration of the greatness of the popular favor which is extended to a newspaper that is firat in enterprise and most untrammolled in opinion, Look at our advertising columns to-day, and day after day. They occupy more space than some of our contemporaries are able to give to both news and advertising. They often reach and sometimes exceed sixty columns in a single issue. In to-day’s issue they exceed sixty-five columns. The only journal in the world which rivals the Hxratp in this respect is the London Times, but even the Thunderer fails to surpass the Hzrnaup. In every news aspect it is in- ferior to this journal. It has no such news- gatherers as daily fill the Herp with informa- tion gleaned from every part of the world. It has no such splendid special correspondents as enrich the pages of this paper. It gains no such triumphs as the Heraup is gaining at home and abroad. Unlike the Hznazp, it is little better than its contemporaries. It can- not point to a long series of triumphs like the successful search after Dr. Livingstone and the investigation of the state of the Cuban insurrection. The Henaup is never content with what is on the surface, but sends its com- missioners to all parts of the world to ascer- tain what is under the surface. When the Lowery gang of outlaws was putting the peo- ple of North Carolina in constant fear the Henatp Commissioner went among them and brought back with him the singylar story of their lives. When Captain Jack began his cruelties a Hznaup correspondent was the first to see him, and the Henatp has had the full story of his grievances and of the negotiations for their settlement. The political troubles in New Orleans are an- other example of Heraxp ‘enterprise in ob- taining the quickest and fullest information on subjects of great importance. Our stories of the second inauguration of President Grant were more widely read and more generally commented on than any similar accounts ever before printed. ‘The Hxratp’s letters on French politics have been among the best which ever appeared in any newspaper on like topics, We gather news from all quar- ters, interviewing sovereigns or bootblacks, as the case may require, and offer at every break- fast table an amount of information that is in itself a volume. It is easy to predict the place of the Hznatp in the progress of the future. It will always be, as it always has been, in the front rank. Its enterprise and independence have a recog- nized value. Its success is due to these attri- butes, and in maintaining them it goes for- ward in advance of all its contemporaries. The people know that they can depend on a paper like the Henatp at all times. Whena voice is to be raised im behalf of the people which shall take the side of the people, free from all partisanship or bigotry, the public expects it from the Hxraup, confident that there will be no disappointment. A case in point is the prevalence of crime in this city. Notwith- standing the Tombs is full of murderers some journals have sought to have convicte@ crimi- nals exempted from the penalties of murder. In this the Hznatp could not join. Themany letters we have received commending our course, some of which we have printed, show that the public fully appreciates and endorses the course of the paper. The same thing is true of the Crédit Mobilier investigation. It is a very common remark that in that matter the course of the Hanaup was right, aud the action of the committee and of Congress wrong. Whenever frankness or fairness is demanded people expect it in the Henanp, because they have learned that independence is the certain policy of the paper. The proud position which tho paper oceupies in this respect wes pot gained witout didi. culty. Politicians, especially, had been long accustomed to “running the papers."’ Juntas like the Albany Regency thought, and some- times even wrote, for the party journals, A Partisan newspaper thus became to & Great extent the organ of some man or set of mon, Independent journal- ism asoccordingiy was obnoxious to parties, the party press and the politicians. Strenuous efforte were, of course, made to nip so dan- Gerous an innovation in the very bud. The most obtuse of politicians could not fail to perceive that an independent newspaper would obstruct the echemes of selfish political fac- tions. But the people, always alive to their own interests, aw the importance of having an outspoken journal, telling tho truth at all times of all men, without fear and without favor; and the world now beholds the result in the Hzraup, Not even the editor, writing early in the day, can tell what will be the tenor of to-morrow’s news, but all the readers of the Henatp know that to-morrow’s issue will be a photograph of the occurrences of to-day. At this time there is no subject of greater interest than independent journalism. Tho idea is one that has taken a deep hold on the | public mind, . It has given stability to news- Paper property, . It has develo) news enterprise and fostered independent opinion -by independence. It helpa the people to weigh every subject carefully and to decide justly. It compels the corrupt judge or the corrupt Politician to tremble. _It purifies politics and elevates morals. It develops art, industry and the independence which is its life. Thus ® paper like the Hzganp becomes a great power, and the people sustain it because it supplies their wants by its enterprise and commends itself to their judgments by its independence. 3 The Religious Press and Its Topics. Our religious contemporaries do not appear to be inspired this week with any general or striking topic of discussion, although the Fos- ter case naturally furnishes a text for com- ment in the columns of some of them. Their tone collectively on the subject maybe re- garded as in favor of allowing the law to take its course. The Golden Age argues that ‘‘nine-tenths of all the murders which have been brought to the notice of the newspapers during the last five years have been the result of just as little motive—of just as little pro-intent to kill—as in this case’ of Foster. Tho Age proceeds :— In other words, they have been the rash acts of drunken men who, in their brawls and under the semi-insanity which liquer produces in a heated brain, have struck blows with the same biind, bru- tal, unreasening strength which led Dr. Tyng’s Sunday scheol scholar te kill a citizen without de- liberavely meaning to do it. If Foster justly es- capes the gallows (amd itis just that he should), then the large proportion of his {fellow criminal should escape with him. There is ings justice on their side, His case differs (r the majerity ef murders only in the fact that t criminals do not sin against such light as Dr. ‘'yng’s religious instructiens furnish, and therefore do not bring upon themselves so high @ degree ef meralcondem- nation for their crime. The Age profoundly hopes that Foster's case, which it regardsas a fair and average type of manslaughter, neither better nor worse than the majority of instances, may lead a humane community to consider the wisdom of commuting, by law, the death penalty to life imprisonment, The Independent declares it is not thirsting for blood, but it protests against that senti- mentalism in behalf of individuals which jeopards the safety of the community by its reluctance to uflict penalty. It does not be- lieve it to be wiser than the Courts that have already declared Foster guilty of murder in the first degree. ‘There is no use of capital convictions at all,’’ concludes the Independent, “4f they are to be rendered abortive by guber- natorial clemeney. The law that fails when it comes to the crisis of exetution is simply a sham, and the public sentiment that tolerates such shams greatly needs reforming.” The National Baptist sums up a review of the Foster case by remarking that “it is not on the ground of vengeance ; it is not as an act of satisfaction to the ghost of the murdered man; it is simply from a regard for the wel- fare of the living, from a regard for the safety and happiness of the millions of innocent citizens, that we express our most earnest hope that the Governor will let the law take its course.’’ The Freeman's Journal (Catholic organ) has its death grip on the condemned Foster and the Rev. Dr. Tyng, and smashes away gener- ally about car hooks and iron rods. In an editorial leader it accuses the Rev. Dr. Stephen H. Tyng of a ‘‘very gross indecency,” says that clergyman has just ‘‘added a new feather to the tar surface with which his old reputation is besmeared,”’ in having the execrable taste “to inform Governor Dix that the family of the convicted are all members of our one household of faith.’’ Suppose, suggests the Journil, that In place of John A. Dix it had been Francis Ker- nan that had been elected Governor. ‘Suppese it had been some poor wretch who been a Catho- lic, whose life was trembling in the scales of execu- tive judgment! And suppose some Catholic pastor had Ventured the bold indecency of this Dr. Tyng to Governer Dix, and reminded Governor Kernan that the man whose case was beiore him, to be de- cided on principles of law, was one of a family who “are all members of our one household of faith!’ We are very certain thac such @ letter would not have Rabe sayy a feather, either for or against the legal merits of a case for executive clemency; but, if We could suppose 80 gross an impropriety on the part of a Catholic priest, we think Mr. Kernan would not have suffered such an improper appeal to have passed without a rebuke to its author as public as the offence. The Journal also publishes the following advertisement extraordinary, under the head- ing ‘Car Hooks Wanted’’:— ° Wantep—Iron rods, well wreught and not liable to snap—regulation length of dress sword thirty- nine and a half inches. A large supply will be re- quired so soon as the order for them is sanctioned by Governor Dix. After Governor Dix’s approval they will present the follewing advantages :— First, a in the hands of an expert swords- man, a car hook will be much more effective than a@rapier. The sword requires its handler to know how to deliver its be or its point; but @ car hook is edge all round! Second, by dicial argumentation through hired isce ae nd teed lawyers, the car hook is declared not to be a deadly weapon! The advantage ef this point, for men-hunters, is not to be overlooked. Persons Sree ttn tes New York Directory. ‘The Journal is hard at work endeavoring to boost Don Carlos upon the throne of Spain. Referring to the present republican authori- ties in that country, they are pronounced ‘a pack of blackguards, neither fearned nor re- spected,"’ and we are told that “Spain calls out, by her misery as well as by her chivalry, ‘Make way for King Charles VII.''’ The Journal iano King Charles spaniel—not it. But it does dislike the unfortunate Rev. Mr. Tyng—there is no mistake about that. The Jewish Messenger descants upon ‘Mercy for the Merciless’’ and affirms that ‘‘the safety of the people depends upon justice being storply xendexed the mon who xreaoxt 1 Vids lence, and who are the natural enemies of decency, order and quiet.”’ ‘The Tablet discourses on ‘Persecutions is Switzerland’’ and other matters, and does nct wonder at the rapid progress the Carlists are making in every part of Spain, asserting that “they, of all the contending parties, have un- doubtedly the strongest claims on thg sym- pathy of every Spaniard who loves his God as well as his country.”” The Liberal Christian (Rev. Dr. Bel- lows) devotes editorial space to an article upon the new charter, in the course of which it states that it has just heard from excellent authority ‘“‘that the Board of Aldermen has already been tampered with, and promises of place and plunder made to the supporters of the new charter," and adds: — While this charter is in some respects an im provement on our present charter in its most im- Pertant features, and nolaply in that one which Propesea t. deprive the Mayor of tue appointing wer, leaving him a mere tool or figure-nead of ¢ Board of Aldermen, it is only a new Ring docu- ment, pushed by King republicans for Ring pur- poses, We do net believe that, when passed, the charter will obtain Governor Dix’s signature; but it it shouid, after Mr. Green has been remaved and the people are called on by his King successor to settle the five or six milliens of unadjusted claims which ut present are not allowed, they will thon, probably, open their eyes wide enough to see the Gifference between true und pro‘ended refagmers. The revival movement continues to progress most favorably, It is no Orédit Mobilier flicker or spasm of the spirit of race, but the substantial. workings of a deep-rooted and widespread love of righteousness. The Theatres—How Ought We Receive Sardow’s “Uncle Sam?” Changes in the bills of our theatres seem to be made on the principle of the old motto, “It never rains but it pours.’ Sometimes the pieces at all our places of amusement run smoothly and together, and then a change of the play at one house is the signal fora change at nearly all the others. For weeks we have had no notable dramatic event; but when the Centenarian at the Union Square gave up the ghost it was only to be followed by the withdrawal of a half a score of equally suc- cessful plays. With the exception of ‘David Garrick’’ at Wallack’s, which has had an un- usual lease of life, all the other comedy thea- tres will have new plays next week. ‘‘Alixe,’" at the Fifth Avenue, yields to ‘False Shame,”* which was interrupted"by the burning of the little theatre in Twenty-fourth street. Mr. Boucicault comes back to Booth’s with o new play of his own, which he calls ‘Daddy O’Dowd.”’ This is a drama in which he delin- eates as an actor his work as a dramatist, and is to give us another glimpse of Irish charac- ter in a vein as truthful as that which he exhibited in his cabinet ‘picture of ‘Kerry.’ The Grand Opera House also enters the list of comedy theatres and offers for publio amusement M. Sardou’s much talked of play of ‘Uncle Sam.”’ Our readers are aware that this play is the one which #he French authori- ties would not allow to be performed in Paris because it was supposed to be offensive to the American people. In consequence it has been the subject of a great deal of gossip, and its first production here has much of the flavor of @ genuine dramatic sensation. —. In view of all the circumstances, it is not surprising that there ghould exist a strong desire to see “Uncle Sam.”” We are told that the play is pure comedy of the French school of dramatic writing, and we know that its author is one of the best comedy writers of the day. Because it deals with American manners and types of American character was no reagon why the play should not have been produced in Paris, and is @ reason why it should be produced here. While we recognize the compliment which was intended by its prohibition, we can not regard that prohibition by the French gov- ernment as in facta compliment to the Ameri- can people. The French official action pre- supposes a sensitiveness which we believe does not and which certainly ought not exist. “Uncle Sam’’ cannot be a severer satire upon American life than was ‘‘The School for Scan- dal,” for instance, upon the higher classes of English society a century ago. Even Frank Marshall’s quiet play, ‘‘False Shame,” is in itself as severe a reflection upon English s0- ciety to-day as M. Sardou’s most barbed ‘words can be upon things which are supposed to be distinctively American. We could not do our countrymen the injustice to suppose that they would refuse to see themselves on the stage as they are in real life, and they cer- tainly would not refuse to look at themselves through M. Sardou’s spectacles. On the other hand, we believe that wherein the French dramatist has drawn a faithful picture of our foibles we are all ready to admit its truth and admire his skill, and where he isin error he can only afford us occasion for a smile. We observe a disposition on the part of some of our contemporaries to decry the manage- ment of the Grand Opera House for the pro- duction of this piece. We cannot join in any crusade so useless, Indeed, we are rather pleased that the first distinctively American play, by a foreign dramatist of acknowledged merit, should be first produced here, and especially under the circumstances of an over- sensitive regard for American sensitiveness. In common with most of our readers we are anxious to see how the Frenchman has painted us, and we shall not take umbrage at his pic- ture unless it isa daub. The management ia to be commended rather than blamed for the enterprise which led to the production of “Uncle Sam," and with the resources of the Grand Opera House the piece ought to be aa well mounted and played as it would have been at the Gymnase or the Odeon. Properly produced the play has claims upon us, apart from any morbid curiosity as to the ill-natured things M. Sardou may have written. It is presented to us as a picture of ourselves, but we care not to look at it merely on the grounds which impel most people to look at themselves in a mirror, It is the mirror itself that we care to see most of all. Tho play has art claims upon us, and these we would not disregard while the American comedy is still a problem. Perheps, most, of all, the production of “Uncle Sam’ is to be commended because it is in itself a protest against the presumed over-eensitiveness of Americans. It is the attribute of children to cry over reflections upon their toggery. Only shrewish old women scold when somebody turns the laugh upon them. Our people will show by their reception of ‘“‘Unele Sam’’ that they are neither children nor shrews. M. Sardou acquired his notions of the American character from the American journals and from the American colony in Paris, and whatever they may be his reputa- tion ag a dramatist and, our resnect for his ari