The New York Herald Newspaper, April 29, 1873, Page 7

AN ICE COMBINATION. THE FATE OF 1,200,000 TONS OF ICE. How the Companies Intend to Enrich Them- selves During the Coming Season. The Sum of $500,000 Out of the Pockets of the People. Is THERE A REMEDY? ‘The price of ice is to be raised. The companies Tarnishing this commodity to New York consumers have come to an “understanding,” which means a combination to raise the price trom fifty cents for 100 pounds to sixty cents, that is, an advance of ten cents per 100 pounds to families, and in whole- sale quantities from thirty to thirty-five cents, ana when measured by the ton from $2 50 to $3. There is no written agreement to this effect, as an ice Oficial informed a HERALD reporter yesterday; only an “understanding.” As this advance con- cerns nearly @ million and a half of consumers in New York and Brooklyn, if not more (for ice is the most democratic as well as the cheapest of commodities), it 1s worth while to glance at the general features of the trade in order to Place the ice situation more tntelligibly before the reader, To begin with, America 1s §«6the)§«6only§ great ice-producing country of the world, and New York 1s the greatest ice market, Ice is ‘laid up” in small quantities in Norway, but inno other land fs there any attempt to preserve and move the naturalsubstance. In England, France, Italy, and indeed throughout Southern Europe ice is manufactured by machin- ery and frozen in botties for the elegant con- sumer, who, with money and leisure, can sit on the velvet oushtons of some gorgeous cayé and cool his absynthe or dilute his vermouth with water contained in these carayes, But, naturally, the consumption is” not large, because every square inch has its value, and must be paid for accord- ingly. A machine with which can be manufactured Aiity tons of ice per day, costs about $50,000, Thus it will be perceived that ice machinery in nota cheapener in the business in this country, because, to produce the 600,000 tons of ice annually con- sumed in New York, it would cost an enormous sum of money. THE FOREIGN ICK TRADE is of the United States is still very imperfectly devel- eped; in fact it is not developed at all. To export Ice to a foreign country, for instance, in the tropics, is always @ monopoly, and the right is sold by the State to the company agreeing to furnish the com- modity. It will be seen irom this fact that the great companies of the Union do not rely upon the. chief cities for their custom, but have considerable‘ patronage in foreign ports—more or less perilous, itis true, because of the ephemeral character of the merchandise and its destroying contact with hot climates. This is one reason why the ice business of the United States is still in a very undesirably crude condition. It has never risen to its natural magnitude, that is, to the proportions it should as- sume when the constant demands of the consumers at home and abroad are considered, IN THE UNITED STATES the organized commerce is confined to the Atlantic seaboard, to the Kennebec, Penobscot and Hudson rivers, and to many of the interior lakes of New York ‘State and New England. On the Pacific slope the consumers obtain much of their ice trom Sitka, bust during recent years the ice bottles of Paris are becoming the mode in San Francisco. In the Southern States the seaboard alone ts fur- nished, and the interior populations are obliged to use their reireshing brooks and streamlets, But throughout the Northern and Western States each vill has its own ice dealer, who cuts his ice in the Winter, “lays it up,’ and sells for an average of twelve cents per 100 pounds. The entire organized capital employed on the Seaboard fs put down at $8,000,000, and if the in- quiry be extended to cover the entire Continent it is estimated that there is more than twenty million dollars invested in various ways in the trade. To repeat, New York consumes the enormous quantity of 8IX HUNDRED THOUSAND TONS OF ICE ANNUALLY} et these figures represent but one-half of the Actuai quantity of ice brought to this island, be- cause over 600,000 tons of ice are annually wasted by melting before the bulk finatly reaches the con- eumers. Thus, with ice at $3 a ton the companies lose by waste the sum of $1,800,000 every year. Their operations along the coast are by no means as extensive as they are in the city, and with their ‘united capital of $8,000,000 it does not appear that over 2,000,000 of tons are annually “laid up.” 'THE CONDITIONS OF A LARGE ICE Ckor. its delivery in this city and its preservation until it reaches the consumer, are quite peculiar. The suc- cessful supply depends :— Férst—On a cold Winter. Second—On cheap labor. Third—On light snows, Fourth—On direct relations with the consumer, The officials of the companies assert that the ‘Winter of 1872-3 has yeen a very favorable one for the gathering in of ice, but that the labor has been forty per cent. higher consequent epee the heav, and almost perpetual snows which have impede: transportation, thrown back the season of deliv- ery, and therefore raised the price of the com- modity. ‘Then operandi may be briefly stated. The ice for the Knickerbocker Company, for example, is cut in the Hudson and transported to its houses at its various stations along the Hudson. The first cost, it should be understood, 1s nothing, but it is maintaining the houses and in employing the labor that li capital is required. This company owns thirty-nine barges, and each of them can receive cargo varying from 600 to 2,000 tons. Some of thes barges are very capacious, consisting of con- demned ‘double-enders,” seld at public auction by the ernment. Among them is the re- nowned Sasacus which encountered the rebel ramin North Carolina waters during the naval operations in the South Atlantic. When the con- sumers demand ice the company telegraphs fora certain quantity; the barges are freighted, and come down the North River and discharge im- mediately. No further storage takes place in New York, as every time ice is moved the waste is ex- traordinary. ‘It is then farmed out to the custom- ers; some to that high-priced class of go-betweens, “the independent dealers,” and to the various re- tail ice merchants. In ‘all these operations more than five thousand men are employed by the Knickerbocker Cempany, and in the general trade the figures are estimated at 10,000, The ice men state that no better idea of the ex- tent of the business of the different companies can be given than by scrutinizing their capital, of ‘which the following is a statement The shipments of these compantes to foreign countries do not begin to equal the home con- pag) and the large export trade is carried on by the Tudor Comp: of Boston, which ships to the East Indies. ie Knickerbocker, of New York, ships iceto the West Indies, to Charleston ‘and other Southern ports, to Mexico and to Spain. THE LOCAL TRADE OF THIS CITY resents Many curious general features, Private families are not, as many believe, large consumers. The customers may be graded as foilows, accord- ing to the quantities they buy r beer brewers. Pork packers. Ice cream makers, Fish merchants, Hotels, Butchers Families. THE LAGER BEER BREWERS are by far the largest consumers in this market. ‘They buy their ice by the ton, and sometimes at the Tate of thousands of tons a week. It (requently happens that the Knickerbocker Company supplies ‘17,000 or 18,000 tons a week to the market, and i the officiais assert tnat a very small portion of this ice goes to family consumption. Another large class are “the independent dealers,” who buy Jn wholesale quantities, and with several wagons they put up a sign and peddle the ice around the streets in minute quantities. They are the Chat- ham street operators of the ice trade, and do as much as the companies to enhance the cost. FAMILY CONSUMPTION, however, ts of the greatest interest to the trader, as ice enters into the household economy of every establishment in the city. The family, as under- stood in its ordinary sense, consumes irom fifteen to twenty-five pounds a day, which, if delivered in F bent of over thirty pounds at a time, costs ity cents per hundred Weight. The officials of the Knickerbocker Company maintained yesterday that the prices would vary little from these figures, but the other companies did not assent to this propo- sition, The average family consumption is about 100,000 tons after the waste is exciuded, so that 4 the extra charge of ten cents per uundred will net Ww the companies THR NEAT SUM OF TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, andthe amount which will be drawn from the pockets of beer brewers, pork packers, ice cream EE LL NEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, APKIL 29, 1873—QUADRUPLE SHEET. y “proprietors wi pe about makers and hotel regs aucwe ela Bre oi Rae in oxnees ei inl yr 1872, mi The tunaLb Teporter called on the haga! 4 of the Washington Comps to ascertain his views on the COMDERASIOR. gle rapek eo gad politely at there Was . ring soe if I may ask the question ?” cents per hundred to cine atti ‘And in wholesaje quanti- sixty ce! y tgp rout they to ‘And how much “We will raise our “To what do you at enhanced price ?”” “The increased quantity and quality of the labor employed, You see the streets have been very dirty this Winter. We have been overwhelmed with snows and storms, and this has made us em- ploy extra labor. None of the ice companies have made any money in the last two years. The Knickerbocker has declared a dividend; but what of that. The company, I am sure, has made no maqney. “Is there any written agreement to put up the price of ice ¥? “No! none. It is a sort oftacit nuderstanding. You see our business is like anybody else’s, e compete with the other companies and they try to get our custom away; so we have been trying to cut each other’s throats during the past few yea: but now we are going to try to work together. don’t know how it will go, but we shall aee.”” “What was the origin of this movement?” “The ‘independent dealers’ proposed the in- crease, and we have assented to it for their benefit because they are heavy customers of ours.”? ms “The public will not be amazed at the combina- on. “[ suppose not. The newspapers have been abusing the ice companies fora longtime. Why don’t they pitch into some other companies, like the milk companies, for iustance? They make @ great deal more money than we do. Here our ex- penses are increasing constantly, We have to pay $4,000 for dock privileges where we formerly paid but $600." IN A FEW WEEKS the 400 ice wagons of the city will begin to haunt our doors; the ice fleets will be in daily movement up and down the Hudson, and then, perhaps, with the mercury standing at 100 degrees, the compa- nics may have another “understanding,” and wonder if it would not be better to enhance far- ther the price of the people’s commodity. Jt is in such a supreme moment, when ice is absolutely es- sential to health in this oven of stone known as Manhattan Igiand that the companies generally apply the pressure, Butis there a remedy? Ap- parently none. Every new corporation which starts out with the laudable intention of making a lively opposition on the principle of “large sales and smail profits’’ finds it more immediately remu- nerative to join the ice monopoly, one of the most baneful of all the baneful monopolies of this land of monopolies. “WATCHING” THE VICAR GENERAL. A Surprise Party and Presentation to the Very Rev. Father Quinn. A very agreeable surprise was given last evening at the pastorai residence of St. Peter's parish, Barclay street. The late pastor and recently appointed Vicar General, the Rev. William Quinn, was seated quietly in his room, when ® jerge party of gentlemen, former and present members of St. Peter's parish, made their appearance and solicited his attendance in the reception room. Among those present were Messrs. Jehn E. Devlin, James B. Nicholson, Peter Lynch, Judge Hogan, ex-Con- gressman Fex, Judge Quinn, Willlam Joyce, Super- intendent of the new Cathedral; P, Nihan, T. Witams, C, Brown, P. J.- Duna, W. F. Picher, J. Smith, T. Holoban, J. Cherry, Captain T. Cherry, J. Reed, J. Kennefick, J. A. Clark, R. Lalor anda large number of others, including several clergy- men of the diocese. As soon as the usual ‘formali- ties had been gone through, Judve Quinn brieny address Father Quinn, explaining the objects of the assemblage, to show to their well beloved pastor, in some material way, the feeling of the parishoners at parting with him. He then intro- duced Mr, Devlin, who spoke as follows:— ADDRESS OF JOHN BE, DEVLIN. Veny Revenawp Stx—Your parishioners of St. Peter's church assemble here to-night with semtiments of mingled gratitude and regret. In common with our fellow Catholics we have been made aware that his Grace the Archbishop has assigned you to a new and elevated ecclesiastical station, the Vicar Generalship of the diocese of New York. While we rejoice and con- gratulate you on this advancement, wo are sen- sibly touched by the severance of the relation of people and pastor, which has so long su ve- tween us, and its approaching termination fills us with sadness, It is now nearly a quarier of a century since this relation began. Youcame among us a stranger amorg strangers—except so far as the fellowship and warmth of our living common faith makes us all akin, During this period you have officiated at our altars, ministered In our homes, administered the sacraments, joined many of us the bonds of holy wed- jock, baptized our children . solemnized the last rites of those of your flock who have gone before us. For all these things, which have made you a part, asit were, of our spiritual and religious lives, ‘we tender you our fervent Christian thanks. To yield you up, however, even though It be to ader field of labor and to higher duties; to realize that you will no more take part in the sacred ceremonies at the altar here; that we shall mise you from the confessional, and no longer hear your tamiliar voice from the pulpit’ of St. Peter's, are events over which we may justly and deeply grieve. It is No common acknowledgment of the merit and excellence career, that on the demise of the late Vicar General the entire Catholic community of this city turned towards you as the one of all the many eminent clergymen of this diocese best known ai d to occupy the vacant scat. His Grace the Archbishop. par. ticipating, no doubt, in this feeling,although tollowing his own independent judgment, cam happily. into accord ‘With the general sentiment ‘and gratified ‘the universal wish. We cease to possess you as our spe consoled this de thirty-five cents’? per ton {’ price a ton.” ribute the necessity for this of your priestl in ministering many of preside over us—that we will be still the subjects of your sacred guardianship and care, and that our particular loss will enure to the general gain. We remem- bered by you im the holy sacrifice of the altar and not to be forgotten in the privacy and quiet of your closet. And wishing you many years of health and usefutness in Pe new position we bid you, as our beloved and imme- ate pastor, adieu | At the close of Mr. Deviin’s remarks Judge Quinn introduced Mr. Fox, who, advancing, presented Father Quinn with an elegamt watch, after which he said:— Very Reverewp Farner—Your friends and paristrioners here have called me to the distinguished honor of pre- senting you this slight testimonial of their esteem and honer, ‘If this watch could speak for us its every tick would bea cry of love from our hear: sorrowing love for the loss of our pastor, counsellor, friend; the one to whom in time of sorrow we all turned for consola, tion and comtort, and were shown the way to God, finding you ever ready to strengthen us by your counseh, to sympathize In our sorrows, to intercede for us in your prayers. For all this we know you will obtain your re- ward in another and a better world; but as a token of friendship we ask you to accept and wear this in remem- brance of old St. Peter's. With hearts too full for utterance, with brimming eyes and lips mute from the consciousness that your place will hencetorth be vacant, we can only say “Goodby ; God be with you.” FATHER QUINN’S RESPONSE. Father Quinn responded to the address fn a man- ner which showed he was much moved by the ex- pressions of good will and filial love embodied in the words he had heard and in the countenances of those who surrounded him. He referred, some- what more at length than in his sermon of Sunday, to the work that had bean done, and gave full credit to those who had acted as his chief helpers— Mr. J. B, Nicholson and Father (now Archbishop) Bayley—as the new trustees, and Mr. Andrew Clark ag present trustee. At the close of the Vicar General's remarks those present shook hands with him, and after a short time spent in social conver- sation the party dispersed. As further tokens of esteem and love received by Vicar General Quinn were @ handsome bouquet, in which was a gold pen and pencil, accompanted bya set of neatly engrossed resolutions from the altar boys, and another bouquet from the school girls, through which was scattered $100 in gold. THE REBLSEN ROW. —_+—_—__. Another Side of the Story—The Right Sergeant at Last-Rehlsen an Ex- Convict, No less than three police sergeants—Westerman, Westervelt and Weston—have been arrested as being concerned in the clubbing of William Rehl- sen, the German saloon keeper of No. 812 Eighth avenue, reports of which have heretefore ap- Peared in the HERALD. It now appears that Ser- geants Westerman and Westervelt had no connec. tion whatever with the affair, neither of them having been present; but the one who did use his club on Rehisen was Cornelius Weston, @ sergeant of the Thirty-first precinct. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY. Yesterday morning Sergeant Weston and Officer Thomas McDermott, furmerly of the Twenty-second recinct, but now attached to the Broadway Squad, in company With Capt, Killilea and Inspector Wail- ing, waited upon Uvroner Herrman, at his office, for the purpose of ying bail, if it should be re- quired. Sergeant Weston stated that on the night oi the occurrence he was riding up town in an Eighth avenue car, when he saw two men fighting on the sidewalk and interiered, as ne was in duty bound to do, Officer McDermott, having been cue in, had received @ severe cut on the head and was BLEEDING PROFUSELY. Rehlsen, one of the men engaged in the fight, Who, it is alieged, had cut Onicer McDermott, on seeing the Sergeant approach, ran into his place and took refuge on the roof, whither he was pursued be the Sergeant and a clinch ensued, during which Rehisen attempted to throw his adversary from the roof; but both of them rolled off and Were injured. The Sergeant, however, held fast to his prisoner, who attempted to pitch him headiong down stairs; but, failing in his purpose, received a blow on the head from the officer's club, and after that Kehisen was taken to the station house aud locked up, and his head dressed by @ surgeon. After listening to the Ser- geant’s statement, which was corroborated by Omicer McDermett, Corover Herrman allowed them to go without giving ball, On the loth of Septem- ber, 1871, Retisen, who bears a bad reputation, YACHTING NOTES. The annual meeting of the Brooklyn Yacht Club will be held at the rooms of the organization, No. 26 Court street, to-morrow (Wednesday) evening. Business of a very important nature will be trans- i acted, The schooner yacht Clio, Messrs, Asten and Brad- hurst, N.Y.Y.C,, has been in commission about ten days. During this time Captain Greenwood has given her repeated trials up the Sound, and on Saturday afternoon she returned to her anchorage, foot of Court street, froma visit to Fire Island, Yesterday, with her owners and a few friends, she was taken down the Bay, apd in all these experi- mental trips gave great satisfaction. The Clio, in her class, will be a difficult boat to beat the coming season. The annual regattas of the leading clubs in this section will take place as follows:—New York Club, Thursday, June 5; Atlantic Club, Tuesday, June 10; Brooklyn Club, Thursday, June 12, ‘The scheoner yacht Agnes, A.Y.C., has been sent to Glen Cove, where ske will be thoroughly refitted for the year’s campaign. The sloop Addie, Mr, W. H. Langley, N.Y.Y.C., is about being thoreughly overhauled and her spare reduced six feet. 5 The yacht Viking, N.Y.Y.C., Mr. Sands, passed Whitestone yesterday alternoon, from the east- ward, en route for New York, The new schooner at Messrs. Poillen Brothers’ yard, to be called the Ariel, will be launched within ten days, She is of the same model and dimensions as the Clio. The schooner yacht Calypso, Mr, J. J. Astor, N.Y.Y.C,, is at the yard of David Carll, City Island, for extensive repairs. She will be lengthened amidships and receive entire new interior work. It will be remembered that the Calypso was con- siderably damageu by fire and subsequent sinking at Newport a few weeks luce. Mr. Thomas Taylor's open boat Idle Hour and Mr, Prague’s new boat of the same class will sail two miles to windward and return on Monday, May 26, for a handsome prize. They will leave ap anchorage off Greenville, N. J. ‘There is much activity in the several yacht clubs in Boston and vicinity, and a lively season 18 ex- ected to result from the at preparations mak- ~ The Boston Club has thirteen schooners, twenty-four sloops and one steam yacht on its list, several of the number being new to the organ- ization. The Dorchester Club, though posses- sing few yachts fit for ocean races, have many goad sea beats, while some of the crait, which compose what more pretentious clubs would term a “mosquito” fleet, are not slow in exhibiting their rudder posts to vessels with greater length of spar and spread of canvass in smooth water, The number of craft on their books is eight schooners, twenty-two sloops and thirty cat-rigged. The South Boston Club has eight schooners and twenty-six sloops en- rolled, Though most of these are small their owners are very enthusiastic in the invigorating pastime of yachting. The Eastern Club has 260 members and forty-five yachts on its books. This organization is acknowledged to be tie most wealthy and influential in New England, The members ure principally gentlemen who reside in and around Boston during the Winter, and who pass the Summer at Beverly, Swampscott, Manchester, Nahantand other places, though New York, New Brunswick and Portlan are represented in the membership, Two new boats have recently been added to the fleet. ‘The Club has arranged that the opening regatta shall take place on Wednesday, June 11, off Marblehead Rock, The Bunker Hill Clab, of Charlestown, has eighteen boats enrolled, The annual review will, in accordance with established custom, take place Tuesday, June 1%, on the Mystic Kiver. The mn Club, though scarcely past ita third birthday, enters upon this, its fourth season, with encouraging prospects. Its mem- bership, which has regularly increased from date of organization, now numbers 165 active workers, About forty boats are in the fleet, The first regatta of the season will be held by the Lynn yachtsmen on the 17th of June. The Beverly Ciuo, a young organization, has thirty-eight boats in its squadron, thirty-one of which are cat-rigged, six soon and one schooner, All are gallant little oats. At aregular meeting of the Albany Yacht Club, held a few ae since, the following efficers were elected for the ensuing year:—President, 8. G. Payn, Jr.; cee . Ransom; Treasurer, George H. Russell; Sailing Master. M. V. G. Paige; Directors, William Prescott, E. J. Knowles, W. J. Stoneman, The first regatta of the Club will take place on Thursday, May 16. JEALOUSY AND BLOOD. The Coroner’s Inquest and the Verdict of the Jury—A Murder That Drink Had Nothing To Do With—The Husband Kills His Wife Because Suspicion of Her Virtue. The inquiry into the cause of death of Marla McDermott, who was killed by her husband, John McDermott, on the morning of the 13th inst., was resumed yesterday at the Twenty-second precinct station house, Forty-seventh street, before Coroner Herrman. The murderer was unable to be present in consequence of sickness and wounds, the latter inflicted upon himself in at attempt TO DESTROY HIS OWN LIFE after taking that of his wife. He is confined in the Ninety-ninth Street Hospital, where he is care- fully guarded by the police. The inquest re- vealed but little in reference to this dread- ful crime that has not been already published. This murder differs from the general run of murders, inasmuch as it was not prompted by the influence of alcoholic liquors, McDermott and his wife were both sober and thrifty people; he had brought up his family with commenaable care and pride, ana the wife whom he deliberately BRAINED TO DRATH was his pride and his affection. Indeed, it was the better attributes of the man’s nature that led to the cruel murder. Residing on the same floor with the McDermotts was a man named Ryan, who haa boarded with them for five years. Recently McDer- mott became jealous ef Ryan. This “green-eyed monster” pursved him with its torturing sugges- tions, and at length he complained to his wife and some intimate friends that Ryan was given better food than was given him. The suggestions born of jealousy took a practicat shape, and he conceived the notion that Ryan and his wife were about to leave him and were going to “run a liquor saloon.’? Ryan denied yesterday - the inquest that there was the slightest cause for THIS JEALOUSY, and this denial was confirmed by those who re- sided in the same house. Shortly before McDermott killed his wife he gave to Ann Cahill, his first cousin, his savings bank book, telling her that ‘it was for his children in case anything oc- curred.” After this he struck his wile on the head with an iron hammer, used for cracking stones. This instrument of death was produced yesterday at the inquest. It is stained with blood, and traceable upon the iron were some of the hairs of the head ofthe murdered woman, THE VERDICT. The jury after a short consultation retarned a verdict that the deceased came by her death at the hands of her husband, John McDermott. The necessary legal formalities needful for com- pt the inquiry will be gone through with at the dside of the prisoner, and when he ts sufficently restored to heaith he will be ‘Tombs. removed to the THE SHOEMAKERS’ STRIKE. Little Excitement in the Trade—A Card from the Crispins. There is apparently little excitement among the cordwainers regarding their proposed strike, The employers say that trade at present is very dull, and that they can easily do without the aid of the society men for a few months. There are also plenty of others whom they can employ in case the proposed strike should hold out long. The Executive Committee of the ‘benchmen” met at the Fourteenth Ward Hotel, corner of Grand and Elizabeth streets, yesterday morning. Dele- gates from different shops also visited the place and reported the views of their emp‘oyers in rela- tion to the adoption of the new scale of prices, During the day many of the employers were called upon by members of the Executive Committee, end their opinions in regara to paying the rate of wages demanded were earnestly solicited, The journeymen se rited ikon that several of the empioyers had agreed to their conditions, CARD FROM THE CRISPINS, The lt ae vehemently Ca many of the state- ments of tha “bosses” regarding their strike, as will be seen by the following letter ;— To re Epiton oF tir Herat: Will you kindly permit us to correct some errors which your réporter has inadvertently committed in his article on our affairs, Which appeared in the Hea. on Satur- day last? The report says that the bosses accuse us of exercising tyrannous power to have our wages raised. ‘This is en- tirely erroneous, and ail the “bosses” who are disposed to tell the truth will admit it to be so. It is also stated that ye are never tired of making aggressions on capital; yet it is admitted that six years have elapsed since our last scale of wages was issued. As for the alleged ‘secresy” and “plotting” of the workinen, it is well known to. all rites interested that our inten- tion to demand the rate of wages now sought was formed ‘@ are aston- ished that could have been made to your reporter by the “bosses,” Inasmuch as not One of thein denies that We are not properly remuneraved for the labor and skill demanded trom us, We ask only an increase of sixty-two cents for long Was convicted of assault and in je Court of Sessions, and vunished by wiue v1 Loy, boots, with an appropriate rise on gaiiers and shoes. -sespecttully yours ORDER OF CHISPINS, THE MERCANTILE MARINE MUDDLE, | THE UNITED STATES MAIL ROBBERY Vessels Still Delayed in Port—Seamen Start- ing for the Lakes—What the Landlords ~“Bay—Poor Jack” a Nonentity—The Mystery of “Due Bills.” ~The trouble between the Landlords’ Association and Captai Duncan, the United States Shipping Commissioner of the Port of New York, still con- tinues. But few vessels sailing under the Amert- can flag are able to proceed to sea on account of the disability to provide crews for them, Mer- chants, shipmasters, sailors and boarding house masters unite in complaint against the action taken by Captain Duncan, and universally declare that the reot and branch of the dilemma has Its germ in the breast of the Commissioner who they say, is afraid of losing control of the funds which merchants have to advance to cover the duebills of the sailors, Captain Johnstone, of the American brig Vir- ginta, courageously states the case as it at present stands in a very lucid manner, He speaks from experience when he says that in nine cases out of ten a sailor requires to draw payment in advance in order to obtain funds wherewith to purchase clothing. JACK 18 NATURALLY IMPROVIDENT, and expends his money directly he arrives in port. No captain of a ship is going to take aman to sea Who possesses only one suit, knowing full well that the poor fellow who has no change of garb will soon fall sick in bad weather and become a burden upon his hands. The advance note which Captain Duncan gives is, so Captain Johnstone claims, nothing but a negotiable promissory note, valuable only in proporuon to the present credit of the drawer, The master, owner or consignee of a vessel could issue advance securities just as well as Mr. Dumcan, who professes to “save them the trouble,’ and who is ‘remunerated by the use of the money during the interval between the time of the deposit and that of the falling due of the note.” The landlords, he thinks, are right im their argu- ment that none but those who have a sallor’s pe sonal effects in their possession will advance them enough, money upon the promissory notes they obtain on shipping. There is a probability of loss and the landlords do not want to take the risk recklessly. In the HERALD of seatee last there appeared the satement of Captain Duncan rela- tive to the matter, Subjoined is the other side of the story, which the reporter gleamed from Mr. Monahan, the President of the Landlords’ Associa- tion, Mr. Monahan resides at the corner of Cherry and Catherine streets, and offered to freely state to the scribe his views of the present difficulty. Captain Duncan tries to induce the public to believe that BOARDING MASTERS ARE THIEVES and sharks who prey upon sailors. He docs this for his own aggrandizement, | For instance, a few months ago he docisted that the endorsement upon @ man’s advance note which Hughes, of arket street, a very respectable landlord, held, was a forgery, and he refused to pay it. In course of time the seaman returned from the West Imdies and testified to having signed it in proper form, Duncan makes money by haying sailors’ advance pay in his hands, even if only for a few days. REPORTER —What use does he make of it ? Mr. MONAHAN—I can’t say. He was a broker and is well known on ’Change. He may speculate, and if he does he’ll want reaay cash; for noone on the street will trust hin. Why, sir, he’s making a big jJortune out of this thing, and he runs the machine under @ philanthrophic garb; tres to hoedwink kind Christians who have sailors’ welfare at heart into the belief that he is saving them from being robbed, Now, I'll tell you. He's got four sons acting as deputy commissioners in office already, each one of them receiving $3,000a year. The last one who came along was the captain of a Liverpool vessel, and he left her to take up @ quiet berth here which paid him better. REPORTER—What do the unemployed sailors say about this trouble? Mr. MONAHAN—They don’t like the law as it stands at all, They consider it a bad copy of the British law, and think there is too much “lime juice” about it. They know it don’t benefit them, but has been gotten up simply to BENEFIT THE DUNCAN FAMILY, Now I want to call your attention to a thing that often occurs, The skipper of a ship takes a man whom he hasa spite against betore the Commis- sioner to be paid off, and he tells Duncan that the man isn’t worth his salt and his wages ought to be docked. Well, Duncan takes sides with the skipper, of course, and the consequence is that the unlucky sailor gets barely hall of the ameunt he is fairly entitled to. REPORTER—Are there many ships still in port petite obtain crews on account of this state of ‘airs: Mr. MonanaN—Yes, there are many more than I can enumerate, I know several which will be out in the stream on to-morrow’s tide and unable to sail. There’s the Baltic and the Sunrise, both fine, Pe cn vessels, Will be delayed for want of men. This is doing GREAT DAMAGE TO AMERICAN SHIPPING MERCHANTS who want their goods delivered promptly won't put them aboard vessels likely to be de- tained, and consequently foreign bottoms get the best charters and freights. At this time of the year there 1s always a lack ofgAmerican sailors in the port of New York, for most of them who can raise enough money to pay their fares to the lakes go west and trade on the inland waters during the Summer months, REPORTER.—Were you arrested on Friday night when the other landlords were incarcerated? Mr. MoNaHAN—No, I happened to be out of the way and went and gave bail next day. Captain Duncan overreacned himself there, I think, and he will find that so strong a current of feeling is against him that he will regret taking such hasty and inconsiderate action. He got mad and caused the arrests out of spite because we won’t touch his paper. We won't negotiate his due bills, because we don’t think we'll get paid on time, and he’s angry because we object to allowing him to use money belonging rightfutly to us for weeks together. is is the case asit now stands. The landlords are mostly wealthy men, and they have retained eminent counsel to represent them in the courts. Captain Duncan thinks he has might and right on his side, and “poor Jack” don’t care a “continent- al’ about the matter, as he knows that he will not be benefited by the warfare whatever the result may be. Merchants who wish to patron- ize native craft by shipping freight by them and the owners of vessels flying the Star Spangled Ban- ner are those who suffer most, and the longer deci- sive action in the matter is delayed the more the shipping commerce of America will suffer and. the greater will be the gain of the foreigner. NEW YORK CITY. George McKnight, who was committed to the Tombs last Thursday on a charge of robbery, died yesterday morning. Mr. J. P. Solomon, Grand Saar of the Ancient Jewish Order of Kesher Shel Barzel, delivers a lec- ture to-night at Steinway Hall on the “Wandering ew.” Joun Bradley, who was injured in a lumber yard about @ week since, and taken to the Hospital, died yesterday morning from the effect of his injuries, The Health Department make the statement that there were last week, of typhus fever, 2 cases; of typhoid fever, 4; of scarlet fever, 63; of measles, 36; of diphtheria, 21; of smallpox, 6. On Saturday evening John Henry Dolan, of 452 West Thirty-first street, was run over in West street, near Canal, by a dummy engine and almost instantly killed. The body was sent to the Morgue, The Mayor announced yesterday morning that all public licenses would expire on the ist of May, and those who did not renew them by the 8d of May, and continued busiuess, would be fined $25 each, pre hl The total of the Comptroller's receipts yesterday ‘was $28,010, and of his expenditures, $25,000. Re will make the following payments to-day:—To the laborers on street improvements, $1,054; to the laborers on the small pipes, $6,212; to the iaborers on Seventy-second street, $2,954; to the laborers on the boulevards and avenues, $34,233, A patient of the Lunatic Asylum on Ward's Island, D. R. Cutlip by name, escaped on the 24th instant, and 18 being anxiously looked for by his relatives. He is about five feet six inches in height, moderately stout, with fair complexion, smooth face and hazel eyes, active and quick in his movements and polite in his address. He was dressed in the Asylum uniform, dark gray tn color. Information regarding him cai be sent to his brotuer, at 692 Fulton street, Brooklyn, * BUBGLARS AT WORK. A Watchman Found Gagged by a Po- lice Officer. Omcer Lealy, of the Etghteenth precinct, went into the factory of O. W. Alcott, on the northeast corner of Eighteenth street and avenue B, on Sun- day night, and found the watchman, Henry Stock- meyer, lying on the floor, bound and gagged, He was released and taken to the station house, where he told Captain Tynan that a number of thieves had broken into the house, and tted him up as he was found, while they pillaged the place. Fortunately, Oficer Lealy arrived fore they had done any great damage. At one moment the watchman’s life was in imminent danger, as one of Rockafellow, the ,Defendant, on the | Stand—The Testimony of Experts as to His Handwriting—Evidence on the Alibi. The Somerville mail robbery case was continued in the United States District Court at Trenton yes- terday. This was the fourth day of the trial, and from present indications it is most likely that another day will be exhausted before 1t 18 sub- mitted to the jury, On Friday last, when wit- nesses testified as tothe easy access had to the Post Oilice from the grocery store by means of forcing back the spring lock of the door leading thereto py using a pair of scissors ANd a penknife in the hands of boys who were in the habit of resorting there on Sundays, @ good deal of surprise was occasioned at such reckless management of the Post Office. Yester- day new light was thrown on the case, when the defendant testified that he had, through Mr. Clark, his counsel, proffered at one time to give $1,000 to have the matter hushed up, although at the time he insisted that he was innocent of the charge preferred against him, but would suffer the extortion rather than be disgraced by having his connection with the matter made public, and also for the reason that he feared if Miss Gardner's (his aManced) father heard of it the marriage en- gagement would be broken, After Edward L, Hill, Peter Vandeventer and Job D. Kenyon were examined for the defence, the former testifying to the loss of some of his letters through the Sost Ofice, and the latter two as to the good character of the accused, Daniel 8, Rockafellow, the deiendant, was then laced on the stand. He testified in substance ag follows :—Lived part of eight years in Somerville; am a printer; on the 5th, 6th and 7th of October last was at White House Station; on Monday morn- ing, the 7th of October, I left that place for Somerville; did not deposit any letters in the Somerville Post Office on the 6thor 6th October. (Here several envelopes, alleged to be directed in defendant's handwriting, were handed to him, and which were received through the Som- erville Post Office, with the decoy letters in them.) After looking at them he denied that the handwrit- ing was his, and said he did not deposit them tn the Post Office in question; did not know who wrote the address, (He here recognized the letter written to Miss Gardener, of Whe House Station, by him, on the 7th October.) He never had a con- versation with young Porter about any letters; he had seen an article in a Somerville paper in- directly charging him with the theft, and had asked, when he read it, “What the devil did that mean??? The witness underwent a most rigid cross-exami- nation by Mr. Kearbey, when the following new developments were elicited :—Was advised by Mr. Clark to go see Mr, Porter with a third party about the charge; my brother was the first person whom I consulted on the matter, but I never said any- thing to Mr. Porter about it; on the 2ist of January 1 went away from Somerville to New York city, and Boe a at Brookes’ Hotel, 418 Canal street, where I boarded for over four weeks; then came back to Somerville, and in tour weeks after 1 came back I was arrested; was arrested a second time on the 1st of April; while in New York I was looking for a situation, and heard while I was there that an indictment had been found against me; the first time I consulted with Mr. Clark about the matter, I desired to be arrested and brought before a United States Commissioner; afterwards I author- ized Clark to pay $1,000 to have the thing hushed up, because I was in a position in society of much respectability and was aftianced to a young lady of good family; consequently if the charges against me obtained publicity | would be disgraced and my engagemeat with Miss Gardner vaitiated; therefore’ 1 had rather submit te the extortion of paying the $1,000; I had arranged to make a mortgage on my prop- erty to secure that amount, but when publicity Was given to the charges | authorized Mr. Clark to withdraw the proposition. The witness was on the stand nearly two heurs after his direct evidence had been concluded, Mr. Clark was examined, and gave a history of the negotiations defendant had with him in reter- ence to the charge, which Goes not differ materially with the general facts as sworn to in the feregoing evidence. Joseph G. Payne, an expert, from Brooklyn, N. Y., then testified that he had twenty years’ ex- erience as an expert in handwriting, and for the last ten years was a witness in several important suits in New York, Boston, Brooklyn and other cities (the envelops, defendant's love letter and the newspaper subscription book were here pro- duced and compared by witness) ; he had applied enough of tests to satisfy himself that the hand- writing was written by one and the same hand. Mr. Crater, a teller of the National Bank of New- ark, testified that he had not the least doubt but that they were all written by one and the same erson. ‘These last two witnesses were called by the pros- ecution. The Court then adjourned to this morn- ing at ten o’clock. The time of the alleged depredations by defend- ant is put down by hr omen as occurring on the 5th, 6th and 7th of October. Numerous wit- nesses testified on Friday last that the defendant Was absent from Somerville during these days and was at the White House station, nine miles from the scene of the robberies. Respectable witnesses also proved the accused to be of unexceptionably the thieves put a pistor to his head and threat- ened to biow it off li he made auy disturbance, good character. THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. Meeting of the Board of Directors on the Amended Charter of the Company—The Interest on Private Stock. The regular meeting of the New York Bridge Company was held yesterday afternoon, at the Office of the Directors, Fulton street, near Front, Brooklyn. Senator Henry C. Murphy occupied the chair, The Senator stated that it would be desir- able to obtain a piece of land in James street, over which the bridge would pass, The price asked for it by the owners, the Atlantic Bank, was $7,000. The matter was referred to the Executive Com- mittee, Comptroller SCHROEDER, from the Committee on Legislation, reported that they had held several meetings on the subject of private stockholders drawing interest, but were unable to arrive at an amicable conclusion, He asked that the commit- tee be discharged from further consideration of the subject, AMENDING THE CHARTER, City Judge MOUUE offered the subjoined as an amendment to the bill amending the charter of the New York Bridge Company, to carry out the sug- gestions made by Mr. Vance :— Sxcrion The stockholders 1n_ sald company, other than the cities of New York and Brooklyn, shall be enti- tled to receive interest upon all instalments heretofore paid in by them on their subscriptions to the capital stock of said oatantl and also upen all instalments which may hereaiter be paid in on the same. Interest shall con- tinue to be paid until such time as the bridge shall be cer- titled by the directors of said company to be completed and ready tor travel, and such payments shall be made semi-annually out of the funds of said company in such manner ag the Board of Directors shall arrange and de- my , Section to be added to bill amending the charter of the New York Bridge Vompany, to carry vut the suggestions of Mr. Strananan Sxo. —.—The directors of said company aro hereby au- thorized amd directed to consolidaie the stock of said company, owned by others than the cities of New York and Brooklyn, in equal proportions, so that the stock 0 held by private stockhoiders may be reduced to the sum ol 00, Where such private stockholder shall have paid in less th ifty per cent of the mt sub. scribed by him, he $I inorder to entitle to the benefit of this provision, first pay into the treasury of said company any instalments due upon said stock, #0 as to make his aggregate payments equal to ity per cent of bis scription, together with interest on such unpaid instalments from the time when the same were called in, and thereafter full paid stock to the Er: T 4 MURDERS) The Rioters Placed on Trial at Flemington, W2 J.—Particulars of the Fatal Affray— The Case for the Prosecution. THE PATTENBURG After many delays the trial of the Pattenburg. rioters fairly commenced yesterday morning af Flemington, N. J, The present term of the Courts isa special one, and the interest it excites wad proved from the fact that at an early hour crowds, ofcountry people began to flock into the town where the Court House is situated, By ten o'clock, at which time the Court opened, the court roong was crowded to excess, and there was a deat silence when David College, one of the prisomers,s was brought in for trial. It was first supposed that ‘the seven men who had been indicted for, murder would have been put on trial together, but the prosecution decided otherwise, and the! prisoners are to be tried individually, 'The Court was presided over by Chief Justices, Beasley, who has been recently appointed by Gov ernor Parker @ member of the commission which} is to revise the constitution of the State of Ne Jersey. He is @ spare, wiry-looking man, with ( keen, intelligent face. The three Associate Judges, whose chief business is to sit still, look wise an Say Nothing, sat beside the Chief Justice. Their names are Voorhees, Holcombe and Van Fleet. For the prisoners there appeared Mr. R. Kuhl, the Hon. John §. Bird, @ Congressman who voted) Against the back pay steal, and Mr. Voorhees, Mre Chamberlain, District Attorney, and Mr. Allen, a portly-looking gentleman, watched the interests off the State, The circumstances of the riot have been nare rated in the HERALD before, and it is not necessary! now to do more than briefy allude to them, The aifray occurred on September 22, 1872, between thes negro and Irish laborers empleyed in the construc-! tion of a railroad tunnel, near the village of Pattens burg. It was commenced on the Saturday nigh® and continued on the following morning, and tha bloody consequence was that three negroes, Bem Dashwood, Denis Powell and Oscar Bruce, and am Irishman, Thomas Coll, were killed, Of all the parties implicated in the riot only about a dozem were arrested, and of these only s¢ven have beem held tor trial. The prisoner who was placed at the bar thig morning—Vavid Coilege—is a pale, wan looking individual, with light, fair hair, blue eyes and a sickly looking imperial on his chin, He does not seem to have resolution enough in his mind or strength enough in his Lody to encounter a good sized cat, and from the /act that he is an Americam by birth and A METHODIST IN RELIGION, it is dificult to imagine how he could have come te be implicated in such ariot, He was respectably dressed when in Court, and paid deep attention to the evidence. After the Court was opened the jur, list was called, and, in what would be in New Yor city an ineredibly short time, @ jury was procured to try the prisoner. Tbe jurors are not @ remarkably intelligent looking body of men, and the way in which they sat in their chairs and hs- tened to the evidence was more careless than graceful. + The opening address on behalf of the State against the prisoner was made by Mr, Chamberlain, It had the merit of brevity, and it stated the facts of the riot in a tolerably comprehensive manner, The rst witness was DR. R. G, LUDLOW, who testified that he had, in company with Dr. G R, Sullivan, proceeded to the graveyard and as- sisted in exhuming the bodies of the three negroes; the wounds, which had been mainly made by clubs, were minutely described and the cause of death stated. DR, GEORGE R, SULLIVAN, of Flemington, was next called. His evidence was: @ corroboration of that given by Dr, Ludlow. The Court then took a recess. At its reopening John Koosenbury was the first witness called, He merely testified to having beea sent by an undertaker to the Carter farm and hav- ing seen the dead bodies of the negroes, JOHN A. KELLY testified that he resided at Pattenburg, near the railroad tunnel, on the night of the riot; he was awakened about two o'clock on Sunday morning by the man with whom he boarded, who told him there was an unusual commotion on the road; on getting up he saw a crowd of negroes running from the direction of their shanties, which were on fire; aiter thishe went into Barney McFadden’s. shanty, and heard that Thomas Coll, an Irisnman, had been killed the night betore; on going evt to search for the body he saw it lying on the railroad, and avout six o'clock a great crowd of Irishmen collected, armed with guns, pistols and clubs; alter standin; around the body jor some time they proceeded in the direction of the villi of Pattenburg; the next morning he saw the dead bodies of the negroes on the Carter farm, and was present when the inquest was held. The witness Was cross-examined at length, but ad- hered to his original statement. DAVID W. STIRES, a Jepveyman, sporting a large pair of red whiskers Bs next cailed. le testified that he resided at ctenburg, and knew the prisoner, David College; College resided in the village at the time when the riot occurred; saw College on the morning of the 22d of September at his house; it was about six o'clock in the morning When | saw him; there was @ body of men near the house, scattered along the road; the men made College get up out of bed and go with them; College worked on the road and kept boarders; the body of men were armed with weapons of various kinds; College got up and went off in the direction whicl the crowd had taken; the men remained at Col« lege’s house about dtteen minutes; they were quiet and civil; 1 don’t know how many men were press the greater portion of them Passed Col- lege’s and went in tne direction of Cayle’s boarding house; when College came out of his house to me Isaid to him, ‘“‘Are you going down?” he gaid he would have to go, or they would kill him; I told him he had better not go; the crowd had by this time left, and I told him there was no danger; he suid he would go down and see the fun, any way; he then went alter the crowd; I saw hii aiter he returned, about seven o’clock; there were some half dozen persons with him, among them John Bogue; 1 did not talk with him then; 1 talked with him on Monday; he said he had gone down the previous morning with the crowd as far as the Stockton farm; he said he did not see the man killed, but he heard the mun 8a} “they had finished one;” I told him he should no! i gone, and he said, “God kuows | did not want 0 go. Oross-examined—I only knew Mr. College for a few weeks previous to the riot; he remained at home alter the riot until arrested by the Sheriff; 1 was milking cows at the time the crowd came on; I had milked one and was milking the other (this noted a8 an interestin fact); when I was done miiking went on my wood pile; while I was on the wood pile Andrew Quinn, who seemed to be a leader in the crowd, came up and asked me for a gun; | told him I had none ; College said to me that the crowd had threatened to pull his heart out and burn hig buildings if he would not come on with them, WILLIAM BUCKLEY, sworn, testified that he resided on the Carter frm at the time of the riot; saw @ body ef men comin towards the farm on the morning of the 23d o September; there were avout a handred in the crowd; they looked as if they had come out of the woods in the direction of the negro shanties; saw the colored men run and the white men pursue them; they ran up the railroad line; 1 heard the report of a gun; Ches- ter Dilley and myse were in the field; We saw the men again at the barn when we came close to the house; one man told me to open the wagon house, that there were negroes there; I told him to open it himself, and he drew a knife out of his coat; then I opened the wagon house— (laughter) ; David College was with the men; I tu amount of fity per cent of his said subscription shall be issued to such stockholder. Where any private stockholder shall have paid in more than flity per cent upon the amount of stock held by him such private stockholder shall be entitled, if he 80 elect, to have full paid stock issued to him to the ex- tent of fifty per cent of his said subscription, and the overplus of payments made by him, together with in- terest thereon, shall be repaid to such private stock- holder out of tie treasury of said company. The Legislative Committee were discharged from farther consideration of the subject. Mr, Hewirt said he would support the motion if a further amendment were added, by which the cities could take THE CONSOLIDATED STOCK any time within one year alter the completion of the bridge at accepted this latter amendment, Judge Moc! and it was carried. Mr. DeMas Barnes thought that the.original con- tract should be carried out and the iudividuals pay in their full subscription, General SLocum remarked that it was the people who desired a@ change in the charter, and not the individual subscribers, It was demanded that the cities should be better represented in the Board and such an amendment was about to be carried out. He had no objection, and was in faver o1 the cities taking contrel of the whole enterprise. Mr. STRANAHAN said that nearly two-iliths of the private stock had paid but fifty per cent. Mr, Hewitt did not approve of any interest being Wage on money that was refunded to private stockholders. Judge McCue's repolution, asking for the passage of the amenament to spe charter of the company, was adopted by a voté Of 20 in the aitirmative against 4 in the negative. ~ ‘The meeting then adjourned, ts aration 0 Masses 2 SUICIDE OF AN INSANE MAN, Thomas J, Hennessey, @ man about thirty-four years of age, was instantly killed yesterday fore- noon by jumping from a rear window on the third floor of 383 Putnam avenue, Brooklyn. He fell from @ heignt of thirty-five feet, Deceased, who had been au invalid for some time past, was labor- ing under an attack of temporary insanity at the tme he took the fatal leap, flea, knew him because I bad seen him once before at church; the men looked around the wagon house and then came back; I went inte the farm house then; I saw a@ dead body lie at the doorway; I re- mained in the house avout fiiteen minutes; I saw some colored men around that morning whose names! did not know; 1 found one in the hen- house and there were two others in the barn. The jury were given in charge ef the constables at a quarter-past tour, and the Court was ad. Jjourned until ten o’clock this morning. THE INSURANCE INVESTIGATION, Testimony Taken by the Assembly Com- mittee Yesterday Favorable to the Mutual Company. The Assembly Committee on Grievances, which ‘as ordered to investigate those of Mr, Stephen Engrish against the Mutual Insurance Company, met at the Metropolitan Hetel yesterday, and re- sumed the taking of testimony, Mr. Sewell testified sespecting the investigation into the affairs of the Mutual Company neld by Superintendent Miller in 1870 at tne instigation 0! McCullough. The investigation resulted in show- ing that Mr. Winston was juily authorized in mak- fas loans on government securities in behalf of soldiers in the fleid, and endorsed bis actien in that respect. Mr. Richard Patrick, a trustee of the eempany forthe past twenty-five years, was examined, an& testified that though he sou mes had had ecca- Sion to differ with the officers of the company ters of minor detail, the aifairs of the institu. tion were administered in a most satisiactory and admirable manner. Mr. Lewis C. Lawton, insurance actuary, gavd similar evidence. The committee adjourned, *s FIRE IN NEW BEDFORD, MASS. * New BepForp, Mass., April 28, 1873, A fire on Purchase street yesterday destroye the building owned by J, C. Ray, and damaged thre: wooden tenements adjoining, Garrett Geils, a fw niture dealer, loses $000; inaured fog $3, otal loss 18 £10,000, e