The New York Herald Newspaper, October 18, 1873, Page 4

4 FORESTRY. Report of the Session of the Most “> Jmportant Congress of the Vienna Exhibition. PROTECT THE FORESTS. International Discussion of Land and Forest Culturists. Resolutions for Preserving and Cultivating the Trees. Decrease of Water Volume in the Ohio, Hud- son, Elbe, Rhine and Other Rivers. Need of International Treaties for the Protection of European River Commerce. Lessons from Antiquity and from Modern Times. Egypt and Salt Lake—Mehemet Ali and Brigham Young. THE LESSONS OF VIENNA. ‘VIENNA, Sept. 26, 1873, The most important Congress held this year in Vienna was closed yesterday, The first Interna- | tional Congress of Land and Forest Culturists, the | members of which were yesterday taken on vari- ous excursions, has left behind it some exceedingly valuable resolftions bearing on the good of the are in Austria—in Bohemta—where up to @ very recent period the forests were neg- lected aud sadly mutilated. The Rhine, whic! hasaless volume now than formerly, rises in Switzerland, where, as Professor Landolt re- marked, the forests have been considered as com- mou property, mutilated and destroyed. Germany is in both cases the chie! sufferer here, since she commands the Elbe and the Rhine; and it wére quite possible for Bohemia on the one hand and Switzerland on the other to 6 pinay interfere with the navigation of these rivers did they choose on the destruction of the forests as hereto- fore. {tis im such cases that the want of inter- national treaties are seen. Prussia herself and most of the German States are rational forest cuiturists, taking good care to preserve and cultt- vate their forests, and have good cause to protest against the forest crimes committed by their neighvors, MAN CAN DESTROY RIVERS; HE CAN CREATE THEM. Many rivers have totally disappeared or have been reduced to mere streams by an irrational and heinous feiling uf the forests. In the northeast of Germany the Narp and Gold rivers exist only in name. The classic iands of antiquity are rich in sad lessons of deioresiation, ‘The springs and brooks of Palestine are dry, and the fruitfulness of tho land has disappeared. The Jordan 1s four feet lower than it was in the New Testament days, Greece and Spain suffer to this day severely from the effects 0. destroying their forests. Many parts oi the Kingdom of Wurtemberg have been rendered almost barren by the felling of the trees. In Hun- gary the peniedicals returning drought is univer- sally attributed to the extermination of the forest. We attribute the present uniruitiuiness of Asia Minor and Greece to the destruction of the woods; steppes, ruins and tombs have taken the place of what was the highest culture. Sardinia and Sicily were once the granaries of Italy, but have long since lost the fruitfuiness sung of by the an- cient poets. On the other hand, man can improve the condition of ihe land in which he lives, more slowly indeed, but encaly as certainly, by cultivat- ing and preserving the forests. in earlier years reliable authorities bave toid us that in the Deita o: Upper Egypt there were only five or six days of rain inthe year, but that since the time when Mehemet Ali caused some 20,000,000 of trees to be planted the number of days of rain in the year has increased to lorty-five or forty-six. The Suez Canal has p.oduced remarkable resulis. Ismaila is built on What was a sandy desert, but sinee the ground has become saturated with canal water trees, bushes and plants have sprung up as it by magic, and with the reappearance of the vegetation the to carr: -climate has changed. Four or five years ago rain Was unknown in those regions, while from May, 1868, to May, 1869, fourteen days of rain were re- corded, and once such a rain storm that the na- tives looked upon it a8 a supernatural event. (Facts recorded in the Vienna Neue Freie Presse, May lv, 1s6¥, and In the English journals.) AUSTRIA. Austria herself has a very striking instance of a chan,e of climate being produced by de/orestat on and replanting. We reler to that stretch of miles ot country over which the railroad passes, near Lrieste, as you go from Austria to lialy, bleak, barren, stony, with hardly earth sufficient for a Weed to take rootin, a stretch of barreuness on which some aread anathema seems to rest, It isa curse that rests on it cailed down from Heaven by man. Five hundred years ago and an lumense forest stood on the ground where now is nothing but a sea of stone. Venetians came and they hewed down the forest in order to procure wood jor piles and ior mercantile purposes, and took the culturists of the soil, The first series of resolu- tions were to petition the Austrian government to take measures for inaugurating international trea” ties with other European States jor the purpose of giving protection to those birds which are use- | fulto agriculture. In a second series of resolu- tions the Congress recognized the fact of a lack of @ scientific basis for land and forest culture; and that the various governments must be induced to publish exact satistical comparative data as to the condition and progress made in these departments in the various lands. The erec- tion of agricultural and forest cultural experi- mental! stations was likewise urged. The conclud- ing series of resolutions were to us the most in- teresting of all, and referred toa question which has at last been recognized as vital to our own agricultural and commercial weli-being—the ques- tion of THE PRESERVATION OF THE FORESTS. The Congress was made important by the fact of its members being for the most part men of science and practical culture, and that it was presided over by the Austrian Minister of Agriculture, Von Chiumecky. Several governments sent special representatives—the Italian, the Dutch, the Ger- | man, the Belgian, the French, the Hungarian, not forgetting the United States, inthe person of Dr. Warder. Altogether the jury hall must have held at least 300 or 400 deputies, cer- tainly the most intelligent and earnest body | of men ever assembled in that pavilion, not ex- | cepting the Exposition jurors, who were frequently fetched from the mghways and byways to fill their tmportant positions, Austria played in the gather- ing the leading dle, which ao one will object to if the Minister of Agriculture fulfils the promises he has made of aiding in carrying out the resolutions | passed by the Congress. In closing the meeting he said that he wished the result of the discus- sion might not remain idle words, but that the various governments may be induced to take an | earnest interest in them. He s#id:—‘In the reso- lutions the Congress has left to the Austrian govern- ment, and to me asthe head or the Ministry of Agriculture, a series of missions. I can give you the assurance that I, for my part, shall do my best to promote and further what has been done. I ‘will co-operate with all the means at my com- mand.’ Thus you see where Austria finds it necessary for her own interests she not only gives an official sanction to these congresses, but allows ‘one of her Ministers to be elected President, THE RESOLUTIONS RESPECTING THE FORESTS. The discussion on forest culture by the Congress ‘was exceedingly interesting and instructive. The resolutions were supported by a young, earnest and intelligent Prussian forest-master, N. A. Berao- bardt, of Neustadt-Eberswaide, who made an in- teresting, well-worded and convincing speech. ‘The resolutions as they were then adopted by the | Congress read as follows :— ‘The International Congress of Land and Forest Cul- turists resolve e recognize the fact that in order to effectually cheek the continually increasing devastation of the forest which is being carried on international agree- ments are needed, especially in relation to the preserva. | tion and proper clltivation (for the end in view) of those forests lying at the sources and along the courses ol the reat rivers, since it is Known that, through their irra- fional destruction, the resulzs are great decrease of the Volume of water causing detriment to trade and com. merce, the filling up of the river's bed with sand, caving in of ‘the banks and inundations of agricultural lands Along Its course, : Ve turtlier recognize it to be the mutual duty of all lands to preserve and to cultivate all stich for- ¢ of Vital importance for the well-being—agri- cultural and otuerwise—ot the land, such as those on | sandy coasts, on the sides and crowns as weil as on the | steep dect.yities of mountains, on the sea coasts and ‘other exposeN paces; and that international principles jatg down, to which the owners of such pro- o° “guardian forests” be subject, thus to preserve the land frotu damage. 3. We recognize further that we have not at present a sufficient. knowledge of the evils (disturbances in na- ture) which are caused by the devasiation of the forests, and therefore that the efforts of legislators, stiould be dt Tected to causing exact data to be gathered relating thereto. A fourth resolution was to the effect that the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture should be re- quested to enter into communication with other states towards effecting the purpose of the con- gress—of attaining international agreements among other European states respecting the pre- servation and culture of the forests, THE DECREASE OF WATER IN RIVERS, Much has been written both in Germany and in America of the ‘orest and its influence on climate, and consequently on agriculture, on the water courses and on health. Iustances where tne ‘owth or destruction of forests have hada marked Influence on the river systems, through the rain- fall, can be recorded by the score, not only in Europe but in the United States. The diminution | of the water volume of the Ohio River is at this moment attracting serious attention. In the first quarter Of the century it was navigable the whole ear for the largest vessels, but is now available ut for six months in the year, and “growing beau- tifully less.” The same thing is said of the Hudson, asi find in an American article banded me the other day in the congress. “It is notorious that,” gays my authority, “even with our vast northern forest remaining intact, the water supply, of the Hudson grows jess with every year, and its navy gation more and more dificult. But for the large annual outiays for the improvement of its cham nels and the construction of artificial remedies, the upper Bp ees of the river, between New Bai- timore and Troy, would lo! since have been prac- tically closed to commerce.” These are not isoiated cases with us, and I trust Professor Marsh will in- clude in the new edition of his ‘Man at ature’! — a work largely quoted by German writers on the infuence o the Jorest—all the cases of diminishing rivers that have been noted in the various States. ‘When the results of deforestation are seen and ap- preciated as they show themselves at home, then ‘we shall be ready to learn irom the experiences of these older and still worse desorested countries of Europe, though, tor the matter of that, Europeans joint to America for evidences of deforestation in he New England States and elsewhere, a8 @ Warn- ing.to their own coontrymen|! BUROPRAN RIVERS, An Italian referred to the United States in this relation yesterday. le gave no particulars, how- ever, and 1 have no works on American forests to aid me in adducing them here, But then we have scores Of striking cases of the effects of deforesta- tion on the rivers of kurope, proving the necessity of international treaties for protecting the sources of the great water arteries, We need only refer to the Rhine, the Elbe and the Oder, ali of which have @ lower water mark than formerly, measurements taken at Aitenbruch, in Hanover, According to | thus buried by the drilt sand, wood across tie Adriatic, which you can see at your feet. Aiter the trees had been leliei the resuit was that the storms soon washed away the earth, no longer pro ected by the trees, and it took very few years | lor the ovce blooming forest to become a dreary waste. Twenty-five years ago and rain ceased to iall on this region. The atteution of tae Austrian government Was called to the necessity of doing something to preserve the communiues living in the district irom impoverishment, and it was decided to plant some millions of olive trees, in order to vegerate tne hillsides. It was a dificult under- taxing, tue very soil for planting the young trees hadto be transported by tne basketful, but the result was equal to the expectations, After a care- lul culture of some years the trees thrived, the rains were induced to fall regularly and benefi- ciaily, and in course of time it is provable taat the immense district will be again given up to culture and prosperity. And if we need a still more striking instance of man's power to alter the climate, we need but refer to SALT LAKE AND THE UTAH TERRITORY, | where a desert Las been converted into a blooming country, Woere rivers are filled with water that twenty years ago were nearly dry, and the Salt Lake itself has increased seven feet above its original level. Brigham Young has taught us these very important iacts. In this he has “rendered | the State sume service,” that is, if the State is able to appreciate it, The ‘guardian forests,” to which the second resolution oi the International Congress reiers are apparently indispensable in the nousenold of nature to protect sea coasts, exposed places and the mountain valleys. The coasts of the province oO! Prussia, with the exception of fruitful, amber- rich damiand, are an almost uninterrupted broad strip oJ sand-dune (down), 200 miles long and pe’ haps a.mile broad, with sand hilis reaching to a height of 170 Jeet. Originally these sand mounds, Which were apparently a work of nature to protect the land against the encroachments o! the Sea, Were covered with pine growths. In the past centuries trees were felled. Soon the sparse vege- tation died of and the sand drilted away, and on careful exauination proved that these very sand hulls, which under their forest cover stood firm as sentinels, receded at the rate of from filty toa hundred leet per year. In tue courseof the past century and the first decades of the present whole village’ and thousands ol acres of fruitful land were At the commence- ment of this century the work of reforesting commenced, and at present there are but lew sandy points on the coust which are not made firm, excepting those belonging to communities and private persons, and not the State. Wherever on Sandy coasts the forests are destroyed THE SEA ENCROACHES With slow but terrible certainty. Where the rocky coasts are deforested bleak, rocky barrenness is left, and the desert district encroaches inland with every year. Deiorest the mountains and the val- Jey it shelters suffers in the Joss of truitiulness and irom the inundations which @ well wooded mountain would prevent, by checking the sudden rain down{ail. Switzerland has suffered severely from the etfects of deforesting the mountains. Prowessor Landoit, who spoke to the International Congress, attributes the devastations caused in the Alps by avalanches and land slides to the de- struction of the forests, The poet Schiller attrip- utes fo the forest the post oi guardian when, in his “William Teli,” littie Walter says:— Father, is’t true, that on the mountain there The trees do bieed whene’er the woodman strikes, With cruel blow, his axe into their roots? The master herdsman told me that the trees Are bound, and if we injure them the hand Is cursed until we reach the grave. TeLi—The trees are sacred to us; that is trne! And but (or them the avalanche had iong, Long since the village Altdorf buried ‘neath ‘Their load, ir they had not, like landwebr, stood Above to guard it. Of ail central European countries Switzerland occupies the most important position as regards the preservation of the forests, considering that in her mountains ure the sources of two of the greatest rivers of this Continent. But nowhere, perhaps, has the devastation of the forests been carried on so recklessly, and centuries of careful cultivation will not make good what the past few generations have sinned. Professor Landolt attributes the fearful inundations which took place in Switzerland in Septemper and October, 1868, to the destruction of tne forests on the mountains. Saufure, iu his ‘Voyages dans ies Alps” says that from 1779 to 1796 Lakes Neuicnatel, Biel and Murten constituted a single skeet of water, but since the destruction of the surround- ing forcsts have so far sunk as to form three dis- tinct lakes. The herds are the greatest foes on the Juonntains to the new growths of wood; but the ‘truth is that the people themselves are intensely ignorant of the value of trees to them and their well-being. The people, especially the herdsmen, look upon trees pe commen property. Of late years there has been considerable agitation in iavor of preservation and culture of the forest. The same may be said of Italy, where, some years ago, the acadeintes of Florence, Milan, Modena, Palermo and Pisano offered premiums for the best methods of reforesting mountain suriaces. It was easy, unfortunately, to fill column after column with such cases of DEFORESTATION AND ITS PANEFUL EFFECT, More difficult by far itis to adduce cases where the forest has proved of direct striking benetit, as it is not long since people began to think the forests were of no use atall. ‘The cases of Egypt and Trieste, and of Sait Lake, are valu- able to us. We bave not touched upon the im- portant Influences which the forests are admitted w have, or the general sanitary condition of the country. We kuow that the health of Kome suf- fers under the banefal miasmas arising from the Campagna, which was formerly covered with for- est, and it'has been proposed to bring it to its original condition. The question of forest culture as it Must present itself to us sooner or later, in all-important one, And we have everything to learn betore making the attempt; for, as a member of the Vienna Congress remarked, Europe cannot offer any data, since she is herself @ scholar. But we know that @ climate becomes milder and warmer and more fit for habitation by thinning the forests by the progress of agriculture; but be- yond a certain limit we cannotgo, We have yetto find ovt this just mean, One fact we can accept from the hands of tht and former congresses, that it 1s absolutely necessary to preserve the forests at the sources of our streams, on which so much of our agricultural and commercial prosperity de= pends; that we should preserve the forests in all the mountain sides, so that the culture of the val+ leys pe tempered and preserved, One speaker of the Vienna Congress urged that the State should in all cases be the posers, or have control of forests which are acknowledged to be “guardian forests,’’ on the sea shore, on the mountains or at the source of rivers, It is indeed hardly probable that pri e parties can be got to preserve tracta of forest ‘for the public good.” The landed pro- prietor demands interest for his capital investea, and forests pay bat small returns. The good pro- duced is for the community or the State, or fur the entire land, and it seems only just that the State should take upon itself the duty of preserving and culturing those forests which are rendered neces- sary to the State's welfare. The subject of torests is one of great importance to us. We regret that our authorities at Washington did not see fit to ‘the low-water (summer) mark of the El - sented in 1787 jorty-eight Hamburg foosy in tais, forty-six and a half feet; in 18.7, thirty-eight feet—showing @ diminished in half The a A SOnwEL OC VEO Sethe She BNA. ve us fitly represented here at the Congress, Ernst Moritz Arndt, the German poet and patriot, uttered a great truth when he said that the axe applied to the root of a tree was, in too many THE UKASE. A Further Chapter on the Female Students of Zurich. DIPLOMATIC FEATURES Frotest Addressed to the High Swiss Confederation Against the Bussian Action. THE RUSSIANS “MODIFY.” The Zurich Protest Supplied by the Goy- ernment to the Correspondent of the Herald. Un de Nos Messieurs a St. Petersburg a Fait Une Betise, Voila Tout. ZuRICH, Sept. 3, 1873. Thad asked the clerk at the United States con- sulate in Zurich if he could get me a copy of the protest made by the local authorities of the canton against the Russian ukase, or whether he could put me in the way of getting it. He answered that the Consul had requested him to obtain this docu- ment some time ago, as he wanted it for the Amer- ican Minister; but that ne had been unable to succeed in obtaining either @ copy or an inspection of it. I got the paper, nevertheless, before I had been twelve hours in Zurich; and, I think, I could have found out the contents of any similar diplomatic document when I was in Russia, but I am sure that I should have owed my success to private friendship and in no sense to my official position; whereas I got acopy of the Zurich protest before publication simply by asking for it as special correspondent to the New York HERALD, and by means ol such per- suasion as [ could put into my talk with an oficial gentleman whom | only saw during five minutes for the first time in my life, No government is or can be served as the press isserved. Perhaps no government cares to be as well served. Here is the document, which has probably only yet been seen by the writer and the Russian Envoy at Berne. Ienclose it in original and translation for the readers of the NEw YORK HERALD. It was given me by the President of the Governing Council of the Canton of Zurich, a very courteous gentleman and an able Minister:— Protest. To THE COUNCIL OF THE HIGH SWISS CONFEDERA- 10: EXCELLENCIES—By your favor of the 9th ult. you announce the receipt o! a telegram from the Swiss Consul at St. Petersburg, according to which those ussian ladies now studying at the University of Zurich or at the Polytechnic School of the Swiss Confederation are desired to return to their own country, at the latest, by the 1st o1 January, 1874. Those who refuse compliance with this demand will, on their return to Russia, neither be suffered to pass any examination nor to undertake any public office, nor wili they even be received in any educa- tional establishment, The imperial Russian oficial saaete (Russischer Staatsanzeéiger) of St. Peters- arg (NO. 120), represents this measure as being necessitated by the evil reports, which are said to have become worse and worse, concerning the conduct of the Russian ladies resident in Zurich. According to this paper, some Kussian refuzees have chosen Zurich as the centre of their revolutionary activity and have drawn their young countrywomen into their nets, so that with the latter study is but a secondary object, and even that some of these women anda girls are employed in distributing se- ditious, inflammatory pamphlets m their own country. It turther alleges that the Russian ladies residing in Zurich have incurred the dislike ol the Inhabitants, and that the life led by some of the former is by no means above suspicion—nay, that some among them devote themselves e: pecially to that branch of obstetrics which it parts tne knowledge necessary for the perpetra- tion of a crime which in all countries is punishable by the penal code, and which every right-minded person must condemn. You will readily conceive that, for the honor of the University of Zurich and that of its proiessors, such aliegations published in an official paper, cannot be passed over in silence, and therefore we have not omitted to consult with our academical senate respecting the heavy charges said to have been brought against our highest educa- tional establishment. We beg to lay before you the following concise refutation of these groundless accusations, adding a request that you will trans- mit the former, in whatever form may seem to you most fitting, to the Russian government, and in- duce it to reconsider its order, and to cause those charges, in s0 far as they concern our Uni- versity, to be recalied in the very paper in which they tirst appeared. We cannot retrain irom ex- pressing our surprise that the Russian govern- ment, before publishing the ukase, did not apply tw our magistrates in tne diplomatic manner cus- tomary among allied nations for positive oficial in- formation. We are unacquainted with the origin of the reports detailed in the St, Petersburg news- paper; but this much is certain, that no inquiry whatever concerning the Russian ladies studying | at our university reached our academical and edu- cational authorities. You are aware that the University of Zurich, dif- fering in this respect from most German universi- ties, does not possess a special tribunal, but in the maintenance Of discipline a limited power belongs to une academic authorities, Our students are subject to the same laws as other citizens, and the private life of the former is not under any further control, save that expressly mentioned in the statutes of the eniversity. Of the political attempts of the students the university takes no note. It is not called upon to judge of the truth of the report which, apparently, has been made to the imperial government respecting the immigration oj Russian political retugees, nor of the influence which suca an immigration might have upon the students; nor have the authorities as yet had occasion to in- terfere, from political or other reasons, with any of the Russian ladies who are studying here. Moreover, the latter, and, indeed, no foreigners, are suffered to matriculate unless they can produce a certificate of moral conduct from @ magistrate of their own country, which | must be also verified by the Imperial Russian Ambassador. With regard, however, to their | Special position as students, the academic authori- ties would never hesitate to assert the ht granted them by the statutes of the University, of calling the students to account, should a breach of discipline of any kind, or immoral conduct on their part, come to the official knowledge of those in authority; and the Directors of the University believe they have never been guilty of neglect in this particular. The allegations set forth in the Offcial Gazette of St. Petersburg, especially the implication that by means of the instruction given in our Lying-in- ‘ospital students are learning a criminal and infamous trade, cannot but excite indignation and regret. Considering the reproach that, in the eyes of the ignorant, this statement must cast upon the instruction fren in our hospital, one might have expected that such @ declargtion would not have been bees gale in an oficial journal without previ ous notice having been given to the Directors of the Hospital, and consequent inquiries as to the truth of the report having been made, Apart, however, from our University, whose members would consider it beneath thelr dignity to Waste @ single word in defending themselves against such unmerited obloquy, we believe the Imperial Russian government, in justice to its own subjects, must allow that @ correction, in many points of the communication, contained in | the above mentioned paper is demanded, Although, among the Kussian ladies studying in Zurich, there are certainly some who do not pursue their studies as seriously and as diligently as sould be desirable, and who therefore, without having hitherto by @ violation of our statutes incurred a penalty, do not enjoy the esteem of their profes. sors nor that of the inhabitants of this town and whose departure from our University wili afford ‘us much satis: ion, yet it must be acknowledged that these ladies are exceptions, ‘There are, to our certain knowledge, many Rus- sian women and girls residing in Zurich to whom the description in the 8t. Petersburg paper cannot apply, and who, therefore, are most unjustly im- pilcated in that universal accusation, These jady students are distinguished for their industry and moral conduct; they have acquired much vainable knowledge of several sclences—at least of medi- cine and its collateral brauches, and by their whole conduct have won the esteem of their instructors. They have hitherto been @ credit to their country and will be so in future, even Wf the Russian government suffers them to continue their studies in Zurich. We consider it our duty to dwell upon these iacts, so that the heavy accusations, which the Oficial Gazette has suspended over all the Russian ladies who are studying here, may not remain uncontradicted, and at the same time to indicate the motives which have induced the University of Zurich not to abandon the task Of practically solving the great social question Of the present day, as to the capa. city of women for scientific studies and scientific occupations. We avail ourselves of this opportunity, Ac., PFENNIGED President of the Governing Council of the of Zurich. KELLER, peceeteey of States ny Canton lpia Vo bie well-being of the Reoply Li ZURLOH, June 23, NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1873.—TRIPLE SHEET. “Bah, mon cher monsteur,” said a Russian dip- Jomatist wnom I met at the club here and whose name was once famous, though it has been evlipsed of late. “Que voulez vous? Un de nos messieurs a St. Pétersbourg a fait une bétise. Voila tout, For the rest the canaiile here were making too much noise, Every woman who wanted to get rid of her hus- band and children would have been off to study at Zurich if we had not put @ spoke in their wheels. The Empress did {t, She is a very good woman; and it should have been done more quietly. I should have managed it threugh the University authorities without appearing to move a hand in the business; and so I told Orloff, who agreed with me that we never ought to crush @ fly on & man’s head with our bear’s paw. Que voulez vous, mon cher, que voulez vous? Le Gen- eral —— est un fler imbécile; and somebody wanted to get him out of the way. He called on me at Geneva; and 1 told himI was just recover- ing trom the measles, after which I saw him no more. Isee no harm in girls living amusing lives. Some of their young men set up a printing press at the house of Mr. Feh, a man of Zurich, and another atthe house of acooper in the Rennweg. They printed nothing of consequence, and one ef them sold proof sheets Of all they did print to our gov- ernment, We might have set taem by the ears and made them sell their types in twenty-four hours; but what would have been the use of that, They could have got their trash printed at any townin Belgium, and their own printing press was rather @ hindrance than a help to them. The Swiss are very shrewd people, and will not quarrel with us; so we shall give way to them in this case, and indeed have done so, THE UKASE IS VIRTUALLY CANCELLED.'’ Leaving the club I went to see PRESIDENT KAPPELER, Principal of the Polytechnic School of Zurich, which has received some temale pupils. A shrewd, long-headed man, of rubicund aspect was Presi- dent Kappeler, and extremely courteous. “The question of female students,” said he, with extreme irankness, “does not much concern me. To be sure, as you say, | am the magistrate beiore whom any complaints against taem must have been brought; but 1 never had occasion to inter- jere with them in my magisterial capacity. The Polytechnic School here is the only schvol of the sort in the Swiss Contederation, and it does not belong exclusively to the Canton of Zuiicn. The University, however, belongs to the Canton of Zu- rich, and there are six other universities in Switz- erland, The Polytechnic School here is one of the best, if mot the best, in kurope, and it is very largely endowed. Hardly any other simuar tustitution has half of our revenues, ouly one has an income equal to two-thirds of them. We eulorce a very rigorous examination for ad- mittance into this school, and, thereiore, We bad few women. We did not forbid them to come, but not many came, only one or two, indeed. Kussia has made a stily blunder im ordering female stu- dents away from the Polytechnic Sciooi at Zurich, aud it should not have been mentioned in the ukase. Itis that fact which has brought the whole Swiss Confederation down upon them, and enlisted powerlul friends on the side of the iemale stu- dents, “fhe Council of the Polytechnic School would not forbid girls to study there, because we did not want to suub the University, and also because there were so jew. But when 108 girls and no more than seventy young men began to study medicine together, the balance was on the wrong side for the dignity of a learned body, and human nature also got to work with them. Ido not care to inquire whether the con- duct of any of the female students was wrong, but it was, to say the least, eccentric. They whooped about the streets at two o’cluck In the morning, and they dressed strangely, Perhaps aveut a third of them were emancipated tolk, like French cocottes. 1 am bound to give all praise to the others, There will be no difficulty between Russia and Switzerland on account of this business, and there has been none. We jiave got the best end of the argument, and the Russian ukase bas been modi- fied to sueh an extent that it has no longer any meaning. Exceptions have been made and 80 forth.” (A door opeued to good natured, harmless Jobbery *). ‘This was not properly a question for the Swiss Confederation and the Russian government. It was @ question for the University of Zurich. It had to decide whether it would or would not become A COLLEGE FOR IDLE GIRLS, and that was a grave question, which could only be answered in the negauve by enforcing a rigorous examination previous to the matriculation of pupils. The Russian government had nothing to do with the decision of the University authorities; nor can @ university be held responsible for its Students misusing their huowiedge. No iaculty of medecine can prevent some of its students becoming infamous. ‘hat is my opinion fairly given, without any disrespect expressed or implied towards my new esteemed {riends, the University authorities. I repeat, however, that 1 have, neither personally nor officially, much in- terest in the question, It women could get into the Polytechnic School here, we should not be sorry to see a moderate number of them. But their attainments must be very high to enable them to pass the necessary examination; for although one or two schools may be a little superior to ours on special subjects of study, upon the whole there is nO school in the world at which so high an education 18 obtainable, Thus the school of Architecture at Berlin, for instance, is better than ours, but in all other respects the Berlin schools are interior, and in our section of civil engineering the Polytechnic School of Zurich 18 equal the Poly- technic school of Paris, plus the Ponts et Chaussées, Education 18 very cheap here, so that female students need not be kept away by the cost of it. ‘The school fees do not exceed 10u francs a year, and even that is considered too much by nF strong republican feeling of the cantons which bphoids the principle o! making the road to education clear and open to everybody. Indeed, I give away about EIGHTY FREE SCHOLARSHIPS every year. To be educated tree of expense I con- sider it only necessary that a boy should be clever, diligent and poor. If he is neither clever nor dill- gent I expel him, whether rich or poor, and I should do the same with girls. No, I had never one single complaint against any of the female students brought belore me as a Magistrate. The conduct of the female scholars at the Polytechnic School was in every respect biame- less, But | ound that the female mind ceuld not bear the constant strain of study necessary to excel in the exact sciences. We had one female student of mechanics and one girl who attended our pre- Peon, school. I cannot remember any more, he Russians did a ridiculous rather than a bad thing in meddling with us; but they have found be cae error, and have done what they could to efface it. : I had been recommended to call on M. Luthi Egil, a mewber of the Sanitary Commission of Zurich. I did so and found him a very well in- formed man. “fhe female students are divided into two dis- tinct classes,” said he. “My brother is going to marry Miss Koladejeff, who 18 a very good girl; but some of them are terrible creatures, My barber ‘was positively afraid to cut the air of one of them, it swarmed so. I have often had to visit them in my official capacity as sanitary inspector of the town. That Russian students’ house is a filth hole, But there @ place at Frauenfeld whic! is worse. It is filled with Russians, Brazilians and Sonth Americans, who are not protitable or credit- able acquaintances. I went there to see what they were about, and they rose agaiust me. They are social reformers, who think @ policeman is a dull dog who has no appreciation of humor. These people are not terrified by the ukase, Berne will receive them, and has baths, with other institu- tions fitted for the purpose. Some of the female students are very good girls. Three of them live opposite my house, and I often see their lamps burning while they are still studying at two or three in the morning. The ukase 18 unjust, pe- cause it includes the good and bad in one common condemnation. Zurich was for a long time the only university n Europe which admitted women, and {yf ecame ort § of fash- fon WW Come hither. 4 nearly twenty years ago since two ladies were first admitted to the University of Zurich, Ore of them ts 4 arried, and is a friend of my wile. one Dr, Fick, however, @ Professor of Physiology, refused to admit them'to bis lectures, and for some ie rs we had no femaie students. Mrs. Dr. Vehender, wife of a district physician here, was, Ithink, the first lady who took a degree at the University of Zurich, In concluding this letter I have now to express my thanks to the cantonal authorities of Zurich, the professors of the Univer- sity and the President of the Polytechnic School for the kind and cordial manner in which tyey re- ceived me, and for the ready and courteous manner in Which they answered my inquiries, I must also avow Iny obligations to Miss Francis, beautiful id accomplished young lady, who made ex- tremely good translation of the somewhal in- volved oMcial language used in the Zurich pro- test. I was anxious to pay Miss Francis a fair price for her service, knowing that her time 1s valuable, “No,” she said, with a prety binush, “I have translated that paper for the flonor of wom hood.” Miss Francis ts a teacher of English. I was in- troduced to her by Miss Koladejef. Any Ameri- can visitors desirous of further information about the female students of Zurich will be glad to make her acquaintance, . YANKTON, Dakota Territory, Oct. 17, 1873, The fight between the Brule-Sioux and Ponca Indians on the 15th inst, resuited, according to the latest reports, in the killing of twenty war- riors. A MAN OONVIOTED OF ARSON, SAN FRANCISCO, Oct, 17, 1873, In June last the town of Hamilton, Nevada, was nearly destroyed by fire. Aman named Cohn was arrested for setting fire to his own store, thereby causing the disastrous conflagration. He was tried phe jay for arson, and this morning the jury Bud & Verdict of guilty CUBA. The Insurgents’ Attack on and Capture of Santa Cruz. Important Details of the Great Event—Procla- mation of the Insurgent Chieftains—"‘Long Live the Independence cf Cuba’'— Spanish Power Staggering Under a Heavy Blow—Will For- eign Nations Interfere? MANZANILLO, Oct. 4, 1873, Everts of vast importance have taken place during the last few days within this district and the jurisdictions of Holguin, Santa Cruz and Baya- mo, which have given the pow-r of Spain within those limits @ staggering blow, and wiiich presage others of equal importance for the cause 0! Cuban liberty and progress, and in bebalf of the interests of commerce and agriculture, which have been almost extinct in some of the districts where the gevernment had taken refuge, alarmed at its own weakness, DEFEAT IN THE FIELD. A column of 800 men, with two pieces of artillery, commanded by Colone! Dominguez, has been com- pletely dispersed, and the greater part desvroyed, by the insurgent forces under command of Calixto and Vicente Garcia, losing their cannon, mules baggage, in short, all their war material. <A dis- aster doubly terrible to the Spaniards, for they learn that the Cuban soldiers of to-day, upon noting the slightest sign of wavering by their ad- versaries, redouble thelr efforts and make their at- tacks so vigorous as to completely destroy all who cannot escape from their fury, on ground with which they are entirely unacquainted. SANTA CRUZ ASSAULTED AND CAPTURED. On Sunday, the 28th of September, at about fivé o'clock in the morning, the town of Santa Cruz was attacked by two parties of insurgents, horse and foot. According tothe reports the in antry was commanded by Sanguili, and the cavalry by “En- rique,” the American. They took possession of the park of artillery, gaining thereby an immense booty of war material, among which is counted 600 Remingtons and Peabodys, 40 boxes of car- tridges for the same, 6 cwt. of powder and about 800 side arms, swords and machetes, of the ‘Rayo’ column, which had been deposited there. The miiitary storehouse, where a large quantity of clothing and provisions had been stored, also fell into their hands, No harm was done by the insurgent forces to any of the residents of the town, and the only victims were the ensign and artillerists in charge of the park, who persisted in making an heroic but use- less resistance, and @ number of soldiers wno fired upon the insurgents from the side street. A number of minor skirmishes and meeting with insurgents have been reported lately in the vicin- ity of ths city, but in all of them the Spanish forces have invariably had the worst of it. WILL FRIENDLY NATIONS MEDIATE? The war now Waged in this island has taken a new character, and it 1s to be regretted that those nations whose position on the globe authorizes them to point out to other nations the path of reason and the reason olright, the source ofall human benefits, do not interlere in a struggle where @ government so weak as to scarcely keep itselfup, even by the aid o/ hundreds 0 specula- tors, eajoys the ruin it brings upon this country, THE CHIEFTAINS OP CONQUEST, To refer again to the Santa Cruz affair, it is to be observed that of the two principal chieis of the in- surgents, Sanzuili is in very feeble health and strength from the many wounds he has received in numerous engagements, aud Henry Reeves, or Enrique el Americano, as he is popularly known, fell a aes at the oeginning ol the war to a Spanish column, which, with the stoical philan- thropy common to all Spanish columns, of not to be “botbered” with insurgent prisoners, shot him down, with others, and leit them on the road. knrique was not killed outright, and crawling away trom the dead bodies surround- ing him, recovered oj his wounds. and is to-day one of the bravest and most dreaded of the lusur- gent leaders in the struggie for Cuban independ- ence. PROVINCIAL PRISONS. Governor Lamela continues to afford the shame- ful spectacie of a common jail crowded by ragged women and children, innocent of any crime save having their husbands, Jathers and brothers in the imsurrection, whose doleiul appeals and cries arrest the steps of the passer by, only to shock him with the horror and misery of the sight. PROCLAMATIONS BY THE PATRIOTS. The following have reached your correspondent by the underground line, and, being autuentic documents 01 the insurrection, will prove of great interest :— PROCLAMATION BY ANGEL MESTRE AND BALTAZAR MUNOZ. FrtLow Citizens—Events fellow each other in impor- tance, and all tend to the immediate triunph ot our cause. ‘the enemy can no longer deceive you; the time tor hallucination and deceit hag passed away. e civil War in Spain. tostered by ignorance and the de- moralization of the people, through the insatiabie ambition of their rulers, which has brought about the total ruin of the’ Treasury and com decline of its credit at the very time that two ex tions of arms and war material sent us by our f abroad saiely arrive in Cuba; the league of the South American republics has communicated. its patri- otic enthusiasm to other nations, who admire ani ap- plaud our heroic abnegation during five years of war to the knife; the proaunciaméentor trom many of your camps show that you endeavor to shake off the lethargy in which slavery held you—all, in short, contributes to cheer us up, and “with the generous affection of a brother, and in the name of our mother, who would heal with tears of profoundest love the wounds which many ot her sons have blindly inflicted on her tender heart, we open to you our arms. Hasten to recover your dignity; do not delay, by your obstinacy the glorious day of our rejoicing, which new, in a meas- ure, depends upon your decision. The Spanish govern- menthasno means of existence m America, The light of intelligence and liberty illumines the New World, which repels tyranny. To Cuba you owe your birth, and to Cuba alone is due the blood of her children, shed it, then, if necessary, in union with your brothers, to conquer that political right which, witk public représentation, guaraniees us the dignity ot freemen. Let us seal with a kiss of peace the regeneration and prosperity of the tuture which Divine Providence traces for our country, and only thus shall we ever enjoy the sweet sensation ot hearing trom the lips of oar innocent children— abe =o “Vica nuestra patria!—Viva the Republic of Cuba? AvGust 12, 1473. TO THE VOLUNTEERS. PROCLAMATION TO THE CUBAN VOLUNTEERS IN THE SPANISH RANKS, Cunan VoLontaxrs—Reason requires no force; it easliy penetrates the conscience o! the individual to exact com- pliance with its duties By an error tor which to-day You ail are sorry you have for five years fought in favor of our common ehemy, fruitiessiy throwing away your- Selves, your families ‘and. the future ot your children, The critical situation of Spain regarding Cuba must prove | to you the inefficacy of ail resistance to he determined will of lier liberators. Lxpect nothing from that nation whose government will never look to the happiness of this ‘country, becanse swayed by motives of sordid interest, its republic is built on the shifting sands of its ancient’ prejudice and the universal ignorance of its peo herefore, what can it benefit you ifthe President of a now Cabinet to institute the reforms in the colonies by abolishing slavery without damage to private interests, when, In order to avoid this, it would have to pay an indemniza- tion, and thereby’ sacrifice the people, for the public treasury is empty, What can it concern you, if it orders the restoration of their embargoed fortuies ‘to Cuban emigrants, thinking thereby to take away the strongest support of the Insure rection, When really its most eflicient ald. consists in the effort of the patriots who have sworn never to la; down their until ” complete independence fs arms in the rebel districts are thrown into panic at the approach of the patriots, Regular troops from Spain, such as arrive always in small batches, are sent to the front, only to be “gobbled” up py the veteran insurgents. ° HURRICANE IN HAVANA. Sweep of the Great Storm Over the An- tilies City and Consequences of the Visitation—Present Losses and Painful Remembrances—Scientific Opservations. Havana, Oct. 14, 1873. The reports concerning the recent hurricane which passed over our city tend to show that of all, those which have been noted for a number of years it was the one which presented the shortest extension in the barometric wave, indicating its passage, and yet occasioned more damage than others in which the fall of the mercury was greater and the barometric wave longer. The barometer (ell to the minsmam of 746,41. Taking the figures which represent the least atmospheric pressure, not in order of their dates, but of intensity noted by the fall of the mercurial column, it will be seen that the hur. ricane of 1846 is almost the type of the tropical hurricanes, in respect to the barometric fall occa- Sioned by it, and the first of Cuban hurricanes, of which most vivid recollections are retained re- garding its intensity and the disasters occasioned ashore and afloat, Miximum. 687.31 1841—November ‘28. 1307—sep tember 5, 1821—Sepiember 1870—-October 20. THE MORRO FORT DAMAGED AND OTHER LOSSES, The disasters occasioned by the storm of Monday are quite numerous, ‘he report of the Governor ofthe Morro Fort, Lieutenant Colonel Carpintier, o! the damases to the fort‘fication and the different batteries counected with it, 19 quite lengthy, and show the jorce of the waves, which tore up gun carriages, destroyed some o! the works, and moved many of the heaviest guns from posit ots MARIN DISASTERS, ) Vessels are arriving which have suffered damages, que German brig Specuisni, from Pensacola to remen, put in this port, having lost her foretop- mast, topyaliantmast, rigging and all her deck load. The Spanish steamer Maisi and an English mahoones (name not reported) were lost near Bata- ano. achieved. It t* folly still to pretend that the deg. tiny of the Antilles mast tollow the Yate °F the dotard metropolis. The immense distance which — sep. arates them, more linmeasuragie on accouut of the intense (pied. and jostered by the cruel rulers, and the vital Inte; Which links its future with the neigh- ring Ame ean Republic, especially in the arucies of its uativalled sugar and tobaceo, the liberties of that nation which trusts all to ity constitution, and that emporium of proj ‘eentury of existenr served As an example to our own, all incline es of those who, by such heroic, sacrifices, are forming & country | to encircle with the rich diadem of independent Cuba the brow of the Goddess of Liberty in mer fore continuing its dependence upon the fanatic nation which was the founder of slayery. Our political creed does not stipulate any form of Chris- tianity. Itembraces all human beings who propose to contribute with the capital of their intelligence and morality to the ereatness and well being which our country guarantees to us. This, then, is our Ug Hy ead va la Union! gar Porat greaination, Brothers, vi ¢ independence of Cuba. VICENTE GA KCL, “f. JAVIER CESPRDEB, GEL MAESIRE, MODESTO DIAZ, * AN ALTAZAN MUNOZ. Surrempen 12, 1873, THE SITUATION AT HOLQUIN. All the advices received concerning the recent affair at Holguin corroborate the reports tor. warded by your Havana correspondent, in regard to its dHaastrous result to the rye te arms. ‘The Commission referred to in my last letter, as ex- pected in Havana from that place, have arrived and held an interview with the Captain General, His Excellency eould grant no more troops to that Gistrict, for the ver: Taportent reason that all the avaliabie forces had already been embarked two days previous in the Isabel La Catolica tor Gibara. It 18 understood that the Commission, which js composed of four gentlemen who represent the City Counct! and casines of Holguin and Gibara, set forth to the Captain General the needs of that dis- trict and its means of deience. There are within the jurisdiction 4,000 volunteers, but all are not armed, and those who are have not the best of arms. ‘he Commission believes that, with &@ few more reguiar troops and better arms, it will be easy to preserve the zone of cultivation from the attacks of the insurgents, However, enough is known from experience in this struggle to justity the conclusion that, with all the volunteers on hand and troops to arrive and be sent, no headway is made in suppressing the insurrection, Matvers have been going on from bad to worse, the volunteers In Havana are not to dght the insurgents, aud the volunteers ‘The steamer San Quintin left yesterday for a trip to the south side to render any succor the steamer Rapido might require, a8 this vessel is supposed to be grounded somewhere, The French steamer Lamartine arrived yester- day irom Tobasco in order Lo land thirteen of the crew and a passenyer o1 the Spanish bark Jistiché lost on her voyage from Progreso to Havana. MUNICIPAL REPORT, The partic lars respecting tue hurricane that has raged on the southern cast 0, the island come in but very slowly. T+ltegraphic communication over many of the lines inland has been interrupted since last Saturday, and the fonlowiig are the only items at hand regarding the differeut towns along the south coast and injand. WHAT THEY TELL, GUANTANAMO, Sept. 30, 1873. The gale that is blowing here since the 28th has thrown ashore all vesseis in port and injured many buildings, SANTA CLARA, Oct. 5, 1873, The neavy rain that has been falling durin three days has submerged the town, and wi probabl,, prejudice the cane to a large extent. BEJUEAL, Oct. 5, 1873, Great fears are entertained in this district re- garding the next crop, owing to the heavy rains and strong gales, wich have considerably preju- diced the growing caue, San DIEGO, Oct. 6, 1878, Owing to the strong winds and heavy seapre- vailing for several days past our river is Over- flooded, and many dweilings here, as well asin Consolacion del Sur, are greatly damaged, Tue tobacco crop in both districts will probably be considerably prejudiced, BATABANO, Oct. 6, 1873. The inhabitants of the seashore are abandoning their dwellings, owing to the advance of the sea. Many vessels in port have been case ashore, Damages, of more or less consideration, have also been suifered in Las Tunas, Trinidad and Cien- fuegos; but no detailed reports are at hand, ST, DOMINGO. The News of the Defeat of the Revo« lutionists Confirmed—Details of the Crisis as It is Presented in the Field. Sr. THOMAS, Uct. 6, 1873. The latest report from St. Domingo, addressed to the HERALD, supplies the following intelli- gence :— The news which was telegraphed to you con- cerning the deieat of the Dominican revolution- ists has been contirmed. DETAILS FROM THE FIELD, A fight occurred near Guayubin, and the in- surgents were obliged to retreat, General Pacheco, with @ smail force, marched against the town of Monte Cristo, which imme- diately deiared in favor of the government. Pacheco then took possession. A NAVAL PRIZE. The Pagueté de Monte Cristo, a schooner which had been fitted out at the Cape, arrived at Monte Cristo, and, thinking that the place was still free, entered and was immediately captured. The tol- lowing was taken in the schooner :—100 cases ammn- nition, one case capsules and some provisions, CHANGE OF BASE, Revolutionary advices state that General Garcia, Who had joined the revolutionists and then de- clared for the government, had again joined the insurgent party, together with 150 men. It 18 also stated that on his way to the revolu- tionary camp he captured a convoy of ammunition and provisions belonging to the government, which Was on its way [rom Monte Cristo to Guayubin. PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT, It is said that Colonel Tancrido Mieces, Chief of the Battalion of Chasseurs, of Santiago, had ar- wh at the revolutionary camp with a body of The revolutionists are busy forming a pro- visional governmeut to direct operations, which are soon to be recommenced, PARTY TRIOKERY. The Examination of the Pennsylvanis. State Tre: rer’s Books Explained by General Auditor Alien, PrrTsBurG, Oct. 17, 1873. Quite a breeze was created in political circles some days previous to the State election by the announcement that State Treasurer R, W. Mackay had refused to allow a committee of citizens, 0. democratic proclivities, the permission to look at and examine his accounts at Harrisburg, which he is obliged to do according to an act of the As- sembly. J. Monroe Krieter, on behalf of the com- mittee, applied to the supreime Court for a writ of mandamus, compelling the Treasurer to permit an examination of his accounts, This action was the signal for the partisan press of this city and elsewhere to vent its spleen on the State ‘Ireasurer and the State government generally. To-day was fixed for the hearing of the rule, when, according to a statement of Auditor General Alien, who was present, the boot is put on the other leg, and democrats were convicted of partisan dishonesty in the matter. The Auditor General testifies that he offered to show up his books to those three citizens who demanded to see them before election day, and tnat they wouldn’t take the trouble to see them. He also eae let the editor of a democratic newspaper at Hai burg examine them. He aiso saw Mr. J. G. McAlarney, of the committee, on the steps of the Auditor General’s office, and urged him to come in and look at the books, but he would not, The respondent, therefore, claimed that he had not been remiss in his duty and was ready now and ever to show the books, and asked, therefore, that the case be dismissed, The democrats ap- parently judved that it was better wg capital to allow theinselves to seem wronged by @ refusal to see the books than to see them and ascertain what errors there were in them. In this they showed no more honesty of inteation than the republicans, The Auditor General extends an invitation to each and every one of Bis pentamed to make such an examination of the Treasurer's accounts as they see proper, A NEGRO SHOT, A Sleeping Man Killed on the Sappost- tion That He Was a Burglar—Hasty Discharge of the Defendant, PHILADELPHIA, Ost. 17, 1878. A very snd incident occurred at Nicetown, @ suburban district of Philadelphia, at three o'clock this morning. <A poor old negro, over sixty years of age, familiarly known as “Black George,” was shot and killed upon the unwarrantable supposl- tion that he was a vurgiar, The act was commit- ted by Mr. Henry Price, of the firm of Nichois, Price & Co., under the following ¢ircumstances An occupant of the house being frightened py a shutter disturbed by the wind aroused Mr, Price, Who at once cought up @ shotgun, Tushed to tha entrance of the house and fired the fall load in the breast of the old negro, who was lying @ little dis- tance away asleep. ‘The moment the shot was fired the aged man arose and stretched out his arms, and the next moment fell prostrate to the earth a corpse, The most gel tyr J part of the whole atfair is that Price, at the investigation of the Coroner, was at once discharged, This action, it seems, was entirely unwarrantable upon the part of the Coroner, who by law has no power to discharge any one until an investigation has been made and is innocence shown before a Court. The dead man may have been of but little use to the world, butitis the optuion of everybody that the act of the Coroner Was in deflayce of wldame