The New York Herald Newspaper, December 5, 1873, Page 6

6 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR AMUSEMENTS THIS EVENING. UNION Broadway) wooD' MUSEUM, Broadway, corner Thirtieth st.— Lvwarnovy’s Friexp, &c. Afternoon and evening. BROADWAY THEATRE, 728 and 730 Broadway.—A Live's Dawa, GRAND OPERA HOU oi —Huaere Durr A! PARK THEATRE, Brooklyn, opposite City Hall.— New Mauparen. FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, 28th st. and Broadway.— Wortunw LYCEUM THEATRE, Fourteenth st—Stint Waters Run Deer. Highth ay. and Twenty-third BOOTH'S THEATRE, Sixth av. and Twenty-third st. — Ticaur or Leave Max. eMY OF MUSIQ, léth street and Irving place.— RA—AIDA. METROPOLITAN THEATRE, 585 Broadway.—Vamietr Exveerainaent, MRS. F. B. CONWAY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE.— Geneva Cross, TARATRE COMIQUE, No. 514 Broadway.—Varrerr ‘ENTRRTAINMENT. GRERMANIA THEATRE, Mth street and Sd avenue.— an Euxrnayt. OLYMPIC THEATRE, Pitadway, between Houston and Bleecker sts.—Tux Mannie Heant. NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway, between Prince and Houston sts Tux Biack Croor. WALLACK'S THEATRE, Broadway and Thirteentn street —Tuu Lian. TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HUUSE, No. 201 Bowery.— Vanuery ENTERTAINMENT. BRYAN’S OPERA HOUSE, Twenty-third st, corner Sixth av.—NsGro Minstretsy, &c. TERRACE GARDEN THEATRE, S8th st., between Lex- ington aud 3d avs.—PResiipicitaTioN. STEINWAY HALL, Fourteenth street—Granp Con- car, BAIN HALL, Great Jones street, between Broadway and Bowery.—Tnx Pircrm. THE RINK, 3d avenue and 64th street.—MrxaGERIz AND Muskum. Afternoon and evening, as New York, Friday, Dec. 5, PLE SHEE 1873. THE NEWS Of YESTERDAY. ‘To-Day’s Contents ot the Herald. ‘HE QUARREL OF THE SPANISH-CUBAN FURIO- $05 WITH AMERICA! THE VIRGIN TO BE HELD AT ALL HAZARDS! RECRUITING | AND ARMING! SOLER AND THE CAPTAIN GENERAL RESIGN—SEVENTH PGE. @IERY TALK OF THE SPANISH HOTHEADS IN CUBA AGAINST AMERICAN JOURNALS AND MINISTER SICKLES! THE PROMOTION (?) OF SENOR SOLER! THE BATILE OF LA SACRA—FourrH Pacs. ‘ PORTO RICAN OPINIONS ON THE VIRGINIUS CASE! SLAVERY ABOLITION! FREE SPEECH—Fovurri Pace. DESTRUCTIVE BOMBARDMENT OF CARTAGENA BY THE GUVERNMENT BATTERIES! FOR- EIGN FLEETS WITHDKAWN! SENOR FI- GUERAS TENDERED TH: AMERICAN MIS- SION—SEVENTH PAGE. ANOTHER STEAMSHIP COLLISION ON THE AT- LANTIC! THE BRITISH IRON-CLAD BEL- LEROPHON COLLIDES WITH THE BRA- “ZILIAN MAIL STEAMER FLAMSTEED! SINKING or 3B LaTront LOST—SEVENTH PAGE, THE SINKING OF THE VILLE DU HAVRE! AR- RIVAL AND RAPTUROUS RECEPTION OF CAPTAIN SURMONT AND THE SURVIVORS IN FRANCE! THE INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES OF THE WRECK, AT HAVRE|— WHO WAS TO BLAME?—THIRD PaGE. SAFEGUARDS AGAINST OCEAN STEAMSHIP COLLISIONS DEMANDED OF CONGRESS— ELECTRIC FOG LIGHTS—Tarrp Pacs. THE FRENCH ASSEMBLY REFUSES TO C SURE THE GOVERNMENT—THE V! FAIR BUILDING TO BE KEPT FOR PUBLIC USES—SEVENTH PAGE. TWO REGIMENTS OF HIGHLANDERS DE- SPATUHED TO REINFORCE THE BRITISH EXPEDITION AGAINST THE ASHANTEES— ENGLISH FINAN! AND VIEWS ON GRANT’S MESSAGE—SEVENTH PaGk, @HOLERA DECIMATING THE DUTCH EXPEDI- TION AGAINST THE ACHEENESE | WRETCHED ROADS! ACTIVE OPERATIONS TMPOSSIBLE—SEVENTH PAGE. A FOUR-STORY BUILDING FALLS IN PASSAIC, N. J., BURYING T PROMINENT CITI- ZENS IN THE RUL NARROW ESCAPE OF WORKMEN! POPULAR INDIGNATION— Firti Pace. A DOMESTIC SCANDAL IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY! AN EPISCOPAL DIVINE AND A DIVORCED COUPLE THE CENTRAL FIGURES! STRAD SUIT FOR LIBEL— BEECHER CRITICISED—Ei1cntu Pas, THE CURRENCY AND THE SALARY GRAB CON- SIDERED BY CONGRESS! “SUNSET” COX AROUSED—Fir7H PaGE. of war Bellerophon, one of the most powerful vessels in the royal navy, has been in collision with a Brazil aud River Plate steamship—tne Hymstecd—the war vess¢l sinking the trader aifaost immediately. ere were no lives leit—the passengers, officers and crew of the Fiamsteed having been rescued and landed at St. Vincent by the man-of-war. The news of this alarming occurrence, coming so soon after the Ville du Havre calamity, demon- xO Lives | strates again the necessity which exists for a | revision of the rules which at present govern tho steering of vessels, particularly of steam- ships, at sea. The rescue of the people on board the Flamsteed is, no doubt, due to the order and discipline which prevailed on board the warship. Can notthe mercantile marine be made to adopt the example, by compelling the owners and directors of the different pas- senger fleets to reform and improve their pres- ent plan of mustering, organizing and dis- ciplining the hands whom they employ and send forth to sea, charged with the care of erty? Rervarism axp Rerorm.—In another place in the Hrnatp of this morning we print a very interesting and instructive interview which one of our reporters had yesterday with Bishop Cummins. ‘Tho movement of which the Bishop is the recognized head promises to bring about a revolution in the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Bishop, it will be econ from the interview, is full of hope. He is, perhaps, too sanguine. Help may come more slowly than he imagines. Meanwhile the Movement occupies the public mind, and it is only just to say that time must be allowed to test the force “that isin it.’ The interview is worthy of careful perusal, NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, DEUEMBER 5, 1873.—TRIPLE SHEET. Our Financial Situation—The Way to Resume is to Prepare for Resump- tion, There is nothing simpler than a solution of the financial situation. When anything has to be done in this world the best way is to do it. All schemes that are brought to our atten- tion for relieving commerce and aiding busi- ness are so many expedients. They are only sound so far as they lead to one result. The question before the American people now is, how to place the business of the country upon a firm business footing. Some of our finan- have a different plan. It seems that every professor of finance has a new theory. We have always believed, in the practice of medicine, that when a hundred different prac- titioners offer each a separate remedy for the same disease they are mostly quacks and know nothing of their calling. And when we are informed that a panacea has been discovered involving the application of subtle political principles by which the country may suddenly spring from insolvency and trouble to a condition of finan- cial soundness we regard it as empirical. For every disease there is a cause, It is with the State as witha man. If in the sprightliness and vivacity of youth we tax the body, either by dissipation or over effort, or in violation of the laws of health, we are menaced with premature old age and diminished power. Life rans into decay before its time. So, if, in our social or* business life, we run into excesses, do business upon false principles, tolerate insincerity and dishonesty among those who manage large financial trusts ; if we offer a premium to crime by the readi- ness with which we condone misdemeanors in office ; if, above all, we give money, its pursuit and possession that predominance in our society which is seen in no other country, what can we expect but, in time, such an un- soundness of the business body that fever must ensue, diminished power and respect, an absence of that confidence and self-respect and helpfulness to each other which bind together all business interests and give strength to society ? When we come upon a condition of affairs like this nothing is more natural than a panic. It is surprising and shows the healthy activity of our people that we have not had this panic before. We have been living a false financial life since 1861. First came a suspension of specie payments, with which we began the This may have been necessary; at any rate, it was unavoidable. But instead of guarding ourselves from the evils consequent upon such suspension—instead of going into history and learning lessons taught by our revolutionary experience of paper currency, the issue of assignats by the leaders of the French revolution, the suspension of the gold payments in England during the wars against the First Napoleon, and other instances of financial statesmanship—we welcomed the war. issue of unusual quantities of currency as an advantage. During the war, then, all business was transacted upon the theory that what really was a calamity to the nation was, perhaps, after all, an advan- tage. It was about this time that the people were actually expected to believe the grotesque and monstrous legend that a national debt was a national blessing. Credit was sus- pended; money was acquired rapidly; the sudden and enormous supplies demanded for the war gave a fictitious stimulus to manufac- tures, and as currency was plenty we all believed that the more greenbacks we printed the richer we became. The sources of our national wealth were not in the gold mines of California, or the coai deposits of Pennsyl- vania, or in the cotton fields of the South, but in the ingenious printing presses, which ran night and day in the Treasury Department. And, instead of restraining the extravagances consequent upon this increase of currency and the unnatural growth of business, the war was searcely over before we rushed into what was called ‘‘the development of the country.”’ When Frederick the Great finished his seven years’ war—the contest which drove him to the verge of bankruptcy and destruction—and when everybody supposed that he had not money enough to keep his armies from starva- tion, he suddenly began to build a palace in Potsdam. “I mean to show my brothers, the kings,” he said, ‘that I am not quite a pau- per yet.”’ So he built the palace, and it had its moral effect upon European Powers. We had probably something of this feeling when we came out of our own war. We were rest- less, nervous, strong with the unnatural strength that comes from extreme tension and effort—what the French would say, ‘‘exalted.” Even so prudent a man as General Grant had hardly finished his struggle with Lee before he was anxious to cross the Rio Grande and enter upon awar with France by attacking Max- imilian. So we took to heavy taxes in the hope of paying off our debt in six months or a year. Stock companies were created, repre- senting extravagant and fictitious values, for the purpose of finding gold and silver and oil. forest to another through prairie and wilder- ness, in the expectation that it was only neces- sary to build roads to make them profitable. Extraordinary efforts were made to induce for- eigners who thought that the unusual growth of America made any investment in our se- curities secure, and credulous people at home, who believed that it was only necessary for a banker to be in good standing in some Chris- tian denomination to make his financial judg- ment infallible, to invest in these. As a con- sequence, a greater part of that capital which came from the industry of citizens here and elsewhere, was virtually thrown into the sea of bankruptcy and mismanagement. Under the pretext of “developing the country,” enter- prises of the most unusual and dishonest such valuable freight, both in life and prop- | character were used to absorb accumulations of honest capital, that, properly applied, would have gone far towards enabling us to put our business on a sound foundation and recover from the effects of the war. What, then, is the remedy? Nothing but this : Let us honestly conduct our business, one man with another, upon sound, conservative principles. Let us stop all subsidies in Con- gress and cease giving bonds and lands for the ‘development of the country.”’ Let us put an end to wild cat banking and so reform our banking system that the business of the country shall not be at the mercy of a desperate Wall strect clique to-day and an obstinate Secretary of the Treasury to-morrow. Let us tear down the Chinese wall that surrounds our industry and commerce in the shape of pro- cial philosophers advise one method, others, Railroads were built running from one | tective tariff. Let us so arrange our railway system that our great railways, which are as much a part of the strength of the Republic as the great highways of Rome were of the Roman Empire, shall be an advantage and not a burden to the people. Do not double *| the price of Pennsylvania iron at the expense of Indiana corn. Let every government energy be given to the funding of our loan and the consequent decrease of taxation. Then let Congress pass a law declaring that, in ten or fifteen years—say 1880, at the furthest—the nation will resume specie payments. We believe that if a law of this kind were adopted, that if we were to thus solemnly pledge the credit of the nation to the resump- tion of specie payments on a certain day, the effect would be that we should reach that ‘point ata much earlier period. It is quite possible in our American fashion of doing surprising things when we make up our mind to do them, that we would be able to resume in the centennial year of our independence. Anyhow, there will be enough poetry in that coincidence to make our people labor without stint to achieve resumption in 1876. What- ever we do, there is only one way towards solvency, and that is the way that leads to re- sumption. Mr. Chase used to say that, “the way to resume was to resume.’’ We have made too many mistakes to do that immedi- ately. The only way to resume is to make up our minds to do it—to pass a law pledging tho nation’s honor to it, and to labor to that end with honesty, industry and courage, Bombastes Furioso in Havana—Will the Nice Little Arrangement of Mr. Fish and Admiral Polo Be Consum- mated? There is every likelihood that the pleasant little arrangement agreed upon between Mr. Secretary Fish and Admiral Polo in the mat- ter of the Virginius, by which the United States government was expected to occupy a very unenviable position in the eyes of the world, will not be brought to a satisfactory conclusion, owing to the insanity of the Don Quixotes of the ‘Queen of the Antilles.’’ Probably this much vaunted protocol was in- tended as an ante-holiday joke by our grave Secretary of State. It has certainly produced the same effect with the lords of the “Ever Faithful Isle’ as would a matador’s scarlet cloak flaunted before the eyes of an in- furiated bull during the Christianlike enter- tainments given in honor of the butcher, Bur- riel. Our despatches trom Havana are star- tling enough to satisfy the most inveterate sen- sation monger, and yet they are of a tenorso perfectly consonant with the Bombastes Furi- oso character of the members of the Casino Espafiol and their satellites as to excite no surprise in the minds of those acquainted with such madmen. First of all, we are informed that Captain General Jovellar, the political Governor, and Sefior Soler, the Colonial Minister, have ten- dered their resignations to President Castelar. The former asks for a successor to carry out the orders of the Madrid government, as he is unable to do so. He says that ‘‘the high- minded people over whom he is placed want ample time for reflection,’ and that the fiery, patriotic spirit of the great na- tional party in Cuba must have leisure to cool off. This doughty knight of La Mancha declares that the protocol of Mr. Fish and Admiral Polo will produce a result similar to that of the Treaty of Bayonne, which brought around the war of independence against the first Napoleon. The immediate delivery of the Vir- ginius to the United States authorities will, it is argued, produce a frightful commotion throughout the island, resulting in successive catastrophes. With these defiant trumpet blasts from Jo- vellar we are threatened with the direst conse- quences by the merchants of Havana if Mr. Fish persists in asking for the Virginius and those of her crew and passengers who escaped the slaughter house of Santiago. One colonel offers to arm and equip six steamers os cruis- ers against Yankeeland, and public fecling is excited to a most unwarrantable degree. In fact, the Spaniards in Cuba must not be counted upon in case President Castelar insists upon the immediate delivery of the ill-fated steamer. The worthy President of the Spanish Republic, it seems, made inquiries of the Captain General as to the state of popular feeling in Cuba on the ques- tion of the Virginius, but did not wait for the latter gentleman’s answer. Surely this Goy- ernor of the modern Barataria, who unites in himself the apparently incongruous qualities of Sancho Panza and his master, deserved bet- ter treatment. Although he does not say what period of time might be sufficient to complete the delicate work of investigating public fecling on this subject among the barbarians over whom he is appointed, yet no such violence should be done to his feelings as is conveyed in the obnoxious protocol of Mr. Fish and Admiral Polo. Our Washington despatches give a glimpse into the arcana of our Spanish Department of State. But this glimpse is like a peep into a kaleidoscope. We are told that the govern- ment is about to put its foot down—no offence | whatever to Spain—and that certain people in Cuba who do not entertain proper re- spect for the Cabinet at Madrid will be taught to respect the rights of American citizens. Perhaps Mr. Fish and Sefior Castelar are agreed to undertake the task of reducing the rebellious members of the Casino Espafiol to submission. If such be the case they deserve commendation instead of cen- sure, Every one will be glad to see those cutthroats, of whom Burriel is a favorable specimen, brought to terms. But does this entente cordiale between Mr. Fish and Sefior Castelar take at all into account the long list of outrages which have been committed against American citizens and against the American flag? Shall every punctilio of honor where Spanish pride is concerned be carefully at- tended to and the blood of our countrymen and the insults to our flag go for naught? Nous verrons. Scrus-Woman Economy. — Twelve poor scrub-women, to whom the city owes four months’ pay, recovered verdicts in the Court of Common Pleas yesterday for the amounts | due them, together with costs, which will aggregate probably between eight and nine hundred dollars. ‘The Comptroller will prob- ably appeal the case and keep the poor women out of the money during the winter, although he will no doubt find money enough in the city treasury to pay a special counsel one hundred dollars 4 day fee and twelve dollars a day for his hotel bill for ‘services iu Albany" as soon as the Legislature meots. To Spank or Not To Spank. The sins and sorrows of boyhood come to the relief of men. There is absolute refresh- ment in being called upon to turn for a mo- ment from the spectacle of diplomatic mud- dling to that of educational prerogative. The question at present before the Board of Edu- cation is whether the boys in public schools shall be liable to the punishment of the rod. We think we can imagine with considerable accuracy what the boys would have to say upon the subject; but, unfortunately for them, this isa case in which their opinion is not taken much into account. Let us charitably hope that all that is taken into account is their good. Avcelebrated writer once composed a long poem in heroic metre on the use and mis- use of the rod. Did he learn in suffering what he taught in song? We are afraid so, since, inthe poom in question, ho certainly taught nothing good. And this brings us to the views on the subject of the various mem- bers of the Board of Education at the meeting held on Wednesday night. Of course there was much difference of opinion. _ One gentle- man thought that if anybody should be flogged it was the teachers, not the boys. This view seems to us rather ex- treme, and, perhaps, a little cynical, and we are afraid Mr. Cockley must have wan- dered too much ‘under the birches’’ in very early youth. Oommissioner Jenkins believed that flagellation was a remnant of barbarism. He is right; and when the well birched boy grows up the cream of his mind is apt to be whipped cream. Commissioner West main- tained that the Friends never inflicted cor- poral punishment, and that their children were as well behaved and obedient as those of parents belonging to other sects. This was a good point and could not fail to pro- duce a corresponding effect. Commissioner Townsend thought that bad boys ought to be whipped in moderation, He had been whipped in moderation, and there he was--a member of the Board of Education! Now, while congratulating the Board of Education upon possessing so shining an instance of the virtue of judicious spanking, we venture to hope that had Commissioner Townsend never beem subjected to this peculiar mode of pun- ishment he might yet have reached the proud position he at present occupies. We will not do him the injustice to think otherwise. We should be sorry to think that the Board of Education is indebted for even a single mem- ber to such an early and often laying on of hands as Commissioner Townsend's burst of confidence would seem toimply. It is pain- ful to be compelled to add that Commissioner Mathewson made an avowal similar to that of the gentleman we have just named. He honestly believed that, had it not been for corporal punishment, he would not be a mem- ber of the Board to-day. But Mr. Mathewson omits one important point. He forgets to say whether the corporal punishment was performed on him or some one else. Possibly the sight of some other boy being magnifi. cently spanked was quite sufficient to chasten his impressible and youthful soul. On tho principle of being thankful for any event that saved us an ornament to the Board, perhaps we ought to be grateful even to corporal pun- ishment. But our gratitude is not very deep; for, after all, the whole thing comes to this— Will the reintroduction of corporal punish- ment into our public schools do good or ill? We believe it will do harm, and a great deal of harm. Allowing for the burly, brutal boy whom birching, severely primitive, might do much to better, and for the boy of foul tongue and habits whom all other punishments have failed to improve, we believe that the average boy would be hurt and not benefited by the proposed change. We do not allude to cor- poral punishment for girls, because that has not been broached. ‘The average boy has generous instincts, which only need to be properly appealed to in order to make a warm response. If such an appeal cannot be made the fault is in the teachers, who might whip till eternity without doing any real good. Gras in Hastz anp Repzan at Leisurr.— The storm of public odium called forth by the shameless salary grab made during the last session of Congress seems to have scared the worthy legislators of the nation out of their wits, and yesterday there was a scramble among the patriots to be first in repealing the obnoxious law. The incorrigible Ben Butler suggested, in his most sarcastic style, an ad- journment to give every member of the House of Representatives a chance to offer a bill to repeal the increase of salaries. It is to be teared that the country will not regard this self-sacrificing spirit of Congress with a favor- able eye, as it comes inconveniently late. In this city, in particular, in view of the un- pleasant circumstances in which public plun- derers have lately found themselves, the tardy action of the national legislature will be looked upon with suspicion, even if the plun- derers be beyond the reach of Sing Sing or Blackwell's Island. There will be lively times when our Representatives will be obliged to disgorge, if ever this blatant reform will reach such a point. Luvox, Faratrry on Waat?—A sad disaster occurred at Passaic, N. J., yesterday, the de- tails of which are published elsewhere. A large four story building in the course of erection fell to the ground, killing two per- sons and injuring several. Fatalists will, no doubt, find justification for their belief in the singular circumstances attending the accident. At the moment the building fell two wealthy citizens, who had no interest in it, happened to be passing and had paused to examine it. They were crushed to death on the sidewalk, At the same time one of the workmen on the roof, who failed to escape with his compan- ions, fell through to the cellar, a distance of forty-five feet. When he reached the bottom, after his fearful descent, some heavy beams | fell crosswise above him, forming an arch over his head, and preserving him from further injury than the bruises he had re- ceived until he was rescued. Warne vor O1p Snors.—Mr. Bristow is, according to our Washington despatches, in a fever of anxiety to know the result of the Presi- dent's nomination of Attorney General Wil- liams for the position of Qhief Justice of the United States, in the place of the late Judge Chase. He would like Mr, Williams’ place so much, and, you know ‘there's many a slip, ke." ‘The Virginius Corresponacace=wW ay Is It Suppressed? It has been announced from Washington that the correspondence between the Spanish government and our own in relation to the Virginius outrage is withheld from Congress and the people for the reason that, having been carried on by means of the cable, and sometimes in cipher, it is deemed desirable, in view of its great importance, to await the receipt of the original papers by mail before its publication. We regard this explanation ag unsatisfactory, and are disposed to believe that the delay is prompted by other considera- tions. Tho seizure of the Virginius and the swift murder of one batch of her passengers were known to our government on the 5th day of November, or just one month ago. A great portion of the official correspondence growing out of the outrage must have passed between the two governments within tho first twelve days thereafter, and European mails up to November 18 have been in Washington since last Saturday or Sunday. Our own share of the correspondence, at* least, must be ready for publication, and this is what the American peopleare the most anxious to see. Besides, if the communications from the Spanish government were sufficiently plain and free from the chance of misinter- pretation to warrant the conclusion of a set- tlement and the formal execution of ,a proto- col based upon them, they ought certainly to be in & fit condition to meet the public eye. It isan insult to the people and to their representatives in Congress to place before them the terms of the surrender of their honor agreed upon by a feeble Secretary of State, requiring them to swallow the offensive dose, whether they are willing or not, and to withhold from them the correspondence by which the unworthy settlement bas been pre- ceded. Under the modern rule in Washing- ton it appears to be forgotten that the peo- ple are the sovereigns of the Republic, and that it is especially their privilege to be in- formed of all the details of a question affecting the national honor. Secrecy may occasion- ally be prudent and proper in the con- duct of negotiations with foreign Powers until the result has been accomplished, but in this Virginius matter the end has been reached, so far as the governments of Washington and Madrid are concerned, and we have a right to know by what steps it has been reached. There has been a studied effort on the part of our State Department to misrepresent facts and to befog the issues involved in the Spanish- Cuban outrage which is not calculated to win public confidence or to dispose people to accept the conclusions of the Secretary of State without inquiry. Were the first demands made by our government as tame as the con- ditions of the Fish-Polo protocol? If so, what meant the heated controversy between our Minister at Madrid and the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs? What the demonstration by the howling mob outside the doors of the American Legation? If not, through what inducements or for what reasons were these demands modified or abandoned by Mr. Fish? Has the Madrid government acknowledged the violation of . inter- national law and treaty obligations involved in the seizure of an American vessel on the high seas in time of peace? Has it ad- mitted the unlawful character of the De Rodas proclamation and given orders to the com- manders of its navy not to act hereafter upon the instructions contained in that proclama- tion? Or has it openly or by implication maintained its right to visit and search ‘‘sus- picious’’ vessels, and if found te contain Cuban insurgents or ‘contraband of war’’ supposed to be designed for the insurrection- ists, to treat them as pirates, carry them into port and summarily execute their passengers and crew? The American people have a right to official information on these points—in- formation to be gained only from the full cor- respondence that has passed between the two governments on the subject. It is to be hoped that Congress will call for the immediate publication of this correspondence, however anxious Mr. Fish muy be to suppress it until the terms of his disgraceful compromise, the Casino Espafiol permitting, have been carried out. Neglects of Warning in Accidents at Sea. The recurrence of fearful disasters at sea always brings forth specifics from all quarters for their prevention in future. The disaster to the Atlantic on Mar’s Rock, no less than the late awful catastrophe to the Ville du Havre, evoked a torrent of suggestions as to how a ship may be navigated clear of all mov- ing or stationary obstructions. When the Westfield’s boiler exploded the papers teemed with the opinions of experts as to how a per- fect, unexplodable boiler could be constructed. When a ship is burned at sea the authorities on combustion are ready to compass the making of all such disasters impossible. There may be a law of accidents which insures @ certain proportion of victims toa certain amount of risks; but, as not one of the recent great catastrophes on shipboard is traceable to anything else than neglect of rules for safety previously well defined, | we must look on the argument of fatality with very little respoct. The lookonts on the Atlantic and on _ the Ville du Havre claim to have seen the danger. The officers in charge were lost in each case, and the blame is laid on their negiect to order the proper change of course in time. But will officers in charge of the decks of ocean steamers always profit by the example of what ignorance of their duty or carelessness in its discharge may bring upon them and their vessel? Will the suggestions of the late Lieutenant Maury regarding ‘‘steam Janes’ for ocean travel receive any more considera- tion now than when they were written? Have the boilers of steamers and land engines been exempt from explosion since the Westfield dis- aster? Some experiments were made at Sandy Hook a year ago on bursting boilers, by private parties; this year government undertook the task of experimenting, but, so far, the experiments have not taken place. For a week or two after a remarkable disaster the public is assailed with panaceas. Then, without applying any, things fall into the old groove until the next disaster. Tho intelli- gence of the ago should lead to a different result, Tux Fann ov Cawracena Oannor Br Fan Ory if the governmental commander is as strong in troops as in siege artillery, The formidable forts yhich command the town and harbor will bo the greatest obstacle, and may necessitate great loss beforo their fall. The result of the capture of this stronghold of rebellion would be to greatly strengthen the government of Castelar, and it is worth calcu« lating what the effect thereof would be on tha relations of Spain with America. The normak tendency would be to make Spain very much; less inclined to yield anything to us in repara- tion for an atrocity which the majority of Spaniards hold to have been justified by the circumstances. With Castelar the case may be very different, but with no open foes on. the Peninsula, except the Carlists, and with » large naval force in Havana, even Castelar might find the very slight conditions of the protocol too much for his digestion. Marine Architecture and the Intor~ national A'ribunal Proposed by Ad- miral Jaurez. Admiral Jaurez, a valiant old seaman of the French Navy, who has won distinction alike on sea and land, has offered a bill in the National Assembly providing for the neces- sary steps to organize an international tribunal to investigate collisions on the high seas. Wo believe this to be the only practicable method to bring criminal negligence home to its guilty authors. We wake up morning after morning, and, rising with a satisfactory outlook on the world, we open a morning paper and read that our nearest relations and dearest friends have been drowned on board of a stranded rus in which they took passage at one hun and twenty dollars a ticket, or that they hava been sacrificed by a needless collision in mid- ocean. A loud lamentation follows; the ptess! with one accord calls for vengeance, and a universal chapter of vehement denunciation iw written on what is styled “worse than a crime.’ A few days pass by and the horror is replaced with some fresh disas~ ter, which succeeds in the public inter- est—morbid or otherwise. In the good, old- fashioned countries, where people never learn: anything and never forget anything, a Ville du! Havre collision does not sink suddenly out of! public notice; but an ample, though tedious, investigation is had, and the small measure of indemnity that can be paid for human lives is usually guaranteed in the end. But in Amer~ ica and France the interest subsides with our: forgetfulness of the harrowing details, and! there is no satisfaction afforded the widowed! wife, the bereaved husband or the orphaned. child. It seems to us that it is high time that the maritime nations should construct just such a tribunal as that called for by the propo~ sition of Admiral Jaurez. . We hope that some member of the Forty-third Congress will meet the proposition of the Admiral in the proper’ spirit of appreciation and introduce a joint’ resolution providing for the co-operation of our government. The code of such a body, the limitations of its jurisdiction, its powers’ of inflicting punishment for infractions of its maritime rules, should all be founded on the broad basis of humanity. It should be distinctly declared that when s! passenger pays his money for a passage from one port to another he is entitled to make that passage alive. It should be distinctly enacted that in case a passenger is not delivered at the port for. which he takes passage, but dies a violent death in transitu from no causes brought about by himself, then his heirs should be paid a money indemnity on a tariff scale according to his worldly wealth and im- portance. It should be distinctly declared that any‘ officer or petty officer, remotely or otherwise guilty of negligence arising either from ignor- ance, laziness or intoxication, should there~ after and forever be disqualified from holding; a grade above that of ordinary seaman in the! maritime service. It should be distinctly provided that th captain of the vessel, if an accident happen to:\, the hull, should forfeit all his property to the: heirs of the lost passengers; orin case tho accident be a bursted or collapsed boiler then: the forfeiture should operate on the property; of the engineer. It should be distinctly laid down that when the accident arises from defective architecture the company should be liable, not only for an, adequate compensation for the lives sacrificed, but that their remaining vessels should ba condemned and refused papers. If these provisions were made a part of our international maritime law, collisions, founder- ing at sea, running upon rocks and stranding vessels would occur no more. There is no ounce of prevention which is so vigorous aw the application of a penalty which will involvo the forfeiture of large fortunes as a single penalty. We know that the local laws of each nation that would become a party to this con- vention would have to be changed, and: changed perhaps in their fundamental prin- ciples. This we regard as nothing compared! with the advantages that would accrue to the public security on the sea. The death levia- thans now navigating the North Atlantic are all constructed witha view to annual divi- dends, ‘They defy all the cherished principles: of marine architecture as followed by the eminent constructors, being adaptations to heavy subsidies and large cargoes rather tham to the convenience and safety of their human freight. We say, then, by all means construct an international tribunal, and all honor to Admiral Jaurez for proposing it. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE. Judge Amasa J. Parker, of Albany, is staying at the St. Nicholas Hotel. General W. B. Franklin, of Hartford, is registered at the New York Hotel. Postmaster W. L. Burt, of Boston, yesterday arrived at the Astor House. General W. F. Bartlett, of Massachusetts, ts staying at the New York Hotel, Ex-Governor William Beach Lawrence, of Rhode; Isiand, is at the Windsor Hotel, Congressman W. H. Barnum, of Connecticat, has arrived at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, Captain J. G. . Lee, of the United States Army,’ is quartered at the Brevoort House. General Ambrose KE. Burnside, of Rhode Isiand,/ has returned to the Fiith Avenue Hotel. State Senator William Johnson, of Seneca Falls, Y., is registered at the Metropolitan Hote. Boston Post:—“The New York Evening Post! objects to Robeson’s English, Itis as good as his Spanish.” General M.D, Hardin and Colonel W. B. Beck, United States Army, have apartments at the Everett House, United States Senator Lewis V. Bogy, of Mis~ sourl, arrived at the St. Nicholas Hotel yesterday from Washington. If the Pennsylvania authorities should permté another prize fight to take place, “by Rooke or by crook,” they will probably find no base Coyne cite qulating in the ngjahborhgod,