The New York Herald Newspaper, December 26, 1873, Page 5

FRANCE. The New Cabinet of M. De Broglie. THE GREAT DUEL. ‘THE CONDITION OF TRADE. Paris, Dec. 4, 1873. ‘The new French Cabinet will probably not have gone to pieces yet by the time this reaches New York, soa short account of its members and a glimpse at the policy which they mean to inaugu- rate may be acceptable to the American reader. I should premise by saying that the present admin- istration is certainly destined to face very stormy ‘weather, andifit brave out the gales which are already beginning to blow on it from all points of the compass it willleave a memorable name in contemporary history. If, on the other hand, it succumbs in its self-imposed task of stemming the ‘tide of republicanism—if, alter battling rashly for B little, it be swept away by the torrent which it thas endeavored to check, it will yet deserve to be remembered, just as we remember Mrs. Partington, avho attempted to brush back the waves of the sea wvith her broom, and tnat other adventurous spirit ‘who sought to stop the Now of the Mississippi with the bottom of his wig, and who, it appears, has not et succeeded. THE NAMES OF THE MINISTERS ‘are the Duke de Brogile, Prime Minister and Min- Aster for the Interior; Duke Decazes, Minister for Foreign Affairs; M. Depeyre, Minister of Justice; ‘M. Magne, Minister of Finance; Baron de Larcy, Minister of Commerce ; M. Desseileigny, Minister of Public Works; M. Fortou, Minister of Public In- struction; General du Barrail, Minister of War, and Admiral Dompierre d’Hornoy, Minister of Ma- rine. The first on the list, the Premier, Duke de Broglie, isa high and mighty nobleman, aged 52, ‘who springs froma family of Italian extraction ‘which emigrated to France in the train of Cardinal ‘Mazarin during the seventeenth century. His great grandfather was the tolerably famous Mar- Bhal de Brogite, the only one of the pre-revolution- ary Marshals of France who outlived the first Re- public and part of the reign of Napoleon. Disgusted atthe revolution this sturdy warrior noble went of to Munster, heaping maledictions on his gon, the present Duke’s grandfatner, who not only embraced the principles of the revolution, but had ‘the honor of being guillotined in the cause of mod- erate liberal theories. The next Duke, who died ‘Dut three years ago, was a nobleman of great at- ‘Nainments and sound patriotism. He was twice Foreign Secretary during the reign of Louis Phil- ippe, and took a foremost rank among the men ‘who endeavored to give France a stable, constitu- tional monarchy like that of England. Until re- cently it was supposed that he had bequeathed his luberal opinions to his son; but the present Duke, alter starting in lie as a moderate royalist, ariendly to liberty of the press and to parliamen- ‘ary government, has tacked about and taken up ‘with legitimist ideas of the most bigoted type. He ‘was the prime wirepuller in the parliamentary capal which overthrew M. Thiers, and he lent ac- ‘tive assistance to all the intrigues set on foot to restore Henri V. In person he is handsome, but slightly effeminate, being natty in his dress, honeyed in manners, and addicted to a dulcet, quavering method of speech. It should be remem- ered that his name is pronounced “froill,” and not “Broglie,” as it is written; also that he plumes nimself upon being a very correct and eru- dite author. He is a member of the Académie Francaise, has contributed a great number of his- torical essays to the Révue des Deux Mondes, ana may be said to have literary blood m his veins, for bis mother was the only daughter of the famous Mme. de Stael. The Duke de Broglie is married, and has several children, the eldest of whom—a son of 22—was seriously wounded in Aghting against the Commune. This young man, Prince Victor de Broglie, is nis father’s principal secretary. DUKE DECAZES, THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AF- PAIRS, Is another of those political French noblemen who, whatever may be said about equality, are sure to obtain the snuggest posts in the State by rignt of birth. He was born in 1819, and by the age of 25 was already Ambassador at Lisbon, whence he shortly proceeded in the same capacity to Madrid, At the revolution of 1848 he retired into private life, and adhered to that privacy throughout the reign of Wapoleon UL, whom he much disliked, He ts a dlaf-looking Duke, proud of his rank, yet affable, and his politics are royalist, of tne Orleans shade, On the fall of M. Thiers in May he was sent as Am- Dassador to London, but he never remained at his post for more than a couple of days at a time, and he did not resign his seat in the Assembly. There 4s no particular reason why he should have been appointed to his present high position except that he isa Duke and the Premier's intimate friend. However, he.is one of those safe men who will commit no blunders, but manage his department in a stolid, lofty, humdrum way, and give excellent dinners to the foreign ambassadors, Very differ- ent from fis Grace is M. Magne, the Finance Minis- ter, who, without noble biood or family connec- tions of any sort, clambered to the top of the political ladder and has held a seat in different Cabinets for the better part of the last 25 years. So fortunate an example of minis- terial stability is not often seen in France, where most Ministers hold office for a couple of years or so, then vanish and are not heard of again. M. Magne was born in 1806, of poor pa- rents, who trained him for a government clerk- ship, and were delighted when he obtained a situ- ation worth $500 a year, Young Magne, however, being of more ambitious stuff, studied for the Bar, and, on being “called,’’ rapidly distinguished him- self by a cool and sensible style of pleading, quite devoid of ranting, and eminently un-French. This coolness and love of sound sense have been M. Magne’s chief stepping stones. Heis not a great financier, but he is a very shrewd one. He will never bring out one of those magnificent budgets ‘which bear the impress of genius, but his manage- ment of the public purse is ever satisfuctory, and he is the one French financier in whom the Bourse has any confidence. His greatest achievement was the peace loan of 700,000,000 francs, carried in 1867, which was covered 34 times over, and gave the world to believe that the duration of the Napoleonic régime would have no end. In the present Cabinet M. Magne wields an ufinence scarcely inferior to M. de Broglie’s, He is nominally a Bonapartist, but virtually he would Berve any government which waged war on repub- licanism, In private iife he is extremely amiable, and extends lavish hospitality to bankers, stock- brokers, and indeed to all moneyed men, native or foreign, who choose to cultivate his acquaintance. Personally, he is gray and spare, taiks little, but listens a great deal, and has a passion for music. BARON DE LARCY, GENERAL BARRAIL AND M. FORTOU, are three politicians pushed forward by the clergy. They are faithful servants to the Pope, attend mass regularly, and are pledged to do their utmost for the re-establishment of priestly authority over all sorts and conditions of men. General du Barrail, as War Minister, has decreed that svidiers shall at tend divine service on sundays and feast days—a practice which had fallen into abeyance since 1848. M. Fortou, who presides over the education de- partment, 8 laboring to place the village schools under the contro! o1 the village curés, and to get nuns appointed to ali the parts in girl schools hitherto held by lay teachers, Baron de Larcy cannot do much for Catholic principles in the Trade Office, but he is President of the Ex. treme Right Club, and he never misses an occasion of delivering a public speech in support of ultra. montane views, Ail these three Ministers are very dangerous men to have in a French Cabinet at this moment; for, if left to follow their own bent, they would plunge France into war with Italy on accotint of the Papacy. General du Barrail is especially pertious, for he already fatters himself that the French army has sufficiently recovered NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1873. ee have been moulded by priests, he has a dash of the fanatic im him and may be relied on always to give hot and imprudent advice. M. Fortou looks much like a priest in civil- 1an’s garb, and is said—whether truly or not I have no means of learning—to be affiliated to the Society of Jesus. Baron de Larcy is @ personal triend of the Count de Chambord, and has, accord- ing to current rumor, spent some £10,000 during the last three years in getting royalist and reli- gious tracts spread about the rural districts, MM, DEPBYRK AND DESSELLEIGNY AND VICE ADMIRAL DOMPIERRE D'HORNOY are the three silent members of the Cabinet—men who are no speechmakers, und might glide out of the Ministry just as they have slipped into it, with- out exciting any public comment. M., Depeyre, who Lolds the Department of Justice and Public Worship, is M. de Broglie’s henchman, and will obey the Premier in all things blindly. Heis a learned but not eloquent barrister, who has passed much of his professional life pleading cases in which clergymen or clerical corporations were in- volved. He 18 a good authority on ecclesiastical law, and 1s, indeea, so thoroughly impregnated with church views that he will appoint no judges who are not in good odor with their diocesan bishops. It was he who was put up by the Right and Right Centre to move the seven years’ Presidency scheme; but he was heard de- claring aloud in the lobbies tnat he looked upon MacMahon as a dummy, who was to mount guard over the throne until it were possible to put Henri V. on it. M. Desselleigny, Minister of Public Works, is son-in-law of M. Schneider, the owner of the great Creuzot foundry, and he follows the lead of M. Magne. In religion he ts tolerant; but, like M, Magne, he would rather abet the plans of the Catholic clergy than run tne risks of quarrelling with them. As to Vice Admiral Dompierre d’Hor- noy, he is a sailor, a strong Papist and a Bre- ton, which says enough. Bretons are obstinate and Papist sailors are generally much keener in their faith than other men. The Marine Minister draws no line of difference between an atheist and @ Protestant, and he makes no secret of his an- tipatny for Jews, He came into office on the 24th May last, and has already vexed the minds of French midshipmen and ship boys by ordering that they shall go to contession at least once a month. THE POLICY OF THE CABINET. Such are the ten Ministers who hold the destinies of France at present in their keeping, and their policy may be summed up inthe old words ultramontane-Cxsarism. They are panic striken men whose brains were fairly unsettied by the extravagances and godless impieties of the Com- mune, and they believe they have a mission to restore “moral order,” which is their phrase for clerical and military ascendancy. They hate republicanism of every shade because they believe that moderate republicans will always be domi- neered over by the radicals, and, be the hazards what they may, they will endeavor to crush it. If they were wise in their generation they would see that republicanism is nota thing that can be stamped out by penal edicts, and they would apply themselves to crippling the power of the radicals by giving France all the reasonable liberties for which the radicals are agitating. But they are comparatively ignorant men, who know noth- ing about the philosophy of politics and can see but little ahead of them. If they can manage by dint of reactionary legislation, sword and priest rule, to keep France quiet for a season, they will flatter themselves with the belief that she will bide always tranquil, and in a few years from this time they will probably be standing in the same position as the man who, alter carefully blocking up all the apertures of nis kettle, was much pained and as- tonisned to see it explode. A Modern French Romance—A Fatal French Ducl—Prince Soutzo and Prince Ghika—W hat Comes of Tale-Bearing. Panis, Dec, 5, 1873. Paris has been thrown !"to @ state of some ex- citement by a duel between two Roumarian princes, well known inal! the circles of high life. ‘They are Prince Soutzo and Prince Nicholas Ghika, and the great “sensation” of the duel lies in the fact that the vanquisher has not simply pinked is adversary, but slain him outright. It is not often that fatal duel takes place in France, for combatants are generally prudent enough to fight with foils, and content themselves with scratching each other in the arm or across the chest. Firearms are only resorted to when the parties are desperately in earnest; but, generally speaking, Frenchmen fight only that they may be able to boast ofthe matter alterwards, and aman who wants to boast naturally avoids such unaccommodating weapons as pistols. Of tne many duels that have occurred on French soil dur- ing the last 40 years but half a dozen have termin- ated tragically, and all these have been fougnt in an un-Frenchmanlike way, with gunpowder. M, Emile de Girardin killed the journalist Armand Carrel in 1836 with a pistol; Marsha! Bugeaud simt- larly put an end to the life of Count Dulong; a few years ago the Duke de Montpensier shot Don En- rique de Bourbon in the suburbs of Madrid, and some months since an American, Mr. Appleton, shot the banker M. Ritter. All these were grim duels; but that between the two Roumanian princes was flercer than any of them, for it was ar- ranged that the antagonists should exchange four shots and be stationed but 20 steps apart, with leave to march upon each other alter the signal had been given. The causes that led to the duel are very romantic. PRINCE SOUTZO is descended from a family who had ruled over Wallachia. He is a dark, handsome nobleman, 35 years of age, and spent some years as an officer in the French army. He is very rich, and, on resign- ing his commission, married a beautiful Rou- manian lady, with whom he lived happily five years. Unfortunately some estrangement arose between the Prince and his wife. Some say the lady was in the wrong, others aver that the Prince’s love of dissipation was the motive of it; but, in any case, the breach went on widening, and about a month ago Princess Soutzo announced her intention of petitiouing for a divorce in the law court of Bucharest. The Prince chafed at the pros- pect of seeing a family scandal made public, and he was the more incensed from suspecting that his wife intended to remarry as soon as the divorce was granted. He wished to know the name of his rival, but could not find out. He set private detectives to watch his wife’s residence ; but they could bring him no news of any visitors excepting the Princess’ brother and uncles. On Sunday, the 23d inst., however, a friend of Prince Soutzo accosted him at the club of the Rue Royale and said, with more familiarity than good taste, “Shall I tell you whom the Princess means to marry ?”” “Who is it ? mauired the Prince, eagerly. “Why, Vil wager it’s that smart young countryman of yours, Nicholas Ghika.”’ Now, there has always been a feud between the families of Soutzo and Ghika, PRINCE NICHOLAS GHIKA was a young man of four and twenty, He, too, was descended from a house of Wallachian hos- podars, and, like Prince Soutzo, had been edu- cated in France. He was rich, mtelligent and well loved by all who knew him; but there seems to have been no real foundation for the statement that he thought of marrying the Princess Soutzo. Prince Soutzo, however, believed the report, and determined instantly on taking vengeance. The Soutzos and Ghikas have hated each other plously ever since their an- cestors fought about the Wallachian throne in the last century, and, though thelr enmity has been kept within bounds by the nsages of civilized lite it added double bitterness to Prince Soutzo’s rage to hear that the man who had supplanted him in his wife's affections was a scion of the house towards which he harbored an hereditary and un- quenchable loathing. On Monday, the 24th, Prince Soutzo went in his brougham to the house of Priace Ghika, and LAY IN AMBUSH FOR HIS ENEMY, Te waited three hours in bis carriage till Prince Ghiga returned; then rushing upon him as he was About to enter the house struck him savagely and repeatedly in the face with a stick, making blood flow in torrents, Footmen separated the aggressor and his victim: and, a couple of hours afterwarda, Prince Ghika’s seconds, who were his own brother from its disasters to take the field again. He is an ‘donest man; but, Uke gil solders whgse minds | mya Prince Souwo wo demand satisiaction, (Prince Gregory Ghika) and M. Cortazai waited Prince Soutzo’s seconds appointed a meeting tor the morrow in the forest of Foutainbleau, and Prince Ghika, never having handled a foil, selected pistols as his weapon, He seems to have foreseen that his fate was sealed, for he knew Prince Soutzo to be a first rate shot, and accordingly he wrote at once to several tradesmen to countermand some orders he had given, On the morrow at early morning the two Princes met at one of the most picturesque parts of the forest of Fontainbieau, called Belle Croix. It was a bright morning, far too bright for such murderous work a3 pistolry, and it would have been well if the two enemies could have drawn a moral from the frisky face of nature and have reconciled their differences then and there forever. But they were both athirst for vengeance, ‘The double-barrelled pistols were loaded, and each of the Princes received a pair ofthem, Then M. Cortazzi let fall a handkerchief and both fired instantaneously. Prince Ghika’s ball went whistling through the trees, but Prince Soutzo’s struck his adversary in the side, passed through the intestines and perforated the bladder, causing him to fail, uttering groans of pain. The duel perforce ceased then without another shot being fired, Prince Ghika was carried to a neigh- boring inn, aud three hours afterwards expired, delirious from suifering. Prince Soutzo took to flight, and is now, it is said, across the French frontier, though he would have incurred nothing but a few weeks’ imprisonment by giving himself up to the police, for the French are very indulgent in duelling matters, Now, what shall we say of this absurd but unhappy duel, which arose from the light chattering of a senseless friend ? It is the old story, and Prince Soutzo will possibly say to his life’s end, “Heaven save me irom talebearers."’ french Trade and Tradesmen—Dicu! Que le Commerce Va Mal—The Nice- ties ot Voder. Panis, Dec. 6, 1873, One of the phrases most frequently heard in Paris during the past year has been, “Dieu, que le com- merce va mat! and, if the bankruptcy returns offer any criterion, French trade has certainly been going very amiss indeed. But it always does go amiss when political parties are wrangling hotly, so there is nothing new in the present cry, Old Parisians can remember to have heard it any number of times witnin the past 20 years. It springs up in the wake of every Cabinet crisis, talk of revolution, or rumor of war. It does not wait until these caiamities have become facts; it forestalis them, and when @ war or revolution actually breaks out, it may be said that the Paris- ian tradesman has discounted the ruin of such events long beforehand. Of course, this must be the case more or less with the tradesmen of every country to whom peace is ever a gain and public disturbance a loss; but no merchant or tradesman is so painfully dependent on tranquility as the Frenchman, and this for reasons which it may tn- terest the American reader to examine. FRENCH RENTIER. When you hear that English trade is brisk it gen- erally means that the wealthy classes of Britain are making a liberal expenditure of their money; when French trade is brisk tt signifies that all classes of the community are living above their in- comes. The love of luxuries and of appearances has acquired such enormous developments in France that French trade is based no longer, as in most other conntries, on the national fortune, but on the general manta for ostentation; in other words, onthe national vanity. Frenchmen are for the most part poor, and are becoming poorer every day. While tne sol of Great Britain is divided among no more than 35,000 proprietors, that of France is parcelled out among 9,000,000 owners, and as primogeniture is banned both by law and custom, every increase in the population adds to the excessive subdivision of land, and diminishes the few large estates still existing. It is true that the population increases but slowly, yet 1t does in- crease, and the fruit of this increase is the small rentier, a style of man to be found in no other country, save exceptionally, The rentier is generally a man who has just enough to live on without working. Before the great Revolution he was hardly known, for Frenchmen of property left the balk of their estates to their eldest sons and sent out the others to make their fortunes where they could. In those days the French had colonies. The surplus of their popula- tions sailed of to found such States as Louisiana and Canada; to conquer Martinique, Guadeloupe and the Mauritius, or to battle for empire in India, under such chiefs as vupletx or Lally-Tollendal, against the English. But nowadays the younger French son, who inherits as much as the elder, sees no reason for emigrating. So long as he has enough to live on in decent ease he prefers staying at home to running the risks of foreign adventure. To him it matters little whether the French name dies out over three-quarters of the globe lor want of colonists; andit would be strange if it did, for” emigrants have seldom been driven by sentiments, but by necessity. Ifthe French rentier can eke out his small income by a salary in one of the innumer- able government posts he 1egards himself as a prosperous man, and all that remains for him to do is to look out for a wife having just as much or as little property as himself, and to begin living forthwith as if his income were twice what it really is. FRENCH THRIFT. We hear a great deal about French thrift, and the quality certamly exists, but under a peculiar 1orm. Up and down the social tadder French men and women are constanly pinching themselves out of the necessities of life in order to buy showy lux- uries. They will eat inferior meat so as to go to the theatre, and send their children to cheap and unsatisfactory schools in order to run a carriage. They will save money, too, for the purpose of gambling on ’Change with debenture bonds, bear- ing 10 per cent interest, and if these bonds turn out tobe worth less than the paper on which they are printed, the owners of these bills none the less declare themselves to be capitalists and be re- puted so by their acquaintainces, Fathom a Frenchman’s fortune and you will always find a shifty ground of weedy scrip; for the point is not to get stocks and shares which bring small, though steady, returns, but to obtain possession of a class of paper which looks valuable, and may, possibly, by some miracle, prove so in the end. Everywhere the straining after effect 1s discernible. The smail employé, the struggiing professional man, the me- chanic, all try to look and live iike the few men who have really big incomes, and tn proportion as these big incomes break up and get disseminated, we have a gradual diminution in the number of those who are still so content to seem what they actually are; that is, needy workingmen. In fact, the fortunes of Frenchmen are fast tending to a general level of mediocrity; while on the otner hand the taste for luxuries, which should properly belong to the rich, remains universal and ail absorbing. Now, to meet this taste, all sorts of trades are kept in activity—trades in sham jewelry, furs, sham works of art, pinchbeck furni- ture, imitation marbles, third rate silks—tn fact, the thousand trades which fli the markets with what the French themselves call camelote and Ameri- | cans shoddy. French trade has been rapidly de- preciating for some years past into tie production of little else but shoddy, and when the political heavens are still and Frenchmen feel they can dance and disport themselves in all security, then the shoddy trade becomes a roaring trade. But after a short space of time, which may vary from | two years to five—but never exceeds this limit— | the whole pation get to feei that they have been going the pace too fast; and then the first political cloud is eagerly seized upon as a pretext for retrenching. cases buta mere pretext. People are not really concerned about the politicai troubles which may be impending, but they are delighted to find an excuse for suutting up their drawing rooms, ceas- ing to give dinners, and ceasing to dress them selves In expensive but trumpery gewgaws. Tuey say, “It is Impossible to buy anything, even so much as @ bonnet or an arm chair, while a revolu- tion may overtake us at any moment,” and the per- son appealed to answers, “Quite impossible.’ So that by degrees the cry spreads over the land, “Itis quite impossible to buy anything—quite impos- sible,’ and the shoddy trades get so depressed that shopkeepers troop off to the Bankruptey Court by the thousands, and commerce ts “said to be In @ complete stagnation. Meanwhile the nation saves up a iittle, and prepares for a fresh burst of extravagance. The stagnation cry haa nqw lasted . Strong upon 16 houses partially erected jor Grant. It 1s in most | two years, and it is probable tnat beiore long peo ple will agree that MacMahon is firmly seated enough to admit of everybody recommencing those high jinks for which the Second Empire was specially !amous, It would be quite anprecedented ifthe French people were to allow the shoddy trade to stagnate for more tham two yearsat @ time, for the entire country would become melan- ehoty. WASHINGTON. WasHINoTON, Dec, 25, 1873. Losses nm Washington by the Failure of Jay Cooke & Co. The publication in the HexaLp of yesterday of the names of the creditors o! Jay Cooke & Co. cre- ated a lively sensation in this city. During the war, when 4 quartermaster was unable to settle his property account, he balanced his deficiencies by the convenient credit of ‘lost in battle,” and so, for the last three months, the failure of the Buchu bankers has been often the apology for the non- payment of debts. Clerks in the departments and others, WhO Were never Known to have acenton depositin any bank, met importuning creditors with the ready answer that the failure had lett them penniless, and they would have to walt until some arrangement could be made by the bank to meet its Mabilitics, many, of course, thought the excuse was a mere pretence, While some really believed it, and, with an expression of regret for the loss sustained, were not willing, under the circumstances, to press their claims. The publication in the HyRALD showed who were the bond fide losers, and the paper Was eagerly sought after as a sort of detec- tive list to prevent any further attempt at fraud in this manner, ‘The supply last night was soon exhausted at the newspaper stands, and then the copies were passed from hand to hand until some of them were quite worn out by this usage. Aside from the seeking to find who had been unjustly claiming to be depositors, there was a curiosity to jsee who were the victims, and many and varied were the comments made on the exposé of the Washington creditors. It was noticed that President Grant had to his credit, as treasurer, probably, of the Rawlins fund, $233. His private secretary, Levi P. Luckey, with the good fortune of his name, had but two cents as his balance. Admiral Rowan, of the New York Navy Yard, goes to leeward in the sum of nearly $4,000; and Old Probabilities, who, though weather wise, forgot to watch the financial signals, had some $1,800 swept away by the storm. General Poe, of the Engineer Corps, sunk $4,600, Paymaster General Alvord is down at $1,034. Among the Congressmen the larger losers are Representatives Kendall, of Nevada, tn the sum of $2,050, ana Hereford, of West Virginia, $2,500, Zack Chandier has but $234 agaist him, a sum so small that he has probably forgotten it. J. C. Fremont, as a pathfinder, will have to searen up the way by which has gone the $43 belonging to him, and the humble janitor of the HERALD Bureau mourns the serious amount of $600 of his savings, imperilled d:most beyond a hope of rescue. So much for Buchu. What has been a subject ol sad comment is the number of smaller depositors, and tus grew out of the general con- fidence in the stability of the bank. The losses are more keenly felt in this community because they fall mainly on those who can least aiford them, Government Employes to Ask from Congress Pay for Extra Hours of Labor. Representatives of the workingmen throughout the country, who have arrived here, are combining to make a strong demonstration to Congress in order to procure legislation which will provide funds to pay the employés of the government ior the two hours daily in which they have worked beyond the eight hour limit prescribed by Congress, and which has been withheld from them by gov- ernment officials, before the positive construction ofthe law. The First Comptroller estimated that at least $500,000 would be required to meet these demands. Many of the claims have been assigned to an agent here, who proposes to take themin a batch to the Court of Claims, while others of them insist that Congress should give them the re- lief sought, Official Observance of Christmas. No business was transacted in any of the depart- ments to-day, which was kept as a holiday by everybody react witty the usual pont oPren ences: UNITED STATES ‘SUPREME COURT. Whitatey Dec. 25, 1873. No. 170. Grant vs. Strong—Appeal from the Su- | preme Court of the District of Columbia.—This was & proceeding to enforce a builder’s lien claimed by The builder refused to go on with the work be- cause, as alleged, he was not paid according to contract. A promissory note, which had been given him to apply on the account, was not made good at maturity, and he accordingly quit work and | sought to enforce his lien. The aecree below was in his favor, and the case ts appealed, Grant claim- ing that the lien cannot be enlorced because the pene has refused to perform his contract, and | hat as the note given him was negotiabie, re- ceived a8 payment under agreement, and he had transferred it, he could not claim not to be paid. Meloz and Miller for appellant; W. A. Cook tor appellee. No. 172, United States ex rel. Lewes et al. vs. Boutwell—Error to Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.—This was a proceeding in mandamus to compel the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the Choctaw nation of Indians $500,000, under the act of March, 1861, in pursuance of the treaty with them of June, 1855, The relators hold a draft drawn on Secretary Chase jor half of the sum, which was not honored, and which was subsequently presented jor Rveane under an act of March, 1871, authorizing the payment by the Secretary, as directed by the act of 1861. The Court below held that the Secretary could not be directed in this manner to perform an act which was wituin his oficial discretion, and that this act was within such discretion because the Secretary was called upon to ascertain the proper authorities of the Choctaw nation before he performed the official act of payment. It is here Maintained that the relators are the lawful holders of the draft drawn by the delegates of the nation, | and that the holder isthe proper party to receive the money, and that the act of Congress had recognized the ‘delegates’ as the authorized agents of the nation. These facts were conclusive of the right to the process asked, R.M. Corwine for the relator; ho appearance ior the Secretary. No, 173. Cooper vs. Omohmoro—Error to the Cir- eutt Court of Virginia.—This was an action to re- cover for work done in Cincinnati for Cooper's tes- tator, who lived in Virginia, under a contract made after the 26th of April, 1861. The defence was that the contract claimed was void, being made aiter the commencement of the war between citizens of Virginia and Ohio; thatif not void it Was executory, and was terminated by the war. It was also urged that if valid it | was too indefinite to be executed, and | that t any case no interest could be | recovered during the war. The Court ruied that the effect of war npon such contracts did not in- Valiaate them until after the act o! Coagress so declaring. It is here urged that war ad initio ter. minates all lawful intercourse between citizens of | the belligerent countries, and that such was its | effect in this case, although Congress had not so enacted. Messrs. J. M. Carlisle, J. D. McPherson and James Lyons for plamtit; W. W. Crump for defendant. No. 177, Allen et al, vs. Ferguson—Error to Circuit Court for Tennessee.—The question in this case is Whether the Court erred in sustaining a demurrer to a replication to the plea of discharge in bankruptcy, When the replication does not aver that a new promise relied on was made after the defendant was decreed a bankrupt, and not merely pending ms petition. The writ of error claims that tt was error, A. H. Garland lor piatntitls; Ciark ana Williams be. tune A SERIOUS “OUTTING AFFRAY, About four o'clock yesterday afternoon two col- | ored men entered the iquor store of Frank Fritz, | corner of Meserole and Lorimer streets, Wiiliams- burg, and, being under the elects of liquor, began quarreling. A man named Gustaye Menzhagar by some means became mixed up in the row, and Was badly cut about the bead and face with arazor, James ©, Gester, one of the colored men, Was ar- rested and locked up in the Stagg house; the otver, who is unknown, made his escape. Menzhagar’s wounds were dressed by Police Wargeen Lowenstein, FELL OVERBOARD, A tall man, dressed in “in dark Clothes, fell of she | ferry boat Farragut, just outside the Fulton ferry slip, at twenty minutes past seven o'clock last | lowed by increasing pressure, lower temperature | severe wounds. Walters was arrested by officers Street station | ng om natae s ret body M7 Het ise although patient search Waa made by the omleers Of the ferry company. ’ CUBA. Herald Special Report from Havana by Way of Key West. Condition of Affairs at Santiago—Hostile Fi ing and Insults to Americans—A Passenger Lost at Sea—The United States Flag Low- ered in Face of a Mob Demonstration. TELEGRAMS TO THE NEW YORK HERALD, “Kay Wesr, Dec. 25, 1873, The United States steamer Kansas, Commander Reed, arrived this afternoon direct from Santiago de Cuba, bringing news to the 21st inst. PUBLIC FEELING HOSTILA TO AMERICANS. Although there have been no further depreda- tions committed by the Volunteers since the de- livery of the prisoners the people are still rampant, and the air is filled with all sorts of threats, A Spanish lieutenant said in the hearing of an omMicer of the Kansas, **You have got the prisoners, but we have the American Consul.’” THE INSURRECTION. The American Consul at Santiago received ad- vices from the Consul at Manzanillo up to the 18th inst, The letter stated that a body of insurgents had been in the neighborhood of Manzanillo tor several days, and had stampeded anont 400 cattle, No inhuman atrocities were committed, A PASSENGER MISSING. The Consul also stated that Ralph Keeler, maga- zinist, who sailed from Santiago, on the 14th inst., for Batabana, was missing when the steamer reached Manzanillo, The Consul charges that he was thrown overboard, but the opinion of some is that he was tnsane, The Consul has his effects, THE FLRETS. Two English war vessels and the United States ship Canandaigua were still in Santiago when the Kansas left. THE UNITED STATES FLAG LOWERED. An outbreak was threatened on the 18th inst. When the American Consul displayed his fag on his hotel the citizens insisted that the hotel was not the consulate. , The flag was finally taken down. Effect of a Norther—Latest from Havana, Key West, Dec, 25, 1873. A gale from the northward has prevailed at Key West. The Despatch and Mayflower dragged their anchors, but after drifting around the harbor were finally secured, DEC, 25—Midnight, The steamer just arrived from Havana. It is repor bef East the city bad quiet this morning. WEATHER REPORT. EE a PAE Wark DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER, WASHINGTON, Dec. 26—1 A. M. Symopsis for the Past Twenty-four Hours, The storm, which was central off the Florida coast this morning, has moved northward, with heavy rain on the South Atlantic coast, the | area of lowest barometer being now cen- trai, near the coast of South Carolina; a second area of low barometer is now cen- tral in the upper lake region, and cloudy and threatening weather, with light to fresh southerly winds, are reported from the upper Mississippt Valley, and thence eastward over the Ohio Valley and the lake region; partly cloudy weavher, with light variable winds and with slight changes in pressure and temperature, prevailsin New England and the Middle States; clearing weather, with combined low temperature and northeasterly ‘wings prevails in the lower Mississipp! Valley ; the temperature remains above freezing in all the dis- tricts except in Northern New England and Min- nesota. Probabitities. For New England, cloudy and threatening weather and possibly rain or snow during Friday afternoon or evening. The temperature in this district will fall slightly, with increasing but va- riable winds. For THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATFS GENERALLY CLOUDY WEATHER, WITH RAIN OR SNOW, ESPECIALLY ON THE COAST, AND FRESH TO BRISK NORTHWESTERLY | TO NORTHEASTERLY WINDS, For the South Atlantic States brisk and fresh northwesterly to southwesterly winds, with con- tinued clondy weather and rain, followed by clear- ing weather in the afternoon or evening. For the lake region partly cloudy weather, with areas of snow and increasing southeasterly to | southwesterly winds. For the Ohio Valley and thence southward to Tennessee and southwestward to the Lower Missis- sippi Valley less cloudiness, with winds gradua.ly veering to westerly and with slight change of tem} perature and pressure. For the Upper Mississippi Valley clondy and threatening weather, with light rain or snow, fol- and clearing weather, For the canal regions of New York and Pennsyl- vania the temperature wil! rise slightly pest 3 the day. The Weather in This City Yesterday. The following record will show the changes in the | temperature for the past 24 hours in comparison with the corresponding aay of last year, as indi- cated by the thermometer at Hudnut's Pharmacy, | HeERaLD Building :— ie 18 1872, 1873. | 40 8:30 P. Mus... 14 oP. Average temperature Faivanaa . 36. Average temperature for corresponding date TASt YCAL.... reece eeeeee vee 10g STRUCK 02 ON | “A ROOK, The Steamboat Morrisania in Trouble. While the steamboat Morrisanta was on her seven o'clock trip last evening from Harlem to her slip at Fulton street she struck on one of the rocks in Hell Gate and received considerable damage, although not sufficient to necessitate her turning back. At the time of the accident no little con- sternation was occasioned among the passengers by come one of their number circulating the report | that the boat was sinking, Some 10 or 15 of them abandoned her in smali boats, which came along- side, and, landing on the New York shore, con- | tinued their journey in the Second avenue cars, DEATH OF MAJOR BD EDWARD WRIGHT, Ou caGo, Dec, 25, 1873, | Major Edward Wright, late paymaster United States Army, and one oj the oldest and wealthiest | citizens of Chicago, died suddenly last night ac his residence here, He was te Tather-in-law of Hor b. Peck. STABBING G AFFRAY, Richard Williams and Henry Walters engaged in | &@ fight last evening in the tenement house No, 156 | Forsyth street, duri hich Walters stabbed Wi- ams in the spine'with a pocketknife, inficting or the Tenth precine be DIED OP THEIR “INJURIES, Mrs, William Standeven, who. was run over on | } the Erie Ratiwav near the Straight street crossing at Paterson on Wednesday evening, and Edward Kirwin, one of the boys in the wagon which was struck by another train at the Cedar street cross: ng, died of their injuries op, Wednesday might. in- quests will be held to-day, SUICIDE FROM A PERRYBOAT. About seven o'clock tast evening, while the fer. ryboat Commodore Perry was lying in hex slip at the foot of Broadway, Williamsburg, aD. unknown man was seen to jump off the outer end of the » and before assistance could be rendered he 3 | | | r { was drowned, On account of the darkuess 00 de- Rorintign could be gat at the Mam. CARTAGENA, The Spanish Insurgent Stronghold Weakening Before the Republican Fire—Fatal Accident by Explosion. TELEGRAM T8 THE REW YORK: HERALD, Lonpvon, Dec, 26—3:30 A, M. Special despatches from Cartagena announce, that Fort San Julian, onv or the strongest defences of the city, has been breached, FATAL ACCIDENT AND DEATH AMONG THE BRSIBGERS. , An accidental explosion im the Ferfs! Battery ~ yesterday killed 20 ofMicers and men of the bestege ing force. NOT A HOMICIDE. On Sunday last George Schiner die@ in the celle’ at Bellevue Hospital, and previous to hts admission‘ it was alleged he had been beaten on the bead and’ face with an axe in the hands of his son, both of Whom lived at No. 535 West Fifty-seventh street. A> post-mortem examination on the body showed* that death resulted {rom alcoholism and not from violence. Coroner Young was notified. THE WEEKLY HERALD, The Cheapest and Best Newspaper in the’ Country. The WEEKLY HERALD of the present week; now ready, contains @ Select Story, entitled “Just in Time,” together with the very Lutest News by telegraph from All Parts of the World up te the hour of publication; the Proceedings of the Genet Trial and the Particulars of the Prisoner's Escape; A Ghastly Mystery; Ex-Mayor Hall’s Triat; the Mordecai-McCarty Duel; Flight of the Ringttes. It also contains the Latest News by Telegraph from Washington; the Fashions; Sporting Intelligence; Obituary ; Religious ; Editorial Articles’on the promt- nent topics of the day; Our Agricultural Budget; Re views of the Cattle, Horse and Dry Goods Markets; Financial and Commercial Intelligence, and Ac- counts of all the Important and Interesting Events of the Week. TERMS:—Single subscription, 25 25 three copies, $5; tive copies, $8; ten copies, $15; single coptes, - fivecents each. A limited number of Advertise- ments inserted in the WEEKLY HERALD. Diced. Scuniy.—Suddenly, on Thursday, December 25, at three o’clock A. M., BRIDGET ScULLY, danghter of John Scully, of Tooman, county Leitrim, Ire- land, in the 20th year of her age. Relatives and friends of the family are respect- fujly invited to atiend the funeral, on Saturday, 27th inst., at one o'clock, trom the residence of her cousing, Patrick and Cornelius Bohan, 551 West Forty-fourth street, without further notice; thence to Calvary Cemetory tor interment. Dublin Weekly News piease copy. [For Other Deaths See SeNenth Page. To Trifle with a Cough Is to Invite consumption, bronchitis or abacese of the feat @ cough with HALE'S HONEY OF HO! HOUND AND TAR is to avert all dan: PIKE'S TOOTHACHE DLOPS cure in one minute. The Weekly Herala contains ail the news. Only $2 per year. Tho only Weekly Newspaper in America, Published every Thursday morning. Contains the most reliable reports of AGRICULTURE, rn SPORTING, ans, ~GossiP, “PASHIONS, “MARKETS, “CATTLE, “Horse, FINANCIAL, DRY GOODS, RELIGIOUS, ec, #0 Also THE BEST STORY PAPER. Liberal arrangements to clu of ten or twenty or more subscribers, Address NEW YORK HERALD, bee New York City. A.—Espenscheid Excels in His Holida: style for 1874. Moulded with exquisite taste and skill, brings out the best expression of the face, asa fine se gives new lustre to the diamond; and, mark! very rea- sonable in price, Try them, at 118 Nassau street. A.—The Old Fashioned Steel and Heep Trusses The ELASTIC TRUSS, Broadway, is patronized by government for soldiers, Sailors, &c. Highest medals at New York and Cincin- nati fairs. A.—Herald Branch Office, corner Fniton avenne and Boerum street. Open from 4 A. M. to9 P. M. On Sunday froin 3 Ask for Goodall e and cheapest Domestic PLAYING CARDS. Beautiful new patterns, Sold everywhere. Brooklyn, A Pure and Delicious Smoking Tobacee is SURBRUG'S GOLDEN SCEPTRE, A.—Furs for the Wire or Daughter and and or gon are useful holiday gifts, and tageously procured at, either of the So Hores, No. #12 Broadway, in the Prescott Houser ad th Avenne Hotei, Call early and anticipate the olidays. A.—Weleome the Virginius and Buy your, ATS for the gentlemen ‘These are appropriate A. for the holi- th useiul and ornamental, UN'S) stores are vay the Prescott House and Fifth ORS tor lady friends and Instant Anakesis Gives Relief ita Piles. Sold by all druggists. Depot, 46 Walker street. —If You Wish the et BAKER'S. Baker's Chocolat best VANILLA CHOCOLA is onsily he it vou | will insist.on your i grocer turnigh . BAKER & CO.'s FAST ¢ bette lye Hair Dye Is Splendid— fablished 37. years. Sold and property O'S Wig Factory, 16 Bond st, N. Ye adoro’s Hair Dye Is, by Far, the alwi perfectly harmless and re. Cri: best ex : true to nature Dunville & Co.—vhe Irish Distillertes, Belfast, Ireland, are the RATAtt holders of Whiskey im the worl clr OLD TRIsH WHISKEY ts recommend. ed by th Jical profession in pre‘erence to French: brandy. Supphed ty casks or cases, United States w York. Branch, 51 Broad stree Extra Dry Cabinet o MOET | C HANDON ACKER, MEREALL & CONDIT'S, bi ambers street, and nd street and Broadway. very Mother Who Regards the Life healin of her child should possess Mrs, WINSLOW'S SOOTHING SYRUP. It old and weil tried remedy. relieves the child from pain. softens the gums, reduced inflammation, cures wind colle, regulates the stomach and bowels, and, by giving rest'and heaith to the child, comorts the mother. Pomeroy & sell for $3 the best igs, Toupees.=G. Rauc cal WIG AND TOUPEE MAKER, near Bro 50+, 744 Broadway, N. Yo BLASTIC TRUSS" ever invented. fase, Practt« Kast Twelfth street, NEW PUBLIC! ATIONS. Hy MODEL LE TTER.—THE “AR! OF CORRE- spondence. as tauzht bY a professor of English litera malled va receipt of 29 cents. "Address WELLLAM 303 Ms rooklyn ison street, HE PHRENOLOGICAL JOURNAL is a first class monthly, dey ed 10 science, Iiterature, and general ligence, Inciuding physiology, r\valogn- omy, paycholozy, and to'all t i lated to improve mankind 3th, be- With present Number, attd coptains much whigh wh fiterest all readers. There are portraits, with biograp of the “Good and Great,” “Expression in Mam ‘lh in, Animals,” “Two Sides ot vish Wakes,” © to eds of the, Human Boay Mound bidders, Senne now, W fork. eXas, ; $30 year. ‘oad, t 339 Broad way. eithtt #0, “H op Al ” Ve Yat" in py e nee, h ‘works on Parensiogy ae mt teaishy ‘he. suppliot om “OF HEALIN, $2 a year. New volunves ee open evenings. TO $100 IN WALL STREET OFTEN LEADS CO Mes, OP FARENOWOGIGAL. JOURNAL, $3'a year, o Thirt # (Or TENTS, ean. Baakers aul Urakere. ce) $10 f