The New York Herald Newspaper, January 23, 1874, Page 3

WASHINGTON. Investigation of the Treasury De- partment Abuses. Squandering of Money Under Cover of Syndicate Expenses. THE FINANCIAL FIGHT. Boutwell Battling with the Eager Expansionists. Prospect of a. Postal Treaty with France. Probable Presidential Recommendation of a New Election in Louisiana, The Republicans Under Pinch- back’s Terrorism. WASHINOTON, Jan. 22, 1874. Pinehback Exereising Terrorism Over the Republicans=Exposure of the Louisiana History the Doom of the Party—A New Election Likely To Be Ordered. It is stated, on authority, that the President will, on Monday next, send to Congress # Special message recommending that a new election be ordered in Louisiana. The ground on which this message will be based ts said to be recent developments arising out of confessions of Pinehback, who declares that he will contest his seat in the Senate until it becomes @ scandal to the republican party. The argument which prevailed with the ma- jority of the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections last session against recognizing the Kellogg government in Louisiana is renewed with such force now that the entire com- mittee is of opinion that such @ course 4 necessary. The dilemma is exceedingly Bwkward for the republican party, and brings into bold relief the President's recent declaration in regard to political monstrosities, I “begin to think that it 18 time for the republican party to unload.” Now, the object of a new elec- tion in Louisiana is to avoid the exposure of dam- aging testimony which would be fatal to the repuDlican party at vhe next Congressional elections. Pinchback declares that if a new elec- tion is not ordered his friends will urge the Senate to admit him upon his credentials as prima racte svidence that he is entitled to his seat. This the Senate cannot afford to do, as the admission would be immediately Tollowed by an investigation into the character of finchback and the manner in which he secured his,g@lection, and this would involve the Kel- foge"@evernment and clearly establish the fact that the {nterlerence of the ad- Ministration, the instructions irom the At- ‘orney General to Marshal Packara to en- force the orders of Judge Durell, the concentration wf United States troops in Louisiana was without the slightest justifiable excuse at the time, oo that unseating vinchback would expose she manner in which this monstrosity has been gourished by the administration. The object of she new election 18 to cover up these facts, and, if erdered, the coniession of guilt on the vart of the administration ig not one whit she less. If defeated, then, Pinchback may be said to hola the destiny of the republican party ip his power, as he knows all and more than prominent officials, even reaching into the Cab- ‘net, would care to have exposed. The Presiaent to-day saw Senator Carpenter and Generat Butler on the subject of a new elec- tion, And read the bill prepared ordering a new Wlection, vo follow his special message. The At- torney General very naturally opposes a new elec- tion, but cannot persuade the President to his news. The whole trouble, the President declares, rows out of his following the advice of the Attor- ley General, and he is determined now to direct matters himself, Senator Cameron says the Presi- tent is getting very obstinate, and the Pinchback matter ought to have veen settled long ago. He fices not agree with his proposed action, and will oppose it in the Senate. Modoc War Claims. Representative Luttrell succeeded to-day in dis- tevering at one of the pubiic offices vouchers to tbe amount of more than $73,000 belonging to citi- eas Of North California and Oregon, who had tur- nished supplies to the army during the Modoc war. These vouchers ought to have been received here wx months ago. Checks will now be transmitted tothe parties interested, through Quartermasier Batchelder, payable by the United States Treas- urer at San Francisco, Other vouchers are still @ussing, but Luttrell is in search of them, AMegal Use of Public Money Under Cover ¢f Syndicate Expenses—How Pleasure Trips of Treasury Employes Have Been Paid For—Cost of Producing Green- Wacks. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Chief of the Warrant Division appeared beiore the House Dommittee on Appropriations this morning for the purpose Of making some explanation on the sub- ject of the permanent indetinite appropriation for the expenses of the national loan. This pro- Wides one per cent of the amount of legal tender Rows, fractional currency and other securities issued during each fiscal year to meet the expenses ofthe reissue, transfer, delivery, reduction and neatruction of the same. The amount of this fund ds nearly $3,000.000, and, as the committee have iscovered, it has been used in the maintenance of tle Bureau ‘of Engraving and Printing, with 1,000 employés, of whom no record f» ever printed, and for defraying the expenses of officials and clerks visiting Europe uncer various pretexts. The committee interro- gated the Secretary very closely, and, as it ap- peated, greatly to his discomfiture and confasion, he Secretary went on to explain the necessity of this fund and the impracticability of providing in ‘ny ether manner for the character of expendi- suresincluded under it, The committee informed tne Secretary that that being the case they would Nike tc have details snowing how the money had been spent. This unpalatable request was dodged by the Secretary, who stated, in reply, that it ‘would take at least three months to make out the desited papers, and he presumed that would be too tate. The committee responded that they could @ot believe that is would require any such time, and gave the Secretary to under- wtan¢ «that if the information was not sentip, and that in reasonable time, they would take other measures to procure it. The commit- tee are satisfied that the greatest abuses have Deen perpetrated under this tund, and will sift the matt to the bottom, These despatches have sirealy given in what manner the abuse has been committed. The committee also asked the Secre- ‘ary ander what authority the large number of tlerki of the department had been sent abroad, and sso how the expenses of his own journey were paid. He stated that all were paid by the syndicate, The committee then asked where the syndicate received their funds. The Secretary re- plied that they were allowed one-half per yyent out of the fund for the payment w the expenses of the national loan. This reply caused the committee consid. srable amusement, as it exposed the subterige M the Secretary when he stated that the expenses were paid by the syndicate, What he said was ‘rue; but the money in reality came out of the mysterious fund. The committee have agreed to NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 1874.—TRIPLE SHEET. penses of the national loan other than the irrespon- sible system now in vogue. Nothwithstanding the strenuous Opposition of the Secretary the commit- tee will report @ bill requiring a regular estimate Of the amount required, and a specific appropria- tion will be made, the same as for any other ex- penditure. They will also require a statement of items. This will put an end to clerical pleasure excursions and other illegal uses of the people's money. Boutwell in the Senate On the Counter Policies of Expansion and Contrae- tion—The Inflationists Hard Pressed. The more important: actions of the Senate dur- ing the morning hour were the presentation of a vill by Mr. Anthony, from the Committee on Print- ing, prombiting hereafter the puvtication of any speech in the Congressional Record not actually delivered In either house of Vongress, and a reso- lotion from Mr. Sherman instructing the Com- mittee on Public Buildings and Grounds to in- quire into the expediency of suspending the ap- vropriations for all public works not actually com- menced and of turning the Same into the Treasury, which was passed. ‘The anfinished business on the subject of the finances was then calied up, when Mr. Boutwell‘roge to discuss the question. Ashe had been Secretary of the Treasury for four years and had experienced many of the trying hours of the department in the adjustment of fipancial matters, Senators and the country natur- ally looked forward to the occasion when this chief, distinguished as well in the management of financial as political difficulties, would take his place to give the country the benefit of his ex- perience and aid m asmsting to extricate its affairs from the humiliating dilemma mto which they have fallen. But suffice tt to say that so far as a well prepared, finished and thorough bandling of the financial question was concerned, which might go on record as an example of lofty, com- prehensive and scientific financial disquisition, eitner owing to the want of preparation or » modest disregard of the opportunity to distinguish himself on this important occasion, truth demands that it be said of him that in general estimation he fell far short of what was expected of him, He showed a full knowledge of the events which had transpired in the Treasury Department; yet in the minds of the financial savans ne did not write himself down to-day a8 a political economist. Of course, he ploughed through opposing considerations with the prow Of a Boston clipper, and aiter retorting upon Schurz for his accusation of “the do-nothing policy,” while be denied it and in a measure argued it away, still the burden of his song showed that he barely avoided the reasonable ground for the soft impeachment. He did not want any new policy tried, He thongbht the old way of working finances good enough; was opposed to infla- tion and contraction; went throngh the history of the New York stock market and the speculators generally, blaming them for everything, and potted to New York as the Pivotal centre of the panic and the headquarters of financial inflation, He glanced at all the plans proposed for relief im @ discursive way and gave a full financial history of the workings of panics from bis standpoint. He referred to the influence of panics on workingmen, who were the persons Teally deserving of sympathy; said there were three classes, the debtor, the vreaitor, and the simultaneously debtor and creditor—classes all of whose nights were to be respected; and no legisia- tion having for its object either inflation or ex- pansion could be had without injury to them in the changing of values. He sustained Secretary Ricvardson’s action in regard to the use of the $44,000,000 reserve, saying he did in regard to it what the Bank of England had done for the British people, He passed such a eulogy on the British Empire that one would sup- pose he had forgotten the Boston Harbor tea fight, and bis mental perception seemed to have been badly affected by looking out on Boston Common through those large panes of English glass which adorn the aouble windows of BeacOn street. Per- haps he forgot his ancestors and took other than Yankee views of British greatness. At the close of Mr. Boutwell’s speech, for." *b be was con- gratuiated by many Senators, notably Morton, the Senate adjourned. The expanstonists are of good cheer, though some of their namber are exposed to heavy fire. To-morrow will probably end the present part of the contest. Propositions by Secretary Richardson for the Better Regulation of the Cus: toms Service. The Secretary of the Treasury has written a let- ter to Senator Chandler, chairman o1 the Senate Committee on Commerce, stating, by invitation of that committee, his views on the subjects covered by Senator Fenton’s bill to regulate the customs service, and the disposition of fines, penalties and forfeitures. Secretary Richardson goes into an ex- tenaed discussion of these ana collateral subjects, and recommends the following measures :— First—A revision and consolidation of the Tariff acts. Second—The substitution, as far as practicable, of specific in lieu of ad valorem duties, Third—The abolition of the present system of moieties, with one exception, to wit:—“That where attempts at sma; wy are detected, or Where the act of smuggling is accomplished and the goods are afterwards seized, the seizing officer or Officers, and the informer or informers, if any, shall be entitled, in equal parts, to one-tenth of the net proceeds; or, if there be no informer, the selz- ing oe be entitled to the whole of such one- tenth. Fourth—That provision be made for a special fand, to be applied, under suitable restrictions, to the compensation of private persons affording in- formation, which shall enable the government to detect and punish frauds upon the customs rev- enue other than those involved in actual or at- tempted smuggling. Fijth—-That the law autnorizing the seizure of books and papers be so amended as to afford due protection to the rights of private parties, Sixth—That no compromise of any fine, penalty or forfeiture a avi ion of the Navi- gation or Customs Revenue laws shall be lawful ‘until alter a judicial investigation of the facta, Seventh—That the compensation of customs of- ficers be graded in accordance with the import- ance and responsibility of the respective posi- tions, Mr, Ferry’s Bill for Free Banking, Ex- pansion and Redemption of Fractional Currency With Silver. ‘The original resolution to relieve the monetary stringency, introduced in the Senate by Mr. Ferry, of Michigan, provides for free banking, increasing the circulation to ¢800,000,000, exclusive of frac tional currency; providing for the issue of bonds bearing interest at the rate of 3.6 per cent; the subtitution of United States currency for na- tional currency; the reissue of the whole forty- four million reserve, and the withdrawal of the iractional currency by redeeming it with silver coin, Mr. Ferry, for the purpose of obtaining a vote on the question of increasing the currency alone, in order to relieve the pressing wants of business, has watved the remainder of his resolu- tion; but, as soon as the question of increase is disposed of, he will press to @ vote the other pro- visions of the resolution. Postal Relations with France—Prospect ofan Equitable Treaty at Last. Quite a stir was created this morning in diplo- matic circles on reception of the cable despatch Stating that Bismarck had senta note by which he holds the French government accountable for the violence of the ultramontane press in France. The non-arrival as yet of the coming French Minis- ter, M. Bartholdi, was not calculated to allay anxiety, for no reliable information could be ob- tained on the subject. The Marquis of Noailles is busy, indeed, with his preparations for departure, and the other Marquis, M. De Clermont Tonnerre, Second Secretary of the Legation, has not yet taken charge of it. At any rate it was not to be expected, under the circumstances, that either of them should have received any spe- cial instructions from Duke Decazes, Still, notwithstanding these prima Jacie motives for anxiety, fears relative to impending troubles between France and Germany did not, upon re- flection, hold in the minds of the diplomates, who know how really liberal are the proclivities of the Duke Decazes, and who remember the recent tele- grams which afforded an ample proof of his liber- alism by stating his friendly assurances toward Italy and of the suspension of 1’ Univers, the chief organ of ultramontanism in France, Late de. Spatches, received here privately and relative toa renewal of negotiations for @ postal treaty be- tween France and the United States, bore another evidence of the strong resolution of the present make tome urovisiong for the_naumani al phe Os, Escnch Minigtes of Maraiay ““hita to clear out any standing difficulties with any nation and to cultivate tne strongest irienastup with the Worla at large, Germany included, Very soon alter the attenuon of Duke Decazes had been called to the anti-political and anti-commercial course pursued by preceding French Cabinets in the matter of @ postal treaty with the United States, he put himself to work. He ascertained, through the heads of the French Post Office, that the postal convention known under the name of the Paris Treaty, and fixing at eight cents, or forty centimes, letter postage, was as much equitable, just and productive for France as for the United States, Twice that convention, discussed with much care and ability by Minister Washburne and competent French authorities, which had been on the very eve of conclusion, was refased and broken down by preceding Mtuisters of Finance. On the 3d inst, the Duke De- cazes asked Our Minister at Paris to ascertain whether the American government would be will- ing to renew the postal negotiations. Mr. Wash- burne understood that be had now to deal with a Teahy bona Ade and intelligently liberal person, who was anxious to come to aconclusion, and not to leave the handling of the subject to any of his foreign agents. Our Minister has asked for new in- structions irom the home government, and though Postmaster General Creswell is been troubled about the many postponements, he is understood to be wiliing to receive again with a favorable ear the new proposals so )iberally made .by the Duke Decazes, in the interest both of the United States and of France, The Proposed New Regulations for Sav- ings and Deposit Banks. ‘The bill reported by Mir. Kasson, from the Com- mittee of Ways and Means, amends tne ninth sec- Mon of the act of July, 1866, concerning deposit or savings banks, 80 that hereafter it shall be held and construed to include within the exemptions therein made as to deposits in savings banks ali deposits in savings banks doing business only a8 such under the laws of their Yespective States or of Congress, and having a paid up capital which is first responsible jor all losses of depositors, or having in accordance with the law, in place of such capital stock, a good and legal guarantee bond securing depositors against Joss; provided that no savings bank or provident institution shall be entitled to such exemption from tax on deposits in any case where any greater rate of dividends shall be paid to the holders of capital stock annually than the rate of intesest allowed annually to time depositors in such banks; but two anda half per cent may be allowed and paid uron the amount of the capital stock or of the guarantee bond in considerstion of such guarantee against loss to depositors; and provided further, that all profits of such savings banks, less the aforesaid dividend ana allowance for guarantee, shall be diyided among the de- positors. No tax accrued or claimed for years prior to the passage of the act from saving banks in the first section named, having a capital stock or guarantee bond, but not collected nor claimed by the revenue officers in these years, shall be hereafter collected. A Bureau of Manufacture and Mining To Be Created. The Honse Committee on Manufactures this morning had under consideration the bill relerred to vhem to establish am additional bureau, to be attachea to the Interior Department, as the Bu- reau of Manufacture and Mining. It will doubtless be Yeported on favorably, as these interests are of such vast importance that itis deemed necessary that a special department should be created, the duties of which should be to acquire and diffuse among the people useful information concerning them. Such a department, under the charge of a practical manufacturer or a person who has had extensive experience in mining matters, it is claimed by prominent members, more especially those from the gold and silver producing States, would prove of great benefit. To command the services of @ competent commissioner the salary will have to be donbled from that now proposed, which is Only $2,500, Jess than any of the auditors or the heads of bureaus in the various depart- mentereceive. When the bill comes back to the House it wil) probably be considerably amended by the California and Nevada members, who are par- ticularly interested in mining affairs, in order that it may be adapted to the special wanta of their immediate constituents, Indian Protest Against a Territorial Government. ‘There was presented in the House of Representa- tives to-day the protest of the General Indian Council of the Indian country. organized under the treaties of 1866, against the establishment of a territorial government in that country. They say the United States have repeatedly given the most solemn guarantees that the political rights of said nations should never be impaired, but that they should be protected forever in ther rights fof seli-government, The Council provided for by the treaties has been estab- lished and in operation about tour years, and is invested with powers ample to develop and main tain a government of Indians suffidient for the interests of the Confederate Tribes and Nations. The United States have recognized this govern- ment Jor four years past by making appropriations annually to defray the expenses thereof. This government can s00n be developed into all that is required by the Indian interests if permited. There would have been much more progress had it not been from the continual dread of Congressional interference. The council has already been the means of saving @ hundred times its cost to the government by its influence in preserving peace on tne Plains, and the protestants are confident of its ability for great usefulness in the same field in the future. They cannot believe that Congress will yield to the cry and pressure of railroad corpora- tions and cause the overthrow of this government, The protest was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs, The Question of Renewal of a Railway Brake Patent. The so-called Tanner car brake case was beforg the Senate Committee on Patents this morning. Messrs. Batchellor and Thompeon, the inventors, ask of Congress an extension of this patent, which is said to be used on all passenger cars of every Tailroad line inthe United States, on the ground that they have received no adequate compensation for its use, having been opposed by railroad com- binations throughout the country and com- pellea to expend in litigation about as much money as they received. The railroads gen- erally oppose the movement for exten- sion, contending that the inventors have received adequate compensation, and that the patent is invalid by reason of a prior invention. After the opening presentation of the case by S. D. Cozzens, counsel for the inventors, the railroad companies, through Mr, William D. Bisnop, Presi- dent of the New York and New Haven Railroad Company, and Joseph Howard, counsel for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, asked for a post- ponement of the case until they could have an opportunity to consult together and decide as to the nature of the reply they will make to the ap- plication for an extension of the patent. The committee accordingly adjourned the farther con- sideration of the matter until next Tuesday. Wiltal Obstruction of the Mouth of the Mississippi. The Senate Committee on Commerce to-day agreed to report favorably Mr. West's bill giving the Secretary of War full control over the channel at the mouth of the Mississippi River, where dredg- ing by the United States government is in prog- regs, The bill authorizes bim to prescribe binding regulations, any violation of which will be punish- able by the United States Courts. Senator Weat, of Louisiana; Senator Windom, of Minnesota, and Representative Stanard, of Missouri, appeared before the committee and explained the necessity for enacting the bill. They stated that the Towboat Association of New Orleans, in order to secure the continuance of their present monopoly, are in the habit of sinking vessels and otherwise biockading the bar, so as to impede and sometimes wholly stop the work of excavation. The Needed Reorganization of the Civil Service. The Committee on Reorganization of the Civil Service met this morning in the room of the House Committee on Judiciary, and Genera) Butier sug- gested the following a8 a subject of inquiry and discussion hy the Commies :;—"Sa a examination by a board selected from the several departments the best method of initiation or entry into the executive service of tne United States?” ‘There was an animated discussion on this subject, and from views expressed by members of the com- mittee it was clearly apparent that the civil ser- vice examination as heretofore conducted did not meet their approval, Bill for the Survey, Inspection and Uni- form Registry of Seagoing Vessels. Mr. Houghton, of California, to-day introduced a bill to establish a unform registry of seagoing ves- sels, vo afford adaitiona? protection to life on ship- board and to govern rebates in duties on mer- chandise damaged on the voyage of importation. Ivis proposed to establish a board of survey and record of shipping, to have its office in the city of New York, and sub-inspectors at such other ports as May be required for the purpose of surveying vessels a8 to condition, seaworthiness and in other respects as to safety to life on the same. Presidential Entertainment of the Su- preme Justices—Waite’s Commission. The President will, on Tuesday afternoon, enter- tain at dinner the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and other guests. The commis- sion of Chief Justice Waite has not yet been pre- pared, nor is it known when he will come to Washington. Representatives Sheldon and Sypher, ex-Senator Harris and revenue officer Pitkin, al) of Louisiana, called on the President to-day to express, it is said, their views in opposition to a new election in that State, Senator Carpenter and Genera) Butler also had interviews with the President. I¢ is as- serted that these gentlemen are on the other side of the question in Louisiana, Ex-Governor Den- nison, of Ohio, was among the callers on the Presi- dent to-day. Madame Bertinatti’s War Claim. The Senate, in March last, ungallantly struck from the bill making allowances for Southern claims that of Madame Bertinattt for $11,500. She was a charming Mississippi widow, Mrs, Bass, who married Bertinatti, the Italian Minister, during the war, and thus earned diplomatic protection. She is here renewing her claim, The Washington National Monament Fund. The ofiicers of the Washington National Monn- | ment Society report $230,000 as the amount of their “collections and interest on investments.” Now, how much did the people give toward the completion of the monument represented by this sum in the treasury thereof? Good judges are of the opinion that enough has been donated to have finished the work, and that it should conse- quently be taken out of the control of its present managers and turned over to General Babcock, with an appropriation from the national treasury large enough to secure its completion before July 4, 1876. Expediency of the Annual Appropriation for Surveys of Pubic Lands. Western Congressmen say the Representatives from the Eastern States have some queer notions of economy. This is shown by the action of some of them with regard to public lands, A few days ago these gentlemen wanted to vote away the proceeds of the public lands in a lump for the pur- pose of eking ont the late Freedmen’s Bureau 1unds and educating the illiterate young darkies of the South. Now some of these same men wish to economize by cutting down or cutting off the annual appropriations tor the surveys of the public lands, without which they would be of no value, could not be brought into market, and without which no proceeds could be realized from them. Certainly the first proper application of the pro- ceeds of the public lands is for the necessary ma- chinery for their sale. Probably the next would be toapply them in the annual Indian Appropriation bill for payment of the origina) owners. After this there would be nothing lett; but ir there should be it would be more properly applied in the develop- ment of the new States and Territories in which the lands are situated than to be divided among old States whose interests in them are remote. Tenure of Lands Purchased of the Gov- ernment. The béil to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the pubiic domain, reported by Representative Townsend from the Committee on Public Lands, repeals the pre-emption laws, and provides that any person above the age of twenty- one years, and who is a citizen of the United States or who may have declared his intention to become such, shall be en- usled to enter, by purchase with cash only, a tract of land not exceeding forty acres as a site for mechanical, commercial or manufacturing pur- poses, upon proof satisfactory to the Commissioner of the General Land Office that he is in actual pos- session of such premises and that no valid ad- verse claim existed at the date of his occupancy, and that he has occupied and held possession of the same for such purposes, for his own use and benefit, for a period of not less than one year, pro- vided that notice of his intention to claim said tract shall be filed with the Register within two Ponths from the date of actual session, and that the payment herein required shall be made within 18 months of said filing. All lands within the lateral limits of any railroad grant, the title to which shall remain in the United States, whether an odd or even section, shall, upon becoming subject to sale or to the provisions of this act, be held at the douole minimum price of $2 50 per acre, unless otherwise specially provided by law. ‘Tbis act to take effect from and alter the 1st aay of September next. The Approaching Transit ot Venus. The naval officers at the Observatory here have completed the preparatory work for the observa- tions of the approaching transit of Venus, for which our government has made liberal appropri- ations, The French Embassy at Washington. The Marquis de Noailies has been forced to pags much of his time of late in a dark room, his eye- sight having been so seriously impaired as to in- spire serious fears among his friends. He will sail from New York on the 7th of February, and his ex- quisite furniture and good wines will be soid at auction, The incoming Minister is a bachelor, and telegraphed from St, Petersburg that he should not undertake to keep house at first, The Printing of Romantic Agricultural Reports To Be Limited to the Demand. The Commissioner of Agriculture is much in- censed because the Senate will not pass the House billordering the publication for gratuitous dis- tribution of 255,000 copies of his report for 1872 and 265,000 of his report for 1873; and when a Senator intimated that the best way would be to supply the popular demand for these books at cost, rather than to distribute them broadcast, the worthy old Watts (his name) few into a towering passion, The fact is, he knows very well that out of the 8,000,000 farmers in this country not 10,000 would pay the cort price of these reports, If they con tained any information of real value the HERALD would publish it, and it, is only because of its trashy character that it has to be given away. Consular Appeintm: by the President. The President, through the Secretary of State, has tendered the appointment of Consul at Bey- rout to Colonel George S. Fisher, of Augusta, Ga. Recognition of a Vice Consul. ‘The President has recognized Jaime N. Moreno as Vice Consul of Mexico for Pensacola and its de- pendencies, The Vacant Deputy Commissionership. The examination of applicants for promotion to the First Deputy Commissionership of Internal Revenue has been indefinitely postponed pending the action of Congress on the resolution to abol- ish that office. Miscellaneous Nominations. The President sent the following nominations to the Senate to-day:—Postmasters—Alexander Campbell, at Watertown, N. Y.; M. P. Batber, at Pleasant Vale, Pa.; George W. Frost, at Sunsbury, Pa.; James M. Cowly, at Columbus, Ohio; John W. Rogers, at Decatur, Mich. ; George W. Clapton, at Ludington, Mich. ; Josepn Hal), at Oconta, Wis. ; Henri K. Wells, at Maline, Ii, and A. W. Howard, at Yankton, Dakota, SUIOIDE IN WASHINGTON, . Wasutnaron, Jan. 22, 1874 A colored man, named Robert M. Wood, com- mitted suicide here pnd by shooting himeeif in the forehead with @ pistol. ie was depressed in spirita owing to a Voedoo doctor failing to con- (ure Din weCeRs 14 REBUM THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Siath Lecture by Richard A, Proctor at Association Hall. The sixth and conciuding lecture of Mr. Proctor on the subject of “Astronomy” wa@ delivered tast night to@ crowded and attentive aucience. The subject chosen—The Birth and Growth of the Solar System”—was one of the moat interesting that could well be presented to the consideration of an intelhgent and educated audience. Its vast ness and complexity awe the mind of the thought- ful and give to its study an absorbing interest which does not belong to any other branch of human research. The very spparent dim- culty of finding @ satisfactory solution to a problem which involves the disturbance of beliefs in which the world has grown gray only sharpens the desire to penetrate into those awful depths which open out to the mental vision as eternities piled upon eternities. it is no light undertaking to attempt to deal with a prob- lem of such vast proportions in the few hours which a popular lecturer can devote to bis subject, In a necessarily brief space Mr. Proctor laid before the audience a succinct statement of the theorles heid by astronomers like Laplace, and showed how the discoveries of modern times had tended to modify the opinions of actentiste. Mr. Proctor began by saying that few subjects were more complex or dificult to deal with than the solar system, and that though the power of thinking had been con- ferred on the human race, yet it seemed impos- sible to arrive at satisfactory conclusions with- out @ seeming to break away from ideas upon which the very foundations of society are based. Yet religion ought not to be a dimcuity in the way of research, for though in peering constantly into the heavens and watching the motions and workings of the heavenly bodies the laws which rule them might not be found to be in accordance with the old ideas, yet the discoveries might jlead to @ nobler and higher conception of God. There were some people who seemed afraid lest too much should be discovered, The conflicts between students and theologians were to be regretted. Theologians were apt to Jook on all scientists with horror as imfidels, and scientists were sometimes betrayed into speaking Of theologians as men who were not honest in their religious beliefs, It would be well if both ex- hibited more charity, One of the strongest proofs that the planctary system grew tO its present state is furnished by the fact that of 142 stars and asteroids forming the system all travel in the same direction, as do all the satellites, One exception marks this plane- tary rule. The laws of probability, there- fore, point strongly to evolution as the cause of being, The theory put forward by Laplace supposed that in the beginning neba- lous masses extended far beyond the limit of the Outer planets, and that this nebulous mass existed in @ Vaporous state rotating through space. The cooling of this nebulous vapor caused contraction of the mass, and the rotating motion the breaking of outer rings whose motion would no longer cor- respond to that of the great mass. In this way the solar system would arise. There were, however, great difficulties m the way of accepting this theory. One strong objection to the theory was that such an immense vaporous mass could not exist rotating as a whole. ‘This theory of contrac- tion should give laws of relative distance and size, But the outer family of planets are 200 times as great as the inner family, and these in their turn are much larger than the middle family or asteroids. There is no progression, and under this theory there is nothing to explain why the smallest family shoula be found in the middie. While we must respect Lapiace our knowledge of the sun and stars and outer planets has so much increased that we need no longer be bound by nis opinions, Careful observations prove that our earth 1s growing slowly, and though thousands of years would pass away before any appreciable addition has been made, yet the present de- velopment of the earth leads us easily back to: a remote time when meteors were more numerons. The process of analogous growth going on in other orbs tends to convince the observer that we have reached our present condition by accretion, rather than by contrac- tion. The lecturer then proceeded, by the atd of diagrams of the stars and nebulous systems, to point out some of the countless examples of nebu- lous Masses aggregating about stars, and to dem- onstrate how much more in keeping with the evi- dent scheme of the celestial system the theory of aggregation is. The subject, notwithstanding its vastness, was treated simply and clearly. At the termination o! the lecture a resolution thanking Mr. Proctor was passed by the audience, and he replied in a complimentary strain, acknowl- edging the kinaness and attention with which, since his arrival in America, he hag been treated. OUR LUNATICS. The Year’s Statistics of the Ward’s Island Insane Asylum. Dr. J. H. Kellogg, remdent physician of Ward’s Island, yesterday submitted his second annua report of the New York City Asylum for the Insane to the Commissioners of Charities and Correction. The report shows that on the 1st of yanuary, 1873, there were 469 mates in the asylum, and that 392 were admitted during the year. The number dis- charged during the year was 198, of which 116 had recovered, 49 were improved, 80 were unimproved and 3 were improper subjects, One hundred and four died during the year, anda the number now in the asylum is 559, The deaths averaged 9 per month, and the highest number of deaths in any one month was 11, in March and November re- spectively. Of those admitted 2 were under 13 years Of age, 17 from 15 to 20 years old, 239 from 20 to 40 years of age, 128 from 50 to 70 years old; from 70 vo 80 years of age there are 2, and there was one over 80 years old. The nativity of those admitted shows that 135 were born in Ireland, 94 in Ger- many, 106 in the United States, 15 in England, 6 in France, 4 in Scotland, 4each in Sweden, Cuba and Nova Scotia, 3 in New Brunswick, 2in Bermuda and South America, and 1 nationality un- known. Of the occupation of those admitted, there were 99 laborers, 24 clerks, 16 carpenters, 13 painters, 12 sailors, 1 law student, 3 physicians, 1 cle! an, 1 school teacher, and the rest were divided up in a8 many different trades. The civil condition of those admitted shows 224 married, 16 widowed and 145 single ; 211 were educated in the common schools, 3 University educations; 66 could read and write, 34 could only read and 46 were votally ignorant, The type oi insanity shows 169 to be suffering from acute mania, 77 from chronic mania, 34{rom melancholia, 31 from dementia, 17 from mania a potu, 14 from epileptic insanity, and the rest from various other diseases. Ten became insane from injury done to the brain, 26 irom epi- jJepsy, 74 from intemperance, 31 from pecuniary troubles, § trom coup 21 from hereditary predisposition, 19 from destitution, 6 from domes- Uc troubles, 10 from ill health, 5 from syphilis, 9 irom masturbation, 4 from religious enthusiasm, 1 from disappointed affection, 5 from overwork, 2 from old age, abd each from apoplexy, venery, meningitis and 158 from unknown causes; 274 had been insane for less than one year, 25 from two to three years, 23 from three to five years, 30 over five years and 40 unknown. Of those recovered 49 were under thirty years of age, 67 from thirty to filty years, 7 from fifty to seventy pe old and "3 were of unknown age: iso. were Catholics, 140 Protestants, 16 Hebrews, 19 no religion and 37 of unknown faith, The form of insanity of those admitted during the year and who were discharged recovered shows that 57 suffered from acute mania, 18 of alcoholic mania and melancholta, respectively ; 18 recurrent manta, 3 primary dementia aud chronic mania, respect- ively; 2partiai mania aud 1 each epileptic mania and mania a potu, Of these 60 were under treat- ment leas than 1 month, 63 from 1 to 12 months and 3 over 12 months. The causes of death of those that died show that 18 had phthisis pulmonis, 13 chronic diarrhcea, 10 general paret 7 each of asthenia and exhaustion trom acute mania, 4 each senectus and exhaustion from paralytic de- mentia, 3 each dysentery, inanttion and neonate . LS epestexy, congesti is ’y exhaustion from epilepsy, enteritis and pleuro-pneumoma, respectively, and 1 each angrene Of lung, tydrothorax, mor- bus, rigatise pantitis, pleuritis, pneumo-hydro- thorax, strangulation from food, and one com- mitted guicide by suspension. Of those that died, 2 were from fifteen to twenty years old, 19 from twenty to thirty years of age, 38 from thirty to forty, 28 from forty to 60, 10 from fity to sixty, 13 from’ sixty to seventy, 3 from seventy to eighty, and 1 from eighty to ninety years of age; 13 had been insane under one month, from one to twelve months, 25 from one to two years, 8 trom two to three years, three from three to five years, and 3 from 5 to 10 years, Of those admitted during the year 243 were of temperate habits, 111 intem- perate, 3 were moderate drinkers and the habits of 38 were unkoowa, ‘WOMAN SUFFRAGE. Argument at Aibany Against Taxation Without Representation — What the Fair Sex Demand of the Legisiature. ALBANY, Jan, 22, 1874, The Judiciary Committee of the Assembly hela a meeting in the Assembly Chamber this evening to give a hearing on the petitions in favor of grant- ing the right of suffrage to women and (the remon- Strances against taxation without representasion, The Chamber, the galleries, the lobbies ana the ante-rooms were crowded with ladies and gentiee men, Mrs, Blake, of New Yorg, was the first to adaress the committee, and spoke substantially as fol- low! MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN OF THB CoM- MITTER—ID coming here once more to ask for our rights we fee! inclined rather to demand of you some good aud exceilent reason why they should be refused to us tan to beg or persuade you to grant what is so justly our due; to put you on your @efence rather than to take upon ourselves & burden of argument. By what God given an Us, citizens of this State, t iy =. you _ w privileges which you claim tor yourge! true that you hold the power, but in excluding! us from our equal share with yo you are guilty of @ usurpation as great’ as we should commit were we to stand’ in your places and exclude you. Having this” power you have, as if to fill up the measure of your justice to us, raised to the rank of your poiitical equals the poorest aud most degraded of your own sex—even the colored men who a little while Seo were the very outcasts of society, We demand by what authority ze have done this while refusing justice to us. re We 86 much more stupid, so much more degraded, so much lesa moral than these men that we are unworthy to share the privile; they enjoy? But when, witn hearts hoc within us, we indignantly ask you these .questions you will perbapa say that women are ‘so well protected by men that they do not need these politica! secu- rities or that women do not want to vote. Let us J0ok a little at_ these two arguments. J'irst, as ta this specious theory of protection. It sounds very” well, but iet me ask, Wuo ts it that women fear on Jonely roads at night? Is i¢ the members of their own sex or of that sex who are their “naturak protectors?” It 1s said that when Horace Greeley was a boy he went to visit at a tarm house stand- ing @ mile or so from his father's place, an@ that when night fell he was actually afraid to go home alone, because of the wolves, and that the farmer’s two daughters escorted him to his house. Who was the protector in this case? And ) When we come Lo legal matters let us see how thid theory Works. “A disfranchised Class 18 always any Oppressed class,” said one of the greatest states< men, and to-day women find it very diMcult to ob« tain justice in courts of law, and smal! wonder, when the judges hold their seats by election, tha they give the preference to voters in their rulings. Here, again, are some indications of how women’s lives are valued compared to man’s property. Matthew Fitzpatrick choked nis wife to death last summer at Yonkers, and was punished by im~- prisonment for five years, while the man who robs @& bank gets’ ten or twenty years appointment. Very iately, in New York city, & man named Templeton shdt his wile down in broad day, while the two were walking together under charge of @ policeman, and when tne policeman Was asked how he could permit sucha thing be said he did not like to interfere between husband and wife. And this is the protection we get to console us for disiranchisement, It you tell me that women do not want to vote, I tell you there 48 much to prove that this is not so, Our conventions and meetings are ilarcely at- tended by audiences of women. in Wash- ington the other day the women would not leave the hall _ the whole day, in their eagerness to hear this gospel! of their free- dom and security. In Virginia an eiection held for Postmaster, at which women, being per- mitted to vote, went in great numbers to the ballot box, while in Wyoming and elsewhere they bave faithfully discharged the new duues to sowety. At Newport, in this State, the votes of the women carried the election. Despite all these evidences of the wishes of one half of our people, despite the justice of our claim, the last six months have heard the decree pronounced in this State that declares tt to be a crime for a woman ta claim her freedom, a crime for a woman to do that which 18 every man's duty. And we must pay the taxes and obey the laws of a government which can utter suck a declaration as this. Do you won- der that we are indignant and that we ask of you with persistence and eagerness that you make haste to set us iree? Miss Susan B, Anthony, of Rochester, next made an address, rehearsing the efforts of the women of this State in behali of.women’s rights, For twenty years, she said, she had herseif been engaged in the work. Much had been accomplisted, bat much remained to be accomplished. The time was when & woman had not the right to receive to hersel! the money she earned white- Washing for a heighbor. The fiity cents she might earn in that way could, by law, be claimed by ber drunken husband to spend for liquor. ‘that evil had been remedied alter much effort. ‘Then as to property. Formerly women could not hold prop- erty. lt was all the husband’s, no matter how much she had contributed toward securing it. ‘This, too, had been changed for the better. So, too, with regard to the custody of children. But there had, she said, been some cases of a return of the agony of the revolution, so that man’s work is very uncertain. She declared she would not cease her efforts until man and wife were joint owners ia their property, 80 that if the husband dies it shall go to the wife, aud vice versa. Sne referred to the Lyd injustice of taxin; women without allowing them representation, ant said that in Rochester there were 3,000 women Who are property holders, These women paid one-fifth of the taxation Of that city, and yet they have no voice in managing the affairs of the city. Rings and plunderers mav rob the city and swell the taxes, and all the women can do is to pay their assessments. | This, however, she said, was approaching an end. The time is coming when these Women Will retuse to pay the taxes levied on their property. Miss Antnony declared that the newly chosen Cnief Justice, Waite, was a woman’s rights man, as Was also Benjamin F, Butler, and she prophesie: that the time was not far distant when justice would be done to women. Mrs. Gage followed, also commenting on the in- justice of taxation without representation. The hearing lasted two hours and a hall and was listenea to by the vast audience with the closest attention, the sentiments uttered by the speakert being trequently applauded. DAMAGE BY ICE, One Million Dollars’ Worth of Property Destroyed in Buffalo Harbor. BUFFALO, Jan. 22, 1874, The weather and high water caused the ice tn the Buffalo River to move about eleven o’clock this morning, piling it up in such force against the: Ohio street bridge as to carry away that strong strocture, sweeping ten first class vessels dowm the stream and piling them in one mass against’ tne Michican street bridge. The bowsprits of vessels in their rapid course carried away the, lower part of Plympton’s elevator and inflicted: serious Gamage to the City and Niagara elevators and completely demolished the sheds of the New York Central Kailway Company. ‘The loss is estimated at $1,000,000, ‘The damage, to Plympton’s elevator its $20,000. The Michi street bridge still holds the accumulated mass, but should it give way thege 18 no calculating the damage to vessel! id property below. The cathe list of the vessels piled against the bridge:—The propellers Fountain City and Port Huron; satling vessels J. C. Harrison, Erastug corning, Sam Flint, K. D. Sawyer, B. F. Bruce, Martin and Thomas P. Sheldon. The water 1s now. overflowing the river banks and running into the lake through the Hamburg canal. The greatest excitement prevails. Precautions Againat Further Damage BUFFALO, Jan. 22—Evening. The Michigan street bridge still holds out against. the accumulated pressure of ice, water and vessels, Thousands of persons visited the scene of the dis- aster this afternoon. Every precaution bas been taken to protect property and vessels below Michi- gan street. Itis feared that when the water fal the vessels near the bridge, now lying on the pil ~ will be grea aged. ‘the loss is not as «reat as at first est ted. . NEWARK’S DANGEROUS ELEMENT. Arrest of Notorious Thiev: nd Rowdies. Yesterday a Mr. A, Hoffman, saloon keeper, made compiaint in the Newark Police Court that two, young men, whom he knew tobe notorious rowdiem and thieves, entered his place and called for oys-, ters. He refused to comply, and the two retired outside and then commenced a bombardment of his place with pistols, smashing windows, glasses, &c. They were subsequently arrested. One of them, a youth named James Buxus, showed a dis- position to fight # whole posse of police. He drew 4 revolver on them, bat similar action on the parf Ol the officer in charge brought bim to terms. Later in the day the police arrested Richard Burns and Michael Whalen, who are believed to have broken into the office of Mr. Poivier, a lum. ber Spalet, the night before, These two are alsa noted thieves. The evidence against them is con- sidered conclusive. James pe ad and Thomas Long have been arrested and heid to bail in $1,000 each fo answer 4 charge of conspiracy. They are striking moroasp dressers. Charles E. Young, a manulacturer, 1s the complainant, A number ot illegal liquor traMckers have been indicted by the Grand Jury. Yesterday they wera arraigned and pleaded as _ foliows:—Frederick Waidmann, two charges, guilty; Albert Feller, twa charges, guilty; Julius cs, guilty; Adolph Hensler, guilty; George Fearn, two charges, fuilty; Frederick schieweis, guilty; Frederick Hutmacher, not quilt; R, Clapper, guilty yy Fe Matthias Lock, guilty; John Weild, not guilty George Dennitger, guilty; Pever Martin, srutlty 4 Christian Brustiee, not guilty, and John Bredimus, Lnot gully.