The New York Herald Newspaper, February 8, 1874, Page 7

THE LOUISIANA MOODLE. Review of the “Great Crime” of the Pelican State from Its Inception to the Present Status, The Personal of Dark History. This Carter, Pinchback, Durell, Norton and Barrett, the Principal Workere of To-Day, Analysed. WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 1874. ‘The history of the Louisiana government and its affairs, which Congress is called upon to tnvesti- gate and subsequently to pass judgment upon, commences with the first year of Governor War- moth’s administratiov. In its personale and pre- cious rascality it is full of the most stupendous frand, which it is the purpose of this levter to ilus- trate. President Grant never forgot nor forgave Governor Warmoth for the Pash expressions he made when on the staff of Major General McCler- mand in regard to Grant’s personal habits, but, from motives of policy or expediency, quietly re- Served any attack to be made on Warmoth with his unerring and unfaltering spirit of retalia- tion and vindictiveness, which, coeqnual with is gratitude to friends who have done him a favor, may be fairly sald to be among the striking characteristics of Grant’s tempera- ment and the record of his life, Grant never swears, Is a reader of the Scriptures; and though ke may pray devoutly he never forgives, 80 far as | his actions in life between man and man are con- cerned. This attack on the political fortanes of Gevernor Warmoth was made all along the line when Warmoth refused to sanction the election of Casey as Senator in place of West, the present in- cumbent, From that moment the armistice ceased, and a division in the ranks of the republican party im Louisiana commenced, under the titles and banners, respectively, of THB WARMOTH AND CUSTOM HOUSE OR FEDERAL FACTIONS; but in all these struggles Warmoth was and con- tinues master of the situation in the controlling of the party machinery of the State, inasmuch as his patronage was more valuable and remunerative than the federal. Sheriaan’s office as tax col- lector is said to have yielded 1rom $30,000 to $40,000 per annum, arising from fees on collecting the tax last, and the balance of the offices paid nearly the same; while in the country parishes the average Was about up to that standard. The balance of the lesser offices in the State patronage in the parishes, such as supervisors, realized handsome figures to partisans of Warmoth, while the Custom House was the source of supply for the supporters from which they drew their sustenance, The struggles between these two wings of republican- ism assumed various phases in the revolutions produced in the Legislature by a struggle for con- trol In the organization of the body, as exhibited im the Carter revolution, which eventually culmi- nated in two conventions, one being held in the very room in the Custom Mouse building (in which Judge Darell holds his court), which was pro- } tected by federal muskets and Gatling guns. It ‘was presided over by Grant’s henchman Marsha! Packard, and was held in the month of August, one year before the Presidential election. To this convention Governor Warmoth and his supporters were relused admission by the military forces guarding it, when they withdrew and organized their convention at New Orleans, which was pre- wided over by Governor Pinchback. From this hour out there were two distinct republican or- ganizations in Louisiana, which nad two distinct executive committees, and which continued in force until the eve of the election, which presented two State tickets, one headed by Kellogg, and one by Pinchback, nominated for the governorship. ABairs thus continued in statu quo until AFTER THE CINCINNATI OONVENTION, into which Warmoth threw his fortunes, and a | split then occurred in his Convention, the majority foliowing Pinchback and the minority following Warmoth into the Cincinnati movement. About this time a National Colorea Convention was held in New Orleans, over which Pinchback presided until the election of Fred Douglass, and, under Douglass’ advice and that of the Chairman of tne Nationai Republican Committee, Senator Cameron, and the members of it, succeeded in getting the National Committee at Washington to cause a fusion between the Custom House and Pinchback conventions for a rearrangement of the tickets. This was amicably adjusted by the Custom House party getting the gubernatorial nomination, whicn ‘was given to Governor Kellogg, and the Pinchback Convention were allotted the second place on the ticket, getting the Lieatenant Governorship for their man, Antoine, while Pinchback secured the Nomination for Congressman at Large, with the understanding that an equal division of the oflices was also to be made. Although late in the canvass | wheh this compromise was effected, the campaign | ‘was inaugurated in a happy manner, as described so thoroughly and wittuy by Senator McCreery, of Kentucky, in his able speech made in the Senate January 26, 1873, The result of the Warmoth movement was A FUSION WITH THE DEMOCRATS in what is known as the McEnery State ticket, ‘with the additional pledges of the Convention to elect Warmoth United States Senator and Sheri- dan, who is Warmoth’s henchman, to be elected as | Congressman at Large. The campaign was active and bitter in the extreme, signalized by outrage- ous violence and deeds of blood, which rivalled the barbarous cruelty of feudal times. Warmoth threw off ali his former republican supporters who Would not go with him, and gave his patronage to his new fusion allies. Under the laws of Louts- tana the Governor appoints Supervisors of Regis- , tration, who appoint the Commissioner of Elections and Ox the polling places, and to show his good faith to the fusionists Warmoth placed all the ap- pointments of the election machinery in their hands for disposition by their Resident Committee, consisting of Messrs. Walker, Burke and Austin, ‘These held the blank signed commissions of Gov- | ernor Warmoth, with the seal of State afixed, brought into requisition at a moment's notice tor the prompt removal and appointment of their creatures at will, while Governor Warmoth and Sheridan were engaged in an active canvass inthe anterior of the State. In the midst of these cir- cumstances the Fusion Committee soon discovered, from advices of the Supervisors, that THE NEGRO VOTING POPULATION WAS IN EXCESS OF THE WHITES on the list, and to balance this they resolved in committee to strike off a percentage of the former, after mathematically determining the same from the list, which the law gave the supervisors power todo, Hence when the poll list, upon which the voting took place, was brought into requisition, thousands of negroes discovered that they were distranchised. This was the McEnery trick, When this legerdemain was discovered by the Kellogg re- publicans Marshal Packard, as Chairman of their Enforcement Committee, set to work to counteract this business by preparing the necessary aMdavits for the disfranchised negroes under the law, as was ly illustrated by Senator McCreery in his Speech and advertea to in that of Senator Car- penter. in addition to this a large number or naturalization papers were issued irom Dureil’s Court, where no doubt was entertained the Custom House republicans made their deal. Besides this the United States troops were quietly stationed in full unitorm at convenient distances a8 A sug- the eyes of the tusionists, appointed by Durell were the polling places through- Immediately alter the elec- tion the real existing diMecuities: of Louisiana litical affaifs commenced, Warmoth, still being vernor, Was master of the situation.’ Hence bis historic struggle to continue the man of power and to retain nis control of the State Retornin, Board of Election by first removing Herring and appointing Wharton Secretary of State, which, ‘With bis own vote, would give him power to fil vacancies and organize the Board to canvass the returns. Immediately Kellogg commencea PROCEEDINGS IN DURELL'S COURT, wnder the provisions of the Enforcement ac which eventually culmiuated in the celebrated REW -YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1874—QUADRUPLE SHEET. Btate vetresdoret troops, who were used to (he Mengarawon of the Kellogg ‘under the jorce of United btates sustain it The Judge ture and the jovernor and the United Mcknery fetermmed who was the Legisiature said who wasthe other State oMficers, a8 well as electin, States Senator, To this procedure ti State government protested by setting up another one of their own, which bes had a semblance of existence up to date, ‘The consideration which Dureli. demanded was the election of his ee in bankruptcy, Colonel Norton, to the United States Senate, which Kellogg promised should be done, but which was prevented by the intervention of Pinchback, who Was aspiring to the same hovor. Norton attempted to get him off the track by buying him, as he controiied the ma- jority of the Legisiature, who were negroes, To ‘this ‘ena $15,000 was placed tn Pinchback’s hands to meet the money he hadadvanced to the negro members of the Legislature on account of their pay; but Pinchback kept Norton’s money until aiter the election, when he returned it, ‘telling Norton he took it only witt @ view to prevent Nor- ion from using it in the contest. This coup d'état Van NORTON OUT IN THE COLD, | ag he aid not recetve ten votes in the Legislature, | much to the chagrin of Durell and his friends, for Durell bad done their dirty work and fatied in ob- | taining the consideration expected for go doing. Jt is universally conceded by the apparently know- | ing ones that Norton has made an independent | fortune for himself and the bankrupt ring im New Orleans. He came to their city a poor | man a few years ago, and is now a millionnaire, returning $600,000 as the amount of his property on the assessor's books, The Blackmire bank- | ruptcy and others have caused much scandal in his administration Of the assigneeship. Bince the | threatened impeachment of Durell Norton has furnished al) the tunds to supsidize the republican | press of the country in the interest of their ring. ‘A prominent attorney of the ring, in connection with a Bohemian newspaper man called Barrett, | was sent to all the principal cities of the North to make financial and other terms with the republi- can press in the interest of and to advocate the | non-impeachment of Durell; and to-day the same | parties are here on the floors of Congress, in vio- | ation of its privileges, to accomplish the same ob- | ject. Senator West was elected by the influence | of Warmoth solely; but when Warmoth went out- side of the republican party he and Warmoth | | separated itically, although personally ; they are friends, In the fight on Dn- | relt and Pinchpack’s qualifications for the Senate, which are now being discussed that mars they are inimical to one another, and it anew election, a8 proposed by Senator Carpen- ter’s resolution is deieated, it will be due entirely to the diplomacy and personal social attractions of THE NEW TALLEYRAND OF THE SOUTH, who, in his combinations with tne diferent ele- ments engaged in the fights over Louisiana mat- ters, has remained in @ commanding position throughout the varying fortunes of the conflict, acting always in the interest of the Kellogg gov- ernment. When Pinchback discovered that be was not likely to get his seat as United States Senator he immediately changed his bage by leaving West and yeniae Warmoth, advocat 8 new election; but this course of his created such a revolution a home that his colored brethren compelled him to , take the back track, and now again he has mar- shalled his forces with West and 1s asking for ad- mission on a primé facie case, and will take his chances with any investigation which may lollow. It ig rumored that Kellogg has succeeded in pass- ing bis Funding bill in the Lousiana Assembly, somewhat alter this manner :—He orders the State Treasurer to pay no interest on the exist- ing State debt, although there was a sacred fund in the treasury to meet the same, and from this he aga‘n orders the Treasurer to cash $200,000 worth of warrants for 8 prominent broker of New Orleans, who holds the same for nis ring. | Hence suddenly the members of the Legislature were thrown into Hien e by recetving cash for | their warrants, to their surprise, and hence | passed the Funding bill, which scales the debt almost to repudiation. Therefore THE REPERSENTATIVES OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS ARE APPEALING TO UUR GOVERNMENT and entering protest against the unlaw/ul assem- bly now in existence, and for protection to the foreign Louisiana bondholders, more than two- thirds of the State loan being held in England, Geenaeye Holland and France. From indications at the State Department it 1s thought that unless Congress does something in the matter we might have foreign complications. As an illustration of the character of the Legislature of Louisiana the leading tact may be instanced that it cost that body $800,000 lor a sixty-day session in 1869 and 1870, and the figures since that date have been but slightly decreased, while, before this, $300,000 was ample to run the entire State government. When ‘Unis matter was judicially investigated and deter- mined it was proven in evidence that vouchers | were altered from $100 to $1,000, and from $10,000 to $100,000. This occurred during the time of Speaker Carter's adminiatra- tion in the House and Lieutenant Governor | ; Pimchback im the Senate, both of whom | Were made wealthy during their terms of office. | The latter is worth $300,000 and the .ormer retired | with over $50,000, but to-day, through speculation | and otherwise, is comparative! or. Barrett has becn paid and retained as a Kind of hanger-on ‘ by Norton and McKee, the Secretary of the Slaughter House Company of New Orleans, one of | the arch conspirators in the Dureil interest, who has made his fortune by speculations on the | Dutchers of that city, The members of the Legis- | lature, ou their stationery accounts, get extension | tables, water coolers, wardrobes, ‘writing desks, castor bedsteads and other household articles, | which they take to their homes, and it is said that one member furnisied his whole house at the ex- | pense of the Legislature. All of these facts were shown by the experts appointed in the | ; Eighth wvistrict Court o! New Orleans in an action brought by the Auditor of the | State to enjom ‘the ‘Treasurer trom paying for | these articles, Ex-United states Senator Harris is | | also here in the interest of Kellogg; but, being of limited capacity, he has not made himself promi- nent in the struggle. His brothers—Svate Senator Harris and State Collector of Taxes—have amassed large fortunes since their connection with the political affairs of Louisiana. Among those who are bere studying with interest the situ- ation, and ready to act as may be best for his interests, and those of his patrons is Pitkin, the general appraiser of the South, who has been in both the repel and federal armies, having, it is said, deserted from both. He 18 also one of Kel- Jouy’s henchmen, dog active service for him ere, THE ARRAYED FORCES are now as against one another; on one side War. moth, Sheridan, Marr, Connard, ex-secretary of | War under Taylor; General McMillen and ex-tiov- | ernor Hébert, and on the other side we have | West, Billings, Carter, Barrett, Norton and tie entire Louisiana delegation in the House support. ing the Kellogg government agaiust a new eve: tion, but divided on tue admission of Pinchback. There are some remarkable men among these Who | pkey the “draimatis person” of this Louisiana | Tama, CARTER, now One of the counsel for Pinchback, formerly Speaker in the Legislature, is a man of remarkable auility and eventiul Iie. He was a Protessor tn | | the University of Mississippi, afterwards a Metho- dist preacher and ® colonel in the Contederate | army. He came within two votes of being Bishop of the Southern Methodist Church. Previous to | the war he was & most exemplary man in , all the relations of life; but trom the rebellion his temperament has somewhat changed, and he is | now said to be rather Jaxin his views and deport- | ment. Itis said that this change come about in } | Carter's quundam religious professions is owing to | his opinion, as he expresses it, that the Aimighty | “went back" on him. He was editor of the South- | ern Chui'ch Journal at one time, which was pud- | lshed at Richmond, Va., and went to England, by | authority of the Church, to hold a great controv- | ersy with Bishop Wilberforce on the Bible authen- | uclty of slavery. He resigned at Washington Jan- uary 20, 1808. ‘He 18 an excellent lawyer and quite | versatile 1m his talents. About six feet in height, with cleanly shaved face, light gray mustache, sharply chiselled features, with a slight defect in his lets eye, @ Irame which is compact and appar- ently susceptible of great endurance, he walks slightly stooped; of easy carriage, hatr slightly turned gray, suffering from partial deafness; of unquestionable courage, he is calculated to as- sert himself anywhere as one of self-reliance and comprehensibility, which he has attested in some ten or twelve duels, on which occasions he has variously acted as principal and second, never | | having been wounded, though he has pinked bis | adversary more than once, without, however, hav- ing produced tatal results. ‘The last duel in which he wook part as second occurred about a year ago, wheu Judge Cooley was Killed. The principals having reached the ground tossed for corners and | first fire, took position, exchanged shots and the corpse was laid out, dying in about four minutes, the whole business having been completed in ten minutes from the time they reached tue ground, when they leit as promptly. This is said to be the | quickest duel on record, taking into consideration ail the proceedings. Carter at times, when at ease, Manifests the simplicity of a true Southern gentleman; but on the vtve in business or watching bis adversaries he is full of tact and | surewduess as he ts of brains, of which com. modity he supplies the largest share for the Pinch- back crowd, On the whole he is @ man of re- markable parts and wili, doubtless, yet be heard of in equally as conspicuous events as those he hus already so much figured in, PINCHBACK, who 1s Carter's client, 13 a very Othello in appear- ance, with a aay figure, well poised frame, softened Olive pallid complexion, fine forehead, good teeth, full jet black beard and mustacne, regular (eatures, small foot and hand, dressing With serupulous neatness and good taste. He 18 said to be an eloquent orator and to possess much | Inagnetism, especially among the Diacks. As he sat by Logan the other day in the Senate, of the two Pinchback waa the lighter com- | plextoned, though both look as though they aa considerable Inuian biood in them. Pinch: back is courageous, having already attested that in two sanguinary encounters, is remarkably polite id self-possessed, showing In ns general exterior and deportment much of that French bonne mine which, doubtiess, he nas been impressed with by the French creoles of New Or- leans, among wnom he has moved so much. After Governos Warmoth he is university conceded to have the best political sagactty of any politician in Louisia! He has been thr! in life, Having ac- cumulated, report says, Some $200,000; Is generous and true to his iriends. But the ‘reckless life he has led from cabin boy on @ Mississippi steamer to @ first class gambler makes him naturally without the checks and restraints 01 good society, unsoru- Pulous, determined to carry at all hagerds any Doint Which be starts out jor; and, on the whole, what might be a kind of guerilla disposition, which | Das some of the character of the true soldier in it, while at the same time it 18 associated with a des- peration and eas which, in et ney, would know no faints. It seems upon Tepublican tnatitutions that it could ever become possible lor @ man of hb antecedents, hovever much they may be excusabie, to aspire to, let alone reach, such proud emlnence and distinction as that of United States Senator. ‘his, however, is one of the many outgrowths of the war; and even if Pinchvack does not reach the senate, which now seems very improbable, he will not be, by all odds, the worst man there. Pinchback has avowed Rinse as determined to fight lis case out to the bitter end QUAINT NOOKS. | A Cursory View of Some of New York’s Qut-of-the-Way Curiosities. Among the inost interesting characteristics of a Metropolis are ita secluded, out-of-the-way shops, where are gradually collected from year to year . DURELL, | the prime devi), 1m all these “Hecate toi) and dusty old pieces ef furniture, worm-eaten and | trouble” machinations, which have not only worked up & Stale but 8 national government with its grave and aristocratic Senate, is a cold-blooded, Unscrupulcus man, who is said, it may be un- justly, never to have done @ kind act for any man, | and is the meanest sort of aNew Hampshire poli- | tician, and Heaven Knows that is mean enough. He has been in New Orleans about twenty-five years, is a classical scholar and a man ot consider- able educational attainments. He has been ade dicted to frequent intemperan and is charged with being a party to many frauds in the bank-. ruptcy proceedings which Norton, his creature | heretolore spoken of, has managed, and whereby | he has amassed a large fortune. Durell is wort! about $200,000, and without legitimate offspring. | His great hobby is the nae, ‘Up Of what he calls hus “little wair for whom he chose a Dacian mother wo rear together with her other dusky brood,” not known in the law but may be 4 the law 80 far as it goes in its exposttions, Durell is lying at point of death, the impeachment measure against him having produced a@ severe shock, which, with the results of dissipation. has pro- | duced exhaustion with great danger of a fatal re- | sult, The whole crowd would be glad to be rid of him, and no doubt he realizes ere this that “the | Way of the transgressor is hard,” NORTON is a tall, bawklike, grizzly, whiskered and haired embcdiment of the successtul plotter and design- ing poliuician, He glides about the Seuate cham- ber with reptilelike stealth, 1s the moneyed man | for the Kellogg and Durell interests, and looks | as though he had no positive conception of a moral | conviction. He has realized in Louisiana $1,000,000, | and become the richest one of the clique. Next | comes his satellite, the silken, alert, cumming and | steaithy cat of the household, BARRETT by name, he of the persuasion Bohemian, who is | of the class that come to Washington and impose on the credulity of their employers by represent- ing bimseif to have a controjling infuence among soiled books, and dim, cracked pictures by un- | known Painters. The spirit of the past seems re- posing where it is very seldom met by the spirit of the present. Visitors to these places—sanctuaries, ] if they so might be called—are queer as the places themselves, relics of other generations, parched, | dried, spectacted, or, tf belonging to @ younger | age, gifted with exclusive traits of oddity, and | whom melancholy, indigestion and erudition have | marked as their own, | Old London 1s noted, among other things, for | such nooks, hidden away in her labyrinths of brick, | | cobwebs and cobbles, and the British Museum holds the auguet rank of being the holy of holies | of them all, without the ignominious necessity Danging over its proprietor to sell something of its stock or break. Its proprietor, the English na- tion, takes especial pride in the mighty collection of mildewed, decaying and obsolete relics of the past which there have congregated, and reveres | them with 4 SORT OF AWFUL REVERENCE. Not so with the contents of the obscure book- stalls, where, amid tumbled tiers of volumes, bound in vellum or wood or parchment or paper, aud dusty, cobwebbed, rickety shelves, the dealer in these “old clo’s’ of thought sits or paces all the day, like an alchemist among his crucibles, Certes, he frowns darkly upon whoever enters; looks at him keenly, as if to read bis inmost mind and his standing as an antiquarian, and an- swers his questions with acurtness which seems the correspondents of leading journals, He is of medium height (about five jeet ten), with dark | skin, black mutton-chop side whiskers and mus- tache, features in the outline not of a prepossess- ing nature, with an astonishlug amount of \ brazen impudence in his face; quick, glanc- ing, furtive, unsteady eyes, audacity, short cropped hair, unparted black | bristles, good teeth, presenting in his dress | exterior the appearance of a sporting man. As | he hangs about his masters he is the beau ideal of | just such @ tool as the bold, bad men, in whose | employ he is, would need to carry out their be- | heats. He knows the secret of Norton's ofictal | life, and is, therefore, essential to him. He is feared for this, and used by Norton, under whose pay he is here. though he is eter of nim and | would wish to shake him oif; but he is loath to cut | him adrift lest he may occasion trouble. THE OTHERS OF THE COMBINATION are much of the same character, especially McKee, Who ig a devoted follower of Durell and Norton, | who helped him to amass a competency in specu- | lations on the butchers of New Orleans in the slaughter house organization. They have plied their influences here in the use of money largely. There is no telling how many understrap- £m they have working in various quarters | ere to keep them posted on what is doing, and to protect their interests as far as pos- sivie. It is to be hoped the city may be svon rid of their pernicious influences, aud whatever is | to be cone by Congress will be done without being subjected turther to the dincreditable efforts they are plainly making to manipulate it in their inter- ests. What Congress will do no one now pretends to know, but it is hoped that the ventilation of THE HORRIBLE RECORD OF POLITICAL DEPRAVITY, published broadcast throughout the country by Means of the debates in the Senate, and the ex- pressions of the press, will serve to prevent such unbiushing effrontery in the future, and the pen- alties to be paid for this wrong «doing, when held a deter again such dangerous demagogues and vile plunderers—who have ruthlessly robbed a State of her autonomy and soileu the fair tame of republican institutions witb a disgrace which, un- der ordinary circumstances, would call for fire id sword to wipe out—from imitating tims ex- uncentrolled | well to appreciate the value of the answers; but for all that, though it may cut him to the soul, he welcomes the sale ofa book or old map or dilapi- dated engraving with a look betokening inward ; Satisfaction at the opportunity being offered to grasp with bis leathery hands some of the ‘dirty lucre” which his intellectua) surroundings, one would imagine, would cause nim to despise. This is a picture of certain men whose livelihood is gained by speculating in the oldest and rarest of books, i New York assimilates itself slowly to the great- est city of the Old World. It is the work of age for it to become as impressive in its great buildings, so many of which are yet:to be up-built, and in the strange aspect of its oldest quarters, to per- sons who are accustomed only to the more modern abodes of comfort and aristocracy. Some of the features which most lead one to reflect upon the future of this, the metropolis of the future world, are those which are half hidden in the obscurity of its most unirequented streets. They will point the keen observer to that coming period when the small island upon which the city stands will be ab- solutely choked by embodied human life, and the hundred streets will present a labyrinthine wil- derness, in which neighborhoods will become as distinctive and tenacious of their traditions and characteristics as in old London itself. One of the most striking features of the portion of New York which bears the relation to its Sel- gravia of Chancery court to Rotten row is the re- gion given up, as if through asort of dumb fall- ing from virtue, to old clo’, pawn and junk shops, one of the principal portions of which is described below. IMMEDIATELY OFF CHATHAM SQUARE, ample, AROUND THE CITY HALL The supervisor of the City Record reports to the Mayor that the expenses for publishing the paper Jor the month ‘of January were $885 04, or an average cost per issue Of $34 04. The receipts for the whole month only amounted to $92 02, which entailed upon the city a net loss of $793 02, Marshal Conklin, of the License Bureau, at- tached to the Mayor's Ofice, granted during the week ending yesterday 373 licenses, receiving therefrom the unusual sum of $9,934, The sixth, Eighth and Ninth Avenue Railroad companies renewed during the week licenses for cars in use by them. This accounts for the large increase in last week’s receipts of the Marshal, Workmen have been busy for the past week or two in putting the finishing touches to the foun- tain which has been in course ot erection in the City Hall Park for a year or more: Yesterday tne colored lamps were all placed in position, and it is expected that in a few days it will be completed, although not on the magnificent scale once de- cided upon. Yesterday Comptroller Green, Commissioner Van | Nort, Commissioner Duryea, Superintendent Mat- sell and Alderman Morris, were together in con- i sultation with Mayor Havemeyer. A costly carpet has been put down in the Comp. trolicr’s office—its price to come out of ‘city contingencies.” The ceremonies yes- terday. MEETING OF GAS COMMISSIONERS. The Mayor, Comptroller and Commissioner of Public Works, commissioned by the Legislature to | contract for the city's supply of gas, opened yes- terday in Mr. Van Nort’s office new bids for lighting, &c., public lamps above Thirty-fourth street. The proposals were not to include any part of the above district which has been awarded to the Mutual Gastight Company. The following proposals were opened :— HARLEM GASLIGHT COMPANY. For gas for each lamp. For each lamppost straia! For each column releaded For each stand pipe retitt For each lumppost removed. For each lamppost reset. For each new lamp fitted up i ‘ METROPOLITAN GASLIGHT COMPANY. For gas for each lamp a $33.00 For cach lamppost straightened. . . 30 For each column releaded.. 500 For each stand pipe refitted 400 For each lamppost removed + 5.00 For euch lamppost resei 12 00 For each new lamp fitved up. 0.200000. v.12 00 The awards will be made in a few days. Sureties will have to be filed for the faithtu performance of the contract agreed upon, to the ainount of $100,000, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS. Weekly Statement of Receipts and Im- provements. Commissioner Van Nort makes tne following statement of public moneys received by tue De- partment of Public Works during the week ending yesterday (Saturday) :— For Croton water rent. + For penalties on Croton water rent For tapping Croton pipes... ‘ For vault permits ........... For sewer permits” ||. For sewer pipe sold to coutractors ROADS steven Beaded The Commissioner has transmitted the certil- cates of the cost of the jollowing improvements to the Board of Assessors, in order that the as- sessments therefor may be made :— Sewer in Little West Twelfth sti from Tenth avenue to Hud-son River. Sewers im lth and L2th ‘avenue and avenue A........ Underground drains between Seventy i Seen TTR) $4,613 5245 45,571 CITY AND COUNTY TREASURY. Comptroller Green reports the following disvurse- ments and receipts of tne treasury yesterday :— DISBURSEMENTS, Claims paid (number of warrants 16), amount i 2 $26,137 25,612 ). amounting Total (number of warrants 274). RECEIPTS. From taxes of 1873 and interest. From arrears of taxes, assessme $27,216 From collection of assessments and juterest. 155 From market rents and tees . . 740 From water rents.,.... 139 From licenses, Mayor's Office 3,730 From tees and fine 40 Tota’ Ove eeeeereueeeser teen ceeeeens $72,503 The Comptroiier paid on Friday the laborers on “big pipes’’ to the Ist inst,, amounting to $12,991. | STATISTICS, Fire Marshal Shekion reports twenty-nine fires for the week, involving a 1088 of $38,401, Insur- ance $167,500. The police arrested 1,683 Vedra this week. There were 459 births, 479 deaths, 143 marriage: 38 still births during the Dast week? ashi Mayor’s office was the scene of, and the | , Mayor officiated in, three marriage $6,455, in @ narrow, crookeil lane, one seems to step into | the centre of another city—a city of bargainers, | bickerers, Jews. The very atmosphere is heavily | laden with odors of the unwholesome decay | of old garments, old books, old furniture, The street on either side is lined | old metal, by lofty rows of houses, reaching up toward Be- the sky for the height of six or seven stories. tween these modern tenements (earthly purga- tories) are huddled some low, squalid, squatting, ruined wooden houses, in so tumbie-down ant greasy a State thatitis a wonder how any men or | Women can abide in their neighborhood, much less in them, From the small, grim windows, half | opened, and revealing within other still more sick- | ening views of poverty and indolence and filth, | hang bundies of old clothes; below them, from tbe awning-posts, swing other quantities ‘of rusty | habiliments, steaming out the gathered excresence | or much human wear into the damp and pungent air, and Gilling it with such heavy, depressing odors that the passer-by is more willing to run than walk to get away from the invisible incubus that weighs upon his lungs. Did you ever refiect upon AN “OLD CLO’S"’ SHOP? How many human beings have had association with the articles that burden its shelves, that lie | In_ tumbled heaps on the floor, in the corners, or swing in front of the door as pressing invitations to the public to enter and to bargain! What dif- | ferent kinds of men have these threadbare broad- | cloth coats enveloped, and on what different occa- sions have they been worn! ‘he swaggering young gallant, who, while pechhy im debt, made such havoc among tender hearts of grocery- men’s daughtern or biushing factory girls; the precise bachelor, whose wardrobe was | stolen one summer night while he was smoking his cigar on the veranda with his ladylove at nis side; the penny-a-liner whose reliance upon his own all- powerful wit carried him beyond his means; the broken-hearted politician whom the chances of fate have reduced from the high tide of fortane | to the stagnant pool of impecuntosity, where tears cannot amend hus loss or his want; the clerk with | and dear ones” to drain his purse, and other char- acters of a thousand different kinds are the now mote contingencies with which these unfortunate | garments have had piace in the world of tunings since their first birth in some fashionable or un- fashionable tailor shop, or ‘neath the tired fingers of some dutiful wife or muther, Who shall tell their story! It should be a poet, for the assertion is warrantable that ic would have pathos enough as well as humor, BAXTER STREET | 18 a world of itself, into which tew mortals con- yerge eXcept such as have known its limits before. It 18 the resort of the most desperate thieves of the metropolis, and on either hand of the stranger, | who walks wonderingly, hurriedly (pertaps horror- stricken) along its filthy pavements, are dens that, if the devil does not abide within, he might explore With profits to his store of available and practical | knowledge. Down under the ground, in darkness, amidst slime and cobwebs, through uncertain passages, by slippery steps, that seem leading to the end of the world, are such nooks as are never | reamed of even by persons who read the Arabian | ja | Nights and dime novels in their youth and in their | later days deem life wholly prosaic. These places | are called “noles,” some oi them | “HOLES IN THE WALL,"’ from the fact that they are entered through secret passages known but to few persons. The houses are inhabited by a race of cheats, who, with the instincts of thieving, take the saler part of buying the truits of crime and sheltering the criminals | when {it comes to “the pinch.” How they live one knows not, unless it be somewhat alter the man- ner of those people of the cities of the carth who in vileness became so bad that the great event of the deluge was devised to destroy them and sweep them away to death. Such is Baxter strect, the “Rag Fair” of New York. In other uncertain, crooked, dilapidated thor- | oughfares there are shops where everything under the sun may be found, from the ancient plate of once honorable families to the tarpaulin o1 the sailor, The windows are dirty, dark and dismal, and tilled with all manner of articles. Old brocade dresses, hung up by hooks, of the style of ten or twenty years ago; walking canes, rings by scores, set With rarest gems or the most worthless | glass, as the case may be; watches of rich werk- manship; trinkets that have once glistened in-con- | trast with beautiful complexions; and what not the Lord knows, The writer never visited one of these places, which event alwa; happened (of course) only | from curiosity, without ing thoroughly be- | wildered, The comfusion of almost everything 0 | human use under the sun, in heaps over which the | & poor Salary, and either dissipation or “near ones | aust has gathered and still gathers year by year, in | | great storerooms, where only the rats would seem | to be at home, is something nearly indescribable. | Me has often found cabinets, in delving into the | drawers of which bundles of old letters have come to light, and scraps of manuscript, out of which one cont weave legends and conjure dream There is a sad significance in the finding of gold and silver relics with tender | Words inscribed upon them, or the monograms or | crests of desolated families. THE CHATHAM STREET AUCTION ROOMS present likewise most singular pictures, On some | Occasions crowds of poor people gather in front of | the big-voiced, red-eved and kook-nosed vender, | Who stands majesticaily behind a counter which is covered with articles to be struck down with the | hammer. Ais assistant is fsually a person with a masked head, representing an ox, an asmor other | equally appropriate brute. This device serves | botn to frighten away timorous street children, | Who would be troublesome, and t/ attract the elder fools who stand’ about in gaping rongs. The scene is made lively by the fantastic gesticulations of: the satyric venders, both of whom give ocvasional vent, sotto voce, to vulgar jokes, setting the listeners in @ roar. Yel- jow lamps burn withont the door, and they burn, | too. witllin the door, gending a broad giare into | the latter. | by the entrance of a si the street, and tne scene te that at one or tae 10W- sears eames aos apen by the curse o! ir folly, and made hideous to the Bight of all those Who are nos filled with their fatal intoxication of veg aee ox any wate the door the great crowd a je Bowery, chatting or 5 thoughtful or thoughtless, Ar teseee ‘The second hand book stores in New Yerk are | most plenti‘ul in N: Beekinan and Ano streets, but these are somewhat diferent in char- acter from those mentioned at the beginning of this article, There are but a few so secluded as One of them, however, which is fa- millar to the writer, is kept by a man’ whose love for living among oid volumes, over which he is conuinually poring, has grown to a monomania, making him wild with unrest when he ts not amon; his cobwebbed shelves. He seems never pleased r into his shop, al- though he has no means of living other than by selling books. He has grown gray tn the trade, which has stored his mind with all manner of odd and pecuhar knowledge in many difficult jan- guages. He 1s @ walking encyclopedia of the curious, Rare books, to which he has taken a par- ticular fancy, he will never part with and cherishes them with fatherly affection. He sleeps among his books, has no friends of bis own blood and his habits and fantastic eccentricities of mind are those of a hermit, who might have lived his life in ®& cave as in a romance, far from human habitation, instead of in one of the by-strects of @ great restless city, and not have been greatly diferent in character Jrom what he is, In Nassau street the old bookshops are very numerous, and, being well known to all literary and scholastic men, are much frequented. The Quest private libraries find.their way into these emporiums at times, and the works collected through long years of research, which have been the landmarks of the intellectual life of some one or other, are sold to fresh generations of amateurs, whom they accompany iuto other spheres of existence, mayhap again to return, at some future time, to the dusty selves of the dealer. These shops afford the ee) Cpprtialhy for obtaining rare ‘and vaiu- able works at quite reasonable prices, To the young literary man, too, who is not very well paid, they give the means of gathering a library, at little expense, Of as much intrinsical value as if the works were fresh from the preas. The out-of-the-way nooks of New York afford material enongn for a volume much more enter- taining in matter than this article, which has been general in its character, In some future sketches tey may be treated more in detail. S| THE FISHERY COMMISSIOY. se | To THE EpiroR Or rHE HERALD :— | ‘The Commissioners of Fisheries, desirous of in- forming.the public as to what has been done and what is being done at their State hatching house, submit the following extracts from their last an- nual report :— Five million and forty-one thousand shad were successiully hatched and turned loose—by far the greater part in the Hudson—a small number being shipped to other localities where it was deemed advisable to attempt to colonize them. | During the period of five weeks intervening be- tween May 20 and June 30, 1873, at which date the fishing ceased, owing tothe high temperature of the water, the total aumber of native shad caugot was 1,642, from which 5,745,000 spawn were ex- tracted, In the year 1872 upwards of 7,500,000 young shad | were turned loose in the Hudson, which, together With the 5,000,000 iry put in this year, must even- tually increase the annual supply, inasmuch as heretofore the entire yield of tne Hudson has been Duc 1,000,000 yearly. © Uhree years ago the shad Asheries of the Hudson were 80 run down that very few of them were paying, and many tishermen Lad discontinued their labors, ‘Ihe yield for the last two years bas, however, improved, and witu the as- sistance of a proper law establishing a weekly clos- ing time, there is no doubt that the fisheries can be restored to their original condition. tu order to test as thoroughly as possible the question whether shad would thrive in iresh water Without access to the sea, 54,000 young shad were deposited in Canandaigua Lake on June 12, 1873; 80,000 were placed in Grana River, Michigan, on the 15t0; 54,000 in Cayuga Lake on the 16th; | 60,000 in Fox River, Wisconsin, on the 17th; 70,000 | in the Genesee River, on the 19th; 60,000 in Ash- tabula River, Ohio, on the 234; 60,000 in the | Ausable and Racine haa) Michigan, on the 26th; | and 25,000 in the Wabash River, Indiana, June 25. | We confidently predict, trom these experiments, a | rich barvest, as already shad seven inches tn | length have been caught in Lake Ontario. During the spring of 1873 it was decided to try the experiment of placing these fish in Caliornia waters. Accordingly, under the direction of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries, Professor Baird, Mr. L. Stone started tor California on the Sth of June with 80,000 young snad. Having de- osited them in various rivers, he returned and left again On the 25th with a fresh supply of 50,000, ail of which were contributed from our establish- Ment. On the 13th of June J. W. Milnor, Assistant United States Fish Commissioner, placed 54,000 in Calumet River, Illinois. We have reason to hope that this trial will meet with abundant suc- cess. On the whole, thereiore, the shad hatching operations jor this year have been most encourag- ing, and in the event of proper laws lor their pio- tection being passed, would, realize the toudest hopes of the most earnest sup- porters of fish culture. in the previons ones for the distribution of those jish which have not as yet been artificially culu- vated to advantage, such as bass o! all kinds, perch and a few other varieties. As these fish are constantly being distrivuted it is impossibie to give an exact statement of the number go used, but no doubt is entertamed that the demand, how- ever large, can be supplied. We have sent large Dumbers of grown black and rock bass and salmon trout spawn to Otsego Lake, N.Y. Of the former varieties, many have been taken in shiner nets, showing the rapid increase of the species. Of tne latter there are 125,000 spawn in process of hatching. BALMON. A large number o! the eggs of the Sacramento River salmon, obtained under the direction ot the United States Fish Commission on the McLeod River, one oi the tributaries of the Sacramento, in California, were shipped to the Atlantic States. ‘The plan of Professor Baird to distribute the eggs among the Fish Commissioners of the various Bast- ern States has been carried out with most of the shipments. Of a total number of 925,000 which ar- rived in good order New York has received 250,000. These eggs have now hatched ana the young salmon are in a fine condition. We intend placing | them in all the rivers and streams of the State | which are adapted to their growth. | Our natening house is situated at Caledonia, N. | | Y. Ivas built on a site acknowledged the best by | far in the United States for such a purpose. it has an abundance of water and acapacity lor hatching | about 10,000,000 fish. In addition to this it is | surrounded by ground peculiarly adapted for the | construction of ponds and for the various purposes of fish breeders. ROBERT B. ROOSEVELT, Commissioner. PERILS OF THE RAIL, Stnaegeesmne! A Collision Res lessness. OGDENSBURG, N. Y., Feb. 7, 1874, A collision occurred on the Rome, Watertown ana Ogdensburg Railroad, about one mile and a bal this side of Rensselaer Falls, at six o'clock last evening. Train No. 16 left Ogdensburg shortly be- fore six o'clock with two engines and thirty-four cars, In leaving Heuvelton a coach and baggage car broke from the train and the fact was not dis- covered till the train arrived at Rensselaer, when one of the engines returned to Heuvelton for the balance of the train, with the understanding that the passenger train coming from the south would be heid till they returned. Through some misunderstanding the passenger train was nat held, and the two trains collided one and a half miles north of Rensselaer Falls. One engine was thrown upon the other, completely wrecking both. Tue baggage car was also badly wrecked. Con- ductor Julison, of train No. 16, and a passenger on the train from the south, were slightly in- jured. The wreck ts now cleared away, and the train dune here at eight o'clock last night arrived here at noon to-day, Five Passengers Encased in a Burning Car. ALBANY, N, Y., Feb, 7, 1874. ‘The rear car of the train which left Whitehall at ten minutes past four this afternoon was thrown from the track into a ditch by a broken rail. The car, which contained five ngers, took fire and it Was with the utmost difficulty that the occupants were rescued. One of them was killed, two were hurt badly and one slightly. No names sre given, pat it is thought the one killed was a railroad man and belonged in Conoes. BATHING IN THE NOBTH RIVER, Exciting Scene on ao Jersey Ferryboat. The ferryboat Jersey City, that lett the slip foot of Cortlandt street at six o'clock last evening, had not proceeded half way across when # young man, evidently laboring under great excitement, pulled the stern, One of the deck hands immediately no- tifled the engineer and the engine was reversed. By the time the boat returned to the spot where the man jumped off eighteen minutes had elapsed, The man was seen hugging & large piece of ice, which he abandoned when a rope was thrown to Bie ‘The passengers crowded so closely on the stern that it was with great difficulty a ladder could be lowered. The adventurous swimmer was taken on board, conveyed sa deteer, City and thence back to New York. The police of the Twenty-sev- enth precinet took charge ol him for. a@ short time and then sent him to the Park Huspital. He gave his name as Bernard Devine, residing in Sixty-fith street, near Third avenue. He ascribed the at- tempt at suicide to family troubles, without doubt, | | of the Newport, ‘The same arrangements were made this year as | iting from Gross Care- | off his hat and coat and jumped overboard trom | COLLISION ON THE SOUND, The Steamboats Doris and New: port Rua Into Each Other Off Fisher’s Island. “6 arrow Escape from a Terrible Calamitv. N ‘The Sound steamboats Doris, of the Providence ine, and the Newport, of the Fall River line, came in collision of the eastern end of Fisher's Island twenty minutes past twelve o’clock on Saturday morning. The Doris was on her regular trip to this city and the Newport running to the east- ward, having left pler 28 North River on time Friday afternoon. The night was “very airty,” as it was expressed, the snow falling so fast and thick as to prevent the officers on watch from see- ing any considerable distance. Vortunately the damage done the vessels is not Serious, and so far as could be ascertained no one was injured. ‘The Doris reached her pier, 27 North River, in good season yesterday morning, and abouy noon ® HERALD reporter found Captaim Torry sitting at the dinner tabie In the smal! after cabin writing, 1% was said, his statement of the colitsion. When re- quested to give it for pubiication he modestly refused on the ground that in | would be injudictous, as in all ikelihood & lawsuit would grow out of the affair, and he wished to be right on the record. He said, how- ever, that the damage to the Doris was not of a serious nature; that nobody was hurt and the ma- chinery not deranged. While Captain Torry was decidedly courteous, one of the party with him in the cabin, and evidently belonging in the engine or fire room of the vessel, seemed to greatly fear | that the former would furnish a statement for pub- lication, a8, interrupting the conversation thus going on with the reporter, he advised him to re- frain from speaking about it in the forcible yet hardly polite language of “Don’t say a G—d d—n thing about it, Captuin.” This refined and mild- mannered engineer or fireman thought his inter- ference Was a master stroke of diplomacy, and looked for all the world as if he was proud of the advice be had given. Finding Captain Torry de- termined In his refusal to give particulars of the collision, the damage done the steamboat was inspected by the reporter, when it Was found that a hole, about four feet long by eighteen inches wide, had been made in the hull twelve feet trom the bow on the starboard aide, just above the water line, and this was covered with canvas and boards nailed over each end of the cloth. There can be no possible doubt that this steamboat had a narrow escape froin sinking and ajl hands on board Irom being lost, as lost they must have been in the terrible snow | Storm then raging. The next pee visited was the agent of the Providence line, Mr. Isaac Odell. He knew nothing about the particulars 01 the collision, or, if he did, would not admit it, ‘We want the other party to tell their story,” said he; ‘“‘we want to hear what they have got to say; we don’t think we are to am e, Pursuing the fagnity: Mr. Mangam, freight agent f the Fall River line, to which the Newport belongs, was called upon. He had not been ad vised of the particulars in the matter, but said thatin his interview with Captain Torry, of the Doris, an hour or so before, the latter admitted that “both boats had slowed their engines before they struck, or else ope or both would have gone to the bottom. Nobody was hurt, and the damage done was not serious,’ There is not the least doubt that the passengers and crews of the Doris and Newport narrowly escaped a terrible calamity. A Statement from Newport—The Doris Beld To Be tm the Wrong—Memories of the Metis Disaster. Newrort, R. L, Feb. 7, 1874. What threatenea to be an appalling accident through a Kind Providence has been averted, and a repetition of the horrors of the Metis disaster also avoided. The propeller Doris, as already an- nounced, while on her way to New York, from Providence, collided with the steamer Newport, Captain Simmons, of the Fall River line. The lat- ter’s stem was turned completely around, and the heavy wood ends above the water line were crusued to atems; the fagstaf was also carried away. Both vessels lay to for some time, as a blinding snow storm was prevailing at the time, and in order to examine the extent of tneir injuries. The Doris reported “no damage” to the officers Sails were immediately placed over the hole in the Newport, Fortunately the water was very smooth, and she did not leak faster than she could be kept free by the pumps. She arrived here at seven o'clock, and, aiter discharging freight, pro- ceeded to Fall River. This was ap ill-advised plan, and it is singular that the fate oi the Bristol, which, it will be remembered, collided with and sunk the British bark Bessie Rogers, August 10, 1872, and, after touching here, proceeded to Fall River, and was obliged to be beached near Coal Mines to pre- vent ber sinking, was Not a warping in this in- stance. There Was some consternation among the passengers, but the majority of them were remark- ably cool. ‘The repair shop of the company being at this place, the Newport was brought back here th afternoon, 1t 1s estimated that at the least it will take two weeks to repair the damages, | . Your correspondent, upon inquiry on board the Newport this evening, ascertained that @ signal was given by the Newport for the Doris to fali of to the left, the Newport at the same time steering to the right, but the Doris also hero A w the right and turning much faster than the Newport ‘was the cause of the coilision. | Nothing but an impartial investigation will de- | termine who is to blame in the matter. The Empire State, which goes on in the place of the Newport, will probably not reach New York before Sunday afternoon. Since last fall she has been laid up in the bend of the harbor, near the Asylum, and consequently was not in readiness for service, Having no donkey engine the hand pumps are being used to fill her | bowlers. Her anchors are also iast in the mud, and a large force of workmen are engaged in getting | them up. Captain Torry, who had charge of the Doris, was chief mate on the Metis, owned by the same com- | pany, at the time of the loss of the latter off Watch 1111, and it is a singular fact that the collision this morning occurred at about the same time, and alse | near the same spot, as the Metis disaster, | BILLIARD NOTES, Since the recent victory of M. Garnier over M, Ubassy, which the former won by over 140 points, there has been considerable excitement in billiard circles, and there 18 now @ prospect of several brilliant matches. Last evening Mr. Cyrille Dion authorised a HERALD reporter to make public his | willingness to play Mr. Garnier a game of 500 points at the French game, for $500 a side, Mr. Dion gives M. Garnier the choice of tables. M. Garnier was not present when the challenge was made, but will probably be heard from on Monday. The match between Cyrille Dion and Maurice Daly for $1,000 a side, will be played tu Tammany Hall on the evening of the 3d of March. There is some talk of a four-handed match at the French game between Messrs. Garnier, Maurice oe Dion and Ubassy. This game will pro ited come off during the latter part of the mon’ | _ Mr. Bessinger, the young champion of the West, | is at present in the city and practises daily at Gar- | nier’s rooms, on the corner of Broadway and Four- | teenth street. ‘The match between Garnier and Maurice Daly is not yet definitely arranged, as no money has been at UD. M Garnier has a challenge in_a sporting weekly to play any man in the world for $1,000 @ side at the | three ball game. | Asolemn requiem mass for the repose of the soul of the late Brother Philip, Superior General | of the Order of the Christjan Brothers, was cele- | brated yesterday morning in St. Patrick's Cathe- | aral, Father Kean officiated as celebrant, Father McClancy as deacon, Father Lynch as sub-deacon | and Father Salter as master of ceremonies. Though the day was not favorable to travellers the church was crowded. The schools and acade- mies under control of the Brothers were fully rep- resented, and over 100 Brothers were present, in- , lading Brother Rumphrey, Director, Manaattan “College; Brother Anthony, Sub-Direc Brother Telion, rector of the Catholic Protectory Brepnen. Director, De La Salle Instivute; Bro’ s vert m2, rty-second Street Academy; Brother Facile, First Superior of the Christian Brothers in America. The choirof Mafhattan College sang Ohnewald’ Lag ae Carroll age ae the or- gan. ‘Among the silos sul which attracted general attention were the ‘ ad Os, by Miss O*Neill, and the “Salve Regina,” by Miss Coie The sol ceremonies concluded about U8 we ner Quinn, V' General; Father Mdoney, r O Reilly, Father McNamee, Fatner Guicheteau, Father O'Flaherty, and several otharg Of the clergy of the digcene,