The New York Herald Newspaper, February 25, 1874, Page 6

NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. THE DAILY HERALD, pubtished every day tn he trar, Four cents per copy. Annual subscription vrice $12, ‘All business or news letters and telegraphic despatches must be addressed New Yorx Urraw. Letters and packages should be properly sealed. Rejected communications will not be re- turned. LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD—NO. 46 FLEET STREET. Subscriptions and Advertisements will be received and forwarded on the same terms | as in New York, Volume - XXXIX.. AMUSEMENTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING BOWERY THEATRE, STEAMBOAT TRIP TO JERSEY; Lid fitkoUais THE M. Bogins at § P. M. sue M £ SUN- ; closes wery.—A MRS, CONWAY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE, Washington street, Brooklyn.—MARY STUART, ‘at 8 P. M.,closes ut P.M. Mrs Bowers, METROPOLITAN THEATRE, No. 535 Bro ARI! Pb eu closes at 1030 F Me Matinee at 2 P- NIBLO'S GARDEN, Broadway con Prince and Houston, stre a LATHE RSTOCKING, at P. M.; closes at 10:30 P ADEMY OF MUSTO, Fourteenth st corner of Irving place.—Strakosch Italian Opers ye ALA, at 8 P.M. ; clones at LL P.M, dle. Torriani, Sig. Campanini and Maurel. Wwoop'’s MU r Thirtieth stre: FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, LOVE'S LABORS |. Mr. Harkins, Miss dua Dyas nty-third street and Broadway. : Closes at 10:30 B, GRAND 01 avenne and 'T AT SCHLOL, Begins at 745 P.M Fighth vy r Fox. GERMANIA THEATRE, Pourteenth street.—sCH ULD» ‘LOTTE BURSEHE, Begins ut 3 P. M.; closes at 10:45 P. M. THEATRE COMIQUE No, O44 Broadway —VARIBTY INT ¥. closet 100 B. “M. Matinee at NMENT, at3 BOOTH’S THEATRE, Sixth avenue and Twenty-third street.—Ch WOLD, at it P.M; closes at 45 P.M. “Man Janauschek, WALLACK’S THEATRE, Broadway and Thirteenth street— Mod atsP.M.; (lowes wt P.M. Mr, Lester Wallack, files Jeftreys “Wis OLYMPIC THEATRE Rroadway. between Houston ecker streets. — y And NOVELCY ENTERTAINMENT, a Closes at 10:45 P. M. Matinee ai 2 P. M. BROOKLYN PARK THEATRE, gpnosite City Hall, Brooklyn.—WHITE SWAN, at 8 P, ; closes at il P, M. TONY PASTOR’S OPERA HOTS! . Bowery. —VARIETY ENTERTAINM. Mi. ; closes at LP. M. iT, at 3P. BRYANT'S OPERA HOU Twenty third street, corner of Sixth « BULA IN BLACK (NEGRO MINSTRELS enone at lu P.M. BAIN HALL, Great Jones street and Latayetie pla: wt3P.M.; closes at iv &. M Broadway, corner of NiGH?, at 1 P.M; Closes at lo P.M. Fourteenth | street.— Caroline Richings+ Closes at New York, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 187: THE NEWS OF YESTERDAY, 'To-Day’s Contents of the Herald. TNFAMOUS OUTRAGES AND MURDERS BY IN. FURIATED MEXICANS | TWO TOWNS WAR. RING UPON EACH OTHER! THE MUR- DERERS OF SALVATIERRA ARKESTED— SEVENTH PaGE. BANQUET IN HONOR OF WASHINGTON’S MEM- ORY AT THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL—MINIS- TER SICKLES’ FAREWELL—S2VENTH Pace. PREMIER DISRAELI’S MINUR APPOINTMENTS SUBMITTED TO THE BRITISH SOVEREIGN— M. THIERS REASSERTS HIS FIRM FAITH | IN TH" REPUBLIC OF FRANCE—SEV ENTH PAGE. INDIAN FAMINE, HOME RULE, ENGLISH | JACO! AND THE LABOR QUESTION DISCUSSED BY PREMIER DISRAELI BE- FORE HIS BUCKINGHAMSHIRE CONSTIT- UENTS! LENGTHY EXPOSITION OF BIS POLICY—FovurtH Pager. THE KILLING OF STEVE LOWERY—Tsntu Pace. SENATORS SCHURZ AND MORTON WAGING BITTER WARFARE UPON THE CURRENCY BATTLE GROUND! SPECIAL WASHINGTON ITEM ENTH PAGE. THE FIERCE FIGHT AGAINST THE RUM TRAF- FIC CONTINUED IN OHIO! ITS HISTORY— TENTH PAGE. WOrUL WANT AND GENEROUS GIPTS! THE OPERATIONS OF THE VARIUUS MODES OF RELIEF—FirtH Pace. “BOARDERS, AWAY!” SUPERB NAVAL EVo- LUTIONS BY COMMODORE PARKER'S SQUADRONS! A PROMISE OF GREATER EF- FICENCY IN THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES— Turd PaGR. THE #SEMORY OF THE LATE COMMISSIONER SMITH HONORED IN THE M INTERESTING CATHOLIC THIRD PAGE. INTERESTING SUIT TO TEST THE LEGALITY OF A SECOND MARRIAGE! JAY GOULD CON- TES HIS LAWYERS’ FEES—Fourra PAGE. THE FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL STATUS AND OPERATIONS YESTERDAY—Eicura Pace. D.C. McKAY ARRESTED FOR THE STOCK THE ESPOUSAL— E. EXCHANGE SWINDLE—~LUCAL FATALI- | TIES AND CASUALTL NINTH Pace. Tue Navan Damu—tThe fleet has had quite a lively time during the cruise in the Gulf of Florida. of the evolutions, from which it will be seen that in spite of the bad condition of the navy, } 60 far as the ships are concerned, the men and | officers are in an efficient state. We hope the day is not far distant when Congress will sce | the wisdom of giving the country o really effective fleet ; but in the meantime the naval officers must do the best they can with the old ypatched-up sea tubs on which the nation de- menda for defence TY ENTERTAINMENT, at | e.—CINDER. | c, at BP. | We publish an interesting account | NEW YORK HERALD, _ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 95; 1874.—TRIPLE SHEET, The Jayme and Sanbern Jobs—Re- forms Demanded in Our Customs System. If the most ingenious imp of mischief had , laws and regulations for this country he would have hardly succeeded better than have those legislators and ministers who are responsible forthe enactments and rulings that now pre- vail. We have a system which is neither pro- tection nor free trade, which levies the highest taxes and secures the lowest revenue, and which, while requiring an army of phi- losophers and experts to carry it into operation, provides for the purpose only untrained and, for the most part, inexperienced officials. We protect the ten million dollars’ worth of iron rails annually imported into the country, | but not the ten million bushels of grain which | are also annually imported. We accord free | trade in tea and coffee, articles upon which | export duties are levied in the countries of their growth, and upon which any remission of taxes here is sure to be followed by a cor- responding imposition there, thus depleting the Treasury without relief to the taxpayors. | We tax sugar by a Dutch standard of color, while it is purchased all over the world by standards of sweetness, clarity and | crystallization. We tax wool by a scientific classification of blood, of which there are | it is dealt in by a simple commercial classifica | tion having reference merely to the length and | thickness of the fibre or the purposes to which | itis to be devoted. We tax women’s shawls ond balmoral skirts and men’s hats and broad- cloths by the pound, whereas they are invari- | ably bought and sold by the piece or yard. Salt, which we cannot do without, is taxed one hundred per cent, while silk, with which been called upon to frame a set of customs f over three hundred and eighty varieties, while | being likewise made for all articles not specified. Many of these articles are | not, imported into the country at all, ‘are not even used here; some of them are im- ported in such small quantities that the duties collected do not defray the cost of collection; while others again are imported only because something else is interdicted by heavy rates of duty. All this is puerile and does not in the least subserve the cause of protection, in the supposed interest of which this portion of the system was established. Let a few principal articles be selected as the incidents of taxa- tion—for it must not be forgotten that it is the people who pay the taxes and not the articles themselves. Therefore, as a question of rev- enue, or even protection, it practically matters little, except in respect of justice and economy in collection, whether the customs revenues are based on twenty artiales or twenty thou- sand. Let the rates, when once fixed on these articles,’ remain fixed for a term of years. \ “Duties on imports,” says the Secretary of the Treasury in his recent report, ‘are now im- posed under fourteen principal statutes relat- ing to classification and rates, besides twenty other acts or resolutions modifying or affect- ing tariff acts, all passed between March 1, 1861, and March 4, 1873,°to which must be added the very numerous customs revenue laws enacted prior to March, 1861, and re- maining either wholly or partially in force,” and which the act of that date was intended to, but did not, supersede. Here are thirty- four alterations of the'tariff during the course of twelve years. Is it not. patent that such a kaleidoscopic system must reduce the foreign commerce of the country to the mere level of gambling? Who is going to invest his capital in importing merchandise when the expe- we can dispense, is taxed at sixty per cent, and paintings admitted free or ata low rate of duty. Some articles are taxed specifically, that is by weight, measure or number; some | ad valorem; some specifically and ad valorem j ample, by all of the following tests com- | bined :—Color, measure, weight, fineness and value. Some articles are taxed by their commercial names, some by scientific names, some by the L | substances of which they are composed, some by the countries in which they aro produced, {some by several names and some by no mames. Hence, on one day buck- wheat has been decided by the Secretary of the Treasury to be dutiable at | ten per cent, and on the next day, without | any change of legislation intervening, to be | dutiable at twenty per cent. Hence neckties | were decided to be dutiable at the same time | at respectively five different rates of duty by five different legal advisers of the Treasury Department, and for five different reasons. Hence olives pickled were assessed at thirty- five per cent, while pickled olives were ad- * | mitted at thirty percent. Hence it is often | cheaper to enter goods at one port of the United States than another, and hence it has become a common thing not to enter them at | any port, but to ran the risk of punishment | for smuggling rather than submit to the rnin- | ous caprices of ignorant subaltern officials. Under a system of condonation adopted by the Treasury even the penalties for smuggling | can be commuted at reasonable rates. That these unjust, incongruous and im- practicable laws and usages have contributed to break down our foreign commerce and commercial marine and to disgust honest and * respectable men with the importing trade, | substituting for them in many instances those nomadic and unprincipled adventurers who, | __ | like other birds of prey, are alwaya to be found where corruption is going on, are facts well known. The only question is, How shall | these results be set aside, and out of the exist- ing chaos, pillage, wastefulness and inequal- ity be drawn order, regularity, economy and justice? This question can only be solved by | reference to the causes of the prevailing con- | fusion of our customs laws and the attempts | hitherto made toward reform. | The reforms hereinafter adverted to have | all of them at times been recommended by | such of our public officials as have devoted | their attention to the subject. A codification | of the Treasury regulations was completed | | and printed by Mr. Guthrie in 1857, with the | view of reforming the customs system. This | was followed by a codification of the laws on | | the subject, into which many important re- forms were introduced. But Mr. Guthrie went out of office before the work was pre- sented to Congress, and it slept for nine years in a pigeon-hole of the department until, in 1866, and upon the recommendation of Mr. | Guthrie, who was then in the Senate, it was ordered to be printed and laid before Congress. Mr. Guthrie shortly afterward retired from public life and the work fell into oblivion. Between 1866 and 1868, in the reports of the Revenue Commission and the Bureau of Sta- tistics, the subject was again brought to the surface, and quite vividly in the so-called Suppressed Report of the last named year. But, its presentation becoming mixed with dis- cussions on the theories of free trade and pro- tection, it was relegated to the limbo of un- done things, and has there since remained. The chief faults of our customs laws are that they are too comprehensive, they are altered too frequently, and their base—foreign market valuation, plus charges and commissions— is entirely too indefinite. Instead of ad- mitting foreign goods to be entered only st ten or _ twelve principal | ports they are allowed to be entered at one | hundred and thirty-six ports. There have, | therefore, to be maintained one hundred and | thirty-six custom houses and one hundred and thirty-six staffs of officials. At thirty-two of | these places there never have been any imports | at all; at thirty-nine others the duties received do not equal the expenses paid for collecting them, while at many of the rest, where the re- ceipts equal or exceed the expenditures, there | never would have been any goods entered but | | for the fact that the officials were inexpe- | rienced or dishonest and the importer saw an advantage in diverting bis goods from the | usual channels of trade to market. These tacts | have been frequentiy pointed out by our execu- tive officers snd legislators at Washington— | more recently by Mr. Dawes—and should form | the basis of reform number one. | Reform number two demands that the at- tempts hitherto made in our tariff schedules, to include everything which is in the heavens, together, and some, cotton goods, for ex- }. _rience of the past twelve years proves that nearly three changes per annum will be made _in the future tariff laws? And who dares to be content with a moderate profit who enters upon such a venturesome trade? Reform number three has reference to the basis of valuation. It so happened that our commercial and navigation system was estab- lished at a time anterior to the great reforms which these systems have undergone in all other countries, and this, perhaps, accounts for the fact that we still adhere to the foreign valuation basis long after its abandonment as impracticable by nations more progressive in this respect. We have also adhered to Oliver Crom- well's navigation laws, which he copied from Spain, and, until within afew years, actually measured our ships by the model of an antique galleon which, two centuries be- fore, Charles IL had caused to be moored in the Thames fora standard. In 1842 or 1843, through some oversight of legislation, this foreign valuation was fora few months set aside; but, the mistake being rectified, it was resumed and has continued ever since. In 1866 it was rendered still more difficult of practical application by the addition of charges and commissions, and it is under this feature of the law that much of the trouble sought to be remedied by the bills lately introduced in Congress has occurred. But even without charges and commissions the “foreign market valuation” of an article is often difficult, and | sometimes impossible of precise determina- tion. The remedies proposed will, therefore, not meet the case. What we need is a com- plete settlement of all doubt as to the dutiable value of an article, and this can only be ob- tained through the adoption of home valua- tion in the place of foreign valua- tion—i. ¢, the average value of the article in. the principal markets of the United States, to be ascertained and fixed periodically by our officers of the customs, as is now done in England and elsewhere. Coupled with the adoption of this measure should be such a lowering of the rates as that the sums of the new rates on the new valua- tions should not vary materially from the sums of the old rates on the old valuations, ‘The country wants no commissions to brood over or expatiate on these reforms, nor to mingle their discussion with that of other questions and so endanger their adoption We want no more codifications of the laws, no more printing of regulations. We have been through all this before, and even now are paying at the same time for no less than three different codifications. What we want is a brief bill from the Ways and Means Com- inittee embodying the reforms mentioned, and specifying some time in the future—so as to give fair notice to everybody—when they shall go into operation. This being done, we shall hear no more jobs hatched by Jayne nor contracts by San- born, and our foreign trade will be free to again assume proportions commensurate with the rank of our country among commercial nations. An Excetient Oprorruniry.—A creature who signs himself R. F. B. is unable to under- stand how a lady can have given a check for five hundred dollars, as reported by us, with- out furnishing any clew to her identity. He supposes the check must have been signed, and we can assure him it was; but if he will urge his brains to a little extra effort he may comprehend that there are several thousands of persons in this city whose names will give value to a check, and that the lady may have reposed her confidence in one of these rather than'give her name to the.pnblic. As 9 mat- ter of fact the check referred to was signed by Mr. Read, of the Hoffman House, and this gentleman volunteers the statement that, though he is not altugethtr at liberty to give up the lady’s name, yet, if RF. B. is pars ticularly desirous to know it, and will show his sincerity by giving a check of equal amount for any public charity and calling on him, his curiosity can be gratified. Ls tei Intersectxe War ix Mexico.—The nnfor- | tunate sister republic seems to be in @ wretched state of disorder. The townsmen of Quimixtlan and Huascaleca got into a row, which resulted in the death of a number of persons, the sack of the town of Huas- calecn and the indiscriminate slaughter |of the inhabitants. The militia of the neighboring towns were marching to the scene of the atrocities to endeavor to re- store order. It appears impossible that such savagery could exist among a people pretend- ing to be civilized; but, what with insurrec- tions, brigandage and a little independent slaughter: for the pleasure of slaying, it is to the earth beneath or the waters beneath the earth, shall beabandoned. The existing tariff acta, amendments and decisions contain over be feared that Mexico will not soon be able to lay claim to any considerable amount of civili- gations the American Geographical Society. ‘asep Gomme, spelled’ Walkdlon provision | Mr, MacGakan’s Appearance Hefore [the Governor nas the right and power & ,temdye him the controversy has beef: cut When travellers return from journeys of short by a stroke of tho pen. peril in remote lands it is fitting that they Information and Queries for Mr. Brace. should be honored. The American Geograph- ical Society, in inviting Mr. J. A. MacGahan | to recite, in the large hall of the Cooper Insti- | ‘tute, the story of his chivalric and dangerous horseback ride through Central Asia, has shown but a just appreciation of the merits of @ gentleman who has not only travelled, but who has observed and is able to tell what he has observed. Mr. MacGahan, as the corre- spondent of the Hznatp, was the only journal- ist who succeeded, in the face of many harass- ing obstacles, in joining the forces of Gen- eral Kaufmann and in participating in the bombardment and capture of Khiva, His letters, as published in _ this journal, were graphic, yet modest, describing countries which had never been faithfully portrayed before by an English pen. Having been further into the heart of Central Asia than any American traveller, at a time of great political changes in that part of the world, Mr, MacGahan is the only gentleman alive who can give us a true and impartial his- tory of the rise and progress of the Russian quent Turcoman war and life in that desert lying on the right bank of the modern Oxus, It is pleasant to know that a New York audi- ence will be the first to listen to the story of that extraordinary campaign, and that the Geographical Society will be honored by the presence of General Sherman, himselt a trav- eller in the Caucasus. A Good Movement, Nothing more sensible has been proposed during the discussions on charity than the project discussed at the meeting on Monday evening, at the Cooper Institute, for forming Central Bureau for the protection of our charities. This whole system of alms- giving and alms-gathering should be under stringent and judicious control. There | should be the utmost liberality as to religion, race and nationality, and the widest publicity as to the money gathered and the results attained by expending it. The first object to be gained by sucha bureau is the opportunity it affords for a fair distribution of money to all charities. There are many liberal people who would gladly contribute of their substance to aid in works of humanity if they could be sure the gift would be divided around in a fair manner. Many subscriptions have been sent to the editor of the Hrratp to be bestowed at our discretion upon the most worthy. So many are worthy that we find it invidious to make any distinction. If this bureau will accept any trust of this kind we shall gladly and promptly transfer to it all the sums that havo been sent to our care. A bureau composed of men like Theodore Roosevelt, Dr. Hall and Father McGlynn is sure of public confidence. The second object to be gained is a reform does not inspire public confidence. Men like Brace and Barnard should be compelled to keep open books. A check should be put upon extravagant allowances, trips to Europe, salaries, and any expense, indeed, that does not directly benefit the poor. A reform like this would do more to confirm public con- fidence in the management of our general charity system than any scheme that could be devised, and we are glad that the proper steps have at last been taken to insure its success. The Franking Privilege. It is to be hoped that the oblique effort to re-enact the franking privilege will not succeed. The precious right of members of Congress to freight the mails with worthless matter was for many years a serious nuisance, but Congress- men held on to it with the utmost tenacity. At length, however, the Jaw creating the abuse was abolished; but the mails have not been free from the rubbish of the document rooms of the Capitol a year till it'is sought to restore the privilege. The real reason why Congressmen desire it is to gratify their vanity and personal ambition in sending their own specches to their constituents, and to use it for campaign purposes in spirited political contests. It was this which made it so much @ nuisance and which, besides, had the effect of vastly increasing the bulk of the public printing. Documents were printed in large quantities merely because Congressmen could show many of their constituents the delicate compliment of personal regard by mailing them a worthless speech or an un- important report. If the privilege is renewed all its abuses will be renewed with redoubled effect. It is a hopeful sign that the attempt at its restoration found able opposition in the House, and we cannot think that the old law will be re-enacted or that anything like the old law will be allowed to take its place. There is ' good reason, perhaps, why newspapers should be carried free in the counties where they are published, not because this is of any advan- tage to the newspapers, but as a matter of ac- commodation to the people. Aside from this there is no class of mail matter which ought to go free. The abolition of the franking privilege has not been fairly tried, and after it has been tested nobody will want it restored except the few politicians who wish to use it for their own purposes, ’ Kmuzp sy a Derecrive,—No inquest has yet been held on the body of McNamara, killed by the detective; but the detective is at large on bail.~ We wait with some curiosity to know the result of the inquest, and shall watch the trial—if a trial ever takes place— with interest, because we would like to know if people have any rights whatever as against the rambling hunters of men who are called detectives because they never detect any- thing, and who seem to take special delight in exhibiting their indifference to all re- straints. In any well governed city Leahy would go to prison fora term of years on a sentence for manslaughter, and this would teach detectives who carry pistols to handle them carefully. Is there no hope for such a result in this case ? Disrmicr Artorney Barrrron’s Removan.— The Governor's letter of dismissal bas, after a little defy, been handed to District Attorney Britton. The cause of the dismissal is not very clear, and the displaced official thinks he has been unjustly dealt with. In a letter which we published yesterday from Mr. Britton he made out a case for himself as @ victim of some dark plotters, but os expedition, the fall of Khiva, the subse-‘ of some of the charities whose management | Mr. Charles L. Brace, Secretary of the Chil- dren's Aid Society, has again been heard from. "We expected him to advocate the distribution of charities, as he has done, through organ- | ized institutions like his own. And, more- ,unsectarian in character and management? Since when, then, has it become a Protestant .be well if more prominent officials of China } over, we expected him to oppose any and every other method of distribution which does not bring grist to hisown mill. This he has done also, But he has done more. Instead of denying the damaging statements made by correspondents, and tho ugly facts gathered from his own reports, he cries out, Soup, soup! —we are jealous andare exalting Catholic charities and belittling Protestant chari- ties, May we ask Mr. Brace how many thousand dollars he has received dur- ing the past twenty years {rom the city, county or State Treasury simply and solely on the ground that his society was institution? Or, if it is still unsectarian, how can we be accused of attacking ‘Protestant charities ?”’ Perhaps Mr. Brace, when he answers these queries, will also favor us with the religious standing of himself and » few of those very eminent gentlemen under whose respectable and non-sectarian skirts he takes refuge from this outburst of public indigna- tion. Mr. Brace himself not only delights to “be called “reverend,” but encourages the idea that he is a regularly ordained minister, though we are credibly informed his infidelity was too rank, even when he was a student in the Union Theological Seminary of this city, to admit his ever becoming pastor of an | evangelical society or church, and hence he was never ordained. Mr. Brace travelled in Europe lately, and must have known or heard (for he went osten- sibly to make inquiries on this and kindred topics) that voluntary charities like his own had become so rotten and cor- rupt in the British metropolis that pauperism in some districts had increased more than one hundred fold, while the num- ber of charitable institutions like his had in- creased, also, so that Parliament had to stepin and turn out the horde of avaricious secro- taries, assistants and clerks who were enrich- ing, or had enriched themselves at the expense of the neglected and deserving poor. Itis quite possible we may come to snch a point in the history and experience of benevolence in this metropolis of the New World. The same agencies are at work here, and if this exposure does not stop them they will produce similar results. A Tureatenep Temperance, CrvsapE IN Bnooxtyy.—The anti-ram epidemic still con- tinues to spread. It has reached the City of Churches, and it threatens to assume a most serious form. Next week the women of Brooklyn are to assemble in Dr. Cuyler’s church and organize for a crusade against the rum shops in the city. The Brooklyn women are as famous for their pluck and daring as they are for their beauty. Let the publicans beware ! Tue Watt Srazer Fonceny—Annest oF McKax.—There was another little flutter yes- terday relative to the late forged letters to the Stock Exchange. Mr. McKay was arrested, taken before Justice Bixby and held to bail in five thousand dollars. McKay, it will be remembered, was the individual who profited by the forgery, through the advice he had received and through operating in the stocks concerned. He expresses himself indignant at being arrested, and it remains to be seen if he had any guilty knowledge of the forgery. It is hardly to be presumed a warrant of ar- rest would have been issued if there were not sufficient reasons for doing so. Still, there is much reticence and affected mystery on the part of the Court and police about the matter, We shall see whether the authorities have got any clew to the crime or only a mare’s nest. Cuanrraste Butcuers.—The butchers of West Washington Market have given a most liberal donation for the benefit of the poor of Harlem. One item of the charitable gift con- sists of nine sheep. Generosity like this secures the poor from suffering and deserves the highest praise. Tae Curvese ComMissionrn aT THE WHITE Hovsr.—The Chinese Commissioner of Edu- cation, Chin Lan Pin, who is on bis way to Cuka on ao special mission regarding the Chinese coolies in that island, had an inter- view yesterday with the President. He was introduced by Secretary Fish. It was merely a call of courtesy, the Commissioner having no official position with our government. The usual complimentary expressions were used on the part of both the President and Com- missioner. The latter remarked, however, that both this nation and his own were deeply interested in education. He referred, also, to the prosperity of the United States. It would could see the excellence of our institutions and progress of the country. In that way the hope expressed by the President, that the in- tercourse between the United States and China would become more general and the friend- ship uninterrupted, might be realized. Ar Wuosz Exrense did Mr. Charles L. Brace visit Minnesota last summer, and write cor- respondence therefrom lauding Indian Com- missioner Smith and eulogizing Jay Cooke's Northern Pacific Railroad, when he must have known that the management of each was worthy of condemnation and not of approba- tion? How many railroad bonds_or Indian land scrips did the secretary of the Children’s Aid Society receive for these valuable services ? ‘Tue Commune 1x New Yors.—In another column will be found a curious story, which purports to bea report of the proceedings at Communist meetings held in this city. The information comes from a French detective employed by the Superintendent of Police. If the report is reliable it proves the absolute folly and wickedness of the men who, without the impelling motives of the Parisian Com- munists, desire to imitate their atrocities. Some excuse may be found for the oppressed Frenchmen who, in the excitement and frenzy of civil strife, were guilty of crimes against society. But there is none for the men who coolly and deliberately edge on men in a free country to the commission of acts of outrage and violence, The police do well to keep their eyes on such mep, so that, should J the peace of the city be broken through their the law may be able to seize on forest the abettors of a policy of violence fae ice,--The city and county the leadership of General Sigel, payer, wely into the charity lime. Over five dojlars have been sub- scribed by the officers\gyd clerks of the de- partments to relieve \the\existing distress. The examplé is a good one, a other publio employés would do well to‘folloyy it. Mn. Disrants at Bucamonam.—We print this morning the speech which\Mr. Disraeli, on the 10th inst., delivered at Bucking- ham. The speech will be found to be readable and interesting; and it must have afforded an agreeable treat to the gentlemen and farmers of Buckinghamshire. It reveals great ability, like everything which falls from Mr. Disraeli’s lips or emanates from his pen. Good enough for the hustings, it must be pronounced weak and defective so far as it reveals or indicates any purpose or policy for the future, A do-nothing policy will not for any length of time suit the British people, and a reactionary policy is impossible, Mr. Disraeli, however, is not barren of re source, and time must be allowed him to ma- ture his plan and to reveal his purposes, Tue Woman's Crusape.—The war on ram- selling is being carried on vigorously under the direction of Dio Lewis. A great deal of enthusiasm has been wrought up, and it would appear that some beneficial results will be obtained by the movement. Columbus, Ohio, may be said to be in the power of the modern crusaders, and the rumsellers are a routed and scattered host. In another col- umn will be found an interesting account of @ woman’s convention to organize the State against the liquor traffic. Mr. Gruman gives three thousand loaves to be distributed among the poor. The people have evidently taken hold of the question of relief in a practical manner. They aro re~ solved that no deserving person shall foel the pangs of hunger. . Tue Boston Scuoor Commrrrez.—The irre- pressible committeemen of the Hub are not content to accept the decision of the Supreme Court as to the right of women to sit on the School Board. By a close majority they have refused to reconsider their former action ; 50 that the ladies will have to force their way in by the action of the law courts. The Hubtites are evidently not over gallant, as they have not yet learned the value of the old French injunction, Place aux dames. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE. A. 8. Diven, of Elmira, is staying at the Hoffman House. Ex-Governor Horatio Seymour is at the St, Nicholas Hotel. Rev. James Freeman Clark, of Boston, is staying at the St. James Hotel. Professor W. P. Blake, of Yale College, 1s regis- tered at the Albemarle Hotel. General J. N, Knapp, of Governor Dix's staff, a quartered at the Windsor Hotel. Mr. Duncan McDonald, of Montreal, is residing vemporarily at the Windsor Hotel, Ex-Senator Alexander Caldwell, of Kansas, is among the recent arrivals at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Mr. William J. McAlpine, Engineer in Chief of the new Capitol at Albany, is at tne Hoffman House. The Dayton Journal says:—“‘A. Damphool has introduced in the Ono Legislature a bill to elect police officers.” Elder Jacob Knapp, the great Baptist revivalist, is near the close of his days at Rockford, Ill. He has a pulmonary disease. A man named Salmons shot another man named McCherry through the body at Carlisle, Ky., a few days aince, and was fined $2 50, In the District of Columbia there are twenty- seven George Washingtons, four Thomas Jeffer- sons, fous John Adamses and three James Madi- sons. Messrs. Robert Garrett, John King, Jr., and J. R. Sharp, Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- Toad Company, have apartments at the St. Nicholas Hotel. There has never been a clergyman, lawyer, phy- sician, editor, deacon, steward, church warden, clags leader nor son of a clergyman in the New Hampshire State Prison. Mrs. Carrie Jessup, of New Haven, Conn, hes in- vented a compartment pot, in which corned beef, fresh codfish, potatoes and plum pudding can all be boiled at the same time. The oldest milkman is now to be brought out. ‘They have found one in Hudson, N. Y., who has been going his rounds nearly twenty years. The praying people in Ohio should send for him; he can so well attest the benefits of water. Fannie Larrimore, of Hall’s Cross Roads, Queen Anne county, Md., can go into a trance when sne likes, and come out when sie pleases. During her absence from the world she visits all the localities in the upper and lower regions, and interests her friends by @ description of her travels. A lady in Kingston, N. H., has died of “progres~ sive locomotor ataxia.” {t was the general im- pression umong her acquaintances, as soon as her disease became known, that she never could re- cover. The London Spectator says the late Glad- stone Ministry died of the same disease. WEATHER REPORT. Wank DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OP THE CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER, WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb, 25—1 A. M. For Wednesday, in the Southern States, con- tinned northeasterly winds, falling barometér, cloudy and rainy weather. For the Western Gulf States, winds backing to northerly, with clondy weather. For THB MIDDLE ATLANTIO STATES, FALLING BAROMETER, NORTHEAST WINDS, CLOUD AND RAIN. For New England northwesterly winds partly cloudy weather, followed by northeast winds, rising temperature and cloudy weather. For the lower lakes and Onio Valley north and east winds, rising temperature, increasing clouai- ness and possibly light snow or rain. For the Northwest and the upper lake region falling barometer, higher temperature, southwest and northwest winds, followed by cloudy weather. Cautionary signals are ordered for Noriolk, Cape Henry, Wilmington and Cape May. The Weather in This City Yesterday. ‘The following record will show the changes in the temperature for the past twenty-four hours in comparison with the corresponding day of last ar, a8 indicated by the thermometer at Hudnui's Photmacy, HMRALD Buliding -— 1873, 1874. it Ave! erature yesterday « Bade Average adi hide) for Hrehtegd bec date last year.....+.++ sereeeee OE NAVAL INTELLIGENCE, Change of the United States Naval Head~ quarters in Chinese Waters from Yoko hama to Nagasaki. The Hong Kong (China) Matt of January 8 re. Ports:—“Nagasaki is to be made the headquarters of the United States Nav: and all kohame, in these raters, 8 stores are to be ramoved | thither from Yo! oud Hong Bong."