The New York Herald Newspaper, April 11, 1874, Page 6

er . 6 NEW YORK HERALD SROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR, ° THE DAILY HERALD, published every day in the rear, Four cents per copy. Annual subscription price $12. Rejected communications will not be re- tarned. Letters and packages should be properly sealed. SRY Rs ii 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 AFTER! LYCEUM THEATRE, e Fourteenth street, near Sixth aveutie.—Graad Parisian Folly, at 3 P. M.; closes at IP. M. Matinee ati 30 P.M, Wwoop’s MUS IM, Broadway, corner of Thirtieth street ESCAPED FROM SING SING, at2 P. M.; closes at 4:30 7, M. Same ats P, M.; closes wt L030 PS. IF TH THEATRE. yp, Twent th né Broadway.—CHA y, a Er olsese at Wo P.M. Miss Ada a Dyas, Miss Fupuy Davenport, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Lewis, Matinee at 1:30 P.M. 19U EIgPATYMENT, ats No. 514 Broadway. ¥ nny tinee at2 P. P.M. , closes at i030. M. GERMANIA THEATRE, Fourteenth street, near Irving place.—MONEY, at 5 P. Mj closesat POM BOOTH’S THEATRE, Sixth avenue and Twenty-third street.—ZIP, a M.; closes at 1045 P.M. Matinee at 1:30 215 P. M. WALLACK’S THEATRE, Broadway and Thirtieth street.—THE VETERAN, at 8 P. M.; closes at Il P.M. Mr. Lester Wallack, Miss deffreys Lewis, Matinee at 1:30 P. M. ACADEMY OF Fourteenth streets and leving pl MARTHA matinee, at 10 ¥ Tima di Murska. ic, Tralian Opera— Ss ar iw P.M. MRS, CONWAY'S BROOKLYN THEATRE, Washington street. near Fulton street, Brooklyn.—THE FAIKY CiKCLE, at 8 P.M: closes at li P.M. Mr. and Mrs. Barney Williams. Matinee at2 P.M. OLYMP' Broadway, between p VaUvEVILLE and NOVELTY ENTERIAL 7:45 P. M.; closes at 10:45 P.M. Matinee at2 ». ATRE, nd “Bleecker streets — GRAND OPERA HOUSE, Eignth avenue and Twenty-third street EILEEN OGE, at ® P.M; closes at li P.M. Mr. and Mrs. Florence Matinee at 1:J0 P.M. BROADWAY THEATRE, Broadway, opposite Washington Place. —HUMPTY DUMPTY AT HOME, & M.; closes at 1 P.M. &e., at 3. G. UG Fox. Matinee at 1-30 P.M. BROOKLYN PARK THEATRE, opposite City Hali, Brooklyn.—A WOMAN'S WRONGS, AcSP.M.; closes atil P.M. Mrs. F.S. Chanfrau, Mat Anee at2P. M. BOWERY THEATRE, nd VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT. Be: loses at 11 P.M. Bowery. —N Ging at SP. THEATRE, 'Y¥ ENTERTAINMENT, at No. 585 Proadway.—VARL Matinee at2 P.M. ‘7:45 VY. M.; cloves at 10:3) P, NIBLO'S GARDEN. Broadway, between P1 and Houston streets. —DAVY CROCKETI, at 8 P.M. 10:0 P.M. Mr. Frank 5 Mu; closes at Mayo. Matinee ut 1:30'P. M. STADT THEATRE, ee ree BRAESIG, at 8 P. M.; closes at TONY PASTOR'S OPERA HOUSE, No. 201 Bowery.—VARIETY ENTERVAINMENT, at 8 P. ML; closes at ii P.M, Matinee at 2 P.M. BRYANTS OPERA HOCUS! Twenty-third street, near Sixth avenue. —NEGRO MIN- STREUBY, &c.,ar8 P.M; closes atl0P. M. “Matinee at STEINWAY HALL, Fourteenth street.—Theodore Thomas’ Matinee Concert, at2?. N.—Benesit of Mr. H. K. Mumpbreys; Comcert at SP. M.; closes at 10 P. M. ASSOCIATION HALL, : ‘Twenty third street.—ir. Spencer's Readings, at 2 P. M. Broadway, corner ot Tni. MOONLIGHT, ati P.M. c) M.; closes at 10 P.M. M, street —PARIS BY P.M. Same at7 P. Sew York, Saturday, April 11, 1874, From our reports this morning the probabilities are that the weather to-day will be clear. Awormer American my Cvusa has fallen into the hands of the Spaniards and may become a | victim to Spanish cruelty. The conduct of Dockery and of the consular agent at Nue- vitas is unaccountable from the news so far | received, and we prefer to wait for further intelligence before expressing an opinion upon the arrest and trial of this man. Tae Mississrepr Fioop begins to alarm the planters. The breaking up of winter and ‘the late copious fall of rain and of snow, which soon melts, have caused the river to rise greatly and make some breaks in the levee. The poverty of the South since the late war commenced has prevented as great an outlay as formerly to repair and strengthen the banks of the Mississippi. Still, we hope the ener- gies of the people will be aroused and that the damage to property may be less than is apprehended. Hanoman’s Day seems to come regularly once a week. What is more significant even is the fact that as many as three executions take place in a single day. Even Good Friday could not escape its quota of judicial murders, and yesterday three more bangings were added to a list that is becoming terribly long— one at Albany, another at Darlington, 8. C., and the third at Pulaski, Tenn. The South 4, at | NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1874.—TRIPLE SHEET, : | Whe Legisiature and the City Gov~ ernment—The Prospects of Rapid Transit. It might be a very good thing for the State and especially for the city of New York if we could abolish the Legislature, Years ago, when the Senatorial semi-circle comprised such men as Robert Bogardus, Peter BR. Liv- ingston, Ambrose L. Jordan, Silas Wright, Jobn L. Viele, John C. Spencer, Henry Floyd | Jones, Frederick A. Tallmadge, Gulian C. Verplanck and Daniel 8. Dickinson, and when the list of Assemblymen from this city em- braced the names of David B. Ogden, Samuel B. Ruggles, Garret Stryker, George Zabriskie, Clinton Roosevelt, Francis B. Cutting, Charles L. Livingston, and Isaac L. Varian, the peo- ple might rest contented in the confidence that legislation would be controlled by wisdom and honesty of purpose. But for nearly twenty years past, with a few exceptions, the State Legislature has been dis- tinguished neither tor integrity nor ability, and the good laws that have found | their way into the statute books have been so liberglly interspersed with those of an oppo- | site character that the people have grown ac- customed to looking with apprehension upon | the opening and with satisfaction upon the | close of the Legislative session. The city of | New York has been especially unfortunate in | affording a mine of profit to unscrapulous | representatives. Her local interests, which | are in fact the interests of the whole State | and of the nation, have been sacrificed session | after session to political intrigue or to schemes | of plunder.” A charter has been framed one | year only to be remodelled or entirely swept | away the next, not in the interests of the peo- ple, but to suit the purposes of changing par- | ties or individuals. Not how to govern the city weil, but how to increase the | power and enlarge the profita of those | who for the time govern jt have been | | the objects of the laws enacted at Albany. Valuable franchises have been partitioned | among persons almost unknown to our | citizens, and it has been by no means unusual to find the Senator, Assemblyman or Legisla- tive Clerk of last year a proprietor of a city railroad or a heavy stockholder in some other city corporation the present year. When the people of New York attempted to reform their city government a little over two years ago Mr. Charles O'Conor warned them im a sensible letter that a change of in- dividuals in the municipal offices would be of comparatively little value unless accompanied by a thorough purification of the State Legislature. Of what use could be the cleansing and beautifying of a superstructure built on a rotten foundation? The advice was sound, but the people failed to profit by it. The adroit use of the “reform” cry carried a set of hungry adventarers to Albany, and the result was a Legislature im 1872 fully as corrupt as any of its notorious predecessors. Proba- bly our “reformed” municipal government would have been a failure under any circum- stances, for experience has shown thatin some of the departments official profligacy is not at an end, while in others we have only ex- changed dishonesty for gross incapacity. But the continued impurity of the Legislature , has materially assisted in destroying the fruits of municipal reform. For three sessions, in- cluding the present, under the new régime, we have had the same tinkering with New York laws, the same lobbying in the interests of individuals, the same indifference to the | interests of the people, the same bargaining | and corruption to which we were subjected when Senators and Assemblymen drewe their | money directly out of the capacious pockets of their Tammany paymasters. The present session is drawing to a close, | and, judging from its action up to the present moment, it promises to leave behind it an unen- viable record. In both branches of the Legisla- | ture, it is true, there has been an improvement in the personnel over the Legislature of last year. The Senate shows the addition of a few good names, and the Assembly is presided over | impartially and with ability. But thereseems to be still the same lack of honesty of pur- pose in dealing with the affairs of New York. | The urgentnecessity of a rapid transit law is | well known to every member of the Senate | and Assembly. perity of the metrSpolis are dependent upon The future growth and pros- | for ail its errors and give it a fame and a pop- ularity such as none of ita predecessors for the last twenty years have enjoyed. It is reported from Albany that there is really now a prospect of the success of the Eastman bill, which provides for the creation of such a commission. It is also rumored that the Vanderbilt Harlem Exten- sion bill, to which was given the false name of | a “rapid transit” measure, will be withdrawn, or, if not withdrawn, defeated. We hope the news may be true. We must confess to some | apprehension that the last hours of the session may tell a different tale, and we caution the sincere friends of rapid transit and the real enemies of legislative jobs to keep a sharp watch for sudden changes of front on the part of questionable representatives in both Houses. At the same time we can readily understand that the passage of the Eastman bill, although there is, in Albany language, ‘‘no money in it,” may be of more value to the Senators and Assemblymen than a few hundreds or thousands of dollars. They have, too, not alone present profits to study. Their future politieal prospects are involved in this question. The people cannot at this day be cajoled into the belief that a Senator or Assemblyman who votes against a bill demanded by the almost unanimous voice of a great city, and eminently just and wise, and supports a bill of such a character as that drawn in the interest of the Harlem Railroad corporation, is uninfluenced by unworthy or corrupt consideratifns. Your Lincolns and Alvords may fume and rave as much as they please, but the need of rapid transit is so urgent that our citizens will not soon forget or readily forgive those representatives who may stand in the way of a commission this, year. =e 5 The Voice of New York. Nothing is more pleasing to the mind of the people than the position which New York has taken in this financial debate. Our public servants, without distinction of party, have sustained the policy of financial honor. Mr. Fenton put himself early on record, while the Message of Governor Dix sounded like a trumpet call in favor of integrity and sol- vency. The Governor has done many brave things during his long and eventful life, but his prompt support of the policy of honesty | and fair dealing at a time when inflation and tolly hold sway will be long remembered as among his most meritorious achievements. | Senator Conkling, with his accustomed in- trepidity and with even more than his accus- tomed eloquence, thundered against the in- famy involved in the Senate bill. ‘Such a policy,” he said, in words we are prceud to | quote from a New York Senator, ‘‘spurns the experience of all epochs, tramples on reason and right and violates the pledged faith of the nation, as attested by solemn and repeated acts of the American people in Congress as- sembled, by avowals of every department of government and by declarations in national convention of the political party which chose | most of us to seats we now hold, and chose also the Chief Magistrate, bound by his word against every scheme and device of repudia- tion and dishonor.” We sincerely trust that the anticipation thus expressed as to the ac- tion of the President will be justified. Presi- dent Grant has one of those splendid oppor- tunities which occur rarely, even to a man as | favored by fortune as he has been. Let him be worthy of it, and thus share with Wash- ington the honor of being ‘First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his coun- trymen.”’ A New Point. There is a stirring controversy in Massa- chusetts over the attitude which Judge Hoar is supposed to hold towards the Civil Rights bill of Sumuer. Judge Hoar, as our readers know, is a candidate for the vacant seat. During the canvass a statement was made, on the authority of Wendell Phillips, to | the effect that Judge Hoar was opposed to the | bill, and had so expressed himself to Sumner. | Some of the Judge’s friends have denied this | | statement, the most prominent denial being | that of Mr. Williams, who telegraphs to | Boston that he accompanied Sumner home in | a carriage, when he expressed his gratification | | at the support offered by Judge Hoar to this | measure. The objections had been altogether of a constitutional character, and we take it it. The health, comfort and morality of over | for granted Sumner removed them. The # million people are to be advanced by such a | question now arises, Is Judge Hoar a fit man measure. Yet the proposition to create a | to pe Senator if he entertains: these convic- commission of New York citizens to decide in tions? ‘The Judge himself will not express what manner and by whom rapid transit roads | his views, and he is called impertinent there- shall be built so as to insure their construction | for. We think the Judge is right. To give has found no favor, with the Legislature | any expression of opinion now would look like up to the present time, although almost gn attempt to barter or baggle for the office. unanimously approved by the people of the | Senators should be chosen for their general | | city, while some propositions of questionable | worth, their experience, the beauty and influ- | sincerity have met with friendly support. In | ence of their lives, not for their opinions on | most of the legislation relating to New York | any one question. We respect Judge Hoar for | the same contracted views have prevailed and | pi, manly Roman firmness. | the same disposition to favor personal interests at the cost of the public good has been mani- fested. The measures that have been pro-| The Judiciary Committee of the State posed bear generally the impress of political | Assembly has reported favorably a Dill | tinkering. Nevertheless there is yet time for | Imprisonment in Civdl Suits. | providing that no person shall - | the present Legislature to redeem its character : ¥ gens } . Acntpeh pos | fined in the county jail on arrest upon and to win for itself even a brilliant reputa- | process in civil suits, unless there be paid Carolina murder oceurred in a drunken brawl, | tion. One single act may be sufficient to atone | and Bryant, executed in Tennessee, claimed | for all the vagaries of Lincoln and to make the on the scaffold that he committed the crime | people forget the silly chattering of Alvord. | for which he was hanged in self-defence. | Here is a great city of over a million of inhab- Lowenstein, the Albany murderer, asserted | jtants, and a prospect of a speedy addition of | his entire innocence and died with the asser- | another half million, waiting, suffering, pray- | | by the person causing the arrest twenty- | five dollars every twenty days for the board of the prisoner. This is very well as far as it | T goes, but it does not go far enough. While | imprisonment for debt, and in civil suits, has | been abolished in principle in this State, and | | time, when the new leaders of the South are tion on his lips, saying that sooner or later it would be established. Events of this kind ing for relief from an evil that affects the people in their daily occupations, in their homes, in their wages and in their property. Without some means of rapid transit they | must remain cooped up in an insufficient area, | subject to exorbitant rents, injured in ri health and morals, damaged in pocket and x _—__ compelled to put up with all sorts of incon- | Treads at AcuEEN.—A report comes from veniences and annoyances. The franchises | London that the Dutch have opened several of the city belong of right to the | ports at Acheen to trade. If this liberal citizens, who are the best judges of policy is to be the result of the war against how to dispose of them to the best interests the Acheenese the world may be benefited. , of the public. One would think, under these | But the Dutch have all through the long circumstances, that it would be a very simple | period of their colonial rule and commercial and natural act for the Legislature to place | power in the East pursued a policy as selfish | the control of the rapid transit question in and exclusive almost as that of the Chinese. the hands of an unexceptionable commission, , However, the liberal ideas and progress of composed of New York citizens of established | the age may have modified the views of the capacity and integrity, and so to afford the Holisnders. The people of the United States city the much needed relief, But, unfor- | have a special interest in this matter, andin | tunately, we have been so entirely at the | whatever affects trade with the Continent and ‘mercy of State Legislatures, and have been islands of Asia, as their commerce from the | so badly used by them for a number of years, | Pacific shores grows more and more impor- | that if the present Legislature will do ue tant and is destined to become large at no | this simple act of justice, to create a rapid distant day. transit commission, this one law will atone cannot fail to have an evil effect on the public mind and the public morals, and it seems that the frequency of executions only adds to the frequency of murders. It is to be hoped that in the future hangman’s day will come less | this has become a recognized principle in most of the States of the Union and among the en- | lightened nations of Christendom, both the | principle and the law are evaded frequently by | appeals to legal technicalities or by the vin- dictive action of prosecutors. Not only should those causing the arrest of persons who may | be imprisoned be compelled to pay for the board of prisoners, but they should be liable for heavy damages when mere vindictiveness and insufficient cause of imprisonment can be | shown. A rich man who is determined to | persecute an enemy ina case of debt or civil | suit will not mind paying the board of a pris- | oner to gratify his revenge. The law is too partial and loose, or too loosely interpreted, as it stands, and onght to be made as clear as | possible, #0 as to protect the liberty and rights of the citizens. Patnce Bismarce, according to our news of | this morning, is not to be supplanted by | Manteuffel. Manteuffel is powerful and pop- ular; but Bismarck is stronger than he, and | | near Puerto Principe indicate a much greater | no ultramontane and conservative combina- tion can as yet drive him from vower, The Faults of Our Street System. The Assembly Committee has reported to the House the result of its recont investiga- tion of the management of the Street Clean- ing Bureau in this city. Its report tells us that the business of cleaning the streets has been neglected; but this can scarcely be re- garded as a discovery, since the fact has been known to every resident of New York ever since the bureau was created. It states that there has been ‘unnecessary expense” in the prosecution of the work; but it scarcely needed a committee from Albany to give us that information. The people know very well that two-thirds of the large amount of money squandered by the bureau has been “thrown into the dirt” instead of being honestly expended on ite removal. They would not have complained of the cost of the bureau, heavy as_ it has been, if it had really given us clean streets; but they do object to paying liberally for cleanliness and realizing in return for the investment an increase of filth. The report charges on subordinates of the bureau the offences of blackmailing and favoritism, and no doubt, in” the course of the protracted in- vestigation, the committee has discovered evidence sufficient to justify the accusation. But nothing better could be expected as the fruits of a.system loose in its construction and free from the checks and direct responsibility which should surround the expenditure of large sums of money. What the committee fails to do, after all its labor, is to suggest some plan by which the people’s money will not be wasted and clean streets will be securgd, And this suggestion was Just what was wanted and expected from it. It thinks it a bad plan to place the street cleaning in the hands of the police, but it leaves it there. In fact, it shifts on to the shoulders of the Legislature the responsibility ot providing a remedy for the evils it finds to exist. Yet a simple method of reform might have suggested itself to the minds of the committee. An honest, capable commission, appointed by Governor Dix, | with fall power to clean the streets after | their own fashion, either by day’s work | or contract, ought to give us the reform we need just as effectually as a similar com- mission gave us the Central Park and would give us rapid transit. If the Legislature will supply the omission of the committee, and create such a Street Cleaning Commission, we shall hear no more of inefficient management, neglect, blackmailing, favoritism or waste of money such as the committee professes to have discovered, but which it proposes to leave undisturbed. Panishment and Justice. In the case of a man like Tweed, which at present occupies so much of the public atten- tion, there is one important fact always to be remembered, that justice may be punishment, but that punishment is not necessarily justice. The moment that the jury pronounced Tweed guilty of the offences charged against him he passed into the custody of the law and was | entitled to its protection; for the law, while the master of us all, is never a cruel or un- kind master. Rancor and enmity stop at the prison gate. The law imposed a penalty upon Tweed. He was entitled tono more and no less. In his case there were two points to be observed. His enemies would demand un- usual punishment; his friends would insist upon unusual clemency. Behind this there would be the rude public opinion, largely springing from the American sense of fair play, that actual conviction and imprisonment toa man who had held as high a place as Tweed was in itself the severest punishment @ man could bear. We thought then, and we think now, that | never was 8 more righteous verdict rendered by An American jury. Its salutary effects will | be remembered long after all the actors in it have passed away. But in our just anger over the crimes of this felon we must not exceed the law in his punishment. Neither, on the other hand, must we give him privileges not permitted by law. If it could be seen that Tweed had power to defy the law, and make himself an honored guest rather than a felon under penalty, then the public would lose all | confidence in justice. Our public officials cannot be too prudent in this matter, and it would go far to satisfy public opinion if a committee of citizens were to visit the prison | and tell us the exact truth. All that the people | desire to know is whether this man receives | exact, impartial atid merciful justice. Cleantug | A Goon Si1an.—We aro glad to note that the | Virginia Legislature have elected R. M. T. Hunter to be Treasurer of the State, in place | of the unfortunate Mayo. Mr. Hunter is one | | fer any inconvenience. | rather an unpleasant of the most distinguished men in the country, and before the war was a prominent member of the Senate—chairman of the Committee on | Finance among other things. During the war he was a conservative supporter of the rebellion, and was sent by Mr. Davis to the Hampton Roads Conference, when we all had an illusion that negotiations might bring a peace. A strong effort was recently made to elect Mr. Hunter to the Senate from Virginia, but it failed. His presence in that body would have been an ususual advantage at this running wild after inflation and mad schemes of finance, But if Virginia did not think he was worthy of the Senate she feels that he is the proper person to manage her finances. There could be no better selection. The election of a man like Hunter to a prominent | position in Virginia is a wholesome and grati- fying sign of reconstruction. Patriot Procress in Cusa.—The details we print this morning of the recent battle | success for the Cubans than the Spaniards were willing to admit, and show an unmis- takable patriot progress that. even Concha will | not be able to weaken. The Cuban cause is more hopeful now than at any time since the | beginning of the rebellion, while the condition of Spain in the Antilles grows more hopeless day after day. Industrial and financial dis- tress are added to the drain of war against the insurgents, and it cannot be very long till the power of the Spanish Captain General suc- | cumbs to the indomitable spirit of the Cuban fighters. One of the grand results to be gained by peace and the extinguishment of Spanish do- | minion will be au end of the barbarities which have disgraced the struggle and made the names of such men ss Valmaseda and Burriel thateful in every part of the world. tention to the caring for men he! would find more than enough ob- | | jects for commiseration without wasting | will perceive what a wide and noble field for The Currency Bill im the House. ‘The currency question was an exciting topic in the House of Representatives yester- day; but, while clinging to its own bill, in preference to that already passed by the Senate, all the votes indicated a majority for inflation in the'end. Every proposition look- ing to the redemption of greenbacks and national bank notes was defeated, and there is no hope of wise legislation from the House, In this view of the matter there was little merit in the defeat of General Butler's purpose. The Massachusetts statesman—at least while he was let alone—indicated pretty clearly what that purpose was. It was to pass the Senate bill first, and, having increased the currency forty-four millions, to hold the catch’ they haf got and “spit on their hands” for ‘another heave.” This is not ele- gant language even for General Butler, but it has a certain honesty-about it that the coun- try will be quick to appreciate. But it re- quired determined courage on the part of the opponents of inflation to vote for Butler's proposition, forit looked to the casual observer like voting for inflation. It was grappling with the subject boldly, and this all the poli- ticians fear to do. Yet but for the casting vote of the Speaker it would have been car- ried, and the subsequent votes showed that the country would have been at least no worse off for Butler's triumph. It was clearly shown that the House is ag much in favor of an irredeemable cur- rency and of increased issues of such curremcy as the Senate, and the method of the Repre- sentatives is, if possible, less honest than that ofthe Senators. Some fearfully wicked- pur- pose underlies the action of the House yester- day, and we shall yet learn, in all probability, that the methods of this inflation legislation are even more terrible and disgriceful than ames The Dog Defender. ~ No amount of heat will ever dry up the spring of benevolence that bubbles over from the heart of Bergh. There is something absolutely sublime in the noble devotion of the humanitarian knight errant to the cause of the dumb brute. Though he can never hope to hear his praises sung in canine song, still the champion of the oppressed animals raises up his voice amid this wilderness of selfishness which we term New York. No matter what .the odds, Bergh, like Roderick Dhu, puts his back against o rock of virtue, which, for convenience sake, he carries in his pocket, and defies the whole world to combat for sake of his pet brutes. Such disinterestedness and devotion reveal an innate grandeur of soul that would have done honor to the mythical heroes of re~ mote ages, and even now must command the respectful homage of a degenerate age. Un- fortunately for the world, Bergh, like Quixote, comes not before but after histime. The very characteristics that in the golden ages of the past might have won him a place in Olympus are liable in a plodding generation to excite, not awe and reverence, but rather pity and derision, Few people, for instance, will be able to appreciate the logical adherence to principle which Mr. Bergh exhibits when protesting against the city ordinance which condemns the canine tribe to wear a muzzle during the hot and sultry summer days. The defender of the dumb animal remembers that ‘‘’tis dogs’ delight to bark and bite,’’ and he naturally objects to any curtailment of a single canine right. Men and women may be exposed to the dangers of hydrophobia, but it appears manifestly unjust to Mr. Bergh that, be- cause a few dogs may go mad and bite, therefore the whole tribe should suffer the indignity of being muzzled. Better that sixty or seventy people should die of hydrophobia than that dogs should suf- Such is Bergh fogic; but, though it may be thoroughly consistent with itself, the public will scarcely admire its beauty or its sense. The railway and the tel- egraph have quite taken us out of the idyllic age, and we moderns are selfish enough to prefer our own satety to every other con- sideration; and, as hydrophobid induces mode of exit from this world, we prefer most decidedly } to restrain the liberty of wandering | dogs than to nsk getting bitten. Tho kind hearted gentleman who fights the battles of the poor dumb victims of man’s oppression must therefore forgive us if we support the Aldermen in their resolution to insist that no unmuzzled dog shall wander in the streets. We would urge upon Mr. Bergh that the bipeds who dwell in this city have some rights that dogs are bound to respect, and also to urge upon the kind hearted champion of the op- pressed that if he would turn his at- | | character of the people. so much valuable feeling on mad dogs, The rescue of the poor little victim from the Con- | nollys isa case in point. Here the benevo- | lence of Mr. Bergh found useful and worthy | application, and every one who read the | touching story of the poor little waif who had | never known a mother’s kiss felt ‘grateful to the philanthropist tor his prompt action in | the interest of humanity. Will Mr. Bergh | allow ug to suggest that there lies open to hima wide field of usefulness in dealing with | similar cases; and if,he would consent to | let the fountains of his benevolence flow for | the benefit of the children of misfortune he would be doing more good than by champion- ing badly behaved dogs, Let Mr. Bergh re- member that ‘‘man's inhumanity to man | makes countless thousands mourn,” and he | exertion lies before him. Tue Connecticut Senatorsuir.—The Hart- ford Courant predicts'that Mr. Eaton will suc- ceed Mr. Buckingham in the United States Senate. There will be a certain political de- parture in his election which will show the waning confidence of the people in both of the old political parties, and so we may accept this intimation as a cheering sign. Pearman Some Hii Vine Exrnaprtion Treaty wira Satvapon.—The President has ratified an extradition treaty with Salvador for the surrender of criminals. It wili remain in force for ten years. We | hope that no effort will be spared to establish | similar treaties with all civilized countries, sc that wrongdoers may feel that there is no { refuge among civilized peoples for those who commit crimes against society. The Right of the People to the Use of Fourth Avenue. The law of 1869, which gave up to the Harlem Railroad Company a certain portion of Fourth avenue for the location of the Grand Central depot, is one of those re markable enactments through which the State Legislature is accustomed to display its careful guardianship of the interests of the people of the city of New York. It was a famous session, that of 1869! Tweed, Nor- ton and Genet, of New York; Graham, of Orange, and Mattoon, of Oswego, were in the Senate. Alexander Frear led the braves in the House. Lincoln, of Ontario, was not then in the Assembly, but there were enough representatives who appreciated the value of the Harlem’ Railroad to the city of New York, and had full confidence in the patriotic desire of that corporation to do all in its power to improve and beautify the me- tropolis and to contribute to the comfort and accommodation of its citizens. So they passed the New Passenger Depot act, closed Forty-third and Forty-fourth streets and gave up Fourth avenue, between the north side of Forty-second street and the south side of Fortye fifth street, to the Harlem Railroad Company, only reserving fifty feet on the east side of the avenue for public use. : The reservation clause was probably in- tended asa mere pleasantry. At all events the corporation has not treated it as a serious intent of the law. Probably, in the belief that one cannot have too much of a good thing, the railroad authorities took possession of the reserved fifty feet of Fourth avenue and closed four or five streets in addition to those closed by law. If it was good for the people to have two streets closed and a portion of a public avenue occupied for private use, it must be better for them to have seven or eight streets blocked up and to give up possession of the whole of the avenue from curb to curb, This appoore ‘Yo have eon the opinion of the railroad com-' pany; but the BanY of Lidcrmen take. dif- ferent view of the subject. They have ordered notice to be given to the Harlem Railroad corporation to remove all obstructions om Fourth avenue above Forty-second street except such as the letter of the law allows them to retain, or such as are necessary to the work of sinking the tracks. Unless the usurped rights of the public are restored within sixty days the obstructions are to be removed by the proper city authorities, the carriage way and sidewalks are to be restored, and the rail- road corporation is to be sued for the cost of the work and fora fine of one hundred dol- lars a day for every day the nuisance existe after the expiration of the indulgence. It is to be hoped that the resolution of the Board of Aldermen will be carried out to the letter. The nuisanves on Fourth avenue have been endured long enough and they cannot be too speedily abated. The Temperance Question. We print elsewhere a letter addreased to us by Mme. Hyacinthe-Loyson, who will be re- membered as the American lady who became the wife of the celebrated Father Hyacinthe. Mme. Loyson sends an earnest appeal to her sisters in America who are now engaged in the temperance cause, adjuring them not to be “dismayed by insult, nor discouraged by de~ feat; but, with charity for the culprit and pity for the victim, go on, pray on, work on,”” assured that God will bless them. We have already given our views of these peculiar dem- onstrations in the cause of temperance, and we find nothing in the eloquent entreaties of Mme. Loyson to change them. Her letter shows, however, the interest taken in this work by American women beyond the seas, and as such will be read with deep interest. There is one point which Mme. Loyson makes which has much originality and force. Her life in Europe has taught her many les- sons which our people at home would learn if they were toenjoy the same advantage. In America, Mme. Loyson tells us, ‘‘conscien- tious people become dyspeptics, and non-con- scientious people become drinkers." We take too much tea, coffee, pickle, mustard and spices; we eat hot bread and pastry and use too much tobacco. All of which, according to Mme. Loyson, results in a depraved appetite and its natural conse- quence, drunkenness. She thinks that a taste for soup, milk and salad prepared with good oil should be cultivated; that we can best stop the demand for drink by correcting our appetites. Mme. Loyson argues logically that the surest way to prevent dissipa- tiou is to encourage the growth of light wines snd a taste for them among the people. The cheapness and wholesome quality of the ordinary wines of the Con- tinent are the main causes of the temperate The French, for instance, drink more liquor than the Ameri- cans, as Do Frenchman’s table, no matter how poor he may be, is without a bottle of wine. But, while the Frenchman takes a cheap, | healthful, nutritious wine, the American takes raw, biting, poisonous, intoxicating whiskey. We entirely agree with our friends who see in gin the curse of England and in whiskey the curse of America. The true way of advancing temperance is not to pray on sidewalks, or to pass prohibitory laws which can be enforced in no free country, or to take part in a senti- mental and purposeless agitation, but to labor for the eradication of evil habits in our way of living. When we have cheap wine we shall have temperance. Tue Disaster To THE Ticness, it turns out, was one of those somewhat familiar accidents of the bursting of a bad boiler, and not with- out the usual harrowing details of the loss of life, twenty-one men being reported scalded to death. It is terrible that this stanch little vessel, historic on account of her ser- vices to humanity, should herself be the scene of one of those inhuman accidents which ought never occur. The vessel itself will be saved, but nothing can compensate for the lives destroyed by the bursting boiler, OBITUARY, Sister Mary Ursula, of the Order of Sisters of Charity. A telegram irom Baltimore, Md., under date of yesterday, Apri! 10, reports as follows:—Sister Mary Ursula, one of the oldest Sisters of Charity in tais country, died on Tuesday night last at Mount Hope Retreat, near this city, aged Abo i one gaa Her iamily name was Elizabeth Mat- tingly. She was active in her profession as @ Sister of Uuarity for nearly fifty years, sae | her labors in New York city, Brookiya, Bu in Richmond, Va, For a number of years she wae Directress and Superioress at different times oF Serva torte = and other cities of , and Was noted lor ber pie! sett eacrificung lve, i