The New York Herald Newspaper, July 8, 1874, Page 3

NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1874.—TRIPLE SHEET. THE COMET. Her Celestial Highness Continues Her Advance, A Plain Way of Discover- ing Her Location. Development of the Caudal Appendage. Views trom the Washing- ton Observatory. The exhibition of the comet last evening was of ® More encouraging character thap heretofore, ‘The spectrum showed to much greater advantage, and the tail displayed a visibie enlargement. Great mumbers of people were abroad on the honsetops snd in the open spaces of the parks anxious to get @glimpse of her celestial highness, She might have been easily observed with the naked eye below the Dipper and in a line with thé Pole Star, ‘Those who were fortunate enough to possess tele- scopes mignt have observed a considerabie devel- opment Of the tail, and the prospect is that before the comet quits these latitudes shé will make a More extensive and impressive display, THE WAY OF DISCOVERING THE COMET. Galignani’s Messenger states that M. Cogzgia, who first discovered this comet, found it in the Polar region of the sky, in the shape of a faint nebula, It now displays a nucleus enveloped in a coma, with @ diffuse and transparent tail. To those who might wish to find it, a8 it may be easily ob- served with a common opera-giass, the following Indications may be acceptable:—Througn the two northernmost stars of Ursa Major, or Charles’ ‘Wain, draw aline which, on the side of the team, ‘will pass through the bright star, Capella, in Au- riga, thus:— Ursa Major _ A —* Sell eo +e ee The comet will then be found somewhere about A, at nearly one-third of the distance between Capella and Ursa, and in the immediate vicinity of two Stars of the fourth magnitude pertaining to the constellation of the Giraife. As at this time of the year perfect darkness does not set in before ten ’clock tie observation should not be attempted before that hour. On the 12th of July the comet ‘Will be rather a conspicuous object in the heavens, though nothing like those of 1858 and 1862, On the Lith of next month the passage through the Perthelion will take place; the distance of the comet from the sun will then be 62,500,000 wiles, and it will then be 100 times brighter than it was when first discovered. Father Secchi Rot long ago exawincd this heavenly vody speciro- Bcopically and found the carbon lines as usual; this element, indeed, never tails to exist as a prin- cipal constituent in those capricious denizens of the heavens. If carbon exisied in comets in the shape of an oxide, our meeting one would by no means be unattended with danger, lor we might all be stified in consequence of the wholesale pois- @ning of our atmosphere by that deleterious agent, Capella Buch a catastrophe is fortunately exceedingly un- | Ikely ; at ail events it will not be brought about by Coggia’s comet, which 1s untold miles away | from us. In tact, eo far ts this comet from the city of New York that it would take as long for her to reach here as to get @ decision from the Court of Appeals at Albany, or for tue Police Commisstoners to de- cide upon whom shouid devolve the Presidency of the Board, Our correspondence in regard to this comet, which will be found appended, 18 worth Teuding. The comet during ages past has been Tegarded as the harbinger of misery to man, With our primary school education aud more regu- lar diet-we have come to regard the comet asa Bumbug by comparison with the characier she ‘Was awarded in the centuries gone by. She is a Poor burmless creature, innocent as a Fifth ave- wmue sylph, who looks througn a cloud of descend- ‘ng eyelashes at the men she happens to pass upon the street. VIEWS OF A PRAIRIE ASTRONOMER. ‘fhe nights henceforth may be clearer and brighter. The comet will not run away froin us. Her approach is still yery distant. An a:tronomer out West, whose observatory rests upon the broad prairie lands of Nebraska, makes the statement that it is all nonsense to suppose a collision with the earth by tne tail of a comet can priduce any | disastrous consequences. Finding that the etiects ef gravitation fall to account for such anomalous movements, astronomers have been generally dis- posed to ascribe a somewhat different character to the phenomenon. According to Euler and Delam- bre the tall is composed of materials separated from ‘the comet by the impulse o1 solar rays, aud Herscuel modifies the theory by ascribing the separation to ‘the electrical repulsion of the san; but to form & ime constantly ranging with the central luminary the matter should be driven into space with a tar ater velocity than the comet has in describing ite orbit, and the sun could scarcely communicate the requisite centrifuga: motion if bis repulsive wer were 100,000 times as powertul is attraction, Now the movements of the several members of the Solar system show that the repelling power of the central orb (if tt has any ex- fetence) must be extremely feeble in comparison to his attractive power, and no astronomer has hitherto (ound tt necessary to take into considera- | tion the slight influence which it exerts even on cometary orbits. Modern chemistry has revealed some properties of light which may give rise to the extraordinary appearances attending the returns of comets to ‘the interior or the solar domain, Among the nu- merous chemical agencies which we are permitted | to command, the solar rays hold a prominent pi nd their power of effecting decompositions and inducing chemical changes 1s modified to a consid. | erable extent, not only by the bodies that reflect them, but also by the character of the medium through which they are transiuitted. quinine and many otner fiuids are found capable of altering the nature and the chemical efficieucy | of the light which pusses through them, weaken- ing some of the rays and rendering others more energetic in their action. Huence the character of the light, and it wouid seem that their properties are impaired by the work they are cajied to periorm. ‘The interest im the comet will remain unabated asiong as we enjoy such clear miglits as we bad last evening. sion to searci it betore. To-night the same process will oe repeated, and Defore the comet leaves us a more general diitu- gion of astrunomy among the masses will have taken place than we could ever possivly nope to have under any other circumstance: The Speed of the Comet. Henry M, Parkhurst writes :— The brightness of the comet on the 3d and Sth fMaicates that it will have un equality on July 14 with the star Altair, the brightest star, with three As Do- ati’s comet equalled Arcturus in brightness, | am by no means confident that the present will be | exceptions, visible in the evening with it. equally bright. The motion of the earth 1s 1,580,000 miles per day ; | that of the comet about 4,000,000 miles per day, | as | P Sulphate of In such cases it must be observed that these media after a time fail to in- More ‘telescopes and opera glasses @earched the sky last evening than ever had occa- “Comic,” said the Mayor, with a bewtidered air; “what's comic?” “Comet,” said the reporter, despairingly; “comet. ©: t.17 said the Mayor, “the comet. What “Why, Coggia’s comet,” said the reporter, “You surely must have read something about it in the pewspapers,”” “T never read the Dewspapers,” said the Mayor; “never unfold one of them," “But surely,” the reporter urged, “you must have beard about the comet; somebody must have spoken of it 10 your presence?” “Well, yes,’ said the Mayor, reinctantly, “I have beard it spoken of, What about it ?”” “Have you received any letters about it’? asked the reporter, “From whom should I receive letters? in- quired tne Mayor, signing his name to four docu- ments, | “Why, from affrignted citizens,” said the re- porter; “from men wno, having heard that there | is @ possiblity of the cometstriking the earth, wish to obtain irom the Chie! Magistrate himseil the | assurance that there is no danger,” | “havn't received @ single letter on the sub- | Ject,” said the Mayor; “and if |had I couidn’t have | Tepited to it. I never studied astronomy.” | “Then you have made no calculation as to the prospect of the collision of the comet with the eartn?” asked the reporte: “No,” said the Mayor, “1 shouldn’t know how to begin such @ caiculation,” “Do you think it would strike us?” asked the re- porter, anxiously, “Ym sure 1 don’t know,” replied the Mayor, “I wish it would. ded the Chie! Magistrate, emphatically. “Well,” sald the reporter, “1t might not do any | harm if it did. Itis said to be formed of exceed- ingly rare, nebulous matter,” “God bless me; you don’t tell me so,” sald the | Mayor. “lts tall,” sald the reporter, ‘1s 3,000,000 miles. in length,” “You're joking,” said the Chief Magistrate, in- credulonsiy, “It approaches the earth at the rate of thirty miles a second,” added the reporter, leaven help us!’ ejaculated the Mayor. 1s more planetary,” said the reporter, “than stellar,” and its pucleus 1s remarkably bright. Its orbit i8 parabolic and a buneby nebulous mass 13 observable on the side nearest the sun.” “The most extraordinary thing | ever heard oft” exclaimed the Mayor. “Do you think it has any influence on the heat 7’ asked the reporter. “I don’t think it has,” said the Mayor, “At | least, 1 notice that it has been quite cool ior two or three days. There wag one very hot day. That might have been caused by the comet, As I sald before, I bever studied astronomy. My son takes | an interest in it. 1 saw him looking at it last night; bag didn’t like to ask bim any questions about be COMETS AND METEORITES. Possible Danger to the Earth from the: Flaming Visitor in the Heavens—What Might Become of Philadelphia—Profes- sor Henry’s Views—Startling Theories. WASHINGTON, July 7, 1874, Calling upon Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, for information concerning the comet, he said he had very little information to give upon the subject. In fact, the comet was notexactly in his line. It more properly belongs to the National Observatory. To the scientific world, however, in all tts departments, this comet is avery interesting visitor, a8, since the discovery of the astonishing prwers of the spectroscope, in disclosing the ele- ments of the sun and his satelites, and of those | other suns, the fixed stars, we have now | presented us the first Opportunity of applying the test of ihis delicate and infallible instrument to a comet, and doubtless before the departure of this interesting stranger we shall‘ get out of him, through the spectroscope, the secret of what he is, and with that fact established we shall soon be able to Gnd out much more concerning him. See, for instance, what, im conjunction with the | telescope, the spectroscope has done for us in determining the elements of the sun, “I expect,” continued the Professor, “very interesting results from the application of the spectroscopic analysis | to this comet.’ 18 THERE MISCHIEF IN THE COMET? “But you know, Professor, irom the time of the | Pope’s Bull against the comet the appearance of one of those celestial strangers, or bushwhackers, has been by all nations and tribes of men regarded | famine, of droughts or inundations, of hurricanes | or earthquakes, and may there not be something in this universal opinion?” “Science asks for the demonstration.” “Very good. Has not every comet that has appeared of which we have any record been fol- lowed the year of its appearance, or within a these aforesaid disasters in almost every nation on the face of the earth 7” “Pornaps 80; Dut if 80 What does all this prove? Nothing. comets. They are mere spectres which may irighten many people, but which harm nobody; but when you come to meteorites or areolites, ag they are freqnently called, there 1s a possibility of disastrous consequences. By the way, have you seen our splendid Arizona meteorite ? THE ARIZONA METEORITE. “Yes, sir; we have just been inspecting tt, and @ great curiosity it is; but how did you get ity” ‘The Professor said, in answer to this and nu- Merous other questions, that the meteorite is from | Arizona; that it weighs 1,400 pounds and is com- posed of iron and nickel; that tradition says that | Some 0 years ago, and all the people of Tucson, Arizona, believe it. A shower of these meteorites iell inthe Santa Catarina Mountains, north of Tucson, and that there were plenty of them remaiuing in those mountains, Dr. irwid, a | surgeon of our bavy, to whom, and some otner aneeree the Smithsonian Institution is greatiy | in | Indevtea ior this meteorite, thinks that this shower | of meteorites came irom a volcanic eruption; but | a8 other meteorites have fallen Jar from the range | of any volcano in different parts of the world, this Arinons monster may be an Intruder upon our lunet. ‘The writer believes that itis. This meteorite isin the shape o1@ very rough, jagged and un- eqnal ring, very thick around two-thirds of the circle, and quite thin for the other third. Itlooks | as irit had come wairling aown trom the skies in the form of a ring, and in the state of liquid fire, and its rougn and jagged appearance, | Was caused by its contact with theeartn. It ap- pears, too, as if it had been the setting of a stone which had fallen out. Perhaps it was, and the | fragments of tue sione may have dropped out in the original liftingof the ring from the ground. | THE THEORY OF THE ASTEROIDS. But what has tis to do with the comet? Much. Comers are suppesed to be planets or asteroids in embryo. There are wituin our solar sys- tem, and mostly between the Earth and Jupiter, many asteroids jr little planets invisible to the naked eye, and there are believed to be many tn- visible with tne ad of the most powerful telescope or comet seeker, It is believed that this shower of meteorites wa nothing less than the tragments of one of these little asteroids, which, coming within the attrictive grasp of the Earth, was brought down, aid in its passage througa our at- mosphere took fite, and was broken—when heated to the condition )f liquid tron—into the fragments which formed th) Arizona shower of meteors. Now, this com@, light, gaseous, transparent and mately into & snl asteroid, and in the course of | tume it may be ttrawn to the earth, as was this asteroid in Arizma, and if its burning fragments | should fall upon) some great city—New York, for example—a sh¢wer of iron and nickel in a fluid state, great willbe the conflagration that will im- mediately ensué THE LESSON OF THE COMET. This ts the legon suggested by this great meteo- | rite of the Smigsontan Museum tn connection with | this comet.’ ‘he comet may now be ‘too thin’ to do much misctief even should it strike the earth; | but alter awlib it may harden into a solid little globe and wemay never hear of it again ttl it strikes the earh as a shower of meteorites, equal, perhaps to a milion of tons of tron, nickel, copper abd volcanic ‘ocks, more or less, How can we reach any exict estimate of such things? The | telescope Wiilhot serve us to calculate them, nor will the spectum analyze it. To arrive at their xact element and proportions we must wait till | they come, READFUL POSSIBILITIES. But there hay be a more immediate danger | 1 think itis hign time it aid,” ad- | as @ sign and a warning of war, pestilence or ) year or two irom its departure, by some one of | There 1s really, sir, no mischief in these | attenuated as $ now aypears, may harden ulti- | and will continue about the same so tong asitre- | {MAB OMS the exten and” the sum mains visible, The motion of that part of the tail This comet obeys the laws of gravita- nearest Us 18 neariy 6,000,000 miles per day—that fa, seventy miles per secoud—which 18 6,000 tines faster than the motion of an express train, The thickness of the tail | assume at about 6,000,u00 miles at the distance of 26,000,000 miles {rom the head, when it shall have reached that length, I the earth were to pass centrally through it, the cent: would occupy about twenty-four hours. assing through the extreme edge, as 1 at first tion, and pdsesses, apparentiy, @ great attrac- tive power. (ccordingly, In getting umong these iMvisible astebids, or wrolites, hanging along the earth's orbit md inside it, It may draw within the earva's attration and down upon the eartha shower of megorites, and from their descent Phila- delphia mayje covered with a mountain of iron or Chicago my be sunk in Lake Michigan or leit bigh and Uy 00 miles inland. thought possible, Would not occupy more than jour | Oppressed Fith such reflections the narrator to six hours, My computations indicate that the | called at the fational Observatory this evening lor Dearest Hes to the centre of the tail will be | a closer lookét the comet and for the lacest infor- Mot less than 4,000,000 miles, which would be a dis- | mation irom hose learned professors of the move- tance from the edge of the tail of 1,500,000 miles, | ments of thef‘little joker.” There it was, evi- which is six times the distance of the moon. But | dently growin and spreading out its fan-uke tail this will be sufficiently near to cause it to appear | with all the Fide of a peacock. But a tirge num. enormously large, if it can be seen at all, of which | ber of visitoB, Mm the general opinion that the I hope to be able to speak more definitely within @ | comet dia dot look as if he intended to set the lew duys, One ah is certain, it wil be there | Potomac Rier on fire nor if he coula do it i! he whether we can see it or not. tried, “calnpd our fears and we were calm,” even ——— as the learid professors, who could see in thie Mayor Havemeyer on the Comet. poaeee hei ae nothing but “a very {From the Sun. sarieatand | INFLUENCE OF THE SUN. The reporter inquired whetber he had received A telescote view of Arcturus and Alpha Lyrae, ‘ny letters aout the comet, those spletiid fixed stav, satisfied us that like “About commerce,” said the Mayor; “why, of our sun th¢ hada light of their own; for, com- pared wit! the intensity of their light, that of pease { have—dozens of them. What about em? Jupiter an¢nis four moons, all in full view this evening, Pure ne Buteven pied bs an Md he come: ‘hou the The reporter explained that comet, not com- | comet hase faculty of spreading \ielt berere the Morce, was the word used, | telencone hevew* any other obiect in the } | swayed or more yet to come it will continue to brighten, ‘and widen and. lengthen, and draw nearer, as if seeking the embrace of motner earth; that it 18 coming head on, with ever increasing velocity; but that the all-powerful sun will draw it from our little planet and then shoot | it off again into the darkneas of chaos, perhaps not to be seen here for @ thousand years to come. And to this arrangement there can be no objections. COMETS OF 1825 AND 1843. Their Appearance in the United States— An Astronomer’s Prediction of Earth- quakes, Volcanic Eruptions, &.—Fear- ful ‘Tornado in New Jersey. ously in the heavens must continue for some time to be an absorbing subject and as it approaches nearer the earth anil increases in luminosity timid People will begin to fear that it will come in col- lision with the earth while crossing our orbit, The idea has already been put forth that such a meet- ing may possibly take place, and it may be said that on every occasion when these fitiul wanderers have appeared, while waltzing close rouna the Sun, predictions were made that a collision would occur between the planet we inhabit and the comet. When alt the facis which the whole his- tory of astronomy has been able to furnish jail to give us any certain knowledge from whence cumets come and whither they go, it is not surprising that the multitude has often been disturbed with anxlety amounting to terror in view of the flery appear- | ance, amazing size and rapid motion with whieh they sometimes appear, Yet there is nothing 4n their history, extending over 2,000 years, to indi- cate that there is the slightest cause of fear. There 18 no evidence that the earth has ever been dis- turbed in the slightest degree by any of them. | But although it is quite likely that if a comet | should come near enough it might be absorbed and mingled with the atmosphere, yet the supposition that injury wouid be the result is without founda- tion, Itis quite as likely that the largest comet would not affect us, and it is not improbable that we have already run into several of them without knowing it, There ts so little actual substance in the whole apparatus of a comet that if it were com- pressed under the powerlul pressure of our atinos- phere it might tail aud al! ve placed in a common | Snuit DOX, and it is almost safe to say that they are as harmless as a rainbow. In ancient times comets were looked upon as so many heils jet loose to torment the damned by the extreme vicis- situdes of heat and cold, and they are still looked upon by persons of weak minds as the precursors of War, famine and pestilence, AN ASTRONOMER’S PREDICTION. The comet of 1835 approached to witnin 14,000,000 miles of the earth, or about one-seventh of our distance trom the sun. It was a splendid object trom the end of September to the midale of October, Lieutenant Morrison, of the English navy, published an interesting work one year be- fore its appearance. He contended that its electric and attractive powers would have a very serious Inundations, earthquakes, storms, tempests, vol- cavie eruptions and epidemic diseases. In sup- port of this theory he referred to the different ap- | Pearauces of this comet for 600 years, showing that im comet years these phenomena prevailed to a great extent. The warmth <0 the winter and the violent winds in 1834, as well as the great heat of summer, were attributed to the ap- proaching visitor. Lieutenant Morrison pre- dicted that the summer of 1836 would be marked for its intense heat, which would destroy harvests in many parts of the world, and that the year would be noted for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. He also predicted that tne winter of 1836-37 would be colder than any in the preceding fiity years. Morrison, Who was an astronomer of good standing, stated as his conviction that if while the comet was near the earth overcharged with electricity there was any internal cavity of the earth containing sulphur deficient of that fluid the comet would rush towards us and strike our planet at that spot. This he supposed to have been the case in the fifteenth century, when the sudden ending of the earth near Naples destroyed 40,000 persons, It is certain that destructive ravages by awfol visitations of nature occurred in South America during the year. In June New Jersey was visited by two tornadoes, extending as far west as the Delaware River. The } clouds moved in two opposite directions, and then acone or pillar appeared to descend from the clouds and meet another of @ similar appearance ascending from the earth, The tornado assumed a very dark and dense appearance and expanded into asmoky and flery aspect. The clouds moved in opposite directions, the central pipe or pillar be- mg visibie. In the vicinity of New Brunswick about 200 houses were blown down and over 100 pergons killed and wounded, THE GREAT COMET OF 1845 was one of the most remarkable known in history for its physical peculiarities, It first became visi- ble, according to newspaper reports, in Massa- chusetis, in broad day light, and, for some time alter, the appearance of its splendia train, thrown suddenly across the heavens for a space of more than filty degrees, was mistaken, even by astron- omers, for an exibition of zodiacal light, and this osition Was maintained until both phenomena | became visible at once, at the same time, and wrougat conviction. The comet was visivie in the | United States on the 1st of March, but It was not until eighteen days aiterwards that Herschel no- ticed its progress in England. Of all comets on record, whose elements have been computed, that of 1843 approached nearest to the sun, except the | great comet of 1680, The latter came within 600,000 miles 01 the sun’s centre; the former within 800,000 miies. When it 1s considered that the sun's sur- face is 440,000 miles Irom its centre we find that both approached much nearer to the sun’s surface than the surface is to the centre. The comet of 1835 seems to have come in contact with the per- manent part of the sun’s atmosphere and to have been so much resisted in its course as to pass off in a path prolonged backwards, which led to the opinion that it was absorbed by thatlominary. The contrary, however, was the case. It travelied away into space with increased rapidity. The heat of the sun, when the two comets were each at the nearest point, must have been 2,000 times hotter than red hot iron, No substance with which we | are acquainted could have endured such heat. | ASTRONOMERS HAVE DWELT WITH ASTONISHMENT on the rapidity with which the comet of 1680 whirled round the sun at the instant of its peri- helion passage. This was such that if continued it would have carried it ten titnes round the sun in one day, The comet of 1843 would have gone five times round the sun in the same time. In fact it went half round in four hours. It is calculated that the nearest point that the comet now blazing in the firmament will reach the san will be about a distance of 67,000,000 miles, but every day brings it nearer to the earth, But there ts no | danger to be apprehended on our part. Every- thing about our system is in equilibrium and har- mony with law. There is nowhere any tendency to disorder. Consequently while the grand phe- nomenon remains visible our wonder and admira- tion of the economy of the heavens may find full scope in contemplating it without allowing any sense of fear to trouble our minds, COMETS IN ANCIENT TIMES, The history of some Of the more brilliant of these | visitors must be interesting, such as the comet , that appeared 371 years before Christ, of very great maynivude and accompanied by an carthquake, and the earthquake was, of course, attributed to the comet’s influence. In 203 B.W. a comet was seen of such size as to extend across the whoie sky. In this case the earth does not seem to have been disturbed. In 166 B.C. a comet was seen, which 1s described as red and flery and as large and as bright asthe sun. In 43 B.C. a comet ap- peared sufliciently bright to be seen plainly in the daytime. In the year 263 A. D. a comet was seen, the tail of whicn extended over about one- third of the sky, In 400 one appeared in the shape of a sword. The shape, of course, added to its @wiul import. But still the earth and its in swords Within reach than their beautiful visitor in the heavens. In 589 another great comec was seen, Sarit nearly the entire distance from east to west. And so on every few years down to the present time these biazing torches appeared in the sky, objects for study and admiration and of much causeless fear, THE EASTERLY AIR CURRENT, The Balloon Ascension at the Hippo- drome Postponed Until To-Day, The announcement that the first of a series of balloon ascensions to be made by William H. Donaldson was to take place yesterday afternoon sufliced to attract a large crowd both within and without the Hippodrome, The atrial fight was announced to take place immediately after the conclusion of the aiternoon perrormance, The in- fiation began in the arena of the Hippodrome early in the morning and occupied three hours, When filed the glistening giobe of Berkley cambrio stood torty eet in height, and, as to and fro with every current of air, apparently struggling to escape through the mesh of the netting. it seemed the most fragile conveyance in which humanity coulda possibly embark, It soon became apparent, how- ever, to Mr. Donaldson that tne liiting power of the coal gas, as supplied by the Mutuai bas Com- pany, strongly impregnated as it is with naphtha, was not suficient to carry the balloon and its liv- ing ireight into the air. The 17,500 cubic feet of gas, in this instance, did not possess a lifting power of more than sient pounds, while a balloon of the same size, flied with the ord+ nary coal gas, has taken up three per- sons and 100 pounds of ballast. There was only one way to do, and that was to empty the oe aba wannoe to refilling it with a lighter gas. TMs was accordingly done. The manager of the Hippodrome at once made arrangements to tap the gas main of another company, and tt is confidently hoped that the balloon will be got off to-day. Mr. Donaldson declares his full conviction Ot the existence of an easterly air current, which, ‘48 surely as fate, will sooner or laver be the means of carrying some navigator of the air across the Atlantic to the Old World. He expresses great Tegret at the miafortune of yesterday, Thé comet which now blazes out so conspicu- | | effect upon the earth’s atmosphere in producing | habitants travelled on having more cause to fear | it | heavens. And they tell us that for a week | } | been prevented by good iortune. | Solidated roads, stated to the reporter that not | and Elm streets, | Pe | THE SHORE LINE DISASTER. | Rallroad Careleasness—Condition of the | Injured—Text of the ,Coroner’s Ver- aict—Funeral of Superintendent Wil- | cox. New Haven, July 7, 1874. The accident at Stony Creek is the one topic of | conversation in this city to-day. Many of the pas- | sengers on the {ll-fated train are about with ban- | daged limbs apd sore bones, and around each, groups of interested inhabitants gather, eager to learn fresh particulars of hairbreadth escapes. There is apparently great diversity of opinion, not | in regard to the cause of the accident, which all agree was due to the carelessness of William Beach, the station master, but in regard to the re- Bponsibility of the railroad company tor the catas- trophe. Undoubtedly many suits will, however, be commenced agaiust the road, as agreat number of the injured are laboring people, who may be incapacitated fur work many days, There seems to ve cousideravle sympa thy felt for the unincky employé who caused the accident, for he is known to ve a tem- erate man and a person of good reputation, and the remembrance that it was not strictly a part of | bis duties to attend the switch inclines many to pity, more than condemn, him, Much indisnation | 4s, however, expressed at the loose management | of the Shore line division, and it is sited thay many sismilar or even worse accidents have only Mr. Daniel W. Morrill, of New Haven, related to a HrraLp re- porter an instance o! grossly criminal careless. hess which came under his personal observation last summer that has never appeared in print. He was travelling upon an eastward bound train on the Shore line road, which train was required | to wait at Madison for tne passage of one bound west; but on this’ occasion, after waiting a | few moments, the train proceeded on toward New | London, and when a ‘ew mules irom Madison, | suddenly came face to face with the westward bound train, Happening to meet ona straight | piece of road the engines of the two trains were stopped just in time to prevent a horrible tele- scope, but had a bend intervened a frightful disas- | ter must have ensued, Such carelessness as this is feit, most justiy, by the inhabitants of New Haven to be without excuse, and railroad oficials are Hable to receive asevere overhauling at their hands. Mr. E. P, Reed, the Vice President of the con- | once im a year aid the train which was wrecked carry one-tenth of the number of passengers | aboard at the time of the accident; that tne cars | were oniy {ull on acconut of the number of people who had been out of town enjoying the Fourth, He | considers that the railroad company are in no way to blame; that they had every reason to repose confidence in the man each, “Mr. Reed also very naturally appears to think that the newspapers have made altogether too much account 0} the ac- | cident. The work ol removing the débris at Stony Creek was commenced this morning. Sev- eral of the cars are lound to be totally demolished, | THE PERSONS INJURED by the accident have all been removed to their homes, and with the exception of a few are doing Well. The spectacle of men with faces court-plas- arms carried in slings and walking crutches has been no uncommon thing to-day. Miss Miller, the telegraph operator, at Story Creek, to whose noble effort, while sutfer- dng intense pain from injuries received, the press and pubiic are indevted for much of the early in- telligence of the accident transmitted, 18 in a fair way of complete recovery. She has been relieved by another operator, From Clintou the sad intelii- gence comes that Mr. C. 0. Post, of Westbrook, | Nas failed rapidly since receiving his injuries. He is sinking, and fears are entertulned that be can- | hot recover. The following is the exact TEXT OF THE VBRDICT rendered by the Coroner's jury:— That William M. Wileox came to his death by being | crushea under a car which was thrown trom the track at tue Pine Brook Piling, near Stony Creek station, Bran- ord; that the cause of the car being thrown from. the track was the fact that switch was turned Detore the last car of th had passed the | switch, and thereby the last car was thrown from the track and drew the other cars off the piling. William Beach, the station agent at Stony Creek, had charge of the switch at the tie, ri the ¢ trai ‘The switch was in pertect order. | Avis one of the maiety ‘switches recently pur up.ant | still in working order. RY ROGERS. Foreman SAMUEL B. MILLER, “Buaxronp, July 6, 1874 bs FUNERAL OF MR. WILCOX. ‘The funeral of Mr. Wilcox will take place to- morrow (Wednesday), at two o’clock P, M., from his late residence, in Madison, on the Shore Line road. The deceased being extensively known by railroad and hotel men in this city, New York, Harttord, Springfield, Worcester and New a don, large delegations will be in attendance. A special train will leave this city at forty minutes past twelve P. M., immediately after the arrival of the lightning express from New York, to con- vey all who pare desire to pay a last tribute of re- spect to a citizen respected and honored. Mr. Wilcox was in huis forty-iourth year and Jeaves a | wile, an estimable woman, to mourn his loss, He | nad been identified with railroad interest more than thirty years. ANOTHER RAILROAD SLAUGHTER, Near Monmonth jnoction, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, yesterday morning, an unknown man, Supposed to be a tramp, was struck by the loco- motive of the hall-past seven train from New York and instantly kilied. The unfortunate man was sitting on the track putting on his shoes, but | did not hear the whistie of tne engine in time to | get outot the way. Tue body was picked up and taken to the junction. THE DARING DAYLIGHT ROBBERY. One of the Three Men Who Robbed the Grand Strect Jewelry Store . Arrested and Held for Trial Without Bail—A | Meritorious Officer. | It will be remembered that on Friday, the 27th | of June last, three men entered the jewelry store of Lucca Feinstein, at No. 218 Grand street, and | pretended they had some gold chains tobe re- paired, and after inquiring about the probable | cost walked out again and said they would call “to-morrow.” Being well dressed and of gentile- manly deportment no particular notice was taken of them at the time. Next day, Saturday, just as Mr. Feinstein had gone to lunch, the same two called, There was no one in the store ex- cept Morris, son of Mr, Feinstein, a lad about fil- teen years of age. One of the three asked to see a bar forachain, It was shown him and a purchase was negotiated in a jew seconds, At this moment, just as young Feinstein was waiting for payment | jor the ‘article he had sold, he was seized by the throat and shoved to the farthest end of the store. | Hts cries for help were stified, and upon onering | the feebie resistance of an immature boy to his | rufianly assailant he was struck violently in the face and had both his eyes blackened, Being utterly helpless, the rovbers found it an easy matter to get away with all the valuable and easily portable property in the store—twenty-three gold watches and sixty rings, valued at about $1,000. There was no clew to the thieves, except adescription of one of them, named James Mur- tha, tne principal in this most daring robbery. Detective Mitcuell, of the Fourteenth Vike was given the case to work up. It seemed a hope- less job, The | thieves had left “not @ track behind,” but Mitchell’s power of comparison Was good, and he thought he identified tie de- scription of Murtha, He accordingly sought for that individual, and found him yesterday, drink- ing and baif drunk in a barroom. corner of Broome { As the oMcer laid hands upon him he turned savagely upon him and hissed nercely througn his teeth, “Damn you, you wave got me at last, and you'll have to figut.’ A desperate tussle ensued, In which the brave detective conquered. Murtha cried for quarter, He was taken to the station house, and yesterday was brought before Judge Flaminer at the Toms \ Police Court. Upon being confronted with young | Feinstein the latter at once ideutitied him as the | man Who attempted to choke him. An affidavit ‘was made out, aud Murtha was heid for trial with- out bail He said he lived in Thirteenth street, near First avenue, BURGLARIES, The publishing house of George C. Putnam, No, | 308 Fourth avenue, was entered by burglars on the | night of the 6tn inst, and robyed of property | valued at $1,700. An entrance was forced through the front door by the thieves, who lest no trace of their identity behind them. A report of the case was made to Captain McCullagh at the Twenty: | ninth precinct station house, and his officers are | in search of the robbers. On the 2d inst., anumber of men called at the residence of Mary Sayer, No. 176 Grand street, and Tepresented themselves as detectiy They told the lady she was charged wi hav- ing & quantity of bogus mds in her jossession, and demanded to see any vaitabies of that kind she possessed. Mra. Sayer, believing their wepresentations, inuocently handed the men the keys of her chest of drawers, They took them and inetituted a thorough overhauling of her private papers, Being satistied with tie re- guilt Of their inquiries the men handed back tho keys, ying they were content the charge made rain er Was groundless. When they were gone she looked over her drawers and discovered the Papas detectives had stolen bonds amounting $1,100 in value, ‘The case was reported to Cap- tain Clincny, of the Fourfeenth precinct station house. and oMeers are looking for the tweves, THE THIRD TERM. | pe a Is General Grant the Herald | | | with the idea, and helped to bulla up a powerful m eit eine d Sak | candidate for a thira term tor more than s year. ‘This continuous and almost dally recurrence to the subject has no doubt famiitarized the publio party in favor of the project, which the HeRaLy now mildly condemns, but will certainly approve of and support a8 soon 4s it appeara feasible, The Candidate ? | president himself probably never entertained the What the President’s Friends and Enemies Think. oo The Presidential Canvass Opened at La “Porbidden Frait.” (From the Evening Post.) There are few oftice-holders who can resist the temp possession of wealin and honor and the danger of gacen g all in the shitting quicksands of political life seem to have little power to deter them, and the strongest men’s vanity, assiduously cultivated by parasites who call themseives friends, olten in- c cesa mania which is uncontrollable by reason, The ramor has been current for several weeks that General Grant 18 anxious to be elected Presi- dent fora third term, and that his anmety has been gradually developing into a confidence of success, We have deen disposed todoubt all these reports, but several circumstances nave lately served to confiri them, and unless the President is guided tn fature by more judicious advisers than he seems to have had for the last year or two, tie may soon find himself fairly entered for the race of 1876. tion to be re-elected or reappointed. The | idea of ranning forathird term till the Heratp | Put it into bis head. There is an old anecdote twoid Of a hostler who, when at confession, was asked by the priest if he never greased the teeth of travel lers’ horses, 30 as to prevent them from eat- | img the oats, His reply was characteris te of his country:—“No, your reverence, 1 never heard of it ‘defore.’ tk uw Almost needless to say that henceforth he had thas sin to coniess, The priest had put the idea into , nis head, just as the HeRaLp put the third term | idea into the heads of the President and his adher | €nts, fully two years in advance of the time when itis usual for the subject of Presidentia! nomina‘ {ions to attract much public attention. To-day the HeRALp has taken an important step in advance-in furthering the supposed ambitious views of the President, by quoting the opinions of the Governor of one important Southern State and of a United States Senator of another, 1oreshadow- ing the probability of the President's running tor a third term, iounded on his known tnetinations, and of his receiving a cordial support from all the Southern States on account of his sympathy with the people of that section, and of nis desire to do them justice, In an editorial the HenaLp, as , Ustal, midaly protests and calls on the President to declare he wili Hot on any consideration accept a third nomination, This declaration the HERALD knows 13 a necessary step in the programme, Everybody knows what such refusals mean before | the proffer 13 made, It is the one thing needed to stimulate the President’s adherents to vigorous | General Grant is proverbially a stubborn man. | action, Notiing whets the public desire to have a Mrs. Grant has said 80 with reference to bis social | thing done so much as to behold @ man modestly aud domestic lite, the revels found him so in the | refusing an honor that has not yet been proposed. ariny, and the politicians have found him so in his | tn fact, it is hardiy possible for @ man to become | lacking in appreciation of the true character of his | functions:—*Tnis is my business, and I will show | | date. appointments, During the last four months he | has been both honestly criticised and personally abused as he never was before, and it is his muis- | fortune, holding to the “personal property” idea | of his office, that he is not always abie to discrim- inate between these two modes of treatment. Therefore, he sometimes says (within himseif) to | those who have tried to support him but found him | you that {can continue to transact it asI nave done, in spite of you." The most startling errors he has committed thus become the most potent incentives for clinging to | the office which, without doubt, a few montis ago he was fully prepared to surrender at the end of his | present term. It is an ungracious thing to say, but | it is a fact, that probably no President was ever sur- | | rounded by a more numerous ring of personal flat- terers than General Grant. They staked their for- tunes two years ago apon his continuation tn office; it was a life or death atruggle with most of | them, and they have had more than the ime usually allowed to such persons for mining in the rich placers of a national administration. They in- qustriously encourage the President's hopes and excite his desires for vindication, {f not for re- venge, against all who for any reason or for no | reason oppose him. These facts go for what they | are worth to justify the opinion that the President 1s looking for another re-election, Some persons also insist upon recalling the | events of 1871 and 1872 ag somewhat similar in their bearing upon the third term question to those of the present year. The President then Was both criticised and abused for some objection- able acts; ne then unofficially declared that he | did.not want or expect to be re-clected, as it is re- ported that he has lately declared, but when the | | time came his personal adherents demanded a re- nomination to “vindicate” him, and circumstances forced his critics into his support. Doubtiess he is now told that the nistory of 1872 may be repeated, it is certain that he is told also that there ts a new element in politics coming to his support—the | democrats of the Southern States, Governor Kemper, of Virginia, one of the most conservative of these democrats, has written a | letter on the subject, “If the future should bring forward a candidate impersonating the third term principle,” he says, “if he should cut loose from old party trammels and take his stand on oar safe, conservative ground of universal reconciliation and peace under the constitution, and if, so standing, he should be opposed by any champion of the civil rights iniquity, then, in a contest be- tween the two, the couservative party ought, in my opinion, to go decidedly, but as an organized | party, and not otherwise, for the third termer, yet with a protest on their lips against the third term principle and in spite of that principle.” It 1s re- ported, and we believe is true, that Governor Kemper, Colonel Mosby and other Southern leaders | are seriously conferring upon this subject, and that the sentiments which we have quoted are | very general among them in their despair over the prospects of the democratic party otherwise, The jatest manifesto from this quarter comes | from Senator John B. Gordon, of Georgia, who | gays:—“l think President Grant is exceedingly anxious to run again and is very apt todo so. I am very intimate with him; as much 60 as almost any one, and he ts always very cordial with me. [ think he certainly intends torun agatu.” He thinks | that the President does not want a party nomina- tion, expecting better support as an independent candidate, ‘Still, he adds, “If Mr. Grant wants the nomination of the republican party he will get it. Not at all. For, with the tradition of the Repubtic anda the spirit of our institutions so decidedly against such a course, they will be Not that they prefer him to any other candi- | | President without having gone through this little bit of legerdemain of saying “No” first, Itis quite certain that none of our great statesmen who havo been known to aspire to the office of Chief Magis- trate have succeeded 1a attaiming it. ‘The cases of Henry Clay and Webster, of Generais Scott and Cass, and notably of Horace Greeley and Chlef Justice Chase, illustrate the wild axiom | laid down by a more astute but less briliiant statesman who did succeed, that “she ofice of President was too exalted to be sought after of refused when offered."” There is pne consolation for those who think ittns expedient that a President should be accorded a third term, and that is that the HERALD’s cand dates have never been elected, though that pro- found organ of public opinion perhaps might be Abie to prove from its files that they have alwaya won. Yours, &c., H. B. W. New York, July 6, 1874. Cpposition Must Be More Than a Mere Negation. {From the st. Louis Globe.] There have been not only sertous suggestions of the tmird term, but serious suggestions that te | might be imevitabie. It ts only the plain truth that no inspiration from the President himself has originated these suggestions, and in looking else - | where for the causes which have compelled tne discussion of the question we see very strong rea- son for believing that they represent influences which may not be easy to check or control. Betore the President has opened his mouth on the | third term question we find both the people and the press opposing it as something which threatens danger, and we are disposed to trust their instincts. We find the people saying they have not heretofore taken any interest in politics, and it is very possi | ble that while they have been thus taking their | euse @ state of circumstances may have ariseo which will render their present tardy interest | quite futile; and as for the newspapers, they are to be divided into those wiich have svead-y abused and vilified the President and those whch | have defended and praised him with equal lack of reason. It 1s chiefly due to these two causex—to the absence of an intelligent interest in politics on | ,he pars of the people and to the absence of an in- telligent treatment ou the part of the newspa- pers—that individuals have been able to optain in politics an iutfence out of all proportion to our ldeas of democratic government, aud naturaily , the holaer of the highest position 1s the most pow- erful. We believe that the majority of the people of the United States, both republicans and demo- crats, would be opposed to @ third term; bat if tho majority are divided betweeu themselves, they may be quite as powerless ag if they were 4 small minority. Amere negation does not sniice in politics, and uniess those Who are opposed to a third election of President Grant can mouid the Opposition to him into a more tangible shape than @ mere negation and concentrate their support on some other candidate, we might as wel! settle down to acknowledging Grant as President for ute. Senator Gord: Conclusions. [From the Tribune.) Senator Gordon, of Georgia, who profes-es to be ery intimate” with General Grant, and believes that he is welcomed at the White House with ay much cordiality as any one, has been taiking to a | reporter of the Atianta Herald about the prospects ofa third term, and telling all that he has learned of the plaus and aspirations of our Chie! Execu- tive. How much Mr. Gordon really Knows about the President's purposes it 18 not for us to si Generai Grant is not a garrulous man, and Senator from Georgia, Wao Mas been only | Short time in Washington, has, perhaps, jailen mto the common error of new statesmen in ove: | estimating the significance of occasional eivil- timid about offering a third term candidate. They | ities and private conversations with which he " has been honored at court. But whatever the will nominate him, though, because they Will | premises upon wiich he reasons, he has reached be afraid not to do it, for two rea- | aconclusion at wich a greae aed perheotnt sons:—First, they believe he is the only | people seem to have arrived. Hels conyineed tha jeneral Gi 0 be re-elected, su man who can lead the republican party General Grant wants to ve re-elected, notas tie to victory, and (they are right in this) that he is much stronger than his party. Second, they fear that if they leave him out he will be picked up by sume middle party, or even by the democratic party, and run against them. Hence, if he wants the nomination, in my opinion, he will get it with- out any trouble.” These, then, are the opinions of some of the dem- ocrats who are expected to help make up the new | “Grant? party, Standing by themselves they | would be of little consequence; but taken in con- | nection with other ciroumstances they are entitled to more consideration, Besides, they bear a re- markable correspondence with our own private in- | formation. A United States Senator, whose opin- | ton on the subject would command peculiar atten- tion if we should name him, said to us somo time ago:—“You may be gure of one thing, singu- Jar as it may appear when you consider the bitter feeling of the Southern people against the ad- ministration, and thats, that the Southern ademo- crats are cultivating the good will and favor of the President, trol him with a view to the canvass of 1876." ‘This ‘was said when the third term proposition seemed to most persons a poor joke. How closely this agrees with the opinions of the leading democrats whom we have quoted we leave our readers to re- mark, AS tho Senator is a republican and a par- ticular friend of the‘ President, tt may be reason- avle to sappose that he gave the version most favorable to him. The President's friends nata- rally say that the democrats are courting him, | and the democrats naturally say that he is vourt- ing them, Looking at the matter from a party point of view, tne first appearance of a third term propost- | tion is preposterous; but when one passes in review the present condition of party organizations and management the matter becomes somewhat s rious, though the ridiculous features of any com- | bination of the Southern democrats with some of the Prosident’s present personal adherents be- come very prominent, Without considering fur- ther, however, the detatis of possipie combinations to re-elec! President for the third time, we re- gord any such combination as sure to ve futile, A third term for a President of the United States is forbidden fruit, and woo to him who tries to pluck it, Guat Is General Grant a Herald Candidate? To THR EpITORS oF THR EVENING Post:— The New York HgKatp has been holding up the It is evident that they desire to con- | | candidate of the republican party, but by a strictly popular movement; he believes the republican party “cannot stagger aiang much fonger under | Its load of infamies,” such as “the Sanbern con- tracts, the Credit Mobilier, the motety system, the | District of Columbia jobs, ANd above all the carpet- bag scoundreiisms in the Southern States;” and he appears to think that Grant will be wise to cut Joose from such a rotten concern and run as the | people's independent nominee. And others bde- | sides Senator Gordon are beginning to taik as ut this were a rational scheme, THE WASHINGTON SQUARE EXPLOSION OP PIREWORKS, The Wounded Recovering. The persons wao were injured in Washington square on Monday nigut last by the premature ex- piosion of fireworks are in a fair way of recovery. The boy Allred Potter, of No, 122 Spring street, Who was burned in the face and legs by rockets, and whose wounds were dressed by Police Sargeon Cooke, Is doing well ana expected wo rec | The German named Sigismund Vasserman. of | lid Bleecker street, Who was injured in | stomach and abdomen by a rocket, itis thou will recever. Jacob M. Van Norton, who resides | at No, Sullivan street, and Whose jaw Was torn away by a flying rocket, lies in Bellevue Hospital, in | @ very precarious stare. Police Orticer Henry Spencer, of the Fifteenth precinct, who sumered rious injuries in the legs, 18 being taken care of | m his house, No. 309 East Twenty-third street. Dr. Cooke is attendiog him, I[t ts Understood that a | number of persons who received minor injuries were taken to their homes, Where they are being | treated, No ijurther casualties than those already reported have come to the knowiedge of either the police authorities or those o, the Park Hospital. THEY HAD A MUSICAL TASTE, There is & pawnbroker’s shop kept by James Cassidy at No. 151 Bowery. Dtspiayed in the win- | dow of the establishment are trinkets of different | | the | kinds, mediwval, relics, violins (ancient enougn to command fabulous prices), and banjoes, accor- deons and other instruments of negro minstrelsy. | On Monday night John Williams and James Mc- Kenna stood gazing wistiully @$ the musical | treasures displayed therein. One in particu. Jar excited their admiration, Unable to restrain his covetous impulse, William broke the window and possessed himself of the pe He passed 16 | to Wis comrade, and they both started to run up | the Bowery. They were both seized by Omicer McIntyre, of the Tenth prectuct, They were ar- raigned by Judge Bixby at Essex Markets, and held AM $1,000 Dail euch to answer, THE AMBRIOAY BANK NOTE COMPANY, | Only about twenty of the persons employed by | the American Bank Note Company have been dis- | charged. The company has at present more than 30) persons at work, dnd is now busily engaged | mame of President Grant a8 @ possibile or probapie | in the completion of orders already on hand,