The New York Herald Newspaper, September 4, 1874, Page 3

paceman ULYSSES CASAR, Portent of the President’s Visit to West Virginia. A LONGER LEASE OF POWER. The Secrets of a-Southern Republican ‘Caucus Divulged. Rejection of a Third Term Resolution. Waite SULPHUR SPRINGS, Greenbrier county, W. Va., Sept. 2, Sera} 1 Dave at last, and this time from ro equivocal or circumiocutory source, but almost directly from the Executive lips, obtained information which emboldens me to say that I speak by authority when J announce that General Grant ta @ candidate for a third term as Chief Magistrate of the United States. Startling as this statement may seem, it is no less true, as can be seen from the interview given below ; but this requires some brief introductory remarks. It will be recollected by the readers of. the HERALD that early in the month of June President Grant paid a brief vistt to Mrs, Tompkins, his aunt, residing near Charleston, in this State. That lady’s residence being some twenty miles qistant in the country, she came to town and met her distinguished nephew at the home of Colonel Swann, her son-in-law, where a very pleasant and affectionate {amily re- union took place, Colonel Swann, who is a wealthy man, dispensed his hospitality with a lavish hand, extended a most cordial welcome to his Presiden- tial Kinsman and, in return, was rewarded with the confidence and friendstip of the hero of the rebellion. Whatever matters of State may have Deen discussed or whatever secrets of a diplo- matic nature may have been intrusted to the safe- keeping of the worthy Colonel Swann I do not pre- tend to know; but subsequent events prove that the President, tor the time throwing off his usually reticent mask, uuburdened bimself in the bosom of Swann’s family and confided to its responsible bead the fact that he was A CANDIDATE FOR A THIRD TERM. ‘This I deem to be unmistakaple and conclusive, as will everybody else when they have perused this letter. On the 25th ult. the Republican Nominat- ing Convention of the Third Congressional district of this State met here, at which Colonel Swann ‘Was a delegate from Kanawha county, and during the open proceedings he made a speech highly enlogistic of his President-cousin, of which the tollowing is an extrdct:— At the head of the government stands, and will gtand for many years,a man in whom all have confidence and who will prove equal to the trials of the present, as he Was equal the tmals of the past, and’ will sane to the future—a man just to all will save to the East her bonds, and to the South her schools and her civilization and to the freed- man his equal rights. A man who will give trans- portation to the West and Jor the nation will find an exit irom her financtal troubles. A man as tlustrious for bis modesty as for his justice. A Man who can afford to be just, because by the con- Bent of mankind be ranks a8 a soldier, and as & Civilian he stands above the restraints of party. Every ifveral advance he has made bas received three Cheers from that great party that raised him to power, and to whose principles he will always be true, because they are bis, He has won from all parties the title of just, and the ‘reconcilable enemy of injustice. In war, just to his sword. In peace, just to the fallen great and the cause he conquered. Just in virtuous example; just to the memory of Greeley; just to Lee; just to bs foes; just to the laws; just in demanding of strong nations the right, and in mercy to weak nations. The splendors of fortune, the applause Of nations, the confidence of country, “the adulation of flattery and the charms of vice have not moved the virtues of an innocent life. Those of our citizens who fear a shird term severely reflect upon his past, while they bettay a want of confidence in the permanency of our insti- tutions. Biessed of Providence with such vast resources, blessed with such examples of Roman virtue, all that 18 needed to restore the country to prosperity is patience. TRYING TO COMMIT THE REPUBLICANS. Here, it will be seen, was a delicate allusion to the third term in the open Convention, in the mid- die of @ political speech; but it was not there Colone] Swann showed his full hana or developed bis “little game.” That was reserved for @ can- ous meeting, and the allusion above was the “eeler” as to how far he could go, and the fore- ranner of bis grand object to commit the’ repubil- can party of West Virginia to support General Grant for a third term, Itis onlyafew days ago mince this information came to my ears at a place far distant from these Springs, and I lost no time {nm seeking to arrive at the part that Colonel Swann, the President's cousin, played inthe proceedings of that caucus. Accordingly 1 came here, and my journey was rewarded, for 1 found not only a man who was present at the caucus, but one bold and manly enough to tell what he saw and heard. ‘This gentleman is a leading republican politician in West Virginia whose name is withheld only from motives of delicacy, but who is ready and willing to corroborate ail he says over his own signature, If denied, and by the testimony of over twenty living witnesses, all of whom saw and heard what he did. I approached him cautiously, and alter ascertaining that he was in this mem- orable convention, caucuses and all, in an inci- dental manner I began:— CORRESPONDENT—Major (everybody here has a Mntlitary title), do you think the third term move- ment in West Virginia has any strength? GRANT WANTS IT. Mason—Strength it unquestionably has; not enough to win, however, but quite enough to de- Yelop the corrupting inftuences of a possibility of @tbird term. I feel satisfied that Grant wants a Fenomination, and that, whether with or without his sanction, the attempt is being made to dragoon the federal ofice-holders and newspapers In this State in receipt of federal patronage into its ad- ‘vocacy, ConresronvENT—Y ou are satisfied, then, that the friends of the President are “laying the pipes” for 9 third term? z WHAT SWANN SAID AT THE CAUCUS. Masorn—Perfectly. No better illustration could be given than what transpired at a caucus of the delegates to the Conggesstona} Convention, which met here on the 25th of last month, Colonel Swann, Of Charleston, with whom the President stopped during his recent visit to his relatives in this State, urging a resolution committing the republi- can party of the district to the movement, stated ‘aneqguivocally thas “General Grant was a candi- ate Jor renomination.” There were present the Collector and other revenue officers of the dis- trict, the special Agent of the Post OMce Depart- Ment, and Colonel Atkinson, Postmaster at Charleston, and editor of the West Virginia Jour- nal; all good men, all trae republicans, and thoroughly competent for their positions, but they @re’men, and don’t care to be forced into post- tons of antagonism with the appointing power. ‘They got out of the thing on the ground of its in- expediency, and the resolution was voted down. CoRRESPONDENT—Taken {in connection, then with the recent visit of the President to Charies- ton, you think the announcement that Grant 18 a candidate for a third term is made with bis con- gent and by his authority? GRANT AUTHORIZES Ir. Mason—I can only say that his statement was j explicit, that General Grant ts a candidate for a third term, and that J, and I think every one preacnt, understood him to assume to be speaking by General Grant's authority. CORRESPONDENT—How was it possible to defeat ‘the caucus resolution offered py Colonel Swann, having #t the time so large a representativa of federal office-holders present? Mason—He did not have their ald. IT don’t think ® man in the caucus, except Colonel Swann, ‘wanted to force the fssne. As a party in this State we are not for a third term. CORRESPONDENT—What sre your own objections >the third term? NEW YURK HERALD, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1874—TRIPLE SHEET. hour; but to make it short, not only has imme- Morial usage, which with us has grown into law, fixed the lmit of the Presidential term, but, with ‘he immense federal patronage in the hands of the Executive, I regard it a8 the most utterly de- moralizing and corrupting infuence that could be introduced into American politics, CORRESPONDENT—Now, Major, I would like to have your views on the Civil Rights bill, and what do you think the President will do with it if it is passed ? ’ THE PRESIDENT AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL. Mason—The bill will pass in February or March beyond question, Rad ought to pass, andI do not believe the Presitent Will veld" it: He “tecom- mended it in his Message of Decéinfer, 1973, aud he 1g not given to changing tront. Itis part of the price we paid for the federal Union; the keeping of @ promise made to the negro, sealed with his blood when we called him to aid in putting down the rebellion—no less sacrea than the national debt, It is the inevitable logical sequence of the fourteenth amendment. As to the social rights feature of the bill, go called, that is the talk of demagogues. There is no social equality tn this country except on the frontiers, where men are liable to be roused by the whoop of the Indian or the howl of a pack gf wolves, where they are oiten dependent for their own lives upon the aid of their neighbors, and judge @ man not by the color of his skin, but by the keegBeas of niseye and the cer- tainty of hig nerve When pulling a trigger under a rifle barrel. 5 This concluded my political conversation with the Major, who, Icoul@ observe before I left him, was somewhat startled at the nature of the in- formation he had disclosed tome. He seemed to doubt his right to divulge what bad happened in a | caucus; but, as this was @ matter of such great | public interest, and he Nad not compromised any of the gentlemen present at that caucus, he con- soled himself and said boldly, “Every word I have told you is true as Holy Writ, and can be proved by twenty living witnesses,’” THE LIBERAL REPUBLICANS. Meeting of the General Committee Last Evening—Resolutions Denouncing the Present Administration, Gag Law and the "Third Term—Three Cheeers for Vermont. . The Liberal Republican General Committee met last evening at their headquarters, No, 453 Fourth avenue, Thomas BE, Stewart in the chair. There were present Frederiek A Conkling, Benjamin F. Manierre, Judge Fithian, General Foster, General | John S,. Cochrane and miuy other prominent men of this party. After the meeting was called to order and the minutes of the last meeung read, Mr. George M. Mitchell, of the Thiriceath district, offered the following resolutions: Resolved, That we denounce the dangerous invasion of the freedom of the press by the Poland gag law, which creates and extends toa local court of the District of Columbia a jurisdiction over the persons of the eaitors | and conductors of newspapers in the United states, whereby through @ construction of law they may be ar: raigned betore courts and tried by Juries not of the stare or district wherein the imputed crime was actuauy commited, and in violation of the meaning and spirit of the sixth article of the amendments to the federal | constitation, Resolved, That the necessity of engrafting the one | term States term for General Grant increases; the refusal of third term by Washington, having been invested by the people in the presence ot his venerated Memory with: all the authority of a constitutional Inhi- bition, to strive for it would be presumptuous. no mater by whom, and to attain 1: would be dangerous, no mat ter when. mT) Tegolutions were unanimously adopted, r glowing speech. General Foster then rose and Said he had-read in the evening papers that Luke F. Poland had been deleated in tne Second Con- Tessional district of Vermont, and he would otfer he 1ollowing resolution of congratulation, which ‘Was received with loud cheers :— . Resolved, That the liberal republicans of the cit¥ of New York congratulate the independent republican electors of the Second Congressional district of Vermont upon their praiseworthy and independent action in ae- ‘at the polls that supporter ot salary grabbing thor of the attempt to gag and terrorize the press, . Poland. And we trust that ali like offenders may meet a like fate at the polls. On motion of Judge Fithian the meeting then adjourned, atter which a private conierence of the delegates and alternates to te State Convention was heid. . TAMMANY GENERAL COMMITTEE. The Tammany General Committee met last even ing at Tammany Hall. There was a very large neiple. upon the constitution ot the U attendance, this being the first regular meeting | since the summer adjournment. Mr, vohn Kelly called the meeting to order in the absence o/ the reguiar chairman, Jobn W. Chanler, and, upon motion, Mr, Augustus Schell was elected chair- man pro tem. After the adoption of the minutes of the previous meeting, tue ‘Ireasarer reported $2,073 04 as being in the treasury. Mr. Kelly then spoke, stating that at a recent Meeting of the State Executive Commitiee held at Saratoga they had called the Democratic State Convention to convene at Syracuse on the 16th of Frederick A. Conkling indorsing them in a | | Obedient to the beliest of the sterd mother. { career, the vote on the one hundred and tenth ballot stood :—Stephens, 502-5; Cumming, 17 8-5, The name of J. B. Cumming was withdrawn at half-past four o’ciock tnis tworning, the Conven- tion being in session all night. A motion was then made by Governor Jenkins to make the howination of Mr. Stephens unanimous; This was done at che request of Major Cumming, who ap- peared beiore the Convention, Mr, Stephens was declared the nominee o! the democratic party and the Convention adjourned, DeErRotr, Mich., Sept. 3, 1874. The republicans of the Seventh Michigan district have renominated 0. D, Conger for Congress. OBITUARY. — Judge Basi) Harrison, Centenari On Sunday alternoon, August 30, at four o'clock, there died at Prairie Roads, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, a centenarian of remarkable and venera- ble history, whose life is worthy of record and com- Ment. Judge Basil Harrison was one of the chief and most energetic pioneers of Michigan. His ancestry was of a hardy and patriotic stock, and is even 1] ustrious tn the annals of the early vicis- situdes of this nation, His paternal grand parents, respectively Scotch and Welsh oy birth, immi- grated to Virginia in tne early part of the eighteenth century, and settled in Berkeley or Charles county, His father, William Har- rison, born in 1732, was twice married, and nad twenty-three children, Basil being the third son of the second wife, Worlender Davis, William Harri- son had served under the young Major Washington in Braddock’s celebrated but Cisastrous expedi- tion against Fort Duquesne, ‘The uncle of the subject of this obituary aud father of President Harrison—Benjamin Harrison—married the mother | He was | of Worlender Davis, who was a widow. one of the prominent men of the Revolution, a man of great intelectual power and brilliant He entered pubiic life at twenty-four as & member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, of which he soon became one of the ieacers, He participated in the proceedings of the First Con- gress, and was a signer of the Declaration, and during the first two years of the war served with distinction as Chairman of the Board of War, He was an intimate friend of Wasbingion, and was three times elected Governor of Virginia, William Harrison was not lacking in natural capacity and not behind his younger brother in patriotism, Although in his worldly career he was not emi- nently successful, he did not live in vain for his country, Of his twenty-three children sixteen attained their majority, and Judge Harrison alten descrived, with | ride and enthusiasm, the depar- ture of six of his elder brothers or Washington's army. It was probably in the year 1778 when this occurred, Jadge Harrison’s parents were married Frederick county, Maryland, about 1750, and he was born near Baltimore on the 16th of Maren, in the year 1771, according to his own testimony. His eldest son contends that he was born in 1770, just twenty yeurs belore his own birth, None of his brothers aud sisters, fiiteen of whom grew up to maturity, are now living, The father died ata good old age in 1812, tenarian emigrated with his parents from one county to another in Maryland | and Virginia until, in his fourteenth | year, his family sojourned in Franklin county, Pennsy:vania, near the village of Green- castle, about three munths aud learned to read and write, Like most boys, he early feilin Jove, the object of his adoring passion being Martha Stillwell, the daughter of a farmer living near fis father. The attachment was reciprocated, and the young couple exchanged words 0! love apd eternal fideity dur- ing their hapvy courtship. He was neurly nine- teen and she three years his junior. Basil, whose Jove gave him Confidence, boldly asked consent of Martha’s parents to their marriage. Her fatuer liked his irank and kindly ways and savored the | match, but Dame stillwell had higher aspiratrons for her Gaugititer, She wished her to wed the possessor of broad acres, and not B penn coul jess young man, Besides, how spare her daughter yet? No, she re pot give her consent. Grieved were lovers. at this decision, but by no means In | Clandestine Interviews they renewed their pledges | oO! alfection, and, encouraged by Martha’s father, planned anelopement. Tne simple wedding trous- seau Was mostly made by steaith in Martha’s own Toom at night, she receiving some little assistance from a sister also in the secret, but she happened wo be entirely Out of shoes, for it was in March, and young ladies then were not ashamed to be seen in their bare feet while in the house, and very crude brogans When the weather made covering jor the feet necessary. Greencastle in 1790 did not permit a bride to ap- ear shoeless and shpperless at her wedding. ady Made shoes were unknown in the town, and the needed articies Must be made to measure, | Several plans failed, and her father was compelled to move cautiously in view of the tact that Dame Stillwell was somewhat suspicions, The mut- ter was delayed for @ favorable opportuni- | ty, until the day before the wedding, when, turther this month, and that each Assembiy district was | guthorized to send three delegates to the said Convention. He desired to call the attention of the committee to the action of the State Conven- tion held three years oO which took the power out of the hands of the General Committee to call the primaries, and that it was now to be done by the districts. ‘In view of this fact he hoped that euch district, or its representatives, would see the necessity oi calling the primaries at an early day. Senator Fox moved that when they adjourn they do so to be convened at any time the chairman might deem it proper to issue acall. He desired to have the same adopted, as they were fast approaching the time when there was @ great deal of work to be done, and tt would probably be of vital importance to bring the com- mittee together at any moment, The resolution was adopted and the meeting adjourned, NEW YORK STATE POLITIOS, Delegates to the Democratic State Con- vention. ALBANY, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1874. ‘The democrats of the Second and Third Assem- bly districts elected delegates to the State Con- n , 28 follows:—Third district, Erastus | vention to-day, a8 | olsen Corning, Rufus W. Peckham and Michael Dele- hanty; alternates, George H. Thacher, Wiliam Doyle and Thomas Mettimor, Second district, Amagsa J, Parker, George W. Miller and Robert H. Waterman; alternates, John Y. L. Pruyn, andrew 4. Colvin and James Simmons, Democratic Assembly Nominations. OSWEGO, Sept. 3, 1874. At the Democratic Convention of the First Ai sembly district, held in this city to-day, Delos DeWolf, D. C. Littlejohn and D, T. Brewster were appointed delegates to the State Convention. Resolutions were adopted instructing the dele- [tae 8 present the name of William F. Allen tor jovernor, Temperance Nominations. LOCKPORT, Sept. 3, 1874, The Prohibition Convention held in this city yes- terday nominated full county and Assembly tickets, perfected @ county organization and adopted measures for a vigorous prosecution ol | the campaign in benualf of the prohibition State and local tickets. ELECTION IN WYOMING, Democratic Victory Throughout the Territory. CHEYENNE, Sept. 3, 1874. The election returns ere nearly all in, und give Steele, democrat, a majority of between 500 and | 600, re-electing hin: as Delegate by double the majority that he received two years ago. The democratic ticket has been generally successful throughout the Territory. THE NEBRASKA REPUBLICANS. The Claim of an Additional Representa- tive in Congress—A Contingent Nomi- mation. UmaHa, Sept 3, 1874, In the Republican State Convention last night Patrick O'Hawes was nominated contingent Con- ssMan, after a lively fight, and Bruno Fisichuk for Secretary of State. ‘The contingent nomination of Patrick O’Hawes for Congress is because of tne claim that the popu- lation of the State has increased so much as to en+ title It to another representative at Washington. If the claim is admitted by Congress and Patrick O’Hawes is elected he will represent the new con- stituency thus recognized, CONGRESSIONAL NOMINATIONS, Alexander H. Stephens Renominated by Georgian Democrats, WHERLING, W. Va., Sept, 3, 1874. ‘Tho republicans of the First West Virginia dis- trict to-day nominated General Nathan Gof, of Harrison county, for Congress. ’ AUGUSTA, Ga., Sept. 3, 1874, Mason—] cond sak op that publect for ag . Wn ple Rieptd District Coneressiona) Convention Procrastination being out of the qnestion, the Tather invented a ruse to accomplish the object. In the forenoon of the last day oi grace he came into the weaving room where mother and daughters were at work at the loom, aud shortly began *o joke Martha on the size of her teet, Picking up a shingle (carefully placed within reach beforehana tor the purpose) he drew @ diagram of measurement of her pedal extremities, the aimensions of which he laughed immoderately about with his wile, to the appare. t great discom- fiture of his daughter, and then carelessly threw the shingle out of the window. Fiiteen minutes aiter that shingle was in shoemaker Wilkins’ shop, and that worthy cobbler worked hali the night to finish the pnmps in which the runaway bride was to stand at her wed- ding on the morrow. ‘The next day at dinner time Martha slipped away and with her father for a witness she and Basi were made one by the village justice, ‘Ihe oatwitted mother of | course was indignant at first, but soon relented, | monial { ! } | the wars. | courage, but he had a distasce {or strife, and ac- | © convince him and ihus, March 17, 1790, was begun the matri- journey of Basil Harrison and Martha Stillwell, aud tor nearly seventy years did tue two live together as Man and wile, until on June 7, 1557, the union was broken by her death. The newly married coupie three years after- wards removed across the mountains into Wash- ington county, where they resiaged until 1810, in Franklin county the patriarch Basil cast bis first vote. In 1792 he voted for President Washington for a second term and repeated the performance of his duty at the polis ag @ citizen and @ patriot atevery subsequent Presidential election, except and 1872 In 1810 he emigrated to Kentucky, where he visited his cousin, General | Wiliam H. Harrison, at his Milibrook farm, just below the city of Cincinnati, Mr, Harrison was & distiller in this region jor about two years, and aiter Generai Harrison had whipped Tecumseb ii the battle ol Tippecanoe and hostilities had broken out with England, he was employed to fake charge of the farm of tne former whilé he went again fo jar hero, ibis asserted, did not lack cordingly sent a substitute to the army in the person Of his brother Ephraim. He and one of his sons bought farms im Kentiyy, War they became disgusted with the troubles growing out of the military land claims and de- termined to go further toward the Northwest, where settlements were yet rare. Micmigan wa: the chosen land, and thitherward they started. The purty o1 pioneera consisted o1 twenty-one persons, among whom were Judge Harrison and his Wile, four of his unmarried children, one married daughter and her famtiy, his brother Ephraim and his family and two neighbors, Their adventures on the long journey which they had undertaken— as they were lucidly and faitiifully related by the centenarian many years alterward—were exceea- ingly Pedi 3 At length, on the evening ot the 5th day of November, 1828, they lighted thetr camp fires on the southeastern edge of Prairie Ronde, or Wewe-os-co-tang-scotah, a8 the Indians call it, meaning the “round fire platn.”” re The next morning the whole party were up be- times, and while they were breakfasting aroand the cheeriul fire in the clear, crisp air of early day, Sagimore, the chief of the Pottawatomies, atcum- re by ten or a dozen of his braves, all decked in yay costume, and faces resplendent with paint, came to their camp and made friendly overtures, Sagimore was a magnificent specimen of the avorizine. presence and the evident good will which was ap- parent to ali, inspired Confidence 10 the puile faces, and they (reely questioned’him as best they could by signs and the few words of Indtan tanguage they understood as to where water could be had and in regard to such matters as most interested our pioncers at this time. Sa.imore ‘e them all the information he could convey to them, and the result was that the indians conducted Mr, Harri- son and two others of the party across the pratrio to the northwest side, were within the line of Woods was a littie lake—now known as Harrison's Lake. Mr, Harrison needed no turtier argument that this was the proper place for him to locate. He quickly reyurned, and the whole Varta! were that night encaniped on the bauk of the little lake, where he aiterwards jivea jor nearly half @ century, Many natural aificuities met the pioneers at first, but the woods were full of game and the Indians iriendiy, The settlement in 1880 consisted of no lesé than sixty families. The first townatp mecting was held in that year, and Basil Harrison became Commis- sioner of Highways. He was subsequently chosen Justice of the Peace and was commissioned by Governor Can one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Kalamazoo county, and he held this posi- tion until 1834, bight o/ the seventeen children of the Jndge are now living, the eldest son (eighty-three years of pe being a remarkable instance of preserved physical vigor. There are eighty-one grand- children of the patriarch in existence and the whole number of his living progeny is supposed to | Centenntal of American Independence. | have the | sound be about 220, Judge Harrison was always reverenced and ¢@ in | In his early youth our cen- | He here attended the common school for | But the etiquette of | but after the | His iovks, his taunners, his fine | teemed by his neighbors and was quite famous ag @ local arbiter and peacemaker. The friends the late centenarian have aiways entertained she beiief that he wae tbe original o/ the Bee Hunter”? ot Loggers novel, “ihe Gauk Openings,” the scene of widen 1s Jaid fF slamezca count. The autnor made many visils (0 tne igcality, having certain moneyed interests theré, The bonudr of she mortality conveyed by hia pook, however, 18 rw by another old ‘pioneer and bee hunter of jhe county whose name is Tonner Savage. It is hardly possible now to satisiactorily devermil ail doubts on this contested point. For several yeurs past Judge Harrison scarcely ventured away irom howe, faculties were becoming dimmed by age and the sands of nis life were running low. He, however, lad days of brightness when he taiked inteiligently with bis family and friends who came to visit bim. Several tumes WiihiD the past two yeurs he reia‘ed incl dents of b33 early life, which stood clear in his memory, While later events were clouded. Last eur, at the meeting of the pioneers of the county, held at Schooicrait, he wus present and sbook ands With maby old triends, whom he recognized and talked with freely. He said, among other tnings, **{ am 102 years oid, and, thank God, ! have not an enemy ip the world!” ‘This statement Waa true. 1t is said that he never dia ill to any one, He was, for over seventy years, a member Of the Methodist Church, Hig babjts ot MMe were gmple, and he enjoyed alm: uniform good heulth, He was, until the later years of his life, of strong physical vigor and unnsual powers of endurance. He was succesa.ul as a farmer and in- fluenual among his neighbors, He reached the age oi 103 years and six months. His death was like iis tie, qu et and peaceful. If one should sit down and tiink over the num- ber of great and wonderiul events which have oc curied since lis birth, Marcb 13, 1771, he would ! { existerce. Wars, revolutions, inventions, have come one after another with & rapidity and mar- Vellousuess that is simply bewildering, Mrs, Ellen Lyons, A Centenarian. | In the opinion of some English writers who have | Dew theories about vital power, no one can or ever could live to be one hundred years old. These wen declare that tong before that time the machinery of lije necessarily works itself out; and they obstinately hold thelr theones, disputing every case Of extreme old age that is presented to their notice, Discussion has for some time been abandoved, the believers in centenarians thinking that the only way to crush their lew obstinate op- ponents is to pile facts upon them. New York now supplies @ New addition to the already large mass of truths put upon the doubters, Mrs. Ellen Lyons, the remarkable subject of this sketch, died on Monday last, at her residence, No. 811 West Forty-eigbtn street, She was aged 113 years, bavipg been born in Edinderry, King’s county, Ireland in the year 1761, She lived at her birthplace until she had passed what ts usually called middle age, and she was married there during the rebellious period of the year 1798. Her real experteuces in lie seem all to have come late, for she was sixty-two yeurs old waeu soe came | to this country with her husband tn 123 She then became a resident of the Third ward, and lived there for almost half a century, the last ieW yeurs o1 her existence being passe up town, Mrs, Lyons was an earnest Christian, and so firm in her adherence to the forms of the Roman Cutholic Church that almost every morn- Ing, alter ler arrival in this city, éhe attended the early mass. She was a parisiiouer of St. Peter's chureh, in Barclay street, and she attended ser- vices there throughout the pastorates of the Rev, Drs. Powers and Pise and Fatuer Quinn, The two Jormer psiests, who are dead, and who lrved long evough to attain most distinguished places 39 ‘ber church, were very young men when Mis, Lyons began in her Old age to listen to their exhortations, Father Quinn, who is now the Vicar General of this diocese, preached the funeral ciscourse after the requiem, masa ceiebrated ior Mrs, Lyous at the Churen bf tne Holy Cross, io West Forty-second street, on Wednesday, He spoke Of having known the de- entered ou his mimisterial ducies, Mrs. Lyons’ memory remained good up to the day o! her deatb, and she recounted, with all the resish of reminiscent old people, the salient incl dents ot her life. Her remembrance of occurrerces in Ireland 1 1798 was particularly vivid, and she | drew strong pictures of the terrors oi that time | that always mterested her hearers. Her tales of the past she has toid to three geverations o1 her own descendants, most of Whoin were present at the requiem mass on Wednesday morning. Among tuem were two grandsons, who are priests of the sures which she clung With devotion throughout er life. Mme. Agatha States. Mme. Agatha States, the well known and pop- ular prima donna, died at her residence in No, 467 West Thirty-fourth street, in this city, on Wednes- day night, the 2d inst, The immediate cause of Geath Was an attack of pleurisy, contracted dur- ing a recent trip trom San Francisco here. Mme, ,; States, whose maiden name was Gaynor, was born in Dublin in 1841; her age was consequentiy thirty- three, At @ very early age she went with her Parents to San Francisco. When ® young girl signs of & very BWeet soprano voice becanie evident, and she was given the best musical train- | Img which the place could afurd. This being found imadequate (as if had upon to make her @ projessional singer), she was sept to Italy to compiete her musical education. Her studies Were conducted in Milan aud the voice which had firat been remarked with increasing years grew to bea very flexible aud sympathetic though not poweriul organ. For some years aiter ber education was completed she sung in public in [taly, and made part of many companies, Which travelled from place to piace. Indeed, there are few italian cities waere she 19 not known, She subsequently returned to San Francisco, where she married, It was not until the spring 0: 1860 that Mme, States sung in tuis cily, appearing at Pike's Opera jiouse (now the Grand Opera House) a short time alter its com- pletion, under tie Management of Mr. Max Maret- zek and Layette Harrison. Her personal suc: cess was very great, though she sung in rivalry of Mine. Lagrange and Mme, Parepa, Her bes: role was that of Elvira, tu Verat’s *krnani," in which | her success was unquestioned, She also appeared in several of tue lighter italian opera roles, sus- taining 1M each case the part of the prima donna, The season, \owever, Was @ disastrous one und broke up very sudgenly, the company being turned adrit, A short time after Mme, states gathered | the scattered iragments togetner and made sev- | erai proleaswaal tours through the provinces, she gud Signor Oriandin! travelling a8 “stars.” This gentleman she suosequently married, and the two Wavelled with a troupe not only throughout the United stares but in Mexico, South America and Ausiraiia, irom which country, where she was a Teat lavorite, she but recently returned, reaching San Francisco in July jast. this city since i868, ‘hough she has sung av several concerts, in person she was handsome and win- ing in her manners. She leaves two cuildren, son and daughter, respectively aged thirteen and eigut years. Ine iuperal takes piace irom her residence (ils moruing, and the remains will be buried 1a Valyary Cemer ry.* Father Helias, 8. J. Rey. Father Helias, @ venerable priest of the Order of Jesus, has just died at Taos, Mo., at an advanced age. He was the first Reman Catholic clergyman who celebrated mass west of St. Louis, } and the last survivor out One of a band of Jesuit Missionaries who, over half a century ago, came to America [rom Belgium, under the leadership of Father De Smet, and devoted themseives to the conversion of the Western Indians. For thirty- five years this good man, now algo deceaged, with hia assoctates, bore privation, danger and bard- ehip wn the discharge vo! the grand mission which had been entrusted to them by the Head of the Church, The success of their efforts is to-day acknowledged by every generous mind, and Father Helias’ death will be universally regretted by the white Mun and the red man, in Europe and America, and especially by his companions in the Order of Loyola now serving in every quarter of the globe. A STATUE TO DANIEL WEBSTER A Most Appropriate Memorial of the Great Statesman, We have been favored with a copy of the follow- ing letter addressed to Colones Stebbins, of the Department of Puolic Parks, in reference to tne munificent and handsome offer of Mr. Gordon W, —-— ~ Central Park :— ‘NO. 128 FIFTH AVENUB, New York, July 25, 1874, Hunky G. STKBBINS, Ksq., President of the Depart. ment ol Public Parks :— Deak Six—In Accordance with the suggestions heretofore made in conversation with your pre- decessor, Mr. Wales, and yourself 1 respectiuily offer ior the Central Park’ a bronze statue of Daniel Webster, of colossal size, with an appro- priate granite pedestal, the whole work to be exe- cuted by the best artist in a manner aitogetner worthy the grandeur of the subject and the con- spicnons position it 8.designed to occupy at the lower entrance to the mail, and cordially approved by yourself and otter | gentiemen of No less excellent taste and judg: ment, will exactly sait my 1 Apt hed in devotinu 80 large @ sum o! money as Will be required to adorn the Park aod to honor the memory of one of Amer- ica’s noblest sons, whose patriotic eloquence, de- voted to the defence of her institutions during his life, will continue to animate and mspire to tne latest time that sentiment of, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparabie,”’ which has saved the nation, and will continue to protect it. site proposed will meet the Hl Your department, in order that the work may be | Guly compieted by the Fourth of July, 1876—the honor to be, With great res our obedient servant, f we GonDOS a RUAN Oe realize the scope and grandeur of such a period of | ceased lady as being very old when ve bud just | been resolved ; Mme. S.ates made nO appearance in opera in | Burnham to erect @ statue to Daniel Webster in | This position, proposed by Mr. President Wales | | THE CROQUET CONFLICT. The Joyous Science in Prospect Park. PERFECT FREEDOM 10 THE STRONGER SEX Merry Maidens and Mature Maidens Aroused. Will the Stony-Hearted Commis- sioners Relent? The question of sex in croquet is the all pervad- ing topic of the day. mined to agitate in the matter until something ts done to bring ladies and gentlemen together fa the Central Park croquet grounds. A rumor has gained some credence that the exclusion of the male sex from the Park is caused by the fear that | some persons, who cannot afford fine clothing, | might perhaps gain admiaston tf the doors were opened to all persons alike, PROSPECT PARK’S PRETTINESS, The writer paid quite a lengthened visit to Pros- | pect Park, in Brooklyn, yesterday, and tne visit | was made for the purpose of witnessing how the | game of croquet prospered among the more decent | citizens of the City of Churches, No pen | can fully describe the landscape charms of this |, beautiful park, Compared with Central Park | it ts @ sylvan grove where fawns and dryads might | disport themselves, so secluded are some of the | forky delis and delicious dangles of the Park. | Those who are quite familiar with Central Park are well aware of the fact that there are places in our New York public gardens that are as arid and devoid of shade as the Great Sahara. This is not the cage {mn any place in Prospect Park, ths public ground being especially fortunate in being well umbered in nearly all of its area. There are Our fair readers have deter | reafizea m our Central Park? Ir is very doubttat M Columous Ryan will ever permit it to be real- ized. Seriously, Prospect Park is a home jor the People, rich and poor alike,, while Central Park seems to be a large garden for privileged ciaases, who can well afford to go in the country and to | the seaside year after year. Butthey must havea | Pleasure ground near their residence, and it wil not do for the workingmen to come between the Wind and their novilily. 4 CONTRAST—TWO PICTURES. Did any of our readers ever take any notes im these two parks, the Central and the Prospect Park? Inthe Centra) it 18 always the same. Ap | endiess procession of people in their Sun ¥ clothes, looking vacant, tired and preoccnpied, ani having a hunted expression, as t{ they expected to be “pulied” by the police for enjoying themselves. | Here people hardly ever sit down or lounge or Stretch themselves, because of the ever presen® policeman, who is busily engaged iu counting the lades of grass that have been trampled on by the recalcitrant boys. They would make excellent Indian scouts, these Central Park policemen, for they seem to know woodcrait so well How different it isin Prospect Park tsa thin, patent vo all who have visited that garden With its islands, its lakes, glorious timber, ter- races and secluded waiks, The prettiest piece of Jandscape within fifty miles of New York is that area oO] fiiteen acres which surrounds the dairy {arm house at the edge of the | croquet ground. It is a perfect gem. The narrow gorges and ravines which have been made into sylvan roads, the umbrageou timber, the streams thickly filied with fish, tne silence only broken by the shouts of happy echil- | dren and glad mothers, young giris playing cra- | quet with their sweethearts—all these adjuncts so pastoral in their nature make up a picture that | may be found in Central Park twenty years hence, | but not to be witnessed now. AN ANGRY FATHER ON CROQUET. New York, Sept, 3, 1874. To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD :— I have been in Centra! Park so many times that I may be excused for speaking of my experience vhere. It does not seem to me to be a place Mt ior any man or woman who cannot keep @ carriage and | dress in broadcloth and silks. There ia too much | restraint im Central Park to allow of ite being & | pleasure ground for the people. Grass is given | to ve walked upon and rolled over in the Juxur; | of self-abandonment, not to be looked at thro | a glass case. I have three daughters, all of who | play an Saco Heh ERae of croquet. I, their father, | Nave two sons, and two of my daughters are en~ gaged to be married, and yet though these young | ladies have a great passion for croquet they can~ | not bring father, brother or bethrothed to the | ground, Now, 18 this not arrant nonsense and | stupidity? Mr. Editor, I bey you will kee agitating this incessantly until the Central Par! i8 made What its founders intended it to be—® | people’s Park, A FATHER WHO WANTS HIS CROQUET, West Sixty-fourth street. 4 MOTHER WANTS HER SON TO MINGLE IN CROQUET socier ‘YY. New York, Sept, 8, 1874, about 250 acres of upland hill, hollow, | To roe EDITOR OF THE HERALD:— | dale and elevated sward in Prospect | I highly approve o1 the stand you have taken im | Park that sre held in common and are | Te¢atd to the exciusion of gentiemen from ero- | free to the pubile to walk over, lounge on and There 18 po tyrannical exclusion of | play croquet. | area. | AN RARTIULY PARADISE. Here and there, scattered in picturesque con. | | fusion, were family groups of four, six, eight, ten, | sixteen and twenty playing croquet and enjoying themselves in @ truly homelike way. No ramrod | stifuess, no policeman In uniform to count each | particular blade of grass trodden under foot and to notice i there be any un- | Tuly boys who may come there | @ little boyish fon, played yesterday at Prospect Park a married man might be found. i not engaged with mallet | and ball, be was carefully employed in switching ) the provision basket, sorting the edibles and | decanting the wine, milk or cold tea bottles, For it is noteworthy tact that, unlike Central Park, | | Where the presence of a cold lunch seems to be a | proof that the pockets of Mr. Columbus Ryan are to be depleted of the profits of a meal which should be taken at the Casino or Mount St. Vin- cent, there are jolly picnic and croquet parties at Prospect Park eyerywiere. The fashion 18 to make up & party of twelve or eight persons, half of whom shail be ladies and the other half are There may be some children along, and they are very uselul torun alver the bale when they are knocked outside of the boundaries, While ‘ the writer sat at the loot of the tree, on a little | shaded knoll in the centre of the magnificent come ! > mon that resembled, more than anything else, a | gentieman’s demesne ir. Devonshire, a picnic ana | The | croquet party came aiong and took possession of | either sex here, and conseqnently it Js not unu- sual to see as many as a thousand persons play- ) ing croquet On the different chosen spots in this to have | In every game of croquet | to be gentlemen, | | quet playing in Central Park. Pray will the Com. Missionérs inform me how or by what law or en- actment they take authority to exclude gentlemen | from playing croquet’ I bave a son who receives | oy a@ week in &@ newspaper Office down town, and | he has to work all night. His afternoons, after | having rested, are given for himself, Will he be re« | used permission to play croguet by the Commis- | sioners? Of what class does Mr, Stebbins speak when he talks of a “peculiar class ?’ Is it the poor | and helpless who must stay away trom the croquet | ground? Please let Colonel Sievbins be more ex- | plicit. Yours truly, Mrs, H—, | KATIE 13 HEARD FROM. | New York Cry, Sept. 2, 1874 | TO THB EDITOR OF THE HERALD:— } . You can geta box of croquet tools in Prospece | Park, wito mallets and balls, for eight persons, at | twenty cents an hour for the whole party, and @ poor Woman may purchase @ quart of milk ata cheap price and take it outro her children, an® | there ta a tabie to sit atfor hertamily. Let the | Central Park authorities do likewise. Also let the | gentlemen come. KATIE B—. A DISCIPLE OF THE MALLET AND THE HOOP. New YORK, Sept, 3, 1874. | To THE Eprror or THE HERALD:— | I have read with much pleasare your arti- cles on the game of croquet, as played at our. } Central Park, and 1 ask the same question that 80 many of my sisters have asked 80 perti« nently—Why are not the gentlemen allowed | to join in our favorite game if they wish? It wilh } not only promote tke game itself, but may be tha { means of drawing many & brother sweethears | from amusements much more dangerous to their | health and happiness. As for our humple selves, & | am sure I can confidently speak for the rest of my sex When I say that we Will always extend to tha gentlemen hearty welcome to our pleasure ground, As for these Commissioners, | think they | Must tmagine they have been duly installed tha censors and mentors of the age. But 1, jor one, | Tefuge to bow to them. LAURA, West Eighteenth street, CREEDMOOR, Forty-seventh (Brooklyn) Regi- ment National Gnard at Rifle Prac- the Little smooth tuited sward beneath, It was a | tice Yesterday—Fair merry party 1uti of life and joyousness. There was | ante aneeine-4 ee | one matron, three blooming girls, three young | ‘The Forty-seventh (Brooklyn) regiment, Eleventh | gentlemen, two children and the solid | pripade, Second division National Guard, Captain | man of the party, evidently the husband of the matron, a portly and dignified dame, | Who did not disdain to take @ band in the croquet. After some laughter and a good | deal of Oirtation and attention on the part of the ; three young men the wickeis were placed and an | eight-landed game was commenced, The portly | Matron was the first to lead off, and her bowlag | Was beautiful—that ia, if tne term bowling may | be permitted Im the scientific game o/ croquet. | | The position on the hili was delightiul, and while the invigorating breeze swept through the boughs of the trees overhead, the merry babble oi the voices belonging to the croquet players came up- ward with a drowsy effect that was luliing and delicious to the senses. From the discourse of the young ladies the writer gathered that they belonged ceaecouvels to the churches o: Mr. Beecver, Dr. Storrs and Parson Talmage. One wore a white dress, another a gray tunic aud black skirt, and the third bad @ biue Sallor-like costume—ali buttons—and having a naval collar. Their talk was a mixture of theol- ogy, fall fashiona and croquet, with a strong bias in favor of fully discussing the theme started by the HERALD in taking the part of the unfortunate men wno are not allowed to play croquet witi nein Wives, sweethearts or sisters in Central ark. WHAT THE BROOKLYN GIRLS THINK OF IT. The matron and pater familias soon bowied young ladies and their taree admirers. The war- ried couple began to stir themselves abou' pre- paring lunch, and the conversation between t freee couples piaying was something like the fol- lowing :— BLUE DRess—I see, Charley, that the HERALD ; 18 endeavoring to make the Ceutral Park Com- | froauet to genile- | missioners open the gamé of men. Ihope that it wil succees | _GRay TuNn1o—I think that New York is a real | mean PEN to live in. Iam sure it is when tuey can act 50. MALE ADMIRER OF BLoE Dress—New York ts such a bad piace to live in aiterall. I lived there aweek. They have got good billiards over there. WHITER DRsSS (to her devoted admirer)—Papa told me this morning, aud he knows ali about It, for he’s a lawyer, you know, tuat ali the gentle men had to do was to go to Central Park and play there with their lady iriends, und that fi an at- mapt was made to prevent them irom playing that they might orihg the Coiwmissioners into Court and do lots of things if it suited them. What do you think, Harry ¢ Hagey (pufing Away at a cigar)—t! think the old wentieman 1s right, dear, But the HERALD is better than twenty courts, It will annoy the life out of the Commissioners. I wonder when lunch will be ready, J got my breakfast at seven o'ciock this morning, and bere {t is hall-past twelve. [ would resist the Commussioners until death (hefuically), | Pater Fawruras (in the distance, (rom under & tree)—Are you taiking about lunch? You are always hungry. How Would some sardines go, or alittle lobster salad and a mug of coid claret? \ Ae haye some claret here of 1848. Whut will you avey | HARRY (with @ decided yawn)—I think tam our, | I'm always out when iunch comes. What wili I | Mave? Let me see, Claret of 1843! | {16 Was 1748, l'un go dreadfully ary, 21) take one sardine, with four bones, and a mog of claret, WuiTtE Dress—Why, Harry, you are periectly | Greadiul! You know that we purchased tue sar- | dines boned, and how could they have claret of 1748 You know Mr, Talmage says that was be- fore George Washington, and there wae no ciaret then, was there? ts a littie of bis history this week. Poor vid | George! What would he eay if he were to sec 9 modern game of croquet, he that was so precious fond of hard Work and walking in the snow with his bare feet? ADMIRER OF THR RED DRess—Why, Ned, do you stipulate with bare feet? You would not want @ | man to walk on his bare head, would you ? | Youno Lapy in Gray TvNic—I am ont; I bave | Won, (Laughter) 1 think it ts horrid to taik that way about George Wasbington, Mr. Talwage would not like it very well! Harry (in @ careiess way with a@ leg of a chicken to his Angers)—Chere you go again, Kate, about | Mr. Talmage, You never can taik enough tenn | that gentleman. Never mind, | won't quarrei wit | you. "You play very good croquet for a baptist. CHORUS OF FEMALB VOICES AND PouTiINe Lr Oh, tor shame, Harry, what a bad icllow you are And you are neglecting your game so much! Here the chatter and esip died away in the drowsy heat of tue d: and the hum of the cicaia and the buzzing of the bumbie bee mingied wich the music of the breeze in the leafewwo: the | trees, and all that surrounded the writer on his | little shady Knoll was languor and dreamy b and afar off were taintiy heard the silvery cha Se | to the themselves out, and there were leit but the three | 1 don't cure | ADMIRER OP Gkay Tonic -I think Mr. Talmage | writer on Prospect Park veaterdav ever be | Allen, A company, in command, went to Creed- moor yesterday lor bal) practice, | In conformity with tne provisions of the State Adjutant General's order governing the rifle praca tice of militia regiments, the Forty-seventh took the 6:30 A.M. train irom Hunter's Point and | Teacher the ranges of the National Rifle Associa- | Won in time to commence shooting a little before ten, The weather was pretty good for shooting, , and higher scores would doubtless have been made | but for @ westerly wind that ftfully blew across | the ranges. There were 274 men of all ranks who shot the reguiation score at 200 yards, Of those kixty-one qualified to shoot at 500 yards distance. ‘The way in which the men were divided among the | companies wil ve seen by the following H DISTRIBUTION. Ficid and staf. Company A Company B Company C ; Company D Company E. | Company F. | Company @: 1 Company 1 Company K 21 saiaerene Totals Cetin ag mer After fin isning the shooting at the 200 yards butt @ rest Was had tor about an hour in the middie o! the cay, belore practice was resumed at the 500 | yard ranges, SCORE OF THE FORTE -SUVENTE REGIMENT, N. G. Names, Paymaster Bradley Pidenweneinasiqueweustes aensuustopscusites Hooes—~ aren Colonel Austin... Private Ewen, Co. H. Corporal Hendrichs, Co. B.. } 2) Private Taylor, Co. P........ {23 Private Wavson, Co. I | Private Lamb, 09. Geese... Tdeutenant Brownel, Co. E.. | Corporal Perry, Co. @. | Private Batley, Co. D, | Private Whitman, Co, Los... | Private MeCormick, Co, A.. | Private Baker, Co. B....s.. | Lieutenant Brownel, Co. K. | Private Spaight, Co. B. Private Chase, Co. D. | Lieutenant Braun, Co. B.... | Private Gray, Co. Assess | Captain Tuttle, Co. F. | Captain Powell, Co, SEESLSESEEELELESEESESESESESSSESESESESE: Crrcmrmsewoummome nonce woul MME SuteU mous NOOUOR toMtee tom colete COC OU oem cUESS HE CHONONOHONNOOUM MOUSE ER WOM Wes INO teRS: Fy 3 2 0 a 8 3 0 Qo 4 3 Q 2 o a 2 a 2 3 0 3 e 2 4 3 0 3 3 3 Q 3 2 3 Qo a 0 4 Q 0 0 2 2 9 Q a oO ‘4 Q 2 z 2 a ‘ac Captain Alien, Co. A. } 3 Private Ferguson, Co. D....{ EN} Private Arlemem, Co. I..... Fear eC) | Sergeant Gtroux, Co. B., ree Private Meyers, Co, D. copa Private Condon, Co. G....... {2B pas oraluck uid Foturued Yo BfooKiyu on the 41a PM train. IMPORTANT ARREST, Five Hundred and Eighty-three Pocket Handkerchiefs Found on the Thievesa Detective Slevin noticed two suspicious persons! | passing along Thompson street last nignt, and | upon accosting them discovered they were | thieves, He followed them into tne Eighth ward, where they met some (nends, who gave them @ eignal that they were in the vicinity of @ detectives | ieVin saw the signal, and immediaely arrested the two he was following, The second party en Oeavored to interiere, and a general row ensved, The detective pujled out @ small dlack club | from an inside pocket of bis Coat, and in afew minutes had made such execution vhat his prisoners were secure, He toox them to the Fiiteenth precinct station house and lock and musical voices of little children glorious at | them up, Upon searching the valise one of thi their games, while groups in musiin and silken | party carried 583 pocket handkerchiels were (ound. J trust that my offer to place this statue on the | stuffs, passed to and iro on the Iringe of the , ‘The arrest is a most tmportant one and reflect#® speedy acceptance of | picture that Lore Memories of proud and peaceful | the nighest credit on the detective. The prisone! days in the wood of Fontainevieau and! will be arraigned at court this morning. under the lofty trees at Versaiiies and witoin | ave their naines to Captain Byrnes at the statiom of the cascades at sarily, Will | house as Joun Tetter, nit “Dutehy,” and Fram this piccare, delightful as it seemed, ders by (Sanus Both are said to be old 01 nalice, i ae