The New York Herald Newspaper, January 17, 1875, Page 7

LONDON. ee Municipal Government in the Metropolis of Great Britain. What the Citizens Pay for Street Clean- ing and Sanitary Purposes. THE PENALTY FOR JOBBERY. Public Schools, the Fire Brigade and Fires. GOSSIP OF THE GREAT CITY. Lonpon, Dec. 28, 1874. In previous letters on this sudject we showed that all local government in this country has something about it of the parochial type, while the Metropoiitan Board of Works 13 simply @ de- velopment of the parochial system to the largest proportions it has yet reachea even in England. We also stated that, though Britain owes much to | parochial administration, the vestries or parish committees of the metropolis are not what the | Population would desire them to be, and that one of the chief objections urged against intrust- ing the government of all London to the Metro- | politan Board is that this body is elected by the | vestries, and not by the ratepayers at large. Of | course, as the public is not satisfied with the | vestries themselves, it follows that a board elected | by the vestries fails to give general satisfaction, | But really the fault lies not in the parochial system, the theory of which—that of dis- trict local self-government—is admirable. The evil eprings from the fact that the better and more intelligent portion of the populations of parishes take little or no interest in vestries, Rare itis to Gnd any of that class on a vestry board, Though the vestries have the spending of hundreds of thousands sterling of the ratepayers’ money you seldom hear of a vestryman above the rank of a small tradesman, The better class neither put up for the office nor trouble them- selves to vote for those who do: consequently parochial government falls into the hands of illiter- ate parochial agitators, whose great delight is to hear themselves talk and see themselves re- ported in the half-penny parish papers. It is only when St. Pancras or Marylebone or Camber- | well exceeds itseifin doing the indignant or the | ridiculous that the great organs of public opinion give it @ paragraph. The Metropolitan Board, which, in @ very stately council chamber, holds & public sitting once @ week, ts reported, its Chairman, who ts also a member of the Imperial Parliament, receives a handsome Salary; and so high 1s the Board’s opinion o! its own dignity that 1s does not smile when one of the | Fepresentative vestrymen reiers to another as the | “Honorable member for Shoreditch,” or Padding- | ton, or some other parish, as the case may be, | But a most excellent feature of uhe workings of that Board and of the vestries is the almost entire absence of jobbery. There may be some of this; but, if so, it cannot be much. The Imperial Pariia- ment has wisely provided against it. No member of the Metropolitan Board may be a contractor for | any work or supplies required by it; and the pen- alty for an officer of the Board receiving anything | directly or indirectly, by way of remuneration or | reward, for anything done by him in the discharge | ot his duties beyond the emolument paid him by | the Board, 18 a fine of $250, dismissal from his post | and expulsion forever from that or any other ap- | pointment under the said Board. Somewhat sim- | ilar regulations apply in the case of vestries and | their oficers, and though one does now and then | hear complaints of extravagance, it 18 very sel- | dom, indeed, that corruption is charged against | any of the local bodies or their officers. STREET CLEANING. As we have mentioned extravagance we may a8 well atonce point out that, while tne ordinary | ‘work of keeping the metropolitan streets in a good state of repair and cleanly 1s performed as | economically as could well be expected, the great | arterial improvements are effected at a very un- necessarily large cost, The reason is that the | former work is done by the parishes under general | acts of Parliament, while the latter is planned and | carried out by the Metropolitan Board, which is | inherently weak, as having been constituted undef an act conlerring upon it only very limited | powers, and which, therefore, has to be con- stantly ranning to Parliament for fresh acts to enable it to do this and that. Now, one of the most expensive things in this proverbially expensive country is an act of Parliament, espee | cially an opposed one. Scarcely a session has passed since 1853 in which the ratepayers of the | metropolis have not had to pay for the promotion of bills by the Metropolitan Boara of Works. This woulda be bad enough even supposing all those biils Were approved and became acts of Parlia- ment, Butsuch ts not the case. It occasionally | happens that alter a long and expensive sifting of the bill by a Parliamentary committee it is re- jected, and the ratepayers do grumble at having to pay for the Board’s failures as weil as its suc- | ceszes, TAXATION, The amount of rates which one has to contribute | in this metropolis depends very much on the par- | ticular parish in which one may have bis premises, Of course, the vaiuation of the particular | premises is a cardinal element in the calcalation | on this head, becanse the ratepayer pays so mucno op each pound sterling im valuation; but what each podud in the vaiuation shall be lable to ue- pends mainly on the total sum required tor the Maintenance of the poor receiving indoor and out- door reliet al the charge of ratepayers ol the par- ticular parish. And 80 it Duppens that some of the most lashionaovle quarters in the metropolis— those whicn couid afford to pay the most rates— | Pay the least, in cousequence Oi their being but | very jew destitute peopie within the parish. | Paupers cannot live in Belgravia and Tyburnia, but they abound in the central, eastern and | Southern districts, and When driven to seek union Tele! become chargeable on ratepayers, thousands | Oo! whom are not much better able to pay rates | than the paupers whom they are compeiled to maintain. Li it were pot jor the poor rate the parish charges would be nowhere very large | in London. Toe parish of St. Pancras ts one of the. Most vxtensive in the metropolis, and as it hasa | due proportion of paupess and is about a8 well | Cieaned and well cared jor by its vestry as any other metropolitan parisn, a few items from tho “Statement of Rates” required vy it lor the six | months which Will end on the 25th of March next | will illustrate very fairly tue cost of local yovern- Dient in the metropolis:—The guardians of the poor require a sum which for those six months amounts to ten pence halipenny in the pound on the Valuation; the muintenance of the’ police amounts to two pence farthing; county rate and othe: charges Make Up an item of one penny and @saithing; tor the Street lamps two pence; jor paving, watering and Cleansing the streets and the Femoval of dust, jour pence haiupenny; tor the | schools under tie Public School Board, seven. | eights o1a penny; for sanitary purposes, officers’ | salaries and poundage, printing, stationery and general expenses, one penuy aud one- | uth; or payment ofruterest on the bund dep Of extinct paving trusts, one halipenny ; lor sewers rate, one halipenny. So much 18 for purely local purposes; but in addition to the foregoing the parish has to pay its coutribution to the metro- politan consolidated rate, which is disbursed by the Metropoiitan Board of Works, and this con- | tiontion amounis to two pence on the pound on the varuation. ‘The sum total o1 the amount which each householder in St, Pancras has tu pay to ms vesiry Jor the hall year already mentioned ts two shilliigs and three’ palipence on every pound of | Vaiuation oi is premises. The vestry has nothing | todo with bis supply of water, For this and any | gas he may burn he has to pay private com+ pounds. The parish rating varies trom to half year, but, taking | ation we bave given as an | avout fonr shijungs and teree pence hod Ler aUBUM 18 a8 MUCH as ALY House (opolis has to pay for mamton- and jghting, the cleansing, whe nitaly arrangements and tHe police care'o! tue city. he ;avemenis in front o1 peopies’ houses | the occuylers huve te get swept, and crossing | #weepers, Who beg lor gratuities, periorm the use- {ui junction Oo: keeping pathways clean betwe the pavements on ether siae ul the public thors a down bugisares; but these thoroughtares are |i do veparred and ored and | ariahes, aid on tie whole the work is ¢€ ugly Well done, Considering the enormous ¢ ln the London scree. THS DUTY OF THE POARD OF Works, Let us now take a gluace at tne averations of | ansed by the oe de le) | upon Parliament determined that this m | period of years. Tne last of these act* Keepa both in tet | case of the construction of ; Of them. In the sume year 16 sanctioned 67 | plans jor new streets and footways, and disallowed 42, The street works in that | | met, partly by contributions from the imperial | Steam flouting engines are moored. NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1875—QUADRUPLE SHEET. the Metropolitan Board of Works and at the cost of those operations to the public of the Britisn capital, The Board bas been in existence nine- | teen years, and the total of its actual deve ia at this moment more than ten millions sterling. But it 1s only fair to at once state that the Hoard is a lending institution. Hy several acts of Pariament | it is empowered—that is, commanned—to tend | money to the Metropolitan District Asyium Board | and other metropolitan bodies, and it has done 80 | to the extent of about a milion and a half. After | tms deduction we fina the indeptedness of the Board of Works on 1'8 OWn account to amount to close upon nine millions, The security tt has given to the lenders for this sam is ite rating powers on property valued at more than twenty and @ half millions, and the anoual imterest it Pays on the debt 1s between three And four tw dred thousand poands sterling, the relation which the interest bears to the rateable value securing its payment bemg 4.9id, in the pound sterling, But as against this Indebtedness of the Board it bas surplus lands and otser property valued at something more than a million and @ | quarter, su that Its net indevtedness is between seven and eight millions, The estimate of expendi. | ture for 1874 WAS tforee-quarters of a miltlivo, against which the Board would bave # realized imcome of nearly £400,000, exciusive o! rates. Con- | sequently it has been obiiged to raise by rates a — sum Of a little over £570,000 steriing, One item of realized income for 1874 Is worthy of a remark. It | is @ million and a quarter doliars derived irom the | coal and wine duties, payavle In the metropolis, | The tormer ts a duty of thirteen pence on every ton of coal brought iato the metropolis, and the latter is a duty Ol jour shtilings a tun on ali sorts ol wine entering the city, ‘This jatter duty is im- josed under the provisions of an old act of Par- | iament ‘or the relief of orphans and other creal- tors ot the city of London,’? ‘The proceeds of both imposts were formeriy paid iuto the treasury of the London corporation, Those duties were to have expired in 1862; bat | when the embanking of the Thames was Feaolved in cent work shoulda be paid tor out of the coal and wine duties, Accordingly, it passed an act pro- viding for the renewal oj both tor a turther period ol ten years, and also providing that nine pence | of the thirteen pence on coai and the whole of ine | four shillings per tun on wine should be handed over to tie Metropolitan Board of Works. In this way the metropolis has been repaying the sum | borrowed for embanking the Thames. Four pence | of the coal duty were leit in the hands oi the com poration Jor city Improvements, THE FACILITY OF RAISING LARGE SUMS on the coal aud wine duties has proved as irre- sistible a temptation to the Metropolitan Board of Works as that afforded by the income tax wo successive Chancellors of the lmperial Exche By various acts of Parliament those dutie been reimposed for yet another and yet other dull Vigor till 1889, and it was only the other day the Metropolitan Board proposed to have them still further extended by a iresh enactment. STREETS AND BUILDINGS INSPRCTORSHIP, In respect to the supervision ol stree sand butld- ings the Board has nad very extensive powers conferred uponit by Parliament trom time to time. Every stranger who has had business to transact | in Lyndon must have felt the inconvenience re- sulting from so many different streets bearing the sale name. The nuuwber or King streets to Lon- don is vetween thirsy and forty, and the Queen | Streets and Castle streets and John streets are Nearly a8 Dumerous. Again, you will fiud va- rious lists of the same line of road or that bearing various appellations. This house on @ road 1s No. or No, 2 of such and such a terrace. The house next to it 18, perhaps, No. 1 or 20! such and such a parade and 80 on. | To the Metropolitan Board of Works is committed the task of bringing about something like sim- plicivy tu street nomenclature, and since if came | | Into existence it has abolished between 5,000 and 6,000 subsidiary names of streets, new named be- tween 2,000 and 3,000 streets and renumbered about 120,000 houses. Tie sanction of the Board 1s necessary to the erection of any building be- yond tne general line of sireet frontage. Duriag the year 187316 received 230 applications for con- seut to erect such buildings, and of these it granted only 151. Its consent 1s necessary also in Portico., verandas and balconies. During 1873 it received 87 applica- t1ODS 1 respect of such structures and refused 18 year necessitated the temporary closing, wholly or m pari, of no lewer than 130 streets. Dur: | my the same year the Board received informa- Uons complaining of Cangerous structures in as many Os 1,271 cases. After an investigation by its own surveyors it decided that aa many as 1,092 structures were dan.zerous and took steps accord. | ingly jor their repair or demolition. THE AUTHORITY ALMOST UNIVERSAL From the foregoing staristics it will be seen that independently Of their great undertakings—such | as the main drainage, the Thames Emounkment and the consiruction of new main thorougalares— the Board has very important duties to periorm in respect of the whole oj the metropolis outside the limaited area o1 the Lord Mayor’s jurisdiction, Works that are essentially metropolitan are paid jor out of a rate levied on the entire of the me- Urypolls outside the city; those which are partly metropolition and in part purely parochial, are paid ior partly by the ratepayers gener. | ally and partly by the funds of tne par- ticular parish benefited by the improve- | ment, and works strictly parochial are done by the parish at its own cost. But there is one other Junction discharged by the Metropolitan Bourd which must pot escape notice. 1t bas been invested with the eniire charge of the splendid | Fire Brigade which does duty for the entire | metropolis, the city inciuded. Ten years ago this was notso. Up tothat period, the Fire Brigade, | as it toen existed, was maintained by the insur- ance companies; but by an act of Pariiament, passed in the twenty-cighth and twenty-ninth | years of the reign of her present Majesty, the plant and property of the brigade were trans- | Jerred to the Metropolitan Board. The expense of carrying Out the uc’, which imposes on the Board tue duty of extinguishing flre and protecting life and property in case of fire in the metropolis, is government andthe fire msurance companies, and partly by arate of a halipenny on the pound on the metrepolis. THE FIRE BRIGADE, There are now 60 stations of the brigade in Lon. aon, and 4 stations are on the Thames, where In connec- | Uon with these stations which are all in communi- cation with each oiler by means ol the electric telegraph, there are 53 telegraph lines and 85 miles o1 telegraph, 1 iron floating barge to carry a laud steam fre engine, 5 large land steam fire en- glnes, 14 5! liand steam fire engines, 15 7-inch wanual fire engines, 40 G-inch manual fire engines, 12 under 6-inch manual fire engines, and 396 fire- men. There are 105 fire escape statious and 125 lire escapes. ‘he Lumber ol firemen employed on tue several watches kept up during the day is 90; the pumber at night is 181,80 that 271 areem- | ployed on watch duty in every twenty-iour hours. The number sick, injured, on leave or under in- struction is usually between 40 and 60. ‘Tne remaming wen are available for gene- rai work at fires, During 1873 the calls made.on the brigade for @ turn out of en- gines were aS many us 1,703. U1 tnese 83 proved to be jaise alarms aud 72 weie alarms of chimuey fires. O1 tres other than chimney fires there were 1,648, Of Which lob resulted in serious damage and 1,382 in sight damage. io 20 of taose fires iife was lostand in 74 Ol them Ilie was seriously en- | ungered. The number o! lives actually iost was | 35, uf Whom 12 were taken out of the burning | buildings beiore death, vut subsequentiy suc- cube in hospitals or elsewhere. ‘Tue total num- ber of calls tor caimney fires, and in which no | alarm o1 general tre had been raised, was 3,602. in these cases there was no attendance of en- gines, but only of firemeo with hand pumps. The quantity of water used lor extinguisaing fires in toe metropolis during the year 1873, was about $2,500,000 gallons, or 101,000 tons. The working accounts Jor the year show the expenditure of vhe brigade to have been nearly $370.v00. Of this becween $180,000 and $185,000 went in salaries and Wwayes, and nearly $10,000 for men’s clothing; something under $2,500 for payments to medical | officers aud about $2,500 in pensions to late officers and to widows, GREAT WORKS. So much for the governments of London by the corporation of the city, the Metropolitan Board of Works and the vesiries. ‘The great works of the Hotvorn Viaduct, the dead meat market, the con- struction Of Cannon street ana cue widening of several of the city thorougniares have been exe- | cuted by the corporation, all of them being within | the Lord Mayor’s jurisdiction. There are other | bodies, such asthe Local Government Bourd—a de- | parimentoi the mperiai government; the Asylus Bourd—partly vominated by the tiuperial govern- ment and partly elected by the Boards of Guardians of the poor; the Boaras of Guardians themselves, elected by the ratepayers; ail of whic vodies have jurisdicuions, Which are quasi local govern- mental, ond in \UY Itstances inconveniently conflicting. But with these bodies and their sev- eral jurisdictions we heed not trouble ourselves in cetail, Huouga has been stated to enavie the | American public to sufficiently understand tue | pres ysveu Of local seli-government in Lon- don, With its merits and demerits. It only remains for us Lo eXplall 11 another jetter the supsttuie jor that system ‘hich 1s to be proposed to the Im- perial Parliament io the coming session, BABYLON’S Gossir. Thank God the ghastly season called Christmas is over! 1b 18 all very weil to read of in Dickens’ works, but the reality is anything but pieasant. This year it seemed as thougn we were gomg to have What everybody spoke of as an old-iasinuned Uhristuias, for there was ice on the ornam Waters in the Various parks, irost wove its | patternbs on tne window panes and ine st were “duinb with snow.” But on Christmas Bye the wind cuanged, the frost all departed in the night, and Christies Day ump and muggy, the streets iuil of siash and the house | eaves dripping Wit melted snow, shis “iestive Season,” a¥ conventional people persist in cailing been worse this year tuan ever; ior Carist- | Day havpening on a Friday, the next day 13. by jaw, abaik houday, Woeo stops are snub and | business of all kinds stspences, and then came su #0 that We have had tiree “blank” duys, during Which our streets have been almost given up to the drunken peopie Who abound just DoW. TUE COURT. | The Queen is keeping Christmas at Osborne, 2s usual Ibis a dull season With her, approximating So closely, as It Goes, to the date ol Price Albervs deaf. abd toere ho special rejoiet ine ince and Princess oi Wales, on the contrary, riWitysentertamn & large party at Sanduagaam and give themselves up to great festivity. Tue | Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are among. theit guests this yoar, and there has been plenty of shooting jor Wwe men and siciguiag for the laaies. | | Strict Catoone, | by his secretary, | sinuating, The white hetfer, Dred by the Prince, which, as I told medal at the Agricuitaral Hall Cattle snow, Was parchased by the lessee of Cremorne Garde! iT £160 (£750), and was yester- day roasted whole and distributed ‘0 the poor. Observant who Waten and make notes ‘Wilt tell you that this so-called “festive season” is always marked by some DIRE CALAMITY. On Christmas Eve occurred, near Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, one of the most feartul aectdents that has occurred since railways have beep brought among us. An express train was going at full speed when the tire oi a Waeel on a third class carriage broke; the carriage left the metals and ane in Contact With the aoutment of w bridge; the joremost coaches telescoped into eaca ot and two of them fell over into the water below, ‘Thirty-tWo passengers were kylied seveity injured, Aoont the Bame time occurred, in @ different part of the country, a irignttul COLLIERY EXPLOSION in whieh seventeen persons were killed. The police have as ret found no ciew to LADY DUDLEY'S JEWELS, bat her father, sir Thomas Moncrieffe, has pub- lished @ statement to toe effect that their real Worth Was about £15,000 ($60,000) and that no suspicion attaches to the mai servant, who has been for years in the iamiiy. One of the best known mea in London is just dead. There are @w sirangers WOO do not visit Evans’ Supper Rooms in Covent Garden, of which jor many years a : ADDY GREEN’ Was the director. He died last week, in Dis sev- enty-third yer, He commenced bis al carcer as @ chorus singer at the Adelpol Theatre, And 80 long a be retaibed his Voice Was one of \ choir of Spanwh piace chapel, for “Paddy” wasa nafoox and his affectiona greeting to his “dear boys’ were traditions of the lace. Twenty years ago it was the fasnion for 4 istie KNOL Of AU hoTS and Men About town to Meet pretty regulariy at bye and (ve house Wasa savorite haant wits Thackeray. Mr. Green has the credit of aving banished the indecent songs Which at one time prevatied, LIVINGSTUNE'S TOMB. On Thursday a jarge biack marble tombstone Was aia over the grave of the late Dr. Laving- stone, in Westminster Abbey. fhe stone bore & lengthy inscription in gold letters as jollowe:— BROUGHT BY FAITHFUL HANDS Over Land and Sea, HERE RESTS VID LIVINGSTONE, Da Missionary, Traveticr, Poulanthroptet, BORN MARCH Isls, At Blantyre, Lavarksuire, DIED MAY 1, LT: At Chitambo's Vaiiey, Ulala, For thirty years his lie w. atin an un effort to evangelize ive races, to ex. undiscovered secre! abol- he desoiating Slave Trade OF CENTRAL AFRICA, Where with tis last words be wrote;— “All I can do in a solitude is, may Heaven's rich e e Laas blessing come duwa on every one—A) a, English, Turk—who will heip to heal thie Open sore of the world. On the Fight hand edge of the sione were the Tantus amor veri Nibil est quod noscere mali juam Fiuvii causas per S@oula Tant Tatentes, nd on the leit hand edge the folowing text:— Other sheep | have which are Hot of Cis tol They also L must bring and they shall hear my voice. DISRAELI. Ihave just raturned from a fe’ Bouremouth, tne Dore where Mr, Disraell is staying. It is a me! place, and bas been greatly overouiit, #0 many 01 the houses are jet, The villas are dot- ted down here and there among the pive woods, which have a very fuuereal appearance, Most of the visitors are invalids, aud respirators are U sal. Lheard very bad accouuis of the Premier's health. Hoe is staying at the Bath Hotel, attended ir. M. Corry. “THE GREVILLE MEMOIRS." The book of court and ety gossip from which you printed long extracts some time since is about to be made the subject of attack 1 the next num- ber of the Quarterly Revie, The writer commis- stoned to wield the scalping kulic is old Mr, Abraham Hayward, Q. ©.,a Very vicious gentie- man, Who, beiug himsel! a rival editor and collec- tor of anecdotes, 1s likely to do his cutting up with a will. THEATRICAL. The London theatres tiave entered upon their | usual Christmas career of pantomimes and bur- lesques. which will last fora couple of noutns, and o! which, inasmuch as they never depart from the old-Jashioned model, no detailed description is necessary. ‘The best pantomime is at Drury Lane, where the members of the Vokes tamtiy are engaged. Mr. Hare, late of the Prince of Wales’ Theatre, has taken the Court Theatre in S.oane street, Rumor asserts that Mr. W. 8S, Gil- bert, the dramarist, is assuciated with him in tue enterprise, Mrs. Kendall will be the chier attrac- tion, ‘The reut of the theatre 18 £1,800, aud Mr. Hare will have to work hard to make it pay. The Bow street Police Court, which tor years has been coudemned as inconvenient, 1s to ve abandoned, and the Queen’s Tieatre, Long Acre, has been porounsed by the government for £70,000, and will ye converted into a Magistrate's Court, police station, dc. Mr. Labouchere, the “Besieged Resi- dent” of the Daily News, &cy 1s the fortunate owner of the property. THE SKATING SEASON. The skating at the Park is still decidealy good, and yesterday it was enjoyed by thousands, Asa rule this winter amusement in New York is of short duration; but that complaint is not likely to hold good this season, there having been already considerable ice and skating on the ponds, The scene early in the morning was enlivened by squadrons of school boys and school girls. Satur- day is their great holiday of the week. How they enjoyed it yesterday! Jor and retiring—all a merry throng with but one ambition, @ grand day’s sport on the ice. One can obtain an excellent idea of what @ great boon these ponds are by visiting tbe Park on occasions of this kind, There seems nothing but bappiness in the world when you look upon such a mass of the younger portion of human- ity as was there represented. The sight wil be remembered, and often the adult cau be benefited thereby. Disappointments meit away in the presence Oo! so much innocence and rejoicing. A poor jaded man, encrusted over with the rust of crowded rooms, 18 mude- to feel en- Jarged 11 size and given a hew existence by con- tact of tiis Character, and if he wiil only take “a band in” and jotn the boys aud giris im some of their “two-lorty’’ rattles over the jrozen surface, | 1t will be as a new lease of life to him, “anether star” of health for tne campaign of hard work and business. ‘The smaller pond, near the Fifth avenue en- trance, yas just a8 crowded as tne jake, and if abything the ice was in better condition, Here the same character of throng was observed, avd thuugh tue atmosphere was particularly in- the skaters did not mind ft at all. Rroughout the whole day and during the evening the crowd continued, and it was ever a cheery, | moving throng, with a glow ol pleasure and a har- | mony of music sweeping along Irom side to side of the ponds, fling the air and influencing the hun- dreds, Whose feet were not steel clad. ‘The iand- ca was bare, cold and cheeriess, but still the Park, yesterday, after a fasnion—tue fashion of winter—was pleasant. 10E IN THE RIVERS. Though there was considerable ice in the East and North rivers yesterday there was not tne slightest mterruption in the trips of the several boats that piy between Manhattan Isiand and the adjacent shores. The ice was soft aud pulpy. easily crushed by the stout bows of the crait that rapidly cut across tne streams aforesaid, with their living freight; and at times the floe did not extend more than one-eightn the distance from shore to shore. Above the Fulton ferry, on the East River, there were made many lodgments of large quantities of the Noating cakes in the pliers on the flood tide, yet it was not troublesome, pilots seemed but little perplexed at its presence, They seyt their craft ploughing through the thickest portions of the foe aud feit no con- cern, Had the cakes been large and tough the case would have been very different, and hundreds of men anxious to reach their destinations would have vented deep indig- nation upon the elements by stamping of leet and muttered curses, Brooklynites and Jersey people ‘know too well what it 1s for the Bast and North rivers to be blocked. It meaus late to business aud late at home in the night; it means cold cabins and general discomfitaure tn making the voyage, With ttile or no satisfaction to be ob tained from ferry employés when the obstruction has become 80 jormidabie as to prevent the boats trom edging through tue mass. but the grumble is not on one side only, Piiots and directors alike have occasion to lament this condition of affairs, ‘The tormer jor the increased diligence and extra work required, and the latter for the neavy costa of repairs necessitated by broken paddies and torn copper. As With the travellers, so the directors of our ferry compantes heartily pray tor unoostructed rivers in the winter, Early yesterday mourning, that is to say, two or three Hours beiore daylight, there was some trou- ble experienced in the North River. the ice was in quite large es, and the long time between the Urips on the Corulandt street ferry enabled it to close the channel, so that it was slow work in crossing, Soon alter caybreak, however, the scores OL tus and other vessels broke up the countless bivcks, and with the ebb tide the foe passed out by the Battery into ite bay, where It crumbied into sinatler pieces, some of which, in turn, Were carried up the Bast Kiver by the next ude. The Staten Isiand ierry boats passed up and down the bay in their usnai dignified way, “grave paced aud sow,” no one thinking 1 possibe for them to be put out of gear oy ice or anything else Of (hat sort, and the Marien boats also ran on time. the bay, With its dott looked quite Unusual and somewhat proturesque, but ulmost every man dad Woman in Gotham has seen the same thing every winter of their lives, aud to therm it is au old story. From every sectton tney | came, rich and poor, rough and ready, well cared | The | |, WuLte appearance, | COMPULSORY EDUCATION. JUDGE DAVIS APPROVES THE RULES ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION—PRACTICAL WORKINGS OF THE LAW. It wul be remembered that the Compulsory Edu- cation act, which went nominally into effect on | January 1, makes it the duty of the Board of Edu- | cation to adopt a set of rules for the enforcement of the law which must be approved by some Jus- tice of the Supreme Court. The rules having been prepared were submitted to Justice Noah Davia, who approved them after certain emendations, and yesterday Mr. Kiernan, the Clerk of the | Board, fied @ copy in the office of the | County Clerk. In order to fully under stand the bearing of these rules it will | be well to recall in a few words the mere purpurt | Of the law under which they are to be carried out, | The act makes school attendance compulsory on every child between the ages of eight and four- teen during fourteen weeks in the year; inflicts a, penalty of $50 for each offence on every person who emp‘oys a child of that age that has not attended school fourteen weeks in tne year, and on the parents or guardians a fine of $1 for the first werk of omission to send the child to school and of $5 for each subsequent week. if they are unable to Mmduce the child to go to school they shall be re- Meved of all penalties and the child shall be treated as an “habitual truant,” and the Board all provide auitable places for the confinement and imstruction of those children, THE RULES ADOPTED, The rules that have been adopted to carry out | his law in New York city provide for the taking of @ census of ali children between eight and fourteen, ana for the appointment of an agent of truancy for each school district, who shall see that hey all attend school, and enforce the law “by jeans of argument and persuasion, and by means other than force, if the same can be done.” These eight ageats of truancy, for there are eight school districts, shal! procure irom some police Justice a jarrant for the arrest of every child who cannot be swayed by hese kindly influences, If found guilty by @ police justice tne child shall be com- mitted to Kandati’s Isiand to be sent to school there, or to the care of the Society for the Refurma- tion of Juvenile Delinquents, to be by them restrained and detained ana sent to school, | Those portions of Randall's Island respectively | Buder the control of the Commissioners of Char- ities and Correction and of the above-named so- Clety shall be set apart “as suitable places for the Giscipiine, instrauction-ana confinement of cnil- dren” Viviating the act. Tae police ure requirea to assistin the enlorcement of these provisions, THE CENSUS. | The first step taken to carry out the law was to request every school principal to send a list of all children of scnool age of whom he tlas a record, Mr, Joon Mointyre was eutrusted with the comple lation of the census from these lists, and has tweive clerks to assist bim 1M this enormous asi Their work is done in rooms set upart ior them the top floor of te building of the Board of Edu. cauion. The Dumber Ol Lames seut in to Mr. Mein. tyre is about 1 5,000, They are to be classified | by the street, so that the agents of truancy shall | be abie to tell at a giauce What enildren of School | e in every locality. the census lists of | e reet wuen completed Will contain the num- ber of the house, the name avd age of tue child, the schov! it attends, how employed, the place of emplo, meut, name and residence of the empioyer | nd of the pereuts or guardians. Mr. Mcintyre five weeks, as the task Is One Ol great magnitude and involves a vast umount of labor, When ready they wilt be | banded to the ‘ol Commissioners, who will | then, in one day, take the census Oo! ail the other | eblidreo who hot atvending schools. Mr. Mc- Intyre thinks that this can be done, as the lists | Will prove valuable guides to the police officers, Who are directed to go to every house in the city, It Will thus be seen thatit will probably take two months belore the provisions 01 toe law are july put into practical operation, SUPERINTENDENT KIDDLE’S VIEWS. It is @ significant fact that the 1eading educators Of this State have not received the law iavorably, Some of th m consider 118 provisions too weak, Whue others are aliogether opposed to compul- Sury education, as being loreign to the genius oi our free justitutions. 1o the latter class be.ougs Superintendent Kiddie, whose superior Knowledge Ol every thing appertaining to our system of free puolic nstructivu aud Wacse excellent judgment make bim a trustworthy authority on’ the sub- | ject. Mr. Kiddie said yesterday that he thought | there was no necessity for this compulsory meas- | | ure. What was the use of tryit o compel a poor | | | | man to eaucate his chidren when he had bot the Means to clothe and feed them? What Shey wanted was to be taken care of, and this work was ulready done by the cuarita- ble socieues, who supply to them the | necessary Corn and admit them to their | schools. Mr. Kidale thinks the law opposed to the gen.us of iree institutions, although, as a good School officer, he will lend ali nis aid to enforce it, Une flaw in the law whieh be has already seen is | | that under it instruction at home will be deemed | & valid excuse for staying away irom scbool, | | Many parents are certainly incompetent to teacu their children, and tn his opinion 1% would be bet- | ter to require that the employer ol every cilid be- tween eight and fourteen snould be compeiled to show a certificate from some licensed or autuor- ized teacher showing that the child had received proper instruction Jor jourteen weeks, In a law ike this Mr. Kiddle thought the teacuing at*home | should be put under some puviic eutnorization, ADDITIONAL SCHOOL FACILITIES. It tg not unlikely that the school accommoda- | tons in many districts will be found insuMicyent, | as the schools are already overcrowded, and in that case the Board of Education, it is thought, Will furnish additional school factlities, — It 18 also probable that some reformatory tnstitation will be opened ior those children Who ure, irom their past lives, not exactly fitted fur associating with the pupils bow in (he public schools, and who able to arrest from their reiusal to the schools, President Netison, of the Board of Education, intenus to carry out the law in the most lenient and kindly manner possible. In his last annual address he upon the ‘act that Will be dnstructed “to use their anthority with | gentieness and discretion, seeking ratner to win | by argument and persuasion than to drive by loree.”” There are, uniortunately, ho trustworthy statistics Irom which the number of chidren who do not attend school and are. properly s:eaking, “habitual truants” could be gathe ‘There are over 40,900 children, a8 ascertained by Mr. Kid- die, in the Various private schools of the ci ir we can judge irom the number 0: bewsvoys and other street arabs there musi, however, ve very many Who receive no regular instruction, | THE GRKMAN LAW, The German Compulsory Education law, whic! is supposed to be tae model of this and similar acts now oveing adopted in other coun- | tries, mo ringent in its pro- sions than the one enacted for this State. It does not fourteen wee in- struction in each bat uninterrupted (tuition irom the age of five to jourteen. The dine which dd. is inflicted on parents is swall, but is gradually raised aiter each offence, ad the Belize | the children who do not comply with the law and | put them to school. Compulsory education is pow even being imtroduced in ikussia. Whether the law will be Of practical bewett im this city re- mains to be seeu. Many prominent educators seem to be of tue opinion that great diMeuity will be experienced tn enorcing its provisions in this tree country. Projessor Scuem, (he Assistant Su- perintendent for German, a profound sch jar and an educator of high repate, approves of it aud thinks it will benelit the schools. CORONERS’ CASES. | On Thursday last Lesore Caprone, a chiid two | years of age, whose parents live at No. 41 Mott Street, fell into a tub of hot water and was tataliy scalded, Coroner Woltswnan was notified to noid an inquest on the body. A Woman, some filty years of age, whose name is unknown, on Friday evening fell dead im froot of the Hudson River Ratiroad Company's depot, Thirtieth street and Tenth avenue, and ber remains were conveyed to the Twentie house, Deceased, who appeared to be spectable, had gray hair, and wo ned with black velvet, water proe! clowk, black veivet hat, and had in her pocket an open. Jaced gold wateh, Coroner Woitm, to hold an inquest. Coroner Woltman was yesterday calied to No, 215 Kast Twenty-e on the body o: M r | Pn _ oge, WhO Was jo Kate b. Clancy, a young woman, nearly t years of age, ciea yi third street irom toe effec Monday last by her ciotnes fire. vroner Kessler was no quest over the remains, Coroner Woltman wa: an inquest at No. 168 the body of Caroline ployed as domestic, who oo Pri fear.uily and tataiiy b can of benzine, a porth | was using for the purpose of cleaning a aress. SUPPOSED INFANTICIDE. | | | wen Kate O'Tooilr, twenty-five years of age, of No, | | 237 West Sixteenth street, was arrested yesterday | and sent to Bellevue Hospital, under supposition thatachid she bad given birth to the day pre- Vious and which was found dead in the cellar of tho house by Martow Alexander, hud been kiled by her. The body of tue infant ‘has beew sent to the Morgue and the Coroner notaged to hold an ta ) quest, FRENCH PLAYS. Les Deux Comtesses---Les Maniaques. Mlle. Sarah Bernhardt in “Les Plaideurs.” THE IMMORTAL MLLE. DEJAZET. Pieces That Have Runs in Paris. The Leng PaRIs, Dec, 81, 187%. “LES DEUX COMTESSES” (EUGENE NUS). The leading idea of this piece is taken from Balzac’s noble story of ‘Colonel Chabert.” It is the dramatic history of a young girl who is mar- ried to Count Louts de Trevenec, who disappears during the first French Revolution, and ts officially Teported as dead. His supposed widow supports herself by needlework and his son becomes & painter. Finally they discover that the Count de Trevenec is not dead, but that, having long sought his lost wife im, vain, he has married another lady in America. They leave him in possession of his happiness, destroy the register of his first mar- riage, and tne son is rewarded by the hand of a rich young American lady, who is won by his genius and magnanimity. The piece has had a great success and {s admirably played. “LES MANIAQUES” (MM. LETERRIER AND VANLOO) 1s an amusing piece which has been brought out at the same house, and it 18 a careful study of manners, It represents the vagaries of three ec- centric persons. M. Lavardin, a rich, old col- lector of curiosities, who has a daughter to marry; M. Isidore, the intended husband of the young Jady, and an elderly music master, aamed Cré- pinet. He 1allsin love with his pupil and courts her upon the accordeon in doletul measures; but Mile. Lavardin prefers M. Isidore. Her iather 18 the best drawn character and 1s extremely amus- ing by reason of nis exact and methodical habits. lr his newspaper 1s not put precisely in the same place every morning he is unhappy for the whole day, and he isa most inconvenient creature to live with, because he 1s always jumping up to see that all his furniture is placed in straight lines and that one side of the blind in his room is not # quarter of an inch higher than the other, M. Isidore, thoazh a young lover is as troublesome a fellow as his future father-in-law, He regulates his movements as though he were made of watchwork. He eats at hours precisely fixed; goes to bed at a particular time; sleeps at @ particular angle with his window and i, as ob- stinateasa mule. He will not breakfast one minute after half-past eleven, while M. Lavardin will touch nothing an instant before twelve. One of them puts sugar in hiscup before pouring out the coffee, and the other aiterward, They quarrel about the proper manner of poking the fire; M. Isidore opens the window because the chimney smokes; M. Lavardin shuts it because there is a draught; and in consequence of a dispute which arises out of the subject the marriage between the young people is broken off. It is renewed, however, by the intervention of @ beautiful topacco jar of old Rouen ware, belonging to Isidore, and which is coveted by La. vardin, This jar 1s broken by the young couple in their joy, but they stick it together again ana pre- sent 1¢ to Lavardin, who himself knocks 1t down while taking up his hat, and is therefore obliged to indemnify Isidore by giving him his daughter. The piece is a pleasing trife and was charmingly Played. MLLE. SABAH BERNHARDT has appeared in the part of Phédrein Racine’s piece of “Les Plaideurs,’”? which was selected for Tepresentation on the two hundred and thirty-filth anniversary of the poet’s birth. This was one of the greatest parts of Rachel, and Mile. Bernhardt wus unequal to it. She rendered the patnetic scenes well enough, but her physical powers were unequal to the portraiture of passion. THE IMMORTAL MLLE. DEJAZET 1s engagea to give a series of performances at the Vaudeville, but only to play on alternate evenings, lest ber strength should fail her, She ts to oom- mence with the “DOUAIRIERE DE 4RIONNE,”” and all who wish to get a farewell glimpse of the great actress belore she passes away forever should hasten to see her. Her by-play js astonish- ingly fresh and vigorous and ker singing 1s still ex- quisite, tough she 1g seventy-eight years old. What 1 li more surprising, if possible, is that she looks absolutely beautiful. Her features are as dell- cately chiselled as ever, and show none of the Jatigue or mournfulness of age. She is, indeed, as pretty a figure as a painting on a sdvres vase. “LA BOULE,” BY MM. MEILHAC AND HALEVY, is the latest triumph at the Palais Royal, The plot of it turns upon a family squabble. Paturel, | aged forty-five, has a wife who is only eighteen, and 1s unhappy in bis nome because they wrangle all day long so flercely that he has applied to the courts for a legal separation, The “boule” is a round tin ball of warm water, which the lady re- quired to warm’her feet at night, ana which her husband tn @ moment of irritation has thrown out ota window. The next day Madame replaced this warming apparatus by another of larger size, and the war began again. They both insist on a sepa- ration, and the lawyers come into play. “Be calm,” says the husband's adviser to his client; and the lawyer on the lady's side couusels her above everything to te cool and gracious. “Do not let there be ‘he slightest wrong on your part; but, whenever you have @ good cause of quurrel, take care to secure witness.” Convenient testimony is found in person of one Baron de la Masardiére, “an old man of pleasure and of !amily.”” He comes to treat with the Paturels about an apartment in- tended for Mile. Mariette, of the ThéAtre des Folles- Amoureuses, Mme, Paturei will not have sucha person asa tenant, but her husband will consent 00 Condition that the Baron appears as a witness on his side. The question is to get up a quarrel beiore him, and that object is not aiMcult of attainment, Then Pature! catis upon the Baron to give bis testimony, While the wile offers him the apartwent uf he will depose against her husband. The Karon, fearing to be compromised between them, goes away, leaving a iaise name ana ad- dress. He wm sought for everywhere, even tn the porter’s lodge of the theatre where Mile. Mariette periorms. Paturei and his wi | | ana and Texas, meet i this Hitle hole, and the Baroness dela | Musardiore also surprises her busband there, 80 that another separation is threatened, The case is witimavely brought before a judwe who has nine daughters, and who (alls mio hysterics on hearing that be has just become the father of twin girls agen. All ends pappily. Geoffroy, Gil-Perez, Lueriter and Mile. A. Kegnauit made exquisite fooling out of these materials, and the piece will, ( PUN jor months, bas been revived at the Clany Theatre, The iron eater is & coavict, Who has obtained thatnickaame on eocoant of the feciity with which he breaks tarouga the Most solid chains aud escapes irom prison, The plot Darrates (hat a certain Countess de Novaiies has received into her bouse a young giri named Marie, Who Is subsequentiy recognized as Mile. Diane d’Auberieui, daughter of an ancient remgee, This young iady ia the tool of Phenix Porion, the convict, who aims at getting her for- tone, and he induces ver to poison a duchess, be- couse be KNOWS that the young Duke, her son, Whi marry ber, Hie plans are jolled by & police agent, Whose deughter be bas murdered, and he werent to the balks, He escapes, however, and returns at the moment When the Dake is about to marry the polsoner of ais mother. The bride falls dead, avowing ber crime, at the very moment she is about to be led to he alter, avd Vorion, thus ug all his hopes of Nicaes dedniuvely vanish, gives himselt up to justice. It is a good, strong sensational piece, and seems to be particularly | matiatmotory to tbat laree lass of auiet people WhO se % MANORUR DR FPR,” PAR M. EDOTARD PLovvien, | > | EEE Idd 7 are fond of dramatic Borrors, posmbiy 8 @ Com trast to toeir own uneventful ives. THE SERIES OF M D BALLS has begon for the winter im the Salle Favert a@ the Opéra Comique. They are enlivened by aa excelient band, and the price of admission xed at ten francs, as wos formeriy the case at the old Opera house ia the Rue Lepeleter. The Society of Sacred Harmony nas performed at the Circus im the Champs Biysées Handel's oratorio im three parts, eutitied “Judas Macew bwus;” and the crowds who Secked to hear u Offer suMicient proot that the study of scientitg music has made enormous progress in France of late years. a the chorus and the orchestra were very effective at the oratorio, and the pore JOrmMance Was a great success, “LES AMOUKS DU DIABLEY Bas been reproduced with entirely new decors tions at the Chatelet. It is an opera im four acts and nine tableaux, of which the words are by M, de Saint-Georges and the music by Albert Grisar, It was first played at the Theatre Lyrique in 1658, When it bad @ brisk ruo of Ofty nights, til) it wae withdrawn by government interierence, The sut Ject treated Is the story of a young devil who bag taken the form of a pretty woman to Iure a wild young scémp into perdition, But the she demon becomes captivated by the young man and falls im love with him so deeply that at the critical momeny she determines to return alone to Satan and fe re bears to destroy the soul of him whom she has cm deavored to entrap. The whole work is made ug Of striking tableaux, of which tue PALACK OF BEELZEBUB is the most remarkabie. Nothing can possibiy be sweeter or more delightful than the baliet which concludes the first act, and all the music is tull of grace and tenderness. It attracts crowded houses, “REPRO isa trifling production, witeh has been brought out at the Opéra Comique, and of which the musio is by M. Conte; the libretto by M. Louis Galict, The plot of this little opera is of extreme sii. Dlicity. Laura, a pretty young widow, refuses o marry a rich suitor, Whois violently in love with her, and who 1s jealous of a tail Turk, who moves about her house as if everything in it were his own. In fact, he is justly entitied to do so, ior he is really Beppo, the husband, whom Laura sup. poses to be dead. He succeeds in making peace witn his wife, and the curtain falls upon their reconciliation, There are some pretty passages in this operetta, and it was prettily executed, The Paris theatres aro at this moment passing through their annual crisis, the latter half of De« cember being generally a bad time for them, and being rendered worse this year by the extrema severity of the weather. Few playgoers can re. member such a heavy fall of snow as that which now lies upon the streets, and locomotion is ale most impossible, For this reason the morning performances at the Porte Saint Martin have done better than evening amusements; and on Sunday last M, Ballande bronght out a new piece, eatitied “ONE FAMILLE EN 1870-71,” PAR M. COUKNIER, The plot of it is laid in Paris during the siege, and shows that the French are aiready beginning to look upon thelr disasters with an eye to bus ness. Mme. Olympe Audouard has been delivering lece tures on Spiritualism at the Satle des Familles, and has attracted large audiences, “CHARLEMAGNE, ’? @ grand historical drama of the middle ages, 1¢ announced at tne Francais, where the demi-moide till hold possession of the playbills, FREDERIC LEMAITRE, ANOTHER IMMORTAL, hasappeared again at the ThéAtre des Arts and has acquitted himself creditably, in spite of many evjdences of hard living and physical weakness. “ua FILLE DE MADAME ANGOT”? appears to have become an institution tn Paris, and is still playing to crowded houses at the Folies Dramutiques. OUR EMBASSY IN PARIS. COLONEL HOFFMAN'S DIPLOMATIC PROMOTIONG Panis, Dec, 81,°1874. Tne promotion of Colonel Hoffman to the Secre« taryship of the United States Legation in London will deprive the Americans in Paris of an able ad- viser and’a hospitable fellow countryman. Colonel Hoffman is, indeed, a diplomatist of the best type, cool, self-possessed, upright and conciliatory. His knowledge of French aifairs is accurate and ex. tensive, and he has extreme tact and good sense jp the conduct of business. It 13 pose sible that, Giter having {amillarized him. self so completely with the French people and their concerns, and after having made so many friends among them, he himseli may feel some regret at leaving Paris, which is really the most charming olty in the world. But bis transe fer to London 1s certainly professional promotion in the diplomatic service, ana @ man of reasonw ble ambition in the prime of life could haraly ree fuse it. The relations between Great Britain and the United States, botn commercial and political, are of immense interest to both countries, The tishe eries question, the questions of boundaries, ree ciprocities and others are so numerous and important that the English mission must always take rank before that of Paris. Colonel Hoffman has had the gooa fortuna to witness the most striking events in modern French history. He was in Paris during the great exhibition and saw the apogee of imperial power and splendor. He was also here during the siege and during the Commune. But at present there 1s a lull in French poiitics, and nothing beyond a squabble in the Assembly can be anticipated tor some time to come. Upon the whole, therefore, Colonel Hoifman’s friends can honestly congratu- late him on bis transfer to London, where bia bonoravle antecedents will amply justiuly hia nomination, Colonel Hoffman 1s of Dutch descent and w. born in New York, where ols family have been settled since 1666. He was educated at Harvard Coliege and Law School, ava he practised law jor sone time in New York. He volunteeied for milt- tary service when the war broke out in 1861, and Was for some months on the staff oi General, Mor- an. In February, 1862, le was appointed by the resident assistant adjutant geueral, with the rank Of captain, and ordered to the staf of Gen- eral Thomas Williams, whom he accompanied to New orleans, He was at all the subse. quent operations on the river, aud too part the first attack on Vicksburg aod the first attempt to cut a ditch to isolate Vicksburg. He remained witb Williams tii tuat eneral was killed at the vattie of Baton Rouge, in October, 1862, he was ordered to the stuf of Brigadier General W. herman, th n command. ing a division, He remained with Sherman during ms command at New Orleans and aiterward at Port Hudson till he was wounded in the assault, and was present at the siege and capture. In July, 1863, he Was transierred to the staff of Major Gen- eral W. B. Franktin, with the rank of major. He was with Franklin through the te Sw on the coast of Texas and afterward on tue Red Kiver campaign and until he was wounded at the baw tle of Mansfeld, when he was trausterred for a short time to. the sta! of tne general commanding the Department of Louisi- in the summer of 1864 he was ordered to Virginia, and appointed assistant ad- jotant general of the Kasrern district. in tne spring of 1865, on the apphcation of General Sher man, he Was ordered back to New Orleans, and transierred to the staff of Major Genera) Canby, In June, 1866, he resigned, and subsequently, a General Canby’s Lequest, Was appointed assistaut secretary ol legation to Paris. In 1867, at Generar Dix’s cequest, he was made secretary to the mis. sion. ‘These are distinguished services, and. it must be added, that Coionel Hofman has fairiy won whatever good fortune may hereatter be th store jor bin. Hts selection for any of the higher posts of diplomacy in Europe would always be a wise one, jor military men enjoy consideration aud ad- vantages ot Kuropean courts which are altogether denied to civilians, : SERIOUS BLASTING EXPLOSION. SEVEN MEN BADLY INJURED NEAR BOUND BROOK, N. J.—NOBODY KILLED. Near Bound Brook, N. J., on Friday, a party ot laborers were engaged blasting rocks on the line ‘of the Bound Brook and Delaware Railroad, wnen a prematuro explosion occurred, resulting iu serious injury to seven men. It ap. pears the loreman of the gang, Patrick Reni, bad nearly fuished ‘*tamping” sixty pounds of powder, and ordered his men to seek shelter, when the blast suddenly ex. ploded. Revit, strange to stay, Was notimstan kK » bat had both his eyes blown out and hia yace aod Mmos injures, Six others were also dreadiaily bruised and otherwise injured. Rehul presented a shocking sight. He and several otners tae men were removed to St Micnael’s Hospice wark, Careiessness 18 alleged to have bevg cause of the explosion