The New York Herald Newspaper, May 7, 1875, Page 6

NEW YORK HERALD AND BROADWAY ANN STREET, JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.—On and * *bape in New York that no party can after January 1, 1875, the daily and weekly editions of the New Yon Hznarp will be sent free of postage. THE DAILY HERALD, published every day in the year, Four cents per copy, An- pual subscription price $12. All business or news letters and telegraphic flespatches must be addressed New Youre Hunaxp. Rejected communications will not be re warned. Letters and packages shenld be properly paled: —_—___o VONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD—NO, 46 FLEET STREET. PARIS OFFICE—NO. 3 RUE SCRIBE. fubscriptions and advertisements will be received and forwarded on the same terms as in New York. ———————————— TOLUME XL. ---.+0-ssecsesseocccccseveccoees NO, 127 oe AMUSEMENTS TO-NIGHT. TIVOLI THEATRE, bot ay between Second and Third svenwes— TY, ars y. loses et 12 P. M. WALLACK’S THEATRE, oP. lway.—ROAD To RULY. at ‘M.} closes at 10:40 a Mr. Montague, Miss Jeffreys-Le wis. OWERY OPERA HOUSE, | .;" closes at 18x45 | Bi Ne. 201 Bowery.—VARIETY, at 8 P.M. nM woop's of Thirt 45 P.M. MUSEUM, eth street—ON HAND, at 8 | Matinee at2 P. M. way, corner j.j closes wt 10» THEATRE COMIQUE, | ya Broadway.—VARIETY, at $ P. M.; choses at 10:45 GERMANIA THEATRE, Weurteenth streew—AM ALTAR, at 8 P.M METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, ‘West Fourteenth street—Open from 104, M. to 5 P.M BROOKLYN PARK THEATRE, re avenue.—VARIETY, at 8 P. M.; closes at 105 OLYMPIC THEATRE, Foyt Broacyray.— VARIETY, av 8 F, ‘M. ; choses at 10745 eign eed wae Be Liwtye THE BIG BO street and Broadway. — Fy Pes closes at 10 330 P. i Mr. Fisher, Mr. i Miss Davenport, Mrs. Gil METROPOLITAN THEATRE, Ne 885 Broadway.—FEMALE BATUBRS, at § P.M. re | this charter did so in good faith, | There | show its appreciation of these gentlemen by NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, [The Common Sense of Rapid Transit. The alacrity shown by the members of the Legislature in passing to a third reading rapid transit bills shows a gratifying disposition on the part of the leading men in both parties to concede to New York this necessary reform. ‘The demand for rapid transit has taken such willingly deny it, It is not only a question of accommodation, but of existence. It isnot a wish to have this scheme or another, nor is it in the interest of any railroad combination, but & loud expression on the part of the people that, unless the inhabitants of this island are permittted the facilities of capitals like London end Paris, the city will recede from its metropolitan prominence. ‘The story of this lat ten years is a story of decadence arising only from our lack of rapid transit. New York is so formed by nature that without rapid transit it cannot grow beyond a certain point. In other cities, where there is a central heart of life and business and a general growth in all direc- tions, the want of swift communication is not felt. In New York all growth must go in one direction. Consequently, as the city ex- tends, the distance between available homes and business sites grows larger and larger, and the result must necessarily be, unless we overcome this obstacle, that New York, in- stead of being the metropolis, must become & suburb, It would be well in passing a general measure of rapid transit at this time to can- cel the various railway charters that have heretofore been granted, and the provisions of which have not been fulfilled. The only charter professing to give rapid transit which has been at all observed is that of the Elevated Railway. The men who obtained They have built us s road running from the Battery to Thirty-fourth street, and about to go as far as Central Park, which has proved to be fully satisfactory to the citizens on the west side. The managers are extending the fa- cilities of this road, and we shall very soon have an increased number of trains. has been no _ charter, with the exception of this, of any value to the city. The truth is that most of these charters were granted in the interest of the Street Railway Ring. The men who obtained them had no intention of building o steam railway, and they merely obtained the con- cession to prevent others from attempting to do so. Now, why should not the Legislature | withdrawing the other charters? Of what | value, for instance, is the charter for the un- ROB: ON HAL West Sizteenth street Te QUINT FAMILY, at 8P. M. | BOOTH’S THEATRE. | er of se id Sixth avenue.—' HONCHBACK—KO TET, at 8 P. M.; closes @tll P.M, Miss Netlson. t1:OP. Me LYCEUM THEATRE, Prer street, near Sixth nvenue.—MEZDEA, at . M. Mme. Ristori. SAN FRANCISCO MINSTRELS, wenty-ninth te From our reports this morning the probabilities ere that the weather to-day will be warm and partly cloudy, with possibly light rain. Watt Sracer Yesrnepar.—The stock mar ket was dull, teverish and without feature. Gold advanced to 1154. Money was easy and foreign exchange firm. | Tue Cnoss-rxammeation of Mr. Bowen was eompleted yesterday, and ths bombshell which was expected to blow both Mr. Beecher | end Mr. Tilton into fragments failed to ex- plode. Maxteo deprecates the idea that the govern- } ment has any sympathy with the border ruffans now giving so much trouble. The question should be settled as soon as possi- ble. It might furnish desperate third term advocates with a popular cry to cover their attempt to seize on the White House. Bowker Hiur.—Boston is going to have its centennial in the celebration of the battle of Banker Hill. The importance of that event on the fortanes of the Republic render the honering of its centennial peculiarly appro- priate. To millions of people outside of America the battle of Bunker Hili has a deep interest. Tae Vincreivs Casz.—The Spanish govern- ment has paid eighty thousand dollars com- pensation for the slaughter of the Virginins prisoners. We are glad the affair is so soncladed, as the sooner the whole transac. tion, so little creditable to the good sense or dignity of the American government, is fore gotten the better. Tre Passace of what is known as the “Peace Preservation act,’’ and which is m reality an oppressive law akin to the “Our- few” law imposed by the Norman conquerors im England, has been so obstinately resisted in the English Parliament by the Irish mem- bers that the business of the government has been seriously obstructed. Morne at Sxa.—It appears that the mutiny on board the American ship Jefferson Borden partook somewhat of the nature of o pitched battle. There must, we fear, be something wrong in the discipline of American ships and the treatment of the men that provokes these bloody scenes. It is worthy of remark that they aro of compara- tively rare occurrence on board the ships of PantiuamentT axp Paivinecr.—It that the time-honored privi Of Parliament to « public from the H Moancing that “'Strar ebout to termin: Prepared to de in the House, of the memb« pendent status to t livaa again ris > Mr. Dizracli wil ta we defeat Mr. time create o yp @sed sgainst himsell. priv qill have been overthrown and the press will no longer be ject to the caprice of indi- vidual members, as iu fature it will require ® meiority im the House to clear the galleries. appears sof a member more | a large part of the island. This could be made available for rapid transit. | once. derground railway down Fourth avenue, about which so much was written some time since? Fourth avenue is a natural line for steam communication. The city has paid half of the expense of the Fourth avenue improvement, running from Forty-second street to the Harlem River, extending over Now, it this Fourth avenue charter could be carried into | effect and we could have either on elevated or an underground railway from Forty-second | street to the City Hall, the work would be | done. If Mr. Vanderbilt were to build an | elevated line along Forty-fourth or Forty-fifth street, so asto connect with the present Ele- | charters, jobbers, and speculators anxious to make money, and feeling that here was trnly a ‘Big Bonanza,” if it could only be opened. All these considerations and difficuities and strifes must be forgotten in the duty of the | hour—a duty which we are glad to find not unwelcome to our legislators at Albany—that of passing a just and comprehensive measure, that will enable any citizen in New York to go from his business at the Battery to his home in Westchester in less than half an hour. Governor Tilden and Dela: Governor Tilden should either remove Delafield Smith from the office of Corporation Counsel of .New York, or he should release Mr. Smith from the imputation put upon him by Mayor Wickham. It is now nearly four months since Mayor Wickham made public the document and removed Mr. Smith for in- competency in his office and for being practi- cally in collusion with members of the old Ring. In the meantime Mr. Smith has con- ferred an important law appointment upon & gentleman who was, we believe, either a part- ner of Governor Tilden or an employé in his law office. Now this does not look well. If such a thing had been done by President Grant, or by any member of the federal ad- ministration—such a thing, for instance, as allowing a federal officer under suspension to confer patronage upon the business associates of the President—it would properly have been regarded as a scandalanda mockery of justice. We have not taken part in the discussion as to whether Mr. Smith has or has not been a good officer. The position into which this matter has fallen, especially by the appoint- ment of Mr. McCain, is unfortunate. It leaves the Governor, Mr. Smith and Mayor Wickham in an absurd, if not a worse posi- tion. The International Rifle Mateh. The team selected to represent America in the coming contest with the Irish riflemen, thongh it leaves little to be desired in the way of proficiency in the use of their arms or in reliability, is scarcely so representative in character as could be wished. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that so little new blood has been infused into its composition. As the team is now practically selected we see that the men who won last year at Creedmoor will be called upon to again sustain the reputetion of American riflemen in the coming contest. Hopes were entertained that the appeal made to the riflemen of America would have brought forth new men. The great West was expected to furnish a strong ele- ment in the new team, but these expectations have proved groundless. It is difficult to understand why no response was made from those States where the rifle is daily in the hands of the inhabitants, Much re- liance was placed on the aid to be derived from the Western and Southern States in making up o team that would have truly rep- resented American skill with the national weapon. This representative character is wanting in the team selected, for the large ma- jority of its members are drawn from this and the neighboring States, certainly the least promising localities to look for the repre- sentative American rifleman. In anticipation of such augmentation of strength as the American public looked for every effort is being made in Ireland to gather a vated road, it would give rapid transit at This, of course, is not ali that we ex- pect, but it is something. We have always found in the development of a great meas- | ure of public interest like rapid transit that | the way to achieve it is to begin at the begin- ning—to do something. Here we have steam uttery to Thirty-fourth street and | from Forty-second street to the Harlem River. | Is it not possible for us to run steam from | Thirty-fourth street and Ninth svenue to | Forty-fifth street and Fourth avenue? Ve dwell upon this practical point in rapid | transit in order to show our people how | simple, after all, the whole thing is. Itis not a righty undertaking, like the building of a pyramid, but a smpile, plain engineer- | There is scarcely s State in the ing work. | Union that will not show some bit of engi- neering more intricate, more expensive and more uncertain as # means of revenue than our proposed rapid transit. If we build an | underground railway that is only a question | of time and money. If we buildan elevated railway it is a question of less time and less money. Ihe people want it. Its value to | operty in the upper part of the island rity in the lower part of the island would be immense. It would | open the laboring classes all that beautiful country lying between the Palisades and Long Island Sound and enable our capitalists to cover these | alleys and plains with thousands of houses | for the poor like those which are the admira- | of Philadelphia. This, to us, is | ghest considerations in demand- | nid transit. So long as we fail to give | to our workingmen opportunities for comfort- | able living and for the education of their | i n, 80 long will skilled labor be driven York and the establishment of any permanent system of manufacture become The artisan who sees that in delphia or Boston he can have his own honse, schoois and fresh air, and relatively all the comforts of the most perfect home, for less money than he will pay in New York to live in a noisy, grovelling tenement house, will naturally go to Philadelphia and Boston; so that really the absence of rapid transit is, so far as roanufactures are concerned, a tax upon New York anda protective tariff in favor of our rival cities. It is not only the artisan claes, but all classes, who demand this necessary measure. New York in the future should become the finest city in the world. There are advan- tages attending it that wo other city possesses, Even the disadvantages and embarrassments which are to be overcome by rapid transit in veaaty and attractive- is, however, that we tion and glo one of the main add to its Onur mis allowed selfish interests to repress the t have wth of New York and bad men to govern absorb its revennes. Rapid transit bas feated at one time because of the oppo- large owners of real! estate on Bre way, who feared their custom woulc people were not compelled to walk 1 before their At another time at came m street railway owners, who were apprehe that their franchises would become valueless ifa steam line were built. More frequently it has been defeated | by the struggle between the efforts of rival | stores. | already borne good fruit. In France and | team of unusual skill. For that purpose competitive contests are proceeding at Lon- don, Belfast and Dublin, so that the best pos- sible material may be obtained for the new Irish team. It does not seem that the Irish have fallen into the error committed by the Joint Committee of the National Association and Amateur Club of allowing members of the old team to stand upon la¢t year's score. Who- ever wants a place must win it, and had the same policy prevailed with us there might have been more interest exhibited in the com- petition for places. It is only justice, how- ever, to the gentlemen composing the team to | say that it would be difficult to obtain steadier or more skilful marksmen anywhere. What- ever the result of the coming trial of skill may be there can be no doubt that the skill of American riflemen will be amply vindicated. The Cincin: A Musical Festtval. Avery ambitious effort will be made next week in Cincinnati to emulate in this country the great assemblages of representatives of rousical art that have long ago become so popular in Europe. The wonderful progress in music evinced in England during the past dozen years may be, to a considerable degree, attributed to the annual festivals held in the principal cities. Leeds, Worcester, Liver- pool and other English cities have taken a lively interest in mmsical matters, and the influence exercised by their festivals has Germany the result of those annual musical conventions has been equally beneficial to the | cause of art. The long standing reproach under which this country has so long labored, of in- difference to art, will be quickly removed by the encouragement of such festivals as the one about to be inaugurated by Theodore Thomas in the West. Isolated efforts in this art are apt to prove discouraging, as they are, in the hurly-burly of American business life, soon furgotten. Bat a grand festival which, for a week or so, interests the public of the | city in which it is given and indirectly other | communities cannot fail to develop a taste and liking for musical art. We cannot have | too many of those festivals, and they deserve, | when given on the broad scale proposed by the people of Cincinnati, to receive the en- | his only aim was to attack Napoleon, When | anderrate the value of the German army and | | handles it. The time was when republican | | It would not be an easy task. couragement and indorsement of all lovers of | art. Such a festival is regarded in Enrope as | an important event. os is | Garren Acatx.—Our evergreen Comptroller | is now at loggerheads with Fitz John Porter, | who complains to tho Mayor of Green's ob- | structive policy. It is a strange commentary | on our system of government that an offidial, | whose only importance is dne to the accdent | of his position, should be able to defy public | opinion and rule the metropolis of America with an indifference to the rights of his col- leagues and of the citizens which any feudal seigneur might regard with envy. | ‘uvps.—We are glad to see the Police Com- | missioners are looking sharply after officers who use their clubs without sufficient provo- cation or in a brutal manner, We hope they will succeed in making the force understand that it is paid to protect the citi- zen, notto club him. Any officer incapable | of learning this lesson should be sent back | immediately to private life, / | ag the monarchies are allowed to rule Europe MAY 7, 1875.—TRIPLE Germany, France and the Poace of the Continent. We print certain letters this morning from Brussels which will be read with curious and painful interest. These letters antici- pate our cable despatch yesterday repeat- ing another despatch from Paris to the London Jimes in reference to the condition of public opinion in France and Germany. According to this despatch, which was written in Paris, on Wednesday, the ut- most uneasiness prevails in all well informed French circles, It is said that peace or war will depend upon the approaching meeting of the Czar and the German Emperor. Germany, we are informed, is controlled by the military party. The leaders of this party feel that the treaty after Sedan was too lenient; that the money they received trom France has re- turned to that country; that the retention of Belfort is dangerous to Germany; that France is reorganizing rapidly and will soon have formidable army; that Germany cannot long bear the expense of her present military system, and at the same time dare not disarm in the face of France. The military party argues that there should bea prompt war or march on Paris and a new treaty taking from France Belfort, limiting her regular army and compelling her to pay two thousand million dollars more within twenty years, for, they say, ‘“Ihere never wasa moment more propitious than the present to secure for Germany a long era of prosperity and peace.” They contend that Europe will never be tranquil while France is allowed strength enough to revive and re-enter the struggle, and that ‘‘what now could be executed at insignificant sac- Tifice would, two years hence, cost oceans of blood.’’ As tothe pretext of renewing the war with France, the military party is puzzled. Even Germany cannot fight against an enemy who declares for peace; but the military party. insists that the Emperor should demandanew treaty, ‘a reassuring treaty” from France, or renew the war. The London Times comments upon this re- markable letter of its correspondent, depre- cating his apprehensions; butin the first place no correspondent would send a despatch of this kind unless it were based upon good authority, and, more than all, it islogicalin all its aspects. Beyond this the viewsof the de- spatch are those of our correspondent. There can be no doubt that the military party in Germany has viewed with disappointment and alarm the results of the recent war. France bas surprised the world Bismarck and Moltke felt that they had crushed that coun- try, and they were men not apt to form an opinion without deliberation and knowledge. Bismarck had been a minister in France and he knew the country well. The fact that he was disappointed in the operation of a treaty which he believed would destroy the French power shows the possession by that people of qualities that have not generally been ac- knowledged. Tho mistake, however, on the part of Bis- marck was not in making a too lenient treaty, but a too severeone. When he entered upon the war the Emperor publicly declared that Napoleon fell the Germans, by # magnani- mous course, by accepting his downfall as full punishment, by contenting themselves with annexing that part of Alsace which is German, without interfering with Lorraine, might have made France their friend. In other words, if Bismarck had dealt with France in the same spirit with which he dealt with Austria after the battle of Sadowa the result would have been the downfall of the Napoleonic Empire, the rise of an alliance | between France and Germany which would have been a better guarantee of peace than all the armaments on the Continent. But, yielding to the spirit of military suc cess and revenge, the Germar policy became ruthless and the German leaders delberately imposed upon France a treaty which was meant to be her humiliation, to cripple her for generations, and throw her back into the condition of a second class Power. Bismarck frankly avowed this purpose, saying that of course France would want to fight again, and when the time came Germany must have every advantage on her side. How can Germany, inthe blaze of our civilization, after having made this blunder, attempt to renew it by wanton war upon France? A war apon France now would array the public mind of the world upon the side of France. It would be a cruel, wicked, wanton war. The French have paid their indemnity. They have sub- mitted to the loss of their territories. They have observed every international obligation. They have stood insult after insult from Bis- marck without complaint, and now simply to strike France because her people have shown patriotism, vitality and energy, because they are reviving from the miseries and misfor- | tunes of the war, would be o crime against | Christianity. | Nor are we certain Germany could, in re- newing the war with France, repeat the suc- cesses of ber last campaigns. We do not | its marvellous discipline and the genius which France, torn with anarchy, fought combined | Europe, and among them the soldiers and gen- erals of Frederick the Great, and defeated them all. If Germany bids Francé to the contest | she will find her rival only too ready. It is probable that the superior military strength of | Germany would, in the end, overcome France. } The contem- | plation of such a contest is s stain upon our | centary and another argument that so long | for the interest and ambition of reigning houses, regardless of the people, there will be no peace, | Relgiam and the Small Powers. ‘The fact that the Belgian gevernment has | been enabled to retire from the controversy with Prince Bismarck without sacrificing its | independence is gratifying. In the European contests of the last fitty years the simaller na- tions of the Continent have had abundant cause for congratulation im the fact that they SHEET. XIL The question has very often commended itself to the thoughtful men in Europe whether, after all, the smaller States, by their very weakness, their incapacity for war, do not offer the people better advantages in the way of peace and progress, Belgiam has been especially prosperous since the time of Waterloo. In the olden days she was the battle ground of Europe. Her soil has been ploughed and torn by a nundred armies since the days of Cmsar. One of the results of the Napoleonic wars was to guarantee the independence of Belgium. That guarantee protected her dur- ing every contest that has since taken place. Now if the independence of small States like Belgium and Holland and Sweden and Swit- zerland can be menaced by the great Powers; if they are to be treated not as sovereignties but as only fragments of territory waiting to be devoured by some neighboring monsirosity, then liberty in Europe will have received a severe blow. If Belgium is simply to become a vassal of Germany how long will it be be- fore that Power will impose her will upon Switzerland, Holland and Loxemburg? If these small States are extinguished, if the spirit of liberty and the opportunity for peace and shelter are extinguished, then nothing re- mains to prevent the whole Continent from falling under the dominion of the huge Powers which are now arming only for their ambition and aro wasting the resources of their people, burdening . themselves with debt, exhausting their manhood and their strength for the pur- ene ob seneying gigenleweMy The Ethan Allen Centennial at Ti- econderoga. The early events in the American Revolu- tion, though slight affairs in comparison with the great battles which were subsequently fought in the war for independence, were marked by such indomitable courage and led to such important results that their commemo- ration now is a fit theme for the mest eloquent tongues and graceful pens in the Republic. ‘We have just begun to live over again the period of that great struggle and in commem- orating the deeds of the brave men who dared to die and leave their children free every in- cident, however trivial, is worthy of being recalled, and every bold word uttered in behalf of liberty ought to be enshrined in the hearts of the present generation. The Ameri- can people are too apt to underesti- mate the gifts bequeathed to them by their fathers, or at least to de preciate the value and permanency of the legacy they enjoy. Gloomy forebodings, the result of our own querulousness, too often take the place of buoyant hope and faith, Yet we are more united now in all that per- tains to the true interests of the country— as determined in preserving our liberties as our fathers were in gaining them—than on the night when Lieutenant Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn set out from the barracks in Boston to destroy the stores at Concord. The trouble is that we have grown so strong that we have even tired of hearing our own praises, and it is only upon occasions such as will be presented this year and the next that our latent patriotism is called into play and finds fit expression on the memorable fields of the past. Concord and Lexington have done in 1875 what they did in 1775—aroused the spirit of resistance to every form of tyranny. Then the enemy whom we had to fight was the King, now it is ourselves, our lukewarmness, our querulousness, our evil forebodings and our want of faith in our free institutions Yet no one who was at Lexington or Concord on the 19th of April can doubt that the sons of to-day are worthy of the sires of one hundred years ago, and all must acknowledge that while at least we have lost none of their courage, none of their love of liberty, none of their devotion to free government, we have greatly advanced in mental culture as well as in material progress. The names of Theo- dore Parker and Ralph Waldo Emerson help to make those of their grandfathers illus- tnous. Still, we can perform no nobler duty than to cherish the fame of the simple men who did such brave deeds in the beginning of our history. Among these none stands in bolder relief than Ethan Allen. Brave, impetuous, frank and determined, few men of his time served liberty better or more unselfishly. Unlettered, but eloquent, his words were almost as effective as his deeds. Among the first at his distant moun- tain home to hear the echoes of the battle of Lexington, he was the first to emulate the achievements of that glorious day. The cap- ture of Fort Ticonderoga was the response to the defeat of the Grenadiers, and his success in turn, gave courage to the volunteers, who, a month later, were to take up their position on Bunker Hill) The 10th of May has be- come about as much an anniversary in our history as the 19th of April or the 17th of June. Its hero—he is a veritable hero of romance—a hero not unlike Robin Hood in some respects, but in others inspired by a noble ambition, supplemented by noble deeds—Ethan Allen was a man fit not only ior great emergencies, but equal to great occasions. It has been the cus- tom of historians to sneer at his famous de- mand for the surrender of the fort, when, being asked by Captain Delaplace by whose authority he made it, he replied, “In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Conti- nental Congress ;” but in tais the historians fall below the moral greatness of their sub- ject. Under the circumstances the answer was a grand one, for he was facing death when he uttered it. It was an answer that was heard all over the country. and it gave its author » duty as well asa name and fame second to none of his compeers, It is properthat such an event as the capture of Fort Ticonderoga should be fitly commemor- uted, and it is especially proper that Ethan | Allen’s memory should have the first place in the ceremonies and the festivities. He wasa man whom it is an honor to honor, and it is plain that the people of Ticonderogaso regard him. Washington said of him that there was “an original something in him which commanded admiration,” and that originality stands out as boldly to-day as it did one hun- dred years ago, when he refused to yield his have escaped the desolations of war, Their | command to Arnold, and startled Captain weakness has been in truth their strength. | Delaplace with bis oaths and his famous de- Belgium, Holland, Sweden and Norway and | mand for the surrender of the fort. And the Switzerland have all been allowed to growand | people of ‘Ticonderoga deserve particular prosper, to advance in the arts and sciences | recognition for not forgetting this great man without fear of being suddenly thrown into | at this time. No community can less afford an armed strife with the great nations. Their | to celebrate the achievements of the last cen- kings have not been dethroned by the ambi- | tary. An overwhelming calamity recently tion of a Napoleon or # Frederick or a Obarles | laid the town in ashes, and in commemornt- Een — ing the Ethan Allen Centennial it is as if they wore keeping alive the camp fires of the Revo lution with the embers from their own broken hearthstones. There could be no better proot than this of what we have said, that the spirit of liberty still animates the hearts of our peo ple, and we gladly join in honoring a people who can so honor the past and its heroes. The Chamber of Commerce. This respectable body held its annual elec. tion of officers yesterday afternoon and gave its customary annual dinner yesterday even- ing. Both the election and the dinner will be found reported in our news columns. The election was more exciting than ordinary, but the warmth of feeling will immediately sub- side and is of no interest outside the organiza. tion. Mr. William E. Dodge, the retiring President, made a brief, pertinent speech, in which he expressed the consistent devotion of the Chamber of Commerce to sound princi ples of currency and its sense of the im- portance of cheaper terminal facilities, rapid transit in the city and canal reform in the State. The election resulted in a decisive triumph of the opposition ticket, headed by Mr. Samuel D. Babcock for President. The dinner was marked by the usual festive good fellowship. The after dinner speeches evinced no particular originality, but that of Mr. Fernando Wood was timely in its topics and touched upon all the chiet matters of immediate interest to the city, in- cluding, among others, the necessity for reor- ganizing the city government in such a man. ner as to concentrate power and responsibility in the Mayor. Mr. Schultz made a strong free trade speech, Mr. Bryant spoke for the Pp and Mr, Woodford, in speaking of the development of the resources of the State, referred to De Witt Climton—a great mam who belonged to a past order of things. Science has effected a revolution in the methods of internal transportation, of which Clinton had no foresight or conception. If the Erie Canal did not exist to-day it would never be constructed. The lateral or branch canals, of which it is the parent, were completed just at the opening of the railroad era, and they are now condemned as worthless encumbrances, to be got rid of as speedily as possible. The State would be thirty million doliars richer to-day if a spade had never been struck into the earth for this excavation. The fame of De Witt Clinton is destined to dwindle, be cause his conceptions, magnificent as they were, contemplated water ways as the chiet channels of internal commerce. The Erie Canal is, nevertheless, one of the few works of the kind which is so happily located as to stand its ground successfully against railway competition. Few of the letters received by the Chamber of Commerce declining invita- tions to this dinner contain much that is note- worthy, Mr.Geward’s strong argument for cheap transportation being an exception. They are mere courteous expressions of re gret, and not even that of Governor Tilden expresses any striking ideas. The proceed- ings yesterday have, therefore, only a transient local interest. Hartz.—The calm which succeeds the storm has settled on the capital of Hayti. That human volcano is at rest once more, Unfortunately it has left sad traces of its short but destructive outburst of fury. The foreign residents who escaped the fury of the mob found refuge at the con- sulates, and it is to be hoped they are now out of danger. The government seems to have acted with commendable promptness te suppress the outbreak in the beginning. It is worthy of note that only two of the native generals were killed. i PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE, Ex-Governor J. Gregory Smith, of Vermont, staying at the Brevoort tiouse. General Osborn Cross, United States Army, is registered at the Metropolitan Hotel, General J. L. Donaldson, United States Army, is quartered at the Filth Avenae Hotel. Right Rev. A. Venabies, Episcopal Bishop of Nascau, is residing at the Metropolitan Hotel, Captain Leitch, of the steamship Scotia, among tne late arrivals at the New York Hotei. Rear Admiral Taylor, United States Navy, hat taken up his residence at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Dr. ©. E. Brown-Séquard returned from Europe in the steamship Scotia, yesterday, and is at the ‘Windsor Hotel. Mr. Willlam D. Bishop, President of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, is at the Union Square Hotel. The Queen of the Belgians has recently paid fre- quent visits to the unfortunate Empress Carlotta at the Chafean of Tervueren. Ex-Governors Alexander H. Bullock, of Massa- chusetts, and Frederick Smyth, of New Hamp. | shire, have arrived at the Fifth Avence Hotel. In Chicago on the Ist of May an expressman ad- vertised himself as follows:—“N, b.—Farnitore loaded so as to show to the best advantage.” Chief Justice William B. Richards, of the Court of Queen’s Bench, ana County Judge J. R. Gowan, of vanada, are sojourning at the Westmoreland Hotel. The Marquis and Marquise De Bassano, of Paris, who arrived from Europe in the steamship Scotia yesterday, have apartments at the Brevoort House. i Major General Wesseis, United States Army; Mr. Thomas C. Acton, of this city, and Governor Albright and family, White Plams, are at the Hotel St. Germain. Acarriage way for vehicles of every kind is t¢ be opened night and day in front of the old Palace of the Tuileries, between the Poot Koyaiand the Place de Rivoll. Vice Presitent Wilson is in N: , Tenn, where a large number of the prominent cttisens | of that city and tne State called on him yesterday. He leaves jor Memphis to-morrow. “Our Henry” is thas advertised in % Massacha setts paper:—“Strayed or stolen—A republicar Vice President. When last heard from be was hobnobbing with Jonn ©, Breckinridge.” The Duke d’Audifret-Pasquier, having been con | sulted as to whether he would become a candidate for the Senate in the department of the Orne, de clined positively, being anxious above everything to retain his position as Dep’ The Paris Geographical Society, anrious to do homage to the memory of vaptain F.C. Ha, who met his death in the celedi ated expedition o the Polaris, have awarded a goid medal, which {¢ now in the hands of Mr. Washburne, to be sent Captain Hail's fawily. Gold medals have just been awarded by the Paris Geographical Society te the Aboe Armané David for his travels in Upina and Mongolia during the ten years {rom 1864 to 1874; and to Dr. Georger Schweinfurth, of Kiga, ior his exploration Africa, through the country of the Niams-Niam and the Noavouthos during 1869, 1470 and 1871. + The peace of Europe 15 now assured as 18 evb dent trom this delicious incident:—A¢ a ball given br the Countess de Hiatzield at Lerling tne Eo peror Wiliam, taking aside the Viscount «¢ Gontaut-Biroo, French Ambassador, said to Bim imavery friendly tone, “Monsieur, on s@tempt bas been made to row discord between usg it ail over now, and I was anxious to tell you o&””