The New York Herald Newspaper, November 17, 1875, Page 3

NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1875.—TRIPLE SHEET. TAR CUBAN. QUESTION The Diplomatic Corps on Our Re- lations with Spain.’ THE CRISIS NOT CONSIDERED SERIOUS. pee eetneee What Spain Can Count Upon in Case of a War. The Press and the Cry of “On to Cuba!” THE POLICY OF EXPECTANCY. ‘ Wasninaron, Nov. 16, 1875, The Cuban and Spanish question is naturally much discussed in diplomatic circles here, whose members aim to keep themselves thoroughly informed of what 4 going on in foreign affairs, Careful inquiry among whose of the diplomatic corps likely to be well in- formed brings out THE VOLLOWING PARTICULARS. It is not believed by the persons in question that the administration has made any offer of late for the pur- chase of Cuba from Spain, Such an offer, however, it is | asserted, would not be entertained, but, on the contrary, | Spain would reject it positively, and she would defend | her possession of the island with all her might, More- over, it is suggested here that any effort or offer by | the United States to obtarm the island or to recognize | tho belligerent rights of the insurgents would unite all parties in Spain in support of the present government, It is not believed that there have been any new or RRCENT COMMUNICATIONS from this government to Spain of a threatening character, and there is, at any rate, reason to belicve that if tnere has been any such despatch it has not passed through the ordinary channels, and is un- known to the Spanish Minister, This does not conflict with the statement made by parties who profess to be acquainted with the doings of the President that he bas communicated, in an unofficial manuer, with Mr. Cushing suggesting that the sale of Cuba to the United Btates would open a way to Spain to settle not only her troubles in tho island, but the rebellion of the Carlists. The question whether Spain would regard the granting of belligerent rights to the Cuban insurgents as tanta- mount to A DECLARATION OF WAR is one which is much discussed by the diplomatists here: They refer to a declaration made by Sefor | Bagasta, Minister of Foreign Atfairs during the | reign of Amadeus, to England, that Spain would regard the granting of belligereut rights to the Cubans by the British government as a cause of war, and to | the fact that, more recently, Spain has inter- rupted her relations with Guatemala for a similar reason, and it is said that, no doubt, the present Spanish government would not recede from the ground taken towards Great Britain, It is Rot believed here that Spain is sending any considera- | ble additional fleet of vessels to the Cuban coast; not at any rate such a number as would look like prepara- ton for hostilities, THE CRISIS NOT SERIOUS. Again, it is not believed here among the diplomatists that the present crisis is serious, because it is taken for granted that Spain does not desire war with this country, but it is freely said that if the President should, in his message, recommend the Pranting of belligerent rights to Cuba. This would at once cause a serious crisis. Whether the Spanish Am- bassador would, in such & case, demand his passports is not known, as he is not communicative, It is believea also by diplomatists here that Spain would . COUNT ON THE ASSISTANCE, or at least the countenance, of England in case of any difficulties with the United States, and that a war with the United States would strengthen tne pres- ent Spanish government. It is recalled here that when, in 1869, a proposition was made by this government to Marshal Prim for the independence of Cuba, carrying with it certain pecuniary guarantees, it was peremptorily rejected. * A NEW MINISTER OF STATE, ‘News has arrived here to-day of the nomirtiation of Sefior Calderon Collantes, at present Minister of Jus- Mice in Madrid, to be Minister of State dur- ing the illness of Marquis Casa Valencia, Sefior Collantes is spoken of here as a very energetic man, conversant with Cuban affairs, and his nomination is regarded here by.those who know him as important. There is no doubt that our government has beon urging on Spain, under the treaty of 1795, the necessity of doing JUSTICK TO AMERICAN CITIZENS resident in Cuba, many of whom have had their Property illegally seized and held, and find it impossible to obtain justice from the Cuban authorities. The Spanish government Promises very readily; but it does not appear to be able to enforce its own decrees in Cuba, Mr, Cushing has had to deal with no less than four different Ministers, and hag obtained, it is believed, satisfactory Promises from all in turn; but no performance, There is no doubt that Mr. Cushing has been instructed to push the legitimate requirements of our government, VIEWS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT’ AND PRESI- DENT GRANT—MR. CUSHING’S INSTRUCTIONS— ‘THE POLICY OF EXPECTANCY. Wasuixoroy, Nov. 15, 1875, G 1 Caleb Cushing, before tsaving the United Btates to represent our government at the Court of Madrid, received instructions from the State Depart. ment in reference to the course he was to pursue “in | Atercourse, official or unofficial, with persons or public men in Spain” relative to the war in Cuba, The terms ‘of the instructions given by Mr. Fish were, as will be | een, full, clear and pointed; and there never has been | any doubt that, when the time came for Mr. Cushing to present the views and expectations of the Washington Cabinet as laia down by the Secretary of State, matters would have reached a moment of emergency, ‘nd that Spain would feel in the highest degree af fronted. The comments of the London Times on Mr. note, heretofore published, are based on the American Minister’s note, the tone of which can be SH TO CALEB CUSHING, Whatever general instructions (writes Mr. Fish) you may need at the present time for your guidance in rep- resenting this government at Madrid have reference entirely to the actual state of the island of Cuba and its relations with the United States as well as with Spain, It is now more than five years since an organ- ized body of the inhabitants of that island assembled ut Yara, issued a declaration of independence and took 4p arms to maintain the declaration, The movement rapidly spread so as to occupy extensive regions of the eastern and central portions of the island, and all the resources of the Spanish government have beeu ex. | erted ineffectually to suppress the revolution and re- elaim the districts in insurrection to the authority of Spain. The prosecution of the war on both sides has given rise to many questions seriously affecting the ip- Jerest and honor of the United States, which have be- tome the subject of diplomatic discussion between ‘bis government and that of Spain. You will receive herewith a selection, in chronological order, of the numerous despatches in this Felation which have passed. between the two governments, From these documents you will de- rive ample information respecting the general pur- poses and policy of the President in the premises, Those purposes and that policy, as indicated in the ‘ecompanying documents, have continued to be sub- Mantially the same during the whole period of these events, except in so far as they may have been modi- fled by special circumstances, seeming to impart Greater or less prominence to the various aspects of the general question, and thus, without producing any change of principle, yet, according to the particular emergency, to direct the action of the United States. It will suffice, therefore, on the present occasion, first, briefly to state these general views of the President, and tel to show their application to the several incidents of this desperate struggle on the part of the | ment has no ade | native born Spanish-Americans on the other; the for- | not to redress, and if disposed to redress, | result of military operations, or one of those unex- | $0 acquire independence and of Spain to main- tain her sovereignty, in so far as those incidents have immediately affected the United States, THE BANGUINARY MOSTILITINR IN CURA. Cuba is the largest insular jon still retained by any Eu Power in America, 1t is almost con- tigugas to the United States It is pre-eminently fer. tle in the production of ts of commerce, which are of constant demand in this country, aud with just regulations for reciprocal exchange of commodities, it | would afford a large and lucrative market for the pro- ductions of this country. Commercially, as well as geographically, itis by nature more closely connected with the United States than with Spain, Civil dissen- siovs In Cuba, and especially sauguinary hostilities such &s are HOW Faging there, produce effects in the United States second in gravity to those which they rodace in Spain, Meanwhile our political relation to ‘uba is al her anomalous, seeimg that for apy injury done to the United States or their citizens in Cuba we have no direet means of redress there, and can obtain it only by slow and circuitous action by way of Madrid, ‘The Captein General of Cuba has in etfect, by the laws of Spain, supreme and absolute authority there tor all purposes of wron; ir eae but this govern- 8 01 DEMANDING IMMEDIATE KEPARATION for such wrongs on the spot, except through a Consul, who does not possess diplomatic character, and to whose representations, therefore, the Captain General muy, if he choose, absolutely refuse to listen, And, grievous as this inconvenience is 10 the United States in ordinary times, it is more intolerable now, seeing that, as abundantly appeal he contest in Cuba 1 between peninsular Spaniards on the one hand and mer being the real iy sentatives of Spanish force in Cnba, and exerting that force when they choose with little, if amy, respect for the metropolitan power of Spain. The Captain General is efficient to iguore, but ¢ may be hampered, if not prevented, by resolute opposition on the part of Spaniards around him, disobedient alike to bim and t the supreme government. In fine, Cuba, | like the former continental colonies of Spain in Amer- | ica, ought to belong to TUR GREAT PAMILY OP AMERICAN REPUBLICS, with political forms and public policy of their own, and attached to Europe by no ties save those of inter- national amity and of intellectual, commercial and s0- cial intercourse. The desire of independence on the part of the Cubans is a natural and legitimate aspira- Aion of theirs, because they are Americans, And while 8 independence is the manifest exigency of the po- liucal interests of the Cubans themselves, it is equally so that of the rest of America, inciuding the United States. That the ultimate issue of events in Cuba will be its independence, however that issue may be pro- | duced, whether by means of negotiation, or as the pected incidents which so frequently determine the fate of uations, it is impossible to doubt. It there be one Jesson in history more cogent in its | teachings than any other, it is that no part of America, large enough to constitute a, 4 gell-sustaining State, can be permanently held in forced colonial subjection to Europe. Complete sepa- ration between the metropolis and its colony may be postponed by the former conceding to tne latter a greater or less degree of local autonomy nearly ap- Prouching to independence. But in wll cases where a positive antagonism has come to exist between the mother country and its colonial subjects, where the sense of oppression is strongly felt by the latter, and especially where years of relentless warfare have alien- ated the parties, one from another, more widely than | they are sundered by the ocean itself, their political | separation ig inevitable. It 1s one of those conclusions which have been aptly called ‘THE INEXORABLE LOGIC OP EVENTS. Entertaining these views, the President, at an early day, tendered to the Spanish government the good offices of the United States for the purpose of effecting, by negotiation, the peaceful separation of Cuba from Spain and thus putting a stop to the further elfusion of blood in the island and relieving both Cuba and Spain from the. calamities aud charges of a protracted civil war, and delivering the United States from the constant hazard of inconvenient complica- tions on the side of either Spain or Cuba, But the well intended proffers of the United States on that occasion were unwisely rejected by Spain, and, as it was then already foreseen, the struggle has continued in Cuba with incidents of desperate tenacity on the part of the Cubans, and of angry flerceness on the part of the | Spaniards, unparalleled in the annals of modern war- fare. Trag it is that now, when the war has raged more than five years, there is no matefial change in the military sitaatiop. ‘the Cubans continue to occapy, unsubdued, the eastern and central parts of the island, with the exception of the larger cities or towns and of fortified points heid by the government, but their ca- pacity of resistance appeurs to be undiminished, and with no abatement of their resolution to persevere to the end tn repelling the domination of Spain. Mean- while this condition of things grows, day by day, more and more INSUPPORTABLE TO THE UNITED STATES. The government is compelled to exert constantly the utmost vigilance to prevent infringements of our law on ‘the part of Cubans purchasing munitions or mate- rials of war, or laboring to fit out military expeditions nour ports; we are constrained to maintain a large nayal force to prevent violations of our sovereignty, either by the Cubans or the Spaniards; our people are horrified. and agitated by the spectacle at our very doors of war, not only with all its ordinary attendants of devastation and carnage, but with accompanimonts of barbarous shooting of prisoners of war, or their sum- mary execution by military commissions, to the sca: dal and disgrace of the age: we are under the necessit of interposing continually for the protection of our citizens against wrongful acts of the local authorities of Spain in Cuba; and the public peace 1s every moment subject to be’ interrupted by some unforeseen event like that which recently occurred to drive us at once to the brink of war with Spain. In short, the state of Cuba is the one great cause of perpetual solicitude in the foreiga relations of the United States, ‘BLAVERY. <* While the altentitn of th government is fixed on Cuba, in the interest of humanity, by the horrors of civil war prevailing there, we cannot, Mr, Fish remarks, | forbear to reflect, as well in the interest-of humanity as in other relations, that the existence of slavery in Cuba and its influence over the feelings and interests of the Peni lar Spaniards lie at the foundation of all the calamities which now afflict the island. Except in Brazil and Cuba servitude bas almost disappeared from the world. Not in the Spanish American republics | alone nor in the British possessions nor in the United | States nor in Russia, nor in those countries alone, but even in Asia and Africa itself, the bonds of the slave have been strock off, and personal freedom is the all | but universal rule and public law at least to the nations of Christendom. It cannot long continue in Cul environed as that island is by communities ol emancipated slaves in the other West India Islands and the United State: Whether it shall be put to an end by the voluntary act of the Spanish government, by domestic violence, or by the success of the revolution of Yara, or by what other | possible means, Is one of the gravo problems of the situation, of hardly less interest to the United States | than tho independence of Uuba, * * * A POLICY OF EXPRCTANCY. In these circamstances, Mr. Fish says in conclusion, the question what decision the United States sbull take is @ serious and difficult one, not to bo determined without careful consideration of its complex elements of domestic and foreign policy, but the determination of which may at any moment be forced upon us by occurrences in Spain or in Cuba, Withal the President cannot but regard independence, and emancipation of course, as the only certain and even the necessary solu- tion of the question of Cuba. And, in his mind, all inci- dental questions are subordinate to those in this respect, It requires to be borne in mind that, insofar as we may contribute to the solution of these questions, this gov- ernment is not actuated by any selfish or interested | motive. ‘The President does not meditate or desire the annexation of Cuba to the United States, but its eleva- tion into an independess republic of free men, in har- mony with ourselves and with the other republics of America, You will understand, therefore, that the policy of the United States in reference to Cuba at the present time is one of expectancy, gut with positive and tixed convictions as to the duty of the United States when the time or emergency of action shail arrive, When it shall arrive you will receive specific instruc- tions what to do, Meantime, instructed as you now are as to the ultimate purposes of the government, you are to act in conformity therewith in the absence of any specific instructions and to comport yourself accord- ingly in all your communications and intercourse, oft cial or unoflicial, with persons or public men in Spain, WHAT THE “PRESS THINKS OF “ON TO CUBA.” THE SPANISH ‘BAN NOTE. [From the Evening Post.} now by M. Bartholdi, for the ¢xamination of | ; alleged violation of that article and the, award of damages to all persons proved’ to | war, the common law rule according to the usage of | Many persons in this country would be confirmed in the support of a certain policy rather than dissuaded from it by the remonstrances of the London Times. The class of citizens who would be thus influenced is also the class of citizens who are usually most ready to join in a reckless demand for war; who always keep a sharp lookout for “insults to our flag,”’ and often dis- cover them where they do not exist; who are prepared to defy the combined powers of Europe, if not to “whip all creation,” and who are acutely sensitive to | everything which seems to savor of “British’ arso- | gance,” The reasons which the Times gives for believ- | ing that it is inexpedient for the United States to inter- fere iu Cuban affairs will make no impression upon the enthusiastic patriots who are eager for hostilities with Spain; but other persons will attach due weight to | those reasons, i The 7imes’ own account of the note recently ad- | | dressed to the Madrid government is that its contents aro substantially advice to Spain to relinquish Cuba and permit it to become an mdependent republic, with | the intimation that the advice may at any time be em- | phasized asa demand, The Zimes says that war would | be inevitable “if American despatches could be con- strued as literally as those of Kuropean countries”? It proceeds to show that the note is none the less of- fensive because it tells some plain traths—as that Cuban slavery is a great wrong and mischief, and that the colony costs the mother country more than it is worth; that no Spanish ministry could retain power which should even consider proposals so offensive to Castilian pride; and that “republicans, Alfomists and Carlists | all compete with each other in refusing to give up ‘the Pearl of the Antilles)” ‘We believe | that the fear of war may be mitigated by a knowledge of the peculiarities not so much of diplomatic de- spatches from Washington as of the peculiarities of some of the tolegraphic and mail despatches which pro- tend to convey American news to the European public. Itis sale to say that no such note as the 7imes describes has been sent to Madrid, It could only have cone with the consent of tho Secretary of State, ‘The views of Mr, Fish in respect to our Spanish-Cuban relations are known to be conservative, and wo may take for granted that he would resign his oflice before he would agree to the sudden abandonment of the policy which she has advocated and to whieh he has held the adminis- tration, That policy will never be contradicted by sueh # hostile note until Mr, Fish is out of the Cabinet, He still holds nis portfolio, and we believe that, so far ag Spain and Cuba can affect the result, be will continue to hold it until the 4th of March, 1877. The Times is doubtiess right in saying that the at- npt to take Cuba from Spain would unite all Spanish Parties in defence of its possession. It is probably right also in predicting that, while the struggle for the island would end favorably for the United States, the first movements might be uniavorable to the latter, Whether the Times is right again in supposing that an aggressive Spanish-Cuban policy is contemplated, as a last expedient to promote the third term scheme, de- pends upon the question whether the persous inter- | ested in that sebeme are hopelessly imfatuated, A cable despatch frow Madrid says that the reply of Spain to the recent uote will be energetic, but moder: | ate, and it confirms a former report that the note refers wot ty of 1795. The provisions of that treaty—a synopsis of which appeared in a letter from Washington to the Evening Post published last Saturday—relate to certain obsolete boundary questions, to commercial matters and to the right of Spanish vessels to board American ships and examine into the regularity of their papers, The most that the United States could demand in correspondence concerning the treaty would be the relinquishment of this vexatious right of examination, and sach a demand as that would furnish no ground for the apprehensions of the Loudon Times, OUR TREATY RELATIONS WITH SPAIN. (From the World.] What is the “treaty of 1795 with Spain,” and why should our Minister at Madrid, Mc, Cushing, be con- cerning himself, us the cable to-day assures us he is, with negotiations growing out of that treaty? If these negotiations are really going on, and have any real importance, President Grant will doubtlers , .¢ us their gist in his forthcoming Message. It is not easy to imagine what their nature can be unless they have arisen under the seventh article of the sreaty re- | ferred to, by which it is stipulated that the subjects of Spain and the citizens of the United States re- spectively, “their vessels and effects,” shall be dealt with, always and everywhere, according to law, and only according to law, within the dominions of either Power, The text of this article is worth reproducing | here in full, Thus it runs:— | ARTICLE VII. " | And it is agreed that the subjects or citizens of each | of the contracting parties, their vessels or eifects, shall | not be liable to any embargo or detention on the part of the other for any military expedition or other public or private purpose whatever, And in all cases of seizure, detention or arrest for debts contracted or offences committed by any citizen or subject of the one party within the jurisdiction of the other, the same shall be made and prosecuted by order and authority of law only and according to the regular course of pro- ceedings usual in such cases. The citizens and subjects of both parties shall be allowed to employ such adyo- cates, solicitors, notaries, agents and factors as they may judge proper, in all their affairs and in all their trims at law, in whidh they may be concerned, before the triounals of the other party; and such agents shall have free acces# to be present at the proceedings 1 such causes, and atthe taking of all examinations and evidence which may be exhibited in the said trials ‘Our own experience has taught us how difficuit it is in times of intestine commotion to enforce upon mili- tary officers a real respect for personal rights in any form and under any guarantees. But one thing which the American people never have pardoned, never will pardon, and never ought to pardon to any American administration, is the slightest negligence or hesitation in enforcing respect for the personal rights of American citizens upon foreign Powers, It is notorious that dur- ing the earlier years ot the Cuban insurrection both the persons and the property of American citizens in the island were once and again subjected to illegal ““em- bargoes” and “detentions;” and it was in consequence, of proceedings of this sort that the Convention of Feb- ruary 12, 1871, was entered into, by which, in conform: ity with article 7 of the treaty of 1795, Spain agreed to the establishment of a commission, presided over have sutfered jn mind, body or estate from -such yiola- tons, This Convention certainly covers all cases of the sort down to the 12th of February, 1871, and in making it Spain proved her fidelity to her treaty engagements of 1795. If this Convention has proved inadequate the administration at Washington may count upon a severe reckoning with the people of this country, and if any new complications affecting the personal rights of Americans in Cuba have arisen out of the course of events in that unhappy islind, these complications | must be so dealt with as to secure, once for all aud | thoroughly, indewnity for everything that has been | suffered in the past, and solid guarantees against the | recurrence in the future of anything approaching to an outrage upon citizens of this Republic being lawfully within the jurisdiction of the Crown of Spain. ‘That our government should be instant and explicit in enforcing upon Spain the strictest adherence to the obligations assumed by her in article 7 of the treaty of 1795 (obligations, by the way, which though reciprocal in their nature were practiculiy disregarded by Secretary Seward m the case of Colonel Arguelles), is the more | important that this same treaty of 1795’ contains cer- | tain other provisions which in the not impossible con- | Lingency of a recognition by the United States of the | Cuban insurgents as belligerents m: and probably | will, subject us to very serious embarrassments. These | alluded to a day or two ago b; } they cannes ‘Post, but too clearly understood. Y ‘The treaty of 1795 with Spain is one of a series ne- | gotiated in the infancy of the Republic for the general | purpose of developing our relations with the older Powers of Christendom, and establisbing our commer- | cial prosperity. Our first really sovereign negotiation, | made by us neither as the dependents nor as the allies | of any greater Power, was the celobrated treaty of 1782, made by Mr. Adams with the Netherlands. In that treaty it was stipulated that whenever cither the United States or the Netherlands slgpuld be at war, if “the ships of | ubjects, people or inhabitants of either of the par- | » should “be met with, either sailing along coasts or on the high seas by ay ship-of-war of th other,” * * * the merchant ship shall consent to | a visit and exhibit its papers, and if the latter are not | regular the merchant ship shall, under the treaty, be | liable to seizure as aprize. This stipulation was bor- | rowed in substance from the previous treaty of amity | and commerce made by us with France in 1778 at the | same time with that great treaty of alliance with France which ‘accomplished our independence and | gave us a national life. It reappears again *in the | | Ufteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth arti- cles of our treaty of 1795 with Spain, a treaty especially | intended for the advantage of the carrying trade of neutrals in that stormy poriod of the history of Europe. | ‘That treaty stipulates that free ships shall make tree | goods, except contraband of war, and therefore gives | Delligerents exceptional rights to detect contraband of | nations being that the goods of au enemy found in the vessel of a neutral are good prize of war, while those of wnentaal found in the vessel of an enemy are to go free. The obvious reason of this rule, of course, is that war gives the right to capture an enemy's goods, | whether public or private, on the sea, but not the goods of a friend. In the eighteenth article of the Spanish treaty of 1795, as m the Netherlands treaty above alluded to, and in the twenty-seventh cle of the French treaty of | 1778, we tind the phrase which, when either party to the | treaty shall be a belligerent, authorizes its ships of war | to stop merchant ships of the other party, visit them and inspect their papers, if they are found “either sail- ing along the coasts or on the high seas.’ Now, how | is Uis phrase ot “sailing along the coasts” to be’ con- strued? Is it possible to construe it as meaning any- thing else than sailing in the harbors within the terri- torial jurisdiction of either party to the treaty? The | two terms of “along the coasts” or ‘on the high seas” | certainly cannot imply the same places on tide-water, | the ordinary uefinition of “coast? being that part of | the territory or rather the main land of a nation which | borders on ‘the high seas.’’ Is it not clear, then, that | under the treaty of 1795, Spain, being a belligerent, | will be eftitled to claim the right to stop our merchant | vessels along our “coasts,” within Sandy Hook for ex- awple, visit them and demand their sea letters? And is it not equally clear that from the moment the | United States recognize the “belligerent, rights” of the Cuban insurgents, Spain will become by’ our own act the belligerent which she now strenuously denies that she is, we ourselves in virtue of her denial now insist. | ing, and justly insisting, that our citizens within her | “non-belligerent” jurisaietion shall not be dealt with | otherwise than in accordance with the regular forms of law ? Can it be necessary for us to speculate upon the feel ings which would be excited in the peuple of this country by the spectacle of a Spanish man-of-war claiming and exercising in American waters, over American ships, | this right so plainly conceded to Spain by a treaty of which we have exacted the fulfilment by Span? What power could impose respect for our treaty obligations upon the American people in the presence of such a spectacle? And yet what an ineffable disgrace would be entailed upon us were we to be hurried thus by national passion over the barriers of law and of the national good faith into a | Spanish war! How does the administration propose to deal with this | aspect of the Spanish imbroglio¥ Can we afford to recog- nize as belligerents insurgents who have established no valid claim to such a character, in order that by this rec- cognition we may bring about a collision with Spain at once, in consequence of and in defiance of a treaty origi- | nally negotiated by us with our eyes wide open, and for | purposes deemed to be of great national importance? | A CHILD KIDNAPPED. | A little boy named Martin Navin disappeared on Monday afternoon in a mysterious manner, and bas not since been heard of, The circumstances of the case | are as follows:—Navin and a*schoolmate named Franz | Fitzheiler were walking together on the boulevard, ‘Thay were accosted by a man ima distributing wagon of some liquor house when at the corner of Righty-eighth street, and Navin was induced to get into the wagon, whereupon the man drove off rapidly, leaving litte Fitzheiler on the sidewalk, These are all the facts which could be elicited from Fitaheiler, who 1s about seven or eight years of age. Navin js ten and a half years old, about three feet high | and of rather stout build, with cark hair, When cur- riod off he wore a dark brown jacket, black pants, brass- toed boots and a cap which rolled down over his cars. | His family, who live at the junction of Elghty-cighth | street and North River, were in a stateof great anxiet: as to the whereabouts of their son, and the little fei- low’s brothers were last nignt calling at the different station houses up town to find out if anything bad been beard of him, Fitzheilor lives in Kighty-cighth etree, | first chapter of the gospel of St John, which he used | to sustain the Young Men’s Christian Association, | revivalists have accepted the invitation, but say that MOODY AND SANKEY’S LAST WEEK. | THE MORNING MEETING. Mr. Moody offered the opening prayer at the early meeting in the Tabernacle yesterday morning, which had a large attendance considering the forbidding weather. Deacon Hawley read requests for prayers. Besides twenty tive cities, twenty-seven churches, eleven sick persons, seventeen drunkards and a number of Sun- day schvols, supplications were asked for nearly 500 individual cases, After the congregation had joined in singing the third hymn — 1 need 1 Mr. Needham, every hour, gelist, read the twenty- as the text forashort exhortation. He said the pas- gage he had read showed that the true way to worldly Success was in the line of obedience wo the Divine com- | mands. In this chapter we are told of three occasions when the risen Saviour showed Hitnself to His disciples. | He stood by the shore and bade the fishermen to cast their nets on the right side of the ship. When they obeyed itrequired all their strength to secure the wonderful caich which succeeded to a whole | Bight of fruitless toll. Again, when Mary sought the dead Jesus at the tomb He showed Himself to her wondering eyes, Like many women now, she sought w dead body when she should have waitedfor a living Lord and Master. So he showed Himself to the doubter, Thomas, bidding him to con- vince himself of His identity by placing his hand in the wounded side, Only by obedience to Gou can we hope for success; only by laying aside all doubt can we re- ceive His blessed spirit’ Hymn 117, My faith looks up to Theo, was then sung, Mr, Moody ina very interesting man- ner told the story of a cripple, lately converted at the sung the congregation dispersed. The building which is to be of brick, with Dorehester stone trimmings, is | | SAXTS feet. ‘The cost will be $50,000, | METHODIST MISSIONS. | FINISHING UP THE APPROPRIATIONS—$679,000 | FOR MISSION WORK AT HOME AND ABROAD— | ADJOURNMENT, | The General Missionary Committee met a; day, Bishop Andrews presiding. The appropriations | began where they left off the evening previous —at Italy. The sum of $17,475 was given to the Italian imis- sions, On the question of giving $22,500 to Mexico in- stead of $18,500, the sum given last year, and acom- promise with the sum of $30,439 asked for by Dr. Butler, the Superintendent there, Bishop Haven and Bishop Simpson advocated $25,000 to be given. Dr. Dasbiell, the Secretary, apprised the cotamit- tee that a lad~ had promised to sustain a new mis- sionary in Northern Mexico, This will allow of the re- duction of $1,400 from this sum. A compromise was made on $24,000, of which $2,500 goes to new work. Japan, without discussion, received $17,400. To all | these sums for foreign missions must be added twenty per cent for exchange, as the appropriations represent gold, except to Africa ‘The contingent tund rec: 25,000; incidental expenses, $20,000; oflice expenses, $18,000, and for disseminating missionary information | and circulation of the Missionary Advocate, $12,000; $600 were appropriated for transfers to Oregon’ and Washington Conference; $500 were added to the South Fe Kansas Conference; $250 were transferred from the Central German Conference to the Chicago Ger- man Conference. he aggregate amount thus appropriated 18 $679,133 30, ‘This overran the onginal estimate $4,133; the foreign missions received of this overflow $3,033. The appropriations as a whole | were then approved. The committee resolved to pub- Rink, A brief season of silent prayer followed, with oral prayer, in which Mr, Needham, Mr, Hawley and | Mr. Martin led, Special prayers were asked for East | New York, where it Was stated that there | Bishop Haven presided, A resolution to make two are a few carnest Christians and a large | apportionments to the Church—one representing } band of hard = workers for the -—_devil. | $679,133, the amount needed to carry on the mission. | Mr, Moody alluded to the good work being done by | the young men of Brooklyn. He said the meeting of the ‘preceding evening was one of the most extraor- dinary he hud ever witnessed. Ail over the house per- | song ‘sunk on their knees at the invitation to join in prayers for Divine mercy. He appealed to Christians it | is now $6,000 in debt. not run in arrears, or else shut up. He did not belicv in running Christianity in debt and paying off the di ficiency by a dance gr fair. He would ask for a collec- tion Wednesday morning to pay off the Young Men’s Christian Association's debt, and if the contributions were not enough he would continue the collection at each meeting till a suffictent amount should be raised. THE EVENING MEETING AT THE RINK. The attendance at the Rink still continues undimin- ished; fully 7,000 persons were accommodated within the building last night. A number of seats near the platform on the left wore reserved for *longshoremen, and they were among the most attentive listeners. The meeting was opened by the singing of the tifty- sixth hymn. Rey. Mr. Davis, of Simpson Methodist Episcopal church, then offered a short prayer, after which Mr. Sankey sang the fifty-secoud hymn. Mr, Moody gave out the notices forthe week, und mentioned that on next ‘Thursday a collection would be taken up at all the meet- ings for the purpose of paying off the debt of the Young Men’s Christian Association, He wanted every one to come with their pockets full, and wanted al} who gave to give freely, for it waa thankoffering. then read part of the twenty-first chapter of Revela- | tions, and Mr. Sankey sang the thirteenth hymn. MR, MOODY'S REMARKS. y Mr. Moody began his remarks by saying:—You re- member I was speaking last night from the text “I pray thee excuse me;”’ and 1 only just got into the subject when it Was time to stop, and I want to take it up where I left off. Every one has an excuse, and what 1 want is to take up these excuses and see if they are valid, A common excuse is, “I don’t know whether I am one of the elect.”” I believe in the doc- trine of election, but with the doctrine of election un- converted men have nothing to do. Now the question is, Are you ready to. put yourself in under the head of “whosoever?” Suppose I was | coming down the street and wanted to come to the Rink, and the policeman met mo at the door and asked tor a'ticket, I had no ticket, and could not go in. I go further and find a Freemason lodge, and 1 can’t goin | there because 1 am not a Mason. So with the Odd Fellows; and at last I come to the Young Men's Christian Association, and read, "None but members admitted.” I pass on and come to a door over which it says, “Whosoover.”? That means me. I can go in. I was in a prison once where tive men were to be pardoned for good behavior. ‘They were not to know anything about it, but were to be tried for six months. At the end of the six mouths the committee came. All were assembled in the chapel (1,500 prisoners) and the chaplain said:—*I hold a par- don for five men,” and then went on to explain how they got the’ pardon, but the suspense was terrible, and he stopped and said:—“I have gota par- | don for Reuven Jobnson. Let him come forward and get his pardon.” He had been there for imetveen years, and every one turned to see him come, but he did not come. Hé was looking bebind bim for another Reuben Johnson. It was too good to be true, but at last he came up the aisle trembling and took his | pardon, saying, “It is too good to be true; T was in {oF | ife.” Richard Baxter said he was glad the word | “whosoever” was there, because if it said Richard Baxter he would be afraid it meant some other Richard | Baxter, but whosoever meant him. I have an idea that attor Jesus had been in heaven | thirty or forty years and Paul had written that doc- trine, he couid see how it would be | ‘A STUMBLING BLOCK, | | and he said he told John to write, and after he had written and written, he said:—John, put it in, ‘Let him that thirsteth come.” And then, to make it still | broader, he said, Whosoever will let him take the | water ‘of life freely.” May you not accept | the invitation if you will? have not much | sympathy with those men who fold their arms and say they are not one of the elect. | Suppose you are sick and do not send for the doctor, and say if God elected you to live you would hive any: way, and carry it into temporal matters and see where it will bring you; and if you stick on the doctrine of | election, bear in mind you wont stand up before God's | tribune and say “I know you invited me, but I was not one of the elect and could not accept the invitation.” People make the excuse that they have not time. | Mothers would say, if I asked them to stay to the | inquiry meeting, “I must go right home and put the babies to bed.”” (Laughter.) Why don’t you take time? You spend five or six years to learn a trade and will not give five minutes to seek your salvation, That excuse won't stand the light of eternity, Some make the excuse that religion is gloomy; others say there is plenty of tine. Some say they ‘cannot understand, they cannot reason it out. God never gaye you intelli- gence to fight against Him. You rust find out God. NOT BY INVESTIGATION, | but by tion. Perhaps you think it fs too easy, | that we can be saved for nothing. I cannot help it. | If we are @yer jo be saved we will be saved that way; | itis a gift, and you must get it by taking. Bear in mind, God’s hail will sweep away these refuges of lie’, and the time is coming when they will | all flee trom you. Had you not better give them ap to-night? Let the word go up on high that you will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb, Suppose you write gu excuse to the King of Heaven. “While sitting in the rink November 16, 1875, I received | @ pressing invitation to be present at the murrtage sup- | per of your only begotten Son, I pray thee have me | excused.” Is there any man or woman who would sign that? I'll guarantee not. Would it not be a great | deal better to write, “King of Heaven, while | sitting in the Rink November 16, 1875, I received a pressing invitation to be present at the marriage sup- per of your only begotten Son, and I hasten to reply, | By the grace of God I will be present.” | You can do it if you will, and the best thing you can | do is to angwer it to-night. This might and Uiis hour | ask Jesus Christ to write your name in th After a few seconds of silent prayer Mr. Singing, in a low voice, Almost persuaded, Shortly after the meeting was closed. | A CHANCE FOR PRINCETON. | MOODY AND SANKEY TO VISIT PRINCETON COLLEGE NEXT TERM—DR. M'COSH £XPECTS GREAT RESULTS THEREFROM. TRENTON, N. J., Noy. 16, 1875. Dr. MeCosh, of Princeton College, has invited Messrs. Moody and Sankey to visit that institution, The great they will not be able, owing to previous engage- ments, to ‘begin the work of redemption: at It ought to pay as it goes and, He | | caused to be mailed to the relatives, guardians and | in relation to the removal, in order to allow them a | suflicient period to provide for the tuture welfare of the lish a large missionary map, a specimen of which w hung in the hall of the mission room. | AT THE AFTERNOON SESSTON ary Work, and the other representing the debt of | $155,000—was offered and discussed pro and con. There were many Who favored uniting the two sums and call- ing for'an aggregate of $750,000, which will take in only $80,867 of the debt, A vote was taken on a motion to Jay the whole amount, $864,138, including debt and ap- propriations, befure the Church in one Jump and car- rig. Adjourned sine die, BOARD 1 The Board of Mano MANAGERS’ MEETING, et at hulf-past three o'clock and Dr. Hunt led the devotions. The minutes were. | read and approved. Bishop Peck presided. It was agreed to pay the missionaries in China $1,150 salary im Mexican dollars and those in Indiaatike sum in rupees, with 125 rupees added for each child. The In- dia Conference were allowed to sell their m:ssion house | m Alianabad and apply the proceeds to another object. | The Board approved of Miss Green, M. D., as medical | missionary to India, sont out by the Women’s Foreign | Missionary Society, to take the place of Miss Swayne, M. D., who desires to return home. Three hundred | dollars were donated to transfer a missionary from Chicago to California for the Scandinavian work there, Four hundred dollars were granted for transfers of two men to Walla Wallaand Grand Run, Cak Some years ago the Methodist Episcopal Church ‘sent its mission- aries to the Dulles, which they pre-empted, They were subsequently uriven away by the Indians. A | large and important town has since grown up there, und for several years the Methodists have been press- ing their claim before Congress and the Cabinet for the patent for this town. ‘They have at last succeeded, and the Board of Managers hi ppointed a commis- | | Sion to arrange matters with the residents and settlers | of that place. Bishop Peck, who has recently come | therefrom, wilt meet that commission next Monday | afternoon and lay a statement of the facts before them. ‘The income to the Missionary Society trom the Dalles will by aud by, 118 believed, be of great help; but for the present there can be nothing available therefrom, ‘The Board then adjourned. NEWARK’S EPISCOPAL CONVENTION. The first annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern New Jersey—set off last year from the old diocese, which comprised, the entire State—was held yesterday in Grace church, Newark, with Bishop Oden- heimer presiding. The opening services were con- ducted by Very Rey. Dean Abercrombie, of Jersey | cent bonds, gencer pronounced for it here, | City; Rey. Mr. Cloner, of Millburn; Rev. Mr. Sayers, of Belleville; Rev. Mr. Degen, of South Orange; Rey. Mr. Newton, of Newark, and Rev. "Mr, Putnam, of Jersey City.’ The Bishop administered holy communion. A sermon well calculated to setchurchmen and chur erally | thinking was preached by Rey. Geor y, with | whom the bishop sojourned after his return’ from Surope, and was a prominent member of the recent Episcopal Congress at Philadelphia, Tho text he chose was ‘The Outward Business of the Church.” In plain | and vigorous language the preacher insisted that it was | Vital to the Church that its busmess should be | conducted by men of clean hands and pure lives. Delegates to conventions and vestrymen should be eminently fitted for the work, above reproach, and | not mere figureheads who thought they honored the Church by tilling positions. He inveighed against the | practice of making rich men vestrymen solely because | | Of their riches, and altogether insisted that holiness, ability and zealousness in true Christian work should be prerequisites in the leading men of the Church. He | strongly opposed the raising of money by lotteries, | ghar the spneratssons of lvers coinmittees, &e., e Trustecs @ Episcoy rted as tol- low: juterest fete Roce! pt A 50; disburse- ments, $10,606 98; principal fund receipts, $4,168 62; Joaned on bond and mortgage, $3,500; balance on hand, $688 62 The additions to the fund amonnted to $37,685, and the total amount of the tund is $120,598 62. ‘The Treasurer reported :—Receipts, $23,621 72; balance on havd, $21,305 97. To-day Bishop Odenheimer will deliver his annual address, PASSING COUNTERFEIT MONEY. ‘Two girls, about seventeen years of age, apparently Italians, were arrested in Paterson yesterday for pass- ing counterfeit money. One gave the name of Mary Mali, No. 38 Mott street, and the other Florence Mali, No, 35 Bexter street, New York. They bought a fow cents worth of candy in a store and proffered a $10 bill in payment, which was soon ascertained to be counter. | feit. @ girls were watched, and after taking a cir- | cultous route were joined by aman, but the latter made his escape from the following officers although the girls were arrested. | Several other counterfeit bills | on the City National Bank of Poughkeepsie and the Farmers’ Manufacturing National Bank of Poughkeep- sie were found in their possession. They are held by the authorities for further developments, THE PAUPER CHILDREN. In the Randall’s Island Nursery, an institution in connection with the Poorhouse, there are at present 580 children, In pursuance of an act passed by the last Legislature these must all be removed on or before the | Ist day of January next to orphan asylums or other charitable or reformatory institutions in the county, The Commissioners of Charities and Correetion have | children the the with friends of together the the a copy | of law, resolution of Board litue ones. 1t is claimed that the law did not contem- plate any interference with the children on Randail’s Island, but was aimed at the county poorhouses, where the children are kept in the same butiding with the paupers, and consequently associate with them, greatly to their detriment, An effort will be made to have the next Legislature so modify the law as to ex- empt the county of New York from its elfect, @ WAS It A MURDER? A MAN DIE® AFTER BEING UNCONSCIOUS TWEN- TY-FIVE DAYS. | of $3,000 is therefore asked for with a view to th Thomas Smith left his residence in Sixty-erhth | street, near Eleventh avenue, on the 19th of last month perfectly weil, and was brought home the fol- lowing day in an unconscious condition, The persons who took him home say they found him lying in the street. There was no evidence of his having drank anything, and it is thought that-he had been assaulted by some unknown person | moved to the Recep comatose state until last Monday evening when he died. On being received into the hospital it was no- ticed that there was a small scaip wound over the left | parietal bone. | _ Deputy Coroner co will make an autopsy on the re- | mains, after which an inquest will be held at the Coro- ‘lice by Coroner Kessler. A CHURCH CHOIR SCANDAL, thav seat of learning during the present ‘They promise to come during the early pai term, Dr. MeCosh announced this inform faculty and sthdents yesterday, and occasion to speak inthe highest done by Messrs, Moody and Saukey in Great Britain, Although personally unacquainted with either of them, the Doctor said he had received minute accounts frou friends in Great Britain of the great advantages result ing from their labors there, and that he had ardent hopes of their intended work in Princeton resulting in a grand success, The clergymen of this city are About to hold a mect- ing for the purpose of extending an imvitation to the famous revivalisis to come and sow the seed of salva. tion among the numerous class ef sinuers in this com: munity. The corner stone of the new Jewish Temple, Beth Elohim, on Keap street, near Division avenue, was laid | with imposing ceremony yesterday afternoon, in pres- | ence of a large assemblage. A choral as sung by all | Present, accompanied by Franks’ Twenty-eighth regi- | ment band. After a prayer had been offered by Rov. | Dr. G. Gottpeil, rabbi of the Temple gal Gursman, tabi of the congregation Beth Elohim, de- livered asermnon in Germain, ‘The corner stone, on | which was inscribed ‘This stone was laid November | 16, in the year 6,638," was tlien placed in position. Addressna wate mada and the maaim Na 160 heinw | | Am action to recover damages in the sum of $10,000 has been commenced in the City Court, Brooklyn, by Charles Bachmeyer, formerly organist of the church of which Rey, John J, Raber is pastor, The plaintiff sues the pastor for alleged slander, He ebarges that the clergyman accused him of improper conduct toward a ident of the Eastern District. Subse- for a position as or- , but in consequence of wing charge he was not accepted. Hence the | resort to legul resdre: THE IRVING STATUE. ‘The ladies who have taken charge of the enterprise | to erect in Central Park a worthy monument to Wash- ington Irving will meet at two o'clock this afternoon at | the house of the President of the association, No, 421 | Fifth avenue. | invited to be present, WASTING THE CROTON WATER. Jobn C, Campbell, the Chief Engineer of the Croton Aqueduct, owing to the vast quantities of water wasted on the piersof the clly last winter, has notified the lessees of the different wharves that if the water is al Jowed to run during the coming winter months meters All ladies interested in the project are | The injured man was re- | on Hospital, Where he lay ina | must be used, sn order that he may be able to assess the value of the Croton used, 3 WASHINGTON. FROM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT, Wasurvarow, Nov. 26, 1875. A LEGAL QUESTION IN THE MATTER OF Bix FUNDING THE NATIONAL DEBT. ‘The closing out of the 500,000,000 of new five per cents by the Syndicate subscription, on Monday last, raises a curious question in connection with such further prog- ress as shall be made in refunding the national debt. The original law provided for convert- ing 1,500,000,000 six per cents into 200,000,000 five per cents, 300,000,000 four and a half per cents and 1,000,000,000 four per cents, but Secretary Boutwell | got Congress to amend the law so as to allow of issuing | 500,000,000 five per cents, The amendment failed, how- ever, to specify whether the increase of 300,000,000 should be taken from the four and a half or four per nd the present Secretary of the Treasury is in doubt, therefore, whether he is at liberty to com- tinue refunding by issuing four and a half per cent bonds. He will refer the matter to Congress and ash an early settlement of the matter, ANOTHER ITEM IN THE THIRD TERM ERUPTION, The third term press eruption broke out in still another place last Sunday, ‘The Philadelphia City Jem came out for the third term at ther same time that the Washington Sunday Chronicle and National Intelli- This coincidence Is fur- ther proof of the scheme of Messrs, Chandler and Ed- munds to “organize victory” for President Grant next year. POOL SELLING ON THE SPEAKERSHIP POSTPONED, It was proposed to sell pools on the Speakership at the Imperial Hotet to-night, but owing to the lack of interest in the matter at present the attempt to elicit opinion in this curious way was deferred until there should be a jarger number of politicians in town, GENERAL WASHINGTON DESPATCHES, Wasuinctos, Noy. 16, 1875, THE MISSISSIPPI POSTMASTERS—ACTION 08 THE DEPARTMENT SUSPENDED BY THE PRESIDENT. By direction of the President the Post Office Depart- ment to-day suspended all action in regard to commis+ siding J. B, Raymond and E. P. Hatch, who were re- cently appointed to displace ex-Senator Pease and De Witt Stearns as postmasters at Vicksburg and Holly Springs, Miss. The contest for and against the reten- tion of the incumbents is actively conducted by the respective friends ot Pease and Governor Ames, and it ts understood that the matter was this afternoon made a subject of some discussion in the Cabinet, REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF NAVIGATION— COAST SURVEYS AND DEEP SEA SOUNDINGS. ‘The annual report of Commodore Daniel Ammen, Chief of Bureau of Navigation, has been made to the Secretary of’ the Navy. In regard to interoceanic surveys, Commodore Am men says:— This arduous work, which has been carefully prose- cuted for tive seasons by two or more parties, from the Isthmus of Tehuantepee to twenty or more miles south of the mouth of the Napipi on’ the River Atrato, is at length satisfactorily accomplished. It is the duty of this bureau to acknowledge — the ability and nergy ofthe different — officers who have been in command, and the untiring zeal and intelligent and faithful exertions of their subordinates. The precautions of those in command are shown in the fact that not. one officer or man has succumbed to climatic influence, though doubtless many carried the seeds of disease and earlier death away from their flelda of operation. No case of bad conduct in either olticer or man pupeet on this work has come to the knowl. edge of the bureau. Reference is then made to the various surveys made since 1870, and he says:— Since my last report, at the request of the come mission appointed to consider and report upon the inter-oceunic canal by your order, a careful survey of the Isthmus of Panama was made, the computations completed and the whole placed before the commission. | A reconnoissance on the west coast was also mad@ of the Rio Chepo and the San Blas route, where the tide waters of the two oceans approach more nearly than at any other point. So careful and | minute has been the examination of the different water sheds up to the point of manifest inferiority to other known points that no doubt now exists as to the ap- proximate labor necessary in the construction of am inter-oceanic ship cunal ai several points. It is proper to add that the most careful and elaborate surveys woitld necessarily have to be made in advance at any potnt heretofore examined before commencing the con- struction of an inter-oceanic ship canal, and that these surveys could only ameliorate the labor and cost of construction, inasmuch as the locations, as given, are actual throughout in length, and would only be changed when an advantage would be gained by doing so. A large number of junior officers of the navy have been detailed for duty on the United States coast sur- vey, As the urgent demands of the naval service will permit, officers are now assigned to duty under the Superintendent of the Coast Survey. This duty ia itself 's a national necessity. It is also a most valuable school of instruction, as is shown through the services of naval officers in their legitimate duties, and especially during the different wars in which they have takes part, REPORT OF THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY—RESULTS OF THE OBSERVATIONS OF THE TRANSIT OF VENUS. The report of Rear Admiral C. H. Davis, Superin- tendent of the United States Naval Observatory, states that the great equatorial recently erected is im good order and in constant use in the observation of the satellites of the planets Neptune, Uranus and Saturn, Some of the more difficult and interesting of the double stars are also observed, and drawings of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn and of several nebulw have been made, He speaks at some length of the drawings of nebula made by Mr. 1. Trouvelot, formerly engaged at the ob- servatory at Harvard College, who was invited to the Naval Observatory, and visited that institution in September last. In referring to theoretical investigations he says;— Congress having tailed to make the appropriation asked for last year there is but little progress to report on the work on the theory of the moon’s motion. Thit circumstance is much to be regretted in view of the large and increasing errors of the lunar ephemeris and of the fact that it is chielly to these investigations that the astronomers of the world are looking for an planation of the errors in question. continuation. A preliminary investigation, having im view the correction of the lunar ephemeris during the jast few years, in order that it may be used for the de- termination of longitudes of the transit of Venus stations, is now in progress, A series of ex- periments to ascertam the effect of wind and of variable hygrometric conditions on the amount of rain obtained in rain gauges of various sizes and at different altitudes have been made by Professor East- man, and the results will appear in an appendix im the meteorological observations of 1874. During the past two months the time has been transmitted at noon over the country through an additional wire from the Ob- servatory to the Western Union Telegraph office, It t= now transmitted by two wires instead of one, rendering its reception more certain and necessitating less trou- ble in repeating at the telegraph office, The following is an abridged statement of the observation of transit of Venus at several stations :— Nortuern Stations. —Wladiwostok, Siberia, 13 pho- tographs taken; Pekin, China, 90 taken; Nagasaki, Japan, 60 taken, Total, 16% Sourmery Stations,—-Kerguelen Island, 26 photo. graphs taken; Hobart Town, Tasmanta, 39 taken; Camp- bell Town, Tas: 55 taken; Queenstown, New Zealand, 59 taker h Contact observati stations as follows stations, Wladiwostok, Pekin, Nagasaki; Southern sta» tions, Kerguelen, Queenstown. First internal contact.—This was observed at the three northern stations, but only at Queenstown in the south, Second internal contact.—This was also observed at all three northern American stations, but only at @ single southern one, Campbell Town, Second external contact, —This was observed at only a single one of the eight American stations, Pekin. Professor Newcomb has expressed the following opinions concerning the yalue of these observations aud the probable error of the final determination of the solar parallax resulting from their discussion:— Itis my opinion that the optical observations of con- tacts made by the observers of all nations will by their combination give & value of the solar parallax of which the probable error will lie between two-tenths and three-tenths of a second. 1 also think that the Ameri- can photographs alone will give a result at Teast as accurate as this, and probably more so, A large remaining mass of material will be the beliometer measures mans and Russians, as well as by Lord Lindsay. Various optical measurements were made near the moments of internal contacts and photographs in which Venus was partly on the sun, The combination of all these may be expected to give a result of equal weight with either of those already mentioned. 1 think, tlero- fore, that we may look forward with considerable cer- Senly to seeing the probable error from the combina- ‘Won of all observations less than two-tenths, and per- haps not much ig than one-tenth of a second. At made by the Ger. the same time, it igifiot to be disguised that there ts possibility ol unfores€en perturbing causes bein bresens to light by a comparison of all tho observations whi will upset all our a priori estimates of probable error. BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF A CHANGE OF SERVICK The Secretary of War has received the following :— PortaNo, Oregon, Nov, 2, 187% Dear Sm—I was once in the service of the United States, but now am in the service of my God. Ea. closed’ find Post Ofee money order for (40, I am, sig, very reapectiully,