The New York Herald Newspaper, December 16, 1875, Page 6

NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. - JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR NOTICE TO January 1, 1575, the daily and weekly ions of the New Yornr Henarp will be 2 ec rent free of postage. ——---- -——— THE DAILY HERALD, prdlisked every day in the year. ‘welve dollars per year, or one dollar per qonth, free of postage, to subscribers. All business or news letters and telegraphic despatches must be addressed New York Henarp. Letters and packages should be properly Four cents per copy. scaled, Rejected communications will not be re- tumed. LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD—NO}p)46 FLEET STREET. PARIS OFFICE—AVENUE DE L'OPERA, | incumbent of the Presidential office, and the second centenary in the enjoyment of that Subscriptions and advertisements will be received and forwarded on the same terms es in New York. = VOLUME XL. AMUSEMENTS TO-NIGHT. TWENTY-THIRD STREET THEATRE, Swenty.third street and Sixth avenue,—-THE FLATTERER, eis. eeeeeeNO, 250 PARK THEATRE, rondway and Twenty-secoud strect.—THE MIGHTY DOL AR, atS P.M. Mr. and Mrs. Florence. RE. G ANIA THEATRE, aoe EIN PELICAN, at Bogrtgents street, wear Irving place.— BOWERY THEATRE, Bowery.—WILD BILL, at 5B. M, Mr. Jutian Kent, Madison avenue CHARITY FAIR EAGLE THEATRE, Broadway and Thirty-third street.—VARIETY, at 8 P.M. SAN FRANCISCO MINSTRELS, New Over ‘5 House, Broadway, corner of Twenty-ninth street, | GLOBE THEATRE, Nos, 728 and 730 Broudway.—VARIETY, at 8 P.M. WOOD'S MUSEUM, Broadway. corner of Thirtieth street.—S. M. Mati 2p. M. 7 AM, at 8 P.M; | closes at 10 $5 P. F. 8. Chanfran. BooTHs T TRE, ‘Twenty-third street and Sixth avenue.—COONTE SOOGAH, atsP.M. Mr. und Mrs Barney Williams. TONY PASTOR'S ‘Nos. 585 and 587 Broadw? RIETY, av8 PM. i Lye ‘ourteenth street and GITIME, at 8 P.M. Parisian Company. THIRD AVENUE THEATRE, tieth and Thirty-first street. — are 2, M. /PRUSSTAN SIEGE Mand from 7:30 P. irty-tourth street and Broadw Pails ‘Open fr: P.M. to4 M. A 1P.M.t m from WALLACK’S THEATRE, Y ergy 4 and Thirteenth stres BOSOM FRIENDS, at 8 . M.; closes at 10:40 7. M, M 3 PARISI ixteenth street. neur B: jatinee at 2 P. M. BROO: street, B: ‘allack. * UNION sQus Broswer and Fourteenth ATRE, ‘Washin, CRS, at 8PM Mr, Lester + THEATR t.—ROSE MICHEL, at ® FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE, Ywenty-cighth street, near Broadway.—PIQUE, at 8 P. M. Panny Davenport. OLYMPIC THEATRE, Wo. 624 Broadway.—VARIETY, a 5 P.M. TIVOLI THEATRE, Eighth street, near Third avenue,—VAKIETY, at 8 P.M. THEATRE COMIQUE, No. 514 Broadway.—VARIETY, at 5 P.M. TRIPLE SHEET. DECEMBER 16, 1875, NEW YORK, THURSDAY. | SS == = From our reports this morning the probabilities | wre that the weather to-day will be clear. | | | ‘Tnx Hrrarp py Fast Mam. Trars.—Nerrs- dealers and the public throughout the States of | New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as | well as in the West, the Pacific Coast, the North, the South and Southwest, also along the lines ; of the Hudson River, New York Central and | Pennsylvania Central Railroads and their cone | nections, will be supplied with Tue Henatn, | tree of postage. Hxtraordinary inducements offered to newsdealers ly sending their orders direct to this office. Wart, Stnzer Yesrmnpay.—Stocks were | again in poor demand. The market was | feverish and sales almost unworthy of com- | ment. Money on call rated at 4 and 5 per | eent. Gold opened and closed at 1143-8, | Bag currency is worth-87. Tae Lrrrie Exerisu War in the Malayan Peninsula seems to be a one-sided affair, the | British having routed the Malays in the first | fight. Now for annexation. | Tux Goop Worx of electing republicans to the French Senate goes on. Eighteen | were added to the list already voted for by the Assembly yesterday. Troe, Wno Have Dean Frrenps or mer-— thandise on board the ¢teamer L’Amérique | will be glad to learn that she is safe et the end of a towline and on her way to port. ne | Tax Arcintsuor or Corocyr stepped down | gnd ont of his archdiocese on Monday and | }s not expected pack at present. The diffi- | Bulty of this cleric is, however, with the Se Jmperial authorit Bisnor Haven defends his right to pray for ® third term, and, at the same time, is “bound to pray for those who are already In power.” the anajority in the House. But if he prays for Grant, who wants a third term, and for the democrats, who don’t, which of the petitions floes he expect will be favored ? This means democratic An Excnancr sums up the anti-Catholic | strength in the republican party: “IP they can show such a strength as this in Newark, what could they show in the whole Slate of ! versey? What could they shno in New York eity and Brooklyn? What in the whole State of New Yorke? What in the United States of America, at a Presidential election?” It will pil die away like a summer shower without our special wonder, if the Randall amend- mantcan be made satisfactory to the country, aa it would be if the democrats were to per- anit Grant to rold his second term for six years, ; 1878. | to the country. | that will win all parties, | been badly NEW YORK HERALD, THURSDAY, DECEMBER I6, 1875,—TRIPLE SHEET. Mr. Randall's Amendment—How to Settle the Whole Question of Cwsarism, Mr. Randall has vindicated his claim to leadership in the democratic majority by the promptitude with which he has taken up the i suggestion of the Henan in reference to the | tenure of the Presidential office. The demo- cratic party having made a consistent and commendable record on the third term, and the danger of the centralization of power | under which the country has been laboring | since the war, it was only natural that it | should take an early oceasion to justify its faith by its work. A different policy the part of the par\y, and would have de- stroyed its influence in the next campaign for the Presidency, As we understand the amendment of Mr. Randall, he proposes President nor the Vice President, when the office of President devolves upon him, shall be eligible for re-election.” There were two | or three fantastic amendments offered by other gentlemen, one of which proposed that there should be a Senatorship for life for the other that after the lapse of twelve years the objection to the re-election should pass away. | We call these fantastic because they propose enactments foreign to the spirit of the con- stitution—namely, that we should confer upon any citizen a life station as a reward for any political service, It would be the first step in the direction of a privileged | class and an aristocracy. A Senator for life, | as it is proposed an ex-President should be, would be an infraction of the rights of | the States. They are entitled to their equal | representation in the Senate. The value of | the resolution‘of Mr. Randall is that it pre- | sents to us the one term clear and simple, J without any possibility of re-election. We congratulate Mr. Randall upon show- ing the party one way by which to escape | trom a great danger—the danger of viewing with indifference the idea of Cwsarism. At | the same time he shows it how to tear the | | whole subject up by the roots, and to do so | with the aid of both political parties. What we expect from the democrats is an act of | high statesmanship in dealing with this question, which, although startling at first, will, the more it is considered, approve itself to the wisdom of the country. In opposing President Grant and his ambition for a third | term we must be careful to avoid evoking | the sympathy of the country in his favor. We must never ignore the fact that he has been the commander of our armies, the rep- resentative of our military success during the rebellion, and that he will live in our history with Washington. The mistake in the last campaign for the Presidency was that the enemies of the republican party aroused by their importunate severity the sense of fair play always controlling the American heart. When we were asked to elect Mr. Greeley | upon his merits as a statesman, his name as a philanthropist and leader of the anti- | slavery movement, the response at first was prompt and acquiescent. When the nation was asked to do this, and in doing so to dis- honor President Grant, the country revolted and re-elected him to the White House by an increased majority. The third term will come in this same shape if it comes at all. The danger of the third term arises wholly from the tendency of the enemies of General | Grant to make the war against Cmsarism a personal war upon him. Such a war will end asit ended in 1872. The friends of General Grant whose ambition leads them to hope for his continuance in power have striven in every way to reawaken this feeling | which was so successfully evoked four years ago. to fly into a passion, to do unwise and in- judicions things, is so marked, even in the Honse, that already political critics speak of the restoration of the Bourbons. The way to destroy this impression is for republicans to | accept Mr. Randall's amendment to the con- stitution as closing the whole question of Cwsarism, and for the demoerats to pass the | amendment in sucha form that it will ex- tend General Grant's term for two more years. In other words, let the amendment be passed so that President Grant will hold over until will be six years and one term. Sy granting to General Grant these two extra years the democrats compel the repub- | licans to snpport the amendment. the President an unusual and in some re- spects not an undeserved compliment. We recognize his military fame and his services term. The danger of any different amend- ment offered by a democrat as judicious and calm as Mr. Randall is that the parties are so evenly divided that it would never, pass the Senate. Now the only measure that ean ac- complish the results aimed at by the demoe- | racy and hoped for by the country is one tive re. publieans who dread the uncertainty of an election will postponement for years, Administration repnb- licans, that Grant has his opponents, of his power Americans gene- Conse} welcome its two who claim nsed b extension accept this the fnllest tally who see in our President a conspienons and illustrious figure will manfally consent The democrats in two more years will be much stronger by their experience in the Honse, as recompense, to pay him this new tribute of respect. | much better disciplined, and, we trust, under Victory will be President's a much better leadership. more certain. The end of the term and the beginning of the one term era will be a dividing line in the history of the country, @ momentons epoch fitly marking y the opening of our second centent Therefore the republicans and democrats will be wise if they take up the third term question and settle it forever, Let amendment to the constitution be passed declaring that from and after the 4th of March, 1878, the President shall hold office for but ons Let this amendment pro- vide that General Grant shall continue in office until that date. port the amendment, which we regard as to the liberties of our country and which only ean be by general acquiescence, No fair man will gbject to giving Grant these two cxtra years, an term. neeessary passed would have been an evidence of bad faith on | | that ‘atter the next Presidential elec- | tion the President shall hold office | for six years, and that neither the | The tendency of the democratic party | Thenceforward the tenure of the office | We pay | We gain forever, the one | will | Let all parties sup- | No patriot will object if in doing #0 we re- move the last vestige of Cwsarism. When Mr. Pierrepont spoke some time ago in a rap- turous way of the “era of good feeling,” he little imagined that the democrats themselves would offer a resolution which, if properly accepted, would mark the opening of that era. It is by measures such as these that the democrats will retain the power that they yhave won. It is by statesmanship based upon these broad, liberal, generous princi- | ples that the nation can be brought under | democratic rule. We do not know | whether partisanship in Washington has | | gone so far, or made such deep fissures between thinking men, that a | | proposition of this kind would not be con- sidered, But we commend it earnestly to | the patriotic members of both parties. Let us end this Cesarism terror. Let us securé | the one term idea, and in such a manner as | to compel the friends of Grant themselves to support it. Let us recognize, even in an ex- | | ceptional degree, the memorable services of | | Grant. Let us be just to our President. | With this amendment part of the law the | country can feel that the dreariest phantom that ever oppressed the politics of America has faded out of sight. We can begin our | | era of good feeling for which patriots have hoped and prayed so long. Capital Punishment. It is not pleasant to read of the efforts that are making to stay the sentence of execution passed upon Dolan and the three negro mur- derers who are condemned to die to-morrow. We mean by this that the uncertainty which exists in reference to this execution is un- fortunate in a double sense. First, it is an encouragement to those who break the law to expect immunity from just punishment ; second, it isa torture to the prisoners them- selves. These unhappy men should have some time for preparation: for their awful fate. , According to our legal system every moment from pronouncing sentence till the execution isa moment of hope and expec- | tation. Now, we would be far from denying to any of these wretched people the utmost benefit of the law. If there is any evidence, for instance, going to show that Dolan did not commit the murder of Mr. Noe, or tend- ing to show that Staudermann is insane, or lessening the guilt of any of the three | wretched negroes, let it be known. If the sentence is unjust let it be changed. But capital punishment, to be at all effective in our system of government, should be prompt and decisive as in France and England. The action of the Court should close the mat- | ter. The Governor should make known his final decision for or against mercy at least | ten days ortwo weeks before the execution | of the sentence. From that decision and | from the action of the Court there should | be no possible appeal. This is due to hu- | manity as well as tojustice. Itishardtothink | of these wretched men in the Tombs living | from héur to hour in the hope that their | lawyers or their friends will secure a re- | prieve. As it is now no one can tell whether this execution will take place to- | i | morrow or not, because it is just possible | that at twelve o'clock to-night some busy | lawyer will induce the Governor to grant a; | reprieve. Of course if it is the Governor's | duty to grant a reprieve he should do it, but | we repeat, that in all matters of this kind | the decision of the courts should be final | and there should be time allowed between that dread arbitration and the execution of the sentence for the condemned man to pre- pare for the other world. We can imagine | no system of cruelty, Chinese or Indian, as | terrible as what we impose upon men sen- | tenced to death in New York. Phantoms in Politics. American polities for the past few years have been under a spell—a ‘‘war spell,” we | | may call it. The influence of the war has | been to generate all manner of phantoms, | that have terrified not merely the souls of conservative citizens, but of those who have | no interest other than political ambition. | ‘Thrifty politicians have looked wpon the whole matter as the close of a career, and | that we were to have Grant and Grant only | | for another generation ; that there were to | be no more cakes and ale but tor the Grant | family. As we said the other day we have | | résted like Egypt under the darkness which | covered the land for three days. Business | | has been unsettled. The people did | not know where would be in | another season. The members of Congress | were ‘afraid to legislate, except from hand | to mouth, on questions arising out of recon- | struction and finance. We had the phantom of a war with England, which was only laid | at Geneva. Then came the phantom of San | Domingo annexation and the extension of | empire into the West Indies. Then came the phantom of the rebellion, which took | | Phil Sheridan all the way to New Orleans, | and threatened ns with war. phantom of m, any, bringing all the others in its train. | | F | tectorate, which was to come into being to | save onr schools and onr institutions from | the Pope. | Now, the way to lay th the republicans and dem we | Then came the | more terrible than | Hy, we have had the phantom of a Pro- | phantoms is for | rts to aceept the | | Randall amendment and to extend General Grant's term to 1878, The amendment means Per A New Youn Parnn us question has already effected in poli- | voints out what the re- tics. It snys:—'t more startling fact, if i be correctly stated by Mr. Foster, is the tremendous Anti- Catholic fieal strength mate by the srerel Assoviati vin the city of a minority was Thy the I majority of 4,400." 8s organization toa ret, Know Noth- | | ing, dark-lantern lodges will die like May | } flies, if the republics , | the Randall amendment, giving Grant six | years in his second term, and limiting the | | office to one term ever after, sand democrats aceept Porn Avenue. This great thoroughfare ; should be maeadamized from Washington square to the Park, and the work should be done wnder the direction of the Park Com- missioners, With a pavement of this charac- | ter, well made, for the length of this great | thoroughfare, our people for the first time | would be able to appreciate the luxury of @ | In the meantime the fugitive will continue | to dictate terms to the law. well-payed street. | pected place yesterday and brought sudden | their delight at what they called dodging. | a New Yorker, one (Plaisted) is from the | to vote against the pretensions of the present |in the sentiment it so almost unani- mously declares than in the feel- ing the resolution aroused. It is be- | not precisely a magnificent but a humiliat- | tion? | city | pay will exhaust what remains of the plun- | he did not love it well enough not to rob | it so | ment forthe purchase of immunity that he | them and less assurance, would have fled; , only turned with the taunt, “What are you | The Third Term in the House of Representatives. Bishop Haven’s thunderbolt, after hover ing in the air for some days, fell in an unex- dismay and pain to a good many unsuspi- cious souls. In the middle of what prom- ised to be an uneventful day in the House of Representatives Mr. Springer, of Illinois, a new member, introduced an anti-third term resolution—a resolution worded in the main very much as the President might word a declaration of his own declining a third term if he wished to put an end definitely to all suspicion that he desired a re-election, If the House had suddenly suffered a severe electric shock the effect could not have been more startling. The democrats, of course, saw the joke at once ; some of the republicans scarcely see it yet. The confusion and dismay on the republican side made a comical sight. The immediate—but of course futile—motion to adjourn, the consultation between members, the hasty moving back and forth, be- trayed their bewilderment. After a brief struggle the ‘previous question” was ordered, and on the main ques- tion the yeas and nays were called amid the deepest interest, but with laughter un- concealed on the democratic side. When Mr. Blaine’s name was called there was no answer, and the democrats could not conceal Some other members dodged and some were absent, Only two hundred and fifty voted out of a total of two hundred and ninety-two, and only eighteen of the whole House had the hardihood to vote against the resolution. Of these eighteen six are colored men, four | are Southern republicans and eight are Northern men. One of these (McDougal) is Bangor district of Maine, two (Hubbell and Bradley) are from Michigan, one (Dennison) from Vermont. Pratt is from Iowa, Page is from California and Whiting from Illinois, ‘ Mr. Blaine is understood to say that he declined to vote because, considering that he is pgominently spoken of as a Presidential candidate, it would have been indecent for him incumbent. The plea is ingenious, but, as a democratic wit remarked, it is a magnificent tribute to General Grant's insincerity on the third term question. The famous eighteen who had the courage to declare fora third term are generally supposed to have patronage in view, and some of them, at least, are known to have been opposed to a third term not Jong ago. The importance of the vote lies even less lieved in Washington that to stand well at the White House a republican. must favor a third term for General Grant. Pat- ronage is a desirable thing for Congressmen. Many of them keep themselves in place by its adroit use. If they should lose it they would fall. Naturally they seek to please the source of patronage at the White House. Why dothey, then, fight shy of a declaration on the third term?. Why, except for the universal conviction that to oppose openly this policy is to incur the hostility of the White House? The hubbub and annoyance shown on the republican side yesterday were really an insult to General Grant. It showed that, in spite of his repeated declarations— in spite of his letter and his talk of his suc- cessor—no republican believes him. It was es ing tribute to the President's insin- cerity on this question. He was very nervous about a few hasty words spoken by ‘General Henderson in St. Louis. Can he stand under the imputation cast upon him by his own party and by the leader of his own party in the House yesterday? Will he not take pity on his party and put them out of misery by declaring in unmistakable terms whether he does or does not refuse another nomina- ‘The day has put the democrats in spirits again. Even Mr. Wood smiled to see the enemy in confusion. There is talk, we hear, of asimilar resolution being brought up in the Senate. Why not? Tweed'’s Tactics, If the ambiguous whisperings that are heard in regard to “negotiations” with Tweed are to be given any credence it appears that the heavy exile is willing to pay nearly a million dollars for the right to live in this city unmolested of the authorities, and for such peace of mind as he can obtain from | this sort of compromise with justice. From which it would appear that he either rates his peace of mind very highly or that he does not envy his confederates the “high jinks” of life in Belgium or other foreign countries, Tweed’s estimate of the value of the privilege of living in this | is all the more remarkable if, as is alleged, the million he is willing to der. He loves the city well enough to live asia poor man here rather than asa rich man elsewhere; and it is odd, therefore, that mercil y- But he is, it seems, even so solicitous to carry ont this arrange- applies some pressure to the many persons who, it is presumable, were more or less im- plicated in his rogueries. Disclosures are threatened, vague terrors aro held ont | a shadow on any con- | that may be in a shaky | condition, all with a view to enforee assist- ance or to frighten the timid who may have assumed any position of hostility, This is a | y queer spectacle to see—a fngitive from justice put forth from his safe hiding place the airy fulminations of his wrath against people thus far not known as his accomplices, But this is probably only one more demon- stration of bis peeuliar style. It is the same sort of bravado, empty and yet for a time effective, that led him when first accused to defy justice, Others, with*more logie in but the self-confident and dull-witted Tweed going to do about it?’ Tux Twrrp Six Miunnion Svrr goes over until the January term of the Supreme Court, President Grant a Ring.) Awkward and mortifyng as the indict- ment of General Babeoj\k must be to the President, we suppose th¢e are but few can- did men, even among ys political oppo- nents, who suspect him pf complicity with the Whiskey Ring or kndvledge of General Babcock's complicity, ifhe be really guilty. At the very worst Presidiit Grant is the vie- tim of misplaced confidence and blind fidelity to undeserving prople to whom he has given his friendship. | But although the head and front of his off ding “hath this extent, no more,” he is, njvertheless, charge- able with a very e dereliction of official duty. The tonstitution com- mands that ‘he shal] take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” ‘Phe discharge of this olligation requires alertness, vigilance and |a pretty’ constant surrender of his time |to public affairs. President Grant would feem to have a dis- inclination to the close! labor which his office imposes. While bp likes its dignity, splendor and emolumenj, he is bored by its duties, and spends ai large a portion of his time as possible away from the capital. We have no doubt that the greater part of the corruption which has, grown up under his administration is the consequence of his distaste for public business and of the feeble sense of responsibility which is its natural accompaniment. A President who shrinks from the laborions attention whichghis office demands must put great trust in others, and is easily hoodwinked anjl deceived. Such indolence and inattention do not excuse, nor even extenuate, the laxness and in- efficiency of his administration; but it is a very different fault from conscious com- plicity with fraud. The President may be justly arraigned for unfitness, but discrimina- tion must be exercised in selecting the heads of accusation. Baseless charges of eorrup- tion, when his real fault is culpable negli- gence, will only damage those who bring them, The private secretary, if he be a shrewd man of mature age like General Babcock, has great facilities for misleading the Presi- dent. He is necessarily trusted with the open- ing of letters, as the President would have time for little else if he should undertake to read all of his own correspondence. He must have somebody to select from the voluminous mass such communications as require the President’s personal perusal, giving him a brief oral statement of the substance of others and sifting out and suppressing such as are utterly unworthy of attention. If the confidential secretary is dishonest he has great opportunities for making false im- pressions on the President's mind by garbled accounts of such letters as the President does not personally read, or by withholding as trivial letters of real importance. If he should be in collusion with thieves he could shield them so long as their arts of conceal- ment were successful against general public scrutiny. We do not intend by these remarks to ex- press any opinion as to the guilt or inno- cence of General Babcock, but only to show that his conviction on the indictment might be perfectly consistent with the honesty of the President. We do not believe, and do not think any candid man believes, that President Grant had any knowledge of Bab- cock's illicit correspondence with members of the St. Louis Whiskey Ring. It would, of course, be exceedingly humiliating to the President to have his private secretary con- victed, but the President himself would be no further implicated than for the indolent neglect for which he has been notorious throughout his administration. We trust we may never have another travelling, junk- eting, pleasure-seeking President, who hates business, shirks minor responsibilities and prefers every other place to Washington. the Whiskey Tue Rewanp or Five Tuousanp Dottars, gold, offered by the managers of the Direct Cable for information leading to the ‘‘dis# covery of the vessel” which broke their cable, shows that they believe the break to have been caused by human agency, but whether the result of accident or design they do not aver. This puts a very serious face upon the matter. To purposely break a cable is as grave acrime as to scuttle a ship, and should be treated as rigorously as piracy upon the Vigh seas. Apart from the question of property—and in such tase it represents millions—the act would be treason to human intelligence. We hope the matter will be thoroughly investigated. It is not so hard to break a cable. ‘To throw a grapnel astern and tow it at night across the line of submerging is all that isnecessary. A slight shock would be felt on board when the grap- pled cable snapped; that is all. In spite of this there are many reasons why it would be difficult to do it in face of a large reward, one of which is that the plot should be known to several persons. On the other hand, there are many ways that a cable may cease work- ing without being designedly broken. The work itself may be faulty, or the bottom on which it is laid of such a nature as to ent the insulating material. If, however, foul play is suspected, the wider and deeper the in- quiry goes the better. There should be more cables by a dozen than we have, and then, with a fair spirit of business rivalry, we should hear less of dark suspicions and darker designs. A Mornixa Journan fears for the future be- cause Grant ‘has not anrord to say about the republican party, which has tice elected him President; but he places himself unreservedly at the head of the anti-Catholic party, which he hopes will elect him to a third term,” This is grave, undoubtedly. But the way to prevent it is for the republicans to accept the Randall amendment, and for the democrats to extend Grant’s term two more years, making it six years inall, : A Gatiant Pottceman received a high com- pliment yesterday from Superintendent Walling. He had not captured a desperate burglar or arrested Tweed, but had, ye Olympian gods! taken adrink at a man's bar who sold liquor without a license. For fur- ther particulars see police courts. « Vaccrxation is lnid down by the Board of Education as requisite for all pupils at the | A Queer Defence of Tammany. Mr. Henry L. Clinton, the same gentlemax who a week or two since proposed, as a mem- ber of the Tammany Society, a revision of its constitution and bylaws, with a view to abolish the secrecy of its proceedings, has made still another acknowledgment of the force of public opinion as declared through the press. The odious organization seems on the point of tumbling in ruins as by the repeated strokes of a tremendous battering ram, and Mr. Clinton attempts to prop up the falling structure. He published a long letter of three columns in the demo- cratic organ yesterday, wherein he com- municated the exquisitely reassuring fact that ‘this society has for years past taken no action whatever in political affairs;" and he dgvotes the greater .part of his long letter to quotations from his own speeches denounc- ing the organization for its corrupt and in- famous control of the polities of the city! But he contends that that was a flagrant usurpation of powers which do not belong to the society, Nobody disputes that such action is a usurpation of powers not con- ferred by its charter, but the admitted fact that it can be perverted to such uses is one of the strongest reasons why so dangerous a society should be dissolved and why the charter it has so infamously abused should hg taken away. It is just as susceptible of such abuses under Tweed’s successors as it was under Tweed himself. We need ne better testimony than that of Mr. Clinton to secure a public verdict against Tammany. It wpuld be a curious defence of an arraigned criminal for his counsel to quote from his own speeches in a former trial proving that his client was the greatest thief of the century, but claiming that he had since reformed. Mr. Clinton would be laughed out of court if he should defend a criminal at the bar by the same kind of argument he employs in defence of Tammany. ‘Tammany must be hard pressed for grounds of vindication when its cham. pion is forced to hazard, in the face of this community, such an assertion as that the society ‘has for years past taken no action in regard to political affairs.” Is Grand Sachem Kelly a myth? Did he and his asso- ciate Sachems have nothing to do with polities in the recent election, when they got so badly whipped? Can Mr, Clinton prove an alibi in favor of his clients? ‘This inno- cent’socicty, he teils us, is merely the owner of a piece of real estate in Fourteenth street, called Tammany Hall, and the only function it exercises is to permit a room in that build. ing tobe used by the Democratic General Committee! What a convincing statement ! If that is the only function of the society what objection can there be to dissolving so idle and useless an association, and relieving the democratic party of the heavy load of odium attached to the name and the in- famous history of Tammany? The society is on its last legs when its champion is com- pelled to make so “thin” a defence, A Conremponary laments the fact that the “anti-Catholic party developed strength enough in Boston to carry a ‘vast’ assemblage of the Metho- dist clergy for the renomination of General Grant, without one dissenting voice.” This is certainly suggestive. But we can avoid the dangers ii implies, if the republicans vote for the Ran- dall amendment, and the-democrats consent to give General Grant six years for his second term. Tur Prot to Brow Up tax Moser, which is laid bare in our special despatches, is so hellish in its nature as to produce a sense of stupefaction rather than a burst of indigna- tion, It requires a considerable stretch of imagination to realize it in all its horrors, so out of proportion to the gain sought is the magnitude of the contemplated crime. Whether the would-be suicide is ao lunatic who, with insane cunning, did the actual preparation for the horrid work himself and evolved the rest of the al- leged conspiracy from his diseased mind, hat not been thoroughly settled, and the only way to do so is to hunt up every clew whick can be gathered from his statements since o1 movements prior to the explosion. From one of the former we learn that lie alleges te have accomplices in New York who wert presumably to divide the plunder upon the high insurance which has been or was te have been effected on goods in the Mosel, - This is work for our shrewdest detectives. Tue Union Ferry Company's Leases from the Sinking Fund Commission, under which they run their boats from and to this city, have been declared invalid by Corporation Counsel Whitney, and steps are to be taken to make the company pay for the privileges they have enjoyed since 1870. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE, re The present month is the favorite timo of all the year with the French for suicide, General Banks {s said to believe that the people will rise and overthrow both parties, ‘M. Leverrier, the astronomer, says there will be im- mense snow fails in December and January, Mr. Benjamin F. Wade, of Ohio, arrived im the city last evening and is at the St, Nicholas Hotel. General Richard Taylor, of Louisiana, and gon of General Zachary Taylor, is a social favorite in Paris, ; An old maid near Reading, Pa,, married a tramp, and perhaps that’s the best use you can puta tramp to, after atl, . Murphy, who ts ex-Senator Carpenter's Journalistic partner, has sued the Milwaukee Times because it called him an inenrable lunatic. To tell the truth, itis a little hard to say that a man ts incurable. This is the kind of weather when aman secs his wife coming into the room with a scuttle of coal, and after sho has poured every bit of it into the top of the tall stove says, “Darn it, Hanner, you ought 'ave asked me to do that, But it’s too late now.’’ We regret the incorrect assertion made inthe Hrnane obituary of Mr. John Appleton Haven to the effect that | ho was tenacious in asserting his rights to roads and gates on his property. On the contrary, Mr, Haven was well known to be a kind-hearted gentleman, full of neighborly feeling. and highly respected by all who came.in contact with him. He was one of the olderg residents of Fort Washington and did much to secure public improvements for the neighborhood. The Cincinnat! Garette (rep.) is at pains to double lead the following:~—"'It is stated on good authority that President Grant is not a candidate for re-election and would not, under any circumstances, accept a nomina- tion, He does not care to say so formally for reasons that the pablic will appreciate when they recollect how persistently ho has been charged with secking « third term; buat he is not in the fold, and the tongue of slan der should now be silent, General Grant, upon the termination of his present term of office, will retire to private life, and he will be all the more respected by his countrymen for having set at rest this third teri quem public schools. Good marks will follow a successful inoculation. Strip your sleeves, little @hiddren! tiou, The President, the republican party and the country are to be congratulated upon the decision that has Deon reached,"