The New York Herald Newspaper, December 18, 1875, Page 3

POLAR EXPLORATION, Professor Nordenskiold’s Boat Voy- age and Discoveries. Through the Kara Sea—The Ice Cellar of the North. A New Ocean Route Between Europe and Siberia. The Opening Up of a Country Larger than Europe. Its Topography, Produce, Ruins and Traces of Habitation. Importance of the Highway—Up the Yenisei. RUSSIAN NATIONAL HONOR TO THE EXPLORER, Lonpow, Nov. 27, 1875. Professor Nordenskidld has accomplished the most successful Polar expedition of the year, He started from Tromsd on the 8th of June, passed through the Kara Sea, hitherto considered the ice cellar of the North Pole; reached the mouth of the Yenise! on the 15th of August; proceeded by boat up this stream as far as Yeniseisk, returning by the great Siberian route, via Tomsk, Omsk and Yekaterinburg, to Europe, hav- ing discovered a new ocean route between Europe and Biberia, of the importance of which we can gain some idea by glancing at the territory on a map of Asia @rained by the Obi, the Irtisch, the Yenisei and their tributaries. a MAP kindly furnished tous by Dr. Petermann, of Gotha, shows more clearly than any description the vast ex- tent of territory thus virtually opened up to com- merce, and reveais the river system penetrating deep into the interior of Asia, the products of which, hith- erto transported overland, can now be brought to European markets in a few days through the mouths of the Obi and Yenisei, AN IMMENSE TERRITORY. This territory is larger than the whole of Europe, excepting Russia, A regular steam navigation already exists on the more southern parts of the Obi, Irtisch and Yenisei, and, as Dr. Petermann remarks, if Norden- skidld’s assumption comes to be realized, the valuable products of the immense lands of inner Asia and China will be, by means of suitable steamers, trans- ported to Europe im a few days, just as easily as they have been in modern times from the Petchora, the mouth of which river is dangerous for navigation, The territory drained by it is only equal to a twentieth part of that drained by the Obi and tl Yenisei, and the exports conveyed by it are little more than building timber. THE NEW ROUTE. The last letter from Professor Nordenskidld was dated from the mouth ofthe Yenisei, reached by him after sailing through the Kara Sea, which, to 1869, | had been considered to be filled with impenetrable ice and to be totally closed to navigation, This water, however, the Professor discovered to be perfectly navigable, thereby confirming the repeated assertions made tb this effect by Dr. Petermann, in his Geograghical Magazine, Nor- wegian fishing vessels had year after year cruised in but having no reason to leavo their fishing ground none of them ever penetrated to the mouth of the Obi or Yenisei. When Nordenskidld reached tho latter place he hoisted the Swedish flag and wrote:— “Thus we bad reached a goal to which seafaring nations had for centuries been striving in vain to attain,” And again :—“‘l entertain the most profound conviction that | a new commercial route has been opened, the import- ance of which can only be adequately conceived by marking with colors the vast tracts of country watered by the Obi, Irtisch and Yenisei and their trib- utaries.”” Weare indebted to Captain Allan Young, of the Arctic ship Pandora, for the following interest- ing letter, written by Professor Nordenskidld to Mr. Oscar Dickson, of Gothenburg, giving an account of tho further journey from the Yenisei as far as Tomsk. Captain Young writes:— “It will be remembered that Professor Nordenskidld arrived at the mouth of the Yenisei on August 15, but was delayed by a storm until the 19th, when he con- tinued his explorations up the river in an open boat, attended by two of bis scientific staff and three oars- men, sending the yacht Proven homeward for Trom- 80, in charge of Dr. Kjellman. The Professor's letter from Tomsk contains a most important account of his proceedings on his route through Siberia and Asi- atic Russia, Ho eventually reached Moscow on the Mth inst., and St. Petersburg on the 19th, having been most enthusiastically received and greeted all the way, and especially by the Society for Promoting Russian Navigation, headed by Count Komerofosky at Moscow, who fully appreciated all the advantages to be derived from this new channel for Russian trade, The results of the expedition are important to the scientific as well as the commercial world, and the greatest praise is due to Herr Oscar Dickson for his enterprise in sending tne expedition, and also to Professor Nordenskidld and bis staff, who have 80 successfully carried out the severe duty in(rusted to their charge.’ PROFESSOR NORDENSKIOLD'S REPORT. Tomsk, Oct. 13, 1875. Dear ann Respecrey Mr. Dickson:— Accompanied by Dr, Lundstrom, Dr, Stuxberg and three fishermen I left, on the 19th of August, the an- choring place of the Proven, im the mouth of the Yeni- ¥ei, and proceeded up that river in the boat built espe- cially ior that purpose by Mr. Ebeltoft in Norway. The boat was provisioned with bread, coffee, sugar and butter, and with preserves and salt moat sufficient for six persons for two weeks, We had also tents, hammocks, extra clothing and instruments, &c, At the time of leaving the ship our boat was Jaden to such an extent the it could not have withstood @ heavy sea We di- rected our course along the shore, between a number of low barren rocks existing In the northern part of the mouth of the Yenisei—cailed by the Russians Sew- ero-Wostouschnoi Ostrow (Northeastern Islands), Tho sounds formed by the water between these Islands were apparently deep enough to afford havens for large ves- seis, although there is rocky ground underneath in tome places, PAVORED BY A GOOD WIND and calm sea we sailed uninterruptedly for forty-two hours, arriving on the night of the 21st of August at Cape Bchaitauskol wet through and much fatigued by our | employed in Goltschika by a Yeuiseist merchant, who NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1875--WITH SUPPLEMENT. wong se wuremg ts Voyage we landed twice, first on a small promontory in Jewremow-Kamen and again ona hilly cape stretching into the Yemsei to within a few miles of its eastern shore. Jewremow- Kamen‘is a peculiarly formed rock, from fifty to sixty fect high. in the vicinity of our landing place there we saw three ICE wEARS gureTLy Grazixa, quite undisturbed by our large fire, which we thought would have enticed them toward us. On this shore we made our final collection of sea animals, insects, &c., and also gathered some worms, which exist for the greater part of the year in ground which is completely frozen. ‘The ground here had the same lack of vegeta- tion as had that where we anchored the Proven, being quite destitute of trees, and in many places even of grass, ever, different to that from Nova Zembla. Our second The general aspect of this place was, how- landing place was Krestowsky, (a place now deserted, but formerly inhabited both in summer and winter), We saw here houses, which, to judge from their in- terior fittings, must have once heen QUITE HANDSOME RESIDENCES. There were three with flat, turf covered roofs, each of which had a perfect labyrinth of dwelling apartments, bakehouses, bathing places, storerooms for ham, &c. There were also boxes for the storing of dried ham, hollow wooden utensils in which ham bad been chopped for storing, and other boxes with the remains of white fish, and a chaos of poles, seemingly intended for fuel, &e, A DESERTED VILLAGE. Everything was in great confusion. was to be seen, and even the nails had been taken from the walls, This seemed to indicate that the occupants had not died, but moved away. This desertion, ac- cording to an account which I heard at Dudinka, took place some centuries ago, THERE 18 GREAT DIFFICULTY in procuring flour on this coast, but it is well situ- ated for fishing, and now that the navigation of the Yenisei has increased, the place will most likely be- come peopled again. A very luxurious vegetation ex- isted in this neighborhood; there were grass and plants which in all probability had sprung from grain ecat- tered for the purpose of snaring animals. Four kilo- | metres from here a jutting promontory compelled us to go further into the river, where we sailed among a few islands, in a depth of about six fathoms, The No furniture northeastern side of the Yenisei always afforded good sailing, Further from the shore, the depth increases to six, eight and even twelve fathoms, The color of the water was | brown, except close to the shore, where it has a kind of lime color, Some distance south of Jewremow Kamen the east shore of the river consists of sand beds from twenty to thirty feet high, which slant into the water and are interspersed with shallow pools of various sizes. The vegetation in these spots is very sparse and its fower- | ing time nearly over. AT CAPE SCHAITANSKOI we gathered ripe cloudberries, the taste of which was | delicious, especially as they were the first fruit we haa | eaten this summer, We then pushed on to SOPOTSCHNAJA KORGA, where a strong wind and shallow water obliged us to | stop aud the darkness of the night forced us to an- chor. Sopotschnaja Korga (Boot River) is a tributary of the Yenisei, and near here were tracos of more de- serted houses, This place is sometimes visited by hunters and fishermen, and from the snares and traps which we saw evi- dently abounds in foxes, One of the snares was closed, We could only proceed very slowly here owing to the large quantities of drift wood and broken branches and roots which were heaped up near the shore, where also were seen some long and very thick poles, quite young and fresh and fit for use, and further from the shore were piles of wood, reared probably a great many years ago, between which were pools of black, unpleasant water. We met with driftwood standing in these black streams during the whole of the voyage from the mouth of the Yenisei to this place, but higher up it gradually disappeared. We next pro- | ceeded toward Goltschika, at present the MOST NORTHERLY INZABITED PLACE. On the eastern shore of the Yenisel we were, how- ever, prevented by very rough weather from landing, numerous and therefore directed our course toward Swerewo, | on the opposite coast, where another village is sup- posed to be, We could not, however, distinguish any houses, it being night time, Toward dawn our boat was almost capsized by breakers; we therefore hoisted sail, our only chance being to steer through the rough sea, which we did, and ultimately found deep water. We now espied a little cottage and landed upon a high coast close to the River Mesenkin. We here made | various excursions, during one of which we perceived | individuals, accompanied by dogs, who ap- peared to be looking for cloudberries. After a time they approached us, when we found they were Russians two had there a station for fishing. 1 proposed to the youngest of them, a Cossack—Feador by name, who seemed well acquainted with the country—that ho should go with us as guide to Dundinka, which ho agreed to do for fifty silver roubles, and at once set | off to get his employer's permission. THE VALLEY OF THE MESENKIN is more sheltered from the winds of the ice ocean than the low bay near Sopotschnaja, and the Mesenkin Valley is very rich in vegetation. The eye is struck, on landing here, with a species’ of dark green | bushes, several feet high (Alnus Fructicosa). we met with small stones and fossil | In Yalmal shells in the fine sand there, East of the mouth of the Yenisei the sand is coarser, and contains both large | and small stones and fossil shells. these fossils are so numerous that they form high | banks, but In the parts we visited the shells were spread about in the sand. After we had collected somo shells we found them to be of the samo kind ag those In some places | we found in Kariska and Obi-Yenisel, the occupants of | which were alive, By the sides of rivers wo generally met with samples of the stone which existed in the neighborhood, the current having washed away the sand; and here we gained knowledge as to the forma- tion of the sandheaps, and also as to the nature of the rocks from which the sand was formed. Here, also, we saw some bright, shiny blocks, not, however, to be compared with those In Sweden, SOME STONES HERE ARE striven, but this is eaused by the gliding away of tho earth, or the action of the river, We also found in the quarry | some basalt, lime and zérlyte, and also (and especially | too at the Cape Schaitanskoi) marl, and sandstone which emits sparks when struck. We also came upon | Jarge pieces of brown and ordinary coal, A NEW GUIDE, On the 26th our new guide arrived, accompanied by five other Russians, They said that aemall party of | fishermen and hunters lived as Goltschika, and that | in Swerewo wero an old man and his son, but that north of these the fishing places were deserted, Tho | Datives of this region are Samoyedes, Dolganes and Jakutes. and their numbers have been much decreased | cut the grass. , him, | active, in recent years, owing to an epidemic which broke out among the Samoyedes. Sailing toward . Cars we noticed the remnant of a large fall of snow, lying in & kind of ravine, and this was she only snow seen by us during the voyage up the Yenisei, At Cape Gostinol we saw a block of granite, which had been washed out of the sand. GOSTINOI TUE SHORE was lined with bushes, among which we saw the Arc- tic raspberry (Rubius Arcticus) and stalks four feet high of the Angelica and Cortusa, &c. A dense fog compelled us to stay a night at the mouth of the Jako- wiewa, a perfectly barren locality, but plentiful in fish, We next halted near the Briochowski Island, where the trade of preserving fish is carried on during part of the year, On the evening of the 28th we stayed at THE NIKANDROWSKA ISLAND, where I bought a fat muksumer and tschirer, weighing twenty-five pounds, for a silver rouble. The Yepisei is famous for its variety of fish, of which I collected Many specimens, which 1 have preserved in A great muny dogs were kept at the fishing stations at Nikandrowska, apparently of the same breed as those used in Greenland, They are used in summer to ferry boats and m winter for driving, although they are not Reindeer able to make a lovug journey at a stretch. ¢ not used here for this work. The next day we touched at A DESERTED FISHING STATION on the Island of Sopotschnoi, and also at Cape Mak- suninskoj, where we visited a family of Samoyedes, who were catching a store of fish for the winter, Our next place was Tolsto) Nos, a well built village, the people of which evinced great interest in us and asked with astonishment the details of our Journey. Near here is A MONUMENT ERECTED, some centuries ago, to the memory of some political convicts banged close by. Twenty-six hours’ journey from this place brought us to SAOSTROWSKO4, near Dudink, where we embarked on the steamer Alexander, commanded by the merchant Iwan Michail- owitsch Jarmenieff, who received us with great cor- diahty, were everywhere treated with the greatest kindness Indeed, during the whole of our travels we and respect, NORTH OF THE POLAR CIRCLE, ‘We were still far north of the limit of the Polar Circle, and many might have supposed that the unknown re- gions traversed by us were either barren or covered with ice and snow, or, at any rate, with very scanty moss vegetation, On the contrary, we saw snow only once during our voyage on the Yenisei, and in many | places—especially on the islets which, during the spring, are submerged—vegetation is most luxuriant and beautiful, excited jealousy in the mind of one of our companions, a farmer-fisherman, have given 80 SPLENDID A COUNTRY to the Russians—a country where there was no one to This statement was repeated daily and hourly, especially when we came to the splendid woods | and rich black soil between Jeniseisk and Turnchausk, an almost unipbabited region, which for fertility may probably be compared with the best parts of Skane in Sweden, and is of greater extent than the entire Scan- dinavian peninsula, THREE DIFFERENT RUSSIAN EXPEDITIONS have this summer been despatched to Siberia to report on the river communication there, When in Jen- iseisk I was informed (not officially) that theso expeditions bad resulted in for 700,000 roubles the River Angara, a tributary of the Yenisei, might be made sufficiently safe for ships as faras Baikal Sea, without fear of the whirlpools, and that the Obi might be joined to the Yenisei, and the latter to the Lena, THE TRACT OF COUNTRY within the range of these rivers may. be tolerably well conceived when it is remembered that, according to Professor Baers, the Obi-Irtisch and the Yenisei to- gether cover a greater area than the Don, Dneiper, Doerster, Nile, Po, Kbro, Rhone, and all the other rivers flowing into the Black Sea; the Mediterranean, and the Sea of Marmora Although north of the Polar Circle there are here some of the finest the opinion | timber woods on the globe, South of. these | forests aro stretches of most fertile soil, waiting for the husbandman and the plough THE GRAPE also is occasionally reared bere, while writing, a cluster of magnificent Siberian grapes. May the future see the intercourse between these terri- tories and Europe firmly established. A. E. NORDE: I have before me, With great esteem, PROFESSOR NORDENSKIOLD IN 8T. PETERSBURG— RUSSIAN HONOR TO THE SUCCESSFUL EX- PLORER AND GEOGRAPHER. St, PerensnrG, Nov. 23, 187! Professor Nordenskidld has at last arrived in St_ Petersburg by way of Siberia, after his adventurous trip to the Polar Ocean, It is needless to say that he has been well received by the Russians; indeed, as Mr. Semenoff, the Vice President of the Imperial Rus- sian Geographical Society, said, in welcoming “in what country could the celebrated explorer of the Polar seas be received with livelier feel- ings than in that country which embraces with its | hitherto inhospitable coasts half the circumference of the Polar Ocean,” HONOR BY THE SAVANS. On the very day of his arrival he was received with | open arms by the Geographical Society, and meetings of the Russian societies for the advancement of Rus- sian trade and industry were subsequently held for | him; while to-night a grand public dinner is to be given in his honor, Private hospitality, too, has been The Swedish and Finnish residents and the scientific men of the capital have kept him busy with constant breakfasts, dinners and balls, It is not alone geographical interests which have go stirred the Rus- sian public, but it is the possibility—long hoped for, but at last given up as chimerical—of finding a trade route from the basins of the Siberian rivers Ob and Yenisei to the ports of Europe. THR KARA SBA, Ever since the discovery of the Kara Sea, 300 years ago, expeditions have been fitted out for that purpore; but Professor Nordenskild is the first who bas ever The great richness of the grass ficlds | He was envious that God should | that | failed through this frozen and dreaded sea to the very | mouth of the Yenisei, THREE ATTEMPTS during the present century to establish some communi- cation perhaps deserve notice. Thus:— In 1806, under the direction of the Ministry of Com- merce, Count Rumiantsef, it was proposed to dig a canal to unite the bight of the Ob with the Kara Gulf, and thus save vessels a long voyage. This being found impossible it was then proposed to unite the Usa, which flows into the Petchora, with the Ob; but here adifficulty was caused by apart of the Ural chain, which rose toa height of 600 fect between the two river basins, In 1882 the schooner Yenisei, under tt ommand of Lieutenant Krotof, sailed from Arc el for the eastern coast of Nova Zembla, with + atention of proceeding to the Yenisel, It never returned, and two years later the wreck of it was found near Matotchkin Strait, Of the captain and crew nothing ‘was ever heard. In 1862 Lieutenant Krusenstern sailed in the Yermak from the Petchora on the same errand, He got sately through the Yugorski Strait, but was caught in the ice in the Kara Gulf, in latitude 69 deg. 57 min, north and longitude 66 deg. 2 min. east, and was obliged to leave the schooner there while ve managed to get back to the | jeast 2,400 men. | tack the instrgents there assembled. | Helet Kaka, Jusuf Bey united with his own force that Petchora over the ice along the coast. In 1874 Captain Wiggins sailed into the Kara Sea, but was unable to make land. What makes his reception in St. Petersburg still more of a triumph for Professor Nordenskidld is that he was by birth A RUSSIAN SUBJECT and was once expelled from the country on account of his liberal views, He was born in Finland in 1832 and received bis education at Helsingfors University, where his father was one of the most celebrated professors, especially known a8 a mineralogist for his investiga- tions into the constitution of lapis lazuli, In due time, in 1857, Nordenskidld took his doctor’s degree and was immediately elected professor; but here the govern- ment stepped ip and not only refused to ailow him to accept this position but considered his presence dan- &erous to the internal peace of Russia, He therefore left Finland and settled in Sweden, where he was immediately appointed professor and director of the Government Museum at Stockholm, and in 1861 he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. While he was still living in Finland, in 1854-55, be made a journey through the Ural Mountains for mineralogical and meteorological investigations, and afterward, in 1858-59 and in 1861 and 1864 he took part in the three Swedish expeditions to Spitzbergen, Later, in 1872-73, he had command of the fifth Swedish Polar expedition, which produced such brilliant results, The results of his scientific activity have been given to the world in part in separate volumes, but fully in the transactions of the Finnish Scientific Society and in the Memoirs of the Swedish Academy of Sciences. Devoted to science and republican in principle, Professor Nordenskidld has avoided external distinction, With regard to this characteristic of him AN AMUSING ANECDOTE isrelated. A few years ago he refused to accepta decoration which Charles XV., the late King of Swe- den, offered to him for his scientific merits, Some time after he brought to Stockholm some scientific rarity, with which King Charles XV., who was a noted collec- tor, was very much pleased, Nordenskidld, knowing this, took it to the King and presented it to him in person, With that pleasant smile, which all who knew Charles XV, will always remember, the King accepted the present, and said, ‘‘I am not ggproud as you” (‘Jag dr iske sd hogfardig som du’). THE SHILLOOKS. WARLIEKE NEGROES IN ARMED REVOLT AGAINST THE XGYPTIANS--JUSUF BEY MARCHES ON THE REBELS—A SUDDEN SURPRISE AND FIERCE BATTLE—THE EGYPTIAN COMMANDER KILLED AND HIS BODY HEWN IN PIECES—COLONEL GORDON’S STATION IN DANGER. Kuanroum, Oct, 28, 1875, I took yesterday to the telegraph office a despatch of about 150 words, addressed to you. To-day the mes- sage was returned to me, together with the money and the remark that “despatches of @ political nature could not be forwarded,” Tho steamer Ismailia, which left here for Gondokoro about twelve days ago, re- turned when at Faschoda and arrived yesterday, to the astonishment of everybody, bringing uews of mis- fortune. A NEGRO REVOLT. In my letter of the 6th of November I informed you that the Shillook negroes had revolted and had made an attack on the capital of Fuschoda. A few days after- ward anew attack was made and thirty-six soldiers were killed. JUSUF BEY’S MARCH AND ACTION, When the Ismailia arrived in Faschoda, Jusuf Bey went, with fifty soldiers under his own command, back by the steamer to Helet Kaka, where he wished to at- Arriving at of the garrison of about 100 men, and marched at the head of the troops to a village about a mile distant from Helet Kaka, with the purpose of attacking the in- surgents. 4 SUDDEN RUSH ON THE EGYPTIANS, Jusuf Bey rode at the head of his followers. Midway between Helet Kaka and the village the Shillooks, who had concealed themselves in the long grass to the number of 6,000, suddenly sprang upon the Egyptians, who were taken so completely by surprise that there was no chance of keeping any- thing like military order. Jusuf Bey’s horse received the first lance thrust, and fell to the ground. The rider was, at the same moment, struck to the ground and hewn in pieces, His head was placed upon a lance and carried in triumph from place to place, with songs of victory and wild dancing, THE SOLDIERS MASSACRED. The entire troop was massacred—two officers and 140 men—only eight wounded being saved and taken to Faschoda, where they will, in all probability, succumb to their wounds, QUICK WorK, The whole affair did not last over fifteen minutes. CONDUCT OF THE VICTORS. After this catastrophe the victorious Shillooks made ready to commence an attack upon the steamer in the harbor of Helet Kaka, THE NEGROES ADVANCED in thirteen groups of 500 strong. They were received | by a volley of Remington balls and eventually com- pelled to retire, leaving about 200 of their number dead. SPOILS APTER REBELLION. The Shillooks have captured one cannon, about 100 fiints, the powder depot, the treasury box of the regi- ment and the wares of the Helet Kaka traders, This Jast attack lasted from eight in the morning till two in the afternoon, The Ismailia then left for Faschoda, bringing the sad intelligence. THE CAPITAL * is still surrounded by the insurgent Shillooks. The city is in want of firewood, and fresh attacks arc hourly ex- | pected, The inhabitants have orders to be constantly under arms, weapons being provided from the arsenal to those who have none, COLONEL GORDON'S STATION, Sobat, which lies in the territory of the Shillooks, is in hourly danger of annihilation, the garrison consist- ing of only thirty men. Two steamers, with two com- panies of soldiers, one of Egyptians and one of negroes, Jeft Khartoum to-day for Faschoda, altogether about a hundred men. It is doubtful if this small force will be able to give security and peace to the revolted prov- inces, GORDON’S RESPONSE. In the upper regions of the Bahr Abind Gordon is fit- ting out an expedition to punish the natives for the murder of Linant, THE SENATE INVESTIGATION. THE INQUIRIES INTO THE WORKINGS OF THE POLICE AND PARK DEPARTMENTS CONTINUED. Another session of the Senate Committee was held yesterday at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, Inquiries into | the workings of the Police Department and the Depart- ment of Parks were continued. The first witness exam- ined was a civil engineer in the Department of Parks, Mr. B.C. Morrison. He testified that while working. near High Bridge he bad frequently seen men in the employ of the Departmont ¢f Public Works leave their work and spend their time in the barrooms of the neigh- borhood. He was of the opinion that one good man would do the work of more than three of these, Police Commissioner Smith, who was next examined, gave evidence similar to that given by his colleagues heretotore, The present force, he thought, was not by any means large enough and should be increased to at The posts which the men are now obliged to patrol he considered altogether too long. The witness thqught, with Commissioners Matsell and Disbecker, that the force should be divided into three grades—to the lowest of which he would pay $800, to the next $1,000 and to the highest $1,200 per year, Speaking of the Street Cleaning Bureau he said he did not think it advisable to have it at all connected with the Police Department. The B d of Police should, in his opinion, be empowered to dismiss officers irom the force witout trial, Similar testimony was given by Commissioner Voor- his, who also added that (he total expense of the de- partment for the year would amount to about $3,750,000; the expenditures of the Burean of Street Cleaning would be about $775,000, which was $100,000 less than the sum expended in 1874 and $300,000 less than the expense for the previous year. D. B. Hasbrouck, chief of the Bur testified that the expenditures necess: election would be, in round numbers, Ex-Police Commissioner Hugh Gard of Elections, d by the last 120,000, iner testified that some provision should be made by which the expenses of the detectives could be promptly paid. If a patrolman possessed the neces~ sary qualifications the witness eould not see why he ‘should have less compensation than one who had been on the force a number of years. He then gave a detailed statement of the case of the “puil- ing” of @ panel house in Fourth avenue, in which it was alleged that Captain Walsh was in collusion with the thieves. He also idence in regard to the case of Annie Small. The commitiee then adjourned LIFE AND DEATH OF WORLDS, atelimreeiatiaesene PROFESSOR PROCTOR'S LECTURE ON THE WONDERS OF ASTRONOMY, Notwithstanding the cold ana the biting wind which swept over the city last night a large, intelligent and fashionable audience attended at Steinway Hall to hear the second lecture of the pres- ent series in course of delivery by Pro- fessor Richard A, Proctor, the eminent English astronomer, The subject of the lecture was “The Life and Death of Worlds.” Although the interest of tne latter portion of the subject is remote, as faras we aro concerned, considering that some billions of years will Have to elapse before there is any sensible diminution in the light and heat of the sun, upon which life on our Planet depends, still the discussion of these subjects touches collaterally wpon tome of the greatest non- astronomical! problems upon which the mind of man has over been engaged. The professor opened his lecture by stating that it was really complementary and @ necessary pendant tothe first, He was desirous of showing not only the origin and growth of worlds and their life and death, but also specifically that there is as much dif- ference between worlds as there is between differ. ent species and genera of animals; indeed, as much as between a fly and an elephant. That there is this enormous difference between worlds he proved first of all by instancing the planets Jupiter and the earth, the former of which has a natural life from seven to ten times greater than that ofthe earth, The real life of Planets consists in the amount of heat which they possess, and the giant planets, in gathering together all that goes to make up their enormous bulk, generate vastly greater heat by the infinitely greater velocity with which they attract other bodies to themselves and they part with it much more slowly. Stal mathematically, heat is generated in the attraction of bodies in the ratio of the cube of the diameter, while it 1s parted with only in the ratio of the square of tho diameter. It thus happens that the giant planet Jupiter has by no means reached the stage at which our earth now is) and it is tolerably certain that life of every kind will be extinct upon the earth long betore Jupiter does reach that stage, Summarizing what he said about Jupiter and the earth, he supposed the life of the earth to be divided into ten parts, represented by the nebulous, the sunjight, the decadence and the death period, and stated that, whereas it is confidently as- serted by great scientists that both the earth and its inhabitants ha PASSED THE PRIME OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT, jt Will require at least 8,000,000,000 of years before the planet Jupiter wiil be so far cooled down on the surface that life can exist upon it Now, in order to get fairly at the notion of the life and death of worlds we have to consider the differences between them, just as we have to consider the differences between the animals, The great and recently invented authority which we have upon this subject is spectram analysis, the spectrum recording with unerring accuracy the constitution and composition of everything brought within its range. At this point of the lecture the Professor had the room darkened and began by showing the sunlight decom- posed by the prism. The spectrum showed that tho sun contained much the same material as tho earth, The question then arises as to whether we can say that the other planets also contain the same materials. We infer that they do, because it is unlikely that the centre of our solar system, the sun, would be so similar in composition to the earth and’ the other lanets dissim: Here the Professor spoke some length of the wonders disclosed to us by the spectrum. To take an example, It is proved beyond a doubt that iron exists in the sun, not as we have it, but on account i heat at the sun’s surface, vapor of iron gives on this earth 450 bright lines on the spectrum, It does precisely the same when examined on the sun’s surface through the spectrum. This evi- dence being certain and conclusive in the case of tron, proper induction renders the same process equally in fallible with regard to other metals and substancea, When we come to consider the various ages of the planets, we at once have to come to the conclusion, from the premises previously advanced, that the smallest planets have the shortest life. Venus and the Earth are about equally long lived. Jupiter has been mentioned betore. Saturn 13 probably going to be shorter lived than the former; {t is possible that Uranus and Neptune have already put on lite, Here the Professor exhibited a slide showing that the whole of the planet Jupiter is prob- ably enwrapped in clouds, thus evincing that it has not yet reached the comparative age of out own earth. A curious piece of information has reached him during the last few days. It is that De Marion bas proved that Jupiter is enwrapped in a far deeper and denser cloud atmosphere than any which ever surrounds our earth. The space over which the planets have domain was shown in the case of the sun, the earth and moon and tho planet Jupiter. The more immediate purpose of the even- ing’s lecture, as far as the death of worlds is concerned, ‘was entered upon, when, among other views, the two subjoined of the planet Mars were shown to the audience, The following four diagrams represent the planet Mars as seen at various times through the telescope. Itis only piecemeal that this planet can be accurately drawn, on account of the difficulties of observation, and these four views represent with tolerable accuracy the relative proportions of — solid continent and water on that planet, It will be observed that tho solid continent and the water are nearly equal, which points to a decay and decrepitude in tie planet, inasmuch as all planets, either under or in their prime, have considerably more water than solid continent, Hence it is inferred that Mars {s considerably beyond his prime. The second diagram is a map of Mars by Professor Proctor, made by a careful collation of the various telescopic views to be had of that planet. Both views are complementary to each other. It is a curious thing that four great scien- tific students had come tothe same conclusion inde- pendently upon an important point—viz., that the oceans of a planct were gradually drawn t the in- terior as it contracted, not by large crevasses, but by a species of capillary ‘attraction. The theory In re- gard to the earth advanced by Professor Proctor was that when it had cooled down toward freezing point the oceans would also be absorbed, and, subsequently, the atmosphere, Stanis! Meunier says that eventually the shape of our seas will be much like those of the planet Mars. Several stereoscopic views were shown illustrative of these seas, Next came tho discussion of the condition of the moon, which the Pro- fessor said was not merely decrepit, but was Ho proved from the annexed diagram that the moo 'e proved from the annex oon has no atmosphere, aad cobisequently no life, proves the complete ab: e of any therefore the complete absence of atmosphere. The shadows in this, ag in all the other pictures of the moon exhioited, are perfectly black, showing that there is no reflection from an atmosphere such as exists on this earth, where the sunlight is cast upon the mountains, reflected from them on tho clouds and ait, and again reflected by these on the valleys, ' All the diagrama of the moon up to the full moon went to prove this theory, It was clear there could be no water on the moon, other’ the sun would convert it into vapor and thus 4 obscure the face of tne moon, which never happened. Other evidences of the death of planets were exbibited us views of the moon’ of which the Henan gives two. The following represents @ portion of the moon’s surface, with the craters of extinct volcanves, Here again, as in numerous other views, the black- ness of the shadows was adduced as evidence of the, utter absence of atmosphere. The Professor asked leaver to digress for a moment in order to defend the theory, | advanced by bim two years ago, that many of the! indentations on the moon’s surface were produced b; the impact of meteoric bodies while the moon was in a plastic state, This view was very ingeniously defended, the Professor likening the earth and moon in their pas- Sage across the meteoric belts to a big and a little indi- vidual out in the rain; the larger surface would indeed get the most of the rain, but the small one would get proportionate share. One of the last views shown is subjoined. It was exhibited as a specimen of the carelessness with which scientific drawings are frequently made, As the moon has no atmosphere it is perfectly clear that the smoke of a volcano could not rise, but wouid! flow down the mountain side, just es carbonic acid gas does in ordinary air. The study of all these things brought the Professor to the consideration of the time of the death of the earth, a day of which he spoke as dies ila, weelum in faviila, saying that the subject was a painful one, but that death might occur to the earth Just as to the individual,” It might be by the slow process of natural decay or it might be sudden. And, lest any of his hearers might be sceptical with regard to the latter supposition, he would inform them that last summer a star inthe constellation of the Crown suddenly gave out 800 times its ac- customed heat. Contact with one of the enormous planets might produce the same effect upon the sum, and the result need not be dwelt upon, Emerson was quoted as saying that there was, no finality in astronomy, and Kirke White vo the effect that what we consider death may only be another form of life. The possibility of the transfer of life from planet to planet and system to system was very elo- quently dwelt upon, and the remarks upon this subject} brought this very entertaining and instructive lecture to a close. Professor Proctor’s power of arresting and enchains ing the attention of his audience soon becomes evident. He never commits the sin of being dictatorial or mak the mistake of being too didactic. ‘Che most difficuls parts of the subject are treated tu easy, flowin: conversational tnanner, which makes the audience ic ag though listening to a good raconteur, instead o being engaged in the consideration of the 'profoundes! problems of cosmic science. LIMITATION OP «THR PRESIDENTIAL =TERM.. et Seen Wasrsunetoy, Dec, 15, 1875, To tus Epiror or tux HERaLp:— T notice in your issue of to-day that you consider uns; wise an amendment to the constitution proposed by me in the House of Representatives on yesterday, Hoping’ that your opinion was hastily made, under a misapprea hension, caused by a vague title, I herewith furnisty you the full text of my proposition, and ask of youw careful consideration of its points:— Mr. Harrison introduced a joint resolution (H. R. No.. 6) for an amendment to the constitution, fixing one term for President of the United States and making; him ineligible for future elections, but making bim! Senator for life for the United States at large on the expiration of his office as President; which was read a first and second time, referred to the Commitice on the Judiciary and ordered to be printed. Mr. Harrison subsequently said:—I asic unanimous consent to have privted in tullin the Record) the joint resolution introduced err an amend- ment of the constitution of the United States. I have been told that it will kill me poiitically, and I am satis fied if it is understood it will not have that effect, No objection was made, and it was so ordered, The Joint resolution is as follow: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives off the United States of America (two-thirds of each House con= curring therein), That the following article be p 1 tor the Legistatures ‘of the several States as an amendment the coustitution of the United States, which, when raised! by three-fourths of said Legislatures, shall be valid as @ part ol the con: n, namely :— ARTICLE 16. m and after the election for President of the United States next following the ratification of thi cle, the President shall hold his of during the term x years, and, together with the Vice President chosen for the, same term, be elected in the manner as now provided or may hereafter be provided; but neither the President nor Vico! President, when the office of President is devolved upon: him, shall’ be eligible for re-election as President, but shall! rom and after the expiration of his off unless the same be by impeachment, a Si the United States at large, and, ns the same privileges as other Sena not vote as Senator, nor shall he be the Senate, the his attendance upon the sessions shall not.be com nor shail his compeusation be abridged by reason of attendance, Permit mo to offer you a brief of my own views on the subject’ 1 pass over the first branch of the pro- posed amendment, for it has been fully discussed during the past year, and proceed to the later and more novel features of the proposition. The presumption is not violent that our future Presi- dents will be men of experience and of more than or- dinary wisdom. Six years in the administration of the; nation’s affairs will, at any rate, make good the pre- sumption. Shall that experience and wisdom be lost? Jefferson at Monticello, and Jackson at the Hermitage, were often consulted as to their views on important questions of the day, Their opinions reached the, country through channels more or less partisan and prejudiced, and were generally colored. My proposition would bring the ex-President face to face with the people, As a Senator for the United States at large be would be the Senate's advisor, its Nestor, with no personal ambitions to be promoted. His life tenure would lift bim out of the plane of partisanship. There would be no ambitious alluroements to tempt him to vacate his high level It has been shrewdly said that the efficiency of our Senators is marred by the fact that each one is a Presidential candi- date. What to do with our ex-Presidents has long been @ debatable problem. To lose their experience bas been deemed hurtful. To have them scrambling for election to subordinate positions bas ever been considered a 18OFY4 Bis non: species of indecency, To a President parsimoniously saving from his salary has been acknowledged a derogation from his high dignity. To see him laboring for his) bread after his retirement from an honest term has been an American shame. My amendment would give’ him an assured future while occupying the Presidential) cbair, and an honorable, but not forced, position when his chair is vacated, Jofferson struggling to save his: loved Monticello from the mortgager’s clutch may haye been republican, but it was an ungrateful republican. ism, It was wortny of iron-hearted, savage Sparta, but ill-befitting enlightened Christian America I) would give the Senator at large the privileges of a Senator, but I would forbid him to vote; for that power might disturb the autonomy of the States. He should advise, but not rule, or, if ruling, he would de so by his wisdom. He would go into the Senate chamber whenever his country needed his counsels, bat the Senate should not command his presence, He would obey only his sense of duty or hit country’s call. He may sit in the Senate and speak but shall not occupy its chair as Presiden’ pro tempore} for that position might make him an accidental Presi- dent, Lwould have him receive the pay of a Senator and thas keep his old age from knowing want; but tho rales of the Senate necessary probably to force the ak tendance of its members should not abridge his com! pensation when he chooses not to be presen, He should live upon the bounty of the people, but not be, its pampered pensioner, My proposition would not much enlarge the Senate; for to-day there lives not # single ex-President, and [ think there never has been! three of them living at any one time, and none of them! survived his Presidential term for any long period. Their salaries as Senators-at-Large would never be burthensome upon tho people. But that question is not worthy of serious consideration, Thus, sir, { would solve the problem of ‘What is to be done with our ex-l’residents’" and I cannot think the solution unrepublican. Respectfully, CHARLES H. HARRISON, fedber of Cougress from Hineig, OOOO EEE