The New York Herald Newspaper, December 26, 1875, Page 5

‘vices appropriate wm tne vCcasron were particrpated in, for the moet part, by large congregations at the various places of worship, all of which were tastefully decorated with the customary emblems, In the more thickly settled portions of county the destitute were not for; as in numerous instances private benevolence joined bands with pablic pmeriy Bishan py creature comforts to the poor and ‘either were the prisoners over- looked, In the County Jail, at White Plains, an ex- cellent consisting of roast chicken and other ishes, was furnished to the inmates by iff Carpenter, The 1,600 male and female convicts in the State prisons at Sing Sing were also made happy by an abundance of cheese, poundcake and pure co! provided by Warden Walker, who, in addition, eel the jailbirds to enjoy themselves in their cells as best they might until “Jocking up” time at nine o’¢lock in he evening THE DAY ON STATEN ISLAND. There were the usual Christmas services in the churches throughout Staten Island yesterday. Tho inmates of the public institutions were supplied with roast turkey dinners, Mr, Thomas McCormack, Super- Intendent of the County Poorhouse, took special care of the 125 inmates of that institution, and made them comfortable for the day. The inmates of the Child’s Nursery, at the Four Corners, were also made happy, & bountiful Christmas dinner being supplied to them, This was also the case with the inmates of the Sea- men’s Retreat, at Stapleton, who were looked after by Dr. Henry King, and those of the Sailors’ Snug Har- bor, at New Brighton, where over 400 persons were Dountifully entertained. The Stapleton Quartet Club had their annual Christmas sociable in the evening, CHRISTMAS IN HOBOKEN. “Noch ein glag bier” was a frequent remark heard yesterday among the lager-loving Teutons in the vari- ous lager beer establishments of Hoboken. The sons of Germania quaffed their natural beverage as true dis- ciples of Gambrinus and wished good health to them- selves and the human family, at large. The employés of the Hoboken Land Company mado rapid work about noon with the 300 turkeys given them by order of Mr, Shippon, President of ‘the said com- pany. Tho German steamship Pommerania was given over to festivity from the forecastle to the steerage, and all hands made merry with American turkeys and German cordials of the Kirschwasser type. Tho canny Scots on board the State line steam- ship City of Virginia, which arrived in the morning, although they had no bat were joyful, and cele- brated the glad day with all the enthusiasm of the sons of Caledonia. The hotels and lager beer establishments ‘were crowded, The Hackensack and other ferry boats were decorated with evergreens, and the ferry houses had a holiday aspect. At the polico station, Captain Donovan tempered justice with mercy, and discharged from custody all those who were not too outrageously drank, and able to find their way home, including a number of residents of this eity, who were provided with a police escort to the ferry boats, Divine service was heid in all the churches, and’ the glory of the day to all Christian hearts was descanted on by the minis- ters of all Christian creeds, A CHRISTMAS TRAGEDY. _4 MAN MO! WA GaLWD—aND NO ‘ONE (?) sittid ‘THE MURDER, Shortly after two o’clock yesterday mofning aman named Uaspar Ross, of No. 29 avenue C, rushed into the Seventeenth precinct station house and informed the sergeant at the desk that aman had been shot in Becond street, and was then being conveyed to that station house, and asked to havea surgeon ready to treat the wounded man. A few minutes later August Zernow, aged twenty-seven years, of No, 192 Second street, was brought in bleeding from the abdomen and im an unconscious state. He was cared for in the sta- tion bouse, but about twenty minutes alter his arrival there he died, Captain McCulloch at once instituted asearch for ‘evidence in the case, and by daylignt had arrested the following named persons, who were the last who had been in the dead man’s company :—Caspar William Johann, of No. 192 Second street; John Oakley, of the same address; Jacob Ross, of No. 190 Second street; H.C, Smith and J. T. Gorman, of No. 173Second street; J, Lahr, of No. 160 Second street, and N. B. Man, of No. 174 Second street, Coroner Woltman was summoned to take charge of ‘the case early in the forenoon, and on arriving at the station house had a conference with Captai McCulloch and his detectives in reference to the ev dence they had obtained and the parties they had ai rested. The prisoners were all brought from the cells to the Captain’s room, and subjected to a severe question- ing by both the Coroner aud his deputy, Dr. Cushman. NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, DEUKMBEK 26, 1875.—-TRIPLE SHEET. SING SING PRISON. How the Prisoners Fare and What They Are Doing. A World of Woe and a Hive of Industry, Sectarianism in the Penitentiary—The Fe- male Prison, Whoever visits the picturesque village of Sing Sing for the first time cannot but be strack by the ominous- looking tron-barred building there, erected at a con- siderable cost to the State, on the left bank of the Hudson, close to the water’s edge, It is the Peniten- tiary, where bad men, and women, too, who have al- lowed their evil passtons to get the better of them and broken the law, aro serving their various terms of im- prisonment, Approaching the dismal edifice from Sing Sing the visitor pauses to contemplate the unrivalled beauty of the river, mountain and woodland scenery spread out at his feet on either hand or away in the distance, From the contemplation of this charming nook in the Hndson’s beautiful valley the beholder is rudely aroused by the scream of the steam whistle or the ring of the convict quarryman’s pick as. he forces it into the rude rock, apparently working for no other ob- ject than to give him something to do, Tho peints of vantage ground and elevated spots on the eastern side and in the immediate neighborhood of the prison are occupied by sextry boxes and little guard towers, which are tenanted by vigilant guards whose duty itis to watch the convicts at their labor, singly or in gangs, about the grounds. The river front is also well watched by armed keepers. On the east, about 200 yards from the prison, the guard house is placed; and on a@still bigher ground bebind it stands the temale department of the prison. THR CONVICT’S ROME, Descendin step or two into the office and reception rooms the visitor enters the apartment at his left hand, and sees fronting him a daily bulletin, from which it might be learned that on the 16th day of De- cember, 1875, there were 1,439 male and 141 female convicts in this State establishment. The visitor is now conducted down alow and poorly lighted passago until at the distance of fifteen or twenty paces he comes opposite the south end of tho east side gallery, with its long vista of TIERS OF CELLS extonding to the right. Close to the left hand, bung against the wall, isa detail board, which shows the particular occupation in which each convict is em- ployed on that day. The prisoners are designated by their names and not after the more degrading custom of calling them by numbers, as is done in Europe. The east side gallery is divided by an iron partition ranning across the middle of the corridor, There are six tiers of cells, one above the other. The gallery contains altogether 100 cells; that is, fifty on each side of the partition, On the southern section of the gallery the cell doors are locked singly with a key, and on the northern section all the doors are locked at once by a running bar baying an arm that falls down and secures an iron latch outside the several cell doors. The bar, which runs in eyelets along the wall, is worked by a lever and ratchet, and is secured in its resting place by a strong key Jock. No light falls into any of the cells excepting what is reflected from the corridor; and the narrow barred windows, let into the high wali which sbuts the prison from the outer world, admit but little of sunshine or gladness to illumi- nate the interior. The other galleries are similarly constructed and hghted. The passages and cells were very clean, steam heated and comfortable, but redolent with that disagreeable, half-fetid odor, which Is always It soon became evident that Lahr and Gorman knew nothing of the shooting save what they had learned from conversatior. with others of the party. They admit baving heard tho discharge of the weapon; but they were in a neighboring saloon at the time, and the phir Spe from —_ street, Las the statements of e other persons it appears © entire now under arrest had been vine ON A SPREB ALL NIGHT, apd bad visited several saloons, wherein they had drank feely. The last saloon they visited was that kept by Henry C. Smith, at No. 173 Second street, ‘Phere they remained some time. a dispute finally aris- ing between Zernow and Caspar Ross in regard to some pigeons which the former claimed wo have bought from Smith. Ross said the birds were his, and in an endeavor to support his title to them became exceedingly demonstrative and Violent in his language. At last the party, with the exceptions of Lahr, Gorman and Smith, went into the street, where Zernow, Rose and Johann renewed the quarrel, In about two or three minutes after the men had left the saloon the report of a pistol was heard. Four shots were fired, but as yet the authorities are in ignorance as to who did the shooting. The statements of ali the parties concerned vary materially. All say they heard the shots, but deny having seeu a pistol. One or two saw the flash, but yet they persist in saying that they have no idea who held the fatal weapon or we /eapons. In view of the fact that Lahr andGorman were !n the saloon at the time of the shooting, the Coroner din- eharged them from rages $ Smith, however, who also remained inside, but who, the Coroner believes, knows more of the shooting than he cares to teli, was Bent, together with Oakley and Jacob Ross, to the House of Detention, there to be held as witnesses, Caspar Ross and Johann were sent to the Tombs as principals, Coroner Woltman and Captain McCulloch th beitig of the opinion that either one of them fired the fatal shots. Coroner Woltman empanelied a jury and bad it view the body of the murdered man as it Jay on a stretcher in the station house, after whieh the jurors Ce acasiaake | until the inquest is held. Captain McOullagh stated to the Hrravp reporter that the entire party connected with this sad afair ‘were known to be bad and dangerous characters, It is doubtful, however, that this is literally true. for, on in- ger in Other quarters, it was ascertained that Caspar joss Carries on @ respectable business in Eleventh street, near the East River. No pistols or arms of an. description were found on any of the persons arrested, | but as from one to two hours had elapsed between the sbooting and the arrest of the accused it will readily be seen that they had ample opportunity to dispose of anything of this kind. PAT TAYLOR'S CHRISTMAS LUCK. During a quarrel, yesterday afternoon, between Patrick J. Taylor, of No. 87 Franklin street, and Jobn Duffy, ina liquor store at the corner of Pearl and Frankfort streets, Taylor was stabbed in the head several limes. His wounds are severe, but not dangerous. Dusty escaped the vigilance of the "finest police in the world. THE CHRISTMAS STORM. BNOW, HAIL, RAIN AND FOG—SERVICES IN NEW HAVEN INTERFERED WITH BY THE WEATHER. New Haven, Conn., Dec. 25, 1875, Coming so suddenly after a three days’ remarkable mildness, the storm which began last evening, and con- tinued till this afternoon, gave prospect of resembling the great Christmas storm of December 24, 1812, than which, according to old inhabitants who remem- ber the circumstance, nothing that can be cited by way of comparison has since ocucurred. Last ight Was most tempestuous, ‘The wind howled among the trees on the Green,” and sleepers, awak- ened by constantly slamming shutters, rose and searched their houses, but to find the disturber was some other than old ‘Santa CJaus’’ straggling down the chimney. The snow, however, changed to hail, the hail to rain, and later there came a fog which dispelled some of the snow, but not enough to establish the claim to a “green Christmas. ’? Great preparations in music and in evergreens bad | been made in the Catholic and Episcopal churches to celebrate in the evening the great annual festival of the Incarnation, but the storm caused somo of them to be postponed. Among the churches notice- uble for exquisite decoration were St. Mary's and St. John’s, Catholic, and Trinity, St, Paul’s and St. Thomas’, Episcopal, in all of which were held this morning solemp high masses and special Christmas services respectively. The day, suggestive of joy and gladness, has only been so in name, the weather ren- dering out‘of-door movements anything but agreeable OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS. To THe Epitor or THe HeRaLo:— Under this heading @ correspondent comments with 4 degree of reason and, 1 think, trath; but anfortu- nately in one sentence he advances a theory which I ely bim to prove, either individually or by the aid of the most gifted philosophers—namely, that “we have daily proof that heat apd electricity will produce life | everywhere.” If he can substantiate this he will accomplish a feat in science which will make his name of world-wide celebrity and undying fame. Heat and | electricity may and do propagate life, but cannot pro- duce tbe minutest even imperceptible creature if it have not a germ to work upon, All creatures are non- +pontancous and originate from the egg or spawn of its | species, and no variation from this law is known to man, ‘Hence the groat mystery of Jife and stumbling block to Darwinites. Yours respect(ully, =D. ROSS. New York. Dee 98 1876 yn | 1 has an extremely presont in badly ventilated apartments that have been long overcrowded with inmates. Cell No. 686 was tastefully painted in squares and other geometrical figures, traced along the walls ina reddish brown paint, but whence the coloring matter was taken, or who the particular convict who adorned his cell with it, the keeper could not say. The interior of the cells were very clean, but the straw mattresses which were extended over the iron stretchers jooked dingy enough. A number of pictures, some books and a few little harmless articles ornamented the walls of the cells, and were apparently displayed to the best ad- vantage by their occupants, The interior space of the cells is about ten feet long and five feet wide. THE PRISON FOOD. Leaving the cell galleries the writer followed his guide tothe yard, in the direction of the refectory. Marching in the game direction @ line of convicts, in their gray striped prison clothes, was observed. They followed each other in single file, in close order, and, behind the leading man, each had his hands restin either shoulder of the one who preceded him, This precaution of keeping the prisoners’ hands in sight was Oue of discipline, aud intended to prevent the possi- bility of sudden resistance to the officer in charge. ‘he mess room is avery large, square apartment, fur- nisbed with parallel rows of tables, of which there are seventy-six, caicnlated to geat fifteen men at each, and three tables for twelve persons cach, making table room for 1,176 prisoners altogether. past noon when the writer entered, and the greater part of the convicts having finished their midday meal had gone to work, but there remained some etghiy or a hundred men seated atthe south end of the dining hall; these were eating arepast at Which many ap industri- ous, hardworking laborer or mechanic would have been glad to regale himself, Breakfast is served at seven o’clock, excepting Sundays, when it is ready at etght. The morning’s meal consists of meat hash or stew, with potatoes, coffee and bread, and of these whole- some articles of food the prisoner is allowed all that he can consume. This treatment contrasts very favorably with that of European penitentiaries, especially those of Great Britain, where a miserable pittance of diet, hardly sufficient to keep soul and body together, is doled out with a parsimony that is anything but credit- able to the government. The convicts sit down to dinner at noon, and at this meal are allowed @ plentitul supply of meat, potatoes, cabbage (or beans) one day in the week. The working hours are {rom a quarter be- fore eight o’clock in the morning until a quarter before twelve, and in the afternoon from a quarter before one to a quarter before four, the fifteen minutes be/ore each rest or shift of work being allowed lor the men to wash. PRISON LABOR. The various branches of Eas labor may be classi- fied chiefly under the following heads:—Quarrying, lime burning, shoe making, iron moulding and geveral foundry work, blacksmithing, harness making, |.arness iron and buckle making, furniture and cabinetmaking, laundry work on @ large scale aud @ tin and general Jobbing shop, THE MALE CHAPEL is on the second floor, over the dining hall. In going from the latter to the former one could not fail to no- tice the unpleasant odor of musty cabbage and corned beef; of half-damp, musty bread, and a dapk, unven- tilated atmosphere, Under these circumstances it could not be expected that the air in the chapel should be of the purest The chapel is a gloomy, sombre look- great square apartment, lined with wooden benches. lain pulpit and a few reserved seats for visitors, 4 the far end a knot of some haif- dozen convicts was seen around the littie piano-orgap, which faced the pulpit. “What are they doing here?” inquired the writer of his guide, “They ate preparing for a musical entertainment, whieh it is intended will be given on New Year’s Day.” Approaching the group the instruments were foand to cont of a piano-organ, a base viol, violin, triangle, and two or three singers were also in attendance. A goo natured looking prisoner, who was minus the le! in, busied himself in procuring seats for tne vigitors. The Musicians spent a good deal of time in getting their in- struments to the proper pitch, and even then seemed Teluctant w begin the music; they seemed no way desirous of pleasing their audience of two persons. At last they struck up what, outeide the prison, might, perbaps, have been a lively negro air, but it met the car with a sad, long drawn out, dirge-like sound, in Na @ minor seventh frequently vibrated with soloma ness, SECTARIANISM IN. THT PRION, * Mr. Canfield is chaplain of the prison. is a Presbyterian minister; be has his study in the library and is officially charged with the care of souls. Although the number of Presbyterians is very small within the prison walls, the great majority who are bon-behevers in the tenets of this denomination are obliged to receive their spiritual comfort through what might seem to them a disagreeable because an uncon- genial channel, A Roman Catholic priest, Father Has- san, visits the prison, and sometimes, it was stated, says mass there; but his services are entirely gratuitous, while those of his Presbyterian fellow clergyman are paid out of the State funds. Here is the case of a clergyman whose co-religionists bear an infinitesimal proportion to the bulk of his flock, and where the vast majority of his hearers do not believe in the creed which he professes, But Mr. Canileid says that THE PRISON DIRECTORA, who are supposed to be the best judges in those as well as other matters concerning the prisoners’ welfare, named hire to the office, and that therefore, although a Presbyterian divine, he is chaplain, not for a portion of the pri rs, but for the whole of them—let them take or Jeave that arrangement as they please, a gentieman who is our authority in these matters:— “Aunion of Church and State would be infinitely aga J to aD anamolous condition of affairs like this, {would be much better for the rest of the prixonara Jt was some time | Mr. Canfield | Why, said | if | republicans to send in the name of Mr. E. P, Barker to } who are not Presbyterians to recerve # clergyman pamed by the State Legislature or the general govern po need by an irresponsible commitice of prison a tike that which bas named Mr, Canfield wo office, tothe exclusion of clergymen of all other de- nominations.” Before leaving the chapel the writer’s attention was called to # good looking lad of fourteen years, ‘THR YOUNGEST CONVICT IN BING SING,” who was suffering a jong peoaliy, for the crime of grand larceny. Near him was Protessor M. , « former well known musician of this city, who was expiating the illegal offence of imitating another man’s signature, THR WORKSHOPS. Passing from the chapel, the next visit was to the cabinet furniture manufactory. This is in the west wing of the building, which terminates near the river. It comprises three floors, in each of which there is @ complete set of tools proper for the work carried on there, The first floor contains the cutting department, the second the “assembling” and the third the finish- ing rooms, On the first floor were a saw mill, planing, morticing, boring and mitr machines, all worked by thirty-eight convicts under the lynx eye of an offi- cer, The work was cut out on the frst floor and semt by an elevator to be ‘‘assembled”’ on the second. Here all sorts of bureaus, beds, sofas, chairs, lounges and other numerous articles of household furniture, might be seen in the rough state; the various operations of shaping, “assembling,” joining, sand-papering, &c., were done by forty-six prisoners, also under the super: vision of an officer. In this rough condition the pieces of farniture were sent up by the clovator to the third or finishing floor. Here the officer in charge had twen- ty-five men under him; these were busily occupied in varnishing, polishing, painung and otherwise Gnishing the work which had passed through rough processes below, The top floor is also used as a packing room, where the furniture, in sets or separate pieces, is pub into conveniently shaped packages for transportation to New York and other markets, THUR LAUNDRY. Perhaps the most complete laundry in the United States—one of the best, indeed, to be found any where— is that at Sing Sing Prison. 11 employs in the separate operations of washing, drying, starching and ironing no less than 214 men. A forty-tive borse power engine on the first floor furnishes the power which moves the machines for washing, wringing and steam- ing the clothes. The steam washer consists of aten foot drum wheel, with four compartments, having side open- ings intothem. These comartments are charged with agiven number of dozens of pieces each, and by the circular motion of the drum round its axis the pieces are, as it were, churned clean. The clothes are ed through a steam wringer and go to the third flo where they are placed in closed, steam-heated co! partments, where they are dried to acrisp, at a tem- perature which sometimes reaches 165 degrees of Fah- renbeit, From the drying room the “starching pieces”? go down again to the first floor, where they are starched by @ very ingeniously contrived starching machine, which gives a more equal distribution of the stiffening matter than could be applied by hand. The garments are now sent to the ironing tables, of which there aro dozens on both the first and second floors. The furnaces erected in each room for heating the vans are complete specimens ot Yankee inventiveness, and the constantly dropping shower of thuds of the iron on the ironing boards sounds oddly strange to the ear which hears it for the first time. Each convict can iron from nine to twelve, and sometimes sixteen dozen shirts a day. ‘This mammoth laundry, which “takes in wash. ing” from New York and the neighboring towns about Sing Sing, turns out frequently 300 dozen of pieces in a single day, ‘THE BLACKSMITHS SHOP, At the back of the enaeey in a@ long building which runs parailel to it and to the cabinet factory, ia the blacksmiih’s shop. Here there are twenty-four forges in full blast, employing thirty men to attend them. All sorts of iron work is done here, and the potent blows of the steam hammer almost shake the edifice to its foundation, From the blacksmith’s shop to the foundry is but a step, and in the latter place may be seen all the imple- ments, accessories, moulding frames, furnaces, &c., necessary to do every kind of job in iron or brass founding, TRE “BUCKLE sHor”” is adjoining the blacksmith, Thirty men are engaged in the various details of buckle making and the con- struction of all kinds of harness irons. Back from the buckle factory is a mvchine shop, fitted up with iron planing, drilling, punching and cutting lathes, ma- chines and engines. In this shop all the repairs to machinery belonging to the State are done. The ma- chinery is driven by steam power. Thirty-two men are at work in the machine shop, and thirty-nine in the buffing room. Twenty-five men were engaged in the packing room of the buckle and saddlery manufacturing departments, Messrs, Samay, Thompkins & Co, are contractors for the convict | necessary to run the blacksmith’s, buckle, machine and manufacturing shops generally. It isclaimed that they have a capital of nearly $100,000 embarked in the busi- ness, One of the partners, Mr. Hydin, claims to be for more than forty years engaged in the business of contracting for convict labor. The present contract oc- cupies 160 men in all the departments of their saddlery and hardware manufacturing business. The convicts work from six to seven hours daily, and the State re- ceives a remunoration for them at rates varying from forty to fifty cents per man. Little is now being done in the shoe shop, as the contractor recently died and 20 A agreement has yet been entered into with any other rm. Besides the branches of labor above mentioned a large number of prisoners are engaged in lime burning and the manufacture of marble dust, used in the hard finish plastering of houses. Anew lime kiln has re- cently been erected, which turns out 00 barrels of lime r day. In the library are some 5,000 volumes of miscellane- ous books, but the most of them must have been out among the convicts, as the writer saw long rows of empty shelves, with here and there A STACK OF KING JAMES’ BIBLES, and a few hymn books scattered along them. The con- Vict are not allowed to receive newspapers, although it was significantly intimated that now and then the men managed to get hold of a copy of the Huraip. THE FEMALE PRISON. This portion of the Penitentiary was visited, and the wretched inmates seen at the severa! branches of mak- ing and mending a variety of clothes and household linen, This part of the prison is scrupulously clean, every part of the place shines with cheerfal brightness—if this could be said of & prison—when compared with the men’s department. Some of the women’s ceils were decorated profusely and tastefully with pictures, paper flowers and pieces of curiousiy contrived needlework, The atmosphere was pure and the celis perfectly dry. Upon the whole, the men confined at Sing Sing do not possess that’ villanous, downcast, hang-dog look that people are apt to attribute to convicts. They seem Lo possess, at least, an abundance of intelligence, if not honesty and contentment, The women, on the other hand, look to belong to a much lower class of creatures than the men. In either case the prison uniform, with all its ungainly coarseness, detracts much from the cheerful and comfortable appearance of both men and women. Stokes, the slayer of Colonel James Fisk, Jr., 1s em- ployed as clerk in the office of the hospital, and is re- ported to be now in a comfortable condition both of body and mind. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS. RUMORS REGARDING THE COMMISSIONERSHIP, ‘The City Hall has been protific of all sorts of rumors during the past fow days. Atone time @ political up- heaval was expected in the departments by the joint ac- tion of Mayor Wickham and Governor Tilden in the matter of the removal of Police and Fire Commissioners, Since charges have been pre- ferred against those gentlemen the politicians have deen busily engaged in the circulation ot those rumors, The HeRaup reporter yesterday camo across one of those gentlemen in the vestibule of the new Court House who was possessed of a great secret, which he unfolded with an emphatic caution not to “give away” the author, This secret consists in the reported arrangement entered into between Mayor Wickbam, Comptroller Green and several prominent the Board of Aldermen for coniirmation in place of General Fitz John Porter as Commissioner of Public Works. If this statement is true, peculiar deductions may be drawn from so singular an appointment by a democratic Mayor, Mr, Barker being a republican. ‘This gentleman was formerly deputy under Commis- sioner Van Vort and has bad considerable experience in the Department of Public Works, It is stated that he was connected with Comptroller Green's office when that gentleman was one of the Central Park Commis- sioners. The Committee on Rumors have also lately been busy with the story that the entente cordiale is thoroughly restored between Mayor Wickham and Comptroller Green. A little outeide byplay, however, is kept up to give the semblance of continued quarr ling between these two functionaries. Dock Commis- sioner Wales’ late attack upon the Comptroller is given out as having been inspired by, Mayor Wickham. Thus the whole matter may have been a preconcerted plan to prepare the public mind for the dénouement about to come, THE MAYOR'S MESSAGE. Our energetic Committees on Rumors have also got hold of some facta relative to the Mayor's coming message, [i is alleged that the document will contain & strong argument in favor of the abolition of day labor on the public works and the substitation therefor of the contract system. This is another stride toward republican polley by Mayor Wickham. The republican minority in the Board of Aldermen have consistently stood ap against the law giving out work on the day labor plan, At the last meeting of the Board, however, geveral of the democratic majority changed’ front an voted with the repnblicans, They may have received their lesson from Mr. Wickham. Thie week must positively determine as to the Com- | missionership of Public Works, General Porter's term expires on the 30th inst. Mayor Wickham will not give the slightest inkling as to the name he intends to send in for confirmation to the Board of Aldermen, THE TROTTING TRACKS. The trotting tracks in the vicinity of the city yester- were in such bad condition in consequence of the rain of the night before that all the races announced to take place on them had to be postponed, TROTTING IN CALIFORNIA. OaRLAND TroTTInG Park, Dec. 17, 1875.—Purse $200, trotting, mile beats, three in five, ih harness, J. G, Walsh's br, m. Belifiower. . C. Moulthrop’s g. m. American Mai J. Palmer's br m. Lilbe White.... D. Denniston's br. g. American Boy. ©, Crook’s br. g Dan..... ©. Blizzard's rg. Roan Charley. eqgocner eooane Pomoewm N, Appieby's s. g. Sorrel Dic ‘Tome, 2:41 4 —2 PIGEON SHOOTING, EVENTS DECIDED ON THE GROUNDS OF THE LONG ISLAND CLUB, The members of the Long Island Shooting Club cele- brated Christmas Day at their grounds near Jamaica . im the good old-fashioned style, It was intended to shoot for the “Cup,” a prize hung up each month for competition, but the number present being less than the conditions called for, this event was postponed until Wednesday next. Faull of the desire fora little fun, however, no time was lost in arranging sweep- Stakes, several of which took place during the afternoon, The weather was of the most dis- agreeable character, and the grounds wet and muddy, rendering the sport far less enjoyable than is usual when these gentlemen meet for practice, Of the events worthy of notice there were four, the first being an open sweepstake of $3 entrance, three birds, twenty-five yards riso. H and T traps and club rules to govern, This bad five competitors, Messrs, Thom: Wingert and Baylis. Killing all their birds in style an: then shooting off the tie, Bayhs missed his first, bus ‘Thomas cus down three and Wingert two, when upon the suggestion that the money should be divided, as the latter was going to the score, this plan was adopted. The second sweepstake was of the same number of Dirds as the above; entrance, and like conditions as before named, Nine gentlemen came to the work, and Messrs. Thomas, Madison and Hemming each cutting dewa ali their pigeons, they, to save time, divided the The third sweep was similar to the second tm every respect, av¢ had the same number of competitors. Messrs. Thomas, Hartshorne, Madison and Elmendorf divided the money, The fourth event had twelve entries, the conditions being alike to the above. Mr, Bender won first money, and there being nine that killed two each, they shot off for the second prize, The first round each brought down his bird, but in the second six allowed their pigeons to escape, and the three that killed divided the bene) of the premium, ‘the birds as alot were ex- cellent, ” xy SUMMARY, Grovunps ov Tar LonG Istanp SnooTinG CLUB, NEAR Jamaica, L. L, Decwmper 25, 1876.—Sweepstake of three birds each; $3 entrance, 25 yards rise, H and T traps, and club rules to govern; $10 to the first and $5 to the second, Thomas. 111-111 Walters .. Wingert, 111-11 Birdseye. Baylis... » 111-0, Saar Day. —Sweepstakes of three birds each ; $2 en- trance, and other conditions as the above; $8 to the first, $6 to the second and $4 to the third. 111° Hartshorne 111 Birdseye, 111 Elmendor! 110 Baylis. 101 Gilderslee Walter: . Same .—-Sweepstakes of three birds each; $2 entrance and other conditions as above; $8 to the rst, $6 to the second and $4 to the third. ‘Thomas... +110 Hemming. +011 Gildersiceve 001 2011 Walters 000 + O11 Applegate. . 00 Baylis, +100 ‘AME Day.—Sweepstakes for three birds each; $2 entrance, and other conditions as named; $12 to the first, $8 to the second and $4 to the third. Bendet 1 Hartshorne. Thomas. Gildersleeve Birdseye...... Baylis, Walters. SHOOTING DAYS APPOINTED, ‘There will be pigeon shooting at the Long Island Club Grounds, as above, on Tuesday and Wednesday next, Open sweepstakes will be decided on the first day, and many of the best shots in the vicinity are expected to be present. The second day the ‘‘cup” of the club will be offered for competition, in which the members alone take part, but then there will be a classified sweep- stake at 30 yards rise, to take part in which the officers have extended invitations to all recognized gun clubs in this vicivity, Favorable responses have already been re- ceived from the Harlem and Nassau Shooting clubs, and the prospects are that the occasion will be one of much interest and pleasure, HANDBALL. The members who visited McQuade’s court yester- day, No. 404 Madison street, attracted by the promise of extraordinary sport, were not disappointed, many leading players being im attendance, Karly in the day the gallery began to fill The match between Messrs. Killeon and Harney against Messrs. Regan and Barry excited great interest. The play of Mr. Harney was very effective, and although Mr, Barry played with his usual power and served low, swift balls, Mr, Harney and partner won the match, scoring two games to their opponents’ one. The following is the score, 15 being the game:— FIRST GAME, 4001-10 100 0~ 6-15 0181—7 008 0~3—10 oo01s—4 8 8 6-11-15 502-7 03 2— 6-12 Killeen. .... 010-1 Harney. 12.3 8— 8.9 Regan......++ 0005-5 8 0 6 1—10—15 M ‘y then played a match against Messrs. Johnston and Lenihan, the games being very close and the scores as follows:— = 2 FIRST GAME, McGovern ~21300—6 + 2223- 9-15 + 1001-2 we O38 42-9 SECOND GAME, on +, 2611-10 »10000—1-n » 0613 0-10 Lenihan... » 20021-6515 THIRD GAM MeGovern 103500—9 Barry .. L1O1L1 I~ 5-4 Johnston, Oo1l1l0 2 Lenshan...... 211412 2-13-15 By the time the above match was finished every seat was occupied. The lively interest previously evinced was increased as Messrs. McQuade and Lenihan entered the court to contend against Messrs. A. McQuade and Ryan, The two McQuades elicited frequent applause by the manner in which they returned difficult balis, the elder also sustaining his reputation for calmness and good judgment and the younger for hard hitting. Mr. Ryan also won enthusiastio applause by his fine play. The following !s the scor 3020-5 220-49 6421-12 1110-38-15 32 5—10 A. McQuade O14 5-15 Lenihan... 850-8 B, McQuade 000~0-8 Ryan... o21—8 A. McQuade 18 = 7-15 Lenihan... 110-6 B, McQuade 003— 410 HANDBALL IN BROOKLYN, At the court corner of Hoyt and Dougtsss streets, Brooklyn, yesterday, there was a large attendance of experts and others to witness the series of games for the gold medal. A four handed match, best two in three, was played:—Mathew Belford and Dennts Mo- Donald against Joseph Grady and James Mack—the bree games resulting as follows: 2d = 8d Belford and McDonaid 20 i Grady and Mack.... se eeee 21 21 ‘All three of the gaines Were well contested, and the play throughout commanded favorable criticism. Another lour-handed match was played by James Casey and John Grady against Wilham Jessup and Thomas Hennessy, best two in three. The toss was won by Casey and partner, and Grady was sent in to serve. He scored 4 before retiring. Hennessy going in and serving to the right, made 2, and ceil jade 8, when both came out. Casey then took the ball and, serving low to the left, made 5 before he was put ou his partuer making 2’ Jessup, taking the inside, made 2, and his partner followed, making 7. Grady, now going in, ran his score up to i9, his partner making 2, and closing the game with a score of 21 to 14 The second game was commenced by Casey, who made 1 and took the outside, Jessup then went in and made the extraordinary ron of 10, bis partner making 3. Casey now going in, counted 6, his part- ner making 3, " Hennessy now taking the ball, made 2, his partner making & Grady following made 2 and Casey 8 Jessup going in, made 2 and finished the game, the score gianding—Casey and partner, 14; Jessup and partner, 21. ‘The last game was well contested all the way Cty Jessup opened without counting. Grady made 2; his partner, going in, made 2 Hennessy took the ball and ecored 5, Jessup made 4, Carey, continuing his low service, made arun of6, his partner making 2 Jessup now counted 6, bis partner following and mak- ing 5. Grady made 8 and his partner 6, Jessup theé took the ball and made 2, which ended the game and the match, the games standing—Jessup and Hennessy, 2 games to 1 for Casey and Grady, Owing to the sick: ness of players entered, the gold Ahedal match has been postponed to Saturday next, New Ye AMERICAN RACKETS. The match of American rackets between Mesers. Lenihan and Maher and Messrs, Ryan and Flanigan ‘was well played, and though darkness cane on before the termination of the match the Interest was main- tained till ite conclusion, the latter scoring the first and third games as per the annexed score First Game.—Lonihan and Maber, 10; Fianigan, 15, ‘Second’ Game.—Lenihan and Maher, 15; Ryan and Ryan and .Plapigan, 14. Third Game,—Leniban aod Maber. 11; Ryan and Flanigan, 16. | pended on him, -/A WAIL FROM THE TOMBS. The Story of an Unfortunate Dy- ing of Consumption. Alleged Cruel Conspiracy to Hound a Man to His’ Grave. Cell No, 2, on the second tier of the Tombs, contains to-day two persons. One is a mere youth, confined on some trivial charge, His companion in durance is an adult, and more worthy of description, as he was, in his day, one of the best known men that ever figured in acourt of justice. He is tall, above the ordinary stand- ard of tall men; his cheeks, once full, are hollow, bringing into great prominence the high bones below the eyes, The eyes themselves, of @ deep brownish hue, have entirely lost their lustre, and now present a deadened, watery, wandering appearance, and his com- plexion is callow and wobegous, He wears straggling black hair on his face, which serves to display the un- healthy and corpse-like shade of the skin. When he converses he lifts his hands in a painfully listless, feevic manner, to his head, as \f he were suffer- ing the intensest anguish from his efforts to articulate, His whole exterior is that of a wreck of humanity tottering elowly and sensibly toward the grave. This ruined man’s general address Js that of a gentleman and a man of education, but also that of one to whom death would come as a welcome release from bodily suffering ‘and mental misery. The name of this prisoner is Henry C. Cole, formerly of this city, now claiming Philadelphia as the proper place for his residence. It may be remembered that this man enacted the réle of principal witness against the NOTORIOUS COUNTERFEITER, J. D, MINER, when that individual was tried by a United States Court in New York during the year 1871. Miner was considered by the United States Secret Service detec- tives one of the boldest and most adroit counterfeiters that ever disgraced this country, Effort after effort had been made to entrap him, but all gheir plans were futile. At last, however, he was arrested and placed on trial, and Cole, from his knowledge of counterfeiters and, it was presumed, his dealings with them, was enabled to aflord the government most valuable evidence on the witness stand, He did so, using every effort in his power to effect the conviction of Miner, He thereby brought upon him- self the animosity and anger of one of the most power- ful gangs of dealers in spurious money that was ever able to defy the schemes laid for their destruction vy the government officials. Cole, from along and suc- cessful career as an expert counterfeiter, it was said, amassed a fortune exceeding $200,000, and it is even now asserted that he controls property to the value of atleast half that sum. This, however, Cole emphati- cally denies, He was arrested in 1871, charged with having forged and negotiated $10,000 worth of Allen- town (Pa) district school bonds, but as the authorities failed to make out a case against him he was dis- charged, his bail also being relieved. Now he is In the Tombs again. A Hxratp reporter, having learned of his arrest, called upon him to learn why he was again in limbo, The reporter knew him pre viously, and was well acquainted with the circum- stances of his former arrest, incarceration and dis- charge; 80 upon presenting himself at Cole’s cell door he was immediately recognized. The prisoner was ex- ceedingly faint and scarely able to undergo the fatigue of the interview, so far has THR FELL DISRASK THAT APFLICTS Hot reduced his physical strength. He spoke, however, though slowly, at times pressing his emaciated hands to his forehead, The reporter said :— “Mr. Cole, I have heard that you consider your pres- ent imprisonment the result of a conspiracy, and have called upon My to learn anything that might prove of interest to the public.” > The prisoner replied politely to the salutation, brought a chair to his cell door, and, speaking in a sort of hollow whisper, said:— “That I am here, sir, is because of no fault of mine. Tam pursued by human hounds who will never rest till oy drive mé into the grave, which will be shortly. I will tell you, briefly, all I xnow, and I will tell you strictly the truth, nothing but the truth, as God—who will soon be my judge—is above me,”” The unfortunate man paused for breath, coughed, and continued :—“In 1871, as you are aware, | was arrested charged with giving to apretended broker having an office at No, 113 Broadway, named William Muir, $10,000 worth of Allentown school bonds that were forged, ‘This man Muir swore hecould identify me. Sergeant Phillips made the arrest, and upon doing so asked me if iknew a man named Muir, 1 replied that I did not. He said he (Muir) was waiting for me at the Fifty-seventh Strect Court and was the complainant 1. was taken to the court and seated, along with my captor, inaside room. In afew minutes a man, whom I swear to you I never laid eyes on before, came to the door, looked in at us for a few minutes, and turned away. “That’s Muir,’ said the Sergeant, ‘And that,’ saidi, ‘isa most villanous way to have a man identified.’ As there was no one else in the room besides Phillips and myself, Muir, putting up the job on me, could have no difficulty in identifying me. ” Well,’ continued the prisoner, recovering from a fit of coughing, “well, after this little farce ot identifica- tion a partial examination was had and I was held for trial in the sum of $20,000. This amount was excessive. Wm. F. Kintzing was retained as my counsel, and seeing the impossibility of my obtaining such an amount of bail, made strenuous exertions to have it reduced. He succeeded in getting it down some time after to $15,000, which was furnished, and I was then declared discharged. As I was leaving the court I was immediately rearrested on a civil order of arrest in an action to recover from me $10,000, the full amount of the Allentown bond forgeries, which, I solemnly declare to Heaven, I never in my life even saw. Messrs. Scott & Dough- erty, brokers in Broad street, brought the suit through a lawyer named Morgan. I was taken to Ludlow Street Jail, where I was kept a prisoner for seven or eight months At this time my health was such that instead of being confined in a jail I should have been in a hos- pital The bail im the civil suit was placed at $10,000, which I eventually succeeded in getting, I was then discharged from arrest, but as I was departing from the jail my bondsmen in the criminal charge became timid and surrendered me, and again I was thrust into the Tombs. Three weeks longer I remained. My bail was next re- duced from $20,000 to $5,000, T Lg over to m. stepson a house and lot situated in East Elghty-eixth Street, and got him to go on my bail bond. An indict ment had been found against me and was held in the Thstrict Attorney's office, I was then ready and wiil- ing to be tried, for I feit that there were parties PLEDGED TO PURSUR ME TO DEATH out of aspirit of revenge and to shield themselves. I wanted to have the affair sifted and get my release. About three weeks later my counsel appeared in the General Sessions and had myself and my bail dis- charged, District Attorney Garvin despairing of finding any proof against me, and Recorder Hackett consent ing. Instead of fearing anything and flying from the city as a guilty man would have done, I resided quietly in my stepson’s house on Eighty-sixth street for months, or until the June following, No one at- tempted to molest me, I had a farm situated about thirty miles outside of Philadelphia I started, atter June, to look after the affairs of this farm. When I reached there the party holding a mortgage on 1t fore closed, as I had no money to pay the interest, and took itfrom me, I then took up my residence in Philadel. phia, and tried to earn an honest living for myself and family by shipping general produce. 1 was so engaged when, on the Ist of December, without any premonition of cause, an officer came to my jouse and again arrested me. I was arrested on the old charge made in New York. I was almost as bad then in health as Iam now, I was taken to the | Philadelphia Central station, put into acell where I | was compelled, in m1, suffering condition, to remain five days and nights lying and sleeping on the hard, cold boards My consumption had oben Ry bold me, and I nearly died there, At the end of the five days Iwas committed to Moyamensing Jail, where, anti) jJast Wednesday, when I was brought back here, I was kept confined, The reason they brought me back here {s becanse I am to be persecuted more, The lawyer, Morgan, got a requisition from Gover- nor Tilden on the ground that I ran away trom the old criminal charge, when you know I was discharged. A judgment was got against me for $10,000 on the civil suit, and, there being no power to bring me from a other State on a ctvil order, they bad to resort to the | defunct criminal matter tojget we here.”” bs Suppose if you satisfy that judgment you will be | released.” “Of course. The secret fs they still think T am worth money, and they imagine that, dying as 1 am, and suffering, 1 would give them 'money—my own money—sooner than remain re. 1 would tf 1 had any. It is a diabolical and unnatural conspiracy. They have robbed me now of my lass cent, I am a boggar, but they won’t believe 14’? “Who are the parties you suspect of this con spiracy?” “This man Muir, one Snediker and a man named Ed. Hall.” “Has Miner anything to do with it? “1 suspect so, for Hall is @ bosom friend of Miner's | brother-in-law, They want money and revenge, | Snediker was arrested for the Allentown affair with me, pleaded guilty to the charge and had sentence ens- @ has since got into another scrape | and is serving aterm of three years in Trenton, Muir, | the man who identified me, has since been arrested for | using for, bonds, and Ed. Hall was arrested recently in Brooklyn for receiving stolen goods, These are the men who got me locked up. Now, sir, when I was first arrested for the Allentown bonds they came to me and OPPERED TO COMPROMISE it T would pay over half the amount of the forgeries. Next they offered to free mo if I would give them $1,500, Do you suppose, had [ been guilty, { would not have jumped at such a cheap way to getout? But 1 was innocent of that affair—before God | was—and because | would not give upisome heal that I pos. sessed at that time they are after me sull, thinking I have fortunes buried. I am dying by inches; must soon meet my God, but 1 will be persecuted to my grave, ana wie my last breath I will protest my inno ce. “Has bail been fixed this time?” “God knows, I don’t; Leare not, for I feel shat ] have more to contend with than J am able.’ “I gee by the Henatp that you once escaped from Bing Sing; is that so?’ “I intended speaking about that, I swear to yon, on my word ag aman who has but @ short time to live, that I wasvever in Sing Bing in my life, The prison record will confirm this."’ The wretched man was so weak at times during the interview that the reporter thought him liable to sink to the floor at any moment from exhaustion. He left feel- ingconyinged that Cole’s story bore the impress of ru The reporter saw Cole's counsel !n the former case, Mr. Kintzing, who said;—“in my opinion, this man’s arrest again, in his condition, terrible outrage.’? A visit to the District Attorney’s office disclosed the fact that there is no new indictment against ,Cole; that on the old one the word “discharged” appears, and that the requisition for Cole’s return from Philadelphia was granted on the affidavit of Henry A. Davies, a gecret service detective, who swore:—"I know Henry ©. Cole, formerly of this city, and know him to be® fugitive from justice.” TERRIBLE MATRIMONIAL TRAGEDY, 4 FORBEARING HUSBAND, DRIVEN TO FRENZY BY A VIXENISH WIFE, AT LAST MURDERS HER AND HIMSELP—RESULT OF A DIFFER- ENCE IN RELIGIOUS FAITH, ‘ Kinastox, Dee, 25, 1875, The news has been received here of the death of Mra, Martin Ritter, of Flatbush, who has been lying, since Friday of last week, unconscious from wounds in- fliicted by her husband, who cut his own throat there- afterand died in a short time. The details of this double domestic tragedy are as follows: Tho parties, Mr. and Mrs, Ritter, were a middle-aged couple who had Jong been residents of Flatbush. They were people in comfortable circumstances, and among the most respectable in the locality, Mrs. Ritter was a leading member of the Methodist Church, and an ardent Worker in the cause of her society. Her husband was attendant on and a believer in the doctrines of the Re- formed Church, although not a communicant, This difference in religious belief was a constant bone of contention between the husband and wile, and led, indirectly, to the double crime of last week. RESULT OF A PRAYER MEBTING, The night previous to the murder and suicide there was @ Methodist prayer meeting at the house of ¢ neighbor, and Mrs, Ritter, who had for some time manifested great anxiety for her husband’s soul, wanted him to attend the meeting with her. He de clined, and she went away atone, highly displeased with him. Ritter spent the evening at the house ob another neighbor, a member of the Reformed Church. The Methodist meeting was out, and Mrs. Ritter got home and abed before her husband returned home. When he repaired to his bedroom he found that bie wife had locked the door om the inside and positively refused to let him in, He found every other bedcham- ber in the houge and every room with a fire in locked, and he was finally compelled to into the attic. The night was bitter cold, and he got but little sleep. THE MURDER, Friday morning he came down and found the kitchen unlocked, but his wife not yet out of her room. She presently appeared, and at once assailed bim for his persistent refusal to repent of his sins and become a follower of the Lord, arm words foliowed, and at last Ritter picked up a hammer that lay near and ex- claimed :— “We might better be dead than live this way!” He then dealt his wife several blows on the head, and she fell screaming to the floor, Her screams were hoard by Eli Epbgrave, a neighbor, and he at once rushed into Ritter’s apartments. He found the husband standing over the prostrate form of his wife with the hammer raised as ifto strike again. Ephgrave seized bold of him and threw him aside, and carried Mra. Ritter into his own partof the house. Ritter repeated the above remark ag Ephgrave went out with the wounded woman, THE SUICIDE. He was lef alone in bis room but a moment, but when Ephgrave returned he found Ritter on bis knees before his with his head fallen over upon it and blood streaming from his throat to the floor. Ritter was taken up and jaid upon bis bed, when it was seen that be bad cuthis throat from ear to ear with @ razor, He died before a physician could be called. Mrs, Ritter’s wounds consisted of several fractures of the skull and bad cuts about the face, She was con- ous fora short ume, giving the above details, but soon entered a comatose state from which she never recovered. Ritter was a sober and industrious man, of a remark- ably even and forbearing temper. His wife ts said to have been a regular vixen, and was constantly scolding and finding fault with her husband, until, goaded to frenzy, he committed the terrible deed which sent them both into eternity. Mrs Ritter was married once be- fore, and led her husband so unpleasant a life that, as it was currently reported at the time, he exposed him- self purposely to contagious disease, which he con- tracted and from which he died, THE VIRGINIA EARTHQUAKE. Mayor Kiely, of Richmond, says of the shock on Wednesday night :— ‘In all the sound and the movement seemed to me to come distinctly from the east and move toward the west, and in all the motion was an irregular shaking, not a swaying to and fro, a circum- stance which, even at the time, struck me as singular, in view of the definite east and west direction which the earthquake appeared to follow. I do not think I can better describe the roaring that accompanied the vibration of the earth than by saying that it resembled the sound of a chimney on fire; but the whole was so unlike anything I had ever witnessed or felt that I never thought of ascribing {t to any ovber source than an earthquake, Such a@ turmoil in the at- mosphere, such a tremor on the earth, a trembling of the house so violent and protracted, could have no other origi nd I shared the alarm which may well be entertained when the ‘toundations of the earth’ are fels to trembie.”” Surveyor Read, of Henrico, says—‘‘After the second shock I went out to view the appearance of the heav- ens. The sky was clear, not a vestige of a cloud to be seen, but there was a dingy murkiness about the atmosphere that caused the stars to shine with a some- what reddish light, and those near the horizon to have # faint nebulous appearance, My children are all hard jeepers, yet they wer 1 instantly aroused by the first shock, and described their sensations by likening them to the effect Bae by a powerful electric cur- rent. About an bour previous to the shocks | had Pacer ein while on none pepral tint ee o t, which appeared ant peared 80 rapi that was unable to locate ieee I had often ‘seen flashes of this sort on former occasions, and thought nothing about it at the time. flashos, though entirely unlike any form of lightning, were evidently of electric origin, but whether they had any connection with the earthquake that followed 1 do not presume to aay,” ome old soldiers described the sound as very simi- Jnr to the noise made by the passage of a heavy train of army ons. Mr. Stephen Putney remarked yester- day that he remembered very distinctly the Impression made upon his mind the morning that General Lee at- tacked the enemy before Richmond, the terrible ratthing of the windows and the shaking of the houses, but that was not to be compared t the effect on him of the earthquake. A very interesting incident {s related bya young gen tleman (and he vouches for its trath) who was one of a party of five who wero engaged in playing bluff some- where In the neighborhood of Fourth street, Ricb- mond. He states that one of the party had been losing very heavily; the thing had become rather monoto- nous and suddenly he exclaimed, “Oh, I wish an earth- quake would soake the cards well.’ A moment more Ashock did come, sure enough. His wish was grati- fied, but the party’ broke up in disma: TWEED AND THE SHERIFF. No news was recotved at the Sheriff's office yesterday relative to the report that William M. Tweed was in Havana Sheriff Conner was in attendance all day, in expectation that he might obtain an answer to b: despatch making inquiries as to the foundation of thi rumor, but no peseals came up to the time for clos: the department, Conner is still under the impres- sion What the story hoax, WANTS TO KNOW THE BOUNDARY. The Board of Supervisors of Suffolk county have authorized and directed Mr. J. Amherst Woodbull, the member from Huntington and Commissioner of the county for determining the boundary line between Queens and Suffolk counties, to go to Albany, with the Commissioner appointed to Queens county, and confer with the State Engineer and Surveyor regarding the settlement of the boundary line Mi a ‘ FATAL SLIP FROM A FERRYBOAT, Coroner Nolan was ‘notified yesterday morning to hold an inquest over the body of Mrs. Mary Murray, who died at her lato residence, corner of Greene and Franklin avenues, Brooklyn, from the effect of injuries sustained a couple of aays ho was Shout Pity Mant years of age, oath te ousting from the bow of a ferryboat which was going into the slip at the foot of Twenty-third street, New York, when she attenupted to step on the and missing her front fell and was caught between tater and the ab, SUICIDE BY HANGING. ‘Thursday afternoon, about four o'clock, Edward Stever, aged twenty-two years, a milkman’s son, living at New Dorp, 8. L, committed suicide by banging him- self toa beam In the cow stabla He was found by bis father lying In the stable with a small pleco of ro; feaper to Wha hee "a tarrelupwat Bead hime’ Be must have stood on the ba lo tying the about bis neck and then kicked {t from under him, The weight of his body broke the rope, which at the same time choked hit he has been k com- pany with a young girl, who broke off with him on accoant of his continual dissipation, and bis dedth is attributed to this cause,