The New York Herald Newspaper, February 19, 1876, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. THE DAILY HERALD, published every | day in the year. Four cents per copy. | Twelve dollars per year, or one dollar per month, free of postage. . All business, news letters or talographio despatches must be addressed New YoRK Henan. Letters and packages should be properly sealed. ; Rejected communications will not be re- turned. PHILADELPHIA OFFICE—NO. 112 SOUTH SIXTH STREET. LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD—NO. 4 EET STREE' PARIS OFFICH—AV UE DE L’OPERA. Subscriptions and advertisements will be received and forwarded on the same terms as in New York. PARISIAN V. VARIETY. at 8 P.M. Matine SAN FRANCISCO MINSTRELS, at 8 P.M. Matinee at 2 GLOB’ THEATRE. VARIETY, at 8P.M. Matines at 2 P.M. THEATRE Mr. Lawrence Barrett. Mat BOOTH! JULIUS CHSAR, at 8 P. M. fiuce at 1:30 P. M. . THEATR UNCLE TOM’S CABIN, at TIVOLI THE VARIETY, at 8 P. M. TWENTY-THIRD CALIFORNIA MINSTER: MIQUE, M, “Matinee at 2P. M. RE. OPERA HOUSE. ats P.M, Matinee at 2 P.M THIRD AV VARIETY, at8 P.M. WALLACK’S THBATRE. JOHN GARTH, atS P.M. Mr. Lester Wallack. Matinee et 1307. M ACADE LA FAVORITA, at 1:3 oO” VARIETY, at 8 P. M. iRAND OPERA HOUSE. PAST LYNNE, of 8 Fo Lucille Western, Matinee at THEATRE, at P.M. Matinee at 2 P. Mf. ¢ a THEATRE. DER PEILCHENFRESSER, at 8 P. M, BROOKLYN THEATRE. QUEEN AND WOMAN, at 8 P.M. Mr. Fred. Robinson. Mutines at 2 P.M. TONY PASTOR'S NEW THEATRE. VARIETY, at 8 P. M. UNION SQUARE THEATRE. ROSE MICHEL, at 8 Matinee at 1:80 P. M. PARK THEATRE, — atS P.M. George Fawcett Rowe, Matinee at2 TICKET.OF-LEAV! NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN, XHIBITION OF WATER COLORS, FIPTH AVE THEATRE. PIQUE, at 8 P. M. Fanny Davenport. Matineo at 1:20 P.M. THIRTY-POURTH STREET OPERA HOUSE. VARIETY, at 8 P.M. Matineo at 2 P. M. FEBRUARY 19, 1876, From our reports this morning the probabilities are that the weather to-day will be warmer, vartly cloudy and clear. Tur Henarp by Fast Mar Trarns.— News- dealers and the public throughout the country ps be supplied Gre the Datty, Wexxiy and SunDAY Hxnarp, free of tage, sendis their orders direct to this aoa” y ke Wart Sreeer Yesrenpay.—Stocks were (irregular, although at the close a trifle | higher. Money was supplied on call‘at 3 a | 8 1-2 per cent. Gold ended at 113 5-8, after sales at 113 3-4. Further shipments are ex- pected. Foreign exchange steady. Invest- ment securities firm. Genenit Scuenck has not resigned the English mission, It was expecting too much, perhaps, to trust to the rumors of his resig- aation. Taree Desperate Men were hanged at St. Louis yesterday. The story of their crime, which we print this morning, shows the mur- der, for which they paid the penalty of the law, to have been most wanton, and society is well rid of such desperadoes. Concress.—The Senate was not in session yesterday. The time of the House was taken up in a consideration of the Judiciary bill and action on the various amendments, most of which referred to changes of place in holding the terms of the conrts. Count Vow Annim’s Troupies are not yet at an end. Charges of treason are to be brought against him, and it is likely his estates will be sequestrated. Bismarck’s conduct toward this man seems to be in- spired with the profoundest hate, and there certainly is no excuse for the malevolence of the German Chancellor. Tax Loss or Lire by the sinking of the steamer Strath-Clyde, which came into col- lision with the Franconia at Dover, was frightful, and more deaths have occurred since the first report. Only five passengers are known to survive. The frequency ith which accidents of this kind occur in the Channel and on the English coast points to @ laxity in the administration of the ship- ping laws which would be a reproach-on this side of the Atlantic. Laman’s Buonpen.—Mr. Lamar tries to ex- plain why it is that while three democrats | from Ohio are on the caucus committee not | one could be found in New York. Mr. Hew- | itt, he says, would not serve, and then it was | NEW YORK AERALD, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1876--WITH SUPPLEMENT The Prospect in Europe. Europe has had no great war for five years ; and if we consider the inflammable nature of the material and the extent of the armaments, it must be conceded that this is a great while, and that the result is note- worthy either as an indication of the skill of the diplomatists, or as an evidence that hard experience is not, after all, without its influ- ence on the temper of nations. But whether it is because Europe has had no war of any consequence for five years or for some more solid reason, there seems to be a general opinion that they will have a bloody summer in the present year. Perhaps this thought is encouraged in various ways by the mili- tary men, who are certainly very influential in the creation of opinion of this sort. Per- haps it is also encouraged by the con- tractors, whose wishes and judgments are as much confused in the contemplation of pos- sible riches as are those of the soldiers in the contemplation of glories, honors, wooden legs and coronets. Doubtless the con- tractors and gun and cartridge makers of England and the soldiers of Germany have had their important share in the propaga- tion of this fancy, and there may be a sol- dier or two in France and some light-headed politicians who have speculated on the pos- sibility of complications that would put Germany in an attitude of hostility to all Europe and thus give to the French battalions an Austrian and a Russian sup- port, and make possible a promenade, if not to Berlin, at least to the Rhine. But we do not believe even this view of possibilities is entertained in France in any quarter from which it could be made to shape the national policy, and we do not believe that in any Cabinet in Europe it is held that there is any likelihood whatever of a general or even ofa considerable war this summer. There may be a small war in the quarrel with Turkey when the snow melts, but resolute steps have been taken to prevent even that; for the Great Powers are not only determined finally on the point that the relations of Turkey to her neighbors in Europe and to her Christian subjects shall be settled defi- nitely this year, but also apparently that Ottoman resistance shall be impossible. In face of the political complication that results from the presence of Turkey in Europe, Rus- sia, Prussia and Austria are returned for the time to where they were twenty-two years ago. Then, also, the occasion seemed to re- quire a great operation in political surgery, and the three Powers, agreed as to the neces- sity of the operation, differed mainly as to methods. But no sane politician then thought that Eastern Europe could ever be tranquil, or the people well governed, or that the subjects of the Sultan between the Danube and the Bos- phorus could enjoy any benefit of modern civilization unless the Sultan and the ma- chinery of Ottoman administration were put over the straits into Asia; and if conscience ever troubles any one in political judgments it very properly did not trouble any one then, for the Sultan was looked upon as the common enemy of all civilized peoples—as a sovereign with whom it ‘was impossible to deal on the common ground of diplomatic relations; and in driving him out, therefore, nobody, it was conceived, would be so much doing injustice to a sovereign as coming to the relief of an ovetburdened and distressed people. There is a standard of imternational right in the world—a conscience between peoples if not between governments—in vir- tue of which none is ever indifferent to the gross wrongs suffered by others ; and, as in our national constitution, it is required that the people of each State shall be guaranteed by all the other States from violations of their republican form of government, so in- ternationally between all peoples of the same civilization there isa broad moral require. ment to guarantee at least civiliza- tion itself, if not religion, justice, property and life. Even in, Parig and London, therefore, it could scarcely be denied that the proposition to deal sum- marily with the Sultan was just, but it conflicted with British commercial in- terests; and out of regard to thes England put herself against humanity and civiliza- tion, and brought with her the Emperor of France, who needed a war, as he thought for dynastic purposes. By the Crimean war, _therefore, the settlement of the Turkish dif- ficulty was postponed. i Now the case comes up again, and the two governments, so powerful then on one side, are of far less account. France, crushed in the German war, seems to feel flattered that they have asked her opinion in the pending deliberations, and England accepts with a wry face what she knows she cannot reject, except upon the penalty of being excluded from further consideration in all that may be done. With these two Powers practically put aside, and with a remarkable harmony in the councils of the three efficient Powers, they may evidently do what they please; and it is perhaps this consciousness which is behind the moderation of their demands, They recognize now the plain facts and pro- ceed upon them. They hold that the gov- ernment of the Sultan in Europe is distin- guished by abuses and oppressions which justify insurrection, and that insurrection must become the permanent condition of the people to the great danger of all that thought best to take a member from New England. But why not New York and New | England as well? They are in wealth, popu- lation, enterprise and mental force the two | most important sections of the country, We do not believe in sectionalism, but we do mot choose to submit to it. And thus far the | democ: York and New England the least considera- tien. With two or three exceptions the prin- cipal House committees were thrown West | and South. Mr. Cox has been chosen tem- porary Speaker; but Mr. Cox is a carpet- Dagger, who once represented Ohio in Con- gress, and always acts with the West when occasion serves. He elected Mr. Kerr, and | he may be counted as a Western man all the | time. Ifthere were no good democrats in | New England or New York there would be no reason for complaint. On the contrary, the | ablest members of that party are in these two sections. These invidious distinctions | are and will do the party harm. But for New York and New England there part of Europe unless the Sultan can either pacify and quiet his oppressed sub- jects by reforms or put them down by force of arms, They regard it as demonstrated that both these possible courses of action have failed ; that the Turk- ish troops cannot put down the insurrection, in the House have not shown New | and that Turkish reforms never do, and | | from the nature of the case never can, be- come more than mere delusive promises ; that if even the Sultan's government agrees in good faith to changes in the methods of miministration the Sultan has not such acontrol of the machinery as will enable him to put into operation measures not agreeable to the general spirit of Islamism. To avoid, therefore, the dangers of a perma- nent insurrection and the ultimate drifting into war of all the frontier populations of that part of the world, they propose the radical reforms already named—equality be- fore the law, absolute religious liberty and various modifications of the tax system ; in short, the government of that part of Turkey tem they propose an administrative council | to govern the country under this scheme. This, therefore, pushes the Sultan from his stool. It puts the sovereignty of the | country in a body to be directly inspired and | controlled by foreign governments. It is the government of Turkey by commission, | assigned to the Sultan and his exclusion there is only a little formality. England dislikes this project, but cannot make her objections effective. Austria are in full agreement to carry it out, and what can Turkey do? To fight these of the wildest Mussulman of them all. If Turkey accepts the niountaineers will be- tively turn its face toward its native Asia. If the Sultan endeavors to resist his dominions will be occupied in overwhelming force at his own expense and ultimately taken to pay the bills ; but ever this will scarcely deserve the name of war, and this is the least likely result of the steps already taken. There is only one contin- gency in which war could possibly follow, and this would be in case the three Powers should quarrel over the division of the spoil; but the likel#hood is that all pos- sible differences on this point have already been deliberately weighed at Berlin and so definitely determined that there is nota square foot of territory in doubt between the claimants. It was not an idle fancy when Frederick the Great said that if he were King of France not a shot should be fired in Europe without his consent. He who is supreme at the political centre of gravity may make his will the law to all within his reach; and it is perhaps an advantage to Europe in this case that the political centre of gravity has gone from Paris to Berlin, and that there is a man omnipotent there who in politics is infinitely the superior of Frederick. Sports of the Field—Polo, The interest felt in the new game of polo increases. Dr. Johnson once said that music was a new sense. A game like polo is a con- tribution to the’ happiness of society. We are so sad, so busy, so anxious to make money, so firm and eager in our business pursuits, so mean and grudging to ourselves in our recreations, that whatever will take our young men into the open air and give them exercise and amusement is a blessing. There is no finer sight than a squad of youngsters chasing a ball around a meadow, with thousands looking on following the fortunes of the game. We have work enough in this iron age, We need play. When the velocipede came into fashion we rejoiced in it as an accomplishment. We are sorry its popularity has vanished. But the veloci- pede is a sound, sensible amusement, and when we have highways worthy of the name we shall, we hope, see a revival. We wel- comed the rifle matches at Creedmoor, be- cause they encouraged a manly amusement. The yacht, the oar, the rod, the gun and the bat are all so many emblems of a better, manilier civilization, and should be encour- aged, Our centennial summer promises to be more than usually attractive and busy. We are to have so many friends from over the sea, skilled in all manly feats, that we must look well to our laurels. The yachts and the rowing clubs are arranging attractive programmes. The base ball clubs are pre- paring to contest for supremacy, and there is a commendable interest in cricket. In New York we shall have, among twenty other amusements, coaching and polo. Coaching has become exceed- ingly popular in England and on the Conti- | nent, and as soon as the weather moderates and the trees begin to leaf we shall have some spirited amusement. We have two splendid roads for coaching—one on the Har- lem side, as far as New Rochelle, and on the | Hudson, as far as Yonkers and Tarrytown. The scenery is unsurpassed—the Hudson with the Palisades, the East River its nest of islands and the glorious Sound beyond. If our friends across the river should approve of coaching there are some noble drives to Glen Cove and Fort Hamilton, to the quaint little villages around Brooklyn and to the sea. Polo, the new game, which comes to us from the far East, seems to combine all *the elements of first class sport. It is to field games what chess is in the parlor or rifle shooting in the forest. It needs a good eye, a nerve of steel, quick judgment, cour- age, precision and an absolute mastery of horsemanship. In Hindoostan it is played with smal Indian ponies, full of mettle and endurance. Fortunately we have even a better breed of ponies in Texas and on the Plains. The mustang pony from the Rio Grande, or the Indian pony which does such wonders in our open countries, is just the animal for polo. The players in New York will have these ponies, and we have no doubt that the new game will become as | popular in New York as it is in India or | England. Smart Poricemen.—The Yonkers police are evidently not accustomed to exciting work, and even when they have full informa- tion of a burglary are not competent to cap- ture a couple of wretched thieves without | blundering. The fact that the store of “Squire” Sullivan, at East Irvington, was to be entered on Thursday night was known, and a detective, who was in the confidence + of the thieves, was employed to accompany them. The police surrounded the house, The robbery was seen in progress. Yet, instead of half a dozen policemen easily capturing two burglars, they permitted the detective, Rugg, to be shot and instantly ‘killed, it is | supposed by the proprietor of the store, and one of them then made the mistake of beat- ing Sullivan over the head with his club, | All of this trouble should have been | avoided. It was an easy job; the burglars | were betrayed and ought to have been taken | without the’ slightest difficulty. Instead of that the only persons who were injured or killed were those who were innocent. The only wonder is that the awkward policemen id not slay each other. | Tae Cantisr Cause is becoming more and more hopeless, and simultaneously with the reports of royalist victories the young King | has gone to assume command of the army. | It is to be h6ped his military ambition will . would be no Union to-day, and they should | as if it were not Turkey, but any other coun- | not overleap itself and turn back the tide of fhe allowed some voice in ruling the country thoy preserved, try. As no Ottoman authorities can be trusted with the enforcement of such a sys- suecess, for the battle has lasted too long | already. and between the ornamental position thus | Russia, Prussia and | three Powers will hardly occur to the fancy | come tranquil and Islamism will instine- | The Bottom. Fact in Whiskey. This whiskey business is a deplorable scandal, however we view it. The fact that | the President’s private secretary and trusted friend should be in a prisoner's dock before a jury on the charge of fraud is very sad. The spectacle of a President examined and cross-examined to save his favorite and friend | jars on the sensibilities of every self-respect- ing American. These clouds upon the su- | preme office, these stains upon our throne, are not pleasant. Even if Babcock walks out | of his dock an acquitted man the whole business is a calamity. | We do not now enter into the question of the guilt or innocence of this gentleman. But the bottom fact in the whole business is this: that the withdrawal of civil service retorm from the revenue collections is a blunder—a blunder that has borne fruit in a thousand crimes, We learn all through this trial that when- ever a whiskey thief desired to cheat the government .he went to the President and asked that officers be removed or assigned so as to ‘help the party.” The Ring in St. Louis was a political ring. Its leading mem- ber outside of the officials was the editor of the principal republican organ west of the Mississippi. Here was the influence of a popular citizen, an influential editor and a prominent politician on the side of the thieves. Money stolen from the Treasury was applied to “‘help the party.” The Presi- dent in his testimony says that two or three Senators interested themselves to aid the thieves. If General Babcock is as innocent as his friends insist the ‘bottom fact” remains that under our government it is possible for a vulgar, illiterate thief like McDonald and a light-headed, rattle-pated scamp like Joyce to visit the White House, and, aided by Sen- ators and editors, control the revenue service in the interest of the party. This is deplor- able, wretched to the last degree, a reflection upon our institutions. We saw it under Johnson, where the Whiskey Ring flourished to an extent never seen under Grant, and even used money, as is now believed, to de- feat impeachment. We saw it under Lin- coln, where vagabond, loafing politicians were made judges and generals-; where the lives of brave and true men were intrusted to “generals” who did not know a ramrod from a haversack, all for ‘‘the good of the party.” We saw it under Buchanan, where, as was shown in the Covode investigation, navy yards were run for ‘the good of the party.” Itwas party all the time, as it is now. This is the bottom fact in the whiskey business. So long as Senators and members make themselves office brokers, as most of them are ; so long as the Senate insists, as it does now, that it will not confirm any nom- inee to office who does not please the Sen- ator from the State thus represented, so long we shall have these scandals, One Ring will follow another, to the shame of the na- tion and the degradation of the public ser- vice, The bottom fact in whiskey is that we have no civil service. The country has fallen into the hands of professional politi- cians. The old republican army is now com- manded by the “bummers” who followed in its wake when the Sumners were in the lead. The President's secretary in the dock, and the President trying to swear him clear, are only evidences of the wretched condition into which the whole administration has fallen. The Death of Charlotte Cushman, The death of Charlotte Cushman will grieve more than surprise the public, for it has beén known for along while that she was afflicted with an incurable disease. Her sickness compelled her to withdraw from the stage-this winter, and, after all, her dramatic career had culminated. Although it cannot be said of this great actress that she lagged superfluous on the stage, for even in her weakness she was stronger than the rest, in her latter years she had lost something of her physical force. What was once unconscious energy had become an effort. ‘I could not play Meg Merrilies if there were one more scene in the play,” she said too managér some time ago, and three years ago, after playing Cardinal Wolsey one night for the first time in ten or twelve years, at the Walnut Street Theatre, in Philadelphia, the fatigue she suffered required her to abandon that réle forever. For these reasons the public which knew Miss Cushman only by her performances in the last ten years can have but an imperfect idea of the wonderful ex- tent of her powers. Her versatility was al- most equal to her strength. Yet it seems only the other night that at Booth’s Theatre Lady Macbeth strode across the stage and washed her guilty hands in dreams of death before one of the finest audiences ever as- sembled, and then, passing from our vision forever, left the great tragédienne to receive the applause of thousands. The farewell of Miss Cushman to the New York stage was accompanied by honors and tributes which, apart from all theatrical display, proved how strong she was in the estimation of the pub- lic. In the city where she began her work, in obscurity and privation, she ended it in triumph. No one can fill the place which Charlotte Cushman has left vacant in dramatic art. She was an original force on the stage, and her genius was different from that of any other artist in the memory of this genera- tion. Neither Ristori nor Janauschek nor even Rachel could equal her in her own realm of tragedy. But her task was ended ; nothing was left. to be done except to repeat conquests which fame had already recorded. Her life was upright and honorable, useful and brilliant, and while there may be deep sorrow for the woman the great actress has left nothing to regret. ian Treaties. General Custer has been waylaid by o Western reporter and persuaded to talk on the Indian question. He thinks if Sherman were to became President he would have one general council and end the whole business. The General prefers the drastic method. But the simplest way is the best. These Indians must be treated like other people. They should not be madea special race who may murder when they will. The whole idea of treating them as “nations,” of making treaties and recog- nizing them as independent sovereign Powers dians as we do with the whites and the blacks. Educate, protect and defend them, compel them to respect the law and earn their bread. This idea of fencing off tracts of rich agricultural and mining lands for wild In- dians is’ a blunder. It has led to abuses of the darkest nature, robbery, murder, mas- sacre, war and the waste of millions of treasure. Let it come to an end. Let the Indian Department be abolished. Let the Indians be transferred tothe army. Let them be brought within the reach of civilization and kept there. An Indian has sense. He | knows when he is hungry, and he should be taught that the way to find bread is to work for it. This is the common senge of the In- dian question. The Dynamite Fi We print this morning a full abstract of the report of the German authorities on the dynamite plot. The annals of crime contain few stories so interesting or so terrible. Especially is this true in so far as the narra- tive isa history of the man by whom the plot was conceived. Thomas was in many respects a man of mystery. His true name is unknown to the world, and, strange to say, was not even known to his wife. His business he kept a profound secret from her, and he spoke even to her in terms of mys- tery. He travelled to nearly every city in Europe and crossed the Atlantic to and from New York without so much as giving her a hint of his purposes. Yet it was plain that he was reasonably happy in his marriage and that he loved his wife and chil- dren, More than this he was a man of some refinement, and not even the German police can fix upon him any associa- tions of a doubtful or disreputable kind. With all these things in his favor it is only too evident that for years he was medi- tating crimes of the most terrible character decrease the value of our ferry franchises, These arguments might have been pertinent when the question of building the bridge was under consideration,,but are out of place at this time. A substitute was proposed for the resolu- tion at the last meeting of the Board, in- structing the Corporation Counsel to in- quire whether any existing contracts for work or material on the bridge are fraudu- lent or injurious to the public interests, with a view to their annulment should such prove to be the case. “This is entirely proper. The strictest scrutiny should be exercised over the work, and if the Aldermen will confine themselves to this duty their action will meet with general approval. But it is very questionable whether, after expending six million dollars on the bridge, of which the city has furnished a million and a half, it would be wise to abandon it, even if the constitutional power of the Legislature to do so were not seriously in doubt. Beecher Case from a Worldly Point of View. Looking at the Beecher case from @ worldly point of view there are several sug- gestive circumstances, If Christian life and conversation mean anything it is that those who follow the meek and lowly Jesus are to be not merely as other men, but an example to other men. From them we are to have the “example of honor, humility, kindness, truth- telling. Now, what do we learn from Ply- mouth church? Beecher believes it to be his duty as a Christian minister to fall on his knees and humble himself before a mere man as he would before his God; to pay money to support an enemy who was seeking to destroy him; to allow a wife to transfer to him the affection* she owed to her husband and children. Tilton, as the editor of a re- ligious newspaper, first condones his wife's The and went about the commission of them with a composure and method which mark him asa fiend. To him human life was so cheap that he was willing wantonly to sacri- fice it that he might dishonestly acquire a few dollars. Only a monster could carry such a design into execution, and it is hard to conceive how even a monster could con- ceive it. If we look for the motives which prompted his acts we look almost in vain. The mid-ocean is a new field for the exploits of a new species of criminal. Most men who live by murder-are witnesses to their own deeds. This man preferred that his death dealing work should be done out of his sight fault, then accepts money from her. betrayer, and, when there is no more money, precipi- tates the scandal as a means of ‘‘vindica- tion.” He reaps the reward of his family’s desolation. To compel Bowen to pay him money due him as a debt he revives a confi- dential letter, written years before, and says vitually that unless he obtains his money this letter must go to the world, as it did. Moul- ton swears that he lived a life of dissimula- tion, in the hope of ‘‘saving” Beecher and rehabilitating Tilton, Bowen writes a letter avowing that for years he sat under the ministry of a man he ‘‘knew” to be guilty of degrading crimes, and not only did this but and in a way that the world should never know either of the criminal or his crime. It is only necessary to assume that the City of Boston was destroyed by his terrible contrivancé to appreciate all the horror of his plot for the destruction of the Mosel. And forall this there is only one explanation—the desire to be rich. This man could not forego his ease, his comfort and his social position, and to sustain these he sacrificed everything. In such a man hired and paid this man to edit a religious newspaper, To aid his controversy he prints a letter marked ‘‘confidential.” From a mere worldly point of view we may well ask, because a man joins church does he necessarily abandon every claim to be a gentleman? We should like to hear Brother Moody on this some evening at the Hippo- drome, : Tue Reroar or rum Commirrer on Came has promptly led to practical results. On there could have been none of the feelings which control ordinary men, and he must have been utterly without moral perceptions. Psychologists will find in his career, as it is detailed in the Hzraxp to-day, a new study, but we doubt whether any analysis can ex- plain acts which stand by themselves in fiendishness and which will be long remem- bered as without parallel. “Legislation” Again—The Centennial Our Philadelphia correspondent has sent us a story which gives us much pain. It seems that Mr. Springer, of Illinois, during the discussion of the bill to appropriate, a million and a half to the Centennial, offered an amendment which made this loan a first, mortgage, or lien, upon the revenues of the Exhibition. The purpose of the House in passing the amendment was to secure the government's money. It now turns out that the terms of the amendment were so vague that the government subscription becomes a second mortgage in fact, and that the stock- holders will be paid before the government can receive a dollar. General Hawley called the attention of the Senate Committee to this, but the matter was not agitated ; the bill passed the Senate, that body having the same impression as the House as to the meaning. In other words, a bill that was passed go as to mean one thing really means another, and, from what our correspondent says, the friends of the Centennial are ex- ulting over.the manner in which the govern- ment was fooled. If this is true then the Centennial stands disgraced by an act of sharp practice; for it is this after all, no matter how we regard it, The fault is, of course, with Mr. Springer, who should have known the meaning of words before he attempted to shape legisla- tion. The same thing took place in the Pa- cific Railway times, Then anact was passed which Congress supposed to mean one thing, but whichs the Supreme Court decided to mean something far different. Instead of helping the railway, as was intended, the act really presented the road with two hundred millions of dollars. This is an evil of our system. It is always possible for an un- scrupulous leader to mislead Congress. Committees shirk their work, or, as is more likely, they are controlled by the lobby and made to assent to these frands. We pass these acts and amendments in too much haste. It would be well to have a committee on the ‘‘meaning of statutes,” whose duty it should be to make clear to Congress what the effect of proposed measures will be. Such tricks as this in the matter of the Centennial appropriation bring discredit upon repre- sentative government. The Brooklyn Bridge. A resolution favoring the repeal of all laws relating to the Brooklyn Bridge has been for two weeks under discussion in the Board of Aldermen. The proposition em- braced in the resolution is to abandon the construction and to suffer the loss of the money already expended on the work. The city of New York has contributed one mill- ion five hundred thousand dollars of this amount, which reaches nearly six million dollars, In addition to this sum the city, in the event of the repeal asked for by the Aldermanic resolution, will be liable for its proportion of all indebtedness now outstanding, and would be involved in law- suits growing out of existing contracts. The abandonment of the work is asked for on the ground that the bridge, if built, would be an | is mistake, We should deal with the In- | iniury to real estate in New York, and would Wednesday next bills will be introduced into the Assembly, the leading provisions of which will be an important reorganization of the police force, in accordance with the recommendations of the committee. Other bills of asimilar reformatory character will also be subsequently submitted.to the pres- ~ ent Legislature. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE, The Danbury News man is spoken of for Governor of Connecticut, An Illinois girl had 200 spasms in three weeks, which beats Sunset Cox. Senator J. Rodman West, of Louisiana, arrived at the Metropolitan Hotel last evening from Washington, An Eaton (Pa.) boy relishes sperm candles. They may be light Eaton, but aren’t they Russian things? Mit alles kommt das Dunkel in Aber was ist dass au Conklin. Moody and Sankey, having wrestled with the devi in the collar-and-elbow way, will soon try tho Grmco- Roman style. A Frenchman says :— Ho's bad enough to take his oncle ip, And 80 we call him Roscoe Conkling. * ~ Mr. Beecher in the postmaster’s private office used to get from his post office box his letters, and when he had read what he wanted he returned the remainder to the box, In Missouri there is evidence of the existence of an « ancient city from the discovery of many bricks. The ‘bricks not being cocooned with hats the state of civili- zation cannot be determined. Henry Clay Dean, the statue of real estate, says that immersion is frog pond religion, and adds that belately talked religion with a Modoc widow and found her as wise as the profoundest philosopher. “Hitty Maginn” writes, apropos of our august Sepa tor’s ancestor, who was an Irish king:— When we think of this Irish boss so. Jong king, ‘We're prouder than ever of Roscoe Conkling. Chicago Times:—Von Bilow said that he worshipped only io the temple of the great masters and could not accede to a request to play ‘‘Hog Eyo Hear an Angel Sing,” even though he was in Cincinnati An Albany Argus writer, speaking of California's climate, says that he is reminded of Albany because ho saw some stoves, Playtul imagiuations like bis will see gas lamps when he gets to the otber place, He was vainly trying to got up the front door steps, measuring eleven octaves from his hands to his toes when he sang :— 3 Oh, friends! the flag son aime And shout for Roscoe Conkling. , His Majesty of the Netherlands, King Wiliam, has appointed H, D, Kruseman Van Elten a member of the Centennial Commission for the Low Countries, The decree was issued January 21, Mr, Krasoman is aland- scape painter, residing in this city. Phil Sheridan {s getting fat. Lincoln once said te Welles that Sheridan was ‘a brown, ebunky little chap, with a long body, short legs, not enough neck te hang bim, and such long arms that if bis ankles itch he ean scratch them without stooping.” “Unmerciful’’ contributes :— ‘i the sea sido ano esr conch; ling- Pie Sheet Satine A correspondent at Athens says:—It is curious to observe the revulsion of feeling which hag taken place in Greees in regard to Russia, even among the lower classes, who formerly looked upon her as the natural protectress of all the Eastern Christians, and of the Greek nation {n particular.” ‘A Berlin writer says:—‘‘A concentration of strength, or, to speak more accurately, the endeavor after con- centration, is the mark and moaning of the life of Ger- many at thismoment, That it is the case in trade all economists admit; and of our intellectual and artistic life the same may be said.” A class of trousered sentimentalists, represented by ‘Tinsley’s, thinks that a tired husband should be met at the door by a wife with pleasant smiles, dress d with exquisite taste, swinging @ nice tender beefsteak in the balmy air, and placing bis warm soft slippers om his delicate feet with the manner ofa queen. B-o-s-b Eliot's new character of Gwendolen Harleth is exciting « great deal of English criticism. The Sat- wurday Review and the Ezaminer disagree as to the merit of printing the book in parts. The truth is that Gwendolen, studied serially, makes us auxious for the dénouement. The Spectator reads the problem in the fact that Gwendolen is excessively fond of admiration, Dut has some of that flerce hatred of being made love to which George Eliot appears to regard as the noga- © tive side of a great capacity for passion whan the riehe