The New York Herald Newspaper, February 26, 1876, Page 4

4 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR, THE DAILY HERALD, published every | fey in the year. Four cents per copy. | elve dollars per year, or one dollar per | month, free of postage. business, news letters or tel hic flespatches must be addressed New York Heraw. Letters and packages should be properly sealed. Rejected communications will not be re NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1876 The Campaign for the Presidency. The Presidency is the growing question. We are on the verge of March. In three months the candidates will be ‘in nomina- tion, the platforms will be constructed and summer will find us in the blazing heat of the canvass. The Centennial, which will open in May, will have spent its force. There may be a little cessation of political hostili- ties to hear the joy-bells ring on the Fourth of July, but from now until November the Presidency will be the absorbing issue. Thus far we have the preliminary signs of the campaign, the picket-firing that opens the battle. Indiana has spoken for Morton. jurned. PHILADELPHIA OFFICE—NO. 112S0UTH SIXTH STREET. LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD—NO. 46 FLEET STREET, PARIS OFFICE—AVENUE DE L’OPERA, Subscriptions and advertisements will be received and on the same terms as in New York. VOLUME, XLI.-++ +0000 stereeseeerereneereeeeeeN 0, 57 AMUSEMENTS THIS ARTERNOON AND EVENING. TWENTY-THIRD STREET CALIFORNIA MINSTRELS, at 5 P. WOOD'S MUSEUM. THE TRAMP, at SP. M. Matinee at2 P.M. C.S. Nichols, ‘ THIRD AVENUE THEATRE. VARIETY, at5 P.M. Matinee at 2 P.M. WALLACE ’S THEATRE. SUE STOOPS TO CONQUER, st 51. ML lack, Matinee at 1:30 P.M, OLYMPIC THEA VARIETY, at 8 P.M. Matinee at 2 GRAND OPERA HOUSE. THE CHILD STEALER, at 5 P.M. Lucille Western, EAGLE THEATRE. UNCLE ANTHONY, at SP. M. Matinee at 27. M, BROOKLYN THEATRE. QUEEN AND WOMAN, at 8 P.M. Mr. Fred, Robinson. Matinee at 2. M, TONY PASTOR'S NEW THEATRE, VARIETY, at 8 P.M. UNION SQUAR ROSE MICHEL, at 8 P. THEATRE, M. Mr. Lester Wal- TRE. P.M ACAD’ LA FAVORITA, at 1:30 PARK THEATRE, yeah M. George Fawcett Rowe Matinee at 2 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN. EXHIBITION OF WATER COLORS. FIFTH THEATRE. PIQUE, at 8 P. M. Fanny Davenport. Matinee at 1:30 P.M ‘i THIRTY-FOURTH STR OPERA HOUSE. VARIETY, at 5 P.M. Matinee P, M, BOWERY THEATRE. ip cus, atSi.M, Frank R. Frayne. Matinee at 2 | ARISTAN VARIETIES. Matinee at 2 P.M. P. VARIETY. at SP. M. SAN FRANCISCO MLNS P.M. . at8 P.M, Matinee at 2 GLOBE T VARIETY, at 8 P, M. Matine BOOTHS THEATRE, R,at SPM. Mr. Lawrence Barret, Math is JULIUS CHSA Bee at 1:30 P. M. Tv VARIETY, at 8 P.M. WITH SUPPLEMENT. From our reports this morning the probabilities are that the weather to-day will be warmer, cloudy or partly cloudy. ‘Tux Henatp sy Fast Mar Tnarys.—News- dealers and the public throughout the country | will be supplied with the Dany, Weexux and Sunpay Henarp, free of postage, by sending their orders direct to this office. Wax Srreer Yesterpay.—Stocks were ir- tegular, but the market closed strong. Gold advanced to 114. Money on call was sup- plied at 3 a 31-2 per cent. Governments were a trifle lower. Investment securities were steady. Goverxon TrupeN was examined as a wit- ness in the Tweed suit yesterday. Tis testi- mony was thesame as that given by him on the misdemeanor trial. Bavanrra is opposing the administration of her railways by the imperial government. It ‘is questions like this which make the unity of the Empire difficult, and in the end may render a united Germany impossible. a Is Hartt another revolution seems to be taminent. The black republic fails to pros- per, and it is impossible to resist the conclu- sion that much sympathy has been wasted ona people who are slow to learn the arts of civilization and the science of free gov- | ernment. Spanisa Ar ancz in Cuba is always pun- ished when Spain is dealing with some other Power than the United States. An indem- nity is to be paid to the family of M. Rey- gondeau and the officer who ordered his ex- ecution is to be court-martialled. The rights | of Americans in Cuba will not be respected | until our government pursues a like policy. Tue Canuist SrrvcGie seems to be practi- | cally at an end. What remains of the army | of the young chieftain is hemmed in and de- | fenceless, and for the present the cause of | Don Carlos is hopeless. This end might have been attained long ago if there had | been purpose and virtue enough in Spain to bring it about. caceneinicininpmaptrneceniaeine Tue Ixpusrem. Exurerr Company is in court with a suit against its financial agents. | The history of this company is told in our | court reports this morning, and it will be | found exceedingly interesting, especially to | the bondholders. Any comment, either upon thie company or its agents, is unnecessary, as the story conveys its own moral. Javanese Divriccuries wit Conea are again reported and, it is said, a war is im- minent, Chinese sympathy is with the Coreans, which is but natural, when the fealousies between China and Japan are con- sidered. It is to be hoped the crisis will pass without hostilities, because such a result could not fail to prove a serious obstacle to the growth of Japanese civilization. Tax Srneer Ramnoaps.—It has been con- tended that the horse railroad companies of this city could not put more cars on the lines and yet make their roads profitable, This is the excuse for the overcrowding which has at last become unendurable; but that our readers might seo that this excuse fs not well founded we have been at the trouble to collate and compare tho earnings "and profits of the companies. This analysis y refutes the allegations of the itableness of the roads, and shows that the overcrowding is a deliberate plan for earning excessiyo dividends, Than this ‘there can bo no stronger argument for ‘no | change the State, if only for luck’s sake. The once promising Colfax has passed into an eclipse as total as that which fell upon we want manhood in our politics. Let us have no moreof the Colfax business, the | Pharisee candidates, the nominations of men who have hidden in every strife and have remained neutral in every emergency, who only believe in the emoluments of politics. Do not repeat the blunder which gave us Polk and Pierce, which defeated John Quincy Adams. Now that we are looking in all directions for candidates let it be under- stood that no one will be named by either convention—republican or democratie—whe has not earned the honor by faithful and continued service for the public welfare. In these speculations upon the campaign which is now to open we have said nothing of the third term, Is Grant not the inev- | de —WITH Reform in the Methods of State Tax- ation, There is no subject connected with the in- ternal administration of the State in which the necessity of reform is so urgent as in our system of raising taxes for the support of the State and local governments. We are still pursuing the methods adopted at the early period when: agriculture was our chief and almost our sole interest, and-lands and buildings were the only easily acces- sible sources of revenue. Our people would long ago have discarded this system as obsolete and out of adaptation to the al- tered circumstances of the State had it not been for the relief afforded for nearly half a century by the revenue derived from the Aaron Burr, and no one mentions his name | iftble republican candidate after all? The4 canals, One has only to look into the State in a State of which four years.ago he was the favorite son. There has been a general sift- ing of candidates. In the past they kept floating into prominence every four years until they died of old age. Clay and Web- ster were whig candidates, always running and never reaching the goal. Cass, Marcy, Dickinson, Douglas were ever disturbing democratic conventions with claims which were never to be realized. Seward, McLean, Fremont, Chase and Sumner were for years persistent and unavail- ing claimants for the suffrages of the republican party. It is a singular fea- ture that, laying aside General Grant, none of the old-fashioned candidates are now in the field. The claims of Governor Seymour have been merged in those of Governor Til- den. Of the candidates who were prominent ' in the Chicago Convention which nominated Lincoln only Cameron now lives, and he is not an aspirant for the Presidency. Who, then, are to lead this campaign? The new men who have come to the | front are numerous and gifted. There never were so many candidates. Every section and nearly every State has its choice. New York has Dix, Evarts, Morgan, Fish, Wheeler and Conkling, with Conkling ahead as the natural choice of the State and the leader of | the administration forces. New England presents Boutwell, Hawley, Charles Francis Adams, Edmunds, Jewell, Anthony and Blaine, with Blaine leading. The West has Bristow, Morton, Hayes, Sherman, Logan and Washburne, with Morton in advance. From the Squth no one comes, while Penn- sylvania nominates Hartranft, in the hope of gaining for him national recognition. On the democratic side we have from New York Tilden, Church, and Seymour. New Eng- land has John Quincy Adams, Gaston and Ingersoll. Pennsylvania will be satis- fied with either Black, Randall, Parker or Hancock. The West has Kerr, Thurman, Hendricks, Pendleton and Allen. From | Delaware we have the accomplished and | high-toned Bayard. ‘The South presents no name whatever. Virginia, the mother of statesmen, has no son in training for the supreme honor. In this myriad of names—all of them good men and true— any one is competent to hold the Presidency. There are few who have espe- | nomination of the President for a third term | would be so much of a revolutionin our | politics that we prefer not to consider it, ex- | cept as something apart from all other con- | siderations. But for the fact that Grant has been twice chosen he would now be the can- didate. This is because he is about the best | man in the party and because he has not | outlived his military prestige. As it now is, | the republican party in the South would go | for Grant as a unit. He could have Penn- sylvania and New York if he wished it, as the party in these States isa machine which | runs like a chronometer, and will strike the | hour to which the hands may be turned. Just now they are turned to Conkling, and they promise to strike Conkling. Is it not possible they may strike Grant? This is the weak point in the canvass of Mr. Conkling. But we have never entertained the suspicion that the name of our Senator could be used as a mask for the third term. The eagle of Oneida, whose imperial flights have been the wonder and admiration of his party, can never become a mere third term stool pigeon. But the way to prevent a third term is to be ever on the alert and to strike at whatever indicates it. That danger will only pass away with a new President and an amendment to the constitution, Con- gress has not been patriotic enough to give us the amendment. Now let the people give us the President. Rubenstein’s Appeal. Israel Rubenstein, the father of the man convicted of the murder of Sara Alexander, has made an earnest, simple and touching appeal to the people of his race for pecun- iary.assistance in his resort to further legal remedies. As this deeply afllicted father has faith that another trial may demonstrate the innocence of his son, and has apparently no money with which to secure legal advice likely to obtain another trial, this appeal is legitimate, and we hope he may, as we believe he will, obtain all the money he needs. They to whom he makes his appeal are competent” to aid him in this respect certainly; and it is evidently not the least of their virtues that they stand by on another in the hour of distress, * But aside from its more obvious and seri- ous aspect this simple, fervent ‘ory to cial prominence. The leading republican candidates are Conkling, Blaine and Morton, with the chances in favor of Mr. Conkling as the man whom the President, once that he sinks his own ambition, will most delight to honor. Conkling represents the dis- cipline, Blaine the radicalism of the party, Morton the ever present and ar- rogant pretensions of the Mississippi Valley to rule the nation. Mr. Washburne has negative strength, but so have Fish and Evarts and Bristow and many others. So far as New York is concerned the choice of the party is Conkling, and any other name just now is not, worth ejecta 7 Mr. Conkling can most probably nominate him- self, or whoever he pleases. We might have Conkling and Blaine from the East, as we | once had Grant and Colfax from the West, or the names might be reversed. In the event of the contest between Conkling, Blaine and Morton waxing wroth, and no reconciliation possible, then the republicans have in their reserve some spendid names—Adams, Fish, Boutwell, Bristow, Washburne, Evarts—any one of whom could be selected as Pierce and Polk were selected, a compromise between conflicting interests, and one sure to please the country. On the democratic side the leading candi- dates are Tilden, Hendricks and Bayard. Tilden represents the reform movement in New York, the vast prestige of the Empire State. Hendri s the choice of the West, while Bayard would be a compromise be- tween the North and the South. The demo- eratic party is now harmonious, not as when Breckinridge and Douglas struggled. There are no sectional quarrels, no personal rival- ries. ‘The only question disturbing is finance, and that disturbs republicans and democrats alike. The democrats mean to win. There is a jealousy of New York which | may defeat Tilden, and the still farther fact» | that may not be without its effect upon superstitious politicians, that as New York named the three last candidates—Seymour, McClellan and Greeley—it may be well to The fear of rag money may defeat any West- ern democrat, and the two influences com- | bining seem to point to Bayard as the candi- | date with the fewest angles. But if this con- test should become bitter—if the three rivals should destroy one another—the demo- crats, like the republicans, have a fine list | | in reserve. Church, John Quincy Adams, | Kerr, Hancock, are all good men; so that, no matter how the conventions go, we have | the assurance that worthy men will be placed | in nomination. | We are not in favor of negative candi- | dates, men without a record. We trust the American people are intelligent enough to know the value of actual leaders in polities ; and now, if ever, we want a leader. The ¢ea- son why we urge the republicans to nominate Mr. Conkling is because he has a record. | He has deep convictions. He has never hesitated to strike a blow for his party. He has never trimmed. He disdains the or- dinary paths of politicians. Prond, lofty, austere, he has the marks of a hundred bat- | tles on his armor. He has never failed in any emergency. He has no enemies but those who are the enemies of his flag. Take Roscoe Conkling out of his party relation, | and every patriot would know him as one | who had never dishonored himself. If the | democrats can present a man with such a Judah” is an appeal worthy some attention. Here is the way in which Israel deals with the main facts:—‘‘My unfortunate and wretched son is stamped as a murderer and condemned to death by the rope. But you, friends and brothers, know him, and know right well that he is a God-fearing man and honorable in all his dealings, Yes, my son is in truth a God-fearing and pious man, and it is, therefore, incredible that he did the murder which is laid to his charge. His hands did not shed this blood nor commit this murder. But the Court condemned him, nevertheless, being guided by false testimony and subjected to the influence of wicked and godless men, who, by false state- ments, laid the blame on him, while the testimony of honorable people who testified to the innocence of the poor tellow was dis- regarded.” No fault can be found with the father for this statement. He firmly believes, no doubt, in the innocence of his son, and from his point of view, therefore, the conviction of the son is the essence of all injustice. But his view of the case will hardly pass muster with the public, and from their point of view, therefore, his statement is grossly par- tial. Now, if we imagine this appeal to be read far in the future—as far from our time as we are from the time of some events re- corded in Hebrew histories—we can hardly wonder if itshould be accepted against us as those histories have been accepted against others. In that case we should appear as a heathen people, barbarous and inflexible, animated, for no good reason, against a gentle, just, upright, God-fearing race of men, who could get no justice in our courts, who were condemned on the testimony of villains while innocent, credence and even a hearing being refused to their own witnesses. Such constitution adopted in 1846 to see how magnificent were the expectations of an im- mense annual revenue from the canals over and above their annual expenses, Those provisions for setting apart between two and three million dollars yearly out of the sur- plus income of the canals are still nominally in force, but they have become practically inoperative by the failure of the canals to yield much surplus over the expenses of superintendence and repairs. The conse- quence is that when we are thrown back upon the old resources of the ante-canal period for meeting the State engagements the people are suddenly awakened to a true sense of the inadequacy and injtstice of a tax system which would long ago have been outgrown and abolished if the ample canal tolls of former years had not mitigated its evils. i The necessity of a radical reform became apparent four or five years ago, and Gov- ernor Hoffman, by authority of the Legisla- ture, appointed a very able commission to examine the subject and report improved plans. Mr, David A. Wells and Mr. Isaac Sherman were the most active members of that commission, and their report was a striking and instructive document. But the system they recommended was such a complete innovation and was so very far in advance of public sentiment that it could not secure a candid hearing by men of the grade of intelligence elected to the Legis- lature. Even better informed minds inclined to regard it as a venturesome experiment. It is always wise to adapt reforms to the ex- isting state of public opinion and avoid. a rude break in the customs of the people. The physician who said, ‘I did not give the patient the best medicine but the best I could get him to take,” was a great deal more use- ful than if he had made a more scientific pre- scription at the hazard of its being thrown out at the window. Mr. George H. Andrews, who has long served with credit and acceptance as one of our Tax Commissioners, has lately been ad- dressing a series of letters to Mayor Wick- ham, discussing the same question of taxa- tion which has become so urgent, and, after exposing in great detail the defects and in- justice of the present system, he has at length come to the question of remedies. Mr. Andrews is a great deal more than an ingenious theorist. He is a clear- headed, judicious, practical man, whose varied’ experience in public life, in- timate knowledge of popular sentiment, both in the city and rural districts, and special acquaintance with the subject of taxation make him the most useful adviser who has yet undertaken to handle this im- portant question. We did not need his elaborate arguments and great array of statistics and comparisons to convince us of the inequity of the present system or of the great wrong habitually done to the tax- payers of this city by the State Board of Assessors in laying disproportionate burdens per cent, or nearly one-half of the State taxes. But the remedies Mr. Andrews pro- poses deserve the thoughtful examination both of the people and the Legislature, The proposed plan of Mr, Andrews is clearly set forth in the letter which we print in another part of this paper. Stripped of details it consists of two fundamental tea- tures—first, an exemption of real estate from taxation for State purposes, and, second, permitting the Board of Supervisors in each county to decide whether the local taxes shall be raised from real estate alone or from it and personal property. He would raise the revenue of the State government chiefly by a tax on the capital and the earnings or dividends of corporations, supplementing it by licenses if it should prove deficient. These sources would be ample, and the re- lease of real estate from State taxa- tion would forever remove the injustice practised by the State Board of Assessors, ‘This is not an untried experiment; it has been for three or four years in successful op- eration in Pennsylvania, where it has wrought a satisfactory cure of the same evils may be the aspect, when reported from one side, of the fair, trial given to Rubenstein, | charged with the murder of his cousin. This consideration ought to excite in usa lively apprehension, a deep anxiety, as to whether we have not done great injustice to others on statements which, like old Ruben- stein’s, attended too exclusively to one side of the case. There is poor old Pharaoh, for instance, and even poor old Nebuchadnezzar, all the way from Babylon. No one would care to do either of those distinguished per- sons any injustice; and if Mr. George Smith, from which we seek relief. The other fea- ture of the plan would enable the local lég- islative bodies to adapt the taxation of per- sonal property to the peculiar interests of the localities. Everybody knows how prop- erty has been drawn away from New York to New Jersey by the exemption of mortgages from taxation in the neighboring counties of the latter State. The plan of Mr. Andrews would enable us to countervail that policy without involving other parts of the State in a plan not suited to thejr circumstances. of Assyria, or any gentleman in Egypt shall ever give us Pharaoh's or Nebuchadnezzar’s statements, it may turn out that those we have hitherto depended upon were not strictly impartial. reported a resolution authorizing anew com- mission to continue the investigations in the imposed upon it is not yet complete it would be well to continue the system. We must. have reform in canal management as well as exposure of the’Canal Ring, and this can be “missign like the one appointed upon Gov- ernor Tilden’s recommendation a year ago. | regord let ug have him. For now. if ever. Tux Assempty Commrrrer on Canats has | qhe February Fioods | gained only by the investigations of a com. | reject our political principles and refuse to Moreover, it isa flexible and adjustable plan, capable of being altered from year to year according to the varying exigences of out- side competition. We hope our taxpayers will weigh its merits and urge it upon the attention of the Legislature. in Central r Europe. Recent telegrams from Berlin and the vat- management of the eanals of this State, The | ley of the Danube inform us“that a sudden commission appointed last year accom. | thaw has melted the large accumulations of plished much good, and as the great task | snow which covered the mountains and plains of Central Europe, and that destruc- tive inundations have resulted along tho lines of the principal rivers. It would appear that, although European peoples may Americanize their institutions, they are yet compelled to accept our cast-off weather, @nd must shiver with cold or perspire with heat Pixrmovrm Cavnca seem? to be in a posi- | in strict accordance with the programme | | tion at last to settle the pastor's troubles to | prepared for them on this continent. The | its own satisfaction. Mr. Henry ©. Bowen | fact that our climatic conditions influence to is to be summoned to answer ; and, as it is | @ large extent those of the Eastern Continent likely he will decline to do this, it may be | ix now generally conceded by scientific ob- fondly hoped that the thing is nearly ended. | servers. ‘The eastward movement of the on the city, which is made to pay forty-five * SUPPLEMENT. atmosphere is proved beyond all question. Therefore when we experience extremes of heat and cold or violent storms the same phenomena are certain to present themselves in due course of time to our European cousins. The warm weather recently ex- perienced in the United States has evidently drifted across the Atlantic. and while our Tivers are again locked up with ice those of Central Europe are swollen by the thou- sands of tributary streams that carry the melted snows from the mountains into val- leys and plains, There is no reason why a system of warning signals should not be adopted between this continent and Europe, by which it would be easy to prognosticate the weather changes on that side of the At- lantic many days in advance. The British islands and the western coasts of France and Spain suffer from sudden storms, which often cause fearful disasters to shipping. Nearly all these disturbances arise or pass within the sphere of our observation. Why, then, do we not warn Europe of their com- ing, and thus save life and property by so simple a precaution? The cold that we are now experiencing will make itself felt in Europe during the coming week, perhaps, and may produce heavy snow falls over the very region now suffering from the effects of the sudden rise in temperature. A recur- rence of the floods would probably result, but by timely preparation, suggested by a foreknowledge of the change, much suffer- ing, not to say loss of life, would be pre- vented. The Old Whigs in the South. Though the white voters of the Southern States are now almost altogether ranged under the democratic flag th are by no means all democrats. Several of the Southern States, notably Louisiana and North Carolina, were, in the old times, strong whig States. Many of the most influen- tial Southern public men are by tradition or by education Henry Clay whigs, and only the pressure of the mismanagement and cor- ruption practised by so-called republicans in the South has united whigs with democrats in a common opposition to misrule. In Louisiana the traditional hostility of whigs to the democratic name was even so strong that a coalition was impossible until the democrats dropped their party name and called themselves ‘‘conseryatives.” This was the origin of the party name ‘‘conservative” in the Southern States; it was adopted to catch the whigs. In other Southern States, as in North Carolina, where there is a real republican party, it has rallied to its banners the old whigs. A letter, which we publish in another column, from a North Carolinian, shows the nature of the feeling which draws the old whigs of the South to the republican party. It is combined of ancient distrust of the democrats and a strong desire to revive the whig party. Ever since last spring the republican lead- ers in Louisiana have been engaged ina vigorous flirtation with the whigs. Some months ago Marshal Packard went so far as to write a letter of conciliation to Mr. Leonard, of Shreveport—who is supposed to be the leader of the. Louisiana whigs—suggest- ing that Leonard would find a pleas- ant shelter for his wandering adherents in the republican sheepfold. Leonard an- swered with maiden coyness, as was to be expected ; but Packard's solicitations showed his anxiety, for they were ‘addressed to a man who, in the campaign of 1874, deliber- ately advised the assassination of certain cor- rupt republicans in case they should be re- elected. As in all such cages of courtship, the ardor of the suitor is increased by the coyness of the wooed; end after many months of prosaic pleading the New Orleans Republican broke out into poetry, or what is intended for such. ‘Ihe White Whig Flag” was the title of its outburst into song, and it ran through a number of stanzas after the following fashion :— Take down again the white whig flag, The glorious flag of Henry Clay; Boar it to every mountain er. ‘And bear it foremost in the fray, ‘The glorious whige are back again, I hear them tramping round the skies ; They come to cleanse tho battle plain, And bring their sons the brilliant prize. This is not very coherent, but the Republi- can troubadour did not mince matters. He went on to announce the reappearance of Henry Clay in the flesh—perhaps his name is Packard now :— The gods have come, 0 gallant boys! Blow loud the fife and beat the drum; The gods send you immortal joys, For Henry Clay to earth has come, This is very fine, but it is to be feared that it is a waste of powder, or, to be more accu- rate, of rhyme. There is no doubt, however, that the republicans blundered in not court- ing and making their own the whig element all over the South some years ago, There was atime when they might have done it, and when by doing it they would have sim- plified the work of reconstruction, and estab- lished their party on a solid basis in most of the Southern States. Now, when they are beaten in so many of those States, it isa little late to begin their courtship. A revival of the whig party is probably an inevitable incident of the political future. The republican party was constituted of anti-slavery democrats and of anti-slavery whigs. The pro-slavery and reactionary whigs atthe same time went over to the democratic party, and ‘some of them and much of their spirit rule in that party to-day. The mix- | ture has not been a happy one in either party. The elements are incongruous ; they coalesced for a purpose, and the end having been accomplished these elements show signs of a determination to separate. It remains to be seen in which of the two present parties the real and sound democratic doc- trines—the doctrines of hard money, local self-government and non-interference—will obtain the predominance, At present they seem to be more vigorously and sincerely asserted in the republican than in the democratic party, and the independents, who lean just now toward the republican side, are mainly infused with the true democratic spirit, and so far as they can influence the republican policy will | carry it in that direction, But there is no doubt that the whig spirit and whig princi- ples of centralization and a | strong among many of the most influential republican leaders, and there lies the danger | to the republican party in the future. * The growing animosity between the hard and soft monev factions in the democratic party, which already portends a division, may hasten a reformation of parties upon 8 natural basis of principles, which will un- doubtedly be for the good of the country. We hear reports that prominent hard money democrats have said they will prefer to see a split of the party and the nomination of two tickets rather than consent to see themselves dragged at the heels of a soft money and old whig candidate, whose success, if it were possible, would not, in their opinion,, benefit either the country or the party, and would be only a temporary and evanescent triumph, to which they would have helped men who, though they call themselves democrats, are whigs in ~ everything but the name. Those who think thus are wiser than many of their allies will acknowledge. It is very doubtful if the democratic party can elect its candidate in November ; but there is no doubt that if it should, as seems very probable, go before the country with what thirty years ago would have been called a whig platform its victory would be unfruitful of good to the country and barren to the party, except in the miser- able spoils of office for a short four years. What the democratic party needs is to elimi- naté the whig elements and become really and sincerely democratic. “Then, we believe, the country will accept it, because the mass of the American people believe in that in- terpretation of the constitution which limits the powers of the federal government, en- courages local responsibility and self-gov- ernment, and thus secures economy, effi- ciency, prosperity and peace.* Highway Bridges and Highway Rob- beries. We present to our readers in another col- umn several illustrations of the vicious sys- tem which is beginning to prevail through- out the country in the construction of iron highway bridges. Instead of being the means of insuring safety to the travelling public many of these structures are shown to be nothing more than man-traps, liable at any moment to involve in their own destruction the lives of the many thousands of travellers who, unsusficious of danger, intrust them- selves on these ill-designed and carelessly built structures. The introduction of iron as a material for railroad and highway bridges marks an important era in the prog- ress of the engineering art. Theory based upon the well known qualities of the metal and the practical experience of eminent engineers in its application to con- struction unite in recommending iron as a building material most suitable for bridge work and deserving of the fullest confidence when properly em- ployed. It is, therefore, only too evident that ignorance, criminal carelessness or dishonesty operates to produce the fail- ures and defects in iron bridge con- struction complained of in our article. The control of the selection and erec- tion of such important works as public bridges should not be any longer permitted to remain with ignorant or venal village committees, but should be placed in the | hands of competent engineers and responsi- ble officials. Every structure intended to be devoted to public use should be subject toa rigid inspection by an officer of the State, whose duty it would be to see that sfich work was carried out in strict compliance with the plans and specifications, and copies of these should in every instance be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. By this means authentic records would be preserved from the hands of the highway robbers, Defects in the original plans would be remedied before mistakes of design or caleu- | lation became dangerous to life and limb, and a vast amount of public money would be saved from the clutches of unscrupulous contractors and dishonest village committee men. By all means let us have a close in- spection of our public bridges, be they of wood, stone oriron: A single human life is worth more than all the cost of alterations and repairs that might be discovered to be necessary. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE. Carlyle forgets to return books to the London library from which he borrows them. The Troy Whig is unqualifiedly opposed to Conkling because he is silent about the third term. Danbury Ne And so M. D. Conway is married, eh? He is the man who don’t believe in a devil. Cyrus W. McCormick, of reaper celebrity, would not object ta being the democratic candidate for Governor _ of Illinois, The Richmond Enquirer, speaking of the grand effect produced by an audience at a theatre, says It took 720 pounds of pins. Governor A. H. Garland, of Arkansas, {s leading Im the race for the successorship of Senator Clayton in the United States Senate, Senator Henry Cooper, of Tennessee, arrived at the New York Hotel yesterday from Washington, Viscount Vilain XiV., Secretary of the Belgian Lega. tion at Washington, and M. de Vaugelas, Secretary of the French Legation, arrived from Europe in the steam- ehip Russia yesterday; and are at the Brevoort House. A Philadelphia man tried to fight the doctors afler the manner of Charles O’Conor, and now lies in the cold, cold ground, One man’s meat is another man’s poison. Sir Henry Maino’s essay on “Roman Law and Legat Education” ts inserted in the new edition of his “Vil- lage Communities,” and forms an able addition to the hiterature of the civil law. In various cities of the country, and notably in St Louis and San Fraaciseo, tt appears that street car drivers sometimes corrupt young girls who happen to travel with them frequently. ‘ Colonel Mark H. Lamon, of Berkeley county, W. Va, formerly law partner of Abraham Lincoln, Marshal of the District of Columbia, &c., 1s spoken of asa can- didate for the republican nomination for Governor of West Virginia. if ‘The Promicr and Mrs. Mackenzie entertained their - New York visitors at dinner at Ottawa last evening. The party visited various places of interest. in Ottawa during the day, ing the Parliament Dulldings, and in the af. ternoon paid their respects to the Governor Genorat and Countess Dafferin. They remain in Ottawa until Saturday morning, when they will start for Toronto, ‘The London Field, February 5, says:—‘Our cousins, we are pleased to 800 by an article inthe New Yore Hxratp, intend going in strongly for coaching this year. ‘They have already established a coaching club of our own pattern, with a president, vice president and other officers, and while last year at Jerome Park the club turned out with five coaches, this summers more than double that number, it is expected, wil | pu fp an appearance, Ofcourse Rome was not built in a day, but it says much for the growing taste that already so much interest has been excited about the cluby American gentlemen can drive, as we know. Two soasons ago Mr, Tiffany was on the Brighton road, and those who sat behind Mr. Kane last summer daring ‘that pleasant drive to Virginia Water know how wel his coach was horsed and how to a minute it kept its time. We hope to mect him and others of bis country- | men over here again this summor; but meanwhile we | congratulate the New York people on their new insth tulion. and sincerely hope it will take rootand figariah "J |