The New York Herald Newspaper, December 23, 1876, Page 4

Nii neil Sth gnats yon ne 4 YEW YORK HERALD | BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR en THE DAILY HERALD, published every day in the — Three cents per copy (Sun- day excluded). Ten dollars per year, or at rate of one dollar per month for any period Jess than six months, or five dollars for six months, Sunday edition included, free of postage. All business, news letters or telegraphic despatches must be addressed New Youre Henarp. Letters and packages shon!d be properly sealed. Kejected communications will not be re- turned. PHILADELPHIA OFFICE--NO. 112 SOUTH SIXTH STREET. LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD--NO, 46 FLEET STREET. PARIS OFFICF—AVENUE DE L'OPERA. NAPLES OFFICE—NO. 7 STRADA PACE. Subscriptions and advertisements will be received and forwarded on the same terms as in New York. VOLUME x1 0.858 AMUSEMENTS ‘THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. KEW YORK AQUARIUM. BOWERY THEATRE. Gnoes THE CONTI iT, at & P. M. Oliver Dond yron. Matines, 2 P. M. GILMORE'S GARDEN. bic 3a" eeameainstne FESTIVAL, at SP. M, Matinee, “OPERA Hot M GRAND BLACK CROOK, a8 P. LYCEUM RICHELIEU, at 8 P. M. reM. GERMANIA THEATRE. DER HERR PRAEFECT, at SP. M. Matinee, 1:30 P. M. Kk THEATRE. Lotta. Matinee, 1:30.P. M. PAR LITTLE NEULL, at 8 P. FIFTH A THEATRE. THE AMERICAN, at Matinee, 2 P. 3M. THEATRI, Wa! THE SHAUGHRAUN, UNION SQUARE MISS MULTON a SP. M, Mati Matinee, 1:30 P. M. STEIN CONCERT at2P.M. } ACADEMY OF MUSIC. GRAND UNION BENEFIT FOR BROOKLYN 6UF-. FERERS at 8 P. M. SAN FRANGISC at8 P.M. Matinee, 2 P. M. KELLY 4&1 Matinee, 2 P. “MINSTRELS, °S MINSTRELS, ars P.M. ATRE. |. Matinee, 2 P.M. HOUSE. HELLE! PRESTIDIGITATION, at 8 P. COLUMBIA OP: VARIETY, a6 8 P. M, THE, VARIETY, at 8 P. M. ITERT VARIETY, at 8P. M. OLYMPIC THEATRE. VARIETY AND DRAMA, at 7:45 P.M. Matineo, 2 P. 3, TONY PASTOR'S THEATRE. VARIETY, at 8 P.M. TIVOLI THEATRE. VARIETY, at 8P. M. THE NEW AMERICAN MUSEUM, \PATTOORD GREEK. Open daily from 10 A. M. till 10 EAGLE THEATRE. VARIBTY, at 8 P.M. Matinoo, 2 P.M. NEW BROADWAY THEATRE. CORRINIA, at 8 P. M. cae RE I RLS PHILADELPHIA THEATRES. KIRALFY'S ALHAMBRA PALACE, AZURINE; OR, A VOYAGE TO THE EARTIL NEW NATIONAL THEATRE, CATARACT OF THE GANGES, pai Nie tBsicats alt YORK, SATURDAY, DE NEW NOTICE TO COUNTRY DEALERS, Tho regular edition of the HERALD will be sent here- after as far North as Harrisburg and as tar South as ‘Washington by special newspaper train, run by Adams Express Company, at the usual rates, the so-called j fast mail traip being closed too carly for our regular * edition. From our reports this morning the probabilities ‘are that the weather to-day will be cold and cloudy or partly cloudy, with light snow at iniervals, followed by falling temperature and clearing skies toward night. Wau Streer Yesterpay.—In stock denl- ings the coal shares showed improvement. Other fancy stocks were generally lower. Money on call loans ruled at 7, 6 and 5 per cent. Gold opened at 107 3-8 and closed at 107 1-4. Government bonds were strong and railway mortgages steady. A Great Dea or Fuss is being made about the opening of Professor Abram 6. Hewitt’s letters in the mail. From sil we can learn it appears that the letters in question were not opened by experts. Now this is unkind. To state baldly the inference we draw from the facts, it seems that Mr. Hewitt is using the vast Congressional machinery to force the goy- ernment to use Peter Cooper's ‘Extra Glue, warranted to stick to the end of time.” (See advertisement.) This puts the mysterious consultations with his friends in the light ofa conspiracy, in which one Uncle Sam is to pay the piper, while the other Uncle Sam (Tilden) is, if all goes well in Washington this winter, to sign the bill. Truth once at the bottom of a well now hides herself at the bottom of Mr. Hewitt’s father-in-law's glue pot. Let us hope she carries an air cushion to keep her from sticking there. Comprronten Ketrx pays just claims against the city without fighting over them, and yet there are men who say there is nothing new or strange in city affairs. Tux Hotpers or tHe bonds of-the old Toledo and Wabash Railroad have been de- nied the desired mandamus, and will prob- ably fall back uponan individual act dimly indicated by the legal term whose aid they invoked. Gexgrat Butier's proposition to settle the Presidential controversy by a new elec. tion next spring is certainly a heroic rem- edy, but the very idea is enongh to make one echo Lord Jeffrey in speaking disre- | spectfully of the polls. Over Anpaxy Despatcn shpws that the @gitation of the Mrs. Norton case has pro- duced at least one good effect—Dr. Ordro- naux announces that he shall recommend that there be appointed more visiting com- mittees to lunatic asylums, on the ground | that untrammelled publicity is the surest basis of public confidence. Tur Avams Expness car still continues to ‘take the lead of the fast mail, to the great in- convenience and detriment of the public—an annoying illustration of how ‘‘money makes the mare go.” But when the holidays are over and Congress settles down to business once more there is a prospect that the Con- gressional Committee on Postal Affairs will make an inquiry into the conduct of those ‘who ure now treating the Post Office author- ‘Mthed v0 cavalierly, ne re {EATRE, | tdwin Booth, Matinee, 1:30 A Warning te Governor Hayes. We like the policy announced by Gov- ernor Hayes so well that we should not like to see it swamped. If he should prove to have been elected to the Presidency—a mat- ter which some ofhis friends are perhaps less we should be very ready to support him in such a policy as that which wes announced has been more distinctly foreshadowed of late by his most intimate friends. We have shown repeatedly that if Governor Hayes, as President, meant really to reform the | civil service his first act would necessarily be | to remove from office and from all influence | corrupted the public service. That is to | say, he would have to exclude from place and influence all who have had either under General Grant ; and this happens to be pre- cisely what his friends declare he means to | do. That he should contemplate this need | not be offensive to General Grant. The truthishe has surrounded himselfand filled with men who have scandalously and noto- riously abused their places and their subor- dinates for partisan purposes, and no re- form is possible which does not begin by ousting these men, and all of them. Then as to his Southern policy, Governor Hayes is understood to intend calling around him real Southern men, such as of the chief federal offices in the South, and hold them strictly responsible for the secu- rity of the colored people. ‘This, too, is ex- cellent and necessary. No reform can be effected in the South while men like Cham- berlain, Spencer, Patterson, Kellogg, Pack- ard and the gang who work with them have influence with the administration at Wash- ington. ‘They have corrupted and de- bauched the federal civil service all over the South to an even greater extent than Chandler, Cameron, Morton and his man ‘Tyner, Logan and others have done in the North. Reform and the re-establishment of peace and orderin the South are possible only by excluding these men from all power and influence under the federal administra- tion and by leaving the Southern States to manage their own local affairs precisely as the Northern States do. All this is so good, so necessary, and will 80 greatly conduce to peace, good will and prosperity, that we do not like to see such a policy compromised beforehand by being hawked about, as it were, to the highest bidder. The stories which we find in the newspapers, and the substantial truth of which is nowhere denied, show that some zealous triends of Mr. Hayes, whether at his bidding or not does not appear, are at work seeking alliances among Southern men. We do not understand the object of these movements. If Mr. Hayes has been elected President he needs to seek no allies; if he has not been elected of course he can have no business with allies; if there is a doubt about the election, a “coalition,” as the Western papers term it, is only an intrigue. But, in any cases this matter has now gone so far and become so public that we think Gov- ernor Hayes would do well to speak out. Suppose he should declare frankly to the country what his policy would be were he elected President ; suppose he should turn out really, as we sincerely hope, to have de- termined on such a policy as is ascribed to him. Certainly a frank declaration of the fact would only do him honor with the country, would secure him good will everywhere, and, what is at this. moment of even greater importance, would relieve him of the grave sus- picion of being a party to an intrigue. As matters have gone, in fact, we can see no other way in which he can discharge himself of this suspicion, which, if he should be- come President, would embarrass him very seriously. Coalitions are always danger- ous; men naturally view them uncharitably; and that we do not overstate the present case to Governor Hayes we quote here from a long forgotten speech made in Congress by Senstor Bayard, of Delaware, the ances- tor of the present Senator, in 1802, in which he gave some curious reflections concerning the election of Mr. Jefferson in 1801. Mr. Bayard said:— Tho case, sir, to which I refer, carries me once more to the scene of the Presidential election. L should not have introduced it tnto this debate had it not been called up by the honorable member from Virgima. In that scene 1 had my part; it was “a part not barren of Incident, and which bas left an impression which cannot easily dopart irom my recollection. I know who were rendered tmportant characters, either from the possession of per- sonal means or from the accident of political situ- ation, And now, sir, let me ask the honorable mem- ber what his reficctions and belict will be when he obsetves that every man on whose vole the event of the election hang bas since been distinguishea by Presidential favor. I tear, sit, I sball violate the de- corum of parliamentary proceeding in the mention- mg Of names; but I Lope the example which has been setme will be admitted as an excuse. Mr Charies Vinckwey, of South Carolina, was not a member of the House, but be was one of the must active, eflicrent and successiul promoters of the election of the present Chief Magistrate, {t was well ascertained that the votes of South Carolina were to turn the equal balance of the scales. The zeal and industry of Mr. Pinckney had no bounds. The doubttul poiltics of South Carolina were deeded and her votes cast into the scale of Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Pinckney has since been appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to tho Court of Madrid, an apporatment “as high and honorable ‘as any within the git of the Executive. 1 will not deny that this preter- ment is the reward of talents and Services, although, sir, [have never yet heard of the talents or eervices of Mr. Charles Pinckney. In the House of Representa- tives L know what was the value of the vote Claiborne, of Tennessee, The vote of a State his hands. Mr. Claiborne has since been ri to the high dignity of Governor of Mississippi Territory. | know bow great, and how greatly felt, was the importance of the vote of Mr. Linn, of Now Jersoy. The dolo- were decidedly for Mr. Jefierson; two cidedly. for Mr. Burr. alr, Linn was consid- a8 iuchning to one site, but still doubrtul. Roth parties looked up to hu ‘for the vote of New Jersey. He gave it to alr, Jetlerson, and ir. Linn bas simce had the profitable "office of supervisor of his district conferred upon bin. Mr. Lyon, of Vermont, was, in this instance, an important map, He neutralized the yore of Vermont. His absence alone would have given the vote of a State to Mr. Burr, It was too much to give an office to Mr. Lyon; his character was low; but Mr. Lyon's fon has been handsomely provided for in one of the | executive offices. I shall add to the catalogue but the name of one more gentieman—Mr. Edward Liv- ingston, of New York. I knew well, —fuil well 1’ knew, the consequence of this sentic« man. Ibs feavs were not limited to bis own vote, aay, 1 always consiacred tnore than the vote of New York withm his power. = Mr. Livingston hax been made the uttorney for the distr.ct of New York; the road of prefermeat has been opened to him, and his brother has been raised to the distinguished Hao gh Minieter Plenipotentiary to the French Re- abvie, omnis catalogue might be swelled to a magnitude, but 1 fear, Mr, Chair. man, were [ to proceed further, it might be supposed that i myself harbored the un- charitavio suspicions of the integrity of tho Chief Magistrate, and of the purity of the gentlemen whom he thought proper to promote, which it is my design alone to banish from the mind ot the honorn- ble inember from Virginia, It wont be doing mo great injustice Lo suppose tirat L have the smallest de- sire or have had the remotest Intention to tarnish the fame of the prosent Chici Magistrate, of of any of the j hunorabio gentlemen who have been tho objecis of his much greater NEW certain about than they were ten days ago— | in his excellent letter of acceptance, and | upon his administration those who have | all the principal offices of the government | Lamar and Haipton; to take their advice, | give to them the selection and appointment | State consists of five members. Two ct | ————_— favor, by the statement which Ihave made. My motive 1% 6©0f «an opposite nature. The Iate Presi- dent appointed gentiemen to office to whom he owed O personal obligations, bat who only supported what has been considered favorite measure. This has | Deen assamed as a sufficient ground, not only of sus- icion, bat of condemnation. The present Executive, leaving scarcely an exception, has appointed to office. or has, by accident, indirectly gratified, every man | who had any di shed means in the competition for the rresiden fice of deciding the election in his tavor. We do not need to comment upon this curious speech or to draw the moral which it conveys, No secret agreements which Mr. Hayes’ friends could now make for him, if they were so imprudent, could be con- cealed if he should come into the Presi- dency. But this is not the worst; even the honest and beneficent policy ascribed to him would be almost fatally embarrassed by con- tinued secrecy now. At every step in carrying it into effect he would be met with suspicions and charges of previous bargaining. The very men whom he would necessarily call around him as his ; advisers would be assailed and would, if they were thin skinned, be repelled or at least embarrassed in coming to his help. It is too late now for silence. Governor Hayes ought to speak out plainly and specifically. He is not going to slip into the Presidency by atrick. If heis clected he will be in- stalled; if he is not the declaration now of what his policy would be will do him no harm and will do the country much good, for it will enable it to hold Mr. Tilden to a similar policy. Cable Monopoly. In another column may be -found the re- port of an interesting conversation with Mr. Oliphant, of the Direct Cable Company, in reference to the projected absorption of that corporation in the interest of a great scheme for monopoly in cables. It does not appear that the project is favored by the management of the Direct company or by independent shareholders, but the Anglo- American Telegraph Company, the Tele- graph Construction and Maintenance Com- pany and the Globe ‘Telegraph Company together constitute a sort of telegraphic Cer- berus which hopes to better its fortunes by associating them with those of the Direct Cable Company. Monopoly, to be success- ful, must be complete. Itis like the ‘‘cor- ners” which produce calamity for their makers if they fail to cover any source of supply available at the critical moment. if the Anglo-American and its associates can fully control the cable traffic and put the tolls up to a dollar and a half or two dollars a word they sup- pose they can readily carry the heavy bur- dens already undertaken in the effort to make a monopoly. If they cannot control the traffic there is trouble in store for them. But they cannot control it with an efficient opposition that practically fixes the prices as the Direct company does. Hence they believe the independent existence of this company to be the only obstacle to their ab- solute control of the working and construc- tion of cables, and this opinion inspires their efforts to secure its amalgamation with their own company. There seems to be some likelihood of their success, for the Globe Telegraph Company controls a large capital, which it has used for this pur- pose by purchasing extensively the shares of the Direct company in the hope to obtain acontrolling interest. The charter of the company declares that it shall not be amal- gamated with any other; but charter pro- visions are seldom found to be insuperable obstacles to schemes of this nature. This, as pointed out in the interview, would be a watering operation. That is, the value of the Direct company’s shares would, in a com- mon mixture, be diluted with the feebler value of the other shares. All this project of the would-be monopolists rests upon a great error. The Direct Cable Company is not the only obstacle in their way, as they will speedily find if they succeed in removing it. They will find oppo- sition to be a particularly vigorous hydra, which cannot be permanently kept in a decapitated condition. The real obstacle to the Anglo-American monopoly is the opportunity that an exorbi- tant rate of tolls affords for the profitable employment of capitalin other cables, The existence and success of the Direct Cable Company demonstrate that there is a profit- able field in this particular opposition, and if the field is opened by the removal of the Direct company from an independent posi- tion the place will not long remain unocen- pied. The likelihood of its removal is fally sufficient to justify a preliminary organiza- tion; and there is not a doubt that the money could be raised immediately by pop- ulsr subscription if called for on, say, one hundred dollar shares. ‘This would be in- vestment in a sure property that would in- fallibly pay good dividends, and would in- sure to the public the use of the cable at | fair rates. The capital of the company should be made large enough to insure the | construction of two cables, for which thore would be abundant occupation. ‘Lhe snow storm has extended from East- port, Me, to Cheyenne, Wy. T., and from St. Louis to the upper lakes, but the snow precipitation has been at |no point excessive. Southward of the | The Weather. | Mr. | line between Philadelphia and St. Louis a i | considerable rainfall has occurred, that at Mobile, Ala,, amounting to 2.07 inches, and at New Orleans 1.10 inches at seven o'clock yesterday morning. The centre of the dis- turbance is now moving slowly over the Middle and Eastern States, and is followed by a rapidly rising barometer. With the advance of the great aren of snow and rain the temperature has risen all over the Southern States and along the Atlantic coast as far north as Boston, ; but has fallen decidedly in the West and Northwest with the rising pressure. Gen- eral cloudiness has prevailed over the coun- try, even in tho region of highest barometer, and the winds during yesterday at no point attained » higher velocity than twenty-six miles an hour on the Nova Scotia coast in the morning, and twenty miles an hour at Breckenridge, Minn., in the afternoon. The weather in New York to-day will be cold and intervals, and tollowed by colderand clear- ing weather toward night. Arnica Has a Hanp in the latest romanco in real life. Read ‘‘A Merchant's Mystery,” on another page, cloudy or partly clondy, with light snow at | ee Columbia College—Mr. Jay’s Centen- 3 mial Address. We print as much as we can find space for of the interesting and learned centennial discourse delivered by Hon. John Jay on Thursday evening before the alumni of Co- lumbia College. It is in the main a histori- cal production ; but in our excerpts we have preferred to select passages relating to the present condition of this venerable institu- tion and to the plans in contemplation for renewing its youth and enlarging its usefulness. Columbia is one of the richest as well as oldest insti- tutions of learning in the country, and her catalogues have included the names of many of the most distinguished men in American history. But her growth and prosperity have not been commensnrate either with her pecuniary resources or with the lustre re- flected on her by the great statesmen, jurists and scholars whom she has trained. Efforts are making to elevate her to the rank of a great seat of learning befitting the dignity of the metropolis of the American continent and an object of just pride to its citizens. Among the projected changes is a transfer of its location to some pleasant rural site on the banks of the Hudson, within convenient distance of the city. This may be well, but the experiment would be attended with some danger. A picturesque site on the Hudson would imply the erection of fine buildings; tasteful architecture might prove a drain on the funds of the institution which would crip- ple it for more important objects. There are only two ways by which a university can grow. One is by maintaining a steady, un- broken prestige, as Harvard and Yale have done, which brings such acrowd of students that the qualifications for admission can be constantly raised and the stand- ard of learning as constantly ele- vated. The other is by professorships so munificently endowed as to make them sought by men of the highest distinction in the republic of science and letters. The former method is best adapted to a healthy and solid improvement in character and standing, but it requires much time and in- cessant effort and vigilance. The latter is best fitted for raising an_ insti- tution which has languished through a feeble existence, though possessed of abundant pecuniary means. Colum- bia might change her site and erect im- posing buildings without any substantial advance toward prosperity. The best use she can make of her wealth is in strengthen- ing her faculty by an accession of able and famous men. The Old World and the New should be searched for enthusiastic votaries of science and learning under whom gifted young men would be proud to study, and who would eclipse all ideas of college archi- tecture by their imposing personality. They must not be men of mere dry learning, but to the fame of great attainments they must add a reputation for brilliant elo- quence and personal magnetism fitted to fire the hearts of young men with enthusi- astic ardor in the pursuit of learning. In music, in painting, in sculpture, it is better to be the pupil of a great and inspiring master than to plod through the routine of tho best organized academy, and the same principle holds good in the pursuit of science and classical learning. The great thing for Columbia to do is to eclipse her sister institutions by the ability and fame of her professors. The Johnston Collection, The sale of the well known art collection belonging to Mr. Taylor Johnston has proved successful beyond expectation— even the expectation of the owner. Among the three hundred and twenty odd pictures which composed this collection there were a small number of truly admirable works upon which it would be difficult to place too high a value, and there were a larger number of works which had acquired great notoriety and a popularity not fully sustained by their merits, while the immense majority of the pictures were of mediocre value. That they have brought in the open market prices that fairly astonished the owner is no proof of any hidden merit not visible to the vulgar eye, but simply an indication that a great number of people dabble in art without having any very profound knowledge of what constitutes real value in painting. No doubt the prices realized in a great many instances were due to a sentiment of friend- ship for the sellerand a desire to possess souvenirs of a remarkable collection, which had occupied a prominent place in the pub- lic mind and was highly considered by the mass of people—a very respectable feeling, no doubt, and one to be encouraged. Whether the success of the sale proves any decided progress in art appreciation or knowledge is not quite so clear as some opti- mists would have us believe. It has shown satisfactorily that art is o growing fashion among the wealthy, and it has proved in a signal manner that money in- vested wisely in art is as likely to become profitable as any other speculative invest- ment. No good picture sold below its value, ifwe except the Turner, and thero area number of people whose opinions aro worth something who say, in spite of Rus- kin, that the ‘Slave Ship” is nota good picture. This loyal appreciation of good work is the really encouraging sign given by the sale, and it ought to counsel people who think of buying pictures not to waste their money on mediocre productions, but to content themselves with a smaller num- ber of works of which the solid merits will always secure for them a fair return should circumstances ever arise to compel their sale. That is the true lesson, and the deeper it sinks into the minds of art patrons tho better it will be for them and for the art development of the country. The total sum realized by the sale of Mr. John- ston’s collection is, in round figures, three hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars, which is considerably, more than the works costhim. This result is the more remarkable when the present depression of trade is taken into account, and there is no doubt that it will tend to encourage other art pa- trons to make still heavier investments in good pictures. Tue Resvtt of the investigation yester- day by the committee of Congress into al- leged frauds committed in this city wasa declaration by officials of both parties that YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23. 1876. the election was an honest one. The Clerk ; of the United States District Court testified that the precise number of persons nat- uralized in that court from the Ist of July to November 7 was one. The probabilities of fraud in this direction may therefore be safely considered as next to nothing. The Big Rink as a Riding School. ‘The mammoth rink which has for so many years been devoted to the annual exhibitions of the American Institute is soon to be con- verted into a riding school-—said to be the largest in the world. Workmen are busy altering the interior, and by January 1 a fine track, one-eighth of a mile in circumference, will be in condition for the inaugural pro- gramme. Besides the riding school it is the intention of the projector, Mr. Fred. J. Englehardt, to establish commodious board- ing stables, and one day every week will be set apart as ‘barter day,” for the sale, ex- change and matching of horses. The track will be well lighted and the hall so thor- oughly ventilated that all the advantages of an outdoor course may be enjoyed regardless of the weather. The hall will be open daily for pleasure and exercise riding, and among the attractions will be music, tournaments and carousals. Horsemanship will be taught in the most thorough manner, and training will be made a special feature. One even- ing each week will be devoted toa public entertainment, including trotting, flat and hurdle races, &. There are two forms of subscriptions to this project—viz., one hun- dred dollars for a ticket good for three months’ board for one horse, with all the privileges of track, manége, entries for barter days and seats at the weekly enter- tainments; and the same sum fora ticket giving the use of the track for six months, also including the various privileges. The opening entertainment is to be devoted to charity, the proceeds to go to St. John’s Guild. The programme will include trot- ting matches under the direction of Messrs, J. D. Walton and Dan Mace; steeplechases, Greco-Roman wrestling, exhibitions of equestrianism, pedestrianism and a variety of athletic and gymnastic fents. Cold in the Cars. One of our popular delusions is that the street cars promote public comfort, while they are really injurious to both the public health and convenience. It is better to walk than to ride in winter, but unfortunately the long distances in New York make the cars necessary evils. The citizen who is obliged to ride for miles with frozen feet thrust into wet and muddy straw, reads with indigna_ tion the sarcastic advertising signs over the windows, such as “‘Take Tar for Pneumo- nia,” ‘“Bronchine Will Cure Consumption,” and is not much consoled by the knowledge that he may buy ‘‘Keady Made Coffins at Re- duced Rates.” The manufacturers of patent cough medicines do well to advertise in this way, for the patrons of the cars form a large proportion of their patients, But the peo- ple, who are more interested in the pre- vention than tho cure of disease, demand that the companies shall adopt the sim- ple and cheap methods of warming the cars which are common in other countries. None of these can be more easily introduced than the chaufferettes which are used in rail- way carriages in Europe. These footpans, filled with boiling water, retain tho heat for hours, and while they keep the feet warm do not interfere with ventilation. If Ameri- can ingenuity can preduce a better method, or can improve upon the model, we shall be pleased, but meanwhile there is no reason why the chauffereites should not be used at once by all the principal lines. Alderman Cole introduced a resolution in the Board this week requiring the companies to prop- erly warm the cars, and we hope it will re- ceive prompt and favorable consideration from the Committee on Railroads, to which it was referred. Misfortanes of Whiskey Prosecutions, Prosecutions for frauds on the government through the illicit whiskey trade seem to be singularly unfortunate. The exhaustive efforts of Secretary Bristow only succeeded in convicting a few of the Western whiskey conspirators, and nearly all of those who were found guilty have been released by a pardon after a farcical show of punishment. Judge Benedict, in the United States Circuit Court, now announces that in the crooked whiskey cases in this city a point is pend- ing before him the decision of which may be fatal to the indictments. The Judge would scarcely have made such a statement from the bench had he not been well con- vinced that the prosecutions must fall through. The men who engage in these whiskey frauds certainly have wonderfully good fortune. They make enormous amounts of money, and when they have their dishonest profits safely in their pock- ets it seems impossible to find a prosecuting officer who does not make some accidental flaw in their indictments or fail for want of evidence to convict them. Singular that justice is so swift to overtake a penniless thief and so slow to catch the wealthy rob- ber who steals millions from the government, Is Ir Anotuen Ixpran Massacre ?—It can- not be expected that we should make war without some loss of lite, but the disasters which have happened to our troops in the Indian campaigns this year are without prec- edent. The massacre of the gallant Custer and his command has not yet been explained, and now comes a report that Major Randall and his party, sent out by General Crook from Old Fort Reno to obtain scouts from the Crow tribe, have been cut off and de- stroyed by Crazy Horse's band. The defeat of a portion of Sitting Bull's forces by Lieutenant Baldwin fails to compensate for this terrible calamity, The report is not fully confirmed, and we trust will prove un- true; but it is believed in Washington. There must be some mismanagement. Our soldiers are ready to fight, but they ought not to be sacrificed. A Despatcn from Statesville, N. C., gives the particulars of the execution at that place of a young man convicted of murder- ing his mother-in-law for the sake of gold. The deed was a brutal one and he died like a dog, without the sympathy of one in the community. The only redeeming feature of the scene at the gallows was its privacy, in accordance with the statute law of the State, PEMSUNAL INTELLIGENCE. , Mr. Blaine has gone home. Secretary Cameron has gone to Pennsylvania. Mr. Hewitt nas another pin feather in his hat. Laudanum and capsicum, fluids, cure chilbiains, says the Danbury News, London Punch steals jokes from America and puts pictures over them. There is just now among the ladies a rush of watch- cases to the cupboard. The season for boys to kill themselves while coast- ing on sleds has begun. If you foe! religious do Bot commit the error of ine quiring into the process. General Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, is at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Kurd von Schlézer, German Minister at Washington, is at the Brevoort House, The walruses in the Paris Zoological Gardens cam say ‘papa”’ and ‘‘mamma.”’ Slade will be tried the third week in January, and it ‘will cost $2,000 to defend him. Hydrochioric acid with rain water, one ounce te sevon, will care frost bites. In Lapland dead human bodies are frozen hard. This ig a kind of ice cremation. Colonel Valentine Baker is in London writing about the defences of Constantinople. Mr. Horace Rublee, United States Minister to Switz erland, is at the Albemarle Hotei. The Beston Post thinks that the scissors of som editors are of tho purcst steal, That is right; hit ’ aclip, It was the St Louis Times that found a young Musician so squeamish that he will play only on an up- right piano. Senator Henry B. Anthony, of Rhode Island, are rived at the Fifth Avenue Hotel yesterday from Washington. One-horse power is a powor that will raise 33,000 Pounds one foot in one minute, Chicago ‘girls raise two feet a minute. It 1s strange that in art anything approaching to the heavenly has wings, Many ideas of heaven are all fuss and feathers, At the poles twilight 1s. two months long, and it makes a young fellow who wants to see bis girl awful mad to wait till after dark. Over 24,000 Masons were made in North America last year, and the whole numberof affiliated Masons on the continent at this time exceeds 600,000, Evening Telegram:—“'A Seacaucus, N. J., lunatio, who bas been using acommon fish horn in bis imita- Sion of the angel Gabriel, bas becn very properly ar- rested,”” It & poor, common woman walks upto an ofl paint. ng to examine it closely, do not laugh at her; she bag as much pleasure as you have, and you do not detract from tt Fun:—“Cockney—‘’Ere, I say, this ’oro’s all froth!’ Barman—‘Well, most people likes it with a good ’ed!’ Coekney—‘So do I, but I don’t like sich a long neck tott!’.” It requires almost as much genius to select well as to ve original, and say what you will of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat man, there aro ‘‘originals’? who are bigger fools than he is. WAS IT PETER COOPER? {From the Evening Telegram of yesterday.] Itappears from the press reports of the debate In Congress yesterday that the grounds upon which Mr, Hewitt founds bis chargo that his mfil has been tam- pered with inthe New York Post Office consist in his receipt of an anonymous letter advising him that such is the fact, and in the appearance of the envelopes of cortain letters which passed through that office in the coarse of transmission to his address. The anony- mous letter, of course, would not of itself prove anything against the postal officers any more than a dozen or twenty anonymous letters which we havo received at intervals during the last three years about the Montclair Rail- road Company, would prove anything against Mr. Hewitt, Nor would the mero wrinkling of the flap of an envelope and the effacing of the glazing of the paper prove that the letter had been opened. Any moisture apphed to the back of the envolope might produce that effect, We have recoived letters whose envelopes were marked so by the moisture of rain or fog while they Jay inastreet box. Bat the anonymous lotter would be valuable for a clew to detect its writer, and an in- spection of the envelopes with a microscope might conclasively determine by othor signs than wrinkling or the effacing of glazing, whethor they havo been opened by steam or somo other agency altor they were originally sealed. Unfortunately Mr. Hewitt has himself destroyed those envelopes and also the anonymousepistle, The contents of the one and the appearance of the other must be proved by oral testimony subject to possible defects trom the obscure memory or inattentive ob- servation of tho witnesses, In Mr. Hewitt’s remarks yesterday the only witnesses whom he cited tothe looks of tho envelopes wore Mr. Eugeve Hale, of Maine, to whom he showed two of them, and the pere petual Parke Godwin, of this city, to whom one of them was shown. Mr. Godwin turns up in connec. tion with every sonsation incident to this sen- sational political campaign as a successful rival of Sergeant Bates and Private Dalzell. Mr. Hewitt’s efforts to puss him off as more of a friond of Postmaster Jamos than of himself is rather thin. We trust that on his part of the case ho has other witnesses in reserve, whom he did not mention yesterday; for Mr. Hale’s inspection of the two envelopes was of the super+ ficial sort. ‘ Nor do all the assertions of fact made by Mr, Hewitt, allowing them tho fullest scope, exclude the possibility that any misdeeds which may have been committed were acts of his own political or personal servants or associates. We have ascertained by inquiry that bis mail in this city bas been delivered in sections at the Everett House, at the democratic in- tellectual buroau in Liberty stroot, at his counting room, and at his house, where Mr. Peter Cooper also resides. Wo do not consider it probable that Mr. Cooper interfered with Mr. Hewitt’s letters; yet fathers havo been known to take such liberties with their children’s correspondence; and Mr. Cooper is not only Mr. Hewitt’s father-in-law, bat was his politi- cal adversary. Both motive and opportunity coincide against Mr. Cooper, in relation to an important sec- tion of Mr. Hewitt’s mail, as distinctly as they can coincido against any of the republican postal officers. We have great respect for Mr. Cooper, but so havo we for Postmaster James in bis administration of his office. Mr. Hewitt should be as careful about making charges against the one as agalust the vther, We do not overlook his dis- claimer of any imputation against Mr. James, but a hundred disclaimers will not avail. The charge against the New York Post Office is In this instance necessarily an imputation against its chief officer. a justly so, If itcan bo proved. Mr, James is responsi, ble for the character of bis deputies and for an effec. tive supervision of them. An Isolated instance of tampering with a lotter in the New York Post Office might occur without bis fault, but not a systematic course of violating the mail of tho chairman of the Democratic National Committeo during a Presidential contest. It is fairly to be tnforrod that Mr. Hewitt feels the weakness of bis case from his opposition to a formal investigation by Congress and his assertion that no good will come of it. Clearly some good must result, His allegation of facts which he says warrant him in entertaining ‘‘a eu: that his lotters havo been opened is a charge of a crime against somebody. There was only one decent way for him to avoid such an investigation. That was, by withdrawing the charge and not repeating It until be is prepared to provo it. A great many hasty things iid and dono by managing politician: hot canvass; but if the political managor {i at the same time a member of Congress he should possess Seli-control enough to keep his jwo characters separate, We fear that Mr. Howitt has com- mitted a blunder of the same kind as his former charge against the whole republican party of responsibility for forging a confession by Tweed, and that sufficient proofs aro wanting in both cases. Only in the presont instance he happens to have mado bia accusation before a tribunal which fortunately has authority to compel him to establish or retract it, wheroas inthe other instance bo 1s subject only to the indefinite inflacnce of public opinion, The circum: stance to which we havo called attention, that none of his allegations exclude the oxtraordipary, of Course, to us Incrodible,fpossibility of the venerable Peter Cooper being the caiprit as to one section of tho letters} shows how loosely ho had considered the sub- Ject before he burst into debate on Wednegday ~