The New York Herald Newspaper, January 3, 1879, Page 6

6 NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. THE DAILY HERALD. putdished ceery day in the year. Three cents ver copy igaudage excluded.” Toe dollars per oar, five dollars for six months, two dollars and ifty cents or threo months, or at a rate of one dollar, perm for any period loss than Gree months, Sunday edition included, froe of postage, WEEKLY HERALD--One dollar por year, free of post- axe. "NOTICE TO SUBSCRIRERS.—Remit in drafts on New York or Post Ottice money orders, and where neither of these can bo procured send. the money In a repidered letter. |All money remitted at risk of sender. In order to insure atten.” tion subscribers wishing their address changed must give their old ax well xs ir new address. # letters or telegraphic despatches must Lp. OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD— FLEET STREE E DE L'OPERA, RADA PACK, Subseription will bo received and forwarded on w York, VOLUME XLI NO, 3 AMUSEMENTS 'TO-NIGHT. BROADWAY THEATRE—Uncie Day’, UNION SQUARE TH BOOTH'’S THEATRE- FIFTH AVENUE THEAT! STANDARD THEATRE- NEW YORK AQUAR!I GLOBE THEATRE- GRAND OPERA HOU LYCEUM THEATRE. SAN FRANCISCO MINST. TIVOLI THEATRE—Vanint TONY PASTOR'’S—Variert THOMAS’ OPERA HOUS! EGYPTIAN HALL—Vani The probabilities are that the weather in New Fork and its vicinity to-day till be cold and fair. To-morrow the same conditions are likely to prevail. Wat Street Yesterpay.—The stock mar- ket was active and strong during the forenoon. Later in the day there was, however, a general decline. Government bonds were quiet, States weak and railroads strong. Money on call was easy at4a5 percent, but sold up late in the day to 6, closing at 4 per cent. Azverta, Cal., is doomed to destruction. Placer gold mines have been discovered in one of the streets. Tue Tex THovsanp Dotiar Packace stolen at Washington yesterday was from the Govern- mment Printing Office. TnerE Was a Convention of greenba¢ék men in Boston yesterday to devise ways und meaus to get more paper money. Why not go to work? A CAL upon those whose names are printed on another page, under the heading of ‘(Always With You,” would not be a bad beginning of the new year. * Tuat Imronrers may not be inconvenienced it has been determined to continue the issuance of the gold certificates until Congress can take action on the subject. OvERCROWDED and ill ventilated buildings is the report from the Seventeenth ward schools. The frank statements of the trustees show that the present school system sadly needs an over- hauling. : — Juper Davis has ordered Mr. Gumbleton to exhibit his mysterious volumes to the Bar Com- mittee, and in doing so takes occasion to remind him that he is the servant of the people. A pretty well paid one, too. % Centrat Park, the principal avenues and streets and the fashionable drives resounded yesterday with the merry tinkling of the sleigh bells. Several of the crack teams were out, and the picture presented, especially in the upper portions of the city, was an exceedingly brilliant one. Ix tne Deatu of Caleb Cushing, which took place at Newburyport at an early hour this morning, New England has lost, perhaps, the ablest, most accomplished and versatile of all her sons. As a lawyer, a diplomatist and a statesman he stood in the very front rank of the men of the present time. Tur Weatner.—As was predicted in yester day's Heratp the barometer fell very rapidly throughout the Middle Atlantic districts and a storm centre of considerable energy was devel- oped in the lower lake region. Toward evening the gradients became very steep on the western margin of the disturbance and very severe gales commenced to blow from the north and west. The centre of lowest barometer is now moving into the ocean off the New England coast, at- tended by snow and increasing winds. The pressure is very high in the central valley dis- tricts and the Northwest. It is also high but decreasing in the Gulf districts. Snow has fallen in all the districts north of Tennessee and Virginia, and rains are reported on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. A general rise in temperature has taken place in the Middle At- lantic and New England districts and in some sections of the Gulf States. Elsewhere the fall has been very decided. The winds have been from brisk to high in the lake regions and the Northeast. In the other sections they have been fresh, It is very probable that the winds will continue strong over the coast districts until Sunday, and the tempera- ture will be unusually low. According tha special despatches published in eae column the storm was severest in the northern part of this State and over the lower lukes. In many cases the heavy snow drifts caused by the high winds impeded travel on the railroads. Numerous trains were snowed in and had to be abandoned. The fall in tem- perature at St. Louis during a few hours reached the remarkable figure of 40 degrees. In Pennsylvania cattle were frozen to death, aud trains on some of the rail- ways were stopped by the deep snow. Peo- ple who were congratulating themselves during the past month ou the very mild winter they were enjoying, aud indulging in the fond delu- sion that the climate was changing, with a semi- tropical tendency, will. now have to admit that there is but little difference between the ancient aud modern winters in the United States. A very severe tornado is reported to have struck Santa Barbara, Lower California. There is evidently a centre of disturbance in the Pacific ocean off the Mexican coast, which is likely to travel in a southeastwardly direction, The weather in New York and its vicinity to-day will be cold and fair, ‘To-morrow the same coudi- At ece nas Wale tn neawadl NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, JANUARY. 3, 1879 BY The First Day of Specie Payments. The date fixed by law for resumption having been a legal holiday the experiment did not begin until yesterday. Although it will always be regarded as one of the most important days@in our annals it proved to be one of the least eventful for a day of so much interest, It excited cxpecta- tion but no anxiety, because the ‘Treasury was prepared for the greatest run that could have been made upon it. ‘The complete- ness of the preparations forestalled any organized run, and the community has gradually been educated to such a sense of security that very few individuals are found who prefer gold to legal tender notes, Still, the proceedings of tlfe day were watched with lively interest, just as election returns are sometimes’ keenly scanned when the public mind had settled down into a previous belief that the voting could have but one result. A bird in the bush is never regarded as quite the same thing as the same bird in the hand, how- ever confident the marksman may be of the sureness of his aim. In the present in- stance the result achieved does not differ from the result expected, but so paramount is its importance that there is a feeling of gratification almost amounting to jubila- tion over the triumphant success of the experiment on its critical first day. Secretary Sherman, who has so great a .stake in tho resuit, remained at his post yesterday, in spite of the urgent call of do- mestic affliction, watching the Treasury operations with as lively an interest as as- tronomers are wont to bestow ona great solar phenomenon, which is not observed with less attention because it had been pre- dicted with all the certainty of science. Mr. Sherman was in constant telegraphic communication with New York and the other business centres throughout the business hours of the day, and then departed for Cleveland to attend his brother’s funeral. The Chamber of Com- merce in this city marked the day with a series of resolutions felicitating the people of the country, congratulating Secretary Sherman, and expressing appreciation of the enlightened and efficient aid of the national banks. But these grave expres- sions were outdone by the exuberant man- ifestations in Wall street, where all the principal “buildings were decorated with flags as on a popular holiday. Only an insignificant amount of gold was demanded at the Sub-Treasury, the whole sum paid out for greenbacks being only $130,000. On the othe hand, $400,000 of gold certificates were exchanged for clear- ing house certificates, which are payable in legal tender notes, leaving the Sub-Treas- ury in possession of $270,000 more gold at the close of the day’s business than it started with in the merning. At the Treas- ury in Washington most of the people who came to receive interest on United States bonds preferred legal tender notes, but a number of the national banks which drew interest on their bonds took it in gold certificates payable in New York, the purpose: being to provide means of paying their local customers in gold if they should prefer it. In the other commercial cities the day was even more uneventful than in New York. This is ac- counted for by the fact that the govern- ment redeems the legal tender notes only at this one point. .Gold can be had, how- ever, at the principal national banks in all the great cities; but there was almost no demand for it, their customers preferring greenbacks, There is no likelihood of any considerable demand for gold. It is not wanted for exportation, the foreign balance being largely in our favor, and few will de- sire it for domestic use, paper money at par being equally good and more con- venient. s Among the noteworthy things yesterday was the heavy amount of subscriptions sent in for the new four per cent bonds. It footed up $8,590,150, which is nearly treble the highest sum ever before sub- scribed in one day. ‘This, however, is not to be regarded (or at least only in part) as @ consequence of resumption. There is a new Treasury regulation, which went into’ effect yesterday, allowing increased com- pensation to banks which make large sales of these bonds, and subscrip- tions have been held back in order to take advantage of the new com- pensation; But there is no reasonable doubt that large amounts of the new bonds will be taken during the early months of the year, and that the refunding of the residue of the five-twenty six per cent bonds will proceed with extraordinary rapidity, Another noteworthy thing yes- terday was o modification of the Treasury order to grant no more gold certificates. Such certificates are to be issued, but only for the payment of duties at the custom houses. Unlike the existing gold certifi- cates, they will not entitle the holder to demand gold coin for them, but only to pay them instead of gold for duties on im- ports. For every other purpose the sub- treasuries will give only greenbacks or Clearing House certificates to persons de- positing gold tor safe keeping. The modi- fication is merely designed to facilitate the payment of duties and establish a means of recruiting the gold reserve of the govern- ment, The general fecling of congratulation which is exhibited in commercial and bank- ing circles is justified by the groat impor- tance of the falland quiet re-establishment of the currency of the country on a sound basis. No man who lends money or who sells property or goods on credit will any longer fear that he may be paid in money of less value than that by which the transaction is measured. Producers will no longer fear a decline of prices by a fall in the value of money be- tween the purchase of their raw materials and the putting of the manufactured products on the market. It has now be- come possible to calculate the future, and wo may expect a steady and progressive re- vival of business and industry in all their branches. The full employment of labor will, by increasing the consuming power of the country, enlarge the home market and exert a favorable influence on prices. Our people aro naturally so active, 60 enterprising, so hopefal, that they are likely to rise with greut buovancy out of the depression and stagnation of the last five years; and if we should be blessed with another bountiful harvest, keeping the foreign balance in our favor, the country will find itself next autumn not merely convalescent, but in confirmed financial health, : The smooth and successful resumption of specie payments which we now witness falsifies many confident prophecies and re- flects discredit on the financial judgment of the democratic party. In its last national platform it denounced the Resumption act es “on hindrance to’ specie pay- ments” and demanded its repeal, A bill for repealing it was soon after passed by the democratic House of Representa- tives, and the Presidential canvass of the party was conducted with great zeal on that bggis. It was an odd position for some men to take that the fixing of a date for the maturity of a debt was a hindrance toits payment. It was only because a date was fixed that efficient preparations were made. Ifa man’s note ata bank is to fall due at a specified time he has a motive to bestir himself as the time approaches and meet his engagement. There was a great deal of extravagant invective both in the democratic platform and in Mr. Tilden’s letter of acceplance against the republican party for having provided no means of resumption. But it would have been absurd and wasteful to accumulate a great stock of gold to lie idle in the Treas- ury years in advance of the time. Instead of employing the surplus revenue for that purpose it was used for reducing the public debt and thereby saving ao large amount of interest, Between the passage of the Re- sumption act and the date fixed for ‘specie payments there was paid $113,950,191 of the government bonds. It would have been folly to have converted this sum into gold and have kept it lying in the ‘Treasury without interest. When the time came that additional gold was needed for resumption purposes it was easily procured by the sale of bonds in accordance with the law; and no method could have been wiser or more economical. The signal demonstration which we now witness of the unwisdom and want of fore- sight of the politicians who denounced the act asa hindrance to resumption and pre- dicted its total failure has justly destroyed all confidence in their financial judgment. Judge Blatchford’s Decision. The decision rendered yesterday in the United States Circuit Court in Coleman’s case not only disposes of that case but pre- cludes any future controversy respecting the validity of naturalization papers ob- tained by the same method and recorded in the same form. The principle of the deci- sion is that if an alien, having the proper qualification of residence, appears in a court of record, offers the prescribed legal proofs, takes the required oaths and thereupon by the direction of the Judge receives a certificate of naturalization, that certificate cannot be invalidated by the subsequent failure or omission of the Court in making a proper record of the transaction. The validity of the certificate depends on a perfect compliance with all the requirements of the law up to the point of time when the certificate is given him. That makes him a citizen. A neglect of duty or slovenly performance of duty by an officer of the Court afterward caunot de- stroy or impair the right which he has thus acquired. It might with as much reason he contended that a marriage is null be- cause the clergyman who performed the ceremony and gave the certificate failed to comply with some statute requiring him to keep a record or make a return to some registering officer. Judge Blatchford further decides that there is nothing in the naturalization laws which requires the record to be kept in any particular form. Any form is sufficient which the Court may see fit toadopt. The so-called ‘naturalization index” of our Superior Court, having been the only form for a long series of years, and under many different judges, is to be accepted as a compliance with the law. The fact that there is no recorded order of the Court re- quiring the record of naturalization to be kept in that manner is held by Judge Blatchford to be of no conse- quence, The very fact that the records were so kept in that Court for fifteen years and under nineteen different judges is equivalent to an order that they be kept in that manner, and “shows that what was kept and done wasa record and the record.” Between fifty and sixty thousand aliens were naturalized in the same form as Cole- man, and their Certificates are to be re- garded as valid unless it can be proved that their holders never appeared in court or never took the proper oaths, or failed to. comply with other require- ments which are preliminary to the granting of a certificate of naturaliza- tion. Judge Blatchford does not dispute that there may be such cases, and says it is to be presumed that the Superior Court would revoke such certificates on proper proofs. But the fraud must not be assumed, but proved. Mr. Davenport having been overruled at every point in a case selected by himself as a test will probably be in no haste to risk a similar defeat again. The Regimental and the Scot- @tish-Amertie: To-Night. Probably the finest athletic meeting America will have ever seen commences to-night at Gilmore’s Garden. The thou- sands who attended the first annual meet-, ing of the New York Athletic Club last winter will not forget the keen interest it awakened, and especially the intense rivalry aroused between the “tug of war” teams of the Scottish-Amoricans and the police, followed up immediately as it was by the police athletic meeting itself. For the va- rious events of the present meeting there are already upward of two hundred entries, including many of our best known athletes, while in tho ‘tug of war” there will be a sharp struggle for the championship be- tween the Seventh regiment men and teams from America, England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany, and also the Ninth regiment team. The sparring and other features which at some of the meetings last year proved objectionable have been carefully excluded from the programma and the hich social and business standing of the gentle- ‘men of the club, combined with their wide experience in matters of this kind, guaran- tees.a very attractive evening's sport, likely to even outstrip in interest the famous meeting of 1878. Rights of the People in Rapid Transit. It isa mistake to suppose that the main and paramount objection to the use of three classes of carson the Third avenue ‘L” railroad (by which title wo shall hereafter designate the elevated roads), is that such a system is undemocratic. ‘Lhis is a free country, and if people choose to pay for luxuries they have aright to enjoy them. On ordinary railroads we have emigrant trains which travel slowly, and express trains which make faster time, and passen- gers are at liberty to take their choice be- tween them. On express trains drawing room cars and sleeping cars are provided, and passengers who wish to enjoy comfort- able chairs andsofus during the day, or the luxury of a bed gt night, can do so by paying a small additional fee—from fifty cents to two dollars, for instance, in excess of the regular fare of, say, from three to twenty dollars. No one looks upon this as undemocratic, because it is simply affording people an opportunity to travel as they please without interfering with any- body’s rights or facilities. But if the New York Central and Erie railways were to run on each train three classes of cuars—one at two cents, another at four cents and another at six cents a mile—charging to Albany, for example, three dollars in one description of ear, six dollars in another and nine dollars in a third, at the same time failing to provide on any train a sufficient number of “third class” cars to accommodate the three dollar travellers, it would not only be undemo- eratic classification but an imposition which the people would properly resent. If the Third avenue “L” road could run on | certain trains in addition to three ordinary passenger cars a special drawing room car, and charge a small fee to those who m¥ght desire to ride in it, the distinction would excite no feeling in the reddest of red-rag minds. Our people are by no means sensi- tive on such a point as this. But the propo- sition of the ‘‘L” railroad managers to run three cars on each train—one at five cents fare, one at double and another at three times that amount—is quite another matter. It is principally objectionable because it would incommode the bulk of the “L” railroad passengers and aggravat’ the evils of insuf- ficient accommodation, delay, and over- crowding. The “L” railroads enjoy valuable fran- chises, which were bestowed upon them, not alone to enable the companies to make large fortunes, but as a means of accommo- dating and benefiting the people. The roads should be open to all on equal terms and at equal rates of fare. ‘They are essen- tially public works although in private hands, and their managers would not be justified in crippling the facilities which the great mass of the travelling public has aright to enjoy by filling up two-thirds of the space on each train with cars from which four-fifths of the passengers would be virtually excluded. We must not lose sight of the fact that the ‘‘L” railroads were demanded by the people principally because of the persistent disregard of the public rights manifested by the horse car com- panies. Those corporations could easily have given their passengers comfort- able accommodations. They could have run more cars and at greater speed; could have studied cleanliness and civility; could have provided heat in the winter and proper ventilation in the .sum- mer. But such concessions would have lessened their profits, and the corporations, having the people at their mercy, chose to abuse their privileges and to make money at the expense ofthe public. Their groed excited popular indignation, and the “L” railroads were chartered in order that the people might get rid of the horse car nuisance. It is especially incumbent on the “L” companies to give the working classes the full use and benefit of rapid trarsit at a low rate of fare, since the ‘L” railroads will necessarily cripple if not wholly remove the accomodation, such as it is, of the cheap horse car lines. Both the “L” companies hav¢é thus far done splendid work and shown a disposi- tion to serve the public well. We have no right to expect perfection at the start, but we desire to prevent the trial of any unpop- ular or objectionable experiments sug- gested under the natural desire to make enormous profits. The people are now ac- customed to five and ten cent fares. While they look eagerly for the boon of a uniform five cent rate they are met by Mr. Field’s proposition to make a-charge of fifteen cents and for that purpose to abstract one- third of the accommodation now enjoyed by five and ten-cent passengers. Rapid transit for the million ought not to be crippled for the gratification of the few. Young men who, in the lan- guage of Mr. Field, ‘desire to take their girls to the opera” and who be- grudge the price of s carriage, should not be accommodated at the expense of the rapid transit pa: agers, Gallantry should go hand in hand with liberality. . If the “L" companies resolve to exact o fifteen cent fare no one will believe that it is done for the benefit of nice young gentlemen who take girls to the opera, It will rather be credited to the avarice unfortunately too common among corporations, and will be set down as another instance in which wealthy men, ‘after obtaining privileges under delusive promises, have been misled by the glittering temptation of rapid and unusual gain. No sophistry or ingenious excuses can ever persuads the pub- lic to look at the matter in any other light. At the same time the temp- tation is an illusion, for at five cent fares tho “‘L” railroads will make their owners wealthy in brief periods and will really be largely more profitable than under higher rates. If Mr, Field will clear his mind of the will-o'the-wisp of palace cars and triple fares and will take the bold step of initiating the five cent policy he will put money in the pockets of his stockholders and build himself a lasting monument in the hearts of a sorely tried people, Aan beainning wa angvest to Mr. Field to —TRIPLE SHEET. . eee —— ins try the experiment of running five cent trains from five to nine o'clock in the morn- ing and from four to eight in the afternoon. Strikes and Faltures in England. With what friction the adjustment of the relations between labor and capital in the United Kingdom is attended can be seen in the cable despatches. Out of the depression of trade the capitalist sees no way but by a reduction of the price of labor, and labor sees no way to stop it but by going on strike. Then the capitalist suffers a little and the laborer a great deal. In nine cases out of ten capital wins, and the laborer returns, grumbling, to work. In the cotton, coal and iron trades the: strug- gle is very bitter. It is gratifying to observe that in one case the . dispute about a five per cent reduction has been referred to arbitration, and it is to be hoped that the arbitrators will give the grounds on which they base their decision, as well as the decision itself. The coal miners of Scuth Yorkshire are prepar- ing to resist a reduction of pay, and the amalgamated engineers are ready to re- sist an attempt to increase their hours of labor. All these are symptoms of the depression of business, of which a further idea may be formed by the record of.failures for 1878. ‘Théy are in all 15,059, or 4,087 more than in 1877. Of these 2,643 are of large concerns, tho Glasgow Bank. with its thirty million dollars of deticit, heading thelist. No symptom of recovery from this state of affairs is yet visible. Wages paring and profit shaving may help Knglish trade a trifle, but its great days are gone beyond recovery. It can no longer monopolize the markets of the world, and where it has re- cently lost ground another has taken its place. It is America’s turn. An Indian War—On Paper. The Secretary of the Interior having called upon General Sheridan for specifications in support of his Inte charges against the exist- ing management of Indian affairs, the Gen- eral has written a reply which has probably a great deal more in it than the Secretary will care to read with the whole nation look- ing over his shoulder. ° Aside from the specific information given by the letter pub- lished yesterday, the statement that the material upon which the charges were based had already ‘been transmitted by the War Department to that of the Interior, as is the case with all military documents rélating to Indian affairs, embodies some unpleasant suggestions of carelessness, to say the least, in the Interior Department. The public is so aecustomed to hear of fraud and mismanagement in *Indian “affiirs, even when: lronestiand ablesmen aré ‘nominally - in control ofthe» bureau, thytitj will natu- rally- regard sthe: Secretary's <welf-intplied ig- noraneg .as conly’ another proof of the trickery.andcduplicity: which seem to have been just beneath the surface of‘iearly all dealings with or for the Indians since the red men became the nation’s wards. The Secretary has admitted that the Indian Bureau is and has been an incubus upon the Interior Department, and the public needs no official intimation that this is be- cause of the incompetence and dishonesty of most of the men who really manage Indian affairs; it seems strange, therefore, that he shoaldbecame its defender against the army:ofticers, almost any one of whom has really more facts at command than any Indian Commissioner has -ever-ibeen able and willing ta give to-his ofMicinl “superior. Whereabouts in the Interior Department are these statements in point thatuhave been transmitted by tho War Department, but of which Secretary Schurz has been ignorant? Arsenic in Connecticut. In the Cobb murder case, now on trial in Connecticut, another court has to deal with the difficult problems of the poison- er’s art; but we do not apprehend that the famous farce that was played in a New Jer- sey court in the caseof Vosburgh will be re- peated at Norwich, In Connecticut at least they had a dead body to begin with. Professor Doremus has given his testimony on the examination of the morbid anatomy, and has declared what he found. His chemical knowledge on points of this nature is assuredly without fault, and judges and juries may accept as beyond the reach of refutation any positive declarations made by him of the presence of poison in the tissues of the deceased. In the present caso we do not see but that the counsel for the defence may accept them also, for unless the evidence of analysis is remarkably sup- ported by expert medical testimony nobody can be hanged on what has been Shown. From the arsenic actually found in the or- gans examined, and o computation there- upon, Professor Doremus states his opinion that there was at least a grain and a half of the drug in the dead body, his inference that there was more in the body shortly before death, and his further 0, .uion that no man can so accustom himself to the use of ar- senic as to safcly carry one or two grains of it in his system. These several points are to be received with very different de- grees of credit. The fact that half a grain was found is doubtless absolute; the com- putation thence to a grain and a half is of less value; and the alle- gation as to the limit of toleration is worthless—is a mere opinion, and not the opinion even of a person practi- cally familiar with the use of this substance in medicine. It appears that the deceased was at tho time of his death using medicine which contained arsenic, “but only: a lite tle.”. In the twelve powders found the Pro- fessor says there was not enough arsenic to be dangerous. Inthe long continued use of very small doses of this drug lies the secret of its toleration by the system, and it will become an impoftant issue how long the deceased had been using such powders. If he had beon using them for any consid- erable period the accumulation of a grain andahalf in the system would not have been a great one, since the Professor's views are altogether erroneous as to what a man may carry. Von Tschudi’s report of four grains used in ‘a day cannot be ig- nored, and ns Orfila reasons that thirty days are necessary for complete elimination a man might have in him at one time any- where from five to fifty grains, SO “Offensive and Insulting to Members us of the Press.” In the complaint of Mr. Harkins against his partner, Mr. Fiske, one of the lessees of the Fifth Avenue Theatre, appears the above specification, We do not know the merits or demerits, of either party to the suit which has been begun, but if Mr. Fiske's “offensive and insulting” conduct toward the press consisted only of neglect to offer free passes to editors and reporters and to respond to’demands for such atten- tions, he has complimented the press more than he has offended it, Mere information, such as any one has a right to ask, is easily obtained from theatre managers by news- paper representatives, and here the rela- tions of the two properly end. Managers are likely to be more frequently ‘‘offensive” by offering courtesies which are not de- sired than by disregarding any legitimate request which the press may make, Amother Millionnaire’s Money, The will of the late Mr. O'Brien, of bo. nanza fame, is in danger of being included in the dismal list of last testaments which is blessing lawyers, cursing surrogates and scandalizing claimants and testators with rigid impartiality. Our special de- spatch, with details of the pliysical and financial circumstances of the dead million- naire’s brother, the unexpected appearance of a self-reputed wife and-child of the sick man, and the latter's abrupt and mysterious departure with his supposed family, reads like a strained romance, but the two mill- ions of dollars which are involved give the story a* basis of admirable solidity. The inferences which the pubMo will naturally make will, of course, be complimentary to the family affection which prompted the women to leave a dying man to depart this life in poverty, peace and in ignorance of the loving relatives who were to mourn his loss, while the influences under which their treatment altered will not easily escape recognition. Meanwhile, there will be some sceptical people who will recall other estates which have attracted the attention of per- sons who have been supposed to be under ground, and whose identification lacked somewhat of completeness. The story as it stands is certainly,incomplete enough to consume every reader with wonder as to what is coming next. Ballot Box Mysteries. On the 26th ult. the Hznanp gave its read- ors the opinions of prominent South Caro- _ lina democrats upon the late election in their State. ‘The republican side of the question is distinctly presented to-day in a letter from Mr. E. W. M. Mackey, who was counted out in the Second Congres- sional district. “Mr. Mackey's gtatement is full of figures and comparisons which can hardly fail to provoke replies. He charges that in two precincts of a single ward in Charleston the ballot boxes were “stuffed” with tissue paper tickets, in dia- mond type, to the number of thirty-six hundred; that in some wards, where the polling places were said to be so obstructed through the entire day by negroes as to render it almost impossible for a white democrat to vote, there were, according to the count, large democratic majorities, while in the remainder the democratic vote nearly equalled that of the republicans; that in cases. where the vote ex- ceeded the poll list the superfluous tickets were withdrawn by the sense of touch, with the result that nearly all tickets so removed were.of the larger or republican variety ; that the increase of the vote of Charleston over the same city’s vote in the Presidential election of 1876 was twenty-five per cent, which cannot be hon- estly explained, and that in eleven out of the nineteen boxes in Orangeburg county the tickets exceeded the poll lists by nearly two thousand. The democratic explana- tion of these apparently truthful figures will be awaited with interest. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE, Blaine is magnetic. Galignani’s Messenger:—'‘The high Spanish comb is worn.” Burnside loves hot tea, a music box, a spry horse and the administration. Galignani’s Messenger:—"The newest fans are of fine wire, delicately painted by hand.” ‘The Chicago Times changed hands yesterday. The purchaser is said to be the Hon. John Wentworth. Southern Senators and members of Congress who goto Washington do not as a rule keep house, but live-at hotels. Senator Anthony, of Rhode Island, is the great diner-out, and as he is not married he has plenty of time to reply to invitations. Galignani’s Messenger:—'There are fewer plastron fichus than last month; the fichu in favor being silx muslin, adorned with Breton lace,” Secretary and General Sherman left Washington last night for Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the funeral of their brother, Judge Sherman, in that city on Sat- urday. They will return there Sunday evening. Senator Edmunds is looked upon in Vermont as one who aspires to be President; but the people of that Stato are not enthusiastic for him although they would loyally support him, The democrats want Thurman, Two yoars ago the South and the West were con- sidered as natural allies; but, at the present time, we find from a fairly careful reading of Southern jour. nals of the best class that the South would rather ally itself with the East than with the West. With its next number the Boston Saturday Zvening Gacetie will enter upon its sixty-seventh volume, nd, 1 honor of this anniversary, will appear in an entirely new dress, ‘The Gazette is one of the bright ‘est as well as the oldest of New England papers, and, like wine, it improves with age. Galignani’s Messenger'—"Tho newest cut for toilets of brocades for dinner or soirée is a bodice with pointed front and back basque; it is opened heart- shape dn the breast; short elbow sleoves with lace raf, ‘The front width of the skirt is en tablicr and the train squint. ‘Tho Atickmond {Va.) Dispatch favors Thurman for tho Presidency because he is, next to Edmunds, the most learned ‘lawyer in the Senate, is liberal in cul- ture, wishos the government to issue currency, but is not @ grteenbacker or « goldbug, and would run upon a platform which would be acceptable to the South, Senator Sharon believes in Grant and Conkling. He does not believe in unedueated negroes having the right of suffrage; but in respect of education he would give the right toa Chinaman as soon as to @ negro; and he thinks that while Hendricks, an 9 democrat, is ahead of Thurman, Grant, as a republi- can, will be the next President, London Truth:—“Although Raff must be classed among the disciples of Wagner, ho is not a rabid musical transcendentalist. Some of his works, it is true, belong to the school of the incomprohensible, md may fairly be classed with Whistler's nocturnes and Matthew Arnold's theology. But that ho can write scholarly, yet at the same time interesting and beautiful. music is undeniable.” a