The New York Herald Newspaper, February 7, 1879, Page 6

NI E W YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, TROPRIETOR, RMS ope THE DAILY MERALD, published every day tn dhe year, Three er copy (Sundays exc Ten dollars por M dx montis, two dollars and Afty cents ire rat arate ot one dollar per month for guy period lose than three months, Sunday edition included, free OTICE 10 SUBSCRIBERS.--Remit in drafts on New or Post Office money orders, and where neither of these ean be procured send the money in a regintered letter. All money remitted at rink of ender. In order to insure atten- tion subscribers wishing their address changed must give their old us well as their new address, All business, news letters or telegraphic despatches must be addressed TER Letters and packa; Rejected communi should bo property sealed. tious will uot be returned. fate te ne ee be el PHIA OFFICE—NO. 112 SOUTH SIXTH ON ‘OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD— NO, 46 FLEET STREET. AMUSEMENTS TO-NIGHT. oe NEW YORK AQUARIUM—Quxer Picxoxs. UNION SQUARE ™ NIBLO’ ¢ THEATRE—U GERMANIA THEATRE. Gr OPERA HOUSE. BOWERY THEATRE: PARK THEATRE—Tne FIFTH AVENUE THRATR BOOTH'S THEATRE—Tae I COOPER INSTITUTE—Bittrarps. AMERICAN MUSEUM—Two Heapxp Lgpr. TIVOLI THEATRE—V SAN FRANCISCO MI WINDSOR THEATRE. EN JUNGGESELLER. OLLKEN BAWN and KERRY, y YORK, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1879. “The probabilities are that the weather in New York and its vicinity to-day will Be cool and cloudy, perhaps with occasional light rain or snot, followed by clearing. To-morrow it will be cool and partly cloudy or fair. . Way Srreet Yesterpay.—The stock mar ket was fairly active and generally higher. Government bonds were quiet, States lower and railroads strong. Money on call was easy at 1 a 21, per cent and closed at 2 per cent. ese ‘The famous Stein- berger must be around somewhere. Ir Coy as the lobl extra session. Civin War In Samoa. MEN were only half a as industrious 's there would ‘be no danger of an * Tv Witt Be Seen from our court reports that the divorce business is reviving, if, indeed, it ‘Was ever depressed. In THE Orrnion of the naval officials at Wash- ington no apprehensions need be entertained in regard to the Richmond. TrIsa Pornt i in Supervisor Davenport’s favor that his summary action in the late election had the sanction of his legal superiors. Canava is not happy over her cattle monop- oly. She has just found out that she has neither the cattle nor the winter port to ship them from. Tue Larest Suir Cana proposition aims at connecting the bays of this city and Newark across Bergen Neck. It turned up in Congress yesterday. Tus Spectacte presented in New Jersey of ® partisan fight over the judicial appointments is exceedingly unseemly. At least the Bench ought to be kept free from politics. Tue Vicrous Practice of tacking on legisla- tion to appropriation bills was condemned in Congress yesterday by several gentlemen. A reform in this respect is sadly needed. Frepertck MOouiennaver’s Gossip, com- ments and reyniniscences, on another page, will be found exceedingly interesting. He predicts ® great musical future for this country. ConGressMAN Banks was yesterday nom- inated to be United States Marshal for Massa- chusetts, and Congressman Townsend to be District Attorney of the Northern district of this State. Their terms expire in March. Tue Census Brit, which passed the Senate yesterday, is in many respects a great impyove- ment upon its predecessors, Au important point in its favor is that its machinery will not be so expensive as that of the act under which the last enumeration was made. Tux Maw Fearunes of the Burnside army reorganization scheme have been adopted by the House in Committee of the Whole on the Army Appropriation bill, Among other im- portant amendments agreed to is one providing that in future the army shall not be allowed to be-at the polls on election day ‘to keep the peace.” ty Or THE Pirreen Hunprep Dotvars received by the Sailors’ Boarding House Commissioners last year they expended, according to their an- nual report, five dollars and five cents in reliev- ing sick and déstitate seamen and a thousand dollars upon a secretary. The sick and desti- tute seamen of the port are under very great obligations to these Commissioners. Tne Wearner.—The influence of the storm centre or depression which reached the Middle Atlautic coast on Wednesday continues to be felt from Nova Scbdtia to Northern Florida. Rains were frequent during yesterday south- ward of Tennessee and eastward of the Mis- sissippi River, while northward of that lati- tude and through the Ohio Valley, the Middle aud New England States aud Canada, as well as the lower Jake region, light suows have fallen, The highest pressure is now ini the Southwest and the lowest over and near Cape Hatteras. Cloudiness is general eastward of the Mississippi River. The winds are westerly to northerly in all the districts except the imme- diate coast, where they are southerly to vari able, In the West and on the West Gulf coast they ave strong. Temperatures have fallen in the Southwest, but have not changed much else- where. A sharp ‘“‘norther” prevails on the Texas and Mexican cousts, where it probably is raising a heavy sea, Our special eable weather reports irom London ennounce — that last evening the gales continued on the British coasts. At Liverpool-there was a fresh gale from the southwest. At Holyhead a mod- erate westerly gale, with a barometer at 29.38 at Plymouth cloudy weather, with a fresh westerly wind and a barometer at 20.60 inches, The weather in New York and its vi- cinity to-day will ‘be cool and cloudy, perhaps with occasional light rain or snow, followed by clearing. To-morrow it will be cool aud partly alouda or taike inches, a NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1879—TRIPLE SHEET. Codification. The address of Mr. David Dudley Field at Buffulo last evening on the Codes of New York and codification in general suggests an inquiry why the codification which the constitution requires has not been carried out. We know that wo com- missions were set to work immediately after the adoption of the State constitution of 1846, .and that they prepared and presented to the Legislature a Code in five divisions, called Codes of Civil and Criminal ‘Procedure, Political, Penal and Civil Codes, containing in all about seven thousand sections, in which they claimed to have included ‘‘the whole body of the law of this State,” using the phrase- ology of the constitution—in other words, all the statute and common law. = It was this work to which Mr. Field re- ferred as the Codes of New York. ‘Now, why has not this work been acted upon? ‘This is a question which it be- hooves legislators to answer, and which they will have to answer by and by to their constituents, even if they do not care to answer to their own consciences, Every man who takes his seat in the Senate and As- sembly swears to support the constitution, and that instrument required the Code to be prepared and published “prior to its being presented to the Legislature for adoption.” * This language, if it be not ab- solutely senseless, means that the Legisla- ture shall at least consider and act upon the report of the ,codifiers, But the fi@elity of the legislators to their oaths is on -affair between them and their consciences; their fidelity to the wishes and interests of their constituents is an affsir between them and the people, and it is this aspect of the question that we propose here to consider. Certain facts.may Be assumed; everybody, knows them, and no time need be wasted in proving them. One is, that our law isa chaotic mass; another, that | lawsuits are a delusion and a snare; inter- minable delays, expenses without limit, and utter uncertainty as to the result, are the features of present litigation. Thisis nota necessary condition of our social and po- litical life; tltere is wrong somewhere, and it is the business of somebody to find it out and put an end to it. Who is that somebody? We answer, it is the legislator first and the lawyer next—the “former be- cause he makes the laws and the latter be- cause he knows best what laws should be made. Let us, then, have a few plain words with both. To the lawyer we say, bestir yourself ; you see the-condition we are in, and you know or should know the remedy. Yo the legislator we say, turn your attention from local bills end the filling of petty offices to the courts and their doings and the scan- dalous condition of the laws. If you have not the knowledge or the spirit necessary to’ reliéve the people take the advice of those who have. What is it to have the laws codified? It is to have them in intelligible propositions and convenient form. Is not that possible? We know that itis possible. No artifice can conceal that fact; no sophistry convince us to the contrary. The French people have had their laws in this condition, from the beginning of the century, within about the same com- pass as that to which our codifiers reduced our own. If you go into a counting room in Paris you-will be pretty sure to find a copy of the French Code. In this country a general acquaintance with the laws is at ‘least as necessary as it is in France. Indeed, it is more necessary, and if there be any country in the world where a code is desirable it is here, We live and move and have our being in an atmosphere of law; we cannot escape from it; we cannot live without it; if we conform to it we are well; if we oppose it we suffer. What an absurdity, then, it is; what a wrong not to place it within our reach, within the reach of every person who is its subject. One would have supposed that it would be the first aim of a civilized people to make their laws so intelligible that he who runs might read. We have lately looked over again tho codes prepared by our codifiers and find our first impressions confirmed, that they are full and comprehensive, well expressed and well arranged. A glance at the various divisions and titles will show how full they are, Besides the division ¢alled the Political Code, which coptains all the laws relating “to government and official relations, there are the divisions called Codes of Civil and Criminal Practice, the Penal, which defines all the crimes cognizable by the law, and specifies the punishment for each, and, lastly, there is the division, greatest of all, calle. the Civil Code, which defines all per- sonal relations, rights and obligations, all kinds of property, and all kinds of con- tracts—as for instance, sale, loan, ser- vice, partnership, insurance and negotiable securities. The value of this work is not left to conjecture nor to the opinions of experts; it has been decided by experience. We know that it has been used in forming the codes ofe India and has beeh incor- porated in the largest measure with the codes of California. The experience of this great State—the New York of the Pacific— appears to us decisive. We have betore us a letter from a well known judge of California, who writes, in relation to the codes:— “In administration they work smoothly and well. There is no_ recalcitration against them, either by the courts or by the legal profession, On the con- trary, they are highly esteemed and well received by both. By the people at large they are held in great’ re- pute. The Civil Code is a handbook among business men, After careful con- sideration I put my students upon: the Civil Code the first thing. ‘Melius est petere Sontes quam rivulos sequari.’ It is not pe- dantic to use this quotation, for with us, hereafter, the codes’ are the fountains and the wellsprings of the law. The thousand volumes of statutes and reports which pre- ceded them now belong only to its history and illustration.” The causes which have prevented the enactment by the State of New York of her own codes are, accordipg to our report, ex L plained by Mr. Field to have been the re sistance which the first portion, the Code of 1848, provoked from the lawyers, the present inertia of the profession and the late revision of the statutes, resulting in what is popularly known as the New Code. This revision he thinks a hindrance to codi- fication, to be got out of the way before much progress can be made, With these closing sentences of Mr. Field's address we heartily agree:—‘De- spite all these obstacles I believe thata codification of our law is not faroff. If I were an Englishman, speaking to English- men, 1 should express my _ convic- tion that not many imperial parlia- ments will sit at Westminster before the enactment of that Code Victoria which an English Chancellor foresaw, as the counterpart or rival of the Code Napo- leon, As an American, speaking to Amer- icans, I venture to predict that the instincts of our people and the inexorable logic of events wil hasten the completion. of the work here sooner than in England, and that not many returning summers will find us without that which the people long ago commanded—‘a written and, sys- tematic code’ of ‘the whole body of the law.’ We might have it, for the work is ready, even before the last tower is raised over the new Capitol. Fortunate will he be who foresees it, prepares for it and helps its. coming ; unfortunate he who shall resist, it and be overcom President The message of the new President of France, interesting portions é6f which will be found among our cable news, is g state paper of peculiar interest and importance, although it contains nothing but what would naturally be expected from any one whom the present majority of the Assembly would elect as Chief Executive. The President asserts his devotion to’ his work gnd to the leading principle of parliamentary government, which is that the will of the majority is that of the nation; he prom. ises that particular attention shall be paid to the maintenance of that tranquillity which France needs as well as desires; that all legitimate and acquired rights shull be respected, but that public functionaries shall be neither enemies nor detractors of the existing system of government. Being a Frenchman and the possessor of a mem- ory it is natural that President Grévy should instance the army as that one of the columns of the social edifice ‘‘whose honor and interests will be constant ob- jects of its (the government: s) most cher- ished preoccupation.” The policy outlined is rightly termed both liberal and truly con- servative. A pleasing feature of the mes- sage is the lack of allusion to the past gloriés of the nation. France has hereto- fore been too emulous of those brilliant periods of her past whieh were attained by war, but the ngw Executive speaks only of the future, and a future which ¢an'be con- quered only by tranquillity, industry and self-control. “fhe words of the President are ably supplemented by those of Gam- betta, President of the Chamber of Depu- ties, who promises to protect the minority, but also to exact respect for the constitu- tion. Bismarck’s Response to the Dane. By the treaty between Prussia and Austria, just published at Vienna, the German Chan- cellor touches once again an ancient. and famous topic that had almost passed out of common remembrance —the Schleswig-Hol- stein dispute. It was a famous quarrel in its time, and led to two wars, a small one and a great one, out of which grew the actual history of contemporary Europe. In 1863 differences were lively as to the right of succession in the Duchies, and one view was entertained by the Danes and another by the Germans, and the German Diet de- liberated upon the subject and after much consideration ordered a federal occupation of the districts, which resulted in the Prusso- Austro-Danish war of 1864. Asa result of that war—the Duchies were by the Treaty of Vienna handed over to the joint possession of the conquerors—the bone. of con- tention changed hands. Austria and Prussia, possessors in common, estab- lished their respective relations as owners by the Treaty of Gastein, made in August, 1865. Under that settlement Aus- tria governed Holstein and Prussia Schles- wig, and Prussia was authorized to con- struct the defences of Kiel as a German harbor. But the subject led to trouble- some negotiations between these two Powers; and it would have been a véry good treaty indeed which could then have kept the peace between the Prussian wolf and the neighbor who he was suro made muddy the water of all the streams from which he wished to slake his thirst. Out of the spoil taken from the Dane arose those troubles which ended in the war that was closed at Sadowa and by which Austria was put on a back seat, Peace was made between these Powers at Prague in Sepfember, 1866, and by the fifth article of that treaty the Emperor of Austria conveyed to the King of Prussia ‘all the claims upon the Duchies of Holstein’ and Schleswig which he had acquired by the Treaty of Vienna, August 30, 1864.” But in order to satisfy the preju- dices of other governments in Europe—for there was yet a Europe in those days that did not assent to all Prussian ideas —g clause was inserted in this article as follows:— “Provided that, ifthe populations of the northern districts of Schleswig, by a freo vote, should make known their desire to be united to Denmark, said district shall be ceded to Denmark.” This was put in to please the Emperor Napoleon, who thought that no treaty was complete unless it pro- vided in some way or another for a plébiscite, But Bismarck never had any intention to observe this clause, and it has never been acted upon, for there has hot been a day from that time to this upon which, action taken, it would not have given those dis- tricts to the Danes. Now the unpleasant record is expunged, for, of course, a treaty made between Austria and Prussia can be changed by them at their pleasure; and if the unqtiet Danes will marry their beauti- fal princesses in o way that this fierce old Chancellor dislikes, what can they expect? Dyo You ever know: an official as punctil- iously exact as Mayor Cooper? vy's Message. . Never. . What! Nover! Hardly ever. Mr. Peiton’s Testimony. The sub-committee which is holding sit- tings at the Fiith Avenue Hotel for investi- gating the. cipher despatches spent the whole day and evening yesterday in exam- ining and cross-examining Mr. Pelton, Governof ‘Tilden’s nephew and for many years his confidential secretary. Mr. Pelton is a most important witness. He was, so to speak, the head centre of all the cipher correspondence by telegraph which related to the employment of money. What Pelton does not know of that ecan- | dalous business is not worth knowing, since all the money propositions were telegraphed to him and replied to by him, Pelton knows, if anybody knows, what person or persons, or whether any person or persons, stood be- hind him and used him as a go-between or’ instrument. As to what tonk place between Mr. Pelton an& his cipher correspond- ents the translated despatches speak for themselves, and neither his testi- mony nor apybody’s testimony can modify’ the pubiic judgment of the main features of those disreputable transactions. Mry Pelton, like Mr. Weed, disputes the accuracy of the published de- spatches and picks flaws in the printed translations. But these smal! criticisms, or rather cavils, amount to nothing; for both Mr. Weed and Mr. constrained to acknowledge that each and all of the purticular. cipher telegrams which are most scandalous and damaging— those relating to bribery—did actually pass between Pelton in New Yerk and his correspondents in Columbia and Tallahas- see, and that the substance of them has been given without important errors. ‘This being confessed it is impossible to save the repu- tation of Mr. Weed or Mr. Pelton, both of whom are ‘tarred with the same stick,” and are unable to deny their willingness and their desire to purchase electoral votes for Mr. Tilden, ‘The only remaining question in which the country takes any real interest is whether Mr. Tilden was cognizant of these disgraceful transactions and gave them the sanction of his approbation or connivance. In such a matter there is no renl difference he- tween sanction and connivance. What- ever Mr. Tilden knew, but did not condemn and arrest, was as charge- able to him as if he had _ inspired or directed it. The only defensive plea which can be successfully made in his be- half is the plea of total ignorance of what was going on. ‘here is as yet not a par- ticle of evidence which convicts him of guilty knowledge. The South Carolina traffic did come to his knowledge the next day after Pelton left for Baltimore, but the concurrent testi- mony of Mr. Weed, Mayor Cooper and Mr. Pelton proves that he put an immediate’ and absolute veto on the transaction as soon as it was brought to his notice. Mr, Pelton’s testimony on this point seems consistent with probability. There is no reason to doubt that the admiring nephew believed in the sincerity of Mr. Tilden’s professions of exalted public virtue, and, having this conception of Mr. Tilden’s character, Pel- ton would naturally have concealed from him his various plots for bribing the doubt- ful returning boards. The fact that Mr. Hewitt and Mayor Cooper—both gentlemen of unquestioned character and bi very intimate with Mr. Tilden at the time—have the most undoubting confidence in his honor corroborates the general effect of the testimony which has thus far been given. But still it is prudent to hold our judgment in suspense until the evidence is all in. A “Frar’ Resipent—Neighbor, you never have to fee the janitor if you want anything done? Neighbor—Oh, dear no; never. “Flat” Resident—What! Never? Neighbor—Hardly ever. ‘Phe. Development of Stationery. One of the most cheering indications of the improvement of the world is to be found in the new and enlarged significance of many terms which once meant very little; There was a time, and within the memory of half the people alive, when “stationery” suggested merely pen, ink and paper, with perhaps an occasional bundle of pencils and box of wafers—only this ond nothing more. But a Western contemporary has just published some items from the stationery statement of the Clerk of the House of Representatives which show that stationery has devel- opéd until in one respect it resem- bles the hand of Byovidence—it takes in everything, Among other things not included under the old-time hegd of stationery we find razor, razor strop and nail brush, which, having been issued to Congressmen, are earnests of that personal care which a grateful country would have its invaluable lawmakers exercise. Four opera glasses appear in tho list, and suggest that an equal number of ‘legislators have an eye for the beautiful as well as for the (presumably) useful. A pair of dump bells is something rather startling when encountered in a stationery list, but the shock is endurable when the reader realizes that a single Congressman has the will to exercise his ruder muscles, and, probably, give his <ongue and the public a season of blissful rest. “One pack of cards” is an item which may shock the sensibilities of the ‘‘unco guid,” but with the remembrance of some Congressional games still in mind we doubt not that tricks with cards only would to occasional Congressmen be equivalent to radical reform, A copy of the ‘‘Baby Opera,” one of “Songs of the Sanctuary” and a hymn book appear in the list, and show to apprehensive spirits that three Congressmen, judged by the Shakespearean rule, are unfit for treason, stratagem and spoil, while the religious will note with holy joy the fact that two of these books of song are of a devotional nature. Best of all, however, are the indica- tions which the list affords of Congressional opposition to the heresies with which the age is infested. A copy of ‘The, Biblé for Learners” appears thereon, so it is probable that one of our lawmakers has been moved to visit the accepted source of moral teachings. “What is one among so many?” may be asked concerning this hitherto unsuspected Congressional act. bnt we are odnfident Pelton are | | chose. test. that the idea of a Congressman studying the Scriptures will be extremely influential by reason of its extreme novelty. Another Solon, thinking more of his loved ones than himseif, has ordered a family Bible, which, we trust, has already reached its destination, Thus we see that stationery, from being an insignifi- cant term, has come to include art, music and literature, the barber shop and the iron foundry, and even to have tendencies toward home ‘missionary work. With « similar degree of development in other branches of business the possibilities of our civilization will transcend the bounds of imagination itselt, Dip You ever see a public building in New York put up within the estimates? Never. What! Neverf Ilardly ever. The Case of Bayard Taylor. Some writers of admirable judgment have maintained that there are many offices in the gift of our government that should always be held by rich men, and that con- spicuous in the number of such’ offices are those ot representatives of the United States at foreign courts, It is a theory in the way of which there are many difficulties. Un- doubtedly there are many advantages—so- cial, perhaps, rather than diplomatic — that directly flow from a minister's possession of fortune, and not the least is the dignity with which he is able to sustain the national name abroad ; but it would never do to set an important portion of the public service apart from the other portions by inscrib- ing over certain offices the legend, ‘‘No poor inan shall enter here.” Ia o nation where blood must be exceedingly blue to be courted as blood at all that may answer, but not here; and in practice many of the representatives of whose career abroad we have the best reason to be proud lived on their pay. But unless we make a distinction of this kind we ought to be able to overcome more grace- fully than we do financial diffitulties that sometithes arise in connection with our legations, ‘There is perhaps no regular part of the appropriations that thé govern- ment could apply to relieve the difficulties of Mrs. Taylor at Berlin; and if there is not an appeal such as the Secretary of State hss made to Congress ought, not to be treated in a niggardly spirit. Events that are only misfortunes in the history of a private individual are magnified into dis- credits and scandals when a government is practically behind them. Mrs. Taylor, as an ambassador's wife, might defy her Ger- man'-landlord or other creditors if she Qur own attorneys ‘general hold that ‘an ambassador is not liable in any ease, according to the laws of nations, to answer cithér criminally or civilly before any court of tke foreign nation to which he is sent.” And Bluntschli deems that im- munity under the principle here referred to extends to the ambasszdor’s family and effects. ‘To plead an ambussador’s privileges against legitimate claims would certainly be a scandal ; but the fact that the govern- ment might thereby be put in the place of those who are now in the difficulty is suffi- cient to justify the application of an official remedy. An Important Case. Mr. William Astor has determined to test in the courts the right of the Custom House authorities to enforce the payment of -duties on personal baggage and wearing apparel. “When Mr. Astor’s family re- turned from a European trip last autumn their trunks were taken to the appraiser's office and the wearing apparel intended for their own use alone was declared to be dutiable to the amount of eighteen hun- dred dollars, which was paid under pro- ‘The Treasury Department subse- quently approved the action of the Custom House authorities and sustained their in+ terpretation of the law. ‘This is not satis- factory to Mr. Astor, probably because the Treasury Department has on former occa- sions decided exactly the reverse, and prob- ably because common sense dictates to him that when the law exempts from duty “wearing apparel in actual use” and which is' sworn to be the property of a person arriving in the United States, “and not directly or indirectly im- ported .for any other or intended for sale,” it means what it says and not some- thing which it does not say. So Mr. Astor takes the case to the Supreme Court, and in so doing really performs an act of great public value and importance. It. is very desirable that our citizens who visit Europe so frequently should know just what their rights are, and thus be relieved from the annoyance of being treated as smugglers, If they are required to pay duty on articles dcclaved free by the law they will no doubt do so; but if the law means what it says they will no longer be subjected to misapprehen- sion or injustice at the hands of the Cds- tom House people. What a Broadway Railroad . To Be. There is likely to be a lively.compotition for the privilege of running o surtace rail- road on Broadway, between Fourteenth street and the Battery, and it has been sug- gested that if o franchise is to be granted it ought to be disposed of at auction to the highest bidder. There are some objections to this plan, however, both the peoplo who would use such a road and the owners of property along the route being too deeply interested in securing first class ac- commodations and good service to warrant the city in considering only how to make a few dollars out of the enterprise. ‘Tho ex- pediency of allowing the thoroughfare to be used fora street railroad being conceded, éare ought to be taken to make the road the model one of the city, both in construction and equipment. The company receiving the franchise should be required to supply comfortable, convenient cars, good horses and civil employés, They should be bound by the termy of their charter to supply seats for all passengers desiring them, to heat the cars in the winter and to rufa sufficient number to fully accommodate the travel. There does not seem to be any difference of opinion on the point that a surface rail- road will be a great advantage to Broadway Ought property, will serve to revive the business of that popular thoroughfare and will be a decided public convenience. ‘The diversion of trade from Broadway south of Union square is due solely to the withdrawal of travel from the street by the horse car lines and now by the “L” railroads. A surface railroad, with clean, comfortable cars, ran at a good rate of speed and at a low rate o1 fare, would assuredly bring back the old- fashioned crowds to Broadway, for people would rather go there than to any other thoroughfare. Business will return with the tide of travel and stores will no longer be left without tenants, Wo do not see that there is now any serious opposition to the proposed railroad; but it is desirable that the franchise should be granted only on condition that the road shall be ‘made superior to any horse car line ever before rgn in New York, An Unknown State. Residents of the Empire State will, ac- cording to their individual habits, either rub their eyes, burn their maps or drop into profanity as they read the abstract of the report for 1878 of the State Survey Commission, This body, which is non- partisan and consists of prominent and trusted citizens, reports that the measure- ments of last season prove that every city, village and hamlet, the actual geographical position of which was ascertained, is on all existing maps misplaced to the exe tent of one or two miles. The city of Oswegé is apparently the worst . suf. ferer by map making, one promi. ~ nent cartographer having located it where the waters of Lake Ontario will en gulf a six fathom line before bottom is touched. A great deal of scientific explora= tion is going on in. the far West, but the director of our State Survey says of a part of Central New York that its configaration is “as unique and its origin as unknown as that of any portion of the Rocky-Mountsins.” The. Commission should again receive ita customary modest annual appropriation ; the people have aright to knowin what State, town or county they really reside, and the results of the State Survey seem to sugges* the only method of finding out, Dip You ever know a broken spvings bank that had not one or more church members among its trastees? Never. What! Nevert Hardly over. The Heathen Ahead of Us. While our national legislature is potter. ing with the bill to establish postal savings banks the far away Empire of Japan hasa “system not only in operation, but has so fully demonstrated its merits that, within asingle year, the number of depositors | has nearly doubled, while the sum of the de posits has trebled. When one calls ta mind the extreme caution and distrust that distinguish the Asiatic mind, and the abhorrence of waste which is a marked characteristic of the inhabitants of the west- ern coast of the Patific, the confidence which has been inspired by the new method of securing savings and the incentive which has evidently been given -to increase the gross amount of earnings become too sig- nificant to be disregarded in our own land of shaky savings banks and extravagant people. Cannot some Congressman with- outan individual axe upon his shouldet and with a distaste for party squabbles make this matter of postal savings his own special charge, and enable every citizen, no matter how far remoyed from financial centres, to place his money where it will be safe from thieves and his own ‘prodigal fingers? There are some millions of re spectable citizens who consider this subject of more importance than Southern war claims, the chances of aspirants to the Presidency, or any other of the topics upon which Congress is wasting time which it is paid to improve in the interest of the publio whose servant it is. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE. Castelar is to lecturo before Oxford on Spanish literature. Bishop, the American, is exposing spiritualist tricks in Edinburgh. Lady Lytton, wife of the Viceroy of Indis, has given birth to a son. Grant in India must eat curry if he would curry favor with the Indians. Wilhelmj says that coming over on the steamer he did not like the Billj water. Spiteful rivals have already begun to send the P. L column atrocious valentines. Lord Augustus Loftus has been appoisted Governor General of New South Wales. General Sherman and party registered at the Larkin House, Palatka, Fla., yesterday. John Sherman is an adroit man, but it is not the adroit men who become President. Ex-President Grant and family sailed from Aden for Bombay yesterday, All were well, Congressman Bragg, who dared the too solid South, has gone to visit his Wisconsin home. Would you believe that the boya and girls are coasting on Congress streot, Saratoga ? For the masked ball at the Paris Opera two tickets were sent to cach of the actresses in Paris. i As Princess Louise is the ““Vicerine of Canada,” we suppose Mr. Hill is the Benzine of Georgia. Ellis A. Apgar hs been reappointed State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction for Now Jersey. ‘The Nevada (Cal.) 7ranscript says that after a ran- away “the horses and wagon were mixed up like ham omelette,” When Grant reaches Shanghai the Chinese will probably imitate Dublin and not Cork in giving him the frocddin of the city. M. Lepére, the new French Minister of Agriculture and Commeres, looks like a side-whiskered Episco- palian clergyman who loves Greek anQ sherry. M, Le Marcére, the new French Minister of the Interior, if he did not look as if he were going to weep, might be mistaken for Charles Francis Adame or your grandmother, It is reported from London that Prince Leopold, the eighth child and fourth son of Queen Victoria, now in tho twenty-sixth year of his age, will enter the Church of England. Utica Observer:—An old lady recently directed the attention of her husband to @ pair of twins, remark- ing a8 she did so, ‘How. much those two children do look alike, especially the one this way!’ San Francisco's first female lawyor, Mrs. Clara 3, Folz, is an Indiana lady, twonty-cight years old, She has never been to school, but has educated herself, and is retained mafnly by women who wish to sue for a divorce. When Captain General Campos embarked at Havana yesterday on the Spanish mail steamer Espone large crowds assembled before the palace and in the harbor witnessing his departure with every manifestation of regret, Whe island is quiet, oC parenkonal Com-mit-teo Are endeavoring now to see Whether from Mr. Tilden there were many money grants To his nephetr eet his nephew, his cousins