The New York Herald Newspaper, February 28, 1879, Page 6

i) NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY 3 AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. t every day in the year, THE DAILY HERALD, publi lars per Three conts per copy Sunday ERALD—Ono dollar por year, free of post- “Noricr TO SUBSCRIBERS.—Romit in drafts on New ik ud where neither of these a registered lotter. AML Ta to Insure agten- address changed must give addre: sisters ve telographic despatches must 1 HK BALD. * should be properly sealed, ns will not be returned, All business, 1 bo addressed N Letters and Rejected con PH R ¥ 0. 112 SOUTH SIXTH 0 NEW YORK HERALD— NUE DE LOPERA. RADA PACE. 5 will rook received and VOLUME XLIV AMUSEMENT ACADEMY OF MUSIC— LYCEUM THEATRE—Hawu WALLACK’S—Srritaounn. NEW YORK AQUARIU NIBLO’S GARDEN—Tak BOWERY THEATRE—Wi STANDARD THEATRE— FIFTH AVENUE THE, GERMANIA THEATRE. AMERICAN MUSEUM MASONIC HALL—Tax SAN FRANCISCO M TONY PASTOR’S—P! TIVOLI THEATRE—Vaniery. THEATRE COMIQUE—MutticaN Gcarp Bare ACADEMY OF DESIGN—Warrn Cotons. KURTZ GALLERY—Sataacunpt Cuus Picrcres. TRIPLE Sure T. 1879, are ~ that “the penne in New York and its vicinity to-day will be cold and fair or clear. To-morrow it will be warmer, with in- creasing cloudiness. Watt SrRxer, Yusraupar.—The | stock mar- ket was active and feverish, closing, however, very strong. Government bonds were strong, States quiet and railroads irregular. Money on eall was easy at 21) a 3 percent, advanced later to 6 and closed at 4 per cent. Tue TELLER CoMMITTEE scems to enjoy the thing. It wants to sit all summer. Bovutevarp Property, judging from the real estate sales yesterday, is not much of a bonanza. Tue Aprication of Captain Blair's wife for divorce indicates that she has approved the findings ofthe court martial in his case. Dr. Lampert has at last succeeded in ob- taining bail, the amount required having been reduced from twenty-five to five thousand dol- lars. Generat Butcer’s ANNOUNCEMENT that ho Is leaving Congress never tg return will be re- ceived with regret. What will Congress. be without the Essex statesman ! A Cuaxce for the better has taken place at Blissville, Sheriff Rushmore has succeeded in suppressing the ruffianly element there and the quarantine regulations are vigorously enforced. Few Witt Question the justice of the ver- dict of guilty in the case of Buel, who has been on trial for the murder of Catharine Richards at Cooperstown. A new trial is, however, asked, upon some technical grounds. Tue Burnise OF ANOTHER STABLE yesterday morning and the destruction of # number of valuable horses show the necessity for the exercise of the greatest possible vigilance in these establishments. One lesson of this kind Sught to have been sufficient. Tue Youne Doctors who were graduated yesterday by the Bellevue Hospital Medical College need not be apprehensive in regard to obtaining a good ‘practice. The swill milk dealers and the Street Cleaning Bureau will see that they have ¢ obedience to the instruc- tions of United States Judge Rives, of five of the State judges of Virginia for failure to place col- ored men on juries, brings up in a new form the old conflict of federal versus State authority. Some interesting legal questions are involved in the case. AurnoucH the select committee ou the ven- tilation of the hall of the House of Representa- tives advised the removal of the members’ desks As « sanitary measure the House determined to sacrifice pure air at the shrine of comfort, and keep the desks. If they keep the moral right the country will be By a Srrict Party Vore the House of Rep- resentatives ordered yesterday that Mr. Seward be brought before its bar for contempt in re- fusing to produce the records of his office before one of its committees. If he persists in his re- fusul he will of course be held in the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms, but tho period of his im- prisonment will expire with the session. Tur Weatner.—High pressures have re- placed the areas of low barometer at all points east of the Mississippi River. The storm centre which on Wednesday night was northward of Maine has moved rapidly into the ocean and is followed by decidedly high pressure. The snowfall of the departing disturb- ance lingers on the const, but is reced- ing eastward. In the West and Northwest, however, the barometer is fulling briskly, with suow through the Red River and Missouri val- leys. Warm winds and rain prevail over tho Yellowstone region, causing a rapid melting of the snows and threatening danger- ous freshets. The ico in the Tongue and Yellowstone rivers is breaking up finder the influence of the thaw. The pressure is also falling, with rain, on the Oregon and ashington sections of the Pacitie coast aud eastward. A well defined disturbance is now advancing from that region into the Upper Missouri Valley, Winds are northwesterly on the New England aud Middle Atlantic coasts, southwestorly to westerly, but likely to change tu southeasterly avd southerly, over the lakes, northerly to northeasterly on the South Atlantic and East Gulf coasts, southeasterly over the West Gulf and through the Mis sivsippi and Missouri valleys, Temperatures ore wising if the West, but are quite low in Manitoba and the Canadus. They have fallen over the Middle States and soutl- ward, but will rise to-day through the Missis- sippi Valley. The weather in New York and its vicinity to-lny will be cold and fair or clear. Yomorvow it will be warmer, with increasing cloudiness. NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, ‘Rte Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese. The meeting of the Cimber of Com- merce which was held yesterday to protest } against the Abti-Chinese bill now in the hands of the President was, perhaps, the most respectable of the many re- spectable demonstrations against this bill, which passed both honses of Congress by heavy majorities. The attendance yas unusually large, and the resolutions deprecating this measure were passed without a dissenting voice or vote. This unanimous and emphatic ac- tion of the most important commercial or- ganization in the United States will no doubt be treated with considerate defer-, ence by President Hayes, if his mind is not already made up as to his astion on the bill. The Chamber of Commerce deserves praise for the dignity and decorum of its proceedings on this exciting question, which has occasioned so much intemperate denunciation in some other quarters, The Chamber does not assail the motives of Con- gress, and it wisely refrains from asking the President to veto the bill. It only asks him to withhold bis approval. Simple in- action by the President will as effectually disposo of the bill as a formal veto;'and if negotiations aro in progress, or he intends to open negotiations, for a* modification of the Burlingame Treaty, it may be wiser that he should not show his hand by an official statement of his’ reasons. A veto message resting on the same grounds as the Chamber of Commerce resolutions, or the published opinions of Dr. Woolsey, or the fervid. denunciations of the venerable William Lloyd Garrison, would commit the President so entirely to the point of vjow of the Chinese authorities that it would bea complete surrender of the American case if it is desirable to modify the treaty. Itis proba- bly better that the Chinese government should be left in ignorance as to how much or how little our own may be brought to con- cede in new negotiations. If the President should take this view of the impolicy of embarrassing further negotiations by need- less committals he must deem it fortunate that the bill was presented to him at so late a point of the session that he can quietly defeat it without any statement of his reasons. The great stir and sensation which have been created in the, public mind by this new phase of the Chinese question cannot be wholly accounted for by respect for the faith of treaties, although this is one ele- ment of the excitement. Senator Blaine made an able and artful speech against the [ Halifax fisheries oward, and there were multitudes who shared his views; but popular sentiment was not so wrought upon that subject as it is in relation to the Chinese Treaty. The difference is that no American believed the Halifax award to. be just, whereas a large portion of our people would zealously defend the’ free admission of Chinese immigrants even if there were no treaty securing to them the privilege. We suppose that no intelligent publicist dis- putes that Congress may abrogate certain. classes of treaties. Under our govern- ment any treaty which can be termi- nated at all is terminated by an act of Congress, The reison why this power, whenever it is necessary to ex- ercise it, necessarily devolves upon Con- gress was so lucidly explained by Mr. Cal- houn in his speech on the British Conven- tion of 1815 that nobody who ever read his argument can entertain a doubt as towhere that-power is lodged in our government. Some treaties proyide for their own ter- mination by giving a stipulated no- tice, and it is Congress which always decides when such notice shall be given. A treaty may become void if infringed by the other party, but it is for Congress alone to declare a treaty void for such a reason. Treaties of amity and com- merce are dissolved by a declaration of war, but Congress alone has power to declare war. Some classes of treaties are absolutely irrepealable even in the event of war between the parties to them, such as treaties of boundaries and treaties for the cession of territory. Other classes of treaties are not regarded as so permanently binding, such as treaties of friendship, treaties of alliance and reciprocal regulations of tfade, which are sometimes revoked by one of the parties under a strong pressure of new circumstances, But, as the abrogation of a treaty without consent is a recognized casus belli, the abrogating government assumes this risk, and hence under our government the power is exercised by Con- gress, which is clothed with the war power. But Congress in all such cases is bound to exercise its powers under the guidance of reason, conscience, equity and a due sense of the national honor, It has no moral right to abrogate any treaty not terminable by its own provisions until all the resources of diplomacy have been exhausted to secure voluntary release from an inequitable bar- gain. Tho recent action of Congress de- serves all the popular condemnation it is receiving, because it secks to abro- gate an important treaty without pre- vious recourse to negotiation, This is an indefensible trifling with the national honor. The subject is not one which re- quires haste, since for some months past more Chinamen are returning to their own country than are coming to our shores, If Congress was getting impatient its proper course was to have asked the President to communicate, if consistent with the public interest, the progress of his negotiations with China ‘for changes in the treaty. Only in case tho President has done nothing and intends to do nothing would Congress be justified in taking the subject in hand, even if the evil were of greater magnitude and urgency than the majority of our people consider it, The public opinion of the country will strongly indorse the unanimous request of the Chamber of Commerce that the Presi- dent withhold his approval from this bill. There is a large and intelligent portion of the American people who not only stand resolutely by the treaty, but would givo fre ingress and every civil privilege to the Chinese by our own laws, apart from the treaty obligation, This is a natural conse- quence of their political training for the last thirty years. This generation of Americans {has been cradled in race controversies, and the opponents of race antipathies have been signally victorious in their appeals to public sentiment. The Know Nothing controversy was of brief duration, but it Jasted long enough thoroughly to commit tho democratic party to the principle of free immigration and equal privileges on American soil. ‘he negro controversy has been the chief event of our times, and the argumentative basison which it was suc- cessfully conducted by the republican party was the broad principle of the equal rights of all men_ irrespec- tive of race and color. It is impossi- ble that our whole people should immediately divest themselves of the pow- erful effects of such an educati8n. Besides, from the earliest period of our government we have proclaimed an absolute impartiality between all forms of religion, and one of the chief objections to the Chinese is their pagan faith, It is no wondet that the Anti- Chinése bill causes profound agitation among a people trained as the American people have been. It may be said also that “the enlightened opinion of Western Europe condemns the bigotry of race quite as strongly and with much greater unanimity than American opinion. But there is little farce in this argument, because the people of Lurope have not been subjected to our trials. If the provisions of the Burlingame ‘Treaty were in force between England and China or between France and China their operation would not be so unequal ‘as it is with us, Chinese laborers would never emigrate to either of those countries, in large numbers, and the same questions could not arise that exist on our Pacific coast, Although the treaty rights between China and the United States are reciprocal in terms they are not equal in their operation. The few Americans who go to China’are not laborers, but mise sionaries or merchants, whereas the Chinese come to this country in multitudes and belong to a very different social status. If | we received only the same class of Chinese that China does of Americans there would be no complaint or trouble. All the agita- tion has arisen out of the fact that the praetical operation of the treaty is so un- equal on the two sides, ten: Afghan Intentions. General Rasgonoff, the Russian officer recently in the buite « of the Ameer of Cabul, has, in an interview with the Heraxp cor- respondent at Tashkend—the substance of which is given in our despatch from that place—made a statement of facts of some interest and of which, from his recent expe- rience, he may be supposed to have more knowledge than any other person. His declaration of tho Ameer’s purpose not to abdicate. his throne -nor te treat: with the English for peace,ieof..less interest at this moment than. it-might be if we were not in- formed that the Ameer's illness is fatal, nnd therefore likely to make his intentions of little consequence. But the opinion that the heir to the throne is so disposed that, once possessed of the. sovereign power, he is more likely to fight than to make terms in virtue of which he would become a vas- sal of the British power is particularly im- portant.in view of the further statement that he has such a force as would make his resist- ance formidable. General Rasgonoff is probably more familiar with the military resources of the Afghans than any other Western officer, and his. opinion that prop- erly commanded. the, Afghan cavalry alone could drive the English out of the country, while credible enough in the light of what we know of the invading force, comes with greater weight as the opinion of an expert whose duty in the country ‘was to study the Ameer’s means of defence. From the story of the attempt to purchase one of the Ameer’s ambassadors it would appear that those who act in England's interest in bar- barian courts have not so much confidence in Russia’s good will as the authorities in London have now good reason to feel, and that they are not so confident in the force of British steel as to believe that it may despise the assistance of other metals, Speaker Randall’s Denial. Speaker Randall felt called upon to raise a question of privilege in the House yester- day and to ask a committee of investigation in regard to certain allegations said to have been made some time since refiécting upon his ititegrity in certain matters relating to the Engraving and Printing Bureau, but only now published in the Philadelphia Ledger. The allegations in question ori- ginated with a Treasury special agent and would not havo had any weight with Mr. Randall's friends or, probably, with the pub- lic had they been left unnoticed. Never- theless it is entirely proper that the charges should thus be met fullin the face with a prompt and plain denial. The Speaker's request for a committee was granted ‘with- out a dissenting yoice ; but several leading opposition members took the occasion to express their conviction that the charges had not the slightest foundation of truth to rest upon, thus showing that the republican Congressmen have as much confidence as the democrats in Mr. Randall's strict per- sonal integrity « and purity. Contagious Di senses in Schools. How contagious diseases are kept alive in a community in which a hundred thousand children attend the public schools is not difficult to understand; bat an experience just made known in Brooklyn exhibits how it is there, and it is the same here, with the one difference that the evil operates with uson a grander scale.’ In the month of January forty-four children, pupils of tho Brooklyn public schools, were reported ill with contagious: diseases. In tho families of which these pupils were part there were one hundred and forty-five other children who went to the public schools, and in the honses in which the sick ones lived, but not in tho same families, were two hundred and twenty-five other children. In all, therefote, thore wero three hundred pupils to go to and fro for acertain number of days between centres of disease and these vast gatherings of the city children. But the law requires that the cases shall be reported by the health authorities to the teachers, and that they shall not permit the attendance of children from houses in which there is disease, Not 1879.-TRIPLE SHEET. withstanding this the authorities in Brook- | monuments will soon imitate Truth in rising lyn have found that about one-third of these children went to school just as usual, and the seeds of discase were spread with a little less energy than if all the children had gone-but sufficiently. What Can Be Done. A meeting is to be held to-night at the Cooper Institute, supplemental to the move- ment commenced in many of our churches last Sunday, to consider what can be done to change our present objectionable tene- ment house system. The Mayor is to pre- side and several good speakers gro an- nounced who will no doubt make interest- ing addresses. But the evils of the system are'so well known that it is scarcely neces- sary to enlarge upon them, and the wisest thing the gentlemen who are to speak to- night can do is to turn their thoughts and use their eloquence in the direction of prac- tical Yemedies, Many © capitalists will doubtless be present, and they canbe urged as a matter of business to engage in the en- terprise of erecting small cottages for one or two families on any available land that may offer—and there is plenty of it— in the upper part of the island. Rapid transit has opened the way for the transfer of our present tenement house population to those healthful districts it houses can be supplied for their accommodation. The Henarp: urged the construction of rapid transit as a means of -getting rid of the Present tenement house evil, and was per- sistent in its predictions that the “L” rail- roads would be largely remunerative. The result has proved the correctness of the Henarp’s judgment in that instance, and we now insist that capital employed in the erection of comfortable but cheap suburban residences and of model apartment houses in-healthy localities. as. dwelling places for the laboring classes of the city will make a larger profit than can be realized in any other real estate speculation. Let the orators at to-night’s meeting refer to the large profits made by the owners of our abominable tenement houses, as evidenced by the fact that eighty-two million dollars have been invested in such rookeries during the past ten years. Let them show that even greater profits can be made by capitalists who will erect com- fortable, convenient, healthful homes for the half million people who are now driven by necessity to live in tenement dens be- cause they have nowhere else to go. ‘They will thus direct the public mind to a work that must of necessity be done before the evil they deplore can be remedied. Another practical point for the meeting is the creation of a strong, influential com- mittee to memorialize the Legislature for such stringent sanitary legislation as will | compel tHe alteration or destruction of the | worst of our tenement. house buildings. We mast get rid. of the present.dangerous dens altogether, or the more. depraved classes will continue to live in them and to imperil the health and increase the pauper- ism and crime of the city. The Legislature has heretofore been induced to listen to the appeals, if not to take the money, of the tenement house owners and to leave them practically unmolested by the law. It ought now to learn from men whose words are not to be disregarded that it is expected to protect the people and to pata stop to an evil that imperils the publio health and is a fruitful contributor to our poorhouses and jails, If we had an.efficient and capable Board of Health the «present laws might be made effective against the worst of the tenement house evils; but we have not, and the remedy: must be by direct legislation. Another practical step in the good work open to the meeting is to indorse and encourage the movement for the extension of rapid transit into the an- nexed district. The further the “L” rail- roads extend the more space will there be for the grection of cheap dwellings for the | humbler classes in the beautiful and health- ful country now within the city limits, where a workingman’s home may be made attractive und happy. We should like to see the meeting to-night set earnestly to work in the directions we have suggested. Many things can be done to alleviate the sufferings and improve the health and habits of the present tenement house population by teaching them how to -live, how to buy and cook their food and how-to rear their children, and these are very commendable objects, But the main thing is to get rid of our tenement house system altogether and to improve the health and morality of the city by enabling the laboring classes to live like Christians and not liko savages, The Mitlenntam at Hand-In Vene- zuela, A letter from St. Thomas, which we pub- lish this morning, from the pen of a corre- spondent who accompanies General Antonio Guzman Blanco in his triumphal return to Caracas, conveys the latest intelligence from that paradise of earthquakes and rev- olutions and supplies some data concerning Venezuelan politics obtained on the spot during the former administration of that hero of many statues. Our correspondent takes an optimistic view of the situation which we should rejoice to see confirmed by the event; but it must be remembered that the ‘revival of commerce and indus- try” can never—at least, hardly ever—be effected by the simple devico of swapping horses when crossinga stream. There is at least one industry which will be apt to ro- vive with great vigor in Caracas, and that is the fictile art—tho moulding of statues, life size, colossal and equestrian; and wo can conceive of no locality which offers just now amore promising field for Gothamite talent than that region of high art. It is true that the unanimous impulse by which the Venezuelan people was moved to erect to Guzman Blanco those fearfally and won- dertully executed tributes of fond affection which wo ail admired at Philadelphia was paralleled two months ago by tho una nimity with which they were tumbled down from their pride of place, But though tem- porarily ‘lost to sight, to memory dear,” we havo the consolation of learning that they are not so entirely destroyed but that future generations may have the oppor- tunity of admiring.the torso or the shapely limbs of the Venezuelan Apollo. Nay, wo are not without hope, according to a tele- gram published yosterday, that the said again from their crushed condition and be replaced in the statu quo ante bellum. It is needless to remind our readers that there are two sides to this Venezuelan busi- ness, and that a great deal can be and will be said adverse to the claims of Guzman Blanco to be regarded as the regenerator and guardian angel of his country. The Society of American Artists. There is no doubt that the establishment of the Society of American Artists, which will in a few days open its second exhibi- tion, gavo definite shape to a new departure in tho art of this country, which is both vigorous and healthful. The exhibitions of the society are analogous to those at the Grosvenor Gallery in London, giving prom- inent place to the productions and encour- aging ‘the free expression of the ideas of men imbued with a trne art spirit, antago- nistic os it may be to that of the ruling men inthe Academy, However, while the Society of American Artists was founded in & moment of reaction, caused by illiber- ality on the part of the Academy, and to further the interests of the younger men who had returned from a course of for- eign study, or who were still abroad, its management is- now asserted to have fallen almost entirely into the hands of a clique. The members of this, it is claimed, are act- ing toward some of their fellows in the new movement somewhat in the samo spirit with which the Academy treated the founders of the new society. It is the old story of the Puritans leaving England on account of religious persecution, and on their firm settlement as a community driv- ing from among them, by even more fierce and cruel measures, the Quakers. Now, the society has done’a good work, and we hope will do more, but it must continue to be liberal, and admit as many as possible of the paintings of non-members, who being’ young and vigorous, will do themselves and their country credit. We do not think that open exhibitions should be held,. but all painters who may be regarded as influencing the “present tendencies of American art” should be invited to submit works to the jury. ; The Great Storm in Europe. For the past two or three days we have been noting the weather conditions on the British coasts with special interest. On the morning of the 20th the Henarp Weather Bureau cabled a storm warning to London, which predicted the arrival on the Central and Northern Atlantic coasts of Europe of a storm which would be attended by gales, rain and snow, between the 25th and 28th— that is to say, the storm movement over the coasts would occur during the interval marked by these dutes, both inclusive. We print this morning a special despatch from London announcing the remarkable fulfil- ment:of the prediction, together with de- tails confirmatory thereof which ¢ome in our general cable despatches: The storm arrived on thé day named in our warning, and is abating toward the date mentioned as limiting its guration in Western and Central Europe. But its progress has been marked by frightful ravages, and in some places its force is characterized as un- exampled. Anything more tragic than the death of the priests in their ruined churches in Italy cannot well be imagined. They were crushed out of life by the débris | of falling roof and vault, with the words of pryer on their lips and amid their trembling and wounded flocks. Then there’ are the “awful scenes of wreck on the coasts and devasta- tion in the interior. The deluging rain swelled the rivers into irresistible volames of water which swept away everything that impeded their furious progress. The trans- atlantic movement of American storms has once more received a terrible illustration. Yet we have no doubt the savans (?) who have been straining their wits to find proofs to the contrary will continue to ignore such facts and comfort ‘hemselves with the hope that they may dic before they are found out. They must sacrifice their vanity or yield to journalism the field of progressive scientific inquiry. An Imperial Volunteer. His more or less Imperial Highness Mr. Louis Bonaparte has declared his intention to have a shy at the Zulus, and has sailed for South Africa with his retinue to serve as a volunteer under the British colors. He may do some good service, and if he does he hopes thereby to repay the obligations he is ander for a military education, which is certainly o thought worthy a gentleman, and his purpose is all the more respectable in a military sense, as the Zulus are not a contemptible foe. And yet a gentleman who received his ‘baptism of fire” in front of the German lines might freeze to death in front of the lines of Cetywayo. Per- haps His Highness will study the science of war more at his ecnse in the cooler temperature. His present in- tention to obtain some experience as a sol- dier is notable mainly as it recalls the great mistake of his lite — for he might have been asoldier without this ostentation and have obtained a thorough training in military life without obligation to England, and in a way to obiain what he yet needs—the ro. spect of his own gencration in France. He was drawn in the conscription as an ‘en. fant de la patrie,” and he excused himself from that duty os ‘the only son of a widow.” It was o valid plea, though not made for cases like his ; but it was a politi- cal mistake not to serve. He could not have had the lucky chance to be so drawn it he had paid tor it ; yet when that chance fell at his feet he pushed it aside, and lost the hope of the moral effect that might follow upon the thought that the heir of Austerlitz was proud to be a private in the line. A Good Bin, A bill was introduced in the Legislature yesterday to prohibit the adulteration of milk, which is intended to mako the exist. ing statutes against the sale of adulterated or impure milk moro direct and effective. One of its provisions pronounces all milk obtained from animals fed on any substance ina state of putretaction or fermentation to be impure and unwholesome milk, within the meaning of the act. The bill will no doubt become a law; but it ought not to meet with the slightest opposition from any quarter, Public sentiment is very thoroughly aroused against the swill milk business and demands that it shall be suppressed, The frightful infant mortality in New York is attributed in a great measure to the use of the impure milk of diseased cows by children, and the ovil has become so greatas to demand a vigorous remedy, The swill milk dealer, like the poisoner, does his-work in secret and his victims are not aware of their danger until death overtakes them. It is the duty of the legislator to protect the people against so insidious and deadly an enemy, and it is a good feature of the Assembly bill that it leaves no room for cavil by distinctly de- claring that all milk obtained from animals fed in a manner to insure disease shall be regarded as impure and unwholesome and as coming within the probibitory clauses of the act. A Sallor on “Safety at Sea.” Although discussions of the construction ‘of ships on the best models and of the most reliable materials aré among the best means of reaching the desirable object—a means of securing safety at sea— they do not embrace all the subjects that properly come under the head of necessaries to that end, The best built ships may be destroyed by the fury of the waves, or driven dis- abled on inhospitable coasts, or placed in collision with other vessels under circumstances which it. is beyond the power of officers and crew to control. The chief object, then, becomes the preservation of life. Indeed, the safety of the ship and her cargo is only of secondary consideration compared with that of her passengers and © crew in all cases where danger threatens, Itis, therefore, well to discuss the means by which life may be saved very fully. This was done last evening before the American Geographical Society by Lieutenant Mason, of the United States Navy, and in a manner calculated to command much attention from an intelligent audience as well as from the readers of the Huratp. Elsewhere we print a very full report of Lieutenant Ma- son’s address. After dealing with the subjects of swim- ming, the buoyancy of the human body and of various devices classed under the gen- eral head of “life preservers,” the lecturer called special attention to the equipment of ships for the preservation of life in case of accident at sea, We fully agree with him that in the matter of steering there never should be permitted to exist in the mind of a helmsman or Officer of any grade a doubt as to the exact course another ship was steering, and whatever system of signals may be devised for this purpose its use should be made imperative on board all classes of sea going vessels, The plea for the complete organization of the life saving service is warranted by the defects: in:that organization due to gvantof « proper syse tem of direttion, which is impossible with. out mon, material and funds. Our coasts are tairly lighted and beaconed, but the distances between the coast life stations are in-too many cases greater than can: be pas trolled efficiently by a limited crew. With well built ships provided with suitable watertight bulkheals, which we have been advocating, and the system of storm predic- tions initiated by the Hznsxp, and which Lieutenant Mason acknowledges has done much to preserve life, we only need increased efficiency in our:coast lifesaving service ‘to present a very good front to the dangers of the deep. PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE. Put away your Chinese lantern. Mr. Theodore D. Woolsey, of New Haven, is at the Everett House. The new commander of H. M. 8. Pinafore is to be Bibb N. Tucker. Professor Goldwin Smith, of Toronto, is at*the Fifth Avenue Hotel. The Bishop of Manchester ‘condemns wsthetical and emotional religion. The editor of the PhHadelphia Chronicle is spending: Lent in sackcloth and boiled salt codfish. Mr. Ruskin gets the best of some of his opponents, because, with all his eccentricities, he is politic and practical in business, Dr, “Duke” Gwin, once of national importance and atill of national fame, gives regular receptions in San Francisco in great elegance. ‘The President yesterday signed the commissions of Horatio C. Burchard to be Director of the Mint and A. L. Snowden to be Superintendent of the Phila delphia Mint. ‘Those among our countrymen who have been as- saulted with cold pokers should feel easier. In Eng- land the housewives seldom use a poker on their husbands unless it is red hot. ‘The Hebrows of San Francisco, for the first time in twenty-five years, will give no ball, saying that they believe that the masses of the people at this juncture are not in dancing humor. A man who called at one of Senator Blaine’s recep- tions for the mere purpose of seeing Gail Hamilton ‘was so agroeably entertained by a Miss Dodge that he forgot all about his mission. The editor of the Reading (Pa.) Times translated “the Young Widow” into Pennsylvania Dutch, but he lost all his back hair when ho brought in the re- frain, “Baby mine, baby mine.” Tho Austrian government has promised to pro- vide, in case of his death, for the two sons of Dr. Besiadevaki, the specialist on epidemic discases at Cracow, who has gone to Astrakhan to study the plague, Mr. Thomas T, Kenney, proprietor of tho Newark Daily Advertiser, has been re-elected president of the New Jersoy Stato Agricultural Sovicty. In ‘his an- nual address at Trenton he reviewed the prospects of agriculture in this country and the advantages, from its geographical position, of New Jersey. Do not forget macaroni during Lent, and in buy ing it get the small kind, which becomes thoroughly cooked, and which docs not have the dry, uncooked taste ofthe big pipestem kind. After boiling and draining it give it a generous sauce of soupstock and strained tomatoes. If you want to cheese it, cheese it. Eeening Telegram:—Abyoad, ladies never think of decorating themselves with gems when walking on the king’s highway. But American women, and es- pecially New York women, appear to have diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires and cmeralds in their blood, These break out with them upon all occ sions, and the wonder is that they do not oftener pay the penalty of being robbed. Another fault, not 80 glaring a8 & matter of jll-taste, but equally inde-~ fonsible, is that which most women have of carrying their portemonnaies in their hands.” London World :—“Marriige has probably dealt the death blow to quite as many honest friendships as debt, The most amiable of women are naturally un- charitable to their own sex, and when wives are pro- fessed rivals passive hostilitios aro tolerably sure to be generated between the husbands. Personally tha tw6 men may entertain mutual sontiments of liking and respect; but the fecling, as such feclings aro for the most part, is probably negative, and Damon is too much tho creature of habit, too readily and irresistibly succumbs to tho social influences im. mediately exercised on him, at his hearthside, by Mrs. Damon, to insist om feteining Pythias as hig friend ot all basatds,”