The New York Herald Newspaper, March 1, 1879, Page 8

8 THE LOSS OF THE TOLCK. q Grows Mos. 18 and 19 Changed with Dereliction of Duty. POOR LITTLE GENEYRA. Captain Sawyer and His Wife Die Clasped in Each Others Arms. Banseoat, N. J., Feb, 28, 1879. The minor details of the loss of life in the wreck of the schooner David H, Tolck are of a most heart- rending nature, Old seagoing men who stood on the beach and witnessed the scene confess that tears dropped from their eyes at their realization of the suffering of those on board as indicated in their agonizing gestures and imploring cries. The whole length of time that some of them were confined to the rigging was fully fourteen hours, and the ther- mometers in the life saving stations stood about fif- teen degrees. ‘The cold was not so intense as it was keen and piercing, the wind from the southeast cut- ting through the thickest clothing like a knife, As early as a quarter after four the people of this village were aware of the presence of the schooner on Long Beach, having seen some of the signals which were sent up from her deck and the answering ones made on the shore. TO THE RESCUER. Ascore or more of strong men started during the forenoon for the mouth of the creek, where lay some small fishing craft, and put out to cross the bay. ‘This water is fully seyen miles wide, and at this season itis frequently quite dangerous to venture upon, Nothing daunted them, however, and they battled stoutly with the waves and the breakers until they reached the narrow ridge of sand which separates it from the ocean. They hastened down to the surt and heartily co-operated with the men of the life saving service in every way possible, Two of the principal of them were Captain J. D, Shaw, whose statement I telegraphed last night, and Enoch 8. Jones, a wrecker. The latter says that he reached ‘the beach about twelve o'clock. The life saving men ‘were then apparently doing all that they could to assist those on board the ship, but the sea was acting in a very treacherous manner, the peculiarity of surf known as the ‘out’ sweeping up the beach more rapidly than a man could run. This was proven by the fate of the ship's boat, which had been jammed into little pieces in floating to a point upon the land some five hundred yards to the north- ward, THE CREW EXHAUSTED. A hawser had been sgcured to the schooner and the men on board were trying to pull the life-car out to her. They stood one above another in the rigging, and so had very little chance to exert their tull strength in the effort. Only two of them could be ubreast ata time, ‘The movements were slow and seemed to have ttle energy. They would pull a little while and then would give up; then they would pull again, and jually they abandoned the attempt altogether. About two o’clock @ small line was shot over them and was secured. The breech buoy was then rigged, and as it is very light they casily pulled it to them. | It is a very useful contrivance, consist- ing of a common ring buoy, such as 18 seen on all steamers, with a pair of short leather breeches attached. The person before taking to the water puts his legs into these, his body being enclosed by the ring. WHO WAS TO BLAME, All this time no tail block had been run out to the vessel, and this omission is one of the points e cially demanding investigation, A tail block carries upon its wheel a double line, which 1s intended to work the litecar from the shore. When the crew are exhausted or benumbed, or cannot get down to the deck on account of the depth of water, it often proves the sole means of their salvation. In this case there is not the slightest doubt, as confessed by buperintendent Havens, that not a single life id have been lost had a’ double line been worked. ‘Whether the erew were too much weakened to pull the tail block through the terrible “cut,” or whether the fault of not rigging it lies with the station keeper and his men, hus not yet been determined, TARE CAr "Ss DAUGHTER. When the second mate and the captain’s little daughter were landed they were apparently uncon- scious, ‘The latter was immediately handed over to the kind-hearted Mrs. Hazletone, the wife of Captain Hazletone, who had watched and prayed for her res- cue with ‘womanly anxiety and fervor. Wrapping her closely in her arms she hastened to her fireside and applied every moans that she had to revive her. Many a heart within a rough bosom had leaped with a wish of tender and pitying emotion as the eyes of the owner rested upon her tair head aud pretty fea- tures, ull white with the cold. It must have been a wonderful vitality ina mere infant which had kept her alive when both father and mother froze to death. It was not long before the warmth of a fire Drought a slight glow to her cheeks, and after open- ing her eyes and saying “Mamma” once or twice in @ piteous tone she fell asleep. When she awoke again her first word was “Mamma.” She would cry a few moments, and then, seeming to forget the horrible impression of her late situation, would lie with her eyes closed, HUSBAND AND WIPE, From the second mats it was learned that the child hud been in charge of the first mate a part of the time since the stranding of the ship. ‘The captain would never have consented to being himself lashed to the rigging, while the men were in danger of fall- ing off, had it hot been for the presence of his wife. by those who knew hin it is said that he was brave to the lust degree and extremely gallant in the affection his wife. Everything that he could find in the way of clothing he wrapped about her, and supported her head with one arm until he died. Ii seems that he had a strong presentiment that he at least would not survive, and he was bent in his Jast moments upon spending all his thoughts and Strength upon cheering and helping her. Before three o'clock his voice had ceased to be heard by the rev. Whether he spoke to her or not is not known, but neither of them seemed to move and their eyes had a glassy look. A SAD PARTING. About half-past one the first mate, observing that the men were not doing their best to assist the efforts of those on shore, resicned Genevra to his junior in command, so that he could set a better ex- ample of cheerfulness and activity. He then went over to the mizzen rigging, where the captain and his wife were, and added another lashing to those which they already had on, y said very little to him, Mrs. Sawyer asking him, as she had done be- fore, to save her child. Lhe captain seconded her Fequest, and added in a tone of great fortitude :— 7 I think my time is come, Lean’t die more than ouce, and it might as well be now. Goodby!" “Cheer up! cheer up, sir,” said the mate, with tears streaming from his eyes, “I'd rather go down than leave you here.” “I shali stay until the last,” was the reply. “If @ny one yets to shore let lim take the child in bis arins.”” ay, sir! and Mrs, Sawyer should go next.” The captain looked into his wife's tace, but said not a word till she-replied :— “L will not leave you. lonly ask of God that my poor baby may live and find « mother.” Who can deseribe the tenderness with which the captain pressed her head closer to his bosom? The mate turned away, muttering a hoarse goodby. Soon afterward the breech-buoy reached the ship, and the second mate, id in his arme, went overboard in it » inate shouted to the captain, “We arc sending Genevra ashore!” but neither he nor his wi ned to hear him, and they did not turn their heads to look. It is probable that th wore already dead. Gradually their bodies lost tl erectnoss, leaning forward until they were of the Tigging was bare o'clock im the af lie was observed by the 0 frothing at the mouth. He was a Dane: nightfall & squall can up and the rain fell ly. The subsequent shitting of the wind caused & subsidence of the sea, which permitted the burtmen to board the ship yesterday morning. THY LYTLE CASTAWA When the first mate, after landing, lors all the time that he was in the Th ached the Har- vey Cedars, where the little girl was, she greeted him with and addressed him as Pete, This is an wubb f his surname, which she had learned from hearing her parents pronounce it, and her familiarity with hin grew from his living with them in the cain. One of the most touching features of the Little castaway’s fave is that she had never been weaned trom her mother’s breast, although more than two years old. She is apparently of a very happy «disposition, and to-day has laughed and chutted under the protecting wing of Mrs, Hazletone, as if she thought her to be her own mot is the deopost interest in her shown by the mueh vy oO and one gruff seatarcr said, pointing to. his y cheeked, golden haired and blue eyed little here, sir, she's Just aboon that aone’s rive, anil 1 danged ef 1 wouldn't ha’ died rather nor see hor drownded Hundreds of hearts would open to her and re her into their own households if she had no fru \ brother of th her has arrived at Bouch and take! the child and the ot its parents, ‘Th r will probably be wra up in biaukets and conveyed to the mainta night. A son of Captain Sawyer is also at the beach. One of the most distressing features of the situa- tion there last night was the fact that, owin, some kink in the regulations of the ‘l . parti r rpses which come ‘f uld be removed jal sanction from of them without au offic wrecked vesse rom ee Dea NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 1879.-TRIPLE SHEET. some mysterious local potenate. Consequently the remains of the captain, his wife and the three sailors lay on the sand until this morning, instead of being decently conveyed to a place of shelter. Their {riends’ at Millbridge, Me., have not yet been heard row. ALLEGED DERELICTION OF DUTY. This morning the schooner lies quite li on the sand, and her hull is plainly visible to the naked eye trom the observatory of the hotel in this village. She has her bow in shore, the most favorabl sition for the working of the life saving appa and which renders it still more extraordinary that | ‘There are plenty of | so many lives have been lost. men here who say that there was dereliction of duty on the part of the life saving crews, but whether | they will swear to a statement of that import is another thing, Some of them declare that the gun, boats, lines, buoys and surf cars were in position af the water's edge by the coming of daylight. Others place the time at seven o'clock. From this hour until two o’clock no line Was fastened on board the ship, I have heard it asserted that the Lyle gun was first charged at about ten o’clock, but I do not j Pepeat this statement as coming from a trustworthy source, What were the men doing in the interval between seven A, M. and two P. M.? Lieutenant Walker, Assistant Inspector of the Revenue Marine, lett here about eight o'clock this morning for Long Beach in Captain Pharo's yacht. He will make a rigid examination of the rescued sailors, the life sav: crews and the other eye wit- nesses of the wreck, all under oath, Superintendent Havens, in order to avoid seeming to influence the conduct of the witnesses, went back to his head- uarters at Bricksburg this morning, In conyersa- tion with me betore leaving he suid that he could not himself understand two points in the conduct of the crows of stations Nos. 18 and 19—first, why they had not used the ‘‘tail block,” and second, why, if they were so early at work, they did not sooner suc- ceed in getting a line to the schooner. I re- peated to him the statements attributed to the first mate—namely, that if the ship's boat had not been stove to pieces the crew wonld all have escaped to shore in that, the sea having considerably subsided by ten o'clock, and that the life saving service had shown cowardice and inac- tivity in face of the fatal peril appealing to their manhood as well as their sense of duty, He replied that it was probable that the shot line was attached to the ‘tail block,’ but thatthe men on the schooner were powerless to haul it through the terrific sea. “I know,” said he, “thatthe ‘cut’ on that beach must have been very strong, because at Long Branch yes- terday I observed that the ship Hannah, which has been high and dry on the sand there for a long time, and is sunk into it some five or six feet, had been moved three or four hundred feet. Before this storm you could walk down to her dryshod, It has been very similar to the one which moved the Amérique when she was ashore near Sandy Hook and helped to get her off.” ‘THE GOVERNMENT'S NIGGARDLY POLICY, “How wus it that the crews were unfamiliar with the working of the Lyle gun?” “Because at the time that I made my last tour of pay- ment along the coast these new guns had not yet been received, ‘he government, sir, has been too nig- vardly in its policy toward the Life Saving Service. I uve usked repeatedly for many things that we need, but without effect, because the appropriation is not suflicient. We want clothing; we want horses. Itis no trifling task to pull the heavy lite saving apparatus through the muddy sand one or two miles to the scene of a wreck,”” “But I am told that this wreck is only half a mile from one of the stations,” “If that isso there is a great deal yet to be ex- plained. If there has been any remissness and shirking of duty I will bethe first to sec it pun- ished.” ‘This afternoon the shore at Long Beach is strewn with fragments of the cargo and the schooner is fast breaking up. The log book has been saved, but all of the valuables belonging to the captain and his wile remained in the cabin and are lost. The preliminary report of Captain B, Franklin Martin, of Lite Swving Station No. 19, to the District Superintendent, states that the mate when approaching Barnegat Inict mis- took the light of the station for the Barnegat light. ‘This has a strong savor of improbability, since one is a small oil light placed at no considerable eleva- tion and the other is a revolving aud flash light about two hundred feet from the ground. A STEAMER ABANDONED AT SEA, Hauirax, N. 8., Feb, 28, 1879. ‘The schooner Camorica arrived at Port Medway yesterday, having on board the crew of the steamer Aberfeldy, of West Hartlepool, England, bound from Philadelphia for Ipswich, which vessel was aban- doned at sea, She had experienced very heavy weather and became disabled, the crew exhausted and the boats stove. Two or three vessels passed them with- out giving assistance, The crew of the steamer were threo days and nights at the pumps and threw over- board a portion of the cargo of corn. ‘The crew, who number twenty-one, saved nothing but the clothes they had on them. The steamer was aban- doned in the Gulf Stream, GIVEN UP BY THE SEA, ‘The people living near Aquebogue, L. I., are deeply interested in the reappearance of a vessel wrecked opposite there fifty years ago last October. It was the brig Mars, from the West Indies, with a cargo of sour molasses for fhe manufacture of New England rum. The vessel could uot be floated, and, being copper bottomed, secon pe a good price for her; but before they commen to strip hera terrible storm buried her out of sight in the sand. The wind and waves of the winter swept the sand away, 80 that she is now exposed to her second deck, and & number of things have been carried away to be kept as souvenirs by the residents of the place. CUSTOM HOUSE CHANGES, NEW APPOINTMENTS BY THE COLLECTOR AND THE NAVAL OFFICER. It was a field day yesterday at the Custom House. Everybody connected with the service was on the anxious seat. Although the clarion notes of civil service had been sounded the tones thereof were not believed in, and rumors upon rumors were rife that a general slaughter was intended among the em- ployés, Collector Merritt gave out the annexed changes among the Deputy Collectors, for whose in- dividual acts he is responsible, and whose term ex- pires with that of the Collector:— ‘The reappointments consist of Deputy Collectors John J. Osborn, Third or Warehouse division; Rich- ard Wynkoop, Fourth division; B. F. Wyman, Sixth division; 5. M. Blatchford, Eighth division, and Gen- eral N. G. Williams, Rotunda. The new appointments are:—Special Deputy Collector Isaac D. Balch to be Deputy Collector of the Fifth division, in place of William A. Morris. Mr. Balch was formerly Chief Clerk of the Law and Seizure division. Colonel Will- iam A, Jones, late Special Deputy Naval Officer to be Deputy Collector in the Rotunda, in place of Colonel Knox McAfec, and General George W. Palmer, for- merly Appraiser of the Port, Deputy Collector of the Seventh division, in place of Mr. Dudley F. Phelps, not reappointed. Collector Merritt stated that no other changes had been made thus far, but refused to state whether any were contemplate Colonel Burt, the Naval Officer, made the following appointments :—Mr. Joseph J. ‘Oouch to be Special Deputy, in place ot Colonel William A. Jones, pro- moted to he ys Collector; Mr. Andrew W. Green to be Chief Clerk of the Warehouse division, in place of Joseph J. Couch, and Messrs. John M. Comstock and Timothy O'Meara, now Chief of Liquidation Bureau, to be Acting Special Deputies. Colonel ‘L. G. Whytal has been made Acting Chief Clerk, ‘All the above appointees by the Collector and Naval Officer will be sworn in this morning. Isaac D, Balch has been chief clerk of the Law divi- sion since 184%, and since General Merritt's appoint- ment as Collector his speciai deputy. He is a native of Newburyport, ., and agraduate of Bowdoin College, and was rereeaenaly © peaceaing, lawyer. General George W. Palmer acted as Provost Marshal of the Thirty-frst district of New York, including Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, during the late war, From 1865 to 186% he was Commissary General of Ordnance of the State. In May, 1869, he was appointed an assistant appraiser by’ Thomas McElrath, whom he succecded as Appraiser of the Port the following December. Being # strong ad- herent of Governor Fenton he was removed from this position by President Grant in 1s71 for political rea- sons and his place filled by the appointment of Will- jain A. Darling. Colonel Jones, the new Deputy Collector, has been connected with the Naval Office for seven years past. He was an officer of the Mith New York Volunteers during the war, entering as captain and returning as colonel. in the Surveyor’s office General Graham has mado no changes. He has a large number of applications on file for the office of Deputy Surveyor; but as this is a personal appointm and not subject to civil service rules, he hax time to designate his aa General Graham will fll this place next week, DR. ROGERS AGAIN. Obadiah Rogers, the eccentric corn doctor, who was recently arrested while soliciting alins in Eliza beth, N. J., was yesterday arrested in Jersey City, for acting ins disorderly manner. While walking throngh Bright street, it is alleged, he approached Louisa Denning, @ littl girl living on the county road, and offered her fifty cents to accom- pany him, A gentleman saw the little girl crying on the strect, and learning the cause, noti- fied Officer Niebank, who took the man into custody and brought him to the Gregory sircet po- lice station. ‘There the prisoner gave his age as forty-eight, his residence as Ohio and occupation phy sic On his person were f @ number of letters mimending him as a person worthy rity, $4 55in money, a Canadian dollar and a vertificato of deposit for $190 from the National Park Bank ot this city. He was dressed very poorly a shirt wore & white sdickey while & piec brown wrapping paper answered the purposes o1 stor, In each of his pockets was found and several circulars advertising @ The prisoner was locked up, bread and m cure for corns. “ALWAYS WITH YOU.” PEOPLE IN DISTRESS WHO APPEAL TO THE CHARITABLE FOR AID--VERY URGENT CASES, An Austrian family named Hruza, living at No. 37 Essex street, room 5, has fallen into great distress. ‘Tye tather, a tailor by trade, and a very modest, sifiple man, was stricken with peralysis a year ago, He was then supporting a wife, two children and his wife's mother, He recovered sufficiently to enable him partially to resume work, but bis health was shattered, Iwo mouths ago his wife gave birth to a stillborn child, Last week a second stroke of paralysis attacked his head and left side. His sav- ings had been all spent during the illness of the past year. His family is in instant need of relief. A visit to this orderly and well-mannered household will move the charitable strongly in its favor, ‘The caso of Patrick Quinn is also meritorious. He is an old man and lives with his wife in a poor shanty on Fourth avenue, near the corner of 116th street. He was a carrier of wood, and was known as an excellent workman till severe bronchitis set in and disabled him from attempting any but the lightest jobs. His wife found a little washing to do, and they managed to support themselves for seven years, Last Christmas a double misfortuae overtook them, The husband's bronchitis became chronic and the wife was seized with vomiting and blood spitting. Since then neither has been able to work. Benevolent persons in the neighborhood have sent them a little tood, clothing and money, They have great need of such assistance. Attention has been already directed to the story of Erminia Venturoli, the dancer, once famous in “the Black Crook” and other spectacular pieces, It will be remembered that she was seized with paralygis in the most brilliaut moment of her career. The char- ity of many well known citizens and artists has al- ready answered to the call on her behalf, but a new source of distress has lately arisen in the sudden lunacy of -her brother, who has been removed to the asylum, and leaves a child in his sister’s impover- ished house, ‘They are exceedingly poor. Mary McLaughlin, a widow, of No. 17 Monroe strect, has been mnaking a brave fight with fate. She has four little children, and was lately, by reason of the dulness of trade, thrown out of her usual em- ployment of cloth cutting, in which she had consid- erable skill, Since then her life has been very hard. She lives, with her children, in a miserable basement. At night ‘they are all huddled together in a bed of rags; by day they shiver inthe bare room, But the woman does not lose courage. A Bible society has lent her a helping hand and saved her from starva- tion. The benevolent may do well to visit her. A widow and two children are living on the top floor of the rear house at No. 115 East Fourth street. The husband died a few days ago and left the family entirely destitute. ‘Uhe funeral expenses were borne by the Cutters’ Society of this city, the husband being one of its members. The widow is very anxious to return to her former home in Quebec, At No, 246 West Tenth street live a woman and two children, who have parted with everything be- fore asking aid. Their room is nearly baré of furni- ture and they sleep on a small mattress in the corner. ‘Their case calls for immediate assistance. In the same house were found 4 woman and alittle boy living in an attic without tood or fire. The hus- band loft New York in December as a coal passer on a southward bound steamer, He was taken sick in New Orleans, received teu days’ pay and was there left in the hospital. They need help promptly. A tamily of six are living at No. 609 East Thirteenth street, in the rear house, second floor; the mother is in bed, and beside her a baby a few days old. They are without food and fire. Julia Flynn, of No. 242 West Nineteenth street, is in the last stayes of consumption. Her husband has been employed in street cleaning, but at present can find no employment. He has 4 little grandchild to support. Adoctor has been attending the invalid wife gratuitously, but she has none of the articles that might make her brief span of life comfortable, and barely the necessaries of existence, A certain woman, in whose case the St. John’s Guild took peculiar interest, as recently stated, failed to receive the assistance which the Guild hoped she would obtain, and has succumbed to fate. She has been turned out of doors, with her children, by an obdurate landlord, and now stands on the brink of starvation, Her name is O'Kelly. She is a hard worker and an excellent housewife. A sad case of distress and poverty can be relieved at No. 842 Second avenue, fourth floor, front apart- ments. A Mrs. Doettigheimer and her five children, the eldest about eight yours ola and the youngest an infant of afew weeks, are in need of immediate as- sistance. The husbgnd was a good workman and his business that of a cutter, but for a Jong period he was without employment. He became ilkand was com- pelled to go to Bellevue Hospital, where he died yes- terday. The body now lies at the Morgue awaiting burial. While the reporter was at the house yester- day the widow returned from an unsuccessful search atter means to save her husband from burial in Pot- ter's Field. She said :—‘I cannot let hith go without the children having a last look at their father, for in his life he was g to them, and his carnings were spent on his family.” ROASTED ALIVE. MRS, GOULD, AN OCTOGENARIAN, BURNED TO DEATH ON FIRST AVENUE—A GERMAN WOMAN'S STRUGGLE WITH THE POOR WOMAN. Mrs. Ellen Gould, who had lived to the advanced age of eighty years, was burned to death yesterday afternoon at No. 833 First avenue. She was remark- ably smart for her years, and attended to houschold duties up to the moment of the accident. She had been engaged sewing in the forenoon. About two o'clock she went about making preparations for her lunch, She was in the act of toasting bread at the stove when her clothing ignited. She must have re- mained in the room a considerable time without rais- ing an alarm, as her two flannel petticoats were subsequently found behind the door badly burned. Finding that the flames were increasing, despite her efforts to extinguish them, she rushed from the room into the apartments adjoining, occupied by a Mrs. Garens, a German woman. The latter at the moment was scated at the table near the window, with her eight months’ baby in her arms. She screamed with terror at sight of the burning woman, who, ima frenzy of agony, rushed toward Mrs, Gar- cus and implored her assistance. Mrs. Garens, how- ‘ever, was appalled by the awful sight and unable to move. She could not recover her presence of mind to act with promptitude in the alarming emergency. WRAPPED IN FLAMES, ‘Yhe clothing of the unhappy old woman blazed around her, and the flames almost screened her from view. As if to make the spectacle still more appall- ing she held grasped in her outstretched hand the kuife she had been using inthe preparation of the afternoon meal. Vinding that her condition was desperate she flung herself on Mrs. Garen her arm about that matron’s neck and bert into the hallway. That lady was help! render any assistance to the poor woman, Her great anxiety was to save her infaut from being burned inf the close embrace of the aged woinen, who was rapidly being roasted alive. Three times Mrs. Gould dragged Mrs. Garens the length of the hallway, until at last it looked as it both women and the infant would meet au common fate, Mrs. Garens made trantic efforts to et away, but the clasp of the old lady was set in Scaporalion and death.” She nover relasid her hold until she dropped dead, burned toa crisp, at the head of the stairs, Mvery parucle ot clothing was con- sumed upon her person and her face burned beyond the power of recognition. A NAKMOW ESCAPE, Mrs. Garens dragyed herself into her own room in a fainting condition. She was singed about the face and arms, and her hair was rendered crisp by the flames, The infant, as well, was scorched in soveral places and its clothing burned. ‘The screams of Mrs, Garens at last brought two men to the scane of the burning. ‘The rooms were filled with a terri- ble odor of burned flesh, and smoke filled the corridor, The men procured water and dashed it in all directions, thinking that the premises were on fire, At last they realized the situation, and helped to convey the charred remains of Mrs, Gould from the entry into her own apartments, where they waited until the arrival of Coroner Croker, who granted a certificate of death, The 1 was born in Westmeath, Ireland, and was the mother of ten children. She came to this city fifteen years ago, where she has since re- sided with her children, to PRAISE FOR POLICE OFFICIALS, On the minutes of the record book of the Grand Jury yesterday was a resolution setting forth the ap- proval of the members of that body of the skill and ability shown by Inspector Murray in the arrest of Frank Cosgrove and Mrs. Bertha Berger, who were indicted on the charge of malpractice in connection with the death of Miss Cora Sammis, of Northport, Long Island. A similar resolution of the Grand Jury also enlogized the energy and efficiency of Captain Byrnes us displayed in the clever capture of David Pender, alias “Davy the Kid,” recently sentenced by Judge Gildersleeve to twenty years’ imprisonment for the highway robbery of « fady'n diamond earring on Fifth avenue, and John Flynn, alleged to be his accomplice, The trial ot Fiynn is set down for the March term. MANHATTAN SAVINGS BANK. The dolay of the Manhattan Savings Bank officials in resuming was attributed yesterday to the Wash- ington authorities, It was stated in Wall street that some of the papers, showing the authenticity of the registered bonds which had ben stolon were mislaid in the Treasury Department. Duplicates of the mirs- ing documents were sent to Washington yesterday, aud it is expected that the bank will be able to re- sume on Tuesday or Weduesday uoat, POSTAL COMMISSIONS. “AUTHORIZED AGENTS” TO RECEIVE NO DIS- COUNT ON POSTAGE STAMPS, STAMPED EN- VELOPES AND THE LIKE, APTER MAKCH 31— POSTMASTER GENERAL KEY'S ORDER. An order dated Washington, January 28, 1879, and signed by Postmaster General Key, decreed that after the Sist day of March “the system of selling postage stamps, stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers and postal cards at a discount to certain designated local agents in some of the larger cities of the country, under section 392 of the Postal Regulations, be dis- continued, On that date all appointments of such local agents heretofore made will be revoked, and thereafter no credit to postmasters for discounts on sales will be allowed,”* ‘The promulgation of this order caused considera- ble excitement among a number of “local agents” in this city who have made an extensive profit on the sale of stamps out of the allowance made by the gov- ernment as discount. ‘The law allowing the percentage has been in vogue for a long time, being derived from section 173 of the Postal Code, which provides that ‘Postage stamps and stamped envelopes may be sold at a dis- count to certain designated agents, who will agree to sell again without discount under rules to be pro- vided by the Postmaster General; but the quantities of each sold to any one agent at one time shall not exceed $100 in value, and the discount shall not ex- ceed five per cent on the face value of the stamps, nor the same percentuin on the current price of the envelopes when sold in quantities.” While discretion wasyallowed to the Postmaster General to grant a discount of five per cent on the au- thorized sale of stamps this high figure was never sanctioned. For some time two per cent was the al- lowance, but Postmaster General Marshall Jewell subsequently reduced it to one per cent. A BIG BONANZA, Even at this rate a few of the licensed dealers in this city had quite a neat income from this source and in several instances the “authorized agents” who were settled in favorite localities sold a fabulous amount of postage stamps and devoted their entire time and business to this branch of industry alone. Mr. Henry G. Pearson, assistant postmaster and acting postmaster in the absence of Colonel James, yesterday said:— ‘The sale of postage stamps outside Of the post offices has been carried on to an immense extent and catailed great labor on this office without any benofit accruing to it. ‘This was caused by rural jostmasters disposing of stamps by the wholesale in flestentas nerd nasition, thereby securing for them- selves the large commission allowed by the govern- ment in licu of salary. ‘Chis evil has happily been corrected by the recent law of Congress, which allows a commission only on stamps cancelled at these offices, The postage stamps thus set in circu- lation found their Way to this city and many of them were sold to local agents holding a license at a large discount. Many banks, inyurance companies and venders of articles, whose business is chiefly trans- acted through the mails, patronized the licensed agents and shared with them the commissious. The postmasters are not permitted to redeem stamps ex- cept stamped envelopes misdirected; consequently, when these gummed papers were flooded upon New York city, publishers and merchants receiving such and not’ being able to dispose of them in the regular course of business were forced to get rid of the same in some manner, and their only recourse was the ‘local agent.’ An idea has prevailed that Postmasyer James was responsible for the order of General Key abolishing commissions. This is erro- neous. Mr. James was not aware of the fact until he received the official notification from the department in Washington.” THE EXTENT OF THE BUSINESS. Mr. Pearson continued :—*The business done in the sale of stamps in this city is somewhat marvellous. During the administration of the late Postmaster Kelly over one hundred and fifty licenses were issued to parties all over the city. Since then this number has been decreased to eighty, But it must not be assumed that this entire number do an equal amount of business in this line. The eighty ugents may be classified as follows:—Six buy stamps amounting to upward of $10,000 per quarter; twenty-nine buy upward of $1,000; fifteen purchase all the way from $200 to $1,000 worth, and thirty purchase from $50 to $200. This makes a total of eighty agents, and in reality the bulk of the busi- ness is done by six men, who derive a large revenue from commissions. The total amount of stamps sold to these people last year was a little over $1,000,000, on which a@ commission of $10,000 has been paid. Before any licenses were granted stamps could be purchased at any druggist’s or stationery store, where they were kept for the accommodation of regular customers or to induce trade. Kven now nearly every one of these stores keeps stamps for sale without receiving any commission. No delay or an- noyance need be apprehended by the public in ob- taining all the stamps or envelopes at this office, and no additional force will be necessary to facilitate business in the stam) Sarre atter this order zoes into effect, by which the department will save a rye amount of money now paid out for discounts.” THE DISADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM. New York, Feb, 28, 1879. ‘Yo rae Eprror oy THE HERaLp:— In view of the recent order of the Postmaster Gen- eral discontinuing the agencies for the sale of post- age stamps in all the large cities of the Union after March 31 the following points may be of some interest to the public, particularly those ‘who, from convenience, haye been buying their stamps from the agencies:— i There are at present in this city about seventy-five of these agencies, selling altogether annually about $1,000,000 of stamps, upon which they are allowed by the government a commission of one per cent or about $10,000 a year (the figures I give I think are in excess of the actual amount); this amount divided among seventy-five agents will give an average of $143 33 paid yearly to each agent for affording the pub- lic the convenience of getting what stamps they may require without having to go the General Post Office for them and there waiting in line half a day perhaps to get to the little windows at which stamps are sold, That I do not e: ratein this last item let any in- terested party go into the department of the General Post Office where stamps are sold in larger suins than $1land see the line of people awaiting their turn and he will notice the length of time they have to wait before being served. Now, if this is the state of affairs at present, what will it be when these seventy-five agencies are abol- ished? It will result either in there being more branch pust offices established throughout the city tting the public to the inconvenience, annoy- nd delay of going to the General Post Office for stamps, where it will be absolutely necessary to largely increase the force of employés to attend to that department. In either case it will cost the government not less than the amount paid in commissions to these agencies, while it will cause merchants und the >ublic generally incalculable delay aud inconven- jence. Some years ago purchasers of stamps in sums ot $100 and upward were allowed a commission of cpl irs cent; that was abolished and agencics were establiehod allowing them two per cent on their pur- chases, This was continued until Jewell’s udminis- tration, when the commission was reduced to one per cent, and now our worthy Postmaster General, in the interest of economy, 80 called, abolishes this altogether. ‘Truly, Mr. Editor, you might well say this is one cent economy. A petition is now in cir- culation requesting the Postmaster General to revoke his order wuere it applies to New York, which mer- cants and others would do well to sign. QURIOUS, A CAMPAIGNING NOTE. THREE STATESMEN AND WARRIORS FIGHTING OVER ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOL- LARS—LAW AND POLITICS. In the year 1875, when Colonel Charles 8. Spencer, of the Fifth regiment, National Guard, was prosecut- ing 4 campaign in the Fifth Congressional district, the objective point of which was a seat in Congress, he had, as he says, as his chief of staff “Major” Thomas J, Creamer. At that time he gave his note to Mr, Creamer for $1,500, which the latter turned over to Sheridan Shook. After the campaign was over and the Colonel defeated he refused to pay the note, claiming that Mr, Creamer had failed in his capacity as chief of staff to properly place the party troops in position so as to successfully resist the attacks of the enemy or assume the aggressive. A part of the plan of battle was understuod to be that the chief of staff should have three trusty sub- ordinates at each polling place to watch the move ments of the enemy, aud in this Colonel Spencer says his chief of staff tailed, Shook commenced @ suit in the Supreme Court agetont Colonel Spencer to recover the amount of note, The Colonel put in an answer to the effect that the note was without consideration and that Shook was not the lawful owner and holder thereof, “Major” Creamer about this time wanted either his note ortho proceeds of it from Mr, Shook, and made a demand to that effect which was refused, ANOTHER SUIT. He then commenced a suit in the Marine Court, ont that the note had been given to Mr. Shook on the representation that he could collect it from Colonel Spencer, and, getting neither money nor note, he charged Mr. Shook in his complaint with having converted the note, and demanded judgment tor the amountof it, Tothis Mr. Shook made answer that the ‘Major’ was indebted to him in the sum of $1,000; that he gave him the note with the under- standing that he was to try and collect it from Colonel Spencer, and if successful to pay himself the $1,000 and return the balance to “Major’’ Creamer. amer Was not satisfied, and . Dennison, made & mot in Marine Gourt, Chi that judgment be ordered in fay the answer of the de! 8, allegations of the being admitted therein, and that of it relatin, to the suit against Colonel Spencer, to Which With this answer e jor” Creamer was not an assenting party, forming no defence, UB OPFOATHION. ae In opposition toghe motion ex-Jus . J. Ditten- Py tac to The Court that the action of his client, Mr, Shook, against Colonel Spencer was in legitimate pursuance of his understanding with “fajor™ Creamer to try and collect the note. If he succeeds, he will carry out the remainder of the agreement—that, is, to pay himself $1,000 and turn over the remainder to “Major’’ Creamer. As it stands now, all three assert by all that is fair im republican campaigning — that each has right on his side. Creamer swears that Mr, Shook must give him the note or the money, Shook swears that he will do neither until Creamer pays him his $1,000 or Colonel Spencer pays his note, while the gallant Colonel swears by lis glittering helmet that he will fight to the last ditch before he pays that note, ‘udge Sinnott in the meantime reserves his deci- sion on the motion for judgment in favor of Mr, Creamer. THE CROTON WATER SUPPLY. WHY THE SERVICE IN HOUSEHOLDS ON THE EAST AND WEST SIDES VARIES—ME? BIRD- SALL'S STATEMENT, Acomplaint reached the office of the HeRaup yes- terday from a resident of East Eighty-second street, between Second and Third avenues, to the effect that on this particular block the supply of Croton water was so short that it did not run in the pipes above the first stories of the houses, and great inconvenience was thereby caused, The gen- tleman who complained said that he pre- sumed the shortness of the supply in this place was caused by some aceident to the mains, as the people on the surrounding blocks had no such trouble, but had a plentiful supply of water, and ho relied on the Henatp to obtain relief for the unfor- tunate Eighty-second street residents. AHeratp reporter was accordingly instructed to investigate the matter, and did so as thoroughly as possible. On visiting Yorkville and making in- quiries in @ considerable number of places he ob- tained such apparently contradictory reports that he was at first bewildered and at @ loss to understand them. On looking over his notes, however, he found that the people who complained of being short of water were all located east of Third avenue, and those who found no scarcity were all either on Third avenue or to the west of it. As Third avenue is at about the same level with the cross streets, and these cross stzeets are apparently about as high to the west as they are to the east of Third avenue, he was forced to the conclusion that there was a difference in the service of water and that the east side of Third avo- nue was the dividing line. On inquiring about the matter of Mr. Birdsall, the eer of the Depart- mentof Public Works, under whose charge this mat- ter falls, the fact was found to be as stated. Third avenue and the ground to the west of it are served with the high service, and there are stop cocks in each main extending eastward which separate the high water from the low water service, WASTE WATER. “There nif rcon so great # waste of water,” said Mr. Birdsall, ‘during the severe weather this winter that our water supply is a little low, and as soon as this is the case we always have complaints from the people who live in those higher portions of the city which are not reached by the high servico.”’ “fas there been a greater waste of water than usual this winter?” asked the reporter. “Yes,”’ replied Mr. Birdsall. ‘The winter has been like that of 1875, and so many of the houses in the city are badly or cheaply plumbed that People let the water run at night to avoid having their pipes frozen up, and We can’t prevent it, During the day we will get along all right, but as goon as night comes our supply runs down.” «But it the higher portions of the city are the only ones affected why not extend the high water service so as to take them all in?” asked the reporter. “Because we have now included all that we can serve with our present system of pumps,” answered the engineer. ‘We are doing all we can, and it is necessary to draw the liue somewhere, and itis drawn at Third avenue. Weare building new pumps, how- ever, and when they are completed, say in about a year from now, the lines will be extended and will probably be drawn in that part of the city at Second avenue. There is a heavy grade reaching from Seventy-ninth to Eighty-ninth street, and the ground is there about Lede oe feet above tidewater. Now the service trom the High Bridge reservoir is sufli- cient to supply this height, but at the Central Park and Forty-second Street reservoirs the water is now only from eighty to eighty-five feet above mean tide, and that does not supply the u stories. It is natural enough for a mau to complain when he sees the water running higher in his neighbors’ houses than it does in his own, but the exp! ion, as you see, is simple.” “What is the proportion of waste this year?” asked the reporter. “During January the vip agi was about eight million gallons greater than average during the year, and during February it hae becn about three million five hundred thousand gallons more. We live in hopes, however, that the spring will come some time and then it will be all right.” POISON OR FANCY? Mr. Frank Barth, residing at No. 212 South street, Jersey City Heights, yesterday complained to Health Inspector Cronan that the water in the well in the rear of his premises had been poisoned during the night and was unfit for use. He informed the in- spector that he suspected a neighbor of having put poison in the well. The Inspec! has begun an in- vestigation into the matter. THE COMMODORE'S MALADIES, The hearing in the Vanderbilt will case was re- sumed yesterday morning before Surrogate Calvin, and Mr. Lord continued the cross-examination of Dr. Van Buren. The autopsy was again taken up, and the Doctor was questioned on it, item by item. Witness admitted that all of the ailments disclosed must have shown a diseased condition of the blood. The dry routine of technical questions was again put in operation. The court room thinned out, and ex-Judge Comstock soon fell asleep. Witness said there was nothing positive to show the bad condition of the Commodore's blood. Q. Taking into consideration the condition of the Commodore, as disclosed by the autopsy, and keep- ing in mind the questions that have been put to you already, do you mean to say that all these things do not show that his blood was in an urhealthy condi- tion? A. There is nothing in all this to produce a condition of the blood-which I could name. Mr. Lord asked how all the conditions specified affect the general health of a man. The Sur- id he thought it was evident that a person ith all these diseases could not be consid- ered in perfect health. Mr, Clinton—We atand upon our original objection, that if « person is in ill health he can’t be well. Mr. Lord next inquired what would be the effect of these diseares upon the Commodore’s general health, The witness replied, “I should think it would make it very poor, sir.” Q. Do you mean to that if in a case where the brain had not been examined there was found dis- ease in every other part of the body, that there would be nothing the matter with the brain? A. I do not incan to say that; diseases of the intestines may make many men fecl very miserable, but never knew of @case where made & man insane. The question known as the “long question” was next asked, and provoked the usual discussion. After many of the points had been eliminated from it witness was allowed to answer, and he said that, assuming all the hypotheses in the question, he should not consider them indicative of insani This concluded witness’ cross-examination by Li \ The Surrogate-—In answer to several questions you have said that diseases always have an influence upon the mind; do you use the term “influence” as indi- cating any weakness or impairment of the mind in these auswers? : Upon Mr. Lord saying that this question would raise a prolonged discussion, the Surrogate withdrew it and dismissed the witness, At three o'clock the hearing was adjourned, ROBBERIES AT STAMBOUL, {From the Pall Mall Gazette.) The inhabitants of Constantinople and its neigh- borhood are suffering from an epidemic of robberies with violence. An atrocious crime of this nature, perpetrated the other day near Thorapia, has aroused general fndignation, A Greek market gardener was sitting quietly in the cabin in his vineyard with three or four of his Turkish laborers toward sunset, when a band of seven mon entered the place. Six of them, with blackened faves, were dressed a8 Roumeliote retugees, and the seventh, with his face undisguised, wore a Turkish sergeant’s uniform. Having bound the market gardener and his companions, the robbers searched the cabin caretully and found a sum of about fifteen hundred piastreg in caimé, but nothin, else worth carrying off. The result of their ‘coarch did not appear to satisfy them, and they announced their intention of torturing’ the market gardener until he revealed to them the whereabouts of uny other money or valuables concealed on the pret- ines, They accordingly tied the unhappy man in & chair, placed burning straw under his and searified him about the hands and neck with red hot pincers, Fi i these means to extract from their victim any tion as to the supposed hidden treasure, the robbers at last desisted from their fonesing, operations, and, cooking some fish which they found in the place, sat down to supper. They remained until a late hour of the night and then Teparted, taking with them all they could lay hands on. When they were gone one of the laborers managed to wriggle out of his bond and rushed off to Therapta, where he gaye inform tion of the outrage to the police. ‘The robbers, ho ever, have not been captured, and the Greck market gardener, by latest accounts, is seriously ill, owing to the tortures inflicted om him, THE -"L’ RAILROADS. Difficulties Arising from the Use of a Joint Track, WHAT THE DIRECTORS SAY. Claiming the Right to Build Lines on All the Avenues. There was much discussion yesterday in downtown circles interested in rapid transit over the difficulties alleged to exist in running the two “L’ roads over the same track in Pearl street and New Bowery. Considerable surprise was caused by the report that @ petition was in circulation asking the Legislature to deprive the Metropolitan “L’” altogether of their legal rights to the half use of the Pearl street route, formerly owned by them entirely, as it ‘had been gens erally understood that the two companies were en- gaged in friendly and confidential consultation, with a view to a harmonious settlement of the joint track difficulty. The officers of the Metropolitan “L,” when asked about the petition yesterday, only smiled good naturedly and said they would not pay the slightest attention to it. WHAT GENERAL HORACE PORTER SAYS. “Our legal right to the joint use of that road,” said General Horace Porter, ‘is a vested interest which is absolutely sacred, and which no such action can in the least disturb. After all, it must not be forgotten that the number of people to be carried on this joint route will probably remain just the same as it is now, only with this difference—that the two roads will carry them instead of the one. The number of trains, therefore, will probably be about the same, with the mere difference only that the New York ‘L’ will divide them equally with ours, as required by the law.” VIEWS OF VICE PRESIDENT BAIRD. As to the supposed danger, Vice President and Chief Engineer Job Baird said:—“It is grossly exaggerated and for the greater part imaginary. It has been said that the engineer on atrain in Beaver street, for instance, will not be able to see a train croasing from Pearl street; but there is no necessity that he should do so. He will see a great target, either red or white, which will be conspicu- ously displayed from the switch house at the inter- section of the two streets telling him plainly whether he may proceed or not. This is now suc- cessfully accomplished at our Regtor street terminus, where trains are in this manner directed with abso- lute safety to come either into the right or the left or the middle track. All trains at the Pearl and Beaver street crossing would come to a dead stop and wait for the signal before proceeding any fur- ther. ‘The two companics, of course, will enter into an arrangement as to which train, whether the up or down, will have the first right of way. Now, for instance, at our presont crossing at Fifty-third street and Ninth avenue it has been agreed that up to twelve A. M. the down trains shall always have the right of way before the up trains, because more people are going down than up, and that after twelve the up trains shall have the right of way before the down trains. This arrange- ment could be easily repeated at the Beaver and Pearl atreet crossing. COLLISIONS RENDERED IMPOSSIBLE. “At tho same time the two companies would agree upon @ system of interlocking switches, by which aan the switch for the down track was thrown open that for the up track would be locked, rendering a collision absolutely impossible. This diagram (Mr. Baird pointed at @ carerully and elaborately drawn of the Fifty-third street and Ninth avenuo crossing) shows you that the switchman from the switch house overlooks at the same time the Ninth avenue and the Fifty-third street tracks. Assume that a down train of the Metropolitan ‘L’ should be coming from the upper part of Ninth avenue at a time when the down train has the first right of way, and at the same time an up train of the New York ‘L’ should be coming along from Fifty-third street. Both trains stop, and a great target, , blue or white, is displayed, which tells the engineer of the down train of the Metropolitan ‘L’ to go ahead, whilo it informs the ongineer of the up train of the New York ‘L’ to wait until the down train has . In this manner the Beaver and Pearl street crossing can be managed with absolute sufety."? DIVIDING THE EAST SIDE ROUTES. “What do you think of the plan suggested in the Henatd, Mr. Baird, of separating the two east side uitable roads entirely below Chatham square?” “I think it isa practical as well as an solution of the question. If the Metropolitan ‘IL,’ had exclusively the Pearl and New Bowery route, which originally Belonged to them under the Gilbert charter, and the New York ‘L’ had exclusively Oy Chatham and Chambers street branches, both c@n- panies would divide the large cast side t@affic in a tair manner, and, of course, the people would enjoy superior facilities. Otherwise we shall hear man; complaints, no doubt, while neither company will gain ‘anything. ‘The New York ‘L’ would certainly lose one-halt of their traffic from Fulton and Frank lin square stations and from the City Hall, for we should run alternate trains from the first two stations, and by establishing our depots at Chambers street and Broadway and at Centre street and Cuam- bers we should certainly take away half of their travel from the City Hall.” Mr. Baird said that in London and in many other cities tracks were used jointly by two or more rail- road companies and all danger had been successfully averted for many years. at had been done there could certainl, done here. If the two companies should be unable to come to @ satisfactory under- standing for the complete division of the two east side routes below Chatham square, he was fully con- vinced that ample provision would be made by them to avoid even t! ibility of an accident, Director Heber R. Bishop, ot the New York “L,” denied yesterday that the company had anything whatever to do with the petition asking the Legisla- ture to deprive the Metropolitan Company of their rights under the law. Another officer also thought that nobody connected with the New York “LL” instigated petition, as the two companies were aged in @ friendly consultation on the sub- i, and to have done so, he considered, would have n disloyal to a very friendly corporation. THE “GRIDIRON” FRANCHISE, President Cyrus W. Field stated the other day toa reporter of the Henatp that if the Second avenue “*L'* paid, the New York company would probably build on First avenue. When asked whether he believed his com| had a right to buildon First avenue Mr. replied unhesitatingly in the aftirmati¢e, saying that under their original charter they had th right to build on almost any avenue or street in the city ot New York. “Our original charter embraces pretty much the whole city,’ Mr. Field declared, and Mr. Olmstead, who was present during this conversation, said:— “That charter was a pretty good charter, wasn’t it? It was drawn at our office.” It is now understood that the New York “L” will make an application to the Board of Aldermen to contirm their routes em- bracing nearly the whole city, laid out by them under the general law which provides that the entire route of any railway must be laid out by the railroad cor- poration within a certain time. The network of routes laid out some years ago by the New York ‘+L and published at the time was familiarly called the “gridiron” road and was never confirmed by the Rapid Transit comiaissioners. BUSLNESS TROUBLES, During the month of February forty-eight failures were reported in this city, in which the liabilities amounted to $912,669 and the assets were estimated at $393,066, Compared with the preceding month there is a decrease of five in the number of failures aud $500,000 in amount of liabilities. For the cor- responding month in 1878 there were sixty-seven failures with total Liabilities of $4,800,000, ‘The schedules of Elias Brothers have been fited, showing liabilities of $44,263 ‘y nominal assets, $34,001 38; actual assets, $12,785 10. Their trot horses and wagons are inch at a valuation o! $1,820, ‘The principal creditors are:—J. A. Loring, 000; A. Bushee, $4,416 96; J. F, Hopkinson & Co., 75; We B. pp, $3,000; H. B. Peabody, 2407 10; #. G. Whitney & Co.,' $3,071 #1; 8. Ric ardson & Co., $3,110 17; Bates & Bacon, $1,508 95, ‘Tho Dobleman Flint Glass Company, of Brooklyn, mude an assignment yesterday to ‘T! ro Goorck: ‘Tho president, J. B, Dobleman, mado an assignment # month ago. Abraham J. Charles made on assignment yesterday to Edward Sexton. CHARGED WITH BURGLARY. Charles Wilman, the son of a Brooklyn clergyman, was some time ago arrested in Brooklyn by Deteo- tive Ennis on charge of burglary, but the evidence was insuflicient to hold him. The detective found some harness in Wilman’s possession, and having read in the Henaup of the robbery of Dr. Gaylor's barn, at Newtown, requested that gentlemen to in- spect the harness. Dr. Gayior positively identifiod it as his property, and Wilman was transferred to the jail at Newtown, and arraigned before Justico Marshall yesterday. The witnesses who had been subpauaed failed to appear, and attachments wero issued for them. Wilman claims to have the harness from one John Shaw, who is now in hiding from the Rellae knowing that it had been stolen, 80 that if Justice Marshall fails to convict him for the burgiary Detective Ennis will take him back to Brooklyn on the eh: of being @ receiver, Wilman at one time lived in Newtown, in the house by Dr, Gaylor. now ovcupi