The New-York Tribune Newspaper, December 26, 1866, Page 4

Quntraements. © “UNIBLO'S GARDEN. T"‘;'R ENING-TIE BLACK CROOK—0reat Paristenne oupe. Wi 'EiR GARDEN. TIUS AKTERNOON — Fawia Booth. THIS EVERING—ITALIAK 0! BALLO IN MASCHERA. WA TUEATER. Loster Wallack, Mr. Frederio ios Fisber, Dlise Modeiine Hoa THIS EVENING—OU i . Mr. Johu Gitbet, iques. Mre. Veruos. THIZ EVENING LIVE INDIAN. M. Jobu F. Owens FRANCALS. 1L Ris ™ ¥ THIS EVENING-] ABET " KEW.YORK THEATER. THIS BVERING-CENDRILLON—GRAKD FAIRY BALLET. OLYMPIC THEATER. . THIS EVENING-THE HUGUENOT CAPTAIN-Mr. Charles Barson. \ BARNUM'S AMERICAN DAV AND EVENIRU-MAJOR JONE Tl sompiey, TWO HUNDRED THOU PUNTER KON COLLFCTION OF ! '™, v 5 CHRISTMAS WITH MELANCHOLY. C. W. Clarke D CURIONIT WILD ANIMALS. GERMAN Ti ER. EN STOCK~Mr. NEW YORK > THIS EVENING-NEW YORK CIRCUS TROUPE. Robert Buloknsy, Austrlion Faily eud bille. Do Lerg, Matinoe st % o'clock. THIS EYENINGDICKERS I;Vlllc“;'\:,'I s c ‘ —DICKENS'S CHRISTMAS 3 e " ! AROL. M. KELLY & LEON'S MINSTRELS. .!!ll EVENING—FIRST DePEAR NCE OF LITTLE MAC, o ) DODWORTHU HALL. . THIS EVENINO—M. HARTZ, THE ILLUSIONIST. FAIRS. mh—mn‘u the Presbyterian Church, corner of Orend Business Notices. Tho GornaM MANUPACTURING COMPANY SILVER- warms of Providence, R. 1., iuform the trade that they are produging fine PLATRD Goops, comprising foll Dixxin sud TA and Tania W awn of every deact " drpoui ey pousese st fption of & Tho_base re undinting uriag ‘ompany refer with confidence to'the they have established in the production of SoLip in whiob they have been for wany years engaged, and asaure (be public that bhey will fully wisrain st Topute- "tiow By the production of ELECTRO PLATAD W aRrs of such quality . aud extreme dotebility aé will insure entire watisfaction %o the pur- hasor. Al articis made by them sre stamped (uue: . t gunANAG, Aud oll suob are full They fosl it naceasary particular; Vim—txh etk se theil very superior ickel Silver, Bt 3 sitention of purchasers above trado-viatk. ae theil fi:u Bocn talready extensively fmitated. Theso goods can procured fron responas throughout the country. Ed Tex Reasoxs Way B Hosrsrran's Stomacn Brrrens i SHOVLD MAVE A PLACK 1N NVEKY NOME Bacauss by luvigorsting the constitution and the frame they aver ockneen Buoavss (especially) their use prevents the stmospheric polson which produces epidemics from taking effect npon the eystem. . Bucavan they cure indigestion, and impart unwonted vigor to the wtomack. BucAUsE they are the best appetizing medicing at pressnt kuown. Buoavss they are the ouly preparation upon which persons of & bitious habit can siely rely to keep the liver in good order. BRcAvsE they tone snd regulate the bowels, and invarisbly relieve them when constipated, without causing undoe relaxs'ion BroAvsE they strengthen the merces, cleat the brain, and cheer the animal epirits. BucAvsm incase of an sttack of spasms or bilious eolic they are the ost thing that can be sdministerad on the instent. BroAcem they combine the three properties of & tonic, &z alterative 4 & nervine in their utimost purity aud perfection. Broavss they are a specific against Ague and Fever and oll iuter- woittents. and with all their potency as & preservative and a rewedy, are @4 harmiow as water from the mountasn eprivg ! T. B. Brsxez, Wi " ay (up staire). " CRRONICCATARRE '—THA ONLY POSITIVE CUR Davis CoLLAMORE & CoO., m‘“"" 4 lmhhzg:»-.-u.‘ . lhn-‘M ough to Mertarat., Haviog. SILVER FLATED WAEKE o Whair Largo Block of CHINA AND GLASSWARE. We desire apecial Attention to a Large Assoriment of CHINA DINING BETS. Got 1id of o Cold at once by using JAYNE'S Ex- pacvonist, o cortaln care for all Pulmonary sud Brovchial sfes Goms Bl eveeywhore. PR Daup's PuLMO-BroNcHIsL TRrOC HES Cuide and all Throat and Lung Discases. Sold everywhere. % discard ivjurious i Madame Jumel's and Patent h!m deveiop the form ph: 2 oo s Cont o Gtd b drogcae Sevd or e e BEWING-MACHINES Saun od To Ruxt. V. W. Wickes, No. 144 Brosdway, up staire, Finst PREMIUM h‘sn Ounl.—X:'oM other con- el ibe eduaice Attac! L. o - l.lx u'.lflA. Co., ,II‘—:':" Broome-st. . WHITE & GLENNEY, Pracricat Dexrims, ‘No. 893 Brosdwsy. T E:‘-nu.'- Carp DrroT, No. 302 Broadway, =-. the w. Vielting Ceréa, Monog Noto Peper, the Latast mew CHATSTAL Vis1T1XG CARD for the Holldeys. HouDAY PrEskxT.—PoLLAK & Sox, No. 652 . 3 York, sear Fourth-st., Mumnscmabu Pirs Maxv- ‘order. repaired '-h . Popain ll‘-au-u_‘- 3 icates, $2. s & R 200 o P R . remELon's HAIR Dyg—The best in the worl ‘Inatantaneous; the only perfect dye—black or W—mmm. ‘Genuine v:ged SAG Dngiaoens Secfomun, - _____ of lmml: lexflo Rnu:v‘ e o ke, Noureger b, oy BUSPENSORY BAND- Serranrune —~Mansn & Co.'s Radstal Cure Trum Office :- uvn‘."hbn—h-. -5 Y PRESESTS OF AFPROTION AND CHARITY— %tmwm Sewing Mochizee. No. €35 Co.'thocka.:it&h Smxfi Y g O A i By P - ‘No. 501 Brosdway, §1. Nicholas Biock. DAY PRESENT.~GROVER & BAKER'S Snwing Maomine, No. 489 Bre 3 Gray Hair, PR 5 Smm S Set TRt U . L4 NEW-YORK DAILY TRIBURE, WEDNESDAY, DEC&MBER 2, NewDork Duily Sribme, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1866, TO CORRESPONDENTS. No notiee ean bo taken of Anonymous Communications. What over is intended for insertion must be authentioated by the name and address of the writor—uot necessarily for publios tion, but as & guarmnty for his good faith AR business letters for this office shoukd b addrossed to “ THs Trinexe,” New-York. We canuot undertake to return rejected Communications. L% On our second page to-day will be found_our For- vign Correspondence, including letters from Parig, Vi- enna and Horence, and a letter from Count De Gasparin on Universal Amuesty and Impartial Suffrage. The third page contains The Money Market and a communi- cation on our Merican Policy, besides news and other matter on this and the seventh page. er————— The now French Minister, M. Berthonny, was yosterday presented to the Prosident, and has as. sumed his official duties. ——————— Au aflidasit of o number of manufacturers of Bel- gian paving-blocks, near this oity, directly contradiots the statemonts of Controller Brennan in regard to the contracta for the Croton Aqueduct Board. While these discussions are unsettied the publio will not be entirely satisfied with Goy. Fonton's decision in the Controllor's favo: Tho Mexican reports aro more contradictory than ever. From one source we recoive information that Escobedo has been exccuted at’ the instance of Ca- nales; from another, that Minister Campbell has joined Escobedo. The Government at Washington ) said to believe the former teport to b true. In this case, we hope our Mexican Miuister chose a con- venient time for his visit. 3 Christmas was celebrated in New-York and tho ad- jacent cities with the best of foeling and good cheer, and without anything to mar the goneral festivity. ‘The churches were opened in the morning, the streets were gay and brillisat, and the generous spirit of the day penctrated even the dark cells of the Penitentiary and the Tombs. To many who were happy in their comfortable homes the joy of the festival may have been increased by the knowledge that so much had been done to make this Christmas sometfing more than a name to the poors In all the public institu- tions the anniversary was observed, and even the iminal and the outeast were not excluded from the 1gs of the day. One of the sincerest of the European friends of American freedom and progress, the Count Agenor de Gasparin, gives us in a letter to-day an ablo aud in- tolligent view of the problem of reconstruction. He believes that the Constitutional Amendment, as it stands, can be no final remedy for our troubles, and that even as an expedient there is no certain reason to believe that it will bring ebout the reconciliation of races and the carly enfranchisement of the blacks. Buch a form ofcofreion may seem ever so persuasive, but the South is left at liberty to fortify its white prejudices within etill narrower lines of caste. Thero is but one solvent, thinks M. de Gasparin, for our general trouble, and that is ** Universal Amuesty and Universal Suffrage.” The former must gcttie the white part of the question; the latter must satis(y the blacks; and together they should meet the nation's whole demand. The local and temporary embarrass- ments of the case our writer does not argue; but his views are in the main very just and timely. SLAVERY IN MARYLAND. ‘Weo have briefly noticed the startling fact men- tioned by our Baltimore correspondent that the slave trade was being carried on in Maryland by the judi- cial and executive officers of that State, under the pre- tended authority of the Maryland Code, and in alleged accordance with the National Constitution. Advertise- ments announcing the sale, for aterm of years, in pur- suancé of the sentence of 8 Court and the authority of o sheriff, will excite a feeling of something moro than surprise in the breasts of hundreds of thonsands, who for more than o year have been accustomed to thank God that Slavery in America had been constitution- ally sbolished. They believed that they had lived to see the day so long prayed for, when in his westward course over our ocean-girt Republic the sun no longer rose upon & master nor set upon a slave. But here is anew and hideous vision of auction blocks in front of Court-Houses, for the sale of ““slaves and other cat- “tlo,” with a sheriff as anctioneer, flourishing his judicial record and pointing to the *‘ Constitutional Amendment Bbolishing S!avers” as confirming its validity. Even those who.in the olden time had so “conquered their prejudices” as to contend that Slavery was not a crime, must feel that its unblushing revival at this moment and in this form is, to say the least, a blunder. The responsibility for the cxistence of this anomaly, which tends to make us contemptible in the eyes of the world and despicable in our own, rests primarily with the Congress which, in proceeding to amend the Constitution for the abolition of Slavery, and intending that abolitjon to be total and final, neglected to use words that indicated their intention. Earnest suggestions to this effect were met Dy, the reply that it would be more historically interesting, and would exhibit a wore con. tiouous | &nd uniform legislation to adopt and incorporate into the Constitution the identical pro- hibition of Slavery framed by the Fathers of the Re- public and embodied in the ordinance that sceured freedom to our great North-West. To the indulgence of this sentiment, which we thought then, and which we still think, partook rather of idle pedantry than of sound statesmanship, is the country indebted for the fact that American Slavery and the slave .-ade are carried on to-day under the shelter of that amend- ment. An absolute prohibition of Slavery, without exception, would bave passed Congress and would have been ratified by the people of the States as readily aiid as certainly as the one which was adopt~': and yet.in its place we have the following articie,'suthorizing and justifying Slavery in o clans of cages which, if left to the decision of the Rebel States, may be enlarged and extended until Slavery is made once more their peculiar institution: “Art, XIIL, sec. 1.—Neither slavery nor in- “yoluntary servitude, ezcept as @ punishment. for ““erime whereof the party shall have been duly con- “victed, ' shall exist within the United States “or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Until some new amendment shall abolish this ex- ception, servitude for trime will be permissible under the National Constitution; but what we have to do, sud what we can do, is to see that it is inflicted ns & punisbment only for crime and not for color. This subject may properly engage the attention of Congress under the second section of the Amendment, empower- ing them to enforce the article by appropriate legisla- tion. But the true remedy for this and other abuses to which the blacks ave subjected by Btate legislation inspired by Slavery, is in exposition by the Supreme Conrt of the United States of the true meaning and effect of the Constitutional Amendment, in giving to the Republic & National policy of equal freedom and equal justice. The allowance by the Amendment of Slavery as o punishment for crime may seer to militate against this view, bit it should be remembered that, by the first article of the Constitution, apportioning repre- sentatives and direct taxes, ** persons bound to serviee “*for & term of years " were expressly included smong *the number of free porsons,” and that it was not un- common for the German and other *‘ redemptioners,” s thoy were called, thus to bind themselves to a sort of Plavery, so far as labor and obedience were concerned, although it waa ontirely froe from those featuros of chattoldom which gave to Souttern Blavery its peculiar horrora. The question bow far the Amendment wbolishing Blavery Las changed the National policy, as hitherto deduced from Slavery under the old Constitution by pro-Slavery judgos, is ono whioh has uot as yot engngod the attention of our National Judiciary. The pro- vision of the Maryland Code under which, for the same crime, while men and women aro sent to the Penitentiary and black mon and women are sold into Slavery, affords an oxcellent opportunity for an clab- orate argumont and final decision on tho right of the States thus to diseriminate betwoeen American oitizons, and to establish, o a republic where all men aro born free and equal, aristocratic and class distinctiona. The subject was recently alluded to in an address (o the Union Loaguo Club of Now York by its President, and the opinion was intimated that tho Amendment had rondered ‘of questionable valiity some of our antiguatod State laws, both at the North aod the South, that imposed dizabilitics and ponaltics not for crime but for race and complexion, “A class of judicial questions,” said Mr. Jay, “ growing ont of Slavery and its incidents, which had “been finally settled, as was supposod, under the Con- “stitution as it was, would seom to bo disturbed if “ not reopened by the Constitutional Amendment, that “ has substituted Freodom for Slavery aa the preiise “of the argument by which their validity was for- “morly established. It may pos<tly e that the ¢ jdentical course of inductive reasoning, which, start- “ing from the view of the late Chief-Justice that the “framers of the Constitution of 1789 regarded tho “Dlacks as having no rights whatsocvor, served to “ establish upon that basis, by the severost logic, the “right of the States to disfranchise, outlaw, dograde, « and insult what Mr. Taney called * tho slave races,’ “a olass thua unoared for and unprotected by the Con- atitution, may lead to a difforent eonclusion, whon ‘““the judges commence with the new fact, that tho “ Amorican people in their soverolgn capacity havo “ constituted, ordained, and established that the ““members of the race thus disfranchised shall be “oqually entitled with themselves to the inalicnable ** rights of American oitizens.” The effect of such a decision on the suffrage quos- tion which now agitates the country, was in & subse- quent part of the address thus describod: “Shonld “‘the Supreme Court, upon a thoroughi review of the “ national policy as affected by the Amendment, reach “the conclasion that the National Constitution as “ amended no longer permits the States to establish “inequality, by the outlawry or disfranchisement “of aclass, the difficulties heretofors anticipated “ from an interforence by Congross with the supposed “rights of the States to disfranchise at their pleasure “ wifl be avoided. The decision wil affect North and “South alike, and the question of suffrage on an “ equal basis will bo oponed for readjustment in all “the States, with such counditions as regards rosi- “*dence, intelligonce, and tatation or property, as “ench State may severally preseribe.” If upon the first suggestion there should bo any difference of opinion on these points, we thivk there should be none in regard to the unconstitutionality of the law of Maryland, oreating clasa distinctions where none are to be foundin the Constitution, If Mary- 1and has the right to punish American cit'zens for their race or their complexion, why not for their re- Kigous creod, or their political opinions? We trust that no time will be lost in ssuing writs of habess corpus, whenever there may be occasion for that old safeguard of personal liberty, and in submitting the question in its national length and breadth to the judgment of our Supreme Tribunal, GUARANTEEING MEXICO. From the elaborate plea in be of Mexico, which we print to-day, it will bo observed that a writgr, whose views aro at least clearly stated, is disposed to believo that the duty of this country to bier sister Republic requires that some sort of muterial aid shall be given to Mexico. We dissont, but we give the writer a heariug. We don't think this country can afford to repeat, in any form or to any extent, the blunder of Napoleon. Nor are our finances in & con- dition to encourage us to enter upon any transactions involving a financial guarantee of the Republie. The fortunes of Mexico—we mean the Republic and not the Empire—have never been in reality so hope- less a3 they have scemed to superficial observers. In- stead of being an argmment for A monarchy, based on conclusions like those of the Rebel exile Harris, that * the Mexicans are the most worthless population on earth,” they prove the endurance of Republican prin- ciple against the greatest odds that have ever assailed a nation of equal numbers. It has never been gen- erally understood that the struggle of Mexico throngh a chronic war has been ever toward a more perfect Republic, instead of retrograding to an Empire. The Mexicans have encountered, among others, those troubles resultant from powerful and inimical institutions, which we were so fortunate as to get rid of, at a cost of some billions, a year ago. Mexico abolished Slavery, though possibly no slave-owning country, except it be some Spanish province like Cuba, bad s0 many artificial reasons in the texture of its society, and the mixed nature of its institutions and politics, to assimilate itselt wholly to this con venient but terrible evil. But when Slavery was, put under ground, there to await M milian's late summons for its resurrection, in the form of peonage, & much more potent evil confronted the Mexican reformer. Tt was a Chureh that owned more money and available and valuable property than the State itself. Of all relig- jous or political wrongs, that is one of the worst which joins the Church to the State,at expense to the morals, intelligence, and honesty of both, The clerical lead- ers of Mexico mado bad confessors and worse gover- nors; and its priest-ruled politicians and soldiers ¥ero reckless statesmen and corrupt generals, A Church which can, when actuated Ly less than the highest Christianity, exercise & dangerons dominion over igno- rant millions, contracted a fearful liaison with the Moxican State, The crime of such a conneetion cost Mexico, as it has cost other States, a prodigal and awful expense of treasure and blood. But, after in- npumerable revolutions, fiercely tosting the tenacity of the most vital principle of self-government, the Re- public rose victor, and Church-craft and King-craft went down. The secularization of Church property, accomplished by the Liberals unfder Juarez, had placed Mexjco on an honest basis and overthrown the monarchical principle. Her future seemed nevey be- fore so0 bright and assured, until Napoleon intervened to eroct again the monarchy, with about as much reason and scruple on his part as it would take to restore Blavery at this moment in the United States. Nevertheless, the cause of liberty has survived in long-suffering Mexico. At the end of a tedious con- test, the principle with which her war began bas vin- dicated itself. After trial of the longest and sorest character, with monarchy in the field, backed by the mightiest nation of Europe, it is found that Mexico will neither tolerate the Empire nor surrender the Ro- public. She has proved ber capacity to endure, and hos fairly earned the sympathios of mankind. It is not the Republic that is now to be despaired of, but the monarchy; not Juarez, but Maximilian; for, once left to itself, Mexico has morally no other choios than & Republic. — Mr. Eggleston of Obio had a long interview with the President the other day, and the substance of their conversation is published in The Cincinnati Commer- vial. Tt is of littlo importance what Mr. Johnson says to Republican Members of Congress, for bis profes- sions hare often been in direct opposition to his aats. It is not forgotten that when Mr. Trumbull laid the Froedmen's Bureau bill before tho President for his e ——— espectal critican, be was understaod to approve it, and retarpod it withont suggesting e single elteration. His voto followsdquiokly. We havo lesrned ihat we cannot depend upon bis assurances, and when in this sonver- eation wo find the Prosident objocting that Congross bad givon no plodge that the Robel Statos showld be admitted upon adoption of the Constitutionst Amend- mont, and even asserting that all he could now ack would be that reconstruction upon that basis should bo conceded by Congress, we cannot be sure that he will no longer use his influence against it. He ox- pressed to Mr. Eggloston his hope that tho Southern States would be admitted upon tho ratification of the Amendment, but what has he seid to the Soufhorn Lagislatures? Since the verdiot in tavor of the Amondmount—a verdict he profeases to respect—was givon to the poople, soveral Southern States have rojected the Amendment, and not the least of their roasons was that the Prosident held it to be unconstitutional. If ho sincerely wishes tho Amendment ratified, he should certainly havo pub- licly announced his changg of opinion. Wo cannot find enything in this conversation that indioates & Qisposition on Mr. Johnson's part to submit to the will of the peoplo, while in his recont acts is ample proof that ho disregards it. In reéstablishing Slavery 8 o punishmont for crime in the Dopartment of the South, he has done enough to make more profossions worthless, Wo listen to his smooth words with in- credulity, for wo aro compelled to acoept his actions a8 the true exprossions of his policy. THE OLD AND NEW SOUTK. It is almost vain to expect that this gonerat.on of Southern men can bo taught to Tnderstand tho North, the negroes, or themselvos. The suddenness of the change has bewildored them, and their offort s0ems 1o bo to reconcile by labor laws and ponalties the traditions of Slavery with the living facts of free- dom. Their children may learn tho uselessnoss of such attompts, but it is evidept that the leading men of the South look back with fond regret to the days when & few thousand gentlemen were the masters of millions of laborers. * Ex-Gov. Vance of North Carolina, in a recent lec- ture, expressed those feelings with a sad sincority. He told his hearers that ** tho country gentlemon who owned a large number of slaves aud thousands of “ goros of land had disappeared with the Southern “Confoderacy.” They were gone to retusn no more, and he mourned over their doparture. He pitied the negroes; they were the happiest race upon earth when theywere slaves; but now ho feared thay would take their departure with their masters. They are dis- appearing as a race vory fast, *Tho invigorating sound “4f tho * old banjo,’ " said the eloquent Governor, *'is “ no longor heard, and the ‘old double shuffle’ is fast “ fading away and will soon bo gone, lost to the pros- “ ent and unknown to coming gonerations,” Horecalled with tonching effect the days when the slaves taught him to twist & rabbit out of a hollow and build a Dird-teap on a Sunday, Nor did he fail to lament over the kappy condition of the Southern kitchens, when be “used to bother the old cook, and sometimes “received a alap, followed with *Git out o’ hore, de “ ¢ wile folks waitin for do witteld,'” But fu grieving over such terrible losses, the Governor did not have one word to say for what tho colored race has found. There were ploasant things in Slavery, as there are in monarchy, aristocracy, and other goneral evils. It must be delightful to be a king, even in theso daysof revolution, and there are thousands of bard-working men who would like to be the traditional nobleman, with a castle, a park, and a few hundred tenants to patronize. A kingdom isa good thing for the king. Wo used to be told beforo 1361 that the slaveholders wore kind to their alaves, and that cruelty was an exception. It was useless to moply that mercy could never bo a substitute for justice, As this supposititious kindness was then made an excuse for denying the nogroes their freedom, it is now a pretext for refusing them the rights without which freedom is but a name. A formor slavpholder writes to us from Lynchburg, Va., that hoe has ** more Kindly and truly “ sympathizing feolings for the unfortunate race than “any Abolitionist in the North, and would to-day “ contribute, aceording to his means, more toward “ their comfort than any man in the present Congress “ of the United States, including Sumner and Wade; “Dbut, at the same time, would submit to any inflic- “ tion that could be imposed rather than be brought “1o cquality in every semse with the negro.” No doubt this gentleman has benevolent feelings for his dogs, and would do a great deal for his horses, but this kind of sympathy is not fit for men to offer or ac- cept. Will tho old lords of the land ever learnthatit is not kindness but justice that the negro needs? Give him Lis rights and he will find his frienda. It is precisely this equality belore the law which the Southern aristo- orat would refuse, that the negro wants, and civiliza- tion sustains his demand. The blessings of absolute freedom will make charities unnecessary; the negro is immenasurably better off baving the right to use all logal means to support himself, than in dependence upon a generosity which may be withdrawn. These are truisms in the North, but mysteries to men liko Gov. Vance, whose oyes, dazzled with the sunburst of the future, turns fondly to tho familiar twilight of the past. . Yesterday afternoon both Boards of the Commou Council passed a rosolution authorizing and directing the Controller to pay all the clerks and attachés of the Common Council 250 each, and charge the same to the balance of any account. By the law all this is illegal. As the account of *‘City Coutingencies, " from which it has been customary to make these Christmas gifts, was long ago exhausted, and as the account of * Donations, " from which the Common Council gives presents to blind persons and others, was swallowed up in' the early days of the session, there is no account whatever, no mafter how great its balance may be, from which these presents can be lawfully made. Let us see tho extent of this scheme. There are about fifteen clerks to the Board of Aldermen and eleven to the Board of Councilmen. Adding to those twenty-six clorks some ten or twelve reporters, and about twenty hangers-on around the City Hall, who will be lugged in under the head of ** attachés,” we shall have a jolly company of about fifty-eight good- for-nothings, who, under this iniquitous resolution, will draw $250 ench for alleged extra sorvices. They will receive altogether the snng little sum of $14,500, with which they can mako tho holidays pass very pleasantly. Bo confident is the Ring that it will be able to hurry this matter throngh, that some of its members have nlready bonght up & fow of theso claims st o discount. We call upon Mayor Hoffman to veto this scheme by which the city would be despoiled of sbout $15,000. The resolution did not even receive tho requisite nom- bor of votes in the Board of Conacilmen, and Mr. Hoffman must know that it isagainat the provisions of the last Tax Levy to order the money to be paid from the balauce of any account in the City Treasuty. Section @ says: *The said soveral sums shall be ap- « plied ouly to the objeots and purposes'for which the + same are hereby appropriated.” At any rate,we hope Controller Brennan will give his friends in the Com mon Council to understand that he will not signify his retiremont from office by being guilty of the *'ir- rogularity” of paying out $16,000 of the public fands against law. If the measuro should pass over tho Mayor's veto, an injunction from Judge Barnard may saye us the money At the time of passing this rosolution, another was rushed through to pay an indefisite amount to the Clerks of the Board of Aldermen sitting as City Can- vassors. The fund with which to pay election ex- pouses was trausforred to the Polige Departmoat. 1866. . . ; B We undorstand that tho®o I8 no money from which | its own way. Tho recoraw O 9ur collogos show theg the proposed exponditures can 1egally be made. Most it is not always the valediotorian Who tims out o of the Clerks of the Board of Aldc¥wen porform littlo | great man—the speciali gratia feliows, who hatdly win or no work for their largo salarics, Thoy are not | thoir A, B., sometimos show & wondorful pawer ig entitled to a cent oxtra for their attondauc® Upon tho | making up - for time- lost, or supposed to be Board sitting as & Board of City Canvassers. Mayor | lost, during the university curriculum. Expecionce Hofflinan may veto this measure also. —_— A NATIONAL GOOD NAME. Iago, in the play, had his own private reasons whon hé said to the Moor: ““Good namein man and woman, “dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls;" for Tago had been wounded in a delicate poiut, for which we do not think tho critios have made sufficient allowance, It is curions that while a fair reputation is congidered priceless by the majority of mankind, and is oven more valuable to the vicious than the virtuous nations, which are only aggrogates of indi- viduals, and whioh talk guite enough, as IHeaven knows, about their honor, thoy are nevertheless prodi- gol of good character whenover a political point is to be gained; taking it for granted that their own historians will defond them, aud evincing & sublime scorn for the opinions of futuro ages. It is a humili- ating fact that there is not a government ia the world which has not occasionally done dishonest things. It ia & fact cheering to the moralist that, in almost every case, peccant nations have been foroed to pay the pen- alty of their misdeeds. Sooucr or later, in some mo- mont of imminent emergency, the bad name which was acquired with such indifference proves a source of embarrassmont if not of disaster. We were covetous, for instance, of the Province of Texas, and to seure it we went to war, upon the most frivolous pretenses, with Mexico. We knew, whon we annexed it, that annoxation was itself an act of war, and that what wo wanted was not moro territory simply, but more terri- tory to hold elaves in. We camo out of the fight suc- coasful, and what did we care then for the opinion of the Mexicans? No more than Antonio cared for the opinion of Bhylock, upon the Rialto. But the time came whon the Signor Antonioneeded three thousand ducats which Shylock bad to lend, as the time has now come when we need, or think weneed, a potontial influence in the adjustment of Mexican uffairs; and we find that some at least of that nation, however other- wise contemptible, have very. respectable memories. Tho placards npon the walls of Vera Cruz tell the gtory. Who took one-third of your torritory in 18481 ‘Who chased you from Toxas, calling you groasers! ‘Who called you & nation of wantons and thieves? Who treated you like slaves and pushed you from the sidowalks, oxcopt Americans? “Well, then; itnow appears you need my help,” said the old usurer to the borrower. We take it for granted that our avowed national policy is o good one; that it is for our interest to keep this continent clear of royal dynasties; that the Fronch occupation is & substantial grievance; and if wo could have proffered our nssistance to Moxico with clean hands and o clear conscionce, or if wo had simply kept that good char- acter which gives weight to good advice, it is bardly probable thut France would bave ventured upon her interposition, or that the Austrian would have grasped the Mexican scepter. An old head like that of Napoleon was bardly likely to dis- card from its calculations that hatred of Americans which the armies of Scott and Taylor left behind them when they evacuated Mexico, or so much of it as we wore pleased to permit its inhabitants to retain. He koew what excellent haters were the half*breeds of these latitudes, and bow he could play upou long cherished and sedulopsly nursed resentments. His grme has failed, but it by no means fotlows that the field will be an open one for our own. If we bave a faction in our favor, we are protty sure Yo have a faction against us; and under the most favoring circumstances, we shall get a fresh proof of the fact that confidence is a plant of slow growth. However kindly snd honorable our intentions may be, for of these we are not speaking, we are, to most Mexican minds, onlf the invaders of their soil, the destroyers of their cities and the partitioners of their ancient torritories. Wo néed not hold up our hands with wonder to find that there is, at this most incon- venientand untimely moment, s bitter feeling in Mex- ico against the United States, and we may be sure that Maximilian will make the most of it; for it may prove the straw which will eave him from drowning, as it is certainly the sole string in the Mexican heart upen which he can now play. It may not be very profitable in public matters to dwell upon what might have been; but the most cursory ob- sorver must see how much better would be our posi- tion now, for all those purposes which we most fondly cherish, if we had not stolen Texas, and made war in defenso of the great larceny. Texas, in time, we should have had, as well as California, without the wasto of one drop of blood; and how much more of the Moxican Empire would have peacetully followed by the cheap process of diplomacy! As it is, our | great, glorious aud triumphaut war with Mexico has | not only cost, us the good will of the Mexican people when we want it, but it was ome of the causes of the Rebellion of the South. Who says that honesty is not tHe best policy ! —_—— REWARDS IN SCHOOLS. upon flogging school-boys and school-girle, the sub- | ject has begn discussed by that respectable body, *The Boston Social Science Association,” andswe are glad to find that veteran and accomplished educator, Mr., George B. Emerson, plainly declaring that in his opinion **the system of flogging makes the pupils barbarians.” Mr. William P. Atkiuson, another gen- tleman of anthority upon such subjects, said: ** When + & school cannot be governed without the rod it is an “indication that the school isnotproperly orgavized.” | If we were wrong it is & consolation that we were | wrong in such excellent company. Both the gentle- men sbove-named are practical teachers of large ex- perience, and have tested the opinions which they pub- | liely announce. The aystem of rewarding p | and for proficiency was also di sed at this m and Mr. Emeorson #aid very plainly that **the distribu- tion of medals makes the pupils beathens;" by which we suppose he meant that it promotes jealousies, heart-burninge, envy, pride—passions essentislly un- Christian, althongh Mr. Emerson's designation may be unjust to enlightened and conscientions heathens, In Boston no more medals are to be given in the girls’ schools—for the boys' schools there are, we believe, certain éndowments for annual wedals, and it may re- quire o decree in Chancery to divert the direction of these funds into some more profitable course, But the action in regard to the girls' schools settles the principle; and an entire reform may be confidently auticipated. for good behavior Medals and other rewards might be more properly distributed if there wWere auy way of determining with jodiciel accurecy the precise degree of merit to which each pupil is entitled; butso long as, both in” degree and kind, intellectual capacities differ, and =0 long as the ante- cedents of pupils must be various, it will be found im- possible equitably to determine whether the scholar who has excelled or the scholar who bas failed is en- titled to the medallic distinotion. If'the pupils could be | fairly started together, still it would be impossible. There is no fixed winning-post in the school itseli—tbe real goal is at the end of a lifetime, and the real race comes off, as they say, upon the course, in the fullness of manhood, and under very different conditions from those which govern the competitions of the school- housg. Nine great men out of ten have been agreea- ble disappoiutments to their relatives and friends. The brillisnt sucoess of dunces has always beon a biographio phenomenon, Gonius is wilward; and although we may be sure that it will always study, wo may be equally suro that it will study in -~ Since we offered, the other day, & few remarks | ( | f ond . daily exigencies finally prove to . alf active amtl self-respecting men tho value of knowledgo, both as & means in theeconomy of life nd as its own ** excoeding great roward;” and If our sch 90ls could be managed so that the vital importance of cuMure ghould be comprehended in the freshness oand hopsfuiness of tho first start, there would ba loa time wast™d in the begivning and fewer deficiencies * to be subscquently supplied. It is the dull routine, unalleviated by tho smallest tinoture of enthnaiag., which makes o n\achine of the teacher and equally a machine of the pipil, from the constant collision of which come cufts, i blows, and beatings, hatred of sohool-keoping on one #ide and hatred of school-going on the other, irritability sad passion, despotic govern- ment and listless obedienes! You wonder that the child detests school; you brandish a rod at him with_ one hand and you dangle a gold medal beforw his eyes with the other; and this is the best introduction which you can afford a fresh, unkackneyed, eager nturo to mumudm_dmu«mmm ment! You make study dull, and then imputedull- ness to the studont; you make the temple of & sort of House of Correction, and flog him if he plays truant; yott impose dreary tasks wish incongruomy penalties for their non-performance; andalthough this child intrusted to your care is the father of the man or the mother of the woman, you treat it with far less discrimination than Mr. Rarey bestowed upon his horses, and with less skill than is exhibited in the most approved methods of dog-breaking! Yet natur- ally boys and girls love knowledgoe as they lovo now toys; it is only when knowledge has been made dis- tasteful by blundering or pedantic treatises, and ita scquisition, in some sort, transferred into a penalty, that they detestit. Does giving a medal or any other prize belp the matter? How can it, when the dona- tion™s inevitably regarded as a compensation for doing that which it should have been a pleasure to do. simply for its own sake 7 We are infamously incon- sistent. We take it for granted that a child will avoid, if possible, secular instruction; for six days in the week we drill it and dgso it with unphilosopbical grammar, and mudded geography, and arbitrary or- thography, and naked arithmetic, enforcing each acqui- sition by intermittent flagellation; and on the Sab- bath we send the little vietim to a Sunday School to be nurtured in divine things. We give six days to pride and one to humility. We assume during all the weok that obedicrce is to be specifically rewarded, and then preach to children that & good conseiencs is the best reward of a'l. Poor creatures! No wondor that they are bewildered, as they will continue to be until the art of teaching is better understood. WESTERN TREE-PLANTING. Something should be done to supply timber for tha future. The domand constantly increases, and it puzzles ealculation to think bow great it will bo 50 years honce. Sixty-six trades depend on wood, sud could a substitute be found, mechanical industry must be reorgsnized before it could be used. Of every de- scription of raw material modern civilization is an enormous consumer. Our people are spreading over the face of the whole land, end they destroy the tim- ber wherever they go. Itis agreat question how to preserve and renew our forests. Last Winter Con- gress granted to a company in Kansas a large bedy of Jand to plant with trees. Other companics wish grants for the same purpose, but it is doubtful whether ail the difficulties are foreseen. The question is pot whether trees will grow, or even what kinds will, for in Western regions, 500 miles from chestnut forests, the chestout tree, for instance, grows like corn. To plant largely requires large sums. The ground must be cuktivated, and for nearly twenty years there can be no returns. It is true a part may be in nursery, but nurseries are nothing new. Then the plantation must Dbe fenced, and the best fence is the Osage orange; but this, too, for a time, must be fenced for preserva- tion. To fonce 40 acres of prairie, when lumber is cheapest, will cost §10 an scre. To carry out the plan on & scale large and varied, seems too great & task for private means. At present, sufficient capital for such a purpose is very scarce, and the work is lef¥ entirely to the General Government and to the States. These two great proprietors own most of the laud whereon it is necessary that we should protect against the ax and torch of the pioneer a reserve of timber for the future use of this rapidly growing country. To preserve what forests we have is not enough. We must reach the art by whigh the crowded estates of the old world have, in s considerable measure, man- aged to maintain their timber supply. The enactment of intelligent and practical laws by every State own- ing large timber lands would go far to save them from exhaustion. - ABOUT BAD FLOUR. At the Corn Exchange on Thursday, Dec. 13, 1866, sales of New-York Superfine Flour were reported at $7 55@$9 65, fifteen cents per barrel more than the same doscription of flour was sold for the day before, which proves that bad flour can rise in price, if it sinks into flinty **hard tack” whon baked for sailors and soldiers. The next quotation is $9 75@$11 30 for ** sound extra State,” which clearly shows that the former was unsound, and should have been branded bad. Four or five different kinds of extra are re- | ported, at various prices, from $8 46 to $16, enough to perplex a Philadelphia Jawyer to find out what extra weans. It is not intended by the mixing millers that buyers of their villainous, extras shall discover their meaning until they bave paid for the flour. ‘When the dealer or retailer sends a barrel of such flour to & customer, the latter tries to use it, and find- ing the cheat, sends it back. The shrewd miller doos not put bis name on the barrel, and as the sale is mede through a broker, the purchaser, if he has paid the bill, bas no recourse to the concealed offender. The dealer has been swindled, and must bear the loss, or cheat some one else. Such is the Corn Exchange of New-York, 0s represented by some of those who there do congregate. The disgraceful fact still stands out on the report of the market that New-York Super fine flour is publicly sold for less than half the price of Southern flour. But the Southern millers are already taking lessons from the Now-Yorkers. Receivers of Southern flous say that the best of the Southern flour is not sent here. The first ran of the mill s kept at home, and branded Family. The inferior is branded Extra and sent to Now-York. There s often a difforence of from $1 to $2 a barrel in the value of the best Southern extras thiat come to this market, and thus are we paid in our own coin. The grinding of unsound-wheat is defonded by some persons on the ground that most of it goes abroad, and the people of England are accus- tomed to such food, as much of their grain comes. from foreign countries and is gonerally more or less. damaged on the voyage. Hence we are no worse than other shippers of 1d flour and grain—no worse thaa, Greek, Tutks, Poies, and Russians. It may be so; it may be true, that our *‘rogues in grain” AT0 N0 WOrsS: than European ** rogues in grain,” but it seems to bo. & novel application of the adage **to him that bath shall be given.” 1t would be more creditable to us to be able, iflnmll'umu.-“ nd-!ymmub defend tho practice on authority. g ' When will the menufacturers of Europe turn their, ‘workshops in L