The New York herald. [volume], December 10, 1872, Page 4, Image 4

About The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920

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Till! MUTUAL LB.
Berelations Growing Out of (he In
surance Companies' Fight*
SERIES OF CHARGES AGAINST OFFICERS.
Alleged Misapplication of Funds
by the President.
ARE THE TRUSTEES WHITEWASHERS ?
Evils and Dangers of the Proxy
Vote System.
A STORY OF THREE POLICIES.
Stirring Appeal to Policy Holders?Will
They Assert Themselves?
To the Policy Holdehs:?
It Is well for you that the late action of the Mu
tual Life In reducing its rates has become a subject
of public discussion, and aroused the attcution of
Its policy holders throughout the country; for It la
time that you looked after your Interests there
with fidelity to yourselves and the determination
to discharge your own duty In the premises. The
temple was built by the policy-holders, should be
dear to them, and they should not allow It to be
profaned by unclean things. There is work to bo
done, and you are the ones to do it; and as a fel
low policy holder, who has strivon earnestly
against what he knows to have been mismanage
ment and infidelity In that company, I hope by this
communication to arouse your energetic co-opera
tion In proper efforts to rescue our interests from
the control of unworthy custodians.
1 shall speak to you only of that which I know;
that which has been proven from the records of
the company and by witnesses under oath; that of
which I possess the undoubted evidence, and which
can be established in any fair tribunal in the land.
In the Hbkald of Saturday last appeared a letter
over the signature of Mr. George S. cVie, a trustee
of the company, wherein he uses the following
language in relation to charges of Infidelity against
President Winston
They have all been long sin:e mode the occasion
of the fullest investigation by the trustees and by |
legislative committees, and have resulted in |
nothing suillciuiit to impair confidence in his
character as a safe custodian ol so high a trust.
The trustees have again and again expressed this
opinion of his fidelity.
The present eminent popttIon of the Mutual Life
Company Is, in their opinion, the most unanswer
able testimonial or his zeal, fidelity and efficiency
as an officer. 1 can only reaffirm, in the strongest
terms, as an individual member, what the trustees
have unitedly done under their signatures, that the
company Is In the best possible coaditiou lor the :
security of its members.
The "eminent position of the Mutual Life" 13 far j
batter evidence of your liberality and prosperity j
than of. President Winston's eminent ability or |
fidelity. Without you it would have been nothing;
without him you would have been better off, as |
you will presently see, and, being informed of some j
of the iacts whicli the "investigations" referred to i
liave disclosed, you will be able to determine lor !
yourselves what must be the standard of fidelity I
HUd probity by which these iruatees have measured
the character of President Winston. President
Winston was charged with having Illegally loaned
a trustee of the company $30,000, and that he
liad concealed the loaning by a false statement to
the Finance Committee.
It was proven that the $30,000 was furnished to
the trnstee June 30, 1804, and returned by him,
wltri Interest, July 16, 18G4, and that the transac
tion was for a time concealed by means of a false
statement, prepared by a clerk, untfcr the direc-*
turn ol President Winston, and delivered to the '
Fluance Committee. President Winston claimed
the transaction to have been a purchase and re
Bale of government securities; but the weight of
evidence shows that from its inception to Its liqui
dation it was a temporary ami Illegal loan, aad its
concealment gave evldenco of conscious guilt.
It was charged that he had furnished certain
State agents with large sums of money without
authority and illegally, and had concealed the fact |
by falsely representing the funds so used to be !
"cash in the cashier's drawer."
The facts that he nude such use of the funds of ;
the company in his Individual capacity?at one
time to the extent of $18,4'.>1 86?that he had no
security other than the individual responsibility or '
the persons whose drafts he paid; that uo record
of any kind appeared on the books of the Company
relating to those transactions, but that they were j
concealed in the manner charged, were all fuiiy '
established.
When these things first became known they
were investigated by' a Committee of Trustees.
The facta were proven or admitted, yet the ma
jority whitewashed them. One member, however,
with courage and fidelity, denounced them as "In
tentional and designed deceptions," and "deserv
ing of serlons condemnation."
When unauthorized, Illegal and secret transac
tions were tlms brought home to him; when he not
only made fa.se representations himself, but in
duced his subordinates to do so, the trustees should
surely have found therein evidence of something !
other than "fidelity aa the custodian of a high
trust."
President Winston was charged, together with
other officers, with having received large sums as
"bonus," which were illegal and a grievous wrong
upon the policy holders, and concealed from them
by charging the payments to "dividend account."
The statement in my possession, made and sworn
to by the bookkeeper of the company, shows <the
total payment of such bonus during the years 1867
to 1870, inclusive, to have been $180,823 94,
and it was proven that this enormous
sum was charged as dividends paid to policy
holders, thereby concealing its payment from
them; irom many, ll not most of the trustees, 1
making an actual expense to the policy holders
appear to have been a distributed profit to thess
and falsifying the ratio or expeuses of the company. !
Of this sum Mr. Wlnnton and his sons received
$63,690 89. Remembering that all this amount
was superadded to the ample salaries paid the
officers, can you believe that any commensurate
service was rendered, or cau you absolve the
trustees from severe censure for permitting your
money to be thus lavishly bestowed ?
It was charged that three policies of insurance on
the life of President Winston's son were illegally
restored and paid after his death and that their
restoration was procured by vice President Mc
Curdy through a concealment of the truth. The
facts, stated briefly, are these:?F. M. Winston,
formerly cashier or the company, Insured his llfo
July 1, 1859, for $2,500 (policy No. 22,146). On the
2d ol October, 1862, he surrendered it and received
its cash surrender value.
On the 22d September, 1862, he insured again for
$4 ,000 (policy No. 27,280), which he surrendered
February 15, 1804, receiving the cash surrender
value.
Thus both of these policies were sui rendered,
paid for and no longer binding in law or in equity.
Again, on the same 15th February. 1864, he pro
cured a policy for $5,000 (policy No. 30,964). On
this policy not one cent of premium was ever paid,
for the first quarterly premium was simply credited
by cash book entry to "premiums," aud onset by a
debit of the precise amount to "brokerage," and
no other premium was ever paid. This policy was
forfeited, as the record shows, on the 28th Novem
ber, 1804, for non-payment of premiums, and so
Watered in the policy register. On this 28th day o
November, 1864, all his rights as a policy holder
ceased, by his failure to pay his premiums. In the
month of July, 18???nearly two jrears alter
too forfeiture ol this k" ?""v-ho <ii"d.
Vic? President UcOurdy, by withholding the feet*
from the members of the Insurance Oo?im"*?
as two of them were forced to admtt under oath
procured the passage of a resolution restoring a H
three of these policies, amounting to $11,600. with
additions ?f ?733 83. upon payment of "back pre
miums aud interest;" and a policy (Mo. 68> for
$1-2 ooo, payable In semi-annual instalments, was
issued,'and Is now being paid to the heirs. The
gross Illegality of this transaction and its outrage
of the rights of the policy-holders, need no com
ment irom me. The plea of poverty and eminent
services, since advanced In justlllcatlon of this
transaction, Is not only a pitiable eicuse, but it is
unfounded. . _.
Home other policies were shown to have been
illegally restored or Improperly purchased, but t
above is, probably, the most glaring abuse ever
perpetrated upon the policy holders of a rnu.ual
C?HWM charged that largo sums of money were
used at Albany and elsewhere to '"'?^uceleghUa
| tlon and falsely charged a. -taxes." It was shown
from the books that over fifteen thousand dollars
was so charged to taxes, out of which oue noted
polilifinn of this city received *0.000, and that
$2 500 so used was charged to "office rent" of an
agent Hut the officers strenuously aud success
fully resisted all ctTorts to ascertain the true ob
iects and purpose for which these expenditures
were made, pretending that it was to prevent
taxation. Some of it may have been, but the re
1 port or the chairman of a legislative committee
would seem from the following extract to have had
| reason to think otherwise:
Your committee believes that at no time since
the insurance department was orRanwed h.as it
i.i.nn noocssurv to use money to socurt the pas
wlon thiw iincd in an illegal manner discloses not
out administered.
Other charges were made and proven, such as
the withholding of post mortem dividends from the
1 representatives of deceased policyholders; thus
depriving them of thousands of dollars to which
tZ Ir. legally and equitably entitle.,. But I have
probably given you enough already, aud I therefore
pass on to a matter of the greatest importance to
you?oue, as I believe, Involving tho safety
or your Interests In the company. I refer to tho
proxies held by President Winston and Vice Presi
dent McCurdy. Every holder of a policy of $1,000
or over Is eutitled to one vote for trustees. Through
the agents selected by themselves these officers
havo gathered and hold enough proxies to provent
the possibility of electing any trustee not of their
own selection, and to turn out any who oppose or
thwart them. This Is a most dangerous power to
possess, an? where millions of dollars are involved
no two men llvlug should be so entrusted and
tempted. They have used the power before, and
will most certainly do it again. True It has been
done skilfully, shrewdly aud with professions of
disinterested devotion to your best Interests; but
do you believe that any set of men, even those so
high in social and business life as many or the
trustees of the Mutual Life are known to be
when thus at the mercy or those whom they should
direct and control, can act with that independence
and firmness which alone can ensure the safety ol
your Interests ? I know that they cannot and that
they do not. I also know that many of them per
form their duty in a most perfunctory manner, and
1 also know that some In that Board are not worthy
of your confidence. These are hard things to say,
but tliey are true. I have been, and shall doubt
less again be, soundly abused; called blackmailer,
accused of Improper motives, warned not to pub
lish the evidence In my possession, and which the
officers sought to suppress by copyrighting It ; but
1 believe that the day Is now dawning that will
arouse you to tho perlormancc of your duty, and by
the light of which you will see things in their
true colors; that you will ore long insist and en
force that the affairs of that company shall not bo
examined bv committees of trustees appointed to
white wash;'not by a corrupt State Superintendent,
who pockets his $J,500 fee lor not seeing; not by a
committee wined, dined and cutcrtained to a
proper degree of raith in their entertainers; but
by those or your own selection-capable, honest
and rcarless?sent there to get at the truth and
the whole or it, and make It known to you all.
When that is done I dare assert that you will not
endorse the opinion or Mr. Coe nor consider that
the "eminence of the Mutual Life" Is sufile ent
guarantee ol the officers' fidelity, but rather that
you will agree with me that It has become "emi
nent" in spite of them.
It is your imperative duty to revoke at once the
proxies you have given these officers and to re
Burne the control of the election ol trustees by
placing your proxies In the hands of those whom
vou know to bo trustworthy and Independent of
all connection with the officers, their agents or
coadjutors. Then to replace those whom you find
derelict and unfaithful by trustees who are not
afraid to see things as they are. nor to call them
by their trnc names, who will brook no unfaithful
nt'ss and tolerate no wrong, and who wlll con
s.'lentiously labor to place the "Mutual Life" above
reproach. Then, and not till then, will you have
performed your duty to yourselves and to those
whom you are striving to protect from want when
you shall have been called from this world.
JAMES W. tocCOLLOH,
KKW YORK, Dec. 0,1872. 00 Beaver street.
THE LATE REV. WILLIAM O'DOHNELL.
The clay of Calvary Cemetery, hallowed for the
repose of the Catholic dead of oar sister cities by
the prayers of the late lion-hearted Archbishop
Hughes, has been lately rehallowed by the sacred
Interment of all that was mortal of a young Irish
priest, whose memory will be long affectlonately
revered by a large circle of devoted relatives and
friends. Poor Father William O'Donnell, pastor of
Roalyn and Manhasset, L. I., after four years'
struggling from constitutional debility, fell a vic
tim of malignant fever last month, in the twenty
ninth year of his age and filth of his sacred minis
try. Set apart in childhood by pious and very
respectable parents as a votive offering for the
sanctuary, he grew In grace, manners, knowledge
and years, principally under the fostering care of
the brilliant an d accomplished tsons of Loyola, in
Limerick, Ireland, and was specially marked by
collegiate superiors at All Hallows, Bruges and
Niagara as a student of singular professional
promise before the completion of his canon
ical years for ordination. Though pater
nally Invited by ? the reverend chief pastor
of Limerick, his native diocese, to take
part in his own field of pastoral labor,
he hesitated not to sunder tics of country, family,
home and irlcnds for the spiritual Interests of his
dear expatriated countrymen. After canonical
adoption he was ordained missionary priest for
Urooklvn diocese by the venerable and estimable
Bishop" Loughlin, who had the melancholy satisfac
tion last lhursday morning of presiding at St.
Joseph's cnurch over sixty-five priests and a con
gregation or relatives &n<1 friends, ouite cxcon.
tlunal in number and respectability, who gathered
to the celebration of a solemn requiem memorial
mas.4, their last public tribute or religious honor.
At the dost: of tour years of missionary services,
partly In Brooklyn, partly in ltoslyn and Manhas
set, his bishop proudly referred la his pathetic
eulogy to Ills social and professional career. lie
had no hesitation In characterizing the relations
between this deeply lamented young priest and Ills
own and other cnarcti members as peculiarly
cordial and gratifying, even to admiration, llis
efforts in church-bulldlng for the sorrowing
people of Roslyn and Manhasset, so cheerfully sus
tained by the counsel and substantial sympathy,
not only of his own large circle of generous rela
tives and friends, but or sectarian liberal-minded
brethren or various denominations, will be long re
membered with pride by the kind patrons of his
valuable parochial labors. Among the many Irish
priests -whose clay lios rar away" nobody will be
more faithfully or feelingly remembered than the
zealous, tender-hearted and disinterested splrtual
son who has been summoned so prematurely from
an already afflicted brother and iamlly in the
"poor Old Country''and a dally expanding circle
of admiring friends In the land of his adoption, to
share the rewards of a stewardship so gratifying to
h:s Bishop, Ms brethren in the ministry and the
many grateful mends, whose prayers will keep his
memory long enshrined in their aftllcted souls.
EYE3 PUT OUTJY HOT TAB
Saturday afternoon Patrick Woods, employed t>j
the Warren Comp.iu.v Roofing Manufactory, at
Hunter's Point, while rolling a barrel of hot tar ti|i
a plank from the heating tank, lost the sight oi
both eves, a stream of the hot tlnld pouring npou
lam. Ills lace and neck were also badly burucd.
THE DOMINION.
What the Premier Thinks of
Her Prospects.
Sir John A. Macdonald and His
Feeling for America.
A Pleasant Solution of the Fenian Bald Claims?
The San Juan Decision of No Consequence?
Annexation and Independence Below Far.
Ottawa, Ont., Nov. 30,1872.
Though Lord DutTerla bo Governor General of
Canada, and as such the representative of the
Queen of England, his intlucuco on politics la com
paratively nil. The man of real power in the Do
minion is the Premier, 8ir John A. Macdonald. It
is the Governor General's prerogative to sign all
bills that pass through Parliament, and there, it
may be said, his functions practically begin and
terminate. This government is to all intents and
purposes a constitutional monarchy, leaving out a
house oi peers aud the privilege of conferring pat
ents of nobility. Sir John A. Macdonald occupies
an auoUgous position to Gladstone. His Cabinet
Ministers hold scats in Parliament and feel them
solves bound to adopt and utgo all the measures of
their chief.
I found little trouble in making my way to the
presence of the Premier though
A BRITISH MASTODON,
with enormous whiskers and the legs of an ele
phant, had prior claim to an interview, but being
a contractor and having an axe of largo dimen
sions to grind, Sir John thought he could afford to
wait. Tito Premier made a favorable Impression
when ho came among us about two years ago as
a member of the High Joint Commission. Ills frank,
hearty democratic manner bad more of the Ameri
can flavor about it than the cautious, conservative
diguity of Secretary Fish.
SIR JOHN'S APPRARANCR.
He is a man advancing on fifty-two years, but Aill
of the nervous energy of youth. lie entertains a
religious aversion to wearing hair on his face, and
the result is the expressive mobility of his features
shows to better advantage. Ho is a soft-voiced,
pleasant-spoken man, combining theso raro quali
ties? the suaviter in modo with the fartiter in re.
Judging from the tone of the papers that oppose
him, ho is an unscrupulous vagabond, who never
had a particle of principle and who is leading the
country to the devil.
INTKliVlEWINO THE PREMIER.
I found him in tho midst of a mountain of corre
spondence, larger undoubtedly than President
Giant is ever troubled with, aud though all this
was on his thoughts, together with tho irrepressible
suggestion on a neighboring tray of luncheon,
smoking hot, he threw himself back In his chair
and entered into conversation as Irecly as though
his duties were mere pastime. I said to him?
"Sir John, the opposition press accuses you of
having shamelessly neglected the interests of
Canada aud acted in collusion with America by
failing to provide for another decision than what
has been rendered in the San Juan boundary case,
and in allowing the Fenian claims to drop out of
sight."
Sir John, without permitting himself to be in the
least degree disturbed at mention of the opposi
tion press, which has abused him with unstinted
violence, calmly answered?
"It is absurd to blame me for the San Juan deci
sion. ir persons or peoples consent to leave a
vexed question to arbitration they are dishonest ir
they complain of the verdict. England and America
went into this matter of arbitration with their eyes
open. We might wish the decision was different,
but who will accuse the arbitrator of having ar
rived at anything but a disinterested conclusion?
As for me I consider the surreudcr of the island to
Arocrica as of no material consequent to Canada.
As for
TlIE PEN IAN RAID CLAIMS.
they were not before the Commission. Dy mutual
consent they were laid aside, as not coming within
the scope of our joint mission. There was a strong
disposition on both Bides to Introduce as Jittle as
possible calculated to embarrass the settlement of
the principal question the Alabama claims. Con
ventions for the disposal of differences arising
from tlmo to time between the two nations must
be held at more or less regular Intervals, and if
the Fenian raid damages received no attention
from us at this time, they may on another occa
sion."
"Do you think, Sir John, that England is disposed
to press for the payment of these damages ?"
"I don't think she Is?at least not now. Eng
land Is doing ber best to promote an entente
cordlale with Amcrlca, and she wants as little
opening of old sores as possible." ?
"But, then, la it not Canada that loses all this
time ?"
"Well, yes, Canada, through the Fenian raids,
lost $2,500,000, but we hope to get It all, and oven
more, back trom England in an Indirect way."
"How is that ?"
CANADA'S Bid JOB.
"You see, we are about to build a raclflc Railroad
next year. It will be 2,000 miles long and will work
wonders for Canada. England will go security for
us on the Stock Exchange, and with an issue of
twenty million bonds, five per cent Interest, prin.
cipal payable in lorty years, we shall bo placed in a
way of carrying out tlfe undertaking successfully.
The English government in this way will repay us
ten times over for our losses by the Fenians, and we
can, therefore, leave England to settle the matter
with America at her own convenience, wUictt no
doubt, she will do."
NO CITTINO LOOSE FROM AI.BION.
"Hut suppose England takes the advice of the
London Times and cuts you adrift. How then ?"
"1 have no fear of that. England never shook off
a colony yet nnless she was compelled to?not a
single colony, whether worthless or valuable. Now
j why should she shake off Canada 1 We cost her
! nothing; but, on the contrary, through means of
free trade between the countries, we give her a
wide field for the sale of her export products. As
for what the TYmeasuld I feel suro that at the open
ing of Parliament It will at once come up tor dis
cussion. You will then see how unanimously the
representatives of the people, liberals and con
servatives alike, will repudiate the sentiments of
the Times. You will hear aucU a discussion as
must convince the most sceptical that the whole
weight of Knglish opinion Is In favor of retaining
the connexion."
THE ANNEXATION OANO.
"I suppose you Ignore the presence of an annex
tlon element In the Dominion ?"
"Not entirely. We have annexationists la Can
ada as they have republicans in England, but their
presence is scarcely seen or felt."
"But you have a party anxious for Independence,
Sir John, and some of the opposition tell me you
belong to It f"
The Prcmlor smiled and looked incredulous.
"I doubt," said he, "if you will find sucha party;
or, If you do, I think you will discover they belong
to a class or idle, worthless people, who have no
stake in the country, who are in opposition to the
government, or who have toecn disappointed in
fortune."
DRAININQ THE DOMINION.
"There Is no getting over the fact, howeve^
that your population is undergoing a perpetual
drain, and that the young men of the country are
constantly looking to the United States as to a
! acrond land of Canaan."
"1 differ from you there. It Is true many of onr
young men cross over annually to the United
States; but you arc not aware of tlio fact that the
best part of them return, settle down In Canada
and say there Is no place like it. I admit tliorc is
much attraction for them In the high rates of
wages at tho other side; but when they begiu to
And out that board, clothing and ail the details of
living arc a hundred per cent higher there than
here, they Me they have made aoiluiui by th? ex
change, and the; come baok because Cauada ha*
something more solid to irive thetu."
"IIow is it, Sir John, that the emigrants will not
stay with you t"
"That is another error. The emigrants whose
destination is Canada do stay here; but many land
at our ports bound Tor the far western States, aud
they pass through accordingly, just ss many (mi
grants tor Canada land at New York and pass
through ior our provinces. When our Pacific Kail
road is completed we shall hare a territory opened
up (or settlement much superior to any lying on
your Nort hern Paciflo. Singular as it may seem,
there is less of a snowfall on the proposed route of
our new railroad than there is on the Northern
Pacific, though it l>e so many miles farther South."
THIS IIAI'PY FOTUBB.
The Premlor spoke In raptures about the pros
pects of bis railroad, and of the wild, unknown
country through which it isiutended to pass. I
have given you enough of bis conversation to
show that he takes a genuine pride iu
the Dominion and in being the temporary
ruler of her destinies. Sir John has a kindly feel
ing for the United States. There are some things
in our institutions he admires, and, above all,
he thinks the business energy and enterprise
we show are the very marvel of the age. lie
canuot overlook the fact that the people of his
country are behind Americans in materia! ad
vancement, and it may be he cherishes a secret
hope that some day Cauada will be an indepen
dent Republic, fr.ee from the drag chain of British
connexion, which tends so much to cramp the
cnorgy aud self-reliauce of the people. If Cauada
were a Republic there would be more respect lor
labor, and the respectable loafers who now crowd
her cities and squander the fortunes of their
fathers would be oompelled, by force of public
opinion, to go work for an honest living.
ART MATTERS.
Houghton's "Idyll of (he Birds."
There is on exhibition at Goupii's gallery a series
of three pictures under tbe title of "Idyll or the
Birds." The uaine is certainly poetical, but the
interest of the work has little to do with the in
habitants or the grove, but touches on chords of
feeling intimately human. It would have been
better to have called them an "Idyll of Life," for it
is their appeal to human sympathy thai imparts to
them their chief charm. We have in these works
another proof that the scarcity of figure painters
In America Is due to the want of facilities of study
rather than to any lack of genius on the part ot
American artists. Like most Americans who have
distinguished themselves as figure painters, Mr.
Bougliton belongs rather to the Old than to the
New World. His excellence, however, depends
more on the poetic feeling of Ills nature, as ex
pressed on canvus, than on the technical mei it of
the crattsmanship. The individuality of the artist
becomes more stronglv marked as lie increases in
skill and knowledge, so that the influence of the
European schools which was so marked a few years
ago is gradually giving place to earlier associations
and ideas, but chastened aud made strong by a
long course of study. It is rather the thought than
(he manner that Is returning, and this must be re
garded as an immense advantage. Houghton's
earlier works gave evidunce or a perception of the
quieter harmonies of nature, and, though crude
enough in execution, these early works breathe a
spirit oi poetry that makes us torget all but the
sentiment of the Hcene. In the present work all
this old charm Is revived. Whether we look at the
voung girl amid the pale pink blossoms of early
Spring or the two riper lorms in the Summer of
lire, looking out on tho unknown expanse or sea,
or into the luture, knowing nothing, and, perhaps,
caring uothiug, except for the enjoyment of placid
and sunlit expanse, or gaze on the forlorn form
exposed to the keen aud biting blasts of Winter,
we see only the seasons ol the heart. The appeal
Is to the imagination, and is most ouccessiully
made. The "Idyll of the Birds" will increase the lame
and popularity or Mr. Boughton with the American
public.
"BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE."
Air. William H. Powell's Painting and
the Statement* Regarding It* Comple
tion?TIio Payments Blade?A. Correc
tion.
To the Editor of the Herald:?
lu the Washington correspondence of the Hekald
Sunday morning an allusion is made to Mr. Wil
liam II. Powell's painting of the "Battle of Lake
Eile," as ordered by Congress, a few years since,
and designed to be placed in a panel over the
broad stairs leading to the Senate chamber at the
Capitol. In the paragraph it is asserted that the
artist has already been engaged on the picture
eight years, and received $22,000 out of
$25,000 agreed to be paid for the great
work in various instalments, and that sum,
already handed him, Is more tlian commensurate
lor the amount of labor bestowed upon it up to this
time. It is also Intimated that Mr. Powell has
been purposely negligent in finishing the picture,
It being his object to leave It in its present state in
order to more readily obtain further payments, the
amounts of which are named. It is then stated
that the unfinished picture is now in the basement
of the Capitol, rolled up like a piece of oilcloth.
To these assert ions and Insinuations Mr. Powell
briefly answers in this wise:?That the statement
that he has been engaged upon the picture eiuht
years is not the fact, as the time of com
mencing the work is but little over
six years ago. Should eight years, howe.er, have
been consumed it would not be too long a period,
when the extraordinary character of the painting
is taken into consideration, its proportions being
c?lossal, thirty feet long and twenty feet in height,
the largest oil painting in America.
The second statement, that Mr, Powell has re- 1
ceived, at various times, $23,000 01 the sum appro
prlated is not the fact, as the payments made will
not exceed between $18,000 and $19,000. If he had
received, however, the sum stared it would, In Ins
judgment and that of other artists, scarcely be
one-half of the value of the picture in its present
condition.
The next statement, that Mr. Powell was ex
pected to put tho finishing touches on the picture
last summer, and, neglecting to do so, is answered
by the fact that he was held here in the city by do
mestic aitlictions of no ordinary uature. lie was
by the bedside of his dying wife for months, and,
In addition to her great loss, the burial of a
favorite son, disqualified him for the work which
he expected then to do.
But Mr. Powell is now readr to proceed
to Washington in order to finish the
painting as soon as such arrangements can be
made with the Congressional Committee that will
enable him to do so. The picture is so far advanced
that it will require but two or three months to
lnlly complete it. From the Inception of the work
Mr. Powell has labored earnestly and zealously to
make the "Battle of Lake Erie" something worthy
of American art. Every faculty which he possessed
was centred upon this object, although, so far as ,
his pecuniary interests may nave been concerned.
It would, no doubt, huve been better had he con- |
sldered less the requirements of a' t and more the :
strict limitation of tune as tho all-important con
dition of his engagement. W. H. POWELL.
45 East Twenty-Second Street.
THE LYCEM OF NATIRAL HISTORY.
Meeting of the Society I.nst Evening?
Dr. W'als on Monnier'i Process of Bene
flclating Poor Copper Ores.
A number 01 scientific gentlemen connccted with
the Lyceum or Natural History assembled In the
hall of that Institution, 64 Madison avenue, last
evening, for the purpose of hearing a paper on
"The Chemistry of Alfred Monnler's Process of
Beneflciating Poor Copper Ores," prepared by Mr.
Isidor Walz, a chemist of note and secretary of the
society. Mr. H. C. Bolton officiated as chairman.
Mr. Walz opened his discourse bv giving a concise
yet lucid account of the principal methods and
systems advanced for the treatment of "lean"
coppcr ores?that Is to say, those yielding only
irom three to six per cent of copper, and
drew particular attention to the fact that this
dountrv abounds In such ores that cannot be ad
vantageously treated by the usual metalurgical pro
cesses. He explained that the two principal
methods adopted in this country are those of Hunt
A Douglas on the one hand and Monnler's on the
other. The former consists in roasting the copper
tearing pyrites ami precipitating the copper by
treatment of the calcined residue in a bath of pro
toxloride of iron, while in fhe hitter the ore Is cal
cined at a low red heat with sulphate ol soda (com
monly called "salt cake"), and the copper thus
transformed into soluble suphrate of copper. The
roasted ore Is then lixlvated in large tanks of
peculiar construction and a strong solution
of copper salts ami sulphate of soda is thus ob
tained, from which tne latter Is separated by
crystallzatlon. The "mother ttqoor" Is evaporated
to'dryness and subjected to reduction. This re
duction process is very ingenious; the dry salts are
iieate 1 bv contact with burning charcoal; the
copper and copper-oxide is precipitated on the
charcoal, separated by levlgatlon and melted and
refined by the same processes as cement coppor,
I)r. Walz's description of the various phases
through which the ore has to pass in order to pro
duce pure coppor at a small < ost was elaborate in
the extreme, and in couc.dsiou lie received %
uuanimoua vote oi Lhauko*
LECTURES LAST ET^NINO
DAIIEL O'OONHELL.
Lecture by Wendell Phillips at Sifln
way 11*11 Lait Night.
To a large audience, mostly American, and only
here and there dotted with representatives from
the land or Erin, Wendell Phillip* delivered his
well-known lecture on "Daniel O'Connell." It was
freshened up by the criticisms, here and there, of
Mr. Froude, and in this respect only differed from
the Lyceum oration of several yearn ago. It was
delivered in connection with the Mercantile
Library course, and the next lecturer of this
series will be Bret narte.
The oration was commenced oy the assertion of
O'Conneil's claims to the introduction of that ole
ment of agitation that resulted In great political
reform. Whatever Cobden had done, whatever
Gladstone had done, they had taken their laurels
from the brow of O'Connell. O'Connell did not con
fine himself to the great question ol repeal; all the
great subjects occupied his mind, including educa
tion, the teuure of i^nd, the compara
tive strength of the two religious establish
ments of Ireland. Mr. Froude hail been blamed
for Introducing to our attention the rela
tions between England and Ireland. He, Mr.
Phillips, did not so blame him. Every thoughtful
Englishman know that England occupies but a sec
ond rale place in the chess board of Europe. Hhe
lias gradually sunk to a second rate Power. Mr.
Phillips said that he had said that eight years ago
In the Cooper Institute?and it had occasioned
much surprise?two tilings had brought this about
in ICugland very largely, namely, the uoglect ol the
British government to its own British masses and
the Injustice of seven ccnturies towards Ireland.
The England of Chatham would have drawn the
sword many times, but she was afraid that Ireland
would stab her in her back. (Cheers.) After a
lew remarks in this direction the lecturer traced
very briefly the history of Ireland from the time of
the code in 1092. A long recital of the wrongs,
and especially the penalties imposed on the Irish
Catholics, here followed, and (lien Mr. Phillips ro
lerred to the observation of Mr. Froude that the
irishman was a "chronic rciiel." He (tl\o lecturer)
thanked Mr. Froude for that, lor it showed
that they were determined to resist, and
that they knew that they were oppressed. The
public life of O'Connell was sketched from the pe
riod when the relaxation of the code enabled him
to practice as a lawyer. At this time o'connell
sought to arouse the people to a sense of thoir
wrongs; but the hierarchy of the Church wore op
posed to It, lor the Chutcii said that tliey had led
their flocks already to the scaffold, as it were. For
twenty long years O'Connell threw three millions
or the Irish people at the British government at
every critical period in its history. Tills was largely
owing to Ids eloquence and his energy. He had
always said that nothing lu political llle was worth
one drop or blood. He also said that nothing was
politically right that was morally wrong. These
were the two corner stones of his political creed.
He (the lecturer) thought that lor the purpose for
which O'Connell lived Cod had raised 110 man so
powerful since the (lavs ol Demosthenes. All the
New Kngland orators rolled into one were not equal
to the great Irish chler. He had a majestic physique.
God had put that royal soul Into a noble body,
He was like our own Daniel lu that respect.
Mr. Phillips then related a number or well-known
anecdotes about O'Connell, such as the celebrated
hot croHH-?xamination and the speech delivered In
Irish, to the dismay ol the London Times' reporters.
The lecturer, however, spiced the narration of the
anecdotes by slight departures from accuracy, in
order thut his audicucc might be more thoroughly
tickled, ami closed by a graceiul tributo to Mr.
O'Conneil's political mtegiity.
"HOW WOMEN LIVE IN NEW Y0EZ.?'
Wturo by Nri, Vanderpoel.
Mrs. Vanderpool, whoso lccture, announced to
take place at Association Hall some time ago, but
postponed, lectured last evening at Cooper Union
on "IIow Women Live In New York." The
audience was smail, yet they patiently waited
twenty minutes beyond the hour lor the fair lec
turer to arrive. At la.?t she opened her discourse
by speaking of the sufferings and vicissitudes
that many honest and industrious women aro sub
jected to in tills great city. A groat deal of poetry
had been written descriptive of tier sad lot, but
there had been little or no action looking to ihe
amelioration ol her condition. Woman's lot, she
declared, was harder than man's in that when she
had finished tier day's labor often she returned
home to sleepless watches over sick chil
dren. while man could rest his weary
body. There was a time when Americans were
chivalrous, aiul aided and sympathised with women
striving to l>c industrious aud honest, but the in
troduction into society or foreign elements and the
creation of a mock aristocracy hud made Ameri
cans of the present generation coarse. Alter de
tailing narratives ol what some women had suf
fered in this city to support themselves honestly,
the lecturer complimented women upon having
more power of endurance than men, as shown in the
many instances where they had nursed and labored
for husbands who had fallen under great reverses
that prostrated them. She charged that many men
in this city were engaged in the ignoble work of
crushing women, in preventing them from obtain
ing an honest livelihood, which she claimed was
every woman's privilege. So long as society failed <
to act for, as well as sympathize with, women i
so long would tuero be l ad women, bad men aud i
guttering and sin. The lecture was listened to with |
much attention, and Mrs. Vanderpoel delivered It 1
in earnestness of manner aud with much sell-con- I
11 deuce.
SISTERS OF ALL SAINTS.
A New Order of Protestant Nuns, Who
Labor for the Good of the Poor?Three
Distinguished Ladles Coming to America
by the Steamer Celtic to Establish a
Convent at Baltimore?Their Noble
Work In England and France.
By the steamer Celtic, of the White Star line,
there have been expected since Saturday three
distinguished ladies of the Protestant Episcopal
Order of the Sisters of All Saints, or, as they some
times are called, rrom the character of their mis
sion and labors, "Sisters of the I'oor." The prin
cipal of the gentle visitors is Sister Helen, who
without doubt, in consideration of her pure-hearted
devotion and her noble services In the past, will
be made the Lady Superior of the new establish
ment in this country. The two accompanying sis
ters are younger than she.
TUE HEROIC SISTER H.EI.EN.
Sister Helen Is a daughter of the late Captain
Rowden, of the Royal Navy of England, and from
her first taking or the veil, in which she was the I
third member or the order, she has signalized her !
modest and unassuming self by acts or the most \
wonderful nature and of the kindest womanhood. |
In London her name has been very well known for |
some years, and has more than once oeen graced j
with enthusiastic praise from the lips of her lady
sovereign, Victoria. About six years ago she Lad
charge ol
THE FEVER HOSPITAL IN MANCHESTER,
where no one else could be got to brave the almost
fatal dangers or the position. At that time the
nurses and doctors were all dying, and none of the
former who were under her supervision survived.
The resident surgeon, however, who was very ill,
recovered. She was afterwards at the Edinburgh
Hospital and, indeed, seems to have accepted and
sought service in the most difficult and dangerous
trusts, which she discharged with zeal and heroic
courage. She was at the University Hospital iu j
London during the ttine that the cholera was rag- j
Ing with such terrible fatality. Tills Institution ;
is in the most miserable part or the metropolis, '
and she remained there pcrlorming her duty when
almost ail the other attendants tied In terror of tho
sweeping pestilence.
THE gi KEN'S APPRECIATION.
The Queen sent to sister Helen to thank her for
what slip hud done at Manchester anil to ask her ?
services at the bedside of tliat old friend ot the
royal family, Earl l>everaux, or Ktiowle, who was
dangerously sick. She accordingly nursed the dls- ;
tliiKUlshed nobleman, who Is a crabbed old auto
crat, and whose friends scarcely dare approach him
without permission. Stie treated him liice a spoiled
child ami he speedily recovered his health. After
this the requests irom distinguished persons to be
nursed when III by tho skiimi Sisters ol the Poor ,
incessantly poured upon them, and the head or the
Community at length felt, obliged to establish a
stringent rule whereby they could only perform
their ministrations orcuarlty in London in the hos
pitals and workhouses.
THE I'KANCO-PRrSSIAN WAR.
Sister Helen followed in tho bloody path or the
Franco-I'rufsiau war, bogluning at the great battle
of Saarbruck.
THE ORlOIN OF THE ORDER.
The order of the Sisters of All Saints has not boon
established more than a dozen of years, being the
second one within the fold or the Knglish Church.
Its Home Is In Marguerite street, London. It lias
thus lar, it Is believed, beet entirely supported by
the generosity of private individuals who are In
terested In its weliare. Its principal object is that
01 ministering to the sick, an l the system or nurs
ing followed by tho Sisters Is probably the best and
most Intelligent ever used.
TUB AMKRKJAN MtOlI ATIO.V.
A leading F.piscopailan minister ol Baltimore,
Md., recently wrote to the Lady Superior ol il'<C
Community in t.ibn Ion, saying that there was, a
groat field for Vheir labors here. Ihe preserifjuu
gration Is a rosult of this lm Ident.
The Celtic hailed from Liverpool on Ihe ^th of
last month and Is s mew hut overdue. T'.,e sisters
will pauso here lor only a short, time, ar,<] will then
proceed to their future home in ltal'ymore wlii'.h
in already prepared lor their raocot^on. '
THE OIL TRADE.
.Important Movement for a Fusion ol
Producers and Refiners.
The Association! Already Existing-Heettaf pt
the Fifth Avenue Hotel To-Morrow?
Effect of a Combination.
For the last three or four years?and, indeed, for
that matter it might also be said from ttte days ol
the first discoveries in Western Pennsylvania?th?
trade in petroleum has been subject to periodical
attacks of "scare." Scarcely bad the earliest well*
been brought into active production than two
classes of
rETROf.RGM CROAKERS
began to make themselves known and felt. Th?
first believed that the supply of the crude mate
rial was inexhaustible, aad that Just as a stiver
mine grows richer aud richer the deeper you go,so
would these subterranean fountains of burning
fluid run freer aud freer the more you pumped o(l
out of them. Therefore, said they, it follow*
as a necessary consequence that the mar
ket will be hopelessly glutted, in spit*
of the enormous supplies needed
for the markets ol the world and the groggeries of
the great American cities. On the other hand,
there were another class of quaking growlers, who
upbraided the well-owners with their
RECKLESS EXTltAVAUANCE
in waiting the bountiful gilts of Dame Nature, an<*
who prophesied that the time was not far distant
when petroleum oil would bo a thing of the past.
These latter gloomy predictions have occasionally
been strengthened by the giving out of a few weils,
but taster than these have been exhausted other*
have been discovered to take their place, aud th?
total yield ol oil at present, It every produoer were
to throw all he could pump upon the market, would
be very much larger iu volume tliuu it has ever
been before. Iudeed, the
8UKPI.DS PRODUCTION
ofollhasat length grown into so palpable an evtt
that both producers and refiners have taken meas
ures to protect themselves against a competition
which would be, so far as their capital was con
cerned, very much like that fatuous duel ol the Kil
kenny cats, which was waged untd nothing but %
couple of useless tails remained. The rettuer*
have several times made attempts to form a
TIIAIIK LEAUUB
among each other, and at last, after various mora
or less decided failures, have continued to unite la
a tolerably strong combination. Nearly all the re
fining is done in Pittsburg, Cleveland. New
York and Philadelphia, in each of which cltie*
there are about a dozen refineries. Of course
these are ol very different producing capacity,
but, taking the prescut basis of their business a*
a standard, they have pledged themselves to In tu
ture manufacture only so much oil as the organiza
tion may pro rata permit them to do. Care will bo
taken, it is said, by the friends of this scheme to
always
KEEP THE MARKET
well supplied; but, on the other bund. It will never
be glutted. There will, add they, neither be "cor
ners" nor an over supply.
Theu, again, the producers, as the well owner*
are called in the technical language of the trade,
have also on their side taken decisive action.
About the end of September they periected their
organization, aud, on the ground that the market
was then hopelessly glutted, determined to stop>
producing lor a tew weeks, aud then only resume*
in moderation, being guided by the
APPARENT NEEI)
of the demand. This programme has been carried
out, and the result has been that instead of oil
selling at $2 50 a barrel or forty gallons, to which
it once dropped and at which rate, it is said, that
the well owners cannot make even the smallest
percentage upon their capital invested, it has
risen as high as $4 so, and is now being sold at
$3 tto a barrel. The producers say that they will
only be satisfied with a minimum of $5 per barrel,
aud will steadily push on their present scheme
until this poiut Is reached.
And now, producers and refiners having thu#
each crystallized Into tolerably compact aud
MANAIiKAULE BODIES,
have started the idea of fusing into a common or.
ganlzation, or at aay rate, working together in
concert. Most or the refiners say that they,ara
perfectly willing to agree to the $5 per barrel part
ol the producers' programme if the latter will con
sult them in regard to the quantity of crude oil
thrown upon the market, and thus enable them
quillclcntiy to control the trade to obtain a fair
and profitable price upon their manufactured oil.
In order to discuss these matters and arrive at
some deilulU} understanding, a
GENERAL MEETING
of both producora aud refiners will be held to-moiv
row (Wednesday) at the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
Hut anoth r great body of American citizens?
the consumers?who arc also to the full as muctk
interested in the price of oil as either producers or
refiners, will now doubtless be anxious to know
what the effect of this league, which, if perfected,
would clearly convert the whole oil business into a
pure monopoly, wil: be upon the
I'KiCR OF OIL.
Supposing oil to se'l at $5 a barrel, the rate of
crude oil in New York would be about seventeen or
eighteen cents a gallon?that is, twelve cents a
gallon, original price, aud live or six cents for rail
road freight. Adding the cost of manufacturing to
this the rates would, it is stated, rule somewhat aa
follows:?lleflned oil, in bulk, twenty-six to twen
ty-eight cents a gallon; in barrels, thirty to thirty
two cents a gallon; in tin cases (for exportation),
thirty-seven to forty cents a gallon. This would be
a slight advance upon the present average rates,
but nothing to particularly grumble about.
TUB DANGER,
however, would be that the trade being for the
future thus absolutely under the control ol the pro
ducers and refiners, they would he unable to resist
the temptation to gradually raise the rates ami
enjoy the sweets of a successful monopoly. They
are, like the rest of the world, but frail human
nature, and who among us could be trusted to say
no to such an Immense inducement v
The prospects of tills ulliance between, the pro
ducers and refiners are, however, happily
BY NO MEAN'S
so bright as they might be.
"Do you think," asked a Herald reporter of tha
representative of one of the largest refining inte
rests or the city yesterday, "that this union will ba
made r"
"Well, It may be made," was the reply, "but I da
not think that it can stand for very long, even if it
is. The producers are too many in number to long
agree."
"Yes, but they will soon find out the truth of the
lesson In the old lable about union is strength and
the btindlo of fagots."
"Perhaps so, but I
VERY GREATLY DOUBT
It. New wells will be discovered, ami then there
will be endless disputes as to the basis upon whictk
they are to be admitted Within the lines of the as
sociation. 01 course the ;old men will try to cufc
them down as low as possible, and they will be dis
satisfied and perhaps refitse to come In at all. And
besides there will be a great outcry among the
outside public, and, I dare say, that would In time
huve its effect and s^aash up this combination,
which is, of course, a monopoly that can only be
deieuded on -the ground that without ttoine eucU
ring tactics the trade will be ruined."
NEWARK'S FIJA5CIAL DIFFICULTY.
A New Common Council Committor?The
Sins of Commission and Omission
the City Fathers.
The statement of Newark's troubles, financially,
published in Sunday's IIkrald, created quite a
flutter among taxpayers and City Hall patriots, to
say nothing of the noble army or street and sewer
contractors. The local press has either kept mum
on the Interesting question or, lu opposition to tha
economic views or the great mass or the people
aud Alderman Macknet, given its support to tha
opposite view?the view entertained by the ma
jority of the Common Council and all the contract
ors. Yesterday the President of the Common
Council reorganised the Finance Committee
by appointing Messrs. Henry Baldwin, Al
bert C. Westervelt and J. C. Ludlow.
The Impression has long prevailed In taxpayingt
quarters that the City Fathers hail been.going en
tirely too rant with improvements that are not at
all necessary, and will not be ror many years to
come, which those improvements which nave for
Sears and years been a crying necessity are utterly
pored. Those Improvements, for which Alderman
[acknet peremptorily declined putting the city any
deeper in debt than the present couple of millions,
are almost entirely opening and grading streets ou
the meadows ami other outskirts of the city,
which, in the niiture or city grow'h. will
not be needed for many years, except by thoso
owning property and anxious only lo turn tueir
new made lots into lots of money. It affords tne
contractors also lots or richly paying work, and
this latter facA is openly charged as being tha
mainsprtug of the desire ror outsiurt improve
ments, How 'much ureater need there is or im
provement \n and near the heart of tho city man
be readily Imagined when It Is stated that out ur
over two hundred miles or streets within the otty
liuits there arc paved but about twenty miles, aud
rbesatirentj, except, perhaps, half a mllo, with
that most abominable, comm?rce destroying ami
home killing or all pavements, the ancient cobble
stones. Tins very day Broad street, the malu
Bi'ery or the city and one ol the noblest business
fcvenuos In the country, Is disgraced with the un
civilized cobbles. I he same remark applies ta
Market street, another leading business thorough
rare. The opinion or the citizens is that tho City
Fathers have been shamefully slow In making
these necessary improvements?improvement*
which must un lobtcdly cuiiauee the bustu-'H.-! pros
perity ol tho cty