The New York herald. [volume], January 12, 1876, Page 4, Image 4

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4
NEW YORK HERALD
BROADWAY AND ANN STREET.
JAMES GORDON BENNETT,
rRCl'RlETOR.
THE DAILY HERALD, pMished every
Cay ?'n the year. Four cents per copy. I
'Iwelve dollars per year, or one dollar per
mouth, tree of postage.
All business, news letters or telegrnpliio
.despatches must be addressed New Youk
Herald.
Letters and puckages should he properly
staled.
Rejected communications will not be returned.
LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK
HERALD? NO. 40 FLEET STREET.
I ARIS OFFICE?AVENUE DE L'OFERA.
Subscriptions and advertisements will be
received and forwarded on the same terms
as in New York.
VOLUME XLI NO. Id
umhn this imnwn ju? kvkmm:.
WOOD'S MUSEUM,
Broadway, cornor of Thirtieth street.?THE OUT OI.OVE,
at 8 t*. M, closet at Hi til' M. Jule Keen Matinee at
i p. M.
GLOBE THEATRE.
Not. 728 unit 730 Broadway.-VARIETY. At 8 P. M. Matinee
at 3 1*. M.
BOOTH'S THEATRE.
Twenty third street and Sixth avenue.?JULIUS C.ESAU,
at (t P. M. Mr. Lawrence Barrett.
THEATRE COMIQUE,
No. 514 Br ntdway.?VARIETY, at 8 1*. M. Matinee at 3
r. m.
THIRD AVENUE THEATRE,
Third avenue, between Thirtieth and Thirty-lint strcctt.?
PANORAMA, at si*. M.
COLOSSEUM,
Thirty finrth street anil Broadway.?PRUSSIAN SURGE OF i
PARIS. Open Iroiu 1 J*. m. to 4 P. .M and from 7 :30 1". M. j
to 10 IV M.
T! VOL.1 THEATRE.
Eighth street, near Third avenue.?VARIETY', ai 8 P. M.
WALLACE'S THEATRE.
Broadway and Thirteenth street.?MARRIED IN HASTE. !
at 8 i\ M , closes at 10:40 P. M. Mr. Lester YVattack.
PARISIAN VARIETIES.
Sixteenth street, near Broadway.?VARIETY, at 8 P. M. I
BROOKLYN THEATRE.
Washington street, Brooklyu.?OUR BOYS, at 8 P. M. Mr.
John E. Owens.
UNION SQUARE THEATRE.
Broadway and T'ourteeulh street.?ROSE MICHEL, at 8
P. M.
OLYMPIC THEATRE.
No. 6'J4 Broadway.?VARIETY', at 8 P. M. Matinee at '2
i\ M.
FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE.
Twenty-eighth street, near Broadway.?PIQUE, at 8 I'. M.
Kauuy Davenport.
TONY PASTOR'S NEW THEATRE.
Nos 5So and 587 Broadway.?VARIETY', at 8 P. M.
PARK THEATRE,
Broadway and Twenty second street.?THE WIDOYY* HUNT,
ai 8 1*. M John Dillon.
s F.AOLE THEATRE,
Broadway and Thirty-third street.?VARIETY', at 8 P. M.
V tttuee at 2 1'. M.
?
GERMANIA THEATRE.
Fourteenth street.?COMTESSE 11ELENE, at 8 P. M.
BOWERY THEATRE.
Bowery.?SUNSHINE, at 8 P. M. Lillle YYilkensou.
SAN FRANCISCO MINSTRELS,
New Opera House, Broadway, corner ol'Twenty ninth street.
*t SB M.
WITH SUPPLEMENT.}
NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 12. 1876. I
From our reports this morning the probabilities \
are that the weather to-day will be partly cloudy
and slightly warmer.
The Herald by Fast Mail Trains.?Xercsdealcrs
and the public throughout the Sales of ,
Atto York, Xetc Jersey and Pennsylvania, as
well as in the Weaf, the Pacific Coast, the Xorth,
the South and Southwest, also along the lines
of the Hudson Jliier, Xew York Central ami j
J'ennsylvania Central Pailroads ami their cont)rrfinrut
trill he xm nlinl irifh Thf. Hbutji. i
free of postage. Jixtraordinary inducements
offered to newsdealers by seeding their orders
direct to this offer.
Wall Street Yesterday.?Gold ranged between
113 1-8 and 112 3-4. There are, however.
good buyers in the market. Money on
call loaned at 7 per cent gold, and. Inter, at
5 per cent currency. Stocks were lirm, and
the cliques for the moment are in supreme
control. Transactions, however, are chiefly !
confined to the local speculators.
Tub Struck Jury in the Tweed cases is
the liveliest topic in the courts just now.
Whether it will be possible to obtain a jury t
at all under the present system is becoming j
a very grave question.
Genbbai Porter's Confirmation us Commissioner
oi Public Works is almost certain
?
to fail, in spite of the arguments of >Ir. Belmont
on Monday and Mr. George Ticknor '<
Curtis yesterday. The committee of the ;
Board ot' Aldermen has agreed to report
against him.
Quels Victoria is beginning t take a
more active interest in public attain than has
been her custom since the death of Prince :
Albert, and it is said she will once more open
Parliament in person. If she emerges from
her retirement altogether she will greatly
please her people.
Cif.um\s Maonasimit* is something unique,
if the cast' of Cardinal Ledochowski is a specimen.
This eminent prelate is to be liberated
unconditionally when his term of imprisonment
expires, and not to be imprisoned
igain unless he again infringes the ecclesiastical
laws. Anything less than thiswonid
have been a disgrace to Germany anil the
Empire.
Mr. Boccicaclt's Letter asking the release
of the Fenian prisoners is ridiculed by
the London press, which refuses to accept a
popular dramatist as a trustworthy judge of
State questions. V nfortunately ft r this view
of the subject the world generally will regard
his suggestion as a w;sc one, and will
not respect it the less because Mr. Boucicault
has earned famo as a dramatist.
A Special Despatch to tnt Herald this
morning gives the substance of the letter
published by the crew of the Jefferson Burden,
complaining of the hnrsh cpndnct of
the Captain and the unseaworthiness of the
vessel. The letter, doubtless, is intended to
affect the trial of the men accused of mutiny
on the previous voyage ; but. whatever the
purpose, the administration of justice can
scarcely suffer, even if the desire of the
inson of this document is allowed to de
~
Uj tlie cases.
NEW YOKK.
' The A| proiarhIpK Prrildantlkl ( onif
at?A Wnr with hpain.
Everything done or omitted to be done by
the President or Congress daring this session
will be done or omitted because of its
supposed bearing on the success of parties
or candidates in the Presidential canvass.
Of course good things as well as bad things
may be attempted with this view, for there
is no reason why a good project should not
be popular. The art of canvassing is a hunt
for popularity, and the methods of seeking
popular applause are as various as the mental
peculiarities of the men who engage in a
chase for office. If Govewior Tilden hangs
out the bunner of reform, if Mr. Blaine displays
a sudden zeal for non-sectarian schools,
if President Grant tries to push the country
into a foreign war, their respective hobbies
nw.v m -\? *. . nni 1 i ?- f Vl a P v.iai > 1 11TI V
Grant if be should bo the republican candidate.
Spaniards are excellent fighters. What
the Castilian blood lacks in dash it makes
up in obstinate vigor, and, man for man,
with equal numbers and advantages on both
sides, a Spanish force is no contemptible
enemy, even for Americans. Spain has at
present a well equipped army of two hundred
and sixteen thousand; our effective
army does not exceed twenty thousand.
Spain has two hundred and two war vessels
in a state of complete efficiency, whereas our
ships of war amount to only one hundred
and sixty-six, all told, including the old
tubs and vessels in a state of dilapidation,
which figure in the statistics, but are of no
value for service. We should be no match for
Spain on the sea during the first six months
ot a war. Wo should, of course, triumph in
the end, because our resources are so expansive,
and victory, in the long run,
perches on the standard which is supported
bv the Ion crest nurse. A unr with Snnin
would probably l?e disastrous during the
summer and early autumn months. It I
would prostrate the administration and the
political party responsible for beginning and
conducting it. If the Presidential election
were to take place one or two years hence a
war with Spain begun now might bring a
great harvest of military glory and political
capital to the administration of President
Grant; but as an electioneering device for
the Presidential contest about to open it
would be a blind and extra hazardous tempting
of fortune, with twenty chances to one
against its success.
Hut if, i,y gome extraordinary stroke of
luck, our army or navy should mnke brilliant
achievements in the first campaign, it
j would not hi President Grant but the naval
or military hero of the day that would profit
niu mruun, uui ruua , u 10 iuc *. *voiv*iuvj
which lies at the bottom of their efforts.
Each values the horse and his caparison only
as a means of reaching the goal. And yet
reform is not a bad thing because Governor
Tilden rides it out of breath in pursuit of
' the Presidency, nor is non-sectarian education
a bad thing because Mr. Blaine has
adroitly slipped into the saddle in the place
I of him who brought out the steed; and
whether the forcible pacification of Cuba, as
proposed by President Grant, is a bad thing
depends on its success and cost.
It is quite possible that ull these Presidential
steeds will unhorse their riders. Governor
Tilden has made so many democratic
enemies that his control of the State Convention
for appointing Presidential delegates is
more than doubtful; the report that Mr.
Blaine was bred a Catholic throws an exquisite
air of ridicule over his new
born zeal to cut out President Grant
on the religious question ; and it is
altogether probable that if the President
puts forth his hand to shake the tree of war
somebody else will gather the fruit. What
Mr. Blaine has done for him respecting the
school question some victorious general or
admiral might also do for him in relation to
Cuba. It is a hazardous game to play from
motives of personal ambition.
The democratic party played a similar
game thirty years ago in the Mexican war,
and lost. Although that war was successful
and brilliant?a career of victories without
an important reverse?the democratic party
was defeated in the next Presidential election.
A popular whig general carried off the
prize. Even a successful war does not
necessarily aid the political party that begins
it, but an unsuccessful war is necessarily
fatal. We suppose nobody doubts the
ultimate result of a war with Spain, but
the chances are more than even that we
should encounter humiliating checks in its
early stages, and a tide of discontent would
sot in against the administration. 11 we
had hiul a Presidential election in the |
autumn of 1861, after the Hull Run disaster j
in the preceding summer, with President '
Lincoln as the republican candidate, it would
have resulted in a political Bull Run for him
and his party. If President Grant forces the
country into a war with Spain during the
coming spring, and the campaign should
open with reverses, the republican party
would be past praying for in the Presidential
election.
It is altogether probable that, in a war
about Cuba, the lirst successes would be on
the side of the Spaniards. Spain is in a
state of efficient preparation, military and
naval. Slio has been dealing for several
years with a formidable rebellion on
the Peninsula and another formidable
rebellion in Cuba, which have brought
her armaments to the highest point
of efficiency warranted by her financial
condition. Our own preparations for a war
are yet to be made, and it is a work which
requires time and effort. We cannot
increase either our naval or our
military force until war shall have
been declared, and Spain would accordingly
have every advantage of us at the beginning
of hostilities. She would be at the maximum
of her strength at a time when our
armaments were yet to be created. In the '
course of six or eight months we could be- |
come infinitely her superior both on land i
and at sea ; but meanwhile, taking advan- j
tage of our transient weakness and want of
preparation, Spuin might strike sudden and
effective blows which would be a severe
shock to our national pride. The chances i
would be altogether against us in the earlier
months of the contest, and during those
earlier and unsuccessful months the Presidential
canvass would be virtually decided, !
and, of course, decided against General -
HERALD. WEDNESDAY', ,
by them politically. Crowned with fresh
laurels the winner of victories would be
the popular idol, and with the tendency of
our people to reward military success with
political promotion, it would be Sherman or
Sheridan, or a successful naval commander
that would be borne to the Presidency by
the enthusiasm of a grateful and admiring
people. But ull the probabilities are against
such a turn of affairs, because the perfect
preparation of Spain would enable her to
fight to ml vantage while we were getting
ready, and to win early success, which would
raise a storm against the administration,
making President Grunt's re-election us impossible
as President Lincoln's would huve
been in the next autumn after the buttle of
Bull Run.
A war with Spain would also play into the
hands of the democratic party by enabling it
to bridge over the chasm which separates
the Eastern and the Western democracy. A
new war would tend to expand the currency.
At the very least it would put an eud to
efl'orts for contraction. The logic of events
would give the Western democrats all they
have ever asked for. With the currency
question taken out of politics during the
war the divided democracy would become
harmonious, while the naval and military
disasters likely to attend the beginning of a
war with Spain would furnish them with
topics of denunciation and invective of
| overwhelming force against the administraj
tion. Wo submit these obvious probabilities
to the reflection of President Grant, asking
him to consider whether a war with Spain in
the interest of a third term would not be a
blunderbuss whose first discharge would
"kick the owner over."
Collector Arthur.
A day or two ago we printed some strictures
upon Collector Arthur, based upon a
rej)ort that the Collector had procured a
place in the Department of Buildings for a
politician named Haw, on condition that
j Haw should relinquish control of the republican
organization in the Twenty-first As|
Bembly district. It now turns out that,
! although Mr. Haw succeeded in obtaining
! the office under Superintendent Adams, it
j was without the assistance or even the
' knowledge of General Arthur. The organi!
zation of the Twenty-first district was not
j involved in the appointment, at least so far
i as the Collector was concerned, and it seems
1 that the whole statement was erroneous.
| We are glad of this. General Arthur has
filled the important post he now occupies so
| capably and honestly, and has been so acceptable
in every respect to our merchants
and business men, that it would be a matter
of regret if he should turn aside from his
! more important duties to interfere in the
petty disputes of local "leaders." Ourreaders
will learn with pleasure that he has not
done so in this instance. The story of his
connection with Haw's appointment was
started by interested and inimical persons,
and it only needs a denial to set it at rest.
That wo should say this much is due to a
faithful and capable official, who has not forgotten
his high trust to meddle with the
local disputes of self-seeking politicians.
I he f bench li. lector ai. canvass.?In no
j other country in Europe could a Cabinet
Minister fall into such trouble as that
which has overtaken M. Leon Say. The ineffectiveness
of coalition Ministries is proverbial
in dealing with domestic difficulties, and
the Buffet Cabinet is already shaking to pieces
at the tirst preparation for the general elections.
The only wonder is that it has held
together so long. The unsettled state of
parties causes endless embarrassment, and
when the government issues official instructions
to the prefects to support such
and such a list of candidates confusion
is likely to be more confounded.
It is not to be wondered, then,
that two Ministers?M. Say and M. Dufaure?find
themselves on tickets which M.
Buffet has given orders to oppose, or that
the portion they felt bound hi assume
should result in the disruption of the
M nistry. It appears, however, from the
tenor of our later despatches that an accommodation"
of some kind will be arrived at
The MacMahon government cannot alienate
two such strong supporters as Say and Dnfaure
without Risking defeat in tho general
elections and making the Chamber of Deputies
a republican body extremely hostile to
the Septennate. A conservative policy seems
to commend itself to both factions, and this
fact, more than anything else, may serve to
hold the Ministry together by inducing M.
Buffet to forego tho programme which has
! already caused so much trouble.
I Thf. Chicago Wiiiskky Cases were all deferred
yesterday, none of the accused being
ready for trial. An interesting point in our
despatches this morning is the system of
marking "crooked" whiskey employed by
the dealers. "C." stencilled on the barrel
meant "crooked;" "G.," "grapewine," and
"K. O. B.," "keep off books." Every day
adds to the revelations of the vastness of the
! conspiracy to defrnnd the government.
Governor Bedle, of New Jersey, goes
farther even than President Grant in his
views on the school question. He thinks
that to exclude the Bible from the schools
would be retrogression toward heathenism.
It is plain that the heathen, and a great
many people who are not heathen, are to receive
no consideration from the democracy
of New Jersey.
11 xrin Transit.?It will bo seen from our
news columns this morning that a very important
question arises in regard to the right
of the llapid Transit Commissioners to designate
a route for the roads through the public
parks. The question is one of expediency
as well as of right, and the whole subject
should be carefully canvassed before any de
; uisiuu is rcucuru.
ArDrroR Thayer has resigned Lis office,
from which he was recently suspended by
the Governor, in a long letter, to the argu,
ment of which his resignation is a rather
singular corollary. We print his letter, and,
whatever the force of his reasoning, agree
that his tinal determination is wisest and
best.
Governor Emf.ry's Huuoi to the Utah
Legislature, judging from the brief abstract
we print this morning, is a document that
will be widely discussed by both factions in
| the Territory.
JANUARY 12, 1876.?WITH
Tb? Aninnljr Debate.
Mr. Blaine has made a parliamentary success
but a political mistake. The adroit way
in which he overreached and outwitted Mr.
llandall in getting a chance to deliver his
prepared speech and open the sluices of debate
shows that he is no ordinary master of
parliamentary tactics; but it would have
been better for his political prospects if he
had lost the opportunity which he extorted.
It is too late in the day to rake open the decaying
animosities of the late war with
personal or political profit to any disturber
of the kindly feeling between the North
and the South. It is absurd to the
degree of being ridiculous for any
sane man to affect to think that it
makes any sort of difference to any public
interest whether Mr. Jefferson Davis is relieved
or not relieved from his political disabilities.
There is. no chance of his elec lion or
appointment to any federal office, and even
if he could have such chances after an act of
amnesty it is impossible to see what harm he
could do or would have any temptation to do
more than any other ex-rebel in a public
trust. The treatment of the prisoners at
Andersonville is a question which belongs to
history and not to politics. It is a dozen
years too late for remedy, and it is better
that it should be buried out of sight with
the other unpleasant and irritating events of
the war. There is nothing which the liberal
and generous public feeling cft the country
is so little disposed to tolerate as the gratuii
tous tearing open of old wounds in the interest
of political ambition.
Mr. Blaine, to use a comn\on phrase, does
not "understand his epoch." He forgets
that this is the centennial year, and that the
Presidential contest, in which he hopes to
be a candidate, will be deeply colored by
patriotic feelings and by sentiments of
generous fraternity like those so applaudingly
manifested at the centennial celebration
of the battle of Bunker Hill, when the
1 gallant and chivalrous Southern regiments
from Richmond and Charleston were greeted
! with a warmer welcome and received more
I distinguished marks of hospitality than any
of the other participants in that affecting
t-;i. ?<
I VliUMbG W VUC Ul tuo puiiiutiu
dead. Sir. Blaine is not only out of harj
niony with the magnanimous sentiment of
; New England as manifested on that deeply
j interesting occasion, but he is equally out of
| harmony with the patriotic sentiment of his
! native State of Pennsylvania, on whose supi
port he has heretofore counted in his Presi\
dential aspirations. The State of his birth
! and the section of his adoption alike repu'
diate his wanton attempt to rip up old sores
' and prevent the cordial fraternization of the
I North and the South in this centennial ;
! year. His Pennsylvania friends will be
! appalled at his blunder and will withdraw
their confidence from so indiscreet and reckless
a man. When the appropriation for
! their great exposition was on the very edge
i of success he has put it in peril and dealt it
a more deadly blow than it was in the power
of all its other opponents to inflict. The :
Pennsvlvanians, and, indeed, the whole
j country, have been courting and inviting an
! "era of good feeling" in connection with the !
Centennial Exposition. It has been the hope '
of all magnanimous citizens that all the unpleasant
memories of the civil war would be
j buried "deeper than ever plummet sounded" ;
i in the proud and exultant patriotism of the i
I centennial year. And just at the point |
, when an appropriation to promote this noble
! object was about to come up for the considi
cration of Congr^s, steps in this ambitious
Marplot to rake open the old quarrel, set the
North and South by the ears, flaunt the
most disagreeable and revolting topic in the
history of the war, and deal a deadly stab at |
the success of the Centennial by alienating j
scores of members who would otherwise '
have voted for the appropriation. Brilliant
| as was Mr. Blaine's stroke of parliamentary j
j tactics nobody will envy him his laurels.
I I
i . . _ . . _ .
An American Tnratre in Komlon.
A dramatic company composed exclusively
of Americans is a novelty which an enterprising
American manager proposes to establish
in London. The originality of this idea
! must be admitted; but its merits are open to
discussion. The ability of American actors j
to acquire and maintain the highest posi- I
tions on the English stage has been repeatedly
shown. John S. Clarke, Joseph
Jefferson, John E. Owens, Charlotte Cush;
man. the B itomans, E. A. Sothern (for
; "Dundreary" was educated in our American
school, though born in England),
the Florences, the Williamses, have made
brilliant records, and some of them
1 enjoy popularity in London not ex- '
; celled by any English artist. If there
ever was any prejudice in England against
American actors?and we doubt it?it has cer- !
tainly no force now. But such eminent
artists as Clarke and Jefferson and Sothern
did not invite the criticism of the English
people as Americans, but as artists. They
j fought their battles single handed on the
stage of the world's metropolis, and the approval
of the public is a tribute to their
genius, not a compliment to their nationality.
The organization of an entirely American
| company in London would be a very difj
ferent thing from individual American
enterprises. It would be exposed to the I
suspicion, whether just or unjust, of being
an effort to obtain success by appealing to
national rivalries, like the late foolish war
between the partisans of Mr. E. L. Daven- 1
port and Mr. Barry Sullivan. An exelu- '
sively English company in New York would
not meet with encouragement, not from any
! jealousy of English actors -for, on the con!
trarv, some of our greatest favorites are from
; London?but because we conld not recognize
! its artistic usefulness. The Londoners would
feel much in the same way. If an exclusively
American company should be taken to London
it probably would be to prove that we have
as good actors as the English. Hut the question
of merit could not be fuirly tried. Ono
reason among many why a just decision conld
not be reached is this : Our best actors
would probably remain at home. But it may
be said that there is no wish to force the
' question of the comparative merits of Eng1
lish and American actors npon the jury of
the London public. Why, then, take an
! American company to London? There can
[ be but one other reason, and 'that u, to ex- !
SUPPLEMENT.
bibit its members ah curiosities. But American
actors have long ceased to be curiosities.
The English stage and the American are
almost homogeneous. They have the same
language, the same literature, the same traditions
and the name origin. There is nothing
radically different in their nature, and
every year their resemblance increases.
Toole finds English humor appreciated in
America, and Clarke revives old English
comedies in London. These facts make it
impossible to defend the organization of exclusively
English or American companies on
the ground that we support exclusively
French, German or Italian companies. The
conditions are altogether unlike. French
acting, for example, is something so different
from English acting that we receive it as a
novelty. It instructs us in a new school.
We welcome it not as an attempt to prove
the inferiority of our stage, but as an illustration
of the great differences of style that
exist upon the stage of the world.
We would therefore advise Mr. Henry D.
Palmer, who contemplates this plausible
scheme, to hesitate, pause, reflect. The experiment
is a doubtful one. There is no
more reason why he should take an exclusively
American company to London than
an exclusively New York company to Washington,
Yet, if the enterprise is to be carried
out, we trust the actors will all be worthy of
the occasion. If it be not a great company
in the true sense of the word then it would
be better to have none at all. The failure to
establish a distinctively American theatre in
England would do much to injure the high
reputation for our dramatic art which has
been won by the individual efforts of our
distinguished actors.
Steeplecltas* Racing.
The American Jockey Club has made a
move in the right direction by increasing
the weights on horses of all ages for racing
on flat lmf uhnnl/1 Iiuva crrxrtn a
trifle further, and made some rules to regulate
steeplechasing and hurdling. There is
nothing in their rules that has the slightest
application to the latter style of racing, except
an ambiguous sontence at the end of
rule 69, which is, "Winners or losers of
hurdle races or steeplechases are not considered
winners or losers in flat racing." In
Great Britain, France and other countries
sweepstakes are opened yearly for across
country races, as they are styled, and they
are generally well filled, in some of them
amounting to nearly one hundred subscribers.
We have material enough in this
country to commence the sport on a grand
scale, as there are a great many horses that
can be put to that kind of work which are
not fit for the sharp, short races on the flat;
and riders will crop up in Maryland, Virginia
and Kentucky as fast as they are
needed?young, daring fellows, who have
been fox hunting all their lives.
The weights for steeplechasers and hurdlers
can be easily regulated in weight for
age races, as the welter weight, added to the
new scale for flat racers, would answer the
purpose, as that would give an aged horse
one hundred and fifty pounds to carry.
But as handicap sweepstakes would most
likely fill the best an intelligent handicapper
could easily bring all the horses to the
post on equal terms. The matter of weight,
however, is not so important a subject to
determine as the height and breadth of the
jumps for the horses. We will not pretend
to dictate to the club what they should do,
but will merely state that in Europe the
lowest for fences and stone walls are four
feet six inches, and the water jumps twelvo
feet. At Punchcstown, in Ireland, the
stone walls and fences are said to be about
five feet high, and tho brooks or water jumps
from twelve to fourteen feet in width.
They are the same height and breadth in
France ; and the horses of those countries
go over these great distances with less
danger to the rider or themselves than our
horses go over the two and a half and three
feet obstacles that are put in front of them
on our race courses. The horse Lottery, in
England, is said to have jumped thirty-four
feet over hurdles at Liverpool, and Chandler,
at Warwick, jumped thirty-nine feet over
water; and Lochiel, in this country, jumped
twenty-eight feet over brush and water. A
horse is of little use that cannot carry a man
of ordinary weight, and it is sheer nonsense
to prate about racing tor the advancement
and improvement of the breed of the thoroughbred
horse without he can be bred to
carry a man weighing one hundred and fifty
pounds or more and run fast also. It is a
historical fact that a three-year-old thoroughbred,
Copenhagen, bore the Duke of Wellington
on his back for twelve hours on the
last day of the battle of Waterloo, and when
the French were beaten and Wellington dismounted
the colt came near kicking the
Duke's brains out by letting his heels fly
over the great General's head. Of such colts
is this country much in need at the present
time, as too much attention has been wasted
on the breeding of fast short distance runners,
instead of having them, as
we said before, to carry weight
and run too. A horse that can run
with one hundred and fifty pounds on his
back four miles in eight minutes is an
infinitely snperior animal to the one that
could run a mile in 1:3D 1-2, as Longfellow
was said to have done in the first mile in the
race for the Saratoga Cup with Kingfisher.
And it is probable that Longfellow would
not have broken down in his race with Harry
Bassctt had the weights been what a fouryear-old
will have to carry next summer, as
it has been demonstrated that it is the pace
and not the weight that breaks down the forelegs
of the racer.
But to the steeplechaser, the horse by his
style of racing that gives the greatest satisfaction
to the people, and draws larger
crowds on racing days than any other kind
of race horse. The people from Europe,
now in this country, have been accustomed
to steeplechasing in their native land and
like to see it still. But we do not here get
the races up in tho same manner they
have been used to see them. We make
time the test and speed the all in
all. Instead ^of having the jumps high
enough to show the real beauty of
the nice, we make traps to trip and throw
horses, thus endangering the lives of both
horse and rider, because the horses are run
with such breakneck sneed that they cannot
bjo distinctly what thoy are coming to, be
sides being pumped oat before one-halt *n?
obstacles are passed over. And the purpose
of all thus is to announce a high rate of speed
on the blackboards and have the spectators
believe that they have witnessed the fastest
race on record. The jumping in a steeplechase
should cease about half a mils from
the finish, giving the horses a good chance '
for a sharp run home, instead of having A
hurdle to trip them up, as is now the case,
when near the goal. For instance, at Jerom#
Park, when the horses have passed over thf
stone wall in the north field, th^y
should then be allowed to run under
the bluff without impediment and make
their way from thero home, which is
far enough to detenu ine the fastest horse iu
the race ; but in all cases a prize should l>?
given to the best jumper, whether he is first
or not.
The American Jockey Club have six stakes
open for Hut ruces, which will close on the 1st
day of March next, and, as we said above, wa
wonld suggest that they add, by way of experiment,
a few for steeplechases, to close at
the same time ; some at weight for age, tlia
others as handicaps.
Fulse Economy at West Point.
Economy is a virtue, but it may be
made ridiculous, as when a bankrupt
spendthrift proposes to retrench at tha
expense of his laundress. Any one woulii
naturally suppose that he would begin,
with his wine merchant or his jeweller.
We have the most earnest wish that Mr.
Randall shall succeed in his efforts to reduce
the expenses of the government, but at tha
same time hope he will have too much prudence
to expose his policy to the sneers of his
opponents. Yet we learn that the Committed
on Appropriations proposes to begin reform
by abolishing the militarv band at West
Point, and cutting down the pay of tlia
cadets each fifty dollars a year. What wonhl
be saved in this manner would, we think,
be insignificant compared with what would
be lost.
The law provides for the appointment of
one cadet from each Congressional district,
one from each Territory, one from tho ^
District of Columbia, nnd ten at large.
This would make a total of three hundred
and twelve, but for the sake of
convenience we will say three hundred. To
cut off fifty dollars from the pay of theso
students would be a saving, if wo may dignify
it by that title, of fifteen thousand
dollars annually. Each cadet would lose
about a dollar a week, or fifteen cents a day.
j But the loss would be far greater than this.
Our national military school would lose in
its credit and self-respect. ft would fcol
that it was treated in a mean and miserly
way by tho government. The injury to the
spirit of the institution by such a measure
could not be paid for by the reduction ol
: hundreds of thousands in its expenses.
If West Point is of any value to the nation
' let the nation support it with dignity and
! liberality. If it is useless it should be abolj
ished. There ought to be no compromise in
1 this. If this great Republic is in such a
desperate strait that it must take a dollar a
week from the pay of the young men it is
I bringing up to be tho future leaders of its
armies we suggest that it might as well take
! it all, and let the Military Academy at West
Point for a summer hotel.
Tnc Grey Nuns' Act, as it is called, has
been the source of much dissatisfaction in
this State, and now its repeal is earnestly
rocommended by the Superintendent of
Education. As it grants exclusive privileges
this course ought to be pursued.
PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE.
j .
j Srinkey's vonois tilling.
Ex-Senator Hon Wade, of Ohio, is in Washington.
Germany im last converting her silver currency into
| one of gold.
Mr. Tillon Is very moderate In his price, only asking
$150 for bis services.
Mrs. Grant wears black silk and velvet. Mrs. Fred
S Grant wears opal silk
If reports are trne Jimmy Blanehard's mother must
be spanking Charley Ross.
Bonn Piatt's lather iu law, who was very rich, has
died in Cincinnati, leaving Piatt half his fortune.
Western papers talking of Governor Tililen's physical
condition say that he is not as strong as he is good.
The Chicago Tribune says there must bavo been a
good deal ot lye in the Babbitt-Ueckwith soap case.
I The Galveston (Texas) A>ie? says that every village
wauls a railroad and a city corporation until it g-ls
one.
Twelve thousand dollars' worth of dried fish aro
every month sunt from San Francisco to China ov tho
Chinese.
Ceueral Sherman will bo prcseDt at tho meeting of
; tho Grand Army of tbo'Kcpublic at Sycamore, IIL, o?
i the 20th inst.
^Tbc editor of the Boston Transcript says:?"'The water
we drink costs live millions." Few could make
that remark without criticism.
The Philadelphia Press says that Congress should, u
necessary, appropriate $10,000,000 for the Centennial.
Philadelphia papers are proverbially modest about asking
auything lor Philadelphia
j Within five years 70,000 Chinamen may vote in California.
Ten thousand may vote in San Francisco and
| wield one third of the electoral power. That is, they
may, if they choose, name, five years hence, the Mayor
| of San Francisco and Governor of California
The Baltimore Gaz'tte, under Its new management,
its new appearance ana its new prise of two cents, has
greatly improved. If tbero were no Philadelphia Time
we should say that the Gazette is the handsomest two
| cent morning paper we read. Its writing Is equal to its
appearance.
Providence has a population ot 100,675, living in
; 12,(21 houses, and divided Into 21,621 lamilles; his
47,13) white males and 60,068 females, and 1,611 col|
ored males and 1,876 females. In each 100 of the
population there are 46.81 of American parentage, and
| 63.18 of foreign parentage.
Emma Britton. a Lewisburg, Pa, girl, weight 14>
pounds, can jump fifteen feet on skates, run 100 yards
In thirteen seconds, drink, smoke and talk horse. She
is a good shot snd a good quoit pitcher; can easily
i gwim half a mile and jump the highest lence. She will
not marry, which is good?for the man.
The New Orleans Picayune, analyzing Lamar, says:?
"He is a man ol more powerful passion than Morton,
ol a more splendid rhetoric than Conkhng, and of a
more agreeable wit than Edmunds Mr. Lamar is not a
Calhoun nor Webster, but Lamar is one of the strong,
est national democrats in the Union, and as such his
party need bun In the Senate."
The following is thif speech of the President to the
crippled Union soldiers at Washington:?
I am ruily in accord with the spirit of
the resolutions offered by Messrs Kort and Cason in
th? Houae of Representatives, and any measures that
1 n.ay be intended tor your benetlt I will ttnd a plu.*
| for any of your comrade* that may be discharged Iron
i tne Capitol, and aid all olhera aa lar \s lies in my
j power.
Tom-tit Journalism from the Sunday World:~."0ur
{ ?penal despatch by torn tit from London to-day will he
found as full of news as an egg of moat. The process
by which the smallest of birds is thus trained to fetch
the largest of facts Is our own. At a future time we
may throw It open to public use. At present we reserve
It, as we have a right to do, for the exclusive benefit of
everybody?If everybody wtli simply buy the World
i and read it carefully."