The New York herald. [volume], May 20, 1876, Page 6, Image 6

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

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NEW YORK HERALD
BROADWAY AND ANN STREET.
JAMES GORDON BENNETT,
PROPRIETOR
THE DAILY HERALD, published tvmf
day in the ymr. Four cents per copy.
Twelve dollars per year, or one dollar per
mouth, free of postage.
All business, news letters or telegraphic
despatches innst be nddressed Nnv loitK
Hrkai.ii.
Letters nnd packages should be properly
sealed.
Rejected communications will not be re
turned.
PHILADELPHIA < >FFICE? NO. 112 SOUTH
SIXTH STREET.
LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK
HERALD NO. 4(1 FLEET STREET.
PARIS OFFICE?AVENUE DE L'OPERA.
Subscriptions nnd advertisement* will be
received and forwarded on the same terms
ns in New York.
NO. 141
mmm this afternoon and evening.
?t 8 P. St. M' VSTREL8
? . . ,KiKT? AVENUE theatre.
{. Ti * !'?nefl? " P- M. PlqUE matinee at 1:30
? ? "? fanny DHvcnport.
VARIETY. at 8 P. >V*?&m^2TKM.
UNDER TUP. OAU,o\VS,\t k V''?MyMMntlnee at 2 P. V.
Brooklyn theatre.
i/n MaHpee at 2 1*. M. Charlotte Tliorop- j
.. b I> w ?.AX, f"KANt? IS( (> MIN8TKEL3,
?t 8 p. M. Matinee nt 2 1'. M.
v, _ ? THBATKK COMiqUE.
^ ARIET\ , at 8 I'. M. Mnllnpc Ht 2 I. M.
CENTRAl7~l'AKK GAItDEN.
ORCflERTRA, QUARTET AM) CHORUS, at 8 P. M.
<iII,MORErS~TAUDEiV.
GRAND CONCERT, at ? I'. M. Offenbach,
. WALLACE'S TUEATRE.
HOW SHE LO\ fcs HIM. nt H 1'. M. Mutinee at 1;30 P.
M. Letter Wallaok.
S ot?t,T"ny pastors new theatre.
VARIETV, in H 1'. M.
UNION SOU A RE THEATRE.
CONSf IENCK, nt s I'. Si Mulineu ut 1 : ?) P.
J hiirue. Jr.
eagle FiTeatre.
^ ARIET^ , at 8 P. Mxtinen nt 2 1*. M.
? PARiTTHEATBE.
BRASS, at 8 P. M. Mntineo nt 2 1'. M. Mr. Georce Faw
ceit Rotri). ?
. BOWERY THEATRE.
BL'rr AND BUTE, at H I*. M.
??? CHATEAU MABILLK VARIETIES,
at 8 P.M. Matinee at 2 P. M.
^ OLYMPIC THEATRB.
IIUMPTY DUMPTY, nt H_l\ M. Matinee at 2 P. X
. u ? - Parisian varieties.
at 8 P. M. Matinee a; J P. M.
vA?twrve<iuiiT,L^?!" oprr? house.
? ARIL i nt H P. M. Matiupo hl 2 J'. M.
. . ? THEATRE KBANCA18.
J.A CAGN07TE, nt M P. M.
M. C. R.
TRIPLE SHEET.
?nr VOliK. SATl'ltlM. Mil SO. VOL
hYom our reports this momintjihe prolxihilit \t
arr that the wither io-iluy xcill be warmer and
cloiuty, icithj per/ihps, rain.
Notice to Country Newsdealers.?For
pr<??pt and reyvlar delivery of the Herald
by fast mail trains orders must be sent direit to
this office. Postage free.
Wall Street Yesterday.?Gold opened
nt 112 3-4, advanced to 112 7-8 and closed at
312 5-8. The stock market was feverish,
vith a lower tondency. Coal stocks were
weaker. Money on call loaned at 2 1-2 per
cent. Government bonds were firm.
How the Coloiied People of the country
were plundered by tho managers of the
^reedman's Bank is shown in our Washing
ton despatches.
Railroad Terries.?The property of New*
York city on the North Iiiver shore has boon
?used freely by some of the railroad compa
nies, and the question has been raised
whether they should not be compelled to pay
for tho privilege. The opinion of Mr. George
TTicknor Curtis, elsewhere given, is to the
?tfleet that the railroads should pay the city
something for ferriage. New York should
protect itself and receive its due revenues ;
yet we should regret to see any new impedi
ments to travel.
Mr. Bowen's Expulsion from Plymouth
Church reminds us of Falstaffs mock trial at
the Boar's Head Tavern, in which ho ex
claimed, " Banish plump Jack, and banish
all the world." The Prince, personatihg
tho King, replied, as Mr. Beecher did,
"I do ! I will !" But what Plymouth
Church will do for dramatic effect without
Mr. Bowen is hard to imagine. "Othello"
could not easily be played without Iago, and
we are alraid that Mr. Beecher has injured
his own popularity by the separation from
his old friend and pitcher.
The Exposition ok Sunday.?The Pres
byterian General Assembly, which is in ses
sion in Brooklyn, yesterday adbpted resolu
tions congratulating the Centennial Com
jnissioners on their determination to close
4he grounds of the Centennial Exposition
?n Sundays. The next resolution should bo
to congratulate the authorities of Philadel
phia upon their success in not enforcing the
laws which forbid tho sale of liquors in the
Turk where the Exposition buildings stand,
and which requiro tho closing of tho taverns
on Sunday. Tho policy adopted by the
Commissioners closes what Archbishop
Wood calls a harmless and instructive enter
tainment, and drives the people to seek
more expensive and demoralizing amuse
ment. We regret to see that tho Prcsby- j
terians still hold fast to tho exploded
theory of religion which would prohibit
Sunday [newspapers, Sunday cars, Sunday
pnrks and Sunday freedom, and which
would stop tho sun itself on Sundays, like
Joshua.
The Reception or the Prince or Wales.?
The reception of the Prince of Wnles in
London, after his visit to India, recalls the
parablo of the Pr.wligal Son. Tho Prince
expended the money of the English nation
freely in that visit, but the people are proud
of their royal family, and seem to rejoice
in the opportunity of welcoming tho
heir apparent to the city. It would be
? grnceinl act on the part of the Prince
of Wales to use liis powerful influence in
favor of amnesty to tho Fenian prisoners.
Great national festivals ought to bo marked
by great acts of mercy on the part of the
governmont, and England has not yet
treated Ireland with that true justice which
entitles her to look upon rebellion as an un
jmrdonablo sin. Mr. Disraeli was prevented
by illness from attending the banquet and the
ball which tho city gave to the Prince, but it
? in his power to utilize the festival for the
benefit of his own administration and the
good of the United Kingdom.
The Revolt at Constantinople.
Constantinople nitty Bend ub any tiny some
very bad news?news of a repetition of the
tragedy of Salonica on a far more extensive
scale. In any city in the world it would be
a horrible event for tho scum of the peoplo
to bo arrayed against all who are socially
their superiors. Paris once had a faint taste
of tho possibilities of such an occurrence.
Jt once saw for a few days what might hap
pen it all tho repressive machinery that com
monly preserves order is set aside and the
ferocious instincts of the mob are freed from
every restraint. All who are familiar or have
only a slight knowledge of the darker side
of life in London can conceive the carnival
that city would furnish in such circum
stances, and even here the people have
once or twice had a vague sense of this hor
ror. But in every city in a Christian country
some thought of humanity, some ray of com
punction, would mitigate the evil, as, even
at^tlie worst moment of the Paris community,
the city was in a condition of tranquil secu
rity compared to what it might have been.
But the Sultan's capital is the only city
in .Europe where murder, arson, robbery?
the general butchery of a third of the popu
lation?could bo presented to tho minds of
the perpetrators in the light of nets of the
highest virtue by the priests of tho orthodox
religion of the country. Perhaps the class
of the "ioslcm population whom tho softas
could most influence in this direction would
j not go far out of its way to perform any acts
of exalted virtue; but if acts that were agree
able to their impulses and that opened tho
way to rapino and plunder were presented
in that attractive light it would increase
tho zest with which tho knifo would be
handled. Unfortunately the world has seen
what uses may be made in Christian coun
tries, by bigotry, ambition and political in
trigue, of the zeal of the people in the cause
of a religion that toaches charity nnd good
will to all men. How much more terrible
might it be to set loose the fanatic ferocity of
a mob which is taught from infancy the bar
barous lessons that every Christian's life is an
obstacle to the progress of religious truth !
But if the crisis in which the foreign res
idents of Constantinople suddenly find
themselves shall pass away without a tragic
episode then the Christian subjects of the
Sultan will ultimately have cause to rejoice j
over the demonstration of the softas ; for
politically the effect of this event must bo to
deprive the Ottoman government of its hist
hope to resist the enforcement of such re
forms as must practically deprive Moslomism
of all power to do further harm. As an
actual government?as one of tho political
realities of the age?as an administrative
machinery, which might be held responsiblo
for the good conduct of many millions of
people?the great Powers dealt with the
Porto on terms of quasi equality ; they re
spected its existence, and they have on
this ground repeatedly refused to take
action or to permit action to be taken, on
the ground held by Russia, that this gov
ernment was only a fictitious remnant of
Asiatic conquest?a mere serpent's slough,
from which the serpent once terriblo was
gone. But now the Powers have their
eyes opened to the truth of this view. Now
they see for themselves that the government
of Turkey is in the mosques?that the Sultan
himself is the creature, the plastio tool of
tho last expression of the densest bigotry in
tho world. In the ages when the Sultan was
sustained or dethroned as he acted the
pleasure of the janissaries he was a picture
of dignity and splendor compared to this,
for it was no prejudice to the prestige of a
ruler in tho eyes of foreign nations to say
that he held his throne only at the pleasure
of the finest body of infantry in Europe.
Roman emperors hftld their thrones on no
other tenure. But the ppwer that was held
by the janissaries must exist somewhere in
every State. Countries that have no such
institutions as exist in constitutional coun
tries for giving foroe to national purposes
must havo resolute and great willed sover
eigns; and when that resort fails the power
to determine action in critical moments of
the nation's history will drift nnd lodge in
some unexpected place, and in Turkey it is
found now to have lodged with those who
make a trado of tho national religion. It"
was to no purposo, therefore, that the
janissaries were rooted out, since the Sultan
has became not independent, but only tho
slave of a more contemptible master,
though of a master capable of terrible harm.
Negotiation with the Porte by the great
Powers must now all be seen in a new light
Such negotiation" was necessarily based on
faith in tho Sultan's power to carry out any
terms he might make with others, but the
guarantee apparently given to Russia in the
appointment of a Vizier is already broken.
And if five groat Powers aro to formally con
fer and lay down a programme for the gov
ernment of Turkey, and to be treated on the
first occasion just as Russia hits now been
treated, that sort of politics will become very
farcical. It has been held by Count Andrassy
that the execution of the reforms which
would make lifo and property safe in Turkey
might be intrusted confidently to the Turk
ish authorities. Austria does not wish to see
the disintegration of Turkey at the present
moment, because she is not herself in a posi
tion to profit by it, as sho believes she may
on some happier occasion. She wishes the
day of partition to bo deferred until the
time when sho may in some degree dictate
the terms. At present, if Prussia and Russia
should agree upon the division of the spoil,
Austria could only tamely accept what they
might accord. Her only hope to secure a
Prussian support for lior view of the equi
ties of such a division would be by dan
gling in the eyes of the statesmen at Berlin the
tempting bait of a German province ; but
the statesmen at Vienna are wiso enough to
recognize that it would be a poor bargain to
purchase jven a Danubian empire at the ex
pense of ahy ono of tho little Stated whoso
possession leavens polyglot Austria with
tho spirit, energy and capacity of tho Ger
man race.
Austrian policy has, therefore, recoivod a
severo blow by the event which demon
strates the complete incapacity of tho Sultan
to "deliver" tho political goods he sells to
his neighbors, oven in very small lots. Rus
sia resisted resolutely the Austrian policy
i for many months, for the patent reason that
j it was mere nonsense to make with the Sul
I tan compacts he could nol keep. Sho wm
not willing to concode that the reforms
should bo left to the execution of the Sal
tan's authorities, but wanted them put into
the hands of a commission so strong and so
j well guaranteed that it would have been, in
| tact, an actual protectorate. But when Rus
sia saw the apparent impossibility of obtain
ing her demand she set about to see what
could be done next, and by compromise or in
, trigue obtained the appointment of a Grand
j Vizier of her choice. If she could not have
I the reforms carried out by an independent
: foreign commission she might assent to their
| execution by the Sultan, if she could choose
i an important part of the Ministry that was
; to act on these reforms. Successful in this
; compromise, her support to the programme
I was apparently secured. But now the con
I dition on which her assent was given is
j withdrawn. There is a possibility, there
; fore, that the agency of the softas has been
j brought on the scene in obedience to some
| intrigue. Russia is assumed to have as
! sented without ostensible regard to the pres
j ence of the Vizier of her choice, though cer
I tainly with an arriere penait that involved
him ; and it is thought, perhaps, that his re
moval would not justify the withdrawal of
her assent, though it will defeat her purpose
to have the reforms administered nnder her
influence.
But if they reason thus at Vienna they
reason with shallow conceptions of Prince
GortschakoflTs courage. Ho will not hesitate
when an event has thrown the whole gumo
into his hands, whether that event was pro
duced by intrigue or was the result of spon
taneous impulses.
Centennial Illusion!.
Our Philadelphia friends are awakening
from their Centennial illusions. One was
that all the people of Europe would hurry
over to their placid town and there abide for
six months. But there have been a half
dozen exhibitions in Europe within twenty
five years, and foreigners, we are afraid, do
not care enough about quartz mountains and
machinery to run the risk of a stormy mid
ocean trip.
Nor have our Philadelphia friends utilized
their advantages. Instead of accepting the
Exposition as a material benefit, the results
of which would be felt for a long time, they
have done everything to keep people from
their city. The advance in hotel rates,
which was officially announced as twenty
per cent, was a blunder. Vienna showed
this in the long range of magnificent hotels
which Btood tenantless. Philadelphia
passes through the same experience now, and
it will be June before its people are wiser.
There is no remedy lor outside extortion ex
cept the Vienna remedy ; but we are sur
prised to hear of inside extortions. Corre
spondents write us that they have to
pay unusual prices for food and beverages.
One angry German goes into details on tho
beer question. The glass, he says, is much
smaller than it should be; there is a false bot
tom, and the waiters give him one-third boer
and two-thirds froth. This may seem a
Bmall matter to write about, but any great
enterprise like this depends for its success
upon small matters. Not long since a riot
took place in Frankfort arising out of the
beer question. There had been either an in
crease in the price of the beer or a reduction
in the size of the glass-we are not quite sure
which?and the people, who had much
stronger feelings about the integrity of the
beer mug than that of the German Empire,
took to window smashing.
This .complaint from Philadelphia is
typical of the manner in which the
Centennial is managed. Thus, on the
opening day, as one of our correspond
ents noted at the time, the press accom
modations were something like tho ac
commodations vouchsafed to beef cattle on
cattle trains. We paid no attention to this,
because as a general thing we have little
sympathy with press complaints. Most of
them when sifted down turn out to be effort*
to "dead head" or blackmail, and we always
direct our own people to attend to their
business, ask no favors and accopt none.
But in commenting upon the Centennial
management this press complaint comes be
fore us as a fair idea of the manner in which
the show is managed.
The truth, we fear, is that the Centennial
is running itself. It needs a head. So far
as it represents individual energy it is well.
So far as it Bhows what a people can do
toward beautifying and aiding their city it
deserves commendation. But in the large
sense there are many things to deplore.
What was to have been a great national ex
hibition of skill, genius, energy and taste
threatens to become a county fair. The
only way to save it is for some st;ong man
in the management to take hold of it, biing
order out of chaos, stop abuses, eliminate j
the narrow, selfish spirit, prevent it from
degenerating into a mere advertising scheme
nnd make it what it was intended to be?a
World's Exposition in the largest Bcnse of
the term.
The Indian W?r.
As soon as tho fine weather begins wo have
an Indian war. This is the experience of
years, and the Heiui-d has frequently called
attention to the fact Now we havo another
proof of it. Tho Sioux are on tho warpath,
and have mossacrod our citizens on the Plains,
and, not contented with murder, have grati
fied their passions by mutilations of tho dead
bodies. Tho disorders in tho Indian Terri
tory have, as usual, compelled the govern
ment to organize a military expedition at
great expenso to punish these savages. The
old, old story will never have an end until
tho' entire Indian policy is revolutionized, j
These barbarous tribes, whose utter sav
ageness is indicated by their grotesque and
wretched names?Little Big Man, ltnn-Away
From-a-Bear, Spotted Tail, Ac.?and whoso j
actions are still more savago than thoir
words, aro fed by the United States all
winter only to light tho whites all sum
mer. It is folly to keep up the system ot
failure for tho benefit of speculators, Indian
agents and government rings, nnd for the
injury of the whole West and the discour
agement of emigration and enterprise. The
only true policy is to give the entire control
of the Indians to tho War Department. The
army is needed every summor to whip the
Sioux and the Pawnees and tho rest of tho
savages, and it would be Hotter to employ it
in preventing the hostilities which it i?
now obliged to ropprwi.
The Bayou Sara "Outrage."
The harrowing stories of riot and blood
shed in Northern Louisiana spread all over
[ the country by telegraph several days ago
I receive no continuation by subsequent ad
j vices. The fact that three or fonr days
I elapsed withont any farther intelligence
justified a suspicion that the publio had
been imposed upon by the first despatches.
Wishing to ascertain the truth we tele
graphed to our correspondent at New Orleans
to send ub an exact and unvarnished
statement of the real facts. We
printed his answering despatch yesterday,
from which it appears that the first accounts
were wild and reckless exaggerations. It
seems to be true that there was a small local
riot. Some negroes had stolen a oow, and
the natural indignation of a rural commu
nity against cattle thieves was intensified by
the circumstance that the culprits were ne
groes. The result of the disturbance was the
killing of two wRites and four negroes (two
of tho latter having been hung) and the
wounding of a few others. Most oertainly
the stealing of a cow did not justify a resort
to mob violence; but, on tho other hand,
there was no justification for the lying ex
aggerations which were scattered broadcast
over the country to excite and unsettle the
public mind and poison Northern feeling
against the South.
In justice to President Grant wo must nay
that he has acted with caution and discretion
in relation to these bloody tales. Governor
Kellogg was in Washington when they came,
and tried to induce the President to interfere;
but General Grant wisely decided to take no
sudden steps on doubtful information. It
was ridiculous for Governor Kellogg to ask
the federal government to interpose for
putting down a small local disturbance in a
remote rural corner of Louisiana. Governor
Kellogg is commander-in-chief of the Louisi
ana militia, and if ho had thought this affair
serious he should have hastened homo
and liavo dospatchod a regiment or
a few companies to Bayou Sara to
quell tile disturbance and restore
order. If there should be a local riot in
Chnutauqtia county, in this State, Governor
Tilden would not make frantio appeals to
the federal government for aid while he had
the whole militia force of the State at his
disposal and a single regiment from a neigh
boring county would be sufficient to disperse
the mob if it should find a mob assembled
on reaching tl}e spot. A State government
which applies for fedoral assistance to put
down a local riot brands itself as imbecile
and unfit to be trusted with power. We are
glad that President Grant kept his head and
declined to accede to Governor Kellogg's
foolish and cowardly request
The wild exaggerations sent abroad in re
lation to this trivial affair are to be regretf ed
as tending to influence pub'ic opinion. It
is absurd to hold the whole Southern people
responsible for every accidental local dis
turbance whioh occurs in any part of that
vast region.
Tramways and Cheap Cabs.
The sketoh of tho Paris horse-car rail
roads which is given in the Hxbald to-day
?will show that the French have not been
slow in adopting the cheap transit system of
New York. At the same time it is well
known that, despite the low fares and the
extensive accommodation of the "tram
ways" in Paris, the cabs of that city are
liberally patronized and are fairly profit
able. The principal argument against the
experiment of cheap oabs in New York has
been based on the idea that, as we have a
number of horse-car lines running through
the principal avenues of the city at cheap
fares, the travel across town would be about
all that could make a demand for cab con
veyances. But this ignores the fact that if
cabs could be hired at reasonable rates
many thousands who now travel by the
street cars would gladly pay tho extra
charge and patronize the cabs. The truth*
is, that we are on the verge of an experi
ment ; that we have not heretofore had an
opportunity of ascertaining whether cabs
would be a success or a failure in New York,
because we have never yet placed them
within the reach of the general class of citi
zens, and that .all calculations based upon
the supposition that people would not
patronize cheap cabs are a mere matter of
guesswork.
The cab proprietors are their own enemies
in this controversy. The owners and drivers
of cate are an industrious and deserving
class of men as a rule, but they fail to com
prehend that it is to their interest to estab
lish a reasonably low rate of fares for the use
of their vehicles. They have hitherto found
that few people, considering the population,
ride in hacks, and have in consequence been
disposed to make as muoh money as possible
out of their customers. IJeavy charges have
deterred persons from trying a second ex
periment with New York hacks, and thns
the business has been restricted almost
wholly to the absolute necessity of using
that means of conveyance. If the hack
drivers could be persuaded once to try the
experiment of cheap fares they would soon
find that a small profit would be attended
by an increase of patronage large enough to
seoure them a very profitable business. It
is certain that a fortune awaits any enter
prising proprietor who will place cheap calwi
at the service of the people of New York,
and it is snrprising that with so many enter
prising men in the hack business we have
not some one who will venture on the ex
periment.
Tan Situation in Turret.?The most im
portant event in the Eastern situation is the
refusal of England to join with the other
great Powers of Europe in the memorandum
to Turkey. The reasons given for this ac
tion are not without weight. The English
I government, ever sincc the downfall of tho
I imperial power in France, has been without
! nn ally on the Continent, and the conimer
' cial influence of the country has been op
I posed to any "entangling allianoes." Yet
j England will in the end join with Russia,
. Austria, Germany and France in any proper
! effort to protect tho interests of civilized
| Europe against the anachronism of Turkish
barbarity. The interests of the English in
tho East will compel them to act with other
nations in the settlement of the present ,
question. We do not believe that the pluoky ,
little island would submit to see the affairs j
of Turkey arranged without being admitted |
to the general council of nations. It is cer- j
tain, in any event, that, with England or j
without it, the troubles in Turkey must j
soon be brought to an end.
?
A Cloud ea the Democratic Pro?pect. '
The silence of the leading ^democratic or- j
gan on the fresh folly perpetrated by its I
party in Ohio is in striking contrast to the ,
scathing and contemptuous denunciations it ,
launched against the Ohio inflationists when
they first promulgated their heresy liust fall.
It seemed possible then to bring so strong a j
body of outside democratic opinion to bear
upon them as to prevent the spread of that
political epidemic. The denunciations, how
ever, failed of their aim ; for within a few
weeks the Pennsylvania democrats followed j
the O^io example. It then became the wish,
more or less openly expressed, of the party ;
in New York that the Ohio and Pennsyl
vania tickets should bo defeated, in order
that the inflationists might learn a whole
some lesson from experience and that the j
democrats of other States might profit by
their punishment. Defeated they were, in
a most signal munner ; but the inflationists
belong to that class of political Bourbons
who "learn nothing and forget noth
ing." The only effect of opposition and
denunciation Irom the hard money demo
crats of other States was to arouse their re
sentment and cause them to ascribe this
defeat to outsido interference rather than to !
the inherent weakness of their cause. In- j
stead of abandoning this insane platform :
they clung to tho wreck, and they have !
again put to sea in the same crazy craft. The j
strength exhibited by the soft money wing I
of the party in Congress during tho winter '
lias strengthened and emboldened the fol- 1
lowers of Allen, and they are certain toqmke i
a strenuous and troublosome fight in tho
National Convention.
Tho hard money democrats of other States,
seeing that such a struggle at St. Louis is in
evitable and that its issue is doubtful, do not
quite know what line of tactics they ought to
adopt. They do not dare to denounce the
inflationists with the same unsparing vigor
with which they pursued them last year, be
cause it would further inflamo and enrage
them and alarm the timid hard money demo
crats of other States for the safety and unity
of the party. If the supporters of Governor
Tilden push the quarrel to extremities the
rag money men will bolt from tho St. Louis
Convention if they cannot control it, and a
grand split in the democratic party now
would prove as disastrous as it did in 186a
The bold action and deflant attitude of the
Ohio Convention is a most untoward event
for the democratic party. There is no cer
tainty that the hard money democrats would
win at St. Louis if they should make an
aggressive fight .The ability of the soft
money demoorats in Congress to foil the
sounder wing of the party throughout the ses
sion is a bad omen which casts doubt on the
result of a determined battle in the National
Convention. If the hard money men make
the fight and get beaten the party is utterly
ruined. If they make the fight and succeed
so much violence of passion will be engen
dered by the contest that the defeated infla
tionists will bolt and run a candidate of
their own, whioh will leave the party only a
possibility?the bare shadow of a possi
bility?of carrying the election into the
House. But this faint possibility is not
worth counting on. It is not likely that the
rag money democrats could get the electoral
votes of any State ; and, in that event,
the election could not go into the House, for
the republicans would triumphantly elect
their ticket
In any event tho democratic sohism on
the currency will strengthen the republican
party. It gives it all the political capital
that is to be made out of the hard money
issue. It will be ridiculous for the demo
crats to ask the confidence of the country on
this important question in the face of the
deadlock which has prevailed during the
winter in Washington and the unabashed
boldness of tho Western inflationists.
How the Cattell* Have Wronged Robe
ion?A Chance for Andjr Oarrejr,
It now appears in evidence that A. O.
Cattell, the friend of Bobeson, pnrchasod
cottage at Long Branch for the Secretary of
the Navy, that E. G. Cattell loaned money
to Bobeson and borrowed money, and, we
suppose, loaned more than he borrowed,
bocause he now has Boboson's note for eight
thousand dollars. The Long Branch place
Cattell regards as worth thirteen thousand
dollars?a figure so low that it will surprise
holders of seaside cottages. This adds up,
according to the evidence, twenty-one thou
sand dollars in all, money and property
given to Bobeson by the Cattell*. It ap
pears, furthermore, that Bobeson so favored
the Cattells that they mado three hundred
thousand dollars in "commissions'* out of
naval supplies alone. This does not count
tho money A. G. Cattell made out of the
Syndicate in London. It appears in evi
dence that one firm which had furnished
live oak to the Navy Department for half a
century was compelled to pay the Cattells
fifty thousand dollars as "commissions."
Two things are apparent in this?first
tho princely generosity of Bobeson in al
lowing tho Cattells to make three hundred
thousand dollars; and, second, tho un
paralleled meanness of the Cattells in only
giving him twenty-one thousand dollars in
property and notes.
It is due to Garvey and Ke'yser to rescue
them from any imputation of Cattell-like
meanness. When Garvey was allowed to
make three hundred thousand dollars in
plastering and Keyser the same amount in ;
plumbing they paid the Boss and his eon- ?
federates sometimes as much as sixty-six
per cent. Cattell only pays seven per
cent If Mr. Bobeson is a prudent man
ho will send tho Cattells about their business
and ask Garvey and Keyser to look after the
"commissions." The sun will not shine
after March 4, and. he should make his hay
now.
Lost Bcots.?Any changes in the guides
to ocean navigation are of importance to our
commerce, and the announcement that the
buoys on Lone Bock, Old Man's and Sand
Hammock, in Vineyard Sound, have been
gone since the 1st of May, will, therefore, be
read with interest by merchants and sailors.
Chriitlaa CaaknmMt
Brooklyn is loading just now as the ettj
of religions gatherings. On Wednesday th en
eloaed in that city the annual Convention ol
the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Long
Island. Seven year* ago the island was created
a diocese, and ita growth, under the adminis
tration of Bishop Littlejohn, has been one ol
the marvels of the Chnrch in this region.
Sixty-fonr parishes arc in nnion with the Con
vention, bnt there are many more than this,
including mission stations, which number
sixteen in the diocese. There are ninety
five clergymen of the Church on the island,
and very much of the wealth and respec
tability and culture of the population is
represented in the Church. The Conven
tion was large and dignified and its delibera
tions covered all the interests of the dioceso,
including the ministry, the parochial, Sun
day school and mission wants of the Church.
Some of the discussions were warm and
earnest, but they were conducted with the
utmost feeling of good humor, so that no
jar was heard throughout the proceedings.
The Convention deeply felt the ab
sence of Bishop Littlejohn, who has been
visiting the European missions of the Ameri
can Protestant Episcopal Church, and while
abroad has been bereaved in the death of his
son-in-law. This loss has detained him a
few weeks later than he intended to be away,
but the Convention, with feelings of kindly
sympathy for him, recommended the Bishop
to study his own and family's health in his
return home.
On Thursday morning another, a larger
and more important branch of the Church of
Christ convened also in Brooklyn. The Gen
eral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States (North) gathered in
the Tabernacle. This body consists of
five hundred delegates or commissioners,
representing more than four thousand
ministers and one hundred and seventy
three Presbyteries from Maine to California,
besides missions of the Church in every
quarter of the world. Delegates from India,
China, Japan, Western Africa and South
America are present, so that even the most
distant interests of the Church will not
fail to receive duo consideration. Of the
delegates present a majority are in mid
dle life and not a few come here lor the
first time, so that New York and Brook
lyn and their appointments and surround
ings are new to them. But they will
receive a warm welcome in Brooklyn, and
when a couple of weeks henoe they prepare
for home it will be with regrets at parting
from such warm friendB. An indication of
the welcome that awaits them here was given
on Wednesday evening by Dr. Talmage and
his deaoons in the church prayer meeting,
and several of the delegates expressed theii
joy at the cordial reception they had met
everywhere. This hearty greeting was re
peated on Thursday by the newly elected
Moderator, Dr. Van Dyke, of Brooklyn, so
that the commissioners already feel quits
at home among their new made friends.
Important questions will oome before
this body, and the very best and ablest
men of the denomination have been sent
hither .to consider and act upon them. The
proceedings of the Assembly will be given in
the Heiiald from day to day. Yesterday an
important paper was presented by the dele
gates from the Presbytery of Newark, N. J.,
touching the relation of the Presbyterian
Church to the Oerman population of our
country. The Germans ha become so
great an element in the Unite States, and
their influence in the future promises to be
so weighty, it is high time that all the re
ligious bodies made note of the faots and
sought by increased efforts to win them to
Christ
The Improvement* at Hell Gate.
We publish on another page an article
descriptive of the general plan of these in
teresting operation3, the causes which ne
cessitated the undertaking and the effects
likely to be produced by its successful com
pletion. The experience of the past half a
century, during which New York has been
growing steadily in commercial importance,
has gone to prove that as long as Hell Gate
remains a gate of terror and difficulty to the
navigator so long will a large portion of the
island of Manhattan and of tho neighboring
counties of Queens and Westchester remain
barred out from any share ot the prosperity
which has settled upon the lower parts of
New York, Brooklyn and Jersey City. The
intelligence and energy which have governed
the operations are highly creditable to the
distinguished engineer in charge, and New
Yorkers may point with justifiable pride to
a great worki designed and executed for the
benefit of the city, which must be regarded
as one of tho best illustrations of American
engineering, both in point of conception and
execution. Truly, tho skill and audacity of
man are every day demonstrated to be supe
rior to almost every obstacle which nature
erects to bar our advancement. We have
seen oceans tied together by the iron links of
the railroad and seas commingling their
waters in spacious transisthmian ship canals.
The mountain chains aro perforated and
roads constructed through their rocky bowels.
Time is set aside by our telegraphs and dia>
tance annihilated by tho messenger light*
ning. The creation of new seas in Asia,
Africa and Western America is gravely con
sidered and deemed practicable, and here at
oar doors our engineers dig the rocks out of
rushing cataracts and burrow under whirl
pools or lower the bed of a river bodily
without disturbing its flow. Surely these
aro achievements in- the physical sciences
which go far beyond the wildest dreaming!
of the Eastern story teller, who had to call
in the aid of supernatural agencies to render
the wonders he related intelligible to hie
hearers. Onr slaves of the lamp are thf
busy miners who dig tho tunnels and gal
lories at Hell Gate for two dollars a day.
Our winged horses nro locomotives. The
mythioal roc is represented by the bdloon
of the scientific observer, and, with cur talis
mans of iron and diamond drille, we say
"open sesame" to the rocky gateways of n&>
ture, and they open at tho word.
Our Old People aro not old enough.
Now here is a young lady of ninoty-one
years talking about the Revolution. Then
we have a young gentleman of ninety who
had the honor of being blessed by General
Washington. A third youth of only seventy
eight can hardly mail the Revolution, bwl