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W.'a*. HiBKHiLK,!’ Kdltwra and Proprietors.
NEWS OF THE WEEK.
EAST.
Four hundred men have “been dis
charged from the iron mines at Port Oram,
N. J., and five hundred will be discharged
from the Hibernia mines next Saturday. The
wages of those retained, has been reduced to
$1.25 cents per day from $1.50.
A gipsy fortune-teller encamped with
a tribe a few miles from Brooklyn, N. Y.,
qaarretoj with the lea-lex of the hand- lie
struck l&r, and her son, a boV. knocked him
down. The leader fired several shots at the
boy. The latter,, who was hit, staggered to
ward ttte leader and stabbed him in the arm.
The leader then shot the boy through the
heart. The boy was thrown into one of the
wagons, and the band hastily left.
United States war vessel Gettysburg
has arrived at New York, with instruments and
appliances for the scientific corps engaged to
make observations of the transit of Venus.
The stores contain five seta of houses and
tents, besides scientific instruments, which in
clude fivs epiendid clocks, each worth nearly
$1,300. The value pf the material is said to be
about SI,OOO. The officers of the Swartara
laugh at the scientific men, who, among their
supplies for the expedition, hare supplied se*-
tional houses for Hobartown, a place of 8,000
inhabitants.
WEST.
Dispatches frqm eastern Oregon indi
cate that the democrats eleot entire state
ticket. Eighteen counties give Grover 584
majority!
The managers of the Chicago and Al
ton railroad lraviDg reduced the wages to $45
a month for old handstand S4O for new, a
general strike of brakemen has taken place,
It is quite provable a general suspension of
business' 6n the road will be caused by the
strike.
The National Crop Reporter estimates
the wheat acreage of Illinois, Indiana, lowa,
Kansas, Minnesota Missouri. Ohio and Wis
consin at 14,812,314 acres against 13,500,000
last year, and predicts a yield of 200,000,000
bushels. The Colorado beetle has appeared
in all the states north of the Ohio.
A Kansas paper says : “ The historic
$7,000 package which Col. York flourished iu
the memorable joint convention of the Kansas
legislature is again engaging public attention.
Mr. Francis, the new state treasurer, has re
ceipted for it, and reports it among the list of
valuable jrapers in his keeping. What to do
with it is the all-absorbing question. York,
who surrendered it as bribe money, will have
none of ii„ Pomeroy claims that it was given
to York in trust for Cage, who has relinquished
all claim to if. TfeuCe, there appears*to oa iio
owner.”
Gen. Sheridan forwards to army head
quarters copies of telegrams received from
Gen. Geo. A. Custer, dated Fort Abraham
Lincoln, via Bismarck,- ’May 26, announcing
that lie* in receipt of dispatches from Stan
ley and tifc.e Indian agent at Cheyenne, stating
that are no-longer controllable by
their agents. In spite of the efforts of Gen.
Staulofand their agent, they have taken the
war paiitin formidable numbers. With regard
to thJ manner.of dealing with the Indians,
Gen. Stanley says to Gen. Custar : ‘‘They are
not lik|ly to be amenable to soft words, and
you haft better use powder and lead at once.”
When An proper time comes for pursuit of
the InAiaias arrives, Gen. Custar will take ten
days’ raihjfw and one company of infantry to
guard rnp wagens when ever it becomes neccs
saiy cavalry to move rapidly.
SOUTH.
It is believed that the present wheat
crop will lie the largest that was ever raised in
the south.
The supreme court of Louisiana has
decided that levee bonds issued under act
number 32, of 1870, to be valid obligations of
the state. • ,
The branch of the Mississippi Central
railroad from Durant to Kosciusko was opened
for traffic last week. The event was celebra
ted at Durant. *
Iu a speech before the Memphis
chamber of commerce, Mayor League stated
that the entire business capital at that city
does not exceed three and a half million of
dollars, t , *. t.'
A Gainsville, Ga., special aimounces
the discovery of anether rich gold veiu near
Dahlouega, on the Pigeon-roost branch,
wherein the ore is rich and in immense
quantities.
A bay named Martin Oates, son of
George A. Oates of Augusta, Ga., was killed
at Athene, in tliat state, the other, day, by the
accidental discharge of a pistol in the han<ki
of a little girl.
Justice of the peace Conners and
police sergeant Chipman were shot in Bt. Ber
nard parish, Pa,, last week, by Francis Aretito
with a double-barrel shot gun loaded with
buck-shot. The wounds are dangerous.
The Kew Orleans cotton exchange
has adopted revised rules looking to a refor
mation in the handling of cotton, the object
being to prevent the peqnUarities whieh have
heretofore generally resulted in reducing the
weight of each passing bale and adding* 10,-
000 bales annually to the city crop.
The Charleston Courier says that dur
ing last week more than two .thousand pieces
of real estate in the City of Charleston have
been forfeited to the state, for the non-pay
ment of state taxes. The owners of the r rop
•rtv were unable to pay the taxes, and the
property wus offered for sale without 'finding
bidders.
A special from Nieholasville, Ky., re
ports a horrible murder on the 2d inst.
Harding, BL Masters, a much respected mer
chant of Nieholasville, went to all the saloon
keepers in that town and requested them not
to sell whisky to bis sister’s hnsbattd. All
consented except J. H. Soper, who Assaulted
Masters. N. H. Soper, a brother, interfered.
A friend of Mmus then interposed. A me
lee ensued, in wbioh \V. H. Soper. ton of the
proprietor - f>f the saloon, shot Masters in the
back through the right lung, killing him al
most instantly.
Gov. Kellogg has sent the following
message to Gen. Belknap, secretary of war:
The reliff committee report that the Buffer
ing from the overflow rCtnains unabated in At
chafalava, Lafourche and Ouachita valleys,
though there is s 'me abatement on -the banks
of the Mississippi. The committee are issuing
fully forty thousand rations daily, and in some
districts are Compelled to restriot their relief
to women and children, even where work is
not attainable for the able bodied. If the
general government would order tlio issuance
of twenty thousand daily rations from the
first appropriation, it would avert much i-of
fering.
The agricultural congress in session
at Atlanta, Ga., adopted resolutions looking
to the union of the cotton state* ami direct
trade movement without expressing prefer
ences for any port. Tne report of the com
mittee on immigration, winch was adopted,
favors land owners donating land to actual
settlers. A resolution was adopted urging the
refunding- of the cotton tax to producers.
The masters of the state granges of the cot
ton states appointed an executive committee
to urge congress to refund the cotton tax.
The reports of both meetings show .a large in
crease in the acreage of ceieals and a decrease
of cotton.
The following appointments have
been made by Governor Baxter of Arkansas:
E. H. English, chief justice, vice John Mc-
Cluro, impeached and” suspended; W. M. H.
Trapon, associate justice, vice M. L. Stephen
son, resign*: Jqfei J. Bearden and R. W.
Compton, associate justices, vice Searte and
Bennett, impeached and suspended; John
Clendeu, .-i unit vice John WHtlock,
resigned; J. C. Davis, circuit judge, vice W.
H. S. ClafrSDa*resigned; B. S. Fuller, circuit
judge, vice George A. Kingston, resigned; J.
THE STANDARD AND EXPRESS.
N. Smithee, commissioner of immigration and
state lands, vice W. H. Gray, impeached and
suspended.
Last week an aged crippled lady
named Donaldson, residing on her plantation
near Island No. 10, was brutally murdered by
a young man named Murphy, who went to
the house for the purpose of robbing Mrs.
Donaldson, who was quite wealthy, and knock
ing her down with a stub, took an ax and split
her head open. The negro woman who was in
the house give the alarm, when Murphy at
tacked her severely, she iu the meantime cry
ing murder. Two men passing heard her
cries and ran to the house, and Murphy see
ing their approach fled, but was pursued and
captured, Iu the mean time the news spread
throughout the neighborhood, and citizens
sqpn collected in considerable numbers. Af
ter hearing the statement of the negro woman
and the captors of Murphy, they hung him to
a tree until lie was dead.
foreign.
The state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, has
determined to re-establish capital punishment
for murder and other henious crimes.
A congress to consider the subject of
international rights in time of war will con
vene in Brussels the 27th of July next.
A semi-official denial is given to the
reports that the candidature of a Hohen
zollem prince for the crown of Spain is to be
revived.
An international conference to discuss
measures to prevent the spread of cholera and
for the regulation of quarantine will meet
at Yienna on the 15tli inst. All the European
powers have accepted invitations to send del
egates.
A Cuban letter says the government
has commenced the collection of the twenty
dollars per heed tax decreed some time ago
upon slave holders for each slave in their pos
session. Indications point to a sickly season.
The yellow fever has begun to make its ap
pearance, and small-pox, scarlatina and mea
sles abound.
The feeling at Versailles is gloomy.
The proposal for a dissolution of the assem
bly has been signed by 125 deputies, who have
hopes of securing in addition the signatures
of 195 members forming the left centre. The
motion for a dissolution will be presented in
the chamber at the earliest opportunity. The
left centre is determined to have & settlement
of the question of a republic or dissolution
before the August adjournment.
The insurrection at Fez has been
quelled| The sultan's troops on the 19th ult.
openqd a heavy cannonade on the town and
kept jt up for several hours. Many houses
nd stores were burned. The troops after
ward entered and sacked a portion of the
town. Ninety of the inhabitants were killed.
The loss of the troops was trifling. The in
surgents gave up tke fight and submitted, and
the sultan granted them annesty.
a The following is an extract of a pri
vate letter from Havana, received by a promi
nent Cuban and bearing date the 20th of May:
Bayume has been in possession of Cuban
forces since the 2Q4h inst. In the neighbor
hood of Crenfneges a fight took
Col. Fantalis, in charge of the Spanish forces,
was killed and his column cut to pieces. The
Cuban forces are at the gales of Manzillauo,
and will probably soon attack that place. The
Spaniards irj Havana are much depressed,.but
Mjgered against Concha, and sav he is making
money out of the island’s misfortunes, but
add that he shall not leave the place alive.
Capt. Gen. Concha has issued a de
cree intended to arrest the rapid rise of gold,
which is considered to be solely due to the re
cent law compelling importers to pay 25 per
oefit, of the duties in gold, the treasury no
longer leceiving the equivalent of this 25 per
cent, in paper, as was done at first. Concha
orders the Spanish bank to sell gold on ac
count of land to the treasury at a less com
mission than that quoted on exchange or by
brokers. Concha fixes the amount of the
premium for which gevernment gold is to be
sold daily, the rate for the current day being
posted at the entrance of the bank every
morning at 8 o’clock, so that merchants can
make their calculations before business hours.
In the English house of commons,
last week, George Anderson, member of Glas
gow, called attention to losses of British sub
jects through the escape of the Alabama and
other causes. He complained of the high
handed manner iu which the late government
had prevented timely criticism of the treaty Of
Washington. There were three classes of
British subjects who deserved compensation;
first, residents in the southern .confederacy
who lost their property through the inability
of the United States to euforce the laws; sec
ond, those whose property was destroyed after
Lee's surrender ; third, owners of goods on
board of confederate cruisers. He believed
the United States were willing recognize these
claims. Mr. Anderson then moved that iu the
opinion of the house it is wrong that individ
uals should suffer loss through a national
wrong ■. that as England has been adjudicated
at fault in permitting the escape of the Ala
bama, and has compensated Americans for
losses incurred thereby, similar compensation
is due to British sufferers from the same
causey. Mr. Burke, under secretary for the
foreign department, replying, declined to
enter upon the discussion of the merits of
flie treaty of Washington. The joint high
commissioners have decided that the United
States Government was not responsible for the
acts of rebels, and as that government had
agreed to appoint a commission to examine the
claims for losses arising after Lee’s surrender,
Be hoped the subject before the house would
ndt be pressed. The motion was then re
jected.
GENERAL.
Tom Scott has been elected to the
presidency of the Pennsylvania railroad, vice
Thompson, deceased.
The investigation into the cause of
the Mill river disaster has developed some
very damaging testimony reflecting upon the
couti'actors and proprietors of the dam.
The will of J. Edgar Thompson pro
vides that after the death of his widow the es
tate shall go to support a home fop the chil
dren of employes killed on ihe Pennsylvania
Centra l . *
Last week an explosion occurred at
No. 1 shaft, NauJicocKe. Pa.,. hunting three
miners and setting tire to the hrvaker. which
was soon destroyed. While fighting the flames,
some burning timbers fell on Wm. Vivian,
killing him instautly.
Anderson Boyd, colored, of Memphis,
was shot and fatally wounded last week by
officer J. Enny, while attempting to an-est
him for burglarizing Stanton & Moore’s store.
His partner, Stephen Bay, wto arrested and
considera®e quantities of goods found our
him. MOBiUb
The net profits of the Western Union
telegraph company fpj- the past .eight years
have been ♦'23,-077,069.23, of whieh only $4,-
857,239.34 bee been distributed as dividends.
The remaining 79 per cent, has been spent
mainly in the extension of lines, erection of
buildings, etc. t ■_ f
The anti-secret men of Syracuse
condemn and secret teaqtewnce so
cieties ao,a striding menace against the reli
gion of Jesus ; they resafve to vote for no Ma
son and protest against the masonic dedication
of public hniidiitge- They.aleo determined on
forming anew national party to he osfted the
AmericanS. They’will lioltTa national conven
tion at Indianapolis, Aug. 19, 1874, to adopt &
political platform.
New Orleans dispatches state that
Chas. Claiborne, late clerk of the United
States district court, absent since the 14th of
May. is now reported absconded with a large
amount of money belonging to litigants, esti
mated at from $30,000 to $40,000. The La.
Patrons' relief company of the stale grange
have been doing good service iu rendering as
sistance to the members pf the order in the
overflowed districts. They appeal tar further
aid to grangers throughout the union.
At the session of the Reformed Pres
byteri&n Synod, held recently at Philadelphia,
the committee on the order known as Patrons
of Husbandry and Grangers, presented a re
port which states that they emphatically and
unequivocally condemn this and all other se
cret orders, as ensnaring, deceptive and sin
ful in themselves, as prejudicial to the beet in
terests of society, and as a lawless an<} ineffi
cient wav of obtaining the redress of griev
ances. They also recommend the synod to
enjoin upon all sessions non-fellowship with
members of this or any other secret order
and warn all under their care to beware of the
ensnaring influences of such organizations.
The report was adopted by a unanimous vote.
The will of John Elgar Thompson
appoints trustees. After providing for his
wife, two sisters, a niece and a nephew, said
trustees are to appropriate the remainder of
the net income of the estate, after payments
specified, or so much of it as may judiciously
be applied thereto, to the education and main
tenance of the female orphans of railroad em
ployes whose fathers may have been killed
while in the discharge of their duties. Pre
ference is to given first to the orphans
of employes engaged upon the Pennsylvania
railroad; second to those ‘of the Georgia
railroad, between Augusta and Atlanta, Ga. ;
third, to those of the lines controlled by
the Pennsylvania railroad by lease or other
wise ; fourth, to those of the employes of any
other railroad company of the United States of
America. The estate is valued at two mil
lions.
CONGRESSIONAL.
In the senate, on the 2d, the commit
tee on appropriations reported the pension
bill with an amendment. The amendment
proposes that the pension agent’s fee of 30
cents *be reduced to. 25 cents, instead of 20
cents, as provided by the house The com
mittee on finance reported back the bill to
amend the customs revenue laws and to re
peal moieties, with a number of additional
amendments... .The Indian appropriation till
was passed, and the senate went into execu
t ve session and soon after adjourned.
In the house, on the 2d, the bill in
relation to courts and judicial officers in Utah
came up, and an amendment requiring lists to
be made up of male citizens without regard
to their religion, politics, or social positions,
was debated at length and finally rejected.
ihe bill was then passed—ls 9 to’ss The
remainder of the day’s session was given to
the business of the committee on public
buildings and grounds.
In the senate, on the 3d, house bill
to amend the charter of the Freedman's hank
was passed. The bill authorizes the appoint
ment of three commissioners by the comp
troller of the currency to wind up the affairs
of the company The committee on finance
reported favorably on house bill explanatory
of the act of June 30, on saving banks, with
an amendment, which was agreed to, and the
bill passed. It exempts from taxation all de
posit niti institutions which do business only
as savings banks, the same as deposits iu sav
ings institutions having no capital, and as
though they have capital stock or bonds for ad
ditional security of their depositors, and pay
dividends thereon ; “and ho tax shall be as
sessed on the deposits made in such institu
tions, or collected of them on said deposits,
otherwise than as herein provided ; that all
profits of such savings banks less the afore
mentioned - dividends on stock, not exceeding
the rate of eight per centum per annum, are
divided among the depositors, and that the
stock is invested in the same class of securi
ties as is issued for invested deposits: that
the interest, at a rate of not less than 4W per
cent., shall be paid, in all oases, to their depos
itors, to be made good, if necessary, from the
Capital stock.”... .The pension bill was passed.
It appropriates $29,880,000, a decrease of $550,-
000, as compared with the bill of last year..,.
The resolution to promote cheap transporta
tion was taken tip and debated until the close
of thu’session. *> ,
' In the house, on the 3d, senate amend
ments to- the army appropriation hill were con
sidered, and some of them being non
concurred in a committee of conference
was ordered A bill- extending to the 3d of
March, 1875, the time for presenting petitions
for allowance of claims to commissioners of
claims, in all cases where sufficient reason is
shown for their lion-presentation within the
time prescribed by law, was recommitted....
.The bill for the improvement of the mouth of
the Mississippi river, being the Eads’ project,
was under discussion when the house ad
journed.
In the senate, on the 4th, bills to re
lieve the legal and political disabilities of Fitz
Hugh Lee and Van R. Morgan, of Virginia,
were passed The remainder of tho session
was devoted to discussion of the resolution on
oheap transportation.
In the house, on the 4th, bills were
passed for the further security of navigation
on the Mississippi, aud to authorize the build
ing of a bridge across that river at La Crosse,
Wis A bill for deepening the channel at
the mouth of the Mississippi passed .without
discussion. The bill proposes to have the work
done by contract, proposals to specify rates
for seeuri ig twenty feet of dap Ji and not less
than two hundred feet in width through the
channel of one of the passes or outlets of the
Mississippi river into the guif of Mexico, at
ordinary flood tide: also price per month of
.maintaining such depth for five years • also
rates for every additional foot in depth np to
and including twenty-seven feet Tho_ secre
tary is to contract with the lowest responsible
bidder, the amount not to exceed $150,000 for
twenty feet, or more than $1,500 per month
for maintaining that depth, or more than $3,-
000 per month for each additional foot
Senate amendments to the miltary academy
bill were ooiwmrred In."’. .A bill Avas intro
duced to increase the tax on fermented liquors
to $2 a barrel The house ttien resumed con
sideration of the bill for the improvement of
the mouth of the Mississippi, on what is
known as the Eads plan. It comes up again
to-morrow.
In the senate, on the sth, the bill for
the relief of certain settlers on public lands in
Minnesota ansi lowa was passed A resolu
tion to pay Francis A. Sykes, late contestant
for a seat in the senate from Alabama, the
salary of senator from March 4th, 1873, to
May 2d. 1874, and one mileage each way,
amounting in tlia aggregate to $8,874, was laid
over The bill to provide for the distribu
tion df public documents was debated, and the
sanate adjourned.
In the house, on the sth, a bill was
passed to admit articles for the centennial ex
hibition free of duty The bill for the con
struction of th? Fort St. Phillip’s canal was
adopted—l4o to 28. ( tilewhere will be found
the full text of the biITA
In the seuate, on the Bth, the reports
of the conference commltteeaxin the disagree
ing votes of the two houses on the bill to re
vise,'consolidate and amend'the laws relating
to pensions, aud on the bill to increase the
pensions of soldiers and sailors who have been
totally enabled, were agreed to A bill was
passed—34 to 1(8 —for the- better organization
of the district courts within the state of Louis
iana.... .House bill fixing the time for the
election of representatives from the state of
Pennsylvania to the forty-fourth coiogress wae
passed Consideration was resumed of the
bill relating to the distribution of public docu
ments. which was laid over aud the moiety
bill taken up aud debated till the close of the
session.
In th§ house, on the Bth, Mr. Butler,
of Mas each setts, moved to suspend the rules
and tiH© from the speaker's talue senate civil
rights bill, and refer it to the judiciary com
mittee. with the right to report at any time.
The motion was rejected—lß6 to 186—not two
thirds in the affirmative The bill for the
admission of Colorado as a state was passed—
-170 to 65 The president presented the con
ference reports of the bill on pension laws,
and tb* hill regulating pensions for total dis
abilities, which were agreed tc The house
took up the Louisiana contested election case
of Bheridau aud Piuehback. Speeches in sup
port of .the majority report were made bv
Messrs. Smith and Syplier, and against it by Mr.
Lamar The discussion closed with speeches
from the contestants, and the subject was
> postponed til* to-morrow.
The; King of Hawaii is becoming
alarmed lest- bis valnable subjects be
come extinct, living nobody for him to
“boss,” Says this royal idiot: “Now
wliat can I do to mark ray reign—what
shall be done to signalize jt ? This js
my great desire—to witness an increase
in the population of these islauds. But
I can not do this alone ; you must assist
me. The father who provides for a
large family, and the mother who gives
birth to them and takes good care of her
children, are the benefactors of Hawaii,
and should be rewarded. They are the
hope of the nation.”
CARTERS VILLE, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17. 1574.
IS IT COJIEI
Is it come 7 They said on the banks of the Nile,
Who looked for the world’s long-promised day,
And saw but the strife of Etypt’n toil,
And the desert sands and the mountains gray,
From pyramid, temple, and treasured dead,
We ask in vain for her wisdom’s plan;
They tell of the slaves and the tyrants dread,
But there was hope when that day began.
The Chaldee came with his starry lore
That built up Babylon’s crown and creed,
And bricks were stamped on the Tigris shore
With signs that our sages scarce can read.
From Ninus’ temple aud Nimrod’s tower,
The sway of the old east’s empire spread,
Unreasoning faith and unquestioned power;
But still “ Is it come ? ” the watcher said.
The light of Persian’s worshiped flame, ’
The ancient bondage its splendor threw,
And oace on the west a sunrise came
When Greece to its freedom’s trust was true.
With hopes to the utmost ag s dear
With human gods and god-like men.
No marvel the fur-off day-seemed near
To eye 9 that looked through her laurels then.
The Roman conquered and reveled too,
Till honor and faith aud power were gone;
But deeper Old Europe’s darkness grew,
As wave after wave the Goth came on.
The gown was learning, the sword was law,
The people served iu the oxen’s stead,
But ever some gleam the watchers saw,
And evermore “ Is it come 7 ” they said.
Poet and seer that question caught
Abote the din of life's fears and frets,
It marched with letters, it toiled with thought
Through schools and creeds that the world for
gets ;
And statesmen trifle aud priests deceive
And traders barter our hearts away,
Yet hearts to that golden promise cleave,
And still at times “ Is it came 7 ” they say.
The days of the nations bear no ‘race
Of all that sunshine so far foretold.
The cannon speaks in the teacher’s place ;
The age is weary with work aud gold ;
And high hopes wither and memories wane;
On hearts and altars the fires are dead ;
But that brave faith has not lived in vain,
And this was all our watcher said.
FLIRTS ANI) FLIRTATION.
“ But I am afraid she is a great flirt. ’
“Yes; but not half as bad as he is.”
These two remarks I could not help
overhearing the other day in the “ row,”
and a very strong desire came over me
to politely accost the authors—two
nice-looking, gentlemanly persons—and
ask them if they would kindly favor
me with a definition of the word “flirt.”
I do not believe that there is any word
in the English language which has a
less distinct meaning and conveys such
different impressions to different
minds. You sit next to a lively and
amusing young lady at dinner, and
find that her conversational powers, if
not vastly intellectual, are at all eyents
quick, and as. there is a cousiderable
freshness and some amount of origin
ality in her remarks, you talk the whole
of dinner time, and are not unwilling
to renew the conversation when you
meet in the drawing-joom afterwards.
After yonr fair young friend, to whom
perhaps you are principally indebted
for having spent a very pleasant even
ing, has been carried home by her
mamma, you casually remark to your
hostess, “ How very agreeable Miss
Dash is. ’ Whereupon madam rejoins,
“Oh ! yes, she is very vivacious, but I
fear she is a sad flirt.” “ Anything but
sad,” you said to yourself : “ but liow,
flirt ? In what way does that indefin
able word apply to the charming Miss
Dash?” You recollect that at a ball two
or three nights ago you were introduced
to Miss Blank, and your friend who in
troduced you warned you previously
that she was “an awful flirt, you
know.” Well, yon find that Miss Blank
had a way of leaning very heavily on
your arm, looking up dreamily into
your eyes before she answered the most
commonplace remark, and holding your
hand with almost masculine grasp when
waltzing ; or, should you be the sharer
of her toils through the Lancers, you
discovered that she had a habit of
greeting yon with a smile and a shake
of the hand whenever yon met her in
the last figure of that mazy dance.
Her conversational powers you soon be
come aware, were limited. She ap
peared to think it to be her tneek duty
to hang upon yonr words with a fasci
nating gaze—if I may use such an ex
pression--and to look as if she invested
every trifling remark you made with a
sublime dignity far beyond the occasion.
True, she never seemed in a hurry to
be taken to her chaperone, and pos
sessed wonderful faculties for imbibing
tea and lounging in a quiet corner till
her next partner discovered her, and if
Bhe-was not engaged for the next dance
she evidently expected volt .to “ sit it
out ” with her. Rut her behavior has
not assisted you towards the informa
tion you thirst for as to the meaning of
the term “ flirt,” for, as far as jou can
divine her character, proverbially gal
lant as you are, yon cannot resist the
impression that in Miss Blank’s case
flirt is only another word for bore,
and flirt is certainly the prettier ex
pression of the two. On another occa
sion—say at a picnic or in a grand stand
—you find yourself next to Mrs. Three
stars, who is apparently eight and
twenty, or thereabouts, ahd who has, to
your knowledge, four ot five charming
children (supposing, of course, that
you allow that child en ever can be
charming), and whose lively rattle and
t raceful manners compel you to con
fess as you dress for dinner that you
hav9 really paSßed a much more pleas
ant day than yoU had anticipated. In
the course ot dinner, v.hile you are
silently wishing that Mrs. Threestars
were sitting beside you instead of the
inane beauty or duil old dowager to
whom the exigencies of “going down
to dinner ” have alloted you, you hear
the name of the lady you are thinking
of mentioned. Somebody—some kind
soul who never would say an unkind
word, except from a sheer sense of
duty—instantly remarks : “ Oh, yes !
she is very nice, but I am afraid she is
a dreadful flirt.” Again that incompre
hensible wo: a. It seem to be like the
rain which falls upon the just and the
unjust. The notion of Mrs. Threestars
and Miss Blank being joined in the
same category. What can it all mean ?
You turn to the dowager by your side
and say :
“Do you know Mrs. Threestars, Mrs,
Propper ?”
Mrs. Propper (fanning herself) —“I
am acquainted with her, Yes.”
You—“ I have met her. She seems
to me to be very entertaining.”
Mrs. Propper—“ I believe she is a
great favorite with gentlemen.”
You —“ Not with ladies !”
Mrs.Propper—“Well, you see, there
are certain men whom you call dispar
agingly ladies’ men ; and so I suppose
there are ladies who are—who are—”
You—(savagely determining not to
help her out) —“Who are what?”
Mrs. Propper—“Don’t you under
stand ? Well—more at home in men’s
society than in women’s. ”
You—“Ah ! And is that the meaning
of the v/ord flirt which I hoard just
now applied to our friend Mrs. Three
stars ?”
Mrs. Propper—“Perhaps it is.”
You— “ Then we men ought to feel
deeply indebted to flirts, and highly
honored by their preference. I sincere
ly hope that yon are a flirt, Mrs. Prop
per.”
You say this with an innocent look
and a genial langh, and Mrs. Propper,
so Tar from regarding you as an impru
dent young man, is evidently much
pleased with you ; begins to ta k to you
volubly, having hitherto somewhat dis
regarded you; and you are quite satis
fied that as far as you understand the
word, Mrs. Propper is quite as worthy
the name of flirt as Mrs. Threestars or
Miss Black herself. So you no on, en
deavoring by an exhaustive process of
experimental inquiries to find out the
differentia of the species of flirt.
It may be said that the only person
who has ever suooeeded in accurately
describing a flirt ia Mr. Tennyson in his
poem “Lady Clara Vere de Yere.”
But then she was a flirt of a truly por
tentous type; her pastime was put an
end to by the coarse suicide of an ex
cellent youth, and she laid herself ppen
to being called a very bad name by the
youth’s mother. But then it must be
remembered that Lady Clara Vere de
Yere was a great heiress; and it is quite
possible that “young Laurence” cut
his throat quite as much out of disap
pointment at not being ford and master
of the balls and towers” as at -being
met with “a vacant stare and there
fore we are not quite satisfied that it
was the flirtation alone that induced the
youth to put an end to what, under
more favorable circumstances, might
have been a useful career. Ands 6 the
moral of the tale is lost in obscurity, or
at least is doubtful. For if “ young
Laurence,” after all, as is quite possi
ble* only sought Lady Clara for her
wealth, we cannot but feel that the.
“ simple yoeman,” who took upon hint
self to rebuke her ladyship so scorn
fully, indulged in undeserved iDvee
tive. Besides, might not this same
“ simple yoeman” have been somewhat
conceited, or at least hasty, in presum
ing that Lady Clara was endeavoring to
get up a flirtation with him ? Even the
Poet Laureate has not succeeded iu
clearing away the nebulosity that sur
rounds the nature of the flirt.
Dr. Johnson defines a flirt “ a pert
hussy,” aud very likely this is the defin
ition which would be selected by Mrs,
Propper, and middle-aged ladies of her
way of thinking, as correctly describing
young ladies whose conduct they chose
to qualify as “forward,” and who in
the result have the advantage over the
Misses Propper in the matter of matri
monial alliances. But men generally have
a very different notion of a flirt, and
frequently the girl who is called a flirt
in the smoking-room would never be
suspected of any such propensities by
matronly gossip* at five o'clock tea.
No; the laughing, lively, talkative, and
per ha’s somewhat boisterous gill,
whose animal spirits and innocent be
liefs and delights stir the bile of dowa
agers whose youth has gone forever,
and possibly pinch themselves for not
having enjoyed it more while it was
theirs to enjoy, are never regarded by
the males as “ dangerons characters.”
It is only the vfcry, very young man.,
who does not know when girlish spirits
are natural find when they are forced,
and who cannot distinguish between the
allurements of the experienced siren and
the natural fascinations of the light
hearted vestal—between Venus ’and Di
ana. The fatal flirt, who alone’is to be
dreaded, does not attempt to assume
the artlessness of blossoming girlhood.
On the contrary, she assumes the expe
rienee of a tried woman who knows
something of thj& sins and sorrows of
life. How mnfeh or how little she i
knows she carefully veils in sighs and I
mournful looks. Vanity she possesses i
in an inordinate degree, but she hides !
it unscrupulously beneath an appearance j
of astonishment when her victim first 1
gives her to understand that he likes !
her rather better than her sisters.
What is there about her, she asks with |
admirably feigned simplicity, that any- I
body should take such a fancy to her ?.
Oh, no! he must be mistaken; or,
worse, he is endeavoring to deceive her,
and that is not kind. For she has suf
fered—ah, yes ! she has suffered. She
has learned, to her cost, that man is
dreadfully selfish, and is it possible that
any man can be an exception to the
rule ? And so, with soft voice and ex
pressive eyes, shfe adds another fool to
her long list. She possesses more j
worldly wisdom than Lady Clara, and
does not fix a vacant stare on the lover
she wants to be 6ff as the new one hi
coming on. She is clever at contriving
quarrels, but she is especially careful
not to put herself in the wrong. She
plays the sad and disappointed role, and
tears are in her eyes as she gently says,
“I think it better for both that we
should forget all that has passed ; but,”
she adds tenderly, “let us part friends.”
She has certainly the wisdom of the
sei-pent, if nature" has denied her the in
nocence of the doVe. Her heart is,
doubtless, a passionate one, but a very
little satisfies it, and she never lets it
get the better of her bead. She has
quite made up her mind to marry com
fortable, and she is very careful never
to go too far in the experiments she
makes, However checkered her ball
room Career, she never loses sight of
the wedding breakfast and the marriage
settlements. The motives of her pre
nuptial conduct are to be found in a
restless vanity. Her one great delight
is to believe that somebody is in love
with her. She is never so happy as
When site has reason to think that some
man or other is fool ehcTtlgh to prowl
about the house where she lives and id
iotically stare at a bedroom window
which he thinks is hers. To draw men
away from other women is her great
triumph, and she is in her glory when
partners eagerly vie with each other in
claiming her for waits! and gallop. She
reads and re-reads with swelling pride
the warm letters dictated by passion she
knows to be hopeless, and her replies
would excite the admiration of a veteran
diplomatist. Occasionally she catches
a Tartar—a male flirt as cunning as her
self, but her instinct and her tact are
quicker and superior, and she rarely
falls into the snare that she has laid for
others. Eventually she marries well
aud makes an excellent wife, though she
is apt to look uncommonly keen after
her husband. She denounces flirts with
an irrepressible energy, and her daugh
ters grow up models of circumspect be
havior. How far such a character is to
be congratulated on its success, or how
far it is to be pitied for its littleness or
condemned for its contemptible selfish
ness, I have bo desire to say.
“Bnt this won’t do,” I hear some
fair reader exclaim. “The fanlt of
flirting does not rest with ns alone.
Don’t gentlemen ever flirt, if you
please ?”
Ah ! Mademoiselle, that is just the
one point in which we find it impossible
to criticise olie another. We can pass
our opinions freely upon our friend’s
horses, his tailor, his social qualities,
his style of living, his intellectual ca
pacities, his temper, his income, his
debts—and we can praise or blame
pretty generally as our inclination or
our reason may dictate; bnt I assure
you we are gifte 1 with extreme reti
cence if any youngster amongst ns ven
tures to remark upon Asterisk’s sup
posed successes among women. Aste
risk never mentions such things himself
in men’s society, or if he does it is with
a sigh and respectful stroke of liis
moustache. Nobody would think of
calling him a ladies’ man, or ehaffiDg
him about any girl he thought fit to
dance with several times at same ball.
We have shrewd suspicions that Aste
risk’s affectionate nature but roving dis
position has caused more than one
bright eye to grow dim, and more than
one heart to palpitate in a disorderly
manner ; and we have heard stern mam
mas, who were very polite to him when
they first knew him—for our friend has
considerable expectations—speak stern
ly of him and call him a dangerous
man, and cluck to their chickenß to
come under their wings when he is
abroad in the ball-room. But we never
think of calling him a flirt. And if we
plainer and less interesting people envy
in a certain way his successes, we never
feel any malice towards him, for he has
a remarkable knack of keeping clear of
jealousies, and is scrupulous about
poaching on other people’s preserves.
At least, so we agree in the smoking
room, when we talk about him. True,
there is one old fogy—let us call him
Major Pendennis—who wags his head
solemnly when Asterisk is mentioned,
and he has said on more than one occa
sion, “You are very generous, and I
like you for it. Asterisk is a doosid
pleasant fellow—no mistake about that.
But he’ll overdo it one of these days,,
Mark my words, he’ll overdo it. And
we shall all be sorry for it. Hang the
rascal ! he will have our sympathy
when we see him figure as a co-respon
dent in the divorce court, instead of
compelling onr excrations as a fiendish
disturber of domestic happiness.” Let
us hope that the major’s gloomy proph
ecy will not be fulfilled. —London So
ciety.
BASCOMB’S BABY.
Ai Admiring Frfeiifi and an Eurap
tureci Motiier.
She brought it over to our house, Mrs.
Bascomb did. It was their first—a wee
little red-faced, red-headed, pug-nosed,
howling infant. It was one of the hot
test days in July, but she had it wrap
ped up in three shawls and a bedqnilt,
and was in agnony every moment for
fear it would sneeze.
“Do see his darling, darling little
face !” she said to me, as she unwound
him about forty times, and looked to
see which end his feet were on.
I looked. I have been the father of
eleven just such howling little wopsies,
and I didn’t see anything remarkable
about Bascomb’s baby.
“See those eyes—that firmness of
mouth, that temper in his look !” she
went on. f
I saw them.
The little son of a gun began to get
red in the faee and beat the air, and his
mother shouted :
“ He’s being murdered by a pin !”
She turned him wrong end up, laid
him on his face, then on his back,
loosened his bands, rubbed the soles of
his feet, and the tears stood in her eyes
as she solemnly remarked :
“I know he won’t live—he’s too
smart I”
The child recovered, and as he lay on
his back across her knees and surveyed
the ceiling, she went on :
“ Such a head ! Why, every one who
sees hi m says that he is going to be a
Beecher, a Greeley or a Bismarck ; do
you notice that high forehead?”
I did. I thought he was all forehead,
as his hair didn’t commence to grow
until the back of his neck was reached,
but she assured me that I was mistaken.
“ Wouldn't I just heft him once?”
I hefted him.
I told her I never saw a child of his
weight weigh so much, and she smiled
like an angel; she said that she was
afraid I didn't appreciate children, but
now she knew I did.
“ Wouldn’t I just look at his darling
little feet—his little red feet and cun
ning toes ?”
Yes I would.
She rolled him over on his faee and
unwound his feet, and triumphantly
held them up to my gaze. I contem
plated the hundreds of little wrinkles
running lengthwise and crosswise, the
big toes and the little toes, and I agreed
with her that so far as I could judge
from the feet and the toes and the
wrinkles, a future of unexampled bril
liancy lay before that pug-nosed imp.
He began to kick and bowl, and she
stodd him on end, set him up, laid him
down and trotted him until she bounced
the wind-colic into tho middle of Sep
tember.
“ Who did he look like ?”
I bant over the scarlet-faced rascal,
pushed his nose one side, chucked him
under the chin, and didn’t answer with
out due deliberation. I told her there
was a faint resemblance to George
Washington around the mouth, but the
eyes reminded me of Daniel Webster,
while the general features had made me
think of the poet Milton ever since she
entered the house.
That was just her view exactly, only
she hadn’t said anything about it be
fore, i
“Did I think he was too smart to
live?”
I felt of his ears, rubbed his head,
put my finger down the back of his
neck, and I told her that, in my humble
opinion, he wasn’t, though he had had
a narrow escape. If his nose had been
set a little more to one side, or liis ears
had appeared in the place of his eyes,
Bascomb could have purchased a weed
for his hat without delay. No; the
child would live ; there wasn’t the least
doubt about it, and any man or woman
who said be wouldn’t grow up to make
the world thunder with his fame would
steal the wool off a lamb in January.
She felt so happy that she rolled the
imp up in his forty-nine bandages,
shook him to straighten his legs and
take the kinks out of his neck, and then
carried him home under her arm, while
my wife made me go along with an um
brella, for fear the sun would peel his
little nose.
Itedemptiou of Land Sold for Non-pay
ment of United States Taxes.
The United States own lands in Vir
ginia, South Carolina, Florida and Ten
nessee, which were bid in by the United
States commissioners at the sales held
during the rebellion for non-payment of
direct taxes. By the act of June 8,
1872, the original owners were allowed
two years in which to redeem their prop
eity on payment of tax, interest and
costs of sale. The time limited for re
demption will expire in a few days, and
many have been unable to avail them
selves of the benefit of this act. This
is especially the "ase in South Carolina,
where the lands are wholly on the Sea
Islands, in the neighborhood of Beau
fort and Port Royal. This section was
early occupied by our troops, and' the
tax commissioners, under the sanction
of President Lincoln, began a system
of confiscation of the lands for the ben
efit of tlie colored people. Many thou
sand acres were sold in lots of ten acres
each to the enfranchised blacks. Other
sales were made to army and navy pur
chasers and loyal citizens. O. course it
is only the lands remaining after these
sales that can now be redeemed by the
original owners ; but the old plantations
have been so much cut up in this way
that the confusion of boundaries is very
great, and much difficulty has been ex
perienced in determining to whom the
lands belonged. Besides, many of the
owners in South Carolina are so much
impoverished as to be unable at pre
sent to pay the small amount necessary
to effect redemption. In view of these
facts the ways and means committee
have agreed to report as an addition to
the internal revenue and tariff bill, now
under considerstion in the house, an
amendment to the act of Jnne, 1872, ex
tending the time of redemption for one
year, with some other provisions which
will serve more fully to carry into effect
the intent of the act.— Wash. Special
to N. Y Tribune.
Anecdotes of French Artists.
Some curious anecdotes are told of
♦he leading artists and their works in
the Paris salon. For instance, it is said
that the “ Christ on the Cross” of M.
Bonnat was painted from an actual
dead body, and that the artist for a
week was forced to live in an atmos
phere of chloride of lime ! Munkaezy,
the Hungarian painter, whose works
now readily command from five to six
thousand dollars each, according to the
papers, and who is making a comforta
ble income of some $20,000 per annum,
was originally employed in a shop of a
trunk and packing-box maker, and it
was his skill in tracing vases find cups,
etc., on the boxes intended to contain
chinaware that first revealed his artistic
talent.
Mrs. Sartobis is gentle and amiable.
If* the brave young Englishman who is
her husband had married a woman of
the disposition peculiar to a good many
American women, he would in less than
two weeks imagine that be was being
hen-pecked by the American eagle.
RESUMPTION.
An Authoritative Expression on the Sub
ject from President Grant.
The president has authorized the pub
lication of the following memorandum,
expressing his views upon financial
questions :
I believe it a high and plain duty to
return to a specie basis at the earliest
practicable day, not only in compliance
with legislative and party pledges, bnt
as a step indispensable to lasting nation
al prosperity. I believe farther that
th- time has come when this can be
done, or at least begun, with less em
barrassment to every branch of indus
try tlyin at any future time, after resoit
has been had to unstable and temporary
expedients to stimulate an unreal pros
perity and speculation on a basis other
than coin as the recognized medium of
exchange throughout the, commercial
world. The particular mode selected
to biiDg about the restoration of the
speeie standard is not of so much con
sequence as that some adequate plan
be devised, a time fixed *lien the cur
rency slial 1 be exchangeable for coin at
par, and the plan adopted rigidly ad
hered to. It is not probable that any
legislation suggested by me would prove
acceptable to both branches of congress,
and indeed, a full discussion might
shake my own faith in the details of any
plan I might propose. I will, however,
venture to state the general features of
action which seems to me advisable,
the financial platform on which I would
stand, and any deoarture from which
would be in a spirit of concession and
of harmony, and in reference to conflict
ing opinions.
1. I would like to see the legal tender
clause, so-called, repealed, the repeal to
take effect at a future time, say Jnly 1,
1876. This would cause all contracts
made after that date for wages, sales,
etc., to be estimated in coin. The specie
dollar would be the only dollar known
as a measure of equivalents. When
debts afterwards contracted were paid
in currency, instead of calling a paper
dollar a dollar and quoting gold so much
premium, we should think and speak of
paper as at so much discount. This
alone would aid greatly iu bringing the
currencies nearer together at par.
2. I would like to see a provision that,
at a fixed day, say July 1, 1876. the
currency issued by the United States
should be redeemed in coin on presen
tation to any assistant treasurer, and
that all currency so redeemed should
be cancelled and' never be reissued. To
effect this, it would be necessarv to
authorize the issue of bonds payable in
gold, bearing sack interest as would
command par in gold, to be pat out by
the treasury only in such sums as should
from time to time be needed for the
purpose of redemption. Such legisla
tion would insure a return to sound
financial principles in two years, and
would, in my judgment, work less
hardship to the debtor interest than is
like to come from putting off the day
of final reckoning. It must be borne
in mind, too, that the creditor interest
bad its day of disadvantage also, when
our present financial system was ushered
in by the supreme needs of the nation
at the time.
I would further provide that from
and after the date fixed for redemption,
no bills, whether of national banks or
of the United States, returned to the
treasury to be exchanged for new bills
of a denomination less than ten dollars,
and that in one year after resumption
all bills of less than five dollars should
be withdrawn from circulation, and in
two years all bills of less than ten dol
lars should be withdrawn. The advan
tage of this would be the strength given
to the country against a time of de
pression resulting from war, failure of
crops, or by keeping always in the
hands of the people a large supply of
the precious metals. With all smaller
transactions conducted in coin, many
millions ol' it would be kept in constant
use, and of course prevented from leav
ing the country.
Undoubtedly a poorer currency will
always drive the better out of circula
tion. With paper a legal tender at a
discount, gold and silver become arti
cles of merchandise as much as wheat
or cotton. The surplus will find the
best market it can. With small bills in
circulation, there is no use for coin,
except to keep it in the vaults of banks
to redeem the circulation. Daring pe
riods of great speculation and apparent
prosperity, there is little demand for
coin, and then it flows out to the mar
ket where it can be made to earn some
thing, which it cannot do while lying
idle. Gold, like anything else, when
not needed becomes a surplus and seeks
a market where it can find one. By
giving active employment to coin, its
presence, it seems to me, will be se
cured, and the panics and depressions
which have occurred periodically in
times of nominal specie payments, if
they cannot be wholly prevented, can
at least be greatly mitigated. Indeed,
I question whether it would have been
found necessary to depart from the
standard of specie in the trying days
which gave birth to the first legal tender
act, had the country taken the ground
of no small bills as early as 2850.
Again, I would provide an excess of
revenue over current expenditures. I
would do this by rigid economy and by
taxation where taxation can best be
borne. Increased revenue would vork
a constant reduction of the debt awl in
terest, and would provide coin to meet
the demands on the treasury for the re
demption of its notes, thereby dimin
ishing the amount of bonds needed.
For that purpose all taxes after redemp
tion begins should be paid in coin or
United States notes. This would force
redemption on the national banks.
With measures like these, or meas
ures which would work out such results,
I see no danger in authorizing free
banking without limit.
Condition of the Leees.
M. Jeff Thompson, chief state engi
neer of Louisiana, reports to Gov. Kel
logg, under date of the 27th of May, as
follows, concerning the condition of the
Mississippi levees: “I have just re
turned from a reconoissance of the le
veeß and crevasses on the Mississippi
river in this state, and I have found
that we will require a much larger
quantity of earthwork than for several
years to give our people any promise of
safety from overflow next spring. The
tax provided to pay for the construction
of now levees will not build one-third
of the number actually needed, and I
see no safety for the state except
tkrongk the powerful hand of the Uni
ted States government, therefore I must
pray yon to take such steps as will pre
sent our cse to the present congress as
soon as possible, as a few days’ delay,
so near the adjournment, may deprive
us of this sadly needed aid for another
year, and entail upon the present suf
fering thousands of onr people another
year of desolation aud ruin. The river
actually run over about three hundred
miles of our levees, which will have to
be raised and strengthened, and the
yawning crevasses at Bass,
Point Pleasant, Bnckridge, Hard Times,
Disharoom, Waterproof, Green’s, Glass
cock’s, Old River, Morganza, Morri
son’s, Point Manoir, Lobdell’s, Hickey’s
and Bonnet Carre will have to be closed,
besides the numerous small crevasses
and the additional number of breaks
that will occur from the caving of the
banks when the water falls, which will
have to be built np, as well as the nu
merous works needed on the Lafourche,
Atchafalaya, Red River and Ouachita.
The needs for the coming levee season
will be not less than three millions of
cubic yards, and it is impossible for the
state to pay for one million cubic yards,
and therefore thin additional amount
mast either be left unbn.lt, and the
state again flooded, or the general gov
ernment will have to give ns its mighty
aid.”
FORT ST. PHILLIPS CANAL.
Full Text ot tlie Improvement Kill Hi it
Passed the House.
That a ship canal to connect the Mis
sissippi river with the Gnlt of Mexico,
commencing at St. Vincent Point, in the
Mississippi river, belowFon; St. Phillip,
on the east side of said river, and termi
nating at some convenient point in Cre
ton Pass, in the Gulf of Mexioo, shall
be constructed and maintained at the
expense of the government of the United
States, and for this purpose the secreta
ry of war shall cause to be made,
in the most expeditious manner, a
thorough and final survey of said canal.
The survey and report of tle engineers
assigned to this duty shall exhibit com
plete plans and specifications of the
work in the construction of snch sur
vey, and the sum of 820,000, or so
much thereof as may be necessary, is
hereby appropriated out of any funds
in the treasury not other wife appropri
ated, to defray the expenses of such
survey.
Sec. 2. That the dimensions of said
caual shall not be less that 200 feet
wide at the bottom throughout the
trunk, and with not less than twenty-five
feet depth of water, with guard-gates,
locks, lock-honses, basins, bridges, and
other erections and fixtures as may be
necessary for the safe and convenient
navigation of said canal shall be that
indicated in the report of the engineers.
Sec. 3. That the secretary of war
shall oause said canal to be made and
constructed through the lands indicated
in the report of the engineers.
Sec. 4. That said canal shall, at all
times, night and day, be ojjen to the
free use and navigation of all vessels
and crafts belonging to the United
States or any of its citizens, and, until
otherwise provided, to all nations in
commercial amity with tie United
States, free from toll or charge; said
canal shall be maintained in good or
der and repair at the expenss of the
United States, and operated under the
supervision of an officer to be detailed
by the secretary of war for said duty
and under his orders ; and said canal
shall be a military, naval, postal and
public highway, connecting the Missis
sippi river and the Gulf of Mexico;
that the admiralty jurisdiction of the
United States be extended and estab
lished over said canal to the same ex
tent as it exists over the navigable wa
ters of the United States connected
thereby. The secretary of war shall
have power to establish all needful rules
and regulations not inconsistent with
the laws of the United State.*} concern
ing the navigation thereof, a copy
whereof shall be filed in the office cf
the clerk of the United States district
court for the district of Louisiana, and
printed copies of said ruleii shall be
framed and hung in conspicuous places
on board of said canal and river tow
boats, as well as the officer, at either
end of the canal, also in the post-office
and custom-house at New Orleans;
provided that congress mt.y at any
time revise such rules.
Sec. 5. That no expenditure shall be
made or authorized for the construction
of said Fort St. Phillip canal until a
valid title to tlie lands for tie site and
appurtenances of said canal, as indica
ted in the report of the engineers, in
cluding a strip of land not less than one
thousand yards on each sile of the
canal, and also all snch lauds as may
lie required for defensive works by the
United States, shall be vested in the
United States, and until tie state of
Louisiana shall cede its jurisdiction
over said lands for the construction of
said cans’, and shall also duly release
and relinquish to the United States the
right to tax or in any way issess said
lands or property of the Un ted States
that may be thereon during the time the
United States shall be or remain the
owner thereof.
Sec. 6. That the total cost of said
canal shall not exceed $8,000,000, and
no money shall be expended or liability
incurred by the United States for its
construction until the entire work is put
under contract, in accordance with this
act, at snch prices as to secure the com
pletion of the whole, forming an aggre
gate of not more than $8,0(0,000, and
a sum recessary to complete said canal,
not exceeding said snm of $8,000,000,
is hereby appropriated in installments
of not more than one-third of the ag
gregate cost in any one year.
Sec. 7. That the secret aiy of war
shall, on receipt of survey and report
aforesaid and without unnecessary de
lay, advertise for bids to construct, in
such newspapers as he may hink suffi
cient, and he shall award the contract to
the lowest responsible bidder or bidders
who shall give bond and seenritiee to the
satisfaction of said secretary, and that
the work shall be done accoi ding to the
stipulations of such contract; provided
no bid shall be received unless the same
is accompanied with a deposit with the
secretary of the snm of $15,000, which
sum shall be forfeited to the United
States and paid into the treasury there
of in case such bidder fails tor a period
of thirty days after notice tiiat his bid
lias been accepted, to make the contract
in accordance with the term 1 of his bid,
and give the securities as required by
this act; provided further that the
contractor or contractors sh ill perform
their work according to plans and
specifications of the engineers’ depart
ment and nnder direction thereof ; and
Krovided further, that said canal shall
e fully completed use within the
po.iod of toree years from the com
mencement thereof, and tho entire cost
of such canal shall not exceed the sum
of $8,000,000.
Sec. 8. That the United States re
serve the right to modify the conditions
and terms, and use of the canal, or to
amend, alter or repeal this act if the
public interest shall hereafter require it.
Grangers’ Co-operation In California.
At the late meeting of the State
Grange, representing 10,000 California
farmers, efforts were made to lay the
foundation for an extensive system of
co-operation in selling and storing grain,
purchasing supplies and borrowing
money. By combined action, they
could doubtless sell dearer and buy
cheaper than they have done hereto
fore, bnt there is mneb difference of
opinion among them in regard to the
policy to be pursued. Manj are afraid
to intrust their money and grain to men
who have had no experience in anything
save arming, and they argue that their
association should restrict itielf to so
cial purposes at first, and go very cau
tiously into business, advancing slowly
under the encouragement cf success.
Generally the granges have t*s yet not
made any pecuniary ventures, but in
many cases the individual members
have associated themselves to provide
warehouses and make contra sts of dif
ferent kinds for the benefit of their
class. The granges are strongly im
pressed with the importance of 00-oper
ation, and are confident of t ieir ability
to manage it successfully. The state
grange recommends the establishment
of a farmers’ bank in every Egricultural
county, with a warehouse attached for
storing grain, and of a state bank with
a capital of $5,000,000.
New York spends annually $9,000,-
000 on newspapers, $7,000,0( | 0 on thea
ters, $3,000,000 for religious purposes,
and $50,000,000 on liquor and liquor
establishments.
The most fashionable o’ Saratoga
cottages rent for $3,000 for the season
of three months. Others bring $2,500,
others $2,000, and so on dovui to SSOO.
VOL. 15-NO. 25.
SAYINGS AND DOINGS.
John Henry asked Quiz if there was
uot danger of his losiDg his breath —it
was so lseky.
Thh sale of the works of the late Sir
Edwin Landseer, which recently took
plaee in London, realized nearly $367,
500.
The Dankards wear Quaker clothes,
and shake hands and kiss when they
come together. Most of them live in
Ohio.
Among the young ladies of Spring
field, Ohio, “ leap-frog has gone under
and giving, place to the graceful game
of croquet. ’’
Passion gets less and less powerful
after every defeat. Husband energy
for real demand which the dangers of
life make upon it.
“ Think of it, Mr. Bobbs, the United
States drinks $90,000,000 worth of
every year !” Bobbs (excited! \)
—“Howl wish I was the United States.’’
Icelanders are beginning to emigrate
to this country, and are described as a
bright, cleanly, healthy looking class of
people, closely resembling the Scotch.
Saßtoris’ connection with the Grants
has net improved him grammatically.
When asked, “ Wilt thon have this wo
man to be thy wedded wife 7” he replied
“Ido.”
Olivia, a lady correspondent, writes
to the Capital: “In all delicacy may
we ask why you apply the term hen to
the woman attorney and the pronoun he
to the man ?”
In Missouri when a man has been in
jail but three times he is entitled to run
for office, and have it said by the local
paper that “his bright record is bis
campaign document.”
Thh intelligent compositor thus de
monstrates the possibilties of type :
“ The parents of the bride were numer
ous and handsome.” And yet some
folks say there is no hell.
Habry, after looking on while his
new little sister cried at being washed
and dressed, tnrned away saying : “If
she screamed like that np in heaven I
don’t wonder they sent her off.”
Advice to persons living in houses
adapted for two families : When your
bell rings, wait; the other people may
go to the door. When their bell rings,
rush to your door and listen devoutly.
Because a well-dressed young man in
a Chicago omnibus remarked that
“there were no good looking girls in
Chicago,” the elegant Times of that
place denounces him as “a polished
ass. ”
When the assessor came round to fix
his tax, and asked Mr. McDonohuehow
to spell his name, he, wishing to be
very polite to his neighbor, replied,
“ Spell it jnst as yon do your own, Mr.
Smith.”
Miss Buss, a Kentucky crusader, has
drawn sixteen men from the intoxicating
bowl. She merely had to put her arms
around them, kiss" them, and lead them
away. Philanthropy grows once more
in our esteem.
When Napoleon was a small boy he
was asked whether he could tell what
nationalitv he was of, and he indignant
ly replied, “Of Corsican.” When
Chang and Eng wr s a small boy he was
asked whether he was a native of Siam,
and he indignantly replied, “ Of course
Siam. -
The Canard steamship line is about
to turn a cold shoulder to Boston, and
has come to the conclusion that it does
not pay to send their vessels there. The
reason, however, is clothed in more
delicate language, and is based on the
ground of high cost of railroad freights
on grain and other products.
Oov. Moses, of South Carolina, who
has gone into bankruptcy, presents a
carious schedule of debts. Among the
minor ones are these items : Twenty
thousand dollars due on a house ; $30,-
000 due to Baltimore furniture dealers ;
$1,500 due tailors ; $3,000 due to restau
rant keepers §nd shoemakers; $2,000
due butchers, and SI,OOO due to the
Indian Girl cigar store.
The value of the fruit crop of Cali
fornia last year, may be estimated in
round numbers at two millions of dol
lars. From the tenor of the reports
from aU portions of the state, the fruit
crop of 1874 will exceed that of last
year by about fifty per cent., and as the
largely increased demand for packing
will keep np the price, its value may
be estimated fairly at three millions of
dollars.
Steam lias been successfully used on
the street railroads in London. The
machinery, which has been patented by
Mr. John Graham, a member of the in
stitute of civil engineers, is quite hidden
from view. There is, in fact, nothing
to indicate its presence except a small
funnel in the middle of the root There
is no heat felt, no noise heard, and stop
pages are effected more readily than
with horses.
Emigration, which has been unusu
ally light so far this year, is now rap
idly increasing. Last week over 5,000
foreigners were landed at New York.
An annual proportion of these come
from Italy, and there are now thousands
of Italian laborers in New York city,
readvto work ten hours a day for $1. 1 5.
This breeds a good deal of ill-feeling
on the part of the Irish against them,
and a recent murder in the city was dne
to this hostility between the two races.
That eminently respectable and nu
merous body of religionists who call
themselves Dunkers, or Dnnkards will
be a good deal astonished, if not hom
fied, to see the way the telegraph has
libeled them in transmitting the reports
of their convention at Girard, 111-, to
the eastern newspapers. So*end journ
als published the report with the head
ing. “A Drunkards’ convention, as
the telegraph male it, and the Boston
Journal improved upon it in this way :
“A novel organization —National con
vention of Drunkards.
The Japanese government having
been officially advised that the projected
war upon the island of Formosa would
involve also a war with China, has de
cided not to enter upon such a cam
paign ; and the 15,000 Japanese troops
who had already been started from >a
gasaki for Formosa island have been
ordered to Corea, but it is thought that
this movement will also be checked .by
the Russians. Twelve insurrectionists
at Saga against the Japanese govern
ment- have been executed, including
Katski, who was educated at Albany.
He had been back but a few months.
The Fastest Steamer in the World.
Such is the title claimed by her
builders, in England, for a bold, they
have just built to the order of the g
eminent of India, for service m the
Orissa canals. The dimensions of turn
extraordinary little vessel are :Length,
8 1 feet; beam, 12 feet ; draught of wa
ter, 3 feet 9 inches. The speed con
tracted for was twenty statute miles per
hour.
The hull, the working parts of the
engines, and the propeller (Thoray
croft’s patent) are of Bessemer steel,
and the wood work of teak. The offi
cial trial of the boat was made on the
14th ult., and the results were : With
tide, 25.08 mi'es per hour ; against tide,
24.15 miles per hour; giving a mean
speed of 24.61 miles hour.
In another official trial, it was shown
that the boat oould keep up a speed of
22 miles'per hour without losing steam.
These speeds are extraordinary enough
in themselves, but when it is considered
that they are attained by a boat only • <
feet lonv, they become absolutely won
derful, end far beyond anything ever
before accomplished.