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JAS. G. BAILIE, )
FRANCIS COGiN. Proprietors
GEO. T. JACKSON,)
Address all Letters to the Constitu
tionalist office, AUGUSTA, GA.
FOREIGN DISPATCHES.
News from Various Quarters of the
Globe.
A Chinese Riot.
London, December 21.—A dispatch
from Governor Jervois reports a
Chinese riot in Melasca. He has sent
troops there.
The French Assembly.
Paris, December 21.—The Senatorial
balloting yesterday was fruitless. A
Radical leader introduced a motion
that amnesty be granted to Commun
ists, and requested that it be declared
urgent. An indescribable tumult fol
lowed. The previous question was j
almost unanimously carried, the Left !
considering the motion, which cannot
pass, an electioneering trick. The affair
causes a complete rupture between
the extreme Radicals and the Left.
Members Elected, to the French As
sembly.
Paris, December 21. —The following
were elected members of the French
Senate to-day: Admiral De Montaig
nac, Minister of Marine, and M. Leon
Marleville, member for Tarn et Ga
ronne, of the Left Centre. This com
pletes the list of Senators so far as the
national Assembly is concerned, seven
ty-flve members having been elected
by that body. The other members, ,
two hundred and twenty-five in num- |
her, are to be elected indirectly by the j
people of the several departments.
A Collision.
Bordeaux, December 21. —The Trans- j
Atlantic Steamship Company’s steamer j
Louisiana, from the West ludies, sunk
in the Girouda river from a collision.
Sixteen persons, including the captain,
were lost.
Later. —The steamer Gironda, bound ;
to Brazil, collided with the steamer
Louisiana.
Jovellar’s Successor.
Madrid, Dec 'inber 21. —Gen. Caballos,
instead of going to Cuba, will succeed
Joveliar as Minister of War.
The Dynamite Exploder Again.
London, December 21. — A letter to
the Times from Berlin says that Fuchs,
the mechanician, had not delivered to
Thompson any of the twenty additional
machines ordered by him. The Daily
News is informed that Thompson posi- |
lively denied that he had any aceom- j
plice in his plot.
Wainwright Executed.
Henry Wainwright, recently convict- |
e<l of the murder of Harriet Lane in
White Chapel road, in this city, was ;
hanged at Newgate prison, Old Bailey, j
to-day. Just before he was pinioned,
he handed the Governor of the prison
a written statement which ho said he
desired to make public. In this paper
he acknowledges the justiee of his sen
tence, and says he deserves bis fate,
though he does not explicitly admit
that he murdered the young woman.
A Thorn in the Side—The Madrid
Government in a Quandary.
Madrid, December 21.—Valmaseda’s
resignation as Captain-General of Cuba j
greatly embarrasses the Government.
General Joveliar will undoubtedly re- :
turn to Cuba as Captain-General,but his j
appointment is not yet officially an
nounced. This will leave Gen. Campos
at the head of the army. The situa
tion is regarded as inopportune.
Generals Quesada and Campos have j
arrived at Saragossa and left for Na- j
varre.
Cadiz, December 21.—Papers assert I
that Count Marfoni has been arraigned, j
Madrid, December 21.—General Jov
eliar, Minister of War, has been ap
pointed Captain-General of Cuba, in the |
place of Valrnaseda. General Joveliar
and General Ceballos, will shortly leave
for Cuba. General Quesada will be ap
poiuted Commander-in-Chief of the
Armies of the North.
Vesuvius Erupting.
Naples, December 21.—Mount Vesu- !
vius is in an eruptive condition. The j
instruments in the observatory are in |
motion,and Professor Palmieri predicts 1
a long period of eruption.
Cuban News.
Havana, December 21.—Juan Itur
ralde, a Spaniard and a merchant of
Villa Clara, owning a plantation in the
neighborhood, convicted of corre
sponding wi£h the insurgents and fur
nishing them with money, provisions
.and other articles, was executed at j
Villa Clara on the 18th inst, with a view
to putting a stop, if possible, to the
continued burnings of farms and plun
der of farmers by the insurgent bands
and, as a proclamation says, the dis- |
honoring of the daughters of the coun
try people by insurgents.
The Governor of Sagua has issued
the following order, approved by
Captain General Valrnaseda: All
countrymen bringing in one of these
bandits called insurgents, dead or
alive, to headquarters, will receive ten
gold doubloons, and eleven if bringing
also Lis musket. A recompense of
from three to ten' doubloons will be
paid to all countrymen bringing in
formation enabling troops to destroy
or surprise insurgent camps. Farmers
killing a rebel prefect or sub-prefect, or ;
giving information producing that re- I
Suit will be paid fifteen doubloons.* He ;
also announces that any person prov- ;
ing that any party furnishes the
insurgents anything receives six or
more doubloons, according to the im
portance of the case. Captain-General
Valrnaseda says the orders of insur
gent chiefs to their subordinates are to
risk no encounter with the troops, but
always to scatter and divide into par
ties of less than ten, and to commit all
possible depredations.
Public opinion is strong that the de
parture of Valrnaseda at the present
time is not a good thing for the Island,
especially regarding military matters,
and the advantages expected to be
gained by the troops.
The 3*teamer City of New York,
which arrived here to-day from New
York, made the passage in four days
and five hours, which is claimed to be
the fastest time on record.
CHICAGO.
Babcock off for Waslii ngton—A Sus
pension.
Chicago, Dec. 21.—C01. Babcock left
here for Washington last night. Judge
Kri m, of St. Louis, his counsel, had a
consultation with the Colonel yester
day evening, and went with him to
Washington.
The trial will begin in St. Louis on
the 11th of January next, in the United
States Circuit Court, before Judges
Treat, of St. Louis, and Dillon, ot lowa.
The Directors of the Commercial
Loan Company, decided to wind up.
The cause is understood to be personal
disagreement, not financial embarrass
ment. The Directors state that the
indebtedness, including the capital
stock, is 8550,000 and assets of all
kinds the same. The suspension caused
no excitement.
<il)c Stijpsttt Ccmstihdionnlist
Established 1799.
FROM WASHINGTON.
—
Echoes from the Capital.
Washington, December 21.—The
name of Jefferson Barracks Post Office
has been changed to St. Louis Arsenal.
The Traders National Bank of Char
lotte, N. C. is authorized to commence
business. Capital, one hundred thous
and dollars.
Cabinet—Routine business.
A plea of insanity was made for
Cbas. G. Fisher, Assistant District At
torney, indicted for abstracting court
papers and other rascalities while in
office.
The following are the Southern ap
pointments in the Clerk’s office: J. B.
Dalton, Miss.; Engrossing Clerk, Jos. H.
Francis, Ala.; Fjle Clerk, ex-Represen
tative Rice, Ky.; Librarian, Washing
ton M. Hardy, N. C.; Assistant Libra
rians, P. H. Winston, N. C., M. T. Dove,
Maryland.
-
SOUTH CAROLINA.
The Obnoxious Judges—The Gover
nor will Not Issue Commissions to
Whipper and Moses.
Charleston, December 21.—Gov.
Chamberlain has refused to issue the
commissions of Whipper and ex-Gov.
Moses—the obnoxious judges elect—
filing the following statements of his
reasons:
I decline to sign the commissions of
W. J. Whipper and F. J. Moses. Jr.,
elected as Judges of the Circuit Court
of this State by the General Assembly
on the 16th inst., for terms to begin
August 26th, 1876. By the constitution
of the State the Judges of the Circuit
Court are to be elected for terms of
four years.
By a series of adjudicated cases in
the highest court of the State, extend
ing from 1821 to 1872, it has, in my
judgment, been determined that offi
cers elected under the provisions of the
law similar to this provision of the
present Constitution are entitled to
hold their offices for the full term pre
scribed by the Constitution or laws un
der which the election is held. It fol
lows that as the terms of the present
incumbents of the offices to which the
above named persons claim to have
been elected on the sixteenth instant,
will not expire until after another gen
eral election of members of the Gen
eral Assembly, the present General As
sembly has not the right to elect their
successors. While, iu some cases pre
senting similar legal questions it may
not be required of the Governor to de
cline to issue commissions, the circum
stances of the present case compel me
to take this course.
(Signed) D. H. Chamberlain,
Governor of South Carelina.
THE INDIANS.
Trouble Apprehended in the South
west—A Horrible Massacre.
Galveston. December 21.—Advices
from Eagle Pass state that 300 Coman
che ladians warriors are reported by
Mexican traders at the Canon of San
Rodgers, forty miles above Rimalo. It
is thought that the object of the gather
ing is to make raids into Texas. Dis
patches from Fort Clarke state that a
party of Mexicans crossed the river
twelve miles below San Felipe, sur
prised Pond’s Ranche, killing three men
and capturing ail the army horses aud
six hundred head of cattle. Companies
of citizens are organizing to follow
them. Much trouble is apprehended.
A borrible massacre is reported near
Atokis, Indian Nation. The bodies of
four persons were found burned on the
prarie, two being females, burned be
yond recognition. The others were
whites. A pony with a lady’s side sad
dle, a dog and a gun were found near
by. Three men, who were seen riding
nine miles from the spot are supposed
to have done the shooting. The prarie
was fired to destroy the trail.
RELIGIOUS.
Presbyterian Ministerial Association
at Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, December 21.—At a
meeting of the Presbyterian Ministerial
Association resolutions were adopted
instructing the pastors of the Presby
terian Church to prepare a history of
their churches, to carry out the de
sire of the General Assembly, which
appointed a committee to consider the
propriety of the church taking part in
the Centennial anniversary. The Assem
bly has designated the first Sunday in
July, 1fi.76, as a day of praise and
thanksgiving.
Minor Telegrams.
Annapolis, Md., December 21.—The
Court of Appeals issues a mandamus
against the Governor to compel him to
issue a commission to Governor Bowen
as Attorney General; aud also decides
that the Governor has no authority
to examine into the allegod election
frauds.
Worcester, Mass., December 21. —A
fire at Spencer burned Bush & Graut’s
boot factory, with five other buildings
on Main street. Loss 875,000.
Ellsworth, Me., December 21.—Geo.
A. Dyer, Register of Probate iu this
county has been arrested for forgery.
He was committed to jail.
Philadelphia, December 21.—The
President of the Centennial Board of
Finance publishes a card that no part
of the expense of the recent excursion
and entertainment fell upon the Cen
tennial Board of Finance.
Milwaukie, December 21.—1n the
United States Circuit Court yesterday,
Burbach was convicted of conspiriag
to defraud the revenue and sentenced
to eight months imprisonment, a flue
of 82,000 and one half costs of the trial.
Sentence was suspended iu the case of
Reynolds, his partner.
Salt Lake City, December 21. — Geo.
I Reynolds, a polygamist, sentenced by
Chief Justice White to two years im
prisonment and 8500 fine, has been re
leased on 810,000 bail, pending an ap
peal to the Supreme Court.
—’
Sinking of the Louisiana.
Bordeaux, December 21.—The Louis
iana sunk in ten minutes after she was
struck. The Gironde received one
hundred of her passengers and crew.
All the persons drowned were passen
gers except the Captain.
The Hon. Mrs. Norton, whose beauty
all men used rave about when George
j the Fourth was King, and whose tal
! ents have shown her a worthy descend
ed of Sheridan, the dramatist and ora
tor, is about to be married to Sir W.
Sterling Maxwell. She is sixty-seven
j years old, her firct marriage to Hon.
George Chappel Norton having taken
place in 1821, nearly half a century ago.
She was a precocious rhymer, and a vol
ume of her juvenile verses was pub
| lished in 1820. J
AUGUSTA. GA., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22,1875.
FROM NEW YORK.
The Kansas State Treasurer Forced to
Resign—A Small Failure—Advance
of Rates by the Erie Railway.
New York, December 21.—A special
dispatch says Samuel Lappin, State
Treasurer of Kansas, was forced to re
sign by order of Gov. Osborn. Lappin
is implicated in forgeries, whereby the
State loses 830.000, The Republicans
elected Lappin at the last election.
The failure of the Commercial Loan
Company, of Chicago, is reported small.
The officers of the Erie Railway de
cided, and so notified other trunk lines,
that if positive information is not re
ceived to-day from the Grand Trunk
Railway, that this r<fute will advance
its rates from Boston to the same as
from New York, and maintain them. It
will reduce its through tariff from New
York, to take effect to-morrow morn
ing, so that the merchants of New York
will be able to compete with those of
Boston for the Western trade.
New York, December 21.—Ruben
stein, the alleged murderer of Sarah
Alexander, was indicted by the Grand
Jury.
The Postal Card System.
[Detroit Free Press.)
Useful aud convenient as the postal
card system has proven in many re
spects, it has, during the short period
it has been in operation, shown itself
liable to many and grave abuses.—
Scarcely a day passes that there does
not come from some quarter or another
a report of litigation or prosecution
growing out of an improper use of the
cards. In Detroit it is claimed by a
reputable citizen that the cards have
been made articles of slander, scurril
ity and indecency. In Brooklyn an
eminent but unfortunate clergyman is
subjected to daily annoyance and in
sults by similar means ; and in all the
large cities advantage is taken, more
or less frequently, of the publicity
which the cards have iu their transit
through the mails to persecute and
mortify unhappy debtors by exposing
their laxity iu the matter of liquidation. 1
The amount of litigation which has al- i
ready grown out of the system must
be something immense, while the bit- i
teruess and ill-feeling to which it has j
given rise is simply incalculable.
These evils aud abuses are all due to
the exposure of the writing on the !
cards; and in view of this fact it be- 1
comes a very pertinent question wheth
er all the real advantages of the sys
tem cannot be secured without such
exposure. It is certainly of no advant
age to the Government to be able to
read the communications of the peo
ple with each other. The law, in fact,
expressly prohibits the reading of these
postal cards by the Government offi
cials and clerks, though it would seem,
also, to expect such reading from the
provision which it makes forexeluding
the cards under certain circumstances
from the mails. Aud even if the read
ing could be deemed advantageous aud
were not prohibited, it would double
the expense of carrying on the Post
Office Department to provide for doing
it systematically and thoroughly. As
the matter now stands, the curious
clerk or inquisitive carrier is able to
catch an occasional glimpse of the
writing on a postal card, aud on dull
days, perhaps, may find time to read
one or two in full. But if they are all
to be read, the present force in the de
partment must be more than doubled,
to which we do not believe the people
would consent.
But if the opportunity of reading the
postals is of no value to the govern
ment, to whom is it of value ? Clearly
not to the recipient under any circum
stances, for he is always at liberty to
give to such communications as he re
ceives all the publicity he desires. Nor
does the sender gaiu anything by ex
posing the communication except in
those cases where it is in the nature of
au advertisement and in these other
cases, before referred to, where he de
sires to expose the recipient to annoy- \
ance or ridicule; and as the advertiser
enjoyed, even before the advent of the
postal card system, the same privilege
of sending open communications by
mail, it requires no special discernment
to see that the system, so far as its
publicity is concerned, benefits those
only who abuse it.
We have uot lost sight of the as
sumption upon which tho system is in
part founded, that tho government
derives some benefit from the publicity
to which tho cards are exposed in the
unwillingness of the many to subject
their communications thereto and the
increased revenue derived from the
consequent use of the sealed letters
with their higher rate of postage. But
aside from the fact that ffte system is
thus made a practical .discrimination
between those who are and those who
are not able to afford the luxury of
privacy in their correspondence, there
is no reason why the Government can
not reap substantially the same benefit
without exposing the writing on the
cheap communication. If there were
substituted for the card a single sheet
to be folded aud signed with the ends
unclosed, or some similar device, there
would still be large numbers who would
prefer the tightly closed enveloys at
the high rate of postage, and the evils
of the card system would be entirely
done away with, except so far as an
effort should be made wilfully to per
petuate them. That the people, once
having enjoyed the convenience of the
card system, will readily abandon it or
change it we by no moans expect. But
if those abuses of the system to which
we have referred increase and multiply
in the future as they have in the past?
it will become abso utely necessary
either to modify the ystem or aban
don it.
The Duke of Edinburgh is gifted
with a wonderful memory. When his
wife throws hot water over him for
playing the flute on Sunday, he never
forgets it, and always waits until she
goes away before doing it again.
If a man is found drunk in Vermont
he is committed to jail and kept there
until he reveals who supplied the
liquor. Several are now lying in jail at
Rutland because they refuse to tell. It
is thought that they prefer to remain
until after the cold snap.
“ JeDnie, you’re my sweetheart,”
said a nine year old suitor, as he sat
alone with his heart’s idol the other
evening. “How can I be your sweet
heart,” asked the little miss, “when I
am thirteen years old, and you only
nine?” “Are you thirteen?” “Of course
lam.” “Well,” answered the juvenile
beau, after reflecting a little, “I’d a
been thirteen, too, if I hadn’t been sick
; so much when I was little.”
An Erie canal boat captain, who had
been reading of Moody and Sankey,
determined to live a better life, and,
calling his crew around him, he said :
“ See here, you lying, skulking, wicked,
disgraceful set, you’ve got to ’tend
prayers every morning or I’ll lick the
whole pile of you in a heap !”
A. T. STEWART.
THE TRUE STGRY OF A MERCHANT
URINCE.
How a Poor Boy Rose from Poverty
to Opulence—llarly Struggle and Fi
nal Triumph--Secrets of his Suc
cess Characteristic Anecdotes A
Man of Honor Devoted to tie Truth.
In the year 18}9, a European vessel
anchored in the harbor of New York,
after a long and weary voyage from the
Old World. She brought many passen
gers to the young metropolis, the most
of whom came with the intention of
seeking their fortune in this land of
promise.
Among them was a young Irishman,
who had left his humble home iu his
native county of Antrim, in Ireland, to
seek in America the means of bettering
bis condition. He was iu his twenty
fourth year, having been born in 1795,
and was possessed of a good education,
backed by sound health, and an indom
itable determination to succeed. He
was poor, however, and when he lauded
in New York ho was without friends.
He was of Irish birth and parentage,
but descended from a Scottish ances
try. He had inherited with his blood
the spirit and latent power of that
Seotch-lrish race which has been dom
inant in the North of Ireland since the
days of Cromwell, and which has given
to this country, as well as to England,
so many men eminent in all the walks
of life. His letters of introduction Irom
members of the Society of Friends in
Ireland, to prominent merchants of that
Society in New York, gave him access
to the best social circles, and where he
was soon distinguished both for his
pleasing address as a gentleman and
his attainments as a fine classical
scholar. It was the flist visit of Alex
ander T. Stewart to the city which for
more than forty years has been his
home, and where lie has risen to wealtli
aud prominence as a merchant, and the
extent of whose business in that pur
suit has probably never been excelled,
and rarely, if ever, equalled iu this or
any other country.
He was born not far from the city of
Belfast. Before he was eight years of
age au older sister and both parents
died, and he was left au orphan, with
out any relatives except his maternal
grandfather. Thi* good old man, a
member of the Methodist Society, and
of great piety, took the orpnan boy to
his home, aud his heart yearned to
ward the youth, his only descendant.
It was his earnest wish and hope that
the grandson should become a minister
of the Gospel; aud with this purpose in
view the boy was at once put upon a
course of academical studies to pre
pare for the University. At au early
day, aud while at school, the coming
man began to appear. Whether iu tae
sports of boyhood or the studies of the
school, he resolved to be first. With a
frame not robust, bat yet lithe aud ac
tive, he was foremost in the race; and
with a tenacity of purpose never re
laxed, by diligent study, united with
good natural abilities, bo reached ana
maintained the position of “Dtu’,” os
leader of his class, during both his
academical aud collegiate life. He took
his degree at Trinity College, Dublin.
But, alas! before he completed his
course of study the pious old grand
father had followed the parents to the
grave. The young, ambitious student
was alone in the world. And he might
have repeated the lament in the words
of Outalissi:
“All perished. I alone:am left on earth,
To whom nor relative nor blood remains;
No, not a kindred drop that runs in human
veins.” s
His first effort ai'ter reaching New
York was to procure a school. He was
successful to a certam extent, and for
nearly three years taught a small num
ber of pupils at Np. 59 Rose street.
School teaching, however, did not
suit him, although he managed to save
some money from the proceeds of his
labor, with which he determined to en
ter into business for himself; and in
1822, soon after the terrible epidemic of
yellow fever in that year, he establish
ed himself as a retail dry goods mer
chant, in a frame building on Broad
way, just opposite where his present
wholesale house stands. His entire
cash capital was between twelve and
fifteen hundred dollars, and the pros
pect before him was not inviting. His
store was small, being twenty-two feet
wide by twenty deep, and was situated
next door to the then famous Bona
fauti, who kept the most popular aud
best variety store of the day.
About this time Mr. Stewart married
Miss Cornelia Clinch, an estimable lady
of New York, who is still living, and
who proved a noble helpmate to him iu
his early struggles. The young couple
lived iu one small room over the store,
and the wife took car’s of the domestic
arrangements while the husband at
tended to the business below.
Without mercantile experience, and
possessing no advantage but bis own
unaided determination to succeed, Mr.
Stewart started boldly on what proved
the road to fortune; No j’oung mer
chant ever worked harder than he.
From fourteen to eighteen hours each
day were given to his business. He
was his own book-keeper, salesman
and potter. He could not afford to
employ any help. Ci edit was hard to
obtain in those days, and young mer
chants were not favorites with those
who had such favors to bestow ; and
Mr. Stewart was one of the least fa
vored, inasmuch as he was almost a
total stranger to the business commu
nity in which he lived. He kept a
small stock of goods on hand, which
he purchased for cash, chiefly at the
auction sales. He was a regular at
tendant at these sales, and his pur
chases were invariably “sample lots”—
that is, collections of small quantities
of various articles thi own together in
confusion, and sold iu heaps for what
they would bring. He had these pur
chases conveyed to his store, and after
the business of the day was over he
and his wife would take these “sample
lots,” and by carefully assorting them
bring order out of confusion. Every
article was patiently gone over. Gloves
were redressed and smoothed out, laces
pressed free from the creases which
careless bidders had twisted into them,
and hose made to look as fresh as if
they had never been handled. Each
article, being good in itself, was
thus restored to its original excellence.
The goods were then arranged in
their proper places ofi the shelves of
the store, and by being offered at a
lower price than that charged by retail
dealers elsewhere in the city, met with
a ready sale. Even ai this low price
the profit was great, \ since they had
been purchased for a mere trifle. For
six years Mr. Stewart continued to con
duct his business in thss way,acquiring
every day a larger and- more profitable
trade.
It is said that when fie entered upon
his business he knew so little of the de
tails of it that he was sometimes sorely
embarrassed by occuxrences insignifi-
cant in themselves. Upon one occasion
he is said to have accosted the late
William Beecher (from whom he bought
many goods,) as follows: “Mr. Beecher,
a lady came into my store to-day and
asked me to show her some hose. I
did not know what the goods were, and
told her I did not keep the article.
What did she want?” Mr. Beecher
quietly held up a pair of stockings be
fore him, and Stewart, bursting into a
laugh at his own simplicity, went back
to his store a wiser man.
While still engaged in his first strug
gles in his little store, Mr. Stewart
found himself called on to make ar
rangements to pay a note which would
soon become due. It was for a con
siderable sum, aud he had neither the
money nor the means oi borrowing it.
It was a time when the mercantile
community of New York regarded a
failure to pay a note as a crime, and
when such a failure was sure to
bring ruin to anew man. Mr.
Stewart knew this, and felt that
he must act with greater resolu
tion and daring than he had ever be
fore exhibited, if he would save himself
from dishonor. To meet tlxe crisis he
adopted a bold and skilful manoeuvre.
He marked down every article in his
store far below the wholesale price.
This done, he had a number of hand
bills printed, announcing that he would
sell off his entire stock of goods below
cost, within a given time. He scattered
these bills broadcast through the city,
and it was not long before purchasers j
began to flock to his store to secure the ,
great bargains which his advertise
ments offered them. His terms were
“cash,” aud he had little difficulty in
selling. Purchasers found that they
thus secured the best goods in the
market at a lower figure than they had
ever been offered before in New York, ;
and each one was prompt to advise re- ■
latives and friends to avail themselves :
of tiie favorable opportunity. Cus
tomers were plentiful, the little Broad- j
way store was thronged all day, aud
long before the expiration of the period
he had fixed for the duration of his
sales Mr. Stewart found his shelves
empty aud his treasury full. He paid
his note with a part of the money ho
had thus received, and with the rest
laid in a fresh stock of goods. He was
fortunate in his purchases at this time,
for, as the market was extremely dull
and ready money scarce, he, by paying
cash, bought his goods at very low
prices.
The energy, industry, patience aud
business tact displayed by Mr. Stewart
these first years of his commercial life
brought him their sure reward, and in
1828, just six years after commencing
business, he found his little store too
small and humble for the large and
fashionable trade which had come to
him. Three new stores had just been
erected on Broadway, between Cham
bers and Warren streets, and he leas
ed the smallest of these and moved
into it. It was a modest building, only
three stories high and thirty feet deep,
but it was a great improvement on his
original place. He was enabled to fill
it with a larger and more attractive
stock of goods, and his business was
greatly benefited by the change. He j
remained in this store for four years, i
and in 1832 removed to a two-story
building, located on Broadway between ;
Murray and Warren streets. Soon '
after occupying it he was compelled by
the growth of his business to add twen- :
ty feet to the depth of the store, and j
to add a third story to the building, j
A year or two later a fourth story was j
added, and iu 1837 a fifth story, so |
rapidly did he prosper.
His trade was now with the wealthy
and fashionable class of the city, and
he had surmounted all his early diffi
culties and laid the foundations of that
splendid fortune which he has since
won. Tfie majority of his customers
were ladies, and he now resolved upon
an expedient for increasing their num
ber. He had noticed that ladies in
“shopping” were much given to the
habit of gossiping with the clerks, and
he adopted the expedient of employing
as his salemen the handsomest men he
could procure—a practice which has
since become common. The plan was
successful from the first. Women
came to his store in greater numbers
than before, and “Stewart’s nice young
men,” were the talk of the town.
The great crisis of 1837 found Mr.
Stewart a prosperous aud rising man,
and that terrible financial storm which
wrecked so many of the best of the
city firms did not so much as leave its
mark on him. Indeed, while other men
were failing all around him, he was
coiuing money. It had always been his
habit to watch the market closely, in
order to profit by any sudden change
in it, and his keen sagacity enabled him
to see the approach of the storm long
before it burst, and to prepare for it.
He at once marked dowu all his goods
as low as possible, aud began to “ sell
for cost,” originating the system which
is now so populai. The prices were
very low, and the goods of the best
quality. Everybody complained of the
hard times, and all were glad to save
money by availing themselves of
“ Stewart’s bargains.” In this way he
carried on a retail cash trade of five
thousand dollars per day in the midst
of the most terrible crisis the country
had ever seen. Other merchants were
reduced to every possible expedient,
and were compelled to send their goods
to auction to be sold for what they
would bring, so great was their need
for ready money. Stewart attended
all these auctions regularly, aud pur
chased the goods thus offered. These
he sold rapidly, by means of his “ cost
system,” realizing an average of forty
per cent. It is said that he purchased
fifty thousand dollars worth of silks iu
this way, aud sold the whole lot iu a
few days, making a profit of twenty
thousand dollars on the transaction.
In this way he not only passed through
the “crisis,” but made a fortune in the
midst of it.
From that time to the present day
his course has been “onward and up
ward” to fortune. Nearly a quarter of
a century ago he purchased the pro
perty which is now the site of his
wholesale store, and commenced to
erect the splendid marble warehouse
which he still occupies. His friends
were surprised at his temerity. They
told him it was too far up town, and on
the wrong side of Broadway ; but he
quietly informed them that a few years
would vindicate his wisdom and see
his store the centre of the most flour
ishing business neighborhood of New
York. His predictions have been more
than realized.
He moved into his new store in 1848,
and continued to expand and enlarge
his business every year. Some years
ago he purchased the old Ninth street
Dutch Church and the lots adjacent to
it, comprising the entire block lying
between Ninth and Tenth streets,
Broadway and Fourth Avenue. When
he found the retail trade going up
town, and deserting its old haunts
below Canal street, he erected a fine
iron building at the corner of Broad
way and Tenth street, to which he re-
moved the retail department of his
business, continuing his wholesale
trade at bis old store on Chambers
street. This new “upper store” has in
creased with the business. The build
ing covers the entire block upon which
it is erected, and is now the largest,
most complete, and magnificent estab
lishment of its kind in the world.
Though he took no active part iu
politics, he was too much interested iu
public affairs, by reason of his immense
wealth, not to watch them closely. He
was satisfied, some time before hostili
ties began during the rebellion, that
war must come, aud quietly set to work
and made contracts with all the manu
facturers for all their productions for a
considerable period of time. Accord
ingly, when the war <lid come, it was
found that nearly ail tho clothing,
blankets, etc., needed for the army had
been monopolized by him, because the
same goods could not be purchased
elsewhere. His profits on these trans
actions amounted to many millions of
dollars, though it should be remarked
that his dealings with the Government
were characterized by an unusual de
gree of liberality. The gains thus real
ized by him more than counterbalanced
his losses by the sudden cessation of
his Southern trade.
Fifty years have now passed away
since the poor young school teacher
landed in New York, aud to-day he
stands at the head of the mercantile in
terests of the New World. In the fifty
years which have elapsed since then,
he has won a fortune which is various
ly estimated at from twenty-five to
forty millions of dollars. He has won
all the wealth fairly—not by trickery,
deceit, or even by questionable honesty,
but by a series of mercantile transac
tions, the minutest of which is open to
the most rigid scrutiny, and by a pa
tience, energy, tact, industry and ge
nius, of which few men are
Surely it must be a proud thought to
him that he lias done all this himself,
by his own unaided efforts, and that
amidst all his wonderful success there
does not rest one stain upon his good
name as a man or a merchant.
He is one of the hardest workers in
his establishment. He has partners to
assist him in carrying on his immense
business, but they are merely head
clerks iu the various departments, aud
divide only the profits with him. He
assumes the entile responsibility, and
manages tho entire trade of his firm,
his partners acting merely as he di
rects.
He goes to his business between nine
and ten o’clock in the morning, stop
ping first at his upper store. He makes
a brief but thorough inspection of this
establishment, ascertaining its wants,
aud satisfying himself that all is going
on properly, and then repairs to his
lower store, where he remains until
business hours are over, and returns
home between five and Six o’clock in
the afternoon. He works hard, aud is
never absent from his post, unless de
tained by sickness.
We may here mention the following
incident: A lady, whose acquaintance
he had made, said to him on the day
preceding the opening of his store:
“You must not sell anything on
the morrow till I come and make
the first purchase; for I will bring
luck.” True to her promise, she
drove up in her carriage early in
the day, and purchased goods to
nearly two hundred dollars in value,
principally of Irish laces. Long years
passed; the lady married and removed
with her husband to a European city.
Mr. Stewart was in that city on busi
ness, and there learned that his first
customer was still living, but
reduced circumstances. Her husband
was dead, but before his death had
squandered her fortune. Procuring
good apartments, he caused them to
be furnished in a style corresponding
with her former position in life. Then
calling upon her, and renewing his ac
quaintance, and after conversing on
old times and former friends, asked her
to take a drive with him around the
city in his carriage, which stood at the
door. After looking at some objects of
interest, be took her to the new resi
dence, saying, “This, if it meets your
approbation, is your future home.” He
settled an annuity upon her, and during
the residue of her life she lived, not
only in comfort, but in comparative
affluence, supported entirely by his
bounty. Truly, if she brought hick to
the young merchant, that first morn
ing’s purchase was a lucky one for her.
But there was another incident con
nected with the sales of merchandise
on that first day of far more import
ance in its results, though apparently
trifling in its character. One of the
clerks stated to a purchaser that a
piece of calico was of a certain quality,
that the colors were “fast” aud would
not wash out, and if not so, the article
would be taken back and the money
returned. The remarks were over
heard by Mr. Stewart, and he called
the clerk to him and spoke with indig
nation : “ What do you mean by thus
saying what you know to be untrue?”
The clerk, perhaps astonished at thus
being called to account, replied that tho
woman would not return the goods,
and if she did she coukl easily be put
off by stating that shs must ba mis
taken, and the purchase must have
been made at some other store. But
no ; that was not the point. A lie had
been told to induce a purchase, and no
goods must be sold in his store or in
his name under any misrepresentation
whatever. The clerk, could conform to
that rule or at once vacate his place.
This intervie >v between him aud one or
his first clerks was narrated to the
writer a few years since, when in a
familiar conversation the direct ques
tion was asked : “To what do you at
tribute your great success as a mer
chant ?” “ That I have conducted my
business from the first ou the basis of
truth. Truth, truth,” he added, with
great emphasis, “is the talismanic
word ; and if I have any one earthly
wish or desire greater than another, it
is that in this respect my example may
be commended and followed by young
men entering into business, and especi
ally by young merchants.”
There is in his business one price for
all. From this fixed price no person
employed is permitted to depart; and
every purchaser of merchandise,
whether of the value of shillings or of
tens of thousands of dollars, gets the
precise article sold. No deceit or mis
representation as to the condition or
quality of the goods is tolerated, and
henco the unbounded confidence which
he has obtained in every State and al
most every village iu our country. To
carry out sucli a system requires a
rigid discipline, and it sometimes oc
curs that a young man of an easy con
science finds the restraint too severe.
The exceptions are rare, and when
found out, as they are, sooner or later,
never pass without rebuke; and gen
erally the offending party is dismissed.
There is a military precision required
and exacted, and it is thus that the
whole vast machinery works, fis it
were, by electric touches.
New Series —Vol. 28, No. 119
AFTER SEVEN CENTURIES.
The Time-Blackened Temple of Jug
gernaut Tumbling to Pieces.
[lndia Cor. of the London Times.]
An event of some importance recent
ly occurred in connection with the Tem
ple of Juggernaut. Throughout the
whole of the Empire there is no shrine
so sacred as Pooreo, and no spot where
a devout Hindoo would rather die than
beneath this great fane. The temple,
which cost half a million sterling of the
money of our times, is literally black
with age. The storms of nearly seven
centuries, which are often so violent
in the Bay of Bengal, have produced
little impression upon it, and until a
few weeks ago it seemed as likely to
remain as many centuries more. Many
of the large temples in the province
are now iu ruins, but they have not
fallen through the wear and tear of
time. A silent but effectual power has
been the cause of this destruction.
The seeds of the peepul and banyan
trees have got into the foundations.
These have taken root; the sapling has
forced its way through the Assures of
the stones, and in process of years tho
whole fabric has been loosened and
eventually brought down, and it seems
probable that the Temple of Jugger
naut will share the same fate. At the
late car festivals, as soon as the idols
had been taken from their thrones for
their annual excursion, several large
stones from the inner roof fell on the
platform. Had they fallen a few min
utes earlier the idols would have been
shattered to atoms, and in all proba
bility there would have been a great
loss of life. The resident magistrate
applied to the Governor for an en
gineer to inspect the damages. This
was found to be a very difficult task, as
the temple is so dark. There are no
apertures for the light; live or six
lights are kept burning in the daytime,
and even with these uothiug is visible
but the idols.
It is but very rarely that temples
are repaired, and the sound of the
chisel and the hammer on the top of
this great temple will do more to weak
en the faith of the Hindoo iu Jugger
naut than anything that has occurred
iu the present generation. There will
be no lack of money for any estimate,
as the priests are very wealthy, and
the annual income of the temple is said
to amount to £68,000. The question
which is agitating all priests is what is
to be done with the idols while the re
pairs are being made ? The officers of
the temple are most anxious to have
the idols restored to their thrones.
They propose that an inner ceiling of
wood shall be made to protect the
idols and the worshipers; but there
would be so much danger should there
be another fall of stones that the Rajah
will not consent.
The Use of Paint and Powder.
[Home Journal.[
No one has the courage to tell the
women who paint and make up how
visible it is and what a fearful mistake
they commit. The most beautiful
woman in society loses part of her
beauty when she tries to add to it by
art, and she who is not beautiful gains
even an added ugliness. But no one
speaks, and silence is taken to mean
ignorance and non-perception of the
facts which every one reads as plainly
as printed words, and all with one ac
cord condemn. The made up, too, see
for themselves how great a failure all
the other make-ups are; but no one has
the wit to turn the knowledge inward
and say, “As she is, so am I.” The
judicial blindness that always accom
panies vanity falls like Egyptian dark
ness on every eye, and women sneer
and condemn in unmeasured lan
guage the very acts of which
they themselves are guilty. We ex
empt from this censure the manifest
make which some women have adopted
iu foregone times for reasons that
might have been perfectly allowable,
and continue after all chance of dis
guise is over, and with no attempt even
at disguise. They are circumstances
continued for convenience, habit, what
not, but scarcely in vanity, and in uo
wise with the desire or design of decep
tion. The old lady’s “top knot” of the
last generation, and the modern old
lady’s chignon of streaky white or
more uncompromising brown, match
ing but poorly with the front of snow
or grizzled bands—in these there is
only conformity with the outlines of
fashion, no attempt to assume the con
ditions of youth. We may not think
such things pretty, but they are not
contemptible, nor to be condemned. Lace
and ribbon would do the work of hair
and padding more according to our ideas
of what is becoming; but the padding are
so manifestly to All up, not to simulate
—to supply a deAciency which some
thing must supply, but which it is not
intended should be supplied by a trick
of make believe—that no one can ob
ject to them save in the light of an im
perfect taste, is no wise iu that of an
untrue assumption. Still, while it is
the duty of every woman to make her
self beatiful to the last, it is a danger
ous method to go to artiAcial aids for
this—those aids which affect to be nat
ural, and which are not manifestly
veils, additions, substitutes. For, as
we have said before, those who employ
them never know where to stop, nor
when, and the chances are that the
paint and powder which pass detection
in the quite early days, which they so
daintily simulated was possible and
natural, become by time and use a
monstrosity, hideous to the sight and
impossible'to the epoch, degrading to
the person and offensive iu every sense.
A largo number of gentlemen assem
bled at the residence of William Meg
gat, iu WcthorsAeld, Ct., yesterday
afternoon, to attend tho funeral ser
vices of his three children, who were
all taken away within twenty hours.
It was an impressive scene. The ser
vices were conducted by Rev. Howard
Clapp. The three little ones lay side
by side, in rosewood caskets, covered
with Aowers. They were borne from
the house in one hearse, taken to Ce
dar Hill Cemetery, where they were all
deposited in the receiving tomb. Nei
ther father or mother was able to
attend the service. They, with three
children and a nephew—six in all—were
conAned to their beds by the same ter
rible disease (diphtheria) which robbed
them of their children.— Hartford
Times.
There are three hundred million of
paper collars made in the United States
every year, but let a man And that he
has worn his last one, when he is dress
ing for a party, and he’ll dance round
and swear like a double-barrelled pi
rate.
! The dental colleges are wrestling
I with the problem of why women’s teeth
| give way so much sooner, as a rule
i than the men’s. But when you stop to
! realize the immense amount of linguis
tic friction they have to go through, it
I Is no longer a mystery.
To Advertisers and Subscribers.
°Lm D AF TS? l £ l9 date (April 21. 1875.) all
editions of the Constitutionalist will be sent
iree or postage.
Advertisements must be paid for when han
ded in, unless otherwise stipulated.
Announcing or suggesting Candidates fot
office, 20 cents per line each insj&ion,
M or N plßUlo b rder mitt6d at ° Ur rlßk by E *l> ro3B
Correspondence invited from all sources
and valuable special news paid for if used. *
Rejected Communications will not be ra
an< °i n °h e ®taken of anonymous
letters, or articles written on both sides.
ALL THE WORLD’S A GAME.
Some Shrewd Observations by an Old
Sport.
(St. Louis Globe-Deiuocrat. 1
Ihe “sport” who, conscious of his
superior skill in manipulating Che deck
beats his victim, shocks the moral sen
sibilities of the community, and is de
nounced as little better than a robber
Certainly, he has a “sure thing,” and
takes advantage of it; but wherein is
the operation one particle more repre
honsible tliau that of tho business
“sharp,” who, falliug in with a sucker,
and detecting his greenness, drains his
purse by the sale to him of inferior or
even worthless wares? Ruin may re
sult to tho victimized in either case.
Society and the law, however, take
cognizance of the one while they ut
terly ignore tho other.
THIS “TRICKS OF TRADE,”
as they are mildly denominated, would,
in most instances, bear exposure quite
as little as the wiles of the voriest
sport. A few instances will supply an.
illustration :
We will suppose A to be a drummor
for a wholesale grocery establishment
or the highest commercial standing.
His transactions are thoroughly en
dorsed by his employers. He offers to
a customer in the interior the staple of
tea, for instance, at really less than
cost price. Generous fellow! But—
and here is the little game that A is
playing—whatever he is “out” on tea
is made up three and perhaps fourfold
by over charges on the other lines of
goods which are not staples, and the
market price of which his friend may
bo entirely ignorant of. Now, what is
the difference, really, between this case
of A and that of the gambler who
allows his victim to “get away with
him,” in the first game of their sitting,
in order that he may beat him out of a
larger stake in the game that follows* 1
What, really, is A, but a “capper” for a
grocery game ?
B is iu Aie commission business, and
a large operator in “puts” and “calls.”
Finding a customer with cash and a
disposition to speculate, he induces him
to put up a margin on wheat or corn,
“buying long” or “selling short,” as the
ca,se may be. After ho has got his
frieud and perhaps a dozen athers iu,
he helps to get up a “corner” on wheat
or curu, by which they, or rather their
pockets, are thoroughly squeezed.
Now, what has B. done but to “rope”
his friend against
a “brace” in grain?
But these are terms that only apply
where the gambler is the operator.
C. is the originator of a grand joint
stock association for the development
of mines of precious ore, lociMST re
motely or, if near by, well “salted.” By
plausible representations he induces
his neighbors to invest in the scheme
until the last share of stock is taken.
Then C. calls “keno” and pockets the
“pet.” That is to say, he lets it out
that the miues are a failure, or rather
a fraud, and the certiAcates of stock
held by his friends are worth just as
much as a last week’s keno card, and
nc mom But in this case, at least,
“keno is correct.” Those whom he has
duped may “kick,” as the gamblers
would put it, but to what avail ? They
have not been “roped” into a game
which the law recognizes as illicit, but
were “induced into an unfortunate
speculation,” and no authority inter
poses to demand a restitution of their
losses.
That every trade has its tricks is ad
mitted, and why should gambling be
deprived of the same privilege ? That
the tricks of the gambler are more foul
than those we have enumerated, and
which are every day being practiced
by a class recognized as eminently re
spectable the writer is not prepared to
admit. If gambling is a human pas
sion that must and will be gratiAed,
why should it be restricted, or why
should the party who bets that wheat
will be worth more in February than it
is to-day be regarded as a whit more
moral than another man who bets that
a certain card will come out of the box
before another certain card ? The re
cent vote on the abolition of the “ Call
Board,” on our own Exchange, mani
fests, conclusively, a sentiment on tho
part of the business men of St. Louis
favorable to gambling— at least, to one
species of gambling. Why the distinc
tion ?
A clerk who has riAed his employer’s
till, and loses it against faro, is pub
lished as one who has been
RUINED AT CARDS,
and the indignation of the community
is directed against the gambler, rather
than against the embezzler and thief.
But how is it when a banking house or
a real estate agency has taken tho
hard earnings of others, intrusted to
them for safe keeping, and by specula
tion “go upon the rocks?” In both
cases gambling has been done on the
money of others.
An Ulster gentleman sought an au
dience with us this morning, saying
that he was an “advance agent” for tho
sale of somebody’s steer pens. We
bade him “advance!”
The time when a man fully realizes
that woman’s sphere should be en
larged, is when he Ands that his wash
woman has mistaken his stockings for
his shirt bosom, and starched them ac
cordingly.— Norwich Bulletin.
If you were a Washington clerk now
you’d get down awful early in the
morning, work like fun and endeavor
to prove to your superior that the Gov
ernment w’ould loose a thousand dol
lars a minute by getting rid of you.—
Deli oil Free Press.
This is the kind of weather when a
man sees his wife coming imte v ihe room
with a scuttle of coal, and afterahe had
poured every bit of it into the tall stove
says, “Darn it, Hanner, you ought to
’have asked me to do that. But it’s
too late now.”
When newspapers steal from the Cin
cinnati Times the gentle Perkins re
marks with the utmost cheerfulness,
“All night. Take ’em and welcome.—
Plenty more where they come from.”.
And it seems to us that that’s the true
Christian disposition.
“Mrs. Busbee says you needn’t send
the paper to him any more,” said a lit
tle urchin who stuck his head into the
sanctum, “All right.” “An’ he said to
tell you ho wouldn’t a stopped it, only
you didn’t say nothin’ about the big
hog he killed last week,” continued the
youth; and then he slid down the ban
ister into the street.
A Detroit boy paid his first visit to
one of the Union schools the other day
as a scholar, and when he came home
at night his mother inquired : “Well,
Henry, how do you like going to
school ?” “Bully !” he replied in an ex
cited voice. “I saw four boys licked,
one girl got her ear pulled, and a big
scholar burned his elbow on the stove,
I. don’t want to miss a day,”