Democratic Sentinel, Volume 3, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 February 1879 — Page 1

Jpff cratic A DEMOCRATIC NEWSPAPER TUBLIBHED EVERY FRIDAY, by JAMES W. McEWEN. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. One copy one year . ........SI.W One copy six month* I.o> One copy three months.. M AW Advertising rates on application

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

FOREIGN NEWS. The European Governments continue fiheir precautions against the dreaded plague. The German Parliament, after an ex- > citing debate, has adopted almost unanimously the motion of Herr Lasken, contesting the correctness of the Government's interpellation of the Socialist law, and refusing the consent of the Reichstag to the proposed arrest of its members. In other words, they declare that they have some rights which even Bismarck shall respect. A report comes from far-distant Burnaah that the King has murdered all the royal IPnnres and their families, and set himself up aisxx despot. The black Republic of Hayti is in the : throes of her regular semi-yearly revolution. A severe battle has been fought, in which the Government fordes were victorious. All of the insurgent prisoners captured were put to death. Egyptian finances are in a deplorable condition, and the Khedive is having serious trouble with the officers and soldiers of his army, who loudly clamor for their arrearages of pay. Recently a largo mob, led by military officers, surrounded the palace and threatened violence if they were not paid. The Khedive Iliad some of them arrested, which has only had the effect of doubly incensing their comrades .against that functionary.- To add to the Kne.dive’s troubles, nearly all his Cabinet Ministers i have resigned, and others threaten to follow. Several heavy failures are reported from England and Scotland. Great Britain and the continent have been visited by another severe snowstoim. Great consternation prevails in Burmiah on account of the royal murders. The victims nuniliered eighty-six. Tbe people are Dieseeching British interference. The powers have decided to refer the Dobriidscha-boundary question to the Ambasi sadors at Constantinople. The Austrian Government, before assenting, insisted that the decision of the majority must be final, to which the Russian Government has agreed. The yellow fever prevails as an epidemic at Rio Janeiro. The English Duke of Newcastle is dead. The French Atlantic cable is broken in 500 fathoms of water 100 miles from shore. Count von Roon, Field Marshal of Germany, has just died at Berlin. The Bulgarian Assembly was formally opened, amid great enthusiasm, at Timova, the ancient capital, on the 22<1 of February. A dispatch from Berlin reports that the Chinese Government has bought cottonjpinning machinery in Germany, and will establish mills in China in order to free that country from its dependence on English and Russian importers. » Despite the official report of the disappearance of the plague from t,hc infected dis,yf n.iuui.i, nnnfi.inu.o ic ,wt by a n y means restored!© the populations of Central nu.upo. Much alarm prevails in Eastern Prussia on laceount cf a report that Russian recruits from Astrakhan are being placed on the German frontier.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. East. The Methodist ministers of New York and neighboring cities, at a conference held last week, discussed the Anti-Chinese bill recently passed by Congress, and voted unanimously to send an address to the President asking him to veto it Brooklyn has been feeding paupers on meat not fit for dogs, and allowing hospital patients to recline on wet straw. The old American Bible Society will adhere to the terms of its constitution, which provide that only the King James version of the Bible shall be circulated. s The Atlantic Knitting Mills, at Cohoes, N. Y., have been destroyed by fire. Henry Bigelow Williams, one of the heaviest real-estate operators in Boston, has failed for $2,259,600. West. The Illinois State Board of Agriculture has decided to offer prizes for the bestdrilled companies of militia exhibiting at the next State Fair. Bt. Rev. Thomas Foley, Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, has just died in that city, of pneumonia, in the 57th year of his age. The remains were taken to Baltimore for interment Illinois has expended over $3,500,000 on her new Capitol, and yet it is a long way from being finished. Col. Rice, the bayonet inventor, of Fort Keogh, and Lieut. Sibley, and Morris Cahn, a merchant of Evansville, Ind., while en route to Bismarck, Dak. Ter., in an ambulance, were waylaid by four highwaymen and compelled to fork over their loose change. The officers lost S2OO and Cahn $2,500. About the time they had finished this job an escort of five soldiers, who were strolling behind, came up, and were accorded a similar reception. One soldier had 7 cents, and the robbers took tary party were ordered to stack arms and skin out. Chicago harvested 1,000,000 tons of ice during the past winter. The Opera House at Columbus, Ind., has been burned. Loss estimated at 875,000. The Chicago Daily Commercial Bulletin prints a resume of the hog-packing business in the West during the winter season 1878-9. The estimated increase in the number of hogs packed is 960,000, but the quality is not quite as good as that of last season, and the increase in product is only about equal to 630,000 hogs of last year’s weight The total number of hogs estimated packed for the season is 7,465,000. The Kansas House of Represents' fives has passed a bill creating a Patriot Guard for the frontier, with a view to repelling Indian invasions, and appropriating $25,000 for its maintenance; and the Senate has passed a bill forever prohibiting the manufacture of liquor in the State of Kansas. The town of Stockton, Cal., has been the scene of a shocking calamity, by which sixteen people were suddenly launched into eternity, and twenty-six others wounded, several of them fatally. A crowd of more than 200 people had assembled to witness the trial of a new propeller pump set in the slough and run by a threshing engine, which exploded. Those who stood near were prostrated. The body of | the engine was blown a distance of 150 feet through the-large crowd. The dead lay prostrate in every direction, some falling into the slough from the bridge. Ten or tw-elve dead bodies lay in one heap near the bridge. Others lay strewn dead and dying nn the street, blown from fifty to one hundred feet. The heads of some were blown to pieces. Others were blown to the ground with such force as to break every bone in their bodies. Their faces, hands and bodies were steamed in dirt and smoke and cinders. Ths pspkNloo

The Democratic Sentinel.

JAS. W. McEWfiN Editor.

VOLUME 111.

was the result of recklessness on the part of the engineer. The steam gauge refused to work, and, after the engineer had attempted to fix it and failed, he screwed down the safetyvalve and went on with his work. Many were blown a considerable distance and escaped uninjured. The body of the engine, weighing 2,500 pounds, was blown over the telegraph wires and landed on the plaza. South. George W. Dupre, State Printer of Louisiana, has been indicted for perjury by the New Orleans Grand Jury. John McLeon, a quondam Methodist preacher, now in prison at Asheville, N. C., is the champion bigamist of the age. He has been married nineteen times, his wiv r s are all alive, and none of them has he be n legally separated from. A dispatch from Atlanta, Ga., gives the following brief particulars of a shocking railway disaster: “A passenger train on the Selma, Rome and Dalton ’■oad, which had just left Selma, Ala., fell through a rotten bridge over Mulberry creek, thirteen miles from Selma. George Evans, a prominent young Alabamian, and four negroes were killed. Three white meh were fatally hurt M. Stanton, Superintendent of the road, is among those fatally wounded. Twenty-five persons were injured. Conductor White was terribly wounded. The sleeping-car did not godown with the wreck. All the rest of the train, including several freight cars and the engine, were smashed in one mass. The bridge was perfectly rotten, and much indignation exists. The escape of so many is considered miraculous.” The press and people of New Orleans indignantly deny that the yellow fever has re appeared in that city. In Sumter, S. C., two negroes, who burned another’s barn because ho voted the Democratic ticket, have been sentenced to the penitentiary for two years. Near Baltimore, Md., Farmer Parks, on horseback, drunk, refused to ride home with his wife and family in a carriage, exclaiming that he could ride to hell. After a full gallop for a short distance, he was dashed against a stone and killed. A Virginia constable, near Washington City, went with a posse of thirtv-five men to the house of Felix Quanders (colored) for the purpose of serving a warrant. Quanders barricaded his doors. The constable ordered him to come out, but he declined. An attempt was made to fire the house. The posse then fired thirty-five shots into the house, wounding Quanders, Sr., his wife, two sons, the wife of one of the sons, and a female visitor. The constable was arrested and placed under bonds. George Washington (colored) was doubly hanged at Louisville, Ky., the other day. When the drop was sprung the rope snapped in twain, and the culprit fell with a heavy thud to tho ground. The body was lifted up, another noose placed around the neck, and the bungling job completed. A colored member of the Arkansas Legislature swears that United States Seuatoreleci Walker paid him money for the purpose of influencing votes. Walker swears, on the did MO odokiLinfr Qiarl ♦!.«*.t the “membah” is guilty of flat perjury.

POLITICAL POINTS. Zachariah Chandler was on the 18th inst. elected United States Senator from Michigan to fill the vacancy created by Judge Christiancy’s resignation. He received the vote of every Republican member of the Legislature. The Democrats supported Barnes, and the Groenbackers cast their votes for Chamberlain. The Ohio Prohibitionists are early in the field this year. They met at Columbus last week, adopted a platform, andnominatod a full State ticket, headed by George T. Stewart, of Norwalk, for Governor. A sub-committee of the Teller Committee, with Senator Hoar for Chairman, has been formed to make a Northern investigation. The National Democratic Committee, at a meeting held in Washington a few days ago, authorized the Executive Committee to appoint an auxiliary body to act with the latter in all political matters. Tne Congressional Committee will also appoint an Executive Committee for the same purpose as the auxiliary committee. Col. Isaac E. Eaton, <jf Kansas, was appointed to the vacancy on the National Committee caused by the resignation of Abram 8. Hewitt. Headquarters will be at Boston, and the next meeting will be held there Feb. 23.1880. Washington correspondents make mention of a very ugly bit of unpleasantness that camo between Senators Conkling and Burnside, during an executive session of the Senate. The trouble arose out of the discussion of a Rhode Island appointee of the President, whose name was up for confirmation. Conkling charged Burnside with trickery in committee. Burnside said the statement was incorrect. Conkling then re peated his assertions, and appealed to Senators to sustain him. At this Spencer jumped up and declared that Conkling was stating the truth. Burnside by this time had worked himself into a furious state of excitement,'and gave Conkling the lie direct, and took occasion to express a fervent wish that he had the tongue of a Blaine, iu order that he might make a fitting reply to the SenaW ASHINGTON NOTES. The report of the Senate Committee on Territories is published. It states that there are 20,000 citizens of the United States rightfully residing in the Indian Territory whose property interests and lives are in such danger that immediate legislation by Congress is necessary for their protection. According to the official returns made to the Bureau of Statistics, the number of immigrants who arrived in the United States during the calendar years of 1877 and 1878 was as follows: Year ended Dec. 31, 1877, 130,503; year ended Dec. 31, 1878, 153,207. This shows an increase in the number of those coming to this country for settlement amounting to 22,704. The Government departments were all closed on Feb. 22, in honor of Washington’s birthday. The report of the special committee appointed by the Seaate to investigate the, causes of the omission of the Hot Springs section from the enrolled Sundry Civil Appropriation bill last session says that all the evidence goes to show that the omission was a clerical error. The President has nominated John W. Chapman for Marshal of the District of lowa. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, with Mr. Paddock as Chairman, have examined numerous witnesses with regard to pleuro-pneumonia in cattle. All concurred that the country is free from this disease, and letters from Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Texas and Nebraska showed that fact. On Long island the disease is being “stamped out”

MISCELLANEOUS GLEANINGS. The visible supply of grain in the States and Canada is 20,604,000 bushels of wheat, SfWiOOO biuhels of oom, 8,864,000

RENSSELAER. JASPER COUNTY, INDIANA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1879.

bushels of oats, 1,321,000 bushels of rye, and 4,541,000 bushels of barley. Miss Reynolds, an 18-year-old girl, has begun at Troy, N. ¥., the task of walking 3,000 quarter miles in 3,000 consecutive quarter hours. Miss May Marshall, of Chicago, has lately-accomplished, at Washington, 2,700 quarter miles in 2,700 quarter hours: and Madame La Chapelle has achieved a similar feat at Chicago. Secretary Sherman has ordered the revenue cutter Oliver Wolcott, now at Port Townsend, to Sitka, to preserve the peace. The British man-of-war Osprey has also left Victoria, B. C., for Sitka, at the earnest request of citizens who represented that they feared indiscriminate massacre by the Indians. Chas. W. Angell, of Chicago, the defaulting Secretary of the Pullman Palace Oar Company, arrived in Philadelphia from Lisbon last week. The British steamer Zanzibar sailed from New York for Glasgow on the 11th of January, since which no tidings have been received from her. She is given up as lost, with all on board. Since the law to reward individuals for heroic conduct in saving life at sea was passed in 1874, the Government has awarded twenty-five medals, ten of them to persons living on the shores of the great lakes. Frank Girard, the well-known Indian interpreter and scout, has indited an open" letter to Maj. Reno, in which he indicates no small degree of contempt for that officer. Cowardice, mendacity, venality and vulgarity are among the choice expletives he uses in characterizing Reno.

FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. February 17.—1 n the Senate, Mr. Windom presented a petition of colored people of Louisiana favoring the passage of his resolution in relation to tbe migration of blacks... .The bill to provide for the construction of a bridge across the Missouri river Decatur, Neb., was passed... .The Senate was engaged the whole afternoon and till I:3V o’clock at night in discussing the bill to amend the Internal Revenue law, the proposed reduction of the tax>on tobacco constituting the bone of contention. .. .The Senate in executive session confirmed John F. Hartranft as Postmaster of Philadelphia, and A. Louden Snowden as Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint... .The nomination of William Hays, to be Postmaster at St. Louis, was reported back from the committee without recommendation, the committee being equally divided as to the advisability of confirmation. Tho House passed, under a suspension of the rules, the bill appropriating $26,852,260 for the payment of the arrears of pensions. ... .Mr. Hale offered a resolution directing the Committee on the Judiciary to report a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to prohibit the payment of war claims except of persons loyal to the Union... .The River and Harbor Appropriation bill was passed.... Memorial exercises of the late. Representative Schleicher were held in the evening. February 18.—The Senate adopted a resolution to pay Jot ' ' lr $5,000 in full compensation for his expenses in prosecuting a claim to a seat as Senator from Virginia in 1863.... The House bill to promote the knowledge of steam-engineering and iron ship-building among students of scientific schools or colleges was passed.... The Revenue bill was discussed, amended, and finally’ passed, with the amendment reducing the tobacco tax to 16 cents. The House, after wasting nearly two hours on questions of precedence, took up the Census bill, and devoted the entire day session to its consideration..,. An evening session, lasting till past midnight, was devoted to the consideration of the Legislative Appropriation < bill. There was a hot contest over the publiciland surveys. The matter, as finally’ fixed up. leaves the bill in about this condition: The Coast Survey is transferred from the Treasury to the Interior Department. and the consolidated bureau is given charge of the geographical work of the Coast Survey and the Interior Department, and the special srientific surveys known as,the Powell, the Hayden and the Wheeler surveys are abolished; and a new Bureau of Geological Surveys is created, with a chief to be appointed by the President. The Western men, tinder the lead of Patterson, "of Colorado, and * Page, of California, who did most of the work, defeated the Appropri tion Comiffittee in its effort to destroy the General Land Office, and the present land system. The surveys having been passed, the amendment to repeal the jurors’ testoaih and the Federal Supervisor law authorizing the use of Deputy Marshals were moved, pending which the House adjourned. February 19.—The Senate was engaged nearly all day on the Postoffice Appropriation bill. There was a sharp fight on the Brazilian mailsteamship subsidy, but no vote was reached in the matter. The House resumed consideration of U’e Legislative* Appropriation bill, the jurors’ test-oath amendments being in order. Mr. Hale raised a point of order against the amendment, which was overruled. Various amendments were offered by the Republicans, but all were voted down. After a two-hours’ slruggle, the repeal was carried in the committee of the whole by a vote of 127 to 87. The next amendment repealing the Supervisors of Election law was then taken up. Mr. H ale opened the-debate in opposition to the repeal, and raised a point of order against it. He characterized the action of the Democrats in try ing to force such legislate t through Congress as simply revolutionary, jid said, speaking for the Republican side of the House, that every known parliament? ry rule and device would be resorted to to prevent it from being passed. The Democrats defended the movement on the ground that the law which it was sought to repeal, instead of preserving the purity of the ballot-box, furnished out of the national treasury a campaign fund for either party which might be in power to corrupt an election. The debate was long and spirited, but without reaching a vote on the proposition the House adjourned. February 20.—1 n the Senate, the Army Appropriation bill was reported back from the committee, divested of all the army reorganization sec" tions inserted by the House.... Mr. Shields deliv’ ered a speech in favor of the bill granting pensions to the surviving soldiers of the Mexican war.... The Senate a long fight over the Brazilian Mail subsidy amendment to the Postoffice Appropriation bill, lasting until after midnight. The scheme was finally adopted, the bill passed, and the Senate adjourned at 1 o’clock a. m. The House spent tbe entire day’ in considering the Florida contested-election case of Finley vs. Bisbee. A resolution was adopted unseat ng Horace Bisbee (Republican) and seating tne Democratic contestant, John J. Finley... .An evening session was held, which was devoted to memorial services in honor of the deceased members—Williams, of Michigan, and Welch, of NeFebruary 21.—1 n the Senate, Mr. Voorhees introduced a bill directing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue legal tenders equal in amount to the fractional currency retired—about $26,000,000 —to pay the arrears of pensions... .The bill regulating the transportation of animals was passed.... Mr. Saunders, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported without amendment the Senate bill to authorize the President temporarily to transfer the management of certain Indian tribes from the Interior to the War Department The House was engaged all day on the private calendar, and several war claims were squelched. February 22.—The Senate spent tne day on the Army Appropriation bill, and struck out all tbe reorganization features,together with theposse-com-itatus clause of the House bi 11.... The credentials of Messrs. Logan, of Illinois; Call, of Florida, and Slater, of Oregon, were received and placed on file. ... .The Senate, in executive session, confirmed a number of executive appointments, including that of H. C. Burchard, of Illinois, to be Director of the United States Mints. In the House there waa an animated discussion of the bill to repeal the Resumption law, Messrs. Garfield and Ewing being the chief participants. At the conclusion of the debate the bill was laid on the table by a vote of 141 yeas to 110 nays... .The bill restricting Chinese immigration was passed, with the Senate amendments.

The Potter Investigation.

John F. Coyle, one of the witnesses before the Potter Committee at Washington, swore that he went to Florida at the request of Cot Pelton. Edward Cooper gave him his cipher and instructions, and he sent telegrams to Henry Havemeyer. He was authorized to employ money, and did use about SIO,OOO. The witness gave an account of negotiations through Alexander Thein for the purchase of the Returning Board, but they were not concluded. Witness felt positive Mr. Tilden knew nothing of these matters Thomas C. Dunn, one of the South Carolina Returning Board, testified that he had been approached, pending the counting the votes of South Carolina, by one Hardy Solomon, who stated that he was requested to see members of the Returning Board and ascertain whether it was possible to enter into any negdtiations by which the vote of that board could be so shaped as to give the electoral vote of South Carolina, or a portion of it, to Tilden. Dunn and Solomon had frequent |nteryiew», at which the subject w»»

“A Firm, Adherence to Correct Principles.”

discussed. The argument that Solomon used was that he had been told by the Democratic leaders there that they had the Democratic strength of the State in arms and organized, and that they could put 4,000 men into Columbia on a few hours’ notice. They meant to take the State peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must* Witness*said that Solomon represented that there was an agent of Tilden in Columbia for the purpose of using money, if needed, to secure the electoral vote.... Gen. Barlow, of New York, Cold the committee how he happened to go to Florida. He said he saw Dr. Cowgill after the Returning Board had adjourned, and said to him he (witness) did not see iiow they could fairly give the State to the Hayes electors, and, if he were in Cowgill’s place, he should feel it his duty to give the vote to the Tilden electors. Witness said be could not be termed counsel to the Republican party, although he wrote for them opinions on points of law, and did other legal work for them William E. Chandler was called, and testified that Mr. Barlow was in Florida as counsel for the Republicans, and as such was under obligations to the members of that party. Mr. Barlow then defended his course before the Florida Canvassing Board, and said he did what he considered his duty as a person fjent there in the interest of honesty Louisiana politics were the subject of investigation by the Potter Committee on the 20th inst, United States Marshal Wharton being the only witness called during the day. The witness expressed the opinion that Mr. Wells was willing to sell out to the Democrats provided his price were proffered, i Maddox was supposed to have been theragent through which negotiations were carried on. Maddox at one time told witness that he believed if the State administration would give Gov. Wells what was regarded as its biggest offer, that Wells would be satisfied. Much evidence of the venality of Louisiana politicians was developed in the examination or Marshal Wharton.

ELECTION SUPERVISORS.

Extracts from the Debate in the National House of Representatives on the Proposition to Abolish Them. Mr. Frye (Republican) argued against the amendment He declared its object was for effect not in the South, but in the State of New York. In the South, notwithstanding the election laws, the Republican party had disappeared as the dew before the rising sun. The South would be solid for the Democratic candidate for President in 1880, law or no law, Supervisor or po Supervisor, United States Marshal or no United States Marshal. Mr. Frye went on to state that it was the election frauds in 1868 that had originally caused the enactment of the Federal Election law. and that it was .the present necessities of the Democratic party that now required its repeal He gave some of, the figures of the naturalization and election frauds in New York in 1868, and characterized that election as the most monstrous and marvelous for fraud, for wickedness, and for-every device of the devil, that had ever been heard df. He showed that, on the 6th of October, in one single day, the Supreme Court had naturalized 2,109 persons, and on the 19th of October the Supreme Court had naturalized 919, and yet a Judge of Louisiana had been impeached and found gnilty for having naturalized some 400 persons in one day—that being declared to be a physical impossibility. He spoke of nine witnesses (one a Captain of a squad) witnessing the naturalization of nearly 7,000 persons, one of them (the Captain) being a witness in one court for 996 persons, and swearing that he knew all the men, while he did not know a single one of them, and while the Judge knew that he did not, but that ho was a drunken thief. In conclusion, he quoted from Cox’s report on the New York election in 1876, in which a high compiitnont in paid to the United States Supervisors and Marshals. Mr. Lynde (Democrat) denied the statement of Mr. Frye as to the false naturalization papers in New York, and asked why it was that, if there was so many false naturalization papers in 1868, not one person had been successfully prosecuted for using or issuing them. He believed that the greater part of those naturalization papers were valid? The Election law had been got up by John L Davenport for his own and for partisan purposes. The way in which the law had been administered by Davenport wae sketched and criticized by him to prove that all these statements of election frauds were gross exaggerations. He characterized the Lawrence report of the election of 1868, from which Mr. Frye had obtained his facts and figures, as the most unreliable political document he had ever seen. Mr. Baker (Republican, Ind.) expressed the opinion that his friends on tho other side who declared themselves in favor of freedom of election while they had their hands on the throat of the law that secured it were protesting a little too much. Underlying the discussion was tne question which had culminated in the Rebellion, whether or not the life of the nation can be protected by the nation itself. Mr. Wood (Democrat) recited the history of the laws which were proposed to be repealed. They were but a portion of a series of laws passed In order to keep the Southern States as stipendiaries of the Republican party. That had been intended for the South, but it was now applied to the North. The gentleman from Maine (Frye) assumed to speak for his party when ho said that he would resist by every means in his power the repeal of those aws. He (Wood) could not speak for his party but he could speak for one man when he said that he did not care what became of the appropriation bills. He believed there was a higher question than that of appropriating money. He could stay in the House as long as any gentleman. The Democratic party conld resist as long as the Republican party, and he would not consent to vote for a dollar until this amendment should be engrafted on the bill. Mr. Garfield (Republican) opposed the amendment. He said: Gentlemen (addressing the Democratic side of the House), you seek to cut out a section, a living section, from the criminal laws of the United States, and to say that the ballot-box stuffing, fraud at elections, intimidation, outrage, poisoning the very foun-tain-springs of the elective franchise, shall be no crime, and that the machinery by which such crime can be punished shall be deslroyed. That is what you propose to do here to-day, and to do it at the dictation of a party caucus. * * * Now, Mr. Chairman, if this be the purpose which we are called upon here to vote on, we on this side are compelled to meet it in the spirit of tne constitution and our rights, and that we prop se to do, and if it takes one night, two nights, ten nights, not while Congießs lasts ehall 7 0U strike from our statuteVVuao mv wx txio pi. UU3CUOII OI blltJ elective franchise. When you do it you must do it because you have the‘whole power to do it, and not by our help, not by our consent. A hundred criminal prosecutions are to-day pending before the courts of the United States to punish crimes against the elective franchise Already enough men from the citv of Cincinnati have been sentenced to the ‘penitentiary for fraud to take away the majority of one of the members on this floor from that city and all the proceedings in the criminal courts are to be abandoned at the cry of a party order which demands it for party success. —The Potter Committee, on Feb. 21, held a rather uninteresting session, at which Manager Whitney, of the Western Union Telegraph Company, said that within the last ninety days there had been some telegrams withdrawn from his office, which were sent to New York. The telegrams were from Gibson, at New Orleans, to the correspondent of the New York Hun at Washington. Gen. Butler then cross-examined Marshal Wharton, when it was brought out that Maddox expected to be appointed chief of the secretservice division, and was to give witness a place. Witness said that he had never made any proposition to any member of the Returning Board that would lead him to entertain an idea that he (Wharton) wanted to buy him out He was positive that if the board did its duty Hayes and Packard would surely be elected.

McManus and O’Neill, Mollie Maguires, convicted for the murder of Coroner Hesser several years ago, are whiling awiy their time in the Sunbury, (Pa.) jail. They do not expect to hang. Their cases will be brought before the Supreme Court on writs of error. They are the only two Mollies left unhung of the whole party convicted. He saw Washington, rode on Robert Fulton’s pioneer steamboat, fought the British at North Point, moved to Newbury. Ohio, and the other day died at the ripe age of 86 years—,whioh his name was Samuel Harrison, the aeronaut, ‘ ‘

AN AWFUL SCOURGE.

Ravages of the Plague in Brazil—Half a Million of People Swept Away—A Horrible Recital. [From the Chicago Inter Ocean.] Much has been written qf the horrors of the great famine in China, and scarcely an incident of the progress of the plague in Europe has been allowed to escape the notice of the newspapers, but the great calamity in Brazil has received comparatively dittle attention. Some months ago a brief dispatch noticed the ravages of the small-pox in connection with the drought and famine in one of the northern provinces, but this and subsequent reports were confined to generalities, and failed to give an adequate idea of the horrible visitation. Last year, when the yellow fever desolated so many districts in the Southern States, the sympathetic people of our enterprising nation had railroads, steamboats and the telegraph at hand to enable them to render efficient service and prompt assistance. Under the most favorable circumstances the scourge was terrible enough, and the deaths in the infected regions reached a total of nearly 12,000. But in the stricken provinces of Brazil the deaths, in a population of 900,000, numbered nearly 500,000. The particulars of the great calamity are given in letters from Ceara, Brazil, to the New York Herald. The writer penetrated to the infected districts, and speaks from personal observation, picturing a scene of desolation and terror that scarcely has its equal in the history of famines and plagues. The province of Ceara is about as large as the Middle States, and was inhabited by a class of people dependent on the crops of their small farms for support. There were no manufactures, no industries, no trade with other regions, few roads, no railroad, and no telegraph. The principal commercial town on the coast, Fortaleza, has no harbor, and reports of the famine, which began in 1877, were a long time in reaching the Government or the outside world. By the beginning of 1878 the mortality from starvation was terrible, and the panic-stricken and starving peasants flocked to the larger towns. Here there was little to give, and Government aid came slowly. Men fought like tigers for refuse, women died with starving children in their arms, and, in some cases, men and women devoured the dead bodies of their own children. It is estimated that 150,000 people died from hunger. At last supplies reached the famine districts, but the ignorant people were demoralized, and it was difficult to enforce sanitary regulations. The dead bodies of those who had starved were in many cases not buried, and in other cases only a few handfuls of earth had been thrown upon them. The survivors huddled together in the towns lived in filth an! idleness. The whole population of the province was gathered in a strip of territory along the coast not more than seventy-five miles wide. The drought still continued, and birds, in-< sects and, animals died. The people were fed by Government rations, but the fearful death-rate continued, and it was discovered that small-pox had broken out among the refugees. This was in June, 1878, and the disease spread rapidly to all classes, including the wealthier and aristocratic people of the cities. Up to this date the Government had had the advice and air of these. Now all became panic-stricken, and a .reign of terror was inaugurated. In the 90,000 people gathered in and about Fortaleza, the death-rate in the latter part of November was over 500 per day. On the last day of November there were 574 deaths, and during the month nearly 12,000 interments had taken place in the two cemeteries, and thousands of dead bodies lay unburied in the forests. At this date over 30,000 people were sick, and, on Dec. 10, the deaths from small-pox were nearly 1,000. This was the death-rate of the great London plague, but there was there a population of 300,000. At Fortaleza, with a population of only 75,000, there were 1,000 deaths in a single day. The death-rate decreased from that date, dropping on Dec. 20 to 400, and by D 3c. 30 to 200. The registered deaths for the month were 21,000. In the midst of such a pestilence there was necessarily much carelessness as to burial. Dead bodies were laid in trenches and a light covering of sand was thrown over them. This carelessness in due time added new horrors to the situation, and contributed, no doubt, to the inauguration of a new disease resembling the black plague now raging in Russia. Scenes like those described at Fortaleza were common in other towns of the province, and, as has been stated, out of a population of 900,000 only 400,000 remain. The Brazilian Government made all possible effort to stop the ravages of the small-pox, and in some localities 4-Vioix* worn O-txnnACLfifnl Aq if iq the province is, in truth, desolated, and, if the new disease at Fortaleza is the plague, more disastrous consequences are to follow. The Black Death has never appeared in America before, and, if the reports as to its existence in Brazil are true, there is need for precautionary measures in this country as well as in Europe. Fortunately the infected province is remote from main lines of travel, and the disease can be the more easily kept within circumscribed bounds.

Quinine. . The alkaline substance known as quinine, notwithstanding its universal use throughout civilization as a powerful tonic and remedy in intermittent and remittent fevers, has been discovered less than sixty years. To Pelletier, the French chemist, noted for observation and analysis, belongs the honor of the discovery, for which the Academy of Sciences awarded him a prize of 10,000 francs. Quinine has been much employed recently as a preservative of health when the system is exposed to certain noxious influences. Its value as a prophylactic is so generally recognized that in our own and other navies quinine is regularly administered when ships are within a given distance of the fever-infected coasts of Africa. It has not been found effective against all forms of intermittent fever; and the physician in medical charge of Livingstone’s Zambesi expedition favored mm in preference. Procured from the yellow bark of that variety of the cinchona tree known as calisaya, it is to be had only in Bolivia, and the adjoining Peruvian province of C'arabaya, although the general impression is that it comes exclusively from Peru. The forests in

which the calisaya tree is found are ten to twelve miles’ journey from inhabited places. They are penetrated by companies pf Cascarillos, men who make an encampment, and roam through the region felling trees and gathering the bark, which is sent to Africa, and thence shipped to Europe and this country. The medicine commonly taken in such quantities in the West and South is the sulphate, or, properly, the disulphate of quinine, and consists of one equivalent of sulphuric acid, two of quinine, and eight of water. — New York paper.

Identifying Themselves with Robeson.

The Republican leaders have heretofore boastfully referred to the Democratic habit of blundering as their surest reliance for success, and they are not altogether without reason for this confidence. But, if recent events furnish any indication for the future, the tables are likely to be turned, and. the Democrats may commend the poisoned chalice to the lips of their opponents. The Republicans of the House of Representatives have put themselves on record as sustaining the gross corruption and plunder of Secor Robeson and his confederates. First, Mr. Conger and Mr. Hale quickly objected to a report being made by the Naval Committee, though Mr. Whitthorne proposed that the views of the minority should have an equal hearing with those of the majority. Then, on Monday last, when he moved to print the report, with the resolutions and the dissenting opinions of the minority, and to fix a day for their consideration, the same parliamentary tactics were renewed. But on this latter occasion the yeas and nays were called, and the record shows that every Republican present or paired was in favor of suppressing the report and testimony, and thus, to the extent of his ability, was in favor of sustaining Secor Robeson’s shameless venality while Secretary of the Navy. A party which, through its leaders and its recognized organs, assumes such a responsibility as this must be indifferent to public opinion and reckless as to cbnsequences. No man has ever held high office in this country about whose character and conduct there is a more confirmed conviction, irrespective of party, than there is about Secor Robeson, so called from one of the early jobs with which he was proven to have jjeen connected. The testimony before the different investigations, much of it furnished by his own correspondence and telegrams, is overwhelming as to his guilty collusion in all forms of jobbery. He demoralized the service, disgraced the department, and managed, in less than eight years, to destroy the navy and leave nothing but rotten hulks and rusted machinery to represent the enormous appropriations voted by Republican Congresses. This is a crime for which the Republicans will be held answerable. They took out of the treasury first and last, including the valuable mate: ial which Robeson bartered away to favored contractors as old iron, more than $225,000,000, and when Robeson went out of the department he left it encumbered with debts, with illegal contracts for millions made while holding over temporarily under Hayes, and with a record of rascality such as neve r disnonored it before. In defending Robeson the Republican leaders, like Hale, Conger, and the rest of them, identify themselves with his plundering career. —New York Sun.

Terrible Experience.

Two men, Joseph Smith and Paul Le Blau, were eleven days and nights on floating ice in Lake Michigan and the straits. They left Beaver Harbor, Dec. 23, in a fish-boat, with the mail, bound for Mackinaw, and arrived the same day. They left Mackinaw, on their return, Dec. 28; arrived at Saint Waugoshance at 10 p. m.; left next morning for St. Helena, arriving at Ba. m.; left St. Helena Jan. 1, had to put back and haul out the boat; left again Jan. 5, on foot, with a dog and hand-sled; crossed on the ice to Gros Cap, went up the north shore to Poufetts, arriving at 10 a. m., Jan. 6; went out on the ice JaUVIO, with two dogs, but had to return; started again Jan. 11, making for Hat island, but when half a mile from shore were obliged to turn back on account of water; camped that night on the ice; next morning the wind blew a gale from the southwest, drifting them toward Point Shane; snow so thick that they could not see any distance, the handsled broke down, and they had to abandon the mail on Sunday, the 19th, after carrying it for some time on their backs; the ice was so broken up that they had hard work to keep afloat; drifted from Waugoshance, abreast of Scott’s point, and were buffeted by the winds till the 22d, when they got on shore on Hog island, after being on the ice eleven days and nights, without fire, subsisting on two loaves of bread and about four pounds of boiled pork. They remained over night on Hog island, and landed on Garden island, Jan. 23, at 10:30 a. m.. where they stayed until noon of Jan. 23, when they went over home to Beaver island in a skiff. On Jan. 11 Paul broke in, and they ferried over a crack on a cake of ice, using a piece of board for a paddle. On Jan. 22 Paul broke in twice, the second time about 3 p. m., in water up to his shoulders. The dog went in too, and tried to get on Paul’s back. Smith hauled Paul out both times with a piece of rope. They made camps nights out of cakes of ice; had no fire or bed-clothes of any kind. Their clothing would be frozen to the ice after lying down a short time, which made it a tough job to get up again. The letter giving this account is; from the teacher of an Indian school on Garden island, in Lake Michigan. This island is about fifteen or twenty miles west of the main land of the Lower Peninsula, and fortyfive miles from Mackinaw, and the entire population consists of Indians and halfbreeds. This is the first mail received since November.— Chicago Inter Ocean.

She Proved It.

“Oh, I broo>it toyou,shendlemans, I broof it to you. I don’t ask you to dake my vort for noting. Dot coat cosht me two tollar more as I ask you for him,” was what a truthful South street lady of Jewish second-hand persuasion was saying to a customer last Friday. Then she went to the foot of the stairs and called, “Moshes! Moshes! Didn’t dot plue coat mit der velvet collar cosht six tollars?” “Yes, mudder, so shure I’m here.” “Now, vat I tole you? I broof it, hey! Now ven you vant to go next door, go bed, t hes broofed it, anyhow,” • a ,

$1.50 uer Annum.

NUMBER 3.

A PATRIOTIC FAMILY.

A Woman Who Gave Eleven Sons in Defense of Her Country. A Washington correspondent says a very remarkable case of patriotism of a family has just been developed at the War Department. Some time ago Congressman Deering, of lowa, applied to the Secretary of War for the discharge from the regular army of a young man, the favor being asked by his mother, who said she was 72 years of age, had given ten sons to the defense of her country, and, being now unable to support herself, she asked that her eleventh son might be discharged from the military service, so that she could have his care and attention in her declining years. It at once struck the Secretary of War that this was either a very bold case of misrepresentation or a remarkable matter of fact; so he applied to the old lady for the names of the ten sons whom she said she had given to the defense of her country, the regiments in which they served, and the military record of each. She replied promptly to the inquiry, and, her statements being carefully compared with the muster rolls on file in the Adjutant General’s office, it was found that they were true in every particular. The Secretary of War immediately ordered the discharge of the eleventh son, and wrote the old lady a letter in which he extolled her patriotism, and thanked her in the name of the United States for her contributions to its list of defenders. Following are the names of the sons, and the regiments in which they served: 1. 8. W. Merchant was a private in Company C, Seventy-fourth Illinois Volunteers; afterward a Lieutenant, and honorably discharged Sept. 26, 1865. 2. Abel L. Merchant was a private in Company C, Fifteenth Illinois Volunteers, and died in the service. 3. Dewitt C. was a private in the same company, and was killed in action July 22,1864. 4. Enoch Merchant was Corporal of Company F, One Hundred and Fifty- sixth Illinois Volunteers, and was honorably discharged, Sept. 20, 1865. 5. David O. Merchant was a private in Company C, Seventy-fourth Illinois Volunteers, and honorably discharged June 10, 1865. 6. Silas B. Merchant was a private in Company G. Forty-fourth Illinois Volunteers; was promoted to First Lieutenant, and resigned Sept 24, 1864. 7. Arlo J. Merchant was a private in the same company, and was honorably discharged Sept. 24, 1864. 8. Lewis H. Merchant was a private in Company G, Forty-fifth Illinois Volunteers, and was honorably discharged Sept. 26, 1864. 9. Aaron Merchant was a private in Company G, Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteers, and was killed at Island No. 10, by the accidental discharge of a cannon, Dec. 26, 1862. 10. James B. Merchant was a teamster in the employ of the Quartermaster's Department throughout the war. 11. Norman M. Merchant enlisted March 3. 18"3, as a private in Company B, Sixth United States Regular Cavalry, and was discharged March 11,1878, by reason of the expiration of his term of enlistment He again enlisted May 4, 1878, was assigned to Battery B, Fourth Artillery, and is now in the service.

A Rattling Kansas Snake Story.

8. H. Beeson, the well-known Central Branch co itractor, gave the Patriot a pleasant call and from him we learn the particular :of the most remarkable snake story wi have heard. In the extension of the Central Branch road from Beloit to Cawker City, the line passes through the town of Glen Elder. A short distar ce from Glen Elder, on the Solomon river, is a steep and rocky bluff, about fifty-five feet high, a large portion of which had to be blasted away to make room for the roadbed. A few days ago, while the excavation was in progress, a blast of nitry-glycerine caps and giant powder tore off an unusually large part of the bluff, and down the declivity there came writhing and robing a bunch of snakes, which Mr. Beeson assures us was almost as large as a barrel. They were of different varieties, rattlesnakes predominating, with racers, adders, garters, etc. When first disturbed from th?ir warm bed they were active and dangerous, but coming out into the severe cold they were soon comparatively harmless, and were killed by the men without much trouble, or covered up in the dump by earth and stone. But this is a very small portion of the story. Every day and every blast since this first batch appeared has brought another huge bundle of reptiles. Every hour a moving, writhing lump comes rolling down the hill only to separate at the foot, and what escape the laborer’s pick and shovel crawl off to get covered up in the dump. Thousands of them have been unearthed and killed, and every blast brings thousands more, far rivaling in number the famous snake-den of Concordia. Not a single case of snake-bite has yet occurred, notwithstanding it is many times almost impossible to avoid stepping on them. Mr. Beeson says there are no unusual monsters among them, the great majority being as large round as a man’s wrist and about three or three and a half feet long. He also says that the farmers for five miles around tell him that this is the regular winter den of these venomous creatures, and that during the fall the snakes in that country, when discovered, are headed in the direction of the bluffs, and the only way they can be turned from their course is to kill them. It is said to be one of the most remarkable sights ever looked upon, and hundreds from the surrounding country visit the quarries to see the snakes.— Atchison (Kan.) Patriot.

How to Handle Balky Horses.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends the following rules for the treatment of balky horses: 1. Pat the horse upon the neck, examine the harness carefully, first on one side and then on the other, speaking encouragingly while doing so; then jump into the wagon and give the word go; generally he will obey. 2. A teamster in Maine says he can start the worst balky horse by taking him out of the shafts and making him go around in a circle till he is giddy. If the first dance of this sort does not cure him, the second will. 3. To cure a balky horse, simply place your hand over the horse’s nose and shut off his wind till he wants to go, and then let him go. 4. The brains of the horse seem to entertain but one idea at a time; therefore, continued whipping only confirms his stuoborn resolve. If you can by any means give him a new subject to think of, you will generally have no trouble in starting him. A simple remedy is to take a couple of turns of stout twine around the foreleg, just below the knee, tight enough for the horse to feel, and tie in a bow-knqt. At the first cheek he will go dancing off, and after going a short disttacp you can get out tad remove the skiing to prevent injury to the tendon in your further drive. ■ 5. Take the tail of thfi bOrse between . ..2- • * »«•**'* •

JOB PRINTING OFFICE Ou better facUltiM than any office tn NortbwetUr* Indiana for the execution of all branches ot job x>n.xisr*r iktg, PROMPTNESS A SPECIALTY. Anything, from a Dodger to a Price-Hut, or from t Pamphlet to a Poster, black or colored, plain or fancy. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED,

the hind legs, and tie it by a cord to the saddle-girth. 6. Tie a string around the horse’s oar close to his head.

INDIANA LEGISLATURE.

Monday, Feb. 17. Senate.—-Bills were introduced : Concerning the effect of the sale of lands for delinquent taxes; providing for the appointment of County Superintendents; amending the vagrant law: declaring it a misdemeanor to keep a house of ill-fame dr rent property for such purpose; providing for the submission of constitutional amendmeats to the people; fixing the salaries of Superior Judges at $2,500; for appraisement of real property in 1879, and every four years thereafter ; for the semi-annual payment of interest on county bonds; providing that county printing shall lie done in two newspapers of opposite politics; amending the act for a partition of lauds; to prevent the mutilation of instruments in writing; to amend the Drainage laws.... Mr. Winterbotham’s Prison bill was then taken tip. The bill provides that hereafter the Governor shall appoint the Directors. The salary of the Directors was cut down to S3(X) each, and that of the Warden fixed at not more than $1,500 per annum. The bill was also amended so as to abolish the use of the cat in the prisons.... Several House resolutions instructing Congress on different topics were laid on the tabla They were those demanding an unconditional repeal of the Resumption act, exempting bonds and greenbacks from taxation, amending revenue laws, and asking reduction of salaries of Federal officers House.—The General Appropriation bill was ordered engrossed New bills were introduced: For a uniform assessment of real estate; amending the act to authorize the construction' of railroads; to make malfeasance in office a felony; to reduce the mileage of members to 10 cents; compelling railroad passenger trains to stop at every station of any incorporated town or city when there are passengers who want to get on or off... .The bills regulating freights on railroads to punish the embezzlement of railroad tickets, and to establish a home for imbecile child'en, wore ordered engrossed.... The bill grading pay of Judges in proportion to the population of their districts was read a second time and ordered printed. Tuesday, Feb. 18.—Senate.—Mr. Winterbotham’s prison bill was taken up, further amended in some minor particulars, and passed by a unanimous vote... .House bills on first reading were then taken up and a number of them read and referred Communications from the Superintendents of the Orphans’jHomo and House of Refuge relative to the number and pay of employes of these institutions were received and referred.... Several Senate bills were read a second time and passed to third reading... .Mr. Menzies introduced a bill to repeal the law in regard to insurance companies publishing statements. House.—A largo number of committee reports wore received and acted upon.... The most important bill was the one reducing tho allowance to Sheriffs for boarding prisoners. The bill was amended so as to allow 30 cents a day for each prisoner when more than five are fed; for a less number, 40 cents. It was then ordered engrossed... .The Feo and Salary bill was under consideration during the rtfst of tiro day’s session. Wednesday, Fob. 19.—Senate.—Senator Gruble’s bill providing for voluntary assignments was killed... .The following bills wore passed: Declaring land-patents admissible in evidence to prove title to such lands; amending the divorce law so that publication can be made in -weekly papers; amending the drainage law, and enabling County Commissioners to dispo=o of uncalled-for allowances after a period of five years by turning the same into the county treasury; exempting the wages of laborers from garnishment so long as the laborer remains in the service of his employer for a period not to exceed one month.... After recommitting several bills and makmgthe Exemption and Homestead bills the special order for Friday, the Senate adjourned. House.—The House, after considerable discussion, killed the Fee and Salary bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause.-;.. The following bills were passed: Senate bills— Authorizing guardians to settle estates of deceased wards; repealing the act authorizing the formation of water-works companies; authorizing the working of prisoners in jails on public highways and improvements. House bills: Restricting the power of School Trustees in towns in issuing bonds for the purpose of building school-houses without the consent of the Common Council; authorizing'thoconstr uction of street railways along public highways on such tepms as may be prescribed by county boards; authorizing Sheriffs to administer oaths to persons claiming a homestead exemption; per.mittinc relatives of decedento to pive bond tc secure debts, and permitting the heirs to take the property without the expense of letters testamentary and of administration; repealing the Vagrant act; authorizing the State of Maryland to convey the title of the State of Indiana to a portion of the Antietam National Cemetery to the Federal Government; amending the code. ... .The bill changing the legal weight of a bushel of corn from sixty-eight to seventy . pounds was killed.

Thubsday, Feb. 20.—Senate.—Bills passed: Providing for the protection of game, and defining the time and manner in which the same may be taken, killed, sold, and otherwise disnosed of; authorizing cities of less than 7,000 inhabitants to surrender their charters upon the vote of two-thirds of the taxpayers, both male and female; providing for payment of special Judges out of the salary of regular Judges; io prevent the practice of resorting to distant courts to oppress citizens of Indiana... .An effort to lay aside the regular order to take .up the Apportionment bill failed....Mr Comstock’s bill allowing husband and wife to testify iu all actions except those for seduction, and Senator Kent’s Drainage bill were ordered engrossed. House.—A statement of the condition of the Northern prison and a communication from the . Governor on Federal affairs -were received and referred... .The Senate bill legalizing the acknowledgment of deeds made by notaries public after the expira'ion of their commissions was passed... .The remainder of the day was consumed in committee of the whole upon the General Appropriation bill, which was ordered engrossed. Fbiday, Feb. 21.—Senate.—Bills passed: To admit feeble-minded, children into the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home; amending the Embezzlement act; amending the code so as to allow courts to appoint receivers in vacation; defining libel and making it a crime to publish the same; regulating the tolls on roads; amending the act concerning trusts and powcis; in relation to change of proposed line and"termini of railroads. House.—The Senate Interest bill was taken up and passed, after amending it so as to reduce the rate of interest to 6 per cent, absolutely.... The following bills were passed: Providing for the election of Trustees of benevolent institutions; concerning trespassing animals; providing tor appeals from county boards: providing for relocation of county seats... .The General Appropriation bill and the Metropolitan Police bill were passed... .The committee’s Fee and Salary bill was reported. It reduces the salary of Governor to $5,000. “ Saturday, Feb. 22.—Senate.—Bills introduced: Making it unlawful to kill certain game atcertain periods of the year; amending the act for the incorporation of cities; providing for the appointment of State Surveyors: amending the Fee aud Salary law; amending the Assessment law; amending the code; reducing all fees of county officers 30 per cent The following bills were passed: Making it a misdemeanor for a voter to accept a bribe; requiring the blowing of whistles at the crossings ’of all railroads and turnpikes and other roads. House.—Bills passed: Making it illegal to contract for attorneys’ fees in votes; authorizing planting of hedges five feet inside the line of highways; making it unlawful for broeeby animals to run at large; governing the election of Supervisors of Highways; allowing householders to sit on Grand Juries; authorizing the payment to legal heirs of funds derived from the sale of lands supposed to have reverted to the State; exempting growing crops from sale on execution; relative to filing claims against estates; defining the powers and rights of warehousemen; to" prevent the sale of adulterated fertilizers... .Bills were introduced: Authorizing tho creation of countv hoapitals;. codifying thp school laws; relating tq she publication of delinquent lists; concerning the collection of interest on the school fund; relating ti reports to be made by insurance companies and payment of taxes by such companies. Switzerland is experiencing the hardest times she has seen in a quarter Of aosntury, • -