Jasper Republican, Volume 2, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1875 — Page 1

ght ganger gepnblicati. PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY, CHAS. ML JOHNSON, E4l«w aad RENSSELAER, - - INDIANA. . JOB A SPECIALTY. Terms of Swbeeriptioa. One Tear >1 50 One-half Tear 75 One-Quarter Tear...... 50

THE NEWS.

Prof. Thomas Hewitt Key, the eminent English philologist, died in London on the 30th uILAdvices from the African coast represent Liberia as likely to be overrun with native savages. The colonists had been defeated in an engagement and forced to leave their inland settlements and concentrate at Moravia. Judge Advocate Gkn 4 Holt, of the United States Army, has been retired and Assistant Advocate Gen. Win. McKee Dunn appointed to succeed him. Gen. Myebs, Chief Signal-Officer of the Army, in hi& annual report says that of ithe nuirJoer of cautionary signals displayed during the year 76 per cent, were afterward reported as verified.

Oar 30th ult. Gen. Babcock sent a •dispatch to the United States Attorney at :8t Louis, declaring his innocence of any •connection with the whisky frauds and demanding a hearing. The house of Albert Wood, at Pony Hollow, near Elmira, N. Y., was burned on the 30th ult., and his wife and three children perished in the flames. The Erie Canal and the Hudson River were frozen up on the 30th ult., and navigation was virtually closed for the season. The troubles along the Rio Grande growing out of. the cattle raids by Mexicans were as bad as ever on the 30th ult The Grand Jury of the United States District Court at St. Louis have recently indicted D. W. Munn, late Supervisor of Internal Revenue for the Illinois District, on charges of complicity with the whisky frauds.

A London dispatch of the Ist says the Spanish authorities at Toledo had closed an American Protestant church and expelled the preacher and schoolmaster. A telegram from Madrid of the Ist says the last note from Spain to the United States, which is declared to be the ultimatum, promises gradual emancipation and increased freedom of conscience; that foreigners when arrested shall have an immediate hearing, and that legal redress shall be obtainable for past injuries. On the morning of the 30th ult. the wife of Hon. Hugh Chllde-s was found dead in her bed at her husband’s residence in London. A bottle containing . chloroform was found by'her bedside. Intelligence was received in Washington on the 30th ult. of the death of Hon. Benjamin P. Avery, American Minister to China.

The annual report of the Superintendent of Public Printing shows that the total cost of printing, etc., for the Government for the year ending Sept 30 last was $1,560,425. The Congressional Record cost $88,959 additional. There are 1,200 employes in all the departments, with a monthly pay-roll of $95,000. The compositors receive sixty cents per 1,000 ems, or $4.00 a day for eight hours’ work. A. E. Wilson, of Louisville, Ky., has been appointed Chief Clerk of the Treasury Department, to fill the vacancy created by W. O.’Avery’s resignation.

The statement of the public debt Dec. 1 is as follows: Six per cent, b0nd5...51,033,866,550 Five per cent, bonds 660,384,750 Total coin b0nd551,694,251,300 Lawful money debt 14,000,000 Matured debt 22,4:10,870 Legal-tender notes 372,541,479 Certificates of deposit 42,610,000 Fractional currency 42,356,1(5 Coin certificates 19,79-*,500 Interest 34,960,516 Total debt 52,242,946,770 Cash in TreasuryCoin $70,404 676 Currency ...; 12,014,962 Special deposits held for the redemption of certificates of deposit. 42,610,000 Total in Treasury. $125,029,638 Debt less cash in Trea5ury52,117,917,132 Decrease during November 480,078 Decrease since June 30, 1875 10,771,593 Bonds issued to the Pacific Railway Companies, interest payable in lawful money, principal outstanding.... $64,623,512 Interest accrued and not yet paid... 1.615,587 Interest paid by the United States.. 28,202,807 Interest repaid by the transportation of mails, etc 6,575,854 Balance of interest paid by United States. 21,626,953 On the 30th ult., in New England, the cold was very intense, the thermometer ranging from 30 to 47 degrees below zero. At Mount Washington the velocity of the wind was 170 miles an hour and the mercury sunk out of sight. One woman froze to death in Boston. The steamer Sunnyside, from Troy for New York, was cut in two by the ice near West Point, N. Y., on the morning of the Ist. Eleven persons were drowned, six of whom were waiters and chambermaids on the boat and the remainder passengers. There was great activity in the navyyards at Portsmouth, N. H., and Brooklyn, N. Y., on the Ist. A Philadelphia dispatch of the Ist says the iron-clads at League Island were ready for sea. The fleet consists of nine or ten vessels. A collision occurred on die Ist between a passenger and freight train, near Buffalo, N. Y., in consequence of which four persons were killed and a number of others seriously injured. Deacon West has lately addressed a communication to the members of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, requesting them to join with him in calling a mutual council to investigate the charges against Mr. Beecher. The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry installed its newly-elected officers on the evening of the Ist, and adopted a resolution to adjourn at noon on the 2d. The Michigan State Grange will meet at Lansing on the 14th inst. Messis Schutz and Brrgenthal, Milwaukee distillers, convicted of shipping crooked whisky, have been sentenced to pay a fine of SI,OOO each and to be imprisoned for four months in the County jail.

THE JASPER REPUBLICAN.

VOLUME 11.

According to a Berlin telegram of the 2d Turkey had energetically protested to. Montenegro against the Montenegrins taking part in the Herzegovinian trouble, and that the great powers had unanimously indorsed that protest. A Vienna dispatch of the 2d says Gen. Kaufman had recently demanded of Russia a reinforcement of 50,000 men, with artillery, as otherwise he Would not be able to relieve the garrison at Khokand, his entire force being employed in guarding the frontier. Several failures occurred in London on the 2d, the most important being that of Bruggiote Bros., stock and share brokers, whose liabilities exceeded $350,000. The German Federal Council on the 2d added 100,000 marks to the sum already appropriated to facilitate the display of German products at the Philadelphia Centennial.

A Hindoo residing near Kingston, Jamaica, recently beheaded five children. He was religiously insane. In a recently-published private letter Chief-Justice Waite expresses the opinion that the position he holds should be a bar to any aspirations for the Presidency. Gen. Babcock addressed a letter to the President on the 2d demanding a court of inquiry and an immediate investigation of the charge-that he was a member of the St. Louis whisky ring. The anniversary of the Methodist Freedmen’s Aid Society was held at Washington on the evening of the 2d. The Centennial Committee have selected William M. Evarts for the orator, Henry W. Longfellow for the poet, and a grandson of Richard H. Lee, of Virginia, for the reader of the Declaration of Independence, on the occasion of the opening ceremonies of the Exposition. Patrick Toney, of New York city, on the night of the Ist covered the clothing of his wife with kerosene oil, and then set it on fire. She was fatally burned. Hon. Ira Harris, formerly United States Senator from New York, died at Albany on the 2d, aged seventy-three years. The first fast evening mail-train between New York city and St. Louis left the former city,on the evening of the Ist. The recent accident on the New York Central Railroad, near Buffalo, is said to have been caused by the carelessness of a flagman. A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Independent party was recently held in Chicago, at which Mr. 8. M. Smith, of Kewaunee, 111., presided. Resolutions were adopted—demanding the repeal of the Specie Resumption and National Bank acts; the establishment of a monetary system adapted to the demands of legitimate business; civil-service reform, etc., and calling for a delegate convention to be held at Indianapolis, May 17, 1876, to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States.

John B. Bingham, one of the parties charged with whisky fraud at Evansville, Ind., when before the court at Indianapolis on the 2d, withdrew his former plea of not guilty, and entered a plea of guilty. Several minor members of the Evansville whisky ring had already confessed their guilt- s . The Bank of America, at New Orleans, suspended on the Ist. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has lately reiterated a former decision that the agent of an insurance company, authorized to take risksand issue policies against fire, may waive by parol any condition in a policy issued by him. The schooner J. G. Jenkins foundered in Lake Ontario, near Oswego, a few days ago and all on board, numbering nine persons, were lost. It was reported in Vienna on the 3d that the Princes of Abyssinia had appealed through American missionaries to the United States to protect them against Mohammedan invasion.

The municipality of Paris has appropriated $6,000 toward the fund to send a delegation of French workmen to the Philadelphia Exposition. A New York dispatch of a recent date says that, according to the tax records of that city, Wm. B. Astor’s real estate at the time ofhis death was worth about $25,000,000. They also show that he owned $636,000 worth of bank stock, and he was known to have been the holder of large amounts of State, city and national bonds. It was believed that the total value of his estate would not exceed $45,000,000. A second letter to Plymouth Church from Mrs. Moulton was published on the 3d, in which she repeats the charges she had previously made against Mr. Beecher, and declares that Plymouth Church had acted unfairly toward her. She indicates the questions she wishes to be submitted to the Church Council to determine whether her past conduct has been proper, and whether the action of the church in dropping her name so summarily was in accordance with justice and fair dealing. A business meeting of Plymouth Church was held on the evening of the 3d, at which Deacon West’s letter was presented and tabled. Resolutions were introduced characterizing the publication oi such letters in advance of their presentation to the church as a flagrant and presumptively intentional insult; that the contents of Deacon West’s letter, if unexplained and disavowed by him, constitute an aggravation of bis acknowledged offense, and instructing the Examining . Committee to summon Mr. West before them for a satisfactory explanation of his conduct or a full and ample apol-’ ogy therefor. Mr. Beecher said he heartily approved of the resolutions, and declared that the time for silence had passed;

OUR AIM: TO FKAR GOD, TELL THE TRUTH AND MAKE MONEY.

RENSSELAER, INDIANA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1875.

that whatever was to be said should be said, and when matters of the church were at issue he intended to be there. The resolutions, as well as file second letter of Mrs. Moulton, were referred to the Examining Committee. The Philadelphia navy-yard was sold on the 2d for $1,000,000 to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. A*/ a greenback mass-meeting held in Indianapolis on the Ist resolutions were adopted demanding of Congress the repeal of the Specie-Resumption act, the retirement of all National Bank notes and the substitution therefor of legal-tender paper money issued by the Government. The trial of the Chicago whisky cases has been set for the 11th of January next. The Democrats of the Fourth Tennessee District have nominated F. R. Riddle for Congress, to succeed J. M. Head, lately deceased. In the Milwaukee whisky suits, on the 3d, Taft and Weimer were found guilty of defrauding the revenues. Louis Rindsfkop was sent to jail for contempt of court in refusing to answer questions as to payments to ring officials disclosed by the check-book.

In the Avery trial at St. Louis the jury found a verdict on the 3d of not guilty on the first, second and fourth counts of the indictment, but guilty on the third count. He was taken to jail. A barrel containing the remains of a woman and a child was recently delivered by the driver of an express-wagon to the United States Express office at Chicago, for shipment to lowa City. The suspicions of one of the messengers being aroused the barrel was opened and the nature of the contents discovered. An investigation showed the corpses to be those of Mrs. Emma P. Adams and her infant child, which had been buried in Graceland Cemetery and stolen from there by resurrectionists, for medical purposes. Several of the perpetrators of the outrage were discovered and arrested. The physician concerned had not been found up to the morning of the 4th. According to a Madrid dispatch of the sth the operations of the Spanish army in 'the north had been greatly retarded by the immense quantities of snow which had fallen.

A London dispatch of the sth announces that the French steamer Amerique had not been heard from for several days. She had been spoken some time before in latitude 47:40, longitude 17, at which time she was in a disabled condition. An English war steamer had been sent out to see if anything could be learned of her fate. In consequence of an explosion of firedamp in the Powell-Duffryn colliery, near Tredgear, England, on the sth, twenty persons were killed and ten severely injured. A Paris telegram of the 4th says United States Minister Washburne had departed for Turkey on a three-mouths’ leave of absence. In a caucus of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives held in Washington on the afternoon of the 4th, M. C. Kerr, of Indiana, was nominated for Speaker. The first ballot stood: Kerr, 71; Randall, 59; Cox, 31; Saylor, 1. Second ballot: Kerr, 77; Randall, 63; Cox, 21; Saylor, 1. Third ballot: Kerr, 90; Randall, 63; ,Cox, 7; Saylor, I—Kerr receiving nine votes more than enough to elect him. The other caucus nominations were: For Clerk, Geo., M. Adams, of Kentucky; Sergeant-at-Arms, John G. Thompson, of Ohio; Doorkeeper, L. H. Fitzhugh, of Texas; Postmaster, James Stuart, of Virginia; Chaplain, Rev. I. L. Townsend (Episcopalian), of Washington. The Republican members caucused the same day and nominated all the old members of the House, including Mr. Blaine for Speaker. A Washington dispatch of the 3d states that Commissioner Atkinson had unearthed a ring, composed of three firms of claim agents in Philadelphia which had succeeded in fraudulently getting through, during a few years past, many thousand pension cases, involving the payment of over sl, 000,000 annually. The ring includes one Deputy Clerk at Philadelphia. A large number of persons, who appeared on the rolls as pensioners, have made affidavits that they had no disabilities, but were paid so much to sign blank papers presented to them by the above firms. The evidence was fraudulent, but appeared genuine, and pensions were allowed which have been regularly drawn by the ring, under powers of attorney.

President Grant on the 4th designated Gens. Sheridan, Hancock and Terry as a military court of inquiry to investigate the charges against Gen. Babcock, to sit in Chicago. Col. Gardiner Professor of Law at West Point, was designated to act as Judge-Advocate. Susan Denin, the actress, died at Bluffton, Ind., on the 4th, from injuries received from a fall while performing some weeks ago on the stage at Indianapolis. New York was greatly excited on the evening of the 4th by the announcement that Wm. M. (“ Boss”) Tweed had escaped from the custody of Warden Dunham, of Ludlow Street Jail. The Warden had accompanied the prisoner to the residence of Mrs. Tweed, and while there had acceded to his request for a private interview with his wife in an upper apartment, Dunham and his deputy remaining below in company with one of Tweed’s sons. After waiting ten or fifteen minutes the Warden sent the son to tell his father to come down at once, and the young man soon returned with the statement that his fattier had disappeared. The house was searched, but no trace oF the “Boss" could be found: The police authorities were notified of the escape and

■ detectives were sent out and scoured the city in all directions. Sheriff Conner offered a reward oP<IO,4DO for the arrest of the escaped prisoner. Up to the morning of the 6th no clew to his whereabouts had been found. Police-Commissioner Matsell had no theory in regard to the escape, but in his opinion there was collusion somewhere. A New York special of the sth says Gov. Tilden had notified Sheriff Conner that he should hold him personally responsible for Tweed’s escape.

THE MARKETS.

NEW YORK. Live Stock.—Beef Cattle—slo.2s©l3.2s. Hogs -Live, $7.50©7.75. Sheep—s4.so©4.so. BBKADSTum.—Flour—Good to choice, $5.55Q 8.00; white wheat extra, $6.05©8.00. Wheat—No. 2 Chicago, $1.24©1.25; No. 2 Northwestern, $1.24©1.25; No. 2 Milwaukee spring, $1.27© 1.28. Bye—Western and State, 87%©95c. Bar- . ley—sl.os©l.l2. Corn—Mixed Western, 73© 75%c. Oats—Mixed Western, 42@13c. Provisions.—Pork—Mess, $22.40©22.50. Lard —Prime Steam, New, 12%@13c. Cheese—B© 12%c. Wool.—Domestic fleece, 43265 c. CHICAGO. Livk Stock.—Beeves—Choice, $5.50©8.10; good, [email protected]; medium, $4.00©4.50;- butchers’ stock, $2.75©4.00; stock cattle, [email protected]. Hogs—Live, $7.00©7.50. Sheep—Good to choice, $3.85©4.50. Provisions.—Butter—Choice, 25®32c. Eggs— Fresh, 24©25c. Pork-Mess, slMo©l9.37ft. Lard—sl2.2s©l2.Bo. BniADSTurrs.—Flour—White Winter Extra, [email protected]; spring extra, [email protected]. WheatSpring, NO. 2, $1A3>4©1.03%. Oom—No. 2, 47% @4B%c. Oats—No. 2, 30%@30%c. Rye—No. 2, 67%@68c. Barley—No. 2, 85%@86c. Lumber—First and Second Clear, $40.00© 42.00; Common Boards, $11.00©12.00; Fencing, sl2 00©13.00; “A” Shingles, [email protected]; Lath, $1.75©2.00. EAST LIBERTY. Livk Stock.—Beeves—Best, $8.00©6.50; medium, $5.00©5.75. Hogs—Yorkers, [email protected]; Philadelphia, $7.60©7.75. Sheep—Best, $5.00© 5.25; medium, $4.50©4.75.

Gen. Sheridan’s Report.

The Military Division of the Missouri now comS rises most of the Gnlf and Western States, all le Territories east of Arizona, Nevada and Idaho, including the southeastern portion of the latter Territory, extends from British America on the north to the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande on the south, and as far east as Key West, oh the Gulf, and embraces within its limits ninety-nine Indian tribes, numbering about 192,000 persons, scattered over more than 1,600,000 square miles of frontier territory. For the better protection of this frontier, with its vast agricultural, mining, mercantile and other interests, and for convenience in the administration of the affairs of the division, it is divided into five departments, as follows: The Department of Dakota, Brig.-Gen. Alfred Terry, commanding; the Department of the Platte, Brig.-Gen. George Crook, commanding; the Department of the Missouri, Brig.-Gen. John Pope, commanding; the DepartSnent of Texas, Brig.-Gen. O. C. Ord; commanding, and the Department of the Gulf, Brig.-Gen. C. C. Augur, commanding. Within these limits we have ninety-one established posts and camps, garrisoned by eight regiments of cavalry, six companies of artillery, eighteen regiments and four companies of infantry and a small detachment of engineer troops, aggregating, at the last official report, 14,813 commissioned officers and enlisted men. In relation to the extinction of the Indian title to the Black Hills territory the General says: I earnestly recommend some action which will settle this Black Hills question, and relieve us from an exceedingly disagreeable and embarrassing duty. I feel quite satisfied that all the country south of the Yellowstone River, from- the Black Hills of the Cheyenne as far west as the Big Horn Valley, and perhaps as far west as Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone, is gold-bearing, bnt as to the amount of gold deposits I cannot say; it may be great or it may be small. This area is also at many places well timbered, has many beautiful valleys of rather high altitude, with good soil and abundance of running water. Nearly the whole of it is well adapted to grazing purposes. The winters are,l have every reason to believe, very cold, but the temperature is uniform; the cold weather is found to be less injurious to stock where there is no shelter than a milder climate where cattle are subjected to the changes of alternate freezing and thawing, and where the rains rot the grass. The Sioux Indians, numbering about 25,000, now hold this country, and, in addition, the belt eastward from the base of the Black Hills of the Cheyenne to the Missouri River, which would make about 10,000 acres of land for the head of each family and perhaps much more, without one single acre being cultivated, while the maximum amount given by the Government to an adult white settler is only 160 acres, on which he has to live, build a hut, put up fences, till the ground and pay taxes. The observation of many years in my own command and throughout most of the Indian country for the last twenty years has left the impression that this system of civilizing the wild portion of our Indian inhabitants has not met with a success which gives a fair equivalent for the expense, trouble and bloodshed which have attended it. I believe there is true humanity in making the reservations reasonably small, dividing them into tracts for the heads of families, making labor gradually compulsory, and even qpmpelling the children to go to school. To accomplish this purpose, to civilize, make self-supporting, and save many more of these poor people than otherwise will be saved, I believe it best to transfer the Indian Bureau to the military, and let it be taken under the general administration of the army, governed and controlled in responsibility of accounts in accordance with our present system.' The Indians will thus be humanely and honestly dealt with, and I believe, if this had always been the case, there would have been but few of the troubles ana bloody records which have characterized the civilization of the Indians in the many years gone by. In relation to affairs along the Rio Grande Gen. Sheridan says: Nearly all the troope in the Department of Texas, except those along the Rio Grande frontier, were engaged in this campaign. Those stationed along the Rio Grande River, the boundary line between the United States and Mexico, have had the humiliating duty of attempting to protect our citizens and their property from raids by people of a foreign country, who come over the boundary in armed parties to steal cattle, and do not hesitate to attack and kill our citizens when necessary to accomplish their purpose. The low stage of water in the Rio Grande, and its great length—l,2oo or 1,500 miles—makes the duty of protecting it difficult, in fact, almost impossible, with the few troops available for the purpose, in speaking of this duty as a humllatmg oneT do not mean that it is not perfectly legitimate—for any duty is such which has for its object the protection of the lives and property of the people on an international boundary line—but when it is considered that these armed parties, as soon as they are pursued, .take refuge on the opposite bank of the river, and there, in sight of our troops, who dare not cross, graze and slaughter the stolen cattle with impunity, the service is very mortifying to those engaged in the protection of that frontier. This condition of affairs has been going on for the last twenter vears.

Abstract of the Postmaster-General’s Report.

The Postmaster-General’s annual report shows the receipts of the department to be $27,441,360 and expenditures $33,611,309. The receipts exceed those of 1874 1 13-100 per cent., and the expenditures 4 62-100. The actual amount drawn from the Treasury was $4,716,329, or $543,606 less than the previous year. Tbe recorded complaints of missing letters number 5,645. of which 2,677 were registered letters containing bonds, drafts, etc., amounting to $76,216, while the unregistered letters contained valuables amounting to $75,997. Of the former 1,083 were satisfactorily accounted for. 911 actually lost, and 683 remain under investigation. Arrests for violation of the Postal laws numbered 307, the greater portion not being connected with the postal service. One hundred and seven convictions were had and 157 await trial. The department is in correspondence with the British Department on the subject of the increase of United States territorial rate on British closed mails transported between New York and San Francisco, the present rates, fixed by the Postal Convention of 1862, not paying the actual cost of transportation. The report shows the operations of the various bureaus of the- department, concerning which mnch information has already been published. The Money-Order Department, the annual transactions of which have reached about $80,000,000, shows an apparent profit of $120,000, though really in arrears more than that if the clerk-hire and stationery required for the business were charged directly to Its account. The increase of rates on small orders made by authority of the last Congress will, it is believed, enable the bureau to hereafter pay its own expenses.

The fact that but one American steamship carries mails across the Atlantic, and none to South A merica. is regarded as humiliating to Americau pride. Mr. Jewell thinks as Meatier of national pride, as an aid to the revival of American commerce, and as a means of supplying an efficient steam marine service for immediate use by the Government in case of war, provision should be made for the transportation of our mails on important ocean routes in steamships officered and manned by our own citizens and sailing under our own flag. A moderate compensation in excess at the postages now allowed would enable the establishment and maintenance of American lines to Europe and South America, and a moderate mail compensation for a line to Japan and China will doubtless continue the mall service to those countries in American ships after the termination of the existing subsidy, the contract for which will expire on the 81st of December, 1878. I think it safe to say that the sum of $500,000 per annum now granted as k subsidy to the Japan and China line for a single monthly service on that route would, in addition to postages on mails, be Quite sufficient, Judiciously apportioned between the respective routes, to maintain an efficient mail service by mail steamers sailing under our flag on all the important ocean routes which should be occupied by fines of American steamers. Mr. Jewell says the evil of straw-bidding, which annually involves the department in the loss of many hundreds of thousands of dollars, can, in his judgment, be effectually removed by such a change In the law as will authorize the Postmaster-Gener-al, on the failure of any accepted bidder, to offer a contract as at present to the next lower bidder in the list, if, in nis Judgment, the bid be not too high, and, if this next lowest bidder declines to enter into a contract, to be authorized to enter into a contract with any person not a bidder at any price not exceeding said next lowest bid. The Postmaster-General speaks of the railway KI service and roads doing it in high terms, kinks it would be more equitable to pay companies by space instead of weight. This would increase the compensation of the roads of the larger class, but reduce it materially on many smaller and Weaker ones. The fast-mail service is praised, and ths opinion expressed that at no distant day the business of ths department will be so great as to induce railroad companies to run similar trains from New England to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to the Faciflc.

It is recommended that any pflrsoti be permitted without additional charge to write a form of presentation in any book, pamphlet, magazine, periodical or any other matter of the third class, and also that the sendef Of any package be permitted without additional charge to write his or her name and address on the outside thereof, with the word “from” above, or preceding the same, so as to inform the person addressed of the name of the sender, and to write briefly on any package the number and name of articles inclosed. The sending of public documents through the malls has not delayed the delivery of ordinary mails or perceptibly increased their cost As to the transient printed matter, the Post-master-General pays: “I recommend that the postage oh transient newspapers and periodicals, books, printed matter of all sorts, lithographs and maps, sheet-music, photographs and manuscripts designed for publication shall be reduced to one cent for each two ounces or fraction thereof, which was the rate before the enactment of the law advancing it during the closing hours of the last Congress.” Concerning newspaper postage, he says the new law, which went into effect on the Ist of January, 1875, from present indications will realize about $1,000,000 for the first calendar year. This is not a material variation from the average results of the old law, though during the last year in which this latter was in operation the amount was increased by the payment of postage on newspapers circulating within the county of publication, a requirement that was discontinued at the end of one year. While, therefore, there has been no increase In the aggregate receipts, there has been a large net gain by saving commissions on collections allowed by the old law as under the present law. The great bulk of postage is paid at large offices whose salaries are not affected by this item. Under the old law there was no check to insure collections at the office of destination, and the consequence was much matter went unpaid, and it is a satisfaction that under the present more equitable mode universal collections have made up for the reductions in rates. The new system has worked so admirably, and has given such general satisfaction, that no change is deemed necessary. It la recommended that the pay of Postmasters of the fourth class be based upon the business of their respective offices, as determined by the cancellation of stamps, the account to be duly sworn to for each quarter, and returned to the Sixth Auditor.” There is great want of equity in the compensation of Postmasters of the first, second, and third classes. If the salaries at smaller offices are not excessive, those of the larger cities are certainly too low. I find Postmasters as a class to be efficient, capable and attentive beyond my expectations, and their salaries should be proportionate to their duties. Cases are said to exist, however, where few or no duties are actually performed by the Postmaster. A law compelling Postmasters whose net income is, say, SI,OOO or more to give entire attention to this duties of their offices, or, falling in this to employ some person or persons to perform them at tnefr own and not at the Government's expense, would be, most undoubtedly, beneficial to the service.” In estimating the expected revenues for the year ending Juns 30,1877, and wishing to be on the safe side, the estimates have been submitted which show an expected deficiency of $8,181,602, but it is believed that the deficiency for that year will be very much less than the estimates. Basing the estimates of the revenues at the smallest amount, and of the expenditures at the largest an increase is shown in the -percentage of deficiency only of 19 39-100, against 24 65-100, which was the estimate of the percentage of the deficiency last year over that of its predecessor.

Commissioner Smith’s Report.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Smith, in bis annual report, says that the reports of the Indian Superintendents and Agents convey unmistakable evidence of a year of advance in the civilization of the Indians. Their testimony is almost uniform to the fact that the civilization of the Indians' is not only entirely practicable, but fairly under way. Forty-two thousand six hundred and thirty-eight Indians are self-supporting. Their corn crop last year was 2,404,000 bushels; potatoes and other vegetables, 421,000 bushels; fields under cultivation, 323,000 acres—a larger era by 7,000 acres than ever before reported, and nearly 200,000 acres more than in 1871. Nearly 10,000 more Indian families are now living in houses than five years ago. The Commissioner expresses the opinion that a general Indian war will never occur in the United States. In reference to the Black Hills country the Commissioner recommends that legislation be now sought. from Congress offering a fair and full equivalent for the country lying between the North and South Forks of the Cheyenne River in Dakota. The tree equivalent to be offered the Sioux as helpless wards of the Government for the Black Hills will be found by estimating what 800 square miles of gold-fields are worth to us. and what 3,000 square miles of timber, agricultural and grazing lands are worth to them. The Commissioner says the need of the Indian Territory is a government of the simplest form possible, and suggests that a government similar to that provided tor the Territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio, preliminary to the organization of a General Assembly, would be best adapted for that Territory at present. He recommends that the matter be again brought before Congress. The Commissioner opposes the transfer of the Indian Bureau to the War Department, but recommends that the purchasing, inspecting and transporting of goods and supplies required to subsist the Indians be done by that department. The Commissioner speaks in the highest terms of the aid afforded by the different religious bodies of the country, and earnestly hopes that Congress will remove the difficulties which have heretofore been experienced in procuring the enactment of laws and necessary appropriations for the training and education of the Indians. None but the very best men, he says, should be appointed as Agents, and he expresses a hope that the Government will still be Inclined to call upon the religions bodies of the country to name the men. It is not expected that a deficiency for this year will arise exceeding $200,000. The cost of maintaining all the Indians except the wilder tribes will steadily de-, crease from this time until they cease to be a burden to the Government. It is not improbable, however, that such an additional expenditure will be required in bringing the wilder tribes into the beginning of civilization as will make the totals of the appropriations for three or four years to come equal to those of the last three years, and perhaps greater.

Action of the National Grange.

On the last day of its recent session at Louisville, Ky., the National Grange transacted the following business: Resolved, That in the sense -of the National Grange the following suggestions are applicable to the present wants of our Order: As the closing scenes of this long and laborious session approach,*as the memories of previous sessions and the many glorious achievements of the Order return to us, we look forward to the future. We are deeply impressed with the truth that we must at all times preserve a vital spirit of fraternity between Granges and individual members of this Order to best maintain its vigor, success and perpetuity. This and the nature of our solemn obligations should ever be borne in Wnind. We have promised to aid and not injure our fellqw-Patrons; therefore, the good name of

NUMBER 13.

brother or sister should be as precious to each one of as as is our own. Harshness has no place in the principles of our Order. Its mission is one of peace, gentleness and good-will. Therefore, in the discussion or application of our principles, we bold that all asperity and violence are out of place and should, ever be avoided by our members. We also hold that the interpretation of any law of our Order which works a manifest injustice to any member is at fault, and in all applications of our laws and regulations we should always remember that the Grange is organized for the comfort, convenience and welfare of every worthy member. We trust that our members everywhere will renew their pledges of fealty to this noble brotherhood, endeavoring especially to live up to the following principles of our declaration of purposes, viz.: “We shall constantly strive to secure entire harmony, goodwill and vital brotherhood among ourselves and to make our Order perpetual. We shall earnestly endeavor to suppress personal, local, sectional and national prejudices, all unhealthy rivalry and all selfish ambition.”

These are not idle words but vital principles which will give life and permanence to every Grange throughout the land if our members will but emulate each other to exemplify them in their words and actions. Resolutions were also adopted—requiring the Secretary to have printed 25,000 copies of the proceedings of this session, and send to each State Grange as many copies as there were subordinate Granges July, 1875, under direction of the Executive Committee, and not less than ten copies to each State Grange Master; instructing the Fiscal Agent of the Order in New York to transfer certain stocks, amounting to $15,000, to the Executive Committee of the National Grange, to enable that committee to pay the various donations to the State Granges; instructing the Worthy Master to continue a correspondence with English co-operative societies, extending friendly greeting to all such organizations.

“Boss” Tweed Escapes From the Custody of His Jailers.

Nbw.Yobk, Dec. 4. This evening, about 7:14, Wm. M. Tweed escaped from the custody of officers while on a visit to his wife at his old home, comer of Madison avenue and Fifteenth street. It seems that for several weeks back Mr. Tweed has been taken from Ludlow Street Jail to his house, about six o’clock, where he remained a short time with his family. On this occasion Tweed asked the officers to permit him to have a few moments’ private conversation with his wife. This privilege was granted him, and he went up-stairs. After he had been gone about fifteen minutes the officers concluded that it was about time to start for Ludlow, and asked a son of the Boss to step up-stairs. and call his father. The young man went up, and after a few moments returned, and in the coolest manner possible told the Sheriff: “Pais gone. He is not up-stairs.” • Then ensued a scene. The officers rushed up and down stairs, searched every possible spot where the burly form of the “Boss” could be concealed, but all in vain. He had broken from his toils and was making one bold effort for liberty. The telegraph was set in operation, and men dispatched in every direction in search of the fugitive. Sheriff Conner joined in the hunt and had men sent to cover every possible place of exit from the city. Matsell and Walling joined the party and assisted in devising means to secure the capture of the noted criminal. But it was the unanimous feeling that all their efforts would prove futile, and that even then he was far beyond their reach. The police called at the residence of the notorious Mrs. McMullen, but, as was anticipated, no trace of him was found in that quarter. The precise manner of his escape isstill un. known, but it is thought that it was done through the sanction of the Jail warden and of friends In league; that he was at once taken to the bay and placed on a vessel that is now bearIng him away to some South American State where no extradition treaty can molest or make him afraid.

Naw York, Dec. 5. The papers, editorially, to-day are loud in their denunciation of’Sheriff Conner for his' gross and culpable negligence. The Sheriff is holden to the State for the full amount of the pecuniary damages which may be sustained in the suits against Tweed, but his official bonds are only for $20,000. The Herald says the escape of Tweed is the crowning shame of a long series of disgraces. Nothing new could excel this in infamy but the failure of the police to retake him. -Tweed must be retaken, or American Justice will be the laughing-stock of the world. His escape was precisely similar to that of Hany Genet’s. He was driven to his house by a DeputySheriff, asked permission to see his wife, left the deputy cooling his heels in the parlor, and walked off, too safe to run. The World intimates its belief that the custodians of Tweed connived at his escape,, and says it is probable that they have been stipendiaries of the prisoner for months, granting him, for a consideration, those favors, which are always for sale at a debtors’ prison. Whether captured or not, his property will serve to satisfy the judgments against him in the suits to recover the plunder taken from the city. The World saya that Sheriff Conner and Warden Dunham are liable to a flue of SI,OOO and one year’s imprisonment for their neglect, and if Tweed is not forthcoming they will be apt to get the full benefit of the law. The Tinies says that whatever penalty can be exacted from Sheriff Conner ought io be insisted on to the uttermost. There is no cessation to-day to the excitement created on Saturday night throughout the city by the announcement of the escape of Tweed. Folice-Commissioner Matsell has no theory in regard to the escape, but said emphatically that in his opinion there was collusion somewhere. Supt. Walling at alate hour this evening stated that thus far not the slightest clew had been obtained by him which might put him on the track of the fugitive, as the police were unable to find any person who saw the coach which is supposed to have carried Tweed off, or the driver of the coach, who had been left at his residence by the Sheriff’s officers. The Sheriff’s deputies are scouring the city also without any result ‘The police are still of opinion that Tweed passed out of the fronCbasement door and was taken to Sixtieth street and East River, where he embarked in a smaU steam vessel. While Chinamen are warranted to wash, the race will not fade away.— Orleans Republican, ,

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Burial of the Late Vice-Presideut Wilson.

The closing funeral rites took place at Natick on the Ist, and notwithstanding the severe cold weather there was a large attendance. At the conclusion of the private service at his late residence, whither the body had been removed the previous day, the remains were taken to the Town Hall, where the final ceremonies were to take place. A special train had arrived from Boston bearing the Governor and a portion of his staff and several memliers of the Executive Council, a committee of the Boston city government, the Hqr. Marshall Wilder, Congressman Henry Pierce, and officers of the Fifth Maryland Regiment and of the Independent Corps of Cadets; also the Boston Fusileers, who volunteered as the escort for the day.

The Rev. Francis M. Peloubet, Mr, Wilson’s pastor, opened the services at the hall by reading the hymn: *• God is our Strength,” beginning with the words, “ Man in his weakness needs a stronger stay than his fellow-men, the holiest and the best,” which was sung by the Alpine Quartet, of Boston. Following this was an invocation by the Rev. A. E. Reynolds, and Scripture-read-ing by the Rev. J. 8. Wheedon, to' which the response “ Abide with me” was sung by the quartet. The address was delivered by the Rev. Edmund Douse, of Sherburne, Who mainly touched on his intimate personal friendship with the deceased and the great qualities of the latter as displayed in the midst of the people who had known and were intimate with him from his youth. The quartet then chanted a poem written for the Occasion. An address by the Rev. F. M. Peloubet followed, consisting of personal reminiscences of Mr. Wilson. The hymn, ‘‘Nearer, my God, to Thee,” which was an especial favorite with Mr. Wilson, and in singing which the entire audience Joined, was given with great effect. The procession formed in line of march, embracing nearly every street in the town. ■ It was tot until four o’clock that the hearse bearing the remains reached the grave in Dell Park Cemetery. The casket was transferred from the hearse and conveyed to the side of the open grave ready to receive it. The Grand Army post formed a square about the grave, while the military escort were drawn up in line in the driveway. The mourners and invited guests having aisembled in a body, the band meanwhile playing a solemn dirge, the casket was gently lowered to its final resting-place. • Mr. Peloubet pronounced the benediction, relativesand friends took a last look, dropped a few flowers upon the casket lid, and the last rites attending the demise of Henry Wilson, Vice-President of the United States, were at an end.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Sugar dealers are always ready for a tare. A slow match—a ten years’ engagement. The roll of honor—A big roll of money, as the world goes. When a man gets tired of himself ho generally tires other people. An old man says: “Were it not for pretty darters, Cupid would have no darts.” Boston has a new charity in the shape of an institute for invalid female schoolteachers. Are your words of more weight when you propound anything than when you announce it? The Detroit Tribune felicitously refers to a lively divorce season there as “ the era of unhitchments.” A quart of kerosene oil will often last a poor woman her life-time, especially if she fills her lamp by candle-light.— New Orleans Republican, “ Patrick,” said an old gentleman to his servant, “ we are all creatures of fate.” “ Well, if it wasn’t for fate how the dickens would we walk, sure?” A newspaper letter-writer comments upon the skill and popularity of the men milliners in Boston. That city, he says, is also well supplied with men dressmakers. A cynical man insists that the fewer relations or friends the happier we are“ln your poverty they never help you; in ' your prosperity they always help themselves.” The suggestion is made that the city of Philadelphia be decorated with flags of all nations on New Year’s Day, being the opening day of the centennial year at independence. The New York correspondent of a Western newspaper informs the readers of that journal that ladies in that city wear “ dog collars of jet, steel and gilt, close around the neck." It is reported that several well-known men of New York have determined to send an expedition to the Arctic regions early next spring in search of the records hidden by Sir John Franklin. In the line of “ How to bring up parents” is the speech of the little boy who said: f ‘ Father, I think you should give up swearing or family prayers.” The boy recognized the fitness of things. . “ I’m twoyears older than you,” said a little eight-year-old girl to a New Bedford boy the other day. “ Weil, I don’t care,” was the reply. “ I’m going to wear trousers soon, and that you’ll nev-, er do.” . j a A lively girl had a bashful lover, whose name was Locke. She got out of patience with him at last, and in her anger declared that Shakespeare had not said half as many things as he ought to about Shy Lock,