Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1878 — Page 2

He Rensselaer Union. a w •- *' ""* ! I*. tSNtaHELAOt, INDIANA.

General News Summary.

'."■Weik, **»•* WAuanma. Iy via reputed, ou im' .DUi, that the cur rwef beWaee Ib (be United State* Treasury lneMla* (be •M. 000,000 (or the radeupUob of fractional currency, end WMM.CM In cote. incJudhur about 910,000,OBi In etaadard direr dollar*. Of the *10.000,94JMMN0 Of the three and flre-oeut piece* tamed In 1868, probably ofer 98,000,000 were outstanding The entire amount of fractional currency outstanding laOQOlWto a Washington dispatch of tha lhlb, tbe tilrer ttaadard dollars were r»pIdfy going Wart. On the llth, 976,000 in currency trere exchanged for silver dollars, most of which was for the Northwestern States. Ban, Tut returns received from the Maine election (which occurred on the ttth) up to (he moraine of the 10th, Indicated the non-elec-tion of a Governor, Connor (Hep.) receiving the largest vote, but not n majority of all the rite* east One hundred and Ofty town* give htat 90,987; Smith (Dem.)JU,fi6l, and Oarcekm (Greenback), 14,966. The Republicans elected their candidates for Congress In the nrtt, Seeondoad Third Districts. The Fourth and Fifth Districts were In some doubt, with the chance* In favor of the Greenback candidates. The Upper House of the Legisla- ' tare would probably be Republican; in the Assembly, the Democrats and Grecnbackers would have a majority. A Democratic caucus was held In Boston, on the evening of the 10th, to cbooae delegstos to the Massachusetts State Convention. The delegates seiseted were aeariy all in favor of Gnu, Butler, who had already nomination for Governor as an Independent Workingman’s candidate. At their State Convention, ou the 10th, the New Hampshire Republicans nominated Nat Hand for Governor. The platform indorses spade resumption and the payment of the public debt “ according to the spirit and letter of the law.” Tn Massachusetts National Greenback State Convention met hi Boston, on the 11th. Gen. B. F. Butler was unanimously nominated for Governor, and the question of placing candidates for other State offices relegated to the Greenback dubs for decision and selection. The platform adopted demands the Immediate repeal of the Resumption act; the passage of au act by Congress forbidding the farther issue of Interest-bear-ing bonds unless authorised by a direct vote of the people; the sustaining of the Labor Bureau; the abolition of the Associated Press monopoly; the removal of the tax upon debts; the abolition of poll-taxes; the reservation of the remaining public lands for actual settlers, etc., etc.

The State Convention of the Massachusetts Prohibitionists was held at Worcester, on the 11th. Rev. Dr. Miner was nominated for Governor, Geo. C. Ewing for Lieutenant-Gov-ernor, D. B. Gurney for Secretary of State, J. H. H. Onie for Auditor, D. N. Skellings for Treasurer, and 0. T. Gray for Attorney-Gcn-eraL The platform adopted is strongly prohibition, and favors woman-suffrage and bard money. Tn New Hampshire Democrats have nominated Frank A. McKeon for Governor, on a platform which declares in favor of a “ stable currency, the Just payment of the public debt, and one currency for the Government and people, the laborer and office-holder, pensioner snd soldier, the producer and bondholder;" that such currency should be issued for the benefit of the whole people, and not for the beMflt Of the capitalist at the expense of tbe people.

Rev. 8. L. Caldwell, D. I)., has been elected President of Vassar Female College. Aocoanuia to » Portland (Me.) dispatch of the 13th, the vote for Governor was substantially aa first reported. In the House, the Republicans had sixty-five members, the Democrats twenty-nine and the Greeobackers fiftyseven. Gour dosed in New Fork, on Sept. 13th, at 100)4- The following were the dosing quotations for produce: No. 2 Chicago Spring Wheat, $1.1101,12%; No. 2 Milwaukee, *1.18*01.14; Oats, Western, 25033 e. Cora, Western, Mixed, 47%051c. Pork, Mess, SIO.OO. Lard, $7.10. Flour, Good to Choice, *4.8004.85. White Wheat Extra, $4.8005.75. Cattle, $7.50010.50 for Good to Extra. Sheep, $3.0005.00. Hogs, $4.3004.85. At East Liberty, Pa., on Sept. 13th, Cattle brought: Best, $4.8004.95; Medium, *4.25 04.75; Common, $3.5003.60. Hogs sold— Porkers, $3.9004.20; Philadelphia*, $3,500 4AO. Sheep brought s3.7so4.2s—according to quality. <*

AT Baltimore, MU. on Sept 13th, Cattle brought: Beat, »4.?5<35.12>4; Medium, **•*7)4o4-85. Hogs sold at $5.2506.50 for Good. Sheep were quoted at $8.75(34.50 for good. wmmr asa south. A light fall of snow occurred In portions of Wyoming Territory, on the Bth. The thermooaeter at Cheyenne indicated a temperature of 32 de*. Ox the 10th, H. M. Holden, President of the suspended First National Bank of Kansas Qty, Mo., E. H. Allen, Vice-President, and J. 3. Mastln, Cashier of the late Mastin Bank, of the same city, were arrested upon the charge of receiving deposits when they knew their banks were failing, and were held to bail to answer in the sum of $7,000 each. A heavy frost occurred at St. Louis and vicinity on the night of the 11th. Thb Oregon Legislature effected a permanent organisation on the 10th. The vote for Governor was canvassed, showing Thayer’s majority to be sixty-nine. . t Ta* report, received at St Paul, on the 11th. that Gen. Miles had been surrounded and captured by a body of Bannock Indians turns out to have been unfounded, the facts being exactly the reverse On the 4th, he, with twenty-seven men and thirty-fivefriendly Crow Indians, surprised and attacked the Bannock hostile* in the pass in the National Park, Wy. T., and after a desperate fight, of about two hours’ duration, captured thirtyfour Bannocks— men, women and children—and about 200 head of horses. Capt Bennett, . .. a French scout, and one Crow Indian were killed on the side of the troops, and thirteen Bannock Indians were slain. . Not more than ' three or four Bannock warriors escaped. President Hates and party reached Chicago, on the morning of the 13th, from their trip to the Northwest. He visited the Board of Trade, where be met with a hearty welcoma, and made a few remarks relative to the bustoees prospects of the country at Urge. He waa escorted to the Lake Shore A Michigan Southern Depot in the evening, and be and his family and suite left on the night train for Fremont. Ohio. I* Chicago, on Sept, tfth, Spring Wheat No. % dosed at 86*e cash; 85j*£cSeptember aad 8844 c for October. Cash Corn dosed if SOP for No. 8; «#e for September, »44e for October Cash Oats No. 2 fold at tUKe; *l\e seller October. Rye No. % Barley No. 2, (New) $1.(15 for •!•«» for October (New.) Cash 4-»l Good. $8.8004.1«; Medium Grades, t6*W,n; Jfdtohera’ Stock, *9,8008.10;

•took Cattle. etc., 9a.7s(*Uft Hog* brought $9.9694.(10 for Good to Choke. Sheep ecM at 9»00#5.00 for Dm* to Choice, Firrsnr to twenty casee of yellow fever and seven deaths, since the Bth, were reported In the vicinity of Gallipot la, Ohio, on the Uth. The dimane was brought there by the plague • elilp John Porter, which was moored within two miles of that city. Much excitement)(revs tied. A mono other sad cases reported, ou the 11th, was that df the family of Charles Riddle, at Vlcksbnrg. ’ Mr. K. had taken bis t(oat to Haines’ Bluff, and there buried two children. He had slnje died, and his body was lying (inburied ou tbe floor of s negro cabin; his wife and ftve children were all sick snd had tieen taken to Vicksburg. * A New Tom telegram ol the llth says the dispatches received there showed the numta-r of deeths from yellow fever at the South was, bo far, upward of 4,91111. Thkkr was published in the Chicago Tribune of the 12th a list of contributions for the relief of the yellow-fever sufferers to that date, which aggregated the sum of over 6679,000 — made up as follows: Boston, 990,000; New York, 9100,000; Philadelphia, 988,000; Baltimore, 927,000; St. Louts, 940,700; Cincinnati, 930,(100; Indianapolis, 95,010; Louisville, 915,000; Chicago, 940,307; Miscellaneous sources, 9104,681. Of this sum 9187,000 had been'already sent south.

The editor of the Cairo (III.) HulleUn (Tom Nsllv) died in that city, on the 12tb, of yellow fever, and Ike Mulkey, employed on the same paper, was very low with the same disease. No other esses were reported. The Bulletin bad suspended publication, and people were leaving the city. The weather was cool for that latitude. There was no decrease in the death rate at Memphis, on the 13th. The weather was quite Cool on Uie night of tbe 12th, but warm the next day. During forty-eight hours, 118 deaths had occurred. The disease was assuming a milder form, and the new cases yielded more readily to treatment, which was attributed to the cooler weather. A physician, who returned to Washington from Memphis, ou the 13th, says that in some quarters In the latter city, where many were huddled together, the scenes of mortality were frightful. A large portion of the population had grown very reckless. The Governor of Mississippi issued a proc tarnation, on tbe 18th, designating tbe 80th day of September as a day of prayer throughout the State to God for If If interposition In behalf of the suffering people—" that lie gin withdraw from our people the terrible affliction, and that In His infinite goodness and mercy, lie will restore them to health snd bring peace to the mourning households." The fever had appeared in previously exempt localities in that Stale, and was still raging with great violence at Vicksburg, Canton, eke,.

There were fifty-eight deaths and 228 new cases hi New Orleans, on the 13th. Total number of cases so far, 0,137; deaths, 1.938. ■Weather clear and cool. The Howard Association, after tendering their most grateful thanks for the generous relief extended to the suffering people of that city, published a re quest that no more collections !(e made, as they believed the funds already received and and those on the way would be ample to meet" all the wants of the Association. Mk. Mulkey died at Cairo, on the 18th. No other cases had been reported, and the excitement. in that city was subsiding. Centralia, 111., had quarantined against trains from Cairo. Fkiiiay, .Sept. 13, was observed in Ohio as a day of prayer in l>elialf of the stricken South. No new cases nor deaths occurred at or near Gallipolls, on the 13th and 13th.

rOEKIU* INELUUEVI'E. The German Parliament was opened, ou the Mil, by a speech from tbe throne, iu which the Emperor referred to the various attempts on his life and expressed the hope that the Anti-Socialist bill might pass. Ships arriving at Italian ports from anv part of the United States have been ordered to be quarantined. Another conspiracy to dethrone ne Sultan aud reinstate ex-Sultan Murad has l*een dls covered in Constantinople, and numerous arrests have been made. Acc'ORDINO to n Vienna telegram o the Mb, the Austrian forces in Bosnia uumliered 900,000 men. A Berlin dispatch of the llth says l’rinee Bismarck bad sent a circular letter to the signatories of the,Berlin Treaty, asking them to take common steps with a view to compel the Porte to execute the stipulations of the treaty. Austria, Russia and France had replied affirmatively.

Dk. Nobblino, the man who attempted to assassinate the Emperor of Gormany some months ago, died at Berlin, on the 10th, from paralysis of the lungs, caused by self-inflicted wonuds at the time of his arrest. Over COO liodies lmd been recovered from the wreek of the steamer Princess Alice, up to the evening of the 10th. Ai'OOBDiNu to Viennatelegramsof the 10th, It had been decided to abandou the attempts to occupy Bosnia, unless success crowned the Austrian efforts during ensuing three weeks. The Austrians were being defeated on every hand. The recent Spanish elections have resulted in a largely increased Governmental majority. The only Provinces where the United Opposition were successful, was in the Provinces of Almeria and Barcelona. A conspiracy to establish a Federal Republic lias been discovered in Seville.

A Skmlik telegram of tbe 11th says Russia had advised Servia to continue the armament of her forces, and promised to continue the payment of subsidies. On the 11th, a fearful colliery explosiouuc—curred in the Abeicorne coal-mine, port, Wales. Cf the 371 men in the pit only eighty were refilled alive, aiHjsome of these afterward d'.td of their bums/ The mine was on tire, and it was belie xea that all the remaining operatives had ptfHsbed. It was believed in Vienna, on tlie 11th, that the prevailing anarchyXn Albania would compel Austria to occupy that Province also. The Cleopatra Needle was successfully placed upon Its pedestal, on the bank of the River Thames, in London, on the 12th. ’Tub bakers of (Constantinople have suspended the sale of/ bread, in consequence of the high price of Hour and the depreciation of the currency. On the 12th, the Sultan remitted tbe grain-tax and appointed a commission to devise iqeans for retiring the paper currency. ...- A' A CoXOTAXTINOW-E dispatch of the 12th says the Russians at Kustendje, on the Black Sea, w ere arming the batteries which they dismantled a month ago, and that the orders for the emltarkathm of troops bad been countermanded. : ■ t-r ** . __i! According to Belgrade telegrams of the 13th, forty-six Bosnians and Servians and upward of 200 Mussulman* had been executed at Berajevo, and In that neighborhood, during the preceding two weeks. It was believed that these severities prevented the Bosnian insurgents from submitting to the Austrians. 4 **w plot against the life of tbe Emperor Wilhelm, of Germany, has been discovered, and numerous arrests made.

A farmer, speaking of the thinness of hi* hay crop, said: “ The grasshoppers have all got lame trying to jump from one blade of grass to another.” It is lucky to pick up a horseshoe, unless, of course, it happens to bis attached to * mnleY hina leg.— Buffalo Express. - -

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. ( —Look not upon the watermelon except when ft i* red within the rind. —“l’m a yard wide and nil wool,” tan Kentucky way of describing a high Mate of hilarity. r “ , —Red-nosed men were mighty lonetome 1;000 years ago. It has only been 960 years since the invention of alcohol. — Breakfast Table. —“ l)o lets ’ave a little hair,” said a at English matron riding in a street bus; “nits too ’ot to ride and too ’ot to walk; 1 h’arn h’intirely h’upset.” —Bus, the Texas bandit, stood up undei five bullets, but when five buckshot were added lie fgll over with the remark: “I’vegot my check for the boneyard!”— Ex. —We hear of a country school-mis-tress whe encourages her scholars in running matches. She teaches the young idea, in other words, how to scoot.— Buffalo Express. —“Go to the ant,” was said to the Sard, but let an ant go to the slugand crawl up his trousers’ leg and ikiggard will citst aside his sloth so long as the ant abides with him. —Experience is a dear teacher, is its Somehow the experienced hen always knows that the foraging in the next yard is the best, and she never paid a cent forithe experience, either Keokuk (Iowa) Constitution. —Bereaved relatives, who send in a long and very f.attering piece of obituary poetry, ask, "Do you think we could add anything more?” Yes, you mightadd a five-dollar bill as a guaranty of good faith.— Rome (N. Y.) Sentinel. —lt’s the fashion nowadays when a girl gets married to send samples of the wedding dress for her friends to dream on instead of a chunk of wedding cake, it isn’t half as apt to attract the mice, and never greases the pillow-case.— Yonkers Gazette. —The pedagogical plate-passer in the White Mountains is surpassed in the Chicago restaurant. While a customer was expressing his views somewhat strongly to a waiter, the proprietor, stepping up, remarked: “Don’t talk to him that way. He used to be Governor of Oregon, and such treatment naturally hurts his feelings.” —A certain breadth of statement is permissible in one who sees things through magnifying drops of grief, but tbe man must have had a previous habit ot conscious exaggeration who relates that when his powder-mill blew up the mortgage on it came down uninjured in a corn field and had to be paid, while the insurance, filling into the sea was W. —Tbe Talmud has this legend: “A rabbi bade his servant, on a Friday morning, go to the market and purchase the best thing he could fina for the Sabbath. The servant brought him a tongue. The following Friday he commanded him to go to the market mid buy the worst thing he could find. Again he brought a tongue.” Both the belLtongues and the worst are to be foumfin human heads. —A correspondent wants to know why women never sleep in church. We suspect that it is on account of their uncomfortable headgear. We don’t believe any man, with his head jabbed full of hair-pins and bacK-hair twisted up so tight that a sneeze would break a blood-vessel, could lintt repose even under tbe most sonmifying discourse that ever banished physical pain. It can’t be did. — Breakfast Table. —I’U prove the word that I’ve made my theme la that that may he doubled without any blame; And that that that thus trebled, 1 may use, And that that that that critic* may abuse. May be correct. Farther—the dons to bother— Five that* may closely follow one another! For it is known that we may safely write, Or say that that that that that man was right: Nay e'en, that that that that that that followed Thro' six repeats, the grammar rale has hallowed; And that that that (that that that that began), Repeated seven times is right! Deny it who can. —Springfield (Mats.) Republican.

—People have different notions ol ’ time. A landlord, who is his own rentcollector, recently called on an old tenant, who, with pale, trembling lips, faltered, “I’m very sorry, but times are so bad, and—and—l am not quite ready. If you could only give me a little time.” “Well, well, you have always been a good payer,” said the landlord. “ A little time—eh? Certainly. lam going up-stairs, and —I will look in as I come down.” —lt was on the train, and he was trying to read. There was a crowd in the cars, and among others a lady with a very sprightly little girl that had blue eyes, a head of glistening gold, and an inquisitive tongue. She pned him with, questions and toyed with his waten chain. The mother, who was a wjdow, fairly beamed upon him. He, nervously, to the mother: “What do you call your little darling?” Widow (smiling): “Ethel.” He: “Call her then.” Indignation. Reading resumed. —The Salix Babylonica , that is, the Willow of Babylon, or our English weeping willow, is a native of the Levant, the coast of Persia and other places in the East. /The manner of its introduction into /England is curious; the account is As follows: Pope, the celebrated ptjetC having received a present ofTyrlrtsy figs, observed a twig of JJie-bflSket in which they were packed "putting out a shoot. The twig he planted in his garden; it soon became a fine tree, and from this stock all our weeping willows have descended. This species of willow is generally planted by a still pool, to which it is a beautiful appropriate ornament; and when, is misty weather drops of water are seen distilling from the extremities of its branches, nothing can be more descriptive than the title it_haß obtained of the weeping willow.

Mamma’s Grave.

A boy, uot over eleven years old, whose pinched face betrayed hunger, and whose clothing could scarcely be called by the name, dropped into a carpenter snop on Grand River avenue the other day, and after much hesitation explained to the foreman: “We want to get a grave-board for nia. She died last winter, and the f raves are so thick that we can’t hardly nd here no more. We went up last Sunday, and we come awful neameU finding it. We thought we’d git a grave-board, so we wouldn’t lose the grave. When we thought we’d lost it Jack he cried, and Bud she cried, and mv chin trembled so I could hardly talk!” 5 “Where is your father?” asked the car pent**. * r “Oh, he’s home, but he never goes up there with us, apd we shan’t tell -him about the board. I guess he hated ma, for he wasn’t home when she died, affd li(; wouldn't buy no coffin nor nothing. S<nuetimes, when weiajre sittiu' on the dodr-Ltep talking about her, lind Jack and Bud are crpn’, and I’m rememberin’, how she kissed us *ll afore she died, he says we'd better quit that or we’ll ,get what’s bad for us. „ But we

sleep up stairs, and we talk and cry in the dark all we want to. How tnach will the board beP” The carpenter selected something fit for the purpose, and asked: “ Who will put it up at tho grave?” “ We’li take it' up on our cart,” replied the boy, “ ana I guess the graveyard man will help us put it up.’” “You want the name painted on. don’t you?” “Yes, sir, we want the board white, and then we want you to paint on that that she was our nia, and that she was iorty-one years old, and that she,died the second of November, and that she’s gone to Heaven, and that she was one of the best mothers ever was, and that we are going to be good all our lives and go up where she is when we die. How much will it all cost, sir?” “ How much have you got?” “ Well,” said the boy, as lie brought out a little calico bag and emptied its contents on the liencli, “ Bud drawed the baby for the woman next door and earned twenty edits; Jack, he weeded in the garden and earned forty cents, and lie found live more in the road; I run of errands and made kites and fixed a iioy’s cart and helped carry some apples inte a store, and I earned sixty-five cents. Ail that makes a hundred and thirty cents, sir, and pa don’t know we’ve got it, ’cause we kept it hid in the ground, under a stone. The carpenter meant to be liberal, but he said: “ A grave-board will cost at least three dollars.” The lad looked from his little store of metals to the carpenter and back, realized how many weary weeks had passed since the first penny was earned and saved, and suddenly wailed out: “ Then we can’t never, never buy one, and mother’s grave will get lost.” But he left the shop with tears of gladness in his eyes, and when he returned, yesterday, little Bud and Jack were with him, and they had a cart. There was not only a head-board, but one for the foot of the grave as well, and painter jutd carpenter had done their work with full hearts and done it well. “ Ain’t it awful nice—nicer than rich folks have!’’ whispered the children, as the boards were being placed on the cart; “ wpn’t the grave look nice, though, and won’t ma be awful glad!” Ere this the mother’s grave has been marked, and, when night comes the t hree motherless ones will cuddle close together and whisper their gratitude that it cannot be lost to them even in the storms and drifts of- winter. — Detroit Free Press.

Distressing Case of Accidental Poisoning.

A very distressing case of accidental poisoning has recently occurred at Rushford, Minn., in which the wife of the Hon. Miles Carpenter was the victim. The lady had been suffering for a long time from a disease not satisfactorily diagnosed by any of her physicians, ana was seized, a few days before her death, with acute symptoms of obscure origin, calling for vigorous treatment. Her family-physician, with the ffill knowledge ana consent of herself and her husband, began giving her strychnia, using the solution known as “Liquor Strychnia:,” which is supposed to be the safest form of the powerful drug. The medicine being exhausted, the doctor took the vial home, refilled it with the diluted mixture, as he supposed, and returned it to Mr. Carpenter, with the direction to use as before. But lie had made a fatal mistake. He had sent-another vial, precisely like the one used before, hut containing the liquid at full strength. She immediately complained that it was much stronger than that she had been taking, and said she J‘ believed it would kill her,” and “ske wouldn’t take any more.” Mr. Carpenter thought nothing of this at first, but, as she continued to complain apprehensively, he became a little anxious lest a mistake might have been made, and carried the vial back to the office, ex-

peering to see the doctor. The doctor was sick »t liis house. Carpenter visited him there, and explained his anxiety, showing the vial, and requesting him to visit Mrs. Carpenter at once. The doctor tasted the solution, and thought it rather strong; but, as a weak solution is still intensely bitter, believed there could be no mistake, said as much, and, as the patient had felt no actual effect on Carpenter’s leaving, he (the doctor), feeling unable to walk, declined to go. On Mr. Carpenter’s return to the nouse his wife was dead. "Soon Sftetjiis leaving with the vial she experienced “ spasms,” which returned a second and she expired, about half an hour after raking the fatal dose. The doctor is a practitioner of twenty-five years’ standing, and one ot the last men in the world in whose hands such a fearful professional blunder would be likely to occur. The distress and mental anguish of the physician are only equaled by the sorrow of the husband and family of the deceased wife over the terrible result. —Chicago Tribune.

The physician has published a card confessing his fatal mistake and explaining how it occurred. The explanation is made with lengthy detail, but the amount of it is that in a moment of absent-mindedness and through a close similarity of vials he substituted a very strong solution of strychnine for a very weak one, thus causing the patient’s death. His card, published at the reauest of the husband of the deceased lady, shows him to be a conscientious and honorable man. In concluding it, he says: “I was born in a doctor’s house and ‘ brought up’ in a doctor’s ‘ shop.’ I have handled drugs almost from childhood. I have practiced medicine just a quarter of a century—dispensing my own prescriptions entirely until recently. What errors of ignorance and errors in judgment I may have committed God only knows. So far as I know and believe Ihis-is-the first error in manipulation I ever committed so as in the slightest degree to jeopardize a patient. No matter—so much the less excuse for committing this. * * * The only question to be decided is, .whether one possessed of an organize utn» making such an oversight possiole toshim, nas any right to remain in a oallingsso responsible I have not decided tbatyquestion in my own mind. Perhaps thiscqmmunity will save me the trouble of deciding it I shall at least take no chahge of venue in the case.” It is computed that in tfie^esrTS7 ft there were 10,600,000 cows kept for dairy purposes in this country, which at *45 per head were Worth *450,000,-. 000. The land needed for their support represents *900,000,000 more, and the capital invested in teams, dairy implements, etc., *100.000,000, making a grand total of *1,450,000,000 invested in this single industry. ,

The President’s Statement of National Finances.

The President presented in his address at St Panl, on Thursday, a statement in a compact form of the National finances that is dearly expressed, can be easily understood, and will be accepted with gratification by the country. When the war closed in 1866 the ascertained debt and the outstanding balances due on contracts and claims were estimated at three thousand millions of dollars. So great was this debt that it appalled the boldest minds; and, while repudiation was but faintly advocated, there was a widespread doubt as to the ability of the Government to pay the debt, and some reluctance to engage in making the attempt. The President prebents the figures of the debt in those days following the close of the war, and contrasts them with those of the present day: lnterent-beariiiK debt, Augiuit, '65 *2,381,530,296 Aumutl inten-Ht thereon 160,977,(87 Intemt-bearing debt, August, 73.. 1,309.677,9(8 Interest thereon 16481,007 Reduction of principal 571,862,396 Reduction of annual interest 56,796 690 These comparative figures tfell their own striking story: Ascertained debt, August, 1866 *2,757,699,571 Total debt, August, 1878 . 2.035,580,328 Reduction of debt in thirteen years. *722,109,246 Within the last few years a great change has taken place in the ownership of this debt. It is estimated that in 1871 about 11,000,000,000 of the public debt was held abroad, on which from $50,000,000 to $60,000,000 of interest was paid and sent abroad. It is now ascertained that three-fourths of the bonds are held by our own people, and that the interest sent abroad does not exceed $15,000,000 to $18,000,000 annually. From these facts it appears that during the thirteen years the debt has been reduced over $700,000,000; the annual interest has been reduced over $55,000,000; and this interest is now paid mainly to our own people. Nor do these remarkable figures explain all that has been done. There has been a large reduction of taxes within the period since the war. The taxes are those collected from customs and from internal revenue, and they compare as follows: 1866. Revenue collected *488,273,465 1873. Reveuue collected 301,818.338 1878. Revenue collected 240,762,304 Reduction since 1866 247,621,160 Reduction since 1873 61,066,631 A comparison of expenditures will exhibit equally gratifying results: 1866. Expenditures... *357,542,676 1873. Expenditures 290,846.246 1878, Expenditures.. 236.964,326 Expenditures in "78 less than in ’66 *120,678,348 In 1866 the currency of the country compared with the currency of 1878: 1866Oreenbacks *482,757,604 National Bank notes 176,213,966 Fractional currency 26,844,742 Old demand notes 402,965 Treasury notes, compound-in-terest notes and State bank notes, estimated 100,000,000 Total *736,719,266 " Coin value at 69 cents 509,999,596 1878Greenbacks *346,681,016 00 National Bank notes 324,514.284 00 Fractional currency 16,547,768 77

Total , *687.743,168 77 Coin value at 99V4 cents 684,000,000 00 To this must be added silver coin to the amount of $60,000,000, and about $80,000,000 of gold coin, not including that held for purposes of resumption. The total increase in the coin value of our currency since 1865 is over $300,0 00,000. That is, the purchasing power of our currency has been increased to that extent. The National prosperity is instanced further by the vast increase in sum and value of American products exported and sold abroad. Exports—lß7B *680.683,798 Exports—lß6B 269,389,900 Increase *411,293,898 Increase 153 per cent. In the meantime, instead of having imports exceeding exports at an average of $110,000,000 a year, our exports for the years 1876, 1877 and 1878 exceeded our imports in the smnof $488,628,242. Nor is there anything in the condition of affairs at home or abroad to indicate anything but a constant and regular increase of the annual exports of the products of the industry of the country, as well in manufactured as in agricultural and mineral branches of American labor.

The President’s presentation of the prosperous condition of the public Treasury! the great progress in discharging the principal of the debt; the reduction of the rate of interest; the great advance in the character of the public credit; the evidence of thrift, saving and economy on the part of the people, who out of their own earnings have become the owners of the debt; tiie immense increase in the value of -the surplus products of the Nation, and the evident increase in the accumulated wealth of the whole country, was especially appropriate at a State Fair in one of the most prosperous and increasing States of the Union.—Chicago Tribune.

The Peril.

The rebel claims now before Con¥ress aggregate about $200,000,000. hese are of a character not barred by the Constitutional amendments, and are subject to the action of Congress, without appeal to any other tribunal. We venture the prediction that the advent of a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress will signalize the opening of legislation which will result in the payment of these claims. And when once the gate is opened the amount named will prove but the beginning of the flood. Then will come aggregation for the payment of slaves, the pensioning of rebel soldiers, etc., until our own debt will be lost sight of in the magnitude of this raid upon the public Treasury. : Do our readers appreciate the dangers of this movement P It is not a secret by any means, though frank avowals of the design are suppressed by the leaders of the Democratic party as far as possible. They cannot prevent the less discreet members of their party from speaking out, however, and so we have from numerous Southern sources the open confession that this is to be the object of their political cendancy, and that “ only come through the recognition of their claims by the Njjptfi!” We do not believe, by any means, that every Democratic Member of Congress will simfSort such a raid. Neither are we suwCthat every Republican wfll stand fijan in the midst of temptation in opposition to such Claims. But, as Kjrrne, we can depend upon the latter -to vote steadily and persistently against the scheme, while, unfortunately, the former, owing to party association and the necessitv of “ harraony,”cannot be counted on'to resist the majority of their own party associates. The"opening will be-insignificant; some minor claim will be denominated just, the claimant loyal, and the amount demanded will be small. This successful, the precedent established, and work will

begin in earnest. And it is not alone from party discipline that we may fear danger. . Think of a $300,000,000 claim before Cbn gross, and the opportunities given for corruption in the handling of such a stupendous sum! It is a scheme to be watoned and guarded against on every side. We advise the people of every Congressional district to put the question of supporting or opposing such claims squarely to all of their candidates, ana exact the most positive pledges from them on this print: “-Do you promise to act and vote throughout your term against the payment of any Southern claim growing out of the war, now barred by the laws?” This question, or its substance, should be addressed to every candidate of whatever party, and a positive answer required. The South has everything to fight for in this Congressional contest. Success means, at least, the temporary realization of her peculiar notions about State sovereignity; her triumph over the colored race, and the substantial abrogation of the Constitutional amendments; and, finally, her enrichment at the exSense of the North, whom she plots to ivide by other issues that she may the more easily exact the tribute she seeks. The North, confident, easy prope to independent thought, and, consequently, only united by immediate and apparent danger, goes idly on, seeing, yet seemingly indifferent to, this scheme of sectional aggrandizement. We warn Republicans, and Northern Democrats as well, against a “ United South;” and whether, in the mad craze over other Issues, this danger shall be overlooked or not, we shall have done our duty when we have pointed it out and sounded the alarm.— Chicago InterOcean.

INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS.

—At Squirrel Island, near Augusta, Me., a few days ago, a young boy belonging to the town inveigled a lad, named Butterfield, into an out-house, compelled him to strip, and then beat him most unmercifully, in revenge for some real or fancied insult. The boy was believed to be fatally hurt. —At Pittsburgh, the other day, as Mr. Marshall Jones was standing in the wheel-pit in the machinery hall of the Exposition, aiding to lower an immense fly-wheel to its place, the chain which held it broke, and the wheel fell, and, in its descent, struck Mr. Jones on the neck and severed his head from his body as cleanly as it could have been done by a surgeon, —Quite an excitement was created at Readviile, Mass., by the mysterious sickness of several of the operatives in a curled-hair factory, two years ago, when three persons are said to have died from a painful disease, thought to be blood-poisoning from the hair of diseased animals, principally Siberian horses, inanv of which die from a peculiar malady. A few days ago anothj er operative died, and another was lying dangerously sick, both evidently cases of the disease of two years ago. —Gen. John F. Taliaferro, once a prominent Virginia politician, but of late years an inmate of the lunatic Asylum at Williamsburg, Va., got into a dispute a few days ago with Newton Cunningham, a fellow-patient, about a flying-machine upon which the latter had been at work for nine years and lost his money and his mind. The General contended that it would never fly, and Cunningham seized a heavy spoke from one of the wheels of the flyingmachine and struck Gen. Taliaferro a fearful blow on the skull, smashing it in and killing him instantly. The General was eighty years old. —Another instance of youthful precocity in crime occurred in East Cambridge, Mass., the other afternoon, when Johnny Lane, thirteen years old, stabbed and instantly killed his brother Timothy, a lad of fifteen. The boys had lately purchased a rabbit, and were amusing themselves with it when the fatal quarrel occurred. Two carpenters, at work in a neighboring house, observed the older boy sink down close to the fence, back of which the rabbit’s box was. His face was dreadfully pale, and black clotted bldod was oozing from his breast arid running over his scanty clothing. In answer to the shouted inquiry of the carpenters, the wounded boy replied that his brother had stabbed him. The youthful murderer had in the meantime run away. The tragedy was soon known throughout the neighborhood, and hundreds of curious spectators thronged around the body as it lay upon the grass awaiting the arrival Of the medical examiner. The youthftil murderer was tracked to Boston, and arrested in the house of an aunt, where he had taken refuge. The real cause of the tragedy will probably never be known.

Mr. Gladstone on Manual Work.

Mr. Gladstone in a recent speech at Hawdrden said: “ But needlework is a great deal more than a common every-day act; it rises very high Indeed, almost into fine art; and if I am to speak of subjects connected with the means of subsistence, although needlework in its lower branches is the worst-paid labor in the whole country, yet needlework in its higher branches is very well paid indeed, and to you young persons who are practising or learning needlework, what I would advise, do not be content with practising it jin its lower forms, try and learn tne nature of embroidery, and sco wiiat you oan do in practising the higher forms of needlework. In the first place, it is an improving process, and, in the second, itis a gainful process, and generally I would advise that the people of this country--should give more attention thanjttey do toi raising hand labor of allkifids to the excellence of which it isserSeeptible “ They are too fond out of hand labor and gettinginto what -they call head labor—-that is to say, getting sufficiently iu>ftuunted with reading and casting up accounts perfrops-'to get into the lower class of jriefts. Ido not believe that there is a more distressed class w the country than that class, and I believe that a great number of people would do infinitely better for themselves and for society if they were oontent to keep much more than they do to the use of their hands and would try tp raise the character of the labor which they parform with their hands, because, pray remember this, that a great deal of tjhe very highest labor is labor; performed with the hands. “ Look at the labor of the painter, of the sculptor, and, not only so, but look at a. great many intermediate kinds of labor—hard labor which is st riel ly all dependent on an excellent hand. Now, there is a great deficiency of that kind of labor in this country. Go into the’study of a sculptoi in London and you *will find that the soulp-

tor, probably an Englishman, laobUged to have a great many asaistants/because working at the marble requires verv much to be done before the stage of finishing oomes, and these assistants are well paid; but if yon come to talk to them yon will find that in the large majority of oases they are not Englishmen at all, but Italians and Frenchmen—very oommonly Italians. What I want you to do is this—ndt to be in such a hurry to get into so low a class of head labor as copying-clerks or something of that kind. People should recollect tnat handicraft itself is capable of being raised to a very high description of art and of yielding a very high standard of remuneration. **l cannot tell you how anxious lam to impress that upon the mind of young people, and bow certain I feel that the lesson is one of great importance to the people of this country. Let them perform their work in the spirit x>f an artist; let them try to give it excellence and make it a thing that not only will sell, but as good as they can make it, as useful, as well put together, os well proportioned, as pleasing to the eye, as full of beauty as they can make it, and the more they try to do it the better they will be able to do it.”

Something About Tin.

Tin is a short word, but replete with meaning. If a poor fellow’s pockets are empty (and there are thousands of impoverished bankrupts just now) ho is said to be “out of tin.” If Mr. and Mrs. Smith celebrate their tenth wedding annivrsary, it is called a tin wedding. Then, wfiat a gathering of friends each with a present of tinware, somo of them very odd and useless, but mostly articles of utility; so that the Smith family find tnemselves in possession of tinware enough to last them through life, and they may well be proud and happy. Tinware is a hie institution.- There are in Chicago no less than twenty large tinware factories, supplying the whole West with kitchen ware—one of them even exports certain lines of tin goods to Europe, from whence the tin comes —and giving occupation to many hundreds of hands. But it is all a mistake; the ware called “tin” is only a wash of tin over sheet iron. As well might we speak of plated ware as being silver. Wo learned something novel recently about tin while looking in at a metal store on Lake street and listening to the courteous salesman. We learned that, while our extensive country produces nearly all metals, from gold to lead, there has never yet been discovered a tin mine. Should one be found, “may we be there to see,” and take a few shares in it. Tin is used for various purposes other than for “ Britannia ware.” The fine black cloths we get from France are colored by asolution of tin. The most heautiful red colors in carpets ate made by a chemical process which requires pure tin in the composition. The best and most reliable tin is imported from the Dutch East India Island of Banca. It is taken from Banca to Rotterdam, and there sold, by auction, at semi-annual sales; and from there finds its way to all parts of the civilized world. Next in quality is Malacca or Straits *> tin, so named because it reaches us through the Straits of Malacca. A small quantity comes from China, but the Celestials have so many ways of cheating that their tin is very unpopular. Our English neighbors send us great quantities of their Cornwall tin, and they pronounce it superior to all other; but while it is pure, it is not so soft as Banca, and Brother Johnathan prefers the latter,. From South America we receive small supplies; but its quality is inferior and very drossy. Our imports of tin and tin plates during the last fiscal year amounted to $12,112,532, while in 1873 they were $18,356,653. —Chicago Commercial Advertiser.

How To Secure Forfeited Railroad Lands.

Wahhinoton, Sept. 6. A circular of instructions has been issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, under the recent decision of the Secretary of the Interior in the Dudymott case, and is addressed to Registers and Receivers of the United States District Land Offices. The Commissioner’s instructions apply only to lands granted by the act of July 1, 1862, as amended by the act of July 2, 1864, and the act of March 3, 1869, authorizing the transfer of a part of the grant to the Union Pacific Railway Company. The instructions say: Where any person shall apply to file a pre-emp-tion declaratory statement lor a tract or tracts not exceeding a quarter aeotion within the limits of such grant, and when the entire road shall have been completed for more than three years, each applicant will be mquired to show that he or she is duly qualified as pre-emptor. Thereupon the declaratory statement will be conditionally received and the proper note thereof made. Yon will immediately thereafter call upon the proper officer of the railroad company for a statement showing whether the lands applied for had been sold prior to the date of the application to hie a declaratory statement thereof. If the company shall report that the land had been sold, the report most show the date of such sale and the name of the person or persons to whom sold, and give a description of the deed or instrument of conveyance. On receipt of such report you will rejeot the application to file a declaratory statement, subject to appeal to this office. If the company shall state that the land had not been so sold, you will receive the declaratory statement, and. upon the applicant showing at the proper time a full oomplinnoe with the requirements of the Pre-emption laws, permit payment at entry at sl-25 per acre. Following is the list of companies whose grants are clearly under or subject to the terms of the act of July 1, 1862, with the date of completion of such roads, as appears from the records of the Department: Union Pacific Railroad, completed July 15. 1869: Kansas Pacific Railway, completed Oct. 19,1872; Union Pacific, Central Branch, completed Jan. 20,1872; Denver Pacific Railroad, completed May 2,1872; Sioux City & Pacific, completed March 2, 1869; Central Pacific Railroad, completed July 15, 1869: Western Pacific Railroad, completed Jan. 21,1870.

—A distinguished medical authority recommends for use in civil and military hospitals, and for the purpose of destroying the poison-germs of smallpox, scarlet fever and other infections diseases, a disinfectant composed of one part of rectified oil of turpentine and seven parts of benzine, with the addition of five drops of oil of verbena to each ounce. Articles of clothing, furniture, wall-paper, cafpeting.books, newspapers, letters, may be perfectly saturated with it without receiving the slightest injury. —Fradprick A. Sawyer, formerly United Slates Senator from South Car* olina* and afterward Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, has been appoinled to a small clerkship in the office of the Coast Survey of tne Treasury Department 1 ' There are two kinds of things at which a roan should never get angry—what a man’ cannot help and what he can. i „ ...