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35he Jplrltnrg flaindcalcr. •. -»$;• •'-- *-- f--- ; f & 3. VAN SLYKE, Pttbusheb. -- MoHENRY, ILLINOIS. I THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK. |l«ww!»#l FaII»res tor the First QoaHer , •I" of the ¥e»r. f ;/ *-i Ifrotn the New York Tribune.] - * $he circular of Dun, Barlow & Co., stating the number of failures and amount of liabilities for the first quar­ ter of 1877, is not an encouraging state­ ment. In number of failures there is a slight increase comparing with the first quarter of 1876, and in amount of lia­ bilities u decrease of $10,000,000. The circular observes that " two railroad operators who really stopped payment long ago formally suspended within the past two months," and that the liabil­ ities of these amount to nearly four mill­ ions. But it does not appear that dur­ ing the first quarter of 1876 there were not failures of equal importance which really belong to an earlier period. These statistics have value only as records of the number and magnitude of failures finally ascertained within a certain period, and would be valueless if it were at­ tempted to ascertain at what time the losses were sustained which brought them about, ft The first quarter erf 1877 yields 2,809 commercial wrecks, with liabilities of $54,538,074, or $19,010 for each firm. The average of liabilities is very low, and in that respect the report indicates an improved condition. Whenever the STsrSigs of mercantile liabilities is smsll, the average of liabilities to each failure is correspondingly small, and the return therefore indicates a reduction of indebt­ edness amounting to about $4,000 per firm since the first quarter of 1876. But the losses have not been equally distrib­ uted ; in New York, for example, the av­ erage of liabilities is greater than it was during the first quarter of 1876. No doubt, as the circular states, this is due to the formal failure of firms previously crippled, but in almost every quarter this is the case. As has been well re­ marked, the report of the failures is only a record of the wrecks which come ashore within a given time; it shows rather the point beyond which credit can­ not be pushed to support certain firms, than the measure of the losses sustained. It is important to bear this fact in mind, because a large proportion of the fail­ ures now recorded, and a very large pro­ portion of the liabilities, are due to losses sustained in previous years. The excess of failures in comparison with the first quarter of 1876 is due mainly to California, where the increase is more than 100 per cent.; to Connecti­ cut, where it is more than 50 per cent.; to Chicago, where it is neany 40 per cent.; to St. Louis, where it is about 80 per cent., and to small States or Territo­ ries. In Boston there had been a de­ crease of over 60 per cent.; in Georgia of 50 pt?r cent.; in North Carolina of nearly 60 per cent., and in Rhode Island of nearly 30 per cent. Comparisons of quarterly failures are not or much value, but the returns indicate a generally im­ proved condition of business in Georgia, Maine, Boston, Michigan, New York city, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vir­ ginia and Wisconsin, while in other lo­ calities the 'number of failures is gener­ ally nearly as large or larger than it was during the first quarter of last year. It is not possible to draw any just con­ clusion of importance from these reports. They clearly do not show that the con­ dition of general health has been reached. Nor do they indicate a general decline in commercial stability. They point rather to an adjustment of business to new conditions; to loss where business has been speculative and rash, and to gradual improvement where the gam­ bling element has been duly eliminated. The losses are not over where honest exchange has given place to dice-throw­ ing. Anecdote of President Lincoln. I called upon Mr. Lincoln soon after he was first installed in the White House. In the room where Mr. Lincoln granted interviews, etc., were several persons who were waiting their turn to speak with him. I listened to the requests of several men and women, and I s;iw that very few were granted what they solicit­ ed. I had a seat at or near one end of a long table. Mr. Lincoln sat at the other end. Soon after I was seated, in walked several officers of the Spanish navy to pay their compliments to Mr. Lincoln. By some means they were directed to­ ward my end of the table, and I saw they took me for the President. Mr. Lincoln saw the same thing, and hastily signaled me to "go ahead," as he expressed it, and receive them. I rose, shook hands with each officer, and exchanged a few words with them, which would have been, I suppose, appropriate had I in­ deed been President. The moment their backs were turned I looked toward Mr. Lincoln. He was shaking with laughter. I thought now I had paved the way to win the position I had come to ask. I made up my mind to address the Presi­ dent in a new way, and thus add to the hold I already had upon him. So, when my time came, I stepped up to Mr. Lin­ coln and said: " Sir, I have seen the annoyance to which you are subjected by so many and oft-repeated requests for innumerable positions, etc. Now, if you will permit me to shake hands, I will try and smother my desire for a certain position which I had come to ask from you." Mr. L. jumped up, and, grasping my hand, said: " Sir, you are one man in a thousand. I am doubly indebted to you. You have Deen the means of conveying to those .Spanish officers that the President of the United States is a very handsome man, and then you do not ask an office. But," he added, "hurry home. You may re­ pent." It is sufficient to add that I hurried. 1 Harper's Magazine. Rainfall in England. There are 1,500 stations in the United Kingdom where measurements of rainfall are carefully made. Taking the country generally, July and October might be regarded as the wettest months. July, owing to the very large amount often falling during thunderstorms; and Oc­ tober, from frequent steady rains ; while the least fall happens in April and May. Every inch of rain gives 22,623 gallons of water per acre, or 14,500,000 gallons K square mile, and this feet forms the is of all calculations respecting water Turkey's Offense. A glance at the map shows that the OtHnani must depend chiefly on the Bal­ kan mountains. They can hold the Danube temporarily, but there is no for­ tified town on its banks which the Rus­ sian cannon will not reduce. W hat will greatly contribute to that result is the certainty that the invaders will be wel­ comed by the people of Bulgaria and Servia, who do not share the want of sympathy with Russia which.the Chris­ tians of Southern Turkey feel, and who hate the Turk with a traditional anger, recently refreshed by the massacre. But treason itself cannot give away the Bal­ kan passes. Gen. Diebietsch succeeded in making his way through the Shumla pass in 1829, which opened the road to Adrianople. Once south of the Balkans the reduction of Turkey to the condition of a Russian province, and the installa­ tion of a Russian Prince upon the golden throne of Selim the Inflexible, would only be a question of time. Russian troops can be massed at Odessa and marched across the Dnieper, and down to Shumla, more rapidly than in the days when Suwaroff telegraphed Catherine, " Glorv to God! Ismail is ours, and I am in it." Railroads arc now in opera­ tion from St. Petersburg to Moscow, Warsaw, Cracow and Odessa, where the fleet would form conjunction. The pass from Shumla is the door to Adrianople, which is connected by rail with Constan­ tinople, the distance being 210 miles, an easy ten hours' ride. The other famous roadway through the Balkans, Trajan's nasH in nooriv HftO miles west of Shumla. X -J --' iillAVy " WM11IIII-T, The route would thence be southwest to Uskul, which is connected by rail with Salonica, 150 miles. There is a road also between Varna, on the Black sea, and Rustchuli, on the Danube. The Balkans are a continuation of the Dinaric Alps, their average elevation being about 4,000 feet, and they are chiefly granite. To get possession of the pass of Shumla will undoubtedly be the chief aim of the first part of the campaign, and it will not be obtained in a day or two.-^Chicago Times. Austria's Position. There is undoubtedly much truth in the statement that Austria is profoundly agitated at the near approach of war be­ tween Russia and Turkey, and may med­ itate a movement into Herzegovina and Bosnia as an offset to the Russian inva­ sion of Bulgaria. The Austrians are evidently afraid that, in case of war, there may be a change of territorial status, and fear that if the Russians get across the Danube and sweep down through Bulgaria, they may absorb everything down to the Balkan moun­ tains, and perhaps something beyond them, in which case she would be com­ pelled to take Herzegovina and Bosnia in self-defense, rather than have Russia swallow them. The movement to occupy these two provinces, however, must of necessity involve Austria in new compli­ cations at home. It would change the center of gravity and bring the Sclaves to the front, outnumbering the Magyars, and constituting the prominent element of the population and the controlling ele­ ment in the Government. The two com­ bined would of course almost completely overshadow Northern or German Aus­ tria, the issue of which, sooner or later, would be the secession of the German element to Germany, thus leaving Aus­ tria to be split again between the Sclave and the Magyar. The situation of Aus­ tria, therefore, as will be seen at a glance, is a very peculiar one. She would like to occupy the Sclavic provinces, and yet is afraid to do it. It is a strong tempta­ tion, and yet, if she yields to it, her dual form of government must involve her in new and critical complications. It is a necessity that she should occupy them, and yet, if she does, it may result in the rearrangement of the map of Austria.-- Chicago Tribune. Crop Prospects. The Statistical Corps of the Pepart- ment of Agriculture report upon the condition of wheat in 868 counties of the Western wheat region. In 218 the re­ turns are comparatively unfavorable. In 650 a condition varying from average to superior thiil t is indicated. Tn the At­ lantic States, north of North Carolina, and in those of the Ohio valley, there has been far less injury from the frost than usual. Of 320 counties, only 45 re­ port below the average, and six-sevenths of the reports from the Middle States are favorable. In Missouri unfavorable re­ turns are from 15 of the 66 counties re­ ported. In Kansas, from 17 of the 38 counties, grasshopper ravages are re­ ported. In 22 counties of Eastern Kan­ sas, from Nebraska to the Indian Terri­ tory, as far west as Saline county, the wheat-growing district is alive with grasshoppers, which threaten the de­ struction of crops, in several counties. More than 20 counties report hatching of spring broods. There is an increase of area of wheat in Texas, and the prospects are favorable, with the excep­ tion of grasshopper ravages. In other cotton States the dry autumn and variable winter have depressed the condition of wheat below the average. A Plucky Schoolmarm. The drudgery of the school-room may drive the schoolmistresses of England and Wisconsin into insanity and suicide, but the Canadian teachers thrive and grow fat on it. One of the big school­ boys of the Dominion asked his teacher one night if he could escort her home from singing-school, but she politely de­ clined the offer. He neglected his stud­ ies, ran away from school, and put pins into his schoolmates. She finally lost patience and gave him a flogging. The boy told his father that the fair one whom he had courted had turned and whipped him. The indignant parent sued the teacher and obtained a judg­ ment for $3.50, which she paid. The next morning she remarked to her schol­ ars : "I have whipped a booby soundly, which pleasure cost only three dollars and a half. Now, if any others of my scholars are inclined to imitate him, they will have the kindness to step forward, receive the money and the flogging, and then we will go on with our studies. I am here to instruct you, not to be court­ ed. " Nervousness will never kill off so plucky a schoolmistress. ROBERT BISHOP fired a pistol at James Baxter, in Baltimore, the other evening, the ball striking Baxter in the forehead and completely flattening itself. WATCH THE BOWS, Iae*ea*e of HytrepMMlu [From the Chicago Timee.] A surprising increase Is cases of hy­ drophobia has been observed in the Umted States during the past five years. The ratio appears to be growing still greater; and instead of being looked up­ on as almost an imaginary disease, on ac­ count of the rarity of the instances and the disposition to teat every report as either fiction or superstition, or an un­ usual combination of nervous disorders, the medical profession no longer makes any pretense of denying its existence, its cause, the want of a remedy, and the in­ evitably fatal result following the most cruel and horrible suffering. The latest case has occurred in Phila­ delphia. A bar-keeper named Michael Crosson went into a cellar on Christmas day to draw ale. He chanced to kick and anger a terrier which snarled at and bit him, inflicting what appeared to be an insignificant wound. Crosson paid no attention to the incident, and, in a week, no trace of the bite remained except a slight discoloration. A fortniglist ince, some three months haying elapsed, he began to feel pain in the place of the wound, inflammation set in, and a red­ dish eruption appeared and disappeared at short intervals. At last Crosson was compelled to go to bed by the severity of the pain in his arm ana shoulder, ana the physician who was called, Dr, Car­ roll, being ignorant, of the real cause, administered a powerful anodyne, whieh had no effect. In an hour the man's condition revealed the truth, the circum­ stances of the bite were recalled, and,be­ fore anything further could be done, the case wns hopeless, fts- it ™*ob«bIy would have proved to be even if treated from the beginning with the utmost resource which the medical profession is able to apply. Crosson's delirium was so vio­ lent that four men were required to hold him in bed, and he died from exhaustion; his mind having remained clear up to the precipitation of the paroxysms. He did not froth at the mouth, but the con­ traction of the muscles of the neck, pe­ culiar to the disease, occurred whenever liquids were brought within his vision. His death occurred within eighty min­ utes of the beginning of the paroxysms, and in about ten hours after the pain in the wound became severe. Two cases which occurred about three months ago in Chicago were clearly au­ thenticated, one victim dying in Mercy Hospital, the other in the county hos­ pital The facts in the second instance were never obtained folly in detail, on account of the ignorance of the man's relatives. Instances are appearing con­ stantly all over the country, and the nat­ ural desire of the afflicted family and friends keeps them out of print as the only means of evading the impudence of curious people. The history of this terrible disease is nothing but a record of the vain but gal­ lant struggle of human intelligence to discover its secret. It is as old, proba­ bly, as man; Aristotle speaks of its viru­ lence among carnivorous animals, but was of opinion that it could not, or at least did not, attack the human species. It has always been a source of debate, among both physical scientists und med­ ical practitioners, as to whether the origin of the disease is spontaneous among the lower breeds, or is distributed by inoculation. This much is universal­ ly admitted: That the poison is oon- veyable through the saliva of hydro­ phobic dogs, cats, horses, cows, sheep, rabbits, oxen, and man, and that, once in the blood, torture and death ensue. Experiment has demonstrated that even hens may become hydrophobic from in­ oculation with the saliva of stock animals suffering from rabies. The chiefest danger lies in the de­ ceptive delay which may ensue between the infliction of the bite and the develop­ ment of the earliest symptoms. In the dog, this delay may be of a few days only, or it may extend to weeks, and even months. The symptoms attack the horse more uniformly within a few weeks ; but no rule has yet been formu­ lated concerning the period of incuba­ tion in the human species. The only hope of escaping the fatal consequence lies in the instant and thorough excision of the wounded part, and as this can rarely be done in time, or, if in time, is not done thoroughly enough, the virus steals intp the blood, said defies science. The popular notion that hydrophobia is more likely to appear among animals in the spring and during the hottest in­ terval of summer is pronounced by scientists to be erroneous. The disease is capable of development at any time, and its undeniable increase &eems to de­ mand that prudent measures be con­ stantly in operation to anticipate its deadly outbreak. Hints on Transplanting. The art of transplanting trees, shrubs, and vines is only learned by experience, close observation, and a strict adherence to the laws that govern vegetable growth. Any unskilled laborer can dig up and reset a tree or a vine ; but this does not insure life, health and vigor. There is a well-adjusted balance be­ tween the roots and branches of every tree or vine. Trained practical garden­ ers recognize this fact, and the impor­ tance in transplanting of removing care­ fully all the roots possible, and especial­ ly the fine, fibrous ones, such as take up and furnish the nourishment. To save enough of these roots in transplanting large-sized trees, it is necessary to know the habits of growth of trees and vines. For instance, the Scotch or white pines with their long, fleshy roots, and com­ paratively few fibrous ones near the body of the trees, need more care in removing than the Norway spruce with its mass of fibrous roots clustered around the body. The best way in all cases is to dig a narrow trench around the body, some distance from the tree, deep enough to get below the lower tier of roots. In making this circle, the flat of the spade should not be faced toward the body of the tree. The top soil on the " ball," near the body, should be removed by a digging-fork or other im­ plement that will not cut or injure the small roots. In ease the trees (* shrubs are to be moved only a short distance from where they are growing, as much soil as will adhere to the roots may be left on with advantage. The second important point to be ob­ served in transplanting is not to leave the roots exposed for a moment to the rays of the sun, or to a blowing, dry air, which is quite injurious in tender root- t H not set out at onoet the roots ought to be kept damp and covered over with a cloth, or 44heeled in." Trees coming from a distance, when the roots °* being left exposed, and the fibers are dry and somewhat shriv­ eled will be much improved by plung­ ing them into a stream, or pool of water and then heeling them in, covering the vnAtja ? . •• °-r 7; moiBi sou, and so mwmg them until ready to plant out-- P. T. Quinn, in Scribner for May. The Effects of a European War. War in Europe does not mean unlim­ ited prosperity in America. When the war-drums throb, anywhere in the civil­ ized world, some share of the suffering and loss must fall sooner or la tea to ev­ ery nation. Modem finance and modern commerce have bound all nations togeth­ er with ties that cannot be seen but can­ not be broken, and the true interest of each has become the best interest of all Jay Cooke could not fail at New York without causing starvation in manv an English town, and the'Sublime Porte cannot send devout Mussulmans to be food for Russian cannon without bring­ ing disaster, near or remote, to pious Christians in Maine or California. It is very much the habit to take it for granted that war in Europe will be a great blessing to this 'country. War be­ tween civilized nations needs to sustain it grain and gold as well as blood and iron, and the immediate demand for the support of combatants, in food, cloth­ ing, and munitions of war, will not be inconsiderable. But the main and ob­ vious fact is that ports from which about 42,000,000 bushels of grain are usually sent to supply European demands will be closed by a struggle between Russia and Turkey. The number of con­ sumers will be unchanged; the number of producers will be greatly diminished. Grain, meat, clothing, weapons, munitions, and many manufactured articles will be purchased from this country in much larger quan­ tity because of the war. Alrauly oar- goes are dispatched by telegraphic or der; already factories open their doors, and the prices of our chief products for export advance. But the medal has two faces. We are certain to ship larger quantities of products-at higher prices, and in the exchanges of nations these products are as .good as gold, and yet the premium on gold in American markets rises swiftly. Inasmuch as we owe nearly or quite $2,000,000,000 abroad, in the form of bonded debt, the credit of corporations and municipalities not known to be strong is likely to be severely tested. Not a few railways, which have strug­ gled until now against bad management or adverse fate, will be forced to surren­ der at discretion long before the Turks lay down their arms. Stocks of all kinds, mining, railway and manufactur­ ing, are also largely held abroad, and in many cases are likely to come back. It is unfortunate for us that this disturb­ ance in Europe so closely follows events which have impaired confidence in the management of many American corpora­ tions and municipalities. But we must face facts as they are, and it seems prob­ able that, for some time to come, a large share of our exported grain and produce will go to pay for bonds and stocks re­ turned to this country.--New York Trib­ une. Near-Sightedness in Schools. The effects of school-life in producing near-sightedness in the pupils have for some time been the subject of systematic study by Dr. C. R. Agnew, of New York. In a recent address before the Medico- Legal Society, he stated the results of an investigation made in various schools of Cincinnati, New York, and Brooklyn. The number of students examine^ TO 1,479, of whom 630 were in Cincinnati, 1649 in New. York, and 300 in Brooklyn. Of the 630 Cincinnati pupils, 209 were from the district schools, and of these 83 \ per cent, had natural, or emmetropic eyes, while 10 per cent, were near­ sighted. In the intermediate schools, 210 scholars were examined, and of these 80 per cent, were natural, and 14 per cent, near-sighted. In the normal high- schools, the eyes of 210 students were examined, and of these 78 per cent, were emmetropic, and 16 per cent, near- si gli ted. All this goes to show that near­ sightedness is a progressive disease in the schools. The results for the other two cities teach the same lesson. The 549 students mentioned above as examined in New York belonged to the New York College. Here, in the intro­ ductory classes, 57} per cent, were found emmetropic, and 29 per cent, near­ sighted. In the Freshman class, 42| per cent, had natural eyes, and 40 per cent, were near-sighted; in the Sophomore class no very material difference from what was observed in the preceding classes; but in the Junior class 37 per cent, had natural eyes, and 56 per cent, were near-sighted. In the Senior class 50 per cent, had normal eyes, and 37 per cent, were near-sighted. The Brooklyn students examined belonged to the Poly­ technic Institute of that city. Here, in the academic department, 56 per cent, were emmetropic, and 10 per cent, near- siglitedL In the collegiate department (a higher grade), 53 per cent were em­ metropic, and 28i per cent, were near­ sighted.--Popular Science Monthly. Customs Disregarded. Mrs. Chew GoonPoe, the Maine school teacher, who married a Chinaman at San Francisco some time since, has taken a reporter of the San Francisco Chronicle into her confidence, and convinced him that she did not marry for money, but for that which makes the world go round, to wit, love. There was a reception several weeks after the wedding, and all her hus­ band's relatives were invited to come with wedding presents. In China the bride is not visible on such occasions, but a coolie servant, dressed fantastically, pours out the tea and distributes confections. The friends of Chew Goon Poe assembled in a restaurant, with gongs and fiddles, each bringing to the banquet a sum of money ranging from $3 to $40. When the company were ready for tea the Cau­ casian bride moved suddenly upon the Mongolian works by emerging from the obscurity of her chamber, taking the head of the table, pocketing the money and pouring out the tea. The guests protested against this innovation upon the customs of the Orient, but the bride did not seem to understand the Chinese language. She deposited the money in a bank the next day, and her husband is unable to convince' her that her conduct is improper ] , The Folly of WarnWlif. f (( Jfaal how much chance an outsider--a pigeon, in the gambler's vocabulary has to win against professionals at cards or any of the "little games" is made apparent by the Utica Herald in tne following description of a device gathered in with other spoils during a police raid on a faro hank in that city : " In one of the drawers of the poker- table was found an ingenious and wicked device attached to a vest, which may properly be called a thief. The vest is of fine cassimere and is well made. It is single-breasted, with a double fly on one side. The buttons which hold the vest together are on the inside, while another row on the outside are shams. The vest buttons nearly to the neck, and is harmless in itself; but in the middle of the fly is an opening large enough to allow a small frame to slip out close to the body. Following this frame, by tearing open the lining of the vest was found an ingenious piece of mechanism, composed of German Bilver and brass springs, and attached to this was a long 6pring of brass wire, through which was passed a small gut or cord. This was long enough to reach through the leg of the pantaloons of the wearer, the cord terminating in a loop which could be fastened around the heel. The gambler wearing this device could beat his mas­ ter, the devil, at poker, providing Mr. Devil did not have another thief in his vest. In playing with a greenhorn or. 'sucker,' as verdant victims ara called, the wearer of the thief would take his chances at getting a large hand by hook or crook, and if he failed outside and above-board he would use the thief. Set in the frame that could be forced from the machine by extending the foot at­ tached to the cord, he had one, two or "three aces, kings or queens--cards high enough in rank to beat his opponent. After receiving hiB hand from the shuf­ fler he would hold it close to his body to examine it, and if not pleased at its size down would go his foot, out would pop the frame, and then he could exchange his poor cards for better ones. Each time the deal came to him he could pick out a large hand and slip it into the thief's frame so as to be ready when needed. An experienced gambler, talk­ ing about this device last evening, said that a greenhorn playing against this machine would not liave as much chance to win as he would to recover one out of a handful of bills thrown into a fiery furnace." May Days. We read of the pleasant old oustooa of choosing a May queen, and dancing around the May-pole, out-of-doors, and sometimes we wish we lived in a climate where such things can be done. But May-day, as you children know, is often a day of disappointment--fog, and rain, and sometimes snow, instead of sunshine and flowers. We suspect that it is not always a pleasant day even in merry En­ gland; for Hood writes a poem about spring, beginning: " Come, gentle Spring! ethereal mildness, cornel" O Thomson, void of rhyme as well as reason, How couldst thou thus poor human nature hum? There's no swih eeason I How it often is with us, we are re­ minded in the first couplet of Mrs. Osgood's " May in New England ": Can this be May ? Can this be May ? We have not found a flower to-day I But we cannot help believing in May, and every year we hope that she will be­ have better the next time she comes. For she does make us regret her depart­ ure sometimes. This is the way the re­ gret has been written: Spring is growing up; Is not it a pity ? She was such a little thing, And so very pretty t Summer is extremely grand; We must pay her duty-- (But it is to little Spring That sjje her l»e»»utjr). Spring is growing up, Leaving us so lonely! In the place of little Spring We have Summer only. Summer, with her lofty airs And her stately paces, In the place of little Spring, With her childish graces. --fit. Nicholas for May. A Brave Wirl. Emily Bronte, author of " Wuthering Heights," and sister of the famous Char­ lotte, possessed extraordinary courage. Timid as a fawn in society, and afraid to hear herself speak, but in the face of ap­ palling danger Bhc was self-possessed, knowing no fear. She was passionately fond of dogs, and always took them for company in her walks. One day when she was giving water to a dog at the par­ sonage door--her father was a clergyman --he bit her hand severely, and showed evident symptoms of madness. The brave girl uttered no cry of pain, nor called for help. Walking calmly to the kitchen, she found an iron heating on the fire, and applied it to her arm. She held it there without flinching till the wound was thoroughly cauterized, and a broad scar remained, which was visible to the day of her death. Neither of her sisters knew what had happened till many weeks afterwards, when, think­ ing all danger had passed, she informed them. The Supreme Judgeship. Here is a list of all the prominent can- didates thus far spoken of for Judge Davis' place on the Supreme Court: Senator Timothy O. Howe, of Wiscon­ sin; Circuit Judge Woods, of the Gulf circuit; Judge Thomas Drummond, of Illinois; Col. Thomas B. Swann, of West Virginia; (Jen. B. H. Bristow, of Ken­ tucky; Senator Isaac C. Christiancy, of Michigan; Samuel F. Rice, of Alabama; Judge Hawkins, and the Hon. H. G. Smith, of Tennessee; the Hon. Henry Caldwell, of Arkansas; Judge B. Hughes, of West Virginia; and Judge D. A, Walker, of Georgia. We think the choice will eventually be made between Judge Drummond, of this city, and Gen. Bristow, of Louisville, with the chances perhaps in favor of the latter.--Chicago Tribune. A Walking Catalogue. Wendell Phillips says of George, the brother of Charles Sumner: An En­ glishman came to Rome and was anxious to know whether there was in the library of the Pope, the great library of the Vatican, a certain book. The library is vast and there is no catalogue. The gen­ tleman went to the Italians. They re­ ferred him .to the private secretary of one of the Cardinals, and the secretary an­ swered : ' I don't know ; but there is a young man in this city from Boston, and if the book is there he will know.' They isfeysfi; went to George Sumner and asked him if there was such a Volume in the library. ' Yes ; it is in the tenth alcove, the thfed^ ^ V shelf, the seventh book to the right «•*'"' f ' jK»#nter.' They went and found jfc** g--* » ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE. % THTBSDAY, April 19.--SSKAT®,--Mr. Arntzen, fran the Committee on Kleftirm*, made a report tn regard to the contested election case of Bandy"' against Jones. The report states that the comest-gj ant had not put in an appearance, and declares,^- Jonos entitled to the seat on the certificate ofp; t Gov. Beveridge. A minority report wasfeiiv presented by 8enator Hunt. The majori-- ty report was adopted..., ..Several miim-ft portant bills were read a third time Senate 233 (Dearborn's bill), providing mode of prosecut-iC . ing »uit« against railroads, was passed.... Kchoe's »jl' .< bUl, providing that no more thanf fifty convicts should be employed at one occupation, and Rain- ney g biii lor the collection of agricultural and other statistic*, were tabled. HOUSE.--Speaker Shaw being sick, the Hon. 8. A. Buckmaster, once Speaker, was called to the chair. Several bilis were passed to a third reading... .The bill appropriating $7,000 to pay for Hie Excelsior gas machine for the Penitentiary, was,, after a leee E discussion, killed. • " FRIDAY, April 20.--SENATE.--The Moderw»ll f bill providing for the reassessment of capital stock was taken up. and. after a long discussion, was de- K • rented by 31 to 17... Mr. Shutt introduced a bill . for the appointment of a commission to select a list } ot text books for use in the common Hchool i A pe- -K -,x "i tition of the people of Hyde Park was presented ask- ' " ! ing for the division of the town The afternoon session was devoted to the Revenue bill. /' HOUSE.--The House was greatly depleted by the absence of members who had accepted GKea. Lippin- cott's free ride to see hia fine stock at Chandler- ville--Speaker Shaw being still sick, Sir. Fountain was called to the chair....The bill appropriating $50,000 to the Eye and Ear Infirmary was killed.... „ No other business of any importance was reached. SATURDAY, April 21.--SENATE.--The Commit­ tee on Military Affairs, reported back with favor­ able recommendation the House bill establishim? a military code The General Appropriation bill, covering the expenses of the various State depart- s- ments, was taken up. The several items embraced therein were generally passed, the only change made being the increase of pay of the Janitor of the Central Grand Division of the Supreme Court, which was fixed at $750 per annum.... The following bills were passed: To encourage agriculture, horticulture and mechanical exhibitions; to enable any person, persons or corporation owning dams to regulate the delivery and use of water or water-power; the bill to reimburse certain parties iu Williamson county for moneys expended in suppressing the Ku-Klux outrages; to provide for the distribution of the in­ come of the school-township fund arising from the sixteenth section, when a part of the territory of such township is within an incorporated city or, town; to amend section 1 of an act entitled " An act in regard to the descent of property," approved April 9, 1872, in force July 1, 1872; authorizing oounty boards to remove drift-wood from streams. HOUSE.--Mr. Watkins WBR granted the privilege of taking up his bill providing for gateways, roads and ; bridges, in counties not under township organisa­ tion ; having received a slight amendment, it was, ** on motion of Mr. Hopkins, temporarily laid aside. Mr. Merritt's resolution providing for a final adjournment of this General Assembly on April 28 was laid over, under the rules The bills to appropriate $19,250 to the Eye and Ear Infirmary, $lt5,2'.H to the Carbondale Normal Uni- ' versity, and $61,624 to the Blind Asylum were taken up in the order named, discussed, amended and ' • ordered to a third reading....The House did a p|!N> • riinhing business, and run a host of bills through ; •' to a second and third reading. 0 MONDAY, April 28.--SENATE.--A resolution ̂ was adopted, authorising the Governor to appoint a |f Commissioner for the State of Illinois to- attend the - International Penitentiary Congr ss to be holden at < Stockholm, Sweden Mr. Robinson's bill pro­ viding .for the gratuitous transfer of the Normal School at Englewood, and appro-" priatiug $15,000 a year for its support. came up on second reading. Mr. Dement. offered as a substitute his Northern Normal l'iv vor- sity bill, which appropriates $3ll,00i»foi- the purih ; >e of buildings already erected. The latter was adopted. ... .The bill making appropriation for the Reform School at. Pontiac was called up. It appropri- '0 ates $35,000. An amendment reported by * the Committee on Penal and Reformatory • Institutions reduced this to $82,000. After dis­ cussion the bill was recommitted... .Theafternoon's. session of the Senate, was occupied with discussion of the General Revenue bill, the only amendment. to whieh that was adopted being one striking out the provision requiring personal property to be listed under oath. HOUSE.--The Senate bill requiring the registry of Bchool bonds with the School Treasurer of the town­ ship was ordered to a third reading The bill pro­ viding for the submission to the people of an appro-™* ,, priation of $800,000 for the completion of thes* new State House wasi read, And re-R& • \ ferred to the Committee on Appropriations ' Mr. Irving made a motion for the reconsideration^-:#.: " of the vote by which the Illinois Central railroad'sy.. Forcible Entry and Detainer bill was lost. ThisS*'.':;; I bill made forcible entry and detainer a criminal of-jj|> fense, and was aimed at squatters upon the com­ pany's lands. The motion was lost, and tjje W1J : Killed beyond possibility of resurrection...." The bill for the appointment of town­ ship commissioners of Canada thistles was killed The Game bill was amended so as to - except water-fowl from its provisions, and in minor details, and was ordered to a thirl reading The • bill giving to railroad conductors upon their trains the powers of policemen was ordered to a third read- ' ing, with trifling amendments. The bill also em­ powers conductors to stop trains anywhere to pot off monte-players, etc. TUESDAY, April 24.--SENATE.--A resolution for the discharge of a number of Senate employes a s f o l l o w s : F o u r p o l i c e m e n , e i g h t j a n i t o r s , a n d " ' eight committee clerks was adopted A bill ap- propiiatiMg $7,50'! for additional wings for Jack,... . BOM ville Insane Hospital, was ordered to a third. j reading.... Mr. Robinson, of Cook, called up hip motion to reconsider the vote by which the Dement Northern Normal University bill was sub­ stituted for his own, tin'uing over the Cook County School to the State. The bill was indefinitely ' postponed The following bills were passed: Providing for the election of a Superior Court of Cook County: for the relief of disabled firemen and policemen in cities; the new Cook County Com- ' missioners bill; fixing the time of publishing and price to be paid for Illinois Supreme Court reports to the reporter ; defining vagabonds to be In'ggars, idle persons, runaways, pilferers, confidence men, common drunkards, night-walkers, lewd persons^ , those neglecting families, frequenters of tippling. t shops, and persons known to he thieves, who prowl around public places, and making it the duty of officers to apprehend them for punishment in jail, • • culaboose, or House of Correction; consolidating the Supreme Court grand divisions, and providing for holding terms at Springfield in January, June and September, and making Springfield the location of the court. HOUSE.--The bill providing for the establishment of Probate Courts in counties of 100,000 inhabitants was passed/... The bill to secure uniformity im text­ books was, after a long discussion, ordered to a third reading... .The balance of the day was con­ sumed in discussion upon tne Appropriation bills. Mr. Stowell offered a resolution for the dis­ charge of about thirty employes of the House. Re­ ferred to the Committee on Contingent Expenaea. WEDNESDAY, April 25.--SENATE.--Senate bill No. 114, for the reassessment of capital stock or corporations for the years 1873, 1874, and 1875, was taken up and passed by a vote of 30 to 17 Riddle's two bills, which were defeated yesterday, vi«., ex­ tending the liability of towns, cities, and counties on * railroad aid bonds to 1880. and the bill making cer­ tificates of stock negotiable, were reconsidered aud passed to-day The bill for funding county and municipal indebtedness was also passed... .TheSenate bill on penitentiary, which wws pending on amotion to substitute the Southern Pen- ifBntiary bill for the extension to the Joliet prison, came up, and a struggle followed between the advo­ cates of the north and the south respectively. The substitute was lost--18 to 26--aud the bill laid over. ... .The bill passed yesterday in regard to Supreme Court reports, reducing the price, etc., was recon­ sidered to-day, and tabled.... The bill for the pur- . chase of statues of Lincoln and Doug­ las, lost yesterday, was reconsidered to-day, and again lost, only twenty-live Senators voting for it The resolution of yesterday, dis­ charging employes, was reconsidered, and their time extended to May 2. 1 HOUSE.--The regular order was the Appropriation îiK) and they were taken up, and caused much dl»> lasting during the entire session. ̂ -- -- -- -- -- • ; / ' ^ , t MB. JOHN T. RAYMOND played Col. SEL­ LERS at Lynn the other night, and an ardent temperance man called on Col. Sellers after the play and urged him to sign the pledge. The cold-water advocate said the Colonel played the part to perfec­ tion iintil he got drnnk, and then h« made a eonfoiuided old fool of himself. The Colonel smiled, and, duriug tae next hour he " smiled " several timm m