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K. *rr7Z • :: .:c~"U~ '3^" %?'*L< sAAA" .f^*1*; •fiShr'*"' " i* *i Uejjewy pitiitotler 4. VAN SLTKiC, Mltorft PaMfetor. IfoBENRT. ~~! : 7 ILLINOIS, i EPITOME OF THE WEEK. -- OoMwesd TelegfapMe New*. . THB 01«I» WOHLD. - A ST. PETERSBURG official dispatch «t the 6th saj-s thtt Sophia wae occupied on J|e 3d, after a skirmish, In which the Russians #«t only twenty-four men. /r- ~ A DESPERATE engagement occurred -ifear Bogrov, on the 2d, between Gen. Gouif kt)> forces and a Turkish detachment, which TCsultcd in the latter'e defeat, with a loss of «#*» men. The Rassimns lost 300. AH Erzeroum telegram of the 6th ilya the Russian detachment sent to DNQi to 4estroy *he telegraph lines bad been signally defeated. I" A KUSSIAH force under Gen. Dander- *e, which supported Gen. Gourkoin his Movements over the Balkans, had fifty-three w4 frow to death in one night, and 820 ftr-s# Wtfen. ' THIS Turks are reported to have abandoned their position at Schipka fttM. THEBK was a heavy tumble in the price of securitiea, In London, on the 5th. A LONDON dispatch of the 7th says VtaMse had sent an energetic protest against •eUon hj Great Britian having for its object the ixmessioa of Egypt. The war fever had sensibly abated. A BUCHAREST dispatch of the 8th announces that the Russian communications had been restored by the freeing of the Banube. JOSEFS ANDERSON ft Son, provision aterchiato, «f London, hfled on the 7th, #(h liabilities exceeding $1,000,000. , A PERA dispatch of the 8th says the' Porte had been advised by England to imaie- ttately open negotiations with Russia to bring ab->ui peace, A strong disposition was evinced .tp accept the proffered advice. A CONSTANTINOPLE telegram of the 8th announces the defeat of the Servians and the re-occnpation of Kurschumej by the Turk- Mi troops under Eyoub Pasha. The latter reports that he had driven the Servians across the frontier and burned six of their military Stations. A BOOOT dispatch of the 8th says the Xassians had occupied 81at4tu and Petrichevo. BAKER PASHA, the hero of the En­ glish railway scandal, has been promoted to be Ueutenant-General in the Turkish Army. DESPITE the pressure from the Sultan and threats of dissolution, the members of the Turkish Parliament have been assailing the Government with great freedom and bitterness. RASP AIL, the Stanch chemist and Communist, Is dead. L. P. Milliard, J. H. Keltogg. Martin Ryan and R. I. Woods, for conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretenses, in connection with the late Protection Life Insurance Com pany. Mr. Kcilog& i* accused, when actinias agent of the company, of representing that corporation as solvent when he must have known to the contrary. Mr. Woods is the State Examiner. The otber parties indicted were officers of the defunct Insurance com­ pany, THE ruins of the Barclay street (New York City)' explosion had yielded fourteen dead bodies up to the evening of the 7th, and It was believed that the last had been found. OH'ine coast of Maine, on the morn­ ing of the 7th, the thermometer marked 42 dears, odow zero. THE Solicitor of the Treasury De­ partment has decided that goods manufac­ tured In bonded warehouses may be trans­ ported to and exported from other ports, pro­ vided that the transportation to porta of actual exportation is performed by regularly bonded carrier*. ON the 7th, the Secretary of War designated Col. J. II. Kine, of the Ninth In­ fantry, and !•tout.-Co! Wm. II. Young, of the Nineteenth Infantry, to serve with the citiicns of Texas appointed by Gov. Hubbard to In­ vestigate the El Paso disturbances. THE Ohio Legislature was organized, on the 7th, by the election of the Democratic caucus nominees. A. O. Meyers was elected Clerk of the Senate. In the House, James E. Ncste was clected Speaker; J. A. Norton, Speaker pro tem., and L. A. Brewer, Clerk. The Message of the Governor states that the public debt was reduced $5,000 during the year, leaving the outstanding funded debt $6,479,505; the local indebtedness aggregates $39,338,509, and the irreducible debt $4,8111,- 104--making a total of Indebtedness of $50,- 339,478. THE debt of New York City was re­ cently stated to be $117,741,050.' That of Boston is $48,354,444. THE number of aliens arriving at the port of New York last year, according to the report, of the Commissioner of Emigration, was 54,536, a decrease of 16,729 as compared with the arrivals of the preceding year. THE Thirtieth Annual Convention of the American Dairymen's Association, met at Cleveland, Ohio, on the 8th. The attendance was large. THE Minnesota Legislature- was or- ' gantzed, on the 8th, by the election of Republi­ can officers in both Houses. Chas. Oilman was unanimously elected Speaker of the House. A MEMORIAL to Congress was intro­ duced in the Maryland House of Delegates, on the 8th, by Hon. Montgomery Blair, recit­ ing the history of the Electoral Commission, and claiming that its decision was brought about by an evident bargain between the friends of Mr. HayeB and certain members of the opposition in Congress, whereby the Elec­ toral vote in the disputed States was fraudu­ lently and corruptly counted for Mr. Hayes for certain political considerations, and praying " that needful legislation may be adopted by Congress to as­ certain judicially who was elected President at the recent election, and to give effect to the will of the people." The memorial was ac­ companied by a resolution instructing the A CONSTANTINOPLE telegram of the ° wuipuicu uy m rewiuuuu jiiMnicuu^ me tth says the Turkish Commanders in the field , Maryland Representatives in Congress to favor Mdbeen ordered to conclude an armistice the object of the memorial. With the Russian Commanders. The condi­ tions were believed to be that the belligerents maintain existing positions and that negotia­ tes for peace begin as soon as the armistice comes into operation. A RUSSIAN official telegram of the 9fh announces the capture of the Turkish for­ tifications in the Trajan Pass. * A TERRIBLE outbreak of spotted tjPphuB has occurred in Frateshtl and the neighborhood. It originated among t|ie Turk­ ish prisoners, and it was whispered, on the • that the disease was really the Plague. • . KING VICTOR EMMANUEL, of Italy, died on the 9th, at the Royal Palace, in Rome. His successor is his son, Prince Humbert. Be­ fore his death he is said to have become recon­ ciled to the Pope, and to have received extreme unction and the Papal benediction at the hands of the Papal chaplain. Prince Humbert was proclaimed King of Italy and reappointed the present Ministry. He also issued an address denouncing the death of his father and hit accession to the throne. . THE capture of Schipka Pass was an­ nounced in an official gispatcb, on the 10th. The whole Turkish Army defending the Pass, consisting of forty-one battalions, ten batter- It® and a regiment of cavalry, were taken pris­ oners. This was considered at Constantinople . i worse misfortune than the surrender of f|sman Tasha, einca it practically rendered the $alkans useless as a line of defense. It was feared that Suleiman Pasha's Army would be idptured before it could reach Adriauople, Whither It was retreating. ̂A LONDON dispatch of the 10th says the revolution in Crete had been formally or­ ganized. There was great excitement through­ out Greece, and it was thought a like revolu­ tion would be started in Thessaly and Epirus. THE Turks have defeated the Monte- >*aegrfn» at Sput and Malisaouri, and driven fibem to YenihoL SULEIMAN PASHA has been relieved •'*< his command and summoned to Constanti- pPPie- OK the 10th, M. Grevy was re-elected President of the French Chamber of Deputies, •nd Duke d'Audiffret-Pasquier, President ol • tie Senate. A BERLIN dispatch of the 11th says Russia was negotiating with the other Baltic Powers to prohibit the war vessels of non-Bal. tic Powers from entering that Sea. * NISCH surrendered to the Servians, after a two days' fight, on the morning of the ! Hth. About 8,000 prisoners were secured. ARAGUSA dispatch of the 11th says ,i the main Montenegrin Army was marching t) ®n Scutari. Antivari had surrendered uncon- ,, .Optionally to the Montenegrin Commander. A MAN committed suicide in London. «U the 11th, by leaping from the Whispering Gallery In St. Paul's Cathedral. TUB NEW WORLD. United States Treasury, on the K « ^ 0W'S5° In 6011(58 to secure the Rational Bank circulation, and $13,988,000 in It obonds to secure public deposits. The National .4,J*ank circulation outstanding on that day was* *4ilU,432?S). *"**' $830,17°'4a0; gold notes', Co>i8IDERABLE excitement has lately "ween caused in Eastern society circles by the ."i*naiTiage of Mrs. Hicks to Thomas Lord, the latter an octoaenerian millionaire of New York City. On application of the relatives of Mr. 0 Lord, a commission of lunacy has been ordered! 1 -A New York dispatch of the 6th says the --(Unreason why Mrs. Hicks married him was be- - cause she was indebted to him in the sum of . about $500,000.. INDICTMENTS have bpen found, in Chicago, against A. W. Edwards, John Reid, largely exempt; thateducation e hotildfee made compuisorv, and that after 1885 there should be an educational qualification to the right of suffrage. • CALL has been Issued for a Nation­ al Convention of the National party, to be held at Toledo, Ohio, on tho 22d of February. Among the names appended to the call are those of WendeH Phillips, Peter Copper, Al­ exander Campbell, Blanton Duncan and Moses W. Field. The Convention is called to take action on the financial question, and is to be composed of one delegate from each Congres­ sional District and two from each 8taie-at- large. HON. GEO. tt. PENDLETON was nomi­ nated by the Democrats in the Ohio Legisla­ ture for United States Senator, on the even­ ing of the 10th. A PETITION has been prepared by the Independent Greenback party of New York State, asking Congress to remonetize silver and repeal the Resumption act. The New York Assembly, on the 10th, passed--105 to 17--a resolution opposing the passage by Con­ gress of the Bland Silver bill. SEVERAL suspensions occurred in New York, on the 11th, consequent HP*® the failure of E. J. Dunning & Co. ; GEN. JOHN O'NEILL, at one time a prominent Fenian leader, died a few nights ago, at Omaha, Neb., of paralysis. THE safe in the office of the Allegan County (Mich.) Treasurer was blown open on the night of the 7th, and robbed of between $3,000 and $3,000. LIVER-EATING JOHNSON, who is said to have killed more Indians than any other man on the frontier, is reported dead. He once ate the liver of one of his Iudian victims, and hence his title. He made the killing of Indians a pastime, and was the terror of strolling savages in the upper Missouri River country. AT the organization of the New Jersey Legislature, on the 8th, Geo. C. Lud­ low was elected President of the Senate, and John Egan Speaker of the House. In his message the Governor represents the State finances to be iu good condition. THE New Hampshire State Republi­ can Convention met at Concord, on the 9th, and renominated Gov. B. F. Prescott for Gov­ ernor, and David E. Wlllard for Railroad Commissioner. Resolutions were adopted- reaffirming the Cincinnati Platform of 1876 and reiterating the following principles: The full protection of all citizens in the full enjoy­ ment of all their rights; the permanent pacifi­ cation of the South; a continuous progress toward specie payments; deprecating actional feeling and trndcncice; rccoguiziug the paramount duty of the President tn render these high and solemn professions ac­ tual and living realities, and welcoming and approving "his patriotic and sincere efforts to keep faith with the people and secure to the whole country the blessings of a just, efficient and honest Republican National Administra­ tion;" opposing the attempt to repeal the Re­ sumption act, and disapproving any legislation tending to repudiate the public debt in whole or in part; denouncing the attempt to make the depreciated silver dollar a legal-tender, and calling on the President to veto any measure which may be adopted by Congress to that end; condemning as factious and mischievous all attempts to re-open the Presidential contro­ versy, or to question the title of Ike president to his high office. THE Connecticut Legislature effected an organization on. the 9th. C. H. Brlstow was chosen Speaker of the House. ANNOUNCEMENT was. made, on the 9th, of the failure of Edwin J. Dunning, a noted Wall-st;eet (New York) broker. The amount of his liabilities is given at $1,000,000, due to banks on demaud as security for time loans to merchants and other business men. THE Wisconsin Legislature met and organized on the 9th. In the Senate, the Re­ publican caucus nominees were chosen officers --A. J. Turner being elected Chief-Clerk, and A. J. Brayton, Sergeant-at-Arms. The Demo­ crats and Greenbackers united in the House, •nd elected A. R. Barrows (Greenbaeker) as Speaker, over Kelly, (Rep.), by a vote of 54 to 42. J. R. Hunter (I)em.) was elected Chief- Clerk, and Antcn Klaus (Dem.), Sergeant at- Arms. THE Woman's Suffrage National Con­ vention, in session in Washington, on the 9th, adopted a series of resolutions setting forth the duty of the National Government in main­ taining the equal rights of all its citizens with­ out regard to sex; the injustice of remanding women from a hearing before the highest tri­ bunal of the Nation to State legislation; the right of the educated, tax-paying women of the Nation to have precedence over the Chl- | nese and Indians in reference to Congressional , action on their civil and political status; a ' condemnation of the proposed Sixteenth j Amendment, which introduces the sectarian | idea of God into the Constitution; the injus­ tice o^taxing the property of widows and spin­ sters to its full value, while the clergy are cxmeMsnoNAi*;'1'• SENATE.--On the 10th, bills were in­ troduced--to regulate Chinese immigration; to admit women, duly qualified, to practice be­ fore the Supreme Couit of the United States; to improve the navigation of the Mississippi River.... A joint resolution was submitted and referred, proposing an amendment to the Con­ stitution prohibiting States from making appropriations for sectarian purposes Mr. 8argent presented a preamble and resolution in favor of a session of the Senate, on the 12th, at which representative women of the country who favor a Constitutional amend­ ment securing to women the right of suffrage might be beard in behalf of such cause. After debate, the resolution was rejected--yeas, 13; nays, 81... .The Matthews resolution declaring the right of the Government to pay the prin­ cipal and interest of bonds in silver coin was further considered--Adjourned to the 14th. HOUSE.--Mr. Wood's resolution di­ recting Investigations into the management of the several Departments of the Government- was considered in Committee of the Whole, and, after considerable debate, was amended so as to provide that when any committee de­ sired special power and authority for any in­ vestigation, it should present in writing the names of the officer or officers charged with improper or unlawful conduct, and specify the nature of the charge pro posed to be investigated. The reso­ lution as amended was then agreed to in committee Bills were introduced--to pro­ hibit the employment of Chinese or Mongo­ lians on any public works of the United States; to prevent the naturalization of Chi­ nese or Mongolians; to punish and prevent the practice of polygamy in the Territories; for the coinage of five-cent silver pieces, and the discontinuance of five-cent nickel or cop­ per coins. SENATE.--Not in session, on the 11th. HOUSE.--Bills were introduced and referred--to promote deposits of savings and refunding of the National debt; to give con­ struction to the act for the resumption of specie payments; authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue coupon bonds of the de­ nominations of $15, $25, $50 and $100 for the Inveptment of savings The previous ques­ tion was moved and rejected--109 to 111--on the Wood Investigatiou resolution as amended the previous day In Committee of the Whole, and the original resolution was subsequently adopted without amendment--111 to 107... .A resolution was offered and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, asking the President to communicate his reasons for re­ fusing to recognize the present Government of Mexico under Gen. Diaz, with such orders, correspondence and other documents as relate to that subject--Adjourned to the 14th. The Dead Body of a North Carolina Woman Turned to Stone. It is a fact not generally known that the cemetery of the Methodist Church, in Hendersonville, N. C., contains a petrified human body. About the year 1836 Miss Adeline Byers lived with her father, Francis C. Byers, fifteen miles south of this place, in Henderson Coun­ ty. She was a bright, sweet girl, much beloved by all who knew her, and her hand was sought in marriage even be­ fore she was of marriageable age. At last she was won by William Pinkney Murray, whom she had known long and well. Soon the nuptials were cele­ brated, and the bride and bridegroom set out in search of a new country, fol­ lowing the setting sun to the Mississip­ pi Valley. There they located and be­ gan the journey of life together in real earnest. Prosperity and happiness came to them, until at an unexpected moment death cut down Mrs. Murray in the veiy prime of life. The discon­ solate widower, consigning the body of his deceased wife to the dust, as he sup­ posed, sought "surcease of sorrow" in the wilds of Texas. A few years aft­ erward Dr. Josiah Johnson, intending to return to North Carolina, whence he had removed with his brother-in-law, Mr. Murray, disinterred the body of Mrs. Murray for the purpose of carry­ ing it back with him. Imagine how amazed he was to find it in the coffin just as he had seen it there years be­ fore. The same features--almost the very same expression. But what he saw was not flesh--it was solid stone. The»whole body had petrified. In that condition he carried it to North Caro­ lina, and delivered it to the aged fath­ er, Mr. Byers, who could hardly doubt that his daughter had come home to him asleep! The news spread that Ad­ eline's body had been " turned into a rock," and great was the desire of everybody to see it. Attempts were made, it is said, to steal it out of the cellar where the old gentleman had carefully concealed it, but they were unsuccessful. All through the war it was guarded by the father as the most sacred trust, but few persons beihg al­ lowed to see it. About six years ago, however, it was quietly buried in the Methbdist Cemetery, at Henderson ville, where, it is hoped, it will be permitted to rest until the "resurrection morn.'* --Ash* ville Cor. Raleigh Observer. --Pretty story from New England: " A Canaan farmer recently saw two men attempting to drive a hog past his house, but the brute was so obstinate that they finally told the farmer that if he would kill it for them they woult' give him half of the meat. He accepted the offer with joyful 'alacrity, and not only killed the hog but dressed it into the bargain, after which the strangers drove away with their half. But when the farmer went at night to feed his own hog he found the .pen empty, and it did not take him long to discover that he had killed his own property, receiving half of it for his trouble." --The Empress of Russia is a good seamstress. ILLINOIS STATE NEWS. THE banking-house of Peddecord & Bur- rougtis, at Decatur, suspended on the 5th. They are the proprietors of the Decatur Fur­ niture Factory, In which they invested be­ tween $350,003 and $400,000; also, of the De­ catur Woolen Mills, in which not less than $200,000 are invested. It was this outlay of capital in enterprises which brought 06 return which caused the suspension. JACOB BALL, an old citizen of Sangamon County, died, on the 6th. of convulsions, while In custody for contempt of Court. THE eleventh annual meeting of the North­ ern Illinois Horticultural Society will occur at Franklin Grove. Jan. 23, 24 and 25. MAJ. WOODS, a clerk In the State Auditor*! office, has been indicted by a Chicago Grand Jury for complicity with the officers of the defunct Protection Life Insurance Company of that city iu a conspiracy to defraud policy­ holders. TBB only Official bond which Burn, the banker, Is on la that of Hon. Ed. Rutz, 9tate Treasurer. The statute requires that the Treasurer's bond shall be for $500,000, nnd that the sureties shall separately qualify to the' amount they are worth, free of incumbrance. Mr. Rutz's bond has the following sureties: Wm, Thomas, of Belleville, $500,000; J. Buna, $200,000; F. W. Tracy, $300,000; S. H. Jones, $100,000; F. K. Whlttemore, $20,000; total, $1,020,000- The statute also gives the Gov­ ernor power to call upon the Treasurer to sup­ ply new sureties if, at any time, those on the bond shall seem to him to be Insufficient. In the present case, it does not appear to the Governor that the bond is Insufficient* as It bears the names of sureties abundant for the $500,003 required by the law. THK boot and shoe store of Wm. Brummer and the millinery store of Mrs. Habing, at Ef­ fingham, were burned on the morning of the 7th. Loss, $3,000. VALENTINE OHLMBILBK, an old and well- known citizen of Rock Island, attempted sui­ cide, on the evening of 6th, by cutting his throat with a razor. He inflicted upon him­ self a fearful gash in the presence of hie wife, who struggled to prevent it She had grasped his right hand, whereupon he transferred the razor to his left hand, and drew it across his throat, cutting but not severing his windpipe. He will recover. The cause Is attributed to domestic Infelicity, springing out of pecuniary reverses. THE annual report of the Registrar of Vital Statistics for the City of Chicago shows that the deaths for the year ending Dec. 31, 1877, numbered 8,026. In 1876 there were 8,573 deaths. There were, therefore, during 1877, 547 less deaths than In 1876. The ratio of deaths to an estimated population of 450,000 was one to560%, or 17.83 deaths per 1,000 of inhabitants. In 1876 it was 20.41, the popu­ lation then being estimated at 420,000, Gov. CCLLOM says a supreme effort will be made to pay off the bonded indebtedness' of the State--$750,000--during his term of office. IT was announced at Decatur, on the 9th, that David P. Elwood and Daniel H. Elwood proprietors of the extensive planing-mills and sash factory of that city, had gone into bank­ ruptcy, with Joseph Mills as assignee. Lia­ bilities, $50,000; assets, $80,000, largely ID Michigan pine lands. AUCTION SOCIABLES have been Inaugurated at Waukegan. After the company has assem­ bled, the ladies retire to a private room and don long, loose dresses and conceal their faces, and then are brought out one by one and sold to the gentlemen at auction. The- highest bidder takes the lady, and so on until all of the ladies have been sold. After the auction is over, each gentleman must pay his whole and undivided attention to the lady he has bought, and the lady must not receive any attentions from any other gentleman. MOULTRIE COUNTY has railroad bonds out­ standing and u npaid amounting to $817,000. PEDDECORD & BURROWS, the lately suspend­ ed bankers of Decatur, have published a state­ ment to the effect that their liabilities are $190,870, and their assets $384,140. ADAM SMITH, of Illinois, the Nebraska Farmer says, has latelv purchased of the B. & M. Railway Company 170,000 acres of land in Boone County, Neb. AT a New Year's party In Springfield there were present sixty-two persons, each related to every other one, there being twenty-six dif­ ferent connections. IT has just transpired that State Auditor Needles, on Dec. 31, gave the following im­ portant ruling, to the effect that personal property could not be distrained for taxes on real estate. It will be observed that such has been the law since 1873, and such has been the ruling of the Auditor's Office, but no official opinion has before been published, because the officers who have received such opinions here­ tofore kept them concealed for fear that people would not pay their taxes except under a threat of distraint of personal property. The change in the law mentioned was made by the influence of the railroad lobby, in order to prevent Collectors from securing engines, cars and other personal property for taxes due on road-bed and other real estate. As the matter is of great importance, the ruling of the Audi­ tor is reported in full, as follows: STATE or ILLINOIS, AUDITOR'S OFFICE, J SPRINGFIELD, Dec. 31. J To D. R. Paulen, Collector of BangRmon County: You ask, in effect, this Question: In case any person named in the books of a Township or Dis­ trict Collector shall neglect or refuse to pay the tax charged against his real estate, it* the said Col­ lector authorized by law to levy and collect the same by distress and sale of his goods and chattel®? The Revenue law of 1872, Sections I31l 168 and 255, authorize such proceedings in unmistakable terms, but. the Twenty-eighth General Assembly, by itct ap­ proved March S, 1873, so amended Beet'ion 137 as to abrogate such authority as far HS that section is concerned Sections 156 and 255 were not changed. Section 137 its the vital one. as it pre­ scribes the form of warrant under and by virtue of which the Township Collector acts. T he in­ tention of the General Assembly was KO plainly manifest in ite nmendmeiit to Section 137 that the then Auditor at once ruled that personal property could not. be distrained for tax on real estate by Town or District Collec tors, and such has continued to be the ruling of this office. Al­ most every taxpayer in the Shite has been aware that this eonstruction was placed upon the exist­ ing law, iind has availed himself of the fact. In the meantime two sessions of the General As­ sembly have had their attention called to this construction, and have acquiesced therein by re­ fusing or failing to re-enact Section 137 as it ap­ peared in the act of 1873. The law should be changed in this regard. There should be no dis­ crimination in favor of or against any claes of property or person; all should pay at the one time or be subject to a penalty for non-payment. Hut as the statute now stands, I am of the opin­ ion that the decision of my predecessor is correct and that Town or District Collector* are not an- thorized to distrain personal property for real- estate tax. T. B, NEEDLES, Auditor. me Telephone Extortion. No sooner has this much-talked-of invention passed from the experiment­ al into the practical stage, if indeed it has so passed, than its adoption to any extent has been rendered extremely doubtful by the prohibitory price pro­ posed to be charged for its use. We have always understood that the tele phone could be produced in quantities for a ridiculously small sum, at a few shillings in fact; and looking at the apparatus itself there seems no reason to doubt that such is the case. It sur­ prises us, therefore, to find that the price of a let of instruments for short circuits is £25 to purchase, and £5 per annum to rent, and for long circuits £85 and £10 respectively. Each set of instruments consists of a pair of tele­ phones and a call-bell--" the equip­ ment for one end of a communication;" and, inasmuch as " one end" of a tele­ graph wire is about as useful as one end of a rope, with the other in the sea, to a drowning man, or one side of a bridge to a retreating army, it fol­ lows that an expenditure of something between £50 and £70 must be incurred before one is in a position to «»join on" to a wire which may of itself have cost more than the instruments. The pur­ chase money paid for any set of instru­ ments secures a license to use them " only for the purposes specified with­ in the license," so that even for the high price paid there is by no means absolute freedom in the use of the in­ struments,'which, on the generally ac­ cepted maxim that man may do what he likes with his own, are little better than " leasehold" property.--London Times. Death of Victor JSmmaiiel, King of Italy. Victor Emmanuel, late King of Italy, and formerly King of Sardinia, was born at Turin March 14, 1820, and early entered political life. After dis­ tinguishing himself in the war of 1848, he was made King of Sardinia in 1849. He reorganized the Cabinet, making the distinguished statesman, Cavour, his chief adviser. He became a party to the Anglo-French alliance against Russia in 1855 that he might advance Sardinia as a political power. The,re- sult was as he anticipated, and import­ ant events followed in quick succession. In 1869, with France as an ally, he took the field against Austria in the war for Italian independence. The King was a good soldier, and Cavour was a master in diplomacy; and while the King won distinguished honors at Palestro, Magenta and Solferino, the Minister took ^ood care that the re­ sults of good fighting should not be lost. Napoleon III. made the peace of Villa Franca to suit himself, holding out to the Italians the promise of an Italian confederation under the honor­ ary Presidency of the Pope. The stipu­ lations dictated by Napoleon caused great discontent in Italy, and many of the States transferred their allegiance to the King of Sardinia. In May, 1860, Garibaldi assumed the leadership of the insurrectionists in Sicily, and, sup­ ported by Victor Emmanuel's army and navy, secured a triumph that vir­ tually settled the question of Italian unity. The first Italian Parliament assem­ bled at Turin, Feb. 18, 1861. Eight days later the Deputies decreed to Vic­ tor Emmanuel the title King of Italy. The decree was officially promulgated March 17, 1861, was recognized by En­ gland March 30 and by France June 15. In 1866 the King entered into the alli­ ance with Prussia that ended, after the war between Prussia and Austria, in Austria ceding Venetia to Italy. Tak­ ing advantage of the Franco-Prussian War, in 1870, Victor Emmanuel took possession of Rome, and in December of that year Rome was declared the capital of Italy. In May, 1871, the Italian Parliament, sitting at Florence, passed the bill of the Papal guarantees which regulated the relations of Church and State. The first Italian Parliament held in Rome was opened by the King, Nov. 27, 1861. Since that date Victor Emmanuel had devoted himself to per­ fecting the unity of the Kingdom, avoid­ ing complications with the Church with­ out making any concessions, and avoid­ ing complications with other European States, while raising the position of Italy as a political power. The King's oldest daughter, Clotilde, was married to Prince N apoleon Jerome Bohaparte, in 1859. His second daugh­ ter is the present Queen of Portugal. His second son, Amadeus, was for three years King of Spain. Prince Humbert, or Umberto, the successor to the throne, is now thirty-four years of age. He was with his father through the war for Italian independence in 1859, and is supposed to be thoroughly in love with the principles that made his father so great a favorite in Italy ̂ --Chicago Inter- Ocean. • Spelling and Pronouncing tke English Language. ^ I HAVE thus far considered only the difficulties and disadvantages of our sys­ tem in the matter of spelling. But they are scarcely less in learning to read and pronounce. Discouragements and per- Elexities meet the learner at every step. To one can tell with certainty when ne sees a word for the first time what it is to be called. Every letter composing it stands for different sounds in other words, and lie cannot tell which of its sounds to give* it in the new word. A thousand illustrations might be given to show what is learned in one word helps little in another; but time will permit only a few. Suppose an educated foreigner to be just commencing to read English. He meets with the very simple word on, which he learns to pronounce, and feels that he has made a beginning. Next he meets with one, and thinks it must be on-e. He certainly never would imagine that it must be pronounced won. But having learned this he next meets with tone, and JIOW thinks this must be twon, but finds on investiga­ tion it is tone. His next word is done, and he wonders whether it is don, or d won, or done (long o), but finds all these are wrong and the word is dun. He learns that e-a-t spells eat. lie wonders what the a is for, but, accepting the situation, he passes on to great and calls it greet. But he finds this is wrong; there is such a word as greet, but it is not spelled thus. The word must be called great, and great must be his astonishment thereat. Learning how to pronounce own, he wonders at the w, but takes kindly to it until he meets with down, and calls it down. Correcting this, he next trips on shown by calling it shoun. Learning the pro­ nunciation of do, he thinks uoe must be dooy; but when he gets this corrcct he call does dose. But we cannot fol­ low him in detail through such words as now, snow; ant, want; over, lover; lose, close; river, driver; other, bother; rove, prove; ear, bear; linger, slinger. l"W, have, behave; lumber, plumta; allow. swaHow; am®, plague; md enough other contradiction* and absurdities to ue him into an attack of the ague e must/however, pause long enoutrli to hear him read the following sentence supposing him to have just met with the combination ough for the first time We may well suppose he would be obliged to ask what to call the name Hough; after which he would read (pronouncing ough alike throughout) •'Old farmer Hough took his team from the trough and went over the slough to try to plough; but he had a bad cough, and the grotind was rough and the roots very tough, and before he was through he was tired enough." And so also would our learner be by the tame he had mastered all the fantastic tricks of that meaningless combination. We must imagine Mm occasionally stimulating a weakening courage by pronouncing firmly the couplet: Th0nmettw£f,h COUeh aad Wecoogh Ploogk O'er life'e dark slough my course 1 will panne. A question so much asked in the spelling-fever davs is wonderfully sug­ gestive of absurdity in the letters we use in the representation of words. "How do you pronounce bac-ka-eheP" Generally the questioned party did not remember to have met with the word, and was usually much amused to find after considerable study, that that com­ bination of letters gave him backache. How many times do even teachers of long experience have to refer to a dic­ tionary, with no other purpose than to ascertain how to pronounce a word--a very common word it maybe, tooP The spelling does not tell us; our memoir cannot be relied on at the moment, and we can only look it up or risk criticism. When we had a teacher of elocution in t*e High School, it was common to see long columns of words on the black­ board, that had been placed there simply that their correct pronunciation might be learned. The tnore careful pupils had lists on paper, to be hunted down and memorized as they had leisure. They were to find out whether the final sound of oaths and truths is that of s or z; whether t is silent or sounded in Christ­ mas jpd often; whether i is long or short in vineyard and engine; whether raot rhymes with foot or boot; whether ch is hard or soft in archangel and archbishop; whether u has any sound in quote and quotient or not; whether the last syllable of mercantile is tile, til, or teel; whether e and i are long or short in heroine; whether o in sovereign and hovel has one of the sounds of o or of u; whether in the word pronun­ ciation itself the middle syllable is see or she. These are samples of laumber- less questions that are forever present­ ing themselves to the student, and will forever continue to do so unless our system is reformed and conformed, ap­ proximately, at least, to the phonetic principle. If this were done, 99 per cent, of all the labor they involve would bejjsaved. In turning to the dictionary, how often do we nnd the spelling given by one combination of letters and the pro­ nunciation by a different one. Indeed, but for the diacritical marks used this would be necessary in almost all cases. But in a very large number of words the irregularity is so great that flo sys­ tem of marking will enable us to maku the same letters answer for both the spelling and the naming. 44 Spell the word thus," says the lexicon, "but on penalty of losingyour standing in polite society don't call it so." Suppose a boy should apply for admission to one of your schools, and when you asked him the usual question, 44 What is your name?" he should answer, 44When written it is Johnnie Williams, but when spoken it is Billy Jones," what would you think of his sanity P Yet is not this just as reasonable as for a word to require one combination of letters to tell how to write it, and a different one to tell how to speak it? Taking up a pronouncing speller re­ cently, I had the curiosity to note care­ fully the first hundred words I should meet with in opening the 'book at ran­ dom, to ascertain how many of them used the same letters for the spelling as for the pronunciation, and I found just five. Thinking this might be excep­ tional, I observed another hundred, and found in it but a single one. Here are a few specimens: Righteous, rychus; leisure, lezhur; knell, nel; carriage, carrij; queue, ku; christen, krisn; naughty, naute; neighbor, nabur; wrecked, rekt; Tuesday, Tuzedy; f»heasant fezant; clique, kleek; juice, ews. Please mark that when jews is used in spelling the pronunciation must be juz. Surely this is exquisitely ab- suni.--George D. Broomell, of Central High School, Chicago. A PRUSSIAN military journal says that France can put on a war-footing 1,738,000 men ana 209,400 horses. --Tallow one for oleo-margarine. This country turns out 250,000 pounds- a year. THE MARKETS. NEW YORK. LIVE mOOT-Cattle........ Sheep-... Jan. 11. 1818. tH.?0 €»$1L2I ~ @ 9.15 FLOUR--Good to Choice WHEAT--No. 2 Chioaep CORN--^Western Mused.. OATO--Western and State RYE--Western.... ...V PORK--Mess LARD--Steam CHEESE WOOL--Domestic Fleeoe CHICAGO. BEEVES--Extra Choice Good Medium HOGS--Live--Good to Choice.. SHEEP--Common to Choice... BUTTER--Kancy Creamery.... Good to Choice EGGS- -Fresh FWHIB--Choiee Winter Choice to Fine SDrins. Patent GRAIN--Wheat, No. 2 Spring... Corn, No. 2 Oats, No. 2 Rye, No. 2 Barley, No. 2 rllRK--Uess LARD LUMBER--Com'un and Fene's. Shingles Lath „ BALTIMORE. CATTLE--Beat «5. 5 Medium 8."0 HOC»S Good * 5.75 SHEEP--Good 4J00 EAST LIBERTY. CATTLE-Best f5.25 Mfcrirnm 4.i6 HOG8-- Yorkers....- .... 4.15 PMtodelphiaa 4.4') _ mRRp-ii, 6.00 Common k.T» (ft 1.00 ̂