, *= •K -- -i «#w»w- •%» 4ti _ «- , 4. . ' X V " • _ ......^ WMlHMMulg ft' . ' ' , r ?"-. '•("> "-i-k^"'•"•}- '"WW Notices. .. -yi'.s it ^ ,*<.>-..... * .„ ^.. . -I"- «*•*_ ^ ' <*Z. , Carpetft* ®ht JKcgfnrj ^Iaindealei J. VAN.SLIXE. PUBLISHER. McHENET, ILLINOIS. . T THE EUROPEAN WAB. '"S M«w Aspect of the StrusKln-^Ln In teresting Review of the SHn»1 . [From the Chicago Times.] Three months ago, when the Russians Msuud the Danube, the war appeared to be destined for a place in the short campaigns; the chances were all in Rus sia's favor; the Russian policy was one of rapid march from the northern bound ary of Turkey to the Bosphorus. The Turkish police w*".s one cf inscrutable indolence. A month ago the prophets declared that peace would be proclaimed by the end of summer, the Sultan in Broussa, the Czar in Constantinople, and Germany, Austria, Francej Italy and England assisting in distributing the European estate of tne Osmanli. A fortnight has changed the aspect completely. It is now manifest that the war must be a protracted one. The original plan of the Turks has recently been revealed, and had it been carried out the Russians might still be engaged in attempting to cross the Danube--at least they would not have got across unresisted. The Turkish forces for Bulgaria were to be divided into the upper and lower Danube armies, nominally under one heart, but practically independent, to defend the Danube wherever the crossing was not rendered impossible by nature or the fortifications. If, in despite of deter mined opposition, the jsussians suc ceeded in getting across, the two Turk ish armies were to be concentrated, the garrisons withdrawn from unimportant fortresses, and battle given en masse be fore the passes of the Balkans should be surrendered. Outposts were to be placed along the river; oehind these, strong supports; and the reserves were to be stationed at strategical cross-roads--the design being to deceive the Russians as to the number of men they would have to fight. A hundred and fifty thousand men would have been furnished to carry out this plan, 90,000 within the quadrilateral, 60,000 with headquarters at Tirnova. Abdul Kerim declined to accept the plan, claiming to have a better one of his own. That was early in June. He was given, for a time, full liberty to develop his own campaign, without interference from Constantinople. He declined to explain his designs except to special Commis sioners. Special Commissioners were sent who reported adversely, and the Commander-in-Chief was again urged to accept the counsel of the Porte. But it was already too late. The crossing into the Dobrudscha at Braila was effected without difficulty, and Redif Pasha, Minister of War, telegraphed to Abdul Kerim requesting an explanation. What reply the latter sent is not known. One account says that he did not expect the Russians to cross there; another, that he denied being surprised, did not think the marshes of the Do brudscha worth defending, that the Ministry were bound to retain con- . fidence in him as long as he was in supreme command, and promising a big battle and victory soon. The next event was the crossing, also practically unop posed, at Sistovat For four (toys the truth was kept from the Sultan. The dispatch given to the public and circu lated in the Turkish campB was this : " A certain number of Russians, in boats, have passed the river at Sistova. The imperial troops were sent to Sis tova, and succeeded, after a battle, in killing half the Russians ax^d throwing the other half into the river. This is the truth; all the reports which have been spread about Sistova are without foundation and the work of enemies." The tramping of so many thousands of invaders down toward Biela could not be concealed indefinitely, and Redif Pasha, Minister of War, was ordered to go north and interview Abdul Kerim at ftVinmla TTia visit was not terminated when the occupation of Tirnova was announced at Constantinople, and threw the Porte into consterna tion. Decisive measures wpe at length determined upon. was di"!msaed, Abdul *C"V" ^md"M6lieinct Ali reappointed, ilitjs ..site- cessor. "WJbeii Redif Pashs wr 5 arrested «tt Shumla, tie was informed thfat he .uattst ^ go before^* ccurt^iiiaxiiai at Constants, nople, and on the journey he fainted twice, displaying afresh the soldierly qualities which had enabled the Rus sians to reach the Balkans. Abdul Kerim nuide the journey with him, and never spoke during it except once to ask for bread. Both men expect death, and are not likely to be disappointed. The com manders of Sistova, Biela and Tirnova are to be court-martialed, also, and the naval commandant of the Danube has been called upon for an explanation why thfs bridge at Simnitza had not been de stroyed. Having thus cleared their front of in competency and indolence, the Porte have had time to investigate the facts kept back as long as possible. It is now clear thot the crossing at Sistova was a genu ine surprise to the Turkish officers, who did not dream of the possibility of it at that point. Ahmed Hamdji Pasha, in com mand, had seven battalions of infantry, one and a half field batteries, and 800 cavalry. One battalion was in the town, one between it and the village of War der, and five were encamped south of the town. There were troops to spare at Rustchuk on the right and Nikopolis on the left. On the night of the 26th of June, the sentries on the river bank re ported that there were suspicions move ments on the opposite shore. The saga cious Ahmed Pasha paid no attention to the reports. The next morning, four launches, with a large number of boats, crossed the river in full sight of the Turks, who were wildly panic-strick en. A battalion was gotten to the heights commanding the landing, and S»ened fire upon the invaders. The ussians greatly outnumbered them, and,no supports being sent, they retreat ed, leaving 400 dead. A second landing was accomplished an hour after the first. Ahmed Pasha and all his force took the road to Biela and ran until nightfall. The rest of the story is too familiar to Ameri can readers to be repeated. On the 8th Of July, the Russians had cleared the roads steadily, and were themselves in possession of the very base of the policy whioh the Porte had beaouglit Abdul Kerim in vain to adopt--Tirnova. The Russians sent a detachment against Nikopolis, which commenced a bom bardment on July 14, on the east, while the Roumanian batteries opened from the other side of the river. On July 16, Nikopolis surrendered 6,000 men, forty pieces of artillery, and two Pashas, The Russians constructed another pon toon bridge from Turn Magurelle to the town of Nikopolis, which is near enough the fortress to be protected by its guns. It is over this bridge the Roumanian troops have crossed. The surrender of Nikopolis was inevitable. Abdul Kerim had made no arrangements whereby aid might be sent promptly to the garrison, whose escape was wholly cut off. It was the surrender of Nikopolis •which fully arctiscd the Toste, Nikop olis was considered as safe as Silistria or Widin. It was here that Bajazet de feated Sigismund so overwhelmingly that the victory gave the Ottoman power in Europe a tremendous im petus. Its capitulation not only disgraced the traditions of Mussul man prowess, but insured the Russians against disaster by the destruction of their bridge lower down the river. While the Porte were Endeavoring to devise means of stopping the panic on the Danube, Gen. Gourko was carrying consternation .into the Turkish army south of the Balkans. On the 18th of July, Schipka pass was in possession of the Russians. The reorganization of the armies of the Danube and the Balkans followed with surprising quickness after Mehemet Ali had superseded Abdul Kerim, and Suleiman Pasha was placed at the head of the Balkan army. The fight at Plevna was the first fruit of the new policy of intelligence and vigor. The field, as re viewed at large, presented, before the 20th of July, an entirely new appearance. The Russians were distributed in the figure of a cross, with one arm at Nikop olis on the west, another toward Rust chuk on the east; the head at Sistova and the bridge, and the main column stretching down to Tirnova and into and below the Balkans. Then the new Turk ish policy began. Osman Pasha was assigned the duty of destroying the west aim, Mehemet Ali was to harass the right, and both meet and cut off the main column at Tirnova, severing the Russian communications south of the Balkans, and leaving Gourko and his forces to be surrounded by Suleiman Pasha coming up from the southeast and Raouf Pasha from the southwest. Plevna proves that the Turks can both plan and fight under a plan. The aspect of the war is, therefore, completely changed from that which it wore since the crossing of the Pruth and the bridging of the Danube. Up to the 20th of July the Russians were ag gressive and confident. To-day they are on the defensive in the Balkans, and not contemplating an advance in any direc tion. THE AMERICAN COMMUNE. Its Ore ^U1 K be i r A P ] Adrianople. Adrianople is situated at the confluence of the Tundja, the Maritza, and the Arda, and is about 135 miles distant from Constantinople. Its population has been variously estimated at from 80,000 to 140,000 inhabitants. According to the most trustworthy accounts about half of these are Turin, 80,000 Bulgari ans and Greeks, and the remainder Jews and Armenians. Adrianople was taken by the Turks from the Greek Emperors in1362, and was made the capital of the Turkish empire, remaining so until Constantinople was seized in 1453. It is at present virtually an open town. The old part is sur rounded by a wall, and contains a cita del; but these are now useless as de fenses. Recently more modern works have been constructed by the Turks, but these are only of a field, or at the most of a provisional type. In the opinion of Von Moltke, the hollow roads, ditches, and garden walls without the town afford great facilities for its defense, and the approaches may be covered by troops drawn up so as to rest upon the rivers, but only incorps of not less than thirty thousand or forty thousand men. The town is, however, overlooked by heights on every side, and, consequently, it would be hardly possible to hold it against an airay pro vided wi+h modem artillesyv The /first view 6f Adrianople i,;i describe,! by Vca Moltke.«s Wonderfully bcaiitif.nl, the 'y-Mte minarets and the Icad-Sroofed cupolas of the mosques, baths, and car avansaries rising in countless numbers aboue the endless mass of flat roofs and broad tops of the plane trees. The country around is also exceeding ly lovely. From the valleys of the riv ers hills rise up gently, but to a consid erable height, covered with vineyards and orchards; and as far as the eye can reach it sees nothing but fertile fields, groves of fruit trees, and flourishing villages. Within, however, the streets are narrow and irregular, the shelving roofs of many of the houses projecting so as to meet those on the opposite side of the way. Life's Battle. Of twenty-three young men Who re cently stepped across the threshold of life from an Eastern college, and went forth upon the trackless ocean of life to battle with relentless fate, and win re nown or a glorious death in the arena, eleven are clerking in auction stores at $14 a month, one is running a fish- boat, two are learning the house-paint ing trade, one starved to death before he had been out of college a week, one is driving team on a street contract, two are tramps, and the others are living with widowed mothers, who are* their only support.' Fact is, brethren, when old life grapples its hooks into a man's collar, it shakes all his arena and ocean and battle business out of him so quick that in six weeks, if he is alive, he knows more in a minute about the price of pork and flour than he can tell you about a Greek root in six months.--Bur lington Hawk-Eye. A MEMBER of the firm of Wm. Belden k Co., in which Jay Gould is a special partner, says that the latter does not at tempt to conceal his ownership of the New York Tribune. He was formerly an editor in the country, and has some taste for journalism. Indeed, he is an astute and sagacious writer. Occasion ally he sends an article to Wliitelaw Reid with instructions what to do with it. His suggestions are generally acted on. Its Great Underlying Principle and Object Property to be Owned by the Gar ment--How this Great Revolution it be Consummated. private letter, written by a gentle man who is vouched for by the Spring field Republican as a "practical, able and honest socialist," gives thefollowing statement of the ideas and purposes of Communism in America: I will at once turn to your question. First, you ask "whether we propose to allow the institution of s private prop erty ' at all, and, if so, where the hue is to run which limits the possesion of the individuals." This I will answer more definitely under your specific questions, but may say now, in regard to the gen eral principle which seems to me to gov ern that part of the subject, that to pro tect " private property " is the chief ob ject we have in view. We designate all wealth used as capital, social wealth. Social wealth also includes the wealth used for such public purposes as the na tional defense, the administration of jus tice, education, etc. Private or individ ual wealth we define as each man'* share of the net aggregate proceeds of the na tional! industry after the social wealth has been provided for; his proportionate share being equivalent to the value of his public services, and this share will be ascertained by the natural operation of the law of supply and demand. (How this law will bfl applied I cannot attempt to explain and illustrate in this letter, but I think I am able to explain it satis factorily.) Natural wealth we define as consisting of land, a'*, water, and all those natural resources, agencies, fend powers which own be utilized to meet men's necessities and capacities of en joyment, and which, until thus utilized, or vitalized, cannot be considered prop ter-y at all, either public or private. (I think, but am not sure, that a man's own capabilities, physical or mental, do not come within this class, but are within the class of private wealth, of which he is entitled to the individual advantage, except that he must not use his superior ity to the injury of others.) We think that the use of natural wealth must be controlled by the collective authority of the whole people, and for the common benefit. To come down, now, to particulars: You say, "If yon mean ttiat all the railroads and telegraphs ought to belong to the Government, say so." We do mean that not only all the railroads and telegraphs, ships, but all the oanals, barges, lighters, horse-cars, omnibuses, public carriages, ex press wagons, and--I was go ing to say wheel-barrows !--should be long to the Government, ana should be controlled and operated by it. We mean by "the Government," of course, the whole people collectively; not some thing outside of, distinct from, and su perior to the people. You say, again, " If you mean that all the land, and all that grows upon it, and all that is dug out of it--all the farms Mid all the mines--should be owned and operated y the State, say that." I answer, yes, we mean just that, except, perhaps, that many persons may (as I hope that every person or family will) require for their private use, not only a house in which to live, and for the use of whioh each will pay to the State, but also a piece of ground for fruit, vegetables and flowers that lie will cultivate with his own hands for his own use and pleasure, and, also, without any mercenary object. (The house and land may be held by a tenure that will afford him all reasonable se curity of permanent occupation without allowing him to use it as merchandise.) Again, you say : " If you mean that all the mills, factories, furnaces and shops should belong to the Government and be managed by the Government, say that." I answer emphatically, yes, to this ques tion. But your next I must modify; it now reads \ " If you mean that no indi vidual will be permitted to own any more food or clothing, any more wheat, or pork, or sugar; or any more calico, or satinet, or silk, or broadcloth than, in the judgment of a Government inspect or, he needs for his own personal use, by all means, say that." Change the form of your question to this : " If you mean that no individual shall be permitted to use .as capital, or to apply to -any other than private ^ purposes any food, clothing; wLoat, pork, ©UMAT, oal- ico, satinet, "'Ik, broadcloth, etc./' I an swer, yes, wo ;.vtes"> that Vnit h« may own jjv-st much of any of these Liangs as he pleases subject entirely to his own discretion and not to the judgment of a Government inspector. He will not be allowed to trade or speculate it then, that is all. Next you say, " If the own ership of the state is to be limited at all, tell us where it is to be limited." It is limited* just where private wealth be comes public wealth by being used as capital--that is, by being used by one man to make profit from another man. The next question is, " If we are to have anything more than our rations of food and clothing, fixed by the State, and dis tributed to us by officers of the State, tell us just what and how much we are to have ?" This question, I think, I have answered so that you all understand what tremean. Then yon ask me to "ahow exactly how this thing is going to work when we get it, and also how we are to get it." This is your last question, and this I feel unable to answer. It would require a pretty large volume to attempt to answer it. There is nothing I like better than imagining the whole system in operation and the people accustomed to it. I fore see no difficulty in the operation, but immense advantage in every direction. As to the "how we are to get it," time alone will show. I look forward with hope and fear. The thing to be done is to change the ownership of all the na tional wealth used as capital, and I be lieve this might be done as Great Britain did with her slave property and as this country might have done with its slave property--by purchase. But probably our capitalists will be as blind and obsti nate as the slaveholder^ were; and, by some means or other, when they find that by the action of the people at the polls their privileges are doomed or endan gered, they will precipitate a conflict with the object of destroying democratic gov ernment and making "capital" the cor ner stone of the Government! What we propose as means are simply our ballots, which we intend to oppose to the rich man's dollars. We stand upon equal terms in the matter of ballots, and we are in the majority. It is only a ques tion of time, and the collapse of our present system is a powerful agent Of change. A Parallel to the Present Rwstan Campaign, Although the Russians and the Turks were constantly at war during the eighteenth centmy, only one campaign offers a parallel to the present military operations. The seat of war lay north of the Danube, in the Crimea and Bess arabia, and the Danube was seldom crossed. In the campaign of 1773-74, however, Romanzoff bridged the Danube near Braila about the middle of June, defeated the Turks in the vicinity of Silistna, and invested the fortress. The advance of a large force from Shumla compelled him to nune the siege, and he retreated across the Danube e'arly in July. In October he reopened the siege, and sent a column in the direction of Varna. His forces were again compelled to withdraw, owing to the superiority of the Turkish cavalry. In the next year the Ruseians crossed the Danube at Turtok&i, which Suwarrow had cap tured during the previous summer. The* Turks made no attempt to defend the line of the Danube, but concentrated their forces at Shumla, leaving strong garrisons at Rustchuk and Silistria. Kamiski and Suwarrow defeated the Turks in the field, and the Grand Vizier, almost deserted by his army, shut him self up in Shumla and sued for peace, Constantinople was saved by the plague then,. just, as it was in 1829. » A Citizen's Mistake. When the strike excitement, was at its height in Newark, O., felt the necessity of bracing himself up. The Mayor had ordered the closing of all saloons and drinking-plaees, ahd the police had enforced the regulations rig idly. But there was a back-door in Gin gerbread row, and behind the bar there was long-range lightning whisky. The stalwart citizen crept in, got his drink and beat a retreat. Soon he was overwhelmed with burning sensations in his stomach. Something seemed to be blazing there, and he burst into a doc tor's office, exclaiming: "For God's sake pump me out quick." What is wrong with you ?" inquired the doctor. "Get the pump ready while I'm telling rra. I'm burning up inside. Hurry, took a drink down on Gingerbread row. They have put up a job on me. I am poisoned." The doctor sud denly interposed : " Why, I smell something burning myself;" and open ing the patient's waistcoat found a hole three inches in diameter burned in the shirt-front. While the stalwart citizen was taking his drink he had dropped a cigar-stump between his waistcoat and shirt. "Didn't you smell smoke?" asked the doctor. "You're right, I did; but I thought it was coming out of my moutii." A Valuable Soldier. have a model soldier among the Light Guards. He believes in doing duty right up to the handle. The other night, at Columbus, he was put on picket duty, with the usual instructions to ad mit none but those who gave the coun tersign, which for that night was "Jack Robipson." So our Light Guard determined that no man should pass him without saying the mystic words "Jack Robinson." He paced up and down his beat with mili tary precision, and, sure enough, after a while along came a belated guard, making his way back to camp. Down came our picket to present arms, and in stentorian tones he called out: "Haiti Who goes there, friend or foe?" "Friend." "Advance, friend, and say Jack Rob inson." The friend advanced, said Jack Robin son, and passed on the way to his quar ters, rejoicing that he had encountered so disciplined a picket--Dayton (O.) Journal. The Reason of It. "You folks don't understand why it is that railroad men stick so close to gether," said Sheriff Pressly, talking with a group of friends yesterday after noon. He then went on to explain that the cause of their clannishucss was the haz^'ot!!® ^hnr^eter of their calling. He J'kcned their to that of soldiers. The latter, when in action, saw comradcs «lmt f*<v>yu all about them, nnd nhick closer together on account of the ordeals through which they passed. "It is the same thing with railroaders," said Mr. Pressly. " I am old engineer, and know all about it. When a railroad man leaves home to go to work in the morn ing, and kisses his wife and little ones and says by-by, he does not know but that it may be for the last time. He does not know but that in a few hours he may be brought back a mangled corpse. It is this risky nature of their calling that makes them stand together like brothers, so that when you attack one railroader you have to fight the whole class."--Indianapolis Journal. A Wonderful Walking Performance. The greatest three-hours walking race on record has just taken place at Lillie Bridge, England, between Howes and Perlans, the latter winning by 186 yards, covering a distance of 22 miles 206 yards, and beating the record at all distances from 9 to 22 miles. Ten miles were walked in lh. 15m. 57s., 15 miles in lh. 56m. 13s., and 15 miles 824 yards in 2h.; 20 miles in 2h. 39m. 57s., 21 in 2h. 49m. 18s., and 22 in 2h. 58m. 52s. In 1858, Charles Westhall walked 21 miles inside of 3h.; in 1869, Davison (2h. 53m. 34s.); and, last March, Howes. ITALIANS are unusually excited about Mount Vesuvius; and strange stories are told of the sounds emitted from its in terior, which are likened to the roar of a disturbed sea, amidst which is dis tinguished a crackling as of many burn ing logs of wood. These noises are heard, it is said, at a distance of two miles from the crater; and fears have been expressed lest a continuous dis charge of lava should effect a passage which would place the observatory in danger. Some thirty persons, ladies in cluded, make a nightly ascent of the mountain to witness the magnificent speckle presented. A SON of Lorenzo Elleberger, of Glen- wood, aged 9 years and 5 days, was drowned in Keg creek, at Glenwood, last week. Carpets, 36 dlffMJr. rait it's. ILLINOIS ITEMS. NKW military oompany in Pekin. Tra name of the Chicago, Dsu,u.c and Vincennes road has been changed to the Chicago and Eastern Illinois rail road. THE Red Mill, near Joliet, took fixe the other day from sparks from a pass ing locomotive, and was badly damaged. Fully insured. THE temperance convention for the northerr district of this State, including some seventeen counties, met at Rock- ford last week. THE One Hundred and Fourteenth regiment Illinois veteran volunteers, re cruited in 1862, held its annual reunion at Virginia, Cass county, last week. THE banking house of John Moses A Co., at Winchester, talks of resuming business again soon. The assets are said to be good and ample for all liabil ities. GEORGE H. HOMJDAY, the County Clerk of Macoupin county, who ab sconded several years since with over 850.000 of the county's money, tarns up a rich cattle farmer in Mexico. HON. JOHN F. WINTRB, of Blooming- ton, who is a member of the present House of Representatives of the Illinois Legislature, nas been appointed United States Consul at Rotterdam, Holland. INFORMATION is received that Peter Gehagen and wife, who moved recently from Leroy, McLean county, to Parsons, Kan., were drowned, a few days ago, while fording the Neosho river, near Parsons. JL A. SMITH and W. N. Thompson, miners in the Glide gold mine, in Color ado, were blown up in the mine recently by an explosion, and both terribly mangled Thompson is from Quincj, this State. A NUMBER of applications have been made to the Auditor for information and blanks by persons desiring to organize county insurance companies under the act passed by the last General Assem bly, but as yet na companies have re ported. THE William V. McKay Company, of Chicago, capital, $50,000, and the object the manufacture of oils from cotton and. other seeds, was licensed last week. The Shelbyville Library Association, capital, $5,000, has also been lioensedto organ ize. Coii. GEORGE H. HABI<OW, Secretary of State, by advioe of Attorney General Edsall, has refused to grant a State li cense to a new cemetery oompany of Chicago, on the ground that it proposed to deal in real estate. The case mil be carried to the Supreme Court. THE officers of the Illinois Central railroad have reoeived reports from the peach orchards along their line. At Cobden, Carbondale, and a few other southern places, the prospects for a full crop are reported as good, but from other points advices are not so encou* aging. AN item is going the rounds of the papers to the effect that Judge David Davis, United States Senator of Illinois, is mortally ill at his residence at Bloom- iugton, with "cancer of the stomach." There is not the least foundation for the report. Judge Davis is at his home, well wad hearty. Gov. CuiiiiOM has made the following important official appointment: Chief Inspector of Grain uc Chicago, William H. Swett; and for Trustees of the East ern Insane Asylum, located at Kankakee, John H. Clougli, of Chicago ; William Reddick, of La Salle, and William F„ Murphy, of Douglas county. SOME months ago S. Levi, of Spring field, was thrown into bankruptcy by Field, Leiter & Co., of Chicago. Dur ing the proceedings, the houses of Levi, L. S. Ensel and a clerk of Levi's were searched. They have brought suit against Field, Leiter & Co., in the sum of $100,000, for trespass. AT a Sunday-school picnic held near Shipman, Macoupin county, the other day, William C. Armour, of that place, got into a row with George Newberry, one of the marshals of the day, in which he was roughly handled. As soon as they were separated, Armour drew & pis tol and shot Nevberry dead. Two balls entered his b®dy. Amour T.IS prompt ly arrested. THE annn.il picjiic nt OL4 rodents *>F Washington county, N. Y., oocurs on the 30th Inst, at Steward's Park, Piano, and great preparations are making lor the event. Over 2,000 people, former residents of that county and their friends, were in attendance last year. From present appearances, that number will be greatly increased this year. THE Commissioners to locate the Southern penitentiary have concluded their labors as far as location is con cerned. They chose Grand Tower, Jack son county, on the Mississippi, after bal loting some hours. The location is not entirely satisfactory to the Commission ers even, but was considered the best, as Grafton, the real choice, has no rail road. THE city of Clinton has been sued for $15,000. The facts are these: A boy named Rounds, while passing along the sidewalk on the east side of the square, fell into a coal-bin and injured himself so much that he has never recovered. His father, Mr. Rounds, has spent a great deal of money in the effort to have him cured, but without avail, and to-day he remains a cripple. SEVERAL applications having been made to Adjt. Gen. Hilliard, at Springfield, for equipments for cavalry companies, he says he has no equipments for cavalry, and also that there are no more arms or equip ments for infantry companies. Those companies that have already reported will be equipped, but for the present, at least, neither arms nor equipments can be supplied to new companies. AUDITOR GENERAL EDSALL, in response to numerous inquiries from road officers and State's Attorneys, has given an opin ion in regard to the collection of road tax es. He says that where these taxes were levied and the lists were given to the Overseers of Highways prior to July I,1877, the taxes may be collected under the law of 1873; but where the taxes were not levied, or, if levied, the Overseers were not furnished with the lists prior to July 1, the tax must be collected undei the law of 1877. ABOUT 8:30 o'clock one evening last week, a fire broke out in the Farmers' Mills, at Quincy, which, with the con- if tents, were valued at _ ^ lieved that the loss wil •* ered by insurance. The * the mill was burned, bn |() n &nt of a stock and a large part of 1 tVie Eagle Kes- was saved. The origin of tfysjer i'uteWa known. The adjoining bio : H « • $OY* CLDTHLAG* THE Chicago and Ifortiiw Agamta* (M# way Company, with nearly T of road stretching northward! and northwestward from Chic| itfifketff# of the greatest corporations in t r y . I t s a n n u a l r e p o r t , f o r . • ^ . . . * ending May 31, has just r' Gross earnings for the vew, $13,? £- net earnings, $1,179,716--dec> i# as compared with the earnings of the 3rorth>" vious year. Stl 01,490. «t0ck.-* THE State Board of Equalization > 1 At Springfield on the 14th. The state- JL * > ments of assessment from every county |L "** in the State have been received by the \ ; Auditor, the first time that such a thing!'• has oocurred since the creation of board. Generally it has been 111 mmsaij to take a recess for two or three weeks, to wait for refcsriis fram some of the , ' counties. The aggregate assessment1 of " " the State is $892,342,308, or about $60.-m 000,000 less than last year. . Two CONVICTS named James McFar-,W:" land and John^Pierson escaped from the Joiiet penitentiary last week. They were • * working in the prison yard in charge of •; a guard, and broke for the woods near ni hum at hand, in which they secreted them- < Mt! 1 selves. McFarland is about 45 years • ^ ? J _ 4 of age, and was sent up in *;««*•* •> January last for one year for larceny.4 !", He had. four months to serve. Pierson ' ~ is the same age, and went from Bloom- * i . • ington last March for nine months for f larceny. This is the letter's fourth " term, and while in jail he obtained con-1 siderable notoriety by claiming to be the* '1' '• 1 murderer of Mnn-ay McConnelL He- n**! ^ has " done time " in the Ohio, Louisiana^; •? and Iowa penitentiaries. ? a THOMAS HAYES, alias John Ogle, was^U .. * t discharged from the penitentiary m... oently, after serving a five years' sen tence from the United States District,, Court at Springfield for passing coun- terfeit money. Thomas is a bad case, t and a dark future awaits him. He was.' arrested immediately after his disdiarge,. , „ nfi and is wanted at Cincinnati for passing!-'. counterfeit money. As the crime can befi m*#,. easily proven he is good for a long sen-ji& fence in the Ohio penitentiary, afteri*"fen« which Tennessee will claim him for years, the time he owes the penitentiary" •» in that State for the same kind of work, *1' and from which he escaped previous to ^ ***( his arrest in Springfield He is a suc-*f«** cessful " coney " man, and a brother of **^1 " Miles Ogle, who is now serving an eighti#!^ • years' sentence in Auburn, SLY. IS a manufacturer of the "queer," and ™ Thomas a skillful distributor of the same. ^'-^5-- THE premium list of the annual Uli-^1^{ nois State Fair has been issued in a neat pamphlet by the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, at Springfield. . ; -> A package of these lists has been sent to #*-̂ / each agricultural society in the State.. In counties where there are no agricnlt- . t ' ural organizations, packages have been,® * sent to the County Clerks for diatribu- .v, " tion. The State Fair will be held this* *" ' year at Freeport, Stephenson eounty,|1:*^%> beginning on Monday, the 17th of Sep»,/!/f*-:" tember, and continuing all tbat week,r; Merchandise and produce will be re* oeived at the fair grounds for storage oa J the 13th. Entries may be made at thd fair grounds on the 15th. Goods ma '̂ j , * be shipped to the care of the GeneraL<2 Superintendent. Liberal discounts hav^, ..„ been agreed to by various railroad com*} panies for the transportation of paasro -̂$ ; gers and freight going to and returning, ,45-5 from the fair. Freeport is the terminal of the Galena Division of the Chicagqif-i and Northwestern lailway.and theiuiuv^^ •is Central and the West-tion of the Illinois ern Union roads. • --TJ ft't The Caal Supply, In a volume on the coal mines of western coast of the United States, Mr„_ J W. A. Goodyear, a mining engineer, * makes some remarkable statements;^ None, of the coalfields of California* Ore i-, gen and Washington Territory are 1st strata lower then the crotaoeoub, thi* -fact !mch- plat? -;bility |v 'Aa belief that the supply of coal from that is not likely to be large. But Mr. year's csncmsio^fl go mnch further. II#" w ; thinks that the mines of California cam*it.-| 1 not be relied upon for much more coaL.j^ •» A similar view is expressed with regard ,, * to the only mines that are worked in. Oregon. Hereafter, it is believed, th#*,w Pacific coast will only be able to obtau#M<?>> a home supply of coal in Washington ? < ^ Territory and British Columbia. Con* i sideling how short has been the period in which the States of California and Oregon have been at all occupied b^ftir American settlers, this early exhaustion of coal is a singular event It may fur» ^ri ) nish a new text for the gloomy prophet! f who calculate that before A. D. 3000 A mankind will have to withdraw from the r temperate zones, and crowd around th^ equator to keep warm. Ethan Allen. Parson J edediah Dewey, who pteachtitf"* a war sermon the Sunday before the batp& ? tie of Bennington, was the first pastor o$i a the first church in Vermont. His stric|sm theological views sometimes brought hiinf into contact with CoL Ethan Allen, th| hero of Ticonderoga, who lived in Ben nington some years. Preaching on the character of God one Sunday, Col. Allen rose in his prominent pew, and dispute^,; A one of the parson's statements. Point* „ ing at the disturber, Mr. Dewey retort*/^ ed: " Sit down, thou bold blasphemer,1' d listen to the word of God." During %$ the thanksgiving service for the surren-#-P der of Ticonderoga, Mr. Dewey had beeife^i ascribing the glory of the victory to tiiey.-,- Lord rather more sweepingly than wa^L. agreeable to Allen, who called out in their--*. • : midst of a prayer, "Please mention tcp%K-f. the Lord about my being them" A * THE newest English torpedo ,s "Rocket." Its minimum speed is saitl^C to be three times that of the Whitehead/^ -L, and it costs one-tenth as much. It isf#*» fired from a skeleton tube or trough byM means of an electric fuse, and it can bei? y r discharged with equal facility from au 4 >' ordinary ship's launch, or from the sidcl of a first-class iron-clad frigate; the spe-Mi^a cial fittings required for it being of the simplest nature.