Litchfield enquirer., 1854-08-24
Corrsspoaasseo or sAe Euaulrer.
NEw YoaK. Aurusl 1911

SIlegat eperGtS0Rs-1reatIng BL0ze
 on the Wateg-SwiiL- AILE--Items.
 There is place in New York city which contains sOme cUriOsilies worth invesliga. ling-Ihe TOmbs, in Centre Street near Franklin. dIn'I mean by curiusiIies, the barbarOas Egyptian hierOglyphics and Sphlnxes which have gwen celebrity to that edifice, but I mean the humanity which IS shut up inside Or IhOse four mys- terious stone walls. Your correspondent happened to visit the COmbs last week. not on cOmpMlsiOB, however, and the sight of the wreIched prisoners well repaid him for hIs trouble. There is nO difficulty tn getting in; the doors are open during the day. leading into the inside court, aEd thence into three story plasIered edifices for the accommodation Of prisoners. You can walk along the corridors and converse freely, through the grated doors, with the prisoners. They are allowed to receive anything from visitors and friends. and enjoy much liberty, with very liille ventil. allOn. The spot of ground "n which the TOmbs stands was formerly duck~pO0l, and damp odor slill arises in that vicinity. No prisoners are shut up here for more than month or two, or detained a short time previous to States Prison cOnfne, nent. There is some mystery connected with the operations of the Puce Courts and the "rOmbs lawyers" here. was talking with an lriehma n shut up for assault aud battery fer thirty days, in defaul. "i SlG fine. He said lha, If he had only three or -four dollars to lee 'Tombs lawyer" he could get out the next day. l asked him how that could be; he said that it was dune every day. and hin,ed that there was an understanding between the lawyers and the conslables and lurnkeys. have no posilive evidence that i. is so, except that persons charged with burglary, assault, etc. are shut up in the Tnn,bs, and come out the next day, with passes for which they have paid sums of money Co lG,Dvevs, varying in amount with the nature of the crime.
 The lrishman with whom talked seemed to be a yood-hear,ed honest fellow, aud was sorry for him. He had struck watch man, while jolly with bad liqnor, and was shu; up with a pickpocket aud burglar, a young fellow with a vlIlainoUs half>breed coun,enance, sentenced to States prison. He seemed to see very clearly the evils resulting from the use oi liquor, and cx- pressed an earnest desire iha, there might be Maine liquor law. Drinking con stunned all his wageS-he could lay ur nolhing; and unless he would drink him self and treat others no lrishman would associate with him. IL is this pernicious pracuce of treating which is the deslruc- iion of the Irish lahOrlng populailOn.- "The Germans" said this man. "are different. Among them every mar gets what he wants Tor himself and pays for II himself Bui among us if Ome tries to lay up a little money, and dues not treat they say he is the mea nes, lrshman they ever saw, aud he stands good chance of belng killed with a br,ckbat. The only way a man can save money is to keep close and know nobody lill he has saved $50 or $60 ana then run away" IL is pity that this really generous and nOble~hearled people could not be taught a few lessons of lhre- sight and economy. Till they learn these they must SlWsys continue lO be " heWers of wood and dra wers of water"
 1, your correspondents, happened to be a witness to a splendid cOnhagralion in the lower harbUr--ihe burning of the May Queen, during the past week. You nave probably seen a detailed account of the catastrophe before this time. was in the Norwalk, returning from COney lsaud- that curious pile of securing. sand, when a red flame shot up far out on the water, which immediately attracted universal a,1 tenlion, and the captain of the Norwalk, with praiseworlhy prompttude, immedi. ateiy put out for the burning wreck. IL was a splendid sight. The May Queen, a well known excursion boat, had gone out ioA hr, h., ges, carrying in all party of between one and two thousand persons, from N. Y. and Brooklyn, on a pleasure excursion. There she lay now, run up upon the Staten lsla nd shore, and turning nearly iO the waters edge. The whole beach was lined with spectators, and long ine of black heads bebbing up and doWh in the water between shore aud lte barges, told what was going on. 1t was a funny sight, unmiilgaled by any terrible circumstances, tO see scores ol terrified ladies punging fraEtically into the water and wadding inr the shore. Ii was no, more titan feet deep neaI the barges.
 The city inspector has presented an i'm me nsely long report on the subject of New York milk, which is enough 10 turn iiIe stomach of any man, who is disposed to consider with any degree of fas.idiousness the ingredients of his daily food. There is a very profitable trade driven by the New York disliilers, who feed hundreds of cows on the dis,ilery slops, and feed half the peo- ole ofNew York on ihe mik accruing ii0m inc unsa vory animals. The cows will not cal still slOps unless they are continually kep, in the stable, and gwen nOIhing else 10 eat. Here they become diseased and dle in two or three years.
 The ac,ion of the Railroad Convention in increasing all fares twenty per cent. will it is thought. have Q good effect on the prices of railroad stock. A heavy Erie en- dorser failed yesterday, tO counterbalance this advantage. The expected advent oi Grisi and Mario. the incnmparable pair. exci,es much interests in the city, cons'd> ering that the larger part ol ihe class sup> posed tO take mteres, iu such matters and things is in Newport and Saratoga. All ..o.a0 h0unA u ieh nnri ra ifo s.f a