Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-01-26

sibilitv Of so fightful a disaster
arrangements for ingress and egress, not in this
one only, but in almost all Of our school houses
Were shamefully inadequate. This ex post fdcto
wisdom, OF course, could do nothing for the poor
and incapacity, and for their heartbrOken parents
and friends But il was supposed II would have
some effect upon future Building Committees of
children would not again he exposed to those
special peri of panic which their elders cannot
often be safely trusted to confront. And many an
anxious father must have been greatly satisfied to
read in the respectable pages OF the " Fifteenth
Annual Report Of the Board of Education for the
City and County of New York" that our Gnu
merous school edfces are, with few and de-
creasing exceptions, spacious, commodious, taste
ful, furnished with every convenience requisite
to the comfortable accommodation of all, and pre-
senting every inducement to the most carefi
parent to place his children within their wallis
For this thorough going Endorsement of the
architectural excellences of our public school
houses was understood of course to guarantee the
provision In every case OF the most serious dan
gers to which the buildings Would be liable, and
the careful protection of their future inmates from
any casualties within the control Of a reasonable
foresight Ii Is our painful duty to disabuse rne
minds of our readers of these gratifying impress
sions The king affair, which happened on
Monday afternoon In one of the public schools of
the neighboring city Of Brooklyn, might be re-
peated at any moment in any of the school houses
Of New York; for Of all those school houses,
as they are, there is not one which is not exposed
equally with the Brooklyn school house No "a.
to a sudden conflagration from causes beyond the
power of the most careful teacher to control, with
all its natural consequences upon the minds of a
multitude Of children.
Brooklyn School house No. IA, it appears, was
"model school-house,n built only four years
ago under the eve of the chairman Of the COM
mittee, who took extraordinary pains to make
IL a perfect school houSe" The New York catas-
trophe of 1851 seems to have been borne in mind;
for there was no ''wel of horror'' in the stair
way, and there were three principal doors to the
building, all opening outwards and all of Ieason-
able width. Nevertheless, as soon as the pupils
became thoroughly frightened by the fire, which
in this case was not cry alone, but an authentic
connagration, they rushed along the passage
ways, Choked the stairs and crushed each other
in the lobbes, till, in spite of the admirable be-
havior of their teachers, and Of some of the older
among themselves. six of the smallest children
were smothered in the press. Doubtless thanks
are due from hundreds Of parents in Brooklyn,
that the lesson of our more appalling catastrophe
had been profitable enough with their School
Committees. to insure the Improvements which
so far limited the results of this fearful scene.
RETURNING Enthusiastically we took
occasion to publish extracts from Kansas jour-
nails representing the opponents of the original
adoption of the Lecompton Constitution, which
show the fact that the farce of longer opposi-
ton to it is played out completely in the Terri.
tory, if not here, where it still seem to be
regarded as a capital hobby for the over-ambi-
tious to ride.
To-day we make very similar extract from
the New York Times, which shows that the
light of common sense is breaking upon the
minds of those at the east who have been in
times past the bitterest opponents of that in
strument-the Lecompton Constitution. Such
publications in the columns of such journals,
80 to shOw-do they not that the views of the
Star on the subject have been sound and prop
er views from beginning to end:
SIT may possibly he said that If the Leconpton
Constitution should be adopted, il could not be
changed or superseded until after 1864 We ap-
Prehend, however, that this objection would have
no weight whatever, either with the people of
Kansas or with the country at large. In the first
place there is in the Constitution express pro-
hibtion of its amendment previous to 1854 but
only direction how il shall be done after that
date: while the Bill of Rights expressly recop-
nlzes the right of the people to alter, amend, or
supersede their Constitution at any time and in
any manner they may see fit. Besides, without
any such provision, the rig hit of the people to do
this is fundamental and inalienable Ii has been
exercised in many States, aud in regard to ansas
has been distinctly recognized by all the leading
organs OF public opinion in all sections OF the
country and without distinction of party: and
more than all this. if the people Of Kansas were
TO exercise this light, there is power that an
interfere to prevent it.n
ISLANDER Perceiving in various newspa-
pers published at a distance, insinuations
against the integrity Of an unnamed Demo
cratic officer Of the House of Representatives,
We have taken occasion to trace them up, and
find that they mean a charge that the Door
keeper, Mr.. Hackney, has sold places under
him. Now, we are authorized by him to say
that nothing can be more false than such an
insinuation He knows not who is the author
of the story, that individual having taken due
care to put it forth from behind a cover. so far
impenetrable to the party against whom he has
hurled the insnuation. Mr. Hackney assures
us-and those who know him personally will be
satisfied of the truth of his assertion-that his
whole official conduct is open to the severest
scrutiny even OF those who, having been disap-
pointed in his distribution of the patronage in
his hands, have become his enemies He is not
aware of having any others. lie invites inves-
tigation; though so long as his assailants con-
tent themselves with whispering insinuations
against him in the dark, we see no substantial
reason why he should give them a moments
thought. This seems to be the era of charges
of official corruption. So far, nothing whatever
has been substantiated or even plausibly
charged against any Democratic functonary,
We are glad to have it in our power to write
REsIGsATION.-We hear that Mr. Corbin of
St. Louis, who has been the Clerk of the Com
mittee of Claims of the House of Representa-
tivcs during so long term of years, has re-
signed his position in consequence of severe and
long-continued sickness in his family In the
course OF a few days, he will probably take
them to the interior of Florida.
Mr.. Corbin has been elected fifteen times
Clerk of that Committee, the election being 81,
annual one; and never, since his first election,
has he had vote cast against him by any mem.
Der of any political party. Upon that Com
mittee some of the leading men of the nation
have served during that long period-men like
Gov. Vance, of Ohio, Gov. Cobb and Mr.. Ste
phens, of Georgia, Gov. Andrew johnson, of