The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-11-11

charges for the purpose Of placing bis late OPP
ponsnt In this peculiarly psrplexing predica-
ment At all events the people will watch for
Mayor Ho6man's nomination Of . Street Com
missioner with some curiosity.
TEE EVENING STAR DDAsrsR.-The investi-
CATION Of the Treasury Department into the
causes Of tho late disaster to tho steamer
Evening Star has just been completed and
reported upon by Captain New, who Is In
| trusted with tho administration Of the steam
boat laws. We published in yesterdays
HERALD the substance Of bis report furnished
us BY special telegram from Washington. Tho
testimony upon which tho report Is based
appears to have been mainly obtained from
| the builders Of the vessel and an ex-employ6 Of
| the company, all Of whom stated that the
steamer was seaworthy at the time Of her
! leaving New York, Notwithstanding that few
months previous she had struck on reef of
the coast Of Florida, whore she remained for
fifty hours. After this accident, which occurred
| in May last, she was permitted to make another
voyage without being repaired. In July last
she was overhauled, and it was found that her
| keel was considerably damaged by her collision
with the reef, and that she had not foundered
during the voyage to and from Havana, which
| interviewed between the occurrence of the acct
dent and the repair of damages, may probably
be set down to the credit of some proyidential
interference.
However, the report Of Captain New
entirely whitewashes the company, declares
the steamer to have been quite sea-
worthy when she sailed on her last
disastrous voyage, and charges the loss
of over two hundred lives upon the bad man
agement Of the unfortunate captain, who, as he
persisted with his vessel, can make no defence
II is admitted in the report that although the
law was complied with in the number of boats
on board the Evening Star, yet she did not
carry half enough to save her passengers and
crew, from which we infer that the law is in
famously defective and should be oyerhauled
by Congress and improved. The report also
| suggests to us that if the loss Of the ship was
attributable to the deficiency of the captain
| we ought to have a better educated class OF
men in command of ocean going steamers. 1t
l
ing Star succumbed to the fury Of one Of those
circular storms which prevail in those regions.
| The prevalence Of these storms Is well known.
They are not so much accidental as they are
the results Of known nstural laws. No sailor
should be intrusted with the Command of q
vessel carrying three hundred people navl-
eating these waters who is not familiar with
the laws which govern the winds and is in
competent to work his ship out Of one Of these
inevitable cyclones or keep her out of 1t; and
here again appears the necessity for more
stringent legislation to regulate the capacity Of
sea captains. Therefore, accepting the report
Of the TREASURY Department as the most In
telligent verdict In this case that could be ar
rived at from the testimony available, we find
In II abundant evidence that there Is an i'm
perative necessity for thorough reformation
in the laws regulating our ocean navigation.
The CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REJECTED
By THE POLITICIANS BUT FAVORED ny THE PEOPLE
OF rHs SoUTH.-The Georgia Legislature in
session at Milledgeville on tho 9th instant de-
clined to ratfy the constitutional amendment,
and passed resolutions explanatory Of Its
action, declaring among other things that the
last Congress was Illegal and that the amend
mcnt was not proposed by two-thrds OF the
constitutional Congress, as required by law.
The resolutions are tainted with one or
two chimerical theories Of the old sccessionsts,
and do not bear close scrutiny or argument
The Legislature Of Georgia does not in its
action fully represent the people of the State
aud Of the South, and il should not be mis-
taken - an expression of the feelings or
opinions Of the people. The votes against the
amendment were those OF men who would be
disqualified from holding office by It's
adoption. and IL was not natural to ex-
pect them to vote In its favor. These
snme LEADERS and the partisan press OF
the South have endeavorcd, and with
some success, to forestsll and form public
opinion on the subject by denonciatons of the
amendment; but our private advices from the
South have all along indicated that respect
able party Is forming and gradually Increasing
which favors in sentiment the adoption of the
measure, and we believe that by the time the
Legislatures Of the country have passed upon
the question and settled il the people Of the
South will not be persistently and bitterly adj
verse TO the measure proposed. The promi-
| nent men Of the South cannot advocate Its
adoption on account Of the disqualifying clause
of the amendment. Many who would avail
themselves Of the benefits TO be derived from
its adoption do not advocate Il out of
regard to their friends, who would be unfavor-
ably affected. Others who look upon its
adoption as Of vital importance to the South,
shrink from being leaders in cause which
appears al present SO unpopular but the