The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-08

City Affairs.

Last evening q meeting of colored SOL
diers and sailors was held at Liberty Hall,
Lombard street, below Seventh, to receive
the reports of committees appointed at pre-
vious one looking to the annual celebration
of the fifteenth amendment. The reports
were received, but no definite action was
taken.
Last evening" between and o'clock,
there was an explosion of three barrels of
benzine in the yard attached to the store and
dwelling No. 1894 Ridge avenue, occupied by
Peter Hartenstein. The house was set on
fire and burned the back portion of it to the
third story, and the furniture and other
effects of the occupant suffered by water
His loss is about $4OO. The damage to the
building will reach $500. The explosion is
believed to have been the work of design
In attempting to extinguish the flames Mr.
Hartenstein had his hands burned.
AT meeting of the Public Buildings
Commission, held yesterday, bids for the
erection of q board fence around Penn
Square were opened, and on motion, re-
ferred to the Committee on Contracts, and
after some further business, including the
submitting of certain original plans for the
public buildings by Mr.. j. L. Husband, the
board ad ourned.
"A meeting of the representatives of the
Presbyterian Alliance was held last evening
at the church Broad street, above Chestnut, at
which the munifcent gift of Professor Saun-
ders was accepted. The gift consists of the in
stitute building, now occupied for educa-
tional purposes, and valued at $780, 600, which
the professor donates to the Alliance for the
use of Presbyterian hospital. The building
is admirably adapted for this purpose, the
school-rooms and dormitories being arranged
in such a manner as to render them complete
for hospital use without altertion.
Tho Allionaa to1 tho rif ho
stipulated conditions of the donor, which are
that to Professor Saunders and his wife the
sum of $4,000 annually be given each during
their lifetime, and in case of the death of one
of them the sum aforesaid is to be given to
the survivor until his or her death. The
building has an incumbrance of $40, 900,
which the professor proposes to liquidate.
The gift is a most generous one, and will i'm
mortalize the name of Saunders.
Mr.. Tryon Reakirt, the junior partner of
the firm of John Reskirt d Son, wholesale
druggists, has been committing a series of
forgelies to the amount of 800, 600. AS far
as has been discovered the forgeries are con-
fined to the names of prominent Wholesale
druggists, and they consist of notes purport-
ing to be drawn by them. One of them is in
the name of Russell & Lands, No. North
Fifth street, and another is on o. S. Janney
& Co., No. Al South Front street. The inves-
tigation thus far has been confined to very
few banks, among them the Commercial,
Commonwealth, and Tradesmens banks, and
Bank of Commerce. The discovery of the
fraudulent transactions was made by bank
clerk as follows:-A note for $1,000, emanat-
ing apparently from Russell & Landis, was
deposited in a certain bank, and it was after
wards discovered that instead of the date
being 1871 it was 1870. The firm was notified
of the fact, when the bank clerk was informed
flokt hol oh pao1 Il. ~
was sent for, and he made good the deficit
and the transaction was covered up at the
time, but subsequently the whole affair was
exposed.