New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-06-16

and also, we think, keeping fairly within the
law. Fraudulent funerals will hardly vex in
surance officers again, at least till DIR. Uhngs
eighteen months sentence has been served out.
The vote in the French Assembly yesterday.
by which the Con stitutOnal bill introduced by
the Left Center was declared "urgent," is not
without significance. 1t shows that dozen or
more members of the Right Center ARE dis
posed to support the bill. When the final vote
is cast, if the members of that party who abb
stained from voting pursue the same course
as on this test question, defnitive solution
of the constitutional problem is near at hand.
If we may trust the Washington outgivings,
the unanimous report of the Committee on
the District Government is likely to be
thorougbgoing document, which will leave
| little of the present Government and less OF
its reputation. The "BOss" is not to escape,
nor even the half wittcd creature who seems
to have planned the safe burglary, and is ac-
cused of paying for it out of United States
funds.
| The dOg-murderng business is as brisk as
ever, and dog stealing is rapidly becoming one
of the great professions. Yesterday there were
rumors of hydrophobia at the pOund-rumors,
no doubt, entirely without foundation. Chained,
beaten tormented, and half-starved, it would
be strange if many of the unfortunate ami
mails confined in Thirty seventh-st. were not
driven into fits; but rabies is not caused by
ill-treatment, and we do not believe any case
of it has occurred.
| The several schemes for taking under the
protection of Government the whole business
of transportation from the West to tidewater
seem to meet with favor in the Senate, though
there is no disposition to do moro at present
than codde them all. There are, as is well
known, a number of plans for committing the
Government to this business, some OF which
were named in the last annual message OF
President Grant. The resolution passed by
the Senate yesterday, instructing the Commit
tee on Appropriations to report amendments
to the River and Harbor Appropriation bill
for the survey of routes recommended by the
Transportation Committee, is step in the
direction of assuming charge OF this whole
matter. The majority in favor OF the resolu-
ton was overwhelming. 1t provides, to be
sure, only for surveys, but it is too grave
question and concerns too nearly the cOnsti-
tutional powers of Congress to be passed
without much fuller discussion than it can
have at the end of session as an amendment
to an appropriation bill.
The Civil Service Reform, which has been
made part of the body of sound doctrine in
great many political platforms, has been
more or less the subject of profound con-
graduation in the press and on the stump for
three or four years past, and has received very
favorable mention as the child of promise in
two or three Presidential messages. disappeared
yesterday from public gaze under the vote of
the House, which provides that hereafter it
shall be the duty of the officer at the
head of each executive department E" TO make
appointments only from candidates who
"have the qualifications of honesty, efici-
"ency and fidelity, and not as rewards of
"mere party zeal.o From the sOlcmnity with
which this is enacted a substitute for the
much talked-of Civil Service Reform, we infer
that appointments have not been made here
tofore from candidates who have the qualifca-
tons named, but that they have been I" re-
wards for mere party ZEAL" We do not
undertake to say that this announcement
| will be a surprise to the American people,
but we do say without fear of contradiction,
that mere party zeal |" is very good.
The Senate of the United States, Messrs.
Carpenter and COhkllng advising and
driving thereunto, proposes to enact law,
if only the House of Representatives shall
consent which provides that suit may
be begun in any United States Court, in
any part of the country, upon service OF pro-
| cess uDOn apy agent of the party to be pro-
ceeded against within the Jurisdiction of said
court. This, if concurred in by the House.
would be very neat and snug little arrange
ment for persons of litigiOus temper A
New-YOrk merchant may be brought to court
in Utah or Montana by the mere service of
process upon his travelling agent or drummer.
The principal object of the two eminent
statesmen concerned in the passage of this
amendment is understood to be to make the
publishers of newspapers who have corre-
spOndents in Washington amenable to actions
of libel in the District courts. The amendment
moved by Mr.. Bayard providing that cases of
libel or SANDER should not be covered by the
law, was voted down, and the only modifca
ton admitted was one suggested by Mr. Car
penter, providing that copy of the process
served on the agent should actually be de-
lvered to the principal Of such agent any
| where in the United States. The United States
Senate has not done many great things OF
late, but if it can secure the passage of an act
which will forbid the newspapers talking
about them it will have accomplished some
thing worth while. And these are the Sena-
tors of the period