The crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1877-1878, 1877-12-27
TOPICS OF THE TIME.


tire house with postage-stamps.
Beecher's congregation was increased
this year by the accession of thirty
four members, and the membership
numbers 1,545. The contributions,
however, amounted to only SIC, 0,429, but
the amount raised from pew-rents was
$4,000.
The will of Anne 2. Sever, of Boston,
admitted to probate, contains public be-
quests amounting in all to Sl95,00O.
Harvard College gets $4,000, of which
100000 is for the erection of build
ing to be known as Sever Hall, $4,000
to be used as may be thought. proper.
The Porto hastcns to explain that
Turkey has two lines of defense which
she is able to hold, and her Circular
Note begging the other Powers to me-
diato was to be taken in Pickwickian
sense. OF course, after the other pow
ers have declined the impruded pro-
posal.
The problem of using steam-powcr on
the Erie Canal seems to have been par
TALLY solved during the past year, as the
records of the Collectors Office at Buf-
falo show that steam tugs and regular
steamers have been plying to a consid
cradle extent on the section of the canal
between Buffalo and Tonawanda. More
over, all of the boats have been worked
proftably.
We shall soon have steamers enough
to Brazil and other South American
countries. Philadelphia is preparing to
start its pioneer ship in about 4 week,
and the Quebec and Gnlf Ports Steam
ship Company has detorm' ned to trans
fer its vessels to this port for the same
trade. 1t would certainly be unfair to
subsidize one line to the detrimcnt of
the other.
The Supreme Court at Washington,
on Monday last, decided the Macon
County, Mo-, bond case, which has been
pending before it for sometime. The
question was whether the bonds were
invalidated by the Constitution of 1865,
which was adopted before their issue.
The court decided that they were not.
Justice Swayne delivered the opinion of
the Court.
The New York Tribune has this Gu
rious, of funny, paragraph: "Tho new
est variation of the telephone is called
the photograph, which receives spoken
words, that may be delivered at any
future time without repetition by the
speaker. In other words, dying mil
lionaire may now lock his last spoken
will up in the photograph, so as to cna.
bic his heirs to produce it six months
later before the Surrogate for probate
in his own voice and language"
The latest feat of the terrible tramp
is tho abduction of another child, named
Willie Hopkins, from his home near
Pittsburg 1t would be very uncom-
Portable indeed to have another Charlie
Ross case, and it is to be hoped for the
credit of the country that the ruffian
who stole tile child will be apprchended.
1t is high time that the country be re-
lieved, by measures more or less strin-
gent, of the banded Migrants who com
NIT in the rural districts every sort of
crime without punishment.
Another of those savage aifrays
Cuba-thcy are not to be called battles
has resulted in the killing of 50 and
the capture Of l5l out of total force
of $50 rovolutionists, On the bodies
of some insurgent aides-de-camp who
were killed, important letters are said
to have been found. These letters, it
is to be supposed, implicates, as usual,
certain Cubans of prominence, whose
loyalty has not heretofore been sus-
pectcd, and their discovery will result
in more confscation and massacre.
The concentration in large numbers
of hostile Souix in the British North
west Territory, together with the mad
equacy of the Canadian police of that
region to restrain or control the move
ments of the unruly savages, has sug-
gested the necessity of the construction
by the United States Government of n
large and permanent military post near
the boundary line. 1t is understood
that Gen. Terry has already selected
the site for such post, and that its con-
struction will be recommended to Con-
gress.
The question as to whether the Union
Pacific railroad shall be forced to pro
rate with the Kansas Pacific was argued
at great lengths before the President
and Attorney General, the object of the
inquiry being the information of Con
gress. The case of the Kansas Pacific
was fully presented by Mr.. Holmes
Judge Shellabarger, replying for the
Union Pacific, contended that the cost
of operating the western half of the
road is so much greater than the east
ern that it would be unjust and ruinous
to the company to be compelled to car