The New York herald., 1877-02-04

depends, then, on the rapid and substan-
tial completion of our water front improve
ments, for without them all others are i'm
practicable.
The arguments In favor Of the water front
improvement apply equally to those of the
Hudson and East rivers. While on the
former the present necessity is, perhaps,
the greatest, yet the time is not far dis
tant when the East River front will
demand an equal amount of attention.
The prospective removal of all the obstruc-
tions to navigation in the He'll Gate channel
and the development Of commercial ac-
tivity in the neighborhood of the Harlem
River and the Westchester shore will COM
pei the construction Of wide street
along our eastern water front. Although
it may be argued that commerce fixes
its own standard of accommodations,
and that it would be unwise to travel too far
in advance Of the present demands, it is GER
tain that we must keep up with them. In
our article published elsewhere in to-day's
HERALD many important questions are dis
cussed that bear directly on the solution OF
New York's greatest problems.
Our London and Paris Cable Letters.
There is no lack of interesting information
in our cable letters What the two great cities
have gathered about them in the wny Of high
politics and current gossip during the past
week comes to us in attractive shape and con-
venient bulk Low, hoarse whispers of
coming war in Europe, mingled with faint
words of hope for peace, usher in our Lon
don story, while Paris begins its
tale of German uneasiness with the
threatening eye of Bismarck looking
over the lately devastated frontier and
warning the French not to think they have
lost an on-handed master yet. But the
gloom soon lifts from both capitals, and
we learn of Earl Beaconsfield strutting
in his earl's robes before q looking
glass which, if not true, is good. Then We
hear of a manager bidding-in the big
gest theatre in London by mistake
very curious thing to do. The
English butchers have found bonanza
in American beef, but, alas! for human no
ture, they have organized to sell anatomi-
cal English bulls and skeleton cows
for the American article, while
they sell the Yankee meat as
that Of Hold Hingland. The cutters
Of Sheffield are finding that American goods
are crowding them out of the American mar
kets, and they are told, for comfort, that
they have themselves to blame. The
Bishop Of Manchester has made another de-
fence of the theatre, and this time from be-
hind the footlights-a warning to the roar
ing. rantlng Talmages of this land.
Offenbach's latest opera boufe has not been
SO successful as that airy gentleman's book
on America. Among the other things for
which Europe is coming to America we may
mention horses. Turkey is longing for our
cartridges; SO that until the potato
bug turns up in Europe again there
seems to be an unfailing supply
of American staples and topics
to keep us before the eyes OF the people
there who have not yet decided TO-
emigrate hither. With pats on the
back from the English papers over our
political wisdom and financial honesty
there will be found sufficient in our letters
to make the average citizen go to church to-
day with proud consciousness of the su-
perb destiny of the nation of which no is q
not inconsiderable fraction.