New-York tribune., 1878-04-27

NEW-lORh N
900 in 1873 upon the sum expended Tor that
purpose in 1877, and that sum was Itself q
considerable reduction upon the rates OF lhe
preceding year The gas companies are under
pretty good discipline. at last. and seem to
| have abandoned the idea that they own the
| town.
| All hope of getting a Legislature that would
muddle our city governments and eat up taxes
| only one year ont of every two, must De apaii,
doned for the present Mr.. SINNERS Diehiiiai
! sessions amendment TO the Constitution, aiteI
| having passed the Assembly, has been strangieu
| in committee in the Senate. 1t was virtually
n propositiOn to cut down, by fifty per cent,
| the number of legislative places and the rep
resentatives of Office-hOders and Oifce-seekels
could hardly have been expected to accept II.
Mr.. Ecclesine is distinguishing himself III
the Senate as he did in the Assembly, by
talking the Tammany political economy. In
the Lower House. he plead the cause OF the
laborng man as against the contractor; III
the Upper House, he defends the laboIing man
against convict labor. In the one, he Sought
TO prescribe by statute what wages cOntlac-
! tors should pay, and in the other he
asks the Legislature to forbid the en-
ployment of convicts III a certain branch
of work In both cases, Mr.. EccleSinc knew
enough to dcspise himself thoroughly for
the part he was playing in dcluding unedu-
Gated men with false hopes of relief which no
speeches or bills could bring. The Senate Is
of the opinion that the convict should work
L I,1,, fov uylip
will otherwise be compelled TO pay in part,
rather than that the wOrlNngman should he
compelled to support the convict in ideness.
The Senate sat down on Mr.. EccleSine, there
fore, by a vote of three to one. 1t is too much
to hope however, that he will stay down.
The SUSPENSE, distrust, and ill-feelipg which
now distract Europe are almost as great
plague as actual war; In England
the press warns the Government that
it will have to fight Russia alone, and
may discover eventually that Austria
will reap more advantages from the conflict
than either of the nations directly involved.
The quibbles in regard to the Congress
are deemed too shadowy to be grasped
by undiplomatic minds, and the British
people are constrained to believe that
their Government has resolved on
hostilities while 1t is Ostcnsibly using the
weapons of diplomacy to preserve peace. In
Russia the state of public feeling is equally
disturbed. The people have no desire to quarrel
with England, and cannot realize that any
thing but sheer perversity impels her, Of all
other nations, to dcnOunCe the San StcfanO
Treaty, and ignore the overthrow of Turkish
power in Bulgaria. Accordingly they are
intensely excited, and feel that no
quarter should be shown on land
or sea to an enemy that wantonly
attacks them. Prince Bismarck is doing his
utmost to promote harmony, but he has be-
come inpatient at the Indecisiyc, shuiiling
conduct of the British Cabinet, and act'
rather in a ministerial capacity than
a common friend. His mediation is, however,
I pledge that the negotiations will be pro-
/ longed only so long as they are likely to be
profitable.
What the Mississippi plan in carrying
elections is, we all know; but Congressman
Money has shown us the Mississippi plan of
carrying on debates. Ii seems to be to tell
well, it is expressly prohibited i'll the ninth
commandment. Mr.. Money, in seeking
! TO break the force of THE TRGBUNE's
! disclosures respecting the demands OF
| the Solid South upon the National Treas
ury, has compiled list of Northern claims,
! so-calIed, which is, to speak plainly, lmpu-
! IDENTIFY untruthful. He starts of with little
item of 81 800, 600, ,OOO for a ship canal from
near the mouth of the Mississippi to ST.
Louis, whereas the bill on which he bases these
figures simply appropriates $4,000 for the
survey of the proposed route, and 1t would be
Southern canal at that. He bases $l57,OOO,-
600 upon a bill for the construction OF
n railroad from Ncw-YOrk to Chi
cago which does not propose that
the Government shall pay anything
toward the cost of the road or grant anything
either in lands or money, or other values. lie
bases SGO, 100000 upon the bill extending
the time for the completion of the Northern
Pacific Railroads. bill which does not add
one dollar to the previous grants made to
that road. BY heaping up gigantically absurd
figures like these, Mr. Money reaches pre-
posterous total, at which he processes to be
| greatly scared, knowing all the while that he
has manufactured almost all his figures with
out any reasonable preteIt; that he has III
cluded appropriations for ordinary govern
mental purposes, which Will be expended
for the benefit of the South as well as
of the North, and that his collection OF
huge bogus claims from the North
bears no resemblance to the countless
horde of small claims coming up from the
South, each of which represents an actual
! dog;on unon tbe Treasury and has a hungry