New-York tribune., 1879-08-28

mower over popular forces for the real benefit OF the
pqople. Ii Kearney were the best of men he would
still have the inirmtie5 Of human nature. Neither
TO him nor to any one should irresponsible power be
intrustcd.
Mrs. Adele G. Lucas, of BROOKLYN IS seeking III
Court to recover $4,000 of two liquor dealers
and the landlord of one of them, under the Civil
Damage Act inasmuch as the former sold liquor
TO her husband. Actions of this kind are not COM
mon. and, for various reasons, never will be.
They are easy 10 bring, but not quite so
easy TO maintain. Wives are not fond of
making an exposure of their husbands ntrmi;ics.
1t seems strange that any one for the sake OF a
little money should 90 on selling to any man,
and especially to any man with a family, the liquor
which is killing HIM, and running the happiness OF
all connected with him. But it Is also rs well set
tied as anything can be that there are those who
will do this and find hundred excavations, hardly
one OF them worth mentioning, for doing II. lhlS
fact lies at the basis of all laws regulating the
traffic, and is the sole excuse for their enact
ment License laws are substantially equl-
table laws. and impose an unusual restraint
that a great wrong may not be done.
The Civil Damage law goes further The injury
inflicted is and must always be- indirect; and ver-
diets under it in favor. OF the plaintiff will always
he hard to get. But in some respects it operates
fayorabIy as a restraint. The seller knows what,
at least he is in danger Of. Now and then comes a
Mrs. Lucas who brings her action; and the
vendor can never know when she is coming.
He will grow cautious; and his landlord Will be
careful to whom he lets his shop. Tho main benefit
is the assertion upon the statute book of response
bity on the part OF the dealer lie will be none
the wiser for knowing that It - there and with
sense Of responsibility viii come an increased re-
spectabty in the traffic which 10 diminish the
number of irresponsible corue ccres. and keep
those remaining upon their got shaYlor.
Sir Rowland TIll the great yrn" '', 4 nos the
fathe, # q % modern cheap .gC sF'. @. % ad.
His no. ors s.-uuodoubiedly {. shared w,;. irna-
has 3at,s. who was AZ Eugli sIman Amc:..s .'z,d,
aud by Elihu Burritt st D. was irl-blood"' geuIrc
Yankee. Mr. Bates. a r years %. s'r'.. iei""rtnE
and .sctuIinL accomplished .lnsin" ap!; rsdpr-
tion of our own land postage rStes [; i..o hr was
working to bung about . like reform IL. DC, post
age when he died. HIs mGntle fru upOn the
Learned Blacksmith, who exhibited ike enthu-
siastic persistence. Sir Rowland Hill lived long
enough to see his theories of uniform and low rates,
of charge by weight and of prepayment, become
fixed principles. His system has been in operation
thirty-nine wears and may be considered as firmly
established Illicit traffic in letters has been stopped;
both the net ana gross revenues of the old
system havc been exceeded. Probably Sir Rowland
fill was quite as well fitted any of the time
IN push through this reform for he was both clear
headed and intensely obstinate. He had the adyan-
tage also of thoroughly understanding the subject,
which was more than could be said Of most of his
opponents. Very few great public changes have
been so we'll carried through In so short time.
Even Sir Rowland was glad to accept a uniform
rate of four pence for inland letter in 1910. But
he triumphed over all his opponents including
Colonel BIaberly, and received the best possible
proof of Great Britains gratitude IN tho shape OF
GOOD deal of her money. He will be rs well remem-
bered as If he had won great and decisive battle
and much better than if he had written great and
decisive book What he did came home literally to
the business and bosOms land pockets) OF mankind.
The case of Miss Greenwood, OF this city, who
died recently. having been utterly broken down. it
IS said by over study, is attracting considerable at
taution Miss Greenwood was brilliant student at
Nount Holyoke Seminary, but left that institution
without graduating. in consequence o. ill-heath.
sbe then went industriously TO work, when she
sbould have rested and prepared herself for the
uos,tion of a teacher in one OF the public schools,
which she obtained. She continued TO fail in
health; seems to have had symptoms of paralysis;
fhere was also mental disturbance, and in spite of
al which could be done for her the unfortunate
lady died. Medical experts are clearly of the opin
ion that her death is to be attributed to intense
anpcation TO study. 1t is easy to generalize from
sncb a ease, but very erroneous conclusions might
ne arrived at respecting the comparative capacity
If the sexes for intellectual labor There is theory
speeiay urged By an eminent Boston physician
that the female constitution is less adapted than that
of man for studious pursuits but one like that
Of Mss Greenwood by no means settles the matter.
How does It differ m any respect from that of
Henry Krke White, for instance-nay from hun
dreds of cases which the annals of our colleges and
especially of our theological Schools could furnish
There can be no melancholy history than that,
familiar to all students, Of brilliant ability and
honorable ambition checked by i'll health, and of
minds oyerthTown By a too incessant exercise of
tbelr best faculties. The lesson Is one of the
moral duty of taking rest when rest has become alb
solutey necessary, and Of checking and controlling
the love of literary acquisition before it has lapsed
into a mania.
/, Is doubtful whether any good end will be
reached by any class Of men under the leadership