New-York tribune., 1879-05-23

dicate clear and partly cloudy weather. Jher-
mometer yesterday: Highest, 720; lowest Of
average. 62$4o.
Mr.. Cbittenden described the plan of pay
ing the public debt in silver most felici-
tously when he said it was like borrowing a
good horse and Offering to pay back bad
mule.
The dedication of the new Roman Catholic
cathedral on Sunday next promises to be an
! imposing ceremony, and will be attended By
a large number of distinguished prclates. An
article on another page gives the programme
of services upon that day.
Senator Sessions made the best speech OF
bis life on Wednesday, He defended the
Robbins Reef bill against the charge Of being
a lob. He said I: g have read tins bill
Through carefully, and l can't find any steal
"in it; and l can tell a steal when | see 1t
/" as quick as any man going" When the
| Senate burst into loud laugh, poor Mr..
/ Sessions seemed suddenly to understand why.
| Still another day of voting in the House
upon the Warner Silver bill leaves the adyan-
/ t9ge with the side of the greatest honesty and
the DcSJ gtHcldlStlip iHt lhtfuDii''iL'; 'H'N'i
the lead of General Garfield, succeeded III
striking ont the clauses which authorized
silver certificates to be used in paying interest
upon the public debt, permitted the amount
of silver certificates outstanding to exceed hy
twenty per cent the amount of com In the
Treasury. and allowed National banks to com
pute the certificates as part of their lawful
money reserve. Altogether the Republicans
have succeeded in altering the bill so much
that General Warner himself shows symptoms
of disgust with the measure in its present
shape, and talks of abandoning 1t If the emen-
daton is continued.
Asa Packer was one of those wise men who
do good while they live and enjoy at once
the delight of giving and the satisfaction OF
knowing that their money is being used as
tbev would have it used. But his gifts to
Lehich University and other objects which
were dear to him, splendid as they were, by
no means exhausted his charitable impulses.
His will, the provisions OF which have just
been made known, makes bequests TO the
cause Of education and humanity which may
be fairly called princey. The University re-
ceiyes, in addition to the $1,000,000 which
it cost to found il, the sum of $1,500,00
while for its library is set apart the further
sum of S500,000, making a round $4,000
600 for the institution. Besides this there is
a provision of $500 900 for ST. Lukes Hos
pital in the same city, and considerable
sum to church at Mauch Chunk. The total Of
these bequests almost equals, in amount, the
gift of Peabody for education in the South.
I'm the settlement of their several differences
the two elevated railroad companies have had
to revive the Manhattan Company, which was
authorized by the Rapid Transit Commission
ard which they have controlled from the be-
ginning. 1t can hardly be called a consolida
ton of the two roads under one company. for,
happily for the general public, there must al
ways be a certain rivalry between the two
lines on each side of the city. The change
will result, if present designs are carried out
i'm some improvements III the construction of
the new lines, and as the President of the
Metropolitan is to be president of the new
COMPANY it is reasonable to anticipate some
much-needed improvements in the running of
trains on the New York Road, making that
line equal to the splcndidly- managed Gilbert
Line. One advantage to be gained, and upon
which it is pleasant to congratulate the public,
is that no attempt will be made to extend the
Chatham Street Road further southwark
through either Nassaust. or Broadway. -
Among the measures which failed at Albany
was the Calvin bill to reduce the fare to five
cents The companies were disposed in the
event of the bill becoming a law to abandon
or at least delay the construction Of the Ninth
Avenue Road above Central Park. They will
now have no excuse for further delay.
The Democrats in Congress are preparing
another part of the machinery by which it is
proposed to steal the Presidency in 1880
This branch of the scheme concerns Itself
with the counting of the electoral vote. The
majority of the House Committee upon that
subject have agreed upon a bill which declares
that where there is a contest over the electoral
vote OF a State the decision of the highest
judicial authority OF the State, if given, shall
be accepted as final aRlesS both houses
of Congress shall concur in reversing the de-
cison Where there is IA contest, and there is
no such judicial decision, the electoral vote
of the State shall not be counted unless both
houses concur in ordering it to be counted
Every one who remembers the insane attempts
that were made to defeat the electoral count
in the House in 1877 by trumped-up charges
of ineligIbility against electors of States which
had cast overwhelming Republican majorities
can easily imagine what we might expect in
1881 under such law from the present Con-
gress. The same curious relationship of the
great parties TO the question of genuine State
Rights is presented now as was presented
Aota lxut oI, Il