New-York tribune., 1879-11-15

writing, and a good acquaintanceshlp Win
arithmetic. and above all, thorough knowl-
ledge of their native tongue, the Engnsl
Language" There Is so much wise IN"
afiectionate forethoneht here. that TINS ms
closure of it seems justifable for the SAKE
Of the example il affords. And II may be sa"
in ali seriousness, that this recommendation
rcsucctirg the necessity of "a thorough
"knowledgc of the English language might
Inc ;udieiously Incorporated in many wills!
The shocking casualty in this city yeSter-
dav hv Which five persons lost their iiVe' wa"
a scene of horror and great suhciing; ana WE
have not even the poor satisfaction oil KNOW
irr absolutely whether it was The result oi a
Deliberate crime or OF an accident. The tene-
ment-Louse i'm which the fire took place was
provided with fire-escare, and while there
was no opening to the roof, as there should
have been. il is plain that these poor vrctches
who woke from their s!sep to fHd them
sclye, suflocating IN dense smoke, and the
stairway baIred with flames. would not nave
had the presence of mind TO use 1t. lhe
brave fiji, man, Lynch. who riSked his HE D!
forcing his way into thc house, found the IN
mates so distracted that he could not even
show tbem how TO save themselves. -Four OF
them were suffscatod. and one who jumped
from the window was killed. The coolest oi
all the inmates was a woman, who had wit
enough TO understand the fircmen's gestures
since she could not comprehend thtr
language, and threw her children saieN
into their arms. The first suspicious Of arson
which we're entertained did not seem on III
vcstigaton by the Fire Marshal to justify the
detention of the tenants who were arrested.
They were mt least crimnally careless, how
ever, in leaving lighted lamp TO burn down
in an empty apartment, and this incident sug-
gests the necessity of some intelligent
supervision in all tcnement-houses, such
as would have rendered this impossible. ii
will he noticed also that the capable engineer
of the Fire Department says that II there had
been fre-escape in front of the house as
well as in the rear, no lives would have been
lost.
The appointment of Colonel John Hay to
take the place of Mr.. Seward as Assistant
Secretary of State is the happiest choice Mr.
Evarts and the President could have made
When Colonel Hay retired from the
diplomatic service no man of his years in the
COuulN, SllCt JouH NttlhNN hhhhc, h"N "N' wv
so creditabiy in such variety of important
positions. When Abraham Lincoln started
from Springfield to take up the work
that led through Civil War the emanci-
patton of race and the preservation OF the
Union to martyrs grave, he chose from
among his townspeople the lad John Hay,
fresh from college and the law school,
as his Confidential Secretary. Through
out that whole historic period the young
Secretary was Mr.. Lincoln's constant and
closest companion. He was then sent to
Paris as Secretary of Legation. WeaIylng
of the gay capital after time, he returned
home. hut Governor Seward promptly drafted
him again into the service, and sent him as
Charge dAffaires to Vienna while President
and Senate were quarreling over a Minister
to succeed Motley. After this he was
again sent out to Madrid, but he went
on condition that he should only he
asked to stay year. 1t was year well
spent for. besides the official service, it gave
us. in "Castilian Days" the best book we
have about Spain. There is simply no other
man in the country. after Mr. Frederick
Seward himself. whose past training so adj
mirably fits him for the duties of the Assistant
Secretaryship of State Mr.. EvaIts Is to be
congratulated on having induced Colonel Hay
to reconsider the declcnsion on the ground OF
conflicting private interests, which was at
frs; thought to he absolute. He secures as
his assistant and immediate representative
not only gentleman thoroughly familiar with
the office aud its requirements but Repub-
lican of the most stalwart type, and Il man of
letters whose work has earned permanent
place in our literature.