New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-09-25
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THE 1RN.S or NEW- YORK.


n During the session of 1880 the Legislature
n appointed Commission composed of the Gov
omor, Secretary of State and Controller to as
Il certain and report to the next Legislature an
81 exact description of the correct coat of arms of
81 the State The report of this Commission was
q submitted last April, but has only recently
come from the public printer in pamphlet
q form. 1t shows the curious fact that there is no
q official description to serve as a standard for
= the arms and seal of the State. Laws passed in
Il 17S6, 1898, 1901, 1909 and 1913, embodied in
n the Revised Statutes, refer to a description in
ii writing of the arms and of the great and prvy
&" seal of this State recorded and deposited in
II the Office of the Secretary OF this State but
diigent search in the Office of the Secretary has
81 failed to discover such d description, and
n nothing has been found III any way responding
q to one except a very brief memorandum de-
n scubng the new great sea-" of 1909, which
W entirely inadequate to a construction of the
n complete coat of arms. Nor has any printed
4 description of the arms been found in docu-
Il nents published by the State. The need of the
/; interpostion of legislative authority to deter
4 mine what the genuine coat of arms should be
8 will be understood by anyone who is able to-
q compare the printed devices commonly used i'm
n encyclopedias, school textbooks and semi
Il official publications like the "Civil List and
i the Legislative Manual In some of these there
y are ships upon the shield and in others there
are none some have the supporting figures of
4 INJUSTICE and Liberty standing, others have them
\ sitting; in some Justice stands on the left and
i Liberty upon the right others reverse the posi-
3 lions Above the shield is full globe in some,
IA half globe in others, and in still others no
q globe at all, while the eagle which should perch
II mon no ole
8 known to heraldry.
Fortunately the Commission was NOT loft ON.
d tirely to the varying fancies of engravers rs
!, shown in the conflicting designs of contem-
] porary publications for an authoritative stand
i ard Three representations of the New Yorl,
] coat OF arms are eXtant which anuedate the
4 present century, and which are alike in all prom
lnent features save two. These are the en-
graved military commissions ISSUED by the State
! III IT'S the flag of the New York regiment of
Colonel Gansev0ort of 1878 or 1879. and the
painting suspended over the pew of Governor
George Clinton, in st. Paul's Chapel in this
city, In 1888. The points of difference relate TO
i the mountains on the shield, which are omitted
In the st. PauFs picture, in which the sun rises
Il from the sea, and the ship and sloop in the fore
ground which appear only in the device upon
!. the military commissions. There can be mol
= doubt that the mountains were an essential
4 feature OF the original shield and that thew
represented theIIighlands OF the Hudson. The
vessels were properly introduced to typify the
! commerce of the State. This is shown in an in
\ terestlng paper on the origin and symbolism Of
\ the coat of arms contributed to the report bv
! MIR. Henry \. Homes, the State Librarian Mr.
Homes Identifies the sun upon the shield with
! the emblem of the House of York, first adopted
\ l.,rt NIL.
4 Edward Nv. While on his way to battle with
4 two generals of the opposing faction in the War
4 of the Roses, Edward saw three suns instead of
one, and the three Suddenly Joined together.
1 He beat his enemies, and Interpreting the omen
2 rs showing that the glory of the two adverse
chiefs would be absorbed by HIM, chose the san
1 IN full Splcndor rs his badge. The transmission
! of the emblem to the New World occurred in
4 1857, when James H., formerly Duke OF York,
sent over seal with sun upon it for use i'm the
! province of New York.
In the device recommended by the Commits
son. the representation upon the old military
commissions is closely followed. The shield
] shows river with a shore of meadow land in
4 front, and with ship and sloop approaching
I each other. Beyond the water are three noun
! tains, behind and above which the sun Is seen
a ike human face. with an effulgcnce of
golden rays upon blue sky. The crest is an
eagle star ding with outspread wings upon two
thirds OF II globe, showing the western coast of
j Europe and the eastern coast of America The
4 supporters are standing female fgurcs-L liberty
! upon the right, with the staff and CAP and with
i'm overturned kingly crown mt her feet. and
| Justice upon the left, with bandaged eyes and
naked sword. The motto Excelsior appears
upon n white scroll beneath the shield
No State of the Union has IA coat of arms
more interesting for its historical associations
and ITS symbolIcal meanings than the State of
New lork. Governor Cornell aud his associate
commissioners deserve credit for their efforts
! 10 preserve it from changes arising from care
lessncss, and to give the original device the
pcrmanencc which can only be secured by ex-
plicit statutory enactRcnts
neutrality-suspicious. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
FEW WORDS MORE on THE PRESJDENypSh
CASE.
As the management of the case OF the late
President has been the subject of mucb nd
verse comment it may be worth while even
now briefly to review the main points of crit
cism in the light shed 10y the AUTOPSY. The
most urgent and most frequently repeated de-
mand made 10y the public press was that the
ball should be removed or ut least sought
Tor. This was based upon the sun
position that the source of irritation which
kept up the prolonged suppuration with
It's attendant dangers was tho presence of
the bail /; and also upon the belief which some
at least OF the attendants seem TO have shared
that the situation of the ball was approximately
known. The autopsy shows that the oripina, s