New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-10-22

10 De SUCCESSFUL, pledueu Buhey " oA"'i
to escape the expenses OF trial, and
it was the general expectation that this
would result in nominal sentences The
Court, however, sentenced one OF the edl-
tors to ten months and the other to six
months hard labor in the State Prison, with
fine in each case. 1t must be said that there
is no good reason why criminal libel should
be an exception to other criminal offences IN
the certainty of punishment, but it will be the
general feeling, nevertheless that, in view OF
common practice in such cases. the fault must
have been great to justify these penalties. es-
pecially when the prisoners threw themselves
upon the mercy of the Court
Senator Sherman's bearing in the matter OF
the sO-called suppressed" Treasury report
has been such that it must silence all his de-
tractors bitter and persistent as some OF
them are. He was the first to offer resolu-
ton calling upon the Secretary OF the Treas
ury for n copy of the report, and has hnaily
succeeded in forcing it's passage iii spite of the
insincerc opposition of Democrats. who were
in reality more anxious that Mr.. Sherman
should rest under suspiciOn-if the violent sup
position is to be made that there was suspci"n-
than that he should have a fair chance
to clear himself. Yesterday they renewed their
policy of unfairness in a new way, by trying
to add to the resolution a clause calling for
the testimony taken in the matter, none OF
which was taken under oath, and much OF
which was the worthless gossip that fioatsabou
in every Department. Finally, Mr.. Sherman
challenged the Democratic Senators to move
for committee of investigation, but none or
them did so. Probably the last has been
heard of this matter as one of the subterranean
scandals of politics.
One Democratic Senator has been found
willing to make himself ridiculous by present
ing the petition of Democratic members OF the
New York Legislature denying the legality of
the election of Messrs. Miller and Lapham.
This is Senator Mcpherson, of New-Jersey,
who rattles around in the seat of Freling-
huysen. The petition is presumably that which
raises the point that Senator Miller was not
elected by a majority of all the members
elected to each House of the Legislature. If
any statute was ever clear upon any point the
Federal statute governing the election OF United
States Senators is clear in prescribing that
in the Joint Assembly majority OF quorum
shall elect The words of the statute relating
to the Joint Assembly when the two Houses
have failed separately to elect, are: The per-
son who receives majority OF all the votes
of the Joint Assembly, IA majority OF all the
members elected to both Houses being pres
ent and voting, shall be declared duly
elected" Mr. Mcpherson is not an imposing
figure at the best, and owes it to his constit-
uents not to make himself so absurd that The
c1oI ho IN tlpm
We invite the attention of the indifferent
citizen, who can see no reason why he should
register and vote, to the table on another
page showing the reduction of State taxes for
1881 to the lowest point since the War of the
Rebellion. This result has been achieved by
patient economy on the part of the Republican
Legislature and Governor, and the operation
of wise reforms in taxation also accom-
plished by them. The reduction is to the sum
of 5000, S29. The State taxes in 1850, which
amounted to 1922, 542, would have been
much lighter if the Democratic State Admin
istration which went out in 1879, and all OF
whose members were more or less candidates
for Governor, had not made a clean sweep of
the unexpended balances in the Treasury, IN
order to make the tax levy of that year as
light as possible. The large appropriation
made necessary to put the Senate side of the
new Capitol in order also increased the taxes
of 1880 just as the large appropriation which
was needed to continue the work has added to
the tax levy of 1881. All this while the steady
efforts of the Legislature and Governor to-
ward economy have resulted in a marked re-
duction of expenses, and at the same time the
new tax laws are bringing in large revenues
Even the partisan Democrat must admit that
the present State Administration is markedly
frugal, and it would puzzle even a very parti-
san Democrat 10 say why the Administration
should not be continued in the same hands.
MONEY, At NONE AND ABROAD.
Secretary Win1nm has NOW offered To redeem.