New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-12-09
LOCAL MISCELLANY.
, QUESTION as To OPENING BIDS.

A QUESTION AS TO OPENING BIDS.
Dock Commissioners Laimbeer and van 1Se poe
were in the Board room early Yesterday Tor me pun
pose of opening bids for building plets hn,ldinS
etc Among the proposals was one ior pullu'lls !"
crib-bulkhead across Coenties Slip. BlusWeTe o, aS
inally opened for doing this work on Noveoe[ 3D.
and II was voted in Mr.. Laimbeers absence, 70 re-
advortise for bids When Controller Campbell ar
rived Mr. Lambeer said that ne SHOUT oUJ0oo ~
opening the bios for the Coenties Slp
The original bids had been opened IN ms aoS1n lcl
one was informal. offering 20 DO tne s mUl1
for $1,000, and the other was 1oflnai
work for $4,000. A resolution. was
adopted at the same meeting authorizing a
readvertising for bids. recent OPINION OF t tn9
CORPORATION Counsel was to the effect that the old
OF Mr. Roosevelt could not be rejected. and he MI.
Lambeer should protest against opening the othefs
ast would bring the city into lawsuit T thcf be
voted for the readvertising under misapprehenslon
and he would second Mr.. Laimbeers protest
Mr.. Laimbeer then took the chair and Controller
Campbell said that if the Commissioners had any
reason to believe that there was anything fraudu-
lent in regard TO the previous bids, or that
there was conspiracy between the plddefs
the bid of Mr. Roosevelt should be, re-
jected. Timothy j. Campbell who appeared for for
Mr. Roosevelt, said that the latter was q rep1taOie
citizen of this CITY, and that he did not
know the other bidder. Chief Engineer Greene sand
that the bid was considerably above his estimates
ana he thought the work could be done for less
Mr. Lalmbeer offered a resolution that ihe open
ing OF bid, for C4e1ties Slip DO lala 1f over
the motion of the Controller the latter provision
was stricken out and the amended resolution was
adopted. Further action IN regard 10 the Dlds IS
expected at the next meeting, Dut Dir. Roosevelt
threatens to sue for damages II the contract Is DoV
awarded to hun.
gard to the removal of the steam engines on piers
for handling ships carg9es until uGsddy ne,
when the stevedOres and merchants Will nave
hearing before them.
OVERDUE VESSELS COMING INTO PORT.
The new Cunard steamship Servia, which arrived
from Liverpool at Sandy Hook on " ednesday night
and at her pier Yesterday, bore scarcely any evi,
denceS of her battling with furious hurricanes anu
terrific seas for nine and a half days Leaving
Iiyerpool on November 2G, and queenstown Two
davs later she encountered violent weather after
passing Fasnet, and found no relief untll alttr
rToSsinr the Banks of Newfoundland. Captain
Theodore Cook the commander, who was formerly
in command of the Russia, and more recently the
GaIlia said that the weather was the mo5t severe
he had ever experienced but the snip had buHeteQ
the bosterous elements successfully and he arrived
without any damage TO vessel or people on BOARD.
The engines had worked perfectly, and not stop
had been made alter leaving Queenstown untll 'he
vessel took pilot OFF Sandy Hook captain C9o6
said: "She is an excellent sea boat, has mad
one of the sevcrest tests she will probably be ever
called upon TO meet, and both officers and pasSen-
gers are enthusiastic over her performance: Inc
record made in the daily log is repeution 81 ylo-
lent "heavy" and fresh" gales, FURIOUS
squalls" and '"frightfrl seas" The shortest dis
the steamer made Ill any one day was D6celh-
Der 3-215 nles-and the greatest distance on Tues
day-4O6 miles. A description OF the Seryia has
been published in THE TRIBUNE. She is TO be open
for public inspection Monday next. Her officers,
besides Captain Cook. are First officer, }. Jack
son chief engineer, John Watson ; cmef steward
Louis Afoter purseT, William Field; surgeon,
Reg maid StJcker.
The steamship De Ruy;er, from Antwerp, Novem-
Der 10, also arrived yesterday. Her voyage was
stormy throughout but, with the exception of the
loss OF three boats, no serious damage was done
NOT THE PROPER DEFENDANT.
The trial of suit brought by Edward c. Morgan,
William f. Berners ana Thomas +. Fox, doing
business under the firm title Oh Ash0urner ~ Co.
against the Leather Manufacturers National bank
OF this city, was begun before Judge Wallace aud
Jury in the United States Circuit Court yesterday
The plaintiffs in the East India trade and Their
agent IN this city Is W. b. Cooper, Jr, who has an
Office at Pine and Pear-sts Mir, Cooper had III ms
employ as bookkeeper and confidential clerk Will
lam Clifford Berlin. Ii the habit OF the latter
70 draw all checks and leave them in Mr.. CoOpeTs
desk for signature. Berlin, after the checks had
been signed altered and raised several OF them I'M
I'll at the time of his detection he had stolen |
$10327 35.Iis thetts extended over several months
and he concealed his operations from ms employer |
by making false entries Ill his books, and by de-
scToyng the checks after they had been returned |
to him from the bank, when the check-bOok was |
balanced. Berlin, when detected, confessed to the
thefts and said that he had stolen the moneytO pay
gambling debts contracted in gambling houses in |
Twenty -eIghth-st, Thirty -irst-st. and i'll Broad,
way. The investigation had not been completed
when Berlin ran Off
This was early in last spring, and nothing further
was heard of hun until news reached this city in
August last that he had committed suicide III Dead
wood City, Dakota The money stolen belonged to
the plaintiffs and the suit brought to recover
FROM the bank, which had paid the fraudulent
paper. The defence is that Berlin was the recog-
nized agent of Cooper; that the bank knew INN as
such and that the proper recourse OF the plant Is
against Cooper. he trial will be continued to-day.
A TENEMENT-HOUSE CAPITALIST.
The transfer of a plot of land, 200 feet by 102 |
feet ON the south side of Seventy-sXt-st, 20 feet
west Of Madison-ave, from William Noble and vile |
TO John Noble was recorded at the Registers office
on Wednesday. The purchaser mortgaged the
property to the New-York Life Insurance Company
for %342 100 and he gave a second mortgage the
anne a Mathis j, Newman
loan of $1O,255 for two months reporter OF The
TRIBUNE yesterday visited Mr.. Noble, who lives at
No 22O East Ffty-seventh-st., which Is tenement
house with grocery store on the first floor. The
building is one of the poorer classes
of tenement-houscs, having narrow halls and
bells, and provides shelter for number
of families. Mr.. Noble occupies the two or three
front rooms on the second story knock at the
door was answered by ruddy-faced man OF about
sixty who SAID that he had made the large purchase
mentioned. The room into which he ushered the |
reporter was apparently used both as parOr |
aid dinng-room. 1t was cheaply but neatly fur |
nished, while at one side was cOoklng-stove, In
front of which sat severe-looking cat with a
SCARED nose licking his chops calmly, Mr., Noble |
said that he had bought the property OF his son. but
he had not decided yet whether to try TO sell 1t
again or build houses on it i'll the spring. He
builder by trade and had put up about sixty houses
this year, ranging in value from $4,000 to |
$l50.O00. His most expensive house was one in |
Hfth-ave, and he had paid 1000 for the land on
which it was. Il don't think" he added, " that |
there will be as much building next year there |
has been this. Buyers seem very scarce"
MORE OF SINDRAM'S LETTERS.
The trial of William Sindram for the murder of |
Mrs. Catharine Crave was continued yesterday |
before Justice Brady in the Court of Oyer and |
Terminer. Several witnesses were called in behalf |
of the prisoner, among whom Sndram's |
mother. The witnesses testified to nothing of |
importance Assistant District-Attorney Lyons,
after all the evidence for the defence in, pro-
duced two additional letters from Sindram TO Mrs. |
Crave. They contained in great part repetitions
of the statements and sentiments expressed in the
letters of the previous day.
Sindran insists that lac is perfectly sane that he
hated Mrs. Grave and that ne not i'm the least
regret havIng killed her. In of the letters he