The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-09-19
Notes and Comments.

OnBON Oh "h hiiOis <hh uliDl 10 q bllpDtIy
thing. 1t beats an eel, toboggsn, or an
Independent politician"
A POSTAL money-order convention with
the Hawaiian Islands, has been signed by
Postmaster. General Gresham and the Ha-
waiian minister, to take effect January /,
1884, after which money orders can be OBJ
tanned at United States offices, payable at
Hawaii, and vice versa.
THE cost of collecting about nine.tenths
of the revenue yielded by national taxation
is not far from three per cent of the
amount collected, which was, in the last
fiscal year, about $360,00000O. The cost
of collecting the customs taxes was less
than three per cent, or SO, 422, 1877, while
the cost of collecting the internal taxes
probably did not exceed the rate of the
previous year, which was little less than
three and one-half per cent.
New YORK TRIBUNE "Every scholar
who has examined the Shapiro manu-
scripts has pronounced them forgeries.
But Shapiro must not feel discouraged on
that account. Let him come to America
next year, toward the end of the presiden-
tial campaign, and the democratic party
will doubtless welcome him with open
arms in case he happens to have in his
possession and is willing to sell forged
letter of damaging import purporting to
be written by the republican candidate"
New YORK TRIBUNE: CA fable: A
watch that had lost its handspring, the
teeth of whose cog-wheels were broken, and
whose face was badly broken and defaced
in several places, remarked to time-piece
that labored under none of these depress-
ing deficiencies, You must go, you must
co. 'Of course | must CO. answered
the other. 1t is the law of my being to
go--don't you wish you could go?' At
which the battered watch was greatly in
censed and cried, Turn the rascal OUT
Moral-this fable teaches that democracy
is making blooming donkey of ITSELF"
BosToN ADVERTISER: alt may be an
ungrounded rumor, but the story comes
from Tennessee of minister who is
known as the satisfying preacher When
a congregation is weary of the services of
its pastor, the satisfying preacher is
summoned, and his sermons are so unac-
ceptable that the parish is content to keep
its shepherd. The democrats are the
satisfying party. A town or state is
restless under republican rule. The dem
ocrats are put in power to see what they
will do. The democrats always do it.
The disguised people are satisfied, and
thankfully ask for republican ministra-
tions."
The Columbus Capitol, an Ohio demo.
cratic paper, comes out squarely against
Hoadly. 1t explains its position in this
vigorous style: We will not be paraded
as the purchased chattel of John Wesley
Bookwalter or George Hoadly. No con-
vention of corrupt and purchasable dele
gates shall transfer its proprietary interest
in our allegiance as democrat to the
highest bidder. No trading millionaires
in newspaper back offices in Cincinnati
shall divide the spoils of the Ohio democ.
racy without our indignant protest being
heard against the usurping act of the
wretch who sells, and the treason of the
autocrat who purchases, the franchises of
betrayed people,"
JOHN BRIGHT of England is not only
temperance man in preoept and practice,
but in his personal habits he is also re-
puted to be a total sbstainer from all
spirituous or intoxicating drinks. By
word and by deed, in his private and in his
public life, he has been consistent and
an active worker In the efforts of man.
kind to restrict the traffic in drink and
to redeem its victims. In a recent
speech on the temperance question he
favored making the taxation of the traf-
fc heavier, and thus he would restrict
licensing and tighten local taxation. A
judicious temperance sentiment, under
law imposing heavy tax on liquor-sell-
ing would, in the opinion of this eminent
authority, suppress houses that were in
furious and proaigate and ill.conducted !;
and, in some cases, it would also sup
press houses by paying a fair compensa-
ton to all those who are interested in the
property connected with them" If this
plan were adopted, Mr.. Bright thinks the
result would be I" that the houses where
intoxicating drink is sold would be
fewer, they would be very much more re-
spectacle in their character, and there
would be no confiscation of property"
Under this system he believed that what
are called the dram-shops would be, prob.
ably, entirely got rid of. Mr.. Bright
deprecated fanaticism in dealing with
this question and spoke strongly in favor
of practical and moderate measures in Or
der to concentrate the temperance senti-
ment. lie has faith in the influence, for
progress IN temperance reform, of religious
bodies, in a reasonable amount of unfan-
atical legislation and in personal exam
pie. He recognizes "the memorable fact