New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-10-23

and battery, all the judge could do under the
circumstances was to give him the full penalty
of the law Apparently perjury as well as
brutality is falling of McNamara's. He said
Yesterday in court, before sentence was passed,
tbot he only struck Smith one blow. He.
stated under oath at the COrOner's inquest
that he did not strike Smith at all.
General Hazen declares that no supplemental
instructions were ever sent to Darlington before
the PrOteus started to relieve the Greedy party
and he adds that he was away when the news
of the failure of the expedition was received at
Washington. Consequently he never said thao
such instructions had been sent This lets zen
eral Hazen out on this point; but the business
of the Signal Service Office must have been
in q rather complicated condition when ne
started West Captain Caziare, who was in
charge I'm General Hazens absence, was positive
+bo+ +he sunnlemental instructions had been
sent for he told q TRIBUNE correspondent so.
Secretary Lincoln, of the war Department.
certainly had the same impression; and the
Secretary of the Navy seemed to share IL.
However tho matter may turn out, it all goes
10 prove that three heads to manage an expe-
dition are not better than one.
The number of minor railroad accidents
seems to be increasing of late. Within the last
week there have been half dozen or so, no one
of which received much public attention, and
vet in each case there were one or two deaths.
The disaster which happened yesterday at Fort
Edward, in this State, is certainly serious
enough to deserve comment. passenger
train went through bridge, and every one in
the cars, except the newsbOy, was injured more
or less. Three were killed outright. The Rail
road Commissioners should give this affair a
careful investigation. If the bridge had been
examined by the company within reasonable
time, its weakness certainly would have been
discovered. There have been no floods or
earthquakes at Fort Edward, of late, which
could have suddenly injured the foundation.
Probably the bridge stood so long that the
railway directors thought it would stand for
ever and look after itself too.
If the Marquis Tseng and NJ. Ferry do not
hurry up their diplomatic negotiations, affairs
in Tonquin will soon reach point where fierce
fighting will be inevitable. The latest reports
from there, both by way of London and Paris,
indicate that if China and France do finally go
to war, the Republic will not have the easy
walk over her Ministers have talked about. The
French commander is awaiting achievements.
The Chinese in turn, are making active prcpar-
atoms, and are not only strengthening the
Black Flags in Anam, but are gathering their
forces along the frontiers of the provinces bor-
dering on Tonquin. Troops and gunboats
have been also collected at the treaty ports.
While the situation is thus serious so far ~ the
two angry Powers are concerned, there is one
feature of it at least which is of grave interest
to all neutral nations having commercial rela-
lions with China. That is the rapid spread
throughout the Celestial Empire of the idea
that a war of determination against all powers
is to begin speedily.