Morning journal and courier., 1883-09-24

 amount of the later taxes-e50 at the end Qe four yeaxs and e10e ct the end of eight years-wil not be changed. The govern ment of this country can well afford to make reduction. For many years the Patent office has been more than aeif.Huppo the profits last year having been about 40s per cent of the; gross receipts, and the ac- cumulated surplus standing to the credit of the office is now nearly $2.5o0. .o0o. rss
 Ex-Sscretary Boutwell,, in an address on Rufus Choate, delivered before the Webster society of Boston few evenings ago, said that Choate seldom made plain statement of the exact truth, either in conversation or ar- gument, yet he expressed the truth by 8 man fest exaggeration of it. With mind given to exaggeration. as his was, it is difficult to realize that he was close, not con- else, but close logical reasouer, whose argu
 ments, either to court or jury, were seldom oyerruled or embarrassed by imagery or Illustrations. His competitors in the field of Ioglc were Mason, Webster and Curtis, and he was equal to either of them in the pro- priety and scientific arrangement of his ar gnments. though not in the power of state ment. He studied law as science and prac- ticed it as an art. He is, continued Mr. Boutwell,, @ conspicuous example Of the infiu- sncesof schools and culture upon man ot genius endowed with the virtue of industry; and his career is an earnest protest against the opinion that the schools and universities should not teach all literature as well as all science. and in that literature all languages in which it's gems are found, or which con tribute to the language that we speak.
 The snake stories have been rather tame
 this year, but there are other tales which will do. For instance, it is related that in
 1853 lightning struck the Loekport (New
 York; Congregational church one Sunday morning during service. killed one of the singers in the choir, and severely shocked others. One of them. Miss May Place, was struck insensible and was illfor many months after, during which she had severe pains in her side. A singular thing about the stroke, in her case, was the fact that long gold wstch chain and locket, which she wore at the time, totally disappeared, except some small fused pieces of the loeket and parti- cles of glass; On her side bright red mark, similar in form to the locket and chain, was found. About two years ago Miss Place, now Mrs. Nesmith, discovered long, narrow protuberancs upon her left arm. This was not painful at all. but seemedto be hard in the center The swelling later became much larger and worked down upon the arm. The result is that now, thirty years after the oc- currence. 1t is discovered that the gold chain, three feet long, so mysteriously spirited away by lightning, is plainly to be seen em- bedded in her right arm close to the skin.
 China has big army, but recent review of it's strength, made by an officer who has been some years in the Chinese service, sho Ws that the greater part of this army is simply police and militia force, not in the least cal l eulsted to defend the country against for. eign invasion. The disciplined portion of l the Chinese army is what is known as the sbanner men," these soldiers being the de- 1 scendants of the Manchus and Mongols, who, few centuries ago, overrun and conquered the Chinese empire. The entire "banner men" force is not much over 1O0,0 men; but these are needed to defend the widely | extended frontier, and to keep down local uprisings in some of the larger Chinese cities The force is, strictly speaking, mercenary one. That is, it Is not in any way national, for it representa-, not the people of China I but the conquerors of that empire. It has been the aim of the Tartar government to repress the national spirit by keeping down 1 all military aspirations among its Chinese sub 1 jocts. Thus the Chinese army or militia, | called the Green Flags, which numbers about | 600, GOO men, is indifferently armed, some times with rifles, sometimes with muskets, | and sometimes with bows and arrows; but in all cases no effort to improve the discipline or increase the efficiency has been made