The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1883-07-27
WASHINGTON.

Secretary Folger has received for the
conscience fund draft for "a, 400, sent
debtor"
The state department has been advised of
the death OF James Nj. Priest, justice of the
supreme court OF Liberia. He was born In
Paris, KY, and emigrated nearly half q
century ago.
A vessel from Vera Cruz having appear
ed on Appalachicola, the collector of GUS
toms was instructed to send her to Ship is
land. The surgeon general has information
that yellow fever exists In Cienfuegos, Gu
ba, and that cholera has appeared in Cam
peachy and Oxaco, Mexico.
The Secretary of the Interior has decided
the lands selected under the laws of Utah
for university purposes are. effective and
valid as to location, but refuses to antici-
pate the power of the future State to en-
dow the contemplated university holding
the question Is political rather than execu-
tive.
The Diamond Match Company, of viii.
mington, Del, manufacturers of most of the
matches used in this country, have asked
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue
whether he will not allow them rebate on
revenue stamps placed by them on matches
still remaining In their possession. 1t seems
that they had not disposed of all their
stamped matches when the repeal of the
stamp tax went into effect. The Com
missioner has referred the question to the
First Comptroller of the Treasury, Law.
renee.
Postmaster-G General Gresham is making
arrangements as rapidly as possible to
bring civil suits against the star-route mail
contractors, and he hopes to be much more
successful in these prosecutions than the
Department of Justice was i'm its criminal
prosecutions against the same parties. The
suits will be brought against "a con-
tractors for amounts aggregating more than
S1,000,000 Clerks of the Auditors Office
are now preparing the documents i'm the
case. The action will be brought under
Sec. 4,C57 of the Revised Statutes. The
testimony, of course, will be substantially
that which was used in the criminal trials.
Commissioner Dudley has instructed the
pension agents to cover into the Treasury
all uneXpended balances standing to their
credit on June 30. These balances will ag-
gregate about. SIS, 500, 900, and will of course
increase the Treasurer's available cash bal
ance by that amount The amount named,
close of business Wednesday swelled that
balance to about SIS, 900, 600. As the Com
missioner of Pensions drew nearly SIS, 000,-
600 this month, Ii Is nOt1ikely that further
acquisitions will be made for pensions be-
fore Aug. /, and that it is therefore believ-
ed that Secretary. F0lger will shortly issue
a call for the redemption of bonds.
SUIT AGAINST THE POSTMASTER GEN.
ERAL.
1t is understood that Colonel G. w. Moul-
ton will enter personal suit in the name of
M. A Dauphin, against Walter q. Gresham
for 500, 900 damages. The ground of action
is that Mr.. Gresham exceeded his authority
as Postmaster General, in that there was no
evidence before him when he made the or
der of July 9, 1888, that Mr.. Dauphin was
engaged in scheme or device for obtaining
money through the mails by means of false
and fraudulent representations of promises.
The counsel for Mr.. Dauphin claim that the
order of Feb. 20. 1880, in which Judge Key
said that he was not satisfied that M. A.
Dauphn was engaged in such a scheme or
device, revoked the order of Nov. 49, 1879,
and that no evidence has since been pro-
duced that he isso engaged.
FALLING OFF IN IMMIGRATION.
The tide of immigration, which for sever
al years poured upon our shores in steadily
increasing volume, is now on the ebb. For
the year ended June 80 last, the total num-
Der of arrivals was 500, 1924, against no, 400
for the preceding year, a falling off of 23per
cent. Since 1870 the total immigration to
this country has been IL, 1876, 295, the largest
number arriving in any one year being no.
022 In 1881 the arrivals numbered $50, 431,
being second, in the proportions reached, to
1882. In the early part of the present year
the indications were that the steady in
crease in the volume of immigration shown
by the preceding several years would be
kept up, but before the first six months had
passed the diminution set in and it contin-
ued through the year. The falling off Is at
tributed to labor troubles In this country
and the reduction of wages in many branch
es OF industry.
PENSION CLAIMS.
The present system of sending out special
examiners to Investigate pension claims,
inaugurated by the present Commissioner
of Pensions, is accomplishing good deal
in the way of preventing frauds. 1t is
shown by the records Of the Office that dur
ing the present year it has saved the Gov.
eminent over 81 ,000, 900 in disallOwing I'M
substantial pension claims. 1t has recov-
cred 800, in hard cash, $4,000 of which
sin man, who had for years been imperson-
ating a small battalion of pensioners: Last
year the work Of the examiners resulted In
the conviction and sentence to imprison-
ment in Federal penitentiaries of Al per.
sons, Is of whom were lawyers. Sixty-eight
other practitioners were disbarred, ~ sus.
pended, % debarred and is dropped. Over
three hundred pensions were revoked, and
more than fifteen hundred disallowed. The
entire country Is mapped out into examin-
er's districts, each of which contain 1,2W(
pensioners and the augmentation of that
Through these hundreds of districts the ex.
aminer holds his flying court.
MAI. NICKERsoN's ASSURANCE.
Mai. Nickerson has not sailed for Europe.
He is supposed to be in Philadelphia, and
there Is good reason to believe that the war
department has an agent there trying to
find him with view of placing him under
arrest preparatory to trial by court-mar-
tial. The war department officers last Sat-
urday morning received a letter from him
dated Philadelphia. In it Maj. Nickerson
said he desired to report his monthly adj
dress, as is the custom with all retired Of
ficers, and gave simply Philadelphia, Pa.
He also made complaint about the stoppage
of his pay, claiming that he had done moth
ing that would subject him to court-martial
and that the newspapers had treated him
unfairly in taking the statements of his en-
emies without giving him chance to de-
fend himself. In view, however, of the no
toriety given him In the matter Of the di-
vorce and the bitter feeling existing against
him by those in power, he thought 1t wise
to retire to private life. Inclosed, he said,
his resignation would be found, 1t appears,
however, that for some unexplained reason
the resignation was not forthcoming. 1t Is
not believed, any way, that his resignation
would be accepted If received and every eff
fort will be made to find him and let him
az nd oho Unit mo rfiaI