New-York tribune., 1884-01-04

Pouring oil On troubled waters does not always
conposo tbc,p. There are the troubled waters of
the Ohio United states Scnatorship, for instance.
According to current report the more standard oil
that is poured upon them the more unsettled they
become.
Mr.. Irvfuc's recent card in The TRIBUNE concern
ing the absurd charge that he had disParagad
American audiences was graceful and manly. An
imputation of mvidious remarks to those persons
who are prosperous in the public esteem IS one OF
the commoncst methods of malicious dctractlon.
II has been used of course, against Mr. Irving, who
is altoqcfher too fortunate man for envy and NAL
Ice to endure. An old remark made by the poet
Samuel Rogers applies to this case: $40 succeed is
mo IiftIe crime in the eyes Of those who fail aud
those who cannot climb will endcayOr to pull you
down by the skirts
Tho Civil Service Commissioners make rcquost
for an increase Of clerical service which is modest
enough. They want one fourtcen-hundrcd-dollar
clerk We venture to assert that no Government
bureau is better entitled to the mcrcaset has asked
for.
Rutlcr certainly went out of office in a character
istic way-with sueer and "a blunder lie lett a
Bible in the Executive Office for the use Of his sue
cessors but of course could not do this simple act
without writing an inscription in the book, with
suggestion of sarcasm about not being able to lind
a COPY of the Scriptures when he came in aS Gov
ernor. His blunder was a little one, and wouid
never have been noticed if the worthy Governor
had not been so very oXacting with other people
and made so many slips himself. He told the men,
bers of the Legislature that they were ready for
the transaction of business when they were merely
qualified for organization. That such slip should
have been the subject of any comment simply
shows that he has succeeded in rasping the Massa-
chusctts mind into state OF great senSitiyeness
Ex-Governor Butler is not likely to do much here
after in public life, except to furnish some amuse-
ment as a Presidential candidate. Furnishing
amusement as a candidate has, in fact, been his
principal occupation for many years, as he has run
for Office and failed TO catch il much more often
than the average politician. Now he is sixty-hye
years old, and will not be able to enjoy him in
this capacity more than fifteen years longer at the
outside.
The available cash in the Treasury has been re-
duced about $ll 100000 by the debt payments
during the past month, which have exceeded $2i,
600 600 for bonded debt. This corresponds with
estimates made when Secretary Folgcr issued the
December call that he would not have sufficient sur
plus reven by the date of its maturity to meet it,
The payments made In December leave the avail
able cash. lower than il has been before since May
last and yet a considerable part of what is counted
as available" really consists Of trust funds, which
do not properly belong to the Treasury, and in
which there has been no increase. In the bank
funds especially, the Treasury holds many millions
which are in no available for the payment of
It's own debts.
The ghastly discussion in England over the rea-
tive advantages Of the long drop and the short
drop" in hanging criminals has brought out
number Of opinions, from which it may be inferred
that death by suffocation is rather enjoyable
experience, while death by shock TO the spinal
marrow is at ended with awful agony. In New
York the practice has been for many years to draw
the criminal up by the fall of heavy weg ght instead
of letting him drop through trap. Hence death
on the scatfod in the City Prison is usually from
suffocation But the diffusion of the belief that
this form Of death practically painless will hardly
have tendency TO lessen the number OF murders
It looks az though the English Government had
made a singular mistake in allowing the Orange
men and Nationalists to come so close together at
Dr1more. When 1t is notorious that two factions
desire nothing better than the opportunity to crack
one anothers skulls with shilalahs it is too late to
think Of constitutional privileges and matters of
! that kind. The feeling Of the Orangemen to the
Catholics and now TO the Natoualiss, is not of a
character to be dealt with by persuasion. Orange
sentiment, indeed, has always been far too explo-
! siye for safe handling. 1t has shown that the
| supcrpOstiOn OF mixture Of politics and theol-
Ogyupon the Celtic temperament infallibly
compound even more dangerous than nItrO-gly yccr-
iue. The fact that the Orangemen pride themselves
upon their loyalty of course, only renders them the
| more difficult of treatment. For they present n
| ferocious caricature of that Government policy