Morning journal and courier., 1884-12-04

| big gang of idle negroes my father had hang ing on him during his lifetime"
 Rates for living very high in Washing ton. A senator who has to live upon his 1 salary went to one of the uptown hotels and asked for rates for himself, wife and daugh- 1 ter. He wanted sitting room and two bed
 rooms. The amiable hotel proprietor said
 he could accommodate him with the room and board desired upon the fifth floor for $40 8 week. 'EBut that is more than my salary" T can't help that,'' said the land lord. "We have no trouble in getting those figures" This same senator tried for rooms | ill fashionable fiat and found that on the top floor he could get four small rooms for
 $250 month This did not include board. a
 Room rents have also gone up. Seventy-five
 and one hundred dollars are common month ly prices charged for two ordinarily furnish ed rooms in uptown localities.
 An exhibition of woman's industries is to be held at Bristol, England, early next year, to which the United States are invited to contribute Its promoters are desirous that it's principal feature should be specimens of such works illustrate the progress made by women in industries demanding special 1 technical and artistic training Samples of work done at technical and industrial schools will be welcomed. It is also hoped that
 articles may be contributed representing what may be termed the minor food indus
 tries, as bee keeping, dairy work, &c. The
 loan of ancient needlework or other articles
 representing the occupation of women in
 past times is invited Also, it is hoped to
 form loan collection of portraits of eminent women and relics of interest associated with them.
 The recent decision of the Supreme court
 of the United States as to the liability of
 common carriers is of very general interest
 because in principle it touches a practice
 quite common. In the case before
 the court the plaintiff sued the Pennsylvania
 railroad company for damages to race horses
 to the amount of $25, ,000. It appears that
 in shipping the horses the railroad and the
 plaintiff agreed to a bill of lading which ac-
 cepted the five horses at liable value of
 $200 each. The court held that the plaintiff,
 having agreed to this value and paid to the
 company only proportionate tariff for trans
 portation, could not subsequently, set up a
 higher value basis for damages even if
 the property were injured or lost by the
 negligence of the carriers, and verdict was
 rendered accordingly. The decision must be
 regarded as sound in principle and prac-
 tice.
 change is proposed in the English
 criminal law which illustrates the strength
 with which that nation clings to old and by
 gone usages. Lord Bramweu has recently
 introduced what is known as the law of evi-
 dence amendment bill, by which it is pro- posed to enable anyone who is charged with
 an offense to give evidence in the matter be- fore court or upon indictment, the
 measure applying not only to ac- cused persons, but also to their wives and husbands, whether the charge is brought against the persons solely or jointly with others. That an accused person cannot be witness in his own case in England is due to the old idea that interest will necessa-
 1T-zn rfg1zn forty years ago ordinary plaintiffs and de fendants in civil actions were excluded from the witness box on the ground that disinter- ested evidence could not be obtained frop them, and it was not until Bentham had called general attention to this iniquity, " pointing out the fact that a witness interst in the suit was only matter affecting lis I credibility, which ought to be left to he 1 judge and jury, that a change was mad in | the statutes Until fifteen years ago the l plaintiff in an action for divorce or breah of 1 promise not allowed to appear al wit ness, and had to make out his or her case l from letters and from the evidence of frnds |