Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1885-01-31
CONN. SATURDAY MORNING. JANUARY

only confirmed my estimate of his good judg-
ment, SO that I am fully persuaded that, save
in very exceptional instances, whatever else
sermon is about it ought to be about half
| an hour. I know men, otherwise gifted, who
are failures in the ministry because they hit
the nail on the head the first time-and then
| keep on hammering till they split the
board.
Some facts concerning the population of
New Orleans which have just been made
public are rather surprising. In population
of 23O, 900 there are seven white women to
every six white men and four female to three
male negroes. This is the largest excess of
female population Of any city in the Union,
not even excepting Boston. The death rate
is very favorable to the gentler sex. For
the first half of the month of January
the deaths were, males, 1856; females, 1O3.
males die for every two females, and the death
rate for the men is fortysix per thousand and
for the women twenty-one. If nothing oc-
ours to disturb this proportion, in twenty
years New Orleans will have two women for
every man, and in generation men will be
SO scarce that they will be too highly priced
as ornaments to be of much service in the
useful walks of life
One of the amendments to the California
State constitution, adopted at the last gene
raj election, authorized the governor and an
educational board to compile and adopt a
uniform series of text books for use in the
common schools throughout the State" The
printing of these books is to be under the di-
reetion Of the State superintendent of print
ing and the books will be sold to the chill
dren at cost. Governor Stoneman, in his re-
cent message to the legislature, estimates
that S43, 500 will be needed to supply presses,
boiler and engine, bindery, type, electrotyp-
ing apparatus and the usual accessories of q
publishing house: while the paper and ma
terial for the books will bring the figures up
to $115,000. The governor says that some
of the board favor the purchase of the titles
of school books already in print, but he ven-
lures upon no recommendations himself 1t
will be interesting to see how this scheme
works.
Surgeon-General Hamilton's suggestion
that precautions should be taken to prevent
the introduction of yellow fever into this
country from the Isthmus of Panama is
worth needing. A recent letter from prom
inent official at Panama says that the annual
death rate is eleven in every hundred resi-
dents and that the presence of yellow and
malignant malarial fevers is denied and con-
cealed by the canal company, the authori-
ties, merchants, hotel keepers, steamboat
companies and others interested in prevent
ing the scare which would result. In sup
port of his statement the writer cites the case
Of the director general of the canal company,
who, with his wife, son, daughter and staff
of twelve officers, reached Panama fifteen
months ago. The director general is the
sole survivor of the party, and upon the
death of his wife of fever on January % he
attempted suicide. The letter adds that 100
persons died in the canal hospital during No
vember and that 1 200 interments were made
in six months in one of the five cemeteries at
Panama.
A consul in Japan makes a protest to the
State department which deserves attention.
Heretofore provision has been made for an
interpreter, a marshal and for boat hire.
These are all cut off now, owing to the fru-
gality of Congress, and the consul does not
like the change. It requires about fifteen
years to learn the language of the country,
and he does not expect his tenure of Office to
be permanent enough to permit him to be
his own interpreter, and being unable to con-
verse with the natives of the country, much
of the business of his Office must be neglect
ed. Like other consuls in Japan and many
other countries, he holds consular court for
the trial of civil and criminal cases, and he
does not think he ought to be required to
serve his process or arrest criminals
with his own hands and keep them in his
personal custody. He has occasion often to
visit ships in the discharge of his duties, and
even if he knew how to swim, he thinks it
would be undignifed and often dangerous to
visit them in that manner