Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-12-15
GENERAL NEWS.
ESPECIAL DISPATCHES TO THE EnoonD-uslos.l
DOMESTIC.
The San Mateo County Tax Case

action against the southern Pacific Kali
road tax case. The Clerk of the Court
read telegram received from the Treas
urer and Auditor of San Mateo county,
stating that the principal of the tax, five
per cent. for attorneys fees, and interest at
the rate OF two per cent. per month on the
tax had been paid. There was therefore
no case, and a motion to dismiss was ex-
pected % be granted. Judge Rhodes OBJ
jected, because he said no one had right
to receive the money but himself, and
asked time to make statement. The
Court gave him until Thursday 1t is
probable that the case will be dismissed
then, but shout it not be, Judge Sander
son will renew his motion on behalf of the
Southern Pacific Railroad He advised |
the payment of the tax in this case, be-
cause it did not cover all the legal points
on which he wished to go 10 Court TO test
the tax law.
Our Harbor Defenses.
NEW YORK, December 14th.-General
Newton, Chief Engineer of the United
States Army experimenting the work at
Hell Gate, said yesterday The import
ance OF the suggestions recently made by |
Tilden regarding the present need of har
Dor defenses on the Atlantic and Pacific |
coasts cannot be overstated. As | have |
before said, persons are greatly in error !
who imagine that by diplomatic delays |
war may be avoided until proper prepara- /
| tons for defenses can be made. The mod |
| ern system is to make war sudden, sharp !
! decisive and to make the beaten party pay |
| expenses. Our important ports should be !
| protected by guns of the greatest |
power, mounted on reversible turrets |
| and steel-armored casemaled batteries. The |
monster guns now made can pierce an
| ironclad two miles distant The destruc- |
! tive power of guns is increasing beyond the |
| buoyant power of the ships, so that vessels |
can no longer carry aTmor upon them suffi- |
cient to resist the penetration We have
| the advantage on land that we can make
| our batteries of whatever material, con-
| structed sufficiently thick to resist the most
powerful guns that can be built. If the
weight of guns progresses in the near fu-
| ture as much as in the past, we will be
using guns on land which cannot be util-
lied on board q ship. 1t will take ten to
| twelve years to put our coast in an ade-
quate state of defense" The General
thought our harbor mines and torpedo sys-
tenn entirely inadequate against the recent
| Improvements in the art of countermining
and resisting and removing torpedoes.
The Silver Question.
| New YORK, December 14th-The Times.
commenting on the fact of eighteen peti-
tons having been sent to the House against
| the stoppage of silver coinage, declares that
1t is the concerted, organized efforts of the
| silver mine owners of Nevada and Colo
RADIO. In most cases they ask for the I'M
| limited coinage of silver and gold They
| wish to be able to take $36 600, 900 in silver
| direct to the Mint, and receive $40, 600 coo
IN standard dollars made legal tender by
| law. Probably they think that by demand |
ing so much more than they have they can
compromise by keeping what they have got
yanderbilt's VIII.
| PHILADELPHIA, December 14th.- The
Vanderbilt will is the theme of newspaper
discussion in Philadelphia, as in other
| Eastern cities. Public curiosity has been
| greatly excited over the bestowal of such
an immense fortune The Press maintains
| that by giving $780, 900 coo to each of his two
! elder sons, and arranging for reversion to
| the brothers exclusively of the property of
any son dying without ISSUE he has pro-
vided for the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the Van
| derbllt name in manner as shreWd as il is
specious. Just as an English Duke endeav-
| oring to aggrandize his name and found a
! cadet branch of his family-one of the fire.
| quent practices of feudalism the natural
tendency of large fortunes being indisputa-
| bly, to create pseudo feudalism in this
industrial age: Nanderbilt's death brings
prominently into question the wisdom
OF permitting unlimited freedom of be-
| VI
| ing upon the era of large fortunes.
Az Eastern Suggestion as to Immfera-
ton.
PHILADELPHIA, December 18th. = The
Press suggests that the discussion of the
Chinese question, which the united Pacific
coast delegation will press upon Congress.
be accompanied by an inquiry regarding
the desirability of the United States con-
unuing its present liberal policy towards |
immigrants of all nations 1t is stated
that lass than 10000 600 of acres of public |
lands, available for settlement, remain I'M
| disposed OF in Dakota, ana in four or five
| years this remnant will be absorbed
! While there are claimed to be special OBJ |
Jections against Chinese immigrants. which
| do not weigh against those of other nation
| alities, it will be well if the effort TO ex-
clude the former leads to a serious consid-
| Grafton of the whole subject of immigra-
| ton.
| New York Stock Market.
NEW YORK, December 14th-IlA A. MI
| Unusual interest was taken in the Wall |
| street opening quotations al the Stock Ex-
change this morning, as it was expected to
| Indicate the feeling OF the leading operators
| regarding the present situation, now that |
the terms of Vanderbilt's will are known. |
! The first call showed slight changes, except
in Union Pacific, which was up j and Erie |
| lower. The market was strong in the |
early dealings, and advanced z to II. the |
| latter for Louisville and Nashville and |
| Lackawanna gained /. The advance was |
checked at the end of fifteen minutes. and |
| a general drive made at the whole list re- |
suited IN decline of g for Lake Shore, . |
/ for st. Paul and Northern Pacific preferred |
| IL for Pacific Mail II for Lackawanna. and |
| less amounts for most of the list The de- |
cline was checked and at II o'clock the |
| market was active and generally firm.
New YORK, December 14th-Cntral Pa
Pacific, 404 Burlington, 1876; Northern Pa
cific, 265; preferred, 500; Northwestern. |
1881; New York Central, 1921 Oregon Navi |
CATION, 6; Transcontinental, 32E; Pacific |
Mail, So; Panama, IS; st. Louis and San |
Francisco, %; Texas Pacific, 13s; Union |
PACING, 53f Wells-Fargo's Express, Isl f; |
Western Union, %.
New YORK, December 14th-3P. M.-For
short time after mid lay the stock market |
was strong, but soon weakened, and by 9 |
o'clock prices were carried below noon
prices. After P. NJ. the market continued
weak, and further decline OF to nearly
made the latter's prices comparatively
steady until near the close, when there was
small rally, but in many the advances
were lost in the final dealings. The market
closed excited, feverish and irregular and
IN many cases weak.
Funeral of b. Graiz Brown.
ST. LOUIS, December 14th.-The late
Hon. b. Gratz Brown will be buried to-
morrow from his home in Kirkwood,
twelve miles from this city. The Bar AS
ISOLATION met to-day and took appropriate
action. The State and Federal Courts will
adjourn tomorrow as mark of respect.
General Toombs Dying.
AUGUSTA (Ga.), December I4th.-General
Robert Toombs is sinking at his home in
Washington. His physicians say he can
not recover.
FOREIGN
Grave News from the Soudap