Morning journal and courier., 1885-01-17

By this will the daughter of the testatrix
 was to receive the income of certain real es
 tate until she reached the age of thirty, and i then to have the principal, unless she had a
 husband who used tobacco and intoxicating
 drinks. In the latter event the property was
 devised to Presbyterian Home Missionary
 society to support an indigent preacher, who
 was not to indulge in or teach such prac- | tices. A mortgage and notes of $900 were also left to the most reliable committee to be found in the city for the suppression of in | temperance and tobacco. To the wife of
 her nephew the testatrix bequeathed her
 dear little dog Frisky, with S1O0 to care for
 him during his life, and at his death to bury
 him in Aunt Sally's lot in Mount MoriahCem-
 etery. By the irony of fate, as shown in the
 decision of the court. the little dog fared bet ter than the cause of temperance, the be- quests relative to rum and tobacco being
 held void for vagueness. Yet the well
 meaning testatrix had directed her executors to be careful to see that none of her property
 should be in any way used to encourage the
 use of rum and tobacco, through which she
 had reached her crowning sorrow.
 The annual plan to compel the Secretary of State to pay out about s250, ,000 of the un- distributed Venezuelan awards has this year taken the shape of an attempt to repeal the provision for new commission provided, be- cause of palpable frauds against Venezuela in the awards of the first one. The whole treat ment of Venezuela in the matter from the time of the first award up to the time of pro viding for the new commission has been dis graceful The whole amount of claims of Americans against Venezuela, as reported by the American minister in 1866, fell below $500, The commission appointed to make the awards received claims puffed up to total of nearly S5,000,000, and out of these awards were made of $1 ,253, ,00O. Vene- zuela protested that fully 1000, 900 of this was pure fraud. In fact, that government held that S100,000 would cover all just claims. Venezuela finally paid over $4O0,0 900 under protest, and before it had been half distributed, furnished such evidence of gross fraud and bribery in the awards that further payment was stopped by our government, and a new commission provided. Ever since the lobby has been actively at work to get it's hands on the amount still held by the Secretary of State. The last move is to set aside the new commission and affirm the former fraudulent awards
 The growth of the religious societies of the country is perhaps as exact and sufficient an indication of the progress of religious senti ment as it is possible to obtain. The popula- tion of the United States has increased since 1860, say twenty-five per cent. The Metho dist churches have increased in number in exactly the same ratio, it being now fifteen millions. The Baptist churches have in creased fifty per cent, numbering twelve millions The Presbyterians have added ninety per cent, numbering five and one-half millions. The Congregational ists have declined relatively, the increase in the twenty-five years being only twenty seven per cent, or membership, as of to- day, of one million eight hundred thousand The Episcopalians have gained thirty-three and one-third per cent; while the Catholics have gained two hundred per cent, there be- ing now of that church, in the United States say nine millions five hundred thousand. Should the same ratio of increase prevail for fifteen years the Catholics would number twenty-five millions in fifteen years. It will be perceived that the increase of church 1 membership does not keep pace with the in crease of the DO. ulation, save, first, re gards the'Methodists, the Catholics, and the Hebrews, who have gained one hundred per cent, and now number seven hundred