Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1893-12-26

revenue problem by imposing tax ON
bachelors. She figures out that there are
4, ,000, 900 bachelors In the country, and
proposes tax of s5 on every one whose
income is $500 or less, and increasing 1t at
the rate of 50 for every 500 additional in
come. The average would not be less than
$40, which would yield revenue of S4o,-
600, 900. The bachelors could afford to
pay the tax.
If congress should decide upon an in
heritance tax as one of the ways of making
up the deficit caused by the enactment of
the Wilson bill, such tax would be oner-
ous and embarrassing in those States
which already impose tax on inherit
ancss. Pennsylvania has had such q law
for ten years and New York for eight. and
both derive large incomes from these
sources. In Pennsylvania the amount has
run above 81, ,000, 900 In several years, and
In New York last year 1t reached over
3,000, 900, having steadily increased since
1886, with the exception of one year.
The Marquis of Donegal Is member of
the House of Lords, but he is impscunious.
Recently the noble marquis was sentenced
to twelve days imprisonment for having
failed to comply with the order of the
courts enjoining him to pay within q
stated period the smouut of q tailor's bill,
for which Judgment had been obtained
against him. Lord Donegal failed to COM
ply with the order of the court, and was
accordingly sentenced to twelve days i'm
prisonment, imprisonment for debt being
theoretically abolished, and persons who
can pay their debts and won't are sentenc-
ed to jail on charges Of contempt. Lord
Donegal appealed from the decision to the
House of Lords, and that august body de-
cides that no court can punish one of Its
members for such an otfense. According
ly Lord Donegal gets his clothes for moth
ing.
Over three hundred cats are maintained
by the United States government, the cost
of their support being carried a. regular
item on the accounts of the Postofice de-
psrtment. These cats are distributed
among about fifty postofioes, and their
duty is to keep rats and mice from eating
and destroying postal matter and canvas
mail sacks. Their work is of the utmost
importance wherever large quantities of
mail are collected, as, for example, at the
New York postoffice, where from 1900 to
5000 bags of mail matter are commonly
stored away in the basement. Formerly
great damage was done by the mischievous
rodents, which chewed holes In the eaoks,
and thought nothing of boring clear
through bags of letters In night. Troubles
of this sort NO longer occur since the
official pussies keep watch. Each of the
postmssters In tie larger cities is allowed
from SO to $40 year for the keep of his
feline staff, sending his estimate for "cst
meat" to Washington at the beginning of
each quarter.
Chilli has lost the lawsuit brought at her
instance in the English Court of Queens
Bench at London TO recover the value of
some silver which Balmaceda sent to Mon
tevideo during the last days of his power.
This extraordinary case attracted much at
tention at the time from the fact that the
Chilian revolutionists insisted that the
transfer of the silver was q distinctly un-
lawful act Balmaoeda, either expecting
to follow the treasure and enjoy its bene-
fts, or that his family would be benefited
by 1t, offered to the ships at Valparaiso
good payment If they would carry thirty
eight silver bars to the Montevideo branch
of the Rio Plate Bank. The merchant
vessels present did not dare to
start with the property for fear of
or of seizure by the
insurgent ships. The wsrships in the
harbor were then asked to execute the
commission. The United States, French,
German and italian commanders refused
trs request, and the British commander
granted 1t. The British cruiser Espiegle
took the silver on board and safely deposit
ed 1t in the Rio Plate Bank in Montevideo.
The thirty eight bars were valued at $780,
600. The Chilian insurgents claimed that
the value of the Espiegle's cargo as soon as
they had set up Government in place of
poJ loto