Year: 1864

bis services shall be demanded-as were those OF
bis predecessor-to quell the angry surges OF q
riotous sea, should the draft be enforced in this
city during the coming month; but we are sure


that, should such an unfortunate occurrence
arise as last July witnessed, he will be found
equal and ready to cast his influence in favor
of domestic quiet and submission to law.


In many points Of character Archbishop
McCloskey is said to differ materially from
Archbishop Hughes. Being less Of public
man, he is not SO familiar to the people. There
is but one safe test by which to judge the char
acter of man not known to fame, and that is
the opinion of those who have mixed most inti-
mately with him in his various relations OF life.
OF his value and uprightness as citizen the
new Archbishop brings with him the testimony
of ell the leading citizens Of Albany, among
whom he lived forseventeen years, as expressed
in the late compliment paid him in that city
previous to his departure. His worth as an
ecclesiastic is testified by the universal respect
and love expressed by his own clergy OF the
Albany diocese on the same occasion, and
shared, we believe, by the clergy of the entire
| State.


Gentle in manner, rich in learning, unos-
tentatious in piety, possessing q fascinating
eloquence, more persuasive, :perhaps, than
powerful, but fervid enough to work all the
charms with which power often fails to invest
the pulpit orator, Archbishop McCloskey is no
unworthy successor Of Archbishop Hughes;
and we presume that he will receive at the
| hands of our citizens no less kindness, respect
and esteem than did bis lamented predecessor.


The Public Hcaith-A Hedical Cpmmis-
sion for the City.


We have appealed again and again to the
| city authorities for the abatement of nuisances
arising from bone and fat boiling establish
ments, slaughter houses, oifal depots gas
leaks, imperfect sewerage, and other causes
prejudicial to public health. We have had our
renonstrances responded to only in slight
degree such as in the stoppage of the bone
and fat boiling nuisance in daylight; but We
| find that nuisance is allowed to continue in the
night time. This is an acknowledgment that
there was justice in the complaints then made,
but is not by any means full answer to our
suggestions. The persons having the sanitary
condition of the city in charge are either lazy
or corrupt perhaps both, or they would devote
more attention to the subject We have now
few further inquiries to put, which may arouse
| an interest in quarters where such things have
hitherto been overlooked.


What are the actual influences of the nui-
sances we complain OF upon health? If de-
| cidedly injurious, the sckliness and NOR
tality in certain neighborhoods will certainly
show it, and it might be ascertained what kinds
of disease are produced by them. Especially
would it be practicable to ascertain the effects
produced upon those engaged in occupations
subjecting them to the constant action Of Ger
tain exhalations In Paris such Investigations
are common, and they are sometimes made in
London by parliamentary commissions, while
here, among us, we are prone to act upon i'm
| pulse or upon the advice of men who are
placed in the position Of medical supervisors
| by selfish politicians.


Such inquiries as we suggest are justified by
| the fact that in Southern climates there are
| physicians who contend that certain exha-
| lations are not deleterious or do not
| cause those diseases which are commonly
| ascribed to them. These opinions find
support in the writings of Rush aud other
medical authorities We remember that on one
occasion, when the yellow fever was announced
to have broken out in Charleston, S. O., the doc
tors disagreed as to the character Of the only
| two cases that had occurred at that date. An
examination of the official sanitary records OF
the city for twenty years previous proved that
when the yellow fever had prevailed as an ep-
demic in Charleston it had reached and passed
| its acme before the period in which it was re-
ported to have commenced, September l3
1t is true, many persons whose occupations
connect them with these reputed causes of
disease, contend that they and their families es.
cape unscathed. 1t is very possible, too. that
the experiences of the war tend to confirm these
views. We hear of thousands Of human and
other animal remains purifying in the open
Hed and in close proximity with large bodies
Of troops, without causing more sickness and


mortality than are found upon the dry and
dusty plains Of Virginia or the mountain ranges
| of Tennessee and Georgia.


How are these facts to be compared with the
sanitary condition Of q city SO large as New


York? How are We to comprehend and demon
strate to the satisfaction of the public the bear
ings such facts have upon the health of our
population? We reply that an investiga-
ton will effect these results. A special in
vestigation, that will throw out all the old
medical fogies who have doctored the city for
half century past, aud that will include men
of thoroughly scientific qualifications. We pro-
pose the appointment, in short, of special


medical commission, which il alone competent


to deal with the subject.


TIE CnIvALRY AT WoRK.-The chivalry are
at their old smusements again. Not satisfied
| with the terrible mauling Grant and Sherman