Year: 1873

2


The weather has for several days, with
the exception OF one day, been delight
fully warm-not too hot. Vegetation of
all kinds are in abundance in our mar
kets, selling at reasonable prices. Far
mers around are troubled in obtaining
| help, and are offering good wages to
those out of employ in the city, but
generally without avail, as there seems
to be little inclination by the colored
people to leave the city and go into the
country, where they will be compelled
to work from twelve to fourteen hours
Per day.


The decision of the Court of Appeals
of New York, revising the decision of
the court below in the Stokes case is a
surprise to everyone. 1t is not because
the people of Washington thirst for
blood, but because SO frequent are the
murders here and the unsafety of the
people, there is need of a just, speedy,
and sure punishment for crime. To
yonr correspondents knowledge, no
criminal has escaped his just punish
ment here unless it be O'Brien who was
convicted and sentenced to be hanged,
but subsequently eommuted by the
President to imprisonment for life. The
President was sincere in the belief that
Imprisonment for life at hard labor was
very good substitute for hanging. The
people here don't think SO, more doubt
less for the reason that they fear, that
after few years when the crime is for
gotten, he may bring to bear certain in
fiuence on President to get pardoned


The Attorney General he's lately given
an opinion of some Importance. That
officer decides that the construction of
the railroad bridge of the Milwaukee and
st. Paul Railroad, crossing the Mississi-
ppi river at La Crosse, must. be built by
the company, but that the Secretary of
War is invested by law with supervise
ry power for the protection of the inter
ests of navigation of other public inter
ests. The clashing of railroad and





bridge building, renders the above de-
cision a matter of considerable interest
in the country among men engaged in
transportation.


The nrepressible Sam Randall of
Pennsylvania is demonst Ting sharply
on the back pay question of Congress
men. He is especially down upon those
members who did not immitate him in
taking the plunder. He will show
among other points, that several of these
gentlemen took their increased pay at
the previous enlargement of salaries.
But when the enlargement was made
from $4,000 to 5000 per annrm, there was
no back pay connected with it. There
is no doubt that the new Congress will
refuse to go back on the action of its
predecessors. Salaries, like resolutions,
never go backwards. The next move
will be for the increase of all official sal
aries in the Departments, which Con
gressmen can now refuse with very i'll
grace. --.-.


The cotton spectators are at work
manufacturing cotton prospects on an ex-
tensive scale. The Philadelphia North
american already figures up crop of
from 3, 700, 900 to 4,O0O,O 600 bales. The
Agricultural Department has advices in
dicating large increased average, but
one of its correspondents suggests re-
statement of the average in July, as a
very large proportion of that planted
will be abandoned. The cold wet spring
has compelled the replanting of fields in
some cases for the third or fourth time
A great variety of insect enemies has al
ready been developed which threaten
serious depredations. Any estimate from
must be fallacious.


The efforts of such papers as the New
York World and Tribune to decry the
legal opinion of Attorney General Viii
lams for the disposal of the captured
Modocs is evidently of the spiteful nd
captanduna style. The pettifogging tech
nicalities which have been raised as to
the status of Indians under the law of
nations, is about as worth as a one-horse
squires court With all the sympathy
which the Indian has excited in the
bosom of philanthropists who see his
character only through the glances of
romance, the American people are salts
fed that strong measures must be taken
to overcome and arrest the depredations
of the savages. 1t is true they are strong
but it is because they will not work.
They claim the right of appropriating for
the support of few thousand idle
vagabonds in hunting, territory capa-
BILE of supporting an immense civilized
population by honest industry. The
noble red man is Malthusian in phil
osophy and would keep down population
by means of the tomahawk and scalping
knife LIFE.