the iNitator. A. V. BATISES, EDITOR TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 1873. We publish this week a quarter-sheet supple ment containing about a page of matter, and making the Aorveron consist of forty columns of 'print. We arempelled to this course by the glOt pressure , upon our advertising space, and by the desire to gire our subsocibers the usual amount of reading matter. A glance at the forty tong, columns of this number will convince anybody that the business men of Tioga county and of many regions more remote thoroughly appreciate the fact that the ten thousand readers of the Acrr.vron are among the most thrifty .and enterprising eiti fens of the land. The. Legislature adjourned last Thursday , Hon. 8.11. Strang, Senator from this dis trict, was elected Speaker of the Senate just before the adjournment. ' There was a great flood in the Genesee river last week, resulting in the loss of a ,number of lives by drowning at RI . hester. We print this week a couple of s wiles -made in the Constitutional Conven t ion by . the delegates from this county. They are • Upon subjects which will interest every voter and teetpayer in the county, and we cora raenethem to the careful consideration of tour renders. At the recent State election in Rhode Isl and the Republican candidate for Governor received a majority of about 4,000. The remainder of the Republican State ticket was also elfcted. In the Senate the Repub licans have seeure):l 16 majority, and in the House r the majority on the same side is abhnt fort • . . d Last Tuesday the 'Speaker of the Senate announced 'to that body that a House bill had been-stofen - from the clerk's desk, and the same day-a member of the House made a statement in his place that a bill had mys teriously disappeared or been stolen from the files of that body. It is facts like these that go far to disgrace the Legislature and the whole Commonwealth in the eyes of all honest men. The investigation of the terrible disaster to the steamship Atlantic, which commenced last week at Halifax, seems to establish be yond cciptrovetsy the fact that the immedi ate cause of the calamity was thelneffi cieney, carelessness, or ignorance of the captain and chief officers of the vessel.— The agents of the line on the other side of the ocean are also to blame for sending to e . ea a ship, with near a thousand souls on board, at the most stormy season of the year, without coal enough to carry her to her intended haven. To parsimony and carelessness is to be charged this fearful ca lamity. The New York Assembly, last week pass ed a bill to enable the voters of towns and cities to determine whetheilicenses to sell intoxiiting liquors shall be granted. We suppose this action may be ciedited to our own "Local Option" legislation; but it is a pity the Pennsylvania law was not more ;closely copied. We imagine that a law which Permits the sale of liquor in one-half the towns of a county and prohibits it in the rest will not prove very efficient in sup pressing intemperance. 1 The law of this State, which makes the question of license depend upon the vote of the whole county, is preferable to this. ) We print in another column of this paper the bill apportioning the State into Con gressional districts. The bill passed both houses of the Legislature •last week, and will probably receive the Governor's appro val and become a law. As will be seen, Tioga county is placed in the Sixteenth dis trict with Potter, M'Kean, Cameron, Ly coming, and Sullivan. As first reported, the ' district consisted of the same counties with the exception of Sullivan, which was substituted for Montour. The change in the bill as finally pagsed reduces somewhat the number of inhabitants in the district, but changes its partybomplexion very little. As now constituted, the new Sixteenth - dis trict should be good for about 3,000 Repub lican majority on a full vote. Our old neighbors, Clinton and Center, are placed in the Twentieth district along with Union, Clearfield, Elk, and Mifflin, making a dis qict hopelessly Democratic. The Connecticut State election last week resulted in the election of the Democratic candidate by a majority of about 3,000 over his Republipar) and • Teniperance competi tors. The members of Congress from the State were all re-elected, so that the delega tion still stands three Republicans to one Democrat. The return of ex-Governor Hawley, the member from the First district, is an event of hardly less interest and im portance than the result on the State ticket. In the Senate the Republicans have secured a majority of cone, while .the Democrats have control of the House by a majority of about a baker's•dozen. The result of the election is fairly to be attributed to local complications, the Republicans of New Ha ven being disaffected by the question of the removal of the State capital. The Repub lican candidate was charged with being a Hartford man, and the result is seen in the vote of New Haven. Last year that city gave a Deniocratic majority of 580 at the spring election, against a majority, of about 3,700 now. This tells the story so plainly that even the. Tribune, iAlorced to admit that the result " is not• in. 10 - degree a Demo cratic victory." Aside from this local de fection, it must be admittedthat the general apathy of the people would• go far to ac count for the result, that sort of a canvass being generally advantageous to the Democ racy. OUR WASHINGTON LETTER. AsinNoTos, April 8, 1873. PROMPT CONVICTION. The trial of Thomas Wright for the mur• der of the Jew peddler, Rogerski, resulted last Saturday in his conviction of murder in the first degree. Gen. Hinkle, his coun ael, protested that the , proof did not cover the case in several Material particulars.— Among these are want of proper identifica , (ion of the body found as that of Rogerski, and a failure to analyze or otherwise prove that the alleged blood markk in 'Wright's house were actually blood. The principal witness, who alleged that Wright. admitted the murder, was stated at the time to have broken down in her testimony, and it is not . beyond the bounds of possibility that some ether person might have perpetrated the deed and burled the peddler's pack on the premises of Wright, whose character was bad, for purposes of escape by fastening the crime on an innocent man. The recent murder of Kahn, charged upon another de. graded negro, has excited the minds of our 'community, and our press reporters have been too ready to work up a sensation .against an who are charged with murder, for the.calat and deliberate operation of the law to whin l ,every one is entitled, more es pecially when his Atte is at stake. It will :therefore require great firmness - on the part ext the Court lo rant Aer ,trial in this case, on accounii of the unreasoning clainor of feeling which the newspapers have aroused. The cruel joke of exposing in the West Capitol park a bleeding human head, doubtless cut from a subject for med ical dissection, was calculated to excite, for the time, the feelings of .the jury, as it did those of numerous respectable citizens.— Taking it ell together, I ant inclined to the belief that the dignity and majesty of the law might be better subserved by a more full and more fairly considered trial of this poor degraded man who has no friends ex cept unpaid counsel to stand by him. , ' TUE CUBAN PATRIOT CAUSE News, said to be from Spanish authority, confirms,the report of the capture and sack ing of the fortified city and seaport of Man zanilla, Cuba. If it is true, as alleged, that the Cara in General has required of the Government at Madrid a reinforcement of troops for Havana to prevent a revolution breaking; out among the Spaniards, as well fis a revolt by the slaves, there are 'great hopes of the success of the patriot cause in that island. The borne government has as much as it can do to suastain itself against the Cellists and Communists, and if the government party on the island intends to divide at this juncture of affairs, the revo lution and freedom of\ Cuba from Spain never were so near aedomplished as now. The trouble is that no report can be be lieved until several times reiterated and in vestigated. Manzanilla has 15,000 popula- tion, more than two-thirds of which arc free-colored and slaves. It is a good har bor, but probably not sufficiently fortified to defy a Spanish war fleet. Otherwise the taking of the city would give the revolu tionists a claim for recognition as a bellig erent power among the .nations. THREATENED CORNER IN GOLD. The New - York brokers' ring, which has devoted its time since the appointment of Secretary Richardson to producing a corner in gold and denouncing the new Secretary of the Treasury, is still unhappy. They wanted a man to their liking, but failed to secure one. Hence they• are determined to give "the Secretary all the trouble in their power, thinking to drive him into some ar bitrary act'on which they can base a re..ru lar attack, with the hope of securing. a suc cessor. Fortunately the Secretary is no new hand at the• financial business of the country, and is able to appreciate the ef forts of these reckless financiers. When the time comes for putting a large supply of gold or currency upon the market, Secreta ry Richardson will take the responsibility and smash these gamblers, as well as their designs. They have succeeded in running gold up to 119, with no other reason for. it than their unworthy combination for,the purpose. CONNECTICUT ELECTION Connecticut is so close politically that it can rarely be counted on by either party, but this time it is generally' conceded to the Republicans. The candidates on both sides are popular men, but the returns *ill soon render useless any prophecy that may be at tempted as to the result of Monday's elec tion. • CAPITAL ITEM'S. 1\ The grand Union Ball held recently in the mammoth inauguration building •was the greatest success of any ever held in this country. More than sox thousand persons participated, and the acCOmmodations were ample for all. No inor delightful vision was ever witnessed than that which the grand ball presented from the north plat- form when the floor was covered with youth and beauty engaged in the mazes of the dance. C. N. FROM THE STATE CAPITAL. SPRLNG WEATHER—SOME LOCAL LEG [SLA- T lON NECESSARY—EQUALIZING TAXES--A GOOD RITLE---THE APPROPRIATION RILL—; TILE NORMAL SCHOOLS--A NEW POLICY IN REGARD To THEM—STATE CHARITIES-- THE FINAL ADJOURNMENT LAST THURS DAY. HAnivspona, April 7, 1879 Editor rf the Agitator:—l have seen but three or four county papers during the win ter. As I suppose they have been mailed, I charge the fault to the .postal service. ' There is still a remnant of snow in State street—a very unusual thing in this latitude. The river has been high here for two weeks. But few rafts have yet passed this place.— The robins came • about two weeks since,' and now the groves are vocal with the mu sic of summer songsters. We had several delightful days last week, and the roads dried oil so they were dusty yesterday. I took a ride up the Susquehannal Saturday, and saw the gardens were ploughed, and some early vegetables put in. Wheat al ready covers the ground, and the meadows have put on their green. After a season of nearly three months of constant snow cheerful spring is 'a welcome relief, and ev ery sojourner here is anxious to go home. The House has not yet agreed to the reso lution, as amended l by the Senate, for final adjournment on the 10th instant. It will come up to-day, and I hope it will be agreed to t ' but the probability is 'that the time will be extended a week. If the time could be devoted to the consideration of public bills, several of which are important, it would be well spent. But private bills are seplenti ful that it is with gre# difficulty public bills can be reached under the rules of the House, which devote but l one day a week to their consideration. Very• many private bills are a local necessity, and the cry against local legislation is not fully justified. A State so vast, embracing interests so varied, cannot be developed and, properly governed under general laws on every subject. But a very large number of laws annually enacted shad be general; or not be made at all.— This evil might in large measure be cured, either by constitutional prohibition of spe cial laws on general subjects or additional joint rules of the two houses. For instance: Prio t i to the present session probably 100 laws exempting property from taxation in special cases have been passed every session —principally property of religious, charita ble, or fraternal associations. This wrong had grown to such an extent that some-mill ions of property in the city of Philadelphia :dune was exempt, and large amounts in other sections. A law has just been passed finally repealing all such special laws, and leaving the exemptions only of such as are provided for by the general laws on the sub ject—such as churches, cemeteries, and pub lic property. .After the passage of this net a new • joint rule was introduced in the House, and papsd Both branches of the Legislature, which provides that "No bill exempting property from taxation in any special case shall be passed by either house." There are other subjects which might be regulated in the same way, and Much ex pense and confusionloflaws be thus pre vented. • The Senate passed the appropriation bill last Friday, but the House refused to agree to it by a vote of 40 to 42, and recommitted it to the committee of conference. Since the Senate has passed the bill, there can be 'no further conference without a reconsider ation, and the House committee can do nothing but report the bill back without amendment. There are some things wrong in the bill, and some stricken from it which should not have been; but it is probably as good a bill as can be agreed upon, and I think it will pass today. In some respects it is a great improvement on the past. , The Common School fund is increased to $760,- 000, which is $60,000 better than ever be fore, and so much better for the country as against the thickly settled and wealthier portions of the State.' The Committee of Wpys and Means recommended $BOO,OOO. ?he appropriation for soldiers' orphans is 1460i000, a saving of $20;000 from last' yFar,l but still sufficient for the purpose.- 1 - The normal Eiehoole get . 570,009, PV)00of ME which go to the Shippensburg school,and the balance to be distributed among the others by_a board composed of the State Sup9ini tendent, Goveipor, and Attorney General, in their discretion, as they think the best in terests of the State and the schools require. This is the beginning of a policy which I hope . may never be departed from. The CoMmittee of Ways and ?deans gave $lO,- 000 to each school the present ye6r, and $5,000 annually hereafter,_ requiring the same to tie a hen upon the property of the schools; tail some of them are not as much in need of it as others, and it' may be wise to vest a discretion as the bill amended pro vides. In the end it will come to about the same thing. The Shippensburg school is about $50,000 In debt, and the $20,000 is given upon the condition that the debt shall be fully provided for before the money is paid. ' That school received nothing last year, and has only been paid $15,000 here tofore. The school at Bloomsburg is in debt ibont $OO,OOO, with a property worth about $150,000, probably the bet buildings for Normal purposes in the btate. ' This debt is now pressing, and that school will probably get as much as the one at Ship pensburg, if provision shall be made for a liberal subscription on its debt, so that the institution may survive. The State is to be secured by a lien to the satisfaction of the board, and I understand that none of this money is likely to be paid to any school tin less a local subscription shall be raised—to just what amount lam unable to say. The school in our county is likely to get its full share of this money, to enable it to com plete, the building already commenced, if the people in the locality shall raise a rea sonable amount for the same purpose. Ido not think the amount required Will be ex cessive, and we should do our reasonable share in remuneration for the local benefits. Certainly it is a good step in the right di rection, for it is a virtual adoplibn of a per manent policy - which will make these insti tutions the children of the State., to be cared for by it in future, if this policy shall be continued. The hospitals for the insane of the State are expensive institutions, but noble chari ties. The one at Danville will probably be' completed this year, for which $lOO,OOO is provided, and $20,000 for expenses. There is a large number of unfortunates already eared for there. Our county is in the Dan ville district. The Northwestern Hospital for Insane, which has been contemplated as a part of the system, will probably be com menced this year ; and $lOO,OOO is asked for this. The bill has already passed both houses. This institution will cost $700,000, and will be located in the northwest. Sortie papers allege that the House re- fused to pass the appropriation bill because the pay was not increased to $1,500. This is a great mistake. There never were more than twenty of its members favorable to it, and the bill was put through the House in the first place without any person having rin opportunity to say a word or call the yeas and nays upon it. The Philadelphia papers are as busy as ever abusing the whole Legislature indis- Priminately, having no knowledge whereof they speak. This wholesale abuse of men, some of whom are among our best citizens, is an abuse of the liberty of the press, and should he condemned by all good men. LATER.—Since writing the above the ap propriation bill, the . apportionment bill, and the bill providing for the election of State Treasurer by the people have passed finally, and the House agreed- to adjourn next Thursday. . ECHOES FROM THE CONVENTION The Division of Counties On the 27th Ultimo, the Constitutional Convention being in committee of the whole, the report of the committee on Counties, Townships and Boroughs came up for consideration, and the Clerk read the first section,as follows : "SECTION"I. The Legislature shall have power to erect new counties. No nets county shall have an area of less than three hundred square miles, nor a population of less than eighteen thousand, and no coup- ty shall be reduced to a less area -than four hundred square miles. No new county shall be erected until the same shall be ap proved by three-fifths of the votes cast by the electors embraced within each of the sections of the counties taken , to form the new county." After an ineffectual effort to postpone the consideration of the report, Mr. Niles submitted the following substitute for the above section: " SECTION. —No new county shall be formed or established by the General As sembly which shall reduce the county or counties, or either of them, from which it shall be taken, to less contents than four hundred square miles; nor shall any county be formed of less contents; nor ‘ shall any line thereof bass within less than ten miles of any county seat of the county or coun ties proposed to be divided. " SECTION.—No county shall be divided or have any part stricken therefrom with out submitting the question to a vote of the people of the county, nor unless a majority of the legal voters of the county voting on thequestion shall vote for the same. " SEcTroti.—There shall be no territory stricken *from any county; unless a major ity of the voters living in such territory shall petition for such' a division, and no territory shall be added to any county with out the consent of the?majority of the vo ters of the county to which it is proposed to Wadded. 'But the portion so stricken off and added to another county, or formed in whole or in part into a new county,'shall be holden for and obliged to pay its proportion of the indebtedness of the county from which it had been taken." The CuAinuAri. The miestion is upon the substitute of the gentleman from Thiga. Mr. NELES. Mr. Chairman: If the Com mittee will turn to the one hundred and thirty-fourth page of the Journal, they will find kcopy of the substitute just offered by pie. It was offered thy me to the Conven tion on the seventh dtSr of January, and by it referred to the Colmittee on Counties. .ca `Fraying some interest an this question, I de sire to say a few wor& in support of the substitute just offered, to take the place of the report of the committee. While the committee's report, in some respects, is an improvement upon_the amendment of 1837, in the present Constitution, in many others it falls far short of it, and in my opinion,- the pending report, if adopted, will not pro tect our people against inroads that will be made against them by men who are eager for the formation of new counties. The re port isat fault wherein it reduces the re quired-size one hundred square miles, or one-fourth. This is anadvance in the wrong direction, And gives us smaller counties than have other States of the Union, save one. No reason has been, nor do I believe there can be, given for this departure, An other objection to the report is, that it Aloes not submit the question of the formation of new counties to the vote -of the people of any of the counties affected, no matter how much territory may be taken therefrom.— Three-fourths of a county may be taken away without consulting any except those who are to be included in the proposed new organization. No county, as a whole, is to be consulted, whereas under our present Constitution, by virtue of the amendment originated in the 33:mate bye the delegate from Columbia, (Mr. Duckalew,) if more than one-tenth of the population of any county is taken, the question must be sub mitted to the people of the whole. county. I undertake to nay, Mr. Chairman, thepend ing report of the committee is much mop? favorable to new county projects than the Constitution under which we are now living. This may not have been intended by the committee, but such, I submit, is its legiti mate effect. Only those who desire new or , ganizations are to be consulted. They pro pose to have the whole question fully "and entirely decided by interested parties. I much prefer the section in the report of the ,Committee on Legislation, passed by the commitcee pf the whole, to the report of the Committee Au Counties. In myOpinion this whole questlou skould be regulated by ,g,eneral law; that the,peoNe most deeply in terested should Control Ibis, as ie pTopose they .stiall all other questions deeply Affect ing their ,interests. But I =do destreild,r. uhainnao, ,thax if the power is atill to - z vested in tie Upp,lstpre for the erea- WO of new counties, their powers maybe sit eirenntspribed by proper restrictions and limitations that the rights of the people of the State may be protected This proposition of mine is not animprac: . ticable.one, nor does it impose any unnec essary hardships upon those who desire the formation of new rounties• In substance it Vas been i.ilitaitted - to the people of several States, and it bus always been adopted - b A y overwhelniing majorities. What is my prop osition ? it prohihitS- the formation of new counties of less area' than four hundred square miles. This is the minimum under our present Constitution, and a less area than allowed in any other State, save one, where restrictions are imposed upon the leg islative power. •Do the delegates of this Convention believe that new counties shold be created with a less another of square. miles ? It provides that existing counties . shall not be reduced below that' area. Is not this right 7 That is the intention of the present Constitution, and yet,a bill is now pending before our Legislature, With a fair prosket of success, that reduces Sullivan county below that standard, and this, too; in opposition to her earnest protestations. It also declares •'that no- new cotiply line shall pass within ten miles a any existing county seat." Is this prohibition wrong? And yet the report of the committee does not prevent ambitious corner lot men from running their new county lines to the very door of old and existing county seats, thus leaving them upon the very outskirts of what may remain of what had once been, in substance, a county. But, Mr. Chairman, the part that will af ford the people a substantial protection for all coining time, and which will defy legis lative- spoliation, is that which provides that "no county shall be divided or have any part stricken therefrom without sub mitting the question to a vote of the peo ple of the county, nor unless a majority of the legal voters of the county voting on the question shall vote for the same," My sub stitute squarely raises the question as to the justness and propriety of consulting the people in the formation of new counties.— In a matter so vital to their interests, it pro poses to consult the will of .each and every party to be affected by the new proposed or der of thing. The report of the committee allows. the formatiou,of new counties upon the mere application•'of the parties interested, Inhere ever and ichenerer eighteen thousand can be found on any given three hundred square miles. It is practically, but most 'effectual. ly, peaceable secenion. When any portion of a community numbering eighteen thousand desire to serve their political relations, they can do it under the pending report, without "let or hindrance." Those that remain in the old organizations, have not a word to say; they, will he powerless in the matter, and the most they can do is to quietly fold their arms and "see their wayward sisters depart in pettee." At presertiwehave sixty-six counties,with a mean average of seven hundred square miles. The committee's report gives us, if our people avail themselves of its provis ions, one hundred and 'fifty-three counties. It not apparent that a multiplication of counties means all increase of local taxa tion ? Does not an increase of county of ficers, jurors and the various judicial ma- chinery of our courts carry With 'it a corresponding increase of expenditure ? And in these days of- extravagance and magnificence, who can calculate upon the cosi, of new county buibdings, and the in creased burdens of the people' within its boundaries ? I confess, Mr. Chairman, that I have some interest in this question; that I desire the adoption of something that will prevent the creation of counties by special acts of the Legislature, without the approval of all of the parties interested. But few more im portant questions have or will come before this Convention. Every person living with in the Commonwealth is interested in the result of our deliberations. In a great de gree the permanent peace and prosperity of ail our people depend upon the adoption of some substantial proposition.. Mine is a very simple one. Any person can under stand it. It simply prohibits bold unprin cipled men who have corner lots to sell, and who have a desire to traffic in municipal bonds to an unlimited extent, from going to the Legislature and, by a mere act of As sembly, destroying three or four counties for the purpose of creating one of their own. We simply say that old county lines and landmarks shall not be destroyed by special legislation to suit the convenience or to enhance the private ends of any man or set of men; that the rights of the many are superior to the rights of the few; that we will preserve the territorial integrity of the existing counties unless the emergency re quiring a change shall bring t#eir case with in some wholesome provision pit will afford protection to the people. I presume that cases will arise, as many have already arisen in the history of the State, wher6sit will be convenient and perhaps necessary that new counties should be erected. Judg ing the future wants and needs of oar peo ple by a glance at our past history and pro gress, I can readily understand that, with the development of our State, the organiza tion of new counties may become a neces sity. And when the commercial and busi ness wants of a community have outgrown present organizations they should have the same relief in this that we desire to give them in any other particular. Sir, in my opinion, whatever concerns the peace and to a great extent the prosperity of our people should lie beyond the reach of any mere legislative rescript. We now propose to consult them in all matters of lo cal and special legislation. We Propose to prohibit the Legislature from: even granting divorces front bed and board by spec ial law, and to that I am agreed. How much more important is it' that we should inhibit them from tearing down county lines; from divorcing whole communities of peo who may have lived a century together, who understand the wants of each other, and who are more than satisfied with their ex isting political organizations Sir, this is a practical question. Scar;ely a session passes without an attempt Xeing made by greedy land speculators for the creation of new counties, _in opposition to the clearly expressed wish of .the people af fected'by the change. In the Constitutions of 1708 and 1837 there was no legislative re striction in relation to the formation of new -counties. In those days the greed of capi tal-had not become so exacting. The Leg islature had never attempted to exercise its power in opposition to the wants' and wish es of the people. Time in this, as in many other things, worked a change._ Cornerlots became piore valuable. By the creation and growth of our extensive system of rail roads centers of population changed. The pressure bad become so greet that in 1857, by an amendment to our Constitutiun, one of the many originated and prosecuted to a successful termination by the delegate from Columbia, (Mr. Backalew,) the /legislature was prohibited from cutting off over one tenth of the population of any county with out the express assent of the people inter ested. Nor were they allowed to create a new county of less than four hundred square miles. The people of the Commonwealth owe much to this amendment originated and de fended by the delegate from Columbia (Mr. Buckalew.) For sixteen years it has stood as a bulwark between corner lot men and the people. A. great amount of ingenuity has annually been wasted in attempts to nullify its provisions. It was intended by the amendment of 1857 that in the future no county should be created save by con sulting the counties affected by the change. It was then believed that no county of four hundred square miles could be formed with out taking more than one-tenth of the pop ulation of some of the counties to be in .eluded in the new ono. But the ingenuity of some men is past finding out. At this moment a bill is before the Legislature of our State, has already passed the House of Representatives, which proposes to carve a new county out of parts ofLyeomieg, Sulli van, Bradford and Tioga, the latter being the one that I, in part, represent upon this flOor, 'and the one wherein I reside, without submitting the question of "new county" to a vote of the people on a single one of them. And to do this Sullivan is to be reduced to a less area than four hundred square miles, in violation of the true intent and meaning of the amendment of 1857. Do did ,People of Bradford, Sullivan, Tioga and Lyeouling desire this ? Sir, every member of Mei Honeg. of Representatives, from each and every one pf those counties, is strongly op posed to this great outrage and wrong upon their rights ! Every Senator from those four counties is opposed' to the new county scheme, and back of a united senatorial and representative delegation Staid one hundred and forty thousand indignant and outraged people, protesting through their members, by numerous and earnest remon strances, against the consummation of 'this great wronEwhich is now pending 'before our Legislature, with a fair prospect of suc cess. Mr. Chairman, why, forsooth, should this pew county be created f Why should four 4.1cta....Ps be despoiled of their territory in 46 'bsitioa ,t . 7 their earnest protitstatiotv Why should the ill-fated - people living With in the limits of the proposed no* county be subjected to increased taxation to bttiltl county buildings, and to pay the expenses of . an extra municipal government ? The reasons are simple'. Some time since a sup posed mineral spring was discovered in -a_ Bradford county swamp; close by I he line of the Northern Central railway. After pass ing through the hands of various specula tors it came into the possession of its pres ent:owner.. A clever analysis demonstrated the fact that it contained healing properties amply sufficient to cure all the ills to which humanity is heir' ! Hundreds of acres of lands were purchased in the vicinity, a hotel has been built, and the spring and hotel have been named "Minnegua," which, in the Indian tongue, from which i t is derived, is said to mean healing water. Now. sir, for the mere purpose of building up the spring, and the hotel attached to it, and of enhanc ing -the real estate of the owner, now mostly woodland, with not another building in or about the premises, and which was a wilder ness but, three short years ago, the Legis lature is asked to carve out a county in open and direct opposition to every county affected by the change. This scheme may now succeed. The will of the people may be successfully thwarted, but if my propo sition is by us 'adopted, and subsequently ratified by the people, we shall not hear of any . Minnequa jobs in the future. Sir, in the early days of the' republic the people were. not in their present danger.— Te greed of real estate speculators had not then assumed its present gigantic propor tions. In the older Constitutions of the different States but little mention is made of legislative restriction in this regard:- But as time wore on—as real estate became more valuable; we find that very , many States found it',necessary to hedge their Leg islatures around with limitations and restric tions. Almost every Constitution formed within the last twenty years contains pro visions designed to protect the people from the inroads of - corner lot men, For the purpose of showing the care taken by our sister States to preserve the integrity of their counties, I will glance at a few of their Constitutions upon the sub ject. Alabama, by her Constitution of 1868, prohibited her Legislature from creating new counties of Jess than six hundred square miles, and that by a vote of two thirds of both Houses, and no boundaries can be altered except by a vote of the peo ple, and every new ceunty must have a pop ulation sufficient to entitle it to at least one Representative. ltfr. BRODHEAD. Mr. Chairman : If the' gentleman from 'fioga will allow me, I' would like to ask what population would that, at that time, have allowed for a county in Alabama ? Mr. NILES. I do not remember. But every county must have a sufficient ratio to entitle it to a member of the Legislature. Me BRODHEAD. About one thousand five hundred population, while this report provides for eighteen thousand population. Mr. Nara. Yes, sir. That would give one to Scranton. I have no doubt about it. The -Alabama provision is that a county must have six hundred square miles, and the report gives uithree hundred. Mr..l3llororEAD. At two dollars an acre. ' Mr. NILES. I have not been buying land in Alabama. Perhaps the gentleman has, and very likely he knows more about that than I do. In Georgia, by her Constitution of 1868, every, county must be created by a majority ,of two-thirds of each House, and ratified by a majority of the peopte. - "Illinois, by her Constitution of 1870, de clares that county teats cannot be located or changed by local law. No county can be formed of a less area than four hundred square miles, and the submission of the question to a vote of the eople. On every question affecting the territorial integrity of her counties her people must be consulted. This was submitted as a separate proposition and ratified by 105,171 Majority. lowa prohibits the formation of counties with less than four hundred and thirty-two square miles, and no county can be reduced below that standard. In Kansas no county can be formed o less than four hundred and thirty-tWosquar and no seat of justice removed with out the consent of ti majority of her voters. Maryland, by her Constitution of 1807, prohibits the formation of counties of less than four hundred square miles, and with out submitting_ the question to the vote of every county within the limits of the pro posed new one. I In Michigan every county must contain four hundred and twenty square miles, and no county can be changed, except by a two thirds vote. Her Constitution was framed in 1850. In Minnesota, by her Constitution of 1857, all laws changing county seats or county lines must be submitted to a vote of all the counties affected, and none can be formed or reduced below four hundred square miles. - In Missouri, by her Constitution of 1865, no county shall contain less, or be reduced below five hundred square miles, and each must have a population sufficient to entitle it to at least one Representative. No county seat can be removed, except by a two-thirds vote. Tennessee, by her Constitution of 1870, provides that no portion of a county shall be taken to form a new one, or any part thereof, without the consent of two-thirds of the qualified voters of the part taken off. Texas, by constitutional ' enactment, pro hibits the creation of counties - of a-less area than nine hundred square miles. , Virginia, in 1870, provided that no new county should contain less thansix hundred i square miles and must have at least eight I -thousand inhabitants. West Virginia prohibits the snaking of counties of less than four hundred square I Miles, and no county can be reduced below that number in the formation of new ones. Wiscon'sin, by her Constitution of 1848, prohibits the creation or division of coun ties without the approval of her people, and by an amendment adopted in 1871 her Leg islature is prohibited from locating or changing county seats. Mr. Chairman, it will be seen that many , 1 of our sister States have taken the precast -1 tion to insert into their organic law a sub stantial protection for their people. Do not our own people demand as much ? Shall we not afford them this relief when we have it within our power ? Is there a delegate upon the floor who doubts that this propo 'sition could be ratified by a large majority ? Would not this give strength to our work ? The people would gladly indorse it. The corner lot men would oppose it, but while they may have power in Our legislative halls, they are powerless to affect our four millions of people scattered throughout the length and breadth of the qommonwealth. But, independent of its being a question of legislative power that is liable to abuse, I respectfully submit that it is one of those questions-, that should never be decided *ilunit 'opsgiting the people affected by the change. 4 is a branch of our political government that 5h0414 bp Controlled only by those counties that are territorially in terested. In 1801 we opposed the secession of the Southern States. Was it because they 'were not willing to go? Was it because they did not desire to form an independent govern ment of their own? . Nothing of the kiud, sir. We said they had no right to withdraw from and destroy the family of States with out the consent of the whole. By the amendment under consideration we do not propose to keep counties where they now are against their consent. We only propose to give the people in every part of our great State full and ample security against being I torn away from their present political con dition against their consent; that forcibly and against their will they shall not be ta ken from their friends and delivered over, into the hands of our modern real estate Isbmaelites. At the proper time I intend to submit to the Convention a proposition to prevent the change of county seats except by' the ap proval of the people. This emestion was submitted in Wisconsin in 187 W and adopt ed by a large majority, only/3,075 voting against it. , Mr. Chairman, I submit—is there any thing wrong in declaring that in reference to the creation of counties and the location of county seals, qu'estions in regard to which every person has a direct and person alinterest, that the peoe should be con sulted? that the local member should not be the sole judge of the propriety of the and from whose decision there is no appeo : / 13y , j , e m g d is i l s a tr ti f t, c 'e t. etiquette he is the automat Of . ".- • •-mteous to call in .ques lt is highly disco, the district from tion , anything affecting -..i.., This is whence he comes; his word 16_ —' „, of ]fir the rule. The exception is the e case . • 'Rerdie—passing, or trying to pass, his coun ty bill in opposition to the wh le district.= -If the Representative for any eason desires to misrepresent his people, h should not have this-power. If he well nd truly dee sires to represent them, to act in accordance with ,their clearly expressed will, he will prefer that this power should he lodged with his constituents. 'The passage of this amendment will transfer all new county ; atinggle,s from our halls of legislation to a full and free discussion before the people nand deeply interested, 'and by them will tat deeitleti lu neeordenve with their eonvie. tiaras, Sir, we prohibit. the Legislature front doing;many_thittes less it,littrioaS to th e Commonwealth, 'wt.,— propos to lop off _many of the branelles of - the - legislative ft - a:Wen-Ilia have given us real or fancied_ trouble in the - past. IVbether wisely on un wisely remains to We practically propose to rut up by the roots halal anti special legislation. ' The extensi ve' and transcendent powers aeretofore exercised by our General Assem bly are, in a large degree, to be returned to the people. One of the main reasons that !induced the calling of tliis Convention was Ole alarm with which the people beheld the c instant . encroachnient. of the legislative p iwer, and the easiness with which legisla ti , e grants have been and we're being given to interested parties. It'is an old axiom that "any law is better than anarchy." BA is any law better than that condition of things which keeps a people in a constant state of unrest to protect themselves from land pirates who are 'constantly preying up on their borders. Adopt this proposition, and henceforth Minnequa jobs will no more disgrace the night sessions of our Legisla ture, continuing them until the early dawn. and then passing bills in defiance of a united delegation, as was done on the night of the 24th of March. Our people need „relief. Shall it be de nied? Whei' they ask for bread shall we, give them a stone? _ Let them understand that in the future—for all time to,r otne— they cannot be despoiled of their trrritory without their approbation. Then sharpers will no longer set themselveS at a conjunc tion of three or four counties, and whenev er and wherever they can get. four hundred square miles of blue sky, and less than one tenth of any of the counties affected, have a county carved out without the approba tion of the people. , Let us in this respect lay the as: at the root' of the tree. We have long known the mischief. Let us apply the remedy. The district from which,f come has great feeling upon this question., Our people feel, and' that correctly, that their rights will never be safe until the legislative power is restricted. For years we have had a war upon our borders. Today one branch of the. Legislature has fallen at Ilerdic's feet, and has'erowned his iniquitous proposition with success. Sir, let us remove this great temptation- from our representatives, and then all men will breathe easier. I must beg. the committee's pardon for trespassing so long upon their time. I can but, thank you for the attention with which you have listened to these desultory re marks. I can now only hope and trust that you will sustain the substantial part of my proposition. Do this, and while corner-lot speculators may not indorse you, the people of our great State living upon our hillsides and in our valleys will ratify your work by an overwhelming majority. The Question of the Ballot. Some time since the Constitutional Con vention baring under consideration, in com mittee of the whole, the seeded. section of the report of the Committee ,on Suffrage, Election and Representation, lion. M. P. Elliott made an excellent speech in opposi tion to the report. The section as reported was as follows: " SECTION 2. All elections of. the citizens shall be by ballot; the ballots may be ollen or souk, as the elect or, may prefer, and they shall be numbered by the election officers when received; each elector shall write his name upon his ballot, or cause it to be writ ten thereon and attested for him by another elector of the district, who'shall not be an election officer." In discussing this section Mr. Elliott said Mr. Chairman: As a member of the Com mittee on Suffrage, Election and Represen tation 1 desire to ,state briefly my reasons for Opposing this section. of the report of that committee in its present form, and why I shall vote for the amendment first offered, or one substantially like it. In my judgment there is no principle in volved in elections by the people which meets with such general approval from the thinking men of to-day, none which has been for so long a time a part of the organ ic law of nearly every State in the Union, and none, the propriety of the continuance of which in the Constitution of the State is go well justified by reason and experience as the principle that all elections by The people should be by secret ballot. • The practice of voting by secret ballot has become so general throughout the coun try that it would have been singular indeed if -a committee of this Convention had re ported against the propriety of continuing the practice in this State. The committee could not well ignore a policy that has pre vailed for so long a time that it has almost become the common law of elections in rep resentative governments. The committee by their report, in the section under consid eration,lecognize the propriety of permit ting the elector to vote by secret ballot, and provide that "all elections of the citizens shall be by ballot; the ballots voted may be open or secret, as the elector shall prefer." . I most heartily approve of the section thus far; but the committee have thought proper to impose requirements on the elector which in my judgment absolutely and entirely de stroy the secrecy of the ballot. In the first place, they require that the elector shall write his name on each ballot that lie offers, provided he can write his name, but that if lie cannot, be shall pro cure some other elector of his election dis• trict to write his name on his ballot for him, thus compelling him to place the mark of identification on his ballot which Nyill enable the officers of the election hoard to ascer tain for whom he voted by au inspection of the ticket. It would seem that this require ment .ought to be sufficient to satisfy the most zealous advocate of the open ballot, but in addition to this this section of the report provides that when the ballot thus marked is passed over to the officers of the election board they shall further mark it by placing a number thereon corresponding with the number placed opposite the elect or's name on the tally list. Now, with these two requirements complied with—the ballot identified by name and number—can there be any doubt but that the election officers would know absolutely just how the elector voted, and that the secrecy of the ballot would be destroyed beyond the possi bility of 9, question? And yet, with these requiremennts in this section, the committee gravely report that the elector shall have the right to ,vote by secret ballot. In my judgment the manner of voting provided by this section is infinitely more objection able than the open ballot; it is in fact open ticket voting by circumlocution. It is said, hoWever, by those who favor the require ments contained in this section, that a pro vision might be incorporated into the Con stitution requiring the election officers to take and subscribe an oath that they will not communicate the knowledge obtained as such officers as to how an elector casts his vote, except when called to testify as a witness, and the fact 'becomes a material in quiry. Certainly it cannot be seriously pro posed that this Convention slduld incorpo rate such a provision in the/Constitution.— If it was thought proper to impose such a requirement on election/officers, the Legis lature is the source froth which the require ment should come./ But such provision, whether embodied in the Constitution/or imposed by legislative enactment, would not preserve the secrecy of the ba/lot! As a rule, the election boards throughout the State are composed of act ive local politicians, who know the politics of nearly every man in their respective dis tricts; and they are on the lookout for the purpose of ascertaining how the voters cast their ballots; and if a -man ,in the district voted against his party ticket, or differently from the way his employer had promised he should, or differently from the way he him self, under the constraint of his peculiar situation, had promised, the fact would be known from one end of the election district_ to the other within twenty-four hours after the polls were closed, notwithstanding, , our provision for secrecy on the part ot'the election officers. It would not be necessary for the,election officer to state in so many words ;just how this or that man voted, in order.that his po. litical friend- outside -the board might be made to understand with' sufficient certain ty how the vote had been cast. A look, a gesture, the slightest insinuation would an swer just ifs well as the plainest' statement, and the deSired information would be im parted without rendering the officer liable to the penalties of any provision that might be unhealed in the Constitution, or enacted. by the Legislature, the most comprehensive that human ingenuity could devise. In the consideration of this section of the "^ report, it seems to 'me but the single ques- LL - 0 tn presents itself : whether tiie, open or se cret ban,. f. I) most M oly to eli a fair ' `tsa will of the people. In expressson ot t -1 an open citiestion, my judgment this is n, I believe that the experience eveiT'deia `l,Ara gate on this floor teaches him that L..s. - a large class of voters in this State, as in every other, who would not cast their bal lots gt apportinnce with their honest convic tions if they weOppippeneti to voto•an open , . I ticket. . kIIOW it is a favorite thenryl of slime gentlenten in this Convention, , and for whose opinions 1 entertain great respect, that the man who is afraid to go to the polls and &Hero openly for whom he desires to vote, in the presence of the ,voters of the entire district; is• unworthy to exereige the right of im ekctor. This may sound very well;-and be , all right in theory, but the -votes of the — elaSs, who, for various reasons, ;;odare not )to the T pells-and, openly declare their preferences, will be cast; And the-ques tion for theWeonsideratio» is whether it is better to have I hem east as the electors' con- sciences and judgment dictate, under cover of the secret ballot, or as their fears or ne cessities comm.!, by the open ballot. It does not require great . courage for the man who occupies an independent position in the world to vote an open ticket; but is it to be wontlered.at that the petit' laboring man, although helmay be more intelligent than his more fortunate neighbor - , whose bi esd and that of his :-family depends tipon the will, of his employer; has not the cour age to face that employer at the- polls and east bli vote openly against the express command of him on whom lie is dependent for the means of subsiStefice? I know very well that the reply to this argument' is that in this country laho6 has nothing to fear from capital. But, sir, there can be no greater fallacy than this. In 'nearly every contest between labor and capital in this country capital has come out of the strug gle the victor. The reason for this is plain. While capital loses little by lying idle, if 1 the laborer refuses to work for any length of time starvation knocks at' his door, and he is obil'ed to yield to tlw demands of capital: . The po) i 'er of party discipline would pre vent Many a loan from casting his vote as he thought to be right., if he was compelled to comply .with. the requirements of this section. Take au ambitious partisan: He May feel that a bad man has been put - in nomination by his party, and he would strike that man with the secret ballot; yet you inform him that his party friends must of necessity know just how lie votes, and knowing that under such circumstances he would lose caste in his party if he votes against its nominee, the average man would vote his party ticket, wrong though he knew it to be: Ido not" gay this is right,• hut. the result Phew described - would, as a rule, be attained while weak human nature remains as at present constitined. What good results are to accrue to the people of this State in consideration of their ahandonmentof their tithe-honored method of casting their ballot Will the casting of. a single fthudulent vote be prevented by , this proposed method of casting ballots?— No, - not one illegal vote will be kept. out of the box; nor wilt any of the corrupt practi ces of illegal voters Le interfered with in the least. The provisions proposed to be engrafted on our system of voting have no active life for good, at least until the votes are all cast and the count begiiis. In fact, they cannot be of 'the slightest use except ii Leontested'election cases; and I am will ing to admit that these provisions may serve to furnish evidence of how a person, proved by other evidence to have been an 'illegal voter, cast his ballot. I am, however, un- willing to yield this great printiple of the secret ballot, which gives to elections their real value to a large class of our citizens, simply and solely upon the ground that the trial of contested election cases may be sim plified. Happily for the State, contested election cases outside of the city of Phila delphia are few indeed. . 1 I am opposed to this section sis reported also for the reason that the requirements of the elector contained in it would be more appropriate as a legislative enactment• than as a provision in the organic law of the State. -If these requirements were made of the electors of the State by an net of the Legis lature, and were found to be burdensome and oppressive on the people, the law could at oncebe repealed; but if they Weotne a Part of the Constitution of the State, how ever much the people may desire to get rid of theta, they then must remain for a num ber of years before they can be got rid of. Again, I oppose this section for' the rca son that it would be inconvenient and" bur. densome upon the great muss of the people of this State to carry its requirements iuto execution. To those who are familiar with country elections and the eauveniehces usu ally at hand foi' conducting them, the force of this position will at once be apparent. Tale for example an election in the coun try where the election is held in a country school house, and from three to five hun dred votes are polled; you require those three or five hundred voters to write their names, ordinarily not less than three times, with no place to write within a mile of the polls, and you can form some idea of how inconvenient it would be to catty into exe cution this new patent for the prevention of frauds at elections. I hope, Mr. Oh:l4uit), ttintt this section will not he adopted. The Apportionment Biil Dividing the State into Congressional dis tricts is generally one of the most difficult tasks imposed upon the Legislatiirq. In the clash of so many differing personal and pa- Mica] interests it is simply impossible-to please everybody. The bill printed below was the Boric of compromise, and was last week reported by a committee of confer ence and accepted . by the two houses. It will then fore become a law upcin receiving the signature of the Governor, As finally passed by the LegiShiture it is as follows: Ist district—let, 2d, 7th and 20th Wards of Philadelphia. 2d-Btb, 9th, 10th, 13th; 14th and 20th wards, and that part of the 17th ward lying west of Second street. 3d-3d,"4th, 6th, 6th, 11th, 12th and kith wards. 4th-15th, 24th, 27th, 29th and 29th :wards. sth-18th, 19th, 22d, 23d and 25th wards, and that part of the 17th ward east of Sec and street. • Wl—Chester and Delaware cotties. 7th—Montgomery county,, an all that portion of Bucks county fit included in the 10th district. 1' Bth—Berks county./ 9th—Lancaster connty. 10th—NorthamptOn and Lehigh counties, and the township of Durham, Springfield, Milford, Richla'nd, Rockhill, Haycock, Tin icum and Nociamixon, and the,horough of Quakertown in Bucks county. lltli—,COlurnbia, Montour, Carbon, Mon roe an 'Pike counties, An d the townships of Nesgpfieck, Black - Creek, Sugar Loaf, Ha zel/Butler, Foster, Bear Creek, Bucks, Sa tein, Spring Brook , Roaring Brook, Ho gen ;back, Huntingdon, and that part of the city of Scranton south of -Roaring Brook creek' and east of the Lackawanna river, and the boroughs of Dunmore, Not Columbus, Jed. do, Goldsboro, White Haven and , Hazleton' in Luzerne county. 1 12th—All that part of Luzerne county not included in the l'lth district. 13th—The county of Schuylkill. I 14tb—Daupbin, Northumberland and Lebanon counties. Vith—Bradford, Susquelianna,SWyoming and Wayne &invite% 16th—Tioga, Potter, Wltean, iiameron, Lyeoming and Sullivanicouniies. 4701—Cambria, Bedford, Blair and Som erset counties. 18th—Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Hun tingdon, Snyder and Terry counties, 19th—York, Adams and Cumberland counties. 20th—UnionAlinton Clearfield, bliftlin, Elk and Center counties. 21st—WeStmoreland, Greene and Fayette counties: / / • 1 22d- 7 Pittshurg city and the townships of Chartiers, Union, Scott, Stowe, Robinson, Upper and Lower St. Clair, Baldwin, Wil kins, Penn and Snowden, and-the boroughs ..fif Mansfield, Chartiers and Braddock in Allegheny county. 'l:4l—A.ll that portion of Allegheny coun ty not included in the 224 district; 24th--Washington, Beaver and Lawrence Counties. 25th—Clarion, Armstrong, Indiana, Jef ferson and Forest,counties. 24t1).---ltlereer, and Crawford miln4 ties. 27th—Erie, Warfel' ftnd Vonango coup• ties. THE U. S. MILITARY ACADRAIY.—The story and scene of Benedibt Arriold's treach ery must be so thoroughly understood by every American who understands anything at all of his country's histbry that for me to rehearse it here would be liseless. lonly in tend to write up such facts in regard to the Military Academy as would be likely to in terest the average American reader. It ifl located lifty.one tulles above New York City oia the west bank of tliellndson river among scenery superbly grand. The grounds in connection with the Academy are about fifty acres in extent and at.s over one hundred and fifty feet above the river. A road leads up Prom landing to this pleasant place, the visitor past tie tAYll2llplablee, library boil s arid riding bill!. The ri+s44 ban t Sala to bi) the largeat; hall third for OrineOttati agovietA Un mod States: ; The Acad.:6ly - hail its blab tit the )6,,,r 1 , 02, I'revicis to that tittio novel* atte/uptii La i l bp . male to eul4hiiah such an Inatltutiln, but WWI 810 W 1.1) Let and anti sPqueutly do perlat tayt evi i made in that ail actlou. nun, an early as agnointod a coniniittre to prepiro A p l an Aliniary Araiirtily; but appointing riiii d „ii t i e ; 6 l ilrau plitet anti theft rhoTo attenttotitoN tau tn-r win Lo•Ver tuitl4l sn A.agtemy as 1110 (1(;f Hama al vultadly fun.! oaf. , .th citcny,t tiara loath, tit 101141 hit' 4i tof iarriireit (O cadula fu to 11704.' Oaagteas arratigeiboo4 fora corp. .if A rtinti ianq aua Eagliwera tO be atanaT,4 at West l'ulut to train a few Young abapa.wh o doubt aal,,ltail to beeotue Lieut. ficueralm when thti alionld grow old unougb, lint until 16(.12 the Acado oo , which grinding out th e otatt ; , Sheridaris and Ateaili: or coming tunea did tad into exiatence. 111) to ISM 110 Atatlbiny I olltlmied to La a fact, too for.aevarALryationa did not accoupliab meg. tld 4 4 were accepted without an ;eaanitinition, and &a wail no prili.;lll. : Cd ago rot' win/is/310u tho ihroatta ieneca from such a liiime,rkateni can ti read! nuderatood. it aunt; taos briefly given the reader a ellidd count of the otrly history or-th d n ii,„l, I ‘ , lll . ni proceed to thform Lint ' ' • 'HOW A CAM:Twirl. La st.ctliw.V. There, arii‘just twoovays of gaining admission the Academy as a c.ader, :By securing the Witten. of a congrerallian, or gaping the favor of the Prok4.l dent to sorb a degree as to : get appiinted one Of t. 14, "tens" that he sends each year lulu that ltislittillcs. Eteh emigre:igloos! v.tArirt 1 a 9 the right to kciptlie cadet ilt the school and no iln,ro, 80, of cOnras, thrq are aside (rout the President's "ten"—just sa rainy cadet's at 11'ime Point ae there are •Ineuibers In the lower Homo of Pons-read. leach cadet remains it West! I'oll4 lour )rfirm unless sooner discharged ter BMW; cause, and as such en event crealeka vacancy seine other young man residing In his dtatri . et can Lave the cncletilip. A person to be eligible to ap. poioneeot must bo oi,tr Bevi.litria, and wider twenty. two yeat a of age, unless that applicant has served 04 scat' at least in the Army or Navy during the lite war:, when he 'will be admitted into the Aradet4 not Over twenty-four years old. 'llie law also midst it impossible for a person who has served in - tida l the 'Army •.r Navy of the Confederate Bides' during tha,•ixer to become a cadet. The manner of securing an"' appointment by Q. PreSident is vem simple. The person ' desiring i cadetship, his father, guardian, or any 0119 lowing authority in the matter eau write to the Secretarial War at any time and Inform him of ,the 'applicant's age; Oleo of residence, and the number of the Cos, gresiiionai illstriet in which be lives, and his destines becoming al cadet, and the Secretary viii have big name placed on the Register. ^, As a role the appotet, nacmts are made a year in advance of the time of ea. trance. 50 its to give the person appointed time to pry pale f„r . a' s T we,n s rid examination. rt IBM Can msttt r to become one of the President's ten, there are so rawly who bate some sort of a claim On him that heir obliged to torogniz,!.. Not long since ,gentleman wrote to Ron. .imon Carnerim, asking him to see the President and try to secure oue cf Lis appointments Inc a tab taus young mate Lviog in this State. Mr, Cameras did all in his poWer, but was obliged to write bat} that "if the Presli.ent lied a hundred times unsay appointments to All he would not have enough RI A li those who had a claim on him." As soon tit, a w on report's to West point who has an appointment, EA, subjected to a very severe medical examination. and 11 he Is found to be in the least partionlor unsonndlte is rejected at once. The mental gnaltleatiuna of a young man &beetle miter the Acadeiny consiat of a good knowledge the common English branches. That is, he Ma understand arithmetic, grammar, the history of tit United lltates, mid geography, together With readitf, fL:v writing and spelling. Nov.*, let it not be underito4 from this that if a person is Well versed in any Olen ;Al of the educational brauehes, he will not nolit by out" knowledge. If he is well educated before he enter the Academy. it will be just so much center forint,/ to Master the course.i Grant. when ho entered the emy, barely paused the-examination, and while there \4 Suffered severely in competition with other - snemben Of the dan. • But although the law does not require anything ;IA More than what is taught in our public schools, Up!, , quires that much to be understood thoroughly. In arithmetic the candidate will be required to solve mers tally examples which will average t very well with those prom:scow examples in fractions in 'Whitmire Arithmetic. His hnowledge of• giammar must Bland e wore severe test than to tell the examining board that "Low" wunt, hut whether common or proper he doesn't lie will h..) required to unravel and id require the know's-age \\ho assumes to knew a . If I remember aright, third ware some thirty des rejected because Oily of that! Thirty-six at districts reported without /Point branue thrir Gokt pal Ht . F.1 . 11i1 - 11Ct'S of an oro I lvol one teac•lu y great &al about t;nl unuir some two or three years ag six or thirty-aeven cittlidal cetdairel ei,c//. Just: lidulti thirty-se you l'ougeessiezed a rep, cliental% e at }Feat cambial FP , II ! Thus it e ill be seen that a persen who Is not physt rally smitel and posC:eicti .4 a good common school education at least, had butt r give Lb Military ,A4de• my a wide berth, and thus escape the mortitlcattei consequent upon helm; rejected. A certain write, ta speaking of the mental - eliduluation says: "The ex.. atniiiims officers have no opinion; they 1//20/ reject the deficient. 'flue nation sends these young men to t.N. Military Academy, supports and pays them adequately and opens to them an honorable profession, in then , pectation that their hest efforts will be Oxen to gull. fy themselves for the laig l her duties of , the military service. Those who win tA)t, or cannot Oro& by these provisions, should not occnpy the places of those who will and can." I i Those who become innia es of the Academy indium do not receive, the warrant,of a cadet Until the follow. lug January, and only then after they have passed another examination called the semi-annual examina tion, which is also very severo. The °Annual exam!. t nation" is held in June, an like all other examinations at tite,Acatliany, is very . igid, At this , time those cadets who cannot show that they are