Correspondence

New Yokk, Oet. 26th, 1881. Tlie political decks of botli great parties have been cleured for action in New York. Tliere are no great questions at issue tliis y-ar und no important offices are to be Ulied, yet tbc control of tbe legislature and of the public plunder of such a State as New York is of ijreat local interest and of much national Iftlportance. Tbe doings of botb state conventions were watcbed witb the most lively interest by everyone, and in botb cases for tbe same reason; the shelving was accomplished, but under sllghtly different circumstances and witb far different results. In the case of the Republicana a boss who bad been laid away on the topmost sbelf to dry, was trying to get down and it was necessary to show htm thut be couldn't do t. With the Democrats, one boss had clitned to tlie shelf, where tbe jars of patronage stood, and unother hoss carne into the political pantry and shoved him one shelf higher- to the dryiug shelf before mentioned. As far as resulto are concerned, the late Be publican Primate is laid away for auindeflnate period and his following is dwindling rapidly. The Tammany brave, however, has drawn the only step-ladder in the Democratie establishment up with him and, Ieaning over the edge of the shelf, be remarks to the exbumed Mummy of Gr.imercy in the interest of harmony: "I love you Sanuny dear, oh, so much, but let's see you reacb the jam without tbis step-ladder." One of the fiist things to attract the attention of a stranger on coming to New York is the enoroious ainount of building that is being done. Ia every part of the city, froin the Battery to Harlem, great blocks are going up for business or ilwelling purposes. In the case of business blocks the universal tendency Is to build flre-proof stiuctures of stbne, brick or iron and run them up to nine and ten stories in height. This is necessary as tlie island becomes more and more crowded for ground space. The Equltable Life Inguranoo hiii- :- ,,„.r o - u u.viiniple of the style of buildings that are being built nowadays. It ia nine stories high, of granite and iron construction, and adorned insidewith the costliest marbles, rarest woods and iinest frescoe. It contains the offices of the Ëquitable Life Insurance Co., of trust companies, of lianks and of lawyers. Six elevators are running constantly and are al ways crowded with passengers. There are 1200 nameson the directory and in the basement corridors, which ure ügbted by electric lamps, are telegraph and telephone offices, a post office, ;i large cigar and news-stand and several luxurioiis clüiirs, where one can sit comfortably and have lus shoes blacked. A side corridor leads directly into Delmonico's Ünest down-town restaurant. The building is quite a little town by itselí. So many of these huge structures are going up that it is scarcely possible to walk a few blocks on Broadway, even, without going into the street or over the wooden brldges to avoid obstructions made by building material. ê An entirely new departure lias been taken in the line of amuseincnts by the owners of 'the Metropolitan Concert Hall. The was built originally and has been used all the last summer as a combinatlon of concert-hall, beer garden and restaurant. It is stuatcd on Uroadway and Forty-lirst street and consista of a large concert-hall with a wide gallery running all around it, in which are little stalls contalnlag tables and chairs. On the muiii floor and )eneatli the gallery, previous'to the alterations recently made, there were ;i I -o tables and chairs. On a level with the roof there Is a wide, uncovered balcony on three sides of the building and this balcony is used in summer us an out-door restaurant and roof-garden. Every evening during the siunmer, a tine orcheetra played good popular niusic, while large crowds on the niain tloor, in the gallery stalls, and on the roof-balcony drank beer or partook of more substanthl refreshments and chatted tofiether The raised platform, on wliich the orchestra sat, has now been removed and a good sized stage has been added at the back oí the hall. The tables on the malo Hoor have jriven place to rows of siats, whilu tables still remain beneath and In the gallerj'. It Is the purpose of the owners of the place to produce on the stage different light operas of the best class througliout the winter. At present Ollvette is running there and is diawing exceedingly wcll nightly. During cold weather, of coursc, the open air restaurant will not be in use, there being a large restaurant in the front part of the building. The houses on Fifth-ave. and other fashionable thoroughfares that have appearcd desertad duilng the sunimcr are nuaiiy all i open ïiow and so show soine few gigns of ] bolng human habitations. In many case, ' to be su re, the oecupants have hafn awav for the summeranrl, it now beinjfdccidcrfly unfushionable to renain atsummer resorts, have retumed. ín very many tnttancea, however, the dwellers in the brownstone fronts have simply moved from the back part of the house to the front, have rabed the front ciirtains and open the closed shutters. They would liave lost caste coinpletely, if they had let people kuow they staid in town during the "sunnnerseason," 80 they closed up the establishment, to all appeurances, and lived In the back rooms, never appeanng on the street till after nightfall and then never by the.front door, but by the basement entrence, wliile servants who were supposed to be "tuking care of tilinga" for the "season" satof evenin3 on the front steps, as if in full possession. Uakoün. Editor Courier. The temperance meeting at the Opera House last Sunday was well attended and yery liiiely addressed. Fully three liundred and lifty persons were present notwithstandlng the ten cent admission. The muslc of the choir was aided by an orchestra of live instruments. The singing of the flrst quartet was particularly excellent. All who heard hlm will agree that the address of Dr. Wilson was particularly happy, eloquent, and strong. We hare not listened to any address there for a long time which, taking t all in all, was its equal. Dr. Wilaon is a very forcible advocate of the temperance canse. He referred last Sunday to the beauty of our city, to the excellence of the State we live in, and to the mag'niflcence of our nation. We have a great land and a magnilicent governrnent. Tivo things especially have contributed to this greatness. The first is the war of the Iïevoiution, tfirough the baptism of whose heated lires we became a hcroic nation and took our' place among other nations as the representative of freedom. tThe second is the war of the Rebellion, by which the nation has boen rebaptizecl in the name of equal rights. By these two great struggles and their san iflees the nation has gained a true greatness and nobility. But these contests were not originated or waged in a day or year. They were of long preparatlon, before the totaal conflict was precipitated. Many nfluences contributed to ripen thein. Many meetings and speeches and articles nnd books against American slavery were fulmloated and seeniingly wasted. J?ut the heroic patience and determination of those despised men and women were at last rewarded and we honor them. '' We stand to-day in the presence of ' otber graat moral, social, and política! (luistion. For a long time prepnration has been making for this contest, the dawn of wliicli is now upon us. That it cannot much longer be avoided is evident to all thinking people. The tempera iu-e gestión is the only great and live issue of vital inportance. There is actually no question at issue between the two great political parties. The spoils ot office is about all they are now contending for. It is high time the third great issue was formal ly proposed. The temperance issue is upon us and must be met. In five different ways we may meet it. lst, we may let it alone, but we cannot do this and prosper. 2d, Wemay setupagainst the saloon a couuteracting ageney. We may try to undo its destroying work by rcforming the drunkard- tliis has been the effort of the last forty years, and it is practically a failure. Much has been accomplUhed individually, but the sum total of results indicates failure. 3d, We may license, but this has outraged the moral scnse of this age. 4th, We may tax- and here it takes the hair-splitting acumen of a D. Bethume Duffleld to discover its difference from and superioiity over license. The great feature as indicated by Mini is that the State sliall take lta penalty f rom ¦ nefarioua business beforetmnd. Dr. W. showed that this is equalled only by Tetzel's sale of indulgences. He stigmatized this proposition as worthy only of the dark ages. 5th, and last, We can abolish. This ia our only alternativo, if we are to remain a noble people or a great nation.