All Sorts Of Pen-scratches

- The Detroit Post bas a wise Washngton correspondent who charges that lie Democrats wish to abolish the Naional Bureau of Education, bectiuso, as everybody kuows that 'education is he bañe of Domocraoy.'" The Demorats do wish to abolish the aforesaid mreau becauae it is a usoless appenage to the Federal Government, beeauso it entails a large -expense without rendering an equivalent, and because that in its establishment the central Government has assumed powors which does not belong to it. Congress can have legitimately no control over the educational intorests of the States, and to keep up au expensive bureau just to gather in and distribute statisticg is a waste of money. The State educational departnients have that work rightfully in charge and don't ask any interference from Washington. We shall shed no toara over the abolition of the bureau. - Thu Morrison tariff bill now before the House Ways and Means Couimittee addg numnroua articles to the free list, simplifies and reduces the duties on others, reduces the inducemeut to smuggle and insures better and more ooonomical collection, at a loss of $15,613,472. jn ine otner nana iae ïncreaae oí revemia trom tea, coffeo, cigars, tobáceo, and blook tin will amount to $19,969,276, or a net gain of $4,355,904. And besides the Government being the gainer, the great body of consumera will savo the milliong now paid as a tribute to manufacturera who have secured prohibitive tariff duties on theii fabrics and waros. - In one of the Cox " Legislativo Humor" artioles in Harper, the late Senator Dixon, in discussing the then prevailing disorders in the Koutb, is made to quote Dr. Johnson to Boswell : " I was passing a fish raonger's stall, and I saw him skinning an eel alive ; and he was cursing the eel because i would not lie still." And so the Bepub licans hold up to rebuke and scorn (anc even curse) ex-Representative Ilill anc his ex-Confederate associaees, just be oause they didn't keep perfectly quie while ex-Speaker Blaine skinned them and then return thanks for the hand some manner in whioh tliü job wa done. - The testimony in the Abbott-Fros conteBted election caso, now pending in the House of Representativos, show that at the date of Oot. 16, three week before the election, there wero but 400 tnen, ör about that number, employee in the Charlestown Navy Yard ; that on the lst day of November, two days be fore the election, between 700 and 80 men were thero employed ; and tha three weeks later, or on the lst day o December, all but 50 had been discharg ed or transferred to other yards. Am that is hovr Frost, Republican, wa elected : by the votes of importod an( hired voters. - Secretary Chandler don't pan ou very well as a law maker. He procurec the passage of a bilí or act to his liking providing for the transfer of certain Indian trust funds from the custody o the Interior department to the Treasu rer of the United States, and then changed his tnind and induced th President to veto it, because it " wa not sufficiently definite to accomplisl the end desired." Hereafter the Com mittee on Appropriations had bette trust their own judgment than that o Mr. Chandler. - Speaking of Presidential candi dates and preforences the New Yor' Evening Pont facetiously says of the " in dependents," the Springfield Republican seeming to be the Alpha and Omega " they will offer Mr. Charles Franci Adams as their first choice, but as the; are more dovoted to principies than men, they will accept of Mr. C. Franci Adams ; or, if crowded to the wall b; their adversarles, will manage to pu up with C. F. Adams." There is noth ing like flexibility in preferances. - If the New York Legislature is a all-powerful as the members of Con gress sometimes - or as some of th members of Congress - think their bod; to be, it should immediately enact a law to suppress the Brooklyn-Plymouth Church-Beecher-Tilton scandal. Th daily emptying of the slop-bucket upon the unoffending portion of the dail; paper readers is becoming intolerable If civil law is inoompetent to the task o abating the nuisance we ehall enter a prayer for martial law, with all that the phraso implies. - The Republicana are very mucl " disgust " - as the Frenchman would say - at the letter of Speaker Kerr (a private letter givon to the public without the writer's consent) indorging Hen drioks as a oandidate for President. Hadn't our Republicau f rienda better attend to their own family affairs ? With the two Shermans and other writing letters and bringing out their favorites there is no need to go out of the party for subjects of discussion. - Another liquor law suit is pending in Detroit. This time it is an application for an injunction, made by the Attorney-General at the instance of J. B. Bloss and Samuel Zug, to ros train the Common Counoil and Controller from refunding taxea assossed and collected under the liquor tax law. The case is to be heard to-morrow before Judge Cochran, of the Superior Court, and we predict that an injunction will be grauted. - J. B. Bloss has been appointed Register of the Land Office at Detroit, vice Fred. Morley made Consul-Qeneral at Cairo, Egypt. Bloss is not only striotly totally abstemious but is a violent prohibitionist. We have heard it insinuated that Morley is neither, which would indícate that the President (or Zack Chandler the dispenser of patronage in Michigan) believes in impartially distributing political favors, crooked whisky or no crooked whisky. -We had supposed that embezzling or stealing public funds or defrauding a State on a contract for labor was a criminal offense ; but the New York Kvening Post chronicles under its " Political " heading the Becond trial of George D. Lord, one of the indicted canal contractors. - In the House, on Monday, Mr. McCrary, of Iowa, was relieved from urther sorvice o the Committee on ho District of Coluinbia, by his own equest, and Mr. Grapo, of Mass., asigned to the position. Mr. Hoar, of klasB., was transferred iïom the Committee on lilections to the judiciary Coraniittee, the death of Mr. Starkwoathor having left a vacancy ; and VIr. Townsend, of New York, put in ;he placo vacated by Mr. Hoar. - The wily Matt. Carpontor is roported a Blaine man ; but thon be wants the socond place on the ticket given to , to , why, to Angus (Jameron, the acoidentnl or compromiso Sonator from Wisconsin ; the man who, by a combination of Democrats and recalcitrant Republicana, compolled Carpenter to prematurely retire to private lifo. And Carpenter wants Camoron's seat in the Senate : which accounts for the milk in the cocoa-nut. - The Plymouth Church at Adrián fails to 'harmonizo its difficulties. The pastor, Eev. G. K. Merrill, and aboul half the society and congregation hold regular services and Sunday School a1 the Opera House ; the disaffected trustees and Ihoir supporters continue servitifiH and Sundav School in the church Hadn't they better bury the hatchet and fight the dovil and his backers instead of each other? - On Saturday evening last the jury in the Landis-Carruth uiurdor case rendered a verdict of not guilty, and to the great gratification of the surgeons charged with malpractice grounded the verdict on the insanity of the prisoner. Wouldn't it be well to have atatutea enacted making homicide au evidence of insanity. A heap of expeasive litigation would thereby be Baved. - A Mra. Ellen Tupper, of Iowa, a bee culturist of considerable local repute, has been asserting her inalienable right to do just as crooked a business as any masculino competitor o financier : that is she has been forging notes and negotiating them anc drawing drafts on banks in which she had no funds. " Insanity " is th dótense. And are no exclusive privi leges left to men ! - They have so much silver in circu lation in California that they don' know what to do with it. It is from to 5 per cent. discount (that is from gold), with a prospectivo decreaso in valué unless they can find an outlet fo it. And hore silver is worth 6 cents les than gold, and still from 5 to 8 per cení above grcenbacks. - Report has it that a oommittee o fifteen prominent gentlemen - by whom appointed we do not kuow - will soon visit Washington for the purpose o: bringing out Judge David Davie, of II linois, as the Democratie and grange candidato for President. Judge Davi was a prominent candidate in the Cin cinnati Convention of 1872. - The New York Senate has unani mously passed a bilí fíxing the competí sation of day laborers in the employ o New York City at $2 a day, when labor ers for private citizens and oorporation can command but $1.50 a day. Sucl legislation is wrong in principie, anc not to be defended upon any ground. - The Legislatura of New York - Republioan in both branches - is doing its level best to obstruct canal reform and prevent the ring thieves from be ing brought to justioe. Cause : fea that Tilden sustained will be a formida ble candidate for President. - We don't know that Mr. Morrison of the House Ways and Means Com mittee has written a letter defining hi Frosidential preferences, but it is given out that he is for Judge Davis, of lili nois, one of the senior associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. - A jury was impanneled in the Bab cock crooked whisky conspiracy case a St. Louis on Tuesday, the case openec on the part of the proseoution, and th examination of witnesses commenced - The late Senator Ferry, of Conn., was eulogized in both branches of Congress on Tuesday. THK Lajïsing Jtepublican charges the Argus with "trying to shoulder the oentennial bill on the Bepublioan minority in the House," The Akgus has tried no such thing : it simply rebuked the Iiepublican for its attempt to make partyism capital out of the passage of the bill by the House, in view of the fact that many more Republicans than Demoorats voted for it : and in view of that other fact that its favorita candidate for President, ex-Speaker Blaine, was recorded aa voting yes. The contennial bill was in no sense a political measure, neither party could rally its forces either for or against it, and the credit or blame for its passage attachos to neither party. And when members of Congress come the more frequently to vote independent of party, and with only their oatb of office and the intorests of thoir coustituonts and the whule country in view, a better day will have dawned. It is enough to have party linos drawn when mensures involve political issues. To crack the party whip on every pending bill or subject of legislation is to end both intelligent and honest legislation. Senator Christiancy was married at Washington on Tuesday. The bride, Miss Lillie Lugenbeel, whose acquaintance he has made since the opening of the present sossion, was a clerk in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the Treasury department, and is described as " a blonde, quite pretty, and about 20 years of age." The Senator will be 64 the 12th of uext month. He was a widower with a family of grown up boys. James Parton, the " visionary " biographor, and husband of the late "Fanny Fern," has now married his stepdaughter. Parton is 54 yoars old, his former wife was eleven years his senior, and his bride is not a youth. The marriage is in violation of the laws of Massachusetts and the Logislature is to be prayod to for an act of dispensation. The Mineral Well Hotel at Lansing was burned on Saturday evening last. Loss about $15,000 ; insured for f9,750.