MOOBE’S BUBAL NEW-YOBKE 
PUBLISHER’S SPECIAL NOTICES 
How lo 1)0 It.—It t* not necessary to b»vo nil 
our “ dootimnnt# ” In order I/O form a club. On the 
contrary, any subscriber, or other reader of the 
paper who known ltd merits, can <70 t a work alonee. 
By showing a number of the Rural, and talking 10 
friend* and neighbor*, almost any one can form a 
club of from ton to fifty, without Other assistance. 
We will send nil requisite nids, but. If not received 
you need not watt their arrival—and a little Timely 
Effort will (secure you a t 'lUuoblt Premium, 
• -m- 
December i* tlie Beet Month In which to form 
club*, and hnnoe ITowln tho Very 7 >me fnronr Agents, 
and nil others disposed to secure “ Good Paj for Do¬ 
ing Good”—to help the KtTlt AL and benefit, them, 
selves—to open and push the Campaign for 1874. 
Many hnv already commenced, nnrt we (rust every 
Club Agent, who 1 m/ not” opened the ball ” will do 
so at. once. Our Premiums nre so liberal that every 
one forming a club will be Well Rewarded. 
Club Agents whocannotnct for the Reral dur¬ 
ing the ensuing year, will confer a special favor by 
Inducing some active, wide-awake and Influential 
friend to do so—notifying us of the fact. Extra doc¬ 
uments—Premium ldsts, Show Bills, &c.,—will be 
sent to all such new Agents, and Indcod to all dis¬ 
posed to do a Little Good Work for a Largo Howard. 
The Document* Ready.—Onr Show Bill, Pre¬ 
mium List, Ac., are now ready, and, together with 
specimen* of the piper, will be sent promptly—on 
day of receipt of request—to all disposed to form 
clubs or otherwise nld in extending the circulation 
of the beat combined Rural, Literary and Fam¬ 
ily W eeklv. .Send for the. dotumentx! 
Ityros cjf the tSteel!. 
CURRENT TOPICS. 
The Northern Pacific R. R. 
A correspondent of the Tribune says of Jay 
Cooke and this railway projectHe has just 
as great confidence as over in the future of tho 
Northern Pacific. In conversation to-day, he 
said the road was a great and noble utidnrf nk- 
ing, and would ono day justify the faith its 
projectors had in it. If ho put millions 0 / dol¬ 
lars of other people's money Into # line of rail¬ 
way running into a wilderness, he risked all ids 
own fortune in it, and in doing so he undoubt¬ 
edly believed that he was not only investing 
the money where it would yield a large profit, 
but that ho was doing a praiseworthy act in 
developing an important part of tho country. 
HI* faith in the enterprise la so anient, that it 
oommands respect. Fifteen minutes' talk w ith 
him will convince any one opposed to hasty 
judgment, that his rash investment* in the 
Northern Pacific wero not occasioned by a de¬ 
sire to add to his fortune by the chance of a 
lucky end to a wild speculation, but. grew'out 
of a conviction that the road offered a legiti¬ 
mate and safe Investment for capital, and an 
ambition to connect hta name with the build¬ 
ing of a great, cont nental highway. Mr. Cooke 
says that the apprehensions felt by the holders 
of the Northern Pacific bonds arc unreasonable 
and groundless. He lias invested the fortunes 
of his wife and other members of his family in 
them, and by hia advice hla Intimate personal 
friends have bought them, and he fully believes 
that they will one day be as pood os Five- 
twenties. The substance of hla argument (not 
giving his exact language) is as follows: 
The road has almost no debt, except, what it 
owes the firm nf Jay Cooke & Co., besides its 
bonds. It has issued about $30,000,000 of bonds. 
These bonds are n first lien upon 11,000,000 of 
acres of land which the Company has already 
received patents for, or are entitled to for the 
portion of the road now built. They are be¬ 
sides a first lieu upon 558 miles of well-built 
road, finished, equipped, and in operation. The 
road last year earned a surplus overrunning ex¬ 
penses, and must do bettor this year. The 
Eastern Division has now a western terminus 
at the Missouri River, and obtains the large 
and rapidly increasing traffic of the L'pper Mis¬ 
souri country. It would be a good line if ex¬ 
tended no further. So would the Pacific Divis¬ 
ion, which connects the Puget Sound region 
with Portland, Oregon, and the whole Columbia 
River Valley. Tho lands of the Company are 
excellent, and the climate along the line good, 
allstatementsto the contrary notwithstanding. 
Every dollar of bonds can be converted into 
more than a dollar's worth of land at the 
option of the holder. 
The Metric System of Measures. 
At the Coast Survey Office there have just 
been finished a number of sets of the standard 
weights and measures of tho metric system, 
which are to bo supplied to each State t hrough 
its Governor, under a joint resolution passed 
in 1868 for the purpose of providing a moans fur 
the gradual introduction of the metric system 
Into this country. The measures and weights 
are beautiful specimens of workmanship, and 
will be soon distributed. This resolution of 
1886 was one of four measures reported to tho 
House by Mr. Kasson of Iowa, who was then 
Chairman of the Committee on Coinage, 
Weights and Measure*-, three of whlob were 
adopted. The movement for the introduction 
of the metric system was then fairly under way, 
the general use of t he system having beeu au¬ 
thorized and the Postmaster-General having 
been directed to supply post-offices with scales 
of metric denomination. When Mr. Kasson 
retired from Congress it was dropped, and 
nothing has been done since except the prepar¬ 
ation of the standards above mentioned. Tho 
movement has been recently revived however, 
and under the auspices of President Barnard, 
of Columbia College, a meeting to organize a 
national society of metrology, which will have 
I for its ohjeot rlie establishment of a unitary 
system of values, weights and measures, is to 
be called. Professor Hllgard of the Coast Sur¬ 
vey and Congressman Kasson will attend. 
Marshal Bazalne’s Letter to Hie Counsel. 
After Marshal Bazainc had received his 
sent cnee from Geheral Poured. the Marshal 
j la reported to have said very quietly, “Very 
I well, Monsieur Pourcet; have me shot as soon 
| as possible.’’ Subsequently his counsel, Ma.ltre 
Laclriud, brought him the document signed by 
the Judges containing the recommendation to 
mercy, and vainly endeavored to obtain 
Bazalne’s signature to the petition. After a 
nights rest,, Bazalne WTote his counsel the 
following loiter, which Is worthy to be placed 
upon record; 
Mu Dear and Tlratc Defender; Before the 
supreme hour! would thank you with all my 
soul for the heroic efforts which you have made 
to sustain my cause, if the words of the 
greatest eloquence which you have borrowed 
from the sentiment of truth and in the devo¬ 
tion of your noble heart could not convince 
my judge*,, it was because they could not be : 
convinced; for in your admirgble speech you 1 
have surpassed human effort- I will not sue I 
for mercy. I do not wish to prolong before the 
whole world the sight of a struggle so sad, and 
I beg you to take no steps In my behalf. 1 do , 
not wish to be Judged more by men ; it is from 
time and the abatement of passions that I 
hope for my Justifies Mon. 1 await, the execu¬ 
tion of my sentence linn and resolved, strong 
in my conscience, which does not reproach me 
in anything. Marshal Bazaine. 
Trianoii-sous-bois, Dee. 11, 1873. 
The American Minlater In Japan. 
A strange scene took place at Tokei, Japan, 
on the Emperor’s birthday. In the evening a I 
dinner was given at the Emperor's Summer 
l’alacc to the Foreign Ministers accredited to 
Japan. Terashima, t he new Minister for For¬ 
eign Affairs, presided. With the dessert Sir 
Harry S. Parker, as British Minis Lev. rose and 
proposed the hoaitb of the Emperor, which be 
accompanied by a speech. At the close he 1 
called upon the French Minister, remarking It 
was hia turn next to apeak. Tho Vomit briefly 
responded, excualngliimsclf.and aaheresumed 
his scat Judge Bingham, tho American Minis¬ 
ter. rose to offer “Prosperity, happiness, and 
progress to the Sovereign and people of Japan,” 
when Sir Harry, violently interrupting, shut 
him off completely, motioning him to sit down, 
and crying out “No more," “ No more.” Judge 
Bingham resumed his seat gracefully, when a 
lively discussion ensued across the lable, iu 
which Sir Harry became very much excited, 
contending warmly that the sentiment was out 
of order, as it introduced politics, and super¬ 
fluous in language, as “the Emperor was the 
people;” but the Judge coolly informed hiui 
that he might hare hoard of u church without 
a bishop or a people without a crown, but in¬ 
quired if It were possible to have a bishop with¬ 
out a church or a sovereign without a people. 
When pressed for an answer, Sir Harry reluct¬ 
antly admitted it oould not be, and Imme¬ 
diately Judge Bingham good naturedly con¬ 
gratulated him on having “ oome to his way of 
thinking.” _ 
Illinois Farmers’ Platform. 
The Illinois State Farmers’ Association re¬ 
cently adopted the following resolutions: 
Resolved, That we demand the immediate re¬ 
form of abuses In the Civil Sendee, through 
which tJte patronage of the Government is dis¬ 
pensed as a reward for partisan service rather 
than with regard to the public necessities. 
Resolved, That we are opposed to a protective 
tariff. 
Resolved. That we deprecate any further 
grants of public lands or loans of t.ho public 
credit, ana of National, State or local subscrip¬ 
tions iu aid of corporations. 
Resolved, That we favor the repeal of our Na¬ 
tional Banking law, and believe t hat the Gov¬ 
ernment should supply a legal-tender currency 
direotly from the Treasury, interchangeaole for 
Government bonds bearing the lowest possible 
rate of interest. 
Resolved , That the existing railroad legisla¬ 
tion of t his State should bo sustained and en¬ 
forced until thoroughly tested before the 
courts, and we oppose any legislation by Con¬ 
gress: under the plea of regulating commerce 
between the States, which shall deprive the 
people of their present controlling influence 
through State legislation. 
Restuved, That the right of the Legislature to 
regulate and control the railroads of tne State 
must be vindicated, established and main¬ 
tained as an essential attribute of State gov¬ 
ernment, and that those holding the doctrine 
that railroad charters are contracts, in the 
sense that they are not subject to legislative 
supervision and control, have no just apprecia¬ 
tion of the necessary power* and rights of a I 
tree Government, and we will agree to no 
truce, submit to no compromise, short of com¬ 
plete vindication and me re-establishment of 
the supremacy of the State Government in its 
rights through the Legislature to supervise and 
control ihe railroads of t he State In such man¬ 
ner as the public interest shall demand. 
Surrender of the Virginius. 
A Havana letter says;—“The American sure 
very indignant, and say that the consideration 
of the United States for the Spanish Republic 
has obscured Its judgment as to the condition 
of affairs nn this island ; Mint this consideration 
instead of beiug regarded in the true spirit, 
will be looked upon as weakness on the part 
of the United States, aud that the Spaniards, 
feeling their strength, will become emboldened 
and be guilty of greater excesses than any yet 
committed- When informed of the details of 
the surrender, the American colony expressed 
general disgust, declaring that, inasmuch as 
the Virginius had been seized with all on board, 
she should be returned with all, in due form 
and with every ceremony, and that every part 
of the very mild protocol should be consum¬ 
mated. The surrender of the Virginius is still 
not generally known outside of official and 
American circles, and there i6 therefore noth¬ 
ing to say with regard to the effect of the 
actual surrender. With respect to the sur¬ 
render of the survivors of the Virginius, very 
little information Is known here - ” 
The Survivors of the Virginius. 
Tue United States sloop-of-war Juniata, Com¬ 
mander Braine, arrived In the harbor of New 
Vork Doc. 28, with the survivors of the Vlr- 
glntus on hoard. They arc 102 In number. The 
Government has taken t he depositions of these 
men relative to the Virginius affair. They 
unite in stating that they were robbed and 
maltreated by the crew - of the Spanish ship 
Tornndo, and that their sufferings while In the 
hands of the Spaniards were very severe. AVhen 
they were delivered on bonrd the Juniata they 
were poorly clad and very filthy, and nearly 
famished. They were furnished with clothing 
aud foot! by Commander Braine, who says that 
threats were made by the Spaniards while ly¬ 
ing in Santiago do Cuba to board hi* shin and 
take her with their knives. He asserts that the 
life of Vice Consul Smith Is In danger, and a 
man-of-war, in his opinion, should be sent to 
his protection. 
Soundings for Cable to Japan. 
The San Francisco Alta California of Dec. 16 
says: “The United States steamer Tuscarora 
came down from Mare Island yesterday, and 
has received orders to make another sounding 
expedition. She will ilrct proceed to San Diego, 
thence to Honolulu, and then to Japan. Her 
sounding equipment, it will bo remembered, 
consists of two apparatus, one iu which the 
sounding line is of rope, and which lias to he 
hauled in with an engine, and the other of 
piano wire, which is worked by hand. She will ' 
only take the last mentioned apparatus with 
her.” 
-- 
BRIEF NEWS PARAGRAPHS. 
A woman in Detroit having been divorced 
from ber first, was last week remarried to her 
second. No. 1, on the night of these nuptials, 
in order to show - that ho boro no malice, gath¬ 
ered u crowd, and treated the new couple to a 
serenade more noisy than melodious. This 
was what the new husband could by no means 
bear. So he came out and wrestled in single 
onmbat with the old husband, while the dame 
stood in tho door aud complacently witnessed 
the mutual mauling. 
It appears, from the report of the Southern 
Claims Commission, that the gross amount of 
claims filed Is $60,000,000, and the aggregate 
amount passed on, $10,000,000, there remaining 
17,000 claims, amounting to $50,000,000, to he ad¬ 
judicated. The amount claimed in the whole 
number of cast's reported is $4,718,891, and the 
amount allowed in settlement of tho 1,093 ap¬ 
proved claims is $044,365, on average allowance 
nf $500 to each claimant. 
The Hon. Wm, E. Dodge of New York, Judge 
Pitman of Massachusetts, A. M. Powell of The 
National Temperance Advocate, and others, 
expect to have a hearing before the House Ju¬ 
diciary Committee at. an early day, in behalf of 
a bill providing for the appointment of a com¬ 
mission to Investigate the liquor traffic. They 
will advocate the passage of the bill introduced 
in the Senate by Mr. Howe of Wisconsin. 
IT is related of one of the children of Mr. 
Sigourney of Boston, whose family was lost 
on the Ville du Havre, that, prior to their sail¬ 
ing, though elated with the prospect of a voy¬ 
age, she persisted in saying:—“But we are ail 
goiug to be drowned!" Had they reached 
France in safety, nothing would have been 
thought of the childish expression, but now it 
is remembered as almost prophetic. 
There are a good many people whose hostil¬ 
ity to capital punishment is about as earnest 
as that of a Western editor, who, after reciting 
the details of a poisoning case, cohcludes as 
follows:—“We do not believe in inflicting the 
death penalty; yet, when we think of a man so 
utterly depraved that he could administer poi¬ 
son, as in this instance, we would not raise 
much fuss if he were hung twice.” 
Mr. Seth Adams, who recently died in Bos¬ 
ton, waa during his life often the victim of 
hypochondria. He left an estate valued at $1,- 
700,000, a part of which he has bequeathed to 
relatives and to a number of charitable insti¬ 
tutions. The. residue of the estate is to be ap¬ 
plied to the endowment of an asylum, to be 
within 15 miles of Boston, for tho reception and 
treatment of hypochondriacs. 
J7The Postmaster-General has issued an order 
that hereafter appointments of Special Agents 
of the Post-Office Department shall be ;made 
subject to examinat ion by a Board of Examiu- | 
era, to be duly appointed, and whose duty 
it shall be to examine special agents, and report 
in writing particularly as to the qualifications 
of candidates. Persons found not qualified will 
be discharged from the service. 
The cattle plague has broken out in Madeira 
and cattle going thence to the Gold Coast are 
infected. 
Mbs. Hannah Wooster i a the centenarian 
of York County Mo., having been bom Decem¬ 
ber 27, 1772. She has never been in a railway 
car, but hopes to visit Philadelphia on July 4. 
1876. in the same oar with Mi9& Lucy Langdon 
Nowell, of Alfred, Me., who was born .Tulv 4 
1776. 
-• » » » 
BUSINESS INFORMATION. 
Wheeler «fc ilson sew ing Machines.—If one 
could get hold of the statistics that people 
don’t publish, what interesting stories might 
be told, bow dull and prosaic would seem the 
facts we do get—especially those concerning 
the Sewing Machine. We hear of premiums 
and honors given everywhere to the Wheeler 
& Wilson machine, till it. seems as If they 
always would get the premiums, as a matter of 
course, and we read of each now honorwearfly. 
nut of how many homes have been made hap¬ 
py. how many widows’ hearts made to sing for 
joy, how many families have been supported 
by the help of these noiseless aids to a higher 
civilization—how, by spreading comfort, among 
the community, tho W heeler & Wilson Co. 
have helped education, religion, refincmenG- 
theso things our statisticians do not. tell us. 
Yet the facta exist, and none need to think 
long to recall in their own immediate circle (so 
enormous have been the sales) just such good 
things as have been noted above. The poetry 
of the Sewing Machine haa not yet been written. 
--- 
The Ktrck Piano. Some two years ago we 
called attention in t.lio very excellent instru¬ 
ments made by George Steer A Co., 35 East 
Fourteenth street. N. V., and are glad of the 
opportunity, at this holiday season, to again 
commend to our renders pianos so good and so 
reliable. The pianos made now have the same 
excellencies we pointed out. then, and their 
reputation is as high. Every help 1 hat increased 
experience and untiring watchfulness over 
every detail can giv**, is used to insure a uni¬ 
formly good instrument; so our readers may 
purchase with certainty that tho piano they 
get is good when they get it and 11 -ill stau pood. 
Wntrr*' Orchestra! Organ.-Still striving after 
perfection, Mr. Waters has produced another 
instrument having special claims to notice. 
Beautiful In form and convenient in arrange¬ 
ment, as all his Reed Organs are, he h»6 suc¬ 
ceeded in rhis instrument, in producing tones 
of unusual power withou loss of sweetness. 
The rango of expression also, given by the now 
arrangement of the swell, renders the instru¬ 
ment equally desirable for Church and Home, 
for the learner and the artist.. Of course, hav¬ 
ing produced a good thing, Mr. Waters takes 
care to make it known, and his advertisement 
in this paper will be read with interest. 
-*♦«- 
Lee’s Summit A'urxerlcs.—Onr advertising col¬ 
umns call attention to the well-known Lee’s 
Summit Nurseries or Blair Bros. These are 
by far the most extensive and popular nurseries 
of t he country, and none are regarded more re¬ 
liable. The proprietors have a fortune in the 
fact that their stock passed through tho last 
winter without injury. Their trade, wholesale 
and retail, is increasing every year. 
-*♦*- 
Furm for Sale.—The advertisement of Aehle, 
Dunnica & Co., BooneviJle, Mo., to be found 
in another column, is worthy of attention. 
The property seems desirable for a home; 
house, barn, stables, orchards, vineyards, good 
neighborhood, a healthy region, and is besides, 
what is of special interest at this time, very- 
cheap. A good opportunity for some one. 
-*-*-•--- 
SEMI-BUSINESS PARAGRAPHS. 
.Magnificent Suece»*.-It is permitted to few 
men or companies to achieve knowledge supe¬ 
riority in any important position or business. 
The present generation has witnessed stupen¬ 
dous rivalry in several branches of industry, and 
notably the Sewing Machine business. Amid 
a multitude of competitors steadily and surely 
the VTheeler & Wilson Company held their own 
from the beginning upon fixed and honorable 
principles. Long since their leading position 
in America was established. Abroad, at Lon¬ 
don, in 1862 they won the highest premiums; 
at Paris in 1867, they distanced oighty-two com¬ 
petitors and were awarded the highest premi¬ 
um. the ONLY GOLD MEDAL for Sewing 
Machines exhibited; and lastly amid unparal¬ 
leled competition follow the splendid triumphs 
of Vienna, noted in our advertising columns. 
Something About Starch—A poor starch Is a 
nuisance to the laundress, to the housekeeper, 
and to every one who has taste enough to enjoy 
clean linen. Not only does the lady or gentle¬ 
man who suffers common starch to intrude 
upon thoir clothes deny themselves an import¬ 
ant luxury-, but they suffer In other ways, for’ 
common starch being impure, yellow, sour or 
musty, discolors or destroys their linen. To 
satisfy any person what a pure article really is, 
let them try Dtjrykas’ "Satin Gloss Starch.” 
It is easy to use, gives a beautiful, clear finish, 
is snow white, and goes further than any other 
starch made. 
Bryant’s Book-Keeping — For Self-Instruction 
and Schools.— The cheapest and best work ever 
published. 120 pages. Sent, post-paid, on re¬ 
ceipt of 75 cents. Address J, C. Bryant, Prin¬ 
cipal Business College, Buffalo, N. Y. 
