MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
*300 
Ityios of the 
CURRENT TOPICS. 
The Philadelphia Centennial. 
A Philadelphia correspondent of the N. Y. 
Sun says in that paper of the 29th ult: 
“It is very well known to the editorial arid 
building fraternities here that the Centennial 
contract is a Job. The manner In which it was 
arranged so that certain parties inside will 
divvy with certain parties in the contract is 
known; the names are know, are talked about 
openly at the clubs, yet not a word, is uttered in 
the press. And this Is not the only bad odor 
about the Centennial. The business niariage- 
nient is In bad bands. Then there aro the 
finances of the Centennial, which have been 
systematically falsified to the public. Tbe 
statement lias been that the managers had two 
millions of private subscript ions. They never 
had over one million, and of this amount not a 
half a million Is good, and of tins half million 
the best part, is already expended in ‘ manage¬ 
ment.’. But In order to make the State dona¬ 
tion for the memorial building and the city 
donation for the agricultural and machinery 
halls available, as well also to comply with the 
teruiB of the act of Congress on the subject, It 
was necessary to ‘put up* the private sub¬ 
scription list, and this lias been done. 
“ It is quite safe to bet ono thousand to one 
that the Centennial will never bo. The Donnish 
we have lately seen in the newspapers here 
about ground having been broken on tbe 4th of 
July is entirely misleading. The ('found was 
indeed broken, but It was not for the exhibition 
building, only for the memorial hall and the 
small outbuildings provided for by State and 
city appropriations of money. These buildings 
cannot serve for the purposes of an exhibition, 
and are not so designed. For the main exhibi¬ 
tion building, for which the contract lias been 
awarded to one Dubbins (the contractor for the 
other buildings also), at $79,000 per acre, no 
ground has yet been broken, and In all proba¬ 
bility no ground ever will lie broken. The 
whole thing has been a fraud from the begin¬ 
ning, first with the view of obtaining Congres¬ 
sional ahl and meanwhile subsidies from city 
and State, and afterward of manipulating the 
offices and contracts. 
“ The worst of II is that the citizens generally 
are earnest in the matter and suspect nothing. 
Men of high respectability, men of religion, 
men of known honesty, are upon the commit¬ 
tees to represent, the wishes of the citizens and 
protect their Interests as represented by the 
half million honajhlc subscriptions. But when 
were such men a match in worldliness for 
King sharpers, lobbyists, and ml venturers V” 
An Ancient City In tew Mexico. 
Capt. W . C. Maxmnci, of (lun. Crook’s forces, 
has furnished an int eresting description of an 
ancient city In New Mexico, inhabited by a 
remnant of the race which centuries ago was a 
flourishing tributary of Montezuma’s empire. 
The Cuptain has visited the town, talked with 
their inhabitant*, and studied their customs. 
The largest settlement is iu New Mexico, about 
thirty miles south of the border line of Arizona. 
A strong wall surrounds it, and within are 
houses for about four thousand people, though 
the population Is only 1,800. The language and 
some of the customs resemble l olnese, t hough 
religious worship is formal and pompous. The 
priests have heavily embroidered robes, which 
have been used for unnumbered years. Like 
the Peruvians, the people keep a record of 
events by tying knots in long cords. Tbe Gov¬ 
ernment is administered by thirteen caciques, 
or chiefs, six of whom are selected for life, the 
others being elected from time to time. There 
is a head chief and a vice head chief, a war 
chief, &c. Everybody votes, morals are good, 
and women are respected, a fact which alone 
makes a wide gulf between the dwellers in this 
ancient city and the horsemen of the plains. 
The place was mentioned by a Spanish Jesuit 
in 1529, and is probably as old as the Mexican 
empire, which was iu its heyday of glory and 
prosperity when invaded by Cortez. 
Success of the Loan. 
Secretary Bristow has closed negotiations 
with Auguste Belmont, representing the Roths¬ 
childs, and Messrs. SeJigmau for themselves 
and others, for Forty-five Million Dollars abso¬ 
lutely, of the fivo per cent, bonds, and the same 
parties have the right to take the balance of 
the five per oonts.-ubout $124,000,000-at any 
time within six months. Tills is understood to 
be equivalent to the closing out of the whole 
amount of five per cent, bonds authorized by 
law. The terms are par in gold or five-twenty 
bonds, and a commission of one-fourth of one 
percent, is allowed to cover expenses of every 
kind. 
We believe It is true that no loan of such 
magnitude was ever before negotiated on such 
favorable terms by our own or any other gov¬ 
ernment. The previous arrangement for the 
sale or live per cent, bonds, included an allow¬ 
ance of three m uitha’ interest on the five- 
twenties, and rather more commission than 
now conceded. The law requires that the 
whole proceeds of this loan shall be employed 
exclusively for tlie redemption of the n V6 _ 
twenty bonds. The annual interest will there¬ 
fore be reduced by $1,790,000, The effect on the 
gold premium can not fail to be marked. A 
New York paper predicts an early fall to five 
per cent. It is certain that no such severe 
blow has been made upon the permanent gold 
premium since our armies wore disbanded. 
Brigham Young and Utah. 
In a recent Interview Brigham Young said 
that the Mormons were the first to suggest the 
idea of building a railroad from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific, and that as far back as 1852 tbe 
Territorial Legislature had memorialized Con¬ 
gress on the subject. Before the days of the 
railroad lie erected a cotton mill at Salt Lake, 
the machinery of which was transported across 
tin- plains and mountains by ox teams. T.ie 
cotton used in the Mormon factories is grown 
In Southern Utah, and is fully equal to that 
raised in Tennessee. Mr. Young added that he 
Is now experimenting on the propagation of 
fi ll and oysters in flic river Jordan, and hopes 
to succeed. The first information he had of 
Utah was from Fremont’s book, in which the 
General described Salt Lake, stating that it 
was Balt at the northern end and fresh at the 
southern end. This was a mistake, caused by 
the fact that Fremont, in going westward, 
passed the northern extremity of Salt Lake, 
and in returning passed Utah Lake, which is 
further south, and fresh. From Fremont's 
book, aided by information given by Indians 
and hunters, Brigham Young was enabled to 
find the lake, near the shores of which he 
founded a great city. 
Flood and Loss of Life at Pittsburg. 
A tkiuii an k rain-fall—some think the burst¬ 
ing of a water spout caused such a flood and 
so suddenly, that about a million dollars’ worth 
of property was destroyed and over two hundred 
lives lust in a few hours, in Pittsburg and the 
immediate vicinity, early the past week. The 
destruction as detailed iu the papers was sud¬ 
den and terrific and tne loss of life appalling. 
HOME NEWS PARAGRAPHS. 
The Washington Monument Society, Mon¬ 
day, addressed letters to all the national banks 
in tlie State of Maryland, asking for subscrip¬ 
tions on l lie contingent plan, recently adopted, 
toward the complct ion of that structure. Sub¬ 
scriptions have been coining in steadily from 
all direction* since this plan was announced. 
The first examination for admission 1<> the 
Maine State College of Agriculture and the 
Mechanic Arts took place on Thursday, August 
fi; the second will occur August 25. 
A watir sprout bunt in Nevada on Friday, 
killing twenty persons and destroying consid¬ 
erable property in Llirs town of Eureka; wrick¬ 
ing an emigrant train on the Central Pacific 
Railroad between Humboldt Weils and Toano. 
Five passengers lost their lives ami Hie track 
was washed away. The down-pour continued 
for half an hour. Nothing like it has ever oc¬ 
curred in Hits country before. The scene is 
represented as awful. 
The Republican State Convention of Dela¬ 
ware at Wilmington, has nominated Dr. Isaac 
Jump for Governor, and renominated the Hon. 
James It. Lolland, the present member, for 
Congress. 
The Washington Republican publishes a list 
of forty-eight companies of the militia of a 
single State—Georgia bearing United States 
arms, drawn from the arsenals of the General 
Government, which refuse to carry the United 
States flag. 
The twenty-seventh anniversary of the Mor¬ 
mon pioneers in Utah was celebrated at Salt 
Lake City on Saturday. The Tabernacle was 
crowded, there being, it was stated, 10,000 
school children in the body of the building, and 
5,000 spectators in the galleries. 
At a meeting of the National Lincoln Monu¬ 
ment Association at Springfield, Ill., it was de¬ 
cided to dedicate the monument at Oak Ridge 
Cemetery on Oct. 15. and place in position the 
marble statue of Lincoln and the coat-of-arms. 
President Grant was also invited to deliver an 
address, and Senator Oglesby and the Hon. D. 
L. Phillips were requested to visit. Boston and 
Philadelphia to secure a sufficient sum to pay 
for the two remaininggroups of statuary. Sen¬ 
ator Oglesby will deliver an address giving a 
history of the monumout. The Society of the 
Army of the Tennessee will hold its annual 
meeting at Springfield on the same day, and, 
with the Societies of the Armies of the Cum¬ 
berland and Potomac, will be invited to take 
part in the ceremonies. 
Five young ladies will enter at Colby Univer¬ 
sity this year. Mrs. Stanton predicts that with¬ 
in the next five years women will be admitted 
to every institution of learning tn the oouutry. 
Plain attire is earnestly recommended to the 
pupils of the Pittsburgh Female College by its 
authorities. 
Mrs. Baker, one of the American pilgrims, 
and who is said to have long suffered from a 
spinal complaint, is stated to have been cured 
by immersion in the pool at Lourdes. 
The Union Pacific bankruptcy suit in Boston 
has ended in favor of the road. 
Reciprocity with this country is wanted by 
the Sandwich Islands. 
i lie Railroad Commissioners of Illinois have 
prepared their circular, calling upon all rail¬ 
road companies to make their annual report of 
1874. The report must be a complete and com¬ 
prehensive statement of everything connected 
with a railroad, awd must be returned by Sep¬ 
tember, 
The Hon. E. G. Ryan, Chief-Justice of the 
Supremo Court of Wisconsin, received a letter 
the other day from the prosecutor of a ease on 
trial before him containing an offer of $100 if 
he would decide in his favor. The Chief-Jus¬ 
tice had the rnan promptly arrested, and he 
was fined $100 for attempted bribery. 
Mi*. IL G. Dyenfortli of Illinois has been pro¬ 
moted from first assistant to principal examiner 
in the Patent Office. 
Mr. James T. Fields of Boston has agreed to 
deliver a course of six lectures on "Modern 
English Literature,” in Philadelphia next 
winter. 
Mr. E. L. Garbett's suggest !on that the middle 
and latter half of the transit of Venus should 
be observed at sonic point in Natal or Cape 
Colony Is strongly supported by Prof. Richard 
A. Proctor, 
The statement that Longfellow is writing a 
biography of Charles Sumner Is authoritatively 
denied by the Boston Gazette. 
Congressman Charles Foster of the Xth Ohio 
District, who has gained a good deal of popu¬ 
larity by his services In Investigating tbe moiety 
swindlers, and by his effect!ve warfare on But¬ 
ler, is suggested as t he next Republican candi¬ 
date for Governor of his State. 
The Hon. iturus.S. Frost is thought likely to 
tie the Republican candidate for Congress In 
Mr. Crocker's District In Massachusetts. 
Chief-Justice Waite is at present at Put-in 
Bay, Lake Erie. 
Iowa College graduates 15 students this year. 
Columbian College,Washington, has only four 
graduates this year. 
A letter from Fort Sill says, in referring to 
the Indian troubles: War is upon us, and, ns 
in all previous cases, finds us totally unprepared 
and totally Incompetent to deal with the 
savages. 
About thirty miles of water pipe are laid in 
Rodiester. Of tills 1.201) tons were laid last 
month. From fifteen to twenty miles are yet 
to be laid. 
A check sent from North Adams, Massachu¬ 
setts, to an Albany firm, in October, 1869, was 
delivered on Monday of last week, having been 
five years on the way. 
The tin-boxing of sardines has begun in Cali¬ 
fornia. These delicate fish abound from San 
Diego to Puget Sound, and the boxers pay 50 
cents per bushel for them. 
A Deputy United States Commissioner of 
Fisheries is soon to place 00,01)0 shad in the 
head-waters of the Brazos and Colorado Rivers, 
in Texas. 
There Is no fruit in Florida that thrives so 
v/eli as tbe fig. Tho orange Is uncertain, and 
lias ruined many cultivators; but the fig is 
never-failing. 
-- 
FOREIGN NOTES. 
The Halifax Rowing Club lias decided that 
George Brown challenge Sadler, the English 
champion sculler, to a five-mile race for £500, 
with one turn, at any place except the Thames 
River. 
The Daily Telegraph lias a report that King 
Ludwig of Bavaria will meet the Emperor Wil¬ 
liam ut Munich shortly, when it is to lie hoped 
that Bavaria will come to a butter understand¬ 
ing with Prussia. 
A despatch says that Franco proposes to sub¬ 
mit to the Brussels Congress serious charges 
against tiie Gorman Govern meat for act. coin- 
mil ted by the army which lately invaded 
France, and that Germany contemplates pre¬ 
senting countor charges. 
The living Livingstone expresses surprise 
that Kirk should have had the cheek to appear 
at. the obsequies of the dead Livingstone, whom 
lie embarrassed when alive. It wasn’t any of 
Kirk’s funeral. 
Many of the brokers who have* - closed their 
offices in Havana now appear oil the streets, 
and are charged with urgiuui iug false rumors 
which cause gold to fluctuate. 
The Baroness M.ajmr do Rothschild and her 
daughter appear to be bountiful in good deeds 
of late. They have Just given £500 to the Royal 
Normal College for the Blind in London. 
Professor Porter, lately a missionary to the 
Jews at Damascus, has returned to England 
after a journey of four months in the land of 
Moab, east of the Jordan. He explored a dis¬ 
trict hitherto untrodden by any European foot. 
The Archbishop of York has lost a brother, 
Colonel Edu ard Thomson of the Indian Army. 
A seizure has been made in the Paris Post- 
office of the San Francisco journals containing 
articles written by Rochefort. 
Mr. Albert Grant, member of the British 
Parliamant for Kidderminster, has been un¬ 
seated for corrupt practices in his electoral 
canvass. 
The Carllsis have ordered one republican 
prisoner to be shot for every shell fired by the 
Governmentfleet of Bilbao. 
The Emperor of Germany sleeps in a narrow 
iron bedstead, with mattresses and pillow even 
harder than those used by the common people 
in Germany, 
Princess Margareta, the wife of Don Carlos, 
lias arrived at Bayouna. 
A Times correspondent with the Carlists tele¬ 
graphs that they are trying to drive away foreign 
correspondents by shooting some as spies. 
Many Germans have already withdrawn from 
their lines. 
A telegram from Montreal says that Prof. 
Cherriman of Toronto University has been re¬ 
elected President of the Canadian Chess Asso¬ 
ciation, 
-P 
——- 
In regard to the disputed ownership of the 
Strait of Magellan the Government of the Ar¬ 
gentine Republic is anxious that it should be 
declared neutral, as the speediest and most 
iriendly way of settling any question about it 
with Chili. 
The hill called Cerrode la Conception, at 
Valparaiso, still threatens to fall and destroy 
part of the city. 
The Carlists are reported to have l.GOO men, 
women, and ch.ldren whom they intend to 
hold as hostages, to he shot in case of an at¬ 
tack by the Republicans. 
The Emperor William will visit the King of 
Bavaria soon after his return from Isclil. 
Lc Tempo states that, England, Germany and 
Italy have agreed to establish a joint surveil¬ 
lance over the Spanish frontiers. 
A priest at 8'anfa Marta, in the United States 
of Columbia, followed Father Hyacinthe’s ex¬ 
ample and took to himself a wife. Ho has 
lately repented, and addressed n petition to the 
Bishop of Dibona, bogging the pardon of the 
Church and declaring that he has put away the 
woman. 
The comet 1ms been observed from Japan, 
and was looked upon by the natives as a favor¬ 
able omen in connection with the war in For¬ 
mosa, where the tribes have come to terms w ith 
Japan and accepted the flag of that country. 
A large general meeting of t^o manufacturers 
of Ontario, to take into consideration the pro¬ 
posed reciprocity treaty, has been called for 
Wednesday and Thursday, August 12 and US, at. 
Hamilton. 
A statement which was recently made in t his 
country, that Garibaldi w as In such utter bod¬ 
ily prostration as to be unable even to bring 
food to his lips by hla own minds, is entire.y 
contradicted in a loiter be has addressed from 
Caprera to his old friend, Count Giorgio Palia- 
vlcino, Tho General says he only wishes ho 
could preserve to his life’s end Hie same good 
hcali h as he now enjoys; and he declares him¬ 
self ready to join In a campaign should Italy 
require liis services. 
In the nouse of Commons Mr. Disraeli said 
that the Government received satisfactory as¬ 
surances from the conferring Powers in regard 
to the Brussels Congress, and that a delegate 
had been sawl on behalf of Great Britain, un¬ 
der the restriction* already made known to tho 
House. 
The King of Ashantoe has paid a further in¬ 
stallment or $30,000 to Great Britain on the 
war indemnit y. 
The German Government intends to trans¬ 
form tbe Bank of Prussia into a bank for the 
whole of the Empire. 
The morning papers state that the Spanish 
Government has sent, a strongly-worded note 
to the French Government on the subject of 
Carlist violations of the frontier. 
The news from Formosa is to the effect that 
the Japanese are driving the aborigines from 
the coast. The Japanese war vossels were still 
on the coast of Formosa. 
THE SEASON, CROPS, PRICES, ETC. 
C’Uy Point, Indian filter, Fla., July i:i.—We 
have had rather a dry spring and summer thus 
far—old citizens say the dryest they ever knew 
here. Yet, as far as my observations extend, 
the crops have not suffered. Weather very 
pleasant, 1 lie highest range of my thermom¬ 
eter marking 94* in the shade; to-day, at 2 
o’clock P. M., 81° Corn is now being gathered, 
with a fair yield. Beans, peas mid pumpkins 
ripening, or fu iy ripe: water-melons ripe since 
April: hew sweet potatoes just coming In; 
garden vegolablcs are in order r.lie year round, 
but arc more scarce during the summer than 
at any other season. Tbe orange crop, al¬ 
though not large, is very lair, wuile the fruit is 
of a more uniform size, very smooth, and gives 
promise of a superior crop as regards the qual¬ 
ity of fruit.—it. s. xt. 
Princeton, Gilnmn Co., lint., July 27.—Had 
a copious rain here last night.. Corn is tasseled 
out, and with the rain we got last night, and 
another a few days ago, wo shall make a jgood 
crop if we get no more. Our wheat crop lias 
been something unusual. It is claimed that, 
there are 1,000,000 bushels of wheat for sale in 
this county this year. We get. these figures 
Irotn Dr. Andrew Lewis, one of the old buyers 
and shippers of this place, and from what we 
can learn of the whole crop of tbe county, ilie 
figures of Mr. Lmvis, though large, are not any 
too much. The grain itself is No. 1, and is 
being delivered at th's place at $1 per bushel. 
We got it cut and our liay cut and saved in this 
immediate vicinity without a shower. Hay is 
worth from $10 to $12 per ton in this markot; 
the crop has been generally good.—x. 
Bear Lake, Manistee Co., Midi., July 22 .— 
The weather has been exceedingly dry and 
warm, and but little rain has fallen since win¬ 
ter. Wheat will be an average crop, but hay 
and oats are exceedingly light in this town. 
Corn is tolerably fair. Gardens are slim affairs 
at best. Many farmers are drawing wa‘er ?.A 
miles for tbe house and stock. Fires have been 
raging in the pine woods for two or three 
weeks, doing a groat amount of dam ace, be¬ 
sides giving the surrounding country a dismal, 
gloomy appearance. Small fruits are abun¬ 
dant, and tlie inhabitants are luxuriating on 
berries in every possible wav. We are blessed 
with health, for the most part, (liroughout the 
county.— m. e. a. 
Wesley\ilie, Erie Co., l'a., July 25.—Tlie 
wheat and hay crops are well secured and in 
