AMERICAN NOTES.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 654, 29 March 1870, Page 4

AMERICAN NOTES.

Some citizens of Massachusots are moving for separate prisons for women. A Chinaman recently carried off the prize for ploughing at the Oregon State Pair. New Orleans and Chicago papers express regret at the presence of armies of unemployed men in the streets of those cities. : Tn.e new Chicago law firm of a man and his wife is to be under the style of " Myra Brad well and Husband," as it ought to be. " The ladies of Janesville, Wisconsin, have formed a secret society called the " Phalanx ;" for a crusade, against drinking and gambling saloons. The Neio York World says Pere Hya- ; cinthe and Henry Ward Beecher have held a most amicable interview j neither understanding a word the other said. An economical old gentleman of seventyfive was recently buried in Connecticut, in the same suit of clothes which he had worn at the weddings of His four wives. Chicago has a little girl who obtains a livelihood by begging, popniar sympathy being excited by her exposing a hand containing five fingers and three thumbs. . The Vermont Legislature has passed a Bill holding liquor-dealers responsible for tne damage to person or property done by those obtaining liqhnrs of them. The California "Moderation Society" pledges its members to drink only winey beer, and cider, except when they are discouraged, and then whisky is allowed. Mrs Lincoln has. returned to Frankfort for the winter. The New York Tribune says there is not a word of truth in the story of her intended marriage with a German baron. She is living in retirement. • The" New York World Bays the reason why the pantaloon makers of Boston have struck is because the Woman's Rights movement there has created such a demand for those articles; A breach of promise case in Detroit turns upon the question whether the defendant intended, by enclosing a leaf of 10 c geranium to the lady, to use the language of flowers, in which case the innocent leaf would have said, "Thou art my choice." The average number of suits begun for or against the Erie Railway is said to be seven a week, and it is believed that one half the New York lawyers are retained one side or the other. No suit was ever yet known to svdvance as far a? "judgment." Female - suffrage ' is .at length legally enacted in one portion of the Dnited . States, . The Legislature of the Territory of -Wyoming has passed an Act providing for female suffrage; and on Dec. 10 it became a law by receiving the Governor's: approval. The Helena (Montana) Herald records the casting of a 60,000 dollar gold brick for Bohm and Aub, the largest that was ever made: in the United States. : {- Mr Bohm has offered to make a present of this brick to any one who will shoulder it and walk one mile without .stopping. It weighs 2701 b. At the coroner's inquest at Alameda on the persons killed at the recent accident on the Western Pacific litffy. the iswiitch tender, who gave the wrong signal, was examined, and acknowledged that, though he had a time table, he could neither.read nor write. He said be did not know which train had the ru?ht to the. track. : . ■ . - It-; is -evident] that the editor of the (tiiicagb Trilnin'e must take the "first place among duelling editors. M. Paul de OaSsagnacp^es his ineffectual fire by. the side of such'a'hdrjji.'' The American editor finds ,it necessary ta: place thefollowing . intimation at the head" of his news : — " The editor of this paper, in consequence of the number of analogous engagements previously contracted, will find himself i compelled till Easter, or Trinity, to refuse I challenges from his honorable adversaries, political or otherwise." ', According to the Boston Traveller, the ( opinion seems to be gaining strength that the;P;acifie Railroad, iis- working a great change in the climate 1 of the Plains. Instead of continuous droughts all along the' railroad; rain lioiv "falls' in refreshing abundance. This result has been remarked - upon • in- other sections of : the West. In Central Ohio, for example, it is said the climate has been completely revolutionised since iron rails" have formed a net work all over that region. Instead of the 1 ''destructive droughts formerly there,- for some foiir or fivb yeari^hereTias beehiain in abundance -^even'mbre iftkii enough' ito satisfy all; the yrkbfa-6f[:f&ljii&pi.J s !lhis change,, & 'thought loibjßfeheig^utt.Qtan eq;pjQibnittn\ produced in the electrical currents, which "lias brought about a more uniform dispen- i sation of the rain. , Ifefe a fact .within.the observation of all who remember prerailroad times, that we have now few or no thunder-storms as we formerly had in New England. The iron rails which touch and cross other in every direction serve as conductors and equalisers to the electric ciuTents, and . so prevent, the terrible explosions which used to" terrify us in former years. The telegraphic wires which accompany the iron rails everywhere also act an important part in diffusing electricity equally through the

atmosphere, thus preventing the occurrence of severe thunder-storms. A writer in the Atlantic Monthly relates the following : — The leading churches of San Francisco, of the various denominations, have established Chinese Sunday schools, which open every Sunday at noon and continue iv session for two hours. Women of course, takes the brunt of this, as of most good works. A large proportion of the teachers are young girls and young married women. Blackboards and • simple atlases, the primer, the spellingbook, and the New Testament, as a reading book, are in use. Here, for the first time, John encounters woman in a larger character than that of a slave, and acquires for -her a new and affectionate respect. After she has taught him one Sunday, he looks eagerly for her coming, and will not be put off with a stranger, even of the lordly sex. A friend of mine, visiting one of these schools, found ore hundred and seventy pupils present. He was given a class of two — the usual nu'nber. One was a Chinese youth who had arrived in this country only two days before, and had never seen an English book. In one hour by the watch, this lad learned the alphabet so perfectly that he could go through it glibly, either way, and conld name any individual letter th«> moment the pencil pointed to it. the other had been here for six months, aud could read a little. He spelled out slowly, "The horse will kick the^ man," but the meaning of the verb puzzled him, and he enquired " Kickee ? What kickee ?" gesture of the foot sent a smile of comprehension rippling over his face. My friend then showed him the picture of a boy kneeling at prayer, with eyes closed, and asked, I " What is the boy doing ?" John's only j idea of prayer is that a priest dropping a written petition into a furnace a3 if he were mailing a letter ; and this baffleel him. He studied it long with a blank look ; but at last broke out with a chuckle of discovery, ".Me tinkee he catchee fly!" The reports of the American papers of a proceeding which has just occurred at the New York Sub' Treasury are' of some interest as illustrating the difficulties of tin United "States Government as owner of a large hoard of gold. The AssistantTreasurer is held.. personally responsible for "every penny" which the Treasury vaults contain, and at every change of appointments-the money must be counted, so that the new ; appointee may have his responsibility defined. As there are now about 75,000,00bd015. in gold coin (15,000,000) and about 40,000d015. iv silver in the vaults it may be seen what labor of counting is involved in. the transfer rendered necessary by the recent removal of General Butterfield. Of course it is not necessary- to count every coin, the chests and bags being equalised and only one or two cotmted against which the others may be weighed ; but much as the process can be abbreviated it still takes a long time-r occupying on the.pre--vious occasion twelve days. The arrange-; merits for the custody of the money are of; -a most solid kind. The vaults are " two in number and situated on the main floor «f the buildiyg. The sides and roof of each are of eight feet granite masonry and two feet of . iron plates. Between the plates are musket balls laid in • loose. The floor is thirty, feet of masonry and two feet of iron plates, also with a layer of musket balls. Each vault is. closed by four iron doors weighing two tons each, and fastened by two combination locks to each door. The three inner doors are locked without a key, while the locks on the outer ones are operated by means of an instrument about an inch long by half an inch wide, which may be carried in a vest pocket. Each vault is about twelve feet square. On the. sides of each apartment are built 120 chests of iron, each of a capacity of a quarter of a million in gold coin. Each chest when fill! is closed by an iron door, and fastened with a lock which is sealed, so that the door cannot be tampered with without breaking, the Beal." In this tyay the United States- Government- performs its business as the second or third largest holder of gold in the world — the Bank of France being the largest, and' the Bank of England oiuy sometimes exceeding the usual figure of the American Government.