the bill was passed by which it was sought to accomplish this by omitting, to appropriate money for their enforcement, and by expressly prohibiting any department or officer of the government from incurring any liability under the Revised Statutes authorizing the appointment or payment of general or special deputy marshals for service on election day, until an appropriation sufficient to pay such liability should have first been made.

The bill "making appropriations to pay fees of United States Marshals and their general deputies" was vetoed June 30, 1879, for substantially the same reasons as that known as "certain judicial expenses bill."

The United States Marshals' bill, vetoed by the President May 4, 1880, made appropriations, among other things, for the payment of $600,000 for fees to marshais, but included legislation of an important general and permanent character. June 15, 1880, the President vetoed the Senate act regulating the pay and appointment of deputy marshals. This was vetoed because the marshals contemplated in the bill had no executive head, and were distinctly different officers from the special deputies of the marshal. The marshal had no authority to appoint or remove them, he could not control or be responsible for them, and these "special marshals" had no authority to call to their aid, if resisted, the posse comitatus. They were protected by no criminal statutes in the performance of their duties; an assault upon one of them with an intent to prevent a lawful election would be no more than an ordinary assault upon any other citizen; they could not make arrests when crimes were committed in their presence; no oaths of office were required of them; they gave no bond, and they had no Supervisor who was responsible for them, and they were not punishable for neglect of duty or misconduct in office.

President Hayes vetoed, March 1, 1879, the Chinese immigration bill, which restricted to fifteen the number of Chinese passengers that might be brought to this country by one vessel. It was vetoed because, the President stated, this number (fifteen) was not fixed in any proportion to the size or tonnage of the vessel or by any consideration of the safety or accommodation of these passengers, and also because President Hayes held it was the abrogation by the Government of the Burlingame treaty with China.

INDEPENDENCE HALL BELLMAN. HARLAN, Iowa, Sept. 4, 1880. 1. What is an "executive session," as applied to Congress? 2. What are the salaries of the members of the President's Cabinet and Judges of Supreme Court? 3. How is the apportionment of electors-at-large for President made? 4. What was the name of the man who rang the bell at the time of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence? QUIZ.

Answer.-1. An executive session is one where Congress goes into secret session to consider and act upon appointments made by the President. 2. The salaries of the members of the Cabinet are $8,000 each; the salary of the Chief Justice is $10,500, and that of the Associate Justices $10,000 each. 3. Every State in the Union has as many electors-at-large as it has United States Senators, and as many electors as it has representatives in Congress. 4. We have given some

attention to the fourth question, and find that, among fourteen authorities at hand, the historians refer to the bellman variously as the "aged bellman," the "patriotic bellman," the "man who rang the bell," etc., but none give the name. Even Colonel Higginson, in his "Young Folks' History of the United States," simply says: "So the old bell-ringer placed his little boy at the hall door to await the signal of the door-keeper." We finally referred the question to John Austin Stevens, Esq., editor of the Magazine of American History, who has given much attention to such inquiries, and who answered as follows: "The query you put me as to the bellman of Independence Hall appeared in the Magazine for March, 1879, without eliciting an answer. I doubt whether the name of the individual is now known. It would be a matter of interest to historians to know his name.

GENERAL SIGEL-SOUTHERN ILLITERACY. GENTRYVILLE, Ind., Sept. 14, 1880. General Sigel made a speech in this town for the Democracy. He stated that he had been a Republican from the war until four years ago: he abandoned the party because it had got corrupt and the country needed a change. 1. Please give a short sketch of his life. 2. Has he not been a disappointed office-seeker in the Republican party? 3. What proportion of citizens of the United South can read and write with the ongi. nal free States. A. H. M. Answer.-1. General Franz Sigel was born in Zinsheim, Baden, Nov. 18, 1824, graduated at the military school of Carlsruhe, and entered the service of Baden, but resigned in 1848, and for a time labored for German unity and Republicanism. He was the same year appointed Minister of War by the revolutionary government, but after the defeat of Mieroslawski by the Prince of Prussia, he retired to Rastadt, and later withdrew to Switzerland. Subsequently he was expelled by the Swiss Government, and in 1850 came to America, teaching in the academy of Dr. Rudolph Dalon, whose daughter he afterward married. In 1861 he was a resident of St. Louis, where he became Colonel of the Third Missouri Volunteers. He rose during the war to the rank of Major General, and was present in many important engagements. In 1871 he was elected Register of New York City and county. 2. He has always been well treated by the party that made him what he became; but, although honored with many gifts of office and advancement, his desires were nearly always greater than what was believed his due. When President Hayes advanced Mr. Schurz to a place in the Cabinet, General Sigel felt that he and not the present incumbent should have been made the Secretary of the Interior, or been given some other high offic Therefore he stumped the country for General Hancock. 3. The following figures are compiled from the last census reports, the census returns of 1880 covering illiteracy in the States and Territories not having been completed up to this date. It will be some time before the reports of 1880 in regard to this subject will be published by the Superintendent of Census. We have selected only the States, leaving the Territories out of the count. It will be observed that we have given the population of each State, and placed beside it the number of persons above 10 years of age who could not read or

4,161,253

North Carolina.....

South Carolina.....

Total........ ......13,878,615

These figures show that 29 9-10 per cent of the people in the sixteen Southern States enumerated were wholly illiterate in the year when the last census was taken.

Now, observe all the Northern States at that time, excepting Colorado, which was admitted into the Union in 1876, and notice the relatively small number of illiterates north of Mason and Dixon's line. The census returns for the Northern States are taken from the same source, and cover the same period as those given above in regard to the Southern States:

States

Number of Population. illiterates. 560,247 31,716

ready we could give our correspondent, some instructive figures in reference to illiteracy in the Northern and Southern States and the progress made in ten years. It was urged ten years ago that the South, subsequent to the war, had no chance or time to test their efforts in the line of education, but now that cannot be said, and the fruits of the work done there will be anxiously waited for.

ELECTORAL VOTE BY STATES IN 1876. AMO, Ind., Sept. 15, 1880. Will you please give the number of electors each State is entitled to, and how were these votes cast in 1876 for Hayes or Tilden? G. W. COOK.

Answer.-The following was the electoral vote by States in 1876:

TILDEN AND HENDRICKS.

11 Missouri...

6 Alabama..

10

3 Arkansas..

6

4 Connecticut.

6

21 Delaware..

3

11 Georgia...........

11

5 Indiana..

15

22 Texas..

8

New Jersey................ 906,096

New York................................................ 4,382,759

Oregon..

Pennsylvania..

Rhode Island.

Vermont..
Wisconsin..

Total......

.............

............

4,861

872 9,926 54,687

4,427

21,921 17,706 55,441

..24,238,032 1,391,235

These figures show that only 5 3-10 per cent of the population of the 21 Northern States named were enumerated illiterate in 1870, while at the same time the States north of the Ohio had the heavy foreign element, and were the highway for the immigrants coming to this country from other shores. It is also apparent that with a population 64 per cent of all the States, these 21 Northern States have only 1,391.235 illiterates out of 5,552,488. In other words, we have the matter put in this shape: Population of States in 1870.

.38,116,647

Population of 21 Northern States.. ..24,238,032 Population of 16 Southern States....13,878,615 Total No. of illiterates in all States... 5,552,488 Total illiterates in 21 Northern States 1,391,235 Total illiterates in 16 Southern States 4,160,253 This shows that in 1870 nearly one-third of the people of the entire population of the South could neither read nor write, and only onetwentieth of the people in the Northern States were unable to read or write. The census statistics taken this year on education and schools will be read with unusual interest, and were they

CONTINENTAL MONEY-CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND

MENTS.

ROCK FALLS. Ill., 1880. 1. By whom was the old continental money issued? 2. Was any of it redeemed by our government? 3. Was the depreciation of the same ever made good to the soldiers of the revolutionary war? 4. When have the States voted amendments to the Constitution of the United States, how many times, and when? A. W.

Answer.-1. It was resolved by the Continental Congress, May 10, 1775, to issue bills of credit to the amount of $3,000,000, to the redemption of which the faith of the colonies was pledged; each colony was apportioned its quota, although the united colonies were liable for any part not dischared by any colony. At that time Georgia had not linked her fortunes with those of the other colonies, and her name does not appear in the list covering the first issue. 2. Yes. 3. Not that we are aware of. 4. There were twelve Constitutional amendments proposed by the first Congress at its first session, Sept. 25, 1780; the first two were rejected, the last ten were adopted, which are the first ten now in the list of amendments. The eleventh was proposed by Congress March 5, 1794, and declared in force Jan. 8, 1798. The twelfth was proposed Dec. 12, 1803, in the first session of the Eighth Congress, and declared in force Sept. 25, 1804. The thirteenth was proposed Feb. 1, 1865, and declared in force Dec. 18, 1865. fourteenth was proposed June 16, 1866, and declared in force July 28, 1868. The fifteenth was proposed Feb. 26, 1869, and declared in force March 30, 1870.

WHAT GREENBACKS ARE GOOD FOR.

The

GARDNER, Ill., Sept. 14, 1880. In talking with a Greenback friend the other day, he coolly informed me that I didn't know what a greenback was, and he made statements of the case by which I was convinced either he or I didn't. Will you please

give the form of inscription on the first $65,000 greenbacks issued? Were they receivable for duties and in trading with foreign nations? Were they to be redeemed in gold? He said a greenback was redeemable in nothing. A. J. CORKILL.

face,

Answer.-We have a dollar bill, No. 18,470, of the original greenbacks. The inscription on its face is as follows: "Act of July 11th, 1862. The United States will pay the bearer one dollar at the Treasury in New York. Washington, August 1, 1862." The inscription on the back is as follows: "This note is a legal tender for all debts, public and private, except duties on imports and interest on the public debt, and is receivable in payment of all loans made to the United States." A comparison of these inscriptions with those on the greenbacks of to-day will show that the words "at the Treasury in New York" have been omitted from the words, and the "and is receivable in payment of all loans made to the United States," have been omitted from the back; besides which the words "at its face value" have been added after the words "legal tender." Following the words "public debt" has also been added a specification of the penalty for counterfeiting. All these inscriptions agree, however, in one thing-they embody a promise to pay the face value in something else. In the days when the greenbacks were authorized to be issued, a promise to pay any sum in dollars meant coined dollars of gold or silver. The argument upon which the claimed need of specie payments fundamentally rested was that the government had made a promise on the face of the greenbacks, and that good faith required this promise to be made a positive reality by full performance of its terms. The proposed dollar of the Greenback party, perhaps, more correctly, of one wing of it, was that the promise should be omitted from the paper money to be issued, substituting on the face the insereption on our coins-"United States of America, one dollar, or two dollars, or five dollars, or ten dollars," and

on.

But, before the issue of greenbacks there was an issue of "demand notes." These were payable in coin "on demand," and being equivalent to coin, commanded the premium of gold over the State bank notes then in circulation. They were afterward made by law receivable for customs duties, but no such law has been passed with reference to the greenbacks. As the call upon the National Treasury for the redemption of these demand notes, when the government did not possess the requisite gold and silver, was inconvenient and discreditable to the government, they were called in by act of Congress when the issue of greenbacks was authorized to take their place. By leaving out the words "on demand," from the face of the greenbacks, the promise became, by implication, a promise to redeem in coin at some future time, when the government should be able.

BLUE LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS. CAMP POINT. Adams Co., Ill., Sept. 6, 1880. Give a history of the "blue laws" of Massachusetts, embracing their origin and prominent authors. JOHN A. HOKE.

Answer.-There has been a great deal of nonsense written about all the "blue laws," and it is difficult to say where the lines of fact and fancies are to be drawn. It is claimed that the founders

of Connecticut borrowed most of their laws and judicial proceedings from Massachusetts. Many of these laws were enacted previous to 1640, and a number were the orders and sentences of the Massachusetts Court of Assistants and General Court. For instance, one order we find is as follows: "It is ordered, that all Rich: Cloughe's strong water shall presently be seazed upon, for his selling greate quantytie thereof to severall men's servants, which was the occasion of much disorder, drunckenes, and misdemeanor." That was in November, 1630.

Another record, in March, 1631. is a warning to quacks: "Nich. Knopp is fyned 5£ for takeing upon him to cure the scurvey, by a water of noe worth nor value, which he solde att a very deare rate, to be imprisoned till hee pay his fine or give securitye for it, or else to be whipped; and shal be lyable to any man's action of whome he hath receaved money for the said water." A terrible punishment was inflicted upon those who took "tobacco publiquely or privately, in his owne house, or in the howse of another, before strangers." This is one of a number of restrictions enacted September, 1634, in the fashions of dress: "The court, takeing into consideration the greate, superfluous, and unnecessary expences occasioned by reason of some newe and immodest fashions, as also the ordinary weareing of silver, golde, and silke laces, girdles, hatbands, etc., hath therefore ordered that noe pershall son, either man or woman, hereafter make or buy apparell, either woollen, silke, or lynnen, with any lace on it, silver, golde, silke, or threed, under the penalty of forfecture of such cloathes." Another, in March, 1635, made bullets a legal tender: "It is ordered, that muskett bulletts, of a full bore, shall passe currantly for a farthing a peece: provided that noe man be compelled to take above 12d att a tyme, in them." There was restraint to be put upon the tongue, as this. in September, 1636, shows: "Robert Shorthose, for swearing by the bloud of God,' was sentenced to have his tongue put into a cleft stick, and to stand so by the space of haulfe an houre." The last we quote is against cakes and buns: "It is ordered, also, that no person shall sell any cakes or buns, either in the markets or victualing houses, or elsewhere, upon paine of 10s fine: provided that this order shall not extend to such cakes as shal be made for any buriall, or marriage, or such like spetiall occasion."

DUTIES ON IMPORTS-NATIONAL DEBT. CANEY, Montgomery County, Kan., Sept. 6, 1880. 1. What was the amount of duties on imports re ceived by our government in July, August, and Sep tember of the year 1863? 2. What was the amount of the interest on the National debt for the same time? 3. What was the average premium on gold for the same time? G. D. COCHRAN.

Answer.-1. Receipts from customs, $22,562,018.42. This sum includes fines and penalties, with all other sources of income from customs, besides the bare duties levied upon imports. We have no means of separating the duties from the other elements of the sum, so as to state them alone; but these elements are very small compared with the other part of the aggregate. 2. $4,283,628.37, as given on page 5 of the annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury for 1863.

3. The United States Bureau of Statistics states the average as 30.2 cents; but no dependence is to be placed on this reckoning, because it was obtained by violating the rule of arithmetic called "Alligation and Medial." This rule requires, as the basis for ascertaining an average price, that the sum of the quantities and the total of the values involved in the problem shall be found, whereupon the average price is determined by dividing the latter by the former. No such process of calculation is possible in the case the of prices of gold, because no record has been kept of the quantities of gold sold at the different prices. The essential, fundamental factors of the problem being unattainable, the desired computation cannot possibly be made. The mode employed by the United States Bureau of Statistics was to take "four daily quotations of the rates of gold at New York, viz.: The opening, closing, highest, and lowest were recorded, from which a daily average was made, and the average rate for each month was prepared from these daily averages." These monthly averages, derived from daily averages, were then added together and divided to ascertain quarteryearly, half-yearly, and yearly averages. Thus blunder was piled upon blunder, To get an average price of gold by adding together the prices, and dividing by the number of prices, is a plain and monstrous violation of arithmetical principle; and the outcome must be worthless for any practical purpose, particularly when it is considered that the prices of commodities in general were not regulated or determined by the prices of gold, and did not at all follow the fluctuations in the prices of gold.

ORIGIN OF NATIONAL NOMINATING CONVENTIONS. No. 16, OGDEN AVENUE, CHICAGO, Ill. Can you tell me when the first national nominating convention was called? MRS. LUCINDA B. CHANDLER. Answer.-Previous to the year 1816 the custom was to hold a Congressional caucus, canvass the subject, and name the candidates; then the several State Legislatures selected the electors, who voted for whomsoever they pleased for the Presidency and Vice Presidency. We discover in May, 1812, when the "Congressional caucus" was called, that the members again assembled "in their individual character," which clearly indicates the drift of the opinion of the day. It is true that Madison was unanimously nominated, but the "caucus" went further, and appointed "a committee on correspondence and arrangements of one from each State, to see that the nominations were duly respected." In the Congressional caucus of 1816, Mr. Taylor, of New York, offered a resolution to the effect that "Congressional caucus nominations for the Presidency were inexpedient and ought to be discontinued." This was another move, and although the motion did not prevail, yet the subject once started in that manner in the caucus itself was not to be talked down. Up to 1824 the electors were usually chosen by the several State Legislatures, as has been the custom in South Carolina, even down to a very recent date. In the year just named the Federalists had ceased to be of political importance as a party,

and the Republicans were not held together by any outside pressure. Local preferences entered into the canvass, and candidates multiplied. Nominations were made by Legislatures, and by mass meetings throughout the country. The power of King Caucus was broken. It is a fact that William H. Crawford, of Georgia, was nominated in the old style by the caucus, and backed by home conventions, but John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and John Quincy Adams also had home support, and entered the field, leaving Crawford away out of sight in the race. In 1828 local conventions multiplied, and the spirit of the movement manifested itself when (Sept. 16, 1831) the United States AntiMasonic Convention met at Baltimore and nominated William Wirt for the Presidency. That was the time of the excitement in relation to the abduction of William Morgan, and the AntiMasons made the first great move. Then the National-Republican (Adams' and Clay's) party met as such for the first and last time at Baltimore, Dec. 12, 1831, and Henry Clay was nominated. In the same city, in the spring of 1832, the Democrats held their first national convention, and nominated Jackson and Van Buren. From that campaign date the national political conventions in the United States, which have become such an important factor in our politics.

THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. HARVARD, Neb., Sept. 21, 1880. I wish to inquire the purpose and history of that National Park in the northwestern corner of Wyoming; when it was laid out eto? A. N. SOMERS. Answer.-The Yellowstone National Park, occupying what may be described as the "grand divide of half a continent," comprises 3,575 square miles, and has been well named the "New American Wonderland." It was first brought prominently before the public in the year 1869 by a company of surveyors who visited the remarkable region, and, on returning to Helena, Montana, reported their discoveries. In the year following the Surveyor General of the Territory of Montana sent out another party, and the reports of the first visitors were confirmed. At the head of a scientific expedition, Professor Hayden

in 1871 explored the wonder country, reporting the results of his labors the following winter. This statement was laid before Congress, and, upon his representations, that body passed an act, which was approved March 1, 1872, by which what is now known as the Yellowstone National Park was "reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasure ground, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." The park contains many great geysers, thousands of hot springs, myriads of waterfalls, lakes, canyons, mud volcanoes, high mountains, vast forests, several varieties of game, and is the birth-place of some of the largest rivers in North America.

TOM HUGHES AND HIS COLONY.

MORRIS, Ill., Oct. 11, 1880. 1. Will you in your next issue publish a short sketch of the life of Thomas Hughes? 2. What relation had he with corporations in England? 3. What are the principles and object of his American colony? W. H. CRYDER. Answer.-1. Thomas Hughes, familiarly called

Tom Hughes, was born Oct. 20, 1823, and was the son of John Hughes, of Donington Priory, near Newbury, Berkshire, Englaud. His early education was received at Rugby, under the famous Dr. Arnold, and in 1845 he graduated at Oriel College, Oxford. In the year 1848, after having been a student at Lincoln's Inn, he was called to the bar. His work, for which he is probably best known, was "Tom Brown's School Days," published in 1856. In 1858 he sent out the "Scouring of the White Horse;" in 1861, "Tom Brown at Oxford," and "Alfred the Great" in 1869. Mr. Hughes has written numerous tracts, and his prefaces to the "Biglow Papers," were widely read in Great Britain. He has been a Member of Parliament, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1869. He has made several visits to the United States, and has been cordially received. 2. He has always been a friend of the workingman; what our correspondent means we are unable to state. 3. The object of the Tennessee colony is to provide homes at reasonable rates to workingmen who have some means and who desire to secure for themselves and their children the advantages of our free institutions, and, at the same time, not break away immediately from their British neighbors and associations.

HOW THE HOUSE ELECTS THE PRESIDENT. MOLINE, Kan., Sept. 17. 1880. Please answer how the President is elected wher. thrown in the House. W. G. PARKER. Answer.-We quote from the twelfth amendment to the Constitution, bearing upon this point: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list, of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But, in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member, or members, from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice."

QUESTIONS OF WATER.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Sept. 27, 1880. 1. The pumps of a pumping engine are 800 feet from, and 15 feet above, the water supply, and connected by a 16-inch main. It is claimed that if the two were brought within 50 feet of each other, the "lift" remaining the same, a material saving in power would be effected. If so, what would be the amount or percentage gained? 2. What would be the water pressure at a point 4,200 feet from the pumps, the intervening distance being spanned by 1,800 feet of 16inch and 2,400 feet of 6-inch main, the gauge at the works indicating 80 pounds; difference in elevation, 25 feet?

X.

Answer.-We submitted these inquiries to the Water Department of Chicago, and were kindly furnished with the following replies: "1. The loss by friction for water flowing in regular channels varies directly as the length of the channel; it will require a special investigation to ascertain the percentage gained in any particular case. 2. We cannot answer this question until we know the quantity of water going through the pipes.

If the pipe is wide open, with a free delivery, the velocity of the water issuing from it will be eight and one-half feet per second, which is equal to a head of about one and one-tenth feet."

ARMY INQUIRIES.

STONEWALL. CAL., Oct. 6, 1880. 1. Has General Warren ever been court-martialed for disobedience of orders at Five Forks, Va.? He was then dismissed by Sheridan for slowness or disobedience. Was he not a very capable General? 2. What became of General Burns, who commanded a brigade in the Second Army Corps, and who was wounded at the battle of Savage Station, Va., during McClellan's retreat from before Richmond? 3. Is General W. S. Rosecrans a General of the army now, or is he dead? 4. Please give a complete list of the Generals of the United States army, their names, rank, and where stationed. W. E. HOWLETT.

Answer.-1. General Warren was relieved after that battle, and given another command. He is now in the Engineer Corps, with the rank of Colonel. We are not military critics, and leave the question of his capability to others. A general may be very efficient in one arm of the service, and not shine in another. He is not now a general of the army. 2. We are informed he is now in the Engineer Corps. 3. General Rosecrans is not in the army. He is aliye, and was heard from in the last political campaign. 4. The following is a list of the generals of the army: General of the army, Wm. T. Sherman; Lieutenant General, Philip H. Sheridan; Major Generals, Winfield S. Hancock, John M. Schofield, Irvin McDowell; Brigadier Generals, John Pope, Oliver O. Howard, Alfred H. Terry, Edward O. C. Ord, Christopher C. Augur, George Crook. There are several officers of the army who have the rank and pay of brigadier general.

TREASON AND DEATH.

YALE SEMINARY, Texas, Aug. 31, 1880. 1. When was the constitutional penalty for treason repealed? 2. Is it not right to tax the Nation with the six billion Confederate debt when a Republican reconstruction makes the labor interests of Illinois pay more of the rebel war debt than ali rebeldom combined? 3. What assurance have Republicans in the South of sympathy from Garfield, when he is backed by Hayes, who swept the Republican vote from the South? 4. When will this government learn that slave powers never compromise?

A SUMNER REPUBLICAN.

Answer.-The specific language of the law governing the case is as follows; "Animals, alive, specially imported for breeding purposes from beyond the seas, shall be admitted free, upon proof thereof satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury, and under such regulations as he may prescribe." As Canada is not literally or technically "beyond the seas," there is here a peg to hang a doubt upon; but the general spirit of the provision favors free importation from Canada. To make assurance doubly sure, our correspondent should make his inquiry direct to the Secretary of the Treasury at Washington. If, however, our correspondent wishes to import not for