July, the Memorable Month of the Memorable Year. -Our present number is appropriately devoted largely to history and biography of the events and men most intimately connected with our Nation's Birth, and we feel a pleasing assurance that each paper will be read with special interest during the Centennial Month. We have a large number of exceedingly valuable papers awaiting space, among them some from our well-known and prized contributors, Isaac Smucker, W. T. R. Saffell, Charles A. Campbell, William Wirt Henry, H. K. W. Wilcox, and others equally esteemed, and some from new contributors. We have been much gratified to hear during the past month from our friend, E. H. Goss, whose admirable pen has been missed for some months from our pages. We doubt if any Editor in the land has more cause than we to be grateful for a goodly array of writers of marked ability and "masterly pens." We assure each and all of them that their contributions are highly prized by us as well as by our readers, and beg them to lose no good opportunity to increase our obligations.

Crime in Official Circles.-One of the most distressing consequences of the occasional discovery of wrong-doing among government officials is the suspicion which immediately arises of the integrity of even the most discreet and upright officers. This suspicion is not slow to assail men who have preserved pure, spotless records during long terms of public service. For instance, no sooner was the crime of Secretary Belknap discovered than Secretary Robeson, Attorney-General Pierrepont, and others of their associate officials were assailed by entirely baseless suspicion, and their political foes forthwith set on foot, to run with lightning speed o'er land and sea, all sorts of mean, infamous rumors against them. It matters not to slander-mongers how pure and unimpeachable the public life of a man, or how unselfish and disinterested his attention to the public welfare-to come within range of their despicable missiles, he needs but be an office holder of opposite party affiliations, and if he but adds to this an ambition for other and higher office he must indeed possess a brave and heroic soul to let that ambition be known to or suspected by the scandel-mongers of the opposite party. Thus we have recently seen every aspirant to the Presidency made the victim of the grossest slanders, until the public confidence is well-nigh unable to centre upon any man of more than insignificant ability. The worst consequence of this wicked slander-breeding, is that many worthy men who would be valuable and highly useful in public stations are deterred from permitting themselves to become candidates, and thus, too often, inferior men alone can be found to place in positions wherein superior men are needed.

There is a remedy, and only one, for this slander-breeding nuisance, and the people alone can apply it: it is to make infamous every man, whoever or whatever he be, who originates or circulates a charge of crime or wrong-doing

| against any person without being able fully to establish 2– and apply the same severe remedy to every slander-profung or slander-circulating newspaper. Let no man or paper guilty of originating or circulating an unsubstantiated accass tion against either an official or a candidate be received or supported or favored among honorable and upright peu llet all such be spurned by truly worthy people, and then devilish work will stop, for slander breeders and minges are the meanest and most despicable of cowards, and may most readily be silenced in their shameless and inlas practices.

Once close the floodgates of malicious slander, and we my hope to secure in all grades of public stations men ftand worthy to fill them. The people of our land are responsible, as they alone can stop this worst of evils, and open the way to the securing of capable and honest officials. It is time that this terrible mania for slander were stopped when it actually calls into being and sustains newspapers expresiy devoted to this crime of crimes- newspapers with no pris ciples and no vocation except to defame office holders i candidates. We need not name any of this class of inde Fendent papers, as they are well known, and those who di not know them cannot fail to discover the cloven foot or the adder-sting, if they but look closely into their columns. The we are not wrong in charging the people with the respons bility for the prevalence of the slander pestilence, we can show by simply noting the fact that some of these indspendent papers boast larger circulations than their respectable neighbors.

But, in this series of articles, we have undertaken to show how we, the people, are directly responsible for the wrong doings among our town, city, county, state and nationa officials; and we have adduced two specifications: first, the permission or encouragement of too rigid an app cation of the party test in the selection of officials, att, secondly, the permission or encouragement of slander against officials and candidates. There is, however, another and more widespread evil, fostered among the people,which we believe has more agency in inducing criminality in official circles than any other one cause. It is the almost universal extravagance which has grown terribly of late years and involves all classes of the community—the lower and m. l'e no less, if not actually more, than the upper classes. We ser this and we criticise it, and too often we go and do likewise, emulating the very fault we condenın.

Go into our streets, and behold the wives and daughter of clerks and journeyman mechanics arrayed to vie with those of their employers, and the wives and daughters of the employers to vie with those of the merchant princes and retired business men. Go into our markets, and behold the purchasers of a pound of beef or a quarter peck of potatoes, arrayed in alpaca or other costly fabrics instead of the cales or cheap delaine which sufficed their mothers. Go even into our churches, and behold the "beauties" of bonnets and

dresses which are indispensable to the worship of the God who in Paul's time delighted in the "adornment of a meek and quiet spirit" as distinguished from the showy or self exalting spirit that seeks "fine feathers" in the desire to be "fine birds." Go to our homes, and behold the style of house that is now required for comfort-the man with an income of $1000, or $1200, must have a house in a street and of a size and sort better suited to an income of $2500 or $3000; and then step inside and see the luxurious furniture that is demanded to meet his and his family's views. It matters not what disparity there may be in their respective means, Mr. and Mrs. A. must have house and furniture and live in a style equal to Mr. and Mrs. Z.

And so it goes on in all quarters: nine out of ten of the people are living beyond their legitimate means; if dishonest they must make up the deficiency at others' cost; if honest, the debts incurred, or the struggles to avoid debt, harass the man, and possibly his wife, and shorten their days it may be. Still, they must live, you know," and it "won't do, you know," to appear mean or to be thought not so well off as their neighbors and friends.

Now, the immediate effect of all this is to establish a false and base standard of respectability and social rank. Do our readers require that we point out how all this bears upon criminality in official circles? Take an illustration from the painful case of the late fall in our National Capital: a gentleman of limited means receives an appointment to a position of great honor and-distinction; he and his must accommodate their style of living to the popular notion of what is required of them, rather than be guided and controlled by the amount of money they can honestly command

to meet their expenditures; the salary is ample for all proper expenses, but entirely inadequate to satisfy the demands of society-thus, the legitimate income being insufficient, the deficiency must be made up by illegal and criminal practices. Now, note: the officials could not establish the false standard of respectability and create the demands of society-the people must do this. Hence, the people are responsible for the existence of this false standard and the influence of these extravagant demands of society, and thus in a degree for their evil results.

Let us, as a Nation of reasoning men and women, frown down every attempt to live extravagantly, and treat with scorn every man and woman who dares to live beyond his or her properly, honestly acquired means; but first, let us ordain as the standard of respectability, true, stern integrity and the moral courage that dares circumscribe expenditures by the honest limit of ability to pay, and let us shape the laws and the demands of society on the immutable principle of truth and justice. We shall, each and all, be the happier and we shall strip from our public servants the last pretext for dishonesty or wrong-doing.

Possibly, we have not written as clearly as we could wish, and what we seek to enforce may not be as clear to our reader's as to our own mind. But, to state our position in a word, and in conclusion of this part of our subject:

If we, as a people, are uniformly economical and honest, and judge all our neighbors by the standard of true worth instead of by the standard of display and pretence, we shall insure greater happiness for ourselves and our kindred and friends and lessen the temptations in the way of our officials and indeed of all whose means are limited.

New Jersey Historical Society.-We are indebted to Mr. William A. Whitehead, Corresponding Secretary, for a report of the last regular meeting of the Society, held in Newark, on the 18th of May, which we condense as follows: The meeting, notwithstanding a heavy rain, was numerously attended by gentlemen from various parts of the State. Rev. Samuel M. Hamill, D.D., the President, and Mr. Peter S. Duryee, one of the Vice-Presidents, presided. After the reading of the minutes of the last meeting, the Corresponding Secretary made his report on the correspondence since January, and submitted a large number of letters received referring to the operations of the Society and evincing the interest taken in them, by kindred associations and gentlemen engaged in historical researches. Colonel Swords, the Treasurer, reported that the legacy of the late Thomas C. Barron of $5,000 had been received and temporarily invested, and that the balance of cash in the treasury was $1,392.80.

The Committee on the Library reported considerable accessions of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and especially a bequest of the late Mrs. Matthias W. Day, of a valuable marble mantel clock, cöeval with the French Revolution and bearing devices incidental to that period, which adds not a little to the completeness of the library, and an oilVOL. VII.-5

painting on panel, four feet by three, representing an entire family of husband, wife, mother, and seven children-five sons and two daughters-in the costume of the beginning of the seventeenth century. This painting was considered by the late Mr. Day, who purchased it nearly half a century ago in New York, as representing Hendrick Hudson and his family, but the committee regretted that they had not been able to confirm this traditionary belief. The picture is evidently of Dutch origin, the ages of the different personages represented being given in this language; but there is nothing whereby the name of the artist or the age of the picture can be ascertained.

The Committee on Publications reported the issue of another of the Society's "Proceedings," bringing down the printed record of its operations to the present time.

Rev. Marshall B. Smith, with some remarks verifying its identity, presented a fragment of the keel of the notable frigate "Royal George," of 100 guns, which was sunk off Spithead, in August, 1782, through mismanagement, with eight hundred souls on board, and raised in 1839. Mr. Ernest E. Coe presented an original copy of the Boston Gazette of March 12, 1770, containing an account of the funeral services of those who fell in the affray with the English soldiers on the 5th of March, 1770. Rev. Dr. Abeel

The pressure of "Independence" matter specially appropriate for the July MONTHLY So circumscribes the space we can devote to this department, that we are compelled to confine our Centennial City and Exhibition to fourteen pages this month, and hence must defer a number of handsome engravings and much interesting letter-press.

The Centennial City.Dr. Lossing, at the commencement of this number, relates briefly the history of the "Historic Building of America," and we have given therewith some capital illustrations; but the Doctor does not tell of the wonderful transformation which has been effected in old Independence Square-how it has been made beautiful with broad, well-made walks, intersecting a gorgeous carpet of green richly ornamented with numerous superb beds of flowers; but a few months ago it was a desert and now it is a blooming garden. We give here a fine engraving' of a grand collossal monument to Liberty which will ere long appropriately embellish this historic "Square." The design is by William W. Story, our famous Yankee sculptor, and it will be a noble, majestic work of Art, worthy to stand in the hallowed "State-House Garden." The height is sixty feet, width twenty feet; the figure of "Liberty" is beautifully and fittingly draped and equipped, and the procession

of States and Territories upon the upper pedestal is a happy

We are under obligations to Richard Magee & Son for permitting us to copy this from their new "Illustrated Guide," noticed on page 66.

LIBERTY MONUMENT.

conception well carried out; beneath this, upon the front is the emblematic eagle and the thirteen stars, and upon the other three sides are the symbols of Agriculture, Commerce, and Art. It is to be regretted that this magnificent work of Art is not already in position.