was begun. The contractors for labor, materials, and supplies were required to increase their bills. The bills were passed by the Board of Supervisors at the dictation of Tweed, who was a member of the Board. They were audited by Auditor Watson, his tool. The contractors received the amount due them, and from fifteen to sixty-five per cent of the total bills was divided by Tweed and his friends amongst themselves. Tweed's share was usually twenty-five per cent. In 1870, for the first time in seventeen years, the Democrats, led by Tweed, now had complete control of the State Government of New York. The city government of New York was solidly Democratic. In the early part of the year, by the free use of money, Tweed, who was a State Senator as well as Commissioner of Public Works in the city, secured the passage of a new city charter. The power of auditing bills was taken from the Board of Supervisors, and placed in the hands of a board of audit, composed of A. Oakey Hall, Mayor; Richard B. Connolly, Comptroller; William M. Tweed, Commissioner of Public Works; and Peter B. Sweeney, Commissioner of Parks. The contractors on the new Court-House were required to make out claims for imaginary services, and these bills, to the amount of six millions of dollars, were passed at one meeting. Auditor Watson was then authorized to certify all subsequent bills, the members of the Board signing them separately. More than half the amount of these bills passed into the pockets of the Ring. Over one million of the six millions, before referred to, was traced to Tweed. Before the end of that year, the fraudulent expenditures on the Court-House had reached over eight millions of dollars. To silence criticism, Tweed filled the payrolls of the city government with multitudes of men, drawing large salaries, who never performed any work, and gave profitable contracts to others at enormous figures. Checks were given for salaries larger than Governors'. Police Justices were given larger compensation than the Chief Justice of the United States. The expenses of the city reached twenty-four millions of dollars a year, or nearly as much as under the entire civil list of the United States Government. The politics of the city were completely debauched. Every influential thief, gambler, and ward politician rolled in money, and shone in diamonds and costly chains. A carnival of vice reigned in every quarter of the city. In two years, Tweed bought one million three hundred and forty-six thousand eight hundred and seventy-five dollars of real estate, and, in partnership with Sweeney, Connolly, and others, five hundred thousand dollars more. During that year a rebellion broke out against Tweed, in which ex-Sheriff James O'Brien and State Senator Harry Genet were prominent. It was the belief that some of the disaffected ones merely had in view a larger share of the plunder, but O'Brien made his opposition effectual by giving to The New York Times the facts about the robberies by the Ring. After several significant hints, as early as May of this year, that newspaper, in July, disclosed the operations of the Ring. People were slow to believe. On.

the 4th of September, a mass meeting of citizens was held at Cooper Institute, and a Committee of Seventy was appointed to investigate and punish. Governor Hoffman delegated his powers in the premises to Charles O'Conor, an eminent lawyer. The Comptroller was promptly enjoined from paying any more claims. Soon afterwards, the Comptroller resigned; he was arrested, released on five hundred thousand dollars bail, and fled from the country. In the next year (1872) a number of suits were brought against Tweed. A. Oakey Hall was tried in March, but a juror died and the trial was interrupted. He was tried again, when the jury disagreed. In 1873, Tweed was tried from January 6th to the 31st; the jury disagreed. A second trial, lasting from November 5th to 19th, resulted in conviction on every one of the fifty-one counts in the indictment. Tweed wassentenced to twelve years' imprisonment on Blackwell's Island and to pay a heavy fine. In April, 1875, a civil suit was begun in the Supreme Court against Tweed to recover six million one hundred and ninety-eight thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars. In the January following, the Court of Appeals decided that Tweed could be no longer imprisoned, because he had been confined on a cumulative sentence. He was discharged on June 22, 1875, but rearrested on an old indictment. He was held to find fifteen thousand dollars bail in the criminal charge, and three million dollars bail in the civil suit. December 4th, while on a visit from Ludlow Street Jail to his house, in custody of officers, he escaped, and made his way to sea in a yacht. In 1876, Tweed was recaptured at Vigo, Spain, and brought back to New York in November. On January 13th of the same year, the civil suit against him was brought to trial, and on March 8th a verdict was obtained for six million five hundred and thirty-seven thousand one hundred and seventeen dollars and thirty-eight cents, of which one million eight hundred and seventeen thousand one hundred and seventy-seven dollars and three cents was for interest. He was, after his recapture, sent back to prison on Blackwell's Island. On the 12th of April, 1878, Tweed died in arison. The Ring had by that time been completely scattered and crushed; but the city never recovered more than a small prt of its stolen millions,

Serious troubles between the operators and miners in the anthracite coal region in Pennsylvania, commencing in the preceding fall, were continued and increased until their culmination in the summer of this year. It began in the upper Wyoming region, where the wages of miners, as announced, would be reduced. A strike was ordered by the Working Men's Benevolent Association, a united and compact organization, chartered by the Legislature, and embracing nearly all the entire laboring population of the coal country, and formed with the contemplated object of securing employment to its members, and preventing a reduction of wages. In January, by order of this Association, the strike was continued throughout the Schuylkill, Lehigh, and Lower Wyoming districts. In the early part of April, serious disturbances occurred in the section

about Scranton, between members of the Association and the non-union men, and their employment was stopped at the mines, the strikers having torn up the track, demolished the cars, and otherwise damaging the works. The operators and miners throughout the coal region at last came to a compromise, and work was resumed.

Water was brought into Providence by aqueduct, and on the 30th of November the event was celebrated.

A series of earthquakes, computed at over seven thousand different shocks, occurred during a space of two weeks in February, in California, at several points. In Napa County, in Cram Valley, and in the region of Owen's Lake and River, they were felt more severely, and particularly at the latter point. Huge fissures were rent in the earth, and for several miles an embankment of earth was raised where previously it had been a plain. The water of the river and lake ebbed almost to dryness, and then returned in great volume and overflowed the adjacent country. Thirty to forty persons were killed by the earthquake.

On the 7th of October, a large fire occurred at Chicago, which involved a loss of one million of dollars, and it was succeeded by the most disastrous conflagration ever before witnessed in the annals of this country. This last great fire commenced on Sunday evening, October 8th, and continued to rage on the forenoon of the following day. The estimated number of lives lost was two hundred and fifty; of persons rendered homeless, ninety-eighty thousand five hundred; of buildings consumed, seventeen thousand five hundred ; and the value of the property destroyed, one hundred and ninetytwo millions of dollars. It included the business and the best built portion of the city. The total area burned over, including streets, the pavements of which were generally rendered worthless, was two thousand acres. The fire did its work so completely, that in not more than a dozen cases were the chimneys or fire-walls of the great blocks or any of the buildings left standing. It was possible, standing on the ground, to see across the burned district for two or three miles without anything to obstruct the vision, where, before the fire, were standing huge blocks of buildings of stone and brick.

In October, extensive fires raged in the timber districts of Wisconsin, Central Minnesota, and Michigan, sweeping away towns and villages in their path; and in three counties of Wisconsin the country was so desolated as to leave no vestige of property remaining to its owners but the bare land. On the east shore of Lake Michigan, the towns of Manistee and Holland were almost entirely destroyed. Fires prevailed throughout all the pine country bordering on Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and the southern shore of Lake Huron. It was estimated that fifteen thousand people in Michigan lost homes, clothing, crops, farm-stock, and other possessions, by the fire.

A serious riot occurred in New York on the 12th of July, arising out of a feud existing between the Irish Protestants, or

1872

Orangemen, and the Roman Catholics. The Orangemen proposed to parade the streets on that day in celebration of the Battle of the Boyne, and threats of an attack upon their procession were made. To prevent a disturbance, the police authorities issued an order forbidding the parade, but which upon the request of the Governor of the State was revoked. A large body of the police and several regiments were put under orders to protect the procession. At one point an assault was made by the crowd, which was repulsed by the military, and in the affray that ensued, over one hundred persons were killed or wounded.

On the 27th of January, the steamer H. R. Arthur left Louisville for New Orleans, and when about fourteen miles above Memphis, her boilers exploded, the boat took fire, destroying by the catastrophe eighty-seven lives. On the 30th of July, the boiler of a Staten Island ferry-boat exploded as it was just starting out of its slip in New York, crowded with pas sengers, injuring two hundred persons, more than half fatally.

The work of reducing taxation continued. The tariff on tea, coffee, and some other articles was abolished; that on some other imports reduced, and internal revenue was modified. By the law of 1870 most of the stamp tax had been abolished already, and the income tax expired with 1871.

The "Alabama" claims of the United States against Great Britain, springing out of damage to American shipping by Confederate cruisers during the war, were arbitrated. Several of these cruisers had been built and equipped in British ports, in violation of treaties, and had been the subject of dispute for years. By agreement the matter was submitted to five commissioners from Italy, Brazil, Switzerland, the United States, and England. For the acts of the Alabama, Florida, and Shenandoah, Great Britain was held liable, and $15,500,000 damages were awarded to this country by the tribunal, which met at Geneva, Switzerland. Subsequently, Congress established a court of Alabama claims to distribute the money among the losers through the piracy in question.

Extensive strikes occurred among the carpenters, bricklayers, and other workmen employed in building in New York City, beginning in April. From 40,000 to 50,000 were thus engaged. The several trades combined against the employers, and the latter combined in self-defence. Most of the laborers surrendered in June, having lost in the aggregate wages amounting to $1,400,000. The contractors and builders lost $1,100,000. General business was indirectly hurt to the extent of $5,760,000. The strike was not fairly under way until the middle of May. Then a mass meeting was held to discuss the grievances of the workingmen. A number of allied trades, such as painters, upholsterers, cabinet-makers, sewing-machine makers, iron-founders and piano-makers, followed. There were strikes in other cities in the country at the same time, but none of great account. A crowd of strikers forcibly effected an entrance into the Steinway piano factory, June 15th, to persuade

or force the remaining workmen there to leave. The police ejected the invaders, but only after a violent struggle. This event and the shooting of a non-striking carpenter were the most serious acts of violence attending the strike. Serious trouble, however, was feared at one time, and the State militia were gotten in readiness to assist the police. Soon afterwards the workmen and employers came to an understanding.

At the presidential election of this year Grant was re-elected President by 760,000 majority, the largest ever given at any national election in this country. He carried all but seven States. His associate on the Republican ticket was Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts. The Democrats ratified as candidate for President and Vice-President Horace Greeley, of New York, and B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri, who had first been nominated by the Liberal Republicans. These men had formerly acted with the Republican party, but in this year withdrew, criticising the use of troops in the South by the Federal Government as an invasion of State rights, and demanding a reform in the civil service. The Labor party nominated Charles O'Conor for President, with no candidate for Vice-President.

During the year $200,000,000 of national bonds, drawing 6 per cent interest, were exchanged for the same quantity of a new loan drawing only 5 per cent, and a year later $100,000,000 more of the debt was similarly converted, a saving of $3,000,000 in interest annually being thereby effected. Subsequently, a large portion of the national debt was converted into 4 and 4 per cent bonds.

On the 27th of February, Congress passed a bill setting apart the Yellowstone Valley, in Montana and Wyoming Territories, as a national park.

2

The American District Telegraph Company was organized in New York for the purpose of connecting private residences with central telegraph stations.

Up to July 1st the quantity of South Carolina phosphate shipped from Charleston was 242,415 tons, in the crude state, and 90,000 tons of manufactured. The first shipment was made in 1867.

A remarkable epidemic among horses prevailed in many parts of the country this year. It had been terribly severe in Canada, and early in October was reported in Boston, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, and it soon spread to other places. In some of the large cities it almost put an absolute stop to traffic, and in some cases the horse-railroads ceased running entirely for a time.

A destructive conflagration began in Boston on the evening of the 9th of November, lasting twenty-four hours, and resulting in the destruction of the very heart of the wholesale trade. From Summer Street north nearly to State Street, and from Washington Street east to the water's edge, with two or three small exceptions, there was nothing but rubbish remaining of the many hundreds of granite and iron structures in which the dry-goods merchants, wool merchants, and leather merchants