The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-14 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

to do anything at the present moment, because, if
action was taken, more harm than good might be the
result. (Hear.) He fully concurred in the views
that had been expressed, that the best course was
that the sewage manure should be used with mode-
ration, and said that this was instanced by the great
cattle show that took place yearly, where the over
feeding of cattle was proved to produce disease. He
expected that those practically acquainted with the
subject knew that this was the fact, and the over
manuring of the land would, in accordance with the
laws of nature, produce precisely the same result.
(Hear.) Although, however, he agreed generally
with the report of the committee, he must at the
same time express his opinion that the calculations
as to the value of the sewage were fallacious, and
that they might just as well estimate the value of
the coals contained in the earth at 25s per ton,with-
out taking into consideration
.the great expense of
raising them, as to suppose that the sewage manure
was equal to the value of Peruvian guano at
£l3 12s 6d per ton. In point of fact, all that cou'd
be calculated upon was a royalty of perhaps is or
18d per ton, and the calculation that the sewage
would produce, as stated, 2 or 3 millions sterling,
was,quite unreasonable. He admitted, however, that
it was of very great value and importance, and he
trusted the result of delay would be the adoption
of some satisfactory scheme to render it available for
the purpose for which it was no doubt applicable.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. LAWLEY contended that the committee were
quite justified in the statement they had made as to
the value of the sewage manure, and said that an
eminent engineer had given his opinion that it
could be moved to the requisite height at an expense
of one farthing per ton, and that another farthing
would pay all the cost of the buildings that would
be required—and the court would remember that
when once it was raised it would fall to the places
it was required by its own gravitation. (Hear, hear.)
He deprecated the proposed scheme of the Metro-
politan Board of Works, and said that this body,
probably writhing under the rebuke administered
to it by Lord Robert Montagu, the chairman of the
committee of the House of Commons, that they
ought to have done more, had suddenly rushed to
a conclusion that these quicksands should have the
benefit of a sewage, and that neither:the Parliament
nor the ratepayers of the metropolis who were so
deeply intereated in the matter, should say a word
upon the subject. (Hear.) The report of the com-
mittee asked them to endeavour to prevent this
suicidal act, and if they only succeeded in obtain-
ing delay, that would be something general at all
events. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. PEDLER said he thcught it not advisable to
enter into a conflict with any other body, as it was
calculated to divert them from the real question.
Their object was to prevent this valuable matter
from being wasted in an unprofitable process, and
he hoped they should succeed in effecting that ob-
ject. (Hoar, hear.) He then went into some in-
teresting scientific details showing the extreme
importance of applying the sewage manure in mo-
derate quantities, and to the great benefit that was
likely to result from it to the whole community.
Alderman ROSE, 111. P , said he thought the Court
was very much indebted to the last speaker for the
information he had afforded it, and said that there
could not be the least doubt of the very great value
of the sewage manure. What they wanted to do,
therefore, was to prevent a certain body that had
already taxed the ratepayers of the metropolis to the
extent of seven millions from spending two or three
millions more in carrying out a chimerical scheme
which could not by any possibility be attended with
any good effect. (Hear, hear.) It seemed to him
that the course proposed by the committee of call-
ing the attention of the Government to what was
proposed to be done, and rousing the ratepayers,
would have the effect of preventing the project from
being carried out, and he should therefore support
the motion of the hon. deputy.
Mr H. LOWMAN TAYLOR, one of the representa-
tives of the City at the Metropolitan Board of Works,
said he really hardly understood what was the ob-
ject of the present meeting, or whether it was to
endeavour to delay the settlement of thnquestion and
prevent it from being disposed of until the matter
had been further considered by the Government or
by a committee of the
House of Commons. (Hear,
public
opinion
and that
t h h
ratepayerss
hear.) If this, then, was the object of the meeting,
he would at once say that be cordially concurred in
it, and although he was one of the members of the
Metropolitan Board of Works, he would at the same
time
express
to
thes his
questionof wasth
emuch
more likely to be settled in a manner that was satis•
factory
me-
tropolis by a committee of the House of Commons
than by the body to which he had referred. He was
s bound, however, to express his opinion that there was
e t
a large amount of independence to be found among
the members of the Metropolitan Board of Works,
and that they were most anxious to do their duty.
He would not say anything with regard to the con.
duct of one of the offi
—oials of that board, it was not the
place to do so, but it certainly was a question whe-
ther the conduct of that official was satisfactory to
the public. (Hear, hear.) With regard to what was
supposed to be the intention of the Metropolitan
Board in reference to this matter, he saw that there
was a motion by one of the members that a certain
plan should be carried out ; but he believed the
Board were quite free on the matter, and that it
had not all bound itself to adopt any particular
scheme. (Hear, hear.) lie would add that he be-
lieved they were most desirous to do what was best
in the interest of the public, and that they would
pay every attention to any representation that might
be made to them by the Court of Common Council
or any other public body. Mr Taylor concluded by
stating that when the
Board he should do all in his
power to obtain delay- (Hear, hear.)
Mr NORRIS, g.p., expressed his opinion that the
proper course to be taken was to endeavour to obtain
a Royal Commission to consider the subject, and he
said that if the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who
was very much interested in the question, as being
one intimately connected with taxation, was applied
to, he would no doubt advise her Majesty to grant
a Royal Commission for such a purpose.
Mr J. B. sAtocants supported the report, and
said he hoped the Metropolitan Board of Works
would pause before they carried out such a scheme
as the one proposed. He also said that in his opinion
the suggestion of the hon. member for Abingdon
was a very important one, and that they ought to
endeavour to obtain a Royal Commission to inquire
into the subject.
After a few words from Deputy Bone in reply,
The motion was put and carried unanimously.
Mr LAWLEY then moved, " That the committee
should be instructed to take the necessary steps to
Commission." This led to some
obtain a Royal
discussion, and
Mr. RICHARDSON observed in the course of it that
in his opinion a question of such importance had
been played with too long, and said he was glad that
the Corporation of London had at length come for-
ward, and be hoped the jobberiea that had been bp

(From the Times' Correspondent.)
NEW YORK, Nov. 1.
" Good by, Wilmington I" is the uncomplimen-
tary ejaculation of a Southern journal in making
known to its readers that President Davis has tip.
pointed Gen. Bragg to the chief command in that
city. " Good bye, Wilmington 1" is the derisive echo
of Mr Lincoln's friends and supporters, who are all
anxiously awaiting to hear before Tuesday next
that Admiral Porter has captured it. As yet, how•
ever, it is not positively known whether the expedi.
tion has started, or whether the altered state of cir-
cumstances before Petersburg and Richmond, where
Grant needs reinforcements and cannot obtain them,
may not have led to the postponement or abandon-
ment of the design. If there be not a victory at Wil-
mington before the Bth inst., to what quarter can
Mr Lincoln look for the military success which is to
detach democratic votes from his competitor, con•
firm hesitating Republicans in their allegiance, and
rally to his side the large body of waverers or neu-
trals who have not decided whether they shall vote
for either of the candidates. An effort was made by
Gen. Grant on Thursday last to revive the rapidly
fading prestige of his name, and help forward the
electioneering business of his friend and patron, by
a new flank movement against the Confederate capi-
tal. But he found no door open—not even a key-
hole that he could look through. Gen. Lee was as

fully armed and ready at the threatened point as he
had been at every other; and Gen. Grant after

" feeling" the enemy (much more severely than he
expected) deemed it inexpedient to risk the lives of
his troops against the odds presented, and finally
withdrew under cover of the night to his old posi-
tion. The general impression is that the campaign
virtually closed with this unsuccessful movement,
only differing from the various other attempts of the
kind which Grant has made since May last in being
attended with the unavailing slaughter of hundreds
of men instead of thousands. The situation in the
Shenandoah Valley does not promise any results
more likely to act favourably for Mr Lincoln. Gen.
Sherman lost 7,000 men in the obstinate battles of
the 19th ult., was so crippled as to be unable to follow
up his partialsuccess, and acts at this moment strictly
on the defensive. He in no way threatens the Con-
federates, but guards the valley as well as he can,
lest Generals Longstreet and Early should resume
offensive demonstrations against Washington. The
truth as regards General Sherman on the eouter.
minous borders of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee,
and Mississippi is not so easy to ascertain, but it
looks as if Gen. Hood had enticed him from Atlanta,

drawn him on a wild-goose chase towards Ghetto
nooga, cut him off from his base of supplies, and
left Gen. Beauregard to pounce upon Atlanta at the
favourable moment, and compel the surrender of the
scanty garrison left to hold it under Gen. Slocum.
The Missourian invasion under Gen. Price is one
day reported to be at an end, and the ntxt to be
growing in dimensions. Tne General himself is
variously placed by the telegraphic operators and
news' manufacturers of the West, in Missouri,
Kansas, Arkansas, and the Indian territory. Some
represent him to be laden with plunder, and in com-
mand of an effective force of 30,000 men. Others
declare that he is " whipped," " played out,"
"done gone," and flying for life at the head of a
shattered and demoralised remnant of his force ;
and that to punish the Missourians for the aid
and comfort they afforded him, a reign of terror,
worse than that which billeted Kentucky under
Generals Payne and Burbridge, and which still
continues to weigh heavily upon it, under the sin-
gle, but remorseless, hand of the latter, is to be in-
augurated in Missouri under General Rosecrans.
Wherever Gen. Price may be, and whatever the
successes he has attained, or the ulterior objects at
which' he aims, the immediate effect of his opera-
tions has been to create a favourable diversion for
the Confederate cause, to prevent the reinforcement
of Gen. Sherman, to shake the Federal authority
in Missouri, and to cover the State with bands of
desperate guerillas who will do their best or worst
to make it uninhabitable to all but secret or avowed
Confederates.
These things, however, are little considered in the
North at this moment. The Presidential election on
the Bth inst., or, more properly. speaking, the elec-
tion of the body of electors, who in their turn are
to choose a President and Vice-President, distracts
popular attention from the war. The capture of
Richmond or Wilmington, or the total rout of the
army of Beauregard and Hood, would probably
quicken their sluggish interest, but nothing short
of either of these events seems to be potent enough
to divert their thoughts from the great issue to be
tried next Tuesday. The" war Christians," Messrs.
Cheever and Beecher, preach political sermons
every Sunday evening, and inculcate from their
pulpits the re.election of Mr Lincoln. The un-
feminine Anna Dickinson lectures on the strategy
of Gen. M'Clellan, and prays that the war may last
50 years if the rebels cannot be sooner exterminated,
As the day of election draws near each party at-
tempts fraud, raises scandalous accusations against
the other, vilifies, ridicules, misrepresents, and libels
its opponents, and affects a horror at unfair prac-
tines, which it never feels except when it-becomes
the victim instead of the perpetrator of the wrong.
Outdoor meetings and indoor meetings are every-
where held, at which the speakers employ the
most unadorned if not the most naked eloquence,
and bespatter the rival candidates with improper
epithets. The temper of the people becomes hourly
more explosive. In ordinary times they are too
thoroughly engrossed in money making to care
much for pablio affairs. They can endure the
grossest invasions of their rights by the mili-
tarp " jacks in office" of a Government which
they can displace by their votes at the legally
appointed time ; they can see without any very
violent indignation the suppression of newspapers
and the arrest and incarceration of suspected and
it may be innocent persona—they can wink at the
perpetration of the grossest frauds upon the Go-
vernment, but, in times like these, they cannot en.
dure that their political opponents should tamper
with the popular vote, or win the Presidential election
by unfair means. The frauds in Indiana show, by
what has been done, what may be done again. The
manufacture of military votes in Maryland, and by
which alone the free Constitution for:the immediate
abolition of slavery in that State, without compen-
sation to the slaveowners, was carried in opposition
to the wishes of the citizens, marks one danger
that threatens American liberty. The proclamation
of General Dix, the military commandant in the
New York division, who by ono stroke of his pen
has annulled the constitutional authority of Gover-
nor Seymour, and taken it upon himself to protect
the freedom of election on the Canadian frontier,
which he has no more legal or constitutional right
to do than ho would have to protect the polling
booths of London or Westminster by files of Federal
soldiers, shows how reckless the Administration has
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become. It would seem from the gratuitous
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provoke a collision with Governor Seymour; that
it desires a pretext to place the State under the