The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-16 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA,

cErorn the Correspondent of the Times.)

NEW YORK, Oct. 2.

New iork held high festival yesterday. Broad-
way ari .aged itself in banners, and the city poured
out its thousands to welcome Admiral Lisovski
and tl .e officers of the Russian fleet. Such a recep-
tion r,s this flighty and easily excited population
loves to give to anybody of sufficient note to justify
the expenditure of time and money was given on
this oc:casion ; but it was a mere copy and repeti-
tion of previous displays. As Kossuth was re-
ceived years ago, and the Prince of Wales, and
the Japanese Ambassadors, and, more recently,
General Corcoran, so also, with little variation
ire the programme, were the Russians made free
of the Empire City, and bidden to share in the hos-
pitalities of the Corporation and of the magnates
of its trade and commerce. The promoters of the
gala had the good taste to confine it to its sole pure
pasa, the glorification of Russia, and to refrain from
inviting, as they were publicly urged to do, the Bri-
tish and French admirals and officers now in the
port, to be sharers in the festivities. The whole
scene passed over with satisfaction to all concerned
—especially to the Republican party. There is a
growing impression that war between the United
States, and France, or Franceand England combined,
is inevitable, end that under such circumstances it
is well for the Americans to have a friend in the
Czar. Mr. Charles Sumner declares that the Federal
Government has no friend except Switzerland,
but
all the Repuolice Democrats
ns and many of the .
think the Senator in error,
rowing out of
in case of Europeen complicatiofntsheg
and arc of pi long that
Southern the question of the recognition o
possible issues of the
Con-
federacy, or any other of the
wa:', the Federal Governmentdnaight securely count
upon the physical aid the moral sympathy of
the Emperor Atesandera.l2 An alliance offensive and
is the present day-dream of
the Americans, which
deferteive Russia
they indulge not altogether
for the love and affection which they bear to the
Russians, or for an:
...
community of interests between
them, but for th
hate which they bear to Great
Britain, which dates
from the days of George III.;
and for that which
more recently they have begun
France for the unpardonable
to entertain towards
easily definable sin of sympathy with the
but not
South„ aggravated by the Emperor's contempt for
e M
onroe doctrine,' as
exhibited in the affairs of
the,
and the attempt to introduce monarchy on
the North leemerican continent.
The city positively teems with rumours of fresh
disasters,, both at Chattanooga and Knoxville—ru-
moan w !rich do not find thier way into the news-
papers 'for fear of General Dix and the Provost
Marsha 1, but which are repeated et every corner,
and teeed to send up gold and depreciate stocks in
Wall: street. It also begins to be seen that if Gen.
Gileaore and Admiral Dahlgren cannot take Charles-
ton during the present month—which, judging
fre= the past progress of these gentlemen in their
W,k, is not very probable—the siege will have to
be abandoned, fame the impossibility of maintain-
ing the army in health during the winter on the
sandy and inhospitable shores of Morris Island,
where the tents cannot stand the violence of the
gales ; where everything the men eat is gritty with
sand and dust : where the water is scarce and bad ;
and where fuel, if obtainable at all, can only be ob-
tained at heavy cost from New York, there being
not co, much as a shrub on the island of which to

make a camp fire.
Tint, whatever may be the good or the evil for-
tunes of the Republic, General Schenck persists in
cnurting attention. He and his subordinates at
Baltimore are irrepressible. Neither anger, nor con-
tempt, nor ridicule can teach them decency. Two
new c,.ses have just occurred which exceed in
stupidity of injustice all that he and his ready in-
strrtment have hitherto perpetrated against the
luckless citizens of that pleasant capital. The first
in order of time is that of the 11,-;v. Frederick Gib-
son, a clergyman of the Episcopal Church—a man
highly esteemed in Baltimore in every relation of
-life. He has, it appeirs, been in the habit of re-

eeiving into tvs family for the purposes of education
10 to 12 young gentlemen, and as his reputation 9.4
a teacher stood hio the applications for admission

to his school were more numerous than he could ac-
commodP.te. Oa the 21st of September a General
G. C. Thomas wrote to him from Washington to
know whether he had a vacancy for his son. As
Gen. Thomas was an officer in th,, Federal service,
Mr. Gibson replied that he should be most happy to
receive the young gentleman, but thought it only
proper to inform the General, "in the unhappy cir-
cumstances which now distract the country, that all
his pupils this year without exception advocated
the S 3uthern side, and that such bang the case, he
did not think Gen. Thomas's son would find it plea-
sant to be among them." This was a privileged com-
munication, and ought to have been so considered
by a gentleman. Gen. Thomas, however, was of a
different opinion, and forwarded the document to
Mr. Stanton. Mr. Stanton forwarded it to Gen.
Schenck, and Gen. Schenck instructed his adjutant+
general, one Col. Donn Piatt, like himself a Western
attorney, elevated into military importance by the
war, to do what was needful in the circumstances.
Mr. Gibson was forthwith summoned into the awful
presence of Col. Piatt and underwent a searching
cross-examination as to his political opinions. Mr.
Gibson replied that in his public character of a
clergyman and a teacher he expressed no political
opinions whatever, and neither preached politics
from his pulpit nor taught them in his school. Being
pressed to tell what his private opinions were he
frankly admitted that he had always thought the
war against the South to be indefensible, and that
he heartily sympathised with its people. This was
more than enough for Donn Piatt, who angrily in-
formed Mr. Gibson that with such opinions he had
no right to be in Baltimore, or any right at all
except the right to be shot and buried. He forth-
with consigned this clergyman without rights to a
common cell at the rear of the Provost Marshal's
office, where he still remained on Monday last,
pending Gen. Schenck's decision as to what shall
be done with him.

The next case, though less painful in itself, is
scarcely less disgraceful to the egregious blockheads
who govern Baltimore. Five persons n
Berry, Jordan, Kelly, and Bowhadger,anied Carr,
re
goose that
Monday, the 28th, brought before Colonel Fwieh on
, the
provost Marshal, upon the charge of drinking the
following toast :—" Damnation to the
grew the quill that made the
pen that wrote Lin-
coin's rioclamation of Emancipation." This was
be nothing less than high treason. In
alleged to
protested that it was a good Union
Colon
vain the culprits
el Fish was inexorable, and
sentiment.
ordered them to be transported beyond the Federal
lines into Virginia, to drink the toast if they pleased
among their friends the " rebels." As it appeared,
however, that the butiiness of these men would be
wholly ruined and their families left destitute if th
oe
decree were enforced, the offended Majesty f
Colonel Fish consented to reconsider the matter.
After a day's deliberation, the interval having been
wbrr'ilnli,jrnlagployed byth. friends. of the. offenders in
testimonials of their previous. good be
haviour, it
crime v;ou,Wabs intimated to them that their grievous
would take overlooked this once, provided they
Pre-
sident of Whose
of allegiance to that gracious Pre-
such irreverence, goose-quill they had spoken with
oath without Each and all of them took the
.Ahesitation,
The Court or
has decided by a
majority
of the State of New York
Justice dissenting, that
374,e f the judges, the Chief
tender for private wella greenbacks" are a legal
the clause in the f'B public debts, and that
which delegates to the Constitutionet of the United States
right of " coining" money
Government the sole
" printing" money. As tia:canieat'the right of
further edjudication to the S Spa willm be taken for
United States, the only c u're--'' C"rt of the
Jurt that has
interpret the Constitution, and the highest=mwer to
tribunal
in the country, the question is not to h
ag decided. Ira the meantime the a eg►considered
Judge Wright, in support of the right of of
Federal Government to print as much
Congress may authorise, merit the studypeatperas
Euro.
peans as well as Americans. They will serve to
show into vhat a financial gulf Mr. Cease hasjumped
and dragged the American people after him. Judge
Wright is of opinion that Congreks and the Govern,

went were justified in issuing any possible amount
of paper which the necessities of the State might
have required or will yet require, for the reason that
the money in gold and silver necessary to carry on
the war for the " life of the nation" co . d not have
been borrowed if the civilised world d been ran-
sacked for the purpose. " That Congress judged
wisely," he adds, "the astonishing success that has
attended the issuesiof this money fully proves. All
loyal citizens have prospered immensely by the Act
of Congress which declared greenbacks a legal ten-
der. Such a thing as pecuniary distress in the loyal
States on account of the war, or by reason of the
financial measures of the Government, has
preserved,
more heard of. If the national life were to be per
atm the
emone nationalyw m
was
Mint, and a
t
required than had
thetime
everh
t beeneAct w
coined
as
passed,and
foursilver
nin h
e coin
times greatert
ey.
e on int
r amount
The m
than all
h
thead to
gol d
be
people. borrowed,
va and it it w
have
eba
been
e n borrowed
admonished f from American
ft ht
he
e frightful
ca obnl
es consequencesn
ri nr
etnhee future
dt oorne s
theult frome r
ed
tn io fr r e
thed e enma
yh the
ge
mv i
el sn t sos o tt rhoen
ign strongly
gpi inc
at
tui
ored,n,
waen,, de
nahi -
tion,
e,
hb ua tr
ei fmaaliln tl
to occur, how insignificant they f
oarwould
Government.
all b einc
I f
o destructionm
overnmental structure of ours falls,
phairsis magnificent
ith the
g
this
will matter little that in the effort to save it, not
only disorder, but ruin, were brought on the com-
mercial and monetary interests of the country." The
be a patriot, but he is certainly not a
Judgefinancielnay r, or a political economist. Any common
Jones or Rlbinson,issuing his irredeemable promises
to pay and renewing his bills ad infinitum, might
support his system by the same arguments. It is
necessary to him, Jones or Robinson, that his life
be preserved; his life cannot be preserved without
money; the coin that he can borrow will not meet
his wants by three-fourths; therefore he will pay
his way with paper. He will not only be prosper-
ous himself while his paper circulates, but every-
body who takes it and passes it to his neighbour
will be prosperous also—while confidence lasts.
Mais apris? Jones will shrug his shoulders if you
ask him ; Robinson will do the same, and so also
will the Federal Government and Judge Wright.
The system is beautiful while it lasts, and if confi-
dence could only he made permanent would be beau-
tiful for ever. Unluckily, however, the day of
reckoning comes. The holders of greenbacks will
sometime or other expect coin for them ; and as,
according to the showing of the judge, there will
not be coin enough in the country or to be got out
of the civilised world to effect the liquidation--even
within 75 per cent. of the nominal value—there will
be a commercial crash such as the world has seldom
seen. But the Judge thinks such a result a mere
trifle. Perhaps, if at the day of reckoning he has
100,000 in greenbacks, and no other property, real
or personal, he may awaken to the melancholy con-
viction that irredeemable paper is not quite such a
blessing as he now considers it.

Utilisation of the London Sewage.

A public meeting of the ratepayers and inhabi-
tants of St. Marylebone was held in the Court-
house, Marylebone-lane, last night, to consider the
subject of the utilisation of the London sewage—
Dr. Brady, M.P., the chairman of the select com-
mittee o❑ the sewage of towns, presiding.
In consequence of the wet weather the meeting
was not well attended.
The CuATEMAN said he had devoted considerable
attention to the subject of the utilisation of the
sewage of towns, which was of the greatest impor-
tance to the community at large, but when he
brought it first under the notice of the House of
Commons he had no idea that he had undertaken so
difficult a task. It had over and over again been
called the unsolved question of social progress, but
why, he was at a loss to understand. It had also
been designated the ass's bridge of social mathema-
tics, but nothing was easier than to pass over that
bridge. (A. laugh.) A large amount of evidence was
taken before the select committee, and with the ex-
ception of that given by those who were interested
in artificial manure,it all tended toshow that sewage,
if properly applied to laud, would be a most valu-
able manure as regarded almost every description of
crops. The different agricultural societies through-
out the country had also given testimony to the
same effect, but an enormous influence was exercised
by the artificial manure interest in almost every
market town in England, in order to depreciate the
value of sewage as a manure, and it was therefore
most desirable that the public should be enlightened
on that question. There could be no doubt that by
proper utilisation of sewage the ratepayers would be
largely benefited in a pecuniary sense. He then
alluded to the experiment made by the commission
at Rugby, and said that though he would not go so
far as to call it humbug, it was anything but what
it should have been. The land had never been
prepared for the application of sewage, and the
experiment was therefore fallacious, as it could
have led to no other result but failure. As
the sewage was their property, as rate-
payers, they ought to see that it was turned
to profitable account,and with that view they should
first have the whole matter thoroughly discussed.
(Hear, hear.)
_ _

Mr. HEALY referred to instances in which sewage
had enormously increased to productive powers of
land in Lincolnshire, and said he looked upon the
London sewage as a mine of wealth to the rate-
payers. A large manufacturer of artificial manure
had told him that utilisation of sewage " went
against the grain," which mounted to a confession
of its value, and he (Mr. Healy) believed that if the
whole sewage of the metropolis were converted into
manure the cost of main drainage works would be
next to nothing. He concluded by moving the fol-
lowing resolution :—" That this meeting, in view of
the evidence laid before the Select Committee of the
House of Commons on the sewage of towns, and of
the analysis of the metropolitan sewage made by
Messrs. Hoffmann and Wilt, is of opinion that the
metropolitan sewage is a manure valuable for all
crops, and that it can be profitably utilised. That
its profitable utilisation depends upon its applica-
tion in a liquid form, in moderate dressings, over a
large area ; and that any other mode will be finan-
cially unproductive. And, further, that a plan
based upon the foregoing principles and conditions
ie the only one which offers any prospect of a sub-
stantial reduction of local taxation."
The motion having been seconded by Mr. BLACK-
EURN,

Mr. SLACR said he believed that the sewage of
London was in value equal to £5,000,000 a year.
He knew from practiced experience that it gave an
enormous amount of nourishment to all vegetable
matter, and,in a short time, its effect had been almost
miraculous on land to which it had been applied.
One great advantage of the main drainage system
the £5,000,000 he had
was that it would purify the Thames, and out of
mentioned he calculated that
£3,000,000 would be the value of fish which would
then be produced in that noble river and the
streams which ran into it. Within his own know-
ledge, a man some years ago used to take six
or eight salmon at a haul in different parts of the
river above Chelsea-bridge, and a friend once caught
one opposite Strawberry-hill weighing 601 b,, which
he sold to a fishmonger in Jermyn.street for £25.
to the
Formerly the fishermen in the villages along the
banks of the river were very properous, but now
hadwa t
earl,maons td
during gone, o, in g
the winter
their families were obliged to rely upon
they and
theiri,ui occupationito
of
the
He had recently visited the out-
-1.,;,11 relief. .
parochial
e main drain at Piumatead Marshes, and
fall of ti,l-u;„ quarter of a mile of the place he
whet/ wit"
inhale the abominable effluvia from
which made him
happened to
an artificial
unable to take food for a long
so ill that he VaS
said that having deeply
manufactory,
manureer
• before the
time afterwards.
BAcoFFE
~
studied the question ,
ard to it, he had no doubt,
in re,
many experiments
of the metropolis and of
meeting, and made
wlaateNer that the sewage
the whole of England was a very valuable commo-
dity, (Hear, hear.) He, however, could not en-
dorse the principle that it could
only ha applied
profitably in a liquid form, especially in the ab
JOV.,,f, and moved,
sence of any evidence to that €"' '
t of the rese-
as an amendment, that the latter plr