The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 19, 1865.

fined to Captain Percy and one or two privates
wounded. Upwards of 100 of the Whakatane na-
tives have voluntarily submitted, and, ai ti ey sur-
rendered all their arms, it may safely 1 e assumed
they are in earnest, otherwise scarcely anything will
induce the nativesto give up more than an oldworn-
out musket or two. None of the murderers of Mr.
Volkner or of Mr. Fulloon have yet been captured,
but they are known to be still in the neighbour-
hood. In the Opotoki district, as in that of Waipu,
pahs are springing up which will try the mettle of
the forces. Matters are quiet at the Waikatoi and
there is nothing new from Taranaki.
In political circles the absorbing event is the re-
signation of the Weld Ministry, which took place
on the 12th inst. When the Assembly opened, 11
weeks ago, the Opposition was of the most weak
and desultory character ; but in some measure,
from that want of tact which so often accompanies
strong Ministries, the Opposition has gradually
made head, or, more properly speaking, Mr.Weld's
supporters have one by one dropped off into what
arc called the independent ranks, until the position
of the Ministry had become one of sufferance.
Although the policy .of self-reliance—i.e, the de-
pendence on a purely, colonial force—had been and
still is much applauded in sentiment, yet, as it be-
came daily reduced to money figures, much of its
roseate hue has faded away. The long unmarketable
character of New Zealand loans has brought about
temporary financial difficulties in several of the
Southern Provinces, and every shilling of revenue is
consequently wanted by them. The reduction of the
proportion of the Customs' revenue hitherto granted
to all the Provinces, which will more or less cripple
the whole of them, was, perhaps, not unnaturally a
very unpopular step for Mr. Weld's Government to
take at such a juncture. Then came the considera-
tion of Militia, Volunteer, and other Defence Bills,
involving large expenditures, together with one
authorising the imposition of £lOO,OOO or so of fresh
taxes in the shape of stamp duties. Unpopular as
measures for the increase of taxation always are

the Assembly saw plainly that there was no help for
it, as the large demands which the war is likely to
make for a long time to come must be provided for
in anticipation, even if only on the Statute- book.
A proposal for fresh loans was out of the question,
seeing that a million and a half of the last loan re-
mains hypothecated because the debentures cannot
be sold at legitimate rates. There was, in fact, no
other resource but the very business-like one of
making the year's income pay the year's expenses.
Bitter as the pill was (especially to Middle Island
members) it had to be swallowed, and the Assembly
was prepared to swallow it accordingly ; but, as
Parliament expires in a couple of months, members
have been anxious to put the best face on it, with a
view to the coming election, by proposing and voting
for all sorts of substitutes for the proposed taxation.
With a good working majority, whenever it actually
came to a pinch, Ministers found themselves daily
embarrassed by propositions most inimical to their
own policy, securing votes now of this and then of
that section of their supporters ; the House all the
while either mustering strongly in favour of the
Government -whenever the threat of resignation had
to be held out, or else counselling the Opposition
members to retire on a division. As a notable
illustration of this I may mention that a few weeks
ago a motion asking for information relative to the
exemption of certain murderers from punishment by
the peace proclamation was carried on the voices, but
on the division the " ayes" walked out. The mem-
bers left in the house being all on one side (that of
the Government) no division could be recorded, and
the motion was therefore decided in favour of the
voices, and against the Ministry. This result was
purely accidental, but Ministers determined to re-
sign unless the vote was rescinded. Next day the
vote was rescinded, several members reversing their
opinions of the previous evening rather than the
Government should go out. Ten days ago Mr.
Cardwell's despatch of July 26 arrived, in which
he holds out no hope of assistance in the shape of a
guarantee to the remainder of the loan, a grant in
aid of expenses, or in any other way whatever,
leasing the colony to get out of the mess in the best
way it can. Ministers did not choose to ask the
house to discuss this despatch ; they were prepared
to accept the self-reliance it inculcated as soon as
the Governor or general, or whoever is acting as the
agent of the Imperial authorities, removed the
troops, and there was to be an end of it so far as the
house was concerned, except that it not only made
taxation more inevitable than ever, but held out a
prospect of its indefinite increase. Last Tuesday
Ministers called their supporters together, and
found that they could carry all their measures if
their friends would but attend and vote any further
fancy propositions. On that night Ministers were
' beaten in their opposition to a motion for adjourn-
\
• ment, and were saved a defeat on the following
evening only by the casting vote of the Speaker.
They could stand this mode of conducting busi-
ness no longer, and next day (the 12th) tendered
their resignations. Mr. Stafford (who was Premier
in Governor Browne's time) was immediately sent
for, and is now engaged in endeavouring to form a
new Administration. The difficulties in his way
are very great, and he may not succeed, but, as his
name has of late years been looked upon as a tower
of strength to any Ministry he might join, it is
thought that he will probably be successful, though
certainly no other man could be. His chance
mainly rests in the approaching general election, as
some members with shaky seats will feel inclined
to support him, in the near view of the hustings,
who would not have done so otherwise, in the hope
that a little claptrap on the taxation question may
return them again. Allied closely to the Auckland
section of the house, Mr. Stafford will necessarily
seek the retention of as many of the Imperial troops
as possible, and in this policy he will, no doubt, be
backed by the Governor, if only for the reason I
explained last month. An income-tax may, pro-
bably, be substituted for stamp duties; for, as Mr.
Stafford is one of the last men in the house, or out
of it, to shrink from crushing the rebellion by the.
most vigorous means in his power, money must be
raised in some way or other, especially as the Im-
perial Commissariat is stoutly kicking at making
any further advances. In many respects, if not in
most, Mr. Stafford's policy must tend in the same
direction as Mr. Weld's. It will, however, be a
matter of much regret to nearly all the portions of
the colony if the Weld Ministry have to go out at
this crisis. It is regarded as able, honest, and hard-
working ; but these or any other qualifications seem
insufficient to enable a New Zealand Ministry to re-
tain office more than a single session. We had
changes in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, and now again
itnhirlnBgh6se sip
5 must be sTt blme obvious.
The d
r drawback of such a state of
Rob Roy and John Tem parley carry
away the 65th Regiment from Auckland this month.
It has been a favourite regiment wherever it has
been stationed, and all the North Island has a good
e been bestowed by the last mail
word
Foutrocs a.
By .f,
so rh int;
early on officers serving in New Zealand. A despatchrlyin
from Lord De Grey was laid on the table a
the session, refusing the Victoria Cross to Major
Heaphy, of the militia, for an act of conspicuous
gallantry at the Wakaito in February, 1861. The
Governor had strongly recommended it, and as the
militia was co-operating with the imperial troops,
and the major's bravery was exhibited in saving the
life of a wounded soldier, it was confidently hoped
that the honour would be conferred. The refusal is
grounded on the fact that Major Heaphy is only a
colonist, and on the assumption that he would meet
with a " substantial reward" in land. It is a pity
that there should have been any comparison drawn
between the relative value to a brave man of three-
pennyworth of bronze and a few dirty acres of waste
land; but to insinuate that the latter were more
highly prized than the former by men outside the
imperial army was only adding insult to injury. Mr.
Cardwell supports Lord De Grey's view. Imperial
officers on retiring from the army to settle are al-
lowed by several of the provincial Governments
handsome grants of land, but the militia are not ;
yet none of us ever think of ascribing such sordid
motives to gallant officers in her Majesty's service
as Lord De Grey and Mr. Cardwell join in attribut-
ing to colonial braves. There are, however, prece-
dents for granting the Victoria Cross outside the
imperial army and navy. Mr. R. C. Mangles, of the

Bengal Civil Service, received it for an act rendered
in connection with the relief of Arrah on July 29th,
1857 ; and Mr. Patrick Kavanagh, also a civilian,
was similarly rewarded for his services in carrying
despatches from Lucknow in November of that
year. There is a special star for India. Could not
her Majesty be advised to create an order for dis-
tinguished civil and military services in the colo-
nies ? Its benefits would be very great here if in-
stituted at once.

The goldfields on the West Coast of the Middle
Island are yielding more and more abundantly, and
the rush from Australia and all parts of New Zea-
land is increasing. The wrecks on that harbourless
coast have been of almost every-day occurrence.
Five years ago no one had crossed the Southern
Alps, dividing the Eastern from the Western coasts
of the Middle Island. There was a tradition that
a party of natives had once attempted it and
perished ; now diggers land at Canterbury, and
travel overland by thousands. Bridle tracks have
been cut by several routes, and a railway is seriously
entertained.

OCT. 15.

The detention of the steamer by the Governor
gives me the opportunity of setting doubts at rest
in reference to Mr. Broughton's murder. The Go-
vernment have received information from the resi-
dent magistrate at Wanganui that a native has de-
posed to the facts. It appears that Mr. Broughton
was brutally tomahawked on the Sunday afternoon
almost as soon as he reached the village, and that
his body was afterwards burnt. The three shots
and the hoisting a red flag on Monday morning
were intended as acts of defiance. Sad as it is to
think of his fate, it is in some measure still more
sad to think that up to this moment not a single
step has been taken to avenge it. General Chute
is not prepared to take the initiative of what may
be extensive operations without the Governor's
orders. The Governor is not prepared to issue any
orders until his Ministry advise him. The Ministry
are not prepared to advise his Excellency until the
Assembly re-seats them or supplies their place, and
the Assembly cannot do anything before Tuesday,
the next sitting-day. Did any colony ever present
such a series of complications as New Zealand is
perpetually doing?
Mr. Stafford has not yet formed his Ministry,
and appears to be hard pushed to get presentable
men. Mr. John Williamson, late Superintendent
of Auckland, has consented to take charge of native
affairs.; and Mr. Russell, the Defence Minister in
the Whittaker-Fox Administration, has consented
to fill the same office under Mr. Stafford. These
are the only offices yet filled up ; both are good
men. The other offices have been offered to the

leading men in the Opposition ranks, but as yet
without success. Should a " scratch" Ministry be
formed with the intention to fill up with suitable
men after the dissolution, it is the intention of Mr.
Weld's supporters to refuse a vote of credit, and in
that case, with the present state of Victoria in view,
it is not thought possible that the Governor would
grant an immediate dissolution. The supporters of
Mr. Weld, alarmed at the consequences of their own
supineness, are now clamorous for his return to
office, and a meeting has been called for to-morrow
with a view to decide on the course of action to be
pursued should Mr. Stafford meet the house on Tues-
day as the head of the Government.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

" THE EXAMINER" ON ICING LEOPOLD.—Consti-
tutional government, in our days, and for a certain
portion of the world, is on its trial. It is not so for
us, who have made up our minds fully. But there
exists doubt and dispute elsewhere. In that dispute
theory and discussion can avail little ; example is
everything. And never certainly was a more emi-
nent and salutary example given to the world of
what thorough constitutionalism could do than is
offered by the reign of the late King Leopold of Bel-
gium. A more helpless or more difficult task was
certainly never given to a Sovereign than that of
taking the Low Countries in the very convulsions of
revolution uniting and pacifying them so as to ren-
der the political existence tolerable to themselves and
to their neighbours. 'What with the Radical party,
the French party, the Dutch, the Aristocrats, the
Democrats, the Ultramontane, and the Anti-Reli-
gious, the Belgians were cut up into a hundred fac-
tions, which differed, not upon trifles, but on the very
essential foundations of government. Add to such
divisions the territorial ones, the want of sympathy
between Flemings, Brabanters, and Walloons, and we
have one of the most insoluble problems which politics
can offer. The Sovereign too was not the first choice
of the people. Others were elected before him, and
the choice cancelled. Then he was a Protestant and a
stranger. His German connexion did nothing for him,
his English connexion did him more harm than good.
Out of this chaos Leopold had to produce a peaceable
realm to content his people, conciliate them ; give
no umbrage to England; establish relations, com-
mercial ones were indispensable, with Holland and
soften the anger of the Czar, ispleased with the
whole transaction and with the alliance of the West
which had imposed its will upon the rest of Europe.
All this Leopold did, founding at once the freest
and most prosperous country in Europe. It was
not merely in the grand experiment of establishing
and working constitutional government that Leo-
pold of Belgium distinguished himself. He suc-
ceeded also in the noble venture of exposing reli-
gious freedom to the assaults of a Catholic party,
while maintaining an active system of education
amidst factions equally balanced, that took diame-
trically opposite views of it. Nowhere in Europe
or in history have the religious and the secular party
been allowed to struggle in such perfect freedom,
or been enabled so fully to develope and demonstrate
by partial success what would be the incon-
venience and injustice of either exclusively
dominating. Leopold sat as an impartial
arbiter and umpire over the great struggle, out of
which we in our future government of Ireland may
derive many a useful lesson, as well as an honour-
able and successful example. That such was the
best and wisest poiky, not only to render Belgium
enlightened and prosperous, but independent, is
now fully obvious. What empire could give to
Belgium, in annexing it, the same advantages, or
the equivalents for those they already possess?
Neither Liberals nor Ultramontanes would gain by
annexation to France ; on the contrary, both would
lose much, and neither can desire it. Political and
religious freedom has opened a gulf between the
two nations. The industrious and commercial pe-
culiarities of either country render the union of
Belgium to France as distasteful to the north of
France as it would be to the Belgians. It is for-
tunate that there are these guards, for undeniably
the state of Europe is but little favourable to the
defence of Belgian independence were it attacked.
With Lord Palmerston has expired the old policy
of maintaining the balance of pop er in Europe by
force of arms. Prussia is not to be depended upon
in any quarrel that does not lead directly to its own
aggrandisement. And Belgium is linked in mar-
riage with Austria, the most vulnerable and least
fortunate of European Powers. In the north of
Europe the great Powers were never more in-
clined to aggression, and the smaller Powers less
able to resist them. So that it must be a relief
and a source of congratulation to those who
dread and dislike large military empires to
observe that the present dangerous epoch is likely
to be tilted over. In the future, absolutism and
aggression may be less in the ascendant, less the
fancy and the fashion, than they are at present.
" THE READER" ON MONTAIGNE.—The fame of
Montaigne is on the increase. In France there are
men who make the old Gascon the study of their
lives, who devote themselves to the elucidation of
his writings, and who quarrel over the interpreta-
tion of one of his phrases with as much zest, if not
with as much acrimony, as scholars among our-
selves quarrel over the meaning of a passage in
Shakspere. Since the revival of letters no foreign
endgiut edition sh
has of
writer has exercised as much influence upon our own
literature. The " Essays" have been translated into
t
beenall civilised
dsedfor ani
nations,exahnadusedteidtioinn
after
languages
each. They have not in any country had for readers
what is known as the
general public, but have only
obtained what Mr. Emerson calls a chosen circula-
tion—namely, among courtiers, soldiers, princes,
men of the world, and men of
wit and generosity.
There are signs, however,
,that the appre-
ciation is extending. A short time ago,
a " family" edition appeared in England,
and the reception lately given to the eloge pro-
nounced on their author by the younger Guizot upon
the re-opening of the college of France, may be
fairly taken as indication of an increasing interest
manifested in the life and works of the great essayist
in the country of his birth. Montaigne was 38 years
old when, in 1571, tired of courts and public em-
ployments, but rich in 20 years' experience of the
ways of men in court and camp, he retired to his
chateau in Perigord. Neither by circumstances nor
temperament, we suspect, was he fitted to make a
great figure in the barbarous, cruel, and deceitful
court he had abandoned ; and now, without much
regret at his absence from the game he had left, he
sat down in quiet indifference to all things, to con-

elude the remainder of his life, already more than
half past, in the agreeable and peaceful abode he
had inherited from his ancestors. Here and now,
with his wife and numerous retainers upon whom
to vent his ill-humour when he should begin to pine
for past pleasures, he really began to live. His
powers of observation were of the highest order,
and had been judiciously exercised. Hitherto
he had been in school. The time for medi-
tation had now come, and he felt desirous
of ascertaining what progress he had made.
To the question, Que scais-je? he was continually
asking himself, we have for answer the three books
which form the famous " Essays." Montaigne is
the type of every man of culture at a certain stage
of his development. He looked upon mankind, and
chiefly upon himself, diversely; and the conclusion
to which he came is the same as that to which others
had come before. He thought all was vanity and
vexation of spirit. Every one of us knows this ; but
most of us desire to forget it, or will not remember
it. Montaigne does not hide this from himself. He
never gives himself the air of one who is going to
reveal secrets. You want to know what is ? He can-
not satisfy you. You must go to others ;he can, at
the most, only tell you what is not. It is possible
that all organisation is tending to perfection, but he
does not know it. He is not sure even of immorta-
lity, and carefully abstains from saying that he is.
Indeed, with respect to this and other great problems
that interest us, he had no view at all, and did not,
we suspect, think it necessary to have one. Many
before and since Montaigne's time have troubled
themselves with these questions, and for certitude have
experienced only doubts. Some there have been who
eliminated these doubts by main force ; or, without
having them resolved, consented for their peace of
mind to believe them insoluble, and thenceforward
arrogantly assume that the opinions theyhave aban-
doned were unsound. But does it follow that he
who changes sides necessarily goes from darkness
to light? If change of opinion were in itself pro-
gress, the popularity and influence of such a writer
as Montaigne would never be much. Before we can
decide what is truth, we must have an undisputed
criterion.

THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON RAILWAY LEGIS-
LATION.-It is not a little surprising that, after two
unusually heavy sessions, an increased number of
private bills should have been deposited for the en-
suing year. Although, however, the great addition to
the capital already invested in public undertakings
renders fresh applications to Parliament necessary,
the list of bills but loosely indicates the amount of
labour which must be devoted to private legislation.
A large proportion of bills will be unopposed, and
many petitioners will agree to a compromise before
their claims are ready for adjudication. Experience
will show whether many litigants avail themselves-
of a late standing order which enables the referees,
by consent of parties, to dispose of the entire case.
Some questions of great importance must be decided
by select committees, unless contending parties can
agree among themselves to some satisfactory ar-
rangement. It is proposed to open new routes to
Brighton, to the South Wales coalfield, and to Scot-
land, and it may be confidently assumed that in
each case local feeling will be favourable to the pro-
jectors. There are few inquiries more difficult than
the comparison of vested interests in existing rail-
ways with the public convenience which is appa-
rently involved in the establishment of a competing
system. Those who have occasion, as parties or as
judges, to consider similar questions, are aware that
it is impossible to refer decisions on complicated
facts to any general rule. Popular opinion inclines
alternately to extreme zeal for the interests of
shareholders and to exclusive regard for the sup-
posed advantage of the public. Professed econo-
mists sometimes declare that railway companies re-
quire rest, that capital accounts ought to be speedily
and permanently closed, and that competition is but
another name for combination ; yet the same
theorists are ready when the fashion changes to de-
nounce the opponents of unnecessary undertakings as
monopolists, and to protest against their being even
heard against a scheme which may perhaps reduce a
flourishing company to poverty or insolvency. The
evils of wasted capital have been greatly exagge-
rated, for nine-tenths of the railways constructed
in England are legitimate undertakings, which
may, under proper management, be fairly ex-
pected to return a reasonable profit ; but the wildest
adventurers wouuld never have sunk their money in
railways if they had thought it possible that they
were to be submitted to unlimited competition at
the will of private persons. It has often been sug-
gested lately that the only parties really concerned
in an inquiry as to a proposed railway are the capi-
talists who offer to make the line, and the land-
owners who are to be expropriated by contract or
compulsion. It is argued, therefore, that Parlia-
ment ought to approve of every bill which is unop-
posed by landowners ; and the further inference
that a private owner ought not to place a veto on a
public undertaking follows with a certain logical
force. The Lands Clauses Act provides compensa-
tion for property which is taken, and the interest of
the projector is represented as a sufficient security
for the public utility of the enterprise. It is a start-
ling discovery that every man has a right to take
the property of every other man for purposes which
he may consider profitable to himself ; yet, if it
were true that the public interest would be promoted
by the sacrifice, it might be difficult to oppose the
doctrine which has been so loudly proclaimed. It
is strange, however, that the professed advocates of
the Continental plan of exclusive concessions should
also recommend a system which is characteristically
described as free-trade in railways. Much ignorant
praise has been bestowed on the reports of 19 years
ago which were published under Lord Dalhousie's
sanction, because they discouraged the competition
of new-comers where existing companies were wil-
ling to construct necessary or desirable branches.
The entire withdrawal of all preference and protec-
tion is recommended by the same popular instruc-
tors, without any apparent consciousness of incon-
sistency. A general antipathy to railway directors,
and to all their supposed accomplices, is equally
gratified by charges that they are neglecting the in-
terests of their shareholders, and by complaints that
the proprietors themselves enjoy a pernicious mono-
poly. Common enmities are said to cement friend-
ships, but those who depend for their livelihood on
railway dividends will not easily be persuaded to
join the assault which, through their agents, is
directed against themselves. A board which
has been repeatedly attacked for not closing
a capital account cannot be expected to watch pas-
sively the opening of a capital account by a
rival, for the professed purpose of abstracting
traffic, or rather of obtaining power to abstract it.
Additional accommodation would thus, it is said, be
provided for passengers and freighters, and the
landowners would receive the value of the property
which would be taken. The illustration may ap-
pear extravagant, from the absurdity of the sup-
posed results ; but it is by no means certain that
the enterprise would not be profitable and safe.
The owner of a second line between the same ex-
treme points can at once compel the older compe-
titor to divide his profits—and if the mileage, the
gradients, and the other conditions are equal, the
new-comer can claim half the proceeds of the com-
mon purse. Half the receipts of the Great North-
ern main line would perhaps pay a fair dividend on
a capital which would be considerably less than the
cost of the existing undertaking. The fares would
be lowered, the number of trains would probably
not be increased, and the interests of the two com-
panies would be in all respects identical, although
the junior partner had forced himself into a share
of the business. If the new line were longer, or if
the gradients were heavier, it might not improbably
be found profitable to send the entire traffic by the
existing line, although the new proprietors would
take their share of the profits. In this case three or
four millions would have been expended for pur-
poses of plunder, without producing the smallest
commercial or material advantage to the general
community. The supporters of a theory have no
right to object to an extreme case which shows the
fallacy of their doctrine. It is not improbable that
direct piracy of the plan of a flourishing undertak-
ing might be the most profitable application of the
system of unregulated competition. It would, how-
ever, be better for both parties that a contractor
should be brought off than that he should waste his
money in making a duplicate line. There is scarcely
any limit to the amount of black mail which would
be levied on railway proprietors if Parliament no
longer required proof of the necessity or expe-
diency of a proposed undertaking. When ade-
quate advantages are really offered by a compet-
ing line, it is almost invariably sanctioned. Every
great commercial town is now reached by two,
three, or four railways. There was a time when
the London and North-Western Company carried
all the Northern traffic, and Lord Dalhousie re-
ported against the unnecessary competition of
the Great Northern. As far as a rule can be ex-
tracted from a legislation which necessarily follows
the diversity of circumstances, it is now a settled
principle that, when intermediate districts require
railways of their own, the new parallel lines are
allowed to extend themselves to terminal points,
although the through traffic has been sufficiently
accommodated. It is not likely that parliamentary
committees will adopt the fallacy that existing in-
terests have no claim to consideration. A reason-
able amount of certainty is an indispensable condi-
tion of the expenditure of capital on useful enter-
prises. The contractors who have pushed railways
into some of the least promising districts of the
country have conferred great and unexpected benefits
on the inhabitants and on the owners of property.
In some instances they create a profitable traffic,
and they may fairly expect to reap the benefit of
their own adventure. Their capital would never
have been risked if they had supposed that compe-

titors might watch their experiment for the purpose
of escaping their losses and of dividing their gains.
It is difficult to understand how, even under exist-
ing conditions, money can have been provided for
some of the costly lines. The alliances of the great
companies have almost put an end to the practice
of forcing a new line on one rival by threats of
introducing a competitor into a district ; yet it is
found that contractors are willing to pay themselves
in shares for an outlay which often seems entirely
unremunerative. For some years Parliament has
declined to inquire too closely into pecuniary re-
sources which are always forthcoming after a rail-
way act has passed. Committees have shown habi-
tual favour, even to unpromising undertakings,
where projectors, who may be supposed to be the
best judges of their own interests, apparently rely
on the profits of a new or imperfectly developed
traffic. Attempts to extort from existing companies
a share of their receipts ought to be vigilantly
watched, though they are not necessarily to be con-

demned.
" THE ANGLO - AMERICAN TIMES " ON THE
CONFEDERATE COTTON LOAN.—The adjourned
meeting of the holders of the Confederate
Cotton Loan is announced to be held at the
London Tavern, on Thursday, the 18th day of
January, when resolutions will be proposed in con-
formity with the report of the committee, now in
the hands of the bondholders. The report in ques-
tion contains the correspondence between Messrs.
ERLANGER and Co., the contractors of the loan, of
Paris, Messrs. SCHRODER and Co., their agents in
London, and the committee's solicitors, Messrs.
FERRALL, CHAMBERLAIN, and BLAKE. Messrs.
ERLANGER and Co. state that they have no funds
under their control, and they refuse the inspection
of the contract made by them with the rebel Go-
vernment. They also state that they hold a large
amount of the loan. Messrs. SCHRODER and Co.
state that they are not at liberty to furnish a state-
ment of the money received in respect of the loan
or its application, but they give the amount of bonds
issued, viz., £3,000,000 ; amount exchanged for
cotton certificates, £376,600 ; amount redeemed by
drawings, £204,600 ; amount at present in circula-
tion, £2,418,800. Messrs. FRESHFIELD and Messrs.
CROWDER and Co. also decline to allow the inspec-
tion of the contract for the loan, or to furnish the
Act of the Confederate Congress authorising it.
The committee, in fact, find difficulties in every
quarter from those who were the chief instruments
in the issuing of the loan. They are evidently men
of the Tite Barnacle class, surprised that the bond-
holders should want to know what has become of

the money.
The report contains a report of the decision of
Vice-Chancellor WOOD in the case of the UNITED
STATES v. PRIODEAU and others, better known as
FRASER, TRENHOLM, and Co. The committee state
that " they have consulted Mr. FLEMING, Q.C.,
who has a reputation for the knowledge of inter-
national law." The following is the substance of
his opinion, which he states " has been come to
with much anxiety and hesitation, and is given with

great diffidence :"
"If the view which I have formed as to the original
validity of the loan be well founded, then the United States
have taken the property of the Confederated States, sub-
ject to the charge for the loan, and applying the principle
expressed by Vice-Chancellor Wood in the 'United States
v. Prioleau ' a principle fully admitted by the most learned
commentators' on international law, any property in this
country which was subject to the charge, and can only be
obtained by the United States, continues liable to the
charge, and can only be obtained by the United States,
subject to the liability which previously attached to it. The
case is different in fact, but not in principle, in regard to
property in America and under the immediate control of
the conquerors. With that of course the successful party
can deal, and if it be their pleasure to deny the validity of
the loan, 1 do not see any means by which their right to
take the property of the States which they have conquered,
repudiating its liability to creditors under the loan, can be
questioned in America."
Mr. FLEMING also gives the following opinion as
to the liability of Messrs. ERLANGER and Co., the
contractors of the loan :
"1 have no doubt that if the contractor have any. por-
tion of the loan in his hands unapplied, or if he have in his
hands any property or funds forwarded to him by the
Confederate Government or their agents, to meet any liabi-
lity or payments on account, or in respect of the loan, that
he is liable to the contributors ; and it appears to me that,
if there be reason to suppose that he has any such property
or funds in his possession, it would be prudent to file a
Bill in Equity against him."
The committee made an application to the Com-
mittee of the Stock Exchange, asking that the Con-
federate loan might be officially quoted, but they
received no reply. The committee comments very
severely upon Mr. SEWARD'S statement " that there
is no likelihood that any part of the Confederate
debt will be assumed or recognised by the United
States' Government," and of his non-acceptance of
Vice-Chancellor W ooD'S decision. The following
is a specimen of their specious reasoning on this

point :
" The Government of the United States has, by the
indiscretion of Mr. SEWARD, thrown away as glorious an
opportunity as ever a nation had to establish its credit in
Europe at a small sacrifice, for had the American Govern-
went been politic and magnanimous enough to have
acknowledged this insignificant foreign debt of the Go-
vernment they have superseded, instead of shocking
Europe by proclaiming a policy of repudiation and defiance
of international law, their financial credit would have risen
to the highest possible pitch ; instead of which, ever since
the publication of Mr. SEWARD'S despatch, the demand for
United States securities has fallen off, and as the United
States debt may be computed at £650,000,000 sterling
against the Confederate Cotton debt of £'2,418,000, the
loss occasioned by a fall of even 1 per cent. in the United
States debt would pay off the Confederate debt three times
over."
The Committee recommend that the bondholders '
pledge themselves to allow five per cent. on the
amount of the debt, payable in bonds, if the Com-
mittee are successful in making satisfactory arrange-
ments for the payment of the bonds, and it is their
intention to despatch an agent to the Southern
States. It has been suggested that Mr. JUDAII
BENJAMIN would be a proper person for this mission.
One of the closing paragraphs of the Report is most
interesting. For cool audacity it is unequalled
Your committee, in conclusion, beg to remind those
whom it may concern, and especially Mr. Seward, that the
Cotton Loan was strictly a mercantile transaction, based
and subscribed for on an hypothecation of cotton, which
has been seized on by the United States, and which, by the
condition and terms expressed in the bonds, the holders
had the option of exchanging for cotton at 6d. per pound
six months after the conclusion of peace, and which option
made every cotton bondholder a promoter of peace ; and,
moreover, without such a condition and hypothecation,
they would not have advanced their money."
The proceeds of the Cotton Loan were turned into
arms and ammunition, and kept the Confederacy
afloat for twelvemonths longer than it could have
otherwise existed, and this at a cost of tens of thou-
sands of lives on both sides, and now the bond-
holders, through their committee, claim that they
were promoters of peace.
The only mischief that the present agitation for
the payment of the cotton loan can render is that
it might enable a few of the holders to obtain a
purchaser at probably a trifling advance on present
prices, but even this is not likely. The fox in this
case cannot induce the goat to jump into the well,
that reynard may make use of his body for the pur-
pose of getting out of it. No one dreams that the
United States will pay the rebel debt ; the Southern
States cannot if they would, and would not be
allowed by the Federal Government if they could,
and manifested any intention of doing so. The only
hope that the bondholders have, and the committee
think it unworthy of mention, is that of obtaining
something from Messrs. ERLANGER and Co., or from
some of the rebel agents in this country who are
known to have part of the assets of the Confederate
government in their hands.

THE LESSON OF JAMAICA.—Many English papers
of the Tory order, and American Copperhead journals are
professing to find an argument against emancipation in the
rebellion of the blacks in Jamaica. The London Standard
says: "The reports of the West Indian Governors leave no
doubt upon the mind of any impartial person that eman-
cipation has fulfilled none of the promises which were so
confidently made by its advocates. It has not made the
negro a better or a wiser, scarcely even a happier, man.
He is more brutal and less useful than he was as a slave;
he is further from the level of the white man ; he is more
savage, more vicious, less amenable to reason, less grate-
ful for kindness, less sensitive to religious influences, and
in every way a worse man than the Virginia slave of 1860.
Emancipation has not even given us security against negro
rebellion." While we deny the general statements above made,
we would contrast it with the fact that in Brazil the emanci-
' pated negroes have risen to the highest positions, socially
and politically, in the empire. The majority of the Empe-
ror's Cabinet officers, of his army and naval commanders,
and of the elective officers, judges, &c., of Brazil are
negroes or of mixed blood. Wherein is the difference ?
Simply this—ln Brazil there has been no distinction of
caste, color, or race, and every person having property
worth $5O per annum has a vote. On the contrary, in the
Island of Jamaica, the scene of the recent rebellion, there
are but 3,000 voters, all white, in a population of 400,000,
of whom 300,000 are black, and the officers whom they
elect have no influence in governing the island. The
mistake made in the British West Indies is in eman-
cipating the negroes as individuals and enslaving
them as a population—in governing them without their
consent. some men are foolish enough to wish to repeat
the same experiment in this country. It is wholly unne-
cessary. We freely admit in advance that if emancipation
is to be no more complete in the South than in the British
West Indies, if the negroes are to remain an oppressed and
down-trodden race, then it will have no better result here
than in Jamaica. On the other hand, if emancipation is
to be as complete as it is for the emancipated class in
Brazil, then they will exhibit the same progress and up-
ward tendencies here as there.—Chicago Tribune.
The population of Paris is rapidly overtaking that of
Loudon, and has increased more rapidly. It is now
1,700,000, whereas London must still be under 3,000,000.
Formerly the difference between the capitals was much
greater.