The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-24 00:00:00

against Wrgliflitra ariirerAilife=is of that day
a tithe of the atrocious sentiments uttered against
the Southern people by the Northern Republicans
of our time, every schoolbook in America would
have stigmatised the barbarity, and the abundant
epithets of the English language would have been
exhausted to find one scorching enough to denounce
the fiendish cruelty of the Government that could
have sanctioned extermination, or preferred the
ruin of the British and American people to the dis-
memberment of the empire. But reason is de-
throned in the councils of the North. Passion, only
to be sated by blood, rules almost unquestioned,
and, if not speedily checked, will produce a catas-
trophe which will astonish the nations.
Gen. M'Clellan, unlike Mr. Seward and the Pre-
sident, has never been suspected of being a joker
of jokes, yet, on careful perusal of his order of the
day to his army, enjoining obedience to the Presi-
dent's proclamation of freedom to the slaves of
rebels, it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that the
document is a solemn piece of irony. The Presi-
dent, who is ex officio commander-in-chief of the
army, issued the proclamation entirely as a military
measure. If not justified by military necessity and
decreed by military authority, it is a crime of the
highest magnitude. It is not an edict of complete
emancipation after the fashion of Mr. Charles
Sumner and Mr. Wendell Phillips, but a war ordon-
nance, intended to apply to " rebels" only, and
leaving " loyal" men to keep as many slaves as they
please. But General M'Clellan chooses to ignore
the President as his military superior in this matter.
Taking his stand upon the Constitution, he says,
" A Proclamation of such grave moment to the
nation, officially communicated to the army, affords
to the General Commanding an opportunity of de-
fining specifically to the officers and soldiers under
his command the relation borne by all persons in
the military service of the United States towards
the civil authorities of the Government. The Con-
stitution confides to the civil authorities,
legislative, judicial, and executive, the power
and duty of making, expounding, and execut-
ing the Federal laws. Armed forces are raised and
supported simply to sustain the civil authorities,
and are to be held in strict subordination thereto in
all respects. This fundamental rule of our political
system is essential to the security of our republican
institutions, and should be thoroughly understood
and observed by every soldier."
If General M'Clellan be right in his law and his
exposition he obeys, and calls upon his army to obey,
the President as a civil magistrate alone. But as a
civil magistrate the President has no right or power
to abolish slavery, or to interfere with it in any
degree without the consent of the local Legislatures
of the States in which it may happen to exist. Upon
that part of the question General M'Clellan does
not enter ; but, while counselling his army to avoid
all discussion, states explicitly that " the remedy
for political errors, if any are committed, is to be
found only in the action of the people at the polls."
Thus, if trouble should come of the proclamation—
if it should prolong instead of shortening the war—
if it should cause the President's acts to be submitted
to the judgment of Congress, with a view to his im-
peachment, General M'Clellan will have done his part
towers placing his patron in a serious dilemma.
It is scarcely probable that the President himself
views the matter in the light in which General
M'Clellan has succeeded in placing it, while the
Republican and Abolition press are as loud in their ,
praises of the order as if the General were a man of
their own party. The whole document so carefully
abstains from supporting the policy of the proclama-
tion, even by implication, that it is surprising how the
Abolitionists can have been so blinded as to applaud
it, or how the Tribune should be so delighted as to
declare it to be "a substantial Union victory, though
costing no bloodshed, agonies, or tears," or so easily
led astray by first impressions as to affirm that the
General thereby " gives to the proclamation and
the policy it inaugurates, not merely the ready sup-
port of his soldier's arm, but the full approval of
his understanding and the benediction of his
patriot heart." Other eyes than those of the
Tribune fail to discover eitirer approval or benedic-
tion, or anything else but the simple, though it may
turn out to be the Macchiavellian statement, that it
is the duty of the soldier to obey the civil magi-
strate without question, leaving to the civil magi-
strate the responsibility defined by the Constitution.
In fact, had General M'Clellan given either appro-
val or benediction, he would have flagrantly de-
parted from the principle which he laid down, and
which it was his main object to establish.
The secession of the South has raised a religious
as well as a political and a social question. At the
general triennial Convention of the Episcopal
Church, which has been sitting in New York during
the week, this question was brought forward, and
took the practical shape of forcing a decision on the
point, whether the Episcopalians and their bishops
in the South had not been guilty of the crime of re-
bellion against constituted authority, and thereby
forfeited their church membership. The Episcopa-
lians, lay and clerical, who spoke at the meetings,
were, with few exceptions, strongly opposed to the
South, and the resolutions brought forward yester-
day declared in spirit, if not in express terms, that
rebellion against the " powers that be" was schism
and heresy, and that the Convention "felt bound to
declare its solemn sense of the deep and grievious
wrong which they (the Secessionists) had inflicted on
the great Christian communion which the Convention
represented." Perhaps if the Archbishops and
Bishops of England in the days of George Washingi-
ton had launched against the Episcopal
America a similar thunderbolt, the Episcopaliansand
Church
of America would have laughed it to
perhaps the Southern Bishops and peoplehristians
the fulminations of their Northern fellow-(
there is no
in the same spirit. In a country whereed swcoirll treat
Church sup-
established religion, and no endowed dinriority assumed
ported by the State, the airs()
by the Episcopal Church
if not of despotism, to
of
the North savour a
little toe much of arroganlcde,
stroduce into the New
be endurable. They wouevaiini
havea Church and State
World, if they should
ieparns
generally agreed
alliance, which
the worst and most oppressive
Episcopal is the fashionable
to consider as oneATorafhe
evils of the Old.
church in New Y°
k as Unitarianism is in Bost ;
and if New
York should n
dictate in matters of reli-
gion,o
why not Massachusetts P It would be inte-
resting, but not surprising, considering the state of
public feeling in New England, if the Unitarians
of the North, represented in Boston, were to read
the Unitarians of the South a lesson on schism and

Alderman SALOMONS, M.P., who was well re-
ceived, observed it afforded him the utmost pleasure
to meet his constituents once more, for the pur-
pose of giving an account of his stewardship,
and appealing to them for a reuewal of that confi-
dence which it was his earnest desire to deserve.
Since he had last met them an event had taken
place which plunged the nation in grief, and was
especially felt by the members of the House of
Commons. He alluded to the decease of that eini •
nent and useful man, the late Prince Consort.
That event was no doubt one of the reasons why
both parties avoided as much as possible the dis-
cussion of questions during the last session which
might involve strong party feelings. It was true
that no very great measures had been passed dur-
ing the last session ; but, considering the amount
of work actually got through, he thought it might
be called a fair average session, as the house had
endeavoured to keep pace with the enlightenment
of the age and the requirements of the nation by
assing various acts of a highly useful nature. With
respect to the important question of public educa-
tion, the Revised Code, which gave offence to a
large and influential party, had been withdrawn,
and another code substituted which obviated the
objections raised to the former proposal. The
Highway Act was also a useful measure, and the
alteration in the law relating to the transfer of
land would, in his opinion, prove a great boon to
the public, especially to those who might acquire
by purchase a small freehold. The cost of convey-
ance for a small property had previously been dis-
proportionately excessive as compared to a large
estate, and the new act would not only cheapen the
cost of conveyance, but remove every inconvenience
with regard to obtaining a good title. The act for
improving the law of liability with regard to share-
holders in joint-stock companies was an important
measure, especially to this commercial country.
Hitherto if a company consisted of 1,000 share-
holders, each was liable for the debts of the whole,
and this state of things had proved a great impedi-
ment to commercial and trading enterprise. The
Thames Embankment was a scheme which would
benefit all, as it would greatly assist an efficient sys-
tem of drainage, and provide a great and useful
thoroughfare. During the last session 114 public
and 220 private acts had been passed, and therefore
it proved that the House of Commons at all events
had not been idle. The members of that house had
been elected when it was believed they would be
called upon to work hard in passing a comprehen-
sive Reform Bill ; 'but that question, as they all
knew, had been she Lied, and he could see no indi-
cation of any such measure being brought forward
when Parliament again assembled. He still main-
tained his opinion that the question was one
which directly concerned the mass of the people out
of doors, and unless a strong lind unmistakable agi-
tation prevailed for Reform they must never expect
to obtain it. The matter of church rates he re-
gretted to say was still unsettled. One would cer-
tainly fancy that such a question might be easily
arranged to the satisfaction of all parties, but al-
though many attempts had been made such a set-
tlement had not been arrived at. On this question
he had only to say that his vote would be hereafter,
as it ever had been, in favour of a total repeal of
these rates. (Cheers.) The question of our naval
and military expenditure, as it affected taxation,
was felt by all; and although he was anxious to
reduce the burden of taxes he had felt it his duty to
give a general support to the policy of the gresent
Government with respect to those measures of de-
fence which had been resolved on. He had there-
fore voted for the Government p an of fortifications,
even although he thought some objections against
the plan were tenable. He was not a civil engineer,
and his opinion might not be worth much, but, hav-
ing seen the fortifications of Portsmouth, he could
not but think that they were on such a scale of
magnitude that in case of emergency, it would re-
quire a large army to defend them. He believed
that as a whole the Government of Lord Palmerston
was the best that could be at the helm of affairs at
the present time, and even the Conservatives, al-
though political opponents, coincided to a great
extent in the measures and policy of the Ministry.
The civil war now raging in America was an evil
which afflicted not only the people of that nation
but all classes of the people of this country, espe-
cially involving distress and privation to the manu-
facturing districts of the north. They were all
delighted with the heroic conduct of those thousands
of artisans who are now out of work as a conse-
quence of the dearth of cotton, and who presented a
spectacle of dignified suffering such as could not have
been anticipated by the most sanguine. He found,
by returns which he had procured, that whereas
in the year 1860 not less than 1,115,890,6081b5.
of cotton had been imported into the United King-
dom from America, the total amount imported from
January Ist to August 31st, being
the first eight
months of the present year, was only 247383,6961b5.
It was therefore no matter of surprise that mills
were stopped and thousands of the honest working
classes reduced to unmerited distress. When before
them last year be advocated the principle of non.-
of opinion that this
intervention, and he was still
country should not directly
inFederal Ine-rican quarrel. We had allbolwocekade,
and we could
Go-
vernment to carry out intervenedrvetnhes the A
steps and interfere
parties. The war
not at present well retrace our
directly between the contending
itself of
andwa was
thisa
ousntpt romanticrayt highly-educatedtweor pattern
well as dreadful descrip-
tion,
deeply interested in its
who hadh hitherto been in
people • in the
tfioghottinegr
like
results. The most
world, a religious people,
many respects a - nations—the
—were
United savages.
ambition seemed to have Pride and taken Posses-
sionle of the Northern
of the peopStates, and they
dto stick at no means of obt •
appeared obtaining their
States
The brothers of one •
object.family, if they did not
live ill amity, were often the most d •
etermtned ene-
mies; and this applied to a nation, which was only
a family on a large scale. The American civil war
was marked by far greater horrors than a war be-
tween the two alien nations;
and the proposal now
made to liberate the slaves was only adopted as a
military measure, and not for the sake of humanity.
At present, however, it appeared that both North
and South were determined to fight it out ; they
were more than ever bitter to each other, and he
did not think that this was the time when direct
interference by
this country would be attended
with advantage. In his youth he had travelled
through the United States, and was there shortly
after the war between England and America in
1812. During that war the people of several
northern States protested against it, and a conven-
tion was held at Hertford, when two of the States
actually resolved to separate from the Union
and make peace on the basis of their State
rights. Madison was then President, and Russia
attempted to mediate between England and the
United States, and that mediation was
ultimately successful in procuring peace. Al-

The gale which raged with such fury during Sun-
day night and Monday morning, although abating
somewhat for a few hours, again broke forth even
with increased violence during Wednesday night
and yesterday, causing not only an immense
destruction of property, but further injury to many
persons. During the height of the gale yesterday
morning an accident happened on Blackfriars -bridge
by which two persons were severely injured. It
may be stated that the District Telegraph Com-
pany's wires run across the river over the bridge,
the wire springing from Mr. Harvey's, the Cross
Keys Tavern, Blackfriars-road, to a house on the
Middlesex shore. About eleven o'clock an Isling-
ton omnibus was passing over the bridge, when a
loud noise was heard, and before the cause could be
ascertained a gentleman was seen to fall violently
from the top of the vehicle on to the roadway on his
head. It was then found that the telegraph wire
bad been broken by the fury of the gale, and such
was the impetus that it coiled round the neck of
the unfortunate man and dragged him from his seat.
He was picked up and conveyed in a senseless state
to the house of Mr. Bianelli, surgeon, where it was
found that be had sustained serious injuries to his
skull. It was ascertained that his name was Morris
Jacobs, residing in Albany-road, Camberwell. The
broken wire afterwards came in contact, near the
Middlesex side of the bridge, with a man in a cart,
and hurled him to the ground, causing severe in-
juries. The telegraph wires are reported to have
been much damaged along the lines of several ra:l-
ways. Owing to the heavy rains the neighbour-
hood of Ledhill was completely flooded. A largo
number of cattle was drowned, and a good deal of
farm property destroyed. The damage to house pro-
perty has been very great, and several other per-
sonal injuries of a slight nature are reported. The
navigation of the river has been much impeded.

SOUTHAMPTON, OCT. 23.
One of the highest tides ever known here occurred
to-day. This was owing to the quantity of rain
which has recently fallen, and which has swollen
every stream and river, and to a strong westerly
wind. The western shore road and the low land of
Northam have been inundated. The Hamburg and
American mail packet Hamrnonia has been detained
here on aceount o the weather, and the Channel
Island mail packet, due here last night, has not yet
arrived. A few small boats have been driven ashore
here and damaged.

BRADFORD, THURSDAY.
The weather is exceedingly wet and boisterous
here, and has been so since Tuesday. Considerable
damage has been done throughout the district in the
destruction of property. On Monday morning an
immense chimney at Field-head, Horton, was blown
down, doing damage to the extent of £1,500; and
yesterday morning, about one o'clock, a tall milt
chimney, at Drightington, near Bradford, was
struck with lightning and seriously injured.

DESPERATE AFFRAY WITH POACHERS,

NOTTINGHAM, THURSDAY.

This morning Thomas Malty, landlord of the l
Home's Castle public house, Nottingham, and
Henry Smith, were brought before the borough
bench of magistrates at the police-court, charged
with being connected with an affray on the proceed-
ing evening.

From the evidence adduced it appeared that about
seven o'clock on Wednesday evening a keeper of the
Earl of Chesterfield, named Brookes, accompanied
by Superintendent Horne, of the Bingham division,
and Police-constable Itudkin, of the county police,
went to the Home's public-house (a noted resort for
poachers) for the purpose of apprehending two
poachers, named Walker and Worthington, who
were connected with the late poaching case at Ed-
walton, near Nottingham. When the keeper
entered the house he perceived a dozen well-known
poachers pla3 ing at cards, and immediately singled
out Walker, telling him that he wanted him. At
this moment Policemen Horne and Itudkin canto
up, and the landlord of the house, whose name is
Maltby (himself an old poacher) stepped between
the officers and the men, saying, " You shth not,
take him in my house; show me your 'warrant."
The whole of the poachers then rose., and Maltby
immediately arming himself with a powerful life-
preserver, made a furious onslaught on the keeper,
inflicting two tremendous blows on his head, which
e aides,
general,t h e a
felled him to the ground and rendered him insen-
sbilbolwe.s
wTehreeaffstrrauk
affray then bees
on
bocth m
sepolindhceemavevn
striving to capture Walker,but seeing the
dangerous upon
dangerous state the keeper was in went to his
assistance, In the meantime messengers were sent
to the county police station for more officers, but
before they arrived the whole of the men, with the
exception of one named Smith (who was implicated
in the late affray at Thrumpton, when a poacher
was drowned in the Trent), effected their escape.
After a violent struggle Maltby and Smith were
captured and conveyed to the police-station, the
injured keeper being taken to the dispensary.
Mr. Lees, on behalf of the prisoner Maltby, asked
for bail, but the Bench refused, saying it was a very
gt oss case.

The prisoners were then remanded until Satur-
day, the keeper, Brookes, not being able to appear
in consequence of the injuries he had received.

DARING HIGHWAY ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE.—
On Wednesday, at the Shirehall, Nottingham, a tramp,
about 45 years of age, named James Flood, was brought
before the sitting magistrates, charged with murderously
assaulting and robbing Joseph Turton, pasture master to
Sir Robert Clifton, on the highway between Clifton and
Gotham, near Nottingham, at 4 o'clock on Monday morn-
ing. The attack was of a most savage character. The pri-
soner went up to Turton and suddenly struck him on the
head with a heavy bludgeon, knocking him down. Turton
was stunned for a short time, but recovering himself, a long.
thedpristoinl
hareb using his Wad.. and furious struggle took place,
him about the head
to
onrifle
hisepcoacmkeetizsacnna
had just succeeded -
geon and beating
his money and watch when
sible. The prisonertbsecenurpini.Ted
in
a_.
man nameo
of Train, who had been attracted from a distance,
by the
Dries
the prosecutor,_ came up, and succeeded in
eaptur--.
:-... the prisoner. A medical certificate to the effect
that the prosecutor lay in a very precarious state, and would
not be able to attend for some days, having been: produced,
the man wasreminded till neat wocinc