The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-20 00:00:00

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LONDON, TVEDNESDAY, SEPT. 20, 1865.:

The arrival of the City of Washington brings us
satisfactory intelligence respecting American affairs.
President JOHNSON has shown good sense and sound
policy by discountenancing the arbitrary interfer-
ence of Federal military commanders with the ar-
rangements of the provisional governors. He
appears to perceive the rashness and cruelty of in-
sisting upon the South re-entering the Union, and
at the same time putting every obstacle in the way
and heaping insult and humiliation on a brave
and only half-subdued people. It will be re-
membered that Governor STARKEY of Missis-
sippi gave orders for the organisation of two
militia companies to protect life and property
from the stray guerillas and freebooters who
are sure to be found in an unsettled country like
the South at the abrupt conclusion of a desperate
This order General SLOC UM, of the Federal
army, thought proper to countermand—possibly
in the belief that all military arrangements were
better under one head—but he did not apparently
perceive that it was a harsh and imprudent
step to take at the present juncture. It should be
the great object of all earnest and patriotic men to
strive to reconcile the people of the Southern States
to the existing Government. However natural
their dreams of independence, however heroic their
efforts to realise them, there remains nothing for
them at present but submission to the Federal
authorities, and any resistance can only cause ad-
ditional suffering without in the slightest degree
advancing their cause. It is natural that the Con-
federates should feel reluctant to yield to the
Northern authorities, but as such has been the for-
tune of war they will only add to the misfortunes
of their country, protract the poverty and wretch-
edness of the people, and defer their reassumption
of the position which the Southern States for-
merly occupied in the Union. General LEE,
always a true patriot, as well as an heroic
soldier, has fullyrecognised this fact, and
has just given eonvi •
nemg proof of his senti-
ments by accepting the •
presidency of Washington
College, Lexington, Virginia.
It must have been
painful to
him
to emerge from. lts r •
c ignified retire-
ment, and to proclaim his submission to the Govern-
mentrhich he had fought so l
against which and
which still held in durance his friend and leader,
JEFFERSON DAVIS, but he is not the man to shrink
from any duty, however painful, and now as ever
his patriotism and his anxiety for the welfare of his
people are paramount
with him. In his letter
of acceptance, he observes that it is the duty
of every citizen in the present state of the country
to do all in his power to restore; peace and harmony
and in no way to oppose the policy of the Govern-
ment to that effect. Ile added that it was parti-
cularly incumbent on those charged with the in-
struction of the young to set an example of sub-
mission to authority, thereby professing his own
intention in accepting the proffered post. Ilia
counsel and his example will no doubt have a
powerful effect, and all who once followed him in
the field will feel that what General LEE advises
cannot be inconsistent with the feelings of
a true patriot and an honourable man. President
JOHNSON will no doubt learn with great
satisfaction the course pursued by his distinguished
adversary, and his words will show him still more
Clearly the wisdom of pursuing a conciliatory
and temporary course. Mr. JOHNSON, as- we haVe
said, has acted
wisely in showing confidence in the

war.

••••••••.......•••••••••••••••
Ili
people of Mississippi, and in supporting the authority
of their civil governor. Governor STARKEY tele-
graphed to him for instructions on General SLOCUM'S
interference with his order, and the President, in his
answer, approved of the formation of the militia com-
panies, considering the movement a proper one, and
declaring that the people must be trusted with their
own Government. General SLOCUM, at the instance
of the President, countermanded his prohibitory
order, and the cause of order and reconstruction has
gained more by this conclusion of the affair than it
would have done by the most vigorous display of
military force. Very little is said about the negroes,
excepting that at a meeting of a Democratic Conven-
tion at Albany, among the resolutions adopted was
one insisting upon the non-interference of Federal
Government with the question of negro suffrage.
Among the other resolutions passed by the Conven-
tion was one declaring the equality of States, and
urging the subordination of military to civil rule,
and another declaring that the entire resources of
the country were pledged to the payment of the
national debt. The financial difficulty will be the
next problem for American statesmen to solve
when they have succeeded in restoring something
like tranquillity to the country. This will be a
work of much anxiety and difficulty, and much will
depend upon the spirit in which it is dealt with.
The Mexican perplexity is suffered to remain in
statu quo till the meeting of Congress. President
JOHNSON announces his intention of reserving the
declaration of his policy until the delivery of his
Message. The New York Democratic State Con-
vention at the meeting we have referred to upheld
the MONROE doctrine, though whether they mean
to uphold it by force of arms is not stated. Mr.
SEWARD is said to have declared his opinion that it
was neither advisable to assist JUAREZ openly nor
dignified to aid him secretly, but no public profes-
sion of policy has been made. With reference to
the charges and counter-charges made by both
sides in reference to breaches of the courtesies and
humanities of civilised warfare, a letter has just been
addressed to a contemporary, Colonel VON BORCKE,
late Adjutant-General of the Cavalry of the Vir-
ginian Army, in which he states that he was in the
room with Gen. FITz LEE when the papers found
on Col. DAHLGREN'S body were delivered to him by
the officer who had taken them. These papers were
read, he avers, with the greatest indignation by
himself and by Gen. FITZ LEE, and half an hour
afterwards they were taken by the General himself
to President DAVIS. These papers Col. BORCKE
declares to be identical with those published by the
Confederate authorities, having been removed from
Col. D AHLGREN'S body by the officer who carried
them himself to General FITZ LEE, and by him con-
veyed direct to the PRESIDENT. The charge of
forging or altering the papers is therefore entirely
disproved, though there was never any reason to
put faith in it. The Confederate Generals have
shown themselves as incapable of a mean and dis-
honourable crime as the Federal commanders have
unhappily proved to be able and willing to exercise
any cruelty towards a conquered city.

It is always sad when the young are cast off at
the outset of their careers, and imagination conjures
up the many honours and distinctions which the
gifted might have gained, and the services which
they would have rendered to society had they been
spared till the natural completion of their course.
One of the most deplorable instances of a premature
loss of this kind took place last Sunday at Cam-
bridge in the death of Mr. PURIUSS, who was
drowned while bathing in the Cam. This distin-
guished student had attained to a great point of
excellence, and had already received nearly
' all the classical honours to which he could
aspire. In all human probability he would,
as time matured his powers, and experi-
ence concentrated his efforts, have acquired a
most considerable renown, and been ranked among
the foremost scholars of his day. Ile was the
senior Wrangler of last year, and it is well known
that this is no easy feat to accomplish ; in this
respect it is not possible for anything but stern
application and considerable abilities to achieve a
successful result. Mr. PURKISS did not confine his
efforts to one sphere, however, but was remarkable
wherever he went for his zeal and assiduity in the
cultivation of the brilliant talents with which he was
endowed. The City of London School was the
place where he first distinguished himself,
and he there gained great renown. He also
achieved great distinction at the University of
London, and, indeed, carried on his labours there
simultaneously with those at Cambridge. He was
fortunate enough to win all the mathematical hon-
ours, as well as the gold medal, at the London Uni-
versity, and Lord GRANVILLE, the Chancellor,
showed his discernment by appointing him to the
Principalship of the Royal College of Naval Archi-
tecture. In this capacity he had already entered
on a career full of usefulness, and which would
eventually have been productive of great benefit to
society. During the short time he has been in this
position he has written some useful treatises and in-
vestigations, for which, of course, his well-trained
mind and indomitable perseverance peculiarly
qualified him.
It is indeed most deplorable to dwell upon the

fact that all the bright promise of such a career
has been for ever lost, and that, too, by a most
trivial accident in itself, although so momentous in

its consequences. Mr. P URKISS was drowned in
shallow water near the shore. He had declined to
join some companions who went out to swim, but

must have changed his mind, for on their return

they found him missing, and after a long search
discovered his body in close vicinity to land. He
had become entangled in the weeds that had ac-
cumulated on the spot, and the length of time
which he had been under water rendered
his restoration impossible. It is difficult to say
when a more lamentable incident has occurred, and
when a more promising career has been so suddenly
cut off. In the case of Mr. Pumuss there was no
sudden efflorescence of genius that might be as
transient as it was transcendent, and soon exhaust

itself. On the contrary, we may believe in confi-
dence that he would have gone on and increased in
excellence, and that time would have only added to
his honours. his friends have the consolation of
reflecting that he has done all, and more than all,
that might have been expected from him, and that
during his short day of trial here he has been no
unfaithful steward of his many talents, and has
done great honour to himself and reflected the
highest credit upon the Universities where he was
trained, before he was so suddenly summoned to
no man can work.
the night in which

Miss BURDETT COLTTTS has written an account of
the terrible ravages which the cattle disease has
wrought among her herd of milch cows, and she
has also made some suggestions which are very wise,
and might with advantage be adopted. It seems,
indeed, surprising that so little should have been
done to remedy the deficiencies and provide for the
emergencies of this affair—as Miss COUTTS ob-
serves, with great accuracy, there is so much need
of proper information being imparted in respect to
the nature and treatment of the disease, its
premonitory signs, and the dangers that attend
its various stages. She proposes that the Go-

vernment should endea-iour, in some measure,
to meet the requirements of the case by selecting a
certain number of chemist's shops as depl;ts for in-
formation, especially as relates to the early signs
of the disease, and also for the treatment which
might mitigate it. Miss Courrs has resolved to set on
foot some inquiry of this nature for herself, and has
been promised the aid of some gentlemen. She
naturally asks if the Government are likely to lend
any assistance in the furtherance of a scheme so
desirable, and which has so much to commend
itself to support and encouragement. She truly
adds that at present no one knows where to turn
to get advice, and that it appears to her that
" upon such an occasion our Government
should take the lead in guiding us how to act, and
in assisting us to meet an emergency which is full
of difficulty and danger to all classes." It is worthy
of notice that the danger may not be over quite so
soon as some persons imagine, because, as Miss
COUTTS reminds us in her letter, in the accounts
drawn up of the murrain which occured last cen-
tury, the disease diminished during the winter, and
then broke out during the spring with increased
violence, so that it will not do to neglect any pre-
cautions that ingenuity can suggest or perseverance
accomplish. It is certainly wiser and better
in such a crisis as the present to do too
much rather than too little, and therefore no plans
or proposals that are at all feasible should be
neglected. This proposition of Miss Courrs' is so
excellent that it will be, indeed, unfortunate if it
cannot be carried out, and we may rest assured that
if it is the safest means will have been adopted to
prevent the many evils which ignorance occasions,
and thus we shall stem the force of the calamity to
the utmost extent of our power. Want Of care in
apparently small particulars often creates more
mischief than some might suppose to be possible,
and those in authority will incur grave responsi-
bility if by their neglect they should allow the evils
now in existence to increase in magnitude and
extent.

Mr. Bright on Reform.

4,-

The following letter has been received by Mr.
George Newton, of Glasgow, from Mr. Bright,
M.P., in reply to an invitation to attend a meeting
in that city .for the agitation of the question of
Parliamentary Reform :

" Pitnaeree, Dunkeld, Sept. 10, 1865.

" Dear Sir,—Mr. Dalglish has forwarded your
letter to me. I thank you for your invitation,
although I do not feel myself able now to accept it.
If I come to Glasgow I must go to other places. I
cannot bear the weight of an agitation for Reform,
and spend the winter in attending great meetings,
as I did in the year 1858-59, and therefore I feel
compelled to shun engagements which I know I should
find too heavy for me. I have as much interest in
the question as I have had at any time, and I be-
lieve, and indeed I know, that it is advancing with
most certain steps. When the present Prime
Minister leaves office no Ministry will be possible of
the Liberal party which will not deal with the Re-
form question. lam not anxious it should be dealt
with during his official life, for he is the only man
cannected with the Liberal party who is at once both
able and willing to betray it. One sentence from
his lips would have the passed the bill of 1860, and
that sentence he refused to utter. His colleagues
preferred their places to their honour as public men,
and they consented to the greatest political fraud of
our times rather than leave the Treasury bench even
for a season. Happily, the question does not depend
on the Prime Minister. He has never promoted its
growth, and he cannot prevent its Success. There
is at weak a steady and a silent force which all who
are not blind may mark, and every day's delay will
but add to the certainty and fulness of our triumph.
I hope every Liberal constituency will so act through
its representatives as to make a sham Liberal Go-
vernment henceforth impossible. For what can be
more degrading to a Liberal member of the House
of Commons than to sit as a supporter of an Admi-
nistration which repudiates and has betrayed the
first and greatest question or cause upon which the
whole policy of the Liberal party is founded ?—I
am, very truly yours,

" JOHN BRIGHT.
" Mr. George Newton, Glasgow."

The late Mr. Cobden on the American
War and Mexico.

The following is an extract from a letter written
in May, 1864, by the late Richard Cobden, on
America, to a French gentleman residing in Switzer-
land, upon the subject of the late rebellion, and the
prospects of the French intervention in Mexico :

" London, May 13, 1864.

"My dear -, In your last letter you speak unfavour-
ably of the prospects of the Northern party in America.
You do not know that country. I travelled through the
United States in 1835, and again in 1859, and have been a
very careful student of all that has been passing there.
I ought to know that country as well as anybody.
Nothing, in my mind, is more certain in the future
than that the North wifl destroy slavery, ruin the slave-
owners, and hold possession of the South. The mistake
that people fall into in Europe, when they expect the suc-
cess of the South, is that they lose sight of the inherent
weakness of a slave-owning community, owing to the want
of that mechanical development which constitutes the great
power of modern society, as compared with former ages.
Georgia, or Mississippi, or Alabama are not modern com-
munities in their organisation and resources. They are a
succession of plantations on which slaves do all tho work,
and containing within themselves all the different occupa-
tions, such as carpenters, smiths, and coopers, and which
form distinct trades in free civilised States. In fact,
Georgia and Mississippi are in the same state as Western
Europe was in the 14th century. Georgia and Mississippi,
each nearly as large as England, contain each only a
half million of white inhabitants, being less populous than
England was in the time of the Saxons. Those whites
are surrounded by nearly an equal number of slaves, who
are ready to run away from their masters whenever the
Federal armies approach. Thus, added to the want of
mechanical resources and the absence of accumulated
wealth and population in towns, the South sees the negro,
on whom it depends for the rude cultivation of the soil,
deserting its plantations to enlist in the ranks of the in-
vading army. It is true that the Southern whites fight
well. They are a proud, haughty community, who have a
contempt for Northern industry and for Northern men,
just as all aristocrats have despised working men. They
are more reckless of life, more accustomed to the use of
arms, and have that Southern dash and fire which makes
them almost irresistible for a time. But nothing can com-
pensate for the disadvantages under which they labour.
Nothing can make a community, living like the feudal com-
munity of the 13th century, a match for the New England
population of the 19th century. Tho North will ruin the
South, not by any one or half-dozen decisive battles, but
by its peesistence and by the irresistible weight of its re-
sources. And I should not be surpriSed to see the South
collapse very suddenly ; for having no social forces at its
back, when once it is fairly beaten in the field it has nothing
to fall back upon. If the North should realise my expecta-
tions, it will present itself before the Old World in a new
and most formidable attitude, for it will have proved itself
as great in war as in peace. It is the only country in the
world which, while it is a first-class naval power (for its
mercantile tonnage is equal to our own), can keep 700,000
men in the field. Has your Emperor thought of dill this in
connexion with his Mexican expedition ? I confess I saw
with amazement as well as regret the course which he took
in sending an army to interfere in the internal affairs of
that wretched country. It reminded me, in its impoliey, of
the expedition of the First Napoleon from Bayonne into
Spain. No human being can restore Mexico to order, or
confer on it the blessings of civilised progress. It repuires
the hand of God himself to effect such a change in that de-
,isreade
outraged
ow d
h e,vdeeply
a nd populationh
the
ef
humiliated iulahtl
elf
public
half-castes.
by this
se
rßutattempt
do
e fthees the
uolt
eEf
ad;pe
foreign
nro
States
r
Power to set up an empire at their door without consult-
ingthe
etehs
em
sending aNnv army
uyl dt o
yeoeut a
hPlrtsehn cahArmeepennu
h.like
itnoßseele
that
them
resentment c annews.
pgaiupmerswrietghuoulatrleyo,nslulgt,ituthger, of :.,,,?instezeim, g
against you for the Mexican intervention is ready to burst
forth the moment the rebellion is in a sure way of defeat.
The Americans will have some serious controversies with
England, but they are of a nature to keep and employ the
tgotowna for roerx phluamnaitliiaotnisehfr.omithet Tuile-
ries,leereingenuity of diplomatists. But I look for a peremptory
wish the Emperor would withdraw every French soldier
demawndhifeih'
" EMI.= C9I3DEN."
iumodiately. • • •
oinw