The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-08 00:00:00

AMERICA.

Very little is yet known about the Cabinet that
will come into power with the President Elect,
on the 4th of March. Two circumstances have
retarded the making up of the new Administra-
tion—the death of General Pierce's son, and the
final refuSal of. Mr. Hunter, of Virginia, to act as
Secretary of State. The papers are filled with all
manner of speculations in regard to the Cabinet,
various attempts have been made to sway the mind
of the President, but it is doubted whether they
Will move him. He has always shown himself to
be an independent man, and the manner of his
election, with his overwhelming majority, enables
him'now to be more independent than ever.
There will be a very hard struggle between the
three principal sections of the democratic party in
this strife "for power—the national democrats, the
free-soilers, and the secessionists, or disunionists of
the south.
It is under Stood that the Committee on Com-
merce in the United States Congress has nearly
completed a general and comprehensive bill on the
subject of reciprocity between the British posses-
sions in America and the United States—a bill
which is also to embrace the whole question of the
fisheiies. It is also believed that within a few
days the project of a treaty which had been ne-
gotiated between Mr. Crampton and Mr. Everett
will. be laid before the Senate. Few, if any, of
the conditions of this treaty arc known.
It is confidently affirmed in some quarters,
and it may be probable, that since Mr. Everett
has introduced the clause admitting American lumber
into Great Britain free of duty, he has waved cer-
tain Whig objections always hitherto urged against
free trade with the Canadas.
America is involved in a war with the Seminole
Indians, when it was supposed that the last treaty
made with their Chief would be ratified during the
present year, and their nation, which is now re-
duced to less than 1,000 souls, would emigrate to a
new home, to which they had agreed to go, be-
yond the Mississippi. There has already been ex-
pended in the wars with this single tribe of Indians
in Florida more blood and treasure, and more
money has been given to them in time of peace,
than the whole campaign of MexiCo cost. The
patience of the Government is exhausted, and
there is no policy left now but the final extermina-
tion of the Seminoles. There has been a vast deal
of spurious humanity and benevolence got up by
philanthropists on this business of American
savages, and, although wrongs have been perpe-
trated by the and in one or two instances,
perhaps, to some extent by the Government,
yet they are but a drop in the ocean to the
bloody outrages and acts of perfidy perpetrated by
most of the aboriginal tribes of . America. No
Government of modern times has expended as
much money, or made as serious, protracted, and
hearty efforts, either for the salvation from exter-•
mination or the enlightenment and civilisation of
the aborigines of any country.
It is not probable that the tariff will be touched
during the present session of Congress. There are
but five weeks more for legislation. With a sur-
plus beyond the ordinary expenditure of nearly
15,000,000 doll. per annum, it becomes a matter
of prime necessity to reduce the revenues of the
Government ; for it discovered that the only
policy is to have the Treasury as empty as possible,
and never to create a national debt.
There seems to be little probability that the re-
solutions on the Monroe doctrine introduced by
General Cass, and accompanied by that speech on
which the American press, as well as that of
Europe, has animadverted with so much severity,
will pass the Senate in their present state ; nor is
it at all likely that any resolutions can be pfessed
through either House of Congress which imply a
spirit of hostility in time of peace against Great
Britain.
During The last few years corruption has been
gradually making progress in the city government
of New York, until no man in the community
doubts that within the last year the foulest frauds
have been committed by the members of the Com-
mon Council, and the indignation of the public is
finally. and fully aroused. Things have gone so far
that the Senate of the State has framed a bill lim-
iting the powers of the Common Council, and ren-
dering these shameless abuses almost, if not quite,
impossible.
The project of a railway, to the Pacific has at-
tracted a good deal of attention during the present
session of Congress; and if, in the regular order
of business, the subject can be reached, some action
will be taken favourable to the plan. Our relations
with the Pacific coast have become so intimate and
extensive, and our commerce with the Pacific ocean
is so vastly augmented, that the impatience of
American speculation will no longer tolerate the
tedious delays of even the passage by the Isthmus,
much less
,by Cape Horn.

EXTRAORDINARY LOSS OF PROPERTY.—A gentleman

in this city having left his counting-house on Wednesday
evening at too late an hour to lodge his daily receipts in
the bank, took home with him 971. in notes and 19
sovereigns made up in a cartridge. These be deposited
in an interior drawer in a secretary in his bedroom. The
following morning, on opening the dra:wer, lie was
amazed at perceiving a quantity of greasy ashes, on re-
moving which, he perceived the roll of sovereigns, the
paper around which was perfect, and some letters not even
soiled. The notes were gone. The appearance of the
drawer caused doubts in his mind that the ashes were those
of the notes, particularly as he could .not conceive how
fire could have communicated with them. He removed
the drawer and its contents ; these he submitted to the
manager of one of our banks, who immediately declared
that the ashes were not those of notes, as he bad seen
many thousand notes burned, the ashes of which were
white and dry. The manager without hesitation con-
cluded that the notes must have been stolen, and that the
ashes of burnt brown paper were placed in the drawer to
deceive. This made the gentleman extremely uneasy, as
he could not suspect any of his domestics of being a
thief. Consulting with a friend on the subject, he re-
commenled him to have the ashes examined through a
magnifying glass. He accordingly placed them in
the hands of Mr. Hawkesworth, on the Grand Parade,
who discovered on the particles the scrolling and
figures of bank notes. It is supposed that when
placing the notes in the drawer a spark from the candle
which the gentleman held, fell among them, and they
smouldered away. The letters and the papers on the
gold, being glazed and smooth, did not catch the fire.
Another curious incident is, that the gentleman
had passed the hour for making the daily lodgment in
the bank, from being engaged in preparing a bill of par-
ticulars of the less he sustained by a fire which took place
in his establishment that day month, and which it was
necessary to forward by the next mail to the Insurance
Company, whose policy he held. His claim in that case
was but 50/.—Cork, Constitution.
BANKRUPTCY AND FLIGHT OF THE RECTOR OF STEP-
NEY.—The large parish of St. Dunstan, Stepney, has
been lately deprived of the services of the Rev. Richard
Lee, the rector, under very extraordinary circumstances.
The reverend gentlemnt succeeded to the living on the
resignation of the Rev. Mr. Vaudrey, in 1847, and it is
believed he was then considerably in debt. He has for
some time past been engaged in railway speculations to
a very large amount, and these adventures turning out
unfavourable, he disappeared some few weeks since, and
much speculation has taken place respecting his where-
abouts. It is believed that, in the first instance, he fled
to Hamburgh, and afterwards to Brussels. A few days
since the officers of the Court of Chancery were on the
look out for the clerical defaulter, and received informa-
tion that he was at Birmingham, and they proceeded to
that place in search of him, and returned to town with-
out being able to arrest him. The amount of the reve-
rend gentleman's liabilities is upwards of 11,0001., and a
composition has been tendered to some of the creditors,
of 6s. Bd., and to others of 11s. in the pound. The
living has been sequestrated, and the sequestrator
has given notice that all tithes, fees, Easter offerings,
and other money, are to be paid over to the Rev. Mr.
Auchinleck, the curate, on his behalf. The value of the
living, exclusive of the large and spacious vestry house
and pleasure ground, is 8001. per annum, and is in the
gift of Brasenose College, Oxford. An offer to pay the
creditors 5001. per annum from the proceeds of the living
has been made, and, it is believed, will be ultimately
acceded to. Several persons residing in the parish will
be great sufferers by the failure of Mr. Lee. The Rev.
Mr. Lee was not a man of expensive habits, but a great
speculator. He was anything but popular in the parish,
a very indifferent preacher, and, to use his own words,
no orator. His opposition to the election of the Rev.
Mr. Poole, the popular afternoon lecturer, and his refusal
to permit him the use of the pulpit one Sunday afternoon,
which caused a disturbance in the church, brought the Rev.
Mr. Lee into very bad repute with his parishioners. The
most absurd reports respecting the flight and liabilities
of the rector of Stepney have prevailed in the parish all
the past week. A rumour obtained extensive circulation
one day that the rector, overwhelmed by his misfortunes,
had committed suicide ; but there is no foundation what-
ever for this story. It was reported on Saturday in the
vicinity of Old Stepney Church, that the Rev. Mr. Lee
was the inmate of a lock-up house in the neighbourhood
of Chancery-lane, and that his creditors had refused to
accept the composition offered them. The clerical duties
have been performed by the curates since Mr. Lee's ab-
sence from the parish.— Disputa.
Oun ANTironEs.—Almost everything in nature is,
in Australia, the reverse of what it is here. When we
hteoci:ualieget:ess,seouNwvtonbiai:nter they have summer, when we have day they
have night ; we have our feet pressing nearly opposite to
theirti feet ; there, too, the compass points to the south ;
are
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are black,
ibstseacal
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oeaeoid hgrriwol
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notes.
hrmoa northern e
whitely in ,
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:aabtrrl
strange;yeee
hot,cool
tinhsetebaedesolarae
theti south winds are' cold, the east winds arehealthy,
stone outside, one of the birds has a broom in his mouth
platypus) unites with withouttosting, the cherries grow with the
mole, the webbed foot
beautifulformation flo w flowers sofa anotheratheidb body,ll
o f creature
afur,
duck.
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and
Many
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he duck-billed
without smell, and even the geolo-
gicalmost singular. the country, as far as ascertained, is