The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-14 00:00:00

exclamation, "Bold! again," on his lips, for a note was
brought in announcing that he was too ill to attend, and
had postponed the trial till the first Monday in March.
Thereupon the Railroad King began to dance an Indian
war dance and exhibit symptoms of raising Fisk's hair;
we say this figuratively, but in truth, Mr. Vanderbilt
was too indignant for silence, and loudly declared that the
Erie side never intended to try tho case, and kept up this
humbug. The New Jersey Legislature are moving to
repeal the rights granted to the Erie in that State, and
lawsuits continue; however tho strike has failed the strikers
forfeiting putlic sympathy by their attempts to bully and
coerce the new men engaged. The Erie Railroad has just
issued its annual report to the State engineer, showing
the amount of stock issued to be $78,536,910, funded deb
$23,398,800, total cost of road and equipments $65,131,959
total earnings $16,721,500,t0tal payments,except construc-
tion, including transportation, interest on mortgage debt,
rent cf railroad, &c., $16,245,878, surplus, Oct. 1, $475.

Fresh indignation has been unjustly excited
against the Erie Railroad Company by a telegram from
New York announcing their refusal to receive for transfer
into the names of their proper owners the first parcel of
shares sent out by the Protection Committee from this
side, and the closing of the transfer books without reason.
The agents of the committee, Messrs. Devon, Hoff-
man, and Co. levied a notarial protest, and W. H. A.
Michael, the London Secretary of the Committee, addressed
a letter to the Stock Exchange, which was there posted
last Tuesday, conveying this intelligence. Mr. Michael
says :—" Certificates for about 105,000 shares have already
been sent out to Messrs. Devon, Hoffman, and Co., of New
York, for registration in the names of Heath and Raphael.
The names of those gentlemen have further been endorsed
on about 84,000 shares preparatory to their being sent out;
but these latter are still in the committee's hands. These
84,000 shares my committee purpose to lodge at a bank in
London for the present, and to issue, pending the comple-
tion of the transfers, certificates in respect of these, of the
shares already sent out to New York, and of all
further shares which may be lodged for registration.
The agent of the committee has this morning sailed
for New York, and on his arrival will at once
take steps to compel the completion of transfers:,
An American points out that the Erie Company are per-
fectly right to refuse the transfer into the names of Messrs.
Raphael and Heath, simply as trustees; the railroad laws
of New York, and other States requiring the stockholders'
names to be recorded on the company's books. If, he
says, the names be forwarded, till shares can he trans-
ferred into the names of the trustees, each shareholder
having a separate account opened in the stock lodger of
the company, though all might be represented by the same
trustee:. He indicates the error of mixing up the legal
and illegal issues of shares, as it is first required to have
the illegal issues declared invalid. He laughs at the agent
who takes out letters of introduction from the Foreign-
office as if those or any others could influence the Courts
which administer justice outside New York as they do in
England, both blowing hot and cold on the same question,
but dealing according to the laws of equity.

Some of the errors attributed to Mr. Dawes in
his great speech against the extravagance of the Executive
aro appearing. His assertion was that the estimates of
the present Administration for 1870 were $331,000,000„
while those of the late Administration for 1869 only
amounted to $303,000,600, though Secretary Boutwell's
estimates were but $291,000,000, being twelve millions
less than those of his predecessor, instead of $28,000,000
more, as asserted by Mr. Dawes. The way in which Mr.
Dawes fell into this grave error was that he took the esti-
mate book without inquiring minutely into the details,
and therein the Post-office expenditure is entered in the
gross, whereas only the postal deficiency is included in
Mr. M'Culloch's figures. The attack, however, has
brought to light some curious errors in the accounts, which
deserve the censure of Congress. Not only was the esti-
mated gross expenditure added to the estimates, but the
estimated deficiency is also added to this, and the blunder is
further exaggerated by a typographical error of $7,000,000.
Mr. Boutwell, in his annual report, correctly gave the
estimated expenditure; and it is also, wo uuderstaud, true
that even that includes a sum of $5,520,000 for interest on
the Bonds purchased by the Government, which will
itself bo used towards extinguishing the debt. The at-
tack by Mr. Dawes on the Executive was commented on
and extensively circulated in England, but wo venture
to say that there are few English papers that will give the
correction. It is true th t this was a matter of contro-
versy between Mr. Butler and Mr. Dawes, the latter skil-
fully defending his own figures, but the facts remain that
the estimates sent through the President to Congress by
the Secretary of the Treasury were for $291,000,000, and
not $331,000,000.

This controversy, which received from General
Butler a tone of personality, excited much interest through-
out the country. Mr. Dawes was dignified and reserved
in reply to the attack on himself individually—an attack
which did much to mar the eloquence and vigour of But-
ler's speech. Mr. Dawes took time to reply to the general
onslaught with regard to his figures and facts, but he rose
instantly to answer the personalities. Where he was bitter
was against a Washington newspaper, one of Col. Forney's
two, "both dailies." Ile said "A newspaper in-this city,
whose praise and censure are alike made to order and for
pay, and which never fails to lick the hand that feeds it,
wlietherits pay be in gold or the currency of the country, has
notified me that lam no longer wanted in the Republican
party." Mr Dawes rose to eloquence iu his retrospect of his
career in the House, forced from him byßutler's unfair allu-
sions to his anti-slavery record. "The time that I have
served here goes back of the time when these galleries
were filled with armed men frowning down on the freedom
of debate in these halls; beyond the time when, with re-
volvers in hand, it was expected to crush freedom of ex-
pression in these balls. . . . Ido not know that there
is any better time for me than now to retire from association
with a party which I love so well, and whose principles,
to the utmost measure of my ability, I have sustained. I
have been here for 14 years, and probably it may be as well
that I retire now as at any other time ; but I would rather
that some other people should settle that question." Al-
though Mr. Dawes has given a rude shake to his party, and
to the Administration, and consequent annoyance to a
strong section, he has lost nothing in public estimation.

-
M'Culloni's Bill to punisb polygamy is progress-
ing towards law at Washington, and creating all the ele-
ments of a storm in Utah. There was a meeting of women
in the New Jerusalem to let the world know how the Mor-
mon ladies regarded that institution. Some of the speakers
upheld it as Divinely appointed -as the great safe-guard
for woman's chastity—as a practice ordained by nature.
They had not met to prate about the Rights of Women,
to bring charges against their fathers, brothers, a ons ; they
had met in defence of their sacred rights, which they
would only surrender with their lives. The orators went
on to contrast themselves with Gentile women, very much
to the disadvantage of the latter, against whom all manner
of shocking charges were brought. The meeting. as ex-
pressly held to condemn the bill of Mr. M'Oullorn ; but
there are other meetings going on in Utah, chiefly at
Ogden, where a spirit of rebellion is strong. What is
about to happen we cannot pretend to predict ; but we
consider there is more chance of a fight in Utah than in
the Red River settlement. Indeed the Gentiles of Utah
are preparing to contest the supremacy, and one of their
schemes has an ugly look for .Mormondotn. They propose
to cut off the northern district of Utah and annex it to
Idaho. This would go down to within eight miles
of Salt Lake City, and add about 25,000 inhabitants to
Idaho, two-thirds to three-quarters of whom are Mormons.
All the villages of Utah on the Pacific Railroad, the whole
of the uppor part of Salt Lake Valley, and the whole of the
Cache, Weber, and Boar River Valleys would be included
in the transfer. Mr. Ward's amendments were adopted by
the House Committee on Territories on the 27th January,
and this also looks "ugly" for Brigham, for they autho-
rize the President to send troops to enforce the laws against
polygamy ; but if sufficient troops cannot be at the time be
spared, then to employ volunteers ; the property of con-
victed Mormons, or those who have fled from the Terri-
tory, to be used in providing for the destitution caused by
the breaking up of the Mormon system.

The Ways and Means Committee gave a most
unexpected vote on the 25th January with regard to the
importation of coal. There was a long and warm debate
before it was agreed that all kinds of coal should be put
on the free list, by 5 against 4. Those who voted for the
proposition were—Messrs. Hooper of Massachusetts, Al-
lison of lowa, Maynard of Tennessee, Marshall of Illi-
nois, and Brooke, of New York. Those who voted against
the proposition were Messrs. Schenck of Ohio, Kelley of
Pennsylvania, M'Oarthy of New York, and Blair of Mi-
chigan. Much surprise was felt when the vote became
known, and a reconsideration of the subject was demanded.
Nor in vain, for after another protracted discussion bitu-
minous coal was placed on the list, where it is at present,
$1 25 per ton, anthracite coal remaining on the free list
The tariff as amended now stands : anthracite coal to be
free; the duty on cigars reduced from $3 per pound and
25 per cent. ad valorem to a specific duty of $2 per pound;
the duty on tea reduced to 20 cents per pound, on coffee
to 4 cents per pound, on sugar from 3,4, and 5 cents to
2,3, and 4 cents per pound ; the duty on steel in all forms
changed or consolidated from previous rates to a specific
duty of 3i cents per pound; the duty on pig ircn reduced
from $9 to $7 per ton, and the duty ou scrap iron from $8
to $G per ton; the duty on tin plates altered to 24 cents
per pound; the duties on drugs not materially changed ;
the duty on linseed raised to 20 cents per bushel, on lin-
seed oil to 30 cents, and on cash for beans to $l. 01)
books, sewed or stitched, not otherwise provided for, and
on all printed book matter, in sheets or otherwise, 25
cent,: le.r pound; on pamphlets, and on periodicals in
pamphlet form, except as lawfully transmitted by mail,
15 cents per pound.