The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, ETURDAY EVENING, JUNE 12, L 69.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

THE CONSERVATIVIc VASE.

The Conservative Cave daily grows latter. Lord
Wharncliffe writes that he, as well as Lord Devon,
had to present a number of petitions against the
Irish Church Bill, and in doing so he said that he
agreed with what Lord Devon had said on the pre-
vious day. Lord Powerscourt writes contending
against the theory of his political friends that the
disestablishment of the Irish Church involves an
abnegation of the duty of supporting the religion
professed by the State. He says :
" The English and Scotch peoples stood up for their
rights, and won what they struggled for, and has the
Irish people no right to its own religion, and freedom of
its use on an equality with the other parts of the United
Kingdom ? I believe that the Irish people will never be
contented and peaceable as long as they consider them-
selves in a condition of inferiority and less favoured than
the rest of the Queen's subjects. Beneficial and remedial
measures may be passed, but as long as the ecclesiastical
grievance exists Ireland will remain the weak point of
England, and a byword among the nations."
Lord Powerscourt, it should be remembered, is an
Irish peer and landowner.

The two English Archbishops would not care to
be classed as Conservatives, nevertheless, on Church
matters, they have usually voted with that party,
and did so on last year's Suspensory Bill. Neverthe-
less, it is now stated that they will not vote against
the Irish Church Bill. We have already mentioned
that the Bishop of Oxford has determined upon the
same course. It is understood that Bishops Jacobson
and Thirlwall will vote for the bill. The Bishops of
Carli&e. Exeter, Winchester, Chichester, and Salis-
bury will be prevented by illness from voting. The
Bishops of Lincoln and Sodor and Man have no vote;
and thus twelve out of the twenty-eight English
bishops will fail the Conservative party.

It is no lesafidently affirmed that the noble lord,
her husbanill speedily follow." It would have
been just a;11 to have mentioned the name at once.
For want omkness each and all the noble mem-
bers of the 7ernment are liable to suspicion. There
is reason toieve, however, that the rumour refers
to the Couri Spencer, wife of the Lord-Lieutenant
of Ireland.

the document, or in interviews, ought to carry a
Finance Minister over any difficulty; and as he
cannot require it all. we recommend him to make a
fair distribution to Greece, Spain, Austria, and some
of the Republics down South, where it might be
utilized. A gold " bull," quite a different style of
animal to the calf Nebuchadnezzar set up, saturated
with patriotism, and overflowing with a desire to
benefit his country, earnestly, warns him to con-
sider what the result may be.of his reckless mode of
dealing with the gold surplus. It seems to have
been a habit in the Treasury Department to loan
money in anticipation of salaries, doubtless conve-
nient for a hard-presse I clerk, but not the system
on which men of business conduct their establish-
, ments, hence the Secretary has stopped it ; but he
has reduced the working hours from 4 to 3 o'clock,
to take effect from the Ist June.
It will be long before the Washington Depart-
ments lose their vestiges of the rebellion. An in-
quisitive Senator got three boxes opened which had
been sent by the War Department into the Trea-
sury for safe keeping during June, 1865, as they
were said to contain articles of great value. The
army of the Tennessee under Sherman had sent
them from Georgia and other States from the banks
abandoned before the approaching Union Army.
On being opened diamonds, pearls, and other pie-
cious stones, set iu brooches, rings, and necklaces,
were displayed, with a variety of rare and costly
jewellery. Besides gold and silver plate, some of
great age, there were silks, velvets, and laces ; the
amount of specie was small, but the quantity of
Confederate notes and bonds was very large, as
well as notes of State banks. A difference of
opinion exists on the disposal of this property,
some officers of the departments holding that it
should be returned, the family crests, initials, and
monograms being stamped on many of the articles:
Others that they ought to be sold for the benefit of
the Treasury, and others that their disposal will re-
igale'd property have been negligently transacted,
and in consequence the Treasury has suffered. Mr.
Boutwell, at present investigating the circum-
stances, has directed his attention more especially
to Virginia, where rebel property has been sold
under the authority of officials at low prices to
themselves, and even the proceeds pocketed by the
purchasers. General Beauregard furnishes us with
another example of these vestiges. Shortly before
the war, he then a Major, wos superintendent of
the West Point Military Academy, but he was
sent in January and February, 1861, by the War
Department to his old post at New Orleans. Lately
the Treasury Department have discovered that he
owed $10.30 cts., which he was requested to
pay.
To this Beauregard replied by enclosing his ac-
count for $165.50 cts. transport to New Orleans,
which the Department at the time had failed to
pay him, asking that the difference between the
accounts should be remitted. The Treasury had
to submit the claim to the law officers, and it was
decided under a recent Act of Congress that it
could not be admitted.

It was railiing at Washington on the 28th May,
and it looked as if it intended to rain on the 29th,
which was to be observed as a general holiday ; all
the departments, offices, banks, and leading busi-
ness houses being closed. Commemoration Day
this year having fallen on a Sunday many of the
committees in charge of decorating the soldiers'
graves had named either Saturday or Monday.
Colonel Dupont's battery were to fire a salute at
Arlington, and a battalion of marines, 200 strong,
together with their hand, were to be conveyed there
at the expense of the Government. The Beethoven,
Saengerbund, and the Anion Quartette Clubs were
to sing. There are three cemeteries within reach
of Washington, for at Alexandria 5,000 soldiers are
buried, and the coloured soldiers lie in a cemetery
by themselves, where the ceremony of decorating
their graves was to be conducted by the coloured
men of Washington. The President bad accepted
the invitation to be present at the ceremony at
Arlington, to•take place on Saturday, May 29.
The New England Woman Suffrage Convention
met at Boston on the evening of May 26, and passed
the following resolution :—" That the Executive
Committee of the New England Woman's Suffrage
Association be authorized to correspond with the
f. ie!Als of the cause throughout the country, and to
take such steps as they may deem best for the orga-
nization of a National Woman's Suffrage Associa-
tion during the coming year, in which all parts of
the country shall he fully and fairly represen, ed.'•
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe real an essay on the social
and political condition of wotnen ; Lucy Stone and
Mrs. Livermore .spoke, as did also William Lloyd
Garrison and Whitney Griswold, Chairman of the
Joint Special Committee of the Massachusetts Le-
gislature, which has elaborately reported in favour
of female suffrage. That committee assert women
to excel men as judges of character, doing so by
instinct, but we confess to a prejudice (perhaps an
unreasonable one) against being judged in such a
way. The committee contend that women gene-
rally form a truer opinion than men as to the effect
of public measures. Next evening the New England
Anti-Slavery Society met and declared, as well
they might, the progress of the nation on this sub-
ject to be satisfactory. Now that they have secured
political privileges for the negroes, tb,y have turned
their attention to the still more difficult subject of
their social equality with the whites. The Ameri-
can Tract Society also met the same day. The
Treasurer's report gave the total expenses of last
year at $136,401 66 ; received from the sales of
books and tracts, $57,498 75 ; periodicals, $34,142
53 ; total receipts, $131,947 68. The financial
condition of the society gives a balance of $160,936
85 in its favour.

A telegram from Washington on Tuesday says :
" At the municipal election, which took place here yes-
terday, the Republicans succeeded in electing the collector,
surveyor, and registrar. The latter and seven members
of the city council are negroes. The Radical negroes,
mobbed a Democratic negro, and attacked the police who
were protecting him. The police used their revolvers,
and dispersed the negroes, killing one and wounding many.
President Grant, in response to an application of a dele-
gation of the Georgia Republicans, has ordered the re-
moval of the negro postmaster at Macon, who was asrepre-
suited as obnoxious to the entire white population.,,
From the Washington Territory the success of the
Republican Congressional candidate, Mr. Garfield,
is announced.
Mr. Russell Jones, whose name was submitted to
the Senate, strongly recommended by the President
as Minister to Belgium, where there was no va-
cancy as General Sanford's transfer to Spain had
not been sanctioned, has now been appointed on
the resignation of the latter gentleman. Mr. Charles
Andrews goes to Stockholm as United States Mi-
nister. Samuel 11. M. Byser has been appointed
Consul at Zurich. There is a rumour that the po-
liticians are plotting to make vacancies in the mis-
sions to Berlin and Florence, with the sole object
of giving these posts to their friends. They will
find it difficult, however, to get rid of the distin-
guished incumbents, although the attempt will be
Made when Congress reassembles.
The commercial Convention at Memphis has
been followed by another meeting at New Orleans,
Of 400 delegates representing the Southern and
Western States. What they require is a redistri-
bution of the currency, the interest on the National
Debt reduced, direct foreign trade with Southern
ports, Government aid for repairing the levees,
and repeal of the usury laws. They desire the con-
struction of a Southern railway to the Pacific,
urging the advantage the climate gives in enabling
such a road to be kept open all the winter, which is
not the case with that via Omaha. The majority
favour the Pacific line, a direct route from Cairo
to Mazatlan ; the minority the Memphis El Paso
Grand Trunk route. The establishment of direct
communication to Europe will, it is hoped, be fol.-
lowed by immigration.
General Sickles has received and accepted his
commission as Minister to Spain. He was to leave
about the middle of June so as to reach Madrid on
the lAJuly, when Mr. Hale's term expires. Dr. Mary
IValker has demanded the appointment of Secretary
of the. Legation to Spain. Secretary Fish asked her
when she called to claim the appointment, if she
could talk Spanish. Spanish, retorted Mary, this
is not a question of languages ; 'it is a question of
the rights of women ! The Secretary then advised
her to see General Sickles, who might have some-
thing to say on the selection of his Secretary, and