The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 23, 1869.

Appearances must be kept up to some extent
at Bast. And so—the debate has been ad-
journed and re-adjourned, Speeches, pro and
con., being delivered in more or less rapid succession,
and stenographic contributions of considerable extent
have been accumulated within this last week, to eke out
the volume of Parliamentary Debates for the session
of 1869. Several of these otherwisepurposeless speeches
have, nevertheless, for all that, been very remarkable.
Hitherto the palm has been borne off among the
debatora chiefly—certainly firstly—by the right hon.
gentleman the President of the B iard of Trade.
Whatever else may be said of Mr. DISRAELI'S speech,
if it was flashy, it was also at the same time singularly
effective in its delivery. As an exhibition of cleverness,
it was a masterpiece. But the speech of Mr. BRIGHT was
the outpouring of the heart and of the conscience far
rather than of the head merely. It was not clever-
ness, it was oratory. Ile spoke out of the depth and
fullness of life-long convictions. And--as was but
natural under the circumstances—the peroration rose
at last to the majesty of true and burning eloquence.
Last night's continuation of the discussion com-
menced by fir HOUNDELL PALMER'S speech in opposi-
tion to the Bill —a speech immediately answered,
really and admirably answered, by the Solicitor-
General--was brought to a close ostensibly by
a speech from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but
virtually by one delivered by the member for Bury
St. Edmunds, a gentleman who calls himself—thereby
putting, as we conceive, rather " too fine a point
upon it"—a Progressive Conservatism. As a whole,
Sir ItouNDELL PALMER' speech, which was listened
to, of course, by every one most respectfully,
was felt to be somewhat disappointing. As a piece
of Parliamentary oratory it was scarcely up the level
of his reputation. Not so the speech of Sir Jonx
COLERIDGE— aspeech as brilliant as any he has delivered
in the House since that maiden speech of his, delivered
from the floor of the House below the gangway,
which at once placed him in the foremost rank among
the most skilled and practised orators within the
the
walls of the Legislature. Intermediately, in the
address
course otof
thelastH
night'souse of
debate,
between
thSolicitor-Generalthe
and that later one delivered by the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, a whimsical harangue was made in
support of the Government Bill by the mem-
ber for Londonderry, who, speaking as a Protes-
taut Episcopalian in defence of the measure un-
der discussion, finished his remarks by saying, that
—Now he wasdone, but that, if he was done,
he had some
satisfaction in knowing that the Established Church in
Ireland was done too ! A remark very naturally
eli-
citing loud cheering and much laughter. Mr. LOWE
was almost, as matter of course, alternately agreeable
and sarcastic—agreeable because of his sense of the
Ministerial triumph before him, and sarcast.c by
reason of his scorn for the majority of the
so-called arguments adduced in the course
of the mere make-believe endeavour of the Opposi-
tion to prevent that triumph being realized to the full.
The member for Bury St. Edmunds, however,
in his futile efforts to interpose between
Mr. WALPOLE and that right hon. gentle-
man's moving of the adjournment of the debate,
closed the night's discussion as a theatrical per-
formance is closed by a farce, namely, amidst shouts
of laughter. Nothing could have been funnier than
the effect of every sentence to. which he gave utterance.
It was the last spasmodic scream of No Popery
and, as such, it was received with a sort of good-
humoured derision.

THE philosophers who have lately been endeavour-
ing to revive duelling in England will have little
chance of success after the terrible tragedy which has

just occurred in Madrid. One evening last week a
young Spanish gentleman of great promise, Cm. ESTINO
OLOZAGA by name, and who had just been appointed
Secretary to the Cortes, went to the Opera

accidentally let his cane fall, and in its
fall it touched a certain Count DE JARA.
The COUNT, being a very choleric man, chose
to resent this accident as a premeditated insult,
and abused the author of it in strong language. In
vain did OLOZAGA inform the COUNT that the affair
was a mishap ; DE JARA would have it otherwise,
would force a quarrel, which the young bloods stand-
ing by did their best to foment. There is a law
against duelling in Spain, as there is in France, but in
neither country is the law enforced, and so the offence
is common. A duel, therefore, OLOZAGA was told that
he must fight. A duel is, apparently, what DE JARA had
intended from the first, for he was known to be a
notable swordsman, and had come off victorious in
more than one affair of honour. his opponent was
totally unizsed to fighting. The inevitable result
followed. The two met ;DE JAEA having received
not a single scratch, killed his adversary at the first
thrust ; and now all Madrid is mourning for the loss
of this promising young man, and the murderer is
in hiding, soon, it is said, to reappear in the capital
and take Ins place in society as though nothing had
happened.

It seems like a waste of words to prove that
this was as sheer a case of murder as could
possibly be. In fact it was worse than many mur-
ders, for these are often perpetrated in the first heat
of ungovernable rage, while this was committed in
cool blood, after hours of reflection.. Yet as there ha,ye

do, that the division is not as a rule affected bydiscus-
sion. A Speech has often and often, before now, upon
many a great division, influenced a vote. Historical
instances of this might be adduced almost ad libitum.
But—for certain--anything of that kind, any in-
fluencing of votes through the present discussion upon
the Irish Church Bill, is not to ,be thought of. The
House had made its resolve before the Second Read-
ing was moved. And if any acknowledgment of the
fact that it was so, that this House had so made up
its mind could have been required, it would
have been found unmistakeably in the two hours'
Speech in which the Leader of the Op-
position moved his amendment. That Speech re-
ferred repeatedly to the measure it affected to regard
as just possible to set aside, as a measure certain to be
carried. For again and again it was noticed that
Mr. DISRAELI spoke of the results of the Bill when
carried as likely to be so-and-so—evidencing plainly
enough that in his heart he knew quite well that it
would be carried. But for that matter it would be
the merest affect.ttion on the part of anyone tosuppose
otherwise. The majority at the back of the Govern-
ment-, in regard to this one measure especially, sets at
defiance all thought of serious opposition. So that, in
point of fact, the debating on each side is simply
carried on, as one may say, for the sake of keeping
up appearances. The House of Commons for awhile
has almost assumed the character of one of those De-
bating Societies in which the members air their elo-
quence, purely for the sake of so much rhetorical
practice. Not that by this we would imply for a
single moment that upon either side of the House the
speakers are not seriously in earnest. Upon
no question that might be submitted to the
consideration of Parliament in debate, could we
fancy the majority of them more seriously in earnest
than upon the very question involved in this Irish
Church Bill. Only—that they, one and all, know
quite well that, whatever they may say for or against
it, the division list will give exactly the same result ;
and that, consequently, in homely phrase, they might
just as well save their breath to cool their por-
ridge. The fact is so, literally, -precisely what we
have described it to be, that the division might have
been taken at the end of the first night's discussion
quits as reasonably as in the small hours after this
next midnight. Such could not be, however

been writers in some of our ablest magazines
who have urged the revival of this bloody code
of honour, it is necessary to use logic respect
ing a matter which instinct should be suffi-
cient to settle. We ask, then, What is gained by
such an expedient as this ? What is proved by the
dead body over which an agonised father is now
weeping inconsolably ? Does it clear up the
dispute as to whether the fall of the cane
was accidental or intended ? Does it establish
anything except that the murderer was a better
swordsman than his victim ? Surely that fact might
have been established at less cost than this. In fact,
duelling, so far from helping to clear up the truth,
helps to confuse it. Who can doubt that if
OLOZAGA had been the better swordsman
DE JARA would have borne the fall of
the cane with equanimity, and accepted the
apology with Christian meekness ? Who can doubt
that, relying upon his skill, he sought a quarrel, and
that his object was not satisfaction of wounded
honour, but gratification of inordinate vanity ? That
vanity could be content with nothing less than blood.
DE JARA is henceforth a CAIN, branded of heaven,
and though none may observe the mark, [there
comes a day when it will be plain enough for the
universe to see.

LATEST INTELL LGENCE

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.
(Per Java.)

NEW YORK, March 10.
The following is a copy of Mr. Stewart's letter
declining the office of Secretary to the Treasury :
" WASHINGTON, March 9.
" To the President—

" SlR,—.Appreciating the high honour conferred
by your nomination and the unanimous confirma-
tion by the Senate of myself to the office of Secre-
tary of the Treasury, I regret that circumstances
beyond our control compel me to decline. Could
the difficulties presented by the provisions of the
Act of 1789, which, in organising the Depart-
ment of the Treasury, prohibit the Secretary
from being directly or indirectly concerned or
interested in carrying on the business of trade or
commerce, be overcome by any reasonable sacri-
fice personal to myself I would willingly make it.
I would promptly transfer to the hands of gentle-
men iu whom the public have full confidence every
interest in the gains and profits that could possibly
occur to myself in the business of my house during
my term, b be applied to such public chari-
ties as their judgment should dictate, and have pro-
posed and sought by the execution of appropriate
instruments to accomplish that end. But serious
differences of opinion have been expressed as to
whether that course would satisfy the require-
ments of the law. Although I will not hesi-
tate to make this appropriation, provided it would
enable me to accept the office and thus unite my
efforts with your own and those of other members
of your Cabinet in restoring economy, honesty, and
strict frugality in the administration of the Govern-
ment, and lift as rapidly as practicable from the
people the great burdens of taxation, debt, and ex-

travagance resting upon them, yet the business re-
lations of my firm, in its connection with others
largely interested in their continuance, are such
that they cannot be severed summarily, nor can my
interest in it he wholly and absolutely disposed of
without producing great embarrassment and loss
to those with whom I have been connected.
I cannot consent to enter upon the adminis-
tration of laws by any act or course that
may be construed into a disregard or
violation of law ; and while, therefore,
1 regret that the plan proposed is deemed
inadequate to relieve me from legal and, as it seems
to me technical, disabilities, I yield to the better
judgment cf others rather than seem to be willing
to acc,V a position in disrespect of law.
In finally renewing the declination which was
tendered at the outset of these objections, I re-
peat to you, Mr. President, my thanks for the

honour done me in offering me this high position,

and assure you that you will have my earnest

efforts to sustain your Administration in carrying
out the wise and salutary measures indicated by

you upon entering upon your oflice.—Sincerely

your friend,

" ALEX. T. STEWART."

President Grant, immediately after accepting
Mr. Stewart's resignation, addressed the following
communication to the Senate :

"To the Senate of the United States.--I have

the honour to request to be permitted to withdraw
from the Senate of the United States my Mes.,age
of the Gth instant, requesting the passage of a joint
resolution by the two Houses of Congress, to relieve
the Secretary of the Treasury from the disabilities
imposed by section eight of the Act of Congress,
approved September 2, 1789.
gg U. S. GRANT,
cc Washington, March 9, 1869."

The Senate, by unanimous vote, consented.

Secretary Washburne, Postmaster-General Cres-
well, and Secretary Bone assumed control of their
respective departments yesterday.

The 16 who voted in the House against the
repeal of the Tenure-of-Office Act were all Repub -
Mr. Schenck.
licans, among them was

Several prominent lawyers of Washington de-
cided that the proposed transfer of his business by
Mr. Stewart would not release him from liabilities,
though he might forego all profit; and hence that
he would still remain ineligible under the law of
1789 for the Secretaryship.

A report is about to be laid before the Legis-
lature of Prince Edward Island in relation to the
subject of reciprocal free trade between the island
and the United States.

introduction by the Government of, and the vote
by the Chambers on, the Railway Bill has given ris,
to animadversions in France in connection with.
which the Government considered it right to for
ward to Paris thoroughly frank and loyal explana-
tions. In order to give mutual proof o!
friendship and confidence, and desirous of
harmonising the interests of both countries,
the two Governments have agreed to institute
a mixed commission, whose task it will be to exa-
mine the divers industrial questions arising from
the existing relations, and from the treaties re-
cently proposed for the cession and working of the
Brazilian railways.

The solution of these questions will be calcu-
lated to develope the commercial industrial relations
of the two countries.

AUSTRALIA.

MELBOURNE, March 2.

The following gold ships have sailed for England
during February :—The Maid of Judah, with
28,875 ounces; Highflyer, 25,250; Manchester,
10,375 ; Lansdowne, 16,500 ; Reigate, 14,125 ;
Essex, 18,000.

ARRIVAL OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH
IN AUSTRALIA.

ADELAIDE, March 1.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has
arrived here. Numerous private fetes have been

given in his honour.
The colonists express the greatest satisfaction at
the appointment of Sir James Ferguson to the
Governorship of South Australia.

HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, March 22.

The Queen, accompanied by PrincesE, Louise,
and attended by the Duchess of Roxburghe, drove
and walked in the grounds this morning.
Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice also went
out.

BANK OF FRANCE.

PARIS, March 18.

The following is the return of the Bank of France
for the week ending to-day, together with the cor-
responding figures of the previous account :

DEBTOR.

March 11.

fr.
Capital of the Bank 182,500,000
Profits in addition to
capital (Art. 8, Law,
June 9, 1857) 7,011,770 02 7,011,776 0
Reserve of the Batik
and its branches
Reserve of latnled pro-
perty 4,000,000 4,000.090 -
Notes in circulation 1,31-1,243,600 1,317,409,750 -
Banknotes to orderand
receipts payable at
sight
Treasury account cur-
rent creditor 151,668,695 68 160,053,058 31
Current accounts, Paris 2..4,935,353 63 252,915,469 3G
Do. branch banks 46,322,162 45,916,114
Dividends payable 1,270,221 1 190 559
Discounts and sundry , ,
interests
Rediscounted the last

3farcli 18.
c. fr. e
182,500,000

six months
Surplus of receipts not
distributed
Sundries

22,105,750 11 22,105,750 1

35,232,897 68 35,753,504 87

933,790 85 933,790 85

6,882,180 10 5,564,671 81

Total

CREDITOR.
March 11. March 18.
Cash in hand and in fr. c. fr. c.
II !Branch banks
Commercial bills over-

992,251 31

193,138 73

due
Commercial bills dis-
counted, not yet due 254,927,562 62 219,043,137 51
Do. branch banks 240,729,899 238,665,084
Advances on deposit of
bullion 26,146,900
Do. branch banks 4,903,600
Do. on French Public
Securities 13,455,700
Do. by branch banks.,, 6,409,280
Do. on railway shares
and debentures
Do. branch banks
Do. on Credit Foncier

23,431,600 -

4;293;400 -

13,601,600 --

048;480 -

38,266,200

27;937;300

Bonds
Do. branches .
Do. to the State (Con-
vention, Juno 10,
1857) 60,000,000
Government Stock re-

924,700 -
961,700

924,600 -
962,300 -

60,000,000 -

serve
Do. disposable
Rentes Immobalisees

12,980,750 14 12,980,750 14
80,633,437 21 80,633,437 21

(Law, June 2, 1857) 10,000,000 100,000,000
Hotel and furniture of
the Bank and landed
property branches ...
Expenses of manage-

8,982,201 -

8,994,501 -

tuent
Sundries

734,626 21 739,134 77
10,723,327 54 8,178,956 8

Total
Certified by the Senator-Governor of the Bank

of France.

(Signed) ROLTLAND.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

WESTMINSTER.

ALLEGED FINDING OF ANCIENT COINS.—A middle-aged,
rough-looking woman, giving the name of Mary Anne
Leach, was charged with unlawfully having in her posses-
sion a number of antique small silver coins, some of
which are Roman, without giving a satisfactory account
of the possession of the same.
_ _

Police-constable Barry Collins, 36 B, said that at a
quarter past eight last night he was called into the shop
of Mr. Scrivener, jeweller, Prince's-street, Storey's-gate,
where he found the prisoner, and Mr. Scrivener informed
him that she had just offered some ancient silver coins,
which he produced, for sale. Witness asked prisoner
where she got them, and she said that she had had theta
in her possession for years, and that they had been
originally found in Tothill-street. He told her she must
go with him to the station, and on the way she told bins
she had picked them up that morning in Great Chapel-
street and the Broadway.
Prisoner now repeated this story to the magistrate.
Mr. Dayman said that there was no artific!al value
reasonably attached to suoh articles as the coins produced.

He should discharge the prisoner, but order the coins to
be detained for a mouth to see if the owner could be
found.