The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-09 00:00:00

THE SPANISH THRONE.

It is officially announced that Dom Fernando has finally
refused to accept the Spanish Crown upon any terms
whatever. The proiect of a commission which was to set
out for Lisbon in order to lay this dangerous present before
the Portuguese prince has been abandoned. Had the com-
missioners started they might possibly have met with a
"warm" reception. The Portuguese were much opposed
to Dom Fernando becoming King of Spain. They appre-
hended,. not without reason, that an Iberian Union would
be the inevitable result; and the idea of Portugal thus
becoming a Spanish province is most repugnant to them.
The excitement, in fact, was so great that the commis-
sioners would have been in great danger of ill-treatment.
What the Spanish Ministry will do now is a most impor-
tant question. The Inclepenclance Belge says that Prim
and his colleagues persuaded Serrano and Topete
to consent to this offer of the crown to Dom
Fernando, but Prim's party seemed unwilling
to promise that if the Portuguese prince refused
Montpensier should become King. Another hypothesis
put forth by some authorities deserves attention. It is
affirmed that this offer has been made to Dom Fernando,
;a the certainty that he would refuse, in order that the
Duke of Montpensier might be the more readily accepted.

THE BELGIAN RAILWAY ABEAM.
The French Ministers are doing their best to gild the pill of
concession which M. FrEre-Orban is to swallow. On Monday
he dined with M. de Lavalette, and after dinner, says the
Independance Beige, the affairs of the two nations were dis-
cussed at great length. What was done on this occasion does
not transpire, but it is quite clear that the progress made
was not great. On Tuesday there was another dinner,
and more talk at M. Rouher's. On Wednesday M.
Fr4re-Orban and M. Rouher had another interview,
which must have taken place before dinner, seeing that
some business was done. The French Government, we
are informed, indicates its wishes without bringing them
to any formal proposition. 'The initiative of settle-
ment is left to the Belgian Cabinet. But the French
Minister of State (lid Dot fail to again put forth the
treaties with the railway companies as an 'essential part
of the solution. So far from the leasing of Belgian lines to
French companies being disadvantageous to the interests of
Belgium, M. Rouher held that the issue would be quite the
reverse. M. Fr4re-Orban brought arguments against this
theory. M. Rouher very courteously, but very energeti-
cally, combatted these arguments, The question stands
precisely where it did. The Belgian Legislature has
given King Leopold's Ministry the power to veto any
lease of a Belgian railway to foreign companies. The
French Government insists that in the case of the Luxem-
bourg Railway the veto shall not be exercised. The mixed
commission is not constituted, nor is it likely to be at
present. Before the commission is nominated the Govern-
ments must determine what business is to be laid before it.

THE "MORNING POST" ON THE TENURE-OF

OFFICE ACT.

(Fpom the Anglo-American Times.)
This is the article alluded to in our leader, whielll
as a sample of English knowledge of Amerian sub'
jects, is worth preserving :—" President Grant has
sustained his first defeat at the hands of the House
of Representatives. It will no doubt be in the re:
collection of all that during the Presidentship 01
Andrew Johnson Congress thought proper to pass
a measure very seriously curtailing the authority 01
the Chief Magistrate in dealing with such of bli
Ministers as lost his confidence, and that, notwitly
standing the President's veto, the measure because,
law. According to the Constitution the Presi
may appoint the al inisters of State, but the appoint'
meats must be ratified by the Senate in order t°
acquire validity. The power of dismissing them
was, however, until the passing of the Tenure-of'
Office Act, reserved absolutely to the President',
but when that measure was adopted this power 05
practically transferred to the Senate. It will also
be remembered that it was Mr. Johnson's con teinr
tuous disregard for this statute, in dismissing
Stanton from the office of Secretary of War, whie,'
filled the vial of wrath against him and led to I°s
impeachment. It is, however, one of the peen
liarities of the American Constitution that a las"
though passed with all due formality by the Pre"
sident and both Houses of Congress, is not neces:
sarily binding, and it is open to any citizen to
call it iu question as inconsistent with the Con'
stitution, and refer the point thus raised for tll`l
consideration of the Supreme Court, which try
bunal, if it deems the objection valid, thereupos
quashes the law. It was consequently urged with
much force, on Mr. Johnson's impeachment, that
the President was as well entitled as any other
citizen to violate the law for the purpose of aster'
taming, by appeal to the Supreme Court, whether
it was consistent with the Constitution or not'
and that the article of the Impeachment, based 05
his dismission of the Secretary of War, could net/
in consequence, be sustained. The President NO
acquitted by a single vote, Mr. Secretary Stanton
retired, and the legality of his dismission by the
President was never referred to the Supreme
Court. At the time when the Act in question W5l
passed no one entertained a doubt that it was pro'
yoked by the obnoxious character of the President'
and that the large Republican majority assented t°
.
it, partly to restrain the action of a Chief in
they had lost confidence, and partly in order t,l'
wound his pride. These facts not unnaturally led
to the conclusion that the measure was only intended
to be temporary, and would be rescinded as soon 5'
a President was chosen who commanded the eOll.
fidence of the dominant faction. The Republican
party selected General Grant as their candidate 5'
the Presidential election, and he was triumphantly
returned. A variety of circumstances tended l°
make him extremely popular, and probably no tns9
has entered the White House for the past half cent
tury with the approbation of so large a section 0,
his fellow.citizens as General Grant. By tilos'
who gave it a thought the Tenure-of-Office Mt'
which deprived the President of all control over
his own Ministers, must have been considered 0;1,
the 4th of March as being as good as repealed'
General Grant, as a military man, and one acelW
tomed to enforce obedience from his subordinate,
naturally regarded this singular statute with pee'
liar aversion. Immediately after entering on offied
he made no secret of his feelings on the s1111(j
ject he declared that the occasion which 11'1
called for it had passed away, and intimated a wish
e
that one of the first legislative acts of Congrel
should be to repeal it. Ihe Senate manifesto'
their concurrence in these sentiments by introdne'
ing a 'measure which, though not absolutely re-
scinding the obnoxious statute, deprived it of I s
t
sting—without, however, giving to the Presideyi
all the powers which his predecessors had enjoyeu.
It provided that the President, though still de,i
barred from absolutely removing his officers, shoal`
be enabled, without assigning reasons, to suspe° t
them and appoint successors, such appointtne°
being, of course, subject to the approval of tbei
Senate. It was also provided that the rejection ,05
the newly-appointed individuals should have t'l
effect of reinstating those who had been suspendee•
It must be admitted that this measure was 000i1
paratively mild, and fell far short of what Genera
Grant would have desired. It is not improbable;
however, that the Senate had reason to believe tOO
an act of repeal would not have been assented tf
in the Lower House, and they were desirous °
making it sufficiently palatable to secure the 00;
ceptance of the latter. But be this as it may, tu/
bill passed the Senate on Wednesday last by
against 16 votes, and was then sent down to 04
House of Representatives. There, however, it
less fortunate. We are unacquainted with v/113,,
passed in the course of the debate to which it g3t
rise, the grounds on which it was opposed, or W
political bias of the- members who opposed it, bO,
~,
the result was that on Saturday the bill
thrown out in the House of Representatives 't
99 against 70 votes. It is not easy at presell.s
to say what may be the precise si"nificance of thlj
vote. It was natural that Democrats who oppos:,
the Tenure-of-Office act in the first instance,
cause it was intended as a slight upon1"1.e1;
sident Johnson, should now oppose its repeal i
the interests of President Grant. But why a nO,l
ber of Republicans, sufficiently large to secure
majority, should have joined them in order to throve
out the measure is not sufficiently clear. To tlle
chiefs of the Republican party General Grant 115;
questionably gave great umbrage by the singularY
independent manner in which he formed his
net. Instead of summoning to his councils thos
who had chiefly aided him in attaining his present
position, and who, by their political antecedeos
might not unreasonably have expected to 1:15.1
been sent for, he selected for his advisers 131°„
,:e
who, for the most part, were unknown in t"
Parliamentary world. So great an innovation 1:09",3
not only have startled, but nettled, those who vit'j
prepared to give him the warmest support, 011
-ft
to place in him the most implicit confidence. It
is therefore far from improbable that when
was proposed to relieve him of the restrictions l°?;
posed on the late President in dealing with 13,,,
/'
Ministers of State and other officers, they glacw
availed themselves of the opportunity of showing;
their own strength and demonstrating his own '
pendence on them. However this may be, it 15,1
little unfortunate that at the very outset of Gener:e
Grant's Presidential career an event should 133'
happened which will be universally regarded 05 ,1
5,
collision between the President and his congre
Whether the Tenure-of-Office Act be a good
bad statute, and we consider that it is the latterlij
bill ought not to have been introduced for its rePe:o
unless its acceptance by both Houses was alinoSi
matter of certainty. It is not pleasant for a We';
meaning President to be told a fortnight after
has entered office that Congress has so little con
1,4
deuce in him that it will not grant him the poWo
enjoyed by all his predecessors with the excepts,
of one, whom it was deemed expedient to impeac,
Yet such in effect is the substantial meaning of
vote passed on Saturday in the House of RePre'
sentatives."

ble
[An VERTlSMlENT.]—Henceforth no one will doubt the valuao
properties of Du Barry's health-restoring Revalenta
Ars
Invalids' and Infants' Food, since to the thousands of blessiii
it has already received from Invalids whose position had D',o6
deemed hopeless, we may now add that of his Holiness the knot whose health has been perfectly restored by it after thirty yepf,
unsuccessful medical treatment. We quote from the "
Midi," July 25th :—" Rome, July 21, 1866. - The health of the I.oe,
Father is excellent, especially since, abandoning all other r.e of,
click he has confined himself entirely to Du Barry's Reval°ol,
Arabica Food, of which he consumes a plateful at every 0
It has produced a surprisingly beneficial effect oh his health, Stye
his Holiness cannot praise this excellent food too highly." ,of
extract a few out of,nore than 68,000 cures:—Cure No. 58,21,uait
the Marchioness de Brehan, of seven years' liver comPitioo,
wasting away, debility, nervousness, with a nervous paipita jo•
all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessness, and the most,
tolerable nervous agitation. Cure No 1.771: Lord Stuart id'
Decies, Lord-Lieutenant of Waterford, of many years' dysPao•
No. 49,832: "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspeP,o,
nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spas-'ap
sickness, and vomiting —Maria Joly." Cure No. 46,270: Og,
James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of 30 years' diseased 1117;0,
the many
authority,unsavou Banadromn oLrieeog
spitting of blood, liver derangement, and pariial deafness. jotiti
—nsßeware
iochf
12 In tins, at ls. lid.; 1 lb. 2s. ed.: 2 lbs. 4s. 6d.• 5 lbs. al);
22u ; 2 4 lba, 40s, —AI BO DU BARRY'S REVALENTA ARABWA. ul,tr
names is most audaciously attached.
ploortaynt Cimauitatiotino
LATE POWDER. is packed in tin canisters; for 12 cups at 25., woe,
cups at 3s. Gd., for 48 cups at 65., for 288 cups at 305., for 576 ctio7 at 55s.—being about one penny per cup. The 30s. and 550. Ad
are sent free of carriage in England on receipt of Post 01),0
Order. - BARRY DU BARRY and Co., No. 77, Regent-street.
don; and all Grocers and Chemists.

Births.
/
BEST—On the 7th inst., the wife of F. A. Best, Esq.',
Watton, Norfolk, of a son.
STRAITEENEEE—On the 7th ha, at Dover, the v 4 of
140ut.-Colonel Fredk. Van Straubenzee, of a son.

Marriages.
.104
DOLPHIN— OMMANNEY—On the 7th inst., at Putney
Dolphin, Esq., eldest son of Cq I
dain Dolphin, late t'or
Brigade' to Jano Georgians, third (laughter of 111:0
GeneralOmmanney, R.E.
HUNTER—WEST-:- 011 the 3d iust., at Upper NorNe tP
Patrick Hunter, Esq., of Roden, Shropshire, to Elizofrof
Ann, youngest daughter of the late John Nast,
Little Bowden, Northamptonshire.

Deaths.
heft
COLE —On the 6th inst., at 142,4 Mile-end-road, 11°'
• Cole, Esq., aged 80.
COLE—On the 6th inst., at 29, Sydney-street, BromPtolis
Captain Robert Martin Cole, R.N., aged 81. ~(1,
ITETLIN—On the 6th inst., at Alexandria-road, Norvv""
Alex. Heylin, Esq., aged 41.
-4

London : Printed and Pabliehed by WILLIAM ANDO g
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tan SUN Office, No 1 of
Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy in the Couit'
Middlesex.—Friday, ATE 9, 1869,