The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-20 00:00:00

of the public, by advertising. for proposals for any suh
exchanges, purchases, or sales, which will be awarded
publicly to the best bidder or bidders, the Secretary of the
Treasury reserving the right to reject any such bids
should he deem it to the public interest to do so. And be
it further enacted, that from and after the passage of this
Act all sales of gold on account of the United States shall
be made at the public auction by a proper officer of the
Treasury department, after giving public notice of the
times and place such sales shall bo made by advertising the
same.

The Stock Exchange of New York has struck
from the call the Erie Railway quotations, as the
directors have failed to comply with the regulation
recently adopted. According to this rule securities
of every description must be registered with a
Trust Company or respectable banking-house, giv-
ing the full roll of their shareholders. As the Erie
did not comply it was struck off on the Ist inst., as
wellas the Adams, Wells and Fargo Express, as though
the latter afterwards made arrangements hoping to
be restored to their place. With these exceptions all
the others acted on the rule, and now the Erie can
only be bought and sold in the street, a fact which
has a damaging influence on its price. The Erie
has picked up the Fort Wayne and Chicago ine,
which was thrown over by the Pennsylvania Cen-
tral after some negotiations, on, it is asserted, favour-
able terms. The two lines are making grand com-
binations to establish monopolies of through traffic
across the Continent, and we expect eventually to see
the cities of Philadelphia and New York competing
for it against each other. Indeed there are many
signs which show that Philadelphia is going to move
vigorously for this object, and a bill has already
been introduced into the Pennsylvania Legislature
for subsidising a line from Philadelphia to Bremen,
touching at Southampton ; and another bill is sure
shortly to follow to aid the promotion of a line be-
tween the State capital and Liverpool.
A correspondence was published at Washington
Feb. 2, about Warren and Costello. There are two
letters fr^ft, Dd.. gowc.a tv M. neveray Johnson,
in the usual style of that astute statesman. In the
first, dated Sept. 14, 1868, this passage occurs—
" The explanations given by Lord Stanley may
have satisfied Parliament concerning the judicial
severity maintained by the British Government in
the case of Warren and Costello. They are, how-
ever, by no means satisfactory to the people of the
United States. It is not easy to see what advan.
tages the Government and people of Great Britain
derive from that indulgence, counterbalanced by
continued irritation on the part of a friendly
nation." In the second, written nine days later,
Mr. Seward expresses the earnest " hope not only
that Warren and Costello may be soon released, as
you seem authorized to expect, but that the natu-
ralization question may be settled before the new
session of Congress in December. I think it Hardly
necessary to repeat the reasons I have heretofore
given why it is desirable that the new Administra-
tion of this Government, which is to come in here
on the 4th of March, and the reconstructed Admi-
nistration of Great Britain, which is supposed to be
near at hand, shall find themselves relieved of all
the international questions which, although they are
not intrinsically difficult, have nevertheless so long
and so painfully embarrassed both nations." The
third letter.is from Costello, dated Oct. 10, 1868,
and also addressed to Mr. Reverdy Johnson. Luis
is not a bad epistle, as he has a forcible way
of pointing his observations. He does not like
the position ; asks if he is an American cit.zen ;
" if so, it is a sublime privilege ;" and it certainly
would be, if it permitted a man with impunity to
break the laws of other countries. lie wants to
know when he is to get out, and what the United
States have done. "It may be, in the whirl of
more grave and important events that the United
States Government has failed to meet the issue in
my case ; or, as I have been conjecturing, the Re-
public may not wish to disturb the amicable rela-
tions existing with the mother country ; or, again,
Know-nothingism may be, as formerly, in the
ascendancy, and hence the _startling anomaly of
one-third of the American population proved to be,
according to the letter and the spirit of the English
law, British subjects." He brands the Legislature
which confers the responsibilities of American
citizenship without protection as an insult and
mockery ; but he envies not, if such be the case,
his fellow citizens who are but a step higher on the
political ladder than the negro under the old regime.
lie requests this letter to be sent to the President.
The Fenian bubble having burst, in our opinion,
the sooner these political prisoners are released the
better. It might be advisable to keep them incar-
cerated so long as they were dangerous, but after
the danger has passed they are more an apple of
discord iu gaol than when breathing the free air of
their adopted country.
The Connecticut Republican State Convention
met on the 3d February in the music Hall of New
Haven, the attendance being large in spite of the
weather. General Hawley was elected permanent
President; twenty-one vice-presidents were named,
and took their seats on the platform. The meeting
nominated the State ticket of last year as follows :
—For Governor, Marshall Jewell ; for Lieutenant-
Governor, Francis Wayland; for Secretary of State,
Hiram Appleman ; for Treasurer, David P. Nichols;
for Controller,, J. W. Manning. The most re-
markable occurrence at the Convention was the
introduction by General Hawley of an additional
resolution, to the nine reported by the committee,
which was hailed with enthusiasm, and passed
unanimously, being placed among the others as the
sixth, as follows :

" We denounce as enemies of the people and rabers, to
be indignantly visited with the full penalties of public
opinion and statute law, all officials, State or national,
who commit or permit dishonesty, partiality, or negli-
gence, in the collection or disbursement of the treasure of
a greatly burdened people, and make thieving sport of the
taxes that patriotic labour cheerfully pays. No rebels were
ever so dangerous to the country we love."
The Convention rejoices over Republican success
in Grant's election, advocates impartial suffrage,
demands that loyal men be protected in all their
rights, unreservedly denounces the wickedness and
meanness of repudiation in all its forms and die-
guises, and believes it to be the duty of Congress at
once formally to affirm that when the national debt is
paid it must be paid in gold, except where it is
otherwise distinctly provided in the original con-
tract, and urges economy.
Many efforts have been made to get the Repre-
sentatives to take up the Tariff Bill increasing the
duties on imports, introduced by Mr. Moorehead, of
Pennsylvania, but as yet they have failed. On the
Ist lust. that gentleman moved that when the 'louse
went into Committee of the Whole, previous orders
should be laid aside in favour of his Tariff Bill. A
motion by Gen, Butler to proceed to business on
the Speaker's table was regarded as a test question,
but Butler was successful by 91 to 63.
Alaska is the " elephant" of the United States.
All the glowing pictures we used to hear are heard
no more. Sitka is deserted, even the Russian in-
habitants having abandoned it, and as all the Ame-
rican arrivals desire to set up saloons, the laws of
trade therein make themselves felt bygiving an abun-
dance of grog shops, but no customers. A subject of
dispute has arisen regarding some privileges of the
Greek Church, which the United States feel little
disposition to maintain. Troubles also have broken
out with the Indians. It appears that these desir-
able citizens disarmed a soldier and carried his gun
away to their village. A guard was sent to re-

cover the property, but the Indians defied the
guard and hoisted a Gag. General Davis prepared
to bombard the place, when the chief surrendered.
A few days afterwards a canoe full of Indians was
seen leaving the harbour, contrary to orders. The
sentries fired on the Indians, killing and wounding
seven ; the Indians must, indeed, feel that they have
been transferred from despotism to the rule of free-
dom. The province is so far found not only to be
useless, but a source of annoyance and expense. It
is of no good even for the purposes of the " ring,"
Mr. Robert Walker having pocketed the only fee
given. The Senate Committee on Commerce have
reported adversely upon the nomination of Mr.
Ketchum as collector.

Elsewhere we publish the gist of the correTon-
deuce about Warren and Costello, which was dis-
cussed on the 2d instant iu the House of Repre-
-

sentatives, when Mr. Robinson, of New York, came
out appropriately in the character he has assumed

of " the faithful Fenian." After showing at great
. _ _

length that the honour and existence of the Atneri-