The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-20 00:00:00

TILE BANK RATE.

Yesterday afternoon the directors of the Bank of
England reduced the rate of discount to 21 per
cent.

AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)

WASHINGTON, July 30.
The Treasury department has despatched Mr. Barn -
field to New Orleans in a legal way to represent the
Government in the prosecution for the late frauds,
pending the absence in Europe of the District At-
torney ; Mr. Kinsella, a highly efficient Treasury
agent, accompanying him to the Crescent city to aid
him in the work. Postmaster-General Creswell met
with an accident last Sunday at his home in Cecil
county, ;.Maryland ; the chair on which he was sit-
ting balanced on its hind legs, tipped over, and he
broke his arm in the heavy fall. Ex-Senator
Hendricks, Senator Harlan, and Congressmen Nib-
lack, Orth, Van Horn, and Upson were in the train
of the Union Pacific Railway which met with the
accident at Sidney Station, Nebraska. A naval
court-martial assembled yesterday to try Surgeon
Green, of the Nipsic, who was sent to Washington
in arrest, charged with disobedience of orders, in
having declined to comply with the order of Com-
mander Selfridge, to put a sailor on duty who
had been on the sick list. The case involves
a question which has caused much bickering in
our Navy between the line and staff officers. Coun-
sel will represent both the department and the de-
fendant. The Court sits in the Navy-yard, com-
posed as follows :—Captain H. K. Davenpok Pre-
sident; Commander John Lee Davis, A. W. Weaver,
J. Young, A. W. Johnson, Surgeon L. J. Williams,
and D. H. Barman, members ; and John W. Bell,
Esq., Judge-Advocate. The coloured preacher,
Mr. Lynch, has been here for some time, and at-
tracted a large congregation to the Wesleyan Me-
thodist Church last Sunday—Governor Sharkey
and Judge Dent among the number, both men of
his own State of Mississippi. It is believed that
Mr. Lynch supports Judge Dent, but it is not cer-
tain, although Dent is believed to advocate general
amnesty and universal suffrage, the platform on

which Mr. Lynch stands. Both Dent and Sharkey
left for Long Branch to discuss the subject of the
election with the President., and it is reported here
thatMr.Dent is inclined to withdraw from the canvas,
fearing that it might injure the Republican party,
to which he says he belongs. As in this General
Grant concurs, it is probable that the President's
brother-in-law will decline to be a candidate at all.
The Hamilton party is taking vigorous measures to
secure its success in Texas. Michael Hahn, of Lou-
isiana, has been engaged to stump the State during
October. The Administration favour the election
of Stokes in Tennessee ; of this he has been assured
by Secretary Creswell, but the opinion prevails that
Senterwill carry the day notwithstanding, as he com-
bines the Andrew Johnson as well as the Parson
Brownlow in terests, besidesbeing Governor already—
no small thing in his favour. A letter appeared in the
State Journal from Mr. Boutwell to Mr. Stokes ex-
pressing great interest in his election, and his con-
viction that the future of Tennessee depended largely
upon the continuance of the Republican party in
power, of which Stokes and his supporters were the
representatives, while the so-called Republican sup-
porters of Senter were, in truth, the enemies of
the party. Secretary Rollins returned on Tues-
day ; Attorney-General Hoar leaves directly for
Massachusetts. Lemus, the Cuban insurgent agent,
leaves for New York to-night. A session has
been held by the Cabinet to-day, to attend which
the President and Secretary Fish came from Long
Branch. The test oath, as applied to the members
of the Virginia Legislature, was believed to be dis-
cussed, as was the course of the Legislature with re-
gard to the Mississippi election. The negro rioters
at our municipal elections have got off cheaply with
20 days' imprisonment each, and Judge Fisher has
decided that a police-officer has not the right to
arrest without a warrant unless he be a witness of
the offence. A memorial is preparing to be pre-
sented to Congress asking that this city and George-
town be united under a /single municipal govern-
ment and called the City of Washington. The
military and naval officers complain, as well as the
clerks and officials generally, of the income tax
as now levied on them. Others deduct rent, bad
debts, and so on, from their incomes ; but a
department clerk cannot do this, the rule being that
it be taken in the gross from his salary. General
Saxton's case has been brought up for discussion ;
that officer under orders proceeded from Georgia to
Oregon ; but from his mileage five per cent. being
deducted, he appealed against it as not a matter of
emolument, but of outlay. It bears absurdity on
its face, for if the mileage allowed be over the cost
of a fair expenditure for the journey it should be
reduced, but, if it be not, to levy five per cent. for
income-tax is to order an officer from one end of
the country to another, and mulct him in heavy
damages every time, so that the Commander-in-
Chief could ruin an officer simply by keeping him
continually travelling. General Canby has ordered
the payment of 1 percent. of the overdue interest
of the Virginia Debt, which will take from the
Treasury $380,000, the payment to be made im-
mediately. This is good news for the holders, and I
incline to the opinion that the Virginia State Debt
will soon be paying property, as no State is making
more progress ; the disbursement is to be made after
August 15, which, by the way, will be on Sunday.
A New Yorker is very indignant with the Collec-
tor, whom he says has intimated to him and others,
that unless they pay the income tax by the 30th
July, 5 per cent. will be added to the sum, and 1
per cent. a month from the time it became due.
This the New Yorker declared to be illegal, and
applied to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
who gave him an extract from the law which com-
pletely settled that question. The Hon H. D.Moore
is at Willard's, Schofield and Lawrenceare also here,
all on business connected with their districts. The
President and family go to Saratoga on Tuesday,
where the proprietors of an hotel have fitted up a
splendid suite of apartments for their use. This will
carry the crowd to that watering place which has
not been so much frequented as usual this season.
General Grant leaves this to-day, having got
through an unusally long sitting of a Cabinet
meeting yesterday, at which all were present but
Mr. Creswell. Commissioner Delano had num-
berless intricate questions to decide. Ile has just
ruled that old rails re-rolled and sold are liable to
a special tax of $2 per $l,OOO upon all such
sales, in excess of $1,250 per quarter. The Secre-
tary of the Gettysbury Memorial Association has
invited the Generals who fought in both armies at
the Battle of Gettysburg to a meeting at Gettys-
burg, that they may fix the principal spots which
were made memorable by the cont_st. The meet-
ing is proposed to take place on August 23.
I see you have been noticing a book written by a
Captain French Townshend, from which the ex-
tracts that appeared in the London papers have
excited the indignation of Nevada. The Reese
Ricer Reveille laughs scornfully at the picture drawn
by Captain Townshend of the Austin miners play-
ing faro with revolver and bowie-knife before them.
It asserts that the great bearded ruffians" who seem
to have horrified him so much are generally men of
the kindliest hearts, and not unfrequently of culture.

[The Reese River Reveille has been betrayed into
calling Captain Townshend harsh names by reading
only an extract. Had the editor read the book he
would have seen that it was written in a fair and
good spirit, making allowance for a Britisher's
prejudices ; the opinion he formed of the men
of the Far West being, that these " great-bearded
ruffians" were, as a general rule, fine, warm-hearted
generous fellows.—ED. A.A.T.]

TO TILE EDITOR OF TIIE ANGLO-AMERICAN TIMES.
BoCLOGNE-SuR-MER, Aug 9.

Sin,--Very few Americans who come abroad to
see the Old World, and cross the Channel from
Folkestone, climb up the'gangway of the South-
Eastern Railway Company's steamers at this port,
arc aware, that old city is one of the most interest-
ing places historically on the Continent of Europe.
Paris—Paris ! the American's earthly heaven—is
uppermost in the brain. They trundle off with their
6 4 U.S.A." labelled trunks to the station, swallow a
hasty plate of soup, jump into the " cars," and re-
signing themselves to the care of the Great Northern
Railway Company, are soon dreaming of New French
kids, dresses, and the gaieties of La Belle Ville de
Paris, where they stay until their money and time
are spent, returning only a little wiser, a little better,
and all the poorer in purse than when they first left
the New World. For the over-worked man, as
most Americans who come abroad are, and the in-
valid, Boulogne and its environs, with its walks,
rides, drives, pic-nics, and fishing excursions, say-
ing nought of its superior advantages for sea-bathing
at this season of the year, is scarcely equalled or to
be surpassed. Its hotels are numerous, large, and
well conducted ; the attention travellers receive
here is worthy of note. I know of no place where,
on first landing, you are so politely attended to.
The officials do not bore and provoke you by idle
and unnecessary curiosity or search ; the touters
of the hotels, porters, and cabmen do not thrust
either their hands or whips in your faces or ribs. If
you ask a question, you receive a prompt and civil
reply. With the exception that you do not speak
French, and therefore cannot converse freely
you at (MCC feel at home, and can act freely,
amongst a homely people, enterprising, industrious,
moral, and intelligent. There is no better governed
place on the Continent than the ancient city of
Boulogne " on the sea," under its learned and dis-
tinguished mayor, Dr. Livois, who, with his wife,
are keenly alive to official duty, and ever on the
qui vice to promote every good cause and object
worthy of attention. I heard the doctor recently
promulgate a sentiment, which, if acted upon
throughout the world, would expunge the word
" foreigner" from the dictionary and make the
people akin. lie said in public he hoped " the time
would speedily come when no man would be de-
signated as a foreigner." It is to Dr. Livois and
his administration that citizens and strangers owe
a debt of gratitude for providing the New Estab-
lishment des Bains, a noble edifice, kept open
summer and winter, and under municipal care, and
devoted entirely to public service, under a very
efficient and attentive director. I consider it a model
establishment for the world, there, are grande or
petite saloon gardens or esplanades to which the