The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-29 00:00:00

the question, GRANT asking whether the restriction
was lint opp Est-ti to the American theory of govern-
meat? Ile con4lered it, he went on to say, a
great stride towards a revolution, that the incum-
bents of sub.,rdinate offices, formerly subject to con-
stant change (the PRESIDENT and members of Con-
gress themselves being equally liable), should now
be invested with a life interest unless charges are
preferred against them to be tried before the Senate,
the ttibnnal which tries judges. Another step,
added the PRESIDENT, might make these offices
hereditary, remarks which proved so little agree-
able to the Senator that he put his applications into
his pocket and quietly retired. Other interviews
took place with Representatives, in which GRANT
assumed a position wherein it is expected he will
prove a thorn in the side of the Radical Senators.
He says, "If the law is not repealed, I shall remove
no man from office except for cause." " Not a
Democratic office-holder, and a Johnson-man ?"
"No," was the answer. "I shall protect office-holders
who do their duty, whatever may be their politics,
if tht law remains, against both Executive and Sena-
torial interference. I have said this to Senators,
and the justice of the view was acknowledged."
Office-holders can be removed without the trial to
which GRANT referred, as was the case with Mr.
Jorm M. RINCKLEY, Solicitor of Internal Revenue,
who was "promptly ditched" on the application of
Commissioner ROLLINS, who asserted that he was
either a wilful perjuror or the credulous tool of cor-
rupt and malicious men. lie has not done an hour's
duty for five months, but has regularly drawn his
salary at the rate of $4,000 per annum. Not only
is he wholly unqualified, but he does not even claim
to he a lawyer; and it is passing strange that, un-
der such circumstances, he should have found his
way into. the office of Solicitor of Internal Revenue,
and held it in spite of his official superiors, waiting,
in utter disregard of appearances, till he was ejected.
Although a leading article is not exactly the place,
we cannot refrain from telling what Mr. ROLLINS
got for this report. About eight o'clock on the
morning of the 11th instant JOHN M. BINCELEY
met him at the corner of Fourteenth-street, oppo-
site Willard's Hotel. If the ex-solicitor could do no
law business, he took instant and impressive steps to
show the ex-Commissioner that he was an expert in
pugilism. In truth, his proceedings would have
looked the unqualified admiration of the "Prize
Ring." Off went his coat, up went his sleeves ; but
as these demonstrations only hurried Mr. ROLLINS'
movements, Mr. BINCKLEY was obliged to _put on
his coat to pursue the retiring Commissioner. Later
he met Mr. HARLAN in New York Avenue, upon
whose face he freely used his cane, when, with the
honours of war thick upon him, he surrendered to
the police, and was bailed in the sum of $3OO.
Without such cause assigned, however, GRANT will
not dismiss Government employes, and without
such ejection how are the hosts of applicants
,who
have swarmed into Washington to be satisfied ?
One of his visitors remarked that General GRANT'S
case differed from Mr. LINCOLN'S, in whose time
there was no Tenure-of-Office Act; adding, that
" Now we shall have to defer to the Senators more."
But if there are no offices to give, each incumbent
being in for life, the Senate will lose equally with
the PRESIDENT ; and, regarded from this point of
view, we h-)pe the Act may not be repealei, as it
will smooth the wa y for the passage of Mr. J ENCKES'S
reform- of the -Civil Service. Ihe PRESIDENT con-
curs, however, in the general impression that the
law will be repealed this session, and it is evidunt
that if no', there will be no small split between the
two Houses of Congres4. The following telegram
from Washington, March 24 h, was published in
Landon on ThttrA ty :
,• The Scull,. has,

37 :,g.tin•4 1G votes, passed a Bill

nto4lifying the Tenure-of-0111ot) Act, so as to parmit the
President, without assigning reasons, to suspend officers
and to appoint their successors, whose rejection by the
Senate, however, should reinstate the former. The ab-
solute removal of officials by the President remains still
prohibited. The bill now goes to the louse of Represen-

.at ves."

The Senate keep the nut, but do not mind leaving
the PRESIDENT and the Represeutatives the shell;
but whether this will satisfy the House remains to
be seen. Without the power of removal public
business would have got into a state of collapse, but
the Senate retain the privilege of keeping officials
in office in spite of the PRESIDENT, however ob-
noxious to him, so they lessen but little the power
they held over ANDREW JOHNSON.

SHOCKING CATASTROPHE AT SEA.

The Waterford Company's steamer Leda, Capt.
William Coveney, which left Oporto on the 19th
inst., with a cargo of fruit and cattle, for London,
put into Plymouth at 11 o'clock on Thursday night.
Near Cape Finisterre on Saturday, the 20th inst.,
at about 2 p.m., she followed for some distance a
four-masted screw steamer, which appeared to be
in great distress. This vessel was very deep aft,
and suddenly went down, stern foremost. The
Leda steered up immediately, and found a number
of the crew floating about and endeavouring to save
themselves. Two quarter boats (one in charge of
the chief officer, Mr. Pratt) were at once lowered,
and each succeeded in rescuing five men ; three
were picked up by the ship. Of those saved, three
were on the bottom of one lifeboat and three on the
bottom of another. They were large, serviceable
boats, which turned bottom up when the steamer
went down. There was no time to lower them by
the ordinary mode. The other men saved were
floating on spars. The body of one man was found
in a life-buoy, with his head under water. While
the crew were in the water, a clipper schooner,
name unknown, and showing no colours, sailed
close to them, but passed on without rendering
any assistance ; the schooner was so close that
she was hailed by one man m the water, who
was answered by those on board ; she appeared to
steer for the harbour of Morose. The vessel which
sank proved to be the Italian, 1,500 tons, Captain
Patrick Urquhart,..belonging to Messrs. John.
Bibby and Co., of 21, Water-street, Liverpool,
from Trieste March 5, with general cargo. It ap-
pears that she struck on a sunken rock about five
miles off Cape Finisterre, and went down in ten
minutes; wind, N.E., moderate. The steamer had
five hatchways, and the water poured in by the
fourth and fifth, which were abaft the engine-room.
When she went down she had on board a crew of
39 ; so that 26 have perished, besides three passen-
gers—the stewart of a yacht, who had paid his pas-
sage from Corfu, and two distressed British sub-
jects sent home by the Consul, one of whom was a
carpenter named George Wilkinson, belonging to
Hull, the other a seaman belonging to Harwich.
The names of those saved are Patrick 'Urquhart,
m later ; John Howard, chief officer ; John Harris'
second officer ; Roger Barry, th'rd officer ; John
Sullivan, Andrew Smith, William Mooran, Patrick
Kenolty, and William O'Neal, seamen; George
Murray, Patrick Laughlin, and Charles Seguin,
firemen ; and Thomas Walmeßlen boy.
r fhe rescued men received every comfort on board
the Leda, and on landing at Plymouth were sent
to the Sailors' Home. With the exception of the
; master and mates, they were. early yesterday morn-
ing, despatched by rail to Liverpool through the
• agency of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society. . The
_ master and mates left by the Bristol mail train at
12.30 p.m.

DuNviLLE and Co., Belfast, are the largest
holders of Whisky in the world. Their Old Irish Whisky is re
commended by the medical profession in preference to French
Brandy. Supplied in casks and cases for home use or export:l
tion. Quotations on application to Messrs. Dunville and Co.,
Belfast; or 4, Beaufort-buildings
_strand,