The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-27 00:00:00

The correspondent of the Times remarks on these
figures that there " has been no public debt state-
ment since the Ist of June, and during two months
since that statement the debt has been reduced the
stnall amount of $354,623. On the Ist of January
last the debt amounted to $2,675,062,505 43c., so
that during the seven months of 1867 that have
passed by it has been increased $11,623,391." We
' cannot understand what the object of this gentle-
man can ba in misrepresenting so systematically the
financial condition of the United States. It is
manifestly unfair to calculate the receipts and ex-
penditure, the total debt, without bringing into the
account the amount in the Treasury on the date of
the statement. He omits to say that the Secretary
of the Treasury ceased for some months to redeem
the superfluous paper currency, and that the balance
in the Treasury had accumulated to the unpre-
cedented sum of $102,905,174 in gold, and
$72,474,296 in currency, making a total of
$175,379,470, being nearly thirty-three millions
in excess of the sum given in the return of the Ist
February, that is just six months before. Thus
the correspondent omits from his calculation the
trifle of six millions sterling in hard cash in
Uncle Sam's coffers, which he has allowed to
accumulate instead of paying away. The cur-
rency debt has been reduced during the year
$543,063,741. The net reduction of the Public
Debt during the sixty days that preceded this
statement was $1,309,000, and during the year.
ending August Ist $121,792,850, taking into
account the increase in the Treasury balanca of
$35,007,357. The Times' correspondent; in esti-
mating his own resources, would not overlook his
balance with his banker. But this is preci.,ely what
1 he does when estimating the financial position of
the United States.

The split in the Cabinet at 'Washington is now
explained. Mr. Stanton, it was known, has all
along opposed the policy of the President, fully
identifying himself with the Republican majority in
Congress. Several reasons combined to induce Mr.
Johnson, when fairly relieved from the presence of
Congress, to force Mr. Stanton to resign his office.
He wrote to the Secretary, stating that considera-
tions of a high character constrained him to ask that
gentleman to withdraw from the. Cabinet, to which
Mr. Stanton replied that public considerations of a
high character constrained him to hold his office till the
next meeting of Congress. The President appears to
have submitted to the Attorney-General the ques-
tion whether he had a right under the law regulat-
ing the tenure of office to remove the Secretary of
War. The Attorney-General considered that lam
to apply only to persons appointed to office by Mr.
Johnson ; and as Mr. Stanton was not among the
number, the President retained the power of re-
moving him. Mr. Johnson addressed his com-
munications to Colonel Townsend the Assistant
Adjutant-General, and Mr. Stanton refrained from
attending the Cabinet meetings. The Cabinet held
the right of the President to remove the Secretary,
though two of the number considered it would be
injudicious to exercise it. Both General Grant and
Chief Justice Chase appealed to the President to
forego his intention, but in vain. Mr. Johnson has
taken the step, and it now remains to be seen
whether Congress will reas-emble as threatened for
the express purpose of impeaching the President.
General Grant has been appointed to the vaeait
post, to act till the Senate meets.

The Indian Commission, consisting of Colonel
Taylor,
.Senator Henderson, Colonel Tappan of
Colorado, M. Sanborn of Minnesota, and Generals
Sherman, Hancock, and Terry, met at St. Louis on
Tuesday, the 6th inst., and elected Colonel N. G.
Taylor Commissioner of Indian Affairs, president;
and A. S. 11. White, of the Indian Bureau, secre-
tary. They agreed that General Sherman and Col.
Taylor should communicate with the officers and
agents under their control, despatching runners to
the Indians in:the vicinity of their localities, asking
a meeting at Fort Laramie, at full-moon, in Sep-
tember, to be followed by a general assembly at
Fort Larnel of all tribe 3 south of the river
'Platte at full-moon in October. The board
a :journed, to meet at Leavenworth, Kansas, on the
following Monday, and then to proceed to Omaha,
ascending the Missouri river to its highest accessible
point to confer with the Indians, and examine the
lands for a Northern reservation. General Sherman,
although totally disbelieving in any satisfactory re-
sult, has oi yen the following instructions to the troops:
r

—"Do not invade the country south of the Arkansas
river, except in pursuit of parties guilty of hostile
acts. I want the deliberations of this Commission
to be as little disturbed by acts of our troops as pos-
sible, so that this effort to settle the Indian question
peaceably, may have a fair chance for success."
While the peace commission was sitting Spotted
Tail, with a party of savages, struck the Union Pacific
Railroad at Plum Creek, 223 miles west of Omaha.
There he heaped tics upon the line, then the party
concealed themselves till a train rushed on the ob-
struction, when the driver, a fireman, two break-
men, and three telegraph operators were killed. The
savages at once rushed on the disabled train, killing
and mutilating seven persons ;--the wreck was set
on fire and the bodies consumed. Two days after,
Spotted ail murdered three other men along the
line. The Indians made a daring dash on the Smoky
Hill route line, killing seven labourers sic miles
from Fort Harker, Kansas, running off 20 horses
and mules at the Big Creek stage-station, although
exposed in broad daylight to the fire of 50 infantry
and a dozen employe? not 300 yards away. Indeed
the war has become general, and Western news-