The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-24 00:00:00

SOUTH AMERICA.

The intelligence received from the River Plate
and Brazil is of more interest than it has been for
some months past.

The Allied army and fleet were ready to make the
" grand attack" on Paraguay, for which the public
has been anxiously waiting nearly a twelvemonth,
though this is perhaps the first time in history that
a grand and decisive engagement, if it takes place,
has been made known to the world through a set
programme printed by all the press of Buenos Ayres,
Montevideo, and Brazil. The plan of operations
seems nevertheless but vaguely defined. As near
as possible it is this :—The camp of Curuza has been
broken up, and the army was to move through the
Grand Chaco, a boundless desert, and pass Humaita;
thefleet to co-operate, and also pass up, and while one
part of the army executes a flank movement, the Chaco
expedition and fleet are to attack from the rear—a
most preposterous programme. For more than a
year the allies have been unable to take or pass the
outworks of Humaita Curupaity, and now in a day
they propose not only the taking or passing of the
strong work itself, but Humaita with its 200 cannon.
It is doubtful if even the attempt will be made.
, The secret treaty of the triple alliance to bring

liberty and civilisation to Paraguay seems not to
have been condemned by all powers, for a force esti-
mated variously from 400 to 2,000 wild Chaco
Indians has been armed and equipped by Brazil to
aid this unholy undertaking. The probable result
will be their decamping at the first opportunity with
the horses, arms, and uniforms received. Marshal
Lopez, with his brave Paraguayans, is calmly await-
ing the result, which may probably decide a three
years' campaign so wantonly begun, and so disas-
trous to the allied forces. We hope the English
packet due on the 2d proximo will bring tidings
of the result of the expedition. At Buenos
Ayres trade was exceedingly dull, owing, not only
to the protracted war, but to the unsettled state
of the interior provinces, prirticularly in Catamarca
and Rioja, and, being so far distant from the seat
of Government, it has been difficult to take any
steps to subdue the revolutionary party. Na-
tional bonds had suffered serious depreciation,
chiefly from over speculating, and the Government
had been obliged to come into the market for a new
loan, which as yet has not been negotiated.
At Montevideo a very sensational affair has taken
place, a plot having been discovered to blow up the
Government buildings, and thereby make an end
of the Dictator, General Flores, a creature of Brazil,
and all his favourites. The most curious thing to
observe in this is, that all the parties implicated,
most of whom have been arrested, are of the same
pyty, and, as was thought, adherents to the Dic-
tator, none of his enemies being concerned therein.
From Rio Janeiro there is nothing important.
Trade dull. Several schemes for bringing out new
loans, and one for the emission of $80,000,000 doll.
in paper currency, were under discussion. Messrs.
Mane and Co. has proposed a plan for the redemp-
tion of the whole Brazilian debt in the form of lot-
teries, which, if accepted, will, it is feared, greatly
damage Brazilian credit abroad, and meet with
great opposition from the Chambers.

IIIAXLIIILIAN AND BENJAMIN LUNDI

A writer in a contemporary says :
I have already observed that both Maximilian
and Lundy were bold, enterprising, determined
to persevere in the face of formidable difficulties,
and tenderly affectionate in their family relation-
ships. Nature, in these qualities, had endowed them
alike ; and though one was of royal and the other
of humble birth, the difference in their characters
was due chiefly to the difference of their circum-

stances and training. As every life has a mission
and teaches a lesson, as well as every nation, I pro-

teed to trace the labours and characteristics o
Maximilian and Lundy, and to point to the
lesson which each life imparts. Maximilian from
his early years was accustomed to witness the
gorgeous ritual and splendid display of the ser-
vices of the Church of Rome. Lundy, from his
early years, reverently worshipped in the meet-
ings of Friends, without book, or music, or priest,
waiting in silence for the direction of the Spirit.
The character of Maximilian was moulded by those
of his own order, and his liberal tendencies when a
ruler in Lombardy were checked by his recall. The
character of Lundy was moulded by his love to
Gcd and man ; he was ready at any time to lay
down his life rather than yield up his anti-slavery
principles ; and he was thus enabled to mould the
character of all classes from the highest statesman
to the most despised slave. Each had faith
in his mission, and faith in the means he employed
to secure success. Maximilian, after much persua-
sion, and with the promise of a crown visited Mexico.
Lundy witnessed the agonies and despair of a
collie of slaves as they departed to the South, and
voluntarily and silently vowed to God that his life
should be devoted to the abolition of slavery. Each
was steadfast in his purpose and earnest in his work.
Both aimed to enlist the sympathies of others ;
both braved the perils of the deep ; both were in
journeyings oft; both jeopardised their lives, both
hoped even against hope. Maximilian entered
Mexico at the head of an army, conscious of
the sympathies of the aristocracies, and of some
of the crowns of Europe. Lundy entered Mexico
alone, on foot, conscious of the approval of the
Redeemer, of the persecuted abolitionists, and
of the despised free-coloured people. The Em-
peror, not understanding the Mexicans, imagined
that among them prevailed a latent love of
monarchy, and that if the opportunity were
given for its development and expression
a strong and general response would be made in
favour of the Empire. But the Mexicans were
under two classes of leaders, religious and political.
Being superstitious they clung to religious leaders,
who sought to establish despotism. Being desirous
of enjoying political liberty they clung to military
adventurers, who sought to make their own will
the law ; so that either despotism or anarchy pre-
vailed as the one or the other party gained the
ascendancy. Mexico was prostrate and bleed-
ing during a twenty years' struggle between am-
bition in the Church, and ambition in the
army, and the Empire afforded it no remedy.
Lundy, understanding the Mexicans, saw that
public sentiment needed to be regenerated by a
spread of Bibles, and the establishment of free
schools and free preses. Ile believed that
he should find sympathy for the coloured
people in a nation that had emancipated her

slaves, and he was not disappointed. An im.
mense tract of land was granted to him for an asy.

km for the oppressed. "lad Maximilian possessed
the ant.-slavery intelligence of Lundy, or exercised
similar anti-slavery sympathy, he would have been
guarded from the dangers he incurred, and would
have been saved from the death he died. The Con-
federacy of the Slave States hung suspended on
the chain of the slave. The empire and the Con-
federacy were united by a bond vital as that which
unites the Twin Siamese. When the chain of the
Confederacy was broken it fell, and when it fell it
dragged down the empire with it. What sympathy
had the Empire shown to the Republic in its
struggle, or to the slave in his chains ? None
whatever ! it represented the aristocratic sen-

timent. But the tide of events turned. The
might of the North as an anti-slavery power
was revealed. Its voice was the voice of the
Republic, and it warned the European friends of
Maximilian, "If you interfere, we interfere."
Lundy laid the foundation of this very anti-slavery
power. Public opinion is stronger than armies or
navies. The man of peace is more powerful than
the man of war. Spiritual weapons have proved
more successful than carnal ones. The fate of the
Empire rested on the presence of the French army,
and that was recalled to Europe. The Empress,
to aid her husband, recrosses the ocean and pleads
in vain with the Pope and for Europe's aid. hope
after hope dies in the breast of Maximilian. He
is deceived and betrayed by all in whom he
trusted. Ile is a prisoner, tried, sentenced, and
awaits execution, conscious that the Empire dies
when he dies. The time comes, the sentence is
executed, and Maximilian and the Empire expire
together. how persevering was his endeavour,
how complete his failure ! Far different was the
mission of Lundy. Ile had gone forth weeping,
sowing precious seed. He saw in the midst of
persecution that the seed sprang up, grew, and
some sheaves ripened. Anti-slavery truth gained
daily some triumph over the churches, the
presses, the political parties, and the social circle.
The slave power was shaken. The little one
became a thousand, and, at the close of his
labours, when sickness came, when death ap-
proached, Lundy saw that he had not laboured
in vain, and, conscious that he had achieved
a victory, peacefully resigned his spirit to God.
This was at his own home surrounded by lov-
ing friends. Time brought emancipation, not
as he expected, by the change of public opinion,
but with the tread of armies, the booming of can-
non, and with garments rolled in blood. It came,
and the shout of millions set free, went up in praise
and thanksgiving to God. How persevering was
Lundy's endeavour, how very complete his success!
Maximilian, in seeking power, became a spectacle
of weakness ; Lundy, in seeking to elevate the
oppressed, became truly great. The one found no
aid in the tendencies of the age or the unseen forces
of the future ; the other worked for humanity,
and both the tendencies of the age and the moral
powers of the invisible world, aided his work and
nsured him success.

SCANDALS RESULTING FROM SURIZA7T'S
?MAL.

Surratt's trial, besides costing the Government
$lOO,OOO, has given rise to startling scandals with-
out accomplishing any good results. In the first
place, a charge has been made against Secretary

Stanton of having detached from the papers re-
cording the proceedings of the court-martial which
tried the conspirators a document recommending

Mrs. Surratt on account of age and sex to the

President's mercy, prior to submission.

The

papers were read at a meeting of the Cabinet
_ _

but no such document was forthcoming, and
the President appears to have first become aware

of its existence by an application to him from

Surratt's counsel to be allowed to use it in the
defence. It is not shown who detached the re-
commendation to change the woman's sentence
from death to confinement for life, but it is affirmed

by the Secretaries Seward and 'Welles that the
papers formed the subject of discussion at a Cabi-
net meeting, and that no such document was among
them. But gross and unaccountable as such an
accusation is, it is mild in comparison with that
made against General Butler and Mr. Ashley, a full
account of which appears in the correspondent's
letter of the Standard. A letter from Sanford

Canover, the perjurer, addressed to the Presiden

has been transmitted through the acting Attorney-
General, Mr. Brinckley, applying for pardon, on
the grounds of informality in his trial and convic-
tion. The application is endorsed by Judge llolt,
and Congressmen Ashleyand Riddle, on the grounds
of the valuable services rendered to the prosecution
at the pending Surratt trial by Canover. This is
accompanied by a document from Canover of so
extraordinary a nature that we give the entire
ex tract :

" After obtaining my promise to tender all the assistance
in my power, Mr. Ashley explained to me the kind of evi-
dence he thought it the most advisable to present against
you. (I must be very brief.) Ho thought it would be very
plausible to prove—

"First—That Booth had on several occasions paid you

familiar visits to Kirkwood. This it was hoped I might
be able to induce some of the old female servants to testify
to. If this could not be done then it should be proved by
some of my friends who happened to be at the house at the
time, who know Booth, &c., and saw the visit.

" Secondly—That you corresponded with Booth, which
should be shown by one or more persons who had taken
notes from Booth to you, and your replies (contents un-
known) there to Booth. The witnesses should bo persons
who would profess to have been intimate with Booth, and
to have been enlisted by him to take part in the assassina-
tion.

" Third—That the placing of Atzerodt with weapons a

the Kirkwood House was only a sham, although Atzerodt
was not aware of it, to make it appear that you were in-
tended as a victim, and thus distract all suspicion from you
of conniving at Lincoln's murder. This also, it was sug-

gested, could be proved by persons who could testify that
they had been induced to enter into the conspiracy with
Booth and had performed a part in organising it, &c., which
persons it was to be understood were induced to testify under
an assurance from the Government that they should not
be prosecuted for any part they had taken. The resolution
under which Butler's committee was appointed, it will be
observed, provides for the protection of such persons who
are furnished with a good excuse for not coming forward
before, by offering immunity to all who were concerned in
the conspiracy, who will now come forward and disclose
their knowledge on the subject.
"Fourth—That Booth, just before the 4th of March,
stated to an intimate friend in New York, whom ho had
endeavoured to enlist in the conspiracy, that he was act-
ing with the knowledge of the Vice-President, and that it
had been arranged to kill Mr. Lincoln on the day of the
Inauguration, which would account for Mr. Johnson's
strange conduct on that occasion, which had provoked so
much comment by the press ; that you expected the
tragedy to be enacted then, and had taken several pota-
tions to compose and nerve you for the event ; and that

you were not so much intoxicated as nervous and excited.
I feel much delicacy in referring to such topics, but I can-
not inform you of your enemies' plans and projects with-
out being plain, and I am obliged to write in too great
haste to be choice in my language.
"I assured Ashley that I should have no difficulty in
finding persons of good standing and moral character to
prove these matters, and it was agreed that I would do so
as soon as released."
Mr. Ashley some time since introduced resolu-
tions in Congress to impeach President Johnson,
when he stated that he was in possession of valuable
information in support of such impeachment. Gene-
ral Butler is chairman of the committee to investi-
gate the circumstances of the murder of Mr. Lin-
' coln. That committee has power to shield from
punishment any informer throwing a light on the
conspiracy. It is alleged by Canover that not only
was be promised protection but a large reward,
if ho substantiated by sufficient suborned evi-
dence the charges that he, General Butler, and
Ashley had concocted against the President. During
Canover's confinement in Washington, he states
that he was visited by Ashley and Butler, who re-
vealed the plot, to which Canover consented. Find.
ing that he was not liberated, Canover, whose rea..
name is Dunham, turned on those he alleges had
been his instigators, and furnished letters he had
received from Ashley, and an account of the con-
spiracy to the President. That the story bears
marks of being a wild fabrication is evident. If
Butler thus committed himself, and having the
power to shield the perjurer did not exercise it, he
would be mad. Dint a man convicted, and now
undergoing a sentence for perjury, is to be believed,
is grossly absurd. General Butler having mixed
himself up with this dirt cannot be surprised if some
of it should stick to him. Whether we will ever
reach the truth of the story appears very doubtful,
and the more it is investigated the less likely it
appears, considering the frightful enmity which in-
daces men of high social position, to trump up
charges of the Most horrible crimes against each
other, and to bring on the scene, in support of their
accusations, the lowest scum to be found in the
United States. Although we cannot but regard
Canover's story as another fabrication, the remarks
of the Assistant-Attorney-General somewhat stagger
us. That officer, commenting on the documents.
states :

"In conclusion, I bog leave to express the profound
sensibility with which I find myself obliged to bring to the
serious notice of the President of the United States neusa-

tions and papers which must occasion him painful em-
barrassment. They expose prominent members of the
Legislature of the Union to the shocking suspicion of hav-
ing conspired with a convicted perjurer for a stupendous
imposition, first upon the House of Representatives, then
upon the people, and then upon the Senate of the United
States, for the purpose of effecting the impeachment and
removal from office of a President of the United States
solely upon suborned testimony. I need nct say with what
astonishment mankind would hear it charged that a scheme
so abominable was heightened still by the peculiar wicked-
ness of attempting to induce the intended victim himself,
through appeals to his clemency, to qualify by a pardon
with competency to act and testify the principal instru-
ment of the imposture !"

HOW A FRONTIERSMAN FIGHTS
INDI2INS.

A Denver letter, in the Cincinnati Gazette, has a
story of frontier life :
" My last letter closed with the arrival of our
party at Godfrey's ranche, on our westward jour-
ney. This ranche is about midway between Old
Julesburg and the Platte and Denver City. As this
is a noted place, and its proprietor a character,' I
propose to dwell awhile.

" Old Godfrey,' as he is called by travellers and
himself when he is at his rancho, and Old Wicked,'
when he is on his travels, is a man about sixty
years of age, above the average in stature, well
built and firmly knit ; his hair iron grey, his eye
keen and undimmed, his shoulders slightly bent by
time, hardships, and wounds teceived from the In-
dians, who are his only near neighbours, and who
never visit him to take tea or drinks socially, but
always do call when they think their force largo
enough to take his cattle, his goods, or the scalp of
the old veteran, or of some or all of his family.

" His watchfulness has so far thwarted them
and protected his household treasures ; but they
often run off his stock, and he as often succeeds in
getting even with them. The ranche is built of
adobe, the walls being about 2ft. thick ; the apart-
ments are the dining-room, for travellers, a kitchen,
two or three lodging rooms, and a large room, used
for a sitting, wash-room, and a store—the floor
being rough boards. In this room are also the
arms and ammunition used in defending his home
from the frequent attacks of his neighbours afore-
said.

" His family consists of his wife, a frail, patient-
looking woman, a daughter about eighteen, and
three sons. These form the corps reserve, while
one or two hired men assist in guarding against
surprise and doing the work about the ranche•
Outside of the:house, and 10 feet from it are the forti-
fications, which completely surround it. The walls
of defence are built of sod taken from the surface
of the prairie, being about 2 feet thick at the
bottom and one at the top, the height being
about 5 feet ; near the top loopholes are frequent,
affording range in all directions. Through this
wall, opposite the front door, is an opening about
three feet wide, and bags of sand lying near to bar-
ricade the same if required.
" The Indians, who have often by treachery and
open attack tried to destroy this fort and murder
its occupants, have as often been beaten, till they
now have a wholesome fear of the determined God-
frey and his brave family. They hate him with a
bitter hate, and declare they will yet have his hair,
and Godfrey declares that they shall not.
" The bluffs are about six miles from Fort God-

frey, and distinctly visible. Behind these bluffs the
Indians watch for . chances. A few weeks since
Godfrey saw a fine antelope near his rancho, and
taking his long rifle he started in pursuit. In the
excitement of the chase he failed to notice the
distance, and nearing the bluffs, a party of seven
Cheyennes, who had been watching as usual,
' went for him.' The old man started, but 1115
horse was too slow, and the Indians were gaining
upon him rapidly. Here his experience served
him. Knowing that his long rifle would reach
farther than the carbines with which his pur-
suers were armed, he suddenly stopped his horse'
took deliberate aim over the back of the steed, and
laid one of the savages low. This occasioned a delay
with them, which Godfrey improved. But We
taking care of the dead Indian, four followed on'
and in a short time Godfrey repeated the operation,
killing one more.
" This last crelay saved him ; but being cut oil
from his ranche, he found shelter in another ranche,
about ten miles from home. Hero was noW
chance for the Red skins. Old Wicked' away, and
his family without his aid. It was a chance not to
be neglected, and soon about fifty attacked the for!,
expecting to revel in the blood of the family of their
bitter foe. The family had time to prepare for thonci
and receive them handsomely, Mrs. Godfrey an
the daughter loading, while the male inerabc,
defended. The battle raged for 24 hours, butt ort
determined brave men and women held their ova
till the stages approached, and the Indians vaniNee,
the rancho' in double quick. Thus the pioneers
of our country live in perils and dangers constantlf;
without aid or sympathy from the Governmell
which ought to afford them sure protection."