The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-14 00:00:00

Sum

LONDOIV, SATURDAY, SEPT. 14, 1867.

It seems as if there was always to be some excite-
ment or other concerning Continental intelligence,
and the last on dit is that the Emperor NAPOLEON
will visit Berlin in the course of the next month, and
that the visit will be so thred that all the Sovereigns
of the North German Confederation will be iu Ber-
lin at the same time. if the Emperor NAPOLEON

should respond to the invitation, it does not follow
that the visit will mean anything of an extraordi-
nary nature. We have all heard quite enough of
the significance of the Salzburg interview, and sub-
sequently had to wade through protestations and
speeches, notes and circulars, which all set fora
that it meant nothing. Hence it might be as well
to pause before taking another " leap in the dark"
concerning the meaning of this or that Royal
visit or Imperial interview. The French papers da
not think much of the King's speech. The Sieclel
expresses itself very ably concerning it, and declares
that the most conspicuous prrt of the discourse is
that which is omitted. The chief question is not
alluded to at all—namely, that of Schleswig, and
the chief thing spoken of is the Federal Constitution
of the North. We get only a glimpse of the ten-
dencies of the Prus.,.ian Government, " whose real
object," as this writer truly says, is " not to merge
Prussia in a great German unity, but to absorb
Germany into Prussia." With respect to Schleswig-
Hostein affairs are still anything but promising,
and the old game of BISMARCK seems likely to
be played out to the uttermost. Only one
person favourable to Denmark has been summoned
to Berlin among the Schleswig-Holstein notables,
and that is Herr BRUGER, who has lately been
elected a member of the North German Parliament.
At any rate it is satisfactory to know that be will
protest against the further postponement of the
popular vote in the North Schleswig districts. The
Germans are so very intrusive in pressing their
claims, and the Prussians so arbitrary in their
demands, that it seems almost hopeless to expect that
a very satisfactory solution will be come to of the
difficulty now pending, and perhaps it would be
folly to expect that it would turn out well, when we
remember which is the leading Power in the
transaction, and what are its antecedents.

The usual ill-luck that attends our preparations
seems to wait upon the Abyssinian expedition, but
it is to be hoped that when once the arrangements
have been made that the tide of fortune will turn,
and all go favourably. The last drawback has been
the pack-saddles that were prepared for the campaign.
Some officers of the Ordnance Select Committee
of Woolwich Arsenal have been in consultation for
the last few days on the subject of providing the
best for the purpose. It was decided that the best
way would be to countermand those which had
been already ordered and prepared for shipment as
unsuitable for the destined purpose. The new ones
are to be the kind designated the " Otago saddle,'
similar to those used in the war in New Zealand.
These have been strongly recommended by well-
informed persons, who have bad experience of their
merits, and they have gone through a course of
trial very satisfactorily. At one time another kind

of saddle had been thought of, but these Otago
ones have been proved in the jungle and in actual
warfare, and hence it has been wisely selected to
put off the use of the other one, which has not
been tried as yet for foreign campaigns, and in
this emergency to employ that kind which is known
to be efficacious. Some five or six thousand of the

Otago saddles are to be immediately prepared, and
tenders will be issued for their manufacture by
private contract. The mountain guns and equip-
ment will not be ready before the first week in next
month, and hence it is hoped that little or no delay
will be eventually caused by this change in the
pack and saddle department of the preparations.
At Liverpool the preparations are proceeding
favourably; the Peruvian and the England left the
Mersey on Thursday, and the remainder leave to-
day. They will complete their shipments at
Deptford, and they will take out a large quantity of
materials of all kinds.

Some correspondence has been published re-
specting the Armenian intervention in favour of the
Abyssinian captives, and this will interest many
who have formed erroneous notions respecting it.
It has been hoped even up to the present moment
that some chance still remains of a pacific result
being attained by this means, but it is not so. It is
evident that the failure has not resulted from the
want of any effort on the part of those con-
cerned, but rather from adverse circum-
stances. The English authorities also did
all in their power to facilitate the en-
terprise. So much has been said and written
against the wisdom of sending out this expedition
that it is encouraging to find any one speaking
hopefully concerning it. In a letter signed
" Briton," to the Standard of to-day, some very
sensible views are taken of the affair, and some
true remarks are met with. The writer says that
too much is made of the difficulty, and that cara-
vans are constantly traversing through and through
the country, and that they do not find the " three
hundred miles of jungle" impassable. As for
the unhealthiness of Massowah, it is not salu-
brious during the hot months of the year,
but it is the port to which a considerable number
of the merchants resort, and where Consul CAME-
RON was ordered to return to his residence. It is
wisely added, at the conclusion of this letter, that
"if writers would state what they know of these
matters, rather than what they conjecture, it would
be better for everybody, and as to stopping the ex-
pedition at the creaking of a few frogs and toads, it
has gone too far to recede." 'We think that the
Government have done well and wisely in perse-
vering in their course, notwithstanding the many

iterruptions they have met with from the informa-
ion of those who incline to a do-nothing policy.

The intelligence which is brought us by the
Scotia from New York on the 4th is highly impor-
tant and interesting. The PRESIDENT, in pursuance
of the newer and more vigorous policy which he has
adopted, has issued a proclamation clearly defining
his official position, responsibilities, and duties.
The Constitution, he says, makes him Commander-
in-Chief of the Army and Navy, and binds him,
under a solemn oath, to preserve and defend the
Constitution, which vests the national judicial power
in the Supreme Court and subordinate courts. He,
therefore, warns all civil and military officers to
yield obedience to the laws, and assist and sustain
the national courts in exercising their constitutional
powers, instead of repeating the attempts made in
North and South Carolina to obstruct the action of
the courts. This is plain and straightforward language,
and it cannot be denied that the constitutional law
is sound. Mr. JOHNSON has always taken his stand
upon the constitution, and, however much his oppo-
nents may chafe and murmur they cannot contra-
vene his statements. The Radicals, with their suc-
cessive " Constitutional Amendments," make no
secret indeed of their desire to remodel the work of
their ancestors, but the general feeling of the
American public is hardly prepared for that. A

time of violent political passion and strong rivalry,
not only of class or of party, but of race, is not an
appropriate opportunity for re-adjusting the balance
of the political framework. The inconsistency of
maintaining a civil war during four years for
the avowed purpose of preserving the Consti-
tution intact, and then in the very hour of
success wantonly to destroy and to sacrifice the very
'objects for which life and treasure had been spent,
is not a little remarkable, but American reformers
have left such paltry concideratious far behind. They
have had their own way, thanks to their ascend-

ancy in Congress, for a good length of time, and
the result is that the inevitable reaction from their
virulence and intolerance is setting. Men's passions
cannot always remain at fever heat, and the great
4 body of the Americans have little or no desire to
perpetuate the acerbities of the war. What the
general public feel is the depression of trade, the
embarrassment of the finances, and the injury done
to business by the disorganisation of the Southern
States. Messrs. SUMNER, STEVENS, and their party
have held almost unchecked sway over public
affairs for two or three sessions, and the re-
sults are not by any means gratifying. The
PRESIDENT sees his opportunity and has tightened
his grasp on the reins. his removal of STANTON
was a bold measure, and has given him a signal
advantage. Matters had arrived at such a pass
that ho must either have consented to sink into a
political nonentity, or have vindicated the dignity
of his office by some decided step. He could not
tamely submit to open insolence and defiance from
men whose very position was, in fact, an insult to
him, since they had been appointed in contempt of
his recognition of the Southern civil officers.
SHERIDAN, SICKLES, and many lesser offenders,
were fully aware that their appointment was made
iH defiance of the PRESIDENT'S openly expressed
opinions and wishes, and they acted rather as Radi-
cal partisans than as soldiers doing duty under
the orders of their superior. The clause in the
Constitution of the United States, which confers
upon the PRESIDENT the command of the army and
navy, is a strong point in favour of Mr. JOHNSON,
and it is one which, with his usual sagacity, he has
been quick to perceive and to seize upon. By

means of it he has superseded SHERIDAN and silenced
GRANT, whose protest in favour of his old brother
in arms was met with the quiet rejoinder that he

himself was committing a breach of military dis-
cipline. By means of it he is curtailing the arro-
gant ambition of the district commanders, and re-
straining the Radical determination to override the
Southern people. When the political difficulties had
resolved themselves into the question whether or no
civil law was to be maintained in the Southern States
at all, the head of the Cabinet could hardly refrain
from interference. It is worthy of notice that when
Mr. JOHNSON has taken any step of the kind he has
always been supported by the exponents of Consti-
tutional law. Acting Attorney-General BRINCHLEY
has now issued an official opinion, justifying the
removal of General SICKLES on the grounds of mili-

tary insubordination and forcible interference with
civil law. In fact, the Radical commanders want
nothing more nor less than the enforcement of
martial law in time of peace, a state of affairs which
no civilised country will ordinarily tolerate.
The negroes are, it would seem, ripe for mischief
in Texas. They are reported to be leaving work
and encamping themselves, threatening to adminis-

ter the local laws themselves, and arming in prepa-
ration for carrying out their reforming intentions.
The present position of the United States is no doubt

full of difficulty, and even danger, and matters are
complicated by the approaching Presidential election .
The Radicals are fully aware of the value, and indeed
of the necessity, of organisation, and the ramifica-

tions of their influence extend far and wide. The
better and more thoughtful class of politicians will
not, or cannot, compete with them. The noisy
speakers and actors carry the day, and very often
represent the views and the policy of the people to
be substantially different from what they really are.

It is the common complaint that the best men in
America will take no active part in politics, but
surely affairs hive now reached a crisis in which It
is the duty of all to exert themselves in behalf of

their common country, and to endeavour, by mo-
deration, by calmness, and by judgment, to temper
the violence and the extravagance of men who have
no end in vim save their own temporary political
exaltation.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROJI OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Friday Evening.
The bulletin of the Moniteur contains the fol-
lowing news :
" The results of the late elections to tho Reich-
stag, which is now assembled at Berlin, are defini-
tively known. The assembly is composed of 297
members ; 236 have been elected by the colleges
of the kingdom of Prussia, and 61 by those of the
States of the Confederation. As to the respective
strength of parties in the new Parliament, the com-
position of the Reichstag has not undergone any
material alteration. According to the Prussian
journals, the deputies are divided into the following
classes :—The Conservatives number about 80
members, including those who form the liberal por-
tion of that party ; the national Liberals amount to
about 73 ; the party of progress are estimated at
27 ; the various other shades of opinion are repre-
sented by the rest of the members.
" The Emperor of Austria, who arrived at Munich
yesterday (Wednesday) morning, left immediately
for Schaffhausen, where the Empress of Austria
and his sister the Queen of Naples are ex-
pected. Before leaving Vienna the Emperor
and his Ministers were occupied with the considera-
tion of various financial questions which are now
the order of the day, and particularly with those
connected with the proposal to unite all the debts
of the State.

" A private telegram announces that the Viceroy
of Egypt left Constantinople on Tuesday last, on
board his yacht the Mahroussie, for Alexandria."
Baron de Budberg, the Russian Ambassador, has
just sent to the Prefect of the Seine, Baron Hauss-
mann, a magnificent vase, in Siberian jasper, a pre-
sent from the Emperor Alexander the Second, who,
by this act of munificence, was desirous to evince
his satisfaction with the manner in which he was
received at the Hotel de Vile when he was in Paris.
The vase and the pedestal, which is also of jasper,
are about two yards high. The shape is at once
elegant and simple. The lower part is mounted
with leaves of the acanthus. The jasper was ex-
tracted from the quarries of Reconew, in the Altai,
government of Tomsk. This splendid and valuable
vase will now ornament one of the rooms of the
Hotel de Ville.

" What's in a name ?" says Shakspeare. There
has been assembled at Geneva what is called a
Congress of Peace. The great lion of the assembly
was the lam1;-like Garibaldi. On his arrival at
Geneva on Monday last, impatient to deliver him-
self of his pacific sentiments, he could not wait till
the next day when he proposed to attend the Con-
gress, but he mounted the balcony of a house on
the Quai du Mont Blanc, and after a little blarney
about the Swiss, and the heroism of the descendants
of William Tell, he gave utterance to these emi-
nently tolerant. and pacific sentiments :—" It was
here that your ancestors had the courage to make
the first attack upon that pestilential institution
called the Papacy. (Interminable cheers.) Citi-
zens of Geneva—that city which has become so
magnificent—you struck the first blow at Papal
Rome, and I call upon you to complete the
work of your ancestors, when we shall give the
last blow to the monster. There is in the
mission of the Italians an expiatory work
to be completed. We will do our duty.
We will overthrow the Pope. For this year assist-
ance is necessary. I hope I shall obtain it."
(Cheers.)
This man of peace was acclaimed and feted in
London, and a subscription was raised for the
Garibaldians. If any Catholics subscribed towards
the fund, they were not aware perhaps that the
chief desire which Garibaldi has at heart 13 to de-
stroy Papal Rome by a last blow at "the monster."

It remains to be seen what encouragement will be
given by the Peace Congress to this object. At