The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVEN

he.....--..,...411 ...

he eugge3 Led was substituted for the principal fea-
tures of ti le Bill, and provided that for the future
all raitzea without exception should be subject to

.otni ra.,tes.

Th,e I";:oinissory Oaths Bill was next considered,
and Mr. .NEWDEGATE put in his customary objec-

tions s to which Mr. HARDY made a good reply, by
show ►ing that the bill in question had already been
thro agh a commission and a committee of the ,
Rol- Ise of Lords. Mr. Sergeant GASELEE created
son le amusement by saying that he objected
altogether to oaths, regarding them as the
" relies of a bygone barbarism," and he therefore
wanted the bill got rid of altogether ; to which Mr.
lINI'DY properly replied that he ought, on the
contrary, to support the measure, because it did
away with a good many oaths. Mr. BOUVEIIIE'S
amendment was lost, which proposed to alter the
oaths taken by the clergy, and the bill passed
through Committee. The Government of India
Act Amendment Bill was taken up for consideration
in Committee, but Clause 2 was so long under dis-
cussion that the hour for adjournment arrived be-
fore further progress was possible. Lord WILLIAM
HAY moved an amendment, to the effect
that the old councillor3, as well as those
who have been newly-appointed, should not serve
more than ten years ; but Sir S. NORTHCOTE
showed that some injustice would be done by this
clause, because the old councillors were appointed
under the Act of 1853, at a salary of one thousand
two hundred a year, and the prospect of a pension
on retiring. Mr. MILL proposed that the term of
office should be limited to five years from the pre-
sent time, and that they should have an oppor-
tunity of serving another five years at the
increased salary, or else have a pension
granted at the end of the ten years. Sir
S. NORTUCOTE declared that he would favourably
consider the proposition of the hon. member for
Westminster, and recommended the withdrawal of
the amendment, which was accordingly done. Mr.
OTWAY then moved that the salary of the new
councillors should be one thousand two hun-
dred instead of one thousand five hundred, and to
make good his case he said that some officers of
State received no more than this, but the proposal
was not favourably received, and Sir S. NORTH-
COTE was against it. The right honourable
gentleman very truly said that the salaries
offered by Government should not be of a
niggardly character, and more especially when they
remembered that there was a great demand in mer-
cantile life for the special kind of knowledge they
possessed. It was desirable to get the best men they
could for the council. The House evidently agreed
with the Secretary for India, for the proposal of
Mr. OTWAY was rejected by a majority of forty-
seven, which was a satisfactory conclusion to arrive
at c)nsidering all things.

By the Atlantic Cable we learn that the Demo-
cratic National Convention, which assembled at
New York last Saturday, on Tuesday announced
its platform. We have but the briefest summary
of it, and since the more objectionable topics are
put prominently forward, we can easily surmise
that the report is not altogether bona fide. So far
as we are told, the platform has not much to con-
mend it, since it favours the payment, in currency,
of the bonds of all public debts, except where pay-
ment in coin is expressly stipulated. This is cer-
tainly a degree better than repudiation, but it is at
best an unworthy device, and one which
America is not poor enough to justify. The
exact words may not specify payment
in coin in every instance, but there can be no doubt
that it was intended by all parties that the State
creditors should receive the full value of what they
advanced. No one can pretend that if advances
made in coin are now repaid in currency this will
be the case, though at one tine paper money might
have served the purpose. American finances are
no doubt involved and uncertain, bnt there is
every reason to believe and expect that the country
will soon recover its commercial prosperity and in-
crease its wealth. It is no case of an exhausted
European kingdom whose resources are drained by
centuries of wars and taxation, whose exchequer
and credit are alike exhausted, and who has nothing
to hope from its depressed and overcrowded popu-
lation. The American war, though sharp, was
short, and had wiser counsels been allowed to pre-
vail in the South, there is little doubt that already
much of its effect would have been shaken off. The
energies of the people are fresh, the nation is young,
and the country possesses yet unmeasured resources.
What need then to descend to such pitiful expedients
as an evasion of the public liabilities? We sin-
erely regret that the Democratic convention should
have committed themselves to such a platform, and
we trust that it will not be accepted by the great
body of Democrats throughout the country. The
taxation of United States bonds is another part of
this objectionable programme, forming another eva-
sion of the national obligations. It was expressly
stipulated that the holders of these bonds should be
exempt from taxation, and however undesirable the
exemption may be the State is bound to abide by it.
The exemption has given rise to a good deal of com-
plaint among less fortunate taxpayers, but it is no
light thing voluntarily to abandon national engage-
ments. Payment of the debt in currency is little
short of such an abandonment, since it is keeping
the letter and not the spirit of the undertaking.
Every one knows that the payment of the capital
in paper money could never have been anticipated,
when it was expressly provided that the interest
should be paid in gold, and to take advantage of
an omission due to the circumstances of the time,
and not to the intention of the parties, would be an
unworthy device. The Democrats could not expect
men like Mr. CHASE and Mr. ADAMS to subscribe
to such doctrines, and they would therefore be for-
feiting their best candidates for the Presidency in
adopting them. Let us hope, then, that not only
has the worst construction been put upon the
" platform" of the New York Convention, but that
the great body of Democrats throughout the coun-
try may put forward a juster and more public-
( spirited programme.

That truth is stranger than fiction is an aphorism
which has often been practically illustrated, but
seldom has it received a more striking and unlooked-
for confirmation than in a recent case tried in our
law courts. That a gentleman well known in the
City and occupying an influential position should
be condemned to five years' penal servitude for
misappropriation of funds, after a careful trial by
judge and jury, is sufficiently startling to make the
case of Mr. WILKINSON a memorable one, but
how much the more singular does it appear
when after a few months we find on
the clearest evidence that such conviction and sen-
tence was entirely wrong, that Mr. WILKINSoN
has been unjustly accused, unjustly cJnvicted, and
unjustly imprisoned, owing to some almost unac-
countable mistakes and blunders. There remains
not the shadow of a doubt that the sums of £4,000
and £B6O, which Mr. WILKINSON was accused of
having employed for his own benefit were loans
made by him on behalf of the Joint-stook
Discount Company in his capacity as ma-
nager to LUssrs. Carryx, 4.5C02.:5, and 14W-
'm44 fact which these soutlealea lac) AT

admit. How this fact did not come out on the
trial is the question which every one is asking now
that the Home Secretary has ordered the release of

Mr. WILKINSON from his tedious imprisonment.
It would probably not have been now elicited, and
Mr. WILKINSON might still have been suffering the
cruel effects of the mistaken verdict, had it not
been for the indefatigable exertions of his so-
licitor, Mr. lIOLT, who has brought the truth to
light in face of the most formidable obstacles. Too
much credit cannot be given to this gentleman for
the resolution with which he prosecuted the cause
of his ill-used client ; but every one who may not be
equally fortunate in his solicitor, and it is no light
thing that a gentleman should be condemned to
five years' penal servitude without having infringed
the law at all. This question deserves sifting
thoroughly, and it is worth considering whether
some compensation cannot be made to Mr. WIL-
KINsoN for his unnecessary sufferings.

LATEST INTELL MENGE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.

SOUTHAMHTON, July 9.

The Hamburg and American Company's steamer
Bavaria, from Nov York, passed the Needles at
4.35 this morning.

SOUTHAMPTON, July 9.

The Hamburg and American Company's (extra)
steamer Bavaria, from New York on the 27th ult.,
arrived here to-day with 165 passengers fur this
port, Havre and Hamburg, acid $3,540 in specie
for Hamburg.

On the Bth inst., off Scilly, the Bavaria spoke a
steamer belonging to the North German Lloyd line.
GLASGOW, July 9.

The Allan Company's steamer St. Andrew, from
Quebec, on the 27th ult, arrived here this morning.

HUNGARY.

PESTII, July 8 (Evening).

The Hungarian-Crotian deputation have come to
a distinct settlement upon the question of the future
relations between Hungary and Croatia.
M. Trifkovics, secretary of Prince Karageorge-
vitch, has been arrested here. Prince Karageorge-
vitch himself has been placed under surveillance.