The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, I HURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 16, 1868

ac;iora ;. Yesterday morning news was received in
London that the Senate had adopted a resolution
reinstating Mr. STANTON as Secretary for War, and
that he intended demanding the office of General
GRANT. Later in the day came the intelligence,
also. dated the 14th, that, in consequence of the re-
soluttion of the Senate, General GRANT had vacated
the War-office, and Mr. STANTON had resumed
possession. There was never any doubt that Mr.
STANTON would seize the earliest opportunity of
resuming his office in defiance of the PRESIDENT.
Gen€ ral GRANT, never very willing to assume the
dignity which was thrust upon him by the PRESI-
DENT, seems ready to abandon the invidious post at
the first opportunity. He has, either from policy
or inclination, been always averse to assuming a
prominent position in the political disputes of the
day, and has shrunk from taking sides. All the
serenades and toasts and compliments that could be
paid. him, on his visits to Northern cities, only
elicited a brief expression of thanks in return.
When the audience were looking eagerly for
his opinions on Reconstruction, or his views
on the Alabama Tiestion, or his senti-
ments with regard to the struggle be-
tween PRESIDENT and Congress, he would only
give them a " Thank you ; thank you, gentlemen,"
from which to decipher his political preferences.
Still there is not much doubt but that he is really
opposed to the extravagance of the Radicals and to
their harshness and injustice towards the South. He
was roused to indignation during his evidence in
the impeachment case, and insinuations that it was
possible to arrest General LEE as a political offen-
der. The staunch and straightforward soldier, who
had, as commander of the Federal army, accepted
the parole of his distinguished adversary, disposed
in a few stern words of the unworthy supposition.
What Mr. JOHNSON'S course will be with regard
to this unwarrantable interference of the Senate
with his Cabinet remains to be seen. He will hardly
submit to it patiently. Indeed, to do so would be
to sanction and acknowledge a right on the part of
Congress which is directly opposed to constitutional
law and precedent. It is never the office of a Legis-
lature to appoint the members of a Cabinet.
Such a course is altogether unexampled, and
would be simply impossible to maintaia. Our
own Parliament, indeed, decides the policy
of the Ministry by the direction of its
votes, and thus exercises a legitimate influence
over the national action, but it would be strange in-
deed to find the House of Commons deciding who
should or should not be Home Secretary or Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer ? If this principle is sanc-
tioned, the whole form of government must be
changed. The office of a President without power
to form his own Cabinet would be a contemptible
sinecure. The members who, by no unscrupulous
means, succeed in getting a seat in Congress, would
be the real executive of the country, and
govern the whole national fortunes in a man-
ner that no one but themselves would wish. As
it is, they assume to be pre-eminent in their
wisdom, and have passed a bill declaring that the
concurrence of two-thirds of the Judges of the
Supreme Court is necessary to decide that any act
of Congress is unconstitutional. A while ago they
were not so ready to submit to the decisions of the
Supreme Court, but their constitutional doctrines
vary with every caprice of the hour. The Con-
stitution with them is nothing more than a name,
and the attempts which the PRESIDENT has made
to restrain their action on constitutional grounds
have always called forth their strongest indignation.
It will scarcely be possible for things to re-
main as they are. STANTON'S insolence and
insubordination were previously intolerable, but
now they will be increased tenfold, and the open
discord between the PRESIDENT and one of his
principal colleagues will form a serious obstacle to
the administration of public affairs. The direct
personal insult, too, is one which the PRESIDENT
cannot pass unnoticed. The hopes and expecta-
tions which had been formed of a returning pro-
sperity will be rudely crushed by this fresh proof
of Radical recklessness and assumption. It should
be the primary object of all to restore, if possible,
p seuebhl i ca
tcsoansfi
tdheonscee
can a n d t
eod internal
only
to
promote ;
dis-
order and perplexity.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, WEDNESDAY, Jan. 15.

Twenty-two of the workmen engaged in the printing.
office of M. Paul Dupont have had an interview with the
Emperor. The head of the establishment has been raised
to the rank of officer in the Legion of Honour, and
the whole of his employes, numbering eleven hundred,
subscribed an address of thanks to his Majesty. That
document having been read, the Emperor expressed his
pleasure at the demonstration which the nomination of M.
Dupont had produced, and remarked that in raising him
to a higher rank in the order he had desired to reward the
eminent printer whose productions had been so justly
approved at the Universal Exhibition. " I thank you,
gentlemen," he added, " for the step you have now taken;
it honours M. Dupont as much as it does yourselves,
because the distinction which has been conferred upon him
is awarded chiefly to the employer who has introduced
into his establishment the principle of solidarity of interests
between the master and the workman, and it proves that
you wisely appreciate the benefits which must result to
the working classes from the introduction of that principle
into industrial establishments."

There is a rumour prevailing that the documents of the
Italian Government referring to the invasion of the Pon-
tifical territory are about to be presented to the public in
the Constitutionnel and the lfonitcur.
In pursuance of a suggestion started at the Interna-
tional Monetary Commission, which held several sitting*
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a gold coin has just
been struck as a common standard of money in England,
France, and the United States. One side is stamped with
the effigy of the Emperor crowned with laurels. On the
other side of the coin is the inscription : "Five dollars-
-25 francs ;" and beneath—" Or : essai monetaire." Th
coin is equal in value to an English sovereign.
In fashionable circles the latest item of gossip is the
approaching marriage of the widowed Duchess of Morny
to the Duke de Lesto, a Spanish grandee, said to be pos-
sessed of enormous wealth. Prior to changing her name,
the Duchess changes her faith. A member of the Greek
Church, she is about to enter that of Rome.
In nearly all our large manufacturing towns the
present distress is ascribed to a large extent to
the operations of free trade. The general feeling
is well described by an article which appears in
a provincial journal under the heading, "What have we
gained and what have we lost by the Treaty of
Commerce ?" It is there argued that those who advocate
the system pretend that the large exports of silks and
woollen goods only took place since 1860, whereas, on the
contrary, the increase was as rapid, and even more so, from
1850 to 1857. The recent impetus has been given in spite
of the treaty of 1860, and, owing to the dearness of silk
and cotton, without the treaty, foreigners would not have
bought one yard less of French stuff. Before 1860
these articles entered England, the principal market
for them, free of duty, as they do now. In this branch of
trade, then, France has gained nothing, What has she
lost ? To speak only of the mixed cotton and woollen
textiles, which the English make to perfection, our manu-
facturers at Roubaix had managed to produce goods to
the amount of many Inindred millions of francs, which
were sold in the French markets. During 1866 and 1867,
imports from England have amounted to half of what is
manufactured in that town ; and, if nothing is done
against so terrible a competition, ,the whole trade is
ruined. In fact, France may be said to have made a very
bad bargain.
In order somewhat to alleviate the sufferings of the dis-
tressed workmen in Paris, the Emperor has announce
that those who have been compelled to deposit their mat-
tresses, sheets, blankets, and articles of that description
at the Mont de Pidt6, may receive them back gratuitously.
The papers state that the child of the convict Frigard,
born in the Melun prison, has died.

LATEST INTELL MENU.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AUSTRIA.

TRIESTE, Jan. 16.

Advices received here from Athens state that the
last modification of the Greek Cabinet had taken
place at a time when it possessed a large majority
in the Chamber. The reason has not transpired.
It is said, however, that the King disliked some of
the Ministers. The chief of the Opposition declined
to construct a Cabinet, as the King was unwilling
to dissolve the Chamber. The present Ministry
does not belong to Parliament, none of its members
being Deputies. It is thought certain it will not last
two months. The public is discontented.

The steamer Union continues to make trips be-
tween Greece and Crete with cargoes of provisions
and munitions of war. Russian vessels still receive
and carry away Cretan refugees. Sharp engage-
ments frequently occur between the Christians and
the Turks in the island, and the insurrection is still
kept up.

ITALY. •
FLORENCE, Jan. 15.

The Corriere Italiano of to-day says that the
general committee for the examination of the
budget have approved of the budget of the Ministers
of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Commerce.
The sales of the ecclesiastical property appearsito
proceed most satisfactorily.

The sales effected up to the 31st ult. had produced
an increase of 43 per cent. on the valuation.

TILE WAR IN THE BRAZILS.
PARIS, Jan. 15.

The Moniteur of this morning says in its bulletin
that no serious engagement had taken place in
La Plata since the attack by the Paraguayans on
the camp at Tuyuti. The Paraguayans had never-
theless succeeded in sinking various vessels of the
Brazilian squadron. But, on the other hand, the
Brazilians seem to have completely invested Ilu-
maita. It was even asserted that President Lopez
would abandon llumaita.

LIVERPOOL, Jan. 16.
The Athenian from the West Coast of Africa has
arrived here.

Her dates are Benin, Dec. 19 ; Fernando Po,
15 ; Cameroons, 15 ; Bonny, 18.
Lagos, 21 ; Accra, 23 ; Cape Palmas, 26 ; Sierra
Leone, 31 ; Tenereffe, 7 ; and Madeira, 9. At
Camerons and Fernando Po trade was healthy.
At Accra trade was dull. A terrific
hurricane swept over Tenereffe on the 22d
of January. All the vessels were driven out to
:sea, houses unroofed, and the general appearance
of the island was indicative of an earthquake.
The cochineal plants were torn up by the roots.
No lives were reported lost.
THE BRAZILS.
BUENOS AYRES, Dec. 12.
Exchange on London, 49. Dry hides, 40 for 21.
Wool, 42 to 78. Lumber, 37 to 40. Sugar,

FRANCE.
BOURSE, JAN. 15, Three o'clock.—The market
closed as follows :
__

Bank Shares 3260
ItaFan Loan
End of month 42 35
Mexican Loan
Do. Bonds
Spanish Threes
Home Debt —
Deferred —
Account
Orleans
Northern
Lyons and Mediterranean
Southern.... 537}
`Western
Eastern • • 532 }
Sardinian
Austrian
Lombard 336±
North of Spain 9
Saragossa
Ilornan 4B

42 per Cent.
End of month —
3 per Cent
End of month 6B 60
Credit Mobilier 162 50
End of month 163 75
Credit:Foncier 1355
End of month 1347 50
RAILIVA

RAIL TVA Y INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND.

A special meeting of the shareholders in this com-
pany was held yesterday at Derby ; Mr. W. E.
Hutchinson in the chair. The meeting arose out
of the circular recently issued announcing that an
increase of £5,000,000 capital was required to com-
plete the new works. The attendance was most
unusually large.
The CHAIRMAN said that this was a meeting for
information rather than discussion, and he suggested,
therefore, that it would be inconvenient to antici-
pate questions which would naturally arise at the
ordinary half-yearly meeting in February. More-
over, he had received notice of the intention of some
shareholders to propose that a committee of large
and influential proprietors should be appointed at
that meeting to consult with the directors on matters
involved in the bill ; and, should the proposal receive
the sanction of the meeting, it would obviously be
premature to discuss beforehand the very questions
which it would be their business to discuss at
the ordinary meeting. He understood that com-
plaints had been made that the circulars of the 14th
of December were not in the hands of the share-
holders until the 17th—(" True !")--that being the
day on which the bill was deposited. The circular
was finally settled on the morning of Saturday,
December 14, and was dated accordingly. The
whole of the circular was in type on the morning of
that day except the figures, which the directors pre-
ferred not giving till the last moment, iu order that
they might not be divulged. There were so many
to be printed that it was not practicable that the
whole could be finished on that day ; and the 15th,
being Sunday, was a dies non. The morning of the
16th was occupied in printing off the remainder of
the impressions, so that, each shareholder might re-
ceive his copy at the same time—that was on the
morning of Tuesday, the 17th ; and when he told
them that they had nearly 15,000 circulars to despatch
and get ready and send bypost, it would be seen that
it was a work which required a great deal of time.
By special arrangement with the Postmaster at Derby
the circulars were posted on the night of the 16th in
time to be delivered on the following morning. It
was said that the information contained in the cir-
cular reached the Stock Exchange on the 16th, a
day before the shareholders got it, and that it was
used very much to the injury of the shareholders.
If that had been done, it been done without the
knowledge and against the express instructions of
the directors and the chief officers of the company.
(Hear, hear.) The chairman proceeded to explain
the provisions of the bill which they were met to
consider. Although it was entitled " A bill for
conferring additional powers on the Midland Rail-
way Company and for raising further capital," it
app:ied also for the construction of some few new
works and other purposes. Clause 4 enabled the
company to raise additional money by the creation
of shares amounting to £3,750,000. Clause 14 en-
abled the company from time to time to borrow on
mortgage a sum not exceeding £1,250,000. Clause
19 enabled the company to construct certain short
railways or branches. (Interruption.) The first
of these was the Darfield Junction Rail-
way, in order to connect the Cudsworth and
Barnsley Line with the Solidi Yorkshire Railway,
which was necessary to enable them to make an
exchange of traffic with the South Yorkshire Com-
pany. There were other clauses for the construc-
tion of short branches. A good many comments
had been made on that portion of the circular
which stated that the value of the property re-
quired for the London line and the amount of com-
pensation were enormously in excess of what was
anticipated. It would seem that the cost of carrying
a railway into London defied all previous calcula-
tion, and great blame had been given to the direc-
tors and the officers they employed because of the
expenditure on the London and Bedford line. The
excess had been principally occasioned by the great
increase in the quantity of land purchased, and the
magnitude of the works undertaken as compared
with the amount of works contemplated when the

first act of Parliament was obtained for making
the railway in 1863. The value of property, espe-
cially in London and the neighbourhood, had risen
considerably between the autumn of 1862, when
the plans were deposited, and the time when it
became necessary to acquire the property, and
the amount of compensation in many instances had
been enormously in excess of what was anticipated.
The traffic to and from Loudon had increased so
rapidly and so largely that they believed that by the
time the railway should be open for traffic the ac-
commodation they bad provided would be wholly
inadequate. (Question.) The receipts from the
coaching traffic increased from £32,800 in 1858 to
£144,943 in 1867, or 4f times as much. (Applause.)
During the same period the increase in the receipts
from the goods traffic had been five-foil. (Ap-
plause.) The cattle traffic, owing to the prevalence
of the cattle plague and its subsequent diversion into
other directions, had not so increased ; and, owing
to their want of accommodation, their coal traffic
was not so large as they hoped to make it, although
it had increased from 57,000 tons in 1860 to
152,000 tons in 1866, and 138,000 in 1867. Then,
again, the line between London and Bedford was
originally laid out for two lines, but it had been
constructed a portion of the distance with four lines
instead of two ; and for nearly seven miles north
of London the rails were of steel instead of iron,
thus increasing the expense of it very considerably.
The gradients, too, had been improved, and this
added another item to the expenditure. The ques-
tion of the accommodation they should provide in
London was the subject of serious consideration in
1863 and 1864, and in the state of uncertainty
which then prevailed it was thought undesirable to
construct a large station for passenger traffic, it be-
ing impossible to tell what the operation of the other
projected lines would be, and whether there would
in consequence be any alteration in the accommo-
dation which was necessary. They therefore pro-
vided one of very moderate extent ; but when the
uncertainty ceased they found it necessary to in-
crease the accommodation. Having originally pro-
vided two acres of land for a London terminus, they
found it necessary to double the quantity. The
terminus was 15 feet above the level of the ordi-
nary road, and it was intended to fill up the va-
cancy with earth ; but the demand for stowage
accommodation being very urgent, they arched
the space over, and, although this largely in-
creased the expense, they received a considerable
revenue from the accommodation which they pro-
vided. They also concluded to build a first-class
hotel, in order that they might place them-
selves on a par with the Great Northern and Lon-
don and North Western, and the Great Western
Companies. He understood that those hotels an-
swered exceedingly well, and also that they were
the means of insuring to those companies a very
large passenger traffic. (Hisses.) Other additions
were proposed which would increase the expendi-
ture, but would pro Luce to the company a very con-
siderable revenue. The chairman having given a
detailed statement respecting these, he proceeded to
say that the total outlay required for the completion
of the line and works was estimated at £5,299,408,
leaving a deficiency of capital amounting to
£2,150,000. He had upon former occasions stated
to them that there would be no economy iu delay-
ing the progress of the works on the Bedford and
London Railway. (Hear.) So much capital had
already been expended in that undertaking that
the sooner they could make it productive the
better. These remarks were still applicable with
regard to those works, and with still greater
force, because they hoped to have them fully
open for traffic in the course of a few months.
Of course, in order to prosecute these works,
large sums of money had to be provided, and
still further sums would have to be provided. The
directors had therefore found it necessary to make
another call upon the £22 shares. It was of the
greatest importance that they should urge on those
works, and their speedy opening, he had no doubt,
would justify them in having expended so large a
sum of money. (Hear, hear.) He referred in
much detail to the various lines in course of con-
struction and the new works, and said they had all
become necessary by the increasing traffic, and that
the cost of them would not exceed the £1,350,000
estimated. The Sheffield and Chesterfield line was
very difficult to make. There were on it some very
expensive works ; they had to erect a large pas-
senger station at Sheffield, the old one being greatly
needed for the accommodation of the goods traffic.
The compensations they had to pay in connection
with some of the new works were such that no man
unless he shot with the long bow could ever have
contemplated such amounts as had been required; in
many instances they had been compelled to buy more
land than was required ; a portion of that would be
resold hereafter, but in the meantime they would
have to provide the money. When the works at
Sheffield were completed that town, with 200,000
inhabitants, would be on the main line instead of
at the end of a branch. A promise bad been made
years ago that this line should be made ; it had
been put off from time to time ; deputation after
deputation had waited on the Board, until they
could put it off no longer. A question had been
asked—" How do you know that your present esti-
mates will not be exceeded ?" His answer was
that the greater part of the most expensive works
had been executed, so that they were now in a
position to calculate with confidence if not absolute
certainty ; as to someoftee liable to such l:e works not yett com-
menced, none of them w
dis-
turbing elements in the matter of cost as those
works recently in course of execution. Some of
the new lines it was proposed to make single instead
of double for the present, so that they might rely on
the statement as to the amount of the capital pro-
poled being sufficient. It had been stated, he said,
with reference to the £960,000 expended for rolling
stock,&c., that they had borrowed it from a bank
orfinancial company ; the fact was it was part of
the capital authorised for new works, as shown in
the accounts up to June, 1867. The directors had
caused the rolling stock to be revalued, and he
pledged himself it was of the value estimated in the
accounts. With reference to the new capital,
£2,000,000 would be required in 1868, £1,000,000
in 1869 ; the remainder of the expenditure to be
spread over as long a period as Parliament would
allow for construction of the new works. On the Ist
of January, 1870, their total capital would be
£35,000,000, and when all the works were done to
which the company was committed their total capi-
tal would be £40,000,000.

Mr. BAINES, M.P., moved the following resolu-
tion :—" That considering the injurious effect pro-
duced on the value of the Midland shares by the
intended application of powers to raise new capital
to the amount of five millions, it is essential, in the
opinion of this meeting, to revise the engagements
of the company for lines and works, and all con-
templated outlays, with a view to the relinquishing
or postponement for a considerable time of all that
can be relinquished or postponed without serious
detriment to the interests of the company."

Mr. JEREMIAH GARNETT, of Leeds, agreed in the
desire Mr. Baines had expressed as to " abandon-
ment ;" he deprecated the making of the Settle
and Carlisle line ; it was quite clear, he said, that
they had some fast men connected with the man-
agement ; what they wanted was not large under-
takings, but large dividends. le seconded the re-
solution.

Mr. ItAwsoN, of Manchester, urged an arrange-
ment with the London and North Western Com-
pany, with regard to the Scotch traffic to prevent
the wasteful expenditure of making the Settle and
Carlisle line. _ _

The resolution moved by Mr. Baines was carried
unanimously.
Lord LYVEDEN moved the appointment of "a
committee of consultation," to be composed of Mr.
W. O. Foster, M.P., Mr. J. Garnett, Mr. R. Leader,
Mr. W. Overend, Q.C., Mr. Charles Paget, Mr.
H. J. Stanton, Mr. E. Warner, Mr. Joseph Whit-
worth, and Mr. E. Baines, M.P., the committee to
report at the half-yearly meeting next month. In
moving this resolution his lordship said that after
what had taken place he had not that full confi-
dence which he at one time entertained.

Mr. Jo WM, of Sheffield, seconded the resolution,
which w,ls carried.

The meeting then terminated.