The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-05 00:00:00

not afford to pay the extra charge. The houses
will soon be in the same way reachel, and after a
time the railway will lose instead of gaining by the
decrease in the passengers. Besides this, those
who had before travelled first and second
class will now go second and third ; thus we may
confidently predict that the arrangement just
entered upon has been an erroneous one in many
respects. At any rate a storm of indignation has
now been raised that will not easily be allayed, and
the railway companies may expect what usually
happens in such cases, namely, that all their sins
will be remembered against them, and many real
with some imaginary errors laid to their charge
before long. It is especially unfortunate, too,
for those who wish to visit the sea side at
this season that this new difficulty should
have been put in the way of travelling. It seems
hard that the public should have to pay for the
consequences of the recklessness of speculators, as
it is not the fault of those who are called upon to
make up the deficiency of the companies that such
a want of discretion prevailed. Railways are
among the triumphs of the age, but care and cau-
tion are necessary that there may not be an abuse
of them, and the monopoly they possess makes it
more expedient that due consideration should be
given to all changes that are made.

The arrival of the mail steamers from New York,
with full details of the closing days of Congress,
confirm the announcement previously made that the
most objectionable clause in the bill for the protec-
tion of naturalised Americans has been struck out.
it will be remembered that what was called the re-
prisal clause empowered the PRESIDENT, in case of
the detention of a naturalised American abroad, to
arrest any subject of the offending Government
then in the States. This clause, as it was speedily
pointed out, would have enabled the PRESIDENT to
detain an Ambassador himself. In any case,
supposing the powers not to have been
obtained, so far it produced a ready excuse
for a quarrel with any European State of which an
unscrupulous President might easily avail himself.
The Senate has amended the bill by striking out the
clause, and substituting for it a phrase authorising
the President to suspend diplomatic relations with
the offending Government. This puts the matter
on a very different footing, and bears less the ap-
pearance of courting a quarrel. The position of
affairs in reference to Fenianism renders legislation
on this topic a matter of some moment, and of
course all such clauses are framed with a view to
the naturalized American Irish. England, how-
ever, is not at all inclined to dispute with the United
States the allegiance of those who have voluntarily
abandoned her dominions. All she does is to insist
that no one, whether English, Irish, or American,
shall foster sedition and concoct treasonable con-
spiracies within her realm. With this no foreign
statesman has anything to do, and most assuredly
he has no right to object to the strict maintenance
of the integrity of the QUEEN'S dominions. The
bill as it now stands contains nothing with which
foreign Governments need quarrel, and it is well
that the Senate, generally wiser and more cautious
than the house of Representatives, has removed
and amended its obnoxious features.

The Senate has been endeavouring to deal also
with the financial problem, and has passed a bill
providing for the issue of 3 per cent. loan certifi-
cates to the amount of 25 millions of dollars for the
redemption of compound interest notes. The
House of Representatives has agreed to this ;
though the great question of the national debt is
left untouched, to be fought out at the electiona.
In the East and in the West the opinione, on the
subject differ very widely, since it is not a question
of party but of position. The producers and tax-
payers object to the exact fulfilment of the
national obligations in spirit as well as
in letter, while the bondholders and national cre-
ditors generally naturally approve of the full dis-
charge of their dues. Radical and Democrat shape
their course accordingly, and it is alinest the only
subject on which we find them taking the same
side. We cannot but hope, however, that the good
sense and right feelings of those Americans who are
sensitive to their national honour will carry the
day, and that the National DJbt, principal and in-
terest, will be faithfully discharged to the full
value of the amount advanced. Americans
must restrain their impatience, and try to
lighten the burden by spreading it out
over the years to come. They may rest assured
that even in a commercial point of view the addi-
tional outlay will well repay itself, since the nature
of the national credit is far beyond any temporary
calculation of dollars and cents.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill
providing for the Provisional Government of the
three excluded States—Virginia, Mississippi, and
Texas. It is plain that the delay in their so-called
reconstruction is welcomed by the Radicals as an
excuse for preventing them from returning their
quota of members to the Electoral Cillege.
Owing to the terms of the Constitution, it would
be difficult even for them to maintain their
system of exclusion against the Southern whites.
The feeling against such exclusion is growing
stronger and stronger. The Georgia House of
Representatives, we learn, has passed a resolution
in favour of the removal of the political disabilities
of white inhabitants. Georgia is making progress,
for General MEADE has issued an order declaring
the supremacy of civil law. It is high time this
supremacy should be recognised all through the
South, and it would be absurd, if it were not so
oppressive and iniquitous, that martial law should be
maintained throughout a peaceable though deso-
lated country. It is only surprising that there
should have been so little evidence of disaf-
fection in the South considering the high spirit
of the people, and the indignities to which they have
been subjected by the Northern Radicals. Hap-
pily time is fighting their battles, and we can hardly
suppose that after the change which Congress
must undergo after the elections that the same
oppressive and arbitrary policy can be pursued in
defiance alike of reason, humanity, and justice.

The British Medical Association commenced its
session at Oxford yesterday, and the President, Dr.
N. ACLAND, delivered an interesting address. The
attendance of scientific men was more than usually
large, and foreign as well as British were present.
The President addressed himself, in the first place,
to the consideration of the position of medical
knowledge in the world just now. One great draw-
back to success he traced to the fact that medicine
had too long been looked upon as an art,
and thus separated from science ; whereas
it should be distinctly shown to be one
"of the sciences that precisely interpret the phe-
nomena of nature." Of course in many cases the
physician cannot always wait to establish conclu-
sions according to the rules of science, but may
act in emergencies on his own judgment. True and
false medicine, like the tares and the wheat, now
stand together, said Dr. ACLAND, and of course the
task is to separate them one from the other so far
as possible. There is a good deal of truth in one re-
mark here met with, namely, that people nowadays
are apt to disregard and to treat with contempt
the experiences of the past. This is a mistake in