The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-26 00:00:00

THE. SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 26, 1868

of debates," for we caa ill afford to lose him ; and
his high spirit of independence and chivalric sense
will be now, as ever, of importance to influence the
character of our pub lie life, and impart the convic-
tion that there is son lething to ask for beyond and
above all considerations of place and party, and all
thoughts of self-interest.

The long-threatened crisis in the United States
has at length been brought about by the dispute
concerning the Secretary of War. We learn by
the Atlantic Telegraph that yesterday the House
of Representatives appointed a committee of two
formally to impeach the PRESIDENT at the bar of
the Senate, and a committee of seven to prepare
the articles of Impeachment. Litter news from
Washington announces that THADDEUS STEVENS
and Mr. BINGHAM, the two members appointed by
the House of Representatives for the purpose, for-
mally impeached President JonxsoN yesterday at
the bar of the Senate, being evidently determined
to lose no time in pressing the matter forward.
The Senate ordered the appointment of a Select
Committee to consider the subject, and the matter
waits their report. The long-pending quarrel be-
tween PRESIDENT and Congress has now assumed
an exciting and momentous aspect. It is a trial of
strength, and the whole country will watch the
issue with the deepest interest. We see the imme-
diate effect of the crisis in the price of gold, which
yesterday was 142} ; and the general disturbance
and agitation which mast result from such an event
as the impeachment of the PRESIDENT will probably
send it up even higher. The Radicals adopt an
original method of restoring tranquillity and
confidence. Every one in the States is
complaining of the disorganisation of the
country, the depression of trade, and the lack of
public confidence ; ara they attempt to remedy
these evils by stirring up fiercer animosities, by
endeavouring to overthrow the Government, and
by bringing forward a political motion of such
moment that even in tranquil and confident times
it would be a firebrand in the nation. The re-
moval of STANTON is, of course, the ostensible
reason for this desperate move. Mr. JOHNSON, as
we heard a few days ago, took matters into his
own hands, and dismissed the Secretary of War
from his office, appointing in his place
Mr. THoINIAS EWING. With characteristic
determination, the PRESIDENT, in the midst
of the excitement respecting the impeach-
ment, sent the nomination to the Senate, and with
it a message intimating that the removal of Mr.
STANTON was no violation of the Tenure of Office
Act, and expressing a wish that the constitu-
tionality of that act should be tried before the
Supreme Court. The Tenure of Office Bill, in
right of which STANTON still holds to his disputed
office, is an act of Radical creation, and very re-
cently new. It forms no part of those old consti-
tutional enactments which Americans have always
cherished and obeyed, but belongs rather
to that deliberate scheme for the limi-
tation of the Presidential influence and
authority, and for the complete ascendancy of
the Legislature over the Executive, which the Ra-
dicals have been steadily pursuing during the last
two years. This bill itself, like most of the recent
Radical enactments, is open to serious criticism ;
and it is more than probable that the Supreme Court
may pronounce it unconstitutional. The Recon-
struction Act upon which the Republican party
plume themselves has already been declared by com-
petent authorities to be decidedly illegal ; and if a
perfectly unbiassed tribunal could, in these days of
faction and party feeling, be found in the States,
there is little question but that they would revoke
most of the recent legislation. For the PRESIDENT
of the States to be deprived of the power of ap-
pointing and removing the members of his own
Cabinet is a preposterous doctrine, and one which
in calmer times would have met with the ridicule
it deserved. If the Ralical enactments are really
iu themselves unconstitutional, the PRESIDENT can
hardly be impeached for breaking his oath in dis-
regarding them. On the other hand, the Radicals,
who having committed themselves to this desperate

act, will doubtless strain every nerve to secure the
victory :hey crave for before the legal question is
tried. The PRESIDENT stands firm, and so does the

obnoxious Secretary. Both are immovable except by
actual force, and the issue rests with the Senate.
By the Constitution of the States it is necessary for
two-thirds of the Senate to concur in the conviction
of the PRESIDENT, and it is more than doubtful
whether the Radicals, eager and active, and un-
scrupulous as they are, will be able to secure it.
In the House of Representatives there would be no
difficulty, and if the condemnation and disgrace of
the PRESIDENT depended on the Lower House it
would be merely a question of days or hours. The
Senate, however, is differently constituted. Its
members arc on the whole less vehement, less revo-
lutionary, and belong less to the class of
professional agitators. Their social position an I
surroundings make them less amenable to the in-
fluences which carry away the Representatives, and
if it includes atnong its members, like most American
assemblies, some turbulent and reckless legislators,
who look only to the promulgation of extreme
theories or the temporary triumph of some party
manoeuvre, it has a larger element of moderate and
middle-course men. These men, though professedly
belonging to the ranks of the Radicals, will be pro-
bably slow to cpuntenance such a desperate move.
The PRESIDENT'S tenure of office is draw-
ing to a close. A few months more,
however much they dislike him and his
policy, can be easily bottle; whereas the impeach-
ment of the chief man in the States, on the autho-
rity of a bill whose own nature is doubtful, will, in
the present situation of affairs, produce the most
serious and perhaps dangerous effects. It may even
be the first step towards a newer and more fatal
civil war—it may lead to the overthrow of that
cherished form of Government which Americans
have fought for more than once—it may tend to the
ultimate subversion of the liberties of one of the
great free nations of the earth, and to the destruc-
tion and dismemberment of the nation itself.
The PRESIDENT'S position is strengthened by the
recent publication of the GRANT correspondence.
His own version of the story is supported by all
the members of his Cabinet who were present at the
interview between himself and the General ; and
the defence which GRANT makes against the charge
of double-dealing is not very substantial. With
the Radicals, however, he has no need for defence.
He is a hero and a patriot, and his chances for the
Presidency are loudly discussed by the Radicals.
Circumstances have been too strong for the reticent
with tlfhecogmenmeii.tatlepdubto.
IR) oelliJttitcbilai nc
rt, nai snmd . eHnios wc
h cdess
Lc, however, are not improved by the recent trans-
action. He is the subject for jests and squibs of
all kinds of laughter-loving critics. One of these
has gained great circulation. It runs as follows :

" YGU lie," says Johnson—
U-ly-sses Grant."

If this is a specimen of the American estimate of
their military statesman, General GRANT'S chances
of the White House are but slender.

In our account of the fire at Covent-garden yes-
terday it was a /Tip. name.) Lib;oit who Lost his life, aid
not a lady.

nuitIiESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, TUESDAY, Feb. 25,

The "conspiracy of silence" has, I have reason to
believe, become almost intolerable to the Imperial Govern-
ment. The Ministers have utterly failed to shew how the
papers can discuss the speeches of the Legislative Body
without incurring the risk of being again mulcted in £4O
fines, and yet they are galled because the papers—several
of them, at least—refuse the perilous attempt. In a word,
the Government is in a dilemma, and there is no way out
except by confessing that the last prosecutions:of the press
were a lamentable blunder. But this conspiracy of
silence has invaded the Chambers. Emile 011ivier, the
only prominent member of the Opposition who ever
shewed a desire to conciliate the Government, has con-
spired in this way against the leader of the Arcadians.
Having quoted the invectives against the caveats deputes
in the Pays, of which M. Cassagnac is the editor, ho
descended from the tribune without replying co it. This is
the offence. He has been called upon to explain his dis-
dainful silence. Ire has refused, and the probability is
that he will be " called out." A leader in the Pays tells
him that " he sl:ould have Vie courage to give satisfac-
tion " for his " insolence." Perhaps, like Saint-Beuve,
the honourable advocate-deputy does not accept the
" suppression of an individual" as the settlement GI a
question.
The "24th fe'arrier " has passed peaceably. Private ean-
quets have celebrated the anniversary of the Revolution
of 1848, but nothing has transpired to create uneasiness.
It is said that in some quarters the police were reinforced.
As I anticipated a few days ago, the jury of honour in
the Ken 6guen affair have decided that there was no ground
whatever for the imputation made by M. Kery6guen
against the Sik'e•and the Opinion Nationale. It happened,
however, that when M. Navin rose in the Chamber to
pr •nounce the verdict of the jury, the deputies on
the Right rose to leave the room as if by arrangement.
The President thereupon declared the sitting at an end,
in spite of the vigorous protests of the Left. Why, if the
accusation were made publicly, should the acquittal not
be public ? Surely, it was not because it was Opposition
journals that were charged with taking Prussian gold.
A son of Prince Gortschakoff is said to be in Paris. He
as about to marry the daughter of the Hospodar Couza,
late of Roumania. The bride is reputed to have a dowry
of 22,200,000 sterling, from which it may perhaps be
sr,; posed that Prince Couza did not serve the toumanians

fu naught.
The Civil Tribunal of the Seine at Paris has been called
apon to decide a question relating to the sepulture of
C •• •ral Delva, the former Prime Minister of President
uque, who has just died at Paris. The General's
wi.l.,w wishes him to be buried at Paris, but his eldest son
de:3'r2s that his father% body shall he entombed in the
famly sepulchre at llavti. rhe decision has not yet
ken given. General Delva has left 3,000,000 francs.
1)1. Stephan, the director of the Observatoire at Mar-
seilles, has just announced the discovery of new planetoid.
It is a star of the eleventh magnitude, and is found at
present in the constellation Leo, a little to the west of
Regulus. This is the ninety-sixth of the smaller planets.
Four of the students Avh ) were arrested for manifests-

tions after the representation of " Kean," at the OdJon,
have been sentenced to periods of imprisonment of six,
eight, and fifteen days, and two months respectively.
Good news for oyster-elters. A correspondent at
Ostend writes to the Organe de Namur that a marvellous
of oysters has just been discovered on that coast. Tho
English fishermen have exhausted the beds from Dunkirk
to Calais. During one of the late storms a fisherman
was driven by stress of weather as far north as
Ostend. He was trailing his nets to prevent drifting
too rapidly, and when they were drawn up he was de-
lighted to find that he had a magnificent take of oysters.
He delivered his cargo to a courricr to carry to London,
and returned in the night to the same ground. He met
the same success. Now for several weeks an abundant
harvest of oysters has beers drawn from these beds. After
the secret was discovered, ether boats flocked to the spot,
and now some 180 to 200 are fishing off Ostend. Latterly,
the strong north winds have prevented the courriers reach
ng the Thames, and the people of Ostend have been
regaling themselves with des huitres a boa march&
Fresh beds continue to be discovered daily. The beds
sxtend for the space of four leagues, and the number of
)ystcrs upon them seems to be incalculable. The French
And Belgian fishermen are preparing to share the good luck
)f the Englishmen.
As experiments in tsippophagy have been made in
London, it may be interesting to state that the acquired
taste for horseflesh is extending in Paris. There are now
seven boueleeries whence it is regularly dispensed. Dr.,
Leblanc, member of the Academy of Medicine, has been
consoling the Parisians with the assurance that, unlike the
flesh of the ox, the older the animal the better the meat.
An account lying before use says: " Boiled le choral is
rather dry; but dressed a, la mode, like beef, it is exquisite,
especially if you give it time to cook before a slow fire."
The famine in -Morocco, Tunis, and Algeria is said to
nave passed its worst phase. Pains have fallen at last,
grass has reappeared, and the flocks and herds will, it ii
to be hoped, n,t only be saved from extermination, but
by their milk, one of the main resources of the population,
greatly assist in ameliorating the two or three months
which must elapse before the next harvest. According to
official reports, the prospects for the next year are now
favourable

The Paris correspondent of the Times states that the
Lmperor is wearied beyond measure by the long and
tedious debates on the Press Bill. He is reported to have
declared, in a fit of impatience, that he would appeal to
the country by a plebiscite to sanction his next liberal
measure, and not to a Chamber which seems bent on
thwarting him.

The Pope has made a sensible demand of the Russian
Government. Before receiving its representative, he has
exacted the withdrawal of the ukase against the Roman
Catholics in Poland and the recall of the exiled bishops.

Recent letters from Spain announced a frightful increaso
in banditism. Assassinations have been reported during
1 :lc last few days from several points of the Peninsula. A
ich landed proprietor in Valencia was murdered and hor-
mutilated in his own house, whence the bandits
removed all the valuables. A priest in Santa Anna,
Badaloz, was assassinated in his parsonage. The cure of
Gulls, Barcelona, was actually thrown into the fire and
threatened with being burnt alive if he did not give up
his money. In this way the wretches obtained his whole
fortune—sixty-four ounces of gold, valued at 5,3701.

According to the Telegraph a Royal Commission has
been appointed to inquire into the system of courts-mar-
tial, their powers and practice, and into the nature of
military punishments generally ; the commissioners being
instructed to suggest such improvements as they may think
desirable.

The Daily News anticipates with certainty that the
estimates of the English Government for 1868-9 will set a
good example to Europe in the diminution of public
expenditure under the head of armaments. The navy
estimates will, it is stated, while providing for an addition
to our ironclad naval squadron in the next financial year,
show a large pecuniary reduction.
Until the House of Commons reassembles on Friday
afternoon, when the Ministerial interregnum is expected
to terminate, the public must be content to remain satis-
fied with speculation as to the personnel of the new
Cabinet. Generally speaking, the morning papers, of
whatever shade of opinion, appear gratified that Mr.
Disraeli has been sent for by the Queen to become Prime
Minister of England. The Liberal papers, without en-
dorsing his past policy, and still declining to express approval
of his political principles, seem glad the Premiership has
for Once got out of the hands of the great governing fami-
lies, whether Whig or Tory, and transferred to a member
of the Hojisc of Commons who has made his way in the
world with unremitting energy and by the power of his
intellect. There is a desire to give Mr. Diraeli the utmost
fair play in his new and trying position. Since Sir Robert
Peel resigned office, in 1816, the distinguished post of First
Lord of the Treasury has not been held out of the ranks
of the nobility. In twenty years it has passed successively
from Lord Russell to Lord Derby, from Lord Derby to
Lord Aberdeen, from Lord Aberdeen to Lord Palmerston,
from Lord Palmerston to Lord Derby, from Lord Derby
back again to Lord Palmerston, from Lord Palmerston to
Lord Russell, from Lord Russell once more to Lord Derby.
Here, for a while, the long succession of nobles is at
an end, and for the first time since August 1827, when
Canning died, a plain " Mr." is the First Minister of State
in Great Britain.

There arc many conjectures as to whether Mr. Disraeli
will follow the precedent set by Sir Robert Walpole, by
William Pitt, and by Sir Robert Peel when he formed his
first Administration in 1835, and unite the office of Primo
Minister with that of Chancellor of the Exchequer. To
this it is objected that either of these high posts is quite
sufficient for one man to undertake, and that snore espe-
cially the Chancellorship of the Exchequer is very different
now from what it was thirty years ago. Sir Stafford North.
cote is named by general consent as Mr. Disraeli's suc-
cessor as Finance Minister, if he can be spared from the
India Office under the pressure of the Abyssinian expedi-
tion, of which he has had the arrangement from the
beginning. Failing Sir Stafford, there is Mr. Ward Hunt,
the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, who does his work
well, and is a favourite with the House. In times like the
present, when there are no startling budgets to construct,
no surpluses to dispose of, and no reductions of taxation to
make, Mr. Hunt, with a little guidance from his chief,
might make such a Chancellor of the Exchequer as to give
satisfaction in "the City," where a safe man is preferred
to a bzilliaut inuorater.