The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-06 00:00:00

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

(From the Anglo-American Times)

The United States know how to protect the
citizens from gross spoliation, and it would be well
for the English creditors of Mexico to act if pos-
sible with those of that country. The American
capitalists interested in theMexiaan loan,representing
a sum of about $10,000,000, lately held a meeting
at New York, and took measures to bring the matter
before the United States and Mexican Govern-
ments in such a way as to lead to a prompt adjudi-
cation of their claims.

What course the President will take regarding
the Bills for the admission of the Southern States
has excited some curiosity, but no fear in the minds
of those who wish to see them reconstructed. It
will be taken as an indication, if he signs the Bills,
that he does not intend further to oppose the Re-
construction laws, and that he desires, however late
in the day, to work in harmony with Congress. If
he Vetoes them, the Bills will be at once re-passed
by the necessary majority, but it will be considered
an indication that
" When the devil was sick, the dovil a saint would b 3 ;
But when the devil got well, the devil a saint was he."
Some question may arise respecting Alabama, as the
voting took place under the provisions of the law
requiring a majority of registered electors, while
there was a majority only cf actual voters. We
elsewhere discuss the Constitution framed, and we
hope the Senate will waive the technical in view of
the advantage likely to accrue to the State.
Sir Robert Napier telegraphs from Abyssinia a
proposal to take the son of Theodore to Bombay to
be educated by the Rev. Dr. Wilson, as his life
would be unsafe in his own country. On the 15th
May Theodore's wife died in the English camp of
a long-standing disease of the lungs, and she was
buried next day in the Church of Chelicat. All
the troops were to have embarked by the Ist inst.,
and at the date of the message (May 21) they were
quickly leaving. Great floods bad occurred, and
six natives and some mules had been drowned. The
Queen's message of congratulation had been re-
ceived with enthusiasm, and Colonel Milward, who
appears to have got ashore on a reef in the Red Sea,
had left on the 22d inst. with Theodore's robe,
crown, and state seal, to be presented as a tribute
of respectful duty and affectionate loyalty to her
Majesty from her army in Abyssinia.
On the evening of the 2d inst., at Rome, Mr. T. B.
Read, the artist, gave a grand banquet to the Hon.
Charles Francis Adams, to which all the American
artists in the Eternal City were invited to meet
him. This community grows in strength and re-
nown, and their studios are the rendezvous of con-
noisseurs, more especially from their own country.
Their works are beginning to spread over the
United States, and to adorn the cities of their
native 'land, where they exercise the refining in-
fluence that art, highly cultivated, always gives.
In our issue of May 16 we gave an account from
the Leavenworth Conzmercial of a wonderful discovery
in the unexplored country around the Yellowstone,
Montana, of an Indian catacomb. It is now asserted
that the ruins of a town with a country which had
evidently been worked into a high state of culture
has been discovered in Utah, a few miles above the
mouth of the Salt River. The report describes the
canals as being from 35 to 50 feet in width, and the
walls, which are from five to eight feet high, have
been traced 10 or 15 miles from the river. The
ruins are at intervals the length of the valley. Cot-
ton, tobacco, and castor beans are still found grow-
ing luxuriantly upon the old farms around. These
may be travellers' tales, but it is an ascertained fact
that the Indians who inhabited the country of the
head waters of the Gila had attained to some degree of
civilisation. The first Mastadon discovered on the
Atlantic coast has just been unearthed by Capt. C. 0.
Bontelle from a bed of marl. The bones, of enormous
size, are fixed in the position in which the creature
had lain down to die before the flood. Although
the skeleton is perfect, a portion is soft, while the
other is petrified. Tha animal was discovered in
the neighbourhood of St. Helena Islands, South
Carolina, and although it has been met with in the
West, this is the first found on the Eastern shores
of the United States.

President Johnson, on Friday, May 22, approved
the Appropriation Bill for the expenses of the Im-
peachment trial. The outlay has already been suf-
ficiently heavy to gratify Messrs. Butler and Ste-
vens, but it has not yet ended. The cost is esti-
mated at $400,000, and it will probably exceed half
a million, The Albany Argus says, "The pay of
General Rousseau, summoned from Oregon, netted
some nine thousand dollars. Other witnesses cost
five thousand dollars each. It is reported that the
bill for printing the tickets of admission- amounts to
six thousand dollars."

It is probable that Free Trade versus Protection
bad more to do with the President's acquittal than
most people imagine. Senator Grimes is the Repre-
sentative in the Senate of a small but highly influ-
ential class. He is devoted to Free Trade, and,
though Republican in his principles, he so tho-
roughly dislikes the scheme of Protection that he is
brought into sympathy with the Democrats, who,
purely in opposition, raise their voices against
monopoly, extravagance, and high taxation. In
the coming struggle the voice of this section will be
loudly heard, as will be that of the extreme Protec-
tionists, and we daresay they will be found so strong
on both sides as to force from the Presidential can-
didates some expression of opinion on the subject.
The majority of the House CommittJe on
Foreign Affairs has reported in favour of an ap-
propriation of $7,200,000 to carry out the treaty
for the purchase of Alaska. The minority report,
signed by Representatives Washburne and Morgan
against the purchase, concludes as follows :

They are forced to the conclusion that the possession of
the country is of no value to the Government of the United
States; that it will be a source of weakness insteal of
power, and a constant annual expanse for which there
I will be no adequate return ; that it has no capacity
as an agricultural country; . that so far as known it
has no value as a mineral country ; that its timber
is mostly confined to the narrow strip of country, only 30
miles wide, south of Mount St. Elias, and is generally of
a poor quality and growing upon inaccessible mountains ;
that its fur trade is of insignificant value to us as a nation,
and will speedily come to an end; that the fisheries are
of doubtful value, and that whatever the value of its
fisheries, its fur trade, its timber, and its minerals, they
ware all open to citizens of the United States, under the
existing treaties ; that the right to govern a nation or
nations of savages in a climate unfit for the habitation of
civilized men was not worthy of the purchase ; that the
constitutional right of the House to refuse to appropriate
the money was known to Russia at the time this treaty
was negotiated, and there can be no charge of bad faith if
that right is asserted.
We mentioned in a late number that A. D. Fes-
senden, of Maine, brother of Senator Fessenden,
had been elected one of the delegates from the
State to the Chicago Convention. When the list
of Vice-Presidents was called his name brought a.
delegate to his feet, who desired to know whether
he held the same opinion on Impeachment as Sena-
, for Fessenden. The proceedings were stopped until
the explanation given to the Convention had been
delivered—one easily made by the Chairman of
the Maine delegation, as A. D. Fessenden had dis-
tinctly condemned his brother's course at the
meeting which elected him.
The Parliament of the Dominion was prorogued,
May 22, until July 1. Although the rumours of
Fenian raids upon Canada are not universally cre-
dited, the military authorities there are making the
best disposition of the troops to repel an invasion.
The New York World gives O'Neill's plans, which
it states are to invade in three bodies, across the
Niagara and the St. Lawrence, for a simultaneous
attack upon Montreal and Toronto. According to
this journal large quantities of aims and uniforms
have been sent north from the Fenian head-quar-
ters in New York, and the Fenians are said to be
actively employed at Albans, Vermont. The
force is estimated at 30,0)0 armed men.

Colonel Green, of the Boston Post, presided over
the Convention of the Massalhusetts Democrats at
Worcester, May 20, for the nomination of delegates
to the National Convention. The attendance was
large and the nominations harmoniously made, but
all attempts to designate a candidate or to declare
for any principles were stopped, as the party awaits
events. It is believed that Chief Justice Chase
desires
,the Democratic nomination, but it is asserted
that he has made more enemies than friends by his
course during the Impeachment trial. The mode-