The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-28 00:00:00

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:tai
14
TAP' ,40110
• ‘ll.,

LONDON, 7 UESDAY, JAN. 28, 1868.

The continual arrivals of mail steamers from
America keep us acquainted with all the variations
of political life in the States. The steamer Ame-
rica, which left New York on the 15th inst., does
not bring us much later intelligence than we have
already received, but it supplies some deficiencies
in the former accounts. For instance, we were left
in doubt what course Mr. STANTON himself had
pursued after his forced reinstatement at the
War Office, but it seems that up to the
date at which the America left he had not
issued any official orders. It is reported that Mr.
.Ml'CrJ•l.l.ocn has ordered his department to hold no
official communication with Mr. STANTON until his
status is determined. The Secretary to the Trea-
sury is naturally opposed to the Radical interest,
as that party has done its best to complicate the
position of the already embarrassed finances, and
has stoutly resisted all his efforts to reduce the
debt and contract the currency. One of its latest
achievements has been a limitation of the authority
hitherto possessed by the Financial Minister. The
Radicals are fully sensible of the charms of poli-
tical power themselves, but they are very unwil-
ling to allow any other person to enjoy it. They
make it one of their chief objects to restrict and
curtail the power of every one else. The office of
President, if they fulfil their designs, would be no-
thing more than a dignified sinecure. The Secretary
of the Treasury is no longer to be allowed to regu-
late the currency. Even the Supreme Court is not
beyond the reach of these ambitious reformers. Its
constitutional power to control the laws naturally
displeases the party which is constantly labouring
to reverse the whole order of things ; and the ver-
dict of the Court has more than once been given
against the innovations of Congress. It has the
power to annul unconstitutional legislation, and
as there can be no question whatever that the
Southern Reconstruction laws are directly opposed
to the Constitution which all Americans profess
to cherish, the advocates of the measure are not
far wrong in apprehending the action of the
Court. If it were not for the political bias of
some of the Judges, and the desire of Mr. CHASE to
occupy the White louse, it is probable that the
extravagances of the last few sessions would have
been less productive of mischief. It is thus we see
the danger of the American system of electing
judicial authorities for a term of years only in-
stead of for life. The excitement and
partiality of electioneering is thus carried into the
judicial world, and the best of judges are doubtless
more or less influenced by it. Nevertheless on
more than one occasion the Supreme Court has
pronounced against Radical innovations, and the
PRESIDENT has not hesitated to refer vexed ques-
tions directly to its decision. The Radicals, there-
fore, have been wishing for a change, and latterly
the Judiciary Committee have reported a bill alter-
ing the Judiciary system, and making it necessary
for " two-thirds of the Judges" to declare an act
of Congress illegal instead of " a majority" as
heretofore. By this means they hope to escape
the adverse influence of the more constitutional
judges. This bill is not yet law, and possibly may
never become law, since it meddles with matters
entirely out of the reach of Congress, and its object
is transparent. Meanwhile the effect produced by
three recent measures—the bill in question, the bill
destroying all civil government in the South, and
the reinstatement of Mr. STANTON at the War
Office—has been highly flattering to the Radicals,
and satisfactory, no doubt, to the public at large.
Gold, which stood at 133 premium, in a few days
rose to 1411—a proof how much confidence is
placed by the country in the good effects of
Radical legislation. GRANT and SHERMAN have,
it is said, been urging STANTON to resign. Un-
less he has learned moderation during his brief
absence from office, their efforts are not very
likely to prove successful.

M. MAGNE'S report upon the Financial Condi-
tion of France has just been published in the
Moniteur, and it appears, according to this state-
ment, that affairs are not so bad as some had sup-
posed them to be. The receipts of the Budget of
1867 show a deficit which is not to be wondered at,
considering the circumstances of the case, and the
unfortunate aspect of the year. It is here said that
it resulted from events beyond control, and the loss
amounted to the sum of twenty-six millions of
francs, as compared with the estimates. It is
necessary to add to this sum the " ex-
traordinary credit" voted by the Corps Le-
gialatif last May and the cost of the expe-
dition to Rome, and this brings a total of one
hundred and eighty-nine millions necessary to cover
the outlay of the past year. The report goes on to
say that there will be supplementary expenses to
be felt in the Budgets of this year and the next, and
that supplementary resources must be shared be-
tween these two periods. These will amount to the
sum of eighty-two million francs, and the report
then shows us that it will be better to reform
the war materiel and the fleet "in the interest of the
defence of the country and the national honour," or
a sum of one hundred and eighty-seven millions
must be devoted to that object. No one will be
surprised to hear that the report goes on to state
that it is idle to expect that this sum will cover all
requirements ; and, finally, in order to meet all
exigencies, a loan of four hundred and forty mil-
lions of francs, and this will be negotiated by public
subscription, and the monthly payments divided
into twenty instalments. All this seems to pro-
mise fairly if it be possible to carry it out
after the manner proposed. The EMPEROR has evi-

dently tak-fm great pains with the matter, and
sought to r tinder the task as light as possible, but it
remains m atter of doubt whether the venture will be
a successfl al one or no. The discussion in the Senate
on the Army Bill still goes on, and various
opinions are given thereupon, but it seems that
the bill is very unpopular throughout the
country. We do not suppose, however, that
these considerations will weigh very much with the
EMPEROR and his councillors. At any rate, the
Report on the financial affairs of France bas been
more satisfactory than was expected, and that is
encouraging in the present depressed state of things.
It must inspire confidence in quarters where doubt
prevailed previously, and render the position of the
French. Government more secure. M. MAGNE may
be congratulated upon having got over his awk-
ward task in so successful a style; and if the expec-
tations he holds out are realised, even partially,
there will ba no great reason to fear for the pros-
pects of the future.

Mr. ROEBUCK has been exhibiting his common
sense and downright action under circumstances of
difficulty. He has raised his voice against unfair
combinations and unwarrantable strikes in the hot-
bed of trades unionism ; but we venture to say that
he never delivered a speech during his life which
did him more credit than the address he last night
made to the large audience of working men in Shef-
field. The subject was " Capital and Labour," and
the hon. member proceeded to put before his hearers
the plain truths connected with the subject in his usual
effective manner. He intimated at the commencement
that he was not speaking as a member of the
Trades' Union Commission, but as member for
Sheffield only. He urged upon his hearers the im-
portance of keeping their mind under the dominion
of reason, a piece of sage counsel, but which un-
fortunately was not attended to by many. Various
modes are employed in different countries to keep
down the excess of the demand for labour, and Mr.
ROEBUCK observes that in England the trades
unions perform the ungracious task, and this is not
the least cruel mode that can be employed.
When we study the true nature of this
proceeding, we find that it is " cruel,
selfish, and grossly unjust." It interferes directly
with the privilege of the working man to provide
for his family according to his ability, and it also
forbids him to use the talent and opportunities be-
stowed upon him by Providence by imposing arbi-
trary restrictions and condemning him to keep within
narrow limits. Nothing is more effectual than an
illustration, and Mr. ROEBUCK did a wise thing
when he put forward an instance of cruelty and op-
pression displayed by the trades uni.m authorities,
and showed their utter disregard of principle and
recklessness of consequences.
A working man in Sheffield had adopted his
brother's child, an orphan, and as the best means
of providing him with a livelihood he apprenticed
him with his own son to himself to learn his trade.
Forthwith he was waited upon by the authorities
of the union, who objected to his nephew being
bound as an apprentice on account of his being the
son of one who was not a member of their trade.
In vain the man represented that the boy was an
ophan, and could not learn a trade if be were
cast off. They were inexorable, and threatened
all sorts of things unless their demands wore
complied with. The result Mr. ROEBUCK has not
yet heard of, but he pointed out the consequences
of such conduct, and its foul iniquity in the abstract.
Their hearts were, indeed, " hard as the nether
millstone, and they were not only cruel, but pre-
eminently selfish." Such an act as this is, indeed,
an offence against GOD and man, and an outrage
of our laws, human and divine. To cast an help-
less orphan on the world as an outcast is a crime
that cannot be palliated by any sophistry of argu-
w
men., and this, as it was well described
efa°nrecouung,try by was
~ doneork working in
men a
igareatthceityleient'lare bChristi
who are for ever appealing to just • • principles of

liberty and virtue." The hon. member concluded
by cautioning theta against any renewal of violence,
and declaring that public opinion had declared
against them, for recent disclosures had deeply
affected men's mindi. We hope that this impres-
sive language may have due effect, and that the
earnest eloquence and solemn truths here met with
.may receive the attention they deserve.

The meetings of the Royal Geographical Society
at Burlington House are always attractive to in-
tellectual and cultivated minds; but it is no wonder
that last evening the large room 11 as densely
crowded, and the audience full of eager interest in
the proceedings. Mr. YOUNG, of the LIVINGSTONE
Search Expedition, read his report to the Society,
and gave a most interesting account of the course
of his journey and of the evidence which induced
him and his colleagues to believe that the illustrious
traveller was still alive and pursuing his arduous
journey. The principal members of the Asso-
ciation fully concurred in Mr. YOUNG'S opi-
nion, and even Sir SAMUEL BAKER, who has
from the first been apprehensive of the
worst tidings, admitted that the intelligence obtained
was most satisfactory. He still feared for the con-
sequences of Dr. LIVINGSTONE'S journey amid so
many great dangers, but it is a great point to know
that the terrible tale of the Johanna men had
actually no foundation in fact. It is to be regretted
that the gifted President of the society, who stoutly
kept up hope when all else were hopeless, was pre-
vented by illness from presiding on an occasion so
interesting to him; but he must have rejoiced to find
that his confidence was so well placed. Mr. YOUNG'S
report states that the people received the expedition
in a most friendly spirit, and were very ready to give
the desired information. At Moponda, where they
arrived on the 28th of September, Mr. YOUNG saw
the mother of the chief of the district. She said
that au Englishman had been there a year before,
had stopped three weeks to rest his party, and then
left. The Johanna men afterwards returned that
way. The Englishman was a great friend with her
son, who would not let any one molest him.
None of the party died there, and the old lady
laughed at the idea of LIVINGSTONE having been
killed. " I felt convinced that had he died there,"
said Mr. YOUNG, "we should have heard it from
some of the numbers I questioned on the
subject. There seems, indeed, no reason to doubt
this, since not in this part only, but all along the
route, thee people were ready with their answers."
thante e
aornr
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IhNe G
sn.
raet iNvEe,ss ohna g theg ag e oauntde
theyhad
he lopr ee d
aboutwere atsh Mr.
nYeiogyhrzhG tcuresl,lsenuas,
efeullyl
toefocroemapdlyainttes
inform against them. Such a remarklble event
have been concealed by so many persons as the murder of an Englishman coueled
theatradlllyy
unconnected with each other, and we may there-
fore hope and believe for the best.

FATAL GUN ACCIDEINTT TO A FARMER.—Mr.
James Shoosmith, a fanner, went to the Red Lion
Inn, Magham Down, on Wednesday, to see a friend, and
while in the house stood his loaded gun over the fence
of a little shrubbery in front of the inn. On leaving
he went to take his gun, holding the muzzle towards
him as he took it over the fence. From some cause the
hammer fell, and the contents entered the right side of
the face and head of the unfortunate man. Ile died im-
mediately.