The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-14 00:00:00

Western Councils, will appear in llovember.
As it is calculated to prove a book of refer-
ence of great general importance, it is being
brought out, in the first instance, in French,
but will be published only in Rome, Pere
Dousset, the Dominican, having undertaken
the translation from Mgr. Tizzani's MS. It is
not, however, a mere historical record, but
displays a clear-sighted and philosophical ap-
preciation of the reciprocal action of the
Church and the world, as well as of the cha-
racters of the great men who have governed
their age. The work is dedicated to Car-
dinal Bonaparte. Mgr. Brancaleoni-Castellani
sostituto in the Segreteria de' brevi pontijici, a
useful public servant and a very distinguished
Latinist, died last week at the age of fifty-
four.

M. de Sartiges is to have his farewell audience
of the Pope to-morrow. It is now expected
that -M. de Bonneville will come out before
November or December. M. Armand is to
come to-night to take his place in the in-
terim.

A little intrigue has just been laid bare
which may ha.:e the effect of averting mischief.
A Pole has been dismissed from the Vatican
who, after obtaining a post of camerlingo by
urging the plea of his oppressed nationality,
was found to be a spy in the Russian service.
It is observable that his predecessor in the
office, Kulcyski by name, obtained, abused,
and lost his post in a precisely similar way.
The great religious celebration just now is
of course the Novena of the Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, which is being duly
honoured in a great many churches.
The loyal address to the Pope I mentioned
a few weeks ago from the Catholics of Gratz
and circamjacent towns, has received 52,000
signatures, that against the Concordat only
bore 2,000.

The brigade stationed at Rocca di Papa had
another field day yesterday, making a feint
attack on Rocca Priora. It was a harder
day's work than the siege on Altano, as the
distance is greater, and the road all uphill.
It went off very well. The King of Naples and
his brother, the Count of Caserta, who is an
officer in General Kanzler's staff, assisted iu
the manoeuvres. The brigade is under orders
to return to Rome to-morrow. The cases of
fever are numerous, but it is well understood
here, and there is no special cause for alarm.
I have just seen a person who, travelling
out by the ordinary Mount Cenis route, was
put to terrible straits by the late accident.
Very little regard seems to be had for the con-
venience of passengers, who have not only to
walk a considerable part of the road in what-
ever weather, but to climb over heaps of de-
bris, and to cross mountain torrents, with the
aid only of the most primitive appliances. It
is many years since so considerable a landslip
has taken place; the inundations of the lower
country occurring at the sametime, of course
complicate the difficulty and increase the delay
of bringing the line into working order again.
This will certainly require two or three weeks,
or more. Meantime the beautiful road over
the Brenner has, as far as I can learn, received
no injury. This line, which was completed
in the spring, affords a continuous railway
route all the way, travelling from Paris through
Strasburg, Munich, Augsburg, Innsbruck,
Verona, Bologna, and Florence, and may be
done in five days.
In anticipation of delay I despatch my
parcel two days earlier than usual. Should
anything of interest occur to me later, I will
take the chance, as last week, of the post-
scripts reaching you by via di mare, before
you go to press.

UNITED S7A7'ES CURRENCY.

(From the Anylo-American Times)

Events are giving the Currency Question the place
in the United States to which it is entitled before
the National Debt or any other financial question
whatever. A curious piece of by-play has occurred
between Mr. SPINNER, United States Treasurer, and
a gentleman who forwarded from Boston a $lO bill
with a formal demand for its redemption in gold
according to the terms of the note. This the Trea-
surer returns with a long, elaborately argued letter,
wherein he alludes to the essays on finance by his
correspondent in very complimentary terms. Mr.
SPINNER shows the practicability of funding the
debt, with lower interest and a more lengthened
term. He opposes every form of repudiation, even
to taxing the interest. With some inconsistency,
he proposes to make the national banks exchange
the Six per Cent. Bonds for Four per Cents.,
asserting that they have been created by the
privileges and franchises of the Government, at
whose sufferance they live, and therefore they
should be thus made to assist the Government.
If the banks have been granted such privileges
without the public receiving an equivalent the
Government has been false to its trust, and the
officer who publicly announces it condemns the
administration in general and his department in
particular. If the banks gave the equivalent for
these valuable concessions of which the treasurer
would now deprive them, at least in part, then he
acts the repudiator's part towards a portion of the
bondholders, on the very plea the general body of
repudiators use against the national creditor as a
whale. The plea is, that they bought the privilege
of receiving six per cent.--untaxed—coin interest,
at a rate that did not represent its value, taking
advantage of the country's necessities, and that now,
like SHYLOCK, they demand their whole bond, and no-
thing less, notwithstanding theflaw in their contract.
The basis of the agreement was, we presume, that
the National Banks should keep as a security a pro-
portion of United States Bonds against their notes,
and the condition was that Six per Cent, gold inte-
rest should be paid on the deposit. Now, the Trea-
surer says, you are mere creatures of the Govern-
ment, living on this valuable concession; you must
take Four per Cent. instead of Six, or we will wipe
you out of existence. This is curious language
from a Treasury officer, who commences with repu-
diating every species of Repudiation. But the truth
is that when we desire to shuffle off our debts and
difficulties we are in a vicious circle, and can scarcely
refrain from kicking at the pricks of honesty which
surround us while looking for an opening and find-
ing none not more or less barred.

One of Mr. PENDLETON'S Mat telling points in a
recent speech was his story of a neighbour who,
before the war, purchased a house, for which he
bound himself to pay $20,000. Like a wise man to
whom the future was an open book, he gathered
up his gold and hid it —(at least it appears from bis
act, though Mr. PENDLETON did not say so)—and
waited, knowing the future, till gold rose to 250,
when with his hoard he bought $50,000 in legal
tender, paying the man from whom he had purchased
the house $20,000 in greenbacks, and investing the
other $30,000 in Government Bonds, from which
be has drawn a gold interest of $l,BOO a year ever
since, and he clamorously supports the doctrine
that the bands should be paid in gold. The only
hitch is the opportune production of the gold ; and
few in Maine, where the story was told, will dispute
that a trader so sharp was entitled to a gain.
But if what the Nation anticipates comes to
pass, Mr. PENDLETON'S friend will be lucky in
being able to retain his plunder. There can be
no doubt that in equity the $30,000 which he in-
vested in Government Securities belonged to the
person from whom he bought the house. The de-
cision of the Supreme Court, on the legality of the
Legal-Tender Act will be on cases similar to that
given by Mr. PENDELTON, as it can only decide
questions of right between individuals. PENDLE-
TON'S neighbour might be sued by the vendor on
the point whether the purchaser completed his con-
tract by the payment of the $20,000 in greenbacks.
The vendor asserts that there was no money known
to the law of the United Stat3s except coin when he
sold the house, awl therefore no other money could
have been meant—that in greenback payment the
stun specified had been reduced by two-thirds,
when instead of receiving $20,000 coin dollars,
as i❑ the terms of the sale, he received but
:,000, and that therefore he claimed the twelve
thousand stilt,due. The appeal of the purchaser,
of course, would be to the Legal Tender Act, which
makes greenbacks a lawful tender alike for public