The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-29 00:00:00

Sumner pathetically appealed to the Chamber not

to do away with the ancient and time-honoured

abuse, which had been in force since the days of
Washington. He did not call it an abuse, he called

it the custom of their ancestors. Secretary 11l‘Cul-
loch nu the 12th February received two letters con-
taining $65 and $5O conscience-money. If the
English Chancellor of the Exchequer had received

these sums, he would have passed them to the public
credit, acknowledged their receipt in the Times,
and thrown the envelope into the waste-paper
basket. But the American Secretary cast on the
envelope an eye of curiosity. He found the post
mark to be Palmer, Massachusetts, and he recorded
this fact, perhaps with the view of sending there a
Commissioner of Lunacy. If he could only esta-

blish a conscience in the c3llectors of the Internal

Revenue the taxpayers of the United States would

at once feel a lightening of their load.
A movement is on fo3t to call a General Convention
of the producing interests in the Western States to
meet at Cincinnati, and take measures ag dust the
present prohibitory tariff system. Tho West

strongly favours inflation an .1 the payment of the
national debt in paper. The programme of such a
Convention, as is likely to meet in Cincinnati,
would be the very reverse of the Commercial Con-

vention which sat in Boston from the 4th to the Bth

inst., which favours the protection of home labour,

the duties to be so laid when the tariff is revised as
to place the heaviest on manufactured articles in
which labour forms the chief expense, and the
collectio❑ of import dues not at the port of
entry, but at the place of consumption, so as to do
away with bonding, warehousing, &c. It declares
that national honour and good faith alike repire
the redemption of the 5-20 Bonds in specie, and
that the expansion of the currency should cease.
It affirms that the business interests of the country
require a speedy resumption of specie payments,
and recommends the contraction of the currency at
the rate of $3,000,000 a month, commencing Jan.
1, 1869. It would limit the National Bank cur-
rency to $300,000,000 until specie payments are
resumed, and the Convention closed its labours
with three loud cheers for the national honour. The
West and the East sail in different boats, which
may yet bring them into collision.
Last Monday, in the House of Commons, Mr.
Ewart moved for leave to bring in a bill to intro-
duce into England the metric system of weights and
measures. He proposed to leave the time blank,
but thought that five years might be a sufficient
interval before the bill came into operation. Mr.
Cave said he should not offer any opposition on the
part of the Government to the introduction of the
bill, but wished to remind the hon. gentleman that
one of the points contained in the measure would
be brought under the consideration of the Royal
Commission now sitting. The bill was brought in,
and afterwards read a first time.

The Consular and Diplomatic Appropriation
Bill, as reported on the 12th Feb., appropriates the
salary for a Minister to 'Portugal, provides Com-
missioners and Consul-General to Hayti and Li-
beria instead of Ministers, makes no appropriation
for Ministers to Greece and Rome, reduces the State
Department Contingent Fund from $65,000 to
$30,000, and omits the salary of the Second-As-
sistant Secretary of State. The bill contains a
provision that no consul-generals, consuls, consular
agents, or commercial agents, shall be paid except
those specified in the Act, and that all laws and
parts of laws providing for the payment of any other
consular officers than those in this Act specified
are thereby repealed; and that all moneys received
for fees at any vice-consulate, or consular agency
of the United States, beyond the sum of $l,OOO, in
any one year, shall be accounted for and paid into
the Treasury in the same manner as other moneys
received by the consular offices. No money is
sanctioned for the examiner of claims, superinten-
dent of statistics, despatches by the Atlantic cable,
boundary commissioner of Washington territory,
nor rent for the State Department building. Sena-
tor Patterson's bill has passed the Senate, and it
provides that no more of these officials shall be
appointed either by the President or by the depart-
ments, and that the offices shall cease on the expi-
ration of thirty days from the passage of the Act.
It will make a sweep of a large number of Govern-
ment officials, special and general agents, and the
President is barred the power of future appoint-
ment, except with the advice and consent of the
Senate, a report being made to Congress at the
beginning of each Session of the number of agents
then in the service. The Act is thought to be an
effectual measure of retrenchment without injury
to the public service. The newspaper correspon-
dent, W. W. Warden, whose business it was to look
through journals and select articles to read to Mr.
Johnson, has also been struck off, as well as a
pardon clerk.
News from Hongkong of the 15th January states
that a Japanese vessel had arrived with intelligence
that the ports of Iliogo and Osaca had been opened
on the first day of the year. Twelve British, six
American, and one French war vessels were pre-
sent. Much adverse discussion continues in China
regarding Mr. Burlinghaine's appointment as Envoy
from the Chinese Government to the various Euro-
pean Courts and the United States. An earthquake
had occurred in Formosa which lasted 32 minutes.
Much damage was done. The Pacific steamer
Great Republic arrived at Hongkong on the 13th
January.
The New York Chamber of Commerce has ap-
pointed a Committee to report on the propriety of
opposing the bill now in Congress to assimilate the
coinage of the United States to the French 5-franc
piece, harmonizing it with many of the European
continental nations. The difficulty with them ap-
pears to be the loss that must accrue to the public,
as well as the private creditors of the country, who
will lose by such conversion 31 per cent., the re-
duction in the value of the dollar. If Sherman's
Consolidation Loan Bill is to pass a clause might be
introduced to correct the discrepancy, and on that
all other monetary transactions could be regulated.
The difficulties of harmonizing the English currency
with the French is far greater. Indeed, the United
States are in the most favourable position for mak-
ing a change so desirable—an opportunity which, if
now lost, may never occur again. The Hon. Samuel
Ruggles, Commissioner to the Paris Convention,
has published a long and able report on Interna-
tional Coinage. As we announced in our last issue,
her Majesty has appointed a Royal Commission to
report on this subject.
The State of Pennsylvania has not been happy
in its Treasurer, Mr. W. 11. Kemble, unless it wished
to prove how much injury any man may effect if he
is only given the chance. Messrs. August Belmont
and Co., acting for the Rothschilds, applied to Mr.
Kemble for permission for his clients to continue
to hold certain overdue Pennsylvania stocks, in-
stead of receiving the principal in the depreciated
currency, but if compelled thus to accept payment
to do so under protest. To this letter, January 28,
a reply was immediately despatched, refusing to
allow the Messrs. Rothschild to retain the old loan,
and draw interest on it —they had not, said Mr. K.,
the slightest objection to the protest, and the com-
plaints appeared to them " ridiculous." Consider-
ing that it was the injurer who thus addressed the
injured, there was sufficient curtness and rudeness
in this, but not enough to satisfy a Kemble. Taking
a leaf out of the letter of Thaddeus Stevens, on
Repudiation, about the sweet communion of Jew
and Gentile—he endeavours in the same breath to
plunder and to stigmatize--to add insult to injury.
These are the Treasurer's words—" I have no
doubt Messrs. August Belmont and Co. had many
liabilitiesout when the L ,gal-Tender Act was passed,
which became due after gold had risen to a pre-
mium of 80. 1 have not yet heard of their conscience
compelling them to pay in gold instead of the Legal-
Tender. We are willing to give you the pound of
flesh, but not one drop of Christian blood." But he
had caught a Tartar. August Belmont's reply is
a forcible suppression of insolence. Briefly re-
viewing the correspondence, he proceeds as briefly
to state the circumstances. He shows that the
Messrs. Rothschild were acting for widows and
orphans who would be reduced to beggary by the
course taken by Pennsylvania. In this they evinced
a fresh proof of their honourable appreciation of
the obligations assumed by them as trustees of the
innocent holders of the most disastrous loan ever
negotiated by their house negotiation bawd