The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-02 00:00:00

NEW ZEALAND.

The state of affairs in New Zealand produced a sort of
Ministerial crisis, the close of the session being charac•
terised by the most vehement and most unsatisfactory
political warfare. The Ministry were, assailed by
three "No confidence " motions. The Opposition
were beaten in every instance, but it was a
narrow escape. On the motion relating to general
policy, the Government gained by a majority of
nine ; on that relating to their finance by seven ; and on
that relating to native and defence affairs by one. The
Ministry declined to intimate their intentions, and so the
war was prolonged. During the last fortnight of the
session, supply was resisted at every step. The first item
was discussed from ten o'clock at night until ten the next
morning. Lively political strife this.

GREENBACK REDEIIPTION AND THE
PREDIC7'ED COMPROMISE.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)

Those whose impressions on the English Elections
come from the Standard would believe the Con-
servatives had achieved a great triumph. By some
unaccountable means the Radicals had a majority
in the Commons, yet the judgment of the country
had been unmistakeably pronounced against
GLADSTONE'S policy. The man thenceforth lives
in a deluson, and experiences the successive shocks
of seeing measures carried into effect opposed, as
he imagines, to the national will. Just so these who
pin their faith about American affairs on the letters
of many comt:pondents of leading London papers
would live in a delusion and see things happening
they thought could not happen, and events pre-
dicted ascertain never accomplished. If it be the
object of journalism to delude, some of our con-
temporaries admirably answer the purpose, more
especially with regard to American matters. The
correspondent of the Standard openly professes
Copperheadism, is an amusing and genial writer,
and all know that the view he gives fairly is through
a party medium. But he of the Z imes, wherein
such outspoken party views would not be tolerated,
disguises while he advocates so as to deceive those
unacquainted with tha country that he is a mere
party writer, so skilfully is his stripe obliterated.
From time to time we have exposed his fallacies,
which is a simple process when his predictions
and the results were published side by side in the
same paper ; the prophecy coming by mail and the
fact by cable. Blunders thus shown up were
sufficiently numerous to sink a line-of-battle ship,
but when plunged overhead in what would smother
others, lie appears to be in his element. Yet his say-
ings go the round of the world. The Times writes
leaders on his statements, and the English accept
them as facts. It matters not that " his careful sur-
vey of the field" gave the Presidential election as
certain for the Democratic ticket—it matters not
that " his dismal prospect " turns to a bright
future, that his anticipated deficiencies prove a
surplus—still he goes on predicting, and the Eag-
lish accepting—perhaps with somewhat diminished
confidence his oracular words. But this man of parts
does not confine himself to mere prophecies. He
boldly gives circumstantial details of events still in
the future; thus, he ton all about the elections in
lowa weeks before these elections came off. Lately
he sent to Printing House-square the new Con-
gress, though Connecticut and New Hampshire
do not vote till March, Florida till December,
while Georgia and Alabama have not yet elected
their representatives ; and the correspondent him-
self selected the men to be returned for those
States. In his letter of the 10th inst., he thus returns
to the attack where the United States is most
vulnerable—its credit, " The new Congress, with
the exception of the seven members of the House
from New Hampshire and Connecticut and a few
of the Senators, is now chosen, and the results of
the elections show that the Greenback party has a
decided majority in the House." Who would sup-
pose that three other States, besides the two he
mentioned, entitled to fourteen Representativcs,were
not even alluded to? and their elections taken for
granted, independent of the unreconstructed States,
Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas. But thisis his pecu-
liar style, and he presumes on the ignorance of his
European readers. He then proceeds elaborately
to analyse the composition of the House to ascer-
tain what its vote will be on the greenback redemp-
tion question, concluding that 82 Representatives
are for gold, and 145 for greenbacks. As usual, he
is positive as to the opinions of the men sent by the
various States. For New England he gives 26 in
favour of gold, and one (Burt.Eit, we preliutne) for
greenbacks. From the Middle States all the De-
mocrats are pledged to greenback payment ; " but
it is probable that three or four of the New York
city members, when the pinch comes, will vote for
gold payment, together with the entire Republican
delegation from those States, thus making from
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, and West Virginia, 41 for gold and 28
for greenbacks. Of the Southern members there
is not one of either pari,y who can be relied
upon to support the honest side. There
is no debt hell there ; the southern people
hate it ; and, consequently, the entire strength
of the section, thhey-three members, will be for
paper payment, while probably a good many of
them would oppose any payment at all if they had
the chance. There arc 19 Democrats and 14 Re-

publicans elected to the new House from the South.
In the \Vest nearly every member has put himself
on record against gold payment, and both the Re-
publican and Democratic parties in that section
support greenbacks. The Republicans had to do
it in the campaign to succeed at the election'.
Eleven Western members, however, may vote for
gold payment ; while the others, 83, will, in all
probability, vote solidly against it. The four mem-
bers from the Pacific States are put on the gold side
of the question. . . . The next Congress goes
into office March 4, 1869, but does not begin work
until December next year, so that, as mentioned in
my previous letter, the decision will probably not.
come until 1870. The Southern and Western
States, being similar in interests, will, by a coali-
tion, soon rule America again on financial matters,
as they did before the war." On this statement the
Times illote a leader asserting that Americans were
applying a similar arithmetic to their elections to
ascertain how the National Debt would be paid, as
the English were applying whether the Iri6ll Church
Establishment would be removed. In other words,
the Timesconsiders that the new Congress was chosen
on the Greenback question, and that the country
in returning a majority for currency redemption
pronounced in favourof thatfinanicial arrangement.
We all know that the Republican party were suc-
cessful in sending a vast majority into the House ;
a majority so great into the Senate as to make that
Chamber almost solidly Republican, and in elect-
ing the President and Vice-President. The plat-
form of this party was laid down at Obicago in
sufficient time for the public to fully digest it.
One plank in that platform was an interpretation
of the contract favourable to the bondholders, and
on that platform the party stand—President,
Senate, and Representatives—and must continue to
stand. If the people have elected a Republican
majority, pledged to a policy hostile to the Repub-
lican platform, then Englishmen may expect to find
a House of Commons in favour of DISRAELI, and
opposed to GLADSTONE'S Disestablishment measure ;
for the English-speaking people will be working by
the rule of contrary. The Standard may tell us
that the one thing may happen, and the ?ivies cor-
respondent that the other thing will happen, but
would it be wise in those who desire to be right to
accept such guidance? We doubt whether a clergy-
man would buy an advowson in the Irish Establish-
ment without fully discounting the contingency ;
and are men going to sell and buy Five-Twenties
under the influence of this financial prophet ? The.
subject to theth resolves itself simply into that most
important one, money ; and those interested should
have as accurate a view as can be attained. If the
Timesgave the other stand-point we would considerits
Philadelphia correspondent as not without his use.
But it does not, and thus circulates over Europe
one-sided statements, alike prejudicial to the
holders of the bonds and to the credit of the United
States.

The Southern Representatives are described a,
" carpet•baggers"-men, at best of no principle, and
he predicts that they will exhibit their want of it
in this controversy. As usual, Without grounds,
the correspondent jumps straight to a conclusion,
perhaps as allusive as his " careful survey of the
field." If these " carpet-baggers" have no principle,
neither have they property. Their sympathies
being Republican are opposed to the great Southern
element, and if the party platform be an honest
payment of the debt, the " carpet-baggers" would
support it as readily if without principle as with
principle, being personally indifferent, not bearing
tht burden, and not holding the Confederates' dis-
like to being taxed to pay the cost of their subju-
gation. Our conclusion, then, is the reverse of
that at which the correspondent arrives, and a little
examination will show that the Republican party,
in acting as the man in Philadelphia predicts, will
not only propose a policy and then violate it, but in
the very act, will do, not what the common sense
of mankind says is wise and expedient to do, but the
opposite. Take the just conclusion of the Times leader:
"So acute a people as the Americans ought surely
to discern the whole advantage they can possibly
hope to secure by thus dealing with the national
creditor could have been secured far more certainly,
and to a far greater extent, by a policy of the op-
posite kind. We are now told that the utmost to
be expected from the approaching decision is a cer-
tain saving in the rate of interest paid for the loan.
But what, let us ask, might be the economy in this
very direction if the Americans would but raise
their public credit above the reach of suspicion ?
They now pay 6 per cent. for money brrrowed, and
the whole interest on their public debt is something
like £28,000,000 a year. If they could strike off half
this charge by borrowing at 3 per cent., their gains
would be enormously greater than any they can
hope to realize by such proceedings as are now in
prospect. These proceedings, indeed, will have the
inevitable effect of impairing their public credit in
the eyes of the world, and consequently of keeping
up the terms against them whenever they enter the
money market. Such a policy, too, is all the more
extraordinary from the fact that the Republicans
set out with a distinct conviction of its error."
When the writer penned these remarks, did not the
idea cross his mind that the Philadelphia corres-
pondent was -wrong ? Why should he take it for
granted that Americans were fools, while he was a
wise man ? Perhaps the writer was not aware that
the question had been elaborately argued out by the
American papers, that its legal bearings, moral
bearings, and financial bearings had been ably and
fully discussed, the result being that the " acute"
people had arrived at exactly the same conclusion
as himself. There is as much chance of a green-
back redemption measure being passed by Congress
as there is that an honest, straightforward manlike
GRANT would sanction this violation of his plat-
form if it were passed. The correspondent, how-
ever, acknowledges that it could not pass the
Senate, and he concludes that the Chamber, lean-
ing one way and the House the other, that a com-
promise will be the result, such as the Funding B:11
of last summer, by which the interest would be
largely reduced. The correspondent makes use of
these measures, introduced before the work of the
session closed, although it was well known in Ame-
rica that they were all election dodges, brought for-
ward by men feeling their way in anticipation of
public opinion. Thus BUTLER acted, and nearly
met the fate he deserved. But is it fair to base
arguments on such political moves for advantage
of position before a great election ? The real ques-
tion is—ls the financial condition such as to make
it necessary, even as a temporary relief, for men of
common sense and honesty to resort to such an ex-
pedient ? Now emphatically we say it is not ; for in
every part of the United States, more especially in
the South, business is reviving, and that great
agricultural section will shortly be exporting as
largely as ever. The Prairie States have regained
their rapid increase in population, and those of the
Pacific combine in a wonderful degree an advance
in agricultural and mineral wealth. The heavy ex -
penses entailed by the war have been liquidated,
and in every department economy is the order of
the day. the Navy has been reduced to the lowest
scale, and the annual report of the Adjutant-General
of the Army, just sent to the Secretary of War, shows
the total army strength on the 30th Sept. to have been
48,081 men. Four thousand five hundred of these
were to be discharged before the New Year; and the
main force will consist of cavalry for employment
against the Indians on the plains. From an army
of a million, from fleets comprising hundreds of
vessels in these three years, the United States has
returned to its old establishment. While the Go-
vernment expenses are thus reduced the taxes re-
I main, and a surplus must be the result, which is
almost assured by the e!ection to the Presidency of
the man of honesty and common sense —:GRANT.
Thus, then, we maintain that greenback redemption
is not the policy of the people's Representatives—
nor of the Senate, nor of GRANT. That it is inex-
pedient, indeed too plainly, foolish for men of ordi-
nary ability to adopt the Legislature being acknOw-
ledged to be composed of men of ordinary ability,
and finally that the measure is unnecessary, the
wealth and progress of the country giving promise
of ample means to meet all requirements. If the
question of greenback redemption be not raised there
cannot be a compromise, and the whole superstruc-
ture of the Philadelphia correspondent then falls to
the ground.