The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-01 00:00:00

had reduced the entire staff of the army one-half,

and had reduced the rank of the half that remained

one grade. Ile loaded the bill with absurd amend-

meets until it seemed as if he was determined to

kill it off, acid thus deprive a Republican Congress
of the credit arising from a practical and safe re-
duction of the army. The House was for the time
being as plastic as clay in the hands of the potter.
the Democrats voting with him uniformly. The

motives of Butler's actions were aptly characterized
when a Republican member asked a Democrat why
they voted to sustain Buticr so uniformly. ' Be-
cause he did his best to break up our party, and
now lie is doing his best to break up yours, and we
want to help him,' was the reply."
A report " Oa Lawlessness and Crime" gives a
strange picture of Texts, to which State Sheridan
applied the profane remark, that " if he owiel both

hell and Texa3, he would rent Texas aal live in

the other place." The monthly average number
of murders was 13::lieved formerly to be nine, bat it
has lately incre tse lto fifty-4o tr, not cona7ing ai-

saults with intent to kill, and other attempts. If

continues there soon will be a visible effect on

a population of 700,000. Morally it something
appalling, and the more so thlt out of 9Y 'hurlers
one only had b.2eu punishes by law. A freel-
man was the guilty person, and he of course
was hanged, while it was cousilerel sufficient to

acquit a genuine citizen that he had lost his arm in
the Rebel service. At Millican, July 15, the negroes

were attacked by the whites in an attempt to lynch

a white man ; why, it is not stated, but may be

guessed from the above report. Before the mili-
tary could restore order 50 negroes and several
whites are reported to have been killed. It is
asserted that a missing negro was supposed to
have been murdered, and that the man turned up

after the mischief his absence caused had been

done.

Two little facts, sufficiently curious to be noted
here, come from America by this mail, showing as

straws the drift of the tide. The English children's

tragedy and sere timing farce, " Punch and Judy,'
has erected its platform in Brooklyn, to the intense

delight of the little cousins in America. It is a
marvel that no enterprising theatrical caterer has

ever before carried the Punch and Judy parapher

nalia across the Atlantic. In London it has given

place to " Ethiopian serenaders"from America, who
are c mstantly met in their fantastic attire, blocking
up the streets. The other incident is the defeat of the

Cricket Club of British officers in Canada by the
Eleven ulectel from the best players in New York

and Philadelphia. When the champion Eleven of
England return to the United States, they may find

it a more difficult task to beat twenty-two Atneri,

can cricketers. The match closed on the 16th July,
the scores standing 164 to 184, with 20 wickets to
spare. Another American Eleven will soon leave
Philadelphia for Canada.
Anthony Trollope has returned to England, as a
reference to our " Arrival List" will show, having
narrowly escaped a public dinner at Delmonico's,
which, considering the weather, would have made
it doubtful whether another novel would ever have
emanated from that fertile brain. lie succeeded in
arranging a postal 1 reaty with Mr. Randall, but what
the benefits are the public will derive have not tran-
spired. Mr. Randall failed in getting the postage
reduced to 10 cents the half ounce, and Mr. 'Trol-
lope failed in selecting the steam lines to which
the exclusive carriage of the mails was to be given.
Each Government retains its independent action
for the dispatch of mails ; but an arrangement has
been agreed to by which letters may be sorted on
board the ship. The mails are to be sent on fixed
days by well-appointed steamers, and the payment
for the transport is to be agreed on between the re-
spective Governments and the carriers.
What people get from " strikes" has lately been
well illustrated in Philadelphia and New York.
The men employed by the gas companies left the
Quaker City in darkness, which it finds anything
but preferable to the light. Dips went up for the
two nights, and the tallow chandlers had a good
time. The newspaper offices, the hotels, and large
buildings were dimly illuminated with " mutton
fats ;" and lamps of every description were brought
into requisition. The office alone of one journal,
which possessed a patent gas-machine, was able to
throw a brilliant light on the subject. But this, bad
though it be, was trifling compared with what the
ice-men did for New York. They knew that they
would never have such an opportunity of making
people wretched, and they all seemed to be struck
simultaneously with the same idea ; so they knocked
off work, and very little iae was to be procured in
the city. We hope in the hour of their need the
public will remember them. The coal-miners have
got up a formidable strike in Pennsylvania, and in
the Pottsville district they are acting coercively
and unlawfully, stopping all trade, closing
shops and factories, and parading with arms
and banners about the country. The object is eight
hours labour as a day's work and increased pay-
ment.; but the colliery owners are likely to have the
best of it, if the question depends on mere endur-
ance, as at present, and for a few months they can
afford to stop work.
The affair of Captain Bridge, of the Chanticleer,
has so far been settled that the Admiral ordered the
blockade to be raised, and the commander to report
in person at Panama. Juarez has directed the con-
duct of the Custom-house officers to be inquired
into, who are to be punished if found guilty.
Should the investigation show the captain was in
fault, he must submit to the insult put upon him,
and any violent acts against Mexicans will be reta-
liated upon British subjects in Mexico. The money
taken from the officers of the Chanticleer is for the
present to be retained, and Mexicali honour
upheld at all hazards. Meanwhile all Mexico
is in a blaze of revolution, which in plac •
is taking an Imperialist turn. Masses had been
said in the principal towns on the 19th of June
for Maximilian, Miramon, and Mejia, and the
churches were filled with people in mourning. An
Imperialist movement at Niueva Leon had created
some alarm. The state of the country, of course,
precludes any possibility of commercial or indus-
trial activity, and trade was, in truth, stagnant.
Mr. A. M. Coningsby is about to start from
Washington on his tour to examine into the habits
and condition of American working men. He is
the agent of the London Society of Arts, and his
report is to be communicated to the British
working classes. Ile has been in communication
with the Commissioners of the Land Office and of
the Bureau of Statistics, as well as Messrs. Seward,
Welles, and other members of the Cabinet.
As the steamer was leaving the River Plate a
rumour was circulated that the Brazilians had been
defeated by Lopez, but, though quickly contra-
dicted, it has proved true. A telegram received
on Thursday in London, by way of Lisbon, from
Buenos Ayres, states that the Brazilian forces, six
thousand strong, sent to make a reconnaisance of
the Tehicuari, had been surprised by the Para-
guayans near the river Tabare and fearfully beaten.
A great many prisoners, horses, and arms fell into
the hands of the Paraguayans. General Caceres,
of Corrientes, has prohibited the sale of horses and
cattle to the Brazilians. Humaita is as strong as
ever. Tehicuari is well fortified. The river is
closed with chains. We hope that the war now
draws rapidly to its close in the establishment of the
complete independence of the brave little Republic
of Paraguay, and the discomfiture of that great
awkward bully, Brazil.
Judgment was given on Wednesday in the case
of the United States Government versus M. Armand.
The judgment states that the contracts of 1863
contained no stipulation leading to the supposition
that the order for the vessels hal been given by the
Southern States ; that, consequently, it was useless
to examine if the vessels were destined for ser-
vice in the China seas, or if the vessels had been
constructed in violation of the French declaration
of neutrality of 1861. The Court considered that
the United Sates hal gat established the fact of
the sums paid to M. Armand being their
property, nor that such sums came out of
the Treasury of the Southern States. The Court,
therefore, condemns President Johnson to pay the
expenses of the suit, and declared that documents
abstracted by a dishonest servant could not serve as
the basis of an action, and ordered their sup-
pression, and also the suppression of various pas-
sages in the bill of plaint. The Court especially