The New York herald., 1868-05-04

they cite justify their Indignation. II is the
duty of the United States government to inter
fere at once and put an end to this iniquity.
If Spain does not know what is right she must
be taught. Where are our ships of war, and
what are they doings
Alta vela Guano In the Impeachment Case.
The most incongruous things are sometimes
accidentally mixed up together as we see in
the Alta Vela guano speculation and humbug,
with the grave and important trial of the Presi-
dent of the United States before the Senate.
This Alta Vela matter was first brought into
notice in connection with the impeachment
trial through Judge Black, one of the Presi-
dents-counsel, Withdrawing from the case be-
cause the President declined to use his author
ity in support of the doubtful claim of Judge
Blacks clients. If any proof were wanted of
the infexible honesty and conscientious conduct
of Mr.. Johnson in the discharge of his public
duties this would furnish it. We will say nothing
here of the very questionable conduct Of Judge
Black in pressing such claim upon the Presi-
dent at the time he was engaged as one of his
COUNSEL or in abandoning the defence at the
eleventh hour because the President could not
conscientiOusly grant what the Judge requested,
but we must say that the action of Mr.. Johnson
under these circumstances rebounds to his
honor and shows his high sense of duty and
infexible honesty. The letters published on
Friday from Judge Black and others, and the
long letter of the Judge published on Saturday,
together with the spicy debate on the Alta vela
matter in the House of Representatives, show in
the strongest light the pressure made upon Mr..
johnson in this matter, and his admirable con-
duct, superior to personal considerations or
the influence of friends, when public duty was
brought in question. The second time this Alta
Vela matter came up was in the pleading Of Judge
Nelson before the Senate in behalf of the Presi-
dent. Mr.. Nelson felt it his duty to defend the
President against the false assertion which had
been circulated everywhere through the radical
organs that Judge Black had withdrawn from
the defence because the President had no case
cause.-the Alta Vela matter-of Judge Blacks
abandonment of the Presidents defence, and in
doing so showed that the very Managers of the
impeachment trial-Butler, Logan, Thad
Stevens and Bingham-had pressed this Alta
Vela claim upon the President This led first
to sharp words in the Senate chamber, which
were strongly suggestive of pistols on another
arena between Butler and Nelson, and after
wards to- the debate and scandalous PERSONAL
ties in the House Of Representatives on Friday.
All of the party-the Managers and Judge
Black-have found it necessary to defend
| themselves as well as they could from the
damaging facts brought out by Mr. Nelson.
1t is in this way that guano and the guano
spectators got mixed up with impeachment.
| 1t appears certain from this Alta Vela dis
cussion and difficulty that our public men,
those even of the highest position in Congress,
and these Simon-pure impeachment Managers,
lose no opportunity to use their influence and
the government for private schemes and specu-
lations. Even while they were plotting to oust
the President from his high office on the film
siest pretext they did not hesitate to ask him
to favor their schemes and speculations. We
cannot find language severe enough to de-
nOunce such conduct. But those who grasp
at so much and are full of schemes are
apt to Overreach themselves. For instance,
this Alta vela island is said to be worth a vast
sum of money for the guano found on it, and no
doubt the lobby, with the other spectators at
Washington, expect to realize a great DEAL
Now, there is no guano there or on any of the
islands, windward or leeward, of the West
Indies, worth to the farmer the cost of trans
portation. It is not pretended, we believe,
that the so-called guano there is the excrement
of birds, like that of Peru; and If
that were the pretence 1t would be
gross fraud, because the heavy and
frequent rains in that part of the world
prevent any accumulation or deposit of such a
fertilizing substance. 1t is nothing more than
decomposed coral reformed, with some little
mixture Of shells. II is, in fact, nearly all
carbonate of lime, and has not as much fer
tilizing quality in it as Jersey mari or burned
limestone. The reefs and peninsula of Florida
are formed of just the same material, and,
therefore, without making a fuss about Alta
Vela, Aves island or any other of the West
Indies, we have enough on our own territory,
il worth the transportation, to Gil all the ships
in the world for all time to come. But, in
truth, there are hundreds of clay marshes and
clay banks scattered throughout the United
States where much more valuable fertilizer
may be found. The whole of this Alta vela
business, then, about which so much noise is
made, is nothing more than great humbug
speculation for stockjobbng purposes. The
Washington lobby and SPECTATORS, including,
no doubt, many members of Congress, might
make money out of it in this way if the excite
ment can be kept up but after they have
found fools enough to buy the stock and some