The national Republican., 1869-06-12

btlity OF wsp-Mr. Pesbedy's Char.
titles IN Essissd and she Unised
Nj. George Peabody, the grsat phllsp.
throplst, who arrived 81 New York q few
days ago ffom Europe. has gone 70 Massa-
friends. His health, Il Il now said, Is not
good, although he IL not seriously indisposed,
considering his advanced age. A correspond.
ent of New York journal has had an In
teryiew with him, and mikes tho following
reporti
10 the inquiry, "what was and is the
average opinion Of English statesmen and
tho English people Of the merits Of the pres
ent question between the United States and
Great Britain I" he responded
| "Well, at arst men In England accepted
Summers speech as the utteranoe, az II were,
Of q man behind the throne They sup
posed that he spoke not only on behalf Of
the Senate and the Radical party here, but
as mouthpiece Of the Administration itself.
This you know, because you have seen the
evidence Of Il In the London newspapers, and
because Il has Infected all the kilograms
| which have been sent from London across
the Atlantic"
"Mr. Summers speech was, then, a sur
prise in Englandl"
"a surprise, certainly; though they were
prepared for some such expression BY tho re-
Jection Of the johnson Stanley treaty, Upon
that treaty all England was willing enough
to stand. II had been long considcred-dis-
eusscd in the most public way, so that every.
body understood what Il was. II offended
| very few people, and there was a strong
hope-largely due to Mr.. Johnson's conf
| dence In the mattor-that the Senate would
/ confirm It,"
"Mr. johnson gained good opinions in
Englandi"
"He was very much thought Of. Nay,
more, no American In his position could have
taken stronger hold upon the hearts, the
affections OF Engllshmen. They only thought
| (the thoughtful among them) that he was
not discreet enough; that he was too conf
dent that he promised too much--as the
sequel shows. Mr.. johnson came domn 70
Brighton, where was staying, and remained
some time; and believe can testify to the
honesty and earnestness Of his conviction and
| endeavors."
"Dld the sudden explosion Of Summers
bombastlc bombshell produce an spprehen-
| sion of warl"
"No. The Government was not led so far
as to anticipate that; and even the journals
which have talked the loudest didn't believe
| In any such probability. Their first instinct
was, Of course, to stifen tho national spine,
and let people on this side Of tho water
| know that there wasn't any willingness 10
be imposed upon In the modern usiure Of
John Bull. But no person Of any considera-
tion believed, from the fret, that war could
come Of this difficulty. The commercial In
terests Of the two countries are 50 inter-
woven and mutually dependent that, for this
reason alone, war was thought to be hardly
| possible"
"was all this loud talk by the English
press mere sham talki"
"0h, no, II wasn't altogether intended for
that, be sure. II was In good part aud faith
the Interpretation Of the real feeling Of Eng
lishmen. When you touch an Englishman's
| sense OF honor, personal or national, you
touch him In the tenderest place. He resents
1t. Every man In England would have been
| willing to resent, to the extremity Of war,
the demand which Sumner sought to get the
| Administration to enforce. Mr.. Bright, who
was the last man saw In London before l
lel, (he lunehed with me q O'Clock, and I
left at 50 confirmed me In this impression.
And there is no ono there who has more
earnest affection for this country than has
Mr. Bright. Neither he nor any English
man could accept the preposterous theory Of
Sumner"
$50 Mr.. Sumner, as anticipate, has
ceased to be the recognized exposition of
American opinion In England"
Decidedly. His speech, up to the time
when | left, had come to be regarded as a
/
anything else. 1t was pretty we'll accepted
as bid by Sumner for popularity. The dis
Chalmers Of the American press had produced
q reaction. Several OF the most eminent
representative men In England, associated
with every phase Of politics there, whom
met, and who addressed me In writing before
my departure, assuredme Of their convic-
tlon that Summers logic would not con-
vince the majority on either sldo Of the At
lantic."
s'wIth this conviction, what Is the present
attitude Of the British Government and the
English peoplel"
'They fold their arms. They rest on
their oars.' They considered that the John
son-Stanley treaty conceded everything that
Great Britain ought to concede. They will
60 no further In the way OF. concession.
They trust that the United States Govern
ment will 20 no further in the way OF de-
mands. They have no sympathy with the
Radical party In this country, q speak OF
the majority Of Englishmen,) but they re-
pose some confidence In tho good sense Of
the present Administration. They were pre-
pared to regard Mr.. Motley's advent as O
peaceful one. Il did not SEQ Mr.. Motley,
whom l know. Tho steamer In which I
came out passed his, arriying.")
"Mr. Motley was not expected to make
any definite, further demand"
THAT was my impression"
"How about Great Britaini"
"The British Government will make no
proposal. Tho whole matter so far as Great
Britain Is concerned remains an open ques-
ton. She abides In the principle Of the
Johnson-stanley treaty as before. Against
any unreasonable exaction beyond that
basis believe she would resolve to fight"
Mr.Peabody inquired whether Mr.. Reverdy
johnson had received any reception or other
testimony Of public regard since his return
to this countryi Nothing Of the kind had
been reported In the Baltimore newspapers.
: Although number Of visitors had called
to see him-making the rear parlor quite
!, populous-the Anglo-American phllanthro,
plst was willing (having quilted the interna.
tional question: to explain some facts con-
nected with his numerous charities. He
animadverted In blsndly emphatic tone
against the misstatements OF the results OF
his benefactions In London. Nothing could
have been more interesting than the old
gentleman's manner and conversation at
this stage of the interview. He sat at the
other end Of the sofa with one leg crossed
over the opposite knee, coughing occasion
ally and looking somewhat infirm. His
cough, he said, was due to an affection OF
the bronchial tubes and Of the nerves near
the pit of the stomach. It was "yery wear
ing" and the more he spoke of 1t the more
he coughed. at will take some time and
care" said Mr.. Peabody, 'to get over it,"
OF the houses for the poor Of London he said:
"Four houses In all have been erected, and
: fifth building is under way. The four
houses contain about 800 rooms, and ac-
commodate about 2,200 people. All the
rooms are occupied. The average rent Of
room Is about 2s. per week. Of two rooms
IS. Per week, according to size, &c. The
expense OF erecting and maintaining these
buildings, thus far, has been less than 9l5O,-
900, which leaves f250 200 untouched, In
cluding accumulated interest and rents
Some detrimental and ignorant reports have
placed the architects fees at an enormous
figure. The fact Is, that the whole sum Of
architects fees, up to the present time, has
amounted to not more than f3, 200, on all
buildings erected and all lands purchased.
The expense Of the whole concern, including
tho pay Of the secretary aud agents, does
not amount to more than G5O0 to 1900 a
year. 1t is managed economically, for the
sole, exclusive benefit Of the industrious