NEWS OF THE WEEK.
AOTHER of these terrible scandals in the United States. General Schenck, the American Minister here, who is accused of receiving a bribe to promote the interests of the Emma Mine, will probably be acquitted bythe House of Representatives' Committee, as we know that English gentlemen whose names would carry con- viction of their loyalty have looked carefully into all the evidence, and decided that he was only imprudent or silly ; but Mr. Belknap, tire Secretary for War, has been impeached, and is certainly either a guilty man, or a most recklessly self-sacrificing one. According to a telegram in the Times of Friday, a Mr. March, of New York, has informed the House Committee on Expenditures, that he paid Mrs. Belknap, wife of the War Secretary, £2,000, in consideration of an appointment as " trader " at Fort Sill, and agreed to pay her £1,200 a year, his total payments now amounting to £5,000. Mrs. Belknap immediately admitted the truth of the charge, saying the Secretary had nothing to do with it ; but the Secretary afterwards affirmed that while the charge was true, he had no wish to put the responsibility on his wife. He may, of course, be shielding her, but in that case, he forgets his own responsibility for the honour of the State. His Impeachment has been ordered, and the occurrence will probably be fatal to President Grant's chances of a third term. However honest himself, he has evidently no talent for selecting honest men.
