The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-12 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY.—Morning, 9h. 25m.—Afternoon, 10h. Om.
To-Monßow.-Morning, 10h. 34m.—Afternoon, 1111. Sm.

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LONDON, TUESDAY, DEC. 12, 1865.

All the intelligence that has reached us of the
state of affairs in Belgium, and the manner in which
the sad news of the death of the KING has affected
foreign nations, confirm the impression already
entertained of the high esteem in which the departed
monarch was held. In all ranks and classes great
sympathy and sorrow have been expressed, and
numerous are the testimonials which the bereaved
family have received to the worth of the departed,
and the great loss which has been sustained thereby
i n the councils of Europe. Yesterday the new KING re-
ceived a telegram from the Emperor NAPOLEON, which
expressed in the most emphatic language the senti-
mentsof regret, and the feelings of respect and admira-
tion entertained for the King by the Imperial family
King LEOPOLD was renowned
of Fra,pee, and stated
for intelligence and wisdom ; he was one of the
most justly revered monarchs of Europe. Such
language is not flattery, but merely expresses in
appropriate terms the high position which the King
held among the Sovereigns of Europe. On Satur-
day the funeral will take place, the
and already
Prince of WALES, the King of PORTUGAL, the
Crown Prince of PRUSSIA, and the Prince
L 01.715 of REssz have signified their ill-

tention of being present. Her MAJESTY was
much affected when she received the sad
intelligence on Sunday ; and the reflections conse-
quent upon the receipt of the mournful news must
have carried her back through the vista of years to
long-past scenes of brighter hopes and happier days.
The late King LEOPOLD has always been a welcome
visitor in this country ; he lived so long here that
he understood the character of the English people
well, and his advice was always of great service on
momentous occasions. The semi-official Neue
Preussische at Berlin published a biography of the
late King, in which we meet with the follow-
ing passage :--" Even the political adversaries of
the deceased monarch allow that he was a highly
gifted Prince, and that in him the House of Coburg
has lost its chief, through whose political abilities
it derived a lustre almost unparalleled in modern
history." The French papers, with hardly an
exception, accord their tribute of praise to the
memory of the late Monarch, and the 3loniteur
declares that throughout the capital the intelligence
has produced a deep and melancholy impression,
and that the loss of a Sovereign who by his wisdom
acquired so high a position in the councils of Europe
has excited universal regret. The French Court,
out of respect to his memory, have put off the fetes
at Compiegne, and in all directions regret is ex-
pressed and respect manifested. The Council of
Ministers, at Brussels, have issued a proclamation,
in which they state that the people will await with
confidence the day when the Constitutional oath
from the Heir to the Throne will be received by
the representatives of the nation. A proclamation
was also posted in the streets of Brussels, which
announced the sad news on Sunday, and truly
declared that " all Belgium would deplore the loss
of the Sovereign who has been associated with the
destinies of Belgium for the last thirty-four years."
Equally correct was the statement that the late King
was eminently successful in his efforts to establish
a monarchy based on independent principles. It
is to the lasting renown of the KING that his little
kimgdom survived the fall of thrones and crash of
empires which convulsed Europe in 1848, and such
an event will be a witness to his fame in the coming
ages of History. The hulependance Beige declares
that the Belgian nation is afflicted but not depressed.
" It weeps for the past, but it faces the future with
confidence." That these cheering anticipations
may be realised will be the earnest wish of all who
take an interest in the welfare of the brave little
kingdom of Belgium and its intelligent people.

The great Smithfield Cattle Show has for many
years past been one of our regular Christmas Exhi-
bitions, and the visitors to the metropolis at the
holiday season would be sorely disappointed if they
were deprived of the annual sight. This year the
beasts of the field have risen into unwonted promi-
nence. They have occupied the anxious attention
of statesmen and politicians, they have formed
matter for correspondence between Secretaries of
States and ambassadors, they have originated public
meetings in various parts of the three kingdoms,
they have filled the columns of the press, and have
thrown medical science into a state of bewilderment
and incapacity. Having accomplished all this,
some persons thought they had done enough, and
would not be able to go through the exertion of the
annual show ; but such anticipations have been,
happily, proved mistaken. Despite the ravages of
the plague, and the apprehensions which the breeders
might naturally have been supposed to entertain in
sending their beasts to a large exhibition, the show
was good in quality, and the number, though not
so high as in some previous years, was larger than
could have been expected. The managers have
taken every possible precaution against the admission
of infected animals, and the senders had every
reason to repose full confidence in the care taken.
Every animal was examined and certificated before
quitting home, and was again examined on its ar-
rival at Islington by Professor SIMONDS and his
assistants from the Veterinary College, who, if they
have as yet proved unable to cure the disease, may
certainly be supposed to be capable of detecting its
very earliest indications. The vans and trucks
which brought the beasts were also carefully disin-
fected, and kept under lock and key. We may
remember also, as very possibly those immediately
concerned remembered, that the class of animals
who are brought to a show like this are far less
liable to the attacks of the fatal rinderpest. They
I are well fed, well housed, and properly cared for ;
they are kept in good condition, which, with animals
as with human beings, greatly diminishes the risk of
infection. When it is necessary to remove them
from one place to another their wants are attended
to, and competent herdsmen take charge of them.
All this is very different from the career of those
miserable animals who arc knocked about in the
steamboat or on the railway; left for long hours
without food or drink, driven through the crowded
thoroughfares amid yelling and hooting and baiting
of boys and men, to whom the fact of having charge
of an animal is sufficient reason for ill-using it.
There is good reason to believe that our inhumanity
and indifference respecting the treatment of cattle
has brought a heavy punishment upon ourselves,
since it has undoubtedly been the means of predis-
posing to the disease and encouraging its rapid ex-
tension, though it may have had nothing to do with
its origin. The exhibitors yesterday had as usual
no easy task in deciding between the rival merits of
the various breeds, and our northern neighbours
will rejoice over the final adjudication of the silver
cup for prize oxen to the Duke of SUTHERLAND'S
Highlander. The varions prizes and medals were
distribued among the nobility and the professional
breeders ; and it is satisfactory to find that the pigs
and sheep were of very good quality, and in unusual
numbers. The visitors mustered in great force, and
the inaugural day of the Cattle Show week pro-
mised well for the success and reputation of that
time-honoured institution.

If no man was ever more unjustly attacked than
Governor EYRE, it is satisfactory to find that he is
in no lack of able and efficient allies in the shape of
undoubted position and unquestionable authority
who b
testify
added to the
tifytohisworth and discretion. Another
has
long list in the person of
CHARLES COOPER, the late Chief Justi
ce
Times Aus-
tralia. This gentleman, in a letter to
f
to-day, declares that he has been asked
- by many
why he has not added his name to those who have
conic forward on behalf of the Governor, and he
does so now not to appear to" shrink from his friend,
when surrounded by enemies," but at the same timehe
states that the reason why he has not done so before
was that he felt sure all along that this lamentable
affair in Jamaica would be " thoroughly inyestigated"
by Government, and considered in Parliament.
Mr. COOPER goes on to state that he feels con-
vinced, from a long observation of Mr. EYRE'S life
in South Australia, that he would " not willingly
or unnecessarily, much less wantonly, cause the
death of any human being." He also expresses his
" confident trust" that when all the circumstances
have been gone into concerning this Jamaica out-
break, thatthe
in
Gaouvierrynor EYRE will " come forth
from h
with his good and hon-
ouredmuch bettername it
altogether untarnished."
would haveheenifotHo
w
much others
had
followed the wise example here set them, and waited