The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-28 00:00:00

Letter from the Hon. J• M. Mason,

The Index publishes the following :
" TO THE EDITOR OF TILE INDEX.

" Sir,—Time will develope the mystery as yet attending
the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late President of
the United States, and the attempted assassination of Mr.
Seward, his Secretary of State. I desire only to repel at once
the calumnious assertion of Edwin M. Stanton, the Secre-
tary of War, in his letter to Mr. Adams, printed in the
London journals of this morning, that these acts were
'planned and set on foot by rebels, under pretence of
avenging the South and aiding the rebel Cause,' and of
which he says there is evidence obtained.'

"Mr. Stanton's letter is dated on the 15th April, and
states that Mr. Lincoln was assassinated in the theatre at
half-past 10 the previous night, and died at 20 minutes past
seven on the morning of the day that ho wrote. I adduce
this to show how unlikely it is, in the hurried excitement,
and the necessary occupations attending such events, that
any but the wildest theories would prevail in regard to the
cause of the event, or the objects of the perpetrators. Mr.
Stanton adopts that which he deemed would be the most
useful before the public of his country. Should the
'evidence' to which he refers to support his calumny ever
see the light, it will be scanned with the experience de-
rived in regard to other evidence, unscrupulously fabricated
in the same quarter, during the present war, for base
political effect. It is the crudest conception, too, that the
murder of Abraham Lincoln was planned and executed for
the purpose of ' aiding the rebel cause ;' but I can well
understand that it may have material influence in aiding
the cause of that overpowering party in the United States of
which Mr. Stanton is the type, and Andrew Johnson, who
succeeds as President, with Butler of the notorious prefix,
are the exponents and leaders—a party in whose path the
late President and his Secretary were acknowledged
obstacles in their projected schemes of plunder and rapine
to follow their dominion over the Southern States.
"For the rest, 1 learn from a well-informed source in
London that Wilkes Booth,' who is accused of the deed,
is a son of the celebrated English actor of that name, was
of his father's profession, which he pursued principally in
the Northern States, and was generally understood as in-
heriting those traits significant of his father's name, Junius
Brutus Booth, by whom ho was named John Wilkes, after
the great English Radical—an origin and mental training
little likely to engender the slightest sympathy with the
great cause of the Conservative South. As to the crime
which has been committed, none will view it with more
abhorrence than the people of the South, but they will
know, as will equally all well balanced minds, that it is the
necessary offspring of those scenes of bloodshed and mur-
der in every form of unbridled license, which have sig-
nalised the invasion of the South by Northern armies,
unrebuked certainly, and therefore instigated, by their
leaders, and those over them.

"Pardon the length of this note. I desired only in-
stantly to repel the atrocious calumnies in the letter of Mr,
Stanton.

" Very respectfully yours,

"J. M. MASON.
"24, Upper Seymour-street, Portman-square,
London, April 27, 1865."

MARKETS—This Day.

MARK-LANE.
The arrivals of the home-grown wheat fresh up to our
market to-day were moderate, and the condition of the pro-
duce was good. As compared with Monday, very little
change took place in prices, and although the demand was
by no means active, that day's currency was steadily sup-
ported.

Only a moderate supply of foreign wheat was on the
stands. Holders of all descriptions were firm in their de-
mands, and Monday's prices were well supported.
Floating cargoes of grain were in fair average request,
at full currencies.
The supply of barley on sale was very moderate, and the
trade was firm, at quite previous rates.
Malt was in slow request, at late prices.
With oats, the market was well supplied. Most de-
scriptions were in fair average request, at full quotations.
Beans and peas were in short supply, and Monday's
currency was well maintained.
A fair business was transacted in flour, at full prices.
ARRIVALS THIS WEEK.
Wheat. Barley. Malt. Oats. Flour.
English and Scotch. 1,490 850 2,730 540 830
Irish — 590
Foreign 7,150 2,890 49,180 1,410 sks.
brls