The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-26 00:00:00

HONOUR TO THE DEAD !

President LINCOLN'S cruel assassination in the
very hour of victory will, henceforth, in the history
of America, surround his name with that brightest
halo in the annals of a powerful ruler—the eternal
sympathy of his fellow-countrymen. It obliterates
all that has been said and thought against him. It
makes us blind to his faults. It makes us remorseful
of our ridicule. The very grotesqueness of the
humour of the man seems, somehow invested with
a more poignant touch of the pathetic, now
that we pause to look back upon the memory
of it, now that we recall to mind the
shrewd witticisms to which that quaint, odd,
Yankee mouth of his, used to give such ready utter-
ance, in season and out of season, in the throng and
crush of the most dire disasters and in the supreme
moment of his tardy and recent, but complete
and absolute triumph. The death of a Droll is
always, in some such manner, touched with this same
crowning touch of the pathetic—probably from the
sheer effect of a simple revulsion of feeling. And
a Droll, ABRAHAM LINCOLN was, essentially and in-
grained. It was marked—that quaint, dry comi-
cality of the man—in the deep lines lending so much
of character to the lantern jaws of the tall, ungainly
PRESIDENT. It glimmered out in the twinkling
fun of his sunken eyes. It lent to him, in a sort
of left-handed way, the semblance at least, of
one of the most winning charms of all, the charm
of bonhommie. Look at the very last " good
thing" that was told of him, only the other day,
after the fall of Richmond, if not after the actual
surrender of LEE—when summoned into the balcony
by the excited mob, to receive from them what is
called an ovation, in honour of the success of the
North over the Confederates ! Remember what
was, there, related of him so very recently—his de-
clining to make any speech at all, because, as he
frankly acknowledged, he wasn't prepared with one,
at the same time that he was conscious that what-
ever fell from his lips would be sure to get printed
in the newspapers ! The President adding, that, in
lieu of a speech, he would call upon the Band which
had just before then been serenading him under the
balcony, for one of the prettiest airs he ever remem-
bered to have heard in his life, one that, although
it had been, no doubt, the national air of the South,
he presumed might be included now among the
spoils of the North ! Whereupon—having thus with
a humanizing touch of the humorous, striven to
soften the sterner triumph of political exultation
—the President caused Dixie's Land to be played
out amidst the cheers of the Federals, the
National Air of the South being followed im-
mediately afterwards amidst similar cheers by the
serio-comic strain of Yankee Doodle ! The whole
incident was surely, in every way, charac-
teristic. It was one illustrating at once the oddity
of the humorist, the good-nature of the man, and
above all the cool self-possession of the statesman,
even at a moment that was in itself essentially, to
a certain extent, embarassing. President LINCOLN
throughout his four years and a month or two
additional of power, has occupied in many ways
a very exceptional position among the great rulers
of men. In the midst of appalling bloodshed and
stupendous disasters he has been standing, virtually
and very conspicuously, like a Yankee Colossus
upon the border land of the Sublime and the
Ridiculous. But now that this conspicuous form has
ben abruptly and infamously stricken down by the
dastard hand of an assassin, whatever there was

of the Ridiculous about it, is lost, upon the instant,
utterly, to our recollection. The man, his memory,
his career, his triumph, his sudden murder
in the midst of his success—all become in-
vested with some, at least, of the attributes
of Sublimity. The very remembrance of his jesting,
as we have said, becomes pathetic. The mere
home-bred ungainliness of his bearing assumes to
itself henceforth a dignity of its own in our
recollection of it. Derision in his regard is at
once and for ever hushed. Enmity uncovers be-
fore that ensanguined bier. The man is more
powerful in death than he was in life—he is all-
powerful over our sympathies. We think of him
and his fate, if not with tears in our eyes, with re-
spect at least in our heart, at the same time that we
have burning within us feelings of scorn, and horror,
and loathing for the infamous and dastardly act of
his most cruel assassination.

Nothing certainly appears more fitting or more
characteristic alike of the hearty interest which
Englishmen have always taken in their navy and of
the national liberality than that there should be an
asylum and a provision for old and destitute sailors.
With the original intention of the founders of
Greenwich Hospital no one can possibly find fault,
but with the present mode of administering its
affairs there is plenty of room for criticism and
censure. So great are the abuses connected with it
that they have grown almost a byeword, and they
are likewise of such longstanding that it is very
difficult to deal with them. Session after session
the question comes forward, and even the Admiralty
officials can find no word in defence of the system,
but still, in spite of trivial alterations, very much
remains to be done, and there is at length some
hope of doing it. Mr. CHILDERS last evening
brought in a bill providing " for the better govern-
ment of Greenwich Hospital, and the more bene-
ficial application of its revenues." Those who can
recall the revelations which proved that the salaries
of the officials had increased in proportion as the
number of pensioners had decreased, will at once
admit that this latter clause was by no means super-
fluous. lir. CIIILDERS, in introducing his bill, ob-
served that during the recess a joint committee from
the Treasury and Admiralty had been appointed to
inquire what changes might be necessary beyond
those previously resolved on by the Government.
This committee entered very fully into the whole sub-
ject, and the measure now brought before the House
is founded upon their recommendations. The first
point is the management of the income, which
amounts to about £154,000. It is proposed to place
this under the guardianship of the House of Com-
mons, with the distinct proviso that under no cir-
cumstances is the income of Greenwich Hospital to
be considered as part of the general revenue of the
country. This would be a very judicious method,
since publicity is the best security for the honest
administration of any funds, and the revenues of
Greenwich Hospital would have a better chance of
being fairly and prudently disposed of under the
supervision of the House of Commons than under
any single official, however anxious he might be to
discharge his duty faithfully and wisely. There are
always in such cases vested interests to oppose, old
established privileges to invade, and unpopular
reductions to be made, which render the task of
reform an invidious and a difficult one. An officer
is, indeed, to be appointed as Comptroller of Green-
wich Hospital Estates under the Admiralty, and the
property is to be vested by law in the Admiralty.
This part of the business may not give so much
satisfaction, since the Admiralty are not supposed to
be the best managers of their own finances ! How-
ever, this is a separate thing, and there will always
be plenty of M.P.'s who will keep a sharp and
critical supervision over the accounts of the charity.
Mr. CIIILDERS explained the details of his bill at
some length, and showed that one of its chief ob-
jects was to reduce the number of in-pensioners to
600, greatly increasing the number of out-pen-
sioners. The general principle of the measure
appeared to meet with universal assent, though of
course there was some difference of opinion as to
the minor arrangements, which will probably be
better settled on further discussion. The great ob-
ject to be attained is to secure the splendid income
of this useful charity to those for whom it was origi-
nally intended, and to whom it of right belongs,
and Mr. CHILDERS will have done good service if
he succeeds in attaining so desirable an end.

We seem destined at the present day to meet
with strange and startling law cases. Scarcely has
the excitement of the trial of PELIZZIONI subsided
when another affair is brought forward, which
threatens to eclipse in excitement and thrilling in-
terest the previous extraordinary events connected
with trials for murder of recent years. The circum-
stances of the Road murder were so peculiar that
the public will be startled and surprised to find that
the affair is again about to be inquired into, and
that the horror which was experienced at the time
of the unfortunate event will be again revived.
Miss CONSTANCE KENT has come forward to declare
that she committed the act, and yesterday surren-
dered at Bow-street and made a voluntary confession.
This young lady is now 21 years of age, and has
apparently waited until this epoch to appear. It
may safely be said that a more extraordinary case
than this has never been met with in the annals of
crime, and even those most familiar with the strange
and startling details of murder must be struck with
the singularity of this affair. It is near five years
since the death of the unfortunate child, and many
had supposed that no more would be known of this
dark and dreadful mystery until the day when the
secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed. There '
seems, however, another opportunity afforded of
investigating the complicated affair again, and of
going over the old ground with, perhaps, some new
lights shed upon it. The public will be familiar
with the leading incidents of the case,
for they were so fully discussed at the time
that it is impossible to forget them. No details
were given by the young lady, and therefore as yet
we can form no opinion as to the validity of her
account, but she declared that she alone had com-
mitted the act. She declared positively, in answer
to the repeated questions of Sir THOMAS HENRY,
that this confession was entirely voluntary, and that
no one had influenced her in the slightest degree to
come forward and make the statement. Miss
CONSTANCE KENT has been for two years past at a
religious establishment at Brighton. The Rev. Mr.
WAGNER, perpetual curate of St. Paul's Church,
came with Miss KENT, and in answer to the
magistrate the rev. gentleman declared that he had
used no persuasion whatever to induce the young
lady to come forward, but that about a fortnight
since she made the confession to him, and
herself proposed coming to London to be taken
before a magistrate. Sir THOMAS HENRY again and
again advised Miss KENT to considerher position, and
not to forget that it was the most serious crime that
could be committed which she was asserting that she
had committed. Nothing, however, shook her de-
termination, and the Magistrate therefore was com-
pelled to send the case before the local Magistrates.
It is difficult to determine whether the step now
taken by this young lady is the result of a morbid
mind dwelling continually on a painful topic, or
whether it is really the fact that laavimg arrived at

an age -when she can act independently she has re-
solved to confess the long secret crime. It
has been stated that some of the relations
of CONSTANCE KENT have been of unsound mind,
and indeed that an uncle of hers has been twice
confined in a lunatic asylum. It will be remem-
bered that CONSTANCE KENT has already been in
custody on the same charge before, and was then
dismissed, as nothing was proved against her.
Some attempts were made to show that CONSTANCE
entertained a great dislike to the little boy who was
murdered, but nothing of a striking character was
set forward. The nurse was also apprehended on
the charge, but also acquitted ; and she laboured
under greater disadvantages than Miss KENT, if
possible, because the child was actually taken from
the room in which she slept. Still this might very
easily be accounted for by various reasons ; persons
of her class proverbially sleep heavily, and the child
was not an infant to cry out when disturbed. Several
surmises were set afloat, and a great many rumours
were circulated of various kinds respecting the affair,
but all inquiries ended in the same manner and with
a similar result. The death of FRANCIS S. KENT
remained unaccounted for, and was shrouded in
seemingly impenetrable mystery. The strangest
part of the affair was that so many persons were in
the house at the time, and yet no clue could be
afforded which at all elucidated the mystery. Be-
sides Mr. and Mrs. KENT there were four children
of the first marriage and three servants, as well as
the children of the second wife, one of whom was
the unfortunate FRANCIS. The conduct of all was
subjected to strict scrutiny, and no effort on
the part of the police could arrive at any ex-
planation of the matter. No one was spared
censure who was at all mixed up in the affair, and
the conduct of Mr. KENT, the father, was animad-
verted upon in driving over to Trowbridge for the
police instead of stopping at home to search him-
self. Still, whether innocent or guilty, persons
appear to such disadvantage under such trying
circumstances that no positive proof can be afforded
by any circumstance, however peculiar in itself or
extraordinary in its significance. It must not be
concluded that CONSTANCE KENT has really com-
mitted the act until further particulars are disclosed
and fresh evidence put forward. Her simple state-
ment 4 however positively made, is substantiated
by proofs of the most irrefragable character.
The public must not be misled by any ap-
pearance, however specious, and arrive at a hasty
conclusion. Great interest will be felt by all to
hear more, and the report of the proceedings of the
trial will he eagerly perused by all who have been
shocked and terrified at the affair. Dreadful as it
will be to find out that the murder was committed
by this young girl, it will be better to be assured of
it if it really is so, in order that innocent persons may
not be suspected ; but great care must be taken not
to make mistakes, and the affair is so painful in all
its bearings that it will be a positive relief to have
it determined in one manner or another.

It is not wonderful that Mr. LAIRD should be
inclined to criticise the system of Admiralty ship-
building. The Admiralty is never very fond of
improvements, and, although we hear a great deal
about the various experiments made, we find they
are always very reluctant to adopt any new method
which may interfere with their own prejudices.
They refused to apply steam to the Navy; they
would not adopt the screw. Sir CHARLES NAPIER
himself said it was folly to have the screw ; but,
after sending the Rattler right round the kingdom
by way of experiment, they were reluctantly forced
to admit the superiority of the screw. -The twin
screws were also tabooed for a long time, but now
they are compelled to adopt them. Improvements
must grow old in other countries before our Ad-
miralty will condescend to recognise them. The
mercantile marine is generally far in advance of the
Royal Navy, while all inventors are treated with
such coldness and discouragement that they are
often driven to carry their inventions elsewhere.
In the same way they insist upon keeping to the
old-fashioned broadside guns in the centre of the
ship. The most inexperienced observer can at
once see the difference between carrying a heavy
weight in the centre instead of at the edge, and
must at once recognise the far greater power con-
ferred by the turn-table system on vessels of inferior
size. Why then are our Admiralty officials so re-
luctant to try this mode of reconciling the problem
of the increased weight of guns with the
desire for speed ? Is it part of the prover-
bial obstinacy of seamen who, through always
handy in adapting themselves to new schemes when
once tried, are always most averse to try them ?
When convinced by facts they believe the last ship
to be the best, but the prejudice in favour of old
plans is proverbial, and
,they, generally speaking,
hate innovation of all kinds. Sir CHARLES
NAPIER, who was strongly in favour of the old
paddlewheel, was obliged to admit the possibility of
a shot striking the pivot, when the wheel would be
lost. lle built a ship on his own design, the Sidon,
which had the singular quality of being lop-sided
and would never sit upright on the water, notwith-
standing all efforts to right her by adjusting the
ballast. Eventually he went to the Baltic with a fleet
of screws, and we hope the present authorities at
the Admiralty will be equally convinced of the
merits of the turn-table guns. Mr. LAIRD, than
whom there is no one more qualified to build ships
combining strength and speed, has declared that
ships can be built of light draft and sufficient ton-
nage to go to every quarter of the globe, and pro-
tect our commercial interests. We hope the Admi-
ralty will ponder on these things, and allow scientific
innovations to displace exploded routine theories.