The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-24 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 1865.

President JOHNSON does not appear to be inclined
to forego the dignity of issuing proclamations. That
part of the Presidential office seems to be much to
his taste, and accordingly we find him still busily
engaged in laying down the law. Besides procla-
mations providing for the restoration of different
States to the Union, he has issued a proclamation
removing all restrictions on foreign and domestic
commerce with seceded States east of the Mississippi.
But although, in declaring the war to be at an end
in Tennessee he professes to remove all consequent
disabilities, he proclaims that the confisca-
tion laws are still to continue in full force,
as also the suspension of the habeas corpus,
and the exercise of military law. This is
a strange method of removing disqualifica-
tions, and of celebrating the return of peace. If
martial law is to be maintained, the people might as
well have continued hostilities ; and the suspension
of the habeas corpus indicates only too strongly the
arbitrary and unconstitutional spirit which rules at
Washington. The President himself is said not to
favour the extreme views of Mr. STANTON and some
other of his associates, and it is reported that the
indictment of DAVIS was prepared without his
knowledge—a strange encroachment of the Presi-
dential authority. The long-looked-for trial has
not yet begun, and it is not even decided on what
charge or before what tribunal Mr. DAVIS iS to be
arraigned. Two of his former friends, Secretary
BENJAMIN and General BRECKENRIDGE, more for-
tunate or more prudent than himself, have escaped
respectively to Cuba and to Bermuda, a fact which
few will be inclined to regret.

The negroes are at present in a very painful
position. The sudden and violent manner in which
a change demanding the utmost care and prudence
was effected has left these unfortunate people a prey
to fresh ill-usage in another form. English
Abolitionists may give Federal ambition the
credit of fighting the liberation of the slave,
but the Northern people themselves do not take
much trouble to maintain the character. In the
principal cities of the Northern States the negroes
are being roughly handled, for no reason apparently
excepting that they are negroes. In New York,
and even in pious Philadelphia, the expulsion and
beating of negroes for attempting to ride in the
street cars are so common that it has become a daily
occurrence, but in Washington matters have been
carried further. A party of soldiers, numbering
about 200 men, attacked a settlement of negroes
on the 10th, drove them from their houses,
beat them, and destroyed their furniture,
appropriating all that was of value. The blacks,
after a time, rallied in defence of their property,
when firearms were used on both sides, and many
persons were hurt, though no death is reported.
The riot was at length put down by military force.
This is not a satisfactory state of affairs, nor does it
indicate much hope of an harmonious amalgamation
of free blacks and whites.

Another of those fearful catastrophes which make
an ordinary American " sensation" has occurred at
Chattanooga ,where the 0 rdnance,repository contain-
ing several thousand tons of ammunition exploded on
June 9th, doing terrible damage to life and property.
The neighbouring depots with their contents were
entirely destroyed, and the total estimated public
loss was four million dollars. The singular coinci-
dence of this accident with the fires at Nashville and
Gallatin, and after the explosion at Mobile, gives
rise to suspicions that its origin was not
purely accidental. It is said that torpedoes have
been found among the rubbish in the Custom House
at Mobile, an additional reason for uneasiness.
There is so much dishonesty in the public depart-
ments that the reckless waste of public money might
only be looked on as a means to private gains.
Peace and prosperity seem yet some distance off
from the tempest-tossed nation.

Ministers are showing an indecent haste to get
through the session, and nothing can be said too.
strongly in condemnation of such a course. Indeed
their best friends or well-wishers had better have
counselled them to act otherwise. There is no
earthly reason why the general election should take
place in so short a time. Last night in the House
of Lords this unseemly hurry was commented upon,
and many noble lords took occasion to point out the
inconvenience that would arise from the peremp-
tory manner in which the Government was acting.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY introduced the subject
of the Private Business before the House, and
urged the expediency of making some arrangement
in order that the session might not be much further
prolonged. He requested the Chairman of Com-
mittees to inform them " what proportion of this
business it would be possible to get through in a
short time." Lord REDESDALE, in reply, stated
that he would soon be able to impart the desired
particulars, and, in pursuance of the purpose aimed
at, he said that he would this day move a notice
which would result in the necessity for all petitions
against private bills being presented on Monday
next. Lord DERBY very properly protested against
this course, and declared that it was very unusual
for Government to adopt such a course without
giving notice, for by this means those parties
who were interested in private bills were pre-
vented from entering a protest against the order. In-
deed, the whole style of Ministerial arrangements
at present is inconsistent in the extreme, and it is
well that the noble lords on the Opposition side of
the House have taken up the matter, and, at all
events, exposed the paltry contrivance and unwar-
rantable efforts which are being made to shuffle off
the remnant of the session. As for the precedents
which were sought to be established, they were quite
out of character, and were shown not to meet the
case then before the consideration of the House. It
is not proposed that the new Parliament shall
assemble as soon as the elections are over, and
therefore all possible pretext is removed for this
extreme haste. In 1859 the case was widely diffe-
rent, and it was quite idle for the Government to
cite it as an example for the present year. As
Lord DERBY said, it was imperative that a
dissolution should take place within a certain time
in 1859, but now there is no reason whatever as-
signed why Parliament should prorogue before the
usual time. There is great truth in this remark of
the noble Earl's, and those best qualified to judge
will detect the covert satire which it contains.
" However desirous Government and the mem-
bers of the other House might be that
the elections should take place without delay,
that was no reason why parties having private busi-
ness should be put to the inconvenience of having it
postponed for another year." What can be more
plain' than this, and it should shame those
who, for their own selfish ends and in-
ordinate love of place, are sacrificing the
interests of others, and making a scandal of the ar-
rangements in the highest tribunal in the land.
Lord CHELMSFORD also clenounced tie course which