The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MON9AY EVENING, DECEMBER 18, 1865

the QUEEN has been grossly insulted and traduced
while zealously engaged in the discharge of his duty,
and it is imperative that at once, and without any
avoidable delay, he should be vindicated before those
who were mean enough to attack an absent man,
and prejudiced enough to permit all they heard to
favour their own version of the affair. It is high
time that Ministers should shake off the unworthy
fear which they have shown of the violent demeanour
and fierce invectives of the satellites of Exeter-hall
intolerance.

The community have had enough of this mean
method of conducting the policy of a great nation,
and for the sake of justice, and for the interests of
our colonial empire in general,we must demand and
insist that no favouritism be shown to the persecu-
tors of General EYRE and the brave men who aided
him in the momentous period of the insurrection.
It may be inconvenient to offend influential per-
sons ; but political considerations must be cast
aside, and party advantages and disadvantages
made of no account when honour is in the question.
By this time the Government must be in posses-
sion of the most important facts relating to
this affair, and it is believed, indeed,
that they are of the most conclusive kind in favour
of the policy of General EYRE. In the name of that
fair play which is the chief characteristic of our
nation, in the cause of that independence
which is our proudest boast, and in the
spirit of that justice which should pervade all
the departments of the State, and animate the di-
rection of affairs through the confines of our empire,
on which the sun never sets, we must protest
against the course which our Government has
pursued, and seems likely to pursue, in this
affair of the Jamaica Insurrection. It will
not do for them to try to shield themselves from
the consequences of their own precipitate folly and
tame subserviency ;by having recourse to delays,
and trusting to the doctrine of chances. Lord Rus-
SELL has stepped out of the course of an impartial
judge by siding with the cause of the anti-slavery
sect, and he cannot now say that he will wait for some
time to have all arranged in an orthodox fashion.
At once and without delay the party who have
accused Governor EYRE should be made to hear all
the circumstances that defend him from their asper-
sions, and if this be not done promptly and effici-
ently, the Parliament will have its duty to perform
in calling to account the Ministers who put the pre-
judices of faction before the calls of honour and the
claims of justice.

THE LATE KING OF THE BELGIANS•

BRUSSELS, Dec. 16.

The funeral obsequies of the late King of the
Belgians were celebrated to-day, and were most
imposing.
The facade of the Palace was draped with black
tapestry, studded with golden lions, and was illu-
minated by numerous funereal lamps.
At 10.30 a.m. the Duke of Brabant entered the
room where the body of the deceased King lay in
state, having on his right the King of Portugal, and
followed by the Count of Flanders and the Prince
of Wales, the latter of whom wore the scarlet uni7
form of an English Field Marshal, the Crown Prince
of Prussia, and the Archduke Joseph of Austria,
Prince Louis of Hesse, and Prince Arthur, who was
dressed in the Highland costume. Other high per-
sonages followed, among whom were the Prince de
Joinville, the Duke d'Aumale, and the Duke de Ne-
mours. After the Royal Princes came the Envoys
Extraordinary from the different courts of Europe,
including Lord Sydney and General Grey.
At 11 o'clock precisely the funeral cortege started.
The hearse, drawn by eight horses caparisoned in
black, presented a very imposing appearance.
Crowds, silent and collected, thronged the streets,
windows, and the roofs of the houses.
All the shops and offices in Brussels were closed.
The cortege arrived at Laeken at 2.30 p.m. The
Duke of Brabant, with the King of Portugal on his
right and the Prince of Wales and Prince Arthur on
his left, took his place in the temporary church in
front of the sarcophagus, followed by the other
Princes and representatives of foreign Powers.
The funeral service having been performed, the
coffin was lowered into the family vault and placed
to the right of the Queen of the deceased Monarch.
INAUGURATION OF KING LEOPOLD 11.
BRUSSELS, Dec. 17.

To-day King Leopold 11. took the oath to the
Constitution before both Houses of the Belgian

Government.

Upon leaving the Palace at Laeken the Queen, in
deep mourning, preceded the King in a carriage
drawn by six horses. The King followed a few
minutes afterwards. His Majesty received the con-
gratulations of the Burgomaster of Laeken, and,
after replying in gracious terms, mounted on horse-
back, accompanied by the Duke of Flanders and
the Archduke Joseph of Austria. The King and
Queen were received with enthusiastic cheers along
the entire route, and arrived at the House of Parlia-
ment at midday, where a similar reception awaited
them. The King wore the uniform of a Lieutenant-
General of the Belgian army, and the Grand Cordon
of the Order of Leopold. Bareheaded and with
outstretched hands, his Majesty pronounced the
words of the Constitutional oath in a firm voice.
The taking of the oath to the Constitution created
great enthusiasm.
His Majesty then made a speech, in which he
stated that Belgium, as well as himself, had lost a
father. He was moved by the homage of the nation
and the sympathy of foreign Sovereigns and Princes,
and thanked them in his own name and in the name
of his country. His Majesty continued :—" I shall
religiously fellow the example and the precepts of
my father, and will never forget the duties imposed
upon me by this precious inheritance. I will be a
Belgian King from my heart and soul. I love those
great institutions which guarantee order and liberty,
and which are the most solid bases of the Throne.
My Constitutional position keeps me aloof from the
conflict of opinions, leaving the country to decide
between them. I desire to give those who devote
themselves to the crowning of the national edifice
the assurance of my co-operation. By activity and
progress Belgium will retain the support of foreign
Powers."

His Majesty repeated the words uttered by his
late father upon ascending the throne, "My heart
knows no other ambition than to see you happy,"
and concluded by imploring the Divine assistance
and protection for himself and Belgium.
His Majesty's speech was received with great
enthusiasm.
The Queen then presented her son to the Cham-
bers, and their Majesties took their departure amid
shouts of " Vive le Roi ! Vive la Reine ! Vive le
Comte de Hainault !" _ .

The presentation of the addresses of the Senate
and Chamber of Deputies to the King will take
place this evening. The exact text has not yet tran-
spired, but the tenour is known to express a desire
for concord.

The city is adorned with flags, the houses being
hung with decorations. A general illumination will
take place this evening.

GOVERNOR. EIRE.--The Governor of Jamaica,
whose acts have of late been so much canvassed, is con-
nected with this district, lie passed his boyhood at
11 of which place his father was at that time vicar.
--11ial:cssteea rt Morning News.

A Cabinet Council was held on Saturday at the
official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury. The
Ministers present were :—Earl Russell, the Lord Chan-
cellor, Earl Granville, Sir Goorgo Grey, the Earl of Claren-
don, the Right lion. Edward Cardwell, Earl do Grey, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Duke of Somerset, the
Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson, and the Right Hon. C. P.
Villiers.
THE TEMPLE READERSHIP.—We understand that
there are 136 candidates for this appointment, and that
among them aro some of the most accomplished readers
and preachers of the day. The election is expected to tak
place during the ensuing term.

Olympic Theatre

~T__. _

The production at this theatre of a dramatic
version of " Henry Dunbar," one of Miss Braddon's
most powerful and thrilling works, is more than
likely to result in one of the greatest successes that
has yet been recorded in the annals of the. sensation
drama. Unlike the general run of striking plays,
we are not in this instance indebted to our neigh-
bours on the other side of the channel for the inci-
dents and situations that make up the drama of
" Henry Dunbar ;" on the contrary, the French
have been the first to appropriate Miss Braddon's
story to the stage, a fact of which the talented
authoress may well be proud. In the present in-
stance the bills of the play are silent as to the
adaptor of this highly-wrought work to the stage,
but we believe we are not far wrong in naming Mr.
Tom Taylor as the gentleman who has so well per-
formed the task. In the novel, intensely interesting
as it is, there are some points not at all suited for
stage representation, and these the adaptor has
most cleverly dealt -with ; but, on the whole, he
has adhered with the greatest fidelity to the novel,
and in those places where he has departed
from it, it has only been to make the play less
tragic than it otherwise would have been. The
novel of " Henry Dunbar, the Outcast," has been
so extensively read that, in noticing a dramatic
version of it, it becomes quite superfluous to detail
minutely the plot. It will be recollected that the
leading incident in the novel is the assumption by a
murderer of thename, estate, and position in society
of his victim, and thus quietly settling himself into
possession of all his property, acts which the
ignorance of the friends of the murdered man,
owing to his long absence from England, never
suspect, as they are quite unacquainted with his
personal appearance. The affable and easy manner
of the murderer disarms suspicion, and for years his
guilt remains hidden from the world. The dis-
covery, however, is made, after long toil, by his
own daughter, who, tracking the assassin through
all the intricacies of his guilt, at last arrives at the
terrible conclusion that the man she has so long
laboured to discover and denounce is no other than
her own father. Having made the dreadful
discovery, she becomes animated by filial
love to protect him she has to a great
extent unmasked, and this leads to the wildest and
most romantic adventures, but in the end the death
of Dunbar brings the enthralling story to a termi-
nation. The dramatiser has taken a license, to which
all who have such a task confided to them are by
usage entitled, and the alterations made in the drama
render its termination much less tragic than the
novel. The difficulty of mitigating the intensity of
the tale without weakening the plot of the drama
must have been a work of no ordinary labour ; but

the clever adapter has succeeded, and so well, too,
that it would spoil the interest of the play were we
to tell how the climax is brought about in " Maudes-
ley Abbey," which, it is not too much to say, is a
scene without parallel even in these days of sensa-
tional dramas. The slight blemishes that were
apparent on the first night of its representation have
been removed, and although the interest has not
been heightened—for that would have been an im-
possibility—it acts closer, and the incidents follow
one another with greater effect. In the
assumption of the part of Henry Dunbar, Mr. H.
Melville has surpassed all his former creations.
He has evidently made a profound study of the part
and every portion of the character ; its lights and
shade are brought out with consummate skill, and
it is no mean compliment to him to say that his
conception of the character is the living embodiment
of that which Miss Braddon has so artistically
drawn. His very look, word, and action when
alone shows the guilt that is weighing down his
spirits, and a more impressive representation of a
man borne down by guilt and remorse has never
been presented on the stage. It is the greatest
thing Mr. Neville has yet performed. As a com-
panion picture there could not be a better than that
presented by Mr. Vincent as the Major. He is the
very essence of effrontery and villainy combined.
The battered broken hat, the faded military frock
coat and peculiar trousers, worn by Mr. Vincent,
render him the very photograph of a dilapidated and
broken swell, who still wishes to persuade himself
and others that he is yet a gentleman. Mr. R.
Soutar's Henry Carter, the detective, is also
an excellent performance, and Mr. Montague,
as Clement Austin, is equally effective.
Mr. H. Cooper, as Jerrams, the head waiter at the
George, acts with uncommon spirit, and anything
more life-like than his performance we have never
seen portrayed. Miss Kate Terry's Margaret Went-
worth is quite worthy of all her previous parts. At
times she perfectly electrifies' the house by her
thrilling eloquence, whilst at others she is the per-
fect embodiment of pure filial affection. Miss Ellen
Leigh, as Laura Dunbar, shows she will he a great
acquisition to the talented troup at the Olympic ;
and Miss E. Farren is entitled to high commenda-
tion for her assumption of the part of Mary Madden.
The play has been mounted with the utmost care.
That it would have been otherwise, under the able
superintendence and direction of Mr. Horace Wigan,
was not for a moment to be anticipated. The
scenery, dresses, &c., are all that could be desired,
and whatever may be the length of time the
of theepiece
will maintain its place in the Olympic,, bills
play," it will assuredly deserve the run, because
anything more perfect in the way of stage illusion
has never been presented to playgoers of the
metropolis.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Saturday Evening.

The first trial in Cork has resulted, by direction
of the judges, in an acquittal. At the sitting of
the court yesterday Charles Underwood O'Connell,
who had been a captain in the Federal army, was
put in the dock ; but, on the application of Mr.
Butt, his trial was postponed for the arrival of Mr.
Lawless, solicitor. John M'Afferty, late captain in
the Confederate army, was put forward, and pleaded
not guilty. Mr. Butt said that the prisbner was a
native of Ohio, United States, and should therefore
be tried by a jury half composed of foreigners. The
Crown consented, and a mixed jury was accordingly
sworn. There were eighteen challenges made by
the prisoner, and three gentlemen were desired to
" stand by" on the part of the Crown. The At-
torney-General then stated the case for the prose-
tion, and the approver Nagle was examined to
prove the existence of the conspiracy in Ireland.
His evidence did not refer in any way to the prisoner.
At 7 o'clock the Court adjourned until 10 o'clock 1
this morning, when it resumed. At the sitting of
the court Judge Fitzgerald asked the Crown counsel
in what manner they considered overt acts
alleged against the prisoner had been sustained
by evidence. Counsel having been heard on the
point, Justice Fitzgerald said—" Having carefully
considered the case last night, the Court had come
to the conclusion that there was no evidence to sus-
tain an overt act on the part of the prisoner after
the tender arrived at port. They would direct the
jury to acquit him." A verdict of acquittal was
accordingly returned. The prisoner will be detained
until the close of the commission to give the Crown
an opportunity of considering the course to adopt.
All the parties charged with alleged Fenianism in
the county of Limerick have been bailed out to Di) •
pear when called upon, except four or five persons
who are detained in gaol, and who, with one excep-
tion, arc in the very humblest class of life, and with-
out means or intelligence, and against some of whom
at least, if not all, so far as has been ascertained,
there is no evidence of any importance.
The evening papers announce that the Lord
Lieutenant has, by a special letter, superseded the
Board of Superintendence of Richmond Prison in
the appointment of interim officers, and has dis-
missed the governor, Mr. Marquise, who was under
suspension. This prison, youwill recollect, is the one
from which Stephens escaped, and has been under
the supervision of the corporation. This proceeding is
considered very arbitrary, and will, no doubt, lead
to much discussion in our municipal council.

Eliza Adkins, who was sentenced to death by Mr.
Justice Mellor at the Leicester Winter Assizes, for the
murder of her son at Thringsten, Leicestershire, has been
reprieved.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

CALCUTTA AND CHINA MAILS.
SUEZ, DEC. 16.
The Nemesis, with the above mails, arrived here
at 3 p.m. to-day (Saturday).

MALTA, DEC. 16.

The Pera, from Southampton on the 4th inst.,
arrived here on the 14th at 4 p.m., and left at mid-
night for Alexandria.

The Ripon, from Marseilles on the 13th inst.,
arrived here to-day at 1 p.m., and leaves at 5 p.m.
for Alexandria.

BELGIUM.

BRUSSELS, Dtc. 18.

The presentation of addresses to the King by the
Senate and the Chamber of Deputies took place
yesterday evening. The Queen, the royal children,
and the Count of Flanders, stood by the King, and
the foreign princes were present.
The Prince de Ligne read the address of the
Senate, which expressed sympathy in the loss which
his Majesty had suffered ; but congratulated him
upon his accession to the throne. The address fur-
ther announced the unalterable devotion of the
Senate, and concluded with expressions of homage
to the Queen.

The Deputies were immediately afterwards ad-
mitted to the royal presence, and the President read
their address, in which they assured the King of the
attachment a the Belgian people to the constitution,
and its deep love for his dynasty.
The address also expressed the conviction that the
King would preserve that which the courage of the
people had founded and the wisdom of King
Leopold I. consolidated.
The King, in his reply to both addresses, declared
himself animated by constitutional principles.

FRANCE.
PARIS, DEC. 18.

The Moniteur of this morning publishes a report
of the deliberation of the Council of the Academy
in the case of five medical and two legal students
who took part in the Congress at Liege.
An old soldier named Coignet, who was the first
to bear the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour,
has just died at Auxerre, aged 91.
The Pap states that the Prince Imperial this
week went out shooting in the park of Compiegne,
and killed five rabbits and four pheasants.
According to latest advices from Cronstadt that
port is surrounded with ice. Communications with
Oranienbaum are carried on by means of sledges.

The state of M. Bixio's health is such as to cause
uneasiness at present amongst his friends.
A subscription has been opened to erect a monu-
ment to the late M. Rouviere, the actor.

A telegram from Marseilles states that the Mes-
sageries Imp6riales Company's steamers Peluse,
with the mails from the Islands of St. Maurice and
Reunion, arrived in that port on Saturday evening.
At Naples, on the 13th, there were 11 cases of
cholera and 2 deaths ; and at Ponticelli, 19 cases
and 5 deaths.

The Emperor, on the proposition of the Minister
of War, has conferred the decoration of the Legion
of Honour on the eagle of the 51st Infantry,
as a recompense for the capture by that regiment
of two standards and three pennons in various
actions during the war in Mexico.
BOURSE, Dec. 16.—The market is very buoyant,
with a good amount of business doing at improved
quotations. The quarterly coupon on Three per
Cents. is detached to-day. This stock is quoted at
68f. 50c. ex div., which is equal to an advance of
'lie. Italian Fives have reached 66f. 10c., with an
improvement of 30c. Credit Mobilier Shares are
actively dealt in at 912 f. 50c., an advance of 10f.
Spanish Mobilier have gone up Of. The Railway
Department is also active, and Northern Shares
have gained 6f. 25c. ; Lyons, 10f. ; Lombard, 3f.
75c. ; Austrian, sf. ; Saragossa, 2f. 50c. ; and Por-
tuguese, 10f. Three o'clock.—The market has
closed on the following quotations :-
4-} per Cents 97 40
Do. end month

3 per Cents.
Do. end month 6B 47i
Credit llobilier
Do. end month
Bank Shares 3780
Credit Foncier 1330
Italian Loan 66 10
Do. end month 66 10

Roman
Ottoman Fives 43 50
Mexican Loan 49 50
Do. Bonds 333 75
Russian —
Austrian
Spanish Threes
Home Debt 37
Deferred

Acct.
... 845 -
- ... 1165 -
- ~. 860 -
- ... 575

526 25
217 50
435 -

430 -
177 50

- - ... 205 -

- - ... 158 75