The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-28 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

11113 DAY.—Morning, 6h. Om.—Afternoon, 6h. 20m.
Ta-Monitow.-Morning, 6h. 40m.—Afternoon, 7h. 3m.

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LONDON, MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 18G5.

Saturday last was a sad anniversary, and many-
must have felt for the QUEEN in her sorrowful isola-
tion. A more striking instance has never been
afforded of the uncertainty of life, and the insecu-
rity of earthly happiness, than was given by the
premature death of the late Prince Consort. He
was in the enjoyment of all that can make life use-
ful.and happy, pleasant and prosperous, with many
dudes to fulfil and many social ties to impart interest
to his career. Yet he was not destined to reach
even the , meridian of his days, but was suddenly
called away from the cares and pleasures, the gran-
denrs and excitements of this transitory state. It
is not for him, however, that mourning need be
made, for he was not an unprofitable steward,
and though to our comprehension he seemed cut
doWn prematurely he could not be said to have left
much of his work undone. Ills name will long be
associated in the minds of the people of this his
adopted country with the spread and cultivation of
the arts and sciences among us, and distant genera-
tions will identify him with the inauguration of
refining and elevating entertainments in the mate-
rial and commercial community of England. It is
therefore appropriate that the anniversary of Prince
ALBERT'S birth should be duly honoured in this
land, and a fitting mode of celebrating it is the
throwing open of the gardens of the Royal Horti-
cultural Society. On Saturday one hundred and
thirty thousand persons enjoyed this privilege, and
it is satisfactory to find that the greatest order and
decorum were preserved. This reflects the greatest
credit upon those who made the arrangements and
those who profited by them., The classes whom the
exertions of the Prince Consort chiefly benefited
were specially those who are the most likely to
avail themselves of such an opportunity of free
admission to these places, and therefore it is an
appropriate arrangement that bids them enter.
Another record of the career of the Prince
was furnished on the same day at the
place of his birth, and the immediate
members of his family, and his most intimate friends
and connections assisted at the ceremony. Her
MAJESTY must have felt a mournful pleasure in this
tribute to the memory of the loss, and this homage
to -the worth, of him who left his native land to
occupy a trying position in a foreign sphere. The
uncovering of the statue in Coburg is the most ap-
propriate effort that has yet been made to do honour
to the Prince Consort, and it is satisfactory that
such an undertaking should be carried out. It is,
however, worthy of reflection that, in ail probabi-
lity, the best recollection of the departed is to be
found in the effects of their example, and the in-
fluence of their lives. It is not too much to hope
that, now this crowning act of graceful recognition
has been made, the friends of the departed Prince
will:consider that such tributes have been offered in
abundance, and that to dwell too much on this
Melancholy theme is to lose sight of the example so
earnestly set by the departed himself, that " life is
real, life is earnest, and the grave is not ita goal."
The hope of the future should outweigh the effect
of even the recollections of the past, and it is only
natural to suppose, judging from the bent of his
life, that Prince ALBERT himself would have said so.

• The notice which was, on Saturday, posted at
Lloyd's respecting the Atlantic Cable can scarcely
have taken any one by surprise. The lateness of the
season and the near a
to'
approach of the equinox in-
duced many persons suppose that no further
attempt to recover the cable would be made this
year, although such delay is manifestly very much
to be regretted. The Great Eastern will, however,
immediately commence her refitment, with the view
of taking out a new cable next spring, as well as
of endeavouring to recover the present one. No
doubt, on this occasion, better mechanical appliances
will be provided and everything done that skill and
science can do to recover the lost treasure ; but the
success of the attempt is, at best, very doubtful.
The immense strain of hauling up the cable from
such a depth will increase more and more, in pro-
portion with every turn of the wheel, so that, sup-
posing the cable to be hauled up within half a mile
of the surface, the chances will be very great against
the last half mile. Again, there can be no cer-
tainty of securing the exact end of the line, and
supposing it to be hooked at some dis-
tance from the end, there will be the
double strain on the part hooked, the weight on
both sides pulling downwards while the grapnel
pulls up. The true way to recover the lost line
would be to take it up from Valentia, where the
end is certain to be forthcoming, and to haul it up
'CaTetully and gradually as far as posaible. By this

President JOHNSON'S difficulties appear to
somewhat lessened, owing to a coalition of the
political parties of the Republicans and Conserva-
tives, who are both members of the Democratic
side. A change has been made in the post of Col-
lector of Customs for New York, by the substi-
tution of the Hon. PRESTON KING for Mr. DRAPER.
This alteration is said to have been made at the
suggestion of Mr. SEWARD and of Mr. THURLOW
WEED, and is regarded as a public aknowledgment
of the junction of the parties. The PRESIDENT'S
position, which had been weakened by the open
dissensions in his Cabinet, is now much stronger,
and it is to be hoped that he will turn his increased
power to good account in promoting the pacification
of the country. Fortunately, now that the first
fever of excitement is over, President JOHNSON
appears to be sensible that there is something more
to consider than the mere violent suppression of
outward disturbance, and that if he hopes to rule a
great and populous country he must exercise some
measure of temperance and conciliation. We may
judge of the temper of some American politicians
when, remembering the famous compensation
clause, we find that the objections raised to the
PRESIDENT'S policy by some members of his
Cabinet are that it is too lenient. The PRESIDENT
has, however, probably learned by this time
that the excessive vehemence of Northern
partisans is ill-calculated to give confidence or sta-
bility to his Government, or to restore the flagging
spirit of commercial enterprise and prosperity.

It is unfortunate that the interests of trade
should receive a severe shock at a crisis like the
present in the discovery of defalcations to an im-
mense amount committed by a banker in Wall-
street. The firm was a well-known one ; but so
great has been the amount of property abstracted
by the missing partner that it has been suspended.
The loss is variously estimated at from two and
a half to five millions, involving several other
bankers and, brokers. The system of fraud must
have been going on for some time, since it has
been carried out by means of large issues of forged
gold certificates, as well as the abstraction of

funds and securities. Combined with the recent
embezzlements by bank officials, the effect of this
discovery on the share market has been serious. 1
The Americans are now reaping the conse-
quence of the low tone of commercial
morality which has for some time prevailed among
them. So long as it is thought a fine thing for a
man to be heavily involved, and a large bankruptcy
is held to be more respectable than a small one, we
cannot be surprised if a man passes from a system
of credit without foundation to actual embezzlement
when the temptation is strong and the opportunity
favourable. To become heavily involved without
any hope of repayment of creditors is only another
form of appropriating other people's property, and
the great temptations which the expenses of the war
have put in the way of contractors, officials, and
others, have been too great to be resisted by men
who had not sound principles of commercial honour
and honesty -to protect them. Such events as this
suspension are very much to be regretted at any time
from the vast amount of suffering which they entail,
and the injury they inflict on credit, but they are
especially lamentable when the heavy expenses of
the war have already pressed so heavily on the
country, and when the task of rebuilding the com-
mercial prosperity of the country is sufficiently
arduous.

We are sorry to find that in spite of the recent
changes the Mayor of Mobile has publicly declared
the testimony of blacks against whites to be invalid.
This is one of the worst features of the old slave
law, and it should certainly be forthwith abolished.
The Provisional Governor of Florida, in a speech
at Jacksonville, remarked that the extinction of
slavery by the operations of the war had given the
negro every privilege enjoyed by the whites except-
ing suffrage, and this he said would be a subject for
discussion in the convention which he proposed to
authorise for the re-organisation of the State, and
the revision of its constitution. The question of
negro suffrage will be one of the political features
of the time in America ; but while the principle is
sound enough, its application should be deferred
until the negro has emerged from the state of igno-
rance and subjection to which long oppression and
injustice have reduced him. Among the quick,
energetic people of the States, every reform must
be at once applied and carried out ; but they must
learn the wisdom of caution and moderation if they
would harmonise conflicting elements.

It seems as if we were never to hear the last of
the extraordinary affair of CONSTANCE KENT, and
whatever is told or elicited upon inquiry still leaves
something unsaid, and tho mystery remains un-
ravelled in its completeness. The unhappy girl has
made a further confession, -which will, no doubt, be
read with interest, and may serve to throw further
light upon the dark and dreadful deed. The most
inconsistent part of the affair is that she declares
that she was treated with the utmost kindness, and
thus whatever motive she might have had to commit
the atrocious act seemsto be taken away. It might
be
comprehensible
nsib
of thelethat she worked herself up
to the commission
or a fit of jealousy ;or
in a spirit of revenge
but why she should have mur-
dered the inoffensive child without being actuated
by these feelings is, .
indeed, most marvellous. At
the same time, the particulars which she gives
coin-
cide strangely with the events at the time of the
murder ; And in this last confession she is most
minute in her details and decided hi her statements.
If she really acted in the manner she described she
must have possessed great ingenuity, and the other
inmates of the house were very- destitute of pene-
tration or acuteness. It is impossible to peruse
these revelations without thinking that the whole
[of the inquiries which took place at the
time of the Road murder were conducted in an in-
complete form, and that greater vigilance from the
outset might have set the matter sooner at rest. In
many respects it would have been much more satis-
factory if a "judicial-inquiry" had been instituted
at the recent trial of CONSTANCE KENT, for we
I should hate been able to gain a more definite idea