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

MEETING IN LIVERPOOL.

A very large meeting was held in the St. George's
Hall to-day, to express " sorrow and indignation"
at the atrocious assassination of President Lincoln,
and the attempted assassination of Mr. Seward.
The room was crowded in every part, many ladies
being present. Before the proceedings commenced
Mr. Best performed, with solemn effect, the " Dead
March in Saul" upon the great organ. Upon the
platform were the leading merchants and brokers of
the town, men of Northern and Southern views
being freely mingled. The Mayor, on taking his
seat, was loudly cheered. He said if there was one
time more than another when men should cast aside
all their antipathies and differences of opinion,
surely it was when they were called upon to vindi-
cate their common humanity from the. crimes and
outrages which were perpetrated in its name. War
had its horrors ; its victims were not counted by one
or two, but by thousands and tens of thousands ;
yet from time to time the dread arbitrament of war
was appealed to, and men bent, though reluctantly,
to its stern decrees. But when the dastardly assassin
sneaked behind the chair of his victim, and without
giving him one chance of resistance hurried him pre-
maturely into the presence of his God, when the
cold-blooded villain bent over the sick man's bed and
planged a glittering steel into his enfeebled frame,
then we felt that a dreadful crime had been com-
mitted, a crime such as that which called down the
curse of the Almighty on the first murderer the world
ever knew, and that human nature needed again to
be purged from the stain that had been anew cast
upon it. (Cheers.) In the eye of God the prince
upon his throne and the peasant in his cottage were
equal, but in the eye of man there must necessarily
be a difference, and all present knew the reasons
why the statesman must be publicly mourned, while
the peasant perchance was wept over by those of his
own household alone. In conclusion, the mayor
said that he hoped his fellow-townsmen would be
satisfied that he, no less than any amongst them—
whatever might be their individual views of the
American question—felt the deepest sympathy with
their brethren on the other side of the Atlantic who
were now sorrowing for the loss of their political
chief, cut ruthlessly down in the heyday of pros-
perity, and in the zenith of his power ; and an utter
detestation of one of the foulest crimes that could
be found in the long pages of the blood stained re-
cords of our race. (Cheers.)
Mr. C. E. RAWLINS, jun.; moved the following
resolution :—" That the inhabitants of Liverpool,
in public meeting assembled, do hereby express their
deep sorrow and indignation at the atrocious assas-
sination of Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States, and of Mr. Frederick Seward, As-
sistant-Secretary of State ; and at the dastardly
attempt, about the same hour, on the life of Mr.
Seward, Secretary of State. They desire that the
Government and the people of the United States
should understand that no difference of opinion on
the merits of the conflict of the last four years avails
to prevent the unanimous condemnation of so great a
crime against our common humanity." -Mr. Rawlins
paid a hearty tribute of admiration to the character
of the late President, particularly commenting
upon his singleness of purpose, and the firmness,
combined with the gentleness, which distinguished
the bearing and policy of Mr. Lincoln. They
had not met that day as " Northerners" or as
Southerners," but as men, to express their " deep
damnation of his taking off." He could not believe
that any but the most inconsiderate members a

men in the Southern States could possibly approve
of the crime. It was impossible that the brave
armies of Virginia could have hired the assassin.

(Loud cheers.) The act must have been inspired
only by those who, maddened by the turn of the
war, had mistaken a morbid notoriety for patriotism.
(Hear, hear.) But, though a great blunder as well
as a crime had been committed, even at this mo-
ment he (Mr. Rawlins) would say—" Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do,"
and he hoped the same feeling would animate the
American Government and people.
Mr. S. R. GRAVES seconded the resolution, re-
marking that it was repugnant to the South that
such a crime as this should attach itself, even by
suspicion, to a cause which had been the subject of
such brave and gallant devotion.

The resolution was supported by a Parsee gentle-
man (a local merchant), and by Mr. JOHN
CAMPBELL. The latter remarked that the awful
_ _

sanctity of death overshadowed all previous politica
differences.

The resolution was carried unanimously.
Mr. W. RATHBONE, jun., moved, and Mr. C.
BUSHELL seconded, that copies of the resolution be
sent to the President of the United States through
the Minister in London, and also to Mrs. Lincoln.

-----
In his speech Mr. Bushell entered his protest against
the idea that British neutrality implied any want of
sympathy with those to whom the war had brought
such dire misfortune.

The resolution was carried unanimously.
On the motion of Mr. PATTERSON, seconded by
Mr. FREDERICK HAMILTON, a vote of thanks was
passed to the mayor for his conduct in the chair.

Alr. Hamilton said that he was acquainted with both
Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Frederick Seward, and it was
impassible to know two more sincere, unaffected,

and amiable men.

The proceedings then closed, it being announced
that another meeting would be held in the evening
for the purpose of giving an opportunity to the
working men of the town to pass resolutions on the
occasion of the President's death.

Amongst the letters received by the mayor (but
not read for want of time) yesterday was one fro►n
the captain and officers of H.M.S. Donegal, sta-
tioned in the Mersey-, expressing their indignation
and horror at so foul a murder upon so good, se
honest, and so upright a ruler as the late President
of the United States.

At the meeting of the Mersey Dock Board yester-
day appropriate allusions were made to the subject
by the chairman and, other. members, ?,nd the meet-
ing adjourned so as to give the board an opportu-
nity of attending the meeting. •
An immense attendance at the second public meet-
ing at St. George's Hall took place last night. The
first resolution, expressing abhorrence of the mur-

der of President Lincoln, and of the attack on Mr.

Seward, and condoling with Mrs. Lincoln, was
passed unanimously. Resolutions and speeches
more offensive to the Southerners provoked strong
opposition, and brought the meeting to an end
amidst uproarious confusion.

TRADE WITH PERSIA via RUSSIA.—The Liverpool
Chamber of Commerce has received from the com-
mittee of Privy Council for Trade an extract from a despatch
dated 12th April last, and sent by the British ambassador
at St. Petersburg, with reference to British trade with
Persia. The extract is as follows :—" My attention has
been lately called to the facility with which trade with Per
sia might be carried on during the summer months by the
route of St. Petersburg, Nijni-Novgorod, the Volga, and
the Caspian. The distance from London to Bakow and the
Caspian may now be performed in 20 days, and arrange-
ments might be made to ensure merchandise despatched
from England reaching Bakow in 30 days, from whence it
could be forwarded into Persia by a short land journey, or
if a regular trade were established, to a Persian port on
the Caspian."
THE EDMUNDS COMMITTEE.—The Select Com-
mittee of the Honse of Lords reassembled yesterday. The
whole of the committee were present—Earl Granville
(Lord President) in the chair. The Attorney-General (Sir
Roundel' Palmer) was the witness under examination.
The highest temperature at Brussels during the
last few days has been nearly 29 Centigrade (84 1-5 Fahren-
heit). Such intense heat can hardly be remembered to have
been experienced in that city in the month of April.