The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-02 00:00:00

LONDON; TUESDAY, MAY 2, 1865.

The assassination of President LINCOLN was the
subject of comment last night in both Houses. This
was as it should be, and it was in every respect con-
sonant with its principles that the Parliament of
England should denounce the crime of assassination.
The speeches of those Who took part in the discussion
will be read with interest, and they form an appro-
priate corollary to set beside the record of that in-
telligmce of crime and murder which has shaken
and horrified the nations of Europe and darkened
the page of American history. The motion was
passed unanimously in both Houses, significant of
the sentiments which actuated all present, indepen-
dent of minor considerations and differences of
opinion. Earl RUSSELL, in proposing the resolution
in the Upper House, remarked that her MAJESTY
had already instructed him to express to the Govern-
ment of the United States the shock which she felt
at the intelligence of the great crime which had been
committed. Her MAJESTY had also written a letter
of condolence to Mrs. LINCOLN. The noble lord
Paid a high tribute to the character of the late Pre-
sident, and truly observed that a man of modera-
tion like his was required at this juncture, " to
temper the pride of victory, to assuage the misfor-
tunes which his adversaries had experienced, and
especially to show, as he was well qualified to show,
that high respect for valour on the opposite side
which has been so conspicuously displayed." Un-
doubtedly the premature death of ABRAHAM LIN-
COLN has been a loss which will be acutely felt, and
will be deeply deplored by those who desire the
reign of mercy to succeed the rule of terror. that
has so long prevailed. Earl RUSSELL expressed
a hope, in which all must concur, that
the new President who has been so suddenly and
unexpectedly called to power may exercise a /norm
discretion in the difficult task to which he is called,
and also may be induced to show consideration to
his opponents. It is well known that Lord Ens-
SELL'S sympathies incline towards the United States
Government, but at the same time it cannot be said
that there was any exaggeration in his remarks last
night, or any over anxiety to make the Washington
Government appear more meritorious than they are.
lie expressed deep sorrow for the calamity that hag.
befallen them, and in this opinion all must concur.
Lord DERBY'S remarks were characterised by a
frank spirit. He said that in joining La this expres-

sion of sorrow and indignation at the crime recently
committed in America their lordships were only fol-
lowing the universal sympathy which had already
been expressed from one end of this kingdom to the
other. The noble earl truly declared that the unani-
mous expression of sympathy which this country
had given utterance to must convince the people of
the United States that their ideas of any unfriend-
liness towards them have been most unfounded.
Lord DERBY also remarked very emphatically that
the crime of assassination disgraced and desecrated
the purest and most sacred cause. If there were
any reason to suppose that 'the Confederate autho-
rities encouraged this crime or sanctioned it, our
opinions of them must undergo a change. But,
said the noble earl, " I am perfectly satisfied, I am
as well satisfied as I can be of anything, that this
detestable act of assassination is so entirely alien to
the whole spirit in which the South have conducted
this war, is so alien to the courageous, manly, and
forbearing course which they have adopted in
the struggle for everything that is dear to
them, that they cannot fail to express for it their
detestation, and to feel at the same time that no
step could have been taken which could have
inflicted so great an injury upon their own cause."
With this language of the noble earl all unpreju-
diced persons must concur. There are some so
biassed by their particular views, and so infatuated
with one prevailing idea, that they will neither hear
reason nor see facts plan as daylight. The majority
of the English people, who have all along sympa-
thised with the efforts made by the South for inde-
pendence—efforts which proclaimed their affinity
to our race and attested their kindred sentiments to
our own—will recognise the truth of these remarks,
and allow that no act of the Confederates has given
the slightest intimation of permitting such a deed
to be planned or perpetrated under their sanction.
Lord DERBY wisely abstained from entering into
the vexed questions of the American war, such as
the extinction of slavery, or the probability of a
settlement by defeat and conquest ; but he dwelt on
the unanimity which existed as to the wish that the
dispute might be terminated without further loss of
blood, and also concurred in Lord RUSSELL'S
remarks, that it was doubly deplorable that such a
man as the President shOuld have been taken away
at a time when his moderation might have exercised
a beneficial influence upon the disturbed minds and
vehement passions of those he was called upon to
direct. There was great truth in the observations
of the noble earl as to the disastrous turn which
affairs may take if the present President
carries out the intimations he has occa-
sionally given of pursuing an arbitrary course.
Then, indeed, we may expect that the threat of ex-
termination will be carried out on one side and
decried by the other, but it is to be trusted that we
shall be spared a spectacle so degrading to huma-
nity, and so disgraceful to the character of a country
peopled by the Anglo-Saxon race. Lord STRATFORD
DE REDCLIFFE made some remarks which were ap-
propriate as coming from him, owing to his some
time residence in America. The noble lord also
expressed his opinion of the improbability of the
South having sanctioned the crime, and he also said
that it was not likely that the triumphant Union
could entertain such an idea among themselves.
Lord PALMERSTON was not able to appear in the
House of Commons as he had intended to do, and
in his absence the duty of proposing the address fell
upon Sir GEORGE GREY. The right hon. baronet
did not bring to the difficult and delicate task that
skill and savoir-faire, which s,i.) eminently charac-
terised his leader on all such occasions, but, on the
contrary, endeavoured to make a party affair of a
matter, from which all signs of party policy should
have been vigorously excluded. This was to be re-
lagretted, because it was impossible for greater
unanimity to have beerr felt as was displayed on
this occasion. When Sir G. GREY went so far as to
say that he believed that " the sympathies of the
majority of the people of this country have been
with the Northern States," he was interrupted by
cries of "No, no, and question," which sufficiently
attested the sentiments of the House. It was not
the time or place for the right hon. baronet to give
vent to such expressions, and it is the more to be re-
gretted that he should have done so, because it was fol-
lowing in the wake of some who .have taken advantage
of this calamity to make political capital out of it,
and throw disgrace upon the Confederate cause.
Such a course may gain an unworthy success for a
moment, but anything so unlike tie principles of
Englishmen, and so abhorrent to their sentiments
of fair play cannot be imagined, and is certain even-
tually to meet with the scorn and contumely which
it deserves. It is the indisputable rule in this coun-
try to assume that every man is innocent until he
has been convicted, and what reason is there to de-
part from it as a nation ? Sir G. GREY endeavoured
to allay the irritation he had created by declaring
that he believed the South would denounce the
crime ; but his speech was a failure as regarded its
main object, that of appealing to the general senti-
ments of sorrow, and not involving any particular
passions with regard to politics.
Mr. DISRAELI, in his brief remarks, exactly ex-
pressed the sense of the House, and was received
with much applause. He said that the present was
one of the rare occasions, when the " sympathy of a
nation approached the tenderer feelings which were
supposed to belong to private life." The right hon.
gentleman truly said that the circumstances atten-
dant upon the last moments of the life of the victim
were such as to take the matter out of the " pomp
of history and the ceremonial of diplomacy." It
touched the heart of nations, and appealed to the
domestic sentiments of mankind. Assassination,
said Mr. DISRAELI, never yet has changed the his-
tory of the world, and it is our part to re-assure
the people of the United States, who are
naturally thrown into gloom and despondency
by this sad occurrence. In seconding the address,
the right hon. gentleman said he not only expressed
that sorrow which all felt at such a calamity, but
he also trusted that from these years of trial the
various populations of North America might come
out " elevated and chastened, and rich in that
accumulated wisdom and strong in that disciplined
energy which a young nation can only acquire in a
protracted and perilous struggle." Mr. DISRAELI'S
speech was characterised by a more hopeful spirit
than that of the other speakers, and it is to be
trusted that the words of hope and confidence may
go forth from this country to do their work on the
other side of the Atlantic, and that the united sen-
timents of both Houses of the English Parliament
may prove a source of solace and encouragement to
our brethren on the American continent.

It has long been accepted as an indisputable
axiom of our commercial policy that the less the re-
lationships of trade are fettered and restricted by
law the better. Time was when prices were regu-
lated, and every step in commercial life was directed
by the central authority, but a wiser and more en-
lightened system has been long busied in removing
all unnecessary fetters, secure that the interests of
trade may as a general rule be very safely left to
take care of themselves, and that as no criminal
code can altogether defeat fraud or I reserve dupes
from paying the penalty of their simplicity, so for
the most part our mercantile sagacity and prudence
will take very good care to protect i elf. So strong

has the feeling against unnecessary legislation
grown that by common consent the tempo-
rary disturbances occasioned by strikes and
lock-outs have been left to right themselves, and
no one has proposed to remedy the evil by Act of
Parliament. All fresh measures have pointed
rather to the conferring of fresh powers on trade
and its representatives, rather than curtailing those
already possessed. Mr. MILNER GIBSON'S Partner-
ship Amendment Bill, which was read the second
time last evening, is of this character, and its claims
to support are so well founded that it is not surpris-
ing that it should have obtained a decisive majority
on the opposition being pressed to a division. The
principle of the Limited Liability <Bill has been
almost universally accepted as sound and beneficial,
and the measure whiCh was yesterday under the
consideration of the House is of much the same
character. Mr. GIBSON reminded the House that
at the time that limited liability was given to joint-
stock companies, it was admitted that private
traders carrying on business with unlimited liability
could not be left under the restrictions which then
affected them. The present measure is intended to
supply the deficiency, and its object is "to simplify
and relax that rule of law which lays down that a
participation in profits constitutes a partnership, so
as to enable a person carrying on trade a sum of
money, on the condition that the remuneration for
the use of that money shall be in the form of a
portion of the profits, instead of a fixed interest."
That is to say, that it will enable the borrower to
make far more advantageous terms than at
present, without the lenders incurring any
additional risk. It is evident that in a
good year a tradesman or merchant can
afford to pay a much higher rate of interest
than in a bad year, and the lender may
honestly accept, during a prosperous season, a rate
of profit which, if extorted at a time of general
stagnation or depression of trade, would be some-
thing very like usury. We all know that very often
a temporary advance is of vital service to a firm,
and that in other cases an assistance at the first start
may enable a man to do a good business ; and in
both these instances the lender has surely a good
right to participate in the profits. He may be very
willing to let the firm have the benefit of his money,
so long as he considers it a sure investment ; but if,
in case of a failure, he is to be made responsible for
a share in the liabilities, it is easy to see what will
happen. At the first rumour of alarm he will with-
draw his money, and very likely expedite a catas-
trophe that might have been avoided. Reckless or
desperate men may agree for a time to pay a heavy
rate of interest, but the prudent tradesman,
who looks to consequences, knows very well
that such a course is .most prejudicial to
his interests. To obtain an advance on
such terms, too, ho must deal with the
regular money lenders, quite a different class
from those who might willingly assist him on the
sensible and straightforward inducement of partici-
pation in his profits. In that case both lender and
borrower are alike interested in the success and
well-being of the firm, and consequently the in-
terests of the general creditors are far safer under
such arrangement than when the one side is only
busy in extorting a usurious interest, and the other
is straining every nerve to meet the exorbitant
claims of a paramount creditor. Mr. GIBSON
pointed out the inconsistency of the present law,
under which persons accepting this conditional
interest are rendered liable for the debts of the firm
" to their last acre and their last shilling," while if
they advance money at usurious rates, 20 and 25
per cent., and extort the payment of that interest
through prosperity and adversity alike, they are
empowered to come forward as creditors in case of
bankruptcy, and perhaps to carry off half the assets.
It is manifest at once what a restriction such a
law must put upon the more prudent and legiti-
mate way of doing business, and it cannot be ex-
pected that capitalists should be very willing to
incur such a risk. It is certainly good policy to faci-
litate as far as possible the conjunction of capital
with talent, prudence, and industry, and this mea-
sure directly tends to that object. It cannot be
observed that the protection which it affords only
applies to the private lender, and does not extend to
those who choose to put forward their names to sup-
port the credit of the establishment which he is
assisting. If a man allows his name to be used as
a means of obtaining credit, he deserves to be ren-
dered liable for the consequences, and the existing
law of partnership takes care that he shall be so ;
but, as Mr. GIBSON observed, if he is a mere
lender, if he was not known to the
creditor when credit was given to the firm,
it is difficult to see upon what principle of
justice he should be called upon, if the firm to which
he has advanced money should fail, to pay all the
debts even to his last shilling. The other portion
of the Bill empowers employers to give their
employes a share of the profits without any risk.
At present the law on that point is absurdly incon:
sistent. If a man pays his servant or agent a sum
calculated in proportion to profits it is all right, but
if he pays him a portion cf his profits the servant
comes in for the liability of a partner. This is a
distinction without a difference to the eye of corn

mon sense. Thus, if a firm sending out a
traveller agrees to give him £lO for every
£lOO of profits made by the firm there
is no liability, but if they agree to give
him one-tenth of their profits the traveller
becomes a partner. This is certainly not a state of
things to be maintained and it is evident that
there can be no protection against fraud under it
which would not be quite as well, or much better,
attained under the new act. Eminent legal autho-
rities, like the Solicitor-General, Attorney-General,
and Sir HUGH CAIRNS, have expressed themselves
decidedly in favour of the principle, and the general
sense of the House was unmistakeably shown in its
favour by a division of 126 to 39. Any details
that may need improvement can be easily remedied
in committee, and if it is thought advisable to put
in any protective clauses they can be then intro-
duced, but since the Limited Liability Act has been,
so universally approved and adopted, it is only due
to the large class of private firms that the principle
should be further extended for their benefit.

SLIPS OF THE PEN.—Within the last week one of
the many able writers in the Spectator, in the course
of his remarks about a matter of great public interest just
now, speaks of "explaining murder by asking with the
Italian statesman, Who is she ?"' Not an Italian,
nor yet a Statesman, was the original propounder
of that pertinent question, "Who is she ?" the which
question may in fact bo found among the jeux d'esprit of the
Spanish poet Quevedo. It occurs in a stanza leading off
one of his poems, a stanza thus aptly rendered into Eng-
lish by a contributor to one of the back numbers of Frazer's
Magazine :

" Tis said a Justice of thequorum
Who was no fool,
When theft or murder came before him
Made it a rule
At once to stop the lawyer's chatter,
Saying, D'ye see !
Let's probe the bottom of this matter—
Who is she !' "
Another slip of the pen, far more surprising of its kind than
the foregoing, occurred only the other day, not in the
Spectator, but in the Times, and occurred there, too, in an
article by one of the very ablest of its writers—the Times'
Southern Correspondent, who, in referring to •the Pope's
Minister who was assassinated at Rome not so very many
years back, speaks of him as Cardinal Rossi, instead of as
Count Rossi.

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