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

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Tins DAY.—Morning, 2h. 10m.--Aftornoon, 2h. 30m
To-Monuow.-Morning, 2h. 48m.—Afternoon, 3h. 5m

ft)-'6°3
ON
it "

LONDON, MONDAY, DEC. 18, 1865.

The funeral of the King of the BELGIANS took
place on Saturday, and all was conducted in the
most satisfactory and suitable manner. All that
could be done to testify respect for the. departed
Monarch, and sympathy with the surviving, mem-
bers of his family was done, and a royal and noble
cortege attended his remains to the grave, such as
is rarely witnessed even at the funerals of Kings.
The King of PORTUGAL was there, also the heirs to
the thrones of England and Prussia, and the ex-
royal family of France, besides many distinguished
personages representing the different Courts of
Europe. King LEOPOLD deserved these tokens of
honour and tributes of regard, for he was a constitu-
tional king in the best sense of the word, and displayed
vigour, firmness, and discretion under very trying
circumstances. His part on the busy stage of life is
over ; and, as usually occurs when a " prince to the
fate of the peasant has yielded," we turn our atten-
tion to the new representative of royalty. The Duke
of BRABANT was yesterday inaugurated as King
LEOPOLD the Second, and took the oath to the Con-
stitution before both houses of the Belgian Parlia-
ment The greatest enthusiasm prevailed, and the
new King made a short speech, which was very well
adapted to the occasion. He stated that Belgium,
as well as himself, had lost a father, and that
he thanked all the Foreign Powers who had contri-
buted to show homage to his memory. He con-
cluded by saying that he should always " religiously
follow the example of his father and his precepts,
and rightly regard his precious inheritance."
Finally, he repeated the words uttered by his late
father when he ascended the throne, "My heart
knows no other ambition than to see you happy."
This speechwas received with great applause, andthe
QUEEN having presented him to the Chambers,
their MAJESTIES took leave amid cries of " Vive
le Roi 2, The best wishes of all lovers of freedom
will attend the young KING in his efforts to estab-
lish his supremacy, and it is earnestly to be hoped
that he will be able to carry on his government with
as much success as his late lamented father did. In
consequence of the encroachments Tade upon
national rights and inroads upon constitutional
privileges by the great Powers of Germany, it is of
the utmost consequence that all states and kingdom,
which are yet free and unfettered should remain so.
Belgium now assumes a position of importance ; and
if at a future time the effort is made to interfere
with her integrity and independence, it will be the
bounden duty of the two leading Powers of Europe to
come forward and protect her privileges fromwrong
and injury.

The full text of President JOHNSON'S Message is
now before us, and it entirely confirms the favour-
able impression made by the telegraphic summary.
It is remarkable for good sense, moderation, and
enlightened statesmanship, which America at this
moment especially necids. The disturbed condition
of public feeling which must necessarily follow the
sudden and unexpected termination of a civil war,
the virulence of political parties, and the great moral
and social antagonism of races, all combine to re-
quire at the hands of the Executive the utmost tact
and caution. America is, besides, undergoing the
long-dreamt-of crisis of a change in her constitu-
tion, and although the abolition of slavery is less
felt in the midst of the general convulsion than it

would have been in the older days of tranquil pros-
perity, yet it naturally brings up for immediate
solution a number of perplexing problems. When
these are disposed of the future will feel the benefit
of their settlement, and, as President JOHNSON
observes, the element which has so long perplexed
and divided will be removed, but the task of de-
ciding them is no light one. The relations of the
Freed slaves tic. the Government and the commu-
nity naturally- occupied a good part of the Message.
The FEESID
above all things, deprecates

hat rash and hasty legislation which so many
parties endeavour to pledge him to. He feels
that it is impossible to reduce the chaos of conflict-
ing passions and opposing principles to immediate
order by strict and regular measurement, and to
deal with a mass of mankind, whether black or
white, as if they were machines that would obey un-
questioning the hand of the engineer. " I know,"
he says, "that sincere philanthropy is earnest for
the immediate realisation of its remotest aims, but
time is always an element in reform." It is, he adds,
a great thing to have brought four millions of people
into freedom, and the next duty is to throw open
to them the career of free industry, so that
their future fortunes must depend on themselves.
" If they fail, and so perish away, let us be careful
that the failure shall not be attributable to any de-
nial of justice. In all that relates to the destiny
of the freedmen, we need not be too anxious to read
the future ; many incidents which, from a specula-
tive point of view, might raise alarm, will quietly
settle themselves." He admits no doubt as to
the right of the freedmen to the security of
their liberty and their property, their right
to labour, and their right to claim the just return
of their labour. The country needs labour, and
the freedmen need employment, culture, and pro-
tection. Why, then, cannot the two wants be har-
moniously supplied by each other ? He opposes the
notion of the forced removal and colonisation of
the negroes, which has been from time to
time suggested as a means of escaping
the difficulty of dealing with them at
home. " Let us rather," exclaims the President,
encourage them to honourable and useful industry
where it may be beneficial to themselves and to the
country, and instead of hasty anticipations of the
certainty of failure, let there be nothing wanting to
the fair trial of the experiment." This is, in fact, the
great experiment of the day, and much depends on
its result. To be fairly tried, all party passion and
political virulence must be put aside, and every State
must endeavour, by protecting the freedmen and
legislating for the due performance of contracts on
both sides, to bring about that good understanding
and mutual confidence between employer and em-
ployed which is conducive alike to their immediate
interests and to the general good of the country.
With regard to the vexed question of the negro
suffrage Mr. JOHNSON speaks wisely and well. He
strongly urges the immedi.ate adoption of the con-
stitutional amendment by all the States, for so long
as it is delayed he believes that doubt, jealousy, and
uncertainty will prevail. But the question of the
suffrage must, he thinks, in accordance with
the principles of the constitution, be left to each
State to settle for itself. The concession of the
elective franchise to coloured men would have ne-
cessitated an interference, not alone with the
Southern suffrage, but with that of the Northern,
Middle, and Western States, and such an assump-
tion of power by the American President would
have been something altogether arbitrary and un-
constitutional. Every State has hitherto possessed
the acknowledged right of deciding its own suffrage,
and certainly this is no time to change. To force
the negro suffrage on an unwilling population who
have as yet scarcely become reconciled to the sud-
den alteration in the social position of the negro
would be to inflame that irritation and antagonism
which it is above all things desirable to calm down.
By degrees the negro, if he prove capable of ful-
filling his social obligations, will assume a
more distinct and acknowledged position,
and as education and honest, independent
industry do their work, he will, we may
hope, become duly qualified for the posses-
sion of political power; but the present change in
his state is too trying and too important a crisis for
another experiment to be made in conjunction with

The abolition of slave labour will no doubt be the
greatest blessing eventually to the Southern States
by destroying that social monopoly which kept out
enterprise and intelligent industry. President
JOHNSON bids them forget the past in the
future; and, reminding them of the natural
wealth and fertility of their country, he
declares his hope and belief that these now
desolated States may hereafter vie with any in the
Union in wealth, inventive genius, and industry.

The financial difficulties of the country were
dealt with at some length in the course of the
Message, and the discharge of the national debt
he considers an immediate obligation. There is
happily no attempt at repudiation, but the
PRESIDENT declares the debt to be doubly secure
in the wealth and resources of the country, and in
the character of its institutions. The foreign policy
of the PRESIDENT we have already referred to, and
more especially to that portion of the Message which
dealt with his relations with this country. There
is plenty of that laudation of the Government and the
people of America for which we naturally look for
in an address of this kind, a species of national con-
ceit, from which it seems impossible for democracies
to be free. But the general tone and tenour of the
Message, especially when it dealswith practical ques-
tions, is statesmanlike and constitutional, and in
following out the principles here plainly put for-
ward, the PRESIDENT will adopt the course best
calculated to heal the differences and develope the
capabilities of his country and his people.

No public man has any cause to envy Lord Itus-
SELL just now, for he has inaugurated his career
by the commission of a great blunder, and, what is
more, by an act of great injustice. We can call to
mind no official act of late years which was charac-
terised by such haste and inconsistency as this pro-
ceeding of suspending the Governor of Jamaica has
been. In every respect it is greatly to be censured,
and a more mortifying occurrence could hardly
have taken place than the landing of Colonels
N ELsoN and HILL soon after the Gazette had
beenthe suspension publih e d
owhich
th
e Governor
conveyed
.One the news h i
nogf
is of great importance now,
asnedthat is
no time to be lost in letting theh
epublic
transactionsknow
olv
t forh
ine
full particulars connected with t
Jamaica, about which so much misconception has
arisen, and which it is so necessary to have cleared
up with as little delay as possible. It will never do
for any more shuffling and expediency to be em-
ployed in this affair. The character of Governor
EYRE has been assailed in the most wanton manner, 1
and it is only fit and proper that the English public
should be put in possession of the facts connected
with the case. Had the unreasoning and unthink-
ing parties who composed the motley crew who have
worked themselves up to a pitch of frenzy been
content to make their remarks in a more temperate
form, and, above all, if they had not virtually re-
ceived the countenance of the Premier, delay might
have been tolerated, though it could never have
been approved of ; but, as it is, nothing of a dila_
tory kind must be suffered to intrude into the
management of the matter.

The English people will put up with a great deal,
but there is such a thing as going too far. Lord PAL-

MERSTON found it so in the zenith of his popularity,

with a hundred majority in the house of Commons,
and Lord RUSSELL will find it so also if he does
not take care. Besides this affair at Jamaica
is of more moment than the Conspiracy Bill,
and more deeply affects our interests. A subject of