The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-24 00:00:00

timent. But the tide of events turned. The
might of the North as an anti-slavery power
was revealed. Its voice was the voice of the
Republic, and it warned the European friends of
Maximilian, "If you interfere, we interfere."
Lundy laid the foundation of this very anti-slavery
power. Public opinion is stronger than armies or
navies. The man of peace is more powerful than
the man of war. Spiritual weapons have proved
more successful than carnal ones. The fate of the
Empire rested on the presence of the French army,
and that was recalled to Europe. The Empress,
to aid her husband, recrosses the ocean and pleads
in vain with the Pope and for Europe's aid. Hope
after hope dies in the breast of Maximilian. He
is deceived and betrayed by all in whom he
trusted. Ile is a prisoner, tried, sentenced, and
awaits execution, conscious that the Empire dies
when he dies. The time comes, the sentence is
executed, and Maximilian and the Empire expire
together. How persevering was his endeavour,
bow complete his failure ! Far different was the
mission of Lundy. He had gone forth weeping,
sowing precious seed. He saw in the midst of
persecution that the seed sprang up, grew, and
some sheaves ripened. Anti-slavery truth gained
daily some triumph over the churches, the
presses, the political parties, and the social circle.
The slave power was shaken. The little one
became a thousand, and, at the close of his
labours, when sickness came, when death ap-
proached, Lundy saw that he had not laboured
in vain, and, conscious that he had achieved
a victory, peacefully resigned his spirit to God.
This was at his own home surrounded by lov-
ing friends. Time brought emancipation, not
as he expected, by the change of public opinion,
but with the tread of armies, the booming of can-
non, and with garments rolled in blood. It came,
and the shout of millions set free, went up in praise
and thanksgiving to God. How persevering was
Lundy's endeavour, how very complete his success !
Maximilian, in seeking power, became a spectacle
of weakness ; Lundy, in seeking to elevate the
oppressed, became truly great. The one found no
aid in the tendencies of the age or the unseen forces
of the future ; the other worked for humanity,
and both the tendencies of the age and the moral
powers of the invisible world, aided his work and
nsured him success.

SCANDALS RESULTING FROM SURIZA.2 T'S
2 RIAL.

Surratt's trial, besides costing the Government
$lOO,OOO, has given rise to startling scandals with-
out accomplishing any good results. In the first
place, a charge has been made against Secretary

Stanton of having detached from the papers re-
cording the proceedings of the court-martial which
tried the conspirators a document recommending

Mrs. Surratt on account of age and sex to the

President's mercy, prior to submission. The
papers were read at a meeting of the Cabinet,
but no such document was forthcoming, and

,he President appears to have first become aware

of its existence by an application to him from

Surratt's counsel to be allowed to use it in the
defence. It is not shown who detached the re-
commendation to change the woman's sentence
from death to confinement for life, but it is affirmed

by the Secretaries Seward and Welles that the
papers formed the subject of discussion at a Cabi-
net meeting, and that no such document was among
them. But gross and unaccountable as such an

accusation is, it is mild in comparison with that
made against General Butter and Mr. Ashley, a full
account of which appears in the correspondent's

letter of the Standard.

A letter from Sanford

Canover, the perjurer, addressed to the President,
has been transmitted through the acting Attorney-
General, Mr. Brinckley, applying for pardon, on

the grounds of informality in his trial and convic-
tion. The application is endorsed by Judge Holt,

and Congressmen Ashley and Riddle, on the grounds
of the valuable services rendered to the prosecution
at the pending Surratt trial by Canover. This is

accompanied by a document from Canover of so
extraordinary a nature that we give the entire

extract :

" After obtaining my promise to tender all the assistance
in my power, Mr. Ashley explained to me tho kind of evi-
dence ho thought it the most advisablo to present against
you. (1 must be very brief.) lie thought it would be very
plausible to prove—
"First—That Booth had on several occasions paid you
familiar visits to Kirkwood. This it was hoped I might
be able to induce some of the old female servants to testify
to. If this could not be done then it should be proved by
some of my friends who happened to be at the house at the
time, who know Booth, &c., and saw the visit.
" Secondly—That you corresponded with Booth, which
should be shown by ono or more persona who had taken
notes from Booth to you, and your replies (contents un-

known) thero to Booth. Tno witnesses should be persons
who would profess to have been intimate with Booth, and
to havo been onlisted by him to take part in the assassina-

tion.

" Third—That the placing of Atzerodt with weapons al
the Kirkwood House was only a sham, although Atzerodt
was not aware of it, to make it appear that you were in•

tended as a victim, and thus distract all suspicion from you
of conniving at Lincoln's murder. This also, it was sug-

Bested, could be proved by persons who could testify that
they had been induced to enter into the conspiracy with
Booth and had performed a part in organising it, &c., which
persons it was to be understood were induced to testify and©r
an assurance from the Government that they should not
be prosecuted for any part they had taken. The resolution
under which Butler's committee was appointed, it will be
observed, provides for the protection of such persons who
are furnished with a good excuse for not coming forward
before, by offering imn.unity to all who were concerned in
the conspiracy, who will now come forward and disclose

their knowledge on the subject.
"Fourth—That Booth, just before the 4th of March
stated to an intimate friend in New York, whom he had
endeavoured to enlist in the conspiracy, that ho was act-
ing with the knowledge of the Vice-President, and that it
had been arranged to kill Mr. Lincoln on the day of the
Inauguration, which would account for Mr. Johnson's
strange conduct on that occasion, which had provoked so
much comment by the press; that you expected the
tragedy to be enacted then, and had taken several pota-
tions to compose and nerve you for the event; and that
you were not so much intoxicated as nervous and excited.
I feel much delicacy in referring to such topics, but I can-
not inform you of your enemies' plans and projects with-
out being plain, and I am obliged to write in too groat
haste to be choice in my language.
"I assured Ashley that I should have no difficulty in
finding persons of good standing and moral character to
prove these matters, and it was agreed that I would do so
as soon as released."
Mr. Ashley some time since introduced resolu-
tions in Congress to impeach President Johnson,
when he stated that he was in possession of valuable
information in support of such impeachment. Gene-
ral Butler is chairman of the committee to investi-
gate the circumstances of the murder of Mr. Lin-
coln. That committee has power to shield from
punishment any informer throwing a light on the
conspiracy. It is alleged by Canover that not only
was he promised protection but a large reward,
if lie substantiated by sufficient suborned evi-
dence the charges that he, General Butler, and
Ashley had concocted against the President. During
Canover's confinement in Washington, he states
that he was visited by Ashley and Butler, who re-
vealed the plot, to which Canover consented. Find,
ing that he was not liberated, Canover, whose rea.
name is Dunham, turned on those he alleges had
been his instigators, and furnished letters he had
received from Ashley, and an account of the con-
spiracy to the President. That the story bears
marks of being a wild fabrication is evident. If
Butler thus committed himself, and having the
power to shield the perjurer did not exercise it, he
would be mad. That a man convicted, and now
undergoing a sentence for perjury, is to be believed,
is grossly absurd. General Butler having mixed
himself up with this dirt cannot be surprised if some
of it should stick to him. Whether we will ever
seach the truth of the story appears very doubtful,
and the more it is investigated the less likely it
appears, considering the frightful enmity which in-
daces men of high social position, to trump up
charges of the most horrible crimes against each
other, and to bring on the scene, in support of their
accusations, the lowest scum to be found in the
United States. Although we cannot but regard
Canover's story as another fabrication, the remarks
of the Assistant-Attorney-General somewhat stagger
us. That officer, commenting on the documents,
states :
"In conclusion, I beg leave to express the profound
sensibility with which I find myself obliged to bring to the
serious notice of the President of the United Stater'. =lwo,