The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-19 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC jOURNALE.

THE " ANGLO-AMERICAN TIMES" ON ANDREW
JOIINSON.—We have on so many occasions declared
our faith and confidence in the extraordinary man
who occupies the Executive Office in the United States
that we shall be accused of no want of friendship for
him when we express our sincere regret that he so seri-
ously compromised himself in his speech to the mob
which surrounded his mansion on the 24th February
last. We have hitherto refrained from alluding to
that speech, because we were so shocked and pained
at the spectacle which the Chief Magistrate of the
American Republic had made of himself before the
world that we had no desire to add one drop to the
flood of censure and reproach which we felt sure
would overwhelm him. But to keep silence
longer would be to neglect a clear conviction of duty.
In the singular and unfortunate speech of Presi-
dent Johnson we find no warrant for impugning
his patriotism or doubting his devotion to the cause
of the Union. We did not disapprove of his Veto
of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, and we feel firmly
assured of his sterling honesty and his Republican
virtues. But these are not the only qualities which
we should like to see in the Chief Executive Officer
of the Great Republic. We should like to see
in him dignity of manners and decency of language.
We should like to find in him sobriety of conduct
and unerring courtesy to all ; for if we look in vain
for such traits in the head of a civilised and Chris-
tian nation, where else shall we look for them ?
It is a matter for regret that Mr. Johnson
should so far allow his resentment to get the better
of his judgment as to forget that the difference be-
tween the President and certain leading Republi-
cans is a question of methods for obtaining the
same end, and not of different ends. It is no ex-
cuse for the President that those whom he singled
out by name for personal vituperation had already
offended against him in a similar manner. When
Mr. Sumner recently spoke in the Senate of the
President's policy as ‘‘ whitewashing" he only
shocked the couxtry's sense of propriety thereby,
and felt himself obliged, as quickly as possible, to
explain and apologise for his rudeness ; when Mr.
Stevens, in tho House, used that foolish phrase
about a British king losing his head, which appears
to have so greatly and needlessly irritated Mr.
Johnson, the whole country exclaimed against it as
an indecency, and even Mr. Stevens must have felt
that he had greatly injured his own cause by such
words. But the same sentiment of propriety and re-
spect which was shocked by the intemperate words of
Messrs. Sumner and Stevens is still more outraged
by the uncalled-for and offensive retort of Mr.
Johnson. We are not of those who hold it impro-
per for the President to speak to the people ; we
were nGt offended at Mr. Liiucoln's speeches, and
shall not find fault with Mr. Johnson if he is moved
to announce or defend his policy in a speech. But
the President of the United States ought not to
descend into the pit ; and instead of calling names,
and indulging in personalities, he would have done
well to imitate the noble patience with which
Abraham Lincoln bore far bitterer gibes, far
ruder attacks, from the same men. For the
shocking and unseemly imputation Mr. Johnson
Johnson chose to bring against Messrs. Stevens,
Sumner, and others opposed to his policy, that their
intention was to incite assassination, we trust that
he will make haste to apologise, not merely to them,
but to the country, which he has most grievously
insulted. Such words as he uttered on that head
would not be tolerated in the hastiest stump speech.
They are too ill-judged and impulsive for us to
think or write patiently about them ; and we count
it no slight misfortune for the nation that its Chief
Magistrate should have spoken in this style.

Ten were arrested yesterday by Inspector Arm-
on suspicion of
Nugent, a supposed
Fsternoniagniasimid. a
Tlairvgoe,
IpyaarrtyrenofapnodliNceu,
deserter, were found 11n42, Francis-streetalodging-lioiise ; and w
, High-
streetl9,to
more ;
ata 149, and Pis,
at
in the same street. They gave
the following account of themselves :—J. Hayden,
is an ex-policeman from Waterford ; J. Leedom a
gunsmith from London; J. Heron from Listowel,
Kerry ; J. M'Enery, tailor, from Nenagh ; R. Lacy,
from Castle Dermott ; J. Gannon, from Roscom-
mon ; J. Joyce, a native of Dublin, who served
in the American army ; and O'Brien, a pikemaker.
They had all come to Dublin within a few months,
some within a f6w weeks, and, though out of em-
ployment, they were living comfortably. It is sup-
posed they were waiting for the "rising." A young
gentleman was brought up yesterday charged with
having a double-barrelled pistol in his possession
without lieinice, but as the police did not think he
had •any evil intentions he was admitted to bail.
llugo and O'Curry, arrested on the Ist of March
for being in possession of ammunition and military
instruction books in Nels On-street, were yesterday
allowed by Mr. titronge to stand out on bail, but
their companion, Hunt, arrested at the same time
and place, was committed under the Lord-Lieuten-
ant'swarrant and gent to MountjoyPrigon.