The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-30 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY.—Monaing, lh. 50m.—Afternoon, 2h. Gm.
'l'o-31onRow.-Morning, 2h. 21m.—Afternoon, 2h. 40m.

English Crown that its emissary should be treated
more than a felon would in this country. It is high
time that a salutary ehange of conduct distinguished
our Foreign Office, for the present style of pro-
cedure is fast bringing the name of England into
contempt in those far-off lands and distant regions,
where, at one time, respect for her presence was
always efficacious to protect her subjects wherever
they wandered.

President JOHNSON received Baron BEAULIEU,
the special Envoy from the King of the BELGIANS,
who came to announce officially the death (of
King LEOPOLD, and the accession of his successor.
After the Baron had delivered letters from, his
Sovereign, Mr. JOHNSON replied in a speech of
great decision, which displayed some of those dis-
tinguishing traits of character that have made the
PRESIDENT so justly admired. lle said. that Bel-
gium was known in history as a country that had
suffered by being chosen as a battle-ground for
foreign states. For that reason, continued the
PRESIDENT, "I never meet a representative of Bel-
gium without feeling a desire to congratulate him
upon the repose, the tranquillity, the prosperity, and
the dignity which his country at last attained under
the sway of her Sovereign, LEOPOLD ; and I trust
that the times in which we are now living will show
that the Government and people of the United
States duly appreciated the friendship with which
we were favoured during that reign." Certainly
the late KING deserves all praise for his great skill
and moderation, and he achieved as great a success
in maintaining peace as other monarchs have done
in making war. The prosperity which his little
kingdom enjoyed was the best testimony to the
worth of his services, and for wisdom he certainly
bore the palm among the Kings of his time. The
PRESIDENT very truly declared that while the
United States could do little in a direct
manner to reciprocate benefits with the States
of Europe, in an indirect form all those
States might derive advantages from the
practice of a " wise, just, and liberal policy on that
side of the Atlantic." It is because the new PRESI-
DENT gives such sure proof of his desire to further
this policy that we may entertain a just hope that a
better and brighter future is dawning for America,
and that a peace, in some degree worthy of the name,
may supplant the strife and discord that have raged
in her distracted councils, and conflicted against all
vital interests and marred all welfare. The outline
given by the PRESIDENT of the object of American
policy is a bold one, and well deserving a recogni-
tion by an independent race. "We seek to illus-
trate," he says, " how our people can be true, and
yet, by their own strength, maintain their indepen-
dence. How they can extend their commerce, and
yet abstain from aggression. How, without en-
tangling alliances, a free people can co-operate with
other nations in advancing the great interests of
civilisation; and how nations may, from time to time,
become persuaded to bring within reach of appeal,
to just and peaceful arbitration, controversies that
otherwise must necessarily be referred to the trial of
force." It is the spirit in which an undertaking is
carried out that gives it significance and imparts to
it value, and thus we may recognise the similarity,
in some respects, of two different men in different
circumstances. The late King LEOPOLD
moulded the people he was elected to rule over, to
appreciate his benignant influence, and follow the
distates of his superior intelligence. President
JOHNSON'S task is a stupendous one, but the ruling
spirit of his course is moderation, and we are not
surprised that in casting his glance to the nation
across the Atlantic he should regard with particular
approval the little country of Belgium, which has
combined in so remarkable a manner freedom with
moderation ; and while it has kept aloof from the
revolutions that have distracted neighbouring king-
doms, it has at the same time contrived to preserve
its liberties intact and inviolate—a consummation
seldom attained by more noisy, but less steadfast,
adherents to the cause of freedom.