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

SECRETARY SEWARD CRITICISED.

The New York Herald says :—" Of all our public
men Secretary Seward is most fond of looking at the
bright side of every question. In the darkest night
he fixes his eyes upon some star or spot of light and
declares that everything is as brilliant as sunshine.

He does not now think that anything or anybody is
in peril. Unlike the President, he sees no danger
in Northern treason. Unlike the Radicals, he is
unable to find cause for alarm in the course of the
President. To him all this trouble is about a
trifling disagreement as to whether the ship of State
shall come into port by the nearest channel or put
about and take a little more time to reach the same
shelter. The vessel is sure to go in safely, one way
or the other, and if a lot of politicians happen to be
washed overboard during the operation Secretary
Seward does not care about that, nor worry himself
as to which of them will be drowned. With
amusing unconcern he begs none of his friends to
shout for help or throw him a life-preserver should
he be one of the unfortunate. Just as good fish are
in the sea as ever were caught, says the old proverb ;
and in the same vein Mr. Seward believes that just
as good Presidents, Secretaries of State, and politi-
cians will follow Johnson, and himself, and the
Radicals. The whole affair reminds him of nothing
more serious than an old comedy called " The Man
of Nerve and the Nervous Man ;" and as he sits
quietly among the listless spectators, he observes
that President Johnson is acting the man of nerve
very well, and that Thad. Stevens, as the nervous
man, trembling and troubled with earthquakes, is
really an excellent comedian. This is the tone of
his whole speech, and it ends with the very pretty
point that so long as our President refuses to accept
such imperial powers as those conferred by the
Freedmen's Bureau Bill, even when Congress desires
him to wield them, the country must be quite safe
and sound. Well, it may be a happy thing to be
able to esteem grave issues so lightly ; but we are
afraid that Secretary Seward is as much mistaken
in his opinions about the present crisis as he was
when he asserted that the rebellion would easily be
suppressed in 90 days. His speech is very funny ;
but it is not so humorous as President Johnson's,
and it is not relieved, like the President's, by sombre
shades of stern and cruel truth. It is just the
address that would be delivered by an official out
for a holiday and indifferent as to how matters pro-
gressed during his absence ; but we fear that it is
only another proof of Secretary Seward's incapacity
to practically comprehend the vital questions which
agitate the country." 1

QUEEN VICTORIA FROM AN AMERICAN STANDPOINT.
The New York, Herald eulogises Queen Victoria
in the following language :—" While we are aware
that the opinions of her Majesty, as well as of her

late consort, Prince Albert, and indeed all the royal
family, were favourable to this Government and
hostile to the institution of slavery, we are reminded
by the words of the Queen, so frankly spoken,
that her Ministry did not share those sentiments,
nor act upon them during our four years war. On
the contrary, Lords Palmerston and Russell, who
represented her Government as Premier and Minister
for Foreign Affairs, unfortunately looked hopefully
to the establishment of a Government in the South
based upon slavery, and materially contributed—
from the moment that Earl Russell so hastily recog-
nised belligerent rights in the Southern States—to
the success of a rebellion which had for its prime
object and inspiration the permanence of this very
institution upon the downfall of which her Majesty
so honestly and, we believe, sincerely rejoices. Had
her opinions prevailed in the councils of her Minis-
ters, England would have stood far better to-day
in the estimation of the American people, nor would
the Queen have been compelled to refer, in another
portion of her Speech, to the questions yet to be
settled with our Government with respect to in-
juries inflicted on American commerce by cruisers
under the Confederate flag.' This is the first occa-
sion upon which the Queen of England presented
herself before Parliament since the death of her
husband, and we are told that her demeanour was
remarkable and impressive, her appearance pictu-
resque and regal. She eschewed the usual robes of
royalty ; was costumed in half mourning, in conson-
ance with her widowed state ; wore a dark veivet
robe, a simple collar of brilliants, with no other
ornaments of diadem or star, and on her head, in
place of the royal crown, a white lace cap, after the
fashion of Marie Stuart, presenting a remarkable
similitude to that unfortunate lady. During the
ceremony her Majesty is described as sitting motion-
less on the throne, with her eyes fixed upon the
ground, taking no heed of the gaudy show passing
before her, or of the unseemly mob of Commoners
who were crowding into the House of Peers ; but
appearing absorbed in melancholy meditation.' It
is not hard to divine the thoughts then occupying
the mind of the Queen. The scene, doubtless,
recalled recollections of the many previous recur-
rences of the occasion, which were participated in
by one who was the cynosure of her heart, the father
of her royal children, and the light of her household.
From the description of the Queen's appearance it
is evident that age has not visited her too roughly,
and that domestic sorrow has clothed her with
dignity, as with a mantle."