The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-17 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 17, 1868.

Yesterday morning a most interesting ceremony
took place at Edinburgh for the presentation of
the freedom of the city to Lord NAPIER of MAG-
DALA. A distinguished company was present, and
the Lord Provost in presenting the certificate made
an appropriate address. The honour was perhaps
not great, he said, but it was all they had it in
their power to bestow, and it had been one of the
old " usages" of the Corporation to confer the
freedom of the city, as a token of respect, on persons
distinguished in statesmanship, arts, science, litera-
ture, and arms, who came amongst them. It is
at any rate a most interesting custom, for this
reason, that it associates with the records of all the
cities the names of mighty men, and those who have
been in their style and vocation the ornaments of
their day and
.generation are associated with the
memory of the places that did them the honour. As
the Lord Provost truly pat it, the good city of
Edinburgh may look with pride on the list of emi-
nent strangers who have received this " civic dis-
tinction." Beginning with JOHN HAMPDEN, the re-
cord goes on to include worthies of a later date—
Sir WALTER SCOTT, Prince ALBERT, CHARLES
DICKENS, and some others, and concluding with the
present Premier. The last man added to the list
is one that all will honour, for the Abyssinian Ex-
pedition has caused unqualified satisfaction through
the length and breadth of the land. Lord NAPIER,
in replying to the compliment paid to him,
declared that he should ever regard the mark of
favour thus bestowed as a sign that he, and his
naval and military brethren, had faithfully served
their country in the venture they undertook. He
then gracefully disclaimed the glory of the affair as
appertaining to himself ; it being, as he said, due
to all, who strove earnestly each in his vocation to
do his best, and so further the cause in which they
were all engaged. The privilege conferred upon
him was, Lord NAPIER said, doubly dear, because
he had always felt that his name belonged to
Scotland, and though fortune has cast his lot away
from Scotland, he had during his long residence in
India always delighted to hear of Scottish doings
from those who came there from that land. " I
have often thought," remarked he, " of the won-
derful influence which the inhabitants of what I
may call a small and rugged, though beautiful,
country have exercised upon the welfare, not of
Great Britain only, but of all countries where the
flag of Great Britain waves." An interesting pas-
sage of his speech was when the illustrious General
referred to a description met with in Ikon
MILLER'S works, of a scene in a stormy night, and
he compared it with the feeling which must have
been experienced by the poor Abyssinian captives,
who might well have exclaimed, on passing the
gates of Magdala as these did, when rose from the
waves that had submerged their barque, " There
are many good souls praying for us this day." In
concluding his eloquent speech, Lord NAPIER re-
ferred to the advantages which accrued to the
Scotch from the system of education which pre-
vailed in the country, and by means of which a
large mass of highly educated men in every trade
and profession was called to fill important places in
every land. A more :appropriate ceremony, con-
sidering all things, could not have taken place than
chat which was yesterday witnessed in the famous
old City of Edinburgh.

There are some few men who, while they are fear-
less and uncompromising enough in maintaining
their own opinions, are yet so fortunate as to win
golden opinions from those who differ from them.
Ea politics we occasionally meet with a statesman
who, though mixing in the angry contentaans of
the day, is never spoken of without respect and
admiration, and in the same way a military leader
may win the applause of his enemies as well as of
his friends. All the bitterness of a civil war,
which was certainly not made with rosewater,
has not alienated from General LEE the affec
tions of his countrymen. He is a man of whom all
Americans feel proud, and he owes Ma position eve❑
more to his personal character than to his military
genius. The dignity and magnanimity which the
Confederate General displayed during the collapse
of his fortunes did him more honour than the
brilliant victories which won him a world-wide
reputation ; and in the midst of all the excitement,
the bitter animosities and virulent strife which has
succeeded the war, General LEE preserved the same
dignified reticence. So great was his influence over
the minds of his countrymen, and so high the
estimation in which he was held, that the
course he might think proper to pursue
became an important question. In the first irrita-
tion of disappointed ambition, and under the sense
of mortifying failure, the white men of the South
were ready for any deed, however desperate, and
much depended on the action of Gen. LEE. The
wiser and more thoughtful looked to him for advice
and example, and when he plainly and frankly told
the people of the Confederacy that their cause was
hopeless, and that they must accept the issue of the
war and obey the Federal authorities ; and, more-
over, when he enforced his advice by accepting
civil employment and retiring into private life, the
effect was conclusive. All saw that Gen. LEE at
least regarded his parole as binding, and while he
resolutely withdrew from public affairs any at-
tempt at reorganisation of the Southern forces
.would have been madness. General LEE has re-
nainel in retirement ever since the crisis of the
war, notwizlistanding the irritating conduct of the
Radicals and the dismal prospects of the South.
By so doing he has unquestionably rendered his
countrymen the hest service in his power ; but the
time has now come when he may safely emerge from
tis retreat and play a more prominent part on the
tage of polities.
General RosEcnics, whose name was familiar to
Europeans at the time of the war, has been the means