Year: 1865

We give below the opinions of the
leading British and French press on the
capture of the President" of the late
"Confederacy They form curious and
interesting reading They are agreed on
one point. They all think that Davis
ought not to be hanged. The London
Times says "The Intelligence of the cap
ture of Mr.. Jefferson Davis will produce
feeling of uneasiness and anxiety IN
every country in Europe. We had hoped,
and we seemed to have good reason to
hope, that either through the skill of his
own disposition, or by the wise conni-
vance of his enemies, Mr.. Davis would
have effected his escape from the land
where he has played his stake so boldly
and lost il so completely The hopes ot
the South are evidently crushed beyond
all hope of redemption, and it would
have been wise as we'll as a magnanl-
nous policy to suffer its leader to escape"


I'VE confess it is with much anxiety
that we look forward to the probable fate
of the Southern President. The utter
ances of Mr.. Johnson have for some time
been such as to cause the liveliest unea-
siness in the minds of all who are anxious
TO see this great strife terminated with
out the effusion Of more blood


"It is purely in the cause and for the
credit of the American Union that We
- IG
TO consider again aid again the extreme
impOlicy of shedding the blood OF man
whom little success would have trans
formed from an attainted traitor into
something very like q successful monarch
The stake has been entirely lost, and the
victor should be content with his sue
cess


The Times cites various precedents to
sustain its opinions, and concludes with
saying:


"And this is, of course, written on the
supposition, the truth of which we do
not for a moment doubt, that it will be
found impossible to connect Mr.. Davis III
any way with the atrocious plot fer the
assassination of Mr. Lincoln. Our object
is not to palliate that enormous crime,
and # it be possible to show that Mr..
Davis was cognizant of it, we have moth
inq TO saw in his defense We desire only
to take the first opportunity of repre-.
senting how enormous would be the guilt
of commencing a prescription which
would give the tone of all political con.
tests in America for the next century -
The man who is able to set mp govern
ment and carry on tremendous conflict
for four years, has elevated himself above
the reach of mere criminal proceedings,
Burke could not draw up an Indictment
against nation, and on Mr.. Jefferson
| Davis were concentrated the hopes and
feelings of brave and most uahappy
people. Modern Europe affords bat one
precedent for capital punishment in such
a case-the treatment of Poland by Rus
sia and that precedent is not one TO en-
courage imitation. When a people rise
for a common object they are not likely
TO be deferred by the prospect OF iudi.
vidual punishment, and when punish
ment ceases to deter it ceases to be iusti-
fable"


The London Post says Elected as the
Chief Magistrate of six millions of peo-
ple, he achieved for himself and for them
during the period in which be held his
office, famine in the presence of which
| that of his Northern rival must pale. In
the space of few short years he helped
to found a republic which possessed
within itself all the elements of commer
cial greatness, and which, but for the
undying animosity Offices whose proweSs
proved irresistible, would probably in
time have become one of the most pow
erful commemorative in the world
With the greatness, ephemeral though
1t was, Of the Southern Confederacy, the