at the same time that no step could have been taken which could have inflicted so great an injury on their own cause. I will not venture to follow the noble earl even into the slight discussion which he has originated with regard to the internal politics of the United States. I will not discuss the difficulty which at the present moment is felt in the United States-the difficulty caused by slavery. I will not express any opinion as to the question whether the late defeats, serious as they are, and apparently fatal to the cause of the South, have produced, or are likely to lead to, an early termination of the war. In whatever way the war may be terminated, it must be the desire of every friend of humanity that it should be terminated soon and without further and unnecessary effusion of blood. But I join entirely with the noble earl in lamenting the loss of a man who had conducted the affairs of a great nation, under circumstances of great difficulty, with singular moderation and prudence, and who, I believe, was bent upon trying to the utmost a system as conciliatory as was consistent with the prosecution of the war in which the country was engaged. I agree that the death of such a man, in such a manner, and at such a time, is a subject not only for deep regret and for abhorrence of the crime by which he was deprived of life, but that it is also a serious misfortune in the present condition of affairs, for the State over which he exercised authority and for the prospects of an amicable settlement. I can only hope that, notwithstanding some ominous expressions which have already fallen from him, the successor who has so unexpectedly been elevated to the high position filled by Mr. Lincoln may be disposed and enabled to follow the wise and conciliatory course which I believe, in the prospect of success, Mr. Lincoln had decided upon adopting. I am not insensible to the danger that public exasperation arising out of this act may force upon the government a less conciliatory and more violent course than that which Mr. Lincoln seemed to have marked out for himself; but I am satisfied that the adoption of such a course can only further protract the horrors of this civil war, adding to the other motives of the South the most powerful of all motives the motive of despair-leading the South to fight out this question to the bitter end; so that while the one side is exasperated into a desire to exterminate its opponents, they, in their despair, will be ready to submit to extermination rather than accept the unreasonable terms of the North. Thus in the act itself, in the circumstances under which this crime has been committed, and in the fatal influences which it may exercise upon the returning prospects of peace in the United States, we must find

reasons for deeply lamenting the occurrence which has taken place; and I am quite sure that, independently of all political motives, but not saying that political motives do not enter into our views, I am expressing the universal feeling of this House and of the country, when I say that we view with horror, with detestation, and with indignation, the atrocious crime by which the life of the President of the United States has been ended.

The House of Commons.-Remarks of Sir G. Grey.

In the House of Commons on the same day, Sir G. Grey said-I very much regret the unavoidable absence of my noble friend at the head of the government, in whose name the notice was given of the motion which it now devolves upon me to ask the House to agree to. I feel, however, that it is comparatively unimportant by whom the motion is proposed, because I am confident that the address to the crown which I am about to ask the House to agree to is one which will meet with the cordial and unanimous assent of all. When the news a few days ago of the assassination of the President of the United States, and the attempted assassinationfor I hope that we may now confidently expect that it will not be a successful attempt of Mr. Seward reached this country, the first impression in the mind of every one was that the intelligence could not be true. It was hoped by every one that persons could not be found capable of committing a crime so atrocious. When the truth was forced upon us, when we could no longer entertain any doubt as to the correctness of the intelligence, the feeling which succeeded was one of universal sorrow, horror, and indignation. It was felt as if some great calamity had befallen ourselves; for in the civil war, the existence and long continuance of which we have so sincerely deplored, it is well known that the government of this country, acting, as I believe, in accordance with the almost unanimous, or perhaps I may say in accordance with the unanimous feeling of this country, had maintained a strict and impartial neutrality. But it is notorious, and it could not in a great country like this be otherwise, that different opinions have been entertained by different persons with regard to the questions at issue between the Northern and Southern States of America; but still I believe that the sympathies of the majority of the people of this country have been with the North. I am desirous on this occasion of avoiding everything which may excite any difference of opinion. I may say, therefore, that in this free country different opinions have been 'entertained and different sympathies felt, and that in this free country the freest expression has been given, as should be the case,

to those differences of opinion. I am sure that I shall raise no controversy when I say in the presence of that great crime which has sent a thrill of horror through every one who heard of it, all differences of opinion, all conflicting sympathies for a moment entirely vanished. I am anxious to say at once, and I desire to proclaim the belief with the strongest confidence, that this atrocious crime was regarded by every man of influence and power in the Southern States with the same degree of horror which it excited in every other part of the world. We may, therefore-and this is all I wish to say upon this subject-whatever our opinions with regard to the past, and whatever our sympathies may have beenwe shall all cordially unite in expressing our abhorrence of that crime, and in rendering our sympathy to that nation which is now mourning the loss of its chosen and trustful chief, struck to the ground by the hand of an assassin, and that too at the most critical period of its history. While lamenting that war and the loss of life which it has inevitably occasioned, it is impossible, whatever our opinions or our sympathies may have been, to withhold our admiration from the many gallant deeds performed and acts of heroism displayed by both parties in the contest; and it is a matter for bitter reflection that the page of history, recording such gallant achievements and such heroic deeds by men who so freely shed their blood on the battle-field in a cause which each considered right, should also be stained with the record of a crime such as we are now deploring. At length a new era appeared to be dawning on the contest between the North and South. The time had come when there was every reason to hope that the war would speedily be brought to a close. Victory had crowned the efforts of the statesmen and the armies of the federals, and most of us— all I hope had turned with a feeling of some relief and some hope for the future from the record of sanguinary conflicts to that correspondence which has but recently passed between the generals commanding the hostile armies. And when we turned to Mr. President Lincoln, I should have been prepared to express a hope, indeed an expectation-and I have reason to believe that that expectation would not have been disappointed—that in the hour of victory and in the use of victory he would have shown a wise forbearance, a generous consideration, which would have added tenfold lustre to the fame and reputation which he has acquired throughout the misfortunes of this war. Unhappily the foul deed which has taken place has deprived Mr. Lincoln of the opportunity of thus adding to his well earned fame and repu tation; but let us hope, what indeed we may repeat, that the good

sense and right feeling of those upon whom will devolve the most arduous and difficult duties in this conjuncture will lead them to respect the wishes and the memory of him whom we are all mourning; and will lead them to act in the same spirit and to follow the same counsels by which we have good reason to believe the conduct of Mr. Lincoln would have been marked, had he survived to complete the work that was entrusted to him. I am only speaking the general opinion when I say that nothing could give greater satisfaction to this country than by means of forbearance, it may be of temperate conciliation, to see the union of the North and South again accomplished, especially if it can be accomplished by common consent, freed from what hitherto constituted the weakness of that Union-the curse and disgrace of slavery. I wish it were possible for us to convey to the people of the United States an adequate idea of the depth and universality of the feeling which this sad event has occasioned in this country, that from the highest to the lowest there has been but one feeling entertained. Her Majesty's Minister at Washington will, in obedience to the Queen's command, convey to the government of the United States the expression of the feelings of her Majesty and of her government upon the deplorable event; and her Majesty, with that tender consideration which she has always evinced for sorrow and suffering in others, of whatever rank, has with her own hand written a letter to Mrs. Lincoln, conveying the heartfelt sympathy of a widow to a widow suffering under the calamity of having lost one suddenly cut off. From every part of this country, from every class, but one voice has been heard-one of abhorrence for the crime and of sympathy for and interest in the country which has this great loss to mourn. The British residents in the United States, as of course was to be expected, lost not an hour in expressing their sympathy with the government of the United States. The people of our North American colonies are vieing with each other in expressing the same sentiments. And it is not only among men of the same race who are connected with the people of the United States by origin, language, and blood, that these feelings prevail, but I believe that every country in Europe is giving expression to the same sentiments and is sending the message to the government of the United States. I am sure, therefore, that I am not wrong in anticipating that this House will, in the name of the people of England, of Scotland, and of Ireland, be anxious to record their expression of the same sentiment, and to have it conveyed to the government of the United States. Of this I am confident; that this House could never more fully and more adequately represent the feelings of the

whole of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom than by agreeing to the address which it is now my duty to move, expressing to her Majesty our sorrow and indignation at the assassination of the President of the United States, and praying her Majesty that, in communicating her own sentiments to the government of that country upon the deplorable event, she will express at the same time, on the part of this House, their abhorrence of the crime and their sympathy with the government and people of the United States in the deep affliction into which they have been thrown.

FRANCE.

In Paris on the very day the terrible news was received M. Drouyn de Lhuys, Minister of Foreign Affairs, despatched a letter to Mr. Bigelow expressive of his sorrow, and immediately upon the return of our Minister from Brest (whither he had gone to participate in the ceremony of the opening of a new line of railway) he was waited upon by an aide-de-camp of the Emperor, who expressed to him the personal regrets of his Majesty at the severe loss to the nation and his horror of the crime. On Mr. Bigelow's return he was overwhelmed with letters of condolence from all parts of Europe. He at once received calls from M. Garnier Pages and several members of the opposition in the Corps Legislatif, as well as from a considerable number of literary men and others who have always sympathized with our cause. A large number also called at the Consulate, and, in accordance with the custom here, subscribed their names in token of condolence.

One of the most remarkable and noteworthy demonstrations was that made by the Jeunesse d'Ecoles-the students of the Latin quarter. Nearly a thousand of these young men formed in procession for the purpose of proceeding to the American Minister's to present to him an appropriate address.

Solemn services were also held at the American Episcopal Chapel, which were attended by a large assemblage of French and Ameri

cans.

The Princess Murat, who is an American lady, was present, as were also General Franconniere and the Prince Napoleon, M. Berryer, Jules Favre, Ernest Picard, Eugene Pelletan, Prevost Paradol, and a considerable number of literary men.

Henry Martin, the Historian, thus wrote in one of the Parisian journals: