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tlemen, we looked upon England, on the one hand, as worthy of imitation in the march of progress in the path of true and practical liberty; but, at the same time, we were conscious that there were certain customs in the institutions of that country we could not adopt, and we cast our eyes beyond the Atlantic, where we found a great people worthy of entire imitation, and it is the institutions of that people we have chiefly inscribed upon our organic charter. We have followed their example in all that regards public liberty, the distribution of power, the election of representatives and decentralization of rule. For that reason, I say that Belgium ought to sympathize with America by expressions of horror and indignation, such as all civilized nations feel, and protest against the art of barbarism that has stained the soil of America with the last mournful trace of expiring slavery, which has now vanished before the vivifying breath of modern civilization.

The sentiments manifested in this house are felt throughout all Europe; England has protested through Parliament; France has spoken by the mouth of her Emperor; Prussia by her legislative assembly, where all the members arose to declare that the infamy of the horrid act deserved the condemnation of all civilized nations. We must also do homage to the man who was the victim of that atrocious crime, to the man who, as the honorable Mr. De Beaulieu has truly said, sprung from the people to adorn a nation, and like certain popes, come from the lowest ranks of society to be the greatest honor to the church. Lincoln was a self-made man; he drank from the spring of liberty; he was guided by the light of a democratic nation, and merit elevated him to the highest dignities of the country.

He has set a worthy example, which his successor ought to follow, relying on the support of public opinion, which should be his constant guide, never to be abandoned or opposed.

That, gentlemen, should be his greatest honor, which, united with his firmness and wise impartiality, will mark him a place in history.

In joining other civilized nations in our protest against this political crime, we do a good deed; by our participation in the sentiment of universal indignation, we help to arrest the contagion of an abominable example that might attack other nations.

By outlawing monsters guilty of such crimes, we terrify those who might be tempted to commit them.

Mr. ROGIER, minister of foreign affairs. It is useless for me to say, gentlemen, that the government participates in the sentiments so eloquently expressed by the two honorable members of this assembly entertaining different political opinions. Our government sympathizes with the bereaved nation, and has transmitted the expression of its sorrow to the government of the United States and their honorable representative in Brussels.

The motion just made is new to Belgium; but it has been made elsewhere, and the importance of the event justifies it. I consider the sympathy expressed in the speeches of the honorable Mr. De Beaulieu and Mr. l'Abbé De Haerne as the unanimous opinion of the house; and thus the legislative assembly joins the government in the regrets felt and expressed on the occasion of a crime that has filled Belgium and the rest of the world with dismay.

We must also express our wishes for the recovery of the eminent statesman who was attacked at the same time with the venerable President of the republic. His life must be preserved to insure the final pacification of a splendid country, too long desolated by the calamities of a war afflicting to all friends of true liberty.

May that great statesman, now burdened with a heavy duty, persevere in the sentiments of moderation he has always shown through the excitement of the great struggle, and may we soon hear of the restoration of his health, and the return of peace between the factions of a great people whom we admire, who

have always had our sympathies, and who will soon resume their exalted station in the world.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSE: Gentlemen, as no objection is offered, it is now decided that this house is unanimous in its approval of the sentiments just expressed by the two honorable members whose speeches you have just heard.

[Translation.]

Note from the Moniteur of the 30th April 1865.

The king ordered one of his aides de-camp to go to Mr. Sanford's and express to him the sorrow his Majesty felt at the news of the attacks on the President and Secretary of State of the United States of America.

His highness the Count of Flanders also sent one of his aids to the minister, on the same mission.

The minister of foreign affairs and other members of the cabinet, on their part, hastened to call on Mr. Sanford, and instructions were sent to the Belgian legation in Washington to express to the American government the senti ments of regret and condemnation excited by such odious acts.

In the house, session of yesterday, Mr. Hardy de Beaulieu spoke in the most moving terms of the emotions produced in Belgium by the news of the tragic event which has just occurred in the United States. He called general attention to all the eminent virtues of President Lincoln.

. Mr. De Haerne joined Mr. De Beaulieu in a eulogy of much beauty upon the character of the late lamented President.

The minister of foreign affairs added, that the government sympathized sincerely in the sentiments just expressed by the honorable members, and that he had already despatched a communication of that effect to the government of the United States, and to their honorable representatives in Brussels. He expressed the most fervent wishes for the recovery of the distinguished statesman, Mr. Seward, whose life was necessary to the final pacification of a country that had been so long ravaged by the desolation of war, and the prosperity of which was greatly desired by all friends of liberty.

Mr. Sanford to Mr. Seward.

No. 257.]

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Brussels, April 28, 1865. SIR: The tragic tidings from Washington of the assassination of the Presi dent and murderous assault upon the Secretary of State, has caused a deep impression here of horror and indignation at the cowardice and cruelty of the confederate plotters.

Following so rapidly upon the excitement created by our late victories, and the public demonstrations on account of them, the announcement has aroused unusual agitation in this city and through the country. The King from his sick-bed sent to me one of his aides-de-camp, Major General Bormann, to express in his name his deep feeling at this tragic event, and for the great loss we have sustained.

The minister of foreign affairs and the other members of the cabinet, the president of the house of representatives, the high dignitaries of the court, and most of the foreign legations, and a very large number of persons of every rank and station, have come personally to offer their condolence and to express their horror at this crowning atrocity of the rebellion.

M. Rogier informed me he had sent a despatch to the Belgian chargé d'affaires at Washington, to offer directly to the government the expression of their sympathy at the sad event.

Immediately on receipt of Mr. Adams's telegram, I addressed a circular to our consuls.

The shock caused by this news is too great to permit me to appreciate calmly its influence on public sentiment touching our affairs abroad. It cannot fail, I think, to cause a far-reaching reaction in the sympathies heretofore entertained by the so-called "better classes" in Europe for the rebels and their cause, and to stimulate, on the other hand, a more friendly feeling toward us and the cause of the Union.

The fact that the confederate loan at the London exchange yesterday rose 3 per cent. upon the news, is a significant indication of the effect which the instigators of this dreadful crime imagined it would have upon their cause.

The calm transition of the executive power to other hands, at Washington, contrasted with what would be likely to occur on a similar occasion in most European states, cannot but help to strengthen the conviction already becoming general by the influence of the success which has crowned this trial, under the strain of the rebellion, of the power, fitness, and durability of our system of gov

ernment.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,
H. S. SANFORD.

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State.

No. 261.]

Mr. Sanford to Mr. Seward.

[Extract.]

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,
Brussels, April 30, 1865.

SIR His royal highness the Count de Flanders, sent to me yesterday one of his officers of "ordnance" to express in his name his condolence on the untimely death of the President.

I also received in the afternoon a private note from M. Rogier, expressive of his sentiments, of which, as he refers to it in public debate, I venture to enclose a copy, "A." I replied to it by a few lines of thanks.

In the house of representatives this afternoon, M. Hardy De Beaulieu, a member of the extreme left, moved, in accordance with previous notice, for an expression of feeling at the late tragic events at Washington. He was followed and warmly seconded by the late Canon De Hearne of the "conservative" party, who is the author of a widely disseminated pamphlet on our war, and is an ardent friend of the cause of the Union, and by M. Rogier, who announced that he adopted on the part of the government the views just expressed, and that he hoped the house would join in the expression of his desire for the recovery of the eminent statesman, Mr. Seward, to whose existence was attached, in so great a degree, the definitive pacification of the country, for too long a time desolated by war; and after rendering homage to the moderation which he had displayed, the minister expressed the hope "that they might one day rejoice over the restoration of his health, at the same time with the re-establishment of peace between the factions of a great people whom they admired, and which had always had their sympathies, and which he hoped would take again in the world the great part which is assigned to it."

All which, interrupted by frequent marks of approval by the members, was declared by the president to be the unanimous sentiment of the house.

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I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obedient servant,
H. S. SANFORD.

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State, &c., &c., &c.

[Translation.]

GHENT, May 20, 1865.

MR. MINISTER: The Septentrion Masonic Lodge of Ghent could not remain indifferent in presence of the crime which has spread consternation through the civilized world. During the strife, our sympathies and our prayers accompanied the heroic efforts and unshakable perseverance of the defenders of justice and humanity. We are associated with the triumphs of the Americans of the northern States, whose noble persistence has saved the federal Union from a fearful disruption, and caused to issue from the social tempest a new corroboration of the indissoluble power of the United States; and inasmuch as the news of the monstrous crime, which has brought mourning into the midst of joy, has reached us, we feel stricken as yourselves; for Lincoln personified the cause of liberty and human fraternity, and this cause, which unites nations in a common aspiration, honors and mourns in him one of its most illustrious martyrs.

The Septentrion Lodge at its solemn meeting on the 16th of this month unanimously decided to address through you a tribute of regret and of sympathy to the republic of the United States.

Receive, Mr. Minister, the assurance of our sentiments of high consideration. R. MADRENNIGER, President.

ALPH. BUISMAN, Secretary.

BRUNSWICK.

NEW YORK, June 5, 1865.

SIR: The undersigned, consul general of the government of his Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick, has been specially instructed to convey to you the sentiments aroused in the minds of the authorities, and of all classes of the people of the duchy, by the atrocious murder of your illustrious predecessor, the lamented Abraham Lincoln, and by the deep loss thus entailed upon the United States. The inestimable qualities uniting in the character of the deceased-his pervading humanity and his lofty sense of right-the indomitable energy with which he sustained all the vicissitudes of a sanginuary civil war, outlived all sacrifices, and eventually triumphed over all obstacles in the restoration of the blessings of civil order to his distracted country, as well as the mild and conciliatory disposition so nobly manifested at the approaching close of the struggle, have gained him the warm regard and esteem of the civilized world, and will embalm his memory in the affectionate reverence of coming generations.

May the peace now vouchsafed to your republic be as lasting, and the prosperity which now dawns upon its future as unbroken, as even the great heart of the departed patriot could have desired.

I have the honor to be, sir, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
G. J. BECHTEL.

ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States.

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