The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-08-19 00:00:00

AMERICA.

The daily papers last week gave the text of
two somewhat remarkable documents—one
written by Mr. Seward to the American
Minister in London, with a view of influencing
public opinion in favour of the Northern States
—the other written by Lieut. Maury, late
of the United States Navy, to the French
Admiral de Chaborne, who is evidently equally
desirous of producing an impression in favour of
the South. Mr. Seward, writing on the 28th
May, boasts of a long series of successes on the
part of the armies of the North, and endeavours
to make it appear that the Southern forces are
completely exhausted, and that the contest is
virtually at an end. He says "The pheno-
menon has appeared, disappointing so many
prophecies in Europe, that the war impoverishes
and exhausts only the insurrection, and not the
'Unio/N" and tries to make it appear that it is
the (My of Europe to avowedly and openly
withdraw all countenance and sympathy from
• the Southern confederacy, and thus contribute,
as far as it can, to the despair and consequent
submission of the 'Government at Richmond.
This despatch having been submitted to our
Foreign Secretary, Lord Russell wrote a reply
July 28, in which his lordship observes that
"victories have been gained, reverses have
followed, positions have been reached in the
near neighbourhood of the Confederate capital,
and these positions have been again abandoned.
These events, have been accompanied by great
loss of life in battle and in hospital, while
the Confiscation Bill, and the proclamations of
General Butler, bear evidence of the increasing
bitterness of the strife." In the last paragraph
of his letter Lord Russell laments "this un-
necessary and injurious civil war." Now in this
single phrase we see much moreimplied than the
words in themselves express. On whom does the
blame and criminality of "an unnecessary civil
war" rest 1 Assuredly on those who wage it.
Who then is waging this war? Which is the at-
tacking—the invading party? Clearly the North.
The armies of the Federal States have nought
to invade the South at every point, and it is
upon Lincoln and his Cabinet, then that blame
mist rest, of having already sacrificed, probably,
200,003 or 300,000 lives, and more than a
hundred millions sterling on this war, which our
Foreign Secretary declares to he as unnecessary,
as it is injurious. This quiet retort of Lord
Russell leaves the Secretary of the Washington
Government the defeated party ; and Mr.
Seward has evidently gained nothing by his
epistle.
By the side of this Northern pleading we have
the letter of Lieut. Maury—one of the most
eminent naval scientific men of the day,
and who was one of the chief promoters of the
Atlantic Telegraph. Lieut. Maury affirms—first,
that the Southerners are in the right in refer-
ence to the quarrel,'and secondly, that they must
succeed. In reference to the first point he says:
—"The negro is not, as the Yankee would
have the world believe, the cause or object of
the war. The tariff and hatred of the Yankee
character—these are the true causes. They
are a nation of shopkeepers and pedlars; and,
under pretext of raising revenue to maintain
the Government, Southern industry was taxed
to support Yankee workshops. With this they
waxed fat and grew insolent, until their insolence
became unbearable. We chose no longer to
submit to their rule, and so sought simply to
withdraw from all political association with
them. We ask nothing of them. All we want
is simply to be left and let alone; and the
simple fact that they should attempt to force us
to remain in political association with them is
proof enough to the inequality of benefit which
the old Onion conferred upon the two sections.
The fuss and turmoil about slavery is merely
incidental in this unhappy state of affairs. In
most of the Northern States it is against the
laws for a freed negro to come there. They will
not allow a negro from the South to dwell
among them." On the second point, Lieut.
Maury asks with some force' what has become of
the 667,000 men whom President Lincoln
boasted of as having been raised to put down
the rebellion? The South, he says, has never had
more than 400,000 under arms and argues,
consequently, that either the Southern prowess
I. superior to the North by nearly to to one,
or that "The Universal Yankee Nation" has
attempted a fraud upon European Governments,
with a view of misleading them as to the extent
of their preparations, to crush out tho rebellion
in 90 days." As to the final issue, Lieut.
Maury boldly avers that :—"An for the preser-
vation, restoration, or reconstruction of the
Union, it is simply an impossibility. Laying
aside all questions of military power and prowess
between the contending parties, the mere hatred
of one for the other, and which is obvious to
every intelligent being who has attentively
observed the events of the contest as they have
developed themselves, is enough to destroy all
hopes for any such union. Harmony be-
tween the States, goodwill among the
people, are essential to any such recon-
struction or preservation, and you set, enough
even from your distant stand-point, to satisfy you
that we are two people*, and that so long as our
favourite doctrine holds good—viz., that every
rightful government testa on the consent of the
governed, no power on earth can unite us again
or make us one."

The letter of Lieut. Maury will not, of course,
come before the British Govai nment in an official
manner, and consequently Lord Russell will not
feel called upon to reply to the remarks con-
tained therein ; but most men of common sense
in this country will recognise the cogency with
which Lieut. Maury has put the question.
Even the advocates of the North have now evi-
dently their misgivings as to the termination of
this "unnecessary war." The first symptom we
have seen appeared in a letter in an uncompro-
mising pro-Federal London contemporary, on
the day on which the two important documents
we have noticed were published. This writer
concludes his communication with the following
remarkable confession :—" We shall be saved
from the danger if the South is subdued by the
North. But that is a consummation I regard as
hopeless." The fact is the truth is forcibly
thrusting itself upon the pro-Federal party in
this country, and we apprehend there will be
Many to catch the flame shortly even among the.
Northerners themselves, On the Ist September

an invading army of tax-gatherers will commence
their work. The Northern army has already
met with defeat, desertion, sickness, dishonour,
and disappointment; and we may shortly expect
to see added to these disasters, disaffection
among the hitherto loyal States, and a repudia-
tion of the Federal debt. When this shall have
occurred the President and his advisers may see
have an aspiration for calling in the assistance of
European powers to terminate a dispute which
the sword has failed to accomplish.