The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-07-22 00:00:00

lINGLIBH INTERVENTION IN

AbiERLEC A.

Thh following resolution was moved by Mr.
Lindsay in the House of Commons on Friday
night :—" That, in the opinion of this House,
the States which have seceded from the Union
of the Republic of the United States have so
long maintained themselves under a separate
and established Government, and have given
such proof of their determination and ability to
support their independense, that the propriety
of offering mediation, with the view of termina-
ting hostilities between the contending parties,
is worthy of the serious and immediate attention
of Her Majesty's Government." The hon.
member argued that it was to the interest of
this country, both politically and commercially,
that the Northern and Southern States should
be separated, and that the time had arrived
when the South ought to be received into the
family of nations. The motion gave rise to a
long and interesting discussion on Alberti:an
affairs, and was eventually withdrawn. Of the
desirability of bringing this insane and fratricidal
war to a elbse, there cannot, we think, be
two opinions throughout the whole of Europe ;
but when the subject came to be discussed, it
was found that even in that assembly men's '
sentiment' differed as much as light differs from
darkness, not only with regard to the origin of
, the quarrel, but also as to the course our Govern-
ment ought to pursue. Mr. Taylor, the hon.
member for Leioester, maintained that the
subject-matter for dispute was one of continued
slavery and abolition. Nothing, in our opinion,
could be farther from the truth. That the
South has the right to secede from the North, if it
choose, is in accordance with the dictum of the
highest authorities, and was once the language
held by President Lincoln himself; and that it
is to the interest of the South that it should be
separated from the North is disputed by none,
so far as we have ever learned, on the other side
of the Atlantic. The interests of the two sec-
tions are diametrically opposite. The South is
purely an agricultural country, and its interests
are perfect free trade; the North is a manu-
facturing country, and its interests, as it
supposes, is in the direction of protection. The
men of the South say: We produce corn and
cotton, and sugar, and tobacco, which England
wants ; and England produces linen, and broad-
cloth, and hardware, which we require. We
desire to send our raw material to England and
receive from her manufactured goods in returu.
The men of the North reply: We too are manu-
facturers, and although we cannot afford to sell 1
as cheaply as foreigners, we will compel you to ,
take our manufactures, or pay us 35 per cent. '
on all those you have from England. This has
been the great cause of dispute for years past.
The oppression of the North his rankled and
festered in the veins of the men of the South
until it has broken out in determination on the
wt of the latter to assert their independence.
The perpetuation of slavery cannot have been
the cause of the struggle as nothing is name
calculated to promote the liberation of the slaves
than the severance of the Union. Let but the
South come back to the Union, and the North
would grant, as a condition, that slavery and its
abominable fugitive slave law should exist to all
futurity.
But ought England at the present time to
interfere? There can be no denying the fact
that the seceded States have maintained them-
selves under a separate and established govern-
ment for the last 18 months. They have shown
their ability to support their independence.
From the time they routed the Federal army at
Bull's Run till the present time they have exhi-
bited the earnestness of a people who mean to
mewed. They have met with vicissitudes—
they have suffered defeats when the Federal'
have fought under the cover of their gun-boats;
but ever hi the open field have they been
victorious. When the events of the war have
frowned upon them their cry has still been—
"lndependence of Northern rule ;" and when
they have been excited by success, they have
deporte,d themselves with a dignity, modesty,
and calmness vrhioh bespeak the power to govern,
and the ability to conduct their own affairs.
Then there is the all-important question of our
home manufacturers. Lancashire is starving.
The whole of the Southern States are blockaded
against us, both for the cotton which we so much
want, and for the sale of our manufactured
articles. All these are strong reasons why Eng-
land would desire to bring the struggle to a
speedy close. The great question, however, is as to
the proper time to offer mediation in the matter.
The Government have undoubtedly better infor-
mation from which to form an opinion on the
subject than any private individual can possibly
possess, and it is quite evident they do not

consider matters are yet sufficiently ripe for
interference. In the case of Italy they set the
example to all other nations, and we may be
certain that as soon as they feel jwitifiod in
acting, they will recognise the independence of
the Southern States of America. That time we
believe cannot be far off, but the question is one
which must be approached with the utmost care.
For some reason or other the North seems to
to grow in hostility towards England. It may
be that, notwithstanding all their boasting, the
truth is dawning upon their minds that the
Union is for ever lost, and that England will
be almost the sole customers of the South.
They too are at the present time writhing under
the castigation inflicted by "Stonewall" Jackson
before Richmond. We fear they will sacrifice some
hundreds of thousands more soldiers before they
can be brought to their senses, but they will
cool down by and by, and then England, in
concert with other European powers, may
endeavour to bring the war to an end. In the
meantime the beat course for England to adopt
is that strict neutrality she has ever maintained
since the outbreak of the war.