The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-06 00:00:00

to be overcome were of the most formidable character.

Two strong forts—Jackson on the west bank and St.
Philip on the east—were connected by a huge boom of
rafts and hulks, the approach to which, to be made against
a powerful current, they swept with a fire of 80 guns,
and seemed thus to bar wholly the way up the stream.
Above this obstruction a flotilla of gunboats was ready to
support the fire of the works, and ironclad rams were
known to have been some time in preparation, in order to
employ in the coming warfare that use of the blow of the
prow, disused for so many centuries but now revived by
the power of steam."
An attempt of this kind had already been tried for the
first time in modern warfare by Hollins in the Confederate
rain Mantissas with partial success. Though General
Butler with 18,000 men was present, the navy, unsupported,
were to effect the capture of New Orleans. The War
Department, with Pakenham's failure before them, set
aside all thoughts of employing troops, and gave to Farra-
gut the following instructions :—" When you are com-
pletely ready . . . . you will proceed up the Mississippi
River and reduce the defences which guard the approach
to New Orleans ; when you Will appear off that city and
take possession of it under the guns of your squadron and
hoist the American flag therein, keeping possession till
troops can be sent to you. As you have expressed your-
self satisfied with the forces given to you, and as many
more powerful vessels will be added before you can com-
mence operations, the Department and the country will
require of you—success." Had the Confederate resistance
been as perfectly organised as was then supposed, this
success would have been all but impossible. The official
reports laid before the Richmond Congress show that not
only was much of the material preparation left undone, but
that the commanders were wanting in the vigour, unity, and
activity of their formidable assailants. Farragut on the
eve of the action went the round of the fleet. He saw
that each ship understood what her part was to be, and he
picked up ideas from his contact with the commanders,
which he carried into practice. The first of these came
from the engineer of the Richmond, who proposed that the
sheet cables should be stopped up and down the sides in
the line of the engines. It will be remembered that great
credit was given to the Kearsaga for adopting this plan,
which in England was supposed to be original, in her con-
flict with the Alabama. Every expedient the commanders
could think of was adopted to cover the crews from the
fearful fire they looked for. Hammocks, coal-dust, &c.,
were used to strengthen the defences ; some rubbed their
vessels over with mud to make them lass visible at night,
the period for the desperate passage ; some whitewashed
,their decks that the men might see the better around them.
The assault was preluded by a bombardment from Porter's
heavy mortars, the flotilla being towed into position on the
morning of the 18th of April, and on-that day 3,000 large
shells were thrown into the forts. The Federal prepara-
tions and the decision and vigour of their attack contrasted
strongly with the divided counsel and insufficient arma-
ment opposed to them. The Confederates appear to have
been alive to the use of iron-clad vessels, of which two
large specimens, intended
.both for ramming and carrying
guns in shot proof batteries, were being prepared at New
Orleans. Happily for the success of the Federal fleet, the
mechanical means which their foes controlled were by no
means equal to their powers of conception. These iron-
dads designed for the Ist February were unprepared when
the fleet, three months later, burst its way through to the fated
city. A storm, accompanied by a flood, parted the chains
and damaged the raft as an obstruction, but the continued
efforts of the commander of the forts obtainel three 10-
inch and three 8-inch Colombiad hollow shot guns and
five largo mortars, and these were just mounted before the
assault. For six long days the garasoitendured the piti-
less fire rained on them by Porter. The casemates were
injured and several guns disabled by the 13-inch shells,
and the unprotected barracks almost immediately de-
stroyed. But the vast expenditure of Federal ammunition
determined Farragut to hurry on the endeavour to pass
the batteries by main force in the hours of darkness. On
the third night, under cover of a furious fire, two gunboats
assayed the destruction of the barricade by means of
petards. " This duty," says Admiral Farragut, " was not
thoroughly performed in consequence of the failure to
ignite the petards with the galvanic battery." At this
time no officer of the American services had been trained
to the use of the powerful engines of destruction to which
they afterwards so fully attained. " Still," he continues,
"it was a success, and, under the circumstances, a highly
meritorious one." A schooner in the barricade was grap-
pled by the Itasca, boarded and detached from the chains,
and a way was then laid open. She was seen, and a
heavy fire from the forts forced her to retire. On
the following night the garrison were cheered by
the descent, from New Orleans, of the Louisiana,
mounting 16 heavy guns, one of the two ironclad rafts.
The junction of this vessel, however, only brought out
more prominently the split in the counsels of the Confede-
rates. Of course, the military and naval authorities were
at loggerheads. Nor was this all. The Navy was divided
against each other. The Volunteer officers refused to obey
the commander of the regular service. In vain the mili-
tary urgently advised that the Louisiana should be brought
prominently forward to take part in the action. She was
still incomplete, and her motive power was insufficient, so
she was carefully kept in a place of safety. Even the fire
ships, of which there were abundance, were not sent
against Porter's fleet, as the tugs allotted for the duty were
still under repair. General Lovell writes as follows :
" The river defence fleet proved a failure, for the very rea-
son set forth in my letter to the Department of 15th April.
Unable to govern themselves, and unwilling to be governed
by others, their almost total want of system,
vigilance, and
discipline rendered them useless and helpless when the
enemy finally dashed upon them suddenly in a dark
night." The garrison, hoping nothing from the steamers,
did what they could under Porter's withering fire to repair
damages. The 23d April broke warm and clear; but as
night drew on the Federal fire slackened, and Duncan in-
terpreted the omen correctly, and earnestly pressed Mit-
chell to move the Louisiana into a position where the guns
could aid the defence. He pointed out that the enemy
were marking by a line of white flags what he knew must
be their advance, and received the fatal reply—" that disas-
trous ' too late ;' " the ironclad would be ready the next even-
ing.
Before that evening arrived she was prepared to be
blown up by her commander's orders, and having been
kept carefully out of harm's way, the only damage she did
was the injury caused to the garrison by the explosion.
At 2 o'clock on the morning of the 24th Farragut gave his
pre-arranged signal, and the advance began in two
columns. The gunboat Cutiyaga led the right under
Bailey, followed by the steam frigate Pensacola and five
other gunboats in succession. The gunboat Sciota led the
left, followed by the Admiral in the Hartford, two other
frigates and five gunboats. They had no knowledge of the
divided counsels of their opponents to give them confi-
dence, and the attack was considered one of great despera-
tion. A general order had been published to the fleet,
which ran as follows :—" When, in the opinion of the
Flag officer, the propitious time has arrived, the signal will
be made to weigh and advance to the conflict. If, in his
opinion, at the time of arriving at their respective posi-
tions of the different divisions of the fleet, we have the ad-
vantage, he will make the signal for close action No. 8, and
abide the result—conquer, or be conquered—drop anchor,
or keep under weigh as in his opinion is best."
At half-past three the fleet approached the barrier which,
severely damaged, gave way to the rush of the leading
gunboats. The bomb-vessels maintained their heavy fire,
and now the forts opened on both the columns, and one
of the most fearful scenes began which naval annals re-
cord. The darkness of the night, the closeness of the

action, and the tremendous calibre of the Federal cannon,
made it hopeless for an officer to do more than control the
movements of a single ship. The energies of the flag-
officer were soon tasked to the utmost to save his own
vessel. A fire-raft came down on him, and the ship was
run ashore in the attempt to avoid it. The ram Manassas
guided the raft, and before the Admiral could back off the
frigate was on fire half way up to her tops; but with his ship
in flames his battery never ceased, and Fort St. Philip,
opposite to which he had got, was almost silenced under
the fearful cannonade. Terrible as was the position of the
forts the gunners bravely maintained the fight. Driven from
their guns the slackening in the fire brought them forth
instantly to reply with their feebler pieces to the storm of
grape hurled at them from 9-inch and 11-inch guns. The
combat was one of giants, and both North and South gave
conclusive proofs of that dauntless gallantry which was
destined to come out so brightly hereafter, and almost to
cover with its dazzling brilliancy the great crimes perpe-
trated by this wanton rebellion.
The gunboats Itasca, Kennebec, and Winona became
entangled in portions of the barrier after the frigates had
gone by, and unable to endure the fire of the forts were
compelled to head down stream and thus separate them-
selves from the fleet.

The columns were now beyond the barrier, and so far
the way to New Orleans was open, but Mitchell's squadron
had yet to be encountered. The Federals estimated this
force at 13 gunboats and 2 ironclads, but the truth was far
within this, and the action which ensued quickly settled
the points of comparative strength. The Governor Moore
and Quitman attacked the Varuna, which had got ahead
of the Federal fleet while in chase of a steamer, on board
of which was General Lovell. The Governor Moore fired
her bow gun and disabled 13 of the Varuna's hands ;
then charged her on the starboard side. The
Federals succeeded in bringing • an 8-inch guu
to bear on the assailant, and disabled her in a few minutes.
The Quitman, at the same time, rushed at the Varuna on
the port side, butting twice, and on the second collision
driving in her side. After delivering the final blow, the
Quitman swung round, and before the Varuna sank she
sent five of her 8-inch shells into the now enemy and left
her in flames as she disappeared from the scene. The De-
fiance was the only vessel of the Confederate squadron
saved under the guns of the forts, the others having either
been sunk, burnt, or driven ashore disabled by the over-
whelming batteries which the frigates had opened on them.
The Manassas continued her plucky career to the end.
When she saw the flag-ship on fire, she turned and charged
the Brooklyn full on the starboard gangway, but with little
effect beyond breaking some of the links of the cables
stopped up and down her side, and driving in three planks

above water line. Wedged in between her huge antagonist
and the bank, the ram found herself unable to get up speed
for a fresh charge, and was glad to drop down stream. She
then crossed over to attack the Mississippi, and struck her
witlia very partial effect, inflicting injuries similar to those
of the Brooklyn, then passed down to the fort, where she
lay.for a short time.
The grey of early daylight now succeeded to the flashes

of the hostile guns which had lighted up the scene, and
Farragut, discovering the completeness of his victory,
formed and steamed slowly up the river. The little ram
singly pursued the fleet and prepared to renew her assaults
The Mississippi was ordered to turn and attack her, and.
aided by the gunboat Pinola and Sines, charged full aZ
her. Captain Warley, seeing the huge bows of the
frigate coming straight towards him, steered to avoid the
shock, and ran the ram aground, exposing her to the broad-
sides of the enemy. From this helpless position the crew
escaped ashore, and the famous ram was fired by the boats
of the Mississippi. This was the last episode of the battle,
for Farragut leaving behind him the shattered forts and the
relics of the enemy's flotilla, went upwards on his path of
conquest. New Orleans fell, and was held without a break
by the Federals to the close of the war. The next day
the forts surrendered to Commander Porter, and as Farra-
gut pushed his conquest up to the guns of Vicksburg, the
whole lino of the Mississippi, from that fort to the sea, be-
came a highway to the Federals.
Our space will not allow us to follow the Review
through the numerous brilliant actions of the civil war.
The tone in which these sea fights and river operations are
described is frank and fair to both sides, and the writer
does not disguise the admiration with which the gallantry,
skill, and energy of the actions inspire him. Before
closing the article the Reviewer touches on the cruisers
which the Confederacy had managed through the
.con-
nivance of Great Britain to get to sea and maintain there.
This question we have discussed else where in our columns,
but we will add to our remarks those of the Review :
" Long before this affair (the capture of Wilmington) the
efforts of the South by sea had been reduced to what ap-
peared to all the world rather a mere form of revenge than
any useful warfare. Failing utterly in the purpose of em-
broiling the North with any neutral nation, their doings
have left a seed of bitterness such as it will need much
enduring patience to stay from becoming bitter fruit in the
future. From the fall of Wilmington the advantages of
blockade-runners and the mushroom growth of their trade
became things of the past. For the rest of the war the
Confederate flag only covered what was, after all, an
ignoble piracy, legalised in default of provision made
against it by jurists. The ex-Cabinct of Richmond, which
sanctioned this system to the end of their rule, have left as
a legacy one of the most difficult problems on international
duties ever offered for statesmen to solve. The Alabama,
Sumter, and Florida roamed unchecked over the ocean.
At the close of 1864 the capture of 193 vessels, valued with
their cargoes at 131 millions of dollars, bore testimony to
their activity, and the danger to 'which, under the new
conditions of naval warfare, an unprotected commercial
marine is exposed. That these losses were not from ex-
penditure being too narrow, but from the peculiar direction
which it had taken under Mr. Welles, is abundantly shown
by his report of that date. The navy, which four years
before had counted bat 76 ships, in and out of commission,
and of these about one-half sailing vessels, were increased
to a total of 671. Of this number no less than 71 were
ironclads of different classes, 37 of them of formidable
strength, and carrying heavy Dahlgren guns ; and only
112 of the whole were without steam power, being, in fact,
used for transport purposes."—Anglo-Arnerican Times.

IRELAND,

A writer in a contemporary says :

Last week, with some letters front Dublin before us, we
continued our remarks on Ireland; but a gust of wind
whirled the manuscript from the desk of the compositor,
and the route described was away over the Thames. From
the Gresham Hotel a gentleman writes to us on the sub-
ject of our previous article on Ireland :—" The county
Wicklow abounds with lovely and romantic scenery from
one end to another. The furthest point is only 40 miles
distant from Dublin. Excursions can therefore be made
while the traveller maintains his head-quarters at the
hotel. There are points of interest enough about Dublin
to fill the time of the tourist for many days." We can
fully endorse what our correspondent says about Wicklow.
Taking the county all in all, it is the most lovely in the
United Kingdom. After varied travel, embracing every
quarter of the globe, we can deliberately say that the
view from any spot from the mountains separating the
counties of Wicklow and Dublin, that look down upon the
city (say just above Killakeo), has scarcely an equal in its
varied, extensive, and lovely landscape. Our correspondent
states that Killarney, of course, is the first point of interest,
embracing as it does the most exquisite scenery of Ireland,
belt he recommends4he Royal Victoria Hotel, as command-
ing a view of the lakes, at the same time that it furnishes
to the traveller every comfort of an establishment among
the finest in any kingdom. He adds that a very delightful
route, either going to or coming from Killarney, is by the
Cork and Maccroon Railway, through a district magnifi-
cent in its scenery. Going north from the Gresham to
Scotland, via Belfast, the Giant's Causeway should be
visited, and the best hotel is the Antrim Arms.
From another source a new route has been traced, and
to judge from the description, the scene opened out on
Lough Erne is one of those too long neglected, buried for
ages in obscurity, though possessing attractions equal to
the most celebrated spots in Europe. Indeed, for the most
part, Ireland is a terra incognita. However beautiful the
country, however numerous its attractions for picturesque
scenery, for boating, fishing, and bathing, for a summer of
perfect weather, unless there be means of getting to the
place, and, when there, of living in comfort, it cannot be
said to be open to tourists. On the Ist June the Rossclare
Hotel was completed and ready to receive its guests. It
stands near the centre of the Lower Lake Erne on that
point where boating ends and yachting begins. The lake
is 20 miles long and 9 broad, full of pike, trout, perch, and
white fish. Around are spots celebrated in Irish story.
Close by are the picturesque ruins of the`Castle of Por-
tora ; the view takes in the lichen and ivy-covered walls
of the Castle of Tully, standing up like those of Portora
from the very edge of the -waters. On the other side
of the lake are the turrets of Castle Archdale,
surrounded with their forests of oak and ash. In its
vicinity is an interesting relic of antiquity, the Castle of
Termon McGrath with its battered walls, as Ireton left
them in the Parliamentary Wars. The eye wanders over
a lake covered with wooded islands, whore stand ancient
and ruined abbeys. The banks are clothed with wooded
demesnes, and near the bygone castles of other days, with
their histories of sieges and massacres, stand the modern
mansions of the landlords of the soil. Chief among these
is the residence of Mr. Mervign d'Arcy Irvine, the owner
of the land on which the hotel has been built. Castle
Irvine is no mean object of interest in itself, either in its
own architecture or the lovely grounds around it. The
castle is built in the Elizabethan style, and though some of
the towers claim an early antiquity, its chief architectural
features owe their beautiful proportions to the father and
grandfather of the present possessor. The hill of Rossclare
is but 22 miles distant from the Atlantic without a moun-
tain between to intercept the fresh breezes. The soil is of
the purest rock and gravel, without the slightest alluvial
deposit to taint the rich scarlet of the trout. It is im-
possible, says Hall, in his work on Ireland, to exaggerate
in describing the loveliness of the whole locality. " How
many thousands there aro who, if just ideas could be con-
voyed to them of its attractions, would make their annual
tour hither instead of up the hackneyed and sodden Rhine,
infinitely less rich in natural graces—far inferior in the
studies of character it yields—and much less abundant in
all enjoyments that can recompense the traveller. Nothing

in Great Britain, perhaps nothing in Europe, can surpass
in beauty the whole of the road that leads into the town of
Inniskillen, along the banks of the Lower Lough Erne."
A steam yacht company have lately placed a boat on the
lake, and the visitors to the hotel will find ample and
varied excursions provided for their enjoyment.
Whether they prefer steam or sail, or choose to row over
the waters, the means are there, and the places for excur-
sions abound. There are islands containing the mysterious
round towers, whose age has outlived even tradition.
There are monasteries, and ruins of abbeys and castles ;
there are bleak mountains with their wild heather ; a miter
scared and seamed from its ancient volcanic eruption, and
the green slopes of the park and purling streams murmur-
ing through their wooded declivities. Without any dis-
paragement, says our authority, to our lovely sister at
Killarney, Lough Erne will prove that she contains within
herself many Killarneys. It may appear strange that in
such a spot an hotel should only now be opened, but those
who know Ireland aro more inclined to congratulate the
inhabitants when any sign of progress is displayed than to
wonder at the stagnation. Many landlords, too, object to
tourists, and it is only by the hearty co-operation of the
landlords that a district can be opened. The Rossclare
Hotel mainly owes its existence to the owner of the estate,
and to limited liability, and it has been erected and is con-
ducted on a scale that will give satisfaction to its visitors.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

___•___

TIMES.—The conversation in the House of Lords
on Friday night between Lord Russell and Lord
Derby gives us reason to hope that the abuses in
the management of the parks, which have lately

been rendered so conspicuous, will at length be
remedied. It will, in the first place, be remarked
with satisfaction that Lord Russell has done justice,

however tardily, to the conduct of the police in the
late disturbances, and has attributed the outrages

which were committed to their real authors—the

criminal classes of the metropolis. He expressly
repudiates the statements impugning the conduct of
the force, and believes " the accounts of those per-
sons who state that the police acted with great
moderation, and suffered great injuries without
making any return." If any doubt could be enter-
tained as to the justice of this opinion it must be
removed by the statement we originally published,
and which was quoted by Lord Derby, of the in-
juries sustained by the force. The fact is that while
the injuries inflicted by them upon their assailants
are few and insignificant in number, one-sixth of
the whole police force engaged in the maintenance
of order were injured, and some were permanently
disabled by the mob. No fewer than 265 of the
police, including the greater number of the officers
and superintendents, are still suffering from
the injuries they received on the 23rd of July,
and forty or fifty will suffer all their lives."
There can be no question of the patience displayed
by the police under such provocation, nor, we may
add, need there ever have been the slightest doubt
as to the character of the persons by whom these
and subsequent outrages were committed. It would
be a grievous calumny to regard the working
classes as entertaining the slightest sympathy for a
set of downright thieves, " roughs," and swell-mobs-
men. However, Lord Russell wisely acquiesced in
an oblivion of the past, and we may hope, with
Lord Derby, that if we ever have reason to remem-
ber the events of the last fortnight, it will only be
as having furnished the occasion for an important
reform in the general management of the parks. It
is agreed by both speakers that the late disturbances
have but served to bring into prominence a long-
standing abuse. if our columns have recently fur-
nished evidence that, in Lord Russell's words,
"there is no security for persons, or for any pro-
perty they may have about them, After dusk in
Hyde-park just now," it is equally true, as he ad-
mitted, that " a good
.deal of disorder prevailed
before these occurrences." Indeed, Lord Derby used
no exaggeration when he appealed to Lord Russell
" whether he could remember the time when it was
entirely safe for persons to traverse any of the parks
after dark, either in summer or winter." The worst
characters have always been attracted to the parks
at nightfall by the certainty of enjoying an undis-
turbed retreat until the morning ; the police have
never had charge of them, and there has never been
any efficient substitute for their presence ; they have
always been abandoned to the darkness which is con-
genial to vice and violence, and respectable persons
have always been indiscriminately locked in at a fixed
hour, without any means of escape except by scaling
the railings. It is, indeed, as Lord Derby said,
" surprising," and, we must add, disgraceful, that
such a state of things shotild have been so long tole-
rated. We have a rght to expect as much protec-
tion to our persons and property .in the parks as in
the streets, and, in fact, more care ought to have
been taken to furnish protection, as the danger, in
such large open spaces, is confessedly greater. Nor,
again, is it creditable, or even decent, that open
places in the heart of London should have been

allowed to furnish such unmolested retreats for a]

kinds of vice. At length, however, it is on all sides
agreed that this shameful laxity and mismanage-
ment should be brought to an end, and the question
principally discussed on Friday night was as to the
measures which it would be best to adopt. The
statement of Lord Derby was, on the whole, satis-
factory. He traces the evil to its proper source
—the divided authority to which the parks are at
present intrusted. They are under the control of
the Crown, who, through the Ranger, appoints the
gatekeepers. The Board of Works exercises also a
certain control, and appoints the park-keepers. The
number of these officials, for service in all the
Parks, is about 100, and they " c are :not expressly
selected for their ability to provide against disorder
and riot ;" that is, they am not selected with a view
to the only purpose for which they are required.
The police have no power of interference, unless
expressly summoned to support the ordinary park
authorities. It is obvious that the first measure neces-

nary is to abolish this incompetent and divided
management, and to intrust the parks to the single
and efficient control of the police. Lord Derby
recognises the necessity, and has been in consulta-
tion on this point with the First Commissioner of
Works and the Home Secretary. The matter is
not yet settled, but Lord John Manners has agreed
to " waive his right" to nominate incompetent
park-keepers ; and it is proposed that the police to
be employed in their stead should be paid out of the
revenue of the Woods and Forests.
THE " ANGLO-AMERICAN TIMES."—The direc-
tors of the Bank of England have treated the
almost universal appeal of the country for some
mercy in exacting the most usurious rates for
the loan of money with the contempt it deserves.
The country having placed in the hands of such a
clique the power to strangle its commercial inte-
rests, and having made it the positive and direct
interest of these people so to act, meets its merited
reward. A more disgraceful exhibition of rapacity
has rarely been seen. We must confess that it is
natural fur a set of greedy old gentlemen to make
the most they can out of the position in which they
find themselves placed. We know what these old
gentlemen are. Indeed, the late panic has given us
fine samples of what the conduct of an influential
director may be. The Bank of England is the
greatest of these companies, and its directors may
be the greatest among directors, but they are all
governed by precisely the same laws—to trade first
for their own especial benefit, and, secondly, if the
two can be made compatible, for the benefit of their
shareholders. 'The direct interest of this joint-stock
company, called the Bank of England, is that
other banks should bieak—that the public might
be frightened from depositing their money any-
where but in the Bank of England, and that
the Bank might be able to lend this money
at the most exorbitant rates. To look for
a national policy or regard to the require-
ments of the country from such a crew of traders
is absurd. They will keep the rate at its present
figure as long as they can, and they may well laugh
in their Bank-parlour when they are told in the
City articles of newspapers that the danger signal
this high rate indicates is the very reason why people
hoard notes so persistently and keep the Bank re-
serve so low—at the simplicity of supposing this to
be a reason why they should reduce it. If the re-
serve increased they would be compelled to lower
the rate, and it is a most happy chance for them
that they can make this enormous profit and con-
tinue the rate by the very action of making it. To
have all their money out at 10 per cent. pays the
Bank. To reduce this paying rate of usury merely
to get some of their notes back, however it might
strengthen the reserve, would certainly not increase
their gains. And to expect this party of sharp
traders to damp their own interests by interfering
with the happy chance by which the very act of
charging the highest price makes the excuse and
apparent necessity for continuing the price is to ex-
pect the most sordid class to become the most dis-
interested and patriotic. Money seeking investment
in France at 2 per cent., and men in England seek-
ing money at 10 per cent. at the same moment, is a
spectacle for France and America to ponder on and
regulate their monetary affairs accordingly. The
disciples of the English school of finance have
hazarded many prophecies of the disastrous down-
fall of the American system, and laughed scornfully
, at French remarks on the working of our Bank Act.
Time, the rectifier of errors, is showing who is right.

The Washington Star, in stating that published
incomes s ere not always reliable, speaks of a smart young
man who, on'the strength of a big income return made by
him, married an heiress, with the ,blessings of the fond
parents, which blessings soured somewhat suddenly into
" cusses," when it was discovered that the income return
was bogus, and not at all " conclusive," though of course
appearing as the official return of the collectors, and pub-
lished as such in the newspapers amongst the big in-

.1.1. •-^

American Sympathies in the Continental

War.

The American papers are mainly filled with details
of the war in Europe. The Anglo-Saxon race de-
light in wars—battles, sieges, and all the varied
incidents and excitements of a campaign. In de-
fault of any actions of their own they turn with
the greatest gusto to those of their neighbours, and
every event either in Venetia or Bohemia is more
fully detailed and more generally known throughout
America and the United Kingdom than in Italy,
Austria, or Prussia. The American people, after
the tremendous excitement of their civil war, cannot
at once descend to the dull regions of peace ; and in
default of correspondents of their own from the
field, they reproduce the letters of the leading Lon-
don journals. Attention is strongly fixed on Italy,
and the strong sympathy of the nation goes with
her. The instinct of the people is for liberty, and
whenever a nationality is chained down by force,
the oppressed will find an earnest well-wisher in
the Union. Austria is recognised as an oppressor
of nationalities, a supporter of despotism, and the
stronghold of bigotry. The people's feeling is that •
Austria has no groundwork in a people's support.
She is merely an imposing structure built on sand,
and holding rather a contempt for any other foun-
dation. The susceptibilities of the mass will surely
be gained by the wants and aspirations of other
masses, so long as the interests of the two nation-
aides do not clash. An intuitive feeling :of this
sort leads America to sympathise not only with
Italy, which they do strongly, but also with the
mighty and triumphant power of Prussia. They
see that this power is based on the wishes and
yearnings of a split and divided people. The one
represents the German nation, the other represents
a hollow military show, and the interest felt by a
people will always be for a people. It is possible
that America more early and clearly saw the drift
of this European war than other nations from the
large intermixture of German blood that flows in
the veins of her people. Here Prussia has been re-
garded only as a most exacting bully ; and we have
but lately become alive to the fact that BISJIAIWIC
really represents the German mind. Indeed, a free
and enthusiastic people like the Americans would-
more quickly imbibe the true points at issue in this
contest than the Germans themselves. America is
the most aspiring nation on earth. The patriotism
of the North inspires each of her sons to look sted-
fastly to the object of placing his country at the
head of the nations of the world—to lead in opinion,
in commerce, and in war. With his mind imbued
with such feelings he naturally conceives the aspi-
rations which must arise in the breasts of his cousins
on the Continent of Europe. Therefore his sym-
pathy goes with the people fighting a battle he
would most surely fight were he similarly placed.
Such a feeling in France is over-ridden by the spec-
tacle of a vast nation rising on their border. They
see in the unity of Germany the growth of a Power
which may one day be used against themselves.
They know that their own influence in Europe must
lessen in the proportion the German nationality
becomes stronger. It is not pleasant to cease to be
the dictatress—for the great leader to find another
leader spring suddenly up, equally great—to have
little nations, who formerly humbly bowed at the
footstool, threaten to seek protection elsewhere, and
enrol themselves under the banners of a rival•
England sympathises with success. 'Success is the
god a Britisher worships. In a less degree he feels
for a people as the Americans feel, and not having
any interests of his own thwarted on the Continent
by the unity of Germany, his sympathies also are
tending towards Prussia. Indeed, England rejoices
in the rise of a Continental counterpoise to French
weight. Protestant countries see in Austria's defeat
the approaching end of the Papacy, and religious feel-
ing enters not the current of sympathy now so strongly
flowing towards the Northern Power. Austria
rested on her sword. To crush by her military
weight—to smother opinion in dungeons, to stifle
remonstrance and declaration of rights by a volleY-
of musketry--was her policy. She took the sword,
and she has perished with the sword. Her fate will
remain a warning of the miserable weakness before
a strong adversary, of a Power whose foundations
do not rest on the sympathies of a people. -Anglo-
American Timest

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