Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1836-02-29
Monday, February 40, 1886
THE FRENCH QUESTION

We have the pleasure oflaving before our -.
ders this morning, Message of the presl...
and It's accompanying documents, conveyip, "a
e'df information relative TO the English media,;oa
and the mere gratifying intelligence that tho ,,a
position of the kind Offices of tina, royetpm.u,,
been rendered unnecessary by subscouen, Az.
The beautiful and forcible speech of Mr.. C,,,.
these documents, furnishes pregnant comra,.,
~ on certain principle which was assumed
Gen. Jackson in the course of his most buno,;..,
conducted negotiation with the French govas.
meni, and holds up TO public view the rrcoa...
disregard OF that principle both by himself and l..
asens--andlhis principle, too, which he neda.,
himself never to surrender, even at the hazard Of ,
war, and which nevertheless has been mora H.
once surrendered by him since the comr,,,..
mont of the administration, nay, in thi, very an,;.
itself, was The pivot upon which the onexti,, =,
peace or war turned There is a volume If It'd.
as we'll as sarcasm in the apos,rophe Of tho So.a
dish Chancellor "B hold, my son, with how H..
tie wisdom the world is governed |"
In consratula,ing our readers, as we mos, -
cerely do, ON the amicablc termination OF this can
uovcrsv, it Is impossible not to perceive ,ba, NO.
nave oe'n preserved from contrary result, in
despite OF ourselves. There never has Lcen
more regularly sustained effort, on the part If H..
Executive of any nation, to plunge il io,o a..
than las been displayed ly The President froa,
the 9TH day of December, 1881, down to III. 155,
of January, 1886 And, as We have heretofore -
l,,J I.,J =
red i'll his recommendation of rcprl,alx o,an
French property, or had it placed three mill ia,s
Of dollars in his hands BE- used at his dsctc,o,
We should now, without question, have been eno,g.
cd in a fierce and bloody strngc'.. Nor. N or
opi0lan, should We have escaped nat ge<,l,. ,yq,
through the English mediation, ha #aq1 ,.. .44.
Annual Message, which so iaecnl01s.s# s9,a.s.
retrac'ed explanations" proved s.l.5.-..... t.
tha french government: Tor, IT WI L. SER =.
lie Liter OF Mr.. FORSYTH to NJ Hnhfeaj. -
in accepting the mediation Of Great Bri,aa. y
President expressly refused to submit, to ,h,r =.
cision the only point uaon winch It was neccs.a.g
that any decision should be rcndered-cxclul4s
from its medaiora offices the very essence oflae
quarrel 1t is clear, therefore, to our minds,
that the mediation would haze been utterly fruit.
less and that war would have cn,ucd, had not
the French government taken advantage of isoaf.
ed phrases OF tic last Annual Message, TO eairl.
cate itself from the false position into which its nc.
gotiators had foolishly, and, with reference Gus,
unjnsty involved it.
We heartily concur will, NJ. Clay in dissenting
from the concluding recommendation of the Presi-
dents McSsage--to vii, TO appropriate large sums
TO military and naval purposes. The great oh.
jet ola French war, with those who were so anx.
ous for it, WAS doubtless that it might operate as
drain upon the treasury. thus cutting the knoy
question, in the most beneficial way 10 the "spoil,
party as to the best means of getting rid Of the
surplus revenue" We are acains, this war
upon the treasury" however, for other reasons
LIST, because we believe the money, expended for
warlikc purposes, will be thrown away, as sixty
five millions OF dollars have already been, to a
grea, extent, on the Navy alone, since the lan
war; 2dly, because the general spirit OF the ages
against war, and this feeling is be, onng so gene
rally dllluscd among the nations, that tie chances
of such an event are daily decreasing and Sd ",
even if VIC shall be visited with this calamity a,
some future day, the appropriation of our surplus
means now to the increase of facilities of inter
course and transportation between the different
sections OF the country would be found to be much
more beneficial and efficient. than tho e1pendi.
ture of treble the amount upon the pershable n-
pIemcnts Of war.
tnu,,s
thisssubj cct-whioh, though unprecedented, is one
of his happiest efforts.