The Arkansas banner., 1844-03-20

No language could put the importance of t'lis sub;eet mere clearly before tle mind; and, without dwelling upon the point, we will proceed to show that the necessity ei nati, nal L teature, cal as ] Is, to the peo- Ila of every ,untry, Is of iaf more nhPor- tlnce to the people of the United States, than il can, by any possibility. he to any otller in our case. the colonial habit of telerrng 10 the Mother Country Is mainanet aldstfength. ened. in spite of our political emancipation, bv our employment of the same langauge.-. CAuid we have found a new dialec.-a tongue of onr own. sui.ahle to our condition, and xpre-sive of our liberties, on the same bat tle-field where they were won, we shoall, by this time, have been in pas session of Lite a'tre, in which they might have been p~oportionably and pc manenlly ershrined. The securities fo men al independence on the part of France, Germany and ohef great nations or Eurcpe. are to be found chiefly ia the obstacles which their several languages present. as il were, upon the very threshold, to the invasion and uslrpatcn ot strangers. The unknown oague stan(s to the intruder in the guise of bearded sentinel, jealous of every approach. and resisting the 1 igress of all rot possessing the parale We have no su~h securities. The enemy approaches us with tho smooth ard insidious uttefa9ee of our mother tongue, and we are natu ally sloW to suspect hostility in any such app=oaeh.- How a,'mi ably may we illuStrae tie impor- tantbea ing If ih s isolated fact, by reference to the socal anl political relation in which we stand, comparatively. with F aace and England The torine we know. almost en- t elv. bv acts Of kind ese. By he. aitl, we struggled into rational dividuality Wi h t e exception of the qa7si war with the Di- rectorv. the result of that Eshmaelite aspect i1 which that body stood to all the world, she has borne towards Us, fom tha frst t'ay
 of orr political freedom, tie most encou ag- ing and friendly countepance. Such, too, ha= been the aspect of her people. The books and bearing of her distinguished trav- elle~s among lis have been marked hv an equal sense of urbanitv and justices Eag
 land. on the contrary almost from the begir- ming. to put forth all her energies to enslave or destroy us. Failing in this attempt. she resorts to others. which if less dangerous and bu tlul. are as l tie le ultimate, and prove the character of hef feelings 10 have remained unchanged. To this tay. her writers, tFav
 eIlers, her leading men, with few exceptions the officers of her nayy-the agents of her government. and these who give ulteranee usuallv to her feelings and opinions-speaI
 of us. hahitually. in terms either ot aak hostility, or downright scorn and contempt. Yet the aSfinities suggested by the emplov- ment Of language in common, make us tol- ate all the msu S of the one, as if we still vearned for the ancient wallow of colon al dopantencv;- and with what miserable lime serving sycopharcy does la"ge and active class among Us eentriVe to solicit the con trmelious expression of such ameng them. as teign to look in peeson upon us..exam- ining our ways and meane-our nanne. and GUS oms. IS if we were in reality. hv nature. an inferior reefle, and net, unlortu- na'el,, too nea-ly Ike themselves net fo he ron 'ounIed with them in every olher rart of the wo.1dtf On the other han1i dealirq with the r ench and prompted by the hos tile sertin ents which foreign tongue seems ratu ally to inspire. we are ready to quarrel on lhe slightest provocation. Of their sci IG-itli'tt itsh Ei+llA3lts disccveres. we have. liule or no gene al know ledge. except through discolored Bri- tish media. the prelu}ices of which VIC un- consciously imhbe. and thus form antiquities tD grea ard frieniv ration, with the same unhappy facility. with which we take on trust ali the tastes. sentiments and opinions of q master. by whom We are much more ire qupntlv reviled than instructed
 The birth of hone Literature is the g~eat and sufficient remedy for all these errors and ahsurdiies that Literature is horn - The war of 1872 gave an important blow to the mental supremacy of Great Britain oyer this country. Piior 10 that war, what was the humliating position in which we stood to that nation Politicians will not have forgotten the scofnfuI reproach, uttered. 1t is saIt in the very ea@s Of our P esident, Ma ai- son,) You cannot he kicked intoa wa with c eat itain.'' Wfat was lhe language of the British Commissioners at Ghent. met jus. after war lad been declared, to tyeat with oua owr. for the consumma'ion of peace "a pro eeding which smacked so much of na- tlonal timidity, as almost to justify the neo- lent demands of.the enemy The substance ol their language was, ''we Co rot care 10 grant you peace. 'lill we have subjected vop. to sound thashing.o But that the honor ol the nation was entrusted 10 sound native of stubborn. independent in telect-it must have been dishonoiedf Bat what must have been thought of the mor1io of the nali n when, even in t;me tf war. its s7e- cial repre' en'atives were approached in such a spirit by-the very people with whom we were in conflict! The intellect of the. nation was despised, rathe' than it's spirit. The spirit of q civilized nation Gepenes so greatly upon its intellect, that the estimate whichw make oi the one, involves the other also. What had the United S'aes done in intellectual matters to compel the respect of othe coun- tr;es' Notllingl literally no'hing Our orators were numerous. and able. it is true but the achievements of the tribune and the forum a.e usually oi domestic recognition
 Would the British people d sire the best, the
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