The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-11-18
English Opinions on American A fair.


Our amable cotemI oraries across the water,
sometimes in London, and sometimes IN Paris.
occasionally crack severe Joke, and split almost
their fat sides, at the singular tumble of principles
and observation-disclosures and humbug-foolery
and ph,osophy-whlch grow up, side by side, on
American soil, as unruly weeds and the wild grape
are &C metimes found growing costly together on
the American hill sides. We give in our columns
to-day, an amusing article from the London Times,
of this character. The wit, the sarcasm, the gen
RE punch IN the ribs, and terrible maulng over the
shoulders, which they give the American republic
in consequence Of the loud professions of liberty
which resound here, In connection with large
slice of black slavery, give us great deal of I'M
easiness but yet they do not spoil our appetite for
beet steak at the tail of keen, cold day IN No
vember. We are happy, on the contrary, that we
can afford matter for so much life and gaety in the
eaden columns and maeniloquent paragraphs OF
our amlable contemporary In Printing House Square
Yet we cannot help mngllng the tear with the
smile, when he puts into us so strongly in conse-
quence Of the existence of slavery in certain parts
Of our country and places in juxtapostion with
that our ardent professions of liberty. We con.
TESS with sorrow, we confess that our institu-
tons have not yet reached that perfection which
we hope they will do with the progress of time
and age. But have we not done somethlng since
the days of our youth 7-lf these writers will insist
upon contrasting the institutions of every State in
our infant republic with the venerable British en-
pre- and Its hoary institutions gong back into the
worm eaten ages OF antiquity. Since the declara-
ton OF independence, all the Northern States have
abolished slavery, and but for the agitation and
recrimination coming from the enthusiasts of Enc
land, II is very likely that similar result would
have been the case in Virginia, Maryland, Ken
lucky, and other States, long before this day Let
our contemporary put that in his pipe and smoke it,
But this Is not all. Instead of talking TO lis of
the beam in eye, and the mote in our brothers.
why does not the London Times treat of the con.
dition of Ireland, and endeavor to ascertain
whether the white slavery established in that un-
happy land, general principles-the "envy
and admiration of surrounding nations" -does not
present far more revolving picture In reference to
restrictions on civil and social liberty, comfort,
and morality, than that of the black slaves of the
Southern States, where they live in clover, "year
in and year out, and where the scars and the LASH
and the servie misery and degradation, cannot for
a moment be compared with that OF Ireland, or any
Of the British dependencies
Il
boundIess natural resources, and an intelligent and
industrious population, has been In connection
with the time-worn constitution of England for
nearly seven hundred years, and that her people
the worst clad, the worst fed, the worst housed
throughout Gods creation Talk of slaves
Pshsw How many thousands of that unfortunate
people. during the famine of the last three years,
and during many previous one, would have been
glad TO have had the fare and the treatment of our
Southern slaves! Oh, but they had civil liberty
No, they had no such thing From the DAYS OF
Henry the Second, up TO Victoria the First their
history has been continued series of confsca.
uons, coercion bills and marital law.
How long is it ago, since the priest and the
schoolmaster had price put upon their heads,
How long is it since the more CALLING portion of
the penal laws was erased from the statute book
There are men alive, who, from their own personal
knowledge, could give an answer to the first ques-
ton, and twice ten summers have not rolled over
our heads since the concession Of religious free
dom to the Catholics Of Ireland. Liberty, indeed!
Yes, the liberty of dying behind their bitches by
periodical starva on--the consequence of the long
misgoveInment to which they have been subjected
under the British crown. Liberty, indeed, where
the commonest rights OF freemen are. al this mo-
meDt, violated the hdbeas corpus acts suspended
liberty of speech made felony the independent
press gagged, public meetings iorcibly suppressed
and more arbitrary and prannical proceedings
than ever Nicholas Of Russia resortsd to, openly
and uhbushinRly carried on, IN the face Of the
civilized world, under ia sanction Of govern
ment and the forms Of law Yet. notwithstanding
these oursges on the civilization and the humanity
OF The age, partisan writer Of the government