Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1849-06-28
THE LYNCHBURG VIRGINIAN
BLACKBOARD. TOWNLEY & CO.,
PRQPE1ETORS.
LYNCuBURG. JUNE IS. 1919.
THE ENGLISH PRESS AND THE NEW
YORK RIOT.

1ohA MIL.
One cannot read the m upon the riot
in. New York, contained in the English papers,
without wondering, either at the deplorable igno-
rance of the real constitution Of American socie-
tv and the nature of our institutions, or at the
miserable perverSion Of feeling and national zeal
ouSy which seeks TO draw evil auguries of the
success of Republican government, from an oc-
currcnce which had nothing 70 do with political
feeling, and might Just as readily have happened
in London, or Vienna, as in New York. So far
as the London press rcsents the treatment Of Mr..
Macready, it is all well enough. No American,
who is not of the clique of Mr.. Forests personal
admirers, defends it in any degree. The quarrel
between these. actors excited the least possible
interest-ninety-nin in The hundred Of our pco-
pie care not a fig for either. Strange as II may
seem TO the London editors, the onslaught of the
Quarterly Review upon Macaulay's history IS a
subject of far deeper interest, and the appearance
Of the reply Of the great asSalled IS anticipated, BY
our countrymen, with far more Impotence than
any new revelations as to the secret history OF the
origin of the Astor Place Riots, promised by the
investigations of the Grand Jury. The whole
affair, so far as i grew out ofthe quarrel etween
Forrest and Macrcady, has passed from the pub
lie mind. Not 50, the affair in another aspect Of
the case. The prompt determination manifested
by the civil authorities to preserve order, at all
hazards-the admirable conduct of the citizen
soldiery, called upon to perform service OF the
most painful charactcr-and the sedative lntlu-
ence Of this decisive remedy. cannot but inspire
every intelligent American with renewed conf
dence in the strength of our institutions. The
decision of the authorities and the conduct ofthe
troops extort admiration from the London Times,
though it suppresses the fact.lhat they were not
regular troops, but citizen soldiers. 1t is rather
amusing, however, to hear the Times denomi-
mating this New York riot, "a more marvellous
and painful affair than the scenes in Montreal, =
which it had the week before recorded, when, to
use its own language, "The British public were
startled with the news that a senSelcsS mob, eX-
cited and led by a'hankrupt faction, had burnt
the Parliament house of our principal Colony,
with its archives and invaluable Libraries, and
had grossly inSulted. her Maiesty's representa-
tive, on about as empty and ~beggarly a pretext
as ever inflated the lungs of the agitator Or filed
the hands ofthe %ruffian''.
What dcplorable ignorance does it bctokcn, both
of Canadian politics and of our people, if the
Times be sincere in such a remark. The New
Y DIRK not is already forgotten. Viewing it in con-
nectlon with the whole mass Of our people, it
was Of about the relative importance to the health
and well-being Of the body polite, that an ordi-
nary plmple on the face would be TO a hearty
man. The Montreal burning, on the contrary,
was as sure an indication of the eventual loss of
Canada to the British crown, as the summary
discharging of the cargo Of tea in Boston harbor
was Of American independence.
The London News is quite absurd. It sees in
the Astor Place riot something like the begin
ming Off revolution, and talks about hostility be-
tween classes, as the feeling TO which the whole
outbreak may be referred. New York, like ev-
on, 10--.. 49, - - / =
Of native origin, but, in addition, it is the point upon
which is poured the torrent Of immigration, now
portentously swollen. What wonder that, in
rushing by. that mighty flood, bringing,as it does,
much of tlle social and political feculence of Eu-
rope, should leave a~deposit, unfavorable alike to
the moral and political health ofthe spoton which
it first lmpinges upon our shores. There arrived, in
n. York, the first five months Of the present year,
"a, O0O ImmlgrantS-an increase of more than
$1,000 beyond the corresponding period five
years ago. OF these 50,S20 were from Ireland,
and 1868 from Germany. We think nothing
more clearly illustrates the conservative tenden-
cy Of Democratic institutions, where the people
are worthy Of them, than the fact that such
mass OF foreign population, much oft of the low
est and worst description, can be annually receiv-
ed into our country and'converted in a few years,
into an element Of national strength and %prosperi-
". htiG LlNeTpOOl, OF LONDON cNcn,"WeTc
any European city, ofany thing like the popula-
ton of New York-to receive every year such an
accession OF such a population, would it be posi-
BILE for the municipal authorities to maintain the
peace, without a military force twice as great as
we have concentrated at any post in the Union !?
The great mistake Of Europeans is in a~scribing
political influence to our cities. Accustomed to
see Paris, and other capitals Of Europe, make rev
~olutions for the nation at will, and TO dictate the
form of government for the people at large, they
naturally suppose that our largest city has a pre-.
potent influence in the political affairs Of the u
mon. We need not say, 10 American readers,
that New York has but little more weight than
the same population would have if scattered over
the State-and that, were she to pronounce" in
favor of despotism and insist upon annexation to
Russia, or were she burnt to the ground. or swal-
lowed by an Earthquake no very marked impress
sion would be made upon our policy, nor would
our inward career be perceptibly checked.
FRENCH PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
President Bonaparte'S message to the French
Legislative Assembly is a remarkable document.
and manifests equal , frankness and ability. Its
effect must be to raise greatly his reputation for
talents, and, we may add, practical good sense
the rarest of virtues with French statesmen. It
forms an era, too, in the history of communica-
tons flom the Executive to the Legislative
branches Of European Governments, inasmuch as
dents and Governors, is disclosure, not conceal
ment. Royal speeches are proverbial for their
n~oncommittal and barren character. With a pro-
E--.-- r IN