The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-11-18


Marcy, Dix, Van Buren,, and the rest, knew
more about it than he did; honestly regarded
Providence as, under them, the means of his
elevation, and prepared to govern on the basis
of their assertions
His Cabinet was chosen in perfect accordance
with the theory. The coalition which he was
told had elected him, being composed Of men 0.
oil parties and all factions, he called all in to
share the public plumber alike; and the Balti-
more Convention being professcdly mere
scheme for defeating the wings, and monopolis-
ing the public patronage - selected his officers
on the sole basis of fair distribution OF the
spoils.
How could he act otherwise? All this while
he was living in the grossest delusion that ever
muddled human faculties. Marcy and the others
kept constantly before ais eyes false picture
of the country and public sentiment and never
allowed him to see an inch further. A man Of
more independence would not have allowed
himself to be so hoodwinked, for week; but
Gen. Pierce's character is confiding, and his
suspicious are not readily aroused. He saw
what was put before him by his official tyrants,
did as they bid him, and nothing more.
There is at length chance, at this eleventh
hour, of seeing this fatal delusion dispelled
Marcy can hardly conceal from the President
the facts of the New York election. He can
hardly deny that he and his colleagues took a
side in the contest, staked the credit of the adj
ministration on the issue, and were ignomini-
ousy defeated He cannot prevent the Presi-
dent perceiving that in this Empire State, the
opponents OF his Cabinet are to its supporters
as three to one. Nor can General Pierce help
seeing how palpable contradiction this glar-
ing fact gives to the stories with which his mind
months. He cannot blink the prospect that
when Congress meets, members of the Senate
will rise and charge him with the faults of his
advisers, and that Congress will contain four
opposition members for every supporter of the
administration. These are facts so glazing. SO
unmistakable, that nothing short Of sheer
blindness could fail to discover them.
The question, therefore. is, will the President
boldly shake off the delusion under which he
has been laboring? Will he anticipate the storm
that threatens him by taking measures torepair
the faults he has committed, and re-constitute
his Cabinet on sound basis? Will he spare the
Senate the trouble of cancelling his nomina-
tons, by taking the lead in SO necessary mea-
sure? Will he act, in short, in such a way as
will show to the people OF this country that if
he has erred in the past, it has been through
error, and not from set purpose and that the
confidence they placed in him has not been en-
tirely thrown away?
British and American Policy In the East.
The Singapore Journal Of Commerce, Of the
10th Of August last, in adverting to the Ameri-
can expedition to Japan, takes occasion to soothe
the apprehensions of British subjects in the East
who :" talk about American East India empires
in China, Japan, and heaven knows where"
The editor corrects " the erroneous views enter
tanned respecting the probable course of Ameri-
can policy in the East" by assuring his readers
that there are masquerade difficulties" in the
way of America following the example of her
great parent, in making settlements and found
ing colonies beyond the American continent.
The chief difficulty is that the constitu-
ton of the limited Statos does not ad
NIT of colonies, like the British empire,
and the American republic can only absorb
territory contiguous to it, such as Cuba or
Mexico. According to our East Indian con-
temporary, therefore, annexation by trade is
the only annexation England has to fear from
the Yankees in those distant regions but, he
adds, there is nothing che has to dread so much
as commercial rivalry, and John Bull will leave
nothing undone to prevent Brother Jonathan
surprising him in that direction.
The Singapore Journal is right A war of
commerce between the two nations has fairly
commenced in the East. The struggle for the as
cendancy will be carried on with all the charac-
teristic energy and skill Of the great sompeti-
tors, and the contest will be watched with in
tense interest by the inhabitants of both hemis-
phsres. On the American continent not only
the political power but the commercial sway
OF England has gradually dwindled away to
the shadow of what it was, while the young
republic has taken her place, and asserts its
supremacy over land and sea. The acquisition
OF California has now directed American ent err
prise to the islands of the Pacific, and to the
shores which lie beyond that ocean; and the
daring spirit Of Yankee progress following the
star Of empire, which westward takes its way,v
till it travels around the globe, and rises in
the east, has invaded the commercial domains
OF England in the Eastern hemisphere where
her meteor flag" has SO long terrific burnedv
as the emblem of undivided rule, and the sign
Of a maritime power on "whose possessions the
sun never sets" The war is now, therefore.
carried not into Africa, but into Asia, and the
battle fields will be China, Japan, Siam, Corea,
Cochin China Tor Annam) and perhaps India
itself-having in all population of six hun
dred millions of human beings. or about two
thirds Of the inhabitants of the earth
Whether the union-jack shall soon pale be-
fore the star spangled banner, in this contest of
is question that remains to be