New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-03-26

that IN OF MARCH SptStn. Oan you tail 70
see glsring inconsistency here Only think
of Mr. Parker or any Of his kin agonizing and
waxing pathetic over the treschery TO Free
dom and his previous course evineed BY Cass,
Pierce or Douglas in his support Of the Fugl-
tive Slave Law Yet this incongruity distorts
Mr. Parker's entire fabric, and greatly impsirs
its positive value. II is precisely because Mr..
Webster was not, prior to 1850, the man that
Mr. Parker represents him. that his great bid
for Southern popularity and votes shocked the
unseared conscience of the Nation. Had he not
been, throughout his previous career, batting
the errors to which all men are subject, the
champion of Justice, of law-guarded Freedom
and Of Public Morality, his famous Speech
would have long ago faded out of the general
recollection. and would neither have excited
nor justified Mr. Parker's eloquent maledc-
tons Had he not previously scared high be
could not have fallen so far as Mr.. Parker de-
picts.
Mr.. Parker has committed some mistakes in
his reported discourse, but his revised picture
as a whole is blscker and harsher than the
former. He gives a much fuller account Of
Mr. Webster's earlier public life, assuming to
set forth the grounds and manner of his opposi-
ton to the war of 1912, and Sils therein TO do
him Justice. Here, as Reformer and Phi
lanthropst, he was bound to be just, if not gen.
erous, and he is neither. So with regard TO
the Ashburton Treaty, the praise justly be-
slowed on Mr. Webster in his spoken sermon,
is qualified and Whitfield down in his revised
discourse. He represents our claim to aH
the disputed territory as irrefragsble, and the
concessions in the treaty as all on our side.
Now, we have probably studied that question
as thoroughly as Mr. Parker has, and our strong
beliefs, that while the letter of the treaty of
1883 gave us all we claimed, its spirit and in
tent did not-that neither party supposed in in
dicating the highlands that divide the water
flowing north into the S.. Lawrence from those
lowing south into the Bay of Fundy as our
North Eastern Boundary, that they carried
Maine north almost TO the st. Lawrence and
Quebec, interpOSing her between Canada and
New Brunswick, so as to forbid military COM
municaton or mutual support The simple fact
that the line could not be run literally accord
iDgte the terms of the treaty-that there were
no highlands dividing the waters of the St.
Lawrence from those of the Bay of Fundy in
that quarter, but that they were separated by
a considerable tract drained by the Ristiqoueh,
into the Bay of Chaleur, (across which we
claimed to run the line) was conclusive against
our pretension. That territory had no geo.
graphical affinity with ours-it had very little
practical value--it would have been damage
to US TO have secured tour only use for it
would have been found in the annoyance and
embarrassment its possession by us would have
caused our neighbOr-we could not even have
annoyed her from it in case of war, for We
Canada, which is much easier assaied by us
from Lake Champlain as base of operations,
than from the Sc. John-in fact, which we
should never think Ofattacking from our North
Eastern angle under any conceivable circum-
stances Its surrender, therefore, was a noble
act of craftsmanship, and the AshburtOn Treaty
blessing to both nations, and an honor 10 its
negotiatOrs, which Mr. Parker should have
been among the last TO diSparage.
So OF the War Of 1912. The facts that it
was commenced with no reasonable degree of
preparation on our side, though on account of
loDg-stendng rieyances-c0mmenced by an
Administration whose judgment did not ap-
prove It, but which was bullied into il by its
younger and more hOt.headed supporters
commenced about the same time that the
British Government was voluntarily repeating
those unjust Orders in Council which had been
one of its chief acknowledgements with
out being preceded by an adequate and i'm
posing final effort to procure a redress of the
wrongs we sojustly complained Of-cOmmenced
while large proportion ofits supporters were
afraid of taking Canada on the one hand or Of
meeting our adversary on her own and our.
element by creating an adequate Naval force
ON the 0ther-all this, and much more that
ought TO be considered, is wholly ignored by
MI Parker We tell him that he is not just
TO Mr.. Webster on this subject that he ought
to be the first to recognize the merit of great
Statesman, conspcuOusly in public life for
forty years, and never once the advocate of
any war or hostile demonstration whatever, but
always counseling moderation, selfrestraint,
fOrbearance, and pleading for Peace. As an
earnest and unshackled however erring) dis
ciple of the Prince Of Peace, il i'll became Mr..
Parker to forget this in his estimate of Mr..
Webster's life and character
He is wrong again in representing Mr.. Web