The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1855-12-18

world" causing them to buster and ''swag-
ger as they may" and expose their navy
| to an allied squadron, to be atomized as a
! Jest for cOsmopolites Before the war
( of 1912, this navy was not but ere peace
came, it was. And if its future career may
| be predicted from the result of the past, it
will probably die game, on salt water or
! fresh.
With a mercantile marine having ton
! mage greater than that of any nation on earth;
with ship timber, iron, copper, cotton duck,
coal, and men second to none in the art of
ship-building; with national debt almost
zero, treasury oyer-fowing, taxes light, an
abundance of gold, a vast surplus of food,
| and twenty-five million of inhabitants, most
of whom having patronised the schoolmaster
that is abroad-the United States will not
withdraw her fire frigates and cotton bunt-
ing" from the realm of Neptune in dis
| honor.
''And, again, rs to Canada" When in
| 1912, the Northwestern States were yet
| wilderness, inhabited by savages, to resist
whom it required more men than to meet
| the Anglo-American army, when there were
no railways, or roads even, and our soldiers
made long and perilous marches through the
forests to meet the foe upon their own
ground-thcn the enemy left Detroit (now
| great city, retreated through Canada west
for the St. Lawrence, hauled down the red
cross, left the stars and stripes floating on
the great Mediterranean lakes Of America,
and never during the war regained lost
ground or water. At that time there were
but 100000 inhabitants of European race
North of the Ohio river-nOw there are
more than 100000, one-ffth of whom stand
West and Northwest of Canada, completely
heading her off in the great race toward
the Pacific for empire over the primeval
forest.
If the Standard will compute the excess
which the per cent. of American commerce
sustuius to that of England on the lakes and
ST. Lawrence, it will conclude-without
adverting to the smothered rebellion of
1888, or the slumbering desire for annexa-
ton that spoke its thoughts so audible as
to reach the throne in 1S49-that one cam
paign from the Republic will settle the
manifest destiny of Canada, and let her
sons with joy gather under the banner of
the Empire of the West.
The Standard says war with England
now would involve a war with France also.
This may be possible so long Us the war
-I,oJ
long. While that war lasts John Bull will
have enough to do in the East and be very
thankful if we maintain neutrality. When
that war shall end, neither the tradition of
the past, nor the present or future interest
of France, nor the sagacity Of Louis Napo-
leon, will ever prompt him to take up arms
to aggrandize England upon this side of the
Atlantic. Whether he who guards tie
chapeau and surtout of Napoleon lie Grand
knows, or does not know, what he is about,
there is ''mcthod in his Madness and he
undoubtedly feels the great joys of warriors
as he beholds his legions advancing to the
forests of Scythia, and the troops of Britain
following non passibus equiS.
" LLCII A(ilISC Siu1I IlttN Z SOAcOlIt1dlCO iCA
power at Constantinople, extending it thence
by way of Algeria TO the Straits of Gibral-
tar, she will not regret to see England
waste her strength on the American repub-
lie. France desires to sell us wine, silks
and linens; and to purchase in return cot
ton, corn and shiptimber. 1t is from tradi-
ton as well as interest that she desires the
freedom of the seas, and she will not war
with a nation that contends for the same.
1t is all but an impossibility to make the
people of France and the United States
perceive that their interests are not natur-
ally in harmony.
If England and France have found out,
too late, alas! that they have no conflicting
interests" very well. II England admits
that 'sthe right of each nation to choose its
own form of government, and its own
sovereign, is settled point Of public
law" as we asserted and maintained the
right long ago, we are pleased to hear the
admission. Yet we fancy John must blush
some at his confession, after having strug-
gled twenty-five years in conjunction with
all Europe, and spent &50O0,0 100000 in con-
tradicting that right to France.
All. but ''there is danger in the South
as we'll as North, to quell the ambition of
the clustering Republicans" and lin all
the Southern States Of the Union the free
citizens are greatly outnumbered by enc
mics" By the census of 1880 the white
population of the slave States was 6,224,24O,
and the number of slaves was 3,204, ,O95.-
This citation corrects an error Of fact as
well as it shows how little fear there can be
of servile insurrection. American slavery,
although it is slavery, tends to elevate and
civilize the black race, who are more
kindly disposed towards their masters than
foreigners are aware Of The mildness OF
their servitude is shown by the rate per
cent. of their increase, being as great as
that of the white population, or about 3O
per cent. every ten years-a remarkable
contrast to the system that existed in the