The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1856-02-22
From hs Nsw York Er,Hins Post.
War with Great Britain--Its 0mens-
Its Results

Ii has seemed 10 US, until very lately, that
our difference with Great Britain would not
lead 10 any very serious result but, IL the
temper Of Congress is to be inferred from
present indications, the danger is much
greater than we had imagined. Yesterday,
Dir. Cas- made war speech in the Senate.
We should infer nothing from this, for Mr..
Cas- is always making war speeches, and
we should say, as we have said in other in
stances, that no meant nothing by it, were
il not that other senators, less given TO the
display of warliko propensities, jealousy sup
port him, and even 90 beyond him. Ii is
now confidently said, that Mr.. Seward is in
iryor of authorizing our government to give
notice to Great Britain that we expect her
10 renounee all dominion over every part of
Central America, and that il, after a twelve
month, we find her persisting in the cxer-
else Of sovereignty in that quarter, we shall
interfere to prevent her. Mr.. Seward, on
account Of his long experience in public az
fairs, and the general moderation Of his
views on questions like this, exercises great
influence in Congress, and will bring pow
cfful support To tho war policy Of the .ad-
IhinistratiOn. The House Of Representa-
tives, in which the influence of Seward is
much stronger than IL is in the Senate, may
be expected, if il should ever be organized,
to be no less inclined 10 war than the other
chamber.
Let us consider what Is implied in the
notice TO Great Britain that her authority
over every part Of Central America where Il
Is exercised must cease within q year. Our
government claims that the British protec-
torate Of the Mosquito Indians is an exercise
Of dominion. She must renounce that
Central America reaches from the lsthmus
of Tehauntepec to that of Panama. British
Honduras is part of this country, and it
includes the island Of Ruatan and the other
isles in the Bay of Honduras. Britain must
cyacuate her possessions, both ON the MAN.
land and the islands.
Will she do It? Assuredly not. The ma
ked threat Of war will have no moro effect
upon her than il would upon us If our gov
eminent were told to give up Key West on
peril of provoking hOstilities from Britain.
The moment the notice was given, we should
fnd that we had taken measures to make
war inevitable. Great Britain would hold
herself engaged by her honor to insist on
the Mosquito protectorate, and ~ maintain
her possessions in Honduras; she would tell
US that we had no more right 10 bid her re-
nOunce them, than 10 renOunce her claim 10
the island Of Jamaica. We, on the other
hand, should say 10 her, The notice we
gave was not an idle bnyadO, and having
given it, we do not mean to expose ourselves
10 the contempt Of the world BY uttering
threat which we have not the courage to ex-
ecute.' We must then drive out the Brit
ish, II we can, by an attack on their posses
sions. Let the notice contemplated by Mr..
Cas- and MIR. SEWARD once be given, and, il
the Mosquito Indians DO not cxterminated
by the smallpox or the cholera, and If Brit
ish Honduras and the Bay Islands DO not
swallowed up by an earthquake, war will
follow.
In which part of the United States the
calamitous results Of war with Great Brit
ain would be- most seriously felt, we have
already shown. II is the nature Of disease
in the human body, to fix itself in the feeb-
Ter parts. In our republic, the Southern
States, occupying four-ffths Of our ssacuasi.
md most open % invasion On socoant OF
their comparatively thin population, |
half Of whom are slaves, and have no !
country 20 do.cnd, woali bs infinitely the |
greatest sufferers by war with Great Brit |
ain, The agriculture Of the slave States,
which supplies the cotton mills Of England, |
would be ruined by il; the Young men of
the South would be drafted 10 defend their |
coast, with the usual waste of life in war;
the slaves left at home would DO the secret !
friends Of the invaders; there would DO no
sense OF security Mt the fresides of their mas |
tiers slave-breeding would become an un-
profitable pursuit the dream Of direct in |
tercourse betwecn the Southern ports and !
England would be at an end, and equally 70
the magnificent dram Of an indefinite ex-
tension of the ARIA of slavery over the help |
less regions Of Northern Mexico. No blow |
has ever been struck nj slavery in the Unit I
ID States, or ever will be, 50 formidable, so |
fatal, as a declantion Of war with Great
Britain would DO at this moment. Itwould
crush the mighty plans OF the Southern po-
liticians in their mid progress, and visit the |
region they inhahis with poverty and dis
.ress.
IL may be that, in the inscrutable plans !
,f Providence, there Is no way provided TO |
,heck that growing evil. the prdominancc
n slayery, but quarrel with a formidable
naval power. II may be that there Is no
,ther way Of curing that chronic, eongenital
nalady, which has hitherto gained strength |
$ the country grew stronger, and extended |
tself with the enlargement Of our domain,
hort Of the calamity of war, cndicating
by temporary mischief. What !
70 persuasion, no sense ofright, no awak-
ming Of the consciencsh has been able to cf-
ect, may be accomplished by the necessi-
les and miseries Of a quarrel with the very
alton which Is the great customer Of the
have Stat@ and the consumer Of their pro-
ucts--a quarrel BY which the keeping Of a
'erd Of slaves will be rendered almost as un-