Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1856-03-21
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL.
WILMINGTON, N. Co. MONDAY, MARCH II. 1856.
90 We are among those who regard it as very

{Is~ We are among IuOSe VINO FegdIu IL as very
doubtful policy to calculate too strongly upon
the decadence of British power as reason tol
neolecting our own means of defence and aggression
Or of supposing war with that power as Impossible
or to be rushed into without adequate PREPARATION
The truth is that all such calculations will be found
when brought to the test, absolutely Wlthout " "i'
rant Great Britain never was stronger than 'o-"ay'
and never more capable of carrying on long war
In the short war; which is now pretty certain 10 De
brought to close, she has won no laureIs' Dut sne
alone of all the parties engaged exhibits no symptom
of exhaustion; she alone rises IN strength, IN the
deve1opment of her resources and the spirit OF her
peopIe as the contest continues Her finances alone
are underanged. France, Turkey, Russia, and even
Austria which has not been actually engaged, are
all impressed with a growing necessity for peace !;
England alone is not and, indeed this fact is fully
understood on the other side of the Atlantic and 1t
is felt that by continuance OF the war; her prestige
and remembrance must grow, and against this her
continental allies, who arealso her rivals, are quite
as anxious 10 guard as they are against Russia and
this will render them more anxious to push forward
peace. On either hemisphere she is the grand mo-
tor which gives impetus to great wars, the nucleus
around which gather coalitions. Had II not been Tor
her jealousy of the growing naval power of Russia,
and fear of her advances towards the East Indies, it
is hardly probable that Europe would have been con-
vulsed by the Turkish question and the Russian war
Should any difficulties arise between this country and
Europe, the world will feel that her Vaccinations
are at tie bottom of the whole affair." and that, II
France, or any other power of the ole world should
enter party at first or become subsequently drawn
n she will be directly indirectly chargeable as the
cause.
Everything that she has done in the contest with
Russia may be set down to the score of preparation,
and it u.s. indeed, questionable whether the same
amount of money, without any war, or any losses by
war; would have been as effective in obtaining this
end without the advantages of the schooling to which
she has been subjected. Her fleet exceeds anything
known in the annals of nations, and, in length OF
range and weight of metal, its armamentis altogeth
unparalleled, while her army is rapidly rising to
the point it reached towards the close of the wars
arising out OF the French revolution and Empire,
while her population pretty nearly double what it
then was
With such an antagonist, active, ambitious just
warming up 10 feel her strength, rather her capa
city of exerting it, is not the supineneSs OF the United
States something remarkable? We say antagonist,
for, smooth the thing as her apologsts may she
is the antagonist of the United States, and always
has been-she is Jealous of the growth of the Re-
public which threatens to throw her empire in
to the shade, even in her peculiar field of
and manufactures; with her alone. of European ma
tons, has this country been forced to engage in war;
and to er have been attributable the acts on the part
of Spain, which have, at different times, threatened
IF tI,o mr.
between this country and that She the great pro-
pagandist of abotionism throughout the world, and
would aim her blows at the social system of the
Southern States, both because her government has
canted this cant until has become popular with the
masses of the people, who can hardly be blamed If
they believe the dsgraCetul aspersions which the
people of one-half of the United States cast upon
those Of the other; and also because she Sees or
thinks she Sees future aggrandzemen at our expense
Her vast commercial interests may certainly disin-
clineiher 10 war with this country She is depend
ent upon for cotton, and she feels this dependence
as CALLING yoke, of which she would gladly get rid
at almost any cost. But, perhaps it may appear to
her that the dependence is somewhat mutual. That
it is necessary for to sell well for her to buy
and that, with her teeming navy she could seal up
our ports that, if she could get cotton nobody
else could, and the planter would be seriously injured
if not totally ruined.
But this would be the smallest part of her schemes
and Of her hopes. How painfully she feels her de-
pendenCe upon us for the main staple of her manu-
failures has already been alluded to- The efforts
which she has made, and is now making, to grow
cotton in the East Indies, in parts of Australia and
Africa. are notorious. So far, these efforts have me
with but partial success, leaving the virtual
y still in the hands of the Southern States of the
Union But these efforts have not totally failed as
the receipts al Liverpool from Surat and other ndar
ports show and she, no doubt, makes her calcula
tons that if, by war betw her and this country
the manufactures of the world cut off from tn
supply Of cotton obtained from US, recourse wou
have to be had to other sources of supply. Unde
this stimulus, so given to production in new fields
cotton culture might elsewhere be sufficiently deve
oped as to enter into future competition with US
the monopoly of American slave-grown cotton
broken down, and part, at least, of the business
with It's attendant advantages transferred from ha
ted rival to a loyal dependency.
All these things, are most assuredIy within til
scope of British calculations, and when fairly sons
cred are surely sufficient TO shake our confidence
the assertion that Great Britain cannot and will n
go 10 war with us-that commercial influences wi
restrain her. No doubt her interests point to peac
but they are not so al-controlling as might at 81
porfcia glance, be supposed.
Grave gentlemen in the Senate Chamber, talk
coolly of possible, but hardly mention pr
paraton. They remind us OF Falstaf9s inordina
amount of sack to so small amount of bread
Clearly, the honor and interests of the country Dug