The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-02-06
THE DAILY DISPATCH.
THE ARABIA,S MAILS
The English Press ON the Presidents Mes
sage:

/ sage;
The mails by the steamer Arabia, which Shout
have arrived in this city yesterday morning, di
not reach here until yesterday afternoon.
| THE LONDON TIMES ON THE PRESIDENTS
| MESSAGE.
1 The following is from the London Times of Dec
| l7ih:
| The American President with q iaudable desir,
| to cut short long debate in the House of Repre-
| sentatires, has not waited for the election of
| Speaker but presented his annual message at one,
| 10 Congress. A portion of the American press ha
/ long been busy in debating what the messag,
| ought 10 be,--that it ought to throw down chai
lenge TO England on every point of existing pos
sible difference, and that it ought to do so in
| ner that admitted of no adjustment As far as Eng
| land is concerned, therefore, we must admit the
| good sense displayed by the President in promul
| eating his Message without leaving the ground te
| be preoccupied in the Congress itself by mass Of
| adverse criticism. The document, like many o.
its predecessors shows the vast difference between
1 the play OF diplomacy and national act. The for
| mer in the New, as well as in the Old World, is
often little better than game of brag unworthy
| OF statesmen and civilized nations the latter i
| generally more in accordance with those solemn
responsibilities which rulers cannot but feel how
| ever brief their tenure of power.
President Pierce is evidently more inclined to
plunge the Union into war for any trif1e, than we
| are OF course we are well aware that it NAV be
| driven 10 war, even point little appreciated
or understood by the people at large; and America
Is equally aware that we also apt to forget the
MeTcuantnc OF political nsigniheance of an object
when our honor is concerned. There can only be
mutual respect between two such nations as the
| British empire and the lited States of America
But we believe and trust that the statesmen of
| both countries will leave nothing undone to ar
! range differences without sacrifice of honor or
either side ltere there certainly is not the aintest
thought OF q wish to extract honor out OF America
10 gain silly chucEle at her Expense and to think
| Ourselves at all the better because we can think
| he. The worse. There is no such feeling i'll this
! oouU.ry. indeed We are quite sure that even if
! we had gained an imaginary triumph over our
Transatlantic cousins, il would entail lis pun
shlleut "A the ah.l1e we should soon feel at the
!Uily OF the tran3action and the Unnatural cLarac-
ter O. the wrong We had inileted.
We believe that, on the whole Notwithstanding
Tie frantic attempts OF few American writer's
9eneI4 ally recent ilnportatons from this country
to blow every spark into fame and to disgrace
England, with without honor to the States Co
vernIGont, The great majority OF the enlightened
classes i'll thai country are not so disposed Ia the
Message before us, the President shows desire to
let negotiation the affairs of Central America
drag on interminably. on the speculation that time
itself must day decide III favor of the United
States. Such, at least, is the construction upon
the Message by journal which evidently thinks
this the true policy of the Union. 1t may or may
not prove a successful speculation.
Undoubtedly, in that part of the world the great
probability is that the cause of the States will in
crease and that of this country decrease. When
there are but few in this country who know what
political relations we have in Central America and
when ON the other hand, the United States are ey
IDENTIFY pushing in that direction by sea and BY land
by the growth of their commerce and their popu-
iaton, it would be idle to deny that such solution
as that hoped for Is nearer every day. But the
speculation is morally unsound and therefore po-
lltlcally dangerous 1t can never be an advantage
TO any State that il should be in condition to
think an outrage an Insignificant affair. The sim
pie fact that the pear" so to speak, 'may be one
day ripe, may tempt tue States to an act of vio-
lenee, which may perhaps be warmly resented by
this country. a negotiation, to be honest, should
be conducted with view to settlement The
statesmen Of America must recoIlect that if they
have to make. as they conceive, certain impress
sion upon us, they have also to set an example to
their own people, and there are few examples so
catching as those of public diplomacy. Could Gen
eral Pierce and his Government succeed in persua-
ding the citizens in the Union that they had avoid
cd just settlement by dilatory pleas and eyasive
answers, they viii be responsible for corrupting SO
far the morals of the Union In one sense, sim
pie lenSthening of negotiation in order to leave
question TO the arbitrament of time, to the decay
of right and the maturity OF wrong, is itself i'm
morality and we trust that We shall never be found
following the example before U.S. or sanctioning
such policy in our own statesmen
On the subject of British recruitment in the
United States, the President concludes his version
of the story with the statement that he had pre-
sented case to our Government in order to secure
not only cessation of the wrong, but its repara.
tion and that the subject is still under discussion
1t is not denied that the wrong has ceased and it
can hardly even be maintained that 1t was con sum.
mated by the effectual enlistment of a single in.
dividual into the British service. The President
indeed alleges that the attempt was obstinately
and systematically continued even after the official
relnonsrancc against 1t but that could only arise
from the utter mpossibility of stopping at once
number OF distant and Independent proceedings
carried on without quite much concelt and plan
as is thought. However, the whole affair was
stopped before, as we have observed any mischief
was done and what is more, reparation was made
reparation that would be thought ten times more
than sufficient by the dgnited courts of the older
world
On this side of the Atlantic, when mistake has
been made apology is offered and to reject that
apology, and demand some fanciful compensation
for the supposed wrong, is always set down to the
sensitive jealousy Of the man who has his charac
ter and position still TO make. In fact, readiness
TO accept an apology is here thought quite as
much the mark of gentleman, nay, more so than
a quckness to resent an indgnity Every fellow
has the latter, but il is only the gentlemen who
has the former. We are sure that there is not a
society of gentlemen in Europe who would not
think sufficient reparation done in this instance
when the wrong had been stopped even before ae-
tual accomplishment, and its improperly admit
ted. What more President Pierce requires he does
not say in his Message, but, as the direct bearing
of the United States law on the point is now ad.
Initted, and there is chance of British enlist
ment being again attempted in the Union, any fur
ther PREPARATION" demanded by the United States
Government must be something more than the
yndicaion OF its honor, respect to its neutrality
and obedience 10 its laws 1t is matter on which
we conceive the British Government viii DE guided
by precedent. 1t will deal with the United States
it would with France any other European
COURT and If, notwithstanding, the United States
should demand more, the people of this country
will not submit TO undeseryed and gratutous hui
milaton.
The Message is written with simplicity and clear
ness, and is by no means lengthy and diffuse as
some of its predecessors. Indeed, it looks as if
the President had found himself at an end sooner
than he expected, and had been reduced to append
two long discussions on the constitutional theory
of governments and the constitutional relation of
slavery, in order to make up bulk TO the taste of
his readers. We shall not enter, for the present,
into these or any other topics Of the Message
We have only to assure the Americans that the
people of this country read these docuinents with
an interest only second to that with which they
read an important Ministerial statement in their
own Legislature. They are all rejoiced TO see the
sudden prosperity and immense development OF
country which they feel TO have come ont of
themselves II is no pleasure 10 them TO find doe
ulnents SO hatterng to their own national pride
marred by the introduction of petty squabbles the
matter and very existence of which are new TO
most British readers. They have no wish that
L. Co.