New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-03-03
THE ENLISTMENT CONTROVERSY.
literal Correspondence Of The N. Y. Tribune.


WASHINGTON, Saturday, March ], 1856.
Now that everybody else have enjoyed Opportu-
mites to free their minds on the subject of the
Champion Marcy Clarendon Buchanan correspond
ence respecting British recruiting in America,
beg leave to offer suggestion OF two
OF course, it is very plain that our Government
is right and the British utterly wrong on the main
question. The latter did-after reading ours
solemn lecture, which now reads very fun
nily, on the obligations and proper be-
hayor OF Observation-Disclosures to recruit
its armies from this country, and did employ its
Diplomatic and Consular functionares in promOt-
ing that dirty business. In SO doing, it did violate
the Law of Nations as well as the Neutrality Laws
of this country; in fact, the object contemplated
necessarily involved such violation. If the British
agents had been as clever as they proved clumsy,
they could not have drawn recruits from our cities
without violating the spirit, if not the letter. of
our laws ard the obligations of international comfy
as well. All this is beyond dispute. And as to
the apology or atOnement proffered for this grave
Offense, it seems to me to amount substantially
to this: ave meant to have done the job so nicely
complaint against us-we told our agents to
evade your laws and not be caught breaking
them-if they failed in this and were detected,
we are sorry, and mean to do better next time"
Such seems to me to be the gist Of Lord Caren-
dons reparatiOn.
Now it is very true that to admit the ofense,
even Alphabetically, is some atonement for the
wrong especially if this be accompanied or pre-
ceded by complete cessation of the wrong doing.
/ hold Gov Seward, therefore, to be perfectly
justified, in assuming, as he did yesterday, that
Great Britain had offered some satisfaction for her
ofense, and not as The Union falsely quotes him
to-day, "a sufficient apology" He expressly, and
very empbatically, declined TO pronounce that
apology sufficient, as he declined to say that our
Government ought TO accept tine proiered arbitra-
ton respecting the Central American dispute. He
left the decision in either case to the Executive.
But what / wished to suggest was the good
policy of declining to push our advantage to the
utmost Great Britain has tried to raise recruits
in this country and has made miserable fist of it.
The whole business was most bungliDgy managed,
and the result was deplOrable failure She got
very few men, at a cost Of not less than $1,000
per head and the whole scheme proved an utter
and disastrous break down. 1t was given up as
very bad job several months ago, and there is not
shadow of probability that it will ever be
renewed. Does it become great nation,
then, to wreak its spite on few OF the
agents, when we do certainly know that they
were only doing the work imposed on them by their
Government Suppose we send off Mr.. Champion
and two or three consuls, what good will result
from it OF course, their Government will not
let them suffer for their indscreet zeal in its ser
vice; it is the Government, not the individuals,
that we subject to indgnity-merited, if you
please, but net the less real. What do we gain
by sending off these agents and accepting in their
stead men who, we do morally know, would have
done just as they did had they filed their
places last year! 1t does seem to me that this
whole dismissal business-nOw that the AFFAIR Is
over and can't be mended, is procedure far wor-
thier some proud, poor nation in it's decline, like
Spain, than the United States. Such is my impress
siOn-others will form their own judgments.
only ask that they first read the documents.