The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-02-02

the pressure when the day of settlement shall
come.
Our democratic President makers may agree
to disagree upon this subject; but the party in
power cannot escape their responsibilities to the
country in reference to short supplies, heavy ex-
penses, and heavy public debt. There is mis-
chief too, in this caucus movement of the Senate;
and though it may be levelled at the President,
it will react, if followed up, against the party.
The President is secure in his position, but the
party is among the shoals and quicksands of the
most treacherous navigation; and it may be that
the disorganizaton Of the party, commenced
upon the Kansas issue, will be completed upon
the tariff. A few weeks will settle the question.
Fear OF War with France and England
The True Measure OF National Power.
The cavaliers at the bill for placing thirty
millions of dollars at the disposition of the Pre-
sident, to be used in part payment for the island
of Cuba in case of successful negotiation with
Spain, advance as one of the weighty arguments
against its passage the assertion that such step
would eventually involve us in war with France
and England.
How this great result is to follow from the
simple announcement of desire on our part to
acquire Cuba, and to acquire it peaceably, is not
stated, and we cannot conceive. AS this bug
bear of a war with those nations is continually
held up by the opponents of any step that really
is living part of an American policy, it may
be worth while to look into the subject, and see
what war between the United States and Eng.
land and France, or between the former and
either of the last two Powers, would, in fact,
amount to. They comprise three out of the
four living nations of the world; and con-
lict between them, or between the United
States and either of them, would be some
thing very different from any of the past
European wars or those that have &C.
CURED between us and any European
Power. The three nations may be said to be
very nearly balanced in physical strength-their
populations not differing greatly in numbers
and that of each of them far exceeds anything
in the shape Of national Powers that have ever
entered into conflict, excepting only the late
war in the Crimea. They are, too, in this re-
spect, more evenly balanced than any other
nations in the world and each can freely COM
mand the multitudinous mechanical appliances
and improved weapons and instruments that
have been introduced in warfare, and which have
60 enormously increased the cost of its prose-
cution.
These considerations alone are sufficient to
compel each of these nations to adopt careful
hesitancy about going to war with each other,
even upon motives Of direst aggression; and
much more do they operate when the subject
in dispute is not only a question in which
they are not directly interested, but one in which
their indirect interests may lie in its success
OF this character is the question of the acquisi
ton of Cuba by the United States. Neither the
interests Of England nor of France are directly
aggrieved in the transfer, while such q step
would conduce indirectly to their advantage, by
bringing the prolific industry and trade of Cuba
within the scheme Of our material and social de-
velopement, and putting stop to the last REM
nant of the inhuman African slave trade. This is
the question of war, viewing the three nations as
equal Powers
But 1t has another aspect--0ne which every
statesman, whoever he may be, is bound to con-
slider before he plunges his country in a war.
The three nations referred to comprise the three
greatest members Of the republic of trade Their
interests are bound together with mighty bonds
of mutual exchange, which can be appreciated in
the aggregate by the political economist; but 80
deeply do their varied ramifcations penetrate
every source Of industry, the human mind can
not grasp nor estimate the intensity of evil that
would be produced by their rupture. 1t is no
exaggeration to say that such an event would
paralyse the labors of industry and the exchanges
of trade all over the world. Here, then, begins
the effect which the political economist can
grasp and estimate. Industry and trade are the
fountains Of revenue, and revenue constitutes the
sinews Of war and national power. In order
then, to correctly estimate the relative physical
power of the three nations in war between
them, we must look at their respective condi-
tions when the exchange Of products between
them is paralyzed. A detailed examination
which it is unnecessary to go into here, would
show that very large proportion of the indus
try Of France and England depends upon the
cotton they procure from the United States and
that another large portion oft depends upon the
fabrics into which this raw Materials wrought
To deprive them Of cotton for one year would
throw the industry and trade of both of those
countries into inextricabe confusion, and at once
deprive their governments Of the greater part OF
their revenue by drying up its soarccs.
So evident is this TO merchants and statesmen,
that It has been proposed, instead of Offering
Spain one hundred and thirty millions for Cuba,
that our government take the same amount, and
advance it on the cotton csop Of one year, which
shall be kept back until England and France OBJ
ligate Spain to cede Cuba to us. Our own posi-
ton would no doubt be injured by war that
would prevent the conveyance of cotton to
France and ENGLAND but not To q dorree any