The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-06-27

m3ses
Within the Limits of che United States there
are to-day not lees than Eve hundred thousand
soldiers in the field ready for battle-three
hundred thousand from the loyal States of the
North, and two hundred thousand from the re-.
VOTED States OF ths South, arrayed against each
other, aud within striking distance at various
points from the banks of the Potomac west
ward TO the banks of the Mississippi river. In
this terrible attitude Of civil war the loyal
North and the rsbellicus South are now facing
each other, the South having thrown down the
gauntlet in behalf Of an Independent Southern
confederacy, and the North having taken Up
the challenge in behalf of "the integrity of the
Union"
To this extremity Of "a house divided against
itself' has our country been reduced by few
reckless and disorganizing slavery agitating
demagosues North and South. The removal
Of thousand, may Of less than hundred from
each section, of these disturbers of the public
peace year ago would in all probability have
been followed by restoration of sectional har
mory, and satisfactory compromise in the
last Congress. Called upon, however, to deal
with things a. they are, and not with things
as they might have been, the question recurs to
rs, with these formidable armies in the field,
can any way Of escape be pointed out from an
exhausting civil war? Let us briefly and dis
pasaionately consider this all important propo-
sition.
Tbs patriotic Union soldiers Of the North
have responded to the call of tho government
IN good faith. They are ready and anxious
tor battle. They have volunteered to fight for
tho Union and its glorious cause, and they are
becoming inpatient aud FESTIVE undsr delays,
restraints and precautions which they cannot
comprehend. And 80 with the fighting legioas
Of the South. Deluded by the teachings of
their political dsmagogues and military lead
ers, they have taken the field as against an in
vssion Of Goths and Vandsls, aud they are
eager for the work of q bloody reckoning.
Meantime, however, the military leaders on
both sides evidently 90 into this work with
great reluctance. For example, at the affair Of
Big Bethel, after brisk display of artillery
and small arms Of an hour or two, Gen. Pierce
withdraws the assailing forces as il only to pre-
vent the further effusion of blood, while Gen.
Magruder sbandons his position as if only to
avoid another bloody conflict And 80 at the
little affair at Vienna; after round or two
both sides retreat from the field. At Harper's
Ferry and theresbouts the game Of hide and
seek, which has been played for week or two
between our Union forces and those of the
rebels, would, on our side, appear to an unini-
tiatsd spectator as very liberal policy of &C.
commodation to retreaing enemy.
Hence we may infer that, while the masses
Of the troops on both sides have enlisted to
fight, and are anxious to fight, the political and
military chieftains of the rebel cause and the
Union cause wish to delay bloody settlement
as long as possible, as if they still entertained
some hope of saving compromise. But there
would be no peace if a compromise were agreed
| upon which would disband and disarm these
five hundred thousand soldiers without some
thing in the way Of war and glory to compen-
safe them for their sacrifices How, then, can
we escape from q wasting civil war? We
answer only--North and South--by turning our
guns against our foreign enemies To this end
we respectfully submit to the permanent 60
vernment Of the United States and to the Jack
o'-Lantern government of the Confederate
States" the following plan for an armistice, a
coalition and compromise.
First, let there be an armistice between our
loyal and revolted States for one, two or three
years, in reference to our domestic troubles.
Secondly, looking to the crafty designs of
grasping England, and to the suspicious move
ments of Spain in regard to Dominica and
Mexico, let our Northern and Southern armies
form coalition, say to the extent Of 100000
men, for the occupation and annexation of
Mexico, and for the liberation of Dominica.
This will bring us into collision with Spain,
and from the enormous debts which England
holds against both Spain and Mexico we may
expect also war with England. Assuming
that such would be the result of our occupation
of Mexico, the field would then be clear for
the immediate employment Of all our armies Of
FIVE hundred thousand msn In tho conquest Of
all the Spanish and British West India Islands,
and in the liberation Of all her Britannia Ma
jesty's North American provinces. The people
of the Canadas would rather assist lis than OPP
pose us in.tEgfand enterprise, and we could
soon bring forward competent 'xset 81 two OF
swift and terrible steamers for the purpose of
revolutionizing Cuba, Porto Rico, Jamaica and
the other jewels of the Gulf of Mexico falling
in our way.
Finally, with the annexation Of Mexico and
the West India Islands-Spanish and British-in
the South, and with the absorption of all the
vast dominions Of Queen Victoria in the North
we might disband our armies upon the basis of
new constitutional Union, or upon the COM
promise OF two Independent confederacies, each
much larger and more imperial in its terrific
rial area and in its various resources and pro-
ducts of wealth and prosperity than would be
the United States this day in their complete
integrity, political and territorial. This is our
liz