Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1861-06-16
Interest of the North. w estern esslses
An the American war. 1850

L i
| From the London Herald
The controlling element 10 the impsndins
contest between the free and slave 6tates ci
the American republic has not vet shown itssjf
The North. Western States have an Infinitely
greater interest In the maintenance Of the
Union than any other section Of the Republic.
The Eastern States might consent to the Indepen.
dence Of the South, knowing that In any case The
planters would have to come TO them for manu-
factures; but the very existence OF the West.
ern States Ia involved In this question Of unity
or separation, which TO the South and East, ID
more political than aught else. Indiana, Ohio,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa aud Mime.
sofa. are destined to be the granaries Of the
world and it Is necessary TO them that their
right OF way to the ocean shall not depend on
mere suferance They look upon the Missis.
sppi, with lie mighty continents, the Ohio and
Missouri. as their own property, and they viii
wage war OF extermination against the South
rather than not possess absolute control over
"The Father Of Waters" from Minnesota 10
the Gulf. The seceders know full well that
their true antagonists are the men of the West.
and the Government OF Montgomery has sought
to propiiate them by offering them the ffee
navigation of the river. The West replies 70 this
offer by erming its entire male population, and
forcing from President Lincoln the promise that
peace shall not be made until every fort, custom
house and arsenal is won back TO the Federal
Government. Henry Clay declared years slnos
the Western States would wa1c-=aTough oceans
Of blood sooner than any part Of the MiasIssippi'
river should be In tbe hands Of q foreign Dol yer,
and Mr.. Douglas, "the giant Of the Western
Democracy" asserts that the "Northwest can
consent to no obstruction Of her free egress to
the sea by the Gulf of Mexico, neither can she
admit of any obstruction to her oommunication
with the seas through the avenues leading 10
the cities of New York and Baltimore" /" This
Is the national sentiment, the al-oontrolipg
idea Of the States Of the West, and they are
preparing to dictate their policy to the entire
country, no matter what 1t may cost them, and
however long the war may last. They say, IL
the South be independent, the navigation Of the
Mississippi can only be guaranteed BY treaty,
that history proves treaties are made 10 bo bro
ken, and the Southern States. have never ret
kept faith with the North in q single compro-
mise. Directly atreaty Is broken, the fret act
of the South would naturally be to close thenevA
igation of the Mississippi; and they ask whether
safety be possible while their right of way to
the ocean has no surer warranty than mere diplo.
matIc acts. The West lives by her commerce
with Great Britain and the continent Of Europe;
she grows grain for expectation, and expects 70
ern world. Is the South, she asks, TO be in a
position to levy in trGnsitu duties on her exports
or imports; and will the new Confederation re-
frain from replenishing It's treasury BY the pass-
ing commerce Of foreign State, when it has
already levied an export duty on Its own cotton.
We repeat, the States Of the West have inc0m-
parably greater interests at stake In the contest
than the merchants of New York, the msnur
facturers Of New England, or the iron.mas.ers
of Pennsylvania; and although these latter have
allied themselves with them Ia the common
object Of. preserving the Union, YET the West
will bear the brunt Of The battle, and finally
dictate peace.
Whatever may be the feeling In the extreme
South, the border States are very much
divided in their views on the question OF seces-
sion ,'and we have only to look to Virginia and
| Maryland for proof Of this assertion. Each
State will probably be- dealt with IN de-
tail, and coerced, II such We may call
1t, in the same manner as Maryland. The
same process which succeeded in the latter
case is now being tried on Virgins; but here the
Federal Government receives powerful assist
ance from the counties lying west Of the AL.
egbenies and the population on the borders Of
Pennsy ylvania. Mr.. Linooln's task is rendered
much lighter by the strong conservative feeling
and love of the Union which prevail throughout
the Old Dominion, as in North Carolina and
Tennessee; and there Is reason to believe that
when the Federal armies occupy all strategic
points the sober. minded portion Of the commit
nifty will quickly get the upper hand Of the rev.
olu,ionists. A month ago the Southern Gag
waived In triumph at Baltimore, mob Law reign,
ed supreme, and nobody dared announce him
self favorable to the Union; but In the short
space Of two weeks the city has been brought
back to it's fealty, and that too. without the loss
Of a single life We confess we can see No rea-
son why the policy which has succeeded 10
Maryland, should fail In any other ssa.eI out
convinced the Northwest will never listen to
overtures Of peace while the mouths Of the Mis-
sissippi are under the control Of q foreign
p0Wer. ~ ~