Arkansas true Democrat., 1861-07-18


 Washington City.
 From the London Times England Unable to Follow the Changes
 of American Sentiment
 The Americans, accustomed to make their own interests and feelings the stan dard of international law; to repudiate what ever was inconsistent with their claims to universal dominion in the new world; sup port at one time the claims of authority, at another the indefeasible rights of existing majorities; to cite precendents or defy them, as 1t suited the case they favored-are now, in all innocene, and full belief in their own consistency, holding within six months two opposite theories of their own consti- tuition, and expecting Englishmen te change their views just as popular feeling in the States has changed.
 The doctrine which we are denounced for not instantly and eagerly acceding to- dates from the lSth of April 1861. On that day proclamation of President Lin coin was received in New York, calling out a large force of militia to combat the secessionists, who had just taken Fort Sumter. To northerners, who till then had been perfectly apthetic, whose leading or ators had treated disruption as an irrevers- ible event, and whose newspapers had courteousy advocated the seizure of Canada to make up for the loss of the cotton States, now found in the prospect of campaign sufficient reason for repudiating the consti- tutional theory which had hitherto pre- vailed
 That theory had been enunciated by MT. Buchanan, and assented to by the leading statesmen of the North, and by none more completely than by Mir. Seward, who, while he expressed hope that the seceders might be coaxed back, yet acknowledged that an appeal to arms was impossible; and who, even after he became Mr. Lincoln's sec retary of state, repubiated war policy on the ground that the subjugation of rucusant force was abhorreAeto American princi- les, and that the last argument of mon- archies was inapplicable to the solution of political difficulties in Q republic. The rev. olutionary right to secede was clearly acknowledged by the president of the Uni ted States, the authority from whom for eign nations are bound to take the law on constitutional questions relating to the un- ion.
 We may, therefore, go even so far as to say that if Great Britian had, on the strength of Mr. Buchanan's decision re- cognized the independence of South Caro- lima immediately on her secesson, the act would not have been ground of legitimate complaint For nearly four months this view of the case prevailed, and we in this country merely followed in the wake of American discussion when we speculated on the likelihood of the southernes t" com ing back" of the planters seeing their folly in quarelling with their customers, agents and bankers; of the attachment to the name of American proving too strong for sec tional interests and electioneering pique; and of the lovers quarrel proving renew al of love. The whole grievance of the northerners against us is, that we think as they thought six weeks before.
 The " electric shock" which they de- scribe themselves as having felt when Sum- ter fell, was unfortunately, as in the case of 'sae illfated telegraph, too weak to be pro- pagated through the mass of the Atlantic We have not been startled by the fate of the federal troops who might have been killed in that celebrated fortress. Hence the government and paople of the country have retained, for the most part, the opin- ions which the Amercans themselves held and taught us up to the 18th of April, the day before the New York firemen changed themselves to Zuaves, and the Herald was forced to recnsider its principles by the appearance of mob before it's office If before that date any English member of parliament, or any English newspaper, had ventured to suggest that the new president should organize large standing army, blockade 5000 miles of coast, and invade a hourshing region at the head of 15O, 900 men, what an outburst of indignation would have met the Machiavellian counsel.
 How we should have been reminded that republic rests on the consent of the governed; not, like the old British empire, on tyranny and taxes; that the southern States were not Hindoostan, to be recon quered in twelvmonth; that the people of New York and other seats of commerce were not likely to make themselves cats paws to carry out England's abolitionist schemes, by invading the planting States and encouraging lazy niggers to rebel against their masters In short, 1t would have been triumphantly demonstrated that our sympathy for the federal authority was only affected with the diabolical purpose of em- broling the two sections of the American people. Yet, because from sudden ac- cess of patriotic feeling the northern pop ulaton are organizing g descent on the South, we are expected to forget all the de- cency and prudence of international inter- course, and join in bounding on the inva. ders! That thepeople of the North should be unable to control their anger at finding that an independent foreign power does not commit itself to demonstrations of hos tility against ten millions of civilized men with whom it has no quarrel, and whose rights to independence, though now denied, were admitted by the North itself few weeks ago, shows to what point of irrita- bility the Americans had been brought by years of prosperity and success.
 The country has chosen its course, and is not likely to depart from it. That the Americans should expect us to be swayed 1 fooI @fo AL