The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-11-10


hope for much enterprise in a channel remote
from our actual necessities. Nevertheless. il ia
desirable that we make as good an appearance
abroad as possible, and we hope that efforts
| will not be spared in this direction.
The Political and Colpmerciai Aspect or
the Cation Question Ina Engiani.
The Manchester party i'll England are busfy
undermining The Palmerston administration on
the subject Of tho cotton supply and the re-
coguition Of The Southern confederacy They
complain Of the inaction Of the government in
American affairs, and remind it that five mil
| lions Of people, or one-siyth of the entire popu-
laton of the British isles, are more or less de-
pendent upon The cotion manufacture. The
manufacturers are indignant that the govern
ment does not take active measures for insuring
a supply Of the staple, and point to
closed mills and disbanded operatives as
] prenonitory symptoms Of the disasters which
viii inevitably follow the non-exportation Of
this years American crop. In this they over
| look tie fact that the absence of the customary
supply has not yet had time to be severely felt
in England, and that the closing of mills, the
reduction OF working hours and the discharge
of a number of operatives are more the result of
| a reduced demand for the manufactured article,
| a direct result Of this war, than present or
prospective want Of the raw material. But
this feeling in Lancashire is turned into
good political capital by the tories who
through their newspaper organs and by
word of mouth, are provoking cla-
NOR against the government for not
doing something to get cotton. But they are
secretly as we'll aware as Lord Palmerston him
self that the administration is unable to help
itself Nevertheless, defeat may be brought
about by the mere force of agitation. And
that is all the tories desire. They would
in that event find themselves in just the
same position rs the present administration,
and acting with the same guarded neutrality.
and the American cotton crop would be no
more likely to reach Manchester before
the termination Of our struggle than
il the liberals had remained in power
This would not be because of any good
feeling for the cause of the republic,
but from the sheer impossibility of adopting
any other course which the people Of England
would allow; for cotton is no king there.
But before this war is over it will have pro-
duced such succession of shocks in Europe as
have not been experienced since the old French
| Revolution. AT present foreign statesmen and
| journalists appear for the most part to labor
under the impression that the North and South
are hopelessly sundered-that, to use their own
words, the Union is as dead as the Heptarchy.
But so it was said of the French republic; yet
it emerged with new strength and vigor from
an ordeal as mighty as that through which the
United States is now passing. 1t is in suppos-
| ing the Union permanently dissolved that
| foreign journalists show the erroneous ideas
upon which their views of American
affairs are based. This, however, will
be corrected with the development Of
events Meanwhile, we can appreciate
the motives which underlie the political agita-
ton of the cotton question in England; and
even if tie result the tories have in view
| is ACCOMPLISHING wit, the downfall of Pal
merston--we shall rest perfectly confident that
the policy Of England towards America will re-
main uninfuenced by the change of ministry.
1t is only natural that Manchester should
heartily wish this war at an end; for not only is
it likely to withdraw from her the raw material,
but it closes the whole Southern market to her
manufactures. Nevertheless, she must re
member that clamor is useless, and that only
the success Of the federal arms can restore her
| American trade to its normal condition. What
ever moral aid she may volunteer to the South
ern cause Is, therefore, SO much damage to her
| own interests.
TEIEGRAPnIc PRocRrss.-A telegraphic soiree
was held recently at the Free Trade Hall,
Manchester, under the auspices Of the British
Association, when the apparatus Of different in
ventors, from Cooke and Wheatstone to the pre-
sent time, were exhibited, and some interesting
telegraphc communications with various parts
of Europe took place, which, as indicating the
progress Of the telegrapbic system, disclosed
some very important results. The collection
of instruments, from the large, unwieldy five
needle" Of the early days Of telegraphing to
the "double needle" and "Morse's" of the pre-
sent day, excited considerable curiosity; but
the working Of the latter was o practical de-
monstration Of the rapid advances which have
been made during the last few years in tele-
graphic science, and clearly proved that, with
proper mechanism and carefully insulated sub
marine wires, it is as easy to telegraph long as
short distances, and under water as well as over
land. Thus for instance, at eight p. NJ. on the
occasion referred to, messages were exchanged
with the Hague, at ten minutes after eight p.
M. with Hamburg, and at twenty minutes after
eight P. NJ. with Berlin. AT ffty-one minutes
after eight message regarding the weather was
sent to St. Petersburg, and in one minute after
wards the answer was returned. A second mes
sage was transmitted to the same place at fifty
five minutes after eight, and the reply was re-
ceived at fifty-seven minutes after eight SINH
lar communications took place with equal ra-
pidity between Manchester and Moscow, Odes-
sa, via st. Petersburg, and Nicolaev-Odessa
being distant about 1900 miles, and Nicolaev,
port on the northwest coast of the Black Sea,
nearly $500 miles. But for the occur
! renee of n violent storm in some locality