The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1861-07-24
From the Charleston Mercury.,
When is the War to End 3-And How
to End 1t.

In the very excellent speech of Mr. Ste
phens, which We published in our Saturday +
issue, Mr.. Stephens uses the following lun
gunge:
But upon this subject Of the war, will
detain you few minutes, because it j. a
common inquiry rilh ME, how. hong think
the war will last-whether or not it will b.
II short one Well, my countrymrn. will
tell you this, tnat it is known only TO the
Ruler Of events. 1t is curtaincd from NOR.
tai knowledge and mortal vision. know
not | would not know if could 1t IS the
INV sterious future but there is one thing |
can tell you with conhdcnce, and that is, i,
is going TO last untH The enemy is whipped
and driven from our soil. Tremendous up
pause And it will require men and mon
ey TO do il, and the best way to make il o
,hon war is 10 send men into the .feld and
to raise means enough to support them in
the field TO drire The enemy out. That is the
best Day."
Now we do not deny that Mr.. Stephens
way Of ending the war is good way, and
ought to be used. 1t is the old fashioned
way by which wars are usually terminated
aud which ended the war OF '76, after seven
years fighting, by the capture of Lord Corn.
wallis II. Yorktown. With II large force of
superior volunteers, promptly IN The field.
and Il dash'ng campaign, early commenced,
the South might have shown the North the
trouble, and danger, and loss of the war
hey have undertaken. They might have
been brought to their seuses and 10 terms
Of peace. But, with the sort Of defensive
campaign, with II small force to contend
agalns. odds what is the prospect! Wnvn
We ,oiA be able to whip anc drive out tie
enemy from our soil is, as Mr. Stephens
says, shrouded ''in the mysterious future 1"
As yet, we have made no great progress in
this way Of ending the war. H. depends al
most antirely upon the Executive Wheth.
er we should have one hundred thousand
men, from the other Confederate Siales, IN
Virginia, or only lhose-we now have, has
been an affair Tor his iii secretion. His ener.
gy mak-s the war long or short
But, fortunately for the Confederate
States, they have an instrunIentalIly no 9th
er people possess. or, We believe, ever have
possessed, TO end speedily the war between
them and the United States. Cotton ard
tobacco urc not simple articles of trade aud
commrrce. They can be made great poiti
cal engines, influencing aud controlling the
welfare and policy of all the great nations
Of the earth Place the alternative pluinly
before Great Britain and France of doing
without our cotton and tobacco for only the
next six months, or making treaties with
us, putting US on the footing Of the most fa
rOred nations. and they will make the treat.
les. We suppose, OF course, that during
this time our miitur, status /. not nater-
ally changed. Ii the idea held out by In.
Ambassadors of thu United States al Lon
don ami Paris, that the United States will
conquer the Confederate States by the win
ter, and thus furnish Great Britain aud
France with our cotton and tobacco, Is like
ly to be realized--uf course these naIion,
will not make treaties with the Confederate
States. They are waiting now 10 See to
which power--the Confederate or the Uni
ted Stnles-thcy must be indebted for their
necessary supply of cotton aud tobacco
Let it be made plain, by the military status
OF the Confederate States, that they can
and will control their cotton and tobacco
crop, and there will not be much doubt a,
To the course these nations will pursue. II
Is their policy To accept OF war with the
United States, rather than be deprived Of il.
II the United States chooses war with them
on account of their recognizing our inde.
penOence, and assuming commercial reIa
lions with u-, that will speedily end the
war with us. \ var with France, Great
Britain and the Confederate States, against
the United States, cannot be- long. On the
contrary, IL they continue the wur aith ths
Confederate States alone. after ,nter. .ns Iinn.
nj commercial relations exist between
France, Great Britain and the. Confederate
States, the war must be equally short in its
duration. The blockade Of our ports must
be broken up. 10 obtain our cotton and
tobacco, and 10 send us lhei, manufactured
commodities in return. these nations must
have free access to our ports. lf we re
ceite their manufactured commodities in
our porls, we will have the revenue resui-
ting from the duties laid upon them. Nor
will these commodities or the revenue re
suting from them, be limited by our con-
sumption There IL such n thing as SNUG
Cling even in war, especially when our
whole cuast will be free Of blockading fleets
and cruisers. And We will have their CON
Incrcs on the high seas exposed to our pri
vateers, fitted up in all parts Of the world
France, Great Britain and Spain have
thought proper TO inierpolate N new feature
in the laws Of nations, by winch our prva.
teers are excluded from entering their ports
and there selling their prizes. We will
take care, in the treaty which they shall pro
pose, that this Interpolation against US is
wiped out We will then, with our ports
open, with n free commercial intercourse
between France, Great Britain, Spain and
our. elves, and u bOundless field for priva.
teering. se in II position speedy to termi
nate the war And shonld it continue, il
will be shorn Of its chief dangers and suffer
ings, whilst u will throw upon the Uui,ed
States such an accumulation Of weak ness
and embarrassment as must speedily pre-.
sent 10 them the alternative of peace or
ruin.
Cotton and tobacco, IL rightly used. 10
stronger than armies--moro potent than
viclorles---to obtsin independents and peace
Ii we allow foreign naiions to obinin our
cotton aud tobacco, the war may last for
many years. u We withhold these produc
iions from their consumption, IL will not
lust one. Wheiher the war will bc long or
short Is not u matter of gsneralship, but Of
statesnanship. The approaching Congfe,s
Of the Confederate States will settle our
fate on this great matter, so vitality affecting