New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-10-12
sIR II, BULwER LYTTON.

II does not, we suppose, matter much more
what man may say at an Agricultural dinner
in England than it does in this country,
the chief requisite Of the oratOry on such oc-
casions being to say as little as possible that
anybody can remember or dispute, and as much
90 possible that may be for the moment anus
ing. Sir L. Bulwer Lytton does not seem to
possess that qualifications. What he says be
evidently says gracefully and well, but the OBJ
lection to it is, that it is the wrong thing said
in the wrong place. He will not talk Of
" Shakespeare and the Musical Glasses" in
that pleasant way that adds to the cheerful
influence OF the wine and puts his audience
into state Of good.hature with themselves
and with him; but only grave questions OF
State, wars and revolutions, the dsmember-
ment of empires and the growth Of nations, are
tie themes for his eloquence. We very much
doubt if Sir L. Lytton left pleasant i'm
presson with his stately, not to say strutting,
rhetoric even on his hearers at the Herts Ag-
ricultural Society's annual dinner; for many
we presume, did not understand him, and of
those who did know Of what he was talking
of which number Sir L. Lytton Bulwer was
not always one-many, we cannot doubt, had
the good sense not to agree with him. An
after dinner speech of such a character can
hardly be called success, even if the fact
thas it is criticised fortnight afterward and
in another country, may not be some evidence
of it. falurs-that is, as q speech at dinner.
British ignorance of America and American
affairs has ceased to surprise US, and we
have become quite recOnciled to that insular
snobbishness which is content to believe that
the people of this country are descended from
the Aborigine,, and is surprised, when il hap
pens TO fall in with one of them that the ma
tive is so white and speaks such passable En-
glish We are not, therefore, panied by the
fact when we observe that this distinguished
and scholarly Baronet and eI.Minister Of her
Maesty's Government ignores his degrees Of
latitude and Longitude when speaking Of the
United States, that unhappy country whose
dcted; nor does il pain US TO be assured that
he does not think it worth while to recognize
a difference between Nicaragua and Patagonia,
between TehuaDtepec and the Argentine Re-
public, when be does the Western Hemisphere
the honor Of giving to ii q moment Of
his distinguished consideration. But, while
we are slow TO believe that British
prejudice and British disparity, in the people at
large, are so srea! as the English press has
been, for some months past, striving to con-
vince us, We nevertheless accept tie fact OF
the existence Of degree Of indifference, if not
of unfriendlness, which this speech discloses,
and which, presented in a coarser way, through
the columns Of The London Times, and some
other English journals, has thrown the feeling
of the people Of this country backward over
chasm of half a century. He must be pos
se.,ed Of remarkable degree of csndor or OF
Anglicanism, il he be an American born, who
has not, within the last six months, gone back
to the sentiment of his father or bis grand
father toward England, from 1910 to 1915.
The personal sen,itiyeness of the American
people in regard to English opinion was long
our national sensitveness, only three months
since, was very great Indeed, without it
there would have been no resentment at the
public tone Of Great Britain, and disappoint-
ment would not have grown into indignation
had we not first looked for sympathy from a
people to whom, for generation, at least We
have been always ready to render it, But the
lesson the English tourist had taught us, and
still more that absurd ignorance which other
wise well.educated English people persisted,
and still persist, in cherishing are very fast
being improved upon, and We are becoming as
Indifferent to English opinion Of our national
strength and greatness, ~ We were before eoncen-
ing those fabulous personal peculiarities which
they insisted belonged TO us. There is no res-
son for regetting it, and the rather harsh
measures by which it has been brought about will
be laughed at and rejOiced over, not long hence,
as the way through which we found our perfect
emancipation. There are among us men and
journals, many men and many journals, who
will blush at this moment to remember how
only few months ago they used as an irwin
chile argument against the Morrill, tariff that
England did not like it, and advocated its re-
peal for that reason when it was finally passed.
A large majority OF this class are now quito
ready to say that the measure, whether good or
bad, was certainly none OF Englands business,
and we fear that there are some hot.headed
and rash enough to say chat it was good
enough reason for adopting any policy that it
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