New-York daily tribune., 1861-12-28
TIVE WAR FOR THE UNION.
THE sRCEssgGy QUESTION I'm
EGNNCE.
yrou Our Own co,resp'rdsnt-
D,n,s pec o. 1861.

tae STATE OF frcnCh phDnc Vf'"i'" % C -
.Auelo-A mericau conflict. IL is wouh our n@edine
say, pa sionately, "ve don't care ior flehvn
/" opinion" cry ont TO the world, iet ns alone
But in lober Judgment we do care In ire &oiuai
stage Of tte worlds progess, 10 mep'ber oil 'he
rrand family of civilized nations, can quite les alone
or h. let alone. That grew sohds'iIy OF nations
which al intelligent liberals aith rs, AZ well AZ III
Europe, reioeed in yer ago viii not ttep growing
o. suit any body. II We think tibet are 20 be lei'
sstirely alone we reckon withV,,t onr tost-a word
derived from kostes, meaning primarily, stranger,
and. by traueier, eAemy. tLrt me hsrg up in ese
Brackets TIE iarortaUt roife, that French opleion
np 10 this morning is in receipt Of American news,
10 full up to November 22, and telepammalcilly up
10 Novem6sf &eEecess arily ignorant OF the oIie!ai
view taken OF Capt wakes liScoLouct.
Iwrote four days rgo that French public opinion
was singularly unal.imcus in condemnation OF tie aet
o. CAPT Wilkes. L. is sliil TLis only sigpiies
that French opinion Is to the Right of search
remains what AQercap opinion rs 20 the Night OF
Sssrch Away Las been-si leas: slws,s had teen,
NJ 10 November last Bu, 10 conclude from TIE gtu-
eral exrression If such opinion on occason of tie
sflr Of he Trent, TINT French opinion was iu uri~
Bon Will tire policy OF the Engish Cabinet Ia the
osre, is a seg~itar alresOy grown patent 90
those few English who al iIs fell into it. Briefly
Erench opinion is with England agairst Wilkes his
.ct with US sgsast tns principle of s act; not with
England nor with us, but iorisef aganst the Right
of Sesrcb; against England IN 80 iar tlat Power,
carefully avoiding the essential question of the merits
Of tbe case, would ground tie cause OF war on the
very narrow base of error-techniea! error Of
procedure.
c. ,I. T.. nd afg il
cerred nothing would be easier than for us, by CIV
ine % accidental Sicell Mason, bring Lot only
France, but all secondary 1Iiiiine Powers sn our
side against England-if pain common sense and
high principle ruled cur "a bnet councils, and tAe
Transatlantic telegnphic cable e2isted.
Merely ss sgainst Engl4nd, Our cese, tried in the
Words court, is good. Our srgumen; qsoad hHne
h good; bat it s only sn aTSUmeet"m al hom'a'm M
HAT is, no argumentgm I'D ycm. BY sacrificing our
vanity toI Will not esy TO interest, but 10 our
real PRIDE, our real nonor--ye acquire French and
force English vesdics in favor Nothing ea,ier
than for TO make common cause with France Ill
tlis case.
Although it is not for me to enoFoach on the domain
Of yonr London conesp pondent, cannot Leip direct
ine attention the abundanly st'es,ed hc thai we
still have numerous ana ssroDg friends N England.
Sse in proof, Cotden's Letter, Brigbts speech, aid
tie columns Of The Daay hers and Daily Star,
Lcndon newspapers. Per contra, we hsNe uIdonbt-
edly what we have always nad in Eoaland the tbeo-
reica doc,rnares ready rejoice occasion of the
downfall of democratic ins itutious and the shresd
sso,t-sigbte3 politicians mindful that the United
States were fast becoming balancing power sgsinat
England In the scale of the worlds Gestines, AID Ire
AoDgerng and thr,tiug cotton interest of fabrication
and commerce. Sill, iu England there exists u
broad-view party, morsl-tense party, the old
Abolitionist party The choice Is with us 70 need
lessly provoke our enemies, TO neediessly aEena.e
ear friends in England.
The possible, moi improbable, woe is that tie En-
elish Cabinet has willingly seized upon tbs emi-
Lently popular pretext OF ilsolt the British Gag
70 provoke a war; or, # lot that, 10 declare the
recognition of The c. S. A. No one will deny dat
national irritation has heen steadily growing for the
last ak months etweeu Great Britain and Uui cd
6ssfes--I mean, between the people of those tw o
countries 1t would be work OF supsrerogation for
your reporter to point oat the provocations, the
esuses and occasions o. this growth On American
soii, furnished by England That they have been az
inexcusably bsleiulIy fertile, il doubttesy as clear
as seieyident pro oston 10 the Of your read
ess- Equally self.evident, perhaps, lave been tie
truthfulDess wisdom, and polite shrewdDess in the
letter and spirit OF tie more OF less AnelCphobc
letters, speeches, and editorials Of Amci icau ugh
officials and snony noue newspaper writers. These
kst have been regarded with more less reason in
Eogland the characteristic expression Of American
feeling and purpose toward that country. Our
sivil war once ended, immense army and eD
increased navy will be strong enough TO cope with,
90 provoke the eumity Of, Great Britain, war with
her, looking 10 Canadian annexation but more di.
Eecy aiming al the qualification Of national vanity
thsi has 20 mneh suffered fom British dechraons OF
neatralily, and London Times articles, and (which
sras more importantly furnishing TO new y-resored
citizens late rebels, q common enemy TO fight with
4 o., common bond Of glory TO be gained-lhis or
something very like bs has been suspected to be the
sx pefO policy Of the most distinguished statesman OF
The Washington Cabinet, "a policy most apt 70 tie
national tastes of the American people-that snch
English suspicion CT radical American hostility has
any more legitimate origin in sound reason, tLan the
somewhat similar Suspicion prevalent in America
OF cfApgcan hostility 10 u.s. Ill not presume TO pro-
noanoe. That il exists is badly doubtful I don't
gay it is legitimste it is natural.
If now, out OF this SaIi-J JscinoTrclt affair there
should grow al Apglo-Ameriean war what position
shall France take! THIS is IA question warmly de.
bxted here at the present time. As in the case OF
every debated question, there advocates both
sdes. Here again, at the risk of wearisome repe.
eEion, sufer NE 10 remind your readers that French
opinion to-day is what Freucb and American opinion
were two months ago IN respect of the hight Of