The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-06-08
England and Our Southern Rebellion
An Honost Neutrality or War and Its
consciousness.

England and Our Southern Rebellion
An Honest Neutrality or War and Its
Consequences.
The offensive attitude of England towards
the United States in this domestic matter of our
Southern rebellion challenges the immediate
attention of our government. When English
statesmen 6ippantly assume that the "model
republic" is irreparably ruptured, and that our
80 called Confederate States" can never be
restored to the Union against which they have
revolted, we may rest content in charging such
fallacious opinionsto English ignorance of Ame-
rican affairs. But when the heads of the British
Cabinet officially exalt the piratical privateers
of Jefferson Davis to the status of respectable
belligerents and magnify cabal of bankrupt
conspirators into de tacto independent Power,
England is placed in position so offensive
and menacing to our government that she must
be called to abandon it, or to meet the conse-
quences Of a cause of war.
This Is the issue with "perfdious Albion"
which President Lincoln, from all the indi-
cations of the day, will be compelled to recog-
mise in his message to Congress at the extraor-
binary meeting of the two houses on the coming
Fourth of July. In the calm and well considered
instructions of our present Secretary of State
to Mr.. Day ton, our new Minister to France, the
great Powers of Europe are candidly ad-
monished of the purpose and the power OF
our government to maintain the integrity of
this Union at all hazards. We are gratiied,
too, in the belief that the sagacious govern
ment of Louis Napoleon has been favorably
impressed with this declared policy of our new
administration. That it will also produce
favorable impression upon the honest public
opinion of England we are abundantly as
sured. "King Cotton" however, and jea.
lous British feudal aristocracy and commercial
avarice, stand between lis and tae British
Cabinet. Upon Congress, therefore, we appre-
bend, will devolve the grave necessity of an
exposition of our rights, powers and purposes
touching the Southern rebellion, which will
leave to England the simple alternative of an
honest neutrality or a rupture with the United
States.
The Queens proclamation of non interven-
ton rests upon the fundamental error that Mr.
Lincoln's blockade of the ports of our revolted
States is subject to the same law that would
govern the blockade of the ports of hostile
foreign Power. On the contrary, this blockade
is domestic affair, the closing of number
of our own ports for domestic reasons; and
the simple declaration of these facts should,
in itself, be sufficient to secure the re-
spectful observance of all friendly Powers
Any Power disregarding them becomes no bet
ter than smuggler; for smuggling is only the
evasion of the revenue laws of any country.
1t will become, therefore, the duty of Congress
to admonish England that she must abandon
my Lord John Russel's claim to this privilege
of smuggling, or suffer the consequences of
persisting in it. An act upon this question,
granting to the President the authority to issue
declaration of war, if necessary to vindicate
the rights and honor of the country. will at
east effect definite understanding.
But England, selling this occasion of our
domestic endorsements, may accept the issue
of war; and what are we then to do? We must
make it war of life and death. We must
carry it into the enemy's camp; and we can do
it. With declaration of war against her,
and in the absence of any recognition
on her part of our readiness to accept
the law of the Congress of Paris deuouncing
privateering as piracy, we should be at
liberty to turn loose such a swarm of
privateers upon British commerce as would
render it unsafe all over the world.
We should be able very soon to suspend not
only the expectation of our Southern cot
ton, but all our exports to England, in value
amounting to three hundred and fifty millions
of dollars per annum-a suspension which
would, of course, cut off those three hundred
and fifty millions of British imports which we
get in exchange; and then-what then? The
starving millions of the British islands would
rise in revolt and the gigantic fabric Of that
proud nation, its landed aristocracy, its com.
merce, its manufactures, would be overwhelmed
in another Reign of Terror.
Meantime, as the United States possess
within themselves all the internal resources of a
great self sustaining Power, for peace or war,
we could dispense with our English commercial
exchanges, or we could transfer them to
France and the other friendly Powers of the
Continent. In this view, the stupidity of
the present British Ministry in reference
to our spurious and ephemeral Southern con-
federacy passes our comprehension. Con-
sidering her liberal institutions, England
to-day has no reliable friend against her
despotic enemies except this country, which, in
her blindness, che is seeking to destroy. Every
instinct of self interest, self protection and self
preservation ought to teach her the paramount
advantages and necessities of a close and un-
shaken friendship with the United States, in
good and in evil report, in peace and in war,
at home or abroad. In her mistaken good
will offerings to cur Southern rebellion she is
treading upon dangerous ground.
England, in collision with our government,
NAV nrnlonQ this domestic atrnpcle and ,uidon