Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1861-05-25
the natural duty of protecting the ships and trade of
Great Britain"
THE COLLAPSE OF THE AMERICAN UNION.

CObb ifSE Or IiE AhEkllAN UNION.
From the L0ndpt Times, WdV 6
So short lived has been the destnies Of the American
Urion that men who saw its rise may see fall Lord
Lyndhurst who is happily spared was born in Boston
British subject, for Massachusetts then of the
United Provinces Indeed are still personing the
oyalists of 775 when the corqueFors in that
destroying the woIk Of their hands Bu: the col
lapse and ruin of this political edfce il in itself th
of significance when compared with the proceedings by
which the thing has b, brOu yht abou'. Civil war or,
IN other words of the most fighul and barbarors
| kind has been accepted ard undertaken By people
among tue most enlightened and best educated in the
world.
To get to the davs OF civil war" in Europe we mu Il
90 back to the dl ages Of history No parallel the
American war can be found in mere dynastic struggles
or local instructions. This is a deliberate division of a
great people into two hostile camps such has not been
in Wostern Europe srce the highest questions Of
rtleicn and p)y fist presented to the bal in
formed minds of those ages. Nor the proceedings
of the Americans indeed sustain comparison with
he arcien; contests When Rreuchmen fought French
at Jirnac and Moncontour, il for lofty prnc
pies c! religious faith. When ngihmtn fought Eng'st
men hatston Moor and Naseby, il for high prin
,ples tf political right. In those days, too, was
not thought so ha'eful as now. Little, hoSever, OF
such excupaion can be pleaded for the Americans.
They living in al! the illumination of reason, aud the
foil bIaze Of day. They have no high principles 10
hit for The North may be justified in its dnuncil
ton of Slavery tut it not fighting for the purpose Ct
stifed in projecting s indt tpauderce hut that nde
peudsnce not assod Stripped Of iis pretexts and
trsppings the contest siards mere quarrel Tor
territory, struggle for ayrandz ment. The people
Of the South desire to settle regions and organize
tariffs without reference the of the North, while
the people OF the North retain the Southfrn Pro-
Vinces under the Federal Government contriouorcs
TO the strength and grandeur Of the Union. We might
something, perhaPs for either side though most Tor
the North, but nothing that We could say would he
- = lIul
Battles between such combafants and in such cause,
sill be the most unnatural and incredible of conf cts
Free enlightened, seleduclting and seli-govein nng
Americans will be staying each other like the very lndi-
whom they supplantcd on the soil kc the very
sdvages whose bones lie buried under birrows the mon
umenis ol civil war in days when nothing better was
known.
IL il mournul ding TO ref ct upon-too mourrfll,
indeed to allow ofsny malicious moralizng. We can
afford to discourse the shipwreck CT Democracy,
for than Democracy is involve in the ruin. Eyerv
apIi ance aud advantage which could render comnuI
wire every institution which reputed 70 render med
prudent. has been found utterly insufficient to preserve
them from the of fol les There is not one @;
the much-praisod siutions Of the UGon but appears
in this day OF trial to be operating in wrong direction
The Americans have comparatively no standrg army
and TO warke estimates bu. the esul; OF their
in this respec Is that mlD, being soldier OF his
oEn account takes naturally fighting, and that armies
are raised for the shocking OF purposes with ce
rUY tDd COuu naTuly Oe paraItleu unueE ao-
solute military governments. The Americans are haoi-
uited self government, but that oDly renders
them less amenabe control and communicate
the passions of popular insurection TO the
oceedings Of a regular campaign. They ale
wealthy but that enables them support war, and the
merchants and mouey dealers of the capital have been
foremost in their approval of the Presidents procama.
ton. They given TO those pursuits OF trade which
are held divert en from !eas Of strife, but they out
strip all the nations OF he Old World in warlike fury
They have atlstOcracy TO "deude' them into war,
and vet they have plunged into with such rcmen-
dous alaor'y leaves tho scrupuous and drifting po'
cy of European nations far behind. These e. lghten-
ed Democrats have sent the ocean TO purchase
from us thosa very implements and munitions oil war
which We were rev"d for providing and will probably I'M
press nto rltcid, struggle the great ship which
have built as the most wonderful instruments OF com
merce and peace Resolutions from which Old World
statesmen would have recoiled in horror have been
promptly adopted b7 magistrates of republic
Our own great soldier with all bis iron mind and
il u xibe will, faia TO say that there was nothing
witch should rot be done borne rather than the
country shoud know en hour of civil war but President
Lincoln and President Davis have closed abruptly With
an alternative at which the Duke Of Wellington stood
aghas 1t IL this contrast of position ard practice which
renders the edrgs OF the Americans a. once 30
shocking and 50 incredible Those free citizens OF Free
miratiou are rtsorng e1tremitcs far terrible
lhln the Last Appeal OF kings They commin'
eng foreign quests but campaigns against eoun,
tfymen The Americans may rest assured that England
would desire nohing much az 20 see them once more
united. They come OF stock, they speak our
own language they reflect fsults and up to this
time tn appeared be continuing national gran
deur We cannot without the deepest such
people preciptstiag Itself into civil like The hal
breeds Of Mexico That this shoal be the end CT the
great American Republic is prospect against which ev-
ey friend of humanity aud progress would gladly close