The national Republican., 1861-06-06
THE AMERICAN QUESTION ABROAD.
Hon. g. M. Clay to the London Times.

SIR: Allow me your journal to make few
remarks upon the complications of the United
| States OF merica, which, am surprised to
| find, are so little understood this side Of the
Atlantic.
|. " What are IRE .fyhting fort" "We,
| the people Of the United States of America"
! Ito use the language Of our Constitution,) are
| fighting 10 maintain our nationality and the
principles Of liberty upon which it was found.
| ed--that nationality which Great Britain has
pledged herself, both by past comfy and the
sacred obligations Of treaty, to respect; those
great principles Of liberty, that all power is de:
rived from the consent Of the governed trial
by jury, freedom of speech and the press; that
without lac there is no liberty (which we
inherited from Great Britain herself, and which,
having been found to lie at the base Of all pro.
gress and civilization, we desire to perpetuate
tor ourselves and the future Of all the nations.
The so called |" Confederate States of America I"
rebel against us, against our nationality, and
against all the principles of its structure. Cit.
izens Of the United States-of the one Govern.
ment-(not Of Confederated States, as they
would have the world believe, but Of "us, the
people,") they propose, not by common legal
consent, but by arms, to sever our nation into
separate independences. Claiming to "be
let alone,' they conspire against us, seize by
force our forts, stores, and arms appropriate
to themselves our mints, moneys, and vessels
at sea capture our armies, and threaten even
the ca pitsl at Washington.
The word secession is used to cover up
treason and delude the nations. They stand
to us in the relation of one "people )" the idea
of "S;ate sovereignty" is utterly delusive. We
gave up the old Confederation to avoid Just
such complications as have now occurred. The
os~A~ H.. l.~ Is Ill
the rights Of Independent sovereigns, and the
national Government acts not through State
organizations, but directly upon the citizens of
the States themselves that highest of pow.
er, the right of life and death. The States can.
not keep an army or navy, or even repel inva-
sion, except when necessity will not allow time
for national action can make no treaty, nor
coin money, nor exercise any Of the first great
essential powers of sovereignty" In a word,
they can no more secede" from the Union,
than Scotland or Ireland can secede from Eng.
land.
The professed friends of the independence of
nations and popular rights, they have not only
overthrown the Constitution Of the United
States, but the Constitutions Of the Confed.
crate States themselves, refusing in epery case
to refer their new usurpations to the votes Of
the people-thus making themselves doubly
traitors to both the States and the nation. The
despotic rulers over 100000 Of enslaved AT:
ricans, they pretend to extend over US, the white
races Of all nations, the same despotism, by ig.
noring the political rights of all but their own
class, BY restrictions upon the popular fran
chise, by the suppression Of the freedom Of
speech and Of the press, by the terrorism Of
"Lynch law" or tyrannical enactments, back.
ed by standing armies, TO crush out the indie
pendence Of thought, the ineradicable instincts
Of our worldwide humanity, with the strocious
dogma that negro slavery is the only basis Of
real conservatism and progressive civilization,
and that the true solution Of the contest Of all
time between labor and capital is, that capital
should orn the idborer, whether phite or
black.
The success Of such demands would send
the tide of barbarian not only over the mil
lions of the New World and the isles of the
Western oceans, but roll it back over England
and emancipated Europe, and blot out from
history this the greatest glory of our times.
2. But cany you subdue the repolted Statesf"
Of course we can. he seven revolted States
(2,l73,000) have not as much white popula-
ton as the single State of New York "a, ,563)
by !, 100000 people. If all the slave States
we're to make common cause, they have only
S,907, 1894 whites, with 100000 slaves, while
Inc OnioH mas boouL <V,OVV,VVVol homogeneous
people, as powerful in peace and war as the
sided," their late apparent lethargy and weak.
ness was the selfpossession OF conscious
strength. When they had made up their
minds that force was necessary, they moved
upon Washington with such speed, numbers,
aud steadiness, as is not surpassed in history.
We have the money lat lower rate Of interest
than ever before,) the men, and the com.
mand Of the seas and the internal waters. We
can blockade them by sea, and invade them by
land, and close up the rebellion in . single
year, if we are "let alone!" For the popula-
ton of tho slave States is divided, perhaps
equally for and against the Union, the loyal
citizens being for the time overawed by the or
ganized conspiracy of~the traitors, while the
North is united to man, the late allies of the
South, the Democratic party, being now more
earnest for the subjugstion Of the rebels than
the Republicans.
3. "But can you gorern sulyugatsd peo-
pie, and reconstruct the Union 2" We do not
propose to "subjugate "the revolted States-we
propose to put down simply the rebel citizens
We 20 to the rescue Of the loyal Unionists Of
all the States. We carry safety, and peace, and
liberty, to the Union.loving people ofthe South,
who will Of themselves the tyranny over.
thrown) send back their representatives to
Congress, and the Union will be reconstruct
ed without a change Of letter in the Consti.
tuition of the United States. Did England sub.
jugate Ireland and Scotland9 Are the united
kingdoms less homogeneous than of old, before
the wars against rebellion? So will the Uni.
ted States rise from the smoke of battle with
renewed stability and power. In turn, now let
us ask the British public some questions.
!. Where should British honor place her in
this contestp We overthrow that political ele.
ment in America which has all through our
history been the studied denouncer and real
hater of the British nation, while we have been
always from the beginning the friends of Eng.
land. Because, though under different forms
Of government, we had common sympathies,
and common cause, and therefore a common