New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-02-21

it's forA, when poured forth from the very mouth
of the PA slavery prophet, new and authoritative
revelation s,f history, geography, and ethnology,
sweeping away before it all our most familiar
and cherished Ilusions' "Yet let us ponder
boldly" Let us endeayor to look with I'm.
dazed eyes at this. new light which has 80 sud
denly broken out in the South.
Mr.. Fishers first historical point is that the
Greeks led by Alexander. the Romans by Caesar,
the Arabs by Mohammed, the Spaniards by
Philip, and the French by Napoleon, were al
Souiherners, and all but the last shareholders.
And to these two qualities combined are to be
ascribed their victories, which, of course, to
make the theory good, must always have been
over Northeraers and non-slayeholders. Now, with
regard to Alexander, history has unfortunately
failed to inform US whether or not bis Macedonlans
were shareholders, aud the ancient geographers, as
well as all modern Ones have hitherto labored under
the delusOn that they were Northern people,
who conquered the Southern and slavehOlding
Greeks, and the Southern and slaveholding Per-
slams. Egyptians aud Indians. AS for the Romans
their conquests were chiefly TO the South, in which
extrcmties Of the known world without serious
opposition, while in the North, from the nom
slayeholdog Batavians aud Germans, they met
most stubborn and successful resistance. And it was
BY Northern nations that their empire, weakened
and debased by Slavery, was finally OyertbrOwn.
As for the Arabs, it hos been our OPPRESSION that
Slavery among them was not altogether after the
manner of our Southern friendsi but without
stopping TO discuss that point, we may remark
that the historians who have written Of the Arabs,
have strangely overlooked the fact Of their con-
quest of the North. 1t is one Of Mr.. Fishers
most brilliant and startling discoveries. The com
mon opinion hitherto has been that their conquests
extended, eastward aud westward, over slave
holding Greeks, slayehOlding Egyptians, Africans,
aud Persians, and that when they attempted to
subdue the North, they were repulsed and routed
BY Charles bartel
1t is also new to rs that the Spaniards under
Philip were Shareholders, aud still more novel
that they were conquerors of the North Pres
colt and Motley, and the historians of England,
had given us TO understand tina. Philip, in seek
ing with his armada to conquer q certain
Northern island, had been ingloriously foiled, and
had failed Likewise in attempting to conquer
the Northern provinces of the Netherlands.
As for the French under Napoleon, our
imperfect reading Of history and geography had
led us to believe that Great Britain and Russia,
the nations that successfully resisted aud finally
overthrow Napoleon, we're Northern and not
Southern.
Let US look little further into Mr. Fishers
historical positions. "Iave you forgotten" be asks
chow the Mcors penetrated TO Vienna, and but
/" for the yalor Of John Sobieski wonld have mas
" tered all Europel" We certainly had forgot
ten it, and indeed our memory still serves us so
badly that even with Dir. Fishers prompting we
cannot recall that we ever heard of apy Moors
at Vienna except those Of Schiller's "Robbers."
We had always supposed that the army over
thrown by SObcsk was that Of the Turks,
people as unlike the Moors in everything except
religion as Mr.. Fisher is unlike an ordinary his
torian, ethnologist or philosopher. Nor are the
Turks Southern nation. Thex original seat
was in the wilds of Northern Tartary, and their
cOnquests were al achieved over Southern races.
And do you forget" again demands the
learned advocate Of Southern rights and South.
ern valOr, "that Roman legons siding with the
Germans under Alaric conquered Rome"
Decdededly we did forget it. We were
not aware that Roman legons conquered
Rome, nor did we remember that Alaric the
Goth was German, aud still less that he was q
southerncr. On the contrary, we held tse COM
mon belief that he and his barbarians came
from the remo.cst regions Of the North and
carried their arms Southwark.
The last Of Mr.. Fishers historic illustrations
is perhaps the most original of oil. To bring
" the matter home" he Gays, SEQ what South
"ern men, italiane, commanded By Garibaldi,
"aud fighting for their liberty, are doing tOthe Aus
"trians. Northern men," This is indeed new
view of the late Italian contest. We had sup
posed until now that the followers Of Garibaldi
we're Sardinians, from Northern Italy, and that
the soldiers Of King Bomba, against whom they
fought, were Southern Italians, Neapoltans, and
not Austrians. The Southern Italians took no
share in the preyinus campaigns against the Aus
trisns whose sdversares at Magenta and Sol
ferlno were Northern Italians and French, whose
cvaptry is in the same latitude as Ag,tria-a
ba.t of France, In fact, being north of every
part Of Austria, and part of Austria
south of every part of France. But, as Mr..
Fisher remarks, in conclusion, we have evidently
been deceived by the lessons taught By Yankee
historians. Hereafter, perhaps, we shall strive to
conquer our prejudices and TO read history with
the new light of Southern philosophy, the first