The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-05-21
ENGLISH VIEWS OF THE AMERICAN VAR.
From the London Times, sd.I

He Is not the ruler of people |
bound by tradition or sense OF duty to Obe- |
dience. He has not, like an European Sow
ereign, the power OF enforcing his requsitions
eif fher by his ogn authority or by the assist
anee Of Il loyal Legislature He is simply the
first magistrate Of 3 number of varying aud
Jealous communities each having lts own or
ganization. its separate interests aud pre-
judces and being fully capIbie of making
u csc prevail against the demands Of the Cen
tral Govern meUt. A week did not eiapse from
the proclama ton oil war to the second disFup-
tlon of the Union. Mr. Lincoln AT the middle
of April wGs still the head OF a Confederation
Of - states; hy this time these are probably
reduced TO 81 The energy-we may almost
say The ferooity--with which this war has been
entered in TO on each side. indicates i conflict
in which the Government at Hashtngt1n tCsN
SooH lose its control Oper ecsqts. TIE first
effect of is action Is 70 rouse the two sections
of the Union into excitement, which, accord
ing TO All accounts, has not had parallel
since the early days OF the French Revolution.
The long suppressed amnesty between the
\ oTth and ihe South has burst in 70 q flame.
To direct The course of this civil con Migration
would seem beyond the power OF Lincoln
ON the one -ide, or Davis on the other. Every
SOutherner has been suddenly filled VITA the
spirit of the si3Ys-OWneT, " nile the vast COM
IL antics of the North and West seem 2nimA-
ted with all the zeal OF the Aboltionists. 1t
certainly passes understanding that the New
Workers. " no, a few montas ago, won "a have
eAcldce2 negro from All omnibus, and were
disposed to think the anti slavery party
very little better taan tho blacks - favored
sbonld thus on II sudden rush 10 the extreme
or anImcslty against the SoutherGeTs, with
" hose claims they formerly sympathi2ad,
whose trade they mainly carried on, and
whose pl&ntatIOEs, Il COutIOn fame does not
belle tnem, they not Entreq neatly help"d TO
stock by lmportati3ns from Africa. But 10
doubt the fsryo- OF the New ! ork population
is impossible, and u is equAled BY the excite
ment At PAuadt.FhIa, Cincinnati, and other
great ctiies. President Lincoln has given he
efrr- ,Dl A,-rp
pendent States. We might almost say inde-
pendent a-~CCittous, reEl n tents, and Compa-
mes. arrayed against each. o other.
Inc waruae character Of the United StGtes'
population has, 10 doubt, a large part in
those results. From his earliest youth the
American has been accustomed TO military
dis play and 20 near Of uilitLry adyeu ture.-
While yet child ne learns the use OF pistol
and rlnt IN the :oWrs there are drilling and
marching, aud drumming and fling almost
daily, in which he a once takes an Interest,
aud sp0n come 70 bear 4 part. His fancy IS
nfamed by stories OF the Revolution and Of
laI2-a liltie my thic,-1 t may DE-, but nO- tha
Jess iuspirItng. All this time however be
te@el4 that he tites are adverse to nim. us Is
forced to play ut war, while his fatheTs and
the great men he reads about had the good
fortune - wage 1t. II he takes TO business,
he may forget these martial EstinCts for a
time, bot there are all over the States mum
bers Of young men in whom tae love of ddyen-
tura can never tR suppressed Even in the
often ttnFrs the American 10 coll out
and migrate - some dis taut part Of tha
Union, where The white man. . culture merges
Into the vii ilicrnsss. II may be, TOO that the
c0nYulsiOns ia EurOpe, the bqttles, sieg IS. ro-
mantle expeditions, lhp downfall OF tyrHnGies,
ana the oxidation ot heroic names, may have
stITred Iue biCOd OF the New NCrld. How
ever ID ~ ma" be. no sooner does the trum pet
scuHd thdn th" American people rush into the
conflict with fire and alacritY which va can
scarcely escriba TO political causes. As far as
we can discern, the N0TtheTners have not
stayed moment 10 Inquire what Is the object
o. the waT, they care uOt what Is feasible or
prudent, or II vantageOus. To conquer the
southern states, and TO hold them hy Cou-
quest, is the in attention which wa must logical
II uatuCe .TOia the PreSident'S proclamation;
but the North thinks of nothing but punish
Ing traitors a0d pulling down the Palmetto
Il z, IN other words, II wants 10 fight, and
probHblv any plan for wearing ont the Soutn
ny 8 long tStlP, without lighting, WODid
b. received with genera! Dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, The South is no less ea-
ger for The fray. The NlrEiBi1us, proud aNd
tmpetucu9, and chatting under the rrproaches
Of the SroesslUnists, have met the PrOC!lIna-
lion 0t Mr.. Lincoln, not only by iInmedta Il
secession, bnt by acts of warfare which seem
not piein"4itHtpd. No sooner had the Or
diutuco of Secession passed than Harper's
Ferry, the scene Of j ohm Browns iuCklcss o
exploit, W7s attacked bY strong force of Vlr.
giui3ns Ior the credit of the Federal officer
IN command, we may say tn = he di! not sur
on the banks of the Potomac, ana the other
side Of the river is Ia Maryland. The garrison
dcs tTOypd the Arsenal, arms and munitions or
war, and escaped across the river, continuing
their retreat, II appears, till they gained the
more friendly region of Pennsylvania. But
! more important event, II true, is tue clos
tag of Norfolk harbor by the Vircinans,
aud the possible capture of the United States
saips OF war, which ATe at III 1t celebrated na-
y1l station. Among the vessels detained is tho
EIEdte MeTrim1c, among he fines In the Fed
erai Navy. The fact or the channel being ef-
teCtuHily closed, Is, however, denied. No
wonder that the news o. these great even Is
was received with great rfiolclngs at the
| South. Virginia, from her extern, her popuia-
ton, her position, commanding the capital and
the chesapeake, her his st0rlcal reputation,
and her great influence with those states 10
the West, which were colouiZeG by her, viii
De an accession OF the greatest i'm pOrtance 10
the southern COnfederacy The Virguians,
there can be no Doubt, have entered into the
struggle with extraordinary ardor. They
know that their country VIII be the seat OF
war, that on them the first storm Of Northern
aHinosity must fall, that only river di-
ydes them from the city OF Washing ton,
where the troops IF some dozen NoYtJeI n
States will be shortly col ected, burning with
desire to attack them that every effort will be
made by the Government TO save the Navy
Yard at Norfolk IN short. that their lives,
their property and their eXis tence as al indie
pendent Common wesl th depend on their eour-
age ana resolution during the ueXt few Ws Ks.
| They VIII, Il appears, be AT once supported by
the North O@roiniansr who, though they can
not formally secede till after Convention
! meets, have declared war against the United
States and seized the Federal forts. On tho
other hand. We think iii quite possible tina I
the Western part of Virginia Will decline to
cast in its lot with the rest. The region OF
which Wheeling l. the principal city has very
few slaves, anu the people are almost as much
Free soilers III opinion as the people of the
Northern States Il may we'll be that conn
I ,k@F -FT
same claim as State, and will secede when
! the general policy does not coincide with its
| own notions of duty or ln terest.
Mr.. EWart's question last night was not in-
| opportuna, fer the pa pers Just received give
the Proclamation OF President Davis, author
| ziug the issue OF letters of maTGue. The
| South has fe ~ ships the people of the slave
states are not sailors, and allow their trade tc
| b. carried on In Northern bottoms so that the
! North has every advantage in waging war
| so far az blockade ana the transport OF troops
| by sen are concerned. President Davis now
INJURIES on the EXTREMIST act OF hostility q
which ruler can resort. PriVateeTing hat
! hean abolshed by the European Powers cine.
| 1850 {, bat It Will be remembered that when
after the Oopgrass OF Paris, In 1850 Enxiant
/ proposed To the United States TO toin In thil
| Condemnation, Secretary Marcy rejected tn,
! proposal on the ground that prIya te=Tiug wal
! ius,iiiaole in itself, ard absolutely necessary
/ for q nation which did not keep up great na
| val armaments. In the present case. however
| the Government 1T Washington threa tens q
! treat privAteers as pirates, on the ground tina
| the authority they sail under mas no legal ex
| istence Should this be carried out, and
| Sou thern priya teer be hanged, we must tooi
| for bloody reprisals on the part of the Con
| feierate States. The passions OF all classes
| are now aroused, ana one can cay 10 wha
| length the fury of clgii war will carry them
| THE MIysiE BULLBr.--Fhe following, from
! the Charleston Mercury, confirms a state
meat in Mondays Dispatch:
s-... sFzx
/ the rife-and Is not very particular whether
| be uses one OF Happoldt's, Charleston make,