New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-10-16
A LOOK AT TEE PAST.

| LOOK AT TIE PAbI'
When Lord BolingbrOke said that " History IL
d" Philosophy teaching by Example, he uttered
one of those lackered laconisms which men
readily accept because they are neatly stated.
The difficulty is, in the first place, to be sure
of your history, and in the second place, TO be
sure Of your philosophers. The fret, as it IL
usually written, is a record Of events in which
no wise man can feel the symptom Of an in
terest--the diary of defunet kings who were
not kngly, of their housekeeping and thin
gossip of courts, which IS Of no more value
than the economy aud chat of kennels-of rev.
olutions in which nothing really reyolyed, and
Of wars which began in ambition and ended in
exhaustion. If there be nothing worthier I'M
DERIVING all history than this, let ne burn our
foos and resolutsly forget the alphabet 1t hap
pens, too most unfortunately, in the whirlwind
of public affairs, that the philosophers usually
stay at home, and mind their own business
IL was not Diogenes who went to court, but Alex
ander who came TO the tub. OF the yeracity
of history there is no more to be said than
this, that Truth enjoys her well, aud stays like
a contented frog at the bottom Of it, leaving
us TO the tender mercies of this writer's sup.
preston, and Of that writer's suggestion, aud
the other writer's question.begging and all the
other devices of the Father Of Lies. If you
would know anything, you must go and burrow
Ike q mole in the church-yard.
slill another difficulty is that all history is
in certain tenIe autobiographic, Forty En-
qlishinen and forty Frenchmen have written
OF Napoleon the First, and but for the name
YOU could not be sure that British and French
were writing Of the same general. But OF all
arrogance in this wicked world, there is moth
Ing Ike the arrogance of repentance. Thus
England thinks, and with all the whites Of her
eycs asserts, that no good fortune can follow
tie arms Of this Republic, until we emancipate
our negroes. 1t is such an easy thing to do.
1t is Ike eating ones breakfast, or putting on
clean shirt, or discharging a careless servant.
III s oHly to write few lmes, take vote,
l4oIe proclamation, and presto the thing is
done IL cost the pbilanthropsts of England
years upon years of labor to abolish the slave
gaae, Aid then years upon years of agitation
to aLo.ah Slavery; and now she most alnably
nsltts that We mutt accomplish emancipation
certainly by the last of next month. This seems
impgdeht-it is certainly ludicrous. Who
would think that she was half century doing
what we are called upon to do oiT-hsnd
4" 81 the long space OF twenty years," says
Ihe Edinburgh Review (NO. pa, "Slr. Pitt
% could persuade about three-iOrths Of the
"uenbers Of Parliament to adopt any scheme
% Of finance Or Of external policy which lie
4" chose to conference, bit did Rercr ONCE
" y51eGa against III, Slacc-lgodcgs and con-
" sieHses ef sugar IN Bristol ami LiyTyoo'."
Ard once more listen to this scotch
philosopher who might have been Lord
Bfoughsm himself: 1t is scarcely necessary
8. {. premise, sass Tie Edinburgh Review lNo.
{ . " that tie advocates for the abolition of
=" the daye.trlde most cordially reprobate all
:" idea Of emancipatng the slaves that are in
" our plantations Such scheme is sun.
4" cieniiy answered by the story Of the galley
4" s'ae Ia Don Quixote ond we are persuaded
q" never Lad any place in the minds Of those
4" enlightened and jud!clous men who have con-
tended il the cause of the abolition Of the
"a tlave.trade." This is beautiful We viii
| bring no more blacks from Africa; but we
viii keep at work without wages those already
| brought Granville shnrp was more consistent.
n, always coupled the Slave-Trsdc aud Slave
rs az twiH.aiquities; but who listened to him !
lie has himself left upon record the fact that
| tie Whole west end of London opposed
him. To come down TO later times, We
! fud that when Member divided the tIOuse
Of Commons upon the question of West lu-
dian Emancipation in 1893, there were
| Only two votes in favor of that measure.
| Mr.. George Saintsbury wrote to the
papers that the British slaves were happy,
/" cheerful and well treated, while The 1dti.
Sidccyy Reporter was at the same time showing
that British slaves were systematically aud by
calculation walked to death, and starved to
death: aud only Ice members could DO found
TO vote in tho House of Commons that thil
was "inhaman.' This specGc cruelty was il
tha Msari!.ss aud waaa To stetemeGs 0