New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1862-01-13
Ash @rlsans Bully Gresfenlt.
MONDAY MORNING, JANUARY y, !
y,-.-~ .=-~---1s ~ = -
SEW RDtS FOLLY.

Seward had injured his cause with the BRUSH uoF
ernment by the surrender of Messrs Mason anu
Slidell It would have been difficult Tor MIN 10
have done the thing gracefully under the circuth-
stances, howsoever much he might have trlea-pue
to do it in the bunglng style that he dld 10 hlahe
the pitiable exhibition of himself that ne ooes ia
his three columns of shallow sophistry, cannot pu'
excite the disgust and contempt of all the Cabnets
of Europe
The foreign press has already commented upon |
the formal approval Of the seizure to whicn n, 'ne
Federal Government committed itseH. Ahe'. |
str;ctnres uuou this have come back to US, ana
they reason precisely as the Southern press uoee'
that if the act of seizure had been ohic"l's
ordered by the Federal Government, the fespoi''i,
bility would be greater. Ihe acceptance aio
imurisonment of our Commissioners alter they
were coupht is a formal endorsement oil the
do saw nothing Of the approval OF Congress
and the congratulatory letter OF the eecretaiS VI
the Navy Mr.. Seward's declarauoh' theh' !"
Adams and to Lord Lyons, that the '7efniien.
r did not authorize the seizure is contemptpe anu
shallow subterfuge, which is as well uhoerstooo III
Europe as it is in the South. The London liihes'
before it heard whether the Federal Government
had endorsed the seizure, declared that " Whethel
n it was an act of the American uo'elh hiiiei'
originally of il it be adopted by them noee' IL Is an
act Of qrar, and, as such to be encoa'atefe" ~
,roy.,, Here is clear declaration that no dis'
tinction will be made, as none ought to be made
between an act done as originally oroe'eo' y.
ooo,,oped afterwards uistt.er ordered or not IL
amor,,s tn the same thing; and the Imprisonment
of the Commissioners is a solemn approval WINCH
alone, is enough to show Europe tha' the "'' % an
official act of the Government.
Ilyo1 tn 10 asked Mr.. seward
is whether he would not have held on to the Com
,n;ss;oners If no demand had been made for them.
Eveyvbody here knows that he would, and the
pr;tisb Government knows that he would. How
jmmeasurable then, must be their contempt lot
src,, dishonestv and cowardice! 1t is as if thief
retained stolen goods as long as there was no dan.
ger of suffering for the crime, but surrendeFeo
them to avoid swinging on the saows.
What also, will the British people and Govern
uent think of man who gives as an excuse 'or
delivering up Messls. Mason and Slidell tina, tieF
were "Devsons Of comparative un'mpor'ahce,
when II ia known that the same man no" holds IN
custody defenceless women, members OF the Mar
land Legislature, policemen Of the city Oh na'ti-
more ard private citizens of the south by scores
He inprsons and holds on to mere citizens ol 'he
south in no wise connected with the government
and vet alleges that Of his reasons lor giving
I'd the foreign Ministers OF the Sou'h Is 'hat
a. they are persons Of comparative unlmportance'
Will such contemplate plea iall to escape uete'
ton? Most assaredIy not-ah Seward VIII Ut
convicted Of lying as well as cowardice.
His mendacity displays itself again in the same
aph--indeed in the same sentence III tne
very same sentence he speaks OF the ef'eclua'
check and waning proportions OF the exissios ia
surrection,'' y Is the man naturai-born iooi' u
suppose he can impose upon the Governments oi
Europe such talsehood as this? EVERYBODY
else in the North admits that the South is stronger
and more defiant and more capable of resistance
to-day than ever before. Everybody knows tha'
the check" of the rebellion has not been "ei1ect
nal'.-tbat there has been no "check" at all les
ovanjup proportions that Seward speaks OF, con
sst in regiment after regiment being daliy auuee
10 our six hundred thousand men already IN INF
field, and in the fact that nowhere along the i'h'
does the enemy dare to advance on US. NO lohse
ago than yesterday we read the sorroWiui aun'is
sion Of the Washington correspondent ol 'ha' w
ter sheet, the Chicago Tribune, that ute Joct o
tie cause ofhe L'.ioT has not progressed one "'c
un,nrheie, bit has constantly lost 9r'""" eces
zyhe,e IL is not IN the Po,cer OF M'. seTa'o 70 %
his nqer on the spot rlere the cause oJ t"e o"''
7o< ,o,oo,eysed an iact, eit'ler te Europe o
Amertcd.'
Tb;s ia true and the whole North feels it to b
true, and yet Nr. Seward graVely ASSERTS III
s,lomatc correspondence, that the insurrecno
is eGectually checked, and lts pFopoi''oh9 az
waning, vii! not the British Government feel i
self !nsuted by having such paipable faisehoo
addressed TO il, in a diplomatic communicate
,rh;cl ia to he placed among the archives of th
country? It would be false and disgraceiul eneug
10 rnal,a Such assertion III .
af,erdinner stump speech to Northern MOB.
is q scansalops abuse of diplomatic privilege
address Great Britain an enormous lalsehoo
rbch she herself knows to be such. Mr. Se~ai
savs this too in the face of the fact that the or
il constantly raising fresh troops, organizing nav
ernpdtions ard borrowing hundreds OF mlIilohs
dollars For what? To put down an lnsurrech'
already efectually checked? What conclusl'
will Europe draw from such lame logic as lhat'
Rut Mr. Seward makes another point Whlch ;"
damage him in Europe. He argues away ms W'lc
case, as full of rents and holes as the argument
bv asserting that, notwithstanding he Is f'sh'
giving up our Commissioners, he YOU'D yet lid
rafuspd to do so 't the safety of this Union
,u;red the detention of the captured persons
Here ia a claim that all law, all justice, all rigi
of persons all rights of other nations, must yls
to, the safety of this Union" Does he suppt
such claim as that will be admitted by fore1
powers? He may, but we do not BESIDES
untenab!e position itself, is an airont to ott
powers, insolenty given, and something al
gether out of place in an official communication
Moreover, Lord Lyons demanded not only
delivery Of the Commissioners, but suita
apology. Seward gives up the Commissioners,
does not make the apology.
For these and other reasons, we reach the c
clusion that Mr.. Seward will take nothing by
motion in his long letter to Lord Lyons on
contrary that the effect of that letter Will be ny
to his own cause in Europe, and correspond
benefit to ours. We venture the prediction t
the reception of that letter in England, instead
being satisfactory to Seward and the North,
only arouse a more bitter feeling of animos
Our worst enemy, by his folly and knayery, n
prove our best friend Let us bide our time.
THE STAY LAW.
Speaking Of the bill which has passed the Ho