The Portland daily press., 1862-08-18
why Englishmcn Misunderstood Us.

| In anOther column VIII De 1Ounu an extract
from an English letter, published at the sug-
gestion of a friend, which speaks of the inabil-
ity of the people of England to understand the
temporizing of our government in its treat
ment of slavery. Doubtless the inability of
the masses in Europe to understand our poll
cy in this regard, is very prevalent, and it en-
harnesses many of the real friends of our coun-
try, who think us hypocritical, perhaps, be-
cause, while acknowledging the agency of sla-
very in producing our present troubles we do
not aim our heaviest blows directly at it.
1t is not wonderful that the people of Eng
land, or of the other counties Of Europe, should
be thus unable to comprehend the situation in
which our government is placed, and are en-
barrassed in relation to questions of duty, and
the direction in which their sympathies should
be expended, but for the English Statesmen
the active and intelligent politicians of that
country-there is no excuse for such inability
to understand us. They know, the com
mon people do not, something of the peculiari-
ties of our form of government, and of the EN-
barrassments which gather around the execu-
ton of any great plan of operations involving
radical changes in State institutions. The peo-
pie of England are apt to judge us, and our
powers to act, by what they know their own
country. They forget, or do not know, that
ours is not a consolidated government, in
which central legislature acts for all parts of
the country and on all possible questions, but
confederated government, recognizing and
~,
ing its powers from a national Constitution,
and that the prerogatives Of no State can be
touched except by violence to that Constitu-
ton, or because of the disloyalty of such State
to the confederation of which it is part.
They see the English Parliament legislating
for all parts of the Empire; for the British Is
land, the Canadas, the Indies, Australia and
Southern Africa, changing institutions at will,
abolishing slavery in the West Indies at plea
sure, and debating laws for all the dependen-
cies of the crown; and they forget that our
government has no such monarchial powers,
but is simply government of the people, and
that in all things the will of the people is the
supreme law.
And do not our own people too often forget
this very rock on which English sympathy
splits? Are we not, in our Impotence, and in
our zeal to hurry up the President, and to
complain of his lack of Jacksonian boldness,
too prone to forget that ours is a republican
government, and not consolidated monarchy?
Let us be understood: we believe no power,
constitutional or otherwise can be pleaded in
bar of any action that is actually necessary to
preserve the authority of the government, and
to overthrow its enemies. If slavery stands in
the way it must get out of the way, or be put
out Of the ,cay. We repeat nothing can be al
lowed to stand in the way of crushing out the
rebellion, and of maintaining the authority of
the government, and ,ohatecer powers are nee
essary to accomplish these objects, we care
not what those powers may be or how fearful
the responsibility ofinvoking them, they should
be Knocked, and the spirit of the Constitution,
If not its letter, plainly authorizes the Execu-
tive to take the responsibility, and will not
hold him guiltless If he shrinks from it. But
beyond the amount OF power absolutely need
ed to maintain his authority and to uphold the
government, the President has no right to as
sumo, and hence, as a lover of his country, and
one who would scrupulously avoid all acts of
usurpation, the President feels compelled to
move with caution, perhaps with too much
caution, but if so, it is only because he would
not 60 one inch beyond the demands that nee
essity imposes upon him. 97tL
The English masses do not understand this
thing; they do not appreciate the difference
between their government and ours; they do
not understand fully the distinctions between
a consolidated central government, and gov
eminent made up of separate States, limited in
their independence only by their allegiance
and subordination to common government,
whose prerogatives are not loose and inferen-
tial, but strict and clearly defined. Those who
take a correct view of this whole matter, it
seems to us, must admit that President Lin
coin is marching on" to a sure result, and
with as much haste as the highest wisdom will
clearly justify. The logic of events viii I'M
rayel q multitude OF mysteries. M-~-
TPIpJrTE To DEAF Mg4,.T A four Javv