The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1862-01-07
Taking The Rnok Track.


We have been considerably amused at
the readiness with which the papers through
out the Union, have endorsed Mr.. Stewards
letter to Lord Lyons. Prior to its publica-
ton, scarcely one of them was heard to
question the lawfulness OF Capt. Wilkes
seizure, and its strict accordance with the
previous teachings and practice of our Gov
eminent. The grave National Intelligencer
was filed with learned articles, citing pre-
cedents and law, and it seemed to have been
accepted by general consent, by every body,
that the rebel emissaries were rightfully
captured, and that the Government ought
Great Britain was the alternative Our
readers will remember that we expressed
the opinion that our Government, in insist
ing on the retention of the prisoners, and in
endorsing Capt Wilkes, was abandoning its
time-honored theories as to the rights of neu
trails, and, just so far, would labor at a dis
advantage in discussing the question grow
ing out of Mason and Slidei's capture. To
our great surprise, our suggestion did not
meet with q single favorable response from
any ofour contemporaries. On the contrary,
we were called to task in rather pompous
manner by the Louisville Journal, and
others, for misreading American history,
AMI our mistake was corrected in a most
graceful and patronizing manner. Teel-
ing ourselves outmatched in numbers-and,
we might add, in ability-we subsidized"
and calmly awaited the progress of events.
Many of our readers must have detected
the similarity between the point made by
as and the one on which Mr.. Seward based
his determination to let the prisoners go.
We said our government had even gone to
war, against the right of search. Mr.. Sew
ard reiterates the same, and, thanks to his
logic, our contemporaries are suddenly con-
verted to the same way of thinking. The
Louisville Journal forms no exception. 1t
chimes in with its usual elegance, and en-
dorses Mr.. Stewards statements as well as
determination to accede TO Great Britain
what, 'iaecordiag to American theory and
practice was undoubt eddy just and right
We copy the paragraph in full, with the
simple suggestion, that hereafter, in reading
its contemporaries dignifed lectures on the
/ incorrectness of their differences drawn
from American history, it be better assured
! that it is correct itself:
\ We are very we'll convinced that the Ma
son and Slidell affair, disagreeable as it may
be in some respects, has, in its results, rem
dered hostilities with Great Britain less
! likely to occur than they would otherwise
have been. Very many persons have here
tofore believed that Great Britain would
seek pretext for breaking our Southern
blockade or doing some other act that would
render a war unavoidable. There were GER
/ tainly good grounds for such an apprehen-
sion, but, since our government has mani
Tested such promptitude in coneeding to her
/ that, which according to her own theory
and practice she had no right to ask, but
which according to American theory and
practice, was undoubtedly just and right,
she would dishonor herself and weaken
herself in the eyes of all civilized nations
if she were lightly to pick quarrel with
US. And if she does pick such qnarrel
with US, we believe that the next two years
if not the next year will be the last of her
existence as power of the earth.