American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1851-1863, 1862-11-21
THE AMERICAN QUESTION.


of W ar, has made a speech on affairs in
America, which. it Is said, produced a
great sensation in political circles The
following is report of his remarks
The war, he said. which was now 90
ing on in the United States, and The
brockad of the Southern States, which
prevented the cotton from coming from
that country. would before long come to
an end. That was subject on which
many opinions were and had been enter
tanned. The Government of that coun
try was placed in the position of having
to choose between two opposite courses,
viz recognition Of the Southern States.
on the one hand, and sympathy or ALI
ance with the STATE, Of the Federal sec
ton Of the Union on the other. Well. the
Government avoided both these extremes.
They had consistently and strenuously
pursued middle course of strict neutral
ity, and had abstained from giving direct
or Indirect untenance or assistance to
either of Tie beligerent parties. (Hear
Ii had been said that great com
plants had been made by the Govern
ment at Washington that the Govern
ment of E gland had not maintained this
strict neutrality. because il had recog-
nized the South As a bclligerent power,
and it had been sail that by recognizing
the South as a belligerant power we had
departed from a stiict line of neutrality
Now we could not but think that if any
impartial person reflected on the course
of this unhappy contest he would come
TO the conclusion that no word Of the
English language would apply with
greater aptitude to the Southern States
than the word "belligerent" Here
parties had combined for the purpose of
carrying on a war. and wien they looked
to the number of armed men they had
brought into the field. to the ability Of
the Generals by whom their armies were
commanded. and TO the periinacity with
which the contest on their part had been
waged, it could not surely be denied
that they deserved the name of "beilig-
erents," in Difference to the manner in
which they had carried on the war
against the United States.
Every body who read the accounts in
the newspapers of what was doing in
America could see that, although there
was war there between those two con
tending powers, it was waged on the
part Of the Northern States, for the pur-
pose of restoring the States to the con-
dition of Uuion they were in before the
war began and on the part of the South
ern States, it was war to establish their
independence Bet Tie acar must be od-
naited to Be undecided Its battle fields
were still reeking with the blood of thou
sands of soldiers killed on both sides.
and until the war had been decided on
one side or the other, or until Il had
been decided so far in favor of the South
ern States as 10 induce the Northern
States to recognize their independence,
or to prove to foreign States that the
contest was exhausted, and that the
Northern States were incapable of con
tinuing the contest-that until that mo-
ment arrived II could not be said. in &C
cordance with The established doctrines
of international law, that the independ
ence of tie Southern States had been
established. Hear, hear.) He believed
it was the general opinion of the people
of this country. that the contest would
issue in the establishment Of the indie
pendence of the Southern States. He
himself did not express that opinion he
did not say that he dissented from that
opinion. but that was the general opin
ion in this contry.
At dinner given to Viscount Palm
erston 10 celebrate the inauguration of
the Hartley institution, the Earl of Hard
wick. returning thanks for the House of
Lords. said he had been much interested.
as he had no doubt all in that room had
been. by the late exhibitions of one Mr..
Gladstone of her Majesty's Ministers in
the North. (Hear) He hadread the
speeches delivered by that right honora-
bic gentleman with great attention, and
he saw in them undoubtedly a very
laudable desire to be extremely popular
with The inhabitants of the town. There
was one expression used for which he
thanked that right honorable gentleman.
The expression was this That Mr.. JEFF
ferson Davis had made a nation
T Cheers All he would say with ref
erence to that nation was. God speed
them. Cheers The question at is
sue was not that of slavery, but of the
despotism of the North.