The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-03-08

MIA. SATURDAY MORNIN
destinles Of nations than the obscure and
commonplace man whose DEGREES now stard
in the place OF public law In the North 7
II may be said that at least he IL the
choice Of the nation. But was he chosen by
the intslligencs Of the nation Or, TO take
lower ground, does he represent the ma.
tertal tnteres0 and xsspon sihiiities Of the
nation Not at ali; he 10 the choice Of . nu.
merical mstority Of people Who have de.
rived tAs principal acc 'seions to their mum +.
bers from tie scum Of kurope. Every four
years the C0natitutien 10 In travail-all man
kind are invited, or rather commanded, to
watch the interesting event-all 10 CONFUSION,
the throee Of the mountain are prodigious,
and the latest result fs, Mr.. Abraham Lin.
cola. The great achievement In self govern
ment Of tbs Wanted democracy, which we
have been 80 loudly and arrogaNtly called on
TO admire, Is 70 drag from his proper otscu-
rity an ex-railsplI. ter and country attorney,
and to place what it calls Its li0er ties at his
august disposal. No country furh ishes 50
many examples a. England OF great men who
have risen from humble BEGINNINGS. Bui
1t would have been Impossible for him
or any OF his cabinet to have emerged,
under British Institutions, from the medi
ocrtty to which nature had condemned them,
and from which pure democracy alone was
s1tcans willing to accept Mr.. Abraham Lin
coln and Mr.. w. Il. Seward as their bes I.
msnf II not, can they substitute batter men :
II they cannot, what other proof is Eeedsd
OF the efficacy OF their bOasted institn ntionsf Z
An imbeciie Executive above, Il restless, pur.
poseleSs multitude below, linked together
like kite tied to q balloon, and drifting at
the mercy of the air currents, while respect
aside, or dragged helrlessly along-such is
the spectacle presented in the first storm by
the model Republic. a gallant army, whose
energies havs been displayed chiefly in flight
by ssntriss-disin Interested pstrio tism, that re
quir % to be bribed by eight per cent.-a united
ration, where the element Is of di.solu tioh are
rifs--a practical people who are spendipg z
more than they possess for an objs act they
cannot define-such are few Of the rssul ts
of those rem arkabl0 Institutions that have
baen recommended for our imitation as i'm
mense improvements on our own.
- writer is very severe upon Mr.. Lin
cd rAnd considers him q very un nfortunats
man to merit such a visitation as to be set n,
the head Of an unruly nation that Is going to
pieces In convulsions. Ths Yankes Congress,
is also subject OF severe comment. The ar.
ticIe con tinues:
If it were necessary that an American lido,
should perform anything really great In or.
der tojustify the Ianegyrics OF his countrymsn
the
most unfortunate mar alive. He cannot, un.
less he be more than mortal, redeem the
pledges that have been given for him. He his
received in advance. as u small iustalment OF
public admiration, the title of "the Young
Napoleon" From this we gather that, &C.
cording to popui.r belief in America, Napo,
leon was solely remarkable as q soldier fol
makirg reviews the most serious business ol
mis- army, for com mplimenting his subnrdi.
mates on their bluuders and disas ters, and for
spending mon TINS In presence of his enemy In
forming plan Of campaign which he never
ventured to execute 1t is this singular way
o. estimating events and men tnat renders II
SO easy to maintain position az q celebrity
In America The nation confsrs It's fame NJ
according to the cynic, people give their graf.
itude-from lively sense of favors TO come
The pros ect Of taking up these heavy bills
on the events of the future, would appal mes,
untried men. But luckily Gen. Mcclellan
who is great man for what he Is going TO do
has before him the reassuring ex>mple OF
Commander wilkes, who is a great man foI
what he has only done. There are many
other circumstances to soothe and com fort the
future hero. Gen. Jackson and Gen. Scot,
are among the grea,es: commanders he world
has ever seen. The battle Of somebody's Bluff
and somebody else'e Ferry are among the
most i'm portant actions that were aver foug hit
az the victors Of Waterloo, Iukerman, and
Svlferino are bound to admit Bunker's Hill
was great victory. All American history
Is written to prove, not that Americans have
performed great actions, but that the &C.
tions we're great because they were per.
formed BY Americans. Let him who doubts
it refer to some history Of modern Americs
written BY native, and he will be speedily
satisfied that no foreigner would ever Will.
ingly undertake the dreary tack of waoins
through the vOluminouk uk records, the grand Oh
iect Of which is to render trivialities impor.
tant and nobodies illustrious All timorou,
candida tes for ce. .ebrity may learn from the.e
chronicles that no America An need think him.
self too insignificant to figure in the annal,
of his country. The ma aterlals for history
now in course Of preparation. IN speech es
and newspapers, are equally authentic, and
much more entertaining. The bulletins and
telegra ne are frequently as comic as any.
thing in Punch. The sporting enterprises o.
MI. Briggs are not more amusing than the
military exhibitions OF Jonatnau. And the
clever creation of Dickens-Mr. JeGey son
Brick-who has been accepted a carica.
lure, proves to be a faithful and even fatter.
Ing portrait of that most indefatigable o1
modern American fctionists, the War Cor.
respondent.
We admit that there Is a serious and even
tragic side to he aspect Of American affairs
but it is not what com monty passes for such
1t is not in the dissolution of a ystem that
had become rotten and offensive while yet /,
preserved the appearance of life-not in the
parades which Americans mistake for cam
paigns, nor scufh which they call great bat.
Ties; it is in the fisndish spirit in which the
contest Is carried on ,on the part OF thsANorth
"a spirit without example IN modern con.
dicts, and TO find parallel for which we
must 90 back to the time when Louis XIV
ravaging the Pelaunate, or when the Span
iards, under Alva, so richly earned the curses
of tbs Dutch by turning prosperous terri
tory In to u fright tfui desert. But the Span
iards showed at lea I that, while doing thu
work of hends, they had the courage Of men
Not SO with these Northern destroyers, who
while they launch nothing but big word,
ag ainst the armies OF the south. take advan
tase Of their command Of the sea to blot ou
of the map of 'hs world thoss Southern liar
bors which were meant for the benefit, not o
the South-only, but of mankind. The ston,
dset. which Is supposed already to have done
its diabolical office, is nteD ded to choke per
manently the channels OF Savannah anC
Charleston haIbors.
How long will the great Powers OF Europ'
stand by and see such enormities committed
They do not hesitate to interpose by force t.
siop the bar barities Of savages. In the Leb
anon they step het tween Druss and Christian
and forbid the indulgence Of the vindic tive
ness which will bu satisfied only with the ex
termination of the foe But this measure
which would destroy not merely the works >
Of nature, and which seeks. in revenge for
polite difference, to condemn to s.erllity
reeiou Of the earth to which all nations hav
long been accustomed to look as a source o
supply-is the most atrocious that has TO
cen turiss diSgrac0d the annals of ciVilizss
warfare. 1t reveals, at once, a CONSCIOUSNESS
that the subjugation Of the South is hopeless
and the blackness of the spirit Of Northern
revenge. On the assum ption that the G6outl
ID ever to return to the Union. 1t ia ab urd
and, admitting that war 10 possible bstweel
the North and q European naval power, it /
50 cidal For what reason can the in ha bi tan {
DIN. York and Boston who have seen the ston
4 4et depart with acclamations on its dastal d
~ errand, urge, to avert a similar doom from
their own harborsf Why shonld not tn
mariners Of Charleston and savannah, VIII
see their occupation G-ne forever, sink a re
tributive stone heet in the channels OF tn
haYbors blockadsd by the squadrons Of Franc
nent to rot behind the barrier of tho Allan tic
1t would be deed of most righteous retri
button and the fact that we could cot, fl
the interests Of mankind, permit 1t, onl
shows more forciby the nature Of an &C