The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-04-05

THE LATBST UA1TlDH COUNSEL.
. Our rebellion has brought out the oldest de
veiopnents Of British opinion In respect to thi
country. Our English cousins mistake US alto
gether. They blunder in our geography; they
nave the strangest misconception Of our poll
tics; and they do not seem to get the least ap
probation of the real character and spirit o.
the American people The present war, in
stead Of enlightening them--as il has proved a
marvellous means of acknowledge to ourselves
---only confuses and bewilders them the more,
end it the English newspapers OF this date rep.
resent the ideas of the English people, they
may be pronounced essentially muddled on
American affair All the leading papers-from
the London Times down, or up, as you prefer
to take it-those that have been most friendly
| to our Government not excepted, have fallen in
to the hallucination that the recent Union vic.
tories will incline our Government and people
to consent to the disruption of the Union
They appear to think we have been fighting for
point Of honor, to demonstrate which end Of
the Union has the most pluck, and that point
settled, that there is no obstacle to the splitting
up Of the nation into any number OF petty SOW.
ereignties. They really seem to expect that We
shall jump at this opportunity to make peace
aid let the South 60, and that there is actually
no serious objection to q disruption Of the
Union.
All this sounds very oddly to u.s. who know,
that the determination to maintain tie Union
intact has strengthened and deepened with ey.
cry defeat and every success, until now the PEG.
pie OF the Free States are unanimous in this
purpose, and suggestion to assent to secession
would be hooted down as the madness of folly
and treason. Yet the English papers tell us
our success in maintaining the Union and de-
teatiDg Its enemies has removed the only obsta.
Gle to its dissolution. The London Times naive
ly admits that it desires division of the Union
because Great Britain can better manage two
powers on this continent than one, and it at
tempfs to beguile US with the notion that there
is plenty Of room here for two nations, with the
widest scope desirable for growth in population
and wealth. The American people are not to
be caught with any such chaff They have read
European history too well, and they are deter
mined that there shall not be on this continent
any such Involvement to perpetual war as must
inevitably exist between two rival nations Occu-
pying the same great rivers aud valleys, with no
natural boundaries to separate them. Two ma
tions within the limits of these States is ply
steal lmpossibility, and the people are fast ma
king it politica! and moral impossibility. The
appeal of our English cousins comes too late,
and there is nothing in it to move US in the least
degree from our fixed purpose to maintain the.
that it would require thirty years. war, and
burden US with u perpetual tax. such as the
English people groan under, it would not shake
this inttexible purpose. How absurd then to
suppose that when we are marching on to sue
cess in work held essential to our national ex-
lstence and to our prosperity and honor in all
coming time, we should pause and abandon our
object just as it comes within our grasp. The
English may honestly think US fools, but we
know we should prove ourselves SO if we could
listen for moment to such a suggestion.
How is it that the English people can sup
pose we care less for our national integrity than
they do? few years ago the O'Connell re.
peal movement eliminated in project to take
Ireland out of the "united kingdom" BY vio-
lence-that is by forcible secession, something
after the jeff Davis plan. 1t was promptly
extinguished by the dispersion of the repeal
clubs, the disarming OF their members, and the
trial and Punishment of their leaders. WHY
did it not occur then to the London Times, that
as the Government had demonstrated its power
to maintain the National unity, it was just the
proper moment to consent to repeal? Why did
not England say to Ireland, We have proved
that we can hold you if we will-now go in
peace and establish your Irish kingdom? To
ask the question is to answer it. There was no
repeater" crazy enough to suggest such a sou.
ton of the controversy, and no American ed-
tor was found stupid enough to volunteer such
advice to the British Crown as the Times now
offers &c our Government But 1t is useless to
argue this matter. There is no cure for British
stupidity and misconception but hard facts
The same process that enlightens the South, will
at length open British eyes to the fact that the
United States is an actual nation, valung its
own existence and unity, and determined and
able TO sustain and defend ITSELF That fact well
we shall hear no more kind advice
from our English friends to go into national
dissolution as a means of living. Until they
US well enough to withhold all such
advice, we must even continue to hold their
opinions of us as entitled to not the slightest
nsderation.-I Springfield Republican