Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-07-30
AMERICAN "DEGENERACYn
The ISLANDERS Of the London Times xpsse,
at Home


The LoadOn TimsS of July o spoke Of Aneri-
cans as "degeneraie and insensate people, 'qso-
Iatng themselves only in order that they nav in-
ilgc their own fierce vices uncontrolled" To
this the London Spectator, the ablest Of the Eng
llsh weekly journals, makes the following reply:
vAGARIEs or ENGLISH OPINION.
VI the many strange agaries OF Eagllsh opin-
Ion the strongest Is that which the Times on
Wednesday embodied In two strong words.
Tnat journal, which, aware that It's articles
weigh IN Amefica more heavily than dispatches,
writes every now and then an II II wanted war,
styled the Americans 'this insensats and degen-
crate people, To the frst ep!thet we take no
objection, thoug IL Is scarcely one which applies
To a race whose most disagreeabl5 quality, next
to thaiF self-conCcit, IS their haoitual "smar'
neIs.' The civil war, simply e' such, Is, Of
course, open to any amount OF Teprubatlon, even
from men who, were India again In revolt,
would support its suppression by any and every
means short OF depopulation. Misery 10 rarely
just, and the war creates among certain classes
degree and extent of misery which would ac-
count for auy DISCUS, and palliste almost any vir
ulence. But how sensible Englishmen, familiar
with the history and incidents Of the war, can
draw from them evidence Of American degen-
eraCy, Is 10 US unintelIigible: To Us they seem
On the contrary t. relieve the Americans from
some Of the severest reProaches which previously
rested on their national character.
THE FACTS
Let us look at The facts. No sooner had the
war commenced than the northern people, sup
posed 10 be the one which Of all Others preferred
material objects, laid aside every pursuit and
saked their lives their fortunes and their future
on war lor an idea, that idea being the one
witch In England we call patriotism. Taking
the lowest view OF their conduct, they still had
tn motive which justifes Italy in declaring war
for Venetla-they fought for tneir national COM
pleteness Believed To be disinclined to service
and incapable OF discipline, they enlisted In hun
dreds Of IhVdsands, and the Times correspondent
bears witness from the Pamunkey to their Won
dsrtul patience amid suffering which equals that
Of our soldiers in the Crimea.
Supposed to be guided wholly by impulse they
sns~ered the frigEtful disaster Of Bull Run by
creating new army, and raising loans on scale
Of more than European pr0fusiOn. Impatient
and fckle, >" they waited FIVE months for McClel-
Ian 20 organize tie army without abating one jot
Of their purpose, or becoming, even in language,
more viIUieut against their foes. Incapable of
self-restTaint," ;" they have pardOned Mcdowell In
spite Of defeat which risksd their existence as
nation, and upheld Mcclellan through all his
wearisomc delays. 4 "meTe mob," they suf-
fered thsiT Presiden 20 postpone the national
pride 20 the public security, saw the habsaS corpES
Suspended without q struggle, and gave up Mason
ana SIdeIl in the very midst Of their joyous ex-
ciiement at the capture. WOrshippsrs Of the sal
mighty dollar, !" they have deliberately mOrtgaged
lie North that the war might not be starve1 and
t-e nation split into halves
Without organization, and almost without a
government, with no adequate revenue, and with
Ealf tLCiF own strength in open iusurrectiOn
against them, they have fought on steadily for
fourteen months and in the very thick of the
contest lave created navy an iorganized an army
SIco az raises the Union to the rank Of frsclsss
power. And, be II remembered in their praise,
hey have 80 fought without the excitement OF
rs. have sustained defeats innunerable, have
h.-4 complied to cast aside statesman after
>t1Iesmau, 70 see general after general condemned
) lgAoEant, dishonest, OF wanting in fidelity to
tas cause.
tagy have done ali this too, without revoIu-
'iOuarY measures, without upsetting the author
iIy u the States, without lDterfel ling, save for
three m0ulhs, wi h the routine Of daily life
They are called vladlCtive, and 30 they are in
speech, bIt after fourteen months Of a rebellion
commenced by ueachery without parallel,
Gel Butler was the nrst to inhict death
man con .iCtSd Of treason. President Buchanan,
whose life in Bngland under the same circum-
slsnces would not have been worth an hours
purchase, lives a wheatland still unmolested
Not one Dill OF pToscri pton has been passed, The
solitary COlhsc2tiOn bill Is still not law, and
the people surink with almOst cOwardly ter
Tor from measure which, as they fear, mi ght
create revolution within their enemies homes
Amidst their crowd Of new men, one indeed
has Issued orders which have made his name q
bywOrd, bat the only chgrge against the remain
der is that OK Over-IeRlty. W hen France, invaded
b. CO2lrsced Europe, rose in arms, all Europe
admired au OutouTSt which waS not in any one
feature no0ler than that which, because Ameri-
cans Drag aud are personally disagreeable, we are
10 accept in America as evidence Of degeneracy.
The war, so far from destroying all that Is good
In them, Is aunealiEg tae hearts OF the nation
hardening them, we fear-bat burning out also the
drOss.
THE GRAND PRINCIPLE AT ISSUE
''But the war Can end only in one way. Why
not aecep. the facts, and let the South 6egone,h y
simply because Americans are only Englisnmeu
In their shirt sleeves, and while hope remaiRi
Gney cannot give way. Pluck aad tenacity, how
ever unreasonable, a'e not exactly signs Of de.
.5e2efscY. We f0ug ght for years to keep coIoniei
walch the greatest men among us declared ali tn.
time We s-OlId DC unable TO conquer; and though
We recognize the folly Of cur persistence II la
not injured our national character. The NorIl
Is plungiRg itself into debr True, and better 81
than plunge into a system Of equisitiOns whicl
the + rCncn tiled after eXh2usiing assign mats anC
without Certainly much apparent dsgeheTacV
They ''are eating up their future" we hav
one nevertheless, who have biuen just five time
America has still not incurred large debt hal
we contracted to conquer the states, though w
had then but half the American population
she Is Destroying the source OF the po pulation
L. Is true, the waste of life il most fearful but
must In any case be IesS than the Destruction
caus d by the Irish famine catastrophe w,
have survived, aud which too many Of us in on
secret hearts do not to this hour regret 9Th
Union has surrerdere its principle, The right O
mankind to chose their own form Of govern
meat" That grand principle is ours also, but w
are not going TO poll India, nor II Ireland re
belled tomorrow should we dream Of the peace
ful ballOt-bOX. A nation must exist before i
can proclaim any principles W t-btsver, and thouy
We can conceive Of a people So Goftily consisten
that they would carry out principle which visi
biy involved their own destruction, that 10 not
heig ht 20 which We have attained, nor does Il Ii
III our mouths TO charge the northern people wit
failure 70 reach a standard Of virtue from whic
We ourselves TecOtl
There are enough causes OF sadness In thI
American war, without charges Of degenerac
addressed to the only race who, save surselve.
stand up for to- right Of political freedom. II 4
melancholy that tue progress Of the world shoul
6e stopped Dy the wreLched fear Of democrac
Produced by the conflict; melanc holy that ei Y /
millions Of human Beings should be encounterin
deaIn 70 retain the slaves whom the twenty mil
lions VINO nght for them will not enfra nchist
most me meiancnoly OF all that In ths rovidence {
'oa we, VINO introduced slavery, must, thoug
huW nee OI tne stain, bear our share In the con
sequences q that great crime There Is m,se,
IN store Tor the South aBd for the North; for IA
ndnsieaieTs aud those who have Ie0alized m
theft; for he tOiling OF millions Of f.ancashir,
and for those who supply the object OF tbei, Is
But among those miserles the greatest OF all m
degeaerscy OF a branch Of the AngIo-saroa r,cs
Cf the Only people who, amidst many errors an
many crimes, are still consciously toiling on To
higher fntuTe-wil aSSuredly not be found
D-Gen. Boyle has adopted line Of polio