The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1862-08-06
Will England Interfere !

Z
England iubllaut. It's organs vie with
each other in using the most insulting
language toward the Government and the
people of the United States. A Tory
member of the House of Commons has
announced his intention to move, on Fri
day, July Is, that the Government be
called upon to put an end to the war in
America by mediation or otherwise. TIE
London Post, the organ of Lord Palmer
ston, sees fit to throw ont the following
threat 'Should folly still reign supreme,
should three hundred thousand more men
be levied, and should another invasion of
the Southern Confederacy be projected, 1t
will then remain for neutral States to de-
termine whether the South has not by its
recent prowess established its claim to be
considered independent. If the North
would take the initiative, and sail with
the current which it cannot stem, neutra!
States might be saged the disagrecaJ2e
aecessity Of discharyjng q most disagree
aJIe duty" And such is the tone Of all
the organs of aristocracy, both Tory and
!, Whig, Of the cotton lords of Manchester,
} and or that numerous tribe which vener-
ates every saying of The LoaGon Times
, as a gospel. Whether majority Of them
think the Federal Union already sulic-
ientIy weakened and humbled to risk, at
) once, threat of intervention, may well
be doubted, but there can be little or no
: doubt as to what they wish to do, and
what they will not hesitate to do, should
subsequent events confirm them in their
, opinion that the aggressive power of the
loyal States Of the Union is exhausted.
; As yet, the advocates of intervention
: seem to concern themselves but little as
: to the cost Of an American war and Its
inevitable influence on the trade, manu-
, tactureS, and prosperity Of England. The
Z London Star, however, which has always
been the faithful champion of the right
Icousness of our cause, makes some timely
! suggestions upon the ability of England
to engage in war against the United
! States. It says:
"If We threaten, we must be prepared also
TO act. And if we act, we begin by doubling
the calamity we desire to remove 4 famine
Of cotton is hard enough to bear, but a dcarth
Of bread added thereto you'd be infinitely
, worse Let us look at the latest facts and fig
urcs bearing on the subject. As soon as Lord
Fdne Tempest had given his notice of motion
Mr.. CaiTd rose 10 draw attention to our sources
! Of food supply. Renewing his annual plea fol-
, the collection Of agricultural statistics he drew
an argument from the raiu-clouds Jhat bedim
our Summer gayetics. Except we have six
, weeks of fcontinued sunshine and heat. the har-
: vest will be seriously impaired. We have
been paving nearly twice as much for foreign
, corn these last three years as IN former years
We paid last year thirty-fye millions sterling
fifteen millions more than in any year since
/, 1860 Another month of rain and cold NAV
: carry our next years expenditure on foreign
| corn up to fifty millions. The absorption of
such vast sum Of moLey in the purchase OF
food would severely affect all branches of ftrade
and industry. But what if we have to carry
or at the same time a costly war, and cut of
/ the principal sources of our foreign supply ?
North America, says Mr.. Caird, sends rs three
eights Of cur food supply. y still more recent
return than that on the authority OF which he
spoke enables us to state the proportion YET
more impressively We have now before Us a
return Of the imports ofwheat, fourand maize
from the United States and all other places
: during what may be called the agricultural
year. extending from the lst Of September to
the lst of June. The United States sent us
l,73l ,626 quarters of wheat; all other cOun-
2 tries, 3,lS7,7l8 quarters. Offour, the United
States sent US 5, ,I35, 686 cwt. ; all other coun-
tries 1,100,77O cwt OF maize, now an i'm
portant article of food, we receive from the
United States 1862 ,256 quarters, and from all
, other countries 9I9,437. Surely, these figures
are sufficiently instructive and admonitory. In
, the heat of the French excitement The times
foolishly told its readers that the loss of our
North American food supply would raise the
price Of wheat only few shillings per Or, as
Russia could easily supply the deficiency
Well, according to the return moved for by
Mr. Card, the Russian supply in l86l amount.
ed to LOAF, 743 qrs.-the American Exclusive
of Canada which might be considerably OBJ
structed by war) to 3.59l,99l. All the coun-
: tries of Europe put together do not send US as
much corn as the United States. The ports
of the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Mediter-
ranean could not with their utmost pressure,
render US such supplies as flow 10 US through
the mouths Of those great rivers which it is
; proposed TO blockade IN order that the slave
, breeders of Virginia, and their more Southern
customers for human flesh and blood may sue
cessfully defy the authority of a Government
as just as it is powerful, and triumph over a
people as faithful to the principles OF freedom
as they are loyal tn the service Of their com
: monwealth."
If we add to these statements of Tie
Star that Russia from which, next to the
United States, the largest supply of grain
is derived, will export this year consider
erably less than usual, and that France,
in consequence of deficient harvest, will
likewise need large importatious from the
United States, We confess to some skepti.
cism as to the present ability Of either
, France or England, or both powers com