New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-02-20
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
TEE CONTEST IN AMERICA.
BY JOHN STUART MILL.

rloouily over the civilized world, black with iar
worse evils than tbose Of simple war mas passeu ,
from over our heads without bursting. Inc Tear ha
not been realized that the only two trs-rste fow9n
who arc slso free nations would take TO tearing each
other ia peces both the and the other IN y bad
and oiious cause. For WHILE Oh the Amercav, side,
the war would have been of reckless pers siency
In wrong ON ours il would have been "a ar in al
hsnce with, and to practical purpo es, III defense
ono Propagation Of Slavery. We had, iv,deed, been
yyrcnced We had suffered an indignity, and some
thing more thsn indignity which no 10 have re-
vented, would have been TO invite constant sncces-
sion OF insults and injuries from the ssne ana ron
every Der quarter. We could have acted no oiuer"
wis. than We hive done: yet II is lmp0s zoe 10
think without something like slu.dder, from "nat
we have escaped. We, the euAnipalors oil clo
slave-wao have wearied every ourt INV "uNe'h
meut in Europe and America with our protests ana
re- ops,rances until We goaded them INTO al FEAST
osten.ibly cooperating with rs to preVeh' we eu-
shaving Of The negrO-we, who Tor the lts' hi' cen
fury lave spent sunual sums equal to the revenue w
"A ANAL KINGDOM in block idlnC ire Affcau co'tt ior
a cause in winch we net only had no interest, bal
which WAS contrary 10 our pecnnisry inteieei, ana
which aDv believed would run, as many among us
still Though errsneOusS, believe that II has ruined,
our colonies should have lent a hand 20 setting
NJ. in one OF the most commanding positions Of the
world. IA powerful republic, devoted not only 10
Slavery, but 10 Pro-Slavery pE0pagandisrr should
have helped 10 give place ID tue com
nunity OF nations 10 conspiracy CT slave
owners, who have broken their connection with
tie American Federation Oh the sole ground, osten-
tstiously proelaiued, that they thought an ATTEMPT
would he made 10 restrain, not Slavery Nseli, but
their purpo,e Of spreading Slavery Wherever nlgfa-
ton or force cOdlG carry it.
A nation which has made Zoe professions that In-
GLAND has does not WITH iuSguulty, under however
great prOVOca'iOn, betske itself 10 frustrating the
objects for which II has been calling on tie rest oi
tba 70
interest. AZ present, ali the nations 81 Europe nave
symratnzed with H.; have acknowledged thai we
were injured, and declared, with rare urhIhnl.!
that We had 10 ioice but rcSst. il pecessay ny
nrIns. But the consequence. Of such war w0nid
soon have boriei liz causes in oblivion. Nhtn The
new COutsoefate Slste-, made IN ude endeni Power
by English help, Lad begun their crusace 10 cary
nero Slavery from the Potomac TO Cape Horn,
who would then have remembered that Ehsiand
ral.ed mp IL ecOursc Uniauliy not Tor TIE rNi
sake bur because somebody had offered an insult 10
her hag Oreveu II wfUr- often, who WouiC thch
have Irlt thai such q grievance was a sli 'ieni iHl
stion Of tbe crime Ev-ry reader OF auewspa2er
TO tie iuIthest ends of tie earth, wold nave b.
Ieved and remembered oue tbiug only-inai az tie
critical iHlctuTe which 70 oe,i1e whether Sla'-
cry sDOad blaze mp airesh Nth increased Nl-or or
be trO0den Oul-at the uOmeut OF CONFLICT between
the good aud the evil syri-at the dawn OF hope
that the demon nj -ht now a. lasL be chained AID
flung into The Iit England stepped IN, ana, for the
sake OF CO. ton, made SATAN victorious.
TIE world has been saved from tiis calamity, aud
ENGLAND f.om this Gi- grace. The accus;ltiOn wO11
indeed have been II cauu.ny But to Oe able to deiy
caluuny, "a nation, like an Individual, must stand
clear ~ Just reprOach III Ia previous conduct.
Unfortunately, We ourselves have given too uuch
plausiOIlty 10 tue c"aIge. Not by anything SAID or
doue by no as a G. ,yernment or 10 baton, but by
fh tone OF orr press ard ia degree, II must be
owned the gene raj % o. ION Of English society. A. Is
too true that the feelings which have hoen mani
fested SINCE the beginning of the Amerc n contest
the judgments which have been pat lo,ta, and the
wishes which have been expressed concerning the
incidents and probable even;ualitles of the struggle
the bitter aud irritating criticism Which has beer kept
NJ, against both parties equally but aimost
solely against The party in the light, and the uDgen-
erous refusal Of all hose lust allowances which
country needs more than own, whenever It's
circumstances are rs near TO those Of America 4
cut finger is 10 AN almost mortal wOund-hese facts,
with minds iavoraoly disposed 70 US, would have
gone far to make the NOS, O9ious Interpretation Of
the war In which we have been nearly engaged
with the CuiIed States, appear by many deereee The
mOst probable. There is deny Ing that atii-
tnde toward the contending parties II mean our
moral attitude, for POLITICALLY there was no other
open than neutrality, has not been that
which becomes people VINO 40 sincere enemies
OF Slavery the English really and have made
~ great sacrifices To put an end 10 II where they
could. And IL hes been additional misfortune that
sone of our most powerful journals have been for
many years past very uOtavorabe exponents OF
English feeling ell subjects connected with
slavery: some probably, from the influences, more
Others from Inbred ioryism, which, even when COM
PEELED by reason 20 hold opinions favorable to
liberty, is always adverse to 1t IN feeling;
which likes the spectacle Of irresponsible pc yer
exercised by one person over Others; which Las no
moral repugnance u the thought Of human ieings
born 10 the penal servitude for life, TO which for the
term OF "a few years sentence our most hardened
criminals, but keeps its Indignation to be expended
on "rabid and faIiatical Abolltionsts' across the
Atlantic, and on those writers III England who alta
sufficiently serious meaning TO their Christian pro-
fessOns 10 consider fight against Slavery fight
for God.
Now, when the mind OF England. and il NAV
almost be said of the civilized part OF mankind, has
been relieved from The incubus which had weighed
os il ever since the Ireht outrage, and when We
no longer feeling toward the Northern Americans
men feel toward those with whom they may be On
the point OF struggling for hte or death; now, if
over is the time to review position aDd CONSIDER
whether We have been feeling what ought TO have
been felt, and wishing what ought TO have been
wished regarding the contest IN nhich the Northern
States are engaged with the South.
In considering this matter, we ought 10 DISMISS
from 0cr minds far possible those feelings
agains, the North which have been engendered not
merely by the Trent aggression, but BY the previous
anti-Bi 81 ersions Of newspaper writers and stump
orators. IL IL hardly worth while TO ask how faI
these OK blossoms Of ill-humor are anything than
might have been anticipated from ill-discpined
minds, disappointed Of the sympathy which they
Justly thought they had right to expect from the
great An-Slavery people III their really noble enter
prise 1t ia almost supertiuous 10 remark that dem
ecratic Government always shows worst where
other Governments show best-on its outside; that
unreasonable people are much more noisy than the
rsssonable that the frotb and scum the part o.
= violently fementiDg liquid that meets the eyes,
but are not its body aud substance. Without
insisting on these things, l contend that all
previous cause Of otfeDse should DO consid-
jered rs cancelled by the repsraton which the Amer