Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-09-17
OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS.

senta portions Of the elaborate and eloquent speech
delivered by Mr.. Senator SUMNER in New York,
on Thursday last upon the subject Of "Our For
eign Relations" The great length Of the oration,
filling as it does nearly twenty columns of the New
York press, from which we copy it, must be our
apology for emitting in this reproduction SO much
as seems least essential to the full exhibition of the
Senator'S argument, under which we class the first
head of his discourse, devoted to recapitulation
of the instances in which, since the outbreak of
our civil war, he conceives the Governments Of
Great Britain and France to have demonstrated an
unfriendly disposition towards the United States
Under this head Mr.. Sumner cites fourteen speci-
fcations against the Government of Great Britain
and four against the Emperor of the French.
The unfriendly acts which afford the evi-
dence of something less than neutral bearing to-
wards our country on the part of the British peo-
pie and rulers are found in the haste with which
the British Government in May, 1861, recognised
the Southern insurgents as " belligerents" in the
hostile spirit created by that declaration among the
English people, and which was subsequently deve-
oped by the Trent affair by the reclamation made
Ia behalf of certain British subjects because the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus was denied
to them when arrested on suspicion of aiding and
abetting the rebellion; by the diplomatic represcn
tatons made against the "stone blockade" of
Charleston; by the criticisms Of British statesmen
in Parliament, in public addresses and in official pa
pers, animadverting on particular measures of our
military policy, and conceived in general discour
agement of our cause as one predestined to de-
feat; by the impunity with which "naval expedi
tons" have been allowed to fit out in British ports
for the purpose of depredating on cur commerce; !;
by the misconstructions placed on the rulings Of
our courts and on the practice of our Government
for the purpose of giving a colorado pretext to
such violations of neutrality; by the curt and cyni
cal tone which the British Foreign Secretary habi-
tually holds towards the Government of the Uni
ted States in his official correspondence and last
ly, by the prospect of an Intrusive mediation"
never formally disavowed, but suspended, as IN
terroren,, over the head of the nation.
If we cross the channel into France Mr. Sumner
does not see much to encourage us, though the
Emperor, he thinks, has not intermeddled lilo
gically dspayeda temper Of so little international
amsbility." His unfriendly disposition has, how
ever, been manifested, as Mr. Sumner conceives, by
his recognition of the Confederates belgerents on
sea as well as land; by the invasion of neigh
boring Republic, Mexico, and the dynastic designs
which he seeks to carry out in restraint of our
power and influence in the Gulf of Mexico and on
the American Continent; by his desire to inter-
vene for the purpose Of procuring an armistice be-
tween the "two begerents;' and by his patron
izing demeanor towards the envoy Of the insur-
gents in Paris
This portion of Mr.. Summers speech we have
omitted, relating to topics with which our
readers are familiar, though in unfolding his sub
ect he naturally assigns the first place to this branch
of the discussion From our recapitulation the
reader can gather the several counts of his indict-
ment against these two great Powers In his
discourse Mr.. Sumner gives to them great elabo-
ration and minuteness of statement, because he
regards them as 50 many "perils," portending
damage to the national cause. The array certainly
is formidable one in the eyes of all who share
his view Of the dninus and motive, Of the Euro
pean Powers in question. For own part we
are frank to avow that we do not find quite as
much cause Of complaint on all Of these grounds
as the distinguished Senator does, and therefore
we do not see in all of them the same cause of
apprehension. If we did so we should be greatly
more alarmed than Mr.. Sumner seems to be for the
security Of our country from foreign complications
fraught with irreparabe disasters to the cause of
the Government in its present contest
II we turn from review Of the particular speci-
6cations adduced by Mr.. Sumner against Great
Britain and France to consider the principles of
public law and policy on which he relies for de.
fence Of our Government against the menace Of a
foreign recognition" or Intervention" to our
detriment, we shall find that he reposcs his hopes
chiefly on considerations derived from the moral
aspects Of the great struggle which is convulsiug
our country. He argues that lit is plain to all
who have not forgotten history that England never
can be guilty of such recognition without an un-
pardonablc apostacy, nor can she intervene by way
of mediation except in the interests Of freedom"
And yet he Immediately adds that " such are the
strange elective aAinities newly born between
England and slavery ach is the towering blind
ness with regard to our country kindred to that
which prevailed in the time Of George Grenvie
and IorJ Norfb that bpr N1.;o.tn,.