Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-02-29
Russia and the United States from a French
llI3 ~. Point of View. --

Russia and the United States from a French
- Point of View.
Thu S,atinsI OF Saturday publishes an article i've
columns long, translated for its columns from the Pans
Patri, of January l2h, in which truthful and i'm
pr,ssve parallel run between the conduct Of Russia
toward, Poland and the United States towards the
Confederate States We would transfer the entire ar
tcle to our columns but for its great length We must
o,n,spt ourselves with few exsraca, with summary
Of the line OF argument and remark.
The Patri. il should be borne in mind Is n1erstood
70 occupy sort Of semi-OfHcAl position. It is be.
ueved to be used by the Emperor sometimes to test
sometimes to mould, public opinion The carefully con-
dertd character OF the elaborate article before u.s. the
accuracy Of its facts and the conspicuous sty double
leadeO Of publication adopted, justify the inference
that II was brought forward without the privy, II
not BY the inspiration, Of the French Ruler.
The occasion seized by the writer for the expression
Of his views, is tho visit Of the Russian neet 10 New
York and the extraordinary honors with which il was
received. The surprise excited by this apparent Goa
tou between the champions Of deipotism and the teS
Wanting apostles Of liberty, he thinks will disappear
upon attentvey considering the situation Of the two
countries and the true character causes aud eonse
ou.nces of the struggles in which both are engaged
Aoy one who will examine these, he says, twill finish
bV discovering so much analogy between their policy,
90 much resemblance in the objects at which they aim
so much conformity in the means they employ, that
astonist men: ceueS.".
Looking 6rs to the las! Of these, the means employ
ed he directs attention TO the signal contempt with
which on the new as well as the old continent the
sacred laws of humanity ramped under foo" The
soenog and bsni6cent Influences Of civil zatop, mani
tested in other wars disappear from the kindred tKorS
of Russia and the Ulied States to suppress struggles
for Independence. They urge on their bTbarous cam
p,gns with all the odious Accomplishments Of nassa
c,e aud plAye" Villages pundered homesteads fred,
ursopers tortured the wounded treated with heArtes
inhumanity old men, priests ard children given
over 10 the sports and usts of brutal sodiery, the
countries invaded made vas. fields Of murder aud
ftmss-these are some Of the features that give q
striking resemblance to the frightfu pictures presented
BY the two wars Intances Of arociy on the part Of
the Ru slams and the Yankees given, thai show ho
we'll the mons era Of the have kept pace With The
monsters Of the other how the houraviehs, BergS
Annankcs and Dlotowsk have been rvAled in beast
liosss By the Bltlers, the Turchns the hcNeils and
schepcks. To the American rufiIns he gives the
precederc, Of having invented many OF the new
tangled brutaities practised in common by BOTH
The leading idea Of cash seems to be- the French writer
thinks to stake vengeance on the innocent for the
failure to reach the guilty" Some excuse may be found
in the undertaking in which each Government is en-
ragged for he existence Of the UOiou, like the ueg
riy Of the Russian Empire only be preserved BY
frgh.fu massicIe,. Let u.s. then cease to feel ndg
nation against Butler and Brg against schenck
and an AnnAnkOd they but the instruments of =
higher ~i or, rather the tools of fatal pOlCyI-
9us il the scenes of carnage and desOlaiOn which
now disgrace the two worlds more and more ca ct uE
if our hearts revolt a. the sight oil much useless
bloodshed, let us demand at once both from M. Lin
coin and the Csar not to change their gsHsral' mol
evsa to change their system but simply to abandon Sn
impossible coercion, aud 10 yield complies indepeH
dsnes he Ors 10 Poland; The other TO The Southern
a." States"
lis not in the mama of humanity alone that this de-
mand should DO made the writer continues but in the
name Of right and justice:
is il Just that fifty millions Of kuscovtes should
combine 20 keep 10 or twelve millions Of Poes under
detested yoke Is It just tina. upwards of twenty
millions Of North Americans, Germans and ldshmeu
Americans association that they jecss Is it not
in both cases, an odiOul abuse Of force
'It Il not vet a century since the thirteen original
States OF the Union fret thought OF combining their e-
forts in order to free them elves from the yoke OF &c
mo her country As soon as the object OF the alliance
was attained, the alliance itself seemed doomed to
psrish and il required all the popularity aud activity
Of men like Washington and Benjamin Franklin TO de-
de the emancipaed colonies (uOt all at once, nor all
together but one after the other, and with much hest
tapcy) 10 reform and consolidate the dissolved OOnfld
eracT by the acceptance Of common constitution. To-
day. soms of these States percevDg that by reason OF
changes in their condition. arising either from the pro-
gress Of events or the i-W Of their association their
interests are compromised by the connection which was
to have protected Them indicate the intention OF break
ing IL and of resuming their entire independence,
v6;ch thew had partially and condilonAly Sbdicatsd
But the oil refuse 10 consent to the dissolution
of the associations. They eQlip fleets, raise armies,
subsidise- Invertebrates to maintain by force Union
formed by free W II. On which side was the rightf
The question of slavery, the writer argues, has but
little 70 do with this raging desire to subjugate the
Southern SAos, though if it had 1t would be "a singu
lar philanthropy that would slaughter eight millions
of whites to emanopate three or four millions Of blacks
There are other and greater causes:
The first 10 TIE profound difference in abits, man
mars and character between the people Of the North and
South which makes of them, in measure, two distinct
patioLs Different in their origin, for one was principally
recruited among the French aud Spanish, while the
others were chiefly composed Of English, Dutch, Ger
mans and SEedes eel arated by long distances living
under other attitudes, devoted to different pursuits
guided by opposing interests, tbs two populations had
sways regarded themselves rivals, long before the
election Of Mr.. Lincoln bad made them enemles.-
People have been as onshed in Eurep. that the South
should have been 80 sensitive to electoral defeat
because they generally reflected that this check
was not in the Eyes of the vanquished, temporary
accident but the symptom of permanent and rremsdi-
able deta'ement
The South, st the commencement Of the enion pre-
nonderating As we'll in population as in wealth and in
siQenc., had gradually seen s political Influence and
the humber OF its representatives diminished as con-
sequence of the enormous aceessons of population ut
the North "Thus," (says an able Satisfactorily "VIr-