Litchfield enquirer., 1864-07-14
England,s Real Pesition.

1 HuSt pegln 10 reSafu tueIT PoSiIion feiatiyei J to the United States with feeling of deer humiliation. England collectively, arrogates to herself, not only as 'perogative but as . brthright, all the hohor, honesty, respectabl- ity, and so forth that the wide wollI contains Englishmen are Me nol,lemen of tue Earth. and the citizens Of other countries, as we'll as the countries themselves, are tolerated, or not as sohn Bull pleases to please. But in no cir 1 eumstances does their regard exceed mere toleratlon Recognition, on the part of the Bull family toward any other family, whethe, personal or national, is an act of grace and also O. condescension thoy admit none to conven- tional equality with themselves. And this might be very we'll if the pretensions of the naughty islanders were based on actual posses sions. Unfortunately, their claims have nc such foundation.
 Macready, the great tragedan, some fifteen years ago, in dinner speech at New Orleans remarked that "of all the bright pages in Br- tish annals none was brighter than the record of the United States !; for the Great Republic was an own daughter of the British Empire and it we'll became the mother country to be proud of such descendant" It was noble scnti- ment of the speaker, but it has been indiffer- en,ly justified by England, inasmuch as the mothers pride has degenerated into the mo- ther's jealousy. The grown-up daughteri is the object not of the, parents affection but of her haired.
 This passion has been miserably developed in the course of the war now raging between the North and South Both the policy and the duty of tke British govcrnment-in it's assum- ed capacity of arbitress of the worlds destiny -enjoined her to stop this war at the outset, and she could have done 80 almost by the movement of a finger. A simultaneous notice to France and to the |" Confectionery that En- gland would in no sense and under no circum- stances justify, aid or recognize the rebels would have made an end of the thing and the frightful expenditure of blood and treasure on this side of the water, together with the suffer ing of the people of both England and France = arising from this very war, would all have been saved But the British government, so far from pursuing this wise honest, Christian course, descended to the meannsss of playing double game between the two contendng par ties; and, while solemaly and ostentatively protesting neutrality, actually, though with an affectation of secrecy, aided the rebellion to the utmost-exceptins, onlj, tho act of literal arm. ed interference.
 Nay, in the case of the Alabama, even this last outrage was not withheld. The govern ment itself virtually built (by permitting to be built) the piratical craft and, under the poor pretext of legal qubble, they sent her forth (by permitting her to go forth) on her foul mission, tho record of which is written char acters of fire, and which is at last approp, ateIy ended in blood foo little blood, indeed for every man on board the accurscd ship should have gone with her "to the watery botton1 :'' but still, the end is characteristically appropri- ate. And even in the closing scene of this vile episode of tAe war, British meanness repro, duces itself. The pirate succenlbs to Ameri- can valor, but a Britieh looker-on tacting on the principle, like master, like man," ard knowing, from past experience, that his gov ernment would wink at his larceny) steals a part of oar prisoners, and precisely the same kind of stealing that Semmes himself prac;scd on the passengers of the merchant yesscls that surrendered to him.
 Very possibly virtuous England, honorable England, honest England, after having claimed Mason and Slidell from us. may reply to oar oounter-claim for Semmes and his men. |" Ger: tainly, the prisoners are entirely at your ser vice but somehow or other our Secretary was a little remiss when these men first landed on our shores and the niien have emigrated. We are re'y sorry. You may command us in any thing within our power. But, don't you see :? this thing has really passed away from our control" And all that sort O thing. These and all kindred protestations, disclaimers aud regrets on the part of the original Peckoniff, will bs taken by the people of the United States at tllsir exact value.
 The end of all this is not yet. But in the meantime, We may as well ruminate on one particular cud which we may be sure all the English Bulls are just now che~ings namely, the significant-and perhaps the ominous- fact that recently, and for the first time in half century, British ship armed with British guns. manned by British crew and command ed by British officers "saoe one," has encoun, tered in fair fight a ship of her own size, but every thing on board of which is American from her kelson to her trucks, and after short combat has bean sunk without inaicting any material injury on her antagonist and without destroying a n1an of that antagonists crew.
 Quere. In case of war between England and the Uuited States, ho,c much better of will any British man of-war be, after coming in contact with aay ship of our insignificant navyfz
 PRocLAM1r1oN FOR DAY OF HuM1LIATIo,
 AMI PRAyrp -T6a p roe;dopt ;n occordono.