Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1864-01-08

: "A discomfort by no means groundless--l lie
: to the apparent defeat Of tho war party i
: strength in Others. But twas an ii!ogic:
e conclusion that the people were dissatishe
will, the war, when they only meant to ea
= press their dissatisfaction with the maane
, in which it was conducted. Their votes i
1893 truly expressed their feeling. In ever
. State but New Jersey the war party was sue
cesssul, its majority in Ohio being 100000
I in New York 10000, in Pennsylvania Is,
: 600, in Massachusetts, 10000. in Iowa 80,
900, in Maine $4,000. in California 10000
: And SO on throughout the country. TIL
popular voice IL still for war, but for va
boldly, and therefore Wisely, wayed.
The improvement tina. has taken place i.
J our foreign relations is even greater than tina
which has come over our domestic affairs
and torthe first time since the opening O
the civil war, il is possible for Americans t
say that there is every reason for belieTin,
that they are to be left to settle their owr
affairs according to their own ideas as to thu
fitness Of things. This change, like ali i'm
portant changes in human affairs, is duo 70
variety OF causes. In part it is owing tc
what we considered to be among our creates
mis'ortunes, and in part to those Successes
which changed the condition Of affairs
Our failure at fredericksburg, at the close o!
1852, strengthened the general European i'm
preston that the Rebels were to succeed; and
as their defeat at Murfreesboro' was not fol.
lowed by an advance Of our forces, that i'm.
! preston was not weakened by Gen. Bragg.
/ failure, though that was moro signal than
was the failure Of General Burnside. If the
Rebels were to succeed, why should Europe
! an governments do any hing in cid Of their
cause, at the hazard Of war with US? Our
/ defeat at Charlottesville, last May, tended
still further to strengthen foreign belief that
Tie Secess!on!sts were TO be the winning par
ty, and that they were competent to do all
their own work but i! i. had not soon been
followed by signal rcyerses to the Rebel arms
it is certain that the Confederacy would have
been acknowledged by most European ma.
items, on the plausible ground that its exist.
enca had been established on the battle. field,
and that we could not object to the admis.
sion Of selfeyident fact by foreign sover-
tisns and statesmen, who were bound to look
after the welfare Of their own subjects and
countrymcn, whose interests were greatly
concerned with the trade Of our Southern
country. Fortunately for al! parties but the
.sbels, those rcverses came suddenly md
With such emphasis as to create serious
doubts in the European mind as to tho supc.
.!ority Of the South as fighting commuAi
y. In en- evil hour for his cause, Gen. Lee
abandoned that wise defensive system which
Re I.Ed 30 long aud successfully adhered to,
and rade a,inovement into the Free States.
What was the immediate cause of his change
Of his proceeding will probably never De ac-
curatey known to tho existing generation.
On the face Of things no good political rea-
son appears for that change being made; and
on military grounds it was sure 10 lead TO
disaster, unless the North had become the
most craven Of countries. So bad was Lees
advance into the North, militarily speaking,
that it would have been the part Of good pol
icy 10 allow him 10 march without resistance
to point at least hundred miles beyond
that field on which he was to find his fate.
A Gettysburg tina. should have been fought
that distance from the base Of Southern op.
cra.ions could have had no other result than
the destruction Of the main Southern army !;
and that occurring at about the same timo
that Port Hudson and Vicksburg surrender.
ed, the war could have been ended by Sc.
ries Of thunder strokes. Not man OF Lee s
sr.2y could have escaped. But tho pride Of
the country prevented the adoption Of a
course that promised the most splendid OF
successes, and compelled our government
ard our commander to iorcgo the noblcst op.
portunity that had presented itself to effect
the enemy's annihation. Gettysburg was
made immortal, and Leo escaped, not with.
cut tremendous losses, yet with tho larger
part OF his army, and with much booty, that
! perhaps compensated his own loss in Mats.
Tial. He was beaten on field Of his own
! choosing, and with numbers in his favor
and his previous victories, the almost uniform
| success that had attended his earlier move.
ments. made lis Pennsylvania revcrses all
! the more grave in the estimation Of fcre;gn-
ors. Immediately after the NEWS vas sent q.
bread Of his defeat and retreat, ilings came
to US, and soon were spread over the world
! that the Rebels had experienced the most
/ terrible disasters in The South west, where.
by the so-cal!ed ConEederacy lad been cut
in two. These facts gave pause to those in.
tcniious Of acknoT Judgement which had un.
doubtedy been entertained in European
courts and cabinets; and nothing aftcrward
occurred, down to the day of Chickamauga
which wss calculated TO effect change IN
the minds Of tho rulers of the Old World
But when intelligence Of Chiclamauga reach
ted Europe, England had taken position SC
Gete-minad!y hostile TO intervention in any
Of is many forms and stages that even q
much greater disaster than that, could have
produced no evil to our cause abroad. Fol
it is to be remembered that the whole bust
ness OF intervention has lain from the begin
ming in the bosom Of England, and, that, il
she had chosen 10 act against US in force
she could have done SO with the strongest
hope Of success, if merely our humiliation
or even our destruction, had been her object
and without any immediate danger tarcaten
ing herself as the consequence Of her hostile
action. The French Government, not Francs
CIR any considerable portion of the French
people. has been ready to interfere in beha!
Of the Rebels for more than two years, anl
would have entered upon the process Of ir
tervention long since, if il had not been helt
bac.; by the obstinate refusal Of England t
unite with her in that pro slavery crusad
which. it is with regret we say it, the Frencl
Emperor has so much at heart; and withou
The aid and assistance Of England, tho rule
v. Ii-.!SS IS-A!d t.OL MIA uGiSL 1901 IIOfc u!
i:.sa against Us. Not the least, Eor the laas
strange, Of the changes Of this mutabls wor!,
} is to be seen in the circumstance that Franc
; should be restrained from uudoing he worl
, OF thu Bourbons and Of Napoleon I. by Eng
lands firm opposition TO the wishes an,
: purposes Of Napoleon III. The Bourbon
! policy, as well in Spain IS in France, brough
: about the early overthrow of Engand's rul
, over the territory Of the old United States
: ard the first Napoleon sold Louisana to u
; FOR . song, because be was convinced, tha!
by so doing. he should aid to build up for
{ inilab.o naval rival Of England. The MAJ
who seeks 10 undo all this, to destroy wha