Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1864-11-24

/ Washington, nor Charleston. nor Savannah,
nor Mobile, nor of all combined, can save
the enemy from the constant aud exhaustive
drain of ll0od aud treasure which must con
tinue until he shall discover that no peace
is attainablc unless based on the recognition
OF our ndclaasiblc rights.
d Before leaving this subject il is gratifying
to assure you that the military supplies es-
scntallyrcqusitc for military defense will
! I've found, us heretofore, adequate to our
needs; aud that abundant crops have re-
wardcd the labor Of the farmer, aud render
/ ed abortiyc the ihhumau attempt of the en-
cmy to produce by devastation, famine
among the people.
FOREIGN RELATIONS.
1t is not in my power to announce any
change in the conduct of foreign powers. =
No such action has been taken by the
Christian nations of Europe as might Justly
have been expected from their history, from
the duties imposed by international law,
and from the claims or humanity. 1t is
charitable to attribute their conduct to nc
worse motive than indifference to the conse.
portion of the American continent and
not ascrbc to design course calculated to
insure the prolongaion Of hostilitics
No instance in history is remembered by
me III which II nation pretending to exercise
dominion over another. asserting it, indie
pendence, has been the first TO conccde the
existence of such independence. No case
can be recalled to my mind in which neutral
/ powers have failed to set the example OF
recognizing the independence of Il nation.
when satisfied OF the inability of its enemy
to Subveit its government; and this, too IN
cases where the previous relation between
the contending parties has been coniessedll
chat of mother country and dependen
colony; not rs III our case, that of co-cqua
states united by federal compact. 1t ha'
never been considered the proper function
and duty Of neutral powers to perform the
office Of judging whether in point of fact the
nation asserting dominion is able to make
good its pretensions by force of arms, and il
not, by recognition Of the resisting party tC
d scOuntenance the further continuance o.
the contest. And the reason why this duty
is incumbent on neutral powers is plank
apparent, when we reflect that the pride and
pas .ion which blind the Judgment of the
parties to the conflict cause the continuance
Of active warfare, and consequent usees,
slaughter, long after the inevitable result
has become apparent to all not engaged in
the struggle. So long, therefore, as neutral
nations fail by recognition Of our independ
ence to announce that, in their judgment,
the United States are unable to reduce the
cOnicderacy to submission, their conduct
Will be accepted by our enemies us Il tacit
encouragement to continue their efforts, and
"a an implied assurance that belief is enter
tanned by neutral nations in the success o
their designs a direct stimulus, whether
intentional or not, is thus applied to securing
L continuance OF the carnage and devasta
ton which desolate this continent ano
which they profess deeply to deplorc.
The disregard OF this Just, humane anC
Christian public duty by the nations Of lGu
rope Is the more remarkable from the fac
that authentic expression has long since
been given by the governments Of botl
France and England to the conviction tia
the United States are unable to conquer tn,
conicdcracy 1t is now more than two year,
since the government Of France announced
officially to the cabinets of London and St
Petersburg its own conclusion that the
United States were unable to achieve any
decisive military success in the answers
sent by those powers no intimation of con
= trary opinion was conveyed and it is no.
torlouS that IN speeches. both i'll and out OF
parliament, the members OF her Britanit
majesty government have not hestated tO
express this conviction in unqualified terms.
The denial of our right under these circum-
stances is 50 obviously unjust and discrmi-
mates SO unfairly in favor of the United
States, that neulrals have sought to palliat,
the wrong Of which they are conscious by
protesting to consider, in opposition to no
toTous truth and to the known belief OF
both belIigcrcntS, that the recognition of oul
independence would be valueless without
their further Intervention in the struggle
an intervention Of which we dSclaim the de
sire and mistluSt the advantage.
We seek no favor, we wish no interven
ton, we know ourselves fully competent t
maintain our own rights and independents,
against the invaders Of our country, and W,
feel justified i'll asserting that without tn,
aid derived from recruiting their armies from
foreign countries, the invaders would, er,
this, have been driven from our soil Whel
the recognition of the confederacy was re
fused BY Great Britain, in the fall of 1862
the refusal was excused on the ground that
any action Of her maiesty's governmcnt
would have the effect Of intlaming the pas
slons of the belllgercnts and Of preventing
the return of peace. 1t is assumed that this
opinion was sincerely entertained, but the
experience Of two years Of unequal carnage,
shows that 1t was erroneous, and that the
result was the reverse of what the British
ministry humanely desired. A contrary
policy, policy Just to US, a policy diverging
from AN unyarying course OF concession to
all the demands Of our enemies, is still with
III the power Of her majesty government,
and would, it is fair to presume, be produc-
tive of consequences the opposite to those
which have unfortunately followed its whole
course OF conduct from the commencement
OF the war to the present time. In word,
peace is impossible without independence,
and it is not to be expected that the enemy
will anticipate neutrals in the recognition OF
that independence. When the history OF
this war shall be fully disclosed, the calm
Judgment Of the impartial publicist will, for
these reasons, be unable to absolve the neu-
trail nations of Europe from share in the
moral responsibility for the myriads of hu-
man lives that have been unnecessarily sac
rificed during its progress.
| The renewed instances in which foreign
! powers have given Us Just cause ofcompEint
need not here be detailed The extracts
| from the correspondence Of the state depart
mcnt, which accompany this message, will
afford such further information as can be
given without detriment to the public inter
est, and we must reserve for the future such
action as may then be deemed advisable to
secure redress.
FINANCES.
/ Your special attention is earnestly invited
to the report of the secretary Of the treas
ury, submitted in conformity with law
The facts therein disclosed are far from dis
couraging, and demonstrate that with judi
ciOuS legislation, we shall be enabled to meet