Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-01-28
RUTLAND HERALD.
THURSDAY, JANUARY rs, 1854.
From the Daily of Jan. 26.

OUR ESCAPE FROM FOREIGN VARS
Our columns have already contained an
extract from the diplomatic correspon-
dence recently published, in regard to
the manner in which the British Gov
ernment was brought to its senses con
cernng the building and fitting out of
rebel war vessels in British ports. IL
seems that repeated and pa JiCnt remon-
strances had been addressed 10 that
Government on the subject. John Bull
answered with quibbling, or at best
with show of action 10 stop the sail
Ing of rebel cruiser, just after it had
slipped out of port ready to prey upon
our commerce, Finally, on the llth of
July last, Mr.. Seward resorted TO the last
argument" the subject admitted of. 1t
was a forcible one with Bull, for it was
one emphatically addressed to his COM
mercial interests Bulls brains being
connected by extraordinarily strong
sympathy directly with his pockets, an
argument bearing upon the latter is the
snrest way of reaching his intelligence.
Bull looked at the ironclads and big
guns built by us since the Trent affair,
and then at his own commerce. and con-
cluded that he could not afford just at
present te subject the latter TO the ten
der merces of the former. This was
playing the game on both sides, which
did not suit him. His secesh sympa
thies were strong, but his material in
terests We're far stronger. When, there
fore, in July last, Secretary Seward in
structed Mr.. Adams to inform Lord
Russell that /" If the British Government
persisted in constituting its municipal
law as it had been laid down in the case
of the Alexandra, and also declined to
make any alterations in that law there
would be left for the United States no
alternative g bat 10 protect hGnselpeS a'd
Their commerce against armed craiseTS proceed
inq from Byttish ports as against the nGpai
forces of public enemy. :" that 10 this end
the Government was preparing naval
force with the utmost yigor and that
If this should seem inadequate, resort
would be had to letters -of-marque and
reprisal." Bull came up to the scratch,
and, as we know kept the Laird rams at
home.
A war with England at this time
would have been calamity to us, and
would grealy have protracted the life of
the rebellion. But when the fact is re
membered that these rebel vessels, being
fitted out in professedly neutral ports,
threatened TO sweep our commerce from
the seas, that the course of the British
government was entirely opposed to
genuine neutrality, and that as the mat
ter stood we had no power of redress for
the immense injury sustained, it will
be seen that no alternative was left but
retaliation, and war if it should lead to
that. In this, if it had come, the public
sentiment of this country, as stated by
Minister Adams to Lord Russell, would
have unanimously sustained the gov
ernment.
men, uoNCftlI W. Nph'iNtNA
condition, our own strength displayed,
as never before, in the progress OF the
rebellion, and his propensity, already
alluded to, of looking first to his materi-
al interests, the bold stand taken In
Secretary Stewards dispatch was not
really so ominous of war as at first
blush might be considered. This the
event has proved Nevertheless, as one
reads these dispatches, he will feel that
there is renewed cause for profound
gratitude that amid all the compica-
tions caused by the southern rebellion
we have been. almost miraculously spar
ed foreign war, and that the proba-
bility of one seems now happily more
remote than at any other time since the
outbreak of our civil conflict.