Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-08-26
English Ignorance of American At
fairs

President Fairfield, of HillSdale COL
lege, Michigan, writes from London to
the Detroit Advertiser concerning the
feeling of the English people towards the
people of the United States, He says:
/ am sorry to say it but after month
spent in Great Britain, and eight months
in travel generally, in which I have con-
constantly been brought into contact and
friendly personal relations with English
men, l am compelled to believe that envy
of our national success, and hostility to
our national growth, is the controlling
feeling Of the English people; and cer-
tainly can count upon the fingers of one
hand all that l have found in nine months
who were in cordial sympathy with Us in
suppressing pro-slavery rebellion which
seeks to establish an empire of which
slavery shall be the corner stone. You
will understand that 1 have made it no
part of my business particularly to seek
out our friends; but speak of those whom
have CHANGED 10 meet at hotels, cars and
elsewhere, which think much the fairest
way of ascertaining the general feeling.
One who addresses public audiences on
the American side OF the question will
naturally gather about him those of his
own opinions, and will be likely very
much to misguide US as to the attitude of
the great mass.
And the general ignorance Of the peo-
pie, not only of the questions at issue be-
tween the North and the South, but even
of the simplest facts Of American geOgra-
ply, is most amusing. is Maine one of
the Northern or one OF the Southern
States: asked talkative Enghshman
the other day, when alluSion was made to
this boundary State between our country
and the British possessions IN North
America. "Ohio, believe, is one of the
largest cities of New York, is it not:" was
the sagacious inquiry of another. l can
not tell you how many times have been
asked, when saying that I came from
Michigan, us that in North America or
South America :" Certainly more than
twenty.
Several Englishmen were speaking with
each other a few days ago, and one of
them, in expressing his large conception
of what progress had been made in the
States, asserted, /" l suppose that railroads
are now built as far as six hundred miles
into the interior"
Several Americans and EngEshmen met
at table few weeks ago. The American
war was the subject, when one of the lai-
ter, member of Parliament, said to the
Americans, al am surprised that you
should object to separation from the
South. You were never made to be one.
Only see a mere neck Of land Of insig-
nifeant dimensions connecting the two
And he drew his fingers into shape to in
dictate the Isthmus which connects North
and South America! And, what is still
richer, / have related this story to several
parties of Enghshmen, and not one Of
them has as vet detected the joke,
Roger Ascham said long time ago,
The schoolmaster is abroad" If so, he
has either emigrated from England, or he
is sadly deficient in American geography.
I verify believe that if the statement should
be made in the Times that this was war
between North America and South Amer
lea, not one in ten of those who read that
newspaper would detect the mistake and
If it were so declared to a mass meeting,
embracing high and low, those who read
and those who do not read, not over one
in twenty would know otherwise"