The Placer herald., 1865-04-08
Tne London Times" on the American
Situation.
[From the London Times. February l7th.l


which, it would almost seem, is not 10 be 10
our time, the Americans have flung themseI.
yes once more into that ghastly duel of
which we can only find the like in night.
mare, or in the personal encounters one
hears Of in their own half settled borders
We have to recall the not uncommon case Of
Two combatants, without either the power or
he wish TO escape, inf1icting the mos. horrid
injuries one on the other, and Indifferent. to
their own wounds so long as they had
chance Of striking the last fatal blow. From
the two ships lashed together as If in mock,
cry of the old forced and isorted Union,
the American eye now passes to many
point OF presumed weakness in the enemys
def-nses, to open port, and deep inlet. and
rapid river, and mountain range, and broad
valley, wherever the vast continent may hap
'y be penetrated. Every day it hopes to
read the sweet tidngs Of devastation and
massacre in places whose very names were
sacred but the other day, and whose -four
ishing statistics were taught to children in
the State schools. So utterly is the instinct
OF whole race changed, We may say in
day, and the very spirit Of selfimmoalio
infused into the vast multitude jus, before
ple,horic with wealth, saturated with enjoy.
men,, and intoxicated with vanity. Thus
far there is not the least sign Of any real
movement in the direction of peace, 10 two
successive and protrac,ed interviews. So
long as one side insists upon Union as
thorough as that which the sword has divid.
ed, and the other insists upon thorough indie
pendence-sweetened possibly. though We do
not know this, by promises Of political co..
operation, there can be no peace. Accord
ing to the old superstition, the rust Of the
spear alone can heal tho wound which the
point has made. Neither of the beIligerents
is now master Of his actions. lie is the vic.
tim OF a terrible though self imposed neces'
sity, which shows how a man may be slave
without the excuse, the honor and comfort Of
master-a slave to a base passion, a slave
to a horrid purpose, a slave to a fearful
movement that can never be arrested, how
ever wanlonly set going. 1t is the white
u,an who must now finish his task. II lies
before him huge pile, Of unknown and still
increasing bulk. Upon this he has to toll
necessarily under burning sun, and every
element venting its worst spite on body and
soul. We has to hack and TO hew, 10 beat
and to tear-to strain every sinew, rack eve.
ry joint, aud exhaust every nerve. bleeding
at every vein and every pore, aching, with
cred and PROSTATE to the last limit Of con.
sciousness, he has to 60 on, and onward still,
upon a labor in, xllaus,ible and ever self
renewing. But it is work of blood and
fire, to unmake all lie b made, to depopu
late and blacken the paradise it was his glory
to have created. This is his slavery. lie
canno, work his own deliverance, and there
is none-so at least he feels in his despera-
tion-to buy him out of it.
TO be the slave of an idea is more or less
the fate of individuals and communities
Men cannot indulge themselves in golden
anticipations as to the future without finding
themselves before very long occupying the
place rather Of the captive than Of the char
ioleeT in their own triumphal car. The
dream Of worId'~id Confederation, united
only for convenience, defense and endless
aggression, had taken, rs it is now found, too
strong hold on the American mind. It
had grown up into the intensity and scarcely
responsible form Of a monomania. 1t had
become new law Of justice aud truth, that
all nations were to bow to, although ever so
harshly propagated. We may now afford to
pity mental possession than which none
had more excuse, but which surpassed all
example. In every age there have been
Powers which could not be content with their
old limits, or even the older and more mod
est forms of political association, and which
accordingly aimed to conquer the world or a
cop,inent-to establish a new system, or i'm
pose new principles Of Government. They
have all run through more changes than
their authors ever expected. and much more
rapidly. The two greatest and most endur.
ing nations Of antiquity bave left grand tra-
dilions of art, science. and religion, but po-
li,ical elements of disunion rather than union.
The Capitol of Washington may not dsdsin
TO learn something from the fortunes OF that
other Capitol on the Tiber. That State was
in succession a Monarchy, an aristocratic
Republic, Triumvirate. an Empire; first
aggressive. then standing on the defensive;
then two Empires; then the arena Of univer-
sal and continual warfare by migratory races;
then spiritual dominion, then two spiritual
dominions; then centre Of religious author
i,y, recognized with severe limitations and
immense exceptions by some States OF West
ern Europe and some large communities in
the rest of the world. The Government
which represents the United States, of course,
thinks its foundations deeper in moral truth
and human necessity than Rome. 1t starts
with new continent, in which there is no
considerable rival. The natural secession Of
new colonies and dependencies from the
parent State, and the natural rejection OF old
world trammels, which has produ"ed the
independent communities Of America, is only
The first step, so it seems to their confedera'
ton. Everything favors the presumption
that America has destiny beyond the ken
Of worn.out loyalties and exploded b'got''es.
We cannot wonder, we ought rather to ad-
mire, that this new family OF mankind. pass
ing over the food. and resting on its own
sacred mount, high and dry from Ola World