Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1865-06-09
MAKING HISTORY.

The history Of this country during the
last four years has done more to annihi-
late precedents, to break down theories
and to form new opinions with regard to
all matters connected with war, than any
score Of years preceding. During the
whole progress of the rebellion Europe
has stood with mouth asape at the mar
Yellous and rapidly succeeding innova-
tons which have characterized our mill
tary operations. The boldness with which
this county has abandoned the beaten
paths Of precedent, and struck out upon
apparently experimental policies, has sur
prised and dumbfounded those nations
that have been accustomed to plodding
along by musty charts, and following
well-marked channels. When the rebel
lion was in its incipiency, foreign nations
gravely predicted that dissolution of the
Union was inevitable, because history gave
no example of eight millions of people
being subjugated by power proportion
ately no stronger than that of the loyal
States. The thing could not be done be-
cause it had never been done before. A
majority Of the European nations had
good ground for such belief, because they
had acquired their theories by personal
experience. Thus England was led to this
conviction partly because the British Gov
eminent failed to subjugate the American
colonists at the time of the Revolution,
when the disproportion of power was far
more striking than that between the loyal
and the rebel elements of our own country.
The great mistake made by these foreign
nations was in measuring the United
States by their own standard. They were
convinced of their own incompetency to
accomplish such o work under like cir
cumstances, and from that fact they de-
duced the argument that our war would
be failure. But they forgot that the
American people make their own prece-
dents, and that theories which may be
tangible concerning other nations are
totally inapplicable on this side of the
Atlantic. For instance they never dream
ed that twenty millions OF people, OF
peaceful habits and unused to war, could
send forth such armies as our Government,
put into the field in defense OF the Union.
They never thought that nation having
comparatively neither army or navy, and
apparently only fifth-rate power in mil
itary development, could suddenly trans
form itself into the most powerful warlike
nation on the globe. They were wont to
regard the United States as the Infant
republic" that had not yet arrived at a
stature of manhood among the powers OF
the world, and that was not entitled to q
place among military nations. But never
we're theories more effectually dissipatcd.
They have learned that the infant repub-
lie, although quiet and peaceful under or
binary circumstances, rises to the proper
tions and strength of giant when dan
ger threatens the Union. As the infant
Hercules developed the power to strangle
the serpents in his cradle, so has the in
FAINT republic shown itself competent to
strangle the serpent Of treason that sought
to enfold it. and to strike its poisonous
fanss into the heart of the Union. The
material wealth of the United States, as
shown by the ability to support our i'm
mense armies and navies, together with
the fact that we have asked no favors of
Europe in supplying the money for carry
ing on the war, has surprised foreign gov
ernments no less than the magnitude Of
our military establishment. "If you have
the men you have not the money" said
John Bull, complacently, at the begin
ming of the war, and all Europe took it
for granted that our Government would
be obliged to borrow from foreign nations
The means with which to prosecute the
war. But in this, as IN all other predic-
tons regarding this country and its strug-
gle with the rebellion, the transatlantic
prophets have found themselves wofully
mistaken. The Government has never
asked one Of them for dollar, and even
after four years of the most stuPendous
warfare, we astound Europe with the
record ola week which gives nearly hun
dred million dollars Of popular loan to
the Government-one single day footing
up thirty millions. We surprised Europe
in the great popular uprising at the be.
ginning Of the war; We have astounded
foreign nations BY the mighty physical
and financial strength developed in its
prosecution; and now that the rebellion
is suppressed, we will finish the annihila-
ton OF precedents by bringing the coun-
try out of the crucible of war more glori-
GUS than before.