The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1866-05-19
An English View Of Radical
pOlicy--A Lesson from British,
History.


POlicy--A Lesson from British
History.
From the London Times, April 2i.]
| II the Americans would but lool
steadily into the mirror Of British hiato
ry they might discover much to il
struct chem in the present coninncturc
Of their affairs. We in this old coUn
try have passed through just such =
crisis as that to which they have now
been brought; we took our course, il
proved the wrong course, and we paid
a heavy penalty for the mistake.
The SoHthcncrs are prepared to
shake hands, but the Northornars will
not have it. They are resolved to
keep their late enemies ont Of the pale
of the Constitution, to diSarm them BY
Ihc inGictiou of civil disabilities, to
punish them for their rcccnt malignau-
cy by political outlawry, to restrain
/ them by penal statutes, to introduce
among them obnoxious principles sup
ported by force, and thus in the heart
Of the South to est .blish Northern rs
cendancy. or course they do not
profess to he doing all this in perplcX-
/ ity. They intend, a soon as South
erncrs and Democrat have been made
good Norlhcrncrs an | Radicals, to re
move the political tet-cr by the aboll-
ton ortests and by measures Of cman-
cipation. That is the programme OF
the party now in collision with the
President, and no Englishman will have
any difficulty in recognizing the par
aIlel, We see exactly what America
is about 1t is Ireland over again.
There is, 20 doubt, much to be said
for the policy Of the American Radicals.
They can speak powerfully in their
own defense. rs we see them doing
When they aliegc that the people late
~ in arms against the Government,
always cstran"ed from the North by
incompatibillty Of disposition, and
now eNaspcratod b. defeat and ruin,
are not to he trusted with large and
perhaps commanding share Of power
in Il representative Congress, they are
advancing Il spccous, irnot Il rcasona-
be. argument In fact, the argument
il reasonable, but it is not 50 rcasOna-
bic as the opposite. We had reason
at the time, and as things went, for all
our penal legislation; it was only in
later days that we discovered the error
OF our policy We found that cXclu-
sion and prescription did not convert
conquered rc!cls into good subjects,
but that the ideas which we desired to |.
clllcc rather grew and throvc under |
persecution. We completed and in
ten,iicd The very alienation Of which
We cOmplaincd We found ourselves
with Il source OF political danger where
there should have been source Of
political strength, and were compelled
to witness ''thc difficulty Of one por-
ton OF the Empire recognized with
cargcrncss rs "thc opportunity OF the
other. The condition Of ireland was
always thrown in our teeth Is the in
surmoUntHhlr reproach of our lcgislaL
ton, our Constitution and onr Govern
ment. Even when we had done our
best to redress the error, we could not
escape its consequences. NisaIlrc-
ton and hostility sill fingered after
their causes had been removed, and at
length after policy Of libcraliiy and
cancellation had been inauguratcd, we
have the Fcnian conspiracy to remind
Us Of bygome blundcrs.
The Americans may well take les
son from all this. They have not as
much justification for error rs we had,
for they live in more enlightened times
We really believed that the Pope was Il
formidable enemy, aud that nothing
but Protestant ascendancy could pro
tcct us in Ireland. But the American
people ought not to be under such i'm
prcssions at the present day. Granted
that the Southern people are but half
reconciled to their defeat, how is the
desired Cancellation to be more com
plctcly accomplished? Do the Radi
Gals really believe that their co untry-
men whom they distrust as probably
disaiiected would be better affected or
more trustworthy after years of out
lawry and prescription? If the Dem
ocratic South is governed on the prin-
ciplcs of the Radical North by intru.
sive officers and exceptional tribunals
on the basis of military force, is it like
ly to become politically comfortable
under such treatment, Is it not rather
manifest to all who can read the future
by the light of the past that the policy
which the American Radicals are now
striving to establish will perpetuate
disailection and create between two
great sections of the Union gulf which
it will take years of better policy to
close?
The cxpostulations of the Northern
ers at this conjuncturc are not "nhae" naon
raj on the contrary, they nave nc. =.
heard in all countries on an war il Al
cos;ops After our own ,, c,.i and n
was bitterly said tllat llat,oDtv'' % for the fl
amnesty .,;cs and "oblivion ior n'' e.
King e"e'r ner the return OF the Dour- C.
friends. ,eqitimists complained loudly ii
bons o,,s. '"u nunp6rt extended to the princi.
81 -" and eilactments of the Revolution.
;"t @ aIl wise statesmen have recognized J
be necessity of deierring to the de- t
lands of the conjecture. Ii two par /
~ are to bc made one again. it can
My ie by such defereuce to the
saker par y rs will always appear OF.
;ns.ye to the strong.