New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-05-10
COMMODORE ROGERS.


Neutrality, according to this new authority con
sists in attacking and destroying the feet of Que
bellgerent in order to save the threatened city
another belligerent from destruction by one Of the
methods So common in the conduct Of war. Or
as the commodore lays down the general principle
ga nation. witnessing a disturbance among hel
sister nations, need not rest absolutely mpassive
but with sincere neutrality might interfere, viii
| force, necessary, to keep the operations of bel
ligerents at least, within the law for the protee
ton ofneutral persons and neutral property
This proposition is slightly defective inasmuci
as it negleots to specify the nature and origin ant
application Of the supposed law for the protection
of neutral persons and neutral property. 1t i:
refreshing, however, to find that this presumed
law, interpreted, applied, and executedby the gal
liant commodore himself, would have justified him
in reducing to practice, the calculations by which
he had convinced himself, that in thirty seconds,
or anywhere between thirty seconds and thirty
minutes, the Monadnook could have battered the
Numancia to pieces, leaving above water only the
mast head Of that Wanted representative Of the
Castilian nayyas illustration of the very sincere
but not less severe neutrality of the United States
After this recital of the potential capacity, and
possible prowess of the commodore's crack ship,
combined with the arguments by which the right
and duty of intervention were so conclusiyely es-
tablished, it was reasonable to suppose that the
world would be gratifed with the spectacle Of a
sunken Spanish fleet, instead of the sight Of a
homharded CHILEAN city. In the bombardment Of
| Valparaiso six OF eight lives were lost The
sinking Of the Spanish squadron in the ofEhand
manner proposed by the commodore, would have
involved The destruction Of couple of thousand
| human beings-by which substitution of course,
| the great principles Of humanity and neutrality
would have been vastly strengthened and bene.
fitted But it seems that although Commodore
Rogers, for the sake Of the argument, considered
himself a nation witnessing a disturbance
among his sister nations, y and thence having the
right to interfere and send the Numancia and her
! consorts to Dayy Joness locker; yet the duty of
interference depended on an additional circum-
stance which, happily, did not take place. One
witnessing nation-to.wit, Commodore Rogers
might interfere; but it took another witne ssing
naton-to.wit the British sdmiral-to lend a
proper degree of expediency to the intervention.
AS the logical and courageous, but prudent
commodore, elegantly and forcibly expresses
it, he had no notion Of playing the part Of
q cat's-paBto pull chestnuts out of this Hispano-
Ghilianfire. He had right to sink the Spanish
feet; he could sink the Spanish feet; he would
have acted properly in sinking the Spanish fleet,
to save the property Of the foreigners residing in
Valparaiso; but the foreigners, Americans or 9TH
ers might be blown up by Spanish bomb-she1ls
before he would interfere to protect them, unless
the British admiral consented to share the glory
and risk the danger Of theexploit,
But the British admiral did. not see it. He de-
eli fc,n fhn
Britain in so severe manner as sinking the span.
ish ships up to the mast-heads. Hence, Commo-
sdore Rogers put his logic in his pocket for the
time being, aRd even politely got ont of the way
to give fair sweep and scope to the Castilian guns
1t is, perhaps, fortunate that the commodore
came to this prudent and judicous conclusion. To
be sure, it gives an opportunity to great many
incantious and forgetful newspapers, especially at
the North, to exelaim the atrooious inhumanity Of
the bonbardment of Valparaiso; but it likewise
saves them from the necessity of justifging ire
concilable Inconsistencies. IL Commodore Rogers
had sunk the Spanish aeeto on the plea that it was
contrary to the laws of war to lombard Valparaiso
the Spanish government would certainly have re-
piled that the bombardment Of Charleston, pro
tracted for more than year, and marked with all
the worst features Of such operations, was far
more conspicuous violation Of the laws Of war.
This would have been an awkward dilemma "a
dilemma from which there could be no escape
Whilst, therefore, we are eensuring Commodore
Rogers for his seeming timorousness and vacilla,
ton we ought to thank him for saving US from a
very unpleasant predicament, and from the neces-
sary resort to a vast deal Of bad argument, to
maintain position entirely at variance with all of
our recent practices,
-------ss- = as--------
The Chicago Republican does this paper the
honor TO call it that clever rebel journal, the
New Orleans CRESCENT" aud says that 1.-THE
GRgsoENT- scouts the Invitation addressed to the
South to join that inlinitesimal or rather
mythical party called Conservative Republicans,
represented BY MIR, Raymonds one vote in the
House, and nobodys vote, so far as we have any
evidence, in the country at large, instead Of ally
ing themselves with the Democratic party, repre-
sented BY forty votes in the House, and couple
of millions in the country.n
The Republican pays us the additional eomnli-
ment of admitting that this is sensible, and con.
tinues thus
There can be only two parties in the South
the radical Republicans and the rebel Democrats
So, indeed, there can be only two parties any
where of any account. The Conservatives or
JOhnsonians, like every other third party which
has ever existed in the country, can be of no i'm
portanoe in themselves but only as strengthening
or weakening one or the other of the two great
parties. However, the CRESCENT is wrong to de.
nounce them so sharply, for in effect they are its
allies, and are calculated to give aid and comfort
to the rebel Democracy alone.
Bat the Republican is wrong mastering that
we denonnce, either sharply or otherwise those
whom that paper calls Conservatives, or John
sonians. We simply decline an invitation to dis
solve the organization of the National Democratic
party, which is great party for the sake of join.
ing the so-caled Conservative Republicans who
constitute 50 small party that nobody has yet
been able tosee IT,
We have a regard for Mr. Raymond and Mr.
Doolittle, and Mr. Cowan, just as far as we think
those gentlemen are right; but they are not by
any means right enough. They persist in calling
themselves Republicans and in adhering to the Re-
publican party, when it is perfectly plain that the
Republican party is entirely controlled by radical
influences. They have no power even to turn the
balance III Congress; and their claim to control
public opinion in Che country is simply NONSENSE
cal The voters who have followed them thus far
viii very quietly join the Democratic party aud
give those timorous and vacillating gentlemen
their coagg the moment that lines are distinctly
drawn as to the paramount issues Of the day. We
believe that the radicals viii, ultimately, be de-