Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-05-23
eOldwin Smith Reviews Sumssr's Speech.
British spank is not PLACED out Yet.

| lean government, anQ iNupr-cu Dy tiie
all but unanimous vote of the United
States Senate. Some Of them relterate
again and again the declaration that
the pates are shut and barred against
any further conside alton of theclaIms
of America since the rejection Of the
I Johnson-Stanley treaty, and ayow
that no ministry could exist an hour
that would prefer one inch further con-
cessi0n on England'S part to actual
war. Others, again, adopt the whist
4 ling policy found so comforting to the
bow who was compelled TO cross n
graveyard after dark, and keep harp
ing on the hopeful string that Senator
Summers speech does not at all repre-
sent the views of the administration ;
that MotlSy's Instructions will be OF
an entirely different character to those
! Swallowed forth in that exposition OF
the popular view of the question, and
that Diplomatic demands Will be found
to De quite q different affair from po-
litical defamation. tits easy TO con-
eeive that the organs of the fossiliZed
Tory Marty have all to gain and moth
ing to lose by exciting popular preJu-
\ dice against the American side Of this
momentOus controversy, since, IN adj
ditiOn to the necessity OF defending
their position as sympathizers With
the Southern rebellion, they desire 70
| embarrd%he present administration,
and TO make any yielding on their
/ part a. Objectionable rs pOssiblein the
! eyes Of Englishmen. But il is not 50
easy to understand why the ministe-
rial organs deem Il polite at this time
| TO take so decided Il stand against the
! Just demands Of the American Govern
ment, since it i inevitable that the
| question must be met by the present
/ Cabinet fairly and squarely, and the
! rRkoning between thetWOu nations be,
Cd wayorthe other, definitely settled.
IS significant Of the weakness Of
England'S weakness that she makes it
a principal cause of complaint against
the Americans that they do not in
| clude France in their bill OF indict-
! meut against Great Britain. Well,
suppose they 10 not, does that IN any
degree mitigate the Wroug done by
England ? " France recognized south
ern belligerency Is well as We did, Is
the whining reply Of the whole Lon
don press. Why do You complain
Of Us and say nothing about her ,"
They even repeat the statement that
France desir1N to recognize the indie
peRdenCeOf the Southern COnfederacy,
and 70 that end solicited in vain the
cooperation Of the British Govern
ment. Ifthis should be a well proven
historical fact il would only show that
France desired TO commit England
| openly TO the cause she was secretly
,-I ..-.H,,r,raHTrr rasISr.- r~rI M oil
\ times an aVOwed enemy Is more hon
Orable and less dangerous than one
who c a the mask Of friendship to
conceal his true features. The attempt
70 drag France into the controversy
will scarcely help England in her real
object, which is TO win the Emperor
Napoleon as an ally in case Of a war
with the United States. Ii Is an un-
gracious mode of gaining a cOmrade
to drag him by theneck into themidSt
of & melee, and Napoleon Is not the
sort Of a person 20 be pleased with such
treatment. But under any circum-
stances the French Emperor is in no
| condition to draw his sword in an IN
lust cause. The union of France and
England against America TO justify
acts of treaehery and injustice aimed
at the life Of the Republic in the hour
! Of her peril would be the signal for q
convulSion in EUropethat would shake
the foundation OF the French empire.
No sensible man believes that Russia
| and Prussia viii remain idle in the
| event Of 50 unhOly an alliance.
The arguments Of the English press
in reply to Senator sumner do not i'm
prove with time. The London Times
this morning produces its third direct
criticism Of the speech, and makes
two points against its positions that
the premature concession OF . ocean
belligerency" 10 the rebel States
opened the gates OF war and let loose
! the pirate Alabamas upOn the Ameri-
! can marine, and that England, by the
! sympathy and aid she extended to the
South, incurred the reproach of aiding
" the wicked cause" Of slavery in its
ceSsiOn OF ocean belligerency, argues
! the Times, cannot be held 70 have let
loose the Alabama upon the marine Of
the United States " for the best of all
reasons, that the Alabama did not es-
cape until April, 1862" while
the Queens proclamation cOnceding
1 Southern belligerency was issued in
NAV, 1861. 1t was scarcely to be eX-
pected that the English Queens proc
IamatiOn and the sending out of pri-
vate vessels from English ports would
have been simultaneous events; but
there is evidence in existence to show
that the first steps towards the con-
structiOn Of Alabamas were taken i'm
| mediately the recognition of belliger-
ency became a fixed fact, and that
those who were engaged in the specu-
latiOn were hanging about the doors
Of the department for days before the
proclamation made its appearance,
anxiOusly awaiting the fruitiOn Of
| their hopes. Mr.. Sumner is therefore
right in his assertion that the cOnces-
4 sion Of ocean belligereney "let loose
/ the Alabama.n 1t assured her e sue
cessful career on the Ocean and q safe
refuge, which She found again and
again in English ports. Equally I'M
fortunate IS the Times to convict Sen
ator Sumner of what it calls a yet
more conspicuous perversion of
dates in his charge that England
consciously aided " the wicked eausep
of slavery against civilization in her
NAIluIA NlidlADADii9n1P VI th1 oVNtii-
ern Confederacy. The war, says
the Times, was not originally
undertaken for the abolition Of
slaverp. Neither Nh. Lincoln nor
the nation generally had any such OBJ
ject in view, for Congress passed a
resolution expressly declaring that the
war was waged for the preservation
of the Union and the Constitution,
and Mr.. Lincoln as late as August,
| 1862, wrote, eff l could save the
Union without freeing any slave l
would do it." Hence, by espOusing
the cause Of the South against the
North, England did not take the side
of slavery, for the war was not atfirst
an abolition war, and nothing can
be more unreasonable than to de-
nounce Great Britain for not having
fastened upon It that character which
the United States Government so.
earnestlydisavowed." This is all very
wen SO far as it goes: but even the
I London Times, with its Indifferent in
formation upon American affairs, must
know that the cause Of the South was