New-York tribune., 1869-05-12

to Justify and protract lts eAsCenoo AH0
army wants war, therefore, and the navy as
we'll The officers of both services belong to the rnl-
ing aristocracy and influence it strongly The mill
tary tone is always perceptible in society. Now the
army has not done any very brilliant things for
long time and it feels the necessity of restoring ls
old prestige 1t must regain lost ground, or 1t can
not much longer bekept up nursery and as a con
venient method of pensioning upon the pubic 'ip
Younger members of the land owning class Mr. Bright
long ago described the foreign policy OF hnglanu u
resulting as il did iu frequent wars. whlch nauo 0
army seem anecessity-as "a gigantic system VI ou',
door relief for the aristocTacy" Inc sung oI tua'
tremendous sarcasm lay in its truthiuihess'
Still stronger perhaps is the second reason-the
desire of the ruling class for war as means OF post
popnp the agitation of the subJectclasses Tor re-
form and for share of political power. The numer-
ons inroads already made upon their old monopoly
have filed with alarm, they well may, the minds
of the real leaders of this ruling class They despair
of resisting the tendency of the age and the force OF
public opinion, if only ordinary obstacles can
be interposed. But let q war break out
above all, war against the Power
which both sides regard as the symbol and embodl-
ment of popular rights-and the case is immensely
altered. So long the war lasts political agitation
must stop. The public mind cannot be turned in
the lead of an enemy So long as the war lasts the
war will be the sole business of Parliament and the
administrative and repressive power of Government
will be concentrated and augmented. The growth
of what are called Amercan-that is, Democratic
ideas will be checked If q war against America
should be successful they would be put back, no man
knows how long, just as they would have been had
the Rebellion succeeded in breaking mp the Unloh'
always thought the aristocratic class OF Great
Britain logically right in sympathzing win the
Sonth and desiring the dissolution of Repubhc
which is a standing menace 10 every oigarchy IN the
world. From their point of view, they are equally
right now in preferring war to policy OF conces-
sion or conciliatiOn
Strongest of all is the reason springlng from the
relation of England at this moment TO the other
European powers. She has sunk from the rank OF
first rate to a second rate power-so far at least as
Continental affairs are concerned Bismarck, in ms
epigrammatic way uttered no more than a common
opinion when, in reply to some English criti-
cism on his policy he said, IF / were nm
Abyssinian, or q Hindoo, or even an Amerl-
can, l might perhaps care what England
thinks. But being q European, l do not
A wear or two since Matthew Arnold was bitterly
reved for telling his cOuntTymen the same humiia-
ting truth, in language scarcely less concise and
contemptuous. Tho causes of her inferiorlty are
more than one but Europe knows that if all other
causes were removed England dare not fight while
the Alabama remains q precedent, and leaves her
commerce prey to priyateers issuing from
neutral ports. Now Power that does not fight is
no longer Power. She may still be summoned TO
European COuwesses-s0- Is Turkey Her ENJOYS
NAV he listened to with an afectaton of respect-so
was the envoy Of Greece. But the moment will come
when each country of Europe has to support its
~ will inf tn
one scale Prussia hers into another and one side
| or the other Russia will fling hers, and prob
| ably Austria hers and even Italy hers.
! But Englandf England knows, and Eu-
rope knows. that in that supreme moment
the power which used to subsidize Onehalf the con-
tnent and fight the other, mast abandon the place
which she has ceased to be able to maintain by force
She must her political authority and shelter
herself behind an impotent neutrality There arc
men in both parties, like Mr. Bright and Lord Stan
ley, who look forward conteutedly TO such
an hour, but the mass of Englishmen do
not The ruling Oligarchy has here
the support of an undOubted majority. They do not
want the old system of perpetual interfer-
ence but they want to be free to declare when
interest or honor bid them Conscious that they are
fettered by the unsettled claim of America yet
luto not to make reparation, they to have de-
termined on the only other course which restore
to England unchecked freedom Of action. They
propose to fight America first in order to be at liberty
to fight somebody else afterward. They
are not less anxious to be rid of
the Alabama 'dificulty in order to deal with the
Fenian movement, but on that l need not dwell.
Whatever may be thought Of the probable result Of
such policy it is at least ineligible and coherent
and the existence of such party affords sufficient
explanation of the attitude assumed by such jour
M n u u s.,1. 30,
that journal for announcing publicly the purpose
which has long been broOded over in private. 1t is
fair warning, which we cannot afford TO neglect or
undeTatc. CIV S.
MORE ABOUT Mr.. SUMMERS SPEECH.