The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1869-05-20

London watched this unprecedented drama
I with the ontstretched ocean as theatre
and British pirates as the performers: aft
4 "Conceding to the rebels the belligeren
rights of the sea when they had not soil
tary war ship af1oat, in dock, or in process
of Construction, and when they had no powe
to protect or dispose of prizes, made thei
sea -royers, when they appeared,p the instru
ments of terror and destructlonfto our com
merce. From the appearance of the frs
corsair in pursuit of their ships, American
merchants had to pay not only the marin
but the war risk also on their ships Ate
the burning of one or two ships with thei
neutral cargoes the ship-owner had to pa,
the war risk on the cargo his ship had OF
freight as we'll as on the ship. Even then
for safety, the preference was, as matte
of course, always given to neutral vessels
and American ships could rarely find employ
Iment on these hard terms as long as there
were good neutral ships in the freight mar
kets. Under such circumstances there wa
no course left for our merchant ships but II
| take such profitless business as was oeca
sionally offered them, let their ships lie idlt
| at their moorings or in dock, with 1args ex
pense and deterioration constantly going on
to sell them outright, when they could do sc
without ruinous sacrifice, or put them under
foreign flags for protection, - Report Of r,
III. Morse. United States Consul at London
dated January !. 1868. m..sg III. "a s
Beyond the actual loss in the national ton
mage, there was further loss in the arrest
of our national increase in this branch OF IN.
dustry, which an intelligent statfsticlan puts
at FIVE per cent. annually, making in 1866 a
total loss on this account of l,3S4 1858 tons,
which must be added to ! 1923, OBS tons actu-
ally lost. The same statistician, after esti-
mating the value of ton at $40 gold, and
making allowance for old and new ships,
puts the sum total of national loss on this
account at $l10,000,G COO To these authori.
ties I add that of the National Board OF
Trade, which, in recent report on American
Shipping, after setting forth the dimlnntion
Of our sailing tonnage, says that 1t Is all to
be traced to the war on the ocean, and the
result is summed mp in the words, that
g while the tonnage of the nation was rapidly
by the ravages of the Rebel
cruisers, and by sales abroad, there was no
construction OF new vessels going forward to
counteract the decline even in part = Such
is the various testimony, all tending to one
conclusion. This is what | have to say for
the present on national losses through Ihe
destruction of our commerce. These are
large enough /; but there is another chapter
where they are larger far. refer. of course,
to the national losses caused by the pro-
longation of the war. and traceable directly
to England. No candid person, who studies
this eventful period, can doubt that the Re-
beliion was originally encouraged by hope Of
ened at once by the concession of beliger-
eDt rights on the ocean; that it was fed to the
end by British supplies; that 1t was quick
-ened into renewed life with every report
from the British pirates, flaming anew with
every burning ship; nor can it be doubted
that without British intervention the Rebel
lion would have soon succumbed under the
we'll directed efforts of the National Govern
ment. Not weeks or months, but years,
were added in this way to our war, so full
of the most costly sacrifice. The subsidies
which in other times England contributed to
Continental wars were lass effective than the
aid and comfort which she contributed to the
Rebellion. It cannot be said too ten thai
the NAVAL BASE of the Rebellion was not IT
America but i'll England. Mr. Golden boldly
said in the House of Commons that Englan
made war from her shores on the United
States with an amount of damage to thai
country greater than in many ordinary wars
According to this testimony. the conduct o
England was war; but it must not be forgot
ten that this war vas carried on at our sole
cost. The United States paid for wa
waged by England upon the National Unity
The sacrifice OF precious life is beyond hu
man compensation but there may be an ap
proximate estimate of the national loss il
money. The Rebellion was suppressed at
cost of more than four thousand million
| dollars, a considerable portion Of which ha
already been paid, leaving twenty five hund
red millions as a national debt to burden tn
people. #, through British intervention, tn
war was doubled in duration, or in any wa
kextended. as cannot be doubted, then
England Justly responsible for the additions
expenditure to- which cur country wa
doomed and. whatever may be the Ana
settlement OF these great accounts, sue
must bstthe Judgment in any chancery while
consults the simple equity OF the case. Pei
haps ought to anticipate' On ebjcction fror
the other side, TO the effect that these nc
tional losses. whether, from the. destrnetio
war. are indirect and remote. so as not to b
ia just cause of claim. This is expressed q
| the common law by the rule that :. damage
must be for the natural and prsximate conse
quence OF an act" "a Greenlsat, En-, D. $40
To this excuse the answer Is explicit. Th
damages suffered by the United States ar
ltwo-fold, individual and national, being i
leach case direct and proximate, although i
1 the one case individuals suffered and in th
other case the nation. It Is easy to see tina
Il there may be occasions where, overtoppin
1 all individual damages, are damages suffere
by the nation, so that reparation to individ
uals would be insufficient; nor can the clair
of the nation be questioned simply hecaus
lit is large, or because the evidence with RI
Egard to it is different from that in the case {
an individual. Tn each case the damage mus
be proved by the best<possible evidence. an
this is all that lsw orreason can rcquir.
In the case of the nation the evidence
historic; and this is enough. Impartial hi
tory will regard the pational losses fror
British intervention, and it is only reasonabl
that the evidence Of these losses should nc
; be excluded from judgment. Because til
case is without precedent, because no natio
ever before received such injury from /.
i friendly Power, this can be no reason VIII
! the case should not be considered on the ev
Ldence. Even, thesrule Of the common Ia,
furnishes no impeachment, for our damages Al
the natural consequence OF what was don.
But the rule of the Roman law. which is tn
rule Of International law, is broader tina
!, that osstheF commons law. The measure {
fdamages, according to the Digest is, tswhat
lever may have been lost CIR might have bee
gAineo;' Quenttshas NAH abest g,.a,,ts,nos,s |,
9 gTGTi pottt; and this same rule seams 10 prt
~ I9ail IN the French law, borrowed from fth
e Roman law. This rule opens the door
: ample reparation for ell osmaees whethe
individual @or national; There is anothe
: Erule of the common law, in harmony wit
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