American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1869-05-22
The Triple Alliance.

The special dispatch from London
W the cable in regard to the adop-
ion Of iniatory steps by Great Brit
lin, France and Spain, for an often
sive and defensive treaty against the
United States, whether true or not,
is said to have made the President
and his Cabinet decidedly nervous.
Undoubtedly they are by this time
in the receipt of further information
either confirming or contradicting
the first intelligence, SO that their .
nervousness is in ali probability eli .
Their increased or diminished. We /
shall not be much surprised either to I
learn that the treaty is in progress OF
that the whole thing is purely Il fab /
rcatiOn.
Try 80 Disguise the fact as We may,
our country, though it must of course
fight and will fight if necessary, is
in Il bad condition for war. And yet,
if the threatened alliance has been
or shall be formed, war, in our opin-
ion, is absolutely inevitable. Some
may assume that Great Britain,
France and Spain, after forming an
offensive and defensive alliance
against us for various purposes, in,
Guiding the protection OF Cuba. will
conclude, if we let Cuba alone and
attend to our own business and avoid
all appearance of aggression in the
case Of the Alabama claims, TO take
care to give us no cause of hostilltleS
or otfense, satisfied to rep0se III their
Own ON y SSepse Fl p6sGd, nut tbs II
very sure, be the result. The three
European powers, if they combine
against us, will station their ships
of war in our waters and in the wa
! tcrS of the Gulf TO watch for eXpcdi
! tons. and those ships will be certain
/ to arrest and board aId search our
vessels upon all or at least many oc-
casions, thus bringing about coudi-
! ton Of things to which our govern
mcnt cannot submit for even sin
gle month without humiliation None
need doubt, that, if there he treaty,
/ the treaty will mean war, terrih,.
war. It is of course too soon POW 70
offer any SpecUlatiOnS aS-t0 he man
ncr in which the war, if onc Shall oc
cur, will be cQnddct,U,
We repeat Tat our country is in
a very Gn.dvorable condition for war.
. me contingency OF hOstiitics should
tional authorities ever since the close
of what is called the Southern rebel.
lion, and the proper preparations
have been made, but we are dread
fully Ill debt, we have very indif
fereut credit, we have no navy AIDE
quate even to guard our cities on the
sea board. and our G. ,vC II tent Ii /.
seemed to do all that a Government
could do to ALLEVIATE from itself the
sympathies of one great geo2laphi
cal section, Astounding with the beS
fighters in the world. But in spite
of all disadvantages, we must, If thl
volcano Of war shall burst, do til.
best we can, and at any rate there
can be no danger of our being con
Quered. If our spap0rtS are burned
we must get along without scapoI is
and. if we cannot command money
our armies must fight, as the devoted
armies of the South did, without
money. We must. if need be, fight
twice or five or ten times us long tC
defend the Republic as our Old gray
fathers of the Revolution did to cs
tahlisl it. Yes, we must, it neceSsa
ry, fight for its life throughout on
own lives. forgetting, as far rs posi-
bic, all the wrongs that any C0rrup
and evil administration of its affairs
may have done.
: We have been repeatedly aSket
J with all seeming carnestneSS within
the last twenty four hours, whether
if war shall come the people of tn,
South will fight on the side of tn
Union against the allied European
powers. We have IN wcIel tina
they will, aud we think We coulC
make oath that they will. They have
it is true, been injured, oppre. scd
Inundated, treated with the vlles
injustice. but the United States il
, their country. 1t is their ONLY c0un
try. They have, since the laying
down of tkeir arms, declared thei
allegiance TO it, and weall know then
well enough to know, that, neither
in fear nor in resentment, will they
} avoid risking their blood to maintain
] the declaration They will under al
; circumstances proudly vindicatet hei
claim to the possession of the loities
and the noblest patriotism, and 10
, only the Federal Government bu
, the whole of the Radical party vii
be but too glad TO accord to them, t
the very fullest, all the rights an
. privileges which, for malignant an,
+ factious purposes, have been Will
:, held from them.
| But let us not permit ourselves t
q be betrayed III o speaking of war Il
=, if it were at present thing ineyiti
bic or even very highly probable,
I there were wisdom at the seat {
: Government, we should feel secur
1 from danger, and, although there
g little wisdom there, we do not regar
danger as imminent. Even Il falls
rumOr may, by causing the admins
I tlation to reflect upon its duties an
obligations and imparting to it
pulses Il few quick and tumultuOu
beats, productive of good.-COl
rierJOHTRdi