Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-05-05
The British Pulse.

1.-THE American people have held their breath
to see how Mr.. summers speech, and the Senate s
rejection Of the Alabama treaty, would fall upon
tho cars Of our British cousins, they certainly
need do so no longer The press has opened,
and with no uncertain sound, or materially diyid-
ed sentiment For once, the different party or
gans are quite harmonious, and essentially Brit
ish. The London Star, John Drght's orgn, ex-
presses " amazcmont at the character OF Mr. Sum
ners Demands" The Times regards them as
"portentous," and Mr. Summers view Of Eng
lands duty in the premises as " feminine, unrca-
sonable and unstatcsmanlkc The Standard,
expressing the Tory preudiccs, prciends to esult
over the fact that the demands of our Government
are at length put where even the Bright Cabi-
net is safe from the chance of a dsgmccful apiiu-
lation."
But why should our good neighbor4 across the
water be 50 surprised and c1nfounded at the
breadth Of Mr.. Summers indictment, or with the
rejection Of the treaty2 They arc butts part of
the old story with which their own liberal press
made the English public familiar at the time Of
the offence. The North BRITISH Reriac early
warned them of the inevitable consequences Of
the course they were then taking, and distinctly
announced that the injuries inflicted By the rebel
cruisers were not To be measured by the burning
and capture Of "a few merchant ships, but hy the
nearly complete destruction of the American MA
rino. The debates in Parliament, and the col
umns of the liberal English press generally, have
often since forcshadowed the same thing, in lam
guagc hardly less broad and emphatic than Mr..
Summers, and depicted the disastrous conscquen-
ccs, not only to the United States Immediately
but remotely to Great Britain, as a precedent
which could not be justified
But while to us the wrong done by England is
as clear as day. the very magnitude Of our claim,
(omounting already, according 10 the London
Times, to to thousand million dollars in gold
while it will not render the decision either moral
or lawful, will nevertheless furnish good reason
for is rejection. They will 60 to wur rather than
admit the demand and pay the claim It will be
decidedly cheaper to fight MS than to pay u.s. In
this view Of the matter, we have our choice be-
tween two courses. The one is to take the salts
hction, denied us pcaccaby, by going to war.
If this course is adopted, not moment should De-
lost in vigorous preparation, that our work may
be short, sharp and decisive, " such as Prussia
made with Austria. The other is, to drop. not
our claim, nor our demand but all discussion Of
it, and all action on it, for the present The lat
ter seems infinitely preferable, for the lapse of
time may bring better understanding and judy
ment. We have already witnessed wonderful
revolution in the public mind Of England from
the time of fitting out the Alabama to the compile
ton Of the Johnson-Clarendon treaty, and still
further change will doubtless be produced by the
reflection that it is not consistent with the into
rests Of Great Britain to leave a question Of this
nature and magnitude long unsettled