The New York herald., 1869-07-06
ENGLAND.

Srite ennia's Weakncss-Is tho Country Able TO
Co TO War rs-What Might BE Done in Case
Of Naval Observation-Disclosures gton's
Observation-Disclosures Strength.
LONDON, June %, 1882
Nations, like individuals, suffer sometimes from
an excess of prosperity well as from very great
poverty. believe this to be the with England
at the present time. We have had so very long
season OF wealth and ease and absence from all that
tries the nerve and tone Of people, that we are ut
terly unified for anything like adversty. We are,
and have been for many long years. so accustomed
TO having what we want that cannot realize to
ourselves that any ether people have the hardi
hood 10 contradict or thwart 4 any way. Ana,
more than this, We have haG such long term OF
comfort and prosperity that we have utterly
elected 10 provide Tor reyersion in our affairs.
This Is what has caused our present weak
ness We materially as well as morally weak;
for as have endeavored to show In many of my
recent letters, have really neglected to provide the
means OF defence should an enemy attack u.s. Here,
as shall presently point out Is the real reason why
the English Ministry is yacillalng with respect to
the American question. What they win do is not
measure which can be introduced bv one party
the other. Test and try the policy OF govern
ment, whether conservative or liberal, during The
sS-t few months, with respect to our "di1icultyn
S-,Lh y6cs people, and you must come to the concu
sion that has arrived at and which may be epito-
mized into this one s,;2,. sentence:-England can
not so to war;
AS have shown you IL previous 'ssters our army
IL barely equal TO the police duties OF keept. Ireland
order and performing garrison duty in our varods
colonies. Our navy, nomnally large, has barely
,core OF vessels calculated to take part In
le warfare CT the day; and even of these
many are mere dummies-ships that go by
of ,1a ia butu ara q
unable to resist single shot from one of the large
guns which are exclusively employed in modern
vessels Of war. We have militia, but ii is weak
and greatly unonlcered force, with the most ariso-
CRATIC OF commissioned commanders and the
roughest Of loaiers the very scum OF our large
towns Tor It's SO dleIs. We have also our volunteers,
but they woula bo, even in the case OF defensive
war; Of less use, If possible, than the militia Wlth
such means or rather with such want OF means, IL
would be utterly impossible for England to act on
the offensive against any nation that mad either
standing army OF its own or That could call to arms
q force that had been accustomed TO war But this Is
not the worst. is an acknowledged fact among all
our engineer officers and still more IS IL the theme
81 conversation among those who know our wants,
that Eng gand could not defend herself from an enemy
TIthout, and that on the very first appearance of
hostile ueet in our waters we should pe obliged to
give in else 10 allow our very standing as nation
20 become thing gof the past Thls may appear'a
repeat most emphatically that not only would 1t be
Impossible for England to go 10 wor-not only could
she not act the offensive; put she could not defend
her own coasts against an enemy from without. And
now, although, perhaps 10 would be impossbie 70
%thn the limits OF a newspaper letter, shall pro-
reed TO illustrate my meaning in such manner as
W leave no doubt on the minds OF your readers that
Ihave written the plain unvarnlshed truth, without
particle Of eXaggeration. Let us for q moment sup
pose that the United States was to declare war
with England.
TO begin with. the very frstne OF such on event
would cause the entire collapse OF our whole conf
der were pricked with very large pin and all the
alr allowed to escape. There would be run upon
ha han
banks; consols would fall from 93 TO 40; all kinds of
securities would not only be at dlcount but posi-
lively unstable, and happy would they be who
could command enough money wherewlth 10 pur-
cnase the bare necessaries Of liie his, however,
would be but the beginning OF our troubles. lt Is
ALWAYS in such hypothetical cases well to suppose
the worst and to Imagine what could be done under
such and such circumstances You Americans ale
always prompt TO act and the terrible ordeal Of
civil war thaJ you have gone through has made you
not only mighty and a more powerful people than
ever, but IL has made you nation of soldiers Let
us suppose-what would most hkey be the case
shat you followed UP the declaration OF war by an
Expedition INTO English waters and that you sent
nav al force to England.
II when the squadron made Its appearance Off ire
land II consisted of five ships, the report would be
IN LONDON that there were az least ten vessels OF war
nr & 10 us ssn and that az these onehaS
remained on the west c0nst OF England ana made q
show of attacking Bristol and Liverpool sending ia
the meautlme small punboats into all the minor sea-
ports, such as Newport Cardln, swansea, Glouces-
ser and the Ike, but without discriminating single
man. The moment the alarm was raised every ship
we could muster and every soldier we could arm
would be sent to the westward. Then would be the
moment for the rest OF your squadron OF which
four or five vessels would IN double tnat number of
hours run up the Thames and dictate terms IRON
JODdOn ana this could be done without firing shot
1r killing mar--ndeed without disembarking
IallOr or q soldier from your ships. | know Eng
iand. and, above all, I know commercial London.
don't argue th9t EnRlisnmen are cowards bat my
theory is that we have become so entirely nation
OF traders That money making Is our only real call
ing; that we have as shall show In another letter,
no real detences AT any ol our seaports, and that
are, and nave been Tor years past, what the great
IDu<p of Wellington SAID we were Wnen he
nounced England at the mercy oil any enterprislng
enemy.
on another part Of this subject have not touched;
mean as regards Ireland In the days when we
brdged over the Atlantic and our position as
an island made US, az any rate, lar more
secure than We ever can he again, we had, no mat
ter how discOnented OF how badly governed the
people OF that country were, only one Ireland 70
keep order, and THAT Ireland was, so TO speak, at
our own door. IL was cveTpwed by our own troops,
and tile great mass OF Its people still hoped against
hope that they would see better days for their much
loved land. Their homes were wretched enough,
hut they were etill III ireland, and the only armed
form OF England. But since then the TIDE of emf
grafton has set In towards the west, ana
your side OF the Atlantic there has arison
mighty Celtic nation, In fact another Ire
land and another lrish people: people over
whom England has not only no CONTROL, but who hate
tnc very name OF the country tnat still rules their
land. Here is another ana very great source OF our
weakness. II ever the United States dictates terms
TO England, tac Irish element that now forms so
strong an element In your nation must be consld-
eve up Ireland. Sooner or later this must come to
pass lhe vast majority Of people on both sides OF
Inc Atlantic believe, or seem 10 believes, that tho
difficulty between England and Ireland has begun