The New York herald., 1869-05-18

and we mean to stand on our dignity
Great Britain and Europe generally but i'm
perfectly understand our position They
have some idea that we are not what we were
at the time Of the Revolution, and that we
have grown somewhat since 1872 They
know that great civil war has taken place
within our borders; that out of that war we
have somewhat successfully come; but the
conviction seems to be more or less general in
Europe. but particularly strong in England,
that the crippling effects of the war are still
lingering in the midst of US. 1t is a noteworthy
circumstance that, though other European
countries offended, our quarrel is specially
with Great Britain. We think of her, and we
cannot help it, as the great offender. Great
Britain and the United States to-day sustain
to each other very much the same relations
that at the dawn of European civilization
Rome and Carthage sustained to each
other. We are the great rival nations Of
modern times. We are powerful both. We
are each more or less consciously striving for
the mastery of the world. The British empire
is immense. Its wealth is enormous 1t
has colonies large as empires in almost all
clmes and under all skies. For offensive and
defensive purposes it is perhaps the most
dangerous unit in the shape of nation now in
existence. In the case of most nations war
with such Power would be something terrible
to contemplate. Fortunately for us, however,
we are in position different from that of any
other people. We are no longer handful of
people scattered over continent. We have
grown and spread until the Continent is ours,
not only in name, but almost literally in
fact. The now completed Pacific Railroad
scarcely leaves chance for any rival Power
in the northern section of this Continent to
maintain ten years existence. The fate of
Mexico in the south and of the New Dominion
in the north are already virtually sealed. A
little time only is required to make
us unit from the Gulf to the
Northern Sea, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Europe, year by year, is pouring her surplus
population in upon us by thousands and tens
Of thousands. To the nations of Eastern Asia
we already bulk out as the great outcome
and advance guard of Western civilization.
America, in fact, is already Power and
great Power, in Asia. 1t is characteristic,
too, Of this country, that all who come to it
cling to it and are willing to fight for it. Our
country is the home of the people, the outpost
of European and, what is better still, of Eng
lish- speaking civilization. In us Great Britain
has repeated and outgrown herself She
can scarcely grow greater than she
is. The chances are all against her.
1t is safe to say she must decrease and
we must increase. Limits to our growth
who shall describe them? Our situa-
ton as people is totally unprecedented We
battle all experience and defy all history. We
have no desire that Great Britain should ever
at our hands suffer as Carthage suffered at the
hands of Rome; but we have no hesitation in
saying that for ages to come the great republic
of the West is, on grander scale, to repeat the
role Of the grandest republic and the grandest
empire which in the past the world has known.
We have no fear Of war. We have no reason
to have any. Unlike most of the nations of
Europe-unlike Great Britain particulsrly--we
are equal to our wants. Our resources are on
a scale commensurate with all our necessities g.
We have corn and wine and oil and cotton, too,
in rich abundance. War with England would
prove more potent spur to domestic trade
and industry than the most bigoted protection
ist ever dreamed Of Its worst effect would
be to make all our hillsides musical with
mills, and from border to border-North,
South, East and West-to make us self
dependent people. On all the violence of the
British press, we again say, we can look with
War is the worst that could hap
pen, and war would be blessing.