The Portland daily press., 1870-10-13

0 those who are outside. The time comes
Vhen they can weigh both sides OF the case
and trust that that time mas now
rrived and that can safely appeal to the
aim Judgment of great people. 1t is absO-
utely necessary in order to appreciate what
ook place in England during your great strug-
lie, to bear in mind in the first place that it
lgitated our social and political life almost as
leeply as 1T did yours. Not even in the crisis
ii the free trade movement were England's |
people more deeply stirred than by that slrug- |
,le between freedom and law on the one hand, |
md slavery and privilege on the other, which |
vas SO stsrnly wrestled through and brought |
% SO glorious and triumphant decision in |
your great rebellion. There can be no greater |
mistake than to suppose that there was any |
thing like indifference on our side of the wa
ter, and no one can understand the question |
who makes it. There was plenty OF ignorance,
plenty of fierce partsanshlp, plenty OF ee"l'.
dered hesitation and vacilaliOn among great
masses of honest, well meaning people, who
could find no steady ground on the shiftlng
sands of statement and couuter-statement
with which they W ere delueed by those VINO
knew their own minds and ielt from the Hrs.
that here was a battle for life or death, but
there was, l repeat again, no Indifference
Our political struggles do not, as rule, affect
our social life, but during your war the feeling
of antagonism between your friends and u ose
of the rebel States grew into hostility. 1t is
also to suppose that any section OF
our people were wholly on one side or the 9TH
er. do not for moment mean to deny that
the great majority of our aristocracy took part
with the rebels and desired to see the great Re-
public broken up ipto two jealous and hostile
Could you fairly look for sympathy in that
quarter, when your whole war has been a de-
termined protest against privilege and in favor
of equal rights, and you had never been care
ful in speech or conduct to cOncilate your ad-
versaries? But there were notable exceptions
kof fIrn Nr1Vn rrnrn ErSn dc
than Lord Carlyle and others Of his stamp.
And no motion hostile to the Union was ever
discussed in the House of Lords, SO far as /
know. OF course those who hung around and
depended upon the aristocracy went with
them. There were many warm friends, such
Emancipation Societies land there were many
of the aristocracy in tbese( The manufactur-
ers of England were very generous in their
sympathies An American has generally
moro or less intimate with some section of
that society to which our aristocracy gives its
tone, or he is among us for business purposes,
and comes chiefly across our mercantile class.
es. I cannot but believe that this fact goes far
to explain the to me extraordinary prevalence
of the belief here that the English nation was
ON the side of the rebellion. Now let me turn
to those who were the stannchest friends oil
The North at the very outset. They were gath
cred from all ranks and all parts Of the king
dom, for the workiDgmen furnished the vast
majority of them. All felt the tremendous
significance of the struggle, and that the fu.
ture of their own country was almost as deeply
involved as the future of America. 1t was lit.
tie enough that we could do in any case, but
that little was done with all our hearts; anG
on looking back cannot but think that it wal
we'll done. Until after the battle Of Manassai
junction, in July, 1861, there was scarcely
any public expression of sympathy in England
with the rebellion. The Times that portion O
the press which is always ready to 60 for tht
side which it thinks likely to win, was lectur
ing on the wickedness OF war and the absurdi
| ty of the rebel States in supposing that they
could resist for month the strength of thu
North. The news of your first defeat arrived
and this portion OF our press swung round a
once, and the strong feeling in favor of the re
belio1 which levelled society and the CONNER
cial world, soon began to manifest itself. Tht
unlucky Trent business and your unsuccess
fulness completed the work. Then came Mr.
Mason's residence in London, where his hOus,
became the familiar resort of all the leading
sympathizers with the rebellion. The news
paper which he started, the Index, was full
week after week, with false and malignant at
tacks on your Government The most bitter O
them was the constant insistance, backed vi
by quotations of Mr.. Lincoln and Mr.. Seward
that the war had nothing to do with slavery
that emancipation was far more likely to come
from the rebels than from you. This has beer
our great difficulty from the first. Our gener
alton has been reared on anti slavery princi
pies. Emancipation has been the crowning
glory of England in our eyes. well recollect
the CONSERVATION and almost despair witt
on June 20, 1861. 'sThe Republicans" he said
sled by Seward, offered to surrender any thing
to save the Union. Their gospel is the Consti
| tuition, and the slave clause their Sermon OF
| the Mount. They think that at the Judgment
| Day the blacker the sins they have committed
To fho TTnio tho ole 1o <bo;~ <:k
| to Heaven" Mr.. Mason and his friends were
| already establishing Confederate States Aid
| Association; and he felt that something mus
| be done to counteract their influence. So. ir
| 1865 the Union and Emancipation Societies
were started by us in London and Manches
| ter, and in good time came Mr.. Lincolns proc
lamation to strengthen our hand. Our Socie
ties published an address to the President con.
| graduating him on the proclamation, and set
ting forth our trust in the North. That ad
dress was adopted by large meetings chiefly
comprised OF working men; and it was cleal
at once that there was a grand force behint
| us, for we became the butt of furious attack
The Times called us inaposters. Then camt
the test OF public meetings, which you, a
least, are surely bound to accept as q fair gaug
of what people thinks and wills. Mr.. Hughes
| spoke at length in relation to the grea
| meeting in Exeter Hall, where the scene Q
| endorsement of the sentiment of the Nort1
was enthusiastic. We carried, without tn
in favor of your Government, Of tn,
Union and of emancipation. The success wa
! 50 50 oo.Pfete that in London our work was donf
| Then followed similar meetings at Manchester
Of population, with precisely the same result
don't remember that the enemy ever eve
attempted public meeting, and he never al
tempted to divide one of our meetings. Th
country was carried by acclamation.. In Liv
erpool, we carried the very same resolution
by very large majorities. We established ais
a number of Freedmen's Aid Associations
And now we come to the action of our cover
/ ment. Parliament-the brain. heart and mus
| Gle OF England-were on your side. ZAP
plause. will admit at once, if you please
| that Lord Palmerston and the principal mem
bers OF his Cabinet were not friendly to YOU
and would have been glad to see your Repub
lie broken up. | am by no means sure th
so6us let that onasSS o%aS first
ton OF neutrality that was signed and pub
nsned on the 18th of May, 1861. was prelna.
ture and an act OF discourtesy to your govern
ment, 1nasmuch as your. new Minister, Mr.
Adams emily arrived in England on that very
day Looking bac6, now, quite admit thai
It would have been far better to have delayed
the publication of tbs proclamation until after
Mr.. Adams had arrived in London; but at the
time the case w& very different. The Presi-
London on tbs Sd of May. OF course from
that moment the danger Of collision between
our vessels and yours and the fitting out ol
| privateers IN our harbors rose at once and in
fact your frst capture OF a British vessel was
| made on lhe 18th of May, the General Park
hill of liverpool. But If the publication q
the PROCLAMATION of neutrality was mistake,
| it was made by our government at the earnes n
| solicitation OF Mr.. Foster, and other warm
friends It yours. who pressed it forward en-
ti'ely as they supposed at the time, in your in
erest. The government acted on their in
stance, and SO, whether blunder or not. the
Queens proclamation was at any rate not an
unfrlendly act. Besides, remember what it
amounted to, simply and solely to recogni-
ton OF the fact that you had serious war on
il we had recognized the independence Of the
rebel States as our government was strongly
urged to do by members Of our own Pariia-
ment and House of Lords, by the Emperor Of
the French Ito save his Mexican adventure J
you would have good ground of offence; but
this was precisely what we never would do
and when they found this out, the Confederate
government, as you remember, cut off ali in
tercourse with England and expelled our Con
suls. So one side blamed us for doing too
much and the other for doing too little,-the
i1eqaent Haqrsa fate tate Of neutrals. [AppIause Mr..
Gregory as Parliamentary lobbyist in June,
1861, in making motion to call the at ention
OF the House to the expediency of prompt
recognition of the Southern Confederacy. The
motion was taken off the table without debate.
and thereby lost. Then came the unlucky
Trent affair; and another motion was made by
Mr.. Lindsay, the great ship owner, that in the
opinion of the House the Southern States had
themselves SO long and gave such
evidence of ability to continue the struggle,
that mediation with view to ending hostili-
ties was worthy Of the immediate considera-
lion OF the English government. But the gov.
eminent IN came out with square refusal on the
loth OF uly,san the motion shared the fate of
ts predecessor Then came the escape of the