Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1872-06-08
Our Princess Nellie.

u TIE LAbY OF THE HIGHEST PLACE
m AMERICA PRESENTED TO THE
y,rERN--HAs SHE A SECRET DIPLO-
MATIC MIssIoNf
rrpom the London Times, April ~
A nara graph in the Court Circular
~ vasterday informed the public that
T;ss Grant. the daughter OF the PresI-
Ssnt ofthe United States, was present
sd 70 the Queen at Buckingham
place. and the lady OF the highest
Mace in America has thus commenced
bar acquaintance with England anu
The ENGLISH. The event, though Ger
tsinly Of special note. isnot altogether
a. remarka able as it would have been
IN the last generation, for royal per
sonacas now 90 freely on theirtraveis,
"a tSa Oueer,s Son himself visited
shs fIn;ted States before any Presi.
dent's daughter arrived in England.
Travel. in fact, from which were once
a-cInded the classes at both extremi-
tiss Of the social scale, has now become
tbe source of all. Crowned heads no
longer stay at home, and classes be-
meath the middle class find Opportu
mites Of going abroad. Nevertheless,
the arrival of this lady in our country,
and especially at this conjuncture in
tho relations of the two states IL an
occurrence worthy of reflection. Miss
Grant will naturally enjoy the advan.
tages attached to her position, and
she will be enabled to carry back
with her to America more than or
binary amount of that information in
which, it is said, the people of both
countries are to their common detri-
ment, 80 singularly deficient.
We are told that we know nothing
of the Americans, and the Americans
nothing of us, and yet the assertion is
surely rather strange. One-half of it
receives a certain explanation from
tho doctrine maintained by the Ameri-
CANS themselves, who are rather fond
of saying that no foreigners did or
ever could understand them. This
would be a sufficient excuse for our
own misconceptions but as We do
not consider our own national charac-
ter by any means SO untathOmable,
how is it that no American should ap.
pear to understand us! The question
Is well worth asking, and, if possible,
answering. The citizens of the United
States visit England in great num-
beers. They are eminently locomo-
tive race. As q nation they are
wealthy, their education is of high
average order, they are acute and Oh
reryant beyond most people, and yet
it is said, and we fear truly, that they
rarely form any true conception of our
selves, onr temper, our institutions OF
our doings.
The whole question now pending,
with its accidental complications, be
tween the two governments, originated
in this kind of understanding, or at
least in feelings to which such d mis-
understanding gave rise. Not only
was the alabama question never really
q money question, as the Americans
now freely acknowledge, but it never
was, in truth, even a question OF sub
s,antial injury or damage. Tile rea
abiding otiense was given by the att
tude and public opinion of the coun
try during The civil war, interpreted
aud regarded by the beiigereats, amt
those Impressions, where they were
not false, were without moral or politi
cal justification. We neither said OF
did anything which free people
would be entitled to say or do. W.
said, indeed, less than we might have
said, but it became perfectly clear al
the conclusion OF the struggle that tn,
claims which the Americans believed
themselves to possess OH our friend
ship and favor were far greater thar
any we had ever supposed them Il
entertain. That was the true origin
of all the ranking which eliminate,
in the litigation now pending. w,
committed, rs American jurors hav,
;, confessed, no breach of neutrality
We were never consciously, still les
malici0usly, wanting in the discharg
Of any international duty. We nevc
did or thought of doing less for tn
Americans than we should have don
for the most favored European ally.
All this, however, though really q
much as could be expected of us, feI
short OF the expectations actuall
formed in the United States. Tn
American people had naturally q hig
opinion of their own Union and it
policy, and strong persuasion of tn
special indulgence which we wer
bound to extend to them. The mer
spectacle of their institutions in dan
ger ought to have filled us with alarm
Theirs was the land of freedom, equal
" and progress, 70 ~ etrrqgler
and sufferers of the o. 80 IT.
break up of such -.eoan .a-s
very different thing from reyulu,..
In Europe, and we, of all people
ought to have recognized the fac
So Tar American feeling was natura
and perhaps not much overstrained
the misunderstanding occurred iron
the impressions conceived of our actus
obligations at the critical moment
IL really SQa,ns nc 10 Tho Ar,a,,;o....