The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-07


Stand Or Fall Upsn This Issue.
| The country has learned with satisfaction
and pride Of the position assumed by the
President upon the Alabama question. His
declarations to the correspondent OF the
HERALD that the case as submitted to the
Geneva tribunal must stand the Judgment of
the tribunal, precisely as the presentation of
the Confederate cotton debt by England, and
that we cannot be instructed or admonished by
the British Ministry as to what we say
or do not say before q tribunal whore
both parties have an equal standing, have
been received by the country with unqualified
expressions Of approval. The United States
would have been willing to have had the whole
Alabama question discussed and settled upon
final and peaceful basis If this discussion
is interrupted, and the settlement postponed
by the abrupt and extraordinary action of
England, we are not to blame for the conse-
quences. We have gone as far as we could
with honor. We cannot in honor recede.
| In this discussion we are met by the
traditions Of British diplomacy. The
British Foreign Office is largely governed by
the remembrances and teachings of Palmer
ston. That famous Minister, ''the lusty Eng
lishman, as his admirers were wont to call him,
was fond Of menace as sure weapon of diplo-
macy. When some trembling, anxious nation,
like Turkey, or China, or Denmark, declined
to accept his DEGREES as laws, he moved a
feet to their ports and threatened to burn a
town or two, and generally had his way. We
have read how the Danish feet was burned
merely because the King of Denmark was
supposed to be u.ider the control of Napoleon;
how the Turkish feet was destroyed when Its
Grecian policy dlspleased London; how the
summer palace Of the Chinese Emperor was
pillaged because the Emperor had his own
notions about trading with the foreigner. All
that England has Is her feet, which moves
around the world Hike the village bully, gov
erning by threats. In dealing with greater Pow
ers there has been q reserve and deoorum COM
plimentary to British prudence, and that fine
sense Of the necessity Of money as the chief end
of nations, which controls the average British
mind When Russia invaded the Principalities
of the Danube England waited until France
|
| made common cause before she assaled the
great empire Of the North. When Denmark
asked her to observe her treaty obligations
and prevent the spoliation Of her little king
dom, England looked at the stupendous Power
of Prussia and ignored the treaty. When
Russia called upon her to withdraw from her
Black Sea pretensons she was glad to comply,
h. 49, M Dali lar 1oH
and peace was gained by national surrender
and humiliation.
The United States have, time and ag ain,
been regarded by England as proper subjects
for the diplomacy Of menace. When we OBJ
jected to British cruisers searching our mer-
chantmen she sent squadron here and
burned our Capitol and would have continued
her depredations but for the victory at New
Orleans. When we claimed our natural
boundary In Oregon we were compelled to
abandon our rights, under the threat Of fleet,
which overcame the nerves Of the timid Polk
and the trembling Buchanan. When we
seized the persons Of notorious rebels
on the high seas-in the case Of
Mason and Slidell-we were commanded
to surrender them in the most offensive man.
ner. We were then In death struggle with
the South, and Palmerston's menaces were
well timed and successful. During the rebel
lion England paid as little attention to our
rights, to the sacred duties of neutrality to
our professions of friendship and our ties of
blood as she did to the protests of China on
the opium question. When the South broke
into rebellion she made haste to treat them as
belligerents, as people entitled to nations
rights, even before battle was fought During
our war English money sustained the confed-
eracy, English ships, manned by English sea-
men destroyed our commerce, and even the
right Of privatserng, which had been solemnly
denounced as piracy by England, was &C
cepted and protected 80 far as the South was
concerned, even after we had expressed de-
sire to unite in her declaration. The prompt
ness with which we yielded to the Palmerston
policy of pressure, especially in the Trent
affair, is 80 freshly remembered In England
that she naturally reverts to 1t now in the
Alabama question.
What il the exact situation? We have met
the English 10 solemn conference. That
conference calmly and patiently agreed to GER
tain rules Of procedure and principles Of in
ternational law. A tribunal was appointed
satisfactory to England and ourselves. We
presented our case and named eminent and
learned men to 60 before the tribunal and
plead that case. England did the same thing.
The nature of her case is unknown to us. We
do not know what claims she will plead in
offset. We know that the Confsder-
ate debt was submitted and we re.
gard 1t as not unlikely that the sinking
| Of Aha Eloida s,l H. Ai.Aa.. an Al. ....,,