New-York tribune., 1874-10-27
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
BANCRoFT's HISTORY OF THE UNITED
y - STATES. VOL. x.

BANCROFT. VOL X. qHs AnHRions Ecwnanv'
-, VOL IyJ svo. pp. 69s iA'''''
The volume of American history when co,npio~s
Mr. Bapcrofts great national Work Is ue'o'eo " ~
&c ,,ost ;mnortant epochs in the apnals OF the
eonntry 1t covers the period from tne iorna'ion "
,h alliance with France in 177s to the CONCLUSION OIL
,naee with England in I7s2. relating IN detaii the
.eootiations for the treaty, and the position Oh tno
Continental powers which contributedto the success
NJ the American cause. Like the previous volumes
of the work IL is remarkable for the combination
of philosophical reflection with picturesque nara
tive although the studous reader of history Will De
more strongly attracted by its profound analysisof
political causes than its description OF the sequence
Of external events. The relation of cotempor-
aneops European thought to the question OF Amer
ican freedom Is the subject of masterly discussion,
admirably illustrating the genius of the author for
comprehensive views, and the rare and extensive
knowledge with which his positions are sustained.
The policy of foreign nations, according to Mr..
Bancroft was an essential element in the establish
ment of American independence. The Government
of England in seeking to suppress English rights IN
her colonies by English arms, made war on the
deepest sources of her own life. The subjugation OF
America would have been the prelude to the suppress
sion of liberty in the British Isles England at the
time had no equal IN commercial wealth and enter
prise vet her movements were marked by languor.
There was no man IN tHe CaDiheI W 0dh VuV h0A
moral resources The country found no representa-
tive in the Ministry. Public spirit was Queled
Personal interest was priced above the general
good. Even the threat of foreign war could not
soothe the turbulence of partisans. The Admins
tration held its majority in the House of Commons
only on sufferance Its own officials were retained
only by the control of patronage Signs OF nsurbor-
dination were manifested even in the fleet and In
the army, and most of all among the officers. The
period was doubtless of great intellectual vigor
Philosophy could boast of Hume and Reid, of Price
and Adam Smith There was Reynolds in painting;
there were Gray and Goldsmith. johnson and Cow
per in poetry and various literature; Chatham,
Burke, and Fox in legislative eloquence; Gbbon in
history; Brindley, Watt and Arkwright in the use
fu arts. The debasement of the nation in so high
state Of culture was not due to the corruption OF
Parliament alone. 1t finds its full explanation only
IA the chaotic state of parties
The conflict between England and her American
colonies sprang out of the development of British
institutions. The supreme right of Parliament over
the Crown was the cornerstone of English liberty.
In process OF time, this principle assumed an ex-
aggeIated form. and was claimed to extend without
limit Ireland and the colonies. The theory
which had first been used to secure the liberties Of
England thus became an instrument of despotism.
By the side of the principle of the absolute power of
Of the English constitution, there existed the older
respect for the rights of the individual and of organ
ized communities. These two elements of British
political life were brought into collision by the
American revolution, end struggled for ascendency
in the mind of the British nation and in its legsla
ture. The arstocratic party OF liberty founded on
the absolute power of Parliament in order to defeat
che assumptions of the King, had now done its work
In opposition to its protracted rule there up
new liberal party under the auspices of Lord Chat
ham willing to use the prerOgative of the King in
favor of the people against the aristOcracy. The
sew party aimed at a double modification of the
sovereignty of Parliament. The elder Pitt insisted
that the Commons of Great Britain had no right to
tax unrepresented colonies This was the first step
in the reconstruction of English liberty. The next
was the recognition that Parliament, as then COM
posed, did not adequately represent the nation.
Statesmen of the Rockingham school desperately
resisted both these cardinal principles of reform.
The same antagonistic forces were in action in
France. numerous peasantry constituted the
safeguard of order and nationality. 1t was among
the cultivated classes of the capital that the cry
arose for reform revolution The French King
was absolute, but there was large party composed
Of men of generous natures and of ideal thinkers,
who cherished supreme desire for free institutions.
The Parisians felt the reverses of the Americans
If they had been their own and even early as
November, 1776, an approaching rupture with En-
gland was the subject of general discussion. The
American struggle was avowedly war of defense
of the common rights of mankind. The French
minister of war. Prince de Montbarey was strongly
opposed TO alliance with the insurgents. He re-
garded a victory England as presenting a dam
geTous example Of sustaining revolt against estab-
lished authority 1t was against his urgent remon-
stranoes and the interior sentiment of the King, that
the alliance with America was formed. Not one
of the chiefs of the executive government indeed,
hearty friend to the republic. Necker
was in favor of neutrality, but his liberal
ism did not go beyond admiration of the
political institutions of England. The statesmen of
tbe nation had not yet deduced system of civil lib
erty to supersede antiquated traditional forms. The
lighter literature of the hour, more skeptcal than
hopeful Knocked at the contradiction between insti
tutions and rights. Marie AntOinette who wanted
earnestness of character, until cbasened by aflic
ton, swayed by generous capriees family
ties. For the moment she fell in with the prevail
ing enthusiasm for the republic, but her feeling
only superficial. and could form no support for
steady conduct of the war. 1t the age of per-
sonal government in France. The whole power of
its resources rested in the hands of young of
four-and-twenty whom his Austrian brother-in-law
described a child He felt no sympathy with the
Americans. either in their resistance to oppression
OF their struggle for self-government He never
understood how the kingdom of Catholic and abb
solute monarch had plunged into a to introduce
20 the pOtentates of civilized world revolution
aTy Protestant republic.
The relation of Germany to the United States
forms the subject of profound discussion, in which
subtle philosophical analysis is made to illustrate
the development of European history Her people