Litchfield enquirer., 1881-10-20
Yorktown. :

Wednesday of the present week is the hun. lredth anniversary of the crowning victory of he Revolution, the surrender of Cornwallis at Torktows. Appropriate arrangements have been made for its celebration descendants of he ce lebrated Frenchmen who played leading 'asss in tue siege are hsre; strong force of large numbea of militia, Governnfs of States, Congressmen, the President and his Cabinet, and citizens to the number of 80,- 900 or 40,000, are expected to be present on this@ interesting oeeasions So fer e mere numbers are concerned 1t will be a more i'm portant affair than that of 6 century ago. In fact, if mere numbers are to be considered, the battles of the Revolution were all insig. nidcant; but the numbers of that time must be considered in reference to the total popu- iation of the colopies at that period. Estimat- ing that population at three millions in 1781, there are seventeen times as many people in the United States now as there were then The 9,0o0i American soldiers who took part in
 he siege ot Yorktown were larger propor- ion of the population of that day than an army of 15O. 900 would be of the people of the present United States. s2a-1 oIasi si4 se5
 But the struggling cause of 1781 was not so weak in men as in resources. The militia of that time, unreliable as was its discipline, was by no means despicable force. Like the Boers of South Africa at the present time, they were race of marksmen, and, behind entrenchments, or in the woods, they often inflicted defeat or heavy loss on the "red- coats.", It was the weakness of the central power, and the poverty of the country that nearly wrecked the patriot enterprise. Not only was the old Confederation a mere league of thirteen independent governments, it was league of governments entirely unused to co operation. Before the Revolution there was no tie which bound colony to colony. Their sole connection was with the mother country The late Confederacye was based on the vic- ious theory of state sovereignty, but the states composing it had had seventy years habit of working together asa nation.
 Then the poverty of the country is almost inconceivable With currency in complete collapse, with no commerce, no manufactures, and g population thinly scattered along an exposed coast line of thousand miles. the maintainance of large armies was an imposi- bility. Washington. Gates, Greene, were kept in the field by miracle. To the y6naneiers of the Revolution million dollars was almost as important sum as an hundred millions to Chase and Stanton. It was the money of that rendered the subjugation of the colonies impossible. ge.i .ir<gf sa"-r aao asofsioq ! V We hope America will, this week, frankly and gratefully acknowledge her great debt to France Never could such an acknowledge ment have come 60 easily to American lips as to. day. Itwould have been harder with the Republic of RobespierFe. the Empire of the Napoleons, the Kingdom of the 'Bourbons even of the milder Orleans branch But now the elder of the two great republics of the Nineteenth Century turns lovingly to the younger, and thanks her for the liberty which France, yet unregenerate, gave her an hun- dred years ago.i2And America encourages her sister republic. redeemed after a century of such sad, severe trial as DO other nation ever, suEyived, to hope at last for the good government and. the prosperity which free in- stitutions have given us, and are promising them. 2b1.w r. 9iAH > q! b.low ;. i3si9d;
 The great event of the week in Great Brit ain has been the arrest of Mi. Parnell on charge of melting the Irish. people to outbreak The arrest was conducted quietly It is not the cue for the Irish to fight and they made no attempt at rescue. This measure js natur- ally very unpopular in Ireland, where there is a stronger determination than ever to main. tain the rule of the Lahd League. Parnell was arrested while on his way to the Kildare Convention at Naas. and he was taken to Kill mailman Prison. This arrest can hardly be unexpected, as Parnell has defied the govern. !. ment and has breathed new life into the League which seemed inclined to make Q tri. al of the Land Act before resorting to further agitation. Parnell undoubtedly expects that his arrest will influence the Irish people more strongly against pacific policy than even his fiery speeches could do. At this distance from the scene of disturbance 1t is difficult to judge upon such questions. In the first place Parnell's violent denunciations of the Land Act have seemed to us to indicate fear that, after all, 1t might turn out all that Mir.
 Glo daI oro hoo cio od fos ik ro. L might have made some trouble at first, but the Land Act would have stood better chance of a fair trial than 1t is like to have with all
 the bitterness aroused by the Imprisonment
 of the leaders of the league Furthermore,
 we have not yet seen any of Parnells utteran.
 ces that could justly be termed seditious. He
 has never counseled rebellion or unlawful re. sistance 90 far as we have seen. He has de-
 nounced the Land Act and Mr. Gladstone, but that he had right to do. He has no doubt made himself nuisance to Mr. Glad.
 stone, but Prime Minister must expect that.
 Later telegrams bring accounts of arrests of
 all the most prominent Irish leaders. We fear it is mistake. e o3 .r.,.. ,.t j'-
 The Republicans have had genuine streak
 of luck during the past week. Not only have
 the Ohio and Iowa elections gone, handsomely
 in their favor, but they have got into irst a.
 good position in the Senate ss they would
 have had if Messrs Conkling and Platt had
 stood to theirgunsinstead of getting angry and
 giving the Democrats chance of recovering
 control there. As VIC announced, last week
 the Democrats made haste to elect Mir. Bayarc
 Pres. pro ten.. Senators Davis ard Ma.
 hone both voting with the Republicans or
 Mir. Edmunds' motion to allow the Senators
 elect to be sworn in before proceeding to au
 election. When the new Senators were sworr
 in. Thursday. however. the tables were
 turned. A motion to continue the committee.
 appointed by Vice Pres, Arthur's casting vote
 last summer. was carried by the vote of Jude,