The Portland daily press., 1883-04-18
IN. Y. world.l
IN L. Noflu.l
What Does England Want of Us?


Our esteemed contemporary the CONNER
cial Advertiser, invites the attention of its
readers to the declaration made by Mr..
Gladstone during the American civil war,
that "Mr. Jefferson Davis had made an ar
my, had made navy, and, more than that,
had made nation 1t is very natural for
our patriotic neighbor to think of such
things when it sees disposition manifested
by Englishmen TO hold Americans response
bic for English inability to establish order,
peace and contentnent in Ireland. Eng
lishmen censure Americans for doubling
whether English dealing with Ireland has
been and is the perfection of craftsmanship.
Mr.. Gladstone's declaration was, TO be sure,
rather absurd, in face of the fact that Eng
lishmen manufactured In Liverpool that
sort of dynamite called 'sa navy" and sold
it to the enemies of the United States.
Lord John Russell was also good enough to
describe the effort to enforce the laws of the
Federal Government in the Southern States
as a struggle of the North for empire and of
the South for independence. But much of
that sort of talk in London came of dense
ignorance about this country. The Conser-
vatiyes were a little more reticent than the
Liberals, bat not more well-informed Lord
Derby expressed his conviction that the
Union never could be restored. In the Lon
don clubs the Northerners were looked upon
as a lot of trading, shop keeping and rather
cowardIy fellows; but then one must re-
member that the London "dude" Of that
period fancied the Mississippi river ran east
and west. It was Mr.. Forster who urged
the belligerent recognition of the South
before Mr.. Adams could reach London,
The governing classes in England 'srallied
round the South and yet the same men
applauded EJohn Browns methods in
Virginia, methods quite as immoral and
detestable as the doings Of the Irish invinci-
bles or the dynamite fiends. Lord Palmer
ston at the head of the ministry, insisted, in
reply to the Representations Of Mr.. Adams,
that England was not in the habit of alter
ing its laws ito please foreign state, even
though only little while before he had in
troduced the conspiracy to murder bilr' in
order to please the emperor of the French,
The only true friend America had sat
court" was the Prince Consort, who unfor-
tunately died near the end Of the year 1861.
Outside of the court circles the friends of
the North were such free traders of the
Manchester school as Mr.. Golden, Mr.,
Bright and Mr.. John Stuart Mill. Manches-
ter and Lancashire stood by the North, but
London stood by the South. DR.. Draper of
Nov York was quite correct when he said
that the tone and temper of London opinion
and the conduct Of Lord PalmeFston's ad-
ministraLion "cast disastrous shadow on
the future of the Anglo-Saxon race" Eng
land is just now in that disastrous shad-
ow." And yet dense insular ignorance Of
America was really at the bottom of 1t ALL
The. United States really never began to be
regarded by the average Londoner as great
power till the year 1865, when the armies of
General Lee surrendered. After that ire
mendous fact in history, and after the com
pletion of trans-continental railway system
and the opening of new hunting grounds In
the West, Engishmen mot in traden began
somehow TO realize the existence of the
United States. Then came an influx of
Britons to America, with all of plans
and purposes excepting that of visiting the
New World to see and learn what
can never be seen and learned on
a small island. Not even till 1882 did so wise
a philosopher as Herbert Spencer undertake
a journey to America. If one would correct
ly appreciate what opinions the most intelli-
gent of Englishmen must have had about the
United States in 1S61-5, he should carefully
read what so clever historian as Mr. Free
man has written Of America since his return,
to say nothing OF Mr.. Freeman's utterances
while he was here. Itwas nothing less than
"a pistol at the ear that brought London to
its senses about the Alabama claims. II
took some plain talk only about a year ago
to persuade Mr. Gladstone and Mr., Forster
that if the American suspects in the Irish
prisons were not speedily brought to fair
trial or released there would be Emusic In
the air." Mr.. Lowell was absolutely power
less in that affair, If only for the reason that
he lives in London, the new Paradise of the
average "dude'' of Boston and New York
There is probably to. day in London among
the governing classes-Whig and Tory-as
much ignorance not only of American opin-
ion about ireland but about English dealings
with ireland as there was between 1861 and |
1866 about the real power and resources OF |
America. People who live on an island can |
know but little of what people think and feel |
who live on continent.
The State Department should learn with
out delay whether the panic-stricken Gov
ernment at London intends TO insist that |
public law entities that Government to de-
mand from the United States the punish
ment and prevention Of conspiracies hatched
within their jurisdiction to excite revolt in
Ireland, either by dynamite or otherwise.
There may be a startling claim for indirect
damages" presented in Washington by Eng
land one of these days, and demand for an
arbitration Of the claim. In anticipation OF
such demand, will not President Arthur,
when he has returned from his fishing expe-
dition, be entitled to insist that the queen
shall straightway establish order in Ireland
and extingush the fires raging there which
so infame and excite the sensbilites of
Irish-Americans? What would the United
states be entitled TO say were Ireland as near
us as Canada? The approaching Irish gath
erng in Philadelphia may cut out some crit
icaI work for Mr. FreinohuYseI,