St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-05-02
International Sympathy.

During tne paSG lew MeehS hIS-
STA and England have been hover
ing over the ragged edge war, and
the eyes of the whole world have
been fixed upon them with the great
est interest and anxiety, for a con-
test between two such countries
will be gigantic one, the effects of
which will be felt all the world over,
The general opinion seems to be
that diplomacy has been exhausted
in effort to compose the difficulties
between the two governments, and
the English people uphold Mr..
Gladstone's policy though they
have chafed under his calm deliber-
alton and slow process, believing
that he has exhausted every honor
able resourse of reason and good
will before coming to the arbitra-
ment of the sword. Though the
Russian Minister Of Foreign Affairs
is reported as saying that peace
will be preserved, bis views are not
accepted as being worth much, as|
his retirement from power is prob
able. At any rate, the two coun-
tries continue their preparations to
grapple with each other in deadly
conflict, and the vote Of credit by
the British Parliament of G55, O00,-
900 for war purposes means btfsi-
ness earnest, bloody, desperate
work. As between these countries
the sympathies of the world will, of
course, be divided. In Europe the
governments will no doubt evince
no active sympathy for either of the
beligerent parties, but they will pre-
serve condition Of armed neutrali-
ty in reference to them. So will
the United States, whose policy is
to carefully abstain from all foreign
alliances and entanglements. The
only frst-class government in Eu-
rope that has shown any desire to
take sides is Italy, and her inclina-
ton toward England in the coming
struggle is circumstance worth
consideration, as she has ever
shown a happy knack Of ranging
herself on the strongest side. In
1866 she backed France and Eng
land against Russia, and for this
the Ursa Major does not cherish for
her the kindliest feelings. In 1859
she backed France against Austria.
In 1866 she gave her sympathies to
Russia against Austria. In 1871
she could not fight France, but she
would not fight Germany. The on
ly way in which England can bring
upon herself active opposition from
European governments, is to make
an attempt to push one Of her great
fleets Of iron-cIads through the Oar
dennelles, contrary to the treaty Of
Paris, against which France has al
ready, IN advance, protested.
The people Of the United States
should generally sympathize in SEN
timent at least with England. The
two peoples are SO intimately con-
nected in business relations, bound
together by the tie Of consequently
and by a common language. And
then, Great Britain represents to a
great extent the modern idea of
representative Constitutional Gov
eminent as opposed to the ancient
idea of Despotism as represented by
Russia. In the march Of liberal
ideas, the latter has adhered with
the most rigorous tenacity to the j
tyrannical form that distinguished ]
the reign of her greatest Of mon
archs, Peter the Great, and in adj
vancement is far behind her Euro j
pean neighbors. That her people
are SO stepped in ignorance and
subserviency that they are not fit
for any other government is shown
by the fact that they killed Alexan-
der the First, the only ruler who
ever showed q disposition to give
them more freedom and a written
constitution.
With such a nation as the Rus
sian, the people Of the United
States cannot, reasonably and CON
sistently, have any real, hearty sym
pathy, in O war against the English.
Many Of the Republican journals Of
the North have already taken sides
with Russia, because. as thew al-il