Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-10-24
crui.ers and Com merce.


whenever there is Correspondence oe
tween the diplomats of the United States.
and England the consequences OF war Ne
tween these two great nations are u''
cussed by the newspapers ana the peop'o'
II is we'll that this Is So We should ho'
nick a quarrel with England; EhSiaiu
sbmld not force one upon us. Each OF
No is sufficiently powerful and tenacious
of n,rpose 10 do the other vast deal OF
harm Each could infict upon the othef
misefies enough 10 be remembered LOT
generations.
war between the United states ana
England would be largely a HaVai war
and we have no doubt that our BRUSH
friends hay.. often wondered what would
become of their commerce in that event.
The commerce Of Great Britain is vastly
larger than that of any other country Oh
the globe. There is no sea-no port ih"eed-
where the British flag H. unknown. In
so far as commerce is concerned Eng
land has infinitely more TO lose hy war
than the United States.
The Confederate States cruisers Florida
Alabama. Shenandoah. etc, well officer
cd hut inadequately manned and
equipped tbecause they mad 10 be
fitted out surreptitiously in foreign
norris, well nigh swept the commerce of
the United States from the ocean
Much greater would be the danger 10
british commerce from United states
cruisers They could make the seas 50
DANGEROUS for British merchantmen that
few would dare to put out from port.
"Ah, but wouldn't the British warships
follow these commerce destroyers and
capture them" OF course they would
Try to: SO. too. did the United States
cruisers try To run down the Coniede-
rate ships Now and then they succeed
ed. but still the work OF destruction went
on.
quite certainly the capacity Of the
United States for destroying The COM
merce or England would be a. great IA
was the capacity Of the Confederacy for
destroying the commerce OF the United
States Bu, it may b. said that Eng
land would send her merchantmen 10 sea
under convoys OF armed ships. OF course
she would. whenever that was possible,
but large a. is her navy. her fleets Of
merchantmen are incompaiably larger.
and there would not be enough warships
10 20 around Further, the commerce
that Is done under conveys il done at a
paralyzing price What is more. Eng
land with her numerous colonies and de-
Tendencies in every quarter OF the globe.
has more need OF armed ships for pur-
poses OF defence than W. have
Look at IT "a you please, England COULD
not enter upon war with the United
States without mourning the risk OF hav-
ing her merchant flag driven from the
ocean. just as the United States flag was
driven off by the Confederates.
For all of these reasons well as for
distinctly humane reasons which present
themselves to every intelligent mind. We
should think that the influential classes
in England would be 10th to have the
government do anything TO provoke hos
Utilities with us. In England. as in the
United States. the government has to do
something 10 cOncilate the jingoists. but
We shall be surprised If ii presses us 10
the danger point In the matter OF the
Monroe doctrine. Ii would better NOT
Again: our British friends must know
that the United States was never in a bet
ter condition 10 fight than al this time.
There are now 10 sectional differences
that would count in a foreign war. So far
from IT, the North and the South and the
West would vie with one another in
showing what sacrifices they could make
for the common cause.
But. as we have said. our thoughtful
people want no war with England or any
other nation. We are for peace. provided
that We have not TO purchase that peace
at too dear cost.