Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-06-23

! ing the war OF the rebellion the feel
| ing of animosity engendered between
I the states and the Dominion was so
bitter as to cause the raising of thu
present tariff wall. which for more
than forty years has stood as q monu-
ment to fortunately forgotten i'll feel
| ing. In the events of 1864 along our
northern border Canada's part was
much the same as that played by us
during the past few months Mexican
trouble. as the innocent host of refu-
gees and plotters, while we with the
civil war on our hands were in some
what the same relative situation as
Mexico with her Instruction is today.
The year 1864 saw two filibuster-
ing expeditions set out from Canadian
territory to descend on our undefended
northern border. As military forces
the expeditions Of Young. the St Al
bans raider, and Buriey, the Lake Erie
invader, were puny. None the less
they caused great deal of stir and IN
easinesS.- Both raids were presumably
In the Confederate interests. although
It is hard to say what benefit they
could reasonably have been expected
to do the Confederate cause. Young.
who with his band captured the little
town OF St Adams, VT, retired pre-
cipitately with $4,000 worth Of booty.
Burley's attempt was less noteworthy.
but he. too, escaped safely to Canada.
Lincoln Averted War.
When Young reached Canada on re-
turning from his raid he was taken
before a Canadian justice. with his
companions. The justice discharged
the prisoners on the ground Of lack of
jurisdiction, an error for which he was
afterward dismissed from the bench.
Stirred by the clamor in this country.
the Canadian authorities proceeded to
rearrest the raiders But northerners
were Infatuated. Governor Dix issued
a proclamation taxing Canada with
improperly harboring enemies of the
United States. So warlike was the
tone of Governor Dix's utterance that
war with Great Britain was looked
upon as possible. President Lincoln
took the pacific course OF overruling
Dix, and the more acute phase of the
unpleasantness passed over
Young and his companions were new
er punished. The rest OF the band
were released after the rearrest on
the ground of lack of evidence against
them. Young was released on bail.
awaiting further action. The termina
ton OF the rebellion led to the quash
ing of the proceedings against him in
Canada.
In the bitterness on both sides of
the border that followed the Young
episode it would no doubt have been
impossible for the Canadian govern
ment to punish him without mourning
the charge of giving in to American
compulsion. The occurrence had the
good effect of making the Canadians |
call out several thousand militia TO
police the border. and no further Con- |
federate raids from the north after
those of Young and Burley were car
ried out
Mexican Affair of 1865.
Within a year of the trouble with |
Canada we were involved in difficul- |
ties along the Mexican border which |
might well have led TO war with |
France. The determinations that pass |
ed at that time, toward the end of |
1865, between the American COM |
handing officer at Brownsville. Tex, |
and the commander Of the French |
squadron eff the mouth of the Rio |
Grande form perhaps the acutest |
phase of the troubles over the French |
occupation Of Mexico. But as they |
led TO no serious clash other than the
clash of words they may afford some |
amusement at this late day.
General Weitzel. in command at San |
Antonio, was suspected of sympathiz-
ing rather too strongly for prudence
with the insurrectos of the day who
were busy trying to overthrow the en-
pire of Macmillan. the Austrian prince
placed by French arms on the throne
of Mexico. In November, 1865. the
French naval commander. lying in the
gulf just off Brownsville. sent a letter
to WeitZel accusing him in exceeding
ly strong terms of furthering the Mex
lean rebel cause by helping ship men.
arms and munitions over the Rio
Grande. WeitzeI. who was rather
frank about his sympathies with the
insurrectos. treated the letter with
scorn and. in fact, returned 1t to the
writer with the answer that he would
pay no attention to it because II was
couched in disrespectfuI language. No
bonn bardment followed.
Fall Of Macmillan.
In a few weeks, however, the Mexi-
can commander of the troops Of Maxi
milan posted along the border COM
planned that a Mexican steamship
ascending the Rio Grande to Mata-
moros had been fired upon from the
Texas bank. This complaint gave
Weitzel an opportunity for a more ex-
tended statement of his views. There
was no satisfactory evidence, he re-
piled, that the shots complained Of had
been fired from the Texas side. He
had always endeavored to prevent vio-
lations of neutrality by the officers and
men under his ommand Apparently
he felt that his duty ceased there and
that others along the border were wei
come to do as they pleased. AS re-