The Republican journal., 1916-07-13

with the South, and England's recogni-
ton of the seeding States as belliger-
ents had given great offence to Presi-
/ dent Lincoln. The war between North
and South in America was accompanied
| by sort of newspaper war between
America and England. Lord Palmer
ston in letter to the Queen said that in
this very year, 1861. England endured
the abuse of the American press, viru
lent as it was, with entire equanimity.
With the exception of the Daily News
and the Spectator the English press gen.
orally was strongly Southern in its SYM
pathies and prejudices, and the Trent
affair intensified the feeling against this
country. While Delane's biographer
says that the influence of The Times
with regard to the Civil war was less
fortunate than in other foreign compli-
cations, "the case against the paper has
been somewhat overstated," and that,
I" The regret must be the greater be-
cause at the first Delane's intuition was
not at fault. I'VE cannot disguise from
ourselves, said The Times in January,
1861, that there is right ana wrong
in this question, and that the right be-
longs to the States of the North And
again: South Carolina has no more right
to secede from the nation called the
United States than Lancashire from
England Delane's first thoughts were
overridden by factors which misled the
opinion of most of his fellow country
men-by the Trent affair, by the Will
fication of England in the Northern
Press, by Lincoln's apparent hesitation
on the issue of slavery, by sympathy
with the weaker side, by the injury
which the war inflicted on the cotton
trade. "
1t is of interest at the present day to
learn that Delane was violently anti
Prussian. He had all the free born Eng
ishman's dislike of the reguation-r rid
den Germans, he hated the overbearlng
arrogance of Prussian officials. This
was manifested in foreign crisis with
which Delane had to deal and which in
voIved the future of Germany and the
risk of general European war. The
controversy was about the Duchies of
SchiesWig- Holstein, one of those intri-
cate ques tions of which such things were
said as that only one man in the world
really understood it and he went mad, or
that only two persons could claim to be
masters of it, and they disagreed. The
actual situation was this: ga new Ger
many was coming into being, with am
billions of aggrandiZement, under the
leadership Of Bismarck, and the issues
were to be settled by blood and IRON"
Prussia was resolved on the annexation
of Denmark, and The Times of course
was anti-Prussian, and for a time it
looked like war; but the peace party
finally prevailed and The Times printed
powerful argument in favor of non :
Intervention. 1t is said that, The at
titude of The Times did much to rally
the middle opinion of the nation in sup
port of the probably wise, but certainly
inglorious policy"
The frontispece of the book is a por-
trait of Dslane, and it is that of typi :
cal Englishman of his day. Of him. when
as young man he assumed the editor
ship Of The Times, ii is said that he was
''forld, bright-eyed, trimming with
zeal, man of great ardor and eager
ness, nassionately imbued with the spirit
of journalism. In his prime no man
was more alert in body and in mind His
attitude in general society has been des-
crbed by one writer as that of ian OBJ
servant silence; but he knew how to
make himself generally agreeable, and
at the dinner table or in the smoking :
room he was an interesting taker. AL
fred Austin wrote Of him: tBrillant in
society, as social brilliance is sometimes
reckoned, Mr.. Delane never was. He
was not professional humorist; he was
not a flashy JOKER he had mortal hatred
of punning hippancy. His conversation
was impressive rather than sparkling;
his sentence seemed charged, as 1t were,
with the condensed results OF long and
varied experience.
OF his daily routine and office work his
biographer says: "Delane rose about
noon; MADE his breakfast his luncheon /;
and proceeded to pay few morning
calls. Lord Aberdeen was in town, and
wished to ingeminate peace; or Lord
Palmerston had begged the editor to call
and hear about the prospects of war; or
there was some point affecting the City
which might be cleared up in New Court;
or Mrs. Norton was late with her review
and must be chidden. Perhaps there
would be time for Delane to go to Eaton
Place and see his mother, to whom he
was devotedly attached, and who took a
constant interest in all that concerned
him. She would like to hear that he had
met the Comte de Paris at Lady Waldo
graves last night; or she would be
amused by Lord Palmerston's latest say
ing" Delane's morning visits were al
ways paid on horseback, with a groom