SATURDAY, MAT 2, 1891, The War Crase

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 133, 2 May 1891, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, MAY 2, 1891, The War Crase

It is strauge that notwithstanding the lapse of yoars, and the alleged progress of civilisation since the date of Declaration of Independence by the American colonies, some of the citizens oi tiie United States can yet caiuily discuss, aud look upon as not improbable, a war with England. In this respect they are not uulike the Eugiish in the old days, who looked on war with the French as a correct state of things ; in fact during the short intervals of peace both nations seemed to feel that eoiuething was wrong, and ao they kept on repairing damages, and tnaking ready for a new war with light hearts. As the feeling of antagonism was hereditary, having been handed down from generation to j generation from time immemorial, no surprise need be felt ; but when peo* pie springing from the same stock, speaking the same language, governed by the same civil la»v, like the Americans and Englifch, continue to re tueinber disagreements which ought to be relegated to obscurity, we begin to wonder how far folly can go when conjoined with local politics. These reflections have been excited by readding the following: — "Speaking in the United States Senate the other day, Senator Hawley, of Connecticut, in demanding a large expenditure on fortifications, asked, ' What are you i going to do when you find British war-vessels in the harbour of New York ?' To this the New York Commercial Advertiser replies : ' We will tell the Senator what we are going- to do in such a dire emergency. With the first gun fired from a British cruiser we are going to confiscate every dollar's worth of confiscateable property owned by Great Britain in tha United States. The Englishmen at present own in this country con siderably more than one billion dollars' worth of property. We suspect the British Cabinet will think twice before ordering a bombardment of an American city.' " Leaving aside the utter nonsense and " highfa'USin." Of it altogether, the remark of Senator Hawley showed that he looks in a war with England as a possibility, while the New York Commercial Advertiser almost looks on a war as desirable, so that they may confiscate English property in the United iStates, and indulge in repudiation as in the days of the historical Pensylvania Bonds, We do not believe there is any sane man iv England, or any of her colonies, «ho does not look on the United States with the most friendly feelings, and even the most rabid politician in Canada would think twice before he advocated war with America. Having that knowledge it seesm all the more surprising to discover that the feeling is not recipn cated.