FRANCE AND AMERICA.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1720, 3 September 1862, Page 9

FRANCE AND AMERICA.

The Conslitutionnd publishes the following article as its 6rat lesder. It is headed “ Mediation”: “ Battles, great battles, ate about to be fought in America, and perhaps have been fought already at the very moment we are writing. It ispoasibleinfaot.forlhe armiesofthe North and the armies of the South, in presence of each other at Corinth and at Richmond, not to come to blows. Deluges of blood will beshed, and, what is more sad to contemplate, whatever the issue may be, those terrible encounters do not promise a aolution to the actual crisis, either for America or for Europe. The victory, no matter on what side, will not be attended with aoy final result. “ Violence, hatred, passions of every description, of which the first war of independence has given us the recital, are nothing compared to the hatred which now animates the South againat the North; but they may give an idea of the resistance and of the obstacle! which the Fed-ral armies will have to meet from the Confederates Let history, whose lessons are so rarely listened to, serve at least in some measure to give a material eloquence under such circumstances. We are willing to grant to those who do not share our opinion anything they wish; w« willgnnt to the Federals superiority by land and by sea ; we will accept proximate triumphs for the North. The question which the positive spirit of modern civilisation is so fond of putting still remains: ‘And what afterwards ?’ Will the triumph of the Federal arms produce miracles? Will it change the season? Will it dissipate the hot weather and the sickness which must ensue 1 Can it manage that the extent of territory conquered, and consequently to be occupied, is not equal to the whole extent of France, England, and Austria put together ? Where are the armies to occupy such an extent, and where is the moral strength which could dispense with occupying them and hold the place of soldiers? “ We simply wish to touch upon facts—nothing but facts. What do we see on the side of the Confederates? They burn their produce; they burn their provisions; they destroy their railways; they blow up their dockyards, their arsenals, and their ships? they leave their wives and children to fight in battle. When, in a proclamation of savage energy, General Beauregard recommends to planters to destroy their crops which are within the reach of the enemy, and to apply the torch to them without delay or hesitation, it is not simply a captain excited by the drunkenness of wsr who speaks —it is the general sentiment loudly expressed. Had not numerous meetings already expressed their opinion ? Once again, let us observe, we do not wish to express our own ideas on such acts; we simply wish to give fact*. “ On the other hand, what are the Federals doing ? What at once strikes us is, that the country of freedom par excellence has commenced by suppressing freedom. Military directors have seized upon all the telegraphic lines which traverse America in every direction. The same censorship compels the newspaper to publish only what is favourable to the North and unfavourable to the South. Andwbatis the result of this? The North speaks to the whole world by the electric wires, while information (rom the South, whan it does come, comes tardily. In fact, the journals and correspondence from the South, which reach us by way of the Havannah or St. Thomas, are sometimes five weeks behindhand, and thus lose all interest. “The North proclaims martial law with all Us severities; it suppresses every independent voice; it threatens the suspected with death. In presence of such despotism the English press has not been able to remain silent. “ In the midst of such a struggle, between such desperate opponents, who dare say that spontaneous or likely pacification is possible ? Peace can only come from without, and the word which we have placed at the head of this article can alone put an end to a war which has desolated, steeped in blood, and decimated America already too long, and, what is more, caused Europe to suffer too long. The word we allude to is * Mediation!’

“ But whence is this mediation to come, and on what basis can it be founded 1 Whence it will come we hare already stated. As regards the basis, it may easily be found. “First of all, it is evident that as ‘ mediation,’ in principle, must be accepted by both belligerents, it can only represent ideas of justice and of moderation, and that consequently it cannot be addressed to those who would like to engraft a slave war on a civil war, or to those who consider the institution of slavery as an institution of Divine right. “ This mediation,# point most singularly overlooked, corresponds not only to the most vital interests of commercial Europe, but also to tbe most sensible winds that represent the interests of America. Let ua remember that f r*«idew* laponjo in typ

same sense aa, before him, Generals Burnside and Butler did against an excitement to a slave war, and that, in his last proclamation, be called to mind hia special message, quoting the following resolution, adopted by large majorities, by both Houses of Congress “ ‘ The United States must (.j-operate with that state which might adopt the gradual abolition of slavery, by giving to such state, in its judgment, such a compensation as required for public or private inconveniences resulting from such a change of system.' “ Let us bring to bear upon this passage another solemn declaration made by President Lincoln in his inauguration address of the 4th March, 1861 “ ‘ I have no intention to interfere, directly or indirectly, iu the question of slavery where it exists; I do not think tdat I have the right to do so legally, and I am by no means inclined to do so. “It is thus (bat the North speaks, in the spirit of moderation anfLof justice. Will the South be less accessible to this spirit of conciliation and of wisdom ? We do not think ao, and we have a proof at hand. A man'of consideration of the South, Mr, Yancey, a commissioner of the Southern States, at a banquet given at Fishmongers’ Hall, on the 9th of November last, at London, spoke as follows ; I “ • When our adversary shall have become sufficiently calm to treat us as belligerents, the aurora of peace will appear in the horizon. When that hour has ■truck, I think I may say that the Confederate Government will not show itself inflexible, except upon one point; the care of our honour and of our independence. As regards the great interests of peace and of humanity, our Government will know how to make concessions in everything simply material or of secondary importance.’ “ Those words were hailed with immense applause , and here, evidently, are to be found the basis of a possible arrangement—of ao arrangement such as may be proposed in the name of Europe by a great and tree nation.

“ Beyond this—beyond this most opportune mediation, is the point of view of European interests; so legitimate is the point of view of humanity.and civilisation there remain only catastrophes the extent of which no human eye can penetrate. The capture ol Richmond would not advance the affairs of America one whit more than the capture of New Orleans. The South bathed iu blood, the North plunged in bankruptcy and in anarchy, commercial Europe seeing its sufferings increase, such are the consequences of the continuation of this war.

“ Mediation, on the contrary, by putting an end to a fratricidal struggle, and by consecrating i separation already accomplished without allowing 6ne of the belligerents to crush the other, and cause desolution instead of peace, would render the most eminent service to America as well as to Europe. “ One year ago, when the war broke out, France offered her mediation to America. That offer was not accepted. What an immense amount of bloodshed, what sad catastrophes, what desoluiion across the Atlantic, what suffering in oar own homes, might have been spared if the voice of France bad then beea listened to!’’