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Otago Daily Times, Issue 117, 1 April 1862, Page 6

• ' jlis. John MiTCHEti one of the heroes Of.the. Irish rebellion of 1848, writes to the Dublin Morning Newsrfiom Paris :— 7 , j'• -. : ; ■'■'■.I?As lam an, American citizen, and of the Southern' States,11 will' say at once that, although England seems inclined to thrust her unwholsome friendship upori'the South —which has not asked and does noVneed-either friendship or helpi from her—ldeclare for invself, and oh behalf of all the Irishmen whom I know- in the .South, that.our hearts go-witlvany enemy of. England. ■; If ithere is to*be a war between that. Power andvthc Northern States of America, and if Mr. Lincoln's ■government-follow the-, wise advice of; Mr:" O'Brien^ and end the Union war at once, as it; must endat"last: by recbgnlsiiiigi-first,"'tlie'South-: crn Confederation, and so settling American affairs without the malignant'; intermeddling of Europe—rthenl.venture to.promise that the Irish-^, men now.in the ranks.of the; South will furnish a very handsome, contingent td : any force of Our countrymen' which Mr! Sewpd*'roay in his \vjsj.'dbna thinkproper to. commission-;upo'n any special service. • :No statesmen in- Americakno|ws sointimately as-Mr. Seward:ithe yaist: Irish element of that covntryyits resentments-and its aspirationt; .and if this gracious and promising war is happily^ to burst out, he will" understand that Canada-may. well .be left to -he taken care -of by the native Americans'and Germans, and that-a few. chosen Irish regiments might be judiciously employed in,'another field of--usefulness-4-I express myself enigmatically, out of respect to the Attorney-General.. But*in order that Irishmen .serving iiiithe South may<have-the'privilege and, happiness of taking part: in anyjsuch expedition, the Confederate: States .must be'recognised, andall,Yankee, troops removed ifrom~Southern soil.1 So long! as. the present stupid war lasts, sqlpng as the independenceof their ;o\in ; ;adopt^d country, whose uniform they.wear, is not yet fully acknow-" ledered, not n man of them will leave the banners of the South. Further, if England, after all, shall have the pluck to make this war (which I doubt), and if the North shall still persißfc in her attempt to coerce the South, of, course the South will avail herself of the diversion, and press her enemy hard on the flank while Britain assails hint in front; but it will be with disgust and shame ' that Southern men, and especially Irishmen, will find' themselves aided by a power whose mean pecuniary motives they understand 'so well, ,and whose 'aposiincy to her own vaunted creed of " human I freedom" they .so thoroughly despise. ■ But let us ' not be too sanguine. ' I hold il to heprpbable that out of this affair of the Trent no war will arise. The British newspapers arc already praising themselves and their readers for moderation ; and* the" organs of.Brighfc and the great Reform party, the ' Star' and the ' Manchester Examiner,' find that it was the captain of the Trent who committed an outrage, and that he of the San Jacinto was not only justified in what he did, but would hnVc been 'justified in doing far more. This is nothing else but the "white feather beginning to fledge. , Then, I on the other hand, the Americans government has lit clearly in its power to disavow, the-act of Captain Wilkes, and to liberate the Southern commlssioners, for the thing was done upon the capfern's .own- responsibility ; but even if the government refuse to disavow the outrage, or to free the prisoners, or to make any, the slightest, atonement or reparation, what then ? Why, then, England may content herself with sending away Mr Adams from London, and recalling. Lord Lyons from Washington ; but that is not war. If, on the other hand, it be Mr Seward's settled policy—and it is the true policy .of that government —to force a quarrel upon England, lirathcr think Americans will have to devise some new. and more intolerable insult to the glorious Union Jack, and try whether that will be swallowed. In the meantime, Irishmen at s home can only watch and wait, and form such organisations, with a view to preparation, as the foul " laws" of their country will permit."