John Bright On Our Troubles And The Cotton Question

Mr. John Bright made a spcoeli in Rochdale, Auguat lst, from which we rnake the follovving extract : Now, is tliis cotton question a great question, or not? I met a spinner to-day - he does not live in llochdale, though I met hitn here, - and I asked him what he thought abüut it ; and he said, "Well, I thiuk cotton will come somuhow." - [Ijaughter.] And, I fiud that thore is that kind ot' answer to be had from three out of four of all the spinners you ask. Tiiey know that in past times, when cotton has risen 50 or 00 per cent., or some extravagant riso, somebhiog has come - the r.ito of interest was raised, or tbera has been a commercial pauie from sjmo c.ius3 or other, and down the price has gone, and when evcrybody said, " There would be no cotton at Oliristinas," there proved a very eonsiderable stock at Christaiaa. And so thcy say now. I don't in the least dony that it will be so ; all I aseert is, that this particular caso is uew ; that wu have never had a war iu the United States between different sections of tlie couutry, aiïectiug the productiou of cottou befóre ; and it is not fair nor wise, but rathor ohildish tban otuerwise, to argue froiu past events, wuu!i ware not a bit like this, of the evont whieh is now passing bei'ore our eyes. Thuy say, " It is quite truc thore is a civil war ia America, but it will blow over ; there will be a compromiso, or the Euglish goverumeut will break the b'oekade." iMow, recollect what bloekade meaos, It means a war with the United States; aud I don t thiuk, myself that, it would be eheap to break the blokkade, at the cost of a war with the United States I think that the oost of a war with the United Statea would aive. probably, half wagos, for a very considerable time to ' ilu'se persons in Laucushire who would bo out of work if there wm no cotton, to gay UQtkiog at all of the m unifest injus tico and wroug againat all international law, that a legal aud effective blookade sliould be interfered with by auothcr country. It is nofc exactly the business of this iaeetÍDg but uiy opinión is, that the safety of the product on whicli tliis country depends resta íar more on the succes of the Washington governmset thau upon its iailure ; and I believe nothing could be more monstrous than for us, who are now very averse to war oursolves, to set up for critics- carping, cavilling critics - of what the Washington governinent is doing I saw a letter tlio other day fröm an Englishman, resident for twenty fiveyeare in Philadelphia, a merehant there, and a very prosperous morohant. He said, " I profcr the institutions of thisconntry (the United States) very much to yours in Englaud;" but he says also, " If it be once admitttd that here wc have uo couutiy and no goveniinent, but that any portiou of these United States can break oiï from the central goverument wheaever it plomases, then it is timo for me to pack up what I have, and go somewhere whüre there is a country and a governinent." - Well, that is tho pith of this question. Do you suppose that if Luucashire and Yorkshire thought lint they would break off from the United Kingdum that those newspapers who are now preaching every kind of moderation to the goverument of Washington wouid atlvise the ment iu London to allow these two countrius to set up a special govcrniuent for thumselves ? VVhen the peoplc of Ireland askeJ that they should seocda, was ifc proposed iu Loudon that they should b allowed to seccde pcaooably V Nothing of the kind. I am goiug to defend what is place in a country that is well ablc to defeud itself. Bat I adviso the people of EügJand, to abataiu from applying to the United States doctrines and principies which we never apply to our own case. At any ratc, they havo never fought for " the balance of power " in Europe. They havo oever fought to koep up a deeaying Empire. They have never scfuandered the monoy of their people iu such phantom expeditionsas we have been engaged in. And now at this moment when jon are told that they are going to bo ruined by their vast expeuditttre, why the suni they are gomg to raiso in this groat emergeuoy of this grievouM war is no greater than what we raiso every year during a timo of peace. - [Jioud Oheers.] They aay they are not going to libérate the slaves. No; the object of the Washington government is to maintain their own constitution, and to act legally, as it permits and requires - No man ia more in favor of peace than I am ; no mau has denounced war more thau 1 have, probably, ia tliis country ; few men, in their public lift?, havo suffered more oblpquy - I liad almost said, indigoity - in consoquenco of it. Bat. I oannot ipr the life of me ee, upan any of those priuciplos up.on whicli Statca are goveyned dow - I say nothing of the literal word ot' the New 1 cannot sec how the state of affairs in Amor ica, with regard to tho Uuited States govemuiont, oould luxve boen different Froni what it is this moraent. We liad a heptorchy in this csuntry, and it was thought to bo a good tliing to get rid of it, and to have a united nation. If the 33 or 3-1 States of American Union can uva!; off whenever they like, I can see nothing but disaster and confusión througbout tho wholfl of (luit continent - I gay that iho war bo it sueccsaful or cot, be it Chribtian or uot, be it wise or not, is a war tosaatain the goveruraoct and to áastain the authority. of a great nation; acd tliat the people of Englaud, if thcy oro truo to their own sympathies of their history, arA to their own great act of 1834, to wliioli reforonoe has already icen maile, will have no sympntliy fiir thosa who wish to build up :i great Empiro on the porpotual bondage of millious of their fellow-men. [Load cliecrs.]