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The Nation.
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THE PROBLEM

THE 80UTH.

p u m b e r 299
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i t seems 3s if i t wa3 the duty of Congress to see to their protection.

Moreover, the experiment which is
now on trial at the South being
rages conlmitted by what are called the Ku-klur on thc
negroes and of Republican devising, i t seems to be necessary to the credit of the
to
and, at thesame time, it seems
Unionists at the South. I t appears to be eqnally certain that the per. party that it should be made succeed,
as if the Ku-klux stories might be made to help the partyby showing
sons who commit,these outragesarenotbroughttojustice.
the necessity of such a prolongation of its power as would enable it to
sherifrs do not arrest them, or, if they do, juries do not convictthenlin other words, through a great part of the South there is no
se- complete thework of Southern pacification. Accordingly, nearly every
curity for eitherlife or property. That some such state of things would session of Congress there is a call either from philanthropists under
come to pass was foreseen after the war. I t was said that if legislation the influence of feelings of humanity, or from mere politicians insearch
and the election of officers were left solely to the Southern whites, the of capital," for additional legislation to protect life and property at
recently
Southern blacks would be left without adequate protection.
Conse- the South." Of thesort oflegislation demanded,thebill
quently, the suffrage was given to the blacks. But this was not felt tc brought in by Bntler is a fair specimen, and it consists simply in atbe sufficient. A great proportion of the more experienced and jntelli- tempts to substitute for the state machinery, which is the only means
gent people at the South were excluded by the State constitutions, and of protecting life and property kno& to the Constitutionof the United
by an amendment to the United States Constitution, from all share in States, the machinery in use under the arbitrary and centralized govthe government. In this way not only were the negroes and Unionists crnments of Enrope-that is, the withdrawal of criminal cases from the
jury, and their committal to single judgcs appointed
by the central
guaranteed a voice in the Government, but they were secured in the
exclusivc control of it. That is, to speak
plainly, for the purpose of authority and armed with extraordinary powcrs, and the concession to
of a part in determinsecuring the poor and ignorant against oppression, not only were they mere official suspicion,and to legal presumptions,
admitted to an equality of rights with the rich and educated, but they ing thequestion ofguilt orinnocence o f a prominence hitherto unknown
were put in possession of the whole administrative machinery. Con- in Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence.
These are momentous changes to introduce into the administrative
sidering that a large body of the voters-in some States a majorityhad recently emerged from slavery in its most brutal form, it must be system of any free country ; thcy are more momentous in this country
admitted the experimcnt was n bald one ; in fact, it was the boldest than they would be in any other, because they not only increase the
it with jurisdiction over
ever known. No similar rearrangement of the social organization has power of the central government, but they arm
class of cases of ~~vhich it hasnever hitherto had, and never preever been attempted anywhere else. We do not blamethose who atIt would not simply furtempted it. They were hot from a civil mar which had ended in
a tended to hare, any jurisdiction whatever.
social revolution, and they found themselves charged with the duty of uish the Government a t Washington with additionalmeans of performsecuring a large and helpless population of freedmen in possession of ing one of its well-known duties, such as the suspension of the habens
Government with,butit"
common civil rights, in the
presence of their late masters, without :o~pusinIrelandfurnishestheBritish
would impose upon it altogether new duties. But the separate States
having recourse to pure military cocrcion.
under the Constitution, as clearly charged with the duty of proThe cspcriment has, however, totally failed. The most influential
own borders, as theUnited
portion of the Southern population, withwhose support no government ;ccting lifeandpropertywithintheir
can in thel o n g run dispense, as has been a thousand times proved,]lave 3tates with the daty of making treaties with foreign powers. T o itnnot only given t h e new governments at the South no assistance, but pose the duty of protecting lifc and property on the Federal Governhave, naturally enough, been bitterly hostile t o them. The new politi- nent is, therefore, just as distinct and well-marked a novelty as, and a
i r more serious novelty than, the transferof the power of negotiating
cal s-j-stem,indeed, was of a kind to rouse all their prejudices against
;reaties to the separate States would be.
it. The men who took part in and aided the
rebellion, and who are
Such legislation as Butler and his supporterspropose can, however,
therefore disfranchised, have within the last five gears been reinforced
by a powerful body of youths who were boys during the rebellion, and )nly be justified in any country by itssuccess. There is this to be said
'or the means to which European governments resort for the protec.
have entered on manhood during a period of great disorder and
or
ion of life and property-they work. That is, when the French,
nnccrtainty and poverty, in which few careers are open to them, and
?russian, or Russian, or Britishgovernments saythey are going Xto
maini n which all the circumstances of their lives tend to exasperate and
embitterthem, andprcparethemfor turbulenceand
violence. They .ain order," they send as many troops into the disturbed districts as
sill police them thoroughly. If dealing with thc South, they would
may therefore be said, without exaggeration, to have taken the field
)ccupy it with a t least 100,000 men, they would patrol the roads with
against the newrkgime. They have formed organizationssomewhat
similar toJhe Irish Whiteboys and Molly Maguires, the express object :louds of cavalry, and fill the streets withswarms of police-in short,
vould strike terror intoevil-doers, and, though liberty might
suffer, honof which is to drive
negroes and Union men out of t he South, and
makeall government throughtheirinstrunlentality impossible. For :st people would sleep in peace. The peculiarity of our attempts a t
this purpose they murder, rob, and maltreat, and they are too power- ,acification by force i3, that after describing the condition of society
ful, too skilful, a n d too firmly bound together, aud enjoy too much of )ver a vast extent of territory as frightfnl, and representing a large
conniving a t deeds ofviolence and
the sympathy of the local population,-to lnake i t possible f x the State )ortion of thecommunityas
)loodshed, and the magistrates as powerless, and declaring ourselves
officers tobringthem
to justice.3Iorcthanthis,and,if
possible,
eady to restore order, even by the sacrifice of the Constitution, and
worse than this, they havc at the North a
powerful political party,
trecting a terrible judicial apparatus of commissioners, presumptions,
which, if it cannot be said l o be at their back, is certainly not disposed
to blame thcm.or call tllem to account, andwhose chances of accession iues, imprisonments, and hangings, we vote a regiment of cavalry or
to power seem to improre as the passions excited by the war die out.
wo companies of infantry to put it in motion-that is,
about enough
On the other hand, the new governn~ents have done nothing to
nen to make one county tolerably safe. It is difficult to suppose that
atone for the theoretical defects of their origin. We owe it to human his kind of legislation is anything buta campaign document.
We are frequently asked insolemn way, whether i t be possible that
nature to say that worse governmentshave seldombeen
seen in
civilized country. They have been largely composed of trashy whites I government which, like the United States Government, can call on
defence in the ranks of its
ignorant blacks. Of course, therehave been inthem men of ts citizens to sacrifice their lives in its
i n : c y i t y andabilit,y of both races; butthegreatmajority
of the
,rmies, really owes them no protection for their
lives and property?
obicet,>~ n dlegislators have been either wanting in knowledge or in
Ve reply that we know nothing of the United States Government expric~ciplc,or both. That of South Carolina is one of the worst speciept what we find in the Constitution and the judicial interpretations
I:lens, and, as such, we have often commented on it.
rf it.There
is noideal or absoluteUnitedStates
Government. It
What is to be done ? Congress having set these governments up,
s a convention, and the termsof that convention are th?t the political
and having emancipated the negroes, and the negroes being, i t is safe Irganization i t set up shall have the right to draft citizens for its deence,
yet shall only render them
in returncertain services, of
to say, the onIy men at the South who are really devoted to the Union,

TEEREis no doubt about the multiplicity and atrocity of the out.

Mar. 23, 18711

The Nation.

193

which protection from violence at the hands of their neighbors, cxcept the new Government had time to get a fair hold of the machinery of
on the demand of the local authorities, is not one. This may be a cruel administration, and organize a force sufficient for its OTW protcction
arrangement, or an ill-judged one, or an unfortunate one, but it is what and the execution of its acts. This unhappy interval the Reds in Paris
of. Theyharcexpelledthe
constii t is, and it is found in most cases to ~ r o r kwell. So donot let us imi- havepromptlytakenadvantage
tate Gambetta and Rochefort and deny its existence, and endeavor to tuted authorities from the city,seized the public offices, murdered some
of the leading generals and llold the others in custody,ancl have armed
substitute for it a deduction from our own ideas of abstract fitness.
I f we once get into the habitof treating the Constitution as a mere the rabble, and, in short, begun a Reign of Terror which, be it long or
incrcasc
expression of opinion, tobe set aside whenever its observance seems in- short, will give a terrible blow to French industry, and greatly
convenient, we shall have substituted a Gallic Republic for an Amer- the difficulty of recovering from the disasters of the war, ancl, what is
of a firm and stablegovernican one-thc republic of Gambetta; and Louis Blanc, and Rochefort, worse than all, greatly diminish the chance
and Phillips for the republic of Washington, and I-Iamilton, and Madi- ment. Readers of the .Nation will bear witness that me distinctly
son, and Marshall ; or, in otherwords, a dream for a good working ma- pointed out the probability of what is now occurring as long ago as
chine. As soon as we allow ideals to take the place of written agree- last Scptember, when a great many good people here 11-crc going into
ments, we have sown the seeds of anarchy, because one mans ideal is as ecstasiesovcr the establishment of the Frenc!~ republic; and the
course of the Govcrnment during the succeccling six months only ingood as anothers, and we shall pass our lives as the French do-witnessing the struggles of one party to substitute its idealfor that of the creased the chances of the explosion..
The body of persons known as T h e Reds, in Paris, is made up
other party ; one year we shall live under Phillipss, and cut off hcads
in the name of (humanity, and the next underTweeds, and steal in of two elements. One is the vast body of workmen dran-n from the
the interestof (liberty, and the year after, under Archbisllop BIcClos- provinces by the extensive public works set on foot by the Empire and
keys, and vote taxes
for the promotion of the truereligion, and all go by the extraordinary luxurymllicll the Empire fostered in the capital.
These men are grossly ignorant on leaving their villages; and on enterdown on our knaes when the Host passes. Surely what is passing in
France ought to 11-arn men of the danger of tampering with peoples ing a city swarming with the wcalthy pleasure-seekers of the civilized
world, who deny themselves nothing, and parade their profligacy, the
pglitical habits and overthrowing their respect for thcforms of law.
Ia. there, then, no remedy for local disorder at the South ? If the ouvriers envy and dislikeof the bourgeaisie, which areonly too common
become rapidly developed into abrutai
State govermlent does not protect a man, can he look nowllcrc else in the country districts in France,
communism, resting in the main on dislike of labor an& a foldness for
for redress? We answer, t h l t if there be any value whatever in the
peasants educatheory on which American polity is based, the remedy of Southern dis- sensual indulgence. There is nothing in the French
orders must come from the Southernpeople, through their experience of tion, after he has got rid of his religious sentiment-as he does very
the folly and sufiering of disorder. If this be not true, thewhole Ameri- rapidly after he reaches Paris-to prevent his thirsting savagely for a
can system is a mistake, and is destinedere long toperish. Our business sllare in the good things of Parisian life, and making up his mind to
is nonT to leave every Southern State to its own people, first, because get them by any means, fair or foul, whenever the chance ofTcrs.
The other element is a body of persons whom we have been in the
this is theonly practicable course, and, secondly, 1,ecanse it is theonly
habit of calling Sentimentalists in these columns, made ~ f pof labor rewise one. If they are so demoralized that they go on robbing, and
murdering, andl Kukluxing each other, we cannot interfere effectively, formers, socialists, republicans, peace advocates, broken-down lmgers,
unsuccessful adventurers of all types.
and had better not interfere a t all. T1:e American punishments for a newspaper writers,and military and
State lvhich permits tllcsc things are two-impoverishment
and emi- They may be divided about equally into schemers and visionaries; but
they all agree in being Sentimentalists-that is, i n wishing to base legration. If
a man cannot have freedom, security, and light taxation
in New York, let, him go to New Jersey ; if he cannot have them in gislation on their own ideas of abstract justice and truth, and in contempt for considerations of expediency, or for remoter results, or for
South Carolina, let him go to Virginia ; if h e cannot have them in
sincere humanitarians among them are satiseither, let him go to Missouri. Those who stay behind, on seeing cap- habit or tradition. The
ficd that if they can get hold of t h e government, and keep the traiital and population steadily leaving their State, and their property
declining i n value,will .gradually mend their nyays. This may be a tors (political opponents) from meddling with them, theymill be able
slow remedy, but it is a sure one. It goes to the root of the disorder, to put an end to poverty; and prostitution, and war, and to secure to
while under coercion from the outside no state of things can grow up, all an equally good education, and an equal share of the products of
or ever has grown up, in which
coercion ceases
be necessary. Of labor. The adventurers are, of course, also strongly in favor of a genecourse there is nothing in this theory to prevent the United States en- ral upturning, as they have nothing tolose, and can hnrclly help betterforcing the Federal Constitution and laws. This ought to be done, at ing themselves during a period of confusion. Both together do their
c o s t t h a t is, by officers, and not by bill and resolution. If it utmost to keep up the spiritof revolt not only against the government,
be true that black
men are kept from tllc polls by intimidation, we but against the existingsocial organization, among theworking-classes;
ought to see that going to thepolls is made as safe as going to church; and as they possess all the education there is in the Red ranks, when
they begin their revolutionary movement they have the places on the
but to pass bills providing for this,
m-ithout voting the men or the
comnlittees and other governing bodies by wllich it is directed.
money to execute them, is a wrctched mockery, of which the country
Curiously enough, although they are all frantic opponents
of capital
and the blacks have hadenough.
punishment when inflicted by a regular government, they always make
~
_
_
a bloody use OfPpower, and the killing of people in cold blood a l w q s
THE RED RISING I N PARIS.
occupies a prominexit place among the means by which they endeavor
They are,too, nearlyall peace men, and deTE folly-if that be not too mild a term-of the Government of to regeneratesociety.
National Defence in not summoning a National Assembly as soon as nounce standing armies bitterly ; but they invariably maintain,even a t
possible after the disaster of Sedan and the overthrow of the Empire, the peace conventions they hold in quiet times, thatbefore the general
is now fully apparent. Had they done so, the Assembly would either and everlasting peace is established, there will have to be one grand
have made peace before the disorganization of French society and of war, of which they are to have the direction. A curious illustration df
the administrat,ivesystem had gone very far, or it would have become the strong mental resemblance which runs through them all in every
secure in its authority and used to its work by the time Paris surren- clime, was afforded by the fact that, a few days ago, when the Paris
of Montmartre, the
dered. Elected as it was when the struggle was just closing, and for Reds were perfecting their plans on the heights
the avowed pnrpose of making terms of peace, it not only excited the head of the school in this country,an anti-capital-punishment man, was
hostility of the Republicans, as a mere exponent of the cowardice of gravely recommending in hisnewspaper the shooting of Southern milas a remedy for Southerndisthe Conservatives, but it entered on its duties just at the
moment lionaires bydrumheadcourt-martial
when the enemy was withdrawing his hand; and the salutary restraint orders.
The body is just now in a more favorable position for carrying out
exerci%d by hispresence on the dangerousclasses
thus lost before

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194

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299

is designs in Paris than it has ever been since the ,first Rkvolution.
present situation is giving the Republic a death-blow, and marranting
The bulk of the regular army is shutu p in foreign prisons; mhatthere the contempt for French morals and manners and character by which
was of it in Pariswas disarmed by tlie Prussians; but, more important the German public juetifies to itself the hardness of the terms imposed
on the vanquished.
than all, the Reds are now all armed. The National Guard, under
the restoration of the Orleans dynasty, was composed almost entirely
About the immediate future it is difficult to predict anything with
of the shopkeepers or bourgeoisie ; under the Empire i t could hardly confidence; but it is quite certain that
noreal republic can survive
be said to exist; but during thesiege the whole population of the city the suppression of the present revolt by a generalissimo and dictator.
was embodied in it-thus giving the socialists wdapons and organiza- When the smoke and dust of the conqnest clear away, t h e man on
tion. The consciousness of the frightful danger to property and
life horseback will be there in the field, sword in hand, and the owners
within the city which this involved undoubtcdly did
much t o give of property, the lovers of peace and quiet and industry will be found
Trochns operations tile air of feebleness and indecision which charac- crouching around him, and begging him, if he can give them nothing
terized them, and accounted fo the petting of the National Guard in
else, t o give them security in their homes. I t i s impossible not to.bewhich he indulged. The
Gu akd did no fighting, and it was evident lieve,however, that the lessons of the crisis aresinkingdeepinto
before the siege was ovcr could not be got to fight, but to keep it in
French hearts. Foremost amongst them,
as NC have more than once
good humor it mas highly colaplimcnted in general orders, to the dis- said in these columns, is the danger of cutting society loose from its
gust of the sailors and regulars, and was paid a franc and a-half a day political traditions and its political habits, and resolving it into deper man, while its dutieswent v q y little bcyond guard-mounting bating club for the examination of the bases of social order, and treaton the ramparts. I t was the idleness, the pay, and the uniform which ing hat Sentimentalists call principle as the only guide of political
undoubtedlypreventedtheattemptto
seize the Government being and social action. As long as the source from which principle is to
made on a greater scale during the siege, and one did not need the be derived is not defined, of course the rule that you must act on pringift of prophecy to see that, peace restored, and the prospect of a re- ciple in politics is about as great help to legislation as the theoturn to hard labor fairly placed before them, the <
Guard would not logians maxim- in essentials, unity ; i n non-essentials, liberty ; and
lay down their arms.
-is
toreligious union. This maxim8-might
inallthings,charity
To crown all, when the armistice was arranged, the F r k c h , y p r e - be adopted by all sects, and yet, as long as essentials werelnot desentatives llad the weakness and stupidity to stipulate that
the fined, there would be as little chance of agreement as ever. In politics,
regular troops surrendered their arms to the enemy: the Guard should if me throw every man back on principle as the only guide, and tell
be allowed to retain theirs, and should be charged v i t h t h e preserv- him not to trouble himself about consequences, and let him draw his
ation of order. This placed the city at their mercy as s o y as the principle from hisownbreast, of course we arenotunlikelyto
withdrew. Even daring the German
occupation they began find eve@ hrundred men working might and main for a different social
their preparations by fortifving
themselves oli? >he heights of Ifont- ideal,. and, in the absence of all means of deciding their comparative
martre, thpugh at the time.this was supposed to
patriotic demon- superiority, finally cutting each others throats. If A. tells B. that he
strgtion a p i n s t
cnsmy ; ?hen the invaders retired,
however, the has looked into hi awn heart and finds that eternal justice requires
8 .
true character of the 1n&eme@ was revertled,
the Thiers Govern- that AS proparQ.shouldbedivided
between them, and B. replies
ment found itsel ace to face with the m69tserious problem any Gov- that he has looked int,o his heart too, and finds that eternal justice reernmcnt of Franc has badto face
st Napoleon overthrew qui?& him to keep i t all for himself, and both of them disclaim all
the Sections.
regard-for the deachings of history, and for their experience of human
on which
the
revolt
1 to the
country
is,
of nature, of course thereis not11ing for it but to go at each other wit11
The
theory
course, that the NationalAssembly is a reactionary body, which sold the knife awl pistol; and to thispass, or something very like it, unhappy
t h e country t o Bismarck, and is going to betray the Republic
; and, France qas come. To this too, let us add, every nat,ion is iu danger
though it will meet with no response from the peasantry, who hate the
ag in which people learn to despise the forms of law, to treat
Republic, the peasants are notq-ganized, and are timid and unenterof no polit.ica1 value, to centraltze government for the purpose
prising; and even if they sent their Mobiles freely to the aid of the
experimentation, and to make social experimentation and not
Government, it would take a. long while to bring them in rcspcctablc the faithful, punctual discharge of daily duties the great business of
condition to the gates
of Paris;
i n a conflict between city irrqgn!ars life, and, above all, the great business of reformers.
and country irregulars in the streets there would be little chance for ______
the latter. What
force of regulars the Thiers Government has at its,
ERIE
disposal it is hard to say ; and the dknger is that, whatcier itbe, it is
INtrying to give a brief.
s p m a r y for the information of the general
by this time demoralized and disor@nized by the
of leaders,
rda8er of General Barlows f&t long letter in the
entitled Facts
A for Mr. Field, a fortnight
the spectacle of tbegrowing ascendancy of the re$bluti;nists.
fell into two or three errors, all of them
governmentwhich has to fly from Paris is, inFrench eyes, a lost triday. We said the coGplaints in certain suits were not sworn to ; they
government, and ifthe Assembly can do this and yet retain its control were sworn to. We said Judge Barnard reached the city on the night of
of the popular dlegiance and theallegiance of t& troops, it will have the 6th of August at IO-20, and Kigned the famous order ten minutes afteropepzd up new chapter in French history.
wards, whereas we should have said, ten minutes after it was sent to him
The latest news is that General Faidherbe, whoYshowed himself, in for signature by Mr. Shearman. We made one statement which wears
the operatibns of the North, a cautious but. able commander, has been the appearance of an error, but which we intended to be simply explanaappointed generalissimo and dictat.or. H e will probably a t once go tory-that is, to the phrase in one of the Ramsey injunctions issued by
to organize an army, calling in the assistance of the fleet, and Barnard, forbidding Ranlsey to make any application about his receivership except to this court in this action, we added the words, that is,
probably drawing on Bourbakis force from Switzerland, and perhaps
on t h e prisoners in Germany. Butlookathistaskin
anyway we to Barnard himself, meaning simply, that this is what the prohibition
please, it is a very formidal>le one, and any unsteadiness
the part of would amount to in practice, and that this was what was intended by
Fields reply to the nine charges thus enumehis troops, or a severe repulse, would probably lead.to pocialist revolts in those who got it.
rated we gave a similar summary last week.
the other great cities, and prolonged anarchy or civilWar. The GerIt Beems scarcely credible, but is nevertheless true, that
T.
mans will hardly be induced tointerfere, even if theiGovgrnrnent dared
Shearman has written a letter to the Albany Law
affecting to
t o ask them. Of course, the disorders imperil-the punctual payment
treat this summary of statements as theNations own, declaring that the
of their indemnity, and, of course, nothing would .please Prince Fre- nine chargesmade by us contain twelve unqualiEed faleehoode,and makderick Charles and the military party better than to, give the Paris
ing no mention of Gieneral Barlows letter, and no attempt to answer it,,
mob an awful castigation ; but interference would involve the loss of or meet it in any
thus following
D. D. Fields bad example in reon Prossia the responsibility
of go- plying to the Trihune. The point on which he lays most strees is Onr
many Germanlives, and might entail
verning thewhole countryfor some time afterwards; besidcs which, the aesertion, or repetition of General Barlows assertion, that
Fuller, hav-

&,

we

23, 18711

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__

The Nation.
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___

xoduct of our high-pressure civilization. I ask your forgiveners, m y

i n g been appointed receiver of 3,GOO shares of Albany and Susquehanna
for such a verdict, for it is from the depths
of my faith in
stock belonging to one
Groesbeck and others, on the ground that it had :ouutrywomen,
been
latent possibilities that.1 speak ; and with the most earnest desire
illegally issued by Ramsey, and was therefore invalid, had on this stock
,hat you may stand side by side with her in all noble work, I seek to ins o declared invalid voted by direction
of Mr. Shearman. On this point
xoduce to you the English woman of to day ; no ideal, no vision, b u t t h e
Mr. Shearman says:
Lctual, existingwoman.Willyouhearwhatsheis,as
I havefound
As to the fact that Mr. Fuller voted npon this stock, that was a
taken in order to comply with the terms of an injunction obtained by the ler, and believe my assurance that there
is no egaggeration in this descripother side ; and the propriety of the act depends upon considerations of a ,ion of her imitable virtues?
manifold character, concerning which the most upright of lawyers might
First,,materialandunpoetic
as itmayseem,
I wouldpoint,in
take different sides. The only reason assigned by theN u t i o n for objecting
this vote,
rather to the actionof counsel in advising it, is that the re-3peaking of this class of women, to the superiority
of theirphysique.
ceivers appointment was based on the ground that the stock was void. Thedearoldcomfortablemetaphor
of oakandvinehasgotto
be
But this was not thecase. The stock was valid stock in the ?Lands of some
one ;but the title of the particular persons holding itwas alleged to be ,void, given u p physically as well as mentally-a woman who can work
five hours a day can scarcely expect to compete on ground already his
and tA5 receiver was appointed for the eery purposeof ?lolding the stock for
2nAoever might prove to be its true01oners.~
with a man who works ten; and the abilityof an Englishwoman to walk
To give an idea of the pitch of unscrupulousness to which everybody
twenty miles in a winter storm, and eat her dinner after it with
a good
connected with this Erie ring seems to have attained, we shall now quote
the
appetite,
is of morevaluetoherthanmany
speeches. Bonbons and
words of Field and Shearmans complaint, on which this order was issued, mayonnaise and the like allurements mustbe forsworn, for beef and beer
and which now lies before
us. Theseventllallegation is-That as the plain- are powerful allies of the suffrage ; the sweet tooth must be
sacrificed
tiff is informed and believes, tlle issuing of the said stock in the manner along with low dresses and late hours and sensation novels; body and
and for the price aforesaid was
unautAorized and aoid, and
not mind must be well fed and exercised, before either the one or the other
tcawanted by any statute.
can demonstrate its actual capacity. A woman forced a t a temperature of
Judgment is thendemanded- That the issue of said several amounts
on an irrational, nnregulated diet may be brilliant, interesting, morof stock be declared unauthorized and void,
and set aside, and ti& the bidly poetical ; she can never be self-reliant, cool,
persistent. The unastock be given up tobe cancelled.
nimity and organization of the women here who are working to establish
are saved by this from the necessity of noticing the rest of Mr. their sexs equality I trace, therefore, in a measure, to their superior phyShearmansstatements,whichareallequallydiscreditable,evenhis
sical health.Theyareneither
so nervousnor so enthusiasticas our
defence of telegraphing Barnards injunction, which we confess n e have women, and therefore
more carefully to results, and are not
much
rarely seen surpassed for evasiveness and boldness, especially as, by the
carried away by evanescent emotion. The national characteristics
of
time this reaches our readers, he will have received a severe but wellstinacy and self-satisfaction come
also into play ; for, though they cab
merited Eastigation from General Barlow in the Tribune. Mr. Shearman scarcely be classed as virtues, yet are they powerful adjuncts at certain
seems t o be laboring under a cruel delusion a3 to his position before the crises of the battle. The form which the last-named quality takes among
public.
these women does not by any means iniply the vanity and desire
W e shall take leave of the matter by asking how it happens that gen- toriety which unfortunately actuate many wllo are prominent before the
tlemen whose professional character is assailed and has been as seriously
public in America. The leaders here have no intention of usurping masdamaged as his and
Mr. Fields have been, do not demandan investigation culine attire, take no especial delight in unfolding their experiences from
at the handsof a body of competent lawyers, and put an end to this news- platforms, and are by no means adepts in clever abuse
of their adversaries.
paper controversy ? If they get three four lawyers in good standing to Tllere is scarcely a woman in England who conld have wed u p Dr.
Ray their proceedings have been proper, of course these attacks on them
Todd as did Miss Dodge ; but there are not a few wllo by steady, hard
must cease. GeneralBarlow has challenged them to do
so. Time was,
training have enabled themselves practically to give the lie to his asserwhen, if a gentlemen found his honor impugned,so far from evading en- tions.Doubtless,well-putridiculeandcut.tingsarcasmarepowerful
quiry, he insisted on it, and we trust that day is not wholly past.
can weapons, but it scarcely seems worth while, in the present undetermined
understand why Messrs. Fjeld and Shearman should not sue their assailstatus of women, for them to indulge freely in theuse of either till they
ants, for libel suits are slow and inconclusive,b u t voluntary trial before a have proved their ability
make good their claims and hold fast any
tribunal of lawyers is another thing, and this can be had any day.
advantage which their brilliant sallies may give them. At late meetings
of the National Society for ~~ornensSuffrfrage,the
women present, both
speakers and audience, gave a large majority of real workers ; for exTHE ENGLISH WOMAN OF TO-DAY.
ample,MissGarrett,MissFaithfull,Miss
Cobbe, Dr.Blackwell,
March 1, 1871.
is she ? The well-known materfamilias, Hawthornes dread and Taylor, etc., all women who have actually done something, who can comPunchs pride ; the equally well-known Englisll rosebud ; the Amelia mand a respectful hearing from the men against whou they have fairly
of Vanity Fair ; or that backnryed unfortunate, the girl of tlle period ? matched tllemselves.
course, suchwomenmustlookatthequestionfromwidely
tllenewwomanisnone
of these. Thenewwoman
is to be
different
standpoints,
and
base
their
arguments
upon
various
born of educationandthe
franch.ise, andhersponsorsareMilland
Buckle and Spencer-an august trio who are not afraid to renounce in her foundations, but they are all immediately practical. In the speeches made
the peppery doctrines so frequently enunname the frivolitiesof the past, and to promisefor her great things in the on these occcasiom, we miss
the enthusiastic eloquence
future. Their prophetic eyes have seen the statue in the marble, and they ciated in America, and also; be it acknowledged,
Bay, Give the hammer and cllisel full play, and a woman sllall
come forth. which often carries us away in spite of sober judgment ; but we get inAnd, considering tlle material they have already found, these champions stead a quiet common-sense, a general grasp of the subject, a womanly
of the sex may well indulge in golden visions. If tlle ideal shall become vindication of womans rights, which is less liable to misinterpretation
a reality, with the power and physique of Miss Cobbe, the perseverance and more convincing. Women have so long been trained to trust to their
and acuteness of Miss Garrett, the sweetness of Lady Lyell, the grace and emotional nature rather than to their reasm, that it is no easy matterfor
dignify of Mrs. Fawcett ; then, gentlemen, fall back ; place arlz dames in them to leave theflowery paths of false sentiment for an inflexible logical
good earnest. The reign of your bearded majorities will be over, you will sequence which wont permit them to say clever, untrue things, or to ephave monopolized long enough the front rank, and may safely stand asidepeal, as of old, to the assailable hearts of their masculine judges. The
to let the eager brains and supple hands of tlle great reserve of women sober British intellect meets more readily the requirementsof this present
take their chance at the worlds work. Soberly speaking, the women
of age of reason than does tlle excitable American, and the advantage is
England who have fallen into line on the question
of female suffrage and evident. English women are arriving at results while we are still tosaing
is, women here are
equality are a formidable phalaux, and the @it and mannerof their pro- fromonehorn of the dilemma to the other. That
gress are worthy the considerationof their American sisters whose faces showing what shey can do, while with ns they are mostly occupied with
;
are set in the same direction. While the average standard of feminine in. what they can say. I hope thst this is no injustice to my countrywomen
tellect is lower here, and there is a noticeable lackof the vivacious many. the question is so broad that one hesitates to express an opinion upon it,
sidedness so common and so charming in America, I a m especially struck for, without doubt, thedifferent external circumstances powerfully affect
by a type of woman unknown with us-a type which, setting aside patri. the feminine character, and the existence of a completely crystallized 80for thatthoroughcnlturewhich
goes so f a r
otic prejudicep, I believe to promise betterfor the future than any existing cietygivesopportunity
_

196

The N -a t i o n .

[Number 299

towards producing a well-balanced mind, and which with ns can only be

ENGLAND-THE BREAKDOWN OF THE MINISTRY.
attained in exceptionally favored cases. Still)this mLd1
is Certain, that
LOXDON,Marcll 3, 1871.
t h e question of womens rights has, so far as its public treatment is conIN writing to you shortly before the opening of Parliament, I pointed
cerned, been talien up here by a class of women widely different from the
o u t some of the causes which appeared to have shaken the influence
of
leaders in the American branchof the movement. And the effect of this,
a3 I said in the beginning,is to show us the germ of the woman
of t h e Mr. Gladstones Government. The session is now about three weeks old,
and we have already witnessed some illustrations
of the position in which
future ; t h e moman who, we believe, is to be strong and tender, wise and
able to stand alone, but never disdainful of sympathy-mans true ministers find themselves. Let me, in the first place, refer to an agitation
help.n1eet, not his rival. If this is to be ingood earnest the goalfor which which I fear must appear to IOU, as it certainly does to us, to be almost
Amarican wolnen are striving, they can reach it only by the path in
Which interminable. I mean the movement for the abolition of tests in the universities. The process of relaxing the stringency of the bonds by which
their English sisters are treading, and that path is as open to the one as
Oxford and Cambridge are connected with the Church of England began
to tile other. A steady determination to fit herself for whatever work she
something like twenty years ago; tlle door has been slowly and grndgundertalres, and an equal determination to undertake no work from motires of vanity or as a temporary diveraion, must form t.he basis of each ingly opened, and Dissenters have forced their may into the vestibule of
individuals effort, and organization and system must precede any success- the sacred edifice. Its inner chambers, where the richest prizes are to be
picked
are still unprofaned ; but tlle exclusion cannot be permanently
ful public labor. I blush when I rememberhowAmericanwomen,by
maintained. Last year the House of Commons by a large majority passed
theirweak divisions, theirmeaningless,interminableresolutions,and,
; which was shelved,
brag, have made themselves fair game
for a measure rendering Dissenters eligible to fellowships
above all, by their illimitable
though not directly negatived, by the Houseof Lords under the influence
scurrilous tongues. It ia a serious matter this, and one that presses every
of Lord Salisbury. This year the same measure has been introduced by
day nlore closely upon all tlloughtful women. A late leader in the
Gladstone, and has already passed tlle Comnlons. So far the Governin criticising the actionof the Xational Suffrage Society, says: The only
ment
showed a praiseworthydesiretoredeem
its pledges.Butmeanright woman hasis the right to a nztnral protector
; give her that, and the
while another difficulty has arisen. The policy of liberals in general has
restwill follow. Afairpromise,
but onethatwasnevermadeby
been to raise their demands in proportion to the obstinacy
of t h e resistwomansCreator. In his law it is written that no protector can shield
if themeasurewere
woman from the resultof her own sin and folly, no protector can give her ance.Theyaccordioglyrememberedthat,even
t h e security v;hich is the reward onlyof honest endeavoror take from her passed in its present form, a great grievance would remain. The fellowthe responsibilities mllich are hers-primarily as a member of the race, ships, it is true, wouldl_be in great measure opened to Dissenters; but
there would remain a large number of fellowships which are only tenable
and, secondarily, in her cllaracter as woman.
DisW e must in very shame put the ignorance and weakness of the past by clergymen. The effeet of the bill would therefore be to enable
senters to hold a considerable number (I thilik from a half to two-thirds)
away frcm us. If there is any 1:eaning in the story of the woman who

ate first of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and bequeathed to her of t h e fellowships, but the remainder would be as now confined not only
daughters a double heritage of grief, may we not hope tlmt tlle best
good to the dominant sect, but to the clergy of that sect. They accordingly
moved an amendment to the bill, providing that this final restriction
a s well as the most evil is to c3me t o us from that mysterious temptation
should be removed.
Gladstone refused to accept the amendment on
of our mother ? If from lack of liberal education, from an unbalanced
two
grounds.
The
first,
which
was, I think, perfectly reasonable, though
social condition, or from a certain fluidity of the national character, the
I cannot trouble you with the necessary explanations,
was that such a
mass of our women are really unprepared to act on this particular political
change
would
involve
a
number
of
other
changes
in
the
constitution
of
question, the general progress can still on,
go and for the rest we must bide
the collqes, which could only be dealt with satisfactorily in a more comour time. Teacll women to think independently; teach them that even where
If hehadpledgedhimselftodealwith
all t h e
ignorance is bliss it is
folly to be wise ; make them appreciate, what prehensivemanner.
questionsthusinvolvedintllesensedesired--namely,byenablingan
I fear few of them do, that they are responsible not only for tlle sin that
they commit., ont for tho sin that they permit, and it will not be longbe- executive commission to go into the whole question, his position would
fore tiley will be willing and able to take any power that will assist them have been at any rate defensible. But he was vague upon this point, and
relied chiefly Jpon his second reason. This
the untenable assertion
in overcoming vice, public or private.
English women are showing an ability for immediate practical action that the House of Commons was under a certain obligation to the House
of Lords not to raise its terms at present. Most people considered the
which I do not f i n d in America. They are fighting vigorously and unitobligation to be altogether imaginary, and thought that a decided policy
edly against certain social evils which come especially within their prorefined scruples. Accordvince ; they are training themselves in a business-like manner for philan- m-as better than temporizing and indulging in
ingly, Mr. Gladstone was put in an almost unprecedented position
for 8
thropic work ; they are not riding individual hobbies, nor airing clever,
impracticable theories ; in a word, they care much for tho honest-advance- liberal minister. 1I.e carried his measure by a majority of only twentyone votes, wllich was, in itself, strange enoug11lfor so pomerfu~a gorernDent of the sex in the line of its natural progress, and see clearly that
women can attain the highest development, onlyas men attain it, by pa- ment. But tlle result is still stranger when we examine into the constitient, hard work. It is, therefore, only asa means to an end that tlley are tution of tho majority. Mr. Gladstone mas supported only by his official
asking for the suffrage. They regard it as no panacea, no charm, but asa dependents and by conservatives. The minority was composed exclusivel y of his natural supporters, the liberals. Indeed
a friend of mine found
new and great responsibility, a two-edged swbrd which cuts both ways,
a member of the Government walking into the wrong lobby, and followand does good service only in strong, firm hands.
ing by a kind of instinct those with whom he was always accustomed to
When they get this weighty weapon of political and social power (as
vote. A liberal leader has perhaps neverbefore found himself i n so comthey surely will), there will be no hesitation in wielding it, no desire to
shirk the duties and dangers that its
possession brings, because they know pletely false a position.
their ground and their goal, are clear-eyed, stroog-armed, and pure-hearted.
I come, however, to a more serious difficulty. An announcement reThe question that American women should to-day ask themselves is this
: cently made startled the Houseby its suddenness and unexpected nature.
If 15-e gain our point this year or nest, have we measured our capacity and Government gave notice that a select committee was to be proposed to
our work? Bre we asking for the ballot as children as$ for a new toy
enquire into the state of Westmeath in Ireland. Agrarian outrages, it is
or coquettes for a new flirtation, or are we looking tllrongh the dust
of stated, have lately been very infrequent throughout the greater part
of t h e
this present struggle up
to fields of noble endeavor where this power
country. The coerciye measures of last year appear to have been successandeveryothershall
beused
for tllegloryofGod?Untilwe
ful, and the general quietness of the Irish people was noticed with combelieve that we can do more for politics than politics can do for US ; until placency inthe Queens speech.Butitseemsthatinthecounty
of
we know what we want, and are willing suffer
to
and strive for its attain- Westmeat11 there have been four murders and four attempts
to murder
ment, our clamorous
demands
are
worse
than
useless.
W e ]lave during the past year. They are attributed to the existence
of a Ribbon
as Yet muclitolearnfrom
our Englishsisters,whoarepatiently
conspiracy which keeps the district in
a state of terrorism. Witnesses
preparingthemselvesforthetestwhichtheyasktohaveapplied
afraid to come forward, and it was
proposed that the committee
t o them, the testof a fair field and
favor; and it will surelybe a happy shouldtakeevidenceinsecret.LordHartington,whohasrecently
day for the sex in America when we all see that our best hope for the
become Secretary for Ireland, and who isa commonplace young man
future lies in awise, conscientious culture of our natural gifts.
owes his positionto his great Whipconnections, moved for t h e c o m m i t t ~ e
AN
in a feeble and hesitating epeech. It immediately appeared that Govern

23, 18711

197

The

The announcement of the joint commission for the set,tlement of Our

ment ]lad become friglltened by the opposition raised to the proposed
secrecy of t h e committee, and said that it was only to have thepower of difficulties with the United States has given general satisfaction: though
in the presence of the Continental war it has scarcely attracted 80 much
taking evidence in secret if it chose. The question, bowever, remained,
notice.as might have been expected. There are obvious difficulties upon
Why have a committee at all ? If part of Ireland is undergoing a reign
of terror, energetic measures should be at once adopted. It seemed absurd which it is nonecessary for me to dwell as to its powerof effecting a satisfactory settlement; but I may safely say that on this side of the water, at
to ask for a committee to find out what Government already knew, or to
of its labors
invent a policy which Government ought to discover for themselves. Tlle least, there will be a strong wish to accept any conclusion
I feel it useless to speculate
proposal was merely another instanceof a policy wllich has latelybecome which could be accepted without dishonor.
toocommon.
A Governmentboasting of anunparalleledmajority
is further on a topic of which you are at least as good judges as I can be,
always trying to shumeoff responsibility upon the shouldersof the House and on m.hich no general expression of sentiment has been evoked.
-___.
.of Commons, and instead of acting vigorously, to get somebody else to
provide them with information, and then to tell them how to act upon it.
In short, it was an exhibition
of feebleness and vacillation, singularly
discreditable in a case where firmness is specially needed. If we are to
rule Ireland at all, we mustsllow that we cqn stamp out outrages inexorTHE PROFESSOR OF FRENCH
WEST POINT.
ably ; to be shilly-shallying and hesitating and apologizing is the most
To
:
infallible means of encouraging the spirit of disaffection.
Permit me to adda few words to the information contained in
tile
Disraeli saw the blot and took advantage
of it in his very best
manner. His speech on Monday night was one of his most vigorous exhi- letter beaded The Professor of French at West Point, in Thursdays
Nation, March 16, as I think your Washington correspondence, to which it
bitions.Hewas,
of course,ratherunfair-fewpoliticalpartisansare
refers, hardly does justice to the President
or to the newly appointed
scrupulous in such matters, and he least
of all. But he sparkled with
epigrams ; he was brilliant, cutting, and effective, h e seemed to be taking Professor of French.
General GeorgeL. Andrews was gradoatedat the Vnited StatesMilitary
revenge for many previous humiliations; and, to use the only appropriAcademy in 1851. H e stood at the headof his class, throughout his entire
ate language, felt that he had got Mr. Gladstoneo head in chancery and
pitched in with amazing energy. No more brilliant sparring performance academic term, in every brancll of study, except in French, in which he
has been lately seen in the political ring
; and llis supporters fairly shout- stood second, the head of this branch being the son of French parents.
General Andrewss scientific attainments are of the highest grade. Few,
ed with an enthusiasm to which they have long been strangers when he
if any, graduates have been sent forth from the Military Academy
of
declared that government had legalized confiscation, consecrated sacrilege, and condoned treason.
Cilailstone replied last night in one of more thorough knowledge than he possesses. H e is perfectly acquainted
with the French language, which he speaks, and is moreover an accomthose elaborate harangues in which the sense has to be vaguely sought
plished teacher, having given proofs of this as an assistant professor at
through a labyrinth of pompous phraseology. His explanation left matters darker than
before, and nobodycouldprecisely
tellwhen Ile sat West Point.
The military services of General Andrews, during the rebellion, were
down amidst an unsytnpathetic audience, why a committee should be appointed, or how far it was to be secret, or how far the Government under- of tlle most valuable character, he having served in several highly responsible staff positions in the face of the enemy. Indeed, the record he
stood itsownmind.
A finechancewasopentothoseratherunsteady
politicians who appear to regard mischief-making as the natural duty
of there made for himself was the determining feature in his selection by the
fills-his apan independent member, but whose assaults are rather ominous
so in
far as President, from among many candidates, for the place he now
pointment
to
which
has
been
hailed
with
the
greatest
satisfaction
by every
tlley like to catch applause by kicking
a falling man. Sir. R. Peel and
Mr. Osborne, who are both distinguished performers of this class, made graduate of West Pointwho knows him.
General Andrews was himself an applicant for this vacant professorship.
energeticattacksupon
Gladstonesproposal.
Sir R. Peeldescribed
his talents and tastes than that
the committee in language borrowed frxn Sir Cornewall Lewis, as a piece It was a career he felt more suited to
of machinery constlcucted for the purpose of smothering the truth and m e which called for a participation in partisan political life, which was
sbllorrenttohim,andtowhichhe
neVer wouldlendhimself.Ifthe
obstructinginvestigationandtrueenquiry.HesaidthatGovernment
admitted that they were working the Irish members to exercise a salutary President and the members of his cabinet would always give to the public service sac11 meu as General Andrews, and place tbem as wisely for
checkuponthem.
Mr. Oabornewasequallyfacetious.Theonecry
placed, die people might snap their
wl1ich had been all-powerful at the hustings was Gladstone for ever
! the public interests as he has been
hr .
tlle in
fiagers
of the politicians.
ahd now Mr. Gladstones Government was iu the position
of thefaces
weak

-~

Correspondence.

woman,who,whenshehesitates,islost.Thecommitteewasnothing
more than a screen for ministerial debility and executive incapacity. And
impugning the fitness of Government to deal with Irish matters,
Ile declared that there was an inscription over the doors
of the cabinet, No
Irishneedapply.Thisandagooddealmorebadinage
of thesame
kind derived no particular weight from the political reputation of t h e assailants. Mr. Osborne is a kind of licensed jester, wllom every one likes
to hear, but for whose opinions nobody cares
a straw; and Sir 11. Peel,
though a man of considerable talent as a speaker, has pursued far
too
eccentric a course to be regarded as a serious politician. Like partisans in
a guerilla warfare, they are of little account to powerful opponents, but
may be exceedingly annoying on the flanks
of a retreating force, They
were listened to last night with a degree
of sympathy wllich augured
rather ill for the stability of Mr. Gladstones Government. The committee
was of course granted, though not without a division, which showed an
unexpected strength of opposition. AS the lists have not yet been published, I cannot speak as to thecomposition of the minority ; but I suspect
that, on this as on the other occasion I have mentioned. it will appear that
a largenumber of Mr. Ghdstoneanaturalsupporterswerearrayed
against him.
I might give some further instancesof a weakness which is becoming
a general topic of remark. The measure for army reform is less liked
the more it is examined; and :though there is the great difficulty that
nobody is prepared to takeMr. Gladstones place, and therefore no sudden
change is to be expected at present, I shall not be surprised if the session
shows a still more remarkable falling off in the prestige of the cabinet.

March 20, 1571.

_____

Notes.
11.J.
who is at present in London, is engaged on a
history of the last Cretan insurrection, to be published, as soon as con]pleted, in this country. The work is likely
to contain some curio118 revelations in regard to this equally unnecessary and unfortunate struggle,
which Mr. Stillman, then ilmerican Consnl at Can&, did llis utmost to
prevent. From his official position, we may expect an inside view of the
diplomatic phases of the inlbroglio that will be piquant reading, wlletller
or not it will make the rOle of the United States appear particularly ere.
ditable. I t is even possible that our Cretan sympathizers will not appear
to the best advantage.-A
correspondent points out an inaccuracy in
our statement that the iYortlk Britislk ReGiezo was first. issued in 1843. The
true date is May1, 1844, the proprietor then being Thomas
Constable, 8 0 1 ~
of Arcllibald Constable, tlle original publisher and proprietor of the
burgh Reciew.-The
alumni of Phillips Academy are taking measures
to honor the memory of its late principal, Dr. Taylor, by erectinga monument at his grave, and providing a marble bust to be placed in the Academy. Contributions may be sent to
Mr. A. H. Hardy, 181 State Street,
Boston.-Mr. Ledyard Bill, author of A Winter in Florida,wllich W ~ I
a very agreeable and honest guide-book, has written
a more general work,
now in prew, on the Climates and Resorts
Invalids, Touristp.
Emigrante. It mill include. say the, publishers, Messrs. Wood
S: 1141-