ALABAMA CLAIMS. 49 



States encounter more criticism in Great Britain than 

 Great Britain does in the United States. 



Moreover, it should be borne in mind that much of 

 the inculpation of Great Britain Avhich is perceived in 

 the United States proceeds from British immigrants, — 

 largely Irish, but in part Scottish and English, — who, 

 like other Europeans, are but too prone to come here 

 with all their native political prejudices clinging to 

 them; who not seldom hate the Government of their 

 native land ; and who, of course, need time to cease to 

 be Europeans in spirit and to become simply Amer- 

 icans. And it would not be without interest in this 

 relation to see how many of such persons, in the news- 

 paper press or elsewhere, say or do things tending to 

 cause it to be supposed that opinion in the United 

 States is hostile to Great Britain. 



There is one other class of facts which it is proper 

 to state in this relation, and particularly proper for 

 me to state. 



The successful revolution of the thirteen Colonies 

 Avas an event most unacceptable, of course, to England. 

 "We, the victors in that contest, should not murmur if 

 resentful memories thereof lingered for some time in 

 the breasts of the defeated party. I think, however, 

 such feelinsfs have ceased to manifest themselves in 

 England. It is to quite other causes, in my opinion, 

 that we are to attribute the successive controversies 

 between the two countries, in which, as it seems to 

 me, the greater wrong has in each case been on the 

 side of England. I think we did not afford her suffi- 

 cient cause of complaint for continuing in hostile oc- 



D 



