98 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
conduct in seceding (two matters wholly distinct and a great deal 
too much confounded), the natural reluctance of Northern Amer- 
icans to acquiesce in the severance of the Union, and the appar- 
ent loss of strength and glory to their country; the bearing of the 
separation on the real interests and on the moral character of the 
North; again, for an Englishman, its bearing with respect to Brit- 
ish interests—all these are texts of which any one affords ample 
matter for reflection. But I will only state, as regards the last of 
them, that I, for one, have never hesitated to maintain that, in 
my opinion, the separate and special interests of England were 
all on the side of the maintenance of the old Union; and if I were 
to look at those interests alone, and had the power of choosing in 
what way the war should end, I would choose for its ending by 
the restoration of the old Union this very day. Another view of 
the matter not to be overlooked is its bearing on the interests of 
the black and colored race. I believe the separation to be one of 
the few happy events that have marked their mournful history; 
and although English opinion may be wrong upon this subject, 
yet it is headed by three men perhaps the best entitled to repre- 
sent on this side of the water the old champions of the anti-slav- 
ery cause—Lord Brougham, the Bishop of Oxford, and Mr. Bux- 
ton. 
But there is an aspect of the war which transcends every other: 
the possibility of success. The prospect of success will not justify 
a war in itself unjust, but the impossibility of success in a war of 
conquest of itself suffices to make it unjust; when that impossi- 
bility is reasonably proved, all the horror, all the bloodshed, all 
the evil passions, all the dangers to liberty and order with which 
such a war abounds, come to lie at the door of the party which 
refuses to hold its hand and let its neighbor be. 
You know that in the opinion of Europe this impossibility has 
been proved. It is proved by every page of this book, and every 
copy of this book which circulates will carry the proof wider and 
stamp it more clearly. Depend upon it, to place the matter upon 
a single issue, you cannot conquer and keep down a country 
where the women behave like the women of New Orleans, where, 
as this author says, they would be ready to form regiments, if such 
regiments could be of use. And how idle it is to talk, as some of 
your people do, and some of ours, of the slackness with which the 
war has been carried on, and of its accounting for the want of suc- 
cess! You have no cause to be ashamed of your military character 
