February 3, 1863, The Charleston Mercury
We agree with every word ‘Historicus’ has said against the intervention of France and England to end the war between Confederate and the United States, on the principles which governed their intervention in the case of Greece and Belgium. The readers of THE MERCURY will remember that, from the first suggestion of the intervention of European Powers, we opposed it, as necessarily injurious to the Confederate States. The great European nations did not sympathize with us in our struggle for Free Government. They are all, including Great Britain, Consolidationists. They do not understand that Free Government consists, first, in the limitations of the powers of government – and, second, in their partition, by which one set of functionaries can check another, and all great interests, by representation, can protect themselves. Hence, they naturally leaned to the United States in their effort to subjugate us; and have perverted the laws of nations to strengthen their power against us. To give such nations the power of settling our relations towards the United States, would be fatal to our liberties. Reconstruction, in the form desired by the United States, would doubtless follow; and we would be taxed, ruled and oppressed, as heretofore, by the majorities of the Free States. Nor would we be any better off on the subject of slavery. With such Abolitionists as Lord PALMERSTON and Earl RUSSEL on the part of Great Britain, and Ministers from France entirely indifferent to the institution (to say the least of it) on the part of France, it would be a miracle if the Confederate States escaped utter ruin by their intervention. And what chance would the Confederate States have of any of the Border States in the adjustment of boundaries, under the auspices of such mediators? Might they not be zealots in making these States, like their own, Free States? Cotton is all that their interests require; and these States do not grow cotton. The region where cotton is produced, if left to slave labor, will be enough for them, and may be supposed enough for us. The Confederate States would, of course, be dissatisfied with such an adjustment; and if they resisted, there stands the precedent of Greece and Belgium – they would be coerced. Holland and Turkey were forced to submit to the intervention dictated by Great Britain and France, by the force of arms. No! the Confederate States want no such intervention; and the astonishing part of the matter is, that any statesman of Great Britain, so able and well informed as ‘Historicus’ clearly is, should deem it necessary to combat at such length, a policy which no considerate statesman of the Confederate States has ever, that we know of, proposed or supported. That it has been proposed and supported in England, by those who profess to be favorable to our cause, we cannot doubt. We are deeply indebted to ‘Historicus’ for exposing their folly; but we could not be at all surprised, if, failing to conquer us, our Yankee foes should earnestly solicit European Powers to enter upon just such an [~..] as ‘Historicus’ has condemned.
The only kind of intervention which the Confederate States could agree to, is that lately proposed by the Emperor NAPOLEON. ‘Historicus’ says that it was no intervention at all; and in one sense he is right. It did not bring the Powers proposing it between the belligerents. There was thus no physical intervention. And yet there was an intervention of counsel, which, if assented to by the parties at war, would undoubtedly have ended it. The Emperor of the French, with his great sagacity, understood the condition of things in the United States, far better than ‘Historicus,’ or the statesmen of England. An armistice of six months would end the war. Staggering, as the United States are, under the load of bankruptcy they have incurred, to stop the war, which affords the only chance of supporting it by conquering the Confederate States, would at once precipitate the catastrophe of utter financial ruin. At the end of six months, credit would be gone, the armies would be disbanded, and the war would be closed. The statesmen of Great Britain who rejected the proposal of the Emperor of the French, if they really wished the war closed (which we doubt), committed an enormous blunder when they rejected it. It committed them to do nothing, and in no way complicated them in the final adjustment of the terms of peace, whilst, if assented to by the parties at war – not at all an improbable result – would have restored peace to the world.
Men and nations, very often misapprehend their true position in the world. Self-deception, is the most common of all deceptions. The statesmen of Great Britain, who rule her policy, repudiated intervention, whilst they loftily talk of impartiality and neutrality. The truth is, they have neither been neutral nor impartial, whilst they have flatly intervened in favor of one of the parties to the war and against the other. They have intervened, in refusing to acknowledge the Sovereignty and Independence of the Confederate States, after they had acknowledged it eighty years ago. They have intervened, by forbidding the Confederate States (against whom alone the prohibition operated) from carrying their prizes into the ports of Great Britain. They have intervened, by allowing a sham blockade to prevail against the Confederate States, directly in conflict with their own solemn annunciations. Now do European statesmen wish to know what the Confederate States desire European nation to do? They want no favors. They want nothing but their rights, by the laws of nations. Abolish the unjust intervention, by which they have acknowledged the Sovereignty of one, but not of the other, party to the war. Rescind the hypocritical declaration, professing impartiality, but really operating to shield Yankee commerce, by which Confederate cruisers are prohibited from carrying their prizes into their ports. Enforce the law of blockade, which they proposed, and the Confederate States have agreed to, and put an end to the paper blockades of the United States. Let Great Britain – let the great nations of Europe – do these simple acts of justice and of real impartiality, and they will end the war – and end it speedily. The Confederate States ask no more of them; and will never be content with less.