European Inconsistency.
The people of America, in that natural sympathy which they feel with the people of all countries, who are struggling to shake off alleged oppression, should not permit their enthusiasm to blind them to certain developments of the Italian contest, which afford a striking illustration of the real respect attached to principles of international law and national rights and independence by those who are most loudly prating of them, and who are eternally denouncing this country as a nest of filibusters and land pirates. The fact that adventurous and roving spirits have gone occasionally from the United States to embark in such enterprises as those of Lopez and Walker, have been made the groundwork of the most sweeping abuse and denunciation of our whole country by the European press, and an English naval commander has played the part of policeman and handed Walker over to the executioner for his filibustering forays in Central America. Whilst this abusive and bloody measure is meted out to our countrymen, Garibaldi is cheered on to the echo in his filibustering descent upon Italy, supplied by Sardinia, a Power at peace with Naples, with arms and soldiers, and backed up by English volunteers, who, no doubt, have done the hardest part of his fighting. And all this has been enthusiastically applauded by the same public sentiment which denounces as pirates worthy of the gallows, and hands over to the executioner, such men as William Walker, who, what ever his faults, was a man of as much courage and talent, and engaged in quite as fair and practicable an enterprise as Garibaldi. But this is not all. Here is a significant item by the Canadian's advices: The Patriot says that ":Garibaldi has thanked the seamen of the English ship Renown, who served the Garibaldian guns on the 1st of October! The men were that day on leave of absence." Observe the fact that whilst one English man-of-war is delivering one filibuster 10 death in the West, another is landing her men to fight the battles of a filibuster in the East. Whether Garibaldi be a filibuster or not, makes no difference in this outrage upon national right and justice. England is at peace with Naples, and the landing of trained artillerists from a British ship-of-war, to work the batteries of an enemy of Naples, is a flagrant act of treachery and injustice, which it will be idle to evade by the pitiful and unworthy pretext already prepared for the occasion, that the men were on leave of absence and acting for themselves! Every one knows that they never could have obtained that leave of absence, under the circumstances of the times and place, without a design that they should take part in the contest, and that they would never have dared to take that part except with the assurance that it was agreeable to the wishes of their officers. What would be said of a United States ship-of-war in Mexico, or Central or South America, if her officers should permit her men to land and work the guns in the battles of a faction in those countries endeavoring to overthrow the government Certainly, we should never hear the last of it, and would probably be threatened with European intervention to make us respect the rights of others. We have no sympathy with European despotism; we should rejoice to see all Italy capable of being free; we loathe and detest oppression in all its varying forms; but even if the King of Naples be as great a tyrant as he is represented, does England pretend that oppression and despotism in one country justifies the interference of another? This would be a new principle of international law, and one which, if well founded, she should hasten to apply to Turkey, Russia, Austria and Prussia, her faithful friends and allies. Nay, more; if she should presume, as she dare not, to set up any such nonsensical apology as a vindication at the bar of public opinion, how would she relish its application to herself in the case of Ireland.--Suppose that impoverished and oppressed people, who have suffered at the hands of England a thousand fold more than the people of Italy have suffered from any of their rulers, should again revolt, as they have often revolted what would she think of an Irish Garibaldi? Let the gallows on which Robert Emmett and other patriots suffered answer! And how would she regard the volunteering of Frenchmen, Italians and Americans under this Irish Garibaldi's banner; and what would she think of a French or American national vessel which should land its men, under pretence of a day's leave of absence, to work the guns of the rebels and batter down her strongest fortifications? Yet this is precisely her own course towards the friendly power of Naples. Let our countrymen remember these facts, and avail themselves of them for future reference, when we receive our periodical lectures from the London press on the forays which a few adventurers and misguided men, whom there is no power in our government or people to restrain, sometimes make from our shores.There is also another fact which we wish our countrymen to bear in mind, that they may know how to appreciate the justice of the abuse which Europeans so persistently and audaciously heap upon the United States, in connexion with an alleged disposition of our Government as well as people to intervene in the affairs of neighboring and friendly States. The accusation is equally groundless and malignant; but what is the example they set us? The intervention by Sardinia in Naples, Sicily, and the States of the Church, is one of the most flagrant acts of national wrong and injustice recorded in the annals of history. The Constitutional justly says that between the invasion of Garibaldi and of Sardinia there is a great difference; the one, himself a Roman, comes to lead the disaffected of his countrymen in their struggle against an unpopular government; but Sardinian invasion constitutes a direct intervention of one regularly constituted State in the affairs of another independent State. Strange to say, Sardinian invasion took place without any declaration of war, the representative of the King of Naples still being at Turin! Count Cavour gave it to be understood that the invasion by the Sardinian troops was principally directed against the influence of Garibaldi; now it has become evident that they go to aid him.-- We repeat, let Americans bear these facts in mind, and they will understand that when Europe calumniates the United States on account of its alleged contempt of the principles of international right and justice, it is not because Europe respects these principles, but because she hates our country, and is as malignant as she is corrupt, hypocritical and false.
