Excerpt from The Right, or the Wrong, of the American War: A Letter to an English Friend New York, July, 1863. Sir - -, K. C. B. Mt Dear Friend: - ... You think that our government cannot put down the rebellion; and that even if it could, it would be rendering a questionable service to the world, as the American people would then soon become too powerful for the safety of other nations. On both these grounds, you wish to see the war brought to an end by the acknowledgment of the Confederacy as an independent nation. I will not discuss your second reason at any length. You do not doubt that the more powerful any nation should become the better for the world it would be, provided its councils were guided by justice and enlightened views of policy. Without and with such guidance, then, let us see how this country would stand towards foreign nations. Without justice and integrity, both among its citizens generally and in its councils, this Republic could not last long, but must soon be self-destroyed. This is an axiom in the judgment of our best men. If thus self-destroyed - a prey to internal dissension, disorder, and violence - this country would be a beacon to teach other nations the supreme importance of private and public virtue. But let the principles of our holy religion be in the ascendant, and our country would be the means only of good to the world, sharing with the people of other lands the pursuits of commerce and science and the blessings of Christianity. On either supposition, this country would not be an object of fear. But if there is danger to be apprehended, it must spring from the division and not from the union of these states. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.