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A Llanelly Coachman in Trouble.

PENYGROES, LLANDEBIE. j

! The Anglo-Vmerican Alliance.

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The Anglo-Vmerican Alliance. [BY LADY COOK, nee TENNESSEE C. CLAFLIN.] The ancient poets tell us there was once a time when the great god Saturn reigned in Italy, and bestowed happiness and tran- quility over all the earth. The husbandman gathered in peace- the fruits of his labour, and the fields smiled with plentous harvests. The liberal arts were sedulously cultivated and every home was the abode of innocence. Comparing this blissful state with their own degenerate rule of blood and iron, in which all the vices had supplanted virtue, they have handed it down to us as The Golden Age," which, they deplored, could never come again. This retrospective fable, however, of Pagan writers, the Hebrew Prophet saw as a future reality. In his vision, the God of Peace was to take the place of the heathen diety, and to teach us of His ways. And he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." It is possible that this glowing prophecy of Isaiah, although delivered twenty-six c( nturics iUay yet be f:i!f<ilec\ but not, a he imagined, through rdigiou influence. No more potential frsonalit} than Jesus Christ his evei appeared, • yd nineteen eentune-> lEo; teachinc hove done little or nothifj to suppress wai. even among His professed foMowc; Ar'>: after ige the earth hr-c been drenched with the blood of Christian^, slain L; thc,r brcihien and those vi1.'1 a, times been jji-jimaf. d by the .;alrtds and-erocity of heathen s.ivagcs. The incica'eo 'ntellisence a fid accumuiatec knowledge ;• the most Clvilisc^ nations l,ave oet-n exercised in developing gieat- means Gf destruction, and ti'1^"nso^ ?vcfy industry and the lives of ap,(..v^milho 1S iiavt. i;en squandered in wa.°" 0i_ ;:utdiess wars. At the present mon, pe is an armed camp ready for slaugi f her sixty million men twelve million. rained soldiers. And the New World i ecently entered on the fatal career of t Old. But a remote and com- paratively insignificant contest is sufficient to dislocate the delicate social machinery of every civilized state, and a dilatory contest carries famine to the hearths of the poor, thousands of miles from the conflict. In various countries in both hemispheres, starv- ing men and women are rioting for bread; what they really want is peace. Can nothing be done, then, to make war more difficult ? Is the Golden Age to be merely a poetic dream, never to be in any degree realized ? We trust not. For, if we mistake not, the first faint streak of the brighter dawn is breaking. In both the Old and the New World men of clear heads and generous hearts are looking forward to a confederation of the English-speaking peoples. And the slightest consideration of the matter must convince every unprejudiced mind that the speedy accomplishment of an Anglo-American Alliance, based upon sound, equitable, and permanent principles, will lay. the foundation of a new era, one which, perchance, may be crowned by universal and perennial peace. America is only a younger England, moving in a wider range with a freer step. Excepting the immigrants of alien tongues, her people have the same blood and tradi- tions, the same literature and habits, the same proud history and aims, as the mother country. In religion, in political and muni- cipal freedom, in inventive genius and com- mercial and industrial eagerness, they are alike. Great Britain's purchases from the 30th April, 1897, to 30th April, 1898, amounted to 18,000,000, or nearly one- half of the total American exports, in other words, almost as much as was purchased by all the rest of the world. Her Colonies and India purchased in the preceeding year II per cent. Thus about 60 per cent. of all their exports were bought by Great Britain and other parts of the British Empire. As the balance of trade is very largely in their favour, the difference provides them with the means of making cash investments in any part of the world, and of purchasing in other countries, if need be, beyond the amount of their exports to them. Thus their immense commerce and vast wealth, distributed throughout the earth, give England and the United States a common aim—the welfare and prosperity of all nations. They are, therefore, eminently qualified to become the joint depositaries of peace and the guarantors of the world's best interests. Great Britain and the United States possess together one-half of the whole habitable part of the globe, and nearly one-third of all its inhabitants. Of the latter about one hundred and ten millions ire of European blood, and of a hundred millions of these the English language is their mother tongue. Their commercial shipping greatly exceeds that of all the rest of the world together. Their ships of war amount to 477 (of which 379 are British), and exceed by 69 the united navies of France, Russia, Germany, and Italy. It will thus be evident that, united, no power would venture to attack them, and that they would probably prove irresistible. to any possible combination of powers, seeing that their conbined resources are well-nigh inexhaustible. But it is notorious that they are the least military and least aggressive nations on the earth, if we compare their extent, their wealth, and population. Their great ruling motives are the material and intellectual advancement of the people. Both these are incompatible with war, and flourish during peace. It is to these incentives alone, therefore, that we must look for a revival of the golden age. And Providence has so placed it in the power of the Anglo-Saxon race, to lead the way in this grand work, that it would he criminal, if not fatal, to refuse it. It is always unsafe to prophesy, neverthe- less we may venture to forecast the probable outcome of an Anglo-American Alliance, instituted for mutual defence, and to keep the world's peace. In the first place, every country whose intelligence enables it to perceive that its interests also are best promoted by repressing warfare, will desire to share in the advantages of such an alliance. France and Germany would bury their animosities, and compete with each other, and with ourselves, in friendly rivalries only. Anstria, Italy, and the minor states would follow. One power alone might have cause to regard this International policy with hatred, since it would arrest her career of conquest, and destroy her hope of universal domination. By a long course of cruelty, perfidy, treachery, and the lowest political arts, and through the resources of a great military despotism, she has advanced east and west from the Baltic to Behring's Straits, in a solid and unbroken line, and is slowly but surely creeping southward, overshadowing Europe and Asia, and menacing the independence of its peoples and the cause of freedom. Whilst we sympathise with her amiable and inoffensive people, and wish them God speed we shall do well to check the pernicious ambition of her feudal and military chiefs, which is ever aggressive and unscrupulous. Since the time of Peter the Great she has been the chief disturbing element in Europe, and has set the example of those vast armaments which are ruining almost all the nations, and which keep Russia itself in perpetuaf poverty. Therefore, if the Anglo-American Alliance did nothing beyond curbing her aggressiveness, it would deserve well of mankind. But Japan, also, where, for the first time in history, liberty has recently been born in an Asiatic country, would naturally welcome the Alliance with open arms. This interest- ing countiy appears destined to play a distinguished part among the nations, and already ranks among the highest powers. The continuance of her freedom and prosperity demands that she should be pro- tected from the pressure of Russian intrigues. In fact, regard it in any light we will, whether for the advantage of the con- tracting powers, or for the general welfare of the world, no moment could be more propitious than this for the Anglo-Saxon race to join hands. Europe is armed ready for fight. The Balkans, the hot-bed of Russian Plots, are in a ferment, and the flames of war may burst forth at any moment. But England and America united, self- ZD I sustaining, and capable of protecting them- selves against all foes, could exercise a powerful and unique influence in preventing a conflagration, or of quenching that already begun. The turbulent republics of South America might also be restrained from their interminable civil wars, and their wealthy industries be again revived under more settled governments. Thus every part of the globe would participate in the blessings of our coalition. The greatest statesmen of England and America have already perceived its ad- vantages, and are seeking the means of hastening its advent. Let us all assist according to our power. Let every citizen and every statesman give a hearty co- operation. "e appeal to our sisters in both countries, upon whom the miseries of war and want fall most bitterly, to join their voices with ours. Then should we succeed, it may be that the coming century will be the commencement of a better era for the world, when nation shall no longer make war against nation, but all participate again in a golden age, so far as human frailty will permit.

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