Great Men are Fearful

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 12, 1861

Great Men are Fearful.

The following speech was delivered by the celebrated historian, Sir Archibald Alison, a short time ago in Glasgow, on the occasion of swearing in some volunteers:

“I much fear that the horizon of Europe is overcast, and that a severer contest than has ever yet awaited us, yet awaits us in our own quarter of the globe—a contest which will strain to the uttermost the military and volunteer resources of the country. This very day we saw in the papers that Russia and Austria have concluded an alliance, offensive and defensive and that the Russian ambassador has left Turin. There is war beginning between the North and the South. The war in the South is headed by Napoleon—a man of great abilty, of great power, and who is actuated by one principle, which he has told us himself, for early in his career he said:

“ ‘I represent a principle, and that is universal suffrage; I represent a dynasty, and that dynasty is that of Napoleon; I represent a defeat, and that defeat is Waterloo.” He has got universal suffrage; he would fain elevate the dynasty to the power which it once held; and he is anxious to wash out the disgrace of Waterloo in the occupation of London. Then there is what is now going on in Europe. A gallant, brave and honest man—a great general, and an honest republican sails from Genoa, and overturns the monarchy of Sicily and Naples. Garibaldi, who does the whole thing, and fights the whole battles, the moment they are over, is dispossessed, and Napoleon through his vassal, the king of Sardinia, quietly steps in and takes the whole of the country that Garibaldi had won in a noble cause. He will tell Europe that he has given so much to Sardinia, that Sardinia is so powerful that he must get something to counterbalance it, and that something will be the island of Sardinia and Genoa, which will at once give him the command of the Mediterranean, and the entire command of his vassal Sardinia. I am afraid that a great war is rising on the continent, a war between the Northern and the Southern powers. You will see on the one hand Austria, Russia and Prussia; on the other side France, Spain and Italy. I do not know which will be victorious, but of this I am perfectly sure, that we have equal cause to dread the victory of the one as the other—that if the French are victorious we will be at once exposed to the dangerous policy of the first Napoleon; and if the Russians are victorious the whole of Europe will be flooded with cossacks. The only way for this country to preserve its position is, to assume such an attitude as to prevent the liberties of Germany and Britain being crushed by the democratic despotism of France or the Imperial despotism of Russia.