of its congressional system to that of our Parliament. But to that
matter I must allude again, when speaking of the existing
Constitution of the States.



CHAPTER III.

THE CAUSES OF THE WAR.


I have seen various essays purporting to describe the causes of this
civil war between the North and South; but they have generally been
written with the view of vindicating either one side or the other,
and have spoken rather of causes which should, according to the
ideas of their writers, have produced peace, than of those which
did, in the course of events, actually produce war. This has been
essentially the case with Mr. Everett, who in his lecture at New
York, on the 4th of July, 1860, recapitulated all the good things
which the North has done for the South, and who proved--if he has
proved anything--that the South should have cherished the North
instead of hating it. And this was very much the case also with Mr.
Motley in his letter to the London Times. That letter is good in
its way, as is everything that comes from Mr. Motley, but it does
not tell us why the war has existed. Why is it that eight millions
of people have desired to separate themselves from a rich and mighty
empire--from an empire which was apparently on its road to
unprecedented success, and which had already achieved wealth,
consideration, power, and internal well-being?